Effect of Motivation on Employee Performance

Impact of Motivation on Employee Performance Section 1 Presentation 1.1 Background of the Study In todays serious world, worker is a significant advantage for each association. An association can't advance without workers. Be that as it may, the accomplishment of an association relies upon how the administration use their laborers abilities in accomplishing association objectives and targets. Workers should be propelled just as spurred to perform well and perform productively. As per Smith (n.d.), representatives who like where they work will enable the organization to get more cash-flow. Burns directed a 800-store overview that indicated the effect of representative perspectives on the main concern. At the point when representative perspectives improved by 5%, client satisfactionjumped 1.3%, therefore expanding income by one-a large portion of a rate point. Looking for approaches to persuade and manufacture laborer spirit delivers profits to any business or association. The spurred specialist is increasingly dedicated to the activity and to the client. This shows upbeat repres entatives performed well which builds the quality and amount of their work. Quite a while prior, representatives were considered as simply a contribution to the creation of good and administrations. Anyway as time passes by, along these lines of reasoning has changed the same number of studies has been done on the workers conduct and occupation execution. A representatives execution may influence the creation of the organization, from the quality to the amount of the items and administrations. This is the reason the administration must recognize the variables influencing their laborers execution. An elite workforce is the most significant establishment for associations achievement regardless of how enormous or how little the association is. Occupation execution is the capacity and aptitude that a representative has in playing out the activity required by the business. The degree of execution by the worker is going to influence the associations objective and efficiency. Plus, representatives execution may likewise be influenced by the administration of the organization, the activity itself or even the workers own conduct. Great job execution gives incredible accomplishment to the association, concordance in the work environment and furthermore representatives self-achievement. Accordingly, to have a decent workforce and great representative execution, association should right off the bat recognize and comprehend the variables which influence the representatives work execution in accomplishing companys objective. 1.2 Research Problem For a considerable length of time, people have addressed and performed research on the components influencing workers work execution but then the appropriate responses may shift from each other. Some specialist said that representatives execution is impacted by their compensation and some said they are definitely not. Representatives are an associations significant resource which is the reason acceptable presentation by the workers is basic in creating great job quality and efficiency. Workers are the ones who are running the association in the interest of the organization. They have the duties to perform well for the organization so as to accomplish association objective and contend with different associations in a similar industry. Representatives are the person who plan, oversee, sort out and maintain the business exercises of an association. This implies poor representatives work execution may diminish the nature of administrations and profitability which will in the long run hinder the activity of the association and lead to wastage of assets, for example, cash and time. Associations may discover approaches to take care of the issue by firing inadequately performed workers or even decide to disregard it which may prompt fruitless business or insolvency. By deciding to fire failed to meet expectations representative couldn't take care of the issue as time is expected to enlist new worker and additional cost will be caused for preparing new representative. The executives should discover ways that motivates their laborers to perform well so as to accomplish associations objective and so as to completely use their assets. The board accepts that by paying representatives more (increment of wages), workers will in general perform better. Maybe it may be valid as indicated by some specialist. Nonetheless, there are likewise late investigations that have indicated that workers inspirations are not exclusively influenced by pay. Along these lines, this examination is done to explore the components that influence representatives execution. This exploration will endeavor to assess the impact of four factors which are inspiration, work duty, work plan and workplace. 1.3 Research Objectives The purpose behind this examination is: To research if inspiration has the critical effect on workers work execution. To examine if work duty has the noteworthy effect on representatives work execution. To research if work configuration has the huge effect on representatives work execution. To research if workplace has the noteworthy effect on representatives work execution. Employment configuration is procedures that are use in the activity configuration practice are, for example, work growth, work enhancement, work turn and occupation disentanglement. The workplace or working spot which a worker acts in, can influence their presentation. Workplace can be isolated into two classifications which are physical condition and social condition. The physical condition incorporates safe working spot with sufficient assets and gear, for example, agreeable seat, lighting and so on while the social condition incorporates individuals that the representatives are working with in the association, for example, working partners or subordinates, directors and so forth. 1.4 Scope of the Study This exact examination comprises of needy and free factors. The needy variable is representatives work execution though the free factors comprise of elements that influence representatives work execution, for example, inspiration (pay, benefits, rewards, and so forth), work duty, work plan and workplace. The populace for this investigation consider the representatives working in the assembling organizations in Penang and is haphazardly chosen by utilizing comfort inspecting strategy. Polls will be circulated to 150 representatives. Polls will at that point be gathered back and information will be examined utilizing the relapse testing that is use to test the impacts of the autonomous factors onto the reliant factors. 1.5 Significance of Study It is clear that each association regardless of how large or little in size the organization is in the entire world needs individuals or representatives to work and deal with their organization. The criticalness of this examination is to research the four components relationship with workers work execution, as representatives work execution is significant in creating great job quality and most extreme efficiency. This examination is likewise fundamental to discover the impacts of the four elements to the associations. An association is viewed as dead and can't work without laborers. Very much performed workers may lead the association to progress and procure upper hand over contenders while poor performed representatives may lead organization to disappointment and even liquidation. Other than inadequately performed laborers causes deficiency in efficiency which by implication squander organization assets. It may likewise make organization be crushed by its opponent. Thusly this examination will support administrators and representatives to see better the issue influencing their exhibition and decrease the negative impacts to the organization. Part 2 Writing RREVIEW 2.1 Introduction Nowadays, the business world is getting more testing than any other time in recent memory. This expands the administrations mindfulness that great job execution is the key accomplishment to the association. To have all around performed representatives, different ways or strategies ought to be directed to control people nature and necessities to deliver wanted practices and well execution. Therefore, the primary thing the administration ought to do is to get human (representatives) needs and needs. Representative occupation execution is the capacity of workers to perform successfully in their activity required and they have to have comprehension of finish and exceptional expected set of responsibilities for their position. Other than that, they additionally should know about the activity execution prerequisites and standard that they are required to meet. Chiefs or the administration of the association should then survey their representatives expected set of responsibilities and execution necessities. Occupation execution can be checked on as far as generally productivity in the activity or regarding explicit segments that the activity settles. The motivation behind execution principles is to impart desires. A few bosses want to make them as explicit as could be expected under the circumstances, and some like to utilize them as ideas with the particularity characterized in the conversation (University Human Resource Services, 2005). When all is said in done representatives and chiefs utilize the exhibition appraisal every year to summarize a general audit of how the activity has been done over the past a year, to recognize whether authoritative objectives have been met, to distinguish zones which require extra endeavors, and ultimately to distinguish the accomplishment and improvement objectives for the pending year. Execution audits regularly happen yearly, yet can be planned all the more often. Execution survey forms fluctuate contingent upon whether your arrangement is as grouped or expert staff. For ordered staff secured by a work contract, the agreement builds up the exhibition audit process prerequisites (University of Washington, 2007). Individuals who are joining the work environment today are searching for employments that procure cash, but at the same time are searching for additional open doors, for example, self-improvement. They are happy to invest more energy on their activity when their own needs, objectives, desire and wants are met. Consequently, the administration of the association need to discover the components influencing the representatives execution and concoct strategies to improve workers work execution. The board should likewise ensure that representatives objectives are in accordance with associations destinations. As the world become more co

Macbeth: Natural Vs. Unnatural :: essays research papers

     In various timeframes, the lives of people and nature were thought to have an association, and this is underlined in William Shakespeare's play MacBeth. In this play, unnatural occasions in nature foretell awful or unnatural events in the lives of people. All through the play, Shakespeare constantly demonstrates this point.â â â â â      When Ross said As sparrows falcons or the bunny the lion (I.ii.35), it demonstrates this hypothesis. Regular information says that sparrows don't order as hawks does a rabbit characterize as a lion. They may have similitudes, for example, they are the two feathered creatures or well evolved creatures, yet they are alternate extremes. After the statement is spoken, Ross uncovers that the Thane of Cawdor has sold out his nation and Macbeth will have his spot. Macbeth turning into the Thane of Cawdor was an irregular occasion and not anticipated.      When Macbeth finds the knife before him, it implies this point considerably more. Macbeth's preferred portending becomes apparent when he says, Nature appears to be dead (II.i.50) For nature to appear to be dead would be the direct inverse of living since nature is believed to be consistently developing and changing, not kicking the bucket. This is an unnatural occasion, that again portends something terrible, which is Duncan's passing. Other unnatural events occurred preceding Duncan's passing yet were not clarified until thereafter. At the point when the elderly person says 'Tis unnatural/Even like the deed that is finished. On Tuesday last A bird of prey tow'ring in her pride of spot, was by a mousing falcon killed (II.iv.10-13), it likewise demonstrates the association between unnatural occasions and people. An owl will in general eat mice and chase around evening time, a bird of prey isn't it's standard feast. This bizarre occasion happened before Duncan's demise, which recounted what might be on the horizon. Another statement verbally expressed by Ross, likewise hints Duncan's demise: And Duncan's ponies?. turned wild in nature, broke their slows down, flung out, Contending 'gainst dutifulness, as they would clear a path with humanity And the elderly person reacted with 'Tis said they eat one another'/ (II.

Working Remotely The Pros and Cons of Remote Work

Working Remotely The Pros and Cons of Remote Work Working 9 to 5 When I worked in a “9 to 5” job as a legal services attorney, I used to stop at the gym on my way back from morning court dates. No one really knew at what time I was finished in court, and I always got my work done, staying late if necessary. So I never got in trouble for my liberties. And while I felt a little guilty about pushing the boundaries of my workday, overall I was happier. I could both keep my job and do other things that were important to me. What made me less happy was that I didn’t spend as much time as I wanted with my family, who lived in a different state. With just two or three weeks’ vacation, I did not have much flexibility. I would travel for short weekends, never feeling like I had enough time to spend with the people I loved. The Pleasures of Flex Time and Working Remotely Now that I am a business owner working from home, my flexible hours are a given. I make my own schedule (which includes  9:30am yoga classes). I can travel whenever I want, to anywhere I want, as long as there’s a phone and internet connection. Sure I work every day, but at least I get some changes of scenery. It would be hard for me to adjust now to a job that required me to be in an office for 9 hours a day, 5 days a week. A remote job, however, I could handle. Especially if it came with flex time and “unlimited vacation,” perks which many companies are starting to offer. I’m not alone in my sentiments. It turns out remote workers are happier and more productive, and feel more valued than non-remote employees. And a Harvard Business Review article cited a survey conducted by Fractl which found that “after health insurance, employees place the highest value on benefits … such as flexible hours, more paid vacation time, and work-from-home options.  Not surprisingly, parents are the demographic most enthusiastic about flexible hours and work-life balance. They value these perks even more than health insurance when considering potential job offers! Remote Working Trends FlexJobs reports that 3.9 million U.S. employees work from home at least half of the time, more than double the number from 13 years ago. Interestingly, older workers (over 35) are more likely to telecommute than younger ones. Oh yes, I remember that up until age 35, I found it natural to go to an office and stay there all day! I must admit this data on rising remote work surprised me. I had recently heard about big companies like Yahoo, IBM, and Bank of America going in the opposite direction. They have called thousands of remote employees back into the office â€" resulting in widespread layoffs. The idea was that remote workers were not able to collaborate and participate in company culture to the extent these companies needed. There were also some situations where employees took inappropriate advantage of their right to work from home. Achieving Balance As with anything in life, balance â€" and communication â€" are key. Some companies, like Buffer and Basecamp, function well with fully remote teams. They have robust systems in place to ensure collaboration and communication. Other organizations do better having their employees in person, but allowing flexibility when, for instance, an employee’s child has a doctor’s appointment. And some positions at the same company can be better suited to remote work than others. I’m hearing from some clients that they have been working remotely in their current positions, but to advance to higher levels they need to be physically in the office. That makes sense to me. The benefits to employees of working remotely are clear, and so are the down-sides â€" like weaker relationships with colleagues, and the pull to procrastinate. Different personalities are suited to different levels of freedom. Benefits for Companies For companies, there are cost-saving benefits to leveraging remote workers. People who previously had to fly from across the globe for meetings, now can attend remotely with the same result. Software platforms (Zoom, Dropbox, GoogleDocs, Slack, etc.) make collaboration easy across continents, and new companies are springing up to take advantage of remote working trends. Remote workers’ productivity is also less affected by things like snow days (better for the company, perhaps, but maybe not as great for the worker who wants to go make snow people with the kids). One company, Kolabtree, predicts that by 2020, 50% of the U.S. workforce will be freelancing. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do think companies need to take care of their employees well and do whatever they can to keep workers happy. If given the right flexibility, even I would consider becoming an employee again! Are you considering working remotely and want help tailoring your resume or LinkedIn profile for the position? Contact us. Well be happy to help you focus your career documents for the job you want.

Eisners Destruction of Disney - 1266 Words

Since its humble beginnings in 1923, the transformation and transition of The Walt Disney Company has been staggering. The ability of the organization to integrate and excel in so many business areas is admirable and should be respected on many levels. Michael Eisner’s crucial role in the turnaround of the organization since his arrival in 1984 is valued on many levels, but over that last few years, he has taken many missteps in properly managing the organization. Although Eisner often vocalized his want for Disney to effectively â€Å"manage creativity,† the strategy he implemented while CEO did not reflect this want, and over time dismantled the creative core of Disney, and essentially depleted all the synergy that he had created in his early†¦show more content†¦Eisner first pushed this with the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and was wildly successful. Disney licensed computer games, jewelry, etc. along with pushing for heavy amounts of merchandise for the mo vie in their theme parks, and heavy amounts of advertising in their television productions. This established the beginning of Disney focusing on cross merchandising, â€Å"using each major movie release as its own miniature industry.† This link across business units from each release created a synergy between these business units, giving the members apart of the Disney organization an increase sense of identification. This implemented strategy proved incredibly successful for Eisner in his first four years, more than doubling the revenues and assets of Walt Disney Co. along with increasing net income fivefold, but unfortunately the quick expansion of the company eventually encumbered the growth of Disney in later yea In the late 1980’s Eisner began shifting the company to more and more unrelated businesses. At the time, expanding into new business area made sense from a fiscal standpoint, so that Disney could market in an even wider array of industries. Over time, Eisner pushed for product and geographic diversification unrelated to their core businesses. The acquisitions included opening retail stores, acquiring the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, producing Disney Broadway musicals, creating a cruise line business, and acquiring the television giant ABC, allShow MoreRelatedResources Capabilities20336 Words   |  82 Pagesprovides a basis for: 1 Selecting a strategy that exploits an organization’s key strengths. Mariah Carey’s disastrous 2001–2 was the result of her straying from her core competences (see Strategy Capsule 5.1). Walt Disney’s turnaround under Michael Eisner’s leadership was the result of exploiting its underlying resources more effectively (see St rategy Capsule 5.2). 2 Developing the ï ¬ rm’s resources and capabilities. Resource analysis is not just about deploying existing resources, it is also concernedRead MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 PagesLeadership, Management, and the Disney Brothers Walt Disney is surely one of the most familiar names in the world. Roy Disney is not. Roy was Walt’s brother, and he played a vital but different role in the success of the Disney enterprises. In many ways you can think of the differences between them in terms of the distinctions we’ve been making between leadership and management. In many ways Walt was the creative leader, Roy the manager or â€Å"financial guy.† The success of the Disney enterprises was due to

Description Of A Network Database - 2169 Words

Contents Introduction 2 Types of database 2 Network Database 2 Object Database 2 Flat File Database 3 Relational Database 3 Database methodologies 4 Conceptual Model 5 Logical Model 5 Physical Model 6 Explanation of Logical Data Model 7 Entities and Attributes 7 Relationships 8 One to Many 8 One to One 9 Entity Relationship Diagrams 9 INTRODUCTION This report is about different types of database and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of network databases and object databases. TYPES OF DATABASE Databases store digital data, it also manages the data that is stored, because of this it also an information manager. Network Database A network database model allows many records to be linked to the same owner file. The multiple records and links allow this database type to be very flexible and accessible. It is a many to many relationship which means that there multiple relationships between each files which is what gives it great flexibility and easy access. On the other hand it is often difficult for first time users, if the database needs to be altered when it is finished the new information could change the entire database. The World Wide Web is an example of a network database as different pages are related to each other. Object Database Object databases don’t store data they store objects instead. An object is given an identity so it can be referenced. Objects consist of attributes and methods. Attributes are characteristics that define theShow MoreRelatedComponents Requirements For A Bank Operator1188 Words   |  5 Pagesfunctional requirements of bank customer are: 1. User Login 2. View balance 3. Withdraw cash 4. Perform deposit b) Bank operator The functional requirements for a bank operator are: 1. System startup 2. System shutdown c) Bank network system The functional requirement for bank network system is 1. Bank session_operation Non-functional requirements for the system are: 1. Reliability 2. Availability 3. Security and 4. Performance Task1b: Requirement specification template: 1 Introduction This is a SRSRead MoreOnline Classifieds ( Like Olx )1490 Words   |  6 Pagesshowing up the credentials or shouldn’t be passing on this information to the sellers from the buyers. Maintainer: The maintainer is responsible for adding new verified users to the online classifieds network and servicing existing services. A maintainer should be possible to add a new user to the network within 1 hour. 2.2 Product Features The Classified website should work 24 hrs. The website identifies a customer by user id and password, in case if he is into edit and add new items to the classifiedRead MoreDetermining Databases and Data Communication1148 Words   |  5 Pagescharacteristics. These are as below: 1. Booth components - Name of each component - Quantity of each type of component - Status of the components - Brief description about the components - Instructions for shipping - Items ID 2. Equipment - Name of each component - Quantity of each type of component - Status of the components - Brief description about the components - Instructions for shipping - Items ID 3. Shippers - Name of the shippers - Address - Contacts 4. Shipment - ModeRead MoreBusiness Information System Essay709 Words   |  3 PagesTable of Contents 1. General Description 2. External Description 3. External View 4. Internal Description 5. Internal View 6. Further Notes 7. References 1. General Description of the Information System Title Online Airplane Ticket Reservation Information System (OATRIS) General Description OATRIS is the system that help user to buy airplane ticket through Internet. It processes user’s preferred flight timeline and the payment. Then, transform it into e-ticketRead MoreTechnology Changes Role of Database Administrator1195 Words   |  5 PagesTechnology Changes Role of Database Administrator The database administrator (DBA) is responsible for managing and coordinating all database activities. The DBAs job description includes database design, user coordination, backup, recovery, overall performance, and database security. The database administrator plays a crucial role in managing data for the employer. In the past the DBA job has required sharp technical skills along with management ability. (Shelly, Cashman, Waggoner 1992)Read MoreImportance of the Study of Database Technology1488 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Study of Database Technology Introduction The importance of creating a database is the creation of a quality list containing the fields needed to sort and send relevant and timely messages to customers who desired to be contacted. Database creation requires that several questions are answered including: (1) who is the customer; (2) what would be the best thing I could do to assist the customer? (3) What information will aid in assisting the customer? (Nandagoaoli, nd) I. Database Defined TheRead MoreRequest For Proposal Rfp ( Rfp )1271 Words   |  6 PagesPURPOSE AND DESCRIPTION 3 4. PROJECT SCOPE 3 5. PROPOSAL AND PROJECT TIMELINE 4 6. BUDGET 5 7. PROPOSAL EVALUATION CRITERIA 6 1. SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND Death Comm is currently accepting proposals to develop, design, launch, and host a new Wireless Network within their building. The existing Death Comm wireless network was developed and launched in 2001. In an effort to achieve more â€Å"efficiency† from existing network, Death Comm has determined that a new improve network is needed whichRead MoreNetwork Database Model : A Network Model1599 Words   |  7 PagesNetwork Database Model A Network Model is a type of database which will be structured so that we can see all the relationships between all the different records It basically allows you numerous of records to be linked to the original record. The relationship that you will see in this database will be many-to-many this is because the starter record will be linked to nearly all the other records in the database. The advantages of using Network Database Model is that it there is flexibility, it isRead MoreDescription Data Type Format Range Label1154 Words   |  5 PagesAttribute Name Description Data type Format Range Label Table: Employee EmpNum Unique Employee ID Varchar2(4) L999 E001-E999 PK, Emp_pk EmpFName First name Varchar2(15) LL..LL EmpLName Last name Varchar2(15) LL..LL CommissionRate Commission Rate Number(2,2) 99.99 0-40 YrlySalary Annual salary Number(8,2) 999999.99 0-200,000 DepID Employee’s Department Varchar2(4) L999 D01-D99 FK, Emp_dept_fk JobID Job ID Varchar2(4) L999 J01-J99 FK, Emp_job_fk Table: Invoice InvNum UniqueRead MoreSecurity Controls And The Utilization Of Technical And Nontechnical Strategies Essay875 Words   |  4 Pagesoperational methodology; and physical and environmental security NIST, 2002). SunTrust Bank should implement technical controls with respect to how information and data are being encrypted, what program is being utilized to identify any intrusion to their network and system and how customers/clients are being verified. Concerning nontechnical control, SunTrust administration should provide appropriate security controls for every resources and assets in the organization. 3.4.2 Control Categories NIST classified

Sample Financial Plan Description Free Essays

We have created a financial plan to help you retire at the age of 62 and afford to send your son, Sam, to college. After looking at the information you gave us regarding your income and expenses, we came up with the best solution for your financial future. We’ve picked out profitable mutual funds for your son’s college, as well as retirement investments. We will write a custom essay sample on Sample Financial Plan Description or any similar topic only for you Order Now We also have found different methods of saving money for your retirement and future education for your son. We believe that there will be a great benefit to having a financially stable future. We understand with Sam attending a four-year university, the cost will be great along with the need for saving money for this to work financially. Grand Valley State University will provide an excellent education for your son, along with benefiting him for his future. Overall, it will cost $189,750 to attend Grand Valley State University for four years. We do, however, understand that the cost to attend the university may concern you at first, but there are methods of assistance that are available, such as investments and savings plans. Investing in specific funds, with good performance history, will have a huge advantage in acquiring the money for your son to go to college. We strongly advise investing a portion of your discretionary income into mutual funds. Your discretionary income would be the amount of your income that is left over, after taxes and expenses have been paid. Investing in mutual funds, rather than other investment options, will eliminate the stress and difficultly of trying to time the market. We invested 46% of your discretionary income into four different types of mutual funds, which will provide diversification for your investments. Using a MET and/or a MESP savings plan will create many advantages that will benefit you in sending your son to college. Both, the MET and MESP savings plan, are 529 plans. These are tax-advantaged savings plans specifically designed to encourage saving for future college costs. You are not able to withdraw money that is invested into a 529 plan unless it is an eligible college expense. We feel as though it is a benefit for most because it allows the money to amass without disturbance. The Michigan Education Trust (MET) is a way to help pay tuition and mandatory fees at Michigan public colleges. The plan allows for years of college tuition to be purchased for the future use of a student at today’s price. For example, you could buy four years of tuition now at 2011 prices, which would be $189,750, for Sam to use when he enters college in 2028. Some advantages the MET offers are a state tax deduction and a tax-free growth. The only thing that we want to bring to your attention is that you only have fifteen years to use the tuition benefits, unlike the MESP, which has no expiration date. The Michigan Education Savings Plan (MESP) is an advantageous way to allow your family to save for the expenses that come along with college. The MESP is a 529 college savings plan which allows families to save for tuition, room board, mandatory fees, equipment, and required books for any qualified institution in the nation and some abroad. When the student is ready to use the funds in the MESP, whatever has been accumulated is what they have to work with. Some benefits of the MESP include: a state tax deduction, tax-free growth, and it allows for unused benefits to be transferred between members of the same family. We would recommend this plan over the MET to your family. The MET will cover tuition fees; although, it lacks the flexibility to pay for other related expenses, such as books, supplies, and other miscellaneous items. A mutual fund is an investment in which a company brings together money from many investors and invests it in stocks, bonds or other assets. Mutual funds are a good long-term investment, such as for your retirement. The risk level depends on the type of mutual fund it is. In your case, we chose the mutual fund with the best performance out of each different type. We recommend taking the remaining portion of your discretionary income, which would be 54%, and invest it just as we did for your son’s education. Mutual funds that are properly diversified will have investment dollars spread equally among four different classes of financial assets. We invested the remaining portion of your discretionary income into the same four mutual funds that were used for your college savings. We chose to invest in an international mutual fund, the New World Fund, which has a 9. 55% rate of return. We also chose an aggressive growth mutual fund, the SMALLCAP World Fund, which has a 9. 62% rate of return. Thirdly, we invested in a growth mutual fund with a 13. 63% rate of return, known as the Growth Fund of America. And lastly, we chose a Growth and Income mutual fund, the Capital World Growth and Income Fund, with has an 11. 17% rate of return. When diversifying the money in which you would like to invest, the smartest decision that you could make would be to invest in the four mutual funds that I just stated or funds that fit into each of the four different classes. This helps to reduce risk, such as if a couple securities in the mutual fund lose value and that loss could compensate for other securities that appreciate in value. When reaching the retirement age you can then transfer your gained revenue from all four of your mutual funds and place it into a bond fund. Bond mutual funds are designed mostly to provide investors with a steady stream of income versus capital gains. These funds are debt securities, or IOUs, which are issued with a promise of repayment on a certain date at a specified rate of interest. For your financial plan, all of your gained revenue was placed into a bond mutual fund as soon as you retired, therefore liquidating your riskier assets. Using this bond fund, you are earning a 5% interest every year. For example, the first year of retirement, after removing your yearly expenses, you will have $678,785 to place in your bond fund. At the end of the year, with the 5% interest rate of return on bond fund, you will have profited $1,139. 70 throughout the year, even after your expenses. We recommend that you invest in at least one retirement savings plan, such as a 401k or a Roth IRA, to securely save for retirement. It is a good idea to look into different savings plans, rather than make a hasty decision, because everyone benefits from a different savings plan, depending on their situation. In your case, the Roth IRA or 401k will be the most beneficial. With both of these retirement savings plans there are tax breaks that will benefit you. These savings plans are greatly used in America to help save for retirement nowadays. Each savings plan offers different advantages for couples saving for retirement. A 401k is a retirement savings plan for employees in which a desired amount of your check is taken out before tax deductions and placed into your 401k account. We understand that you have a pension plan through work, but your wife does not. This type of savings plan would be a great way to save for retirement. 401k is the favorite plan for corporate America today, due to its many advantages. Many employers will match, up to a certain percentage, the amount in which you place into your 401k. Invisible savings is one of the biggest advantages to the 401k savings plan. The money saved is taken directly out of you check weekly, even before the income tax is withdrawn. In doing so, this makes the money seem invisible to your eyes, and to your financial pocket book. There are other beneficial savings plans available, which can be used along with the 401k. Roth IRA’s are after- tax IRA’s. They grow tax free and offer many more choices than the normal IRA. Roth IRA’s are a good choice when it comes to saving for retirement. Even though you contribute after-tax dollars into a Roth IRA, all withdraws are completely tax free if you are over the age of 59 ? and have had the account for 5 years. With Roth IRA’s, unlike a tradition IRA or a 401k plan, there are no required minimum distributions. Direct contributions can be withdrawn at any time as well. Roth IRA’s can be set up on top of already existing retirement plans; as well the assets can be passed onto beneficiaries after death, therefore leaving an inheritance for your family. We are sure that we have supplied you with a detailed overview in helping you to be financially secure now and in the future. In taking the advice that we have given you with these many different investment ideas, you will find yourself more than content financially. We can guarantee that down the road, you will not have to worry about your financial status. Although in actuality, it is important to remember that building wealth takes time. However, the acquisition of your financial contentment will be well worth your time. We hope, here at LN Financial Planning, that providing you with this letter will give you the financial peace of mind that you and your family deserve. How to cite Sample Financial Plan Description, Papers

Strategic Brand Management Creating and Sustaining

Question: Discuss about the Strategic Brand Management for Creating and Sustaining. Answer: Introduction The intense of competition and marketing decision in today's world turns out to be an important factor that leads to the success of the company. The management decisions and the marketing mix strategies are taken by the company do reflect in the four Ps of marketing mixes such as product, price, promotion and place. Significantly, these parameters can be controlled by a marketing manager that emerges in a different manner for overcoming the hindrances and threats of the company. The internal and external environment are over control at a stagnant point when these parameters are subsequently been revised, and steps are taken to take comparative measures. The gap is filled with strategic management tools and techniques that can enhance the overall companys success and market position (Kottler Kevin, 2012). It is reported that Qantas Airlines is one of the largest airlines in Australia and it enjoys the dominance in its local market (www.qantas.com, 2017). The airline carries passenger s to and fro from its country and within its country. But, the recent reports have witnessed the slow growth of the company in Australia which was met after the financial meltdown felt globally by the rival companies also. It has affected Qantas market position in the market share. This is a matter of concern which is sharply recognised in the market. This study mainly analysis the marketing mix strategies and the critics regarding the marketing mix (Kottler Amstrong, 2012). The main aim of the exercise is to analyse the target market, current market and even the marketing mix elements. So, the marketing mix of the company, that helps to consolidate the position of Qantas, is being evaluated. The Queensland and North Territory Aerial Services is now known as Qantas. The airlines is the oldest aviation company operating in Australia and second oldest among worlds airlines. Quan. The company operates more than 5000 weekly flights across Africa, America, New Zealand, Asia and Europe. It flies to more than 50 destinations globally. The company is even nicknamed by the customers and the clients as the flying kangaroo. It operates in the domestic area with the name of QantasLink that carries more than 1500 flights with a crisscross structure in the Australian continent (www.qantas.com, 2017). The low-fare airline and achieving customer satisfaction is the benefit that Qantas group has a name in the global market. The marketing strategies that are applied here may be a real advantage for the company in its success and development phase. The overall company employees more than 35,000 employees from worldwide and has the total revenue which is close enough to 15 Dollars Billion. T he year 2013 had less profit while compared to the last year (www.qantas.com, 2017). Now, the company is subsequently trying to achieve its market position with the marketing mix components by regaining its image and recognition in financial context. Marketplace and target audience The main markets that consist for Qantas are domestic and international passengers who are carried in many parts of Australia and even in the world. The airlines have an oligopolistic market with relative small clients and huge passengers in the market. The company serves around 30 million passengers annually in and out of the country (www.qantas.com, 2017).There is a cut-throat competition in the market, and this seems to be characterised with the huge market that Qantas operate with the market share. The Qantas airlines had enjoyed a huge profit in the market with 65% of market share. It had the monopoly in the market previously, but now due to severe competition, the airlines has to strive for success shortly. The major competitors of the company are Virgin Australia, Regional Express Airlines and Skywest Airlines (www.qantas.com, 2017). The target audience consists of the market segmentation that Qantas determine which is a complex structure although and based on these segments, it has varied needs that can be fulfilled by the company. The segment adopts the behavioural segmentation for target market selection, and the company provides services to its customers that are comfortable and have topmost world class in quality and service (www.qantas.com, 2017). There comes another approach that has ranked towards the top airlines which are safety and stylish airlines. Passengers are likely getting attracted towards the stylish look and as such safety approach which tends to formulate the target audience. The business travellers are the target audience who are travelling in Australia or outside the country. Again, there is a segment that is broken down with another field such as conference travellers, routine travellers or even emergency business travellers (Chen, Su Lin, 2011). The leisure travellers are mainly targeted by the company. The target audience of the company does not hesitate to pay for the services and the luxuries that are provided by the airline (Mooradian, 2012). It has even a customer loyalty program which is carried by the company known as Qantas Frequent Flier. The program helps to know about the effective ways in travelling which are drawn for the business travellers. Marketing Mix The elements of marketing mix include the Product, Price, Place and Promotion carried out by Qantas help to make marketing decisions (Zeithaml, et, al., 2009). Following are the elements of marketing in detail while determining the importance of marketing in the global market. An immense importance is given by Qantas to the product planning in an increasingly competitive market. The products are mainly crafted for the new customers, and this holds the market position of the company (www.qantas.com, 2017). In context to the profitability index, it is important to look over to the high priority of the products and services that the company offers in the market to the customers. The product of the Qantas Airlines does include the passenger travelling service and accommodation and freight containers. There are premium arrangements that are provided by the airlines. The services provided are first class, business international class, international economy and even premium economy (Roosta, 2009). As such the seating arrangements are different with the services provided by the company. In flight services, amenities and meals are provided by the company in each class. With this, the domestic flights have some separate economy and business class which operates with the flight passenger and entertainment services. The product features are provided by the company which would help customers to describe the importance and value of product or services. Qantas thus tries to augment with the better services and product to the passengers (OSullivan, et, al., 2011). There are other amenities that help for the business class to augment its products. Moreover, the airlines even provide the online services whether it is booking or finding some information regarding the flights and the services that it provides to the general public. The company now tries to add the benefits of more travelling aircraft to operate easily with the better services for regular intervals. The entertainment services and other amenities by the company may help to boost the customer's interest and attract them with the extra features of the services and products of the company (Kapferer, 2008). The connecting flights are provided by the company, and this helps to make up customers mind to not shift the other airlines while travel ling for the business and conference purpose. Varied time is saved by the customers, and this would help in providing the frequent advantage to the company. The frequent flyer program is conducted by Qantas, and this is most popularly started by the Qantas airlines for better information to the passengers (McCharty, et, al., 2011). Brand loyalty is again achieved when the products of the company are satisfactory, and the company earns a huge profit while maintaining the brand with the services it provides to the customers. As such brand loyalty has been achieved when the value satisfaction is achieved, and the customer's goals are satisfied by Qantas. At this moment, there are products that the company has given which are varied and the services that help to engage the customers to opt for Qantas airlines. Brand awareness is necessary as such the company creates an interest in advertising its products in the market (Iranzadeh et al. 2012). The company has one of the most brand names in the airline industry that attracts the millions of passengers who have travelled by the airlines and have made a cognitive difference while comparing the Qantas airlines with other airlines. There are again some features such as the company history, slogan and company logo that fits in with the competitive advantage that is felt by the passengers (Cravens Nigel, 2009). Qantas uses the cost plus margin when determining the pricing system for its airlines (www.qantas.com, 2017). The more the demand for the product, the higher are the prices for the product. This again is a simple rule, but many rival companies try to achieve the market with simple pricing method and maintaining the price as per the competitors pricing. There are even competitive pricing methods that are used by the companies to compete with the price strategy in the competitive market while achieving competitive advantage. While penetrative pricing method is evenly used at times by the company for low-cost advantage. There are price discounts that are portrayed and the offers which help to maintain the customer. Customer retention is the main goal, and this is achieved by the company while lowering the price and providing the facility to the customers (www.qantas.com, 2017). The new destinations have different prices which have low pricing structures. The frequent flyer program has o ffered the company with some offer of getting the customer benefit. The prices include the cost and the other services that the company has to add to the main product or service expense (Chattopadhyay et al. 2010). All the given overheads can be calculated, and if possible, the pricing system is applied in recession with low cost and high customer satisfaction and customer benefit. There are some ways when the company wants to promote the products or services in the market. It comes with the media agency or the social media activity. The advertisements are meant when it comes to radio, TV, billboards, internet advertisements, magazines and brochures. The main purpose is to provide the product and service awareness to the general public with the purpose of product promotion and branding as the main criteria. There are even direct marketing techniques that can be used directly to send some messages to the general public (www.qantas.com, 2017). Qantas applies this in general, and the public is aware of the products and the services that are meant to give a subsequent advantage. There are sales promotions that are mainly used for the low seasons and other direct selling that can be used for the passengers of the corporate class (www.qantas.com, 2017). Social networking blogs, mail marketing, etc. do get a closer impact to the customers with some offers and discount s. There are some PR activities, event, art, entertainment programs and sports that involve the customers to engage into the Qantas airlines and try to use the products (Lovelock Wirtz, 2011). There are direct sales that are conducted by the Qantas airlines, and these are countered at the specific airports. With this, there are some retail outlets that engage in the ticket sales. More and more used is the internet services through which online booking is possible as easily as saving the time and money at the comparative level. The company website plays an integral role because online ticketing is an easy go for passengers rather than meeting the personnel and confirming the tickets. So direct market is less used for this purpose (Frosen, et, al., 2013). The market now is online, and this is the advantages that other airlines do give to its customers and passengers while feeling free with the concerned promotional measures at the same time. Even mobile phones and telephones are used to book tickets on an easy go. Travel agents are another options that are used by business class passengers. The travel agents are like intermediaries between the company and the customers, so t he broking charges are applied at this end, rather the benefits are higher than what it looks like (Grey, et, al., 2002). In the year 2012, Qantas and Emirates have got into a joint venture alliance for the future growth. In the circumstance of the similar statement, Chattopadhyay, Dutta Sivani (2010) asserted that the partnership was formed with a contract of next 10 years. It has been inferred that the Qantas international operations has lost $450 million in 2011, due to intense competitions, high fuel prices, economic downturn in the European and US markets and restructuring costs. Various analysts believe that the partnership with Emirates could generate an annual earnings uplift of A$80m-A$90m for Qantas. Moreover, the partnership will assist Emirates to tap the corporate market in Australia, which is a target of rival brands including Abu Dhabi-based Etihad In the framework of the present statement, OSullivan, et, al. (2011) asserted that Qantas might have attained a profitable position and managed to retain its staffs with effective efforts. In the year 2015, the management of the specific company has included its shareholders and employees in its annual general meeting after its dramatic turnaround from huge corporate losses. On the contrary, Dutta Sivani (2010) stated that over 40 % of staffs working part time on wages have claimed to leave many below the poverty line. Moreover, 70% of staffs reported that pay is not sufficient to meet the costs while over three-quarters, which prohibits retiring even at the age of 65. Quantas has considerably improved its service quality. The body languages of the staffs and even the cabin crews have become firm and polite. The brand is offering exceptional loyalty building service by using the customer data. The airline has a dedicated team to manage the social media channels and respond to the customers queries and post in real-time. The team monitors on the customers behaviors and online comments, based on which real-time responses are provided to build one-to-one relationship with the customers. Customers always prefer a neat and clean environment, especially in the aviation sector. Therefore, it is very important for the brands operating in the specific sector to maintain a clean and hygiene measures to maintain good customers experiences. Qantas Airline has considerably worked on the above aspect and managed to maintain a clean and environment friendly environment. Moreover, in 2013, the brand has introduced a new uniform to create a pleasing impact on its customers. Dacko (2008) mentioned that customers require witnessing some visual changes to rely on the services quality. Therefore, the changes in uniform pattern have been a physical evidence for the brand to ensure the customers about its service improvements. Market mix strategies While considering and comparing the time of inception of Qantas, which is around hundred years ago the airlines has been among the leading airlines in the world because of the products and services it provides to its passengers. It has previously been ranked among the world class flights that provides world class service. The Qantas has now faced a severe issue while it has its roots sinking due to some or the other reason. The route that the airline industry provides has some destinations all over the world. So the best use of marketing mix strategies is implemented by the company. The connecting routes are now available and it is an easy going way for the passengers to travel to a distinct place within Australia (www.qantas.com, 2017). Customer relationship marketing is a consistent tool that helps the company to achieve its position in the market and helps to intelligently craft the airlines. Transparency and company messages are again the steps that adopt in the airlines. So the recent turmoil has subsequently harmed the company, and the best strategies are used by the airlines to compete in the world. The marketing mix technique would eventually be a success when a customer relationship is maintained, and services are provided in a distinct manner to the customers. The products and services must have a differentiation feature and can attract the customers while this can be a distinct feature to increase the sales volume of the company (Michael Grewal, 2008). High demand can be achieved by the company, and brand loyalty can be maintained by the customers if there are discounts, offers and other promotional measures that the company tries to add as an advantage to the product specification (Dacko, 2008). Consistency and customization are very important. Flight delays should subsequently be reduced to zero; this will help to achieve the benefit in an increase in sales volume and profitability (Farahani, 2013). Recommendations Brands have the tendency of tracking customers responses while the transition of improving the service standards. After receiving positive results, the customer care units get reluctant and fail to carry out the method. Thus, brands again loose out its potential customers once again. Qantas has managed to improve its customer experience with better service offerings, thus, the brands requires being persistent in its effort. Technical maintenance It is very important for the airlines brands to ensure that its IT (Information Technology) unit is on the right track. Presently, with the several online facilities, the customers are getting highly inclined towards online operations. Majority of the brands seem to lose out customer base due to inefficient IT support. The customers prefer booking s tickets through the dedicated corporate and online portals of the airlines. Hence, in case of technical and server slow down issues, the customers would feel irritated and look for a better flight option. Hence, it is very important for the IT department to maintain its performance in terms of technicalities and also to be aware of the technical upgradations. Different software are implemented by the airlines brands to simplify customers efforts, thus, it is very important to stay updated to sustain in the volatile market. Conclusion The marketing mix strategies are applied by Qantas airlines while providing best products and services to its customers. The four marketing mix elements such as Product, Price, Place and Promotional measures are analysed and rendered by the company to make the current position of the company stronger as before. These can be revised by measuring the success and the failure criteria. The internal and external environment are examined to get an idea about the strengths and weakness of the company. References Chattopadhyay, T., Dutta, R. N., Sivani, S. (2010). Media mix elements affecting brand equity: A study of the Indian passenger car market, IIMB Management Review, 22(4), 173-185. Cravens, W. David.and Piercy, F. Nigel. (2009). Strategic Marketing, 9th Edition. Singapore: McGraw Hill/ Irwin. Chen, Y.M., Su,Y.F., Lin, F.J.(2011). Country-of-origin effects and antecedents of industrial brand equity, Journal of Business Research, 1-5. doi:10.1016 j.jbusres.2011.06.029. Dacko, S. G. (2008). The advanced dictionary of marketing: Putting theory to use, New York: Oxford University Press Farahani, M. J. (2013). The impact of marketing mix elements on brand equity in sports services. The Applied Research in Sports Management. 2 (6): 11-20. Frosen, J.,Tikkanen, H., Jaakkola, M.., andVassinen, A.. (2013). Marketing Performance Assessment Systems and The Business Context. European Journal of Marketing, Vol.47, Issue.5/6, p. 715-737 Grey. L. Brendan., Matear, Sheelagh., Matheson, K. Philip. (2002). Improving service firm performance. Journal of Services Marketing, Vol. 16 Iss 3 pp. 186 200 Iranzadeh, S, Ranjbar, A, Poorsadegh, N. (2012). Examining the effect of the marketing mix on brand equity. Scientific-Research Journal of New Marketing. 3 (6): 155-172. Kapferer, J. N. (2008). The New Strategic Brand Management: Creating and Sustaining Brand Equity Long Term, London, England: Kogan Page Kottler, P. andAmstrong, G. (2012).Principles of Marketing, 14th Edition. New York: Pearson Educated, Limited. Kottler, Philip. and Keller, L. Kevin. (2012). Marketing Management, 14th Edition. New York: Pearson Educated Limited. Levy, M. andGrewal, D. (2008). Marketing, 1st Edition. New York: McGraw Hill/ Irwin. Lovelock, C. andWirtz, J. (2011). Services Marketing: People, Technology, Strategy, 7th Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. McCharty, E. Jerome. Perreault, D. William.and Cannon, P. Joseph. (2011). Basic Marketing: A GlobalManagerial Approach, 18th Edition. New York: McGraw Hill/ Irwin. Mooradian, A. Todd. Matzler, Kurt. Ring, J. Lawrence. (2012) Strategic Marketing, 1st Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc. OSullivan, Don.,Abela, V. Andrew., Hutchinson, Mark. (2009). Marketing Performance Measurement and FirmPerformance. European Journal of Marketing, Vol.43, Issue.5/6, p. 843-862 Quantas (2017)Fly with one of the worlds most experienced airlines. Available at: https://www.qantas.com/in/en.html (Accessed: 30 January 2017). Roosta, V, Ebrahimi, A. (2009). Marketing management. 13th Edition. SAMT Pub. Tehran. Zeithaml, A. Valarie. Bitner, J. Mary.andGremler, D. Dwayne. (2009). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm, 5th Edition. Singapore: McGraw Hill/ Irwin.

An Interpretation of the Money Tree Essays

An Interpretation of the Money Tree Essays An Interpretation of the Money Tree Paper An Interpretation of the Money Tree Paper Visually, the money tree was unique and distinct, compared to other Han Dynasty art pieces clay models of mythical and real animals, lead-glazed earthenware canteens, reamer vessels, tile and brick decorations found in tombs, and various models of houses, stoves, mills, and farmyards. Its elaborate detail and delicacy was unlike not only the Han pieces in Gallery 15, but any art I had seen in Chinese history. However, the money tree was not love at first sight. As I researched and learned more about the tree, I became increasingly drawn to the piece. The money tree represents the synergy of Taoism and Buddhism during the Eastern Han Dynasty- a guide to heaven, and the hope for good fortune In the afterlife. Money trees were placed In tombs found mostly In the Chuan province of China during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220 AD). The money tree Is made of bronze and can be delved Into two sections: the base and the branches of the tree. The ceramic and bronze base is covered with an amber lead glaze and contains three levels, which portray lively scenes rarely found in Chinese art, such as hunting (Rigger 11 . 10. 05). Whole surviving money trees are rare, since the solid base of the tree endure longer than its delicate branches. The branches of the tree are thin, wintertime bronze pieces that are divided by six levels. Each level has four branches facing opposite directions that are divided by ninety degrees. The branches thrive with magical creatures (such as winged immortals called Asian), disk shapes, birds, and coins that literally hang from the bottom of the branches (museum description). Each coin Is similar to those used during the Han Dynasty (a square cut out off circle) and Is Interconnected, forming what looks Like a chain. At the top of the tree the Queen Mother of the West (Aqualung), an Important Taoist deity, Is dated on her throne supported by a dragon and tiger. Between the topmost branch and the Queen Mother of the West is a small figure of a seated Buddha surrounded by coins. The Han Dynasty lasted from 206 BCC to 220 AD and followed the short-lived Sin Dynasty from 221 to 206 BCC. China flourished domestically during the Han dynasty and expanded geographically, politically, and culturally to neighboring lands. Han art made frequent references to spirits, portents, myths, the strange and powerful, the death-defying and the dazzling (Byre 71). Art pieces like the money tree show the attempt of Han emperors to contact the Immortal world of gods and the Importance of the fate of the dead (Byre 71). This desire for life after death and Immortality during the Han Dynasty Is portrayed through the Taoist deity the Queen Mother of the West. Her paradise Is filled with deathless trees, lucky charms, and auspicious animals such as the dancing toad, the three-foot crow, the nine-tailed fox, the hare Tanat produces ten laxer AT Immortality, Ana magical Dallas, wanly are placate In ten upper edge of the branches (Byre 71, Bagley 54). People of all social classes reshipped her and believed in her power to provide immortality. The History of the Han from 3 BCC explains, People were running about in a state of alarm, holding stalks of hemp that they passed from one to another, saying they were delivering the wand the edict of the Queen Mother of the West They also passed around texts reading The Mother tells the people that those who wear this talisman will not die (Byre 73). Taoism emphasizes themes similar to those of the Queen Mother of the West, such as immortality, longevity, and wealth. Towards the end of the Han Dynasty, otherwise known as the Eastern Han, specialists of immorality, called famishing and their beneficiaries Asian (Rigger 11 . 7. 05). Other Taoist features are also apparent on the decorations on the base of the money tree, figures with elongated heads called the Taoist Immortals (Chipper 6). The Immortals refer to the cult of immortals or transcendent (in Chinese, Asian) in which believers practiced the arts of physical cultivation to make themselves into spiritual beings (Rigger 1 1 . 14. 05). Another important figure present in the money tree is a seated Buddha placed low the Queen Mother of the West. Mahayana Buddhism originated in India where Shamanic, the historical Buddha lived, and spread to China through the Silk Road (Byre 95). The hierarchical position of the Buddha on the money tree, below the Queen Mother of the West, but above the Queens attendants and earth, portrays the emergence of Buddhism, specifically Mahayana Buddhism, at a time when Taoism was considered the dominant religion. In fact, many Chinese first viewed Buddhism as a variation of Taoism, since early translators used Taoist terms to express Buddhist ideas. For example, the Mahayana concept of the fundamental emptiness of phenomena was identified with the Taoist notion of non-being (Byre 96). Therefore the synergy of Buddhism and Taoism is represented by important religious figures, the seated Buddha and Gaming. Not only does the money tree symbolize a religious orgy, but also a guide to heaven from earth for the dead. The base of the tree represents the divine mountainous realm of the Queen Mother of the West, called Mount Kuhn. Geographically, Mount Kuhn is associated with the West, specifically in Chuan Bagley 318). Meanwhile, the peak of the tree represents Coxswains paradise or heaven. Therefore the stem of the money tree represents a world-axis that links heaven and earth. The Buddha, positioned Just below the Queen Mother of the West, symbolizes a guide to the Queens paradise. Money trees were placed in tombs, so that the deceased within would enter the Queens paradise directly and easily in the afterlife. Once the deceased reaches the afterlife by following the path laid out through the money tree, the Chinese hoped that happiness and prosperity, attributes f the Queen Mother of the West, will continue in the afterlife. In addition to the money tree representing the union between earth and heaven, it also represents the hope for the entombed to have good fortune in the afterlife. During the Han Dynasty, the money tree was called a shush or coin pillar, hence the interlaced coins on the lower edge of the branches (Bagley 54). The thin plates of filigree openwork of the branches suggests that the coins on the money tree were cast in flat two-piece molds similar to the technique once used to cast Han coins. During ten Han Dynasty, cools were producer a cozen at a time In a moll winner each coin was Joined to each other by the pouring channels (Bagley 274). The interconnected chain of coins on the branches of the money tree symbolizes eternal and continuous wealth. Furthermore, as the entombed ascended from earth to heaven by following the path laid out on the money tree, the entombed would collect the coins on their way to heaven. Therefore, the path to the paradise of the Queen Mother of the West is filled with riches. Through the study of the money tree we can conclude that it symbolically presents a map that directs the entombed to heaven. The Buddha acts as a guide to lead the deceased to the Queen Mother of the West, while the abundance of coins shows that the path to her paradise is littered with wealth. Furthermore, the appearance of both the Queen Mother of the West and the seated Buddha shows the intermingling of Taoism and Buddhism. As these interpretations of the money tree unfolded in my mind, I became increasingly passionate about the money tree.

The Necessity of Web Pages essays

The Necessity of Web Pages essays In todays modern world, in order to reach the most amount of people, using the least amount of time and money, one must have a web page. A web page is your universal, non-misplacable, chockfull of information, business card. It can display everything that the consumer needs to know, everything from prices to products, from times to locations. In order to succeed, you need a web page. Now, in order to display all this great content that one has brewing in their brain, one MUST get a domain. A domain is the physical local where the information for the web page is stored. Some domains offer vast amounts of space but slow download speeds; whereas others offer phenomenal download speed, but no for graphics, movies or other things to spruce up a page. When choosing a domain one must consider the name that the customer must type in to get to the web page. If one registers a web page with geocities, their url, or Universal Resource Locator, which indicates the page internet location would be something like, geocities.com/joeshmoe/index.html; not exactly easy to remember is it? But if one were to have, or register, their own url then the address could be, joeshmoe.com; which is much more personal and professional. To make the site surfer-friendly one should plan out the content of the web page and make sure that it is easy to navigate. When trying to make the web page look professional and user friendly frames versus flash is always a big controversy. Some people believe that because of the higher quality of images and interaction and motion that flash provides that it is the best when considering how to improve a page. I happen to believe, however, that because frames offers the same style of navigation, but also has a much smaller download time that it is the superior option. If one now knows what format they want, one should now plan out what the content should be. ...

Serial Killer Luis Garavito Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Serial Killer Luis Garavito - Research Paper Example The name by which this serial killer is known indicates his satanic nature: La Bestia (the beast). Garavito was also known as El Loco (the crazy one), Tribilin (Goofy), and El Cura (the priest). He also went by the pseudonym of Bonifacio Morera Lizcano. (Murderpedia.org, 2006). A discussion of Garavito’s background, his victims, his modus operandi, his arrest, his possible motives and fear of the possibility of his release demonstrate his impact on the world. Garavito was born on 25 January, 1957, in Genova. This town is located in Colombia’s Quindio province, the western coffee-growing region. He was the first of seven children in a poor family. He was repeatedly beaten by his father, Manuel Antonio Garavito, who was a brute and subjected his son to physical and mental abuse. He was also repeatedly raped by two male neighbors. Garavito dropped out of school after just five years. He left home at the age of sixteen and went on to work as a store clerk and then as a stre et vendor who sold religious icons and prayer cards. Once he reached adulthood, he drifted from job to job, moving often due to the problems caused by his heavy drinking and aggressive behavior. He was treated for depression and showed suicidal tendencies, attempting to kill himself twice. Police reports indicate that he was under psychiatric care for five years. (Murderpedia.org, 2006). Garavito’s victims were young boys between the ages of six and thirteen. The only exception was a boy of sixteen, who was handicapped. The victims belonged to poor or peasant families or were street children. Garavito invariably chose light-skinned, good-looking boys of less than average intelligence. It is significant that Colombia has witnessed political violence which has resulted in the displacement of 1.5 million people. Children separated from their families are a common sight on the streets of towns and cities where they eke a living by selling newspapers and chewing gum, polishing sho es or begging. The large number of missing, unreported children in Colombia enabled Garavito to get away with his killing spree for more than half a decade. Garavito’s modus operandi was exceptionally uniform. Chief Prosecutor Alfonso Gomez Mendez stated at the press conference that Garavito â€Å"passed himself off as â€Å"a street vendor, monk, indigent, disabled person or a representative of fictitious foundations for the elderly and children's education, in that way gaining entrance to schools as a speaker†Ã¢â‚¬  (qtd. in Wetsch. 2005). Garavito’s approach was studiously planned and executed. He would patiently befriend the boys, using various disguises (street vendor, bum, priest) and props, such as different hair-dos. He would secure their confidence by giving them juice or cake at a local shop and then lure with different strategies. He would ask for help in some task, such as selling oranges, harvesting sugar-cane or transporting cattle. He lured addi cted children with the promise of drugs and others with money. These encounters always took place after 10 a.m. and before noon, usually over the weekend, when more children loitered round the marketplace. This timing was preferred as his offers of jobs would be credible to the boys and the children would not be missed until dinner time. Garavito’s crimes were committed in hidden areas, overgrown with tall plants on the outskirts of towns, often on the slopes of hills. The children

Classroom Engagement and Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Classroom Engagement and Management - Assignment Example This makes it necessary to seek to outline and tabulate an approach and present it to the reader in the form of a personal best practice. Introduction Class room management has traditionally been understood as just that – management. However, the student should also be aware of the fact that classroom management necessarily requires a close collaborative agreement with the other stakeholders in the process; students. Although the phrase classroom management necessarily refers to an active process by which a leader, the teacher, interacts with the managed, students, the reality that the article seeks to display is that classroom management is ultimately a two way street that requires close cooperative agreement from all stakeholders involved. As a function of developing this cooperation and agreement, the article notes that there are several steps that the teacher and students can engage in that will help this to take place to a greater degree. The first of these is with regard s to seeking to agree on classroom rules at the very beginning of the year. This of course helps to level the playing field and present the students with the metrics by which they will be expected to follow. Additionally, checking in with students at the start of every classes emphasize as a means of possibly averting any negative behavior prior to it being exhibited. Furthermore consistency and expectations is emphasized as a means of ensuring that conformity in cooperation is uniform. Naturally, reinforcing positive behavior among students is one of the most effective means of discouraging negative behavior. As the age-old dictum goes, it is easier to catch flies with honey. A further aspect of classroom management is emphasizes with regards to maintaining student dignity. This not only helps to increase the level of self-respect the student has for himself/herself, it also helps to increase level of respect with which they engage with others (Deaton, 2013). Tying along with this is the need for the teacher to maintain a level of neutrality and not engage in any accusatory type behavior. i) Specify how you will present and conduct yourself Oftentimes, it is the case that classroom management has a great deal to do with the way in which the stage is set. What is meant by this is the fact that the teacher must be highly cognizant of the fact that their appearance and the way in which one conducts the interaction has a great deal of impact with regards to the way in which stakeholders will interact with the educator. As such, the classroom management plan that this particular student would seek to implement would be one of presenting a recognizable appearance of authority while maintaining this visual appearance with an ordered and structured approach to the lesson plan (Lawrence, 2013). Unfortunately, this is oftentimes overlooked and counts as one of the elements that is either performed in excess or not at all. However, when performed appropriately, the resu lts allow for an educator to maintain control of the classroom, maximize the level of respect that is rendered, and encourage participation from all involved. ii) Specify the behavioral goals for you students With regards to the behavioral goals that would be expected, this is also oftentimes misunderstood and underutilized by the educator. All too often, the

Organized Crime: Theory and Characteristics

Organized Crime: Theory and Characteristics Statistically, most crimes committed in major American cities are crimes of passion, convenience, or opportunity committed by individual perpetrators; these can be classed as street crime or disorganized crime (Ryan and George, 1997). Disorganized crimes are difficult to predict and, often, difficult to solve. Because they cut across racial, class, and gender lines, disorganized crimes have fascinated historians, and there are several studies that attempt to find rational explanations for patterns in crime rates. How would you describe or define organized crime? Since the 1920s, organized crime has fascinated, horrified, and been a continuous concern for citizens and law enforcement officials in the United States (Lupsha, 1996). The public perception of organized crime has been shaped by the large volume of movies, television shows, and books that have distorted the public image of organized crime and misled the response to it. First and foremost, the first thing or picture that comes into the mind when organized crime is mentioned, is John Gotti, Al Capone and Paul Castellano, these individuals are some of the well known as members of the organized crime. Many people argue that this named individuals who have previously served jail sentence could serve as perpetrators of organized crime. So, the question is, what is the actually the right definition of organized crime? Organized crime can be defined as a group of individual who have structured plans and their objective is to get money by or through committing illegal activities. Individuals who are connected with organized crime meet their financial needs through violence, corrupt officials, and extortion. These individuals end up affecting people from as close as their neighbor hoods and as far away as other countries. The personal perception of this author is that organized crime is the organization of several participating parties who share a common goal; generally, focused on monetary gain or control of power. How does your perception compare to the definitions in the readings? In reading chapter 1 of Organized Crime, I have realized that one definition can not completely define the concept of organized crime. According to the text organized crime can be defined as two or more persons conspiring together on a continuing and secretive basis with the aim of committing one or more serious crimes in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit. My perception of organized crime and book assessment of organized crime is not that far apart. Conceptually, the term organized crime has been used to differentiate a specific manner of criminality from forms of personal and property crimes typically committed by individuals working alone (such as residential burglaries, mugging, automobile theft, vandalism, crimes of passion, and so on). Public perception of organized crime has largely been shaped by the media and the entertainment industry (Lupsha, 1996). As in entertainment industry, organized crime has become synonymous with such criminal genres as the Italian Mafia, outlaw motorcycle gangs, Chinese Triads, the Japanese yakuza, Colombian cocaine cartels, and the Russian mafyia. While a defining characteristic of these dominant organized crime genres has been a shared ethnicity, organized criminality is present among a wide range of ethnic groups and nationalities. Moreover, in recent years, it has become apparent that race or ethnicity is no longer the most important criterion of who participates in a particular organized crime conspiracy. Not only has there been evidence of cooperation among many of these dominant genres, but there are also thousands of other individual criminal entrepreneurs who work together, on an ad hoc or ongoing basis, in pursuit of illegal revenues, regardless of ethnicity, nationality, or language. The term organized crime has also been used to refer to certain illegal activities that are typically carried out by criminal organizations, such as drug trafficking, extortion, labor racketeering, smuggling, corruption, and money laundering. However, organized crime should not be strictly defined by the type of illegal activities carried out by criminal organizations and networks, for many of these criminal activities can also be conducted by individuals working alone. Instead, organized crime can best be characterized by how illegal activities are carried out. Some of the defining characteristics of organized criminality are summarized below. What characteristics do you think are associated with organized criminal behavior? The difficulty in clearly defining the concept of organized crime comes from the ambiguity of the term organized. For example, how organized does a criminal outfit need to be to be considered an agent of organized crime? Most people who have studied the phenomenon agree that, at the very least, an organized-crime group has to maintain a clear hierarchy among its members and function according to a set of enforceable rules and regulations. A city gang, therefore, which temporarily groups a few youths involved in illegal activities, does not constitute organized crime. Common behaviors among organized crime groups have been within a global magnitude. These organizations have engaged in enterprises, which include various criminal acts. They specialize in money laundering, drug trafficking, blackmail, gambling, extortion, political corruption, and loan-sharking. It seems if these individuals are permitted to silence witnesses, murder, and blackmail; extort, etc., law enforcement will con stantly have difficulty in apprehending said persons or any kind of conviction regarding their actions and-or behavior (Lyman and Potter, 2007). The primary goal of organized crime is economic profit. Organized crime does not traditionally espouse and fight for a particular political ideology. Thus, terrorist organizations like Hamas and al-Qaeda are not usually considered organized-crime groups, even if they are well organized and engage in illegal activities. organized-crime groups may acquire political power to ensure prosperity for their members, but they do not generally perceive political power as a goal in itself. organized-crime groups have a limited, highly specialized membership and are characterized by a carefully thought-out division of labor. As in any legal business enterprise, every member knows his or her place in the organization and will undertake specific duties on a regular basis. Unlike legal businesses, however, organized crime shows a willingness to resort to violence and bribery to achieve its goals. The continued existence of an organized-crime group does not rely on specific individuals. In other words, in this kind of a group, everybody is replaceable. Even if the leader of the outfit dies or goes to jail, the organization is designed to promptly find somebody to take over. Organized crime, therefore, is characterized by permanency, as much as by its economic priorities, lack of political ideology, hierarchy, and specialization.

Sainsbury Marketing Mix

INTRODUCTION OF COMPANY J Sainsbury’s is the third largest grocery retailer in the UK. The company was leading grocery retailer in UK from the late 1980 to 1995. The company opened their first store in 1869. Sainsbury’s has 504 supermarkets and 319 convenience stores in UK. Company’s turnover is over ? 17. 4 billion and profit of ? 289 million. Asda and Tesco has overtaken Sainsbury’s recently. Sainsbury’s market share gradually decreased to just over 16%. Sainsbury’s growth has suddenly fallen down. In terms of local sourcing, Sainsbury’s is higher than other competitors. Sainsbury’s provides products like milk, pre-packed cheese, fresh lamb etc to the customer. Sainsbury’s is only food retailer to enter in global 100 index. Sainsbury’s sell over 4000 products. Company has been positioned under FTSE4 and Dow Jones Index. Sainsbury’s main responsibility is to provide best food and health, make relationship with community, to provide good place of work and save environment. The main objective of Sainsbury’s is to make growth in both sales and customers. Sainsbury’s continuously growing like-for-like sales by 3. %, increase the product range, improving services and operational saving. Sainsbury’s brand represents quality and value for money and customer service. Company’s brand name is ‘so organic’ related to food. The company objective is to provide high product in low fair price and provide good service to people like give information to choose product. The subsidiaries of Sainsburyâ €™s are Sainsbury’s Bank Ltd; Sainsbury’s Supermarket Ltd and Sainsbury’s Convenience Stores Ltd. (Source: www. sainsburys. co. uk) The supermarket chain operates three main store formats; regular Sainsbury's stores (‘Main Mission'), Sainsbury's Local and Sainsbury's Central (convenience stores and smaller supermarkets in urban locations – ‘Mixed Mission') and Sainsbury's ‘Main Plus' (hypermarket) stores. Unlike Tesco (Tesco Extra) and Asda (Asda Wal-Mart Supercentre), Sainsbury's does not employ a separate brand for its hypermarkets, having phased out the ‘Savacentre' fascia several years ago. At the end of its 2008/09 financial year Sainsbury's store portfolio was as follows. |Format |Number |Area (ft? |Area (m? ) |Percentage of space | |Supermarkets |502 |15,974,000 |1,484,000 |95. 6% | |Convenience stores |290 |729,000 |67,700 |4. 4% | |Total |792 |16,703,000 |1,551,700 |100. 0% | TOTAL MARKET SHARE: The total market share of Sainsbury’s is 16. 5%. Their market share has grown over last year and in current period they are serving over 18. 5 million customers each week. TRENDS AND ISSUES PREVALENT IN RETAIL INDUSTRY: The recent trends that are prevalent in Retail industry are as under: i. Fashion of creating one’s own brand: These days it has become a fashion to use own brand name by retail companies on packing of products. The companies are doing so because on order to increase consumer loyalty. Major retail giants Tesco, Sainsbury’s use their brand name on the products in order to promote their brand name and gain consumer loyalty as well. Eg: Sainsbury’s is selling organic food under the name of ‘Sainsbury’s So Fresh’. The trends of own brand name is increasing. i. Availability of all continental and regional type of food at any period of time: Earlier the foods of winter were not available in summer. But now due to improved storage systems and new trends of eating off seasonal foods as well, the consumers can have grapes in winter as well. Now any body can eat off seasonal food at any point of time. iii. Demand for convenience food: The increased competitive world has made both males and females to work in order to earn their livings. Nobody has any time to cook food. As both partners are busy in their jobs, so they don’t get much time to cook food. But the recent retail trend is of eating cereals and cooked food. The consumers can eat the ready mix food at any point of time without even cooking it. iv. More attraction towards discounted items: The consumers, these days prefer the discounted products. Discounted products are in trend nowadays. The recent trend is that more the discount, the more the customers. The sales also get increased by providing more discounts. v. Direct marketing: It is a type of retailing in which consumers are exposed to goods & services through a non-personal medium. They can order & purchase the products by mail or telephone. vi. Online technology: The technology has made it easier for retailers to sell products online. The consumers can order and purchase the products online. The company can deliver products to consumers on a single click. Online sales are a great source of income to retailers as well. Issues in Retail industry: Following are the main issues that are prevalent in retail industry: i. Rising health awareness amongst public. The UK government is spreading awareness about healthier and fresh food in UK. The customers are told to not to eat sweeteners. The government is making people aware about use of organic food and low fat food. Thus the consumers have started shifting towards fresh and healthier food. ii. Low disposable income: Due to recession, the disposable income of people have fall. This has effected the spending capacity of people. Now people have decreased their buying ability. iii. Recession gave rise to unemployment and inflation which affect the market directly or indirectly. iv. Consumers have perception that recession is long term so they are spending less and saving more. The consumers believe that due to recession they are unable to save more and are having only expenses. COMPETITORS: †¢ In the supermarket business Sainsbury's main competitors are Tesco, Asda and Safeway. †¢ In retail banking the main competition comes from Tesco Financial Services, M & S Financial Services, the traditional high street banks, Egg, Halifax and Abbey National mortgages. PRODUCTS: The major products of Sainsbury’s are as follows: †¢ Supermarket/Grocery goods; †¢ Retail banking services; †¢ Retail property development services In Sainsbury’s, a large store typically stocks around 50,000 lines of which round 20% are â€Å"own-label† goods. These own-brand lines include: †¢ Basics: mainly food, toiletries and stationery. †¢ Taste the Difference (TTD): around 1100 premium food lines i. e. processed foods such as ready made meals and premium bakery lines. †¢ Freefrom: It was launched in February 2010, it has over 7 5 product lines. These products are suitable for those allergic to dairy products. †¢ Sainsbury's Organic (SO Organic): Around 500 lines of food / drink which is not derived from food stuffs treated with fertilizer or pesticides. †¢ Different by Design: a smaller range of premium non-food lines, including flowers. Kids: these lines are for children. †¢ Be Good To Yourself (BGTY): products with reduced calorific and/or fat content. All BGTY packaging was relaunched in January 2010. †¢ Fair Trade: Over 100 fair trade products. All bananas sold at Sainsbury's are now fair trade. †¢ Super Naturals: A range of ready meals with healthy ingredients. †¢ TU – own brand clothing range. †¢ TU Home – a range of home products, such as lighting, rugs, and kitchen products. PORTER'S FIVE FORCE ANALYSIS 1. Competitive rivalry †¢ The retail market is extremely competitive with a very crowded market. More companies are trying to get into non food sectors which leads to increase in competition. 2. Barriers for entry in food category Firstly, organised retail is amongst the most sophisticated sectors within the UK and needs a lot of investment. Secondly, retail is also at an advanced stage within the UK and most of the western world. 3. Threats of Substitutes †¢ The threat of substitutes in the food category is a low one because consumers view it as a necessity, especially in the developed world and increasingly in the emerging markets. The only major threat of substitute is an internal industry threat whereby one supermarket can lap up the business of other supermarkets. 4. Buyer power †¢ Buyer power is high due to the presence of so many competitors selling the same products. †¢ As the economy goes further towards recession, consumers' needs are likely to be given more weight, increasing their power considerably. 5. Supplier power †¢ Supplier power is usually more complicated as it is difficult to categorise it. Supplier power of smaller suppliers will not be considerable because of their sales volumes on dependence on these supermarkets. PEST ANALYSIS Political factors †¢Increasing globalization, presents a challenge as well as an opportunity to Sainsbury's. Sainsbury's can enter the markets of emerging companies through joint ventures or partnerships to explore these new markets, although it does not have any plans on the horizon to do so. †¢ The ongoing investigation of price fixing amongst the big four retailers within the UK can have some negative impact to the industry in general and Sainsbury's in particular. In the UK, the Government is to decrease the rate of corporation tax from 30% to 28%, which will save big companies like Sainsbury's significant sums of money (HM Treasury 2008). Economic factors †¢ The rapidly increasing global food crisis has increased food prices all over the world, which will result in risi ng purchasing costs for Sainsbury's. †¢ The credit crunch might decrease the purchasing power of consumers and though they will still buy the essentials they may be more cautious. Social factors: Nowadays there seems to be more emphasis on fresh, easy style cooking. This serves an opportunity for Sainsbury's to encourage new recipes and unfussy eating. †¢ There has been a huge emphasis by the government to promote healthy eating, primarily due to the increasing level of obesity within the UK. This has lead to many consumers to shift towards healthier food. This presents an opportunity to Sainsbury's to stock up with more healthy food or create healthier foods at a cheaper price than other manufacturers so as to benefit from this new trend. Technological †¢ The Internet phenomenon seems to be ever growing within western countries. †¢ One of the downsides of supermarket shopping is the queuing system customers often find themselves in at the checkout. †¢ RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device) technology can be used for significant benefits to the supply chain of Sainsbury's. If adopted, this technology will lead to less inventory for the supermarket firms leading to a leaner, more profitable organisation. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Weakness some implications as people are gravitating towards British companies and the prospect of Sainsbury's being governed by a foreign firm can lead to consumers switching loyalties. †¢ Alternative business presents a great opportunity to Sainsbury for future growth. †¢ Online sales are a great opportunity as well, since online margins are higher and investments are not huge. Threats †¢ There needs to be continuous heavy investment in environmental and green issues without immediate benefits. Sainsbury's operations are subject to a broad spectrum of regulatory requirements particularly in relation to planning, competition and environmental issues, employment, pensions and tax laws and in terms of regulations over the group's products and services WHERE DO WE WANT TO BE? Ansoff Matrix To portray alternative corporate growth strategies, Igor Ansoff presented a matrix that focused on the firm's present and potential products and markets (customers). By considering way s to grow via existing products and new products, and in existing markets and new markets, there are four possible product-market combinations. Ansoff's matrix is shown below: Ansoff Matrix |   |Existing Products |New Products | |Existing | | | |Markets | | | | |Market Penetration |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Product Development  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |New | | |Markets | | | | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Market Development  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   |Diversification | Ansoff's matrix provides four different growth strategies: †¢ Market Penetration – the firm seeks to achieve growth with existing products in their current market segments, aiming to increase its market share. †¢ Market Development – the firm seeks growth by targeting its existing products to new market segments. †¢ Product Development – the firms develops new products targeted to its existing market segments. Diversification – the firm grows by diversifying into new businesses by developing new products for new markets. Selecting a Product-Market Growth Strategy The market penetration strategy is the least risky since it leverages many of the firm's e xisting resources and capabilities. In a growing market, simply maintaining market share will result in growth, and there may exist opportunities to increase market share if competitors reach capacity limits. However, market penetration has limits, and once the market approaches saturation another strategy must be pursued if the firm is to continue to grow. Market development: The development of new markets for the product may be a good strategy if the firm's core competencies are related more to the specific product than to its experience with a specific market segment. Because the firm is expanding into a new market, a market development strategy typically has more risk than a market penetration strategy. A product development strategy may be appropriate if the firm's strengths are related to its specific customers rather than to the specific product itself. New product development carries more risk than simply attempting to increase market share. Diversification is the most risky of the four growth strategies since it requires both product and market development and may be outside the core competencies of the firm. Diversification may be a reasonable choice if the high risk is compensated by the chance of a high rate of return. Sainsbury’s has also diversified into banking, financial services, petrol pumps etc. HOW DO WE GET THERE? MARKETING OBJECTIVES: To be consumer’s first choice for food delivering products of outstanding quality and great service at a competitive cost through working faster, simpler and together. Positioning: This means process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Sainsbury’s has increased its private brand product portfolio. Under food category, company offers organic food under name ‘Sainsbury’s SO organic’ range and it comprises of 450 products. (www. sainsburys. co. uk) Competitive advantage: According to its chief executive Justin King Fairtrade gives Sainsbury’s the edge over its competitors, as well as being an ethical way to trade. MARKETING MIX: It is referred to as the set of controllable tools that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market, so it consists of everything the firm can do to influence the demand for its product (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). The major function of marketing mix strategy of any company is the strategic communication of the organization with its customers (Proctor, 2000). Marketing Mix is also referred to as â€Å"4 Ps of Marketing†. The classification of four Ps of marketing was first introduced and suggested by McCarthy (1960), and includes marketing strategies of product, price, placement and promotion. According to Borden (1964), the elements of the marketing mix includes product planning; pricing; branding; distribution channels; promotions; product packaging; advertisements; services; packaging handling; and re-order, etc. The purpose of using a marketing mix is to target the market in order to increase sales and profits. [pic] (Source: www. marketingteacher. com) The 4 Ps of Marketing Mix can be explained as below: 1. Product: A product includes all features and combination of goods and related services that a company offers to its customers. The product or service offer needs to be able to meet a specific, existing market demand. The companies that are operating in service sector and provide intangible products are very much criticized by the customers. The companies can use the terminology of â€Å"service products† under marketing mix strategy making (Kotler & Armstrong, 2004). Sainsbury’s is applying this strategy according to consumer preferences and changes in the market. i. Positioning: This means process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Sainsbury’s has increased its private brand product portfolio. Under food category, company offers organic food under name ‘Sainsbury’s SO organic’ range and it comprises of 450 products. (www. sainsburys. co. uk) ii. Quality: The products offered by Sainsbury’s are quality products. There is a wide range of great quality products at fair prices. The main emphasis of quality is on fresh food, organic food and private label brands. The company’s commitment of offering quality products has increased the brand image of the company. iii. Product Packaging: Sainsbury’s has improved its packaging. The company offers the products in self branded packages. The various discounts and slogans are mentioned on the packaging. The company is using eco-friendly bags for packaging and carrier bags called ‘Bags for life’. (Source: www. sainsburys. co. uk). iv. Branding : Sainsbury’s uses self labelled branded products. The company offers nearly 20% out of its 50,000 product range, which uses self label brands. v. Varieties. vi. Taste the different: Also known as ‘Ttd’, it is the company’s biggest sub brand which comprises of 1300 products. It was Sainsbury’s first own brand range to be free of artificial colors, flavors and hydrogenated fats. 2. Pricing: It is setting up a price for a product or service offered. According to Kotler and Armstrong (2004) price is the amount of money that customers have to pay to obtain the product. It is not simple to set a price. The customers not only view the lower price of product, but they respond to value so a lower price does not necessarily mean expanded sales if the product is not fulfilling the expectation of the customers (Lazer, 1971). Pricing strategy is divided into two parts: price determination and price administration. The different types of price are Market led pricing (Competitive pricing), Cost based pricing, penetration pricing, destruction pricing, price wards, EDLP (Every day low price). The pricing strategy of Sainsbury’s is that it should be able to provide profits. The pricing strategy of Sainsbury’s is as follows: a. Lower pricing strategy: Sainsbury’s use lower price or economy pricing strategy at the time of launching or selling a new product. The marketing and manufacturing costs are kept at minimum. Sainsbury’s offer economy prices for its products like soups, beans, tomato puree, etc. which can be compared very easily with its competitor TESCO (Source: http://www. sainsburys. co. uk & http://www. tesco. com). b. Discount price: Sainsbury’s offer discounts to the consumers. This is done in order to increase the bucket size. The discount offered by Sainsbury’s has resulted in increase in sales volume. c. Meal Deals: Sainsbury’s offer meal deals for families. It offers a meal, a soft drink in just ? 5 to family of 3 members. This kind of meal deals are making it popular among the food sections in retail market. . Credit terms. 3. Place: It involves all activities used by company in order to make the product available to the targeted customer (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). It refers to different ways by which a customer can obtain a product or receive a service. A product or a service can be received through a number of distribution channels, such as in a retail store, through the mail, via downloadable files, on a cruise ship, in a hair salon, etc. The products can be made available to customers depending upon different factors like sales, communications and contractual considerations (Lazer, 1971). The ease with which the products or services are made available to customers has a significant effect on sales volume. Sainsbury’s has been using the perfect blend of the time, quantity and place concept in order to serve its customers. a. Website: Sainsbury’s has its corporate website i. e. www. sainsburys. co. uk. The company has made quite a good use of technology and the customers can purchase the products and services at just one go through internet or online. Sainsbury’s has its online section showing groceries online at internet. The consumers can easily choose among various products available online. This saves a lot much time of the customer and also home delivery by Sainsbury’s made it more convenient for the consumers to buy a product. b. Convenience Stores: These are the stores which are opened upon locally in smaller area. The consumers can have fresh food and other quality products close to their home. Sainsbury’s has also introduced a series of operational changes to improve cost efficiency, such as night-shift improvements and introducing further shelf-ready packaging. . Supermarkets: Sainsbury’s has increased its no. of stores to 792 out of which 164 stores are more than 4000 square ft. area. The supermarkets are large and big stores that are open for 24 hours a day and offer full range of products and services to the customers. d. Banks: Sainsbury’s Bank provides insurance, credit cards, loans and travel money. The consumers can access it online as well on its corporate website www. sainsburysbank. co. uk. It can also be accessed in convenience stores. e. Home Delivery: The Company is also having 169 stores that provide home delivery service to customers. f. Filling Stations. g. Cafe. 4. Promotion: Promotional strategies means the different means through which a company communicates the benefits and values of its products and encourages customers to buy them (Kotler and Armstrong, 2004). It is the process by which the businesses informs the customers about their products and encourage them to buy their products. The best way to understand promotion is through the concept of the marketing communication process. Promotion is the company strategy to cater for the marketing communication process that requires interaction between two or more people or groups, encompassing senders, messages, media and receivers (Lazer, 1971). For example, if Nokia wants to promote its product then, Nokia is sender and an advertising agency as well; the media used in the process can be salesmen, newspapers, magazines, radio, billboards, television etc and the message will be the advertisement or sales presentation and the final destination is the potential consumer or customer which will be mobile phone users. . Nectar Card: offers customers to gain points through shopping. They can earn money to exchange point. The company offer loyalty cards to its customers which has points based system. It can be collected on every purchase made in Sainsbury’s. (Source: http://www. nectar. com) b. Active Kids: promises to donate sporting equipment and coaching to primary and secondary schools in exchange for vouchers c ollected by customers. c. TV Ads: Jamie Oliver is the representative of Sainsbury’s. d. Advertising: Sainsbury’s uses media as an effective tool for promoting the products. The company is making use of television and radio for promoting its brand. e. Sales promotion: The company also offer schemes like buy 1 get 1 free. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CHANGES IN THE MARKETING MIX STRATEGY: In today’s competitive world consumer’s shopping behaviour changes significantly with fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment. Retailers can maximize the returns by effectively altering the marketing mix strategies. Consumer goods manufacturers and retailers have to make regular critical decisions around the pricing, product, distribution, and promotion that best communicates their firm’s value to consumers. Thus Sainsbury’s in order to be at a top position in the food retailer’s market needs to apply some changes to its marketing mix strategy. Product: †¢ Sainsbury’s should diversify its product line to even more variety of products like petrol. †¢ It should concentrate more on its own-brand products as now the customers are getting more attracted towards own-label products of the retailers as they offer quality products at cheap prices. †¢ Sainsbury’s should also try to products in smaller quantities or in small packets. That will bring an edge to Sainsbury’s. Price: †¢ Sainsbury’s should try to increase production of their own brand products can help them reduce cost and offer better prices. †¢ Sainsbury’s should keep its price in competition to its competitors like Tesco. †¢ It should use the penetrating pricing strategy for its new products along with the on going economy pricing strategy which will reduce the profit margin of the company a bit but will give them opportunity to gain economies of scale. Place: Sainsbury’s should concentrate more on internet sales by offering its customers schemes like vouchers when they spend online. †¢ Instead of opening up new stores, Sainsbury’s should concentrate on its existing stores. It should try to bring all its stores in profit. †¢ The Internet is a new marketing tool which means that the aim should be innovation, developing new programs and features that will attract the clientele so as to capit alize on this tool and stand out among the rest. Promotion: †¢ New schemes for collective buying and online buying, online vouchers should be introduced. As today is the price war but due to its brand image it can also advertising which not just concentrates on the price but on the main aim of the company like healthy food and life style to attract the customers or with the emotional connection of the particular brand with the consumers. Internet malls i. e. e-malls can be created to increase the sales and to reach more customers than by personal selling. CONCLUSION The retailer industry is very competitive. Although SAINSBURY’S retailing position is still very strong, TESCO and ASDA are strong competitors. Sainsbury’s strategic marketing mix needs to be improved. It needs carefully designed. Hence, more market researches are needed to develop an effective strategic marketing mix. To answer the research question, Sainsbury’s needs to implement an appropriate marketing mix to become a more successful company REFERENCES Blattberg R C and Hoch S J (1990). `Database models and export intuition: 50% model . 50% manager', Management Science, vol. 36, p. 887-889. D’Esopo M and Almquist E (2007). â€Å"An approach to mastering the marketing†, mix, Business Strategy Series, vol. , no. 2, p. 122-131 Kotler, P (1988). Marketing Management Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control, New Jersey: Prentice Hall Inc. Marketing Analytics Inc. (2010). â€Å"Marketing Modeling Mix†, http://www. marketinganalytics. com/Solutions/MarketingMixModeling. aspx. Retrieved on 20th April 2010 Verdict (2007) â€Å"UK Grocery Retailers, 2007, http://www. verdict. co. uk/ Marke ting/dmvt0365m. pdf. Retrieved on 20th April 2010 http://www. j-sainsbury. co. uk/ar07/businessreview/corporateobjectives. shtml[pic]