Thomas Cook Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Thomas Cook - Essay Example These come because of a number of reasons including the failure of a leader to accomplish his/her missions within the period he/she expected (Casserly 2013). For example, Harriet Green had expected to revive Thomas Cook within a short time and move to another organisation with similar problems (Wadlow 2014). However, despite the various achievements and success in rescuing the company from collapse, the company was still experiencing problems after two years of her service. In addition, frustrations may also emerge when a leader faces new problems than those he/she expected before joining the organisation (Andersen 2012). Most probably, the rapid changes in the nature operations of the travel industry posed problems that were beyond Green’s experience leading to frustrations. Under these conditions, a leader may decide to pave the way for another person with the characteristics required to deal with the situation. The stock exchange worth of Thomas Cook was slightly below  £2 billion throughout Harriet inexperienced time of departure compared to  £148 million once she rose to power in July 2012 (Press Association 2014). The success of Peter Fankhauser can show from his ability to additional maintain and increase the stock worth by a lot of or similar quantity among a shorter or equal length as inexperienced. Green’s quest for continued success to succeeding section of the companys development is additionally a transparent challenge to the new leader as his success and failure within the next year can base on his ability to make and maintain a powerful team. Thomas shares slided by the maximum amount as two hundredth after Ms Greens declaration and a corporate notice that growth within the current year can moderate because of harder mercantilism conditions that have notably influenced European markets (Wadlow 2014). The success and failure of Peter Fankhauser within the next year can show from his ability to

Analysis of Stone Henge Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Analysis of Stone Henge - Essay Example The meanings behind the large circles of stone can only be guessed at. As has been noted, earlier grave sites were normally aligned with the winter solstice, allowing a shaft of sunlight to enter the chamber only on that day and that hour. However, once the circle was removed from such a close association with death, it is argued that the larger standing stones became aligned instead with sunrise at the summer solstice. While the stones of Stonehenge are aligned to various astronomical times (Souden, 1997), there are several indications that the circles may have served a deeper purpose than providing a necessary solar calendar for people who survived on cultivating the land. One theory holds that the circles are indeed aligned with the summer solstice as a means of reflecting the joining of the Earth Goddess, symbolized by the womb-like shape of the monument and the supine, glittering surface of the Altar Stone, with the Sky Father, symbolized by the open air structure and the entran ce of light. Others, such as Christopher Chippendale (1994) suggest that the alignment is more closely aligned with the midwinter sunset. About the only thing sure about Stonehenge is that its meaning was complex and immensely important to the generations of Neolithic farmers who lived in the area. With the origins of the structure lost to time, archaeological evidence remains the only means by which today’s culture might discover the people who built the structure.

Compare and Contrast Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Compare and Contrast - Assignment Example The question is why, despite of many oppositions against it, does discrimination still exist in many cultures of the African countries? Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a controversial international issue on human rights that many people from different cultures, whether they are for or against female circumcision, vary in opinions which come in clash with one another. The World Health Organization (2012) defines female genital mutilation as a procedure that involves partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or any other injury to the female genital organs, whether for cultural, religious or other non-therapeutic reasons. It is often called female circumcision implying the male circumcision as reasonable counterpart for the rite of passage of the masculine gender. However, it differs greatly from male circumcision because the degree of cutting is far more extensive, which human right advocates believe to be inhuman. This is one of many reasons why human rights’ enthusiasts fight against female genital mutilation as it is considered as a violation on the rights of women and children causing gr eat harm rather than being good according to anti-FGM enthusiasts. Focusing on the ill effects of female genital mutilation, according to anti-FGM and pro health movements, it often impairs a woman’s sexual and reproductive functions and can even affect the ability of girls and women to pass urine and menstrual flow normally that often leads to retention and further infection of the genital and pelvic area. This is why WHO have termed the practice a female genital mutilation because universally it mutilates women violating their rights (Royal College of Nursing, 2006). FGM has been a practice that can be traced a thousand years ago and still flourish even on today’s most modern and humanistic times. If it has been deemed as a violation of human rights then the question is why for humanity’s sake it still persists

Global Marketing Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Global Marketing Management - Case Study Example Second, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a premium and super-premium quality segment was virtually absent in the Russian vodka market; imported brands like Finland and Absolute were simply unaffordable (Grigorian). Consequentially, Russian Standard was positioned to occupy a market segment, which was mostly free of competitors but offered unlimited brand expansion opportunities. Eventually, Russian Standard vodka did not merely rely on its superior quality but sought to sustain a prestigious name and brand image: in this way, Russian Vodka brand would become appealing to both groups of customers – those who respected its quality and those, who were fascinated with its prestige (Grigorian). Unfortunately, brand positioning of Russian Standard vodka in Russia was not without controversy. The numerous attributes of the Russian Standard brand failed to create a complete and comprehensible picture of its most advantageous features. Simply stated, the brand message sent t o customers fell short of comprehensibility – customers could not understand what exactly Russian Standard vodka was and would become if they chose to drink it. Furthermore, with the emphasis on the historical traditions and orientation toward the future, the advertising and brand positioning campaign for Russian Standard failed to develop a sense of pride in Russian consumers (Grigorian). Many of them reported difficulties with understanding the Russian Standard brand and its underlying message. Many others felt that, instead of priding the legacy of vodka traditions in Russia, the Russian Standard campaign sacrificed historical traditions for the sake of progress (Grigorian). Finally, Russian Standard brand positioning campaigns failed to communicate a message of prestige; for this reason, most advertising campaigns were prematurely terminated. Nonetheless, Russian Standard vodka remains one of the most competitive brands in the Russian market. Russian Standard demonstrates a number of competitive advantages. First, the quality of its vodka is difficult to overestimate: the product is manufactured in accordance with the premium vodka recipe created by Mendeleev and approved by the Czar’s government in 1894 (Grigorian). Birch charcoal filters are used to distill vodka, whereas only â€Å"deluxe grain spirits from Central Russia† are being used in manufacturing (Grigorian). It goes without saying that quality is the main criterion of any brand’s success. The use of pure undistilled water from northern parts of Russia adds value to Russian Standard vodka products; it is because of its premium quality that Russian Standard managed to achieve Russian market excellence without extensive advertising (Grigorian). Second, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians have become particularly sensitive to their traditions and heritage. Years of communist pressures denied the Russians their right for self-actualization, self-expressio n, and historical memory. Russian Standard was one of the first to remind the Russian people of historical values and traditions, immediately creating a strong bond between consumers and the history of

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR & LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR & LEADERSHIP - Essay Example Thus, for this reason Employee 1 used to work even in the weekends for receiving the bonus (Podsakoff & Schriesheim, 1985). Coercive power refers to such situation when an employee is forced by managers to abide by the order as a means of punishment. It may lead to employees’ dissatisfaction in the job. The marketing manager of Corporation A wanted that entire marketing employees should comply with his orders and work for more hours in a week (Podsakoff & Schriesheim, 1985). Legitimate power means that it is the perception of employees that managers have the capacity to give orders depending on the position. In the marketing department of Corporation A, employees considered that managers had the right to order and encourage them due to his position (Podsakoff & Schriesheim, 1985). Referent power relates to the respect of employees towards managers. In this context, managers direct by citing examples and it exists basically upon trust. In the given scenario of Corporation A, Employee 3 who works in sales department had only 1 year experience in this organization. His personality was liked by each individual for his positive attitude and charismatic nature. In one of the meetings, he had suggested a project for sales growth and was appreciated by everyone. Though he had not led team before, the corporation gave him the responsibility to manage the team over the project after receiving admiration from colleagues (Podsakoff & Schriesheim, 1985). Expert power indicates that a particular employee has high skill level or specialized knowledge over others. Employee 2 is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) of the corporation. He had only the specialized skill for the formation of financial statements of the corporation. For this reason, he negotiated with the accountant manager to work only four days in a week and manager allowed as there was no other

English as Official Language Debate Essay Example for Free

English as Official Language Debate Essay The United States is a nation founded by immigrants. Throughout the years the US has struggled with discrimination and close-mindedness. But, when we put our differences aside we can achieve the impossible. We are a country united by our differences. We celebrate our diversity, independence and individuality. We are a country that believes in choice, and one of those choices should be the option to speak the language which we relate to and understand. It was our forefather’s ambition that got us to the Land of The Free and our determination that made us successful. So how can we say we stand for freedom if we don’t give our people, immigrants (illegal or not), the right to speak their language? We are a country for the people, but not all of our people speak English. Many Americans argue that those who live in America should speak English but think about this: English is the sum of many other languages. The British brought English to America and forced the Native Americans to convert to their language and their ways. In modern society, we cringe at the idea of oppression and encourage those who are oppressed to speak out for themselves, yet turn a blind eye when we are the oppressors. A parallel can be drawn with bullying. It is an issue that many children, teens, and adults experience. Bullying has been an active topic in the media in recent years. Teachers, parents and authoritative figures continue to urge those who are bullied or have witnessed an act of bullying to stand up for themselves and get help. Thus, America is not only being hypocritical and ignorant, but it is also being a bully by forcing other’s to speak â€Å"our† language. We are oppressing their beliefs. We are telling them that they must speak our language if they want to be American; they must speak our language if they want to be successful. Understandingly, those who come to America should be educated in our history and be required to pass a citizenship test. But speaking English does not make one an American. A citizen is not inferior because he/she cannot speak English. Americans today are born with this innate sense of superiority. Yet, over the years we have overcome most of our selfish and antiquated ways and this is just another obstacle which we must surmount. We cannot force a diverse group of people to speak one language when our nation consists of so many. We cannot force a language upon our people without oppressing those people. Making English the official language would make us hypocrites and bullies. Therefore, English should not be the official language of the United States.

New Product Launch Marketing Plan, Part II Essay Example for Free

New Product Launch Marketing Plan, Part II Essay The following is the second part to the iNKtopia product launch plan. The second part of the marketing plan consists of a detailed target market profile, including buying behaviors, decision motivators, and organizational target markets. The plan also includes steps to manage each stage of the product life cycle and tactical plans for the Four P’s. Finally, the second part of the marketing plan expands on the product offering expressed in part one and a new position statement to drive iNKtopia’s positioning strategy. Market Profile The defined target market profile of the consumer group that the company needs to market to is easily defined in the region but covers many different business groups. The target market for iNKtopia’s will be concentrated at first in the region centrally located geographically to the main facility of iNKtopia. This will allow easy access by potential customers to iNKtopia for convenience of use. Being located in the business district also allows iNKtopia to offer pickup and delivery of larger orders directly to the customer. The availability of an established customer base already using the product that iNKtopia has to offer has advantages and disadvantages. Most small businesses in the area use printers in everything from cash registers to small desk computers in the business work place. Most ink purchases are acquired by making a trip to the local office supply where house taking away valuable time from work that could be used for other more important tasks than driving to the store and purchasing ink. The availability of iNKtopia’s on sire delivery can be used an appealing time and cost saver when presented to the business owners. Larger businesses usually have a local contract with a local supply where house that delivers directly to the business. Selling the local angle at lower rates with a personal touch would help make inroads into larger businesses (gunter, 2013). Product Life Cycle The first phase of iNKtopia’s product life cycle is the introduction phase. The introduction phase â€Å"†¦is a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Profits are nonexistent because of the heavy expenses of product introduction† (Kotler Keller, 2012, p. 310). iNKtopia will provide ink refilling services to consumers at a more reasonable price and providing quality service with a degree of options to meet customer needs. In this phase iNKtopia will focus on providing a quality product that is cheap to manufacture to help offset startup cost. During this phase, iNKtopia will go with a pricing strategy that will keep the product price low to attract many new customers to the products and services. This is contrary to a pricing strategy that will price the products higher to help recoup start-up cost. INKtopia is focused on providing high quality low cost products and services to its customers. This phase will be critical to the success of iNKtopia because the ink refilling service is a brick and mortar establishment that enables customers to walk-in and refill ink cartridges of all different types at a reasonable price. The products and services that iNKtopia will provide will only be available in iNKtopia stores which will create a greater need to use great promotions, print ads, and television ads to spread the word about the next big thing in ink. Growth Phase The growth phase is â€Å"a period of rapid market acceptance and substantial profit improvement† (Kotler Keller, 2012, p. 310). In the growth phase the sales and profits of iNKtopia products will start to rise. During this phase iNKtopia will keep the product price the same to capitalize on earnings made from the new product while ensuring product quality preserved. During this Phase iNKtopia must expand the products distribution during the growth stage. To achieve product distribution the company can start to deliver services to local business. This will create an option for consumers to avoid the hassle of going out to get ink by having iNKtopia bring the ink to the business. During this Phase iNKtopia will increase advertising on television, print ads, and provide discounts and incentives to customers that want the ink delivered. The increase of advertising will continue to help the company grow, expand, and build a larger consumer base. Maturity Phase The maturity Phase will create â€Å"a slowdown in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers† (Kotler Keller, 2012, p. 310). As iNKtopia’s profits become stable or deteriorate because of an increase in competition the company must look to diversify. If the company is successful up to this point the product will unavoidably lead to more competition. Competitors will eventually start introducing similar products, or larger ink companies may simply lower the price of their ink. Therefore iNKtopia will need to diversify or develop new products, services, or lower costs to distinguish iNKtopia’s products from the competitors. Ideally, iNKtopia can enhance customer services and its image to become a leader in the ink industry. This could also be coupled with a change in the pricing strategy by slightly lowering the cost of iNKtopia products. However, iNKtopia will strive to create superior customer service and innovation of the ink business to hopefully create additional sales and attract even more customers. Another promotional idea would be to focus on the environmental aspects of refilling cartages with iNKtopia ink instead of buying a new cartage each time a printer runs out of ink. The company can then focus advertisements on superior customer service and environmental benefits of purchasing product from the iNKtopia. Decline Phase The decline phase is â€Å"when sales show a downward drift and profits erode† (Kotler Keller, 2012, p. 310). Demand for iNKtopia products will in the long run diminish as newer technologies change how documents are viewed. From this time, iNKtopia is limited on options because ink may no longer be the primary source for document printing. INKtopia will have the choice to keep the product and sell it at greatly lower price or to terminate the product and transition to the new printing source. In this specific industry if ink is phased out there is really no way to continue increasing sales because finding a new use for ink is unlikely. It would be ideal to focus on the innovation that technology brings and ultimately move away from ink. The company can focus promotion on other products and services that the company may offer. Product Mix The iNKtopia product mix consists of several different products and services. Figure 1 below shows the width and length of the iNKtopia poduct mix. Figure 1. Product Mix Width and Length for iNKtopia. Cartridge Refills Features: High quality ink for the top 10 printer companies in the world. iNKtopia can refill the existing cartridge within 24 hours of drop-off. In most cases, a replacement cartridge will be given as a complimentary service to customers. Benefits: Fast and convenient service. The complimentary cartridge swap assists customers with minimal down-time. Recycled Cartridge Sales Features: The sale of recycled and refilled ink cartridges for the top 10 printer companies. The cartridges will look brand new and perform at the same level as a new cartridge. Benefits: By reselling recycled ink cartridges, iNKtopia is decreasing the footprint of wasted materials and lowering the cost of goods on to the customer. Customers will rest assured knowing they have a quality product that has saved waste and decreased costs. Contract Ink Service Features: Convenient and on-time ink refilling services. iNKtopia will come to the business location, remove ink cartridges, refill them, and reinstall them in the printers. Quantity of refills per month will depend on the contract service signed. Benefits: This service takes the worry out of running out of ink. Once a cartridge is out of ink a simple phone call or email will dispatch an ink specialist within 4 business hours. The contract service enables companies to plan for ink costs and not worry about the hassle of ordering and replacing ink cartridges. This service is also cheaper than a traditional ink cartridge replacement and is better for the environment. Contract Printer Service Features: Convenient and on-time printer maintenance and repair services. Every service plan includes preventative maintenance service to help reduce future downtime for printing equipment. Depending on the contract service, a specified amount of time for repair will be available each month. Benefits: By purchasing a printer service plan, companies can save money per hour of labor. These plans also take the worry from broken equipment because a printer technician will be onsite within 4 business hours of a service call or email. Branding The branding of iNKtopia begins with the company’s name. The name is a combination of the major service â€Å"ink† and â€Å"topia† which means place. It also reminds consumers of the concept of a utopia; which many people associated as an ideal or perfect place. The name is catchy and identifies the business. The branded name is also used as a symbol on packaging for ink cartridges and shipped boxes. The company graphic is shown below in Figure 2. Figure 2. iNKtopia Logo. Differentiating Characteristics Unlike most ink refilling services, iNKtopia provides a one for one swap of cartridges to minimize customer downtime. Packaging and Labeling Every refilled cartridge will be shrink-wrapped to maintain cleanliness standards. The packaging will consist of iNKtopia graphics and information. Most refilling companies refill cartridges and give them back to the customer. This causes the business to miss a marketing opportunity. By shrink-wrapping the cartridge iNKtopia is able to label the product. The label can serve several purposes, including identifying, grading, describing, and promoting the product (Kotler Keller, 2011). Warranties and Guarantees iNKtopia provides a limited warranty on cartridge refills. Each refill also has an expressed guarantee written on the shrink-wrap around the cartridge. This guarantees a clean, refilled, and operable ink cartridge. If a customer has any concern over the quality or condition of the cartridge it can be returned for no additional charge. In the case of a return due to error, a hardship discount will be applied to the customer’s next purchase. Conclusion The second part of iNKtopia’s marketing plan described the target market, buying behaviors, decision motivators, and organizational target markets. Second, the plan examined methods for managing the stages of the product life cycle, including tactical plans for the Four P’s at each stage. Finally, the plan expanded on the product offering from part one and provided a new positioning statement.