Essay Nations Should Promote Globalization, Not Localization

Globalization and localization are two conflicting trends in international politics today. Globalization is the spread of peoples, activities, norms, ideas, goods, services, and currencies from one area of the world to another. (Rosenau 15) Localization is the narrowing of horizons and the confinement of peoples, activities, norms, ideas, goods, services, and currencies to a particular geographic area. (Rosenau 16) Globalization and localization affect the world’s countries in three main areas, politics, economics, and culture. Both globalization and localization have many benefits, as well as many costs. Globalization is a predominant force in the world today. The development of the Internet and other far-reaching communication media†¦show more content†¦Participation in global organizations also undermines political autonomy of countries. At the same time that globalization of the world is increasing, there are also strong localization sentiments. Many things can be gained by the emphasis of local distinctiveness in politics, culture, and economy. Politically, localization gives governmental autonomy to nations. Countries can spend all their time and effort on programs and policies that emphasize their priorities. Economically, the activities of producers and consumers are constricted to the country, which provides support for domestic businesses and full consumption of the goods they produce. Culturally, localization gives nations a rich sense of heritage and strengthens traditional customs and ideas. (Rosenau 17) Localization serves to strengthen individual countries. While there are benefits to localization, there are also costs. Localization decreases international trade and investment which decreases the amount and variety of goods and services available to people. Localization also prevents new customs and ideas from entering a country that could enrich their culture. Without participation in international political organizations, a country is without allies and support in times of military or economic crisis. Globalization and localization can best be understood by examining current events. One of the most prevalent examples of globalization today is evident in the firstShow MoreRelatedEssay on Nations Should Promote Localization, Not Globalization1278 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican songs being played. Later on after dinner, they may have turned on the television and seen an old rerun of Baywatch or The Simpsons dubbed into another language. These are all American things. How could they be in a foreign country? Globalization (or Integration), a process by where capital, investments, trade, and communications are not limited by national borders, would be a good explanation for this. Maybe the tourist didn’t want to be reminded of these typical American things, perhapsRead MoreNations Should Promote Localization, Not Globalization Essay1590 Words   |  7 PagesDetermining the precise costs and benefits of both globalization and localization can be difficult. The difficult part is d eciding which has the most beneficial or disturbing affect upon a country. If a country implements either theory - the outcomes will vary depending on the actions taken to implement them. Granted if the wrong concept is attempted in the wrong country, the affects it will have in the long run can be extremely harmful to the citizens of the country and all of its aspects. AndRead MoreEssay on Nations Should Promote Globalization, Not Localization1789 Words   |  8 PagesIn today’s continuously changing world, many experts say that globalization is what every business, organization, and nation should seek and welcome as a positive change. However, many people are unaware of the main focus and meaning of Globalization, especially in comparison to Localization. A large number of people believe that globalization is just another common word used to refer to changes and differences that cannot be explained or accounted for. Therefore, many different activities or changesRead Mor eEssay on Both Globalization and Localization Provide Benefits1566 Words   |  7 PagesIn The Complexities and Contradictions of Globalization, James Rosenau discusses the concepts of globalization and localization. International politics offers many examples of both of these concepts, those of which will be discussed in this essay. These concepts can be somewhat misleading, however. Globalization is not the same as globalism, which points to aspirations for a state of affairs where values are shared by or pertinent to all the world’s more than 5 billion people, their environmentRead More Globalization Will Prevail Over Localization Essay1079 Words   |  5 Pagesconstantly changing and our nation is becoming more integrated everyday. The question is are we benefiting or are we getting hurt from this integration? In this paper I will try to weigh the costs and benefits of both Globalization and Localization. Opinions vary greatly concerning this subject. Depending on what part of the world you are from and what your economic standings are you may have an entirely different opinion than someone else. In some aspects Globalization may lessen the impacts of someRead MoreNaions Must Balance Globalization and Localization Essay1801 Words   |  8 Pagespolitics offers many examples of both globalization and localization. Currently, a trend from localization to globalization has been ignited by technologically advanced communication. Both globalization and localization have costs and benefits that effect a countrys politics, economics, and culture. To begin, globalization is a process of nations, corporations, and individuals moving from a national level to an international level. James Rosenau states, Globalization seems appropriate to denote theRead MoreShould Students Be Required to Take a Second Language Course891 Words   |  4 Pagesspectacle is happening in today’s society that the world, one hundred years ago, could have never thought possible. Cultural barriers between countries are blurring and are eventually predicted to disappear entirely, forming one, global nation. This process of globalization is due mainly to the rise of modern technologies through the internet and computers. Just a few decades ago, people would have never thought that an international business meeting would be as simple as few clicks of a mouse and aRead MoreEssay on Global Trends1308 Words   |  6 Pagessuch as the European Union and various economic agreements in the Western Hemisphere and Asia? When a company considers investin g internationally, what circumstances should influence how much priority is given to global concepts and/or national differences when evaluating the four alternatives for strategic choice? Globalization has triumphed since the last century after the end of the cold war in the late 1980s. It has made extensive efforts to unify the world’s economic order, created tremendousRead MoreCase2 the Not-so-Wonderful World of Eurodisney1743 Words   |  7 Pagessame cultural and management mistakes in China that had plagued Disneyland Paris, they don’t predict the coming hurdle in China that is limited knowledge of Disney characters and lore. However, plans to increase the capacity in China will help to promote awareness of the Disney name among the mainland Chinese population and cement ties with Beijing. Problems The problem Euro Disney faced was that they overestimated the magic that was to be on performance when expanding its parks into other countriesRead MoreAnalysis Kentucky Fried Chickens Cross-Cultural Marketing Strategies1273 Words   |  6 PagesMarketing Strategies in China from the Point of View of Cultural Identity Introduction With the acceleration of the process of economic globalization, enterprises face the consumer behavior differences caused by the cultural identity between countries inevitably in the process of international operations. So, corporate marketing executives should understand the cultural background of a country and develop effective marketing strategies accordingly. In cross-cultural marketing, the famous

Gambling In Texas Essay - 2103 Words

pIn 1995, Texas proposed a referendum for the legalization of casino gambling. However, perhaps due to Texas extreme conservatism, many Texans opposed the idea. Since then, other states have joined Nevada to allow unlimited gambling in their state. From record economic growth to billions of revenue dollars for state expenditures, these states continue to reap from their bold decision while Texas remains watching from the sidelines. Rather than enjoying the same profits as its fellow states, Texas has found it hard to meet its state budget year after year. Instead of taking the road well-traveled--increasing taxes, Texas should take a page from the success stories of these states and legalize casino gambling as a legitimate way†¦show more content†¦For this reason, when the state needs more money, it has to raise sales tax or cut department spending. For example, in 1984 the sale tax was 4.25 percent, but only six years later it rose to 6.25 percent. Furthermore, cities, counties, transit authorities, and other taxing agents may levy a sales tax u p to an additional 2% combined, for a total maximum sales tax of 8.25 percent (Lavine 11). Despite the elevating taxes, many people argue that Texas has a very low combined state and local tax burden. This is only true at the state level, but at the local level Texas has a very high tax burden - 9th in sales tax per capita and 15th in property tax per capita (Lavine 15). The state managed to portray this image only because Texas pushes funding obligations down to the local level, such as public education. For this reason, cities such as Houston must implement high property taxes to ensure adequate funding for police enforcement, public transportation, and education. Because of the tremendous shortfall this year, the city of Houston resorted to layoff teachers and security personnel to meet budget requirements. Therefore, instead of continued tax hikes or sacrificing much needed state services, why not allow for casino gambling as an alternative source of revenue for the state? The direct economic impact of casino gambling is clear by looking at our neighboring states . Despite the economic impact of casino gambling, debates exist overShow MoreRelatedTexas Gambling: The Morality vs Legality of Casino Gambling Essay1846 Words   |  8 PagesFor years casino gambling was portrayed in the media and Hollywood as being associated with criminal activities and the mafia. Now with proper scrutiny and government regulations casino gambling has become a lucrative business, with casinos stock even trading on Wall Street. Casino gambling is an ever increasingly popular and legal activity in many states throughout the United States. â€Å"The term gambling or ‘gaming’ as the industry calls it, means any legalized form of wagering or betting conductedRead MorePro and Con of Liberalized Gambling in Texas7402 Words   |  30 PagesEfforts are once again underway in the legislature to bring casino-style gambling to Texas. It’s an idea that has failed in recent legislative sessions, but backers are hoping they’ve found the right formu la for success in 2009. There are many appealing arguments on the side of pro-gambling groups. Keeping gambling money that is now going to Louisiana and Oklahoma in Texas is one popular idea. Reviving the state’s horse-raising industry by allowing slot machines at racetracks is another. Some advocatesRead Morelegalizing gambling983 Words   |  4 Pages Legalizing Casino Gambling in Texas Persuasive Speech Outline Legalizing Casino Gambling in Texas Specific Purpose Statement: To persuade my class about why legalizing casino gambling in Texas is for the better. Thesis Statement: Legalizing casino gambling in the state of Texas would enhance society and will be beneficial for the entire state. Organizational Pattern: Problem-Solution Introduction I. Did you know that gambling generates more revenue thanRead MoreThe Impact Of Gambling On The United States1650 Words   |  7 Pages Toulmin Argument Research Paper The concept of gambling has been around since the 1600’s when the original thirteen colonies had their own individual lotteries where people viewed gambling as a â€Å"civic responsibility† to play. These lotteries helped establish multiple universities such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and William and Mary. Gambling has been legal and then banned several times in three different eras; the first era in the 1600’s to mid-1800’s, the second in the late 1800’s to earlyRead MoreThe Texas Election : Three Factors For The Political Party763 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to Texas Tribune analysis, the sum of hopeful spends per vote depends on three factors: how much a candidate assembles first year recruits, how much a candidate spends and what number of votes a cheerful gets. 1 Taking a gander at how much the contenders spent per vote proposes money doesnt constantly have any sort of impact in a definitive outcome. Probably the costliest battles were controlled by individuals you have probably never knew about. As, I choose to run for the Texas House of RepresentativesRead MoreBest Bitcoin Poker Sites For 20161570 Words   |  7 Pagesconsidered using an alternative currency like Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a form of money that you can use to purchase goods and services on the internet, but with the advantage of anonymity. That makes it an ideal choice for gambling sites, especially for players who live in places where gambling is illegal. While Bitcoin poker sites are relatively new to the industry, there are several good ones available to players worldwide right now. They are perfectly legal, and may be the best alternative for many playersRead MoreEssay Cheating in Sports1397 Words   |  6 PagesHoberman, Department of Germanic studies at University of Texas at Austin noted â€Å"In August 1968, the Belgian distance runner Joseph Rombaux was disqualified for a positive dope test after winning the national marathon championship. He was banned from athletics for life† (394). Cheating for the best performance in the sports is against the spirit of the sports. According to Professor John Hoberman, Department of Germanic studies at University of Texas at Austin, â€Å"The use of drugs and other prohibitedRead MoreIs Lottery a Good Idea1189 Words   |  5 PagesIs a Gambling a Good Idea? Definition of Gambling Merriam-Webster’s Learners Dictionary defined gambling as â€Å"playing a game in which you can win or lose money or possessions† (Merriam). Origin of gambling in the United States The first lottery was held in the America by the Virginia Company with the permission of the Crown to raise money to finance the establishment of the Colony in 1612. The lotteries were relatively sophisticated and included instant winners. All the original 13 raised revenueRead MoreGambling Should be Legalized.1571 Words   |  7 PagesGambling should be legalized What is gambling? According to www.dictionary.com gambling is taking a risk in the hope of gaining an advantage or a benefit. Gambling has been around for centuries and has been dated way back to 1492. People have been gambling in America ever since America was found. There are numerous underground cards clubs and casinos all over the country and in major cities. People gamble on everything: sports evens, dice, and cards. Even though people gamble every day in the UnitedRead More Gambling Essay1614 Words   |  7 Pages Gambling, while it lowers taxes and creates jobs, it also causes addicts to lose money and therefore creates a higher crime rate.A Quick History of Gambling.Gambling was a popular pastime in North America long before there was ever a United States. Playing cards and dice were brought over by both the British and the Dutch. By the end of the 17th century, just about every countryseat in colonial America had a lottery wheel. Cockfighting flourished thoughout the countr ies, especially in the South

Business Expansion Beyond Britain Post Brexit †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Business Expansion Beyond Britain Post Brexit. Answer: Introduction: The aim of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the applications, costs and benefits of supply chain management. The backdrop of the paper is a set on Brexit and its impact on the British companies which have their major operations in Europe. The case study presents an automobile company whose major business operations are concentrated in Europe. The company would be losing its supply chain, majority customers and even employees due to Britains withdrawal from the EU. The paper studies the impact the loss of European market would have on the business of the company. It also suggests the measures like entering new markets which would help the motor making company to mitigate the business risks it would face by losing its European market. Impacts of Brexit on the automobile company: The four key factors that would have direct effect on the business of the Cardiff automobile manufacturing company in Britain if the country loses free access to the European market post Brexit are as follows: Human resource scarcity: The case study reports that the European division of the Britain based automobile company sources a major portion of its human resources from Europe. Strategic management of employees plays a very important role in the productivity of every organisation because they execute the business strategies made by the management (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). Britain would be formally exiting Brexit in 2019, which means that the companies based in the country would not have access to the free labour markets of Europe. This is an important factor as it would affect the talent pipeline of the British companies dependent on the labour markets of Europe for their labour supply (pwc.co.uk 2017). One can state in the light of the above discussion that Brexit would create scarcity in the talent acquisition of the Cardiff based automobile company as it would no longer have access to the labour markets under the EU. Material scarcity: The second factor, which would influence the productivity of the automobile company, would be scarcity of raw materials. As pointed out Britain would lose the access to the resource rich markets of Europe post Brexit. The case study shows that the automobile company sources 68 percent of its components from Europe, which it is dependent on the resource market of Europe heavily to achieve productivity. Thus, losing of access to the European market would hit the production of automobile motors in the Cardiff based company heavily (independent.co.uk 2017). Customer base: The case study shows that the automobile motor manufacturing company is based in the free market economy of Europe which means that its main consumer base is also in Europe. Thus, exit of Britain from Brexit would hit the revenue generation of the company fatally. This is because by losing access to the profitable market of Europe, the company would access to its customer base, which would decrease its revenue generation largely (Seuring 2013). Legal complications: The case study clearly mentions that the automobile company has entered into 5 years contracts with its customers, which also includes service level contracts. The means that post Brexit, the company would have to offer goods and services as per those contracts in order to avoid legal penalties. Post Brexit, the British companies would not have access to free markets of Europe and pay huge amount of taxes on their earnings in Europe. This means that the automobile company based in Britain would have to pay huge amount of taxes to operate in Europe and cater to its customers (nytimes.com 2017). Two factors influencing the automobile business: The two factors impacting the European business of the automobile company post Brexit would be scarcity of human resources and losing its substantial customer base. The overall impact of these two factors in the business of the Britain based automobile company would be a massive reduction in productivity and revenue generation. The company would be required to pay huge logistics expenses to acquire resources and sell goods in Europe post Brexit that would lead to plummeting operating costs. The company due to Brexit would be forced to lose customers, suppliers and human resources in Europe, which would restrict it within Britain, its local market. This decrease in market presence and profitability would result in reduction of risk mitigation capabilities of the company. Moreover, the company would be required to make strategies to deal with its increase in business risk. Skills sets required to function post Brexit: The following are the skills, which the automobile company requires to develop in order to operate post losing access to the markets of Europe and uphold productivity and delivery of products to retain customers: Training of human resource in Britain: Training can be defined as the human resource function which involves imparting skills and knowledge to employees to improve their performances. The case study shows that majority of the human resources of the company originates from Europe. The company would require paying 1000 per European employee yearly to employ them post Prexit which would greatly increase the operation costs (independent.co. 2017). The automobile company must acquire and train human resources from Britain to make them capable of delivering high productivity so that the it can earn profits even after it loses its European employees. The company must train new supply chain managers who would appraise and schedule the supply chains to bring about their improvements. Thus training the employees would help the company to manage its supply chains to acquire superior quality raw materials (Aradhye and Kallurkar 2014). Diversity management: Diversity management refers to the skills of the organisations to employ and manage a diverse employee population having varying gender, cultural, national or religious background. The case study clearly states that the majority of the employees working in the automobile company were from Europe while the remaining employees were from Britain. Brexit would require the company to lose its majority workforce due to loss of access to the markets of Europe, which would impact its productivity. The company should adopt the skill of diversity management to employ employees from other big labour markets like America, Australia and Asia (forbes.com 2017). This would ensure uninterrupted productivity and delivery of products to the customers. Consideration and evaluation of new supply chain: It can be evaluated that the automobile company can explore the possibilities of seeking supply chain in new markets to source raw materials and sell finished goods. The markets of Asia and America can provide the car component making company in Cardiff with human resources, material resources and capital. These markets experience huge demands of automobile motors and hence can provide the Cardiff based company with a huge customer base. This evaluation shows that the motor manufacturing company can enter these markets to earn huge profits. Moreover, the company can use the profit it earns from these markets to diversify the losses it would incur by losing free access to the markets of Europe post Brexit (Christopher 2016). Expansion of Supply chain into new markets: The company can expand its supply chain into new markets like Asia and would require an aggressive foreign market entry strategy to enter these new markets. It would first require carrying out a feasibility test to ensure that the motor parts making business would be able to thrive in the new markets like Asia. The feasibility tests should include technology, human resource and financial feasibility tests. If the feasibility tests are positive, the company can form foreign market entry strategies, which is the second stage (Epstein and Buhovac 2014). The company must consider several foreign market entry strategies like partnership, direct export and franchisee. The third stage would be forming strategies like product strategy, supply chain management strategy, human resource strategy and marketing strategy to enter the new markets. The fourth strategy would be carrying out market segmentation to locate the potential customers who can purchase the motors of the automobile company in these new markets. The fifth stage the automobile company can take to expand its supply chain management into the new markets of Asia and America is to seek advices from business consultants and partners having knowledge about these markets (forbes.com 2017). Analysis of performance of supply chain management: The automobile company based in Cardiff should analyse the performance of the supply chain by using appropriate logistics techniques. The study would consider using transit time from new warehouses or manufacturing plants to measure performance of supply chain in the new markets. The supply chain should employ just in time(JIT) logistic techniques to ensure that minimum time is wasted to transport the materials to the production plants from the new warehouses in the new markets. This would ensure that the materials are made available for production and help the company to save inventory costs in the new markets (Chyr and Huang 2016). Viability of sole reliance of business operations on the UK: It will not be viable for the automobile company to restrict its business dealings to British and it must split its business between Britain and its new markets like the USA to counteract the challenge it is facing by probable loss of the European markets. This will allow it to use the international logistics network of the country to acquire raw materials and sell finished goods (Monczka et al. 2015). Cost benefit analysis: As per the currency exchange rate as on November 21, 2017, I GBP is equal to $1.32. This means an amount of GBP 100000 is equal to $ 132345.16. Again $1 is equal to GBP 0.76. If the automobile company sells a unit of motor for GBP 100000 or $132345.16 in the US at 10% profit, it would gain revenue of $ 145579.68 $ 145579.68 would come to GBP 109927.20 which means the company gains a profit of 10% on a unit of motor by selling it in the US. Evaluation of the findings of the analysis: An evaluation of the above explanations shows that by expanding into foreign markets like the US, the motor company can earn high profits. This will allow the company to enjoy the benefit of distributing the losses it would suffer by withdrawn from Europe post Brexit. Moreover, the company can benefit by catering to the motor industry of the US, which would allow it to earn high profits (Brandenburg et al. 2014) Conclusion: The above analysis shows that the British automobile parts making company would suffer huge losses by losing its European markets due to Brexit. It can be recommended that the company should enter new markets like Asia and America. It can also be recommended that it must split its business among these markets. It would help it to accede to new supply chains to acquire raw materials and sell its goods to a greater customer base. This would allow to it to earn higher profits. References: Aradhye, A.S. and Kallurkar, S.P., 2014. A Case Study of Just-In-Time System in Service Industry.Procedia Engineering,97, pp.2232-2237. Brandenburg, M., Govindan, K., Sarkis, J. and Seuring, S., 2014. Quantitative models for sustainable supply chain management: Developments and directions.European Journal of Operational Research,233(2), pp.299-312. Brexit: what are the implications for HR?. (2017).PwC. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.pwc.co.uk/the-eu-referendum/brexit-what-are-implications-for-hr.html Christopher, M. 2016.Logistics supply chain management. Pearson UK. Chyr, F.C. and Huang, S.Y., 2016. The Maximum Setup Time and Setup Cost of Achieving Just-in-Time System.Journal of Business Theory and Practice,4(1), p.75. Epstein, M. J., Buhovac, A. R. (2014).Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Epstein, M.J. and Buhovac, A.R., 2014.Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Forbes Welcome. 2017.Forbes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2017/03/07/solving-the-uks-post-brexit-blue-collar-labor-shortage/#793d70d775a3 Forbes Welcome. 2017.Forbes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2013/10/08/five-steps-to-expand-your-business-globally/2/#17b6410411fb Merrick, R. 2017.The government is considering a 1,000 levy on EU skilled wokers.The Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-latest-news-uk-employers-pay-1000-per-eu-skilled-worker-european-immigration-skills-levy-a7521626.html Monczka, R.M., Handfield, R.B., Giunipero, L.C. and Patterson, J.L., 2015.Purchasing and supply chain management. Cengage Learning. Seuring, S. 2013. A review of modeling approaches for sustainable supply chain management.Decision support systems,54(4), 1513-1520. Times, T. 2017.How Brexit Could Change Business in Britain.Nytimes.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/business/international/brexit-uk-what-happens-business.html

Nine Stages of Divine Vision Essay Example For Students

Nine Stages of Divine Vision Essay Nine Stages of Divine VisionNine stages of life are formed by nine crises that shape our awareness and the way we envision and experience the divine in both our cultural and isolated lives. Out vision of the divine is determined by the unique forms and forces in each stage of our lives. The first stage is the unborn stage of the womb. The first part of the first stage is the unborn womb. Since the womb is almost perfect for our prenatal needs, there is an incomparable experience of Kinesthetic euphoria which is the ideal condition for the realization of bliss. The womb provides for the need before it even suffers the need. The bliss is the idea that self-sufficient awareness that precedes desire and satisfaction, and still haunts after birth has broken the primal serenity. The second part of the first stage is the Lakshm and Vishnu within the comic serpent. The unborn bliss is the first taste of paradise, which we all seek to recover. Each succeeding stage builds upon this infinite awareness adding its own images and forms to its evolving biological, social and psychological experience. Buddha and Jesus both include this idea in their teachings. The next stage is the baby stage of the divine mother. The first part of this stage is the Venus of Laussel. There are many images of her floating around that she is over 20,000 years old. She ruled over human awareness. Her predecessors thought it was simple: just as the human mother creates human life, so the Great Mother of the creation creates all life: plants and animals. By her breasts she nourishes her whole creation. She is the universe. The sun and moon are her eyes. The Milky Way are her breasts. And the earth is her body. Maybe she is still with us when we speak of Mother Nature. Mother Goddess is the first personification of the divine in human form. The second part of the second stage is the Madonna of Mercy. This Divine Goddess can resolve our problems and be with us all the time. She can also satisfy our deepest needs and open us to the heavenly gate of eternal and immortal life. The youth stage of the divine father is the next stage. He is the supreme deity of the Rom ans, named Jupiter. When man seizes the divine power for himself and expels the women from the dignity they hold for millennia as the divine mother. He is the god of thunder, lightning, and mountaintops. Next is the return of the prodigal. The vision of the divine father in a parable by Jesus Christ and in a painting by Rembrandt may be the most sublime revelation of god ever portrayed. The fathers forgiving love is expressed most when her forgives his son for betrayal. Tutankhamon and Ankesenamon is another part of a stage. This royal couple ascended to one of the greatest empires in the ancient world. There was a bit of sadness when King Tut died in his 19th year and his widowed wife could not find someone to remarry. To reach the stage of the couple, each individual must achieve a gender identity of male or female. When kids first discover gender, they tend to see the human race as divided by gender. Yet when they fall in love they really fall in love with a dimension of ones own lost self. In the Annunciation, there are classic forms of the young god and goddess about to consummate the sacred marriage. Through the experience of the couple, they project an image of ecstasy between man and woman, which is the archetype for the union between the soul and God. The man and woman as lovers recover the bliss and ecstasy which the unborn lose in separation from the parents. Another stage is the parent of the divine child. The first part of this is the nativity. This represents the first time that the divine really needs the help and care of the worshippers. At Christmas, the Christ child needs the love of Joseph and Mary, the gifts of the wise men, and the worship of the shepherds. God needs us just as much as we need him. Next is the Krishna on a swing. This is for the Hindu religion. One of the enviable qualities of the child is its ability to see divine with the dream eyes of childhood, which are gradually going to fade away due to adulthood. The divine child c ompletes the divine family which comprises the primal trinity of divine worship. After learning the nine different stages and writing about five of them. I have fully grasped and understood what the nine stages are all about. I have never really thought about the things mentioned in your book, until I read them. This section of your book has made me look at religion from a whole different stand point.

How to Write a Scholarship Essay

How to Write a Scholarship Essay A vast majority of scholarship programs applications require personal statements i.e. essays or motivational letters. It’s very rare to find a scholarship program that is based on college (or high school) transcript and application form. Your essay gives the scholarship committee a brief insight into your personality and dedication towards the achievement of your goals. This is the part where you get to showcase your knowledge, vocabulary, and let them know what makes you ideal person for that program and best essay help you will  find on this site.  With that being said, it’s important to do your best and ensure the essay you compose represents all your tremendous potential to achieve great things. Unless it’s specified otherwise, most scholarship essays should have the following format: Times New Roman font Font size: 12 One-inch top, bottom, and side margins Double-spaced 500 words In order to write a high-quality essay, you should follow tips listed below. Step 1 In most cases, you’ll get a specific topic that usually asks you to demonstrate the cases when you had to showcase your leadership or innovation skills and whether it had a difference. The choice of the topic sometimes depends on the study program. Regardless of the statement you get, you shouldn’t read it only once. Reread it a couple of times to identify the key themes and make sure you understand the topic. Step 2 Scratch under the surface to demonstrate depth. For instance, if you have to write about cases when you demonstrated leadership, it doesn’t necessarily mean the position itself. It means you should focus on changes you have made and how others responded to them. The more depth your essay includes, the more you showcase your abilities. Step 3 Use specific keywords from the essay statement throughout the text, but make sure you don’t overdo it. Also, use the jargon characteristic for certain program. For example, if you’re applying for Faculty of Business and Economics program, you should use the jargon specific for that niche. On the other hand, if you’re applying for Faculty of Arts, your essay should contain terms used to refer to different art aspects and so on. This doesn’t necessarily mean the essay should be overcrowded with these terms; their primary purpose is to show you’re in control of that specific field and eager to learn more. Step 4 Make sure the very beginning of the essay is engaging and interesting. It’s supposed to be the hook that will catch the committee’s attention. You can freely use a quote that you find perfect for that topic and link it to the body of your essay, but if you get inspired to use your own words instead of someone else’s, it’s even better. Step 5 Try contacting someone who had to write an essay for some specific study program in order to find out more about essay criteria that committee uses to evaluate the quality of applications. Let’s say you want to apply for a program of Social and Political Science. The essay should demonstrate your take on the world, current affairs, as well as to address your potential to make a difference in education and academic success. It’s important to show a deep understanding of the entire niche, society, and the world around you. Useful tips to use Follow instructions closely regarding topic, word count, and formatting Don’t use a thesaurus to find synonyms of the words you normally use. Ideally, you should never use words that you don’t know. Writing essay isn’t the time when you should risk inclusion of wrong words at the wrong moment. Although you should showcase your vocabulary, it’s important to stick to the words you do know Don’t use sentences such as â€Å"In this essay, I will†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Writing style should be concise, precise, and specific. Every word should contribute to the text Take enough time to research and adapt the essay to the specific study program you’re applying for Make it personal and passionate, committee members don’t want generic essays when you discuss the topic in a general manner, they want YOUR opinion and they want to find out more about things that YOU can do.

Significance of Tattoos

Significance of Tattoos Free Online Research Papers In the past, tattoos were commonly thought of as trashy or bad. One would often relate them to bikers, rock and heavy metal stars, pirates, or gangsters. That has considerably changed over the years. According to Swan, â€Å"In 2003 approximately 40 million Americans reported to have at least one tattoo.† Todays culture is still fascinated with tattooing. In the 1990s, tattoos were the sixth fastest growing retail behind the Internet, paging services, computer and cell phone services. 28% of adult’s ages 30-39 were tattooed and that number rose to 36 percent in the 25-29 age group. 31% of the gay, lesbian and bisexual population, regardless of age, was inked as well. Tattoos are significant because they represent and symbolize different things to many people. Erika Aldama. (2007, Febuary 8). The History of Permanent Trend. Retrieved January 13, 2008 The word tattoo is said to have two major origins- from the Polynesian word ‘ta’ which means striking something and the Tahitian word ‘tatau’ which means ‘to mark something’. The history of tattoo began over 5000 years ago. Many past cultures included tattoos in their tradition. Tattoos were used for different reasons such as communicating among spies, for criminals and slaves to be marked, culture, religious and ceremonial, or social status. The first permanent tattoo shop in New York City was settled up in 1846 and began a tradition by tattooing military servicemen from both sides of the civil war. Samuel Oreilly invented the electric tattooing machine in 1891. OReillys machine was based on the rotary technology of the electric engraving device invented by Thomas Edison. Modern tattoo machines use electromagnetic coils. The first coil machine was invented by Thomas Riley in London, 1891 using a single coil. The first twin coil machine, the predecessor of the modern configuration, was invented by Alfred Charles, in 1899.The birthplace of the American style tattoo was Chatham Square in New York City. Tattooing had little respect in American culture. Design boom. (2007). A Brief History of Tattoos. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html In the late 1960s, the attitude towards tattooing changed. Much credit can be given to Lyle Tuttle. He is charming and interesting and knows how to use the media. He tattooed celebrities, mostly women. Magazines and television went to Lyle to get information about this ancient art form. Lyle Tuttle (born 1931) is a well-known American tattoo artist and historian of the medium, who has been tattooing since 1949. He was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine, after having tattooed Janis Joplin and several other notable musicians and celebrities of the time. Lyle Tuttle. (2007, June 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lyle_Tuttleoldid=140156691 When deciding what type of tattoo to get, a person may want to go into the shop and look around first to make sure that it is clean and safe. Make sure that they use sterilized equipment. Then one can look at his or her â€Å"flash† tattoos. These are tattoos that the artist has designed or have placed on individuals. If the customer has a design in mind, they can talk to the artist to see if they can draw one especially for them. Sometimes they will design a tattoo that the customer wants exactly, or they might not be able to come up with what they want. If that is the case, the customer can always look on the internet or in books. Usually the individual will want something unique that no one else would have that expresses them. The most common method of tattooing in modern times is the electric tattoo machine, which inserts ink into the skin via a group of needles that are soldered onto a bar, which is attached to an oscillating unit. The unit rapidly and repeatedly drives the needles in and out of the skin, usually 80 to 150 times a second. This modern procedure is ordinarily sanitary. The needles are single-use needles that come packaged individually. The tattoo artist must wash his or her hands, and the area that will be tattooed. Gloves must be worn at all times and the wound must be wiped frequently with a wet disposable towel of some kind. Prices for this service vary widely, globally and locally, depending on the complexity of the tattoo, the skill and expertise of the artist, the attitude of the customer, the costs of running a business, the economics of supply and demand etc. The time it takes to get a tattoo depends on the size and complexity. A small one of simple design might take 15 minutes, whereas an elaborate sleeve tattoo or back piece requires multiple sessions of several hours each. Several people are afraid to get tattoos because of needles or the sight of blood. In reality the needle only goes into the skin about 1/16 of an inch. This causes very little harm to the skin which in turn produces little or no blood. In the process of the getting a tattoo, the tattooist continuously wipes the area of blood, so that it is done in a clean and professional manner. When a person is drinking alcohol, or taking blood thinners during the tattoo process this is the only time he or she may tend to bleed profusely. Karen Hudson. â€Å"How much do they really hurt?† 2007 http://tattoo.about.com/cs/pafterabvneck/a/090103.htm (December 14, 2007). Tattoos can be very painful depending on the person. Each person’s tolerance level is different. Tattoos are painful if placed in areas near the bone. Usually the best place to get a tattoo is where there is a lot of flesh. Here are some places and the pain areas†¦ Most Painful Areas: Men Abdomen, Spine, Chest Women Ankle, Spine, Ribcage Least Painful Areas: Men Buttocks, Arm, Back Women Abdomen, Buttocks, Thigh, Shoulder Karen Hudson. â€Å"Choosing Your Tattoo Design and Where to Put It†.2007 http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/a/blwhatwhere.htm (December 14, 2007) After an individual receives a tattoo he or she has to make sure to keep it clean. It is normal to see redness or a little blood directly after the process. The artist will clean the tattoo and place a bandage over it. They will instruct the customer to use ointment such as cocoa butter, lanolin or AD for a couple days then switching to lotion. It is recommended to stay out of the sun to keep the tattoo from fading. One will need to look for signs of infection such as Increased pain Increased redness Red streaks coming from the tattoo Warmth around the area Pus or cloudy fluid A bad odor Fever Swollen lymph nodes Love To Know. (2007). Inking and Skin Infections. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from http://tattoos.lovetoknow.com/Inking_and_Skin_Infections Infections that could be transmitted via the use of unsterilized tattoo equipment include surface infections of the skin, herpes simplex virus, tetanus, staph, fungal infections, some forms of hepatitis, and HIV. No person in the United States is reported to have contracted HIV via a commercially-applied tattooing process. Allergic reactions to tattoo pigments are uncommon except for certain brands of red and green. People who are sensitive or allergic to certain metals may react to pigments in the skin with swelling and/or itching, and/or oozing of clear fluid called sebum. If one should notice any of these signs one must go to the doctor immediately to be treated before it causes real damage. Tattoo. (2008, January 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoos When the tattoo is finished and healed, it will have beautiful colors and details. Several people are satisfied with the outcome. Usually it symbolizes an event in their life, so the tattoo is important and is meaningful. If the tattoo is unique, the artist may want to take a picture to add to their book. This way they can show it to other customers. People get tattoos for several reasons. For example, my tattoo represents my children, who I cherish and was also a major event that happened in my life. A tattooist has a fish to represent her astrological sign. An office worker has a sacred heart for her religious beliefs. A daycare provider has a butterfly to symbolize the beauty of life. A prison guard has a Latin phrase to remind him of mortality. A salesperson displays a ying yang to symbolize his unborn children. Some people get tattoos to show that they are now an adult and are able to make choices on their own. An individual might get a tattoo in remembrance or honor of someone who has passed away. A tattoo is a permanent and often personal reminder of a memory or a part of their history. Religious tattoos such as a cross or praying hands symbolize Christianity. Spiritual tattoos were some of the first body art to come about. Tattoos are an art and they represent life. It is important for people to express themselves. Anna Swan states, â€Å"That the tattoo business has grown significantly in the last 10 years (2006).† It is reported that 85% of people who received tattoos do not regret them (Hemingson 2007). A person might regret the place that the tattoo was put on their body, but most commonly names of ex loves are the number one regret. The ink fading in the tattoo is also a reason that tattoos are regretted. Tattoos are significant because they represent and symbolize different things to many people. Body art is becoming a very important part of today’s culture. The tattoo process is time-consuming and takes many steps before the tattoo is finished, but in the end it is worth it. Usually people are very happy with the outcome and will tend to get other tattoos later. Some say that tattoos are addicting. They are because people want to find more designs to express themselves. References Erika Aldama. (2007, February 8). The History of Permanent Trend. Retrieved January 13, 2008, from http://media.www.thetraveleronline.com/media/storage/paper688/news/2007/02/08/LifeStyle/Tattoos-2706864-page2.shtml Designboom. (2007). A Brief History of Tattoos. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from designboom.com/history/tattoo_history.html Karen Hudson. â€Å"Choosing Your Tattoo Design and Where to Put It†.2007 http://tattoo.about.com/cs/beginners/a/blwhatwhere.htm (December 14, 2007) Karen Hudson. â€Å"How much do they really hurt?† 2007 http://tattoo.about.com/cs/pafterabvneck/a/090103.htm (December 14, 2007). Love To Know. (2007). Inking and Skin Infections. Retrieved December 14, 2007 from http://tattoos.lovetoknow.com/Inking_and_Skin_Infections Tattoo.(2008, January 10). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tattoos Lyle Tuttle. (2007, June 23). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 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American Military English Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Military English - Assignment Example 1. Students will view the animated graphics. 2. He will ask the participants to identify the different symbols. 2. Participants will give the name of the different symbols. 3. Participants will give the meaning of each alphabet which was presented in the computer monitor. 3. Students will boot the computer and open the HyperStudio presentations. 4. He will ask the participants to give the meaning based on military operations settings 4. Let them give the meaning. 5. The teacher will ask the participants to give the proper sound of each alphabet with assigned meaning. 5. Participants will pronounce the words presented on the monitor. 6. He will allow the participants to view the movie for familiarizations of sounds (Pronunciation). 6. The participants will view and listen to the movie. 7. The teacher will ask the participants to view the new animation and read the alphabet symbols with the assigned word. 7. The participants view the animations and read the alphabet symbols with the assigned word. 8. The teacher will ask the participants to spell out the symbols of the English alphabet with word meaning. 8. Participants will enumerate the symbols of the English alphabet with word meaning. 9. The teacher will ask the participants if they usually encountered the word meaning in every operation. 9. Participants will explain their previous experience with alphabet symbols with the assigned word. 10. The teacher will ask the participants to try out different animation and graphics 10. Let them do another designed animations. VII. Evaluation: A. Give at least five different symbols of the English alphabet with word meaning you encountered in the discussions. 1. _______________________ 4. _______________________ 2....This can further be enhanced with the use of HyperStudio which is a multimedia software program system using McIntosh computers. The delivery of the lesson requires having a copy of HyperStudio and tutorial running simultaneously on a preferable McIntosh computer system. This will allow receipt of help from McIntosh when assistance is necessary.1 The "Table of Contents," located at the left of this page, allow you to skip those parts of the program that you already feel comfortable with. If you already understand how to insert text into a Word document you do not need to waste your time reading how to do it again here. For those of you that would like to take this tutorial step by step, there is a "Next" button at the end of every page that will take you to the next page in the tutorial. Good luck, have fun, and most of all, do not be afraid to explore HyperStudio. We have covered most of the basics for creating effective hyperlinked presentations, but we do not have space to cover all of the wonderful tools thatHyperStudio comes with. Try new buttons and shortcuts to see what happens. A new stack in HyperStudio is akin to a stack of index cards. Your presentation will be a "stack" of these index cards placed one on top of the next. A stack is the entire presentation, made up of those cards. The first step in getting HyperStudio rea

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Reflection paper - Essay Example The role of books has been downplayed to an extent where books are slowly fading off the scene. Literary works such as Harrison Bergeron, The Cold Equations, The Pedestrian, The Pit and the Pendulum and 1984 are some which deserve to be read on by generations to come due to their remarkable content and style. Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut is set in the future where government control is quite strong. Harrison is the fourteen year old son of Hazel and George but has to be taken away from his family by the government (1). Equality is strictly implemented, which means everything or everyone has to be average. This implies that no one can be stronger, more beautiful or more intelligent. Equality, in essence, is maintained through the use of â€Å"handicaps† (Vonnegut, 1). This is one reason why George has a radio implanted in his ear that inhibits his thought process by using periodical noise tuned by the transmitter controlled by the government. The story provides a graphical journey to the future where individual qualities are suppressed and technology dominates social lives while the government presents the worst form of a controlling authority. Due to its far-thinking storyline, the book should be read by people and thus should be kept from the hands of the firemen. Another futuristic story, although controversial, is presented by Tom Godwin in his book The Cold Equation. The book is set in a science fiction like setting where an EDS (Emergency Dispatch Ship) is heading towards the planet Woden. According to the rules, any stowaway discovered on the way is to be jettisoned off the EDS (Godwin, 1). The pilot faces the dilemma after he finds an eighteen year old young girl named Marilyn, who wants to see her brother after ten years. However, in the desperation of the situation, Marilyn is ejected out of the spacecraft out into the space or the whole EDS could have suffered. Again, the book wonderfully creates a fictitious

Black is, Black Ain't Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Black is, Black Ain't - Essay Example Twenty years back Marlon Rigg produced a documentary with a title â€Å"Black is†¦ Black Ain’t†, main theme of the documentary was to present the real life experiences of African Americans. Rigg wanted to criticize the element of prejudice that had affected the lives of people who had a darker skin. The documentary does not restrict its focus on any particular class of African Americans, rather it offers a deep insight into the lives of people belonging to same origin, and enjoying different socio-economic status (Riggs, n.p.). Until, nineteen sixties, African American did not have the right to vote, and today, the president of America is actually an African by origin. This transformation did not occurred all of a sudden, rather it’s a journey of struggle. African Americans as a community have quiet rapidly evolved in the past three or four decades, and the credit goes to these men who were ready to stand against the odds. However, there are several controversial issues that are linked to this race; moreover, the racist element that is found among the White has given birth to several misconceived stereotypic ideas. In his documentary, Rigg wanted to people to realize that they were wrong, when they considered Afro Americans as savagely creatures, who did not have any morals, and were evil by nature. The title of the documentary clearly indicates the purpose and the theme, as it aims to bring the truth about African American culture and their lifestyle to the people, and eliminate the Black –b iased stereotypes from the minds of the people. Moreover, Rigg wanted to reveal the problems that were faced by African American, just because of the stereotypes that have imprinted a delusional image of Black

Which Factors Make Advertising Effective Marketing Essay

Which Factors Make Advertising Effective Marketing Essay What makes advertising effective.: this Report aims to answer this essential issue because it is the key for achieving -or not- the goals pursued by every company that invests in advertising. The general question has been divided in three areas, depending on the type of consumers response that advertising aims to arouse: cognitive, affective or conative, according to the famous Hierarchy of Effects model proposed by Lavidge and Steiner in 1961. In addition, the report focuses on the role of Music in advertising, with the purpose to highlight how its use can help to achieve efficacy in advertising. Five recommendations are identified through the report. Advertisers should first choose the media mix able to reach as many consumers as possible from the target audience (Ogilvy, 1985). Using appealing creativity (Dahlen et Al, 2010) and increasing the frequency of the message (Pickton and Broderick, 2005) is required to pass successfully through all the selective phases of consumers influence process, in order to make them memorize the contents of advertising. Music can be very helpful both for gaining consumers attention and giving a mnemonic quality to the message (Sutherland, 2008). An effective way to build an emotional link with consumers is referring to common culture (Godin, 1999). Jingles are able to involve consumers, at the point that they can become part of consumers cultural background of people (Sutherland, 2008). It is necessary to understand how the purchasing decision is taken by consumers in order to affect their behaviour; the FCB matrix by Vaughn (1986) identifies four types of purchasing process and suggests the quantity and quality of information to provide for each of them in order to have an impact on the decision making process. Since music sets up an entertaining mood, its use appears to be appropriate for the feel products and not for the think products (Arens et Al, 2011). As most of these factors refers to the ability of understanding consumers minds, the report has confirmed that psychology represents a basic support for marketing functions as the making of effective advertising (Foxall et Al, 1998). INTRODUCTION This paper aims to identify the factors which make advertising effective. The research starts stating a basic condition then, since efficacy is the ability to bring about the intended result (Oxford dictionary, 2007), the report analyses which are the marketing objectives pursued by advertising. The Hierarchy of Effects Model proposed by Lavidge and Steiner (1961) is considered pivotal in the communication process. Accordingly, the report uses a tripartite approach in order to better isolate and identify the factors that make advertising successful whether the response sought from consumers is cognitive, affective or conative. The report then operates a specific analysis on the role of Music in advertising, showing how music can be a very useful tool to reach efficacy (Sutherland, 2008) for all the three pursued responses shown previously. Recommendations and Conclusions about the topic complete the analysis. Practical examples chosen among the most famous companies provide evidence to the theoretical analysis; further examples can be found in the appendices. This research has been performed through the method of the literary review: books, papers and articles of famous Marketers and Psychologists are used as sources. A Basic Condition Advertising is undoubtedly a central part of promotion, but compared to the 4 Ps of marketing mix theorized by McCartney (1960), it represents only an aspect of the marketing effort made by the company (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). To reach and maximize the efficacy of advertising, firms should develop a deep know-how of their market, becoming what Llambin (2008) calls market-driven companies. This is achievable only by large investments in market research, in order to know as much as possible about consumers and competitors. As Cowles and Kiecker stated (1998), market research is important not only to identify the most profitable target segments, but also to develop a message content that is appealing to them, and to identify the most effective and efficient marketing communications mix elements and media. Companies have to focus all their functions to the market: only Market-driven companies will be really able to set the most effective advertising (Llambin, 2008). The HoE model: three responses to be aroused As advertising is a non-personal form of communication (Fill,2009), marketing can be supported by the studies on the communication process. Among them, the hierarchy of effects model proposed by Lavidge and Steiner (1961) states sthat when the ad message reaches the consumer, following the steps of the SMRC communication model (Berlo, 1960), the receiver responds by progressively undertaking three phases: the cognitive phase as first, then the affective and finally the conative. Specifically, consumers will pass through these sequential stages: Awareness, Knowledge, Liking, Preference, Conviction, Purchase. [Figure A] Figure A : Sequential stages of Lavidge and Steiner model (1961) Source: http://www.learnmarketing.net/Hierarchy%20Of%20Effects.jpg Using this tripartite approach, the marketing objectives become more definite and therefore it is possible to identify more precisely the key factors for achieving efficacy. Firms should then set up a specific advertising campaign targeted for each of the three macro-responses they want to arouse in the audience (Lavidge and Steiner, 1961). As a confirmation, even the DAGMAR model (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Results) proposed by R.H. Colley in 1961 suggests that any stage should provide the objective for Marketing Communication independent of the rest (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). The following three Mc Donalds adverts clearly show this differentiated approach. In the first one [Figure B], nothing but the apposition of the two logos (the wi-fi one made by chips) is used: since this ad wants to make the audience learn the service provided, it refers to the cognitive phase. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0L-V3OsY8AuZTs36O1C6ul2et-A7sEwzX_HW9wu1SFs5S0_xwtyXGDHwSVbFnwU9LQiotcXbMYMbXNFSK19Eh0K5TIrXm2wq8IlVrbs8I-Q9_Bt4RZf_bV64xzLCy4aboQEiMv1EVo0/s400/Cool+and+Beautiful+McDonald%E2%80%99s+Advertising+10.jpg) Figure B. Source: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG0L-V3OsY8AuZTs36O1C6ul2et-A7sEwzX_HW9wu1SFs5S0_xwtyXGDHwSVbFnwU9LQiotcXbMYMbXNFSK19Eh0K5TIrXm2wq8IlVrbs8I-Q9_Bt4RZf_bV64xzLCy4aboQEiMv1EVo0/s400/Cool+and+Beautiful+McDonald%E2%80%99s+Advertising+10.jpg In the second one [Figure C], the baby approaching the hamburger evokes feelings of affection for the food offered by the company; an home atmosphere is aroused. Emotional persuasion is the first aim for the affective phase. http://www.breastfeedingsymbol.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/mcdonalds.jpg Figure C. Source: http://www.breastfeedingsymbol.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/mcdonalds.jpg In the third one [Figure D], the invitation to take an action is extremely clear: consumers should have breakfast at Mc Donalds on Mondays, convinced by the free coffee. This ad aims to induce a change in the consumers behaviour: it refers to the conative phase. http://www.mcdonaldsstl.com/images/FreeCoffeeMondays-graphic.jpg Figure D. Source: http://www.mcdonaldsstl.com/images/FreeCoffeeMondays-graphic.jpg The main limit of HoE is its rigidity: consumers do not always undertake these steps sequentially, because of their irrationality; however, the existence of these three kinds of responses is widely accepted also among the critics (Barry and Howard, 1990). Accordingly, it is possible to  reformulate the central question in a more detailed way: which elements are necessary in advertising, in order to improve the companys performance in brand awareness (1), in the affective relationship with the consumers (2), and in the sales (3)? 1 Cognitive response The goal of these campaigns is to ensure that customers are properly aware of the brand; making clear the brand positioning is the main aim (Egan, 2007). Reach is the first key factor. Pelsmacker (2007) defines it as the number or percentage of people who are expected to be exposed to the advertisers message during a specified period . Reach plays the either/or role in the SMRC process: if the company does not reach the consumers, no response can be aroused. Therefore, the choice of the most appropriate media mix to reach the target segments becomes crucial for the success of the advertising campaign (Ogilvy, 1985). According to the selective influence process theories, people play a very active role as receivers in the communication process (Karlz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). There are unconscious and social intervening variables which affect the final internalization of the message. Since only the memorized information is able to affect the consumers behaviours the ability to pass through the selective phases of the consumer influence process is the second key factor (Karlz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). To win the receivers attention, it is required to overtake what Wundt (1896) calls the absolute threshold, that is the minimum psychic intensity an individual needs for reacting to a stimulus. For this reason, the effort to provide appealing creativity to the advert gains great importance (Dahlen et Al, 2010); moreover, since the traditional media are today overcrowded (Levinson, 2007), creativity can make adverts emerge to the consumers eyes. A clear example can be represented by the winner of the Best Use of Blu Tac in a Shop Window Postcard Space category in the Chip Shop Awards 2012. Clearasil posted a completely and intensely white postcard: impossible not to see. Figure E. Source: http://www.chipshopawards.com/ Clearasil is a brand of beauty products against skin imperfections (www.clearasil.co.uk) Use of creativity can also have negative impacts: it is difficult to define the line between great effect and great scandal (Godin, 1999). [see Appendix I] In choosing how often to transmit the advertising message, psychology supports marketing once again (Foxall et Al, 1998). I.V. Pavlov developed the notion of conditioned reflex (1927): opposed to the innate reflex it is a learned reaction to a positive or negative stimulus. In marketing, this means that the repetition of a message will increase its understanding; thats why frequency plays a key role. Frequency measures the number of times, on average, that a member of the target audience is exposed to a message or, more accurately, to the media (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). Increasing the frequency helps making the advertise effective but, according to the Curve of Wundt (1896), if the intensity of the stimulus exceeds a certain limit it is even possible to arouse anxiety, nervousness and irritation in the receivers. 2 Affective response Here, the main goal is to create an affective link with consumers, in order to persuade them appreciating the brand and making a preference for it (Fill, 2009). The more the content of a message is associated to paradigmatic knowledge, the more immediate and simple is its decoding by the receiver (Grandori, 1999): thats why advertising should carry associations recalling to the common culture to be effective in building an emotional link with the audience (Godin, 1999). Among all the cultural aspects, political studies have shown that the more compelling ones are common roots ; common habits ; famous figures (Gabrielsen, 2010). The use of cultural associations can be clearly found in Chryslers spot for the launch of the new 200 model, shown during the 2011 edition of Super Bowl. The core of the message highlights the origin of the machine, manufactured in Detroit: Thats who we are. Thats our story. (à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) Because when it comes to luxury, its as much about where its from, as who its for. Now were from America, but this isnt New York City, or the Windy city.(à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦) This is the Motor city. And this is what we do. The new Chrysler 200 has arrived. Imported from Detroit. [see Appendix II] Casting famous figures (VIP) as testimonial and being present at the big events widely enjoyed and cherished by people (as the recent Olympics in London 2012) are other effective ways to involve the audience (Arens et Al, 2011) [see Appendix III and IV] Thanks to these associations, every time that consumers get in touch with the reminded cultural aspect, they will also remember the linked brand (Godin, 1999).[see Appendix V] This cultural approach shows some limits. Since culture is a sphere of meanings related to the past, the new products which aim to highlight innovation as their core quality cant take the best benefits from cultural associations (Ogilvy, 1985). Moreover, relying on VIP means accepting the risk of linking to them the name of the brand also when something negative is referred to them (Arens et Al, 2011). [see Appendix VI] 3 Conative response In order to affect consumers behaviours with advertising, it is necessary to understand how their decision making process works. The model developed by Vaughn for Foote Cone and Belding in 1980, known as the FCB matrix, considers it as driven by two variables: the level of involvement (high-low) and the type of approach to the purchase (rational-emotional). (McWilliam, 1997; Vaughn, 1980 and 1986). The result is the identification of 4 macro-type of purchasing process, each one requiring different kinds of information to be affected: differences are both in quantity high and detailed or low and summarized- and quality -emotional or rational of information. (Vaughn, 1986). In Figure F, some exemplar products are placed in the 4 quadrants of the FCB matrix. Figure F. Source: Vaugh, 1980 Therefore, advertising can be effective only if it provides the consumers with the kind of information they look for in their decision making process, this one being identified by the quadrant the product is placed in. (Vaughn, 1986). The analysis of 4 different decision making processes is now addressed, referring to the model of Vaughn (1986): High involvement / rational. People look for the real facts, they need to gain the confidence they are doing the right choice (e.g. Mortgage). The way to be effective is to highlight all the product competitive benefits as well as the company know-how, and to provide the consumers with positive feedbacks . [Figure G]http://www.okeefeestateagents.com/_microsites/paul_okeefe/docs/images/homepage/rightColAdvert/need-a-mortgage.jpg Figure G. Source: http://www.okeefeestateagents.com/_microsites/paul_okeefe/docs/images/homepage/rightColAdvert/need-a-mortgage.jpg High involvement / emotional. Consumers want to learn about and feel the experience (e.g. Holidays). Companies should provide content rich media with compelling personal feedbacks, music and everything else able to make the consumers taste the experience. [Figure H] Figure H. Source: www.adcracker.com Low involvement / rational. People usually buy by habit (e.g. toothpaste). Underlining the incentives to change habits as sale coupons can be effective. [Figure I]http://c3240dd96f54819fb6f2-90846526673b19d9a04c27097b58cb86.r6.cf2.rackcdn.com/2011/09/optic-white-coupon.jpg Figure I. Source: www.cuckooforcoupondeals.com Low involvement / emotional. People often looks for sensory or psychological gratification (e.g. Movies). Showing sensory rich imagery can be successful. [Figure J]http://www.filmjabber.com/movie-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/the-eye-poster.jpg Figure J. Source: http://www.filmjabber.com/movie-blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/the-eye-poster.jpg The limit of the FCB matrix is the difficulty to plot the product in the right quadrant, because of the inconsistencies between consumers and companies perceptions of it (Dahlen et Al, 2010). Moreover, as marketing environment is rapidly changing, products and services can fast move from one coordinate to another in the brand image of consumers (Fill, 2009). The Role of Music in Advertising Music can be a very useful tool to reach efficacy in advertising, whether the aim is to arouse a cognitive, affective or conative response in the consumers (Sutherland, 2008). The analysis aims to show how the use of music can aid or hinder the effective factors identified in the general part. COGNITIVE PURPOSE Music can help to win consumers attention: reproducing a song well-known among the target audience or a catchy rhythm greatly helps to get its attentions (Sutherland, 2008). The use of creativity in music can be found in the production of jingles, where companies set their own words to Music. Jingles are among the best -and worst- ad messages produced. Done well, they can bring enormous success, well beyond the non-musical commercial. Done poorly, they can waste the advertising budget and annoy audiences beyond belief (Arens et Al, 2011). [see Appendix VII] Moreover, what Sutherland (2008) calls the three Rs rhyme, rhythm and repetition give words a mnemonic quality, making the message more catchy and enduring in memory. AFFECTIVE PURPOSE Research has shown that the positive mood created by music makes consumers more receptive to an ad message (Belch and Belch, 2009). When words are set to the music, a desire for repetition can be created: thats why jingles are able to involve consumers, at the point that they can become themselves part of the cultural background of people (Sutherland, 2008). A chart of the top 10 jingles of the century has been made, according to peoples preferences: a prove of the attachment consumers have towards them (Belch and Belch, 2009). Figure K. Source: Belch and Belch, 2009 The case of Oscar Mayers spots clearly shows the emotional power of jingles in advertising. [see Appendix VIII] Jingles are used less frequently today, replaced by an increasing use of current or classic pop songs: in the age of the technologic way to live music companies must be careful not to appear old-fashionable while using jingles (Belch and Belch, 2009). CONATIVE PURPOSE Music can also affect the way people behave, but since it better vehicles an emotional message, it seems to be effective especially -if not only- with the feel products (Sutherland, 2008). A great example of how music can be focused on action is the jingle created by the pizza chain Pizza, Pizza in Toronto: the company put its phone number in the lyrics, so that Toronto residents could memorize it easily. [see Appendix IX] On the other hand, music causes what Sutherland (2008) calls the wash-over effect: when we listen to lyrics, we process the message as an experience that we can enjoy or not rather than judging the reliability of its meaning. The entertaining mood set up by music is inappropriate when consumers want to focus on the rational information, as for think products (Arens et Al, 2011). As the analysis of consumers responses to music in advertising carried by Oakes (2007) shows, reaching a congruity between music and advertising in mood, genre, image and tempo contributes to the efficacy of an advertisement by enhancing recall, brand attitude, affective response and purchase intention. Since the negotiation of the license rights often needs large sums, marketers should carefully decide if and in which way music can be coherent with the marketing campaign, in order to avoid an expensive disorientation of consumers(Belch and Belch, 2009). RECOMMENDATIONS As shown through the report, advertisers should first ascertain to find the media mix that will maximize the reach of the audience (Ogilvy, 1985). Passing successfully through all the selective phases of consumers influence process is necessary to make them memorize a message (Karlz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). Concretely, this can be achieved by using appealing creativity (Dahlen et Al, 2010) and by increasing the frequency of the message (Pickton and Broderick, 2005). The use of Music can be very effective both for winning consumers attention and adding a mnemonic quality to the message (Sutherland, 2008). When aiming to build an emotional link with consumers, a successful choice is including associations recalling to common culture in the message sent to consumers (Gabrielsen, 2010). Jingles can be such able to involve consumers, that they can become themselves part of the cultural background of people (Sutherland, 2008). To effectively affect consumers behaviours, advertisers must understand how the purchasing decision for their products is taken by consumers; the FCB matrix by Vaughn (1986) suggest the quantity and quality of information to provide for each of the 4 types of purchasing process identified by crossing the level of involvement (high or low) and the kind of approach (emotional or rational). Music can be effective for feel products, but not for think products, since it sets up an entertaining mood inappropriate for rational decisions (Arens et Al, 2011). The overall recommendation for companies is to consider advertising as a process that involves the entire business as connected with it by a close cause-effect relationship: when an advert is not effective, it can be the symptom that theres something wrong in the marketing decision making process, or it can be the cause leading to future problems in the relationship with the market (Llambin, 2008). CONCLUSIONS It has been shown that a tripartite approach to the central question which factors can make advertising effective? is able to deeply analyse the issue and to define an accurate answer. Since all the factors except the maximisation of Reach refer to the ability of reading consumers minds, the report has confirmed how psychology can greatly support marketing functions and, specifically, making advertising effective (Foxall et Al, 1998). Thats why Market-driven companies, which have developed a deep knowledge of their consumers as a result of large investments in market research, have the concrete possibility to apply these factors in the most effective way possible (Llambin, 2008). APPENDICES As an example, the historical testimonial used by Danish Frisbee Sports Union for the 2012 campaign will be definitely able to catch consumers attention, but it can reasonably arouse perplexity and disgust in a high number of people. Source: http://www.chipshopawards.com/ Full text of the spot: Narrator :  I got a question for you. What does this city know about luxury, hm? What does a town thats been to hell and back know about the finer things in life? Well Ill tell you. More than most. You see,  its the hottest fires that make the hardest steel. Add hard work and conviction. And a know how that runs generations deep in every last one of us. Thats who we are. Thats our story. Now its probably not the one youve been reading in the papers. The one being written by folks who have never even been here. Dont know what were capable of. Because when it comes to luxury,  its as much about where its from as who its for. Now were from America but this isnt New York City, or the Windy City, or Sin City, and were certainly no ones Emerald City. Eminem: This is the motor city   and this is what we do. Written text: The new Chrysler 300 has arrived. Imported from Detroit Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embeddedv=V0HLIvtJRAI VIP testimonials can provide good advantages: a VIP well known among the target audience can better win consumers attention; it allows to make the advertising message more personal, exploiting the VIPs familiarity with the consumers ; people will associate the appreciated qualities of the VIP to the product (Arens et Al, 2011). Nestlà ¨ chose to set a totally VIP-focused campaign to promote Nespresso brand: George Clooney has being appeared in every adverts of the famous espresso machine, with the aim to take advantages from his style and world-wide popularity. Source of Image: http://www.generation-flux.com/images/Nespresso-site.jpg A great example of how an emotional link can be built by focusing advertising on current events widely enjoyed and cherished by people is represented by the marketing campaigns of PG, created to promote their laundry products Ariel in UK and Tide in USA during the Olympics of London 2012. The compelling references on the athletic competition were present in both the spots: Before the Gold, Silver, and Bronze, its the red, white and blue.At the Olympic Games, its not the color you go home with that matters, its the colors you came in. When colors mean this much, trust them to Ariel (UK)/ Tide (USA). The meaning of the final sentence Proud keeper of Our Countrys Colours was certainly influenced by the images of the athletes shown in the video: for Ariel, a high number of British participants ; for Tide, almost only American players. Sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoF9DROHYnU Tide for USA; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jipn-MGg0DA Ariel for UK. A great example of the power of cultural associations can be found in politics. The ex-Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, considered the biggest innovator in the Italian political marketing in a negative or positive way depending on the political conviction (Palmieri, 2012), named his first party Forza Italia (1994), that is the same slogan used by Italian people as an incitement for the national football team. The result was a widespread embarrassment (ibidem) when people not voting for Berlusconi wanted to support the football team, but they had to shout the name of his party: they could not manage not to think about this political association. Cirio is an Italian company founded in 1856 specialized in canned food, especially in tomato paste. (www.cirio.co.uk) Cirio managers werent happy to learn that their testimonial Gerard Depardieu was founded drunk and misbehaving on a plane just two weeks later the advertising campaign was launched. The spot is accessible here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReGPNs-HfH0 The episode reported: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/8706992/Gerard-Depardieu-accused-of-urinating-on-floor-of-plane.html As an example, in the 1970s Coca-Cola was so successful with its jingle Id like to buy the world a Coke that it was then extended and released to become an international chart hit called Id like to Teach the World to Sing (Sutherland, 2008). Oscar Mayer is a brand owned by Kraft Foods. At the end of last century the company held local auditions in search of American children to continue the 30-year tradition of singing the catchy bologna and wiener jingles: they were such known that Oscar Mayer decided to be self-referential in order to best cultivate the relationship with the consumers. Thompson, S. 1997. Promotions: Nostalgia Bolognese, Brandweek, April 14, 1997 Original videos are available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmPRHJd3uHI (Bologna); http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNddW2xmZp8feature=related (Wieners) The example and the text of the jingle are reported in Sutherland (2008, p 122): nine-six-seven, eleven eleven / phone Pizza Pizza, hey hey hey!

Winter Dreams :: essays research papers

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s, â€Å"Winter Dreams† Fitzgerald creates a character, Dexter Green, a fourteen year old boy who is confident in his â€Å"winter dreams† of extraordinary success, wealth and social status in his â€Å"golden future†. Over the course of the story Dexter paved his way to an ambitious future of economic wealth. At fourteen Dexter was described as the best caddie worker in the club, making thirty dollars a month, which for the summer was not able to be me made anywhere else on the lake. Dexter was also a smart boy, who knew how to barter, asking Mr. Jones for a raise making it â€Å"worth his while† since he was the best caddie. This shows that Dexter is not the type that will just settle. He is a very determined ambitious character.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After college Dexter becomes successful in the business world, opening a chain of laundries. He moves his way up the economic ladder with all of his laundries being flourishing. This shows that he is a hard working ambitious character because he is slowly becoming successful in the business world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Judy terminated the engagement, Dexter went out east with the intention of selling out his laundries—but when the war came to America he handed over the business for his partner to run, so he could fight in the war. This shows that Dexter was ambitious because he went off to fight for his country and he left everything he had behind, risking everything that he had.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the end of the story, Dexter learns from a business man that Judy had gotten married to an alcoholic husband. He says, he can not care anymore, nor will he ever. Ultimately, Dexter realizes that his desire for ambition in the business world will overpower his desire for love with Judy, or any woman for that matter.

In what ways has Sainsbury’s gained, kept or lost competitive advantage?

During this assignment we will be trying to find out the ways in which Sainsbury's has gained, kept or lost competitive advantage. Competitive advantage is something that makes a business, like Sainsbury's, better than its competitors such as Tesco or Asda. The ways in which Sainsbury's may have gained, kept or lost competitive advantage is through innovation, reputation and relationships; therefore these are the three factors we will be looking into to discover whether or not they have been able to have competitive advantage within their company. The innovation within the company will come from the introduction of new products and finding new ways of doing things within the company however, it also involves being innovative throughout the whole company and looking at how the employees think. Reputation and relationships come from the company being innovative, for example, if a company introduces new products better than other companies can then they will develop a reputation but they can also develop a reputation by keeping their prices low and appealing to a range of consumers. If a company is able to appeal to a wide range of consumers they are able to gain good relationships with customers, which is what a business needs to be successful. A good company also needs a close relationship with employees and suppliers as without these people a company would find it difficult to be able to run. However it is not only these three aspects that we will be looking at but also how Sainsbury's may add added value, the profit they make and their market research. We will be deciding whether or not Sainsbury's has gained, kept or lost its competitive advantage by undertaking a number of methods to successfully decide how the company has performed. These methods will include primary research, which will involve an interview or questionnaires, and secondary research such as the Sainsbury's website, newspaper articles or company accounts. I feel that Sainsbury's will have lost competitive advantage however by using the research we undertake we will be able to find the answer to our question. Research Findings Competitive advantage is gained through good innovation, a good reputation and good relationships. Since doing research on Sainsbury's we have discovered that they are losing their touch and customers because of mistakes they have made when it comes to innovation. However, through primary research in the form of an interview an employee of Sainsbury's feels that they are still pleasing customers. What innovative products have Sainsbury's introduced? * Nectar Card * Using Accenture * Internet Shopping How do you keep a strong relationship with customers? * All customers who are signed up to Nectar Card and other clubs receive regular newsletters and money-off coupons to show them we care about their custom. How does Sainsbury's feel they add value to their products? * Quality Service * Quality Food What market research does Sainsbury's undertake to keep giving people what they want? * Customers are regularly subject to in store questionnaires that they can fill out to tell us what they want. This helps Sainsbury's know how to please customers and to think how we can achieve this. How do you cope with competition? * Sainsbury's satisfies customers because we know what they want which is due to good market research. We also keep our prices competitively low and make sure that everything we do is of a high standard. Do you feel that you will ever regain enough market share to become market leader? * NO COMMENT How are shareholders taking the slump in share prices? * Any shareholders of Sainsbury's receive quality service from us and all of them are happy and proud to be associated with the Sainsbury's brand. Sainsbury's decided to outsource their IT capability to Accenture1 believing that they would benefit from huge cost savings giving them competitive advantage on their rivals. However, four years later Sainsbury's are losing a large percentage of their market share to rivals like Tesco1. When Accenture was first announced to be taking over Sainsbury's IT, Sir Peter Davis, who was Chief Executive at the time, said he felt that Accenture would ‘help us achieve real competitive advantage and efficiencies quickly and cost effectively.'2 However all this new system has done has send Sainsbury's into a slow deterioration failing to get goods onto shelves, which in turn has meant customers are unable to buy the goods they require. This problem is affecting the impact that Sainsbury's has on the market but they have tried to improve the situation with the introduction of the ‘Nectar Card', which is a card that customers can use to collect points when they purchase goods and in turn the points can be used to buy goods. Internet shopping has also been introduced by Sainsbury's where customers can buy all goods on the net and have them delivered to their door, however this is also an idea favored by Tesco, Waitrose and Asda. Tesco is market leader at the present moment with Asda following closely behind meaning that Sainsbury's is slowly slipping and are making their first ever loss this year3. Sainsbury's is now trying to regain the faith of customers by making sure that any relationship they build is a good and stable one. Sainsbury's aim to ensure that all colleagues have opportunities to develop their abilities and are well rewarded for their contribution to the success of the business. The company feels that if they meet their customers needs effectively by providing the best quality and choice to meet everyday shoppers needs they will thereby be providing shareholders with good, sustainable financial returns. The tactics that Sainsbury's has used to gain, keep or lose competitive advantage have all been discussed above and using this research we now have to decide whether or not the company has been successful in the ways it has used. Discussion Shareholders of Sainsbury's should be disappointed this year as it is the first time they have made a loss which in turn means that all stakeholders will lose out if they decided to sell their shares. It could also have a long term effect on the company because if shareholders decided to sell shares quickly before prices slumped anymore they would be unable to sell them on because people are not going to buy shares of a failing company or any company who has had financial problems in recent years. However if we were to look at the primary research undertaken we would see that an employee of Sainsbury's feels that any stakeholders of Sainsbury's, including shareholders, is happy to be with the company despite it losing money and no longer being market leader. The question asked about market share was passed by the employee but through secondary research we can see that Tesco is market leader and Sainsbury's isn't even in second place showing the rapid decline in peoples faith in the Sainsbury's brand. Sainsbury's are trying to keep competitive advantage through innovation, reputation and relationships but during my primary research we can see that they feel they have introduced innovative products in Internet shopping, Accenture and the Nectar Card. However, many other supermarkets favour Internet shopping which means they are not a monopoly in this market and are far from leading it by looking at their overall market share. Accenture is a system they introduced but has so far failed to work and is causing problems within stores, which means that because goods are failing to get onto shelves customers are deciding to do their shopping somewhere else. Not only has Accenture not been innovative but it has also destroyed relationships with stakeholders of Sainsbury's because they don't have faith in the company when it comes to stocking the goods they want and need. Research shows that Sainsbury's reputation is falling because it seems that Sainsbury's no longer holds a high stake of market share and has been overtaken as market leader. We can also see that the Sainsbury's employee feels relationships with all stakeholders in great with customers receiving regular newsletters and in store questionnaires. This is showing customers that they care but they are still losing custom because of mistakes and newsletters won't stop customers from going elsewhere if they think they'll get a better quality of service, food and value for money. One thing that Sainsbury's does well is appeal to all markets: those with children, single people, the elderly and married couples. The way they are able to do this is because the products sold is the stores are items that everybody needs but then they also have ‘clubs' that are open to different types of people, some of the examples of the clubs are Little Ones Club and Drinks Club. They are use their innovative Nectar Card to appeal to everyone and because you can use them in different stores they appeal to a wider variety of people rather than if they were just for use at Sainsbury's. To appeal to the public Sainsbury's also uses celebrity chef, Jamie Oliver, to advertise its goods, which is a way of bringing in a good reputation and appealing to all markets. If customers think that a celebrity is involved with a brand name they are more likely to use it because a celebrity involved often makes the public think that a place is worthwhile. Sainsbury's is faced with a lot of competition and although they are not market leader at the present they feel they are trying to regain a large chunk of the market share and win customers back. As we discovered during research, Sainsbury's are making their first ever loss this year which means that competitors are able to push further ahead in order to win over customers and make themselves market leader with a huge market share. During the interview with the Sainsbury's employee we can see that they feel the way they feel that Sainsbury's add value is through quality service and food. However through secondary research we found that service was poor due to Accenture as Sainsbury's were unable to get products on shelves as they ran out. This was due to Accenture being a failure to the company and losing them huge money. As the company's service was poor if customers weren't able to get the products they required it is most likely they would have gone to a competitor supermarket, which is why Sainsbury's are no longer market leader. Market research is often carried out in Sainsbury's according to the interview that was undertaken with the employee. They stated that customers of the company are often subject to in store questionnaires and asked what they want, how they feel and what changes they would like to see being made. However if we were to then look at secondary research it seems unlikely that any comments made by customers are actually taken into consideration as food is still unable to get on shelves and once again this shows by the fact that Sainsbury's are making their first ever loss this year. The employee stated that Sainsbury's care about their customers because they say that newsletters are regularly sent out however, we cannot see that what customers think is taken into account as Sainsbury's still seem to be running in the same poor quality way. Conclusion This assignment was to discover whether or not Sainsbury's have gained, kept or lost competitive advantage. To do this we had to do a mixture of primary and secondary research into the way Sainsbury's is run and the way the company is performing at the present moment. Once research was carried out we then discussed it and decided that there were a large number of factors that interconnected to what is felt has lost Sainsbury's competitive advantage. Looking at the discussion where we have analysed the research that was conducted we can see that Sainsbury's are a slowly failing company and this decline has been mostly since the introduction of Accenture. The innovation that Sainsbury's has had, has either been very poor for example Accenture, or has also been favoured by other companies including the current market leader, meaning that Sainsbury's has no competitive edge on other companies. We also saw that Sainsbury's felt that they added value to the company by quality of service and products but as we also saw in the discussion that led nowhere. To read this assignment and the research that was carried out to go with it you would automatically feel that this company was a failing establishment that was going nowhere and was sinking. It is possible that Sainsbury's could turn their misfortune around with help from experts who could help them appeal more to the public and reconstruct the way their stores work for example, once the contract with Accenture has run out do not renew it but until then improve all the other problems associated with failing. Sainsbury's will not become market leader for long time, if at all, if they do make the changes that are needed but to be able to be thought of as a ‘good' supermarket they need to change. Overall, to answer the title question it is evident that Sainsbury's have lost competitive advantage by ways that have been spoken about during research and the discussion and as read above we can see how it is possible for Sainsbury's to change themselves. Appendix During researching into Sainsbury's competitive advantage a telephone call was made to their head office in order for primary research to be carried out. We were transferred to their Corporate Communications Department and when they were asked about the competitive advantage they felt Sainsbury's had gained, kept or lost, we were informed that no information could be given at this time and were directed to the Internet to look for our own research.