Climate Changes Impact On Coral Reefs Environmental Sciences Essay

This undertaking is given by our instructor and we were supposed to compose about the clime alterations. I decided to compose about the subject â€Å" coral reef † . I want to cognize more about coral reefs, non merely the general facts about how they look like or what sort of coloring material they have, but more about the interesting facts. Why are they of import today, how we as human ruin them and what we can to halt this procedure? As it says on International Coral Reef Initiative â€Å" For the first clip since 1998, mass coral bleaching is impacting coral reefs across a broad country of Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. Bleaching has been reported in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Maldives, and parts of E Africa. I know it exists menaces against coral reefs, and I want to larn more about them and what are the effects of e.g. coral bleaching. In the quotation mark above it says that coral bleaching is increasing. Why? What are coral reefs?Coral reefs, indicated by ruddy points, are found preponderantly in tropical Waterss 30 grades north and South of the equatorCoral reefs are among the oldest ecosystems in the universe. They are located 30 grades north or South of the equator, chiefly in the Indonesia and Pacific Ocean. In the Bahamas at 32 grades at that place exists an exclusion. The coral reefs can populate at that place because of the warm H2O from the Gulf of Mexico. Today the coral reefs are the largest life construction on Earth and the Great Barrier Reef is the largest individual construction in the universe Coral are single animate beings and a individual coral is called polyp. Largely the polyp live in groups of 100s to 1000s indistinguishable animate beings, and organize a â€Å" settlement † . The procedure which formed the settlement is called budding and literally the original polyp transcripts itself and the settlement grows. There exist two ways for the coral to turn either add to their limestone or reproducing. When a coral attention deficit disorder to their limestone is means that they secrete more calcium carbonate around and under their cup. The coral will so turn both upwards and outwards. The 2nd method is by reproducing either asexually or sexually. In the nonsexual manner the coral produced indistinguishable ringers or in a sexual manner by directing out sperm or eggs. Corals are divided into three different types depending on where signifier. The first one and most common is fringing reefs. They are close to the seashore and they form a boundary line to project themselves. Barrier reefs are another type and are similar to fringing reef. These besides environment land multitudes, but form a boundary line at a distance. The 3rd group of reef are called atolls and are either egg-shaped or round. They are lying off the seashore. ( See beginning 4 + 6 )Why are corals of import?Today coral reefs are of import and necessary in the universe. Great Barrier Reef, which is the universe largest reef, stretches along the nor'-east cost of Australia. The reef consist of over 3A 000 single reef and has a length of 30A 000 kilometers. It is really possible to see it from the outer infinite. A satellite exposure of the Great Barrier Reef The reef includes 400 coral species, 2A 000 fish species and six of seven species of sea polo-necks. There are many different types of coral which have assorted colorss. ( See beginning 3 )Why are the corals deceasing?There are many menaces to coral reefs. Some menaces are natural happening such as marauders and hurricanes. These are made of course, but because of planetary warming the menaces harmonizing to the coral reefs addition. Others menaces are made by human among them overfishing and pollutions. Consequence of coral bleaching Marauders and hurricanes are natural happening and it is difficult to make something about these happening because they happen of course, still increasing of rainfall over a long period lessening coral growing. The coral reefs need sunlight, clear H2O, seawater with a specific salt and warm H2O ( 23 – 29 grades Celsius ) to populate. However, addition in the temperature degree and altered salt affects the coral reefs severely. Merely one grade rise in temperature influences the coral. The harm is called coral bleaching and involves that the coral expels the algae which gives the coral its coloring material. Alternatively of being colorful the coral takes on a blunt white visual aspect. The algae do n't return if the emphasis is prolonged and as a consequence the coral dies. â€Å" The bleaching is really strong throughout Southeast Asia and the cardinal Indian Ocean. The studies are that it is the worst since 1997/1998. This is a truly immense event and we are traveling to se e a batch of corals deceasing † says Dr Mark Eakin Overfishing is a menace made by human. Today many people are dependent on fish as an income and nutrient, still overfishing is a job. It affects the coral by â€Å" taking cardinal species from the marine nutrient concatenation † . Furthermore the methods used to catch fish can besides be harmful to the coral. For case 15 states use nitrile fishing which involves dumping toxicant onto reefs to stupefy fish for easier assemblage. The toxicant does n't merely impact the fish, but besides the reefs. Another sensational method is called blast fishing, utilizing explosives to stupefy fish, and the method is used by more than 40 states. As a consequence of the detonation the coral are ripped apart and destroyed. On the other manus, addition of the H2O degree increases the thriving for harmful algae and other rivals. More rivals and harmful algae mean less infinite for the coral to growing. Likewise out of use sunlight lessening the growing for a coral and the coral can decease. ( Se e beginning 5 )Decisionâ€Å" Seventy per centum of coral reefs may be gone in less than 40 old ages if the present rate of devastation continues † . This destructing procedure has to be stopped, and it needs to be shortly. Coral reefs are place to over 1 million different species and protect the coastal metropoliss. In add-on to this, coral reefs create 1000000s of occupation and unafraid income for many people in more than 100 states in the universe. However coral reefs are a nutrient beginning for the people who live near the reefs, particularly the people on little islands. Another interesting fact is that without the being of coral reefs, parts of Florida would be under H2O. ( See beginning 7 )Beginningshypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral ( 06.12.2010 ) reef.htmHYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral ( 06.12.2010 ) reef.htm & A ; url=http: //www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/greatbarrierreef/ † & amp ; HYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral ( 06.12.2010 ) reef.htm & A ; url=http: //www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/greatbarrierreef/ † url=http: //www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/greatbarrierreef/ ( 06.12.2010 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral-reef.htmHYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral-reef.htm & A ; url=http: //www.nature.org/joinanddonate/rescuereef/explore/facts.html † & amp ; HYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //www.howstuffworks.com/framed.htm? parent=coral-reef.htm & A ; url=http: //www.nature.org/joinanddonate/rescuereef/explore/facts.html † url=http: //www.nature.org/joinanddonate/rescuereef/explore/facts.html ( 06.12.2010 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/coral-reef1.htm ( 06.12.2010 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //animals.howstuffworks.com/marine-life/coral-reef2.htm ( 06.12.2010 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.icriforum.org/about-coral-reefs/what-are-corals ( 06.12.10 ) hypertext transfer protocol: //www.icriforum.org/about-coral-reefs/benefits-coral-reefs ( 06.12.2010 )

Malaysian Court System

This consists of the High Court of Malaya, the High Court of Sabah & Sarawak, the Court of Appeal and the Federal Court. The Federal Court is the highest court of the land. High CourtsThe High Courts have general supervisory and revisionary jurisdiction over all the Subordinate Courts and hear appeals from the Subordinate Courts in civil and criminal matters. They hear matters relating to the validity or dissolution of marriage (divorce) and matrimonial causes, bankruptcy and companies winding up matters, guardianship or custody of children, grants probates of wills and letters of administration of deceased persons, injunctions, specific performance or rescissions of contracts, legitimacy of any persons and generally actions of which the claim exceeds RM250,000-00 (except motor vehicle accidents, landlord and tenant and distress). The High Courts have powers to hear all criminal matters. Court of AppealGenerally, the Court of Appeal hears all civil appeals against decisions of the High Courts except where against judgment or orders made by consent. In cases where the claim is less than RM250,000-00 or the judgment or order relates to costs only or against decisions of a judge in chambers on an interpleader summons on undisputed facts, leave of the Court of Appeal must first be obtained. The Court of Appeal also hears criminal appeals against decisions of the High Courts. Federal CourtAll civil appeals from the Court of Appeal are heard by the Federal Court only after leave is granted by the Federal Court. The Federal Court also hears criminal appeals from the Court of Appeal only in respect of matters heard by the High Court in its original jurisdiction. THE SUBORDINATE COURTS This consists of the Sessions Courts, the Magistrates' Courts and in West Malaysia the Penghulu's Courts. Penghulu's CourtsGenerally, the Penghulu's Courts hear civil matters of which the claim does not exceed RM50-00 and where the parties are persons of Asian race and speaking and understanding the Malay language. The Penghulu's Court’s criminal jurisdiction is limited to offences of a minor nature charged against a person of Asian race of which is specially enumerated in his â€Å"kuasa† which can be punished with a fine not exceeding RM25-00. Magistrates' CourtsThe Magistrates' Courts hear all civil matters of which the claim does not exceed RM25,000-00. Generally in criminal matters, the Magistrates' Courts have power to try all offences of which the maximum term of imprisonment does not exceed 10 years or which are punishable with fine only but may pass sentences not exceeding 5 years imprisonment, fine not exceeding RM10,000-00 and/or whipping up to 12 strokes. The Magistrates' Courts also hear appeals from the Penghulu's Courts. Sessions CourtsThe Sessions Courts hear all matters of which the claim exceeds RM25,000-00 but does not exceed RM250,000-00 except in matters relating to motor vehicle accidents, landlord and tenant and distress, where the Sessions Courts have unlimited jurisdiction. The Sessions Courts have powers to hear all criminal matters except for offences punishable with death and may pass any sentences allowed by law except the sentence of death. Small Claims Civil claims not exceeding RM5,000-00 where the party pursuing the claim is an individual (i. e. not a company or agent/assignee of debts) are brought before the Magistrates' Courts pursuant to the small claims procedure where legal representations are strictly prohibited. You may fill in the Form 164 (Summons and Statement of Claim) which is available upon request at the Subordinate Courts Building by following the instructions found on the Form. You may also consult a lawyer but you cannot be represented by him at the hearing.

Analysis Of Barn Burning By William Faulkner Essay -- William Faulkner,

Faulkner shows the feelings of Sartoris by vividly describing the setting. The second to last paragraph starts off by saying, â€Å"At midnight he was sitting on the crest of the hill† (169). By providing the time of â€Å"midnight,† it shows a new chapter for Sartoris. The time of midnight represents a new day, and for the main character, a new day is symbolic of a new beginning. Also, Sartoris is described as â€Å"sitting on the crest.† A crest is a high point. The use of this word means two things: going up the hill is over and going down hill is beginning. Symbolically, going uphill was escaping his past. It was difficult for Sartoris to have to deal with the history he had with his family. Faulkner showing that Sartoris’s next step of going downhill is a foreshadowing that his life is going to be easier than before. Close to the bottom of the last paragraph, Faulkner says, â€Å"he went down the hill, towards the dark woods within which ... ... middle of paper ... ...d now. The last line states, â€Å"he did not look back† (169). Faulkner using this quote as the last sentence shows Sartoris’s determination to progress without reverting back to his past. Faulkner’s writing is very symbolic. Sartoris’s physical feelings also describe his mental and emotional states. Sartoris lived the first part of his childhood in fear of his father. In the final two paragraphs, Faulkner is presenting the moment Sartoris breaks away from being consumed by his father’s shadow and the fear of his father. Faulkner’s description of the setting is symbolic of how Sartoris feels about earning his freedom. Sartoris’s feelings about his freedom and brighter future are expressed through the shift from a dark tone to a hopeful one. The symbolism of Sartoris’s physical actions is a way Faulkner shows how Sartoris was feeling emotional upon obtaining his freedom.

Critically appraise union strategies to involve women and minority Assignment

Critically appraise union strategies to involve women and minority groups - Assignment Example (Reynolds, 2006, p.187) Thirty years ago, the Working Women Charter in Australia coined the slogan of â€Å"Women need unions need women.† The slogan pointed out the responsibility of representing women and women’s gendered needs. But most of the union leaders had problems with the women workforce participation in the union. The most significant agenda of equal pay for both the sexes was going on for over a century in the world economy and even then it has been noticed that the male union leader had stood by the employer while denying equal pay for women (Rea, 2005, p.50). Not only women are under-represented in the trade union, the union has also failed to represent the minority ethnic community. The trade union has always demonstrated a racist attitude towards the ethnic minorities. In the 20th century the trade unions developed a politics of unity, but it was always constrained by the ethnic understandings of the workforce. The unity in the union workforce has always been constrained by protecting the gains and growth among workers. Recently there has been an effort concerning industrial relations, philosophy of rights, racisms, and social inclusion (Lucio & Perrett, 2007, p.4; Healy, Bradley and Mukherjee, 2003). The trade union in the recent past has started addressing these issues in a more supportive and strategic manner. The paper discusses the union’s effort towards inclusion of women and minorities in the workforce. The survival of the union depends upon the expansion of the trade union. In order to expand the trade union’s recruitment the traditional areas have to include the service sector in its domain. The inclusion of women in the trade union would also ensure the expansion of the same. The trade unions have recognized the under representation of women in the union structures and hence adequate measure have been taken in UK and worldwide to redress the imbalance. In UK seats have been reserved for women in the union st ructure and proportionality has also been adopted. Despite such likely transformation the trade union are highly characterized as patriarchal. The major priority of all the trade union now is the recruitment. The trade union has experienced a steep decline in its membership since 1979. It was at its peak of around 13 million memberships which decreased down to seven million- that is only one third of the employees. UK witnessed a major restructuring in the economic and the labor market, where the manufacturing industries were heavily unionized with male domination, and the industries were undergoing a severe contraction, where as the service sector was mostly dominated by female and the sectors were less unionized as compared to the manufacturing sectors. In the phase of the social and economic changes the trade union had failed to recruit new members from the expanding sectors thus resulting in a decreasing union membership. (Kirton and Haley, 1999, p. 31) The gender gap in the uni on membership has narrowed down from eleven percentage points in 1990 to five percentage points in 1996. In UK the women membership is around 40 percent of the total union membership. The recruitment policies of the union have undergone a change in order to attract more women members and thereby retain them. (Kirton and Haley, 1999, p. 32) It is also noteworthy that over the last three decades most part of the global south has undergone an event known as the â€Å"

Biographical research paper on J.K Rowling Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Biographical on J.K Rowling - Research Paper Example Philip Nel stated that, â€Å"Both Anne and Peter Rowling loved reading, read to their children, and by the time she was six, Joanne began inventing stories which she told to her younger sister† (Nel, 8). Besides, her close relationship with her sister forced her to play the role of a guardian who is free to create stories to impress her sister. William Compson stated that, â€Å"Rowling says that from a very young age, as soon as she was old enough to realize that people actually wrote books (as opposed to books simply magically appearing), she decided that she wanted to be a writer† (Compson, 14). Rowling collected the raw materials for her future authorship from her childhood and teen-age. Still, she did not neglect the importance of reading in her life. Victoria Peterson-Hilleque stated that, â€Å"Joanne excelled in many languages during her course of study† (Peterson-Hilleque, 23). On the other side, she knew that academic education can help her to pursue a university degree and career, but the same cannot fulfil her personal interest. The author made clear that, â€Å"Although Joanne had a university degree and plenty of teaching experience, she was unable to find a job† (Mattern 41). So, she tried to balance her life between academic education and literary interest. In short, her life before aut horship was a preparatory stage for the future success within the context of literature. Rowling is basically from the countryside of England, named as Yate. Besides, her father (say, P J Rowling) was an Aircraft Engineer who worked at Rolls-Royce Company. Similarly, her mother (say, Anne Rowling) was interested in science and was a science technician by profession. Robert P. Merges stated that, â€Å"Ms. Rowling came from a middle-class family of professionals† (Merges, 133). So, one can see that Rowling family belonged to the middle class society in England, and she was born in the year

EA frameworks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

EA frameworks - Research Paper Example An architected system will frequently provide a pervasive "appearance and experience" that makes the whole systems more identifiable and consequently make the systems simpler and rather easy to learn and use (Finneran). From the perspectives of a lot of people of the industry, there is nothing considered to be vital for the transactions of the business than the utilization of working descriptions. It could as well be presumed that nothing is extra isolated." An architectural method provides operational descriptions as a part of its extensive business terminology furthermore consequently help widespread establishment of business strategies and enforcement methods. Additionally, the enterprise architecture provides a deep understanding into business process improvement (equally in total quality management (or TQM) and/or re-engineering) by describing preliminary business procedural paradigm and makes the consequence reliance so significant to the development of business procedures and methodologies. Moreover, the enterprise architecture provides a useful technique to speak about the architecture mechanisms to the objectives of the business as well as specific goals to be achieved, therefore providing impending into the business inspiration in terms of both the data as well as procedures of the business (Finneran) and (wikipedia-1). An effectively managed enterprise architecture scheme looks for to support the handy information management transactions, to the level that is rather possible as well as gives assured utilization of metrics to efficiently estimate the quality as well as amount of both the business procedure plus the productivity supported for information technology. An enterprise architecture framework assembles cooperative techniques, tools, procedure standards, artifact descriptions, orientation models plus management carried out by

A Generalized Thermodynamic Correlation Based on Three-Parameter Essay

A Generalized Thermodynamic Correlation Based on Three-Parameter Corresponding States - Essay Example Moreover, there are discrepancies existing between the extended and the original correlations’ interface. The main objectives of the paper are the development of the analytical correlations basing on the stated three – parameter corresponding state principle. Also, the work is aimed at covering the whole range of Tr and Pr in the practical application of hydrocarbons processing (Lee and Kesler). Furthermore, the work focuses on the improvement of consistence and accuracy of the pre-existing correlations. The achievement of the above stated objectives was based on the two state equations that are similar to Rubin, Benedict and general fluid reference (Lee and Kesler). In the paper, there is the description of the methodologies that can be efficiently used in the in the representation of the thermodynamic functions and volumetric functions. The description is based on the on the 3-parameter corresponding state principle proposed by Pitzer (Lee and Kesler). The functions referred in the description include fugacity coefficients, densities, enthalpy departures, isochoric and isobaric. The description of the methodologies has resulted in the generation of two equations of state that can be effectively used for reference fluids and the two equations are adequately used to represent both the thermodynamic and volumetric properties of both vapour and fluids as a function of the pre-stated 3-parameters within a range where Tr =0.3 to Tr =0.4 and Pr = 0 to Pr = 10. Using the above stated analytical form, there is an improvement in the representation of the properties at critical regions and within low temperatures (Lee and Kesler). The article concludes that, the stated methods are reliable and due to this; they have found wide applications in various in various conditions. Also, it is connoted that the accuracy of the methodologies can be compared to the original Pitzer correlations,

Military Training and Indoctrination of Children In Palestinian Research Proposal

Military Training and Indoctrination of Children In Palestinian Refugees Camp in Lebanon - Research Proposal Example When it comes to other human right issues in Lebanon like torture/ refugees and asylum seekers/ discrimination in addition to the inequality of women the political will from Lebanon is mainly absent and missing. The Government as an entity has tried to show goodwill in cooperating with various NGOs in order to improve situations in institutions like the prison especially with juveniles and also the disabled persons. The government also passed a law that helped abolish the religion identification on the IDs; this was a major step in helping fight discrimination. Most of the Middle East countries Lebanon included lack a comprehensive institutional and legislative framework that caters for the universal protection of human rights. In the Lebanon, although in the most sections of the legislations is in conformity with the international law the implementation of the aforementioned is lacking whereas in some instance the treaties are yet to be transformed into the national law. One importa nt aspect is that after a period of suspended legislative activities resulted from the internal political stalemates experienced in the country; parliamentary elections were held in 2009 June and no violations that were major were recorded. In the last decades there has been a jeopardized civil and political rights mainly brought about by the internal conflicts and also armed clashed witnessed around the country. Impunity is also widespread in the country consequence of a weak judicial system that has left crimes especially of the political nature to be committed in the recent past with no prosecution in sight. The interference of the executive in the judicial system in addition to the military courts that are unconstitutional are a violation of the international law. Torture in Lebanon has been accounted as being systematic and state officials and members of security organs in the country practice it coupled with legal prohibition and criminalization of torture. When it comes to th e wars around the world one of the recurrent wars that has been continuous is the Palestinian war in which thousands of people have been displaced to the neighboring Lebanon. Lebanon itself has experienced numerous and countless war between various factions that the paper will be looking at. A lot of attention has been paid to the war itself and the number of deaths that has been reported in the media but one major factor that seem to have been neglected is the fact that with the number of deaths on the increase there is a gap left behind in which soldiers are less and hence the need to increase the number. This has resulted in many underage children being drafted in the war without their wish as they are school going children. The children especially of the Palestinian Refugee camps around the Lebanon have undergone military training and also have been indoctrinated and as such are participating in wars when they are very young. This research proposal, aims at exploring how the war has affected the children especially in the Palestinian Refugee camp. INTRODUCTION Internally, in the recent past the political violence has been very rampant in Lebanon. In 2007 September a parliamentarian who was very prominent, Antoine Ghanem and six others were killed in a car bomb that was part of a series of political assassination in Beirut and nobody claimed responsibility for the attack1. In another incident in 2007 was the fight between the government troops and the Fatah-al-Islam that was an armed group and they fought in the Nahr-al-Bared refugee camp for

Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Writing - Essay Example An excellent example is this: there are many stories told about historical events that nobody has ever participated in, and many authors have written about things that happened long time ago. Most people believe that these things are true although they do not have evidence to proof that. This is the intuition. In â€Å"Predictable Irrationality† by Dan Ariely, the author gives an example of his own experience in the hands of nurses. He narrates about a period when he was in a hospital after having suffered 70 percent body burn. He tells of the manner in which nurses would bandage and un-bandage his wounds. He would try to ask them to do it slowly or to give him some time to rest but they could not. According to him, the nurses ought to have ripped the bandages slowly. He thought the nurses were wrong and so he advised them to do it his way, but since the nurses thought they were right, they believed that their way of ripping of the bandages was the best for a patient of Ariely’s kind. This caused him a lot of pain. The experience also led him into researching on how to take off bandages from burn wounds. He bought a carpenter’s vice with which he could crunch people’s fingers at the workshop for short and long periods of time and then test all the different typ es of pain they felt. Upon carrying out numerous experiments with different people and objects, Ariely realized that ripping off bandages from burn wounds at a low intensity and over a long time combined with allowing patients some time in between to rest reduced pain a lot. The facts he got after the research showed that the nurses’ way of doing it was wrong indeed. Although the nurses were wrong, they all along had been thinking that they were right, since they believed their intuition to be correct simply because they had strong but untested beliefs. In most cases, we make a decision through intuition and we believe it to be right. What can be said about the general

Business environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Business environment - Assignment Example Meaning of Perfect Competition 20 b)ii. Perfect Competition in the UK Fast Food Industry 21 c)i. Three Regulatory Mechanisms Currently in Force in the UK Fast Food Industry 22 c)ii. Compliance of Regulations by McDonald’s 23 Task 4 25 a)Role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Globalisation 25 b)Advantages and Disadvantages of Price Intervention in the EU Agricultural Sector 26 c)Benefits and Disadvantages Gained By UK Businesses from Entry into the European Monetary Union 28 References 30 Task 1 a) i. Mission of Starbucks Starbucks is recognised as one of the most famous coffee manufacturing and marketing companies. The company was established in 1971 and till date it continues with a broad distribution of channel of 1600 shops in almost 50 countries. The company has also been recognised for its significant consideration to the quality maintenance in serving its customers, partners and the community at large (Starbucks Coffee Company, 2010). In order to maintain its focus o n the quality aspect along with the overall organisational development, the company considers a mission statement. This mission statement tends to direct the organisational strategies and the strategic objectives of the company as well. The mission statement developed by the company depicts its concern regarding the quality of the products’ served with due consideration to its partners’ interest and the requirements of its targeted customers. The company also concentrates on the aspect of customer satisfaction in terms of efficient services through its retail outlets and restaurants. One of the most significant aspects of the mission statement considered by Starbucks is its concern regarding the environment. It is worth mentioning that the mission statement of the company reflects that Starbucks implement environment friendly strategies in its supply chain management to a significant level (Starbucks Corporation, 2011). a) ii. Practical Objectives of Starbucks Consider ing the defined mission statement, Starbucks has determined its objectives for the current fiscal year 2011-2012 as follows. To attain a profitable growth in the international industry To emerge as a leader in the single-cup coffee product segment To expand its customer base and its market share globally To accelerate the growth in the retail segment of the company in the US To attain stimulated growth in the Chinese market To be more focussed on the partners interest To repay the community through efficient service (Starbucks Corporation, 2010) It can be apparently witnessed from the above description of Starbucks’ mission and objectives that a rational link exists between the organisational objectives and its mission. b) i. Comprehensive Stakeholder Map Stakeholders have emerged to be one of the significant facets of the modern day phenomenon of business management. Stakeholders are often defined as â€Å"persons, groups, neighbourhoods, organizations, institutions, societ ies, and even the natural environment are generally thought to qualify as actual or potential stakeholders† (Mitchel & Et. Al., 1997). Based on this definition, the stakeholders of Starbucks can be identified as follows: Employees Business Partners Customers Suppliers Shareholders Community members (Starbucks Corpor

The arts and knowledge Essay Example for Free

The arts and knowledge Essay What makes the world more beautiful and peace or when imagination set beyond reason and other stress things? Well, art could be an answer in this situation and it is useful in some areas that science cannot define. To a slightly degree that truth is found in art. However the relationship between truth and art sound to be contradict to each other, but there is still a truth in art which is very important to nature. Art and truth have always been separate as two different areas of knowledge in mutual incomprehension. Whatever the relationship between the arts and knowledge, there seems to be a big difference between the contribution made by the arts to our understanding of the world and that made by the sciences (Theory of Knowledge p. 350). If we think carefully and define the definition of truth and art, we can easily seek the big differences. Truth as we know, is claim to be real, logic and reasonable with supported evidence. Therefore truth is also objective statement since every agrees for it to be true, some sciences claim could be a good example of truth. On the other hand, art appeal more to our imagination and emotion which runs out the border of reason. With some statement about art, some people may think art is then useless if it doesnt have any truth but only waste of junk. However, art can be subjective. It could appeal to individuals emotions and expression. A drawing from someone can express the artists emotion, the usage of color and lines stroke could represent the artist emotion. Still when spectators spotted the drawing they may infer only little amount of truth. As art can be subjective, the audience may think about the drawing in any kind of feelings they see from their perspective. For example, a drawing of a shadow of the man with a circle. The audience may think about the drawing in any kind of forms that appeal to them, such as a man and a sun or a man with a soccer ball. There are no proofs that either one is right or wrong, there is no one specific truth from the drawing. As the quote a picture may describe thousand words, there are many perspectives that you can observe from the picture and they are expressed in more allusive and intuitive forms. If we compare this to science theories, it would be totally the opposite. Two different theories are given to proof a same claim. There would be only one that is right that gives the truth about the claim. For example, 2+2 must equal 4, this truth is reasoned and supported with many evidence. The theories would contradict each other, if one in true the other would be false. However art can also be objective since artists have intention in their work, but it might not be clear as science which has practical evidence and proof in each step. Some people define art as untrue because they deal with fiction rather than fact. This would bring us to another aspect call paradox of fiction. The fact that fiction is sometimes able to reveal deep truths about human condition. While it may seem to strange that we human beings often turn to fiction in search of truth, it also seems to be true! (Theory of Knowledge p.352). This tells us a bit more how art gives truth to our experience of the world. But the truth that art gives us might be different kind of truth the science gives us. For example, arts can tell us about the nature and love which science cannot. Most of the time, truth in art comes in the form of emotion. Art gives truth in a slightly degree which mostly appeal to emotion. Art can be objective or subjective and if we relate to truth which must be objective we may seek the difference. The intention of artist and what the audience see may be different depends on each individual perspective. If we compare it to truth in science which is really important to our life, art would consist truth in a small amount. However it is still important.

Segmenting the British Sports market Essay Example for Free

Segmenting the British Sports market Essay Introduction Sport England is the government agency responsible for building the foundations of sporting success, by creating a world-leading community sport environment of clubs, coaches, facilities and volunteers. They want to create a vibrant sporting culture working in partnership with national governing bodies, national partners, the HE/FE sector, local government, county sport partnerships and community organizations. Their focus is around three outcomes growing and sustaining the numbers of people taking part in sport and improving talent development to help more people excel. Five targets which will see us deliver these outcomes: 1. Grow   More people taking part in more sport   More children and young people taking part in five hours of PE and sport a week These targets account for 15% of the investment. 2. Sustain   More people satisfied with their sporting experience   25% fewer 16-18 year olds dropping out of at least nine sports badminton. basketball, football, hockey, gymnastics, netball, rugby league, rugby union tennis These targets account for 60% of the investment. 3. Excel   Improved talent development in at least 25 sports This target accounts for 25% of the investment. 4. What does our work involve? We invest expertise, resources and both government and Lottery money into community sport. ?480 million is invested directly through 46 national governing bodies of sport. And there are five open funding streams other organizations can apply to. We have a statutory role in protecting playing fields and must be consulted if community playing fields are threatened by potential developments. We provide a wealth of expertise and advice on range of sports subjects including planning, facilities, coaching, and volunteering and sports development. And we act as advocates for community sport bringing together a wide range of partners from local and national government, the commercial sector, higher and further education and the third sector to make the most of their investment in sport. 5. Who do we work with? To succeed, we have to work closely with a wide range of organizations, including:   Our sporting landscape partners Youth Sport Trust and UK Sport   National governing bodies of sport   National partners   Local authorities   County sports partnerships   Higher and further education   The third sector   The commercial sector. London Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Delivery Authority. Questions 1. Using the full spectrum of segmentation variables, describe how Sport England has segmented the sports market? In order to understand the British people’s attitudes and motivations about sports, Sport England has developed 19 sporting segments all around the United Kingdom to target its customers in the sports market. In the segmentation process Sport England worked closely with Experian Business Strategies consulting group and analyzed data of the English people aged 18 and older. Each of the 19 segment profiles contains information about how sporty they are, the activities they enjoy, possible barriers and motivations and guidance in how to effectively market sport to each profile. The segmentation was based on Demographic and Geographic variables. This segmentation process allowed them to understand the top sports that people want to involve themselves in and helped them to identify the characteristics of their target groups for projects and initiatives. An example of their successful market segmentation policy is South Gloucestershire Leisure’s reopening of a refurbished leisure center in the year 2007. With the help of their market segmentation data and knowledge on how to market to its customers by identifying which activities people are more interested in. 1. Sport England created a segment profile which identified the largest segments within a 1-, 3-, 5-, 7- and 10- mile straight line buffer of the leisure center. 2. The largest segments were then mapped to show the geographic location of these segments which allowed them to localize the market and focus on specific things like information on lifestyles of customers in the Gloucestershire region, the proper community needs of the region. 3. They identified the dominant segment in each postal code and accordingly produced marketing material targeting at those segments. 4. They identified the areas where the population of children were more and targeted it with the right marketing techniques. Segment Name| | Forename| Population| Male| Female| In Million| Competitive Male Urbanites| A01| Ben| 6. 4| 13. 3| 0| 2,521| Sports Team Drinkers| A02| Jamie| 5. 4| 11. 1| 0| 2,127| Fitness Class Friends| A03| Chloe| 6. 9| 0| 13. 4| 2,717| Supportive Singles| A04| Leanne| 4. 7| 0| 9. 1| 1,851| Career Focused Females| B05| Helena| 5| 0| 9. 7| 1,969| Settling Down Males| B06| Tim| 9. 4| 19. 3| 0| 3,702| Stay at Home Mums| B07| Alison| 4. 6| 0| 8. 9| 1,812| Middle England Mums| B08| Jackie| 4| 0| 7. 7| 1,575| Pub League Team Mates| B09| Key| 5. 8| 12| 0| 2,284| Stretched Single Mums| B10| Paula| 3. 8| 0| 7. 4| 1,497| Comfortable Mid-Life Males| C11| Philip| 7. 8| 16| 0| 3,072| Empty Nest Career Ladies| C12| Elaine| 5. 3| 0| 10. 2| 2,087| Early Retirement Couples| C13| Roger Joy| 6. 2| 6. 2| 6. 3| 2,442| Older Working Women| C14| Brenda| 4| 0| 7. 6| 1,575| Local ‘Old Boys’| C15| Terry| 3. 4| 7| 0| 1,339| Later Life Ladies| C16| Norma| 2| 0| 3. 6| 788| Comfortable Retired Couples| D17| Ralph Phyllis| 3. 7| 5| 2. 4| 1,457| Twilight Year Gents| D18| Frank| 3. 5| 7. 1| 0| 1,378| Retirement Home Singles| D19| Elise Arnold| 8. 3| 2. 5| 13. 8| 3,269| A 18 24 year olds B 25 45 years C 46 65 years D 65 + 1. 2. Choose a segment and describe a campaign that could be used to encourage people in that segment to participate in one of the named sports related to their segment. I chose Segment 5 Helena â€Å"career focused females†. Characteristics:   Mainly aged 26-45   Single   Full time professional   Enjoy life in the fast lane As there are all career focused women in this segment, they are busy with their office work during the week and have a busy schedule. The working women also suffer from physical and mental fatigue. . Helena likes to keep in shape. After a long working day women in this segment might decide to catch a class or a long workout on the machines In this segment the participants in the cycling sport (11%) are less compared to swimming (22%) and keep fit gym (26%). Sport England could encourage more participants in the Cycling sport by organizing cycling rallies and events on the weekends. This could also help out in giving a social message to the community regarding health and environment. 3. Describe the role that Sport England plays in targeting a segment. South Gloucestershire Leisure center is an example of the role played by Sport England. The company is encouraging more and more people to participate in sports. Their web tool methods and using the media and communication platforms is being one of the most successful ways to target a segment. Sport England also carries out its target segmentation through various mediums like Internet, mobile phones, newspapers and magazines. These mediums are used by large audience and therefore the product information reaches them easily. 4. Choose a sport not listed and select appropriate segments that might participate in it. Explain why the sport might appeal to people in these segments.   Sport: Yoga   Segments:   Helena- Career Focused Females   Jackie-Middle England Mums   Paula- Stretched Single Mums   Brenda-Older Working Women It has been proved over the recent years that Yoga is one of the most successful exercise sports and helps in keeping fit and relaxing the mind. As Yoga is mostly a female oriented sport, it could be used to target the ladies in the above segments. There can be daily or weekend yoga sessions arranged for the segments according to their availability. As for the career focused ladies this would be the best form of exercise as it would relax them both mentally and physically. It is one kind of exercise which would appeal to all the age groups of women and motivate them to participate in it. 5. Briefly outline a marketing campaign for your chosen sport. 1. We will start a marketing campaign that focuses on the benefits of Yoga:   Yoga can help cure insomnia, as its regular yoga practice leads to better and deeper sleep. Yoga can help fight fatigue and maintain your energy throughout the day.   A regular yoga practice helps boost antioxidants throughout your body, resulting in a stronger immune system and improved ability to heal quickly from disease or injury.   Yoga can help you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight throughout your life. Power yoga is an excellent form of cardio conditioning, which strengthens core muscles while it keeps blood and oxygen circulating throughout your body. 2. We will use the appropriate marketing tools to reach our target customers and deliver the necessary message.

Ryanair Business Strategy: Internal and External Analysis

Ryanair Business Strategy: Internal and External Analysis Ryanair:  Case Analysis Report Introduction Ryanair, established in 1985, is considered the main instigators of the â€Å"low cost â€Å" airline carriers, creating a new niche in a market previously dominated by former national airlines such as BA. The company has grown to a position where in 2005 it has 15 bases and 150 aircraft operating throughout Europe, carrying thirty million passengers (see figure 1), with a five year target to increase this to seventy million (Ryanair 2007). This position has been achieved by creating a â€Å"no-frills† approach on price (Pettigrew et al 2002), which gave it a competitive advantage over the established airlines (Porter 2004, p.207 and Kotler et al 2004, p.407), although attempts to extend this to include charging for ice used in in-flight drinks (Creaton 2004, p.169) was rescinded after customer complaints. The objective of the business is to become Europe’s leading â€Å"low-cost† airline and first for customer service, the latter position which was first reached in 2002 according to independent sources (see appendix A, figure 3). Similarly, the company also seeks to maintain value growth for shareholders. External Analysis Liberalisation of the airline industry in the 1970’s opened up the industry to new entrants and a new business model. Being one of the â€Å"first movers† in this new sector (Faulkner and Campbell 2006) Ryanair has taken advantage of the growth opportunities offered by creating a â€Å"low Cost† model based on the successful Southwest Airline (2007) strategy. This move has been partially responsible for increase in passenger numbers using UK airports in the last three decades (see table 1), with expectations of a threefold increase by 2030. Table 1 Airline passengers Year Passengers (m) 1980 50 1990 90 2000 180 With former eastern bloc countries converting from communistic to democratic political structures this growth is set to continue, providing the business with further opportunities (see appendix A, figure 4). Many of these former Baltic States have now joined the EU, which also provides Ryanair with the opportunity of expanding its destination network. However, the industry growth has also seen new competitors enter this niche market, including EasyJet, BMI, Virgin express and Aer Lingus. To maintain its competitive advantage the two major players have sought to consolidate their position by strategic acquisitions. In this area Ryanair, with its successful acquisition and integration of the â€Å"Buzz† lo-cost carrier, has been more successful that EasyJet’s experience when acquiring â€Å"Go.† Although the major airlines such as BA have responded to threats from Ryanair, to date these have not proved successful. The creation of this niche industry sector has also led to significant changes in the consumer’s perception (OConnell, J., and G. Williams 2005). Demands for cheaper fares has increased as prices have fallen, and the consumer perception and lifestyle has changed with regard to types of holidays has expanded rapidly, with weekend breaks and formerly unknown destinations increasing in popularity. Ryanair has also made full use of the advances in technology and digital processes within its â€Å"low-cost† business model. It was one of the first â€Å"low-cost† airlines to recognise the changes in the consumer buying habits resulting from these technological advances, using this diffusion to improve its services, encourage further consumer change and continue cost reduction advantages (Johnson et al 2007, p.481). Evidence of this can be found in the business move to paperless tickets, with more bookings being made through the Internet and, more recently, a move towards automated booking–in procedures at the airport, reducing the need for expansion of human resources to meet demand increase. At the same time, this technology use also helps Ryanair to maintain one of its key corporate objectives, which is to return success and value to the shareholders. There are two other external factors that impact upon the business and affect the determination of strategy. The first is environmental issues., which includes the concerns expressed by consumers and governments relating to the impact that air travel growth has upon the local communities and infrastructure and the second is the natural environment, where businesses are now required to consider the impact that their operations have upon issues such as climate change. The second issue is in the increase of legislation, particularly from the EU. In this respect Ryanair operations have to comply with regulations in terms of fair competition, which affects mergers and acquisitions and unfair practices, and targets set by the EU in relation to emission reductions required to address climate change.[PL1] Internal Analysis As Lynch (2006) and Faulkner and Campbell (2005) stated within their respective researches, for organisation’s such as Ryanair, who have targeted their strategy at a â€Å"low-price† product, it is imperative that, to maintain competitive advantage, who submitted that to achieve and maintain low price in the market place, the business itself had to be structured in a way that provided a limited cost base throughout all aspects of the business, in order to retain a profitable result. Porter (2004) suggests that this cost reduction process has to be communicated throughout the value chain (see appendix B, figure 6). Michael O’Leary, and the Ryanair management team have strived to achieve this position through a number of measures. Use of resources Ryanair makes good use of its resources. For example, all of the aircraft are of one design, the Boeing 737-800 series. This has several positives. Firstly, the company receives a discount from Boeing. Secondly, It reduces costs in terms of maintenance and training. In the latter case, unlike EasyJet, which has to train pilot and cabin crew to operate on a number of different aircraft designs, Ryanair’s staff only have to familiarise themselves with the one. Similarly, the turnaround of aircraft at destinations is quick and efficient, thus reducing unit cost. Human resources Despite the number of routes operated and the logistical problems of running a business of the magnitude of Ryanair, the company operates with a minimalist attitude towards head office, admin, aircraft and maintenance crews and administration staff. At the end of the 2005 financial year the business employed around 2,800 personnel, a figure which has changed very little over a five-year period. All of the Ryanair employees are expected to multitask. For example, cabin crew are required to clean cabins and remove rubbish between flights. Technology As mentioned earlier, Ryanair computerises as many services as possible. With Internet booking, paperless tickets, automated booking-in processes and many other parts of the operations being streamlined in this manner, this ensures that production and other costs remain low. Destinations Another imp0ortant aspect of the Ryanair cost reduction strategy is the concentration of its destinations into secondary rather than primary airports. Landing fees and other charges at these airports is substantially lower than the main airports and, even with the â€Å"sweetners† paid by Ryanair, the unit costs per passenger of flight into these destinations remains cheaper. Travel format Finally, the product itself has been simplified. There is only one class on a Ryanair flight and no pre-booking of seats. Furthermore, virtually everything but the seat costs. This includes drinks, meals and the other retail products available on board, with even free levels of baggage is limited. The success of this strategy can be evidenced when comparing the met profit margin of Ryanair with other carriers. The following data, taken from the various organisation’s websites and financial statements show the differnce (see table 2 below): Table 2 Net profit percentages Company Percentage Ryanair 17.81% EasyJet 7.98% British Airways 7.28% Diagnosis of current challenges However, like all businesses, Ryanair is not immune from challenges as it moves into the future. From the analysis of the business operations it is apparent that these challenges and threats will come from five main areas (appendix A, figure 4). Competition As mentioned earlier, with the emerging democracies within Europe, together with the regional and global harmonisation of competition rules, Ryanair is likely to find increased competition developing from these areas within the next few years to a decade. With the increased market place and, as can be seen from the share of the market that low cost airlines have (see figure 2), there is ample scope for new competition. The discussions about the â€Å"open skies† agreement between the EU and US (Milmo and Gow 2007), if these come to fruition, will also pose a threat as it creates a potential for US airlines to enter the industry sector. These actions could adversely affect the business continued financial success. Consolidation and growth There has already been some consolidation within the sector. It is likely that this will continue for the foreseeable future, and this could pose a threat to Ryanair’s dominant position. Furthermore, the corporations own growth pattern could impact negatively upon profitability. Despite growth attracting economies of scale, it can involve additional costs that threaten efficiency (Creaton 2004, p.250). Political intervention There are three main aspects of political intervention that are like to affect Ryanair in respect of its future development within Europe. The first of these relates to the EU’s competition laws, which is an area where Ryanair has come into conflict with the commissioners in terms of payments being made to secondary airports and other similar issues (BBC News 2004). The second is the threat by the EU to reduce or eliminate the subsidies given to the sector, worth an estimated  £6 billion annually (Bized 2004). This includes report, this VAT, Landing and Fuel tax benefits. The removal of these benefits will have a significant impact upon profitability. The third issue is the EU intention to force budget airlines to pay compensation for cancellations, which is not done at present. Environmental issues One of the major issues is the environment. Following the EU adoption of the IPCC[1] report recommendations, focus has been concentrated upon setting emissions targets for airline industry player, with stringent targets being set (see table 3). Future strategic options All researches promote the need for corporations to ensure corporate strategy addresses future challenges (Lynch (2006) and Faulkner and Campbell (2006)). In Ryanair’s case, it is suggested there are three strategic options that could be adopted (see appendix C, figure 7). Low price – low added value The aim of this strategy is to achieve the lowest price by a process of continually reducing the additional elements that attach to the service. For example, in terms of the budget airlines, from the consumers’ viewpoint this has meant reducing the facilities offered in-flight, such as changes to the quality of seating, increasing the seating capacity on the aircraft and reducing choice of services that involve human resources, such as hot meals, snacks and drinks. For the business is requires a continual drive to continue cost reduction throughout the value chain. Low price The intention of the low price strategy per se it to achieve reduction in the cost of fares, whilst retaining the consumers’ perception of the value of the product. To implement this strategy means that the business will need to seek cost reductions in areas other than those that directly impact upon the quality of the in-=flight service provided. This could be achieved by the further use of technology to automate in additional areas of the operational processes. Focused differentiation A strategy if focused differentiation is intended to set the business product apart from that of its competitors. Price can be used in the differentiation process, but in this case it needs to be inclusive with other elements that make the product unique. Evaluation of strategic options Following an evaluation of these strategic options, using the criteria recommended by Rumselt (see appendix D, figure 8), the following is an outline of the results that this produced. Option 1 – Low price – love value added This strategic option is consistence with the policy that Ryanair has followed in the past and is in accord with the previous intentions of the business strategy, which has been to reduce price at the cost of services, in other words achieving a â€Å"no frills† situation. However, it would seem that Ryanair would find it difficult to further reduce the level of service provided to its customers and it is unlikely that this approach would secure its market position. Option 2 – Low price Low price, as with option one, is in line with the business existing strategy. However, from the analysis of the internal situation at Ryanair, it would seem that there are limited options in terms of reducing existing resources, particularly if the business wishes to maintained a sustained growth programme and market share. Furthermore, it is not in accord with external trends, which indicates that consumers are becoming more discerning and the political arena more concerned with the consumers’ rights and environmental costs. Option 3 – Focused differentiation Focused differential, which could still include low price, would also be consistent with the Ryanair strategy. The differential of â€Å"low price, no frills† has been the core differential upon which the business has promoted itself previously. However, with other competitors entering the market place, that differential needs to be extended to other areas. In summary therefore, it is felt that the focused differentiation option would be most appropriate for the business future and will assist it to retain and improve its competitive advantage. Overview of selected strategy The core elements of the proposed â€Å"focused differentiation† strategy being proposed will be threefold. Free flights An aggressive strategy aimed at achieving free flights to be pursued. This can be achieved by seeking third party turnover to replace the ticket cost. For example, the business could introduce sponsoring, where travel and venue destinations, such as holiday locations, theme parks and local tourist boards pay for flights. Similarly, in-flight facilities could be introduced, such as Internet shopping, gambling and pay to view telephone. Furthermore, other services such as car rental and insurances could be used to cover the lost ticket revenue. Consolidation The business should be looking to make acquisitions, particularly with organisations within the Eastern European countries that have recently joined the EU. This enables the business to achieve market growth and maintain its dominant position. It also reduces the future competition. Aircraft fleet Fleet replacement is an area that Ryanair has concentrated upon in the past. In the future, in addition to discounts, this should be linked to conditions that ensure the fleet includes the latest environmentally friendly specifications, with aircraft being regularly upgraded as part of the purchase options. Implementation plan To enable the selected strategy to be implemented, several courses of action need to be undertaken. Short term Moves towards a â€Å"free-flight† position can be commenced within the immediate future, with the management and marketing departments of Ryanair discussing this concept with potential sponsor from the commercial leisure world, as well as tourism boards within the region and in specific destinations. Medium Term In the medium term two actions required for the strategy can be undertaken. The first of these is the gradual refits that will be required to aircraft to include the various new technological facilities that have been recommended. The second action would be to assess the potential market players to ascertain which, if any, would provide the business with a strategic fit for expansion of its market reach within the region. Long term Contracts with Boeing need to be re-negotiated to ensure that environment related conditions are included as an inherent part of the purchase process for replacement aircraft. Conclusion There is no doubt that Ryanair faces a number of key challenges in the future. To ensure that the business can successfully deal with the changes these challenges present, it is important that the future strategy is sufficiently robust to be able ensure that the business retains its competitive advantage and profitability levels. The aggressive strategies recommended within this analysis study are designed to achieve this objective. The â€Å"Free-flight† with added services, albeit being paid for, will maintain the unique and differentiated service that the Ryanair brand has become known for. Bibliography BBC News (2004). Ryanair faces new payment probe. Retrieved 17 May 2007 from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3458423.stm Bized (2004). Low Flying Fares: An End to Cheap, No Frills? Retrieved 27 July 2007 from http://www.bized.co.uk/current/leisure/2003_4/010304.htm Brassington Frances and Pettitt, Stephen (2006). Principles of Marketing, 4th edition, Pearson Education Ltd. London, UK Channel 4 News (2007). If you care about the environment, you should fly Easyjet. Really? Retrieved 16 May 2007 from http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/environment/factcheck+how+green+is+easyjet/509642 Creaton, Siobhan (2004). Ryanair: How a Small Irish Airline Conquered Europe. Aurum Press Ltd. London, UK. De Groote, P.D (2005). The Success Story of European Low-Cost Carriers in a Changing Airworld. GaWC Research Bulletin 174. Retrieved 27 July 2007 from http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb174.html Doganis, Rigas (2000). The Airline Business in the 21st Century. Routledge. London, UK. Faulkner, David and Campbell, Andrew (2006). The Oxford Book of Strategy: A Strategy Overview and Competitive Strategy. New ed. Oxford University Press. Oxford, UK. Haslam, Chris and Ungoed-Thomas, Jon (2007). Ryanair denies baggage ‘scam’. The Times. London, UK. Johnson, Gerry., Scholes, Kevan and Whittington, Richard (2007). Exploring Corporate Strategy. FT Prentice Hall, Harlow, UK. Kotler, Philip. Wong, Veronica., Saunders John A and Armstrong, Gary (2004). Principles of Marketing, 4th European edition, Pearson Education Ltd. London, UK. OConnell, J., and G. Williams (2005). Passengers Perceptions of Low Cost Airlines and Full Service Carriers. Journal of Air Transport Management, 11: 259-272. Porter, Michael E (2004). Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors. The Free Press. New ed. The Free Press. New York, US. Press association (2007). Budget airline offers low cost New York flights. Retrieved 17 May 2007 from http://www.which.co.uk/reports_and_campaigns/travel_and_leisure/reports/holiday_advice/Flights/zoom_flights_news_article_557_112479.jsp Report (2007). The Environmental Effects of Civil Aircraft in Flight. Royal Commission of Environmental Pollution. Retrieved 29 July 2007 from http://www.rcep.org.uk/avreport.htm Ryanair (2007). About us. Retrieved 14 May 2007 from http://www.ryanair.com Southwest Airlines (2007). About SWA. Retrieved 28 July 2007 from http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/airborne.html Stragler, Joos (1999). Current issues arising with airline alliances. Retrieved 17 May 2007 from http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/speeches/text/sp1999678_en.html Appendix A – external environment Figure 4 Pestel analysis Political Airline liberalisation Extension of democracy in EU Open skies policy Economic Internal financial performance Disposable income Abolishing of international tariffs Competition Acquisition Social Consumer attitudes Brand image Lifestyle and travel changes Technological Automatic booking in systems Online activity Change in consumer buying habits Environment Investor added value EU and international environment concerns Legal issues European legislation Environment regulations Competition rules Figure 5 Opportunities and Threats Opportunities Threats Growth of network Increased competition Growth of passenger numbers Industry consolidation Maintenance of cost reductions Political intervention Continuing price reductions (free?) Environmental issues Expand cooperation between â€Å"Low cost† carriers Further acquisitions Appendix B – Internal environment Figure 6 Value Chain Source: Porter (2004) Appendix C – strategic options Figure 7 The strategy clock Source: www.marketing teacher.com Appendix D – evaluation criteria Figure 8 Rumelts evaluation criteria Consistency Are the external strategies consistent with (supported by) the various internal aspects of the organization? You must examine all the various functional and internal management strategies employed by the organization and compare them with the external business strategy. Consonance Are the strategies in agreement with the various external trends (and sets of trends) in the environment? To answer this questions, you need to look at all the major trends that impact the selected strategy both positively and negatively. Feasibility Is the strategy reasonable in terms of the organizations resources? Money and capital Management, professional, and technical resources Time span Advantage Does the strategy create and/or maintain a competitive advantage? Resources Skills Position Source: Johnson et al (2007, p.593) 1 Footnotes [1] Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [PL1]1

Literary Crossovers :: Personal Narrative Essays

Literary Crossovers I wish that I could wrap a character up in the fabric of the author's words and, carrying them by the handles of description and narration, pluck them from their own story and drop them down into the middle of someone else's. On sitcoms, sometimes, they do "crossovers" - episodes in which a person from another show appears and is integrated into the story line as the character he or she elsewhere portrays. I would like to create a series of literary "crossovers." I would send Funes to Vietnam with Tim O'Brien. I would ask him what he saw in a soldier's life and years after his return I would ask him if he ever escaped his memories of it. If Tim was haunted by mental snapshots of the man he killed on a moonlit trail, what would his memory do to Funes, who has no ability to forget those things that torture him? Could Funes, after tracing every image in his mind a hundred thousand times, find some meaning in the war that eluded Tim? One that eludes me? I would send Maude to Hester Prynne, who spends so many years in profound loneliness. Could even Maude touch Hester's soul? Could Hester touch Maude's concentration camp tattoo a little bit like Hester's scarlet letter - a physical manifestation of incredible suffering? Is Maude more like Pearl than like Hester? Not quite human, always looking at the world through tinted lenses? I would invite Harold to one of Jay Gatsby's parties. Might Harold, too, fall in love with Daisy's beautiful aloofness? Or would he stand in the shadows of Gatsby's magnificent house, afraid to dance to the pulsing music? Would he somehow befriend Nick, finding in him a soul of equal uncertainty? What could they teach each other? It is magnificently interesting to imagine these crossovers - these episodes that play in my head. I can see each one projected on the screen there. "Funes in Vietnam" is a tragic episode, one that leaves you with that feeling in your stomach that you're glad it wasn't real but afraid it might be close. The blood of innocent children and the screams of dying women seep into Funes' brain, dripping into his every thought. He is unable to forget anything, and so he lives the war in Vietnam a hundred times a day.

Science of Flavors :: essays research papers

Abstract:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The flavor of food is what compels us to eat certain items. The taste sensations of different food combinations are at time mesmerizing. The restaurant industry has long been based on tending to the need of the consumer, feeding them good food. As economic times change, there are more appearances of chain casual dining restaurants. Consequently, the change brought a need of consistency of food products. Food science is a field where the study of people and food. The field has been contributing immensely to the successful expansion of the chain restaurant industry. The science of flavor has proven to be extremely marketable and flavorful. Science of Flavors And the Restaurant Industry   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The restaurant industry has long been established on the service of good food. Stand alone restaurants bringing the fine and new flavorful cuisines are very hard to come by nowadays. The massive trend of chain casual dining restaurants is in effect, and it does not seem to be slowing down. Since the chain system of restaurants works on brand recognition there is a standard system for every aspect of the restaurants niche that each establishment must follow. In addition, since these casual dining establishments work on a volume base commission, they need to produce good food, fast; furthermore, each dish needs to be the same every time. The consistency of the food throughout every chain establishment produces a problem in the casual dining nation, which is why all the franchises are turning to the science of food; in other words, food science. Food science has been producing phenomenal feats throughout the restaurant industry. The study of food and people’s perception of flavors has proven to be very marketable throughout the casual dining sector. The Science of Flavors First and foremost an diminutive understanding of flavor is necessary. Flavor is a complex mixture of sensory input of the food being eaten. The composed sensory input is: taste (gustation); smell (olfaction); tactile sensations; and visual sensations. Although people may use the word â€Å"taste† to mean â€Å"flavors† in the strict sense it is applicable only to the sensation arising from specialized taste cells in the mouth. Those taste cells are the taste detectors distributed all throughout the tongue. The taste detectors are specialized configurations commonly referred to as taste buds. (Margolskee, Smith 2001) Usually the first step in food consumption and much of food’s flavor is perceived through the olfacotory impression on the mind.

Mary, Where are U :: essays research papers

The debate over whether or not the United States government should grant tuition vouchers to the parents of children who attend private schools has gone on for many years, and has included many powerful arguments on both sides of the issue. Those who support the private school vouchers believe that they are beneficial to everyone because they promote productivity in both public and private schools alike, and they also give low-income families the chance to give their children a quality private school education. Those in opposition to the vouchers say that they will drain money out of the public schools, and that they only truly help a small population, mainly the wealthy and advantaged. Opposers also believe that the vouchers interfere with the Separation of Church and State, since many private schools have a religious affiliation. This issue has truly been a controversial one, with many people fighting arduously. After reading through the various arguments for each side, one can not help but come to their own conclusion about private school vouchers. There have been many school voucher programs proposed in the past, but they all seem to share one common theme. This similarity between them is that they all promote giving households that send their children to private schools a tax dollar-funded voucher that would cover all or most of the cost of the school's tuition. Many of the proposals also include the right for parents to chose which private school their child will attend. The vouchers allows students to use the money that would be subsidized for them in a public school to go toward a private school education. This system redirects the flow of educational funding, bringing it to the individual family instead of the school district. The idea of school vouchers first became popular after Milton Friedman, an economist, released two publications, in 1956 and in 1962, that supported the voucher plan. In his 1962 book, Capitalism and Freedom, when Friedman discusses education, he turns to public education criticizes it for being "unresponsive" because it has been free from competition (Lieberman, 120). Vouchers would provide this much needed competition, since public schools would now have to contend with the private schools that were receiving the same payments they were. Friedman believes that, "most dissatisfied parents have only two options. They can enroll their children in private schools, in which case they have to bear the costs in addition to paying taxes to support public schools. Or they can resort to political action, an option Friedman regards as ineffective." (ibid.) After Friedman publicly showed his support for school vouchers, a debate began

Agility Logistics

In the business-economic system, logistics is one of the vital components that fuel success of companies. Every company has a special budget for logistics. Logistics is the aspect that manages the company’s flow of resources and information in order to conform to the consumers’ necessities — from inventory to packaging.Mainly, it is about the movement of funds and resources from one business to another until it reaches the customers. In the recent years, logistics has become a vital part of the production cost with its number ranging from 5% to 10%.Moreover, logistics isn’t just vital to businesses but to the government as well. According to research, logistics is even said to have originated from the military’s need to supply themselves with ammunition and arms. Military logistics, also known as combat service support, carry out the planning, development and maintenance of all military operations. It deals mainly on forecasting the supplies and ser vices needed.Military officials based their assessment and analysis on logistics. It helps greatly in the improvement of facilities and training. Because of the developments in military logistics, the government was able to develop strategies in national defense and security handling.To meet every company’s needs, the concept of third party logistics was formulated. A third part logistics provides outsourced logistics services to companies, thus making company’s obligations and responsibilities easier. Some companies hire a third part logistics instead of spending money in the creation of their logistics department.Currently, there are thousands of companies all over the world that specialize in the field of logistics, providing third part logistics for other companies. Among the top ten companies making names in third part logistics is Agility.Agility OverviewAgility is a company known world wide in the field of logistics, more specifically in third part logistics. It has more than 32,000 employees, and over 550 offices around the globe. Agility classified their services into three business groups: Global Integrated Logistics (GIL), Defense and Government Services (DGS) and Investments. The business groups are described in their official website www.agilitylogistics.com as follows:The Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business group offers an integrated portfolio of logistics solutions supported by a comprehensive network of warehousing facilities, transportation and freight management services worldwide.Defense and Government Services (DGS), our government contracting group, leverages our global logistics network and our track record of exceptional service to provide comprehensive logistics solutions to the defense and government sector.Agility’s Investments business groups covers three lines of businesses – Real Estate, Private Equity and Trade Facilitation, and our expertise in emerging markets to develop superior investment opp ortunities.Agility’s customers range from businesses related to technology, various retail products to oil related industries. According to the president and CEO of Agility, Essa Al Saleh, â€Å"Agility offers customer-driven solutions dedicated to meeting our customer’s supply chain needs.† Each of Agility’s business group team is dedicated to meet each personalized customer needs in the complex economic system.One Company, Three Business GroupsOne notable strategy of Agility is the division of their company into three business groups: Global Integrated Logistics, Defense and Government Services and Investments. Each client has unique needs. Generally, needs are discussed in a very general and rather vague manner.With Agility’s three business groups, needs are narrowed until identified and classified among the groups. Each of the three business groups has specific functions and solutions particularly designed to answer the requirements of the clie nts.The economic system is very complex. In addition, the government also has needs that should be attended professionally. In the quest to becoming the leader in logistics, Agility made a strategy that will make them the first option of any company, business or government from all over the world when it comes to logistics needs.The services that logistics companies offer have a very wide range. By classifying the services into three specific areas, the clients readily see what Agility has to offer.One of Agility’s main shout out is serving its clients’ personalized needs. The three business groups serve this motto. Because of this strategy, whenever a client has logistics needs or whenever a client is looking for a logistics company to be outsourced, Agility will always be an option. For example, when a government agency, military for example,Global Integrated LogisticsSupply Chain SolutionsAgility has several services under its Supply Chain Solutions: Warehousing and Distribution, Facilities Management, Just-in Time, Vendor Managed Inventory, Employee Relocation, Contract Logistics Management, Origin Cargo Management, Direct to Store and Reverse Logistics.

A Study of Development and Analysis of Plasma and Lcd Tv Industry

(1) Title of the Research Work: â€Å"A STUDY OF DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS OF PLASMA AND LCD TV INDUSTRY AND IT’S IMPACT ON GENERAL CTV MARKET:- WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO MUMBAI REGION† (2) Introduction: History and development of audiovisual medium: Perception is the frame of mind of a customer about a particular product or service which customer would like to avail. It is the way a customer look at anything. In short it is the process of perceiving about anything. Customer perception about any product or service is an important parameter in the whole marketing scenario and global economy as well. It contributes to the social, cultural, environmental, political and economic growth of the nation. Post-war mass communication and media studies have had two periods of radical change, the late 1960s-early 1970s and the1980s, of which the former was characterized by the rise of Marxism and the latter by its decline. These transformations did not take place simultaneously in all countries, but as a generalization this seems to hold true. For instance, Frands Mortensen (1994) recalls the year 1977 as the turning point when critical vocabulary in his work began, for the time being at least, to fade out. Mortensen’s fate was shared by many of the turn-of-the-seventies generation throughout Europe, the soixante-huitards or ’68ers’ as the French call them. As a result, some avoided radical thought altogether, denouncing their Marxist past; others changed to postmodernism, while a few still adhered to the Marxist project by trying to reshape it. However, they all had to keep abreast of the new 1980s generation– a generation more in tune with economies of deregulation, individualist policies and cultural anti-modernism. The 20th century has witnessed at least three periods during which the nature and status of moving images have been at the centre of more or less comprehensive cultural-theoretical concerns: one in the 1920s with the stabilization of the feature film and film art; one in the 1950s and 1960s with the emergence of full-blown television; and one from the 1980s to the present with the transformation of television, combined with the introduction of video and computer- based media. One of the underlying assumptions during this 70-year-debate boils down to the idea that if there is one thing that characterizes 20th-century culture, at least its latter half, then it is audiovisuality. It is this view that unites 1920s avant-gardists and cineaste-critics (e. g. Balazs 1982), 1950s and 1960s filmologists in France and Italy (e. g. Cohen-Seat 1961)who receded but were, unfortunately, overshadowed by Marshall McLuhan, and the 1980s postmodernists (e. . Kroker &Cook 1986). In the following discussion, I will, on the basis of this continuing debate, assume the centrality of image and sound media to our century. One of the key issues in audiovisual media theory, then, is concerned with accounting for this centrality of moving images in contemporary life. It is here, I argue, that the Frankfurt School may still prove helpful. In what sense is the 20th century the â€Å"age of the image† (Gance 1927) as well as that of the society of spectacle, entertainment and interaction? Or, how are the increasing audiovisual and aesthetic components of 20th century civilization interconnected? To answer these questions, media theory has to account for four major empirical phenomena and historical periods (for another synoptically view of the audiovisual 20th century, cf. Zielinski 1989): the birth and beginnings of film (The Age of Early Cinema, 1895-1915), the heyday of the standard feature film (The Age of the Classical Hollywood Film, 1920-1960), the replacement of cinema films by television as the major audiovisual medium (The Age of Paleo-television, 1960-1980) and the transformation of television in the new audiovisual landscape of, inter alia, video and multimedia (The Age of Neo-television, 1980-; the terms ‘paleo-’ and ‘neo-television’,coming from Umberto Eco, seem to have established themselves [cf. e. g. Casetti & Odin 1990]). Because these are understandably highly complex and still insufficiently explored issues, let me just give a cursory idea of the explanatory potential of Critical media theory: I will elaborate on the argument that each change of period –from the early cinema to the Hollywood film, from the Hollywood film to paleo-television and from paleo- to neo-television –involves expansion and intensification of some aspects of the general aesthetisisation of the everyday world To simplify matters for this essay, I shall attribute one single explanatory aspect to each change. First, what distinguishes the classical film of the Hollywood type from early cinema is the standardization of three major attributes: the length, type and screening time of the film. As a result, going to the movies means going to see a fiction film at a scheduled time. What this amounts to is to make film-viewing akin to attending more traditional spectacles such as theare, opera or ballet. In other words, it intensifies the spectacularity of films, for from now on moving images are to be received with more sustained concentration. The symbol for this new relation is perhaps first of all the film star, who functions as the imagined object of identifications and projections inherent in one’s relation to the spectacle of films. Second, of the many differences between the cinema film and broadcast television, two are relevant in this context: moving images are privatized as they enter the home and their viewing becomes a daily pursuit. It is in this way that television, like the periodic press and broadcast radio before it, begins to bind the home incessantly to the outside world, which means a tremendous expansion of the interactive potential of moving images. What is new in these image-relations is perhaps captured best by the recurring, wave-like nature of such television programmes as news, fiction series or sport events; it is their ability a community or an audience out of them that crystallises their interactiveness. Third, the change from paleo- to neo-television mainly implies Americanisation, i. e. , commercialization in a multi-channel context, and seems to concern predominantly the development of European television. The struggle for maximising audiences forces channels to find ways both to attract viewers and to allure them to stay tuned. In this process, entertainment – fiction more probably than fact, exciting fact more probably than non-exciting – is likely to gain the upperhand. An application of Horkheimer and Adorno’s culture-industry theory to the Audiovisual 20th Century: the periods, the determinants of the changes of period and the corresponding paradigms crystallising the changes. 895-1915: The Age of Early Cinema : Spectacle: Film star : 1915-1960: The Age of the Classical Hollywood Film : Interaction: News, fiction series, sports event : 1960-1980: The Age of Paleo-television : Entertainment:TV commercial : 1980- : The Age of Neo-television Considering the commercial as the prototype of this trend, but it is such basic virtues of television commercials as non-seriousness (‘nothing really matters that much’) which in the Age of Neo-television tend to become universalised. Granting the centrality of audiovisual media in the 20th century and the heuristic contribution reading Dialectic of Enlightenment may make to our understanding of it, what other reasons could be offered after the adverse 1980s conditions in defence of the re-actualisation of the Frankfurt School in media and mass communication studies? To conclude, let me pursue two further arguments. First, dissatisfaction with French theorizing has for some time now made room for alternative strains of critical thought; this dissolution of the structuralist and post-structuralist dynasty (cf. Steinman1988 on its repercussions on US film and television studies) has benefitted, among others, American pragmatism (Rorty), Soviet semiotics (Bakhtin) and the Frankfurt School (Adorno). As a matter of fact, it has been argued (Hohendahl 1992) that since the 1980s Adorno has become more popular as a research subject than he ever was at the peak of the student movement. Second,if one is to believe the opinion of the majority to be gathered from a recent survey of the field (Levy & Gurevitch 1993), the mass communication research community, especially its US quarters, have been seized by a sense of disorientation. The name of the malaise is marginalisation: media scholars feel as if they are out of touch with more established disciplines (what is more, this feeling is supported by prevailing citation patterns of the field; cf. So 1988). There is no panacea for the situation because the discipline is filled with contradictory pressures, but one could argue, like Graham Murdock (1991), that mass communication research should regain its contact with the general project of the human sciences, which is the historical study of modernity. It is especially here that the tradition of the Frankfurt School, as the ases of Jurgen Habermas and others exhibit, has not reached the end of its journey yet. It is in this sense that the intimate relationship between audiovisuality and what has been termed the â€Å"Short Twentieth Century† (Hobsbawm 1994) turns into one of the key avenues by which media studies can approach and contribute to the study of modernity and its contemporary vicissitudes. (3) In dian television industry The Indian Television industry is going through turbulent transformation. Companies are relooking at their strategies and are desperate for growth. The entrenched position of the Indian market leaders in CTVs’ like Videocon, BPL and Onida has been challenged by the MNCs such as LG, AIWA, Akai, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Philips and Sharp; some in a perceptible way and others threatening to do so. The changing environment demands fresh thinking to gain the cutting edge advantage. This study attempts to look at the various customer perception oriented factors operating in the PLASMA and LCD television industry irrespective of the brand of the television Indian or Imported. (4) New developments in CTV industry: An introduction of PLASMA and LCD television in the TV market: Technology may have blurred the differences, but television viewing is more than just about watching moving images. Once you’ve made the right choice, the picture is clearer. Choosing a television set can be quite a daunting task especially if the customer is looking for an LCD or plasma. Choices abound and there are some myths about the technologies, too. Unlike what many believe, there are major differences between the two types and you can’t substitute one type for the other merely on their looks. To be honest, there isn’t much of a hood to look under. But inside the sleek and thin exterior, plasma TVs employ a matrix of tiny plasma gas cells that are charged by precise electrical voltage to create a picture. In the case of LCD panels, liquid crystal display make up the screen. Imagine liquid crystal pressed between two glass plates to which varying electrical charge is applied to create an image. That’s an LCD television. Despite the advances made in LCD and plasma technology, however, there are experts and gamers (they really do use TVs a lot) maintain that CRT (cathode ray tube or our regular TV) still offers the best quality. Depending on customer’s budget and his requirements (maybe in that order of preference), the choice of an LCD or plasma TV will vary. One line of thinking insists that for basic home theatre requirements, plasma screens are slightly better since they can render black better than LCD TVs. This means that the contrast and, therefore , the level of detail on a plasma TV would be better. The reason LCDs cannot achieve as true a black as plasma TVs can has to do with the liquid that is backlit and does leak a little. Improvements are happening all the time and in due course, this should be rectified, but by then, plasma may have become the predominant choice. In addition to the above, one of the major factors in favour of plasma TVs is their better viewing angle. This allows viewers to sit at acute angles and still get a clear picture. But it’s not all bad for LCD TVs. One of the biggest advantages they have over plasma TVs is the price . But even technically, there are some advantages that an LCD TV offers. For instance, LCD TVs have higher native resolutions than plasma TVs of the same size. What this means is there are more pixels on the screen and if you are one of those who like to see every minute detail, an LCD may offer more. Of course, this also depends on the source and an ordinary cable TV connection won’t let you notice the difference. The one myth about LCD TVs that doesn’t hold true for new generation models is the ‘blur’ that was noted in fast scenes or when watching sports (more noticeable when watching a car race as opposed to cricket or snooker! ). This has improved significantly and the difference between a plasma and LCD in this regard is almost negligible. The running cost of a TV is something that many don’t consider. With increasing screen sizes, the power consumption will also increase and in this regard, LCD TVs outscore plasma TVs once again. LCD TVs are said to consume up to 30% less power than plasma TVs. An another downside that plasma TVs suffer from is the screen burn-in. For whatever reason (and we cannot really think of a reason good enough), you leave your TV on with a still image (say you paused a movie), there is a chance that the ghost of this image may get burned in permanently on the screen. Which means that even if you turn it off, a faded image of this will be visible. While newer generation Plasma TVs suffer less from this ailment, it hasn’t been entirely eradicated. And if you are wondering about TV channel logos, they are translucent and don’t leave the same sort of ghost behind! When you are looking at plasma or LCD TVs, you may come across a piece of information that says â€Å"60,000 hours† or some such number. This is the time for which your plasma TV will have optimum brightness after which it will start to fade off. In case of plasma TVs, the accepted duration ranges between 30,000 and 60,000 hours while in case of LCD TVs, it is virtually guaranteed for 60,000 hours. If you actually convert this to days, it works out to about 2,500 days or about six years of continuous viewing. * LCD TVs offer more pixels and so you can see more minute details * LCD TVs are said to consume up to 30% less power than plasmas * Plasma screens render black better than LCD TVs. The contrast and level of detail are therefore better * Plasmas offer better viewing angles. It allows you to get a clear picture even from acute angles. Hence after having the preliminary information we get convinced that, it is the customer’s perception which finally takes decision about the type of TV to be purchased. (LCD OR PLASMA TV) 5) Exact nature of the study: As because the differentiation from the customer’s point of view, is no more existed as far as the PLASMA AND LCD television field is concerned, the researcher is interested to find out the perception oriented competent parameters(dominant areas) which are driving the PLASMA AND LCD television market in Mumbai regio n. In doing so, the researcher will be surveying the customer, user and dealers (retailer) in Mumbai market to analyse the PLASMA and LCD television market. (6) Objectives of the study: a)To identify and analyse various factors influencing the purchase of TV set by the customer. )To differentiate the factors between PLASMA TV and LCD TV. c) To study the impact of new developments (PLASMA TV and LCD TV) on traditional CTV market in Mumbai region. d)To study the current scenario of various companies manufacturing and marketing PLASMA and LCD TV and normal CTV in India. e)To understand the customers’ preferences about the various parameters of PLASMA over LCD TV. IMPORTANCE AND NEED OF THE STUDY: A) Now a days the PLASMA and LCD TV manufacturing and marketing Companies are relooking for the best strategies and are desperate for growth. B) This study will provide the preference of the customer in the changing marketing environment. C) This study will provide the complete knowledge about the factors influencing customers’ preference to the CTV market. D) It will make the supplier alert about his own strengths and weaknesses and ultimately will give an insight to enhance his sales in the market. Also the supplier will be aware about favourable and unfavourable factors of the customer which influence on the profitability of the industry. E) It will be witnessing a new scenario with a new market profile. F) To the layman, however, it’s not the technology and how it works that matters but it’s the quality of the TV that he is worried about. Both LCD and PLASMA TVs offer excellent picture quality. But obviously both have their pros and cons. With this study the producer will get an opportunity to understand the same. Significance of CUSTOMER PERCEPTION in TV MEDIUM: 1)To offer better quality of service to the customer after knowing the perception about the product. 2) It would be more convenient to design better Marketing strategy. 3) Provide fast response to the customer (7) Research Methodology Research Design Research Methodology includes the type of primary and secondary research used for this project i. e. the way in which the data are collected for the research project. The methodology will also include the plan for sampling, the relevant field work and the analysis tools to be sued to interpret the data so collected. Methodology refers to more than a simple set of methods; rather it refers to the rationale and the philosophical assumptions that underlie a particular study. This is why scholarly literature often includes a section on the methodology of the researchers. A Research Design provides the framework to be sued as a guide in collecting and analyzing data. Research can be Exploratory, Descriptive or of Casual type. Amongst this Descriptive Research Design has been chosen to carry out this project. Descriptive Research is carried out with definite objective(s) and hence it results in definite conclusion. This research tries to describe the opinion of the respondents on the selected topic of the project. Hypothesis: 1) Customer prefer LCD TV over PLASMA TV. 2) There is a significant impact of PLASMA and LCD TV on the sales of general CTV. Universe of the Study: The universe of the study is all customer, user, dealers(retailers) in the Mumbai region only. Sampling Plan : About 100 customers(mix of perspective customers and users) and around 50 retailers will be selected as a representative sample from all over Mumbai. As the study is limited to Mumbai city, all the samples will be randomly selected from Mumbai city only. Census is the process of obtaining response from / about each of the member of the population which is not always possible due to the various constraints to the researcher like time, cost etc. In such situations the alternate method of data collection is sampling. Sampling is the process of selecting a subset of randomized number of constituents of the population of the study and collecting data about their characteristics, facts and opinions. Sampling takes lesser time to collect data at lesser cost and also as the data is less its accuracy often increases as compared to huge data. Sampling methods can be classified into probability and non-probability sampling. In probability sampling each unit in the population has a probability of being selected as the unit of the sample which varies as per method of probability sampling is chosen. In non-probability sampling there may be instances that certain units of population will have zero probability of selection because the interviewer considered his / her own judgment, convenience and bias for the selection of the sample units of such sampling. Though the probability sampling gives better accuracy in terms of confidence level of the inferences of the study, there are many practical difficulties in fully executing it6. Further, the sample can also be stratified based on the various governing variables. Appropriate questionnaires will be structured and circulated amongst the sampling units. Sampling Tools The Primary Research shall be focused on Survey, Expert Consultations and Qualitative Research which will include in depth interviews, The specific tools will include. †¢ Questionnaire †¢ Personal Discussions / Interviews schedules. Data collection Data is the basic input to any decision making process in a research study; processing which gives the statistics of importance of the study which can be categorized in to primary and secondary data. A) Primary data: Primary data may be collected from customer, user, dealers (retailers) through schedules and questionnaires. B) Secondary data: Secondary data can be traced from office record, journals, annual reports and other office documents. Analysis & Interpretation of Data: Statistics is the art and science of collecting, analyzing, presenting, and interpreting data7. The reason for analyzing data is to understand the variation and its causes in the phenomenon. Since variation is present in all the phenomena, knowledge of it leads to better decisions about a phenomenon that produces the data. It is from this perspective that the learning of statistics enables the decision maker to understand how to draw conclusions about the large population based upon information obtained from the sample. For the purpose of this research: the thought process that focuses on ways to discover, manage, and decrease the variation present in all phenomenon is statistical thinking; data is the collection of observations of variables of interest while the population is the collection of all elements of interest. This research study is focused on statistical theory in formulating and solving problems. Descriptive as well as inferential statistics methods will be used in the research; descriptive statistics will include graphic and numeric method both. Limitations of the study: a)The geographical location of the study is limited to Mumbai city only. b) Only the impact of PLASMA and LCD TV on general CTV market will be studied under the proposed research. c) Brand differentiation of all available TV sets in the market will not be considered. d) Technological aspects will not be covered in the study. e) The study is limited to the customers in the age group of 25 to 35yrs. 8) Plan of Work |SR. No. |Particulars of proposed research work |Duration (Months) | | | | | |1. |Collection of Primary Data. |4 | |2 |Collection of Secondary Data. |4 | |3 |Typing the Manuscript. |2 | |4 |Proof Reading. |2 | |5 |Development of Analysis Plan. |4 | |6 |Data Interpretation. 1 | |7 |Drawing Conclusion. |2 | |8 |Drawing Suggestions. |1 | |9 |Miscellaneous work. |4 | | | | | | |Total |24 | (9) Chapter Scheme Chapter 1: Introduction: History and development of audiovisual medium: This chapter deals with the historical development in the audiovisual medium and evolution in the field of TV industry. Chapter 2: Indian television industry This chapter covers the actual progress in the modern age in the field of television in India. Chapter 3: New developments in CTV industry: An introduction of PLASMA and LCD television in the TV market: In this chapter, specifically the advancements in TV industry in terms of PLASMA and LCD television and their pros and cons will be explain in detailed. Chapter 4: Exact nature of the study: Here, the emphasis will be given on the latest developments in the field of TV Industry (including PLASMA and LCD TV. Chapter 5: Objectives of the study: This chapter covers the basic objectives behind conducting the study. Chapter 6: Analysis and interpretation of Data: This chapter deals with analysis of data using suitable statistical tools and the presentation of the same. Chapter 7: Conclusion and recommendations: In this chapter the conclusion will be drawn on the basis of data analysis and the recommendations shall be presented. Bibliography: Appropriat e bibliography will be given at the end of the report for all secondary data in the theses.