Family and friends Essay

Katherine had done exercise which was more than necessary. She went to the gym about 5 times a week, which had really been a waste of time, as she was underweight and there was no need for her to exercise. This is because she did not have many calories which needed to be burnt off by exercising. Her diet was mainly made up of; unnourished foods and she did not eat as much as she did not either have the time, or did not enjoy eating at all. She was anorexic and also had the eating disorder of being bulimic. Although, my client is a very clean and hygienic person; she likes working in areas which are clean, and thought this was very important. However, my client was a very heavy smoker and alcoholic. Intellectually:  My client worked 6 days a week and only gets Sundays off to spend with her family and friends. Although, the Sunday Katherine sort off she did not make any use of it as she slept most of the day as she was very tired. My client was a very independent person, and did not at all try to be dependent’s he did not think she was self-worth and she had a low self esteem. Katherine was often stressing about either work or her family this made her become a very paranoid and anxious person. However she was a very hard working person. Emotionally:  Katherine was always depressed because, she is always being caught up in her work. My client does have the ability to go out and socialize; but feels that she does not have the confidence to go out and make new friends. By doing this she thinks bad of herself, which makes her feel disappointed about herself. Katherine was always sad and unhappy, most of the day which did not improve her motherly skills with her children. Socially:  My client had some friends but didn’t have a close nor good relationship with both her family and friends. And had a problem against talking to other people and making new friends, as she did not feel self-worth and didn’t have the self-esteem to boost her confidence. She wouldn’t organize day trips to enjoy her holidays, and whenever she tried something would go wrong.  AFTER:  My client- Katherine Lewis  But now my client is doing more of this. Physically: Katherine now does a regular amount of exercise. My client takes part in more exercise activities; she has also widened her variety in activities, which has been really good for her physical status. She takes part in things like: swimming, aerobics, dance- for about an hour each session, and jogging, walking for about- 30 minutes each day. Katherine has improved her diet dramatically as, she now eats more than usual and has a very spread out and balanced diet plan. Her diet is mainly made up of now, more nutritious and healthy foods; she also replaced her diet of made up of mostly liquids, to fruits and nuts. On the whole Katherine has a stable weight which is really good for her body, and is slowing becoming a much healthier person from before. Intellectually:  My client now gets up earlier and goes to bed quicker, as this refreshes her for the morning activities which lay ahead of her. This also gives her the opportunity to think straight, and get ready for the challenges which may come ahead of her. She has begun thinking more about the positive things in life, rather than always thinking about the negative sides of things. She has stopped stressing so much about her work and home life, so this gives her a better view upon things, such as how to go solve a problem, or how to spend more time with the family. Her intellectual thinking skills, has improved massively, as she feels more confident about herself. Emotionally:  Katherine goes out more, and opens up her feelings much more than she used to. She feels that she has become a more self-assured person, so this encourages her more to go out and spend some time with her family and friends. My client, who used to feel that she had no one to discuss problems with, has now realised that her family and friends are always there to talk to and to confide with. She used to always be depressed, but now has found resolutions to that, and is happier than before. She emotionally is aware that she has many people around her, who will support and provide her with company if she ever needs it. Overall, my client is a supplementary joyful person, than before.  Socially:  Katherine has now started socializing more than she used to. She invites family and friends over to her house, to get to know them better. This has assisted her a lot, in her socializing skills; she goes out more and has meet many new friends; which are all from different backgrounds. She has the confidence, and the assurance to create a relationship with new people.

Response

White's 5 Paragraph Theme Theme This short paper will be in response to my reading of Edward White's â€Å"5 Paragraph Theme Theme† essay. The following paragraphs will Illustrate my opinion of White's Idea, If I think it is an effective means of writing a paper, and If I believe It should be the way all papers, essays, and reports are written. Lastly I will finish up with an overview of what I have discussed.I believe this paper to be well written and thought out. The author follows his own aromatizing of having five parts to his paper and supporting sub-topics, and It's written In an easy to follow logical order that someone could easily duplicate. I am by no means an expert on grammar and punctuation, but It also seemed to be grammatically correct as well. Overall I think his idea of a five-paragraph theme will work for most applications. Do I think it is an effective means of righting a paper?My answer to that is two- fold; as I believe it would work perfectly for shorter reports and essays, but not very long reports that requiring complex thought organization. It is definitely effective in he aspect that White used it as a persuasive essay on convincing you that five paragraphs is the most effective when writing a paper. So, overall I would say yes, it is an effective method of writing a paper, as long as you can effectively convey all the information needed in five paragraphs with three sup-topics each.However, I do not feel it should be used for every type of report or essay. I believe that too ridged of a form can inhibit creativity due to trying too hard to meet a certain format or think of another sub-topic Just to fill a page. This can lead to â€Å"fluff in a report that can diminish its overall effectiveness. For instance when I write I don't do any formatting at all until I'm finished. I feel I can right more freely when I don't have to worry about the specifics, and I can go back and edit everything when finished.This may not be the most effective method of writing a report, but it works for me for right now. I definitely hope to improve in my writing abilities as a result of this class; as I normally struggle with creativity in the literary form and most reports lack luster due to my Inability to elaborate on a given topic. So, to recap, I believe White's paper was well written, organized, and thought out. It Is effective in the persuasion that essays and reports should be written In a five- paragraph format.I understand he did not say this Is the only way to write a paper, but It seems kind of Implied and I do disagree with that. Theme Theme† essay. The following paragraphs will illustrate my opinion of White's idea, if I think it is an effective means of writing a paper, and if I believe it should be formatting of having five parts to his paper and supporting sub-topics, and it's written in an easy to follow logical order that someone could easily duplicate. I am by no means an expert on grammar and punctua tion, but it also seemed to be aromatically correct as well.Overall I think his idea off five-paragraph theme will another sub-topic Just to fill a page. This can lead to â€Å"fluff' in a report that can diminish its overall effectiveness. For instance when I write I don't do any formatting at all until I'm finished. I feel I can right more freely when I don't have to worry about inability to elaborate on a given topic. It is effective in the persuasion that essays and reports should be written in a five- paragraph format. I understand he did not say this is the only way to write a paper, but it seems kind of implied and I do disagree with that.

Questions Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Questions - Coursework Example Southwest Airlines is the countrys biggest transporter that serves domestic travelers. The Company works the biggest fleet of Boeing aircrafts on the planet, most of which are fixed with satellite based Wi-Fi, enabling customers to connect their devices while travelling. Southwest Airlines strives to offer its clients quality customer care experience. This is to enable the travelers to feel free and to interact with Southwest Airlines staff and seek for assistance where necessary. According to Kumar (2008), many customers will refer others and choose to acquire the services of the same provider if they feel that the company involved values them and treats them with respect and dignity. The falling fuel prices also contributed to the increased profitability of Southwest Airlines in the year 2013. Lower fuel prices reduce the costs of operations. Southwest airlines have also adopted new technology that plays a crucial role in minimizing the fuel consumption. According to Vasigh, Taleghani & Jenkins (2012) the aviation high fuel costs continue to affect the profitability of companies in the aviation industry. Streamlined designs that diminish fuel-wasting drag, persistent upgrades in engine configuration decrease fuel utilization and expand proficiency . Southwest airline has vast investments in the airline industry. Southwest airlines which also own Air Tran has a combine fleet of 680 airplanes, most of which are Boeing. The companys engagement with several airport improvement projects also improves its liquidity. Southwest airline has established its offices at the Dallas mines field, a premise that is well situated and accessible to its clients. A wide stakeholder stock also provides the airline with sufficient financial resources to operate effectively in the industry. According to Peterson (2002), a company needs to be able to identify its assets and account for them effectively. Southwest Airlines properly indicates and includes

TED talks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TED talks - Essay Example As a means of understanding the speakers approach, this particular essay will focus upon a brief summary and analysis as well as discussion of the tactics employed by Charlie Todd and seeking to analyze whether the author agrees or disagrees with such tactics and based upon what grounds. It is the hope of this author that such a level of analysis will help the reader to integrate a more solid understanding and integration with the approach that Charlie Todd takes and whether or not such an approach is applicable within society and if so – to what degree. Furthermore, the analysis will seek to determine whether or not Todd’s approach is necessarily right or wrong. Ultimately, Charlie Todd moved to New York City as a means of kick starting an acting career. Seeing that entering the entertainment industry in New York City was much harder than he had anticipated, Todd sought to begin improv performances at various locations throughout New York as a means of integrating such a level of active acting participation directly with society; who he believed were ultimately the target market for any acting that takes place. In such a way, the â€Å"Improv Everywhere† group was born. ... Accordingly, the overall level of passion that Todd brings to the performances is ultimately infectious and helps to engage fellow shareholders within the participatory nature of his improv. A fact that strikes the viewer as odd in an ear that is so typically driven by greed and the level of money that any form of leisure or entertainment can ultimately be defined by. The joining activity which Todd relates to the viewer is ultimately the very crux of the point that he is trying to make. Rather than merely exhibiting a series of funny videos and situations to elicit a few laughs, the participatory nature of the entire experience is, according to Todd, what helps it to all make sense and be funny not only to the onlookers but also to the participants. This strikes at a central issue which helps to differentiate what Todd and his group do as compared to so many comedians within the current system. Whereas the comedian is interested in making people laugh by integrating them with jokes and/or funny situations, Todd’s improv allows both the participant and the recipient of the situation to realize and appreciate the funny and/or amusing aspects of what is taking place. Whereas Todd wanted to begin his career in New York City as an actor integrating with a traditional audience, he relates to the viewer the sudden and rather unexpected means by which this dream transformed in order to reveal his true talents and interest in the improve groups he was able to establish and direct. With regards to an analysis and statement of agreement with regards to the actions undertaken by Charlie Todd, it is the belief of this author that the improv group is ultimately a highly positive idea. Firstly, it allows individuals who would otherwise be hapless bystanders to take an active and

Application of Criminological Theory Case Study

Application of Criminological Theory - Case Study Example On my part, I would have opted to expel Robert immediately. However, my background in criminology prevents me from doing so. Theories of criminology are like lenses of different shades, sizes, and colors. They allow professionals and practitioners to look at an issue with a wider perspective. This is what I am obliged to do. I will consult the different applicable theories, compare and contrast their approaches, and finally I will state my decision in this hypothetical situation. In many ways, some of these theories contradict each other. Sometimes, they complement each other. Nevertheless, these should be thoroughly studied so that growth in knowledge can be attained. And, it is true: criminology can really be applied to many situations; it is not just a course for would be police officers or Crime Scene Investigation people. Strain is the pressure on disadvantaged minority groups and the lower urban populous to take advantage of any effective available means to income and success that they can find even if these means are illegal (Akers, 2000, in Collins, n.d.). With this theory, perhaps, Robert's disadvantaged origins game him a social stigma. Perhaps, I should look whether this student he beat up had previous mischief done to Robert, Robert just kept quiet, and he retaliated because he does not trust his teachers. But this is insufficient in itself. After all, this is just a hypothesis, and I must verify this later. Classical School of Criminology The classical school simply states that criminal behavior arises from the animal side of us. Humans are rational, but they usually act with their self-interest in mind. Consequently, if people are informed of the consequences of certain actions, they will avoid doing it. Thus, the concept of deterrence arises from the Classical School. Deterrence means a crime can be avoided by making sure that people are aware that punishment for a certain crime is so severe that doing it is not really worth it. (The Classical School, 1998). Perhaps, Robert is not really aware of the consequences of such anti-social behavior. If so, I will consider emphasizing to the students the consequences of such behavior. My would-be initial reaction would not be a far-fetched choice after-all. If this theory were to be followed, the school must punish Robert so severely so that no other student, privileged or not, will ever consider doing such behavior in the future. Also, in such event, I will review whether the disciplinary system is outdated and ineffective. I will form a committee to draft a new set of disciplinary rules, if such conclusions are also reached in an investigation. William Sheldon: Body Shapes Simply put, certain features of the body are determinants of criminal behavior. In particular, criminals usually have big, athletic, or overweight bodies. However, this theory is put in doubt. Some theories say that instead of Sheldon's somatype, it should be body mass index. (Maddan, S., Walker, J., and Miller, J., 2008) But this theory is not applicable since Robert is not really that huge or overweight or athletic. He is just an average guy, if you do not know

Emphysema lung disease Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Emphysema lung disease - Essay Example Chronic exposure to cigarette smoke decreased elasticity of the lungs and destroys the alveoli. Another cause of emphysema is deficiency of alpha-1-antitrypsin, a substance that fights a destructive enzyme in the lungs called trypsin. An alpha-1-antitrypsin deficient person cannot fight the destructive effects of trypsin and the lung is slowly destroyed. Though the role of genetics in the development of emphysema is unclear, alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency may be inherited. Other causes of emphysema are air pollution, abnormal airway reactivity, sex and old age. Air pollution has similar effect on the lungs like cigarette smoke. The pollutants will inflame the airways and destroy the lung tissues. Abnormal airway reactivity, such as bronchial asthma, can lead to emphysema. The differences between male and female hormones are suspected to make more men develop emphysema than women. It is also found that lung function normally declines with age, that lung tissues are destroyed as one gets old and this condition will lead to emphysema. The most common symptom of emphysema is shortness of breath. Due to the collapse of the chest wall, a person with emphysema has to struggle to exhale completely because his airways are close when exhaling. In the advance case of emphysema, a person may engage in "purse-lipped breathing" wherein the person purse his lips, leaving only a small opening. When exhaling, the lips block the flow of air and increase pressure in the collapsed airways. Since air is trapped behind obstructed airways, a person with emphysema may develop a "barrel chest" where the distance from the chest to the back becomes more pronounced. Other symptoms are cough and wheezing and decrease in tolerance for exercise.When experiencing shortness of breath, decrease in the ability to exercise or perform daily activities, a persistent cough or wheezing, consult your doctor since these may be indicative of other diseases such as heart problem and other lung diseases. The doctor can also help in formulating a plan to quit smoking. Watch out if the lips, tongue, fingernails, or skin turn blue since these indicate cyanosis or severe worsening of your lung condition. If these symptoms are seen, rush to the hospital's emergency department. If the doctor suspects emphysema in a patient, he will recommend physical examination, with particular focus on breathing sounds, heart sounds, and general physical appearance. A number of tests may be ordered or performed such as chest x-ray, lung function tests, bloods tests. These tests will gauge the extent of the disease, the remaining lung function, and the presence of lung infections. Looking at the chest x-ray results, the doctor can identify changes in the lungs that may indicate emphysema, detect presence of an infection or a mass in the lung (such as a tumor). The lung function tests will give specific information on how the lungs are working mechanically. In the lung function test, the patient is made to breathe into a tube that is connected to a computer or some other monitoring device. The lung function tests measure how much air the lungs can hold, how quickly the lungs can expel air during expiration, and how much reserve capacity the lungs have for increased demand such as during exercise. The blood tests will check white blood cell count, which in turn indicates an acute

How are the banks affecting the US economy thanks to the TARP and Essay

How are the banks affecting the US economy thanks to the TARP and other bailouts from the US government - Essay Example This research report looks into the bank effects on the United States Economy, after the bailout plan, and how the banks have coped with the plan in their economic functions which according to Fusan, R., (2008, pg 1095), include netting and settlement of payments, through collection and paying agents for customers, clearing and settlements of payments which enables them to economize on reserves held for such settlements of payments, since inward and outward payments offset each other. They also play a vital economic role in credit intermediation, through borrowing and lending back-to-back on their own account as middlemen. Therefore, with the economy maimed to the point where the bank roles were threatened, the Government through its responsibility as the economic overseer intervened to allow them to borrow more on demand debt as well as short-term debt and to provide more long term loans. The borrowed money would mainly maintain cash reserves, invest in marketable securities that can be readily converted into cash if needed and raising replacement funding as required from various sources such as whole sale cash markets and securities market (Fusan, R., 2008, pg 1102) According to Alfred and Yalata, (2009, pg 300), the banks that agreed to receive preferred stock investments from the US Treasury included Goldman Sachs Group Inc, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Bank of New York Mello

Compare and contrast the role of a Nurse Practitioner and a Essay

Compare and contrast the role of a Nurse Practitioner and a Physician's Assistant - Essay Example Physician assistants carry out their practice in partnership with medical practitioners and work in almost all specialties in the field of medicine. Physician assistants are trained in such a way that they can play the roles of a physician if need be. Creation of the physician assistant unit was crucial in many regions since the number of medical practitioners is considerably low. Additionally, this helped many countries provide health care in rural areas, inner sections of the city, as well as other areas where there are shortages of medical practitioners. As opposed to physician assistants, nurse practitioners tend to be somehow independent on their practice and are less reliant on physicians. Just like physician assistants, nurse practitioners can play most of the roles played by a physician. This paper focuses on comparing nurse practitioners and physician assistants by considering aspects such as their roles, education, job description, and scope of practice, job opportunities, and the scope of the practice. Education Education wise, a physician assistant is required to undergo a training program that takes about 26 months. Additionally, the physician assistants are required to have passed the national certified exam and holder of practice license. Furthermore, physician assistants are supposed to have accomplished clinical rotation in different specialties (Buppert, 2005; Miller & Kelli, 2012). A nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who has attained a master’s degree in nursing in addition to extensive clinical experience. The extensive clinical experience should be gained during the 12 to 16 months that nurse practitioners are supposed to spend treating mild as well as serious illnesses while under an instructors observation (Hooker, Cawley, & Leinweber, 2010; Buppert, 2005). Job Description Physician assistants are trained and certified health care professional that are supposed to work under the supervision of medical physician. On the other hand, nurse practitioners are trained and registered nurses who are certified and can thus conduct medical as well as operational tasks with minimal or no supervision from a physician. Physician assistants work in a wide range of medical fields. Majority of them are involved in providing primary care. Other duties may fall in other units such as assisting in surgical procedures, practicing internal medicine, emergency medicine, as well as in pediatric subspecialties. They may practice in hospitals, group physician practice, in rural or community health centers or as solo physician practice (Hooker, Cawley, & Leinweber, 2010; Buppert, 2005). Nurse practitioners are free to practice as private physicians after being certified. They also serve in the hospital inpatient and outpatient. Additionally, nurse practitioners work in rural health clinic where they offer community-based primary care. They can also work in the emergency department (Buppert, 2005). Role Responsibility Physician assistants practice in association with medical practitioners or physicians. Their role is interdependent with that of the physicians in what is described as â€Å"negotiated performance autonomy.† The roles of a physician assistant include taking the medical history of a patient and carrying out other investigations regarding the patients’ health. They are also responsible of examining the patients, assisting the physician in offering treatment to the patients, ordering

Educator Role Strategic Plan Presentation Research Paper

Educator Role Strategic Plan Presentation - Research Paper Example There are two basic reasons to this, firstly the healthcare has gone phenomenal advancements and secondly the public awareness on the issue of health and safety had never been so vivid like we experience it today. However, the basics criterion to meet these challenges has not changed much and that it requires your whole hearted commitment to the profession even today. Being an educator, you are required to enable and enrich others through your contribution and personal example and develop and prepare them for the challenges of the nursing profession. To be a good educator you first need to be good learner and should have the capacity to correct and develop skills of the trade instantly and for this you have to have some personal qualities. Therefore, to assess the personal capabilities and tendencies it is important to have a self criticism before choosing yourself as a right candidate for the nursing educator role. This self assessment and knowledge of personal guts and shortcomings is vitally important for a strategic plan of next few years so that you can realistically set your future goals. I had started my professional career some fifteen years ago as an associate nurse in a local hospital. Throughout my professional career I found myself quite comfortable with the demands and routines of the trade. Perhaps all these things have now become a second nature for me and I enjoy my job as nursing supervisor. This long experience in the field of nursing has give birth to many personal qualities and have additionally polished my thrust for knowledge. As a nurse you have to adopt several roles during your career and none of those role can be performed without profound knowledge and expertise of the field. My career has grown me into a nurse of solid clinical background and I have been performing my duties to the highest satisfaction of my seniors. So I find it quite soothing that my love for knowledge and professional competence can support me in my future goal ac hievements. But this comes with responsibilities and I found myself compelled to enhance my educational competence. Another important skill that my profession has inculcated into my personality is to learn and share in team environments. This has brought me multifaceted benefits as a learner as well as a trainer. I have been working many a times in such capacities where I had to train my junior colleagues and have found myself quite comfortable with the job. Teaching has been an enjoyable experience for me. It had not only imparted knowledge to me but has also given me confidence to adopt it as my professional career. The communication skills are indispensible for any such role in my future and though there it had been quite easy going for me while communicating and sharing knowledge with others I have identified few gray areas as well where I have to address certain issues with my communications skills. Additionally, my inability to avoid debates in certain environments may cause s erious problem in the attainment of my strategic targets. It is always advisable to get rid of unhealthy discussions; discussion just for the sake of discussion. Secondly, more often than not I find it very difficult to resist sleep. This obviously, I am talking about the extra bit of laziness while having completed a healthy sleep

Benefits of TV media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benefits of TV media - Essay Example Learning about different cultures is very important in the present age because today we live in a multicultural society. We have to frequently interact with people from different parts of the world both in the workplace and otherwise. TV helps a lot in promoting our relations with people from other cultures by making us aware of their norms, values and traditions. In the present age, when all of us are extremely busy and do not often get much time to spend with our family members, shared viewing of TV programs provides us with one big opportunity to be together. This strengthens the bond between family members and inculcates a sense of unity in the family members. TV programs promote learning by enabling children to see what they read about in their books. Without a visual image of the subject in mind, children are not able to develop the concepts as objectively as they do when they know what the subjects of discussion in the book look like. For example, Harry Potter series has been included in the English literature curriculum in a lot of elementary schools worldwide. Children are better able to learn the story when they can relate the incidents to individual characters they see in the Harry Potter movies. What authors take pages to explain is conveyed to the audience in one image. There is a lot of difference between imagining what quidditch looks like and actually view it being played in the movie. A vast majority of TV shows and dramas revolve around a central message that is of huge moral significance. Many people do not follow the advice of their elders because they do not realize how important it is, but when they see how their actions and words can impact others’ as well as their own lives, they tend to learn the lesson for good. TV shows and dramas not only create awareness, but also provide people with useful advice that benefits them in practical life when they act upon it. There has recently been a lot of debate about whether or not to offer sex education in public schools. This and several other topics like sex education are very controversial and are often not discussed with children. The resulting lack of awareness has its own consequences. TV programs are playing a fundamental role in doing their bit to make people aware of the sensitivity of these issues. Many people would not have been of the view to have their children provided with sex education in school had they not seen TV programs to convince them for the same. In addition to this, TV programs themselves are a very strong means of education for people regarding all sorts of controversial topics. In the contemporary age, people have a greater understanding of local and international political issues. The fundamental reason behind this is the TV news and talk shows. These days, one can see talk shows on a daily basis on the TV. Everyday, these talk shows are prepared for totally new and innovative topics. Most of the times, they discuss most recent issues of n ational or international political significance. Thus, people are able to not only know what is happening in their country and across the globe, but also they can critically analyze these events and happenings by listening to the commentary and criticism of the anchors and experts. Concluding, TV is an extremely important source of education, entertainment and rapport building in the present age. Modern age is characterized by increased awareness and TV happens to be the fundamental promoter of the same. Parents can draw optimum

Failed Products Essay Example for Free

Failed Products Essay A clothier, such as Levi Strauss, that has been around for 150 years is bound to have their share of hits and misses because fashion is terribly fickle and largely unpredictable. But this doesn’t mean you should ignore your target audience. In late 2002, Levi Strauss began a massive marketing push to launch what was being touted as one of the company’s most significant launches in history, Type 1 Jeans. The line unnecessarily went to great lengths to accentuate all those signature design details already long-associated with Levi’s, such as the red tab logo, buttons, rivets, and the two-horse back patch. To accompany the launch, Levi Strauss spent $2 million on an artsy, misguided  Super Bowl commercial  that confused viewers. Going against common practice, they placed Type 1 in retailers with inconsistent prices, ranging from $30 at a retailer like JC Penney’s to over $100 at Barney’s, with no discernable difference in quality. Levi Strauss pulled the entire line after less than two years and Type 1 proved to be the proud clothier’s most spectacular flop. How marketing can cause a product to fail? I have discussed in the past many good examples of  marketing helped a product to succeed. Apple is the first brand that comes to mind when we talk about marketing. The communication and design of the products has led to its wide spread success and Apple becoming one of the  most valuable companies in the world. But what about marketing failures? For every Apple there are many products that fail due to bad marketing strategies. In this piece I would like to discuss one of them-  The TATA Nano. - In a recent trip to Sri Lanka, I saw the TATA Nano being used extensively as a Taxi. As I asked around the average Sri Lankan felt that the Nano though a good car  did not carry enough prestige to be a passenger car. And this they felt was a result of the positioning taken by the marketing managers of the brand. As I look back at the previous campaigns for the Nano, it suddenly struck me that Nano was a consumer behavior assessment failure. The brand managers positioned the car as the next upgrade for a family of four with a two wheeler. But every such household had an aspiration to move to something better and not necessarily cheaper. Even if the consumer was in that income bracket, he aspired for something cooler. This point was not taken into consideration while the brand managers were coming up with the positioning. The next campaign focused on the tier 2 cities with bad roads and little or no inclination to move things along. This further hit the car sales. Finally now the Nano has been positioned as a cool car to have fun with. Also the colors and the powerful AC are being positioned as the differentiators along with the classic adage of better fuel efficiency that has helped its sales. I personally feel that positioning a product or service would be a strong spin off from consumer behavior and without understanding the hopes and aspirations of the masses a product is bound to not have the stickiness factor. TATA Nano was a classic case of a product manager who chooses not to respect the aspirations of his prospective consumers. A famous marketer once told me that â€Å"A man buys a car for what he wants to be and buys a house based on what he is†.

Asda Stores Ltd Is A British Supermarket Marketing Essay

Asda Stores Ltd Is A British Supermarket Marketing Essay In the year 1999 ASDA became a subsidiary of the American retail giant Wal-Mark the worlds largest retailer, and is now known to be the second largest chain in the UK. A survey done in December 2010 showed that 16.5% of UK grocery shoppers used ASDA for their main shopping needs, as they were attracted to ASDAs special offers. ASDAs marketing promotions have most of the time been on its price. They have been known as Britains lowest priced supermarket for the past thirteen years. Since ASDA is a fully owned part of Wal-Mart, it does not required to declare quarterly or half-yearly earnings, and submits full accounts to Companies House each October. Organizational Structure and Culture Organizational Structure ASDAs organizational structure is a hierarchical structure. This is because it has a lot of employees working in various departments of the company. Therefore there information has to pass through many people before it can reach the store manager. For an example, a co worker has to report to the supervisor, the supervisor has to report to the assistant manager/manager, the assistant manager/manager reports to the store manager. A hierarchical structure has many levels. Each level is controlled by one person. A hierarchical company tends to be a very big company just like ASDA. ASDA culture ASDAs culture is unique from other organizations in many ways. ASDA has a team of over one hundred and seventy thousand working across the business. All employees wear a name badge, and have daily huddles to keep up to date on their performance. They strictly follow three beliefs that are, service to our customers, respect for the individual, strive for excellence. ASDA believes that their customers are at the heart of everything they do and that their purpose is to make sure that all their goods and services to be as affordable as possible. They strongly believe that it is a culture to work as one team to support their stores, drawing on the strengths and experiences of individuals and sharing them with each other. When it comes to ASDAs attitude, they believe in commitment, where great ideas can be put into action. They like to find out ways to do things, rather than looking for reasons not to do them. ASDA believes in huddles, and uses it to keep everyone informed about the business performance. They use huddles to communicate their key activities for the day and help them remain focused and achieve the set goal for the day. Huddles also give them the opportunity to acknowledge and celebrate team and individual success. Every employee working at ASDA group Ltd wears a name badge. They believe that it makes it easier to be approached when wearing a name badge. ASDA holds The Big Bruch which is their quarterly huddle that is held at the ASDA House in Leeds. This gives the employees the opportunity to share important information in a fun and relaxed way. Normally the Big Bruch starts with a performance in the ASDA Houses atrium. Staffs working at ASDA are not pressurized to wear a jacket, as they believe that jackets are a barrier to be approached. ASDA believes in something called the ten foot rule, where if someone is within ten feet from an employee, it can be anyone, either another employee or a customer or a supplier, they should always say hello. They believe that it helps build an atmosphere of friendliness and respect, and after all it only takes a second. Business Model ASDAs business model is quite similar to any other big organizations business model, although the online business can be a little more complex. ASDAs e-commerce platforms support online shopping for both general merchandise (George clothing) and as well as groceries. The grocery business is operates out of one hundred and seventy five stores, and delivers to the local areas within each store, where they use nine-hundred delivery vehicles to cover up to 95% of all UK postcodes. The ASDA Direct business trades around seven hundred and fifty thousand stocked and stockless products in partnership with other third party and carrier specialists. Currently they do home deliveries, but have plans for the future, where the customer will also have the option to place the order online and pick it up from any ASDA store. They launched their first ASDA Direct catalogue in October 2010 and plan to use this to market the proposition ongoing. Global Visibility ASDA Stored Ltd is a huge scale business, but may not be as big as the new Super Stores, where you can find other additional facilities like launderettes etc. But ASDA is known to be a huge scale business as they provide services in many different sectors. While retailing in groceries and general merchandise, they also have a travel and insurance section, pharmacy section, opticians section and also their own mobile network provider. ASDA has two hundred and ninety three stores operating in the UK and has over one hundred and seventeen thousand employees. They also have many stores abroad in different countries but operate under different names, but sell the same products. Business Alliances Major business alliance of ASDA is George Davies partnership. All the clothing section of ASDA is Georges. The partnership was started in 65 stores in February 1989. ASDA became a part of wal-mart group in the year 1999. Business Process ASDAs business process is structured of four types: Customers Operating Model Colleagues Shareholders (i) Customers When it comes to their customers, ASDA believes in Treating the customers happily. Keeping the goods available to the customers at any time. Providing best quality of goods. Providing the products cheaply. (ii) Operational Model Maintain prices lower when compared to other competitors. Maintaining lower prices at any circumstances. (iii) Colleagues Providing good environment at the work place. Willing to work with others in a professional way. (iv) Shareholders Maintaining new formats Enriching return on investment Step 02 SWOT Analysis for ASDA I N T E R N A L Strengths Cost advantage Can afford to lower prices to attract new customers. Innovation Online growth Online shopping becoming a lot more popular and ASDA has a good secure website. Loyal customers Loyal customers coming back again and again purchasing from the business Strong brand equity Strong financial position Supply chain Pricing Affiliation to Wal-Mart Mini Cafes (Restaurants) Weaknesses Quality of food substandard Not having petrol stations(Tesco etc has) No Express stores (Tesco etc has) No stores abroad with same name E X T E R N A L Opportunities Product and services expansion Takeovers Diversity to Petrol stations Opening Express Stores Expansion abroad by opening stores abroad with same name Threats Competition Economic slowdown External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc) Exchange rate fluctuations Price wars Product substitution Porters Five Forces Model POTENTIAL ENTRANTS (Treat of Mobility) SUPPLIERS (Supplier Power) BUYERS (Buyer Power) SUBSTITUTES (Treat of Substitutes) INDUSTRY RIVALRY Industry Rivalry Current Competitors: Tesco, Sainsbury, Marks and Spenser Growing industry possibility of new competitors Customers have low switching costs Fixed cost are high resulting huge production and reduction in prices Exit barriers are high and rivals stay and compete Possible Solution for ASDA to avoid competitive rivalry between their competitors (Tesco etc): They should avoid price competition ASDA should differentiate their products By reducing industry over-capacity They should focus on different segments Also they should communicate with their competitors New Entrants Potential competitors with capital requirements to start a business is less Selling of same/similar products or services Customers can easily switch (low switching costs) Price competition Possible ways that ASDA may reduce the threat of new entrants By increasing sales efficiency Have alliances with other products and services Create a brand image (they do have it) By tying up with their suppliers By typing up with their distributers End users/buyers Buyers purchasing in bulk quantity No differentiation in products Buyers can easily switch to competitors product Price sensitive buyers Very low cost (would think twice) Possible ways for ASDA to reduce the bargaining power of their customers ASDA should increase their customer loyalty Use of customer relationship management By increasing incentives and value added services for their customers Suppliers Suppliers being strong and well organized Suppliers can demand when not many suppliers of that particular product is available Suppliers can demand when they supply an effective or unique product When the switching cost of supplier is high When the supplier has captured the market Possible ways for ASDA to reduce the bargaining power of their suppliers ADSA should create partnerships with their suppliers ASDA should use a supply chain management Providing supply chain training By increasing dependency of supplier on them By building knowledge of their supplier costs and methods By taking of a supplier Substitutes Customers can switch when there are many substitute products available in the market When customers find the same product or service for a cheaper price elsewhere Better quality products found at a competitor Competitor earning high profits can reduce price of the substitute product to the lowest level Possible ways for ASDA to reduce the threats of their substitutes By increasing switching costs Having customer surveys to learn customer preferences Emphasize on differences Alliances with other companies Step 03 Bringing competitive advantage through cloud computing What is cloud computing? Cloud computing is an online form of computing and is closely associated with Web 2.0. It enables users to access applications using a browser, while the application is installed and stored along with the data on a server. This helps companies to reduce their capital costs, by not having the need to purchase software and hardware. Cloud computing has become a whole new form of computing where it allows thousands of users from all parts of the world to access something without the need of having to download and install them on their computers. Advantages of cloud computing Reduced cost. It would help ASDA Stores Ltd to receive secure, managed hosting at a very low cost. Also they are able to access it from any computer and still have the file they require. This also makes it easier for the company as they do not have to reproduce the software and ship out to all its branches. By using cloud computing it would help ASDA to reduce it cost and only pays a rent to the server space required. When ASDAs requirements grow they do not have to purchase any additional hardware in order to upgrade their servers, which may also help them keep the cost down. Cloud computing automatically updates the servers for the owners. Therefore owners no longer have to hire specialists to update their servers. Cloud computing is mobile. It lets its users at ASDA connect with any device, which means they can do their work from any part of the world as far as they have access to the internet. This could save time and also information to be up to date. ASDA users can log onto the network without having to download anything. This saves them time and hard drive space. An important feature of cloud computing is that companies share recourses. This means that they are allowed access to the resources via cloud computing. This also helps ASDA save time and money by placing all their resources in one place which makes it easy for its employees to access. It benefits ASDA to keep their files safe on their servers and less likely to be lost or stolen on a hard drive. The server will have an offsite backup in case something goes wrong. Therefore ASDA does not have to worry about losing any information. Disadvantages of cloud computing Additional cost of data transfer fees Another disadvantage about cloud computing is that you do not have control over the remote servers, their software, or their security The companys data is with a third-party company It may be hard to transfer large amounts of data from the provider. Transforming competitive advantage with social media What is social media? Social media integrates the online technology and methods through which people can share content, give their personal opinions and swap different perspectives. Social media website can be made up of many ways. They may include: Text often used to share opinions or post on blogs Images to share images and photos Audio allows you to create podcasts which users may download Video you may record a video and share it with everyone Nowadays some of the most popular types of social media websites are of: Social networking such websites allow you to create a profile of yourself and chat, discuss and also share information with others. A few examples of popular social networking sites are FaceBook, MySpace, Bebo. Wikis they are websites that lets you create, edit and share information on a particular subject or topic. An example of wikis is Wikipedia. Video Sharing you may upload and share videos with the web community. An example of such website is YouTube. Photo Sharing Users may upload pictures and images from their account and can share them with other users around the world. An example of such website is Flickr. News aggregation Provides a list of the latest news that is published by users from a range of different websites. An example of a news aggregation website is Digg. Social Bookmarking users of such sites are allowed to publicly bookmark web pages that they may find valuable or interesting and share them with other users. Online gaming Lets users do play games online. An example of online gaming is World of Warcraft. Presence apps Such websites lets users to post micro blog-like posts and tell others what they are doing. An example of such website is Twitter. Advantages of Social Media It is said that Asda.com home shopping service serves 97% in the country. ASDA launched financial services such as providing personal loans, general insurance, life insurance and credit cards. Its aim is to take trouble out of financial planning and insurance and to offer cheap prices. ASDAs thinking about social media: Issues get alerted in a brilliant way. Informing things to head office and as well as store level. Strategy is enough for digital world, no need of digital strategy. Be prepared to face good or bad. Some future ways of ASDA Communication: ASDA may create blogs, in order to get feedback from customers etc. They may promote themselves through social networks such as facebook etc. They also may use multimedia or photography in order to advertise their company. And also could allow their customers to comment on their products. This way they may be able to see what their customers think about their products and services and may change it according to customer requirements. Can mobility bring competitive advantage? What is Mobility? Mobility solutions gives people the opportunity to access the companys information from anywhere in the world at anytime in a flawless and secure manner. By making information accessible from anywhere in the world, it can be guaranteed that employees would not have to wait for the data to reach them in other means when making an important decision. Another use of mobility applications is that it can be used to capture delayed or lost information. In the past mobility once used to refer to notebooks. Although notebooks have a positive side, they have several limitations to what they can do. They can be bulky to carry around, expensive, they require a data connection in order to connect to the internet and also most of the time have a low battery life. Nowadays most of us have replaced the use of notebooks with powerful, with a much longer battery life hand held devices such as PDAs and Smartphones. Users can connect to the internet from their cellular networks signal or may also have the option of connecting via Wi-Fi. In most companies Email is the most important application when it comes to mobility. Therefore in most companies the senior management have been equipped with Blackberry and other similar devices with push email technology, which helps easy access to their emails. Even the middle and junior level management can only benefit in mobility solutions in order to guarantee higher levels of productivity and efficiency. Mobility applications can consist of various functionalities such as Sales force autonation, customer relationship management, logistics tracking and planning, performance tracking, push alerts and much more. Using these types of applications can be as easy as typing SMS or as powerful as hi-tech applications running on Smartphones. Before a company can go ahead with the use of mobility solutions, it first needs to consider several restrictions. The company needs to first evaluate which of its business processes require the access to information (PCs). For an example the sales function where the staff requires the latest and accurate information, while having limited access to the companys IT network. After evaluating what business processes require access to information (PCs), the company then has to decide what form of applications they will consider. For some business processes of the company, plain SMS-based querying might be enough. This means the application may be installed on the existing mobile phone that most of the companys staff are having. But if the mobile phones do not have to complexity to hold such softwares, the company might have to provide complex machines such as PDAs or smartphones in order to be able to use such softwares. But for other business process in the company may need of much high tech equipment than a PDA or smartphone. But mobility can also sometimes have a negative side to it. Some employees would take a long time to get used to using such mobile devices, and some employees may not like using such devices, this may have a negative effect on the company. Since the devices are mobile, there are possibilities of thefts or losing the devices. And since it may contain valuable company information, it may be a huge concern to the company of losing such equipment. But to overcome such incidents and to protect their data, companies may install a password based access into the devices, and also have firewalls to avoid hacking. These are some possible ways of protecting the companys data. Step 04 Our business strategy for ASDA consists of three steps Analysis Integration Implementation (i) Anaysis In the analysis part, in order to develop a business strategy for ASDA, we are going to use the SWOT analysis we did in step 2. Using the SWOT analysis, it will help us gather, analyze and evaluate information and identify strategic options that ASDA is facing. We chose SWOT analysis to help develop a business strategy for ASDA because we believe that SWOT analysis is a very effective way of identifying the strengths and weaknesses, as well as examining the opportunities and treats that ASDA may face. Using the SWOT analysis framework, we have put in place what we believe are the Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of ASDA. Strengths and weaknesses are known to be internal while opportunities and threats are external. I N T E R N A L Strengths Cost advantage Can afford to lower prices to attract new customers. Innovation Online growth Online shopping becoming a lot more popular and ASDA has a good secure website. Loyal customers Loyal customers coming back again and again purchasing from the business Strong brand equity Strong financial position Supply chain Pricing Affiliation to Wal-Mart Mini Cafes (Restaurants) Weaknesses Quality of food substandard Not having petrol stations(Tesco etc has) No Express stores (Tesco etc has) No stores abroad with same name E X T E R N A L Opportunities Product and services expansion Takeovers Diversity to Petrol stations Opening Express Stores Expansion abroad by opening stores abroad with same name Threats Competition Economic slowdown External changes (government, politics, taxes, etc) Exchange rate fluctuations Price wars Product substitution (ii) Intergration Using this knowledge, we can now develop a plan of action by first matching the strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities in the external environment, and also oppose any possible threats that might create a danger to plans. A weakness seen in ASDA is that they do not have any petrol stations or any affiliated petrol stations. Their competitors like Tesco has their petrol stations and also other competitors have affiliated petrol stations where they can use discount coupons to get discounts on petrol. ASDA can use change this weakness into an opportunity. Since they are in a strong financial position, they can start their own petrol stations, or get together with a petrol station and sign a contract with them, where their customers can get discounts on petrol when they shop with ASDA. Another weakness ASDA faces is that they do not have any express stores like their competitor Tesco does. Taking into notice that they are in a strong financial position, having a good supply chain, low cost prices, and also being affiliated to wal-mart, they can use this weakness and change it into an opportunity by opening express stores. This could be a huge gain for ASDA. But by doing so, they should also take into consideration the threats they could face. Because when Tesco started their express stores they faced many issues with other shop owners and the government. Therefore ASDA first look into the external changes (government, politics, taxes etc). Although ASDA has stores abroad with other names with different spellings, that sell the exact same products. Most people would not know that it is a part of ASDA. When you look at ASDAs competitor Tesco, they have many stores in many other countries with the same company name. This helps them build up their company name and brand. Therefore if ASDA can also do the same and open stores abroad with its name they can build a better name recognition. And since they are affiliated to Wal-mart, and also currently having stores abroad with different spellings, they already have a good supply chain and structure active already. So it would be easy for ASDA to start its branches abroad with the same name. Since they already have stores abroad with different spellings which are active, the threats of starting business abroad are to a minimum. The possible threats they could have faced is the exchange rate fluctuations, price wars as other countries would have other local competitors etc. But since they already have stores operating abroad, it would be easier to start stores with their own ASDA name. Another possible opportunity that ASDA may consider is expansion of their products and services. Since they are an affiliation to wal-mart, which is considered to be the worlds largest retail company, this can be a positive thing for ASDA. And since they have much other strength like being in a strong financial position, affordable low cost prices, good supply chain, strong brand equity and loyal customers, it would be a good idea for them to expand the number of stores, and also introduce more services. For an example: a launderette. This would help the customers benefit more, as they can put their clothes to wash while they shop. By doing so, they would first have to look for any possible threats. For an example: Competition. They would have to first see if there is any other company specializing in this sort of business, who are offering low cost laundry services close to their stores and whether they would be any threat to ASDA. Another opportunity for ASDA could be takeovers. Since they are in a strong financial position, and a well reputable company, they should see if they can buy over any possible companies that they see could be a possible threat in the future. (iii ) Implementation After matching up the strengths and weaknesses with the opportunities while taking into consideration the possible threats that can affect the plan, we now move onto the implementation part. In this section, ASDA will have individual teams that will have respective roles in bringing the strategy to succeed, by applying specific tactics that is developed in order to support the strategy. So by appointing different teams to work on different subsections of the business strategy, this could help the implementation stage to be a success. Since ASDA is not sure how the results would turn out to be, it is not wise for ASDA to spend a lot of money and time at once into starting something new. Therefore, as a trial, they should first start it on a small scale, and according to its progress they should then decide whether it is going to benefit the company or not. In order to see the progress of the implementation of the new strategies, ASDA will include a measurement module. This is derived from the overall goals established to accomplish the business mission. The goals are broken down, by the new business and the time estimated to accomplish them. The business strategy will include a module to periodically evaluate the current progress against goals. Based according on how well the business strategy has led to goal achievement, the strategic analysis process is repeated to adjust the strategy as required. Theme we selected In order for ASDA to achieve their goals, we believe that social media will bring the most competitive advantage out of the three themes. This is because; ASDA is already a well established company and has a well balanced infrastructure with all the necessary technology and people to operate them. Although cloud computing and mobility also have their positive sides, for an example, in cloud computing, a company does not have keep buying new servers as their business grows, and do not have to spend a lot of money in updating the software and installing new servers etc, and with the use of mobility, according to the business process they can provide their staff with various mobile devices to carry out their tasks to cut down on time etc. But as said before ASDA is not a new company and has been in operation for many years. Therefore they have already invested in all the necessary technology and people they need. If ASDA was a new company it might have been a good option to consider either cloud computing or mobility as they would not have to spend a lot of money on servers etc and pay for only what they require. Since ASDA already has the necessary technology and people, they have to focus on ways to improve their business. This includes what options are there to improve their business, what their customers think about their current products and services, their competitors etc. So by using social media, they are able to achieve this. They are able to advertise their products in many different ways and also get good feedback from their customers, which will help them to know whether their customers are satisfied with their products and services and change it according to the customer requirements. Some ways they could use social media is by having blogs where customers can write on. This is a good way to know what their customers think about their products. This way issues get alerted in a brilliant way, and they are able to cater according to the customer needs. They also may promote themselves through social networking, which also is a good and effective way. These are some of the ways they can use social media to improve on their business. Then according to their customer feedback, they can start implementing the opportunities which they gathered in the SWOT analysis by converting the weaknesses into opportunities with the help of their strengths while taking into consideration the possible threats they may face. Then they could also move onto having a social network within the organization, where they can have a blog where employees within the company can share their thoughts and ideas on how to improve their products and services to satisfy customer requirements.

Issues at AirAsia

Issues at AirAsia Simultaneity Once the plane of AirAsia takes off, the transportation service provided to the customers is consumed simultaneously. Since there is no food provided during the service, AirAsia has made use of this opportunity to sell food and beverages. Through the selling process, it creates interaction with customers and it allows them to percept the quality of the service. No free baggage allowance There is no free baggage allowance on AirAsia X. Unlike other airlines who decide to increase airfares that are imposed on all passengers, AirAsia X believes that by charging for checked-in baggage, it is more reasonable and it will helps to keep air fares low. AirAsia X will incur more fuel costs with every kilogram of weight added to the aircraft. Thus, guests who take on less weight will be able to save more. (http://www.airasia.com/site/en/faqSearch.jsp ) Fully ticketless travel AirAsia is a ticketless airline, therefore, instead of tickets; they will provide you with an itinerary which contains your booking number as well as your payment and travel details via email. This is also a means of cutting cost by not printing any tickets. Unassigned seats The seats on AirAsia are based on free seating style. There will not be any seats assigned to you unless you pay an extra fee for it. Therefore, we would see long queue at the waiting area of AirAsia as many of the passengers would want to grab the best seats for the flight. By implementing free seating plan, it helps to encourage passengers to be punctual so that the plane could take of early. Safety trip AirAsia pilots practice standard applications, technical and behavioural tests, ground school training, safety and emergency procedural training, full flight simulator. Travel with AirAsia pilots who have both mind and heart. (http://www.airasia.com/site/en/faqSearch.jsp THIS PART IS COPY PASTE, HAVEN EDIT) Self Check-in Service Self Check-in is a service that allows guests to check-in from our airport kiosks, via mobile or online on our website without needing to be at the check-in counter at the airport. With this facility, it helps the customers to save their time and also need not have to queue up early for the boarding pass. This facility if convenient and it also helps to increase demand for the AirAsia seats for people who prefer fast and efficient check-in service without long queue. (THIS PART IS COPY PASTE, HAVEN EDIT) Explicit Services Attractive and sexy air-stewardesses The stewardesses of AirAsia are famous for their attractiveness. With red shirt and skirt on them, it really enhances their beauty and this makes the trip really pleasant for the customers. They are friendly and would always greet their customer with a smile. AirAsia even advertise the faces of their air stewardess on their plane. Their main duty on flight is to perform the safety precautions procedures to the passengers and also walk around the cabin to assist the passengers and also to see if they need to purchase any food. However, there were a minority who complaint that the air stewardesses are unfriendly and do not greet the customers when they see them. Thus, AirAsia still need to work on their consistency of their air stewardesses. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xivjlxNim18 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p31o7hkW_A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah-p-qL8Xj0 http://www.airasia.com/site/sg/en/pressRelease.jsp?id=14f35316-c0a8c85d-eb784700-58cd40f1type=read Quality of the customer service There were numerous of feedbacks complaining that the automated system of the helpline was giving them a run around without providing a solution. Many of the customers complained that it is just impossible to get through the helpline and talk to a staff to assist them. And even if they got through; the staffs were unhelpful and were rude to them. For those who lose their baggage during their flight, AirAsia has not been very efficient in assisting the customers. Their reply was slow and the claim is even slower. Consistency According to research, AirAsia have always trying their best to maintain their on time departure record by offering unassigned seats and providing self check-in service to customer to encourage them to be punctual. Despite the effort to maintain punctual departure record, there are still a number of complaints regarding the delay and cacellation of flight. In event when flight has been cancelled, passengers were informed last minute and they complained that the staffs was not very helpful and willing in assisting them in the booking of new tickets. Thus, there is still room for improvement regarding AirAsias customer service and their on time departure record. Availability Website is available with information that the customers wish to find out. (E.g. Prices, promotions and flight info). It also allows customers to book and purchase tickets online conveniently. Call center and sales office is also available in every country where AirAsia is located in.

Humorous and Sentimental Wedding Speech by the Groom -- Wedding Toasts

Humorous and Sentimental Wedding Speech by the Groom I was going to begin with "ladies and gentlemen" but on looking around I'm glad I didn't. So here goes. Distinguished guests, those of lesser distinction, and those of no distinction at all, family relatives, new and old, in-laws and out-laws, friends, friends of friends, and freeloaders, welcome to our wedding reception. First of all I would like to thank my brothers and my new sister for their kind words. I did have a speech all worked out for this special occasion, but of course now that I'm a married man, she has told me what to say instead. So here goes: On behalf of my wife - and I suppose I'm going to have to get used to saying that ?I would like to start by thanking everyone here today for sharing our very special day with us. A lot of people have traveled far to be here tonight and we are delighted to see you all. Thank you for your cards, kind thoughts, wedding gifts, and especially the big checks! And. of course, all these smiling faces I see in front of me tonight. I hope you can all get the opportunity to mingle tonight, get to know each other a little better, and, naturally, have a good time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank my parents for my upbringing and the sacrifices they have made for me. I would like to thank them both for the advice they have given me, for putting up with me, and for pointing me in the right direction usually only to watch me go off and do exactly the opposite, of course but that's what sons are for and do best. To my new mom and dad, I would like to thank you so much for everything you have done and for welcoming me so openly into your family. I feel very proud to be able to say that I am your son-in... .... You agreed to make me the happiest man in the world today and have a natural way that makes every day a joy to be with you. I know that I told you earlier but I want everyone to know how beautiful you look today. Your dress is stunning and you really do look like a little princess. You have made me the happiest and proudest man alive today by saying "I do" and I can't wait to tell everyone that you are my wife at every opportunity I have. I don't have to hope that our future together will be a happy one. I know it will be, because every day I wake to find that I love you twice as much as the day before. As every day will tell you - I?m sometimes wrong, but in marrying, I know I've made the right decision. Thank you darling. Thank you all for joining us tonight. We know we are surrounded by loved ones. Please enjoy the rest of the night and have a great time.

The Atomic Bombs Impression on Scientific History Essay -- Atomic Wea

The Atomic Bomb's Impression on Scientific History This website validates the impressive nature of the development of the Atomic bomb as part of scientific history. It will discuss the discoveries that scientists made throughout history that were vitally important to the project. Additionally, this site will also cover the development of the Manhattan Project, including the different production facilities that existed. Lastly, this site will cover the testing of the first Atomic bomb. The development of the Atomic bomb is the most impressive scientific development in history. The development of the bomb began with scientists working on independent projects, which climaxed with the Manhattan Project, and merged full strength with the testing at Trinity. The background and history of the science that lead up to the Manhattan Project is important because it incorporates many ideas from prior decades. The Manhattan Project is the largest demonstration of the scientific community coming together ever. Hundreds and thousands of people and communities came together for one common goal, to end World War II. Finally, the power and awe of this project itself was realized with the testing at Trinity. This marked the end of the Manhattan Project. It is for these three reasons that the development of the Atomic bomb is the most impressive development in scientific history. The development of the Atomic bomb was impressive because it was an accumulation of decades of physics and chemistry. Before anyone ever thought or expressed ideas about mass production of atomic bombs, scientific groundwork had to be established. Forty years prior to the making of the Atomic bomb scientists were developing ideas that would later become the ba... ...crifice personal profits for the common goal of ending the war without knowing if the project would even work is also what makes this so extraordinary. It is for all these reasons that the development of The Atomic bomb is the single most remarkable scientific development in history. References: Printed Materials 1. Groueff, Stephane. Manhattan Project: The Untold Story of the Making of the Atomic Bomb. Canada:Little Brown and Company, 1967. p3-362 2. Groves, Leslie R. Now it can be Told: The Story of the Manhattan Project. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1962. p 68-93. 3. Lens, Sidney. The Bomb. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1982. p 4-10. 4. Meadows, Jack. The Great Scientists. New York: Oxford University Press, 1987. 5. Rhodes, Richard. The Making of Atomic Bomb. New York: Sim and Schuster, 1986. p 394- 395, 487-491, 547-548, 602.

Essay --

The Irises Plant is a bush with hundreds of flower’s on it. Currently the plant is dying because the Irise plant needs at least half a day of sun and well drained soil without both the plant will not bloom, that’s why they are mostly planted in the summer. Usually this plant when bloomed attracts a wide variety of animals and insects such as Verba bud moths, white flies, iris weevil, Thirps, slugs, snail, aphids, and nematodes may also be troublesome to the iris plant. There are three inner petals called standards, and three outer petals called falls which make up the irises plant. There are three hundred species of this plant and they come in all different colors and sizes, and some colors they come in are pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white as well as multi-color. The most common irises is the bearded German iris. Even though â€Å"The Extinction of Experience†, â€Å"Where have all the Animals Gone?† are referring mostly to animals, plants and ani mals are both apart of nature. Without plants some animals could not survive because they feed off of them. All of the stories are similar in a way because each one of the main characters are forcing themselves to face or confront something that is personally affecting them. For instance â€Å"I’ve always enjoyed my visits to our cities’ old public zoos. It was there harsh Juxtapositions, I think, the very characteristic that make them so sad, so unconscionable to some, that made them so compelling to me.† (Siebert 16). This quote expresses how the way they had these animals in cages was so unnatural because these different creatures would never be by each other in a natural habitat peacefully it would be chaos. This was compelling to Siebert because he knew this would never happen outside of... ...an never replace.† (Pyle 261). This quote to me is explaining how people find animals fascinating as far as the unknown about animals life’s even though we can see whales and fish we will never get to experience their lives and things that they go through on a daily basis. We could never live in their habitat and that unknown about not only there lives but the lives and habitats of other animals keeps us imagining what it would be like. That is what keeps us as humans interested and fascinated with animals. The overall concept of these three stories are focusing on animals, nature and how if we continue to take animals out of there natural habitats it may continue to cause animals to be extinct because they animals are not adapting. So if we do not face this problem head on we not only will face local extinction but they have a chance to face global eradication.

Informative Speech on Taekwondo

Informative Speech Taekwondo Introduction Have you ever seen a martial arts demonstration, or hear of a demonstration team? Well, let me start off by telling you what a demonstration, or demo, team is and what they do. A demo team is a group of elite martial artists chosen to represent the school of martial arts to which they attend to the public during martial arts demonstrations. During these demonstrations they perform impressive feats that wow the audience such as, difficult board breaking techniques and impressive techniques learned through the study of the martial art they are representing.During my high school years I had the pleasure of being one of these elite martial artists. In the demonstrations I participated in I did things from, breaking boards in impressive ways, such as jumping over three people and doing a flying side kick through a board held by someone on the other side of them, to choreographed fighting and even actual sparing. All of these experiences of my were a part of my experience with a martial art known worldwide as taekwondo. Related article: Informative Speech About African CultureAccording to an academic journal titled: 2004 Olympic Tae Kwon Do Athlete Profile written in 2009, â€Å"Tae kwon do, a form of Korean martial art originally designed for warfare and self-defense, has in recent times become a well-recognized sport and has become more popular since its official introduction into the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. † First I'm going to give you a brief history on what Taekwondo is, then I'll talk to you about what taekwondo is, and finally, I will be sharing what practitioners of taekwondo normally do. Body I.Tae kwon do was originally designed for use in Korea's armed forces, but is now practiced worldwide and has become extremely popular as a sport and a way of self defense. A. Shortly after the Japanese occupation of Korea ended in 1945 the South Korean government ordered all of the major martial arts schools in the country to get together and make one universal martial art that they would t hen begin teaching to their military. B. This style that was made from all the different styles in the country at the time soon became known as taekwondo and quickly gained popularity. II.So I bet your all wondering what the heck taekwondo means. Well, according to martialartsresource. com, â€Å"‘Tae' means â€Å"foot† or â€Å"to strike with the feet†. â€Å"Kwon† means â€Å"hand†, or â€Å"to strike with the hand†. â€Å"Do† means discipline, art, or way. Hence TaeKwonDo (foot-hand-way) means literally â€Å"the art of the feet and the hands† or â€Å"the art of kicking and punching†. † A. Tae kwon do is a marital art that deals primarily with kicking. B. The focus on kicking is designed with the thought in mind that the leg is the longest most powerful weapon a martial artist has at his/her disposal. . This fact means that a martial artist that is very good with his legs can strike an opponent while he is stil l outside of his opponents range. 2. While remaining outside of your opponent's rang you can deal highly damaging blows without having to take any powerful blows from your opponent. III. Tae kwon do customs differ slightly depending on where it is taught. A. Tae kwon do practitioners generally practice bare foot and in places like gymnasiums. B.The uniforms worn by practitioners used to be the kind that you fold over and tie together, but because of the sport-like nature of it these days they uniform style of the V-neck is becoming increasingly popular. C. Practitioners of taekwondo generally take part in sparring matches. 1. There's a lot of gear you have to wear when sparring, these include: helmet, mouthpiece, chest guard, gloves, cup and shin guards. 2. There are also plenty of rules involved in sparing to make sure it is as safe as it can be. These include: no punching the face, no groin shots, no locks, no clinching, etc.Conclusion Today we learned that taekwondo is a martial arts style that involves mostly kicks, where it originated, and what some of the customary practices are. One last bit of information I want to leave you with is that, according to the American Taekwondo Association's Website that was last updated sometime this year, â€Å"Taekwondo is currently the most popular martial art in Korea, and ranks among America's and the world's most popular martial arts. † Thank you for listening to my presentation and I hope you all know a little bit more now than you did before.

Community Health Project

Community Health Project- Part One – Identifying the Project's Focus Kathleen Rogers King Walden University November 26, 2012 Community Health Project-Part One -Identifying the Project's Focus This paper will identify a significant health issue and a particular population for a health management plan. Support for the significance of this health issue, and rationale for the selection of this population will be presented. Evidence about the population will be examined and discussed in regards to one asset and one challenge of this particular population.An approach to address the issue and the rationale for this choice will be provided with a minimum of five appropriate references. Health Issue and Population Defined as birth prior to 37 weeks gestation (ACOG, 2008), preterm birth affects about 12% of births in the United States. Preterm birth is an important public health priority costing over $26. 2 billion in 2005 according to the March of Dimes (2011) report on preterm birth. Prematurity is the second leading cause of death in children under 5 years, and the single most important cause of death in the first month of life (March of Dimes, 2011).More than 15 million babies are born too soon, with 1 in 8 babies born premature every year worldwide; of these, over 1. 1 million preterm babies die due to complications of prematurity (CDC, 2012). The cost of the first year of birth for a preterm infant is 10 times greater than for term infants (Howson, Kinney & Lawn, 2012). Support and Rationale Women and infants are a vulnerable population. Maternal mortality and morbidity disproportionally affect vulnerable populations of women, such as those living in poverty, facing racial and ethnic discrimination, and having limited language skills (Anderson & Stone, 2013).From a public health perspective infant mortality is considered the measuring stick for determining the health of the population, whereas maternal mortality is the divider between wealth and poverty (An derson, 2013). Eliminating racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities is critical for quality health care outcomes (Shi & Stevens, 2010). Preterm births occur more often among certain racial and ethnic groups with non-Hispanic black mothers being 1. 5 times more likely to have a preterm baby, and that baby 3. times more likely to die than a non-Hispanic white baby (CDC, 2012). Sadly, although 90% of preterm babies in high-income countries will survive, 90% of preterm babies born in low-income countries will die (Presem & McDougall, 2012). The implications of being born too soon extend beyond the neonatal period and throughout the life cycle, resulting in serious consequences such as cerebral palsy, and chronic lung disease, as well as, intellectual impairment, learning difficulties, poor health, vision and hearing loss (Institute of Medicine, 2007).In general, the more immature the preterm infant, more life-support is needed, the risks of re-hospitalization are greater, and the b urden of lifetime problems more significant (IOM, 2007). Assets and Challenges Preventing preterm birth remains a challenge (CDC, 2012). There is no test that can accurately predict a preterm birth, very little is known about the causes and mechanisms of preterm birth, or about how to prevent a preterm birth, and few effective preventative strategies are available (March of Dimes, 2012; WHO, 2009; IOM, 2007).Once a woman is pregnant, most of the interventions to prevent preterm birth only delay onset long enough to administer steroids to the mother to help prevent respiratory distress in the infant after birth and transfer the mother and fetus to a hospital for the appropriate level of care (IOM, 2007). Studies indicate that many of the factors associated the preterm birth frequently occur together, particularly in minority women, or those who have low socioeconomic status (IOM, 2007).Medical conditions such as chronic hypertension, diabetes, infections, and stress are associated wi th preterm birth, as are any history of a preterm birth in a previous pregnancy, a family history of preterm birth, infertility, and a pregnancy of twins or triplets (IOM, 2007). Any significant gains to be made in the study of preterm birth will be in the area of prevention and eliminating disparities (IOM, 2007). Feasible, sustainable, cost-effective care solutions can be made available by collaboration, cooperation and alignment of services (WHO, 2012).Clinical research continues to identify ways to prevent preterm deliveries. For example, a progesterone medication (17-alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate or 17P) may prevent preterm birth among women who have had a prior preterm birth (CDC, 2012). Approaches and Interventions Addressing preterm birth is now an urgent priority for reaching the WHO, Millennium Development Goal 4 (WHO, 2012). Reducing child deaths by two-thirds by 2015 requires a rapid expansion of our global commitments to implement change (WHO, 2012).Collaborative a nd partnership management models have evolved for addressing action and prevention programs such as, the World Health Organization’s Every Woman, Every Child, Global Strategy for Women and Children’s Health, March of Dimes, Save the Children, Born too Soon, The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health (PMNCH), and the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s 4 & 5) which aim to save the lives of 16 million women and children by 2015 (Howson et al, 2012; WHO, 2009).Nationally, the framework is complete; since 1980, the CDC’s Healthy People series has been based on core public concepts: population surveillance, population health, prevention and early intervention, identification of root causes, outcome assessment, and continuous feedback so that interventions can be adjusted appropriately (Manderscheid, 2009). To achieve the Healthy People objectives, it is essential to monitor improvement regularly to ensure the resources are directed app ropriately and effectively (Shi & Stevens, 2010).A set of ten measurable leading health indicators (LHIs) was developed, which also reflect the risks of preterm birth; these are physical activity, obesity, tobacco use, substance abuse, sexual behavior, mental health, injury and violence, environmental quality, immunization, and access to health care (Shi, 2010). Implementation and Rationale Implementing priority, evidence-based interventions for prevention include reducing unplanned adolescence pregnancies, short time gaps between births, unhealthy pre-pregnancy weight (underweight or obesity), substance abuse (e. g. tobacco use) and chronic disease (e. . diabetes, hypertension). Screening for infectious sexually transmitted disease (e. g. HIV, syphilis), and implementing early treatment can also help reduce the incidence of preterm labor (WHO, 2012). Internationally, all countries need to ensure universal access to comprehensive antenatal care, quality childbirth services and emerg ency obstetric care (WHO, 2012). In addition, workplace policies need to promote healthy pregnancies and reduce the risk of preterm birth including regulations to protect pregnant women from physically demanding work, and exposure to harmful pollutants (WHO, 2012).Greater provision for life-saving medications, supplies and services, as well as the resources and policies are needed to enable women and children adequate access to health care, especially skilled care at the time of birth (WHO, 2009). Empowering, and educating girls, providing health promotion, access to care for cost-effective interventions in contraception, and encouraging preconception family planning can increase the likelihood of healthy planned pregnancies, and improve preterm birth prevention according to the WHO, Born Too Soon: Global Action Report on Preterm Birth (Presem & McDougall, 2012).In addition, Kangaroo Mother Care (skin to skin incubation with mother) can cut preterm deaths in half saving an estimated 450,000 babies a year (Presem & McDougall, 2012). The provision of inexpensive antenatal corticosteroids and antibiotics is estimated to reduce the risk of breathing difficulties in premature babies, saving around 370,000 lives a year (WHO, 2012). Fontenot and Collins Fantasia (2012) concluded that 100mg of progesterone vaginally every night between 24 and 34 weeks gestation resulted in lower incidence of preterm labor, birth, and delivery.Approach and Action A recent article in The Lancet (2012), claims from a panel of experts, that five proven interventions could begin lowering preterm birth rates of 5 percent across 39 high-resource countries, including the United States, by 2015, and would prevent prematurity for 58,000 babies a year and $3 billion in health and economic costs (March of Dimes, 2012): * Eliminating early cesarean section deliveries and inductions of labor unless medically indicated; * Decreasing embryo transfers during assisted reproductive technologies; * Helpi ng women quit smoking; Providing progesterone supplementation to women with high risk pregnancies; * Cervical cerclage for high-risk women with short cervix. The majority of preterm births occur spontaneously with no known cause, recent studies show that a short cervix is the single best predictor of preterm birth. Slager and Lynne (2012) propose screening for shortened cervical length, a universal risk factor, in conjunction with a proven clinical intervention by transvaginal ultrasound.Although not available in all areas, transvaginal ultrasound is the most reliable method to evaluate cervical length, it is found to be most effective for risk estimates under 30 weeks gestation, and predictive results were improved by combining with obstetric history (Slager, J. & Lynne, S. , 2012). The combination of positive fetal fibronectin (fFN) testing and cervical length less than 25 mm is a strong predictor of impending preterm birth (Tharpe, Farley, & Jordan, 2013).As a MSN educator, my go al will be to educate nursing, midwifery, and medical students in the principles and methods of assessment, prevention and early intervention of preterm birth indicators. On the Perinatal Special Care Unit of my employment, a new system of prenatal education will be proposed to administration detailing the benefits of group prenatal care in reducing low birth weight in premature babies (Massey, Schindler Rising, & Ickovics, 2006). Centering Pregnancy Prenatal Care ModelCentering Pregnancy group prenatal care is an innovative model of care for addressing the complex psychosocial needs of the mother and her family. Centering Pregnancy prenatal care promotes relationship-centered care, facilitates learning, develops mutual support, and strengthens the opportunities for communication and nurturing among women. Centering Pregnancy prenatal care encourages social networking, supportive relationships with their significant other are developed, women experience less stress, fewer pregnancy complications, and fewer adverse neonatal outcomes (Massey et al, 2006).Research indicates that prenatal social support has been associated with improved fetal growth and greater infant birth weight. Good social support can improve birth outcomes; measured in longer gestations and significantly larger babies, increase women’s confidence, satisfaction, and increase self-nurturing (Massey, 2006). Centering Pregnancy is a model for group prenatal care that results in perinatal outcomes that equal or exceed prenatal traditional care, especially for teens, and other cultures accustomed to group support (Anderson, 2013).Centering Pregnancy exemplifies an evidence-based best practice for nurse-midwives. This model places all three components of prenatal care- risk assessment, education, and support- into the group setting. It fosters a sense of empowerment as prenatal group members are encouraged to take responsibility for their own health care and group members are encouraged to se ek information about healthy behaviors and common concerns of pregnancy, which builds a partnership between patient and provider (Massey, 2006).Translating this model of providing prenatal care for our hospitalized high-risk antepartum patients is the approach I intend to take because the evidence for improved outcomes with group care for high-risk women seems compelling, and may even be a future model of care for other countries, and women of diverse cultures (Tandon, Colon, Vega, Murphy, & Alonso, 2012). References American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). (2008). Use of progesterone to prevent preterm birth. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 112, 963-965. American Psychological Association. (2010).Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (6th. ed. ). Washington, DC. Anderson, B. , & Stone, S. (2013). Best practices in midwifery, using the evidence to implement change. Springer Publishing. New York, NY. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CD C). (2012). Preterm Birth. Retrieved from http://www. cdc. gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/PretermBirth. htm Fontenot, H. B. , Collins Fantasia, H. (2012). Vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth in high-risk women. Nursing for Women’s Health. Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses. 37-241. ISSN: 1751-4851 Howsen, C. , Kinney, M. , Lawn, J. (2012). The global action report on preterm birth. Preterm birth matters. March of Dimes. 9-14 Lynch, E. , Dezen, T. (2012). Preterm birth can be prevented with a few proven treatments, Lancet article says: Global partners challenge 39 high-income countries. March of Dimes. http://www. marchofdimes. com/news/10898. html March of Dimes. (2011). March of Dimes 2011 premature birth report card. Retrieved from http://www. marchofdimes. com/peristats/pdflib/998/US. pdf Massey, Z. Schindler Rising, S. , Ickovics, J. (2006).Centering pregnancy group prenatal care: Promoting relationship-centered care . Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 35, 286-294. doi:10. 1111/J. 1552-6909. 2006. 00040. x Manderscheid, R. (2009). Aiming for a healthier population by 2020: Moving our fields toward prevention, early intervention, and population health. Behavioral Healthcare; 29, 1; Proquest Central. pg. 51 Presem, C. , McDougall, L. (2012). Born too soon: The global action report on preterm birth. World Health Organization (WHO). Retrieved from http://www. who. int/pmnch/media/news/2012/preterm_birth_report/en/index9. tml Shi, L. , & Stevens, G. (2010). Vulnerable populations in the United States (2nd. ed. ). Jossey-Bass. San Francisco, CA. Slager, J. , & Lynne, S. (2012). Assessment of cervical length and the relationship between short cervix and preterm birth. Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health, 57(1): S4-S11. doi:10. 1111/j. 1542-2011. 2012. 00209. x Tandon, S. D. , Colon, L. , Vega, P. , Murphy, J. , Alonso, A. (2012). Birth outcomes associated with receipt of g roup prenatal care among low-income Hispanic women. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health. 57(5). 476-481. doi: 10. 111/j. 542-2011. 2012. 00184. x Tharpe, N. , Farley, C. , Jordan, R. (2013). Clinical practice guidelines for midwifery & women’s health. (4th ed. ). Jones & Bartlett Learning. Burlington, MA. 198-201. World Health Organization (WHO). (2009). The worldwide incidence of preterm birth: A systematic review of maternal morbidity and mortality. Bulletin of the World Health Organization, 88, 31-38. doi: 10. 2471/BLT. 08. 06255 World Health Organization (WHO). (2012). Born too soon: The global action report on preterm birth. http://www. who. int/pmnch/media/news/2012/preterm_birth_report/en/index. html

Market Analysis – Sony Bravia

Sony Bravia In the Australian Marketplace â€Å"Colour like No Other† Executive Summary Introduction Summary: This report will articulate purchases of the Sony Bravia Television in the Australian marketplace. It will illustrate information to develop an in-depth understanding of the consumers buying habits. The research for this report includes information sourced from the Sony website itself, interpreted and applied to the Australian Marketplace. Body Summary: The major findings indicate there are various factors affecting the Australian marketplace.Overcoming a major threat is possible by utilising Sony’s strengths to maintain relevance in the Australian Marketplace. Conclusion/Recommendation Summary: It is clear that overtime, Sony will experience a variety of threats and weaknesses, that will jeopardise the success of the company. This report recommends that Sony maximises its strengths to continue creating innovative technology, to continue its perception of one of Australia’s premium television producers. Table of Contents Executive Summary2 Introduction4 Purpose4 Authorisation4 Scope4 Background4 Environmental Scan6 Economic influences:6 Demographic influences6Competitive influences:7 Political influences:7 Social/Cultural:8 Technological influences8 S. W. O. T analysis9 Conclusion12 Reference list14 Introduction Purpose This report aims to present an accurate investigation of Sony Bravia in the Australian marketplace, and to provide recommendations for the development of the company’s success. Authorisation This report is authorised by Anne Tonkin, TAFE SA, and written by Lynden Beck, a student of Anne Tonkin. Scope This report relates only to the Sony Bravia television, within the Sony Company and attempts to draw links to further development of understanding the Australian market place.Background In 1944, Mr. Akio Morita, an officer in the Japanese Navy worked with Mr. Masaru Ibuka, on a military task designing heat seeking missiles. After World War II, Morita and Ibuka maintained their friendship, and founded the corporate brand known as Sony. Sony was created on the shared belief that it could create ideas from imagination and make them a reality. The main objective of Sony was to create innovative products that would excite their customers. Sony is now one of the world’s leading producers of home entertainment systems with major interests in consumer electronics.Today, Sony has a vision to celebrate life that is expressed through advertisements. A vision articulates the focus and direction of an organisation. Sony’s vision states: â€Å"Creativity is our essence, we take chances, we exceed expectations, we help dreamers’ dream†. This statement expresses Sony’s want to satisfy their customers. Sony focuses on delivering a luxury experience which can only be experienced through their product. Sony Market Analysis Environmental Scan Economic influences: * The Financi al Crisis of 2007- 08, is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 20th Century.The effect of the crisis on Australia has been considerably less than in many other countries, however the effects on households are still present today. The Financial Crisis reduced the income of Australia by nearly 10% by March 2009. Furthermore, the Australian consumer is expected to save 21% more of its income during 2012-13. The Australian economy predicted less likely to purchase luxury items, such as a Sony Bravia television. * The ‘Household Assistance Package’ introduced by the Federal government in May 2012, is a key part of the clean energy future plan.This Government subsidy is designed to provide financial support to the middle class Australian householders in the introduction of the Carbon tax. Demographic influences * The demographic of the population consists of consumers who seek a premium product. The demographic of Br avia owners are, due to its pricing, of a higher socioeconomic group causing the Bravia to be seen as a status symbol. Sony Bravia offers ‘Colour like No Other’, implying exclusivity. * Sony Bravia’s typical target audience are consumers who are aware of the company’s material sources and sustainability policies, as well as their not-for-profit work in the community.Competitive influences: * Samsung, LG and Panasonic are well-known competitors of Sony. Each offering similar applications on televisions. Therefore companies must compete with customer service; this includes warranty lengths, replacement guarantees, prompt repair or replacement, to establish loyal customers. * Whilst cheaper televisions have less features they still appeal to consumers due to the low prices, putting pressure on the larger companies to compete for sales. Political influences: * The introduction of ‘Minimum wage’ has affected the international mployees of Sony worki ng in sweat shops or factories, due to the increase of the minimum wage Sony will have to pay more taxes. In addition, Sony must increase prices of products to maintain a certain profit rate. * Sony large screen televisions cost 30% more in China than they do in Australia. Tariffs on the importation of Sony products manufactured in China which then arrive in Australia help with inflated prices. Social/Cultural: * Sony puts particular emphasis on the cultural nature of its consumers. Sony is a premium product with premium prices, and is therefore seen as a status symbol amongst eastern and western cultures.Generally, only wealthy Australians can afford a Sony Bravia. * Today’s culture places more value on experience rather than materialistic possessions. Sony Bravia overcomes this desire by creating an experience that offers ‘Colour like No Other’. This television offers both an experience, and a possession. Technological influences * Technology is rapidly advanci ng; causing electronic products to be out dated regularly. Sony must be innovative with its products to maintain its competitive edge. LED televisions consist of a display that uses LED backlighting instead of the cold cathode fluorescent backlighting used by LCD televisions.LED televisions reduce energy consumption, produce better contrast in brightness and a greater colour range. * As 3D products are becoming more common at homes Sony intends to increase sales of 3D televisions, by 50% of their respective television distributions by 2012. S. W. O. T analysis A S. W. O. T analysis is a tool used to analyze the internal and external factors affecting a company. It is one of the most commonly used business analysis and decision-making tools. In this report, a S. W. O. T analysis will be used to examine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Sony Australia.Strengths | Weaknesses | Opportunities | Threats | Creative catch phrase: ‘Colour like no other’. | High price can deter buyers. (smaller target audience)| Strong corporate brand Sony can be identified for many things. | Environmental concerns, high cost in running electronic products. | Strong status symbol, Sony is a premium product, and a luxury item. | Due to faulty wiring, the Sony Bravia was recalled between 2007-08| Age of technology, televisions have come from being a luxury to a household necessity. | Product confusion. Consumers unable to differentiate brands. | Technologically advanced.The Bravia television with high resolution 4 times any other HD T. Vs| Sony unable to provide premium customer service, due to high traffic visiting store. | Sony strives to employ diverse people to ensure the company achieves innovation and a wide range of skills. | Emphases on experiences rather than materialistic objects, such as expensive televisions. | Product features: ‘Your Presence is Needed’ app, which allows the TV to turn off once it senses the viewer has left. | S ony Bravia is not distributed into stores such as K-Mart and Big-W. Creating less impulse buyers. Changing Technologies Sony is investing in improving 3D capabilities and additional smart TV apps. | Global Financial crisis. The Australian consumer is expected to save 21% more of its income during 2012-13. | Sony’s involvement in the community and its participation in charity work. | Fewer adverts on Australian television| Sony Foundation Australia is a not-for-profit charitable organisation. | Carbon tax less money for Australian buyers to spend on high quality televisions. | Sony is able to cater for the Carbon tax through apps that save electricity. | Hard for non-technological people to uses due to extensive applications. Sony supports many initiatives that reduce waste and degradation| Must advertise online if unable the Sony brand may fall behind. | A major threat for Sony is the environmental concerns regarding electronic products. Current social values place emphasis o n maintaining sustainability. Sony focusses on improving the energy efficiency of their products by the use of the ‘Minimum Energy Performance Standards’  and ‘Energy Rating’ labels which appear on every electronic item. These help customers consumers choose more efficient appliances and save money on running the products.Sony Australia is enabling and encouraging Australian consumers to recycle batteries. Batteries collected are transported and recycled in a safe, environmental manner. Valuable materials such as cadmium, nickel, iron, cobalt and lead are reclaimed, and are reused as raw materials . Additionally, Sony has created various applications on televisions to save electricity. Motion sensors turn off the back screen when the viewer leaves the room. In overcoming environmental threats faced by Sony, the three strengths listed above suggest the capability to overcome perceived threats.Conclusion This report has analysed the brand, Sony, and in exte nsion, the Sony Bravia product. This report illustrated Political, Social/Cultural, Technological, Economic, Demographic, and Competitive factors that influence success in the Australian marketplace. A S. W. O. T analysis described the company’s strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities. It is recommended that Sony maximises its strengths to continue creating innovative technology, to continue its perception of one of Australia’s premium television producers. Reference list * Commonwealth Australia. (2010).The E3 Program – Improving Our Energy Efficiency. Available: http://www. energyrating. gov. au/. Last accessed 26/03/13. * Elliott, M. (Nov. 13, 2006). Akio Morita & Masaru Ibuka. Available: http://www. time. com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1554986,00. html. Last accessed 25/03/13. * Fung, D . (October 13, 2011). Sony Bravia 40-inch TV models could explode, melt. Available: http://www. cnet. com. au/three-sony-bravia-40-inch-tv-models-could-explode-mel t-339324229. htm. Last accessed 14th March 2013. * Hales, S. (May 2010). Sony settles into the premium market with 2012 Bravia range.Available: http://www. connectedaustralia. com/News/BreakingNews/tabid/119/ArticleId/7190/Sony-settles-into-the-premium-market-with-2012-Bravia-range. aspx? dnnprintmode=true&mid. Last accessed 14th March 2013. * ING DIRECT. (January 2013). Year of the Saver. Available: http://blog. ingdirect. com. au/2013/02/28/the-year-of-the-saver/. Last accessed 20/03/13. * Make. Believe . (January 2013). Our Vision . Available: http://www. sony. com. au/article/300251/section/sonycompanyoutline. Last accessed 20/03/13.. * Queensland Government . (24 November 2012). Swot Analysis . Available: