Should the Government Regulate Our Health

Should The Government Regulate Our Health? Posted: 01/29/10 10:58 AM ET Get Healthy Living Alerts Sign Up Submit this story I was in my late 20's when I walked into a dialysis clinic for the first time. The interior of the waiting area was worn, with beige paint peeling off of the walls. As I waited awkwardly to find out where my patient was my attention was drawn to a sign that read, â€Å"Did you know that [a popular fast food sandwich] contains 1020 milligrams of sodium? † Salt can be bad. But it sure tastes good.Ask the millions of Americans who consume large amounts of salt in their diet, much of it from processed foods. Sodium consumption in excess is linked with a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, kidney disease and various forms of heart disease. New Yorkers have recently learned about the detriments of salt. Mayor Bloomberg has launched an initiative to reduce the amount of sodium that people get from restaurant chains and food producers by ask ing them to voluntarily cut the amount of this now ill-thought of mineral.When in New York City a couple of weeks ago, my husband and I could tell that restaurateurs are listening to Bloomberg. When eating out, we noticed that our food was, well, less tasty. But maybe it is worth it. A recent New York Times article, which summarized findings from The New England Journal of Medicine, suggested that if Americans reduced salt intake by a half a teaspoon a day the nation would save 24 billion in health care costs. In the current political climate, many of us are acutely aware of issues related to the rising costs of health care.But is government intervention the best way to proceed? Although a government middleman might be a good option, I wonder why we aren't putting more pressure on physicians to counsel their patients on dietary strategies to reduce sodium intake. Research suggests that American physicians are less likely than their European counterparts to discuss behavioral interve ntions with patients and are more likely to rely on the prescribing of medications. Regarding diet and hypertension, a recent study suggests that physicians offer little counseling on how to lower blood pressure numbers through lifestyle changes.Not only do discussions regarding health behaviors result in patient satisfaction, such discussions comprise the inherent values of doctor-patient relationships. We seek medical care not only for lab results and prescription refills; we look to our doctors for advice and support. However, in a day and age in which technology and insurance mandates are interlopers in the patient-physician dyad, we have lost the personal connections and source of wisdom that people often crave.In fact, the relationship between many of us and our physicians is dysfunctional. Doctors are overwhelmed and receive less respect than ever before in the history of modern medicine. As patients, we have submitted ourselves to the less personal nature of medical encounte rs. Maybe if we demand additional support from physicians (and advocate for additional backing of our doctors regarding the freedom to make medical decisions and limiting intrusion by managed care companies) we can get what we need in order to change our behaviors.Of course, we are all ultimately responsible in how we choose to care for our bodies. But maybe if we can learn to trust our physicians again (and they work to earn that trust), we don't have to reduce healthcare issues and healthcare costs in this country to something like eating salt. Greenburg, T. (2010, Jan 29). www. huffingtonpost. com. Retrieved from http:// www. huffingtonpost. com/tamara-mcclintock-greenberg/should-the-government-reg_b_441493. html (Greenburg, 2010)

Environmental Psychology Essay

Environmental psychology is likely to be a new field for you, although many of the concepts are probably familiar. Provide your own definition of the discipline. Discuss an important milestone or influence in the development of environmental psychology and provide reasoning as to why you chose this one. The definition of environmental psychology to Sharp is the focus or study of how environments influence and affect one’s life and actions. Thoughts behind this may be why a cold restaurant makes people eat faster and why retail shops play certain music. Some people drink more when they are out with friends at a bar or restaurant but drinks less at home. The point behind environmental psychology is to examine why people react in these ways. Environmental psychologists make small improvements in working areas to encourage more productivity from the employees, such as a more â€Å"homey† feel to a cubicle or better music choice for background noise. â€Å"Architectural psychology† is, in Sharp’s opinion, an important influence in environmental psychology. Architectural psychology gave importance to the physical environment of one’s area (Steg, 2013). This period led to the advancement of relief of the physical stressors in environments. It focused on how buildings could be better built and designed, inside and out. The design of rooms and buildings can drastically affect how people function in a given area, whether at work or at home. Many architects develop buildings that reflect the sun to reduce interior temperatures. They also focus on aesthetics of rooms and create rooms where crowding is lessened from a simple design change; for example, elevated ceilings and bigger windows open a room up to make it seem much larger (â€Å"Becoming an Environmental Psychologist,† 2012).

Socrates and Freud Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Socrates and Freud - Essay Example ous view whereby he argues that it is like a mankind’s resistance against helplessness feelings, a defense that retains human being immature and rely on an elusive God. The conflict between the nature and characteristic of human beings and civilization restrictions can be found in the early psychological writings of Freud. Freud’s early writing about stages of psychosexual development comprised of destructive of aggressive forces, which are libido-bound in the sadism form (anal, oral, and urethral). Freud, however, measured aggression as portion of self-preservative characters when it resulted from response to frustrating thing or after the occurrence of a conflict between hunger (ego instincts) and love (object instincts). In Civilization and Its Contents, he describes (I) the conflicts that occur between individuals’ social rules and sexual argues that helps them to endure, and (ii) Thanatos, which is a key self-destructive instinct of death, which has overwhelming social consequences when directed outwards. Genocide, violence, and killings are all enough proof of the theory of Freud that, human beings are not â€Å"good†. Freud argues that it is not easy to give an answer to the very question, â€Å"what is the function of the life of human being† that most people understand that human beings only survive happily. Freud catalogues the way human beings avoid pain and seek pleasure, such as intoxicating, sublimating libido into the job, and displacing libido onto the beauty enjoyment (Parisi 67). According to Freud, civilization aids in helping human beings against nature, regulating human beings’ relationships, and encouraging their higher mental actions (scientific, intellectual, as well as artistic success). Self-preservative characteristics and Eros contribute towards civilization, as human beings can strive better through working hand in hand. In addition, sexual love, which is the prototype of happiness, strengthen families, couples, and group

Assignment 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

1 - Assignment Example Financial managers aid in efficient allocation of available resources, thus boosting the procurement function. The involvement allows the various departments to participate, leading to optimal decisions that benefit the organization. This method poses a threat of death on a supplier who fails to deliver the required consignment. Given that no one would want to die, a supplier had to ensure that the goods were delivered on time. Consequently, the method led to the constant and prompt delivery of goods, thus enhancing operations in Sweden. On the other hand, the crude method caused suppliers to fear for their lives, which does not promote good relations in business. Non-performance in modern day can be handled in ways that are more sophisticated. Examples include the cancellation of supplier contracts, and awarding them to other suppliers who can manage to deliver. The skill of negotiation serves a critical role in the field of purchasing. It allows the buyer to bargain for a favorable and lower price, compared to the price being offered by the seller. Therefore, negotiation enables organizations to acquire quality products at considerable prices, which help in reducing costs. Communication also plays a critical role in procurement. It ensures that orders are placed in the right way, and in the right quantities. The skill, further, allows the company to trace the goods, thus ensuring their timely delivery. This leads to customer satisfaction as they acquire goods when and where there need them, without inconveniences. Computer proficiency promotes the ability of an organization to compete successfully in the market, through adoption of technologies that promote the efficiency of an organization. Technological advancements allow a public organization to improve the efficiency of procurement by reducing the costs associated with the process. E-procurement, for example, leads to the employment of a few employees, thus saving on expenses. More to

International Issues in Management and Employment Relations Essay

International Issues in Management and Employment Relations - Essay Example It is recognized that Human Resource Management (HRM) problems are more complex in the international environment. A cultural difference in the home country to the country of assignment is quite learning for expatriate before he/she makes the decision to take on the project (Covin 1999). There is emphasis on cultural awareness training as part of the pre-departure training. This training is required where there’s a huge difference in the culture. Cultural issue takes the basis of any discussion that centers on the premise of providing oneness and unity within the human resources management undertakings and these have profound effects on the overall results that have already been envisaged by the human resource specialists beforehand. 1. Power Distance means the less powerful members of organizations accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. In high power distance countries, such as India, Mexico and South Korea, employees always accept and obey superior therefore the organization structure is centralized and tall. On the other hand, the structure of low power distance countries, for instance Finland, Ireland and Austria, is flat and decentralized. 2. Individualism refers to every person is expected to look after himself or herself and immediate family only. The high individualism countries, for example Canada, Sweden and the United State, usually are wealthy and more relevant to Protestant work ethic. In addition, there is more individual initiative and promotions depend on market value (Lazer 1971). On the collectivist side, people in communities are integrated and cohesive in groups and extended families, consisting of grandparents, aunts and uncles, always look after each other. The high collectivism countries, such as Pakistan and Indonesia, generally are poorer countries and concern Protestant work ethic less than high individualism countries (Hatch & Cunliff 2005). Furthermore,

Financial Information System Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Financial Information System - Coursework Example The enhanced security and reduction of chances of fraud have started making the consumers accept it as the new means of transactions. The traditional swipe and signature is still in use for some period of time so as to make the changeover smooth and in the meantime the users can get used to the Chip and PIN system. Not just the consumers, the replacement of machines for the new system will also take some time and the nationwide and regional changeover can not be done in an instance. The parallel run of both the systems is planned to make the users aware of the Chip and PIN system before completely switching to the new system of payments. The costs incurred in the implementation of the new system are incurred at various levels both within and outside the organization. The overall costs of changeover to the new system includes the costs of replacing the old card machines (designed for swipe and signature system) with the new Chip and PIN compatible machines at Point of Sale (POS) Terminals as well as cash machines, upgrading the backend system to handle the Chip and PIN system, securing the card centers to handle for the payments and training the staff for the new implementation and operations. The cost of issuance of new cards to the existing card holders also adds a good percentage to overall costs. The potential benefits the system is expected to offer are way mor... The overall costs of changeover to the new system includes the costs of replacing the old card machines (designed for swipe and signature system) with the new Chip and PIN compatible machines at Point of Sale (POS) Terminals as well as cash machines, upgrading the backend system to handle the Chip and PIN system, securing the card centers to handle for the payments and training the staff for the new implementation and operations. The cost of issuance of new cards to the existing card holders also adds a good percentage to overall costs. The potential benefits the system is expected to offer are way more than the costs incurred. The enhanced level of security in the new system will build confidence among the card users. The security and reliability of the system will make it cheat proof and difficult to hack. The users will feel more secure transacting using their Chip and PIN cards than the traditional swipe and signature ones. The implementation in 2005 reduced the rate of fraud by 13% saving 65 million to the banks. In normal credit or debit cards, the signature of holder is present on the back of the card, whereas for the new ones, PIN will not be present anywhere on the card. This will make it more secure. Even if the card is lost, the chances of someone using it are rare. The card-locking feature on three unsuccessful attempts makes it more secure than a traditional card where the cardholder is only required to do signature on the receipt. The signatures are, most of the times, not even checked for correctness at the point of sale. The use of biometrics may provide a system even more secure than the Chip and PIN environment, but the costs of

Development of Eating Disoder inTeenager using the Cognitive Essay

Development of Eating Disoder inTeenager using the Cognitive Flexibility Theory - Essay Example 552-556 Laessle, R. & Schulz, S., 26 January 2009, Stress-induced laboratory eating behavior in obese women with binge eating disorder, International Journal of Eating Disorders; Volume 41, Issue 6, pp. 505-510. Sim,. L., Homme, J., Lteif, A., Vaande Voort, J., Schak, K. & Ellingson, J., 2 February 2009. Family functioning and maternal distress in adolescent girls with anorexia nervosa, International Journal of Eating Disorders, Volume 41, issue 6, pp. 531-539 Tchanturia, K., Anderluh, M., Morris, R., Rabe-Hesketh, S., Collier, D., Sanchez, P. & Treasure, J., 2003, Cognitive flexibility in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, 10:4:513-520 Wade, T., Treloar, S., Heath, A., & Martin, N., 23 February 2009, An examination of the overlap between genetic and environmental risk factors for intentional weight loss and overeating, International Journal of Eating Disorders, volume 42, issue 6, pp. 492-497 Zastrow, A., Kaiser, S., Stippich, C., Walther, S., Wolfgang, H., Tchanturia, K., Belger, A., Weisbrood, M., Treasure, J. & Friedrich, H., 2009, Neural Correlates of Impaired Cognitive-Behavioral Flexibility in Anorexia Nervosa, American Journal of Psychiatry, 166: pp.

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Project management - Essay Example It is fundamentally due to this particular reason that organizations need to build both effective as well as efficient teams as well as individuals so that organizational goals can be accomplished with ease. However, assigning proper roles and responsibilities to the employees at the individual level as well as team level is also important so that they can contribute towards the accomplishments of the organisation. These aspects are further argued to be highly crucial in the field of sales and marketing which act as the major constituent and driving force of organisational productivity. It has been apparently observed in this context that the roles of employees in this section of business are different from other organisational dimension. The primary roles of the employees in this area are to follow and accomplish the goals and targets of the organization. He/she should be clear about what the organization expects from them and deliver accordingly. Furthermore, the employees should b e more involved towards the operations of the organization in accordance with the set standards and organisational vision. Alongside, the employees must be essentially motivated to strive for better performance continuously. Moreover, the employees of the organization should also need to be innovative in implementing new sales and marketing systems being adequately aware of the determined objectives so that the chances of any sort of error can be minimised efficiently (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009). Additionally, at the team level, the employees need to understand their roles and responsibilities for the organization and deliver their performance accordingly. All the employees in the team should work with equal dedication for the overall accomplishment of organisational goals and should provide topmost priority to the organizational targets rather than individual’s own interests. This aspect can be determined as a vital contribution for the team, towards the marketing and sales department of the organization (Griffin & Moorehead, 2009). 1.2. Project Scope & Process Type Required It has been noted that the implementation of a new sales and marketing system will be vital and advantageous to facilitate the performance of the company in terms of increasing revenue and brand value. In this context, it can be affirmed that implementation of a new sales and marketing system is quite likely to standardize the entire process of sales and marketing of the company. As sales and marketing acts as the backbone of any organization, this aspect is considered to be highly crucial. Furthermore, it has been noted that with the incorporation of a new sales system in organization, there is every probability of increase in sales as well as enhancement of the brand value. Furthermore, the implementation of the new system shall also enable the organization to have a more comprehensive prediction about the further demand fluctuations in the market building better coordination wit hin the two end of the supply chain, i.e. the manufacturing or marketing units and the ultimate customers. Apart from this, the new sales and management system will also enable the company to automatically record the sales and marketing activities of the employees and hence diminish errors in the weekly sales reporting activities, thus making the entire process

Starving For The Gold-Coursework Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Starving For The Gold- - Coursework Example to educate people to the problems women athletes face in hopes that with more people being more knowledgeable on the topic, hopefully changes can be made. The basic cause of the problem, as Robinson states it, is that the coaches of female athletes pressure them to be as thin as possible. For instance, Robinson mentions how one female athlete she talked to said that her coach â€Å"held contests to see who could leave the most food uneaten on her plate at training camp† (yr). This obviously is going to have a negative effect on female athletes, especially when considering that females are pressured into being as thin as possible in society as it is. Another practice mentioned is that female athletes will have their body fat calculated and then compared with the other athletes; the idea is to encourage all of the female athletes to be as skinny as possible. Another female athlete, speaking from her experience with athletic amenorrhea, which is the cessation of the menstrual cycle due to extremely low body-fat composition, stated that â€Å"Pressure was always felt to be lean, and considerable emphasis was placed on being beneat h 12 percent body fat composition. It seemed that the primary goal was to maintain a low-body fat composition† (yr). Overall, as opposed to training female athletes to be fit, they are being trained to be as skinny as possible. This encouraging to be overly thin is giving these athletes eating disorders, but this is not the main motivation behind these practices as Robinson states. The main reason that these sort of practices can be gotten away with is because there is a perceived male-domination in sports. When one views the kind of changes that the coaches are encouraging their female athletes to make, Robinson states that it is not difficult to see that they are trying to make their female athletes resemble their male athletes. This practice Robinson traces back to the 70’s, and in particular the athlete Olga Korbet, as the

Areas for improvement for Football Essay Example for Free

Areas for improvement for Football Essay I watched a football match that was Pendle Vale vs Marsden Heights. I observed the match and saw many areas for improvement. These are some of the things that could be improved Set Pieces To improve Pendle vales set pieces, I felt they needed to be more precise and accurate as the ball was not reaching the player. Also I felt that they needed to be played with pace as the defender had too much time to read where the ball was going. If the ball was more accurate it would have been hard for the opposition to get as a result giving the attacking team more of a chance to score. Another way the set piece could have been improved is by playing the ball according to the opposing teams weaknesses, for example, there was a short defender from Marsden Heights was marking a taller striker fom Pendle Vale. I felt that the ball should have been played to the taller striker because the defender has a smaller chance of clearing the ball, therefore it would have created more of a chance to score. When a Pendle vale player was taking a set piece, it was not crossed into a danger zone, for example, in the 18 yard box or the far post or near post. As a result, it posed a smaller threat for Marsden heights and also did not put them under any pressure. To improve this they need to cross the ball into more danger zones so that they have more of a chance of scoring. To add to this, another useful improvement would be if they disguised a shot at goal, by blocking the goal keepers view of the ball by placing their own players there. This would have given the goal keeper less time to react and thus could have resulted in a goal. Man Marking and Zone Marking the player from Marsden was comfortably able to move around the pitch as no Pendle Vale defender was marking him. To improve on this the defender should stay close to the attacker, thus giving him less room to pass the ball and to create any possible chances. By man-marking a player closely it forces even the best attacker to make mistakes in the game because the strikers team mates know he may be forced into making an error because of the pressure he is under from the defender. Pendle Vale could have reduced the threat that Marsden Heights posed by zone marking. This also did not happen and Marsden Heights were able to play into the danger zones. To improve zone marking, the right back defender should use his intelligence by marking a zone where Marsden Heights like to play. For example, Marsden Heights seemed to like playing on the wing and then crossing the ball, if a defender is already on the wing, it may cause the team to play into a less dangerous zone. This would improve zone marking. Another error I realised was that Marsden Heights posed to much of a threat at goal to Pendle Vale. To improve this Pendle Vale should have used zone marking. To do this the right back should have used his understanding of the game and marked the zone where Marsden Heights were likely to cross or pass the ball. For example, Marsden Heights seemed to like playing through middle and then having a go at goal, if a centre back is already there, it may cause the team to play a less dangerous pass and there for created less threat, this would have improved zone marking. Counter Attacking I also noticed that Pendle Vales counter attacking was inadequate; I felt the players were not sprinting to their potential and the ball was not cleared fast enough by the defenders. Their counter attacking could be improved in many ways. For example after a set piece is taken, the ball should be cleared quickly leaving no room for mistakes. Then the attacking midfielders should sprint to the opposing 18 yard box and provide support by finding space so that the receiving ball can be passed quickly, by doing this, the striker on the ball would have had much more options, he could pass the ball to his wingers or centre forwards, this would have created a chance to score a goal. Playing counter attacking outnumbers the defenders and increases the chance of scoring. Badminton Tactics Over Head Clearance an overhead clearance is a shot played from the back of the court to the other end of the court. This is a good tactical way, because brings the opponent right to the back of the court. This makes it easy to do a smash or drop shot. The opponent usually finds it difficult to get to receive the shuttle cock, thus conceding a point. This type of shot makes it easier to retrieve the opponents shot when he struggles to return it deep into the court. This is why it is a good tactical shot. Long and Short Serve The long serve is a good tactical shot as the opponent is pushed (far side) deep into his side of the court, this is because it is easier to retrieve the opponents shot when he is deep in the court. Also the opponent is likely to return the shot high, making it easy to claim a point, as you have a choice of either doing a smash shot or disguise a drop shot. The short serve is also a good way of forcing the opponent to come closer to the net, as a result making it easy to do an over head clearance shot, because of this he may return a poor shot giving you the chance of taking a point. Smash- a smash is a very good tactic which requires power and timing; it is used commonly throughout badminton games in order to win points. A smash is when the shuttle is hit facing towards the ground fast, this makes it harder for the opponent to return, which will either result in a point conceded or if he does hit it he will hit it in the air. This then can provide the opponent to do another smash, but one that is aimed at the far side of the court. Drop shot- this is another great tactic which requires minimal power, it is done by hitting the shuttle as low as possible over the net, the most effective time to do this is when the opponent is at the back of the court. Ready position- when serving the player should stand between the net of the court and the baseline. Also he should be more or less in the middle of the two sidelines which will make it easier to return a shot going either side. He should stand with his knees bent at a slight angle which should provide him with better agility and movement. Also it will help him return the shot more easily despite where it is going. His eyes should always be on the shuttle and his racket should be held just above his head ready to return the serve. Equally this will make his position a good tactic

Marketing Plan on Peters Drive In

Marketing Plan on Peters Drive In Introduction We are pretty much all familiar with the local favourite, Peters drive-in, where quality is foundational, while they serving a big population of Calgary milkshakes, burgers, and much more. Even after it was taken over by the new owners, the quality and the traditions are still being served in the form of mouth watering snacks and fast food. Offering fast food that is relatively cheaper than the other fresh made fast food businesses around. With already half a century serving the tasty fast food, Peters has established itself as an iconic business in Calgary. To have the most controlled operations, the multimillionaire co owners refused to have franchise. Peters drive in is a name for consistency and quality. Instead of spending a big amount for media marketing they are still focusing on the overall quality and a service which is efficient. Maintaining a place in the top 50 best burgers in Canada itself says about the love in serving their fast-food (Edwardson, 2017). Having a little competition around this business location they are helping nearly about 22000 Calgarians a week to satisfy their cravings for delicious and quality fast food at reasonable price. Having their menu extremely consistent since the opening day, they still rule the hearts of Calgarians. Positioning Statement Would you like to try the traditional Peters secret sauce, perfectly matched with a chicken burger that will take you into heaven on your first bite? If yes, then you must visit Peters Drive-In. A quarter pound of chicken in this burger with a scrumptious and a mouth-watering experience will satisfy your craving. Peters Drive-In offers the customer more then they think with a Competitive price, yet, staying with the old taste.The flame cooked hamburger patties are thin but perfectly paired with the fresh toppings of lettuce, red grilled onion, tomato, with each bite it will make you feel awesome.It is Juicy, hot, and super tasty.The BBQ sauce and real Canadian cheddar cheese that used in the hamburgers will add a unique taste in the eating (Peters Drive-In, 2017). Peters drive ins current positioning is very effective, but it is not very diversified. The chicken burger may bring a new and exciting change to their burger market. Until now, it had an image of offering beef burgers, milkshakes, and fries, but the chicken burger will add a new flavour in the menu. They have the brand image and ability to go into the new market segment. MARKETING OBJECTIVES Strategic business planning involves making decisions about three variables: objectives, strategies, and execution or tactics (Tuckwell, K. J, 1950). Peters marketing share is to maintain their famous brand for quality and service by providing a consistent customer experience and being persistent in all attitudes regarding quality and using the best ingredients obtainable which it has proved in all sense. Peters Drive-In is very concerned about its brand image. In very short time, it has maintained a reputed status in the society. Age range from 5-75 but the median age of approx. 40 is the main target market of Peters Drive-In. As it is famous for fresh beef burgers, a chicken burger can be the new product that can attract more consumers who are not regulars to Peters Drive-In. Chicken is a preferable source nowadays, as it provides a lower level of artery-clogging nutritional factors. People are more conscious about their health which has influenced fast food industry in past few years. As female are more conscious about their health, a chicken burger can be the great way to appeal to female population in the area. Peters main form of promotion is from the radio. They can open Facebook, Twitter, an Instagram account which would be the attraction of newcomers and younger clients. Community events page can be made which would involve more people to head to their site and with visuals of the food. It can also offer gift cards which can attract new customers. Car shows can be the best option which can bring the classic Peters image back, and peak the interest of people to come to the locations, and try their food too. Peters Drive-In should access all the channels and should transfer messages clearly to the target audiences. Marketing Strategy Peters Drive-In has really worked hard over 49 years to preserve product quality and maintain a large, faithful customer base around northern Alberta. The target customers of Peters Drive-In are both male and female and range in age from 5-75 years. Peters Drive-In is a must-stop location for road trippers heading east. And for shift workers finishing up work at 9 a.m. who really need a burger before heading home. (Olafson, 2017) This iconic restaurant is an ideal destination for hungry individuals and families who are looking for a quick meal, but are not willing to sacrifice quality. Most customers are financially secure and have or are in the process of achieving a formal education. The classic old school vibe and quality of Peters Drive-In allows them to excel in customer retention, especially within an older more conservative demographic of Albertans. The consistency of Peters ensures that customer expectations are met every time, making them more likely to be repeat customers. Although this consistency is one of the reasons Peters is a local favorite, we feel a new product development strategy will be highly beneficial in attracting both new and return customers to the Drive-In. This new product development strategy begins with introducing a flame grilled chicken burger to the Peters menu. The chicken burger will expand Peters target market to include a more health conscious demographic, while also giving return customers a new reason to Drive-In. This will increase customer volumes and sales. Peters will take full advantage of this product release by ramping up social media attention to make their new chicken burger the talk of the town. Through outlets such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Peters will host contests and giveaways to increase customer excitement for the new chicken burger. This will allow them to increase publicity and reach new clients, especially within a younger demographic that might not listen to their radio ads. Due to its iconic name in Northern Alberta, the news of the new Peters chicken burger will spread quickly, enticing many new and old customers to stop by a location. Peters has always actively supported charities, however th e original owner Gus Pieters kept it a private matter and out of the public eye. Gus Pieters was a charitable guy, but not too many people knew about it because he was so humble. Pieters helped kids whenever he could. Each year, Peters and the team would make 4,500 burgers and donate them to underprivileged children at the annual firemens Christmas fundraiser and party. (Olafson, 2017) Since socially responsible business is a major concern of modern day consumers, Peters plans to host charity events and fundraisers. By doing this on location, Peters will attract more customers and showcase their commitment to the community. Peters also plans to host events such as car shows and a poker run stop in the future, to encourage the community to come out to their locations. This brings the classic Peters image back, and gives customers and families a positive experience that they will associate with the restaurant. Becoming more active on social media and within the community will only inc rease the iconic image Peters drive-In has, thus increasing customer retention and truly making it The Drive-In You Cant Drive by. Peters has relied on their iconic name and has conducted most of its advertising through radio ads in the past. Peters has never been too extensive with their advertising campaigns because their classic products sell themselves. However, with the release of the new chicken burger, Peters plans to take a much more aggressive twenty first century approach to marketing. Peters will achieve this by ramping up social media significantly by hiring experts to take over their pages. To do this Peters must triple their marketing budget to account for all three channels of advertising. Radio allowance will stay consistent with past years; however social media networking will take up fifty-five percent of the advertising budget. This is because social media has the largest potential to attract a new generation of customers. Also advertising for community and charity events will be done through social media platforms. The rest and smallest portion of the advertising budget will go toward prepari ng and hosting events and conducting product promotions. This approach will ensure the chicken burger is a success and Peters iconic image will only improve. Marketing Mix: Introduction of New Product. Peters current Food menu consists of: Beef Burgers Hot Dogs (Cheese dogs) Fries Onion Rings Poutine This is the introduction of the new PETERS flame grilled chicken burger. This burger would be virtually the same as the beef burger, with one exciting change, CHICKEN!! To stand alone in the market and be socially responsible, grain fed chickens would be the first choice for this venture. This burger would be flame grilled to perfection, be juicy to the bite, and have the same delightful taste as the beef burger. The traditional Peters secret sauce can marinate the chicken, to help give it that taste peters is world renowned for. Right now Peters sells approximately 4000 beef burgers on a busy day and 4000 milkshakes any given day in the summer months (Ribecco, 2017). With the addition of the chicken burger, this would introduce a whole new market throughout Calgary to the flavors of Peters. With consumption of Poultry on the rise in Calgary, and beef on a decline over the past few years. Having the competitive edge with bringing chicken to the table of the customer, will juristically improve the profitability of Peters. Health trends are always favoring chicken, and with healthy options mainly targeting women more often than not, this is a great way to appeal to the female population in the area. Price Plan for New Burger: Current prices for food at Peters are as follows: Single to triple burgers- $4.10-7.10 Hot dogs- $3.90-4.50 Fries- $4.00-8.00 Onion rings- $4.50 Poutine- $6.00 With these current prices Peters could easily price their New chicken burgers at a modest $5.25-6.25 per burger to make a healthy 60% profit, but because Peters isnt all about pure profit, this price can be adjusted accordingly. Peters currently purchases their beef from Centennial food services in Calgary, who also provide poultry as one of their services. With current purchases already going through this supplier, adding boneless chicken breast would be a quick addition to the existing order, possibly be a way to cut costs with discounts for more volume purchases. Prices at competitor Burgers places in the area are in the $6-8.00 range, so competing with them would be a profitable way to attain customers, and keeping the sauce the same increases order of the spices, but means they can save by making more at one time. Being competitive with the other local burger places in the area will attract more sales and with hopes raise profits by a 10% increase in the first year, this is because they already have a busier client base then the competitors. The closest burger spots to compete are over five blocks away, and not on a main road like 16th avenue, so they can corner the chicken market in the area for years to come. Placement/Distribution: The addition of this new burger would be cost effective for shipping to the store, providing they stay with the current provider Centennial food services (N/A, 2017). Peters would be able set this up by contacting their current food representative to discuss options for new meat sales. With Centennial being a local supplier, they are the perfect choice to represent Peters in the introduction of the burger. They already have an existing relationship and with supply and demand, Centennial, will be a major choosing for the burger to be successful in the future. Local Purchases means food is fresher than anywhere else and they can ensure the chicken is grain fed, plus this keeps the purchase cost in local Alberta economy. A huge part of the delivery process is to become more socially aware, younger consumers care how the food gets to them and if it was local or long distance. So local deliveries mean less carbon footprint, which in turn means being more socially responsible, so this also makes the environmental consumer appreciate the food that much more. Current distribution method is the best choice, for the best prices, to pass along to the customer. The customers can purchase this new Chicken burger and any of the rest of the menu by heading to 219 16 Avenue, in Calgary, or 131 Leva Avenue, in the world famous Gasoline alley, Red Deer (just off the QE2 southbound, with access from the first Northbound exit). The Calgary Location is open from 9AM to Midnight daily and Red Deer is open daily 10-10 (Website, 2017). This is very convenient for any commuter in those areas to get themselves a burger and shake for the rest of their drive. They can also find out times, prices and locatons by visiting the Peters website at www.petersdrivein.com. Promotion for the 21st Century Drive in: Currently Peters uses radio ads in the slow season(Ribecco, 2017). They currently use radio platforms like: Virgin radio, C Jay 92, Jack FM and Lite 96.9 in Calgary, and BIG 105.5, Z98.9 and Real Country 95.5 in Red Deer. Peters would need to jump in to the 21st century with their feet firmly on the ground. Hiring a dedicated social media marketing representative, that would be the first step. They would be responsible for opening Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, these would be key to attracting new and younger clients. Using a new revised webpage to modernize the feel of the old school touch. Jumping on the social media bandwagon is almost an essential must do for any business to gain new business. They would need to set up a I was at peters drive in Facebook sign up page, so the customers friends can see it in their newsfeeds. To achieve success on these platforms they could hold weekly or monthly contests, which could be anything from Like Share contests to Trivia games on Facebook and Twitter, and Picture hashtag games involving Instagram. Adding pages to the website with links for things to do around Calgary, Charity pictures and events. Helping promote local community events page woul d involve more people to head to their site and with visuals of the food entice them to head to one of the locations. The next way to market the new drive ins image (Calgary and Red Deer), would be to have car shows in the parking lot at both locations on two separate weekends so owners could potentially be at both locations. This brings the classic 1960s Peters image back, peaks the interest of people to come to the locations, where they can try the food and check out the classic and performance cars. Peters would offer specials for car shows to attract more people to this type of event. Show and shines bring a lot of people who are interested in cars out for an afternoon of fun in the sun (this has been proven by event companies and parts stores to bring awareness of the area they hold the event). The performance JDM car markets, Poker Run stops would be a way to bring very nice motorbikes and new flashy cars to the same spot, and be free media outlet for the restaurant. These promotional strategies will increase profits by 20-30% in the summer and possibly become the new muscle car hangout in the process. This increases free advertising by 40% due to people wanting to see the cars and also mentioning the location on social media. There are limitless ways to promote the new chicken burger. Peters can incorporate a charity event along with specific deals or events they might want to host. One idea is to have a monthly drawing of charitable donations, voted on by the customer. This will not only attract a huge portion of the consumer base it will also promote a good philanthropy practice. Showing that peters cares about the community with fundraiser events, brings general awareness to an otherwise blinded consumer that might not be willing to stop in otherwise. Promoting events around the city that local and traveling guests can be involved with is a good way to get people out of the house and in to the city more. Posting social events around town also shows that peters cares about the consumers happiness within the community, but also gets people to be more interactive with the Peters brand which will in turn help with marketing all their products better. Peters could also take advantage of mixing a few of these promotion ideas together, by having a charity show and shine/poker run. This would bring excitement to the locations and they can even use the radio and social media to let the customer know whats happening at these events/charities. They could Introduce a charity Burger for the Hungry Eater, that burger could be a double cheese burger, with a chicken breast in-between, and topped with a couple onion rings. Add a Shake and some fries for a package price, and some of the proceeds can go directly to the charity that was voted for that current month. Conclusion We all know that peters had an image of offering beef burgers, milkshakes, fries and onion rings. To add a new flavour in the peters drive in we are introducing totally new chicken burger which is supposed to bring new changes to the market. Maintaining a reputed status in the society peters drive in is attracting new customer to generate sales with some gift cards and offers. They are also looking forward to organize a car show upbringing the old peters classic image back. We all know that the classic peters drive in lip smacking snacks sells themselves because of their iconic name and image which does not require huge marketing campaigns but still in the 21st century drive in promotions will always be beneficial in attracting new customers contributing to sales and profit. Also, a new demographic will be added in the peters drive in customers market who were originally buying burgers off DQ and Burger king which is much expensive than the product being introduced here. In addition to the social media marketing we are also looking forward for charity fundraising on a monthly basis and having chicken burger as a feature deal will for sure make the people familiar with our new burger and this is how we will be going to roll out our campaign article, C. o. (2016, 11 18). cbc news. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/restaurant-sales-calgary-full-vs-limited-service-1.3856939. BILL KAUFMANN, C. S. (2014, 09 16). Calgary sun. Retrieved 2017, from www.calgarysun.com: http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/09/16/calgarys-iconic-peters-drive-in-expanding-to-red-deer-after-53-years-in-the-burger-business Edwardson, L. (2017, 03 30). metro news. Retrieved from metro news: http://www.metronews.ca/news/calgary/2016/12/22/peters-drive-in-named-one-of-worlds-best-burger-joints.html Farms, S. O. (2017, 03 01). http://www.sunshineorganicfarm.com/price-list. Retrieved from http://www.sunshineorganicfarm.com/price-list. freepress), J. C. (2016, 09 23). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/food-chicken-prices-increase. Retrieved from cbc online newspaper: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/food-chicken-prices-increase-1.3776594 N/A. (2017, 03 11). Centennial Foodservice. Retrieved from Centenialfoodservice.com: http://www.centennialfoodservice.com/ Olafson, K. (2017, Febuary 2017). http://www.avenuecalgary.com. Retrieved March 21, 2017, from http://www.avenuecalgary.com/Restaurants-Food/5-Decades-of-Stories-From-Peters-Drive-In/ Peters Drive-In. (2017, 03 23). Retrieved from www.petersdrivein.com: www.petersdrivein.com Pieters, G. (2017, 03 01). Peters Drive in history. Retrieved from http//:www.petersdrivein.com/history. Ribecco, G. (2017, 03 01). Manager. (B. Halliday, Interviewer) services, G. f. (2017, 03 02). https://www.gfs.ca/en/products/product-categories/poultry. Retrieved from https://www.gfs.ca/en/products/product-categories/poultry. Website, P. D. (2017, 03 15). main page. Retrieved from Peters Drive In : http://www.petersdrivein.com

Mercury: A toxic poison Essay -- Chemistry Metal Papers

Mercury: A toxic poison No other metal better illustrates the diversity of effects caused by different chemical species than does mercury. On the basis of chemical speciation, there are three forms of mercury: elemental, inorganic, and organic compounds. The major source of mercury is the natural degassing of the earth's crust, including land areas, rivers, and the ocean, and this source is estimated to produce on the order of 2700 to 6000 tons per year. The total man made release into the atmosphere is about 2000 to 3000 tons, and it is difficult to assess what quantities of mercury come from human activities and what quantities from natural resources. Run-off into natural bodies of water may contain mercury from both anthropogenic and natural sources, so it is difficult to assess how much released into the atmosphere is from man made or natural sources. Nevertheless, mining, smelting, and industrial discharge have been factors in the environmental contamination in the past. For instance, it is estimated that loss in water effluent from chloralkali plants, one of the largest users of mercury, has been reduced to 99% in recent years. Industrial activities not directly employing mercury or mercury products give rise t o substantial quantities of this metal. Fossil fuel may contain as much as 1 ppm of mercury, and it is estimated that about 5000 tons of mercury per year may be emitted from burning coal, natural gas, and from the refining of petroleum products. Calculations based on the mercury content of the Greenland ice cap show an increase from the year 1900 to the present and suggest that the increment is related both to an increase in background levels of mercury in rainwater and to man made r... ...lbut, K.M., FASEB 1992, 6, 2472-2476. 19.Boyd, N.D., Benediktsson, H., Hooper, D.E., Vimy, M.J., American J. Physiology 1991, 261, R1010-R1014. 20.Molin, M. Bergman, B., Marklund, S.L., Schutz, A. Acta Odontol. Scand., 1990, 48, 89-202. 21.Summers, A.O., Wireman, J., Marshall, B., Antimicrob. Agents & Chemotheraoy, 1993, 37, 825-834. 22.Gilbert, M.P. and Summers, A.O., Plasmid, 1988, 20: 127-136. 23.Intercontinental Medical Statistics, Canada, 1992. 24.Cohen, M.L., Science, 1992, 257, 1050-1055. 25.Thompson, C.M., Markesbery, W.R., Ehmann, W.D., Vance D.E., Nerotoxicology, 1988, 9, 1-7. 26.Palkiewicz, P., Zwiers, H., Nuerochem. 1994, 62, 2049-2052. 27.Lundstrom, I.M.C., Int. J. Oral Surgery, 1983, 12, 1-9. 28.Austrian Minister of health, Austria to be amalgam free by the year 2000. FDI Dental World, March/April, 1993, page 6.

Ulysses S Grant Essay -- American History

Ulysses S Grant Although Ulysses S. Grant's contemporaries placed him in the highest position of great Americans along with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, the twentieth century has seen him fade. His presidency has been almost universally condemned, and he is consistently ranked second to rock bottom Warren G. Harding in polls of historians to rate the presidents. Although his military reputation has declined as well, it nevertheless continues to win him a steady following. Even his most faithful admirers, however, tend to end their studies conveniently at Appomattox, and one senses a wide regret that Grant's public career extended beyond the Civil War. Taking note of this trend, John Y. Simon observes that some biographers "seem to have wished that Grant had accepted Lincoln's invitation to Ford's Theatre" on the night the president was shot- the night that John Wilkes Booth had intended to assassinate Grant along with Lincoln. Much of what has been passed down as an objective appraisal of Grant's presidency more closely resembles the partisan critiques that were produced by a relatively small group of performers during the 1870's-- in many ways the intellectual ancestors of the present historical profession. Although such a minority can sometimes be a source of enlightenment, in this case, it has contributed a monolithic picture of a complex era that is about as depressing as it is inaccurate. Little consideration is given the checkered nature of Grant's eight years of the Gilded Age. Michael Les Benedict observes that Grant "dominated his era, a stronger resident than most have recognized". In both the domestic and foreign realms, President Grant could claim a wide range of achievements. In the aftermath... ... the corruption / civil service reform issue was more important than such issues as Reconstruction, international crises, Indian affairs, and the multitude of economic matters, all combined. As William B. Hesseltine admits in his definitive study of President Grant, "Grant's enemies....stuffed the ballot boxes of history against Grant..." Bibliogaphy Garland, Hamlin. Ulysses S. Grant; his life and character. New York: Doubleday & McClure Co., 1898. King, Charles. The True Ulysses S. Grant. Philadelphia, London, J.B. Lippincott Company, 1914. Ringwalt, J. Luther (John Luther) Anecdotes of General Ulysses S. Grant illustrating his military and political career and his personal traits. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Co., 1886. Richardson, Albert D. (Albert Deane). A personal history of Ulysses S. Grant. Hartford, Conn.: American Publishing Company, 1868.

Ideas for Attention Deficit Disorder :: Teaching Public Education

Ideas for Attention Deficit Disorder Ideas for Attention Deficit Children Children whose attention seems to wander or who never seem to "be with" the rest of the class might be helped by the following suggestions. Pause and create suspense by looking around before asking questions. Randomly pick reciters so the children cannot time their attention. Signal that someone is going to have to answer a question about what is being said. Use the child’s name in a question or in the material being covered. Ask a simple question (not even related to the topic at hand) to a child whose attention is beginning to wander. Develop a private running joke between you and the child that can be invoked to re-involve you with the child. Stand close to an inattentive child and touch him or her on the shoulder as you are teaching. Walk around the classroom as the lesson is progressing and tap the place in the child’s book that is currently being read or discussed. Decrease the length of assignments or lessons. Alternate physical and mental activities. Increase the novelty of lessons by using films, tapes, flash cards, or small group work or by having a child call on others. Incorporate the children’s interests into a lesson plan. Structure in some guided daydreaming time. Give simple, concrete instructions, once. Investigate the use of simple mechanical devices that indicate attention versus inattention. Teach children self monitoring strategies. Use a soft voice to give direction. Employ peers or older students or volunteer parents as tutors. Books and Materials For Helping Kids & Teens With ADHD Strategies for Cognitively Impulsive Children Some children have difficulty staying with the task at hand. Their verbalizations seem irrelevant and their performance indicates that they are not thinking reflectively about what they are doing. Some possible ideas to try out in this situation include the following. Provide as much positive attention and recognition as possible. Clarify the social rules and external demands of the classroom. Establish a cue between teacher and child. Spend personal discussion times with these children emphasizing the similarities between the teacher and child. Get in a habit of pausing 10 to 16 seconds before answering. Probe irrelevant responses for possible connections to the question. Have children repeat questions before answering. Choose a student to be the "question keeper." Using a well known story, have the class orally recite it as a chain story.

Micah

How does the life and ministry of Jesus reflect the words of this verse from Micah? Christians believe that Jesus Christ was a man who lived about 2,000 years ago in Palestine and that he was the Son of God. By his death and Resurrection, Christians believe Jesus saved people from their sins. They try to follow Jesus’ example in their daily lives and use his teachings as a guide to how God wishes them to live. In Micah chapter 6 verse 8 stated that â€Å"he has showed you, o man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.† This would mean that God requires us to do things justly and treat others without partiality; thus, loving other people regardless of his race, background and weaknesses and be sober in spirit. In addition, this verse talks about the very nature of Jesus Christ. We learn that Jesus Christ is the son of God who is full of compassion and believes as the author of perfect love. He comes to the world in obedience and love to the father in order to show his great love to everyone that while we are still sinners Jesus Christ die for us. Jesus Christ knows that our final destination is on hell because our impurities separate us from God. But because of his love, he does an amazing decision that will help us to be in heaven. Jesus Christ has been compassionate to those who are poor (especially to those who are spiritually blind and gone astray). His ultimate expression of love is when he obeys God the father to lay down his life for the benefit of everyone in spite of the fact that he is not guilty of sin. Jesus Christ doesn’t deserve the death that he is been through but he sacrifices himself in exchange for the salvation of the mankind; thus, he has never been selfish and never withholds his life because of his great love for his people. He doesn’t want to see everyone perish but come into repentance. He wants everyone to have an access to God the father through his death and resurrection. It is been written in the Bible that without the remission of blood there is no forgiveness so once and for all, Jesus Christ die for us so that we can receive forgiveness through his name and to end our sacrificial offering when we sin. Jesus Christ becomes our sacrificial lamb and his precious blood cleanses us as we ask forgiveness from him. He has done everything because of his great love for us. Moreover, Jesus Christ is a just individual. He does not condemn people who sin or commit mistakes but he listens heartily and forgives them if the individual confesses his sins. Just like the Samaritan woman who has many husbands. The woman is guilty of sin because she commits adultery. When Jesus meets her on the well, he never rejects her but is able to talk to the woman and asks for a drink. The woman tries to make alibis but Jesus talks to her in a sober manner. He even asks her about her husband and the woman is convicted of her sin so she replies that she has many husbands. Jesus already learns about it because he is an all-knowing God but despite of that, Jesus never judge the woman but instead tell her to go to her husband and sin no more. The woman feels such joy because that is the first time she has not been condemned by a Jew and most especially a Savior has forgiven her sin. Although Jesus Christ is 100% God and 100 % man and owns the riches that we can never think of yet he walks humbly with his people. He never brags his riches. He comes to the world to serve and not to be served. He walks with different kinds of people; may it be rich or poor. Jesus Christ even associates with out cast people who are suffering from leprosy. Many officials especially the Pharisees question his motives yet they cannot find any fault on him because they know that Jesus Christ has perfectly obeyed the word of God. Many scholars try to scrutinize the authenticity of divinity of Jesus Christ. This is not new anymore because even during the time of Jesus, there were people who â€Å"doubt† his identity especially the Pharisees because they were threatened by his presence. For other religions, they consider Jesus as prophet and not a God. But of all the prophets that we have on the face of the earth, only the name of Jesus Christ that was ever recorded in the history that he himself raised from the dead and through his name, an individual can cast out demons. Isn’t that amazing?   

Literature and Life

The magic of reading is that it brings you to another place and feeling. At times it can make you smile with character, and other times make you cry with him. Sometimes it may even allow the reader to identify with the characters. Reality can often be a lot like a piece of literature, in that a person may be going through the exact same thing, or something similar, and be feeling the same way. It is effortless to view the tough and unspoken racism demonstrated in Nadine Gordimer’s â€Å"Country Lovers† as well as how the girl feels in Patricia Smith’s What It’s Like to Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t).In both readings you get a sense of the hardship the characters faced because of racism, the things that people may do or allow to happen because it is so hard. Racism is something that we see, hear about, and maybe even experience in our everyday lives. It may be something that we do not speak about, just like in the short story â€Å"Co untry Lovers. â€Å" The main characters Paul us and Thebedi were raised together since they were kids, Paulus was a white boy and Thebedi, a black girl. They played together and spent most of their childhood days with one another.As time goes by and they begin to grow up and the distance between the two also grow apart. However, the bond created between them as children is still there. Both Paulus’ and Thebedi’s parents never forbad them from seeing each other but there was always this unspoken knowledge that they knew it was wrong because they always seemed to be hiding the fact that they did spend time together. An example of this would be when Paulus came home from school and brought Thebedi a gift â€Å"She told her father the missus had given them to her as a reward for some works she had done-it was true she sometimes was called to help out in the farmhouse.She told the girls in the kraal that she had a sweetheart nobody knew about† (Clugston, 2010). Bot h Paulus and Thebedi know that it is not okay to hold on to the relationship they had as kids. But they cannot help the feelings that have grown for each other over the years. â€Å"The schoolgirls he went swimming with at dams or pools on neighboring farms wore bikinis but the sight of their dazzling bellies and thighs in the sunlight had never made him feel what he felt now when the girl came up the bank and sat beside him, the drops of water beading off her dark legs the only points of life in the earth-smelling deep shade.They were not afraid of one other; they had known one other always† (Clugston, 2010). They had strong feelings for one another and consummated them by having sexual relations. This went on for a while, and eventually Thebedi became pregnant. At this point her hand was asked for in marriage by Njabulo, since they had already had sexual relations her now husband did not question her being pregnant. â€Å"The infant was very light and did not quickly grow dark as most African babies do. Already at birth, there was on its head a quantity of straight, fine floss† (Clugston, 2010).When Paulus found out that Thebedi had a baby, and that it was his, he didn’t want anyone to find out. â€Å"Don't take it out. Stay inside. Can't you take it away somewhere? You must give it to someone—† (Clugston, 2010). Because in the time period interracial relationships were looked down upon, and were unacceptable, Paulus felt like he had to do something before anyone found out the baby was his. When Paulus came to see the baby the next time Thebedi stayed outside as he killed their baby. The authorities came because they had heard there was a white looking child that was killed and brought charges against Paulus.There was not enough evidence to convict but the fact of the matter is that he killed his child and Thebedi did nothing to stop it. Thebedi could have prevented the baby’s death but seems to feel powerless agains t Paulus. I believe there is also a part of her that feels this way is better for everyone, this way they don’t have to deal with the reality of their baby and how socially unacceptable it is. At the same time, I can’t imagine it being easy knowing her baby, with the man she had extreme feelings for, is now dead and he is the one responsible.I believe even women today sometimes feel powerless against their men. I don’t think it would be taken to the extent of killing a child, but some men dictate the relationship and how things should be. Even though interracial relationships are more socially acceptable nowadays, it is still difficult sometimes for people of different races to be together. Another instance of racism is shown in the poem What It’s Like To Be a Black Girl (For Those of You Who Aren’t) by Patricia Smith. Although this one is shown in a different way.In the poem the author describes what a girl has to do to be acceptable in the world as a black girl. â€Å"Its dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and Suffering their burn in silenceâ€Å" (Clugston, 2010). Because she is a black girl and in certain periods in time white people seemed to reigned supreme she tried to make herself look more socially acceptable, even at the cost of injuring herself. This poem shows the girl desiring to be white and to fit in to that life, where she an walk around without being judged and looked down upon. It's popping a bleached white mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of mirrors that deny your reflection† (Clugston, 2010). Just another example of putting yourself through pain to feel more accepted and not even wanting to see yourself the way you are because you feel ashamed. At the end of the poem, the young girl seems to feel more accepting of the fact she is black, even though she does not feel it is any easier at that point. â€Å"it's flame and fists and life according to Motownâ €  (Clugston, 2010). She has accepted that her life is following the way of her culture.It is not easy though and she must keep her guard, and her fists up. The poem, to me shows the struggles of a young girl because of societies view of people. It makes her life harder than it should be because of peoples ignorance about race and what everyone should be like. Racism is ugly and sometimes makes people feel like they need to change themselves to be accepted. The girl was trying to lead a different life, one in which she was not judged and everyone would accept her. In both of these readings the authors showed the struggles people face because of racism.There are many different ways racism affects people’s lives, in the first story â€Å"Country Lovers† it was in a horrible way where an innocent child was murdered so no one would find out the love two people shared because it was socially unacceptable for the time. In The poem by Patricia Smith, the girl also injured herself to make herself acceptable. Both of these stories show the horrible things people do because of racism. It is not fair that an innocent child, who never knew any better had to die or that a young girl must physically hurt herself to change in order for things to be okay.There are times where life imitates literature, maybe the author used real experiences of people or situations that have happened or what they believe can happen. I am sure that when racism was extremely prevalent people did try to change themselves, all while hurting themselves or others. Nowadays racism is still around, maybe not to the degree of what the readings spoke about but t is definitely here and horrible things happen because of it. Things such s hate crimes and murder, as well as people having procedures to change their appearance. I am sure we will see these things until the day everyone accepts each other the way they are.

Procurement Strategies Review

Competition is fierce in today’s world and a business must work smarter versus harder. Many big name chain stores have achieved success but none like that of Wal-Mart. The following is a review of the Wal-Mart customer and his or her expectations of its procurement process. An additional review of how these expectations affect Wal-Mart’s strategies, policies, and procedures at both the domestic and global level is also included. Customers Internal An internal customer is anyone you count on or rely upon to complete a task or a function or to provide you with information so that you can get your job done†¦ and anyone who counts on you to complete a task or function or to provide them with information so that they can get their job done† (Earl, 2004, para. 3). In Wal-Mart’s distribution centers, the individual stores are the internal customer. Each department within a store counts on store management to make certain orders are places and received timely. Store management counts on the employees to keep the individual department in order for the external customers. Wal-Mart’s external customers are almost exclusively the public. Through Wal-Mart’s three operating branches, Wal-Mart stores, Sam’s Club, and Wal-Mart International, the organization focuses on supplying its customers with merchandise ranging from produce to tires at a bargain price. This is the expectation of the customer, to receive the best product at the lowest possible price. Wal-Mart is capable of procuring material at reduced costs and passing these savings to its customers. Wal-Mart’s unique ability to force concessions from suppliers further reduces costs and delivers the demands of their customers, more products for less cost. Procurement expectations Wal-Mart’s procurement expectations from suppliers are some of the strictest among retailers. The Global Procurement division was created to manage Wal-Mart’s global suppliers by creating supplier partnerships, sourcing new products, and managing the supply chain. As Wal-Mart continues to grow, the sustainability of the company and the environmental issues are important to the current and future criteria suppliers must follow. Suppliers are expected to follow Wal-Mart’s move in reducing waste and potential harmful products on the environment. Suppliers are also expected to be knowledgeable of their industry to meet customer quality and price expectations. Influence on strategies and policies Domestic The customers are the biggest influence Wal-Mart faces when developing its strategies, policies, and procedures domestically. Wal-Mart brings these low prices to customers in two main ways. If a supplier cannot meet Wal-Mart’s expectations, Wal-Mart then finds another supplier that will. The second method Wal-Mart uses to keep its prices low is through the low wages of its employees. When Wal-Mart opened its doors in the 1970s, 70% of its workforce was made up of women (Kaufman, 2009). Wal-Mart knew loyalty of its employees was important to the longevity of the organization. To reach that loyalty Wal-Mart replaced benefits such as health care, pensions, and higher wages for fancy titles like associate and broadcasted an open door policy (Kaufman, 2009). Global The retailing giant has declared its desire to give the customer products at the lowest cost possible, with the fastest lead times, and best quality. Wal-Mart has not wavered in its determination to do exactly what it envisioned. The company is using the Global Merchandising Centers (GMC) to promote sourcing of Wal-Mart brands, and aligning of merchandising efficiencies. â€Å"By realigning our resources, leveraging our scale and restructuring our relationship with suppliers, we will enable our businesses around the world to offer even more competitive pricing on merchandise and to provide our customers a clear and compelling assortment of better quality products at lower prices† (Purchasing b2b, 2010, para. 5). Wal-Mart’s process Wal-Mart has a very large procurement operation as the leading retailer in the world. Wal-Mart had a contract with a third party procurement firm in Asia. The firm used suppliers that would mark-up merchandise and resell that merchandise to Wal-Mart. The company has reduced costs, lead times, and eliminated the middleman mark-ups. In 2002, Wal-Mart began to buy directly from the manufacturer to procure a better price. According to Stundza, (2006), â€Å" Wal-Mart has global procurement and supplier alignment teams responsible for identifying new suppliers, sourcing new products, building partnerships with existing suppliers, and managing the global supply chain of Wal-Mart’s direct imports. Figure 1: Wal-Mart’s Procurement Process Conclusion Wal-Mart is the leader in its industry and continues to grow in popularity among the consumer. The reason for its growth in popularity is its promise to deliver quality products at low prices. Wal-Mart can influence its suppliers in a way that ensures a low price on the products it sells. Wal-Mart expects its suppli ers to follow its lead in giving the customer what he or she expects and will continue to grow in consumer popularity as a result. References Earl, D., (2004). What is internal customer service? Donna Earl Training, Retrieved from http://www.donnaearltraining.com/Articles/internalCustomerService Kaufman, L. (2009, August 11). Wal-Mart's Backward Business Revolution. Forbes.com. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/10/wal-mart-business-strategy-labor-opinions-book-review-wal-mart.html Purchasing B2B (2010). Walmart revamps global sourcing strategy. Retrieved March 13, 2010, from http://www.canadianmanufacturing.com/purchasingb2b/news/industrynews/article.jsp?content=20100201_085202_9480 Stundza, T., (2006, Nov). Wal-Mart goes green BIG TIME. Purchasing. Retrieved on March 13, 2010 from http://www.purchasing.com/article/218384-Wal_Mart_goes_green_BIG_TIME.php

Satan in paradise lost

Satan Satan is the first major character introduced in the poem. Formerly called Lucifer, the most beautiful of all angels in Heaven, he's a tragic fgure who describes himself with the now-famous quote â€Å"Better to reign in Hell, than serve in Heav'n. † He is introduced to Hell after he leads a failed rebellion to wrestle control of Heaven from God. Satan's desire to rebel against his creator stems from his unwillingness to be subjugated by God and his Son, claiming that angels are â€Å"self-begot, self-raised†,[4] thereby denyingGod's authority over them as their creator. Satan is deeply arrogant, albeit powerful and charismatic. Satan's persuasive powers are evident throughout the book; not only is he cunning and deceptive, but he also is able to rally the angels to continue in the rebellion after their agonising defeat in the Angelic War. He argues that God rules as a tyrant and that all the angels ought to rule as gods. [5] Satan is comparable in many ways to th e tragic heroes of classic Greek literature, but Satan's hubris far surpasses those of previous tragedies.Though at times he plays the narrative role of an anti-hero, he is still commonly understood to be the antagonist of the epic. However, the true nature of his role in the poem has been the subject of much notoriety and scholarly debate. While some scholars, like the critic and writer C. S. Lewis, interpret the poem as a genuine Christian morality tale, other critics, like William Empson, view it as a more ambiguous work, with Milton's complex characterisation of Satan playing a large part in that perceived ambiguity. [6]

Strategy & Leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Strategy & Leadership - Essay Example out sustained market researches and obtain appropriate information about the market key among the marketing features investigated in such researches includes the patterns of supply and demand. General Motors acquired Fisher Brothers in a strategic move that would not only increase the company’s market share but also reduce its cost of doing business as discussed in the essay below. Casadesus (1999) state that General motors formed a merger with Fisher Bodies in 1919 in order to increase coordination between two businesses. Through the merger, General Motors would obtain sufficient supply of auto bodies and innovative annual change of car models from Fisher Brothers a company that specialized in the manufacture of coach bodies. This would decrease the cost of manufacture by cutting the cost and time spent in manufacturing the bodies. In business context, a merger refers to a union between two companies that seek to mobile their resources and therefore share their profits depending on the agreement existing between the two parties. In 1919, General Motors bought 60% of Fisher Brothers implying that Fisher Brother controlled the remaining 40%. The vertical integration through the merger resulted in increased profitability owing to the production efficiency that resulted from the union of the two companies a feature that compiled General Motors to purchase the re maining 40% by 1925 thereby acquiring complete control of Fisher Brothers. The change that occurred at General Motors when the company merged with Fisher Brothers was vertical owing to the financial might that General Motors exhibited. Vertical integration implies that General Motors obtain a larger stake of Fisher Brothers at the beginning (Freeland, 2000). This way, the company retained major control of the operations at the company thus influencing production. Within the first four years the partnership, the cars manufactured by General Motors retained the emblem of Fisher Brother on their bodies.

In what ways do language and the use of language influence news Use an Essay

In what ways do language and the use of language influence news Use an example of a contemporary controversial topic to illustrate your argument - Essay Example This implies that the language employed by the journalists must enhance the understanding of the news. Among the basic objectives of journalists is to inform the public. The communication technique journalists adopt in this context is direct and simple as they use direct quotes and simple grammatical structures. Journalists deliberately minimize the use of jargons in a bid to enhance the public’s understanding of the news. As explained, language helps define the target audience, the level of technicality in language siphons particular individuals from the public who comprehend the type of language used by a media. This helps siphon the public thereby influencing the audience for each media. Different newspapers have audiences most of who identify with the type of language that the media uses in preparing its news. The combination of words that journalists use in presenting their news influences the consumption of the news contents by the audience. Among the key journalistic principles is objectivity a feature that commands that journalists provide a factual presentation of the events they cover. The selection and combination of words influences the level of objectivity in news presentation a feature that dictates that journalists consider various factors before using a word. Some words are sensational thereby portraying the either the journalist or particular media institutions as biased. Journalists strive to minimize sensationalism in news coverage as they strive to remain both objective and detailed as they present their news articles. Journalists must desist from taking sides while covering events. Language can easily portray one as biased despite the absence of such motives especially when covering such vital topics as terrorism. Currently, the missing Malaysian plane is a major international news with different groups of

Medical Costs For Prisoners In The Correctional System Essay

Medical Costs For Prisoners In The Correctional System - Essay Example Currently, about 10% of the correctional budgets are actually set aside for healthcare and this would amount $3 billion every year (Kaplan, 1999). The largest prison network in the contrary spends about $8000 for elderly inmates and about $1000 for younger inmates. The largest number of sick elderly inmates is lodged in the Men’s State Prison in Georgia (Chen, 2009). With the problems of the inmates only increasing every year, it is becoming very difficult to sustain the healthcare of inmates. For example, a greater population of inmates is increasingly suffering from chronic diseases, HIV/AIDS, getting older with serious health problems, hepatitis, terminal illnesses, and other problems (Kaplan, 1999). In the last 10 years, the population of prisoners has doubled and the number of women inmates has increased from 4 to 6 & (according to the Bureau of Justice). The number of prisoners above the age of 50 will increase from 11.7% to 16% in 2005. According to the Bureau of Justic e the percentage of prison population above the age of 55 years arose from 49000 in 1999 to 90000 in 2007. Recently a few health problems have been noted to have a serious impact on the health of the inmates. Some of the common terminal conditions that can affect inmates include cancer (Kinsella, 2004). The most common infectious disease noted in prisoners is Hepatitis C, which affects about 33% of the inmates in Texas, and 41% in California. The most common mean of spreading Hepatitis C in prisons is through contaminated blood or IV drug use with contaminated needles. $24000 to $30000 is spent each year on treatment for Hepatitis B. About 10% of the inmates are mentally ill (Kaplan, 1999), however recent figures suggest the figures could be as high as 16%. There were just very few prisons that were providing mental health facilities to the prisoners. Small percent actually receive mental treatment programs and an even smaller group receives medication to treat the condition (Kinsel la, 2004). Communicable diseases may not only be a problem for inmates when they are in the prisons, but also when they are released. About 2.5 to 4.5 % of all the inmates are affected with an STD. It costs about $475 to treat the STD’s. 2.2% of the inmates have HIV infection and about 0.6% have AIDS. The prevalence of the condition is about 3 to 4 times higher than the general population. About $195000 is spending each year for the HIV management of inmates (Kinsella, 2004). Several cost-saving measures can be initiated as an effort to lower costs in prisons. These include privatization of the healthcare services, having disease prevention and health promotion programs, inmates co-sharing healthcare costs with the government (copayments), using telemedicine facilities, and early release of those inmates who are sick, terminally ill, or very old. Prisons need to develop better healthcare policies in order to handle the crisis of rising healthcare costs, using greater innovati on (Kinsella, 2004). The other measures that have been suggested include reduction the costs of drugs, provision of healthcare services under managed care, etc (Kinsella, 2004) Part 2 I have chosen to study the HIV/AIDS populations that are imprisoned in Rhode Island, though I would compare it with other prisons in the US. I have chosen this because, the problem of HIV/AIDS is serious in prisons, and the model obtained from a few prisons are so good that they should be a

Behavior Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Behavior - Case Study Example In general, Clawson begins by talking about insecurities about self and the world around that start to develop when individuals do not get what they expect and/or are used to (p.3). Childhood experiences have a deep impact on individuals’ behavior and expectations. When individuals do not get what they believe is their right, it affects them negatively. To understand people for the way they behave, this article explains that most of the times behavior is defined by the individual’s experiences of their childhood. The learning obtained from this aspect is that it is not required for one to feel offended or betrayed because of somebody’s behavior that was not as expected; instead, it would be better to understand why that person behaved the way he/she did. It is more often due to some problems or challenges the other person might be facing, which he/she is unable to express. These problems are being referred to as â€Å"holes† in personality by Clawson (p.3) . Clawson further adds that it is important to move on instead of clinging to the issues that left us dissatisfied. When we decide to move on, we free our mind of negative thoughts and feelings, which is important for our wellbeing. Clawson talks about memes, which can have significant impact on our beliefs. Memes are mental building blocks that determine our behavior as they shape our beliefs; however, these memes are temporary. So, it is important to identify memes and not allow these memes to affect relationships because of their impact on persons’ behavior. A very important learning in general is that our actions or reactions to the happenings around us are purely because of our choice and are not because of any external influence (p.9). So, if we choose to be happy we can, and if we choose to be negative affected by the circumstances, we can. So, all negative feelings are because of our own choice, which can be controlled through thoughtful approach to the difficult time s of life. Our personal set of Values, Assumptions, Beliefs and Expectations (VABE) determine our view of the world and circumstances rather than the reality of the circumstances. These VABEs vary with every individual, culture, country and religion. These VABEs determine the behavior of individuals (Clawson, p.14). In a family, it is important to learn that what we learn and experience as children, up to an age of 10, determine our values in later life even if the situations completely change. So, it becomes important as to what the parents, guardians, teachers etc instil in children through behavior and observation that would eventually determine their life values. Moreover, it is important to keep in mind that our behavior is influenced by our actions, thoughts, feelings and physiology (p.10). Memes are also important because these memes will have a significant impact on children’s beliefs and behavior. Family is the first source of memes in an individual’s life and determine the lifestyle (Renshaw, p.11). Clawson’s article provides numerous points of learning for leaders. Firstly, leaders have the responsibility of influencing and motivating followers towards accomplishing a desired task (Pierce, p.257). In these contexts, for leaders, Clawson (p.5) justifies that it would be ideally impossible to effectively lead with expectations of being able to completely influence their followers. This is because all individuals’

Racial inequalities (Controversial Subject) Essay

Racial inequalities (Controversial Subject) - Essay Example When it comes to opportunities, Hispanic American citizens receive less privilege compared to their White counterparts. History could tell that all presidents excluding the present administration were all White. This significantly implies that compared to White Americans, Hispanic group would less likely to be given with trust and opportunity to lead the American people. The specific point of contrast reveals the kind of treatment given to both White and Hispanic Americans especially when it appears to include higher responsibility and privilege. In fact, at the basic foundation of this all, it appears that White youths are most likely to receive greater privilege and opportunity when it comes to both education and health coverage compared to their Hispanic youth counterparts (Flory, Edwards, and Christerson 1). Again, this could lead someone to think that the major contrast simply lies at the core foundation of giving too much value, privilege and opportunity for the white race. White Americans are higher in population compared to Hispanic group. However, as stated in statistics, the incarceration rate of white males falls only at 487 per 100,000 US residents, while for Hispanic males 1,193 per 100,000 US residents (DeLisi and Conis 270). By looking at these figures without bias, it seems everything could be justifiable when it has to be declared that Hispanic males have more number of violent individuals compared to the white males. However, these figures seem not proportionate if based on the actual total population of each group. Thus, another significant point to consider is the probability of favoring justice for white Americans compared to Hispanic. The point of contrast lies at how justice might be interpreted on the part of Hispanic group and white Americans. Finally, it is a common observation that Whites receive more and even special attention than Black or Latino counterparts. A specific study reveals that American media most

Who is right, Globalization sceptics or Globalization radicals Essay

Who is right, Globalization sceptics or Globalization radicals - Essay Example Globalization is most commonly defined as the emergence of a country’s political and socioeconomic culture to the point of becoming significant for people in other parts of the world. In this analysis of the global media’s role in cultural globalization, focus will be on the role of the global media since the beginning of the wired electronic stage up until the present day. with the proliferation of digital technologies that allow for instantaneous two-communication on a global scale. Although it is argued that cultures have interacted and therefore cultural globalization has taken place since the beginning of human history, it is the technology of instant communication that truly forged a new frontier for cultural interaction and cultural globalization. The role the global media has had on cultural globalization has steadily increased and in recent years we have seen a paradigm shift in the way global media is managed. This new shift has changed the tradition top-down role of the media, dominated by governments and corporations and placed more power back into the hands of individual citizens allowing for a bottom-up approach to media. This ‘new media’ is given life by the easily-accessible, ubiquitous world of the Internet. As Andrew L. Shapiro (1999) argues that the "emergence of new, digital technologies signals a potentially radical shift of who is in control of information, experience and resources", the natural effect as Internet becomes more user-friendly and more available globally will be apparent in all factions of life. To fully understand the role that global media has had on culture we must first understand how media and communication has evolved. In her book The Media and Globalization, Tehri Rantanen explains the evolution media and communication through her identification of six stages of media and communication throughout human history. According to her, the stages of development are as follows: Oral Communication, Sc ript, Printed, Wired Electronic, Wireless Electronic, and Digital Communications. Globalization truly began with the use of newspapers and pamphlets. Beginning with newspapers and pamphlets drawn up by the printing press and typewriter innovations, the media sent word of new events, new ideas and calls for aid to constituents throughout their respective countries. The next technological innovation was the telegraph, which gave people across large stretches of land the ability to communicate instantly. This brought about a complete transformation in terms of global communication. For the first time communication across distances takes place at an immediate level. Next came the invention of the telephone, which broadened the range of media influence even further than the telegraph. Finally, in the twentieth century, the technology revolution that swept the nation brought phones, cell phones, and internet into the homes of average citizens. The ease of access to the latest means of com munication helped to bring more people into the know. With convenience as simple as the click of a button, millions of people had access to the information super-highway known as the Internet. This was the greatest shift of power to the common people and provided the greatest source of bottom-top influence in media coverage. It was Rantanen’s six stages of progress in the area of media and communications that resulted in expansion of ideas and Theories on cultural globalization can be divided into one of three ideologies on the subject. The first ideology subscribes to the view that the world has historically been dominated by many cultures and as history has progressed we have seen the world being dominated by fewer and fewer cultures. This view on cultural globa

Assignments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 6

Assignments - Assignment Example It relates an argument that exist between the beer producing company (Miller Coors) and the Boricuas For a positive image. It cites communications between the various parties and assumes a business tone. The writer wants us to understand and feel the tension between the two parties; he quotes specific persons, however, the reader fails to give an opinion on the matter. The two documents offer insightful current information in an understandable format. The first article presents the argument that the installation of the bike corrals will give a solution to the increased demand for bike parking. The writer supports the claim by presenting evidence from sources such as the DOT website and individuals, Aussie Saavedra a 22 year old musician who shares the agony of searching for a bike parking. The writer’s opinion supports the claim that the installation of the bike corrals will ease the parking troubles especially for those that park illegally, by locking their bikes on trees or street signs. The second article is based on the argument that the Coors Light Company produced Beer Cans that offended the Puerto Ricans. The writer goes ahead to clarify his claim by presenting the argument between the Coors and the Boricuas For a positive image. He quotes various statements that each party presented in their defense but supports no party. The first document has clear cut sections that are ideally independent since the writer presents a different idea in each section. The second document, however, has section that overlaps and are dependent on each other making it hard to understand one without reading the other since the dialogue between the two parties seems to flow. The paragraphs in these documents are medium in size and are mutually exclusive but convey the flow of thought. The organization of the documents made it possible to skim through the document and get the gist. The documents are arranged in such a way that the most

New Emission Standards Essay Example for Free

New Emission Standards Essay One of the growing Threats to Harley Davidson’s reign of dominance in US markets has been a growing awareness of the environment. In response to this, the bar for emission standards is continuously raised. In 2010 model year or newer motorcycles emission standards for both HC + NOx were reduced from 1.4 prior to 2010 to just 0.8 after 2010 (US Government Printing Office. 2013). For at least 5 years now, there have been rumors circulating that Harley Davidson would abandon the traditional air cooled designs in favor of a new liquid cooled lineup in response to ever growing emission standards (Huze. 2011). If emission control standards continue to tighten, Harley Davidson may be forced to do exactly that. Procurement of Raw Materials Historically, Harley Davidson has relied on limited number of suppliers for raw materials to provide the components used in its manufacturing plants. In some cases, the entire company’s business is dependent on just one supplier to deliver certain raw materials in time. The lack of versatility in this area means that rising input costs could lead to capacity issues in the long run. Additionally, increasing costs for commodities could lead to capacity constraints, ultimately leading to lower production (Harley Davidson, Inc. 2012). Competitive Landscape Currently, Harley Davidson holds 56% of the market share for heavyweight motorcycles, defined as those motorcycles that displace more than 650cc. To some this may be an impenetrable advantage in the market, to other, a source of vulnerability (Taylor III, 2012). For years, Harley has been the undisputed king of the â€Å"bad boys†, but in recent years up and coming companies such as Polaris are trying to muscle in to the motorcycle arena. Polaris, a company known for its snow mobiles has only recently begun selling motorcycles 14 years ago (Taylor III, 2012). Polaris has shown that it understands what its buyers want and has demonstrated success in achieving higher sales through its colorful names such as Victory, 8-Ball, and Jackpot lineup. With aggressive pricing strategies and comparable quality, Polaris has quickly passed foreign competitors such as Honda, Yamaha, and Kawasaki and is now setting its eyes on Harley Davidson after its recent acquisition of Indian. Harley Davidson – Opportunities (O) Global Expansion In response to declining domestic sales, Harley Davidson has decided to expand its global presence in China and India. In 1995 Harley Davidson entered the Hong Kong market, opening its first mainland China office just 10 years later in 2005 (Miller. 2012). Currently, Harley has 8 full service dealerships in china and have plans to open an additional 5 more within the next 5 years. Harley’s biggest challenges have been the understanding of foreign markets. In China for example, the motorcycle market was riddled with low cost economic alternatives for daily transportation. The average engine size ranges anywhere from just 50cc to 600c. With some of Harley’s heavyweights tipping the scales in the range of 800c to 1600cc beasts, the concept of heavyweight leisure riding was simply not understood yet in foreign markets. Harley would have to start from the ground up if it wants to succeed. Today, Harley has succeeded in growing its international presence in over 70 countries across the globe. Although growth into international markets has been substantial, there is still significant room for further expansion (Miller. 2012). New Product Launches Another area of opportunity for Harley Davidson lies in the arena of launching new products. In 2014 Harley expects to launch eight new models, a record number of new models within the same year. Harley realized that with the baby boomer generation coming to a close, younger audiences will demand new and innovative products. The company, now in its 110th year of operation, has launched a customer driven product development program dubbed â€Å"Project Rushmore† in hopes of succeeding in understanding what design elements are appreciated more by younger buyers (UPI.com. 2013). If they succeed, Harley could feasibly further expand its market share in both US and international markets significantly. Restructuring Plans The Milwaukee based motorcycle maker has succeeded in keeping its full-year shipment forecast intact despite signs of weakness in dealer sales in several markets (Reuters. 2013). In response to this, Harley Davidson has acknowledged the need to restructure the company into a leaner and more cost efficient beast if it is to maintain its market share and keep pace with the competition. Harley hopes to reduce the number of defaults on their loans, improve the company’s cash flows, and improve its liquidation strategy by having at least 12 months of projected liquidity in cash reserves. The company has set an ambitious goal to continue to widen its gross margin figures by nearly a full two percent in 2013 (Reuters. 2013). Harley Recognized that declining retail sales figures could no longer be simply shrugged off as weather related anomalies but were rather a generational decline of the number of loyal riders in the market. This suggests that younger rider’s between the ages of 18-34 are quickly becoming a significant portion of the market. Harley would need to restructure its operations in order to meet the demands of these new riders and develop both a strategy and a product that would appeal to them. Harley Davidson – Weakness (W) Product Recall Issues In late 2011, Harley Davidson recalled more than 300,000 motorcycles to fix a switch problem that presented a safety issue. The switch prevented the brake lights from coming on and could potentially cause the brakes themselves to fail as well (Associated Press. 2011). The defect has already caused at least one crash. As a result, the US Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that they expect that this recall will cost Harley anywhere from 10 to 12 Million Dollars. This coupled with another recall in 2012 for a faulty voltage regulator that affected an estimated 100,000 owners suggests that recalls are costing Harley a sizable chunk of their annual budget. Defects reasons have been tracked back to supplier quality issues arising in the manufacturing production chain. Dependence of Domestic Market Harley Davidson has recently celebrated its 110th year of business within the US. From its onset, it was clear that Harley’s target market was first and foremost the US markets. Much of Harley’s success has stemmed from targeting the baby boomer generation and appealing to big open spaces, the idea of freedom, and the feeling of exclusivity and belonging. Although business has steadily increased for Harley over the past century, it is clear that change is on the horizon. Harley’s competition is ever more aware of foreign markets and consistently devising entry strategies to further expand global market share (Burkey, 2009). Simply put, Harley has been lagging in this area. Harley’s flagship motorcycles carry a significantly higher price tag than foreign competing models making them appealing only to small elite group of riders that can afford the expense. Harley Davidson – Strengths (S) Brand Image Few people cannot instantly recognize the Harley Davidson brand. For over a century now, Harley Davidson has built a positive brand image by targeting a wide range of individuals. Harley Davidson has been continuously ranked among the top global brands in the world, holds over half of the heavyweight motorcycle market share in the US, and is ranked either first or second in the heavyweight motorcycle segment in at least nine countries across Europe (Harley Davidson, Inc. 2012). Historically, Harley Davidson has historically appealed to wide predominantly male audience ranging in ages from early 30s to late 50s. Recently, Harley Davidson has decided to further expand the brand by beginning successful marketing campaigns targeted at an audience of women. With the majority of its ads targeting a relatively specific group of individuals, Harley-Davidson has been able to build a community of enthusiasts around its brand that includes members from very diverse groups, and with almost no advertising. How does the king of heavyweight motorcycling keep its fans so loyal? It gives them a reason to belong (Rifkin. 1997). The symbolism of â€Å"belonging† is a powerful one reinforced by images of riding as part of a pack on the open road. This is further reinforced by a strong positive brand image that individuals frequently associate with superior quality and prestige of ownership. Broad Product and Service Portfolio One of Harley Davidson’s greatest strengths has been a long history of maintaining a broad product and service portfolio. Harley Davidson leverages its premium pricing model supported by a superior quality of its product line up ranging from an extensive line up of heavyweight, touring, custom, and performance motorcycles. Harley Davidson has also been able to successfully keep its owners engaged in personalizing and modifying their motorcycles by offering an extensive catalogue of parts and customization options. When you add the reliability of a two year warranty, and consider the superior level of service afforded to its owners, it is no wonder that Harley Davidson has been able to maintain the upper hand on its competition for so many years. The financial unit of the company has been successful in reducing the percentage of defaults and losses on its in house loans. While the annualized loss experienced on its managed retail motorcycle loans has come down from 1.58% to 1% in the last quarter, the retail 30+ day delinquencies on managed loans has come down from 3.68% to 2.56% (Trefis Team. 2012). Focused Research Harley Davidson continues to dominate market share in the United States commanding over 60% market share for the domestic market. Although Harley Davidson’s targeting of the youth market remains a subject of contention, their strategy remains crystal clear; to keep baby boomers in the saddle for as long as possible (Madson, 2013). To achieve this, Harley Davidson is exploring some concepts that may appeal to aging baby boomers such as a three wheeled Penster concept. The Trike concept has gained remarkable traction over the past few years and Harley Davidson has certainly taken notice. Harley Davidson Strengths and Opportunities (SO) Harley Davidson’s offensive strategy should focus on leveraging the company’s strengths such as its strong brand image and focused research and development to capitalize on opportunities such as further penetration into foreign markets. Harley Davidson is uniquely positioned with a globally recognized brand. This is a monumental advantage when comparing it to penetration strategies from relatively new motorcycle companies such as Polaris. Harley can utilize its strong focused research and development to study foreign market demands and develop a line of products to specifically appeal to that market. This would further help Harley in overcoming another one of its areas of opportunity around new product launches. Recently, Harley Davidson has shown significant progress in their expansion to the Chinese marketplace. Harley projects that within the next five years growing Chinese demand will support the opening of an additional 5 dealerships overseas (Miller. 2012). Growing global demand is proof that not only would this be a good business decision, but it is the necessary next step if Harley expects to keep up with its competition. Harley Davidson Strengths and Threats (ST) Harley Davidson faces some significant threats to its business in the form of changing emission standards for motorcycles, and an ever growing competitive landscape. Emission controls continue to tighten on a global scale making Harleys century long approach to air cooled engines all but obsolete (Huze. 2011). Furthermore, Harley faces some competitive threats from new entrants to the market like Polaris who are actively seeking to tap into Harley’s heavyweight motorcycle market share. Harley Davidson needs to develop a defensive strategy focusing on areas of strength such as focused research and development and broad product and service portfolio to ensure they overcome these threats. One solution would be a proactive approach to changing emission standards. Harley has been toying with the idea of introducing a lineup of liquid cooled motorcycles that would dramatically reduce their ecological footprint (Huze. 2011). Harley Davidson’s superior focused RD would have little issue with finding a way to adapt this new engine to existing models. Furthermore, the infrastructure for servicing these new engines, making adjustments, and maintaining them is already in place with is significant network of service centers around the globe. In doing so, they would not only be ready for any emission control changes that they may face in the future, but also be more competitive across product lines. Harley Davidson Weaknesses and Opportunities (WO) In recent years, Harley Davidson has literally spent millions of dollars dealing with significant recalls and associated issues (Associated Press. 2011). Most notably, two significant recalls that affected a total of more than 600,000 motorcycles over two years. Outside of the obvious cost associated with correcting the issue which is estimated to cost over 20MM over the course of 2009 and 2010, Harley Davidson is exposed to additional legal risk from possible accidents resulting from these defects (Associated Press. 2011). Harley has traced the source of the problem back to defects associated with its parts suppliers. This suggests the need for an improved quality control process prior to using the parts in production. Although this may present an additional cost initially, the reduction from costs associated with recalls off of Harley Davidson’s bottom line would be much more significant. Harley Davidson has already experienced success in its restructuring plans. The addition of inspection points could be seamlessly implemented with minimal impact to its existing business (Reuters. 2013). This would increase the chances of catching defects on parts prior to the parts being shipped to manufacturing. As a result, Harley would experience a reduction in the number of recalls in the coming years. Harley Davidson Weaknesses and Threats (WT) The combination of existing weaknesses to Harley Davidson’s business and the presence of potential threats in the market could potentially spell disaster. Harley should develop a strategy around minimizing their exposure to weakness and the avoidance of existing threats. Harley can achieve this by outsourcing the procurement of raw materials to a larger number of overseas suppliers while being supervised by in-house Harley Davidson quality control specialists to ensure a sustained level of quality of their products (Burkey. 2009). This would help to avoid one of Harley’s largest weaknesses, product recalls, as well as dramatically improve the availability of raw materials minimizing the impact that one single supplier could potentially have on their business (Taylor III. 2012). Furthermore, the fewer amount of recalls and the overall improved degree of quality would bolster the already strong Harley Davidson brand, improving its position in the competitive marketplace (Rifkin. 1997). Citations Associated Press. (Oct. 2011). Harley Recalls About 308,000 Motorcycles For Break Issue. USA Today / Money. Retrieved from: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/manufacturing/story/2011-10-2 4/harley-davidson-brakes-recall/50890560/1 on September 18, 2013. Burkey, Brent. (Oct 2009). Harley-Davidson Time for the tough decisions A plan to restructure core local Harley operations is in the hands of the company.York Daily Record. P4. Harley Davidson, Inc. (Aug 2012). Harley-Davidson, Inc. Financial and Strategic Analysis Review. Global Data. P1-3. Harley Davidson, Inc. (Jun 2012). SWOT Analysis. Company Report. P1-9. P9. Huze, Cyril. (Jun 2011). 2012 Harley-Davidson Liquid Cooled Engines. Cyril Huze Post. Retrieved from: http://cyrilhuzeblog.com/2011/06/17/2012-harley-davidson-liquid-cooled-engines/ on September 17, 2013. Madson, Bart. (Feb. 2013). H-D RD Product Development Center. Motorcycleusa.com. Retrieved from: http://www.motorcycle-usa.com/684/15599/Motorcycle-Article/H-D-R-D-Product-Development-Center.aspx on September 18, 2013. Miller, Paula M. (Jan-Mar 2012). Harley Davidson in China. China Business Review. P41-43. PR Newswire. (Jul 2013). Harley Davidson Post Second-Quarter 2013 Earnings, Revenue and Retail Sales Growth. Regional Business News. P.16. Reuters. (2013). Harley Earnings On Target As Restructuring Pays Off. Chicago Business Tribune. Retrieved from: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-25/business/chi-harley-earnings-20130425_1_harley-davidson-inc-winnebago-industries-sales-volumes on September 17, 2013. Rifkin, Glenn. (Oct. 1997). How Harley Davidson Revs Its Brand. Strategy + Business. Retrieved from: http://www.strategy-business.com/article/12878?gko=ffaa3 on September 17, 2013. Taylor III, Alex. (Oct. 2012). The Hurdles At Harley Davidson. Motorworld. Retrieved from: http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/03/autos/harley-davidson-polaris.fortune/index.html on September 17, 2013. Trefis Team. (May. 2012). Harley Davidson Rides To $59 As Growth Hits On All Cylinders. Forbes Magazine. Retrieved from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/05/03/harley-davidson-rides-to-59-as-growth-hits-on-all-cylinders/ on September 17, 2013. UPI.com.