Levis jeans Essay Example

Levis jeans Essay He then turns and sits down next to a large man, who wears dull clothes and doesnt stand out like the young man wearing the jeans. The man has an almost disapproving look upon his face. At the very end of the advert the young man who stripped begins to read a newspaper, which is a very everyday act, which is showing how the man doesnt feel like him stripping is anything out of the ordinary, indicating confidence and boldness. The music played throughout this advert is Heard it on the grapevine, which is how gossip is often referred to and suggests that the man is something to gossip about, and somebody that is talked about.  For young people, again they see somebody good looking wearing jeans, and in this advert the man wearing the jeans is admired by others, looks confident and stands out. Many people seeing this would believe that the jeans would make them stand out like that young man and purchase Levis jeans. Beach  Advertisement 74 is set on a beach, showing another good-looking man wearing Levis jeans, and carrying a surfboard. The man removes the jeans then leaves them on the beach. He bends down towards his dog and points at the jeans, as if he is telling the dog to guard the jeans for him. He then walks away with his surfboard.  A typically good-looking woman in a bikini comes along the beach and sees the jeans. She looks for a moment before putting them on. When she attempts to walk away the dog grabs her leg and barks at her. She tries in vain to shake the dog off, but isnt able to before the young man originally wearing the jeans comes back. We will write a custom essay sample on Levis jeans specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Levis jeans specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Levis jeans specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The man laughs and then they walk away together laughing.  Again this advert shows the man who is wearing the jeans getting the woman. In all the adverts that I have written about so far it has been the man wearing the jeans every time, and usually the man who is admired by the woman. In this advert the woman does put the jeans on, and the man looks at her in an admiring way, but again it is the man wearing the Levis that gets the woman and the woman that is attracted to the man, or to his jeans, showing how the Levis are once again the reason that the man gets the woman. Summary  Many impressionable audiences would believe that buying the jeans would make them instantly attractive, as the people featuring in these advertisements are, and seeing the man in the Levis always getting the girl would be an incentive to many young men to purchase these jeans.  Throughout these adverts the men are all conventionally good-looking, the woman are usually fairly attractive also. They all appear to have confidence, such as the young man who strips in the laundrette. Also others always admire the men that are wearing the Levis for their jeans, and they always get the woman, as opposed to the men who arent wearing Levis which in one advert one such man got his woman taken away. Overall there is the portrayal of people that wear Levis being better looking, admired by others, and being attractive to others. This would convince many people to purchase the jeans.

The laboratory, Porphyrias Lover and A woman to her lover Essay Example

The laboratory, Porphyrias Lover and A woman to her lover Essay Example The laboratory, Porphyrias Lover and A woman to her lover Essay The laboratory, Porphyrias Lover and A woman to her lover Essay Essay Topic: Poetry The Sound and the Fury The Laboratory to express a sense of strong imagery that represents the feeling of evil and hatred, and the other being Porphyias Lover which again consists of strong imagery but of obsession, love and control. Whereas, in A Woman to Her Lover, Christina Walsh has simply made a political statement through a free verse form; conveying the change in attitude of women during the pre Victorian era. In A woman to Her Lover We see that it is about a woman demanding conditions for her marriage to her future husband. This would seem extremely odd during this period, as women were often treated as subservient. The idea of men treating women as second rate is opposed in the first stanza. This stanza details the rejection of male dominance by a woman. Do you come to me to bend me to your will as conqueror to the vanquished. The vocabulary in this stanza highlights the strong feelings of the woman. The theme of this poem is about love and equality; we know this because of the various words used to indicate love such as: O lover. We can also tell that this is about equality as: I shall be your comrade, friend and mate, to live and work, to love and die with you. The poem follows the structure of a free verse without any constraints this further reinforces Walshs main message of equality for women. However, rather than making demands she feels that she must first ask and also tempt her lover; to stay with her. Moreover the use of the conditional tense throughout the poem makes the poem seem more like a marriage contract. Furthermore, imagery is created in this poem through metaphors: I am no doll to dress and sit for feeble worship if that be what you ask, fool, I refuse you! Her point is emphasized through the use of repetition, Do you come to me to bend me to your will. Moreover, sibilance is used such as skin soft, The repetition of the S sound creates a hissing affect as well as a sinister sibilance tone, which gives us a feeling that she doesnt want to be seen as pure or perfect. In contrast The Laboratory is also a poem renowned for its depth of meanings through the variety of linguistic devices used; in addition it also shares a similar theme of death and revenge to other poems written by Browning such as Porphyias Lover. The tone of this poem is obsession. Grind away, moisten and mash up thy paste, Pound at thy powder, I am not in haste! This just emphasizes that this woman has only one aim which is to seek revenge on her rival by killing her. We see that The Laboratory is an unusual poem whereby we see the courageous female persona is driven to revenge. This is in stark contrast to the stereotypical view of women during the 19th century, who were not expected to have a voice, in a male dominated society. Not only does she seek revenge but also wishes to punish her husband: He is sure to remember her dying face. As thou pliest thy trade in this devils-smithy, this line in the opening stanza to the poem which indicates to us that The devils smithy is a metaphor for the subject of this workshop may be poison and death. This imagery also ties in with the devils work. The structure of this poem is a regular AABB rhyme scheme; this conveys a very jolly rhythm to the poem which is ironic because the subject is quiet chilling about seeking revenge. The language on this poem is conveyed throughout the poem through the use of imperatives Take my mask off! Nay, be not morose! the use of imperatives highlight that she is in control. Furthermore, alliteration is combined with onomatopoeia, moisten and mash up thy paste. To convey a harsh tone, reflecting her revenge and determination, as she makes the poison. Porphyrias Lover, is similar to The Laboratory, In that it is also a dramatic monologue told by Porphyrias lover. The action of Porphyrias Lover commences through the telling of the events of one night- culminating in the murder of Porphyria-by the narrator of the poem. The story is not retold to an audience but seems rather to be replayed in the mind of Porphyrias lover. Browning masterfully builds up tension in the poem by gradually revealing to the reader, through details provided by the speaker, what has taken place. As it also becomes clear that the narrator is mad, it is up to the reader to decide on what extent to believe the speakers account of events. The themes of this poem are attraction, lust and death, as he is attracted to the woman but decides to kill her as he believes he has control and dominance over her, Porphyria worshiped me. From this we can see that he feels he is in command of her. The tone to this poem is negative, The rain set in early in tonight, and madness, And did its worst to vex the lake, Imagery is depicted through the use of pathetic fallacy, The sullen wind was soon awake, which matches the mood of range and anger. Metaphors such as: She shut the cold out and the storm. Makes us think she is a woman sent from heaven. The structure of this poem is ABABB; this very effectively emphasizes the inward turmoil of the speakers mind. This poem is written in a free verse form unlike The laboratory. The most chilling phrase which highlights the macabre theme of death in Porphyias Lover is; In one long yellow string I wound Three times her little throat around, and strangled her. From this we can see that the narrator casually kills his lover, whom he is attracted to; but alarmingly shows no remorse in her inhumane death. Additionally, in The Laboratory the most shocking line which focuses on the narrators deranged state of mind is, Brand, burn up, bite into its grace-He is sure to remember her dying face, the alliterative effect of the harsh B sound expresses the fury and bitterness as she really wants to kill her rival and hurt her husband at the same time so he can remember her death forever. In conclusion to my essay, I feel that the poets studied here have portrayed their views through a wide range of techniques including political statements. In my opinion Porphyrias Lover and The Laboratory are similar as they both share the theme of death and obsession. On the other hand in, A Woman to her Lover, is more about breaking the social norm and standing up for your rights. Each poem has a unique tone and message but they do share some similar techniques.

Bloody Sunday Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bloody Sunday - Essay Example Internment was introduced by the state authorities. In internment, the individuals who protested or were suspects were imprisoned without any trial. And it is believed that this Internment basically targeted the Catholics as most of the individuals imprisoned were Catholics. This Internment and unjust treatment of their community led the Catholics to protest for their rights. This peaceful rally was arranged by the Catholics on 30th January 1972. The rally was going peacefully until it was stopped at an army barricade. The whole situation turned to be ugly from here on when the protestors started being aggressive and hurled stones at the army. In response to this Water Cannon and rubber bullets were fired back at the crowd which went on for quite a while. This situation went on for a while because of which the Head Quarters ordered the Parachute Regiment to be deployed. Unusual events took place after the deployment when gun shots were fired at the rally by the army personnel and sev eral of the protestors were killed during this process. 13 casualties were at first reported at the site but after some months another individual who was shot succumbed to the injuries raising the death toll to 14. The unusual events of the incident have been provided from two different sources. The government sources put forward the event in such a way that the army personnel were at first shot at by the civilians and in self defense the army personnel had to shoot back. An army source which was interviewed after the event said that the civilians also possessed nail bombs and they were about to use them to harm the army. On the other hand this source is clearly denied by another eye witness of the event who was also interviewed. According to the eye witness the civilians did not possess any weapons and the army personnel were the first ones who shot the innocent civilians. These unusual

Forum 5 constitutional law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forum 5 constitutional law - Essay Example ure of one’s â€Å"right to privacy† and the constitutionally accepted definition of a â€Å"search.† This case was decided following a Certiorari from the Supreme Court to the District Court for the Southern District of California to review the case. The petitioner was convicted with transmitting wagering information via a pay booth from Los Angeles to Miami and Boston in violation of a federal statute. In this case, Charles Katz used a public booth to give out information illegally about gambling and wagering. The FBI however was recording his conversations through an eavesdropping device attached to the exterior of the booth. The court of Appeals sided with the FBI following Katz’s conviction arguing that there was no physical intrusion into the booth. The Supreme Court ruled that the FBI’s activities in using technology to listen to the petitioner’s words violated the privacy of Katz, privacy upon which he relied upon. The court further expounded that, under the Fourth Amendment, a conversation is protected from unreasonable search and seizure if it is made with a reasonable expectation of privacy. Therefore, wire-tapping counted as a search. Justice Stewart explains the rationale behind their decision was that â€Å"One who occupies [a telephone booth], shuts the door behind him, and pays the toll that permits him to place a call is surely entitled to assume that the words he utters into the mouthpiece will not be broadcast to the world.† (White, Welsh S., and James J. Tomkovicz. Criminal Procedure: Constitutional Constraints upon Investigation and Proof. Newark, NJ: LexisNexis Matthew Bender, 2004. (p. 6).) In the case of the United States v. Antoine Jones, the government installs a GPS device on Jones’ vehicle and monitors its movement in public traffic for 28 days. This investigation was conducted without a warrant. Antoine Jones owned a nightclub in the District of Columbia, with Lawrence Maynard, as manager of the club. In 2004 a joint

Critique of the argumentative Strengths and Weakness The Blessings of Term Paper

Critique of the argumentative Strengths and Weakness The Blessings of Dirty Work by Barbara Kingsolver - Term Paper Example In this line of argument, I find the article of Kingsolver highly effective in communicating the hidden costs of industrialized and centralized agriculture that we have nowadays through presenting a coherent, appealing and factual article. What is most remarkable in Kingsolver’s article is the manner she presented the points of her concern in her article. Unlike other articles which discuss other important issue, Kingsolver, in her writing did not limit herself in just plainly presenting facts and other information to corroborate her point about the hidden tolls of industrialized agriculture. Instead, she appealed to the emotion of her readers by stating depressing instances in India pertaining to the unseen or, maybe, unrealized effects of highly advanced agricultural system contemporarily. Kingsolver mentioned her encounter about Vandana Shiva, the director of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy.

Competitive Strategies in UK Fast Food Industry

Competitive Strategies in UK Fast Food Industry In last decade much has been discussed about the customer orientation, customer value management (CVM), customer relationship management (CRM), Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) metrics, Customer Centric organization models, customer retention, customer care many more with a new theory added each time with word customer preceding to it. But to the fact how many companies incorporate these concepts, how far theyve been successful, if so why do we still see a major shift in the needs and wants of the customers is puzzling many researchers today. What a company thinks as a market or value proposition is often misunderstood by customer and responds in completely different fashion. What is the reason for this? When a company looks at various products and values derived from it whereas customer is looking at satisfaction. The basic question is does all the strategy, innovative product features, add ons and value creation lead to ultimate customer satisfaction? All of this may seem a little contradictory. For better understanding lets take an example of fast food company, these Companies are roll out a new product every now then offering more value, in their perspective. The key point is why the customer switches over to different fast food company products or packages so often, if the products are offering value. The point to be noted is that more value propositions are being rolled out without looking at the very basic concept i.e. whether the value proposed gives satisfaction to the customers. If it is not, then it is not at all valuable. The customer is buying satisfaction. Highest value is derived when the customer is fully satisfied with his purchase. This highlights the importance of value creation for customers termed as customer value. The main purpose of this research is to understand how this customer value forms the basis in formulating the competitive strategies across various industries. Some common myths in Value Creation More is often considered value Buy one get one free schemes are rolled out. There is of course an instant sales push. However at the end of the scheme the customer feels that he had all along been paying 100% more for the products and perceives that very product as costly once the scheme is withdrawn. May switch to another product at the same price. Conclusion: Dissatisfaction leads to value erosion Myth # 2 Price is value Many business considers lower price as offering more value. More often than not lowest price products end up as the second best with a higher priced product with similar product attributes leading the market. The simple reason is the higher price product may be offering a higher satisfaction due to perceived values and imagery. Car markets are a prime example of this syndrome. Myth # 3 More Features or add ons are value Businesses load a product or service with more features thus offering a higher value. While this may be attractive if the features are not backed by adequate supports the satisfaction may be less and value is reduced. We encounter this everyday. A customer buys a product with many features but not demonstrated properly or may not be serviced properly. Enquiries may not be handled effectively. Airlines offereing add ons like free overnite accomodation are still not favored if the services, like enquiry handling, reservations, and time schedules are poor. Cell phones companies may be offering plenty of add ons like national roaming or free incoming calls etc. However if the billing is poor and billing enquiries are not addressed properly the customer is dissatisfied and leaves the service for another provider. 1.1 Aims and Objectives of the project. In this research study, the aim is to identify and describe the attributes of superior customer value how its form an important basis in building competitive strategies in UK Fast food industry. Usually these attributes of superior customer value are a complete combination of Product quality, service quality, and price (PQ,SQ,PR). From the view of consumers perspective, PQ,SQ,PR is better understood as superior customer value with the resulting experiences about the various goods or services provided by the UK fast food companies. These values of PQ,SQ,PR have been embedded in the brand image, which has the potential to affect the buying decision of the customer. It is often said that consumers are always looking for satisfaction in the form of PQ,SQ,PR attributes and brand image that drives them in their purchase making-decision. In UK, most of the fast food companies have their priority over their customers satisfaction in their organisations guidelines and having their success vi sion behind the concept of marketing. There are always implications that these UK fast food companies have to try to adopt the concept of marketing via these PQ,SQ,PR attributes, to formulate successful business strategies in order to outperform their competitors in this competent world of fast food industry in UK. 1.2 Research Methodology In this era of competitive world, creating a profitable value in the minds of the customers is tedious task and requires a lot of information. Among the wide variety of goods and services the customers perception of values can be quite subjective varying with the brand equity. Common knowledge of attributes and how these contribute values is not sufficient, rather important data must be gathered and analysed so as to provide enough information for the managers to make important marketing decisions. This research provides the required skill and knowledge for the managers helping them in solving various problems and facing various challenges in this competitive era of the fast food industry. This knowledge may also be used in formulating new business strategies. Literature will be collected from selected areas of research for the purpose of evaluation. The research must be able to evaluate and clarify this literature to provide a theoretical and methodological base for the research. Information is gathered from the two separate groups of respondent in order to analyse the respondents attitude from consumers and companys perspective respectively. The PQ,SQ,PR is analysed in the context of resulting experience and branding from consumers perspective that fast food companies must design in order to formulate competitive strategies in the era of challenging landscape of fast food in UK. The objectives of the study shall also assist the fast food companies to understand better the branding, consumers experiences and preferences towards their products and services. The purpose of the research projects will have the following area of interests. a) To determine what are the important attributes of superior customer values that the fast food company must develop to meet the customers expectation. b) To describe how these customer values designed by the companies influence the customer buying decision in the context of customers resulting experience and the branding. c) To analyse if the UK fast food companies understand the importance of building strategic customer values through marketing concept i.e. understand marketing orientation approach of building strategies and practice them. The research design will be carefully planned and structured for easy understanding, care will be taken to ensure the accuracy of the findings since, the basic purpose is to provide information regarding specific hypothesis. Firstly, research will collect various data about the customer expectations, opinions and attitudes. Precautionary measures will be taken on the all the weak points in the method of approach. In the first step of analysis, a detailed summary of the various characteristics of the respondent will be observed and analysed carefully. Later, this statistical data will be used for the reasoning of the proposed hypothesis using the evidence found sample of population studied. This is mainly to ensure the accuracy of the proposed hypothesis. Specifically, the purpose of this research is not guarantee the success of Strategies formulated by UK fast-food companies using the gathered knowledge, but only to decrease the uncertainty in decision making process and increase the probability of success. However this research will be carried in a organised analytical manner to achieve the above certainty. For this KFC is a selected organisation considered for this research. The findings of this research shall then lead to a better understanding of superior consumer value that act as a base in formulating competitive strategies in UK fast food industry 1.3 UK fast food Industry A brief Outlook There are varieties of elements in the UKs retail catering industry but fast food is perhaps the most prominent, most dynamic and the most rapidly growing industry. Though there are number of variations in the specific methods adopted by various fast food operators a number of general defining characteristics can be identified in common like drive thru service, meal deal packages, etc. Fast food restaurants offer a simple and fairly restricted menu within a carefully controlled operating system. Usually burgers, fried chicken, fries serve the main course. Typically ice creams and the drinks like milk shakes, fizzy drinks and tea and coffee are also included in the menu. Customers queue up to be served at a counter, the aim being to serve a large number of people with the minimum of waiting time and most operators look to serve customers within three minutes of their entry onto the premises. The food is sold in disposable packaging without cutlery. Some operators offer facilities for customers to consume their food on the premises while others tend to cater more for the take-away trade. The fast food revolution essentially began in the US during the 1950s and this style of catering grew immensely and spread to rest of the world in the decades since then. US companies played major role in the development of fast food operations in the UK. Though McDonalds are now the market leaders and major player in this sector it was KFC (formerly Kentucky Fried Chicken) who were the pioneers in the field. KFCs first fast foodoutlet was launched in 1965 at Preston. Following KFCs introduction of the fast food concept into the UK in the mid 1960s it was well over a decade later before the fast food revolution began to take off. The first McDonalds restaurant in the UK was opened in Woolwich in South London in 1974 and a decade later the company were trading from over 120 franchised restaurants and they had spread out from their initial base in and around Greater London to the Midlands and the North West of England. A number of other, then US based, companies including Burger King, Wendys and Pizza Hut followed McDonalds into the UK market in the late 1970s but none were initially able to keep pace with McDonalds rapid expansion. During this period a number of UK based companies including Wimpy, Casey Jones, Mr. Big, Spud-U-Like and Olivers also entered this growing new sector of the retail catering trade. During the 1980s and 1990s the larger more successful chains like McDonalds, Burger King and KFC continued to grow rapidly and to expand their geographical coverage to, and within, all urban and some rural districts while some smaller operators disappeared from the map. 1.4 KFC organisational background KFC is a division of Tricon Global Restaurants, which was later taken up by Yum brands Inc. This company has around 11,000 outlets in 80 different countries with over 290,000 employees selling around 2 billion meals annually to generate sales of $9 billion worldwide. Within the United Kingdom, KFC has around 500 outlets and among these 80% of them are being franchised. The KFC brand is lifetime achievement of a great personality of now deceased founder Colonel Sanders who promoted the companys wide variety of chicken products via a range of advertising methods like media, store advertising, etc. KFC claims to use only whole chicken other than the reformed or processed products. The chicken is cooked using the Colonel Sanders secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices and is prepared freshly in the store. The specific nature of the chicken product range has varied over time but the companys menu currently includes Original Recipe Chicken, Extra Tasty Crispy Chicken, Chicken Burgers, Crispy Strips and Chicken Wraps. These products can be ordered with fries and drinks as part of a standard or bucket meal. 2.0 literature review As suggested by Alan et al (2003), this literature review shall help me in the following manners: 1 To find what is already a known literature in connection to the research areas so as not to re-discover everything. 2 Moreover existing literature researchers important findings can be crucially observed and analysed and if any mistakes are to be found can be easily discarded. 3 To gain insight into the various theoretical and methodological approaches to my research. 4 To find various possible variables that might not otherwise have a possible application 5 The detailed analysis my findings will be further supported with wide reading of literature review. 2. Superior Customer value The history of the customer value dates back to ancient times under the practices of trade and commerce known as barter system. wherein the buyers agrees to trade in , only if the sellers offer i.e. goods to be exchanged are of fair or better value and equal to the trading goods or services. Thereby we can define value as satisfaction of the customer needs and requirements at lowest total cost of acquisition, ownership, and use. Value is the consumers overall assessment of the utility of a product based on perceptions of what is received and what is given. (Zeithaml 1988, p. 14) Value in business markets is the perceived worth in monetary units of the set of economic, technical, service and social benefits received by a customer firm in exchange for the price paid for a product, taking into consideration the available suppliers offerings and prices. (Anderson et al 1993, p. 5) Buyers perceptions of value represent a trade-off between the quality or benefits they perceive in the produ ct relative to the sacrifice they perceive by pay- ing the price. (Monroe I990, p. 46) Customer value is market perceived quality adjusted for the relative price of your product. (Gale 1994, p. xiv) .customer value means the emotional bond established between a customer and a producer after the customer has used a salient product or service produced by that supplier and found the product to provide an added value. (Butz and Goodstein 1996, p. 63) Superior customer value can be better understood as means of creating business experiences which exceed customer expectations'(Art William, 2004). According to him superior customer value means continually creating business experiences that exceed customer expectations designing and delivering this value is the key to successful business strategy in 21st century. As quoted by Philip Kotler (2000), total customer value is the package of benefits customers expect from a given product or services. Therefore, to understand the true meaning of superior customer values, the concentration must be on the various customer experiences over attributes of the product or services provided by the company. Colin John (2002) explained customer experience as If you take all of the different aspects of a commoditised world then everything is pretty similar: similar products, similar people, similar technology, and similar pricing. The differences are in the brand, the perception, and the feel of a company, all of which are delivered through the customer experience. Its the customer experience that will differentiate a company. According to R.R. Woodruff (1997) delivering this customer value raises many difficult questions such as (1) What exactly do customers value? (2) Of all the things customers value, on which ones should we focus to achieve advantage? (3) How well do customers think we deliver that value? (4) How will what customers value change in the future? Here comes the task of managers as how they deliver this value, using what processes and methods can this customer value be efficiently delivered. 2.1 The Importance of Customer Value According to art william (2004) Customer value is combination of four core components namely service, quality, image and price altogether an approach known as the S-Q-I-P approach. These are also known as customer value triads which provide a basis for competitive business strategies. Huber et al (2001) states that many marketing strategists and economists emphasize that creation of superior customer value plays an important role in ensuring company are success. A clear understanding of the concept of value becomes essential for the success of value-based strategies (Woodruff, 1997). Indeed, superior value of products/services delivered to customers leads to customer loyalty, the real driver of financial performance ( Reichheld et al., 2000) According to Azaddin (2004) loyalty and profits are strongly linked to value created for customers. Customers are loyal to a company as long as it offers them superior value compared to its competitors. According to Art William (2004) most of the firms today have positioned themselves under the S-Q-I-P approach with an objective of differentiating themselves from their competitors also have given importance in meeting acceptable threshold levels with respect to the products quality, services quality and pricing attribute. A said by him designing and delivering superior customer value propels organisations to market leadership positions in highly competitive global field. Philip Kotler (2000) expressed that the firms that won the customer loyalty are perceived to offer highest customer delivered value. In this context, total customer value is a combination of benefits customers expect from a given products or services. According, Robert and Sue (2003) customer values are categorized in two ways i.e. effectiveness and efficiency. When the products services offered satisfy the needs of the customers then the value are said to be effectively delivered. The less is the cost more is the satisfaction of the customer that can be achieved efficiently. 2.2 Customer value a source of competitive advantage According to woodruff (1997) in todays competitive era, quality may no longer offer competitive advantage. It is customer value that gives a competitive advantage how this customer value can be delivered efficiently forms the crucial part. He stated that adopting a customer value delivery orientation requires organizations to learn extensively about their markets and target customers. Deciding how to compete on superior customer value delivery raises difficult questions, such as the following: (1) What exactly do customers value? (2) Of all the things customers value, on which ones should we focus to achieve advantage? (3) How well do customers think we deliver that value? (4) How will what customers value change in the future? According to sharma (1994) many researchers have argued on fact that there are differences in what managers think customers value and what customers say they value these gaps can form the potential sources of mistakes for the organisations in delivering customer value. Customers tend to think differently when buying a product and using it which is well explained by Woodruff (1997) that Customers learn to think concretely about value in the form of preferred attributes, attribute performances, and conse- quences from using a product in a use situation. A customer forms a evaluative or predictive opinion during the value experience of a product i.e. customers may predict a received value, but during use they actually experience received value. 2.3 Defining Value Proposition from Firm Perspective Michael J. Lanning, the chairman, the DPV Group, LLC stated that value proposition is a decision and commitment of resulting experiences, including price, to a group of target customers, profitably and better than competitors. Frederick Webster (1994) explained that value proposition is a verbal statement that matches up the firms distinctive competencies with the needs and preferences of a carefully designed set of potential customers. He also explained that the description of value proposition created by the firms needs to be clear, concise, and credible and consistence over time and has to be communicated and shared between the firm and its customers. Since the customers have a better say on the true value criteria, every firm must ensure that the value proposition is positioned effectively as the value proposition takes into consideration the interpretation of value of customers. Art William (2004) explained that this S-Q-I-P approach not only provides the basis of an organisations value proposition but also establishes a solid business philosophy for the organisation. It guides all strategic decisions, and ultimately affects business performance. The uniqueness of articulation of core and augmented value proposition gives a memorable message to be successful. As most of the firms compete based on their own identities and their potentials, value proposition ingredients needs to be carefully analysed Dave Brock, the President of Partners In EXCELLENCE relates superior customer value with value proposition. To define and communicate value proposition, the firms must focus on the following issues. The customer must have a need and without any needs to buy a product or services, the customer values can never exist. Value is described as the difference between the perceived benefits and consequences of selecting a solution or needs. To differentiate, your value proposition must be perceived by the customer as superior to every alternative available in the market. Thus, it is imperative to understand that the value proposition is in the eyes of the customers not the product. It has to be customised to the specific needs of each customer. 2.4 Quality Attributes Quality has been recognised by companies as a major ingredient in a customers choice of products and service and hence it is important to have a working definition of quality if the customer has to enjoy a consistent high standard of goods and services. The official definition of quality by American National Standards Institute and the American Society for quality Control is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or services that bears on its ability to satisfy given needs. 2.41 Consumers Perspective about quality. It is important to understand how the customer defines quality that delivers the best values as customer has the perceptions of which firms are producing better quality than others, and they choose to purchase accordingly. According to W.Edwards Deming, the customer is the most important part of the production line. Quality should always be aimed at the present and the Future needs of the customer. Since the customers possess different quality level of product or service with different quality expectation, a commonly definition of quality can be drawn. In other words quality is determined by what the customer wants and is willing to pay for. A desire to purchase an attractive product would disappear by poor service and support (Colin and Graham, 1993). He also emphasised the importance of the need for decent combination of product and service quality. Sparks Legault (1993) incorporated Garvins eight dimension of quality and applied them to the firm business cycle. 2.42 Dimension of Service Quality In this competitive environment, the pursuit of service quality is considered by many organizations to be an essential element of their corporate strategy (Paradize-Tornow 1991). Service organizations are constantly searching for sources of competitive advantage, but as product quality rises and products become less distinguishable from one another, companies are seeking competitive advantage through the service elements of their product (Buttle 1999). Roberta Bernard (2003) stated that the proportion of service quality differs from product quality. Colin Graham (1993) mentioned that the definition of service quality is needed in managing of quality as quality would not sufficiently built superior customer values. In addition he also redefined that the Garvin eight dimension of product quality would not sufficiently built superior customer values. . Art William (1999) cited that a user of services has a set of attributes or characteristics in mind when determining service quality. Service attributes are more directly related to time, and the interaction between employees and the customer. Evans Lindsay (1996) identify the following dimensions of service quality. 1. Time and Timeliness: It is related to promptness of service. It is the time the customer is expected to wait for his turn to receive the service. To ensure customers needs are responded in time every firm must possesses dedicated employees to work extra mile. 2. Completeness: The service provider firm has to distinguish and understand the customers true needs rather than what is stated and constrained by the system and has to ensure that everything the customer requested is provided. 3. Courtesy: This refers to the kindness of service personnel and how employees treat customers. 4. Consistency: Expectation of services has to be consistent. There must be a certain level of consistency in the services provided to each customer each time. 5. Accessibility and convenience: The service must be easily accessed and conveniently located. The conventional convenient time to receive service and location of operation has becoming increasing important. 6. Accuracy and reliability: It involves consistency of performance and dependability. Each firm must perform the service right the first time and keeping to their promises. Any rescheduling of meetings with customers must be made only when absolute necessary. Neil Botten John (1999) have listed the following service elements in additional to the above service attributes 1. Competence: It means the knowledge of the Product and necessary skill to perform service and support tasks. In this way, customer confidence is enhanced by experienced and knowledgeable staff especially the operational supported personnel. 2. Credibility: It involves in believability, trustworthiness and honesty of customer contact personnel that work towards the customers best interests. It contributes to credibility of company name and reputation. 3. Understanding the Customer: It means attempting to know the customers need and making the customers feel in control. In this aspect, the firm must recognise the regular customer understand the customers specific requirements, rendering individualised attraction. 4. Tangibles: It includes physical evidence of the services. This includes the appearance and quality of facilities provided. For example, a conformable car showroom with friendly sales executives ready to serve the waiting customers. 2.43 Managing Service Quality It is a common assertion among management and marketing theorists that customer service quality is essential to business success (Kristensen et al., 1992). Firms providing this superior service quality, measured by customer satisfaction also experience higher economic returns than those of competitors, even though they are not so service oriented (Aaker and Jacobson, 1994; Bolton, 1998). Satis?ed customers are center to the longterm success of business, and the bondage between customer satisfaction and customer behaviour has been well documented in marketing literature.. In this study, there has been a broadened definition of service quality to derive the superior customer value that customers seek for. It is more complex to define quality for services than for products in view of its intangible and variable nature of service characteristics. Parasuraman (1990) and his colleagues explained that service quality is a comparison of what a consumer feels a service provider should offer against their perception of what the service provider actually can offer. They related service quality as a measure between service perceptions as well as expectations. Therefore, to provide superior customer service, the firm must ensure that the service offered meets or exceed customers expectation. 2.44 Strategic Implications of Quality We have emphasized previously on the entire product and service characteristics that are considered to be an important customer value trait to built and deliver a superior customer value. These attributes of quality must be incorporated into the design of the product that results in the products and service consumers want and having quality they expect. Why is then so significant of quality in the formulation of strategy? John Beckford (1988, p.11) has highlighted from the citation of Jiang Zemin, President, Peoples Republic of China, 1996 focus on quality, not quantity. He further pointed that China is treating quality not just as an organisational issue but also as a national one though they are the worlds largest emerging economy consisting of 1.2 billion potential consumers. Such a position supplements a message that all organisations, which want to survive and succeed, must take quality seriously. Pursuit of quality must be considered as a winning strategy dimension tool. In the context of strategic management, firstly, the process for formulating strategy must display quality characteristics in that the business strategic planning itself must be correctly designed and implemented. Secondly, the impact of the choice to pursue quality fits with the generic strategy of differentiation. Thirdly, the pursuit of quality has an impact on strategic decisions because it may generate changes in consumer b ehaviour. This in turn may fulfil the changing expectations of customers by eliminating the need to establish additional facilities or new distribution channels. Roberta Bernard (2003) cited that firms in which quality drives their competitive strategy have certain common characteristics. They concentrate on customer satisfaction through quality by following a clear strategic goal, vision, or mission. For example, Motorolas company objective of Total Customer Satisfaction reflects their commitment to customer satisfaction and quality as par of their overall strategy and vision. On the other hand, quality must be inherent throughout the organisation in order for it to survive and Commitment of employees and strong leadership are also the key to successfully integrating quality into a companys strategic plan. 2.5 Price Attribute Art William (1999) quoted Price is what you pay. Value is what you get. (Warren Buffett, CEO, Berkshire Hathaway). 2.51 Communicating Value through Price Price varies substantially according to whose perspective we are taking from. To the firm, price is used to signal value for their products or services, to differentiate their offer from those of the competitors, and also shift consumer demand. To consumers, price generally reflecting how much they have to give up taking possession of the product or service. Price influences the perceived value. From the competitors point of view, price is used as benchmark to compete (e.g. as entry barrier in price war). Philip Klotler (2000) pointed out that many firms see buyers perception of value, not the sell

Are All Interpretations Possible? :: Philosophy Essays

Are All Interpretations Possible? ABSTRACT: Two fundamental criticisms made by traditional hermeneutics against philosophical hermeneutics are that the latter deny the possibility of objectively true interpretation, as well as assert that all interpretations are possible on the basis that they cannot be measured. In my paper, I argue that the first criticism is well-founded, while the second is not. I contend that interpretations can be decided according to two relational criteria: (i) which interpretation has a more comprehensive horizon; and (ii) which one is derivable from the other. 1. The birth of the philosophical hermenutics and its hermeneutical novelty. Until now it seems to be the most widespread viewpoint about the philosophical turning of hermeneutics that it was realized by Martin Heidegger in his lectures in the 1920's, and in his work: Being and Time. Let me refer to the manuscript from the 1920's that Thomas Sheehan and Theodore Kisiel found and they published in the Dilthey-Jahrbuch (Phà ¤nomenologische Interpretationen zu Aristoteles /Anzeige der hermeneutischen Situation/) (1) and refer to the volume 61. of Gesamtausgabe (Phà ¤- nomenologische Interpretationen zu Aristoteles. Einfà ¼hrung in die phà ¤nomenologische Forschung) and to the volume 63. (Ontologie /Hermeneutik der Faktizità ¤t/). Although he hardly wrote more than half a page explicitly about hermeneutics (7. §.) in Being and Time, but its work in the book is not questionable. As to the secondary grounding of my statement I refer to two competent authors'opinion. Otto Pà ¶ggeler wrote the following about Being and Time in his 1963 monograph: "Weil der Se inssinn dessen, was Husserl als das transzendentale Ich faBt, von Heidegger als faktische Existenz bestimmt wird, die in sich selbst hermeneutisch ist, wird die transzendentale Phà ¤nomenologie Husserls bei Heidegger zur hermeneutischen Phà ¤nomenologie. Die hermeneutisch vestandene  »transzendentale Erkenntnis « ist ineins Frage nach dem Seinssinn des Daseins und nach dem Sinn von Sein und damit  »ontologisch «, ErschlieBung des Seins." (2) Hans-Georg Gadamer who completed the philosophical hermeneutics that was created by Heidegger, and who is the doyen of it in our age, also stated about Being and Time that "...as a result of the existential futurality of human Dasein, the structure of historical understanding appears with its full ontological background". (3) We can not doubt that Heidegger composed the existential hermeneutics with the fundamental-ontological, philosophical intention of radicalizing Husserl's phenomenology. Let us focus our attention on what are the most important ideas — for my topic — of the young Heidegger's philosophy and its hermeneutical novelty! As we know, Heidegger considered that the fundamental question of philosophy was the question of the meaning of Being.

Appalachian Culture and Health Awareness Essay

According to Kruger et al. (2012), the Appalachian region, consisting of 13 states along the east coast border, is a high risk area for cardiac, pulmonary, and cancer conditions related to smoking and coal mining. This rural population has ultimately higher rates of heart disease, stroke, COPD, asthma, lung cancer, and diabetes. Substantially higher rates of smoking, as well as the relevance of coal mining, are two major contributors to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality amongst this large population (Kruger et al., 2012). Insufficient education, poor behavior choices, and lack of adequate health care are major contributors to the overall unhealthy lifestyles of these individuals. Unfortunately, this begins at a young age. According to Short, Oza-Frank, and Conrey (2012), there are major differences regarding preconception health awareness amongst Appalachian women as compared to non-Appalachian women. Appalachian women have higher rates of smoking, diabetes, and obesity than do non-Appalachian women. These women have poorer rates of prenatal care and higher rates of birthing and congenital complications, such as pulmonary hypertension, insufficient lung development, and cardiac abnormalities. Often due to lack of insurance, these mothers often lack appropriate health care and health awareness, thus increasing their child’s risk of further cardiac and pulmonary conditions down the road. Unfortunately, these babies grow up in an environment that, as a population, has inadequate health care, low income, and poor health. This detrimental sequence of events is what has maintained the subpar health status of the Appalachian population (Short et al., 2012). As these children grow into their teens, poor behavioral choices further substantiate detrimental risk factors. A study by Pettigrew, Miller-Day, Krieger, and Hecht (2012), conducted research study of primary and secondary health prevention in Appalachian adolescents. According to this study, this population has higher rates of smoking, drinking, and drug use as compared to non-Appalachian adolescents. These risky behaviors are so prevalent because of lifestyles these children have grown to know; these behaviors are considered normal in many homes. As do their parents, many of these children lack insurance and health care (Pettigrew et al., 2012). Obesity and diabetes is also substantially high in the Appalachian population as compared to the rest of the nation as shown in a study by Wenrich, Brown, Wilson, and Lengerich (2012). The authors pinpoint Appalachia as a low-income group of individuals who receive poor nutrition, thus further contributing to the preexisting risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Poor health, along with behavioral risk factors, have ultimately led to detrimental health status. Yes, we love the STEELers, but steel mills and coal mining has only contributed to these health risks. The Appalachian culture is at risk for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, these risk factors will not decline quickly. Primary prevention and health awareness programs would make a huge impact on this population. Low income is a struggle that will not be overcome easily. However, primary prevention and health awareness are often available at low cost and are highly efficient measures of decreasing risk factors by focusing on healthy lifestyles. Smoking cessation would obviously be of major importance, but compliance would be of great struggle (Kruger et al., 2012). References Kruger, T., Howell, B., Haney, A., Davis, R., Fields, N., & Schoenberg, N. (2012). Perceptions of smoking cessation programs in rural Appalachia. American Journal of Health Behavior, 36(3), 373-84. Pettigrew, J., Miller-Day, M., Krieger, J., & Hecht, M. (2012). The rural content of illicit substance offers: a study of Appalachian rural adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 27(4), 523-50. Short, V., Oza-Frank, R., & Conrey, E. (2012). Preconception Health Indicators: A comparison between non-Appalachian and Appalachian women. Maternal & Child Health Journal, 16(1), 238-49. Wenrich, T., Brown, J., Wilson, R., & Lengerich, E. (2012). Impact of a community-based intervention on serving and intake of vegetables among low-income, rural Appalachian families. Journal of Nutrition Education & Behavior, 44(1), 36-45.

Ephedra essays

Ephedra essays As you have recently heard, there have been some deaths and injuries where the dietary supplement ephedra was involved. The most recent and most publicized was the death of the Orioles pitcher, Steve Bechler. Twenty-three year old Bechler died of a heat stroke after a mild work out. The temperature being only eighty degrees Fahrenheit, there were some questions about his death. Bechler had been taking ephedra. A medical examiner believes that ephedra most likely contributed (Ellsworth). Ephedra is a natural herb used in such medicines as Metabolife356, Ripped Fuel, Ultimate Orange and Hydroxycut. Ephedra's active ingredient is the central nervous system stimulant, Ephedrine. Ephedra is mainly used for weight loss, gaining muscle, asthma, allergies, colds and hey fever. This Chinese herb has been used for over five thousand years and called one of the world's oldest medicines. It has been used for years originally for common colds and fever. Although ephedra has been used for years, it does have some severe side effects and can sometimes be fatal. Some damage ephedra can cause is sudden cardiac death, stroke, heatstroke, seizure, cardiac arrest, heart attack, incranial bleeds, high blood pressure, restlessness, insomnia, memory loss, nervousness and as I have said before, death. Many people have complained of these side effects but continue to take this harmful herb. Physicians also know of these damages and have had patients with these effects occurring to them and they still prescribe ephedra to their patients. With all these deaths and injuries resulting from the use of ephedra, multiple lawsuits have been filed against the production and consumption of this herb turned drug. In 1994 a woman in Texas died and one hundred other Texans became ill after consuming ephedra-based products. Around twenty-one lawsuits were filed. Another example, 1996 a student, from the University of New York, die ...

The Awakening essays

The Awakening essays In the novels The Awakening,Huckleberry Finn and The Life of Fredrick Douglass,the search for freedom and authenticity is reflected through characters like Huck, Edna , Jim and Fredrick Douglass .All of these characters have are the rebellions to their societies' demands and they are desperate to seek freedom from the burdens of their cultural demands . There are certain similarities between the personalities of Huck and Edna .Edna is struggling to find her "real place " in her socirty . She is oppressed and dealing with sexism . A part of her conscious is aware of this inequality and it stings her soul abusively . An indescribable oppression, which seemed to generate in the same familiar part of her conscious filled her whole being with a vague anguish . It was like a shadow ,like a mist passing across her soul's summer day . It was strange and unfamiliar ;it was a mood . Page 8 (para 2) She feels repressed and a minority in her society .These feelings sounds like the feelings of being useless and unworthy and their intensity is revealed as feelings of chill in summer time. In the same manner , Huck also feels repressed from the idea of racism and slavery. Just like Edna being a rebel to her society, Huck is in the same boat .His feelings are strong against the inequality with blacks which is revealed when he accompanies Jim in his journey to freedom. He is well aware of his antagonistic behavior but his strong feeling, just as with Edna are hard to ignore ."All right then, I'll go to hell." This statement that he makes several times in the novel is the strongest evidence of his muscular feelings towards freedom . Both Edna and Huck are misfits in their societies and even a threa...

Rounding with Mixed Decimals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Rounding with Mixed Decimals - Essay Example Adding extra zeros to the right of the last decimal digit does not change the value of the decimal number (Math League, 2008, pg. 1). Children should also be familiar with the whole number portion and with naming what digit is in what place. For instance, in 14.65, the whole number portion is 14. An example of the latter can be illustrated with 4.165. In this number, 4 is in the ones place, 1 is in the tenths place, 6 is in the hundredths place, and 5 is in the thousandths place (Math League, 2008, pg. 2). A variety of specific examples or tasks can be used to check student understanding of rounding with decimals to the nearest tenth and to detect the existence of any possible conceptual and/or procedural errors. First of all, if the assignments are being conducted via paper and pencil, traditional assessment instruments such as the paper test can be used to measure success or detect weak areas. Second of all, if the assignments are being conducted via computer software drills, the software often gives immediate feedback that can be used to detect any strengths and weaknesses that students may have. Third, if the assignments are being conducted via flash cards, immediate feedback can be gained and recorded by quickly jotting the notes regarding the students performance in a notebook for later analysis and recommendations or guidance in the area (Reys, et.al., 2004). According to 321 Know (2008, pg. 2), â€Å"Rounding decimals is very similar to rounding other numbers. If the hundredths and thousandths places of a decimal is forty-nine or less, they are dropped and the tenths place does not change. For example, rounding 0.843 to the nearest tenth would give 0.8. If the hundredths and thousandths places are fifty or more, the tenths place is increased by one. The decimal 0.866 rounded to the nearest tenth is 0.9.† According to Math League (2008), the general rule for rounding decimal numbers must be

Financial Management - Study of 3 Companies and their Flotations (IPO) Essay

Financial Management - Study of 3 Companies and their Flotations (IPO) onto the Stock Exchange - Essay Example Through IPO, companies intend to raise money by offering shares for the first time to the outsiders (Espinasse, 2011, p.1). Recently, Groupon, LinkedIn and Angie’s List decided to go public and released their IPOs. ‘Facebook’ has also filed its IPO recently. These are US based high profile internet companies and are running successfully worldwide. There are lot of benefits as well as some challenges too that are to be faced by companies going public. About the companies and its products and services Groupon: Groupon is a daily deal website, headquartered at Chicago, IL, US and was launched in November, 2008. Groupon is an e-commerce marketplace. It provides a link between the local merchants and consumers. The goods and services are offered at a discounting rate to the consumers. Groupon is a means of advertising through internet where local merchants can attract customers in order to facilitate selling of its goods and services. Consumers are informed about the d aily deals through emails, websites and mobile applications. These daily deals are about, what the consumers can do, see, eat or buy in their local markets where they live. One coupon named, ‘Groupon’ is offered everyday in each of the markets where it serves. The ‘Groupon’ is like an assurance contract which requires a minimum number of people to sign up for the deal or offer before it is available to everyone, or else the deal gets lapsed for the day. LinkedIn: LinkedIn Corporation is a social networking website which is mainly meant for professional business purposes. It is headquartered at Mountain View, California, US. LinkedIn was launched in May, 2003 and its website is available in different languages like English, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, etc. It provides a leading service in professional networking globally. An individual can post their profile in LinkedIn website and then they can use different tools available in the site for accessing different services. These services include, opportunities for searching jobs, recruitment of candidates searching for job, search for partners, suppliers and customers, finding expert advice, etc (Yoffie, Slind & Achsaf, 2008). Through LinkedIn, registered users can maintain their contact details of users with whom they are related to each other. Sponsored advertising facility is also available in the site. The subscribers or members can also form groups which provide a platform for group discussion on various topics, mainly related to employment and career opportunities. Angie’s List: Angie’s List, Inc. is a US based company headquartered at Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It maintains a huge database of reviews made by customers. Angie’s List provides services that are consumer driven and requires membership fees. Customers give online reviews on the services provided by different companies and then grading of these companies is done by Angie’s List based o n different criteria like, price, professionalism, quality, etc. From the reviews and grades provided, customers get to know more about services in the areas of architect, plumbing, medical, automobiles, etc (Green Watch, n.d.). Only the top graded companies in Angie’s List are allowed to advertise. Build-up to the Floatation (IPO) onto the Stock Exchange Groupon Inc. IPO Groupon Inc. decided to go public for the first time and launched its IPO during November, 2011. It got listed in NASDAQ stock market with the ticker symbol â€Å"