Bauhaus School

Das Bauhaus Jeremy Hart German Civilization 2320 Professors Cook, Kopp, and Prager March 6, 2013 The Bauhaus, a revolutionary school of art and craft founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, stands today as an important influence on postmodern art and architecture. It is also the namesake of its own movement; which is characterized by severely economic and geometric designs and a functional view of materials. To truly understand the origins of the Bauhaus and the importance of its modern implications, we must first know about the influences that its founder relied on. The Vienna Secession was formed in Austria in 1897.The secessionist artists attempted to create their own style that had no clear relation to any historical eras. Paired with this avant-garde approach, they relied on more pure geometric designs to produce their art. The geometric approach to art proved to have lasting effects on Gropius and his contemporaries. The Werkbund was the German model of the Vienna Secession. Founded in 1907, the 12 artists and 12 industrialists who comprised it aimed to infuse industry with modern and functional designs. These designs would both foster efficiency and function and be free of traditional elements and ornamentation.A leading artist in the Werkbund named Peter Behrens was Gropius’ mentor and employer. Along with Belgian painter Henry van de Velde, the two men were Gropius’ main influences in forming the Bauhaus. In the Bauhaus manifesto he wrote in 1919, Gropius vows to return artists to the deep seat of creativity that rests in the handicrafts, and bring together an unbiased consortium of artists who would dictate architectural style to the modern world: â€Å"By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of is hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies. Let us therefore create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsmen and artists! Let us desire, conceive, and create the new building of the future together. It will combine architecture, sculpture, and painting in a single form, and will one day rise towards the heavens from the hands of a million workers as the crystalline symbol of a new and coming faith. In the latter half of this passage, Gropius is expressing a Utopian vision that encompasses the general public: â€Å"†¦building of the future together†¦from the hands of a million workers. † The new styles would not be just for artists, but their work would be accessible to everyone. The nature of the designs would be streamlined and simple to they could be mass-produced. The art would not only be of interest and use to a niche audience but to the majority, so they could appreciate its function and efficiency When the new conservative government of Weimar withdrew support for the Bauhaus in 1925, it found a new home in Dessau.Out of the new home in Dessau came the radical changes in style and material of everyday items, such as tea infusers, office chairs, and table lamps. Most importantly perhaps, the Bauhaus in Dessau was the home of the first workshop for architecture, the key Gropius outlined in his manifesto that would serve as the medium for infusing function and creativity into everyday applications. The new architecture would be the first tangible contributions to industry. Prior to this point, Germany had been in the midst of a severe economic crisis brought on by World War I.Now that there was money to be spent, new innovations in architecture began to become the standard in the modern industrial world. The first chance the new school had to prove itself, quite ironically, was by building itself. The school was to be constructed following mostly Gropius’ designs, now commonplace features of Bauhaus architecture: flat roofs, lack of ornamentation, an d strict geometric lines. The first true revolution in architecture for which the Bauhaus is credited came in the form of the workers’ housing areas.Architect and Gropius contemporary Ludwig Mies van der Rohe organized an exhibition for architects to design a modern solution for worker housing, with only one rule that each building have a flat roof. Unfortunately no groundbreaking design was hatched, but the designs helped change the culture of architecture forever. The Bauhaus was already establishing itself as a symbol of progressive art and architecture. Following the architectural and industrial boom in Germany, the Bauhaus relocated to America in 1933, fleeing Hitler and the Nazis.New director Laszlo Moholy-Nagy founded the New Bauhaus in Chicago. The spirit of innovation that marked the original Bauhaus was just as prevalent here as New Bauhaus students developed breakthroughs in photography, film, and the use of materials. In America, the Bauhaus style is still influen cing the gamut of industrial design, from towering skyscrapers that seem to be built entirely out of glass, to ‘wiggle chairs’ actually made completely of cardboard. Ultimately, postmodernists and modernists stand starkly opposed when it comes to the necessary attributes and function of designs and art.Postmodern culture was born out of a disregard for modernist minimalism, arguably a style perpetuated if not championed by Bauhaus theory. So one can say modernism is the de facto reason for postmodernism’s existence. The practitioners of postmodernism sought to revive theories from previous centuries that appealed to the human need for comfort for the body and beauty for the eye. The true similarity between the two movements was the importance of function. Both schools of thought believed art and architecture specifically should serve to promote the building’s function. The true difference lies in aesthetics.So in the same way we attribute postmodern styles to high art of years past, we can also attribute Bauhaus styles to the past. Gropius’ vision of a return to purer geometric forms, a proclivity for functional efficiency, and respect for materials exemplifies this. We see the strong disjunction between modern (Bauhaus) and postmodern style as the latter reacting to the former. Making this connection lets us argue that modernism and postmodernism are actually two aspects of the same movement, and thus shows us that the free-thinking, subjective aspects of postmodernism owe their creation to the logical, analytical aspects of its predecessor.Works Referenced Bauhaus Museum. www. bauhausmuseum. com/history/manifesto Bauhaus School. March 4, 2013. http://thebauhaus. org/thebauhaus/ Chicago Bauhaus and Beyond. March 4, 2013. www. chicagobauhausbeyond. org Exhibit Bauhaus. March 4, 2013. http://bengal. missouri. edu/~kuhlerd/art327/index. html Roger Cook. Class notes. http://germanciv. missouri. edu/2320/bauhaus/index. html

A Woman’s Place Essay

â€Å"Don’t read so much, he said, don’t study; get yourself good and tired out with homework, take exercise. He believes that her troubles would clear up if she got married. He believes this in spite of the fact that most of his nerve medicine is prescribed for married women. † The primary theme of Meneseteung by Alice Munro is the role of women in times of Victorian traditions and standards. The narrator, who is never identified, explains tasks and qualities that differentiate a real, marriageable woman from an outcast from society. The main character in this story is Almeda Joynt Roth, a respectable woman who has become famous in her small town for her poetry book. She has earned respect and admiration amongst others in the town for her works, but has also been criticized as a woman’s literary ambitions were thought to be hobby rather than vocation. Roth yearns to marry Jarvis Poulter, an idea that the rest of the town supports. Even Roth’s doctor, who prescribes nerve medicine to help Roth with her sleeplessness, says she would be much happier if she were married. However, Poulter does not find Roth to be a suitable wife and does not pursue her as such because she does not demonstrate the qualities that defined a marriageable woman of the times. The story, then, is not just about the role of women in the society but also about a lonely woman, an outcast of traditional society, and her search for companionship. Roth suffers from insomnia and goes to the doctor to get medication to help with her sleeplessness. The doctor suggests that Roth busies herself with things that are not considered womanly such as studying and writing. Her writing is considered an asset to the community, but not totally accepted as a woman is expected to marry and have a family. The town paper, the Vidette, which contains articles that would often be considered libelous by modern standards considers her young and fit enough to bear children, physically speaking she is marriageable material. The doctor suggests that she wear herself out by performing housewife tasks such as cleaning and exercising so that she may sleep. He also discourages her from reading and writing, as it is not required of her to do these things to ulfill her position in society. He suggests that marriage would solve most of her problems, though the medication he prescribes her is primarily prescribed to married women. The doctor is prescribing a remedy to her problems by becoming a housewife, while also prescribing medication that is given to housewives to treat the very condition she, as a single woman, had come to ameliorate. In the society portrayed in Meneseteung marriage is considered to be a cure-all for many of women’s problems. Why, asks the narrator, has Roth remained unmarried for so long? The narrator suspects that it is partly down to her desolate disposition. A caliginous personality is not one that is considered attractive and people tend to avoid developing social ties to her. Weighed down by burdens such as the loss of her family Roth is a loner with reading, writing, and the hopeless pursuit of Jarvis Poulter as her only aspirations in life and generally just does as she pleases. She dreams of marrying Poulter, an idea that the whole town supports, but he never showed an interest in her as she did not fit the imagine of a marriageable woman of the times. Despite this the narrator portrays Roth to be less of the â€Å"reckless hedonist† and more like a â€Å"tormented artist,† suffering as a result of her art. It is her particularity that makes her an eminent writer, but also not considered suitable to be taken as a wife. Women in this story are portrayed as weak and in need of men. One night, Roth is awoken by a drunk, abused woman at her fence. She is frightened and rushes to Poulter for help, and this is shown as being the first time in the story that she behaves like a typical woman of her time. She is no longer the poised, confident woman that Poulter has come to know her as and is attracted to her desperate vulnerability. Poulter was not attracted to her when she was poised and confident but once he had seen that she was weak, helpless, and in need of him he felt drawn to her as she finally fit the stereotypical image of a woman. Poulter deals with the drunken woman in a cruelly and insensitively and upon seeing this Roth loses interest in him. Poulter asks her to church and she declines and the two never pursue a relationship. Despite being portrayed as weak and in need of men, women are not powerless in marriage. One of a woman’s primary roles is to â€Å"create their husbands† by â€Å"ascribing preferences† to them. â€Å"This way, bewildered, sidelong-looking men are made over, made into husbands, heads of households. † Roth cannot see herself doing this, which urther separates her from the society in which she lives. After her rejection of Poulter’s interests Roth retreats into the vivid aberration brought upon her by the doctor’s nerve medicine and meets her death after becoming the target of menacing youths’ malevolent tormenting. This quote from the doctor, which I have chosen as the most profoundly meaningful, shows the thinking of the times. Women we re to marry to solve their own problems as well as to solve the problems of their husband. This short story is about a woman who is different from the social norm and her search for companionship and stability in her own life, as well as how breaking the norm had its own consequences. Her obsession with reading and writing, which was said to be more suitable as a hobby than profession, set her aside and earned her respect within her community while at the same time driving a wedge between her and a normal life because she did not spend her life marrying, becoming a wife, becoming a mother, and spending her days cleaning and caring for her family like a typical woman of the time. When Roth became vulnerable she became like every other woman and Poulter finally saw her as a possibility for marriage but his actions revolted Roth. The incident with the drunken woman disgusted her into a solitary existence with just her and her hallucinations brought on by the nerve medication prescribed by the doctor. The doctor suggested that by marrying, Roth would not require this medicine despite it being most commonly prescribed for married women. So, then, Almeda Roth could not live with herself as a normal woman yet not being a typical woman is what eventually led to her demise.

To What Extent Does Labelling Theory Offer a Useful Contribution to the Study of Crime and Deviance in Today’s Society

Labelling Theory To what extent does labelling theory offer a useful contribution to the study of crime and deviance in today’s society Introduction This assignment will Discuss labelling theory, it will attempt to explore the contributions made by labelling theorists, the criticism towards labelling theorists, and the discussion surrounding its reality as an actual theory. However the main focus will be proving an understanding of Howard Becker‘s Labelling Theory and will describe and evaluate Labelling Theory to the study of crime. In conclusion it will discuss how relevant labelling theory is today. According to (Wellford, 1975) Labelling Theory or The Social Reaction Theory as it is more often known has been around and has developed over time from as early as 1938. It became very popular during the late 1960’s and early 1970’s were it was seen as a new departure in theories of crime and deviance particularly in sociology. Edwin Lemert is widely recognized as the founder of what is called the Societal Reaction Theory. This is the forerunner to the Social Reaction or Labelling Theory which has present day acceptance and includes many of the same concepts. Currently, labelling theory suggests that when a person commits a crime, they receive the label of criminal. When a person is labelled criminal by society, they are likely to accept this label as a part of themselves and because the person now thinks of themselves as a criminal, they are now likely to continue in their criminal behaviour (Becker, 1963). This is still relevant to this day, e. g. f a male was to murder a female he will always be seen and known as a criminal. In order to understand labelling theory, familiarization is needed with Lemert’s Societal Reaction Theory. This theory explores the journey to social deviance in two stages; primary deviance and secondary deviance. Howard Becker is widely associated with the labelling theory through his volume Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. He also developed the term â⠂¬Å"moral entrepreneur† to describe persons in power who campaign to have certain deviant behaviour outlawed. He asserts that many of the laws that have been passed have been solely for this purpose, and that behaviour which is defined as criminal is dynamic and changes throughout time and that therefore, the actual criminal behaviour is irrelevant to the theory. (Becker, 1963). Becker himself has stated however, that the concept of his work is not a theory, with all the achievements and obligations that go with the title, or focused solely on the act of labelling as some have thought. It is not a single concept, being instead a number of assorted ideas that have been brought together under one approach, although critics have called the work ambiguous, inconsistent and at best a vague perspective Becker, never sought to provide an all-embracing, etiological explanation of deviance Becker himself prefers the term ‘Interactionist Theory of Deviance' developing the study of deviance from a distinctly social perspective, considering the processes by which particular types of act or people, come to be labelled as deviant. He has been influenced by works such as Cooley's ‘looking-glass self' , Lemert's ideas of social constructionism , and Mead's theories on the internalisation of the self, Becker makes two arguments: 1. Deviant behaviour must be conceptualized in terms of a sequential model since different causes operate at different stages, 2. Rules and enforcement processes must be viewed as developing through time rather than as an isolated moment of disapproval. Definition of Labelling Theory Also known as Social Reaction Theory, this is a theory originated by Edwin Lemert and then developed by sociologist Howard Becker. It is a social theory concerned with how people perceive themselves as delinquent or criminal due to the labels, which categorized and describe certain behaviours, that are applied to them by criminal justice authorities and by others in society. The theory maintains that the labels people are given affect their own and others perceptions of them, and how the behaviour of an individual is influenced or even created by the use of certain labels (i. e. , thief, prostitute, homosexual). The resulting treatment of the individual then pushes them into performing the deviant role or back into conformity. The theory also maintains that the deviance itself is characterized by societies reaction to any alleged violation of the rules or the expectations of what are considered normal conduct. Primary Deviance Primary deviance begins with an initial criminal act. As stated by Lemart it is a rule-breaking behaviour that is carried out by people who see themselves and are indeed seen by others as basically conformist by nature. Following this act of deviance the person may be labelled as deviant or criminal by their peers and society, yet they themselves do not yet accept this label. That is to say that they do not think of themselves in terms as being a criminal. It is this lack of acceptance to see themselves as criminal which differentiates primary from secondary deviance. This person shall remain in a state of primary deviance for as long as they are capable of rationalizing and able to deal with this label by justifying the act as a socially acceptable role (Lemert, 1951). When leading on to Secondary Deviance, the criminal label is placed on an individual during what is known as a Degradation Ceremony in which the accused person is formally or officially labelled as a criminal. This would normally take place during court sentencing, but may also come about in more subtle fashions as well. For example the relatives of a person become withdrawn and distance themselves from that person when they find out they have committed a crime, regardless of whether or not they face any formal charges (Wellford, 1975). An example of this would be an exotic dancer: In today’s society an exotic dancer is a perfect example. Others may label the dancer’s act as deviant while the dancer themselves may see it as a perfectly legitimate profession as with any other occupation which enables them to earn an income. Secondary Deviance According to Lemart secondary deviance occurs when there is an acceptance by the individual of the deviant behaviour and the criminal label, it unabsorbed into their self image, they therefore see themselves from that point in time as a criminal or deviant. This then becomes a mechanism for defence, attack, or adaptation to the problems of the individual caused by society’s reaction to their primary deviation (Lemert, 1951). is only considered to have occurred when the labelled person can no longer deny the label having undergone a degradation ceremony which labels the person eviant, be this through a personal audience such as family or friends, or a more formal one such as in a court of law, both the individual and society both now accept the view that the offender is a criminal. Once they finally accept this label as a part of themselves they will act ,from this point onward, in a way befitting this new criminal label. Secondary deviances is considered to have occurred when both society and the individual share the view that the offender is a criminal. Deviant Career and Master Status Becker's theory pays particular attention to the way in which society reacts to people with criminal labels. He suggests that this label becomes the person's Master Status, meaning that it is a constant label, that affects and over-rides how others in society will view them. The status that people will use to identify and classify the person will always be that of criminal. Any other statuses a person may have had are no longer heeded nor valid in the eyes of society. A person could be a parent, employee, spouse, etc. , but the first and major status that will come to mind to other people and themselves is that of the criminal (Becker, 1963). On occasion the person's criminal master status may compel them to conform more closely to society's accepted norms. This is an attempt to show to others that the person may have made mistakes in life, but such mistakes will not happen again. From this time onwards they will act in a fashion that is deemed Normal (Foster & Dinitz & Reckless, 1972). It is believed however, that in most cases where the master status is that of a criminal, secondary deviance will be completed rather than being resisted. An identity change will take place in whereby the person will now accept the label of criminal. With this new criminal identity is in place, there is subsequent pressure for the individual to behave accordingly. Such an identity change may be signalled by a person losing contact with their former friends (conformist) and starting up associations with other criminal labelled deviants (Becker, 1963). In this new peer group of similarly minded deviants there increases the likelihood of the person not only continuing but also possibly escalating the rate and seriousness of their criminal behavior. Negative Labelling There are a number of powerful individuals within society (politicians, judges, police officers, medical doctors) who can impose some of the most significant labels. The labelled person may be a drug addict, an alcoholic, a criminal, a delinquents or a prostitute to name but a few. The consequences of being labelled a deviant can be far-reaching. Social research indicates that those who have negative labels applied to them usually have a lower self-image of themselves, that they are more likely to reject themselves, and that they may even act even more deviantly as a result of the label. The research also shows that it is unfortunate that people who accept the labelling of others, whether it is correct or incorrect, have a difficult time changing their opinions of the labelled person, even in light of evidence to the contrary. In a small study of child behavior after punishment, it was found that if the audience held the offender in a positive regard, the offender was likely to rise to these expectations and act in a manner befitting a â€Å"good boy† (Wellford, 1975). In this way it is possible to use labelling theory in a more productive manner. The implications of the study results suggest that two things can be done in order to help prevent labelling theory from having negative effects on people who've broken the law. First of all if the court atmosphere could be avoided in situations where the crime were minor offenses or misdemeanors its possible that the offender would be able to avoid formal sentencing and the degradation ceremony that goes with it. In such cases rehabilitative therapy and out-of-court settlements would be preferable. The other possibility is that a formal ceremony which would cancel the stigma associated with the degradation ceremony could be held. Perhaps a court declaration or letter that the offender is hereby rehabilitated could be used after the offender has served their punishment (Broadhead, 1974). Criticisms of Labelling Theory There have been many criticisms on labelling theorists, Becker states that how interactionist theories have been accused of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. From a logical standpoint there are flaws within the main points of Labelling Theory. At the outset the theory states that â€Å"No acts are inherently criminal† (Wellford, 1975). This implies that acts are only â€Å"criminal† when society regards them as being â€Å"criminalâ€Å". The implications of this as stated by Howard Becker are that â€Å"criminal law is dynamic and ever-changing, differing from society to societyâ€Å". If this holds true then why are certain acts illegal and labelled as criminal in the majority of the civilized world? Murder, rape, arson, armed robbery to mention a few are all considered to be crimes in any society or country one would could care to name. The theory also claims that for a criminal to be successfully labelled as deviant that an audience needs to be present in order to provide a reaction to the crimes committed. If a murder is committed where the killer successfully avoids detection or raising anyone's suspicion, would that mean that the murder was not criminal and that the killer would not think of themselves as such? It may be probable that the murderer's own value system could initialize self-labelling, but the theory clearly states the labelling must come from a 3rd party (Hagan, 1973). There have been criticisms that the terms in labelling theory lack precision, and that there is no real account taken of the central social processes, such as how every day behaviour actually needs to have a societal reaction. The methodology generally is also seen as lacking clarity, and incorporating too many commonsense definitions and assumptions. It is felt that what is needed is a more detailed study in areas such as police procedures, or the categories deployed/applied by social workers and lawyers. in the case of police behaviour, For example, in police behaviour it is clear that much depends upon the appearance, image, or attitude of the potential suspect, and that very different treatments can be aportioned to suspects, depending on the collective and immediately formed social judgements of the police officer (Cicourel 1968). Labelling theory appears to over do the idea of a self-fulfilling prophecy or a deviant career, there is no real gathering of evidence for this, especially what makes a label effective and permanent, how it becomes a master identity. Examples of Research Conducted by Labelling Theorists William Chambliss in 1973 conducted a classic study into the effects of labelling. His two groups of white, male, high-school students were both frequently involved in delinquent acts of theft, vandalism, drinking, and truancy. The police never arrested the members of one group, which Chambliss abelled the â€Å"Saints,† but the police did have frequent run-ins with members of the other group, which he labelled the â€Å"Roughnecks. † The boys in the Saints came from respectable families, had good reputations and grades in school, and were careful not to get caught when breaking the law. By being polite, cordial, and apologetic whenever confronted by the police, the Saints escaped labell ing themselves as â€Å"deviants. † In contrast, the Roughnecks came from families of lower socioeconomic status, had poor reputations and grades in school, and were not careful about being caught when breaking the law. By being hostile and insolent whenever confronted by the police, the Roughnecks were easily labelled by others and themselves as â€Å"deviants. † In other words, while both groups committed crimes, the Saints were perceived to be â€Å"good† because of their polite behavior (which was attributed to their upper-class backgrounds) and the Roughnecks were seen as â€Å"bad† because of their insolent behavior (which was attributed to their lower-class backgrounds). As a result, the police always took action against the Roughnecks, but never against the Saints. Conclusion Becker, (1963) claims that laws are established for a reason, and behaviour that is defined as criminal is dynamic and will change within time. This shows that criminal behaviour is not relevant to the theory. However it is still to this day seen as debatable. However there is one known exception, many labelling theorists say the system is biased towards the lower class, which constitutes the overwhelming majority of arrests and convictions within the American criminal justice system (Wellford, 1975). Becker is the usual source of radical variants of labelling. His work implies there is no need to explain deviance in the first place, that it is in fact a very common social activity, a normal one, which only becomes abnormal when it is to so labelled. Labelling itself then becomes confirming, a self-fulfilling prophecy, launching people on a deviant career. Today, one rarely finds labelling theories like those which predominated in the late 1960s. Certainly there are still social constructivist accounts of some type of deviance or another, and studies about the meaning of crime to criminals and criminalizers are still done. A hift seems to have taken place around 1974 in which labelling theory accommodated itself to legalistic definitions, or at least a focus on state power. Modern labelling theories came to recognize that societies â€Å"create† crime by passing laws, and that the substantive nature of the law should be an object of study. Sometimes, these are called criminalization theories (Hartjen 1974), and they have some resembl ance to societal reaction approaches, but they more closely fall into a field that criminologists trained in sociology call the sociology of law perspective or the study of law as a mechanism of social control. Most modern labelling theorists have been influenced by a critique of the underdog focus which was provided by Liazos (1972) when he said that sociologists need to stop studying â€Å"nuts, sluts, and perverts. † The one aspect of this theory that could be regarded positively is that it is very easy to understand and can be quickly explained, breaking down all criminal behavior into primary and secondary deviance with a few simple statements for each. Bibliography Alexander Liazos (1982) People First: An introduction to Social Problems Allyn & Bacon pp121 Becker, H. S. (1963). Outsiders: Studies in the Sociology of Deviance. New York: The Free Press Joseph Rowntree foundation (2009) http://www. jrf. org. uk/ accessed 12/03/09 Lemert, E. M. (1951). Social Pathology. New York: MacGraw-Hill Book Co. , Inc. Wellford, C. (1975). Labelling Theory and Criminology: An Assessment. Social Problems, Vol. 22, No. 3, 332-345

Social Psychology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Social Psychology - Assignment Example Truly, what we think can build a great difference in what the reality is. This is exactly what Robert J. Trotter contends. In his own words Trotter (1987) elucidates, â€Å"The way we explain the things that happen to us may be more important than what actually happens†. His thesis is heavily laid open the theory proposed by Martin Seligman who explained that the depression occurred as a result of what came be to known as â€Å"learned helplessness†. Primarily, his chance encounter in an experiment on dogs conducted in the University of Pennsylvania changed Seligman’s thoughts. The dogs which in an earlier experiment had learnt that they would get a shock did not try to escape this time, for they learnt how to expect that they would have no control over it. â€Å"They sat there as if they were helpless† (Trotter, 1987). The same principle is applied to human beings. Indeed, much of what we are, how we think and behave and how we react over certain situations get constructed as a result of our expectation of what we had learnt earlier. One fails in an examination once. He sits for another examination expecting nothing but failure and submits to his thought that he can not escape failure. Trotter agrees with Seligman’s thesis that this ‘learnt helplessness’ is directly proportional to human depression. In other words, the extent to which a human experiences depression is determined by the extent to which we have learnt how to be helpless. However, ‘learned helplessness’ theory was not without limitation. Seligman’s students argued with him that not all the uncontrollable bad events produce helplessness and depression. Also, they questioned why would depressed people always lose self-esteem or blame themselves. In order to counter these arguments, he revised the theory to explain the phenomena of ‘explanatory style’. The way we explain things impacts the way we behave. He argued

Critiquing a literature review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Critiquing a literature review - Essay Example McCloskey argues that the utilization of research is essential for nursing. As part of a larger systematic review on research utilization instruments within the magnet health care system the argument made is precise, logical, and very well-articulated. However, the research conflicts on certain levels with many scholars who have continuously over the past two decades expressed profound concerns about whether nurses use the best available scientific evidence and research to guide their clinical practices.(Karkos,et al, 2006). This disparity between the availability of research evidence and its use in practice has created what is referred to as the research-practice gap (Larsen et al, 2002) within the professional application. The nature of this gap has been the subject of near continuous debate and conjecture and is the proximal focus of McCloskey’s research. The research provided validates the premise that nurses have an evolving perception of how research transcends into their practice, and is to an extent based upon educational level and hospital position. McCloskey puts forward a methodology of â€Å"what is to be† integrated and used by administrators and by nurses at all levels of the profession in order to assume a more positive posture toward research and evidence based practices. The problem statement of the paper is answered to the extent of how staff demographics’ effect research utilization, and to a larger extent how the circumstances of the organization may in fact precipitate much of what is recognized as the research-practice gap(Larsen et al, 2002). However, McCloskey’s research lacks sufficient depth to offer a specific formulaic approach to rectifying the research-practice gap as detailed in the wide panorama of the entire nursing profession. McCloskey sets out with a very simple tenant,

Summaries of the articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summaries of the articles - Essay Example The program is a survey based effort that has evolved out of the initial programs of the 1980s. The survey has a web based program that gathers information from working pharmacists and categorizes them in 1 of 25 categories. The findings are then published in an effort to aid current and future pharmacists in designing their own career path. In addition, the report is broken down between pharmacist and pharmaceutical scientist. In addition to listing areas as diverse as teaching and management, the findings report on workers' job satisfaction, workload, and demographics. In an article titled New Perspective Urged to Combat Resistant Microbes author Kate Traynor reports on the recent efforts to make antimicrobial effectiveness a public health priority. The author states that antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to public health and the article urges "antimicrobial effectiveness be treated as a natural resource, much like oil, fish, or forests" (p.1248). The importance of the issue is highlighted by Ramanan Laxminarayan, a senior fellow at the prestigious Resources for the Future who is quoted as saying "Antibiotic resistance is an immediate threat to public health" (p.1246). Laxminarayan calls for the implementation of a new government policy. The article pointed out that reducing microbial resistanc... The author states that the role of the pharmacist is pivotal in the process as they are in a position to encourage appropriate use of antimicrobials, and reduce the incidence of the over prescribing that encourages resistance. In addition, pharmacists should work with health care facilities to minimize antimicrobial exposure, while protecting the patient. Atopic March to a Dead End or Does the Theory Really Have Legs Author Frederic R. Curtiss challenges the long held belief that atopic dermatitis (AD) precedes the development of asthma in an article titled Atopic March to a Dead End or Does the Theory Really Have Legs Curtiss relies on the expert opinion of Hywel Williams, Foundation Professor of Dermato-Epidemiology at the Centre of Evidence-Based Dermatology at the University of Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre's NHS Trust. Professor Williams states there is still the conventional wisdom in regards to the 'atopic march' in which AD progresses to atopic manifestations (AM). Williams argues that , "he was not aware of any clinical trial that has evaluated the effectiveness of early aggressive treatment of AD as a means to prevent or mollify AMs such as food allergy, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, and asthma" (p.810). He contends there is simply not enough evidence to confirm the 'atopic march'. One of the problems in the attempt to confirm this effect is the reliance on existing health care records and their limitations. Curtiss contends that, "It is healthy for readers to keep in mind that administrative claims were not intended to be used for research that implies accuracy and precision in coding for diagnoses and that administrative claims research necessarily suffers from

How useful is the cultural imperialism thesis Essay

How useful is the cultural imperialism thesis - Essay Example When these capitalist corporations establish their business in the developing countries they deploy their work ethic, punctuality, thrift, conformity, and hierarchical organisational structures that contribute to amassing economic surpluses. Though these corporations pay a good wage to the employees they hire, ultimately the accumulated surpluses are carried across to the developed Western and/or capitalist societies. The ‘cultural imperialism thesis' caters to this phenomenon of subordination and domination1 CULTURAL IMPERIALISM THESIS We generally refer to the phrase ‘cultural imperialism thesis’ to elucidate the process of deterritorialization. Deterritorialization is reducing the time and space barriers between physical territories hence restructuring the old cultural geographical and social territories.2 For that reason it is appropriate to say that cultural imperialism thesis is a comprehensive framework intended to account for this complex global cultural bu ild-up and the resulting relationships.3 The key elements that this thesis caters to are cultures that are suppressing other weak cultures. First and foremost of these dominant cultures are Western and/or American culture.4 Therefore, this thesis expounds on the strategies used to regulate, deregulate and re-regulate the domination. Often there are historical cultural events that condense a culture’s value systems and its ability to overpower the other. The inequality of conditions that takes place is a key issue discussed in this thesis. This occurrence of historical dominance can be exemplified by referring to the course of colonialism that empowered Western cultures to subordinate the cultures of Asia, Africa, the Americas and certain other regions of the world. The colonisation shows the cultural superiority of the 'West over the Rest’ because the West had a strong economy and liberal democracy that set standards for the weak cultures to follow.5 On this basis, we can say that cultural imperialism works at the conscious and the unconscious level, as it gives people the appropriate standards for their being to which they ought to identify.6 The emergence of capitalism in the Western world is another key element that is covered by the cultural imperialism thesis. Capitalism in the Western world originates from both Western and capitalist values. But when we look into examples of capitalism in Japan we see it was dictatorial to a certain extent, whereas capitalism in the UK was not. Therefore, we know that there is a difference between these. The economic superiority of the first world resulted from the rise of capitalism. It is a well-known phenomenon that the organization, structure and regulations of cultural exchange between the dominant first world and the subordinate developing world have been based on capitalistic principles. Now, the capitalist classes of the first world meander around the world in pursuit of trading opportunities to mul tiply their trade and profits. The transnational business is a name given to the model of business that could multiply the trade and profit options of the capitalistic class from the first world. Therefore, now the

Improving diversity in hospital boards Research Paper

Improving diversity in hospital boards - Research Paper Example As a nation, the U.S is a melting point of multiple ethnic and racial subgroups thus, ensuring workplace diversity is essential in order to meet the various needs and demands of the diverse population. There is a need for workplace diversity as according to statistics the number Hispanic population by 2050 is expected to triple while that of the blacks is expected to double, as the white remains the same yet workplace diversity is an important challenge. The Hispanics constitute 12 percent of the American population and only 2 percent of nurse’s work as healthcare providers, and the same case applies to the black Americans. Diversity in the health care delivery system is important as it improves the access to care among the racial and ethnic small groups; it enhances a greater patient satisfaction and a better patient communication. Moreover, it enhances the cultural competence of the health care personnel that is associated with greater health care outcomes (Rosenbaum & Leona rd, 2013). The effective running of hospitals and other healthcare institutions will largely be determined by an effective cooperation between the hospital management and the board in the governance. Hospital boards play an essential role in ensuring that there is diversity in the workforce as part of their support in hospital setting. A diverse hospital board will ensure that all the needs of the different groups of people are met in an effort of reflecting and responding to the different patient’s needs. In ensuring that there is an improvement in the hospital board’s diversity, it is important for healthcare organizations to act in accordance with the diversity, policies and legislation stipulated to protect individuals from discrimination (van Knippenberg & Schippers, 2007). Thus, the health institutions need to obey the laws to ensure that there is diversity in the hospital workforce to meet the diverse needs of the patient’s population. Being aware of the

Who Was CELIA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Who Was CELIA - Essay Example Celia participated also in singing contest where she won many of them. As she grew up, she realized that her career was in music and assumed that her music created awareness to the world about the Cuban culture and the happiness of living life to the fullest (Tatum, 1002). In 1947, Celia enrolled to study at the Cuban Conservatory of Music and was discovered by one of the most famous orchestras called music group La Sonora Matancera. In 1960s, Celia moved to United States where she became a citizen due to political changes in Cuba. A few years later, she married Pedro Knight who was a trumpet player in her group. Celia recorded and performed with many musicians and became the voice of Salsa. While performing, she would wear colorful clothing and bright makeup on her face. Also, her dancing was energetic like her voice. Celia died in 2003 as a result of brain cancer (Tatum, 1003). In conclusion, it is evident that Celia was the Queen of salsa. Also, she had the passion of music since her childhood. Also, Celia created awareness to the world about the Cuban culture and the happiness of living life to the

Genetics and Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Genetics and Evolution - Essay Example Thus in such situations the characters used to recognise the species becomes merely diagnostic, not distinctive. Biologically speaking, these are a connected series of the species in neighbouring areas which interbreed with two end populations which are too phenotypically and geographically separated that they cannot interbreed. These two genetically and phenotypically diverse populations which represent the end populations may exist in the same geographic region, yet due to genetic and phenotypic diversity would not interbreed. As an example, the case of Larus gulls can be taken, the different species of which form a ring around the North Pole. The Lesser Black-beaked Gulls in Siberia form a part of this ring, and although they descend from the same species, adjacent Herring gulls are so different from them that they do not interbreed. Earnst Mayr's Biological species concept tends to recognise species based on defined phenotypic characters. Mayr defined species as groups of interbreeding populations, which do not reproduce across other species. This builds in a concept of reproductive isolation from other such groups. Particular species specific phenotypic characters or attributes prevent interbreeding with other species. Although the biological species concept places the taxonomy of natural species within the concept of population genetics, it fails to explain the ring species. Although there are apparent differences between naturally occurring ring species, the phenotypic distinction within the same or adjacent geographic areas blur, so in actuality, they interbreed. Secondly, the existence of connecting population distinguishes the ring species from two separate species. These features raise questions about the species concept (Liebers et al., 2004). Q2. Neo-Darwinism and Lamarckism The Neo-Darwinism of evolution contends that all life on earth arose from a common ancestor. This was postulated to occur due to random mutations of genes, which survived following the process of natural selection. Where these mutations were beneficial and had survived natural selection, it led to a replicative process leading to more offspring. On the contrary, those with deleterious mutations have fewer or no offspring. Some of these mutations which were beneficial could help new adaptations to altered environments changed or new. These adaptations were incorporated in the genetic traits leading to generation of newer species. It has been postulated that the genetic makeup of the complex organisms is a result of duplication and useful mutation of existing genes of simple organisms. Lamarck's theory of evolution on the other hand posits that when environmental conditions change, an organism goes through the need for changes. With these changes, organs or organ systems may also go th rough the drives of these changes, which ultimately would need use or disuse of some organs. If used, these organs will develop, and if disused, these organs will demonstrate diminution. In this way a new characteristic or genetic trait is acquired. When acquired traits run in generations, these become hereditary, and the organism demonstrates an evolution. These two theories differ in the concept of causation of mutation. While the neo-Darwinian

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay Example for Free

Process Design Matrix Summary Essay This summary entails three process design approaches for a service providing organization (Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort) and for a small manufacturing organization (Something Sweet Bakery). Although process design varies for service and manufacturing organizations, â€Å"process design is a critical function in any operation† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). The three process design approaches that I pulled from the matrix are; design focal point, scheduling, and quality. I will explain how the same three process design approaches apply to each of these organizations in diverse industries. Process Design Approaches in a Service Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a service providing organization like Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Chaparral Suits Hotel Resort the design focal point is devised to meet the customers needs. For example, about 60% of the Chaparral’s customers are seeking relaxation. The other 40% are seeking a convenient place to conduct business. Chaparral’s caters to both customer needs by choosing to have the hotel in a Resort location as well as near major freeways and large business organizations. Scheduling Scheduling in a service providing industry like Chaparral Suites Hotel   Resort is essential for optimal performance. For example, during the off-season there is a higher rate of vacant rooms creating a dilemma of having excess staff. To deal with this yearly occurrence management has scheduled most of the employees paid time off during the off-season. Also, Chaparral uses websites like Expedia and Travelocity to try to sell any rooms not spoken for during the offseason. Furthermore, cross training is provided so that employees and resources can be shifted to where the higher workload is. Quality In a service providing industry quality is at the top of the list. If the company provides poor quality service they will loose their customer base to the competition. Chaparral Suits Hotel Resorts manager Tracy Milward states that they look for, â€Å"people –people when ever they are trying to hire and train folks for this industry† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). Also, staff is required comply with key performing indicators to track employees’ service quality primarily used for reception and customer service personnel. Process Design Approaches in a Manufacturing Organization This portion of the summary will illustrate how the three selected process design approaches are implemented in a manufacturing organization like Something Sweet Bakery. Design Focal Point The first process design approach is the design focal point. With regards to Something Sweet Bakery the design focal point is devised to meet the end users needs. For example, employees at Something Sweet Bakery will only bake pastry’s that are in demand at the moment. In essence, different pastry’s will be baked in different seasons. With regard to the location’s design focal point Something Sweet Bakery chose to set up shop in an upscale shopping center in Scottsdale, Arizona because of the high volume pedestrian traffic. The bakery was designed so that when the customers enter the bakery the aroma of fresh, delicious pastry’s overtakes them. This strategy will stimulate sales generating increased revenue. Scheduling The scheduling process at Something Sweet Bakery is not that complicated being that this is a small manufacturing company. Since 70% of their business is made to order there is a mandatory minimal number of staff members that need to be in the bakery. During holiday season there is a demand spike and product volume increases substantially. In order to effectively stay on pace with the production schedule a â€Å"batch process is used to offset variations in demand† (Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video). For example, a big batch of cookie doe will be made and froze, except for the portion that will be used that day. Another way the bakery schedules to meet demand is providing employees with overtime. Quality Quality is important in any industry, especially in a bakery. If customers don’t like the quality of your product they simply will go elsewhere. At Something Sweet Bakery quality is a more subjective process. Tina, the co-owner, and bakers personally taste everything before it is available to customers. This is how they check and maintain product quality. In Retrospect, although the two industries depicted in this summary perform two very different operations they are both striving to meet the same goals. In this case company size is not a significant factor when it comes to the application of process design approaches. In order to achieve and maintain success in Chaparral’s Suits Hotel Resort and Something Sweet Bakery it is imperative that they make wise decisions with regards to the three process design approaches stated in this summary. References University of Phoenix, Service versus Manufacturing Process Design Video

Photography Essay Example for Free

Photography Essay The purpose of photography is to present to the viewer a view of the world that is not normally seen. With the advent of fashion photography however, the view of this world is skewered. Fashion models do not present a true reality but a made-up world in which being too thin is regarded as high fashion. With works such as Lachapelle the use of morphing reality and creating one’s own reality is more and more kosher in the world of high fashion. It is with the re-evaluation of beauty that fashion photography has enchanted and changed the world. This surmise can be discovered in the way women and men dress, in their progression of outfits, daily work clothes, celebratory clothes and all of this reflected in the economic up rise of the consumers desire to be in fashion for the season. LaChapelle explores and exploits this need through his photography and although not always paying attention to the status quo on what fashion photography is, he presents his viewers with his own perspective on beauty through fashion. The topic of fashion has always held my interest, especially fashion photography. The way in which the photographer can create different realms of existence through different angles, colored lenses, and outfits has been a great intrigue of my interest in art. My favorite photographer is David LaChapelle which is why I choose him for the research and analysis part of this project. The way that he does fashion photography is a reinvention of it. He does not just accomplish what no one else can accomplish in photography but he also puts humor into his pieces as will be explained later. He makes fun of fashion, or the extremes which people put on fashion by creating a world through photography in which his eloquence matches this humor as can be seen in his Shoes to Die For photograph. Thus, he is a photographer I admire because he does not take himself too seriously. Introduction Fashion photography is about portability and malleability. A model can be incorporated into a fantastical environment for which only the word surreal can be used to define. In modern day photography there is a myriad of photographers each striving for a new lens, a new way in which to portray a fantastic image. In the history of fashion, nothing is so transcendental than photography. The image in fashion has been primarily focused on the model and how well the model sells the clothes; it is in the photograph that mutation over the decades has skyrocketed into a true art form. Fashion photography does not succumb to the norms of portraiture that Daguerre made famous but to focal points of beauty in landscape, cityscape and how well assembled the model appears in those scenes. Body Media With the issue of thinness, the disease anorexia is conjured up; since the advocating of the media towards a thinner woman’s body, disorders such as anorexia and bulimia have become predominant among women and men. In the Western culture this rising phenomenon has become a central fact for overly conscious people who focus on their appearance, as Dittmar and Howard state, â€Å"†¦they learn to see themselves as objects to be looked at and evaluated by appearance. This pressure is constantly reinforced by a strong cultural ideal of female beauty, and that ideal has become synonymous with thinness† (477-478). With this notion in the forefront of the paper other issues such as model size as they are propagated through the media become a rising concern. Dittmar and Howard go on to state that roughly 20% of models in the fashion industry are underweight which in term clinically diagnosis them with the condition of anorexia nervosa. These conditions give further rise to other women’s problems. Since the cultural idea of thinness as perpetuated by the media and the fashion industry is to have increasingly thin body types, the average woman or man tries dieting and exercising to keep up with the ‘standard’. When the average woman or man finds that they are still not ‘normal’ according to the cultural guidelines of the word, they begin to be dissatisfied with their bodies which leads to low self-esteem, â€Å"Thus it stands to reason that women are likely to experience body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem and even eating disorders if they internalize and strive for a beauty ideal that is stringently thin and essentially unattainable† (478). The mass media is the continual hindrance to a healthy body image for Americans. The media is a social influence that reinforces these ideals through repetition and product placement. The media is a visual stimulation letting the American public voyeuristically fantasize about ultra thin models and having a body (sometimes these bodies are digitally re-mastered) that provides relative pleasure in shape. Dittmar and Howard’s article highlights one such concern with the UK government in which they held a conference in June 2000 to discuss this issue of thinness and the media and to in essence debate about banning the use of these too thin models as media advertisement since the image essentially gave permission to the public to suffer and toil over gaining a great body, no matter the public acquired anorexia nervosa or other clinical conditions. The detriment of this fact, the fact that thinness is amounting to such problems as anorexia nervosa raise many social and cultural issues. The cultural issue may best be summarized in Dittmar and Howard’s article as they quote Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer, both spokespersons for top models, â€Å"†¦(s)tatistics have repeatedly shown that if you stick a beautiful skinny girl on the cover of a magazine you sell more copies†¦Agencies would say that we supply the women and the advertisers, our clients, want. The clients would say that hey are selling a product and responding to consumer demand. At the end of the day, it is a business and the fact is that these models sell the products† (478). Thus, the opposite side of the spectrum is arguing that businesses or model clients are merely representing something that already exists within the cultural dynamic. The argument is that thin models represent what people want to see and so the products the model’s are advertising sell more copies. The clients of the modeling agencies are merely tied into the vicious cycle of believing what they want to believe. Although this point seems somewhat valid, the validation stops when such perpetuating leads to serious illnesses (in some cases anorexia or bulimia have lead to death). It can plainly be deciphered from the above text that body image is created by the media, as Guttman quotes in her article â€Å"Advertising, My Mirror† in an interview with Christian Blachas, â€Å"That image comes to us from the fashion world. People like to say advertising starts trends like the recent wave of ‘fashion pornography. ’ But this came straight from designers and fashion journalists. The job of advertising is to pick up on trends. It’s rarely subversive because brands don’t gain anything from shocking people too much. Advertising’s a remarkable mirror, but it doesn’t start fads† (25). Consequently, Blachas is stating that if fault is to be placed anywhere for the over correction of dieting, then the blame is not on the fashion industry but on advertisers who are the ones who pick up trends and allow these trends to filter down to every consumer; thus, while 20% of models are diagnosed as too ‘thin’ this relevant percentage can be related to the American public. Since the blame seems to be resting with the advertisers, another close look at the media needs to be given. The media perpetuates fads and other culturally influential eras, but this seems to have heightened within the past few decades. The bombardment the public receives from the media and especially from the advertising end of the media is seen not only in commercials but in product placement in music videos, and movies. Magazines also aid in distributing the advertisements’ ideals as can be seen in repeated simulation on television soap operas, just as much as from fashion magazines, as Hargreaves and Tiggemann state in â€Å"Longer term implications of responsiveness to ‘thin-ideal’: support for a cumulative hypothesis of body image disturbance? , â€Å"Although this evidence appears to support the media’s negative impact on body image, various methodological limitations need to be acknowledged. In particular, the causal direction of correlations between body dissatisfaction and media use remains a challenge. The causal direction is clear in controlled laboratory research†¦One possible link between individual reactive episodes of dissatisfaction in response to specific media images and the development of body image is that enduring attitudes, beliefs, and feelings about bodies and appearances accumulate over time through repeated exposure to ideals of attractiveness in the media† (466). Thus, the level of insecurity is maintained in the public through the barrage of repeated body images through advertisements. In the composition of photography there are many elements which define the medium; line, color, focus, brightness, scenery, shadow, etc. The evolution of fashion photography hinged upon the mass reproduction of images in magazines. In Germany, in the early 20th century, fashion became fully popular and available to the populace through Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung and Munchner Illustrierte Presse . It is in the magazine world that fashion photography began it’s popularity . As soon as fashion hit a mainstream cord with the public, magazines sales soared and thus was born the beginning of the history of fashion photography. There was great demand for magazines; especially fashion. Women and men would see what to wear, how to wear to it, what was in style and the modern world finally had the leisure to pursue the market of clothes as fashion. With this demand installed in the public, it was up to the photographers of the early fashion industry to come up with new ways in which to depict the model, the clothes and entice women and men to dress according to what was portrayed in the photos. This is where composition of the photo is required to ensure new and deliberate methods of fashion portrayal. With the oncoming age of color introduced in photography in the 1930’s and 1940’s as the encyclopedia elaborates, â€Å"Nonetheless, color remained a sidelight in photography until the 1930s because it required considerable patience and expense on the part of both photographer and printer. The dominance of color in terms of reproduction and everyday picture-taking did not begin until 1935, when Kodak started to sell Kodachrome transparency film, and was completed by the introduction of color-print films and Ektachrome films in the 1940s†. With color photography, the realm of the fashion world drastically changed. The limits of black and white and sepia toned magazine covers gave way to brilliant exhibits of color combinations, and a wide range of fabrics that women and men could now see, duplicate, or buy. Fashion photography changed from depicting high-class society women to models in every day clothing. Professional photographers were then counted on to resonant the possibility of how fashion should co-exist with society. With Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar photographers were hired full time to create, in the magazine, a gallery of fabric eye candy dressed on a model with a backdrop. June 1, 1947 Vogue cover. The most notable photographers at the time were pictorialists , Edward Steichen and Englishman Cecil Beaton. The incorporation of art into photography made the photographs more believable as high fashion. Steichen and Beaton glamorized the models with enhanced lighting effects, which lionized the models and made the magazine world believe that fashion through photography was otherworldly. Among new techniques being used, the online encyclopedia states, â€Å"American Edward Steichen and Englishman Cecil Beaton, both one-time pictorialists. These photographers began to use elaborate lighting schemes to achieve the same sort of glamorizing effects being perfected by Clarence Bull as he photographed new starlets in Hollywood, California. Martin Munkacsi initiated a fresh look in fashion photography after Harper’s Bazaar hired him in 1934. He moved the models outdoors, where he photographed them as active, energetic modern women†. So began the movement of high fashion. Martin Munkacsi photograph. In the movement, the use of fashion as advertisement was key in developing a market for fashion photography. It is through marketing advertising, that fashion photographers began to be highlighted, as the encyclopedia states, â€Å"The new approach to photography in the editorial content of magazines was matched by an increasingly sophisticated use of photography in advertisements. Steichen, while also working for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines, became one of the highest-paid photographers of the 1930s through his work for the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency†. These photographers, as well as others, helped to make advertising an art form through use of portraying model’s hands in product placement, and altogether catering to ever-widening audience of magazine buyers. Fashion photography changed through the utilization and realization that product sold only through its modeling and photographic depiction.

What is the Purpose of Franchising?

What is the Purpose of Franchising? Franchising is a method of marketing goods. It is important that this basic fact is understood; franchising is not an industry indeed the use of franchising as a marketing method crosses industry borders. The application of franchising principles to each separate industry involves the blending of the ingredients to produce the right and product. Having grasped that basic fact, it should be appreciated that as franchising is a marketing method it should be approached in a flexible way. Franchising in its full sense the business format franchise may not be a suitable method for your business. However, you may well find that certain elements can have application and provide benefits. If that is so adopt them, even if the end result is that you have not adopted a franchise for your business. In the final analysis you have to make and live with your decisions if franchising is not right for you, or you are not right for franchising, do not embark on that course for it could well end in disaster. But, you should not lead franchisees into disaster for that they do not need a franchisor: many of them could manage quite well on their own. Other methods of marketing which are well known involve all levels from manufacture to retail sale. Some manufacturers or wholesalers appoint agents those who will act on their behalf with power to undertake binding commitments. Others appoint distributors with whom they have a buyer/seller relationship. The distributor is an independent operator who may sell many competing ranges. Some manufacturers enter into licence agreements with others who manufacture their products or who carry out processes resulting in the production of goods. These arrangements may also involve trade mark licences coupled with know-how agreements under which the licensee manufactures or completes the manufacture of goods for sale. None of these agreements is the sort of marketing method with which this manual is specifically concerned although, at times, business people refer to them as franchises. The expression franchise is also used to describe the right given for the operation of commercial TV and radio networks. The operation of a motor car manufacturers dealership is usually called a franchise and in many cases quite rightly so. The suggestion fell on open minds who really understood that it was possible to expand a network using the financial and manpower resources of others. However, the franchisor had to develop an infrastructure to enable it to cope. That infrastructure, the way in which it is put together and sustained, is what this manual is concerned to explain. FACTS TO SUPPORT ADVANTAGES For franchisors: Expansion Franchising is one of the only means available to access venture investment capital without the need to give up control of the operation of the chain in the process. After the brand is carefully designed and properly executed, franchisors are able to sell franchises and expand rapidly across countries using the resources of their franchisees, earn profits commensurate with their contribution to those societies while greatly minimixing the risk and expense that would be inherent in conventional chain operations. Legal considerations The franchisor is relieved to obtain the necessary licenses and permits to start a new outlets. In some jurisdictions, certain permits are more easily obtained by locally based, owner-operator type applicants while companies based outside the jurisdiction find it difficult if not impossible to get such licences issued to them directly. For this reason, hotel and restaurant chains that sell alcohol often have no viable option but to franchise if they wish to expand to another state. Additionally, the franchisor is relieved of the obligation to carry liability insurance on the independently owned franchise units that produce the gross sales of the franchised system since this is the obligation and responsibility of the franchisees under the franchise agreement. As long as the franchisors operational manuals is followed by the franchisees, the franchisors are generally always protected from any liability for any incident that occurs on the property of the franchisee. Franchisors can sel l franchises without making any representations. Operational considerations Franchisees are said to have a greater incentive than direct employees to operate their businesses because they have a direct stake in the start up of the branded business and the tangible assets that wear the brand name. The need of franchisors to closely scrutinize the day to day operations of franchisees is greatly decreased. Franchisors can increase their profits on the gross sales of the franchisees and avoid the operational expenses for the physical units that wear their brand names. Franchisors can decrease their risk and therefore increase their profits as their franchisees bear the expense of operating the units and the expense of being employers. For franchisees: Employment Opening a franchise is a way of personal business. Quick start As practiced in retailing, franchising offers franchisees the advantage of starting up a new business faster based on a proven trademark and formula of doing business, as opposed to having to build a new business and brand from scratch. A well run franchise would offer from site selection to lease negotiation, training and ongoing support and statutory requirements and troubleshooting. Training Franchisors usually offer franchisees significant training, which is not available for free to individuals starting their own business. Although training is not always free for franchisees, it is sometimes supported through the traditional franchise fee that the franchisor collects and tailored to the business that is being started. When training fees and travel expenses, etc.. are required beyond the initial franchise fee, these fees are deductible as part of the startup expenses of the business. FACTS TO OBJECT DISADVANTAGES For franchisors: Limited pool of viable franchisees In any city, there may be only a limited pool of prospects who have both the desire to purchase and start up a franchised business, as compared to the pool of individuals who can be hired and trained to competently manage directly-owned businesses, as paid employees. However, in periods of recession where traditional good jobs are in short supply, this disadvantage disappears because those who cant find good jobs are willing to invest money in a franchise as a means of self-employment. Control Successful franchising necessitates a much more careful vetting process when evaluating the limited number of potential franchisees than would be required in the hiring of direct employees who may have experience in the concept sector. An incompetent manager of a directly-owned outlet can easily be replaced, while, regardless of the local laws and agreements in place, removing an incompetent franchisee who owns the tangible assets of the business is much more difficult. For franchisees: No guarantee There is no guarantee of financial success for the franchisee made by the franchisor in the written disclosure circular and the actual franchise agreement. While the estimated startup costs of the franchise are an implied earnings claim some franchised outlets do fail. Unfortunately, the unit financial performance statistics are not required to be disclosed to new buyers of franchises and this omission makes it impossible for new buyers of franchises to assess the odds of success and failure of their investment in the franchise in terms of profitability and failure as experienced on a unit basis of the franchise system. Control For franchisees, the disadvantage of franchising is a loss of control. While they gain the use of a system, assistance, training, marketing, the franchisee is required to follow the system and get approval for changes from the franchisor. For these reasons, franchisees and entrepreneurs are very different. A franchisee is merely a temporary business investment where he may be one of several investors during the lifetime of the franchise. In other words, he is renting the opportunity, not buying a business for the purpose of true ownership. Additionally, A franchise purchase consists of both intrinsic value and time value. A franchise is a wasting asset due to the finite term: the franchisor is only obliged to renew the franchise if it chooses to contract for that obligation. Price Starting a franchise business carries expenses. In choosing to adopt the standards set by the franchisor, the franchisee often has no further choice as to signage, uniforms etc. The franchisee may not be allowed to source less expensive alternatives. Added to that is the franchise fee and ongoing royalties and advertising contributions. The contract may also bind the franchisee to such alterations as demanded by the franchisor from time to time. Conflicts The franchisor/franchisee relationship can easily cause conflict if either side is acting in bad faith. An incompetent franchisor can damage its franchisees by failing to promote the brand properly or by squeezing them too aggressively for profits. Franchise agreements is unilateral contracts wherein the contract terms generally are advantageous to the franchisor when there is conflict in the relationship. Summary: Yes, franchising is the best business plan. Why? Franchising your business can be a very successful way of expanding. Some of todays largest businesses have used franchising to finance and accelerate their growth into world brands McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Burger King, Body Glove and the Body Shop. However, franchising must be planned step by step: It must be pilot tested with company owned and operated outlets. Business must be successful, distinctive replicable. Take proper professional advice Solicitor, Banker, Accountant and possibly Franchise Consultant. Take time to write an operations manual. Choose franchisees very carefully and wisely. Avoid overselling and forecasts. Focus on franchisee satisfaction and profitability. Have first class training. Maintain good ongoing relationships. Keep developing the Franchises status and maintain standards. Ensure marketing, advertising and PR are first class. In commercial practice there are some elements which considers fundamental in full business format franchising. These are: The provision to the franchisee by the franchisor of initial training in the operations of the franchised business this is perhaps stating the obvious for the franchisee would not be able to carry on the franchised business without such training. The fact that a franchisee will own their business; the franchisee is the owner of the business although they are obliged to run it in accordance with the franchisors system and under the umbrella of the franchisors name. The franchisee will have to make a capital investment in their business. This is very important. The franchisee must have their own resources at risk. The investment they make must be sufficiently significant in relation to the franchisees total resources for the person to be worried that they might lose it. Conversely they will find motivation in their ability to increase the value of their investment in addition to producing a profit annually. A well-motivated franchisee with their own resources at stake will invariably conduct the business far better than any manager would, to the mutual advantage of themselves and the franchisor. The advantages of franchising for a franchisor may be summarised as: The growth of the network is achieved using the financial and manpower resources of the franchisee; The franchisor is not concerned with the day to day operation of each outlet; The franchisors organization is compact and can earn profits without involvement of high capital risk; The network has an ability to grow rapidly; The franchisor has less staff and its problems; The management of each outlet is the owner who will tend to be well motivated to be successful; It provides wider outlets for products and services; It enables the franchisor to service national customers using their network of outlets. Franchising is an exciting marketing method; when it is properly structured and well run it provides benefits and satisfaction for both parties. It is not an easy route to riches for franchisor or franchisee nor is it a panacea for the ills of a sick business. The establishment of a franchise has to be under-take with skill, patience and capital. The time scale for establishing a franchise system and preparing it for marketing can be as long as two years and it can take another three to six years before the franchisor begins to see net profits and cash flow. The capital requirements of the franchisor have to reflect these time spans. For an example of Franchise Opportunity: RIDPEST is a key player in the pest control industry in Malaysia and the first of its kind to embark on the franchise route. The driving force behind the growth and recognition of the RIDPEST brand is a strong set of corporate values that translates into continued growth for the future. Franchising is undoubtedly one of the fastest-growing sectors of the Malaysian economy. Smart new business owners prefer a franchise, because it helps lower the risks of starting out, and offers savings on things like marketing and purchasing product. Over the years RIDPEST had developed and refined its system to the point where we believe it gives its franchisees the very best chance to build a successful business. CONCLUSION: A proper business plan ensure the long run and success of a business whereas a business which lacks of proper plans and motivation cannot survive in the market and the tough competition the business world have to offer. There are many ways a business plan is introduce and implemented in a trade. However, to have a proper business plan it is necessary that the business plan is on proper format and is not made casually or hastil. ATTACHMENTS: Application forms Franchise loan List of franchisor Panel franchisor Perbadanan Nasional Berhad (PNS) application checklist Sample franchisor letter Graph or chart References of sources References of sources: The franchisors Manual Martin Mendelsohn Masters of Franchising Mark Henricks www.myfranchise.com.my Business For Sale Magazine www.mfa.gov.my Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments Obesity: Causes, Effects and Treatments Samantha Sensing Abstract Looking at the scope of obesity it is complex and often left with quick judgment. The purpose of this discussion is to look at the qualifications of obesity to be a listed as a disease; the impact of the disease (such as cost, statistics, etc.), the behavioral-cognitive aspect, and resolution to the disease. Findings were from journals or the Center for Disease Control. Prior to the research I viewed obesity as a voluntary disease that could be fixed with getting off the couch. During the research of many web-based articles, journals, videos, and statistics I am now on the other side of the fence. Those individuals with obesity are in this situation for a variety of reasons. It would be of more help to support them and raise awareness of the disease and how it is affected behaviorally, environmentally, and from a change in corporate standards. Introduction A growing epidemic in America and Western civilization is one that is self-inflected. Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 29.5 or higher. Based on your height and weight a BMI is often used to determine a person’s level of physical health. There has been a growing trend of those considered overweight (BMI 24.5-28.5) or obese in the United States. More recently there have been heavy debates over the classification of obesity being considered a disease. Disease can be defined as an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant: condition that prevents the body or mind from working (Webster). A research study as listed by the CDC states that as â€Å"weight increases to levels of overweight or obesity the risks of the following also increase: Coronary Heart Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, Cancer, Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, stroke, live and gallbladder disease, sleep apnea, and respiratory problems, osteoarthritis, and gynecological problems.† As we increase in weight we ten d to develop serious health problems. And by referring to the definition of disease we can see that disease can occur or correlate with obesity. Definition of Disease What exactly does the word disease mean? We hear the word frequently. And think in concrete terms of disease as a terrible shortcoming that grapples at the lives of so many undeserving or seemingly healthy individuals. Most people don’t look at a person with a disease in disgust. Or in angst, or shame them. Disease is defined by the Miriam-Webster dictionary as, â€Å"an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant: a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally†. So by definition we can consider the controversial classification of obesity as a disease. The controversy surrounding classifying obesity as a disease rests on the thought that those who are obese can help themselves. Those obese individuals inflicted this upon themselves and so therefore the term disease doesn’t apply. However, comparing the term disease and looking at the qualifications of having a disease, obesity does apply. By having obesity you become at risk for a variety of other diseases or overall health problems. Pathological Impact Obesity rates among American’s and the western world have been rising with exponential growth. In the United States about one-third of U.S. adults (35.7%) are obese and about 12.5 million of children and adolescents are considered obese (CDC). There are many factors in these numbers. Some variables are but not limited to socio-economic status, racial differences, job or career, level of education, and location. Those with a low socio-economic status appear to have greater obesity rates. This is impacted by the affordability of fast-food that offers a meal for a couple of dollars. In comparison a healthy, more nutritious meal could cost an additional $5.00. Obesity related diseases can cause heart disease, stroke, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. (CDC). Aging also impacts higher rates of obesity due to the hormonal and biological changes that take place over time. Mortality rates also seem to be higher for those who are obese and have obesity related diseases. Disabling Obesity An on-going debate in obesity is can these individuals be considered handicapped, and what does it mean to be handicapped. In a study, 2008 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, obesity rates are 58% higher for than adults without disability. And obesity rates for children with disabilities are 38% higher than for children without disabilities. Annual health care costs of obesity that are related to disability are estimated at approximately $44 billion (CDC). By these numbers it is noticeable that there is a correlation between disability and obesity. The term disability can be described as, a physical or mental condition that limits a persons movements, senses, or activities (Merriam-Webster). By definition obese individuals would or could be considered disabled by their own inflictions. However, not all are eligible for the right to receive Social-Security Disability. Those with a BMI over 40 are considered morbidly obese. This category of people tends to have the biggest imp act on their organs and organ systems. Moreover, there seems to be more that meets the eye with obesity trends. While in most cases it is self-inflicted there are a number of people that have a genetic predisposition or thyroid problems. Or they are on medications for another disorder that impacted their weight gain. In the famous case of Cook v. Rhode Island, the courts ruled in favor of a 300lb female, Bonnie Cook, who took to the courts to protect her against discrimination of not being hired due to being obese. The court initially ruled in favor of her potential employer but the jury sided with Cook. So the state took the case to appeals court where they lost their battle protecting the possibility of discriminating against obese applicants. The court stated, â€Å"†¦ voluntariness is not a criterion for determining whether a person is disabled or perceived to be disabled.† (Cordes1994). New ground was broken by the proclamation of disability and obesity being joined together and protected together. The statements went further, â€Å"Voluntariness only comes into play if the condition can be easily controlled by the person†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Cordes 1994). The impact of disease obesity can cause is not a light subject or to be sought as laziness through and through. There is good reas on for obese individuals to be given protection. Responsibility of Employers Another large debate in the issues and impacts of obesity is the responsibility of employer’s. Especially for those whose obesity comes from a sedentary lifestyle. Or perhaps need the preventative measures of keeping obesity at bay. A hot topic on the rise is whether or not employers should be mandated to give employees a work-out period in their schedule. The employers could offer employee’s incentives for utilizing resources (a company gym, discounted memberships, and dietician, walking a company track) and by using the resources keep costs low. Though initially it could be costly to take on the responsibility to offer extra incentives to employee’s it could offer long term potential savings. (Villareal, Apovian, Kushner, and Klein 2005) Those whose companies offer various programs and actively engage in them express more happiness, productivity, a greater quality of life, and overall better health. Better health allows for employee’s to serve their empl oyers better. They use less sick pay, keep insurance premiums low, and are more likely to be in tune with their daily job. So while the initial cost may be high, the long term financial gain of a happy, healthy, productive team is hard not to invest in! Responsibility of Citizens Those who are overweight and obese not only impact themselves but they also impact their peers and fellow citizens. The responsibility of American’s to help those who are suffering from obesity is absent. This is understandable, considering we are not responsible for the actions of others. However, change arrives when other’s no longer stand idly by watching suffering. Those who suffer from addictions or psychiatric abnormalities experience greater success in getting back on track when they have a support group. The more awareness that is raised on the disease of obesity the better society can understand it. Understanding can be in noting that obese individuals are not just self-indulgent lazy people. Most experience other health problems. For some this may include a behavioral or cognitive issue that led them to the weight gain. Or the obesity can be from side effects of medication. (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. 2013) The better we educate ourselves and others on the obesity epidemic the faster we can assist them to a healthier lifestyle. Cost of Obesity The less healthy American’s are, we all pay the price. According to a study in 2008 the annual medical cost of obesity was $147 billion dollars (CDC). This amount spent on health care costs of a disease is breath-taking. And this is just in health care costs. The $147 billion spent annually related to medical costs of obesity does not include time spent out of work, time spent going to the appointments, the extra costs to the families affected by obesity, or worse it doesn’t include the mental cost. Adolescents who are obese experience a greater amount of psychological and social problems. Often (obesity) is linked to the numerous absences from school and is thought to be one of the main reasons for poor performance (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013)). It is also reported that lower IQ scores from children translate into obesity in adulthood (Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013)). The data proves that the cost of obesity is not merely short-term. But the disease continues to impac t those afflicted during obesity and post obesity. Behavioral-Cognitive Aspect The reasons for procuring obesity or an unhealthy lifestyle is often looked at through the behavioral-cognitive perspectives. Behaviorists feel that the bad habits of obese individuals can be unlearned with the right treatment. On the basis that (increased engagement in sedentary activities and overeating) are learned (A.Tamlyn Shields 2009). Moreover they intend for alternate behaviors and encourage a healthier lifestyle (A.Tamlyn Shields 2009). Increasingly, adults and children are more tuned into technology and less in tuned with the outside world. The undying interest in technology leads to a more sedentary lifestyle coupled with high caloric foods. Where individuals should compensate for their inactivity by decreasing their caloric intake, quite the opposite seems to occur. Fattier foods that can be purchased on the go or take little effort to make are easier to consume. In addition to the fact that these foods are overloaded with sugar that act on our brains like a drug. Sugary foods activate the reward system in our brain allowing for a small flood of dopamine to be released. This in turn excites our body and we are left wanting more of the euphoria these foods bring (N.Volkow R.Wise, 2005). Resolving the Problem Trying to undo what has been done to so many American’s by the way of obesity is not an easy task. It at least will require self-determination. While determination of those afflicted may sound easy, it certainly is not. Some ways we can assist are through offering consistent support and intervention for them to seek a combination of behavioral, medical, and physical assistance. With the three, obesity can be reduced by pinpointing the origin of weight gain (medication, health problems, depression, anxiety, and addiction). In addition to mediating with a behaviorist, and ending by increasing physical activity. However, it would be of great assistance to hold businesses more accountable for what they put in the foods they produce. To offer consumers a better, wholesome product would increase profits and company morale. For example the average soda contains about ten of sugar. The American Heart Association states that men should allow up to nine teaspoons of sugar and woman shou ld allow for six teaspoons of sugar a day. Considering the breakfast cereal Honey-Nut Cheerio’s contains about 8.25 teaspoons of sugar before adding the milk. Our daily limit is almost reached before we finish eating breakfast. While sugar is not the only culprit to substantial weight gain it does inspire other health problems. Though it is the consumer’s responsibility to monitor what they put in their own body, it would be of great assistance to hold companies accountable for better products. For many families grabbing a $5.00 hot-n-ready large pizza in less than ten minutes beats spending $20.00 in groceries and forty-five minutes in cooking time. The fast-food industry spent in 2012 $4.6 billion dollars in advertising (Yale News). If companies spent the same amount on promoting healthier options and producing healthier products it would make a large impact on obesity in the U.S. The initial cost may be higher but perhaps we can apply the behavioral perspective and ‘unlearn’ these business practices. Eventually supply and demand would bring the healthier options to a lower cost to produce and consume. While saving many lives and reenergizing American enterprise and American citizens. Conclusion Obesity rates have sky-rocketed in the past twenty years in the United States. Approximately 34.9% of all adults and about 12.5 million children and adolescents are afflicted by obesity (CDC). The prevalence of obesity related disabilities cost the health care system approximately $44 billion dollars annually (CDC). Obesity is defined as having a BMI of 29.5 or higher and is associated with inducing secondary diseases and illnesses that are not always irreversible. The impacts of the disease (or diseases) can afflict suffers with mental illnesses (anxiety, low confidence, depression,) or poorer IQ as children. Combining these together can produce a lower socio-economic status and inspire other problems related to that. Such as housing, careers, quality of life, financial troubles, that is hard to bring oneself out of alone. By offering support or putting together organizations coupled with self-determination we can assist those with obesity. Combined with employer incentives, mediati on, and increased physical activity along with reduction in high caloric foods the rates of obesity and obesity related illnesses could drop. References Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Adult Obesity Facts†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012) â€Å"Causes and Consequences. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/causes/index.html Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Childhood Obesity Facts†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014) â€Å"Disability and Obesity†. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/obesity.html Cordes, R. (1994, January). Obese gain protection under disabilities law. Trial, 30(1), 85. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A14790304v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=e0ef951c3bba192b24df7ad82e0b9d06 Shields, A. T. (2009). Examination of the obesity epidemic from a behavioral perspective. The International Journal of Behavioral Consultation and Therapy, 5(1), 142+. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A214102591v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=5afeed98da8853ac80c820c028538061 Orciari, Megan. (2013). Fast food companies still target kids with marketing for unhealthy products. Yale News. Retrieved from: http://news.yale.edu/2013/11/04/fast-food-companies-still-target-kids-marketing-unhealthy-products Latzer, Y., Stein, D. (2013). A review of the psychological and familial perspectives of childhood obesity. Journal of Eating Disorders, 1, 7. Retrieved from http://go.galegroup.com.stacks.tridenttech.edu/ps/i.do?id=GALE|A323050895v=2.1u=trident_ttcit=rp=AONEsw=wdigest=a511d0c25452f5c5befcf70bb01be8e0asid=7dbe38997361b44ce7cd1a98ad17bfd1 Villareal, Dennis T, Caroline M Apovian, Robert F Kushner, and Samuel Klein. (2005). Obesity in older adults: technical review and position statement of the American Society for Nutrition and NAASO, The Obesity Society. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 82(5), 923-934. Retrieved from: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/82/5/923.full Nescafe Brand: An Analysis Nescafe Brand: An Analysis Nestle promise we commit to everyday, everywhere- to enhance lives, throughout life, with good food and beverages. Nestle was founded in 1866 by Henri Nestle and is worlds leading confectionary, nutrition and food company today. This company is based on Vevey, Switzerland and employing around 280000 people in over 150 countries and running 461 factories or operation in 83 countries. The strategy of the Nestle is guided by several fundamental principles: Innovation and renovation are the basis for the growth of the product balancing the geographic activities and product lines Never sacrificed long term potential, for the short term performance Regardless of the geographical barriers, Nestlà ©s priority is to bring the best and most relevant products to people Nescafe UK Nescafe is one of the renowned brands among various brand produced by the Nestle. The rich taste of your favourite coffee is reflected in its rich history. Generally, coffee is a beverage that has some properties which can energize and revitalized the consumers. In the UK, Nescafà © is targeting basically young adult customers range between 20-35, middle and high class people and also the professional or working executive (who are working very hard). In present context, the biggest challenge for every company is to recover and to survive in the recession, and, Nescafà © is not apart from the current situation. Even though it is still in the profit, companies profit is getting lower due to downfall on the sales the volume of goods sold rose 2.8% in 2008, but down from 4.4% in 2007. Figure 1: Sales trend of Nescafà © The bar chart above shows the continued growth of the sales of the Nescafà © till the second half of the year 2008; but, the profit of the company is gradually decreasing as the sales started to fall by the first half of the year 2009. The main reason behind this problem is the macroeconomic factors like the global recession thats leads to the increase in the inflation rate in UK by 3%-5% (generally, 2-3% of the inflation is acceptable). However, to revive from the current situation, Nescafe has applied various innovative and renovate ideas. Nescafà © even have various brand within the coffee, for example Nescafà © gold, premium, decaff etc. targeting the various range of the customer according to the taste and the preferences. Besides coffee, the company has launched other product such as coffee maker machine, and also following sustainability strategy, refill pack, etc. under Nescafe plan for profit maximization. It is also merging with various other companies like burger king or other businesses using their Nescafe Milano Plan. Following these alternative, Nescafà © is expecting to increase its sales in the second half of the year 2011 by reducing the cost of production, improving the market and price strategy to capture the target markets. A. Alternative Scenarios with regards to the cost of production: The company is having down fall in the sales as the variable cost associated with the cost of production increases due to economic factors like increase in labour cost, raw material, energy bills, cost of packaging, transportation and various other factors. The following table shows the variable cost, represents the minimum cost required to produce 3000 quantity of Nescafà © for the first half of the 2011, which is in increasing order as the quantity produced increases. Material for Production Cost associated 000 Total Cost Variable cost: Raw material (coffee, glass jar, packing paper) Transportation Part time worker Energy Marketing 300 100 50 175 125 750 Fixed Cost Plant and Machinery Building and Renting Full time worker Others 200 100 150 50 500 Total 1250 Figure 2: variable cost associated with production for the 1st half of 2011 Figure 3: Various cost and output (000) As the quantity produced by the Nescafe increases, the cost associated with the variable cost increases, however, the fixed cost remaining the same, results in the reduction of the revenue so it has to either increase the price of the product which leads to decrease in the demand, due to high inflation, the customers has less purchasing power (even though the income has increases, the proportion of the increase in income and inflation is equal) or Nescafe should try to reduce the variable cost associated with the production. Figure 4: Trend of total fixed cost and total variable cost The main challenge of the Nescafà © is to sustain in the competitive market and redeem the profit. The Nescafe plans are followed in order to reduce the variable cost within the micro level: Transportation cost: The global initiatives plan which support the commitment of the Nestle responsible farming, production and consumption. Under this commitment, responsible production is the most foremost steps related to sustainability with environment by producing the refill pack for the various coffee including 150g Nescafà © gold blend and decaff and original which also lures to the reduction in road journey and transportation cost by 50% for the same amount of coffee as one can fit twice refill pack in one pallet. Energy Consumption: Another alternative is to reduce the consumption of the energy using energy saving measure. In this method use the coffee ground as a fuel which supply 20% of the energy. While other method is the use of new innovative technology new refrigeration plant to reduce and improve the processes. Packaging cost: Nescafe is cutting cost of the production by reducing the weight of the glass jar used for the coffee. The approach is use of refill pack made of paper which is cheaper than the glass jar. Thus, by following the above approach the new variable cost associated with the production for the second half of 2011 is shown below: Variable cost Cost Raw material Transportation Energy Part time worker Marketing 241 50 140 50 125 Total 606 Figure 5: New variable cost Figure 6: New cost and output (000) Figure 7: Revised trend of fixed cost and variable cost for 2nd half As comparing the two charts, we can conclude that the Nescafà © is able to reduce the variable cost by applying the various alternatives. At the same level of output e.g. 3000, the variable cost was 750,000 before (fig 4) whereas reduced to 606000 for the second half of the 2011 (fig7). The other various alternatives available for the Nescafe, in macroeconomic concept, can be as follows in terms of: Recession, shift to a plant to the emerging country or the country with the minimal effect of recession such as china or India i.e. slowdown-hit. The company can shift the plant to these country as raw material i.e. coffee can be produced here as well. Employment, in India, the unemployment rates are higher, whereas, china is providing the cheap labour to attract the new investors so the company can really be benefited from the low labour cost.. Political stability: Both of these countries are politically stable. Nescafe cant shift plant to the insecure country as there will always risk of the close down due to civil wars. B. Elasticity of a Nescafe Price Elasticity of supply (PES): is calculated as: PES: % change in quantity supplied % change in price According to table below, the supply elasticity of Nescafà © is less than one which imply that the supply is not responsive towards the price change so its supply inelastic. The change in the quantity demanded is 0.5%, less than the change in price, 0.9%. The Nescafe cannot have extra supplies of the raw material i.e. coffee due to limited suppliers and also depend on the climatic condition, the decision made before about the plantation of coffee that affects the production yield. As the coffee is main ingredient, it cannot switch to other raw material and in other hand; it cannot hold the product for a really long time as product is a consumable and not a lifelong. It can still produce more goods for the same quantity with same cost of production but will be less than as of the supply elastic due to some constraints. Fig 8: Price elasticity of supply Income elasticity of Demand (IED): is calculated as: IED= % change in Quantity demanded % change in Income As per the following table, the income elasticity is between 0 and one which shows that Nescafà © is the normal good and less income inelastic. As the income of the consumer increases, other things remaining constant, the demand of the Nescafà © increases. For instance, the income elasticity of Nescafe is 0.1 as income rises to 10500 from 10000, which implies demand is not very sensitive towards changes in incomes which is the nature of the normal goods. Figure 9: income elasticity Cross elasticity of demand (CED): represent the responsiveness of the demand of the Nescafà © to the change in the price of either complimentary goods e.g. sugar or substitute product e.g. Kenco and calculated as: CED= %change in demand for Nescafà © %change in price of Kenco When the price of the sugar increases, demand of the Nescafà © decreases and vice versa and cross elasticity of demand will be negative, whereas, if the price of the substitute product decreases, the demand for the Nescafà © will increases, and vice-versa, and is positive as shown in table below. Figure 10: cross price elasticity C. Market structure and Strategies: Nescafe shares the attributes of the perfect market structure as it is inelastic to the supply and income of customers with horizontal integration product. The assumptions are: Existence of many firms e.g. Nescafà ©, Kenco, bru, percol, carte noire, super market brand, etc. perfect knowledge about the market and target customers homogenous product but customers distinguish the product with brand name and taste preferences Free entry and exit Nescafà ©s strategy based on the think globally, act locally. According to Keegan and Green Nescafe coffee is marketed as a global brand even though advertisement message and product formulation vary to suit cultural difference. Considering the rival company, Kenco is biggest competitor of the Nescafà ©. The strategy of the Kenco is to produce sustainability product and refill pack instead of coffee jar. Nowadays, customers are more concern about the ethical business and the environment friendly product, so to maintain the current market shares; it has to follow the concept of refill pack and the environment sustainability. Besides these, following are the possible alternatives: Introduced the new product lines and product differentiation. Recently, Nescafe has launched 3 in 1 pack which can be followed with 2 in 1 product. Fair Trade Nescafe can vertically merge with the different company offering different but co-related product. For example, Nescafà © has merged with Burger king, a food chain company that offer Nescafà © coffee to its customers with its food. The other strategy, Nescafe can merge with supermarkets and offer free samples to the customer as a complimentary product and with other businesses using its Nescafe Milano Professionals plan. Provide the customers a taste of coffee at a busy street as a reminder strategy and distribute the free samples. On the other hand, Nescafà © should enhance the vending machine network and should set up in train station, airport and on busy places. Advertisement includes sales promotion, publicity which attracts different target customers. The different advertising is strategies applied according to customers and countries values and beliefs but with same logo and red mug cups. Research and development Enter into emerging market D. Market Segment and price strategy: Nescafe is the UKs prominent coffee brand followed by the other various substitute products like Kenco, percol, super market brand etc. Now, the main customers of coffee are university student, working people or professional but should also try to attract should target people of above the age of the 35 and teenagers to maintain its market share. Figure 11:  ©Ã‚  1995: the new internationalist The possible pricing strategies for the Nescafe are: Competitors and market oriented price: Nescafe should be able to maintain or reduce the price according to the market or competitors. If its price is higher than the competitors, it will affect the demand and profit as well so it should be competitive price. Promotional allowances like offering during the occasions like buy one get one free offers in the super market, offer Nescafà © red mug with 400g of pack, discounts on second purchase. Quality assurance with reasonable price E. Development of Global and Local Market: Nescafà © objectives should be entering in new emerging market as the demand will be high in such country which results in the growth of business. So, the main idea is to expand the business not only locally but globally as well and be the first one to reach new market. Nescafe can take advantage of its product differentiation and brand name, so it can be the leading coffee in few years as availability only of few local competitors. Nescafe is opening its new plant in U.K creating new jobs. While in other hands, Nescafe is opening plant in countries like china, India and Vietnam to strengthen its global plan as these countries have potential to produce raw material, coffee and the really cheap labour cost which results in the low cost of production and high revenue. The taxation rate and government policies should be considered before entering new market, even though china is closed economy, China is flexible towards the taxation policy for the new investors and reduced the tax to 15% for the first three year. However, in context of India, government policies are quite flexible towards the foreign investors. Vietnam is emerging country, its open toward the investors. F. Scenario of Currency Market: During first half of the year 2011, due to soaring in the Swiss franc and down fall in the American dollar, the Nescafes sales pushed first half sales down, As the Nescafe is Swiss company, final transaction is converted to Swiss franc. Even though the U.K has strongest value in the market, the cost associated with the production is also high. Nescafe has to spend more money for the same amount of raw material and operation plant in Britain and relatively less in in India, china or Vietnam. According to exchange rate 1.497 Swiss franc = 1 British pound whereas 1 Swiss franc =58.3121 Indian rupee. So it will cheaper to operate the business in the country with less inflation, where the consumption power will be higher. Thus, Nescafà © should produce the product at the country with low currency value and import it to other countries and the exchange rate difference will raise the profit of the company, Thus shift of the company to India, China or Vietnam will be beneficial for the company.