A World Apart essays

A World Apart essays A world Apart is a film by Chris Menges ( 1988 ). The actress ( Diana Roth in the film ) won the price for best actress. The story takes place in 1963 in the residential suburbs of Johanesburg while apartheid was practiced. The apartheid consists in separating whites from blacks in public areas like schools, bus ... The main characters are Diana and her daughter Molly. Diana is a journalist and she is a white militant for the blacks cause, shes active in the ANC ( Africa National Congress ). Diana gets arrested when the police broke in their house without a search warrant while there was a party. The authorities legally used the 90 Days Detention Act under which you can keep a person in jail for up to 90 days without bringing charges against him. She is released and arrested again a few minutes later in the street. The second detention pressured a lot Diana who tried to commit suicide in jail after she wrote a letter in the first page of the bible to her husband Gus. She has been saved and released with the condition to have 24 hours surveillance of the house. Meanwhile, Molly stopped going to school for a while and had some trouble with schoolmates. She is brought by the mate ( Elsy ) to the black townships and then to the church were Solomon ( Elsys brother ) is arrested. When Diana is back home, the police enters the house for a check up. Diana and Molly made them leave after Diana understood that Molly checked over the secret place where she stored the bible and r ead the letter. Molly and her mother had an argument about the fact that Diana wanted to leave her family by committing suicide and that takes care of the black cause more than to her family. After all this, it is announced that Solomon died in detention. A demonstration takes place after his funerals, molly is up there with her mom. The police comes and begins shooting on the people. I think that its a very good movie. It shows u ...

Utilitarianism V. Kantianism

Utilitarianism V. Kantianism Ethics can be defined as "the conscious reflection on our moral beliefs with the aim of improving, extending or refining those beliefs in some way." (Dodds, Lecture 2) Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism are two theories that attempt to answer the ethical nature of human beings. This paper will attempt to explain how and why Kantian moral theory and Utilitarianism differ as well as discuss why I believe Kant's theory provides a more plausible account of ethics. Immanuel Kant's deonotological ethical theory assesses if actions are moral based on the person's will or intention of acting. Kant's theory can be categorized as a deonotological because "actions are not assessed to be morally permissible on the basis of consequences they produce, but rather on the form of the agent's will in acting," (Dodds, Lecture 7) therefore his actions are based on duty and not consequential. Kantianism is based on three principles: maxims, willing, and the categorical imperative.English: Immanuel K ant Tomb in Koenigsberg Ð  Ã'Æ'Ã' Ã¯ ¿ ½...Kant states that a maxim is a "general rule or principle which will explain what a person takes himself to be doing and the circumstances in which he takes himself to be doing it" (Feldman, 1999, 201). It is important that this principle be universalisable and that the maxim can be applied consistently to everyone that encounters similar situations, therefore willed as a universal law. The second aspect of Kant's theory is willing. This involves the agent consistently committing oneself to make an action occur. He states that, "In general, we can say that a person wills inconsistently if he wills that p be the case and he wills that q be the case and its impossible for p and q to be the case together" (Feldman, 1999, 203). The last aspect of Kant's theory is the categorical imperative. The importance of the categorical...

Business plan for chinese restaurant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Business plan for chinese restaurant - Essay Example The owners wanted to provide the market, students from the University and nearby places, with an option for a quick-service restaurant that offers quality food at an affordable price. As an added novelty, the owners will add a twist to the product line by fusing oriental Chinese cuisine with western food to give customers something to rave about and come back for. The main vehicle for its Marketing is online advertising, utilizing the internet as a main tool in engaging the potential customers and enticing them into sampling the products. Social media and search engine optimization tools shall be utilized to enable the company to have a wider reach and focused marketing. II. Market Opportunity/ Problem Definition 1. Customer Value Proposition Mr. Choi’s Kitchen will appeal to customers who are always on the go because the business will adapt a fast food concept and pacing. Clients will spend little time to wait for their ordered food. This set up is best for busy students, you ng professionals and young married couples who have the buying capacity and would want to enjoy classic Chinese food without the frills and fuss offered by the usual Chinese restaurants. Owners have already made initial implementation plans targeting university students. The initial plan was to bring the Chinese restaurant set up to the universities, which is our target market. This restaurant shall be complete with sit down and dine in amenities. Mr. Choi’s Kitchen targets the young crowd with its East meets west and fast food concept. These are people who are always on the go, and would most likely appreciate food being served fast. In this case, they can choose their dishes from among the wide array of food products to be served ala-carte. 2. Customer Landscape Our target market is college students who need a quick and healthy lunch or dinner during their busy school time and interested in Asian food. In the year of 2012, there are 39,236 students and 12,053 employees in t he University of Arizona. This is our primary target market. They are a busy group of people who would prefer the service of a fast food chain. They are constrained by time due to school work, and are highly mobile. They also have a penchant for quick service. This figure does not include other potential customers such as employees working in companies around University of Arizona or downtown of Tucson. The number of residents around the campus within one mile radius is about 20,000. 3. Industry Dynamics There are over 600,000 restaurants and food shops in the United States. Gross annual receipts total more than $ 172 billion dollars per year (National Restaurant Association 2012). It is one of the country’s largest grossing industries. The food industry also employs over ten million people, and generates an annual payroll of more than $ 34 Billion per year. In the article â€Å"How and Where America Eats†, more than 40% of American families eat out at least one night per week. Americans, on the whole, have also become much busier. More and more families now have two incomes and as such, the tradition of staying at home and cooking meals is vanishing. Among these establishments, a significant part offer Chinese cuisine as their food genre. 4. Competitive Landscape Our main competitors include Panda Express in the Student Union, Jimmy Johns on Park Ave., Chipotle Mexican Grill on University Blvd, and Bagel Talk in Park Student Union. They either have the similar business model or

The Main Reason of Workforce Effective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Main Reason of Workforce Effective - Essay Example   Ã‚   Having four learners to train in the duration of two months, I am supposed to assist the learners in the attainment of the following objectives. By the end of the training period, learners should be able to maintain a well-organized schedule thus utilizing the lotus note. By the end of the training period, learners should be able to design meeting and travel arrangements By the end of the training period, learners should be able to handle confidential mail By the end of the training period, learners should be able to communicate effectively with fellow working staff and the clients of the organization. By the end of the training session, learners should be able to provide all Administrative support to the President            I will require them to work with various computer packages, for example, Access, Excel, Word, and PowerPoint among others to demonstrate their effectiveness.  By using Excel, Word, and PowerPoint design a travel and meeting arrangement plan to be used in an organization. Clearly, describe why you would use effective communication skills in directing callers in a busy business enterprise Explain the importance of properly handling the organization’s confidential information? What could be the outcomes of leaking the company’s confidential correspondence? Give a clear illustration on how to maintain proper schedules of a busy office bearer? Make use of the computer in answering your question. In order to pass my evaluation learners need to learn on how to make is of the computers in drawing schedules for a busy office, they need to learn good communication skills for use in the office The training resources /materials will include; Four computers to be used by the learners Textbooks on effective communication skills Prepared schedules to serve as demonstrations Questions and answer booklets to be used by the learners in their discussion work Case studies from various companies to be used in the training session. This will ensure a better understanding of the learners.

The Startups. Ability to be organized, communication and self Assignment

The Startups. Ability to be organized, communication and self awareness - Assignment Example One of the commonest animate expectations of organizations and business is what has been referred to in management as organizational traits and characteristics. These organizational traits and characteristics have been found to be very important in the organization, growth and development of businesses. Indeed, as much as it is important for organizations to possess organizational traits and characteristics during all aspects of the growth cycle, one stage of growth that this these organizational traits and characteristics affect organizations most is at the early and startup stages (Goedhuys & Sleuwaegen, 2009). Generally, the organization’s traits and characteristics can make or unmake its subsequent growth fortunes. In this paper, four important organizational traits and characteristics that can help the new business in Brazil growth and succeed in the competitive market are discussed. Ability to be organized The startup company assumes the description and name of an Ã¢â‚¬Ë œorganization’ perhaps because it is expected to be well organized. By organization, reference is being made to the ability of all structures within the organization to be well laid and accurately assigned. The structures of the organization would best be described as the various responsibilities that are expected to be delivered within the organization and the people who are expected to deliver them (Batjargal, 2006). For startup companies, managers and entrepreneurs should have the ability of knowing all the roles that are expected to be played within the organization and the people who can best play these roles if assigned to. Another component and aspect of ability to organize has also been identified to be the organization of organizational needs. Generally, it is when the needs of the organization are well organized that the best structural organizations needed to bring about the achievement of the needs will be identified (Capelleras et al, 2010). As to how this trait and characteristic of ability to be organized is more likely to bring about success, it will be said that without a good organizational skill, it is likely no one would be comfortable doing business with the new company. This is because in order for investors and other stakeholders to trust their affairs with an organization, they must have a level of guarantee that the organization itself is well organized. As the maxim goes, a blind man cannot lead a blind man. Effective communication with people around Communication is an important aspect of startup companies. It has been said that entrepreneurs and investors who start up businesses newly must be in the position to effectively communicate with those around (Benzing, Chu & Callanan, 2005). Generally, the ability to effectively communicate the visions, needs, dreams, and ideas of the new business to people around represents the degree to which the visions, needs, dreams, and ideas will be supported by those around. Meanwhile, no si ngle person is able to singlehandedly man any serious organization into growth and supported. It is therefore important that entrepreneurs will have the capacity of rightly communicating to others to gain support. It must be noted that support for an organization’s growth and development comes in many different forms including financial, logistics, and human resource. Even in cases where the head of the business is not able to rightly let his human resource base know what is expected of them in the growth and development of the company, the human resource will not be empowered much enough to do the

History Of Luxury Goods Industry Marketing Essay

History Of Luxury Goods Industry Marketing Essay In late 1996, after collaboration ended between BBL (Bharat Bijlee Ltd), a Mumbai (India) based elevator Business Company and Schindler, a Swiss-based elevator and escalator manufacturer. Schildler started planning to operate and expand the business fully own subsidiary. In 1874, Robert Schindler established the company in Switzerland. The company starts manufacturing the escalators in 1989 and by 1998 the company had worldwide presence and revenues of 6.6 billion Swiss Francs. The company employed over 38,000 in 97 subsidiaries and looking to start own operation in India. Alferd N. Schindler, Chairman of the company felt that India had a large emerging market and the company had great growth potential. He himself spent several weeks in India and travel in different cities to understand the market and potential. India is not relatively a new market for Schindler; in 1925, first elevator was installed in India. In late 1950s Schindler appointed local distributer to increase the market presence and agreement done with ECE, an Indian Company which was later ended in 1958. In 1985 Schindler entered into a technical collaboration with Mumbai-based Bharat Bijlee ltd (BBL) to manufacture and sell its elevator. Silvia Napoli, a Harvard MBA graduate; joined Schindler in Sept 1994 as head of corporate planning in companys headquarters in Ebikon, Switzerland. Napoli had been appointed vice-president of South-Asia and Head of the India INTRODUCTION The luxury goods industry is well established in Italy around the region in Europe. Most of the family- controlled luxury good brands and few of the company still run by 5th generations. The customer segment are high end-rich customers basically middle aged but the trend was changed and the companies also targeted youths. The profit margin of the luxury goods is very high i.e. up to 70% so there is large amount of revenue spent on marketing and publicity. Luxury goods are a matter and current fashion trend and maintaining of high status in the society. Middle income groups customers have a dream to buy the luxury goods one day in future and join the elite club. HISTORY OF LUXURY GOODS INDUSTRY In 1837, Thierry Hermes founded a company manufacturing especially luxury leather goods. Later 1923, Gucci established in Italy and there are many more companies established in between and after in Italy and around the Europe. 150 years of luxury goods manufacturing history roots in Europe. ANALYSIS (BASES ON PORTERS FIVE FORCE OF COMPETATIVE POSITION) MARKET ENTRANTS: About 75% luxury goods are manufactured in Europe and there is a huge demand of these products in Europe and overseas especially in North America, Japan and other Asian countries. The global market for luxury brands in 2001 is around $70 billion. LVMH commands the largest market share of 15% compared with 6% of the next largest group. Geographic distribution of global wealth, the market is divided into 3 geographical areas such as Europe, North America, Japan and other Asian countries: approximately 40% of sales are made in Europe, 28% in North America and 24% in Asia, with the remaining 8% scattered amongst the remaining regions. YSL Couture generates 60% of its revenue in Asia, as does 35% of Hermes, 40% of Christian Lacroix sales, more than 50% of Leica sales. Overall luxury goods market segment: Sl No. Luxury Goods category Percentage Fragrance and cosmetics 24- 37% Ready-to-wear and fashion 14-30% Leather and shoes 13-16% Watches and jewelry 08-32% Wines and spirits 15-22% Others 05-09% COMPETATIVE RIVALRY: The fashion luxury goods companies are basically located in Italy or in Europe. So their cultural background is same and almost all brands are family-oriented luxury goods business. Few companies are acquired by public, and Gucci was one of them. There are advantages and disadvantages for both family farm as compared with public company and vice versa. The basic competition is not the price war its about product design and brand image. Guccis creative director Tom Ford is an advantage edge for the company who give a new direction to the company i.e. fashion-oriented approach, which makes Gucci truly a luxurious brand. In 1998, sales by product figure (please see case notes exhibits 2) gave an idea that Gucci was 3rd position of leather goods sales, 4th in Jewelry and watches and 5th in apparel. It gives a negative picture to the stakeholders that Gucci is not become a leading luxury brand in any specialized category of goods. However, at the beginning Gucci specialized for leather goods. The positive point is that Gucci doesnt need to depend on a specific category of good which was a good sign. The company balanced overall sells figure and not dependent on a specific category of goods. In 1998 sales by region (please see exhibit 1), Gucci was doing overall good business and balanced the sales figure almost same in North America, Europe and Asia. Whereas the other brands such as LVMH and Bulgari is close to Guccis sales distribution. It was a good indication for Gucci that during regional economic downturn the company compensates overall sells in another region. Recent days natural disasters and terrorists threats increases, which affects the regional economy ant time e.g. 9/11 attack in U.S., 26/11 in India, Gulf war, war against Taliban, volcano eruption in Iceland tsunami in east Asian countries etc. PRODUCT AND TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT: There are no real substitutes for the luxury goods buyers. Cost is not a big factor for luxury goods, customers look for elegant design. Customers might not be so found of particular designer unless the designer famous likes Tom Ford who associated to Gucci. Technology plays a big role to shape the products and increase volume of the production. With use of the latest technology the quality of the product will be high standard and production will be faster so that easy to balance the production and demand. Gucci understand this important step of the business so De Sole helps the supplier to provide latest technology and financial support for up gradation of the equipment for e.g. If Gucci uses the latest technology to cut the leather and results cutting will be better, faster and wastage of materials will be less. High quality leather is very costly so lot of savings for Gucci and ultimately production is cost less and high profit margin. SUPPLIERS Suppliers are backbone of a company and without cooperation of suppliers a company will be paralyzed any time. So the relation between the supplier and the company should be close and good for future success of the company. Specially, when companies outsource the goods. Guccis success is because of the quality craftsmanship and which all-time low in 1993 because unable to pay. De Sole visited every individual suppliers and selected best of them and cut the rest and pushes them hard to reach the parameter of Guccis expectation. Suppliers have clear vision after discussion with De Sole that what they have to continue the relationship with Gucci. The relation was better and transparent, which help to improve the brand image though quality products and on time delivery. CUSTOMERS There are two types of customers: The super-rich The middle-market customers The super-rich customers (or high net worth Individuals) seem not subject to the world economic cycles. In addition, they are a growing number. The middle-market customers are those that are willing to buy luxury goods, but they want the hottest, trendiest design, which increasingly have to be marketed in creative and expensive ways. They can potentially expand the market quite dramatically, as they are part of the upper-middle class. They are considered to be both a great opportunity. Gucci understand this and changed their strategies from classic image to fashion-oriented approach where they can attract large middle-market pool of customers. While the price is less and no of customers is more. Hence, the cash flow is more; the sales figure in 1994 (please see exhibit 1) total revenue was $263.6 million and in 2001 the sales figure reached to $2,285.0 million. GICCIS POSITIONES AND DE SOLES CRITICAL MOVES Gucci was a family controlled business and from the beginning has experienced many changes since it founded in Florence in 1923. In 1950s Guccis first opened outside Europe DOS store in New York. Very fast the products attract the famous celebrities around the world. As celebrities are using the luxury goods Gucci gets publicity through the media and Gucci become a luxury global brand. The brand expands their stores in 1970s UK, Japan, Hong Kong and other Asian countries. In the 1980s after Rodolfo Gucci died, the family-run company faces new challenges internally from their own family members. In 1989, InvestCorp Int. acquires a 50% share in Gucci and forms a 50-50 joint venture with Maurizio Gucci. Later in 1993 the Gucci family sold rest of the share to InvestCorp Int. and InvestCorp Int. gains full ownership of the company. After acquired by InvestCop Int. Gucci become a public company and listed on various stock exchanges respectively. In early 1990s, the entire luxury goods industry was going through downturn because of gulf war, the US recession and reduced no of tourists around the world because lots of economic uncertainty and anti US sentiment after the Gulf war. In 1994-1995, the first professional managers team took charge of Gucci group by Domenico De Sole as a CEO of the company and Tom Ford, creative director of the company. De Sole was appointed by Maurinzio Gucci as a legal adviser, president and managing director of the company of Gucci America. He was associated with the company for few years and he has cultural and geographical knowledge of Europe as he is native of Rome and he completed his higher study in US. When De Sole took over charge as a CEO in 1995 the company had $500 million net revenue and in 2001, the total revenue of the company is $2,285 million (please see exhibit 1). The operating cost was high $121.1 million and the figure changed to $355.1. The growth of total revenue and the operating cost gives a clear picture that there are lots of initiative had been taken to improve the image and expansion of the brand. Mr. De Sole had been taken various critical majors to repositioned Gucci and he did some fundamental moves or withdrew some family plans and transformed the family-based mono brand to a multi brand. He restructured the organization results he took decision and fired few old employees and appointed new managers who have deep retail experiences. Its a great move to regenerate new energy and strength to the pool of employee, which helped to redistribute the work force. It also helped to translate the companys goal (corporate level) to execute the job in the business and functional level. It gave more power to the individual stores to take decisions for day to day task without wasting time to get approval from corporate or business level. The decision of distribution control and whole sale distribution moved to in-house. It helped the company to improve distribution channel whereas earlier the distribution was disorganized and delay in delver the goods. It also helped to deliver on time and centralized inventory system to monitor the stocks of goods and supply. Stopped licensing to the new products helped to improve quality and to improve the brand image. Gucci also looses the luxury brand image and decided to outsource limited to Italy based suppliers and reduced the no of suppliers drastically. De Sole selected few trusted suppliers and helped them financially and technology to improve the overall quality of the products. Uses of latest technology helped to improve quality of goods, and cost effective as well volume increased. Only 5% premium range of products manufactured in-house to maintain high quality standard and brand image. A very crucial decision had been taken to move from classic image to fashion-oriented approach. Basically Guccis customers are 30-50 years womens. With globalization and competitive market Gucci need to rethink the position to be competitive in the market. The companys new strategy was fashion-oriented approach to attract both sex average age of 25 years customer segment. So the decision was taken to spend more to attract youth customers so an average of 10% spent on the advertising. The companys new strategy fashion-oriented, which increased customers expectation and they expected new fashion goods in every seasons result the company had to invested more to designing and production. It was also decided that Gucci group products should be primary shells through direct operated stores (DOS) (please see exhibit 2). It is very important for a brand that when a customer buys a luxury product the customer must get an essence of luxury treat, good presentation and high class service which is not possible to maintain for franchises shops and merchandising dealers. DOS also contribute and anticipate the brand image and brand publicity. Right strategies planned in the corporate level lead by De Sole and well supported by his executive group and all together their effort to transform Gucci from a moribund brand into a billion-dollar company (please see exhibit 2). In 1998, the Gucci group become a one billion-dollar company; Maurizios dream comes true. DE SOLES STRETIGIC MOVE TO BUY YSL AND SR The family oriented single-brand firms were facing challenges due to close competition with the luxury multi-brands companies. To overcome the challenges in 1998-1999 there were a sharp rate of increase in mergers and acquisitions. LVMHs portfolio continuously increased and in 1999 company spends around $2.9 billion on acquisition on the leading brands. Later Prada and LVHM formed a joint venture that beat out Gucci too acquire 51% of Fendi for close to $600 million. In 1999, LVMH spend $1.4 billion to become Guccis largest shareholder and LVMH want to buy Gucci. Also LVMH want to appoint a director to Guccis board so that LVHM come to know Guccis strategic moves; Gucci emerged competitor for LVHM. Later PPR bought 40% of Gucci for $2.9 billion, diluting LVMHs holding to 19.6%. In Nov 1999, Gucci acquired Sanofi Beaute consisting of two sister companies: Yves Saint Laurent Coutre, which produced YSL ready-to-wear and accessories and YSL Beaute, which produced cosmetic goods. Gucci also acquire 70% share of Sergio Rossi paid of $96 million, which makes high-fashion shoes. This acquisition transforms Gucci into a multi-brand luxury group with nearly $3billion in cash. This acquisition continues challenge for Gucci to handle YSL and SR as a different brand because both brands have their own identity and a segment of customers e.g. Guccis ready-to-wear is totally diffident from YSL ready-to-wear. Guccis also dont want to loose YSLs customer to make a single brand. Both brands have their own DOS in Europe, US and Asia. Even it is easy for Gucci to operate YSL and SR without changing the management team, only need YSLs SRs CEO need to report to De Sole and Tom Ford appointed creative director of YSL. The sales figure after acquisition of YSL and SR in (please see exhibit-1) in 2000-2001 around 30% revenue contributed by these brands and Guccis performance also improved individually. The decision of acquisition of YSL and SR was taken very quickly just to follow LVSR. However, Gucci itself goes through transition phase. Any decision, which makes profit of the company consider to be a good decision for the company. GUCCIS STRATEGY TO GOING FORWARD There are lot of scope to improve or to make new strategies for Guccis expansion and improve the brand image are as such: To expand the stores in other Asian countries such as China and India, these two countries are emerging new economic power of the world. There is a big group of wealthy customers who have capacity to expend to buy luxury goods and they travel to Dubai and Singapore just for shopping. In China, customers can buy online Guccis products from China based manufacturer, which is not a good strategy for a luxury brand. It will help to flourish the gray market and the customers cannot enjoy and get essence of luxury goods shopping. The Asian customers are still not very comfortable of buying the luxury goods online. Online shopping might be a good option for American and European customers. Its always good for a luxury brand to sell the goods directly in the market. When a customer buys luxury goods they would like to celebrate the moment with their friends and family members so this moment will be missing in online shopping. In Asian countries it will be difficult for Guccis to establish and run their business and make significant profit. Asian counties are culturally very deep rooted, which influence the business. These countries have their own fashion trends and they are quite capable to change the trend of fashion any time. Such as Indias Bollywood industry which plays a big role to change the fashion trend with just release of one movie and brings the new trend of fashion. China and Koreas visual media is dominant on the fashion industry. To overcome this challenge its good for Gucci to design some luxury goods with the help of local designers which will reflect the culture of that country. Real world example like McDonald and KFC and few other global brands their products or menus are different form country to country to attract local customers and compete with the local challenges or brands. Gucci need continue to sell their classic design goods which are universally accepted to maintain the luxury classic brand image. Duty free shop (DFS) is a good platform to showcase, promote and sell the luxury goods. There are long list of international and national airport terminals which is better than a mall. In Asia, New Delhi, Dubai, Singapore and Thailand and many more airports, which are world-class. Asian travellers or customers would like to save money while shopping so shopping at DFS stores is a good place to buy Guccis products. Selection of airport and country is very crucial for Gucci to open DFS. According to Kotler, Traditionally, price has been the major determinant of buyers choice. But there are few exceptions for e.g. baby products, medicines and luxury goods. For baby products the profit margin is very high and companies know the fact that parent dont comprise with the quality of the product because baby is very sensitive as well as future of the next generation. Medicine is costly because of the research and development and the pharmaceutical companies keeps high price to make more profit. No choice for the patients as they want to cure fast so they have to buy good quality medicine. So the Government and WHO controls the price of few essentials medicines specially vaccines and life saving drugs and gives subsidy to reduce the price of the medicine for common people and poor countries. But in case of luxury goods customers are willingly to pay high price for the luxury goods. They just care about the brand image in the society and the quality of the product. Most importantly, Gucci continuing to improve the brand image and quality of the products. Promotion of the brand by famous international celebrities as a brand ambassador or with top models. Classic products are the assets of Guccis and the customers associate with the classic goods are loyal customers of Gucci. The production cost will be less to manufacture the classic goods in comparison to design and production of new goods. There is less chances of loss because the classic models never off fashion and there is average demands of the good round the year. Guccis fashion-oriented move will be challenging for the designers to design new trend fashion and creative goods. The company need to attract talented creative designers around the world because the customers expectation will increase with increase of buying power and they want new items in every special occasion or season. It is important for a brand or product, which will anticipate the brand and it is lacking in case of Guccis. A real life example is iTune which anticipate huge success of iPod and iPhone and vice-versa and another is Harvard Business School and publication etc. Gucci can start a fashion designing school it will bring the brand to the next level of expertise goods manufacturer and technology equipped institution. The company can earn money through the institution and hire their own students after complete the study or training. It will help Gucci group to groom their future employee and save expenses training of new employees for 3 years. Gucci group will get huge publicity through different media outside the luxury world, which attract new segment of customers. Gucci can also save money on advertising. It is also true that luxury industry hide lot of information from outside world and media to keep secret of their success or signature work and design etc. But nothing is possible if t he idea is creative and innovative. Exhibit 1 GUCCI GROUP PERFORMANCE: 1994-2001 Exhibit 2 GUCCI GROUP: RETAIL NETWORK DEVELOPMENT Exhibit 3 GUCCI GROUP REVENUES: REGION Exhibit 4 GUCCI GROUP REVENUES: CHANNEL Exhibit 5 OUTSTANDING BRANDS AND PRODUCTS Exhibit 6 GUCCI GROUP DIVISIONS

Economic Analysis of The U.S. 2001-2003 Essay -- essays research paper

Economic Analysis of The U.S. 2001-2003   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Economics have many indicators to describe how it runs. The indicators can show if the economy has improved or declined. The economic indicators that will be focused on in this analysis of the United States economy from 2001 – 2003 will be the consumer price index, the imports and exports, the unemployment rate, and finally the gross domestic product. Now while most may know the meanings of the previously stated indicators, for those who don’t, they remain useless unless defined. To begin with, these indicators will have to be defined in full to aid in understanding the analysis in more detail. It will be after that that the actual analysis of the economy of the United States from 2001 – 2003 will begin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first indicator to be discussed will be the consumer price index. The consumer price index can be described as â€Å"a price index that measures the cost of a fixed basket of goods chosen to represent the consumption pattern of individuals† . This is mainly used by the government and private sector to measure the changes of the prices that consumers deal with . Also the reference to basket refers to a collection of items representing a purchasing pattern of a typical consumer. The consumer price index has many components itself such as medical, transportation, household services, rent, durables, non-durables, apparels, food and beverage, and other services . This is relevant to show how much prices have increased from a base year .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Imports and exports weigh heavily on how well an economy could be. Imports are defined as â€Å"a good produced in a foreign country and purchased by residents of the â€Å"home† country† . For example an import would be as if in the United States were to get some kind of certain product from another country. Exports are defined as â€Å"a good produced in the â€Å"home† country and sold in another country† . An example of this is if the United States were to sell a product to another country. Ideally speaking, imports should be less then total exports. If the total exports are more then the total imports, that means more money is being received in the homeland, if there is more importing than exporting, that means that the country will be not be gaining from the exports. The United States has a poor import to export rati... ...r will again be on the up and up, with a 3.3% in gross domestic product, showing that 2003 was going to be a positive year . The third quarter was at an astounding 8.2% showing a massive increase from the previous quarters . 2003 would be a year of higher production; in fact it was the highest producing year of the three analyzed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, looking at these indicators, there has been am explanation of home the economy was in the years 2001-2003 in the United States. Discussed were the consumer price index, the imports and exports, the unemployment rate, and finally the gross domestic product. By seeing how these all went it will be open for people to take the given data analyzed in this paper and come up with their own interpretation of the data. This is an analysis of the United States economy for the years 2001-2003.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Works Cited 1.http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/25/news/economy/gdp/?cnn=yes 2.http://www.bls.gov/ 3.http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/industry/otea/usfth/tabcon.html 4.O’Sullivan, Arthur and Sheffrin, Steven M. Economics Principles and Tools. Third Edition. Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle, New Jersey. 2003.

Hot-Button Issue Paper Essay

Nowadays one of most concerning topic in today’s media is sex and violence. Determining what’s â€Å"too much† for children is not an easy task, because every parent has their personal preferences about such matters. But determining the actual effects of media violence on children gives rise a problem in itself, as it’s quite tricky to actually determine what â€Å"violent media† means to the children (Cutler, 2002). There were many children friendly shows back in the days, shows that taught some useful lessons to the children in a non-violent manner. Shows like Ducktales or Darkwing Duck are examples of such shows that children not only could enjoy, but also learn some valuable lessons from. Even vintage video games like Super Mario was just a fun seeking game that children could enjoy and parents didn’t have to worry about their effects on their children too. But if we look at the TV shows, movies and games in the present, it’s quite obvious that the use of excessive violence has crawled its’ way into almost every form of media. Another problem is the increase of usage of sexual acts in the media. There are open discussions of sex and enactments of sexual activities in almost all the TV shows and movies. In the past, TV shows mostly showed two persons getting into bed and the next scene took us to the next day. There were no enactments of sexual activities in the shows. But today, almost every show on every premium channels show fully nude persons or even the acts of having sex. The media industries have been strongly resisting such arguments that the usage of scenes containing sex, violence, and drug usage in TV, music, radio and movies is directly related to the increasing cases of negative behavior buildups in the society, (Anderson, 2002). Canceling such shows is the only way to get rid of sex from the TV. But doing so creates the possibility that children will grow up without the knowledge of sex. They might grow up and have to face the big bad world without anyone to properly guide them into making the right decisions. So it’s essential for them to learn the correct decisions at an early age, so  that they don’t make any decision that could destroy their life forever. You might be able to control the TV shows on their usage of sex and violence; but what about other for ms of media such as magazines, internet, books, music, and movies? Nowadays media has an array of methods to attract peoples’ eyes. They can target audiences of any age or group by tempting their senses. Teenagers are often attracted by violent acts, and by using this they can easily influence them. It doesn’t matter if it’s TV or the movies or the internet, violence is everywhere and trying to shut down all of them is simply not possible. Imagine yourself in a scenario where you’re changing through channels on the TV and you can’t find any shows with violence, shooting or sexual scenes. What would you do in that case, keep on watching the TV or turn it off and do something else? Doing the later would cause the viewer ratings of TV networks to go down and thus giving them the impression that they need to show more violence and sexual acts to attract the audiences. There’s no point in denying that sex and violence attract people or â€Å"sell†, so to say. Although almost 60-70 persons out of 100 say that there’s excess use of sex and violence on TV, they have to firstly watch such usage to find that out. Imagine a show that you watch on a regular basis, and you’d realize by yourself that sex and violence sell. Not a single person can be found who hasn’t seen or doesn’t know of a show that uses violence or sexual references, at the very least. Just as a children mig ht want to smoke if they see their parents smoke, they also might have the inclination towards committing crime if they see their favorite TV character commit a crime. Recently several methods have been developed to control or even block specific shows at specific times. A parental control, that gives the parents the power to block certain TV shows, is offered by every cable provider. But still, it’s the parent that must decide whether to block or not. The V-chip is a recent controlling method developed to restrict sex and violence scenes from being showed on the TV and it’s done by incorporating a small chip in the TV. But to some extent, this seems to be violating the first amendment. What someone wants to watch on their TV is their personal choice; why should they be restrained from watching something they want? It’s understandable that children shouldn’t be exposed to such shows that negatively impact their sense of judgment, but what about someone who’s an adult and willing to watch those shows? Whether you allow play in  shows containing sex and violence in your household premises is a decision that you should make, not the government. If there are children in the house, the parents should be responsible for keeping them away from shows that contain sex or violence. Another point is that most of these shows are aired at nighttime, and it’s safe to assume that children should be in the bed by that time. If kids are staying up at nights to see such shows, it’s not the networks’ fault that they are airing these shows, but it’s the parents’ fault that they can’t fulfill their responsibilities as a parent. On average, a child in the USA watches almost 28 hours of TV shows per week. Also, by the age of eleven, before finishing elementary school, a child views about 8000 murders on these TV shows. And the most terrifying fact is that in almost 75% of the cases shown in the TV, the criminal is shown to get away without being caught and feeling no remorse for their violent acts. This creates a false impression on children about violence. They often get an impractical idea about the acts of violence. Some of them feel no affect of violence whatsoever and even think that it’s cool, while other few become scared of everything around them. In 2009, the National Organization of Women reported that the most violent shows that were being aired were- Alias of ABC, Law & Order: SVU of NBC and WWE: Smackdown of CW (NOW, 2009). When children watch TV shows that show someone committing a crime and getting away with it, it creates an impression on their mind that even they can get away without suffering the consequences of their actions. It’s also possible to link violent movies to several cases of assault, robbery and other anti social behaviors. People, particularly teenagers, often confuse things they watch on TV or movies with reality. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, the Columbine shooters, are a perfect example of such delusional cases. They tried to du plicate scenes from the movies The Matrix and Basketball Diaries and even dressed up in trench coats and armed themselves with guns to depict those scenes. But just watching violence on TV and movies is not the entire story, there are several other factors that shape the thoughts of persons. Information obtained from several social research studies prove that what a child learns from what he/she watches is greatly affected by his/her surrounding environment (Anderson, 2002). For instance, if a child grows up seeing domestic violence in his/her household, he/she is more likely to think that these acts of violence is acceptable in the society. He/she would  be more prone to act according to what he/she saw when growing up, thus giving him/her a completely false sense of what’s acceptable and what’s not. To those who are mentally handicapped, these effects are much more severe. Since they often have problems differentiating what’s right and what’s wrong, exposure to these sexual acts and violence change the way they think about the world and often clouds their judgments. Watching people commit crimes in the media might give them the impression that it’s okay to do such acts. In one of her studies, Sue Bailey declared that people would of ten enact scenes they saw in the media, even if those scenes were to contain violence or sexual exploitation (Anderson, 2002). This is in fact the main reason why we see so many copycat criminals nowadays. This reminds us of the Bandura’s theory of modeling (Sparks, 2013). Children often idolize these TV and movie characters and watching their idols beat someone, sell drugs, and committing crimes makes them want to do the same. The act of violence and their rate varies in every society, but what’s alarming is that the USA has a horrifying rate of killings and suicides in the 15 year age group. In 1995, the combined death toll of children among 26 countries was at 2872. Out of these 2872 deaths, 1446 were in the USA alone and compared with the other 25 countries; this rate was almost 5 times higher. A child’s personality also plays an important role in their vulnerability to these violent acts. From an early age, some children might have the tendency to be temperamental. Watching violent acts in the media might increase their tendency to act violently. Furthermore, prolonged exposure to acts of violence increases their chance to act according to what they see in the media. Showing sexual acts and violence in TV can, in many ways, negatively impact the society. But the most argued point is the belief that a persons’ behavior is affected by what they watch. But this seems likely only if someone was to watch only these type of shows at all times. Watching such acts on TV or movies once or twice is not going to affect someone’s personality or turn them into violent sexual offenders. Moreover, the choices someone make is their and theirs’ only to make. No one else can be blamed for their personal faults. To conclude all this discussion, today’s TV can’t be compared with the TV from 30 years ago. Today’s shows cover a more wide range of topics, represent different cultures and languages and they’re targeted for every age group. The increase in sexual scenes and acts  of violence in the media reflects the change our society has undergone in the past years. This change can’t be denied and sooner or later society has to accept that these shows are a part of this change. So rather than demanding to stop this change, it’s practical to demand that these shows should be aired at a certain t ime, thus enabling the viewers to choose what they see and what they allow their children to see. References Anderson, C. A. (2002). Violent Video Games and Hostile Expectations. Retrieved from http://www.psychology.iastate.edu/faculty/caa/abstracts/2000-2004/02BApspb.pdf Bandura, A. (2006). Social Learning Theory. Retrieved from http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-learning.html Cutler, Maggie: Research on the Effects of Media Violence on Children Is Inconclusive†. Is Media Violence a Problem? James D. Torr, Ed. At Issue Series. Greenhaven Press 2002 National Organization of Women. (2009). Retrieved from http://www.now.org/organization/conference/resolutions/2009.html Sparks, G. G. (2013). Media Effects Research (14th ed.). Retrieved from The University of Phoenix eBook.

Psychology Chapter 6 Notes Essay Example

Psychology Chapter 6 Notes Essay Example Psychology Chapter 6 Notes Essay Psychology Chapter 6 Notes Essay Learning – long lasting change in behavior resulting from experience Classical Conditioning – a form of learning in which the first stimulus is the signal of the occurrence of the second stimulus Unconditioned stimulus (US/UCS) – the original stimulus that elicits a response Unconditioned response (UR/UCR) – the involuntary, reflexive response to unconditioned stimulus Conditioned stimulus – the stimulus associating with the original stimulus to elicit a response Conditioned response – salvation elicit from the bell (not getting there yet) Acquisition – learning is taken place once animals response to conditioned stimulus without the existence of unconditioned stimulus the animal has acquired a new behavior Delayed conditioning – the procedure in which conditioned stimulus is presented first and then the unconditioned stimulus is presented while the conditioned stimulus is still evident/continued Extinction – the process of unlearning a behavior Spontaneous Recovery – after a conditioned response has been extinguished with no further training, the response briefly reappears upon the presentation of the conditioned stimulus Generalization – the tendency in which animals response to certain stimuli that are similar the conditioned stimulus Discriminate – in which subjects can be trained to tell the difference between various stimuli Aversive conditioning – negative responses to CSs/USs Eg. Baby Albert experiment: loud noise(US), in which baby Albert fears (UR), is paired with white rat (originally US), so baby Albert then learned to be afraid of white fluffy stuff (generalization) white rat become CS; CR is the response to the white rat alone Second Order/Higher Order conditioning – when CS elicits a CR, the CS is then used as US to condition a response to a new stimulus Eg. Dog salivates when hearing bell rings. Pairing bells with flash lights or others will cause dog to salivate with flash light/ others alone. Learned taste aversion –developing aversion for a certain food/drink because you have experienced uncomfortable feelings after ingesting it. Salient – easily noticeable and therefore create a more powerful conditioned response Operant conditioning – is a sort of learning based on the association of consequences of one’s behavior Law of effect – if the consequence of a behavior is pleasant, the stimulus-response (S-R) connection will be strengthened, and the likelihood of the behavior will increase; if the consequence of a behavior is unpleasant, the stimulus-response (S-R) connection will be weakened, and the likelihood of the behavior will decrease Instrumental learning – consequence is the instrument shaping the future behaviors Skinner box – is a box that has a way/path to deliver food and a lever to press to peck in order to get food Reinforcer – for the sample above, it will be the food. It is something that reinforce/ motivate the subject to have a specific behavior Anything that makes a behavior likely to occur Reinforcement – the process of giving the reinforcer defined by its consequence Positive reinforcement: a behavior is strengthened for the addition of something pleasant Negative reinforcement: a behavior is strengthened for the removal of something unpleasant Escape learning – when one terminate an aversive stimulus Avoidance learning – enables one to avoid unpleasant stimulus altogether Punishment – unpleasant consequence that will a behavior, making a behavior less likely Shaping – a way to reinforce/speed up a behavior we desire to reach 1. Positive punishment: addition of something unpleasant to make a behavior less frequent 2. Negative punishment/ omission training: the removal of something pleasant to make a behavior less frequent Chaining – when subjects are taught to perform a number of responses successively in order to get a reward Discriminative stimulus – the stimulus that the subject is able to distinguish from Primary reinforcers – rewards such as food, water and rest; whose natural properties are reinforcing Secondary reinforcers – things we have learned to value Generalized reinforcer – money, traded for virtually anything Token economy – a system of behavior modification that can be rewarded with tokens/symbols which can be exchanged with variety of reinforcers Premack principle – a principle that states that the reinforcers are not always effective to all subjects depending on how desired and what is desired by the subject. OVERVIEW learning is different from behavior, yet changes in behavior best demonstrates learning learning must result from â€Å"experience† rather than â€Å"innate† or â€Å"biological change† CLASSICAL CONDITIONING Ivan Pavlov, Russian psychologist: discovered â€Å"a kind of† learning while studying digestion in dogs dogs pair the sounds in environment where they were fed with food, began to salivate upon hearing the sounds Pavlov deduce the â€Å"basic principles† of classical conditioning Eg. First stimulus: the sounds in the environment Second stimulus: began to salivate simply upon hearing the sounds People animals can learn to associate neutral stimuli (example: the sound) with stimuli that produce involuntary, reflexive responses (example: food) to respond to the new stimulus as they did to the old one (example: salivate) the unconditioned stimulus the food food elicits the natural and involuntary response salivate factors that affects acqu isition: 1. Repeated pairings of unconditioned stimulus with conditioned stimulus yield stronger conditioned responses 2. Order timing of conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus have impact on strength of conditioning most effective conditioning present conditioned stimulus first and then to introduce the unconditioned stimulus while conditioned stimulus is still evident Less effective methods of learning 1. Trace conditioning: the presentation of conditioned stimulus, followed by a short break, followed by unconditioned stimulus 2. Simultaneous condition: where both conditioned stimulus and unconditioned stimulus are presented at the same time 3. Backward condition: Unconditioned stimulus is presented first, follow by conditioned stimulus. This method is particularly ineffective. CS no longer elicits CR classical conditioning for extinction repeatedly presenting CS without US will cause extinction people and animals will have the tendency to respond to similar conditioned stimulates, generalization~ Eg. Animals will salivate to different kinds of ringing bells to discriminate, for animals/people to tell the difference between the conditioned stimulates, the conditioned stimulates, present the specific CS with US while the other CSs with no US BIOLOGY AND CLASSICAL CONDITIONING learned taste aversions demonstrate not all US can be paired with any CSs animals humans are biologically prepared to associate strange taste with the feeling of sickness the food (CS) must be salient in order for us to avoid it sometimes taste aversions are acquired without good reason. Eg. If you are eating some mozzarella sticks a few hours before you fall ill with stomach flu, you might develop an aversion to that popular American appetizer even though it had nothing to do with your sickness OPERANT CONDITIONING Edward Thorndike: first person to research on operant conditioning Edward Thorndike states the law of effect about the pleasant consequence elicits pleasant behavior, unpleasant consequence elicits unpleasant behaviors Edward Thorndike claimed is experiment to be instrumental learning because he believes that consequence is instrumental in shaping future behaviors B. F. Skinner (another famous psychologist for this – behaviorism, area of studies) invented a contraption called Skinner box 2 kinds of reinforcement 1. Positive reinforcement: a behavior is strengthened for the addition of something pleasant 2. Negative reinforcement: a behavior is strengthened for the removal of something unpleasant B. F. Skinner eg. When the rat pushes the lever, the rat will receive its award(food) which cause the rat to push the lever more often – POSTIVE REINFORCEMENT B. F. Skinner eg. The rat hated loud noise but when the rat pushes the lever, the loud noise stops, hich cause the rat to push the lever more frequent to avoid the loud noise – NEGATIVE REINFORCEMENT the example above is also a escape learning because the rat can avoid an aversive stimulus for pressing the lever more often an avoidance learning would be when the rat runs away from the loud noise (another behavior/response) to avoid what it hated 2 types of punishment 1. Positive punishment: addition of something unpleasant to make a behavior less frequent 2. Negative punishment/ omission training: the removal of something pleasant to make a behavior less frequent Punishment versus Reinforcement punishment is operant conditioning’s version of aversive conditioning shaping helps to speed up a specific behavior we desired for rat Barnabus is asked to go through a series of veritable obstacles in order to get food as reward chaining the goal of chaining is to link a series of separate behaviors into one complex activity

Double Indemnity essays

Double Indemnity essays In Double Indemnity Phyliss and Walter are planning the murder of Phyliss husband. But greed and lust dont always bring out the love. In this essay I will pull out each mise en scene out of each scene to capture the true evil intentions of Phyliss, and show how she is truly a daemon. In this first meeting we are at Phylisss house. Her house is very large and cost about $30,000 according to Walter the insurance agent. We meet Phyliss here for the very first time in the movie. Her maid answers the door when Walter comes to the house to talk about the insurance policy. After answering the door we see Phyliss in the balcony almost naked, wearing only a white towel around her body and talking very seductively to Walter. After the brief talk with Walter in the foyer she walks towards her room? Well whatever she walks towards is not light up, it is all black which may really suggest that she is wearing a white towel but really she is black inside. Walter comes into her living room and waits for Phyliss to come down after she gets changed. Room lighting is just daylight coming in through the blinds nothing great. Phyliss comes into the room wearing an all white dress. She sits down on her sofa with a shadow covering one side of her face; really Phyliss is not a good woman. As the two engage in there conversation Phyliss gets up and walks around the room, as she is doing this she happens to walk in front of the fireplace a few times her dark shadow is casted on to the white backing of the fireplace and fallows her like a daemon. As we come to the end of this scene we can all see that they both want each other. The next scene here we come back to Phyliss house. Walter has come back to talk to her husband about the insurance policy. Phyliss is wearing a white shirt with black flowers on it, a black dress, and also black shoes, her clothing shows her true intentions starting to come out. Phyli ...

IKEA of Leadership and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

IKEA of Leadership and Management - Essay Example Opportunities of IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...7 3.1.4. Threats of IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.8 4. Complexities of the Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 5. Key Business Challenges and a Rationale for a Leadership and Management Challenge Underlying IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦9 6. Leadership within IKEA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..†¦9 6.1. Problems with the Current Situation of Leadership†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..11 6.2. Options for Improving Current Leadership Situation at IKEA through Application of Models†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦....13 7. Recommendations to address the major challenges IKEA is facing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.....17 7.1. Factors that may affect implementation of recommendation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦...19 7.2. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.....21 8. ... The paper utilized SWOT as an environmental model in the analysis of the internal and external environment. It has also provided appropriate recommendation measures that relate to the development and implementation of effective organizational plans for appropriate leadership and management and the impacts it may have on organizational success. IKEA 1. Introduction IKEA is a privately owned company that specializes in the production of furniture such as beds and desks. It is rated the world’s largest home products company that deals with design and sale of home accessories as well as ready-to-assemble furniture. IKEA was founded in 1943 by Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden. It operates in 55 countries and has a total of 76, 000 employees. IKEA is recognized world wide for its wide variety of products, flat storing, affordability as well as high class models. IKEA has developed over the years leading to the establishment of other branches of the company in various states. All the branche s of IKEA are controlled by a Dutch Corporation known as INGKA Holding B. V. The company has developed properties which have to be managed effectively to ensure no losses are incurred and to ensure that it continues to operate without any obstacles. IKEA’s intellectual property is, therefore, controlled by various corporations which are under the Netherlands Antilles and also the Interogo Foundation in Liechtenstein. Various activities are undertaken at IKEA that enable the company to be successful in its operations. Manufacturing, purchasing as well as supplying functions have to be effectively carried out by the responsible parties to ensure that the business performs efficiently. Industrial Group of Swedwood is responsible for sourcing the manufacture of

The Psychology of Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Psychology of Marketing - Essay Example This might not have been possible without the existence of those valuable possessions. This approach depicts a unique psychology of the consumers, which would be discussed in details in this essay. This trait or characteristics which the consumers portray can be evaluated within the domain of the consumer behaviour. The psychology of consumers cannot be understood without referring to the personal values. Though consumer researchers have largely ignored the importance of value in consumer behaviour, but consumer value has shown signs of being a challenging area in consumer research. Personal values have significant implications for the consumer researchers. The term value means different things in different disciplines. In anthropology value signifies the social elements which drives out or provokes reaction from an individual. In case of sociology, value means to focus on the customs or ideologies. It is a concept which groups together to form a mode of behaviour in the society. Psy chology examines value from the perspective of personal motives and attitudes. Values are accountable for the assortment and protection of the goals which human beings struggle to achieve and at the same time regulate the manner and the method in which the struggle takes place (Vinson, Scott, and Lamont, 2002, p. 44-45). Possession reveals the characteristics of the possessor. So if possession is measured in terms of material values, then a relationship can be drawn between personal values and possession. The link between these two aspects is materialism. Materialism is actually the value which symbolizes the perspective of an individual regarding the position possession should have in his/her life. It has been discussed that the individual holding solid material values put possession and also acquisition of such as a centre of their lives. Value possessions are means to achieve happiness and acts as an indicator of success for the possessor. Thus it can be said that materialism is closed tied to value possession and its usage in an individual’s life (Richins, 1994, p. 522). In this context the difference between personality and value can also be studied. Value has an evaluative component which lacks personality and it relates to our belief that we should do. Personality on the other hand involves those things that we naturally do, without pretending what we are doing. Personality traits of an individual do not conflict with each other, but values do (Parks, and Guay 2009, p. 677).The perception, values, attitudes, self-concept affects the consumption pattern of an individual. It reflects the type of products or services the consumer is willing to use or required. The consumption pattern is also largely affected by personality traits of an individual such as aggressiveness, compulsivity, etc. Apart from this self-identity, or self concept also affects consumption. The elements of value such as ethics, materialism, influence the buying behaviour or consu mer behaviour largely (Ruvio, and Shoham, 2011, p. 1089-1091). There are three psychological terms that needs to be discussed in this context are the self-image, self-identity and self concept. It becomes important to discuss these concepts which evaluating the significance of personal values and possessions. Self image denotes the total subjective insight of oneself, which includes the impression of the individuals’ personality and capabilities. It has been also said that self-image is the mental