Four Functions of Business: Case Study of Asda and Kwik-Fit

Four Functions of Business: Case Study of Asda and Kwik-Fit Functional areas of business operation Introduction This paper studies four distinct functions of business and how they interrelate. The chosen areas are human resources, distribution, marketing and customer services. Human Resources The function of human resources is to provide a focus and strategy for the efficient management of business employees. Employee management is a primary task of modern corporations. If not dealt with appropriately, employees can have an adverse effect upon the success of the business (Alan Price 2003). Employee satisfaction affects all areas of the business. For example, if an employee is happy at work it will show in the customer service they provide. It also helps promote the business, justify the marketing and promotion message and ensure the smooth running of the distribution function. Distribution Distribution is the function by which the product or service is moved from the manufacturer to the end user (P. Kolter 1991), ultimately the consumer. This can be represented by physical methods, such as transportation and storage or, in a service industry, the method by which that service is packaged and delivered. A breakdown in the distribution process affects customer services, as the business may not be able to deliver the product or service required. The marketing function would be undermined, as promises made cannot be kept. Ultimately, this situation would de-motivate employees, as they are the ones receiving consumer complaints. Marketing Effective marketing and promotion is essential as a method of ensuring the message regarding products or services attracts the attention of the consumer. (George Belch 2004). The marketing function is to deliver a message that is seen, believed and remembered. A successful marketing campaign is heavily reliant upon the efficiency of other business functions. If the business cannot deliver the goods, customers will stop listening to the promotional message. Similarly, if the employees have not received training in customer care, a marketing campaign suggesting consumer care is paramount will not be believed. Customer Services Delivery of customer services is probably the most crucial function. The consumer adds value to the success of the business by purchasing their product or service (Sean Kelly 2005). Therefore, every business has to build and maintain a close relationship with consumers. They have to deliver what the customer needs at a quality and price that meets their requirements. In a competitive marketplace, the correct level of customer service is essential if a business is to achieve a growth in market share. Two organisations, Asda Plc., and Kwik-Fit Insurance Services have been chosen to demonstrate how these functions work in practice. Asda The Asda supermarket chain is a subsidiary of the American Wal-Mart retailer, one of the UK’s leading supermarket chains, with over 150,000 employees. Human Resources Asda’s HR strategy is built on the basis that every employee (All about Asda, 2006) â€Å"plays a part in making the business a success.† To achieve employee satisfaction, retention and succession, Asda runs a programme that provides training covering every area of the business, including in-store and external processes, as well as company policy and customer care. The business is committed to achieving in house succession and to promote this aim, it includes management training as part of its HR programme (See Asda Website Training page). Understanding the need for employees to feel an affinity with the business, Asda encourages staff to take an active part in work meetings, which take place in-store, regionally and nationally, where views can be expressed and discussed. The core of its HR function is to gain the best from employees by encouraging involvement with the business at all levels. Distribution Asda works closely with suppliers to maintain efficient distribution services. This ensures levels of goods required are fed through warehousing centres and to individual stores in a manner that maintains consistent product availability for customers. To allow for regional variances, the business delegates an element of the distribution decision-making process to local store management. Marketing Faced with changing consumer demands (Sean Kelly 2005), Asda now focuses its marketing and promotion on the dual aspect of quality at the right price. This has enabled the business to achieve second position within the grocery industry. Customer Services Asda has consistently sought to improve its customer services. In addition to staff customer care training Asda has expanded the product range throughout its stores. Internet shopping and expansion of till services, including self-service options, are other areas of the business where customer service improvements have been introduced. Kwik-Fit Insurance Services KFIS is an insurance call centre based in Glasgow. Although it was founded with the view to concentrating on the motor industry insurance, the business has expanded into more general areas of insurance. Human Resources To compete with other local call-centre operations, KFIS had to completely revise its HR strategy. This was partially achieved through improving the working environment. Like Asda it introduced training programmes to improve employee standards and encourage involvement. In addition, KFIS operates a â€Å"guardian angel† scheme (Jill Boulton, 2004), where existing staff act as mentors to new recruits. It also appointed a â€Å"minister of fun,† to organise staff social activities. The success of these measures has been reflected in business results. Distribution Unlike Asda, KFIS does not have a need for a physical distribution function. The distribution element here is to ensure the insurance products offered are designed to match consumer requirements. As the service KFIS offers is distributed through call centre operators, the importance of staff and producer knowledge levels is essential in distributing the correct range of products to the end user. Marketing Whilst much of its marketing is directed through Kwik-Fit auto centres, and dependent upon the quality of their service, a significant proportion of promotion is undertaken through advertising and the call centre operators. For example, when engaging with a customer an operator may attract them to other insurance products. In this business the interaction between employee and customer is an integral part of the marketing process (George Belch 2004). Customer Services The customer service aspect of KFIS is more directly linked to the reaction of the employee than with Asda. In a call centre situation consumers instantly judge the services they are receiving by their perception of the operator. The operator’s reaction, explanation and provision of the most appropriate product, and efficiency of service, will determine whether the customer is satisfied and will remain loyal to the business. HR director (Keren Edwards 2006) believes that the strategy in place in the business is contributing to the success in terms of customer retention. Conclusion From the information within this paper it is clear that every function described is dependent upon, and influenced either positively or adversely by the others. If one function, for instance, customer services, does not perform at its most efficient, the result will affect the other functions. Customers will stop believing the marketing, resulting in fewer products sold, parts of the distribution function becoming redundant and a reduction in employee moral and efficiency. References All about Asda (2006). Asda People. Asda Plc. Retreived 19 January from http://asdacares.gpalm.co.uk/people/people_load.html Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page. UK. Price, Alan (2003). Human Resource Management in a Business Context. Thomson Learning, UK. Kotler, P. (1991). Marketing Management. FT Prentice Hall, 7th Ed. UK Belch, George. E (2004) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. McGraw-Hill Inc. U.S. Kelly, Sean. (2005) Customer intelligence From Data to Dialogue. John Wiley Sons Ltd., UK Boulton, Jill (2004). Kwik-Fit hires fun guy to keep staff smiling. The Scotsman, Friday 21 May 2004. Edwards, Keren (2006). Keep Fit Scheme. People Management Scheme. UK. 6th April 2006. Caffà ¨ Nero: Strategy and Balanced Scorecard Caffà ¨ Nero: Strategy and Balanced Scorecard Introduction The aim of this essay is to design a strategy and two balanced scorecards for a coffee shop company called Caffà © Nero to compliment their mission statement. This will be done after conducting extensive secondary research to gain a clear insight into what a balanced scorecard involves as well as looking into how Caffà © Nero operates. This will hopefully provide knowledge of potential benefits and difficulties to consider when attempting to successfully implement scorecards for both Headquarter and Store Levels for Caffà © Nero. In addition to this, for each scorecard, a strategy map is used to demonstrate how each key performance indicator (KPI) contributes to the overall vision of the company. Finally both levels are then assessed on its contributions to Cafà © Neros strategy and a conclusion is drawn on the main points outlined throughout the essay. What is the Balanced Scorecard? Kaplan introduced the balanced scorecard in 1992 with the aim to translate strategy into action, he stated, The balanced scorecard translates an organisations mission into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for implementing its strategy. (Kaplan Norton, 1996: p88). Having understood an organisations vision and strategy, the balanced scorecard aids to develop creative objectives to help measure performance. These objectives can be split into four main perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process and Learning and Growth all of which link together to form a strategy map. Implementation of the Balanced Scorecard Benefits and difficulties Bourne Bourne (2007) presents reasons to why once implemented the balanced scorecard can fail. It is beneficial for Caffà © Nero to be conscious of potential problems that may arise in the near future when implementing their balanced scorecards. Looking at the difficulties and problems portrayed by theorists and other organisations experiences should present Caffà © Nero with a competitive advantage. The opportunity of being able to use other organisations failures and theorists advice to overcome the issues presented is valuable. It is particularly important as large amounts of time and money from the company are being invested into this performance management tool. One potential problem is the complexity of the system, resulting in unachieved objectives which will affect the overall vision and strategy of Caffà © Nero. Organisations are faced with de-motivated staff as they steer away from the main objectives that are originally assigned. Although, this is a common problem for the majority of companies when introducing the scorecards, Caffà © Nero is aware of this problem and can therefore take this into consideration throughout the design stage. In particular consideration would be beneficial, in terms of the strategy map when linking the objectives together, so that they are easy to follow and comprehensive for the whole company. As for overcoming the complexity issue, Caffà © Nero can focus on their employees with training, conferences, group and one to one meetings to ensure that every employee within the organisation fully understands what a balanced scorecard is. Their objectives and how they are being measured as well as how each pers pective interlinks in achieving Caffà © Neros strategy. Drury (2004) suggests another difficulty with the scorecard, he identifies that the assumptions of the cause and effect relationships are being excessively vague as well as lacking empirical support. Further research has concluded that is it difficult to link non financial data with future financial performance if at all. Caffà © Nero needs to consider this, as their main objective is to achieve future revenue growth both within the UK and internationally. So perhaps with measures and objectives that are assigned, should be more focused around revenue and financial aspects where possible. An additional difficulty concerning the perspectives shown within the management tool is that it does not factor in other aspects of the business to incorporate customers, employees, suppliers and other environment perspectives. Although Caffà © Nero is not restricted to adding additional perspectives, it could complicate the scorecard further making it difficult to achieve all objectives assigned and some may overlap with existing objectives. Traditionally, when implementing a scorecard the assumption is, the decisions sit with the senior management throughout the design stage as they fully understand the ins and outs of the organisation. Although this may be the case, it is not always in the best interest of the organisation to design a scorecard that only looks at all levels of the business from a top heavy approach. To overcome this Caffà © Nero can be smart and ensure that all functional representatives of their hierarchy from store-level to headquarter level are included within the design. This in turn will show teamwork in working together to understand where each individual fits in to the overall strategy in order to meet the companys objectives. Although the scorecard demonstrates various difficulties that Caffà © Nero should be aware of. Not all is bad; the on-going popularity of the balanced scorecard from other organisations makes it extremely hard to not notice some of the benefits of this management tool. One important trait of the scorecard is its use of effectively combining all the separate elements of the company into one simple model, with help from the strategy map. The tool is also able to help employees and the company to understand how everything interlinks and contributes to the overall strategy. For example, looking at how employees from Caffà © Nero store-level are able to contribute and work with headquarters objectives by improving customer service at store-level in aid to reduce customer complaints for headquarter level at the other end. This management tool is also enabling managers to consider all objectives and measures together as a whole by looking at the bigger picture. Therefore Caffà © Nero can take advantage of these benefits and make necessary improvements to the costs of the company with cost reductions at headquarter level. Lynch (2009) comments that the real benefit of the scorecard is the linkage between strategy and implementation. Most theorists argue that the main goal of the majority of organisations is a form of shareholder value added. Caffà © Nero should consider this when implementing both scorecards. By looking into both quantitative and qualitative measures within the strategy, they should hopefully determine the expectations of their shareholders within performance measures in their strategy and scorecards to achieve growth in shareholder value. Caffà © Nero Strategy Grant (2008) outlines various strategies an organisation can adopt when trying to achieve growth. Having viewed this, Caffà © Nero is more geared towards a business strategy, as it concerns the company with competing within a particular coffee shop market. To prosper within this market it is important to concentrate on establishing a competitive advantage over rivals. To support this Caffà © Nero should base their strategy around product differentiation, by providing customers with quality ranges of espresso that is exclusive to Caffà © Nero stores, will only contribute to concreting a competitive advantage for the company. It also works on shielding Caffà © Nero from their prices being levelled down to the bottom part of the price spectrum, due to potential competitive price wars of the same product between their competitors. This is an important strategy to implement as due to the increase of popularity of coffee shops it is likely for these price wars to occur. As a result, Caffà © Nero can look to improve further, with the quality of their products as well as launching new products in the future as part of their strategy. This can be achieved with product innovation to cater to larger consumer base within the market, hopefully contributing to the growth in both revenue and size within the UK and internationally. Cafà © Nero is well known for its acquisition of Aroma which increased the amount of sites they owned to 106 by 2002; this made them the largest independent owned coffee shop. The company now has 400 stores operating in various locations within the UK, Turkey and the Middle East. Caffà © Nero should now look towards the future of the company, by expanding the number of sites owned. Therefore it is important that part of the strategy should reflect in achieving expansion both internationally and UK based. Caffà © Nero will incorporate this in the scorecard within the financial perspective at headquarter level, as Kaplan and Norton (1996) states that the designing of the strategy of the company is combined with the process of the balanced scorecard. However Caffà © Nero may be faced with great difficulty with trying to implement their strategy due to the diversity of locations they operate in. As it is harder to standardise a scorecard for all site levels throughout the business internationally, as culture and expectations of customers and employees may be different throughout locations. This can be said the same about different locations within the UK. For example Londons objectives may incorporate a faster pace of service to compliment their busy, on the go customers in comparison to another site in a quieter location that may prefer much more of a mellow approach, at a slower pace and friendlier atmosphere where everyone is a community. Caffà © Nero tries to incorporate all of these elements within the overall strategy. Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map The following models demonstrate Caffà © Neros scorecards for both headquarter level and store-level. As well as strategy maps to illustrate how each objective will link together. It is important to note that although the scorecards produced are for the same company, they may differ in objectives for each level, to incorporate all personnel throughout the company. Objectives of headquarter level will focus more on the overall performance of the company, in terms of how they can grow in revenue, size and customers. The model will also focus on innovating products and retention rates of employees and customers. Where as, with the store-level objectives will be more centred around individual stores in terms of customer service, delivery times and empowering and motivating staff with training and incentive programmes. Once the following scorecards have been implemented for Caffà © Nero, it is then important to ensure that everyone throughout the company understands the balanced scoreca rd and where they are contributing to achieving Caffà © Neros vision. As well as considering how all of the objectives from each level will interlink between the two scorecards. This can be done through training centres, conferences and meetings. Scorecard Evaluation Having designed both scorecards (Figure 1 and 2) an evaluation will be conducted to explore both the similarities and differences presented within each models. Additional to this, supporting evidence will add weight to justify reasons for selecting objectives and indicator to contribute to Caffà © Neros overall strategy. Financial Perspective The first objective shown in the financial perspective (figure 1 2) is revenue growth this relates to achieving an increase in growth in some form or another. To drive revenue growth Caffà © Nero objectives concentrate on diversifying into new markets internationally and within UK. As well as branching out into new customer markets and increasing the number of stores owned by Caffà © Nero. Each of these objectives chosen all tie in with Caffà © Neros overall strategy of expansion of the business in the near future. The key performance indicators incorporated into this perspective help to measure each objective for the company. The main similar measure here is (F1 F4) percentage of increase in revenue growth in the overall company and individual store-level (F5). To achieve these objectives they would have to be based upon implementing bonus and incentive schemes for employees so that they are motivated to achieve targets set. They would also need to target larger segments of new customer markets by advertising in new locations such as near to universities to appeal to students or offices to appeal to the working customers. However a drawback of this measure is due to the population suffering from the effects of the recession and the economy resulting to a decrease in disposal income. Meaning growth in revenue for Caffà © Nero will be delicate as new potential customers may not be as opened to trying new coffee shops then their norm as well as lifestyle changes that will affect the amount of r evenue that each store generates. This is why a mark up % was not included in aid to limit other problems such as the affect on shareholder value, as incorporating percentages would put further pressure on the company in case they were unable to achieve resulting to shareholders expectations to decline. Another important objective within the financial section is (F6) improve operational efficiency, which is reducing wastage costs for the business. It is important to achieve this objective as it saves the company money and better for the environment. This can be done by providing more awareness of how to reduce wastage i.e. not leaving taps of water on just for the convenience element for coffee shops. Being aware of waste problems presents benefits as in turn this will maintain the companies overall brand image, which links in will the customer perspective (C3 figure 1) of maintaining brand image. Customer Perspective It is important to measure this objective (C3), as it involves the public with collating feedback and results in reference to how the general public perceive Caffà © Nero as a company. This objective also gives the company an opportunity with participating in charity and environmental work that will help several organisations as well as portraying a better image for the company. This is with the intention to increase in revenue and customer satisfaction, as customers like to be involved in supporting good causes. This is why it was important to incorporate this within the headquarter scorecard. Figure 2 also looks at customer retention (C5), customer satisfaction (C6) and customer profitability (C4) as main objectives to achieve. Each of these objectives link with each other, for example if the customers are satisfied with the service and products offered by staff then they are likely to come back time after time. Creating customer loyal will result in increasing customer retention rates hopefully leading to customer profitability. Therefore ensuring customers are provided with great customer service and high standards of quality products will cement this relationship with customers and employees. Where the employees are concerned this is incorporated into the internal process and learning and growth perspectives. It is significant to note that both levels differ in objectives as the store-level is more involved with direct customer improvement as they adopt a more personal approach with more of a face to face relationship. Therefore objectives will be focused around the service element. In comparison to the headquarters that will look more to indirectly improving service by site quality, reducing complaints and activities involving improving brand image. However one similarity between them is that they are measured by customer feedback in one form or another. Internal Business Processes Perspective The first objective presented in figure 1 is (IP1) innovating products involved, this objective is important for businesses to maintain as their strategy and brand image pride themselves on producing unique high quality products in espresso and food. Therefore it is important for Caffà © Nero to innovate new products in order to compete within such a popular market. To measure this objective Caffà © Nero will look at increase in sales from new products in order to measure if they are successful or not. For that reason employee should be aware of the new products that are available by offering them at pay out areas in order to advertise new products, which links into objective (IP4) developing internal product knowledge. This will be achieved by daily staff meeting and work booklets to test staffs knowledge. Again, this perspective demonstrates some similarities between figures 1 2. Objectives are set to improve on delivery times for customers (IP2 IP5), this is aid of achieving h igh quality of service to link to customer satisfaction (C6), retention (IP3) and profitability (C4). If customers are dissatisfied they will go elsewhere which will affect growth in revenue (F1). To measure delivery times, focus as obtain comparing where Caffà © Nero are in terms of the market, as customers will have a certain level of expectations. However if Caffà © Nero are able to excel over this, it will create customer satisfaction which in theory will lead to more business from that customer. Also by ensuring there is a balanced customer to employee ratio in each site helps to improve delivery and customer service for customers as waiting times will decrease. Learning and Growth Perspective This area focuses on employees in terms of creating objectives to maintain training, in aid of retaining employee loyalty (LG1), improving both job and employee satisfaction (LG2), increasing employees capabilities in skills (LG4) as well as motivating and empowering employees (LG5). In theory these objectives should participate to maintaining a customer centric focus (LG3). Within this perspective, there are many differences between the scorecards as store-level focus on individual needs of employees to drive employee satisfaction. In comparison to headquarters which looks at overall achieving programmes to assist employee satisfaction, presenting a common objective in both scorecards. To measure these objectives appraisal and one to one meetings are used to assess their performance and how to improve in growth in revenue for the business. Each level is assessed by individual employees at store-level and individuals stores for headquarter level. Olve (2003) looked into how incentive and reward programmes can be aligned with scorecards in order to promote realization of intended strategy. This has been incorporated into the learning and growth stage of the scorecards. In aid to attract employees attention, to perform well at store level, contributing to the overall objective of increasing revenue growth for the company. Although there are many differences between the models as each scorecard targets a different audience, it is important to note that they both interlink to together to achieve Cafà © Neros objectives. As store-level focuses on direct customer service it is important that they get it right to achieve sales, retention as well as maintain a happy working environment for staff as getting these objective help to achieve objectives set for headquarter level. In terms of employee retention, training programmes, customer profitability and satisfaction as well as product innovation Conclusion To summarise the main points of this essay, it is essential to consider the information available in order to successfully design and implement a scorecard for a company. As statics show that 70% of balanced scorecards fail due to lack of research within their own individual company and the scorecard. The second point was to fully understand what Caffà © Nero wanted to achieve in regards to their strategy, as it is vital to not incorporate everything as this will only present more problems then benefits. Thirdly, when designing the scorecards for Caffà © Nero, it was crucial to ensure that they were easy to follow for all members of the organisation, as every objective interlinks and filters up the model in a form of a chain. If one objective is not met then this will affect the rest of the model creating a cause and affect relationship throughout the scorecard. For example consequences may lead to losing customers due to bad customer service, lack of high quality products and product knowledge due to limited training. As to measurements within the scorecards Caffà © Nero tried to be realistic so that they are able achieve their strategy as unrealistic measurements can disadvantage a business, as the costs of implementing balanced scorecards is a large investment to make as large amounts of money and time is needed. It is also important that Caffà © Nero adopted a trial and error approach so they could keep reviewing their scorecards to ensure they were aligned with their strategy. Overall a balanced scorecard is an affective management tool to translate strategy into a vision. Word Count: 3299

Cigarettes are Killing America :: Argumentative Persuasive Arguement

Cigarettes are Killing America This year alone cigarettes will kill over 420,000 Americans, and many more will suffer from cancers, and circulatory and respiratory system diseases1. These horrible illnesses were known to originate from cigarettes for years. Nicotine, the main chemical additive in cigarettes, was declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration. This explains why smokers continue to use cigarettes even though smokers are aware of the constantly warned about health dangers in cigarettes. Although smokers constitute the majority of people who suffer from cigarettes, they are not the only ones ailing from cigarette smoke. As UC San Francisco scientist and author Stanton Glantz estimates in Shari Roan's article, the amount of second-hand smoke inhaled by the typical nonsmoker is equivalent to one cigarette smoked per day.1 Even that amount of cigarette smoke can damage a person's heart. Some researchers have also concluded that smoking by pregnant women causes the deaths of over 5,000 babies and 115,000 miscarriages.2 The only way to terminate the suffering and loss of life brought upon by cigarettes exists as a complete proscription on them. Opponents to the banning of cigarettes argue that it will create a profound negative impact on the economy. They do not realize that this nation places the health of its citizens above its financial status. Although many people continue to remain convinced that absolving our country of cigarettes does not merit some economical loss, this remains as a necessary step in eradicating our country of these virulent stiflers of life. For years cigarettes have been known to cause cancer, emphysema, and other horrible illnesses. The deaths of over 420,000 of Americans this year will be attributable to cigarettes. With all the other causes of preventable deaths, alcohol, illegal drugs, AIDS, suicide, transportation accidents, fires, and guns, cigarettes still account for more preventable deaths than those do combined, as stated by Lonnie Bristow M.D. of the American Medical Association at her speech to Indiana University.3 We can no longer stand aside and watch fellow Americans die because they smoke cigarettes. Thousands of smokers try to rid themselves of cigarettes but can't because of the physiological dependence they develop, chiefly imputable to its chemical additive nicotine.4 Nicotine was recently declared addictive by the Food and Drug Administration, which explains why many smokers continue to smoke despite the numerous health warnings on cigarette smoking. Although cigarettes do not offer as intense an ef fect as drugs like heroin and cocaine, they rank higher in the level of dependence it creates in the user.

The work poem

Vive reached a bit further than half the book and I have been glued to the cover since day one. One major theme that Veronica Roth appears to be focusing on is that being yourself takes courage. She created this world where people are sorted into five factions based on a single test at the age of sixteen. In the earlier chapters, her family is shown to follow tradition and look at leaving the family in a bad way (reference). So when both Caleb and Beatrice Prior decide to choose a different faction and abandon there family, it shows the amount of courage taken.During the sorting ceremony, Beatrice scrambled thoughts moving very quickly show the bravery involved in being yourself, not only to yourself but to those around you. The story opens up with a reflection. Reflection about self Image and who you are. It stars 16 year old Beatrice Prior's curiosity in herself, which is not common for those from Vegetation. When she tries to find herself she ends up finding herself In a dangerous position, being divergent (different). Her friends, Will, AAA and Christina seem very helpful as they are somewhat outcasts (transfers) that are not with the Andorra group.Some predictions I made were that Four, one of the Dauntless Is the son of Marcus and he Is being pushed by Max to become a leader and possibly the leader of the Dauntless. I believe he may also be divergent and have the characteristics from the brave and the selfless, hence the fact that Max would Like him to be a leader. That is why the vegetation governs, because they are Incorruptible. I also predict that the reason that Divergence Is tabooed and exiled Is because they corrupt the system.Their abilities show the flaw In the system, and how his dyspepsia society and Its restricting thinking cannot be categorized. How can someone truly find themselves when they can only be sorted Into five different areas, where only one of the characteristics can be practiced. Another prediction Is a large war between the five factions. They all have complete differences (abnegation vs. erudite, dauntless vs. candor..? ) and are working together currently, but It only takes one diamond In the rough (divergent) to break the system.As It seems there are many people who become factionists, this represents poverty and homeless Iranians, they may also create an uprising Like In the Hunger Games, which Is commonly related Josh The Road Journal As I finish the first half of The Road, my Minimal thoughts are that It's a great disappoint. In terms of characters, McCarthy takes a different approach when it comes to characters. No names are given to any of the characters. However, this does not take away from character development. I am fond of the concept of a father and son as main characters.I feel as if it adds a twist on the genre and provides more of an emotional aspect to the story. Additionally, it adds a place to relate to, as everyone as experienced some form of paternal love. With regards to the characte rs themselves, The father expresses a deep love for his son. Demonstrated by him harming anyone that touches him. However, as I read on the father's health is deteriorating. I worry for their prospects of living. If the father were to die, most certainly would his son. He is too ignorant of what is happening in the world, as well as to accepting of others.Although I wouldn't like it, I feel the father will eventually die. In terms of setting, McCarthy does a tremendous Job of conveying a barren and gruesome wasteland. Although I have yet to learn the exact location, I have a good understanding of the scenery. The plot is typical of a book of such genre. The characters are trying to survive, and are Journeying down â€Å"The Road†. However, McCarthy spares no expense with regards to demonstrating the atrocities humans could commit. Certain scenes I found brutal to read, often pertaining to cannibalism. The theme of paternal love is prominent within the first section of the boo k.Considering the main characters, this theme can be expected. McCarthy makes an effort to emphasize the man's love for his son. At various points in the story it is explained that the man's entire will to live lies within his son. Before his wife committed suicide, she pointed out ; â€Å"the boy was all that stood between him and death†. The quotation explains that the only thing that prevented the man from suicide was his son. Furthermore, Despite the distaste with violence the two express, the father is quick to violence if his son is harmed. When they encounter someone who threatens to harm the boy the father does not hesitate to kill him.He expresses such thoughts when he says; † My Job is to take care of you. I was appointed to do that by God. I will kill anyone who touches you. Do you understand? â€Å". Throughout the story the father and son make reference to whether they are the â€Å"good guys†. They often question the actions of others and themselve s. With reading, I feel McCarthy has put emphasis on humanity and morals. They speak of â€Å"carrying the fire†, which is the term they use to describe people who are moral. If such a situation was to happen in modern civilization, what extent will people go to survive?Would people really strive to be moral in their actions, or succumb to inhumane ethos of survival? Secondly, McCarthy constantly shows the man's determination to live. Despite his sons questions on death, and his willingness to die, the man pushes on. Even despite the advice of his wife, he cannot afford to see his son die. His love for his son is too great to let him go. I think McCarthy wants us to consider what drives us. What do we love and fight for. That through love and determination people overcome the most dire of circumstances. That if a post apocalyptic scenario were to present itself would we give up on life?

Breast Cancer The Second Most Common Cancer - 1884 Words

Intro: In the United States, breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women. Alt-hough it can occur in both men and women, it is very rare in men.. The most common type of breast cancer in the U.S. is ducts carcinoma. This type of cancer begins within the cells of the ducts, but it can also begin in the cells of the lobules and other tissues of the breast. An individu-al’s breast has many components. It contains glands, ducts and breast tissue that contains fat, connective tissue, lymph nodes and blood vessels. Stages: There are five stages of breast cancer. The stages are dependent on the tumor size, lymph node status and metastases. The progression of the cancer tends to be consistent and predictable. When cancer is left†¦show more content†¦On average, individuals at this stage are about 52 years old. Stage two breast cancer has many subcategories. The tumor is typical 2 cm in diameter or less, but the cancer cells have already metaswized to the lymph node s. A breast tumor that is larger than 5 cm, and had not spread to the lymph nodes is also considered stage 2 breast cancer. Stage three breast cancer is often referred to as a â€Å"locally advanced† breast cancer. At this stage, the primary tumor is greater than 5 cm in diameter, and has no apparent metastasis, or the tumor is is between 2-5 cm, with evidence of rather significant metastasis. Another way that stage three breast cancer can be looked at is that an individual with either have a large but opera-ble breast cancer, or a medium sized tumor that is difficult to treat with surgery alone. Many times, the cancer will invade a muscles, or attach to major arteries, nerve trunks or veins in an individual’s body, which therefore makes them impossible to surgically remove completely from the body. Stage four or â€Å"advanced stage† breast cancer â€Å"indicate the presence of distant metastasis to other parts of the body, such as the liver or bones† (H alls 2015). The prognosis for stage four breast cancers is very low, often being 16-20%. These breast cancers may be recurrences follow-ing an individual’s initial treatment. Bone scans, chest X-rays, CAT scans, MRIs, and blood tests may be used to check for metastasis†

Analysis Of Sir Thomas Malorys Le Morte DArthur - 1246 Words

A knights role in society during the middle ages is to be a sacrificial pawn to the king. During the medieval times, the knight class is under the king and lords classes; however, they were also within the nobility rank. In exchange for land and food, they are obligated to assist and support their lord and king. They must be physically and mentally prepared to forfeit their lives when they fight for and protect their lord no matter the occasion. According to the code of chivalry, they must serve their king and remain loyal always. In addition, a chevalier cannot act on their own accord if the consequences include betrayal of the king, thus they must remain selfless. All the chevaliers have their flaws; however, the other three knights†¦show more content†¦Despite the fact that Sir Gawain and Sir Launcelot had a poor relationship, he has asked for Sir Launcelots assistance because he understands that Sir Launcelot is the flower of the knighthood, and an essential key to prote cting his king since he is unable to complete the task himself (Malory 221). In spite of Sir Gawain exerted the efforts of writing to Sir Launcelot, Sir Launcelot never appeared on the battlefield. Although Sir Bedivere has been with King Arthur during the fight with Sir Modred, does not necessarily mean he is more chivalrous and loyal than Sir Launcelot. As instructed by King Arthur, Sir Bedivere were to take the sword Excalibur to the shore of the lake and throw in the water (Malory 340-1). In response to his wish, Sir Bedivere decided to deceive the king and claim that he has seen nothing when he threw the sword into the water. Lies reached the king ears twice such as seeing only the wind upon the waves and the lapping of the waves (Malory 348-354). Automatically, King Arthur knew Sir Bedivere has been dishonest with him and states, twice you have betrayed me (Malory 355). Sir Bedivere allowed his greed to lead him astray from the code of chivalry. Corresponding with the code of chivalry, he must live to serve the king, live to defend the crown and country and all it holds dear and obey the law of the king. He has broken all these laws by becoming a priest like theShow MoreRelated King Arthur Essay1428 Words   |  6 PagesKing Arthur Character Analysis The character of King Arthur is unique in literature. Most characters are known through their actions and words as described by the author of a story. Arthur, however, is a conglomerate of characters described by many different authors over a fifteen hundred year span. There is no single depiction of him, and one cannot trace his origin to a single author for the definitive description. As such, the character of Arthur is different depending on the era, cultureRead More Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail2221 Words   |  9 PagesThomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur and Monty Python and the Holy Grail Professor’s comment: This student uses a feminist approach to shift our value judgment of two works in a surprisingly thought-provoking way. After showing how female seduction in Malory’s story of King Arthur is crucial to the story as a whole, the student follows with an equally serious analysis of Monty Python’s parody of the female seduction motif in what may be the most memorable and hilarious episode of the film. MuchRead More King Arthur Essay1157 Words   |  5 PagesKing Arthur Character Analysis Although King Arthur is one of the most well-known figures in the world, his true identity remains a mystery. Attempts to identify the historical Arthur have been unsuccessful, since he is largely a product of fiction. Most historians, though, agree that the real Arthur was probably a battle leader of the Britons against the Anglo-Saxons in the sixthth century. In literature, King Arthurs character is unique and ever changing, taking on a different face in

Reflection Paper On Anne Frank - 1325 Words

I have decided to write My thoughts And experiences, kind of like an Anne Frank thing. Honestly, were not all that different, me and her. Listen to me and don’t take me The wrong way, I am fully aware that In all actuality she was in a considerably more intense situation. all it is that I am saying is that she and I lived a sort of struggle that shares a few similarities with my own. for insistence, we were both in hiding from a group of dangerous people and were both found. The only real difference is that Im still alive. Yet I suppose there is also, of course, that one other notable difference between the two of us and our upbringing. Anne was hiding from Nazis because they had a strong hold over a country of people, weapons,†¦show more content†¦Long ago, when I was real young I was diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. A severe condition in which two or more distinct identities are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. 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Theoretical and Empirical Analyses

Question: Discuss about the Theoretical and Empirical Analyses. Answer: Introduction The present report aims to provide an analysis and examination of the case study of Planter Nuts for identifying the reason of its declining performance in recent times. In this context, the report emphasises on diagnosing the problem faced by Planter Nuts through the application of 5Cs framework and analyse consumer behaviour in snack nut category. Also, it evaluates marketing research carried out Kraft Foods Group in respect to Planter Nuts and segmenting, targeting and position strategy of Planters. The company is also provided recommendation for its brand positioning strategy in the report. 5Cs Framework to Diagnose the Problem as to Why Planters Nuts Performance has been Struggling As depicted in the case study, the consumption of Snack nuts of Planters brand is declining among the US consumers. 5Cs framework is a situational analysis technique that helps in examining of internal and external environmental factors to provide a better understanding of a marketing problem in context (Chernev and Alexander, 2014). The reason for the decline in performance of Planter Nuts can be evaluated successfully through the application of 5Cs framework consisting of the following components: Customer: This helps in gaining an understanding of the needs and expectations of the customers. Planter Nuts, a brand of Krafts Foods Group, aspired to become the national nut by providing consumers high quality products at minimum cost. Planters initially emphasised on providing peanuts to the US consumers but later expanded its product line to include cashews and mixed nuts. However, later the company also included almonds and pistachios in its product line with increased demands of these nut types by US consumers due to their health benefits. The expansion of the product line of Planters caused a decline in the sales of its core product areas that are, peanuts, cashews and mixed nuts. This was mainly due to increase in the competition in the snack nut market of the US from the brands such as Blue Diamond, Wonderful, and Emerald. The case study analysis depicts that competitive brands offer products to the customers at relative lower prices than Planter (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Als o, the shift of consumers towards more healthy nuts such as almond and pistachios were responsible for the decline in sales of the companys core products (Consumers Go Nuts for Healthy Snacks, 2015). Company: This analysis is carried out for gaining a proper understanding of the companys position for meeting the customer needs. This can be evaluated through analysing Planter strengths and weakness through SWOT analysis: Strengths: Good brand image among the US customers (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Providing high quality and tasteful nuts in the snack nut category (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016) Weakness: Targeting only one market segment of males aged between 35-65 years (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Recognised among the US consumers as only offering high quality peanuts, cashews and mixed nuts and does not gain customer recognition in healthy nuts category such as almond and pistachios (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Opportunities: Expanding the product line for increased offering of high quality almonds and pistachios nuts to the customers (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Threats: High cost of nuts as compared to the competitive brands such as Emerald (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016) Competition: Planter Nuts is facing stiff competition from Blue Diamonds, Wonderful and Emerald. Blue diamonds has achieved a good brand name in providing almond nut to the customers. On the other hand, Wonderful is a dominant player in offering pistachios nut among the US market segment. The increasing shift of US consumers towards almonds and pistachios due to their health benefits is impacting the sales of planters peanuts (Watson, 2014). Almonds are recognised as healthy for heart by the American Herat Association. In addition to this, brands such as Emerald offers relatively low priced peanuts in comparison to planters as depicted by the case study further negatively impacting Planter sales and profits (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Collaborators: Planter nuts need to implement major changes in its operational activities such as procurement and manufacturing for meeting the customer needs. It needs to reduce its operational cost by offering low price products for achieving a competitive advantage. Also, the company need to increase its suppliers providing almonds and pistachios nuts for meeting changing customer needs (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016).. Context: The nut consumption trends on the basis of demographics reveal that there is increased consumption of snack nuts by males in comparison to females. However, Planter nuts current positioning strategy only target male segment aged between 35-65 years. Also, the nut consumption is more in population group above the age of 65 years. The demographic trends as illustrated by the case study indicate that planters need to modify its current positioning strategy for improving its performance (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Analysis of Consumer Behaviour in the Snack Nut Category The case study demonstrates the changing trend and preferences of the US population group towards the consumption of snack nuts. The increased popularity of the nuts is on account of high protein and energy nutrition provided by the snack nuts responsible for their large volume sales in the country (International Markets Bureau, 2011). However, there has been dramatic change in consumer behaviour towards snack nut category in recent times. Earlier, the US population group regarded peanuts as basic nut and flavoured peanuts become more popular among the countrys population group. Planters peanuts sales recorded high sales during this time and its salty peanuts were in high demands among the US consumers (Schultz, 2014). The expansion in product line of Planters nuts for cashews and mixed nuts drive the attention of customers towards them and cashews are regarded as the most delicious nut among the US consumers. The market entry of Blue Diamond and Wonderful brand in the snack nut market of the US brought major changes in the taste and preferences of the consumers. The introduction of almonds and pistachios brought attention of the consumers towards eating nutritious and healthy snack nuts. Almonds were regarded as healthy for heart by American Heart Association and this cause a rise in the demand of these nuts among the consumers in the country (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Peanuts, cashews and mixed nuts were relatively perceived as high in fats by the consumers and thus less healthy (Consumers Go Nuts for Healthy Snacks, 2015). In this context, the theory of reasoned action used for analysing consumer behaviour trends states that specificity is a critical factor in the decision-making process of a consu mer. The expectation of achieving a specific result from an action taken influences the purchasing behaviour of consumers. Thus, the perception of gaining a specific advantage with purchasing a product plays a major role in decision-making process of consumers (Southey, 2011). Source: Southey, G. 2011. The Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour Applied to Business Decisions: A Selective Annotated Bibliography. Journal of New Business Ideas Trends 9(1), pp. 43-50. The change in consumer behaviour regarding the consumption of snack nuts can be mainly attributed due to their changed perception eating fat free and nutritious nuts such as almond for staying healthy. The increased awareness among the US consumers about the benefits of eating healthy snacks is causing the changes in their buying patterns in snack nut category (Sweeney, 2000). The figure below reflects percentage of peanut consumption in the US: Evaluation of Marketing Research Undertaken by the Kraft Foods Group in Respect to Planters Nuts Planters Nuts is a part of Kraft Foods but the entity has recently divided into two parts, Mondelez and Kraft Foods Group. Kraft Foods Group is involved in grocery business in North America and Planters has been a part of it since the split. Kraft Foods has assigned a new management team for identifying the main issues responsible for the declining sales of the Planters (Ahead of Spin-Off, Kraft Goes Nuts to Support Grocery Business, 2012). The marketing team under the new management has undertaken a research for gaining a better understanding of the current situation of the company through gathering market data. The research undertaken involved both qualitative and quantitative survey for achieving a specific answer for the research problem. The quantitative surveys undertaken by Krafts Food Group provided an insight into the consumer perceptions of snack nuts on the basis of health benefits and costs. The quantitative data also reflects the brand awareness of Planters among the US consumers and assessed its brand equity in terms of quality, popularity, familiarity, uniqueness and relevance. The result obtained through quantitative survey concluded Planter a recognised and established brand among the US consumers in snack nuts category (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). In addition to this, qualitative research such as in-depth interview and focus groups surveys was also undertaken by Kraft Foods Group. The in-depth interview carried out among the consumers depicted that Planters was mainly recognised as providing quality products for peanuts, cashews and mixed nuts. It has still not achieved brand recognition in category of growth products that are, almonds and pistachios. Almonds and pistachios are regarded as healthy nuts by American consumers and other products such as cashews and peanuts are associated with high fat content (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). There is dramatic shift in the customer preferences towards healthy nuts in comparison to that of flavoured nuts such as salty peanuts, a core product of Planters. Also, the core products of Planters were attributed by customers to be high in cost as compared to similar products offered by competitive brand such as Emerald. The current marketing strategy of Planters can be regarded as ineffective as c ustomers perceive the companys products out-dated. The current positioning strategy of Planters was mainly developed on the basis of demographic variables. The company mainly targets male customers of age group 35-65 years. However, case study analysis shows that nut consumption is more in the adult population of above the age group of 65 years in the US. Moreover, female population group in the country consumes more nuts as compared to that of male population (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). In this context, cognitive learning theory can prove to be very useful in analysing and examining the information collected through market research by Kraft Foods Group in relation to Planters declining performance. As per cognitive learning theory, consumers behaviour towards purchasing a specific product or service is mainly influenced by their thought process. The thought process of consumers is mainly influenced by their present and past experiences achieved through the consumption of a specific product or service over time. Consumer leaning in accordance with cognitive theory can be described as acquiring information and experience about a product or service in past period of time tend to have a significant impact on their future buying behaviour (Awa, 2010). As per the theory, the main influential factors in the purchasing decision-making process of consumers for snack nuts products of Planters are personal, product and situational factors. Product factors relate to self-image of products, product factors involve perceived health risk in purchasing the products and situational factors relates to purchasing products for personal use or for serving to guests in parties etc. in snack nut product category of the company (Salted and Roasted Nuts and Seeds, 2016). Thus, qualitative and quantitative information obtained through market research can be interpreted easily trough Kraft Foods group by applying cognitive theory. Consumers still perceive Planter nuts core products as similar to peanuts on the basis of their past experiences that is negatively impacting their future buying behaviour of companys products. Thus, the marketing research undertaken by Kraft Food Group illustrates modification in the marketing strategy of Planters nuts so th at customers do not perceive the companys brand as synonymous to peanuts only. Planters Nuts Current Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning Segmenting, Targeting and Positioning (STP) is a strategic approach used by marketers to identify the target customer segments and planning the strategies to gain customer recognition in target customer segments . The current STP strategy used by Planters nuts is evaluated as follows: Segmentation: The segmentation strategy followed by Planters nuts is to focus only on one target market and developing effective strategies for becoming a dominant player in the identified market segment. As evident from the market research carried out by Kraft Foods Group in respect to Planters, snack nut consumption is variable in different market segments and so company must design its segmentation strategy for reaching out to different market segments instead of emphasising only on one market segment (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Targeting: The target segments as identified by the Planters nuts is mainly of male population group in the US aged between 35-65 years. However, as illustrated by the market research data, the consumption of snack nuts is relatively higher in female population group of the US. Also, adult population of above age 65 years consumes snack nuts more in comparison to the youth population in the country (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). This indicates that the company need to re-evaluate its targeting strategy and identify new target segments in the country for improving its sales and profitability. Positioning: Planter nuts emphasises on positioning its products in snack nut category in mens target segment through the help of spreading marketing messages on packaging of its products, displaying ads in magazines and launching campaigns targeting at male population group to provide them information of nutritional benefits of its products (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). The marketing research data indicates that the company need to modify its positioning strategy in accordance with the new target segments identified. Brand positioning recommended to Planters Nuts for going forward Planter nuts need to adopt major strategic changes in its positioning strategy for increasing its sales and profitability (Watrous, 2015). As illustrated by the market research conducted by Kraft Foods Group, the company need to identify new market segment of adult and female population group in the US as the consumption of products in snack nut category is relatively more in these segments as compared to male population group. The company need to position itself in the snack nut market as such it is not only viewed as peanuts provider but also a major player in the healthy nuts category such as almond and pistachios. This can be done through the help of adopting proper communication channels that facilitates the company to reach to its target customer segments. Implementation of proper communication channels is also essential so that customers views companys brand image not only as limited to peanuts but also fit for almonds and pistachios products. Communication channels such as ad vertising, press releases, launching health campaigns, social networking will help the company to re-position its brand image in the market (Ries, 2003). The company can modify its tag line to shift its target segments from male population group to female and adult population group (More than Peanuts: Snack Nut Brands Up Spend On Sponsorship, 2009). The change of consumer behaviour pattern for eating more healthy nuts such as almond and pistachios is responsible for Planters to adopt major change in its positioning strategy to enhance the sales in healthy nuts category (Topper, 2014). The competitive brands such as Blue Diamond and Wonderful receives huge support from American Health Association that has enhanced their brand reputation in mind of the US consumers as depicted from the case study analysis (Dolan and Ngwe, 2016). Thus, to enhance the brand image of Planters it also needs to obtain certification of its almonds and pistachios products from health communities in the US to gain customer recognition in these product segments. Conclusion Thus, it can be stated from the case study analysis that Planter nuts need to modify its marketing strategy for enhancing its sales and profitability. The main reasons responsible for the present declining sales of the company is changes in the consumer behaviour in snack nut category and perceived past brand image of Planters in the mind of consumers. Thus, Planters need to position its new brand image among target segments identified for overcoming the decline in the sales of its products in snack nut category. References Ahead of Spin-Off, Kraft Goes Nuts to Support Grocery Business. 2012. [Online]. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/03/12/ahead-of-spin-off-kraft-goes-nuts-to-support-grocery-business/#65c124302117 [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Awa, H. 2010. Cognitive Consistency in Purchase Behaviour: Theoretical Empirical Analyses. International Journal of Psychological Studies 2 (1), pp. 44-54. Brown, L. et al. 2008. Market Research and Analysis. Wildside Press LLC. Chernev and Alexander, 2014. Strategic Marketing Management. Cerebellum Press. Consumers Go Nuts for Healthy Snacks. 2015. [Online]. Available at: https://www.cstoredecisions.com/2015/04/02/consumers-go-nuts-for-healthy-snacks/ [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Dolan, R. and Ngwe. D. 2016. Planter Nuts. International Markets Bureau. 2011. Consumer Trends Salty Snack Food in the United States. [Online]. Available at: https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/market-prices-and-statistics/trade-statistics/pubs/us_snack_food_consumer_trends_en.pdf [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. More than Peanuts: Snack Nut Brands Up Spend On Sponsorship. 2009. [Online]. Available at: https://www.sponsorship.com/iegsr/2009/05/25/More-Than-Peanuts--Snack-Nut-Brands-Up-Spend-On-Sp.aspx [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Ries. 2003. Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind. Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Salted and Roasted Nuts and Seeds. 2016. [Online]. Available at: https://business.highbeam.com/industry-reports/food/salted-roasted-nuts-seeds [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Schultz, E.J. 2014. Planters Gives Mr. Peanut New Mission: Flavored Nuts. [Online]. Available at: https://www.adageindia.in/marketing/news/planters-gives-mr-peanut-new-mission-flavored-nuts/articleshow/45725936.cms [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Southey, G. 2011. The Theories of Reasoned Action and Planned Behaviour Applied to Business Decisions: A Selective Annotated Bibliography. Journal of New Business Ideas Trends 9(1), pp. 43-50. Sweeney, S.M. 2000. Working For Peanuts. [Online]. Available at: https://inside-business.com/Main/Archive/Working_For_Peanuts_7763.aspx [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Topper, A. 2014. Going Nuts: The Power Of The Peanut. [Online]. Available at: https://www.mintel.com/blog/food-market-news/going-nuts-the-power-of-the-peanut [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Watrous, M. 2015. Kraft's profit slips 16%. [Online]. Available at: https://www.bakingbusiness.com/articles/news_home/Financial-Performance/2015/04/Krafts_profit_slips_16.aspx?ID=%7B4713D2FB-A955-41B7-83AB-60C19E6DA2E6%7Dcck=1 [Accessed on: 20 August 2016]. Watson, E. 2014. Almonds are on fire, says Blue Diamond CEO as meteoric growth rates continue. [Online]. Available at: https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Markets/Almonds-are-on-fire-says-Blue-Diamond-CEO-as-meteoric-growth-rates-continue [Accessed on: 20 August 2016].