Nabokov- Good Reader and Writer Essay

A good reader will ask themselves questions as they read along, using sticky notes for that section. This technique allows the readers to come back to the questions and answer them after reader more of the novel or essay. Also, a good reader uses hints the author hides through the passage for the reader to interpret. This lets readers figure out what message the author wants the reader to know. Good readers are active readers which means they use their reading experiences for support by bring knowledge from the world into reading. In addition, they use comprehension strategies to draw conclusions, synthesis and compare and contrast. Further, a good reader knows when to slow down and read faster based on difficulty. When a good reader doesn’t understand a word he/she use context clues to figure out the meaning of it. Lastly, a good reader should have an open mind based on his/her reading. A good writer uses proper punctuation at all times. Grammar and spelling are important as well. Also, a writer should have a lot of knowledge based on what he/she is writing about. This means that the writer should create a plan before writing about. This means that the writer will research ones topic before writing about it. In addition, a good writer should create a plan before writing to have a formal paper. To tell the truth, if a writer doesn’t truly believe in what one is writing about then that’s not a writer at all. A good writer would not care about what others think of ones opinion. Finally, a good writer grabs the reader’s attention from the beginning of the story. Lastly, a good writer writes novels with enough detail to let the reader understand, but not too much so the reader has to interpret the story you are writing about.

Motives: Philippines

The Philippines is currently one of the best performing economies in the ASEAN region with a GDP of 6.9% in 2007 (The Economist, 2008). This may be attributed to the presidency’s approach towards economic and fiscal reforms such as the implementation of higher Value Added Taxes (The Economist, 2008). However, peace and order may still be on the process of getting a resolution due to slow progress of arrangements with the MILF together with the problems about terrorist group Abu Sayyaf. Still, the Philippine economy holds as one of the best investment climates in the region in light of the government’s cutting of interest rates. Primarily, the country is very strong in consumer and services sector followed by manufacturing (The Economist, 2008). In terms of the economic conditions of the neighboring countries, Thailand still experiences a strong economic stability in terms of foreign investment measures. The inflation rate is still manageable but the country is faced with problems on political uncertainties (The Economist, 2008). The country however is very strong in sectors like tourism and manufacturing. Singapore also has a very good investment climate because of stabilized government policies just like before. Foreign investors are still keen on entering the market which is especially strong in manufacturing, IT and domestic consuming (The Economist, 2008). Comparatively, the three countries do not actually compete with each other since they all belong in the ASEAN economic block. Although each nation has its own economic strengths, all of them follow the agreed procedures of sharing investment structures as part of the ASEAN’s organization policy. In investing in the Philippines, an investor’s main possible issue is with regards to the current strengthening of the Peso. Primarily, this reflects a weakened US dollar which can make it hard for a foreign investor to maximize the investment values. Add to that the increasing dollar remittances from the country’s overseas workers which devaluates the US dollar more. In terms of business management, there are no actual foreseen problems since the government does not interfere in privately segmented investments (The Economist, 2008) References The Economist. 2008. Country Briefings: Profiles, Forecasts, Statistics. Retrieved January 27, 2008 from http://www.economist.com/countries/.

Best Buy Co., Inc: Sustainable Customer Centricity Model Essay

Best Buy is the largest national electronics chain and the only one that remains since the closing of Circuit City in 2009 and Comp USA before that. Founded in St Paul, Minnesota in 1966 as the Sound of Music Store, it was rebranded as Best Buy in 1983 with a single flagship store in Burnsville, Minnesota. By 1993, Best Buy had become the United States second-largest consumer electronics retailer, breaking into Fortune magazine’s annual ranking of top 500 companies two years later at number 373. A partnership with Microsoft in 1999 help to boost the company’s profile and lead to the opening of its first retail store in Shanghai which was followed by stores in Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and nine European countries (Lowe, 2008 May 8). Best currently operates 1,105 big box stores in the United States. In addition to personal computers, computer equipment, and consumer video and audio products, Best Buy outlets, which are on average 44,000 square feet in size, also offer large and small appliances, and entertainment software that includes DVD’s, compact discs, video games, and computer software (Funding Universe, n.d.). Best Buy’s subsidiaries include Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and in Canada, it operates under both the Best Buy and Future Shop labels. Best Buy differentiates itself from its closest competitors, Walmart and Amazon.com, by not focusing on low cost products but by switching from an aggressive commission-based system of service to highly trained sales associates and service solutions. Having a well-trained staff who can educate the customers regarding product features, allows the customer to make informed buying decisions on big-ticket items. In addition, with Geek Squad capabilities available in-store, Best Buy is able to provide installation services, product repair and on-going support for these or other items the customer purchases (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC22). This end-to-end solution is one aspect that separates Best Buy from its competitors. This is also one of the many strengths Best Buy currently possess’. Best Buy’s customer centricity approach is key in its survival and is something often missing from their competitors. Best Buy takes the time to understand who its customer is and what they need. They then took this information and started selling solutions instead of just products. Best buy also changed the layout of the store based on customer feedback. This included bundling together related products, offering installation help for all electronics, and improving store productivity by adding more technology experts to the sales floor and deploying touch screen monitors with product information. Future plans also include a 10% reduction in US square footage over the next 3 to 5 years. A reduced floor plan will not only be more cost efficient but will provide an overall easier shopping experience for the customer (Briggs, 2011 April 14). Customer centricity is necessary in today’s competitive market and it is a concept Best Buy continues to excel at. One of Best Buy’s weaknesses includes the decline of net income and operating margins. Although this could be a function of increased costs, it is more likely due to pricing pressure (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC20). The economic decline and consumer pressure has forced the prices of consumer electronic products to be lowered. This decrease in prices has caused the decline in margins which negatively affect net income and operating margins. Another area of concern is the increase in accounts receivable and inventory. Best Buy had a 1% increase in inventory from 2008 to 2009 and a 12.5% increase in revenue accompanied by a 240% increase in accounts receivable (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC20). This creates a potential risk for losses due to bad debts. Best Buy is weak in their ability to quickly adjust inventory level to the demand, in order to reduce costs related to inventory. Best Buy did not recognize the economic downturn and was not successful in adjusting their inventory levels (Sien na College, 2009 April 17). This is an area for improvement for Best Buy as the economic downturn has created an oversupplied market. Best Buy’s best opportunities lie in their series of acquisitions into their Best Buy family. Best has gained valuable experience in the process of integrating new companies and service providers with their keen ability to know where to expand and is a key component in their ability to differentiate their company from others in the marketplace (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC23). Best Buy also has room for opportunities as they have expanded upon their global presence. This global presence exceeded expectation late in 2009 with a 15% uptick in international sales. European stores experienced a 4% gain in same store sales, while Best Buy’s China store sales jumped 34% (Lindner, 2010 March 25). This global presence also opens up opportunities to trace global technology trends first hand and opens the door to newly developing markets. It also provides a wide range of places to test and introduce new products and analyze customer needs. Best Buy faces many threats beginning with the economic decline. Today’s customer has less disposable income and Best Buy sells luxury goods and not necessity items. The future of the economy including consumer confidence, unemployment, tax rates, fuel costs, and the availability of consumer credit are all factors that could affect consumer spending and Best Buys earnings. Another concern for Best Buy is increased competition particularly from online competitors like Amazon.com. Amazon has an advantage over Best Buy because they are able to maintain a lower cost structure compared to a brick and mortar store like Best Buy and can push those savings through to their product pricing and selection. With an increasing trend in the consumer electronics industry to shop online, Amazon.com is positioned perfectly to maintain strong market growth and potentially steal some market share away from Best Buy (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC22). Best Buy will have to continue to differentiate themselves from their internet competitors with their unmatched customer centered model of business. Based on the findings of the SWOT analysis, Best Buy should continue to develop and implement their customer centricity model. This customer based model creates better customer satisfaction, promotes growth, and creates a unique experience. On the other side, Best Buy needs to address their decline in net operating income. This means cashing in on opportunities such as expanding their global presence which has had much success in generating profits. Best Buy should also be conscientious of their inventory levels in comparison to revenue increase. They need to adjust for the economic downturn while continuing to offer a good mix of products accompanied with superior service. Best Buy needs to stay on top of technology trends in order to keep up with online sales threats from Amazon.com and others. Best Buy’s focus should be on the continual improving of the in-store shopping experience that currently differentiates them from competitors like Amazon. This means added customer service, technology experts, and services that take the customer from the initial purchase all the way through installation and use. Best Buy’s corporate level strategy revolves around their customer centricity model and is the core of their company mission and goals. To implement this strategy and achieve a competitive advantage, Best Buy maintains a wide variety of products to meet customer needs but also goes beyond the initial sale into service offerings. Best Buy has used their customer centricity model, which is built around a significant database of customer information, to construct a diversified portfolio of product offerings (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC22). This vital database allows Best Buy to structure customer needs to the locations they are requested, which in turn helps keep costs lower by shipping the correct inventory to the correct locations. This is important because it helps to offset the extra costs required to provide high-level training to sales associates and service professionals. This structuring of inventory is a large part of their business-level strategy and is advantageous for Best Buy because each market contains the products most desired and avoids items not sought after by customers. Best Buy’s customer based structure is only as strong as their greatest service professional and staff member. Best Buy recognizes this and invests a lot into their employees. Best Buy has a reputation for retaining their talent and is widely recognized for superior service. Highly trained sales professionals, like the members found at Best Buy stores, have become a unique resource in the consumer electronics industry, where technology is changing at an unprecedented rate, and this is a significant source of competitive advantage for Best Buy (Hill & Jones, 2013, pC23). Currently, Best Buy has recently gone through an organizational change due to the departure of CEO Brian Dunn, U.S. retail chief Mike Vitelli, and chief administrative officer Tim Sheehan. New CEO, Hubert Joly, is in the process of outlining new strategies that will strengthen operations and financial performance. He has stated that he will continue to build on their strong customer service model and their multi-channel shopping experience (Best Buy News Release, 2012 November 13). While this falls in stride with Best Buy’s previous strategy, Joly has also stated that Best Buy has been slow in capturing their fair share of the online channel. This leads me to my first recommendation, having a larger e-commerce presence. While Best Buy can’t duplicate their high-level customer service experience found in-store they can expand on sales by offering a broad range of products online. From here, customers can be invited to visit stores in person for services that may aide in the set-up and installation of products purchased online. I also recommend that Best Buy address their issues with outstanding debt by temporarily halting expansion and focus on their current strengths. While acquisitions have been very profitable for Best Buy, they may want to slow down temporarily as the economy starts to recover and consumer spending slowly begins to increase. While Best Buy has faced a lot of hardship in recent years, they also have made smart strategic decisions that have kept them pliable. Best Buy’s new leadership has a lot to work with and should also introduce fresh organizational change that will help propel Best Buy into profitable territory. References Best Buy News Release. (2012, November 13). Best buy holds analyst and investor day to provide assessment of the company and to outline priorities to reinvigorate performance and rejuvenate its business. Retrieved from http://pr.bby.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=244152&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1758160&high

Finnc nd Growth Strtgy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Finnc nd Growth Strtgy - Essay Example Of cours ths findings dpnd on th sctor nd th typ of M& tht ws don. Mny fctors ply n importnt rol in th furthr succss of th compnis, nd th on, myb th most importnt cn b th knowldg nd bility to crt vlu ftr. Mrgrs nd cquisitions, two forms of rstructuring, rprsnt both strtgic opportunitis nd thrts for compnis, s ownrship chngs hnds. Mrgrs nd cquisitions crry on stting nw rcords in both volum nd siz. cquisitions probbly r not th quickst wy to grow comprd to othr options nd, from th prspctiv of top mngrs, thy r stimulting nd oftn finncilly rwrding. Howvr, by most ccounts, cquisitions r pron to filur, with som hving disstrous consquncs. Studis of th short-trm ffcts of M&s point out tht M&s gnrt vlu, vn though most of this vlu ccrus to th trgt firm. Rsrch in th US nd UK indicts tht th shrholdrs of th trgt firms xprincd gins of btwn 16% nd 45%. cquiring firms' shrholdrs, on th othr hnd, xprincd bnorml rturns rnging from -1.1% to 7.9%. Th combind firms' bnorml rturn ws btwn 1.8% nd 3.5%. (S Jnsn & Rubck 1983; Frnks & Hrris 1989; Bchr 2000; Mulhrin & Boon 2000; Kohrs & Kohrs 2000; ndrd t l. 2001.) Th long-trm ffcts of M&s in th US nd th UK hv bn xmind xtnsivly (S grwl, Jff & Mndlkr 1992, Brns 1984, Frnks, Hrris & Titmn 1991, Grgory 1997, Knndy & Limmck 1996, Limmck 1991, Lodrr & Mrtin 1992, Loughrn & Vijh 1997, Mitchll & Stfford 2000, Ru & Vrmln 1998). Ths studis, lthough criticisd th mthodology, ll indict tht th shrholdrs of th cquiring firms in most instncs los vlu. Th ngtiv typicl rturns wr s high s -20%. Th crtion of ngtiv typicl rturns holds tru spcilly whn th mthod of cquisition ws othr thn by mns of tndr offrs. Th min rson for M& to tk plc is xpctd synrgis, mngril hubris, nd promising solution of gncy problms. Synrgis r th prim motivtion for th bid nd s rsult for th trgts nd th biddrs tht shr th wlth gins. lthough most bidding compnis mk th sttmnt bout th potntil synrgis from th mrgrs nd cquisitions, frquntly th forcstd bnfits r not obtind. This cn b rsult of ovr optimistic forcst by th bidding mngmnt or simply th fct tht th mrgr for inititd for nothr rson, such s gncy problms. So ths thr tkovr motivs hv diffrnt outcom on th wlth crtd ftr mrgrs nd cquisitions. If synrgy is th primrily motiv for th mrgr, thn th trgt's nd biddr's shrholdrs should gin nd th distribution of wlth should only dpnd on th brgining powr of th biddr nd th trgt. If th scond motiv tks plc nd it mns tht gncy problm is worsning, th min slf-intrst of th biddr's mngmnt is th prim rson for th mrgr or cquisition. In such cs, mngrs just focus on growth rthr thn on th shrholdrs' vlu. For xmpl, Conyon nd Murphy (2002) show tht for th UK, siz (nd not th prfomnc) is th min dtrminnt of th mngril slris. This fct cn xplin why mngrs r so tmptd to us fr csh flow to furthr build th mpir tht hopfully will rsult in highr slris nd bonuss. No wondr tht ftr such circumstncs, th totl vlu ftr mrgrs nd cquisitions ctully gos down. Mngrs who r ggrvtd by prsonl intrsts, (.g. mximiz th siz of th firm nd thir fild of control) r mor pron to sk out lrg, wll known compnis s cquisition trgts - nd usully ovrpy in th bidding procss. This is n doubtful motiv for th cquisition of rltivly smll nd unknown privt compnis. Th cquisition of privt compny mor sily fits th motiv of mximiztion of shrholdr wlth. nd th third motiv of M& cn b th

Effective Employee Job Satisfaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Effective Employee Job Satisfaction - Essay Example All the four example case studies are related to job satisfaction. It is true that global job market is highly competitive. On the other hand, organizations really want good workplace performances from their employees in return of given salary (Purdy, 2008, p.21). Investment banking and fundraising can be considered as difficult and stressful but adventurous job to do so. John Bishop generally works for more than 80 hours per week in his organization. In addition to this, he has to travel a lot during these times. Working for extra hours and constant traveling are the characteristics of these job roles. But, John Bishop and Tony Kurtz have accepted the level of work stress and constant engagement with clients quite significantly. Two aspects can contribute to high level of job satisfaction in these examples. Lucrative salaries and incentives can be considered as the most primary and fundamental reasons behind the job satisfaction (Kusluvan, 2003, p.78). It is known to each and every corporate executive that fund raisers and investment bankers are recognized as money man within this industry. The employees with these job roles have a significant opportunity to earn lucrative incentives against one portfolio. Therefore, salaries, incentives and financial rewards can be considered as the major contributors to the high level of job satisfaction (Shribman, 2008, p.9). Each and every employee needs professional growth in his or her corporate career. Therefore, everybody wants to work under prestigious organizations. David Clark works in MTV as vice-president of global marketing. On the other hand, Irene Tse works in Goldman Sachs as government bond-trading head.  

Organizational Systems and Style Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Organizational Systems and Style - Essay Example It was majorly used to focus on company improvement, expected future changes, procedures during acquisition or a merger of departments and basically how to go about the proposed plan to improve the company. It is based on seven elements that are grouped into two, the hard and soft elements. The hard elements include strategy, structure and systems while the soft elements include skills, stuff, shared values and style. Strategy refers to the plan used to create and maintain the lead over other competitor in the market while structure is simply how the framework of an organization works. The staffs are employees of the organization while the skills refer to the competences of the organization. It is worth noting that organizations use external factors to gauge their relevance and achievements while others use internal factors. Both of the approaches are important since they are supposed to be complementary for the organization to optimize its goals and targets (Alvesson, 2002). In othe r words, coming up with relevant strategies requires a dynamic and well informed team. This may not be effective if the organizational style used to implement these strategies is not supportive. The staffs also need to buy the vision and the goals of the organization so that they can accurately deliver. This can happen without a motivated workforce with includes good remunerations and strong values that govern these employees. Again the style here is of great importance if this is to be of ultimate gain to the organization. The values simply refer to the culture in the organization. In reference to Alvesson (2002), culture is a pattern of basic assumptions. Among the employees of every organization there are distinct ways of doing things. This is propagated through the ‘generational influence’ among the staff. When new staffs are hired, they have to learn these values subconsciously since that is the culture in the organization. We must ask ourselves this question. What will happen if the culture of the organization leads to stagnation or even hampering of its intended results? This calls for stuffs with a different approach. In that case we need staffs who can think outside beyond the challenges, i.e. individuals who can influence the culture so that it can lead to a goal oriented approach. Sometimes changing the culture is not hard in comparison with coming up of a procedure of changing it. The organizational system should be designed in a way that it leaves room for improvement to the shared value if need be. Strict and stubborn systems can easily lock out new and fresh ideas leading to stagnation or deteriorating of an organization. This, however, calls for caution since the shared values upon which the organization was founded should never be entirely lost unless the organization wants to redefine itself. The staffs are very instrumental in propagating the goals of an organization. Arguably, the staffs are the image of an organization. When o ne talks about the culture, it mainly refers to the staffs, and, more importantly, how they implement the shared values of an organization. This touches on the leadership too. The system used becomes important. The system manages the culture of an organization in most cases (Alvesson, 2002). This author argues that the flow of ideas should be clear swift and effective. It is tragic to have a staff that is not goal oriented. This is because it reduces the impact of the organization. There are few reasons why this can happen when the staff is out of

Finance 3000 2day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Finance 3000 2day - Essay Example Market average input prices were accordingly used to determine cost and give tangible results when used in SFA. Data Presentation The figure showing changes of profit efficiency of the Chinese banking industry This figure underscores the effect of penetration of foreign banks on Chinese domestic banks. During the initial stage of market penetration, domestic banks drop or stagnant in terms of profit efficiency. This is occasioned by the need to increase investment in technology and efficient systems in order to stay competitive. These measures drive the cost upwards resulting in decreased profit margin. The trend changes to that of growth after the necessary technology and efficient systems are in place. The exponential growth face exceeds the negative impact occasioned and this in general increases profit efficiency and by extension the efficiency of the domestic banks. These results indicate that City commercial banks are the most profit efficient whilst state-owned banks being the least in terms of profit efficiency. This is a deviation from the fact that state-owned banks (SOCBs) tend to be more cost effective. The reason for this is that SOCBs tend to have higher Non-performing loans (NPLs) than City commercial banks (CCBs). ... to measure efficiency of banks from a different perspective and the following figures depict the mean technical efficiency in the Chinese banking sector by bank type: A. B. Model A is an experiment on profitability or income generation while model B examines the efficiency of earning asset production and growth. A quick comparison of these two models shows that within the first five years model B reached an efficiency at a faster pace than model A. This is an indication that banks here were more poised on asset building rather than profitability. In the year 2000 the graphs are flat indicating diminished growth occasioned by the banks being more profit conscious instead of first pursuing asset growth. Further interpretation of the data in model A shows that JSCBs are more efficient and better performers than all the other banks. This could be attributed to the fact that JSCBs are more autonomous and free of direct intervention by the Chinese government. JSCBs are also not faced with numerous challenges of NPLs like SOCBs. CCBs have a poor showing indicating bias or small sample size of these types of banks while researching. Chen et al (2005) findings are proven in model B whereby SOCBs outperform JSCBs in efficiency. This, however, is in direct contravention of known literature depicting the relationship between the government and the banking industry. A possible answer could be that the vast amount of state funds poured into SOCBs for their growth is having an impact and the banks are gaining stability. These two models of income based and asset based are another way to measure the impact that foreign banks have had on the efficiency of the Chinese domestic banking industry. A clearer picture is painted by including other parameters. Discussion For a very long time

Midterm Examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Midterm Examination - Essay Example The paper will incorporate historical evidence to support this stance. Open door imperialism can be basically defined as the act of powerful nations controlling the lesser powerful nation in the world so as to primarily safeguard the powerful nations’ interests. America being the world’s superpower has applied the open door imperialism to most parts of the world where it can reach. Its military is crucial to the United States spreading open door imperialism. The Monroe doctrine was the first step towards American open door imperialism. The doctrine implied that the United States would consider any acts by European states to interfere or colonize lands in north and South America as aggression towards the USA. Also, the act stated that America in return would not interfere with the internal running or colonies of European nations. The Monroe doctrine subsequently became a defining element of the USA foreign policy. Later, the doctrine would be relied upon and invoked by various USA presidents such as Ronald Reagan, John F Kennedy, and Theod ore Roosevelt. Contained in the doctrine are two significant themes of manifest destiny and exceptionalism. These two themes refer to the power and right of America to interfere, correct or, exert its power and influence across the globe. This doctrine was therefore used by the United States in several instances to justify USA intervention abroad throught most of the 19th century. For instance, the USA was involved in the Hawaii annexation and the Spanish American war (McCormick, 1963). The Monroe doctrine consequently came to basically define the United States’ control sphere that very few countries dared or dare to challenge. Its definition expanded greatly as the United States gained more power. America enacted the big brother policy in the early 1880s with a major aim of rallying Latin American countries behind it.

Thougt it Was Safer Than Starting His Own Business Case Study

Thougt it Was Safer Than Starting His Own Business - Case Study Example Secondly, since he rose through the ranks, having retired as a senior execute from the previous firm makes Fred highly skilled in terms of possessing the knowledge, abilities and skills needed to operate a franchise within the same industry. However, there is disparity in the specific service offered by the previous organization he was employed with (automotive parts) and that of his franchise (car repair). Therefore, in terms of having direct and previous experience on operating a car repair business, Fred seemed to start as a neophyte in this kind of business endeavor. 2. Evaluate Fred’s misconceptions about being a franchisee. Speculate how common these misconceptions may be for all new franchisees. As indicated in the case facts, Fred perceived that there were apparent misconceptions in terms of â€Å"being his own boss and running his own company† (The Franchise Handbook, 2000, par. 5). According to Gappa (2012), â€Å"there are many misconceptions about franchising, but probably the most widely held is that you as a franchisee are "buying a franchise." In reality you are investing your assets in a system to utilize the brand name, operating system and ongoing support. You and everyone in the system are licensed to use the brand name and operating system† (Gappa, 2012, par. 5). ... red’s assertion that one of the misconceptions of franchising is thinking that when one enters into a franchising agreement, the franchisee would be his own boss and would run his own company. As a franchise, all the terms of the franchisor would be followed and adhered to. Likewise, it was emphasized that â€Å"as a franchisee you own the assets of your company, which you have chosen to invest in someone else's brand and operating system and ongoing support. You own the assets of your company, but you are licensed to operate someone else's business system† (Gappa, 2012, par. 11). It could be therefore common for new franchisees to assume that by entering into a franchise agreement, the new venture would give one the opportunity to own a business and be one’s own boss – since one would invest considerable amount of funds that could be parallel with investing on establishing a practically new business venture. The only difference in franchising is that one opted to invest in a previously established business with previously established historical performance to gauge customer’s response to the product (or service) and therefore provide a plus factor in terms of image, core competence and competitive advantage. 3. Suggest what Fred could have done differently to be better informed and advise Fred on action he can or should take now knowing his situation. For new entrepreneurs and business practitioners who are thinking of starting a new business venture or opting to enter into a franchising agreement, to be better informed, there must have been a more comprehensive and extensive research undertaken on the alternative courses of action: to establish a new business venture or to enter into a franchising agreement. There are advantages and disadvantages to both

Principles and strategies that apply to the limousine business and Assignment

Principles and strategies that apply to the limousine business and that can apply to each members business - Assignment Example The Landslide Limousine Company will have to recruit knowledgeable and innovative employees and provide incentives to them. Hence, it will be significant to utilize the performance incentives to stimulate growth and remain competitive in the competitive limousine service. Limousine service entails offering the customer the best service. The employees are important in service delivery, and the employers should accord them the privileges such as rest as contained in the Federal Motor Carriers Safety. In order to avoid the high employee turnover, the Landslide Limousine Company will have to utilize merit pay to motivate employees. The company can utilize the number of referrals, as well as, customers surveys as a basis for offering the workers pay on merit package. It is noteworthy that the critical goal of merit pay entails linking the pay to the performance in a way, which is reliable with the operations of the business (2011). The compensation of the workforce will encourage the individual employee to work to attain greater performance. In essence, the pay on merit will stimulate the engagement levels of the employees, as well as, keep them satisfied with the

Municipal Solid wastes at National level Essay Example for Free

Municipal Solid wastes at National level Essay India is one of the largest countries in the world whose multifaceted socio-economic progress occurred in the last 50 years since its independence in 1947 (Gupta, et. al. , 1998). Indian population is second largest in the world with 856 million in 1991 (Gupta, et. al. , 1998) and 1,027 million in 2001(COI, 2001). The country has an average annual growth rate of 1. 3% (Gupta, et. al. , 1998). The growth of the nation is shown by its rapid industrial and economic growth both in the public and private sectors. This has contributed to the changing of the general lifestyle of its people. Soon enough, they have begun to espouse an urban lifestyle (Jha et. al. , 2007). This drastic change in the lifestyle of the people of India triggered an increase in the production and consumption of all sorts of products. It further spawned additional economic activities – new or innovated products and services – that led to an overall great rise in the volume of wastes generated by the city (Sharholy et. al. , 2007; Jhaet. al. , 2007). Even the packaging of products has undergone an evolution. After all, these are all natural consequences of the city’s growth. Indeed the city has grown both in size and population. The number of territorial divisions has increased from 30 in 1919 to 155. The population has similarly increased from 5 lakhs in 1921 to approximately 42 lakhs. The increase in the city’s area is from 27. 6 sq. miles in 1921 to 174 sq. kms. (COC website) Several studies in the past (Bhoyar, et. al. , 1996; Esakku et. al. , 2007; Rathi, 2006) reveal that the composition of MSW in Indian cities have recorded higher percentages of earth and inert materials (35-52%), varying degradable matter (35-84%) and lowest recyclable material (10-20%) (Jha et. al. , 2007) and there has been a gradual increase in total MSW over the past several years in Chennai (COC, 2004). The increasing amounts of MSW have been causing problems that governmental agencies have been attempting to solve. The extent of the problem, which covers threats to the health and welfare of the people and the environment, just seemed to keep growing and there were no conclusive solutions in sight (Srinivas, 1998). With environmental concerns on top of the government’s agenda, the key area which needs an extensive importance at present is the MSW Management (MSWM). The system of garbage disposal and management poses a great challenge to the municipalities and the magnitude of which is not felt much, involves heavy cost, but derives only less concentration (Bhide and Sundersan, 1983). Chennai in past 20 years has shown increasing growth in population (Table 5; Figure 31), also there is substantialgrowth in industrial sector resulting in increased quantities of waste generated in the last 12 years (Table 1) (COC, 2004). MSW in Chennai, like in most other Indian cities is collected and dumped at open landfills. Ecologists and environmentalists around the world term this improper dumping technique, and argue that such open dumping of garbage poses serious health hazards and also disturbs environment leading to ecological imbalance, habitat modification and deterioration of species (Kansalet. al. , 1998; Sharholy et. , al, 2007). A study by Das et. al. (1998) show that about 90% of the wastes generated is disposed of by way of open dumping in landfills and such practice causes serious environmental and human health hazard. The quality of land, water and air also get deteriorated because of dumping at open landfills. They in turn influence an increase in leacheate percolation of environmental pollutants from garbage into naive environment, polluting the wetland and groundwater of the adjacent areas (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). Chennai Wards and Zones Chennai is divided into wards and several wards are grouped together as zones. There are totally 155 wards (Table 2, Figure 2) and 10 zones namely Tondiarpet (Zone I), Basin Bridge (Zone II), Pulianthope (Zone III), Ayanavaram (Zone IV), Kilpauk (Zone V), Ice House (Zone VI), Nungambakkam (Zone VII), Kodambakkam (Zone VIII), Saidapet (Zone IX), Adyar (Zone X) (Figure 3). Zone V (Kilpauk) is the largest zone with an area of 25. 62 sq. km and a population of 542,132 and Zone VI (Ice House) is the smallest zone with an area of 8. 24 sq. km and a population of 341,805 (Table 3) OK. Why does this matter? How does this relate to your overall question? Should this be in your introduction? MSW in Chennai Chennai is under enormous stress for a controlled MSWM and this is predominantly due to uncontrolled urbanization (Lakshumi et. al. ,2006). MSW handling and disposal in Chennai is jointly performed by Corporation of Chennai and Neel Metal Fanalca Environmental Management Private Limited (Figure 3), private-public participation. This is the second time Corporation of Chennai has joined hands with a private concern to collect and dispose MSW in Chennai (COC, 2004). Expand, why the second? What happened during the first? Earlier CES Onxy, a private MSW collection and disposal industry, handled disposal of solid wastes in three zones (zone VI, zone VIII, and zone X) in Chennai, where they cleared approximately 1000 tons/day of MSW between year 2000 and 2007 (COC, 2004). Onyx charged Rs. 1,212/ton (~$30 USD) of garbage cleared. After the contract period with Onyx, Corporation of Chennai called for fresh bid for tender towards solid waste management for the three zones; Kodambakkam (zone VIII), Adyar (zone X), and Ice House (zone VI). The Corporation has also planned to privatize fourth zone namely Pulianthope (zone III) (The Hindu, 2007). OK Chennai shows high quantities of organic wastes among the MSW collected everyday, primarily vegetable and fruit wastes collected from areas in-and-around the marketplace (Ramakrishnan, 2005) and in most other part of Chennai paper predominates MSW (Jhaet. al. , 2007). But with increasing consumerism, the amount of wastes produced has also been increasing and if this trend continues then the generation of waste would soon outnumber the rapid increasing population. Moreover, as the dumping sites and landfills are also nearly filling up, Corporation of Chennai is on the look for alternate dumpsites and effective MSWM techniques like recycling of wastes (Jha et. al. , 2007). Composition and Sources of MSW Reports from Corporation of Chennai show that organic wastes (food wastes, green wastes, timber) are of greater quantity among the MSW composition than other wastes (Table 4a). Also the main source of MSW waste is generated by the residential (Table 4b) (COC, 2004). Dumping grounds in Chennai Chennai has two open dumping grounds namely Kodungaiyur, which is the north Chennai and Perungudi in South Chennai (Figure 5). 1. Kodungaiyur dumping ground Kodungaiyur dumping ground is located within the city limits (Figure 5, 6 7). It is rectangular and has a total area of 350 acres, where 65 acres is owned by Corporation of Chennai while 285 acres is owned by Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB). The soil type is clayey alluvial flatland. The dumpsite came to operational in 1980. The daily waste disposed from zone I-V at this site was 1600 to 1800 tons. The maximum life expectancy of Kodungaiyur dumping ground is until 2010 (COC, 2004; Jha et. al. , 2007) 2. Perungudi dumping ground Perungudi dumpsite is located outside City limits in South Chennai (Figure 5, 8 9). Perungudi dumpsite is also rectangular with a total area of 600 acres owned by CMWSSB. The dumpsite area is a wastewater disposal marshy land made of silty-clay alluvial soil. Perungudi dumpsite came to operational 7 years after Kodungaiyur dumping ground became operational and has a life expectancy until 2010. About 1500 to 1800 tons of garbage from zone VI-X is dumped here (COC, 2004; Jha et. al. , 2007). MSW Collection Chennai Municipality (Figure 11A) and Neel Metal Fanalca (Figure 11B) employ sanitary workers or sweepers who are either permanent staff or daily-paid temporary workers (Figure 10) who sweep and remove solid waste, like paper, plastics, organic debris, construction wastes etc every day. They sweep about every 50 meters of the roadside before they gather solid wastes on the adjacent roadside. Sanitary workers from Corporation of Chennai or private organizations engage in door-to-door domestic collection (Figure 12) of segregated and/or non-segregated solid wastes (both biodegradable/non-biodegradable and recyclable/non-recyclable) from residents, streets, roadsides and arterial roads in rotomould bins (Figure 13) and tricycles (Figure 12). The solid wastes thus collected in wheel barrows or tricycles are carried to the nearest collection point or collection depots (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). The MSW collection process includes either primary collection and/or the secondary collection. Primary collection of segregated and/or non-segregated wastes involves the transportation of wastes from the collection point to the nearest transfer station (Figure 14 15) or NGO-run recycling units through Light Motor Vehicle (LMVs) or compactors and this technique involves manpower completely in the collection process (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). Whereas in the secondary collection process each MSW collection worker is assigned with work schedules and work areas (COC, 2004) who transfer the accumulated garbage from collection points by way of compactors and tippers, and ferried to the disposal site where they are dumped (Sharholy et. al. , 2007). In many parts of Chennai, a small portion of the waste generated everyday lie around the garbage bins without being collected (Figure 28) and the collected portion is taken for disposal. The efficiency of collection of solid waste can be equated to the amount of garbage collected from the streets to the disposal sites divided by the total volume of MSW generated during that period. Studies made reveal that the two main aspects that contribute to MSW collection efficiency are manpower and transportation facilities (Sharholy et. al. , 2008). Segregation REWORD On an average, the city generates around 3,200 tons of garbage and 500 metric tons of building debris daily, of which recyclable and biodegradable waste would be approximately 40-45% and 40-45% of building debris and the rest non-biodegradable MSW (Sharholy et. al. , 2007; COC, 2004). If this 40-45% of recyclable and biodegradable wastes is removed, the life expectancy of the landfill would substantially increase and this is possible only with source segregation. Source segregation of MSW in Chennai has been a quest for Corporation of Chennai (Malarvizhi, 2007). Although they made efforts in few areas, as part of a pilot study, to improve awareness and segregate wastes at source (Figure 16), yet source segregation technique in Chennai is far to reach common public (Malarvizhi, 2007). On the contrary, few NGOs are also participating in source segregation awareness program and actively helping Corporation of Chennai in door-to-door source segregation programs (Malarvizhi, 2007). Some residents segregate their wastes into dry and wet wastes. Few others also dump the organic wastes in small pits where organic waste get decomposed, converted to compost and used as fertilizers (Rathi, 2006). Also to add, rag pickers play an active role in segregation of wastes, where they segregate wastes into paper, plastic, wood and metals before these are sold in recycling market for money (Figure 17) (Rathi, 2006).

Air pollution Essay Example for Free

Air pollution Essay Introduction to Air Pollution Air pollution is the presence of foreign substances in the atmosphere, emitted by industries and motor vehicles that cause damage to living organisms. Air pollution characteristics Air pollution characteristics in a particular region are influenced by: The type and amount of pollutant and their source of emission. The topographical and meteorological conditions affecting dispersion, concentration and transboundary transport of pollutants. The type of technology and various raw materials used in the manufacturing process and the type and quantum of emissions. The extent of industrialization and population density. Air Pollutants Sources of air pollutants Major sources of air pollution are natural sources and man-made source. A. Natural sources: Volcanic eruptions, forest fires, deflation of sands and dusts, storms, etc. Pollutants from natural sources Volcanoes: ashes, smokes, carbon dioxide dust and other gases. Land surface: salts spray from seas and ocean, dusts and soil particles from ground-surface. Extraterrestrial bodies: cosmic particles and rays, chest produced due to bombardment of asteroid materials, comets etc. with the earth. B. Man-made (anthropogenic) sources Industries, automobiles, agriculture, power plants, domestic sources, etc. Pollutants from manmade sources Industries: smokes, fumes, dust, particulate matters. Domestic sources: gases from kitchen, domestic heating. Automobiles: smoke, fumes, emissions from different vehicles. Agriculture: insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. Power plants: heat from the power plants, smokes, fly ash. Introduction to Air Pollution Air pollution is the presence of foreign substances in the atmosphere, emitted by industries and motor vehicles that cause damage to living organisms. Air pollution characteristics Air pollution characteristics in a particular region are influenced by: The type and amount of pollutant and their source of emission. The topographical and meteorological conditions affecting dispersion, concentration and transboundary transport of pollutants. The type of technology and various raw materials used in the manufacturing process and the type and quantum of emissions. The extent of industrialization and population density. Air Pollutants Sources of air pollutants Major sources of air pollution are natural sources and man-made source. A. Natural sources: Volcanic eruptions, forest fires, deflation of sands and dusts, storms, etc. Pollutants from natural sources Volcanoes: ashes, smokes, carbon dioxide dust and other gases. Land surface: salts spray from seas and ocean, dusts and soil particles from ground-surface. Extraterrestrial bodies: cosmic particles and rays, chest produced due to bombardment of asteroid materials, comets etc. with the earth. B. Man-made (anthropogenic) sources Industries, automobiles, agriculture, power plants, domestic sources, etc. Pollutants from manmade sources Industries: smokes, fumes, dust, particulate matters. Domestic sources: gases from kitchen, domestic heating. Automobiles: smoke, fumes, emissions from different vehicles. Agriculture: insecticides, pesticides and herbicides. Power plants: heat from the power plants, smokes, fly ash.

Business Plan of an International Dance Academy

Business Plan of an International Dance Academy EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Our business idea is to set up an international dance academy called IDA (S.a;r.l) founded by Ms Ikrame Jabre. As it will be established on the 1st January2011, in Moulay Driss 1er with an area of 1000 meter squares, and it is considered as one of the best strategic locations in Casablanca, Morocco which has been one of the most politically stable countries in North Africa. This business will embody 28 rooms including both administration and dance rooms, 6 WCs and viewable garden for relaxation. Our academy will deliver dance courses (13hrs/week) in a period of three years starting from October to June for the academic dance classes, by teaching them 3 types of dances each semester. Apart from this, we will also offer leisure classes by working 11 months a year in (2hrs/week). IDA will target two types of customers based on its market research, who are: beginners and talented people for the academic classes as well as children and adults for the leisure classes. Our mission is to deliver a valuable dancing courses to our customers by providing inspirational quality of services in order to inspire, motivate and enrich everyone in the art of dance. Our prospective business idea is to set up an international dance academy called IDA in Morocco specifically in Casablanca in Mly Driss 1er with an area of 1000 meter square. As the founder of IDA (International dance academy) is Miss Ikrame Jabre who has a wide experience in different types of dances such as Rock in Roll, Cha-Cha, waltz, tango and so many others. Ikrame has a great passion for dancing since her childhood, She was keen on dancing, this is why she benefited from her traveling to different countries to discover the dancing cultures, For instance, when she went to Egypt she was fascinated by the belly dance whose popularity has spread globally. The idea of setting up IDA was inspired from her getting acquainted with different schools of dancing. But her bottleneck was how to finance the business as shes got only 51% of the capital and wants to be a chairman of IDA, for this reason she looked for partners that will support the business. So far, She has found four partners who are: Sophia Amzay with 29% of the capital as a manager of a financial department. Fatima Zahra souiri with 10% of the capital as a manager of the marketing department. Manal el koumani with 5% of the capital as a manager of an Human Resources department. Youssef El Mellouki with 5% of the capital as a silent partner. With respect of a total capital is : 43.025.400 DIRHAMS In this international dance academy we will give classes to both academic and leisure ones. So for the academic classes, we will target talented people and beginners either male or female, as we will deliver 3 different kinds of dances each semester, in a period of 2 years and for the 3rd year we will give the opportunity to our students to specialize in one kind of dance of their choices. These classes will be given in 13 hours per week by 15 professional teachers and coaches both local and foreigners that are successfully ready to give classes in French ; 12 of them for teaching dance classes because each type of dance needs its own teacher as they will also teach the dance culture; and one teacher for visual arts, physical attitude another coach for wellness, and the last one for teaching dramatic arts. In 2011 we will suffice only by hiring 6 dance teachers and 3 ones for the other subjects That Go With The dance classes, which are physical attitude, wellness, dramatic arts. Because we will set a Program of Teaching 6 dances in 2 semesters, so for the first term We Will give courses of Ballet , Chaabi, Salsa and in the second term We Will teach tap dance, belly dance and tango. But for the first term in 2012 we will deliver other types of dances which are: Latino, musical theatre and rock in roll, and for the following term , hip hop, waltz and Cha-cha; so in here we will add 6 other teachers. By 2013 we will classify teachers depending on the students numbers and their selection of the dance specialties. In the fourth year which is 2014 we will add 6 kinds of dances and 6 other professional teachers to give to our students a broad choice for planning the types of dances that will be given each semester and let them to plan in their own ways by keeping the same academic strategies and rules. Moreover, on the fifth year 2015 we will expand our business to other cities in morocco starting by Marrakech, and for the following years we will keep going locally and then we will start globally. Whereas for the leisure side we categorize it upon two kinds of customers: adults and children. Which concerns the adults, we will deliver to them 2 types of dances in their choices depending on the kind of dances that we will begin with, and that are the same as the academic ones excluding the other subjects which are wellness, visual arts and so on the classes will be given twice a week, one hour per session starting from 7 pm. And for children it remains the same, as it differs just in terms of time, because they will have 1 hour dance class On Wednesday afternoon and the other one hour on Saturday morning. In our international dance academy we will also organize competitions to our students internationally once a year starting by morocco in the first two years from 2011 to 2013 and for the coming years well do it abroad. In addition, IDA provides an international diploma that allows their students to have an easy access to work in all over the world. USP of IDA: you can learn a variety of dances academically, that makes you professional dancer internationally. IDAs Vision: IDA will provide a positive and educational dance experience for all community. IDAS MARKETS AND COMPETITORS Our ambition through this first step of setting up this project properly is to Define the situation of dance in the Moroccan market. Based on our research on the secondary data we didnt find any statistics or exact numbers that show the percentage of people who go for dance in the Moroccan market, but we went through our primary data which is a questionnaire that is as follow to find out information that may be helpful to our business. QUESTIONNAIRE: 1-In which sort of dance classes are you interested in? Academic   Leisure Both 2-  Ã‚  Ã‚   What level of dancer do you consider yourself? Beginner Intermediate High level 3. How often do you take classes or go for dancing?   1 2 a week   Ã‚      3 4 a week   Ã‚  Ã‚   Over 4 a week 4. Do you have a friend or family member who you would like to see participate   in the dance classes?  Ã‚      Yes   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No 5. What are the kinds of dance classes would you like to take? cha3bi   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   cha cha   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Latino  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Oriental  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tap Dance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Classical dance  Ã‚  Ã‚   Modern jazz  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Musical   theatre   Ã‚  Ã‚   Cha Cha   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Salsa   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Samba   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Rock in Roll  Ã‚   waltz   Ã‚  Ã‚   Street Dance  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   International Style   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Tango   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bolero    Salsa Aerobics 6. What age group are you? -18-  -24-     -36- -49- -60-  -Above-   7. Would you recommend the Academy to others? Yes, definitely Probably Probably Not Definitely Not RESULTS OF THE QUESTIONNAIRE: 1) In which sort of dance classes are you interested in? Academic 54% Leisure 42% Both 61% According to the results, 61% of Academic and leisure are interesting in dance classes. 2-  Ã‚  Ã‚   What level of dancer do you consider yourself? beginner 57% intermediate 39% high level 28% The graph shows that 57% of beginner has highest level of practicing dance. 3. How often do you take classes a week for dancing? 12 47% 23 26% over 4 15% The majority of people prefer to attend dance classes from 1_2 weeks 4. Do you have a friend or family member who you would like to see participate   in the dance classes?  Ã‚   Yes 21% No 37% The result shows that 37% of people are motivated in dances. 5. What are the kinds of dance classes would you like to take? hip hop 10% valse 8% musical theatre 12% tap dance 14% cha3bi 56% belly dance 54% classical dance 31% salsa 61% latino 34% cha cha 37% Tango 26% rock in roll 41% Based on this result we found out that salsa has high demand than the other types of dances. 6. What age group are you? 18 34% 24 42% 36 22% 49 13% 60 9% The graph shows that the people who got 24 years old are more attracted than the other.   7. Would you recommend the Academy to others? probably 34% maybe 41% probably not 12% definitely not 8% We notice from this graph that 41% of people are interesting to recommend other about the academy. our purpose is to enable young dancers male and female to meet, share and present their talents to new market starting from Casablanca to affirm or confirm their talents, which will guarantee the future of dance in Morocco. Competitors: International dance academy is distinguished from its competitors. As it delivers both academic and leisure dance classes that the others dont. And also it provides different kinds of dances for different levels with a consistent quality of services in a purpose of satisfying the customers needs and encourage them to implement and show their talents. Most of our competitors are giving leisure sessions rather than the academic ones, for instance, Locations and training centers which are Municipal : In Casablanca: Conservatory of Dance, 21, street Najib Mahfouz avenue Gautier, Tel.: 27.59.52, fax: 29.76.86, Zinoun Lahcen, choreographer, ballet and modern In Meknes: Conservatory, 2 street Abou El Hassan, El Marini Apt 5, New Town, Tel.: (05) 52.39.44, Amal Kit, ballet Locations and training centers which are Private Schools Casablanca Dance Workshop Latifa, 1 street Theophile Gautier, Tel.: (02) 27.91.43, Latifa Hajjaj, choreographer, ballet and modern Private School Street Ibn Mounir Maà ¢rif No. 103, Tel.: (02) 25.12.21, Khalid Boulehia, modern dance, jazzÉcouterLire phonà ©tiquement In Rabat Russian Cultural Centre: Eugà ¨nie Nikita, ballet, Russian Cultural Centre, Tel.: 70.73.07 Private school at the top of Hyper market Agdal, Najia El Attaoui, ballet, Tel.: 77.33.14 Private School, 9 Tower Street El Alaouine Hasan Raselli Delcamby, ballet, choreographer, Tel.: 72.76.43 These schools consist only of teaching dances without having neither wellness nor visual art classes and other courses that go with each type of dance. And that leads to a lack of acquiring the real basis and cultures of dances to students. We can say that we are unique in the market, because we teach a variety of international dances academically that makes our students a professional dancers . in addition, we are characterized from others in terms of staff, because we bring professional teachers and coaches from different countries all over the world fitting the dances origins. So depending on the five competitive forces of porter: MARKETING AND SALES SWOT ANALYSIS OF IDA: Strenghts  : Monopoly Offering an academic dance degree offering a scholarship offering a unique programs hiring professional coaches making professional dancers Opportunities  : Dance schools (for leisure) Public relations Awareness about international dance among people Weaknesses  : Not a weakness till now Infant company Threats  : -emerging competition PESTEL ANALYSIS OF IDA: Political  : stable political state. Social  : people are always interested in dance academy, we are offering it for them. Moroccan are open minded and love entertainment. The famous dance in Morocco is Chaabi and we are teaching it in our school. Economical: capability to invest savings Cost of providing resources Teaching staff and support Shortages of materials international and national markets Legal: we took the authorization from the Moroccan ministry to give the Moroccan diploma also we are offering another diploma in collaboration with foreign schools. Environmental: We did a survey and we found out that Moroccan are very open and enthusiastic for this project. It will be located in Mly Driss 1er far from traffic. And its going to have a green space to help students relax Changes to standards/ equipment required. Technological: updating control systems. SALES AND PROMOTION: Strategies to attract new customers: In order to attract customers to our IDA international dance academy we are going to follow some strategies, such as: -Keeping our customers informed about our services that will be provided and published on the website as well as on the social network. -Making conventions with universities and schools to gain customers for leisure dance classes. -Making facilities of payment, for instance every person who brings hisher friend can have discount. -Fill out forms regarding to services and classes that enable as to know the customers wants and improve our services to satisfy them. Customers for academic dance classes: Year Number of customers % growth per Year Price/Year Total current sales in 10 months 2011 100 ____ 35,000Dhs 3,500,000Dhs 2012 150+ 100 150% 35,000Dhs 8,750,000Dhs 2013 215+100+150 86% 35,000Dhs 16,275,000Dhs 2014 270+215+150 36,55% 40,000Dhs 25,400,000Dhs 2015 300+150+215+270 32% 45,00Dhs 42,075,000Dhs 100 represents the first year customers for academic dance classes in 2011, but for 2012, there are two kinds of customers who are: 150 of new customers, 100 people of existing customers and for the following year 215 customers will be added by keeping the same existing ones because, IDA provides 3 years study of dance academic classes Numbers in black colour represents the new customers. Numbers in red colour represents the existing customers. Customers for leisure classes: Year Number of customers Price per month Total monthly sales 2011 25 350Dhs 8750Dhs 2012 42 350Dhs 14,700Dhs 2013 48 350Dhs 16,800Dhs 2014 62 400Dhs 24,800Dhs 2015 75 450Dhs 33,750Dhs Estimation of customers numbers for leisure dance classes: Months Number of customers September 13 October 13 November 16 December 20 January 20 February 25 March 25 May April 25 17 June 25 July 25 as we are new in the market, in the first two months we will begin by 13 customers in leisure classes, Afterward the number of customers will increase to 16 and then to 20 as it will be fixed in December and January after that, new 5 customers will come to register in February and march, whereas, in April and may the number of customers will decrease because of the exams period, and for the following two months that are in summer (June, July) the number of customers will become normal (25 customers in the first year). Offers and discounts: We will Give scholarship for talented people The students who get 98% in the exam will have a discount of 20% in the second year fees. The student who will win in the competitions that are going to be organized in yearly basis he/she z will travel to the original country of a such dance to explore the actual of that dance. Sales persons: We will hire experienced sales persons who take their passions for the challenges and mobility. And are ready to show clearly the charisma and enthusiasm to attract attention, create sympathy, inspire confidence and make memorable business relationships as well as that have a sense of curiosity and confidentiality. These people will work on presenting our services and offers, negotiate with customers and agencies that recruit professional dancers, and they will be involved in every sales activities in Casablanca and among other cities in Morocco as well as outside Morocco. year number of places salary per experiences salesperson person 2011 2 In different areas of 5000 DHS -should have 3 years experience Casablanca. 2012 3 In Casablanca and its 5500 DHS surroundings 2013 3 -In Casablanca and 5500 DHS must have a great ability Its surroundings to persuade 2014 4 -Different cities in 6000 DHS Morocco 2015 6 -In morocco and other From 7000 to 10  .000 DHS 7000 to 10.000 Dhs And some Foreign countries _In the first year 2011 we will have 2 sales persons: The first sales person will be responsible for the conventions with other agencies such as recruiting agencies. Second person: will bring customers from schools and different clubs. _In the Second year 2012we will increase the number of sales persons from 2 to 3 people: 2 people will be a responsible for making conventions with other agencies and the third one bring customers from different areas in Casablanca. _Third year 2013 we will keep the same number of sales people doing the same activities. _ For the Fourth year 2014 we will need four people because of upcoming new dances to our academy as we will need customers from different cities in Morocco. _In the Fifth year 2015, we will hire six sales people as a total, 4 of them are for the local market and 2 others for outside morocco, because we will look for a foreigner customers after setting up franchise in Marrakech. . MARKET STRATEGIES Strategies of promotion and sale services: One of strategies that (IDA) uses is advertisement which is designed to give introduction to people about the different classes and dances that the academy offer by using 4 types of advertising: InternetÆ’Â   advertising through the internet such as: website of IDA, and on the social network websites. MagazineÆ’Â   will be provided by supplement that contains the description of the academy with bright colors and pictures of the academy. NewspapersÆ’Â   the academy will be advertised on the newspapers in a sort of ads. RadioÆ’Â   we go through different radio stations: hit radio, Chada Fm, Radio Sawa and Casa Fm. Marketing mix of (IDA): product: our product is a service, we deliver both leisure and academic dance classes in a period of 3 years. (IDA) is the only academy in Moroccan market that will offer different dance classes academically of different types of dances with diplomas . price: (IDA) charge a reasonable prices, for the customers who want to dance for leisure they will pay 350 Dirhams per month, and for the students who will take the academic classes will pay in a yearly basis with an amount of 35,000 Dirhams as we will afford a payment facilities and give scholarship to talented people. Moreover, we ensure the stability of prices for the first three years then we will work on increasing the price because of upcoming new dances and the diversity of the schools among different cities and countries. PLACE: From 2011 to 2014 the service will be provided in Casablanca after that, we will expand our business in 2015 in Marrakech , and for the following years we ll keep going local and well start going global by opening branches in other countries starting by Tunisia and others . PROMOTION: The main ways of Promotion for (IDA) are internet(social network), media, magazinesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Advertising cost: The cost of advertising for (IDA) is: 2.029.500 dhs: 60% of the advertising costs is for TV and bill boards : 1,217,700 Dhs   20% For newspapers and magazines: 40,590,000 Dhs 20% For radio stations: 40,590;000 Dhs. A Comparison between (IDA) and its competitor casa dance that spent 3.313,200 dhs for advertising: advertising types of (IDA) advertising type of casa dance -media TV internet -bill boards posters -magazine Newspapers magazines Improvement of sales and profit margin for IDAs services: An efficient management skills toward salespeople will participate in the improvement of sales, so in order to make our salespeople having a valuable contribution in our dance academy we will work on providing incentives to them such as, cash bonuses, travel experiences or merchandise rewards. so as to attract a large number of customers and maintaining the existing ones. More than that, we will provide them with the right tools such as cell phones, cars, to ensure a proper work. OUR TEAM SKILLS IN IDA CHAIRMAN Ikrame Jabre is the chairman of IDA; she is a student at university of Sunderland in morocco, majoring in business management as she had dance experience, she wants to combine her studies which concerns management skills with her passion, dancing. MARKETING MANAGER Souiri Fatima Zahra as an associate in IDA Company; she is a student at university of Sunderland in business management branch as she has marketing skills such as communication skills and working in enthusiastic atmosphere to get more relationship in courteous and friendly manner. SILENT PARTNER Youssef Mellouki as a silent partner in IDA company, he is a student at Sunderland university in business management branch. HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGER Manal khoumani is a bedfellow in IDA, she is a student at university of Sunderland in business management branch as he has human resources skills such as dealing and negotiating with people in order to get more information. FINANCE MANAGER Sophia Amzay is one of the IDA partners, she is a student at university of Sunderland majoring in business management branch as he has financing and accounting skills, she likes dealing with number since she was child. HUMAN RESOURCES ASSISTANT MANAGER: supports the responsibilities in some areas such as recruitment and employment, training and development, and so on. FINANCE ASSISTANT: is dependable on collecting information through overseeing financial regulation and legislation and manages also on supervising income statement, profit and loss, cash flow coming in and coming out of organization of IDA. Dance teachers: highly qualified with a good performances and capabilities to deliver dance lessons in the appropriate manner in order to have good strategies. Maids : 2 women, working for the cleanliness of IDA. Security : strong and energetic man that has experiences in this domain. Sales people: we start up only by 2 people on the first year, that have the ability of communication and marketing skills in order to attract customers for the dance . IDAs OPERATIONS FINANCIAL FORECASTS Numbers Staffs Employees Salaries per person in Dirhams 1 HR manager 10.000 1 HR assisstant manager 3.000 1 Marketing manager 10.000 1 Marketing assisstant manager 3.000 1 Finance manager 10.000 1 Finance Assisstant 3.000 2 Salespeople 5.000 9 Teachers 10.000 2 Maids 2.000 1 Doorkeeper 2.000 1 Secretary 3.000 TOTAL  : 21 148000 Names of partners Partnership in (%) Total per DHS Ikrame jabre 51% 21942954 Sophia amzay 29% 12477366 Fatimazahra souiri 10% 4302540 Manal el koumani 5% 2151270 Youssef el mellouki 5% 2151270 Explanation of the personal funding for all partners: Names of partners Internal funding% I.F in DHS Total  / person in DHS CAPITAL Ikrame jabre 30% 6582886,2 21942954 43025400 Sophia amzay 30% 3743209,8 12477366 43025400 Fatimazahra souiri 30% 1290762 4302540 43025400 Manal el koumani 30% 645381 2151270 43025400 Youssef el mellouki 30% 645381 2151270 43025400 Names of partners External fund(from bank)% E.F/ person in DHS Total in DHS CAPITAL Ikrame jabre 70% 15360067,8 21942954 43025400 Sophia amzay 70% 8734156,2 12477366 43025400 Fatimazahra souiri 70% 3011778 4302540 43025400 Manal el koumani 70% 1505889 2151270 43025400 Youssef el mellouki 70% 1505889 2151270 43025400 Names of partners Amount in DHS Fixed Interest rate(%) years number of months Monthly payment(DHS) Ikrame jabre 15360067,8 6% 10 120 7680,0339 Sophia amzay 8734156,2 6% 7 84 6238,683 Fatimazahra souiri 3011778 6% 5 60 3011,778 Manal el koumani 1505889 6% 3 36 2509,815 Youssef el mellouki 1505889 6% 4 48 1882,36125 The loans will be paid by the proper money of the partners depending on their funding amounts, IDA doesnt have any relationship to the borrowed money. Ikrame jabre needs 10 Years to pay her loan to the bank because its a huge amount of money borrowed, as she is a chairman, she gets a higher salary than others which is 20.000 DHS per month and can pay her loan comfortably with an amount of 7680,0339 DHS  /month. Sophia amzay needs to spend 4087,413 DHS / month out of 10.000 Dhs of her salary for the external funding interests in a period of 7 years. Fatimazahra souiri needs 5 years to pay her loan, with a monthly payment of 3011,778 DHS For Manal el koumani will pay her loan in a period of 3 years. Youssef el mellouki is a silent partner, so he will take only dividends thats why he needs 4 years to pay his loan, even there is an equal percentage of partnership between him and Manal el koumani. INTERNATIONAL DANCE ACADEMY CASH FLOW PROJECTIONS FOR THE FIRST YEAR 2011 IN (DHS): We will take 80% from the profit as dividends and for the rest which is 20% of the profit we keep it as retained earnings. M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 Cash received: 3.504.450 4450 5600 7000 7000 8750 8750 8750 5950 8750 8750 Cash sales: 3.504.450 4450 5600 7000 7000 8750 8750 8750 5950 8750 8750 Additional cash: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Tax, VTA received: ________________________________________________________________ NC borrowing: : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New other abilities: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other current asset: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 New investment: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Subtotal cash Received: 3.504.450 4450 5600 7000 7000 8750 8750 8750 5950 8750 8750 Expenditure M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 M9 M10 M11 Expenditure from Operations: Cash spending: 195.080 175.080 175080 175080 175080 175080 175080 175080 175080 175080 175080 Additional cash Spent: 0 0 0 0 0

Computers :: essays research papers

This paper is about the computer. Today computers are used by hundreds of millions of people. There have been many advances in the computer. The computer used to weigh 30 tons and filled warehouse size rooms, but today can be as light as 3 pounds and fit in a persons pocket.There were basically three times the computer was mentioned. One as a mechanical computing device, in about 500 BC The other as a concept in 1833, and the third as the modern day computer in 1946. The first mechanical calculator was called the abacus. The abacus is a is a string of moving beads.The first concept of the modern computer was first outlined in 1833 by the British mathematician Charles Babbage. His outline contained all of todays features in a computer today. Those features are memory, a control unit, and output devices. Even though Babbage worked on the machine for over 40 years he never actual saw it work. The modern computer grew out of intense research efforts mounted during World War II. The military needed faster ballistics calculators, and British cryptographers needed machines to help break the German secret codes.Early as the 1940's the German Inventor, Konrad Zuse, produced the first operational computer. It was used in aircraft and missile designs, but the German government would not let him improve the machine so it never reached its maximum capability. Two engineers called John W. Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert Jr. from the University of Pennsylvania constructed a calculator. Its construction was an enormous feat of engineering. The 30-ton machine was 18 feet high and 80 feet long, and contained 17,468 vacuum tubes linked by 500 miles of wiring. This calculator performed 100,000 operations per second, and its first operational test included calculations that helped determine the feasibility of the hydrogen bomb. Computers were finally made to a smaller size in 1958 by Jack Kilby. He used less expensive silicon chips, this made it possible to cram as many as 10 million components on 1 chip. Another big step in the computer chip was made by American Engineer Marcian E. Hoff. He combined the uses of a computer into 1 tiny silicon chip which he called the microprocessor. This microprocessor was called the Intel 4004. By the mid 1970's the microprocessor or microchip reduced the cost of computers. The first affordable desktop computer designed specifically for personal use was called the Altair 8800 and was sold by Micro Instrumentation Telemetry Systems in 1974.

Analysis of My Last Duchess and The Laboratory Essay -- Robert Brownin

â€Å"My Last Duchess† and â€Å"The Laboratory† are two very diverse yet similar poems written by Robert Browning within the period of three years. In this essay I am going to carefully consider the techniques, language and imagery that Browning uses in these two poems. I am also going to compare the two poems together and how Browning creates the voice and character of the persona in each poem. My Last Duchess was written by Robert Browning in 1842. The poem is a dramatic monologue. The poem flows as there are mid-line pauses (caesura) rather than the poem coming to a halt at the end of each line. I think this is deliberate from Browning to make the poem flow more easily. The poem begins by the Duke merely showing his collection of art and various works to his emissary. He then comes to a lifelike portrait of his own wife who is now dead. In my opinion the Duke remembers her as no less than a piece of art that has been created by his orders. This is a general pattern throughout the poem where the Duke considers himself to be the most prestigious man who has ever lived. He believes that men are the dominant race above women. He is a complete image of sexism in his time. Browning keeps some of the imagery vague in the poem I believe this is to leave the reader of the poem to think themselves about the attitude of the Duke. You could perhaps say that he has a flirtatious wife who treasures others gifts as she treats the Duke’s. You could suggest that she may have had affairs with these other men but Browning leaves this to our imagination. I believe the Duke is an unstable man whose jealousy drives him to the limit to eventually finish his wife off. He believes that total control was a natural thing for him. Moving on to the Laboratory. ... ... the reader thinking about the poem in whatever way they like. Similarly with â€Å"My last duchess† Robert browning deliberately leaves some text vague yet some vivid to pose questions to the reader. He uses plenty of metaphors in both poems. I think this is again for the same reason which has been mentioned earlier. He is definitely trying to give the reader a thought but he leaves the thought abruptly for us to imagine about it. In my opinion this pattern is very frequent throughout the two poems. To arrive at my conclusion all these techniques work together extremely well in both poems to give some of the greatest poems of his time. These two poems are especially recognised for the language, imagery and techniques that the poet uses to create a feeling of jealousy and disgust of the reactions of both the Duke in â€Å"My Last Duchess† and the Woman in â€Å"The Laboratory.†

Southern Folk Music and Race Relations :: Racism American Culture Research

Southern Folk Music and Race Relations Abstract In this paper, I propose that the history and development of southern folk music may serve as an important vehicle for examining and elaborating the dynamics of southern race relations. I am not suggesting a causal relationship; merely an interactional one. Both southern race relations and southern music are reflections of the social structure of the rural south. In the structurally segregated south, black and white musical traditions display the same divergences and convergences which have historically characterized black/white relations. This is not a lyrical analysis; rather, it is a socio-historical analysis of regional popular culture which focuses upon the interaction between two important features of that culture: race and music. Intoduction The development of the American folk music reservoir is a process which parallels the historical and cultural development of American society. In the formation of this reservoir, two major streams, British and African, and several lesser tributaries, e.g., French, German, Mexican, Cajun, etc., flowed together over a two century period (Malone, 1979:4). Alan Lomax, one of folk music's leading historians, has observed that the convergence of these diverse elements has resulted in a cultural product which is "more British than anything one can find in Britain" (1960:155). Southern music is an important part of the folk tradition; in many ways it is synonymous with American folk music. And, its history is well documented (Malone, 1979, 1985; Carr, 1979; Wolfe, 1977). What has been neglected until recently is the sociological examination of the relationship between this form of popular culture and important social, cultural and historical issues and conditions which gave rise to it and are expressed by it (Fine, 1977:381-384; cf. also Albrecht, 1954).1 Country music is a reflection of the southern region's culture, history and social structure at the macro level and of the hopes, fears, beliefs and attitudes of its people at the micro level (Gritzner, 1978). In this paper, I propose that the history and development of southern folk music may serve as an important vehicle for examining and elaborating the dynamics of southern race relations. I am not suggesting a causal relationship; merely an interactional one. Both southern race relations and southern music are reflections of the social structure of the rural south. In the structurally segregated south, black and white musical traditions display the same divergences and convergences which have historically characterized black/white relations. This is not a lyrical analysis; rather, it is a socio-historical analysis of regional popular culture which focuses upon the interaction between two important features of that culture: race and music.

How a business can grow it’s customer base Essay

Coles Group Limited The Grocery industry is one of the most important industries in the Australian economy. The industry employs a big proportion of the workforce and is connected to many other industries in the economy environment. Supermarkets are one of the key players in the grocery industry providing around 70% of the value of the retail market for food and groceries. The  two major grocery chains – Woolworths and Coles – dominate with almost 70% market share of an industry valued at A$80+ billion. Over the past 5 years the sector has been witness of some significant developments. Dynamics were changed after new players like Costco entered the market and ALDI verified a rapid growth since its first appearance in 2001, making colossal to chase market shares by reviewing their campaigns. Some key statistics for the participants in the industry are presented in the Table 1 Table 1.1: Players in the grocery industry Retailer Market Share Woolworths 41.1% Coles / Bi-Lo 31.0% Other supermarkets ALDI 14.0% Speciality Foods / Franklin 7.1% Source: Coles Data, 2012 Coles is one of the two major supermarkets operating in Australia. In 1927 became property company and was launched on the Melbourne Stock Exchange; in 1985, Coles Myer Ltd.was established after a A$918 transaction. Myer was divided from the Coles Group to private equity interests in 2005, it has therefor not been part of the group since then. Westfarmers was founded in 1914, and in 1985 has been restructured to a public company and was listed on the ASX. Coles Supermarket is part of the Coles Group and subsidiary of Westfarmers for a total of: 749 full service supermarket retailer stores 792 liquor stores and 92 hotels 627 national fuel and convenience stores The reaserch conducted shows that Cole’s market share of 31% has not moved materially in recent years; is one of the successful supermarkets in Australia in terms of customer satisfaction, innovation in product strategy, marketing strategy, financial capability and strong work culture. To analyze the Global segmentation, we can consider the presence of Westfarmers  in New Zealand, but the nation largest employer remains committed to providing a satisfactory return to shareholders. The management of Coles supermarkets has not had many political barriers except the adherence to the sector’s rule and regulations. The slow growth uncertainity in the Australian economy poses a threat for thr retail players. The links between supermarket and fuel industries have been normalised. In response to concerns that cost of living pressures were affecting families, in 2008, the Australian Government commissioned the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to review of the industry. In 2010, the Trade Practices Act was recast as the Competition and Consumer Act, with several competition policy amendments in recent years. Supermarkets themselves have developed new pricing and marketing strategies. In 2011 Coles partenered with WWF-Australia to improve the sustainability of the seafood supply chain and to educate consumers about sustainable choices. Coles has also adopted new technologies developing its online shopping facilities. It also invested to improve its supply chain and distribution system with significant impact in cost savings. Coles’s commitment to their Ethical Sourcing Policy, a wide range of products, great logistics and a strong brand image among its internal Strengths. Being an important presence in the market, its operating cost is overall high and its management presents Weaknesses. The possibility to seek new sales opportunity and cut cost through technology and the potential to increase the customer base presents only a few of the Opportunities that Coles may have. The uncertainity that Australian economy presents, the vulnerability to attack by the key competitors of the market are to be seen as external Threats. From 2012, Coles has a new pricing and marketing strategy called ‘Down Down’. This has been a high profile campaign designed to increase its company performance. Other supermarkets have their own pricing strategies to compete, including IGA’s with â€Å"Locked Down Low Prices† from July 2012 and Woolworths’s â€Å"everyday low prices†. Over the last four years, Coles sales have increased by $4.8 billion to around $24 billion. Coles have out-performed the supermarket sector overall over the last four years, market share has gone up slightly. Growth in revenue reflects changes in prices and volumes. On the face of it,  a campaign like ‘Down Down’ should have the effect of lowering prices and increasing volumes. To obtain an overall picture of the savings to consumers we aggregate the price movement during this period and calculate a savings figure – based on both old volumes and current volumes. We find that in 2011-12, the one-year savings of the price reductions during the ‘Down Down’ campaign (i.e. over the 18 months from January 2011) is between $1.05 billion and $1.19 billion. The midpoint is $1.12 billion. The benefits of scale are generated due to the large average store size and the ability centralise their procurement so that they obtain better terms. Overall, Coles finds that the larger its stores, the more efficient they are, as measured by costs per store size. On average, a store that is 1000m2 larger has costs that are 3% lower – reflecting the spread of a number of fixed or standard costs for a store that are incurred regardless of store size. Over the past four years, Coles have also increased the productivity of assets, part of these improvements come for the fact that Coles operates larger stores whilst keeping the number of stores relatively constant. In this period Coles have divested or closed almost 90 smaller and underperforming stores and has acquired or built almost 90 larger, more productive stores. Sales generated from every square metre of selling floor area have increased almost 20%. While sales revenue has increased by 25%, total selling floor area has increased by 4.5%. Private labels are unbranded products purchased by supermarkets and then sold as their own products. Typically, these products are che aper than branded products because of limited marketing activities. Historically, private brands had an image of being quite avarage, targeting the most price-sensitive consumer; these days they are increasing thought of as an equal-quality, lower-price alternative. According to Coles’s data on ranging and space allocation decisions, Coles brand products are treated in the same manner as proprietary brand products. In many cases Coles brand products are located together with similar brands and less shelf space than proprietary brands. Coles periodically reviews if their brand is over/under represented by examining the quantity they sell relative to the space on the shelves. Private labels have been a matter of policy discussion: critics have asserted that they are part of a strategy to dominate the supply chain, thus reducing the viability of branded products. Table 1.2: White bread 650 Retail Prices Margin above COGS Coles Smart Buy White bread 650g $1.00 1% Wonder White Bread Wholemeal Plus Iron 700g $3.31 5.4% Table 1.3: Eggs 12 Pack 700gr Retail Price Margin above COGS Coles Eggs Free Range 12 Pack 700gr $4.04 24.5% Farmpride Eggs Free Range 12 Pack 700g $5.44 20% ï ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼Ã¯ ¿ ¼ Source: Coles Data We analyze the margins for branded and private label products, following the Tables 1.2 and 1.3. For the white bread the branded product yields greater margins for Coles – for Eggs, the opposite. This suggests it is unlikely that Coles systematically achieves higher margins on its own products and directly encourages consumers not to buy branded products. According to Macquarie, Coles and Woolworths hold 72% of the Australian grocery market. The concentration of competition has made the rivalry palpable, penetrating deep into consumers mind. â€Å"Our customers want good honest food which is fresh, available and affordable†, says Simon McDowell, marketing director of Coles. Woolworths upholds those same values: â€Å"We want our customers to trust us to deliver best quality food and the best value every time they visit one of our stores,† said Lizzy Ryley, GM marketing at Woolworts. The five main players in the Australian retail food industry have vastly differen t approaches. Woolworths and Coles have well-known and similar business models, and command the lion’s share of the domestic food and liquor market due to their long history in Australia. Woolworths is commonly perceived to be more ‘premium’ while Coles promises  low prices, but in reality the experiences offered by both are incredibly similar. Beneath all the taglines and promotional strategies , the mandates of both Woolies and Coles are based on two things: fresh food and value for money. Aldi, like Costco, operates in the eastern states and sells private label (Aldi-branded) groceries, electronics and everyday household goods like bathroom taps. IGA operate small-scale, privately owned, stores across the country specialising in everyday groceries and liquors. In terms of size, Aldi’s 305 stores (March figure) are believed to generate in excess of $5 billion, Costco generated $612 million in 2012/13, while Woolworths reported sales of $58 billion and Coles $36 billion in the 2012/13 financial year. IGA sales data couldn’t be found as they are private companies, however Metcash (ASX: MTS) supplies IGA stores and reported revenue of $13 billion in 2012/13. Therefore, as a rough estimate it can be assumed that Aldi, Costco and IGA account for between 15% and 20% of the Australian food and liquor market. To make the Company a more effective organisation and in order to maximazie the shareholders value, I would focus on increasing staff productivity as well as motivation, not to mention the emphasis of maintaining or increasing profit margins where possible; developing the ‘Down Down’ campaigne and lowering the average prices by a further 1.9% . I would enfasise Exploiting the presence if Westfarmers in New Zealand, I would try an international market penetration and the trading environment. Following a comprehensive reform program that began in the mid-80s, the New Zealand economy is now largely deregulated, and more internationally competitive. Food prices rose 0.6 percent in April 2014, and were up 1.5 percent on a year earlier, Statistics New Zealand declare. The monthly rise follows a 0.3 percent fall in March, and a 1.0 percent fall in February. Niche products and Australia’s reputation for product safety can help the company with the penetration.   I would try and finalize the acquisition of EziBuy, a leading direct retailer of apparel and homewares in Australia and New Zealand, so it will act as a launch pad for our next phase of growth but most importantly it would represent a stop for the expansion of Woolworths into the country. Last but not least I would continue investing in important environmental projects and partnerships to further reduce the impact on the environment and I would also improve efficiencies within the  supply chains, reducing gas emissions across the overall business. In the future I would develop a marketing campaigne based on our recycling and sustainable efforts and we will continue to work on ways to both reduce the waste and increase the level of recycling in our stores. References http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness http://www.deloitte.com http://www.stats.govt.nz http://www.austrade.gov.au/Export/Export-Markets http://www.woolworthslimited.com.au https://www.coles.com.au http://www.euromonitor.com ABARES, 2011, ‘Agricultural commodity statistics 2011.’ King, Matthew, 2012, ‘One shopping basket, four supermarkets, who wins?’ Wesfarmers, 2012, ‘Annual Report 2012’.

How Does Steinbeck Present Loneliness and Isolation in Of Mice and Men(TM)?

‘Of Mice and Men' was first published in 1937 during the great depression and has had a great impact on workers in America since. Steinbeck got the name of the book from a line in a poem ‘To a Mouse' by Robert Burns, the poem reads ‘The best laid schemes o'Mice an' Men, gang aft agley, an' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain for promis'd joy!' meaning that The best laid schemes of mice and men, Go often wrong, And leaves us nothing but grief and pain, For promised joy! This relates to the end of the book where George shoots Lennie, this is the part where it often wrong because the dream is no longer as big as it was. The book follows the journey of two workers, George and Lennie, travelling from Weed across America to the ‘Tyler ranch' in Northern California. The book starts by using descriptive language to get a picture into the readers mind, ‘Golden foothill slopes' Steinbeck makes America sound like the perfect paradise even with all the racism and discrimination around at that time, people still wanted to go there in order to achieve ‘the American Dream'. The setting of Soledad I think, relates to Lennie, ‘Golden foothill slopes curve up to the strong and rocky Gabilan mountains', this echoes Lennie's personality as he is calm and gentle and has a ‘golden' personality, but if you say something to upset him he will slowly ‘curve up' to become strong and full of rage with fists as strong as rock. Lennie is an outcast of the group, linking to isolation as he doesn't understand everything everyone says, and he doesn't know his own strength. Lennie is treat differently by al of the men ain the bunk-house because he is child-like ‘He don't mean no harm†¦He's a good guy' they are trying to be-friend Lennie after what happened to Curley because they don't want to end up with a crippled hand, when they go into town, Lennie is left behind and the men talk to him like a child, he is a bit ‘slow' and doesn't understand why people treat him differently. . The people at the bunk-house treat him like a child but they do include him in things like card games, whereas Curley hurts him, and Lennie doesn't understand why. George is the brains of the two, whenever Lennie is in trouble, George is there to get him out of it, this makes Lennie feel like he has a friend and doesn't make him feel lonely. ‘Hide in the brush till I come for you' George is showing Lennie that he will never be alone, ‘I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you' they fight like brothers but will never leave each other alone or make each other feel isolated in anyway on purpose,. ‘An' if a fren' come along†¦ we'd say â€Å"Why don't you stay the night†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ they would have people who care about them. George has this idea of people like them who work on ranches not having anybody to care about them, ‘With us it ain't like that, we got a future' George is showing determination to help Lennie's dream come true for them to have rabbits to be Lennie's friends so he isn't lonely, George wants them to be isolated by having their own land where nobody can hurt them, and they can be a family. I think George does feel lonely but in the way where he can't speak to anybody except for Lennie, George has boundaries for what he can talk to Lennie about in case he forgets it or doesn't understand. When they arrive on the ranch, George has a sense of relief when he confides in Slim and tells him what happened back in Weed and also tells him how he used to tease Lennie and that's how they ended up travelling together, George feels less isolated because now he has someone to talk to that understands what happened and he can let it all off his chest without snapping at Lennie. Candy is the oldest worker on the ranch, now no use to anyone due to an injury that occurred on the ranch, he has only one hand. Candy joins George and Lennie in the fight of achieving ‘The American Dream' and gives them money for the farmhouse. ‘S'pose I went in with you guys†¦how'd that be?' Candy starts to feel less lonely because George is at least considering it at this time, whereas the rest of the workers wouldn't even give him a chance to speak about dreaming of it. He doesn't feel so restricted of where he goes and who he talks to because he knows he isn't going to be there for much longer. Candy wasn't lonely in the beginning of the book because he had his dog but the rest of the workers thought he was useless ‘He ain't no good to you, Candy. An' he ain't no good to himself' I think this makes Candy feel like they're talking about him which links to the loneliness and isolation because he can't open up to anyone and I think Candy feels threatened by George and Lennie's arrival because every time a new worker comes along, it could mean that Candy wont be needed anymore. Candy I think compares to the ‘ash-pile' as he has become older and more useless but he has become part of the ranch like a landmark. He also compares to the limb which I think represents his stump, ‘Worn smooth' which relates to Candy always stroking it. Crooks is the only ‘negro' on the ranch, he is physically isolated by having a room to himself, in a separate building and not being mentally able to bring himself to talk to any of the workers, when Lennie first encounters Crooks, Crooks tries to get Lennie to feel like he feels, and to understand how it feels to be isolated. The book was written in the 1940's where most of America was segregated, Crooks was segregated and was only allowed to mix with the workers on Christmas. Curley's wife is isolated as she is the only woman on the ranch. She is perceived as dangerous because she wears red, ‘She is wearing a dress that shows her legs and her lips and nails are red'. George tells Lennie to stay away from her because of the dangerous red lips, Candy tells George that she's a tart but George can see that for himself. When Lennie is in the barn burying his puppy, Curley's wife walks in and starts talking about her soft hair, she knew that Lennie was capable of causing severe pain and damage to someone, but she didn't know he was capable of killing someone, Lennie doesn't know his own strength. This is a replay of what happened in Weed as Lennie felt something smooth that he liked and couldn't let go. The quote at the end of the book ‘Now what the hell ya suppose is eatin' them two guys?' These are the very last words in the book and are spoken by Carlson. Carlson only comes into the book when things are linked to loosing family, he shoots Candy's dog and shows no sympathy towards him. This suggests that Carlson is a very lonely character because he doesn't know what it's like to love someone and loose them. Slim shows sympathy and compassion towards George, and looks after him. This suggests that Slim knows what its like to loose family, and I think that's how he ended up alone on the ranch, because he lost his family so he decided to try and achieve the American Dream of making something out of nothing. George has to let go and ‘put down' his own family, by killing Lennie, he also kills the dream, not just his, but Candy's aswell. George is now not only alone, but has isolated himself from everyone even more. Crook's predictions have come true which is no surprise to him, he's been there for years and has seen loads of workers have the same dream, but never believed that them would achieve it. The end of the book is left open for you to believe what you want, if you want to believe George and Candy got the farmhouse or whether you think George stayed at the ranch, there is no right answer so you create your own ending.