History of Beer Essay

Beer was probably discovered by accident, when some of the nomadic tribes of the Middle East decided to settle down to an agricultural life depending on the cultivation of grain. In times of plenty the excess might have been stored for a possible future period of failure. Due to the damp storage condition the grain might have sprouted and germinated in a desperate bid to salvage the crop they must have made porridge by boiling the sprouted grain with water. This must have released sugar into the liquid resulting in a sweet tasting porridge. This was probably left in open to cool allowing the natural yeast of the atmosphere to settle on the porridge forming alcohol or what was a crude wash. There is evidence that the brewing process was established in Babylon as early as 6000 B.C. The Egyptians improved upon this process, which was diffused along the trade routes by the Greeks & the Romans. The Romans started brewing on a commercial basis to provide a substitute to wine. The term bear today covers all beer drinks such as ales, lagers & stout. Beer gets it’s name from Anglo Saxon Word called â€Å"Beer† meaning â€Å"BARLEY†. Beer is the national alconolic beverage of Great Britain. Although the basic traditional method of brewing beer is still being used now the whole production process is controlled by the programme equipment so that each phase is carried out at the exact time required and can be corrected if necessary. By this centralised control, consistency of the brew from batch to batch is better.

Human Resources Perspective Essay

Introduction For small and large businesses alike, the human resources or personnel function can be helpful for much more than simply processing payroll or handling the open enrollment season once a year. Human resources plays an essential role in developing a company’s strategy as well as handling the employee activities of an organization. Human resources can also provide human capital value to the organization, such as Utiliscan. Without this, a company is at potential risk for lost profits. Budget control is another primary function of human resources. This prevents excessive spending, through developing methods for keeping the workforce associated cost within perspective of the company’s goals. This also includes negotiating rates for benefits and health care coverage in conjunction with setting competitive and realistic wages. Throughout the remainder of this paper, we will discuss the results of Utiliscan’s employee survey and what steps Paul could have taken toward improving Utiliscan as the Human Resource Director. Survey Results Are In Upon completion of every survey, it is important to post the results for all employees and management to see. The results should be consolidated with a task assigned and a well-developed plan of action. This is an opportunity to develop the corps values of the company leadership, as well, build growth within the company. Take the time to prioritize company goals, to include expectations of the employer and employees. Tackle the big and the ugly up front by making a statement. After all, your goal is to make the company successful and show growth through opportunity. Result #1: 56% of Utiliscan felt their benefits were below average or poor. Task: Identify comparable benefits packages to meet the company needs as  well the employee Action: Studying the labor market, employment trends and salary analysis based on job functions will assist Paul with Utiliscan, as it is a small business, creating budget constraints. . As the human resources director, Paul should negotiate better rates. His responsibility is to find health coverage and offer package incentives to his employees. A good example of this, high quality insurance that includes low premiums for his employees with high percentage rates of protection. American Blue Cross Blue Shield provides medical, dental, and hearing protection at reasonable rates for companies. Aside from medical requirements, Paul should address salary, wages and retirement benefits packages with his employees. Fidelity is an example of a investment firm that allows parole deductions for employees to save money and earn market based profits and well stock option growth. Many companies in modern America now provide a 401k match plan. 5% to 6% match is a good comparable rate to start with. Result #2: 55% felt safe, with little danger of occupational hazards associated with their physical environment. There were comments, presumably from the 45% who did not feel safe, that some of the utility plants where they worked on installations were not as safe as they should be. Task: Identify safety hazards within and around the work environment. Action: Conduct training and development of employees and supervisors. Needs assessments for the organization’s current workforce to determine the type of skills training and employee development are necessary to improve skill sets. This includes qualifications, licensing and documentation of certifications. A company such as Utiliscan must ensure their employees meet specifications to insure quality productions levels, at the same time improving overall safety of the organization. Many companies identify hazards within the workplace and address them through education of their employees. It is much less expensive than the cost to hire additional staff or more qualified candidates. In addition, it’s a strategy that also can reduce turnover and improve employee retention. Result #3: 74% felt there was little relationship between their performance and their pay. There were numerous comments that performance reviews hadn’t been done on time or hadn’t been done at all. Other comments indicated arbitrary treatment and favoritism of some employees. Task: Identify the root cause for lack of performance appraisals and employee development programs. Build and mentorship program  to better support Utiliscan’s employee foundation. Action: Through Performance Improvement, Training and Development Paul can develop performance management tools. This will enable Paul and his managers to measure the performance of their employees and provide feedba ck. This is a developmental tool to improve the employee skills and expertise. If performance appraisals are not completed then the potential for employees whose performance to fall below the employer’s expectations can continue. This leads to waste through payroll activities and low-performance employees. Performance appraisals should be conducted monthly or quarterly with a final annual appraisal to determine potential for promotion or retain ability. Result #4: 89% felt there were few if any opportunities to improve their skills and 87% responded there were no promotion opportunities. Task: Develop a mentorship program and identify key developmental positions that will be forecasted. Action: Paul can focus his efforts toward performance management systems. Constructing a plan that measures performance, employees develop specified skill sets in order to become more qualified for potential promotion opportunities. At the same time, Paul can begin succession planning. This enables the company to identify key potential candidates to fill key developmental positon. This is done through identifying employees with the promise and requisite capabilities to eventually transition into leadership roles with the compa ny. This is an important function as it can guarantee the organization’s stability and future success. Result # 5: 78% of the employees were satisfied with their working conditions and they enjoyed freedom and flexibility to perform their jobs without strict supervision. 70% felt their workloads were adequate – not too heavy, not too light Task: Despite the overall content attitude toward working conditions and enjoyment of the employees daily work routines, there is always ways to improve the overall employee’s satisfaction. Identify a way to seek employee’s thoughts and ideas of how to make the work place a better environment. Action: Over all employee satisfaction can better the work place and improve the quality of life within the company. Happy employees work harder and produce more. This leads to more money for the company to grow. Paul should place a suggestion box to assist in identifying key components that his employees are requesting to make their work experience better. Some of their ideas may  lead to greater levels of quality, production, and even profits. Another option is to continue with carefully designed employee surveys, focus groups and an exit interview strategy to determine key components of employee dissatisfaction and addresses those issues to motivate employees. Corporate Image The employer who maintains steadfast principles, embraces change, accepts and breeds the company’s philosophy and business principles will win every time. Businesses want to be known as the company to work for or â€Å"Employer of Choice†. This is the company that receives recognition for the way they take care of their employees and care for them. These are the companies that employees find balance. Paul working in human resources can develop the tools to identify balance through recruiting the most qualified applicants, selecting the most suitable candidates and retaining the most talented employees. References: Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell (2008). The Essential HR Handbook: A Quick and Handy Resource for Any Manager or HR Professional Web Link: http://www.hrmasia.com/case-studies/ Mathis, R.L., & Jackson, J.H. (2014). Human Resource Management 14th Ed. Stamford, CT: Cengage Learning.

7 Year War

The war consisting of three names, known to the Europeans as â€Å"the 7 year war,† the Canadians as â€Å"The conquest,† and to the English Americans as â€Å"The French and Indian War. † The French and Indian War started in 1756 and lasted roughly 7 years. It all started at â€Å"The Forks of Ohio. † Present day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Both Great Britain and France hoped to get there first and take control of the land for themselves. The river was a natural highway for trade and both sides had their own plans for the land.France formed alliances with the Native Americans who lived around their forts and would most often live and work along side of the natives taking in their way of life The river would be a way for them to travel faster for trade amongst other colonies, they built most of their trading posts along the rivers. The French traded amongst the Native Americans for valuable animal fur, which later they would send to Europe to be sold. Anothe r reason the French became a great threat to Great Britain, they had and controlled more land.By 1700 the French land stretched from Canada, across the Great Lakes, down to the Mississippi River and to New Orleans. This and the wanting The â€Å"Forks of Ohio† themselves will be the cause of the war we know today as the â€Å"French and Indian War. † The British, busy building their colonies along the coast of the Atlantic. These settlers were brought to America with the desire to become rich or to practice their own religious beliefs freely. Most of their living being made farming or trading.The British outnumbered the French due to the fact that they built more small villages and towns, bringing more British over in their conquest for riches. The vast number of British caused for them to move around in search for more land, moving them west, most often causing conflict with the Native Americans trying to protect their land. Between the years 1689 and 1748 a series of three wars were fought amongst them both all for control of North America, in which neither side fully won.On Great Britain’s side, a young twenty-one commander in chief was the start to the notorious war, firing the first shots starting the first true war, â€Å"George Washington. † The two armies collided near The Forks of Ohio in 1754 causing Britain’s victory over the French for a short period of time. Once French soldiers surrounding the area caught word of the attack they band together and went in search of George Washington and his men.The French soon arrived to find George and his men hiding in a stockade they had built to fend of the French soldiers, the stockade soon developed the name â€Å"Fort Nessecity. † Washington and his men soon out numbered caused the British to surrender and to their surprise was able to return home. When this war began the French teamed with the Canadian colonists and their native alliances they traded amongst for ye ars. The French proved loyal to the Natives over the period of time they conducted business together.This help make up for the vast outnumbering Britain had over the French. Britain teamed with the American colonies and 4 of the 6 Iroquois Nations, who were not to fond of the French to begin with, due to the taking over their land and changing their way of life by driving out their game they used for hunting and destroying their crops. 1755, General Braddock, appointed general at the time led yet another attack at â€Å"Fort Duquesne,† the new name of the French fort at the â€Å"Fork of the Ohio. Alongside the General came George Washington, now Junior leader of the British army. It was this battle that General Braddock became injured and later died. The battle lasted only about three hours and ended with the British once again retreating. This battle soon came to become â€Å" The Battle of the Wilderness. † The British strategy of attack was no match for the defens e of the French. The French and Natives would hide amongst the trees and the wilderness leaving the British shooting in the dark and wide open targets. 756, this year became the start of what seemed to be a huge loss amongst the British. â€Å"Fort Oswego† in New York was captured by the French. 1757 â€Å"Fort William Henry,† soon became French territory. Attack after attack by the French caught the British army off guard as the French and Natives pulled land after land from underneath the British. This battle caused different countries all over the world to take sides.By 1756 war was not just in North America anymore but consisted of most of the countries throughout the world. In 1757, William Pitt took over the position of leadership for Great Britain. In 1758, Pitt ordered an attack at â€Å"Fort Louisburg† a French fortress off the coast of Canada. They thought that if they could get control of the key then they would have access to the rivers running throu gh, making for battle by water a lot easier of a solution for them.The British brought with the double the men than what existed at the fortress at the time, outnumbering the French, this led to the surrender by the French and gave the British two heads up on the battle. The war started to take a turn for the best for Great Britain. Soon the British had control of â€Å" Fort Frontenac† on Lake Ontario in the year 1758. This loss for the French really made a dent in the British victory, making it harder for the French trade.The fall of 1758, the French abandoned â€Å"Fort Duquesne† causing the British to take control of the Forks of Ohio. The name â€Å"Pittsburgh† soon became the new fort name, after William Pitt, Pitt was the reasoning for the turn of the war in the British favor, earning him the title of the name. 1759, the invasion in Canada was sent under way. â€Å"Lake Champlain† was claimed by the British clearing another path to Canada for the B ritish.Summer, 1759 James Wolfe led a large fleet up the St. Lawrence River, targeting Quebec. Wolfe and his men set up fort across the river from Quebec, planning out a way to carry out their attack. Months pass, several attempts on Quebec’s steep land fails. Wolfe catches word of a secret trail that became ideal for the attack. September, the night attack by Wolfe and his men , sent under way led to the surrender of the French in Quebec.The French retreated to Montreal, although on both sides both generals lost their lives, Wolfe and Montcalm the British proudly marched in to Quebec on September 18th the year 1759. This battle was one of the last chances for the French to have any control over North America. The wars continued but never again did the French see another victory. Great Britain had taken over and their forces seemed to be too overwhelming for the French. The war around the war continued and still led to the French and their allies failing. 763 came around and both the British and the French decided it was time for a Truce. The treaty called â€Å"The peace of Paris† was drawn up and signed. The terms, The French gave up Canada, India and the Florida territories. The British now had control of most of North America. Although it felt like peace had been made at last even though Great Britain’s powerful force took over most of North America, this war had and impact that would not be avoided not only for the colonists but for the Native Americans as well.Great Britain now controlled vast’s amounts of land and more land meant more soldiers to protect this land. This became costly, the new government then imposed new taxes for the colonists. As imagined, the colonists grew unhappy with this decision. They felt the victory had to do with them as well and their new found freedom should be enjoyed, this was not the case. This will soon cause even more conflict in the future. The Native Americans, felt the impact in the worst way.After British victory more and more settlers moved to North America taking control of even more land, creating their tobacco crops and scaring away the wildlife the Natives become accustomed to hunt. The Native American not only were being pushed out of their land but could not continue their way of life they lived for centuries. This became a problem and caused war amongst the natives and the British. 1763, a proclamation was created, making the first reservation between the Appalachian and the Mississippi River for the natives.This was an attempt at peace, trying to avoid war with the natives. War is costly and Great Britain trying to maintain their vast majority of land had too many cost to deal with as it was. This law was to protect the land from the settlers. This treaty did little or nothing for the Natives as the settlers still continued to move west forcing the natives from their land. The taxes and the proclamation caused even more anger amongst the colonists, they beg an a disagreement with the British rule.The relationship between Great Britain and The American colonies would soon fall apart leading to none only than â€Å"The American Revolution. † A new war at hand. Bibliography: Santella, Andrew, â€Å"We the people, The French and Indian war,† (Compass Points Books, 2004) , 4-48 Anderson, Fred, â€Å"Crucible of war,† (A Division Of Random House, New York), 479 Vaugeois, Dennis â€Å"The last of the French and Indian War,† Montreal, (Mcgillqueens University Press, 2002) 1-100

Contextualizing the Effects of the Ruhr Crisis on the Second World War Essay

Contextualizing the Effects of the Ruhr Crisis on the Second World War - Essay Example The Occupation of Ruhr by the French triggered a domino effect of failures and problems that indirectly contributed to the inexorability of a second world war. The issue of reparations and the extent of the effects of the Ruhr crisis comprise â€Å"an excruciatingly tangled thicket into which only a few intrepid explorers have ventured.† However, if one must venture into this tangled thicket, one must plot a course that will show the clearest way to untangle it and take out the unnecessary weeds. In this sense, because the post-war period and the Ruhr crisis involve a lot of events and activities, one must sort through this stream of information and pick out only what is relevant. That is to say that the course exhibited in this paper is not the only explanation as another person may view the events in a different light and may go through a different route. Furthermore, the Ruhr Occupation and World War II are separated by sixteen long years; and so, it is very difficult to sa y for certain that the former caused the latter. Hence, this paper will attempt to show a complete analysis of the significant chain of events that explains why the Ruhr Crisis made a great contribution to the inevitability of a second world war through a shift or a regression in the European balance of power. France’s failure to achieve her goal of industrial expansion through the Occupation of Ruhr proved to be catastrophic as it not only drove a wedge between Britain and France and diminished her power in Europe, but it also created a chain of events that led to Germany’s reinforced supremacy that tipped the balance of power in her favor and the latter’s thirst for revenge that contributed greatly to the inevitability of World War II.

Professor Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Professor Interview - Essay Example I am interested in finding out the about the specific strategies that help college students achieve proper management of their time, life and scarce resources. The current task will require me to create a plan to meet the emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs of college students. The information from the interview will be beneficial to college students because at the end I will prepare a PowerPoint presentation to teach college students to teach them about time management, self-management, and learning strategies. Concerning time, what do you understand by the phrase â€Å"time management†? Professor : Human beings are required to live in two time dimensions at once; that is, the present and the future (Forsyth, 2010). People need to manage their time effectively if they desire to realize their goals as scheduled. This inevitably creates a conflict between focusing on the pressing demands of the day while creating some space to make strategic plans for future. The conc ept of time management deals with planning time utilization in such a manner as to perform effectively and efficiently all planned activities. Allen (2005) argues that the fundamental objective of time management is to organize strategically a person’s activities in order to increase the possibilities of achieving the intended objectives. Time is money; therefore, time that is not used well translates into wastage of critical resources. Owning a watch does not promise a lasting solution to time management defects; however, people need to understand time management techniques in order to counteract the barriers to time management. Student : What are the primary strategies that college students can apply to ensure proper management of time at their disposal? Professor : Time management techniques that are used frequently include time budgeting, daily planner and time log. I will explain to you what each of them means and show you how students should apply them to ensure they do not waste their time in unnecessary activities. Felton and Sims (2009) defines time budgeting as the setting of standards for spending the available time effectively and efficiently. College students need to budget for their time since it helps to minimize chances of time wastage. Levin (2007) proposed the procedure for accomplishing time budget incorporating dividing the available tasks into unit projects, assigning priorities to project units in order to determine the level of urgency, deciding the amount of time to be spent on each project unit and spreading the available time over specified days required to complete the task. The second strategy of time management is the daily planner. The daily planner enables college students to plan for their daily activities in order of urgency. Time planners should be based on realistic deadlines to avoid unnecessary frustrations. The third strategy is the time log. The time log is a chart that allows a student to keep track of the time sp ent on each activity by connecting both regular and unexpected activities of the day (Felton & Sims, 2009). A review of the time log at the end of the day enables students to trace the loopholes for time wastage and eliminate them accordingly. Time management techniques are foundations for both personal and organizational prosperity. Student : What are the most common barriers to time management that college students need to avoid in order to stop time wastage? Professor : The crucial part of any time management endeavor is identifying potential barriers to

Lewin Theory Force-Field Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lewin Theory Force-Field Model - Essay Example He also argued that in order to realize desired change, the change agents should suppress the restraining forces but promote the driving forces of change. This model has been widely used in the health sector to introduce and implement change. Developing nursing theory of change from Lewin (1951), Force-Field Model, and its application in the medical/surgical floor. Change is a common occurrence in our society and natural environment all over the world. It is a common saying that the only permanent phenomenon is change. Change generally means the alteration of something or an organism in any of its aspects. For example, when one alters his or her behavior for any reason, then that is change. Since change is a very important phenomenon in our society, there has been a lot of debate about it in political, social and economic spheres. IIes and Sutherland (2001), observe that change can either be planned or emergent; the former denotes conscious reasoning plan to attain desirable change d ue to the flaws of the status quo. In contrast, emergent change happens spontaneously without plan and this type of change is fueled by both external and internal forces in an organization. Numerous theories have been developed to explain change and to give room for empirical research. Before we proceed, it is important to know what a theory is. A theory is a formal set of ideas that are intended to explain why something happens or exists (Hornby 2003). Lewin (1951), developed force-field model of change. The force field model was a major development for nursing change theories since it has influenced many of them. The nursing force field theory is considered to be the mother of nursing theories. The paper will explore the force field theory, its applications, and how it has evolved in the medical sector. According to IIes and Sutherland (2001), there is need for change in the health service and this need has been expressed by professionals, governments and researchers. Lewin (1951) , developed force field theory and it has had a great influence on nursing change theories. He offered an elaborate explanation on the behavior human beings through his force-field model of change. In the theory, Lewin conceptualized three steps, unfreezing, moving and refreezing, when he described the process of change (Bozak 2003). At the unfreezing stage the problem is identified. There have been many problems that nurses encounter during their practice like data management, poor working conditions, poor relationship with the hospital administration, and exposure to health risks among others. At this stage, the particular problem is identified and brainstorming is done to determine the most appropriate way of solving it. Once the problem has been identified, its solution is required through change to avoid breakdown or deterioration of an organization. When solving a problem, there are often obstacles that are met. Many often resist change due to fear of the unknown and the desir e to maintain the status quo. At this stage strategies are put in place to ensure that the resistance is appropriately dealt with. Generally, people resist change when they feel that they have been left out of the process. Change agents at this stage are to make nurses own the change by involving them in the negotiations and receiving their feedbacks on the intended change. Lewin classified factors causing change into two categories, driving and restraining forces. Driving forces include the underlying

Malaysian Banks Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Malaysian Banks - Term Paper Example One of the most premiere cases where it is not shariah compliant that it most incur loss and gains in the house or business regardless of circumstances. A notable case was noted when an individual went to the Bank and said he cannot pay, but the bank refused to sell his house. This is completely against shariah in which the bank must split the loss. Hence, the concept of shariah finance is extremely hard because each country wants some revenue when it comes to financial securities. For the sake of assurance, most banks sugarcoat this with hidden fees and even charge a higher interest rate that are usually hidden in original clause terms. The concept of ‘service fee’ is highly demised because it is a vague term that all Malaysian banks utilized. Before understanding this issue, it is cognizant to understand the elements that surround Islamic Banking. Without a doubt, the Islamic law dictates that the asset must not be a ribawi material or in the medium exchange of gold, not silver. Additionally, a contract between two or more parties to accumulate in partnership. HSBC Malaysian bank also is one of these banks that is not shariah approved because of this issue. Another bank that is not confirm with the shariah standards is the fact Citibank Malaysia. Citibank Malaysia also offers these instruments along with the JP Morgan Malaysia Ltd. These banks financial statements dictate that these credit statements must be approved the counsel that is Shariah Compliant. Schroders Malaysia  is also under the same scrutiny as they sell bonds and other financial instruments that charge an interest rate and are not compatible with equal loss or gain since all payments for purchases are made in money. It is clear that not all banks have the understanding to conduct shariah and even do have an approval, tend to look for their own understanding of financial security. Additionally, the banks make it very clear in clause and terms that

Greek Civilization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Greek Civilization - Essay Example The roles which have been assigned to men and women are natural and that they should live by them. It is imperative that whatever roles that exist between a man and a wife, they are not to be substituted; this is because various adaptations have been given to either of them so that they can be able to perform the assigned responsibilities. In making a man and a wife, God did it with the intention that there will be the concept of one party giving and the other party receiving. For instance, a wife was made with little ability for outdoor activities, instead, she was given the will and knowledge for indoor activities, these include housekeeping, the nurturing of new born babies and a great affection for the new born and the family at large. For the wife to be comfortable, the man provides security in the home, he has been given the ability to provide courage to the wife. All these things work well where sharing is done. When these two parties stick to their various roles, there is bound to be ultimate success. Ischomachus became a great wealthy farmer because he was able to train his wife to manage house chores, rule and train slaves. This made him concentrate on managing those activities that were more outdoor and hence succeeded. In a definite case, it needs to be that way. When a man and a wife concentrate in the areas of their expertise, they often excel. For instance, in his conversation with his wife, Ischomachus points that a shelter is very important for people, they should have a cover on their heads. Unfortunately, as soon as these things have been done, new needs will always come again, hence the need for one who will constantly do it, who in this case is the man. Ischomachus notes that the couple ought to procreate. The man and the wife grow old and at one point in time, their efforts need to be complemented. Having children gives them a chance to

Focused Scenario Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Focused Scenario - Case Study Example Since the patient complaints of pain, history of present illness (HPI) should include the severity, onset and duration of the pain as well as aggravating and relieving factors. Any change in testicular size, irregular lumps, soreness or heaviness of the testes should also be asked. Any medication/s taken by the patient for the pain such as analgesics or antibiotics is also important. Past medical history (PMHx) should include any history of STD's, single or multiple infections, treatment and residual problems, if applicable as well as concomitant diseases like Diabetes Mellitus or for any neurologic or vascular impairment (Seidel, et.al, 2006). Relevant to ask in the Family History are infertilities in siblings, history of penile, prostate and testicular cancer and hernias (Siedel, et.al, 2006). Information as to the social history should also include past or present use of alcohol, drugs and cigarette. Since the patient rides a bike everyday and engages in physical sports (softball) , the use of protective gear on his genital area should be asked. The patient's sexual history should include the number of sexual partners, condom usage, sexual lifestyle (heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual) and questions as to any change in the frequency of sexual desire or activity and change in sexual response (e.g.

Business Law, Policy, and Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Law, Policy, and Ethics - Essay Example It is important to set up the site properly so as to protect the business (for example, by ensuring that your terms are accepted before transactions proceed to contract formation), and to comply with the law. Betty was willing to buy BMWS from Andrew thus why she discussed prices and various options with Andrew. Betty said wanted 12 cars top of the range and the next day Andrew telephoned Betty leaving a message on Betty's telephone answer machine offering to sell the cars for $ 38,000 each .in order for an offer to be an enforceable contract, certain basic requirements must be present. There must be an agreement based upon genuine concert of the parties supported by consideration and made for a lawful object between competent parties. (Hussain pg 114, 2002). An offer may be byword of mouth in writing or by conduct. After the discussion between Betty and Andrew the Later agreed to sell the BMWS at $ 38,000 each which was communicated to Betty. The moment a person express his acceptance of an offer the very moment the contract is concluded and does not matter whether the acceptance is byword of mouth or in witting. A contract is complete only when acceptance is actually communicated to the offer. Betty accepted to buy the $ 38,000 through an email she sent to her personal assistance (Carol) who forwarded it to Andrew. For this case the contract of the sale became binding immediately the email of acceptance from Betty was forwarded to Andrew. Carol was Betty's personal assistance and she acted as an agent to her. Her agency was created through an agency by necessity. Law may confer an authority where an agent acted by reason and genuine emergency with a view to protecting his principal's goods, which are in danger of being perished. Her action must have been performed in good faith. She must not assume the role of an agent of necessity unless she is unable to communicate with Betty to obtain fresh instructions. Carol could not have gone ahead and accepted key for the 12 BMW'S without getting fresh instructions from Betty knowing very well she had changed her mind and wanted convertible BMWs at the same price. Hence she is liable for accepting keys to the vehicles without getting further instructions from Betty. Betty is liable to pay for the BMW'S since her personal assistance (carol) intimidated to the seller that he had accepted the good vehicles by accepting the keys. Andrew has rights against Betty and he can sue Betty for the price of the vehicle since the vehicle had been passed to Betty. He can also be entitled to maintain an action for damages if the buyer refuses to accept the delivery and pay for them. Damage is the estimated loss directly and naturally resulting from the buyer's breach of contract. The damages awarded will be different between the contract and the price at the time when the goods ought to have been accepted or if no time was fixed for acceptance, then at the time of the refusal to accept. When Betty asked Andrew to collect his vehicles because she was not going to buy them, Andrew reduced $ 1,000 on cash vehicle. Considered is necessary not for making the contracts, but also for their discharge for example, an agreement to accept the smaller sum in full satisfactory of a large debt is not binding because there is no consideration and the party agreeing to it way sue for the balance. It is however, possible to discharge an existing

Art History Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Art History - Assignment Example A virtual tour, however, allows one to see all the details. In addition, there is the capability of zooming to get the finer details. Two religious paintings, the Ghent Altarpiece, commonly referred to as the Adoration of the Mystic Lamb from Ghent (Northern Europe) and Cimabue’s Madonna Enthroned from Italy, were created during the Renaissance for the same religion – Christianity .For this reason, the two have many similarities in spite of the differences in Renaissance settings of the two regions -Northern Europe and Italy. The two paintings have a span of more than a century apart, with the latter being the older. Both of these paintings were made at the helm of the Catholic Church in a Catholic and have Catholic background. The Ghent Altarpiece features Jesus as the main figure in the art piece while the Madonna Enthroned features Mary, the mother of Jesus; both of them prominent figures in the Catholic Church. In the Ghent Altarpiece, Jesus is seated on a throne and holding a scepter- a symbol of His royal power; conversely, Mary is also sitting on a throne and holding baby Jesus. Both of them are surrounded by numerous figures; Jesus is surrounded by Apostles while Mary is surrounded by angels wearing halos. In both, these figures help Christians to reach heaven. In addition, both Mary and Jesus are wearing long robes, also a symbol of royalty. A further analysis of the two pieces of art reveals little space around the two figures. There is even less space around Jesus. In both, there is symbolic gesturing with the hand; with Mary gesturing toward her son, symbolizing hope for the world. J esus also gestures with His hand; symbolic of the calling of all peoples of the world to come to Him. The striking difference is the use of color in the paintings. While the Ghent Altarpiece has much darker colors, the Madonna Enthroned has more bright colors. Further, there is a difference in time in the two paintings. While the Madonna

Developmental Psychology Essay Example for Free

Developmental Psychology Essay Cognitive development involves developing concepts of thought, problem solving and memory (Green. 2002). Jean Piaget (1896-1980) and Lev Vygotsky (1896-1934) were both psychologists, which focused on cognitive development and the way in which childrens thought and reasoning developed as they matured. This assignment shall begin by describing and evaluating the theories put forward by Piaget and Vygotsky referring to research evidence and providing a conclusion. Piaget (1896-1980) was one of the most influential researchers in the area of developmental psychology during the 20th century and a as biologist was interested in the way in which organisms adapt to their environment this was described by Piaget as intelligence. He viewed behaviour or the adaptation to the environment as being controlled through mental organisations known as schemes that the individual uses in order to represent the world. Piaget suggested that adaptation is driven by a biological drive to obtain balance between schemes and the environment, which is known as equilibrium (Huitt. 2003). Within Piagets research and writings on cognitive development he suggested that childrens thoughts are not only less sophisticated than adults but they are also qualitatively different and this is due to less knowledge (Jarvis. 2000).   It was considered by Piaget that the interaction between the child and their environment was the main factor of influence on their cognitive development. Piagets view of children is that they are scientists and that they should be left to explore their surroundings giving them the opportunity to interpret the world in their own way. The active involvement in their own learning is described as a series of schemas and that these schemas would change and develop through each stage through the process of assimilation or accommodation (Green. 2002). Piagets theory is based on stages of development in which he believed that all children develop at the same age. There are four stages to his development theory, which are sensorimotor (0-2 years) and the view that infants are developing their first schemas (Meggitt. 2000). Object permanence is the main focus within this stage and the assumption by Piaget that children aged five or six months old could not understand that an object, which was covered, still exists.  An experiment showed that a child of five or six months showed no interest once the toy was covered whereas a ten month old would reach out for the toy and seem to become agitated. Piagets interpretation of this was that the child of ten months had reached object permanence and now has a schema for the object. In contrast to this Tom Bower and Jennifer Wishart (1972) argued that objects do still exist in babys minds although they have been covered. To support their theory an experiment was undertaken using an infrared camera. An object was offered to the baby and as they reached out to grab it the lights were switched off. The results showed that the baby was still attempting to reach for the toy although they were unable to see it and so an explanation for Piagets theory was that by covering the object the baby was distracted and not necessarily that they had forgotten about it. The second stage is pre-operational stage (2-7 years). Egocentric thinking predominates the child (Huitt. 2003) within this stage and they do not have the ability to understand things from another persons viewpoint according to Piaget. In order for this to be confirmed he set up an experiment. Three mountains were set in front of the child and a doll was placed in different seats around the table. Photographs, which had been taken, were then shown to the child and they were asked to point to the picture that the doll would see. As Piagets findings showed that most four or five year olds pointed to photographs which represented their view of the mountains he concluded that they were egocentric. Most children aged seven that was asked to do the same task correctly identified the photograph strengthening Piagets theory. Although it was then argued by Martin Hughes (1975) that the task was much too complicated for the child and therefore devised his own experiment, which would contradict Piagets findings. His experiment involved a model with two intersecting walls, two policeman figures and a figure of a boy. After having a trial using one police figure and the boy to ensure the child understood the task Hughes began his experiment. It was found that most children could successfully take account of two different viewpoints. Therefore it could be said that Piagets experiment may have been too difficult for the child to understand rather than the child being egocentric.

Nestle and the food and beverages industry

Nestle and the food and beverages industry Nestle has strong corporate culture which is reflected by the company logo itself. The logo, Good Food Good Life which is always attached to its products is the main guidance for every activity within the company. Nestle believes that good food is the primary source of good health throughout life thus it always puts nutrition, health and wellness as the core of its business. The company tries to further develop and emphasize on these aspects. These three things Nutrition, Health and Wellness can be found in all Nestle products and in the company mission statement as well. Talking about the company culture which is related its people structure, Nestle has the culture of team focused and open door policy which become one of its corporate strengths. The company focuses on collectivism and performance orientation attitude to encourage employees to work harder (Ali et al, 2009). Strategic Purpose Mission of Nestle is to make better food so that people live a better life. There is an apparent relationship between this mission statement and the company logo. As what the company believes in, it strives to bring consumers foods that are safe, of high quality and provide optimal nutrition to meet physiological needs. In addition it also brings the vital ingredients of taste and4rrf4f5f5gt pleasure. Nestlà ©s corporate objective is to be the worlds largest and best branded food manufacturer, whilst ensuring that the Nestlà © name is synonymous with products of the highest quality (Nestle Corporate Objective, 2009). It shows that Nestle has achieved one part of its corporate objective which is to be the worlds largest manufacturer. This objective is related to another objective of Nestle which is the company wants to make sure that the product creates value that can be sustained over the long term for shareholders, employees, consumers, business partners and the national economies in which Nestle operates. The main concern of Nestle is to deliver nutritional value for the customers. Thats why in the website of the company, its clearly stated that Nestle is the worlds foremost Nutrition, Health and Wellness company. The CEO of Nestle, Paul Bulcke once said that the objective is to be recognized as the leader in the Nutrition, Health and Wellness and as the reference for financial performance, trusted by all stakeholders. The statement from the CEO is in line with the fact that Strategic Purpose isnt only concerned with what the organization should achieve but also who has influence over the purposes. In every organization there should be some people that have complex role in affecting the organizational purpose. These people are the stakeholders of the company. Nestle wants the stakeholders are well-served which is returned in the companys long term objective: to create sustainable value for its shareholders which require it to create the value for the societies at first place. 2.0 Industry Analysis The threat of entry At first glance, people may think that food and beverages industry is quite easy to enter. This is true if the consideration is only about the capital requirements. The capital requirement of entry is not high thus enable many parties to open their business in this industry. This opinion is also supported by the fact that many brands are occupying the shelves of supermarket or retailer. But if more factors are taken into consideration, the threat of entry for food and beverages industry is moderately high (medium level). The threat of entry is affected by many factors which are economies of scale, capital requirements, access to supply or distribution channel, customer of supplier loyalty, experience, expected retaliation, legislation or government action and differentiation (Johnson et al, 2005). For this industry there is no specific government legislation that governs the entry of new entrants. The fact is that there are many big players exist in this industry and they are at multinational level which means the retaliation is very great. These big players have broad product lines and they have global marketing strategy that those local brands are not able to compete with. These big companies also have an advantage in term of achieving economies of scale. They have more experiences to give them advantage in terms of cost, customer and supplier loyalty. Entering the food and beverages industry to compete with the big competitors such as Nestle wont be a wise decision unless the new comer has careful attention paid to the strategy. Nestle has the most important thing to retain its customers which is the brand name itself. In 2008, Nestle is one of the companies in the list of 100 Best Global Brand (Best Global Brands, 2008). Nescafe as one of the brand under Nestle was reported to have 13,056 million USD of brand equity. This shows how valuable the brand name of Nestle as the market leader in the industry which cant be imitated by competitors. The brand name is used to differentiate Nestle product from the competitors. Threat of Substitute Threat of substitute is high in the food and beverages industry. There are many substitutes available that might reduce demands for company in the food and beverages industry. To identify the threat of the industry, the company cant only look at close substitute. Threat can be assessed using price/performance ratio and extra industry effects. There is a tendency for food and beverages manufacturers to product broad range of products. These products may compete with one another to gain market share. It means that they become substitute for each other. For example Nestle Koko Krunch Cereal can be the substitute for Nestle Nesvita cereal drink since both of them are intended for breakfast consumption. Because Nestle is offering not all kinds of food and beverages, those unoffered kinds may act as the substitutes for the Nestle products. For example Nestle has coffee in its product lines which is Nescafe, the substitute for it can be the soft drinks which are not in the portfolio of Nestle. In this case the substitutes are also very broad. For certain food such as baby food, the substitute can be breastfeed which is free and offer same or higher value. Power of Supplier The power of supplier in food and beverages industry tends to be medium. The basis of Nestle products are agricultural raw materials such as milk, cocoa, and coffee. By referring to 3 factors that affect the power of supplier, only 1 factor can gives the supplier the power advantage which is the non-existence of forward vertical integration. Supplier power is increasing as many of the food and beverages manufacturer are not involved in agricultural raw material production and dont own or operate farms. Nestle, Cadbury, and Kraft are some of the examples. They rely on the suppliers to provide the raw materials. Nestle itself purchases agricultural materials in either raw or semi-processed form directly from farmers or via trade channels (Raw Materials, 2009). On the other hand, by considering the number of suppliers in the industry and also the switching cost, the dependency to a particular supplier can be reduced. The suppliers are not concentrated that enables the companies to choose the most appropriate suppliers. For multinational companies that have their operations in many countries throughout the world, if one supplier cant offer good price for the company, it can look for the other suppliers (can be in different countries). One issue for some companies is how to get the suppliers that can supply high quality materials as needed for producing high quality finished products. Switching cost from one supplier to another is not high. The bargaining power of supplier depends heavily on the strength of the companys brand. In this case, big companies such as Nestle can take advantage in bargaining. Small scale companies or local companies may feel that the power of supplier is higher as compared to the well-established companies. Power of Buyer Competitive Rivalry Food and beverages industry is a very competitive industry. This is affected by the other 4 factors discussed above. Its not too difficult to enter to this industry, the bargaining power of supplier and buyer are medium and threat of substitute is high. Some other factors also determine the intense of competition. The competitors are of roughly equal size which can make the competition even stiffer. They will attempt to gain dominance over another. For example Nestle and General Mills have joint ventured for breakfast cereal market. By having such joint venture these two companies instead of competing with each other they can gain better success (Jones, 2008). In overall this food and beverages industry has its own attractiveness to attract new comers to enter. Although from the 5 Porter results the industry isnt so attractive, it has its own set of appeal for the business party which is the growing opportunity (profit). If the new comers can have good strategy to penetrate into the market and know how to compete with existing companies, they can gain benefits in the competition. {draw:frame} Since Nestle is operating in world-wide market, the industry life cycle may vary among different geographical areas. In general food and beverage industry is at the growth stage of life cycle but for European market and non-European market they are at the different point of growth stage. Figure below shows the position of the food and beverages industry in the life cycle. Another reason for the difference is the demographic differences between the two different areas. A very important issue that makes European market is hardly to grow is regarding the population growth rates. As compared to other markets, the population growth rate is lower that makes the industry cant grow or generate higher profits for the market players. For food and beverages industry, the consumption is driven by the population growth. Slower population growth means the industry also grows slowly. The industry life cycle analysis is related to the Porter 5 forces. The relationship can be seen from the characteristics of the forces which vary for each life cycle stage. In other words the life cycle can be determined by looking at the 5 forces of the industry. As for the food and beverages industry, since its still at the growth stage the competition will keep increasing (intense rivalry) till it reaches maturity stage. One obvious fact is that in European and North America market the competition is stiffer as compared to the other markets. As shown in the curve before, these 2 markets are approaching the maturity stage while the other markets are just at the middle of growth stage. Nestle knows this thus it put more attention to the Asian market (Jones, 2008). The competitive rivalry is driven by the increasing number of new entrants. The power of buyers at growth stage isnt high but it will increase as the industry goes further in the life cycle. The main reason for this is because of increasing number of competitors to offer more products to the customers. In the Porter 5 Forces analysis it has been identified that the bargaining power of buyers is quite high already. This is because this industry is very broad and the companies can come out with many product selections. When the companies step into the maturity stage by sure they will have even more products providedto strengthen the companys brand. For example Nestle MILO has strong market share and remains a perennial favorite amongst Malaysia consumers. In order to further strengthening the brands image, the company added MILO GOLD to its product range. This was done to keep the consumers loyalty towards the product (Business Review, 2008). Reversely the power of supplier will be lower when this industry reaches the maturity stage. It is because the brand of the company will be more powerful when it enters to the maturity stage. As explained before the power of supplier is relative to the company brands. Currently since the food and beverages industry is still at the growth stage the power of supplier is medium. Nestle is an exception case. For Nestle whose brand is very strong, the power of supplier becomes lower. One proof to show that the power of supplier is low is the presence of Nestle Supplier Code. This Nestle Supplier Code establishes non-negotiable minimum standards that the suppliers must respect and adhere at all times when conducting business with Nestle (Nestle Supplier Code, 2009). The Code also helps in implementing the commitment to foster responsible practices in the company supply chain. It is used to ensure the responsible sourcing and supplier relationships that deliver a competitive advantage for N estle. Not all companies have capability to implement such thing. Suppose Nestle isnt a well-known company, it wont dare to have supplier code, instead it may have to listen to what supplier requires. A major barrier to entry for the growth stage is the learning or experience. Nestle and other companies have gained many experiences that allow them to achieve economies of scale. Pricing during this stage is also declining (lower than the introduction stage) and the profit is also increasing. Nestle and its competitors still have growth opportunity. Another proof to show this industry is still at the growth stage is more differentiated products are being introduced these days. The research center of Nestle is still striving to come out with innovative products and renovate existing ones. Before identifying the key drivers for change, the PESTEL analysis should be carried out. From the key factors in the macro-environment (PESTEL), there are 2 of the factors that influence food and beverages industry the most which are economic and social factor. These two are the key drivers for change in food and beverages industry. Demographic is also one of the factors that keep changing. The main factor within demographic that will impact the operation of the company is the lifestyle. As mentioned earlier, people are shifting to healthier life. The demand for food and beverages that dont fulfill this requirement cant stay long in the competition. But for Nestle this wont affect much since Nutrition, Health and Wellness has been the company focus for years. According to Johnson (2005) critical success factors are those product features that are particularly valued by a group of customers and therefore where the organization must excel to outperform organization. CSF can be related to the differentiation by the companies within the industry. There are 4 common forms of differentiation which can be used by the company which are: product attributes, price, support, and brand image. For the food and beverages industry the most critical success factor will be the product quality and innovation (Nestle: Global Strategy, 2009). It means that for the company to success in this industry, the product quality should be taken care the most while innovation process is also carried out. This is what Nestle has been doing so far. As mentioned before Nestle brand has been the symbol of quality. Innovation is said to be the critical factor because in this kind of industry the company should be able to come out with new ideas to keep pace with the changing customer preferences. Another critical success factor for the food and beverages industry is the healthiness of the products. This is closely related to the key drivers for change as discussed earlier. As people are very concern about their health, the healthiness of the food and beverages they are taking become a key determinant in their purchasing. Many groups of customer valued this healthiness issue thus allows Nestle to conquer big market share. Indirectly the brand image itself can be built from the product attributes thus brand is of the same importance with product quality in food and beverages industry. The company also needs to develop its corporate brand using CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). Probably this factor is applicable for any industry in the business world. As Nestle is the market leader of its industry, by sure it has its own set of core competencies to deal with the critical success factors in the industry. All CSF is of Nestle capability which means it has the resources and competencies to cater all CSF. Without these competencies, Nestle cant sustain its position any longer. This core competency of Nestle has made the company reached the first place in the industry. Quality which is the most important factor for food and beverages industry has been so attached to the Nestle brand itself. Nestle knows that innovation and quality are the key determinants thus it transferred these competencies to the foreign market wherever it entered into (Nestle: Global Strategy, 2009). One of the innovations from Nestle which gives it first mover advantage is its nutrition labeling on all the products packaging. It was launched in 2005 and comprises three elements: Good to know, Good to remember, and Good to talk. These 3 labels can be found in all the Nestle products. There is another first mover advantage Nestle has which is becomes the first in the industry to offer a full range of chilled dairy products with No Artificial Coloring in 2008 (Business Review, 2008). Some examples of the products are BLISS Yogurt Drink, NESTLE Yogurt and YOCO Cultured Milk Drink. It was communicated under the Some Things are Best Left Natural communication campaign and received very positive feedback from consumers. Nestle also has competencies in leading and developing people (Roongrerngsuke, 2006). This is important since Nestle is operating worldwide. As the market in each country is different from the others, the company needs to adapt itself to the macro-environment accordingly. Nestle has the ability in adapting itself to local demand and cultural differences although it operates in global level. It uses local brands in a wide range of local markets and focuses on trying to optimize ingredients and processing technology to local conditions. Doing business in different countries means different ethical standards, different business expectations, and different cultural norms. One example to show Nestles ability in responding to local condition is when it penetrated to Nigeria, the company had to rethink its distribution method (operating a central warehouse) because the road system was poorly developed and much violence there. The global strategy must be backed up with the necessary financial and human resources and knowledge management should be introduced to spread information throughout the company (Nestle: Global Strategy, 2009). Nestle can take advantage of location economies to lower the cost of value creation thus it can achieve low cost position which will give the company even better market shares (Nestle: Global Strategy, 2009). The experience of Nestle itself also can help the company to sustain its competitive advantage in term of lower product price. For Nestle to sustain its competitive advantage shouldnt be a problem. This is due to the value and inimitable of the core competencies of Nestle especially for its corporate brand image and commitment. To achieve what Nestle has achieved so far is very difficult for the other companies. This requires long term experience and investment. The most important thing is that Nestle is aware of the intense competition and keeps improving itself so that competitors cant take over its position. For the nutritional labeling, it was protected by law and other companies cant follow the same thing. Another thing that enables Nestle to sustain its competitive advantage is the intangibility of innovation in Nestle and first mover advantage. Innovation has been the culture of Nestle and it cant be transferred to other parties. Furthermore with the presence of this competency, Nestle shouldnt be worry whenever there are any changes in the industry (macro-environment) especially when people life style change. The company still can come out with nutritious food and beverages to cater the demand of customers worldwide. 5.0 Strategic Directions and Corporate Level Strategies of Nestle Corporate level strategy is also dealing with the product diversity, international diversity, corporate parenting roles and management of portfolio (Johnson et al, 2005). It is strongly related to the strategic direction of the company. Nestle applied international diversity which means it differentiates its products based on the local market and competition. The example has been given in the chapter before which shows the Nestle ability in adapting itself to the local market. In selecting the corporate strategy a firm might refer to Boston Matrix, Ansoff Matrix or use a simple SWOT analysis to establish where the company is and in which direction it wishes to head. Below is the BCG portfolio matrix for Nestle SBU. The classification is based on the performance of the SBU (the profit it generated to Nestle). Most of the Nestle SBU is in the category of star. The SBUs in this category generate high profit for the companies. This is the main reason why Nestle can gain its number one in the industry. All its SBUs are generating profit. Nestle doesnt have any SBU in dog and cash cow category. Take example of Ice Cream SBU to show why its considered as star. Nestlà © Ice Cream registered double digit growth in 2008 (Business Review, 2008). The division continued to spearhead the market with even stronger brand awareness, which saw continuous and sustained brand building efforts even during lackluster market conditions. This SBU can come out with innovative products such as DRUMSTICK Techno, DRUMSTICK Retro ice cream and MAT KOOL Tangle, MAT KOOL Super Blaster and TROPICANA Plus ice confection. In the following years if the innovation is kept carried out, this SBU can still generate high profit for Nestle. Strategic direction or development directions are strategic options available to an organization in terms of products and market coverage (Johnson et al, 2005). There are 4 strategic development directions which are: protect/build, product development, market development and diversification. Nestle has done the 4 strategies. In recent years, the company has pursued a policy of expansion and diversification through acquisition and divestment to achieve a more balanced structure to the business. Product development is the main direction of Nestle and done by the company RD team. As what a director of Nestle said, renovation is to keep pace in the industry; company needs to change at least as fast as consumer expectation. Innovation is to maintain the leadership position; to move faster and go beyond what consumers will tell (Nestle SWOT analysis, 2005). These 2 strategies are intended for internal growth to achieve higher volumes. In 2005, Nestles ice cream business unit for the China Region launched 29 new products to attract more consumers having its quality improved (Nestle Attacks with New Products, 2005). As the multinational company, market development is also very important in order to increase the geographical area coverage. In this case Nestle is expanding the market by geographical area. Nestle expanded to Asia region as it saw good opportunity there. In some cases Nestle used joint venture to assist itself in entering into new market. As a multinational company, Nestle has done some sorts of international strategy such as joint ventures with Coca Cola and General Mills (Nestle SA, 2009). These 2 joint ventures still main for the food and beverages industry (this also can be the example of related diversification). Joint venture with General Mills is to form Cereal Partners Worldwide and joint venture with Coca-Cola is named Beverages Partners Worldwide. The main reason for Nestle to do the joint ventures for its market development strategy is to benefit from the traditional marketing expertise and distribution strength of Coca-Cola and General Mills. These 2 joint ventures also allow the companies to have their market penetration (existing product in existing market). Nestle has related diversification and unrelated diversification. For the related diversification, it can be seen from the wide product portfolio which encompassing baby foods, dairy products, chocolates, breakfast cereals, food seasoning etc. For unrelated diversification, Nestle did it by acquiring or joint venturing with other big companies. For example Nestle acquired Alcon Laboratories Inc. in Texas which is a pharmaceutical company specializing in eye care (Company Related, 2009). Another example of unrelated diversification is the joint venture with LOreal. Nestlà © and LOrà ©al have a close relationship dating back to a shareholder pact made in 1974. Nestlà © holds a 26.4% stake in the worlds largest cosmetics group. Whilst it is unlikely that Nestlà © will take over LOrà ©al in the immediate future, it could well do so in a few years (Nestle SA, 2009). For the future days, Nestle may still come out with market development, product development and diversification. Nestle with its RD team can come out with more and more innovative idea in developing the products and try looking for new market segment. The new market segments can be new geographical unit or based on demographic factor. However for the unrelated diversification Nestle shouldnt go to extensive. It is because the more extensive the unrelated diversification the lower the performance will be. 6.0 Conclusion Conducting industry analysis is very important whenever a company wants to enter into new market. Porter 5 forces and industry life cycle are have-to-do analysis before making decision. However for the existing companies especially large scale companies, they need to pay attention to the future changes that might happen in the industry because these changes will impact the operation of the company in the business environment. Nestle as the leader in the food and beverages industry has its own set of competencies that allow it to conquer the largest market share and left the competitors behind. The core competencies or strategic capability of the company should fit what the most influential factors in determining the success of the company are. It means that the core competencies should be able let the company to sustain its competitive advantages. Portfolio matrix assists the company in determining how to allocate the investment based on the SBU. By understanding this, the company knows the direction it should go. This is related to the issues of market penetration, consolidation, product development and diversification.

Product analysis of tiger biscuit

Product analysis of tiger biscuit Tiger Biscuit-Milk that are owned by Kraft Foods is the product that we chose to analyse on. This is because we find that, it interest us on how a big company like Kraft Foods actually plan their marketing strategies to compete with many other of their competitors on one of their major business portfolio, which is the snacks category and position them well in the market. Tiger Biscuit are first launch in 1997 in India by the Britannia Industries. It became the companys largest brand among its portfolios in the first year of its launching until today. Tiger Biscuit is a glucose biscuit that are mainly made from wheat and milk to enrich its nutrition and healthier compare to other glucose biscuits in the market. The main target market of this biscuit is the kids. Therefore, they make improvement in their biscuits by offering various choice and flavour. It is tasty and affordable to suit the modern mothers who want the best for their kids and take the role to enable their kids to compete in todays world. Recently, Tiger Biscuit are enriching Iron Zor in their biscuit which attempt to address the problem of iron deficiency among the society, either young or the elderly. SWOT analysis is an overall view of the businesss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Strengths and weaknesses are the positive and negative trends in the internal environment of the business which are under control while opportunities and threats are external factors that are not under a businesss control. Kraft Tiger can use their strengths to overcome their weaknesses, capturing the opportunities in the external environment to gain advantages and minimizing their threats. They can be benefit from a SWOT analysis by knowing and understanding their current position before make any further decisions and plans. Therefore, SWOT analysis plays an important issue for Kraft Tiger Biscuit. The following are the SWOT analysis of Kraft Tiger Biscuit-Milk. One of the strength of Kraft Tiger is they are well-known. The reason they became so well-known is because they already exist in the market for a very long period of time and also through advertising in the television. Besides, it is used by McDonalds as part of the promotion as gimmick. This will make it even more well-known. On the other hand, Kraft Tiger gives public a healthy concept and image. As we can see on its packaging, it mentions six pieces of Kraft Tiger equal to one glass of milk. It would help in bones growth and also build stronger teeth. It has lesser calories and fats in their bars too compare to others, yet it still tastes nice and suitable for all level of ages. Next, Kraft Tiger is readily and easy access. Customers can get it anywhere such as malls, Seven Eleven franchises and markets which are near to their place. The price is reasonable and affordable too compared to the nutrition value it contains. Last but not least, the packaging for Kraft Tiger is handy. I t is very consumer-friendly as it can be carry along easily. The weaknesses Tiger include its business liquidation. By facing this problem, Kraft Tiger would cut down the cost of production and thus this will affect its business performance at the market. Besides, Kraft Tiger has high sugar level. Nowadays the customers are concern about the food ingredient, they always want for less sugar and less salt. They would go for more organic biscuit rather than too sweet. The opportunity of Kraft Tiger is the changing of consumers lifestyle. Nowadays, part of the society are made up of working parents, which means they would not have enough time to prepare breakfast for their family. Thus, Kraft Tiger can help to replace the parents duty to prepare a nutritional snack for breakfast. Besides, Kraft Tiger positions their milk-flavoured biscuit as healthy snacks. Parents would allow their children to purchase rather than purchasing other unhealthy snacks. It is everybody favourite, for parents and children. Another opportunity of Kraft Tiger includes the growing demand in the snacks and savoury market in these few years. Women always look for better body shape and thus, some of them will skip meals for maintaining or slimming down their body shape. Therefore, they will go for healthy snacks such as Kraft Tiger which will make them full, yet not fattening. There are many competitors in the biscuit industry, such as direct and indirect competitors. Direct competitors are such as Soda Crackers and Chocolate Love Letter. They will actually compete with Kraft Tiger in the biscuit field. While indirect competitors are the tit-bits, such as London Ring Tomato, Happy Nuts, etc. Although they are in different categories with Kraft Tiger, they still can be classified as wanting a share of the same cake. All of these either direct or indirect competitors will somehow affect Kraft Tiger in the market. Beside, Kraft Tiger facing is  [1]  the rising of the input costs such as sugar. The higher the production cost will lead to the increase of the product price which will decrease the biscuit demand. Product Analysis According to the norm of marketing, every product that is offer in the market has its stages of life cycle. Product life cycle stage is separated in four stages, which are the introduction stage, growing stage, maturity stage and decline stage. Introduction stage is when a product is new in the market where people have limited awareness on the product. The company will take marketing effort to build a market for their new product. The usual marketing efforts taken are carrying out research on the similar products prices among the competitors to set an average and affordable price for the new product. This is done to help the company to build their product share market among the potential buyers to try on their new product which they have minimal knowledge about. Besides that, the company will not produce and distribute the product in a large scale just yet. This is because the company could not estimate the responds of consumers demand in the economy. Therefore, distribution is done selectively. Promotions are also done by aiming on the innovator and early adopter of the product to boost the potential buyers interest in buying the product. After taking necessary marketing efforts, company will analyse the responsiveness of consumer in the market towards the product. If the responses are satisfactory, company will implement marketing mix in their marketing strategies in order to expand their products market share. On the other hand, company will also increase their production to meet the increasing demand in the market. New features are added to the existing product to enhance its quality and broaden up the choices for the customer. At this stage, company will maintain their price to encourage new customers to purchase their product at the same time help the company to remain competitive in the market. By now, the company would then broaden their network of marketing intermediaries such as retailers or wholesalers to make their product available in more areas. Promotions are aimed on the existing customer to create a beneficial long-term relationship and also to influence more potential consumer to buy their products. The third stage of the product life cycle is the maturity stage where the companys sales are more stable and competition will arise among the competitors. At this stage, the companys objectives is simply protecting their market share and make profits from it while it still have the ability. In order to protect their market share, company will keep their products price lower than before to remain competitive in the market. They will also emphasize their promotion on the differences between their products with their competitors. The company will also make improvement in their existing product to create brand preference in the consumers mind so that the consumer will be able to differentiate their products from the competitors.  [2]  Distribution of product will be more intensive, where incentives are given to the distributor to encourage preference from competing products. The final stage of the product life cycle is the decline stage where sales will drop drastically. Usually the company will either continue producing, but in a limited quantity to fulfilled the demand of the loyal customer or stop their production as it is no longer profitable to them. There are also company that will continue the production but add a few new features into the product. Based on the product life cycle stages, it is believe that Tiger Biscuit is in the growing stage. Based on Krafts fact sheet, it is show that confectionary and snacks have become their major business portfolio which is 13.7 billion (29%) and 10.4 billion (22%) respectively. In such circumstance, when the company focused on the product portfolio this will indicate that the portfolio is making profit for the company. Therefore, when the portfolio is making profit, the company will make improvement in their product to broaden the choice to build their market share and brand preference among the consumers. It is clearly stated that snacks segment, which Tiger Biscuit-Milk is categorised, there are many flavours and choices make for the consumer to build their brand preference compare to their competitors such as Nestle. As a consumer, we can see that there is no major price change in the price of Tiger Biscuit-Milk since the launching of the biscuit. Tiger Biscuit-Milk is also easily fou nd in the market in any retailer, this would mean that the range of distribution of the biscuit is widely encourage by the company. Core product Core product is defined as the satisfaction a customer expects from a goods and services purchased. It can also be explained as the non-physical benefits of the product that are delivered to the customer. Based on Tiger Biscuit, the mass market brand, the core product is the nutrition content in the biscuit. Besides that, customers experience the convenience that the product provides for the customer. For example, parents who buy this biscuit for their children can ensure that their children are consuming healthy food which contain less chemical content and at the same time having sufficient nutrition and be rest assure that their children will not be malnutrition. Other than that, for busy people who are always in a rush can have this biscuit while travelling so that they can keep themselves from hunger. Apart from that, people who are on diet can fill their hunger by eating the biscuit and gain from its nutrition. Actual Product Actual product is defined as a tangible product which is consumable such as the brand name, quality, style or idea which customers are buying. Our choice of product which is Kraft Tiger Biscuit-Milk is one of the main biscuit consumer choose because of the guaranteed and assurance of its quality. Kraft created its own brand name which is Tiger biscuit among other competitors such as Parle-G, Danone, etc. For example in Malaysia, when we see a packaging which has this animated tiger on it, without a second thought we would identify it as Tiger biscuit. The design of its packaging created an image for the product itself. Quality wise, Tiger Biscuit-Milk offers a wholesome nutritional ingredient such as glucose, milk, wheat and iron zor. There are various vitamins and minerals in the biscuit that are sufficient for a human daily nutrition requirement. This will help to prevent malnutrition in any human being especially children in the third world country that are most prone to malnutrition due to the overpopulation issue in the country. This biscuit can also be consumed by children that are growing because of the high content of calcium which will help growth and healthy bone. The packaging of Tiger biscuit changes from time to time to enhance a new level of product. For instance, looking at one packaging for a long period of time would bore the consumer. In order to attract new and existing consumers attention, producers would create a whole new look for its product. Augmented Product The third level of a product would be augmented product. Augmented product is defined as the non-physical part of the product or value-added services such as a warranty is given when you purchase a car or maybe electronic appliances. As for Krafts tiger biscuit, its not just a biscuit like any other in the market but a biscuit that puts healthy lifestyle as their main priority. Other than that, Krafts Tiger Biscuit also provide customer service online whereby consumers are able to contact them if theres any enquiry. This service provide customer with further information on the product. Segmentation and Positioning Strategy Nowadays, consumers in any market have different in their wants, resources, location, buying attitudes, and buying practices. Companies recognized that they cannot satisfy to all consumers in the market because they are too many, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practiced. For this reason, the companies themselves will make changes widely in their abilities to serve different segment of the market. Through market segmentation strategy, companies recognize the large, heterogeneous markets clearly and then divide them into smaller segments that can be reached more effectively and efficiently with products and services that according with their unique needs. What customers will we serve? There is 3 ways segmentation that used in this product; it is Age and life-cycle segmentation, Occupation segmentation and Flavour segmentation. Flavour segmentation Different people have different habit, need, and personality. By this segmentation, different people have different flavour on their food. Some people like the chocolate flavour, some people like vanilla flavour and etc. Maybe some of them like two or more of the flavour such as someone like chocolate and also strawberry flavour. Our product had chosen the milk flavour biscuit. Clearly, it was only suitable for those people who like the milk flavour. Age and life-cycle segmentation This segmentation separates the consumer according to the consumers age and provide different product to the related consumer. In this product, it can be divided into age below 18, 19 45, and 46 and above. In the category age between 19 and 45, it was formed by adults. Most of them are occupied now, or starting to develop their own career. All of them are busy to do they work and no such time to having a packet of biscuit. Besides that, most of them like to have a proper meal rather than the biscuit because they consider the biscuits cannot make the stomach full. For the category age 46 and above, most of them are senior citizen. The body functional decline also happened at this stage. Biscuit which contain high sugar are not suitable for them because it increase the risk to getting diabetes. In the age below 18, most of people in this category are teenagers. It can be say is the developmental stage of human. Puberty also happened at the age between 12 until 18. They consumed the en ergy more than the other categories. So, the biscuits that high sugar, high nutrition and tasty are just right for them. Obviously, the category that most preferable for this segmentation are the category age below 18. Occupation segmentation This segmentation is dividing the consumer according to the occupation. Occupation can be defined as the activity, career that occupies a persons attention, or principal activity in your life that you do to earn money, continue the life. In this segmentation, it can be segment to many kind of occupation. After analyzed and categorized, it can be divide as professionals, workers and students. Professionals and workers mostly is the technical, strenuous, and time-consuming job, most of them will busy on their job. Same reason as the age segmentation on the above, they will prefer having a proper meal than the biscuit. So, students are the most preferable consumer in this segmentation. It is because almost of them are teenagers, they can have this kind of biscuit as their breakfast or lunch during school time. Moreover, the quantities of biscuit exactly satisfy the students food intake and also convenient to carry to school. Market Targeting After the market segmentation process incurred, the next step is market targeting. Market targeting is a process for a firm to estimates the various types of segments and choose which segments suppose to be serve are the best to the firm and consumers. For the segmentation above, flavour segmentation is the best target market for our product. It is because our product only has exactly one flavour, which is milk flavour. Once this product manufactured, the buyers of this product high probability are the milk flavour buyers. Market Positioning Market positioning is when marketer uses some ways to influence the consumers impression of the products or brand relative to the impression of competitors brand or products. A firm will then show the products advantages that are able to compete with their competitors. Its main objective is to position the good image of the product or brand in the consumers mind. For our product, its main objective is to care for consumers health. Besides that, it put a tiger as its logo to symbolize a powerful, energetic animal. Hereby, this creates consumers confidence to obtain energy resources by consuming this product. Besides that, the ingredient of this products show that contains eight kinds of vitamins and six kinds of minerals. One of a special mineral that our product provided is calcium. Calcium is an important component of a healthy diet and necessary mineral for life. Building stronger, denser bones and keeping bone strong are the main function of the calcium. Calcium can be found in mi lk, cheese, and yogurt. Knowing that our product is milk flavour biscuit that contained calcium, it have adequate requirement to compete with another biscuit manufacturer. Competitors In a market, once a new product appears, it will face competition with another product. For this product, it had faced a competitor that is Jacob biscuit. Its competitor, Jacob biscuit used the slogan Jacobs Walk of Life which mean it product can accompany the consumer as long as the consumers lives. It has strongly competitive with our product because their main objectives are the same with our product that is to take care of the consumers. Consumer behaviour Consumer buying behaviour is defined as the process of decision making and involvement of a consumer in buying a product. Every consumer has different buying behaviour towards purchasing a product. The type of buying behaviour of a customer varies greatly between each consumer based on their level of involvement in purchasing the product and intensity of interest in purchasing the product. The level of involvement in purchasing a product varies based on price, income level, risks faced, and frequency of purchasing. There are four categories of consumer buying behaviour which is complex buying behaviour, dissonance-reducing behaviour, habitual behaviour and variety seeking buying behaviour. Complex buying behaviour is where the buyer has high involvement in purchasing the product, for example, buying a house. This is because the product that the buyer wants to purchase is expensive, risky and purchased infrequent. The buyer would also be able to see significance differences between the compared products and the potential products. Dissonance-reducing buying behaviour is when there is high involvement in purchasing the product but the buyer sees few differences between products, such as buying a carpet for the living hall. This is because the product could be expensive or purchase infrequently and there is a risk of buying one that do not suit the environment of the hall but there are no significant or few differences between the carpets sold in the market. Variety-seeking buying behaviour is where the buyer has low involvement in purchasing the product but sees significant differences between the products. For instance, when consumer wants lunch, he will do research on the food or to look into the food price as much as purchasing a car because food is a necessity. But the consumer is very particular on the taste of the food. Therefore, he will switch to other restaurant to seek for varieties. Habitual buying behaviour is when there is low involvement in purchasing a product and sees no significant differences between products. For example, when purchasing household necessity such as sugar and salt. Consumer does not see the brand differences because it is something that they purchase often. Based on researches of Tiger Biscuit-Milk, it is clear that the consumer buying behaviour on this product is the variety-seeking buying behaviour. Generally, no consumers are highly involved in purchasing a biscuit. All that the customers require is the differences of Tiger Milk Biscuit compare to other glucose biscuits in the market. What differentiate Tiger Milk Biscuit to the other glucose biscuits in the market are the social responsibilities that Tiger Biscuit have upon the customers by providing nutrition in their biscuit to prevent hunger and malnutrition to occur. Almost all of the consumers will go through five decision making process before, during and after they purchase a product. The five decision making process is the problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase decision respectively. At the very beginning, the consumer will have to identify what is the problem that they are facing and think of a solution to solve the problem. An example based on Tiger Biscuit-Milk, when a consumer is hungry but at the same time, he is in a hurry to work. He does not have sufficient time to have a proper table-top breakfast, so, he can choose to stay hungry or to buy something light to fill his hunger. It can be bread, biscuit or etc. The second stage is the information search where the consumer can get information by either doing research, friends and family (reference group) or advertisement. He goes into a store and enquires the store assistant (reference of information) for suggestion of snacks he can have for breakfast. The store assistant suggested Tiger Biscuit-Milk, Oreo, Gardenia -tuna bread and etc. (gain of information). Third stage is when the consumer evaluates the information that he gains from the information search and evaluate which is the best after comparing the information. He will compare all the information provided by the store assistant to identify the best choice. Usually when there are minimal brand differences, consumer will make decision based on their brand preference. After evaluation the suggested ideas, consumer will decide which is the best choice for them and which brand that they prefer if there are few differences in the economic factor such as price and quantity. If there are significant differences between the products, consumer will know which exactly is better. He decided to buy Tiger Biscuit-Milk as it is healthy and nutritional. This is the purchase decision that the consumer made. Lastly, post-purchase decision is the stage where the consumer had already try the product and identify whether are they satisfied or unsatisfied with the product. In this case, he will try the biscuit and identify whether he like the taste of the biscuit or not. If he is unsatisfied with the biscuit, he will not buy that biscuit again. On the other hand, if he is satisfied, he will tell his network (friends family) how good is the product. If this is the case, he is indirectly promoting the product on behalf of Tiger Biscuit. Conclusion In conclusion, Kraft Tiger biscuit became a brand name itself in the market and is recognized worldwide. Based on reports, this product is at a growing stage which experience sharp increase in profit and strengthening of customer relationships. Besides that, the three level of a product like core,actual and augmented product explains the benefit of the biscuit to consumers. This section would partly determine the post-purchase decision on a customer. Segmentation is the next section whereby it occurs 3 ways which is flavour, occupation, and age/life cycle segmentation. Company will then target the segemented market and position it. This process enables the product to fit in a certain segment in the market which will lead to maximum profit. A factor that may influence the Kraft Tiger biscuit sales would be their competitors mainly Jacobs and Parle-G. Competitive market means Kraft need to work on producing a better biscuit compare to its competitors. Hence, consumer would benefit from its improved biscuit from time to time. More over, consumer behaviours would determine Krafts relationship with its customers. There are four categories which is complex buying behaviour, dissonance-reducing behaviour, habitual behaviour and variety seeking buying behaviour. Researches show that variety-seeking behaviour is involved in purchasing Kraft Tiger biscuit due to its low involvement and brand differences. Lastly, consumers will go through five decision making process before, during and after they purchase a product which is problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase decision and post-purchase decision. Consumers will go through the first four stage before purchasing the biscuit and the last stage after trying the biscuit.

Scarlet Letter Symbols :: essays research papers

Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many symbols to add meaning to his novel, The Scarlet Letter. This novel was written in 1850 by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This novel is classified as a romance due to the events that happen through out the book. The book takes place in 1640's Boston. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses many symbols to give the book strength and power over the reader. Two symbols that Hawthorne uses are the rosebush, and Pearl. These two symbols help in the revelation of the story, from beginning to end. Hester is kept in the prison due to her sin of adultery that she has committed. As she walks herself from the prison doors to the scaffold, the readers become acquainted with the rose-bush . This rose bush is said to be kept alive with history. Hawthorne says how he plucks one of the rose-bush flowers and presents it to the reader. "It may serve, let us hope, to symbolize some sweet moral blossom, that may be found along the track, or relieve the darkening close tale of human frailty and sorrow." (p. 46) When Hawthorne shows the reader the rose bloom, he point out that beauty comes with a price, but also it is next to the prison door. The rose-bush symbolizes the pain and joy that come through Hester's sin. One of the most painful yet most important thing to Hester is Pearl. Pearl is also a very important symbol though the story. She is Hester's pride and joy that leads her through the day., but also her full time reminder of the sin she has committed. "Therefore it is good for this poor, sinful woman that she hath an infant immortality, a being capable of eternal joy or sorrow, confided to her care,-to at ever moment, of her fall,-but yet to teach her, as it were by the Creator's sacred pledge, that if she bring the child to heaven, that child will also bring the parent thither!"(p.105) Here Mr. Dimmesdale explains how Pearl, is the eternal joy and sorrow of Hester's life. Also how Pearl can save her mothers soul, if Hester can save Pearl's first. Hawthorne says at the end of the story that Pearl grew up and took her mother's sin into consideration in her life, and grew up to have a happy family.

Satan in John Miltons Paradise Lost Essay -- essays research papers

Who is Satan? Satan’s definitions include the advocate of God, a personification of evil, the fallen angel, a spirit created by God, and also the accuser. People see Satan differently, some know of his existence, others think of him as just a myth, and there are those that just ignore him. John Milton's Paradise Lost tells of Satan's banishment from Heaven and his gain of earth. He and his brigade have plotted war against God and are now doomed to billow in the fiery pits of hell. Satan is a complex character with many different qualities. God is a character who we, as Christians, know about but do not completely understand. We also do not completely understand Satan. Some may think they know Satan but when asked â€Å"Is Satan divine?† they hesitate. I admit that this is a very tough question to answer but it is just one of the ways that we understand Satan. The tools we have to understand Satan are mainly the just Bible and our questions, but some use John Milton’s Pa radise Lost. There are some who think we should not use Paradise Lost as a tool because it is just a fictional book. I personally believe that this book could be a story told to John Milton by the Holy Spirit. Milton's Satan is somewhat different to our thought of Satan largely because he is more complex than the Satan of the Christian tradition. Satan's rebelliousness, his seeking of transcendence and his capacity for action, particularly evil action, change certain people’s viewpoints on him, even if their viewpoint might be considered theologically misleading. The question is: do we actually understand Satan and evil by means of the book Paradise Lost? In John Milton's Paradise Lost, Satan is banished from Heaven for his defiance against God. Satan an... ...ological story. We have books like the â€Å"Left Behind† series and some of us treat them like they are describing what is going to happen. In the book Wrestling with Dark Angels Satan is described as â€Å"a supernatural being, although limited in power yet still greatly effective in fulfilling his malicious purpose, at least for a time. Because he is limited in power he has to rely upon clever delusion and allusion† (117). Satan will never be in charge of us as long as we never let him in. If we let him in we will see the allusion and will love it like he does. Finally, Satan interests many critics, who ask many questions. Many of the questions are unanswerable since we do not have access to Satan’s mind, let alones Milton mind. The Satan in Paradise Lost is a product of Milton. His character will continue to fascinate and confuse us all for many more generations.