Biological Beginnings and Infancy Essay Example

Biological Beginnings and Infancy Paper A lot have been said about how hereditary and environmental factors influence the individuality of each person. There are also plenty who argue on the importance of heredity over environment, and vice versa, in terms of the degree of influence they have on an individual’s physical, cognitive, and psychological aspects, to name a few. However, much emphasis is given on the importance of the interaction of heredity and environment in the production of individual differences. Although many human characteristics are obviously influenced by heredity, these predispositions may lead to a number of developmental outcomes depending on the environment in which the person grows up in. Rather than thinking about it as nature versus nurture, more emphasis must be given on the ways in which these influences combine or interact to promote developmental change and eventually the individual differences that distinguish one person from another. We will write a custom essay sample on Biological Beginnings and Infancy specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Biological Beginnings and Infancy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Biological Beginnings and Infancy specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The development of an individual can be better understood when one considers the several determinants of development. Heredity-wise, there are biological factors believed to be the inherited general biological code passed on to infants from their parents. There are general inheritances or those which make up any species; there are also specific attributes that are transmitted from one family from one’s family or ancestors to the next which distinguishes them from others. Aside from biological determinants, there are also environmental determinants that play a powerful role in individual development. There are physical determinants that include essential yet mundane features; there are also social determinants that include all the effects that people have on others. Prior to infancy, heredity already plays an important role in the individual’s development. This is evident as early as pregnancy when chromosomes and genes, also the hereditary basis of life, combine during conception which then determine the traits that make each individual unique. Other factors that affect the mother during pregnancy such as genetic, environmental, and interaction factors, and maternal-fetal blood incompatibility also affect human development later on. Infant’s physical development is first noted by the infant’s weight and height, the latter being already one-third of the individual’s final adult height. Different body parts and bones also grow at different rates; the gradual progress is also evident in the growth and development of the infant’s muscles and bones. Although generally, an infant’s physical development is regarded as highly biological in nature, one cannot attest that the environmental influences such as a clean and health environment, nutritious and sufficient milk supplements, and a warm and caring environment also affect the child’s physical growth. Parents and families who can provide proper nutrition and a safe dwelling are believed to play a role in the physical progress of infants. One’s hereditary make-up can be enhanced by the proper environmental atmosphere for optimal physical growth. An individual’s cognitive development is marked by changes that occur in the person’s mental skills and abilities between birth and early adulthood, which is believed to be the period when cognitive growth is completed. Piaget, a popular psychologist , espouses that intelligence is a biologically oriented perspective; this means that imbalances between one’s mental abilities and the environment stimulate cognitive activity and intellectual growth. During early infancy, cognitive development is marked by certain reflexive reactions which are primarily reactions in terms of the infant’s reflexes. These reactions then progress into active searching, not present during birth, to allow groping and discovery. Between 1 to 4 months, infants learn to alter reflexive behavior and active searching into more coordinated hand-mouth, eye, and eye-ear movements. From the 4th to the 8th month, the most significant and observable cognitive response manifested by infants is their ability to repeat events that they deem interesting. As the infant approaches his/her 1st birthday, more significant cognitive milestones become more apparent such as the ability to adapt to new situations and eventually solve small problems on his/her own. Developmental experts agree that an individual’s social and emotional developments begin early in life. It is believed that the kinds of emotional relationships that infants develop with their close companions affect the ways they relate to other people and also the way they handle these relationships later in life. It is believed that the major social and emotional milestone of infancy is the development of ties between infants and their closest companions. Further, it is believed that infants pass through several stages as they develop close ties with their caregivers. Very young infants are largely asocial, but as they move towards their 6th month, they begin to   prefer human company no matter who these people may be. Later on, infants develop specific attachments, evidenced by protests when separated from particular individuals. These initial specific attachments then give rise to multiple attachments; and each attachment may serve slightly different functions from the other.

Stalingrad essays

Stalingrad essays Throughout the years, the world has seen many conflicts erupt from religious differences. These problems, which have been as small as involving five people, or as big as involving 2 million people, have set the tone for the upcoming 21st century. It is apparent that everyone has his or her own set of beliefs, and that no ones are necessarily right or wrong. When someone tries to change another persons own basic ethics, conflict and hatred rise up. When these problems became bigger, a new form of warfare was put to use by any kind of group of people who were not as superior as their opponents. This warfare is known as Terrorism. A terrorists goal is to threaten someone who they feel oppressed by, using violence and any means necessary to get what they want. The most grotesque act of terrorism came in the 1972 Olympic games, which were held in Munich, Germany. This battle pinned the Muslims against the Jews, and Germany once again would have the feeling of religious hatred put on their shoulders. What I want to know is, what drives people like this to commit these acts? Is it their response to warfare? Is it a way of getting noticed? Or is it done in simple haste and disregard of human life? In the 1972 Olympics, athletes from around the world competed against each other to gain respect as well as glory in their sport. These Olympics, however, were overshadowed by the War brewing between the Israelis and Palestinians. The war was a religious conflict, fighting over land known as the Gaza Strip. This land has been in control of both countries, and both countries feel they have (the war is still being fought today) the divine right to hold that part of the land. The special part of the Gaza Strip is that it is considered one of the holiest places in the World. As you can see, religious tensions arose from these Battles. Jews and Muslims have a strong feeling of animosity towards each other, with each country using vicious ta...

Finding a theme in a story Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finding a theme in a story - Essay Example the life lesson of Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell is that very often, one have to make a choice between what is morally right and what one is expected to do or should do, especially in accordance with the law. In the essay, Orwell presents the conflict between the main character’s conscience and the law. The narrator is an imperial police officer, the representative of the conqueror and, consequently, is hated by the natives as â€Å"an obvious target† (Orwell). It is a difficult task for him to endure his job and hostile attitude of the conquered towards him. At the same time, he hates imperialism and the British Empire for the way of life he and the natives have to lead. As Orwell puts it, â€Å"theoretically – and secretly, of course, – I [the narrator] was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British†. In fact, this is the first conflict between the narrator’s conscience and what he is supposed to do / feel. The matter is that as he is a citizen of the British Empire and, more importantly, is at public service, he is supposed to admire his country, its political strategy and ideology. The narrator chooses to hate Britain a nd pity the Burmese though. The second collision between what is morally right and what one is obliged to do is central in the piece under consideration because it is the one that leads to the main character’s deep reflection on his behavior in the situation and in general. What is meant here is the main decision the police officer makes, which is whether to shoot or not to shoot the elephant. As it follows from the essay, the choice is not the easy one for the narrator. He himself tries to justify what he is going to do. He understands that killing the animal is not correct: â€Å"As soon as I saw the elephant I knew perfectly that I ought not to shoot him† as â€Å"at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow† (Orwell). At the same time, the narrator feels the

Global Business Today The Hofstede Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Global Business Today The Hofstede Study - Essay Example Initially, the company plans to open a sales office to relocate key members of their management team to the country as well as hiring executive who are natives of the country. The plans might include developing production facilities in these same countries over the next decade. Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI) This dimension implies the level of a society’s broadmindedness for uncertainty. It tells to what point a culture programs its members to feel at ease in unexpected situations. The power distance is quite low in Denmark the Danes incredibly democratic approach the Danes deem independency, equal rights and that management facilitates. Power is equally distributed to the lowest levels of any organization; managers’ count on the experience of their workers. Institutions has incredible informal business atmosphere with direct and involving communication. Employees of any organization expect to be consulted in the decision making process. This facilitate smooth establishment of the Azure Sky Tea offices. Denmark has a high preference for a loosely-knit the level of interdependence of the society to its members. The social framework where persons are anticipated to take care of themselves and their direct families, it is relatively easy to start doing business with the Danes. Danes is more individualist than a collective society (Rothwell 2010). This is similar to the US and facilitates business growth due to personal efforts attributed to the business. Azure Sky Tea therefore, will smoothly fit in the business environment. Denmark is considered a feminine society, an efficient administrator is accommodating to the personnel, and decision making is attained in association of key members. Danes strive for consensus and people value equality, solidarity and quality in their working lives, conflicts are resolved

Discourse Community Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discourse Community Analysis - Essay Example Communication among the subjects of this paper is not very different from what is generally observed but is expressed through the most recent means brought about by technology like twitter, facebook and text messaging in addition to speaking and non-verbal methods of communicating. Having an account in the aforementioned social networking sites is now common not only to teenagers but to children and adults as well but this study limits itself among the teenagers alone. Updates, friendly chats, class discussions and other important matters are now easily accessed with the wide availability of the internet to every teenager in 16th street, Downtown so that most of them are updated with the latest local news and other interesting matters there could be discussed over the internet. The growing number of internet users now places teenagers without facebook or twitter accounts among the lower class who are not able to afford personal computers or internet connections or are rather poor eno ugh not to be able to go to school and become aware of such high technology developments. Other thoughts prevalent among teenagers about those who have no such accounts are considered to be old people who are not keen enough to learn how to manipulate the computer. In the exchange of ideas whether through face to face communication or through the internet and with the abundance of sites teenagers could visit but are not allowed by their parents, slang languages have been developed among the teenagers for them to hide things they do not like their parents to know. For instance, pornographic sites or images are referred to as ‘pron’ instead of the widely known term ‘porn’. This is to trick parents that what they are talking about or referring to are not offensive and also to let them stay away from them and their friends when they are discussing such matters. When they mention skittles, they are not talking about the candy bar rather the topic is about a type of drug commonly available to teenagers. No parent would ever suspect anything fearful with this attempt of the young people to hide their discussions from their parents so that even if they are hearing them say these things, the parents are just left clueless. Another common term used among teenagers in 16th street is the word ‘trannie’ or ‘tranzie’ which refers to trans-genders and come quite derogatory to those they refer to because they are usually singled out from their groups. Some slang terms are not just used to hide things from parents but from fellow teenagers as well in an attempt not to hurt their feelings like the formerly mentioned example which could be referred to a friend who is trans-sexual, accepted in a group yet is not far from being talked about. On the other groups’ point of view however, the words mentioned earlier place those who use them as rude or even members of some gang. Although the words usually hide the real topics f rom the untrained ears of older groups like parents, such talks also come with non-verbal communication that would express arrogance, haughtiness and some air of dislike to them so that they begin the

The Strategic Management Of Ryan Air

The Strategic Management Of Ryan Air A Jenoir management consultant is providing consultant service for strategic management of the companies. Senior management team of Ryan air details on the contracts signed with Jenoir management consulting company for get the consulting service in strategic management of the Ryan airs future. As a result of this we carried out a strategic analysis in terms of the environment, industry and also regarding the internal performance of Ryan air. The aim of this report is to provide consulting services to Ryan air for its strategic management in the future. This report will focus on: The strategic analysis of the Macro Environment taking into account the PESTEL factors which will draw out the opportunities and threats, Industry analysis using the Porters Five Forces Model and a Strategic Group Model and Internal analysis drawing out the resources and capabilities and the VRIO using the Value-Chain Model for Ryan air. Thereafter, recommendations will be given as to how Ryan air can improve which will be continued in the second part of this report. Hence, this report will show how Ryan air can perform better in the long run by identifying the key strategic issues. Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 Table of Contents 1 1.0 INTRODUCTION 3 2.0 CRITICAL ISSUES 4 2.1 Company Background 4 2.2 Core Problem 5 3.0 ANALYSIS (MODELS / THEORY USED) 5 3.1 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 5 3.1.1 PESTEL ANALSIS 5 3.1.2 Porters Diamond Model of Ryan air 6 3.2 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 6 3.2.1PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS OF RYAN AIR 6 3.2.2 Strategic Groups 7 3.3 INTERNAL ANALYSIS 8 3.3.1 VRIO/ VRINE of Ryan air 8 Barneys Model for Ryan Air 9 3.3.3 Ryan air Value Chain Analysis 9 4.0 EXTERNAL ENVIROMENTAL ANALYSIS 10 5.0 INTERNAL ENVIORNMENTAL ANALYSIS 11 5.1 Resources and capabilities 11 7.0 CONCLUSION 13 8.0 RECOMMEDATION 14 9.0 REFERENCES 15 10.0 APPENDIX 16 10.1 Appendix 1 16 10.2 Appendix 2 17 10.3 Appendix 3 18 10.4 Appendix 4 19 10.5 Appendix 5 20 10.6 Appendix 6 21 10.7 Appendix 7 22 10.8 Appendix 8 22 1.0 INTRODUCTION The present business world is highly complex, competitive and fast changing. Ryan air started in year 1985 with only 57 staff members and with one 15 seated turboprop plane from the south of east of Ireland to London Gatwick which carried 5000 passengers on one route. Ryan air was the first budget airline in Europe and also more successful low cost airline in Europe. Ryan airs competitive advantage is its ability to grow and outperform others as it is Europes first low-fares, no-frills carrier and in spite of economic instability there has been a growth in profits. (Ryan air 2006) According to Viljoen and Dann (2003)strategic management is defined as the process of identifying, choosing and implementing activities that will improve the long run performance of an organisation by setting directions and by creating on going compatibility. Currently in 2006 European air line industry facing a backdrop and the burgeoning budget sector. In order to analyse Ryan airs strategic will be focus on External, Internal environment and Industry. External environment will be analysing the factors in the macro environment which influence future industry growth and development, factors affecting current and future profitability, position of competitors and strategic groups within the industry, to gain the driving forces of the industry, dynamics and finally to understand international competitiveness. Further more this analysis focus on how Ryan air wants to create value for customers, its customer value and competitive advantage, its activity value chain, customer value the value proposition and determining the business model to deliver the value position, short term and long term focus and sustainability and methodology of analysing business strategy. In final this analysis will focuses on Ryan airs current strategic management views and how it can benefit by using strategic management theories and the means by which the organisational efficiencies of Ryan air would be improved and recommend to management team of Ryan air for improving strategy implementation. 2.0 CRITICAL ISSUES 2.1 Company Background Ryan air started in year 1985 with only 57 staff members and with one 15 seated turboprop plane from the south of east of Ireland to London Gatwick which carried 5000 passengers on one route. Ryan air was the first budget airline in Europe and also more successful low cost airline in Europe. Ryan airs competitive advantage is its ability to grow and outperform others as it is Europes first low-fares, no-frills carrier and in spite of economic instability there has been a growth in profits. In identifying the current business strategy we would be analysing the vision, mission and objectives of Ryan air. The mission of the Ryan air is to become Europe largely gainful low fare by rolling out proven low cost no frills in all markets in which we operate to the benefits of passengers, people and share holders. (Ryan air Report, 2007) Ryan airs social responsibility is providing good service to the passengers. The vision is to firmly establish itself as Europes lading low fares scheduled passenger airline through continued improvement and expanded offerings of its low fare service (Ryan air Report 2007). Ryan airs objectives are 40 percentage increase the market share within the low fare airline sector, in 2012 double the annual passenger transportation to eighty million and to quadruple Ryan airs annual profit up to 1,230 billion. 2.2 Core Problem Ryan air being one of the leading budget air lines in Europe, which is currently facing crisis. Though they were performing well during the last few years, currently European air line industry facing a backdrop and the burgeoning budget sector. Therefore it is necessary for Ryan air to consider the causes of the crisis and necessary action well on time. Due to this reason Jenoir management consultants will be analysing the external, internal and industry, whether Ryan air could over come this barrier. 3.0 ANALYSIS (MODELS / THEORY USED) 3.1 EXTERNAL ANALYSIS 3.1.1 PESTEL ANALSIS Pestle analysis is important for identify Ryan airs strategies through macro external factors. These factors are in the airline industry to understand Ryan airs future external threats and opportunities. (Refer Appendix 1) Political and Legal Security solution is the current move of government about airline industry, which will increase the cost of service. Governments can take an action if there will be any dispute in business deals from Ryan air with Airport. The Ryan air must also adapt its strategies to suit the government legislations and policies and must give more attention to the political of the country where they operate. Ryanair have been involved in various legal disputes with governments both in Ireland and the EU regarding their business deals with airports and airline regulating bodies. Economic Factors Global Economic recession in 2001-2003 had adversely affected many countries and in had collapse the financial strategies of the company. Due to the recession the income level of the people has come down due to that most people are postponing or cancelling their air travel. Socio cultural Factors After the September 11th incident in USA air travel as become a high risk in business in air line industry. More security measures are taken and the passengers are facing difficulties. This has become a huge threat to air line industry. Technological- Ryan airs website is the largest travel website in Europe and this could help them to increase e-commerce and advertising revenue. Their in flight internet gambling, satellite television and web-based check-in is an added advantage for Ryan air. Environmental Factor: The notion that the world is becoming smaller and a move towards eco friendly environment by controlling noise levels and green-house carbon emissions. 3.1.2 Porters Diamond Model of Ryan air Porters diamond model for Ryan air is stated in appendix 2 respectively. 3.2 INDUSTRY ANALYSIS 3.2.1PORTERS FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS OF RYAN AIR Bargaining Power of Supplier Ryan airs main aircraft supplier is Boeing and other one is Airbus. Switching cost will be high when change the aircraft. Fuel prices will affect Ryan airs cost directly, so they are highly dependent the fuel prices and also it is very big threat of their strongest side. Generally regional airports have little bargaining power if they are heavily dependant on one airline but day by day their bargaining power increasing because of the competition between low cost airlines. Besides of those regional airports, bigger airports have very huge bargaining power. (Refer Appendix 3) Bargaining Power of Customers Ryan air is the low cost airline for all Europe destinations and customers are especially in recession times highly price sensitive. It is very easy to change their airline and it is In this customers knowledge about the cost of service is high and there is no customer loyalty for Ryan air. Even though there is no customer loyalty, bargaining power of customers is low. Ryan air is the cheapest airline for all Europe destinations and customers are especially in recession times highly price sensitive. Threat of New Entrants There are lots of barriers to entry and it is very risk to be new in airline industry. The capital that will invest in this sector is very high. It is also hard to take a place current competition and also hard to find suitable airports for the flights. Threat of Substitutes There is not any brand loyalty of customers and Ryan air preferred customer relationship is not close relationship. If their customers find better way to travel they will not feel any hesitation to chose it. So the threat of direct and indirect substitutes is very high and the most important point is there are no switching costs for the customers. Competitive Rivalry The market is highly competitive. Most of Ryan airs cost advantages can be imitative immediately. In Europe it seems like there is an agreement between Ryan air and Easy jet about not to compete head to head. However if any company does decide to compete on the same basis as Ryan air it will be highly critical for Ryan air. 3.2.2 Strategic Groups Strategic Groups have been defined by Finlay (2000) as groups of business that are likely to respond similarly to environment changes and be similarly advantaged or disadvantaged by such changes. Porter (cited in John et al, 1997), suggests that an industry can have only one strategic group if all firms followed essentially the same strategy. At the other extreme each firm could be a different strategic group. Strategic Group Map analysis below of the European Airline industry will indicate that Ryan air has to compete with Aer Lingus and EasyJet very closely while British Airways and other national carriers are in the region. Other smaller budget airlines based across Europe such as FlyBE, German Wings and Hapag Lloyd Express also pose competition in routes which they commonly compete (Little Masters, n.d.). This diagram also shows how the Mega carriers compete within their strategic groups as opposed to the Mid-Sized carriers. Private Mega Carriers: American Airlines British Airways Mid-Sized Carriers: FlyBE German Wings Aer Lingus EasyJet Government-Owned Carriers: British Airways Bulgaria Air Government No: of Destinations High Low Ownership 3.3 INTERNAL ANALYSIS 3.3.1 VRIO/ VRINE of Ryan air VRINE MODEL The top management should be able to identify the resources available in the organisation presently in order to assess whether the resources available are sufficient enough to implement the strategies. So the outcome of the reconstruction depends on the resources available at that time. VRIO of Ryan air Value, Rarity, Imitability, Organization Ryan air values its high service performance. The airline is known for its strict observance on punctuality, high rate of flight completion, and low baggage loss. It purchased modernized fleet which leads to less expensive maintenance with uniform brands used while high aircraft utilization strengthens its business and financial sheet. The rarity of Ryan air is based primarily on its strategic positioning and management operations. Its implementation on low fares service and high level of customer service delivery made Ryan air strong and competitive compared to other firms in the same field. Other firms in the same industry hardly find their ways in imitating the same operations and strategic planning. Ryan air produced effective planning and management operations in which it leads others to imitate. Not all of the tangible and intangible resources like software, fleet designs, infrastructure, organizational culture, and knowledge management can be imitated. Causal ambiguity, time c ompression diseconomies and path dependencies are factors which affect the difficulty of other firms to imitate effective plans of successful firms like Ryan air. Barneys Model for Ryan Air The top management should be able to identify the resources available in the organisation presently in order to assess whether the resources available are sufficient enough to implement the strategies. So the outcome of the reconstruction depends on the resources available at that time. According to the Barneys model can analysis Easy Jet as Ryan airs competitor. Easy jet has enough recourse. For an example they have large number of air craft and their skytrax star rate level is high, so easy jet is valuable. Easy jet is not rare because same strategy what easy jet currently using is other competitors also using. Easy jet can easy to imitate to another company because low fare and also they have enough substitutes (for an example Train, ship). Easy jet is competitive parity. (Refer Appendix 4) 3.3.3 Ryan air Value Chain Analysis Ryan air strongly manages and forms relationships with different suppliers for an example. Boeing and food, beverages etc, to make sure goods are received of requirement standards and on time in order to add value through out its value chain. In order to add substantial value for its service by providing low cost and directly monitors relationships with airports around Europe, so they provide subsidies to the airliner in order for them to provide low cost and seen as adding grater value for customers. In order to reduce the cost and provide low cost to customers Ryan air contracts staff for aircraft handling, ticketing and baggage handling to third parties at competitive rates as well as engine repairs and heavy maintenances of its aircrafts. Therefore reduces direct exposure to employee relationships and disputes reducing costs all through value chain. In order to add greater value for customer, the aircraft staff e.g. pilot, cabin crew, they holds close relationships, giving the right training making them to feel confident to answer on flight questions. The airliner has a commission placed for its aircraft crew linked with the sales of duty paid goods. Therefore close management with aircraft crew ensures good labors turnover reducing the threat of staff being absent for flights, thus seen as adding value for customers. (Refer Appendix 5) 4.0 EXTERNAL ENVIROMENTAL ANALYSIS The external organizational environment includes all elements existing outside the boundary of the organization that have the potential to affect the organization (Daft, 1995). The environment includes competitors, resources, technology and economic conditions that influence the organization. The external environment can be further conceptualized as having two layers generally and task environments. The general environment is the outer layer that is widely dispersed and affects organization indirectly. It includes social, demographic and economic factors that influence Ryan air. The most important part concerning in the task environment which is closer to the organizations; its includes the sectors that conduct day to day transaction with the organization and directly influence their basic operations and performance: suppliers, competition, customers and the labour market. (Refer Appendix 3, 6) 5.0 INTERNAL ENVIORNMENTAL ANALYSIS All organizations have strength and weakness in its areas of business. No organization is equally strong or weak in all areas (David, 2005). The process of internal environment parallels that of the external analysis. Resources come in many forms form common factor inputs to highly differentiated resources that are developed over a man years and are very difficult to replicate (Collins and Montgomery 1998). Internal environment analysis involves a study of culture, structure and resources including technology adapted by the origination. 5.1 Resources and capabilities Ryan airs main tangible resource is air craft. Their intangible resource includes things such as companys reputation (first budget airline and low fare airline), brand name (Ryan air), technical knowledge (100 percentage online ticket booking), patent and trademark. A competitive advantage is the set of factors and capabilities that allow firms to consistently outperform their rivals. (Refer Appendix 7) Tangible Resources Air craft Technical Advancement Equipements Competencies Price, Quality service, Reliability Competitive advantage of Ryan air Capabilities Low cost, High profit Intangible Resources Ryan airs Reputation Brand name Low fare Technical knowledge Figure 1: Resources based view if competitive advantage of Ryan air 6.0 SWOT ANALYSIS This analysis is an effective way of identifying internal strengths and weaknesses of Ryan air and of investigative opportunities and threats of the external environment. (Refer Appendix 8) Strengths Ryan air is the largest and most successful of Europes low cost airline. This fact is strongest selling point for Ryan air. Result of this low cost strategy, which increases customers and airline, is expanding rapidly. Ryan airs website was the largest travel website in Europe. And the fifth most recognized brand on Google. According to the Ryan air annual report 2006, Ryan airs ancillary revenues (include non flight schedule services) had climbed by 36 percentage. Weaknesses Ryan air is the least favorite airline in the world. Passengers who travel in Ryan air lose their luggages very often. Ryan air staffs are considered to be very unfriendly and there is common issue that the process always delays. Ryan air was only mid range or below average in its P/E multiple relative to peers like easy jet, whose shares had risen by 46% during the year. Ryan air has been criticized for many aspects of its customer service. Opportunities They have potential market share. Because low cost airline market share not reached the peak level. Ryan air has better opportunities to dominate and catch up with the competition in the European airline industry in terms of providing more quality service. The continuous initiatives of the company in diversification of its revenue resources also open new opportunities to make the business become stronger to outgrow all its competitor companies. Threats Ryan air faced various challenges as it entered the second half of fiscal 2007. The airline itself predicted that its extra capacity building would create uncertainty about the success of new routes, locations and other difficulties. These were extra marketing and discounted fare costs incurred in launching new routes, as well as overcapacity leading to price cutting by rivals. 7.0 CONCLUSION By taking into consideration the above analysis, Jenoir management consultant believe Ryan air has gained competitive advantage since there is a greater opportunity and strengths regarding to the air line industry. Based on the External, Internal and Industry analysis, there are some major issues which were identified by Jenoir management Consultant analysis team in relation to Ryan air have weaknesses and threats. There are many areas which Ryan air should workout. Systematic, healthy and an organic organization contribute much to the success of Ryan air. An organization with clear objectives and capable to draw everyone to work with these objectives will lead to its success. For airlines, the future will hold many challenges. Successful airlines will be those that continue to tackle their costs and improve their products, thereby securing a strong presence in the key world aviation market. Therefore taking into consideration these detrimental impacts to the entity Jenoir management Consultant analysis team formulated certain recommendations for Ryan air to perform the task of a guideline in overcoming these weaknesses and threats, by systematically utilizing these recommendations. Ryan air will be able to convert its current weaknesses into opportunities and strengths in the future. However risk management in the strategic management must be given an important consideration in strategic management plan implementation process. 8.0 RECOMMEDATION Based on External, Internal and Industry analysis, Jenoir management consultants is recommended that Ryan air consider the move their business with low cost strategy in to international market, so Ryan air should has a detailed plan for this and be able to provide good customer service to the customers like by having discounted flights, promotion to keep the competitive advantage at a stable mode within its competitors and also will need to focus more on the core competition that will help Ryan air to practically designs suitable airline operation within their market. There are some other recommendations for Ryan air, Ryan air, being the market leader in the budget airline industry is performing very well as of now. But it does need to take into account all the factors discussed above. Ryan air also has to make sure that even though Michael OLearys tactics work today, they may backfire tomorrow. Ryan air should slow down on the aggressiveness of its strategic planning and implementation so that it can avoid getting into trouble with the governments and end up paying millions. In order to retain its employees, motivate them and also another means of cutting costs, Ryan air can adopt a similar strategy that of Jet Stars JEN (Jet star Employee Network). This intranet software is both the sophistication and the functionality necessary to gather, share and communicate key corporate, HR and time critical staffing information. Head of Corporate Relations, Simon West away says JEN delivers ongoing savings of about $130,000 annually (Story, 2009, p.18). 9.0 REFERENCES Collins, D.J., Montgomery, C.A. (1998), Competing on resources: strategy in the 1990s(Volume 73), Harvard Business Review Daft, Richard L. (1995). Organizational Theory: Cases Applications. (4th edition.) : West Publishing Company David, R.D.(2005). Strategic management: concepts and cases. (10th edition): Prentice Hall of India Find Article (2005). EasyJet to enter Irish Market for first time. Retrieved April 21, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2004_Nov_23/ai_n7074328/?tag=content;col 1 Find Article (2009). Company Watch Ryanair. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6781/is_2009_August_24/ai_n42028112/?tag=rel.res1 Hodgson, N. (2009, November 20). Ryanair set to overtake EasyJet in JLA ranks. Daily Post Liverpool. RetrievedApril 19, 2010, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_8008/is_20091120/ai_n42256727/ Hubbard, G. Rice, J. Beamish,P. (2005). Strategic management thinking analysis action. (3rd edition). Pearson education Australia Lagadec, K. (2008). Airbus and Boeing face a dark and painful future. Post Carbon Institute. Retrieved April 20, 2010, fromhttp://www.postcarbon.org/article/40546-airbus-and-boeing-face-a-dark/13913-energy The Airline Industry. (n.d.). retrieved April 21, 2010, from http://adg.stanford.edu/aa241/intro/airlineindustry.html Viljoen, J., Dann, S. (3rd Ed.). (2003). Strategic Management: Planning and implementing successful corporate strategies. NSW, Australia: Pearson Education Australia. 10.0 APPENDIX 10.1 Appendix 1 PESTLE ANALYSIS OF RYANAIR Political Environment National airlines supported by certain countries Europe union expansion with new routes and new competitors. New European Union rules and regulations. Due to the government stability tourism will be increase, which is good for Ryan air. New different tax policy for different countries. Economic Environment Threat of Ryan air is increasing fuel price. Taxes and Interest rates Decrease of US dollars Increasing business class travelling The threat of the substitutes Rise of airport handling charges SOCIAL FACTORS Increasing grey market, which is the trade of a commodity through distribution channels, which while legal, are unofficial, unauthorized, or unintended by the original manufacturer. Populations growth does an ageing population affect them i.e. baby boomers, lots of people in that life stage have more disposable income to spend Safety solutions Trend TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Internet sales and Increased internet competitions High speed trains Online check in Low fuel use LEGAL FACTORS Privatizing of airline industry Illegal subsidies from airports Competition laws in aviation industry Allegations of false advertisement Rules and regulations about Carbon emission level ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS Noise level controls , Global warming ,2.6% of Carbon emission in the EU, so this gas will effect Green house 10.2 Appendix 2 Porters Diamond Model of Ryan air Factor Condition Demand Condition Firmly strategy structure and Rivalry Related supporting Industries Change Government Firm Strategy, Structure and Rivalry Environmentally concerned. Entrants of other Low Cost Carriers Factor conditions Technological advancement. Demand conditions Demand is increasing for Low fares air travel. Related and supporting industries Car hire, Hotels, Travel insurance, Baggage tracing, Free city guides, Ticketing, Aircraft handling ,Airport coach and other services 10.3 Appendix 3 Porters Five Forces model Bargaining power of Supplier Bargaining power of Buyers Threat of New Entrants Threat of Substitutes Competitive Rivalry 10.4 Appendix 4 (Source: VRIO model / Barneys model http://www.web-books.com/eLibrary/ON/B0/B58/033MB58.html) Competitive Implications from Recourses ( Easy jet as Ryan airs competitor) Valuable Rare Difficult to Imitate Without substitutes Competitive Implication Yes No No No Competitive parity 10.5 Appendix 5 Value Chain Analysis of Ryan Air Firm Infrastructure (Head Quarters) Technology Development (Internet, Integrate system, Low tech marketing , Internet sales) Human Resource Management ( In house, Low cost training, Management control, Limited crew, performance contracts) Procurement (Boeing discount, Alliances, Low cost, out sources private) Inbound Logistic (Quality training, Low cost supplier, Airport agreement) Operation (No frill, low cost ) Outbound Logistic (Reliable service, quick turn around) Marketing and Sales (Free publicity, Low cost, promotions, Internet sales) Services (High productivity, Limited resourses) 10.6 Appendix 6 Location of the organization general task and internal environments Technological CUSTOMERRS Task Env Internal Environment Socio cultural LABOUR MARKET Employees Culture International COMPETITORS Management SUPPLIERS Legal/ Political Economic It can be noted that SUPPLIERS forms an integral part of task environment and the role of importance of suppliers of components. 10.7 Appendix 7 Resources There are two kinds of resources, tangible and intangible which can further be categorized into financial, human, physical and intellectual capital. Physical Resources which Ryan air possesses is 196 Boeing aircrafts. Huge amount of money was being spent for the aircraft maintenance and they need to keep the resources proper and running to make sure that these will not harm their low cost structure. They also have the youngest fleet in the whole of Europe with a highly fuel efficient capacity. Financial Resources Ryan air is the highest profit making low cost structured airline. According to OHiggins (2007), Ryan airs profits have been increasing 8.5% on average per year. It also goes onto say that in its Annual General Meeting in 2006; the airline had delivered 12% increase in net profits despite a 74% increase in fuel cost. Human Resources Initially Ryan air started with only 25 employees and had 3500 people by the year 2006 and all of them are entrenched with a cost cutting approach. Ryan air employees a very much dedicated as Ryan air pays its employees well. In its 2006 annual report it claimed to have the highest pay figures than any other major European airline. Also by tailoring rosters, the carrier maximized productivity and time off for crew members. The biggest HR advantage Ryanair has is Michael OLeary. Intellectual Capital The high

January, 1968: Keh Sanh, The Tet Offensive, and the Unraveling of an A

When President Johnson delivered his State of the Union Address to Congress on January 17, 1968 he spoke of the war in Vietnam with optimism. He listed the many military accomplishments to date, mentioned the word â€Å"progress† five times, discussed a â€Å"fruitful† visit with the pope, and spoke with a tone and tenor that suggested an imminent, peaceful resolution (â€Å"Johnson’s Annual Message†). Not three months later – in a similarly important speech to the American people – Johnson stoically announced that he would not be seeking reelection (â€Å"Johnson’s Address to the Nation†). What had seemed like an impending certainty dissolved into a distant dream. Public support for the war, and of Johnson, had deteriorated so swiftly in the winter of 1968 that he had no choice but to disband his efforts to seek a second term. What happened in the months between Johnson’s confident State of the Union and his more su llen speech in March of 1968 is no mystery. The Battle of Khe Sanh, combined with the more lastingly impactful Tet Offensive in late January, were devastating blows to American efforts in Vietnam. In hindsight, these events may have been militarily ineffective, yet the cultural ricochets they created throughout America can be seen as nothing short of a major victory for the North Vietnamese. These events were instrumental in turning the tides of the war. General Westmoreland’s hope, that superior American firepower would end the war with the North Vietnamese in the winter of 1968 was quickly foiled when U.S. Marines were bombarded with a rocket and mortar attack at their isolated base in Khe Sanh. The 76-day battle at Khe Sanh ended with both sides claiming victory, raising the question of why anyone found it strategic to engag... ...ent Lyndon B. Johnson's Address to the Nation Announcing Steps To Limit the War in Vietnam and Reporting His Decision Not To Seek Reelection: March 31, 1968.† LBJ Library and Musuem: National Archives and Records Aministration. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. . â€Å"President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Annual Message to the Congress on the State of the Union: January 17, 1968,† LBJ Library and Museum: National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 6 Apr. 2012 . â€Å"Shock and Awe of the Tet Offensive Shattered U.S. Illusions.† James H. Willbanks. U.S News. 29 Jan. 2009. Web. 6 Apr. 2012. â€Å"The Battle of Khe Sanh, 1968,† The Tet Offensive, Marc J. Gilbert and William Head, eds., Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996, ch. 12, pp. 191-213. Willibanks, James H. The Tet Offensive. New York: Columbia U P, 2007.

Disneyland Paris Marketing Analysis Essay

Introduction Following the success in America, Walt Disney decided to build a similar entertainment and vacation park in Europe. On April 12, 1992 the park was opened the first time as Euro Disney ® Resort. Nowadays it is known as Disneyland ® Paris, which is located close to Paris in France. It consists of two theme parks (Disneyland ® Park and Walt Disney Studio Park), one entertainment district (Disney Village)1 and 14 hotels owned by Disneyland ® Paris2 The opening of Disneyland ® Paris was debated. People were afraid of being affected by the unhealthy life style and consumption of the Americans. A French journalist wrote, â€Å"I wish with all my heart the rebels would set fire to [Euro] Disneyland† and a French philosopher said, â€Å"It is not America that is invading us. It is we who adore it, who adopt its fashions and above all, its words.† All in all people were against the opening of Disneyland ® Paris.3 How important is Disneyland ® Paris at this moment? How is it using marketing? Who are the customers, Americans and/or Europeans? Is Disneyland ® Paris a competitor in comparison to other amusement parks? Which challenges does it currently face? To find answers these questions, we will analyse Disneyland ® Paris? performance through a SWOT-Analysis, which gives us an idea of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. As we come to a conclusion, we will also give an advice to Disneyland ® Paris on what it can improve in order to perform better. Internal analysis The market Disneyland ® Paris is in a heterogeneous oligopoly. A heterogeneous oligopoly is a market in which there are a few sellers, and a lot of buyers. The sellers are in competition with each other and they are well informed about the actions of other sellers. Therefore, the decisions firms make, mostly are affected by decisions that their competitors make, and the other way around. Disneyland ® Paris is an actor in the market of amusement parks. In almost every European country you can find an amusement park. However, not all of these parks are offering accommodations and dining services, which makes the trip more of an unique and exciting experience. This market is  heterogeneous because, even though amusement parks seem the same, the feeling and experience in each one is completely different. Furthermore, only a few sellers can oversee decisions made by competitors. Next to that, there are many buyers. In 2013 14.9 million people visited Disneyland ® Paris4. Disneyland ® Paris’ position and performance As mentioned before, Disneyland ® Paris welcomed 14,9 million guests last year. This makes it the biggest tourist destination in Europe, especially compared to the Eiffel tower, which only attracts approximately 7 million visitors per year5. In comparison to other amusement parks How many visitors did other amusement parks in Europe welcome in 20136? ‘De Efteling’ (Holland) – 4 million visitors per year ‘Movie Park Germany’ (Germany) – 1.3 million visitors per year ‘Europa Park’ (Germany) – 4.6 million visitors per year ‘Gardaland’ (Italy) – approximately 7 million visitors per year Set side by side to other amusement parks in Europe, Disneyland ® Paris is doing really well on their visitors count. Financial performance Disneyland ® Land has been taking losses in 2011, 2012 and 2013. So with respect to its profit, Disneyland ® Paris is not doing that well at all. Their net loss was admittedly high in 2012, with 100.2 million euros. In 2013, they managed to cutback the loss to 78.2 million euros. See appendix, table 1. Notwithstanding, it is still a considerable amount of money. So how come that Disneyland ® Paris, the biggest amusement park in Europe, is taking a loss? 14,9 million visitors per year seems to be a high amount of visitors, but in the past three years, the number of visitors per year has decreased and the hotel occupancy rate has gone down. Even though the amount of money that visitors spent (per visitor) has slightly gone up, it is not enough to make up for the decrease in visitors. See appendix, table 2. Conclusion Despite the fact that Disneyland ® Paris is the biggest tourist attraction in Europe, and even draws more visitors than the Eiffel Tower, it is not financially healthy. Disneyland ® has again been taking a big loss.  Disneyland ® Paris has to change its strategy to achieve positive numbers and to start making profits. Value What Disneyland ® Paris offers to their guests is not only an amusement park, it is an experience. Disneyland offers two parks, Disneyland Park and Walt Disney Studios Park, with a total of 59 attractions. As stated by http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/: ‘Disneyland Park captures the wonder and fantasy of a classic Disney theme park while the Walt Disney Studios Park features the magic of movie-making.’ To make the Disneyland ® Paris experience complete, it offers several hotels, 63 restaurants, sport facilities, a wellness center, baby-care service, life-size Disney characters and a lot of shows and parades in the classic park as well as in the studios park. The value that Disneyland ® Paris offers is not just visit an amusement park with only fun rides, but an actual chance meet the characters from the Disney movies. Visitors can hug and take a picture with their favorite movie characters. Besides Disneyland  ® Paris made sure that its visitors stay in the Disney-feeling, even when having diner for example. Another part of the value that Disneyland ® Paris offers is that it combines the Walt Disney Studios Park with the classic park. For example ‘De Efteling’ (Holland) does not have a movie-oriented park, and ‘Movie Park Germany’ (Germany) does not have a classic park, but only the movie segment. The fact is that the customer does not need to choose between those two options at Disneyland ® Paris, but can have both at Disneyland ® Paris. A lot of other amusement parks in France or Europe also have astonishing attractions, but Disneyland ® Paris offers more than that. Disneyland ® Paris’ marketing mix As mentioned before, Disneyland ® Paris has a lot to offer. It serves their customers an amazing experience. Due to all this, the park had 14,9 million visitors last year. However, just like any other company, they used different tools to be this successful. Product Disneyland ® Paris offers several products and not just the amusement parks that people always seem to think about. Next to the two parks, they also own seven hotels owned by itself and seven partner hotels, including a free bus  connection from and to the park. Most of the hotels have their own special features, for example tennis courts, swimming pools, fitness centers, and pony ride. Furthermore, the resort includes Disney Village, which is a street where many shops, bars, restaurants, and attractions are located. Next to all this, the resort also includes a golf complex. The target segments of Disneyland are mainly families with children. When customers come to Disneyland ® Paris they expect to have a good time, not only for the children, but also for the parents. They might even want to feel as children themselves again. Disneyland ® Paris tries to give its visitors this experience using their parks, hotels and all the other features. Apart from feeling like a child again, some parents are looking for some relaxation and sports, which can be found at Disneyland ® Paris as well. All these products are part of the well-known brand Disney, even the hotels. This big mixture of products sets Disneyland ® Paris apart from other attraction parks. Even though other parks may have a brand and shops, most of them do not include a hotel. Even less parks accommodate a golf complex! These advantages make Disneyland ® Paris to what it is: a very attractive get-away. Strengths: Disneyland ® Paris offers a lot of different products. This makes it interesting for many target groups. It is not only for families with children, but can also be for groups of friends. Weaknesses: All the Disney items may become a bit too overwhelming. Price When the decision to visit Disneyland ® Paris is made, tickets need to be bought first. Tickets are sold on the website of Disneyland ® or throughout a travelling agency. The prices for tickets can be found in the appendix, table 2. As seen in the table, the park gives some discounts. For example, instead of paying for three day, one day is given for free. When the intention is to stay for more than one day, the opportunity to book a hotel is available. The tickets are already included in the price of the room. The price of the hotel for one night and one adult range from â‚ ¬111.00 to â‚ ¬663.00. Children from the age of 3 till 11 can spend the night in the hotels for free. However, these prices are not fixed but can fluctuate according to the needs and wants of customers. The prices in restaurants differ. They range from less than â‚ ¬15.- to over â‚ ¬25.-. This gives a wide range for customers and includes something for every target segment, rich or  poor. Having an inexpensive dinner might sounds great to most parents, since often the food in (other) attraction parks is very expensive. Strengths: The low prices of some of the restaurants can be considered as a strength. Usually the food in attraction parks is very expensive. Also, parents often believe that the trip itself already cost much money, so having some inexpensive restaurants gives Disneyland an advantage. Weaknesses: The entrance price of the park is very high, much higher than those of other parks, which are usually around â‚ ¬30.-. Furthermore, the stay in hotels might be too expensive for some customers. Promotion Disneyland uses several tools in promotion, such as the television, radio, advertisements and face-to-face communication. It sends out advertisement on the television on children and family senders. It also play ads on the radio, using the voice of Mickey Mouse. By reaching out to mostly children, it achieves its success. Next to these forms of promotion, it also posts advertisements for example in newspapers and children magazines. Also, there is the face-to-face communication. Visitors inform friends and family about their experience in Disneyland ® Paris, making the listener start thinking about Disneyland ® Paris positively or even negatively. Finally, there is a form of promotion that is not in the hands of Disneyland ® Paris itself, namely the media. Reporters and journalists write about Disneyland. These articles can be positive, but can also be negative. Unfortunately for Disneyland, it is very hard to prevent negative news. The only thing that Disneyland ® Paris can do is to show the journalists are wrong with their writings after their publications. Strengths: Focussing commercials on children is a smart move. Children can be very powerful towards their parents’ spending. Which parent does not want to see his or her child happy? Disneyland ® Paris is a fun experience and makes families bond. Weaknesses: Just like any other company, Disneyland can come across some negative media. Not only by journalists, but also people that have been in the park and have had a negative experience. All of them can start spreading the word about their experience. For example, in an article in The Independent, from May 6th 2010, which explains how employers of Disneyland ® Paris have had accidents or committed suicide, due to some issues with the management of Euro Disney. 7 Place Disneyland ® Paris is located very near to Paris, 32 kilometres to the east. This makes it a central point in Europe. It is well accessible by car, since the park is located near a high way. Across from the entrance of the two parks lies a train station, Marne la Vallee-Chessy. This train station has a direct high speed train service to cities like Bordeaux, Marseilles, Nice, Lyon and even Brussels. Also, the Eurostar services a direct line from London to this station. Another easy way to get to the park is to go buy bus, since there is a direct bus service provided from two international French airports, Charles De Gaulle International Airport and Orly Airport. Strengths: Disneyland ® Paris is easily accessible, which gives them a great advantage. Weaknesses: Disneyland ® Paris is located in a place where the weather is very unpredictable. You are never a 100% certain whether the weather will be good or whether it will rain all day. Also the surrounding villages might experience some troubles with Disneyland and its facilities. For example the train passing by only 200 meters from a city like Chessy. This can cause nuisance for the people living there. External Analysis An external analysis concentrates on all external variables that influence a company’s performance. They determine a company’s success, its chances and risks. Therefore it is a very important task for marketers to know the environment in case to adapt to trends. Marketers need to know and understand them in case to adjust their strategies. The external analysis is split up into two parts, which are called microenvironment and macroenvironment. 8 Micro-Environment The microenvironment is about â€Å"[†¦] the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers [†¦]† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 66). In order to handle the customers, a company?s task is to build up a good relationship with those actors, that consist of other companies, suppliers, marketing intermediaries, competitors, publics and its customers. Customers As mentioned above a company has to create value for its customers. In order  to do so, Disneyland ® Paris has to know its customers’ needs and wants. First of all Disneyland ® Paris has to divide the market into smaller segments. Afterwards it has to decide which groups to target. There are many variables to use to split up a market into smaller groups and to decide whether to enter or not. In the following consumer analysis we look at the main variables like geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioural. 1 Disneyland ® Paris? consists of a consumer market, which means Disneyland ® Paris is targeting individuals and households buying services and goods. The consumer market is a combination of a local and international market. Even Disneyland ® Paris is located in France, using the geographic segmentation, which divides a market into different nations, states, regions, countries, cities or even neighbourhoods, its main target group is Europe. As we can see in table 4 (see apendix), Disneyland ® Paris? target market consists of seven major groups and the rest of the world. T he table describes the major groups with the share in percentages from 2011 to 2013. The groups are France (51%), United Kingdom (14%), Spain (8%), Belgium (6%), Netherlands (6%), Italy (3%), Germany (3%) and the rest of the world (9%). With certainty we can conclude these are the biggest groups, not only through the table, but also through the official website which is presented in many languages. 9 A company also needs to make a decision whether for example which age, gender, family size, income they want to reach. These variables belong to the demographic segmentation. The book â€Å"Principles of Marketing by Kotler and Armstrong†¦p 191† says: â€Å"Demographic factors are the most popular bases for segmenting customer groups. One reason is that consumer needs, wants, and usage rates often vary closely with demographic variables.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 191) Transferring this strategy to Disneyland ® Paris? customers, we can easily see its target groups w ithin the geographical segmentation. Disneyland ® Paris is mainly focusing on families with children within the age of 3 to 15 years10, which remains to be a problem as analysed later on. Secondary it also provides services and attractions to adolescents and older generations. As we have analysed in the first part of the paper, Disneyland ® Paris offers services and attractions for people in each life-cycle stage.11 As a result we can see Disneyland ® Paris is not mainly focusing on children, it is primarily focusing on family activities as a whole. The family size does not play a big role, because  also singles, classes or just big groups are welcome to visit the world of Disneyland ® Paris. Other variables are psychographic and behavioural. Disneyland ® Paris is targeting consumers who are looking for adventurous and unforgettable holidays, which belongs in the behavioural segmentation. Disneyland ® Paris requires visitors who are enthusiastic, active and dreamer. To achieve holidays like that people has to pay a high amount of money, therefore Disneyland ® Paris is targeting the working class with a higher income. All in all Disneyland ® Paris typical customers are not only young families with their children, also adolescents and groups, all from Europe. Because of the fact Disneyland ® Paris is quite expensive it is focusing on families with higher income, who want to experience a unique and adventurous entertainment. Competitors A company in the same business or in a similar business is called a competitor. In order to be successful, a company has to grant higher value than its competitors do. The same applies for Disneyland ® Paris. What are its competitors and how strong are they? In Disneyland ® Paris? case its competitors are not only located in France, also in Europe (compare table 5). The amusement park business is growing at a steady rate. Still Disneyland ® Paris is the market leader in this business. To evaluate its competitors in this market, it is necessary to take a more detailed look at them. One way is to look at the customers the amusement parks are targeting. Those parks who have the same target groups are closer competitors for Disneyland ® Paris. As mentioned above, Disneyland ® Paris? target groups are families with children and adolescents, who want to make a unique experience in connection with a longer holiday stay in Disneyland ® Paris. The majority of amusement parks are listed in table 3, which are focusing on customers who just want to stay for a day. Therefore Disneyland ® Paris and the other parks in comparison have mostly different target groups and goals. Another factor are the yearly guests. The main competitors are ?De Efteling? in the Netherlands with 4.2 million visitors and ?Europa Park? with 4.6 million visitors in Germany. Even if Disneyland ® Paris has twice as much guests (16 million) (see table 5), those theme parks have the same strategy in creating an overall theme-park atmosphere while targeting the same groups (families with their children and adolescents). Nonetheless, Disneyland ® Paris has  the highest market share and is definitely the market leader in this business. Its overall appearance with the whole Disney World makes the park unique in comparison to ?De Efteling? and ?Europa Park?. But it is very important we do not leave out of account the fact, Disneyland ® Paris is struggling from its debts and losses, as mentioned before. While Disneyland ® Paris is recording losses, the other two parks are recording profits and performing better financially.12 Disneyland ® Paris needs to watch out in order to stay the market leader. Competitive Strategies Disneyland ® Paris is using an effective brand strategy. These results in having a strong image of the Disneyworld in the customers? minds and reaching a higher value people put on Disneyland ® Paris. Besides, there are four basic competitive strategies used by marketers. The first one is called overall cost leadership, which tries to achieve the highest market share while having the lowest costs as possible. Another one is focusing on creating a high differentiation within the companys? product line (differentiation). Some companies also choose to serve just a few market segments instead of reaching the whole market. The fourth strategy is called middle-of-the-road which combines the strategies. Company performances are showing they are performing worse with it.13 While following one of these strategies – overall cost leadership, differentiation, focus or middle-of-the-road- companies want to give a superior value through value disciplines. Introducing all of them, operat ional excellence concentrates on reducing â€Å"[†¦] costs and creat[ing] a lean and efficient value-delivery system.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 537) Another strategy is to concentrate on the needs and wants of the target groups (customer intimacy), while the last discipline called product leadership is always offering new and better products to their customers. Disneyland ® Paris? strategy is to combine the differentiation strategy with the customer intimacy strategy. Through the analysis in part one, where we have seen the financial debts of Disneyland ® Paris, it is definitely not pursuing the overall cost leadership strategy. Instead Disneyland ® Paris is focusing to expand its park while creating new products and services for all stages of the age life circle. This implies for the differentiation strategy. Doing this, Disneyland ® Paris has to know  its customers’ needs and wants very well, which results in customer intimacy. Reaching this goal Disneyland ® Paris is spending a high amount in research to develop modern products and services.14 It is marketing its amusement mark through digital media and internet to reach the adolescents and teens. Disneyland ® Paris owns the position as the product leader in its business, because it is always innovating and creating new products to keep its park attractive. It is steadily offering leading-edge products and services, not only to reach new customers also to convince customers to visit Disneyland ® Paris again. Macroenvironment In comparison to the micro-environmental analysis the macro-environmental analysis is not about the close actors around the company, it is about the larger societal forces as demographic, economics, natural, technological, political, and cultural forces, that effect the microenvironment. The trends of the factors listed before form the opportunities and threats companies have to deal with15. In case of Disneyland ® Paris the demographic change is one of the most important topics. The demography is looking at the populations’ structure and its shift. As we see in figure 1 (see appendix) the economy experienced an enormous decreasing trend in the birth rates, which resulted in an aging society. Smaller family sizes are the aftereffect of this trend. More important is to take a look how the demographic change will go on in the future. Figure 2 (see appendix) gives us an economic prediction of how the current situation affects the population structure in the future until 2060. Figure 2 (see appendix) shows the development from a bell shaped population towards a form like an urn. This is an indication of an aging population with less births. In 2011 the biggest age group was defined of people in the age of 15 – 55 years. In 2060 it might happen, this group becomes less and the age group of 60 – 90 years will increase. Referring to Disneyland ® Paris, as we analysed earlier in the paper, the main target group of Disneyland ® Paris are young families with children and adolescents. Therefore the demographic trend is a threat it has to deal with. Disneyland ® Paris has to change its structure towards satisfying older generations instead of focusing only on children and adolescents in order not to lose a high amount of customers. In addition Disneyland ® Paris has to  experience a price increase i n non-renewable resources such like oil and water, which belongs in the category of the natural environment. The price increase in oil in the last years is obvious16. Through higher prices for the resources, Disneyland ® Paris has higher costs. Disneyland ® Paris could increase its ticket prices, but how would customers react? Disneyland ® Paris is saying by itself it has to learn how to use its resources mainly water, paper and energy more wisely and efficient17. Even Disneyland ® Paris is geographically not affected by the consequences of the climate change, it is fighting against it. In its ?2013 Reference Document† Disneyland ® Paris is saying it helps †[†¦] through its environmental policy, in particular with its water consumption initiatives and its efforts in preventing and fighting pollution discharges.† Also within the social environment Disneyland ® Paris is putting a high emphasis on negotiating contracts with its suppliers. Disneyland ® Paris is listing its requirements in the ?2013 Reference Document? (p. 144): â€Å"Not to use child labor or forced labor; To treat each employee with dignity and respect and refrain from adopting discriminatory practices in hiring and employment; To respect employees’ right to associate, organize and bargain collectively; To provide employees with a safe and healthy work environment and to ensure that all accommodations provided to employees comply with health and safety standards; To apply laws and regulations relating to wages and working time, environment, manufacturing, pricing and sales and distribution of merchandise, Not to use subcontractors to manufacture Disney products or components without a prior written agreement [†¦] When a breach in standards is identified, the supplier must correct it or stop producing for [Disneyland ® Paris].† These points are showing the high social responsibility Disneyland ® Paris cares about. Besides this it is also trying to market its products child-oriented, improving its food in quality and safety and provides customer health and safety. Disneyland ® Paris also agreed to support the French economy and the employment18, but we won’t elaborate about that too much right now. Strategic advice and conclusion As analysed in the paper there are many threats Disneyland ® Paris has to deal  with. But, threats are not necessary bad for the company, they can also constitute opportunities to improve its strategy. Mentioned before, the demographic change is one of the biggest threats. Disneyland ® Paris has to change its concept towards older age groups in case of not losing customers. Disneyland ® Paris has already done a lot in this direction offering products and services to those age groups.19 This does not mean Disneyland ® Paris is safe, it still need to analyse its older customers? needs and wants in order to innovate products and services satisfying them. One advice is to improve the arrival and departure. Even though Paris and therefore Disneyland ® Paris are easy to reach, it can be still improved. An idea is using the international train Thalys. Thalys is offering many routes through five European countries – namely Belgium, Germany, France, the Netherlands and Unit ed Kingdom, stopping in 31 cities20. Disneyland ® Paris could cooperate with this company to create new packages (combining Disney-tickets with traintickets) for an easier and cheaper arrival/departure. Referring to the countries mentioned above, mainly these countries are presenting the target groups within Europe. As we analysed Disneyland ® Paris need to reach new customers. A possibility is to advertise itself more in eastern European countries such like Poland and Russia, which population became more willing to spend money on holidays. As we can see on Disneyland ® Paris? website, it does not offer its official website in those languages (www.disneylandparis.com). This is a point that can be improved to reach completely new target groups. Not only those countries seem to be interesting, also emerging countries such like south-western European countries. In order to reach them, Disneyland ® Paris could try to convince Thalys to expend its routes towards these countries. Another factor is Disneyland ® Paris seriously has to keep its prices stable or even lower them. Of course it is not that easy to reduce them while resource prices and therefore costs are increasing, but Disneyland ® Paris could building its own wind farm using renewable resources to produce own energy. This fact will not only contribute in lowering prices, it will bring a new philosophy that pays attention to the environment and it earns the trust of those people who are environmental conscious. Disneyland ® Paris can include this point, in case they implement this strategy, in their advertisements. Coming away from lowering costs and prices, Disneyland ® Paris can improve its image  through higher sociable responsibility. The main advice giving Disneyland ® Paris is to introduce a sensitization campaign, which is called cause-related marketing. â€Å"Cause-related marketing has become a primary form of corporate giving. It lets companies â€Å"do well by doing good† by linking purchases of the company?s products or services with fund-raising for worthwhile causes or charitable organizations.† (Kotler/Armstrong 2012, p. 85) Considering that Disneyland ® Paris is focused on families and children, for every ticket sold a portion can be donated to a charity for poor children. Not only Disneyland ® Paris would benefit of this marketing concept through higher profits, also children living in the underclass are better off. In one sentence: Disneyland ® Paris would not only give smiles to children visiting the amusement park, it also gives smiles to children that are not experiencing the unique and exciting dream world of Disneyland ® Paris. Reference List ?De Efteling?, official website http://www.efteling.com/NL/Over-de-Efteling/Pers-en-Publicaties.html 19-02-2014 21:36 De Efteling, Press Information 2013 http://www.efteling.com/media/Pdf/Persmappen/Persmap%20ENGELS%202013%20DEF.pdf 17-02-2014 20:18 ‘The independent’ http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/the-dark-side-of-disneyland-paris-1964505.html 16-02-2014 15:39 Disneyland ® Paris http://www.disneylandparis.com/ 20-02-2014 18:06 Disneyland ® Paris, article about Disneyland ® Paris? decline http://disneyatwork.com/2013/08/is-disneyland-paris-in-decline/ 20-02-2014 18:03 Disneyland ® Paris, brochure http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/CORP/EN/Neutral/Images/Community%20report %202012.pdf 19-02-2014 14:23 Disneyland ® Paris, financial performance http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcorporate.disneylandparis.com%2Finvestor-relations%2Ffinancial-indicators%2Findex.xhtml&h=NAQG1F7MB 20-02-2014 16:26 Disneyland ® Paris, overall information http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/about-our-company/the-narrative-of-numbers/index.xhtml 20-02-2014 18:02 EURO DISNEY S.C.A. (2013): 2013 Reference Document http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/CORP/EN/Neutral/Images/fr-uk-reference-document-2013.pdf 19-02-2014 15:48 Europapark http://www.europapark.de/lang-en/Home/c1174.html?langchange=true 20-02-2014 18:03 ?Moviepark?, article http://www.derwesten.de/staedte/bottrop/kirchhellen/1-25-millionen-besucher-im-moviepark-id6139835.html 20-02-2014 18:07 Oil prices http://moneyweek.com/prices-news-charts/oil/ 17-02-2014 16:23 Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (2012, 14/E): Principles of Marketing, Global Edition, Pearson, Harlow, England Philip Kotler & Gary Armstrong (2014, 15/E): Principles of Marketing, Global Edition, Pearson, Harlow, England

Mark Dawson Shares His Secret Facebook Ads Strategy

Mark Dawson Shares His Secret Facebook Ads Strategy Facebook Ads for Authors (with Mark Dawson) Last updated: 04/11/2018Most authors in the self-publishing game will know Mark Dawson’s name. As the author of the highly successful John Milton thrillers, Mark has become one of the most successful indie novelists working today - in large part thanks to his keen understanding of book marketing and Facebook Advertising in particular.Based on an interview with Reedsy (that you can watch below), this post will show you how Mark has used Facebook ads as a tool to build his career as a novelist (as well as his mailing list) - and how you can do the same. What is Facebook Advertising?Facebook Advertising is the core business of the world’s most popular social network. Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t make any money when you post pictures of your cat. He does, however, make a fortune allowing advertisers to target audiences in a very focused way, thanks to the enormous amount of data they have on their users.How can authors best use Facebook Ads?At the most basic level, authors can use Facebook ads to find readers who have an interest in books similar to theirs. Finding and leveraging comparable authors has long been at the center of Mark’s strategy.â€Å"My books are often compared in their genre to Lee Child, so one of the things that I do on Facebook is to serve ads just to people who know or like Lee Child - fans of his fan page, fans of the Jack Reacher fan page, and so on.â€Å"You want to find a similar author in your genre like that who you can use to make sure that your ads are shown to people who are likely to like your books.†One of the benefits of using Facebook ads is the ability to test audience sets. For as little as $5 a day, you can deliver your ads to different ‘sets’ of audiences so you can see whether your ad appeals more to readers of Robin Hobb or Terry Brooks; to followers of Tony Robbins, or Gary Vaynerchuk. â€Å"I can typically make most days a 100% return on investment (ROI). I’m spending around $300-$350 in Facebook ads every day, and I make around $600-$700 a day from it.†Naturally, your ability to continually reach new readers this way is limited by the size of the audience your targeting.â€Å"There are some authors in other genres - romance is particularly good for this, as it is for just about everything else - who are also encountering huge success with this. There’s one author in particular who was selling $200 worth of her box set every month, and last month sold $1500. Obviously, you’ve got to invest in the ads, but she is making a 500% ROI: pay $1 get $5.†But beyond creating a simple ad that urges readers to buy your product, Mark uses a couple of ‘intermediate’ techniques for boosting direct sales with Facebook ads:1. Generate a ‘lookalike’ audienceâ€Å"For those who don’t know what one is, you can im port your mailing list into Facebook and then tell them: ‘please, generate a lookalike audience based on this mailing list.’ Facebook will then try to assess what the people have in common in your mailing list, and algorithmically search for people matching the same interests, demographics, etc.â€Å"The results of these ‘lookalike’ campaigns are sometimes better than the ones based on audiences with a shared interest. My best sales ad for one of the boxed sets I have on sale is a 2.2M list of people based in the United States defined as a ‘lookalike’ of my mailing list. I optimize the ads for clicks and typically generate a 50-100% ROI every day.†2. Advertise to people on your mailing listOne thing that Facebook allows you to do is to import the email addresses from your mailing list and match these email addresses with Facebook accounts (provided that these people have one). You can then serve ads to these people as well.â€Å"Some pe ople might ask why I’m saying the same thing twice. ‘You’re already sending them an email asking them to buy the book.’â€Å"Well, not all emails are opened (50% is already a very high open rate), and it’s a standard advertising theory that it takes more than one touch for someone to make a buying decision. So that kind of joined-up campaign is going to be more effective than just an email blast or just a Facebook campaign.Some marketers reckon that ‘effective frequency’ - or number of times a customer has to see an advertising message for it to take hold - can be as high as 10 (or more). So instead of emailing subscribers ten times and getting dumped in the spam folder, you can ensure that your book rises to the top of their mind.†These are some of the techniques Mark has used to become a publishing titan - but their execution requires a bit of finesse and self-education. You can join the waiting list for Mark Dawson’s Advertising for Authors, a paid course that is the best on offer, in our opinion. Or as an alternative, check out Reedsy Learning’s Facebook Ads for Authors course - which is free. (Disclosure: if you end up registering for any of Mark's courses, Reedsy may receive a small affiliate payment.)If you have any questions or thoughts on using Facebook ads to market your book, drop us a message in the comments below.

buy custom Impacts of World War II on America essay

buy custom Impacts of World War II on America essay The WWII was a worldwide conflict that every major power in the world got involved in from 1939-1945. The two sides formed, were generally the Axis and Allies. In 1939, America was behind in terms of war preparation as compared to its enemies, who had been preparing themselves for almost ten years (Kennedy, 1999, p. 1929-1945). However, four years into the war, the United States earned the title of military super-power. The American industry largely, almost entirely, provided the Allied military with about two-thirds of all their equipment during the war-193,000 artillery pieces, 297,000 aircraft, 2,000 army trucks, and 86,000 tanks (Kennedy, 1999, p. 1929-1945). This saw the American industrial production, then the world largest, doubled in size. Moreover, the production of the machine-tools for making weapons trebled in a span of three years. Consequently, the balance between the United States and its adversaries changed almost overnight. Many Americans forecasted that this war wou ld have a significant bearing on their future, but the outcome of the war presented far-reaching effects than most Americans had predicted. Americas involvement in the war was more beneficial than detrimental to its social, political, and economic structures. Compared to other prime combatants, both the Allies and the Axis, the United States was did not get any damage physically. In fact, its economy experienced an unprecedented economic rejuvenation (Winkler, 2000). In addition, its loss of about 400,000 soldiers in combat was visually downplayed and less, compared to other nations losses, and Americans had to imagine the consequences of the war. In order for this to be achieved, they projected the consequences of World War I into the future. America still felt the weight of World War I, suffered from the great depression, and felt threatened by world enemies in the precipitating WWII. Most Americans perceived the impacts of the war as rising steadily during hostilities, and then falling sharply. However, this perception changed when the reality of the effect of about 16 million war veterans returning to civil life dawned on them that these veterans readjustment was to be the nations responsibility (Winkler, 2000). The post-war economy c arried mixed feelings of hope and fear that thrived on the previous depression and propaganda of promises of reward for those who sacrificed during wartimes. Contrastingly, few Americans foresaw the social consequences the war would bring. In fact, WWII transcended the then existing racial system by expanding federal power to the Jim Crow South, effectively inspiring the expectations and policies of African Americans and restructuring national priorities (Kennedy, 1999). The efforts of progressive black men, such as A. Phillip Randolph, made many leaders to view racial discrimination as a leftover that wasted resources that were vital for wielding power overseas and it mocked United States allegation of defending freedom against communist oppression and fascism. Though the US stepped cautiously on the matter of racism, it showed efforts towards strengthening its morale and unity by denouncing the theories it was fighting abroad at home. In the pursuit of this goal, President Harry S. Truman signed an order in 1948 that banned discrimination and segregation in the military, which also eroded ethnic and religious barriers (United States His tory, n.d). During the WWII, sexuality and gender systems experienced complex changes. The wartime culture prized both womens contribution and male virtue and set the stage for the virtual invention of the traditional family. This, however, worked to the disadvantage of many homosexuals and women. Regardless of how varied their influences were, social groups had something common: Americas global power coupled with the governments additional authority shaped their fate. At the end of the war, the transtion into the cold war, this change that initially, perceiving it as temporary, became a lasting one, against many peoples anticipation. During the WWII, Americans had the knowledge that they were a superpower and, therefore, expected it to play the role of one, with a few yearning for the isolationism that had allegedly led to the culmination of WWII (Winkler, 2000). Axis antagonism, the Great depression, as well as hitherto unprecedented technological advances, all gave the illusion of a disintegrated postwar world that presented a myriad of threats to the U.Ss economic and military wellbeing. Consequently, the view of many American leaders was that it would be prudent for the country to mobilize power even during peace times in order to counter all the external and internal threats. Americas victory in the war provided the leaders with the most needed confidence and assurance that they had the capacity to do so, either solely or by the help of the newly formed United Nations in 1945. Gen. George C. Marshall warned that, the extensive ocean distance that used to protect America had evaporated, and Americas reliance on such obsolete factors was likely to jeopardize the freedom and treasure of the nation (Kennedy, 1999). Economically, WWII brought unprecedented improvements in the U.S, with President Franklin D. Roosevelts call to America to become the arsenal of democracy. This came about six months after the fall of France to the Axis armies and one year before Japans attack on Pearl Harbor, which ultimately brought the U.S into the war (Kennedy, 1999). Roosevelt suggested an annual production of 50,000 planes, an overly ambitious figure that even some of his economists thought was unrealistic. However, by the fall of 1944, the U.S produced more than 96,000 naval and military aircraft, surpassing the combined production of Japan, Germany, and Britain (Kennedy, 1999). With this, Americas industry had achieved a groundbreaking superiority in equipment production in a way that no any other country had bone before, a call promoted by the President at the beginning of 1942. The President attributed this stunning achievement to all Americans, the uniformed and civilians, with the most obvious contributor being the factories, both government-owned and privately owned (Kennedy, 1999). From the foregoing, WWII had far-reaching effects on America, as a nation, and as a society in general. Wartime mobilization dealt a major defeat on the Axis and ended the Great Depression in the United States. This dual victory provides a solid explanation why WWII is Good War for the American population (Winkler, 2000). Just before the onset of WWII, precisely in 1939, employment in the U.S stagnated at Depression levels, but the mobilization saw the rate of unemployment fall sharply (Jeffries, 2003). Hitherto unemployed men and women joined the military and moved to enormous, new-built and/or expanded military training bases. Yet millions more found places industries, where they, for the first time since 1929, made good money, especially from overtime hours to augment their paychecks. The WWII was really the Good War for Americans, because it was encouraged by the government, those who worked in the industries and gained new skills shifted to better jobs, and then joined labor uni ons in unprecedented numbers. Consequently, the WWII helped blue-collar workers gain recognition and status (Jeffries, 2003). Undoubtedly, the WWII brought unfathomable shifts in all spheres of the U.S; politically, economically, socially, and even religiously. Notably, the boom in employment raised peoples living standards, considering that they had just suffered the menace of the Great Depression. The rise in production and enrolment in the armed forces by most men saw employers (often encouraged by the government), turn to women, the elderly, Affrican Americans, and other groups left out in the pre-war economy so that they could fill jobs (these jobs had relatively high pay and status) (Winkler, 2000). The war was a blessing in disguise for women in the U.S society because most of them found new employments in the factories as well as in clerical and secretarial jobs. After the war, most of these women moved quit the labor force for different reasons. Nevertheless, the wartime changes in womens attitudes regarding their own capabilities extended to cover the post-war period, and indeed today (Winkler, 20 00). African Americans and other minorities took wartime labor shortages, as a leverage to protest against discriminatory handling, in order to secure new and higher job positions in defense industries. As a result of the war, many young and unemployed men and women, white and black found opportunities, experience and training in military bases. In addition, the G.I Bill provided home-ownership, education, among other benefits to those who took part in the war, a huge number indeed. The WWII ended in mid 1945 with the fall of the Axis under the Allies, leaving a trail of horror in its wake; more than 55 million people died in the war, property worth of billions of dollars destroyed, devastated infrastructure, among other monumental losses. It was, and still is, the most expensive war in the history of the world, with estimates put between $1 and $2 trillion and loss of property amounting to $239 billion (United States History, n.d). The United States spending alone was about 10 time s more than it had spent cumulatively on its previous wars. In addition, it national debt increased from $42billion in 1940 to a staggering $260 billion in 1946. Immediately after the war, the cold war ensued between the Allies (democracies) and the Axis (Soviets), notably between the United States and the U.S.S.R, led by Russia (United States History, n.d). In the U.S, than in any other nation, the war brought considerable positive changes in the political, economic, social, and religious circles. The war literally got the United States out of the Great Depression by invigorating the U.Ss production capacity and consumption, especially in the production and sale of military equipment to the Allies, which saw its production industry double in a span of about three years. Prior to the war, especially in the period covering the Great Depression, the rate of unemployment soared in the U.S, the youth being the most affected group. However, in the build-up to the war and during the war, employment opportunities arose in production factories as well as in the military. The U.S was, therefore, able to solve its troubling employment problem. Gender imbalances in the society regarding employment were also under the discussion, courtesy of the Second World War. In the pre-war American economy, women, especially African Americans and other minoriti es, were grossly under-represented in the employment world, but the WWII opened up new and well-paying opportunities for them, thereby raising their living standards. The American society also gained a fundamental milestone in the fight against racial discrimination, with blacks from the south enrolling in the military and appointment to other high-profile job positions. The combination of all these factors led to the prosperity of the American economic, social, religious, and political structures of the American society. However, the U.S lost a large number of its uniformed citizens in the war, but not as many as other countries lost. The war was also the most costly in history, and it overextended U.S Government expenditure at the same point in time raising its national debt by almost fifth-fold in just about two years. At the end of the war, the United States came out victorious, both at home and abroad. The Cold War ensued right after the WWII between the democracies and the sov iets. The war was, as much as it suffered several setbacks, therefore, a blessing in disguise to the United States. Buy custom Impacts of World War II on America essay

Statistics Summary Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Statistics Summary - Research Paper Example Quantitative statistics however defines categorical measures that only identify data but does not induce a numeric value (Mann, 2010). There also exist four levels of statistics, nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio levels. Nominal level only has identity property. Ordinal level of measurement has both identity and dimension properties, interval level identifies statistics and measures dimension with equal distance between consecutive variables while ratio level of measurement has a true zero besides properties of interval level of statistics (Babbie, 2010). The role of statistics in business decision making involve research and evaluation of data on alternatives to a problem with the aim of understanding the alternatives for informed decision (Mann, 2010). Statistics could be used to investigate effectiveness of a marketing strategy on an organization’s level of sales. Identification of significant effectiveness in a pilot study, through test of hypothesis, would suggest implementation the strategy while lack of significant effectiveness would mean that the marketing strategy would not promote sales and should not be implemented (Mann,

Contract and employment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Contract and employment - Essay Example There has been no express â€Å"garden leave† clause in her agreement. Clarissa had a very difficult divorce in 2011 and as a result of this her professional life suffered. She became careless and negligent with her work. In a major event which was attended by foreign governments (potential buyers), she left the trigger switch that fires the missiles in the office. Due to this demonstration had to be stopped. Even though this was a serious lapse from Clarissa, she was only given an informal warning and let off. She showed improvements after this. But in the re-scheduled demonstration, she programmed missile to fly for 100km rather than the 1 km that was planned. But the mistake was identified and the calculation revealed that even if the missiles had been fired they would have landed safely on a cow barn in Surrey. But after this negligence, the manager lost confidence in her and she was fired. The consequences of repeated negligence could have critical and more damaging. She was dismissed as per the contract with a six month notice and her employment contract would be terminated on 31st March, 2012. Also fearing the safety her colleagues, she was sent home on â€Å"garden leave†. During this period she was not required to work but would still be paid. She was not happy with this and complained unsuccessfully about â€Å"garden leave†. She was offered a job Flare Missiles on 1st January 2012. But the offer was valid only if she could join on February 2012. The first issue is if she can claim unfair dismissal compensation. In order to claim unfair dismissal compensation, an employee must have been employed at least for a year (i.e. 52 weeks)1. Clarissa fulfils this and hence she will be able to claim for unfair dismissal compensation. First there must be a fair reason for the employer to dismiss the employee. If the employer claims that the dismissal was on the grounds of a fair reason, then it’s his