Theory of Mind and Child Bullying Literature review

Theory of Mind and Child Bullying - Literature review Example Conclusion 15 References 17 Introduction Social issues and concerns have normally come under immense ignorance and people fail to notice the issues that leave indelible imprints on to abundant of people. Bullying, predominantly child bullying is one of the socially ethical dilemmas that dates back to several decades and may be centuries (Sanders and Phye, 2004, pp. 1-3). One can define bully as a "Use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants" (Alvesson and Spicer, 2011, pp.165). This means that bullying is an action that can come under performance by either one person and can even involve a group of people, where they tend to have aggressive and violent conduct. In addition, the practice of bullying is intended to provide harm to other people or become a source of humiliation for them publically because they perceive them stronger and wants to prove their dominance over the weaker people (Sanders and Phye, 2004, pp. 3-5). In general, it has come to observation that the victim's abilities, personality, ways of expression, gender, religion, culture, and several others become the primary or fundamental source of bullying. Bullying not only comes under restriction to verbal harassment, but also can lead to further violent conduct that includes physical assault and psychological violence. (Coloroso, 2009, pp. 5-8). Bullying has become one of the common and widespread practices that comes under exercise in nearly every institution whether it be educational institutions like schools and universities, workplace and even neighborhood. Due to this persistent and extensive application of bullying in every facet of life, it has become imperative to discover the root causes behind it, the harm that it can provide and the extensive research with respect to the subject matter (Macfarlane and McPherson, 2004, pp. 10-12). The relation of child bullying to theory of mind is imperative t o understand because the theory of mind is one of the social cognitions that come under development in the early childhood. However, the actions of the child are highly dependent upon social cognitions. This means that the mind and development of the child leads to understand the actions performed in the social world. Due to this, it comes under considerations as one of the most important developments of early childhood tha t helps in shaping the personality of the child. Child bullying has a lot of influence and power on how the personality of the child comes under formation in his or her childhood. Therefore, it is pivotal to study and analyse the role and impact of theory of mind upon the performance of the child that can help understand how and why child bullying comes under relationship to theory of mind. The thesis report has come under division into segments where the first segment broadly defines the wide-ranging research that has come under performance with respect to the grave issue, at the same time enlightening child bullying and theory of mind. In addition, it also includes a comparative study that delineates the relationship between the two. The following segment highlights the strengths, limitations, and omission in the research taken place concerning the two aspects. Lastly, based on all the research studies suggestions would come under articulation for future research questions as well as research methods. Overview to Literature Review Process The literature review concerning the matter of child bullying and theory of mind have come under consideration, numerous studies and researches have come under practice that can bring this matter into

Ten Commandments Essay Example for Free

Ten Commandments Essay All the characters in the story have their parts on building up the atmosphere. Abigail has the biggest impact because holds some sort of power over all the other girls and they all fear her, so the fear and hysteria comes from her actions and her friends; Betty, Tituba and Mary. She has courage, intelligence and a charismatic personality but uses these gifts in destructive ways. She causes a harmful influence on the terrified villagers; she has a big impact on creating the hysteria and fear in the play. Reverend Samuel Parris is also a person who creates this setting of fear and hysteria. He is like a servant towards the people who are rich and so on but very brutal to anyone unable to defend for themselves. This explains why Betty loses her consciousness when he finds her in the forest. When the blame is safety diverted to Tituba Mr Parris becomes an enthusiastic witch hunter and changes his views on Mr Hale. Mrs Putnam, as well hasnt got much positive to say about her. She takes the rumours of witchcraft as a chance to find a scapegoat for the loss of her children, however our sympathy to this changes when we find out that she has sent her daughter to talk to spirits. Both Putnams make use of Parris to stir up the witch-hunt. He is responsible for many of the accusations of witchcraft, and takes advantage of this to gain more land off of people. Mr Parris is desperately trying to find someone to put the blame onto and since Tituba was the first to be accused, she is pressurised by him, Mr Hale and Abigail at the same time. You really feel for Tituba in this scene because all of the people seem to join up against her and scrutinise her until she either is at the point of confessing or accusing someone. However until that point is illustrated, Mr Hale and Mr Pariss interrogation against Tituba has great deal of hysteria, tension and fear. So her own friend Abigail accuses Tituba of talking to the Devil. She obviously disagrees to this not making it any better for herself. She comes to me while I sleep; shes always making me dream corruptions. Says Abigail to them (Mr Hale and Mr Paris). Every time Abigail accuses Tituba, someone has something to say Like Mrs Putnam or Mr Parris, to really make her look guilty. This forms an atmosphere of tension because the more and more she is questioned she is getting herself deeper into trouble, which means closer to death. She is really afraid and falls to her feet sobbing in terror after Putnam says she should be hanged. No, No, dont hang Tituba! I tell him I dont desire to work for him, sir. Tituba says using her own name. Later on in the conversation, she gives up and tells them that she saw several people with the Devil. From then is where she starts to name peoples names and then Abigail also begins to name them too. The scene then ends with them naming a load of innocent people. They mention these people hoping that these are the names Mr Hale and Mr Paris want to hear. Act 2 (The Arrests) The second scene I have chosen to analyse is act two (the arrests). A fortnight later the witch-hunt is in full cry. John has tried to keep away from what is going on by working on his farm. His wife Elizabeth has heard alarming details form their servant Mary Warren who was one of the girls in the forest. Now the girls go into hysterical fits and anyone whom they point at is charged with witchcraft. Elizabeth begs John to repeat what Mary has said to him in the courts and to make Abigail realize that their affair is over. She knows Abigail wants to accuse her and take her place. John doesnt want to speak up. Elizabeth says he is hanging back because he is still attracted to Abigail. On her return from the village, Mary mentions that Elizabeths name has come up in court. Johns friends, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse (Rebecca Nurses husband), explain that both their wives have been charged and arrested. Then a few minutes later two court officials arrive with a warrant to arrest Elizabeth. Abigail claims that Elizabeth has sent her spirit out to stab her in the belly. Elizabeth lets herself be taken away leaving John threatening Mary that he will make her tell the truth to the judges. In this scene there is a lot of tension due to the fact that Abigail, Betty and Tituba have all told lies about other people to get themselves out of punishment. Because of this many people get arrested, many hanged and families are pulled apart. When the villagers of Salem start to find out that many people are getting arrested caused by the fake allegations made towards them, the ones waiting around hoping their names is not mentioned creates the tension and fear towards them. Just like Elizabeth, when Abigail and John Procter had the affair, Elizabeth had blamed Abigail but not John. She thought John as a good man and Abigail a whore. So to this she has great hate towards Abigail, and Abigail towards Elizabeth. So Elizabeth is really tense fearing her name will come up in court. In Act two she really shows her fear to John about being arrested. She will cry me out until they take me, she wants me dead John, you know it! She shouts. This shows how she is feeling, although throughout the play she portrays a strong character. Then soon, later on, the two (John Procter and Elizabeth) are questioned by Mr Hale because he is unsatisfied with their attendance in church. In this part of Act two, pressure and fear are high because they are really nervous about what may come and what will be asked of them. They are asked the Ten Commandments and you can tell that tension and fear is high because it has written that he begins to sweat. They struggle when John repeats the same commandment. Then from there Elizabeth helps him out. Aye. You see sir between the two of us we do know them all. Says John Procter This shows the tension is released. Until, Giles Corey and Francis Nurse tell John that their wives are arrested not too long after people arrive with a warrant to arrest Elizabeth. Fear and tension is built up here because of the fact that Abigail has accused Elizabeth of sending her spirits to stab her in the belly, which is not true. So she is scared of facing death and fears what could happen but she hides this. Oh Oh, John, bring me soon! She says, as she is about to leave. The scene ends when Procter realizes that the girls false accusations are getting too serious know that Elizabeth could be hanged and forces Mary to tell the courts that they were just playing and thats all, but she begs him not to because she fears that Abigail will curse her. I cannot charge murder on Abigail shell kill me for sayin that! Betty is really scared and begs him, sobbing on the floor, as the scene ends. Mary is terrified the moment she steps inside the court, but she copes well under the questioning of the people of Salem. She is encouraged by Procter to tell the truth to the courts about the girls being all frauds even when Judge Hathorne bullies her. However she begins to get weak when all the girls turn on her under the influence of Abigail. From there she is caught up in hysteria and begins to fall apart. Conclusion Arthur Miller created an atmosphere of tension, fear and hysteria throughout the play. I feel this was due to the witch-craft issue that went on and the 1950s anti-communist trials in USA that also inspired Miller. The Crucible was written to show people that society in those days was ignorant towards things they didnt know and understand (things they fear) and in The Crucible witch-craft was the case. The play to me showed fear well because of the witch-craft history that Miller decided to useby using this would make readers feel already tense knowing the play is some how to do with witches. The meaning of the crucible is the melting pot for metals. This can somehow relate to the story by firstly referring to the pot as a cauldron. Also, the melting point could mean the boiling point of people and how far society is wiling to go. Miller most defiantly delivered that across to readers and you know why Miller named it The Crucible. The Crucible is sometimes quite hard to understand as it was written long ago and the language is different to now, however the way people act and the facial expression that is well described, defiantly help the play to build up the anxiety and fear. Bless him. Bless him. (She is rocking on her knees sobbing in terror) The book to me wasnt interesting. This is because Miller wasnt convincing about witch-craft and witch-craft doesnt relate to anything in modern times. Nothing really appealed t me, however, the deep meaning of the play, which was to show how the lack of understanding and knowledge of something resorts to violence and how it influences people, was shown very well.

Compensating Wages for Dangerous Job Workers

Compensating Wages for Dangerous Job Workers Explain why workers with dangerous jobs are paid more than workers with less dangerous jobs The competition in the job market has shown an upward turn, when we talk about the opportunities for the job seekers. There are diversified fields for the job seekers based on their qualifications and experience. But another factor is also very vital when a person seeks a job; his / her own choice regarding environment and the workplace safety is equally important. Some people like to work in offices due to the peaceful, neat and clean environment but the same â€Å"paradise† may be â€Å"hell† for others just because they cannot handle the mental stress attached with the office jobs e.g. Accounting, Finance etc. On the other hand some people enjoy the jobs in the field of marketing, which would not be accepted by those who like to work in isolation. But there are some jobs, which are considered dangerous due to the nature of the workplace, or the work that needs to be carried out. Although none of the workers may like to work in dangerous conditions the compensation of fered attracts individuals to come into this field. So, keeping in view all these factors the compensation package of the employee can be assessed (Roberts, Burton Bodah, 2005). Normally the jobs, which require higher skilled individuals is highly compensated when compared to jobs that require only lower or lesser skills. It is considered that the differential amount paid to the higher educated persons, is in compensation for the additional sacrifices and payment made by the person to obtain the skills and education necessary (Dumond, Hirsch MacPherson, 1999). The workplace area and the safety at workplace catches the attention of the employees to demand extra wages. Smith used the words ‘hardship, ‘disagreeable and ‘dirtiness for the work of colliers in Newcastle to explain why they earned two or three times more than common laborers in Scotland (1976). The statistics have been collected by the Bureau of Labour Statistics These statistics have been published on CNN referring to an 18 year old logger who was killed on December 3, 2002. It clearly depicts that the risk factor involved in these jobs classifies them in the category of additional compensatory jobs. The Timber Cutters are facing a high risk and the rate of mortality has been the highest for them when compared to other jobs. People involved in fisheries are at second with fatality rate of 71.1. Pilots and navigators are at third with the mortality rate of 69.8. All these people work out of doors except the structural metal workers. People involved in driving, sailing, and even flying in the list given below as high risk workers. These are outdoor jobs, which are considered the most dangerous jobs. Therefore people in these jobs need the security and compensation as an attraction to continue doing the job. Employers, therefore offer special allowances and compensation along with medical facility, insurance, housing etc. It is not only the risk that is involved in the job that increases compensation for these workers but many other factors. However the discussion of those factors is outside the scope of this paper and therefore will not be mentioned here. Some salient factors have been given below which shows why workers with dangerous jobs are paid more. One is that there is a direct threat to a workers health and life in a dangerous profession. If a worker is hurt due to the nature of job, he may loose a part of his body and sometimes even his life (Schumacher, Hirsch, 1997). This could happen even though there are many workplace health and safety regulations in place and even though the supervisors and the employees themselves are trained on how to maximize safety in the work area. Further a direct threat to the life of a worker is also a threat to the stability and security for his or her dependants. This is because if the worker looses his life or his ability to work (due to injury or disability) the dependents would loose their safety net and can be made destitute (McDuff, 1999). Different jobs have different health hazards Different jobs have different health hazards and by implication different life expectancies. Workers in dangerous jobs are assumed to get a higher wages to compensate for the lower life expectancy and by measuring the size of that premium you can get a rough measure of the value of an extra year (Schumacher, Hirsch, 1997). It turns out that this calculation gives a strong effect: the benchmark calculation assumes that a ten percent increase in life expectancy will generate a 0.24 percentage points increase in adjusted GDP growth (Osburn, 2000). Workers may also need compensation for the stress and anxiety they have to face due to the dangers they are exposed to in the workplace (Mcgoldrick, 1995). For example armed forces stationed in high altitude locations are awarded extra allowance for the isolation at glaciers. The dangerous jobs also need a high level of hard work and physical efforts, which is normally more than the efforts required in normal physical labour. Therefore the extra physical effort of the workers must be compensated by the employer, and this is another reason why employees in dangerous of physically demanding professions get higher wages (Miller, Mulvey Norris, 1997). Concluding the discussion above, it is evident that the dangerous jobs are facing high risk increasing the life uncertainty of the workers. They need life insurance for their life for their families and dependents. Critically appraise the findings of empirical studies that have estimated compensating wage differentials. In labour economics the term Compensation differential is use to describe and analyze the relationship between wage rate and the corresponding risk, unpleasantness and any dangerous attitudes that are entailed in the job. The term compensation differential is also known as â€Å"equalizing difference† or even â€Å"compensating wage differential†. A compensating wage differential refers to the additional compensation that is paid to a worker or an employee in order to motivate the individual to take on a job that is considered undesirable or even a dangerous in comparison to other jobs that are available in the market (Schettkat, 1993). However it is noteworthy that â€Å"compensating differentials† does not apply only to dangerous and undesirable jobs, but also to extremely desirable jobs with special benefits. In the case of the latter, instead of being paid a higher compensation, the individuals concerned will be willing to accept a lower pay as the job entails benefits that are special and cannot be found elsewhere or with any other jobs. The difference here is however that instead of the compensation differential being positive it will be negative in the case of the latter example (Schettkat, 1993). A lot of models have been presented by different authors around the globe regarding compensating wage differentials and many studies have been undertaken in this area. Based on these studies, surveys and analyses, findings have been published in the journals, newspapers and websites. These publications stressed the compensating wage differentials not only for the workers exposed to death due to accidents but for other reasons as well. The term ‘Risk Premium is also used as an alternative to the compensating wage differentials for the workers doing dangerous jobs. Marin and Psacharopoulos (1982), in the first paper using British data from the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) Occupational Mortality Decennial Supplement 1970-72, find evidence of a wage premium for exposure to fatal risk. Sandy and Elliott (1996) and Arabsheibani and Marin (2000) using similar data over the period 1979 to 1983, and Siebert and Wei (1994) using Health and Safety Executive (HSE) data for 1986 to 1988, all find evidence of a fatal risk premium. Another study has been carried out in the Hong Kong regarding compensating wage differentials laying special emphasis on the risk associated with the workplace fatality. The data has been collected from the 1991 census and then it has been merged with the accident data provided by the Labour Department. A theory has been presented by Thaler and Rosen in 1976. The estimation of compensating wage differentials has been carried out with the following formula W = a0 + a1X + a2p + e Where w is the wage rate, X a vector of individual and job characteristics, including the usual human capital variables; p is a measure of job risk and e is an error term. Over the past two decades studies have estimated compensating wage differentials by using this equation. The result normally suggests that a positive and significant compensating wage differential for the jobs with mortality risk is found mostly in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan. Another important factor the compensating wage differentials has been identified as; child penalty. The fact that mothers tend to earn less than women without children seems to be well established in the economic literature and is called child penalty or family gap. Several researchers found raw wage gaps of almost 20% for the US, 13% for the UK and up to 20% for Germany. In order to investigate the impact of motherhood on the choice between pecuniary and non-pecuniary job characteristics the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP; 1984-2003) was used by Felfe in 2006. The sample of interest consists of women during their fertile years, defined as the age from 16 to 46. The dataset provides detailed information about personal and job characteristics, about pecuniary and in particular non-pecuniary ones. Besides it reports satisfaction with the job what is used as a proxy for utility and allows testing if both pecuniary and non-pecuniary job characteristics determine jointly the satisfaction of a mother. The longitudinal nature of the data allows observing mothers around first birth. Th e dataset used is the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP), which is a yearly repeated survey of Germans and Foreigners in West and East Germany (1984-2003). Since 1984 the GSOEP follows the members of the panel. In 2003 the GSOEP provided information about more than 12000 households consisting of more than 24000 people In order to test the hypothesis of the child penalty as a compensating wage differential, the following methodology, divided in three parts, has been conducted. A first step was to investigate if motherhood really affects the job characteristics, i.e. if not only the pecuniary but also the non-pecuniary job characteristics change after motherhood and thus the loss of wage might be compensated with an increase in amenities. In order to estimate changes in job characteristics around and after motherhood, an event study analysis has been used which studies the effects of first birth on a variety of job characteristics. A second necessary step was to show if and how certain job features enter the utility of mothers. According to theory of compensating wage differentials both pecuniary and non-pecuniary characteristics determine jointly the utility of a worker. In case a mother is willing to give up part of her income in order to have a more family friendly job, certain job characteristics have to compensate for this loss in wage and thus raise the utility of a mother. In order to test this empirically, satisfaction regressions has been used. In a last step the actual compensating wage differential has been measured, i.e. how much of their wage mothers are willing to give up for having a job with more amenities (less disamenities). Therefore as a last step a hedonic wage regression has been run including certain (dis-) amenities as control variables. Conclusion The conclusion of the above discussion reveals that the compensating wage differentials have been studied by many of the analysts around the globe using different methodologies and statistics. These studies helped the users understanding the trend regarding compensating wage differentials and the impact on workers. REFERENCES Abraham, J, Lluis, S. (2008) â€Å"Compensating Differentials and Fringe Benefits: Evidence from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey 1997-2004†, retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from Christie, L. (2003) â€Å"Americas most dangerous jobs The top ten most dangerous jobs in America†, CNN Money, retrieved on 28th July, 2009 from Dumond, J. M., Hirsch, B. T., MacPherson, D. A. (1999). â€Å"Wage Differentials Across Labor Markets and Workers: Does Cost of Living Matter?†. Economic Inquiry, 37(4), pp. 577-608. Dupuy, A. Smits, W. (2009), â€Å"How Large is the Compensating Wage Differential for RD Workers?† Retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from Felfe, C. (2006), â€Å"The child penalty A compensating wage differential†, retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from Lanfranchi, J., Ohlsson, H., Skalli, A (2009) â€Å"Compensating Wage Differentials And Shift Work Preferences* Evidence from France†, retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from McDuff, E. M. (1999). â€Å"Social Support and Compensating Differentials in the Ministry: Gender Differences in Two Protestant Denominations†. Review of Religious Research, 40(4), pp. 307-330. Mcgoldrick, K. (1995). â€Å"Do Women Receive Compensating Wages for Earnings Uncertainty?†. Southern Economic Journal, 62(1), pp. 210. Miller, P., Mulvey, C., Norris, K. (1997). â€Å"Compensating Differentials for Risk of Death in Australia†. Economic Record, 73(223), pp. 363. Osburn, J. (2000). â€Å"Interindustry Wage Differentials: Patterns and Possible Sources†. Monthly Labor Review, 123(2), pp. 34. Polachek, S. W. Siebert, S. W. (1993) Economics of Earnings. Cambridge University Press. Roberts, K., Burton, J. F., Bodah, M. M. (Eds.). (2005). Workplace Injuries and Diseases: Prevention and Compensation : Essays in Honor of Terry Thomason. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Schettkat, R. (1993). â€Å"Compensating Differentials? Wage Differentials and Employment Stability in the U.S. and German Economies†. Journal of Economic Issues, 27(1), pp. 153. Schumacher, E. J., Hirsch, B. T. (1997). â€Å"Compensating Differentials and Unmeasured Ability in the Labor Market for Nurses: Why do Hospitals Pay More?†. Industrial Labor Relations Review, 50(4), pp. 557-579. Siebert, W. S. Wei, X (1998), â€Å"Wage Compensation for Job Risks: The Case of Hong Kong†, Asian Economic Journal, Vol 12 No. 2, retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from â€Å"The Human Development Index. A better way of measuring welfare? Notes on Nick Crafts, ‘The human development index and changes in standard of living: some historical comparisons†. European Review of Economic History, Vol 1, (1997), retrieved on July 28th, 2009 from REFERENCES The Bureau of Labour Statistics, retrieved on 28th July, 2009 from

MIS PROJECT :: essays research papers

CONFIDENTIAL MIchigan Supply Inc. Information Systems Initial Plan for Year 2005-20008 CONTEXT MIchigan Supply Inc. (MIS Inc.) is a privately-held automotive parts supplier of a variety of products such as electronics, solenoids, wiring and fuel components. The company is currently located in Rochester Hills, Michigan. INITIAL COMPUTER SYSTEMS MIS is currently separated into 5 departments: Manufacturing and Production with engineers, machine workers and production managers; Finance and Accounting with accounts; Human Resources with human resources staff; Sales and Marketing with salespeople, sales managers, customer service representatives; and Upper Management with secretaries and executives. Required systems and job Functions Each department has its required systems and different job functions which as listed below: o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manufacturing and Production information systems  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Machine control system to control the actions of machines and equipment  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Production planning system to decide when and how many products should be produced  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Facilities location system to decide where to locate new production facilities  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Graphic system for engineers to design or improve products o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finance and Accounting information systems  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accounts receivable system to track money owed the firm  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Budgeting system to prepare short-term budgets  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Profit planning system to plan long-term profits o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human Resources information systems  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Training and development system to track employee training, skills, and performance appraisals  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Compensation analysis system to monitors the range and distribution of employee wages, salaries, and benefits  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Human resources planning system to plan the long-term labor force needs of the organization o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sales and Marketing information systems  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Order processing system to enter, process, and track orders  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pricing analysis system to determine prices for products and services  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sales trend forecasting system to prepare 5-year sales forecasts o  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Upper Management information systems  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Executive support systems to address non-routine decisions requiring judgment, evaluation, and insight; and to filter, compress, track display critical data of greatest importance to executives. Equipment and configuration Currently MIS has 12 machine workers so we need at least 35 workstations. Initially there should be a black and white printer for each of 5 departments and color printers available for engineers, executives and salespeople. Required server services include email, file storage, printing, backup functionality and battery backup system. In addition to the 4 laptops executives currently have, 5 more should be purchased for salespeople for mobility. Equipment to be purchased should be the latest models which are capable of providing the 3 years of services and growth. Fig. 1 shows the company infrastructure configuration. We expect to have 50k to spend on 35 workstations ordered from Dell, 10k on 8 printers from Hewlett-Packard, 200k on server equipment, which should cover the costs of battery backup network switches, servers, tape storage device, serve/workstation software licensing, and 10k on 5 Toshiba laptops for salespeople.

Using an Appropriate Framework of Analysis, Briefly Summarize

THIS CASE STUDY IS AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO WRITE UP AS YOUR FIRST ASSIGNMENT IF YOU WISH. SEE DETAILS OF ASSESSMENTS IN THIS MODULE STUDY GUIDE. Ready meal manufacturers ready to respond to a changing marketing environment CASE STUDY FOR DISCUSSION IN WEEK THREE It is often said that ‘we are what we eat’, but it can also be said that what is on our dinner plates reflects the broader marketing environment. One big change in recent years has been the growing demand for ready prepared meals brought from a supermarket.Previously dismissed as unpalatable and a poor substitute for ‘real’ cooking, their sales have grown rapidly in recent years in many western developed countries. An analysis of the reasons for the growth in the ready prepared meals indicates the effects of broader factors in the market environment on the size of a particular market. The research company Mintel reported in 2007 that the market for ready meals in the five largest European countries incr eased by 5% between 2006 and 2007 alone to reach â‚ ¬8. 4 billion.Moreover, it predicted a further 18% growth to reach the â‚ ¬10 billion mark by 2011. In the UK, the market was worth a total of â‚ ¬2 billion, with a much higher level of sales per head of population than in France or Germany. Intel predicted that between 2006 and 2011, UK ready meals sales would reach â‚ ¬3. 7 billion, with about a quarter of all Brits likely to eat a ready meal at least once a week. It seemed that the appetite for ready meals would grow more slowly in other European countries, for example Mintel predicted that by 2011, only 9% of Germans would eat a ready meal each week.What has driven the growth in the ready meals market in recent years, and why should there be differences in market potential between countries? Technology has played a big role in the growing take-up of ready meals. A report by the research body Leatherhead Food International described how new techniques have allowed co mpanies to develop ready meals which preserve taste and texture, while still making them easy to use by the consumer. Furthermore, great advances in distribution management, in particular the se of information technology to control inventories, has allowed fresh, chilled ready meals to be quickly, effectively and efficiently distributed without the need for freezing or added preservatives. The structure and values of society have contributed to the growth of the UK ready meal market, and may explain why growth here is greater than in France or Germany. Ready meals particularly appealed to single households, and those ‘cellular’ families in which individual family members tend to eat at different times.Mintel reported that the tradition of family meals together remains stronger in many continental European countries than in the UK, which may help to explain the greater popularity of individual ready meals in the UK. Some social commentators have reported that young peopl e have lost the ability to cook creatively, as cookery has been reduced in importance in the school curriculum. Furthermore, many UK consumers no longer feel a social stigma attached to eating a ready meal, something which would be anathema to many people in France a country which takes great pride in its national cuisine.Any remaining stigma has been reduced by the number of ‘celebrity chefs’ who have endorsed ready meals with their own brand image. The impact of the economic environment on sales of ready meals is slightly more ambiguous. As individuals grow richer, they can afford to buy ready prepared foods, rather than spend time and effort preparing it themselves. With a tempting range of ready meals now available, from duck a l’orange to beef bourguignon, the consumer with money in his or her pocket will be tempted to splash out on a ready meal, rather than stay at home with a ‘quick’ jacket potato or pizza.Although rising incomes have been ass ociated with rising consumption of ready meals, increased sales have also been attributed to a deteriorating economic environment. As recession bit in the UK in 2008. The manufacturer Northern Foods – a major supplier of ready prepared meals to Marks & Spencer – reported resilient sales. It seemed that consumers were trading down from expensive restaurant meals to the alternative of relatively cheap, gourmet ready prepared meals. Of course, marketers should be more interested in predicting future effects f environmental change on consumption, rather than merely charting historical trends. So what do current trends hold for future sales of ready meals? The growing pressure on individuals’ available time, matched with long-term rising disposable incomes, will doubtless continue to fuel the growth in UK ready meals sales. In a market that is in its maturity stage, more attention will need to be paid to competitive differentiation, and understanding the way in which customers attribute value to a product.Many consumers have become increasingly concerned about the health implications of the food they eat, and ready meal manufacturers will need to continue responding to such concerns. For example, they have responded with a range of low calorie meals, and addressed specific, sometimes transient, health fads, for example with respect to trans-fatty acids and Omega 3 supplements. Many consumers have also become concerned about the ecological environment, and some suppliers, such as Marks & Spencer, have incorporated sustainability agendas into their ready meals, for example by reducing packaging and sourcing supplies from sustainable sources.As other countries develop cellular household structures, with more professional, single people living alone, export opportunities may grow, and many companies in the sector have their eyes set on the Chinese and Indian markets, among others. Case study review questions 1. Using an appropriate framework of ana lysis, briefly summarize the effects of change in the marketing environment on sales of ready meals. (60%) 2. Discuss the factors that might affect sales of ready meals in your country over the next five years. (40%)

What is Cervical Cancer †Health Essay

What is Cervical Cancer – Health Essay Free Online Research Papers What is Cervical Cancer Health Essay Cervical cancer is the cancer of the cervix. â€Å"Cancer is a class of diseases or disorders characterized by uncontrolled division of cells and the ability of these cells to invade of the tissues, either by direct growth into adjacent tissue through invasion or by implantation into distant sites by â€Å"metastasis†.† (Wikipedia) The cervix is the lower narrow part of the uterus. The uterus is where a baby grows during a woman’s pregnancy. The cervix forms the pathway that opens into the vagina, which leads outside the body. Cervical cancer is a very dangerous disease that can be prevented by getting regular pap smear tests and pelvic exams. Cervical cancer develops in the lining of the cervix; this condition usually develops over time. Normal cervical cells gradually go through changes to become precancerous and then cancerous. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) is the term used to describe the changes. CIN is used to classify the degree of cell abnormality. Low-grade CIN means minimal change in the cells and high-grade CIN means there’s a greater degree of abnormality. (Yarbro) Cancer of the cervix is the second most common worldwide, next to breast cancer, and is a leading cause of cancer-related death in women in underdeveloped countries. Invasive cervical cancer is more common in women middle aged and older and in women of poor socioeconomic status, who are less likely to receive regular screening and early treatment. There is also a higher rate of incidence among African American, Hispanic, and Native American women. (Hales)The cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), which is transmitted sexually. Evidence of HPV is found in nearly 80% of cervical carcinomas. (Yarbro) Having multiple sexual partners, history of STD’s, and sexual intercourse at a young age are all sexual activities that increase risk of the HPV infection. Research Papers on What is Cervical Cancer - Health EssayPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesStandardized TestingGenetic EngineeringHip-Hop is Art19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraCapital PunishmentMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductThe Fifth HorsemanResearch Process Part One

Domino Marketing Plan Essays

Domino Marketing Plan Essays Domino Marketing Plan Essay Domino Marketing Plan Essay Domino’s Pizza Marketing Plan I. Executive Summary Domino’s Pizza’s strong financial performance during 2006 and into 2007 has given the company a significant amount of flexibility and freedom given the increased revenues and earnings in defining its strategies for the future. For continued growth however Dominos has to reduce customer churn, drive up same-store sales, continually reinforce and strengthen their brand, capitalize on the sociocultural shifts occurring in the United States and elsewhere, and finally continually redefine its in-store dining strategies relative to the growing rise of online sales. What is remarkable about Domino’s approach to marketing is the 14. 6% same-store growth the company has achieved from 2001 – 2005 according to JP Morgan (2006). This is nothing short of phenomenonal. Lesser competitors have higher in-store and same-store sales than Domino’s, and also have a broader mix of lunch and dinner alternatives. In addition, according to Roper (2005) 58% of American households are willing to try a new dinner alternative relative to cooking or ordering out. Compounding this is the fact that 73% or 3 out of every four households by 4:30pm have not decided what will be served for dinner according to JP Morgan (2006). These two insightful figures provide a glimpse into how volatile the quick-service restaurants (QSR) marketplace is. Clearly the use of up-sell, cross-sell and incentives to drive up same-store sales is critical in this market, as is the continual growth and focus on the brand globally, finally with a focus on innovation. These are the three most critical marketing strategies for Domino’s today. II. Situation Analysis Today Domino’s is the leader in the delivery segment of pizza sales in the U. S. , second only to Pizza Hut in total pizza sales, as this competitor has 4,000 Red Roof restaurants with over 100-person seating capacity. Domino’s strength in delivery is evidenced by the fact that the company delivers an average of one million pizzas a day and has the greatest market share of the delivery business at 19. 4% at the close of 2005 according to JP Morgan (2006). As of the close of 2006, the company is selling nearly 1 million pizzas a day between domestic and international operations according to JP Morgan (2006). This delivery-only approach allows Domino’s to focus its marketing and operations strategies on delivery only, without the distractions and potential struggles of a dine-in business, as is the case for Pizza Hut. According to many industry analysts and experts and also by reviewing Domino’s financials and low asset investments and exposure to long-term debt through ration analysis (see Appendix I for ratio analysis) the delivery-only business is the best area in which to operate within the $33 billion pizza market. Approximately $12 billion of the pizza category’s sales are through delivery, and according to Roper (2005) delivery will continue to gain share in the category as lifestyle trends continually place more and more of an emphasis on time and convenience, and using pizza delivery to overcome the highly hectic times from 4:30pm to 6pm on weeknights. This has also been validated through research completed by Domino’s Market Research (2005). Figure 2 illustrates how the change in families and lifestyles in general provide a favorable backdrop for the pizza delivery business. Figure 2: The shifting mix of pizza sales favor delivery With the growing amount of last-minute dinner decisions, pizza delivery is a timely and convenient option that gives families a viable meal replacement option for an affordable price. As daily lives become more hectic and people are less inclined to cook, shop, and clean, we would expect this occasion to increase and provide continued demand for pizza delivery III. Product Market Structure The quick-service restaurant (QSR) pizza category is the second-largest category within the $187 billion QSR sector, with an estimated $33 billion in 2005. The QSR pizza category consists of four components: delivery, dine-in, carryout, and a diminutive drive-thru business. Domino’s operates primarily within the delivery segment of the QSR pizza category. Delivery accounts for 36% of the total U. S. QSR pizza category, with $11. 8 billion in sales for the 12 months ended November 2005. Pizza delivery sales growth in the U. S. was close to flat during that same time frame, although over the ast several years, delivery has grown steadily as a percentage of the pizza category, to 36% of the pizza category sales in 2005 from 29% in 1997 according to NPD (2005) shown in Figure 3. Figure 3: Industry-wide pizza delivery choices by consumers IV. The External Environment The following sections of this marketing plan review industry analysis, competitive pressures, factors leading to ec onomic growth and stability, sociocultural trends, the customers’ environment, and the internal organizational climate. Industry Analysis Throughout the last five years, Domino’s has outperformed both Pizza Hut and Papa John’s in same-store sales growth. In the most recent surveys from Roper (2006) and JP Morgan (2006) there is clear evidence that Domino’s same store-sales will rebound significantly against by Papa John’s highly effective uses of promotion and new products. 2007’s competitive challenge is to re-invigorate same-store sales and become the industry leader once again. Papa John’s sales out performance has been driven by an improved and consistent delivery-focused marketing message, as well as strong new and limited-time-only products. Domino’s stressing Cheesy Bread, the Philly Cheese Steak pizza, and last year’s 5-5-5 promotion have all contributed to greater in-store sales yet the company is still struggling relative to competitors. Despite a strong presence in a very competitive category, Domino’s most pressing marketing challenge is to retain same-store sales leadership. The company has been extremely consistent in achieving at least some degree of same-store sales growth each year, an achievement that its peers cannot claim. Domino’s has had 12 consecutive years of flat or positive same-store sales growth. The most recent 7-7-7 promotion is anticipated to be just as success as 5-5-5 based on the feedback of franchise advisory council members. Porters’ Five Forces Model of Competition applied to Domino’s The five forces that comprise Dr. Porter’s model are industry competitors, pressure for substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and the influence of potential entrants. Diagram 1 shows the Porter Five Forces Model graphically. Each of these areas is now discussed in bullet form in the following series of sections. Assessing Domino’s Industry Competitors Highly fragmented series of competitors throughout all nations Dominos competes in makes branding consistency and product quality critical. Strongest global competitor is Pizza Hut. Significant churn in the smaller mom-and-pop independent shops. Pressure from Substitute Products Significant competition from QSR concepts that include both lunch and dinner, and also have a steady stream of new products and services. Focus on QSR entrees that are easily delivered by drivers is the major substitute competitive threat. Instant dinner products in many food stores is also forcing a significant emphasis on innovation over simply relying on price as the competitive strength. Bargaining Power of Buyers Dominos’ buyers demand innovation in the form of both new menu and food items but also in the definition of new pizza concepts. Pizza Hut has been slow to innovate on certain product areas and as a result has faced pressure from buyers as they seek out competitor’s newer pizza and dinner offerings. Domino’s customers demand regional variation and quality. Their most loyal customers are less concerned with price and more concerned with consistent quality and taste. Domino’s customers are less price-sensitive than the majority of pizza purchasers As a result the customer base has significant influence on future product direction. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Highly dependent on the very volatile commodity of cheese and its price. The price of cheese has a direct impact on the company’s broader profitability. Domino’s has yet to fully vertically integrate into cheese production, yet has moved aggressively into dough and distribution facilities to gain greater control over their supply chain Highly dependent on the price of other dairy and cheese products as well, as innova tion in this industry centers on how to re-define entirely new product concepts based on cheeses. Potential Entrants Apart from Pizza Hut and Papa Johns at a national level, Domino’s has no chain-based competitors today of any size in the United States today. Secondary competitors include the smaller chains of ten stores or more stores that comprise 40% of the total U. S. pizza market. Competitive Pressures Most Prevalent in Advertising Advertising as a Competitive Weapon Domino’s has the second-largest advertising budget in the pizza category behind Pizza Hut. Although Domino’s advertising budget is lower than Pizza Hut’s in the aggregate, the company can narrow its focus on promoting its delivery business. Almost every Domino’s Pizza commercial features a delivery driver, and its slogan, â€Å"Get the Door, Its Domino’s,† has helped create a top-of-mind awareness that has made the Domino’s brand synonymous with pizza delivery. Recently, the company has been at the forefront of alternative media strategies that use various Internet promotions as well as product placements in movies such as In Good Company and television shows like The Apprentice. The pizza QSR category is very advertising driven in general, and any additional media weight can be pivotal given that approximately 85% of transactions include an advertised deal, promotion, or coupon according to Roper (2005 and JP Morgan (2006). Franchisees from Domino’s agree with an advertising shift toward national media once again because of the impressive 4. 6% same-store sales growth that it helped generate at franchised stores from 2001 2005. Although franchisees are given the option to spend less on local advertising to offset the national increase, the company expects many franchisees to continue prior local marketing levels. Domino’s sees much higher advertising effectiveness from national media buys versus local media, as the former are 40% more efficient than local media buys, and that national television reaches 20% more of its target customers than local television. Pizza Hut, Domino’s most dominant global competitor, was clearly way behind all three national pizza chains in 2006, with a very weak innovation story on new products to sell, and more re-shuffling of menu items with aggressive pricing and programs to bring in the lucrative in-store buyer. The net result from this lack of innovation was Pizza Hut losing significant market share. It’s expected that Pizza Hut will be more competitive to be more promotional throughout 2006, and would expect aggressive advertising that accentuates a â€Å"value† message. Economic Growth and Stability Critical to the economic growth and stability of Domino’s is the predictable revenue stream from franchisees, which continues to have above average rates of return for franchisees. The ROI for any given franchisee hovers in the 40% range based on an annual sales volume of $650,000. Figure 4 shows the distribution of franchisees across the United States. Figure 4: Distribution of Domino’s franchisees throughout the US A true competitive strength, franchisees for Domino’s are one of the most potent competitive advantages the company has. The majority of franchise owners come up through the franchise system, have an average length of relationship with Domino’s for 9 years or more. A sure sign of franchisee loyalty is the 99% contract renewal Domino’s is able to generate year over year, and the fact that 98% of the stores purchase all their ingredients and food products from Domino’s Corporate. There is also a 99% royalty and distribution receivables rate across all franchisees and less than an 8% attrition rate of franchisees globally. Figure 5 provides for an analysis of the dynamics of franchise store ownership. Figure 5: Dynamics of store ownership The Customer Environment Pizza sales are by far most common during the dinner day-part, consisting of more than 53% of Domino’s sales. Late night is a pretty significant piece of the business at 13. 8%, and could continue to be an opportunity in the category. Figure 6 from the Domino’s Annual Report shows the distribution of pizza sales by day part. Figure 6: Analyzing Pizza Sales by Hour of Day To counter this trend of dinner being by far the most critical time for any pizza delivery business, Domino’s competitors are experimenting with food products to move into other meals. Breakfast is not sold at most pizza operators; however, Papa John’s is in the process of testing breakfast pizzas such as â€Å"pizza omelets. † Interestingly, pizza sales also tend to be skewed toward weekends, when customers order pizzas not only as a meal replacement but also for special occasions. Weekday sales may also present an opportunity for pizza operators as the demands on people’s time increase and a greater premium is placed on the convenience of ordering pizza on a weeknight. During the week, sales should increasingly benefit from busy households that, when returning home from a long day of work would rather order a pizza than cook and clean. Figure 7 provides an analysis of how Domino’s management sees the opportunity for delivering pizza and other entrees adaptable to home delivery. Figure 7: Domino’s Value Pyramid Demographically, consumers within the 15- to 34-year-old range are the most pizza-friendly. Based on the 2000 Census, trends in population demographics imply a steady increase in the percentage of people within this age range in the United States. V. SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong and well-diversified franchise system Domino’s has developed a large, profitable, and committed franchise organization that is a critical component of its system-wide success and leading position in pizza delivery. In addition, Domino’s shares 50% of the pre-tax profits generated by its regional dough manufacturing and distribution centers with those domestic franchisees who agree to purchase all of their food from the company’s distribution system. These arrangements strengthen Domino’s ties with its franchisees by enhancing their profitability while providing the company with a continuing source of revenues and earnings. This arrangement also provides incentives for franchisees to work closely to reduce costs. The strong, mutually beneficial franchisee relationships are evidenced by the over 98% voluntary participation in Domino’s domestic distribution system, over 99% domestic franchise contract renewal rate and over 99% collection rate on domestic franchise royalty and domestic distribution receivables. Top pizza delivery-company in the US with a leading international presence Domino’s is the number one pizza delivery company in the US with a 19. 5% market share based on reported consumer spending as of the close of 2006. With 62% of the global 7156 stores located in the all the states in the US, the domestic store delivery areas cover a majority of US households. The company’s share position and scale allow it to leverage its purchasing power, distribution strength and advertising investment across its franchisees. Outside the US, the company has significant share positions in the key markets in which it competes, including, among other countries, Mexico (where it is the largest quick service restaurant (QSR) company in terms of store count in any QSR category), the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Dominos’ has a leading presence in most of these international markets as well. Global brand awareness The Domino’s Pizza brand is one of the most widely-recognized consumer brands in the world and its unique value propositions are instantly recognizable through the series of one-line positioning statements the company relies on for quick name recognition. Consumers associate this brand with the timely delivery of quality, affordable pizza and complementary side items. The Domino’s Pizza brand has been routinely named a MegaBrand by Advertising Age. Domino’s continues to reinforce this brand with extensive advertising through television, radio and print over the past five years, the company’s domestic franchise and company-owned stores have invested an estimated $1. 3 billion on national, local and co-operative advertising in the US. The company also enhances the strength of its brand through marketing affiliations with brands such as Coca-Cola and NASCAR. For 2006, advertising was increased 25%, from 4% to 5% of Sales dedicated to this strategy. Approximately 94% of pizza consumers in the US are estimated to be aware of the Domino’s Pizza brand. The brand is particularly strong among pizza consumers for whom dinner is a fairly spontaneous event, which industry research indicates to be the case in nearly 50% of pizza dining occasions. In these situations, service and product quality are the consumers’ priorities, the epitome of Domino’s existence. Weaknesses Dropping Revenue per employee For full financial ratio analysis of Domino’s please see Appendix I. Domino’s revenue per employee is considerably lower than the industry average in the US. Comparing the revenue per employee of its competitors such as Wendy’s ($3. 7 million) and Yum Brands ($1. 6 million), the closest competitors of Domino’s, the company derives much lower revenues per employees. Lower revenues per employee signify lower productivity for the company as compared to its competitors and the need for more effective use of operations and service programs to get higher levels of productivity from each employee. Over-reliance on US Domino’s is striving to be a global company yet has strong ties in both company culture and operational performance to the US. In 2005 the company generated less than 10% of total sales from international markets, with US markets comprising the bulk of sales and profits. The US consumer spending is also expected to face a downturn in the light of rising interest rates and fluctuating inflation. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of all economic activities in US, implying its influential role in shaping up US economy. Any material impact on consumer spending can affect the economy and thus businesses directly. For a company like Domino’s, consumer spending is a very important factor that may affect the business of the company. This reliance on a single market, which faces the threat of declining consumer spending, has increased the company’s risk profile. Opportunities Domino’s plans to continue to promote its successful advertising campaign Get the Door. It’s Domino’s, through national, local and co-operative media. Beginning in 2005 and continuing to today, each of the domestic stores increased its contributions to the advertising fund for national advertising from 3% to 4% of retail sales. The company intends to leverage its strong brand by continuing to introduce innovative, consumer-tested and profitable new pizza varieties (such as Domino’s Philly Cheese Steak Pizza and Domino’s Doublemelt Pizza) and complementary side items (such as buffalo wings, cheesy bread, Domino’s Buffalo Chicken Kickers and Cinna Stix) as well as through marketing affiliations with brands such as Coca-Cola and NASCAR. The focus throughout all these activities is to drive up same-store revenues and increasingly put pressure on Papa John’s Pizza recent increase in performance on this key metric. Expansion and optimization of domestic store base The company plans to continue expanding its base of domestic stores to take advantage of the attractive growth opportunities in US pizza delivery. The scale of operation allows Domino’s to expand its franchisee base without adding significantly to infrastructure costs. Additionally, the franchise-oriented business model allows expanding the store base with little if any capital investment, as franchisees pays for their own fixed assets. International business expansion Pizza’s global appeal has on the one hand been a central focus for Domino’s yet on the other has continually frustrated their attempts to move into the global markets more aggressively and with stronger results. Domino’s continues to built a broad international platform, almost through its master franchise model, as evidenced by the nearly 2,900 international stores in more than 50 countries. These international stores have produced positive quarterly same store sales growth for 44 consecutive quarters. Threats Challenged by rapid cheese cost fluctuations Back in 2004, cheese prices skyrocketed to an all-time high, with Domino’s paying an average of $1. 64 per pound for cheese that year. The company’s gross margins fell by 70 percent, in part due to the higher cost for cheese. The forecasting of cheese prices is capricious and difficult, and yet it is the one single commodity that is critical to the success of Domino’s long-term. The swings in the popularity of low-carb diets also have impacted the company’s ability to sell given the high cheese content of their pizzas and food items. Increasing retail rental rates Domino’s ability to expand also is dependent on retail locations and their prices as well. In areas where real estate is at a premium, the costs of starting up a new Domino’s are astronomical. The investment required for a new retail location in a large metro area is typically at rents 4% to 6% above what a comparable suburban or rural location can be created from. Focus towards health consciousness Over the past few years the focus on low carb diets and healthy eating has continually impacted the sales of fast food products, Books and now movies extolling the evils of fast food are also having a direct effect on the sales of food by QSR outlets. Consumers are showing increased preference for fat-free and healthy food products. Food items containing trans-fat are losing market share as they are linked to cardiovascular diseases. This could impact the revenues of the company. Market saturation By most analysts’ and experts’ forecasts, the US fast food market is close to saturation. This translates into the need for highly unique value propositions, new product introductions every year that grab the attention of the consumer who is open to trying new foods for dinner, and a focus on quality to ensure customer satisfaction with the new products. Between 2004 and 2008, the US fast food market is expected to increase in value by only 1. 7% to reach approximately US$153. billion. Thus, the potential growth for fast-food chains like Domino’s’ does not seem too high. Marketing Plan VI. Marketing Goals and Objectives The following marketing goals and objectives that Domino’s needs to accomplish in 2007 to continue its market leadership: 1. Aggressively drive up same-store sales by 30% through the aggressive use of national advertising and the bundling of pizza and dessert offerings including drinks. 2. Minimize customer churn by 15% through loyalty programs. . Grow web-based ordering by 15% through the use of coupons and specials available only on the web. VII. Marketing Strategies a. Primary Target Market The primary target market for Domino’s Pizza is the hectic household, with a per capita income of $46,000 a year in major metro areas with populations of 1 million or more. This market is further differentiated in that it contains or more children under 18, and the majority of evenings there is confusion and little thought to what is for dinner. This fits with the statistic of 73% of households do not know what they will have for dinner at 4:30pm every evening. b. Marketing Mix i. Product Definition: A pizza large enough to feed a family of four with several alterative toppings included and a series of vegetarian, beef, chicken or seafood combinations as well. [pic] The following is a perceptual map that shows the relationship of Domino’s relative to other brands in the competitive arena. i. Pricing: Competitively priced with high enough margins for the franchisees to make some margin as well. iii. Promotion: The Family Meal Replacement Strategy starts with the 7-7-7 strategy as defined in earlier parts of this plan, including a focus on the areas of core programming around bundling to reduce customer churn. iv. Place: Primarily a delivery product, this will be a meal served in thirty minutes or less. VIII. Marketing Implementation |Drive up same-store sales by 30%|Minimize customer churn by 15% |Grow web-based order ing by 15% | |Product | | | | |Easy-to-deliver highly nutritious meal | | | | | |X | | | |â€Å"finger food† for watching a DVD at home| | | | |(orderable over the Web) |X | |X | | | | | | |Deep fried cinnamon buns for dessert | | | | | | | | | |Sandwiches for lunch by ordering out | | | | | |X |X (as a essert ad-on) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |X | | | |X (office catering) | |X orderable over the web | |Price | | | | |Stay with price positioning that | | | | |connotes value over cheapness |X |X |X | | | | | | |Define price off couponing to drive up | | | | |web ordering | | | | | | | |X | |Loyalty Program | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |X | | |Distribution | | | | |Reward franchisees for selling more | | | | |through the web with greater margin | | |X | | | | | |Focus on repeat purchasers and customer | | | | |lifetime value with price breaks for | | | | |loyalty programs |X |X | | | | | | | |Build franchisee locations to focus on | | | | |reducing customer churn through pe rsonal| | | | |service | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |X |X | | |Promotion or IMC | | | | | | | | | |Extensive use of bundling and focus on |X |X | | |promotions for most loyal customers | | | | | | | | | |Define national ads to reward best | | | | |customers | | | | |X |X | | |National ad to launch web-only | | | | |sandwiches and light catering for | | | | |offices with a give-away of a Mini |X | |X | |Cooper | | | | | | | | | IX. Budgets In order to accomplish the three marketing objectives mentioned, two major investments need to be made, and they are a customer lifetime value tracking system, and also an accentuated web ordering system for capturing light catering orders that will be the center of the future go-to-market strategies for moving up-market into businesses. Cost Components |Customer Lifetime value tracking |Web ordering system for light catering | |Application Development |$120,000 |$320,000 | |Professional Services |$260,000 |$640,000 | |Total Co sts |$380,000 |$960,000 | |Applications (%) |31. 5% |33% | Net Present Value and Sensitivity Analysis For the customer tracking system, assuming a 5% discount rate, a 7 year life of the project, and a cash flow of $1M in the first year, followed by $2M in the second year, $2. 5M in the 3rd year, and $3M in the 4th and 5th year, and $4M in the 6th through 10th years yields a NPV of $1,951,375. The present value of expected cash flows is $2,331,375. For the Web ordering system for light catering, assuming a 5% discount rate and a 7 year life of the project, and the a cash flow of $1M in the first year, followed by $2M in the second year, $2. 5M in the 3rd year, and $3M in the 4th year, and $4M in the 5th through 10th years yields a NPV of $1,449,727 and a present value of expected cash flows of $2,409,727. Assumptions The following are the significant assumptions behind the revenue figures: 1. Professional services will be highest on order capture due to the extensive integration required to complete this application development. 2. The highest dollar figure for professional services however comes from order management, which includes the most complex integration tasks. 3. Definition of the internal development costs include outsourcing the development of internal tools and the acquisition of specific tools for the managing of source code and documentation. X. Evaluation, Control, and Contingency Plans In terms of these systems, the following measures of performance will be used. These metrics capture the extent and level of performance possible when integrations are in place, and reflect the stronger levels of ROI possible: 1. The Perfect Order Defines the number of catering orders correctly filled every day from a franchisee. 2. Lead escalation ratio – Defines the number of leads that are escalated to the top-performing franchisees. The focus is on moving leads for light catering to the top-performing members of the channel. 3. Gross Margin per Order – This is a critical link to measure the level of profitability per order. 4. Usage rate by franchisee – This is essential to find out if the designed systems and applications are meeting the needs of the external stakeholders they were specifically developed for. In addition, the following metrics will be used to measure the performance of these strategies over time: 1. Monthly same-store sales analysis by region 2. Gross margin by franchisee region and nation 3. Aided and unaided awareness of the new national advertising programs imed at launching sandwich service through catering to lunch working sessions in companies 4. Focus on lifetime value analysis and assessment through new automated systems that track and highlight those customers who show the greatest potential to turn into lifetime customers. This investment in IT is going to make it possib le to find the most loyal customers and target them with special promotions. 5. Number of web orders placed, and margin per web order placed – this is going to be critical for measuring the impact of the new system for placing online orders and getting automated fulfillment. XI. Appendices Appendix I: Domino’s Pizza Ratio Analysis 2001 – 2006 |Dominos Pizza Inc. | | | | | |Profitability Ratios |1/1/2006 |1/2/2005 |12/28/2003 |12/29/2002 |12/30/2001 | | | | | | | | |Return on Equity (%) |-21. 19 |-11. 33 |-5. 44 |-16. 11 |- | |Return on Assets (%) |23. 48 |13. 92 |8. 7 |14. 31 |- | |Return on Investment |31. 58 |21. 31 |14. 56 |22. 3 |- | |Gross Margin |0. 025 |0. 024 |0. 026 |0. 026 |0. 025 | |EBITDA of Revenue (%) |15. 52 |14. 58 |15. 75 |15. 38 |13. 21 | |Operating Margin (%) |13. 17 |11. 85 |11. 96 |12. 38 |10. 1 | |Pre-Tax Margin |11. 46 |6. 92 |4. 68 |7. 54 |15. 69 | |Net Profit Margin (%) |7. 16 |4. 31 |2. 93 |4. 4 |13. 83 | |Effective Tax Rate (%) |37. 5 |37. 75 |37. 48 |37. 11 |11. 9 | | | | | | | | |Liquidity Indicators | | | | | | |Quick Ratio |0. 68 |0. 64 |0. 63 |0. 57 |- | |Current Ratio |1. 02 |1 |0. 99 |0. 4 |- | |Working Capital/Total Assets |0. 01 |0 |0 |-0. 02 |- | | | | | | | | |Debt Management | | | | | | |Current Liabilities/Equity |-0. 43 |-0. 34 |-0. 26 |-0. 42 |- | |Total Debt to Equity |-1. 44 |-1. 42 |-1. 34 |-1. 7 |- | |Long Term Debt to Assets |1. 52 |1. 69 |2. 1 |1. 42 |- | | | | | | | | |Asset Management | | | | | | |Revenues/Total Assets |3. 28 |3. 23 |2. 97 |3. 02 |- | |Revenues/Working Capital |381. 62 |-8,218. 3 |-1,057. 35 |-125. 08 |- | |Interest Coverage |4. 55 |2. 64 |1. 84 |2. 59 |-1. 89 | Appendix I I: Domino’s Pizza Business Segment Analysis 2001 – 2006 |Dominos Pizza Business Segment Analysis | | | | | | | | | | | | |Total Revenues | | | | |Report Date 1/1/2006 |1/2/2005 |12/28/2003 |12/29/2002 |12/30/2001 | | | | | | | | | Domestic Stores |562,865 |537,488 |519,879 |517,200 |496,384 | | Domestic Distribution |935,461 |902,413 |821,695 |779,684 |796,808 | | International |129,635 |116,983 |96,386 |81,762 |69,995 | | Total |1,627,961 |1,556,884 |1,437,960 |1,378,646 |1,363,187 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Operating Income | | | | | | | | | | | | Domestic Stores |148,920 |131,518 |127,082 |126,714 |114,253 | | Domestic Distribution |52,959 |46,110 |45,946 |43,155 |38,068 | | International |36,947 |34,079 |28,117 |25,141 |15,162 | | Total |238,826 |211,707 |201,145 |195,010 |167,483 | XII. References Domino’s Market Research (2005) – From the 2005 Analyst Day Presentation Accessed from the Internet on February 22, 2007 from location: http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/irol/13/135383/presentations/DPZ_InvDayAll. pdf JP Morgan (2006) – Domino’s Pizza Inc. JP Morgan Consumer Retail Holiday Conference Presentation. From the Investor’s Section of the Domino’s website. Accessed from the Internet on February 22, 2007 from location: http://library. corporate-ir. net/library/13/135/135383/items/225605/InvestorPresJPMorgan. pdf [pic] March, 2005 investor presentation given by Domino’s CEO – Downloaded from the Investor’s Section of the website on February 22, 2007 from location:: http://media. corporate-ir. net/media_files/irol/13/135383/presentations/DPz_052506. pdf Roper (2005) – Roper Starch Worldwide Market Research. Bakery and Pizza Goods Market Analysis, 2005. From a press release at Pizza Marketing Quarterly: pmq. com/industrynews. shtml accessed from the Internet on February 22, 2007. Roper (2006) – Roper Starch Worldwide Market Research. Bakery and Pizza Goods Market Analysis, 2006. From a press release at Pizza Marketing Quarterly: pmq. com/industrynews. shtml Accessed from the Internet on February 22, 2007. Diagram 1: Porters’ Five Forces Model

Come to Pass

Come to Pass Come to Pass Come to Pass By Maeve Maddox A common English idiom is â€Å"come to pass†: to come to pass: to happen, take place in the course of events, come about, occur, be fulfilled. Here are some correct uses of the expression: all things, good and bad, come to pass. It shall come to pass. Don’t give up on your God-given dreams. it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Lately, I’ve noticed an odd distortion of this idiom into â€Å"goes to pass†: Love remember who comes 1st in your life, everything goes to pass, but Gods spirit will always surround usAmen! Most of the time, the first thought that comes is of that everything goes to pass, if everything goes to pass, we will eventually be merging with 3SA. I have done as much as I can to make sure people dont get evicted from our ceremony venue, and that everything goes to pass without riots. These examples come from forums, inspirational blogs, and blog commentscontexts in which nonstandard English is well-represented. However, I found an example of a similar distortion on a page that has the Quaker Oats logo at the top. This one uses â€Å"goes to pass† as if it meant simply â€Å"pass,† or â€Å"come to an end.† The writer may have been thinking of the expression, â€Å"fads/fashions come and go†: Like most people Im sure youve struggled with maintaining your weight and eventually the latest craze and health trend goes to pass without much success. ESL learners need to be aware that â€Å"goes to pass†in any contextis not standard English. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Types of Narrative ConflictWhat is Dative Case?Words Often Misspelled Because of Double Letters

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and Essay

Study of diary products supply chain with its various components and aspects - Essay Example We ensure that the amount of fat is reduced and this fat which has been removed is used in the making of products such as butter and cream, all these being the ingredients found in cheese, which will be our primary focus in this paper. Good manufacturing practices such as hygiene, quality assurance and marketing are critical (Andreas & Carl, 2011). Production requirements Cheese storage area capacity is predominantly determined by the target cheese types which are intended through put plans. The equipment which will be necessary for cheese making depends on the type of cheese being produced and facilities which are specifically designed are required, and advice/factory design should be sought. According to the nature and complexity of making cheese, which usually requires precision if one is considering going into cheese making, proper training is a basic requirement. The key areas for consideration in the manufacturing of cheese are pasteurization process of milk, quality control, h ygiene and finally marketing and distribution (Andrew, Dan, & Tom, 2006). Legal requirements There are stringent hygiene regulations to be adhered to since safety is an important consideration in the cheese business as is in any other food business. ... Cheese is a complex food comprising of only a few simple ingredients. There are thousands of varieties of cheese around the world developed by cheese makers, each with a unique taste, texture and nutritional profile. Absolutely, no cheese is similar and we have a large number of standards, due to the existing ways in adjusting the basic recipe of products such as mozzarella, Brie, blue, Swiss, Cheddar and many more. There are two basic types of cheese which we deal with and they are: Natural cheese which comprises of about four ingredients which are basic and they include salt and milk among others. The cheese nutrients such as calcium, protein and phosphorus are due to the milk being the main ingredient. Salt is required for the final transformation of liquid milk into cheese while also acting as a natural preservative. Processed cheese which is made from high-quality natural cheese. Therefore, it also comprises of the said nutrients (calcium, phosphorus and protein). One of its maj or differences with natural cheese is that processed cheese can be modified to have more calcium as well as extra vitamin D. For processed cheese, the processing is known to stop the aging process, thus maintaining its flavor, texture and smoothness over extended periods of time. Processed cheese can be customized for flavor and qualities such as a smooth melt responsible for making it versatile, tasty and easy-to-use food. There has to be careful application of amount of salt used since it will impact its firmness, flavor, food safety and preservation crucial for our customers. Supply Chain At the start of cheese supply chain, we have the farmers who supply the milk. There are well known unions who we deal with and have been in operation for well over a decade, who specialize in dairy

Case Study Analysis Campus Response to a Student Gunman Essay

Case Study Analysis Campus Response to a Student Gunman - Essay Example The research approach used in the study under examination has similarities with the traditional paradigm, as a tool for identifying the causes and consequences of a particular problem – as in the study of Asmussen and Creswell. However, the traditional paradigm is not appropriate for the case under discussion, since it involves in the following problems: it cannot be used when the sample available in the research is quite small; moreover, it cannot be used when the variables of the research are not stable – another problem of the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. The interpretivist paradigm used in the case under examination can face the above two problems, using the above rules: the assumption that is most reasonable is set as a priority – referring to the case that the testimonies on the events examined are contradictory, as in the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. Moreover, the interpretivist paradigm is differentiated from the traditiona l paradigm at the following point: the findings of the research are likely to be descriptive – and not quantitative, as in the case of traditional paradigm.... The interpretivist paradigm used in the case under examination can face the above two problems, using the above rules: the assumption that is most reasonable is set as a priority – referring to the case that the testimonies on the events examined are contradictory, as in the research conducted by Asmussen and Creswell. Moreover, the interpretivist paradigm is differentiated from the traditional paradigm at the following point: the findings of the research are likely to be descriptive – and not quantitative, as in the case of traditional paradigm. What is its ontological assumption? Phenomenography – as part of the interpretivist paradigm – on which the research developed by Asmussen and Creswell is based – refers to the following ontological assumptions: a subjectivist one and a non-dualistic one; the former implies that the status of the world is pre-defined, cannot be changed, everything is placed in accordance with a particular order; the second implies that there are no two different worlds – the one of the researcher and the one described by participants; the world is one and this fact needs to be reflected to the discussion on the findings retrieved through phenomenography. What is its epistemological essence? The epistemological essence of phenomenography is reflected in the following principle: the assumptions produced in regard to the findings of the research need to be extensively justified – in the context that each fact is followed by its interpretation. However, at this point the following issue needs to be taken into consideration: the description of the events under examination may be different – across the participants; for this reason, it is necessary

People and Organizations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

People and Organizations - Assignment Example With the policy working, the team was able to meet its deadlines as well as present high quality job. The level of effectiveness has been favored by the continued attendance of meetings by the team members. Every member has been assigned duties that make him or her available for every meeting. This creates a sense of belonging, which creates a strong bond between members of a group (McMillan & Chavis 1989). The result has been we have become friends to each other hence creating a friendly and conducive environment for us to work in. In our group, we worked to enhance motivation that made the team members place group interest ahead of personal interest. So far, we have been able to have four meetings and the attendance and level of participation have been consistent from the team members. Every member’s participation has been recognized by the continued support from the team members on given group work assignments. The previous assignment had six questions. We divided the quest ions amongst ourselves in the sub groups where we worked in pairs on every part of the question. Each meeting had a specified task were everybody turned up prepared and ready to work on the day’s part. John and I were working on a set of three questions. To enhance effectiveness and timely delivery of the assignment, exchanging of ideas, and evaluating responses against questions is very essential (Bloom & Loftin 1998). Upon confirming that we had answered all the three questions as per the instructions, we went ahead and asked for suggestions from the other group members while we also helped them evaluate their answers. The results were a well-done assignment where all aspect of the questions had been addresses effectively. Team support to specific individuals is a key success indicator of every team (Brounstein 2011). At the time of presentation, we worked as teams in supporting each other do a thorough presentation. I remember I was very tense when doing my PowerPoint pres entation that I needed some back up. Grace came in to provide the needed support when laying up the stage for presentation as well as doing a conclusion for the presentation. The same happened when Bill was doing his presentation. John assisted him in doing the introduction and the first part of the questions presentation. This happened until all the questions had been presented and all upcoming questions had been answered effectively to the satisfaction of the audience. Low opportunity, low morale and high team turnover and wasted time are key ingredients to ineffectiveness (Parker 2011). To avoid such problems, our team applied some important factors for team effectiveness that contributed to our team working successfully. Just to mention a few are cohesiveness and coordination, team training and team building activities. Cohesiveness and coordination defines the level of interaction of the team members to each other (Salas 1992). Our team had the greatest level of interaction, wh ich was highly favored by the friendship that existed between us. Working with each other was much fun that one could not miss a meeting to engage in personal issues. For example, I had to fore go a family shopping day to attend a group discussion meeting. This was possible because the team’s interest came first and I felt it was more important, due to its urgency

Public relations model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public relations model - Research Paper Example They are utilized until today for they are successful in passing on a specific message from the sender to the receiver within the public. They are utilizing these models so as to accomplish their targets of setting their message in media. This essay offers an analysis into how Saudi Telecommunication Company is using social media platforms such as Twitter to converse and build relationships with their key publics. It will extend the existing knowledge of how social media, such as Twitter, is utilized in a dialogic public relations context. Furthermore, it will offer insight on how social media platforms can be used in partnership with the four public relations models. Saudi Telecommunication Company has utilized these models greatly to communicate to the public. One of the noticeable public relations model is the public information model. Most of the tweets by this company are aligned to this model because the medium interactivity is featured in the tweets. In addition, the tweets that are made by the enterprise target the general public while self-promotion is featured in the tweets. It is evidenced by various tweets made October covering the Hajj season. The tweets also covered various topics such as those of religion and holiness; hence, creating awareness to the public. Through the tweets, the company stresses on maintenance of its public image by circulating various relevant information to the public such as the Hajj season. Under this model, the company also seems to be creative in its tweets because it delivers them with respect to the period of the year hence putting the thoughts of the audience into these meaningful tweets that later inf luence them. Messages sent through this model flow from the sender to receiver, in this case, the company’s clients and so on. Hence, it is a one-way communication (Grunig, 2013). Elsewhere, the company has incorporated the press agentry model that is also a one-way model that allows flow of information from the

Business law essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business law questions - Essay Example This instrument is promissory note as Elle unconditionally promise to pay Frank a sum of $ 600 on or before six months from the date of writing the note. Nonetheless, this instrument is not negotiable since for an instrument to be negotiable there must be certain conditions, which should be fulfilled. In this case, the instrument does not have a signature hence it is not negotiable. Drawer of a negotiable instrument other than making unconditional promise to pay should signed in order for the document to be binding. Unfortunately, Elle may later on claim that she never wrote the note since her signature does not appear. It is essential for negotiable instruments to have signature of the drawer. 2. Discount Stores, Inc., borrows $5,000 each from EZ Loan Corporation, First National Bank, and Great Products Corporation. Discount uses its "present inventory and any thereafter acquired" to secure the loans from EZ Loan and First National. EZ Loan perfects its interest on April 1, followed by First National on April 5. Discount buys new inventory on April 10 from Great Products and signs a security agreement, giving Great Products a purchase-money security interest in the new inventory. On the same day, Great Products perfects its interest and notifies EZ Loan and First National. Discount takes possession of the new inventory on April 15. On April 20, Discount defaults on all of the loans. Whose security interest has priority? According to the Personal Property Securities Act 1999, the general rule for priority of financing statement as provided for in Section 66 affirms that any perfected security interest within an agreement has the priority or capability over unperfected security interest of the same collateral that has been used in the agreement. On a different perspective, the same Section 66 provides that the party who was able to perfect it first should determine priority experienced between perfected securities interests within common

Private Finance Initiative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Private Finance Initiative - Essay Example TUPE enables these individuals to enjoy the status of being public and private workers simultaneously. This arrangement is intended to relieve the government of a heavy burden of initiating and funding projects across the country. The PFI is a program that began Britain and Australia before spreading to most of the Western countries and eventually to the rest of the world. Since early 1990s, PFI has grown into one of the common ways to develop public investments1. The program is being used to develop many different types public infrastructure. With a PFI, private organizations can place bids on these infrastructure projects, and reverse the conventional trend, whereby developing public projects were solely the responsibility of the government. The private investor that emerges the winner in the bidding process is normally awarded the contract to develop and maintain the infrastructure project. FPI enables private companies to benefit from a permanent profit from such an initiative2. In most cases, governmental organizations are not ready to handle big projects, but they do want to make sure the projects are. By engaging the private sector through a PFI, this is tenable. Apart from relieving the government of the burden of laying infrastructures, a private finance initiative reduces the amount of tax being channelled to such projects. When the private investors shoulder the larger percentage of the funding, the government can then concentrate on other important projects. PFI projects In many cases, the method of construction that is implemented by governments has been based on placing the burden on the PFI contractors to design, bid and build the public assets. Under these criteria, the public organizations often come up with a design for a public infrastructure project. This work may be done by internal experts, or it may be awarded to a private company specialized in architecture. Once the plan is authorized, the government then invites bids from privately own ed construction companies, thus paving way for the winning bidder to construct the facility3. Many projects for government facilities have conventionally had extended private sector contacts to cater for maintenance. Typical cases of a PFI are court facilities and government offices that have been built on privately owned buildings. The health care industry is also not left out: many small government-owned health care facilities are operating in private sector premises. Better Service Delivery Private finance initiative has been implemented in the United Kingdom, where the government emphasized its significance and contribution toward better service delivery to citizens. In 2002, the government announced that it would engage the private sector more, especially to improve the quality of services in the healthcare industry4. The government made public its intention to ensure that quality services were achieved by approving contracts that had met the thresholds of quality. But whereas PFI can be more costly to implement as compared to conventional government funding, since public institutions enjoy lower lending rates than the private investors, most of the governments around the world have held the belief that the increased costs of amassing the needed finances by the private sector will remain etched in the better services for a far longer period of time5. Additionally, proponents of a PFI believe that there will be efficiency in savings. Market forces have also proved the government wrong: private companies have

Public relations model Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public relations model - Research Paper Example They are utilized until today for they are successful in passing on a specific message from the sender to the receiver within the public. They are utilizing these models so as to accomplish their targets of setting their message in media. This essay offers an analysis into how Saudi Telecommunication Company is using social media platforms such as Twitter to converse and build relationships with their key publics. It will extend the existing knowledge of how social media, such as Twitter, is utilized in a dialogic public relations context. Furthermore, it will offer insight on how social media platforms can be used in partnership with the four public relations models. Saudi Telecommunication Company has utilized these models greatly to communicate to the public. One of the noticeable public relations model is the public information model. Most of the tweets by this company are aligned to this model because the medium interactivity is featured in the tweets. In addition, the tweets that are made by the enterprise target the general public while self-promotion is featured in the tweets. It is evidenced by various tweets made October covering the Hajj season. The tweets also covered various topics such as those of religion and holiness; hence, creating awareness to the public. Through the tweets, the company stresses on maintenance of its public image by circulating various relevant information to the public such as the Hajj season. Under this model, the company also seems to be creative in its tweets because it delivers them with respect to the period of the year hence putting the thoughts of the audience into these meaningful tweets that later inf luence them. Messages sent through this model flow from the sender to receiver, in this case, the company’s clients and so on. Hence, it is a one-way communication (Grunig, 2013). Elsewhere, the company has incorporated the press agentry model that is also a one-way model that allows flow of information from the

Private Finance Initiative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Private Finance Initiative - Essay Example TUPE enables these individuals to enjoy the status of being public and private workers simultaneously. This arrangement is intended to relieve the government of a heavy burden of initiating and funding projects across the country. The PFI is a program that began Britain and Australia before spreading to most of the Western countries and eventually to the rest of the world. Since early 1990s, PFI has grown into one of the common ways to develop public investments1. The program is being used to develop many different types public infrastructure. With a PFI, private organizations can place bids on these infrastructure projects, and reverse the conventional trend, whereby developing public projects were solely the responsibility of the government. The private investor that emerges the winner in the bidding process is normally awarded the contract to develop and maintain the infrastructure project. FPI enables private companies to benefit from a permanent profit from such an initiative2. In most cases, governmental organizations are not ready to handle big projects, but they do want to make sure the projects are. By engaging the private sector through a PFI, this is tenable. Apart from relieving the government of the burden of laying infrastructures, a private finance initiative reduces the amount of tax being channelled to such projects. When the private investors shoulder the larger percentage of the funding, the government can then concentrate on other important projects. PFI projects In many cases, the method of construction that is implemented by governments has been based on placing the burden on the PFI contractors to design, bid and build the public assets. Under these criteria, the public organizations often come up with a design for a public infrastructure project. This work may be done by internal experts, or it may be awarded to a private company specialized in architecture. Once the plan is authorized, the government then invites bids from privately own ed construction companies, thus paving way for the winning bidder to construct the facility3. Many projects for government facilities have conventionally had extended private sector contacts to cater for maintenance. Typical cases of a PFI are court facilities and government offices that have been built on privately owned buildings. The health care industry is also not left out: many small government-owned health care facilities are operating in private sector premises. Better Service Delivery Private finance initiative has been implemented in the United Kingdom, where the government emphasized its significance and contribution toward better service delivery to citizens. In 2002, the government announced that it would engage the private sector more, especially to improve the quality of services in the healthcare industry4. The government made public its intention to ensure that quality services were achieved by approving contracts that had met the thresholds of quality. But whereas PFI can be more costly to implement as compared to conventional government funding, since public institutions enjoy lower lending rates than the private investors, most of the governments around the world have held the belief that the increased costs of amassing the needed finances by the private sector will remain etched in the better services for a far longer period of time5. Additionally, proponents of a PFI believe that there will be efficiency in savings. Market forces have also proved the government wrong: private companies have

Parallels between Gilgamesh and Genesis Essay Example for Free

Parallels between Gilgamesh and Genesis Essay I. Introduction: Today, we are often bombarded with various inventions and discoveries coming from different parts of the world. But it is with great amazement when we look upon the advancement made by an ancient civilization that has come to be acknowledged as the cradle of civilization, Mesopotamia, at a time when most of its neighboring people-group was pursuing a nomadic life. Not only have they revolutionized human society through its invention of the wheel, writing too, must have originated in this place as shown by the Epic of Gilgamesh. Ancient as it is, being one of the world’s earliest-known epic poetry (â€Å"Epic†) taken from Sumeria and which the Babylonians developed into a long poem, it is undoubtedly beautiful; and ancient as it may be, high respect should be given   to it as one of the literary masterpieces of mankind. Genesis on the other hand, is the first book of the Bible. Genesis is the Greek word for â€Å"beginning† or â€Å"origin†, and is a Greek translation derived from the Hebrew b’reshith meaning â€Å"in the beginning†, the first word in the Old Testament. II. Meaning and Importance A. Epic of Gilgamesh At the outset, as one reads through the poem, it would readily display the glorification of the central figure, the historical warlike king of Uruk Gilgamesh. All throughout the poem, the reader is led through his many exploits and achievements of Gilgamesh that gives the over-all impression of a constancy of battle-like stance. This I would not find surprising since this people’s land was always subjected to crisis such as the threat of invasion or the flooding of the rivers. As to the story, it relates much on how he has overcome every opponent, obstacles, and almost everything he had set out to do. Such achievements were made possible and justifiable as the narrative describes the super-human nature of the lead figure being two-thirds divine and one-third human. How Gilgamesh emerges as a conqueror comprises the first part of the story. It would seem that the author wants to establish the fact that all the hopes and aspirations of its people are embodied in Gilgamesh. The first part shows and proves that whatever man could aspire to achieve or be has been done by the superhuman Gilgamesh. The second part directs the story towards the king’s bid for immortality through his quest for the immortalized Uta-Napishtim. Structurally speaking, these two parts (which would almost appear as unrelated) divides the story. Both would seem to take the reader into two different directions, driving down two different points. The death of Enkidu serves as the turning point that separates the two parts. What serves for continuity for the narrative are the inherent traits of Gilgamesh’s character his fearlessness and obstinacy to be undaunted by obstacles. What is also a unique trait of the account of Gilgamesh is that the reading of the story is through a transcription of an oral story-telling, which the narrator in the story also revealed as a transcribed oral story of ancient times. Just as Gilgamesh was described as half-human and half-divine, so is the overall nature of the story. The narrator convinces its listeners and readers alike of the real existence of the king. However, its way of convincing is ironic since it proves the authenticity of its story through the existence of the very walls of the city of Uruk which we, present-day readers would find nowhere but in the walls of our imagination (â€Å"Assro-Babylonian Mythology: Gilgamesh†). The epic serves not only as a literary feat for early civilization; it also bears the identity of the early settlers of the Tigris-Euphrates area. However, its relevance supersedes its cultural identity. This ancient story connects its people with us and all of humanity as they ponder the same question which afflicts all men death, the destiny of every man. It also attempts to answer whether any mortal man could possibly escape it and also the mystery of what lies ahead after death. In finding the answer and conclusion to these questions lies the significance of the two parts of the story. As mentioned, the first part is given to prove the semi god-like abilities of Gilgamesh. If he then, who bears such qualities failed in his bid for immortality, as shown on the second part, how much more for ordinary mortals? The narrative convinces its hearers or readers of the inevitability of death and must resign oneself of this fact. The most that man can do is to be fearless in facing it, the way Gilgamesh triumphantly faced death together with Enkidu in the great Cedar Forest. However, its main conclusion is: that man is powerless to escape it. B. Genesis Genesis originated as part of a larger literary unit that was only later broken up into books. That larger unit is the religious history of ancient Israel, usually called the Pentateuch. In it were traced Israel’s origins from its chief formative experiences down to its settlement in the land of Palestine. Also incorporated into the narrative were law codes formulated at various times in Israelite history. The entire complex came to be ascribed to Israel’s founder and first lawgiver, Moses. This position has been modified as a result of modern Biblical scholarship. Genesis is a logical division of the original text of the Pentateuch. It represents a twofold introduction to the story of Israel’s formation as a â€Å"covenant people†Ã¢â‚¬â€God’s chosen people. The patriarchal history comprises cycles of stories relating to three major figures of the pre Israelite past, namely Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, together with supplementary traditions about other ancestors who were of secondary interest. After an introductory genealogy there appears first the story of Abraham and Isaac. Included is a fragmentary history, possibly of Moabite origin, of Lot, the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonites, who were related to the Israelites. There is also the history of Ishmael, who is regarded as the ancestor of the Arab peoples. The second major cycle is that of Isaac and Jacob. This cycle also contains supplementary material, some of the Edomites origins, relating to Esau, ancestor of the Edomites. Finally, there is the extensive and distinctive story of Joseph, the major intrusions into which are a variant history of Judah in chapter 38 and the â€Å"blessings† of the Israelite tribes in Chapter 49. Chapter 1 tells of God’s act of creation. Chapters 2-11 record human history from Adam to Abraham and describe the Garden of Eden, the Tower of Babel, and the Flood. The connecting link between all these parts of Genesis as well as between it and the other books of the Pentateuch, which it introduces, is a concept of divine intervention in man’s history. This concept has been given the name Heitsgeschichte, â€Å"salvation history†. Israel believed itself to be the product of a history in which it had encountered a God who had made it His Covenant people. The great events of this history are traced—the Exodus from Egypt; the experiences of the Red Sea, of Sinai, and of Kadesh, where Israel waited outside the Promised Land; and the occupation of the Promised Land. All these reveal a God of mercy and kindness, though also of justice and retribution, a God who had chosen Israel out of simple, gratuitous love. This historical perspective was imposed in Genesis both on the patriarchal legends that had been derived from Palestine and on the mixed Mesopotamian- Palestinian myths and sagas from which the book’s first chapters are constructed. Thus in Genesis, Creation is seen no longer as mere myth, that is, as a religious conviction visualized in narrative. It is instead, the first in a series of God’s saving acts, by which he had brought forth an ordered universe out of primordial formlessness. Man was placed in that world as God’s image and likeness, to be its ruler. But men improved unequal to the task. His wilfulness set him in opposition to God and introduced disorder into the world. After this followed murder and the hatred of man for man, for example, Cain and Abel, Lamech and the Cainites, even cosmic disorder, which the story of the sons of God and the daughters of men attempts to, explain. The Flood is understood in Genesis as both divine retribution and mercy: it brought an end to an evil generation, but a faithful remnant was preserved in the person of the righteous Noah and those who were saved for his sake. III. Gilgamesh and the Flood in the Bible The epic makes mention of the Flood in reference with one of the oldest books of the Bible. Similarities of the two accounts were the flood, the gigantic boat, and the fact that animals and living creatures were made to come aboard along with the one human family who entered the boat. There are major disparities though as to the recounting of the event. In the account of the Bible, the coming of the Great Flood in Noah’s days was not held as a secret before men, whereas in the story of Gilgamesh, the gods have intended to have it kept as a secret. Noah was even commanded by God to preach and warn the people of its coming (as a sign of His mercy) while he builds the ark. The people however, did not listen and even taunted Noah. Such reactions may have been likely since many Bible scholars believe that prior to this incident, rain had not yet fallen on the earth. In the Bible account, the door of the ark was supernaturally closed and opened by God alone. Noah had no power or aut hority over it. In Gilgamesh’s, the sealing of the door bears no spiritual meaning. Noah’s God and the gods in Gilgamesh were shown to have deeply regretted the sending of the flood that has wiped out humanity expect for those inside the great boat. One of the gods in the epic was displeased at first with the survivors, while the God of Noah readily blessed them. IV. Conclusion The work unfolds before us the thoughts and intents of the Sumerians and the rest of the Mesopotamians. Like the rest of most societies, they give enormous significance to fame and wealth. Fearlessness is held as a great virtue, born out perhaps of their constant living in fear of antagonizing their gods who they believed caused them all their troubles. Although Mesopotamians have achieved much, they did hold a pessimistic view. Life, it seemed for them, was a constant struggle a struggle against the forces of nature and the caprices of their gods. Towards the end of the story, even the endeavors of men would come to nothing as he comes to the end of his life. â€Å"Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we shall die† would have been the guiding principle of Mesopotamians. Perhaps so, since one historian had noted that over forty percent of their grain production was used to make beer. Although we discuss this epic as an ancient story, the quest for the answers about life and death still continuous to haunt several people even to this present-day. Above all, however, Biblical critics of the 20th century are willing to measure Genesis by historical standards other than those of the 19th century. By those standards Genesis was condemned or defended in the time of the â€Å"Babel and Bible† controversy. That dispute developed when the Sumerian and Akkadian literatures of ancient Mesopotamia were discovered and deciphered in the 19th century. The conclusion was easily drawn that the message of Genesis was of no more relevance to the history of religions than the myths of Babylonia, whatever might be the other values of the book. But the 20th century idea of history is more attuned to that which inspired the authors of Genesis. This view recognizes that recording specific facts and dares is not the, real object of history writing. Rather, the aim is to discover and portray realities that challenge human experience and demand an accounting. By the criteria of historicism Moses can hardly said to have existed; yet Israel itsel f is the historical witness of Moses. Genesis and the Epic of Gilgamesh are two great books that could inspire people when they read it. The facts and information’s are somewhat intertwined in some ways. These two books should be treasured and cherished especially by those who want to know the history of our forefathers, their fall and how they were saved by a mighty Creator.