Product Level Planning free essay sample

Market analysis 3 SWOT Analysis 4-7 Objectives 7 Marketing Strategy 8 Action Program 9 Financial Projection 10 Feedback Control 10 Conclusion 11 References 11 Executive Summery Cement Industry is highly important segment of Bangladesh’s Industrial sector Plays a vital role in socio-economic development. Although cement industry of Bangladesh has witnessed its ups down in recent past but in last decade it has recovered now it’s a self-sufficient industry of Bangladesh not only fulfilling domestic needs of Bangladesh also exporting a huge amount of cement to other countries, bringing foreign reserves help in up lifting Bangladesh’s GDP. Bangladesh is currently operating at their maximum capacity due to the boom in commercial industrial construction within Bangladesh. In this report I have selected Anchor cement, Olympic Cement Ltd (OCL) of ‘Khansons Group’ simply called gray cement we will describe how they do product planning for that? Khansons Group has extended its industrial arena by putting-up a clinker grinding cement plant named as Olympic Cement Ltd. We will write a custom essay sample on Product Level Planning or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The plant is located at Rupatoli, Barisal all in a row along with its textile industries. The finished product (cement) has been branded as Anchor the same has become popular in the local market. This cement project commenced its initial production at 800 tpd and gradually increased the production to the level of 1,600 tpd. Olympic Cement Ltd (OCL) is one only cement factory which has targeted to meet the entire demand of cement in Southern Bengal. As a result, OCL has concentrated its sales on a soaring trend by increasing production volume. OCL is maintaining the reputation of its quality product and aiming at the extended project in days to come. Current Market Situation Overall Market Situation Bangladesh cement industry is the 40th largest market in the world. There are 70+ cement factories in Bangladesh and daily production capacity is 16. 687 Million MT. In January 2012, Bangladesh’s Export Promotion Bureau released data confirming that cement exports had witnessed a 21% increase in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (July 2011 – January 2012). The boost in the cement sector is because of the rising construction activity in the country increasing development expenditure by the govt. Due to this the sales of cement sector will also rise every year. Product Situation Since Cement is a specialized product, requiring sophisticated infrastructure production location, so, Most of the cement industries in Bangladesh are located near/within a river side that are rich in clay. Iron mineral capacity so ‘Anchor’ cement is situated near to the bank of river ‘Kirton Khola’. Anchor cement installed capacity is 1,600 tpd at present with the turnover of 50 crore in a year. Competitive Situation: In competitive situation we will describe all the competitors of Anchor Cement producing gray cement. There are 70 + firms in the market along with Anchor Cement. All these companies are using different marketing tactics to grape as much market share as possible but they are acting like a cartel under the tree of APCMA. They are producing same quality of cement with all most same price and features that’s why competition in the market is very tough for local as well as foreign market. All are using same bulk penetration strategies to cover major portion of the market. Some are using cost leadership strategy but due to cartel act behavior they are not getting the target results that they want to achieve. Currently Crown cement is the market leader while Anchor cement is a niche in the national market but it is the leader in the local market of Barisal southern part of Bangladesh. Distribution Situation: Anchor Cement Company uses different channels of distributions to transfer the gray cement from company to the different part of Bangladesh. †¢ACC gt; Whole Sellers gt; Retailorgt; Customer †¢ACC gt; Retailorsgt; Customer †¢ACC gt; Customer †¢ACC gt; Regional Offices gt; w/s Retailors Macro-Environmental Situation Macro environmental factors directly or indirectly effect the production of the company its market. Macro- Environmental factors are the factors that are not in the control of the company. These factors are†¦.. 1. Political 2. Law order situation 3. Cultural values 4. Technological change . Demographic trends 6. Economic Condition 7. Inflation Opportunity Issue Analysis After completing the market analysis now we will do analysis of opportunities issues for the ACC. Opportunity is a chance of progress or advancement that is available in the market the company has to avail it for the progress and profitability while issues are the weakness or th reat for the company to avoid or settled down. For this purpose we have to do SWOT analysis of ACC. Strength of ACC Strengths are the internal positive factors of advantage that a company possesses. Following is the strength of ACC. Installed Capacity: Installed capacity of company is 16. 687 Million MT daily they are producing 6007. 32 MT per annum so they can exceed the production easily by proper implementing their marketing mix strategies it will directly increase profits of the company. oRaw Material: Anchor Cement Company is situated near the bank of the river kirtonkhola. So they can easily avail the huge reserve of raw materials with a very low cost as compare to other competitors’ as their cost of material is high. oHigh Quality of ACC: Quality of ACC is much better than the standard set by Bangladesh importers. Quality of production is better than most of the competitors in the market. oCheap Labor: They are using cheap labor market of Bangladesh which is strength of them due to this their price is low as compare to other compotators. oGood Govt. Policies: Local federal govts. Policies are supportive favorable to the cement sector. They are getting many benefits in term of electricity etc from BD govt. So over all ACC is enjoying good environment created by Government. Weakness of ACC Weaknesses are the internal negative factors of a company that should be avoided or to be controlled. Following are the negative factors of ACC. oNot Utilization of Full Capacity: ACC is not utilizing its full capacity of production of gray cement. They can produce more per annum so not utilizing their full capacity is also their disadvantage which they should convert it into opportunity. oFuel Electricity Charges: ACC cost comprises more than 50% costs of fuel electricity. So they should minimize these expenses as much as they can. It can really help them in uplifting their market share growth profit as well. They can convert their system or can generate their own electricity by investing in this sector. Management: ACC major boards of directors are from the same family which is also a negative factor of them. So they should introduce competent personnel’s in the company for the growth. oFreight Charges: Freight or transportation charges to other parts of the country are also a problem for them which should be settled down as soon as possible. They should minimize their e xpenses to avail greater markets present in other parts of Bangladesh. Opportunities for ACC Opportunities are chances for progress or advancement that is available in the market and the company has to avail it for the progress and profitability. These are positive external factors. Following are the opportunities available for ACC. oGovernment Development Expenditure: Govt: is spending huge amount on development projects like roads, schools, hospitals, dams infrastructure etc. ACC can avail these opportunities by responding on time to these projects. oConstruction of Big projects: Recently there are many big projects are going on Bangladesh like construction of Jamuna future park, many high rise buildings etc, also in nationwide in Barisal. ACC should explore all these opportunities to increase its market share. oDemand of Bangladeshi Cement: Recently Bangladeshi cement demand is increasing day by day in foreign markets so ACC can improve its foreign market share. This will be very favorable profitable for them. Threats for ACC Threats are the negative factors that are available in the external environments. These are unhidden threats that are waiting for company should be ready or prepared to tickle down all these threats for their existence survival. Following are the threats available for ACC. High Energy Prices: Energy prices are constantly increasing in Bangladesh worldwide which is directly affecting the profitability of ACC because major portion of cost consists of fuel energy expenses so they should find out alternative source of energy to minimize the cost of goods. oHigh level of Taxes Custom duty: High level of cost custom duty are affecting its profitability. So govt. should take constructive steps fo r the development of the industries. oCompetitors: There are 70+ firms in cement industry which make the competition very tough. Each firm is striving to get as much share as they can and they are using different tactics to excel their sales. So, ACC should take proper steps for its growth while taking into consideration all the Competitors. oPolitical Instability: It is also a main threat for ACC because it brings changes in laws regulation accordingly. Objectives After analyzing all the factors now we will set the objectives or targets we can say, for ACC that is going to be achieved in the next financial year of the company. Our objectives should be ? Specific ?Measurable ?Achievable ?Realistic ?Time bound There are 2 kinds of objectives which are: Financial Objectives †¢Marketing Objectives Financial Objectives: Financial objectives are related with the financial performance of the company or simply objectives that relate to finance. Following are the financial objectives that we can set for ACC for 2013. ?Profit after taxes should be 60 crore ?Cash flow should be 10% high Marketing Objectives Financ ial objectives should be convertible to marketing objectives. Marketing objectives are related to market or overall industry. Following are the marketing objectives of ACC. Sales should be 50% high Exports should be 40% Average price should be up to 450 pg Sales of 5,00,000 tons should be achieved in 2013 Expand the number of dealers Market share should be up to 5% Marketing Strategies Strategies are the game plan or road map to achieve the objectives set by the company by utilizing its resources. Following are the marketing strategies that should be used: oNew Markets New markets in outside inside of the country should be achieved. oDistribution outlets Distribution outlets or big distributors must be located in all the targeted markets. oAdvertisement 2% budget should be allocated for advertisement campaign on bill boards certain media channel. Low pricing strategy Low pricing strategy should be adopted as compared to competitors. oAlliance Alliances should be made with distributors realtors in important markets preference should be given to them. oSales force Sale force or sales agents should also be hired in remote areas with 5-8% commission. oMarket Research 10% Budget should be allocated to market research to know competitors , customer behavior new markets. oLower cost of goods strategy Cost of the cement should be low down to earn maximum profit Action Programs Marketing strategies should be supported with action programs or day to day plans. Each strategy should be broken down in to small programs or action that can easily be implemented. It tells us that which marketing strategy is to be completed by whom, when how what will be the cost of that? ?Sales department have to do 25 crore sales after every 4 months. ?Production department have to produce 0. 25 million tons after every 4 months. ?Purchase department should purchase furnace oil raw materials 5% less as compared to previous year. ?Management should reduce unproductive expenses @10% as compared to last year. ?Other incomes should be increased up to 10 crore as compared to last year. Marketing department should achieve their target within given budget on the basis of six months. Financial Projections †¢Following are the overall projection for year 2013. In millionsIncrease Sales500060% Cgs (Cost of goods sold)(3200)36% Gross Profit120080% Other Expenses18010% Other Income2040% Profit Before Taxes800 Taxes200 Net Profit60020% Feedback Control In the last st age of product level planning we will consider does the company actually achieved its objectives or not. In this step we will compare the actual results with the standards set out there in the planning stage. According to the above results figures ACC has achieved all the targets goals efficiently effectively. They have properly implemented the planning as compared to previous year so they have achieved the level of performance what they want. Even more fruitful results have been achieved. Usually, Anchor Cement Company carries out three types of controlling strategies which are as under.. oAnnual Plan Control ACC usually do audit or check up at the end of year that whether that have achived their annual goals/objectives or not regarding sales, profits, market share growth etc. They want to know the gap between actual standard, if found any then will fix it down in the upcoming period. If they have performed much better then they watch out the reasons behind that to implement forever in the organization. oAudit Control Internal Audit is carried out by the internal auditors. External Audit is carried out by external auditors. oStrategic Control Strategic Control is the step of the last section. In strategic control usually they evaluate whether the Anchor Cement Company marketing strategy is appropriate to the market condition or not. If not they do Changes in it to make implementable in the market. They change their strategy according to the market situation that changes so rapidly. Conclusion From the above analysis we can easily conclude that how a company usually does their product or marketing planning. I pick Anchor Cement Company collect data from different sources (mainly from web) then make the palling for them accordingly. All the above discussion gives us a bird’s eye view regarding a good product planning that a marketer can do. References http://www. khansonsgroup. com www. scribd. com Marketing Management- Philip Kotler, 11th edition

Self-reports in psychology Essay Example

Self Self-reports in psychology Paper Self-reports in psychology Paper Using examples, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the use of self-reports in psychology.  One of the strengths of using self-reports as a method of data collection in psychology is that, if we are to believe the cognitive approach, this is the only way in which we can extract information about the way a person thinks. To clinically interview a person, such as in Ellis’ study on Rational Analysis as a means of treating an affective disorder can provide important information about the individual that otherwise cannot be seen, as the cognitive approach believes that mental processes, or cognitions, are hypothetical constructs and the only way we can establish reasons for behaviour is to ask the individual themselves. Another strength of self-reports in psychology is that you can collect both quantitative and qualitative data from them. With the use of closed questions whereby predetermined answers are provided (multiple choice questionnaires, e.g. a Likert scale), researchers can collect quantified measurements of the number of people who chose a certain answer, like in Holmes Rhe’s study of Life Changing Events, where the majority of participants rated the bereavement of a spouse/partner as the hardest thing to adjust to on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), giving in a collective rating of 100/100. With open questions however, there is room for elaboration, meaning the participants can explain and illustrate reasons behind their decision to, for example, strongly agree/disagree with a statement the questionnaire makes, etc. A weakness of the self report method however is the introduction of social desirability. In almost all studies on medical adherence there is a worry of social desirability affecting the answers. In Becker’s study into providing empirical evidence for the support of his Health Belief Model, he conducted self-reports on the mothers of asthmatic children and whether they stuck to their child’s prescribed regimens. It could be argued here that the mothers may have lied about their adherence to the regimen in order to make themselves appear a responsible mother who, regardless of interferences, gave their child their prescribed regimen of asthma medication. A further weakness of self-reports in psychology is that there is no real way of making self-reports ecologically valid as answering questionnaires about psychological research is not something humans regularly involve themselves with. In almost all studies, but particularly studies like Farrington, et al.’s into delinquent development, where ecological validity can be considered relatively high, the use of self-reports interviews during the participants development into an adult reduce the ecological validity as the participants had to be contacted and visited to conduct the interview, thus making self-reports’ ecological validity a limitation in psychology.

Definition and Examples of Metadiscourse

Definition and Examples of Metadiscourse Metadiscourse is an umbrella term for words used by a writer or speaker to mark the direction and purpose of a text. Adjective:  metadiscursive. Derived from the Greek words for beyond and discourse, metadiscourse can be  broadly defined as discourse about discourse, or as  those aspects of texts  that affect the relations of authors to readers (Avon Chrismore, Talking With Readers, 1989). In Style:  The Basics of Clarity and Grace (2003), Joseph  M. Williams notes that in academic writing, metadiscourse appears most often in introductions, where we announce intentions: I claim that . . ., I shall show . . ., We begin by . . . and again at the end, when we summarize: I have argued . . ., I have shown . . ., We have claimed . . .. Explanations of Metadiscourse Some of our most common and useful metadiscourse signals are the conjunctive adverbs . . .: however, so, nevertheless, and prepositional phrases such as in other words, in addition, and in fact. Other text connectors youre familiar with, such as first, in the first place, second, next, finally, and in conclusion, clearly add to the ease of reading, the flow of the text.(Martha Kolln, Rhetorical Grammar: Grammatical Choices, Rhetorical Effects. Pearson, 2007)Metadiscourse reveals the writers awareness of the reader and his or her need for elaboration, clarification, guidance and interaction. In expressing an awareness of the text, the writer also makes the reader aware of it, and this only happens when he or she has a clear, reader-oriented reason for doing so. In other words, drawing attention to the text represents a writers goals relative to an assessment of the readers need for guidance and elaboration.(Ken Hyland, Metadiscourse: Exploring Interaction in Writing. Continuum, 2005) Writers and Readers Metadiscourse refers to the writers thinking and writing: We will explain, show, argue, claim, deny, suggest, contrast, summarize . . .the writers degree of certainty: it seems, perhaps, undoubtedly, I think . . .   (We call these hedges and intensifiers.)the readers actions: consider now, as you might recall, look at the next example ...the writing itself and logical connections among its parts: first, second, third; to begin, finally; therefore, however, consequently...   (Joseph  M. Williams,  Style:  The Basics of Clarity and Grace. Longman, 2003) Metadiscourse as Commentary Every student who has silently suffered a course of lectures, surreptitiously watching the clock, . . . knows what metadiscourse is, although the word may be quite unfamiliar. Metadiscourse is Last week and Now I propose to turn to and What are we to understand by this? and If I may put it metaphorically, all the way through to And so to conclude... followed by Finally... and Next week we shall go on to examine ...[M]etadiscourse is a kind of commentary, made in the course of speaking or writing. The essential feature of this commentary is that it is not appended to the text, like a footnote or a postscript, but is incorporated with it, in the form of words and phrases fitted into the unfolding message...Now many of the words and phrases we characterize, in their context, as metadiscourse quite obviously function as marks of text structure, or taxis, while as many again seem to occur as explanatory or corrective comments on diction and style, that is, lexis.(Walter Nash, An Uncommon Tongue: The Uses and Resources of English. Taylor Francis, 1992) Metadiscourse as a Rhetorical Strategy Definitions of metadiscourse that rely upon a clear-cut distinction between discourse (content) and metadiscourse (non-content) are ... shaky. Especially when analysing naturally-occurring speech, it cannot be assumed that all forms of communication about communication can be adequately separated from communication itself...Instead of defining metadiscourse as a level or plane of language, or a distinct unit separate from primary discourse, metadiscourse can be conceptualised as a rhetorical strategy used by speakers and authors to talk about their own talk (Chrismore 1989: 86). This is essentially a functional/discourse-oriented as opposed to a formally-oriented view.​(Tamsin Sanderson, Corpus, Culture, Discourse. Narr Dr. Gunter, 2008)

George Soros Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

George Soros - Term Paper Example He is also the chairman of the Open Society Foundation. This paper discusses how he affected the British pound, his social, economic and political views as well as how he is affecting our nation. George Soros was dubbed as â€Å"the man who broke the Bank of England†. Around 1997, the treasury in the United Kingdom estimated the cost of Black Wednesday at around ?3.4 billion. Temple (p. 67) asserts that worldwide macrohedge funds seems to have a large amount of investor capital to execute their macroeconomic strategies. However, they may put in influence to increase the size of their macro bets resulting to greatest alert as well as publicity in the financial markets. The best recognized of the hedge funds as Temple (p. 67) says was the Quantum Hedge Fund managed by George Soros that made significant profits in 1992 by gambling that the British pound would diminish. At the same time, this fund was accused of contributing to the â€Å"Asian Contagion† in the reduction of 1997 when Thailand lessened its currency triggering a domino effect in the movement of the currency through the Eastern side of the Asian continent. Recently, global macrohedge coffers have fallen on hard eras because they were hurt by the Russian bond default in August 1998 and the bursting of technology bubble in March 2000 resulting to great losses for the global macrohedge funds (Temple p. 67). Again, as indicated above, the international macrohedge funds had the largest asset command of any hedge fund strategy. The ability to invest widely across moneys, financial markets, commodities, topographical limits as well as time districts is a two-edged blade. However, Temple (p. 67) adds that it allows global macrohedge funds the broadest cosmos in which to tool their plans. On the other hand, he says that it absences emphasis. As a lot of official investors have enthused into the the hedgerow fund place hence they have demanded greater asset focus different from free asset reign. A s a person who supports democracy as well as open societies, George Soros is usually asailed by those trying to redirect his views through distributing deceptive or even information that seems to be imprecise. In terms of religion, we find that Soros gives respect to all faiths as well as religious does. He believes that those who have faith and faith communities contribute to the understanding of the public of pressing issues socially and most of the time add a principled, moral aspect towards debates that are too often dominated by those people who play politics, statistics and polling. On the other hand, being a philanthropist, the greatness as well as topographical scope of charitable activities of Soros are unprecedented. Upto this moment of time via the Open Society Foundations, he has donated more than $7 billion. It funds very many initiatives worldwide to push for education, fairness, the growth of business, public health and self-governing media. George Sors has a lot of p olitical views. He believes that revolutions are actually undermining and are unnecessarily dangerous. His work focuses on supporting organizations as well as government that gives protection on the rights of the citizens and give feedbacks to their wants. He again champions

Earlier ideas can influence later ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Earlier ideas can influence later ideas - Essay Example It is unavoidable that such a state of affairs will exist because no one has a monopoly of ideas and very few ideas are truly original. In most instances, later ideas build on earlier ideas, expound on them, extend their boundaries, and explicate further obscure concepts. However, many ideas are simple in the sense they are self-evident but still they require constant repetition in some cases because people have a disquieting tendency to take these ideas for granted. This is what the paper will discuss; it is about how democracy and freedom are all intertwined by a series of ideas expressed over a period of time and how these ideas are all brought together by their similarities and close connections. Each idea seems to build on a previous idea and this paper attempts to show how these are all interconnected to each other. History travels in a one-way deterministic street and analysis will reveal the connections. Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt’s third inaugural speech on January 2 0, 1941 contained the four basic freedoms he deemed important and these freedoms were later found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. Both the article of Robert Kaplan and the second inaugural speech of Pres. Obama also relate to the two documents mentioned earlier, but not with each other. Discussion President Franklin Delano Roosevelt first came to power in 1933 during the height of the Great Depression. As a visionary president, he undertook massive reforms in government, big industry, and other sectors of American society to help steer it towards the so-called 3Rs which are relief for the poor masses and millions of jobless workers, quick recovery for the weakened economy in the shortest time possible using the government’s stimulus funds (the concept of Obama’s stimulus funds for the Great Recession came from FDR’s original idea to pump-prime the economy) and massive reforms neede d in the financial system as a whole by strong government intervention to avert a similar catastrophic failure in the future. Roosevelt crafted these policies and passed them through Congress to achieve his aims for the 3Rs and called it the New Deal to sell it to the American electorate despite some opposition. Many of these government programs are still in place without many people knowing what these are. Key pieces of legislation in the New Deal era included laws for the creation of the Social Security System (SSS), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) which is now the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and laws that guaranteed a minimum living wage and the maximum working hours for workers (Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938) and other social safety nets. Roosevelt got re-elected three more times and his term saw the outbreak of Second World War. Having seen the despair of the Great Depression, he is now confronted with the widespread desperation and devastation associated with a truly global war and he saw it fit to declare in his Third Inaugural address to specifically mention these four freedoms which he considered to be very vital to humankind in general. The â€Å"Four Freedoms† speech centered on the freedom of speech, of religion, from want, and lastly, from fear (Edsitement 1). The very first freedom he mentioned, freedom of

Artificial Sweeteners Are Really Bad Essay Example for Free

Artificial Sweeteners Are Really Bad Essay Artificial sweeteners are chemicals or natural compounds that replace the sweetness of sugar, without all of the calories. But sometimes the label sugar-free masks calories present in the food or drink. Aspartame, which is in Equal is a common chemical sweetener with crazy possible side effects. Effects include hallucinations to seizures and brain tumors; it is hardly worth consuming for the sake of saved calories in my opinion. Then you also have Sucralose, which is known as Splenda. Recent research suggests that Splenda can enlarge both the liver and kidneys and shrink the thymus glands. Splenda reportedly can cause skin rashes, panic, diarrhea, headaches, bladder issues, stomach pain, and those side effects dont even sum it up. In addition to all of this, consider the waste involved in the industry of artificially sweetening. Ever stepped into a coffee shop and noticed a mound of sugar substitute packets building on the counter or in the trash? Weve been wasting one of our most precious resources for the sake of a sweetener that can harm our bodies and prevent weight loss. So what you can do instead to get your sugar fix? Turn to natural sweeteners for your drinks and food alike. Honey, agave nector, organic maple syrup, brown rice syrup, and stevia are just a few natural sweeteners you can turn to. Not only will they wreak your body less, but your support of these sweeteners instead will, eventually, help to slow the production of toxic artificial sweeteners. I am interested in this topic because so many people that I know use artificial sugar. My mom however, has never let us use things like sweet and low or splenda because she was always aware of the bad things that happen in your body because of these artificial sugars. I want to be able to answer the question â€Å"well why is it bad?† when people ask me why they shouldn’t use splenda and sweet and low. I will approach this as an informative paper, letting the audience know why it is bad, but also trying to convince people not to use it at the end.

History and Origins of the Service Learning Practice :: Informative

III. Review of Related Literature History of Service-Learning The history and origins of the service-learning practice in the United States is older than its own name (Clearinghouse, Titlebaum, Daprano, Baer, & Brahler, 2004). However, the phrase service-learning was first used in 1966 to describe a joint project between Tennessee college students and professors working on area developmental organizational projects (p. 4). Subsequently, in 1967 Robert Sigmon and William Ramsey, while working at the Southern Regional Education Board, coined the term for the first time (Giles & Eyler, 1994; Sigmon, 1979; Stanton, Giles, & Cruz, 1999). Later in the 1970s, Sigmon published in the Synergist his manifesto entitled, Service-Learning: Three Principles (1979), in which the author framed the foundations of service-learning as a pedagogical method. According to Sigmon, every service-learning practitioner should adhere to the following three principles: 1) Those being served control the service(s) provided. 2) Those being served become better able to serve and be served by their own actions. 3) Those who serve also are learners and have significant control over what is expected to be learned (p. 10). The point at issue here is the conceptualization of service-learning as a dialectical process in which all participants equally evolve as active learners and agents of change. During past decades, particularly the 1980s, much of the service-learning debate revolved around its definition (Crews, 2002). It seems like previous scholars could not establish a consensual agreement on what to call â€Å"service-learning† and what should be included (Plann, 2002). Even though the broad scope of service-learning allows other programs to exist under the same description (Furco, 1996), sometimes such a rubric also tolerates the emerging of â€Å"moniker† programs (Butin, 2010). Kendall’s (1990) review of the service-learning literature illustrates the aforementioned case. The author provides 147 different definitions depending on whether service-learning is seen as an educational or philosophical method. Although such conceptualizations will change to meet the goals and expectations of civic, social, educational, and governmental institutions (Maurrasse, 2004; Shumer & Shumer, 2005), some of them brought a much-needed conceptual clarity to the fi eld. For instance, the National and Community Service Act of (1990) defined service-learning as: A method (A) under which students or participants learn and develop through active participation in thoughtfully organized service that (i) is conducted in and meets the needs of a community; (ii) is coordinated with an elementary school, secondary school, institution of higher education, or community service program,

Public Speaking †Sharing and the Future Essay

Here’s a thought for you. What is the worlds greatest computer? Mac? PC? How about the huge mainframe computers they have at Nasa? No. You see up here, in our heads. This is the greatest computer. And your eyes, I see you still all have your eyes open, that’s good. But do you know what you are seeing? I mean really seeing. Every second, every single second your eyes take in 72 gigabytes of information. The world’s greatest camera. Now is that not incredible? A computer and a camera. And this data, this code, is up here behind the firewall of our personality. 6 billion neurons, evolved to understand, to translate, to give us our vision of the world around us. The mountains, rivers, great Savannahs, every animal in all their incredible shapes and sizes†¦ Friends family, lovers, the people around you now. Everything and everyone you have ever met are all up here. They are all stories, memories charged with emotion. Your happiness, your sadness, your joy, frustration your loves, your loves lost. And this collection of stories makes you. An ongoing project that only comes to an end when we die. Your memories are your life. Above all we have a genetic imperative, a unique desire, to share. What makes us human? Our sense of self and our ability to share who we are. Our greatest gift. Lets rewind a little. Cave paintings. First we paint to say I was here. Then we paint to say why we are here, to pass on knowledge, experience. To build on what we know. For this is evolution†¦ sharing for survival. We share more and more, now we share our fiends, we share our favorite on Youtube, our location, we share photos, maybe sometimes even a drink. Every time we share we are reflecting our personality. Our selves. But this is normal. Innovation changes the game. Always. 20,000 years ago. 1,000. 10 years. Tomorrow.  It doesn’t matter. Interference is a good thing. Whether it be a smile or a tattoo, the phone in your pocket. Disruption and interference of all sorts, creates rifts and makes possible unimaginable leaps forward in technology and communication. Today we see a world on fire. On fire with data. With information. But there is a revolution around the corner, nothing less than the total translation of our human emotions, these urges into information. Pure communication. I believe we are at the frontier. Ahead lies the internet of us. An internet of pure emotion – genuine connection. To finally take us beyond the cave painting. This is not science fiction. Doctors can talk to people in comas, you can control a toy with your mind. This is now. A world of shared emotion. Where the greatest experiences are magnified, a million, a billion times. Can you imagine love? Now can you imagine a love that is a billion times more powerful? An empathy†¦ true feeling. A new future. A world that we will create, but the borders of language will be gone. Imagine what we would be able to achieve. The next generation of us is coming. For tomorrow is the future we all share. here is a thought for you, what is the worlds greatest computer? Mac?  PC? how about the huge mainframe computers they have at NASA? No. you see it Jo here in our heads, this is the worlds greatest computer. and your eyes, I see you still have your eyes open, that’s good. but do you know what you are seeing? I mean really seeing? Every second, every single second your eyes take in 72 gigabytes of information, the worlds greatest camera. Now is that not incredible. A computer and a camera. and this data this code is hidden up here behind the firewall of our personality. 86 billion neurons evolved to understand, to translate, to give us our vision of the world around us.

The History of Art, Changed

Many artists and musicians have a claim to fame: Elvis Presley is â€Å"The King† of rock-and-roll, Michael Jackson is â€Å"The King† of pop, Miles Davis made jazz what it is today. But perhaps the only musical artists that are known for having changed an entire era of youth musically, politically, socially, and even economically are The Beatles. John, Paul, George, and Ringo are four names that when said together will, in most cases, solicit the same response: The Beatles. There was Beatlemania, Ed Sullivan, early years, transition years, drug years, war years, the fighting, and of course, the break-up. Their first appearance on â€Å"The Ed Sullivan Show† is just as vivid in the memories of baby boomers as is the memory of John F. Kennedy†s assassination. Perhaps most surprising is that The Beatles did in 8 years what most artists can†t do in a life time; they impacted youth culture and became arguably the most well known artists in history. In 1956, at the age of 16, John Lennon started a band by the name of the Quarrymen (Schaffner 12). Playing mostly in local clubs, The Quarrymen were a neighborhood band. On July 6, 1957 John Lennon would meet Paul McCartney for the first time. One of John's band mates, Ivan Vaughan, also a friend of fifteen year old Paul McCartney, invited Paul to the St. Peter's Church in Woolton, Liverpool where the Quarrymen would be playing. Introductions were made; Paul picked up a guitar and John was genuinely impressed with Paul, not only because he could play so well but because he could tune a guitar, a feat that the others had not yet mastered. A few days later while riding his bicycle, Paul ran into Pete Shotton, one of the Quarrymen. Pete told Paul that they had talked it over and John wanted Paul to join the band. After a moment's contemplation, Paul replied â€Å"Oh, all right† (Goldman 72). John and Paul quickly became friends, and the historic song writing duo was born. Ivan Vaughn would go on to introduce John and Paul to George Harrison. Paul discovered that the fourteen year old George knew dozens more chords than he and John put together (Giuliano 28). George could also pick out actual solos instead of merely strumming (Goldman 75). The band†s name went from Quarrymen to The Silver Beetles, and finally to the Beatles. One of John's rock ‘n' roll heroes was Buddy Holly whose band was called the Crickets so John tried to dream up an insect name of his own. The result was â€Å"Beetles†, but unable to resist the pun, he changed â€Å"Beet† to â€Å"Beat†. Explained John, â€Å"When you said it, people thought of crawly things, when you read it it was beat music† (Schaffner 19). Members were added and thrown out of the group eventually leaving only John, Paul, and George. On a brief outing to Hamburg, the three members would meet a drummer by the name of Richard Starkey, later to be known as Ringo Starr. He got the name â€Å"Ringo† for the many rings he wore on his fingers. On January 24, 1962, the Beatles signed a management contract with Brian Epstein.

Benecol Essay Example

Benecol Essay Example Benecol Paper Benecol Paper Essay Topic: Marketing 1. Introduction Todays lifestyles are vastly different from those of past. Consumer attitudes to food, nutrition and health are maintaining at a relatively high criterion on safety and quality. The focus of nutritional science is shifting toward the concept of optimal nutrition'(Doyon Labrecque, 2008). The functional food industry which initiate healthy and nutritious foods, has taken this opportunity to be developed for a number of years. Raisio Plc. is a food and functional food company and its products have been on the market since 1995. Raisio develops, produces and markets health-promoting ingredients, feeds and malts worldwide. Its main product Benecol is the worlds first and best-known brand of cholesterol-lowering functional foods. In the UK, the term about sterol-based ingredients has been recognised over the last few years and still relatively new, and no other strong competitors among the same kind of products. Benecol see the UK market as a great opportunity to develop its products and enlarge their UK customer base. To achieve this, better informing consumer behaviour and consumer-product relationship are perceived as essential efforts for Benecol group to inform. By understanding the relevant theories relating to customer behaviour and marketing strategy, this report aims to explore the methods for Benecol brand to achieve better customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction, especially at a specialist consumer behaviour consultant view. There are four main parts which present in a structural way. Firstly, introducing a brief overview about the Benecol Company; secondly, provide the main conceptual issues involved in the implementation of Means-end chain; and the associated methods in the context of Benecol company research and apply in the UK as the final part. 2. An overview of Benecol products As a Finnish innovation, Benecol is the only range of foods that contain the ingredient plant stanol ester. It works with the body to effectively reduce cholesterol levels but also improves the health and well-being of blood vessels. Some features of this active ingredient have been revealed by more than 50 clinical studies. Studies indicate the safety of the Benecol ingredient that plant stanol ester passes through the body practically unabsorbed and the effect that Benecol products lower cholesterol up to 10 per cent and harmful LDL cholesterol up to 15 per cent as part of the daily diet'(raisiogroup.com). Functional foods containing the Benecol ingredient are sold in almost 30 countries and in many different product applications. Currently, these include dairy products such as milk drinks, cream, cheese-style spreads and yoghurts; cereal products such as soy drinks, pasta, bread and margarines; meat products and ready-made salads. 3 Means-end chains Although functional foods are becoming popular, organisations know relatively little about how consumers behaviour perceives functional foods. For product development and marketing, it is important to know how consumers explain their interests, how that interest is linked with their values and what the broader life values behind their interest are. Value of a food product is based on the self-relevant consequences that can be achieved by consuming that particular product. A particular hierarchical value map has been developed to find out the links between product attributes, their self-relevant consequences and values, that is means-end chain (Grunert, 1995). It has been suggested in academic literature that the means-end chain theory could be a relevant way of putting consumer-oriented food product design into practice (Audenaert Steenka,p. 1997). The Means-end chain represents that the major consumer processes that link values to behaviour. A common frame of means-end chain has three different levels: attribute; consequence and consumer values. When consumers evaluate each product, they will consider a set of this products attributes firstly. Attribute is a relatively specific product characteristic, not only the packaging, colour, price, quality and other external attributes, but also sellers reputation, brand and other abstract attributes. The consequence is the result that peoples consumption can provide. IF this result can meet the expectations of consumers, it will be defined as benefit. Value is more abstract than consequence (Devlin et al,2003). It involves peoples expectations, with the aim of determining what action or life is best to do or live. One assumption has divided value into terminal and instrumental values. As values motive and adapt consumers thinking and behaviour, they act in a certain way during consumption (Reynolds Gutman, 1988),. Gutman (1982), describe the process about value influencing customer behaviour as this means-end chain. It focuses on the linkage between these three levels. One important aspect seeks to understand how consumers make links between self-relevant consequences and values. Another important linkage is ConsequenceProducts attributes, that is, if consumers want to get benefits, they have to learn and familiar with the product attributes. The relationship figure shows as following. Figure1. The Means-end basis for involvement From this figure, it is possible to clarify how product attributes are linked with consequences and how these consequences are then linked with consumer values (Reynolds and Gutman, 1988). Means-end chain provides a useful tool for product development and marketing to study the structures behind consumers opinions or impressions and makes it possible for important information to be used when targeting consumers with the product information, advertisements or final products. As a useful tool, it has been used successfully in clarifying consumer perceptions of functional foods (Jonas and Beckmann, 1998). Roininen et al. (2000) have used laddering to identify how consumers perceive health and hedonic aspects in food Jonas and Beckmann (1998) clarified consumer perceptions of functional foods in England; health was mentioned as one reason for choosing functional yoghurt, cereals and butter in England. Figure2. Hierarchical value map of food for the UK consumers Resource: Baker, et al (2004) Take Hierarchical value map of the UK consumers to food ingredients as an example, if the food ingredients contain attributes as no additives or preservatives and not genetically modified, these features may meet customers psychosocial consequence as their preference of this kind of products, and the functional consequences about health related. Finally, the product are unique to reach consumers value aspect, such as enjoying a high quality of life and well-being health, even achieving personal self-esteem as get a respect for other people. 4. Identifying consumers means-end chains and Benecol products Measuring means-end chain is best accomplished with one-on-one, personal interviews in which the researcher tries to understand a consumers meanings for product attributes and consequences (Peter Olson2008). A study (published by Urala Là ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½hteenmà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ki, 2003) revealed some product categories and means-end chain of functional food. In almost all product categories, five central means-end chains describing the respondents food choices were found. These means-end chains referred to healthiness, taste and pleasure, security and familiarity, convenience, and price. In the hierarchical value maps, the links mentioned the most often between attributes, consequences and values is healthiness. Benecol focuses on dairy products. 4.1 Identifying key attributes considered by consumers Here are several methods to identify key attributes considered by consumers, such as elicitation and laddering interview, all required to communicate with customer directly. Benecol can achieve this information by experiments, or distributing questionnaire, or interview customers with a set of triad tasks. But MEC models provided a deeper understanding which can dig out consumers deeper knowledge about beliefs of psychosocial consequences and value satisfaction (Peter Olson2008). The ZMET (the Zaltman Metaphor Elicitation Technique), as an effective approach to elicit the potential consumer knowledge, Raisio company can explore this innovative qualitative interview method in its market research. Involvement also can be an important method to discover means-end knowledge, because this method not only identifies the products attributes, but the consequences and affective responses of consumers. 4.2 Focus of Involvement Consumers may be involved with various environments, specific activities and other people. An advertisement, a brand, an event or a situation, all can be factors that motive customers acting as a certain behaviour when they purchasing (Peter Olson2008). Marketers need to know what is the exact relationship between these factors and personally relevant. Benecols product attributes are strongly linked to important consequences. It is undeniable that one reason for customer choosing Benecol product is cholesterol-reducing ingredient. To some extent, this kind of foods that can be the functional consequences for helping protect against heart disease and other diseases. After user experienced the effect of Benecol products, they may recommend this product to his friends and find themselves as a wise buyer. These feeling and actions are interpreted as psychosocial consequences. Therefore, an effective cholesterol-reducing consequence may satisfy customers. In the other hand, consumers may believe the Benecol product attributes are not associated with any relevant consequences, that is, not meet their value patterns of health. This situation will experience them little or no involvement with the product. For instance, although some studies indicate the safety of Benecols products, customers worry about the plant stanol ester passes through the body practically unabsorbed, a little amount of this chemical may still absorbed by the system of organs in the body and is harmful for health. To solve and release these concerns, Benecol need to prove the effect about its products by real user cases, such as provide science based evidences and official documents. In order to let customers know more about their functional food. After detailed implementation, customers will feel more involved with the product. 4.3 Intrinsic self-relevance Understanding consumers intrinsic self-relevance can help organisation to design product attributes that consumers will connect to desired consequences and values (Peter Olson,2008). Consumers usually acquire means-end knowledge from their past experiences with purchasing (Griffin Hauser, 1993). When they use or observe others using a product, consumers learn the certain product attributes will cause consequences that can help achieving their goals and values. Actually, Benecols customers in the UK do familiar with the certain food characteristics; from their previous experience, Benecol milk drinks and Cheese-spread ingredients have good tastes, but lower cholesterol may be a relative new concept for most of them. Therefore, Benecol need to understand both the focus of consumers involvement and the sources that create it, and crucially, replacing their old food products-purchasing habit, while people can think about particular consequences of purchase that are important to them. For example, Benecol can seek to enhance intrinsic involvement with this attribute by focusing on the benefits of using and the negative consequences of not using their cholesterol-reducing product. Even through consumers are not personally involved with this functional product currently and may hold the sceptical attitude about the benefits of this attribute, they can become temporarily involved with the process of buying the product at the first time. 4.4 Understanding the key reasons for purchase and the consumer-product relationship By totally understand consumers means-end chain. We can explore it into Benecols brands. Take dairy products as examples, at the product knowledge level, the attributes of milk drinks involve high price, containing cholesterol-reducing ingredient, and healthiness. At consequence level, good taste is a function, and cholesterol-reducing ingredient is supposed to prevent heart disease; then these functional consequences turn to family enjoy this product as a psychosocial consequence; finally, combing these features together to meet the consumers social recognition as I purchase a high quality brand. Understand the consumer-product relationship can help Benecol target the UK market. There are four segments for the product category at different Brand loyalty levels: Brand loyalists, routine brand buyers, information seekers and brand switchers. Under different marketing strategies, Benecol can address the unique type of product knowledge, intrinsic self-relevance, and involvement of consumers combing with these four market segments, in order to select their target customers. 5. Conclusion It is undeniable that MEC has the potential to provide an increasingly better understanding of consumer-product knowledge and its behavioural implications. Consequently, we also believe that it has the potential of becoming an increasingly valuable tool in consumer-oriented functional food design processes not only for Benecol, but all the Raisio brands. In some researchers opinion, the progresses of these research areas can associate with techniques within consumer-oriented food product design, and develop the implementation of MEC, with the consequent desired gains in its efficiency and effectiveness (Costa et al, 2004, p.413). MEC model has broadened the study range of consumer values. It provides a comprehensive guidance for researching in the consumer behaviour aspect. This approach links values, consequences and attributes to overcome other studies just research the limitations of consumer values from a single level. In addition, this approach overcomes this inadequacy and establishes visual relationship between psychosocial factors of consumers and external product entity. However, during the process of implementing concepts, more research in the functional foods areas need to be done to minimise the shortcomings of MEC. In future studies, further exploration of MEC model still need to be improved. There are some unclear factors about customers memory storage, the ways they remember products attributes and consumer organisations and consumer-product knowledge; and in practices, how do these knowledge be aroused when the customer dealing with the actual decision-making.

Interesting and Useful Facts about Iron

Interesting and Useful Facts about Iron Iron is one of the elements you encounter in pure form. It is essential for nutrition and used in a variety of household objects. Here are some quick facts about iron. You can find detailed information about iron on the iron facts page. Iron Facts Iron is an element that has been known in its pure form for at least 5,000 years. The name iron comes from the Anglo-Saxon word iron and Scandinavian iarn for the metal.The element symbol for iron is Fe, which comes from the Latin word for iron, ferrum.Iron is one of the most plentiful elements. It comprises about 5.6% of the earths crust and almost all of the earths core.The single largest use of iron is to make steel, an alloy of iron and a smaller amount of carbon. According to achaeological records from Anatolia, man has been producing steel for at least 4,000 years.Iron is a transition metal.Iron is not always magnetic! The a allotrope (or form) or iron is ferromagnetic, yet if it is transformed to the b allotrope, the magnetism disappears even though the crystal lattice is unchanged.Animals and plants require iron. Plants use iron in chlorophyll, the pigment used in photosynthesis. Humans use iron in hemoglobin molecules in blood to allow for the transport of oxygen to tissues throughout the body. Although iron is an essential mineral, too much of it is extremely toxic. Free iron in the blood reacts with peroxides to form free radicals that damage DNA, protein, lipids and other cellular components, leading to illness and sometimes death. 20 milligrams of iron per kilogram of body weight is toxic, while 60 milligrams per kilogram is lethal.Iron primarily forms compounds with 2 and 3 oxidation states.Iron is formed via fusion in stars that have sufficient mass. The sun and many other stars contain significant amounts of iron.

Hedge Funds Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hedge Funds - Coursework Example Trend forecast signal is used and will generate up and down signals when buying or selling pressure builds up in a stock, currency, index or future. The forecasts are only a signal to watch for further strength above or below signal bars. The forecasts can mean buying or selling pressure has built up so much a new high or low price will happen soon forming a continuation of the trend OR the price is overdone, and a close of a bar moving in the opposite direction to the last forecast bar could signal a trend failure or reversal point. A hedge fund that can take both long and short positions, buy and sell undervalued securities, trade options or bonds and invest in almost any opportunity in any market where it foresees impressive rates at reduced risks (Friedland, 2011). These features results to hedge fund being able to offer exposure to risk factors those traditional long-only strategies cannot (Agarwal and Narayan, 2002). Exposure to systemic factors, example, small-cap, value companies and emerging markets normally entails higher returns but also higher risks. Norges Bank Investment Management (2011) further emphasizes the importance of continuously measuring the fund’s exposure to such factors and the importance to gain a static and dynamic overview to manage systematic exposure to one or more risk factors. This ability of hedge fund to take both long and short positions, makes it difficult to evaluate its performance, example, in the case where the manager can invest in any asset class, trade in deriv atives and follow a myriad of dynamic trading strategies (Agarwal and Narayan, 2000). Despite this, investors who have moved into active investment from passive strategies start their own hedge fund and its interest is gathering pace (Amenc, Susan and Lionel, 2004). For instance if there has been 2 up forecast bars in a row but the price is failing to break onto a new high, then also watch for a reversal in the price to break below the