East of Eden †Anger and Rejection Essay

Rejection and its resultant anger are two pillars around which East of Eden’s plot is built. The story is heavily influenced by these two principles, and they constitute the vast majority of thematic and pivotal plot points in the novel. The overarching theme is illustrated in its majority through Steinbeck’s repeated instances of rejection and anger. Steinbeck illustrates these emotions most clearly in the characters of Charles, Cathy, and Caleb. Their characters are wildly different, but their emotions and reactions are remarkably alike. Charles is the first personification of Cain in the novel, a complete foil to his brother Adam, and unsurprisingly susceptible to rage. The first and most blatant illustration of Charles’s rage is seen in his reaction to losing at peewee to Adam, â€Å"[swinging] at his head and knocking him out, [then] kicking him heavily in the stomach.† (Steinbeck p. 23). With the rejection of his idea of his inherent superiority, Cha rles reacted with savage brutality. This pattern repeats itself later when Charles reacts to Cyrus’s preference of Adam’s gift over his own, accusing Adam of trying to take his father away from him. He reacts with spontaneous violence once more, leaving Adam feeling â€Å"punches on temples, cheeks, eyes, his lip split and tatter over his teeth.† (p. 30). Charles once again illustrates his cold and distant personality, reacting violently toward Adam out of jealousy of his father’s love. Charles’s jealousy continues beyond childhood, and chastised his brother upon returning home from war as well. However, despite his incredible inclination for anger, he was still able to recognize the greater evil in Cathy. Cathy is undeniably the angriest character in the novel. She reacts violently and without remorse toward all those in her way. She is rarely faced with rejection, but, regardless, is virtually always angry. However, when she does face the incredible rarity of rejection, her fury rea ches unprecedented levels. Cathy grows a vehement disrespect for her parents at a young age, and early enough in her life takes action by burning them alive and faking her own death in order to rid herself of the burden that was her family. â€Å"The owner’s house was burned and the owner ostensibly burned with it.† (p. 86). This inherent fury persists just as powerfully throughout the rest of her life. When Adam confronts her in her whorehouse, and refuses to allow himself to be tempted and charmed by her, she explodes in rage at her failure at manipulation. She shrieks at her bodyguard, Ralph, â€Å"I said give him the boots. Break his face!† (p. 323). Facing the painful rejection of her reality of being capable of manipulating anyone and everyone, she defaults to violence as a means of getting what she wants out of Adam. This rejection of her ability to influence occurs again later, in her meeting with Cal. Cal confidently says to her, â€Å"I’m my own. I don’t have to be you.† (p. 462). Shocked and in horror of his insolence, as well as his resistance to her evils, she bellows at him to get out of her room and out of her whorehouse. She feels rage once again, but this time she also feels a new emotion – fear. Where before there was only contempt for humanity there is now envy. Cal had broken the very foundation upon which she based her life and her entire philosophy, and naturally, she felt nothing but contempt for her son. The theme of rejection and anger comes full circle with Cal himself. Cal is not alone in his manifestation of the biblical Cain, but he is certainly the most direct recreation. As a result, his anger at his brother and from the rejection at the hands of his Father is a truly deep and painful wound. Cal expresses his anger in a much more decisive and contained fashion than the more chaotic beings of Charles and Cathy. Cal is first met with rejection in one of his very first appearances of the novel, when he and Adam are introduced to Abra. Abra looked at Adam and felt â€Å"the longing and the itching burn in her chest that is the beginning of love.† (p. 343). Cal identified this immediately, and took it upon himself to tease her when Adam ran away to fetch the rabbit they killed a as a gift for her. Cal deals with his anger and frustration later in his life by taking walks late at night, and in extreme cases, drinking. Cal’s greatest and quintessential rejection is at the hands of his father, Adam, when he offers him the money he earned as a gift. â€Å"Cal doggedly lighted bill after bill until all were burned.† (p. 566). Albeit a definitive act of rage, Cal’s passionate acts of anger are far less cruel-intentioned than those of his uncle and mother. He is a truly kind-hearted person. Rejection and anger are two fundamentally connected themes of East of Eden. The two are inherent components of the parable of Cain and Abel, which is itself a massive theme of the novel. It is difficult to read a chapter without either of the two emotions being a fundamental component of the narrative. Steinbeck masterfully illustrates the human condition through his ceaseless repetition of these two emotions and the personification thereof seen in Charles, Cathy, and Caleb. Works Cited Steinbeck, John. East of Eden. New York: Penguin, 2002. Print.

Dishonesty in Hamlet Essay

â€Å"Many critics have suggested Hamlet chronicles the perils of life within a largely false and dishonest world. To what extent has this been your experience of Shakespeare’s play?† The world we currently know has experienced many stages and eras such as the Renaissance era and the New World Era. In each of these eras, falsehood, dishonesty, deceit and revenge all seem to grow rich, however remorse and guilt grow poor. Like a domino effect, with all this tremendous falsehood come fatal and destructive dangers in life. Whether it be due to the risks of overthinking, or perhaps the risks of taking action, they seem to grow exponentially with time. William Shakespeare portrays evidently this changing world and it’s forever increasing perils of deceit throughout the play Hamlet, representing the aftermath of lying and its effects on everything around us, specifically the Great Chain of Being and Nature itself. The world the audience is shown as they enter Hamlet is stuck in a phase between the Renaissance and New World Era. The men of the Renaissance era were warriors and put trust in themselves, whereas in the New World, more men are thinkers as they have lost a sense of existential trust. This transition is essentially portrayed in the allusion to the story of the Helen of Troy, recited by Hamlet himself in Act 2 Scene 2 where Pyrrhus, a son who vows to avenge his dead father, seeks revenge on his murderer, Priam. Pyrrhus goes on to slay Priam, but before doing so, â€Å"like a neutral to his will and matter [does] nothing†. However after this pause, he is able to follow through with his mission. Pyrrhus hence portrays a true warrior. Similarly, we see in Act 3 scene 3, Hamlet following in Pyrrhus’ legacy to avenge his father, however there is a detrimental difference in Hamlet’s methods. Hamlet, being a thinker from the new world, pauses before striking King Claudius, however he does what Pyrrhus would not dare do – think. Essentially, Hamlet changes what should have occurred, and in turn causes a ripple effect where Polonius, Ophelia, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, etc. all die. This ultimately demonstrates how Shakespeare intends to chronicle how as the world changes and becomes less trusting with one’s self, the perils of overthinking life become more and more real and indeed cause the perils of death. All this change in the world and the ever-increasing deceit add up and cause a significant rupture and destruction of the Great Chain Of Being (GCOB). Where a king should be a descendant of the original king, instead of Hamlet becoming king, Claudius takes his position. Claudius’ crown is an extensive metaphor for a mask he wears in which it makes himself feel much more evocative and powerful, something he is not. Throughout the entire play, Claudius’ life is ultimately an existential lie. Portrayed through a metaphor used in Hamlet’s conversation with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Act 2 Scene 2 that â€Å"Denmark’s a prison†, Shakespeare suggests that the city has spiralled into destruction, violence and unlawful sins. Also with the use of the metaphysical appearances of the ghost of Old Hamlet in multiple scenes, the audience is brought to conclude that the dishonesty of King Claudius has inflicted disruption to each and every person in Denmark. Hamlet tells the story of a real life Machiavel and how his villainous actions cause downfall and havoc to all life in Denmark. Ultimately, the anecdote of King Claudius is used to represent how one’s dishonesty to himself, and to everyone around him, create dangers to not only himself, but to nature and society itself. The idea that lies and deceit cause disturbances to every person’s lives is further enhanced by the use of structure in Hamlet. In almost every scene in which lies are being told (such as Act 2 scene 2 where Hamlet insults Polonius with his lies and where Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempt to lie to Hamlet, and again in Act 3 Scene 2 where Hamlet teaches the players how to act or, in other words, lie, and so forth) the structure changes from Shakespeare’s famous iambic pentameter, to structure less speech. This use of transitory structures is Shakespeare’s method of metaphors to demonstrate that as people become more and more dishonest, they begin to destroy the unadulterated harmony of life and how its sequences should play out, pushing it into madness and confusion. Shakespeare attempts to portray to his audience his idea that the more lies and dishonesty, the more the perils of causing death and destroying the true sequence of events that are meant to be followed, falling back on the idea of disturbances of the GCOB. An old myth states that if you keep making faces as the wind changes, your face will remain that way. Analysing this further, if you wear a mask in many different situations, you soon begin to wear that mask forever. Shakespeare alludes to this myth in Act 2 Scene 2 where Hamlet says he is â€Å"but mad north-north-west† but â€Å"when the wind is southerly, [he] know[s] a hawk from a handsaw†. In Act 1 Scene 5, Hamlet states how he will â€Å"put on an antic disposition†, in other words put on a metaphorical mask whenever he is around those he does not trust. Shakespeare’s allusion to the myth suggests that if Hamlet continues to act like someone he is not, he will remain that way – he will remain to be crazy. Essentially, Hamlet’s dishonesty with himself and with those around him foreshadows his downfall, and, ultimately, his death. By alluding to the myth in one scene, and portraying how Hamlet is indeed wearing this mask as the wind changes in another scene, it can be extracted that Shakespeare intended to show a developing story of the dangers of lying and wearing masks to cover up the truth. If in your own world, you must lie to yourself, and continuously lie and deceive yourself, indeed you will remain that way, and henceforth lead on to much more fatal things such as becoming permanently insane. This notion of wearing masks to cover up one’s true identity is evident throughout the course of Hamlet. It is again seen where Polonius hides himself behind an arras in Act 3 Scene 4, spying on Hamlet and his mother’s conversation. Essentially, Polonius’ choice to hide behind an arras and lead himself into dishonesty unravels and causes him to be accidentally murdered. The demonstration of the consequences of lying and deceiving is genuinely strong here, where it does not lead to simply madness nor pain, but the worst punishment of our current world – death. This irreversible consequence demonstrates the desperation of Shakespeare to get his message across that with lying and dishonesty, there is a chain reaction and it may possibly lead to death, ultimately the greatest peril of life. There is a specific order in which the world works, and when one lies, or deceives those around them, indeed they denature the destined sequence of events in life. In doing so they form a sense of confusion and cause even more dishonesty with everyone around them. In conjunction with the above, it is overly simplistic to conclude that William Shakespeare depicts the ever-increasing dishonesty and deceitfulness throughout Hamlet and in turn successfully and evidently chronicles the consequences and aftermath of these sinful actions.

Amazon.Com Case Studies

Name: PRASHANTH BALAKRISHNAN Student ID: 071090070 Course: BIS 541/03 –MANAGING INFORMATION SYSTEMS Program: CEMBA Commonwealth Executive Master of Business and Administration TMA 1: â€Å"Amazon. com†- A Business History Tutor: Prasanan P. T. Kannan Submission Date: 07. March. 2009 [pic] TABLE OF CONTENTS ChapterTitlePage 1. 0Executive Summary 2. 0Problem Statement1 3. 0Analysis of Causes 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt 2-3 3. 2 Competition3-4 3. 3 Expansion4-6 4. 0Decision Criteria and Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management7 in supply chain 4. Presenting a competitive edge to competitors7 4. 3 Expansionto Asia8 5. Recommended Solutions 5. 1 Technology Integration and R&D9 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis9 5. 3 Differentiation9 5. 4 Inventory10 5. 5 Visionary & Informative10-11 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything11 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery11 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region11-12 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement12 6. 0 Expand the product lines13 6. 0Appendices14-16 7. 0References17 Executive Summary The study comprises of Amazon. om which started its history by selling books and now one of the online market leaders globally not only for books but products from various categories. Company started with a mission to be Earth’s most customer centric company. In order to become the largest and convenience online store for all, there are major problems or threat being faced by Amazon. com in succeeding its mission. The major problems are Amazon facing high amount of debt, it’s less initiative in not expanding to other developed countries, and also competition from other online retailers and one tough opponent is Barnes & Nobles. Many plans of actions can be taken and some of it is; Amazon. com should decrease long–term debt by increasing expenditure on research and development, increasing word-to-mouth advertisement and good customer service. Amazon. com should also expand the five most common languages in Asian region. Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy and willing to spend on. Strategize new plan on improving sites to be informative and attractive as much as possible so Amazon. com should also adapt to the best technology where it can sustain as a strong innovator in ever increasing retailer market. Amazon. com also must strive to give customers the best service in shipping and delivery as it’s an important aspect in online business to out beat its entire competitors on this online industry. Problem Statement The main problem faced by Amazon. com now being an online retailer can be divided to three in overall. Amazon. com is in confronting huge debt behind their successful screen. Amazon. com is lack of expansion to other regions or Asia which be said as another big market for a huge online bookseller as Amazon. com. Another problem is the competition being faced by them with one of the tough opponent as Barnes&Nobles. Analysis of the Problem Amazon. com’s in Debt 3. 1 Amazon’s Debt One of major causes of Amazon’s huge debt is its large expenditure. In order to keep its advantageous position, Amazon has no choice but to continue to spend astronomical amounts of money on sales & marketing, research & development and general & administrative costs. (Table 1 & Table 2) â€Å"One misstep, and its love affair withy investors and sources of capital could be over. (Kimberly Weisul, 1999) †¢ Competitors Although Amazon won the battle soon after entering the online cd and music market, there are some competitions in other product lines that may be too immensely strong to beat. For example, in March of 1999, Amazon introduced an auction service. After a few months effort, its auction business performed slightly, indicating how difficult it is to challenge the giant’s eBay and Yahoo! Auctions. |Auction Sites |27-Sep-99 |Multiplier needed to equal eBay listings | |Amazon Auctions |4. 0% |15. 3 | |eBay |73. 60% |   | |Yahoo! Auctions |21. 60% |3. 4 | Source: Auction Web sites and C. E Unterberg Towbin †¢ Consumer Behavior Amazon. com is widely regarded as having one of the best management team of any internet company. However, there are some outside forces that are not easy to manipulate. Security; as the number of Internet crimes increases, customers are becoming aware of the possible danger involved in the process of on-line shopping. This security problem may not be difficult to improve since security technology is innovated quickly, but to convince customer of this is not as easy ? Etailers vs. retailers Another factor is hard to manage customer purchasing habits. Most consumers still prefer the capability of seeing a product before buying it. Additionally, the number of people buying personal computers and that of the Internet population wil l directly affect Amazon’s sale. . 2 Competition †¢ Michael Porter’s Model ? Supplier ; Amazon started to build its own distribution centers in different locations and moving the products directly form the factory rather than from other distributors such that Amazon can lower its marginal costs. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Consumers ; Amazon. com continues to spend a lot of money in advertisement to reach customers as well as to increase customer awareness of eCommerce in general and brand name in particular. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999) ? Substitutes; The Substitute of eCommerce, the traditional retailers, is still more attractive than the Etailers. For example, we as consumers more than likely would rather go to the bookstore and browse through a book before we buy it. (Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 ) 3. 3 Expansion †¢ Lack of Spanish website version (Latino and Hispanic Americans are the fastest-growing online ethnic group) †¢ Amazon. com is very less popular or it can said there are people without knowing the existence of Amazon. om †¢ Website is not more expanded with more languages options where currently there are options only for Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China (www. amazon. com) Competition with Barnes& Nobles Amazon. com Weakness ? Difficulties of handling large number of customers ? Limited operating history ? Security awareness ? Low margins in the sector ? Risk of introduction of wrong new categories which could damage company’s bra nd ? Company’s offered free shipping might affect future financial outcome ? Certain products (high volume/weight) have high shipping costs which could confront with local offline retailers Threats ? eBay, Barnes & Nobles, and Wal-Mart ? Population segment not targeted to on-line sales due to their lack of internet access ? Weak economic performance of Germany and France in the last year ? Competition will increase due to the low barriers to entry in the market: offline companies are coming online ? Heavy investments in Partnerships (Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006) Barnes and Nobles and Amazon. com are competing, but both stores and other online stores recognize what works and are studying one another – often duplicating one another’s business strategies. This has resulted in them having more similarities than differences and it helps the consumers find similarities across the Web such as; †¢ When a description of an item is given, Amazon and Barnes and Nobles both place the shopping cart option prominently displayed to the upper, right portion of the screen. This makes it very efficient and useable for the viewer and they do not have to search around the page for this button. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ In pricing, both Amazon. com and Barnesandnobles. com display the average price or their items above their own discounted rates so that the users feel as though they are saving money. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites are â€Å"Flexible†, there is an option of buying things at a later date and placing them in the shopping cart temporarily. This option is called the wish list and it is displayed just beneath the â€Å"Add to Cart† button. Users can access this saved information and acce ss it on their next visit. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢ Both sites offer â€Å"Security† that provides safe shopping, privacy and efficiency by requiring customers to join as members at a certain point during a transaction. Membership is free and requires an email address, full name, home address and phone number. It allowing customers to maintain an order status and helps provide a history of what they bought. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) †¢   Both sites are very â€Å"Scalable†, allowing for a huge selection of items to be added to the product catalog or taken away. A Field size is accommodated in the database. (Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001) 4. 0 Alternative Solutions 4. 1 Reduce expenditure in inventories and better management in supply chain ? Use increased income to pay down long-term debt ? Keep operating costs low (efficiencies of scales) ? Increase expenditure on Research & Development arena ? Strategic cost analysis ( WOU , MIS notes) ? Determining Differentiation ( WOU , MIS notes) 4. 2 Presenting a competitive edge to competitors †¢ Create more expertise in marketing and more product launches compared to competitors; †¢ Do a more through research on the customers needs and come up with something new that has its own brand and establishes as only Amazon. om could have the product. (Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007) †¢ A new Strategy on only books should be brought up in order to outcome one tough opponent as Barnes & Nobles. For example, Amazon. com’s booth’s can be set up in country sides where there is no access for Internet and give knowledge to country people that there also business through online. This is because; giving more exposure and awareness to people might be a business opportun ity as well. †¢ Product review information; Customers would have n a clear description, synopsis and other customer’s review on the book as it gives a clear rating of the book and there won’t be any sort of disappointments for them after purchase. 4. 3 Expansion to Asia †¢ Create different website versions based on the five most common language in Asian region †¢ Focus marketing strategies on customer feedback to find out what Asian customers tend to buy. †¢ Word of mouth advertisement (Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003) †¢ Continue expanding its product lines 5. 0 Recommended Solution & Implementation 5. Technology Integration and R&D Amazon. com should increase expenditure in the research and development arena. We believe that Amazon should prepare itself for additional telecommunications implementations such as high speed internet and network security. These types of implementation, though representative of considerable R&D costs, ar e probably most significant factors that etailers must prepare for near future. As users, connections increase in speed, any delays on the part of the etailer they are connecting to will become obvious and less tolerable. Amazon can stay ahead of the pack by preparing a unique and comfortable interface for the users. 5. 2 Strategic Cost Analysis Amazon. com should also use Strategic cost analysis process where identify the firm’s value chain, diagnose the key elements that drive the costs of each value activity, identify competitors value chains, develop a strategy to lower relative costs by controlling cost drivers, ensure that any cost reduction does not erode differentiation in service and test the cost reductions if its sustainable in the end of the analysis. . 3 Differentiation They should also consider by costs by determining Differentiation where the process goes as determine who the real buyer is, identify buyer’s value chain and put in rank order the buyer’s reason to purchase, asses the current potential sources of diffentiation, identify the cost of these resources, design a value chain to maximize value relative costs, test for sustainiablity and reduce costs in activi ties that do not affect the chosen forms of differentiation. 5. Inventory; There are programs built to be extremely user-friendly, and most offer great support along the way of usage for online businesses to maintain the book database. Amazon should invest in software to best highlight and maintain the data on the site and importantly back up systems. Keep inventory accurate and up to date; This is also an important aspect that Amazon can out beat its competitors with as this is first step towards building a long-term relationship with that customer. Inventory of the books stock-out and sold out will be kept up to date on the site. 5. 5 Visionary & Informative A picture is worth a thousand words; Uploading pictures by decreasing explanations or descriptions could attract customer’s attraction and curiosity in exploring the book. Somehow it boosts up sales compared to other online booksellers who give attention in words. Product Review Information; In case of books, editorial reviews are provided by the company and it applies for all books. Customers can also rate each other’s review. A rating is placed against each review so that customers can decide whether to read or not based on that. Most online booksellers do not include this but they display the customer’s satisfaction on the delivery service provided by them which is less important to boost up sales. People out there want to pay you for your books; Amazon should use own merchant service account or a service offered by a listing site, make sure that customers can buy books quickly and painlessly with a credit card while you have them on the brink of finalizing said purchase. Don’t judge a book by its cover; First impressions are lasting impressions. When a customer receives the book they’ve ordered, make sure the first thing they see is a product and package that you are proud to have supplied by using use clean, new boxes without writing (or envelopes for low-cost paperbacks) for shipments. Customers will be expecting an excellent service but if its vice versa then they are chances for them to switch to other online retailers. 5. 6 Keep customers in the loop on everything; Amazon should update the status of order to customers on the order made and also keep them in loop by e-mail the listing service directly with questions about their orders and keep updating the latest events and new stocks of books through emails. 5. 7 Shipping & Delivery Follow-up; After shipping out an item to the customer, Amazon should send them an e-mail a day or two after expecting that they’ll receive their package, asking them if they’ve received it and are satisfied, and reminding them that there customer rep are there to help should they have any questions about their order. This is also a great time to remind them that you have similar items in stock or to offer them a coupon towards future purchases. 5. 8 Expansion to Asia Region Amazon should strive to expand its expertise to Asia region as well as high potentials are there which huge population. Education is becoming one important aspect in Asia and lack of important reference books are always a problem in many parts of Asia. It should diversify its marketing capability in Asia too to capture the market. Amazon is very less popular in Asia regions. Amazon. om should take Asia to consider for its business expansion. Amazon could also diversify its marketing and research ability to expand mostly to the developed countries of other territory. In order to grow big and always sustain in the market and competition, Amazon should takes this sort of steps to expand. International Sites; Amazon. com has got an added advantage of international sites on Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, France and China. All about what the customers have to do to browse the site with their language is by clicking to their national site. For example, if you clink Japan, immediately the whole website will change its descriptions and instructions into Japanese language. This is not at all applicable for a customer in Malaysia or any other regions of Asia. It should expand and add more languages options in its site to accumulate its customers. Giving customers what they want is also one strategy not all online business can do but if this can be proven in Amazon’s case then it have all the potential to be the one. 5. 9 Word-of mouth advertisement Amazon also should increase its word-of mouth advertisement. This might seem odd for an industry leader to rely upon such a quaint tactics as this, but we truly believe that in the world of Internet this is a powerful tool. We are quick to visit sites that our friends identify as being fabulous, and Amazon might capitalize on this by rewarding its customers who can reel in a new prospects. 6. 0 Expand the product lines Amazon should expand its product lines. Given’s Amazon’s vision and its unique position in the etailer industry, the cost associated with entering new markets is significantly lower than that of its competitors. There is no reasons to let this advantage slip away unused. Conclusion In order to stay focus on business Amazon. com has various ways and strategies that can be implemented with proper organizations communication networks. Financial reports should be reviewed annually and quarterly if necessary to come up with decisions whether to boost up sales or to maintain on a certain criteria for the wellness of business. Amazon. com also should have a frequent customer feedback program where they could exchange view on the services and products most desired to be acquired online by customers. Top level management meetings should be initiated to assure goals are achieved. A proper corrective action should be determined after the first year if annual objectives weren’t accomplished. However there are difficulties and competitions to overcome, and how companies attack these difficulties will separate the winners form the losers. Appendix |AMAZON. COM, INC. HISTORICAL INCOME STATEMENTS | |(in millions, except per share data)(quarterly information unaudited) | |Amazon. com Investor Relations | | | | | | | |Calendar Years Ended – December 31, | | |2008 |2007 |2006 |2005 |2004 |2003 |2002 | |Media |   | $ 5,350 | $ 4,630 | $ 3,582 | $ 3,046 | $ 2,589 | $ | | | | | | | | |2,270 | |Other |   | 448 | 326 | 263 | 222 | 130 | | | | | | | | | |110 | |International |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 5,734 | 4,612 | 3,485 | 2,885 | 2,513 | | | | | | | | | |1,780 | |Other |   | 94| 57| 20| | | | | | | | | |8 |2 |- | |Consolidated |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | |Media |   | 11,084 | 9,242 | 7,067 | 5,931 | 5,102 | | | | | | | | | |4,050 | |Other |   | 542 | 383 | 283 | 230 | 132 | | | | | | | | | |110 | Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) |Total U. S. Home, Work and University Locations, Unique Visitors (000) | |Source: comScore Media Metrix | |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors |Rank |Property |Unique Visitors | | | |(000) | | |  (000) | |   |Total Internet : Total Audience |191,863 |   |   |   | |1 |Google Sites |151,010 |26 |Target Corporation |28,628 | |2 |Yahoo! Sites |146,131 |27 |Time Warner – Excluding AOL |27,209 | |3 |Microsoft Sites |125,568 |28 |Weatherbug Property |26,944 | |4 |AOL LLC |108,441 |29 |Bank of America |26,322 | |5 |Fox Interactive Media |90,510 |30 |United Online, Inc |26,048 | |6 |Ask Network |74,742 |31 |Gorilla Nation |25,585 | |7 |eBay |72,160 |32 |AT&T, Inc. 25,574 | |8 |Amazon Sites |64,768 |33 |Answers. com Sites |25,563 | |9 |Wikipedia Foundation Sites |62,737 |34 |Demand Media |25,447 | |10 |FACEBOOK. COM |57,232 |35 |CareerBuilder LLC |24,750 | |11 |Glam Media |55,293 |36 |Everyday Health |24,717 | |12 |Turner Network |54,877 |37 |Shopzilla. com Sites |24,097 | |13 |Apple Inc. 54,194 |38 |Photobucket. com LLC |23,928 | |14 |CBS Corporation |53,539 |39 |WordPress |23,730 | |15 |New York Times Digital |49,110 |40 |Real. com Network |23,359 | |16 |Viacom Digital |46,510 |41 |Expedia Inc |22,703 | |17 |Weather Channel, The |40,056 |42 |JPMorgan Chase Property |22,399 | |18 |craigslist, inc. 39,437 |43 |Mons ter Worldwide |22,244 | |19 |AT&T Interactive Network |38,184 |44 |Gannett Sites |21,829 | |20 |Adobe Sites |35,315 |45 |WorldNow – ABC Owned Sites |21,586 | |21 |Comcast Corporation |33,940 |46 |WebMD Health |21,185 | |22 |Wal-Mart |33,513 |47 |iVillage. com: The Womens Network |21,002 | |23 |Superpages. com Network |32,558 |48 |NBC Universal |20,974 | |24 |Verizon Communications Corporation |32,412 |49 |WhitePages |19,351 | |25 |Disney Online |30,345 |50 |ESPN |19,266 | Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com References 1] Chao Janice C. Rice, Brandi S. Dec 8, 1999 http://www. rhsmith. umd. du/faculty/jbailey/ents630/amazon. pdf 2] Dustin Nadeau & Donatas Sumyla. April 2006- Amazon. Com Inc 2004. (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 3] Clementina Imobhio May 5, 2001 – E-Transaction: Shopping Carts Comparison (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 4] Paul Larson. February 14, Amazon. com – Motley Fool Research, Stock Report http://www. fool. com/search/index. aspx? go=1&site=USMF &q=amazon. com (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 5] Onder Savas Devrim Dirik. January 9, 2003 – Informat? on Management (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 6] Strategic Analysis of Amazon. com (Accessed Feb 19, 2009) 7] www. wikinvest. com/wiki/E-Commerce, (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 8] www. ikinvest. com/stock/Amazon. com_(AMZN), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 9] www. wikinvest. com/stock/Barnes_%26_Noble_(BKS), (Accessed Feb 20, 2009) 10] Sujan Sarkar. April 23, 2007 – Amazon vs. Barnes & Noble: www. santarosa. edu/~ssarkar/cs66sp07/fprj/abn. htm (Accessed Feb 16, 2009) 11] Table 1- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 12] Table 2- Source; www. amazon. com (Investors Relations) (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) 13] Table 3; Media Matrix; http://www. comscore. com (Accessed Feb 17, 2009) ———————– AMAZON Supplier New Entrance Substitute Consumers

Liver Cirrhosis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Liver Cirrhosis - Research Paper Example The Liver Weighing about 1.4 kg, i.e. about 3 lb in adults, the liver is the heaviest organ of the human body. It is also the second largest organ, skin being the first. It is located below the rib cage at the right hand side of the body. To be precise, it occupies part of the epigastric regions in the abdomino-pelvic cavity and part of the hypochondriac region (Tortora and Derrickson, 2008, p. 945). A healthy liver is an extremely important asset for an individual’s health and well-being. As Chopra (2001) writes, the liver is â€Å"akin to a master conductor who is orchestrating a number of essential functions†, working as a â€Å"central manufacturing factory†, a processing plant for toxic waste and even as a warehouse, all at the same time (p. 4). Anatomy of the Liver The liver has two irregularly sized lobes – the larger right lobe, and the smaller left lobe. The two lobes are separated by a fold of mesentery, forming the smooth falciform ligament (Tortora and Derrickson, 2008, p. 945). The right lobe is five to six times bigger than the left lobe. The liver has a smooth texture and is a vascular organ rich in blood vessels that impart it a reddish brown color. It has an intricate and interconnected network of liver cells called hepatocytes, along with large amounts of ducts and veins (Chopra, 2001, p. 4).... 4). Anatomy of the Liver The liver has two irregularly sized lobes – the larger right lobe, and the smaller left lobe. The two lobes are separated by a fold of mesentery, forming the smooth falciform ligament (Tortora and Derrickson, 2008, p. 945). The right lobe is five to six times bigger than the left lobe. The liver has a smooth texture and is a vascular organ rich in blood vessels that impart it a reddish brown color. It has an intricate and interconnected network of liver cells called hepatocytes, along with large amounts of ducts and veins (Chopra, 2001, p. 4). The hepatocytes, which are the principal liver cells, constitute almost 70% of the entire mass of the liver and are derived from the embryonic endoderm (Zorn, 2008, para. 3). Although some anatomists believe that the right lobe has an inferior quadrate lobe and a posterior caudate lobe, studies based on internal morphology and the distribution of blood vessels reveal that these two lobes more appropriately belong to the left lobe (Tortora and Derrickson, 2008, p. 945). The smooth falciform ligament that divides the two lobes of the liver extends from below the diaphragm, thereby helping the liver to stay suspended in the abdominal cavity. A round ligament, called the ligamentum teres, which is a remnant of the fetal umbilical vein, is present in the free border of the falciform ligament and extends from the liver to the umbilicus. A pear-shaped sac called the gall bladder is located in a depression that is present on the posterior surface of the liver. It hangs from the anterior-inferior margin of the liver and measures 7-10 cm. An analysis of liver histology reveals that it consists of bile canaliculi and hepatic sinusoids, apart from hepatocytes. The hepatocytes (liver cells) are

Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 103

Discussion - Assignment Example First, regression analysis uses data from past events and therefore may not be accurate if unaccounted event occurs. For instance, a natural catastrophe such as earthquake may stall all building constructions in a given area forcing customers to stop buying. If linear regression uses previous data where catastrophe was absent, then its outcome will be inaccurate. Such errors can be avoided by adding as many variables as feasibly possible to the regression model used (Montgomery, 2011). Duration in which regression data points were taken determines the accuracy of the regression results. More data points are more likely to yield more accurate results. For instance, monthly sales spanning about five years can provide accurate regression results of sales as opposed to quarterly sales of past one year. Lastly, regression modelling is only as accurate as the variables used (Seber et al. 2003). Too few variables may not give accurate predictions because they may not give accurate history. Too many variables may not give accurate prediction either because some of the events may not happen in future. To improve the results, more data points should be used in conjunction with a fair number of multiple

Marketing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Assignment - Essay Example Compatibility refers to the degree to which innovation matches the values and experiences of the individuals. Iphone was highly compatible with the needs of the modern day phone user. Most people at the time of launch of this product were already using a laptop, a music player and a phone. The launch of iphone provided them with a new ease – they could now work on the internet and listen to music without carrying their laptops or music players. The function of three devices could now be performed by a single device. Complexity refers to the degree to which the product is difficult to use. Products which are complex and difficult to understand take a longer time to penetrate in the market. The iphone is very easy to use device. The single button operation of iphone is one of the reasons it is preferred over Samsung galaxy series. Divisibility means the degree to which the innovation can be tried on a limited basis. These limited trials as they are called help the company in finding out the reaction of the public towards the product and make changes if necessary. These trials are very common for iphone launches. Just before the launch the product is tested among college going youth , business executives etc. in order to know their input regarding the product. The main problem with divisibility is knowing if the sample group represents the feelings of the entire target population. This problem has to be solved by market research specialists for iphone. This refers to the degree to which the benefits of the innovation are visible or describable to others. The advantages of iphone are very easy for the user to show. There is visible difference in the features of an iphone as compared to other phones. The possession of an iphone has soon become a fashion statement among people soon after its launch. Globalization has helped on the convergence of civilizations. However, the differences between people of different

Situation analysis focusing on the key internal factors Essay

Situation analysis focusing on the key internal factors - Essay Example This will make apple have an increase in the number of transaction made, which is in line with its strategy. A company’s resource strengths and competitive capabilities allows a company to own power in the market place (Oster, 1999). Competitive power of a resource strength or competitive capability is measured by how many of the following four tests it can pass. This is determined by how much the company helps to improve its customer value preposition, how effectively it competes with rivals, and its role in the company’s preposition. MasterCard has matched its closest rival in terms of competition since most financial institution offer both options to customers a structure known as ‘duality.’ In terms of market, MasterCard is a global brand. Due to these strengths it can be deduced that the company has a competitive value. The main rivals of MasterCard are Visa and American express, these two companies have the same resources and capability as MasterCard. Due to this fact, MasterCard does not have a competitive power in the market place, and it doesn’t qualify to be a source of competitive advantage. This test is a fail on MasterCard as it doesn’t own a weapon that its competitors doesn’t have. The more difficult and more expensive it is for rivals to imitate a valuable resource or competitive capability, the greater its potential for enabling a company to outcompete rivals and win a competitive advantage. On this note it can be said that MasterCard has a resource that it is hard to copy, which is the company’s brand name as well as the complexity in its electro system. These resources have enabled the company to have a strong market strength as well as acquiring a sustainable profit. MasterCard does not score in this test since the resources that it perceives to be hard to copy can be easily be substituted by its rivals

Speed Limits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Speed Limits - Essay Example The speed limit differs from region to region and highways have higher speed limits than areas with high population example areas near a school, the setting of speed limits depends on the nature of the road, accident records of a section of the road and judgment of engineers and politicians. This paper discusses the importance or the advantages of speed limits. Speed limits are put in place in order to reduce accidents, some roads have had many fatal accidents which are directly related to speed, therefore in order to reduce such accidents there are laws that limit the speed in order to reduce accidents. Roads that pass through residential or highly populated areas have a lower speed limit in order to reduce the accidents these vehicles may cause, from physics kinetic energy rises as the speed rises, therefore the kinetic energy at impact will increase as the speed rises and therefore high speeds will lead to more fatal accidents. The speed limit allows motorist to travel at reasonable speed, some sections of a road may have high number of fatal accidents in the past and in order to reduce these accidents the speed limit is reduced to reduce such accidents. Therefore the speed limits reduce the number of injuries and deaths that may occur due to over speeding motorists. It is also evident that speed limits enable police to apprehend criminals, in most cases the police are able to identify criminals on roads. Criminals will tend to drive at high speeds which helps the police to identify the criminals and as a result this has a negative effect on crime rate, drivers driving under the influence of alcohol also tend to drive at high speeds and therefore the police are also able to identify them, as a result of this we can state that the speed limits reduce crime and other deviant behaviors. The fines imposed on road users because of over speeding is a source of revenue to the government, therefore speed limit laws earn the government some revenue which helps in the provision of public goods, however this revenue is not of much importance than the protection of road users from other careless drivers who do not follow road rules. Environmental protection is also an advantage of setting the speed limit, speeding vehicles consume more fuel and therefore pollutes the environment more, therefore by setting the speed limit fuel consumption is reduced and as a result the environment is protected, therefore speed limits do not only help in reducing accidents and help the police in arresting criminals but also helps in protecting the environment. The other advantage of setting the speed limit is that it is possible to identify wreck less drivers on the road, some road users do not obey traffic rules and therefore may cause accidents which may lead to the loss of lives even to innocent motorists, as a result of this these wreck less drivers are identified and their license suspended or fined in court. The speed limits should be viewed as a law that governs road users to drive reasonably, if the speed limit on the roads were removed then we will definitely be increasing the number of accidents, deaths and injuries on the road, the other problem that would rise is pollution and this is because speeding vehicles consume more fuel and therefore pollutes the environment more. Conclusion: From the above discussion it is evident that speed limits are there to protect lives,

Any controversial subject of choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Any controversial subject of choice - Essay Example The Surgeon General’s Report of 2006 categorically states that â€Å"breathing secondhand smoke for even a short time can have immediate adverse effects on the cardiovascular system and interferes with the normal functioning of the heart, blood, and vascular systems in ways that increase the risk of a heart attack† (â€Å"The Health Consequences†). The second reason to ban smoking in public places is because ETS contains known carcinogens. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists ETS as a Group A carcinogen which causes about 3,000 deaths from lung cancer among non-smokers in the USA, and contains seventy toxic, cancer-causing chemicals. (â€Å"Health Effects of Exposure†). The third reason to ban smoking in public places is because ETS is particularly harmful to children. Children exposed to second hand smoke are very susceptible to lung diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia and wheezing. They suffer from frequent middle ear infections. ETS is the cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, in which infants die unexpectedly because of nicotine in their lungs and interference with the breathing regulation mechanism of the brain. (â€Å"Health Effects of Exposure†). Protecting the lives of innocent children alone is reason enough to ban smoking in public

Present and contrast Hobbes and Nietzsche's account on the Essay

Present and contrast Hobbes and Nietzsche's account on the punishment - Essay Example that the society employees in treating those who have violated the societal norms and laws; for Nietzsche, the members of the society feel pleasure by subjecting criminals to punishment. A critical look at the Hobbes’ and Nietzsche’s accounts of punishment shows that the main difference in their views of punishment lies in the fact that Hobbes analysed the meaning and the importance of punishment from the social contract point of view, while Nietzsche analysed the importance and the role of punishment in society from the historical point of view. According to Thomas Hobbes, punishment is a mean that the society uses to enforce the social contract. For Hobbes, once the members of the society enters into a social contract or covenant, the members of the society agree to forgo some of their civil liberties for the sake of social order; according to Hobbes, the members of a society enters into a social contract and forgoes some of their social liberties for the greater good of all the members of the society. This is because the civil liberties that the members of the public forgo are vested in a sovereign who uses the power that he has been given by the people to protect other individual civil liberties, and hence ensure peace and order in the society. For Hobbes, therefore, Punishment is a tool that the members of the society, through the sovereign, uses to deal with those who violate the demands of social contract, so as to ensure peace and order in the society. According Friedrich Nietzsche, on the other hand, the role of punishment in the society is to give pleasure to the members of the society through subjecting those who have violated societal norms and laws to punishment. In his analysis of the early procedures of punishment, Friedrich Nietzsche argued that, from the historical point of view, punishment was not meant to make the law breakers or the criminals experience pain and guilt, but it was meant to make those who were executing the punishment to

A Winning Political Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

A Winning Political Strategy - Essay Example From this paper it is clear that the Progressive Socialists (PS) Party’s ideology is on reformed communism whereas the ideology for the Conservatives of Urbania (CU) is conservative. These two ideologies when brought together and blended well will automatically win the elections with a landslide. Information states that the votes swing to the left meaning that the Progressive Socialists Party is in a better position to form a coalition with the Conservatives of Urbania Party. The Progressive Socialists have an exceptionally strong winning point on the ideal tax rate, which is to keep the tax rates as low as possible as compared to the other parties. This is a strong campaign point since the majority of the Urbanians will be able to enjoy extra savings after taxation. This is ideal for the economy since it will spur growth and individual investments will increase. Naturally, people are attracted to parties that will ensure that they will tax them minimal tax, which is an advantage to the Progressive Socialists Party.As the discussion outlines the ideological type of the Progressive Socialists Party also is particularly strong considering the concept that they have in regard to being reformed communist. Currently in the world, there is a humungous concept that capitalism is not working. This is evident from the recent recession that happened just recently and currently what is happening in Europe. Europe is experiencing the Euro Crisis due to the capitalis t’s ideology and therefore the reformed communist ideology is decidedly much ideal. The Conservatives of Urbania (CU) Party ideology is on conservative. This means that a combination of both ideologies, which are, reformed communist and conservative will be a strong alliance when both parties merge for a coalition.

Electronic Commerce in Private Purchasing Essay Example for Free

Electronic Commerce in Private Purchasing Essay I guess you can say that ecommerce started back in the 70’s with EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer), in the 80’s with EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). The 90’s around 1995 is when the internet move from the federal sector to commercial sector when NSF (National Science Foundation) decommissioned NSFNET and move assets to vBNS (Very-High-Speed Backbone Network Services) which serves as a testing ground for the next generation of internet technologies, which allow ISP (Internet Service Providers) to develop. After the internet was develop we had an explosive growth mostly in â€Å"Dot Coms† ventures many professional left the major firm and job security to join start ups for the promise of millions of dollar. In the mid 2000 when the NASDAQ collapsed in March hundreds of thousands of people lost their jobs, stock values plummeted and thousand of company filed bankruptcy, downsized or were taken over by competitors. The subsequent stock market crash caused the loss of $5 trillion in the market value of companies from March 2000 to October 2002. By the early 2003 companies that were well-conceived internet based companies were proving their values, consumers became confidence in buying over the internet and business began to realize the internet can create true operation efficiencies and increase profit. The explosion in the use of the Internet has paved the way for several path-breaking innovations. One of the most interesting and exciting aspects of this evolution is the emergence of electronic business (e-business) as a mainstream and viable alternative to more traditional methods of businesses being conducted today. E-business is defined as the process of using electronic technology to do business. It is the day and age of electronic business. Also the structure of the Web is rapidly evolving from a loose collection of Web sites into organized market places. The phenomena of aggregation, portals, large enterprise sites, and business-to-business applications are resulting in centralized, virtual places, through which millions of visitors pass daily. Ecommerce redefines the very foundations of competitiveness in terms of information content and information delivery mechanisms. Flows of information over international networks have created an electronic market-space of firms that are learning to exploit business opportunities. E-business has become standard operating procedure for the vast majority of companies. Ecommerce is the subset of e-business that focuses specifically on commerce. Commerce is the exchange of goods and services for other goods and services or for cash payment. There are several different types of ecommerce Business-to-Business (B2B), Business-to-Consumer (B2C), Business-to-Government (B2G), Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) and Mobile commerce (m-commerce). A B2B system exchanges server programs and encoded files while communicating with other businesses. There are two types of B2B websites: vertical and horizontal. A vertical B2B ecommerce website is designed to meet the needs of a specific industry, and helps build connections between business communities in order to generate new business. A horizontal ecommerce website can be used by any company that is involved in buying and selling products or services. B2B ecommerce strategy can reduce operational costs, increase sales, and strengthen relationships between trading partners. These websites can help expand your presence in the marketplace and lower your procurement costs while handling an unlimited number of products. While B2B ecommerce reduces human intervention, overhead expenses, and errors, it also increases efficiency and advertising exposure and companys sales team and account managers can concentrate on generating new business. Business to Consumer (B2C) Business to consumer is the second largest and the earliest form of e-commerce. The more common B2C business models are the online retailing companies such as Amazon. com, Barnes and Noble and ToysRus. Other B2C examples involving information goods are E-Trade and Travelocity. The more common applications of this type of e-commerce are in the areas of purchasing products and information, and personal finance management. The market researchers from eMarketers estimate the number of online buyers to be around 900 million worldwide. This brought in the online traders worldwide a turnover of over one billion US$ for the first time. EMarketers estimate the British to be the biggest spenders per head where on average every online buyer spent 3,885 US$ in 2012. US ecommerce and Online Retail sales projected to reach $226 billion, an increase of 12 percent over 2011. 2012: US ecommerce and Online Retail holiday sales reach $33. 8 billion, up 13 percent over 2011. B2C e-commerce reduces transactions costs (particularly search costs) by increasing consumer access to information and allowing consumers to find the most competitive price for a product or service, it also reduces market entry barriers since the cost of putting up and maintaining a Web site is much cheaper than building a structure for a firm. And with information goods, B2C e-commerce is even more attractive because it saves firms from factoring in the additional cost of a physical distribution network and for countries with a growing and robust Internet population, delivering information goods becomes increasingly feasible. Electronic commerce and the Internet are redefining how consumers learn, select, purchase, and use products and services. Hence, B2C or Business-to-consumer retail holds significant business opportunities. A manufacturer with a dedicated ecommerce website can use it to increase margins, monetize existing brand loyalty and leverage competitive advantage. At the same time, he can increase awareness for the brand, provide important product information to customers, and gather valuable customer data to improve business prospects. There are a number of benefits which make owning a B2C ecommerce website inevitable for manufacturers. The ecommerce brings the shopping experience to the consumer’s home. By launching a B2C ecommerce website, the manufacturers’ bring the convenience and comfort of shopping to the consumers thereby increasing their prospective customers. When the manufacturer owns the retailing operations also, it can create brand awareness more prominently. By reaching out to new markets the manufacturers can increase their business’s brand name and about their product line. The e-shopping is accessible from anywhere anytime, thus it proves to be a quick and easy mode of providing information. Manufacturers can provide extensive updated information of their product range through their customized ecommerce website design. Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) Consumer-to-consumer (C2C) is the business of conducting goods and services over the Internet to consumers from consumers. Another way to describe C2C is that it conducts e-commerce with consumers and themselves or to a third-party. Before any consumer-to-consumer business can be formed over the Internet, there needs to established of a space where individuals can come together. These â€Å"gathering spaces† are called online or virtual community in which a collection of people come to one site to communicate, connect, and get to know one another. From there, people can establish a multitude of community themes to bring similar minded people. Some examples of communities: * Communities of interest – people who come together over the Internet to share a common interest like professions, sports, hobbies, philosophy, trading, and others. Communities of relations – people who come together over the Internet to share stories of relations such as friends, families, and/or relationships. Some examples of these communities would be like Myspace or Facebook. * Communities of fantasy – people who come together over the Internet to share fantasies over the internet like fantasy football or baseb all. Another example would be a site that allows people to write their own stories of fiction. Another type of online community that establishes a consumer-to-consumer electronic commerce is called an online or electronic auction site. An e-auction is like a regular auction; however,  the  sales of bidding are done online. It is a place where sellers and buyers bid for items listed on the auction sites such as Ebay or Amazon. Two types of auctions that can occur:   * Forward Auction – an auction that sellers use to have buyers bid on their merchandise till the highest bidder wins. * Reverse Auction – like the forward auction, this auction is used by consumers that want to buy goods or services. However, the buyer selects the seller that has the lowest bid. An example of this would be seen in Amazon. com where instead of purchasing a product from them, a person can buy from other sellers. When going into the listing of other vendors, the website usually posts the lowest asking price first. Then, the next lowest price is listed all the way up to the last seller that has the highest price of all the listings. There are many benefits that a consumer-to-consumer e-commerce has. One of the main factors is a reduction in costs. Sellers can post their goods over the internet cheaply compared to the high rent space in a store. The lower expenses lead to smaller, yet profitable customer base. Being in a community of similar interest where buyers and sellers come together leading to more chances of goods and services being sold. Another benefit is that many small businesses can obtain a higher profitability over a C2C compared to a physical store because of the reduction of overhead costs when conducting an e-business. Probably the most positive benefit of the consumer-to-consumer sites is the effectiveness in selling personal items. There are also disadvantages that a C2C e-commerce has. One of the main factors is it is not always the safest and most reliable place to conduct business. Sometimes buyers and sellers are not accommodating to each other when transactional information is needed. In these cases, a proof of purchase can solve liability issues and prevent costly lawsuits for a consumer and small businesses. Another disadvantage is that these types of sites are known for scams, swindles, and people with ill-business intentions. When things go wrong on C2C e-commerce communities, people can easily spread their stories across the internet which effectively is Word-of-Mouth advertising. Consumer-to-consumer marketing is on the rise, and 2013 will be the year when it explodes into the mainstream, becoming a must-have retail marketing tactic rather than just the mark of the out-there-brand-innovator. Communication is no longer about just businesses talking to anyone; it’s about people talking to people. Forget who’s on the end of the conversation. This is about where it all starts. The future of communications is C2C, or consumer2consumer or people2people. Individuals, whether buying for business or for themselves, are talking to and listening to other consumers. They are setting the agenda, leading the conversation, sharing their views, recommending the best products and deciding whether brands are successful or not. No longer are consumers just taking in information corporations and brands are spewing at them. Now they question and make brands earn their loyalty. Because of social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter, consumers are now quick to ask brands: What can you do for me? So, today challenge is getting people talking about brands in a positive way, not getting brands to talk to people. With so many touch points, brands must move away from the traditional 1960s formula of one-sided information and start having conversations with consumers. Consumers want brands to be authentic and have a real human voice they can speak with when something goes wrong or right. Business-to-Government (B2G) Business-to-government (B2G) is a variation of the term business-to-business the concept that businesses and government agencies can use central Web sites to exchange information and do business with each other more efficiently than they usually can off the Web. A Web site offering B2G services could provide businesses with a single place to locate applications and tax forms for one or more levels of government (city, state or province, country, and so forth); provide the ability to send in filled-out forms and payments; update corporate information; request answers to specific questions. B2G may also include e-procurement services, in which businesses learn about the purchasing needs of agencies and agencies request proposal responses. B2G may also support the idea of a virtual workplace in which a business and an agency could coordinate the work on a contracted project by sharing a common site to coordinate online meetings, review plans, and manage progress. B2G may also include the rental of online applications and databases designed especially for use by government agencies. This kind of e-commerce has two features: first, the public sector assumes a pilot/leading role in establishing e-commerce; and second, it is assumed that the public sector has the greatest need for making its procurement system more effective. Web-based purchasing policies increase the transparency of the procurement process and reduce the risk of irregularities. To date, however, the size of the B2G e-commerce market as a component of total e-commerce is insignificant, as government e-procurement systems remain undeveloped. Mobile commerce (m-commerce) More and more users are buying tablets and using them for e-commerce due to the convenience it provides. The latest report from eMarketer predicts a surge in tablet commerce, turning the m-commerce into a $50 billion industry next year. The overall mobile commerce spending, including both tablets and Smartphone’s, in 2012 was $24. 66 billion, and this figure represented an 81% increase from the 2011 figures. EMarketer also report predicts total ecommerce spending from tablet devices alone to touch $24 billion by the end of 2013 and then almost double itself in a year to reach $50 billion by the end of 2014. The total mobile m-commerce sales would stand at about $39 billion in 2013. In 2013, 15% of all sales is expected to come from mobile devices, with tablets alone accounting for a dominant 9%. By 2016, tablets alone will account for a significant 17% of all sales. A big reason for the surge is the increasing rate of tablet adoption, as more and more people buy this new device. Traditionally, the ratio of new devices has been four Smartphone’s for every tablet. But Christmas Day 2012 sprang another surprise, when 49% of the 17. 4 million new devices activated were actually tablets. As content delivery over wireless devices becomes faster, more secure, and scalable, some believe that m-commerce will surpass wire line e-commerce as the method of choice for digital commerce transactions. This may well be true for the Asia-Pacific where there are more mobile phone users than there are Internet users. Industries affected by m-commerce include: Financial services, including mobile banking, as well as brokerage services; Telecommunications, in which service changes, bill payment and account reviews can all be conducted from the same handheld device; Service/retail, as consumers are given the ability to place and pay for orders on-the-fly; Information services, which include the delivery of entertainment, financial news, sports figures and traffic updates to a single mobile device.

Dominos Marketing Strategies And Technology Commerce Essay

Dominos Marketing Strategies And Technology Commerce Essay According to Dominos corporate website (2010), Dominos pizza was founded in 1960 by Tom and James. It was bought and started as a small pizza store in Michigan. With $500 as initial investment, Tom joined forces with his brother and together they opened a pizza delivery store in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Initially it was known as Dominicks. As Monaghans operations grew, the original owner of Dominicks decided to maintain rights to the name. Under deadline for a Yellow Pages ad, driver Jim Kennedy came up with the name Dominos Pizza. The three dots of Dominos the fact that Tom initially started 3 stores. In February 1968 a fire accident took place in Monaghans original pizza store. Advertising manager Bob Cotman had a narrow escape from the building, climbing down a firemans ladder. Although the pizza shop started operations within two days, Dominos lost stored goods worth $40,000. (information from the UK site (2010). The staff pulled together, with each existing store location responsible for producing one pizza item cheese, dough, chopped toppings which drivers then ferried from one store to the next to keep operations running. After that a very difficult situation arose that he had to cover not only the total fire losses of $150,000, of which only $13,000 were paid by insurance but also had to pay leases of five new franchises and recruit five new store operators as soon as possible. In 1975, the trademark lawsuit was launched by Amstar against the company. Furthermore, they started preparation to launch themselves on an international scale. In 1989, the Dominos Pizza changed ent irely when the Deep Pan pizza was launched for the very first time in twenty five years as the company had the urgent need for reacting to market demand. This step proved vital in providing strength to the financial foundation and made certain the growth of Dominos Pizza because they started operating their five thousandth store. The chain of Dominos Pizza grew quickly as they were operational in all varied places. Despite Dominos Pizza grew up at diverse locations and started doing good business, they were still a very traditional company. (History of Dominos pizza) Tom retired in 1998. He was the one who expanded Dominos chain around the world making it the worlds largest pizza delivering company known for quick service restaurants around the world. In addition, he gave majority of the $1bn earned through the sale of Dominos to charity. Marketing Strategies In 1973, Dominos Pizza introduced the policy that customers must be receiving their pizzas not later than 30 minutes of placing their orders, or if not they would take delivery of the pizzas free. The guarantee was condensed to $3 off in the mid 1980s. In 1985, Advertising Age placed Dominos ad among the fastest-growing money makers in the restaurant industry. The company had to keep pace not only with its own growth but also with that of its competitors, including the industry leader, Pizza Hut, which had more than 4,000 units to Dominos 2,300.In the previous year, Dominos spent 249% more in advertising, media. On the other side, the biggest threat for Monaghans empire entered in delivery business that is Pizza Hut in 1986. (Advertising age, Dominos inc. 1985) In 1992, the company settled a case filed against it by an Indian family whose lady was killed by a Dominos delivery driver. The company paid the family US $2.8 million. In 1993, Dominos settled yet another case in which the company was sued because a Dominos delivery driver ran a red light and collided with a ladys vehicle. The woman was paid almost US $80 million. The guarantee was dropped the same year because of the public perception of reckless driving and responsibility, according to Monaghan.(Founder of Dominos) Dominos Truck Kills 2 En Route to Delivery, (Chaudhury,1998) In December 2007 Dominos introduced a new slogan, You Got 30 Minutes, sticking to the earlier promise but getting short of promising delivery in a half hour. (Dominos corporate website 2010) In addition to this, Dominos changed their menu in 1992 and introduced for the very first time a non pizza item to their menu. Being Domino Pizza already on hand, the making of bread sticks was not so different which was the introduced item. The company kept on advertising for many years that if the delivery of their pizzas took longer than 30 minutes, the pizza would be delivered at no cost. This was also copied by the Ninja Turtles movie and cartoons. The benefits to Domino Pizza were enormous as millions of kids heard the name of Domino Pizza out of their favourite cartoons and they were the prospective customers. In 1993, Domino Pizza discontinued this policy and came up with a new one stating that if a customer was unhappy he could on his will have a new pizza or a refund. By 1994, Dominos Pizza marketing policy winded and they introduced chicken wings also in to the menu. Not only this, the company hit the African market as they opened a new store in Egypt. 1996 was the year when Dominos Pizza website was launched. That year the company declared global sales to be nearly $3 billion. In the 1980s, Dominos Pizza was well known for its advertisement campaign featuring The Noid. (Dominos corporate website 2010) In the same way, the Super Bowl Sunday was the most hectic and very busy pizza delivery day of the year and Dominos Pizza sold over a million pizzas, which was forty-two percent more as compared to normal Sunday trading volume. According to Dominos marketing director Robin Auld (Noelle McElhatton, marketing director management) Dominos franchisees pay a 5% royalty of their net sales into Dominos National Advertising Fund (NAF). Thats centrally managed and used to maximize sales and grow brand awareness. He said door-dropped menus are very effective for prosperity of ordering pizza and we use news paper and royal mail. Dominos also launched new offers that can be ordered by national hotline (087 12121212), in-store and online at www.dominos.co.uk. or SMS ordering system, which was the first time in UK in 1999. The Dominos text service requires only five minute initial online procedure. Firstly customers register and create their favourite menus giving them each an easy to remember name, delivery address and mobile number for order. Secondly, the chosen menu is typed directly from mobile phone. Customer can put their credit card details while registering so that they can use their card when they order and pay with cash upon delivery. In February 2003, the company announced multiyear partnership with the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) through which Dominos became the Official Pizza of NASCAR. According to news paper article (Detroit News, March 26, 1997) Dominos delivered $2.8 Billion in world wide sales last year. By 2011 the value of the home delivery food market was estimated to have reached  £1,474 million in the UK and expects to grow 30% to  £1,918 million. At Dominos Pizza, the values are summed up in a chant thats sung in the Sell more pizza, have more fun! DPZ Dominos Pizza Inc (NYSE)   12:00 AM ET, 03/04/2010     Last:  13.70   Change:  -0.36   %Change:  -2.56%   Volume:  2,982,700  Ã‚     Open: 14.06     High: 14.06     Low: 13.36     Previous Close: 14.06     Market Cap: 805.0M     Shares Outstanding: 58.8M     EPS: 1.38     52wk High (3/3/2010): 14.13     P/E Ratio: 9.93     52wk Low (3/9/2009): 5.61     Dividend: 0.00     Dividend Date: N/A     Yield: 0.00     Average Volume: 572,000.00   Figure 1 : Marketshare (Dominios corporate website) Financial information Dominos Pizza UK IRL plc financial results.[1][9][11][12] Year to December1 Revenue ( £Ã‚  million) EBIT ( £m) Net profit ( £m) Earnings per share (p) 2008 136.0 22.5 15.7 10.9 2007 114.9 18.3 13.2 8.4 2006 95.0 13.7 10.0 6.2 2005 81.7 10.4 8.3 5.1 2004 74.2 9.1 6.7 4.1 2003 61.6 6.0 4.6 2.8 Note 1: Accounts to 2005 prepared according to United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Accounts from 2006 onwards prepared according to International Financial Reporting Standards. Figure: 2 Performance of the Dominos pizza 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 System sales ( £m) 293.6 240.1 200.7 174.3 142.3 118.9 98.4 Stores at start of year 451 407 357 318 269 237 215 Stores at year-end 501 451 407 357 318 269 237 (Dominos corporate website) Figure: 3 SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS 3,500 global operating franchises in over 50 countries Well-built brand equity maintained by intense marketing campaigns Effective supply chain distribution network  with fast operations WEAKNESSES Slow further growing and decreasing existing-stores sales OPPORTUNITIES Growing presence in emerging markets, particularly in India, China Leverage supply chain distribution system to introduce new products   THREATS Ever-changing consumer food tastes Adverse effects due to foreign currency Tough multi-national competitors Hard competition with local pizza shops and small chaons Conclusion Like any other thing, there is a positive as well as a negative point and the negative point of Dominos is that it can be a burden on ones finances. The large pizzas can have a price of  £14.99. The side orders also can cost on average  £4 each and that in anyways not cheap. Occasionally, there are offers introduced by Dominos.   However, one can say that dominos is great because the food is fresh and always warm when delivered and the taste is fantastic. The group invests a lot of time and money in upholding the positive reputation of their brand and has remained successful quite a lot. Dominos brand marketing activity is financed through a National Advertising Fund (NAF) which is made up of franchisee contributions. Dominos pizza sells hot and freshly backed. There is neither a deep frying nor for any forms of cooking like baking on a gas-fired conveyer oven. Furthermore, Dominos believes to meet strict quality standards to ensure food safety measures that meet or exceed any applicable government guidelines and that is the reason it has come forward as a strong competitor of pizza hut and has outclassed it in many countries. Today there are over 8,000 Dominos Pizza stores in more than 50 countries, employing over 145,000 team member and involving over 2,000 franchisees. Globally Dominos Pizza delivers more than one million pizzas every day. So, it equates 25 to 30 part time or full time jobs in every new store. In the same way, conc ept of home delivery means its reduce noise of store and traffic. Bibliographies History of Dominos available from htpp://www.Dominos uk.com [Accessed June 22, 2010] Financial data available from http://Dominos_Pizza_UK__IRL and http://www.domino-s-pizza-inc#cite_note-19 Dt: 21-Aug-09 [Accessed June22, 2010] http://www.brandrepublic.com/Discipline/DirectMarketing/News/926816/Britains, Interviewed with Dominos marketing director Robin Auld [Accessed June 22, 2010] QSR Magazine, (27January 2006) Dominos pizza delivery in 8000 store.(Accessed June 22, 2010) Dominos Delivered $2.8 Billion in Worldwide Sales Last Year. (Detroit News, March 26, 1997.) Dominos Truck Kills 2 En Route to Delivery, (Chaudhury, 1998 Nations Restaurant News, August 29, 1988.) (Accessed June 22, 2010) Hume, Scott, and Raymond Sera fin, Dominos Burned Up Over Pizza Hut Spot, Advertising Age, January 7, 1991. (Accessed June 22, 2010) Food information from http://www.recipepizza.com/the_history_of_dominos_pizza.htm Dominos Franchises information available http://www.dominos.uk.com/franchising/ Dominos Information available from http://www.domino-s-pizza-inc#cite_note-19 httpp://www.dominos.co.uk.

Relationship between Marketing Mix and Consumer Behaviour

Relationship between Marketing Mix and Consumer Behaviour The primary idea of a marketing mix was introduced by Neil Borden in 1953 while describing the recipe that was needed to make a successful marketing campaign. The idea was then given the 4 Ps in 1960 by E. Jerome McCarthy. Marketing Mix is a combination of elements used in the sale of a specific product. The marketing elements that affect a products performance are seen in four distinct functions, also called the Four Ps of marketing. They include product, price, place (of distribution), and promotion. All these functions are considered in the process of planning a marketing strategy. Any one may be enhanced, deducted, or changed to some degree, depending on the market scenario, in order to create a strategy necessary to sell a product. A brief description of each of the aspects of the marketing mix is explained below. Product The physical product/service offered to the consumer. Product decisions include aspects such as function, appearance, aesthetics, post sale service, product warranty, etc. Promotion Promotion decisions are those related to telling or communicating to the target customer what the product has to offer. The duty involves luring a customer in for the sale and then finally completing the required sale. Promotions teams have a responsibility to selling to a new customer and increase the use of the product to encourage more sales. Since these costs often over shoot the products price, a break even analysis must be conducted when making promotion decisions. The promotions team decides to which kind of customers the product needs to be sold. This is also significant in the planning of the product cost and the type of promotion that would go into the promotion of the products. Promotion include advertising, public relations, media types, etc. Place This deals with the location or the place where the product is expected to be sold. The product has to reach the consumers through a series of distributors and retailers. It is associated with the distribution channels which all serve as the means for getting the product to the customers who pick it off a shelf or pay for it otherwise. The distribution system performs all the transactional, logistical, and facilitating functions between middle men and retailer which brings them the best deals and the most effective profit. Distribution decisions include market coverage, channel member selection, logistics, and levels of service. Price Pricing decisions should take into account to account for profit margins and competitors. Keeping up with competitor pricing and treatment of the product in the market brings in a great deal of strategy to the products life cycle. Pricing includes along with the marked list price, the discounts, financing, and more options such as leasing. The following section will deal with describing the effect of the various aspects and sections of the Marketing Mix with association with RD(Research and Development), Brand Portfolio, Sales force and Market Research. Link between Marketing Mix and Consumer Behaviour The psychological processes that a consumer goes through to recognize his needs and finding ways to fill the gaps formed by these needs, making decisions about a purchase (eg., whether or not to pay for a product and, if they are then, which brand do they want to buy and where), process information, planning and implementation of these plans (eg., by engaging in comparison or window shopping or actually paying for a product). It is often necessary to understand the customer and his/her regional and cultural influences. Chances of an Indian or a Chinese bargaining at a retail store are higher than that of an American customer. This affects the pricing and the promotion done for the product. Often, the advertisements and the promotion strategy are re-used in different parts of the world on account of the type of customer. This make a difference on spends and proper consumer behaviour can often bring the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful campaign. Decision making by customers include the availability of the product in the region and information that helps him/her make the required decision pertaining to the purchase of the product. Let us use a few examples to explain the link between the marketing mix and consumer behaviour. The denim and jeans industry which include some internationally recognised brands including Levis, Lee and Pepe understand that within their target range, we include the young crowd. Commonly people up to 30 years of age. They, therefore make sure that the campaigns and marketing include a specific intention to pull these customers in. The ads therefore include several young people in harsh surroundings. KFC and McDonalds have learnt that people tend to eat more in bright coloured surroundings. Therefore, all their outlets usually have bright colours across the walls. A study showed that the These are only very simple examples of consumer behaviour. Understanding the performance or the process of aligning the 4 Ps as per our customers needs is huge in scope and profitable in practice. Link between Marketing Mix and Market Research Market Research is the process of gathering data or info in order to better understand the aspects which would affect the performance of a product on the market. We have to understand if a particular move or step is worth the risk. Incorrect or inadequate market research often leads to poor performance due a poor understanding. Most companies are founded on the principle of profitability. Goods or services they provide should aim to be something that the customer needs and the company can benefit from. That is where market research plays it hand at making a decision. Doing that research accurately will determine if your business will flourish or fall flat on its face. The research conducted around a single product includes analysis of the customer during the purchase phase, the reaction to a specific advertisement, the positioning of the product on the shelves of the stores they appear in, the comfort of the customer with the product etc. In a business strategic sense, they are used to collate Market Information (data about competitors and the supply and demand situation), Segmentation (understanding what kinds of customers appeal to what kind of customer reacts to a specific form of promotion based on common criteria), Market Trends (the fluctuation of the market), Risk Analysis, Competitor Analysis etc. Each and everyone of these activities brings the product manufacturer/service provider with the info he/she needs to process and successfully sell the product. This changes the manner in which the product is sold. The price, the positioning, the promotion and the product itself depends on this research. Link between Marketing Mix and RD Research and Development in a company often implies the need or the drive to improve the product and allow for a better replacement to make its way into the market. The idea behind research and development is to maximise the benefits that the consumer gets out of the product. The idea behind research and development is to improve the products and possibly charge a premium on the improved product which will increase profitability and allow the company to re-invest in research for a better product or a better variant of the same. The benefits from research are manifold. They include better products and hence a more loyal customer and possibly new ones. A company which thrives on research like a Pharmaceutical company is normally not considered the best kind of investment for a player in the stock market. This is because of unusual and over the top spending patterns for research which doesnt necessarily return the investment made. Research and development is also to keep one step ahead of the competitor. To remain at or reach to the top of the table, a company must constantly come out with a product thats just better than the competitors product. Pricing is always a major aspect to consider while working the specifics in research. The price of a product depends on the amount of research that goes into its development. The premium charged on a product comes from patents that protect it against duplication. Patents however, are only offered for a temporary period. Post that, the product is open to duplication. In this case, the price drops to a minimum, usually to push for maximum sales and to allow a return from plain sales. In promotion , the results of research are often touted in the ads about the same. This comes from Surf Excel and Bournvita ads which talk about extra acting chemicals and extra nutrients respectively to make it a better choice than competitor products. Link between Marketing Mix and Sales Force The sales team that drives the amount of revenue coming into the company involves the final point of contact with the customer. This is the point where all the promotions and pricing bring the customer to the final decision making stage. The best salesman is who gets the sale done and the papers signed. It is assumed at times that a large sales force implies the sale of more products. This is not true. A sales force means training. The training involves teaching your sales force selling the product and the nuances associated to the product. This leads to an automatic rise in the spends of the company and very easily reflects on the prices of the products. The size of a sales force depends on the reach of the product in terms of distribution. The type of product also as a major say in the strength of the sales force. Pharmaceuticals have lesser sales force as they cover doctors in mostly urban and sub-urban areas. FMCG sends their sales force all across the country and the world to maximise sales. Link between Marketing Mix and Brand Portfolio The brand portfolio is a system used to categorise the products into high-earners, dead-beats and break-evens. The brand portfolio is created for both analysis of the past and application in the future. The portfolio will contain details about the product that helps the company make decisions about the products future. These include the promotional activities that the product will go through, the price at which we make it available to the customer, the positioning of the product and the condition of the products complete development. The price of a high-earning luxury item can be increased and the smaller items which lose you money will be the losers which will be either pushed back from promotion or pulled out altogether. The idea behind a brand portfolio is to keep a check or an eye on the products performances. Application of Key Learnings to Reckitt Benckiser in the liquid antiseptic division Reckitt Benckisers liquid antiseptic is the very popular Dettol. Dettol has been a strong contender in the liquid antiseptic industry. It has ruled the roost in the industry for several years and still holds solid ground. Dettol enjoyed over 80% of the market share in its antiseptic form. The soap and the liquid soap formats however, had just about 15% of the industry. The soap and liquid soap formats did not enjoy the same success that the antiseptic did. The demand for Dettol rose from about Rs. 105 billion in 1999 to Rs. 160 billion in 2009. The demand forecast graph for Dettol over the past 10 years can be seen below. Consumer Behaviour Study of Dettol A consumer behaviour study to understand the success of Dettol as an antiseptic brand was conducted to understand the reasons for the popularity of the brand. The study revealed that 85% of the respondents knew about Dettol i.e. they were aware that the product existed. 72% of the respondents used it as a preferred antiseptic. 72% also continue using Dettol because of Brand Loyalty and 56% are open to using other Dettol products. Dettol and Reckitt Benckiser have never had to worry about the competition so far. The users mostly preferred Dettol to other products. The figure below refers shows the analysis, study and the results of the research conducted. Pricing Strategies surrounding Dettol The Dettol variants have always been competitively priced with the market. The Soap variant was priced at Rs. 16/75mg and Rs.26/125mg. This was priced against the similar Savlon product which was priced at Rs.16 and Rs.24.5 respectively for the two package varieties. Both of the products however, are far higher than the alternate Medimix which was Rs.12 and Rs.17 for the two variants. At this point, a manager would wonder whether or not the right idea would be to work towards the price. Dettol can charge a minor premium on the product price because it holds a certain edge over the existing products. However, Savlon is catching on fast considering its an antiseptic which doesnt hurt as much. The manager therefore, tries to make the best of the current scenario and ensure that the competition wouldnt eat into its market share. In liquid soap, Dettol was exactly the same as the Fem variant which both sold as Rs.55/250ml. The market share of the liquid soap for Dettol is very low. A change in the price might even help the return to the market and allow Dettol to take the product ahead. The Shaving Cream division sees Dettol lying between the Old Spices Rs.37.50/70g and Rs.24.50/30g and Palmolives Rs.36/70g and Rs. 19.50/30g. Market Research and Research and Development of Dettol Reckitt Benckiser and Dettol say Good health begins with hygiene. The Dettol variants were restricted to products which represent hygiene and banked on the very reliable name of Dettol to push the hygiene factor across to the customer. Dettol was broken down into the Antibacterial Soap, Liquid Handwash, Shaving Cream and Band-Aid. The marketing team at Dettol looked into what could be done to maximise the reach of the Dettol brand and where it could be used conversely to decide what kind of variant would be required and what type of product is needed for the next step. The products all promote killing germs, freshness and absolute cleanliness and purity. Dettol has performed extensive research on the expansion plans of their major brand. The Dettol brand took the reach of Dettol to go as far as possible. The reach of Dettol moved from homes and hospitals to hotels, theatres, railways, educational institutes, saloons, school events. Trend Analysis of Dettol between 2000 and 2004 The trend analysis has shows sales numbers on a high. The numbers have constantly been increasing over the past several years. In 2000, the sales numbers were close to 48000. In 2001, the numbers went up to 55000. Uptil 2003 following this, the number remained largely stagnant and then moved to dip slightly below 54000. However, the year 2004 was a fantastic attack on the market and shot up numbers in a single year in 2004 to 63000. We can tell from the demand forecast table that the demand made for the hygiene industry products kept going up. The demand kept going up. Sales number increasing means we need to bump up the sales force. Ideally, the need for a greater sales force comes from the need for more retailers. The more the retailers, means that the reach of the product has increased and there are more people who are willing to buy and to sell. A sales force involves training. The need for greater performance is what keeps a company going. To maximise sales, they have to increase sales force. To increase sales force, they have to spend more money on the hiring, training and keeping the sales force. This automatically leads to greater spending in the event that the product might not do well, thus bringing up the costs of the product. SWOT Analysis of the Reckitt Benckiser Dettol industry Below we have a brief SWOT analysis of the industry. Strengths: High market share of antiseptic liquid Brand loyalty Most trusted Brand High quality at affordable prices Weaknesses: Poor marketing strategies for Dettol Shaving Cream Dettol Talc Burning sensation of Antiseptic liquid Opportunities: Dettol Water Purifier due to increase in epidemics Opportunity to capture the shaving cream segment Threats: Competitive Pricing Attractive Packaging of competitor products Good Advertisements by competitors

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper :: essays research papers

Symbolism in The Yellow Wallpaper The Yellow Wallpaper is overflowed with symbolism. Symbols are images that have a meaning beyond them selves in a short story, a symbol is a detail, a character, or an incident that has a meaning beyond its literal role in the narrative. Gilman uses symbols to tell her story of a woman's mental state of being diminishes throughout the story. The following paragraphs tell just some of the symbols and how I interpreted them, they could be read in many different ways.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The title itself, The Yellow Wallpaper, is symbolizing the role men play in a patriarchal society, where men are the more dominant sex, and how women are 'trapped'; in a life of male control. For instance, At night in any kind of light, in twilight, candlelight, lamplight, and worst of all moonlight, it becomes bars!';(Gilman 211) This shows how the narrator feels trapped by the paper. Another symbol that refers to the role women play is, 'And she is all the time trying to climb through that pattern, it strangles so; I think that is why it has so many heads.';(Gilman 213) This is meaning that if a women tried to play a role in society she was just not taken seriously, or felt like trying to play a role was getting nowhere.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The way Gilman describes the wallpaper tells of what the narrator's mind is thinking, 'and when you follow the lame uncertain curves for a little distance they suddenly commit suicide.';(Gillman 206) She doesn't think this on the conscious level but more on the unconscious level. When the narrator writes, '(The designs) destroy themselves in unheard of contradictions.';(Gillman 206) She is speaking of her state of mind subconsciously, the narrator is on the brink of losing her mind at this point. Gillman writes, 'There is a recurrent spot where the pattern lolls like a broken neck and two bulbous eyes stare at you upside down. '(Gillman 207) She was explaining how the wallpaper is like a 'watchdog'; or a guard of some type, watching her every move, naturally making her nervous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I think that the narrator feels much alone in life, even though she has a family who cares for her. She is clinically depressed so naturally she is going to feel isolated from the world. Speaking about a house that the narrator grew up in, she writes, 'and there was one chair that always seemed like a strong friend.

Global Positioning System: Decreasing Crop Chemical Application on wit

Decreasing Chemical Application with Technology Works Cited Not Included Many people may wonder why it is so important to decrease chemical application on the farm. When people go to the store they often do not think about what goes into the apple or piece of bread they eat. The more chemicals that farmers use on the crops that are sold to the general public increase the chance that those chemicals get into the food we eat. There are many ways that the government and farmers are trying to reduce the amount of chemicals they are using. These range from simply doing crop rotation to genetically modifying plants and animals. Some of the most common ways farmers are decreasing chemical application with technology are biotechnology, GPS units, and improved equipment. These are all ways that will help reduce the amount of chemicals that get from the field to the dinner table. Biotechnology refers generally to the application of a wide range of scientific techniques to the modification and improvement of plants, animals, and microorganisms that are of the economic importance. (Persley, Gabrielle pg. 1). Biotechnology has occurred in two stages. In the first stage, genetic modifications have included input traits such as pest resistance and herbicide tolerance, providing advantages to farmers in the production phase without changing the final product. The input traits of the first stages in genetically modified crops may increase farmers’ net profits through savings in production costs, reducing chemical use, increased flexibility in crops planted, and in some cases increased crop yield. The second stage of genetic modification will focus on output traits such as improved nutritional features and proc... ...nd more atomization fewer chemicals will have to be used and it will reduce the amount of chemicals that are wasted. In conclusion I hope that this information will help explain the ways that biotechnology, Global Positioning Systems and advanced equipment can help reduce the amount of chemicals that are used on the farm. Biotechnology is not a bad idea and is possibly the only way that we can keep up with ever changing weeds and pests. GPS system can help improve field records and give you more precise farming and will pay for themselves in the end. Last but not least always look for new advanced technology and don’t be afraid of it. Technology is always changing and every day there are new advances in this field that can help farmers produce more with fewer chemicals so that in the end fewer chemicals will reach the dinner table.