Adopting Telemedicine in developing countries

ICTs are technologies that have spread widely and are cheaper for use by the general public. Even though information and communication technologies could tackle some of the heath care challenges that face the modern society, the utilization of ICTs is faced by numerous challenges for social as well as historical transformations that are associated with other natural rights.The case is not different in the field of telemedicine. Telemedicine is an example of ICT that has been used in the world for over forty years. Modern telemedicine applications employ high quality image and video in addition to audio capacities.These technologies range form excellent resolution still images to complex teleconferencing apparatus. Recent developments in ICT are encouraging and they include the use of internet, wireless ICT diffusion, and the exchange of medical information electronically in addition to remote consultations.Infrastructure factures that have an effect on the outcomes of telemedicine in clude: the national ICT infrastructure in addition to the governments preparedness, approach, as well as policies towards information and communication technology. Technically sophisticated telemedicine applications are currently employed across a wide range of healthcare settings.This technology allows medical personnel to transmit images through mobile phones and sophisticated wireless devices (Martà ­nez, Villarroel, Seoane, and Pozo 2005, p. 1).3.1.2 E-Health PoliciesVarious shareholders of the telemedicine sector have numerous opportunities to become deeply involved in the development policies that affect the industry. Shareholders of this sector include vendors of information technology, manufacturers of medical devices, health care professionals, decision makers and the government.E-health policies are set in such a way as to improve network capacity, enhance ability of transcending geo-political, social, economic and cultural obstacles.Policies should be set in such a way a s to allow teleconsultation beyond national borders. Patients in addition to medical care professionals should be offered with a chance of seeking evidence based opinion as well as treatment from overseas through teleconsultation (Lee, Mun, Levine and Ro 2000, p. 28).3.3 Capabilities of health sector institutionThe modern health care system has undergone numerous modifications in order to meet the ever increasing heath needs of the population. One of the modifications is the implementation of telecommunication in health care. All modifications in the health care sector are carried out with the patient being the center of focus.Telemedicine and telegraphy are some of the most recent telecommunication strategies that have been incorporated in the health care sector. Currently, digital images of a patient can be sent over a wireless device to a medical personnel and medical consultations carried out over the internet (Tanriverdi and Iacon, 1998, p, 40).3.4 Analysis of Telemedicine case studies in developing countriesThe emergence to telemedicine is associated with the search for communication-oriented solutions to make it easy for rural populations to access medical services. Telemedicine is considered as one of the most appropriate ways through which contemporary medical services can reach the underserved regions (Lee, Mun, Levine, and Ro 2000, p. 16).Reality has however, gone in a different direction. Extensive studies with telemedicine in developing nations have not yet demonstrated the potential of telemedicine. There are a number of factors that need to be implemented in order that telemedicine services in rural areas become sustainable.A highly robust organizational strategy needs to be implemented, a radio based system should be erected and resources utilized properly; remote maintenance systems should be implemented; a high technological base should be established; and all information and communication should be satisfied through simple and synchronous sy stems (Kifle, Salmon, Okoli, and Mbarika 2008, p. 5).Despite the numerous benefits associated with telemedicine, the program has been slow to come into routine use in both rural and urban zones.4. Evaluation of the current situation of Telemedicine in rural and urban zoneTelemedicine holds a great hope for health care and medical centers both in rural areas and urban centers. Rural areas in particular have for long been faced by shortage of medical personnel, scarcity of means of transportation in addition to other access issues such as unfavorable weather conditions.Telemedicine allows for teleconsultation that utilize a variety of technological advancements such as voice over internet, digital images, digital video teleconferencing, in addition to other emergency services (Martà ­nez, Villarroel, Seoane, and Pozo 2005, p. 70).However, there are various issues that affect the implementation of telemedicine in rural areas. These include: poor infrastructure, limited bandwidth avail ability in network systems, and scarcity of internet providers.Telemedicine is not only about the provision of medical care in the rural areas, but it is very beneficial in linking suburban, urban and inner city medical facilities in a network offering intensive medical care services (Richard 2001, p. 3).4.1 Advantages of using Telemedicine technologiesAn increased use of telemedicine would bring about a number of benefits ranging from enhanced medical care, better utilization of health professionals, increased patients compliance, to enhanced delivery of medical care services outside clinics and hospital setting and in rural as well as the underserved regions.Telemedicine allows for frequent monitoring of vital sign information rather than using periodic visit by physicians. It also improves care of the elderly, physically incapacitated as well as the home bound patients, because it reduces hospital visits thereby increasing convenience and compliance for incapacitated patients.As a result it improves general health of the community and population because it reduces exposure to various illnesses from other patients. It also empowers patients in relation to their own health. It is a source of innovative and creative employment in the health care system.It is a significant strategy of tackling likely future scarcity of medical personnel.   It brings down the rate of death, injuries and infections as a result of medical errors due to inaccurate patient information.Presence of telemedicine programs in rural areas enhances care by reducing transportation costs; deploying medical professionals and specialists; and through providing medical care delivery regardless of geographical barriers (Hein 2009, p. 9).4.2 Challenges of adapting TelemedicineThere are numerous challenges to generating dependable evidence concerning the effects of the use of telemedicine. Scrutiny is rarely carried out as a fundamental part of implementation, and as a result resources are not a bsolutely dedicated to evaluation.However, there are times when resources are dedicated to scrutiny after implementation, therefore prospective gathering of baseline data is impossible. Retrospective gathering of medical data is faced by numerous hurdles in terms of appropriate source identification in addition to collection techniques.These issues make difficult the scrutiny of various interventions, even as the actual nature of evaluation of telemedicine presents further difficulties (Brear 2006, p. 24). Besides evaluation, other challenges that face telemedicine, as indicated by Paul, Pearlson and McDaniel (1999, p 281), include: various social, cultural, economic, technical and organizational hurdles that health care systems must deal with before achieving the full benefits of telemedicine.Other factors that derail the implementation of telemedicine in developing countries are: poor telecommunication and electric power infrastructure; domination in addition to high cost of inter net services; lack of government involvement; difficulties in sustaining implementation of telemedicine; substandard organizational strategies; and user discontent   with low band-width as well as delayed response.Patients, medical professionals and decision makers lack essential knowledge on telemedicine services as well as their potential for medical care. Lack of proper funding is the other challenge that faces telemedicine.Despite its recommendation by the world health organization telemedicine is yet to be realized as a technical service in many national ministries of health (Kifle, Salmon, Okoli, and Mbarika n.d, p. 3).5. ConclusionsIt can therefore be concluded that telemedicine is one of the most significant modern medical strategies that can be employed in tackling the numerous health care challenges that face populations living in both urban and rural areas.   Various benefits of telemedicine include: improvement of patient care, reduction of patient transfers to terti ary health centers and providing physicians a good access to tertiary consultation.Telemedicine improves the general health of the community because it reduces expose to various illnesses from other patients through reduction of hospital visits. There are however, various challenges that are associated with implementation of telemedicine and these include: evaluation challenges, poor telecommunication, misinterpretation of information, and lack of awareness and commitment by the government and decision makers.Telemedicine is faced by various issues including information technology policies, E-Health policies, and data security policies. Even though there are numerous benefits associated with telemedicine, the program has been slow to come into routine practice both in rural and urban zones. Bibliography:Brear, M. 2006, Evaluating telemedicine: lessons and challenges, Health InformationManagement Journal, Vol 35, no. 2, pp. 24Hein, M. 2009, Telemedicine: An important force in the tra nsformation of healthcare,Journal of High Speed Networks, Vol 9, no. 15, pp. 9 –30

Assertiveness Paper

Assertive Paper When faced with a dilemma at work or at school the way you handle and voice your opinion is crucial in communicating your level of assertiveness. There is a proper way of being assertive rather than seeming aggressive. It takes practice in order to properly accomplish a comprehension of this technique. Becoming better at speaking your mind verbally and nonverbally will allow you to interact as a leader amongst your fellow workers and colleagues. I can be an assertive person when the time is right and the surroundings ask for a certain level of assertiveness to be needed.If I am with a group of people and I disagree with someone’s opinion or point of view of a certain issue I will allow myself to speak my mind without attacking what the other person said. The most important part of being assertive to me is not being aggressive towards others when expressing thoughts. An example would be during my senior year in high school when we were placed into groups and had to discuss our opinion on gay marriage. The conversations were at the most very educated until a person bluntly stated that they believed gay people should never get married because it was disgusting.Surely this person was entitled to their opinion but the was they phrased their response was in an aggressive manner towards anyone who believed otherwise. I responded right away without directly referring to that person with the word you rather than spoke my mind using the word I. My opinion was that people should be allowed to do what they think it is best for them no matter what others might think. If their decision is not affecting anyone else then they are entitled to their own actions and decisions as human beings.Once I said that the person became angry in a way but not because I disagreed with them but rather in the way I formed my response they could not say I was directly meaning it towards them. The verbal messages I tend to always give out when being assertive has to be for the most part to seem sure of what I am saying backing it up with support but at the same time not sounding like I am attacking anyone’s ideas or opinions. Beginning my words with I makes people feel less threatened and allows them to also have an opinion.When the situation requires me to give an order I will be serious and communicate what needs to be done. The nonverbal messages that I give off when being assertive is to maintain eye contact with the person. This is really important to me because it lets the other person know you are serious and expect what you are telling them to be understood and also taken into consideration. My body posture when doing so is standing upright without moving around or making a lot of hand movements.I try to keep a steady posture which allows the person to stay focused on my message. What I consider to be doing well while being assertive are speaking with a direct tone to the subject in matter while maintaining eye contact. When beginning my message the first word I tend to use is I in order to stay away from people believing they are being blamed or accused. I refrain from telling people your wrong or that is not the way to do something unless it is required of me to do so in certain situations.The way that works the best when communicating a solution to a problem or an approach is to have a sense with the person that what your are saying is a good way but leaving the window open for them to have an opinion as well. I would like to improve myself in the area of giving speeches in front of people to seem very confident. I am not a bad public speaker but I tend to get nervous when doing so for a long period of time. I have tried practicing in front of the mirror speaking and it works out great but it is not the same as actually being in front of many people.That’s what I need more practice in order to be looked at as very assertive when giving a speech. Assertiveness is a learned trait that we all must be aware of and practice in our everyday lives. This quality will help you all through out school and work. It will also better your relationship with friends and family. Being confident and believing in yourself is an important attribute that must go hand in hand with being assertive. Communicating with proper grammar and adjacent nonverbal cues will allow you to be taken serious and provide a level complete with the perfect balance of a great assertive person.

Private Peacefull

This is a book review on the book â€Å"private peaceful. † This is the best book I have read this year. This book is all about â€Å"innocence and love, courage and cowardice† as it is clearly written on the front of the cover of the book. This is a book about two brothers called Charlie who is the older brother and Tommo who is the smaller brother who go through the good side and the bad side of life because their father has died and other family issues.As they grow up they start to drift apart from each other because of a friend that they both love called molly who starts to gain love for to Charlie therefore leaving poor Charlie alone. Suddenly they have to go to war. So they pack their things say bye to their loved ones and go off to war†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. The book ‘Private Peaceful’ written by Michael Morpurgo is a book that explores the life of Tommo through past and present throughout of his life. The reader is also introduced to Charlie the brother of Tommo and how they are different towards each other. The book is one that also explores the relationship that Charlie and Tommo have.This book tells you how someone is like as a child, and how they are when they are older. An example to me of this would be Charlie. Charlie as a child was completely different to Tommo. Charlie is a very independent person he stands up for what he believes in, basically he is brave. Charlie is responsible to look after Tommo because he is very sensitive and his small brother. Example of this is when Tommo is getting beat up by Jimmy Parsons, Charlie comes to help, in the end Charlie is the one who gets punished but he just accepts it because he is brave, ‘†¦when it’s Charlie’s turn, all you hear are the punches’p24.Charlie is a character that stands up for what he believes in and what he believes was right. It was this believing attitude that made Charlie a man and took him through life. Charlie and Tommo had a really tight relationship when they were young but as time when on it started to fade a little until towards the end of the book when Charlie knew he was going to be punished after his actions. Then it became pretty intense and their relationship that was once strong when they were young became even stronger than it had ever been.An example of this is before Charlie gets shot. â€Å"This is going to be difficult enough without tears. † He holds me an arm length away. ’pg176. The book ‘Private Peaceful’ is one that makes a change on the individual. It is a book that shows how a person is able to change throughout life over a distance of time. It is also a book that tell you how individuals can stay the same, the things learnt in childhood, is able to be carried on into adult life. Tommo and Charlie are examples of this.The author is also trying to make the reader how one mistake can change a relationship so quickly and the change it can have on somebody. The book makes people realise that even though there is often change, it is really about the keeping the relationships with the people you love and using your past to change your future. In conclusion I think that this book is a fantastic book and a very emotional book and maybe a life changing book, for some individuals. For example it tells you to keep your relations tight with the ones you love, and also learn from your mistakes in the past. By Kaiser Saeed

World History - Empires& integration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World History - Empires& integration - Essay Example donian army and established hegemony over neighboring Greece, Thrace and Illyria after his decisive victory over the combined Greek forces at the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 B.C. After his assassination, his son Alexander III (356 – 323 B.C.), one of the greatest military geniuses of all time, quelled the Greek rebellion, subjugated the Persian Empire after the battles of Granicus, Issus and Gaugamela and extended the Macedonian Empire up to the Punjab in India. Alexander’s premature death led to conflicts of succession and his Empire was carved up among his generals into Macedonia and Greece (Antigones), Egypt (Ptolemy) and Asia (Seleucus). With the Roman victories in the Macedonian Wars and the death of the last Macedonian king Perseus at Pydna in 168 B.C., followed by the Roman victories over Egypt and the Seleucid forces, Macedonia became a Roman province and the great Macedonian Empire disappeared (Macedonia, 2006). Alexander attempted to integrate all the disparate regions of his conquests into one unified Empire. He adopted Persian dress, retained defeated princes as governors of their provinces, discoursed with Indian philosophers, encouraged and legitimized intermarriages between his soldiers and the natives and himself married the Persian Emperor Darius’ daughter Barsine and the Bactrian, Roxanne. He established programmes to introduce Greek and Macedonian culture to the Persians. After his death, which is considered to end of the Classical Period, large scale migration of Greeks and Macedonians into the conquered territories marked the Hellinistic Age, when the establishment of Greek speaking cities throughout the Empire and the increased movement of people and ideas spread Greek civilization to Asia and Egypt. This Hellenistic legacy lasted beyond the end of the Empire (The Encyclopedia of World History, 2001). However, the disintegration of the Macedonian Empire and its’ a bsorption into the Byzantine, Slav and Turkish Empires led to the

Choose a topic that you can argue about with passion Essay

Choose a topic that you can argue about with passion - Essay Example Facial expressions play a very important role in communication. If a person feels that the other person is not feeling good to hear certain things from him by reading the other person’s facial expressions, the first person feels like changing his point in an attempt to please the second person whereas in the communication through computers, the first person is able to convey his true thoughts as there are no disturbing facial expressions to be noticed along the way. The person is able to speak his mind out because the feeling that he is actually talking to a human being is a bit suppressed as compared to the face-to-face communication. Overall, use of computers for communication enhances an individual’s tendency to speak to others. It is a psychological phenomenon in which the person discovers his hidden oratory power and interpersonal skills with the passage of time while practicing in front of the screen. Friends made online in the virtual world are often life-long friends in the real

Mergers and Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Mergers and Acquisitions - Essay Example When big conglomerates are exposed to excessive risk owing to the fact that maximum investments are made in one or few specific businesses, they choose to diversify business and acquire new firms. Another important financial reason behind mergers is that of achieving economies of scale. The term, economies of scale, refers to cost advantages that a firm is able to enjoy because of its size, scale of operation and output. The cost per unit is lowered with the increasing scales. Thus, the cost of operations is relatively lower in the combined business firm. Berkshire is a US-headquartered multinational conglomerate holding firm that has subsidiaries engaged in different business activities, including property and casualty insurance, energy, finance, food, freight rail and so on and so forth. 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway have collectively acquired the joint control of Heinz by way of purchasing shares. Heinz is one of the well-known brands in the global food industry and has a history of providing tremendous value to its shareholders. Heinz had displayed a strong and sustainable growth over years. Hence, Heinz is a safe and favorable company to invest in. Given that both the acquiring partners were previously engaged in the food industry, the merger with Heinz has added to their existing product lines. Moreover, the companies will be able to gain access to a very strong distribution channel that generates 25% revenue from the emerging markets and approximately two-third of the same from outside the United States. By gaining access to the extensive distribution channels of Heinz, the two companies can in future add more companies to the portfolio, thereby further leveraging the system for bigger and costlier acquisition efforts. The Heinz brand generates about 40% of the sales and has a huge competitive advantage in sauces. The Heinz portfolio has 15 brands that are capable of yielding more than $100 million sales on an annual basis (Stahl, Matzler and

Analysing Changes in Tesco's Environment and how the firm Deals with Assignment

Analysing Changes in Tesco's Environment and how the firm Deals with Them - Assignment Example The current crisis is on the path to exceed the crisis of oil in depth and extent and so the time calls for all the nations to come together and face the existing challenges. The second principle takes into account the actions that are suited to various economic phases. The third principle asks to take a comprehensive approach over horizons of time. The specific measures include measures that aim to support employment. In this measure emphasis is put on emergency employment opportunities that will create new jobs and provide a safety net for the casual workers. The supports that can be provided by the government are increasing the level of subsidies or unemployment benefits. The government can also lend its hand to support re-employment and provide opportunities that will help to develop the vocational skills of the labor force. The support system should also include the persons with disabilities. Among the financial measures the policies includes promoting the financial intermediary services for smooth functioning, to bring the small and medium sized enterprises under the financial support systems, the support system should also consider the large and medium sized companies. ... The countries dependent on exports as a result was losing precious foreign exchange. Performance of Tesco in times of recession The company that has been selected for the project is Tesco Plc Ltd. The company has got the headquarters at United Kingdom and id the multinational grocery of Britain. The company is ranked third in the world when measured by revenues and ranked second when measured by profits. The company operates in 14 countries across many continents and is the leader of the market in UK. The company is also listed in the LSE (London Stock Exchange). The company held its position during the global financial crisis and faced huge competition. The degree of competition can be determined by share of the market, consumer base, and penetration into the market. The factors that can be accounted for is the â€Å"Terry Leahy factor’. The Chief executive officer of the company declared that the company has only become stronger after recession than it was before recession. Tesco is involved in opening up new stores in different corners of the world. One cannot account for any single reason for the success of the company during the times of recession but the foremost or the prime reason that can be accounted is the focus of the company on the consumers. It sounds simple but rarely companies follow this step. The size of the company also matters. The company took the initiatives to sell more. The resultant was better terms of buying. The general economic theories played in the market and that equals to lower prices as well as higher levels of profit. The virtuous circle is complete when the lower prices attract more selling potential. The range of the prices was designed to serve the

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Art - Essay Example The painting, hauntingly striking was initially christened Der Schrei der Natur in Norwegian, or the Scream of Nature. The current Skrik, when loosely translated bestows upon it the title it is known by. Munch in a journal entry recorded sensing â€Å"an infinite scream passing through nature†, while out walking one day accompanied by friends. There are various theories about the inspiration behind the creation. Munch painted what he felt, as described in the journal entry mentioned. Another theory places the eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 behind the visual inspiration for the blood-red background, disputed by scholars who claim him to be expressive rather than descriptive in his style. Others attribute the figure’s cadaverous appearance to be caused by Munch’s probable visits to the Museum of Natural History in Florence or during the Exposition Universale in Paris where such mummified exhibits were on display. Then again, there are many who compare the environment of The Scream to that experienced by sufferers of depersonalization disorder, arguing that Munch probably suffered from the ailment. It is quite a famous painting in my opinion, instantly recognizable like the Mona Lisa. It has featured in many movies, being the inspiration behind the mask in the Scream series of films; programs as well as in the print media. Caricaturized, humored or revered, The Scream is pretty much a public figure.

Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Strategic Marketing - Essay Example In the above statement, he emphasized on the imagination of people for bringing new product development with innovative technologies. In the gradual development of globalization, the technological advancement is one of the most vital factors. The process of globalization has led to change the thoughts, views and opinions of human beings and they become more capable of imagining which was once considered to impossible (Samli, 2011, p.125). The capability of imagination is the most powerful strength of mankind that has brought significant developments. Basically, the imagination acts as a tool for inspiration and it motivate people to be innovative. In this regard, Morgan has commented correctly that â€Å"imagination motivates people to climb mountains, to paints pictures and to win races† and people are applying their imagination in the field of business management (Morgan, 2001, p.79). The greatest innovation in the world is a successful outcome of imagination. People may pos sess necessary technological knowledge and expertise or necessary monetary requirement. No doubt that these factors are indispensible for product development but the first priory is creativity based on with the technological knowhow is applied for practical implications. Archytus of Taremtum, the great mathematician during 400 B.C. imagined and created a wooden bird which was able to fly. Finally, in 1950s, George C. Devol first invented and patented modern robot which was based on imagination developed by Archytus 400 B.C ago. There are also an ample numbers of such examples that proves that imagination is prime factors behind development of new products (Patel, 2011, p.5). Question 3 â€Å"Evaluation consumes high proposition of... The researcher states that in the process of strategic business management, evaluation is one of the most critical steps for any company. In the process of evaluation, the effectiveness of implemented strategies and performances of each responsible employee are assessed for further betterment of entire situations. The performance evaluation of each employee is helpful in identifying the areas of improvements though proper performance appraisal methods. These performance appraisal methods are also meant to offer promotions, higher remunerations and incentives. The process of evaluation affected time and energy of marketing executive that can be used for more productively. The task of marketing executives generally includes the development of marketing campaigns and promotions of products and services for generating higher amount of sales. Their tasks are very challenging and they have to use their creativity to attract the target audience and target market. Creativity comes from the i magination and for motivating the marketing executive to think creative marketing ideas, it is necessary to provide sufficient time and energy. In the evaluation process consumes the time and energy of each employee including marketing executive. Therefore, the management must consider such drawbacks of evaluation for marketing executives. William R. King have identified that performance appraisal of marketing executives are difficult to interpret as task of marketing like creating ideas cannot be directly quantify.

Structural Engineering-Tensegrity Simplex Structure Assignment

Structural Engineering-Tensegrity Simplex Structure - Assignment Example The concept of Tensegrity provides a high level of structural and geometrical efficiency and results in lightweight and modular structures. However, Tensegrity concept is still not part of the major design of stream structural wing because of various reasons. This paper therefore seeks to discuss Tensegrity, simplex structure. The paper will also detail how to find out the coordinates of the nodes, how to find out the angle of twist by simple geometry, how to find out the s/c ratio= 1.468, how to set up an actual model of prototype and the difficulties involved, as well as how the model deforms. Under this discussion, it is important to note that most of the bar to string configurations will not stay in equilibrium, and therefore if constructed they may possibly collapse to other shapes. Only the bar to string configuration in a stable equilibrium and pre-stressed will be referred to as Tensegrity structures. According to Skelton et al. (2001), Tensegrity is a class of structures that possess continuous tension characteristics, discontinuous compression. The authors assert that stability is an important aspect in Tensegrity. A system of Tensegrity may be established when discontinuous components of compression interact with tensile components and defines stability in space. Generally, Tensegrity is geometry of a system of materials in a stable equilibrium if the particles within the system of the materials return to geometry beginning from an initial position arbitrarily close to this particular geometry to infinity as time goes by. In order to find out the coordinates of the nodes and the angle of twists by a simple geometry and to determine the s/c ratio, the concepts of Tensegrity play a pivotal part. The following concepts are used: Pure tensile/compressive members: the structures of Tensegrity entail pure tension and compression members. The used tension elements are cables that

Personal Statement for Sorbbone university Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For Sorbbone university - Personal Statement Example It has always been my priority to make sure that I fulfilled my parent’s expectations, and I can say without a doubt that seeing my father become a successful man that he is right now, I feel the urge in me to follow his footsteps and make my name in the field of law as well. His achievements have had a great impact on me, and influenced by his success, I also want to pursue law as a career. I believe that Sorbonne University is the best place to pursue law as a career because I am confident that Sorbonne would develop in me the skills that are essential for me to follow my passion with a renewed and a consistent vigor, and the international exposure that I will receive during my studies at Sorbonne will be incomparable to any other place. Therefore, it is my utmost ambition to land at a place in Sorbonne, because I believe that studying in such a prestigious university will equip me with an experience that will help me grow not only academically, but also professionally. Hence, I will be grateful to the university to grant me a place in this university so I’m able to pursue my goals and thrive in an environment conducive to the achievement to those goals. Moreover, the international exposure that will be follow once I acquire the Paris-Sorbonne degree will not only add to my knowledge and learning but will also take me places in terms of chances of being better employed than my peers. And I believe that this degree in law will bestow on me a competitive edge on me in the face of cut-throat competition, and it will be because of the latter that I will hopefully be able to make the most of my university education. Apart from my keen interest in building a career in law, I’m also interested in reading and knowing about politics. For this, I read political books as a hobby and watch the news regularly to keep myself abreast of all changes occurring in the political world. Secondly, I’m also enthusiastic about hunting, the regal art of

Visual Aid that Illustrates a Problem Essay Example for Free

Visual Aid that Illustrates a Problem Essay Organizations these days are facing numerous problems related to recruitment, job assignment, fair performance evaluation, and encouraging diverse workforce within the workplace. Nevertheless there is another growing problem for the organizations that has significant impacts over the performance and as well as reputation of a company. It does not create a mouth-opening effect on us when we get to know any issue related to sexual harassment that is happening somewhere in the country, whether it is any organization, community, educational institution, or village. It is because there is no such country in the world that has totally eliminated this issue, even if they have, then other diversity issues such as, discrimination, hatred, and glass-ceiling occur. The paper would discuss a problem of sexual harassment, analyze the legal concerns, highlight the thoughts regarding the issue, and suggestions for overcoming the problem. Introduction to the Problem Sexual harassment is a term that is used to define any act of harassment where a person or employee ‘makes continued, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, to another employee, against his or her wishes’ (Heathfield, 2010). There is not any specific way of harassing the opposite gender in the workplace; in fact, there are variety of ways that can be used depending on the circumstances. People pass on jokes, non-verbal gestures, or other offensive comments on the physique, dresses, or way of walking or talking of the other party. Touching and making some bodily connection also comes under sexual harassment, where patting someone’s back, holding him or her from waste, and scratching is done. Moreover, requests to the other party are made to have date even that party has refused before. And finally, sending emails or texts that contain some lewd text or pictures and playing sexy music are also part of sexual harassment. Significance of the Problem Sexual harassment has increased to so much extent that now it is considered to be a common thing, which would not have any negative impact towards the organization or its performance. But in reality, it does have several legal concerns over the confidence and self-esteem of the harassed one, performance of the organization, violation of the ethical and moral principles, and also the corporate culture. Starting from the moral and ethical issues, one does not have any right to sexually harass anyone else in the workplace even if the other party does not entertain the offer or gets reluctant to it. It violates the ethical principles because one does not feel the sense of freedom where he or she is working, and since it is the workplace so protest or condemnation cannot be done openly. Second of all, it diverts the mind of both the harasser and harassee from their work since they continue to disturb and get disturbed from each other’s reactions. Therefore, the time is wasted and focus is not made on the everyday tasks, hence resulting in the decline in productivity of both parties. As far as the self-esteem and confidence of harassee is concerned, it gets hurt seriously because the harassee cannot openly raise voice in front of others to either protect him/her or complaint about the harasser. Moreover, there is a great chance of other people perceiving the harassing situation as the consensual relationship or flirting of both the parties, which might degrade one’s image. Not only this, once the rumors about sexual harassment being happening in an organization spread, it exacerbates company’s image and so many of the women or minorities would hesitate to join it in the future. This growing issue in the workplaces have tarnished the image of many organizations and as well as the countries where minorities are harassed either sexually or for some other purpose. Although this is a silent issue that has not been considered to deal at the upper level either by the companies or governments; nevertheless, employees are the only one who can help themselves and get out if this nuisance. Overcoming the Problem Sexual harassment can be prevented by the organizations if they develop and introduce certain stiff rules about the issue, which ensure that whoever is found to be harassing others would either be fired or suspended. Of course, the employer would not want this issue to prevail in the company so the harassee must complain secretly to the immediate boss or manager who could take the issue seriously in dealing with it. Also, harassee must have proper proofs and records of harassment been done by the harasser, so that he or she could take legal actions against the harasser and let him or her face the music (Heathfield, 2010). This would not be it; in fact the role of government and law-making bodies is very decisive here that can introduce certain laws especially for the workplaces where sexual harassment usually takes place. Once the rules are implemented, the issue would certainly take a rain check and minimize. Gantt Chart Conclusion Therefore, there are many diversity issues prevailing in the organizations, one of them is sexual harassment that involves the passing of certain remarks, words, jokes, or some physical contact with the other party. Its outcomes are quite gloomy where the performance level of employees goes down, image is tarnished and corporate and ethical principles are violated. The issue can be managed by taking action on-the-spot by the harassee and the employer, and also by implementing stiff rules and regulations. Moreover, encouraging diversity and providing autonomy to both minorities and women must be incorporate within the organizational culture over which every employee would have to act on. This issue is not the one that cannot be stopped and would always happen like others mentioned in the start of the paper, in fact proper measures along with stiff rules for implementation would definitely help the companies to nip this problem in the bud and eliminate all the concerns related to it. References Heathfield. S. M. (2010). Address an Employee Sexual Harassment Complaint. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. From http://humanresources. about. com/cs/workrelationships/ht/sexualharass. htm Heathfield. S. M. (2010). Sexual Harassment. Retrieved on August 17, 2010. From http://humanresources. about. com/od/glossarys/a/sexualharassdef. htm

Strategic Planning for Small Business

Strategic Planning for Small Business Business description is the short plan to start up any kind of business. Business description includes all basic information like name of the business, location of the business, type of the business, etc. In it we include the service or products of the business. In this fast moving century everyone is in rush for whole day to satisfy their basic needs. Mainly in the morning everybody is running late for their jobs or schools. Most of the people have no time to cook food for them. To satisfy the appetite of the people in the morning we are thinking to set up an online Packed Meal business. Selling Packed Meals in the morning will be very helpful for those who cannot cook for themselves in the morning. We are planning to deliver the food at the railway stations or bus stops. At these public places people can easily grab the meal. To start this business first of all we are going to create a website by which people can order the food online. They can book the food in advance and accordin g to their orders we can deliver the food. We are planning to provide quick breakfast to the customers at railway station or bus stop. To order the food people can visit the website book an order and can pay online. For convenience of the customer we are setting a plan that customers can book order for the whole week and after week they can pay the amount of the food. It will be helpful for the customers in the sense that they can have food in the morning and secondly they can save time. Numerous surveys have revealed that breakfast is often skipped among Kiwis (Hills, 2012; Impact PR, 2016). Similarly, others have been making poor breakfast choices like leftover party food, pizza, fish chips, ice cream, and even beer (Impact PR, 2016; NZ Herald, 2016). Despite the widespread awareness of the important benefits of breakfast, it is quite alarming to see that many people still forego the need to make time for breakfast. These attitudes and habits towards breakfast are apparently influenced by a hectic lifestyle and poor time management. However, various surveys conducted in the past confirmed that nearly half of New Zealanders acknowledge breakfast as the most important meal of the day (Hills, 2012). It is at this point that a business idea comes to mind: to provide value by satisfying a need (Hartnett, 1998, as cited by Sweeney Soutar, 2001). In this case, it is the need for a good, convenient breakfast. Through an entrepreneurial endeavour supplemented with the col lection of the right information, this idea can become a business opportunity (Massey, 2005). Although a business opportunity does not guarantee success, this business idea requires the support of a business strategy so that it gains a reasonable chance to become a successful operation (Oliver English, 2012) in the near future. The aspired future state of a business or any organisation is described in the vision (Srivastava, Franklin, Martinette, 2013; Duygulu, Ozeren, IÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±ldar, Appolloni, 2016). This statement provides a starting point (Kantabutra Avery, 2010) and a sense of direction for the business, hence, it should be clear, appealing and compelling (Srivastava, Franklin, Martinette, 2013; Hill, Jones, Schilling, 2014). The business idea comes with an ambitious but altruistic goal, hence, the vision statement: To cater to a multi-cultural society that does not miss breakfast. This above statement satisfies a number of definitions of vision. It is easy to understand, and represents the fundamental purpose of the business (Srivastava, Franklin, Martinette, 2013, p. 50). According to Kantabutra and Avery (2010), strategists have proposed numerous characteristics a powerful vision should possess, but these can be summarised as being concise, clear, stable, challenging, inspirational, and future-oriented. This bold vision not only indicates a long-term standpoint of the business (Hubbard, Rice, Galvin, 2014); it also offers an inspiring image of the big picture (Alter, 2001) which is a more desireable situation in the future. The mission statement is perceived to be a crucial factor in formulating business strategies that are sustainable (Duygulu, Ozeren, IÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±ldar, Appolloni, 2016). It describes the organisations aim, the reasons for its existence, and what it is trying to accomplish (Duygulu, Ozeren, IÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±ldar, Appolloni, 2016), all of which are extremely valuable in establishing the organisations major goals (Hill, Jones, Schilling, 2014). This business idea will be guided by the mission statement: Enriching busy Wellingtonians through a delightful breakfast to-go. The above mission statement is expressed in a progressive structure to connote the ongoing process and continuous improvement in developing this business. It is also customer-oriented (Wellingtonians) and does not focus on the products (breakfast items) alone. This broad approach acknowledges the possibility that there will be shifts in demand in the future and the main purpose of the business may need to be served in diversified ways (Hill, Jones, Schilling, 2014). Ultimately, the mission statement establishes what this business intends to excel at (Hubbard, Rice, Galvin, 2014) which is the provision of an enriching and delightful breakfast. The lifestyle preference this business wants to achieve is very evident in the product it aims to serve. The proponents of this business idea are relatively young adults who also constantly miss breakfast due to the demands of both work and studies. Values reflect the underlying behaviours, attitudes and outlooks held and used by the organisation in its operations and activities (Hubbard, Rice, Galvin, 2014). The proponents believe in the value of good health and nourishment a realisation that fundamentally produced this business idea. Innovativeness, the ability to create or adapt to, and implement new ideas into practice and new products (as cited by Lebedeva Grigoryan, 2013), is another essential value preferred by the proponents which should also be integrated into their personal lifestyle. Innovativeness will be a good basis for organisational behaviour once the business becomes operational as innovation is a key factor for survival in a dynamic environment. In the future, th e personal values of the business stakeholders should ideally be aligned with the value statement of the organisation by encouraging participation in its development (Alter, 2001). Social responsibility is integrating environmental and social concerns, apart from the financial aspects, in the strategic decisions of the organisation (Massey, 2005; Hubbard, Rice, Galvin, 2014). The simplest ways to practice social responsibility are by reducing energy consumption (i.e., during food production) and using recyclable food containers. In friendly and creative ways, customers will be reminded to recycle plastic items and dispose of food scraps responsibly. Donating food items to a charitable organisation (i.e., The Free Store, Kaibosh) is also highly considered, and will depend on the size of orders and calculated profit margins. Due to the small size of this business, the proponents will be open to collaborations with other small enterprises in various community involvements. Core values are the inherent principles that guide an organisations actions which eventually become the distinct features of the business entity (Lencioni, 2002). This potential business start-up will possess the following core values: Deliver a healthy breakfast on time. This business idea was formed out of poor time management and a busy lifestyle, hence, time plays a major factor in its implementation. It is extremely important to ensure that the food items are available at the right place and at the right time. In line with the over-arching vision to not miss breakfast, orders must always be on the agreed time of pick-up. Additionally, this core value also highlights the importance of a healthy breakfast which means ingredients are carefully selected, ethically sourced, and hygienically prepared. Listen to serve better. As a start-up business, what the customer has to say will determine its fate. During the first few weeks of operations, suggestions and comments will be proactively collected from customers through the website or direct interaction. Comments particularly about the food taste, variety and options will be taken into account for the subsequent servings. References Alter, S. (2001). Managing the double bottom line: a business planning resource guide for social enterprises. Washington DC: Pact Publications. Duygulu, E., Ozeren, E., IÃ…Å ¸Ãƒâ€žÃ‚ ±ldar, P., Appolloni, A. (2016). The sustainable strategy for small and medium sized enterprises: the relationship between mission statements and performance. Sustainability, 8(7), 698. doi:10.3390/su8070698 Hill, C. L., Jones, G. R., Schilling, M. A. (2014). Strategic management theory: an integrated approach. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning. Hills, M. (2012, 18 September). Busy lifestyles keep Kiwis from breakfast. Retrieved from NZ Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6objectid=10834771 Hubbard, G., Beamish, P. (2011). Strategic management: thinking, analysis, action (4th ed.). New South Wales: Pearson Australia. Hubbard, G., Rice, J., Galvin, P. (2014). Strategic management: thinking, analysis, action (5th ed.). Melbourne: Pearson Australia. Impact PR. (2016, March 16). New Survey Reveals Kiwis Fast Food Breakfast Habits. Retrieved from Scoop Independent News: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1603/S00317/new-survey-reveals-kiwis-fast-food-breakfast-habits.htm Kantabutra, S., Avery, G. C. (2010). The power of vision: statements that resonate. Journal of Business Strategy, 31(1), 37-45. Lebedeva, N., Grigoryan, L. (2013). Implicit theories of innovativeness: cross-cultural analysis. Search (Working Paper), Moscow. Lencioni, P. M. (2002, July). Make Your Values Mean Something. Retrieved from Harvard Business Review: https://hbr.org/2002/07/make-your-values-mean-something Massey, C. (2005). Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management in New Zealand. Auckland: Pearson Education New Zealand. NZ Herald. (2016, March 16). Most important meal of the day? Kiwis swapping breakfast for fast food. Retrieved from NZ Herald: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1objectid=11606305 Oliver, L., English, J. (2012). The small business book: a New Zealand guide for the 21st century (6th ed.). Crows Nest, NSW: Leith Oliver and John English. Srivastava, M., Franklin, A., Martinette, L. (2013). Building a sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Technology Management Innovation, 8(2), 47-60. Sweeney, J. C., Soutar, G. N. (2001). Consumer perceived value: The development of a multiple item scale. Journal of Retailing, 77, 203-220.

The Marketing Strategy Of Starbucks And Its Effectiveness Marketing Essay

The Marketing Strategy Of Starbucks And Its Effectiveness Marketing Essay Brand recognition is crucial factor in business growth where customers readily pay premium prices for robust brands. Consumers feel satisfaction while consuming a brand that attracts strong loyalty to them. Brand yields not only expression for external stakeholders but for internal environment as well. Employees feel pleasant to work hard for the success of company and consider companys achievements as their own success that enhances organizational efficiency (Ljiljana StankoviĆ¡, 2006). Marketing connects company with customers and influence on consumer consumption habits. Latest marketing trends and technologies make value addition and steady revenue stream towards company. Marketing communication means create demand of organizational goods and services. Chief marketing officers and brand manager designations are common in marketing departments of organization. Organizations deploy adequate marketing budgets for brand management and creation of sound customer base (Kotler Keller, 2009). Consistent change management is the essence of marketing management where stagnant position of company is its failure. Importance of marketing communications in globalized environment is potential cause of choice of this topic for the sake of research and analysis report. The Starbucks has positioned its brand in the market as a high quality customer experience brand. Starbucks sells its high quality products and services at premium prices. The high quality of products and good customer experiences are the main differentiators of its brand from other coffee brands in the market. The Starbucks has designed its stores on theme of Italian bars. The Starbucks provides a home like experience to its customers. The customers of Starbucks are very loyal to the Starbucks brand. The Starbucks gives very first priority to customer satisfaction in order to form a loyal customer base of its brand. The Starbucks focuses on customer relationship management by integrating communication with customers. Research report would analyze coffee retailing industrys marketing trends by making comparative analysis of Starbucks with McDonald. The marketing of brand is very important in order to promote products of brand among the target market. The Starbucks uses word of mouth marketing for promoting its products among customers. The customers appreciate the coffee taste and environment of coffee shops of Starbucks. Starbucks has used comfortable and elegant furniture design, soft music playing on background, messages on coffee cups and visual art in a coffee shop. The Starbucks is the name of comfortableness, fascination, satisfaction, smartness, and enjoyment of life (Hanft, 2005). Starbuck is recognized as a cultural brand because it connects itself with cultures of regions and countries. Cultural nature of Starbuckss brand is the reason of choice of company for the sake of review of marketing strategies of an organization and its effectiveness. McDonald is considered for comparative analysis. The report would conduct critical analysis of Starbuckss marketing strategies by making comparison with McDonald Company. Research Objectives The research report aims to discuss attributes of marketing strategies of Starbucks and its impact on the achievement of organizational goals. Starbuckss marketing is aligned with the cultural attributes of local market where company undertakes local marketing trends by accounting customers needs analysis. Starbucks brand adopt differentiation as market competitive strategies in spite of slow down economy. Company does not bother about price competitive tactics of competitors so the report would focus on brand elements that secure its leadership of quality. Research objectives are given below: To analyze cultural attributes of Starbucks brand and uniqueness from other brands. To examine corporate social responsibility campaign of Starbucks and its impact on brand building. To consider brand differentiation strategies of company and rapid expansion strategy analysis of organization. To assess long term objectives of Starbucks to aid its marketing strategies and achievement of company objectives. Research Approach and Research Questions What are brand attributes of Starbucks that make it differentiated from other brands? What is role of strong experience that company deliver along with taste of products? What are growth opportunities for Starbucks in emerging markets by virtue of its international marketing strategies? What is the role marketing in organizational growth and strengthening sound customer base? The exploratory and explanatory research approaches can be helpful to analyze market strategies of Starbucks while answering above described research questions. The explanatory research describes the process of marketing strategies of Starbucks (Johnson Christensen, 2011). The explanatory research describes variables in the context of a research study. The explanatory research describes the nature of research variables in the research study. In explanatory research first of all target population is defined, then the sample is selected from a target population, data analysis is conducted and then the conclusion is drawn. The explanatory research is very helpful in order to study behaviour, culture, demographics, attitudes and belief of Starbucks customers. On the other hand, exploratory research is used to study new dimensions of a research area. The exploratory research is more vibrant and comprehensive than explanatory research. In exploratory research qualitative research tools are used in order to conduct a research study. The primary data are used in order to conduct an exploratory research. A problem statement may be designed in order to conduct an exploratory research. However, inductive research design is feasible in answering the research questions and addressing research objectives. My area of research is coffee retailing industry so individual cases of Starbucks would be studied to generalize the marketing trends and tactics of company on overall industry. The philosophy of inductive research approach is to study particular cases and scenarios in order to generalize the conclusions on targeted population. Part B-Business Techniques used for data collection Research Methodology The secondary data collection techniques are used in order to conduct research study. The information collected by using primary data is picked from the source of information generation. The primary data collection methods are surveys, pilot studies, focus group studies, interviews and observations. The primary data is concrete and free from any bias. The research can get more relevant information by using the primary data collection technique. The primary data collection is more objective oriented than secondary data collection technique. The quantitative and qualitative techniques are used in order to interpret the primary data and conclude the findings of a research study. The disadvantages of primary data are that, it takes a lot of time to collect primary data. Sometimes, it is very costly to collect primary data. Substantial amount of resources are required in order to collect primary data so researcher avoids using primary data due to scarcity of resources. On the other side, secondary data collection resources pick up second hand information conveniently where information is already available in this case. It includes corporate reports, corporate websites, books, journals, articles, case studies, documented information. Above prescribed information sources would be used to analyze and review marketing strategies of Starbucks and its effectiveness in organizational goals accomplishments. In order to answer the research problems and questions, secondary information sources can be conveniently used. Although, secondary information sources are easily approachable and retrievable but challenging things include credibility of source, quantity of biased information, conflict of objective between author and researcher. Case Study Approach Case study is regarded as most convenient research methodology to review the marketing effectiveness of Starbucks. Case study would consider the best in class marketing communication tools including social media marketing to aid the organizational growth by Starbucks. It is evident that international marketing strategy of Starbucks is primary cause of success of organization being the essential tool of strategic management. Case study method defines and explores the research dimensions and research areas (Kotzab et al., 2005). Case studies of company and its competitors would be studied including annual reports and corporate website information to analyze and conclude best industry practices while recommending future directions to company. Starbucks heavily relies on unconventional marketing strategies like word of mount and social media strategies. Starbuckss brand strongly emphasizes on providing high quality to customers while delivering delicious taste at premium prices. In-store atmosphere is most important at Starbucks brand to deliver world class coffee experience. It means that area of research for case study approach is wider in analyzing different dimensions of Starbuckss marketing. Problem Statement Following problem statement is defined to consider different research dimensions for current research by case study approach. Objectives of company are related to provision of high quality and fresh coffee experience. Company always tries to satisfy customers, contribute in the community development programs, environmental campaigns, provision of pleasant and friendly work environment, business diversification, setting highest standards for purchasing raw materials (coffee beans). In addition, it improves the roasting quality to increase profitability, which enhances the shareholders confidence that is essential for the success of future development strategies (Khattab et al., 2008). All of the above stated objectives appear to have potentials of long term objectives. The company objectives seem to be acceptable, suitable, understandable and flexible in nature. However, there is a problem in its measurability and achievability because most of them are without any benchmark for assessment and are ongoing. Motivation of objectives is reduced by difficulty of progress measurement (Steiner, 2001). Application of Models SWOT SWOT analysis is used for assessment of the strategic position of the company in the current environment. The SWOT framework consists of four elements called strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses are the internal factors while opportunities and threats are considered as external factors (David, 2011). It is widely used strategic framework due to its simplicity and convenient application in almost every situation. SWOT framework would confirm how Starbucks utilizes cross selling (selling different product to existing customer) and up selling (selling upgraded or expensive version of same product to customer) marketing tactics to customers. It also analyzes the way Starbucks offers high class coffee drinking experience to its customers. Likewise, SWOT model reviews the company competitive advantages including offering best in class coffee experience by offering coffee drinking with inside store experience that act as unique selling proposition. Formulation of unique selling proposition is main point of our concern to apply SWOT. Starbucks is getting fame in Europe, US, Canada, and Japan that is being marketed and distributed by e-commerce retailing, foodservice accounts, merchandise stores, food and drug stores, which are opportunities at Starbucks. Opportunity analysis is the area of scope in SWOT where coffee appeals to youth having age range of 18-24 years that has strong proportion in Asian fast growing economies. Limitations of SWOT SWOT is too short and simple which unable to cover all aspects of the environment in which Starbucks operates that leads to strategic errors in the analysis. The decision based on SWOT analysis sometimes might be wrong but this limitation overcome by using other detailed framework with a SWOT (Pickton Wright, 1998). The SWOT framework used on the basis of assumption which sometimes might be untrue in the future. SWOT has an inherent limitation because there are rare chances that two people come up with the same results due to its subjective nature (Pehlchen, 2005). SWOT produces lots of information but all are not useful because sometimes one factor is a threat but at the same time it becomes an opportunity (Henry, 2008). SWOT is ineffective in the current dynamic environment where the pace of technology development change everything. Particularly, SWOT analysis may be conducted separately for emerging economies and developed countries in the regions of Starbucks. Dynamic nature of limitation might be reduced by conducting the SWOT on regular basis. Marketing Mix Marketing mix is widely used by organizations to understand the needs of customers which enable organizations to provide level of products and services as per expectations. In order to achieve success in the marketing campaigns, organizations need to understand their target market and their expected levels of products or services (Kotler et al., 2006). Starbucks has used aggressive strategies to sustain its position as a market leader due to intense competitive rivalry in the service industry. Starbucks has adopted branding strategy due to which it changed the logo that is more focused and highlights the sustainability of company policies. Seven attributes of marketing mix are demonstrated as product, price, place, promotion, people, process, and physical environment. (e-Marketing Mixology, 2012) The main objective of marketing mix program is to create communication and deliver value to customers. The Starbucks is using different marketing strategies like customer relationship management, integrated marketing communication, creating a good customer experience and social media marketing. The objective of Starbucks is to share its customer experience with consumers from low income groups and develops a long term relationships with them. The weak point of marketing mix strategy is that it focuses on short term goals and ignores the long term interests of a company. Research Ethics There are ethical issues involved in research like plagiarism and privacy of respondents. My project mentor has advised me to make your work original in order to avoid the plagiarism issue. I will use my own content in order avoid any plagiarism issue. The disciplinary committee of OBU will take action in case of plagiarism. I have given proper references of my research work in order to avoid any issues of copyright violation. I have used Harvard referring style in order to meet the guidelines of my university. Limitations of Research Primary data collection sources could not be used due to scarcity of time and required resources. Adequate methods of data collection, arrangement, processing and interpretation, analysis and conclusion could not be used. Researcher bias cannot be eliminated during research process (Creswell, 2009). Limited access to the confidential nature of information necessary for the sake of organizational analysis (Lancaster, 2005). Qualitative research design requires more information technology tools than quantitative one (Johnson Christensen, 2011). Conflict between the goals of researcher and author limit the credibility of research findings and analysis. Part C-Analysis, Conclusion, and Recommendations Brand Differentiation Strategy The Starbucks has adopted a brand differentiation strategy through product uniqueness and product differentiation in order to promote its products. Starbucks has used innovation in its products and services in order to gain competitive advantage in the market. The Starbucks has positioned itself best coffee brand in the market by providing attractive store design, unique environment, elegant taste and high quality coffee beans (Kotler Keller, 2009). The main target market of Starbucks is customers from professionals, businessmen, students, tourists and students of colleges and universities. The Starbucks customizes its products and services according to the tastes and culture of different regions and countries. Starbucks has opened its coffee shops in other countries in order to introduce its products and services to customers of international market. Recently, Starbucks has announced to open its first coffee shop in India. Marketing SWOT Strengths It delivers value added entertainment services as add-ons at its premises. Starbucks renders free Wi-Fi internet access in US and Canada the company owned chain of stores. Starbucks sticks customers at its stores to spend adequate time inside the store by offering web based internet portal and digital network. Its digital network allows subscribed editions of New York Times, Economist, ESPN insider, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today (Corporation, 2010). Starbucks services for in-store customers include particular download options of iTunes and e-Books. Up selling merchandise of company includes accessories, books, apparel, movies, and music. Company markets and sells its products through four channels as food service operations, consumer packaged goods, licensed stores, and companys owned chain of retail stores (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Companys competitive advantage regarding distribution strategy includes approaching customers while they are at shop, dining, travelling, and at work through formulating strong distribution network (Kotler et al., 2005). Manufacturing process of fruit juices and beverages is best in class than competitors. In order to retain natural ingredients, company prepares beverages by high pressure pasteurization (HHP) process to preserve nutrients of juices (Starbucks Corporation, 2012). In addition to stores experience and robust process of HHP, healthy beverages portfolio is also source of unique selling proposition. Starbucks has offered convenient purchase options through smart phone mobile apps. Mobile application payment option generates barcode to be usable in targeted stores. Purchasing is made by Starbucks card mobile app with the use of scanner. Customers can reload balance through PayPal. This payment option is considered as most flexible and convenient for customers because its processing is fast. Company has launched two iPhone applications for customers namely Starbucks card mobile and my Starbucks. Card mobile application allows enjoying the useful features of Starbucks card and mobile commerce features (Kharif, 2012). Company also launched mobile commerce features for Android smart phones. Company is gaining competitive edge in rendering mobile commerce transactions while leveraging technology to cater customers. On the other side, companys strong operating performance is aiding its global expansion strategy despite the poor consumer response due to weak economy. Weaknesses Company has been forced to close down 475 coffee locations of Seattles best due to impairment of assets (Thomson Reuters , 2012). Closing down of companys stores in significant amount would result in reduction in profitability. Starbucks has caused product recalls in 2011 where US food safety and agriculture department has reported bacteria issues in ready to eat chicken meals of Starbucks. Similarly, company has recalled its different products like glass water bottles causing laceration hazard whereas safety commission of consumer products ordered to close down 530,000 units of Starbucks (Scheunemann, 2010). Opportunities Starbucks is in strong need to establish robust distribution strategy to beat the competition. Most of Americans like natural ingredients in soft drinks including nectars, carbonated beverages and juices. Americans are getting more health conscious than ever. US organic food market is fast growing business segment where competitors of Starbucks are growing in wellness and health program (sustainable.org, 2012). Starbucks has decided to execute brand distribution strategy by retail stores of company and adoption of additional channels. New juice bars of company would sell fresh vegetables and fruit juices to deliver true captivating experience. Company is of the opinion that to reflect beverage natural ingredients and adopt new look of store (Starbucks Corporation, 2012). Inside walls of Starbucks contain entertaining and knowledgeable contents on juices and smoothies (sweetened beverage including peanut butter and chocolate). Starbucks is targeting the China and Indian markets that have largest population in world. China is getting fast paced economic development where disposable income of middle income people is increasing (White, 2011). There is great opportunity for Starbucks to meet growing demand of consumer products. Starbucks has formulated aggressive expansion plan in India and China (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Starbucks is targeting the demographic factors in its marketing strategy. Company is registering its strong operational performance in China that is quite positive symptom for brand marketing opportunities (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Situational analysis of India reveals that Indians are tea addicted. However, living standard and income level of middle income group of Indians is growing that is strong inclination toward coffee consumption. In India, there is 75,000 tonnes of coffee consumption as compared to 700,000 consumption of tea (AOL Inc., 2011). These statistics reveal that there is untapped market in India for coffee. Starbucks has made joint venture agreement with Tata group named as Tata Starbucks Limited and Tata Coffee Limited where Tata Coffee is supplier of Tata Starbucks (Starbucks Inc, 2012). Starbucks is creating local alliances in Asian markets to tap fast growing economies. Starbucks has entered into agreement with Courtesy Products to deliver on demand and in-room coffee service in more than 500,000 US luxury hotels (Starbucks Inc , 2011). Likewise, Starbucks made another agreement with Green Mountain for licensing, distribution, marketing, and manufacturing, and sale of coffee brands. Threats Starbucks operates in highly competitive environment that demands continuous improvement in quality from speciality stores and restaurants including strong competitor of McDonald (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Raw material prices of Starbucks may increase causing in enhanced prices of manufacturing costs (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Brazil and Columbia are largest producers of Arabica beans that have served limited production causing decreased supply (Walsh, 2011). Due to low supply, Starbucks may have to face challenges in meeting desired standards of quality (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Starbucks has offered espresso beverages at home where customers are becoming habitual to enjoy same quality products of company at home as quality of verismo is same like that of brewed coffee that is served for in-store customers (Starbucks Inc, 2011). It means they would visit stores in lesser numbers. In India and China, McDonald has already catered brand loyalty and customer coverage (Kotler Keller, 2009). Howard Schultz strategies are strongly criticized due to its announcement of closure of 600 US stores. It is argued that premium brand image of Starbucks is difficult to maintain where CEO may have to cut the prices and inside stores experience is no longer attractive to customers (Quelch, 2008). Rapid expansion strategy of company and new products offerings are blamed. Critics argue that McDonald has improved its coffee quality at substantial lower prices but it is challenging for Starbucks to maintain its offerings at higher prices. Marketing Mix of Starbucks Product The Starbucks product portfolio includes premium coffee, high quality tea, cold and Italian beverages. Iced tea, lattes, hot or cold tea and lemonades are the top flavours of Toza team. Starbucks uses cultural phenomenon in the development of product portfolio which is key to its brand success. Starbucks makes double shots; Starbucks discovers innovative product attributes whereas it has launched milk drinks in the UK market (Starbucks Inc, 2010). The company is always trying to enhance its product portfolio and diversified in complement products with its coffee, company also owned a number of bookstores in Canada and USA. The company has enough strategies but it should need diversification and innovation in its product portfolio to achieve further advancement in its objectives and goals. Price Starbucks charges premium prices for its products from customers as compared to its competitors (Lee, 2007). Starbucks believes in the brand differentiation strategy with quality and natural taste at premium prices and does not involve itself in price war strategies. Starbucks provides the pleasant environment and wonderful service attributes along with the taste of its product which enable the company to charge for that attributes also not just a cup of coffee at cafà ©s. All these attributes in one place and in one premium price add value to the customer experience and create loyalty. Overall the prices of coffee fall in the USA but not in the Starbucks stores and cafà ©s which shows how much company focused on premium prices (Fottrell, 2012). In comparison, McDonalds charged low prices as compared to Starbucks that creates a new rivalry and serious threat for the Starbucks (Krasny, 2012). Place The company has more than 17,000 stores in more than 55 countries (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Tokyo in Japan was the first international place for the Starbucks coffee house in 1996 (Starbucks Corporation, 2012). The company also has a virtual existence through its website. Starbucks acquired its rival the Diedrich Coffee chain of cafà ©s in 2006 to enhance its geographical presence and market penetration (Hirsch, 2006). In order to enhance its presence in North America, Starbucks struck a deal with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2011 (Ropes Gray , 2011). Starbucks coffee and other products are located at schools, movie theatres, business organizations, grocery stores, department stores, airports and railway stations etc. Promotion The company has used various means of communication with customers like print media, TV ads, social media and the companys website. The company also operates a website for its customers where they interact with each other and give new ideas and suggestions related to service improvements, which is the best medium for retention of customers. Company use print media ads like The Time ads to promote its products and coffee houses. The main focus of advertising channels is on the promotion of high quality of its products and services. Overall the company is successful in its growth strategies but in 2008 its sales has declined due to its excessive focus on expansion and growth strategies (BBC News Inc, 2011). Social media like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and companys own website is used for creating virtual communities and forums which helps in the management of the customer relationship. Especially, the company website (www.community.starbucks.com) is used for customer feedbacks and suggestions regarding the products and service add-ons that help to keep in touch with its customers. The company also works with communities and sponsor the sports events for the sake of customer relationship management. In order to attract the sports lovers it struck an innovative deal with ESPN for developing sports learning centre. ESPN is famous worldwide among the sports lovers. This collaboration with ESPN further enhances the customer base of Starbucks (Kotler Armstrong, 2008). In order to sustain the huge campaign to attract new loyal customer bases, its needs integrated marketing communication methods. By using this approach, company is able to use various marketing channels at once that also provide most suitable use of advertising budget and resources. The company spent 1.6% of the revenue in the form of advertising and promotion expenses (Starbucks Inc, 2011). Processes The company has used various technologies in its processes and keep trying to improve them. Improvement in the product and service delivery is the main part in the process strategy of the Starbucks. Blue printing techniques like flowcharts and diagrammatic presentations are used for planning and improvement in processes for the customer services, which is based on forecasting, artificial intelligence and simulation concepts (Young Burgess, 2010). The company uses the proactive approach in the change management process of mapping the customer service process. Blue printing techniques are most widely used as feasible service tools in hospitality sector in which Starbucks operates to enhance the customer service experience (Woo Brotherton, 2008). People Starbucks has very good scope in the Europe because European people are coffee lovers. Starbucks is providing them a quality products and services at premium prices that are satisfying their expectations. Management has focused on expansion strategies to reach far in the whole Europe by opening a chain of coffee houses. Young age customers are the prime target of Starbucks. The company also tries to attract old age customers by providing them combination of different products and pleasant environment. Cultural values and attitude of people regarding the coffee provides an opportunity for Starbucks to deepen its footprint in the European market. The demand of coffee houses has increased from $8.9 billion to $10 billion in the Europe (Hilowitz, 2009). The company also focuses on its employees by providing them career development opportunities and training programs. Employees are also the part of its mission statement and considered essential part of the organizational strategy. Physical Environment The pleasant and friendly environment in all coffee houses provides a wonderful experience which helps to attract more customers. Free Wi-Fi access, entertaining music, unique combination of lighting, well mannered and trained employees, unique pieces of art collection and comfortable chairs are the add-ons with one cup of coffee or tea which attracts customers (Khattab et al., 2008). The Starbucks sitting environment is very much supportive to students, readers and researchers that provide a delightful experience. On the contrary, McDonald staff delivers best in class hospitality experience by time management, responsibility, customer service skills, teamwork, and leadership calibre (McDonald Inc, 2012). Social Media and other Marketing Tools at Starbucks Female class is more loyal customer of Starbucks than male where customer profile of company includes professional, educated, and wealthier than average Americans (Kotler Keller, 2009). As customers of Starbucks grow Starbucks experience also matures. Starbucks experience is more exciting to new customer than previous one. Although, McDonald and Dunkins donuts sell premium quality coffee but still Starbucks is preferable option for customer. Schultz never believes in competing with cost competitive coffee houses rather it aims to offer intimate and warm services at its stores. Starbucks lets the consumers believe that Starbucks is the only coffee destination sought by them. In order to meet the challenges of slow down economy, Starbucks had laid down its workforce to serve its cash strapped custome

The Benefits of Animal Cloning :: Cloning Argumentative Persuasive Argument

The Benefits of Animal Cloning Put yourself into the body of someone who is need of a vital organ. You are on a waiting list, but who knows when you will receive this precious organ. The doctor says the chances of receiving an organ donor are slim because of your rare genetic make-up. The thought of praying for another human to die, just so you can live, seems selfish, but today, the only way to receive an organ is from the death, or the chance of death, of another human being. Even then, the donor may not match. Now imagine it is the year 2007, and you are in dire need of a heart. The doctors do several tests to determine your genetic make-up, so they can find the right animal to match your needs. After replacing your heart with a pig heart, you recover and go on with everyday life. No one had to die, and you received your heart. With today's technology, this, and more human benefits, will be made possible with animal cloning. The process of cloning is very complicated and involves making a genetically identical organism through non-sexual means (Olson). There are different ways to produce a clone, but one of the most common procedures is carried out by cell nuclear replacement. This procedure is often used because it is easier to target specific genes, so the DNA strands can be altered (Olson). In this procedure, the donor egg and a somatic cell from the animal are used to be cloned. The nucleus, which contains the genetic material, is removed from the donor egg and replaced with the nucleus from the cell of the animal to be cloned. "This creates a cloned embryo, which is then stimulated to begin dividing" (Centre). Animal cloning controversies rose after 1997 when Ian Wilmut cloned the first mammal (sheep), named Dolly, from an adult cell (Wilmut, 21). Since the first cloned mammal, scientists have worked to find a practical application for cloning that will produce advances for human diseases. In some inherited disorders, such as hemophilia, cystic fibrosis and emphysema, the only way to treat such patients is through therapeutic proteins, which are obtained through the milk of an animal (Straight). These animals carry a certain protein that is secreted in their milk or blood, which is then harvested and purified for use (Nagal). Drugs made from these proteins are extremely scarce and expensive.

Playing with the industry leader?s rules is competitive suicide?? If so, why? :: essays research papers

I agree with this statement. When it comes to trying to break into an industry and have a competitive advantage over the rest, the strategy we have to use has to be distinctive. This means we have to come up with a different approach to capture our customers to make them want to use our product rather than product’s from the industry’s leaders. The best competitive position is always to have no competition. To achieve that level, organizations should not be following what the leaders are doing instead they should formulate, implement and deploy a distinctive strategy that changes the rules of the business game in their favor. What wins in business is not in trying to out-muscle competitors, but rather to out-think the competitors by brainpower. For example, there are three major international television networks in the world, CBS, NBC, and ABC. In the last thirty years or so, none of them have managed to get a monopoly of the television industry. However, in the last fifteen years, all three were over-taken by CNN. This is because the three networks were trying to gain competitive advantage by using the same strategies. Only CNN has a distinctive strategy. Instead of standard broadcasting, CNN went cable and satellite. Instead of going with variety programming, CNN went with news. Instead of staying domestic, CNN went global. And because of these very different strategies CNN is one of the major leaders in the television network industry, making about US$8 billion a year. Another similar example would be the airline industry. For the last fifteen years or so, CEOs of many major international airlines openly said how difficult it was to make savings in revenues and profits. Except one airline, whose operation has proven profitable since they start business activities in 1973 - Southwest Airlines of the US. This is more because Southwest is not very conventional in their approach or running an Airline business, Southwest Airlines have a distinctive strategy, Some of their more significant strategies would be using a single aircraft instead of multiple aircraft and forgoing having a reservation system like most major airlines. However even though Southwest’s Strategy is to be as plain and simple without all the frills other major airlines are offering, they are still the major leaders in the Airline Industry This proves that in business; if you are not the leader, never play the game according to the rules that the leader has set.

Life Cycle Essay

In this paper I will be writing about the life cycle and the understanding of what impacts an individual. I will be explaining three major concepts such as how self-determination impacts an individual’s ability to successfully negotiate challenges in each life cycle. Also how autonomy impacts an individual’s ability to successfully negotiate challenges in each life cycle and how policies and legislation could impact the family during each life cycle. When it comes to the life cycle there are stages individuals will pass through in their entire life cycle. When it comes to self-determination it starts from birth to about 18months old. During these first 18 months the child is developing optimism, trust, confidence, and security by their mother and father if they are properly cared for by them. If by change there is no trust from the parents to the child they could grow into insecurity, unimportance, and most likely be wary of trust in themselves and in the world. Later i n life if the individuals were properly cared for he or she will be able to make things happen in their lives for themselves. This all comes with feeling confidence and being able to trust and make their own decision in their lives. Individuals learn how to be self-determination in early elementary by learning how to make their own choices, promote early problem solving skills by thinking aloud as they address simple problems. This stage is called autonomy vs. shame this is from 18 months to about 5years old. This is when individuals will have the chance to assemble self-esteem and autonomy as they learn new skills and right from wrong. If the individual is cared for the correct way they will learn how to carry them self with pride rather than shame and very sure of themselves. This is about the time individuals will start to wonder and explore the word why and start to experiment of what to believe to be an adult. Playing with Barbie’s and ken’s, also toys such has cars plays a role with wanting to know things and why. If you don’t have involvement with your child in this stage they ca n resolve problems such as struggles through social role identification. With this it can bring an individual frustrated over goals in life and also  may feel guilt. Industry vs. inferiority stage is during age 6 to 12 years old. This is when learning new skills and understanding with developing sense of industry. This is too a stage of social development that you learn plus need throughout the stage of everybody’s life cycle. If an individual experience unanswered thoughts of failure and weakness amongst their peers, they are known to have very serious troubles in conditions of capability and self-esteem during their entire life cycle. As individuals will expand their relationship with school and neighbors during this time of their life cycle parents are still important in their life. In the stage of 12 to 18 years old self-determination and autonomy plays a role in an individual’s life cycle. This is where development is found of what has been done with that person. At this point it has to do with the primarily upon what a person dose with their life. If this means an individual’s has to struggle to be able to discover and find out who they are when having to be deal with negotiating and struggling with social interaction this will bring in their sense of morality and right from wrong skills they have learned. From some reason or another there is a delay in adulthood this can cause a person to become very withdrawn from having responsibilities in life to more in the right direction. Policies and legislation has enter into people life cycle from stage one from learning right from wrong. It really kicks in about the time 18 to 65 years old with dealing with finding love in your life and some are ready before other to settle down and to start a family. If a person does not find them self in at least finding some companies with one another that individual could come to be isolated and that is not good for a person. During this time phrase people are also getting their career in order along with their family this is to be called taking control of all responsibilities in life. When it comes to the stage of 65 to death with an individual this is when it involves reflection. This could be feeling of integrity, contentment feeling you have led a meaningful life. If for some reason a person can not feel like they have lived a happy meaningful life they could be feeling the fear of death. When feeling this way they are struggling to find out what the purpose of their own live was about here in the world. Having the thoughts going through their mind of was everything worth it, what was the point of life this is when they will have start to feel failure and it be a stressful and happy time with individuals life  cycle. In this paper this explains the three major concepts in the family life cycle. Self-determination how it impacts the ability to successfully negotiates challenges in the life cycle. How autonomy impacts individuals ability to successfully negotiate in the life cycle and also the policies and legislation ability could impact an individual’s life cycle. The life cycle is something everyone has to go through and to know it starts from birth to death. Reference The Expanded Family Life Cycle: Individual, Family, and Social Perspectives, Fourth Edition. Chapter 2: Self in context: Human Development and Individual Life Cycle in Systemic Perspective. Monica McGoldrick, Betty Carter, Nydia Garcia Preto (2011).

Language structure and stage devices Essay

‘A View from the Bridge’ is still relevant to a contemporary audience. Discuss this in relation to Miller’s use of language, structure and stage devices; showing how they are used dramatic effect.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Miller intended the play to be a modern version of a Greek tragedy† and even though Miller set the play in a specific time and a specific place it still resembles that of a Greek tragedy. Miller has inputted a bit of him self into the play as the play is also based on his personal experiences. He confronts the audience with a situation which we know the outcome of, due to the timeless structure also used in Greek theatre. ‘A View from the Bridge’ is and always will be relevant to today’s events, society and happenings because of its Greek theatre influence, using very strong morals and timeless themes. Such as: Love, Betrayal, Hate, Jealousy, honor, and Identity, Which are maneuvered in and out of the play.  In the opening section of the play Miller sets the scene in Red Hook, â€Å"the slum that faces the bay on the seaward side of Brooklyn Bridge†, portraying to the audience the areas personality. Miller manages this to a fine art, as he visited and worked in Brooklyn as a ship-fitter and therefore knew the area and its surrounding people well. While in Brooklyn, he heard a story from a lawyer friend which was of a longshoreman who had â€Å"snitched† to the immigration bureau on two brothers – who were living illegally in his home – just to stop an engagement between one of them and his niece. This story is where he got most of his ideas from. Due to this he was able to describe through his use of language all the events so they have a realistic feel which could make the reader feel like it could have been set in today’s society. The broken English used in the play, as a device, shows how uneducated the characters are but also how identifiable they are with people in society today. Words missing or words abbreviated, using an apostrophe, show this. â€Å"They been pullin’ this since the Immigration Law was put in! They grab a green kid that don’t know nothin'†, this broken speech is still direct and can be understood but still shows how the character feels. The language is used, like in Greek theatre, to also describe the settings with quite some precision. The devices Miller uses can also communicate to the audience what speech cannot. Furthermore, the language Miller uses combined with the stage devices he uses can communicate something completely different. For example: when Eddie is â€Å"teaching† Rodolfo to box and there is overlapping dialogue from Beatrice and Catherine – which builds a lot of tension – from â€Å"I don’t want to hit you, Eddie† to â€Å"No, no, he didn’t hurt me.†, (Page 41) after the climax is reached when Eddie punches Rodolfo. The overlapping dialogue is meant to show confusion and a build up of tension to when Eddie hits Rodolfo. Although the overlapping speech builds up tension the audience knew that this would happen. Another example of language – or even the lack of language and dialogue – being used as a dramatic device is while Marco is lifting the chair (page 42). This is all done through language being used as a dramatic device. â€Å"Here†, is all that Marco says, the rest is communicated by his actions as he wants to communicate to Eddie what he cannot say aloud. â€Å"He transforms what might appear like a glare of warning into a smile of triumph, and Eddie’s grin vanishes as he absorbs his look†, this still has the intended impact that Marco wanted on Eddie without speech involved. This is very similar to what might have been used in Greek theatre, using acting and stage devices instead of language. Even today in every day life we do the same, using physical actions instead of words. Miller uses a lot of different techniques and devices to portray different ideas to the audience, to create meaning and make them understand. The stage devices Miller uses create meaning for the audience and reveal subtext, showing the inner feelings of the characters. For example: the phone booth glowing (Act 2, page 49), â€Å"A phone booth begins to glow on the opposite side of the stage; a faint, lonely blue. Eddie stands up, jaws clenched†, this reveals an amount of subtext to the audience showing them that Eddie is thinking of phoning the Immigration Bureau. The revealed subtext is also showing us that Eddie is feeling angered and is trying to hold back on something, causing more tension. Another example of language being used as a dramatic device is while Eddie is â€Å"taking cheep shots† at Rodolfo – making out that he is homosexual – with the dramatic devices before and after the comments, using a newspaper as his prop. â€Å"(He has been unconsciously twisting the newspaper into a tight roll. They are all regarding him now; he senses he is exposing the issue and he is driven on.)I would be someplace else. I would be like in a dress store. (He has bent the rolled paper and it suddenly tears in two.