Contrast the factors a qualitative Essay

There is no hard and fast rule when it comes to the size of the sample used in a study, and there are many aspects to take into consideration. Contrast the factors a qualitative and quantitative researcher must consider when determining the sample size. How does the sample size impact the study? â€Å"Quantitative researchers seek to select samples that will allow them to achieve statistical conclusion validity and to generalize their results† (Polit 2012, p. 273). And as our text reminds us there is no simple formula to tell you how large a sample is needed for a study. The general recommendation our text gives us is â€Å"the largest sample size possible. † The larger sample size that is used increases the validity of the research. So in turn the smaller the sample size for either study increases the sampling error. The researcher should comparing characteristics of the study in relation to the variable, dependent and independent. The size for most studies â€Å"depends on the magnitude of the expected effect size, which is usually quantified by a relative risk, odds ratio, absolute risk difference, hazard ratio, or difference between two means or medians. The smaller the true-effect size, the larger the study needs to be (Hackshaw, 2008, p. 1141). References Hackshaw, A. (2008, November 1, 2008). Small studies: strengths and limitations. European Respiratory Journal, 32(5), 1141-1145. http://dx. doi. org/10. 1183/09031936. 00136408 This discussion will revolve around the topic of control. In quantitative studies, control is an important issue. What does control mean in research? Why is it important? What do you think is meant by controlling intrinsic and extrinsic variables? Give examples of effective ways to control variables in quantitative research. In qualitative research In research control is a variable in a study that usually remains constant. This variable is what the study results are compared to. This control is what helps the researcher to know if the study was performed correctly or appropriately. When we think about controlling intrinsic and extrinsic variables first we must know what these things are. By definition extrinsic means (Dictionary. com, 2013): being outside a thing; outward or external; operating or coming from without. Intrinsic means: belonging to a thing by its very nature.

Factors Affecting Marketing Essay

INTRODUCTION A Business principally is the organized effort by individuals in an organization to produce goods and services and to sell these goods and services in a market place to earn a good profit margin. The operating environment for all organizations whether they are commercial, charitable, governmental, or in the public sector more generally, is never static and seldom entirely predictable, and can therefore profoundly affect a company’s course of action. An organization can influence the various environmental forces acting on it. COMPONENTS OF THE MARKETING ENVIRONMENT The Internal Environment concerns the resources, processes and policies an organization manages in order to achieve its goals. These elements can be influenced directly by an organization. The External Environment consists of the Micro Environment and the Macro Environment. The Macro Environment consists of the political, social, economical, legal and technological influences, and organizations usually have very limited influence on each of these. The Micro Environment consists of competitors, suppliers and indirect service providers, who shape the way an organization achieves its objectives. In this environment, organizations have a much stronger level of influence. MICRO ENVIRONMENT Micro environment consists of those organizations that either directly or indirectly influence an organization’s operational performance. There are three main types: 1. Those companies that compete against the organisation in the pursuit of its objectives. 2. Those companies that supply raw materials, goods and services and those that add value as distributors, dealers, and retailers in the marketing channel. 3. Those companies that have the potential to indirectly influence the performance of the  organisation in the pursuit of its objectives. Analysis of the performance environment is undertaken so that organisations can adapt to better positions, relative to those of their stakeholders and competitors. An Industry consists of various firms that market similar products and services. According to Porter, a leading Professor on Competitive Strategy in the Harvard Business School in his work on â€Å"How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy†, we should review the ‘competitive’ environment within an industry to identify the major competitive forces, as this can help assess their impact on an organisation’s present and future competitive positions. Porter suggests that competition in an industry is a composite of five main competitive forces. These are the level of threat that new competitors will enter the market, the threat posed by substitute products, and the bargaining power of both buyers and suppliers. These, in turn, affect the fifth force, the intensity of current competitors. New Entrants When examining an industry, we should consider whether economies of scale are required to operate successfully within it. Economies of scale are the cost advantages that enterprises obtain due to size, output, or scale of operation, with cost per unit of output generally decreasing with increasing scale as fixed costs are spread out over more units of output. New entrants may be restricted through government and regulatory policy, or they may well be frozen out of an industry because of the capital requirements necessary to set up business. For example, in the oil and gas industry because of the capital required for the extraction and refining operations. Companies may be out of a market because companies within that market are operating using proprietary products or services or technologies for example, the pharmaceutical industry where patents protect companies’ investments in new medicines. Substitutes Consumers consider the switching costs associated with such a decision, which in turn, affects their propensity to substitute the product or service for another offering for example customers consider the switching costs from mobile call rate packages to internet packages and consider their flexibility in transferring messages. They also consider the relative price  performance of one offering over another for example as the telecommunications markets continue to move with the development of broadband internet services, there are a variety of different companies such as Airtel, Aircel, Reliance etc operating in the same competitive marketspace. Buyers Companies should consider their sales to one individual company. The reason is, if one buying company purchases a large volume of products from the supplying company, it is likely to be able to demand price concessions when there are lots of competing suppliers in the marketplace relative to the proportion of buyers. Buyers may also increase their bargaining power through backward integration. A Company is said to have backward integrated when it moves into manufacturing the products and services it previously brought from its suppliers. Another important factor is price sensitivity. Depending on their trading circumstances, some companies might be more sensitive to price than other buyers. If such companies are more prices sensitive and yet there are lots of competing suppliers for their businesses, they are likely to display less loyalty to their suppliers. Most companies enhance other factors associated with an offering for example customization and after sale services to try to reduce a client company’s price sensitivity for example Kitchen equipments are provided with free demo sessions on home delivery. Buyers include Consumers, individuals and households that buy goods and services for personal consumption; Businesses, that buy goods and services for further processing or for use in their production process; Resellers, who buy goods and services in order to resell them at a profit; Government agencies that buy goods and services in order to produce public services or transfer them to those that need them; International markets, buyers of all types in foreign countries. Suppliers An organisation should determine how suppliers operate and the extent of their bargaining power. If a small number of suppliers operate within an industry with a large number of competitors, the suppliers have the stronger bargaining advantage. On the other hand, in an industry where there is a large number of suppliers with few competing companies, the buying companies have the bargaining advantage. The suppliers need to be evaluated on the  uniqueness and the quality of materials provided that enhance their bargaining situation. An increase in raw material prices will affect an organisation’s Marketing Mix strategy and may even force price increases. Close supplier relationships are an effective way to remain competitive and secure quality products. In some Industries, suppliers increase their market dominance by forward integrating. It is a business strategy that involves a form of vertical integration whereby activities are expanded to include control of the direct distribution of its products for example tea manufacturing company selling based on auctions bringing in sales outlets at their factories to increase local community sales. It allows a Company to control its own supply chains better, but also allows it to sell at lower prices, thereby increasing sales and profit. Competitors Every company faces a wide range of competitors. A company must secure a strategic advantage over competitors by positioning their offerings to be successful in the marketplace. No single competitive strategy is best for all companies. Competitor analysis and monitoring is crucial if an organisation is to maintain or improve its position within the market for example an analysis of the Diary Industry helps to know the market segmentation, share and the major players and their contribution and competitive opportunities. We should consider each company’s structure, current and future developments and its latest financial results. We should also consider the different types of goods and services that competitors’ offer in different market sectors. Measuring and quantifying market responses to any new strategy developments that the company initiates are also important factors. OTHER MICRO ENVIRONMENT FACTORS Shareholders As organizations require investment to grow, they may decide to raise money by entering the stock market. They move from private to public ownership. The introduction of public shareholders brings new pressures as public shareholders want a return from the money they have invested in the company. Maintaining Shareholders’ interest will substantiate huge profits. Media Organizations need to manage their media activities so that it can help promote the positive things about the organisation and reduce the impact of a negative event on their reputation. Some organisations will even employ Public Relations (PR) consultants to help them manage a particular event or incident. Television programmes with a wide and more direct audience can also have a very powerful impact on the success of an organization. Marketing Intermediaries Marketing Intermediaries are firms that help the company to promote, sell, and distribute its goods to final buyers. They are the distribution channel firms that help the company find customers or make sales to them. These include wholesalers and retailers who buy and resell merchandise. They perform important functions more cheaply than the company can perform itself. MACRO-ENVIRONMENT The company and all of the other actors operate in a large macro environment of forces that shape opportunities and pose threats to the company is known as macro environment. Six largely uncountable external forces influence an organization’s marketing activities and shape opportunities is known as macro environment.Major external and uncontrollable factors that influence an organization’s decision making,and affect its performance and strategies. These factors include the economic, demographics,legal, political, and social conditions, technological changes, and natural forces is known as macro environment. Demographic Environment Demography is the study of human populations in terms of size, destiny, location, age, gender,race, occupation and other statistics. The demographic environment is of major interest to marketers because it involves people Age Structure of the Total Population and Its Changes The number of different ages of people such as the number of children, teenage, youth, old person should be kept in mind at the time of doing marketing strategy. Because a product cannot be certified for every ages of  customer. Moreover, at the time of increasing of population the growth of demand of product rises should be noticed otherwise marketing process won’t be effective at all. On the contrary at the time of the decrease of population the demand falls. This is the reason at the time of doing marketing strategy the matter of population must be analyzed. For example PONDS ANTI ageing cream is specially focused on a particular customer group of women above 30 years. Changed Family Life Now a day’s one can easily identify the changes of family life style such as- the growth of working class women, income capability of women, adult marriage of women and the right of divorce of women etc. also important for doing marketing strategy. For this reason people are eager to do a less physical labored task. And prepared food, half cooked food, bread, washing machines etc. are used more. So, now we use packet masala, pressure cooker, rice cooker, washing machine, go to restaurants for food for saveour time but those things created market for the product and the marketers getting benefit from their work and growing rapidly. Geographical Shift in Population Geographically living of population and the shift of geographical living of population create impact on marketing. For a lot of reason people tend to go to big cities. For this reason peoples’ life style and their demand style are changing. Moreover, producing product for tourist, job seeking people, businessmen is also profitable business. Besides, people are going abroad and coming back to the country and making a change in their demand style which has to be kept in mind to keep pace with the global growing market This leads to less production in farming products and industry concentrate more on construction tools as majority of farmers move towards cities and mostly involved in construction work as helpers. Economic Environment Marketers require buying power as well as people. The economic environment consists of factors that affect consumers’ purchasing power and spending  power/ patterns. Marketers must pay close attention to major trends and consumers’ spending patterns Changing Income Though our per capita income grows but customers’ real purchasing power falls for 3 decades. Increase rate of inflation, increase rate of unemployment, taxes, economic uncertainty also responsible for the downward shift of economic condition of customer. For trade and foreign support some peoples’ purchasing power are increasing but limited earned peoples’ condition getting worse day by day. Changing Consumer Spending Patterns The spending patterns are different basis on earning patterns so their buying patterns also different. Food, housing and transportation use up the most house hold income. As family income rises, the percentage expense on food declines, spent on housing remains constant, and both the percentage spent on most other categories and that devoted to saving categories. At the time of increasing of income the eating habit gets changed. Again the storage of product or the shortage of product may cause the change of demand. Natural Environment The natural environment involves the natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or they are affected by marketing activities. Environmental concerns have grown steadily during the past three decades. Marketers should be aware of several trends in the natural environment. Shortage of Raw Material Assets can be divided as limitless but not increasable and limited but increasable. As example- air and water is unlimited but for some industrial reason these resources gets polluted. For this reason mass consciousness is raised or some countries enforced law. Forest and food is limited but it is possible to increase its’ production. To make run the forest or wood related businesses we should start taking tree plantation measures. On the other hand oil, gas, coal etc. natural resources are also problematic. Though these resources are enough in some cases available but the expense to use  these resources are increased a lot. So the alternative resources are looked for or experimenting is going on to lessen the expenses Increase of Pollution Some industrial activities are undoubtedly harming the nature. The filth of factories consisting of poison is polluting both soil and water. As a result taking food seems threatening. Technological Environment The technological environment is perhaps the most dramatic forces now shopping own destiny. Technological environment involves forces that create new technologist creating new product and marketing opportunities. Faster Pace of Technological Change Technology is changing day by day. A company must have to fix their step accordance with the technological changes. Otherwise, it is impossible to survive in the market competition. At the present day all types of communication are done by modern technology. To marketing goods in BD one has to stay connect with modern technology. High Research & Development Budget For better production one company may require a group of people for research the market & requite a group of expertise for proper budget in production which will help to take part in competition with others. Sometimes it seems that the authority of the marketing department spends a huge amount of money for research & development budget whereas they forget about the product. Along with research one should take his/her eye on the product. Political Environment Marketing decisions are strongly affected by developments in the political environment. Political environment consists of laws, government agencies, government itself and pressure groups that influence or limits various organizations and individuals in a given society. For instance Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with tobacco advertising, it is one of the  most highly regulated forms of marketing. All forms of alcohol advertising is banned India. Though the manufacturers try to promote their product by using the similar name for the products that can be advertised and promoted in media it still has an impact. Cultural Environment The cultural environment is made up of institutions and other forces that affect a society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences and behaviors. There are few cultural values which affect marketing decision making. These are, persistence of cultural value, shifts in secondary cultural value, people views of organization/ others, etc. Persistence of Cultural Values People in a given society hold many beliefs and views. Their core belief and values have a high degree of persistence. For example, Bangladeshi people are peace loving, getting married for once, strongly hold their religion and being honest. These beliefs shape more specific attitudes and behaviors found in everyday life. Core beliefs and values are passed on from parents to children and are reinforced by schools, colleges, universities, and business and so on. Sub-cultures Every culture has some sub-cultures. People of sub-culture’s belief, ethics, attitude etc. are like to be core culture but they have secondary beliefs. Like rich people. They have different thinking from the other people and they have different life style. They like to present them as different from others and it affects marketing to a certain extent. References 1.Marketing, ASIAN EDITION, OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS By Paul Baines, Chris Fill, Kelly Page, Adapted by Piyush K. Sinha 2. How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy, Harvard Business Review, Harvard Business School Publishing by Porter, M.E 3.Market Audit and Analysis – Nicole Lorat 4.Principles of marketing- Young,Et AL Online References www.wikipedia.com images.google.co.in

Technical Proposal for an Architectual Small ompany Essay

Technical Proposal for an Architectual Small ompany - Essay Example ers of the small architectural company, it should establish certain technological IT solutions along with both hardware and software equipments to communicate with them working in the offsite. The company would entail these particular requirements in order to establish communication facilities with the architects and the architectural engineers for the sake of maintaining a smooth flow of business operations. An efficient flow of information through proper communication channels plays a crucial part in any business organisation. It makes easier to convey any sort of messages, helps to get the work done more efficiently developing a particular idea to be made aware for the participants. Moreover, a perfect as well as an adequate communication often leads toward avoiding any misunderstandings, raises the efficiency of the organisation and ultimately enhances the satisfaction of the workforce (Singla, 2009). After acquiring a brief idea regarding the importance of communication in busin ess organisations, this plan will chiefly be based upon the requirement of the communication facilities between the staffs and the senior officials of the small architectural company. In order to fulfil the requirement of the communication facilities, the small architectural company would have to purchase a few number of desktop computers accompanied with latest operating and software application programs. In addition, apart from these basic equipment requirements, the company also requires a medium of internet for emailing so that it would be convenient to create an efficient communicating network in the workforce, especially with the architects and the architectural engineers of the company working offsite. Contextually, in order to communicate with the engineers as well as the... After purchasing the desktop computers and installation of the software application programs, the architectural company should make proper use of the software programs to access different information regarding the staffs and the company’s performances. The user who would access the software application programs should also possess a detailed knowledge about the software application program. The inadequate execution and lack of knowledge amid the workforce regarding the software application programs might also lead the company to face a vulnerable situation. In this connection, the user should possess a deeper knowledge regarding the use of internet which can facilitate effective communication between the architects and the architectural engineers along with other staffs of the organisation. It is in this context that the proposed plan for the small architectural company would facilitate its communication procedure with the architects and the architectural engineers and will al so contribute in forming a strong base of computing technicalities.

Retail Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Retail Marketing - Essay Example Any organization works within the political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental frameworks. ASDA operates in mature markets like US or UK. UK political environment is considerably stable and market is mature. In the mature market it becomes very crucial for the marketers for serving consumers in the best possible way so that consumer does not switch to competitors. Competition is high for the organization. As the figure below is drawn based on the data of MINTEL Tesco is leading market with  £ 29.99 bn sales. It is followed by Sainsbury and ASDA. ASDA according to the data is third in the row of Food retail market. This poses a challenge in front of it to reach at top level. Consumer has ability to pay and they are willing to pay. This is another important aspect of UK economy and market. â€Å"Food, drink and tobacco remain the core supermarket products, even though larger stores have expanded far beyond such basics. Spending on food, drink and tobacco in 2005 was  £95.1 billion (incl. VAT – around  £92.7 billion excl. VAT). Other important areas for the supermarkets are health & beauty ( £12.2 billion excl. VAT) and cleaning products ( £3.1 billion, excl. VAT).† (Mintel) Social-cultural factors are important as it describes the products and services which will be demanded. Technologically environment for UK market is one of the best markets in the world. All the new and latest technologies are available for food storage facilities, preparation and others. Food retailing requires meeting the legal perspectives and government guidelines of selling eatables and food items such as Food Standards Agency (FSA), UKs Food Safety (Temperature Control) Regulations 1995 and others. Environmental factors have become one of the major concerns of UK society. Due to this factor it is a pressure on organisations as well to keep their operations not only be take care of environmental

Patagonia Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Patagonia - Case Study Example The CEO asserted that "the most important part of the mission statement was to provide and implement solutions to the environmental crisis." The assertion was important since the business relied on the environment. It was, therefore, not only a show of social responsibility but also to ensure sustainability of the business itself. It was also a show that the business was giving back to the community through a more comprehensive focus.It emphasizes quality through ensuring that the core users have products that are functional, simple and multifunctional. For example, it developed a ski jacket that could be used during boat sailing and winter rainstorms. The models were also improved to ensure that the products have distinct functions and are more reliable. For example, the products went through a field- test to determine its functionality, performance, fabric, performance and design before being released on the market. On environmental impacts, it was committed to ensure its products have least environmental impacts possible. For example, it ensured that the dye used for its products was a less negative impact on the environment, and the packaging was also reduced. It also engaged in the production of its organic cotton to prevent the conventionally grown cotton environmental impacts. On innovation, it invested $3 million each year to promote development and research.It ensured that its suppliers meet its standards of environmental and social responsibility and quality.

International Human Resources Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

International Human Resources Management - Essay Example Foreign Trade has received great impetus due to these factors and companies looking towards expanding their organisations are employing norms and policies to facilitate proper monitoring and maintenance of their employees. Due to growth in commerce and management, strategy planning and execution has become an integral part of organisation. Due to this, International Human Resources Management has come to the forefront. International Human Resources Management seeks to lay down common rules, solutions to problems and personnel management systems to help this new phase of global expansion transform into a success story and to help organisations adapt and procure better results. Working in a country that one is not familiar with, is a great challenge in itself. More so, when it involves the establishment of a branch office of your company or deals with the successful initiation of an extension of your company, in a scenario completely different from the one you are familiar with. Heading these operations that delve into international horizons and expansion plans of your company build up more responsibility that needs to be fulfilled, on your part. Therefore, a great amount of thought-processing and execution must go down into such plans, before embarking on a conclusion. Vancouver Communications is an established organisation with its headquarters in Canada. It is involved in the production and sale of office communication equipment. Mike Ansell, the CEO of the company for the last 15 years had come up with the proposal to expand the operations of the company. This led to the establishment of the company in Wolverhampton. The work procedures and functioning of the office has been similar to the Canadian office. Furthering the expansion plan, the CEO has come up with the proposal to set up an office in Turkey, for which Helen Reeves, the Deputy Head of Marketing shall head the operation. At this stage, how should the company proceed with its expansion plans Should it follow the same old conventional method of work, even in its subsidiary as suggested by Mike Ansell How should Helen Reeves evaluate and formulate an action plan for successful functioning of the subsidiary under her in Turkey These are some of the questions that need to be answered befor e a headlong jump into the setting up and organisation of the new subsidiary. Evaluation of Mike's Proposal Introduction: Mike's proposal needs evaluation and assessment, since the plus and minus points of the same need to be identified and worked upon. Here are the various facets of evaluation, that could either accentuate or diminish the quality of Mike's proposal. Turkey is one of the favorable fast-growing sites for international expansion of business, trade and commerce. Transfer of technology, the extent of involvement of the local resources, the net currency profit, etc. are some of the factors that are looked into, before the green signal

Digital Marketing Plan for an online multi-brand retail Essay

Digital Marketing Plan for an online multi-brand retail - Essay Example It is targeting to cater to the online shopping needs of modern females of UK, by offering the next generation trends in the fashion segment. Situational Analysis The UK is recognized as one of the leading markets for manufacturing and evolution of the fashion in the global arena with textile industries producing 8.5 billion pounds of finished goods (Fashionunited, 2009). As of the year 2010, the UK fashion industry has been valued at around 21 billion pounds (Guardian, 2010).The recession and the slowdown in the markets all over the globe, created a down trend in the industry. Further slowdown happened in this particular sector, as more and more consumers tried cutting their expenses. Also, the continuous fear emerging out of the slowdown in the Euro zone and possible chances of a double dip recession has continued to impact the economy as well as public spending for the fashionable clothing sector (Centre For Retail Research, 2012). This has led to the retaliation of fears contributing to a possible bleak outlook for the UK fashion and garments sector. Also, there has been a unique factor that has been realised and noticed in this particular industry for the year 2011. The online model of purchase, which has been prompted by extensive promotion for the online model of shopping has started to cannibalize the in store sales. This has further impacted and hampered the sales that are happening in stores for the entire year of 2011 (Centre For Retail Research, 2012). Objectives The high end ‘New Waves’ is trying to act as a platform for providing a collaboration between the new and emerging pool of new designers as well as the fashion industry of UK. The primary focus of New Waves online model is to act as an online window for the fashion conscious consumers of UK and introducing them to the next big thing that is going to happen in the fashion industry of UK. They are making efforts to aim for a 65% recall from the total target segment, within a period of 6 months duration. It also is trying to achieve the objective of promoting itself as a national level clothing brand in the UK Market. Strategy Segmentation Marketing segmentation is an important and vital role, which is employed by all organizations large or small and is considered as an extremely strong weapon in identifying the target consumers (Charles, Hair & McDaniel, 2011, p. 260). New Waves, in an attempt to promote itself as a national level brand in the UK market are essentially targeting the modern fashion conscious female consumers of the UK zone falling within the age bracket of 18-36 yrs. Targeting The modern generations of consumers, who are mostly falling within the specified age group, are increasingly becoming tech savvy and are more increasingly inclined towards the internet. So, it will be very much essential for the brand to target and communicate as well as interact with the consumers in order to make the brand’s presence felt online to these young consumers. Positioning In an effort to communicate the brand well in the minds of the modern consumers of UK, New Wave should increasingly use a combination of st rategies and tactics for promoting the concept online. The best way to make this happen is to use a number of effective online promotional tactics. Tactics and Actions New Waves can utilize a variety of online promotional strategy and techniques in an effort to market its platform and communicate effectively to the young target segment. In an effort to communicate with the young fashionable modern consumers, New Waves should think of making its presence felt by tying up and collaborating with various online fashion magazines like MC Magazine,

Funding body Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Funding body - Essay Example There are other fitness centers like Manchester Aquatics center, Trinity Sports center, Manchester Central Personal Training, Jodie O’Neil fitness Coaching, Ardwick Sports Hall, Momentum Leisure Club. But the fitness center will possess some unique features which will distinguish itself from its competitors. The fitness center is totally focusing on the customer needs and demands. The fitness center is mainly featuring four activities like spinning class, Boxing, Climbing, Dancing class. These four activities were chosen based on the market research done among the students. From the above table it can be seen that nearly 160 of the total respondents like climbing wall as this activity will bring a sense of achievement among them. 140 of the total respondents like dancing class. Climbing wall and dancing class are the two highest voted activities that this fitness center is providing. In case of dancing class, based on the research it is providing yoga, Pilates, belly dance and aerobics and some modern dance like Jazz. Yoga is the most popular dance among those. More than 130 students like spinning class. 15 bicycles will be there in spinning class and the fitness center is suggesting the members to make advance reservation. The atmosphere will be as night club which will boost the energy of students. Apart from these full size rings for boxing and large screen will be provided which will help the young people to release stress. Available Institutions to Fund a Small Start-up Company When a company is yet to be formed, it tries to raise long term finance from different sources. There are mainly three types of sources from where a company can get it startup capital for long term during its inception period. Some of the funding bodies which may finance our venture are as follow:- Venture capital A young private company that is yet to start and not yet ready to go for public offerings may seek for a venture capital financing. Here comes the venture capitalis t that is prepared to finance an untried concept that appears to have promising prospects. Venture capital funds support growing firms during their inception stages and before they are going for initial public offerings of shares. Firm will get venture capital as a form of equity capital. It represents a highly risky investment in the hope of earning higher return in future. It is expected that this concept will have a greater significance in the years to come. It typically invests into equity or quasi equity instruments in financial market which will be able to share the risk and profit of the investee firm. Venture capitalist not only invests in the new company but also guides the firm actively in taking major decisions. Financial burden of the assisted firm tends to be low. Venture capitalist normally close it position by liquidating the investment from the assisted firm after 7 years. (Chandra, 2011, p.436). Thus it can be said that it may help our fitness center funding. Pros a nd Cons of Venture Capital Financing The main important advantage of venture capital financing is the venture capitalists gamble on the new company. If the new succeeds they earn high rate of return but if the new idea fails then they absorb their losses. In case of bank loan the new firm would have to repay but here no obligations. If the business fails the new firm won’t have any burden on them. Beside this venture capital also help to grow business quickly. Without a

Freedom movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Freedom movement - Essay Example It also marked an important moment for the Black American society who continuously fought for equal rights within the American society (Smith & Wynn, 2009. The act ended the application of the Jim Crow laws that upheld segregation under the principles of â€Å"separate but equal.† It is important to note that prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, African-Americans faced serious discrimination in nearly all important sectors of the economy including employment, transport, property ownership, education and even politics. The passage of the law has since shaped the American society and that is still undergoing transformation. The consequences of the passage of the Civil Rights Act 1964 have seen significant diversity in the employment sector in America. Currently, Blacks face limited if any discrimination in employment. This has seen significant growth of the American economy as every individual struggles to involve in any income generating activity. Since the pas sage of the Act that led to increase in employment of the African-Americans, the economy of the USA has witnessed significant stability considering fair distribution of income and reduced overreliance of the economy on the White population. Additional consequence of passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 relates to significant integration of people from different races, religion and ethnicity, which is working to liquidate some of the native culture of the various American communities. In politics, the passage of the act has seen significant involvement of Blacks in the daily politics of USA. It is due to the strict provisions of the Act that America is currently under the Presidency of Barrack Obama who is a Black American. Furthermore, it is due to the Act that African-Americans like Condoleezza Rice managed to occupy powerful government office during administration of President George Bush. Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-1956) The cause of the boycott related to the arrest of Rose Parka who was a civil rights activist for failing to empty a bus seat in Montgomery. The Black community responded to the arrest by boycotting transport by bus until in 1956 when court overruled the segregation laws in Montgomery as unconstitutional. This even revolutionized social structure and has led to free interaction between Whites and the Blacks (Phibbs, 2009). The law has seen free movement of people across the states by same transport means. This has worked to alienate fears of discrimination alongside enhancing trade and economic development in the USA. The event and the accompanying ruling transformed the political policies created by states and local governments. Currently, many states abide by the principles of equality and fairness that has help in political stability in America. Role of Black women in the Freedom Movement Despite being subject to gender discrimination within their own race, Black women proved an essential part of the whole Freedom Movement. Black wom en assumed the roles of bridge leaders to support their male counterparts in advancing their fight for freedom. The women assumed the roles of bridge leaders because it was only area that they could occupy since men held the formal leadership positions. In that line, the Black women practiced four main types of bridge leadership that included mainstream, community, indigenous and

Management accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 2

Management accounting - Essay Example The company has had a history of high turnover and this is based on the fact the employees were not feeling motivated under the current payment scheme. For instance, the largest production center, which has 75 employees, was paying the employees just 9040 while under the new scheme the employees are going to be paid more salary at 10250. According to Kline (2010), the increase in salary will motivate the employees to work extra harder. Several motivation theories also point out that better remuneration is key to motivation of employees. When employees are paid salary, which is commensurate with their input at the organization, they will become more productive which in turn boosts the competitive edge of the company irrespective of the industry in which it operates. The cost of high turnover is an indication that the employees are not motivated. Moreover, it is a costly affair to the company because the cost of replacing workers, which have exited the company, is a huge expense, which eats into the profitability of the company. On the other hand, the new hourly pay rate is also cost effective because under the new hourly rate, the electronics department will pay less to employees. Prior to the new scheme, the total cost incurred on employee salary for the three employees, Ewelina, Danesh, and Sarah. For instance, under the new hourly rate the company will pay $810 less to the employees because previously the paid  £4522.2 but under the new hourly rate the pay is  £ 3712.5. Siddiqui (2006) asserts that the sole objective of operating a business is to make profit, which is achieved through increased revenues and reduced cost. The fact that the company will register less expenses in salaries means that it will improve its profitability hence the new hourly pay scheme is a welcomed

Michael Jackson Essay Example for Free

Michael Jackson Essay Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, dancer, entertainer and recording artist. Referred to as the King of Pop, he is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time, and one of the most influential. His contributions to music, dance and fashion,[1] and a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades. Alongside his brothers, Jackson made his debut in 1964 as lead singer and youngest member of The Jackson 5. His solo career began in 1971. His 1982 album Thriller sold more than 110 million copies, and remains the best-selling album ever; while several of his other albums rank among the worlds best-sellers. Jackson is credited with having elevated the music video from mere promotional tool into an art form. His videos for Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller made him the first African American artist to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. He popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical style, vocal style, and choreography continue to transcended generational, racial and cultural boundaries. Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children to an African American working-class family, in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovahs Witness, and his father, Joseph Walter Joe Jackson, a steel mill worker who performed with an RB band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and six brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Brandon (Marlons twin brother, who died shortly after birth)[7] and Randy.[8] In 1982, Jackson contributed the song Someone In the Dark to the storybook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial; the record won a Grammy for Best Album for Children.[27] That same year Jackson issued his second Epic album, Thriller, which surprisingly became the most commercially successful album of all time with nearly no promotion. The album remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks and 37 of those weeks at the peak position. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including Billie Jean, Beat It, and Wanna Be Startin Somethin.[28] Thriller was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. It is the best-selling album of all time in the United States.[29] It was, and currently remains, the best-selling album of all time, with 110 million copies worldwide. Jacksons popularity would soar further. On March 25, 1983, he performed live on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, both with The Jackson 5 and on his own singing Billie Jean. Wearing a distinctive sequined glove, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him 3 years before. His performances during the event were seen by 47 million viewers. On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi Cola commercial, overseen by executive Philip Dusenberry,[37] at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. In front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jacksons hair on fire. He suffered second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars on his scalp, and he also had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter.[21] Jackson never recovered from this injury. Jackson died on June 25, 2009 from a drug overdose, amidst preparations for his This Is It concert series. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. The History of Michael Jackson. [online]. Available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_jackson 2 March 2010. â€Å"Encyclopedia of world Biography†. Suzanne M. Bourgoin. 2nd Detroit: Gale Research, 1998. 17 vols. Student Resource Center – Junior. Gale. Leroy Collins Leon County Public Library. 2 March 2010.

Strategically Evaluate The Accor Expansion Plan Tourism Essay

Strategically Evaluate The Accor Expansion Plan Tourism Essay The author has to strategically evaluate Accors expansion plan of adding 10,000 rooms per annum in total during two years (2007-2008) in both established market chosen as United States of America and emerging market chosen as China. The author will also review the marketing, financial strategies that Accor has adopted in these markets till now and then suggest future strategies to expand in these markets. The author will also be suggesting about the brand that Accor should look forward to expand. Accor  is a large  French  multinational corporation operating in nearly 90 countries and Accor Hospitality, the Accor hotels branch, has more than 4,000 hotels worldwide. It starts from the most luxurious hotels to the most economic lodging solution. Under its belt there are brands like sofitel, novotel, mercure, ibis, red roof inns, etap, motel 6, studio 6 and formule 1. The group is looking to expand its hotel business in an established (USA) and establishing (China) market by adding 20,000 rooms over the period of two years. The author has to strategically evaluate and make suggestions to the group. With a corporate representation throughout the world, Accor Hotels have become one of the largest players in the industry. It is an intricate organisation with multiple brands and qualifications of hotels, as well as supplementary products and services. Accor finds it important to incorporate the small and medium-sized hotels in managing customers needs and requests as they are the direct link to the customers. Accor  is a large  French  multinational corporation operating in nearly 90 countries. Accor is the European leader in hotels (Accor Hospitality) and a global leader in corporate services (Accor Services). Accor Hospitality, the Accor hotels branch, has more than 4,000 hotels worldwide. It starts from the most luxurious hotels to the most economic lodging solution. (Reference: http://www.fundinguniverse.com) Aims Objectives: This report aims to develop international expansion plans for Accor in established and emerging market in the given span of time during the year 2007-2008. The objective is to provide rationale for the selection of markets, and propose branding, finance, and marketing strategy to the Board of ACCOR to add an additional 10,000 rooms per annum across both established markets (Europe, including France and North America) and other areas of the world (Latin America, Africa, Middle East and Asia/Pacific). Research Methodology: This report is based on the case study for the ACCOR group of hotels which is from the module study guide and is a piece of research by the The Centre for Hospitality Research at Cornell University. The various secondary sources accessed have been as following: internet, journals, professional reports, government reports and others to produce data for the targeted markets. In 1967 Gà ©rard Pelisson and Paul Dubrule opened their first Novotel hotel on a roadside near Lille in northern France. Travel was booming in France in the 1960s and the hotel industry had not yet expanded to meet the demand. French hotels, in general, were either rural inns or luxury hotels in city centers. Dubrule decided to build American-style highway hotels in the medium price range and collaborated with Pelisson, a former head of market research at IBM-Europe. Through Pelissons connections the partners were able to secure a bank loan, and the Novotel firm was launched. The companys ensuing success was in large part due to its being first to break into the unexploited European market for highway lodging. Each Novotel provided standardized rooms, ample parking facilities, and restaurants featuring local cuisine. Soon Novotels also were established at airports and popular vacation sites, such as the seaside and mountain areas. The acquisition of the Mercure hotel chain in 1975 pushed the company into metropolitan areas and the business traveler market, and these hotels varied according to regional demands in style, character, and restaurant offerings. By the end of the 1970s Novotel had become the premier hotel chain in Europe with 240 establishments in Europe, Africa, South America, and the Far East. Accors brand worldwide Formule1 Lowest rates on the market. Functional room for one, Two or three people. All-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Round-the-clock check-in. Etap Pleasant convenient room for one, two or three people. Budget price. All-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. Round-the-clock check-in. Motel 6 The lowest price of any national chain. Red Roof Inn Renovated product. Low rates. Comfortable beds. RediCard Preferred Member loyalty program. Ibis Simple, reliable pricing policy. Always very well situated, in city centres, close to airports or near major tourist or business areas. Service quality (ISO 9001 certification and 15-minute satisfaction guarantee). Environmentally friendly waste, water and energy management systems. Teams on duty around the clock. Breakfast served from 4:00 a.m. to noon. Hot snacks available at any time. Mercure Shared values, such as a strong regional focus, a unique personality and an exceptional wine list. For business and leisure stays, in city centres, at the seaside or in the mountains. Novotel Open spaces featuring contemporary design, for rest and relaxation. Bright, spacious, pleasant rooms where guests can work or unwind in a comfortable setting. Customers can eat whatever, whenever and wherever they want. Offers adapted to the needs of all travellers. Suite Hotel Innovative, modern concept. 30-square-meter modular suites. With Boutique Gourmand, food can be purchased around the clock in the hotel lobby. Free relaxing massage every Thursday evening. The longer the stay, the lower the price. Smart cars made available free-of-charge to medium-stay customers. Sofitel Prime locations in leading business centres and resorts. Each hotel is unique in its design, architecture and culture. Sofitels exclusive MyBed concept, the guarantee of a good nights sleep. Restaurants offering innovative, contemporary cuisine that surprises diners, awakening their senses and stirring their emotions. Hotel Distribution Worldwide Accor has its 4,000 hotels in 90 countries. It has its presence all seven continents and in all mojor cities. (Reference: www.accorhotels.com) Europe Africa Asia Australia North America Andorra Algeria Cambodia Australia Canada Austria Benin China Fiji Islands Mexico Belgium Burkina Faso India French Polynesia USA Bulgaria Burundi Indonesia New Zealand Cyprus Cameroun Japan Norfolk Island Czech Republic Chad Laos France Egypt Malaysia Germany Equatorial Guinea Philippines Greece Gabon Singapore Hungary Ghana South Korea Ireland Guinea Thailand Italy Ivory Coast Vietnam Lithuania Mauritania Luxembourg Mauritius Monaco Morocco Netherlands Nigeria Poland Reunion Portugal Rwanda Romania Senegal Russia South Africa Spain Tunisia Development strategy Accors hotel business has continued its sustained pace of development. Most importantly, they devised a new, more efficient business model based on two foundations: Stronger brands those are now more visible, more attractive and more strategically aligned. An asset right real estate strategy, which consists of adapting operating structures to the profile of each country and market segment. Pelisson and Dubrule developed their expanding company with a decentralized management and a unique dual chairmanship. Although to comply with French law the partners took turns holding the official position of chairman, they made all decisions jointly and shared responsibilities, immersing themselves in all aspects of the business. The companys specialty became variety, providing hotel chains to fit every need. In 1973 Sphere S.A. was created as a holding company for a new chain of two-star, no-frills hotels, called Ibis; the first Ibis was opened the following year. During this time, the company also acquired Courte Paille, a chain of roadside steakhouses founded in 1961, which reflected many of the same priorities as Novotel: practicality, easy parking, consistent quality, and quick service. (Reference: http://www.fundinguniverse.com) Accor expanded at a far swifter rate than its international rivals, becoming the largest operator in Europe. It led the market in France and West Germany, and expanded in the medium and economy range in Spain, Italy, and Britain with its $75 million investment budget. The companys European base provided three-quarters of its revenue, with more than half coming from hotels and the rest from its foodservices. (Reference: http://www.fundinguniverse.com) In 1997, Dubrule and Pelisson decided to retire from active management and were succeeded by Jean-Marc Espalioux. Espaliouxs new management team focussed on relocating Accors cash. In an effort, to deleverage themselves and free resources to provide for expansion, Accor disposed of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬3 billion of real estate assets as part of a sale and leaseback programme. (Reference: http://www.fundinguniverse.com) Business Mix Accor S.A. operates in hotels and services sector worldwide. It provides luxury and upscale, midscale, and economy hotel services. It also designs, develops, and manages prepaid solutions, including food vouchers, welfare and assistance programs, family assistance solutions, gift vouchers and cards, loyalty programs and incentive campaigns, and expense management services to corporate clients and public institutions. In addition, the company operates restaurants and casinos, as well as provides onboard train services to the railway sector. Accor was incorporated in 1960 and is headquartered in Evry, France. Financial Performance Profit before tax rose to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬727 million in 2005, an all-time record, and the Groups balance sheet was more solid than ever. Based on these results, shareholders will be asked to approve an ordinary dividend of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.45 per share, a 26.1% increase, plus an exceptional dividend of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬1.50 per share, representing a total payout of à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬320 million. This dividend policy is accompanied by a share buyback program that has had a positive effect on earnings per share. (Reference: www.accorhotels.com) Accors 2006 results were excellent, as can be seen in three key figures: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Revenue rose by 6.6%, the biggest increase since 1998. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Profit before tax rose by 28% to à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬727 million, a record. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ EBITDAR margin, at 27.4%, was our highest ever. These figures prove that Accor is developing fast and enjoying very good financial health, as illustrated by their low level of debt. Another reason for satisfaction is that these improved results concern both the Services and the Hotels businesses. For the year, revenue was up 15.5% in Services and 6.1% in Hotels. And, if 2006 was a very good year, the outlook for 2007 is also very encouraging. With the two businesses growth potential, the economic turnaround (especially in Europe with the upturn in the hotel cycle) and the emerging markets of China and India, they have every reason to be optimistic. For 2007, Accor is on track to step up the pace of growth, with the goal of adding 200,000 rooms by 2008. (Reference: www.accorhotels.com) Strategy Very quickly too, it became apparent that there was a need for a clearer strategy that would enable the Group to more accurately identify its development priorities and, more importantly, focus its managerial and financial resources. In addition to this two-pronged strategic shift, senior management, under the leadership of Gilles Pà ©lisson, outlined a sustained expansion strategy combining acquisitions, notably in the Services business, and stepped up organic growth in the Hotels business with the opening of 200,000 new rooms between 2006 and 2010, especially in China, India and other fast-growing regions. Redefining the market positioning of the brands also made it necessary to reposition the Sofitel brand and create a new non-standardized banner in the economy segment, All Seasons. The brand strategy has led to a shift away from the Accor corporate banner toward the operating brands. Accor focuses repeatedly on a specific vision for growth and believes in sustainable, profitable growth through three pillars: A geographically and structurally balanced portfolio A disciplined, and results-oriented management of resources and assets A set of powerful, aligned brands (Ref: case study) The Right Approach became Accors strategic vision of its Hotels division focussed on making Accors Hotels business more profitable, less cyclical and well appreciated by its clients: To achieve these goals, five levers drive the Right Approach: Align the brand portfolio with customer expectations (The Right Brands) Redefine the networks around this brand portfolio (The Right Network) Improve hotel operating performance in the reconfigured business base (The Right Operating Performance) Adapt hotel operating structures to improve return on capital employed and reduce cash-flow volatility (The Right Asset Management) Shift the corporate culture to deliver the best value-added services to hotel owners (The Right Service Provider). Ownership Structure For the lower and mid segment hotels Accor can consider giving franchises or entering in joint ventures. However, for the high end segment hotels like sofitel and novotel, Accor should maintain ownership approach as these properties have higher profit sensitivity. In 2003, Accor opened 10 new properties under these brands, and they owned or leased these new properties. Accor should have less capital-intensive operating structures, which is a key to their success, especially in economically sensitive countries. While Accor owns and leases some properties, they also look to management contracts and franchising. (Reference: case study) Developed Market For the developed market the author has chosen three developed markets from which one will be shortlisted after the analyses. The author has chosen UK, France and USA as its markets for analysis. Accor has great presence in all the three markets. Accor has 125 hotels in UK mainly in the mid-segment. The demand for mid-segment hotels in the UK is strong and most of the Accor hotels are doing well. However, UK is not a big market compared to the US for Accor. Accor already has a good presence in the European market and hence there is limited scope of expansion. Similarly, in France Accor have a staggering number of hotels and resorts in all segments. It also has a lot of services in France. It has its strongest presence in France considering the size of France to the UK and the US. Accor already has a very good presence in France in all the segments. Hence it has little scope for growth. In the USA, Accor has motel 6 and studio 6. It is also present in the upscale market. However, it still has a large scope for expansion in all the segments as the US market is so vast and diverse. Therefore, in the developed markets, the author has shortlisted the US market for the addition of 10,000 rooms in the year 2007-08. Developing Market Like the developed market the author will choose three developing markets and shortlist one of them for the analysis. The developing markets are India, China and South Korea. South Korea is relatively a small country and the economic growth is not impressive enough for Accor to add 10,000 rooms in this market. Accor entered the Indian market in the early 80s and failed miserably. Accor has few operational hotels in India mainly business hotels. However, the political system in India is somewhat chaotic as compared to China. The third market chosen is China. China is a huge country in terms of land and is the fastest growing economy in the world. It has a stable government and its foreign policies towards the hospitality industry are very friendly. Therefore, the author has shortlisted China as its developing market. ESTABLISHED MARKET (USA) _______________________________________________________ Rationale The United States of America (commonly referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km ²) and with about 305 million people, the United States is the third largest country by total area and third largest by land area and by population. The United States is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the largest national economy in the world, with an estimated gross domestic product (GDP) of US$14.3 trillion (23% of the world total based on nominal GDP and almost 21% at purchasing power parity). (Reference: http://www.wikipedia.com) Geographical Location North America  is the northern  continent  of the  Americas,  situated in the  Earths  northern hemisphere  and almost totally in the  western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the  Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North  Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the  Caribbean Sea, and on the south and west by the North  Pacific Ocean;  South America  lies to the southeast. North America covers an  area  of about 24,709,000  square kilometres  (9,540,000  square miles), about 4.8% of the planets surface or about 16.5% of its land area. As of July 2008, its  population  was estimated at nearly 529 million people. It is the  third-largest  continent in area, following  Asia  and  Africa, and the fourth in population after Asia, Africa, and  Europe. (Reference: http://www.wikipedia.com) PESTLE Analysis Political A seldom-stated fact of life is that without political stability it is impossible to have economic progress. Until a nation has a stable political system in place, it is impossible for people to plan their lives, conduct business successfully and go about their daily routines with any hope for the future. The United States has enjoyed 135 years of political stability since the end of the Civil War. The United States is the oldest democratic republic. This is an incredible accomplishment. It is amazing that no other country has been able to copy the American system of government successfully. It is as if that system is uniquely suited to that single country. (Reference: http://www.wikipedia.com) With mass manufacturing long gone from America, hospiatality industry is one of the key generators of revenue. Hence the American government has given some concessions for the development and growth of the industry: Grant of Infrastructure Status for hotels Concession for Convention Centres Continuation of Concessions   Depreciation rate for hotel buildings Concession in Income Tax Act for the Hotel Industry (Reference: http://www.capitalmarket.com) Economical Fortunately for U.S. hotel owners and operators, actual RevPAR improvement through the first six months of 2004 has already reached 9.5 percent. Most encouraging was the 3.2 percent increase in ADR. Record-breaking growth rates for revenues and profits are certainly welcome news for U.S. hotel owners and operators. The industry leaders have forecasted growth in the coming years for hospitality industry in the USA. Also with backing of the US government the hospitality industry is believe to show good results in coming years. (Reference: http://www.wikipedia.com) Social The American population is comparatively young compared to other developed nations like Japan and Germany and a lot of young immigrant work force is also available in the country. Therefore, it is doubly beneficial for the hospitality industry, which is always on the lookout for young work force and customers. The American government safeguards the interests of its people through following agendas: the social inclusion process Coordination of social security schemes Anti-discrimination and relations with civil society Equality between women and men Social Agenda 2005-10 (Reference: http://www.childstats.gov) Technological The effective use of hospitality technology is one of the key factors in providing stellar customer service, since the proper implementation of this technology helps to ensure that key aspects of service are not accidentally forgotten or avoided. The hospitality sector in the US spent a total of $917 million in 2006 on RD activities, compared to $784 million in 2005. As the President outlined in his State of the Union Address, the ACI commits $5.9 billion in FY 2007 and more than $136 billion over 10 years to increase investments in research and development (RD), strengthen education, and encourage entrepreneurship and innovation. (Reference: http://www.capitalmarket.com) Legal The lobour laws in America are very stringent. Therefore, the hotel has to abide by the rules to avoid fines and getting into legal disputes. Some of the laws for the hospitality industry are as follows: Common Law System Right To Privacy American with Disabilities Act Safety and Security Food and Beverage Consumption Employment Workplace Contracts Travel and Tourism The international arrivals market for the United States has changed significantly since 2000. This goal of this analysis is to provide insights into changes affecting the top inbound markets to the U.S. The U.S. welcomed 56 million international visitors from 213 countries during 2006, up 10 percent from 2005. Total arrivals were also up 9 percent from 2000, the former record year for total non-resident visitation to the country. Arrival records were set by 72 countries, nine of which were among the top 20 inbound markets. Therefore, in 2007, the growth in arrivals was driven more from the emerging markets than the top arrival markets. Overseas arrivals (excluding Canada and Mexico) totalled 23.9 million during 2006, up 10 percent from 2005. Travel from overseas markets accounted for 43 percent of total arrivals to the U.S. and contributed significantly to the overall growth in international arrivals in 2007. Although overseas travel is rebounding from its low in 2003 it was down eight percent from its peak in 2000 (graph below). Fourteen of the top 20 overseas markets exceeded 2006 arrivals levels by double-digits: Germany, France, Australia, Brazil, Italy, India, PRC/HK, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Venezuela, Colombia, Sweden and Israel. (Reference: http://www.travelstatistics.com) Economic Growth In real terms, Americas economy grew by 3.7 percent in 2006, faster than most other developed economies around the globe and faster than the historical U.S. growth rate, since 1970, of 3.2 percent. The overall level of GDP was $9.89 trillion (in 2000) when Bush was elected and $9.87 trillion in the third quarter of 2006. Exactly three years later, GDP is $10.88 trillion, a 10 percent real increase. To put that in perspective, just the growth of the U.S. economy over the past three years is larger than half of the entire French economy. (Reference: http://www.economicreform.com) Brand Selection Headquartered in Dallas (Carrollton), Texas, Accor North America operates more than 900 upscale and economy properties including nationwide economy leaders Studio 6 and Motel 6 and the upscale Sofitel and mid-scale Novotel and Ibis hotel locations in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Its flagship chain, Motel 6, caters primarily to vacationing families in the US and Canada with a limited menu of amenities. Accors plan for the U.S. should focus on Motel 6, Studio 6, Sofitel and Novotel brands. The company should plan to grow Motel 6 and Studio 6 aggressively. Were working on new prototypes for both brands, Le Mener said. We intend to be very aggressive with a goal to develop 70 to 75 properties a year, Mener added. Novotel should follow the growth plan of Sofitel, which is to have properties only in the top 20 to 25 markets in the U.S. We see Novotel as an international network, he said. Business travellers and families on a vacation are looking for budget hotels as they want the cheapest mode of accommodation. Accor has a great presence in the low budget segment and therefore, it should continue to grow its hold in this segment. However, it should also look at growing in other segments of the market. This will help Accor in creating brand awareness and also increase its market share in the US. Accor in USA Brand Hotels Rooms Managed/Franchised Motel 6 815 85,421 127 Red Roof Inns 360 39,622 101 Studio 6 37 4,714 2 Sofitel 8 2,633 1 Novotel 6 1,835 3 Total 1,226 134,225 234 (Reference: http://www.accor.com) Financial Strategy Accor USA was struggling with manual account reconciliation that postponed month-end accounting for its growing number of properties. Department inefficiencies and error-prone manual processes caused delays with the identification of exceptions like missing and late deposits. High turnover at properties and reporting delays exposed the company to expensive losses with annual write-offs averaging $1.5 million. Accor USA had no process for escheatment and a 2004 audit resulted in $3 million dollars in penalties for unclaimed property that had not been filed with the appropriate states. (Reference: http://www.accor.com) Accor USA faces a lot of financial problems that cannot be sorted out in a matter of time. It has very less cash left to fund its operation in the USA. Although, the funds from operations increased 7% to $906 million in 2005, it still struggles to keep up. Capital expenditure for renovation and maintenance rose by nearly 15% to   $326 million during the year, and represented 4.5% of revenues, versus 4.2% in 2005. Free cash flow amounted to $580 million. (Reference: http://www.accor.com) As seen above, Accor USAs debt is decreasing and cash flows are increasing, therefore it should concentrate on the expansion programme as the cash flows increase. However, it should focus on economy hotels like Motel 6 and Studio 6 as they require less money. To fund these projects Accor can raise cash money from equity market and some from its operations. With its more substantial financial resources, Accor should step up the pace of growth and enjoy greater financial flexibility. The initial three-year (2005-2007) expansion budget has been increased by 39%, to EUR 1.7 billion from EUR 1.2 billion, to fund the development of various hotel projects in the U.S. (Reference: http://www.accor.com) To improve its financial flexibility, Accor should undertake an innovative real estate management strategy designed to meet two main objectives: Reduce capital intensity in upscale hotels. Variable holding costs in the midscale segment. In the upscale segment (Sofitel), Accor wants to sell the hotel properties while retaining the management contract, sometimes with a minority stake, in order to reduce earnings volatility in a segment that is more sensitive to business cycles. The objective is for 75% of all Sofitel units to be under management contract in 2006, versus 62% in 2004 and 52% in 2000. (Reference: http://www.accor.com) In midscale hotels, fixed leases are going to be transformed into variable leases based on a percentage of revenues with no minimum guaranteed.   One of the objectives is to variable a proportion of the hotels fixed costs. Marketing Strategy Accors big-spender approach has made it the arch-collector of brands, and some observers wonder whether the group can continue being all things to all people without diluting its focus. Nevertheless, its an approach that has established the French company as the worlds third-largest hotel operator, and its coverage of multiple market sectors allows it to spread the risks of a downturn in any one part of its business. Accor group should be focussing on marketing its hotels through advertisements in magazines, television and Accors other services operational in the U.S. It has joined hands with various magazines and is actively participating in television adverts, which will help in marketing its product. Many customers locate and book their Accor hotel accommodation through www.accorhotels.com and associated brand-specific web sites, where they are offered the opportunity to opt-in to an online communications programme. Accors online relationship marketing strategy should aim to convert prospects into customers and build customer value through increasing the depth of relationship and growing revenues from repeat bookings, cross-sales, up-sales and referrals. Customer relationship and marketing director of Accor Hotels, Mathieu Staat, said, Online relationship marketing is an important, but complex activity for us. Accor have several hotel brands and offer online communications in up to five languages to subscribers across 15 target zones. They also run six different loyalty and subscription cards.

Motivation of Employees in an Organisation

Motivation of Employees in an Organisation INTRODUCTION Motivation is the force that drives humans to work hard towards achieving either their personal or organizational goals; giving our best performance at work is not just a function of ability but experience , reward and most importantly motivation, characteristics that are required in order to achieve anything in life. To motivate means to inspire, instigate and encourage a person to do their best in an organization although Bruce and Pepitone (1998) maintain that motivation is inbuilt therefore people will only do that which is in their own interest and managers cannot influence their employees but can only influence what they are motivated to do. Gallager et al. (1997) also state that human beings are purposeful and continually select goals that are important to us and find ways to achieve them. When an employee joins an organization, he/she comes with certain needs that vary from employee to employee and affect his/her performance. Some of these needs are physiological; others are related to psychological and social values. (Robins 2000:44) is of the opinion that â€Å"An unsatisfied need creates tension, which stimulates drives within the individual. These drives generate a search for particular goals that, if attained, will satisfy the need and lead to reduction of tension†. He further states that an employee will engage in activities according to the level of tension, the more tension an employee develops the more activities he will indulge in. So it then implies that an employee who is highly motivated will indulge in more work. For a manager or leader in an organization, it might be very difficult to learn effectively how to motivate each employee as the method used to motivate each employee must be specific to the individual. Motivated employees are of great im portance within an organization; they propel the organization forward by positively influencing the work atmosphere and attitude, customer orientation and company attitude. There are various reasons why employees need to be motivated or are motivated, it could possibly be just for self derived satisfaction that comes with no evident reward other than the activity itself or just to get rewarded or to avoid punishment in addition to attaining a certain level of achievement, Harrison 2007 suggest that some employees may seem spurred on by the need to â€Å"win† while others might be encouraged by the opportunity to learn something different or new. Certain individuals work harder than others resulting in individuals of lesser ability performing better than their gifted counterparts; this implies that an individuals performance depends not only on ability but on motivation as well. Kressler (2003) believes that motivation is not only relative but depends heavily on individual circumstances as one goal might be too high for one employee another might see it as too low even though they are both capable of achieving it whereas Maddock and Fulton (1998) are of the opinion that motivation rarely or does not vary with individual differences or circumstances. Various theories have been developed over times that try to explain the diverse reasons for motivation; these theories have three basic groups (Naylor, 2004). GROUP ONE: CONTENT THEORIES The content theories explain the internal factors that drive a human being and what directs human behavior. The most famous of this category is Abraham Maslows hierarchy of needs: physiological, safety, affection, esteem and self-actualization. Maslow (1987) points out that human beings are wanting animals and rarely reach a state of complete satisfaction. Simons,Irwin and Drinnien(1987) say Maslow describes the five levels of basic needs of humans in hierarchical order and beyond these needs, higher levels of needs exist although a person does not feel the need to satisfy the next one until the present demand has been met. Montana and Charnov (2000) feel that Maslow didnt mean to imply that any of these basic needs would be satisfied totally and that a small level of satisfaction of any need is enough for the individual to move on to the next. Alderfers theory is a compressed version of Maslows five hierarchy of needs which suggests just three levels: existence needs which relate to physiological and security needs of Maslow, relatedness needs which is closely linked to Maslows social, self esteem and safety needs, and growth needs which relate to self esteem and self actualization, he further argues that the more that growth needs are satisfied , the more they might increase in intensity, in addition to that he says two needs can be activated at the same time. Gallagher et al. (1997) And there is Frederick Herzbergs Two-Factor Theory that says there are two different factors that affect motivation at work: hygiene factors and motivator factors (Herzberg, Mausner and Snyderman 1959). Herzberg (1968) developed this theory with people at work as his main concern saying that the hygiene factors (adequate pay, comfortable office, clean and quiet working conditions) if not gotten right by managers will force people to complain thereby leading to demotivation and there will be no complain if they are gotten right. Another content theory is that which was developed by McClelland (1973) who is of the opinion that drive and need are two terms for a motivational process and one cannot be preferred to the other. The McClellands Acquired Needs Theory identifies the fact that every human has a different list of priority when it comes to needs and individuals are not born with these needs but acquire them through experience, he associates each need with a distinct set of work preferences, and managers can help tailor the working environment to meet these needs. GROUP TWO: PROCESS THEORIES Process theories link several factors that make up motivation and are much more complex than the content theories because of the diverse perspectives involved. There are four main approaches based on job characteristics, expectancy, equity and goal- setting. The goal setting theory says that setting goals can be a major source of motivation to employees. Robbins (2000) adds that goals that are difficult to achieve bring about a higher level of result than goals that require little or no effort. Armstrong and Stephens (2005) suggest that feedback is a very important part of the process in order to maintain motivation and especially towards achieving even higher goals. The equity theory by Adams (1965) suggests that when people are treated equally, there will be more motivation to perform better in a workplace. This theory is mainly concerned with how people are treated in relation to other people. The expectancy theory (Mitchell, 1982) is one of the few theories of work motivation that focus on values. The theory implies that people are more likely to choose a course of action that maximizes their utilities and is rather situation specific and not domain-specific (Erez and Earley, 1993). The job characteristics model developed by Hackman and Oldham is built on earlier research between job characteristics and the response of individuals to their work, stating that this theory consists of five job characteristics which are skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback (Hollyforde Whiddett, 2002). (Hackman, Lawler, Porter, 1983) are of the opinion that these job characteristics create three critical psychological states which lead to a number of beneficial personal and work outcomes. GROUP THREE: REINFORCEMENT THEORIES This is a theory based on the argument that behavior is influenced by the consequences of previous actions; it assumes that a person has been motivated to take a particular action and is only concerned with the response generated (Hollyforde Whiddett, 2002).There are four types of reinforcement depending on the employees behavior: positive reinforcement resulting from satisfying consequences, this action can increase the probability that the behavior will be repeated; avoidance reinforcement which is the removal of undesirable consequences; punishment- where undesirable consequences can be taken away for example, the removal of privileges an employee has and finally, extinction which is the removal of rewards (Naylor, 2004). Employee motivation techniques vary from organization to organization. However, they all have the same goal, getting employees to want to do their job better and more efficiently. Not every motivational technique, management practice or benefit works for every company as there are no particular set of rules and every employee has a different need from the other (Messmer, 2001). Through effective employee motivation techniques a company can get much better performance out of their employees. One technique to motivate employees that works really well is the employee of the month. This highlights a single individual who has shown outstanding drive, performance and effort for the given month. It is usually good to have an awards ceremony or to give out this award at management meeting. This simple technique will definitely motivate employees. Other effective employee motivation techniques include competitions between teams in order to get projects completed faster, awards for perfect attendance, and awards for jobs well done. It has been said by (Thomas, 2004) that a manager must have a clear picture of what motivates himself in order to understand what motivates others. (Armstrong Stephens, 2005) Argue that there is no research evidence showing that there exists a strong and positive relationship between job satisfaction and performance, as a satisfied employee is not necessarily a high performer and a high performer is not necessarily a satisfied worker. REFERENCES Adams, J. (1965). Social Exchange, in Advances in Experimental Psycology. new york: academic press. Armstrong, M., Stephens, T. (2005). A Handbook of Employee Reward Management and Practices. Kogan page Limited. Bruce, A., Pepitone, J. S. (1998). Motivating Employees. McGraw hill. Gallagher, K., Ed, R., McClelland, B., Reynolds, J., Tombs, S. (1997). People in Organisations An active learning Approach. oxford: Blackwell publishers Ltd. Hackman, R. j., Lawler, E. E., Porter, L. W. (1983). Perspectives on Behavior in Organisations. McGraw-Hill,Inc. Harrison, R. (1997). Employee Development. wiltshire: cromwell press. Herzberg, F. (1968, july 11). One More Time: How To Nurture Motivation. pp. 52-53. Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Snydermaan, B. (1959). The Motivation To Work. new york: Wiley. Hollyforde, s., Whiddett, S. (2002). Developing practice: The motivation handbook. wiltshire: cromwell press. Kressler, H. (2003). Motivate and Reward: Performance Appraisal and Incentive Systems for Business Success. Palgrave Macmillan. Maddock, R. C., Fulton, R. L. (1998). Motivation,Emotions and Leadership: The silent side of management. Greenwood publishing Group. Maslow, A. H. (1987). Motivation and Personality . Harper and Row publishers Inc. McClelland, D. s., Steele, R. S. (1973). Human Motivation A book of Readings. Morristown: General learning press. Messmer, M. (2001). Motivating Employees for Dummies. Wiley publishing. Miriam, E. (1993). culture, self identity and work. oxford: oxford university press. Mitchell, T. R. (1982). Motivation: New Directions for Theory Research and Practice. Academy of managment , 80-88. Montana, P. J., Charnov, B. H. (2000). Management. Hauppage: Barrons Educational Series, Inc. Naylor, J. (2004). Management. prentice hall. Robbins, S. P. (2000). Essentials of Organisational Behavior. Prentice Hall. Simons, J. A., Irwin, D. B., Drinnien, B. A. (1987). Maslows Heirachy of Needs from Psycology The search for understanding. New york: West Publishing company. Thomas, N. (2004). Concise Adair on Teambuilding and Motivation. Thorogood.

The Ten Greatest Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them :: Business Marketing Mistakes Companies Essays

The Ten Greatest Marketing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Its a certain fact that business these days is more competitive than its ever been. To stay alive these days, you just cant just offer a quality product at a fair price. These days, you have to know how to market effectively. Unfortunately, most businesses have no idea of how to get the most out of every marketing dollar that they spend. You should demand that ou get the best results from every dime you drop into marketing! Most companies spend more time planning their company Christmas party than they do creating powerful, persuasive, marketing communications. Now this can stop. Herein are the 10 greatest marketing mistakes and how you can avoid them. Before I get into it, let me tell you why I put this together. As I consult with current clients, bring on new clients, and market for more, I am learning more and more. Its come to my attention time and time again, when I bring on a new client I find that they are making almost the exact same mistakes as another of my clients was, in a totally unrelated field! These marketing mistakes arent confined to a singular industry. These mistakes Ive found across the board. I have worked with computer software companies, food companies, cable sales companies, real estate brokers, financial consultants, and many more. All of these companies had most, if not all of these 10 greatest marketing mistakes present in their operations. If one or two of these mistakes dont apply to you, then you should congratulate yourself! You must already be on the road to marketing success! Here they are in no particular order: Mistake # 1: Your business focuses on itself, and not on your prospects and customers needs. Does this seem too obvious? Look through your yellow pages. Pick them up right now and glance through. Answer this question: Are most of the ads telling you what benefits you get if you if you become a customer? Or are the ads telling you about the vendors, where they are, how wonderful they are, what they do, how great their quality is, how great their service is, and all about them? 95% of the ads are totally focused on the business and not on what the business can do for YOU, the prospect! Take a look at the ads in the newspapers, on the TV, and listen to the radio.

Destructive Jealousy in Iago and Othello Essay -- essays research pape

â€Å"Jealousy has the power to destroy† Discuss the ways in which Shakespeare uses both characters Othello and Iago to convey this message. Following the recent study of Shakespeare’s play â€Å"Othello†, we found a lot of information about the play and the theme jealousy. Shakespeare wrote tragedies, comedies and histories, all were in five acts of poetry. My definition of jealousy is where someone has something or is able to do something that another person can do. They are jealous because the other people are able to and have the things they want but can’t get. The play ‘Othello’ is in Shakespeare’s group of tragedies, because of the deaths and misfortunes. The main characters in â€Å"Othello† are Othello himself, iago, Cassio, Desdamona and maybe Emilia the play has jealousy and gullibility in it. â€Å"Othello’’ is a black man in a white society. Iago is jealous of cassio because he became Othello’s lieutenant. Iago is jealous because he felt that he was the one to get that position, because he believed that he deserved it, but did not receive what he wanted. Cassio has turned into a bit of a playboy and slept with women, possibly iagos wife. Here are a few quotes about Othello, iago says, â€Å"I do suspect a trusty moor hath leaped into my seat†. I do think this is saying, that iago is thinking that Othello has slept with his wife emilia. The next quote shows that, iago wants to do to Othello what he did to him. Revenge. â€Å"Till i've evened with him, wife for wife†. Iago shows his potential of jealousy to become so destructive. Iagos wife emilia says to Desdemona (Othello’s wife), â€Å"who would not make her husband old to make him a monarch?† Iago also starts to say things about cassio like, â€Å" for I fear cassio with my night cap too.† Iago... ...ed in the extreme†. Here iago is admitting to being manipulative. At the end othello again feels isolated and feels completely vunerable throughout. The audience could see him as a mix between confident and in charge as well as being very insecure. Othello stabs iago wanting to wound him, iago’s reply is, â€Å"I bleed sir, but not killed† – which was what othello wanted.. iago ends up being taken away to be tortured and othello wants this as living is more of sa punishment. Iago is clever and manipulative and has a good understanding of people. He is evil throughout shakespeares play and he knows it. He also blames others for active manipulation of them. â€Å"demand me nothing, what you know, you know.† Iago plants the idea of desdamona in othellos mind. Initially othello does not believe him, but iago continues to manipulate othello and othello lets him do it.

Reverse Discrimination :: Race

Historical references have documented that ancient Greeks and Romans knew nothing about race. There was in fact, a majority of white slaves over black slaves. Even during Moorish rule on the Iberian peninsula, slavery was an equal opportunity operation (Carew par. 3). Not until much later, did the first clear evidence of racism occur with the start of slave trade from Africa to Britain and America. Racism was then formed by the rich and powerful to justify inhumane treatment of black people. However, social justice has come a long way since then. Ironically, long after declaring all men equal, the United States has shown their efforts to improve opportunities to minorities by continuing the use of affirmative action, which is now not necessary in today's society. Affirmative action clearly leads to reverse discrimination, and the focus on those who have traditionally been thought of as minorities overlooks candidates who may be more suited for a position. Affirmative action was initiated during President Lyndon Johnson's term as a government remedy to the effects of long-standing discrimination against minorities ("Affirmative Action" par. 4). The use of racial quotas and minority set-asides led to court challenges of affirmative action as a form of reverse discrimination. It became a kind of quota system and had created a new racism in America. The controversy over affirmative action seems to pose a choice between two alternatives that have become a part of major debate. Racial minorities are no longer disadvantaged, considering most young people applying for jobs and colleges today were not even born when legal segregation ended. With this, Americans deserve equal opportunities with the idea that hard work and merit, not race or birthright, should determine who prospers and who does not. However, the fault in special admissions programs is that they will use skin color as a more important factor than academic and personal merit. Those who deserve advancement may not receive it, due to affirmative action and its counterpart, reverse discrimination. Preferences on applications tend to reward the advantaged members of minorities while hurting disadvantaged members of the majority groups (Kaufman par. 4). These preferences have marked minorities as inferior since they may be seen to succeed not through merit but through gift. Some fear that this has encouraged racial and ethnic identities as a means to win social services, dividing rather than uniting the nation.

Forever 21

Forever 21: Dealing with America’s Fear of Aging and Death Abstract It is estimated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that there will be 71 million U. S. adults over the aged of 65 by 2030 (CDC, 2011, May 11). It can be certain, as was with their predecessors, that the geriatric journey for these adults will be filled with multiple anti-aging face creams and miracle hair growth products as they reluctantly cross over to the last stage of their lives.As shown not only through our media and social interactions’ growing old is not the popular choice. Ironically, the reality is that aging and dying is just as significant as our first breath. It is a journey made by everyone and everything though it is fought with a resistance that cannot be denied. The basis of this paper will discuss the preconceptions and barriers, whether psychological or societal, that is linked with aging, and steadfast approaches that can be used to cope with the aging process and the r eality that death is eminent.Keywords: ageism, aging, death, coping, geriatric, fear, quality of life Forever 21: Dealing with America’s Fear of Aging and Death A study performed by the National Consumer’s League reported that approximately 90 million Americans purchase anti-aging products or have surgical procedures performed to ward off the visible signs of aging each year (Nelson, 2005). As the baby boomer generation moves into their senior years, they may not be prepared for the psychological challenges that their predecessors experienced before them (Daniel, 1994).As Todd Nelson describes in his article, Ageism: Prejudice Against Our Feared Future Self, the old are treated as â€Å"second-class citizens with nothing to offer society† (Nelson, 2005, p. 209). A research model concluded that older persons in the United States were perceived as â€Å"warm, but incompetent† (Nelson, 2005, p. 215). Research suggests that the stereotyping of the older popul ation is much more severe than originally thought, making it necessary for further research to find ways to reduce the disdain towards aging (Nelson, 2005).The negative attitude associated with aging has not always been this way. Historically, older individuals were once revered, and admired as they were considered wise and experienced. They were the historians of the past, teaching the customs and values to the new, emerging generations (Nelson, 2005). The degeneration towards the old occurred by way of technology through the invention of the printing press which allowed duplication of stories in mass distribution, making the elder’s status less significant.Another factor was the industrial revolution as progress dictated where families lived. This new mobility requirement did not settle well with the less adaptive and older generation, breaking apart the traditional family structure in order to secure employment elsewhere. Growing companies needed strength and adaptability during that time so the younger generation excelled professionally whereas experienced, older applicants were less valued. The advancements in medicine also extended a person’s life expectancy, prolonging the caregiver’s responsibility to its elder (Nelson, 2005).In Todd Nelson’s article, Ageism: Prejudice against Our Feared Future self, he discusses the social prejudices associated with aging, and the subtle ways those prejudices are conveyed. His primary focus is our aging population of baby boomers, and how they will be affected by being stereotyped in ways that are patronizing and degrading (Nelson, 2005). In an effort to thwart such negative attitudes, Jere Daniel, the author of Learning to Love Growing Old, describes a â€Å"vanguard† movement that is committed to changing the way aging is perceived.These individuals have evoked the term, â€Å"conscious aging† which promotes awareness and acceptance of the aging process as we move through ea ch stage of life. The supporters of this movement confer that aging is not a curable disease, and it cannot be solved by spending billions of dollars on preventing its process or its end (Daniel, 1994). Another supporter of changing the way aging is conveyed is author, Margaret Cruiksbank, of the book, Learning to be Old. In her book she is a proponent of changing the way the aging process is described. Her position is that the underlying meaning of popular terms to describe aging weakens its value.She denotes that the term â€Å"successful aging† is a false phrase for the elderly as it â€Å"masks both the wish to continue mid-life indefinitely and the white, Middle-class, Western values of researchers, causing them to emphasize productivity, effectiveness and independence† (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2). She also concludes that the term â€Å"productive† aging symbolizes â€Å"economic usefulness and social conformity† (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2), especially for the female gender. More importantly, these terms can be used to measure. This ability to measure is subjective to the questioner and an individual’s self-worth.She suggests the term â€Å"aging comfortably† as it signifies easiness, and a â€Å"faint hint† of pleasurable self-indulgence which may not have been possible in younger years (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 3). There has been decades of research examining what it referred to as â€Å"automatic categorization† (Nelson, 2005. p. 207). Researchers describe this as an essential trait in humans that is a primal response to physical characteristics, such as race, gender, and age, that automatically prompts emotional responses and prejudices. This type of categorization sets the foundation for stereotyping (Nelson, 2005).The aging community is faced with an array of negative stereotypes that affects their independence as well as their self-perception. Many times the negativity is hidden, almost overlooked as it in an unconscious gesture unbeknownst to either participant. Nelson discusses the use of patronizing language as a form of negative socialization. He states that researchers define its usage as â€Å"overaccomodation and baby talk† (Nelson, 2005, p. 209). This type of language is based on the stereotype that individuals suffer from hearing loss to a limited or degenerate intellect as a result of growing old (Nelson, 2005).Another form of stereotyping that has a debilitating effect on the aging adult’s self-esteem is a term called â€Å"infantilization† (Nelson, 2005, p. 210). This is described as a process that occurs over time as the aging adult relinquishes their independence, eventually leaving them to believe that they can no longer do for themselves. The aging adult is victim in believing that they are â€Å"old†, and subsequently begins to assume behaviorisms that depict old age such as moving and thinking more slowly. Researchers have found that t his is prevalent in elders that have been over accommodated.The end result is that it not only affects the elder person but burdens their caretaker as well (Nelson, 2005). Another prejudice that is common is segregation of the old (Cruiksbank, 2009). Cruiksbank notes that even people over sixty five have a disdain for their peers, saying â€Å"they do not want to be around all those people† which may be their way of unconsciously avoiding their own mortality (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 10). She states that distancing themselves may be a way they preserve their autonomy. Cruiksbank sees this as a form of denial, and also counterproductive as she eels solidarity needs to be exemplified by the old especially in this time of their lives. Gereontological research has also found other common patterns among the elderly and their peers. In another attempt to demonstrate independence, the elderly tend to generalize geriatric health issues. They segregate themselves by expressing how fortuna te they are not to be suffering the same doomed fate (Cruiksbank, 2009). All forms of media reinforce negative stereotypes associated with aging (Daniel, 1994). By as early as six years old, negative stereotypes have already formed about aging.These stereotypes continue throughout our lives, and are subconsciously accepted without question. Daniel concludes that society has no role models that favor growing old. A nursing home ad with a dialogue that emulates the aging parent as a problem or burden further acerbates the stigma. Culture and media are designed to postpone the evitable as it is geared towards staying young, and delivers that message from fashion to health (Daniel, 1994). The result of these stereotypes is that as we age, impending doom invades the individual’s thoughts.In an effort to conform to culture’s idea of individualism, the aging population perpetually seeks an elusive youth, thereby denying their mind and bodies the right to age (Daniel, 1994). I t is not surprising then as the body begins to breakdown, that the aging person feels embarrassed and insignificant (Cruikshank, 2009). There is an ongoing movement to re-adjust society’s perception of what it means to age (Daniel, 1994). In an effort to shift the mindset of America’s aging, non-institutionalized studies have been done in American communities to determine the intellectual and cognitive effects of their aging population.The results concluded that â€Å"physical and mental decline is not evitable† Daniel, 1994). As the aging population grasps at their â€Å"desire to have meaning† in their lives, more attention needs to be focused on the positive influences that can enhance their daily existence. These influences include a positive attitude along with making healthy choices for themselves such as food, physical activity and recreation (Kerschner and Pegues, 1998). One way to improve the aging process is to be proactive in developing a healt hy lifestyle that includes good eating habits and physical activity.Research has concluded that the mind is a powerful tool in creating reality so protecting one’s health can be a precept to a fighting off future ailments (Kerschner and Pegues, 1998). The choice to give back to the community creates a meaningful and positive response in many ways. The benefit of socially connecting in a structured atmosphere lends opportunity to share not only wisdom but to develop new relationships that otherwise would not have occurred (Kerschner and Pegues, 1998).Studies have concluded that people who remain active have a clearer sense of who they are and what value they hold in society as well as their community (Kerschner and Pegues, 1998). For every beginning, there must be an end. There is term called vertical axis which describes the mind-body experience when an infant first enters the world. It is believed that prior to a person’s birth, the mind and body are not aware of each other but as soon as they arrive, both are encapsulated by â€Å"sensation and emotion† as the two entities meet for the first time (Carvalho, 2008, p. 4).With the help of a mother’s touch, their union becomes a â€Å"seamless ensemble† (Carvalho, 2008, p. 4). The two live together, as one, for many years. It is not until the last stage of life, do they find themselves encapsulated by â€Å"sensation and emotion† again as now they have grown apart, separated as the aging body or mind is no longer able to oblige the other. They spend the rest of their days laboring until they can agree to leave together, in death. Fear of aging can ignite or dim the remainder of a person’s life. There is an array of products, books, and doctors promising new ways to reinvent the old self.In America, we are driven by the desire to stay young and because of this truth; the aging person experiences certain prejudices. Though, despite the adversity, aging can be a cata lyst to many wonderful and positive experiences that could only happen because one is old. One outdated novelty, wisdom, is just waiting to be reinvented by today’s aging population, and it would nice to see it be born again. * * * * * * * References Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011, May 11). Cdc. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/AAG/aging. tm Jere Daniel. (September 1, 1994). Psychology Today. In Learning to Love Growing Old. Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://www. psychologytoday. com/articles/199409/learning-love-growing-old. Cruikshank, M. (2009). Learning to be old, gender, culture, and aging. Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc. Kerschner, H. , & Pegues, J. A. M. (1998). Productive aging: a quality of life agenda. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 98(12), 1445. Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://go. galegroup. com. ezproxy. liberty. edu:2048/ps/i. do? id=GALE%7CA53479831&v=2. &u=vic_liberty&it=r&p=AONE &sw=w Nelson, T. D. (2005), Ageism: Prejudice Against Our Feared Future Self. Journal of Social Issues, 61:  207–221. doi:  10. 1111/j. 1540-4560. 2005. 00402. x Retrieved October 1, 2012 from http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1540-4560. 2005. 00402. x/full Carvalho, R. (2008), The final challenge: ageing, dying, individuation. Journal of Analytical Psychology, 53:  1–18. doi:  10. 1111/j. 1468-5922. 2007. 00699. x Retrieved October 1, 2012, from http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com. ezproxy. liberty. edu:2048/doi/10. 1111/j. 1468-5922. 2007. 00699. x/abstract