The Changing Global Economy Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5250 words - 1

The Changing Global Economy - Assignment Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that Economies of Scale in micro-economics are defined as cost advantage that an enterprise enjoys with increasing scale as the cost per unit of output generally declines. Operating efficiency is also increases with economies of scale. The biggest challenge against the free market is the fear among the citizens about outsourcing. This is getting very dangerous every day in the United States. Other nations if follow this trend then the world can enter into the black days of protectionism again. And the loss for the global economy will be huge. Every day United States news broadcasters are telecasting fearsome news that millions of high paying middle-class jobs are getting out of the country. Financial and technological firms are finding that they can outsource a work with a fraction of the cost from China, India or Malaysia rather than give it to an equally qualified United States employee. This put policy maker, a government in a stressful si tuation because United States citizens have already started their protest against outsourcing. That is the reason government now making policies that will prevent the outsourcing. According to Drezner, it is a publicity stunt done by the media to sell their news by scaring the citizens on their job. He also explained his ideas that American economy is a huge one with over 130millions jobs. And like when these jobs get out of the country at that time the equal number of job created in this country. This is called â€Å"Creative Destruction†. He explained that when a firm is outsourcing its jobs from another part of the world to minimize its cost, instead of pressing the alarm we need to calculate how many well paid and higher proportions jobs are creating for that reason. If we look at this profit and loss structure we never have to panic anymore. According to statistics during 2010 the number of jobs was shifted to developing nations are 220,000. These are all low paid and lo w-quality jobs but the numbers of high paid and high-quality job created in the United States are 22milions.

Security In Different Schools Of Thought Politics Essay

Security In Different Schools Of Thought Politics Essay Political analysts agree that international security is the most important contemporary global issue. Twenty first century politics has brought urgency to consider the proliferation of weapons, increase in military spending, and terrorism. In principle, security is a condition in which States consider that there is no danger of military attack, political pressure or economic coercion, so that they are able to pursue freely their own development and progress. International security is thus the result and the sum of the security of each and every State member of the international community; accordingly, international security cannot be reached without full international co-operation. However, security is a relative rather than an absolute term. National and international security need to be viewed as matters of degree. Concepts of security are the different bases on which States and the international community as a whole relies for their security. Examples of concepts are the balance o f power, deterrence, peaceful coexistence and collective security. The reason to address security in this paper is the belief that an understanding of the broader scope of security should make it possible for states to deal more effectively, both individually and collectively, with current problems and threats to peace. So accordingly the paper will deal with analysis of security as a concept well established specially since the world war and how different schools of thought defined it. Also the current issues of human security and its impact on foreign policy options will be discussed besides the national interest debate in international relations. What is security? There is no agreement on the concept of security. Notwithstanding the wide range of studies of security published over the past sixty years, no single generally accepted definition of security has been produced. The concept of security is as contested as ever. To understand the concept of security we should first define its relation to the state, is it an internal matter related to domestic circumstances or an external matter related to international context. As a matter of fact security as a predominant issue had developed and went through various phases marked by the two world wars, the Westphalia conference also had an impact on it, the huge advance in military and technological tools had dramatic influence as well. Still the concept remained contested between different theories and theorists and between different zeit geist shaping the interests and policies of states. In the Westphalia world of internally strong states, there is less danger of internal conflict, and the international system is marked by conflicts  among  states rather than  within  them.   Since 1945, however, many of the most significant threats to state security have been internal, rather than external, a shift which has only accelerated and which may have profound consequences on the conduct of international relations. So traditionally, security was defined primarily at the nation-state level and almost exclusively through the military prism. This focus on external military threat to national security was particularly dominant during the Cold War. It would be misleading, however, to associate the origins of security studies with the Cold War and the recent nuclear threat. In the first decade after the Second World War academic interest in security studies increased significantly. Although questions of national security were usually treated within the broader framework of international relations and foreign policy, this period has been described as the most creative and exciting period in the entire history of security studies Security in different schools of thought Security has been a cornerstone in realism theories and studies; neorealism has even put more emphasis on security and power as determining factors in states decisions and position. Thus a detailed explanation of realism security view follows. While Liberal school was seen as counter theory for realism, for the interest of this paper focus will be shed on these two leading theories. Realism: Realism has been the most dominant theoretical tradition in international relations and security studies. Its philosophical foundations were laid by Thucydides, Machiavelli, Hobbes and Rousseau. The realists world view represents international relations as a struggle for power among strategic, self-interested states. Realists discount any claims to system-wide international order other than that based ultimately on power or force. They argue that international society is best described as a condition of international anarchy, since there is no central authority to protect states from one another. States act as independent, sovereign political units that focus on their own survival (or expansion). For that reason, the objective of national security is survival of the nation-state rather than the guarantee of international security .Realists are not prepared to engage in long-term accommodation or cooperation. In this view, world politics is anarchical characterized by a state of war, not a single continuous war or constant wars but the constant possibility of war among all states. Consequently, the realist perceives a period of peace as a state of non-war. The possibility of war requires that states follow Realpolitik: be self interested, prepare for war and calculate relative balances of power. A state is constantly seeking relative gains and its behavior is therefore continuously determined to facilitate self-preservation by the actual balance of power between political powers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ this is what security stands for. As a product of presumed uncertainty, a central issue in nearly all realist theory is the security dilemma. Due to their continuous efforts to guarantee their own security and survival, states are driven to acquire more and more power in order to escape the impact of the power of others. This, in turn, constitutes a threat to the security of other states. Traditional Cold War concepts of nuclear strategies and deterrence only emphasize this line of thought. Striving to attain maximum security from attack therefore inevitably produces new insecurities. Realism is not a single theory. It could be argued that there are two crosscutting dichotomies: classical realism versus neorealism, and offensive realism versus defensive realism. Classical realists, of which one of the most influential was Hans Morgenthau believe that states, like human beings, have an innate desire to dominate others, which leads them to fight wars. In this perspective, state power and security are ends in themselves. Neorealists see the international system consisting of a number of great powers, each seeking to survive. Because the system is anarchic and has no central authority, each state has to survive on its own. This driving force of survival is the primary factor influencing their behavior and in turn ensures that states develop offensive military force, as a means to increase their relative power. The classical focus on the centrality of power shifts gradually towards a more neorealist view whereby power becomes a means to gain security. Neorealists bring attention to a persistent lack of trust between states which requires states to act in an openly aggressive manner. Though neorealists recognize that international democratic structures and liberal economics are imperative to peace, security stems from balancing strategies based on sound military capabilities. For that reason, neorealism can be considered the dominant paradigm in security studies. Despite the varieties of realist thought, all realists stress the centrality of military threat and the use of force. The referent object of security is the state; states act as strategic, self-interested units which seek to ensure their own security. In all cases, the realist concept of security has been severely criticized as being too narrow to account for the multiple dimensions of security. Liberalism: The principal challenge to realism came from liberal theory, the foundations of which were laid, by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. A central principle of liberalism is the importance of the freedom of the individual. Foreign policy should reflect the rights and duties of individuals. Liberals understanding of security differs in part from that of realists. Reflecting the aims of the individual, liberal states view security not only in military terms, but also in terms of the protection and promotion of individual rights. For example, the liberal approach to combating terrorism focuses far more on the application of legal instruments than on the use of military force. Thats to say that liberal concept of security tends to include issues such as migration, environmental concerns. Like realism, liberalism is not a single theory. Although all liberal theories imply that cooperation is more pervasive than even the defensive version of realism allows, each view offers a different recipe for promoting it. It is worth noting that Liberalism has such a powerful presence that the entire political spectrum of the Western world, it is no surprise that liberal themes are constantly invoked as a response to contemporary security dilemmas. Also Liberal theory believes in the innate goodness of mankind to conduct peace-keeping relations in the international system where States rely on mutual cooperation to tackle global issues. Managing security issues according to this theory requires the involvement of international institutions, along with the cooperation of states to achieve this.The Liberal theory of security management consists of two key methods; collective security and arms control. 1. Collective Security Liberal theorists strongly believe in the power of collective security. This is a protective measure used by a group of allied states. When threatening and unlawful actions are directed at one state, united opposition is shown by the other supporting states. The goal is to stop the aggressor while creating security in the international system. Collective security can be best described by the concept of one for all, all for one.Another important function of this security measure is to ward off potential aggressors from acting. 2. Arms Control In global politics, arms control is best described by either the controlling, reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons completely. Another approach to controlling weapons includes general disarmament. According to Liberal theory, arms proliferation and specialization can be reduced.Having fewer weapons means reduced insecurity so long as states agree to carry out this task mutually. National security and IR Human security In 1994, the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) Human Development Report presented a new way of thinking about the integration of security issues and globalization. This report defined human security according to seven dimensions: personal, environmental, economic, political, community, health, and food security, the report adopted a people-centric security concept as its focus instead of the traditional state-centered concept The concept of human security stresses that people should be able to take care of themselves: all people should have the opportunity to meet their most essential needs and to earn their own living. This will set them free and help ensure that they can make a full contribution to development their own development and that of their communities, their countries and the world, Human security is a critical ingredient of participatory development. Human security is therefore not a defensive concept, the way territorial or military security is. Human security is a concept that identifies the security of human lives as the central objective of national and international security policy. After 1994, the concept of human security became a central theme of a number of governments through their foreign and defense policies. In particular, the Canadian, Japanese and Norwegian governments led the way in institutionalizing human security concerns into their respective foreign policies. According to a Canadian government report, human security means safety for people from both violent and non-violent threats. It is a condition or state of being characterized by freedom from pervasive threats to peoples rights, their safety, or even their lives. Also the report emphasized that increasing human security entails: Investing in human development, not in arms; Engaging policy makers to address the emerging peace dividend; Giving the United Nations a clear mandate to promote and sustain development; Enlarging the concept of development cooperation so that it includes all flows, not just aid; Agreeing that 20 percent of national budgets and 20 percent of foreign aid be used for human development; and Establishing an Economic Security Council Human security and Foreign policy: A departure from the realist, state-centered concept of security that has dominated foreign policy thinking of major powers, this conceptual reframing of security has important implications on foreign policy. It brings new issues or vulnerabilities and measures or actions as priorities for global security that were not on the security agendas, it has huge impact on foreign policy orientations especially when it comes to big powers decisions The issue of oppression and physical violence due to deliberate action and neglect by the state to its own citizens. Vulnerability to poverty and destitution as a factor inter-connected with threats of violence. Development and ending poverty as important means to achieve human security. Actors other than the state as sources of threat and as holders of obligations to protect; Global inter-connectedness of security threats (such as terrorist networks, global financial crises and global diseases) and necessary responses. Questions have been raised about the relationship between human security and state security and actions in foreign affairs. Contrary to some claims, the twokinds of security are not mutually exclusive. The security of the state is not an end in itself rather it is a means of ensuring security for people. In this context, state security and human security are in fact mutually supportive and accordingly the decisions made to maintain security of the state in foreign affairs and in international relations had a direct influence on humans security. Building an effective, democratic state that values its own people and protects minorities is central to promoting human security. At the same time, improving the human security of its people strengthens the legitimacy, stability and security of a state. So the interdependent relation is crystal clear. Human security provides a template to assess policy and practice effects on the safety of people. From a foreign policy perspective, there are a number of key consequences; First ensuring human security can involve the use of coercive measures, including sanctions and military force, as in Bosnia and Kosovo. On the other hand the human costs of strategies for promoting state and international security must be explicitly assessed. security policies such as economic sanctions, should take into account the impact on innocent people. Third, security policies must be integrated much more closely with strategies for promoting human rights, democracy, and development. Human rights and humanitarian provide the normative framework on which a human security approach is based. On the other hand one of the dividends of adopting a human security approach is that it further elaborates a people-centred foreign policy. Fourth, due to the complexity of contemporary challenges to the security of people, effective interventions involve a diverse range of actors including states, multilateral organizations, and civil society groups. As the challenges to the safety of people are transnational, effective responses can only be achieved through multilateral cooperation. This is evident in the new international instruments developed to address transnational drug trafficking, terrorism, and environmental issues. These threats link the interest of citizens in countries which enjoy a high level of human security with the interests of people in much poorer nations, who face a wider range of threats to their safety. This has a direct impact on foreign policy implementation and interests. The relationship between national and international security The changing international environment, following the advent of globalization and end of cold war politics has made it imperative for both practitioners and scholars to rethink and redefine the existing framework on which foreign policy operated. Foreign relations are in fact developed in the context of the security environment. However, security issues are no longer seen in the pure realist term of preserving the national security of the states in terms of territory only. States have aligned and realigned to further their national interest by forming new regional and economic blocs, while putting aside historical and cultural hostility, and arriving at consensus over various issues of global concerns. National and international security are becoming increasingly interrelated, thereby challenging the notion that security is primarily a function of national power or military and economic strength. Searching for solutions to the problem of insecurity, many nations increasingly find themselves face-to-face with circumstances beyond their direct control, such as a structural economic crisis and global economic, population, environmental and resource trends. All nations face universal threats posed by the nuclear arms race. Global interdependence has created a situation in which actions not only by major Powers but also by other nations can have major regional or even international repercussions. Only by recognizing that security is not divisible, either in its military, economic, social and political dimensions or as between its national and international aspects, can nations evolve the co-operative measures necessary to achieve security in an interdependent age. This requires a comprehensive and co-operative approach to international security(a liberal version of security). The unrestrained pursuit of national security interests at the expense of others is not conducive to international security and may even lead to disaster. With the existence of nuclear weapons such policies constitute a potential threat to the survival of mankind. It is imperative that nations reconcile the contradictions between individual national security interests and the overall interest of international security and peace. Conclusion

Mike Nichols Film, Regarding Henry Essay -- Film Movies

Mike Nichols' Film, Regarding Henry Life can change in an instant. One second you are a successful and ruthless lawyer, the next you’re a simple man with absolutely no memory of who or where you are. The film â€Å"Regarding Henry† shows this perfectly as it travels through the life of a man named Henry Turner. The main focus of the film is how important family life is. Before the accident, Henry hardly even knew his daughter and almost never spoke to her. At the start of the film the father-daughter relationship was very weak, he would never speak to her when he came home from work because he didn’t have time, but when he did he lectured to her - like when she spilled grape juice on his â€Å"prize piano† and yelled at her. His life revolved around the courtroom, where he spent most of his time. Sarah, his wife told him to apologize to his daughter, which he finally did after arguing with her. Even when he tried to apologize to her after a party, he found it difficult to express his feelings and just talked about the case he had won that day. Before the accident Henry was always working, even when he came home, he would still continued to work. Henry was a self centered and arrogant man who was only interested in winning a case, working and smoking. Henry loved his eggs and was always at parties, celebrating or mocking his clients, which he was very good at. He was excellent at what he did and would go to any extent of lying to win â€Å"like the Matthew’s case.† He was also ext...

American Beauty Film Critique Essay

There are few films that achieve the high level of quality exhibited by that of the 1990 beautiful tragedy, American Beauty. The film is a true masterpiece in both content and how this content is delivered to the viewers. It excels at being an enlightening and relevant drama about American life, and never fails to keep the audience entertained by providing many instances of well-placed humor. Every scene is filmed including metaphoric elements that not only show great stylistic and aesthetics, but also create a mood and feeling for the theme of the movie. American Beauty, directed by Sam Mendes, is a film that is set in suburban America, in a normal neighbourhood, following the everyday life of the central protagonist, Lester Burnham, who is living the typical ‘American Dream’. He appears to have a great job, big house, loving wife and daughter and even a white picket fence. However, all is not as it seems as appearance can often be deceiving; if we just â€Å"look closer†, we as audience members soon see that he realises both his wife, over bearing and controlling Carolyn and jaded teenage daughter, Jane think that, in the words of Jane, he is â€Å"this gigantic loser† and they’re right. The character of Lester is initially portrayed as a depressed, sad and lonely forty-year-old man, deprived of freedom and struggling to find anything worth living for. However as the film progresses Lester’s persona as a character is dramatically developed with the introduction of an equally intriguing character, Angela Hayes. Everything changes for Lester the night he is forced by his wife to his daughters school to see her perform as a cheerleader. There on the floor, engrossed in a pompon routin, parading and dancing around the court, he sees his ‘angel’: Angela his daughter’s high-school classmate. Angela fulfills the stereotypical idea of what beauty physical beauty is. She is thin, blonde, big blue-eyed and immediately catches Lester’s attention; Angela is not Lester’s highway to bliss, but she is at least a catalyst for his freedom (Ebert, 1999). His thoughts, and the dissatisfaction they stimulate, blast him free from years of emotional torture and bring him right back to his youth. It is from this moment on that Lester transforms into a spontaneous hormone-driven teenage boy, who smokes marihuana, works out, and uits his job all in order to impress his Angel-a. American Beauty uses Angela as the image of Lester’s broader want; that being his underlying desire for freedom and evidentially beauty. However, she symbolizes the potential underlying superficiality of physical beauty that is slowly revealed towards the end of the film. The film portrays many of the hidden problems within the white picket fence American dream along with addressing the problems many Americans have with feeling free and accepting their own identity. The film shows the vastly different worlds that people can live in whilst still living on the same street, and the disorder and frenzy that lies veiled in a society that we all try to portray as being as perfect as possible. In doing so, American Beauty reveals that the only way to calm the chaos is to find beauty in everything. To â€Å"look closer† is a must for truly understanding and identifying with the continuous bombardment of symbolism that is constantly being illustrated in this film. American Beauty portrays such themes as the falseness in lust, power and appearance and that we need to remind our selves â€Å"†¦of all the beauty there is in the world†, as beauty is a matter of opinion. Beauty however, is the most significant and explored theme in American Beauty. Another prevailing theme is the notion of the characters journey and transformation throughout the film. Lester’s journey can almost be compared to one from childhood from adulthood, figuratively speaking as evidentially, he steps into a mature, paternal phase where he takes responsibility and finds meaning in life, as an adult. Many techniques were used to portray these themes and influence audiences opinions of characters and events, including film techniques of cinematography, soundtrack as well as such visual techniques of symbolism, colour and contrast and both aesthetic and stylistic elements. American Beauty is a complex film that relies so heavily on mis-en-scene and cinematography to portray its message. In particular this is showcased during one scene that truly puts the ‘American Beauty’ into perspective; the opening scene or as it is often referred to as, the â€Å"High Point Scene†. The film explores the concepts of what true beauty really is and as suggested in the title of the film, the American Dream and how far this ‘dream’ really goes and what it actually means; this is explored further from the films tagline â€Å"look closer†; to think about perceived desire and to analyze more what these wants are. Through the exploration of the opening scene and a study of how the cinematography, mise en scene and sound foreshadows plot points in the rest of the film, the underlying messages and symbolism will be uncovered. The movie opens with a grainy shot of Jane Burnham reclining on a bed, complaining about her father. The scene begins with what is referred to as a flash forward, in cinematic terms. The line â€Å"Someone really should just put him out of his misery† is a hint towards the mid life crisis that the father Lester is currently going through and the ways in which she is aware of the pain he is dealing with, not knowing what he truly wants. Through the mise en scene and cinematography displayed throughout the scene, the audience is enabled to receive a glimpse into the events that have just occurred. Through the use of a lesser quality picture, shaky footage and dimmed lighting the audience is able to identify with the fact that the imagery being presented has that of a ‘home movie’ feel. The utilization of ‘raw footage’ within this drama genre of film gives the audience a sense of reality towards the character, hence making the dialogue seem more legitimate and believable. The addition of a pause into the characters dialogue helps to support and express the sense of ‘reality’ further, as it is as if she is really thinking about what she is saying. The rather ambiguous approach to the delivering of the line â€Å"You want me to kill him for you? † helps to draw attention to Jane’s reaction as apposed to the interviewers own intensions. This poses both Jane Burnham, the daughter and the unidentified interviewer as suspects to her father’s upcoming murder. However the abstruse approach from the interviewer combined with the daughters reply is foreshadowing what is to come later in the film, as each character related to the father is set up to be the possible murderer of his death. By using the body language as a primary tool for communication, the reply of â€Å"Yeah, would you† to the previous statement, suggests that she is almost daring the interviewer to kill him. This is expressed through the dominant changing of levels when she sits up, almost creating a shift in power, and looks down and straight into the camera, but at the same time also insinuates some sarcasm on her part. The audience learns in the very first lines of the movie that Jane’s dad, Lester, is not the father that she wants. The opening credits roll, and the shot switches to an aerial view of a neighborhood. The exact location is not specified, and that is very intentional. It is important that this not be a critique of a specific area, but of American culture as a whole. The scene begins with an aerial shot of a suburb, with Lester Burnham introducing the audience to his life and informing them that â€Å"In less than a year, I’ll be dead,† and â€Å"in a way, I’m dead already. † This dialogue is heightened through the following shots of Lester lying alone on a bed in a very dull coloured room, thus signifying the meaninglessness life in which he is leading. The utilization of an aerial shot here creates the idea that the world is looking down on him. The dominant use of bright lighting also indicates that it is the morning, however through the use of shadowing casted over Lester, it expressed to the audience that he is still in ‘the dark’; he is yet to be enlightened. Visual techniques are a constant feature in American Beauty, including the use of colour, contrast and symbolism. The primary recurring prop that is introduced at the beginning of the film is a rose, in which the audience first sees in a close up before Lester’s wife Carolyn Burnham picks it up. The first shot of the rose seems out of place, beginning with the flower filling the frame and then moving down to focus on the thorns before Carolyn’s clippers cut it. The rose symbolizes the impotence of not only the love life between Lester and Carolyn but the idea of the American Dream. This shot not only draws attention to the rose as a recurring object in the film, but it also serves as a metaphor for the Burnhams: on the outside they appear perfect, like the flower, but underneath they are rotten and broken (represented by the thorns). In this shot the character of Carolyn is also introduced and is instantly perceived as a cold, workaholic who is obsessive about how they (the family) is presented. This portrayal is demonstrated through the line â€Å"See the way the handle on those pruning shears matches her gardening clogs? That’s not an accident†, thus showing the audience what level she will go to, to maintain order and control. What is also noticeable about this shot is the mise en scene, in particular the red roses, white picket fences and the blue painting on the house. These colours in specific represent the American flag and therefore the American dream. These objects are most perceived to be included within the American dream as well as stereotypical figure of Carolyn, the suburban housewife. This ideology however, creates contrast with the cinematography. Many scenes are metaphoric in how they are shot, and what is in the frame symbolizes a higher, deeper meaning. This is demonstrated when, Lester looking out the window of his house at his wife, and the blinds on the window represent jail cell bars. Even the blocks of text on his computer screen at work, (shown later in the film) represent jail cell bars. Lester is â€Å"in jail† because his life at this point is so empty and missing substance. This cinematography technique often used in film nior is utilized to convey the emotions of disassociation and distance which in this case, is the way in which Lester feels towards his wife; he is no longer associated with her. American Beauty† is more than a biting satire on suburban life. This somewhat contrived story is meant to be an allegory. Alan Ball’s richly textured screenplay, brilliantly executed stylistic and aesthetic elements such as cinematography, mise en scene and symbols are effectively demonstrated throughout this masterpiece of a film. Every single shot is so carefully taken and layered with such vast significance that it is a marvel to behold. â€Å"Look closer,† the film’s tag line tells us. Look closer at the beautiful things we yearn for and spend our life chasing. There isn’t a single example of a film done better. Not only is the content top-notch, but the technical aspects of the movie are excellent as well. American Beauty truly demonstrates the power of film.

Importance of Building a Relationship For a Salesperson, and What Organizations and Sales people do to Build Relationships With Customers

In the business world today, customers have not only become fastidious but also more demanding and unforgiving. This explains the reason as to why any salesperson needs to be more aggressive and make a good impression the first time he gets in contact with customers. According to Calvin (2007), getting good business sales is the natural outcome of an established relationship of trust between the salesperson and the customers. The closure of sales after the establishment of a good and trustworthy relationship becomes the easiest part in the sales process. Portraying a first good and perfect impression requires good communication and presentation skills for the salesperson. The salesperson is expected to please a first time stranger, and convince them that he is reliable. Most often, the salesperson is terrified and does not know what kind of response to expect from the first time client. This stage is very important as it is able to determine whether such a client will become a customer who can always purchase from the salesperson or not. If the salesperson is able to win the confidence and trust of the customers at the first instance, he is likely to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market over other business people. Goods sales trainings invests a lot of attention and time in teaching salespeople the required skills for building relationships. The skills mainly taught for the sales people include learning to listen to others, and creation of creation of confidence (Honeycutt, 2003). The salesperson should show that he understands the concerns and needs of a particular customer. By doing this, the customer is likely to create confidence in the salesperson and will often want to purchase any goods or services offered by the salesperson. A salesperson should be able to create trust by being able to communicate about information concerning a specific product that the seller is willing to offer and clearly linking this information to the concerns and needs of the customer. Teaching of presentation skills is done in the aspect of and in the context of creating a trustful and open relationship between salespeople and the clients. Techniques of closing stock should then be looked into briefly as part of the big picture of good presentation skills for sales people. According to Acuff and Wood (2004), the focus for building relationships as opposed to just concentrating on the sale of a product is important in the present world than ever before. Various reasons have been given to show why building of relationships is important. To begin with, the changes taking place in the world have necessitated the salespeople to take charge in the market, so as to win confidence for the customers. Sales people have realized that they should be leaders of the current changes taking place in the market, they do this by informing people about new products in the market and convincing them how such products or services are likely to meet their needs and concerns. By being able to win confidence from the customers, they are able to win more customers. A salesperson who does this will be able to absolutely convince customers that what he is selling is a safe and sure solution for the customers problem. Another importance of focusing on an open and trustworthy relationship is because of the need to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market. When a good product gets into the market, other competitors quickly come up with a similar product. A salesperson who has already established a strong relationship with his clients is able to retain them, despite the tough competition. The third reason touches on the development of technology. With the introduction of unique and complex goods in the market, customers have been having fears of buying some products which may cause them harm in future, or products they cannot be able to maintain. Salespeople should know how to win customers under this circumstances, by explaining about the usefulness of such products, and showing how well they understand such a product. Salespeople who focus on the creation of a relationship at the heart of their activities have been producing excellent results in their work (Baker, 2003). Sales Ethics, and Why The Topic is Receiving so Much Attention Today Honeycutt (2003) stated that sales ethics cannot be defined or explained with the exception of all other ethical values. Sales ethics in fact emanates from the entire organizational values which guide the day to day activities of the organization. There is actually no specific code in the area of business that has been separately dedicated to sales ethics. Therefore, the approach used to define sales ethics is the approach used to look at ethics in general. According to Baker (2003), sales ethics refer to those standards of conduct which a salesperson is supposed to observe while carrying out his business practice. A salesperson should carry out his duty with integrity, honesty and intelligence, with the ultimate goal of realizing the vision and mission of the company he or she is working for. Many corporations today are emphasizing on the practice of sales ethics among their salespeople. Researchers have argued that, salespeople are not required to follow a written statement of ethics because they are not ethical, but because they are placed in a working environment where they are faced by ethical challenges every now and then, unlike other people in employment. Researchers have sated that companies should take enough time to educate salespeople on how to approach ethical dilemmas in their areas of work. Unlike other workers who have their bosses to consult when faced with ethical challenges, salespeople often face the problem while on the road, they therefore lack anyone to consult and are left to tackle the problem alone. Sales ethics helps to prevent many loses that a company can get from unethical behaviors of the salespeople such as over promising customers, and failure to observe certain sales regulations like the FDA's rules for pharmaceuticals, which may lead to great loses for the company. It has also been claimed that ethics addresses and supports what some scholars call, â€Å"the gray areas of selling,† (Acuff & Wood, 2004). Though this areas may not have any legal implications, lack of knowledge and skills to address them may cause great damage to the company and to the sales career. They include the use of assets available in the company, this may involve misuse of expense reports, computers, cars, and other important equipments in the company. The handling of customer relationships, this may involve forms of abuse such as over promising, overselling, over telling, under informing, and overstocking. The handling of competitor relationships involve spying and tampering on the affairs of the customers outside the scope of business and disparagement. Sales ethics also enable the salesperson to handle relationships with supervisors and peers and to avoid certain acts like false reporting or abuse of territory poaching. Being able to avoid conflicts of interest while working including improper disclosure, and to avoid offering of entertainment and gifts in excess of customers and corporate policies. Where companies have established formal policies to guide the behavior of sales people, they have been able to create good customer relationships and competitive sales. Salary, Commission and Combination Pay Plans, Their Advantages and Disadvantages. According to Calvin (2007), salary refers to the amount of money which an employee is entitled to receive at the end of the month. The employee as long as he or she performs his obligation is entitled to get the set amount of money, whether the company incurs looses or makes profits. This mode of payment has been deemed to be favorable to the employees due to the fact that, they are protected against any unforeseen looses that may occur in the company. Companies which offer employees a permanent salary have the advantage of retaining their workers for a long period of time. Such workers feel secured in the company, and are stable in their operation. This allows the company an opportunity to train their workers, specifically salespeople on the necessary skills, such as building of healthy relationships with clients. This in turn promotes production and maximizes profits for the whole organization. On the other hand however, employees who get a constant salary can relax and refuse to offer the best of their output, since they are sure sure to get their pay whether the company makes profits or not, this is disadvantageous for the company. Acuff and Wood (2004) expressed that commission payment is a payment plan where the employee is entitled to a certain percentage of money from the sales he or she makes. For instance, an employee selling an item whose price is 10 U. S dollars may be entitled to10% as his commission. Many studies have shown that this is an appropriate way of motivating salespeople. Such employees put much of their effort to ensure a maximum sale, so as to earn more commission. With this type of payment plan, an employee can earn as much as they want depending on their performance. This system in fact ensures maximum performance in a company. However, it has been argued that employees in such payment programs are often faced with the challenge of job insecurity and tend to keep changing jobs. A company is likely to loose employees every now and then. This undermines the efforts of establishing a good relationship between salespeople and the customers. In effect, the organization may not be in a position to maximize the sale of its products. The combination plan involves employees getting a certain amount of money as retainer, and then getting the additional compensation as a commission. According to Baker (2003), this is the most effective way of compensating salespeople. By considering the nature of a sales job, it is important that a salesperson is protected against uncertainties especially when sales are so low, by giving them some amount of money as a retainer. The additional commission works as a motivator. This method is therefore said to be the best for salespeople because it serves both sides, securing an employee who can through this plan be retained by the company for its benefit, and motivating the employee to produce the best for the benefits of the company. Critiques however argue that this plan can in certain circumstances be expensive for the company (Honeycutt, 2003).

Observations From the Box Office

Observations From the Box Office Free Online Research Papers Personal traits, tastes, and opinions influence our every day lives. From the places we shop to the classes we take, our personalities affect our choices. This is also true for the movies we choose to see. For the past few weeks four movies, Superbad, Hot Rod, The Nanny Diaries, and the Bourne Ultimatum show how our personalities as people attend these movies. I had my assumptions about what movies they were going to see. Sensation and passion are two of the strongest emotions that a movie can give a person. People might go to see a movie for different reasons. One might factor in laziness while another individual might go watch the same movie to disappear in thought and get sucked into the main characters life. There is so much you can learn about people by studying their behavior. For the past few months, I worked a premier movie theater. Krikorian Premier Theater is located in downtown San Clemente, California. Working there gave me an opportunity to snoop and pry into my customers’ minds. I was able to stand aside, hidden in a corner and watch, just observe. Superbad, though being out in the theaters for a while now, still possesses the title of the most popular movie on Friday nights. Teenagers are the primary audience for this movie because of the premise, getting alcohol while being underage. Even though this movie is marketed towards the older teenage population, many older people go to see it as well. I asked one of them what compelled him to watch a movie. He looked at me, laughed, and told me the reason was that he wanted to feel like he was in high school again. He told me that his high school years were the best in his life and that he connected with the characters in the movie because he tried hard to get alcohol while he was underage with his friends. This movie is filled with comedy and crude humor. making any adolescent or child at heart laugh until they cry. Hot Rod is another simple yet entertaining movie. This is a straightforward movie about a teenager named Rodney Kimble and his dreams to become a stuntman. He accomplishes his dream to jump fifteen buses to acquire money for his abusive father’s surgery. This movie I would consider to be one of â€Å"brainless† funny movies I have ever seen besides Super Troopers. There is not a moment in this movie where the audience is not laughing. Crammed with teenage comedy, witty remarks, and crude humor classifies this movie into the young teenage section. It is mind-blowing how many movies target the younger generation gap. Many of the adults that went to see this film informed me that this movie was imaginatively good, but it would not appear in their personal movie collection. In other words, they probably will not see it again. Teenagers for the most part, told me that it was hilarious and that they will probably see it at least once more in the theaters alone. Their humor is a bit excessive for my taste. The next movie is The Nanny Diaries. I saw nobody coming to this move during the Friday night rush. For the most part, this movie was a date movie. Typically, packs of girls went to see this movie. Very few males made the honorable attempt to watch this movie, unless accompanied by a girl. If not, they were going to see this movie to pick up the girls in those giant groups. My deductions proved me correct; these men were brilliant. Girls, for the most part, want to have a sensitive guy, and these guys were total beach bums. There is no way that they were even remotely interested in this movie. This movie was the slowest for the night and only sold about thirty tickets for the seven-thirty rush. The last movie on the list is Bourne Ultimatum. This movie was made for all ages. Bourne was jam-packed full of action and definitely the thriller of the summer. Jason Bourne learns about how he became a candidate for the Tredstone project. He begins to remember his training, mentors, and his initiation to the top-secret experimental project. I noticed that people of all ages going to see this movie. There were no specific age groups and no fads for this film. I was deeply impressed with the outcome of this one. This movie had a constant rush to it and I saw many teens and adults go to this one, which ranged from youngest being about seven and the oldest being around sixty-five. I am very proud of how this film marketed their movie. The producers brought everybody to the table. The movie makes the person. Everybody loves to go and watch a film or read a book. It takes you into another world another life. You don’t have any worries you get sucked in as if the characters life is really yours. Everybody wants their life to be exciting but due to my studies of ticket sales and observations at the box office, people like comedy more. Most Americans enjoy going to watch stupid comedies. It’s the simple truth. Research Papers on Observations From the Box OfficeWhere Wild and West MeetPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionHip-Hop is ArtThe Relationship Between Delinquency and Drug UseComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito

Strategic Analysis SWOT Analysis of Starbucks Corporation The WritePass Journal

Strategic Analysis SWOT Analysis of Starbucks Corporation INTRODUCTION Strategic Analysis SWOT Analysis of Starbucks Corporation INTRODUCTIONOVERVIEW OF STARBUCKS COFFEEStore Expansion Strategy of StarbucksFINANCIAL CRISIS AND COMMODITIZATION OF THE BRANDIssue ReasonsSTRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT TO SOLVE PROBLEMSSWOT AnalysisRe-energizing Starbucks ProcessRECOMMENDATIONS  FOR FUTURE STRATEGYCONCLUSIONRelated INTRODUCTION Starbucks brand name is  one of most admired famous global business in the world (Moore, 2006, p.7). Moreover, in terms of marketing, Starbucks always is the case study for discussing about it successful marketing and branding strategies.  Because of the fall of the economy,  it  was  forced to close 700 stores that were  unable to make  enough profit  and cut thousands of jobs in America, UK, and Australia  after a drop in sales  in 2008.  The brand was  also facing the issue of their customers choosing a cheaper option over their higher coffee prices.  Starbucks  then  was  applauded  for their handling of crisis situations. This report will apply  relevant theory and practice of  strategic marketing  management to  explore the situation, contributing factors and management of marketing strategies in the financial crisis sector,  reflecting the happenings and identifying recommendations relevant to Starbucks International Coffee. OVERVIEW OF STARBUCKS COFFEE The Seattle-based Starbucks Corporation, which founded in 1971, is nowadays a multinational coffee and coffee house chain with over 15,000 stores in  in all 50 states and   43 countries outside of the United States  (Pham, 2008, p.8).  Serving consumers everywhere (Moore, 2006, p.12.), the aim of Starbucks is  to establish and leverage its powerhouse premium specialty coffee through rapid expansion of retail operations, new distribution channels and successful make it coffee a global product for millions customers. At Starbucks Coffee, the mission is []  to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighbourhood at a time. (Clampitt, 2009). Starbucks  has been and always be  proud of their commitment to maintaining quality, integrity, and great taste of coffee through the course of its growth  and the high value placed on the employees/partners worldwide  (LeFort, 2008)  . Store Expansion Strategy of Starbucks Throughout the 1990s,  Starbucks  had started  developed a  Ã¢â‚¬Å"three-year geographic expansion strategy†Ã‚  (Clampitt, 2009) then  Starbucks store launches grew more successful  in revenue  (Creamer, 2007).  Ã‚  Not just selling the coffee,  Starbucks model  with opening new stores next to doors and inside shopping malls  caused them to increase in value  than all other competitors  (Cebrzynski, 2007)  Ã‚  In 2004, Starbucks announced to analysts that it had a  Ã‚  very aggressive target to  double its rate of expansion. Their stated goal was to grow to 15,000 stores in the US.  According to the report in an article,  Starbucks has more than 13,000 locations around the world, and has  overstretched itself with the  long-term goal of 40,000 stores worldwide  (Woodward, 2007,  Clark, 2008).  Appendix 4, 5, 6   There is a raised question that  whether it is a bad business decision for coffee chain Starbucks to expand its brand too quick.  (Cebrzynski, 2007) is also suspicious that  has  Starbucks lost its â€Å"Starbucks experience† by growing that big? (Business: Trouble brewing, 2007)   FINANCIAL CRISIS AND COMMODITIZATION OF THE BRAND A crisis, according to  Ã‚  (Brown, 2003)  is â€Å"a decisive moment†, â€Å"a turning point†, â€Å"a time of great difficulty†, then marketing cannot possibly be in crisis.  Mr Schultz, Starbuckss CEO, saw the crisis coming. He had discovered the problem of their own development strategies: Stores no longer have the experienced soul with the warm feeling of a neighbourhood store. At the beginning of 2007, he did warned about the commoditisation of the brand that the expansion from 1,000 to more than 13,000 shops over the past ten years, in order to achieve the growth, development, has led to a series of decisions that make a watering down of the Starbucks experience. (Businessweek. 2007). The decline of Starbucks is the result of over expanding previous years, has been criticized by those who oppose globalization such as ( Klein, 2009): Instead of opening giant stores on the outskirts of town, Starbucks chooses locations right in the range of the inner a rea already full with all kinds of coffee house. This strategy relies heavily on the cost reduction by purchasing multiple quantities at wholesale prices like Wal-Mar, however, affected more by the competitors† The rapid growth has obviously caused Starbucks some problems.  For the first time  in its  37-year-  history  Starbucks lost customers and profits collapsed 97% (Jagger, 2008)  during the fourth quarter of 2007  after the ubiquitous coffee chain was forced to absorb the effect of weakening demand.  The  footfall had declined in the UK,  where it has two other big coffee retailer: Whitbreads Costa and Caffà ¨ Nero as well,  -$6.7 million after tax,  compared with a $158 million profit for the same quarter last year. (Lee, 2008).  Although company officials still do not believe growth is an issue  (Cebrzynski, 2007),  first time in five years, Starbucks was  knocked out of first place in the coffee-and-doughnuts category by Dunkin Donuts  (Creamer, 2007). And it was the biggest faller in the index by 7 points to 42 out of a possible 100.  (Leroux, 2008) Issue Reasons As  (Schindehutte  et al.,  2008) argues that  [] something is clearly affecting the ability of firms and business units to sustain performance  ), suffering from a rough economy and its own strategic missteps,  Starbucks had to admit their own mistakes, much of which  is self-inflicted  (Ignatius, 2010)  In current economy,  as a  classic dilemma of any big business, while trying to expand, Starbucks not only have to deal with other factors like competitors and the mortgage crisis, they also competing with themselves.  Size may have brought success to Starbucks, but it has also led to issues of brand depersonalisation.  In the rush to open more stores, Starbucks is experiencing what all successful brands do when they move from being a small, niche firm to a global entity  (Golding,2009). Moreover, there are some extra affections from the environment, such as: The brands bottom line has been hit by the rising costs of raw materials. â€Å"[] now Starbucks isn’t for some people† said  Howard Schultz,  CEO of Starbucks (Not enough froth Starbucks, 2008). Fancy Starbucks coffee has also struggled to compete with cut-price rivals such as McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts, as these traditionally food-focused outlets have begun to sell their own premium and reasonable coffee offer (Clark, 2008).   As the financial crisis has spread to the real economy,  a perfect storm of negative factors affecting the consumer  (Cebrzynski, 2007).  The flagging economy and soaring gas prices are responsible too  (Leroux, 2008).  Ã‚  Consumers are worried of rising gas prices, energy bills,   declining home values, the weak dollar, tighter credit, therefore  giving hard consideration to how they spend their money. They even already  scale back on restaurant dining that made  restaurants are slowly creeping out of their thoughts. STRATEGIC MARKETING MANAGEMENT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS Crisis management is much more than coping with a crisis, it is identifying, studying, forecasting, stopping and avoiding crisis as well. (Clampitt, 2009)  Continuous improvement and monitoring in business operation can detect and prevent an upcoming crisis (Rhee Valdez, 2009).   Effective marketing can contribute to a firms growth through better anticipation of market opportunities, calibration of risks, a tighter linkage of technological possibilities with market concepts, and faster adjustment to shifting market needs and competitive moves. (Day, 2003)   For their part, market-driving firms such as Starbucks is demonstrating how business model innovation results in sustainable advantage and superior long-term performance in a wide range of industries.  (Schindehutte  et al.,  2008).  When a crisis or disaster strikes, companies must analyze and choose from many strategic plans.   One way they do this is by using a SWOT analysis – a strategic planning tool u sed to evaluate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.    The goal of a SWOT analysis is to identify key internal and external factors that affect the desired outcome.    Strengths and weaknesses are internal to the company and include things like wage/benefits, corporate culture, leadership, marketing, and operations.   Opportunities and threats are external to the company and include things like government regulations, competition, and economic and social forces.  (Clampitt, 2009)  The focus for the strategic management to understand the market and industry processes of Starbucks and must be able to integrate valid and reliable SWOT analysis so as to determine future strategies for business development and growth in the global market. SWOT Analysis The SWOT analysis will provide enough awareness for the Starbucks and its business management and operations with regards to their strategic management implying relevant points for their resources as well as market approaches and processes in order to stay in shape and in control of their business environment.  Applying a SWOT analysis to Starbucks global expansion strategy shows why they have been successful overcome the crisis.  Appendix 7 The business strategy of Starbucks is identical to the corporate level strategy, focusing on coffee-related products as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world and maintenance of great environment for every staff member in its retail stores. Continual quality improvement is crucial to competitive success and the perfect symbol for the dilemma that faces world trade  (Schindehutte  et al.,  2008). Therefore, it is typical to give the promises to improve service, reduce growth and expand marketing efforts for responding to a decline in customer traffic (Business: Trouble Brewing, 2007).   Equally as important, company should not lose sight of their brand heritage (Cebrzynski, 2007).     A long term business strategy built upon the hundreds of little things on a daily basis  which is the key to customer relationships in the future  (Cannon, 2002). Re-energizing Starbucks Process When a decline in customer traffic  happens to any chains like Starbucks, its a signal that the company should re-examine their positions (Cebrzynski, 2007).  It is the market that provides signals both to the entrepreneur and marketer regarding what value is needed, when it is needed, and how it should be delivered  (Schindehutte  et al.,  2008). Starbucks needs to go back to its â€Å"roots† (Cebrzynski, 2007) and make its brand special again. Company brought back the original CEO, Howard Schultz to restore the companys shine. Starbucks knows it needs to do something new  (Skenazy, 2008). Re-structure: Back to basics Chairman Howard Schultz take back the reins from ousted CEO James Donald,  not only closed 100 unspecified, underperforming locations with weak sales but also closed most stores across the US simultaneously in order to retrain to improve customer experience at American stores and to â€Å"get back to the core  (Creamer, 2007). Besides, Geoff Vuleta, CEO of New York innovation consultancy Fahrenheit 212, had a radical solution that open a chain of microstores devoted solely to making coffee. No travel cups, no music, no machines, just amazing beans and a narrow range of the best-in-the-world coffee drinks,, just moving brand back to the basics.   Resource-led Strategy: Focus on service quality experience Everyone should know that nothing is better for a business than a  satisfied customer  who can talk to others about their experience with our service (Cannon, 2002).   First of all, Starbucks really needs to refocus on the luxury coffee experience; the smells, the sounds. They also gained  customers positive experience in stores by well-trained staffs who were knowledgeable about the company’s products, who eagerly communicated the company’s passion for coffee, and who had the skills and personality to deliver consistently pleasing customer service (Whats Brewing at Starbucks, 2011).  Starbucks wanted to turn all Starbucks employees into partners, give them a chance to share in the success of the company and make clear the connection between their contributions and the company’s market value (Thompson Strickland, 2009). From its founding, Starbucks set out to be a third place to spend time, in addition to home and work.(Business: Trouble Brewing, 2007) To remedy that, the company plans to improve its service. Field managers will spend more time in the stores to make sure service really does get better, and new baristas will receive additional training.  (Cebrzynski, 2007). New breakfast line, featuring a proprietary baked and chilled food program was unveiled in September. Howard Schultz said the smell of the sandwiches overpowered the aroma of coffee, one of the chains signature features  (Jennings, 2008).  Following the lead of other coffee chains, Starbucks will also be offering a customer loyalty card for the first time.  (Ahmed Walsh, 2008)  Ã‚  In an attempt to rvetain loyalty in the UK, Starbucks has introduced free coffee refills for anyone buying a hot drink and has ramped up its hitherto negligible marketing activity  (Lee, 2008). Market-led Strategy:   Reputation management can take a while for a bad reputation to hit your bottom line, or a good one to increase profit (Cannon, 2002). As word-of-mouth is a primary marketing tool, Brian Collins, chief creative officer of New Yorks Collins design research firm, suggested company should better use its digital resources to learn the tastes of regular customers and reach target audience by creating social networking tools  Ã‚  like Facebook or Twitter and blog page.  They also used it both as a way to stay interacted, involved with their current customers and look for new ones.   According to TNS Media Intelligence, Starbucks spent $40 million in the first nine months of 2007 (York, 2008), launched its first national TV campaign to defend its ownership of the coffee segment from encroachment by McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts and other chains  (Cebrzynski, 2007). They also created the site â€Å"My Starbucks Idea† (http://mystarbucksidea.force.com/), which gives consumers the opportunity to post ideas, suggestions, to vote and discuss about what they want to see from Starbucks.  If they gain support, these ideas may be chosen to carry out to change the company in its business process, product development, experience development, and store design.(Jarvis 2008) Change will not happen overnight, Mr. Schultz said. It will evolve over time, but I ensure you a positive change will occur. I, along with our dedicated partners, will strive to exceed the expectations of our customers every day.  (York 2008) RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR FUTURE STRATEGY Some experts therefore believe  its unbranded stores  initiative is not only logical, but necessary. It needs to focus on the inherent values of being local; it needs to employ local staff; it needs to be suitably different from Starbucks corporate image.It is a phenomenally successful company that started off as a local brand but grew incredibly quickly, he says. The brand was originally loved and respected by everyone, but the corporate world decided it had become too big.As the company expands, the culture and corporate strategy must be maintained for success (Jennings, 2008).  For the recommendation, Starbucks should be able to sustain the companys growth and make the business become strong global brand. What could Starbucks do to make its stores an even more elegant milieu that welcomes rewards and give surprises to customers? What new products and new experiences could the company provide that would belong to and be associated with Starbucks? And how could Starbucks reach people who were not coffee drinkers? Starbucks must continue the fixed-price purchase commitments in order to secure an adequate supply of quality green coffee beans and to limit its exposure to fluctuating coffee prices in upcoming periods. (ThompsonStickland, 2009) However, David Anderson, director of Cada Design Group, argues that most consumers dont have issues with the brand.  Consumers are looking for a home away from home, and want it in an environment that isnt so heavily corporate branded.  They think customers are brand loyal or product loyal, but they are not. It comes down to convenience and providing a space people want to be in.  It wants to regain a community personality and the image of the neighbourhood coffee shop.(Golding, 2009) CONCLUSION Starbucks Coffees heyday was back when the corporation announced the business results in the first quarter this year reached U.S. $ 2.7 billion, with net profit of 242 million dollars (nearly 300% increase compared to same period in 2009). This is also the result of efforts to revive the brand had been likened to a giant. From the case of Starbucks, what is the lesson for business? Because development needs, the business diversified products and services is perhaps natural. A long time, Starbucks has gone with their own race shop system extension. This group has become the pride of American business people. The market strategy of Starbucks is a classic lesson in the textbook business. More services they desire to acquire a lot of customers. In fact, they have plummeted, but in time to edit. So go in-depth development (product quality, service key) to get a solid foundation for expanding business. But do not be too ambitious expansion width, expansion, missing the core. Marketing once again demonstrated its magic to bring Starbucks back to the track. The results of consumer research shows that of Starbucks, the main indicators in the business achieved a high level of satisfaction over a year ago. Although Starbucks enjoyed success in the past few years, there are a few obstacles looming. Since the popularity of the coffee house idea has grown, some cities wish to issue regulations on the coffeehouses due to complaints of late night patrons becoming uncontrollable.  In conclusion therefore, Starbucks was the only company with anything close to national market coverage. The companys efforts to greatly increase its sphere of strategic interest via its joint ventures and the move to sell coffee in supermarkets that represents such ongoing drive in order to continually reinvent the way Starbucks operate its business.  (Thompson Stickland, 2009) Amidst the environmental, social, and economic challenges and changes for Starbucks, its chairman, president, and chief executive officer, Howard Schultz, pledges Even during this time of change for our company, one thing that will never change is our long-standing commitment to conducting business in a responsible and ethical manner. Going forward, we will only deepen our approach by continuing to integrate social and environmental responsibility in every aspect of our business. With its various and numerous awards in Best Business, Most Admired Company, 100 Best Corporate Citizens, to name a few, Starbucks is becoming one of the most respected brands in the world.  (Clampitt, 2009)

Dont Be Negative About Negatives

Dont Be Negative About Negatives Don’t Be Negative About Negatives Don’t Be Negative About Negatives By Mark Nichol A site visitor called attention to a sentence in one of my recent posts and asked, because it has two negatives, whether it is grammatically correct. The sentence in question? â€Å"In case you hadn’t heard, I couldn’t care less.† The reader confused the appearance of two negative words with the concept of the double negative, which is not the same thing. In the sentence I used, each negative is located in a separate clause: Hadn’t appears in the dependent clause, and couldn’t is in the main, independent clause. Therefore, they don’t contradict each other. But even if they did, would that be wrong? Not necessarily. Two forms of double negative exist. One, referred to as two negatives resolving to a positive, is also known as litotes (LIE-tuh-tees), a rhetorical device in which emphasis is conveyed by understatement. For example, â€Å"I do not disagree,† a form of two negatives resolving to a positive, is an effective way to convey lukewarm concurrence. â€Å"He is not unattractive,† likewise, is not the same as â€Å"He is attractive.† By using the double negative, the writer intends to damn with faint praise. The double negative carries the euphemistic connotation that the man in question is only merely pleasant looking rather than handsome. The other form of double negative, known as two or more negatives resolving to a negative, is the one we associate with the grammarian’s admonition to avoid double negatives. Here are some examples of double negatives that are not considered specimens of proper English usage: â€Å"I ain’t no fool.† â€Å"She didn’t do nothing.† â€Å"They ain’t going nowhere.† â€Å"We don’t never go out.† â€Å"You don’t have no money.† Related examples employ a minimizing adverb instead of a negative: â€Å"I can’t hardly tell.† â€Å"He couldn’t barely see in that fog.† But are these sentences grammatically challenged? Not really. They aren’t exemplars of Standard English, but they’re seldom unclear, and they are appropriate in context, to authentically convey the substandard usage of uneducated speakers of English. To review, â€Å"In case you hadn’t heard, I couldn’t care less† is unimpeachable, â€Å"I do not disagree† and â€Å"He is not unattractive† are eloquent equivocations, and â€Å"I ain’t no fool† and similar constructions are entirely acceptable as expressions of dialect or of jocular usage. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of Phrases5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present TenseHow Verbs Become Adjectives

Embarrassment and impression management Research Paper

Embarrassment and impression management - Research Paper Example His view underlined the importance of communication and suggested that identity of a person is no more than a reflection of the image of the self that is communicated to a person through his/her interactions with others. According to Cooley, people see themselves reflected in each others’ eyes and through their communications and interactions with others, gain messages about habits, physical attributes and personal tastes which influences their own judgments and perceptions about self. The control and modulation of the way in which a person chooses to present himself or herself to others is referred to as impression management. Self presentation in the context of impression management has been defined by Jones and Pittman as â€Å"the shaping of† a person’s â€Å"responses to create in specific others an impression that is for one reason or another desired by the actor.† (Jones and Pittman, 1982: 233). Every person therefore controls the kind of impression s/he wants others to gain by controlling what is revealed to others, i.e, the extent of self disclosure. Goffman(1959) supplemented Cooley’s theory about impression management by offering the view that individuals present themselves as a performance, choosing which role to play at any given time. Mets and Grohskopf (2003) have summarized the management of the presentation of the self as â€Å"the process by which individuals, more or less intentionally, construct a public self that is likely to elicit certain types of attributions from others, attributions that would facilitate the achievement of some goal, usually to acquire social rewards or advantages, or to prevent loss of self esteem when future failure seems probable (p 360). As may be noted from the above views, social integration implies a high degree of attunement to others’ perceptions about oneself, when this yields a positive perception there is pride and integration of the individual is promoted, but when the individual seeks a negative reflection/perception of the self as gained from the impressions of others, there is shame and a feeling of alienation, which produced embarrassment. One notable example of embarrassment is politician Sarah Palin, who was the Vice Presidential candidate in the American Pr esidential elections of 2008. During the course of the political canvassing, Palin in a radio interview with Glenn Beck, was asked about how she would handle North Korea and responded that we would have to stand by our North Korean allies. This was yet another in a long history of gaffes, such as for example, unable to demonstrate any understanding of the separation of church and state or name a single Supreme Court case, and her claim that she was qualified to handle foreign policy because she was from Alaska which is close to Russia. In responding to the realization that she had made a serious gaffe, Palin defended herself by going on to Facebook and attacking Obama’s gaffes instead.(Stickings, 2010). It may be noted here that a considerable amount of publicity was devoted

European Union Financial Transaction Tax Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

European Union Financial Transaction Tax - Essay Example The proposed transaction tax is different from a resolution levy or bank levy. Some governments have it in mind to impose bank levy in order to insure banks against future bailouts. However, this issue remains a matter of controversy amongst member states of European Union. The executive of the European Commission was to carry out a study to determine if it is appropriate to impose the tax on European Union alone. Tobin-style taxation method was imposed on EU’s sector of finance for purposes of generating direct revenue. The European Commission also suggested reduction of levies existing in the 27 state members. The new transaction tax was to ensure that the financial sector paid its fair share since it had been under-taxed for long (Collins 2011). The proposal effectively introduces a new minimum of rating taxes and harmonizes different taxes that exist in the EU’s financial transactions. This initiative will further aid in reducing competitive single market distortion , will discourage trading activities that are risky, and it will complement measures for regulations that are meant for avoiding crises in the future (Davidson 2002). The taxes will be levied on every transaction between institutions of finance as long as any of the involved parties in the transaction is within the EU location. The targeted institutions include; insurance companies, investment firms, pension funds, banks, hedge funds amongst others. House mortgages, insurance contracts contributions, bank loans to medium and small enterprises, spot transactions of currency exchange and issuance of shares and bonds on primary market will not be subjects to taxation (Mooslechner, Schuberth and Weber 2006). However, taxes will be imposed for secondary markets bond trading (Stigler 1971). The institution of finance is required to pay the rate of tax as per its residential country regardless of the actual trade location. The tax will cover all the transactions involving Europeans firms w ithout considering where the transactions took place. In this case, the brokers transacting on behalf of clients, are in a position to pass the tax unto the client. The European Union is composed of 27 state members amongst whom some are for the implementation of the transaction tax while others like the United Kingdom are opposing it. The government of the United Kingdom threatens to use its veto power to stop the proposal implementation unless it is introduced globally. The member states that are for the implementation suggest that the taxing should be implemented within the few member states euro zone and exclude the states that are reluctant. The general public opinion is that the financial transaction tax should be implemented be it global or within the European Union. People feel that it is a high time the sector of finance helped in repairing the damage resulting from economic crisis. The commission had launched consultations with the public in order to obtain feedback from t he stakeholders on the financial sector taxation initiative. The consultations are to aid in testing assumptions, collecting evidence relating to the definitions of problems, assessing impacts of set policy options and consulting on detailed aspects of the design and feasibility of policy options. Critics are stating that, Britain would disproportionately shoulder the negative consequences of the financial tra

Check the pic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Check the pic - Assignment Example Moreover, on the canvas, some patches of earth tones are visible and this can be interpreted as streams of water. The entire image appears to be immersed in a large water body, probably an ocean. A short distance from the pale brown colored patches, there is a green patch which looks more of vegetation. The vegetation seems to be similarly immersed in water. Despite this, the vegetation looks health and easily distracts attention from the shapeless pale brown images. There is a thick line that runs vertically on the canvas dividing the canvas into two equal portions. On the left side of the canvas, there is a formless figure which looks more of a replication of the image on the right side. This indicates the artist’s prowess in utilizing negative space in creating a masterpiece that communicates the intended meaning without diluting the message or controlling the audience’s mind by providing any kind of realistic information in the image; not even the title can help in making any meaningful interpretations. I strongly believe that through PH-244 of 1953 Still wanted to express the way life was changing in America. The pale brown patches imply the hardship that Americans, particularly the blacks, were undergoing in America, and the green patch denotes a land where all suffering Americans were eagerly eyeing for. For many Americans, during the time of the painting, life had lost meaning, and Still decided to use his artistic prowess in championing for their liberation and equal treatment. Clyfford Still made the image more abstract and avoided giving any meaningful title so that it could have a large audience which could associate themselves with the occurrences in America during the 1950s. PH-244 of 1953 portrays abstraction at its best. In the second image, Still uses some red patches, black color, white and brown to create the image

Business Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Business Ethics - Essay Example The origins of the Kantian theory are from the Principles of Morals and Legislation in the year 1863. According to Kantian theory, there should be an attempt to make the world a better place and then to pursue the greatest good for an entire mass. Utility is to generate favourable impacts on the intrinsic values like, pleasure, preferences, ideas and happiness. According to Kant, the ethical values are recognized and are essential for identifying the second test of universalizabilty because more than often values are recognized in contradictions (Dimitriou et al, 2011). The rational beings are recognized as the individuals with the potentiality of the defining motives which are universally acceptable and widely recognized. The Kantian theory has provided me with significant inputs which have acted as a catalyst in the improvisation of my existing behaviour and performance in the existing organization. It has helped me to understand the significant difference between morality assumpti ons and rational choices (George, 2011). There have been various instances in my life where the solutions have stemmed out of Kantianism theory and have offered powerful moral insights and also, have helped in the reduction of the moral disagreements (Holme, 2008). The conflicts arising out of difference of opinions were resolved due to Kantianism theory (Pollock, 2011).The conflicts arising between family members due to difference in personal opinions, were settled with the guidance of Kantianism theory. The conflicts triggered by moral disagreements arising out of personated choices have been solved with the help of the guiding perspective of Kantianism theory. This thesis is utilized to refute idealism theories and states that these values within the ethical systems are of much worth. The theory lays emphasis on the fact that most of the moral values and ethical standards practiced by the society are justifiable. The unethical conduct practices in the organization are due to the failure of implementation of the moral values and standards. The permanent values cannot be embedded into the systems and is found to provide fruitfulness to the ethical theories and systems. The only minuscule difference is that it identifies the difference between the precepts behind the ethical principles and standards. However, this theory has various loopholes and lacks to serve the purpose of a guide. It is possible that an individual can face such a situation in any organization and thus, the employees can monitor the ethical system themselves. Utilitarianism Theory The Utilitarianism theory was evolved by Jeremy Bentham and suggests that a movement should focus on the right action which would serve the benefits of the mass. An action is either right or wrong, but if the action serves the welfare of a majority of the people, then it is following the guided path of the Utilitarianism concept (Roff, 2013). It is a technique which determines the moral value of an action. It help s us in judging the possibility of effects of our actions from the past on that of our present (Roff, 2013). The basic intention of this theory helps to unfold the reasons behind the implementation of moral values and ethics in a society or company. It is a systematic process to justify the moral standards of

How Insurance Fraud and Abuse Affect the Community Essay

How Insurance Fraud and Abuse Affect the Community - Essay Example Through this, the instructor will have a brief idea of the perceptions that the learners have on insurance fraud, then reframe their ideas to produce a comprehensive discussion of the fraud. Secondly, the use of questions will help the learners think. As seen in the research conducted by Schoeberlein (2009), the use of questions has been fundamental in the teaching process. In the case of insurance fraud, the instructor may ask the learners to categorize different forms of insurance and how they think the same will impact their society. The instructor may then connect the ideas of the learners with real facts that will help the learners make sense of the course contents. The questions will also help the learners synthesize, make comparisons and even make generalizations on the course contents. Since a classroom comprises of different learners as Schoeberlein (2009) indicates, and fraud involves diverse forms as Beik (2012) writes, it is the role of the instructor to design the classroom in such a manner that will attract the attention of different learners. Evidently, insurance matters are complex and sensitive especially to the overall community especially in terms of increasing the funds the taxpayer pay from an increase in the premium pay (Green, 2012). The examples of insurance fraud are also myriad as Green (2012) writes. The fraud cases range from provider fraud that involves altering medical records, member fraud that involves giving wrong information to Medicare fraud that entails billing drugs that were not used and even sale of Medicare prescription card (Green, 2012). In this context, the instructor may categorize the learners based on their abilities, and teach each of the groups according to their learning speed. For instance, the fast learners may learn on th eir own through role play, while the slow learners may learn through a step by step process with the help of their instructor.

Case Study Problem Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Case Study Problem - Assignment Example Put differently, business relations are governed by a set of legally binding rules and regulations that seek to ensure that all parties involved operate within the confines of the legal provisions. To a great extent, this has helped in maintaining sanity, ethics and morality within this sphere of specification. It is against this background that this paper provides an in depth review of the Faye’s case study. To enhance coherence and objectivity, this is done in light of the legal issues that arise from the case study. The type of law that the case study relates to is the law of contract. It is widely agreed that the law of contracts is at the center stage of most business dealings. Essentially, a contract refers to an agreement that is characterized by distinct terms between either two or more individuals or two or more entities. In this, one party promises to undertake a certain task for another party in return for a certain valuable benefit that is legally referred to as co nsideration (Atiyah, 1979, p. 67). For a contract to have a legal standing, there are certain factual elements that it has to contain. These include; an offer, the acceptance of the respective offer that culminates in meeting of the involved minds, a definite promise by the accepting party to perform the respective task, an invaluable consideration, an event or time that allows the particular parties to meet their commitments, performance of the respective task and the terms as well as conditions that govern the respective performance. There are different types of contracts that are suitable for particular scenarios. One type of contract that is apparent in the case under review includes the publishing contract. In this respect, there is a contract between Faye, who is the writer and Merrymac & Co., the publisher. Faye requires Merrymac & Co. to publish a book for her. Another type of contract from the case scenario pertains to the author of the book contract. According to Barnett ( 2003, p. 72), this is offered by the publisher in instances where the writer or client is the author of the book as opposed to being the illustrator or artist. Relative conditions in this regard would refer to Faye as the actual author of the entire book, inclusive of the illustrations presented therein. As aforementioned, an offer is one of the critical and factual elements of a contract. From a legal point of view, an offer constitutes a demonstration of the willingness of a party to enter into a certain bargain that has already been made in a bid to justify another party and make it understand that the former’s assent to the respective bargain is accepted and would be concluded accordingly (Atiyah, 1979, p. 83). In other words, an offer refers to a clear expression of willingness of one party to contract under specific terms that are presented by the other party with the view that if the respective offer is accepted, the former party would be bound by the contract. In this regard, there is dire need for acceptance of the offer as it is. For instance, A offers to publish and market a book for B. B on the other hand accepts the publishing and declines the marketing aspect. In the preceding scenario, B has not accepted the offer as it is; rather, he has offered a counter offer to what was initially offered. In light of the problem case study, an offer

How Insurance Fraud and Abuse Affect the Community Essay

How Insurance Fraud and Abuse Affect the Community - Essay Example Through this, the instructor will have a brief idea of the perceptions that the learners have on insurance fraud, then reframe their ideas to produce a comprehensive discussion of the fraud. Secondly, the use of questions will help the learners think. As seen in the research conducted by Schoeberlein (2009), the use of questions has been fundamental in the teaching process. In the case of insurance fraud, the instructor may ask the learners to categorize different forms of insurance and how they think the same will impact their society. The instructor may then connect the ideas of the learners with real facts that will help the learners make sense of the course contents. The questions will also help the learners synthesize, make comparisons and even make generalizations on the course contents. Since a classroom comprises of different learners as Schoeberlein (2009) indicates, and fraud involves diverse forms as Beik (2012) writes, it is the role of the instructor to design the classroom in such a manner that will attract the attention of different learners. Evidently, insurance matters are complex and sensitive especially to the overall community especially in terms of increasing the funds the taxpayer pay from an increase in the premium pay (Green, 2012). The examples of insurance fraud are also myriad as Green (2012) writes. The fraud cases range from provider fraud that involves altering medical records, member fraud that involves giving wrong information to Medicare fraud that entails billing drugs that were not used and even sale of Medicare prescription card (Green, 2012). In this context, the instructor may categorize the learners based on their abilities, and teach each of the groups according to their learning speed. For instance, the fast learners may learn on th eir own through role play, while the slow learners may learn through a step by step process with the help of their instructor.

Capitalism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Capitalism - Essay Example The present day Dubai is capitalist and this is because the profit motive controls all undertakings and the royal family enjoys most of the profits acquired from the production of various commodities. For example, the Dubai royal family controls most of the oil reserves in the country and they fund other sectors of the economy in order to gain from different areas and build up wealth. In my work environment, which is the court, capitalism exists and an example of this is that there are minorities who control the legal structures and they can get away with crimes through unethical practices. There are various aspects of welfare state in the UAE and these include the government providing free education and access to funds for development purposes. The country also engages in helping its neighbors all in the effort of providing benefits to people all over the world. The UAE was not capitalist 100 years ago, and this can be explained by the fact that people could help each other to survive and even at times for free. People traded with various items such as fish, and this was not for the profit motive, but to work together in order to survive. However, this has now changed and everything is done with the motive of earning a profit. I believe that despite capitalism being just in that one gets what they work for, it is evil and people should help each other to survive and not be greedy in order to accrue wealth as others suffer from poverty. Everyone has a right to survive and exploiting others to amass more wealth as others suffer in poverty is

Brand extension for leveraging brand equity

Brand extension for leveraging brand equity Brand extensions are one of the most popular strategies for leveraging brand equity. By launching new products under popular brand names, firms hope that consumers will respond more favorably to the new offering, due to their familiarity with the parent brand, positive feelings toward the parent brand, and positive attribute and non-attribute associations they have with the parent brand. A brand is the identity of a specific product, service, or business. Brand extension denotes to the corporate activity in which companies bring in new products, new product variants or product improvements by leveraging the brand equity of the existing parent brand. It is believed that compared to launching a new product under a new brand name, brand extensions can increase the efficiency of promotional efforts, improve access to distribution channels, and reduce consumers perceived risk of purchasing a product or service (Keller, 2002). Another major factor for which Companies prefer to use brand extension is lower cost. Introducing a new brand into consumer market can be relatively much higher than introducing new product or product variants under the same brand name. This cost can range above millions of rupees and can not guarantee of any success. So instead of launching entirely a new product, most companies prefer brand extension. Successful examples such as Diet Pepsi and Diet Coke benefited from the brand franchise of their parent products. Coca-Cola introduced six extensions and captured a larger market share than the original brand. For example, Cokes extension, Cherry Coke, was successful even without considerable advertisement. On the other hand, the potential of brand extension problems can ranger from failure of the brand or partial failure such as brand Dilution and brand cannibalism. Instead of success, the failed extension might tarnish the image and reduce the market share of the parent product. Associations that are unique to the brand, strongly held, and favorably held, are vital for success. However, since the specific associations a consumer holds are dependent on personal values and individual purchase situations, managers must learn what they are and when they operate. For example in case of new Coke, Coca Cola did not pay attention to what the core brand meant to stand for. It mainly focused on the taste and thought that the taste is the only factor which consumers are looking for. This concept was wrong. Coca cola was unable to identify the attachment of the consumer with the original coke before launching New coke, even though Coca Cola spent a lot of money on conducting research before launc hing New coke. Brand dilution occurs when consumers loss the original grasp of brand perception on their minds and no longer associate the brand with a specific product. For instance, Sunsilk may experience brand dilution by loosing its strong identity of hair care and shampoo range by running a number of different categories like mashed potatoes, powdered milk and soups. Too broad varieties of product categories run under same brand can frustrate consumers in thinking which variations of products that actually fit to their perceptions. For Example, too many ranges of Sunsilk shampoo include Sunsilk black, pink, white, yoghurt, dandruff can make customers confused in buying a suitable product which actually fit to their needs. Even though todays consumers are selective in their buying habits and expect innovation, the reality of brand extension success is still low. This is because most of new product extensions are not unique and do not satisfy consumer needs. There are some factors that lead to b rand dilution. Among those include perception in consumer minds comparing between parent brand and product extension, level of familiarity with parent brand, fit level transferred from parent brand to extension and consumers perception to new product. Level of brand loyalty shown by a customer can switch to radical degree for brand extension case. When loyalty and level of familiarity with parent brand is high, new product extension failure may greatly diminish trust level to entire brand portfolio. In turn, low familiarity to brand affects low dilution when product failure occurs in new extension. As per early research regarding brand extension leads to brand dilution, Aaker and Keller (1990) found insignificant evidence between unsuccessful brand extension leads to brand dilution. Conversely, in a research Loken and Roedder-John (1993) pointed that inconsistency of product and brand beliefs may lead to brand dilution. Brand dilution and failure of brand can occur when consumer find it difficult to associate the extension with the parent brand, a lack of similarity and familiarity and discrepancy between Integrated marketing communication messages. Brand extension is a strategy which most of the companies are using, to minimize risk associated with introducing a entirely new brand and maximize their profits from the new brand. But in some of the cases brand extension fails, and the reason is the weak brand equity of the parent brand that bear upon the success of the brand extension. If the equity of parent brand is strong, brand extension can be successful and vice versa. Both Functional and non functional attributes of a brand can harm and eventually dilute the equity of an integrated oriented brand, which means due to the weak brand equity, brand dilution can occur across the parent brand. Such kind of failures of extensions can make customers to create a negative association with the parent brand or even with the brand family. These failures can also agitate and blur the original identity and meaning of a brand even positioning as well. Managers seem to be aware of the dangers and benefits of extending their brand franchise. Yet the number of failed extensions in the past few years indicates that some refinement in our knowledge of the brand extension process is needed. What factors determine whether or not a brand extension will be successful? The most important factor identified by prior research is perceived fit. Consumers respond more favorably if they are able to perceive a fit between the extension and the parent brand and this leads to the success of the brand extension. Conversely, If consumers are unable to perceive a fit between extension and the parent brand, the brand extension might become a failure and may lead to brand dilution. According to Martinez and de Chernatony (2004) brand image has two types: the general brand image and the product brand image. According to them there would be no negative impact on general brand image if the brand image is strong. For example, Nike or Sony. Dilution effect would be more on product image instead of general brand image. Therefore, mostly the customers would stick to their beliefs about the parent brand with respect to its attributes and feelings. Nevertheless their study shows that brand image can be diluted by brand extension, and beliefs and association with the parent brand can also be changed. In developing countries like Pakistan it is even more convenient for multinationals to try brand extensions. The reason is that most of the multinational companies come from developed countries like America, United Kingdom and Japan. Products from these countries enjoy positive country of origin effect in mind of consumers due to their previous track record in terms of customer satisfaction. This as a result lowers the amount of money spend over awareness creation and since they already enjoy good market and media presence, therefore more affordable for them to launch brand extensions in Pakistan. For instance, Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited (PTC) which is a part of British American Tobacco who sells their brands to millions of consumers in 180 countries worldwide. They were the foremost brands entering Pakistan as early as 1947. Ever since then they have launched new reputed brand extensions such as Benson Hedges, Embassy, Gold Flake, Gold Leaf and recently Capstan brand of cigarettes (Business recorder.com). STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM The failure rates of new product over the last few decades have increased tremendously; therefore, firms have resorted to brand extensions, because of inherent advantages including its acceptability, low promotion cost and comparatively lesser degree of failures. Despite these advantages, the failure rate of brand extension has remained significant in the last one decade. Therefore, the researchers have been focusing in identifying the factors that consumers use for evaluating the brand extension, or the factors that are contributes towards the success or failure of brand extensions. The focus of this study is to identify whether the brand extension is favorable or lead to brand dilution. Researches on brand extensions have focused mainly over consumer evaluation of brand extensions. However as a matter of fact consumers generally cannot assess brand extensions in undifferentiated manner (Aaker and Keller, 1990, Keller and Aaker, 1992; Dacin and Smith, 1994; Smith and Andres, 1995). In spite of the extensive body of knowledge on consumer evaluations of brand extensions, very little or negligible attention has been paid as to what is brand or marketing managers view point over brand extensions strategy ( Nijssen and Agustin, 1999). The lack of brand managers view point input in the literature is odd as their analysis of consumer and competitors reactions coupled with their personal preferences are a fairly good indicator of success of a brand extension strategy. Therefore along with consumers perception about brand extension, viewpoint of brand managers of couple of companies will also be considered in this thesis. Over the past couple of decades we have witnessed a great number of companies both domestic and multinationals engaging in brand extensions in Pakistan. For example a few of the well known domestic brand extensions deals in retailing and fashion (Chen One Pvt Ltd), health care products (Z-Jans Pvt Ltd), Medicam tooth paste and Sweetener (Medicam Pvt Ltd Pakistan), Rafhan pudding mix and Custard (Rafhan Best Food Ltd), National Pickel, Salt and Spices (National foods Ltd), Haleeb Milk Pack, Yogurt and Cream (Haleeb Foods Ltd Pakistan). As far as multinationals are concerned Nestle and Uniliver Pakistan have carried out most of the brand extensions. For example, Nestle (Mineral Water, Milk Pack, Cream Yogurt), Uniliver has brand extensions (Lifebuoy Shampoo Soap, Express Surf, Colgate toothpaste, Walls Ice-cream). In this relation a study of brand extensions from brand managers perspective is important to find out successful practices which are prerequisites for a brand extension in Pakistan. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The significance of this thesis is to explore the use of brand extension strategies in the Pakistan context. Whether the strategy of brand extension is favorable or not, or due to brand extension, brands gets diluted or cannibalized? Since brand extensions is one of the most popular strategies for leveraging brand equity, this study will also focus on brand extension effect on brand equity. This thesis will focus on brand extension strategies of products from various companies which include Z-Jans Pvt Ltd, Haleeb Foods Ltd Pakistan, Servis Shoes, Lakson Group, and Chen one, Nestle, Sunsilk, Pakola and Fair Lovely. Various companies insights regarding brand extension will help us to study favorability or unfavorability of brand extension in a well manner. We will try to achieve this purpose by answering the following research questions. Brand extension is more beneficial than launching new products with respect to customers know how about the parent brand. Brand extension is beneficial in Terms of Consumer Knowledge and Consumer Trust about the quality and association of Parent brand? Brand extension is beneficial in terms of refreshing Parent brand. Brand extension can result in dilution of Parent Brand. Brand extension can lower the credibility of Parent Brand. Brand extension can result in cannibalization of Parent Brand Sales Brand extension can be a disaster and may lead to brand dilution if extension is not fit (Similarity and consistency) as per the concept of Parent brand. Moderating factors like brand quality, customer know how, customer certainty and brand equity affect brand extension? By answering above question, we will come to know whether brand extension is favorable or it leads to brand dilution, and whether brand extension is favorable for those companies who prefer extension and are involved in brand extension from couple of decades. This thesis will be beneficial in indentifying the success rate or failure rate of brand extension of those companies which have been chosen for this thesis. SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study is carried out from a viewpoint of brand extension in our home country (Pakistan). The research conducted for this thesis is based on limited and chosen product category and Another constraint confronted during the course of research was the fact that majority of multinationals (MNEs) formulate brand extension strategies at their head quarters abroad. Finally, it was learnt that since the concept of brand manager in Pakistan is in infancy stages therefore normally it is the marketing manager who carries out the responsibilities of brand manager when it comes to brand extensions. DEFINITIONS Brand According to (American Marketing Association 2007 brand is: A name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition. Brand extension Using an established name of one product class for entering another product class (Aaker 1991). Using a successful brand name for launching a new or modified product or line is known as brand extension strategy (Kotler 1991). An expansion strategy in which firms use already established and successful brand name for introducing a new or modified product (Kotler Armstrong 1990). Using an established brand name for introducing a new product into product category which is new to the company is known as franchise strategy (Hartman Price Duncan 1990). Product Line Extension A product line extension is the use of an established products brand name for a new item in the same product category. Line Extensions takes place when a company stretches its product line and introduces extra items in the same product category under the same brand name for example new nips, forms, colors, added ingredients, package sizes. This is a little different from brand extension in which a new product is introduced in an entirely new category, While Line extension occurs when the company increases its product line outside its current chain. Product line can also be stretched as down market stretch and up market stretch. Brand Dilution Brand dilution is the subverting of a brand though its overutilization. This often happens when brand extension is done poorly. Price cut can also bring a brand down and can damage the brand, even though it increases the volume of the product. Brand dilution can be a severe headache for companies that rely mostly on their strong brand for higher profits. Companies who possess strong brand image wishes to leverage its equity to sell and earn as much profit as they can, but the same strategy to leverage a brand equity can also lead to damage a brand name and eventually result in brand dilution. Brand Cannibalization Brand cannibalization pertains to a decrease in volume, revenue of sale and diminution of market share of a product which results from the introduction of new products by the same producer. For example, when diet coke was introduced by Coca Cola, sales for original coke diminished, but eventually it led in expansion of diet soft drink market. Brand Equity Brand equity is a relationship between customers and brands, resulting in a profit to be realized at a future date (Wood 2000). Kotler and Armstrong (1996) were of the opinion that measuring brand equity is a tedious job. Nevertheless, a powerful brand means high brand equity that helps in achieving higher brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, and strong brand associations. Some of the major benefits of brand equity are brand awareness and consumer loyalty which helps in reducing marketing costs. Brand is an important equity; therefore, it should be carefully preserved by adopting strategies that would help in maintaining or improving brand awareness, perceived brand quality and positive associations. (Kotler Armstrong 1996) Brand Association Brand association refers to level by which a brand is recognized by a consumer in a deep manner. If a brand is deep seated in the mind of the consumer in a positive manner, it will be recognized positively. Brand associations are the properties of a brand which consumers recall whenever brand is talked about. Consumer relates a brand name with its implicit or explicit meanings. Brand association can also be termed as the level to which a specific product/service is acknowledged amongst its product or service family. When choosing a brand name, it is important that the name selected must reinforce an essential dimensions and specification or benefit association that forms the position of a product.