The Globalization of World Politics Free Essay Example, 2750 words

Wilkinson places the structure of societies in a continuum between the two extremes of dominance hierarchies and egalitarianism. But, the author maintains that the strategies to assume in particular social contexts depends on a fine balance that is triggered by differences in the degree of equality of inequality in the social environment. Crucially, he asserts that strategies born out of inequality provide the means for less affiliative solutions and likely to produce higher levels of conflict, friction, and violence within society. (Conversely, more equal societies lead to more cohesive strategies and provide greater security to individuals. ) Wilkinson shows that antisocial behavior, drug and alcohol abuse, violence and environmental damage all arise out of inequalities in social structures. Wilkinson systematically develops an analytical framework through the study of inequality and throws light on the many human insecurities deriving from the same. He maintains that inequality leads to a much lesser degree of social capital; the higher the income inequality, the greater is the rate of violent crime (including homicides), and people are content to not be involved in community life, and are likely to trust other individuals far less than in societies where the income distribution is more equitable. We will write a custom essay sample on The Globalization of World Politics or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/page

Accounting And Payroll Application Software Packages Essay

The accounting software, is a computer software that records and processes accounting transactions within practical components such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll and trial balance. The software may be developed by the organization using it, may be purchased from a third party or may be a combination of both. Today’s packaged accounting software not only records financial transactions and produce accounting reports, but they include functionality for managerial decision making aimed at gaining competitive advantage. (Collins, 2006). Many of the accounting software products have add-ons that can be used to integrate the software with other software. For example, Intuit, offers add-ons that a third party can mix with QuickBooks. Almost all the accounting software have a broad customer base, which is good for small businesses. Accounting and payroll application software packages are the most extensively used packages among small businesses. However, when it comes to adopting a computer system to manage their accounts, small businesses are at crossroads. The problem is, which one of the ever-increasing brands in the market is suitable for them? If they already have one, should they upgrade it to a new system? Can they afford it? Are there any risks? There are all questions that the business asks itself before they even consider any software. The focus of this research is only on the implementation stage of the software. And the focus is from the point ofShow MoreRelatedSoftware Analysis1630 Words   |  7 PagesIn the preliminary research for applications that may fit best for our envisioned project, we came across 10 solid candidates. These candidates are a mix of very well-known apps as well as other apps that are starting to make a name in the industry but have a very good potential. The candidates are QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero, Officewise, Kashoo, Patriot Accounting, SlickPie, Clear Books Accounting, Zoho, and Wave. The resea rch was conducted with the devices that they will potentially run on inRead MoreCloud Based Accounting1544 Words   |  7 PagesQuestion 1: Sassu is online based accounting software which enables users to remotely access their business transactions from anyplace they want. All one is in need to be wired to the internet and login to their sassu account and start inputting or manipulating their business transactions (â€Å"What is Cloud Accounting,† n.d., parra. 1). Sassu is a market leader in the Asia Pacific software as a Service Accounting industry, thriving with millions of transaction worth billions of dollars with a reachRead MoreAccounting Information Systems Essay921 Words   |  4 PagesAccounting Information Systems Laquasia Fields XACC/210 May 26, 2013 Cito Vanegas Every Company or Business has different Information Systems that the use to run the Company. There are various types of information systems employed by payroll, accounts payable, accounts receivable, and accounting? Types of Information systems that are employed by payroll, accounts receivable, and accounts payable are Paychex, UltiPro Payroll Software, ADP Payroll services, Intuitive PayrollRead MoreQuickbook Research Papers896 Words   |  4 Pagesworld. Simply stated QuickBooks is an accounting software package developed and marketed by Intuit. QuickBooks products are geared mainly toward small and medium-sized businesses and offer on-premises accounting applications as well as cloud based versions that accept business payments, manage and pay bills, and payroll functions. QuickBooks software is designed for small to mid-sized businesses that want to run efficiently through the automated abilities the software provides to its customers. TheseRead MoreHuman Resource Management Systems : Management1080 Words   |  5 Pages Human Resource Management Systems: Management Through Software Auriel S. Brown Dr. Jack Huddleston HRM520004VA016-1148-001: Hr Information Systems Strayer University 10/26/14 Human Resource Management Systems Human Resource Information Systems or HRSI are systems used to combine task related to the human resource management field. These task include but are not limited to payroll, benefits management, and employment recruitment. Many businesses both large and small haveRead MorePayroll And Employee Time Tracking Management Systems1190 Words   |  5 Pages Starwood Hotels and Resorts, and InterContinental Hotel Group. Its primary bands are Holiday Inn, Hampton Inn Suites, Marriott Hotels. [1] Stonebridge’s problems to be resolved As of 2006, hotel information systems had been fragmented. With applications catering to specific functions with little or no integration between each system. In a larger sense, hospitality was hampered by legacy systems which were often incompatible and hard to update. [2] Since Stonebridge had acquired many hotels whileRead MoreQuickbooks Accounting Software Essay1569 Words   |  7 Pagescountries. Accounting/Finance application systems like Peachtree, Net Suite and QuickBooks let you manage your business with a little or no experience. All three application systems allow the users to manage the companies capital including bookkeeping, inventory, non-inventory service items, sales orders, purchase orders, and reports. It allows the companies to keep tracking of the financial assets and at the same time have the information the accountant needs. Using the accounting/finance applicationRead MoreQuickbooks1616 Words   |  7 Pagescountries. Accounting/Finance application systems like Peachtree, Net Suite and QuickBooks let you manage your business with a little or no experience. All three application systems allow the users to manage the companies capital including bookkeeping, inventory, non-inventory service items, sales orders, purchase orders, and reports. It allows the companies to keep tracking of the financial assets and at the same time have the information the accountant needs. Using the accounting/finance applicationRead MoreAdvanatges of Computerized Accounting1715 Words   |  7 PagesAdvantages of Computerized Accounting System Speed and accuracy Computerized accounting system for invoicing make the accounting process run faster and more efficiently. Instead of using the old-fashioned manual paper and pen, you can print professional-looking invoices fast. You even can send out invoices via e-mail. The faster invoices get out, the faster you are likely to get paid. Many invoicing or billing software packages interface with the rest of your accounting software, making the processRead MoreAcc 542 Discussion Question995 Words   |  4 PagesDQ#1 - What are some of the software suites and business application software packages that you have experience using? What are some of the features of the applications in those suites and packages? How is information generated in the individual programs stored? O’Brien and Marakas indicated that â€Å"the major uses of information systems for the operations, management, and competitive advantage of a business† (O Brien amp; Marakas, 2008, p. 8). The software suite that I use on a daily bases and that

Organizational Development Ethics of Belief in Organizations

Questions: 1. Discuss the different organizational, team and individual problems noticed by you in this case.2. Explain the different values and ethical issues to be addressed in this organization you have read about.3. Discuss and Present the case in class with the possible solutions you could suggest to resolve the issue in the case. Justify your suggestion. Answers: 1. Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) is the pro bono organization which is mentioned in the said case. The said organization provides free legal aid to needy individuals who cannot afford hiring lawyers or seeking their advice. However, being a non-profit organization, the said organization suffers many issues. The organization is situated in a very small property just having four offices and a small waiting room which gets crowded with many clients waiting for their turn to receive legal aid. The said waiting room has no air conditioning which leads to a very uncomfortable environment for the clients waiting (Casmir, 2013). Additionally, clients coming with appointments are preferred over walk in clients who get frustrated with the long waiting hours. Being a non-profit organization which provides free legal aid, funding the said organization is a major concern. Additionally, there are many more defects and issues in the internal management of the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS). The chairs for the staff and volunteers are very uncomfortable; the office being small one office is at times shared by three to four volunteers. Additionally, incomplete paperwork, lack of scheduling skills in the staff and not filing timely are certain other internal issues which the organization and the staff deal with. Moreover, volunteers are required to work on laws in which they do not specialize leading to many mistakes. For example, a volunteer specializing in family law fills incomplete housing intake forms. The internal management of the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) has to get more organized as many staff and volunteers are confused about what is urgent case and where to place the urgent files for their head to review (Frederickson Ghere, 2013). 2. Ethics are very important to incorporate in routine and work life. Therefore, all organization, irrespective of its structure requires adopting certain ethics. Ethics are principals and standard of conduct which an organization has to maintain while working and operating. The said ethics are to be formulated in a form of a code and are to be followed by every individual working in the organization. In the present case, Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) should adopt many ethical conducts which will help them achieve organized manner of working and customer satisfaction (Cooper, 2012). To start with, the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) should incorporate a customer friendly approach where clients are to be called at the office only on appointments which will avoid client who get mad and furious due to long waiting hours. Additionally, many changes can be adopted to make the internal management more organized in the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS). Many training progr ammes should be adopted to inculcate helping environment in the organization where employees and volunteers have no issues in filing motions made by someone else and helping volunteers who do not specialize in laws which the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) deal with. The staff and volunteers in the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) should be more passionate about their work and about helping the needy individuals who cannot afford lawyers (Weisz, 2012). The head of the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) named Julie requires to help and supervise the working of volunteers by making them learn to help each other and clear doubts of confused volunteers (Pavlovich Krahnke, 2012). 3. The Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) provide pro bono legal services to needy individuals. However, certain recommendations can help the said organization become more successful and organization. To start with in my opinion, all clients should be provided legal aid only on appointment. This will not over crowd the small office of Northern County Legal Services (NCLS) which will in return keep the clients happy as waiting period to meet lawyers will be reduced. Additionally, certain changes in the internal management of the organization will create a more comfortable working environment where departments as per specializing of volunteers should be establishes and volunteers specializing in housing law should deal with housing intake forms and volunteers specializing in family law should handle matters in connection domestic violence. The organization can conduct certain training seminars where volunteers are given advice to work collectively helping one another which will incr ease their legal knowledge. As the volunteers working in the said organization are law students, certain experienced lawyers are to be appointed who can supervise and clear all the law related doubts of the volunteers (Bell, Taylor Driscoll, 2012). Additionally, hiring supervisor can also increase the efficiency and productivity of the Northern County Legal Services (NCLS). Reference List Bell, E., Taylor, S., Driscoll, C. (2012). Varieties of organizational soul: The ethics of belief in organizations.Organization,19(4), 425-439. Casmir, F. L. (2013).Ethics in intercultural and international communication. Routledge. Cooper, T. L. (2012).The responsible administrator: An approach to ethics for the administrative role. John Wiley Sons. Frederickson, H. G., Ghere, R. K. (2013).Ethics in public management. ME Sharpe. Pavlovich, K. Krahnke, K., 2012. Empathy, connectedness and organisation.Journal of business ethics,105(1), pp.131-137. Weisz, G. (Ed.). (2012).Social science perspectives on medical ethics(Vol. 16). Springer Science Business Media.

Effects of E-commerce to Supply Chain Management - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Write about theEffects of E-commerce to Supply Chain Management. Answer: Analysis Evaluation According to the case study rationale, Heinekens' marketing, competitive strategy as well as the sharing of consumer information seems very important to the supply chain management and supply chain partners. However, the information needed has to be obtained from demand data collection in the most effective and affordable manner from the market demand which always fluctuates (Akhter 2007). Most industries improve their supply chain performances through innovations that would reduce the marketing gaps from production to the market where the products are delivered. Improvement the supply chain performance would make many businesses realize the need to extend to form inter-business process engineering, which is also called business network redesign as partners (Cigan 2014). This collaboration forms the basis of exchange among the supply chain partners to redesign the products through e-commerce using wide area networks of computer connections. Apparently, Heinkens' distributors and sale representatives from different supply chain businesses are able to meet and plan business in three months prior before the actual transactions and delivery of goods. However, their speculative transactions would face challenges as they could not predict future changes that would affect the market demands. Harsh climatic changes, changes in tastes and preferences of the market demand and legal policies affecting the promotion are such challenges they face (Hansen 2005). To reduce the effects of long periods of business transactions, the business partners and sale managers came up with fast method of transactions using fax and email to place orders to partners far away distant apart (Hansen 2005). This time therefore, would be reducing up to three days per month to place order. In fact, the Heinekens' time in marketing gaps is therefore, seems to be reduced by a large range, which previously 10 to 12 weeks to lesser days in a month.This creat es flexibility and able to adapt to changes in the market demands. Requirements Validation In respect to the Heinkens' productivity, the increase companys profits and market shares, managers develop new business methods to facilitate the process. The most effective way to increase the market demand is by reducing the time gaps from production to the market to reach the consumers (Brand 1991). Therefore, managers should come up with the solution to ensure the products are readily available at the right time and place by initiating proper channels of distribution. Ultimately, when the company is located far miles away from the source of raw materials and the market, there are no central collection points. To facilitate and plan the production and delivery, they require more labor intensive methods which is difficult to control and coordinate since business orders would come at different times of production process. To match the marketing demand, more accurate and reliable data would be needed to facilitate collection and analysis of product consumption (Cigan 2014). This mis match of production and consumption would cause under stocking in the parts of distributors as consumption could be higher the stock available. Furthermore, new smaller firms in the local market could reduce the market demand deficiency by producing some products but at lower rates as compared to larger firms. Therefore, relatively larger firms need to develop strategies of forecasting, processing and delivering orders faster than their current capacities since their they have localize market shares and distributors would not incur high costs in distribution. The formation of internet based advertisement would reduce the marketing gaps and companies would interact directly with the consumers to sell and deliver fresh products (Brand 1991). This technology is strategic method to be embraced by other trading partners and internet business hub created would replace old information with new information that match the demand of the consumers. The individual performance can be generated by viewing past sale records and trends and location. A company therefore, can place orders or check their sale performance using their portal pas sword and ID to log in and make changes where necessary. Requirements Management According to the case study, Heineken, the productivity through the use of e-commerce, a distributor can place order and make delivery inquiries. This would greatly improve connection and communication between the company, distributors and the consumers in faster and more efficient way. The Heinekens' managerial skills propells the production and marketing plan, which is achievable and easier. In order to match the market demand, the managements' protfolio has reduced marketing gaps between production and the market would be reduced (Akhter 2007). The priorities of developing e-commerce is to reduce market deficiencies and do market research to produce more quality products that meet the tastes and preferences of consumers. However, other competitors can offset this strategy by rebranding and re-packaging their products to meet the market demand. To make the business more competitive and more efficient, using Remote Location Filing Program to import more products from other countries and also facilitate custom duties at the port during the delivery process. This is possible the use of e-commerce portal created. They would also reduce the procurement costs, They would also reduce the time in raw materials delivery and the production and ensure stock stability as distributors would be more comfortable in dealing with full stocks rather than dealing insufficient stocks delivery from smaller firms (Brand 1991). Therefore, planning for orders would be greatly reduced from three days to 45 minutes. References Akhter, S 2007, Globalization, expectations model of economic nationalism, and consumer behavior.Journal of Consumer Marketing, 24(3), pp.142-150. Brand, C 1991, Reversal Theory: Motivation, Emotion and Personality.Personality and Individual Differences, 12(9), p.976. Cigan, V 2014, Relationship between students motivation and their socio-demographic characteristics.Linguistica, 54(1), p.11. Hansen, T 2005, Perspectives on consumer decision making: an integrated approach.Journal of Consumer Behaviour, 4(6), pp.420-437.

Consumer behaviour

Abstract This paper critically focuses on Consumer Decision-making Process models of purchase and post-purchase in relation to the hospitality industry. The paper shall determine the extent these models are vague and all-encompassing, especially when applying to postmodern hospitality industry with the fragmented nature of consumer behaviour, and emerging trends in the global provision of products and services.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Scholars interested in the field of consumer behaviours have developed several models as attempts to explain consumers’ decision-making processes when making a purchase, and what follows after the purchase. Gordon and Saunders have identified six of such stages that involve passive and active consumption phases or sequences (Foxall, 2004). They identify these stages as emerging needs, active consideration, researchin g, short-listing, purchase and post-purchase. Smith also supports these stages in his work. A part from these scholars, other scholars have also offered different perspectives on consumer decision-making process (Kotler, Bowen and Makens, 1999; Chambers, Richard and Lewis, Robert, 2000; Onkvisit and Shaw, 1994; Howard and Sheth, 1996). However, critics argue that such models are vague and tend to be all-encompassing. Introduction Gabbott and Hogg offer a brief definition of consumer behaviour as â€Å"any behaviour involved in the course of buying, using and disposing of products† (Gabbott and Hogg, 1998). Critics have noted that this definition is vague and not practical. From this definition, we can learn that consumer behaviour is a technical issue to describe precisely. Engel, Blackwell, and Miniard have offered an advance definition of consumer behaviour as â€Å"activities which directly involve decision processes prior and after stages of obtaining, consuming and disp osing products† (Blackwell Engel and Miniard, 2001). They further explain how consumers choose products and services using a model of Consumer Decision-making Process (CDP). This model indicates how consumers make decisions before undertaking any purchase decision and post-purchase decision. Consumers make their purchase at the fourth stage after undergoing all other previous stages.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Consumers look at the value of the products or service they have purchased against the satisfaction derived or fulfilled from using the product. This experience is fundamental for defining the fifth stage, post-purchase evaluation, which takes a mental evaluation of the value of the purchase. We have noted that depending on the CDP model alone may not provide the necessary information when applied in a marketing environment. This is because there are other v arious factors that influence every process of CDP. Understanding factors that influence stages of CDP model may help markets persuade consumers who intend to use their products or competitors. Consumers are likely to purchase services or products that have solved their problems in cases of recurring needs. This is a purchase they know. The CDP model must recognise that factors such as culture, personal preferences, social status, family, and the situation also influence consumers’ purchasing behaviours. At the individual level, we have attitude, resources, motivation, personality, and knowledge. For instance, we may consider how consumers who are conscious environmental behaviour towards purchasing green products or services in the hospitality industry. Characteristics of products and services in the hospitality industry Hospitality industry mainly caters for tourists or visitors have that need a unique range of services and products. We can group these services and products as packages e.g. accommodation and meals, or stand-alone products such as catering, and entertainment, among others. We shall focus on a combination of services and products at the hospitality industry so as to enable us to understand the consumer decision-making processes when making such purchases.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This sector largely deals in provisions of services. According to marketing studies and theorists, services are intangible purchases. Thus, such purchases never really result into any ownership. In this regard, they offer various characteristics of services as follows. The hospitality industry offer services that are intangible. We can never touch, see, taste, or even smell them before we make the purchase. Marketers in the field of hospitality offer images of their services, such as accommodation locations and the surrounding envir onment to make such services appear real to the consumer. This is a means of overcoming intangibility. However, such techniques do not necessarily overcome intangible characteristics of such services as tourists have to care when purchasing such services in the hospitality industry. Services in the hospitality industry also have inseparability characteristics between production and how the service works during consumption. This characteristic influences consumer’s purchasing behaviour. Consumers may link the service to the provider together with the performance, and change their purchasing pattern if the services do not meet their expectations. Services also tend to be heterogeneous in nature. This means services providers at the hospitality industry may find it difficult to offer the same service to every consumer when their needs arise. Different aspects like emotional status of the customer may also affect how he or she perceives the service at a certain time. It means tha t consumers of hospitality products and services may not be able to predict the quality of services they may receive at their favourite places. In addition, consumers cannot depend on past their experiences in order to make subsequent purchase decisions regarding the same services or products. There may be inherent changes in the services, service providers, or the consumers themselves that may affect the quality as well as experience of services offered. Services also lack ownership, at least to the consumer. Consumers only experience the service through their purchases and access. Consumers will not own the service. Thus, services serve the purpose of a need satisfaction rather than tangible ownership. Therefore, purchases of services will have significant effects on emotional aspects of the consumer.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The above characteristics are just some of the aspects that may influence consumers of the hospitality industry. Marketing pundits also look at the distinction between convenience goods and shopping goods. Convenience goods tend to have low prices and high frequencies of purchases, unlike other goods that have high prices with low frequencies of purchases. In this regard, we look at shopping goods as serving higher-order needs according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Howard and Sheth note â€Å"the purchase of convenience-type goods involves the consumer in a routine problem-solving behaviour, whereas the purchase of shopping goods involves the consumer in an extensive problem-solving behaviour† (Howard and Sheth, 1996). We can note that consumers will spend a lot of time in order to understand complex issues of services they are about to purchase in the hospitality industry. The acts of choosing tourism destinations and subsequent service providers involve high-level purchases that require consumers to search for information and make informed purchases. It requires a high-level of commitment, time, and significant spending. Thus, Middleton and Clarke observe that such influences result into low brand loyalty and expectations of repeat purchases, and low chain of distribution (Middleton and Clarke, 2001). Complexity in Consumer Behaviour in the Hospitality Industry Consumers involved in purchasing hospitality products and services usually experience some technical issues. Most products and services in the hospitality industry need a high degree of involvement in making purchase decisions and a high degree of consumer commitment. This is due to the nature of products and services that consumers wish to purchase. Thus, there are no routine or similar behaviour patterns when making such decisions. Consumers consider every purchase unique and need different approaches in making purchase decisions. Consumers in the hospitality industry must first car ry out a thorough marketing research before settling on a given decision. In turn, decision-making processes tend to take longer than when purchasing other products or services. Factors that may influence consumers at this stage may also set in, such as a holiday destination, type of holiday, individual preferences and among other factors. Consumers link intangible services and products to high levels of insecurity in the purchasing process. The challenge is that consumers cannot have a test of the product before they make any purchase. In this case, most consumers only rely on the assurances from the services or products vendors. The level of insecurity involved results into complex behaviour patterns where consumers collect information from several sources, including agencies. Information may come from the family, advertisement, travel agents, companies’ Web sites, and social media, among others. Holidays and visits are significant events in an individual’s life. Thu s, there is a considerable level of emotions involved. Holidays restore physical health and provide a chance of escaping the routine of workplaces. Holidays are expensive. This implies that the decision to take a holiday may affect other members of the family, or colleagues in cases of where companies cater for such packages. This calls for compromises at some points, especially with regard to a holiday destination. There may also be some pressing needs such as purchasing new items, car, improving a home. Thus, family members or colleagues may consider such an expensive holiday a waste of resources. Consumers who wish to purchase hospitality products and services normally experience strong influences from other people such as family members, colleagues and reference groups. The study of behaviour patterns that are under influences from diverse aspects is extremely difficult. At the same time, such opinion leaders also have tendencies of changing their beliefs and opinions over time. Most decisions consumers make about visits are long-term decisions that take a considerable amount of time to plan. The challenge is that people may be at different statuses of their minds when they plan their visits, and when they actually go for such visits. Such decisions depend on aspects of the future that they might not be able to predict. The dynamic nature of the tourism industry may affect such decisions depending on the cost variations, climate changes and lately security. Purchases made in the hospitality industry involve high levels of search for information. Factors such as emotions and individual preferences may determine the extent to which a consumer will seek for such information. There is a wide consultation of different sources of information, and the final choice depends on such information gathered. There is a high level of complexity involved as people search for information and make decisions. It may also mean that decisions can change abruptly depending on t he new information discovered. The complex nature of making purchase decision-making processes in a hospitality industry is different from making purchases of other routinely used goods. The intangible nature, uncertainty of the future and unpredictable of service standards make the process of purchasing services and products a complex experience for consumers. This implies that marketers in may have difficulties when promoting their services and products to such consumers. The decision-making process in the hospitality industry The decisions consumers make to buy products and services in the hospitality industry are due to complex processes involved. These factors relate to the consumer, and other external factors that he or she may not be able to control when making a decision of purchasing a service or product without prior experience. In addition, the nature of products and services in the hospitality industry also make purchase decision-making process a complex affair. For inst ance, in choosing a holiday destination, consumers consider such factors as the destinations itself, mode of travel, type of accommodation services, the length of the holiday period, the time of the holiday, package of the holiday, and agent to provide tour services. These are among many factors that may influence the decision-making process of a consumer when choosing a holiday package and subsequent purchase. We can note that the scope and number of such factors are wide and numerous. We also realise that choosing the destination alone is not enough and not an end in itself. There are issues and activities to engage in once in a holiday destination. Visitors will also make further decisions regarding how to spend their time, what meals to take, and where to take them among others. We can notice that these decisions look simple. However, they form part of the complex decision-making processes that tourists must critically look before making any purchases. Decision-making models in hospitality Cooper and associates provide three processes in the development of consumer behaviour with reference to purchase processes (Cooper et al, 2005). First, there was the early phase of 1930 and 1940s (early empiricist) where emphasis was on empirical research. Still, the industry tried to establish effects of advertising, product distribution, and promotion decisions. Second, there was the motivational phase in the 1950s where attention focused on â€Å"focus groups, in-depth interviews and consumers’ perception studies, and other projective approaches† (Cooper et al., 2005). The focus was on what factors motivate consumers to make their purchases. Third, there was the formative phase. This phase included published textbooks by consumer behaviour theorists such as Engel, Blackwell, Kollat, Howard and Sheth. Most early approaches on the study of consumer behaviour â€Å"focused on manufacturing industries, and they later moved to general service industriesâ₠¬  (Cooper et al, 2005). In the 1970s, scholars began creating purchase models in the area of tourism. These models presented linear representations of decision-making processes. It was Moutinho who developed a tourist behaviour model that was different from the rest with two scopes (Moutinho, 1987). First, the model provided for three distinct stages in the consumer decision-making process. These were â€Å"pre-decision stage and decision process, post-purchase evaluation, and future decision-making† (Moutinho, 1987). The model also provided opportunities for feedback mechanism. Second, the model recognised three behavioural aspects in making purchase decisions, such as motivation, cognition, and learning. The Consumer Information Processing Model: Source: Adopted from Kotler (1997) Post-purchase Evaluation Post-purchase evaluation occurs as a result of purchase decision. In this context, the consumer considers the level of purchase involvement. As we have identified above , purchases in the area of hospitality are high levels involvement. In other words, the level of concern for the purchase is high in the hospitality industry because such decisions are not habitual purchases. The process is a continuum where the flow is from low to high level (Solomon, 2006). High level of involvement during purchase decision-making process will result into an extensive post-purchase evaluation. Consumers usually question if their decisions to make purchases were the best among other alternatives. This is what we call post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Elaborate Post-purchase Evaluation: Source: Adopted from Hawkins, Best, and Coney (1983) Consumers are likely to experience such dissonance if the purchase is irrevocable, involves a high level of commitment, individual factors, selection among alternatives, and the importance of the decision. Post-purchase experience of dissonance makes the consumer feel uncomfortable. Consequently, they resort to a number of ways to reduce such feelings. These may include preferences for the choice, disregard other alternatives, avoid negative comments about the choice, and reduce the importance of purchase decision. Consumers who fail to reduce the level of dissonance may experience dissatisfaction with their choices. In this process, the consumer is likely to identify new problems and engage in the process of satisfying the need created due to dissatisfaction by the initial purchase. Consumers will use their experiences and negative feeling like part of the new information in making the decision for the next purchase. Analysis of the purchase decision models There are inherent weaknesses that exist in consumer decision-making process models. These models do not explicitly show how consumers undergo complex processes when making decisions of purchasing services in the hospitality industry. These models cannot serve marketers when designing their marketing strategies. Most critics argue that such models do n ot rely on any empirical research; thus, may not present reality of how consumers make their purchase decisions. In addition, most of these models are out-of-date in the postmodern hospitality industry, which is ever dynamic as consumers’ preferences are not static. For instance, the tourism and hospitality industry has experienced changes with regard to the rapid changes in the Internet as a means of booking and purchasing hospitality packages and airline tickets, explosion of no-frills budget airlines, the development of all-encompassing holiday destinations, evolution of direct marketing, and changes in the buying behaviours of tourists that involve last-minute and spontaneous purchase decisions. Third, a number of models that exist in the field of tourism, hospitality, and event management have their origins in North America, Northern Europe, and Australia. This implies that these models do not cater exhaustively cater for emerging markets in Eastern Europe, South America , Asian and African markets. These models also tend to classify activities in the hospitality industry as homogeneous. However, consumers of such products are different and unique in their own ways. Some of these factors that may influence characteristics of visitors may include their travelling patterns i.e. as an individual, family or group, past experiences of such tourists, and personal traits, which may involve planning patterns such as last-minute decisions or considerable amount of time for planning. A number of models do not account for influences of motivators and determinants that affect consumers during decision-making processes. Some factors that influence consumers’ decision-making processes may dominate other factors and account for the entire decision-making process. However, such factors mainly depend on individuals’ preferences such as hobbies, means of travelling, or preferences for leisure activities, among others. Other models take rational approach es to decision-making processes in purchases, which is not always the case. The ability to make rational decisions in purchasing among visitors depends on the availability of information. In most cases, tourists may have access to imperfect information that does not give true accounts of their alternatives. In addition, rationality of the purchase decision-making process also depends on an individual’s factors such as personal opinions and prejudice. These models assume that consumers’ activities and purchase patterns are constant. They fail to account for emerging trends such as conference tourism, holiday destinations, holiday patterns, effects of globalisation and instant decision-making process among some visitors. Such factors influence the nature of the decision and purchase patterns among consumers. Postmodern consumers of hospitality industry Studies show that purchases and consumption in the hospitality industry have become fragmented. The perceived social rol es have experienced â€Å"breakdown and left majority to adopt any identity they want in a postmodern society† (Thomas, 1997). In the field of hospitality, the postmodern consumption rotates around â€Å"changes in consumer cultures of the late capitalism and the emergence of communication technology† (Brown, 1995). These changes have affected marketing trends in hospitality services (Williams, 2002). Thomas notes postmodernism has significantly influenced marketing. Thus, he elaborates â€Å"Marketing, real-time, real-world marketing is thoroughly postmodern because postmodern marketing openly challenges some of the major axioms of the conventional wisdom as reflected in the standard marketing textbooks† (Thomas, 1997). Thomas lists axioms that relate to postmodern as â€Å"consumer needs, consumer sovereignty, behavioural consistency, customer orientation perceived value, product image, buyer and seller separation, individual and organisation distinction, pro duct and process separation, and consumption and production division† (Thomas, 1997). We can relate these elements to consumption in the hospitality industry and establish consumerism in postmodern. According to postmodernism, there is no single privileged form of knowledge, i.e. no theories are superior or inferior to others. Thus, it is no longer possible to believe in a generalisation or meta-discourse. A better understanding of postmodernism should entail sensitivity to differences, fragmented individuality, embrace uncertainty, and discourage the use of consensus to suppress heterogeneity. In the field of hospitality consumption, we must embrace parallel and emerging trends in the social world. This refers to both self and other spheres of life. Postmodernism recognises that there is a lack of unity, lack of unifying central ideas, order, and lack of coherence. Lack of certainty applies to an individual as well as the whole system. Therefore, the fragmented nature of cons umer decision-making process models results from the fact that postmodernism does not recognise coherent and unified approach to issues as there is also general lack of certainty. There is also breakdown in the system that leads to distinctions and differences. In turn, we have fragmentation in processes that replace unity or totality. Changes in society will allow for conditions of postmodernism characterised by hyperreality, ambiguity and reproduction of features (Gabriel and Lang, 1995). Thus, postmodernism does not support any suggestions to replace or impose order to the existing chaotic and fragmented reality. Postmodernism puts it that we should embrace the â€Å"limitations of knowledge, question the value of generalisations and accept the impossibility of universal truths† (Thomas, 1997). Fragmentation also emerges due to a low level of commitment to any one brand. What exists is only a momentary attachment, brand repositioning, and regeneration. Thus, if we apply th e principle of none is superior or inferior to another, then marketing becomes only sensible when it recognises language, symbols and elements of communication that imply and signify essential images in marketing. In the hospitality, the breakdown in the system affects marketing in the hospitality industry, which relates to the universal principle of marketing (Williams, 2002). Postmodernism tends to question ideas behind generalisations and concepts in overarching theories as it sees them as limited in scopes. Thus, it posits that marketing approaches tend to impose order on the chaotic and fragmented statuses of the modern hospitality industry. Postmodernism argues that there that the knowledge that exists has limitations about the nature of fragmentation. There is little empirical evidence to support generalisations regarding consumers’ consumption and behaviour patterns. In addition, consumers’ consumption trends are not orderly and unpredictable. Consumers act on their wishes, ignore the set standards, and fail to maintain systems that may guide their activities (Brown, 1995). Thus, consumers are unreliable and changeable. Dynamic characteristics of modern consumers in the hospitality industry present difficulties in predicting buying behaviours and decision-making processes. Conclusions This research has looked at the purchase and post-purchase models in consumption of hospitality services. Academicians and market theorists have made their inputs in order to provide theoretical account of the processes. However, these models offered by theorists have inherent weaknesses both in describing and explaining how consumers make their purchase decisions. Some of these weaknesses result from elaborate decision-making patterns involved in choosing a holiday destination and subsequent activities. The consumer decision-making process in purchasing hospitality services is a complex affair. It depends on a number of factors that originate from an indivi dual and other external factors. However, the models present linear processes that do not account for the complex nature and a high level of decision-making process consumers undergo when choosing a holiday destination. Despite these theories and models, understanding consumer behaviour in consumption of hospitality services remains complex. The post-purchase evaluation occurs as a result of the decision to purchase. It is also a high-level involvement process due to the nature of the decision and purchase involved. Consumers will experience post-purchase cognitive dissonance due to their purchases. However, in most cases, they tend to find ways of reducing negative feeling about their purchases. With reference to postmodernism, consumption of hospitality services remain unpredictable, fragmented and not attached to reality. Postmodernism believes that consumers of today live in a world of doubt, ambiguity, and uncertainty. Thus, applying a model to explain their decision-making pro cesses involving a purchase remains difficult to limitation of knowledge. To this end, we cannot apply generalisations to account for behaviours of consumers in the hospitality industry. Still, marketing remains a complex process as predicting purchasing patterns and consumptions among customers are also difficult. Most consumers will base their purchase decisions on their wishes, make last-minute decisions, and create new trends in demand for services and products. Such are the difficulties that make these theories fragmented and all-encompassing. Reference List Blackwell, R, Engel, J and Miniard, P 2001, Consumer Behaviour, 9th edn, Harcourt Education, Boston, MA. Brown, S 1995, Postmodern Marketing, Routledge, London. Chambers, R and Lewis, R 2000, Marketing leadership in hospitality: foundations practices, 3rd edn, John Wiley Sons, New York. Cooper, C, Wanhill, S, Fletcher, J, Gilbert, D, Fyall, A. 2005. Tourism: Principles and Practice, Pearson, New York. Foxall, G 2004, Con sumer Behaviour Analysis V1, Routledge, New York. Gabbott, M and Hogg, G 1998, Consumers and Services, Wiley, New York. Gabriel, Y and Lang, T 1995, The Unmanageable Consumer, Sage, London. Howard, J and Sheth, J 1996, The Theory of Buyer Behaviour, John Wiley, New York. Kotler, P, Bowen, J and Makens, J 1999, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism, Prentice-Hall, New York. Middleton, V and Clarke, J 2001, Marketing in Travel and Tourism, Butterworth-Heinemann, London. Moutinho, L 1987, ‘Consumer Behavior in Tourism’, European Journal of Marketing, vol. 21, no. 10, pp. 3-44. Onkvisit, S and Shaw J 1994, Consumer Behavior: Strategy and Analysis, Macmillan College Pub-lishing Company Inc, New York. Solomon, M 2006, Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall Europe, New Jersey. Thomas, M 1997, ‘Consumer market research: does it have validity? Some postmodern thoughts’, Marketing Intelligence Planning, vol. 15, no. 2, pp. 54–59. Williams, A 2002, Understanding the Hospitality Consumer- Hospitality, Leisure and Tourism, Butterworth-Heinemann Ltd, London. This essay on Consumer behaviour was written and submitted by user Kaeden Rhodes to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here. Consumer behaviour Introduction Consumer behaviour is the general function of a customer’s preference and taste as well as the resultant utility. Consumers have variant perceptions of the satisfaction they expect to derive from a certain good or service which comprises their taste. On the other hand, a consumer has a certain degree of bias towards a given product given a choice between two which comprises their presence.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These two aspects influence the level of utility the consumer derives from utilization and consumption of the product in question (Frank and Bernanke 2001, p12). However, a consumer’s preference and taste is constrained by variety of factors such as operating income, government restriction as to the allowed purchase quantity as well as the type of products. In effect, a consumer will spend their money on a bundle of go ods that offer the maximum amount of satisfaction. Their choice of such bundles is therefore influenced by their tastes and preferences. 1. According to the neoclassical utility model as proposed by Mahoney (2001) in the case of two income goods x and z the consumer given a choice between the two products that are not substitutes the consumer has a certain preference for good x over good z presenting three options as follows : x as preferred to z z as preferred to x z and x equally preferred or indifferent These options can be represented as follows Curve x represents a consumers preference for good x over z. Curve z represents a consumers preference for good z over x. P1 represents policy 1 which presents the consumer with a voucher that can be exchanged for a fixed amount of good x.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Line P2 represents a policy that presents the consumer w ith an income supplement sufficient to buy the same amount of good x assuming that every supermarket has the same price for good x (Witt 2001a, p. 1-5). At point O Under these two policies households’ preferences over the two goods will always have exactly the same impacts on the household in terms of its utility level and consumption levels of the two goods as illustrated by the diagram above. At point O a consumer who has a higher preference for good x over good z under policy 1 as illustrated by curve (x,x) would ordinarily consume a bundle of quantity (x1,z1) having exchanged the voucher offered by the first policy however they can now consume for (x2) amount of good x after trading in the voucher for a fixed amount of good x which is the difference between (x1) and (x2). A household which on the other hand has a higher preference for good (z) as opposed to (x) will consume (x2) amount of good (x) which is the equivalent of the (z2) amount of good z that they ordinarily a re willing to consume as offered by the second policy. In effect as long as the voucher offered by policy one is equal in quantity terms to the difference between the two curves representing the household differences in preferences the two policies will give similar results (Witt 2001b, p. 23-36). 2. Under certain house hold preferences the two households will have potentially different impacts on the households in terms of its utility and level of consumption. These circumstances are as follows. If the goods are perfect substitutes The preference curve for perfect substitutes is as followsAdvertising We will write a custom essay sample on Consumer behaviour specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The households will willingly exchange one good for the other despite their preference therefore there will be a rather rigid manner in which they utilize the commodity in regards to quantity and utility. Therefore an implementation of eith er of the policies will always result to different results. If the goods are perfect complements Aconsumer may have their own preference for either good however perfect complements vary and restrict such preferences to ensure that each quantity of one good acquired is acquired with an equal or similar quantity for proper enjoyment of either of the goods. Therefore, implementation of one both or either of the policies will lead to entirely different results. The utility preference and consumption curve will be as follows : If the household acquires a unit of good x the household it ensures that it derives as much utility from it as one unit of good z and does the same for two units of good x this ensures a consistent difference in the overall utilisation and use of the goods. In effect implementation of either policy will always lead to different modes of consumption therefore different levels of utility (Nevo 2003). In case the products are imperfect substitutes If a consumer p erceives a product to be an imperfect substitute of the other they have different levels of preference and utility for either product. It would not be possible therefore to equate the two goods in regards to consumption and preference. Therefore each product will have a different indifference curve. Application of either policy will lead to different results arising from the lack of similarity. 3. The two policies cannot be substituted because the first policy does not vary with the earnings and preference of the household but rather offers a rigid biased offer for a fixed quantity of good x while the second policy is a flexible policy that varies with the needs and capacities of households.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The approach taken by policy one limits the consumer’s choice in the amount of good x they consume. The consumer will always take advantage of a subsidy and they will therefore have little choice in the minimum amount of good x they will acquire. The second policy on the other hand increases the maximum amount of good x the consumer is willing and able to consume. It increases the upper limit buy matching the subsidy with the consumers actual spending. This therefore maintains their choice but influences their capacity. 4. Utility as a function of preferences defines how much pleasure the consumer derives from a certain good or product. The rate at which a household consumes a certain good depends to a great extent on the satisfaction they anticipate from the good. This further has a bearing on the amount of a given product they are willing to consume. On the other hand the consumers wilingliness to consume a product will however be curtailed their cost budget therefore limit ing the amount they actually purchase of a given product (Bianchi 2002). Therefore, the amount of a certain product that a household consumes is a function of their budget constrains as well as their tastes and preference or rather the utility they receive from the good. The utility function represents the relationship between utility measures and the possible combination of goods as shown by the diagram below. As such the utility derived from a given bundle of goods by a household increases at a decreasing rate. Therefore the more of a certain commodity the household consumes the lesser utility they derive from it. The two policies aim at increasing the amount of a certain good that the consumer purchases. They will however not always achieve utility since the more the household consumes the lesser utility they derive. The total utility derived from consumption of the specific bundle of goods reduces as the consumer gets used to large amounts of the goods therefore reducing the sa tisfaction. There are however alternative ways of increasing the utility as well as the consumption of these goods. This can be achieved through a product subsidy to reduce the price of the commodity. According to Nicholson (2002) a characteristic of preference is that more is always good. A household is ready to settle for more of the cheaper product as opposed to lesser of another product for the same amount of money. A reduction in the price of product x changes the slope of the budget constraint holding the income constant as represented by the diagrams below If the price of good x is 10 dollars, a unit the consumer who has a constrained budget of 400 dollars can only buy 40 units of good x. The household looks for the bundle that gives the best utility within the budget line. The consumers’ willingness to consume is limited by their anticipation of spending and their limits in budget. This however can be changed by the reduction in the prices of the product. With a prod uct subsidy that reduces the price, the budget line slope changes to adjust to the new price. If for instance the price for good x reduces to 8 dollars a unit the budget line changes and the consumer thanks to the price subsidy of 2 dollars per unit can acquire more units of good x he can now consume up to 50 units of the good with the same budget constraints as follows. A consumer will be more willing to purchase additional units of good x at the same level of preference due to the reduction in price. This also has an implication on the utility derived from the consumption of the goods. The firm will minimise its costs by reducing its labour usage where the average product of labour is increasing. Since the marginal product is greater than the average product of labour in the short run the firm will minimise its costs when the marginal cost of labour and capital are equal to the average product. In the long run however the marginal product diminishes and the input combination tha t supports the least cost is where the marginal product for labour and capital is zero or where the average product of labour and capital are greater than the marginal product of labour and capital (Perloff 2012). The firm will reap benefits in the long run since the marginal cost of production which is the additional cost of producing an extra unit of a given product is lower than the average product hence attracting the economies of scale (Perloff 2012). The firm will incur lesser cost per unit in manufacturing additional units of the good due to the benefits of scale. References Bianchi, M 2002, Novelty, Preferences, and Fashion: When Goods Are Unsettling’, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, Vol 47 no 1, pp. 1-18. Frank, R., and Bernanke, B 2001, Principles of Economics. McGraw-Hill Irwin, Boston Mahoney, D 2001, On the Representation Theorems of Neoclassical Utility Theory: A Comment, Web. Nevo, A 2003, ‘New Products, Quality Changes, and Welfare Measur es Computed from Estimated Demand Systems’, Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol 85 no 2, pp. 266-75 Nicholson, W 2002, Microeconomic Theory: Basic Principles and Extensions, South Western College Publishing, Ohio Perloff, J 2012, Microeconomics global economics global edition (6th edn), Pearson education, New York Witt, U 2001a, ‘Economic Growth- What Happens on the Demand Side?’ Journal of Evolutionary Economics, vol 2 no. 2, pp. 11: 1-5. Witt, U 2001b, ‘Learning to Consume—A Theory of Wants and the Growth of Demand’, Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Vol 11 no. 1, pp. 23-36. This essay on Consumer behaviour was written and submitted by user Alexzander W. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Childs Book of True Crime essays

Child's Book of True Crime essays Fresh from college, Kate Byrne, a 22-year-old, is working in her first job, teaching a fourth grade class in Endport, a small town on the southern coast of Tasmania. Strangely childlike, she is embroiled in a love affair with the father of her most gifted student, Lucien Marne. Thomas Marne is a successful corporate lawyer in Hobart and the first chapter of A Childrens True Book of Crime primarily focuses on his relationship with Kate. Kate struggles out of her black underwear in Thomas' car while he speeds them toward a motel during her school lunch hour. The two appear restless in anticipation of fulfilling their sexual desires. Kate makes coarse references to her surroundings, relating passing boulders to Mouths and tongues, like pornographic things. Thomas begins to lose focus on the road ahead; [his] driving deteriorates, as his concentration shifts to Kates flirtatious motions. When commenting on their surroundings, the attitudes of the two are juxtaposed: Kate marvels at the luxury mansion they pull up to, Its lovely, while Thomas, Yes it is...clearly agitated. As the story develops, it is increasingly obvious that Hooper wants us to see that the relationship between the characters is solely based on sexual attraction. Thomas comment, Im going to rent the bed by the half hour, implies how brief and insignificant these meetings are to him. He appears to be avoiding the commitment of their relationship, constantly reiterating to Kate that the only reason for these meetings is to alleviate boredom: This is just sex, nothing more. Before arranging a reservation for the hotel room, he reminds Kate the affair is ...to be strictly kept away from the sentimental. I am given the impression that his cautioning appears to be directed not to Kate, but rather at himself. ...

Virtual Teams Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Virtual Teams - Essay Example In this regard, the current discourse aims to discuss how the dilemmas of teamwork might be intensified in a virtual team. Likewise, as one is considered a part of a virtual team, the essay also aims to address the dilemmas that apparently exist when class assignments need to be complied with. Dilemmas of Teamwork in Virtual Teams A group or team is normally composed of members with diverse demographic, geographic, cultural, educational, and socio-economic backgrounds, and interact with each other for a specified time frame. These members utilize specifically essential resources and methodologies to achieve explicitly defined goals. The traditional dilemmas of teamwork are: (1) propensities for conflicts due to differences in opinions; (2) miscommunication due to cultural and language barriers; (3) delegation and performance according to roles and responsibilities; and (4) resolving conflicts and managing overall performance. In the Management Study Guide, a comprehensive analysis of virtual teams is presented in terms of defining their advantages and disadvantages; as well as in comparing them with traditional teams (Advantages and Disadvantages of Virtual Teams, 2013; Cascio, 2000). From the information, it was disclosed that the very nature of virtual teams according to levels (individual, organizational, as well as societal) actually contribute to conflicts due to differences in opinions, as well as the roles and responsibilities they play in the organization. In addition, since organizations support diversity and recruit employees from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, there are more tendencies for virtual teams to encounter miscommunication due to language barriers. Likewise, virtual teams operate through a team leader, whose tasks were delegated by the assigned manager or supervisor. Further assigning responsibilities to team members, without comprehensive knowledge of their respective backgrounds and capabilites contributed to intensified chall enges. Finally, in virtual teams, the distance and varied time frames, make confict resolutions difficult. Managing the overall cohesiveness and performance of virtual team members are more difficult, as a result. . Concurrently, the disparity in geographic, cultural, socio-economic, and educational backgrounds of the members of virtual teams exacerbate potential challenges in terms of sustaining effective communication due to language barriers, distractions, disparities in time zones, and expertise or competencies on accomplishing the identified tasks. This dilemma could be intensified in the virtual team setting since the opportunity to accord immediate feedback and to resolve the dilemma through face-to-face interaction is not effectively provided due to the absence of authoritative leaders or managers who are instrumental in governance and effective management of a team. What dilemmas do you feel when you have to do class assignments as part of a team? In terms of class assignme nts that must be done as part of a team, in a virtual team setting, the dilemmas that are encountered are as follows: (1) insufficient time to get acquainted with each other during the group

Safety Of Genetically Engineered Foods Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Safety Of Genetically Engineered Foods - Essay Example Various organizations across the world have raised concern about the use of GM foods. The organizations have criticized the agribusiness sector for maximizing their profits without taking the health of citizens into consideration. The government too is facing the blame for not passing policies that could regulate the foods. The genetically modified foods cause environmental hazards. The foods cause harm to other organisms. Experts gave the example of pollen grains from modified corn plan. It resulted in an increase in mortality rates in the butterfly caterpillars. It is obvious butterfly caterpillars do not consume cones, but the wind could blow toxins from the cones into their food (Carter, 2011). Toxins from GM foods kill many organisms. Researchers have found it hard designing toxins that could only be harmful to bad insects. It is proof that the toxins pose potential risks to the survival of organisms. GM foods pose a threat to the effectiveness of pesticides. They make pesticides that fight harmful insects to be useless. Example of this is the DDT pesticide. The toxins from GM foods made mosquitoes be resistant towards the pesticide. There are objections to this point of view. Some researchers argue that the toxins being a threat to the effectiveness of pesticides are a good idea (Subramanian, 2007). They argue that pesticides cause ecological damage. The researchers do not consider the harmful side of the insects. GM foods produce Bt toxins. The researchers argue that the Bt toxins would help clear the effects of synthetic chemical pesticides. The GM plants could be harmful to beneficial insects. The Bt toxin could kill insects within a very short time. There are insects that assist in controlling maize pests, for example, the green lacewings.

The Current State of Economy in The Division of Labor Essay

The Current State of Economy in The Division of Labor - Essay Example There are three circumstances involved in this belief: increase the dexterity of every worker, time-saving mechanism, and utilization of machines that increase efficiency. Hence, a worker must have enough skill to perform his job and familiarize himself in operating a machine to produce maximum output. Smith cited the case of a pin maker who would likely produce only one pin a day without the two factors mentioned. However, if the concept of division of labor is applied, laborers could specialize in one task alone, which can result in greater productivity. Smith himself has witnessed workers who were inadequately skilled at making pins yet because of the specialized tasks assigned to them, ten workers can produce 48,000 pins in a day. In the end, Smith popularized this principle, which shows that lack of skill nor machines is not really obstacles to productivity. Ever since this has changed the landscape of manufacturing industries as early as the Industrial Revolution. This work by Adam Smith did have a lot of practical value because capitalists made a profit by applying the principle in their businesses.

Performance- Enhancing Drugs Ethical Dilemma

Performance- Enhancing Drugs Ethical Dilemma ETHICAL DILEMMA ESSAY At least once, unless extremely lucky, we are either peer pressured or presented with an opportunity to experiment with a drug, this could be an illegal drug as well as it being portrayed as a legal drug. Often consequences are not minor but major and are negative and sometimes the result is completely unexpected. How we choose to be influenced can have an impact on shaping our worldview. Ethical Dilemma Members of Pauls team have been experimenting with a new performance- enhancing drug that seems to have remarkable results. The drug not being a banned substance or illegal and because of the teams continuous winning streaks the coach has ignored teammates using it. Paul faces either to also take this drug or lose the starting position he has worked extremely hard for on his team. Pauls want to succeed so badly may influence teammates pressuring him into also experimenting with the enhancing drug so he can catch up with the others. Paul knows that there are two options, one is to accept the sample offered by his teammate thus securing his starting position that has been already threatened that he could possibly lose, or two, refusing the sample and most likely losing his position but morally being able to live with that consequence and all possible negative effects that could develop because of taking this drug. Core Beliefs 1 Cor.8:7-13: What would this activity due to my conscience? Does this activity or could this activity affect the growth of a fellow believer? Could my actions also affect others, if so would it not be wiser to be involved in something that does affect others? What if their conscience is even weaker? The outcome could cause others to think this is ok and they themselves experience far worse negative effects than myself. (Christian Moral and Ethical Dilemmas, Dealing with Dilemmas Predicaments and Sticky Situations n.d.) Resolution The Bible does not say anything exactly about using drugs. We learn through Scripture that it is although wrong. The Bible tells us that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and we should honor God with it. (1 Cor. 6:19-20) Knowing consequences of what drugs can do to our bodies such as harming organs says we would be destroying the temple of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 13: 1 it says to follow authorities that God himself put into place. By using drugs, we are not following authorities but instead going against what God has wanted. Per to this Paul should not be tempted in destroying his body and in so rebelling against authorities God put into place only because of the risk of losing a position on his team. The outcome or side effect of situation could be far worse than a starting position on his team. Evaluation Unintended consequences and the perceived benefits are the downfalls to experimenting with any type of drug. Once a drug becomes abusive it has been shown to alter gene expression and brain circuitry, which affects human behavior. When you become addicted, brain changes start to interfere with normal abilities to make decisions and you become dependent on how and where you can get more of the drug. In an article wrote by the National Institute on Drug Abuse they have identified some of the negative effects of drug addiction to include cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, and lung disease any of these can happen after one time of doing drugs (Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), n.d.) Paul could very well become addicted after just one use or worse his life could end or even a close teammate could have also had a negative affect happen to them. Comparison Gods ethical order can be said to be the only absolute true source of morality, in fact, is the only possible morality. There is no other option to compare to, 2 Cor. 4:18, Apostle Paul says the physical order is temporary, but the order not seen is eternal. We learn standards by which we should conduct ourselves in situations such as the one Paul faces when the Bible does not give exact instructions on what to do (What is Christian ethics? n.d.). Paul faces a decision that can not only affect him but also affects his teammates and his ability to be truthful in respect of what is wrong and right. His entire future can be formed by making this one decision which could have terrible if not possibly deadly consequences for himself or other teammates involved. The comparison between doing something on your own and or using something to enhance your ability clogs your ability to be ethically moral with yourself and others. Conclusion God does not tolerate evil or moral indifference. To prevent sin from separating ourselves from His Word we must stay in accordance with his moral order. Only those willing to treat Gods moral order with same respect shown by the physical order are completely obedient to the Christian code, there is yet any other system that can claim absolute truth from God sent to humanity. We rely on God and His Word to show moral order (Christian Ethics, n.d). Paul will feel morally and ethically better if he chooses to resist this temptation presented by his other teammates. Paul also will not have the all sudden added addiction created by drug use nor will he be affected health wise by the negative consequences of the performance- enhancing drug that is being abused by other teammates. His only affect would be of losing his starting position on team but the greater consequence could be death if he chooses wrongly in his decision when teammate offers him the sample of the drug to try. References Christian Moral and Ethical Dilemmas, Dealing with Dilemmas Predicaments and Sticky Situations. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://godsmercyandgrace.com/indexm15.htm Medical Consequences of Drug Abuse | National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/medical-consequences-drug-abuse What is Christian ethics? (n.d.) Retrieved from https://www.gotquestions.org/Christian-ethics.html Christian Ethics. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.allaboutworldview.org/christian-ethics.htm

Philippine War :: essays research papers

The Philippine War   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I don’t believe the Philippine War was justified. There are more ways than war to solve the annexation of the Philippines. I agree on some of the policies, but not all of the policies, that were in place during that time period.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe the war was not justified for a number of reasons. The ratio of dead to wounded was higher than it was in the civil war which is considered one of the saddest wars in this country’s history. In the civil war, the ratio was one wounded to five killed, where as in the Philippine War, the ratio was one wounded to twelve killed. America instead of trying to peacefully resolve the situation, decided that force was a more potent way to talk and guarantee control of the newly gained possession. I would use war as a last result, trying diplomacy first. It was good that the United States was freeing a country from an immoral government, but there are better ways to solve the controversy of what to do with the new annexation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were several policies in place at the time, some which were put into place before the war, some during the war, and some after. The ratification of the annexation process was long and difficult. There were debates as to how to treat the Filipino people. One suggestion was to treat the Filipinos as dependents, and not citizens, like the Native Americans came to be treated. Many of the imperialists believed that the Filipinos were savages and harsh policies would give America control. The anti-imperialists were not exactly sure whether to treat them as peers or to set them free. I would treat them as equals, as normal people, as they are like everyone else. At the time they might not have been as technologically advanced as we were, and their government may have seemed primitive to ours. I think we should have worked with them to help create a government, rather than occupy and just take over.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Another policy that occurred because of the war was the â€Å"open door† policy. America had much interest in Asia, and the Philippines provided a door to China. America viewed China as a weak country, and was afraid that other countries might attack China, take over, and exploit it. The annexation of the Philippines gave America the opportunity to â€Å"protect† china. So the Americans proposed an open door policy, where each country in the treaty were allowed a place of influence, where china had to respect the laws of the countries, but were allowed to collect tariffs.

Parental Sensitivity and Attachment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Essay

The article that I chose is â€Å"Parental Sensitivity and Attachment in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder: Comparison With Children With Mental Retardation, With Language Delays, and With Typical Development†. I am certain that the article I chose is scholarly for several reasons. The most obvious is that the advanced search tool in the Kaplan library offers the option to exclude all results that are not scholarly work that has been checked through the peer-review process. More proof that this article is scholarly is that it is based on academic study and research and it has the methods, manner and appearance of a scholar (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 2010). Scholarly articles such as this one also make frequent use of charts and graphs and reference secondary sources accurately using citations and a bibliography. In contrast, articles written for the general population that intend to arouse curiosity are called â€Å"sensational or popular† and can be found in magazines that appeal to the masses such as â€Å"People† or â€Å"US Weekly† as opposed to the more serious journals used in academia to report research and experimentation. The article that I chose was checked through the process of peer-review which is when other scholars or experts in the same field review scholarly work in order to make sure it meets necessary standards before it is published or accepted (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 2010) . Parental sensitivity is frequently documented as a key determinant of attachment. Bowlby’s attachment theory describes the importance of the early relationship that develops between the infant and the primary caregiver to be the foundation for the child’s later social, emotional and even cognitive development (Bowlby, 1982). The article I chose to study supports the possibility that Autism challenges this theory of attachment. This issue has evolved dramatically since the scrutiny that mothers of Autistic children were facing in previous decades as a result of the lack of knowledge and research available regarding Autism Spectrum Disorders. Leo Kanner once used the term â€Å"Refrigerator Mothers†, or cold and uncaring mothers, to be the cause of the lack of attachment in children with what we now know to be Autism Spectrum Disorder. This scholarly study is intended to provide insight as to whether or not and to what degree parental sensitivity plays a role in the development of attachment in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder as compared to that of nonclinical children and those with other developmental disorders such as mental retardation (Rutgers et al. , 2004). The study also attempts to address whether children with Autism display less involvement with their parents and less attachment security and more disorganization of attachment? This study included 55 toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), mental retardation, language delay, and typical development and their parents. At 2 years of age attachment was assessed with the Strange Situation procedure, and parental sensitivity and child involvement during free play were assessed with the Emotional Availability Scale (Rutgers et al. , 2004). Parents of children with ASD were equally sensitive as the parents of children without ASD, but their children showed more attachment disorganization and less child involvement. More sensitive parents had more secure children, but only in the group without ASD. Less severe social autistic symptoms predicted more attachment security. Overall this study supports the idea that Autism challenges the validity of attachment theory. This study fails to address whether or not and in what ways attachment behaviors in children with ASD differ from those seen in other children in the study. More research is needed to determine how to best measure attachment in children with ASD as the indication may differ from children without Autism. Seemingly as important, a child with ASD may be able to develop a better sense of attachment with parents and caretakers if given more physical cues rather than psychological which is measured in this study by the level of sensitivity from the parent. Another helpful measure might be to compare the parent-child attachment for siblings of the children in this study at various points in time. Reference http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=6D46A9381C4560FE3E2565C7FDBD8A83?contentType=Article&contentId=1674221

Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts Essay Example

Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts Essay Example Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts Essay Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts Essay Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts Problem: Testing the actual yield versus the theoretical yield of NaCl when HCI is titrated into Na2C03 and NaHC03. When 0. 15g of both NaHC03 and Na2C03 are titrated with HCI, then 0. 165g of NaCl should form from the NaHC03, and 0. 104g of NaCl should form from the 0. 15g of Na2C03. Procedure: Weigh 2 samples of 0. 15g of dried unknown each, and dissolve each into 50mL of distilled water. Add 0. 5 to 1 mL of bromocresol green indicator until the solution turns blue. Titrate the HCI until it turns green. Gently heat and boil out the C02. It should turn blue again. Continue the titration until it turns yellow. Heat the solution and let the water evaporate. Weigh the glassware with the solid formed at the bottom, NaCl. Dispose of the NaCl, rinse and dry the glassware. Weigh the empty glassware and record. Find the difference from 5 and 6. Do this for both flasks. Results: In table 1 . 1, the mixture of HCI and unknown sample 1 were combined. It took about 19. 5mL of HCI to turn the solution yellow, after heating and evaporating the water from the solution, the glassware with the NaCl weighed 92. 84g. When the glassware was weighed again after the NaCl was washed out, it was 92. 69g. There was 0. g of NaCl that had formed. In table 1. 2, the mixture of HCI and unkown sample 2 were combined. It took 40mL of HCI to turn the solution yellow, after the heating and evaporation of the water, the glassware with the NaCl weighed 76. 38g. When the glassware was weighed again after the NaCl was washed out, it was 76. 24g. There was 0. 14g of NaCl that had formed. Discussion: The results for example 2 might have been off, when titrating the solution we added too much HCI and turned the solution yellow instead of green. So instead of boiling the solution until it turned blue again, we had to boil the solution to evaporate the ater. That may have thrown off the amount of NaCl that was supposed to form after the water evaporated. Data: The data that was collected was reasonable, the error wasnt too large and both results were close to the theoretical values. Conclusion: We learned that the theoretical yields of a solution can be reached if all the steps are followed exactly; by over titrating sample number 2, we skipped the steps to boil the solution back to blue and then re-titrate to yellow. We have learned that over titrating can throw off your actual yield. Investigating Stoichiometry with Carbonic Acid Salts By boopidyboo

French Speaking Celebrities

French Speaking Celebrities If your students dont see any point in learning French, maybe J.K. Rowling and Johnny Depp can help. They are among the famous non-native French speakers around the world listed below. If your students know how many cool people speak French, they might realize how great it would be to learn this Romance language- just like some of their favorite movie and television stars, musicians, and novelists. Note that this is a list of people from non-French-speaking countries or regions only. Cà ©line Dion, for example, is not on this list because she is French-Canadian. Directors, Actors, and Television Personalities From the Terminator and a famous television chef to some of the top American acteurs  (actors) and  actrices  (actresses), this group of French-speaking personalities is surprisingly large.   Woody Allen (American director and actor)Cristiane Amanpour (British reporter)Halle Berry (American actress)Orlando Bloom (British actor)Anthony Bourdain (American chef)Lorraine Bracco (American actress)Jennifer Connelly (American actress)Bradley Cooper (American actor)Robert De Niro (American actor)Johnny Depp (American actor)Shannen Doherty (American actress)Jane Fonda (American actress)Jodie Foster (American actress)Morgan Freeman (American actor)Milla Jovovich (Ukrainian-born American model and actress)Hugh Grant (British actor)Maggie Gyllenhaal (American actress)Ethan Hawke (American actor)John Hurt (British actor)William Hurt (American actor)Jeremy Irons (British actor)Angelina Jolie (American actress)Grace Jones (Jamaican-American singer, model, actress)Ashley Judd (American actress)Ted Koppel (English-born American broadcast journalistLisa Kudrow (American actress)Matt Leblanc (American actor)Tommy Lee Jones (American actor)Andie MacDowell (American actress)John Malkovich (Am erican actor) Ewan McGregor (Scottish actor)Danica McKellar (American actress)Helen Mirren (British actress)Gwyneth Paltrow (American actress)Matthew Perry (American actor)Christopher Plummer (Canadian actor)Natalie Portman (Israeli actress)Molly Ringwald (American actress)Arnold Schwarzenegger (Austrian actor, former governor of California)William Shatner (Canadian actor)Ally Sheedy (American actress)Mira Sorvino (American actress)Oliver Stone (American filmmaker)Sharon Stone (American actress)Meryl Streep (American actress)Emma Thompson (British actress)John Travolta (American actor)Alex Trebek (Canadian, game show host)Uma Thurman (American actress)Emma Watson (British actress)Sigourney Weaver (American actress) Musicians A number of the worlds top pop and country singers speak French, even the singer who made Rocket Man famous. Justin Bieber (Canadian singer-songwriter)Phil Collins (British singer)Julio Iglesias (Spanish singer)Mick Jagger (British musician)Elton John  (British musician)Madonna (American singer, actress)Alanis Morisette (Canadian and American singer-songwriter)Sting (British musician)Shania Twain (Canadian singer)Tina Turner (American singer) Authors and Poets A few non-native scribes, including the creator of the Harry Potter series and a Nobel Prize-winning poet, speak the language. Maya Angelou (American author and poet)Angela Davis (American activist and author)John Hume (Irish Nobel Prize winner)J.K. Rowling (British novelist) Models Clearly, a few models have found it advantageous to learn French. Linda Evangelista (Canadian model)Elle MacPherson (Australian model)Claudia Schiffer (German model) Other Notables From two former first ladies, two queens and two popes to a top tennis pro, the French language clearly has its draws. Madeleine Albright (Czech, former U.S. secretary of state)Tony Blair (former British prime minister)Pope Benedict XVIStephen Breyer (American Supreme Court justice)Queen Elizabeth II (of England)Pope John-Paul IIJackie Kennedy Onassis (former American first lady)Michelle Obama (former American first lady)Mitt Romney (American politician)Queen Silvia (of Sweden)Serena Williams (American tennis player)

End of Isolation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

End of Isolation - Essay Example Dorn and McClellan state in their work that society consisting of human beings has experienced numerous changes due to technology (McClellan, 1999, p.276). Changes in technology has even assisted America in several ways and has resulted in eliminating America’s social isolation, elevating economic growth, assisting in strategizing the military section and uniting the American people mentally and physically. Body The gap between the citizens of America has decreased due to increase in technological advancements since 1865. The new advancements have made various changes, these advancements have helped: in making research and development an easier task, sharing information and education, socializing with other and changed complex tasks into simple ones. These changes have assisted US in transferring and receiving information in both oral and written format. One of the major technological advancements experienced since 1875 was the creation of telephone by Alexander Graham Bell, t his advancement was made as Graham Bell was quite motivated by the providing education to the deaf (Keenan, 2001, p.51). Other advancements that came to the forefront were the introduction of machines used to increase productivity, vehicles used for transportation of mass quantity of resources, and the typewriter. These advancements led to the research and development of much sophisticated technologies. The people of the United States were divided and had a conflict with each other during the period of Reconstruction. The American citizens were focused on and were very concerned about the disastrous effects of the Civil and the political wars that were being experienced by the nation during that era. The difference of opinion among the citizens and the wish to learn new things resulted in higher desire for technological advancements. During this period, the citizens felt the need for technology that could help them in moving from one end to another and to communicate their views to others. These needs led to the development of railroads and telegram during the 19th century, railroads accomplished the need for traveling and telegram led to the accomplishment of the need for communication (Bowles, 2011, p.47). During the period of the 1900s technological advancements were slow in speed to happen as compared to the technological advancements experienced by the Americans today. Technological advancements have even aided the students of America in gaining diverse amount of information and learn things in a better manner. Before computers came into existence, people in America were restricted to their libraries and educators for information purpose. Today, American students use internet and online sources to obtain information and with the aid of this information they develop themselves and gain acceptability throughout the world in different organizations. Politicians and people representing political arena use the means of technology to gain popularity in order to get elected in the higher rankings of the political arena. These advancements are used by interest groups and political personalities to change the perception of the citizens of the citizens and to gain support for the enactment of new practices and regulations. The telegram has been replaced by digital technology such as the mobile phones. The digital technolo0gy has been used by the President Obama, he used email to obtain support for his plan of generating economic growth

Decisions for Impaired Newborns Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Decisions for Impaired Newborns - Essay Example There is no ethical difference. For children born with severe birth defects due to causes that occurred during the first, second, or third trimester and were identified, aborting this baby, and giving birth to the baby suffering from diseases that cannot have surgery performed. In the United States, it is possible to screen for genetic diseases on embryos prior to their implantation to the womb(Nelson, 2009). For an embryo with severe genetic defects that will be incurable even after birth, the ethical questions in aborting this child will be similar to the ethical questions asked for giving birth to a child suffering from a disease that parents will do nothing to stop them from dying. Sade (2011) highlights that parents should have the final decisions on the treatment of their impaired infants. However, the parents must make informed decisions especially for infants with severe conditions like anencephaly where they are born with brains that nearly fail to develop completely. According to Wilkinson (2006), doctors must seek to explain to such parents that such infants do not have an anatomical substrate for motor and cognition coordination and the sensory processing. Furthermore, parents must understand that anencephaly infants have a hard time accepting any form of deep nurturing or personal relationships. However, McHaffie, Laing, Parker, & McMillan(2001) confirms that doctors must seek opinions of other specialists and ensure no impartial presentation of information to parents. â€Æ'

Responds to artical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Responds to artical - Essay Example It is such coalitions that make politicians to support the two groups that are for and against regulating the sale of alcohol on Sundays (Bruce 12). This is an indication that different groups advocate to business regulations for personal benefits. The rent seeking behavior is a common economic theory and practices that impact differently on players. Usually, it is aimed at achieving persona gains at the expense of others. This is behavior is evidenced in a number of ways. For instance, a number of regulations passed by relevant authorities affect the population differently. A perfect example is the case of taxation policies, which may favor or disfavor a section of the population. Progressive tax policy (which is a rent seeking scheme) is favored by the low and medium income earners. However, high income earners are opposed to this tax proposal. Such differences regarding ‘collective mechanisms’ can be explained using the symmetry and asymmetry arguments. While a section value collective mechanisms, others opposed to it advocate for individual liberty, leading to disagreements on the best arrangements that suits all groups. Such conflicts are asymmetrical in nature. Therefore, in order to realize a collective mechanism, the interests of those opposed to it must be sacrificed, hence asymmetrical. A reality that we all have to live with is the fact that our governments are in debt crisis that has been on the rise over the last decades. It is therefore important to understand the facts behind government expenditures. The first thing to note is the fact that government expenditures exceed tax revenue collected from different bases. This is an indication that the revenues generated are insufficient to fully finance government operations. Therefore, governments are ever in deficit. To finance their deficits, they have no choice but to borrow either internally or externally. It is fact that tax payers have to

Rogers Chocolate Essay Example for Free

Rogers Chocolate Essay Introduction Premium Chocolates are like Imported Roses which not consider necessities for one life. People love to have or get one of those products. However, if there isn’t a special occasion or surplus cash, some people will not buy that unnecessary stuff. In Canada, premium chocolates were growing at 20 percent annually and the Canadian market size for Chocolates was US$ 167 million in 2006. An attractive growth from premium chocolates makes the current player like Rogers Chocolates, Purdys and others are thinking new strategies to expand market. In addition, some big traditional manufacturers like Hersheys and Cadbury are also very interested and keen to enter this segment (Zietsma 2007). Rogers Chocolates is a king in Victoria and well known in British Colombia. However, outside this area the brand awareness is still low. The new appointed CEO is being targeted to double or triple Sales in ten years. The key successes in premium chocolates are: understand the consumer’s needs, brand awareness, diversified products and enhanced competitiveness. There are many challenges for Rogers’s chocolates to grow in this ever-growing competition, and there are many old and new strategies that haven’t been proven effectively. Moreover, Rogers is small/medium Company that has limited resources to apply all those strategies. The management decision-making will be very crucial to manage its strength and weakness while at the same time; they have to overcome the threat and opportunities in the industry. 1. Competitive driving forces in the premium chocolate industry Porter’s Five Forces Model. Porter’s â€Å"five forces† model uses five competitive forces that determine a particular firm’s capability to compete (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010). The chocolate and cocoa industry can use the â€Å"five forces† model as an analytical tool to determine the competitive market. [pic] Figure 1: Five competitive forces by Michael Porter 1. Competitive Rivalry The intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry can create price wars, advertising battles, new product lines, and higher quality of customer service. There are many circumstances that intensify rivalry which some of them are as follows: many balanced competitors, a slow growing industry, demands falls, high fixed or storage costs, little switching costs, aggressive competitors and many other circumstances (Thompson, Strickland, and Gamble 2010). Premium Chocolate competition in Canada involves strong regional brands and few global players such as Godiva, Lindt, Callebaut, and Purdy’s. Even though The Canadian market size of chocolates industry as a whole had been falling (2 % grow projected). However, the premium chocolate market was growing at 20 percent annually (Zietsma 2007). That situation considers less intense rivalry among competitors; moreover every area has their own local king like Rogers in Victoria. Nevertheless, in 2008, Global economy was severely hit by the crisis that originated from the United States and quickly spread to the whole world including Canada. Premium chocolate majority consumers in Canada come from tourists especially Americans as bordering neighbour. When the tourist’s number drops and the demand for premium chocolate also falls, the fierce rivalry will increase 2. Threat of new entrants Frequently, existing industry members are often strong candidates to enter market segments or geographic areas where they currently do not have a market presence (Thompson, Strickland, Gamble 2010). Apparently, Hershey’s and Cadburys have been moving into the premium chocolate market through acquisitions or up market launches since this segment still posses high percentage of growth (Zietsma 2007). The market is only control by few large and old players which occupy significant market shares. The chocolate industry has a significant economy of scale entry barrier because large companies exist in the industry that has high production output and it reduces the threat of entrants. In addition to economy of scale, product differentiation is another entry barrier in the chocolate. There are many competitors in the industry that have remarkably identifiable brand names and customer loyalty like Rogers Chocolate itself. New company must increase its spending to overcome the reputation and large customer base of the existing companies. 3. Threat of Substitutes. Rogers’s chocolate is often used as gift during numerous seasons and celebrations including Christmas, Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries and birthdays. Other types of gifts during these seasons are viewed as substitute products. These products are flowers, jewelry and stuffed animals. All of these products can be purchased instead of Rogers’s chocolate unless they just want only ‘Chocolate’ as gifts. Many chocolate brands and a wide variety of seasonal gifts make the threat of substitute products is considered low to moderate in this industry. However, if Rogers Chocolates can maintain its local heritage especially in its traditional area like Victoria and British Colombia then the threat for Rogers can be minimized. 4. Power of Buyers If a buyer represents a large percentage of the supplier’s sales, the buyer has more bargaining power over the supplier. Rogers’s chocolate 50% of sales is contributed from its 11 retail stores which is a strong one. However, since the previous president Mr. Jim Ralph had grown its wholesale market up to 30% thus, they have to take a good care of its big wholesale buyer. Another condition that affects the power of buyers is product differentiation. If the product is undifferentiated, the buyer has the power to play competitors against each other and reduce the cost. The premium chocolate has a differentiated product, which reduces the power of buyers. Rogers have brand identification and customer loyalty, which makes it hard for buyers especially the loyal ones not to consume Rogers for their premium chocolate consumption Today, buyers demanding chocolate more than just a taste, they becoming more health conscious therefore the demand for organic chocolate and dark chocolate are growing. 5. Power of Suppliers The bargaining power of suppliers is a competitive force that can diminish a firm’s profitability by raising prices or reducing the quality of the supplier’s product. The suppliers of the chocolate industry have significant bargaining power over the industry because of the limited suppliers. In addition the supplier groups’ bargaining power increases if there are no substitute products. Because the cocoa bean is a required ingredient in chocolate the suppliers do not have any substitute products for which they must compete. This lack of substitutes increases the bargaining power of the chocolate industry The strongest Competitive Forces From the five competitive forces, they are relatively low to moderate in affecting premium chocolate industry especially Rogers Chocolate. However, the presence of Hershey’s and Cadburys in the premium chocolate market will cause the strongest threat as they have enormous resources and experiences. The weakest forces should be the supplier as they can only affect the cost thus as long as people still love chocolates then the market is still big. The potential profitability of new entrants from outside industry is low since the barrier of entry for this industry is very high. However, it will be a different story if those big guys in the chocolate industry like Hershey’s are very serious entering this premium chocolate market as happening lately. 2. Drivers of Change Those competitive forces as explained above can be a driver of change either individually or collectively. Another unique driver of change is consumer behavior towards health consciousness. Today, the demand for organic products and dark chocolate are growing worldwide. Rogers has responded well to this healthy lifestyle by offering non-sugar added chocolate. People also put strong image to the company that practice good corporate social and environment responsibility. Therefore, the premium chocolate players that will remain in the market are only those who could ride the changes and rise above the expectation of consumers because brand and quality play a significant role in customer purchase decision. 3. Key Success Factor in the premium Chocolates Industry. 3. 1 Understanding the Consumer’s Needs The company must understand that they must have the features required by the consumers. For premium chocolate consumers, their reasons in buying are for themselves or for gifts. The first thing in the consumer mind for the products is the taste, and then packaging, shopping experiences, and the price. Rogers Chocolates has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s premiere chocolate makers and many consumers stating that Rogers’ is one of the best chocolate they have ever tasted (Customer Review 2010). The retail stores create a unique costumer experience with the aromas and image of the store and one of the friendliest staff. Since the premium chocolates serve as a gift either individually or as corporate gifts in special occasion then their packaging need to be unique and attractive. The Rogers packaging are appealing and other competitors are trying very hard to improve theirs. Another 30 percent of Rogers’s costumers are wholesale distributors and stores. The relationship that Rogers maintains with these customers has been essential to the growing success of the company. They have to strive to provide competitive price, great customer service and inventory in a timely manner. 3. 2 Brand Awareness Rogers’ Chocolates had a brand share of approximately 6% out of $167 million Canadian Chocolates market in 2006. Consumer pay premium price for premium chocolates and this fact can be looked intimidating to the retail and wholesale customers who are unaware of the brand and unwilling to try it. Therefore, the chocolate’s companies need to have a strong brand name and brand image. Rogers Chocolates’ brand is iconic and local heritage in Victoria but less known in the rest of Canada. Either customers love the brand or completely unknown. 3. 3 Diversified Products â€Å"We bought raspberry filling dark chocolate, pistachio and fruits in milk chocolate, a white chocolate bar and a lemon meringues and couple of truffle bars. Did we buy too much chocolate between the 2 of us? Nonsense, one can never have too much chocolate. † The review above came from Tom, California who visited Rogers Shop in Vancouver on October 3, 2009 (Customer Review 2010). People love to choose their own selection and favourites. The company has to strive to provide innovative and delicious products to meet the market demand. Rogers also has addressed the health conscious consumer by provide non-sugar chocolates. Rogers can offer a great breadth of products that enables the company to reach a large customer segment 3. 4 Enhanced Competitiveness Increased marketplace competition has significantly given an impact in Rogers’s business and as a result, Rogers must continuously seek for areas for improvement in order to enhance competitiveness against other competitor in the market. Improving weakness could be done in terms of product innovation, operational and manufacturing, marketing, advertising and promotion, inventory and distribution, and customer relationship. The company has to observe their capabilities and make the most of them in order to stay and win in the competition. 4. SWOT analysis |Strengths |Opportunities | |. Product |Market | |Established brand |Tourist approach in cruise ship | |Quality taste |Growing Markets 20% annually | |Award-winning |Young people market | |Variety |USA and International Market | |Consumer Loyalty in Victoria |2010 Olympics | |Human Resources |Licensing,Franchising and partnership | |Employee pride and loyalty |Products: | | Skilled and experienced management |Ice cream | |Rogers own retail stores |Health conscious products | |Sam’s Deli Performance |Consumer Trends | |Strong financial position |Affordable luxury products | | |Healthy lifestyles | | |Technology | | |Mobile marketing | | |Production capabilities | | |Internet | |Weaknesses |Threats | |Product/Brand |Intense competition and new entrants | |Little awareness outside Victoria |Economic Downturn/ Drop tourists | |Production |Change consumer traffic to Vancouver | |Planning, Documentation and Forecasting |Private label Chocolate | |. Suppliers |Fluctuating demand | |Capacity |Environmental and human concerns | |Equipment and processes | | |Human Resources | | |Resistance to change | | |Conflict management | | |Multiple responsibility | | |Sales force | | |Distribution | | |Location | | |Market Coverage | | |Inventory management | | |Financial | | |Sales growth | |. The BOLD/ Italic and BIG SIZE fonts are the key factor for each category The company has a strong set of strength. Rogers Chocolate is small/medium business thus its weaknesses still not very damaging and the company situated in fairly strong position. However, looking at the threats, the company needs to repair its weakness especially in Branding, Production and Inventory in order to sustain in the business. The opportunity table shows great opportunity for Rogers to grow and expand. However, Rogers needs to expand its strength beyond outside Victoria especially towards young people and definitely repair the weaknesses to cater the growing market. 5. Strategies and positioning. Rogers Chocolates positioned as High quality – premium price Chocolate As stated in the company website, Rogers’s philosophy is making only premium products and packaging elegantly. In the premium Chocolate market, Rogers’s chocolates control only 6% and price the products in high price point but still competitive and even slightly lower then Godiva and Callebaut. High Quality Rogers Callebaut Purdy’s Godiva Lindt Low Price Cadbury Hersheys High Price Low Quality Rogers brand is well respected among those who want high quality chocolate. Rogers’s products have no additives and use high quality ingredients. The brand is very well-established in Victoria and has loyal consumers Mission Statement: Rogers Chocolates is committed in producing and marketing fine products which reflect and maintain our reputation of quality and excellence established for over a century. All aspects of our business will be conducted with honesty and integrity, upholding our proud Canadian tradition. (Rogers Chocolates 2010) GOAL: â€Å"To double or triple total sales within 10 years† Management’s Strategy Selection Based on Roger’s goal of doubling or tripling total sales within 10 years, then the main strategy will be increasing brand awareness. Rogers’s products are already proven superior despite their distribution which circulates mainly in British Colombia area, thus company has to expand its market range to greater area and to East Canada or overseas. Rogers has already won the 2010 Olympics Official Chocolates together with Purdys (Lazarus 2008) which is a tremendous opportunity to create awareness nationally and internationally. To grow a market, factors such as Licensing, franchise and partnership is being considered. One idea under consideration for developing the wholesale network was the creation of a turnkey store-within-a-store setup that would allow wholesale clients with a retail presence — such as department stores to add a mini-Rogers store in their shop. Rogers’s management also aim to increase the number of online shopping. Those strategies are consistent with Rogers’s goal to increase the sales by double and triple in ten years. However, being a small/medium company, Rogers’s management can only choose to act on several options while not putting a risk on its culture and tradition. Licensing, franchising and create store-within-a-store is a cheaper options to expand the market compare to open its own retail stores in the new areas however does it really appropriate to Rogers excellent retail experiences? (source)s together with Purdys Conclusion In early 2009, Parkhill and Rogers’ management chose to focus on expanding the company’s retail network. Parkhill says that Rogers will also continue to develop its wholesale channel, but will be selective in choosing partners who fit the company’s brand. â€Å"Our foundation is retail,† he says. â€Å"It’s the ‘Wow!’ experience that customers get when they walk into our stores, are greeted and are handed a free sample of our chocolates. From this customer experience, success comes in other things that we do such as wholesale and online sales. † Roger is high quality premium chocolate thus the experiences for shop and consumes Rogers chocolate has to be excellent as well. If the Brand is being franchised or create a small shop at the corner of somebody else store then the quality of service and the store ambiances can not be controlled. People not only say about how good Rogers Chocolate was but also their great experiences in Rogers Store. Therefore, the decision of developing Rogers own retail is good decision and consistent with its goal and philosophy. References:? Customer Review 2010, Rogers Chocolate, Available http://www. yelp. ca/biz/rogers-chocolates-vancouver [Accessed 5 June 2010] ? Lazarus 2008, Sweet deal for Purdy’s and Roger’s Chocolates, August edn, Marketing Magazine ? Morrissete 2008, On the case: How sweet is this, really? , Financial Post Magazine ? Rogers Chocolate 2010, History, Available: http://www. rogerschocolates. com/history [Accessed 5 June 2010] ? Thompson, Strckland, Gamble 2010, Crafting and Executing Strategy: The Quest for Competitive Advantage. Concepts and Cases, 17th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, United States ? Zietsma 2007,Case: Rogers’ Chocolates, Ivey Management Service.