Snow Boarding Descriptive Essay

Alex Fulton Descriptive essay GSW 1110 â€Å"The rush† As the clicking noise of the not so steady ski-lift chimes away, I hold on tightly, looking down at the people below. This being my first time doing anything in or around snow, I was very excited to be going snowboarding. While the ski-lift jerked back and forth my friend Corey enlightened me on the tips for staying alive while I went down the hill. I was trying to pay attention but I was just so eager to snowboard that his tips weren't registering in my head. We reached the top of the ski-lift and I hopped off only to then fall on my face into the cold, hard snow. I stood up and time seemed to stand still as I watched the snow slowly fall down to earth. I put my goggles back on my face, strapped my feet into my board's bindings and looked down the monstrous mountain. This was it and there was no turning back. My adrenaline was flowing through my body faster than a strike of lightening. I was terrified and amazed all at the same time. Going down the mountain felt like floating on air. With the fresh layer of white powder spreading everywhere it felt like I was traveling faster than a race car in the Daytona 500. Carving down the mountain it seemed like it was never going to end. Speed kept picking up and snow seemed to leap purposely on my goggles. The thought of falling or hitting a tree mortified my mind. With my face smothered in cold ice, I'm trying to clear my goggles without losing my balance. I haven't learned to stop or slow down on my snowboard yet, and I'm regretting it. While I am attempting to dodge the fellow skiers and snowboarders my speed has become so intense that I am afraid of the next possible actions I could take on this horrifically monstrous hill. 1 Losing balance, I know that I am eventually going to have to stop myself before I increase too much speed and put my health at risk. Taking a deep breath, I begin to make the biggest wipe-out that could happen in only 30 seconds. As I go to stop, I turn into a position so I land on my knees instead of my back. Thinking that this would be an easy, painless solution, I jam my knees into the hill and try to stop myself. Instead, I fall backwards onto my head, still plummeting down, but now in immense pain. After a few somersaults and excruciating positions I land into the soft snow bank on the side of the hill. I have officially stopped my hectic run. I laid there quietly on my back looking into the sky, watching the snow fall in slow motion as if someone was to watch dust slowly come to rest in rays of sunlight. Then it all hit me, the pain was flowing throughout my body. In the background I hear Corey frantically yelling my name. I was so focused on the pain throughout my body I couldn't even say a word to let him know I was ok. Corey called out for help, and the ski-patrol rushed to my aid. Little did I know my wrist had snapped on impact. The patrol rushed me down the mountain on a ski type stretcher. Again I was on my back falling in and out of conciousness. The sky seemed to get dimmer and dimmer as we approached the bottom of the mountain. Looking up at the ski-patrol I could tell in their eyes something bad had happened to me with my fall. Their eyes looked more nervous than my mind going down the mountain for the first time. The adrenaline I felt carving down the mountain was now being replaced by a lump in my throat. After what felt like years we reached the bottom of the mountain and the silence of the park was broken by the emitting sounds of an ambulance. I knew I was inside the emergency vehicle because I could feel the change in temperature. My frozen cheeks seemed to slowly thaw back to their original state and I could finally feel my feet again. Literally within minutes we arrived at the hospital. My worries weren't even focused on myself but on my board. All I wanted to know was where it was and if it was damaged. The paramedics assured me that my board was picked up by my friend Corey and was safe in his possession. 2 Still with every beat of my heart a jolt of pain was sent through my body straight to my left wrist. The pain was almost unbearable and seemed as if a hammer was beating down on my arm. I was instantly rushed into Emergency room where the doctors ordered x-ray and pain medication for me. After taking my medication I fell a drift into a light sleep. I dreamed that I was still carving down the mountain, as if nothing ever went wrong. I felt unstoppable as I was ripping through the snow on my board. It felt like no-one could match the skills I had on the mountain. Then I awoke. I was in front of a fire back at the resort. If it wasn't for my cast and emergency room bracelet I would have swore that everything that happened was all a dream. The heat emitting from the fireplace began to soothe my nerves and I began to unwind. As I sat there and watched from the lodge, I was already thinking of when I could get back out on the slopes. Though that was out of question for awhile, the thrill and urge of flying down the mountain almost made me want to get back on the board that day. Its funny how much I still love the sport after something this terrible happened. The adrenaline rush and high speeds going down the mountain is almost addicting to me. The way it feels to almost hover on top of the ground carving down a mountain is a unbeatable experience. I cant wait until the day comes that I can yet again feel myself flying down the mountain with the snow being burst everywhere like a snowy white volcano just erupted. This is what I live for. 3

Civil Rights Movement

During the 1960s it was the start of the civil rights movement. It's quite a significant period in American history for equality since the Civil war. African American has had enough of the unjust way they've been treated. This was about the fight to attain something more than just changing the law but also come together as a nation to continue the fight for freedom and solve these social issues that were oppressing people of color. In order for this to happen, African Americans must of have taken actions that would greatly affect the system that they were forced to live. This was a time where uniting in their community was essential to the cause of the civil rights movement. Overcoming all these challenges was difficult as they were met with many oppositionists that were peaceful and non-peaceful. Many different leaders had a different philosophy on how to resolve their issues. Ultimately, they all had the same goal which was to find freedom and equality for their people. The civil rights movement was about battling against the racial injustices in America and getting equality to all people, while at the same time offering solutions to resolve all these issues in America. In the civil rights movement, African American were faced with dangers and obstacles in this fight. With all the rallies, marches that were organized, or just simply living their life, came a lot of unwelcome physical violence. One prime example of this is the peaceful marches people came and were then beaten by the police. Civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. directly explains, â€Å"when you have seen hate-filled policemen curse, kick, and even kill your black brothers and sisters† (p.28-29).Most of the time it was no fault of the protester, but it was because of the racism and hate police had people of color. Another, yet similar, example of violence, experienced by Anne Moody. This was a protest in the death of Medgar. Anne, as well as other protesters, were arrested and put into a paddy wagon or garbage trucks and left in the fields. â€Å"The driver rolled up the windows,† describes civil rights activist Anne Moody, â€Å"turned the heater on, got out, closed the door and left us† (p.49). The protesters were not treated with any respect but instead treated like animals. Police brutality was a reality that was expected to be confronted with at rallies. However, they had to show no signs no signs of counter-attack and peaceful throughout the protest. It was part of King's non-violent approach during the civil rights movement. The oppression and discrimination of sorts was a battle that people of color faced during the 1960s. All of this was part of an everyday life for African Americans. However, there was some type discrimination within them. This was the role that women were allowed to be part of in the marches. Civil rights activist Rosa Parks states, â€Å"women were not allowed to play much of a role. The marching committee didn't want Coretta Scott King and the other wives of the male leaders to march with their husbands† (p.44). This was the separation of women and men for no reason. It shows the inequality that was present during the 1960s but also a bit ironic since the whole point of the march was the fight for equal rights. It's also a representation of how much more work is needed to make this world equal for everyone. Moreover, the discrimination against color people was quite vibrant in all aspects of the ways African Americans lived. African Americans were hit with a lot of discriminatory signs in public accommodations that were extremely racially offensive. When there seemed to have been some type of change with that, it only lasted for a while and went back to the same old thing. â€Å"We realize that we were the victims of a broken promise. A few signs, briefly removed, returned; the others remained,† expresses activist Martin Luther King, Jr. (p.26). Just because of their skin color they were met with racist signs. As I said before it's not just a legal change that was occurring but also a social one that needed a change. It was important to have a change in opinion by this country's society. It was also about combating the racism black people faced on a daily basis throughout their day. Anne Moody was a victim of what black people faced and hoped to change. Anne Moody was physically abused because of the color of her skin, â€Å"then the mob started to smear her and others with ketchup, mustard, sugar, pies, and everything in the counter† (p.45). This was just for sitting at the counter in a restaurant. In the midst of all this chaos, African Americans took action to combat all the racism they were facing and unjust laws that in order to get to a solution. There were many strategies that civil rights activist proposed and practiced that were put on the table in order to find solutions. One of these influencers proposed to have a unification of all black people. â€Å"Keep our religion between ourselves and our God, but when coming out here, we have a fight that is common to all of us against an enemy who is common to all of us,† expresses Muslim and civil rights leader Malcolm X (p.72-73). This a time where everyone must put their beliefs and differences aside in order to progress. At the end of the day, they all have the same goal and the same foe to fight against. This is a call to action where they must gain control of their own fate but in order for that to happen, they must invest in their own self. One of Malcolm's main objectives to combat the oppressive system black people were living in was different to King's method. King's method was a non-violent one and have all people, no matter the color, come together to erase the racism between people. Malcolm was more having only black people come together as a community to help one another in order to progress. Muslim speaker states, â€Å"The community in which you spend your money becomes richer and richer. The community out of which you take your money becomes poorer and poorer† (p.74). Malcolm wants black people to stop spending their money in communities they are not part of. He insists that it by spending money in your own community, it becomes richer and in then being able to prosper. This was just one of the few things that he proposes to during this time period. The 1960s was another major time period for African Americans to fight for equal rights in this country. This time period is a big turning point for all people of color. It signifies that by uniting everyone for a cause, situations can be changed for the better no matter how difficult the obstacle. It was the fight to change the social, political, cultural, and laws that cast a shadow on the people of color by discriminating them. The civil rights movement gave birth to different many leaders on how to solve this issues that were happening at that time. With many people taking action and finding solutions, also came a lot of misfortunes that brought many difficulties in the fight for equality. Many discrimination acts were against African American that they had the courage to unite for a better tomorrow. It was all about getting equality for every single person. Although today our world is not completely equal as we want it to be, there is no doubt that we have made some remarkable advancements in our society. Looking back at the history of the civil rights movement there's for sure something that we learn from and use today to solve our current issues. Civil Rights Movement CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT The civil rights movement in America had a wide variety of successes over time. As successful as they were, all went through their share of hardships and struggles. Major desegregation acts in history include Brown vs, Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Civil Rights Act of 1957. These events changed life for African Americans to come. In the early 1950's, racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Although all the schools in a given district were supposed to be equal, most black schools were inferior to their white counterparts.Brown vs. Board of Education was a decision of the US Supreme Court in 1954 that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. It was a giant step towards complete desegregation of public schools. However, even partial desegregation of these schools, was still very far away. Started by the arrest of Rosa Parks on 1 December 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott was a 13-month protest that ended with the U. S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.At one point in time, 90 percent of African American bus riders were choosing to walk. The bus boycott demonstrated nonviolent protest to successfully challenge racial segregation and was an example for other campaigns that followed. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , being the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, spoke to many about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, commonly expressing that, ‘‘I want it to be known that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city†.The bus boycott was followed by a similar judgment concerning interstate buses. However, states in the Deep South continued their own policy of transport segregation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also requ ired employers to give equal employment opportunities. The Civil Rights Act also attempted to deal with the problem of African Americans being denied the vote in the Deep South.The legislation stated it must prevail for establishing the right to vote. Schooling to sixth grade constituted legal proof of literacy and the attorney general was given power to give legal action in any area that they found resistance to the law. These three things impacted American history and all strengthened a complete integration that many during this time were moving toward. Without these, who knows where the U. S. would be at, in terms of racial issues, today? Civil Rights Movement CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT The civil rights movement in America had a wide variety of successes over time. As successful as they were, all went through their share of hardships and struggles. Major desegregation acts in history include Brown vs, Board of Education, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and the Civil Rights Act of 1957. These events changed life for African Americans to come. In the early 1950's, racial segregation in public schools was the norm across America. Although all the schools in a given district were supposed to be equal, most black schools were inferior to their white counterparts.Brown vs. Board of Education was a decision of the US Supreme Court in 1954 that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students was unconstitutional. It was a giant step towards complete desegregation of public schools. However, even partial desegregation of these schools, was still very far away. Started by the arrest of Rosa Parks on 1 December 1955, the Montgomery bus boycott was a 13-month protest that ended with the U. S. Supreme Court ruling that segregation on public buses is unconstitutional.At one point in time, 90 percent of African American bus riders were choosing to walk. The bus boycott demonstrated nonviolent protest to successfully challenge racial segregation and was an example for other campaigns that followed. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. , being the president of the Montgomery Improvement Association, spoke to many about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, commonly expressing that, ‘‘I want it to be known that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city†.The bus boycott was followed by a similar judgment concerning interstate buses. However, states in the Deep South continued their own policy of transport segregation. The 1964 Civil Rights Act made racial discrimination in public places, such as theaters, restaurants and hotels, illegal. It also requ ired employers to give equal employment opportunities. The Civil Rights Act also attempted to deal with the problem of African Americans being denied the vote in the Deep South.The legislation stated it must prevail for establishing the right to vote. Schooling to sixth grade constituted legal proof of literacy and the attorney general was given power to give legal action in any area that they found resistance to the law. These three things impacted American history and all strengthened a complete integration that many during this time were moving toward. Without these, who knows where the U. S. would be at, in terms of racial issues, today?

Dells Marketing Case, Dillema

How would you describe Dell's current distinctive competencies? What other potential sources of distinctive competency might Dell work to develop? Answer: According to the case, Dell's Current distinctive competencies are: ; â€Å"Mass customization†; by focusing on this strategy (which they followed as their core differentiation strategy), Dell has successfully been able to transform the way consumers shop for technology. Customer could place customized orders for their PC's according to their unique needs and wants.Which at that time seemed to be a very attractive, innovative and hence successful strategy. However while concentrating too much on its distinctive strategy of mass customization for too long, Dell gravely failed to adapt to the changing world of technology which opportunity was promptly grabbed by its current and emerging competitors like HP, Sony, Leaner, Apple and others. They quickly managed to reap the benefits of the fast growing market for technological p roducts like PC's and notebooks. Direct Sales Channel- Dell has proved to be extremely successful at coming up with a very efficient and smart supply chain, by making Its customers able to place orders for their PC's online, wrought e commerce. Dell used direct sales via Internet, whereas traditional PC manufacturers previously assembled PC's to make them ready for purchase at retail stores. Thus, Dell enjoyed early-to-market advantage. This eliminated the need for retailers that would add unnecessary time and cost for Dell and Dell has enjoyed this competency for a pro-longed period of time. Dell's cost efficiency: Dell was able to provide PC's at a low cost for quite a period of time, until paying a low price for a standard PC was no more attracting the potential customers who were rather lured y the more technologically advanced products offered by Dell's competitors like Hewlett-Packard. However continuing with its cost cutting strategy cost them their customers in later years w hen HP emerged as the market leader and attracted all the consumers and business clients to themselves.Moreover, Dell's extremely efficient supply chain management aided In keeping Its costs low and hence being cost effective. Dell's strong market position due to its strong brand value as one of the top 100 brands In the world (In the IT systems market), provided It with a competitive advantage. Dell has a strong market presence in IT systems market. Despite losing market share to other players in the recent past, Dell continues to remain a strong player in the IT systems market.In the fast growing market for technological products Dell should have obviously gone for innovating their product lines. Dell should go for product development. It might work to launch faster and more attractive versions of PC's and laptops. Most Importantly Its marketing strategy should be changed, In order to reap benefits from Its distinctive competencies. Being Innovative could have obviously paid off a s a good extinctive competency, because then competitors like HP and Apple would get as much opportunity to grab the market share.Moreover, Dell could go for making ‘OFF silent changes In Its organizational culture Day encouraging Its employees to De more creative and to think out of the box so as to get rid of the monotonous feeling in them which would also enhance the productivity and would obviously spread a good word of mouth regarding Dell as a â€Å"ready to innovate and serve company', which would work as another great distinctive competency. Question 2) Dell is currently engaged in a cost leadership strategy. If Dell decided to move more toward a differentiation strategy, what might be some sources of differentiation Dell could explore?Answer 2: Emphasizing on the cost leadership strategy for too long has caused Dell to lose it market share and not to mention has lead it to earning lower profits. That's because the same strategy would not work forever. Dell has not ex plored in serving their customers with variety in their offerings for PC's and notebooks, neither did it do much to upgrade its features and technology. Dell has not re-invested any of its profits into going for a different racketing strategy other than cost leadership.A differentiation strategy incorporates the development of a product or service so that it can offer a customer perceived uniqueness in the marketplace that seems to be better than or different from the products of the competition. Dell has to focus more on providing additional value for their customers if they want to differentiate their brand form the others in the market, to do so, they have to address their customers not yet raised demand for new technology say for example, delight their customers by offering new software and applications for their PC's.Dell can also go for sales promotion; that is they can provide short term offers where they would be providing free upgrades for software in their current customer s' PC's and offer discounts on certain software Just so as to attract their customers' lost interest. Launching and promoting different complimentary products made by Dell can be a good idea to enhance the sales of Dell PC's.For instance if Dell came up with a product line for gaming computers, to attract a certain segment of its potential clients, and along with that if it issued games made by Dell one of which would be provided for free with the gaming PC's, it loud be a great way of differentiating their brand as â€Å"innovative† in the mind of customer, especially since no other competitor at that time came up with gaming PC'S. Question 3: According to Nations Product-Market expansion grid which strategy is applicable for Dell computer's offerings?Explain the strategy in your own words in the context of the case. Answer 3: Nations model is based upon four types of strategies which are; market penetration strategy, market development strategy, product development strategy and diversification strategy. The diagram below illustrates the Nations Product-Market expansion grid. In my opinion, Dell should primarily go for product development strategy and then market development strategy. By going for product development strategy, Dell would be issuing new, developed and modified versions of its products.By doing so, Dell can show it to the industry that they are all ready to launch innovative products and solutions for their clients both Business and consumer. Moreover given the strong and well established brand name Dell has, it would not be a problem to beat its competitors Like HP, IT Dell can offer new Ana developed products to Its customers. For example by considering software as an product/service to offer, Dell can assemble a services portfolio that would include e-mail disaster recovery, spam/virus filtering and archiving via its Message acquisition.Moreover Dell can come up new models of its PC, and notebook, more lighter ones, faster ones, PC's specially made for gaming, and PC's which are specially made lighter and smaller for office going executives and students. Just like Google developed a new browser Chrome for the existing Internet user. Going for a market penetration strategy would be bad session for Dell since it has proved to be a failure Just because it refused to be innovative about its products and was only focusing on a single strategy of â€Å"mass customization†.However, Dell can also go for a market development strategy if that is feasible giving the transportation and set up costs associated with setting up business and dealerships in developing countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh, or it can focus on a different demography, like the elderly people; by creating easy to use and simple light laptops for them, which they can also afford with a little portion of their savings.

Pascal's Wager Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pascal's Wager - Essay Example Pascal's Penses, then, is totally different from conventional reasoning since it endeavors to provide practical reasons for belief in God. Taking the gambler's parlance, Pascal is saying that one should "wager that God exists because it is our best bet (Hajek). According to Ryan (1994), this line of reasoning has roots in the writings of Plato, Arnobius, Lactantius. Pascal's wager, in a nutshell, is: if you believe in God and he does not exist, you share the same fate as those who do not believe in God - death. However, if He does exist, you stand to gain salvation, while the unbeliever still faces a static destiny - death. So the believer, technically, has nothing to lose and all to gain, while the unbeliever whether right or not about his or her wager will only face death in the end. Therefore it is only logical to wager on the choice that makes the most sense - belief in God. It, in a sense is a philosophical win-win situation. Pascal maintains that we are incapable of knowing whether God exists or not, yet we must "wager" one way or the other. Reason cannot settle which way we should incline, but a consideration of the relevant outcomes supposedly can. Pascal's line of reasoning is intriguing.

Finance Project Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Finance Project - Research Paper Example Despite such universal nature of the banking, there are still key differences between the banking systems of the world. Banking in Switzerland is considered as one of the most sophisticated and neutral banking systems in the world. Due to the overall protection and security offered to the customers under the Swiss laws, Swiss banks have proved one of the most preferred destinations for the global funds. US banking system on the other hand is regulated both at the State and Federal level and is considered as one of the most transparent and opens banking systems in the world. US banking system are relatively different from the Swiss banking system because of the overall nature of the regulations as well as the essential nature and characteristics of the system. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between the US and Swiss banking system. Swiss Banking System Swiss Banking system is one of the oldest banking systems in the world and is famous for keeping the secrecy of its clients intact. Thus till now one of the prominent features of banking system in Switzerland is its ability to keep the identity of its customers as secret under the laws. This element of the banking system however, has its roots in the first part of the 20th century when in order to protect the money of German Jews from Nazis. Apart from this, its constitutional requirement that the individual liberty and privacy of the individuals to be kept according to the wishes of the individuals. Thus the overall notion of secrecy within the banking system of the country is exactly according to the laid down constitutional requirements of the country. It is also because of this reason that Swiss Banks issue numbered accounts thus protecting the names of the individuals and as per law all the bankers are required to remain silent about their customers. Thus one of the critical aspects of the Swiss Banking system is the issuance of the numbered accounts to the account holders in order to protect their secrecy and privacy. (Gumbel) Another important feature of Swiss banking is its ability to offer the universal banking services- a concept which was adapted little late by other countries including US. Under the universal banking services, Swiss banks offer almost all the services to their customers besides offering the traditional secrecy and protection to the customers. Universal banking services included services which are not only traditional like deposits as well as lending but also include other services such as investment advice, insurance as well as financial planning services, asset management services as well as other allied services.1 Though the universal banking services have now been adapted by most of the countries however, Swiss banks pioneered in developing the universal banking services in the world. Unlike other countries, Banks in Switzerland are not directly controlled by the central bank of the country. However, most of the banks in the country ar e regulated and controlled through Swiss Financial Market Supervisory authority which is a separate authority from the central bank of the country. It is also important to note that the Swiss banking system is also famous for its overall lending techniques and the quality of the loans. Swiss banks are considered as soundest banks in the world due to their overall practices and the way they lend to their borrowers.

Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 15

Leadership - Essay Example Just as with any other business, the school’s primary objective is to improve the quality of education since the business centers on the provision of education services. This way, the capacity of the school improves. As indicated, a principle is both a leader and a manager. This requires the new principle to adopt management and leadership theories that change the performance of the school within the shortest time possible. Among the vital aspects of management in the facility is human resource management. The members of staff are the primary resources at the facility and therefore require effective management in order to improve the performance of the school. However, the analysis of the forty-one member staff portrays a grim picture of the schools future. Among the first management operations, that the new principle must carry out is employee evaluation. The evaluation will help the manager make appropriate decisions on the management of the school. As the study portrays, some of the teachers are unmotivated while others have no expertise. The staff assessment will help the principle determine the appropriate number of teachers to retain. The new principle must inherit a lean and equally efficient staff. Efficiency of the staff relies on their level of motivation and enthusiasm. Those who the analysis proved to lack expertise must quit the facility while the rest must promise to work efficiently. Management theory of leadership is the most appropriate in the circumstance. The theory centers on the roles of employee supervision, group performance and employee motivation among many other vital features of an organization. The theory dictates that the leader must have absolute understanding of employee psychology in order to formulate and implement policies that will steer growth and prosperity in the organization. Among the vital employee, motivational theories that

Week 3 Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Week 3 Assignment - Essay Example The book ‘Global issues in intellectual property law’ is a section of the GLOBAL ISSUES SERIES. Every book in the series has materials designed to assist the introduction of transnational, international, and comparative legal issues into courses of some schools. The aim of the series is to guarantee that every student has an adequate familiarity with the effect of non-domestic basis of law, and the increasing potential for transnational legal disputes and transactions, to work in this era of increasing globalization. Additionally, introduction of transnational, international and comparative law information can enhance a student’s comprehension of domestic law. The book is very important to this paper since it offers additional information pertaining to domestic laws on intellectual property. The book provides information on current issues in regard to intellectual property. Hansen, S., & VanFleet, J. (2003). Traditional Knowedge and Intellectual Property: A Handbook on Issues and Options for Traditional Knowledge Holders in Protecting their Intellectual Property and Maintaining Biological

Strategic Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

Strategic Analysis - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that technological intervention has broken all geographical barriers thereby shrinking the world into a small global village. This has increased the level of competition in the markets since companies have to compete with local, as well as foreign brands. In such competitive times, information bears great relevance for any organization since it provides the basis for effective decision making and strategic analysis. It is a thing of the past when managers developed long terms goals and relied on their luck to attain success. The modern competitive times require proactive strategic analysis that caters the changes in the internal as well as external environments. The domain of strategic analysis provides the guiding principles and approaches to survive in the competitive world and attain success. Earlier, organizations developed a source of competitive advantage and simply had to defend the respective product or service against any probable replacements. In the modern markets, there exists no such thing as finding a competitive advantage and sticking to it. Dynamism tends to benefit more than rigidity. Kathwala stated that companies need to ensure that they perform comprehensive strategic analysis and adopt strategic flexibility so that they are able to reallocate their focus from one domain to the other to cater to the frequent changes in customers’ demands.

If The Launching Of Wal-Mart Organic Product Line May Fail Essay

If The Launching Of Wal-Mart Organic Product Line May Fail - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the benefits of consuming organic foods as opposed to processed items have been acknowledged by a significant faction of society and this notion has gradually progressed into becoming common knowledge there are certain limitations with regard to the consumption of organic foods which potentially restrict buyers from purchasing products which fall under this category. As reported by Charles, the single most significant factor, in this case, is related with the relatively high costs of organic foods which essentially deter the masses from declining to consume processed items which possess a much lower price tag. Moreover, other aspects that can be linked with this prevalent issue are linked to the distribution of organic foods and the inadequacy of current distribution channels that do not fall under the scope of mass retailing. Given the development of the existing scenario, the purpose of this analysis is to examine Wal-Mart’s prospects in the organ ic foods industry by applying the recommendations of Porter’s 5 Forces strategic tool to comprehend the state of the industry in a more comprehensive manner and present pertinent recommendations to the company for achieving future success. The arrival of Wal-Mart in the organic foods market could not be retained for a significant period of time because the company was forced to approve the closure of its organic foods brand by 2007. Thus, as a consequence of this action critics and industry analysts began to raise the question as to whether the mass retailer possesses the capability to make organic food cheap and affordable for the mass market that it serves. As noted previously, the factor of high pricing remains one of the most important considerations with regard to the notion of popularizing organic food consumption amongst the larger population. Thus, gaining an advantage by enhancing cost efficiency can be deemed as one of the most critical factors for acquiring success in the market. Secondly, it is also important to understand those customer motivations for paying more for organic foods must be recognized and highlighted to comprehend the demands of the audience and address them accordingly.

The Use of Social Media on Small and Medium Hospitality Enterprise Essay

The Use of Social Media on Small and Medium Hospitality Enterprise - Essay Example Moreover, all the bedrooms and other hospitality services of the organizations are highly decorated that would attract the tourists at large. It is also observed that High Beeches is one of such SMTEs, which extensively used the notion of social media in order to generate greater awareness about is respective products and/or services to the worldwide customers. Besides this, the organization has also undertaken the strategy of promoting its products and/or services by selling and distributing through Trip Advisors and others. Contextually, in order to undergo a successful study of the topic with regards to High Beeches B&B as the organization, a literature review is performed through the support of relevant and recent scholarly articles. Furthermore, a case study of the selected SMTE i.e. High Beeches B&B is conducted by using the approach of qualitative methodology with the greater focus on secondary sources. In this regard, for the successful completion of the case study, the current scenario of the SMTE has been comprehensively studied. It also includes the identification of the problems faced by the SMTE relating to the use of social media for promoting its respective products and/or services. Finally, certain effective solutions have also been framed for resolving such problems in the form of providing recommendations and a valid conclusion has been made in the lasts section pertaining to the case study. In this modern era of a competitive business environment and the evolution of pioneering technological advancements with regards to communication, it is often observed that a majority of the corporate houses of this contemporary world use social media networking sites to promote their respective products and/or services. The use of social media for promoting the products is equally applicable for the SMTEs.

What Are Good Industrial Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What Are Good Industrial Relations - Essay Example Industrial relations involve efforts to create workable solutions between conflicting objectives and values, between incentive and economic security, discipline and industrial democracy, authority and freedom, and between bargaining and cooperation (â€Å"Industrial Relations†, 2012). They not only affect the interests of labor and management but also the economy addressed by the government. They denote matters such as the right to organize, freedom of association, and collective bargaining and arbitration between various levels of the economy (Sivarethinamohma, 2010). As seen in the above definitions, industrial relations are chiefly the relations between employers and employees, reflecting the outcome of human resources management. Their main emphasis is to accommodate the interests of other parties and maintain a harmony through problem solving between employers and employees. Industrial relations are governed by policies, rules, regulations, agreements, mediations, acts an d awards concerning workplace and working community. Industrial relations analysts have described three major theoretical approaches that are different in explaining and analyzing relations at workplaces. These are pluralist theory, unitarism, and radical perspectives. Each one provides a unique understanding of relations at workplaces and therefore, uniquely interprets factors such as conflicts, the role of trade unions, and work regulation (Barbash & Barbash,

Managing financial resources and decisions JS and CO

Managing financial resources and decisions JS and CO JS and co is a medium sized retailer formed by two partners, James and Sainsbury, who are running it in the UK since 1869. The retailer specializes in quality food products but it sells other non-food products as well. This company got very good success in the market from the past three years. During this discussion we are going to discuss about this company sources of finance, finance as a source, financial decisions, and financial performance. The broad view of this company in our discussion: P1 (sources of Finance) P2 (Finance as a resource) P3 (Financial decisions) P4 (Financial performance) P1 (SOURCES OF FINANCE) IDENTIFY THE SOURCES OF FINANCE AVAILABLE TO THE BUSINESS When a company is growing rapidly, for example when contemplating investment in capital equipment, its current financial resources may be inadequate. Few growing companies are able to finance their expansion plans from cash flow alone. They will therefore need to consider raising finance from other external sources. In addition, managers who are looking to buy-in to a business or buy-out a business from its owners may not have the resources to acquire the company. They will need to raise finance to achieve their objectives. There are a number of potential sources of finance to meet the needs of a growing business Existing shareholders and directors funds Business angels Clearing banks (overdrafts, short or medium term loans) Factoring and invoice discounting Hire purchase and leasing Venture capital A key consideration in choosing the source of new business finance is to strike a balance between equity and debt to ensure the funding structure suits the business. The main differences between borrowed money (debt) and equity are that bankers request interest payments and capital repayments, and the borrowed money is usually secured on business assets or the personal assets of shareholders and/or directors. A bank also has the power to place a business into administration or bankruptcy if it defaults on debt interest or repayments or its prospects decline. ASSESSING THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIFFERENT SOURCES. Financial institutions that transcend national boundaries and engage in such activities as extensive inter bank contracts, over-the-counter derivatives contracts, quit, bond, and syndicated loan issuance, and trading activities globally has led to stronger interconnections, innovation, and growth. While tighter interdependencies can increase the efficiency of the global financial system by smoothing credit allocation and risk diversification, they have also increased the potential for cross-market and cross-border disruptions to spread swiftly. In addition, financial innovations have enabled risk transfers that were not fully recognized by financial regulators and institutions themselves, and have complicated the assessment of counterparty risk, risk management, and policy responses. Although linkages across institutions have traditionally focused on solvency concerns, the current crisis reminds us of the relevance of liquidity spillovers, specifically that (1) Interconnectedness means difficulties in rolling over liabilities may spill over to the financial system as a whole; and that (2) Rollover risk associated with short-term liabilities is present not only in the banking sector but, equally importantly, in the nonblank financial sector. Thus, it is essential to improve our understanding and monitoring of direct and indirect financial systemic linkages, including by strengthening techniques to assess systemic link-ages, and thereby contribute to making systemic-focused supervision feasible. Four complementary approaches to assess financial sector systemic linkages and focuses on this definition of systemic risk: 2 The network approach The co-risk model The distress dependence matrix The default intensity model CHOOSING THE APPROPRIATE SOURCE OF FINANCE FOR THE BUSINESS. There are a number of ways of raising finance for a business. The type of finance chosen depends on the nature of the business. Large organizations are able to use a wider variety of finance sources than are smaller ones. Savings are an obvious way of putting money into a business. A small business can also borrow from families and friends. In contrast, companies raise finance by issuing shares. Large companies often have thousands of different shareholders. To gain extra finance a business can take out a loan from a bank or other financial institution. A loan is a sum of money lent for a given period of time. Repayment is made with interest. The lender of money needs to know all the business opportunities and risks involved and will therefore want to see a detailed business plan. The lender may also want some form of security should the business run into financial difficulty, and may therefore prefer to provide a secured loan. Another way of raising short-term finance is through an overdraft facility with a bank. The borrower is given permission to take out more from their account than they have put in. The bank fixes a maximum limit for the overdraft. Interest is charged on the overdraft daily. Businesses may also qualify for grants. Government and private funds are sometimes made available to businesses that meet certain conditions. For example, grants and loans may be available to firms setting up in rural areas or where there is high unemployment. Out comes: By this module I understood the different long term and short term sources of finance with the implications of choice of one source over the other and any advantages and disadvantages of sources different sources of finance. P2 (FINANCE AS A RESOURCE) ASSESS AND COMPARE THE COSTS OF ABOVE MENTIONED SOURCES OF FINANCE. A company might raise new funds from the following sources: The capital markets: i) New share issues, for example, by companies acquiring a stock market listing for the first time ii) Rights issues  · Loan stock  · Retained earnings  · Bank borrowing  · Government sources  · Business expansion scheme funds  · Venture capital  · Franchising. Ordinary (equity) shares Ordinary shares are issued to the owners of a company. They have a nominal or face value, typically of $1 or 50 cents. The market value of a quoted companys shares bears no relationship to their nominal value, except that when ordinary shares are issued for cash, the issue price must be equal to or be more than the nominal value of the shares. Deferred ordinary shares Are a form of ordinary shares, which are entitled to a dividend only after a certain date or if profits rise above a certain amount. Voting rights might also differ from those attached to other ordinary shares. Ordinary shareholders put funds into their company: a) By paying for a new issue of shares b) through retained profits. New shares issues A company seeking to obtain additional equity funds may be: a) An unquoted company wishing to obtain a Stock Exchange quotation b) An unquoted company wishing to issue new shares, but without obtaining a Stock Exchange quotation c) A company which is already listed on the Stock Exchange wishing to issue additional new shares. EXPLAINING THE IMPORTANCE OF FINANCIAL PLANNING Financial planning it is a process which presents before an individual, organization or even a country, the current financial position and the adjustments in the spending pattern, in order to meet the goals. Importance of Financial Planning It is important to plan finances in order to reap long term benefits through the assets in hand. The investments that one makes are structured properly and managed by professionals through financial planning. Every decision regarding our finances can be monitored if a proper plan is devised in advance. The following points explain why financial planning is important. Cash Flow: Financial planning helps in increasing cash flow as well as monitoring the spending pattern. The cash flow is increased by undertaking measures such as tax planning, prudent spending and careful budgeting. Capital: A strong capital base can be built with the help of efficient financial planning. Thus, one can think about investments and thereby improve his financial position. Income: It is possible to manage income effectively through planning. Managing income helps in segregating it into tax payments, other monthly expenditures and savings. Family Security: Financial planning is necessary from the point of view of family security. The various policies available in the market serve the purpose of financially securing the family. Investment: A proper financial plan that considers the income and expenditure of a person helps in choosing the right investment policy. It enables the person to reach the set goals. DESCRIBE THE INFORMATION NEEDS OF DIFFERENT DECISION MAKERS. Commonly used indicators such as the gross national product (GNP) and measurements of individual resource or pollution flows do not provide adequate indications of sustainability. Methods for assessing interactions between different sectoral environmental, demographic, social and developmental parameters are not sufficiently developed or applied. Indicators of sustainable development need to be developed to provide solid bases for decision-making at all levels and to contribute to a self-regulating sustainability of integrated environment and development systems. (a) To achieve more cost-effective and relevant data collection and assessment by better identification of users, in both the public and private sectors, and of their information needs at the local, provincial, national and international levels; (b) To strengthen local, provincial, national and international capacity to collect and use multicultural information in decision-making processes and to enhance capacities to collect and analyze data and information for decision-making, particularly in developing countries; (c) To develop or strengthen local, provincial, national and international means of ensuring that planning for sustainable development in all sectors is based on timely, reliable and usable information; (d) To make relevant information accessible in the form and at the time required to facilitate its use. DESCRIBE THE IMPACT OF FINANCE ON THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. Financial statements (or financial reports) are formal records of the financial activities of a business, person, or other entity. All the relevant financial information of a business enterprise presented in a structured manner and in a form easy to understand, is called the financial statements. There are four basic financial statements: Balance sheet: also referred to as statement of financial position or condition, reports on a companys assets, liabilities, and Ownership equity at a given point in time. Income statement: also referred to as Profit and Loss statement (or a PL), reports on a companys income, expenses, and profits over a period of time. Profit Loss account provide information on the operation of the enterprise. These include sale and the various expenses incurred during the processing state. Statement of retained earnings: explains the changes in a companys retained earnings over the reporting period. Statement of cash flows: reports on a companys cash flow activities, particularly its operating, investing and financing activities. For large corporations, these statements are often complex and may include an extensive set of notes to the financial statements and management discussion and analysis. The notes typically describe each item on the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement in further detail. Notes to financial statements are considered an integral part of the financial statements. Outcome: By this module, I identify the costs of finance as a resource, how to make up a budget on the basis of given information and implication of failure to finance adequately. P3 (FINANCIAL DECISIONS) ANALYZE BUDGETS AND MAKE APPROPRIATE DECISIONS How much unbudgeted downside risk you should manage Worst-case scenario (given catastrophic losses) vs. regret The value (and cost) of compliance with regulations (for example, SOX) Real Options: The Value of Midcourse Corrections to Projects One of the fundamental insights of modern financial theory is that options have value. The phrase We are out of options is surely a sign of trouble. However, because corporations (and other organizations) make decisions in a dynamic environment, they usually have midcourse options that should be considered in project valuations: The Option to Abandon a project: Has value if return (or savings) turns out to be lower than expected The Option to Expand a project: Has value if return (or savings) turns out to be higher than expected The Option to Delay a project: Has value if the underlying variables are changing with a favorable trend The Option to Outsource a project: Has value if internal resources dont have required experience and expertise In practice, companies sometimes have other choices. They can delay the decision until later, when more information is available. Or, they can call in outside help, even after having deciding not to do so at the outset. Such investment timing options can dramatically affect a projects estimated mean NPV and risk. Projects that can easily be modified in these ways are more valuable than those that do not provide such flexibility. The more uncertain the outlook, the more valuable this flexibility becomes. CALCULATE UNIT COSTS AND MAKE PRICING DECISIONS USING RELEVANT INFORMATION. Defining Costs There are several types of costs to consider when conducting a breakeven analysis, so heres a refresher on the most relevant. Fixed costs: These are costs that are the same regardless of how many items you sell. All start-up costs, such as rent, insurance and computers, are considered fixed costs since you have to make these outlays before you sell your first item. Variable costs: These are recurring costs that you absorb with each unit you sell. Setting a Price This is critical to your breakeven analysis; you cant calculate likely revenues if you dont know what the unit price will be. Psychology of Pricing: Pricing can involve a complicated decision-making process on the part of the consumer, and there is plenty of research on the marketing and psychology of how consumers perceive price. Take the time to review articles on pricing strategy and the psychology of pricing before choosing how to price your product or service. Pricing Methods: There are several different schools of thought on how to treat price when conducting a breakeven analysis. It is a mix of quantitative and qualitative factors. The formula: Dont worry, its fairly simple. To conduct your breakeven analysis, take your fixed costs, divided by your price, minus your variable costs. As an equation, this is defined as: Breakeven Point = Fixed Costs/(Unit Selling Price Variable Costs) This calculation will let you know how many units of a product youll need to sell to break even. Above the breakeven point, every additional unit sold increases profit by the amount of the unit contribution margin, which is defined as the amount each unit contributes to covering fixed costs and increasing profits. As an equation, this is defined as: ASSESS THE VIABILITY OF A PROJECT USING INVESTMENT APPRAISAL TECHNIQUES. Learning Outcome Assessment Criteria 1. Understand the nature of accounting, accountability and stewardship within a business environment Understand the nature and purpose of book-keeping and accounting and the difference between them. Be able to: Explain the difference between book-keeping, financial accounting and management accounting. Identify different stakeholders and their interest in the financial position of the business. Explain how accounting can be used for planning, decision making and control. Be able to: Identify and describe the fundamental accounting concepts of going concern, accruals, consistency, prudence and true and fair. Identify the key elements of financial statements (income, expenses, assets, liabilities, capital) and describe their relationship using the accounting equation. 1. Understand the nature of accounting, accountability and stewardship within a business environment (continued) Identify the main financial statements and explain how they are compiled (Profit and Loss Account, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Statement). Describe how financial accounts are regulated using accounting standards. 2. Understand how financial statements can be analysed and interpreted to judge the performance of a business Understand how financial statements can be analysed and interpreted using ratio analysis so that stakeholders can judge the performance of a business. Be able to: Identify likely users of ratio analysis and explain how they might use the information. Calculate and interpret profitability ratios (gross profit, net profit, ROCE, asset turnover). Calculate and interpret liquidity ratios (current ratio, acid test ratio, debtor days, creditor days, stock turnover days). Calculate and interpret investment ratios (gearing, interest cover, simple EPS) Use ratio analysis to make comparisons between one business over time, two businesses or to compare results to industry standards. Explain the benefits and limitations of ratio analysis. 3. Understand the importance of working capital maintenance (continued) Explain how creditors can be used as a source of finance and identify the costs of trade credit. Explain how the elements of working capital can be managed effectively to minimise borrowing and its associated costs. Understand how a cash flow forecast can be used to predict and manage future working capital requirements. Be able to: Distinguish between cash and profit. Identify and understand the implications of non-cash accounting adjustments such as depreciation and provision for bad debts. Prepare a simple cash flow forecast and identify periods of cash excess or cash shortage. 4. Identify and assess different sources of funding available for business Understand that there are a range of sources of finance available for businesses and those different types of finance are suitable for different purposes. 5. Understand and distinguish between costs based on their behaviour Understand that costs can be classified in different ways based on their behaviour. Outcome: By this module I able to understand the different investment appraisal techniques and nature of long-term decisions. P4 (FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE) EXPLAIN THE PURPOSE OF MAIN FINANCIAL STATEMENTS The three main financial statements are: The balance sheet-which reports a corporations assets, liabilities, and stockholders equity as of a point-in-time (e.g., as of midnight of December 31, 2009). The income statement-which reports a corporations revenues and expenses for a period of time, such as a year, quarter, month, 52 weeks, 13 weeks, etc. The statement of cash flows (or cash flow statement)-which provides information on the change in a corporations cash and cash equivalents during the same period of time as the income statement. The financial statements that are distributed outside of a company need to be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). For example, the cost principle generally requires that the balance sheet should report long-lived assets at cost minus accumulated depreciation. The matching principle requires that the cost of long-lived assets used in the business be allocated to various accounting periods in which they generate revenues or are used up. ANALYSES FINANCIAL STATEMENTS USING APPROPRIATE RATIONS AND COMPARISONS, BOTH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL. 1. CURRENT RATIO OR WORKING CAPITAL RATIO: Current ratio may be defined as the relationship between current assets and current liabilities it is also known as working capital ratio. Current assets CURRENT RATIO = Current liabilities Year ended 2007-08 2006-07 2005-06 2004-05 2003-04 Current assets(in crores) 913.27 2333 1614 1171 913.27 Current liabilities(in crores) 1479 994 475 336 213 Ratio 0.62 2.347 3.397 3.485 4.132 Interpretation: A current ratio of 2:1 is usually considered as ideal. If it is less than 2, then it means the company is not enjoying the adequate liquidity. In past five years it shows a decline in the ratios. 2. QUICK RATIO: Formula = Current Assets Inventory Prepaid Expenses Current Liabilities Interpretation: A quick ratio of 1 is considered ideal. In all the five years, it was above 1, where the funds can be properly employed. LEVERAGE RATIOS 1. DEBT EQUITY RATIO: Debt-equity ratio, also known as External-Internal ratio is calculated to measure the relative claims of outsiders and the owners (i.e., shareholders) against the firms assets. This ratio indicates the relationship between the external equities or the outsiders funds and the internal equities or the share holders funds. Interpretation: A DEBT EQUITY RATIO OS 2:1 IS IDEAL. IN 2004-06 THERE IS NO DEBT EQUITY RATIO. IN 2007 AN 2008 IT SHOWED A NEGLIGIBLE VALUE. 2. PROPRIETORY RATIO: It is the ratio between shareholders equity and Total Assets. Formula= Shareholders Equity Total Assets YEAR SHAREHOLDERS EQUITY TOTAL ASSETS RATIO 2004 125.34 1309 0.095 2005 140.71 1651 0.085 2006 285.15 2257 0.126 2007 291.80 3389 0.086 2008 298.65 3987 0.074 Interpretation: A higher the proprietary ratio the better it is In all the five years it is less than one. It shows weak financial position of the business. 3. INTEREST COVERAGE RATIO: It is the ratio between EBIT and Interest Formula = EBIT Interest YEAR EBIT INTEREST RATIO 2004 355 2005 410 2006 499 1 499 2007 693 6 115.5 2008 834 13 64.15 Interpretation: The higher interest coverage ratio the better it is. In 2004 there is no interest coverage ratio. In 2006, 2007 2008 it showed a heavy ration which indicates a greater safety of Out come: By this I understood the basis business and accounting terminology used and should be able to interpret the information collected from financial statements using ratio analysis and could draw conclusions from it. CONCLUSIONS By this module I understood the different long term and short term sources of finance with the implications of choice of one source over the other and any advantages and disadvantages of sources different sources of finance. By this module I identify the costs of finance as a resource, how to make up a budget on the basis of given information and implication of failure to finance adequately. By this module I able to understand the different investment appraisal techniques and nature of long-term decisions. By this I understood the basis business and accounting terminology used and should be able to interpret the information collected from financial statements using ratio analysis and could draw conclusions from it.

Challenges in Workplace Communication

Challenges in Workplace Communication Anjeshni 1.0 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The main purpose of this report writing is to find out about communication and communication challenges that are faced by different people in their workplace. Our major focuses was on business house based in South Auckland. This was made possible by conducting interviews on three different people working for different companies and doing various research. After completion of this research it was easier to know how communication challenges are faced by people in their workplace and how problem can be solved. To start off on our research a request letter for interview was send to three different people working for three different business. This was done to find out communication challenges and strategic that are faced by people in their workplace. Time and date was set for an interview with them and interview was conducted with a set of questionnaire in relation to communication challenges at their respective workplace. The three different people that interview was conducted were Mrs Bikashni Prakash, Mr Romit Prakash and Ms Nicky. After the completion of interview thanks giving email were send to each one of them for giving their precious time and related information regarding communication challenges in their workplace. According to interview the most common communication barrier that was found in workplace were language barriers. As my interview environment was a supermarket and many customers that come in supermarket were of different races and not all of them know English. Some of the customers are from India and they speak Punjabi language so it becomes hard sometimes to communicate with them. The final step was to prepare report based on communication challenges and barriers that are faced at different workplaces with different people. Since communication is a vital part of any business it must be understand well by people a single breakdown in communication can lead to a big problem for a business. It is important for every individual in a business to know how to faced challenges. Table of Contents (Jump to) 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 COMUNICATION 2.1.1 Types of Communication 2.1.2 Advantages of Communication 2.1.3 Disadvantage of Communication 2.1.4 Communication Barriers 2.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE 2.3 OBJECTIVES 2.4 METHODOLOGY 3.0 FINDINGS 3.1 Candidate 1 Background 3.1.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplace 3.1.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problems 3.2 Candidate 2 – Background 3.2.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplaces 3.2.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problem 3.3 Candidate 3 – Background 3.3.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplaces 3.3.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problem 4.0 CONCLUSION 5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS 6.0 APPENDICES 2.0 INTRODUCTION 2.1 COMUNICATION Communication is transferring information from one place to another. Communication is a simple definition but how we communicates becomes a lot more complex. Proper communication leads to understanding of a situation. If there is a communication breakdown misunderstanding occurs which leads to problem in a business. The theory of a communication states that communication involves both sender and receiver passing information through communication channel. Communication channel is a way in which we communicate. It is important for a business to choose a proper communication channel since it has different strength and different weakness. Communication are always complex and it is a two way process. Communication in a business can be of two type internal and external. Internal communication occurs within a company among employees, between employers, supervisors and workers. External communication happens outside the company it mostly occurs between customer or clients, suppliers, governm ent department e.g. bank, IRD and with other companies and stakeholders. Therefore it is a must to have better understanding of a communication and its process. 2.1.1 Types of Communication Verbal communication that is spoken face to face or through telephone. Non-verbal communication it is how we present ourselves through body language. Written Communication through letters, emails, internet and media. Visualizations – graphics, charts, maps and logo. Five main purpose of communication are to inform, persuade, create goodwill instruct and to inspire. 2.1.2 Advantages of Communication It helps people manage and maintain organisational operations. Communication happens in may form and it is different means for different situation. Communication is used to become familiar which leads to friendship. This is good for company since it helps workers to work together by knowing each other’s strength and weakness. But sometimes this cause distraction workers spending time chatting which affects the production. 2.1.3 Disadvantage of Communication Conflict is the main problem by the use of communication employees may disagree and argue with each other and management on a situation. It can cause tension and can affect the production. Conflict happens in a company due to workers demand not met and misunderstanding between and among workers. 2.1.4 Communication Barriers â€Å"Communication barriers is anything that gets in the way of clear communication between sender and receiver.†(Sandra 2006). Barriers are the main cause of communication breakdown. There are different type of communication barriers. Physical Barriers this happens in many different forms. It can cause by phone, internet, communication distance and physical objects in the way of a sender and receiver. Other physical barriers which cause communication breakdown can be tiredness which cause difficult in concentrate. Hearing, sight and speech problem also environment problem that is how when and why we communicate. Lack of non-verbal information. Technology or medium that is what we used to communicate e.g. phone call or txt. Technical problem sometimes happen when phone line is not clear or network is down. Grammar, spelling punctuation and sentence structure it distracted attention from message. Also due to lack of visual clues in the telephone conversation when don’t know the age or what’s the other person state of mind or expression. Emotional barriers this takes place when we are upset, worried or sad and can miss what others are responding. Anger, embarrassment and fear are strong emotion which affects the communication. Often people don’t express their emotion because sometimes it makes others uncomfortable. Not expressing emotion is a barrier because it inhibits the development of relationships, trust and open communication. Defensive, negative or overly assertive also affects means we don’t pay attention to suggestion for improvement or by breaking others trust and be too self-confident and unaware of others needs and rights. Language based barriers this is most common. The main factor is not knowing the language. Since New Zealand in a country of multi race different people all over the world lives here and everyone doesn’t know others language so it becomes hard to communicate with them. The influence of one language to another some words in some languages look much alike but it has different mean in different language. The way we pronounce words and using idioms i.e. unusual or non-literal meaning we give to words that are in common usages this leads to misunderstanding. Different abilities with language due to education. Tone the way words are said and by using jargon technical terms. Psychological barriers this happens due to religion, politics and valves what an individual beliefs. Personality is the nature and character of individual and the experience. Lack of confidence and feedback that we don’t receive and attitude to communication or style e.g. some people are better in speech then writing. Gender and Culture major issues in communication. Gender is the differences between men and women their listen differently. Men listen for information and know what to do next whereas women listen for feelings and empathise. Women concentrate on relationship while men focuses on tasks. Culture has many influence and impact on communication due to difference in traditions and behaviours the way we met and greet with others. Understanding culture difference is important in business. Technology there are many benefit of technology such as texting on mobile, sending email using PowerPoint for presentation and internet for research but still there are effects of this on communication due to lack of feedback since technology is not available to everyone. 2.2 TERMS OF REFERENCE This assignment was given to us by our Business Communication tutor Mrs Sheetal Singh. This is part of our Business Communication 520 paper. The due date of this project is on Friday week 12. Interview was conducted with three different people working for three different organisation in order to find out communication challenges faced by them at their workplaces. 2.3 OBJECTIVES The main objectives of this assignment was to find out communication challenges that is faced by different people at their workplace in New Zealand. During this research it was also found out how communication barriers affect work of an individual and to find out how to overcome those problem in a workplace. 2.4 METHODOLOGY The method used in completing this assignment is by doing interview of three individual working for different organisation. Also assignment as completed by doing internet and text book research. 3.0 FINDINGS 3.1 Candidate 1 Background My first candidate was Mrs Bikashni Prakash. She works for Food for Less Supermarket as a Checkout Supervisor located at 64 Atkinson Avenue Otahuhu. For the past nine years she has been employed in this company and has been living in New Zealand for more than eleven years now. She is an Indo Fijian and speaks Fiji Hindi and English. There are roughly 30 employees working for Food for Less and age group of employees are from 20 – 50 years. Her duties includes managing checkout, doing customer service, dealing with customers and suppliers. During her work experience she has faced many problems regarding communication challenges and barriers. 3.1.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplace The main communication challenges faced by Mrs Bikashni Prakash in her workplaces were language barriers since she is working for a supermarket and many of the customers that comes in a supermarket are Indians from Fiji and India. They are from many different cultures and races. It is sometimes difficult to communicate with these customers because of the language since some Punjabi customers don’t know English and their Hindi is quite different from Fiji Hindi. 3.1.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problems Her problem was solved by one of the staff who is Punjabi she seek help from her understanding what the customer was saying. She mostly spend her time with her workmates to know about different language, socialise with different people. If she is not sure about something she always ask for feedback from her workmates and by listening properly to what customers are saying. 3.2 Candidate 2 – Background Mr Romit Prakash is a Director of Globex Importers and Exporters which is located at Atkinson Avenue Otahuhu and has been living in New Zealand for more than 15 years. Mr Prakash started his company five years ago. He is an Indo Fijian and his main language is English and Fiji Hindi. There are roughly 15 workers working for him and their age groups are between 20 to 40 years. His responsibility include managing overall company checking all the packing and delivery of items are done properly and on time, dealing with clients and suppliers. 3.2.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplaces The main communication challenges faced by Mr Prakash in his company were gender and culture barriers. People working in his company are from different races who are Indo Fijian and islanders. They have different cultural behaviour and the way sometimes the workers speak makes it hard for understanding. They tend to speak their own language and not adapt to others. Gender barriers also happen in Globex since both male and female works here. Other barriers that affect operation of Globex are language and technology problem. Since nowadays everything is done by machines but sometimes due to breakdown of machines lead to delay in packing and production. Language barriers also affect his workplace since all his staff are always talking in their mother tongue language affecting others as not all are able to understand. This tend to make other staffs think that they might be talk against them so discrimination becomes a factor from here amongst the workers. 3.2.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problem He resolved this communication barriers by letting his staff spending some time together during breaks to know about each other culture and language. To overcome gender issues in his workplace he divided different sections of packing room to males and females so that packing was done amongst and no time was wasted. Since male workers were able to lift heavy boxes for loading and offloading whereas females were doing packing, sealing and labelling of products dividing work equally To minimise challenges related to technology issues, it was a rule that no mobile phones were to be used during working hours. All mobiles had to be put in locker so that staff can concentrate on their work instead of diverting their mind elsewhere. And another solution he tried to implement was by regularly servicing of machines and having spare ones so that if one breakdowns other one is available and work wouldn’t stop. 3.3 Candidate 3 – Background Ms Nicky is a Manager at Super valve which is located at 29 -33 Hall Avenue Otahuhu and has been employed for 6years now. She is from India and has been living in New Zealand for almost 15 years. Her responsibility includes managing checkout operations, general running operations of the supermarket, dealing with staff’s relation matter, dealing with customers and supplies complaint. They are roughly about 30 staffs working for Super Valve and most of them are Punjabis from India. Few Islanders and Indo Fijian are also working whose age groups range from 20 to 50 years. 3.3.1 Communication Problems and Effect on Workplaces The main communication problems faced by Ms Nicky at Super valve is culture and language barriers. It is a multi-racial supermarket and it has different races of customers. Some are Islanders, Indians from Fiji and India, Kiwi and Europeans. Sometimes aged customers come to shop who are not able to speak English and communication problems arises there. Culture barriers are also happening since workers working are from different races. Technology barriers also occur sometimes as well as emotional barriers this happens when a checkout operator or customer service personal are upset or having some personal problem it directly affected their work in terms of not smiling to customers and talking to them. 3.3.2 Outcomes towards Communication Problem She tried hard to overcome this problem by letting staff spending sometimes together, socialising to know each other culture and language. Ms Nicky always tried to have back up system available in case of technology or machine breakdown. Counselling are also affordable so that sometimes if management feels that any workers are in some types of problem, trainings are provide of how to serve customers and be friendly to them. All this relates to having small workshops within the company   4.0 CONCLUSION To conclude this research communication challenges that are faced by people at their workplace are basically the same. The major communication barriers that people face are language barriers. Other barriers that are found in workplace are culture and gender barriers, technology and physical barriers. Language barriers are the most common barriers in my research with responding with all the candidates facing communication challenges at their workplace. This can happen between co-workers or with customers. Technology barriers takes place since not everyone’s educated and don’t have access to technology or may lack the confidence, experience and knowledge to use them e.g. in most supermarket EFTPOS machine are available but some customers don’t have the knowledge as to how to swipe the card or what function to use for which account. Culture and gender barriers this takes place because New Zealand is a multicultural country and everyone should have equal right. It is very much important to understand and respect each other cultures and races. Physical barriers takes place due breakdown of communication channel or not getting full and proper information. The impact of communication channels and barriers on workplace blocks understanding of messages in many different ways which affects both sender and receiver. Aware of barriers can help to avoid communication breakdown and less effect on communication problems. Secondly barriers can cause organisation to business, customers and reputation. Not proper communication can cause communication gaps and bring misunderstanding in an organisation. Lastly, employees should understand each other and their culture which can help to prevent arguments and fights and people using slangs language often can be offensive and can lead to affect others workers in particular workplace and customers. 5.0 RECOMMENDATIONS After compelling all the information gathered through interviews and research some of the recommendations that can be made to prevent communication barriers at workplace. Most of general communication barriers can be overcome with knowledge, sensitivity by understanding theory and monitoring your behaviour. Instead of using technology for communication in some case communicate face to face. Socialization of workers with each other should be done to learn about different language and others culture. Try to use body gestures if possible in communication if other parties can’t understand your language. By acting ethically, openly and honestly which can bring positive communication. â€Å"Treating others as you wish to be treated yourself ’’ (Sandra etal 2006). By increasing awareness we can help to elimate effects of emotionality. Try to being sensitive to one’s mood aware of how that might influence others before communication an important message. By creating an atmosphere where emotions will not come as a barrier and by giving constructive feedbacks. Pay attention what others are saying try to listen carefully. Communication should not take place under mental stress and by using appropriate language which is suitable for recipient. By developing good communications, skills can overcome the communication barriers by understanding the basic of communication skills knowing what communication really is. By having courage to say what you think be confident and doing practice to developed advanced communication skills. By engaging your audience by making eye contact, gestures and avoid sending mixed message. By using body language beware of what your body is saying and by development effective listening skills. When using verbal always try to speak clearly. 6.0 APPENDICES 3 Interview Letters 3 copies of emails 3 questionnaires

The Cause of the Potato Famine Essay -- Irish History, Starvation, Dis

During the Irish Potato Famine between 1845 to 1849 (McCarthy 88), one million people died within five years and an additional two million emigrated to other countries (â€Å"Ireland†). Even today Ireland has not completely recovered from this sudden loss in population (â€Å"Potatoes†). Although many blame this horrendous event on the government’s use of Laissez Faire Economics, the real cause of disaster was the people. The population loss, starvation, and diseases that resulted from the Irish Potato Famine were self- inflicted by the Irish peoples’ upcoming decisions to the event.  ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ireland was not of any interest to other countries, and in response these countries did not aid Ireland in its time of dire need. Countries had no concern in Ireland because it was an area of minimal development for industrialism (McCarthy 87). Also, Ireland had an absence of protection from invasions from other countries (McCarthy 87); one reason for this being that it is an island. Moreover, Ireland had an undeveloped amount of raw materials (McCarthy 87), which did not spark interest of speculation from others countries. Due to these two main factors, there was no investment in Ireland (McCarthy 87), which made the country isolated and unattended ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¬  ¬Ã‚ ¬ when help was needed. When the Potato Famine attacked Ireland, it mainly affected the western countries (McCarthy 88). The majority of the starvation was from the less wealthy regions of the country, such as Bonegal down to Cork (McCarthy 88).These areas main food source was only potatoes because they were a cheap and easily grown crop. In other parts of Ireland, where the land was mostly pastures or a planted with a different variety of crops, hunger did not affect the people as intensely... ...t. Therefore, the government gave help to its people, so the blame should not be on the government for eventually putting forth an effort to help the situation. They had the right to see if the free market would work itself out, because according to the philosophies of Adam Smith, that would have been the expected result. Ireland’s poor planning in creating their lives around one crop economically and politically resulted in a much larger downfall than what could have occurred. Previously, in 1741 Ireland had a blight killing 250,000 people (â€Å"Irish Potato Famine†, Barnhill), only further proving how unprepared they were when the 1845 blight attacked; even with the knowledge that something like the famine would occur. In all, Ireland’s forthcoming decisions in how to economically run their country, was the primary reason the Irish Potato Famine hit them so hard.

My Cinematic Version of Macbeth :: Macbeth essays

My Cinematic Version of Macbeth In filming my own version of Macbeth, I would choose a traditional route to capturing the essence of Shakespeare’s classic. In keeping with Shakespeare’s idea, I would film the piece in the great lands of Scotland. Using one of the famous castles of the land, I would make the time period somewhere around the 11th century. This means that things will be a little primitive, but historically correct. A re-occurring theme in Macbeth is death so the time of year would be fall, because the leaves are falling, and the plants are dying. The season is considered a time symbolic of dying. The costumes in the movie would anything but glamorous. Of this time period, most people would be wearing heavy woolen tunics with fur trimming. To keep warm in cold weather, they could wear animal skins around their legs with leather strapping. The royalty will of the movie will only wear the finest of these materials and the best looking pieces of clothing. Women would wear a heavy wool garment to keep with the chronological fashions. Now, although I would be filming the movie in a 11th century setting, that doesn’t stop me from using the latest technology and ideas. Makeup is an important part in the film industry today so of course I would use it to in my picture. The witches would require the most makeup. They would all have long, crooked noses, with facial hair and moles all over their face. Each would have long black or gray stringy hair. I would not have the witches standing tall. Two if not all three would have a humpback and be about five feet in stature. Young Siward will be a young boyish figure. Macbeth’s rage and overaggressive ambition are brought out by the slaying of Young Siward; therefore, Young Siward would look like a young innocent boy of the age of 12. Another modern idea would be the special effects involved. Special effects would be used in the scenes of bad weather. Lighting and thunder will be used for the witches’ scenes as well as Duncan’s Murder. The major special effect as well as the most dramatic will be the appearance of the ghost of Banquo. A holographic image of a white transparent figure resembling Banquo will have stab wounds and blood oozing from his disheveled body. My Cinematic Version of Macbeth :: Macbeth essays My Cinematic Version of Macbeth In filming my own version of Macbeth, I would choose a traditional route to capturing the essence of Shakespeare’s classic. In keeping with Shakespeare’s idea, I would film the piece in the great lands of Scotland. Using one of the famous castles of the land, I would make the time period somewhere around the 11th century. This means that things will be a little primitive, but historically correct. A re-occurring theme in Macbeth is death so the time of year would be fall, because the leaves are falling, and the plants are dying. The season is considered a time symbolic of dying. The costumes in the movie would anything but glamorous. Of this time period, most people would be wearing heavy woolen tunics with fur trimming. To keep warm in cold weather, they could wear animal skins around their legs with leather strapping. The royalty will of the movie will only wear the finest of these materials and the best looking pieces of clothing. Women would wear a heavy wool garment to keep with the chronological fashions. Now, although I would be filming the movie in a 11th century setting, that doesn’t stop me from using the latest technology and ideas. Makeup is an important part in the film industry today so of course I would use it to in my picture. The witches would require the most makeup. They would all have long, crooked noses, with facial hair and moles all over their face. Each would have long black or gray stringy hair. I would not have the witches standing tall. Two if not all three would have a humpback and be about five feet in stature. Young Siward will be a young boyish figure. Macbeth’s rage and overaggressive ambition are brought out by the slaying of Young Siward; therefore, Young Siward would look like a young innocent boy of the age of 12. Another modern idea would be the special effects involved. Special effects would be used in the scenes of bad weather. Lighting and thunder will be used for the witches’ scenes as well as Duncan’s Murder. The major special effect as well as the most dramatic will be the appearance of the ghost of Banquo. A holographic image of a white transparent figure resembling Banquo will have stab wounds and blood oozing from his disheveled body.

Easyjet Casestudy

The elements of marketing process is referred to â€Å"As a set of controllable tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market, so it consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product†( Kotler and Armstrong, Principles of Marketing 2004, Tenth Edition, New Jersey Pearson Education Inc. ). The Elements of Marketing or Marketing mix which is famously known as the â€Å"4P’s of Marketing†( stated by McCarthy in 1960) which include Product, Price, Placement or Place and Promotion. When these elements of marketing are analysed with the Easyjet case study, it gives a good example as how the 4P’s help an organization scale to new heights with increased sales and customer base. They are; Product:- In the respective case study as Easyjet is a airline industry, its main fleet consists of Airbus A320-200, Airbus A319 and Boeing 737-700. Easyjet is a budget airliner and intended to attract business customers and leisure travelers spending lesser time travelling between destinations. The company does not provide complimentary meals or refreshments on board to reduce costs and increase space to accommodate more customers, whereas customers can buy items on board by using Easyjet Bistro (buy on board programme). The onboard programme also helped the airliner to increase its revenue. Easyjet has also got other value added services like Eastcars, Eastjet holidays and Easyjet Hotels. With these services Easyjet can provide one stop shop for its customers, both Business customers as well as travelers on holiday. Price: In generally it is a conception that if a company lowers the price of its product, the organization would have expanded sales. Practically it is an invalid argument as the customers do not decide on price; they do look for other components such as quality, cost effectiveness, time, easy accessibility and value added services with also keeping in mind the customer relation management of a firm. The element â€Å"Price† of marketing mix could be divided into two categories, such as price determination and price administration respectively. Easyjet whose business model is similar to the Southeast airlines of US has kept its prices lower than that of other airlines. Easyjet reduced its prices to accommodate more passengers and to fill out empty seats on the flight. The reduced prices by cost cutting in various areas such as airport charges, direct sales to the customer and also reducing their advertisement costs. The per seat cost was cut down by 16% by increasing the seating density and no business class. Easyjet saved 64% of cost per seat by these strategies, which helped them to reduce their overall prices to the customer. Figure 1. (Referred www. corporate. easyjet. com) Placement/Place: â€Å"Placement or Place under marketing mix involves all company activities that make the product available to targeted customers†(Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). The Easyjet strategy has to serve all big continental European destinations such as Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, London and many more cities. They are also targeting the Asia Pacific market as there is a potential to grow business. Figure 1. b Promotion: Promotion is nothing but the means in which a company communicates to its customers about their product, values and benefits of a product. Easyjet used various strategies to communicate to their customers. They are: The company has mentioned its website address where ever it can. They have literally put the address on its Boeing 737’s. Easyjet also runs internet promotions on newspapers. Its first promotion was in â€Å"The Times† in February 1999. The result of this promotion ended up with Easyjet selling 20,000 out of its 50,000 seats in the first day and all other seats were sold in next 3 days. Using this strategy the company was able to cut down 250 jobs and saved money. Easyjet also follows first come first serve basis, the following table gives a clear indication. Figure 1. c The website was also used as a tool instead of paying the PR companies. Captions such as â€Å"The web’s favourite airline†, â€Å"Battle with Swissair† and the latest â€Å"come let’s fly†. Easyjet became a house hold name in the United Kingdom as it was listed in a Airline TV series which was aired on TV during 1999 to 2007. (b) Evaluate benefits and costs of marketing orientation for the case organization. Marketing Orientation means how a company develops new product considering the two approaches of orientation, which are product oriented and marketing oriented. Product Orientated† approach means a firm develops product based on its choice or what the company is good at delivering to the customer rather than keeping the customer in mind. This approach is not appreciated in competitive markets and may often lead to unsuccessful venture. â€Å"Marketing Orientated†, in this the businesses analyses the needs and wants of t he customer in developing a product. The product revolves round the information and data provided by research on the customer’s needs and wants and developing a right product. This type of orientation often leads to successful business. Easyjet uses marketing orientated strategy towards its customers into its business. The have researched and came to a conclusion that a business customer or a leisure customer do not like to spend more time in traveling and waiting at the airports. They also used the cost cutting strategy to reduce its cost and their cost expenditure per customer is about 15? per person whereas other competitors spend about 25? on each passenger. This strategy is very successful in the airline industry as there is another example of a similar airliner that operates in the US, called as the South West Airlines. The company is making a gross profit of 15 to 20% annually. The achieve this, they have hollowed various strategies. No refreshments served onboard except for snacks for which the customer has to pay. The above mentioned concept leads towards fewer cabin crews. Business class seats were removed to accommodate more passengers onboard Regional airports were used to reduce airport charges. Direct marketing, use of the internet, and saving commission by selling the tickets directly to the customer. 2. (A) Describe macro and micro environmental factors which influence marketing decisions. The â€Å"Micro Environment†, in these factors influences the business directly. This factor includes suppliers, employers, caterers, Financers and any other stake holders who directly influence the business. The Micro Environmental factors are relationship between the driving forces and the business that controls the above mentioned relationship. The management of the firm controls the relationship between the stake holders and the business. When Easyjet is taken into consideration, the micro environmental factors that influence its business are: Assets: Easyjet owns all of its planes and has complete control over it. They do not take any property or asset on rental basis. They go for 100% ownership. Hence complete control over assets. Employees: Easyjet has fewer staff due to no-flinch strategy onboard. Agents and vendors: Easyjet uses direct selling strategy and does not out source its ticketing or customer service to any other organization which means they have control over marketing and customer relation management. The â€Å"Macro-Environment†, these factors that indirectly influence the business and the company do not have a direct control over these factors. The company need to resolve round these as the company should be in a position to adapt to these factors. The factors include such as Political, environmental, social and technological factors. Easyjet has adapted to these macro factors. By keeping themselves advanced enough in technological factor by consistently upgrading there planes. They also use the internet technology to sell there products to the end users. When it comes to environmental factor, they have adapted a new process called the â€Å"Ecojet† in which they are using new engines which are environmental friendly which would be introduced in 2015. They are well ahead of there competitors like the BA and Ryanair. 2. (B) Propose Segmentation criteria to be used products in different markets. Marketing segmentation is nothing but to target specific customers in the market who give more value to the business. In business market segmentation there are 3 types: Geographic: Includes customer orientation, regional growth rate and macro economic factors. Demographic: â€Å"Includes age, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation, income and family status†. Psychographic: includes values, attitudes, factors such as loyalty and order size. According to the owner of the Easyjet who says that he wants only 6 million customers in a year rather than targeting all 56 million people in Europe to keep his airline seats occupied. Easy marketing segmentation is targeted towards business customer and leisure travelers in Europe. Easyjet flies to all major tourist and business destinations in Europe. Easyjet has segmented or concentrated more on business customer who’s tickets are normally paid by the companies and leisure travelers who fly to major European destinations with travel packages, which include easycar and easyhotel value added services. . (c) Choose and explain targeting strategy for the product/service in the case organization. Targeting strategy may be influenced with the following factors: Maturity of the market. Buyer’s needs and choices. Competition. Number of sales required for profit. In the case study of Easyjet, if you use the above template: When Easyjet entered market it was quiet mature as t hey had stiff competition with Biritish Airways and Ryanair but Easyjet understood the users needs and wants by research. In which they came to a conclusion which notes that business customers prefer cheaper flights for shorter destinations and value added services if customer is looking for leisure travel. Competition was stiff from Ryanair and British Airways, to a get better of these competitors Easyjet user various promotional campaigns using the internet and newspapers. They also used direct selling strategy to have control over there sales and eventually improved the sales. They worked towards having there airline seats filled up on any given day and ensured they pay as less a charge in the airports. 2. D) Demonstrate how buyer behaviour affects marketing activities in different buying situation. Consumer or End user buying behaviour is influenced by the following factors: Social factors. Psychological Factors. Personal factors. Social factors: These are the factors wherein a customer is influenced by other people in the market or other social factors that influence on the customer to accept or de cline the product. In the above case study, Easyjet used some of the captions like â€Å"Battle with Swissair† or â€Å"Low fares needn’t BA con! † on their website. This influenced lot of customer’s visiting Easyjet website. The more customers visited the website the more Easyjet became an household name. Psychological Factor: This factor depends on the individual customer who is influenced by motives, perception, learning, personality and attitude. When Easyjet had majority of users coming to their website, they introduced trivia’s, luck dips and questionnaires on their website which influenced the customer and made kept the users visiting back to the site. In 2002, Five thousand customers won 2000? each using the Easyjet website, but the company had sales over 2 million pounds from the customers who visited during this period. Personal Factors: This factor includes situational, life style and demographic factors. Easyjet entered the market as a low budget airline, which means its main target will be business customers by providing customers with good quality, affordable and quick service. They successfully achieved the above motive. 2. (E) Propose New market positioning for a selected product/service. Easyjet has started its venture in Asia-pacific market. There is a lot of potential in North America and in India. As Business customer in these mentioned countries are frequent flyers and use airways a median of transport for short destinations. Easyjet also has sister companies such as Easycar and Easyhotels which it can utilize in the new markets to stabilize its hold and attract new customers. They could also start a new venture for road transport or have a Joint venture with road transport and railway companies to offer a complete package to both its business and leisure customers. (A) Explain how products are developed to sustain competitive advantage. When a company sets standards and bench marks in a particular business over its competitors, is known as competitive advantage. All the companies work towards having a competitive advantage in the market. According to Michael Porter there are two types of competitive advantage, cost advantage and differentiation advantage. Cost Advantage: This advantage is gained by a company when it delivers similar products or services as their rivals at a lower cost. Easyjet attained this advantage by flying to the same destinations but at a lower cost as it is a budget airliner when compared with other airlines such as British Airways, Lufthansa and Air France. Differentiation Advantage: When a company provides value added services and a better overall package to the end users at the same price as provided by the competitors in the market. Easyjet has always aimed at providing value for money for its customers by punctual flights and flexibility to the customers. Easyjet and Ryanair have similar price tags on their tickets but Easyjet flies to major European destinations whereas Ryanair lands at airports of smaller cities. (B) Explain how distribution is arranged to provide customer service. Distribution is a important part of marketing strategy. Distribution is the channel in which the company supplies or provides its products or services to its customers. The main functions of Distribution are Information (Market planning), Promotion (Spreading information and offers about the product), Contact (Communicating with buyers), Matching (Adjusting offers to fit customers’ needs and wants), Negotiation, Physical distribution (transportation) and financing. Easyjet uses a distribution channel called â€Å"Direct marketing†, as the company wants to reduce its costs by avoiding resellers and distribution partners. This approach of Easyjet has ensured that their ticket selling price to the customers is reduced and they also have a direct control over sales. The company also handles its own customer service. 3. (c) Explain how prices are set to reflect an organisation’s objectives and market conditions. Easyjet follows penetrating price strategy, wherein they have reduced the price towards the customers needs and wants. Here leaser the price the more demand for the product or service. Easy jet have also reduced their costs to gain more profits, hence lesser they spend the more profit they have. 3. (d) Illustrate how promotional activity is integrated to achieve marketing objectives. There are two main kinds of promotional strategy named a push strategy and pull strategy. Push strategy is a form of promotional activity wherein the company promotes the products to wholesalers and retailers. Whereas in pull strategy the company promotes the products or services directly to the customers. Easyjet is a service industry and also believed in direct marketing uses the pull strategy to communicate with its customers. The various forms of communications they followed were: The company has mentioned its website address and phone number where ever it can. They have literally put the address on its Boeing 737’s. Easyjet also runs internet promotions on newspapers. Its first promotion was in â€Å"The Times† in February 1999. The result of this promotion ended up with Easyjet selling 20,000 out of its 50,000 seats in the first day and all other seats were sold in next 3 days. Using this strategy the company was able to cut down 250 jobs and saved money. Easyjet also follows first come first serve basis, the following table gives a clear indication. The website was also used as a tool instead of paying the PR companies. Captions such as â€Å"The web’s favourite airline†, â€Å"Battle with Swissair† and the latest â€Å"come let’s fly†. Easyjet became a house hold name in the United Kingdom as it was listed in an Airline TV series which was aired on TV during 1999 to 2007.