Rabindranath Tagore Story & Poem Essay

A Nandalal Bose illustration for â€Å"The Hero†, part of the 1913 Macmillan release of The Crescent MoonThe â€Å"Sadhana† period, 1891–1895, was among Tagore’s most fecund, yielding more than half the stories contained in the three-volume Galpaguchchha, itself a group of eighty-four stories. [18] They reflect upon Tagore’s surroundings, on modern and fashionable ideas, and on mind puzzles. Tagore associated his earliest stories, such as those of the â€Å"Sadhana† period, with an exuberance of vitality and spontaneity; these traits were cultivated by zamindar Tagore’s life in villages such as Patisar, Shajadpur, and Shilaida. Seeing the common and the poor, he examined their lives with a depth and feeling singular in Indian literature up to that point. [79] In â€Å"The Fruitseller from Kabul†, Tagore speaks in first person as a town-dweller and novelist who chances upon the Afghani seller. He channels the longing of those trapped in mundane, hardscrabble Indian urban life, giving play to dreams of a different existence in the distant and wild mountains: â€Å"There were autumn mornings, the time of year when kings of old went forth to conquest; and I, never stirring from my little corner in Calcutta, would let my mind wander over the whole world. At the very name of another country, my heart would go out to it †¦ I would fall to weaving a network of dreams: the mountains, the glens, the forest †¦. â€Å". [80] Many of the other Galpaguchchha stories were written in Tagore’s Sabuj Patra period (1914–1917; also named for one of Tagore’s magazines). [18] A 1913 illustration by Asit Kumar Haldar for â€Å"The Beginning†, a prose-poem in The Crescent MoonTagore’s Golpoguchchho (Bunch of Stories) remains among Bengali literature’s most popular fictional works, providing subject matter for many successful films and theatrical plays. Satyajit Ray’s film Charulata was based upon Tagore’s controversial novella, Nastanirh (The Broken Nest). In Atithi (also made into a film), the young Brahmin boy Tarapada shares a boat ride with a village zamindar. The boy reveals that he has run away from home, only to wander around ever since. Taking pity, the zamindar adopts him and ultimately arranges his marriage to the zamindar’s own daughter. However, the night before the wedding, Tarapada runs off—again. Strir Patra (The Letter from the Wife) is among Bengali literature’s earliest depictions of the bold emancipation of women. The heroine Mrinal, the wife of a typical patriarchical Bengali middle class man, writes a letter while she is travelling (which constitutes the whole story). It details the pettiness of her life and struggles; she finally declares that she will not return to her husband’s home with the statement Amio bachbo. Ei bachlum: â€Å"And I shall live. Here, I live†. Haimanti assails Hindu marriage and the dismal lifelessness of married Bengali women, hypocrisies plaguing the Indian middle classes, and how Haimanti, a sensitive young woman, must—due to her sensitiveness and free spirit—sacrifice her life. In the last passage, Tagore directly attacks the Hindu custom of glorifying Sita’s attempted self-immolation as a means of appeasing her husband Rama’s doubts. Musalmani Didi examines Hindu-Muslim tensions and, in many ways, embodies the essence of Tagore’s humanism. Darpaharan exhibits Tagore’s self-consciousness, describing a fey young man harboring literary ambitions. Though he loves his wife, he wishes to stifle her own literary career, deeming it unfeminine. Tagore himself, in his youth, seems to have harbored similar ideas about women. Darpaharan depicts the final humbling of the man as he acknowledges his wife’s talents. As do many other Tagore stories, Jibito o Mrito equips Bengalis with a ubiquitous epigram: Kadombini moriya proman korilo she more nai—†Kadombini died, thereby proving that she hadn’t†.

First Day of Classes

A9927139 English Writing March 13, 2013 First Day of Classes (draft 1) Throughout the first twenty years in most of our life, we have attended the first day of classes several times. This time, why not abandon the ancient way and be only one of its kinds. Early in the morning, students come to school half an hour before the bell rings. Step in to the school gate with a little part of our shirt out, so the prefect can catch us for not tucking the shirts in. The school petrol will definitely have a tremendous impression on us on the first day.Then, once students enter their classrooms, look around the existing mammal in the class, gaze at new classmates appearance and judge a book by its cover to decide whom we want to become friend with. Obviously we do not want to have a new amiga who is pretty but dumb, but at least it is better than without covering and being stupid. During the class, remember not to show off your talent and ability too early, and wait until the last minute. If no one else in the class can answer the question, then go for it.This is how our image of intelligent is formed; hopefully the rest of the class will praise you as Athena. Comes the break time, this is the perfect timing for us to acquaint new friends. We can see herds of pupils gather around and start giggling and gossiping. Try to start a conversation with peers we desire to be friends with and stick to them for the first few days. Friend’s accompany gives a sense of safety. After repeating the last two steps, there comes the end of the day. Farewell to our new friends and wish us a bright tomorrow.

Charlie Gordon

Charlie Gordon is the hero of a flower for Algernon. Charlie is a 33-year-old adult with mental retardation. Especially in a family who struggled to adapt to his illness and experienced a very difficult childhood, he wants to be very smart. Charlie has a good attitude towards changing his life and will make every effort to complete his clever job. Charlie underwent surgery to improve his intelligence. It was done only with the mouse, especially the mouse named Algernon. In the book by Daniel Keys' Flower for Algernon there is a chance to become a genius through surgery for the mentally disabled person Charlie Gordon. Charlie Gordon is the subject of the experiment to increase intelligence. The experiment was successful, Charlie Gordon became a genius. However, he has many emotional problems and understands how serious he is receiving. Finally, as he got dull again, could Charlie Gordon get a better surgery? It is not well understood. When Charlie was stupid, he was very happy. He thi nks he has friends, everyone likes him. But when he got better, he noticed his so-called friends were not his friends. He said: When I am late, I have a lot of friends, now I do not have anyone.Oh, I know a lot of people.It is a lot of people.This is my friend I do not mean anything to me, what it means (p.174) Charlie Gordon's brave Charlie Gordon is a hero, regardless of wisdom, for his bravery. Charlie's intelligence is slow, but his courage depends on what he intellects. I said that I was taken care of because I did not have anything, I am very strong and always fine, my rabbit's leg is next to me 11) Author Daniel Case, Charlie's obstacles are shown using misspelled words and highlights

Managed Care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Managed Care - Essay Example Reference is made to the context and the forms of managed care, as described through the literature and the relevant empirical research. Furthermore, the critical examination of the current activities of managers in health care organizations has led to the assumption that these activities can be influenced by the policies related to managed care but the power of these policies to introduce radical changes in these activities is not standardized, being related to the conditions in the internal and external organizational environment and the personal perceptions/ background of the individuals (managers) involved. In order to identify the potential influence of managed care policies on the activities of managers in health care organizations, it would be necessary to refer primarily to the elements of the managed care framework, as it has been extensively developed across USA. Different approaches have been used in order to describe managed care, probably because of the extension of the particular framework. In accordance with Rickel and Wise (2000) managed care can be described as a framework ‘establishing networks of service providers who agree to the conditions of a contract and choose providers based on the cost, quality and range of services they provide’ (Rickel and Wise 53). ... work is described in the study of Edmunds (1997); in accordance with the above study, managed care ‘imposes limitation on utilization of health care services by specifying which practitioners and which services are covered – often, also the number of allowable visits’ (Edmunds 41). In other words, managed care involves in the critical examination of a case (referring to the patient visiting a health services organization) and the referral of the case to appropriate specialists who have the skills and the experience to handle it. Of course, there are chances that the health problem of a patient can be effectively addressed at the first level of the network – i.e. by the primary care provider. Through the above process, the costs related to the health care services are reduced, in the terms that unnecessary expenses on health are avoided, a fact that can significantly benefit the patients but also the state – in cases where medical expenses are covered by the state. From another point of view, the time and the resources spent on each case are appropriately filtered, increasing the effectiveness of health care organizations, which, through the managed care plans can handle more cases, i.e. they are able to respond to the needs of more patients, a fact that increases the effectiveness of the entire health care system. In order to understand the potential influence of the policies of managed care plans on the activities of managers in health care services organizations (HSO), it would be necessary to describe the environment in which these plans are developed; it would be also necessary to refer to the participants, at the level that their decisions and initiatives could affect the activities of managers in HSOs. In accordance with McKenzie and Pinger (2008) the

General Principles of Law. The Law of Contract Essay

General Principles of Law. The Law of Contract - Essay Example In the contract law, mistakes are classified as non est factum, unilateral and bilateral. Non est factum relates to written contracts, where a party to the contract, claims that the contract document is not the document that it had signed. Mistakes constitute a very difficult and complicated area of the law of contract and relate to the time of formation of the contract. There are two types of mistakes, agreement mistakes take place when either the parties are at cross purposes or one party is mistaken and this is known to the other party. In Smith v. Hughes, 1871, the plaintiff sold oats to the defendant who believed, mistakenly, that these were old. The court upheld the defendant's decision not to accept these oats. The other type of mistake is the common mistake, in this both parties contract on the basis of a mutual mistake and the courts in certain circumstances set aside the contract. In Bell v. Lever Brothers, 1932, The Lever Bros Ltd appointed Bell as the managing director wi th the service condition that he could not make any secret profits. Bell breached this agreement and made secret profits; in the meanwhile, the company made Bell redundant and paid for the same. Later on the company came to know that Bell had made secret profits and proceeded legally to recover the redundancy payment. The Court of Appeal accepted the Company's plea but the House of Lords held that the company was not entitled to have this amount returned as the mistake was not sufficiently fundamental. Under common law mistakes are voidable contracts. Unilateral mistakes are those in which one party is mistaken and the other party is aware of this. Bilateral mistakes are those in which both parties are mistaken. The forms of bilateral mistakes are mutual, when both the parties to the contract are mistaken about different things. On the other hand bilateral mistakes are termed as common when both the parties are mistaken about the same thing. Mistakes as to the terms of a contract imply that the presence of a mistake in respect of the terms of a contract makes the contract void. The essential ingredients of such mistakes are that one party is mistaken and this is known to the other party. Such contracts are deemed to be void. In the case Webster V. Cecil, 1861, the defendant rejected an offer of 2000 and subsequently sent an offer letter to the plaintiff in which, he mistakenly offered to sell the property for 1250 instead of 2250. The plaintiff was aware of this mistake and when he tried to enforce the contract the court rejected his claim stating that the contract was void due to mistake of terms. Mistake as to identity are those in which a party to a contract impersonates another person in order to obtain goods or services, preferentially. There are two situations where the law recognizes the mistake as to identity. First, situations where the parties are face to face while making the contract and second, situations where the parties are not face to face and are at a distance while making the contract. In such situations the contract will be deemed to be void for mistake, if the plaintiff is able to establish that the other party's identity was vital to the contract and if the party can establish that it was dealing with a different party which actually exists.

My own goal of the life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

My own goal of the life - Essay Example I choose swimming because I would like to get better at it and I generally enjoy it, I have informed my roommate of this plan and asked her to act as ‘sponsor’ throughout the eight weeks as she actively participates in sports. Achieving physical fitness will be measured when I participate in a charitable marathon that is three weeks away. Improvement of my swimming skills will be measured by my speed in completing laps as I go along; and in six weeks I plan on participating in a swimming competition here at school. Behavioral wise, I hope to develop discipline since in order to achieve this I must remain consistent and committed till the eight weeks are over. I have bought a sport watch that will help me monitor my heart rate as I jog and swim, this will provide a reflection of any improvements in terms of physical fitness. In the past, I have been unable to regularly work out as I am lazy and find it difficult to wake up early enough. In addition, I find myself eating a lot of junk food in between classes as a way of passing time. With this new plan, I hope to utilize my free time in between classes or over the weekends to improve my swimming and tone my body through non-cardiovascular exercises at the gym. Moreover, I have sought support from my roommate who promises to ‘push’ me when I get lazy, My roommate has also agreed to record frequency of my retarding tendencies that keep me aware of what is holding me back. Such tendencies include eating junk food and sleeping late to watch movies that prevent me from waking up early enough to take a jog before classes or group discussions commence. It has been four weeks since I started this life change plan; I have been able to go for the jog for twenty of the thirty days, and swimming for six. The four days I failed to undertake any of the exercises happened because I went for a friend’s

Business across the globe Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Business across the globe - Essay Example Thus, advertisements through myriad media have become critical factors for creating awareness about the products. In the current times, the firms are using innovative approach to advertise their merchandize as it provides them with greater leverage to reach larger customer segment. While sponsorship of events have become hugely attractive, other media channels, especially unconventional mode of publicity like use of public transport, street plays etc are being used on a regular basis by the firms. The exemplary example of British Airways is a case in point which has used underground tubes and local trains. The soft music that plays in the trains and underground tubes is sponsored by the British Airways. In America, the train tickets and bus tickets are used by different companies as advertisement platform. These types of new channels are not only cost effective but they are also able to create awareness about the company and its products across huge database of prospective customers. The wide scope of alternative media has therefore, huge potential to penetrate and create a credible and long term market position for the goods and services of the firms.

Crime 3396 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Crime 3396 - Assignment Example People are becoming vigilant in protecting themselves against the adversities of e-crime. The first thing is to educate them about the basic requirements of online safety. Second, I will advice them to set up basic protection against malicious software such as viruses and spyware in their computers. If they use computers for transactions, I will help them to install security features to ensure safety of their transactions and information. The consequences of e-crime include financial losses, computer destructions, business interruptions, theft of valuable and confidential data, and exposing children to objectionable sites such as pornography. The e-crime units investigate and provide legal and prosecutorial support for technology-based crimes. The units also develops and implement training programs for judges, law enforcement officers, the public and prosecutors on the necessity of strong information security and being aware of rising e-crimes. Yes, I studied extensively about e-crime during my undergraduate degree. I would suggest that curriculum developers to consider developing computer-based courses that particularly expose children to aspects of e-crime across all academic

Role and purpose of HRM Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Role and purpose of HRM - Article Example In the rapidly commoditizing PC industry, Dell continued to be profitable with its direct selling approach while older rivals like HP struggled. Sun Microsystems, arguably one of the most innovative companies in the computer industry, found itself in deep trouble. Clearly what works and what does not in business remains as unpredictable as ever while some seemingly mundane businesses managed by 'ordinary' people rewarded share holders handsomely, many 'high-tech' businesses which showed great potential when they started off, folded up. Indeed the changing environment and the speed of changes posing greater challenges to organizations. Changes in every aspect of the organizations have increased the uncertainties. Discussion: Changes in technologies have increased access accessibility, visibility and connection. The connected world is smaller, changing rapidly and has more open information customer have become increasingly segmented and persnickety. Investors have become increasingly attended to and actively concerned not about financial results, but intangibles. Employees represent increasingly diverse demographic backgrounds including not only race and gender but personal preferences, global and cultural backgrounds and orientation to work, competitors come from both traditional large global players and increasingly smaller innovators. And all of these factors occur in the context of global business organizations where what happens in one corner of the world affects business throughout the world. Many spend enormous amounts of time specifying these trends and their implications on work organizations. Most of these trends are outside the control of anyone individual or any one organization. They occur in both predictable ways. They affect all aspects of work organizations from how to fund an organization to how to position the firm in customer minds and how to engineer and deliver products. Apart from affecting other aspects of the organization, changes affect the human resources. To be effective in this boundless world, organization members need to adapt to customers, systems and techniques different from their own. Human resources must ensure that employees with the appropriate mix of knowledge, skills and cultural adaptability are available to handle any work assignment with in the organization. HRM must also develop mechanisms that will help diversified employees work together. It is the duty of the overall HR managers to make every effort to acclimate different groups to each other, finding ways to build teams and thus reduce conflict. It is increasingly being realized now by working organizations that due to rapid changes in technologies, world moves towards bord erless economies, and as businesses become global, one of the successful business is to understand and manage its human resources strategically and competently. Today HRM has acquired and even more central role in building sustainable competitive advantage for the work organizations. As a result of these developments, HRM has become a major thrust area where, the focus is on synergizing and propelling organizations to seamlessly integrate with the macro environment changing environment and hyper competitive situation forced work organizations to adopt quickly and HR systems and roles play vital role in surviving in such situations. The traditional HRM has changes a lot due to change in macro environment of business, Many

Love Medicine Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Love Medicine Research - Essay Example At the same time it assures a reader about the fact that love is the most important aspect of life to identify and relish the felling of fulfillment as human beings. The element of hope is prevalent in the story and the optimism that has been reflected in the story has been churned from interaction between the characters as well as through their actions. Lipsha Morrissey’s life, since his birth, was never a fairy tale story and he has been saved from her mother who wanted to kill him. In that way he has never been lucky enough to feel the charm of parental love. However under the guardianship of Grandma and Grandpa Kashpaw he realized that love and that love is one of the main sources for him to make him feel that he is complete as a human being. As Grandpa Kashpaw achieved several things within his span of life always had a strong influence over Lipsha. However, since Grandpa’s mind was gradually failing it stated all the problems and conflicts but he never seemed to have any worry about that thing and it seems as if welcomed it, â€Å"I’m getting into my second childhood.† â€Å"I been chosen for it. I couldnâ€⠄¢t say no.† (Erdrich, 109) Though both Grandma and Grandpa never escaped from the bond of their mutual love but during his momentary fit of lunacy his elopement with Lulu Lamartine has never been appreciated by Grandma. Consequently, Lipsha was assigned with the responsibility to prepare a love medicine. (Erdrich, 116) In the context of preparing love medicine for both of them we not only see dominance of hope in Lipsha’s quest but at the same time conspicuous elements of Native American rituals have also been explicitly presented by the narrator. Presentation of such ritualistic elements has intentionally been introduced by the author to heighten the element of optimism in the story. Lipsha have always felt that without the mutual love both from

Businesses and organizations Essay Example for Free

Businesses and organizations Essay â€Å"Businesses and organizations use various types of information systems to support the many processes needed to carry out their business functions. Each of these information systems has a particular purpose or focus, and each has a life of its own. This â€Å"life of its own† concept is called the systems development life cycle or SDLC, and it includes the entire process of planning, building, deploying, using, updating, and maintaining an information system. The development of a new information system involves several different, but related activities. These activities, or phases, usually include planning, analysis, design, implementation, and maintenance/support. In other words, SDLC is a conceptual model that guides project management in information system development.†(Wikibooks) The life cycle starts with preliminary investigation which all the available information needed for the system elements and allocation of the requirements to the software are gathered. Next is the analysis of the requirements. This involves the analyst understanding the functions of the software which is required for the system based off the gathered information. Then is the system design in which the analyst designs and finalizes the best suited design for the system. The difficult step of system coding or development comes next which is where the analyst translates the design and programs into code for the computer. After the previous steps next are the testing phase where the system is testing to see if it works as intended or not. Then is implementation where the system is given to the customer and feedback is returned to insure the program works as intended. And finally system maintenance is the last step, here the analyst insures the system remains working within the proper bounds and functions appropriately and fixes any problems. I think this relates to database development in a number of ways. One is how it starts, gathering information and finding the intent of the system. Next you must plan out how to set up the database, by determining the vital information. Then comes the minor details. You set up your database fill in some test information insure it works properly and make needed adjustments. Finally you implement your database design where in it works properly you merely maintain and fix any errors. 2. Look up â€Å"Requirement Analysis† on the web. What kinds of topic headin g do you find? I found headlines like â€Å"Business Requirement Analysis†,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Software Requirement Analysis† and â€Å"Five common errors in requirements analysis (and how to avoid them)† References Wikibooks Systems Analysis and Design/Introduction- Open book for an open world http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Systems_Analysis_and_Design/Introduction

Recommendations for Philippines Health Services

Recommendations for Philippines Health Services QUESTION: How do we improve quality of health services in the Philippines as a whole? What efforts have been taken and what are the challenges. ANSWER: In developing countries like Philippines, quality of health services has been an issue. Though the Philippine government provide projects on how to improve quality of care, still there are people who encountered problems on how to seek medical attention and treatment. It is said that the deficiencies in quality of care represent neither the failure of professional compassion nor necessarily a lack of resources. They result from gaps in knowledge, inappropriate applications of available technology, or the inability of organizations to change (Berwick 1989). These are just some examples of factors affecting the quality services that needs to be given attention. Local health care systems may have failed to align practitioner incentives and objectives, to measure clinical practice, or to link quality improvement to better health outcomes. Improving clinical practice and quality of care should take place over months and not years so as to achieve economic growth, educational advancement o r new technology (Improving Quality of Care in Developing Countries by John W. Peabody, Mario M. Taguiwalo, David A. Robalino and Julio Frenk). Health systems provide health actions or activities in order to improve or maintain health. The government has set some policies and programs that will help Filipino people but it is not implemented well. In December 2011, by an article from the USAID/Philippines, United States Agency International Development (USAID) has conducted a pilot demonstration of citizen participation in health governance from June 2009 to August 2010. Through improvements in health governance at the facility level, the goal was to demonstrate increase in the utilized MCH services. Health Systems 20/20 supported the establishment of facility-based governance committees that focus on improving quality of health services: Quality Assurance Partnership Committees (QAPCs) located at the three sites in Mindanao. The Quality Assurance Partnership Committees (QAPCs) is a governance mechanism that brings together local leaders and government officials, health service providers, civil society, and community representatives to address issues related to access, availability, and quality of maternal and child health related services in local facilities. The QAPC was envisioned to provide oversight and problem solving actions to improve maternal and child health services in the three pilot facilities. Through a grant from Health Systems 20/20, the Gerry Roxas Foundation (GRF), a local NGO, facilitated the introduction, organization, and functioning of QAPCs in the three demonstration sites, with enthusiastic support from elected officials, health facility managers, and loca l officials. The three sites were:. the Rural Health Unit in the municipality of Lopez Jaena, the City Health Office in Oroquieta City, and the Provincial Hospital in Compostela Valley. Aside from giving the civil society a voice in health service delivery and quality, at the same time, it can increase the accountability of local officials and providers to their communities for services delivered. From an end-of-project assessment field visit conducted in July 2010, the following findings emerged: Anecdotal evidence suggested that community participation via the QAPCs contributed to client-focused and responsive MCH service delivery, expanded outreach from the facility to MCH service users, and increased MCH service utilization. The QAPCs strengthened the linkage between facilities and service users by sensitizing communities regarding MCH issues, and mobilizing community members to utilize available services. The major governance outcome at the facility level was increased responsiveness to community needs and preferences. A related secondary outcome was some increase in accountability to clients. Beyond governance at the facility level, the QAPC experience demonstrated the importance of decentralized local government to the effective functioning and sustainability of a co-governance innovation that brings together citizens and public-sector health providers. The integration of the QAPC pilot with the Philippines Department of Health’s existing quality assurance program, the Service Delivery Excellence in Health (SDexH) initiative, was critical to the success of the demonstration project. SDexH provides an accepted framework that connects quality clinical standards and accreditation to a definition of quality that incorporates client perceptions and community input. The potential for institutionalization of the QAPCs was enhanced by the ownership of the concept by local government officials. In all three cases, local chief executives issued Executive Orders giving official recognition to the QAPCs, and were strongly supportive of the committees. Two of the three QAPCs received a commitment from local governments to provide ongoing financial support to cover expenses for community members to participate in the committees. In the Compostela Valley Provincial Hospital, the director included the QAPC as an activity the Wellness Center, which assures the committee ongoing support and a venue. The demonstration project team drafted aQAPC process guidefor use by other local governments in the Philippines that are interested in replicating the committees for health facilities in their jurisdictions (www.healthsystems2020.org/section/where_we_work/philippines ). Access to the health care system is required to obtain the care that maintains or improves health,but simple access is not enough and it is said to be applied skillfully. Quality is comprising of the following elements to achieve it, namely structure, process and the outcomes. Structural measures are the easiest to obtain and most commonly used in studies of quality in developing countries. Many evaluations have revealed shortages in medical staff, medications and other important supplies and facilities, but material measures of structure are not causally related to better health outcomes (Donabedian 1980). Process, by contrast, can be measured with every visit to a provider. In addition, evidence-based clinical studies have steadily revealed which process measures lead to better outcomes. This combination of ubiquity, measurability,and linkage to health outcomes makes the measurement of process the preferred way to assess quality. Another project of the government is the committment to the United Nation millennium declaration that translated into a roadmap a set of goals that targets reduction of poverty, hunger and ill health (www.doh.gov.ph/node/1076.html) . In the light of this government commitment, the Department of Health is faced with a challenge to champion the cause of women and children towards achieving MDGs 4 (reduce child mortality), 5 (improve maternal health) and 6 (combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases). Pregnancy and child birth are among the leading causes of death, disease and disability in women of reproductive age in developing countries. The Philippine government commitment to the MDGs is, among others, a commitment to work towards the reduction of maternal mortality ratios by three-quarters and under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015 at all cost. Confronted with the challenge of MDG 5 and the multi-faceted challenges of high maternal mortality ratio, increasing neonatal deaths particularly on the first week after birth, unmet need for reproductive health services and weak maternal care delivery system, in addition to identifying the technical interventions to address these problems, the DOH with support from the World Bank decided to focus on making pregnancy and childbirth safer and sought to change fundamental societal dynamics that influence decision making on matters related to pregnancy and childbirth while it tries to bring quality emergency obstetrics and newborn care to facilities nearest to homes. http://www.doh.gov.ph/content/national-safe-motherhood-program.html . This moves ensures that those most in need of quality health care by competent doctors, nurses and midwives have easy access to such care. The Department of Health has set the national objectives for 2011-2016 with overall goal that is to improved access to quality hospitals and health facilities by all Filipinos, especially the poor (www.doh.gov.ph). Their strategic objectives have improved, enhanced, ensured and these are the following : 1: Access to quality health facilities and services, especially those commonly used by the poor; 2: Quality of inpatient and outpatient care; 3: Availability of essential drugs and medicines in all levels of government health facilities; 4: Access to specialized services in sib-national health facilities; 5: Governance,sustainability and fiscal autonomy of government hospital; 6: and the client responsiveness of health facilities. For the government to achieve the objectives,they do a targeted health facility program that shall leverage funds for improved facility capacity to adequately manage the most common causes of mortality and morbidity, including trauma; setting provision of fi nancial mechanisms drawing form public-private partnerships to support the immediate repair, rehabilitation and construction of selected priority health facilities; making fiscal autonomy and income retention schemes for government hospitals and health facilities; unifying and streamlining DOH licensure and Phil Health accreditation for hospitals and health facilities and regional clustering and referral networks of health facilities based on their catchment areas to address the current fragmentation of health services in some regions within the Philippines. (Improving Access to Quality Hospitals and Health Services, www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/6%20Chapter4.pdf ) Though it has not 100% achieved, the government with the help of many institutions, banks, and support from other countries, can be reached with the efforts of the people who are responsible for the implementation and monitoring of these activities. I believe that thru these efforts, Philippines will have an improved health services in the near future. REFERENCES: John W. Peabody, Mario M. Taguiwalo, David A. Robalino and Julio Frenk, Improving Quality of Care in DevelopingCountrie, (http://www.hivqualus.org/sites/default/files/Improving%20the%20quality%20of%20care%20in%20developing%20countries_Peabody.pdf ) http://www.healthsystem2020.org Women’s Health and Safe Motherhood Project,( www.gov.ph./node/1076.html ) Improving Access to Quality Hospitals and Health Services , http://www.doh.gov.ph/sites/default/files/6%20Chapter4.pdf http://www.scribd.com/doc/45621892/The-Aquino-Health-Agenda-Achieving-Universal-Health-Care-for-All-Filipinos http://www.doh.gov.ph/node/583.html http://www.wpro.who.int/health_services/service_delivery_profile_philippines.pdf

Dart Group Plc SWOT and Porters 5 Analysis

Dart Group Plc SWOT and Porters 5 Analysis We chose our company from the aviation industry, because we think it can be interesting to analyze an airline in the current economic situation, how they can survive and actually realize profit and growth in this really strong competition. Furthermore our company, the Dart Group PLC is not just an airline but operates in three segments, it is a Leisure Airline, Package Holidays and Distribution and Logistics Company. So it can be interesting to see in the end of our semester that which is the part they can really grow and which segments need to be focused on and manage precisely. The company is specializing in the operation of scheduled and charter flights by Jet2.com to leisure destinations throughout Europe; the provision of ATOL protected package holidays by its tour operator Jet2holidays, and the distribution of fresh produce, temperature-controlled, and ambient products to supermarkets and wholesale markets throughout the United Kingdom. Dart Group Plc is a successful British company established in 2003 and only came to Hungary in 2006. The CEO is Philip Meeson, the company is operating from 8 airports, with 42 aircrafts, with more than 1500 employees. The leisure but also low cost airline division trades under the Jet2.com brand and operates scheduled flights to a range of destinations from its home base at Leeds Bradford International Airport, and Belfast, Blackpool, East Midlands, Edinburg, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle airports. Jet2holidays is the Groups package holiday operator; it is an integral part of the leisure travel activities, working closely with Jet2.com to provide holidays to a wide range of destinations from their 8 Northern UK bases. The Fowler Welch is one of the UKs leading logistics providers, serving UK retailers, importers and manufacturers. The business operates from 12 regional distribution centers and offers a range of logistics solutions, including storage, case pick-to-order and national distribution of both temperature-controlled and ambient products. They success is in always keeping the deadlines, working 24/7, providing integrated supply chain solutions to leading supermarkets including Tesco, A sda. Porters five forces This model analyzes the micro environment of the firm and gives a detailed understanding and evaluation of the forces that helps to measure the direct strategic competition. According to Porter the five forces are: the buyer and supplier bargaining power, threat of entry, industry competitiveness and threat of substitutes of products and services. The more unique the product, the smaller is the buyer power. The customers are sensitive for the price however if they make alliances for their best interest, they can get more information about the product and prices. The bargaining power of suppliers is influenced by their concentration and the number of unique product they offer. National and industry standards determine the entry to the market, and if these limits can be met easily then the sector becomes more and more attractive for other companies as well. If certain products or services are inflexible, so there is no substitute product, the company is able to determine very high pric es because the customers do not have other choices just buy them. So the profit of the firm depends on the substitute products and the quality of those products. The most important force is the bargaining power, the competitiveness, the strategy of the prices, the quality and the marketing. Buyer bargaining power The strong bargaining power of the Dart Group Plc. can be seen from the ratios analysis that we will mention later in the paper. The customers are very sensitive for the prices, so that is why they sometimes choose another airline that offers the same quality for cheaper prices. The services are not really differentiated, only in some parts eg. Jet2.com flies with allocated seats while like Ryanair let you seat wherever it is not taken yet. Some people prefer one some prefer the other. The bargaining power is very important in case of the cost reduction. If the company has lot of information of others and other opportunities they have the opportunity for change. They also need good and improved technology and their loyalty program to attract the customers with highly developed and fast services to be successful. Supplier bargaining power As we know the suppliers bargaining power is growing because the logistics and distribution industry is more strongly concentrated which can be seen in the prices and in the quality they offer. The change of the supplier can cause problems and has a high risk factor, it can result lower quality for the customers which decrease the whole value of the service. Also there is a threat that the supplier also can manufacture, produce the products. The bargaining power of suppliers depends on price of fuel, taxes and government policies which we are going to mention later as well. Threat of entry In the aviation industry the possibility of competitors to entry the market is small because large capital it is needed, which has a risk that it will not return. The congestion is high of the airports, even if these low cost airlines use the smaller airports. The industry has so many regulations, government policies, economic conditions, environmental and political risks which we are going to mention later in the paper. Finally we have to mention the brand loyalty because people prefer to use their well-know airlines, not just because the comfort but their loyalty program. So to conclude the barriers are very high to enter this industry. In the logistics and distribution the entry is easier, but to be successful they need to be good at several fields, transportation, inventory, packaging, integrating information and security also. Competition, Competitors The Group has active competitors in each business areas. The distribution market has consolidated; smaller companies exited the market or got taken over by bigger players. Risk appears in the sector by losing substantial customers, but the company could focus on services levels and cost control so the risk factor has been decreasing. The airline and the package holiday sectors are very intensely competitive, and the fare price competition is still intense at every base where they fly from. There are a huge number of airlines who try to be successful in different areas, in different comfort and price levels. They have to face slow growth rates because of the high competition and high fixed costs. As we already mentioned the low service differentiation does not help customers to choose, so it is only about small differences in schedules, prices on a given day and also the frequent flier program can be a reason for our decision. They try to focus on the customer needs, and reschedule in order to maximize the load factor, yield and revenue. For example in the winter they fly from Manchester to Budapest in the morning at 8am, while in the spring at 1pm and in the summer at 3pm. To operate efficiently after arriving to Budapest they depart back to Manchester in half hour. Jet2holidays operates competitively from all 8 UK base to the European destinations, mainly to the Mediterranean Sea in the summer, and to the ski resort in the winter time. Threat of substitutes of products and services The substitute of the aviation is road by car and bus, rail by train and the marine by ferry and ship. These are sometimes cheaper solutions, but definitely take longer time to get to a further destination; however sometimes the low cost airlines can offer very cheap tickets that can be cheaper even in shorter way however we have to add longer waiting time (get to the airport 1-3 hours before takeoff). So we can say that the threat of substitute of service is moderate. In case of the distribution the substitutes can be other transportation opportunities for cheaper. SWOT analysis Table: SWOT analysis Strengths 3 operating sections Growth and expansions Strong bargaining power Friendly low fares Safety Good technology Best scheduled British Airline in 2005 Group Leisure Award in 2012 Weaknesses Weather conditions High Competition Non-differentiated services Opportunities Exposure the high fuel price differences Expand the Jet2holidays program Expand the destinations of the airline Expand the companies who they deliver for Threats Fuel pricing Economic conditions Environmental risk Government policy Own Source In the next part we would like to mention further characteristics of the company that they have to face. The Groups strategy is to grow a combination of organic expansion and carefully planned acquisitions in the existing businesses and markets. The group has many uncertainty factors through its competitors, fuel prices, economic conditions, environmental risks and government policy. The cost of fuel it very important risk factor and the company aims a fuel price risk management strategy that enables to exposure the high price differences. In this case the Distribution sector is not very affected by the price fluctuation because due to their contracts they can increase prices to their customers. Due to economic uncertainty there was a discretionary reduction in travel in case of the UK consumers, even if they regard their pleasure time as a very important element of their budget. The company will plan its flying program carefully and use new strategies to forecast the demand more precisely to decrease the uncertainty risk. They also plan to expand the Jet2holiday program with new locations and new offerings that can increase the revenue as well. The political uncertainty also has an impact on the demand, and also on the prices of fuel and exchange rates. They can decrease this risk with a good management of the routes and through hedging fuel and foreign exchange risk. The aviation is always at a risk from the extreme weather conditions, and also we could see in the last years that volcanic activities can have a serious impact. They need a very precise respond to uncertainty events, and also they have a high level of liquid funds to get through an unsuccessful period. The tax burden increase in the aviation industry and the increase in Airline Passenger Duty caused the suspension of two flights to Egypt in 2011. These cost are always increasing and there is a chance that these economic cost of emissions will also decrease the demand of passengers. Strategy versus Ratios In the business life we use financial ratios to figure out what is the real standing of a certain firm. Through the usage of financial ratios we are able to understand better how the operations of the firm run, how utilized the all-day processes are, and how well does the company prevail in the competitive environment of its industry. The strategy of a firm bright out clearly from these easily-estimated ratios; in the following of our paper we will describe the relationship between the strategy of the Dart Group Plc., and the ratios that came from its annual reports starting from 2007. Of course the frame of this paper does not enable a wide and deep analysis; we would rather concentrate on those ratios that could show us how the strategy is supported by the financial policy of the group. First of all in the previous section of our paper we found that the group must operate in a very competitive environment together with several other jet companies that provide similar services. In our opinion a strong competitive environment generates price war, and harsh cost reduction. Price war brings the revenue down, that doesnt mean too much trouble on its own, but if it comes along with almost strict cost, then the profit margin will be quite small. In the case of an airline company this is the reality if we look at the structure of the costs. The main types of costs are fixed; these costs must be paid to anyway, so their reduction is not a real option. In addition one main element of the operating costs, namely the fuel cost is very sensitive to the changes of the global economy. Because of the fixed operating costs and through the price war generated almost strict costs, the only real option to maintain the profit level is to expand, to diversify the services of the group, a nd to build an empire. As we have already described in the previous sections of our paper, the strategy of the firm is to be bigger and bigger, because in the current economic situation this is the only reasonable strategy to generate enough profit, and to be successful in the aviation industry. The group level revenue is continuously increasing, from the 2007 amount of 349 M pounds to the amount of 683 M pounds in 2012, which is an almost 200% increase. This trend could be observed in the case of the costs, from the 2007 starting 348 M pounds they increased almost to the double, to 654.5 M pounds in 2012. This is a significant growth level, however in the case of the Gross Profit Margin a little fluctuation could be observed. The value of the ratio is the less in 2007 (0.3%) and the most in 2009 (9%), but mostly it is in the interval of 3-5%. Another issue is the liquidity risk at the company that we would like to cite from the Annual Report 2012 At the end of the year the Group had significant cash balances, together with a range of unutilized banking facilities, and had met all banking covenants. The Groups strategy for managing liquidity risk is to maintain cash balances in appropriately liquid form and in accordance with approved counterparty limits, whilst securing the continuity and flexibility of funding through the use of committed bank facilities. Additionally, short term cash flow volatility risk in relation to margin calls in respect of fuel and foreign exchange hedge positions is minimized through diversification of counterparties and appropriate credit thresholds. The Group seeks to match long term assets with long term liabilities wherever possible. (Annual Report 2012 p.15.) The company also uses foreign exchange and fuel forward contracts to hedge its exposure to movements in US dollar and euro exchange rates and to jet fuel prices. (Annual Report 2012 p.15.) The Groups policy is to forward cover future fuel requirement up to 100% and up to three years in advance. (Annual Report 2012 p.15.) They have a remarkable foreign currency exposure; the most notable are the US dollar and the euro. We also know from the Annual Report that the company have a conservative dividend policy, they rather retain the profit to support further growth in the sector. Another important phenomenon, the increasing bargaining power of the firms can be identified from the financial ratios of the Dart Group Plc. The stronger bargaining position comes eventually with the large size of the company, and it is also supported by the ratios. Let us see how the turnover times of the group change in time!As we could easily observe from these ratios the companies of the group seem to be in a position where they are able to hold back payments to finance their current assets in the best way. From these ratios we are able to read out the strategy of the group: their goal is to build up a dominant position in their supply chain in order to be more flexible, and less reliant on maintaining good liquidity. The average turnover period of the Payables is very high and it goes up year by year; so is the situation with the average turnover period of the Receivables, however the increasing rate is not as high as in the case of the Payables, and it is much more controllabl e in our opinion. When we examine the relationship between the current assets and current liabilities we can observe some other strategically important issues. It comes logically from the large difference between the accounts payables and account receivables that the difference between the current assets and current liabilities will be also large; plus the fact that the amount of current liabilities is more than the amount of current assets will generate a negative net working capital ratio. This ratio show us that not only short term assets are financed with short term liabilities, some of the non-current assets are also financed with such sources, what could generate a problematic situation, if the bargaining power is low. But in the case of Dart Group Plc we found that their bargaining position is strong, so they are able to perform such a financial strategy. We can also observe from this ratio, that its value decreases year by year, that points towards a more stable and sustainable future. This ca n also mean that the company will reach the mature position in the life cycle of corporations, its size will be even more controllable, and the possible problems from the empire building strategy will be easier to manage. The empire building and growing strategy of the firm could be also observed in the usage of their Free Cash Flow. The group uses a large amount of their free cash flow on capital expenditures; however the negative working capital change does influence the reinvestment rate, which will be also negative because of it. From these ratios we are able to see, that in the current state of the Group the growth is slightly unstable, some of the free cash flow needs to be hold back to ensure the controlling of the net working capital changes, plus the high amount of capital expenditures and depreciation also reduces largely the free cash flow. The growth is financed from inside. Conclusion So as a conclusion we can state that strategy of the company is to continue to grow in all three business section organically. They aim is to ensure the high quality service by meeting and transcending the needs and expectations of customers in all three section. They also try to improve their website with more convenient access to their services. The holiday program is carefully tailored to different leisure destinations according to the season and also provides carefully chosen accommodations from all-inclusive to self catering with leisure airline scheduled flights. Their strategy is to maximize revenue through fully loaded aircrafts and utilize the cabin crew. In case of the logistics, provide the best distribution service of both ambient and temperature-controlled products.

Norbert Rillieux :: essays research papers

Norbert Rillieux Norbert Rillieux was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on March 17, 1806. His mother, Constance Vivant was a freed slave from New Orleans, and his father, Vincent Rillieux, was a inventor and engineer. Vincent invented the steam-operated cotton baling press. Norbert's academic talents were seen at an early age by his father, and was sent to Paris to be educated. At the age of twenty-four, Norbert Rillieux was a teacher of applied mechanics at a school in Paris. In 1830, he put out a series of papers about steam economy and steam engine work, a prelude to his invention involving steam. In fact, it was during the time that he was writing these papers, most likely, that he created his theory about multiple effect evaporation. Between 1884 and 1854, he created the Rillieux apparatus, a revolutionary invention. In 1864, he patented his first model, and advanced the system for eight more years, and received more patents. It took him ten years to create the final model because he was black, and there were prejudices he had to deal with in addition to his invention. Norbert Rillieux invented the triple effect vacuum evaporator. The "triple effect" is for the multiple things that the system does all at the same time. The "vacuum" is for the vacuum of air that is used in the system, and the "evaporator" is for the sugarcane liquid syrup that is heated and evaporated into regular sugar. The actual system is somewhat complicated, so please see the picture that is provided. As I have stated, the purpose of the triple effect vacuum evaporator is to evaporate the liquid out of sugarcane syrup, the natural form of regular sugar, leaving the sugar crystals we can use. The way that the evaporator works is like this: Water is heated in the first container (1) which produces steam. The steam carries heat, called latent heat. A pump on the wall of the first container (1) pumps the steam into the second container (2). The steam from the first container (1) heats the syrup and boils it, creating sugar crystals, in the second container (2), using up the latent heat in the steam from the first container (1). The evaporating syrup creates it's own steam, with latent heat as well. A pump on the opposite wall of the second container, (2), pumps the latent heat in the steam into the third container (3).

A man without feeling :: essays research papers

A Man Without Feeling   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Is Hamlet capable of feeling? In Shakespeare’s Hamlet the author creates a world of appearance vs. reality. Part of this world is Hamlet who becomes perplexed by what he must do: which is to avenge his fathers’ death. However Hamlet is incapable of experiencing the feelings he should. Thus has to put on an act for everyone around him to appear normal. Another endeavor Hamlet has to deal with is his relationship with Ophelia. He chooses to disregard the relationship by pretending that there is no basis for it and that it was based on false pretences. He is forced to act this way because he has no other choice. Hamlet cannot experience any true emotions and so he does not know what he truly feels towards Ophelia. In the end Hamlet has to make the ultimate sacrifice to maintain his appearance as a good and noble prince- his life. He avenges his father’s death and returns everything to how it once was. However Hamlet does not do this because he kn ows it is what should be done or because he truly feels compelled to do it by his passion or his reason, but because it is what would be expected and what others would do. Hamlet cannot feel and therefore has to put on an act during the entire play.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A predominant theme in this play is how appearance contrasts with reality. Where reality represents the truth an true emotions and appearance has the connotation of deception and false emotions or a lack there of. All of the characters put on an appearance except those who have nothing to hide, in this case everyone except Horatio and Fortinbrass. Now Hamlet admits that he is putting on an act during the play, and in numerous scenes his deception of those around him can clearly be noted. Yet if Hamlet is suppose to represent a hero why does he put on an act, since he should have nothing to hide? He does this for the simple reason that he does not know what he should do based purely on what he feels, since he feels nothing. The way he acts is navigated by those who Hamlet views as noble leaders, Fortinbras, Alexander the Great, Caesar and of coarse his father. â€Å"I find thy apt;/ And duller shouldst be than the fat weed/ That roots itself in ease on Lethe wharf ,/ Wouldst thou not stir in this.

Lord of the Flies Simon as Christ Essays -- essays research papers

Simon, Christ-figure? In the book Lord of the Flies the charecter, Simon, is portrayed as a Christ-figure. He is shown to have all the qualities Christ has: intelligence, determination, and resiliance. Simon also is portrayed like Christ physically, he is skinny and not a strong person. Simon was very calm, kind, and he enjoyed being alone when ever he could. Simon was made fun of by the other kids because of how he acted and the things he said. One such ocassion was when he was talking to Ralph and said, "You'll get back to where you came from" to which Ralph replied a few lines later, "You're batty." (Page 111) Simon here has a prophecy about Ralph, and was made fun of for what he believed. Jesus was made f...

Climate Change Essay

To put it in its simplest terms, climate change refers to the long term change in the earth’s temperature, particularly an increase in the average atmospheric temperature (Dictionary.com). Although there are some natural causes for climate change, most scientists are in agreement that humans are at least in part responsible for some of the effects we have already seen and must therefore take corrective action immediately to slow the process before it is too late and irreversible catastrophic damage has been done. The consequences of climate change, also known as global warming include extreme weather instances such as extensive drought, severe hurricanes and tornadoes, increased wild fires and melting of the polar caps (dosomething.org). In addition, there are hotter, longer lasting heat waves causing added health issues and even death, especially to the already frail elderly or those who are already sick and may be more easily susceptible to health risks (dosomething.org). Si nce 1870, sea levels have risen by about eight inches globally. Coral reefs are in danger due to the warmer water temperatures and higher sea levels. The coral reefs are lacking the sun they need to thrive and are becoming diseased. Here in the United States, temperatures have risen by two degrees over the last 50 years and precipitation is up by 5% (dosometing.org). According to Motherjones.com, the 2000’s was the hottest decade on record in the US and 2012 was the hottest year ever. With the rise of sea levels, comes the loss of land across the world. Globally the average land loss is eight inches. What that means to America is we are shrinking. Those in danger are people who live closest to the shoreline. It varies storm by storm, but those living closest to the shoreline during each mega storm, such as Hurricane Sandy, are in critical danger of losing not only their personal property and their lives but the actual earth beneath their feet. Everything could all be swept away by the wind and sea. There are currently almost five million A mericans living within four feet of the ocean at high tide. It is expected that over the next century, sea levels will rise by anywhere from one to four feet (Motherjones.com). Climate change affects rainfall as well and it can be devastating. A warmer planet means the air can hold more water vapor. That means when it rains it pours. The United States has seen record precipitation and flooding â€Å"significantly above average†Ã‚  (Motherjones.com), especially since 1991. The Northeast alone has seen a 71% increase in precipitation since 1958 (Motherjones.com). Nowhere has climate change left its mark more so than in Alaska. Due to melting glaciers no longer insulating the land, arctic storms are battering the now unshielded coastline that used to be protected by the now steadily melting glaciers. Additionally, 80% of the state has permafrost beneath its surface and as it thaws, the ground is literally giving way causing damage to roads and infrastructure. Currently, Alaska is spending about $10 million annually in repairs due to permafrost thawing and is projecting $5.6 to 7.6 billion for infrastructure repairs by 2080 (Motherjones.com). Extreme heat waves are becoming commonplace. Texas had one of the â€Å"hottest and driest summers on record† (Motherjones.com) in 2011 reaching over 100 degrees for 40 days in a row. It’s projected that if we continue on the same path, we could have a â€Å"once every 20 years extreme heat day† every two to three years by the year 2100 (Motherjones.com). In addition, we are feeling some of the driest conditions we’ve experienced in some 800 years. This has resulted in a loss to agriculture of as much as $10 billion in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 & 2012 (Motherjones.com). Because we have more heat and drought, we have the potential for more wildfires. We have had record setting wildfires in both 2007 and 2011. And to make matters worse, these very wildfires, as dangerous and deadly as they are also add to the climate change problem. Wildfires actually release more carbon from the ground and only make the climate problem even worse. According to Mothorjones.com, â€Å"a single large fire in 2007 released as much carbon to the atmosphere as had been absorbed by the entire circumpolar Arctic tundra during the previous quarter century,† (Motherjones.com). There are some natural causes of climate change that we can do nothing about, but we have fast tracked global warming since the start of the industrial revolution. While volcanoes and solar patterns certainly are a small contributor to climate change, humans make a much greater impact. Due to deforestation and the massive amounts of fossil fuels consumed, there is more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today than at any point in the last 800,000 years (Dosomething.com). Carbon dioxide is widely believed to be the most harmful of all greenhouse gasses. The US alone emits approximately 6 billion tons of carbon dioxide every year; 40% of which comes from power plants. As early as the 1700’s, we began emitting  more and more greenhouse gasses, mainly carbon dioxide by using coal, oil and gas to run our cars, trucks and factories (Dosomething.com). It is the increasing use of fossil fuel along with deforestation that is keeping greenhouse gasses closer to the earth not allowing it to escape the atmosphere thereby raising the earth’s temperature (Dosomething.com). We can’t fix this problem overnight, but the solution begins with us. The NRDC, National Resources Defense Council suggests a five step plan to insure a longer lasting planet for our children and we must begin today. 1. Set Limits on Global Pollution 2. Invest in Green Jobs and Clean Energy 3. Drive Smarter Cars 4. Create Green Homes and Buildings 5. Build Better Communities and Transportation Networks Some of these steps are already in place. Take for instance the Clean Air Act which established emissions and fuel economy standards for all cars. For power plants and factories, the impact could be as great as 560 million tons of carbon per year by 2026 under the Act. This is estimated to avoid anywhere from $25-60 billion in health costs (NRDC.com). Another great option is electric cars. They save on carbon emissions because they do not require gas to run. They are also cheaper to run for that very same reason. Case in point: Paul Scott from Santa Monica, CA bought an all-electric version of the Toyota Rav4 in 2002. It runs purely on sunlight and he charges the battery with the solar panels he heats his home with so essentially it costs him nothing to run. He hasn’t been to a gas station in 12 years (NRDC.com). If you can’t afford a new electric vehicle, at least you should be driving a high-mileage vehicle to cut down on emissions. Drive only what you need. We must cut down our dependence on oil and thereby reduce our consumption of fossil fuel. We can invest in retrofitting our homes; install energy star appliances, insulation and seal leaks where cool and warm air is escaping. This can save hundreds to over a thousand dollars annually to the homeowner but if just one in five American homes were retrofitted to save energy, we could avoid the need to build 13 mid-sized power plants every year. On a national level, we could cut as much carbon pollution as taking half a million cars off the road if every  house in America were energy efficient (NRDC.com). There are folks who believe global warming is a fallacy or work of fiction; people who think that because of the recent cold weather that we experienced in the Winter of 2013 and 2014, the Polar Vortex for example that global warmi ng cannot possible be real. These are people who have done no research or who do not have any facts. That very cold trend was a result of climate change (Climtecentral.org). There are also those that will cite â€Å"facts and myths† and counter with their own version of beliefs. They simply do not want to believe what is so vastly evident in research. Robert M. Carter, a research professor has written a myth v. fact document (globalresearch.ca) disputing the facts. Everyone is entitled to their opinion; that’s what makes our country so great. Based on my research, it is my belief that humans are in fact greatly responsible for the increase in climate change. Global warming is probably the wrong terminology and it makes perfect sense that it has been updated to climate change however there are still skeptics. There probably will always be nonbelievers. But I feel the data is undisputable. It is up to us to make the necessary changes before it is too late. We must make changes or we could face dire consequences. There are so many ways each individual can make small changes. Every one of us must do our part and we must begin today! Your new America (observed temperature changes over the last 22 years). National Climate Assessment. Source: Motherjones.com, National Climate Assessment Reference List 1. Multiple sources. (date unavail.). 11 Facts About Global Warming. www.DoSomething.Org. Retrieved from https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-global-warming 2. Carter, Robert N. (2009, Dec. 9). www.Globalresearch.org. Global Warming: Ten Facts and 10 Myths on Climate Change. Retrieved from http://www.globalresearch.ca/copenhagen-and-global-warming-ten-facts-and-ten-myths-on-climate-change/16467 3. Mooney, Chris. (2014, May 6).

Open Religion Exam Review

What problem does global free trade cause? Explain â€Å"common good. † – the 3 essential elements for common good. What is social justice? 7 themes of Catholic Social teaching. What each theme teaches Explain globalization How much of the total world income do countries like Canada receive? How much of the total world income do the poorest people in developing countries receive? How has globalization become a nightmare for poor countries? Explain how globalization could lead to justice.Who is Craig Eagleburger. What issues does he care about? Who has he helped? How has he helped them? â€Å"Inside Your Threads†. What are the issues raised. How are these situations unjust? What could be done to bring justice to these situations? Who is Ryan Hershel? What issue does he care about? Who has he helped? How has he helped? Why are relationships important? Define intimacy. Briefly explain the 5 levels of intimacy Describe the stages Of the family life cycle. What Stage is your family in?What are the types of families? Describe the moral decision making model What are values? Describe standards for judging values Define or explain sex, sexuality, sexual orientation, heterosexual orientation, nonsexual orientation, abstinence, celibacy, chastity What are SST Is – list ‘bacteria caused' SST Is – treatment – list ‘virus caused' Stir – treatment 2 reasons why the Catholic Church calls for abstinence from sexual intercourse outside marriage What is Natural Family Planning (NAP)?What does it mean to be Catholic in today's society? Movies we watched this semester Power of One Stolen Summer Dan in Real Life Junk Ryan's Well It Take a Child Inside Your Threads pay it Forward Explain how each movie connects to a theme or topic discussed in class this semester.

Second Periodic Test

PERIODIC EXAM ENGLISH Name: _________________________________Year & Section: _________________________ I. SPEAKING: DIRECTIONS: Tell whether the statements below use a RISING INTONATION or a RISING- FALLING INTONATION. Write R for rising and RF for rising-falling intonation. _____1. Have you study your lessons? _____2. I have seen the movie twice. _____3. When is the deadline for the submission of our project? _____4. Are you sure? _____5. She might be late. II. READING & LITERATURE A. DIRECTIONS: Use the articles A, AN and THE in the nouns below: 6.The leader of ___________ group is good. 7. _______ apple a day keeps the doctor away. 8. My father is ________ honorable man. 9. We went to _________ DILG office. 10. ______ new song is being played. B. DIRECTIONS: Select the reference material needed below. Write your answer on the space provided. _________________________11. The population of the Philippines in 1990. _________________________12. The meaning of the word â€Å"outrageou s†. _________________________13. The different kinds of insects. _________________________14. The color of the Japanese flag. ________________________15. The stress mark of the word â€Å"sedimentary. † ( YEARBOOK OR ALMANAC, ENCYCLOPEDIA, ATLAS, DICTIONARY ) C. DIRECTIONG: Supply the missing word in the analogy below: 16. School is to study as church is to ______________________. 17. Bark is to dog as buzz is to _______________________. 18. White is to good as black is to ___________________. 19. Sun is to day as moon is to ____________________. 20. Allah is to Muslim as Christ is to ___________________. D. DIRECTIONS: Encircle the letter of the correct answer. 21.Who is the wife of Leon? a. Mariab. Emeliac. Lumnay 22. What did Mr. Angeles brought to his family? a. caretelab. beansc. mats 23. The following are dead children of Mr. Angeles EXCEPT†¦ a. Josefinab. Marcelinac. Victoria 24. He was the brother of Leon. a. Juanb. Antonioc. Baldo 25. She was the new wife of Awiyao. a. Madulimayb. Madulumnayc. Lumnay E. DIRECTIONS: TRUE OR FALSE. WriteT if the statement is true and F if it is wrong. ___26. Maria was afraid of Labang. ___27. The beads given to Lumnay by Awiyao will be given to Madulimay in the wedding. __28. All the children of Mr. Angeles have received a mat. ___29. Marcelina’s mat has a symbol of Aesculapius for she is a medical student. ___30. The passing at night at the Waig was one of the tests given by Leon’s father to Maria. ___31. Maria was a typical city woman. ___32. Maria was not accepted by the family of Leon. ___33. The mats brought by Mr. Angeles were special and unique. ___34. The reason of the separation of Awiyao and Lumnay was Madulimay. ___35. Lumnay joins in the wedding dance and finds also a husband. III. GRAMMAR A.DIRECTIONS: Identify the pattern of the sentences below. Write S-TV-DO or S-TV-IO-DO in the space provided. _________________36. Mr. Angeles gave Nanay Emilia a mat. _________________37. A wiyao left Lumnay. _________________38. Leon showed Maria the place. _________________39. Mr. Angeles brought presents. _________________40. Awiyao comforted Lumnay. _________________41. Mr. Angeles remembered his dead children. _________________42. Leon’s family accepted Maria. _________________43. Awiyao gave her the beads. _________________44. Lumnay offered Kabunian a pig. ________________45. Awiyao asked Lumnay a question. B. DIRECTIONS: Look for the prepositions in the poem below. Encircle a preposition only once. A thousand times in my dreams I have walked with you Hand in hand, down the glittery way Without a worry, not a care in the world, No sorrow, no torture, no dismay, There we were: two figures in the incessant night, Swallowed by the searing darkness Embraced by the fleeting sadness, And then we would look to the sky and see, The shining harvest of the distant stars, Our sky, our sky, my starlight, our sky sown with stars.

Kodak Major Case Essay

Kodak’s main problem was not foreseeing and adapting to market changes of price and competition. Kodak had dominated the photo film market for most of the 1900s until competitors like Fuji began taking market share from Kodak in 1984. Kodak ignored the new threats until the late 1990s, relying on their market dominance. Problem Analysis Kodak offered three product lines to target various market segments as a part of their Funtime strategy to regain market share. Prior to this strategy, Kodak offered only two product lines, Ektar, their superpremium line, and Royal Gold, their premium line. They planned to introduce Funtime film, an economy brand film, which targeted the price sensitive consumer. The target market is the average film user who has little or no education about film, buys strictly on price, and is not influenced by advertising — the 50% of buyers that were not brand loyal (40% were film â€Å"samplers†; 10% purchased on price). Gold Plus is the premium brand film and is developed to target average consumers who are already Kodak-loyal or seeking quality photos over price. The superpremium film, Royal Gold’s target market is professionals, serious amateurs and average consumers who pay the premium for professional grade pictures for â€Å"very special† occasions. (See Appendix A) In the 1990’s Kodak’s main competitors were Fuji of Japan, Agfa of Germany, 3M, Konica of Japan, and Polaroid as a late competitor. Kodak has many ways to differentiate themselves from all of these competitors. As an established photography and film brand, Kodak has dominated 70% of the market share in the U. S. ; where many of their competitors are new to the market. Kodak has not offered a private or economy film line like many other competitors have. In the superpremium tier Fujicolor Reala was targeting advanced amateurs and professionals only while Kodak targeted a more broad segment with their competing Royal Gold line. In the Economy brand tier, Funtime was launched as an economy brand competing with Fujicolor Super G, Konica Super SR, and ScotchColor. Funtime was the only film in this brand tier to be offered only at off-peak film use times and only packaged in value packs. Kodak dominated the film market all through the 1900’s. They never received any major competition until Fuji began to attack their market share in the 1980s, when they were announced as the official film sponsors of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Kodak 3 California. Kodak believed their dominance and customer loyalty would continue to carry them as new competitors entered the market and as film prices were beginning to fall. They underestimated their competition and did not react soon enough. It seemed as if Kodak believed that people would not buy another film other than Kodak. By the late 1980s the film market began to see many competitors and Kodak’s market share began to fall. While still the dominant competitor, their market share fell from 76% in 1989 to 70% in 1994, and similarly the average price of film began to fall. While Kodak’s film rolls were in the neighborhood of $3. 50 to $6 per roll, competitors began releasing film under private brands starting at $2. 19. Shortly after the economy film market began to form, Consumer Reports released a quality test of the top 6 films in the market. While Kodak positioned themselves as the superior quality film, Consumer Reports reported that, â€Å"We found most films to be no better or worse than their competitors of the same speed†¦ and will yield prints of comparable quality. Kodak’s standard, Gold Plus, even ranked below Fuji’s economy film. With film market evolving, Discount Merchandiser released a survey in 1991 stating that â€Å"more than 50% of the picture takers in the US claim to know nothing or little about photography, and as a results they tend to view film as a commodity, often buying on price alone. † This led Kodak to a major repositioning of its film product line, introducing Funtime film, an economic film line, something Kodak would have never previously considered. Kodak was desperate to recover some of the market share they had recently lost and implemented a new strategy to help recapture some of their market share. They introduced the Funtime Strategy. In this strategy, Kodak would offer 3 lines of film (superpremium, premium and economy). The economy line was new for Kodak since they specialized in high-end photography that was parallel with their high quality brand image. Funtime was to be offered at 20% less than Gold Plus (their premium brand) and offered in limited quantities only twice a year at off-peak film use times, 4 months out of the year. Funtime was only sold in â€Å"valuepacks† of two or four rolls of the two most popular speeds, ISO 100 and 200. The major inconsistency with implementing this new strategy was the lack of advertising spent by Kodak; they offered no support and a lack of commitment to Funtime. Kodak was too concerned with maintaining its high profit margins that they were not willing to cannibalize their own market share before the competition did. Kodak 4 Whereas their focus was to regain some market share with their new Funtime line, they replaced their superpremium line with Royal Gold, broadening their â€Å"professional† target market. They emphasized that Royal Gold could be for â€Å"very special† occasions not just professional photography. Kodak spent 40% of its total film-advertising budget on this line and the other 60% on its Gold Plus. The Funtime strategy was a last chance effort to regain market share and compete with private label brands. It seemed that the economy line was introduced too late to recover the shares that were lost. By only offering it twice a year Kodak seemed as if they were not fully committed to this line. The lack of advertising sent a deceitful message. It appeared as if they were hiding the line as to not take away from their other â€Å"quality† lines. They wanted to keep their high quality image while competing in the low end of the market as well. This strategy does not solve their problem of competing with their competitors. The case did not mention any new ways that Kodak tried to differentiate themselves from their competitors or explain to their customers why they thought they were superior to them. Kodak offered 3 main lines of film but did not educate the customer on the difference between the lines. They stated their superpremium, premium and economy lines but did not take time to educate the consumers of the difference between the three lines and how they differentiated from their competition. Since Consumer Reports released a study showing that most film rolls in that time performed similarly and printed pictures of comparable quality. Kodak did not take time to distinguish themselves from this new competition but simply relied on their trusted brand name they had built in the years prior. Before differentiating themselves from their competition they should have reacted immediately to new competition rather than ignore it. Because Kodak was late to react, Fuji was able to easily differentiate themselves from Kodak. Kodak should have viewed Fuji’s sponsoring of the LA Summer Olympics as a threat. They should have immediately started discussion strategies on repositioning themselves to avoid the competition absorbing their market. Kodak was not prepared for the market changes that came. The week of January 25, 1994, Kodak’s stock lost 8% in value. Kodak was used to the large profit margins on film and could not rationalize cannibalizing their own profits by lowering costs due to their rigid management before the whole industry lowered prices. The reality was that the film industry was slowly declining, people viewed photography as a commodity and they were just on the cusp of Kodak 5 the digital era. Kodak was reluctant to come to terms with this new reality. Their competition capitalized on the market changes and private film companies began offering lower cost film of comparable quality. Kodak did not look far enough into the future of the market and were slow to react to competition which is why they failed to remain ahead of their competition and minimize any losses. Alternative Solutions Due to Kodak’s lost market share, lowered stock prices, and declining profit margins, it was evident that the company was headed in a downward spiral. Surviving within the industry, due to film being a commodity product, was not easy, and the company was in dire need to revive its own value. To solve its main problem, not foreseeing and adapting to market changes, we propose five alternative solutions: (1) delve into wholesale market share, (2) better educate customers regarding the products’ benefits and values, (3) spend more time on research and development, (4) halting production of the Funtime product, and (5) both educating customers about the products’ benefits and values, and spending more time on research and development. Alternative Solution 1 Kodak could sell its film in value packs at wholesale stores, such as Costco or Sam’s Club, in order to regain the market share within the industry. In doing so, this would be a great way for Kodak to tap into market share that had not yet been touched. Film, at this point, had not been sold in larger wholesale packs, and was being sold primarily in smaller groupings, at general retail facilities. Because of the recent upward trend with consumers buying in bulk, wholesale retailers were gaining more loyal customers on a daily basis. By selling within these types of stores, companies were more likely to succeed because this was a retail niche that was evolving, and would give particular brands and products more consumer recognition. Kodak could have taken advantage of the strong market and loyal customers that a wholesale retail company already has. By partnering with Costco, for example, Kodak could become its exclusive film partner. With this type of partnership, Kodak might be able to capitalize on the exclusivity of Costco’s film sales. Also, seeing in recent years that Costco has become a very common place for consumers to have their rolls of film developed, and frequently sells film rolls in value packs, it seems to be a one-stop-shop for families who are constantly on-the-go. If Kodak 6 Kodak were to partner successfully with retailers like this, the company would be able to gain further market share and sales, because people would increase their recognition of this particular brand, and could become the go-to brand for most. Wholesale retailers, like Costco, are extremely popular and well-trusted. By associating its image with these companies, Kodak would have a competitive advantage over others within the industry, and could be associated with Costco’s positive identity, thus giving itself a positively-positioned image relative to its competitors. The biggest disadvantage in implementing this solution, however, would be in securing a mutually-beneficial partnership with a wholesale retailer. Most wholesalers would not necessarily be likely to commit to an exclusive partnership to one particular brand (in this case, Kodak), simply because they limit their own product availability, and therefore cut into their own sales. Retailers, like Costco and Sam’s Club, focus on having a wide variety of products from which consumers may choose. If wholesalers were to commit exclusively to Kodak, per se, then they could lose out on potential sales from consumers who desire the competing film product. There is not necessarily an inherent benefit for wholesalers with exclusivity. Alternative Solution 2 Apart from selling within wholesale retail locations, another way to regain lost market share is to better educate consumers regarding camera film. Film had become a commodity product to most consumers, and there was little customer loyalty to any particular camera film brand. Differentiation between the companies’ own products, as well as the competitors’ products, is an important aspect of any business. However, it seems that Kodak lacked a differentiation strategy and had not communicated to consumers how its products were positioned positively, relative to those of its competitors. Consumers knew â€Å"little or nothing about photography,† according to the 1991 survey in Discount Merchandiser. Its lack of educational advertising left customers in the dark, as far as the difference between products available. Because many uneducated customers simply buy based off of price alone, Kodak needs to inform customers why they should pay the premium price, and what benefits come along with paying that premium. No other film companies were educating consumers about value and benefits, so Kodak had an opportunity to capitalize on the lack of knowledge thereof. By educating consumers, they Kodak 7 would become familiar with their film needs, and the film’s benefits. Simultaneously, they would also acquaint consumers with the value of their product, when compared to others. As a result, Kodak would create more brand loyalty. Moreover, in the case study, we are told that Kodak offered three types of films: Gold Plus, Royal Gold, and Funtime. To the average consumer, Gold Plus and Royal Gold are far too similar in name, and give off the impression that they are of the same quality. Customers were becoming confused due to the similarity between these two names. By educating the consumers about its products, consumers would begin to understand the value of Kodak’s film relative to competitors, and the inherent differences between its products. However, if this solution were implemented, the likelihood of making a large impact on its own market share would be minimal if implemented by itself. By itself, it would not help repair Kodak’s decline in sales, stock prices, and market share (because of its inability to adapt to market trends). Let aside, this would not address the problem of having been unadaptive, at its core. Educating consumers would likely only work best when paired with another alternative solution. Alternative Solution 3 It was ten years before Kodak responded to the Fuji’s sponsorship of the Olympic Games. Clearly, Kodak should have had a rapid response to this threat. Due to their lack of capitalization and overconfident mindset, Kodak lost a vast amount of their market. Kodak should have recognized that technology would advance sooner rather than later. Instead of only focusing on repositioning their film, they should have also tried to advance the technology of their cameras. The key to a successful business is focusing on the present product, while spending time on researching and developing the future product. Kodak executives should have asked themselves, â€Å"What can we do to get ahead in the market? † Seeing that the main problem with Kodak was its inability to anticipate and adapt to future market trends and developments, it should spend more time, efforts, and money on proper product development. This late response resulted in a rapid loss of market share. Had Kodak responded to this with more immediacy, its market share would not have dropped so significantly. To prevent market loss in the future, Kodak should invest more time and money on properly developing â€Å"cash cow† products. Prior to the development of Funtime, the products Kodak 8 within Kodak’s camera film portfolio were considered cash cows. Due to negative market rumors, the company intended on creating another cash cow, as to maintain its market share. However, had the company spent more time on researching the camera film industry, it might have noticed that developing another cash cow product was not intelligent. Market research is extremely important in knowing what next steps a company should take, and how to create a strategic business plan. Rather than Kodak’s executives asking themselves â€Å"What can we do to sustain our market share? † they should have asked themselves â€Å"What can we do to get ahead in the market? † Kodak’s strategy was to boost its existing products as stars, and develop a new product (Funtime) as a cash cow. Accordingly, the star products (Gold Plus and Royal Gold) would be funded and, ultimately, further promoted. In asking the wrong questions, Kodak forged its own demise: Funtime became a question mark product, liquidating revenues made by the existing cash cows. By spending more time on analyzing current trends and advancing technologies, Kodak could develop products that would help it recover lost market share and become a dominating force within the industry. The biggest disadvantage in implementing this, however, would be the risk of product failure. Kodak’s executives would need to make informed decisions regarding whether such developmental risks are worth product failure. Alternative Solution 4 As mentioned in the case study, Funtime film would be offered â€Å"only twice a year at offpeak film use times†. Kodak confused its customers in regards to the value of its product. In the eyes of the consumers, offering a different product only at certain times of the year, with a lower price, brought down the value associated with Kodak film. The case mentions that Kodak’s â€Å"stock had lost 8% in value on rumors of a price cut on film†. If rumors of a price cut brought down its stock prices, then adding a lower quality product, like Funtime, would also bring down company stock prices. In analyzing Kodak’s products with a BCG Matrix (see Appendix B), Funtime could be viewed as a question mark, whereas each of its other products were cash cows. The market share for lower quality film was not growing and did not generate much cash. Often times, dog products should be divested. Kodak should have quickly determined whether the Funtime Film Kodak 9 would develop into a cash cow or dog. Because Kodak was only selling this product during the off seasons, Funtime could never become a cash cow. While developing Funtime would have been a great solution given normal circumstances, developing a new lower quality product amidst negative market rumors was a risky move. Other companies, such as Fuji and Polaroid, had dog products, and were fighting to become cash cow products. To retain the market share it already has, and since the Funtime product is already developed, though, Kodak should phase out its production. This would turn the product into a dog, and over time, would be fully liquidated. Some foreseeable cons with this solution would be the costs incurred from holding inventory and phasing out a product. This would further cut into company revenues, making it more difficult to return from a decline in stock price. Alternative Solution 5 We believe that a combination of Alternative Solutions 2 and 3 would be an effective solution for Kodak. Education will explain the products’ values and benefits, while simultaneously maintaining its exceptional brand image. By educating customers and anticipating future market trends, not only is Kodak able to retain its loyal customers, but positively position themselves in the minds of non-Kodak-loyal film consumers, as well. This, however, only speaks to part of its main problem. Accordingly, this education needs to be aided by proper market analysis, so that Kodak is able to foresee market trends, and is able to react accordingly. The company must focus equally on both the present and the future. By using this two-pronged approach, between education and proper R&D, the company is able to educate consumers within the market for film, and additionally, determine how to stay ahead of the competition. Proposed Solution In direct reference to Kodak’s main problem (not foreseeing and adapting to market changes), we highly suggest that Kodak choose Alternative Solution 5: spend more time educating customers and communicating the value of Kodak’s products, as well as investing more efforts in proper product development, aided by effective market analysis. By educating customers, Kodak is able to both lock-in the loyalty of current customers, sustain its competitive advantage, and find additional ways to attract more new customers. Moreover, investing its time Kodak 10 and money on proper product development and analysis will allow Kodak to grow within the developing market. As a result, Kodak would be able to develop a star product, while maintaining several cash cows. Implementation Product In regards to the product life cycle, Kodak’s current product Gold Plus, exists in the maturity stage and their primary objective at this point is to defend and regain market share. To do this, Kodak needs to redevelop an existing line that will appeal to a broader audience of photographers. We are going to introduce Royal Gold to replace the current film, Ektar, in the high-end segment. At the same time we are going to propose to keep our premium product, Gold Plus, where it’s currently at in the middle segment and over the course of a year, as we want to phase it into the low-end of the middle segment, and make the price competitive with economy brands. This is partly because most consumers do not buy as much from the middle segment. Therefore, we want to enter a more profitable market segment. By phasing Gold Plus into the lower end, we can compete in both the high and low-end market. However, we cannot go about this by simply dropping the price of Gold Plus immediately. Mainly because doing so, in the eye on the customer, will cause confusion and potentially reduce brand equity. Instead, we will drop prices once or twice a month over the course of a year. This way, both products will be positioned better, in that we will be competitive in both areas. Royal Gold will be targeted to a broader customer base. It will be targeted to professionals and serious amateurs, as well as any photographer seeking film for â€Å"special† occasions, as referenced in the case study. Royal Gold will produce a sharper image and overall a better quality photo, thus attracting customers who prefer to have options in what they do with their photos. Those wishing to potentially enlarge the photo will have a finished product that is so crisp they will have the peace of mind in knowing it will not jeopardize the integrity of the picture. Royal Gold will be available for purchase in a variety of forms. In order for Kodak to be profitable with this new product it will need to be sold in individual packages, as well as packs of three and/or six in order to give customers a variety in selection. Kodak 11 Place Royal Gold and Gold Plus will be sold in places where other Kodak products are currently being sold. There are several retail outlets that carry Kodak products so purchasing the new line will not be difficult or hard to find. The distribution will be allocated in amounts that will maximize profitability and will be attractive to customers who are selective in where they buy film. Our main distribution for Royal Gold and Gold Plus will be to discount and department stores, about 34%; the eased decline in pricing will not be as noticeable in such a store. Next will be to drug stores who typically do not offer as many discounts unless a customer is part of their rewards program, about 25% will be distributed to such. Camera shops will get about 15% of the distribution, as this will attract the customer base that Gold Plus targets, those photographers seeking a more professional picture. It is in the privately owned shops that single rolls of film will be purchased more frequently. The other 26% will be allocated to supermarkets and wholesale clubs. We predict profits will be maximized greatly coming from these establishments, especially in sales of the three/six value packs. It would be wise of Kodak to track the profits where the film is distributed within the first few months after repricing Gold Plus, gauge consumer demand and produce and distribute enough film in order to satisfy the market. Price While trying to implement an economy brand, Kodak failed when releasing Funtime film. The consumer was not educated in the differentiation between the superpremium Royal Gold, premium Gold Plus, and economy Funtime. Although the market was searching for a product from Kodak that would be introduced in the economy brand, Funtime was unsuccessful. By taking Funtime off the shelves, the economy portion of the Kodak market is unavailable. Gold Plus is Kodak’s current lowest brand of film, but still offers higher quality over competing economy brands. Due to the stages in the product life cycle, Gold Plus’ price will naturally decrease. Gold Plus has already experienced its peak times of sales during the introduction and growth stages. Now that Gold Plus has been on the market for a while, it is now in the maturity stage of its life cycle, as sales have begun to stabilize. In order for a product to still succeed in the Kodak 12 maturity stage, the product must stand out among competitors. Implementing a gradual price decrease will slowly lower Gold Plus into the economy level tier without adding an entire new Kodak line. Eventually, a 15% price cut would give Gold Plus a price of $2. 96, $. 05 more than the Fujicolor Super G and Konice Super SR economy brands. Still allowing Kodak to have a distinguished brand image over competitors in the economy brand, this would place Gold Plus as a premium brand competing with competitors of the economy level. Sending coupons to customers is another way to help Kodak gain back market share in the decreasing market. Coupons create brand recognition and make customers feel like they, personally, are receiving a great deal. Because perception is reality, it is important for Kodak to position its brand as a product of high value. Instead of drastically slashing prices, Kodak’s gradual price decrease, along with coupons, will help gain back the market. Making coupons available to customers helps Kodak keep their value. On the other hand, Royal Gold is still in the growth stage due to the replacement of Kodak’s previous superpremium film, Ektar. When Kodak implements Royal Gold into the market, replacing Ektar, Royal Gold’s price is 20% lower than the previously existing Ektar, at $4. 19. In the superpremium market, Fujicolor Reala is selling at $4. 69, a $. 42 increase over Kodak Ektar. By gradually decreasing the price of Royal Gold, overtime, it will eventually take the place of Gold Plus’ previous position. In 1993, the premium brand, Gold Plus sold at $3. 49, competing at the same price as Agfacolor XRG. â€Å"Gold Plus price was standard of the industry†. Gold Plus no longer has the power of setting the price due to the lack of market share and position in the product life cycle. Instead of allowing Gold Plus to completely diminish from the market, diffusing it into the economy tier will still give Gold Plus a competitive edge. Promotion In order to regain market share, it is important for Kodak to advertise the benefits of Royal Gold and Gold Plus film. A simple picture can prove quality of film; alongside educating through commercials, Kodak will ensure the consumer knows exactly what to look for in film. Mailing out coupons is another great form of advertising. Promotion will help Kodak educate, along with create brand recognition. In turn, customers will purchase Kodak film and avoid post-purchase dissonance. By launching an advertising campaign and Kodak 13 emphasizing the long-term quality of Kodak, as well as educating the customer on distinctions between each product, consumers will be attracted to the film best suited for their needs. Kodak can gain a larger market share by informing the customer what they are gaining from purchasing Kodak film before even entering the store. This campaign, done through commercials, emphasizes the benefits of buying each Kodak product. As Royal Gold is new to the market, more advertising must be focused to educate consumers about the product. Devote 60% of the advertising budget to Royal Gold and 40% to Gold Plus, allowing Royal Gold more resources to takeoff as a new product. Pinpointing the idea that the average picture taker can take a picture like a professional, without being targeted to professionals. A commercial representing Royal Gold as well as Gold Plus is necessary to show the perk of each product. The innovation of Royal Gold coming from Ektar, which was originally targeted to professionals, adds confusion to the average photographer, assuming the consumer must be a professional to purchase the product. By making it clear to the market that Royal Gold is targeted to the consumer wishing to capture the â€Å"special moments†, the average consumer will be more drawn to the product. Gold Plus advertisement will focus on the value of everyday quality film. Whenever you take a picture, Gold Plus is there for you, always dependable in any situation. In a Kodak commercial, Royal Gold is the film used to capture the special first moments of a baby being born. Gold Plus is the dependable film for irresistible times thereafter when the baby is constantly photographed. As a result of consumers being uneducated in the film market, the general hesitation of purchasing film will come from being unaware of the benefits each film provides. Educating consumers, promoting benefits of Kodak and showing the attributes important in the Gold Plus as well as the Royal Gold film will lead consumers to the correct product. With the correct promotional strategy, the education will be suited for the target market, resulting in a satisfied consumer.