Translate Niches or Gaps Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Translate Niches or Gaps - Assignment Example The topic of the study is, â€Å"Impact of the internet on information literacy and library skills.† There is no doubt that numerous studies have been conducted on the same topic. It is also true that with the introduction, development, and advancements of the internet, information literacy and library skills have tremendously improved. In the contemporary society, studies are now able to develop their research methods and achieve a good sense of plagiarism through specific software (Correia & Teixeira, 2003). In addition, there is an extensive use of web 2.0 applications as well as search engines such as the Wikipedia and Google that has enabled students and other stakeholders to increase their information literacy and library skills (Correia & Teixeira, 2003). Indisputably, the internet has had a major impact on information literacy and library skills within the contemporary environment. Despite earlier studies and researches on the impact of the internet on education, very little has been done on specific items such as information literacy and library skills. Most previous studies and researchers have only been able to generalize the impact of the internet on education and probably acquisition of information. Specific skills such as library and information literacy have rarely been studies. Even in the few cases that such studies have been conducted, the research is not intensive and extensive. In this respect this research aims at finding out more about the specific impact of the internet. The specific impact of the internet to be addressed in this paper includes the information literacy and the library skills. Even though many researches and studies have been carried out on the impact of the internet on broad perspectives such as education, it is still evident that new advancements and developments arise within the internet. There are numerous dynamics still being experienced within the concepts of the

Ratings In Schools And Accountability Systems Research Paper

Ratings In Schools And Accountability Systems - Research Paper Example Administrators also feel pressure when accountability systems are adopted. They report that they must spend additional hours defending their schools' competitive standing with parents, teachers, and the media--hours that they once spent more productively. In response to these worries and pressures, educators also begin to adjust the focus of their efforts. Their curricula and teaching efforts become more standardized and superficial. Moreover, since they want their schools to look well on competitive tests, they tend to restrict instruction to the topics assessed by those tests. A sad example of how this process works was recently described by sociologists Jere Gilles, Simon Geletta, and Cortney Daniels. In 1993 the State of Missouri created an accountability program designed around a new assessment instrument, the Missouri Mastery Achievement Test. This test was tied to a new curriculum that had been developed by the state's department of education, and all schools were required to administer it so that it could be used as a "report card"--letting the public know how well their own schools were doing compared with others in the state. As Gilles and his colleagues describe the outcome, results of this. Quality programs and textbooks were scrapped in order to replace them with materials that directly taught the test, and an unholy competition emerged between districts and communities over test scores. In some districts a week or more of instructional time each year was devoted to this test.... scrapped in order to replace them with materials that directly taught the test, and an unholy competition emerged between districts and communities over test scores. In some districts a week or more of instructional time each year was devoted to [preparing for] this test (Gabbard 67). Moreover, this was not an isolated incident. As testing specialist George Madaus has suggested, when you have high-stakes tests, the tests eventually become the curriculum. It happened with the Regents exams in New York. Items that are not emphasized in the testare not emphasized in school. That's a fundamental lesson that cuts across countries and across time. Teaching has not changed that much; it's an art form. Given basically the same set of circumstances, teachers will behave in much the same way. . . . But if you go to Europe, to the British Isles, or to Australia and look at comparable literature, [worries about] the external achievement exams . . . appear often. And they write about cramming, about how they prepared for the exams. They write about how, after taking the exams, they purged their minds of the answers that they had learned (Gabbard 59). Somehow, we doubt that most Americans are interested in promoting school learning that is narrow, test-specific, standardized superficial, and easily forgotten--but that is exactly what accountability programs promote. It also takes a great deal of time and money to conduct accountability programs. According to a leading scholar, Arthur Wirth, citing the National Commission on Testing and Public Policy, mandatory testing in America now "consumes annually some 20 million school days and the equivalent of $700 and $900 million in direct and indirect expenditures." What this means, of course, is that schools regularly shortchange

Racism and Anti-Semitism in America Essay Example for Free

Racism and Anti-Semitism in America Essay Stereotyping reflects expectations and belief about the characteristics of members of groups perceived as different from one’s response and discrimination refers to emotion (www.usnews.com). We all encounter some form of prejudice or stereotype in our life. What types are they? Would you see the lasting affects it has on someone you yourself had discriminated against? Would you recognize the effects it had on you? This author will introduce you to three different stereotypes, fallacious, hasty generalization, and false dichotomy. I will explain the damages being stereotyped does to a person and the lasting effects it has. Aggression, overeating, inability to focus, and difficulty making rational decisions, all are negative effects experienced by those subjected to prejudice, according to University of Toronto Study (Michael Inzticht, 2012). â€Å"Past studies have shown that people perform in situations where they feel they are being stereotyped,† said professor Michael Inzticht of psychology who led the study, published in the month’s edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. What we wanted to do was look at what happens afterwards. Are there any lingering effects of prejudice? Does being stereotyped have an impact beyond the moment when stereotyping happens (www.usnews,com)? A person that stereotypes based on negative feelings is a person that is indifferent to accepting cultural diversity and situations that they find dissonance with because that are either entrenched with prejudice from a psycho social paradigm, or make the conscientious choice to be prejudice because of their inferential way of thinking. In Nazi Germany people were imprisoned and even killed for trying to fight anti-Semitism. In America we are free to fight it, but too many of us choose to ignore this hate that dare not speak its name. Anti-Semitism is real, it is murderous and it is very much with us today (www.the-american-interest.com). Anti-Semitism involves beliefs that Jews are more clannish that other people and act in concert to support a specific Jewish agenda. Jews deploy ex traordinary wealth with almost superhuman cunning in support of the Jewish agenda. As a religious and national minority, Jews cannot flourish without attacking the traditional values of their host society. In every country Jews seek to weaken national culture, religion, values, and cohesion. Jews are not a national group or a people in the way that others are; they do not have the same rights to establish a nation state that other people do. Where Jewish interest is concerned, the appearance of open debate in our society and many others is carefully constructed illusion. In reality, Jews work together to block open debate on issues they care about and those who resist the Jewish agenda are marginalized in public discussion. These ideas are the five pillars of anti-Semitism; you don’t have to believe them all- any one will do. Being an anti-Semite does not necessarily make you a Nazi. You are an anti-Semite. That doesn’t make you a Nazi; Hitler added a sixth pillar of anti-Semitism that the only way to successfully oppose the Jewish agenda was to kill all the Jews. This idea have become so widely accepted that they are seldom questioned or examined; when that happens a whole society is poisoned and distorted. Stereotyping is one of the biggest issues in social psychology but relatively little is known about how and why stereotypes form. Conventional approaches to stereotyping assumes that stereotypes are based on erroneous and distorted processes, but others feel that they form in order to explain aspects of social groups and in particular to explain relationships between groups. In particular stereotypes have often been seen as rigid and distorted mental structure that lead people to make serious errors (McGarty et al, 2010). From a social functional point of view race is a social construction, on the one hand it has been a legitimating ideological tool to suppress and exploit specific social groups and to deny them access to material and cultural resources, work, welfare services, housing, political rights, etc. On the other hand, these affected groups have adopted the idea of race. They have turned the concept around and used it to construct an alternative positive self-identity; they have also used it as a basic for political resistance (Miles, 1993:28) and to fight for more antonomy, independence, and participation. There are several forms of stereotyping and prejudice, but I will give you examples of only three. I will explain the stereotype and elaborate on the meanings they present. Fallacious argument is the first stereotype that I will be discussing. A fallacious argument simply means false or not correct, but is usually used to describe someone being deceptively false. Fallacy is a misconception of a false belief. If someone is being fallacious they are trying to get you to fall for a fallacy (www.vocabulary-vocabulary.com). All African American men who drive big cars are drug dealers. Or if a group of African American youth or men stand around in a group they are gang bangers. This is a fallacious belief. African American men have driven large cars as long as I can remember. My uncle all my life has driven nothing but Lincoln Continentals. He is now a retired engineer from the railroad having driven trains for more than thirty years. I have friends that are firemen, teachers, and family men that wound not purchase a car if sit was not as it’s called a â€Å"Big Body.† Next, people stand around and talk, and socialize in crowds all the time, this does not mean they are gang bangers. I have made my sons stop standing around with their friends by a fence in the neighborhood because I did not want them harassed by the police if they should pass by and see them standing there. People assume the worst of people out of fear and or ignorance on their part. The next stereotype that I will discuss is one that I personally experienced. â€Å"Since you are so tall I know you can play basketball.† Being a woman of tall statue everyone assumes that I play basketball. All through Jr. High and High School my physical education teachers tried to get me to play ball. The head coach for the girls’ basketball team even tried to get me to leave band which I loved and play ball for her. I forever heard, â€Å"as tall as you are I know you can play.† I hated basketball, I still do. I never cared for the sport even when I had to play for physical education class. A person’s height and statue does not mean that they would have a passion for a sport that is l oved by others of this statue. Just because I was nearly 6 feet should not have been reason for anyone to feel that I like to play basketball. This argument is false dichotomy. False dilemma thinking or the fallacy of exhaustive hypothesis is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, which in fact there is at least one additional option. The generalization was made that since I was tall I wanted and liked to play basketball. The third and final stereotype is one that I was questioned about years ago by a good friend of mine. She was a large young lady and short which made her look even larger. She would always seem down and stand offish around a group of people that we did not know. I have always been one to speak and socialize with anyone and somewhat stylish in dress. She questioned me on an outfit that I was wearing saying that I should feel self-conscious because my back was out in the dress and that she would never wear something like that because of her size. I simply informed her that this is her problem; you (she) allow others to dictate how you feel about yourself. They say you should be ashamed or embarrassed about your looks (i.e. weight) and because of this you should act and feel this way, not true. Just because you are not a size 3 and average height does not mean you are not beautiful and should have all the esteem, and pride in yourself as anyone could muster. This argument if fallacious because the inference from the premise to the conclusion is fallacy because of mistakes in the reasoning (Mosser, K. 2010). People who felt they were discriminated against-whether based on gender, age, race, religion – all experienced significant impacts even after they were removed from the situation. The lingering effects hurt people in a very real way, leaving them at a disadvantage. Even many steps removed from a prejudicial situation, people are carrying around this baggage that negatively impacts their lives. People are aggressive in their ideologies because they are adamant in their discriminatory beliefs. Negative stereotyping does have lasting affects because this construct is generally instilled in their children and if this cyclical deterministic view is not broken, such negativity will continue to manifest. Racism and Anti-Semitism is very much alive and still a major problem in this country, and around the world. References: www.ask.com/falsedichotomy www.blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm www.Ksuweb.Kernesaw.edu/~shagin/logfal-emotion-hastygen.htm http://www.libcom.org/history/article/racism_brief-history McGarty, Craig, Spears, Bussell, Yzerbut, Vincent (1/2002), Stereotypes and Explanation Published: Cambidge University Press, Post Chester, NY, USA, Retrieved from: www.site.ebray.com/lib/ashford/docDetail?docID=10023552pg24=stereotypeing Mosser, Kurt, (2011), Logic and Introduction, San Diego, CA: Bridgeport Education, Inc. Retrieved from: http://www.content.ashford.edu/books Stereotyping has Lasting negative Impact: Prejudice has Lingering Effects Retrieved from: www.usnews.com/science/article/2010/08/12/stereotypes

Business Ethics And Corporate Responsibility Marketing Essay

Business Ethics And Corporate Responsibility Marketing Essay Describe the basic features that distinguish the three traditional forms of business ownership: sole proprietorships, general partnerships and C corporations. ~Sole proprietorship is a business that is owned and managed by one individual. Earnings of the company are treated as income and debts that arise are personal debts. It is the most common type of business organization in United States. ~General partnership: In this type of business all partners have right to participate in management of the firm and share any profits or losses. There is no limit on number of partners but usually its two. ~C corporation is a legal entity, separate and distinct from its owners. Its owned by stockholders. Its mission and objective are established by board of directors and board of directors is selected by stockholders to protect their interests. Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of sole proprietorships and general partnerships. ~Both are easy to form, have tax advantages, and unlimited liability. ~General partnership has a stronger financial base than sole proprietorship. ~On the other hand, general partnership can be destroyed much easier than sole ~proprietorship because of disagreements between partners. ~ Another disadvantage in sole proprietorship is that workload and responsibilities are on one person while in partnership its shared. What advantages help explain why virtually all large companies are organized as C corporations? ~Corporations can raise huge amount of financial capital ~Its easy for stockholders to withdraw from ownership or sell shares of stock ~Stockholders have limited liability. They are not personally liable for the debts of the company. What steps are involved in starting a general corporation? ~Requires filing form called the articles of incorporation, with a specific state agency. ~Pay filling fees and establish corporate bylaws-basic the basic rules governing how a corporation is organized and how it manages its business. ~Companies also choose corporation friendly states, because not all states are friendly and charge a lot of money. How is a corporations board of directors chosen? Explain the role the board plays in a corporations management. ~ According to corporate bylaws stockholders elect board of directors that they rely on to manage company and protect their interests. ~Board of directors establishes the corporations mission and sets its broad objectives. ~Board of directors then assigns the chief of executive officer and other corporate officers to manage company. Explain how S corporations, statutory closed corporations, and nonprofit corporations differ from C corporations. ~S corporation: IRS does not tax earning separately, can have no more than 100 stockholders, each stockholder have to be U.S. citizen or permanent resident. ~Statutory close corporation: Doesnt have to elect a board of directors or hold annual stockholders meetings, number of stockholders are limited to 50, stockholders cant sell their shares to public without first offering to existing owners, not all states allow this type of corporation. ~Nonprofit corporation: Has members but not stockholders, cannot contribute funds to a political campaign, must keep accurate records, earnings are exempt from federal and state income, make tax deduction for individuals who contribute money or property. What are the three different types of corporate mergers? What is the rationale for each type? ~Horizontal merger: Combination of firms in the same industry. ~Vertical merger: Combination of companies with buyer-seller relationship. ~Conglomerate merger: Combination of unrelated companies. Compare an S corporation with a limited liability company. Why do you think limited liability companies are currently more popular than S corporations? ~While S corporation has limited numbers of owners, Limited Liability Company can have any number of owners. Unlike S corporation, owners of LLC can be foreign investors and other corporations. What is a business format franchise? What are the roles of the franchisor and franchisee in this arrangement? ~Business format franchise is an agreement in which the franchisee pays for the right to use the name, trademark and has to operate business according to the rules and principles of franchisor. ~Franchisor is owner and has to train and provide support franchisee; responsible for name brand recognition. ~Franchisee- has right to use franchisors name, trademarks, and patents; must follow methods and all the rules of franchisor; attend training meetings What are the main advantages and disadvantages of franchising arrangements for the franchisee? For the franchisor? ~Advantages for franchisee: less risk, training and support from franchisor, easier to borrow money from a bank ~Disadvantages for franchisee: Costs are very high, very little control, have to sell only what company sells, risk-not all companies live to their promises, growth challenges ~Advantages for franchisor: can expand the business to bring extra revenue without using own money. ~Disadvantages for franchisor: irresponsible behavior of franchisee cans cost companies success. Chapter Seven Small Business and Entrepreneurship: Economic Rocket Fuel: Review Questions Review the benefits an entrepreneur might seek in starting a new business. Which benefits are most appealing to you? Why? ~Greater financial success, independence, flexibility, challenge, survival. ~The benefits that appeal to me are independence, flexibility, and financial success. Do you recognize any of the entrepreneurial personality characteristics in yourselves? Which ones? Do you think its possible for a person to develop the characteristics that he or she lacks? Why or why not? ~Yes, I have few of entrepreneurial personality characteristics and they are self-reliance, confidence, energy, and tolerance of failure. ~I think it is hard but possible for a person to develop skills he or she lacks. It all depends on how bad that person wants to learn new skills that she or she doesnt have. What role does failure sometimes play in entrepreneurial success? What can an entrepreneur gain from failure? ~Entrepreneurs see failure as a chance to learn and succeed. Compare the opportunities and threats that small businesses face. Which opportunities are most compelling? Which threats are most intimidating? Why? ~Opportunities: Market niches, personal costumer service, lower overhead costs, technology. ~Threats: High risk of failure, lack of knowledge and experience, too little money, bigger ~Bigger regulatory burden, higher health insurance costs. ~Opportunity that compelling is personal customer service because with it small business owner can build personal relationship with a customer. Another opportunity that is compelling is lower overhead costs because no one wants to spend huge amount of money and wants to spend as less as possible. ~The biggest threat that is intimidating is high risk of failure. When someone starts a business, he or she wants to succeed and not to fail. People are scared of loosing even if they are tolerant to failure. Those that tolerant to failure dont give easily up like others do. Review the definition of niche marketer, and cite three examples of niche marketers. How has technology affected niche marketing? ~Market niche is a small segment of a market with fewer competitors than the market as a whole and tend to be more attractive to small firms. ~Organic cosmetics, Google, E-bay. ~Technology plays very important role today, because internet helped people to open new businesses and at the same time create more customers. It is good for businesses because they spend less money and grow faster. If you were to launch a new business, would you start from scratch, buy an established independent business, or buy a franchise? Why? ~I would launch a new business from a scratch. I know there are a lot of risks but I would want to be my own boss and make my decisions. How could you convince family and friends to support your new business launch? What kind of assurances would they need? What could you do to keep the funding relationships professional? ~First of all I would educate myself, learn from others, gain experience, and the most important create a business plan. Beyond personal resources, what are other funding options for small businesses? Why dont more entrepreneurs tap into these resources? ~Bank loans, angel investors, and venture capital firms. ~The reason that entrepreneurs are trying to avoid other resources besides personal is because they cause more headaches. Personal resources are probably the easiest to deal with. What are the key contributions of small business to the U.S. economy? Rank the benefits in terms of importance, and provide the reasons for your ranking. ~Small businesses play very important role in U.S. economy because they create new jobs, create new innovations at twice the rate of their big business counterparts, and they tend to find opportunities by offering products or services where big companies dont. What factors account for the dramatic differences in entrepreneurship rates around the world? Do you think entrepreneurship will continue to grow worldwide? Why or why not? ~Key factors that plays important role in different entrepreneurship rates around the world are national per capita income, entrepreneurs opportunity costs, and how much cultural and political environment supports entrepreneurs. Chapter Eleven Marketing: Building Profitable Connections with Your Customer Review Questions How does the American Marketing Association define marketing? How can marketers deliver value to their customers over the long term? ~The American Association defines marketing as an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders. ~In order to deliver value to customers over the long term marketers must to fill customers need and in the way exceed customers expectations. What are the four different kinds of utility that marketers can provide? Give an example (not from the book) of a product that delivers each type of utility. ~Form utility: iPhone ~Time utility: Walgreens 24/7 ~Place utility: Cafeteria on campus ~Ownership utility: Laptop What are the key categories of non-traditional marketing? Do you expect these areas to grow over the next decade? Why or why not? ~People, place, event, and idea marketing. ~I think that these areas will grow over decade because peoples interests change with each generation. Technology also changes and grows. How has marketing evolved over time? How have current events, economics, and culture influenced thinking about marketing? ~Marketing developed through different phases: production era, selling era, marketing era, and relationship era. ~During marketing era concept of marketing was born and now its growing more and more. Now, customer satisfactions became centerpiece of marketing. What are the key characteristics of a high potential target market? Is the biggest target market always the best? Why or why not? ~Size: need to have enough people to support business. ~Profitability: willingness of a customer to pay more than the cost of producing product. ~Accessibility: target needs to be reachable ~Limited competition: look for markets with limited competition ~I think that bigger market is always good because there are more people to support business and bring more profit to the company. Company can also use that money to build bigger target market by creating new products. What are the different ways to segment a consumer market? Does it make sense to use more than one segmentation variable? Why or why not? ~Demographic: dividing market based on peoples age, income, ethnicity, and gender. ~Geographic: dividing market into smaller groups depending where costumers live. ~Psychographic: dividing by groups based on costumer interests, values, attitudes, and lifestyles. ~Behavioral: dividing into groups based on how people react to the products ~It does make sense to use more than one segmentation, for example, demographic and psychographic. Describe the four elements of the marketing mix. What role does each element play in delivering value to customers? ~Product strategy: creating name, product image, package design, customer service, guarantees, new product development, and much more. ~Pricing strategy: price must be fair ~Distribution strategy: delivering a product to the right people, in the right quantities, at the right time and place. ~Promotion strategy: find effective way to promote product. ~All of these four elements play very important role in delivering value to customer. What are the five key dimensions of the marketing environment? How can marketers stay abreast of changes in each area? ~Competitive, economic, social/cultural, technological, political/legal. ~To stay on top of the things marketers must monitor each element of marketing environment and respond quickly and efficiently to change. Outline the steps in the consumer decision-making process. How can the marketer influence each step? ~Recognition: recognize need Information Search: previous experience with brands, family, friends Evaluation of Alternatives: price, quality Purchase decision: buys item because it was on sale and return policy is great Post purchase behavior: satisfied or not ~Marketer can influence each step by learning cultural, social, personal, and psychological life of customers. What are the key differences between primary and secondary data? Compare the benefits and drawbacks of each. ~Secondary data is existing data that marketers gather or purchase for a research project. Primary data is new data that marketers gather for a specific research project. ~Secondary data: Advantages- low cost Disadvantages- may not meet specific need, outdated, available to competitors ~Primary data: Advantages-customized to meet specific need, fresh and new, not available to anyone Disadvantages-more expensive Chapter Twelve Product Strategy: Delivering More Value Review Questions Review the marketing definition of product. Why do you think marketers define product so broadly? How does the definition of product affect quality? ~Product is anything that company offers to satisfy customers needs and wants; including both goods and services. ~I think marketers define product so broadly because it is made for one purpose only- to satisfy customer, whether its a good or service. So, when consumer buys a product he or she buys attributes associated with the product. ~If a product satisfies customer its good quality for that customer and if customer dissatisfied by product than its bad quality for him or her. Think of three different services that you use on a regular basis (e.g. a restaurant, a dental office). How does the service provider suggest in advance that the service will be high quality? ~Restaurant: advertisement, friendly staff ~Hair stylist: nicely designed salon, professional look ~Dental office: friendly and helpful staff Pure Goods Pure ServiceDraw a goods and services spectrum, and determine where to place the following products along the spectrum: a nightclub, a new motorcycle, a designer shoe store, an Internet search engine, a new snowboard, and a photography class. What are the reasons for your choices? new motorcycle designer shoe store internet search engine new snowboard night club photography class ~New motorcycle and snowboard are pure goods. ~Designer shoe store and night club are service with goods. ~Internet search engine and photography class are pure service. What are the marketing benefits of identifying the actual product, the core product, and the augmented product? ~Actual product: the actual product itself and its uniqueness ~Core product: satisfies customers needs ~Augmented product: additional good or service to sharpen competitive edge (warrantees, manuals, etc.) List five examples of products that are commonly purchased as either business products or consumer products. How would the classification impact the marketing strategy? ~Computer, phone, table, truck, cleaning service ~Consumer products purchased for personal use and business products purchased to produce another product or service. ~Consumer classifications are convenience product, shopping products, specialty, products, and unsought products. ~Business product classification are installations; accessory equipment; maintenance, repair, and operating products; raw materials; components and processed materials; and business services. Why are product line and product mix decisions so important? What are the risks of making poor decisions regarding these factors? ~Product line and product mix are very important if company wants to make good profit by making customer happy. ~Poor decision regarding these factors might cause company to loose its profits. Would it ever make sense for a firm to offer a new product line that they know would cannibalize an existing line? Explain your answer. ~I dont think it make any sense, especially if company knows that that new product line will cannibalize existing line why even create it. Company can loose a lot of money. Think of one of your favorite brand names. Does the brand name fit the characteristics of an excellent name? Do you think it matters? Why or why not? ~100% Pure. Yes, I think brand name fits characteristics of an excellent name because its short and easy to remember. ~I do not think its a must for a company to fit characteristics of an excellent name because another company I really like called Dr. Hauschka. The name is hard to pronounce and hard to memorize but I love Dr. Hauschka products. What are the three different levels of product innovation? Which is most common? Can a business survive long term with only continuous innovation? Why or why not? ~Discontinuous Innovation, dynamically continuous innovation, continuous innovation. ~I think that most common are continuous innovation and dynamically continuous innovation. ~I think it is possible to survive long term with only continuous innovation because the goal of it to create product better than competitor. For example, Lifeway kefir company its getting better and better adding more products different flavors and so on. What are the four stages of the product life cycle? How does product life cycle stage impact marketing strategy? ~Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Decline ~Life cycle help marketers plan effective strategies for existing products and identify profitable categories for new products. Chapter Thirteen Distribution and Pricing: Right Product, Right Person, Right Place, Right Price Review Questions Explain the difference between channel of distribution and physical distribution. ~Channel distribution is the path that a product takes from the producer to the consumer, while physical distribution is the actual movement of products that path. Explain the role of channel intermediaries in the product distribution process. Why is their role important? ~Channel intermediaries are distribution organizations that help to move products from factories to the consumers. How do intermediaries add value to the products they distribute? Find an example of a distributor that adds each of the six types of utility. ~They add value by reducing the number of transactions and the associated costs required for goods to flow from producer to consumer. Distributors also can add form, time, place, ownership, information, and service utilities. ~Wal-Mart What is the key difference between merchant wholesalers and agents/brokers? What are the risks and benefits of each approach for producers? ~Merchant wholesalers take legal title to the goods they distribute and reduce the risk for producer that the products might be damaged or stolen. Disadvantage for producers is that marketing strategies and pricing belong to wholesaler. ~ Agents and brokers dont take legal ownership of the goods they distribute. Since agents and brokers dont have legal ownership of goods, producers at higher risk, but they have more control over the product. Do you think that the shoppertainment approach to retailing will continue to grow? Why or why not? ~Yes, I defiantly think that shopping and entertainment approach to retailing will continue to grow because its more fun for people to go to places where they can have fun or their kids. Even if prices are going to go up, people will still to come to such places. Even I want to go to places like Hershey Chocolate World. Explain the differences among intensive, selective, and exclusive distribution strategies. Name an example of each that isnt listed in the text. ~Intensive distribution involves placing products in as many stores as possible or stores themselves in many locations as possible.(gas stations) ~Selective distribution means placing product only in preferred stores and establishing stores in limited locations.(Home Depot) ~Exclusive distribution means establish one retail outlet in a given area.(Ikea) Who benefits most from collaborative supply chain relationships? Explain your answer. ~Companies that specialize in helping other companies manage the supply chain. Many companies turned to supply chain to build a competitive edge but due to complication many firms choose to outsource challenge to experts. Why is price such a difficult variable for marketers to control? What factors must they consider in setting prices? ~Price is hard for marketers to control because people have limited amount of money, so they cant set high prices. The prices have to be as low as possible so that people would be willing to buy, but at the same time marketers, when determining the final price, must consider their costs, competitors, investors, taxes, and product strategies. ~Building profitability, boosting volume, matching the competition, creating prestige Driving volume is a key pricing objective for many businesses. Find an example of a marketer that uses each of the volume oriented pricing strategies. Do you think this approach is effective? Why or why not? ~I dont know any marketer that uses each of the volume oriented pricing strategies. I do not think that this approach would be effective. How does a breakeven analysis help marketers determine the best price for their products? What other factors should be considered? Why? ~Its a process that helps determine the number of units company must sell to cover all costs. ~At breakeven point company doesnt make any profit so, breakeven analysis helps marketers get a sense where are they standing. So, to make a profit company needs consider factors: raise prices, decrease variable costs, decrease fixed costs. Chapter Fourteen Marketing Promotion: Delivering High-Impact Messages Review Questions How has marketing promotion evolved over the past decade? How has technology contributed to the changes? ~Promotion is marketing communication that influences consumers by informing, persuading, and reminding them about product. The effective promotion builds strong relationship between customers and companies, drawing customers back to the company again and again. ~Technology has empowered consumers to choose how and when they want to interact with media. Why is integrated marketing communication such a challenge for marketers? How can marketers encourage teamwork and coordination? ~Because consumers combine messages from all sources to form unified impression of a product and marketer cant control every massage consumer sees or hears about their product. ~Solid teamwork must begin from the top. Everyone who manages the marketing massage needs to have information about the customer, the product, the competition, the market, and the strategy of the organization. When all parties have access to the same data, they are more likely to be on the same page. Do you think a rational or an emotional premise works better for marketing promotion? Why? Does your answer change across product categories? Use examples to support your perspective. ~I think that both rational and emotional premise works for marketing promotion, its just depends on the product. Its more interesting when both are there and people like humor. Why are the key risks and the potential rewards of product placement in both movies and television? Do think this promotional tool will continue to grow? Why or why not? What ethical issues have emerged as marketers explore new ways of grabbing consumer attention? Use examples to support your points. Do you think that cable television advertising spending will eventually eclipse network television advertising spending? Why or why not? Given that each type of media offers strengths and drawbacks, what factors should you consider in developing a media plan for a specific product? What are the advantages and disadvantages of publicity? Is it ethical for marketers to try to influence the media? Explain your answer. What are the six stages in the selling process? What role does each stage play? Which stage do you believe is most important? Why? How can you determine the right promotional mix for a specific good or service? What key factors should you consider?

Slavery :: Slavery Essays

Oppression and cruelty; just two of the many words used to describe slavery. However no word or words can be used to truly illustrate the hardships and tough times that the slaves went through. In the time of slavery, innocent people were taken from their homes and separated from their families to be sold as workers to people around the world. They did not just work, similar to modern times, they were restrained and held captive while being forced to work in terrible and unsuitable conditions. These people had dark skin, which the slave owners saw as an asset due to the fact that they could stay in the sun longer. In particular was a slave by the name of Olaudah Equiano, who wrote a personal narrative on his own experiences during slavery. In his writings, he did an excellent job in highlighting the oppression and cruelty in his own life and other peoples as well. The point of his narrative was to turn the English public against slavery. Based on what I have read, I can now give a cl earer opposition to slavery due to the fact that he has exemplified what slavery was really like. The idea of taking many, many people from their homelands and bringing them to a foreign place seems a bit over whelming. This seems like impossibility when looked at by the slaves’ point of view. During the times of slaves, the ships and such were not as advanced as they are now. They used wind and oars to power the boats. In addition, these boats were not being produced at a high rate. The point being the ships were so over crowded that it seemed pointless to ship slaves overseas. The slaves were put in these ships and packed into rooms that were not made to accommodate that many people. Equiano writes, "The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely enough room to turn himself, almost suffocated us" (p.56). This was how the slaves were kept when they were put under the deck. Enormous amounts of people packed into one small space. In this situation, one must think about the possible outcomes. If there are a lot of people, literally on top have on another, outbreak of disease will eventually occur- and of course it did.

Wright Brothers History :: History

The Wright Brothers As an up and coming journalist for my hometown paper, the Dayton Daily, I was thrilled to learn that my first major article would be on none other than Dayton’s very own Wilbur and Orville Wright. The year was 1896 and the Daily wanted me to write an article on the brother’s bicycle shop, The Wright Cycle Shop, which was gaining popularity among the locals. Although I was excited about being given my first assignment, I couldn’t help but feel a little disinterested in the subject. I mean, bicycles had been popular for some time now and there were already scores of publications and articles on the two wheeled wonders. I didn’t want to write a same old song and dance article. I had ambition, talent, and drive. I wanted to write an article on something that would change the world, something people knew very little about, something inspiring. Although I couldn’t wait to make a name for myself, I decided to put my dreams of grandeur at bay and focus on doing a great job on my first assignment. When I met the two brothers, originally from Indiana, they were pleased at the idea that their cycle business would be the subject of attention for a newspaper article and they agreed to divulge any information that would help me write the piece. As the day went along I remember asking the brothers if they believed they would stay in the bicycle industry for the remainder of their foreseeable future and Wilbur’s answer is what introduced me to the brothers’ true passion. It was only a few words but at the time I couldn’t help but thinking how radical and ridiculous it sounded, â€Å"We want to fly.† I could scarcely believe it but I was intrigued so I pressed them for more information. They began to tell me about their following of Otto Lilienthal record setting glides in Germany and their intr igue in the subject of flight. Skepticism filled my head but as a journalist, I knew that this was practically uncharted territory and if the brothers were to make strives in manned flight, I could possibly be in on the ground floor. I simply couldn’t pass up this opportunity so I talked the brothers into letting me check in with them from time to time in order to keep me up to date on their progress. Wright Brothers History :: History The Wright Brothers As an up and coming journalist for my hometown paper, the Dayton Daily, I was thrilled to learn that my first major article would be on none other than Dayton’s very own Wilbur and Orville Wright. The year was 1896 and the Daily wanted me to write an article on the brother’s bicycle shop, The Wright Cycle Shop, which was gaining popularity among the locals. Although I was excited about being given my first assignment, I couldn’t help but feel a little disinterested in the subject. I mean, bicycles had been popular for some time now and there were already scores of publications and articles on the two wheeled wonders. I didn’t want to write a same old song and dance article. I had ambition, talent, and drive. I wanted to write an article on something that would change the world, something people knew very little about, something inspiring. Although I couldn’t wait to make a name for myself, I decided to put my dreams of grandeur at bay and focus on doing a great job on my first assignment. When I met the two brothers, originally from Indiana, they were pleased at the idea that their cycle business would be the subject of attention for a newspaper article and they agreed to divulge any information that would help me write the piece. As the day went along I remember asking the brothers if they believed they would stay in the bicycle industry for the remainder of their foreseeable future and Wilbur’s answer is what introduced me to the brothers’ true passion. It was only a few words but at the time I couldn’t help but thinking how radical and ridiculous it sounded, â€Å"We want to fly.† I could scarcely believe it but I was intrigued so I pressed them for more information. They began to tell me about their following of Otto Lilienthal record setting glides in Germany and their intr igue in the subject of flight. Skepticism filled my head but as a journalist, I knew that this was practically uncharted territory and if the brothers were to make strives in manned flight, I could possibly be in on the ground floor. I simply couldn’t pass up this opportunity so I talked the brothers into letting me check in with them from time to time in order to keep me up to date on their progress.

Healing with technology Essay

Spinal Dynamics will aim to capture at least 10% of total spinal implants market by fourth year of operation. Spinal Dynamics plans to become Canada’s largest spinal orthopedic implant company by 2011. The Company plans to pursue vigorously and at an accelerated rate the development, production and marketing of artificial disc implant . The goal would be apart from being superior to other products it should be affordable for the masses in Canada thus contributing to human welfare by application of technology in the field of biomedical sciences. The company Spinal Dynamics is being formed for the purpose of engaging in development, production and marketing of artificial disc implants, in Canada with early and profitable operation as the prime goal. B. DESCRIPTION OF THE INDUSTRY The boom is gradually shifting from the sectors of finance and information technology towards the biomedical sector specifically the medical device industry. The major reason being increased medical treatment costs, and an urge towards better quality of life. Hip and knee replacements have become very common in spite of the high surgical costs involved. On the same lines spinal surgeries are becoming more prevalent especially because of high economic costs being incurred due to low back pain ailments. According to the statistics, patients suffering from back pain consume more that $90 billion annually in health-care expenses, with approximately $26 billion of that amount directly attributable to treating the back pain. Due to this reason a number of spinal implant companies have mushroomed throughout the U. S and Europe. The main problem in this industry is long development periods and high risks . The long drawn approval process especially in U. S due to FDA regulations is one of the reasons a lot of money is being invented in research , development and testing of the product. However medical law suites might become a big liability for the product if the device fails even once. C. CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS: Competencies & Capabilities: 1) Legal and regulatory factors: The medical device industry is classified as class 3 , high risk implant so its obvious that a lot of investment goes into testing and experiments with sufficient evidences to prove its safety in-vivo. There are instances when a device fails and a single lawsuit causes the entire company to close down. Thus its advisable to invest time and money , before taking the implant out to the market 2) Investment of Time & Money: As approval process is a long drawn procedure, it is necessary to have well trained quality managers and regulatory system advisors as employees. Sometimes services of external consultants or Regulatory advising companies might be used. 3) In-house surgeons/medical practitioners: As these devices cater to specific ailments and are highly specialized, it is important that we have in-house surgeons to understand the requirements of a product before we begin to design it. Infact the engineers and the surgeons should work hand in hand to come up with a better product. The crucial factors which determines success in biomedical industry 1) Availability of constant flow of Funds: For a new product to be in market, it might take 3-4 yrs, so during this period there should be a constant supply of funds to pay the employees and keep the company running. 2) Excellent marketing strategies : Its important that these products are marketed through right channels, thus its highly imperative that the products are showcased at various trade shows/conferences 3) Understanding the regulatory process: The main aim would be to bring the product soon to the market, by making a full-proof plan before the submission process for approval, as this phase is the lengthiest of all the processes. D. PEST ANALYSIS: Scope of Growth: The medical device industry out here thrives on reverse engineering concept the result is a number of ME TOO products. Infact companies end up investing on buying patents from European and American companies and do not believe in investing money for research and development of such products. There is huge market to be tapped as there is a lot of demand for these products most of which is imported from the Europe and the U. S. This area being the fastest growing market, the projected growth is expected to touch up to $16 billion in 2015 revenues. Source: Millennium Research Group. Spine Care Segments 2015 There is expected to be an increase in surgical treatment options, like facet replacement and dynamic stabilization procedures, which will likely be more acceptable to patients, perhaps doubling the % of patients accepting surgery from 3. 6% to 7% of a much larger, elderly population. As clinical results improve, this market is expected to continue to grow 20% per year and offer a tremendous opportunity to companies with innovative product lines. In 2015, industry experts project lumbar fusions will not grow, but stay at the same 2006 level of 400,000 procedures; dynamic stabilization devices will grow from 25,000 to 250,000 cases; and artificial lumbar and cervical discs grow from 25,000 to 600,000 cases, as these new procedures begin to replace spinal fusion. PART 2: A: BUSINESS OWNERSHIP: Sole proprietorship is a one-person business is registered with the state like a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. Legally, a sole proprietorship is inseparable from its owner — the business and the owner are one and the same. This means the owner of the business reports business income and losses on his or her personal tax return and is personally liable for any business-related obligations, such as debts or court judgments. This accounts 74% of all USA businesses and for 6% of all sales in USA. Advantages: (1) decisions are made by only the owner; (2) simple process to start – just get a business license (3) profits belong to the owner; (4) pride of ownership; (5) lower taxes. Disadvantages: (1) unlimited liability (2) limited life of business (3) difficult to raise capital for business; (4) risk of lost is not shared Partnership: a partnership is simply a business owned by two or more people Just like in a sole proprietorship, the partnership’s owners pay taxes on their shares of the business income on their personal tax returns and they are each personally liable for the entire amount of any business debts and claims. 8% of all USA businesses are partnerships and accounts for 4% of all sales in USA Advantages: (1) easy to start (2) not many regulations; (3) not as difficult to raise capital for business; (4) combination of knowledge and skills. Disadvantages: (1) unlimited liability; (2) profits are shared; (3) limited life of the business; (4) disagreements Incorporation: Though forming a corporation is a bit more complicated and costly, but it is well worth the trouble for some small businesses. The main benefit of an LLC or a corporation is that these structures limit the owners’ personal liability for business debts and court judgments against the business. What sets the corporation apart from all other types of businesses is that a corporation is an independent legal and tax entity, separate from the people who own, control and manage it. Because of this separate status, the owners of a corporation don’t use their personal tax returns to pay tax on corporate profits — the corporation itself pays these taxes. Owners pay personal income tax only on money they draw from the corporation in the form of salaries, bonuses, and the like. Corporations make sense for business owners who either (1) run a risk of being sued by customers or of piling up a lot of business debts, or (2) have substantial personal assets they want to protect from business creditors. 18% of all USA businesses are corporations and accounts for 90% of all sales in USA. Advantages: (1) easy to raise capital (2) limited liability; (3) unlimited life of business; (4) Can hire specialized skills and knowledge; (5) shared risks. Disadvantages: (1) difficult to start; (2) less direct control; (3) double taxation: corporate tax and individual tax (4) limited activity. Franchising: Franchises are in which individual businessmen or people buy a well established business, but a certain percentage goes back to the corporation. Franchises must adhere to the corporate regulations. (McDonalds, Krispy Cream, Starbucks). Acquisition/Mergers: In this two companies merge together(merger) or a big company acquires a small innovative company giving rise to an acquisition. The best option to go with would be setting up a corporation or a LLC rather to start. The limited liability company or â€Å"LLC† is a relatively new form of doing business which is now recognized in most states. The LLC has grown in popularity because it combines the best features of a corporation and a partnership. Like a corporation, the owners (called â€Å"members†) of the LLC are not personally responsible for the debts of the LLC. Like a partnership, there is no dual taxation and the earnings of the business are taxed directly to the members. The LLC is also preferable in many ways to the â€Å"S corporation,† which also avoids personal liability and dual taxation. The LLC is not subject to most of the limitations which are imposed on corporations by applicable law. For example, while an corporation is not allowed to have more than one type or class of stock ownership and is not allowed to have more than 75 shareholders, the LLC is not subject to such limitations. Overall, the LLC simply allows more flexibility in the structure, operation and management of the business than does the S corporation. LLCs are similar to corporations because they also provide limited personal liability for business debts and claims. But when it comes to taxes, LLCs are more like partnerships: the owners of an LLC pay taxes on their shares of the business income on their personal tax returns.