Indian folk dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Indian folk dance - Essay Example Folk dances are the essential elements of almost every important event of Indian social life and celebration. Despite their extreme simplicity, all folk dances tend to convey certain messages to the community they belong to with regard to their history or survival. As mentioned in the introduction, one of the important features of all Indian folk dances is their simplicity. Dancers normally wear colorful costumes having creative designs and symbols. They also wear extensive jewels which obviously enhance the performance and overall appeal. Though not classical in nature, Indian folk dances are evidently creative works that comprise certain artistic steps and postures. These steps are usually accompanied by rhythmic composition of some primitive musical instruments. Unlike classical dances, folk dances are cherished by common people to express their joy on different occasions. To be more specific, folk dances maintain a social perspective rather than the mere manifestation of individual emotions. Bhangra: Bhangra is a lively folk dance originated from Punjab and is highly associated with harvest celebrations of the state. Therefore, normally it is performed on April 13, the day of Baishaki. The dance is accompanied by Punjabi Boliyaan lyrics and drum beats. The drummer plays a vital role in enhancing the tempo of dancers’ movements. The costume of Bhangra dancers reflects the typical Punjabi outfit. In addition to the traditional turban on head, they wear colorful waistcoat and ‘ghunghroos’ on ankles; and Bhangra, fondly called ‘Shaan of Punjab’ was introduced to Vancouver during the 1st international Sports and Cultural Festival (Dances of India). Although Bhangra songs have been a major influence on the Indian film industry Bollywood for decades, obviously Bhangra has got mixed with western classical music. As Huq (121) points out, a bhangra/hip hop crossover has been visible in the UK produced rap for the recent years. According to the writer, the bhangra beats and Punjabi lyrics have been a major influence on western world of music since 1980s. In other words, Bhangra has been highly influenced by the various dance periods mainly because of its vulnerability to amalgamate with other cultures and art forms. For instance, as Roy (22) argues, contemporary bhangra fails to reflect its primitive folk origin or other classificatory boundaries. Obviously bhangra has become a popular art despite its Indian origin as a primitive folk dance. Padayani: this is one of the important traditional folk dances said to have promoted by some temples of Southern Kerala in India. The most fascinating feature of this art is the ‘Kolam†™, the huge mask which is the imitation of some divine and semi divine characters including Bhairavi, Kali, Kalan, Yakshi etc. The masks or chest-covers the performers wear are extremely huge so that no one can identify the persons. Although researchers are deeply at odds, the origin of Padayani traces back to several centuries. As reported in The Hindu, some are of the opinion that Padayani originated

Mercury Athletic Footwear Essay Example for Free

Mercury Athletic Footwear Essay John Liedtke head of Active Gear, Inc. (AGI) is contemplating whether to invest in Mercury Athletic a subsidiary of West Coast Fashions (WCF). Mercury was purchased by WCF in hopes to increase business revenue however this was not the case. Business did not do as expected, WCF was then eager to abandon its apparel. John Liedtke saw this as an opportunity to take over Mercury and as result increase its business revenue. In order to determine whether this is an essential business opportunity John needs to complete preliminary financial valuations to make a solid decision. Active Gear’s current income statements and balance sheets have made it evident that the firm has a lot of potential for growth when acquiring an additional company. After maintaining simple production and supply chains AGI avoided the worst of industry write-downs and missed profit opportunities (Luehrman, Helprin (2009). In comparison to other larger industry’s AGI has a strong operating margin. Even though AGI is a profitable firm it has a downfall that it is much smaller than many of its competitors and is slowly becoming a disadvantage. In order to foresee future growth AGI should take the necessary measures to incorporate Mercury Athletic Footwear. Similar to AGI, Mercury has potential room for growth despite its former acquisition with West Coast Fashions. In order to determine Mercury’s future financial growth John should use financial forecasting. This is essential for budgeting as well as planning purposes. The most obvious involves using cash flow forecasts (Formula shown on Exhibit 1). Cash flow forecasts are used to predict account balances several years into the future and indicates what is expected to exist during a forecast period (Gabehart Valuation Services. (2003). In conducting a 5 year projection from 2006 to 2011 in both the income statement and balance sheets John can identify Mercury’s net worth and highlight what its financial revenue maybe (Formula shown on Exhibit 1). These forecasts results are based on historic facts and can be adjusted. In doing this John can clearly see whether processes are in control or out of control for example how inventory changes affect finance costs and whether the investment is worth making. This also makes it clear what financing options are more suitable in the long term and which ones would cause problems, as a result avoid any surprises (Olley (2006). The discount rate of acquiring Mercury is also essential to know. Since discount cash flow is a valuation method used to estimate investment opportunities. Its purpose is to estimate money received from an investment and adjust for time value money (Harman (2011). In this case a 12% forecast was estimated and reflected a positive factor toward PV and NPV. There are however, some circumstances where discount cash flow can be a challenge for example, the most prevailing is when cash flow projections increase for each year in the forecast. It is then assumed that a company will mature in such a way that their maintainable growth rates will lean toward long-term rate of economic growth in the long run (Harman (2011). This intern becomes a challenge for the company against unexpected risks. In consideration to Mercury’s financial history and projections it would be in the best interest for AGI to move forward and invest in Mercury. This would increase revenue for AGI and bring in a new customer market. Prior to doing so John will need to perform a financial forecast as previously discussed. The review of general factors and considerations related to the preparation of forecasts needs to be in order as well. To begin John will need to compare each given year’s net worth on the balance sheet to the next. Assuming the cash flow is increasing and positive figures are shown it can be determine that revenue is coming in. However, most importantly if the Net Present Value (NPV) reflects a negative number or is smaller than zero then the investment should be rejected. In this case NPV is positive therefore John should accept the investment. Using this determination John will be able to make a confidant decision. The use of predicting income figures is important as it recognizes a company’s future benefits and is highly stressed in a company especially when determining an investment opportunity.

Classical School and Positive Criminology | Essay

Classical School and Positive Criminology | Essay Around the mid-eighteenth century, philosophers began arguing for a more rational, humanistic approach to criminal punishment. They sought to eliminate the cruel, public executions which were designed to deter crime or scare people into submission. In doing so the Classical and Positive Schools, as they pertain to criminal behavior, began to take shape. The field of criminology basically began with the establishment of the Classical School. According to this school human behavior is rational, meaning individuals have the ability to choose right from wrong and therefore they rationally choose to commit crime. The Classical School was developed by Cesare Beccaria, an Italian philosopher and Jeremy Bentham, an English philosopher, in response to the cruel European justice system that existed prior to 1789. Eighteenth century Europeans utilized capital punishment as a consequence of crime and deviant behavior. On the other hand, the Positive School, developed by Cesare Lombroso, an Italian surgeon, and two of his students, Enrico Ferri and Raffaele Garofalo, is the study of criminal behavior based upon external factors. According to Franklin P. Williams in Criminological Theory (2014), He reported that criminals manifest traits of sensory impairment; a lack of moral sense, particularly the absence of remorse; and the use of slang and ta ttoos (page 30). Lombroso believes a person is predisposed to a criminal lifestyle because he is born a criminal and not made into one. Each school of thought, Classical and Positive, has impacted the criminal justice system today. Both schools are in force, and both are instrumental in the ending of cruel, inhumane treatment of criminals and to the reformation of the death penalty. The Classical School views human behavior as rational in nature; believes that people have the ability to choose right from wrong; and believes that the major factor governing a persons choice is the desire to obtain pleasure and avoid pain. Punishment for crimes should be swift and certain, and must be public, prompt and necessary. It has to be proportionate to the crime and dictated by law. The primary idea behind the Positive School is that criminals are born as criminals, not made into criminals. It is the nature of the person, not how one is raised, that results in criminal tendencies. The positivist rejects the ideas that humans have a free will, that each individual makes a conscious, rational choice to commit a crime. They believe that an individuals behavior is determined by various biological (atavism), psychological (faulty personality development) and sociological (social structure) factors. Basically, due to these factors, responsibility for an offenders actions is reduced. Also, the punishment for crime must fit the offender rather than the crime. Rehabilitation, instead of punishment, is a major part of the treatment plan under this school of thought. Classical and Positive Schools both share the same idea that criminal behavior can be controlled and is a consequence of human nature. The two schools believe the most serious crimes are committed by people who are atavists or who fail to change into a civilized human state. The Positive School is concerned with reforming the offender by isolating the causes of the offenders criminal behavior, while the Classical School focuses on retribution by creating an environment where crime is based on a persons free will. The Positive School studies the natural origin of crime and focuses on what factors induce offenders to commit crimes. In contrast, the Classical School believes the offender commits a crime of his own free will knowing a form of punishment will follow. The Classical School emphasizes that people make a rational decision to commit a crime. This means that the offender will think the crime through considering the positive and negative consequences of the crime. So, if the immediate gain of the crime exceeds to consequences of punishment, the offender will choose to commit the crime and suffer the consequences later. Individuals who believe in this theory, believe the logical way to reduce crime is to give criminals harsher punishments. An example of harsher punishments is the mandatory minimum sentencing laws requiring set prison terms for certain crimes. However, the one-size-fits-all concept may seem like a quick fix, but they undermine justice by precluding judges from fitting the punishment to the individual and the circumstances of the offense as theorized by the Positive School. Also, the tough on crime mentality, through mandatory sentencing laws, adds to the billions of dollars spent to incarcerate offenders who may fair bett er under community supervision programs, such as probation. Mandatory minimums also lead to prison overcrowding, excessive costs to taxpayers and a diversion of dollars for law enforcement. Each school of thought, both the Classical and Positive, impacts the criminal justice system today. They are both in force and contribute to the ending of cruel and inhumane treatment of criminals. The United States Constitution is based on these two schools. The classical school concepts of letting the punishment fit the crime is the basis for the sentencing guidelines of the justice system and the positive school concepts make it possible for criminals to acquire the rehabilitative services they need in order to become functioning members of society. References Williams, III, Franklin P., and Marilyn D. McShane. (2014). Criminological Theory, 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Ben Franklin Norris Essay -- essays research papers

Benjamin Franklin Norris, one of the leading figures in the naturalistic style of writing, was born in Chicago in 1970. During his teenage years he moved to 1822 Sacramento Street to live with his father in San Francisco. He traveled to Paris and studied Art and was first exposed to one of his influential writers Emile Zola. He returned to San Francisco and studied the philosophy of evolution at the University of California at Berkley. He transferred to Harvard and took writing classes under Lewis E Gates. Upon graduating he attempted to make a name for himself as a travel writer. He traveled to South Africa and wrote an article about the Boer war. His plans to stay there were cut short as he was captured by the Boer army and deported back to the United States. When he returned to San Francisco, Norris began writing for the magazine The Wave. It was at The Wave that he wrote his first published article that later turned into a novel. Norris continued to work as a journalist, coverin g the Spanish-American war and he published a few more novels. In 1900, he began work on his second trilogy and most influential set of writings called The Epic of Wheat. The first book of his trilogy, The Octopus, was published in 1901. The second novel, The Pitt, was just near finished when he suffered from appendicitis and had to go under the knife to have his appendix removed. Unfortunately he never recovered from his surgery, and the third book of his trilogy was never written. Norris was mar...

Berlucchi Market Analysis

————————————————- Berlucchi ————————————————- Marketing Plan 2012 Table of contents Executive Summary Introduction Guido Berlucchi & Co. SpA is one of Italy’s leading sparkling wine producers. After years of outstanding success, the company finds itself facing a stable market, with competition becoming even more intense, distribution more complex and consumers more sophisticated.The executive Committee is convinced that the strategy that drove the company’s development in its first 40 years needs to open up a new growth path, thus this marketing plan for the strategy for the upcoming three years. External Analysis Customer analysis Approximately 35% of the 313,000 million inhabitants of the U. S. drink wine at a per capita rate of 11. 5 liters. In te rms of demographics 69% are white, 14% Hispanic, and 11% African American, with the remainder 9% from other races.The average age of the American wine consumer is 49, with Millennials making up 26% of wine consumers,  generation X-ers aged 35-44 at 19%, ages 45 to 54 at 21%, and those over 55 at 34%. 24% of wine consumers in the U. S. have a college degree Segmentation by frequency Wine consumers are divided into two categories, core wine drinkers and marginal wine drinkers. The core group drinks wine once a week at least and represents 57% of wine consumers whereas the marginal group has a glass of wine in a time span ranging from once every 2 or 3 months to 2 or 3 times a month. 8% of all wine consumers have a glass of wine more than once a week and are considered to be the high frequency wine drinkers. Segmentation by age Thirty two percent of baby boomers (47 to 65) have a glass of wine compared to 17 percent in 2005. 62 percent of Generation X-ers (aged 35 to 46) are core win e drinkers, compared to only 43 percent in 2007. 6 percent of Millennials (aged 17 to 34) drink wine on a daily basis, 26 percent of them drink wine several times a week and 19 percent drinks once a week on average. This comprises the core wine drinking segment of Millennials, accounting for 63 percent of them compared to 37 percent in 2007.There is a significant difference between younger Millennials (17 – 25) and older Millennials (26 – 34). Older Millennials consume wine with greater frequency, consumed more glasses of wine per drinking occasion (2. 92 glasses on average) and were found to be highly experimental as 89% of older Millennials frequently purchase wine of an unfamiliar brand. Also interesting is that 60 percent of older Millennials found â€Å"fun and contemporary† looking labels of great importance when choosing wine to drink at home compared to just 31% of Baby Boomers.All Millennials and high end wine drinkers throughout the Generation X and ba by boomers often visit wine related web sites and Facebook pages or follow wine twitter accounts. The generational differences are also noticeable in the preference of domestically produced wines and imported wines. * 63% of Millennials, (70 million consumers), are reported to either â€Å"primarily drink imports† or â€Å"equally drink imports and domestics† * 43% of Generation X members (44 million consumers) report the same preferences * 32% of Baby Boomers (77 million consumers) report these preferences Segmentation by geographyWine consumption per person is lowest in the Midwest where 13% buys 4 or more bottles per month compared to 24% in the South, 25% of those in the North East and 29% in the West where 10% of the adult population even purchases 11 or more bottles per month. The top three states for Wine consumption are California, New York and Florida. The top three emerging markets, where the capita per wine consumption has grown the most over the past three years are Texas, Illinois and New Jersey Western states, especially those that produce wine locally such as California, Washington and Oregon, have proven more ikely to favor domestic wines while eastern states are more receptive to imports. Amongst others, New York, Florida, New Jersey and Washington DC all import more than 30% of the total wine consumption from outside the U. S. Competitive analysis Direct Competitors Listed below are the top 3 sparkling wines in the US at the current moment. They all fall in the range of our target customers in terms of their taste and their prices making them a direct threat and therefore a direct competitor. JCB by Jean-Charles Boisset No. 69 Burgundy, France ———————————————— Jean-Charles Boisset's JCB wines are made entirely from Pinot Noir grapes grown in the Burgundy region of France, this refreshing rose is light and crisp, offeri ng raspberry and red currant aromas. Many wine lovers associate this brand with romantic outings. It is currently listed as number one on the top sparkling wines in the US available at only 7 stores, and at a very affordably price it is sure to be serious competitor. Price: $20 ————————————————- Toso BrutMendoza, Argentina Toso has been producing sparkling wines in the Mendoza wine region of Argentina for 85 years. Their non-vintage brut is made entirely from Chardonnay grapes. Light and refreshing, it offers aromas of lemon and apple with buttery and toasty notes. It is very popular in the US with people looking for something inexpensive, well made, clean and bubbly especially for large events like weddings, receptions and birthday parties. ————————————————- Pri ce: $11 ————————————————-Taltarni Brut Tache Australia ————————————————- Made from Chardonnay, it is an established household name, known for producing extraordinarily high quality sparkling wines in Australia. They are known to be very environmental friendly because they recycle the vines and they refrain from using Diuron and Simazine on their property, thereby reducing the impact on ground water. One disadvantage however is that its prices compared to other wines has been progressively rising lately. Price: $25 Indirect competitorListed below is one of the top wines in the US at the current moment, although it does not fall under the category sparkling wines it is nonetheless a competitor in the total wine market especially now that it is making is mark on the US market making it worth the mention. Moscato’s Asti, Italy ————————————————- Moscato is currently one of the fastest-growing wine varietals in the U. S. Moscato wines tend to be sweeter and less alcoholic. Gallo, which holds 44 per cent of Moscato’s market share, saw sales of its own Gallo Family Vineyard Moscato increase by 124%in 2010, according to marketing research firm IRI.More than half of all Moscato consumers are under the age of 45, while nearly one-third are between the ages of 25 and 34. ————————————————- ————————————————- Moscato’s popularity with the younger generation could, perhaps, be due to hip hop influences. Ka nye West claimed  on MTV that he liked Moscato, while Lil’ Kim sang â€Å"Still over in Brazil/Sipping Moscato. † A more likely reason, however, is the low price tag that many Moscatos enjoy. ————————————————- ————————————————-Price: $5,99 – $16,79 Market analysis Overall size The U. S. wine industry has steadily increased in size and revenue over the past ten years and has grown into the fourth largest wine producing country in the world. In 2010 the U. S. became the leading wine consuming country, consuming as much as 330 million cases a year. This means Americans drink 3. 96 billion bottles of wine, surpassing France’s 3. 85 billion bottles and have spent more than $40 billion on wine in 2010. California is the largest wine produc ing and consuming state in the nation, currently it accounts for 61% volume share of the U.S. market. Projected growth Wine market is currently witnessing steady growth in both developed and emerging economies. Increasing disposable incomes, rising awareness about the medical benefits of wine, and the resultant consumer shift towards consumption of premium alcoholic beverages are driving the growth in the wine industry. US wine market is one of the fastest growing markets of the world, both in terms of production and consumption As per our findings, the US wine market is expected to hit a value of around US$ 33. Billion with 871 Million Gallons of wine sales by 2013. The market (in volume terms) will grow at an annual growth rate of over 3% during 2010-2013. The economic recession had impacted the US wine industry by consumers starting to enjoy low-priced bottles and wines by glasses. The millennial segment is the future of the US wine industry, and their numbers are increasing as y ounger members are attaining the drinking age. Moreover, rise in the number of female wine drinkers in marginal segment is also fueling the growth of the US wine industry.This trend, coupled with government’s initiatives, is playing a greater role in promoting reforms and competitiveness in the wine industry of the US. The market for sparkling wine in the USA has been growing rapidly in recent years according to some top findings from the Wine Market Council Report: Profitability Sparkling wine sales in the U. S. are estimated to have outperformed table wine brands for the third straight year in 2011, when American drinkers will have consumed the equivalent of 900 million glasses.More than 40 percent of those 15 million cases are sold during the holiday season. The overall wine market is projected to increase 1. 7 percent by year-end, to 313 million cases, its 18th consecutive annual gain. Sparkling wines account for a modest 5 percent, but growing, share of that volume. Entr y Barriers The wine industry in the U. S. has high barriers of entry because of high investments needed to buy land and machinery together with high costs of advertising and distribution. Because of the strict laws and high taxation of alcohol in the U. S. large economies of scale have the best chance of becoming and remaining profitable. Distribution System Throughout the U. S. the three tier system is enforced for the distribution of all alcoholic beverages. The system works as follows: * Non-U. S. Producer * 1st Tier – U. S. Producer / Importer * 2nd Tier – Distributor * 3rd Tier – On/Off Premise Trade (restaurants/ bars/ retailer) Non-U. S. producers are only allowed to sell directly to an importer, Importers and U. S. Producers are only allowed to sell to retailers, and only retailers are allowed to sell to consumers.Some states have partially or completely prohibited the distribution and/or the retailing tier and have these operated by the state government itself or contractors operating under its authority rather than by independent privateers. In any case taxes must be collected at all three tiers, even though in some states the importer and the distributor can be the same company, it must still pay taxes for both tiers. Trends A broadening of the consumer base, a greater range on offer, and an increasing desire among some consumers to make sparkling wine a regular rather than occasional treat are the main factors driving the trend.Americans still do not drink as much sparkling wine as consumers in other countries like Germany and the UK, but there is a strong long-term growth trend establishing for domestic and particularly mid-priced imported sparkling wines in the years ahead. At the moment Moscato has experienced a sharp increase in sales, up 73%, driven largely by younger drinkers. Cheaper and in wide range of flavored wines have become more popular as well due to restaurants adding less popular varietals to their glass pour l ist because the higher profit margin.This has resulted in wine consumers becoming more open-minded to seeking out unique varietals. Italy’s Macro Environment analysis: Demographic The Italian Population is currently approximately 61,261,254 but the growth rate of the population is gradually slowing, with most of the increase coming from immigration. Birth rates and death rates are virtually identical. However, the national figures conceal contrasting regional trends. In general, the birth rate and average family size are higher in the south of Italy than in the north, although populations in Molise, Basilicata, and Calabria are declining through continued emigration.For the country as a whole, life expectancy rose during the second half of the 20th century, reflecting higher nutritional, sanitary, and medical standards. At the beginning of the 21st century, the majority of the population was between 20 and 49 years old, with the largest group between ages 30 and 44. The age s tructure is built up as follows: 0-14 years:13. 8% male 4,315,292female 4,124,624. 15-64 years:65. 9% male 19,888,901female 20,330,495 65 years and over:  20. 3% male 5,248,418female 7,109,074 GDP Contribution by Economic Sector  and Top Industries: Agriculture:  3. 9%Industry:  28. 3% Services:  67. 8% (2011) Economic Italy  is currently the world's largest  wine  producer. However it has not been immune to the global economic downturn but it has been able to weather the financial storm. Wine is a key player in Italian trade with exports in 2011 valued at 3. 6 billion euros, compared to imports of 326 million euros. Sparkling wines account for 11% of exports. A sector report presented at the Vinitaly wine trade fair showed that the economic downturn was responsible for a 5. 1% decline in Italian wine exports in 2008 over the previous year.In this moment of economic crisis and uncertainty, people try to satisfy their desires. Italian cuisine is the most popular all o ver the world. In Italy the Docg sparkling wines do better than others, indicating that high quality standards and strong local identity, as much as the price, are central factors for the customers’ choices. Italian exports   rose 17 per cent in the first nine months of 2010, according to Coldiretti, the   Italian farmers   association. The growth had been even higher at 22% for the first six months of the year, primarily due to explosive demand from the US. Ecological (Natural)The future of wine grape supply depends on the availability of groundwater and high temperatures will decrease the availability of wine grapes. High water use by the industry, and in particular the treatment of wastewater, is likely to come under increasing public scrutiny. Over the five years through 2015-16, the level of capital intensity is likely to increase marginally due to investment in water treatment. Political The wine and grape industry in Italy is regulated by laws and decrees issued by the Ministry of Agriculture (Ministro Delle Risorse Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali).Italy is also a member of the European Union and shares the Common External Tariff regime. EU duties are charged by the Italian Customs Agency on the CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value of the product imported into Italy. Below are the 4 wine designations: * DOCG:  the highest classification for Italian wines, introduced in 1963. It denotes controlled production methods and guaranteed wine quality. There are strict rules governing the production of DOCG wines, most obviously the permitted grape varieties,  yield  limits, grape ripeness, winemaking procedures and ageing specifications.Every DOCG wine is subject to official tasting procedures. To prevent counterfeiting, the bottles have a numbered government seal across the neck. * DOC: a step below DOCG, the DOC classification accounts for the majority of wines produced in Italy. The quality control regulations are less stringent than t hose applied to DOCG wines. * IGT: The IGT classification was introduced in 1992, to allow a certain level of freedom to Italy's winemakers. Prior to 1992, many wines did not qualify for DOC or DOCG status not because they were of low quality, but because they were made from grape varieties (or blends) not sanctioned under DOC/G laws.The IGT classification focuses on the region of origin, rather than grape varieties or wine styles. * VDT:  VDT wines are typically of lesser quality than those labeled with IGT, DOC or DOCG, but not always; the ‘Super Tuscans' (see below) are often labeled as Vino da Tavola. U. S. Macro Environment analysis The following macro environmental factors have an indirect effect on Berlucchi’s success in the US market. The major forces of the macro environment should be highly regarded as the company is looking to enter unfamiliar territory while at the same time striving to acquire a competitive advantage.Demographics According to the Wine Int elligence USA Sparkling Report 2012, over 30 million Americans say they drink sparkling wine at least once a year. For the majority of this population their sparkling wine experience is confined to perhaps one or two glasses a year, on special occasions. However, what appears to be driving the growth in sparkling wine is the segment of consumer; estimated at around 9 million, and female-dominated, who say they like to drink the bubbly stuff at least once a week. Many of these people say that sparkling wine is their favorite drink, ahead of still wine.California| California accommodates 37,691,912 people, houses more people than any of the other states of America and has eight of the 50 most populous cities in the U. S.. Remarkable is that only 39. 7% of the people living in California are white non Hispanics and 38. 1% are Hispanic whites, only 6. 6% is black and 13. 6% of Asian ethnicity. The ethnic makeup is very different from the countries average. Of the persons aged 25 years o r older 80. 7% has graduated high school and 30. % has a bachelor’s degree or higher. The Median house hold income is $60. 883. Texas| Texas is the second most populous U. S. state, housing 25,674,681 people who are mostly located in the major cities of Houston, San Antonia and Dallas. Similar to California, Texas also houses a relatively large number of Hispanics. 38. 1% of the population is white of Hispanic decent and 44. 8% is non-Hispanic white. The division of other ethnic groups is quite similar to the nations average. 80% of adults 25 years or older have a high school degree and 25. 8% of them have a bachelor’s degree or higher. The median household income is $49,646 a year. |New York| New York is the third largest state after California and Texas with a population of 19,465,197 of which roughly 64% lives in the New York City metropolitan area. The percentage of the population that is of African American decent is slightly higher than the nations average, 17. 5 % as well as those with an asian heritage, 7. 8%. The median household income is $55,603, 84. 4% of the persons age 25+ are high school graduates and 32. 1% has a bachelor’s degree or higher. | Florida| Florida is the fourth most inhabited state in America, accommodating 19,057,542 people.Notable are that it contains the highest percentage of people over 65, 17. 6% and the 8th fewest people under 18, 21%, also its population is expected to double between 2000 and 2030. Florida’s ethnic makeup shows few differences from the countries average with the exception of persons of Hispanic or Latino origin which is 23% and growing faster than in any other state. 85. 3% of the adults 25 years of age or| Social-Cultural In the U. S. wineries have become more than just wine producers and sellers. They're often venues for gatherings as diverse as  weddings  and business meetings.Some wineries have onboard restaurants and gift shops and are also lively tourist attractions. That says something for the ingenuity of savvy wine producers, but it says even more about the changing American attitude toward wine. Recent consumption gains for sparkling wine have been driven by many factors over the last few years including the adoption of wine in early adulthood by the large Millennial generation, the availability of quality wine at all price levels, and the acceptance of moderate wine consumption as compatible with a healthy lifestyle. EconomicThe turbulent economy has had a moderately negative affect on the nation’s collective wine consumptions growth. Within the 2008–2011 period, stock market volatility had little effect on how much wine consumers were drinking. In 2008, 61% of respondents stated they hadn’t changed the amount of wine they consumed despite the poor economic conditions. The economy has had a direct effect on prices over the last 10 years, prices went down significantly during the recession, but as the economy has improved, t hey have bounced back very quickly and even surpassed previous highs.Fine wine prices dropped 19 percent from August 2008 to August 2009 and they increased 33 percent from August 2009 to August 2010, surpassing their previous pre-recession prices. Political Wine is regulated by the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives division of the internal revenue service which makes it subjected to high levels of control and tax. Us wines are shaped by politics including which grapes grow where, what can be written on the label, which wines are exported or imported, which wines are available in local stores, and how much a wine costs.In the  United States, the wine laws are more flexible than European standards in regards to regulations on what viticultural and winemaking practices are allowed in each wine region. A sizable portion of American wine laws relate to  wine labelling  practices. The United States imported 932 million liters of wine in 2010. The majority of imports came fro m Italy ($1. 3 billion). Depending on the type of wine, U. S. tariffs on imported wine from nations with which the United States maintains normal trade relations range from 5. 3 cents per liter to 22. 4 cents per liter.Tax rate for natural wine imported to New York for example is $0. 30 per gallon Internal Analysis Current products Berlucchi’s current products: * Cuvee Imperiale Brut * Cuvee Imperiale Max Rose * Cuvee imperial Demi Sec * Cuvee imperial vintage * Cuvee Storica Franciacorta DOCG * Bianco imperiale * Cellarius Brut * Cellarius Rose * Cellarius Pas Dose * Berlucchi ’61 brut * Berlucchi ’61 Rose * Berlucchi ’61 Saten * Palazzo Lana Franciacorta Brut Millesimato * Palazzo Lana Franciacorta Saten millesimato * Palazzo Lana Franciacorta Extreme millesimato PricesThe sparkling wines of Berlucchi are between â‚ ¬15 and â‚ ¬28. The average price per line: * Berlucchi bianco imperiale: â‚ ¬10 * Berlucchi ’61: â‚ ¬15 * Cuvee imperia le: â‚ ¬20 * Cellarius: between â‚ ¬15 and â‚ ¬20 * Palazzo Lana: â‚ ¬28 Target Market Geographically speaking, Berlucchi is targeting Italy. Berlucchi won market leadership in its first few years because of its mission to ‘democratize the bubbles’. With their below average price for sparkling wine, and their distribution through grocery stores, Berlucchi sparkling wine was accessible for everyone. Distribution channels Grocery retailersIn 2006 70% of all Berlucchi sales went through the grocery retail distribution channel. Because of the company’s solid penetration of this channel, they established an undisputed leadership position. HoReCa and specialty stores Berlucchi produced a product especially made for this channel, which won considerable success and allowed the company to re-establish its reputation among connoisseurs and win over specialized dealers. Positioning By distributing through grocery retailers, Berlucchi positions itself in a totall y different range than most other Italian sparkling wine, which are available in specialty stores.The company’s solid penetration in this modern distribution channel anchored the positioning of the Berlucchi brand. But having a lower price does not mean they work with a bad quality, although some may look at Berlucchi as a cheap supermarket wine. The Berlucchi brand guarantees a high-quality, prestigious, accessible product. Competitive Advantage Berlucchi stands out because of their innovative spirit and desire to experiment with new products and market segments, but off course, still in an accessible and qualitatively good manner. The solid penetration in the modern distribution channel of grocery retailers is something no other ompany has accomplished. Marketing Mix The marketing strategy that has secured Berlucchi’s success over the last thirty years can be summed up in three key words: Italy, mass market, and corporate brand. In the 1960s, the company’s fou nders saw an opportunity to create a sparkling wine market in Italy using the champenoise method. This method meant educating both trade and final consumers through constant communication, the aim of which was to eliminate the image of Italian spumante as a sub-category of wine, or a lower-quality version of the more familiar French champagne.In just a few years’ time the company won a leadership position in the Italian market. They had a clear mission: â€Å"To make bubbly accessible to everyone†. The firm achieved this mission with an extensive distribution strategy. Berlucchi spumante wanted to create a festive atmosphere on any occasion. The best way to achieve this was to reach the consumer through the simplest distribution channel, for instance grocery retailers. Berlucchi has always implemented a push rather than a pull strategy, focusing communication and commercial investments on trade.Another marketing strategy of Berlucchi was based on avoiding product proli feration in the portfolio, in keeping with the need to educate Italian consumers on the traditional method. Berlucchi came up with a series of simple, distinctive brand visuals, which over time have come to be identified with the company. Financial Performance SWOT analysis Confrontation matrix * S1 x O4, because despite the challenging economic environment we are currently in, sparkling wines are set to gain share in the US alcohol market.Berlucchi has a below average price and that could be an opportunity for them to gain share in the US alcohol market. * S3 x O3, because Berlucchi has an innovative spirit and desire to experiment with new products and market segments. They could have an opportunity in the US alcohol market, because most Americans show an interest in broadening their horizons in terms of what kinds of wine they buy. * S3 x T3, because consumers in the wine market are constantly evolving. That could be an opportunity for Berlucchi, because they have an innovative s pirit and desire to experiment with new products and market segments.Corporate strategy Berlucchi grew in a few years after founding to be leader in its market thanks to a clear mission: ‘democratize the bubbles’. The founders were convinced they could produce an Italian sparkling wine of comparable quality to the current products on the market. The aim was to produce a high-quality, prestigious, accessible product for a below average price. The basic reason for their attitude was that they could not justify the substantial price difference between Berlucchi products marketed through large retailers and the same wines sold in specialized stores and wine bars.Eventually Berlucchi grew to be a market leader in the large grocery retailers and an important player in the HoReCa and wine shops, without ever letting go of the initial corporate mission. Segmentation The wine consumers in the U. S. can be segmented in to the following groups based on consumption and spending pat terns: Daily Musts | Variety Seekers| Personal Image| Savvy Buyers | Occasional Consumers | Represent 16. 4% of wine drinkers| Represents 14. 4% of wine drinkers|   Represents 14. 1% of wine drinkers| Represents 2. 6% of wine drinkers| Represents 34. % of wine drinkers| Spending share of 49. 3 % | Spending share of 34%| Spending share of 3. 1%| Spending share of 9. 7%| Spending share of 4%| Median age is 61| Median age is 50| Median age is 34| Median age is 48| Median age is 55| Annual income averages $62,000| Annual income averages $100,000| Annual income averages $62,000| Annual income averages $80,000| Annual income averages $63,000| | Target Market The segments most viable for targeting are the Daily Musts, the Variety Seekers and Personal Image consumers and through using a differentiated strategy all three can be targeted.Daily musts Although this segment is brand loyal, by applying low cost strategy and attractive packaging this segment can be entered, after which the focus should be customer retention and maintaining everyday low price offers in combination with a loyalty program to create loyalty to the berlucchi brand and maximize customer equity. Variety seekers Premium brand images and first-class packaging will strongly appeal to the Variety Seekers and expert ratings, premium pricing and event or celebrity sponsorships will truly entice this segment to try berlucchi brand wine.However because of their low brand loyalty a truly aggressive loyalty program is necessary to retain their business. Advertisement be should focused on wine magazines and internet media. Personal Image This segment shows the most potential profitability on the long term and should be engaged to ensure a significant market share in the next decade as this is the fastest growing segment. The focus has to be on moving them towards Variety Seeker of Daily Must habits. Innovation through products and packaging and leveraging social media would speak most to the Personal Image wine drinkers. PositioningDaily Musts and the Personal Image consumers can be catered to with one product in the area , the product’s should have a below average to average price level and focus on offering an accessible product of decent or higher quality. The product targeting the variety seekers should be higher priced to project a somewhat prestigious image and high quality. Below you can see the product value proposition for Berlucchi’s target customers. Objectives Market share Brand familiarity Revenue Timeframe: 3 years Marketing Mix Product As described in positioning, there are three target groups for which there are different product needs.To accustom all potential customers it is neccessary to introduce two different lines of products. Lines Cuvee Imperiale – Brut – Max Rose – Demi Sec – Vintage ‘For over half a century, Cuvee Imperiale has been synonymous with festiveness, joy, and raising a toast, and its consistently fine taste has made it the Italians’ favourite classic-method sparkler. Its four styles make it the perfect choice for both casual moments and the most special of occasions. ’ This line will serve the needs of the Daily Musts and Personal Image consumers, it has a below average price, it is accessible and has a high quality.Palazzo Lana – Brut – Saten – Extreme ‘The timeless elegance of the Palazzo Lana Berlucchi, the handsome mansion that inspired the first Franciacorta,   is present once again in these vintage-dated Franciacortas. Produced from free-run must, and rare both in quantity and quality, the three are bound together by a common thread of gracefulness, complexity, and avoidance of excess, each wine dedicated to those who enjoy them thoughtfully. ’ This line will serve the needs of the Variety Seekers consumers, it is above average prices, has a prestigious image and has a high quality. Packaging Daily mustsThe Daily Musts cons umers are flexible in their response to different packaging designs. Personal Image They consider wine consumption an extension of their personal images, however are more focused on store brands. Variety seekers This consumer group appreciates premium packaging. When lining together these consumer characteristics and the packaging of the chosen products, we can come to a conclusion of no necessity to change the packaging of the products, due to the already existing compatibility of consumer needs and the product packaging. Price Cuvee Imperiale The price for the Cuvee Imperiale line will be $15.Berlucchi will have to lower their price a little bit than they have in Italy, but this way they can compete with the competitors in the US, for instance the Toso Brut from Argentina. The Cuvee Imperiale will be a good competitor due to their below average price and good quality sparkling wine. Palazzo Lana The price for the Palazzo Lana line will be around the $30 in the US. One big competit or is the Taltarni Brut Tache, their price is around the $25. Berlucchi Palazzo Lana is more expensive, but Berlucchi will still be a good competitor since the prices of Taltarni have been progressively rising lately.It will also be a good competitor, because of its prestigious image and high quality. Place Locations Below is a table with 6 states located in the U. S. whom are known to have an extremely large wine drinking population, and therefor will be the best states in the US to introduce the Berlucchi’s wines. Type| California| Texas| Florida| New York| Illinois| New Jersey| Population| 38,053,956| 25,901,361| 19,057,542| 19,465,197| 12,869,257| 8,821,155| Binge drinkers| 14. 7%| 15. 6%| 12,40%| 15. 2%| 17. 5%| 14. 4%| Casual drinkers| 56. 2%| 51. %| 56,3| 59. 1%| 58%| 59. 7%| Heavy drinkers| 5. 9%| 5. 2%| 5,3| 4. 3%| 4. 7%| 4. 5%| Retailers: Within each one of these 6 states the wines will be available in two types of store retailers: * Specialty stores: A small retail outlet that focuses on selling a particular product range and associated items. Most specialty store business operators will maintain considerable debt in the type of product that they specialize in selling, usually at premium prices, in addition to providing higher service quality and expert guidance to shoppers. Superstores: A very large retail store that stocks highly diversified merchandise, such as groceries, toys, and camera equipment, or a wide variety of merchandise in a specific product line, such as computers or sporting goods. Specialty stores: Berlucchi’s wines will be available in the best of the best wine shops in each state. They will be placed in these shops according to the stores location and popularity. State| Specialty Wine Stores[1| California| 867| New York| 533| New jersey| 265| Florida| 252| Illinois| 211| Texas| 181| Superstores:More than a third of all wines sold in America are purchased at Superstores. Wall-Mart 2011 USA Retail Sales ($000): $307,7 36,000 Extending its lead, it is making solid progress on improving its merchanides through different new projects. The company’s grocery business accounted for more than half of its 2011 sales. Wall-Mart constantly hires wine scouts to research new wines in order to further broaden their inventory. Wines located in a Wall-Mart store Kroger 2011 USA Retail Sales ($000): $78,326,000 America’s largest traditional grocer is food focused and price led.It includes a wide variety of all sorts of wines. In 2012 Kroger hired wine stewards for a few of its Texas stores. The political push to sell wine in grocery stores is now in different Kroger stores. Wines located in a Kroger store Target 2011 USA Retail Sales ($000): $65,815,000 Target will try to become more beverage focused and currently has strong store innovations and loyalty programs. They combine grocery store bargains with wine shop-level service and expertise. Wines located in a Target store Restaurants:In addition to these retail stores, the wines will also be available in a variety of restaurants in each state. These restaurants will include non-fast food restaurants that have an ideal location for different types of customers to reach. Below is an example of one of the restaurants that look real promising in terms of boosting Berlucchi’s brand image. Since 1979 Antonello Ristorante located in California has captured the essence of Old World authenticity with a new Italian. Antonello's award-winning wine list boasts more than 700 foreign and domestic labels.For special occasions or business meetings, there are eight Promotion The goal is to become the first thing that comes to mind for a person from one of our targeted segments when in the market for wine. According to professor Jacob’s Creek of the University of South Australia’s Wine Marketing Research Group, it is not the brand but the wine regions that influences consumers choice the most. The promotional strategy us ed to differentiate the Berlucchi wines from others is to sell the idea of living the southern European care free, want for nothing life style using the campaign slogan: ‘A taste of the Italian life’.This should invoke an emotional response to advertisement as consumers in the Daily must segment, who are older and often retired or near retirement age can relate to the care free living. The variety seekers can relate to the ‘want for nothing’ aspect and high end allure of Milan or Rome and the younger personal image consumers can indulge in the American romanticized cultural image of Europe. Promoting the Brand As Americans are not yet aware of how many wines are actually Italian and no wine markets itself distinctively as such, the Berlucchi products can be analyzed as a new product.To start the introduction phase a launch event will be held in Los Angeles, California to which columnists/writers for different lifestyle and food magazines, influential taster s and VIPs’ will attend to experience the different wines by Berlucchi that will be launched in the U. S. which will result in features in magazines such as ‘food and wine’, Decanter, WineEnthusiast and Fine. During the introduction phase a print ad and a broadcast media advertisement featuring Robert Deniro will run.Because of his Italian heritage and wine expertise as he owns his own vineyard, on the other hand because of his long and outstanding acting career he is recognizable and idolized by people across generations. The broadcast ad, which will run for thirteen weeks, will be shown during lifestyle television shows and cooking shows such as ‘Master chef’ and ‘come dine with me’ and can even be featured on the shows. The print ad will run for a total of 30 weeks, appearing once to 10 times throughout that period in different magazines and as banners on different online magazines.To promote the brand directly to the target group, Be rlucchi nights will be organized during which selected restaurants will serve free glasses of Berlucchi wine that go well with the dish ordered. The before mentioned strategies will be very effective for the Daily must and Variety seeker segments, but to ensure the involvement of the personal image segment a social media campaign needs to be launched. Each bottle of Berlucchi wine will have a code and instructions printed on the back side of the label.After purchasing a bottle a consumer can befriend Berlucchi on Facebook or follow them on twitter, after which the phrase â€Å"Having a taste of the Italian life #Berlucchi #;code;† should be posted online. In response a code will be send back to the consumer which entitles him or her to a 61% discount on their next purchase of a bottle of Berlucchi Cuvee Imperiale and they enter a lottery for a set of 3 Berlucchi Franciacorta ’61 bottles. The low price and exciting price will attract the segment and by posting they imme diately communicate the existence of Berlucchi to their friends. Loyalty program – – – Budget ; Control – – Recommendation – – – Appendix Figure 1a Figure 1b Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Top 3 states in wine consumption Figure 6 Top 3 states in emerging wine markets Figure 7 Figure 8a Figure 8b Figure 9 Daily Musts| Variety Seekers | Personal Image | Savvy Buyers | Occasional Consumers| * Represent 16. 4% of wine drinkers * Accountable for 49. 3 % of all wine sales. * Median age is 61 * Annual income averages $62,000. Daily Musts are the heaviest wine consumers and consumers and drink on a daily basis. They are brand loyal and flexible in their response to different packaging designs and tend to buy based on low prices. * Represents 14. 4% of wine drinkers * Spending share of 34% * Median age is 50. * Annual income averages $100,000. They tend to spend more per capita than the Daily Musts, appreciate premium packaging, q uality wine and variety. They often view higher price as a sign of higher quality. The Variety seeker is most likely to use the internet to secure information before purchases and look at wine as an extension of their personal image and tend not to be brand loyal. | * Represents 14. 1% of wine drinkers * Spending share of 3. 1% * Median age is 34 * Annual income averages $62,000.This group will grow in consumption as their ages and incomes increase. The Personal image drinker’s habits are in development, and they tend to turn to social media and the Internet for information. They consider wine consumption an extension of their personal images, however are more focused on store brands. | * Represents 2. 6% of wine drinkers * Spending share of 9. 7% * Median age is 48 * Annual income averages $80,000This group enjoys trying a variety of wines and tends to buy on value, however not necessarily focused on low price since they only consume moderate to small amounts. * Represents 3 4. 5% of wine drinkers * Spending share of 4% * Median age is 55 * Annual income averages $63,000| Figure 10 Segmentation by lifestyle Figure 11 ——————————————– [ 1 ]. SVB, 2012 [ 2 ]. See Appendix figure 2 [ 3 ]. See Appendix figure 3 [ 4 ]. See Appendix figure 4 [ 5 ]. See Appendix figure 5 [ 6 ]. See Appendix figure 6 [ 7 ]. http://www. gayot. com/wine/top10american-sparkling-wines/main. html [ 8 ]. Wine Institute, 2011 [ 9 ]. Press Democrat, 2011 [ 10 ]. See Appendix figure 7 [ 11 ]. With the exception of the state of Washington [ 12 ]. https://www. cia. ov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/it. html [ 13 ]. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/List_of_wine-producing_countries [ 14 ]. http://quickfacts. census. gov/qfd/states/06000. html . S. Census Bureau: State and County QuickFacts [ 15 ]. http://www. tax. ny. gov/bus/bev/abt_tax_information_individuals. htm [ 16 ]. Be rlucchi Case page 15 table 2 [ 17 ]. http://www. berlucchi. it/we-do/ [ 18 ]. See Appendix Figure 1a [ 19 ]. See Appendix Figure 1b [ 20 ]. http://www. wine-searcher. com/wine-197764-0001-berlucchi-palazzo-lana-brut-franciacorta-docg-italy [ 21 ]. Berlucchi Case page 5 [ 22 ]. Berlucchi Case page 5 [ 23 ].Berlucchi Case page 5 [ 24 ]. Berlucchi Case page 5 [ 25 ]. Berlucchi Case page 11 [ 26 ]. Berlucchi Case page 21 table 23, 24 [ 27 ]. See Appendix figure 10 for more info. [ 28 ]. See Appendix figure 11 [ 29 ]. http://www. berlucchi. it/we-do/#cuvee [ 30 ]. http://www. berlucchi. it/we-do/#palazzo-lana [ 31 ]. See Appendix Figure 10 [ 32 ]. See Appendix Figure 1a [ 33 ]. http://www. statemaster. com/graph/hea_alc_con_cas_dri-health-alcohol-consumption-casual-drinkers [ 35 ]. http://www. wkrn. com/story/19808909/kroger-begins-focused-push-for-wine-in-grocery-stores [ 36 ]. Based on research findings of SymphonyIRI group, INC

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Marketing & Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing & Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Economic Factors Marketing management This is an important factor that constitutes to business success. An existence of an enterprise implies that there must be market for its products. Despite the competition from other producers an entrepreneur ensures efficient marketing skills to make profits. Effectiveness in product marketing is an important factor hat has to be put in consideration in any business enterprise. To enhance business success in marketing management, small scale business link up with both large and medium business enterprise. This linkage facilitates their supply of products hence it becomes easier to market the products. Production management For every enterprise to succeed, their must be a proper management in the production sector. The enterprise should have a well established source of raw materials. The cost of raw materials together with the cost of production should not exceed the cost of sales. A successful enterprise is one that always reaps profit from its sales. The department of production in any business must connect with the marketing department so as to ensure every item that is produced has direct or indirect market. Financial management Financial gain is always the driving force in any entrepreneurial investment. Therefore management of finances is a very important factor in any business enterprise. ... Therefore it can be argued that it is the financial capability of every entrepreneurial activity that measures its strength against the other as suggested by Ernst (2005, 165) Personnel management The department of the personnel is another factor that determines the success of any business enterprise whether small or large. Personnel management coordinates all activities related to workers in an organization. Its contribution to the business success is through how it handles the welfare of the employees. Offering the best to the employee in terms of salary, enough time limit of work and other incentives increases their motivation to work. The more motivated the employees are the more they increase production hence large sales. The increasing in sales indicates increase in profits and the business enterprise is said to be successful. Another factor relating to entrepreneurial success is the personnel skills and knowledge. Employees who have the necessary skill are capable of leading t he business to success. Political Factors Any business entrepreneurship occurs within a particular framework or political governance. Some of the political factors that affect business enterprise include: Political environment The political environment surrounding a business enterprise determines its operation and success. The current economic structure of the country may adversely affect the success of the business. For instance incase of an inflation the entrepreneurship is not likely to succeed. Favorable government incentives like loans to starting entrepreneurs, motivates them and they are likely to succeed. The economic strategies passed by the government such specialization on the area of production

Opportunities for Raising Productivity in Non-Profit Organisations Essay

Opportunities for Raising Productivity in Non-Profit Organisations - Essay Example Opportunities for productivity improvement in these four spheres have been explained with emphasis on the most viable option that can add substantial value to the organization. Performance management has gained momentum in recent years, probably due to factors such as competition, changing markets and needs of clients. Performance measurement can provide a sense of purpose, motivation and intrinsic satisfaction. Efforts concentrate on the process-oriented level, identification of appropriate performance indicators, managing relationships, raising funds for the organization and so on. Vast improvement in performance management has been experienced with performance reporting and performance measurement methods being introduced. For instance, the Balanced Score Card system in private and non-profit sectors has popularised performance management system in many aspects (Niven, P.R 2003; p.4). Management systems in a non-profit organization include planning, developing, and operating. Members of the Board and staff conduct strategic planning to determine the overall purpose and direction of the organization. This part of the strategic planning will also include the methods to be adopted for the organization to operate, resource planning, and program planning. Programs have to be designed as means to implement the service-oriented strategies such as marketing to identify community needs for the organization to meet and the desired outcomes to meet those needs. This planning provides input to resource planning such as a number of resources required including staff, funds, and people. Resource planning also includes financial management, advertising and promotions, and fundraising (McNamara, C 2005; p.160). I

Themes in Hip Hop Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Themes in Hip Hop Culture - Essay Example In tandem with the salient issues and themes touched upon by the textual sources under consideration, the movie Boyz n the Hood does bring to fore many political, social and cultural issues that are conveniently bypassed by the popular media and cinema.The Hip Hop culture evident in the movie does intertwine with the glaring political and social issues like economic and social marginalization and racism faced by the communities. The whole objective is to usher in a measure of education and concern through a medium that is highly creative, subtle and insightful. The gang violence covered by the movie and the salient social, familial and academic influences which on one side make Doughboy fall a victim to the vicious and unsparing gang violence and which on the other side does convince Tre to renounce a life of violence does show as to how the flares of hope do shimmer in an otherwise violent and crime ridden life in the hood. The book by Nelson George, Durand’s Lecture, the for ward in the Anthology of Rap, and discussions in the class do envelop this society altering collision between the salient and dominant culture that is pervasive and powerful and the marginalized black culture thriving in the hood.The movie Boyz n the Hood does represent an effective and moving outlet for an array of racial, cultural and political themes that are so strongly embraced and expressed by the larger Hip Hop culture. For instance in the climax of the movie where Doughboy gets dejected and disheartened by a life imbued with violence and revenge.

Opportunities for Raising Productivity in Non-Profit Organisations Essay

Opportunities for Raising Productivity in Non-Profit Organisations - Essay Example Opportunities for productivity improvement in these four spheres have been explained with emphasis on the most viable option that can add substantial value to the organization. Performance management has gained momentum in recent years, probably due to factors such as competition, changing markets and needs of clients. Performance measurement can provide a sense of purpose, motivation and intrinsic satisfaction. Efforts concentrate on the process-oriented level, identification of appropriate performance indicators, managing relationships, raising funds for the organization and so on. Vast improvement in performance management has been experienced with performance reporting and performance measurement methods being introduced. For instance, the Balanced Score Card system in private and non-profit sectors has popularised performance management system in many aspects (Niven, P.R 2003; p.4). Management systems in a non-profit organization include planning, developing, and operating. Members of the Board and staff conduct strategic planning to determine the overall purpose and direction of the organization. This part of the strategic planning will also include the methods to be adopted for the organization to operate, resource planning, and program planning. Programs have to be designed as means to implement the service-oriented strategies such as marketing to identify community needs for the organization to meet and the desired outcomes to meet those needs. This planning provides input to resource planning such as a number of resources required including staff, funds, and people. Resource planning also includes financial management, advertising and promotions, and fundraising (McNamara, C 2005; p.160). I

The Hyundai Group Essay Example for Free

The Hyundai Group Essay The strikes of 1987 found their main base amongst workers in heavy industry, especially in Ulsan, the centre of Hyundai’s operations in South Korea. I II. Background of the study The Pressure built up during the harsh years of military dictatorship, economic boom, and management style had caused several labor strikes. For thirty years, South Korea had been ruled by a military dictator and growing calls for democracy had echoed through the 1970s and early 80s. South Korea’s economic boom put Hyundai in a position wherein their strategy of low wages and hard work were no longer suffice in the face of rising competition from other developing nations and swelling demands from the country’s more independent youth generation. At Hyundai, employees viewed the owners’ style as authoritarian in which the consensus is what the boss says it is. Also, company had created an image that was unwilling to change with the times. IV. Point of view Chung Ju Yung: The founder of Hyundai, he is willing to tackle the impossible and unwilling to accept â€Å"no† from subordinates. Hyundai Workers: They want better working conditions and environment. They have been looked down on in Korea. They don’t have voices in management decisions and experienced erratic job schedules with lower wages. V. Objectives 1. To improve the management style and cope with changes along with time. 2. To address the dispute between the management of Hyundai and its workers, such that the result will provide a positive sum that will satisfy both parties’ concern. VI. SWOT analysis Strengths: 1.The Hyundai group makes a wide range of products. 2.The company’s chairman is very persistent. 3.Workers are disciplined, para-military, single-minded, and self-sufficient machine. 4.The company has a good reputation. 5.The company has low cost of production thereby low-priced products. Weaknesses: 1.Authoritarian leadership style 2.Top management is not committed to high-tech. 3.The company adopted paternalism corporate management. 4. Labor union issues Opportunities: 1.Large market share 2.Potential market for ASEAN Threats: 1.Rising competition 2.High dependency on exports 3.Technology gap to advanced countries VII. Alternative courses of action A.Go. Give an increase in labor wages by 28% and recognize labor union. Advantages: 1.Workers’ rights are protected. 2.Higher wages encourage employees to work. 3.Voices of employees are heard with the formation of labor union. Disadvantages: 1.Additional costs are incurred in the part of Hyundai. 2.Lessen the flexibility of workers. 3.Workers may demand follow-up increase in their wages. B. No Go. Do not give an increase in labor wages and do not recognize labor unions. Advantages: 1.No additional costs will be incurred regarding labor wages. 2.Employees cannot easily complain. Disadvantages: 1.Employees will continue their labor stike. 2.Employees remain unsatisfied with the current wage. 3.They will not be motivated to work hard. 4.The company’s operation will continue to be interrupted and demand for products is not met. C.Encourage participative management style, recognize labor union and increase workers’ wages and adjust working hours. Advantages: 1.Employees’ satisfaction and commitment to work. 2.With the formation of labor union, workers’ right are protected. 3.Participative management style allows the voices of employee to be heard. 4.Workers tend to be loyal to the organization. Disadvantages: 1.Costly. An increased in labor wages lessens company’s profit. 2.Shortening working hours reduce production output. 3.Labor unions can limit the flexibility of workforce. VIII. Recommendation Alternative C which is to encourage participative management style, recognize labor union and increase workers’ wages and adjust working hours is considered as the best alternative course of action. With this alternative, the demands of the workers are satisfied as well as those of the management. Participative management style allows the interchange of ideas between the management and workers. Workers’ rights are protected because of the formation of labor unions. Moreover, operations in Hyundai will be stabilized. IX. Conclusion Hyundai played a vital role in Korea’s economic development, and that was intricately interdependent with a number of other forces such as government, economic and non-economic factor. The authoritarian type of government greatly influenced businesses as shown in the management style of the Hyundai’s founder Chung Ju-Yung. The call for change in management style, higher salary increase and demand for respect caused the workers to rebel. Participative management style, creation of labor union, increased in wages and shortening working hours answer the said problem. The solution benefited the workers and the management. X. Courses of action Government actions are beyond the control of Hyundai’s management. The degree of respect demanded by workers varies individually.

Healthcare Professional Understanding and Response to Alarms

Healthcare Professional Understanding and Response to Alarms Obstacles and Solutions for Healthcare Professionals (HP)’s understanding and response to monitor alarms: A literature Review Image(1) Abstract: The alarm systems employed in the intensive care unit (ICU) are vital for patient care and safety. They give readings for heart rate, oximetry and the cut-offs for the alarms are set by the individual or the manufacturer. There have been adverse events associated with alarms systems and recently, it has become a serious health hazard. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature for healthcare professionals’ (HP) understanding and response to monitor alarms in the hospital and any solutions proposed. Mohammad Omar Aziz 112120367 University College Cork 24/11/2014 INTRODUCTION: The alarm systems give readings of many physiological variables including heart rate, respiratory rate, oximetry and the cut-offs for the alarms are set by the individual or the manufacturer(2). These alarms can also be silenced. The machine employed in NICU in CUMH contains a Stop and Pause function(2). The Pause function silences all alarm parameters for 2 minutes, whereas the stop function silences only one particular alarm parameter for 1 minute. There is also a setting known as ‘Extreme alarm’, which alerts the HP when the particular physiological variable has gotten worse (eg oxygen saturation has been gotten less than 80% for neonates in CUMH). The reason for such functions (ie stop and pause) is that an alarm may not be deemed serious by the HP and the HP may decide to ‘wait and see’ if this is just an isolated incident. Also, alarms may not be as serious and the HP may deem it to be a ‘false positive (FP)’. This is because the alarms ar e just one input of information for the HP and he/she takes into account other inputs, such as clinical context(3). Also, the patient population itself in the ICU is to be considered. For example, it is common for neonates to have episodes of tachycardia and as such, isolated incidents would not cause the HP to be worried about patient. Rather, the alarms become worrisome if the variables are not coming back to normal limits (i.e. assessing if the alarms are continuing to sound as opposed to being an isolated incident)(2). The alarms are aimed to have a high specificity so that a true event is not missed. However, this can be burdensome. In a day in the ICU, this could translate to 187 alarms/bed, of which majority are false positive alarms(4). Another study found that for a cardiac surgery, roughly 1 alarm would go off every minute and approximately 80% of the alarms had no practical benefit (i.e. no clinical action could be taken)(5). Alarm systems can lead to adverse events and in 2010, alarm hazards was amongst the top 10 technology health hazards and in 2012, it had surpassed the others to become the leading technology health hazard(6, 7). The potential consequences of adverse events can be fatal as one of the databases for the FDA had reported that in a span of 3 years, from 2005 to 2008, there were 566 deaths related to monitor device alarms(8). In Ireland (NICU in CUMH), a neonate could have been hypoxic after a prolonged period due to misunderstanding of alarms, highlighting the global scale of such a problem(2). OBJECTIVE: This literature review was aimed to see if there are any papers dealing with HP’s understanding and response to monitor alarms in critical care setting and ways in which it is affected. Response and understanding in this paper refers to whether the staff: (i) responded/became aware of the alarm and (ii) carried out the correct response based on the alarm that sounded. These specifically are: Factors affect their response and understanding Effects of in-adequate response and understanding Solution(s) proposed to improve response and understanding Difference in understanding after stratification: between doctors and nurses, between specialties of ICU (e.g. CCU vs NICU) The conclusions drawn from the review will give insight into audits carried out in CUH regarding monitor alarms and solutions to ‘close the audit loop’. It will also allow for comparison of HP’s understanding in CUH to others hospitals. METHODS: Inclusion Criteria: Papers that dealt with the following: HP’s understanding/interaction with monitor alarms Alarms employed in Hospital (as opposed to ambulatory care) The following databases were searched: PubMed, Cochrane Collaboration. Preference was given to most recent articles as well as review articles. Abstracts were reviewed and if they met inclusion criteria, they were read. Filters applied: ‘English’, ‘Full Text available’, ‘Human’ Search terms entered included: ‘Monitor Alarms’, ‘Monitor alarms + Understanding’, ‘Monitor Alarms + Fatigue’, ‘Alarms’. Cochrane database yielded no articles with any of the search terms, except ‘alarms’( which yielded articles, but they had no relevance to topic). RESULTS: Alarm fatigue and its effect on HP’s understanding Alarms, by their nature, are in place to alert the staff that the patient needs attending to and have limits set in place such that a true event is not missed. As a result, they have a tendency to stuffer from a high false positive rate (FP) and thus, poor positive predictive value (PPV)(9). Clinically insignificant and/or FP alarms range from 80-99%(9, 10). Another study done showed the PPV to be as low as 27%(11). This contributes to staff not being aware of the alarms (desensitization), mistrust in the alarms and not responding to them(3, 9). As stated earlier, 566 alarm related deaths were reported to FDA from 2005 to 2008(8). Alarms can be induced by patient motion, which further contributes to false alarms(12). These cases can be avoided by staff silencing the alarms for a set period of time prior to moving the patient(11). Due to the high FP rate of alarms, the more reliable the alarm is (i.e. how well it predicts true alarm), the higher the response will be from staff(9). Also, the factors that determine response can be divided into: intrinsic to the alarm itself and extrinsic. Internal factors are whether alarm continues to sound or it ceases to sound soon (i.e. alarm duration). Also, the more ‘rare’ or unlikely for an alarm to go off, the more it would warrant a response. The limits set by the staff for the alarm may not be appropriate for the given patient resulting in having too many alarms that are not actionable(5). Extrinsic factors to an alarm are: work load, task complexity, patient condition. The higher the workload or task complexity, HP’s have a lower tendency to react to it. The opposite is true for the more severe the patient’s condition is(3, 9). Solutions proposed to improve response and understanding: To reduce the high FP rate, and ultimately, improve alarm response, different solutions have been proposed in the literature. Since alarms often self-correct, by adding a delay time to the alarms before they sound can reduce the number of alarms themselves(11). ‘Smart Alarms’ can be introduced that have algorithms in place that will alert only if it is a true alarm(9). These systems take trends into account as opposed to raw data itself. Increasing the ‘volume’ of alarms higher than environment was recommended (as opposed to having a fixed dB level for an alarm sound)(13). This is supported by the fact that sound may not be heard due to: room doors closed, events such as noise produced by machines that clean the floors(14). It is further supported by the fact that most hospitals have exceeded the noise levels recommended by WHO, and as such, the volume of the alarm should be customized to the environment to ensure it is heard(15). However, other literature f avours different modalities of alarms (i.e. visual or vibrating), since the noise contributes to symptoms in staff such as fatigue and concentration problems(16). Standardization of alarm sounds would decrease the number of alarm sounds the HP’s have to ‘learn’(17). Another solution proposed has been to have a central notification centre as opposed to a staff monitoring patient(s)when their alarms go off, which was reported to be advantageous. Alarm limits should be changed to levels by HP’s taking into account: if the alarm goes off, it will require some sort of clinical action, and the patient’s specific condition(s)(9). This is in contrast to when HP’s do not change limits and keep to default levels set by manufacturer, which are set to different values depending on the country (18). Customizing limits will decrease the alarm load and increase sensitivity to alarms by healthcare staff(18). Ongoing training should be provided to the staff with an aim to have the training environment as closely simulating the real clinical environment as possible(9). Training in the form of showing staff how to troubleshoot alarms should also be implemented. Alarms that have built in ‘intelligent system’ to assist in troubleshooting have shown to be beneficial. In a simulated environment, intelligent alarms helped the anaesthetists solve various breathing circuit faults 62% faster (45 sec to 17 sec)(19). DISCUSSION: Pros and Cons of Literature: There is evidence in the literature on the potential adverse events of alarms and reasons for such events and the severity of this problem. Solutions to improve understanding were also given. There was no study found that dealt with whether staff understood how to operate the alarms properly and to what extent did this problem exist. Information related to the severity of the problem only indicated a problem in understanding and response. However, there was no mention of whether any of the deaths were due to the HP’s not knowing what buttons to press once the alarm came on (eg did they silence the alarm for too long without knowing). This could be a potential barrier in improving understanding since solutions such as ongoing teaching can not be customized effectively. The review of the literature has only taken data from nurses or doctors, but not both. Therefore, comparisons in understanding between doctors and nurses could not be made. Majority of data and studies was done on nurses. However, this is expected since nurses would’ve interacted with the alarms more frequently than doctors since they are more frequently at the bedside of the patient and are the first to react to any alarms of the patient. Also, no studies have been found to compare understanding between HP’s of different specialties. It would be expected that any critical unit, regardless of specialty, would’ve had the same obstacles to monitor alarm understanding since the reasons for alarm fatigue are the same across the specialties. However, knowing of such studies would yield information about which alarm(s) specifically do the staff understand better or worse? Also, there is a possibility that the understanding diminishes when certain machine alarms are simultaneously on (e.g. ventilator machine as well as monitor alarm). As a result, training could be tailored to each specialty and emphasis placed on areas where their understanding is not sufficient. CONCLUSION: The literature review suggests that the level of monitor alarm understanding and response is not sufficient. Also, this problem of monitor alarm response and understanding is serious and not to be taken lightly. In terms of barriers in response and understanding, they include: too many alarms as well as types, low PPV of alarms, inappropriate limits. Also, no studies have been found that stratify this understanding based on staff (ie doctors or nurses) or specialty (e.g. CCU vs NICU). Moreover, the reasons identified for barriers in understanding of alarms did not appear to be different between doctors and nurses. No studies have been found that assess, specifically, whether the HP knew difference in operating the alarm system itself (ie did they press correct button to silence an alarm). The studies looked at whether they reacted to the alarms and if they did, did they carry out the correct response. Solutions proposed include: incorporating delays, having smart alarms, using different modalities for alarms as well as having continuous teaching. HP’s use alarms as one of the inputs in their decision making process. While alarms are there to alert of any physiological variable crossing a limit (in order to not miss a true event), this leads to the PPV being compromised and as such, the confidence and response to such an alarm decreases. Thus, moving forward, it is essential that strategies are aimed to increase the PPV of alarms, decrease the number of alarms themselves, and incorporate continuous teaching to ensure that the input alarms give holds more weight for the HP in the decision making process. Word Count: 1973 (Excluding abstract and methods) REFERENCES: 1.Insights A. [Online]. 2014 [Nov. 21, 2014]. Available from: http://www.anesthesiainsights.com/news/. 2.Aziz MO. Monitor Alarms (CUMH) discussion with Brian (Biomed) and Prof. C. Ryan (Neonatologist). Monitor Alarms in CUMH ed2014. 3.Bitan Y, Meyer J, Shinar D, Zmora E. Nurses’ reactions to alarms in a neonatal intensive care unit. Cogn Tech Work. 2004 2004/11/01;6(4):239-46. English. 4.Drew BJ, Harris P, Zegre-Hemsey JK, Mammone T, Schindler D, Salas-Boni R, et al. Insights into the problem of alarm fatigue with physiologic monitor devices: a comprehensive observational study of consecutive intensive care unit patients. PloS one. 2014;9(10):e110274. PubMed PMID: 25338067. Pubmed Central PMCID: Pmc4206416. Epub 2014/10/23. eng. 5.Schmid F, Goepfert MS, Kuhnt D, Eichhorn V, Diedrichs S, Reichenspurner H, et al. The wolf is crying in the operating room: patient monitor and anesthesia workstation alarming patterns during cardiac surgery. Anesthesia and analgesia. 2011 Jan;112(1):78-83. PubMed PMID: 20966440. Epub 2010/10/23. eng. 6.Institute E. Health Devices: 2010 TOP 10 TECHNOLOGY HAZARDS. US. 7.Institute E. Health Devices: TOP 10 HEALTH TECHNOLOGY HAZARDS FOR 2014. US: ECRI Institute, 2013. 8.(FDA) FaDA. FDA Patient Safety News: Show #106, January 2011: Alarming Monitor Problems. January 2011. Report No. 9.Cvach M. Monitor alarm fatigue: an integrative review. Biomedical instrumentation technology / Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation. 2012 Jul-Aug;46(4):268-77. PubMed PMID: 22839984. Epub 2012/07/31. eng. 10.Lawless ST. Crying wolf: false alarms in a pediatric intensive care unit. Critical care medicine. 1994 Jun;22(6):981-5. PubMed PMID: 8205831. Epub 1994/06/01. eng. 11.Gorges M, Markewitz BA, Westenskow DR. Improving alarm performance in the medical intensive care unit using delays and clinical context. Anesthesia and analgesia. 2009 May;108(5):1546-52. PubMed PMID: 19372334. Epub 2009/04/18. eng. 12.Chambrin MC, Ravaux P, Calvelo-Aros D, Jaborska A, Chopin C, Boniface B. Multicentric study of monitoring alarms in the adult intensive care unit (ICU): a descriptive analysis. Intensive care medicine. 1999 Dec;25(12):1360-6. PubMed PMID: 10660842. Epub 2000/02/08. eng. 13.Minoru H, Eiji S, Mototake T, Kenichi K, Hirosuke K, Satoshi W. Characteristics of Auditory Alarms for Medical Equipment and Future Issues. Journal of Clinical Engineering. 2005;30(4):208-. 14.Sobieraj J, Ortega C, West I, Voepel L, Battle S, Robinson D. Audibility of patient clinical alarms to hospital nursing personnel. Military medicine. 2006 Apr;171(4):306-10. PubMed PMID: 16673744. Epub 2006/05/06. eng. 15.McLaren E, Maxwell-Armstrong C. Noise pollution on an acute surgical ward. Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England. 2008 Mar;90(2):136-9. PubMed PMID: 18325214. Pubmed Central PMCID: Pmc2443309. Epub 2008/03/08. eng. 16.Ryherd EE, Waye KP, Ljungkvist L. Characterizing noise and perceived work environment in a neurological intensive care unit. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. 2008 Feb;123(2):747-56. PubMed PMID: 18247879. Epub 2008/02/06. eng. 17.Phillips J, Barnsteiner JH. Clinical alarms: improving efficiency and effectiveness. Critical care nursing quarterly. 2005 Oct-Dec;28(4):317-23. PubMed PMID: 16239820. Epub 2005/10/22. eng. 18.Block FE, Jr., Nuutinen L, Ballast B. Optimization of alarms: a study on alarm limits, alarm sounds, and false alarms, intended to reduce annoyance. Journal of clinical monitoring and computing. 1999 Feb;15(2):75-83. PubMed PMID: 12578080. Epub 2003/02/13. eng. 19.Westenskow DR, Orr JA, Simon FH, Bender HJ, Frankenberger H. Intelligent alarms reduce anesthesiologists response time to critical faults. Anesthesiology. 1992 Dec;77(6):1074-9. PubMed PMID: 1466459. Epub 1992/12/01. eng.