Lowes Case Study free essay sample

Lowe’s Company has been in business for over 60 years. The company is the second largest home improvement retailer in the world and employs more than 215,000 employees. The company’s home base is Mooresville, North Carolina. Standard Poor ranks Lowe’s as #48 . Presently, Lowe’s stock, which is identified on the New York Stock Exchange as LOW, is selling for right under $20 a share. This price has been consistent and is comparable to their biggest competitor Home Depot, Inc whose stock has remained steady at $23. Lowe’s, and other home improvement businesses, serve three types of customers; the Do-It-Yourself customer that is the individual who completes their own projects and installations. The Do-It-For-Me customer, who purchase supplies then hire third parties to complete the installation or project. Finally, there are the professional customers who are the remodeler, general contractor, repairman, small business owner and tradesmen. The slowdown of the market has affected all types if customers in the home improvement markets. We will write a custom essay sample on Lowes Case Study or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The home improvement market takes in approximately $755 billion annually. However, with the softening of the housing market, unseasonable drought and flooding, and last year’s variable mortgage interest rate hikes the industry has taken some hits. Although mortgage rates are decreasing, high gas prices has caused a recession and overall sales has decreased. California and Florida, which bring in a large portion of sales, experienced the biggest declines in home prices and the most pronounced slowdown in housing turnover. With that said, Lowe’s company was still able to report $48. 3 billion in net sales. An analysis of the financial statements and financial prospects of Lowe’s Company was performed on the last two years (2007 and 2008). Financial statements which include the balance, income and cash flow statements for Lowe’s Company and Home Depot, Inc. were obtained to perform the financial analysis to see if Lowe’s is a worthy investment. When comparing Lowe’s against Home Depot, their most closely matched competitor, Lowe’s comes ahead in long term debt to equity ratio with 34. 6% whereas Home Depot has a negative outlook on long term debt with debt accounting for 64. % of total liabilities. This and other factors are defined more closely in the financial statement analysis. According to Fortune 500, Lowe’s is still closing the gap with competitor Home Depot, whose dissatisfied customers were defecting. A Company subsidiary, Lowe’s HIW, Inc. , is a defendant in a lawsuit, for allegedly failing to pay overtime wages pursuant to the requirements of the California Labor Code. Though this lawsuit has been filed since 2001, and is in the early stages of class action proceedings, the Company has not estimated the range of loss that may arise from this claim. II. Industry Summary Lowe’s Company is identified under the Standard Industrial Classification code 5211. SIC 5211 is Lumber and other Building Material industry. This industry is engaged in selling lumber and building materials. Hardware is one of the most important items sold. Lumber and building companies that do not sell to the public are classified as Wholesale Trade, Industry Group 503. Lowe’s closest competitor is Home Depot, Inc. Home Depot is the worlds largest home improvement retailer and the second largest retailer in the United States (U. S. ), based on Net Sales for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2008. Home Depot is ranked #22 by the SP. Their home base is in Atlanta Georgia. Home Depot had 2,234 stores at the end of 2007 with plans to open 87 new stores in 2008. Home Depot has over 284 stores overseas to include 165 stores in Canada and 12 stores in China. In 2007 Home Depot sold HD Supply, the company received net proceeds of $8. 3 billion and recognized a loss of $4 million Home Depot also signed a $1. 0 billion guaranteed senior secured loan of HD Supply. Also, in connection with the sale, they purchased a 12. % equity interest in the newly formed HD Supply for $325 million . HD Supply serves customers in the Infrastructure Energy market which includes services in building and maintaining water systems, oil refineries and petrochemical plants, and for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power. Home Depot identified HD on their Consolidated Statement of Earning for discontinued operations. In 2007, Home Depot showed $431 million in profits from HD Supply. Since the selling of HD Supply the Company acquired Ohio Water Waste Supply, Inc. and Geosynthetics, Inc. These acquisitions operated were under HD Supply and were included in the disposition. The aggregate purchase price for acquisitions in fiscal 2007, 2006 and 2005 was $25 million, $4. 5 billion and $2. 6 billion, respectively, including $3. 5 billion for Hughes Supply in fiscal 2006. The home improvement retailer was hit with a double whammy last year: a housing market downturn and customer service problems that have plagued the company for years. Also on the companys to-do list: preventing patrons from fleeing to competitor Lowes, which has been chipping away at HDs lead. In-store makeovers were a start, and the company also has been seeking skilled workers to replace inexperienced part-timers whod previously been hired to help cut costs. As stated earlier, the home improvement industry takes in $755 billion annually. However, due to the softening of the housing market and declining home sales, companies in this industry has had to change their focus to continue to entice customers. A busy real estate market and rising house values encourage buyers, sellers and existing homeowners to invest more in their home. This has prompted advertisements and promotions by both Lowe’s and Home Depot to get their customers to concentrate on improving the home they have. Lowe’s Company shows a family getting keys made, with the slogan, â€Å"At heart we’re still a neighborhood store,† this is their attempt to concentrate on the big and small offerings. Home Depot’s approach to getting customers in the store has been its newest paint line. Both stores has launched aggressive campaigns on do-it-yourself projects, and selling of patio furniture in an attempt to turn backyards into an extension of the home. This has been a major change for the two competitors, since 2000, both have doubled the number of stores they have. However, with existing home sales falling 2. 2% from November to December, and sales were down 23. 4% from the year before. With the problems from Fannie and Freddie Mac and the scandals in the banking industries the housing market will continue to remain soft. This may play into the favor of home industries market. SP is still optimistic about a mild, but long, recession. Their web site stated the housing market started showing signs of life in June. Some improvements to the economy were due to the stimulus checks being received earlier than expected and spent more quickly than expected. This also boosted the economy. In the first quarter of 2008, Lowe’s sales were down -1. 3% from the same time last year, however net sales were $12 billion dollars . This indicates Lowe’s in on track to have a successful year, with the current home mortgage markets. Home Depot did not fare as well with sales reported for the first quarter at $17. 9 billion but were down 3. 4%. Home Depot also had to take steps back and reevaluate their rationale to ontinue opening up new stores. According to the CEO, Frank Blake, stores not expected to meet targeted returns were taken out of the pipeline. And, ‘By not building them, well free up approximately $1 billion in cash over the next three years to invest in maintenance, merchandising resets and other areas within our existing stores. On a comparable level and based from Lowe’s and Home Depot’s 2007 financial report Table 11 illustrates the bulk of the products sold by both stores. Lowe’s has an advantage in sales in Plumbing, electrical, kitchen, hardware and seasonal items. Home Depot has the advantage in sales in building materials, lumber, millwork, paint and flooring. Both companies’ give back to the community. Lowe’s recently gave the lake Norman Student Athlete Association a secured $25,000 grant to improve fields for the youth recreation leagues . Home Depot just closed the second quarter of their Housing Impact grant program. The Housing Impact Grants is designed to assist nonprofit organizations whose project involves affordable housing built responsibly in a timely manner. III. Financial Statement Analysis Table 1, is Lowe’s Company’s Consolidated Balance Statement. Cash and cash equivalents decreased for 2007 by . 4%. Cash and cash equivalents include cash on hand, demand deposits and short-term investments with three months or less maturity. Payments from financial institutions for payment by credit card and debit card transactions process within two business days and are classified as cash and cash equivalents. This is significant because $1. 7 billion were received in credit/debit payments in 2007. Home Depot’s accounts receivable was $1. 2 billion for 2007 . Property increased . 9% in 2007; this was due to the 153 stores that were opened and the equipment to go along with it. In June 2007, the Company entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (Amended Facility) which modified the previous loan agreement and extending the maturity date to June 2012. This provided up to $1. 75 billion that could be borrowed at 5. 41%. As of February1, 2008, there was $1. 0 billion outstanding under the commercial paper program. In September 2007, the Company issued $1. 3 billion of unsecured senior notes which breaks down into $550 million maturing in September 2012, $250 million maturing in September 2017 and $500 million maturing in September 2037. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings , after capital in excess of par value was depleted). As of February 1, 2008, the total remaining authorization under the share repurchase program was $2. 2 billion. Table 2, illustrates the Consolidated Statement of Earnings for Lowe’s Company. Overall, sales increased 2. 9% to $48. 3 billion in 2007 . There were minor variances to net sales for overall percentage between 2007 and 2007. There was just a -0. 8% decrease in Net earnings than in 2006. Areas that showed the biggest variance in percentages were selling, general and administrative expenses at 1% increase in 2007 and store opening cost which just increased by . 3%. Pretax earnings were the most significant with 1. 4% decrease in 2007. Opening the 153 stores in 2007 accounted for most of the increase in sales. There was an overall decline in store sales by 5. 1%. The categories that performed above our average comparable store sales change included rough plumbing, lawn landscape products, hardware, paint, lighting, nursery, fashion plumbing and appliances . For 2007, the gross margin was 34. 4% represented a 12-basis-point increase over 2006. This leverage was partially offset by de-leverage of13 basis points in transportation costs primarily attributable to rising fuel costs. Store opening costs included payroll and supply costs prior to store opening as well as grand opening advertising costs that totaled $141 million in 2007, which was less than the $146 million in 2006. Table 3, identifies the Company’s cash flow statement for the last two years. Throughout the cash flow statements there are variances. Accounts payable has the largest individual variance with an 11. % decrease. However, the annual report states the company entered into a customer managed service agreement which will provide an accounts payable tracking system. This gives the suppliers the ability to finance payment obligations from the Company with designated third-party financial institutions. The Company’s goal with this endeavor is to enter into ‘arrangement is to capture overall supply chain savings, in the form of pricing, payment terms or vendor funding, created by facilitating suppliers’ ability to finance payment obligations at more favorable discount rates, while providing them ith greater working capital flexibility. . As of February 1, 2008, the Company had placed $77 million of payment obligations on the accounts payable tracking system, and participating suppliers had financed $48 million of those payment obligations to participating financial institutions. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings, after capital in excess of par value was depleted) . As a result there was a 537% increase in repurchase of common stock between 2006 and 2007. IV. Cost of Capital Table 6 has the formula that was used to come up with the Weighted Average Cost of Capital for 2006. Cost of Debt: According to Lowe’s annual report, their income tax rate for 2007 was 37. 7% and 37. 9% in 2006 . The decrease in the effective tax rate was due to increased federal tax credits associated with Welfare to Work and Work Opportunity Tax Credit programs. Lowe’s long term debt totaled $5. 5 billion in 2007 and $4. 3 billion in 2006. The overall cost of debt for Lowe’s in 2006 was 14. 4%. Cost of preferred stock: The Company has 5. 0 million ($5 par value) authorized shares of preferred stock, none of which have been issued. Cost of common stock: Authorized shares of common stock were 5. 6 billion ($. 50 par value) at February 1, 2008 and February 2, 2007. Dividend per shares for 2006 were $. 18 and total market value was $29. 97 per Lowe’s Company 2007 annual report page 48 under dollars per share (Weighted average shares, assuming dilutions). Common stock for 2006 was . 6%. Weighted Average cost of capital for 2006 was 7. 5%. This answer came from dividing the cost of debt and cost of stock by 2 to calculate the WACC since preferred stock was not issued. Table 7 illustrates the New cost of Capital. Weighted Average cost of capital for 2007 was calculated using the same references mentioned for computing the WACC of 2006. The Cost of Debt for 2007 was computed by using 38% tax and $5. 5B for long term debt. The cost of debt for 2007 was 11. 3. The cost of common stock was computed by taking DPS and dividing it by 31. 98 which was the market value for 2007. It computed to . %. The weighted average cost of capital for 2007 was 6. 1%. V. Capital Structure and Dividend Policy For Fiscal Year 2007, Lowe’s capital structure was made up of 47. 9% debt and 52. 1% common stock. Table 1 show the breakdown based on the information provided by the Company’s annual report. This is actually a 4. 5% increase in liabilities since the previous year. The Company has not issued its 5. 0 million shares of preferred stock. During February 2, 2007 and February 1, 2008, 5. 6 billion shares of common stock were authorized ($. 50 par value). The board of directors has authorized up to $2 and $3 billion in share repurchases for the next two years. Shares purchased under the share repurchase program are retired and returned to authorized and unissued status. During 2007, the Company repurchased 76. 4 million shares at a total cost of $2. 3 billion (of which $1. 9 billion was recorded as a reduction in retained earnings, after capital in excess of par value was depleted).. This is reflected on Table 1 with a -6. 3% variation. On May 30, of this year Lowes provided notice through The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A. , as trustee, to the holders of its outstanding convertible notes issued in February 2001 and its outstanding senior convertible notes issued in October 2001, of its election to redeem all outstanding convertible notes and senior convertible notes. Lowes has approximately $579 million aggregate principal amount of senior convertible notes outstanding and approximately $20 million aggregate principal amount of convertible notes outstanding. Lowe’s planned to redeem all senior convertible notes issued in October 2001 outstanding on June 30, 2008 at $875. 3 per note. VI. Stock Recommendations Compared to stock prices in June of 2007, which were an average price of $33. 03, stocks have taken a major dive by 60%. Reuters and yahoo finance recommends to hold on to your stock. The recommendation is the same for Home Depot who has experienced almost the exact fall in the stock. Table 14, which is provided by yahoo. finance illustrates the last 6 months of 2008. On the graph it is obvious that the company’s reaction to the stock market is exactly the same for this industry. If you do not have Lowe’s stock, I suggest monitoring it. Reuters has already projected the recession to worsen. Once the price drops lower I suggest buying it. I don’t recommend buying Home Depot stock at this time however. Their total liability is 60% in debt . If the recession takes a turn for the worst, Home Depot may experience problems with meeting their long term debt obligations. And, they may have problems receiving payments due to their high rate of account receivables. Lowe’s is a stock to watch and a Company that will be around.

Free Essays on Music In Elementary School

Music in Elementary School â€Å"From music and dance to painting and sculpting, the arts allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective. They also encourage individuals to sharpen their skills and abilities and to nurture their imagination and intellect.† President George W. Bush Music is and art form that is sometimes forgotten or overlooked in today’s elementary schools. The education of music can change lives in profound magical ways. Music is not just for the best or most privileged students. It is unquestionably for every walk of life. Music is much more than just an extra activity for kids. Participation in such an art opens up children’s worlds and minds, and offers them the skills for a bright future. Recent studies have shown kids who study music do better in other subjects; as well as score higher on standardized test, stay out of trouble and are more likely to go onto college. There are many skills required to be successful in today’s workforce. The study of music offers many of these skills; some of them are teamwork, problem solving, discipline, and self-motivation. Music may be the foundation for later math and science excellence. In Japan, Hungary and the Netherlands, music instruction is required. In Japan, students get a minimum of two courses per week in music-making. In Hungary, students get three classes a week unless they enroll in the music magnet schools where they get it every day. In the Netherlands, music and other arts are mandatory. Today, students are assigned comprehensive art projects to complete prior to graduation. The payoff is that their Math and science scores are near the top in the world. Music Enhances Cognition The exposure to music contributes to the development of essential cognitive systems which in... Free Essays on Music In Elementary School Free Essays on Music In Elementary School Music in Elementary School â€Å"From music and dance to painting and sculpting, the arts allow us to explore new worlds and to view life from another perspective. They also encourage individuals to sharpen their skills and abilities and to nurture their imagination and intellect.† President George W. Bush Music is and art form that is sometimes forgotten or overlooked in today’s elementary schools. The education of music can change lives in profound magical ways. Music is not just for the best or most privileged students. It is unquestionably for every walk of life. Music is much more than just an extra activity for kids. Participation in such an art opens up children’s worlds and minds, and offers them the skills for a bright future. Recent studies have shown kids who study music do better in other subjects; as well as score higher on standardized test, stay out of trouble and are more likely to go onto college. There are many skills required to be successful in today’s workforce. The study of music offers many of these skills; some of them are teamwork, problem solving, discipline, and self-motivation. Music may be the foundation for later math and science excellence. In Japan, Hungary and the Netherlands, music instruction is required. In Japan, students get a minimum of two courses per week in music-making. In Hungary, students get three classes a week unless they enroll in the music magnet schools where they get it every day. In the Netherlands, music and other arts are mandatory. Today, students are assigned comprehensive art projects to complete prior to graduation. The payoff is that their Math and science scores are near the top in the world. Music Enhances Cognition The exposure to music contributes to the development of essential cognitive systems which in...

How to Write a Perfect Research Paper

How to Write a Perfect Research Paper How to Write a Perfect Essay What is a research paper What to consider before writing a research paper How to start a perfect research paper: Tips on how to start How to write a perfect outline How to write a perfect thesis How to write an introduction How to write a body: Tips on body writing How to finish a research paper: Tips on conclusion writing Tips on revision Perfect essay example: National Honor Society What is a research paper Research papers are academic essays that have a theoretical basis and informed data that has in-depth research. Such documents might take an angle of argumentative thesis or discussions. Therefore, students should be keen to understand the kind of research papers that they need to focus their energy. A time comes in a students academic life when to deliver a perfect research paper. Students find it difficult to comply with the requirements to produce such documents. Therefore, students have unnecessary anxiety hence they continuously procrastinate research work that ultimately leads to delivery of imperfect research papers. Delivery of a perfect research paper requires experience and continuous practice. Therefore, only writers who diligently dedicate, practice and have the willingness to learn as well as become patient achieve greater experience hence deliver perfect research papers. What to consider before writing a research paper Writing a research paper requires preparation to get a solid footing. Therefore, students should practice planning their time properly. Students should allocate time for brainstorming as well as a time frame for an actual research, time for writing a paper as well as day gaps for the first and the second drafts. Secondly, writers should read and understand the research questions to grasp every detail that the instructor requires in the essay. Students should explore all the meanings of the question as well as breaking the problem down into key words such as ‘illustrate, ‘analyse, ‘discuss and ‘contrast. Separately, students should plan and execute the research process in a systematic manner and target information that is relevant to the research question. Also, a student should sort out the relevant sources of information especially books, articles, and magazines among others as well as the best online resources. Lastly, authors should organize all the materials that the research paper requires before evaluating the essay topic. Besides, students should be in a position to select the best approach for the research question, the main theme, and ideas that are emerging, the arguments that the writer is pursuing as well as the best evidence for the research paper. How to start a research paper: Tips on how to start Choose an interesting topic: students should choose topics with adequate information hence it is necessary to conduct a preliminary research to ascertain the idea. Consequently, a student should scan the feedback and evaluate the bulk and content of the information that has been published and narrow down the topic to be specific. Conduct preliminary reading and keep the records: authors of perfect research papers collect all the index cards and take notes on the information they gather. The information in their collections should include titles of the sources, information on the publisher as well as quotes and the page numbers among others. Mapping up the mind: writers usually do a mind map and outline that entail relevant information and points as well as personal ideas, questions that need answers. Outlining the ideas ensures proper grouping of the points logically. Developing a thesis: students should write focused arguments that are well defined by three to five points. The thesis should contain at most two sentences to give the direction of the research paper. Drafting an outline: a student should prepare an outline of the paper noting important points to include in the body and the entire article. How to write a perfect outline After completing all the pre-writing activities, students should make a research paper outline. The outline provides the baseline of the research paper where the student builds the whole paper. The outline should contain a detailed introduction, the body, and conclusion as indicated below. Introduction: should have a hook, an elaboration of the audience and thesis statement. Body: The body should have at least three arguments in individual paragraphs. The points should support the thesis statement with clear evidence that supports the points. Conclusion: students should include a summary of the argument. Besides, they should reiterate the thesis statement and a call for action. How to write a perfect thesis A perfect research paper has a specific and arguable thesis statement at the end of the first paragraph. Therefore, students should be clear and straightforward as well as refrain from general statements. Thus, the students should ensure that the thesis statements answer the So what? questions and able to explain the point to the reader giving the audience a reason to read the paper. Also, a thesis statement should reveal the position of the writer regarding the issue at hand. How to write an introduction Students should write an intriguing introduction which is well informative hence they should include hooks, elaborate the target audience and a thesis statement. Students who conduct detailed research should have introductions. Besides, the introduction should detail indicate the statement of the problem, the definition of terms, a theoretical frame work, methodology, and hypothesis. Also, it should include the significance of the research and scope among others. How to write a body: Tips on body writing When writing the body of the research paper, students should use the outline and note cards. Write the first paragraph on the subtopic as indicated in the outline and introduce the subtopic in the first sentence. After that, use different pieces of evidence to elaborate on the subtopic supporting the thesis statement. Students should use the note cards to get the different materials such as statics, quotes, and pictures. Consequently, the student should cite all the information from the research. The same procedures follow for the remaining paragraphs as well as subtopics until the writer captures all the information about the thesis statement. Authors who engage in detailed research give background information about the research as the first subtopic of the body. Subsequently, the student provides presentation and analysis of data regarding the topic. How to finish a research paper: Tips on conclusion writing When concluding research papers, students should consider the perspectives of the readers as well as how such papers will be of benefit. Therefore, it is necessary for students to connect the research paper to the great context regarding the issue as presented in other publications. Students should provide implications of the findings as well as the relevance of the topic. Students should give suggestions or ask questions or ideas for future research. Students should revisit the main point and research question with unseen insight. Students should give a summary of a research paper as well as giving the consequences of the idea from the research paper. Tips on revision When revising the research paper, students should set the draft for a day before review to objectively view the paper and notice all the problems. Secondly, the writer should refine all the arguments. Writers need to organize paragraphs as well as a rewording of the sentences as well as elaborating evidence clearly about the subtopics. Read the research paper aloud to identify the simple mistakes especially writing errors and unclear statements and spellings. Sometimes it is relevant to give someone else the research paper to read to notice grammar, spelling and ambiguous sentences among other problems. Research paper sample: Teaching Strategies Education requires a comprehensive and developmental approach to ensure that children acquire the necessary skills in schools to face numerous challenges in their daily endeavors in life. Combining all the developmental approaches in teaching enable children to grasp the ideas as well as accommodate all the unique styles that children use in their learning processes. Some tutors appreciate dictation as a strategy in teaching students. Therefore, the teachers make the students develop the passive audience and feed them with information hoping that all of them will grasp the entire concept to the later. The technique requires that the student take the responsibility to comprehend all the skills and techniques on their own. Thus, it is referred to as the deposition method where the students become the depositories of information and teachers are the depositors. The concept allows one-way communication process from a teacher to the students hence students partially grasp the concept mainly through memorization and repeat. In the long run, the students do not develop critical thinking concepts and do not debate upon the information. On a separate, not tutors who encourage participative concepts to appreciate interactive learning among the students. Under this method, students grasp a lot of information from the course material since they focus, engage their minds as well as the debate over different ideas. Besides, the method helps students to ask questions and form group discussions hence they can absorb ideas creatively and understand the value of the subjects. Consequently, they will be able to devote much of their time and energy learning new concepts and ideas. On a separate note, interactive learning encourages collaboration where student formulates new ideas and opinions as well as creating their environments to work with their peers interactively. Thirdly, some teachers appreciate the use of props, visual aids, and movies in teaching. The methods make the student stay alert and engage. The main advantage of the method is that it brings great captivation of attention and make the students develop more interest in the material. Therefore, the method stimulates the mental functionality which is sufficient for active learning. Also, the technique makes student grasp concepts separately as they have different methods of learning such as listening and watching. In conclusion, various teaching strategies bring different ways on how students hear and comprehend information that is useful in their daily lives. Some of the best methods include the use of videos, active learning as well as lecturing. However, a combination of all the methods is effective since it allows accommodation of different styles that students use for learning.

Overview of the Television Show Glee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Overview of the Television Show Glee - Essay Example The essay "Overview of the Television Show Glee" talks about a very popular television show ‘Glee’ that has been broadcast all over the world in the recent past; it speaks of a high school atmosphere with children belonging to different backgrounds, coming together to spread love through the gift of music. The children that belong to the Glee Club are not even accepted by the other students going to the school because they may not be as ‘popular’ or pretty as the others in order to be a part of the so-called ‘cool’ social scenes. This is a vast issue that has been affecting children not only across America but on a global basis, merely because peer pressure and social acceptance is something that children coming from different backgrounds and having different opinions have been facing for a long time. The main goal of this show has been spreading social justice among young adults and helping them understand that it is alright to accept different people into their groups. The show has also been able to do an excellent job by cultivating and displaying how its children and students are not able to love themselves and be truthful with themselves about how to deal with life. The first season is based on the social issue of teenage pregnancy and helps to portray how women are thought of when they are going through such problems. Quinn underwent a major amount of hardships when she was pregnant because at first, her fellow students did not support her decision of going ahead with having the baby.

Business Innovation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business Innovation - Essay Example The companys goals and culture are embedded into the actual design and management of its facilities (Fitzgerald, 2001). For instance, the company’s buildings have large windows, warm colors and fabrics, open floor plans, recreation areas and fitness centers. This enables the company to connect indirectly with its employees while providing an environment that allows for a more productive and interactive workforce. The companys catch phrase too, Connecting People, is symbolic of the culture, which helps define the purpose of its physical facilities. Their culture encourages employee participation through open discussions and debates. Nokia’s culture promotes good communications, which is integrated into every day interaction with and between employees (Nokia, 2006). They have performance-management system, called Investing in People (IIP) involves discussions between employees and their managers, twice a year. They have flexible working hours, study leave and health-care services and recreational activities (HRM Digest). Another company having innovative culture is Procter & Gamble (P&G), America’s biggest maker of household products. There is a shift in P&G’s culture from a conservative, slow-moving, bureaucratic attitude to a modern, fast-moving, internet-savvy organization (CorporateWatch, 2006). They have introduced a new system of attracting the right talents in its fold with a view to make faster and better decisions, cut red tape, reduce costs of systems and procedure while setting more aggressive sales goals. Go, Give and Grow is a scheme that has struck chord with the youth. This scheme gives the graduates the opportunity to make their personal contribution to humanitarian projects before they start their career with P&G (HRMID, 2006). The new graduates selected for employment with P&G get a chance to work for 12 months in a developing country with the World Health Organization (WHO) or Unicef.

Comparison Tom and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby Essay Example for Free

Comparison Tom and Gatsby in The Great Gatsby Essay In â€Å"The Great Gatsby,† written by Scott Fitzgerald, Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby are two characters that struggle with the idea of losing their shared love interest, Daisy. Tom and Gatsby’s attachment to Daisy is differently justified due to their contrasting views, personalities, attitudes, actions, backgrounds, and other factors, some of which they do share and concur in. Fitzgerald did a great thing here. He created two purposefully different characters- one that is easily despised, the other that although not perfect, is likable- and united them in their love for money, the power that comes with it , and their haunt for the ultimate prize – Daisy. In this essay, we will analyze Tom and Gatsby’s differences and similarities in several areas, and decide whether or not they are perfect foils of each other like they are commonly perceived to be. To describe who Tom and Gatsby are, we must first analyze where they come from. In this area, Tom Buchannan and Jay Gatsby couldnt be more different. Tom comes from an old and wealthy Chicago family, hence his residence in East Egg where the old aristocracy of the country’s richest families reside. Tom symbolizes the idea of being born into a golden crib, a prestigious family name, and into old money. Tom is one of those privileged few who never had to work for anything in his life, but is â€Å"privileged† the right description for him? Fitzgerald says in the story, â€Å"They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.† Tom’s past never allowed him to learn how to own up to his mistakes, accept fault, and deal with difficult situations, but rather made him unable to adapt to the real world. Because of this, I use the term â€Å"privileged† loosely when describing Tom. On the other hand, Jay Gatsby was born into what some of us call â€Å"the other side of the tracks.† Gatsby faced an impecunious childhood in rural North Dakota, but was an ambitious small town boy with big dreams who thought himself to be superior to the farming life, and simply rejected the lot he had been dealt in life. Gatsby’s father says to the narrator, Nick, â€Å"Jimmy was bound to get ahead Do you notice what he’s got about improving his mind? He was always great for that†, and that is exactly what Gatsby did.  Gatsby left his home town and set out to find his fortune, and although some of his actions were not too admirable, James Gatz, the poor farm boy, used his ingenuity to reinvent himself and become Jay Gatsby, the self-made millionaire. Fitzgerald makes Gatsby’s residence in West Egg, where the newly rich reside, a place for a class of vulgar and ostentatious people who will always lack the social grace and taste that the resident s of East Egg possess, and can only be achieved from birth. Although the green light in Daisy’s garden is symbolic for hope, I think it also symbolizes the â€Å"green-eyed monster†. It symbolizes the envy and frustration Gatsby must feel through the realization that even though he achieved an incredible amount of wealth, he will never be an East Egger. Gatsby’s impoverished past makes him unacceptable to this socially elite East Egg society that Tom was born into, and is naturally an accepted part of. Now that we know about their contrasting pasts, let us take a look at their personalities. Tom is an overpowering, large man who uses his presence to intimidate people. It says in the book , â€Å"two shining, arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding clothes could hide the enormous power of that bodyit was a body capable of enormous leveragea cruel body.† On the other hand, Gatsby seems to be shy and reserved to the point where he is not even acknowledged at his own parties. In my opinion, Gatsby did not do so well when attempting to pull off a defying front during his confrontation with Tom. Tom also comes off as a racist bigot who fears that the Black race will eventually submerge the White race, a sexist, and an abusive, insensitive, â€Å"brute†, like Daisy calls him. Gatsby’s open house parties which contain very colorful characters, on the other hand, seem to show little prejudice or judgment in his persona. Gatsby’s action of waiting outside the Buchannan’s home all night just to make sure Tom would not physically harm Daisy, show just how sensitive Gatsby is to Daisy’s well being. Tom seems to be very blunt and crude, while Gatsby’s distinguishing feature is the enigma that is his life. Jay Gatsby holds himself to high expectations and lived his life chasing a single dream, while Tom Buchanan seems to have no direction, goals, or dreams, other than to waste away his wealth, and please his selfish needs. In my opinion, the fundamental difference between Tom and Gatsby is how Fitzgerald  decided that justice would be served to each concerning part. Tom is the definition of selfishness, arrogance, cruelty, and ultimately, the ugly side of inherited wealth. Despite all his faults, Gatsby is more good than he is bad, and is a clear rags-to-riches success story. However, Tom ends up getting away scot free, never facing any consequences for his actions or immorality, while Gatsby ends up killed for a crime he did not commit, to save a women who did not love him back. As always, the poor man gets the short end of the stick. Now that we stated some clear differences between Tom and Gatsby, lets look at some of their similarities. Tom and Gatsby are both dishonest and deeply flawed men who commit consistent shows of indiscretions. For example, Tom condemns Daisy’s affair, but does not have the decency to be discreet about his own. Gatsby’s shady business dealings with Wolfsheim and illicit ways of acquiring wealth can, without a doubt, compare to Tom’s unscrupulous character. Both Tom and Gatsby lie and cheat, but Tom does it for the sole purpose of self-indulgence, while Gatsby does what he does in pursuance of his dream. Tom and Gatsby both have controlling personalities, and will do what they can to get what they want, regardless of the consequences. Another similarity between Tom and Gatsby is that both men seem to be playing a role when every they’re in public, by putting on a facade for others to see. With his good looks, education, horses, polo shirts, riding pants, and boots, Tom tries to impress and dissemble others, while hiding the monster he really is. On the same token, the ostentatious parties, mysterious past, and made up stories are all used by Gatsby to hide his hum ble beginnings, and corrupt ways of attaining his wealth. Without a doubt, Gatsby and Tom’s most obvious connection is their link to Daisy. Beautiful, educated, and well groomed, Daisy is the personification of feminism in the 1920’s, and women of an elite social class. Although Daisy is the object of their affection, or better yet, desire, I do not think that either Tom or Gatsby are in love with her. Tom is so pompous, that he married Daisy not because he loved her, but because everyone else wanted her. Tom wants to keep Daisy now because he knows how socially unacceptable divorce would have been, and she looks good under his arm. Gatsby is not so much in love with her, as much as he is with the idea of her. Gatsby places Daisy on this pedestal, and wants her to live up to expectations that she neither can, wants, or deserves. In a way, both Tom and Gatsby see Daisy as  a highly desirable prize that will attest to their own self-worth. In conclusion, because Tom and Gatsby do share some characteristics with each other they may not be â€Å"perfect† foils, but looking at the big picture, they are like oil and water. Tom is a despicable character who embodies everything that is wrong with society, and flies through life unpunished. Gatsby is a man who came from humble beginnings, and made something out of himself for the sole purpose of recuperating the one thing that ever made him feel alive – Daisy. Gatsby lied, cheated, and took part in organized crime, so what can possibly him great, you may ask. Well, in my opinion, Gatsby’s never-ending optimism, simplicity of heart, and power to make his dreams into reality is what makes him â€Å"Great†. In reality, Gatsby never cared for the glamorous parties, the nice clothes, or the fast cars. Acquiring these luxuries were only important to him because he felt like they were necessary for him to accomplish his ultimate goal- winning Daisy’s heart back. Daisy embodied Gatsby’s American dream, and unfortunately for him, his search for her was somewhat more of a fatally romantic idealism that seemed to be best suited in a world of fairy tails and happy endings. I agree with Nick when he tells Gatsby, Theyre a rotten crowd youre worth the whole damn bunch put together.

Modern technologys effect on ecology :: essays research papers

?It is because of those scientists? inventions.? ?Modern technology owes ecology an apology!? This is what some people say when the read the news about haze, deforestation, extinction of flora and fauna and global warming. They blame modern technology, the materials and ideas developed in the last century to assist humans in their activities, for the deterioration of ecology. The ecological cycle has been very much disturbed by the developments humankind have achieved. Despite these allegations, we should stop and think, does modern technology really owe ecology an apology? For what reason does it owe ecology an apology? Is it because it took away its attractiveness and reduced attention and respect to nature?s beauty? Is it because it harmed the environment? Has all modern technology harmed Mother Nature? I think modern technology does owe ecology an apology as some but not all of it has negatively affected the ecology. First of all, let?s examine the consequences of modern technology on the environment. Modern technology indeed has harmed the environment. It created bulldozers, cranes, guns, nuclear weapons and other dangerous equipments that have been used by man to clear forests for the sake of urbanization. Nuclear weapons that have been used in wars such as the one that was detonated in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 has left a huge impact on the environment.

Emotions Are Perfectly Permissible Signs of the Healthy Body’s Response to Stress Essay

What are the essential factors that help to mould a person’s character? The formation of character begins from the early childhood. Of course family plays significant part in character building. Carrying out some simple duties, the child is accustomed to respect and love work, to feel responsibility for the charged business. Under the influence of requirements of parents and tutors, their personal example the child gradually has concepts of what he can do and what he can’t, and it starts to define its behaviour, lays the foundation for a call of duty, discipline, endurance; the child is accustomed to state an estimation to own behaviour. With the Ð µntering school begins the new stage of formation of character . This stage is characterised by that the child faces a considerable quantity of new, strict rules and the duties rigidly defining all its behaviour. Usually these circumstances promote formation of such character traits, as organisation, purposefulness, persistence, accuracy, discipline, diligence. Especially intensively character traits develop at teenagers . And this sensitive period is formed set of character traits, especially what express the relation of the person to a society and people. The major means of a character building is work. In the serious and socially significant work connected with overcoming of difficulties, the best character traits – purposefulness, a collectivism, persistence are brought up. The character building is influenced by the literature and art. Images of literary heroes and their behaviour often serve for the pupil as the original sample to whom it compares the behaviour. The character building is influenced also by a personal example of the tutor, whether it is parents or teachers. What the teacher does much more influences a life of the child, than what he speaks. How the teacher his work how he follows public norms of behaviour, how he control his feelings, what style of his work – all that has enormous importance for a character building of children. Character is not a stiff foundation(Ð ·Ã °Ã' Ã'‚Ã'‹Ð ²Ã'ˆÐ µÃ µ Ð ¾Ã ±Ã'€Ð °Ã ·Ã ¾Ã ²Ã °Ã ½Ã ¸Ã µ),it moulds during all person’s life. It’s known that physiological bents(Ð ·Ã °Ã ´Ã °Ã'‚Ð ºÃ ¸) do not predetermine absolutele development of character. A great assistance( Ð ±Ã ¾Ã »Ã'Å'Ã'ˆÐ °Ã'  Ð ¿Ã ¾Ã ¼Ã ¾Ã'‰Ã'Å') in a character building is rendered by more skilled people and it’s important to find a worthy example for imitation. Character of the person is formed in interaction with others. But the one who undertakes to help another, at first should show itself an example of purposefulness, activity, organisation, firmness and other character traits which he should generate at the pupils. Here it is impossible to forget about mechanisms of imitation which first of all extend on negative displays of behaviour. At first mother, the father, other members of a family, then tutors in a kindergarten, contemporaries, teachers are potential instructors. So those potential instructors should first of all look after themselves. Much depends on them. They should make aware of all responsibility that they take. What are the ways and means by which a person’s character is revealed and estimated? We all know that people are different. Sometimes we meet people whom we don’t like. But some people attract us. Usually when we meet people first of all we look at their appearance, how they look. Of course if a person is untidy, slovenly and unpleasant we don’t want to communicate with him. We don’t even want to be near them. We always look at person’s clothes. As for me I like well-dressed people, who are always neat, tidy and elegant. And if we like person’s appearance we are eager to socialize with them. But sometimes it happens that we are disappointed in people, even we like their appearance. It happens when a person is rude, impertinent, impolite or fussy. So what I want to say that we also pay attention to people’s speech, in what way they communicate. It’s very important to communicate with people politely, friendly, affably and calmly. And I want to say that first impressions play the leading role for further communication. When we meet new people we pay attention to everything, to their appearance, their speech, voice, manners and behaviour. Person’s behaviour says us about some of his or hers character traits. If a person can’t cope with his feelings, always throws tantrums we can understand that he is very nervous, fussy and unrestrained. And if he always hides his feelings, doesn’t let off stem, behaves himself calmly and coolly we can say that this person is reserved, uncommunicative and secretive. But it’s not good. I think it is more interesting to communicate with open, sociable, easy going and cheerful people. I think everyone will agree with me. And I want to say that the more we communicate with a person, the more we know him. And person’s behaviour just helps us to know him. Through some of his deeds we can understand whether a person is scrupulous, sincere or on the contrary unscrupulous and false. Also I always pay attention to person’s attitude to the life, to his parents, friends and other values. Does he respect his parents and friends or not, has he any aim in his life or not. I like purposeful people, they always know what they want and finish whatever they start. These are good traits of character. And also I want to add that I don’t like people who tease animals. May be I don’t like them because I have my cat, but nevertheless I think intelligent person will never hurt animals, they are weak and we should take care of them. And if a person is cruel towards animals I can consider that he is brutal in the life. What is the role played by personal traits of character in choosing a profession? The problem of choosing the future profession has always been very important. The profession a person chooses in many ways determines his future life. For many people choosing a career is not an easy task. It is one of the most important decisions one makes in life. The properly chosen career makes a person happy and successful for the rest of his life. There are several factors that influence on the decision of young people to make their choice. Much depends on the inclinations and interests of the person. Also the profession of the parents often in this or that way influences on the future profession of their children. And of course personal traits of character play a great role in choosing a profession. It’s very important to take them into account. Because for example if a person is ill-natured, hard-hearted, insensible, fussy and cruel, he couldn’t be a teacher or a doctor. I think teacher should control her or his feelings, not to take her or his irritation out on students or pupils. Of course it’s difficult, because teachers are people and sometimes it’s difficult to cope with feelings. As for me I’m going to be a translator. At school at first I wanted to be a journalist. I admired them. I thought I was born to be a journalist, because I’m communicative, responsible, reliable, sociable, I’m easy to deal with, but I couldn’t write compositions and it was enough for me to refuse that idea. I liked English at school, and I wanted to speak English without any difficulties that’s why I decided to go to our institute and to study English. But I think it’s too little to have only a wish to be a translator, some traits of character are also very important. I think translator should be first of all communicative, sociable, and responsible. And a lazy person couldn’t be a translator, only hard-working, industrious and patient person could manage it. And of course it’s necessary to have a good memory. And I think a good person can choose any profession, it depends on his interests. If he or she is polite, affable, attentive and honest everyone will want to hire him or her. But as for ill-natured people it’s always difficul t to find a good job for them, first of all it’s difficult to get an education, because usually they are unrestrained, intolerant, self-willed, harsh and impertinent, they can start their studying but couldn’t finish it. And they are difficult to deal with. And even if they got an education, nobody wants to work with them. For example nobody let nervous people to work with their children. Or no one wants to hire irresponsible or dishonest person. There are some people who are always shy, not self-confident and it’s hard for them to communicate with other people, they always think that they do something wrong, they become concerned about what people think about them. I think such people can’t achieve any success in their career. They should be more active, assertive and persevering but within reasonable limits. Negative feelings seem to change character with intensity. There are a lot of difficult situations in our life. We are all different, some people are not afraid of problems. They are persevering and self-possessed. They know how to cope with different problems. But there are some people who always unlucky. They are gloomy and sullen. They usually claim of their troubles. I suppose it is very difficult to communicate with such kind of people. I think that it is better to be more optimistic when you are in a bad mood. Is it interesting to be through the difficulties? In my opinion it is very interesting and most of all it is impotent to cope with problems when we meet with them. Hard situations train our willpower. We should learn how to calm down and to try not to let off steam. Usually when we are tense and jumpy, we take our irritation out on friends, parents. Such kind of behavior only makes the situation worse. It is necessary to say that negative feelings can spoil everything. Usually we can’t take easy many problems. For example, when we quarrel with our family or with our friends, we become tense and sulky. There is no mood to do something. We began to feel anxious. We think that it will be impossible to achieve some good results. When the situation becomes more difficult, we begin to throw tantrums. We can’t find the right decision or to be more exact we don’t try to do it. I’d like to say that when you don’t know how to pull yourself together and to calm down, your character will change with intensity. You will get irritated more often, even without any reasons. Some people lose all hope to realize their dreams. For example, they failed once. And it was difficult for them to cope with negative feelings. People of weak character usually despair deeply and lose any hope to achieve a success. So, I think that it is necessary to be an optimistic person. We should take easy a lot of distressing situations. Who has never tasted bitter, knows not what is sweet. There are a lot of difficult situations in our life. We are all different, some people are not afraid of problems. They are persevering and self-possessed. They know how to cope with different problems. But there some people who always unlucky. They are gloomy and sullen. They usually claim of their troubles. I suppose it is very difficult to communicate with such kind of people. I think that it is better to be more optimistic when you are in a bad mood. Is it interesting to be through the difficulties? In my opinion it is very interesting and most of all it is impotent to cope with problems when we meet with them. Hard situations train our willpower. We should learn how to calm down and to try not to let off steam. Usually when we are tense and jumpy, we take our irritation out on friends, parents. Such kind of behavior only makes the situation worse. Who is a lucky person? I think a person who coped with some difficulties and achieved a success is really lucky. There is a good proverb. Who has never tasted bitter knows not what is sweet. It is a golden rule. We shouldn’t look for easiest ways in our life. We should be more persistent. For example your friends are planning a hiking tour. But you refused their suggestion to go on a hike with them. You are afraid of bad weather; you don’t know how to make a fire. You don’t want to cut a foolish figure. You prefer to sit at home and to be unnoticeable. But is it right? No, it is not right. There are a lot of children from rich families. They have everything but they do nothing. They get a good education without making any efforts. I don’t think that such children are happy. In my opinion the problem of choosing the future profession has always been very important. The profession a person chooses in many ways determines his future life. For many people choosing a career is not an easy task. It is one of the most important decisions one makes in life. The properly chosen career makes a person happy and successful for the rest of his life. People make much effort to enter the university and to realize their dream to be for example a translator or doctor, etc. They are studying for 5 or six years and after that people try to find a good job. it is a fantastic feelings when you are proud of yourself! You worked hard, you passed a lot of exams and you got a certificate of degree. Now you are a specialist and you have got a gut job. Emotions are perfectly permissible signs of the healthy body’s response to distress There are a lot of difficult situations in our life. We are all different, some people are not afraid of problems. They are persevering and self-possessed. They know how to cope with different problems. But there some people who always unlucky. They are gloomy and sullen. They usually claim of their troubles. I suppose it is very difficult to communicate with such kind of people. I think that it is better to be more optimistic when you are in a bad mood. Is it interesting to be through the difficulties? In my opinion it is very interesting and most of all it is impotent to cope with problems when we meet with them. Hard situations train our willpower. We should learn how to calm down and to try not to let off steam. Usually when we are tense and jumpy, we take our irritation out on friends, parents. Such kind of behavior only makes the situation worse. When we are in a bad mood our body suffers from it too. When we feel anger, physical tension develops automatically. We need to realize this tension through action of some kind. I think it is not bad to let off steam in such a way. They say that physical exercises influence on our mood positively. There are a lot of situations when we need to express our feelings. To be more exact, we need to let off steam. Anger that is expressed automatically clears the air and removes the tension. Sometimes it is necessary to burst into tears. When you are furious, you shouldn’t disguise your feelings. Accumulation of irritation, annoyance and stress leads to headaches, sickness of various kinds. We should take care of our health. I suppose it is better to say a person everything what you think about him. Don’t accumulate fury. Of course we should know where to stop. Otherwise people will be afraid of you. They will begin to avoid communicating with you.

Coffee

Marketing Individual Assignment 3 1) What is the product mix of Trung Nguyen? What are the key attributes of its coffee? How do these attributes help Trung Nguyen to differentiate itself from its competitors? The product mix refers to the total composite of products offered by Trung Nguyen coffee. It consists of different product lines, various product items in each product line and within each item is the product depth.Firstly, the product line is a group of product or service items that are closely related because they are sold to the same consumer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, have similar usage or fall within given price ranges. Thus, Trung Nguyen Coffee’s product lines are: Trung Nguyen Coffee, Passiona Coffee and G7 Instant Coffee. The Passiona Coffee targets at consumers looking for low-caffeine coffee and especially women, while the G7 Instant coffees are made for people who are too busy to brew a cup of coffee themselves.Trung Nguyen Coffee h as 3 different product items, namely Creative Coffee, Blend Coffee and Espresso Coffee. Passiona Coffee consists of 2 product item, Passiona roasted coffee and Instant Passiona coffee. As for the G7 Instant Coffees, the product items are G7 Pure soluble, G7 Cappuccino and G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee. Lastly, product depth is the number of variants in a product item. Trung Nguyen’s product depth of Creative coffee includes the Weasel Coffee and Legendee Coffee. Also, some variations of G7 Cappuccino are the Mocha G7 cappuccino and Hazelnut G7 cappuccino.Different sizes of coffees are considered as product depth as well. For example, the G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee is sold in 3 different sizes: a box of 18 cafe sticks, a bag of 22 sachets or a bulk pack bag of 100 sachets. Table1: Summary of product mix of Trung Nguyen | Product lines| | Trung Nguyen Coffee| Passiona Coffee| G7 Instant Coffee| Product items| -Blend coffee-Espresso coffee-Creative coffee Product depth: Weasel coffeeLe gendee coffee| -Passiona roasted coffee-Passiona instant coffee| -G7 Pure soluble-G7 cappuccinoProduct epth:Mocha G7 cappuccinoHazelnut G7 cappuccino-G7 instant 3-in-1Product depth:box of 18 cafe sticksbag of 22 sachetsbulk pack bag of 100 sachets| Key attributes refer to the most important characteristics of a product. Trung Nguyen makes its point of difference through its key attributes like using the best coffee beans, unique brewing style and the new coffee concept. Trung Nguyen has a unique selling point because some coffees offered cannot be found anywhere else. Its coffees are authentically Vietnamese. For example, the Weasel coffee is produced based on the legend in Vietnam.To differentiate itself from its competitors, these key attributes must communicate benefits for consumers. The coffee offered by Trung Nguyen is of a higher quality compared to other coffee brands because they use the best coffee beans sourced from four of the world’s best coffee-growing regions. In addition, Trung Nguyen is awarded with the EureGAP certificate for its good agricultural practices such as having consistently good quality coffee beans and using environmentally friendly technologies. Coupled with their oriental secrets, consumers would prefer Trung Nguyen because their coffee is brewed much more aromatic and rich.Trung Nguyen used their new concept of coffee to set up a â€Å"Creative Coffee House† in order to differentiate itself and gain market share. It is now well-known for the innovative clubhouse whereby customers can enjoy coffee in a beautiful and sentimental ambience while experiencing Vietnamese cultural events and exhibitions. For consumers who value such innovative product services, they will choose Trung Nguyen’s coffee over the other â€Å"grab a coffee to go† coffee styles. 2) What are the roles of branding? What are the benefits of branding to sellers and buyers in the coffee market.The role of branding is to create an ident ity for the product. The identity created can have some personalities and can gain brand equity. Benefits of branding Some benefits of branding for sellers of the Trung Nguyen coffee are that they are able to accentuate the bases of differentiation from its competitors due to its distinct identity. They can obtain legal protection like trademarks to avoid copycats of their brand. The counterfeit products are capable of stealing Trung Nguyen’s sales when consumers are unsure of how the real packaging of coffee looks like.There is also a chance for the counterfeit coffee to ruin Trung Nguyen’s reputation. Consumers who bought the counterfeit coffee by mistake may view Trung Nguyen to be of a lousier quality instead. All this would be effectively prevented by branding because counterfeiting is an offense. Brand equity is created by branding and careful marketing. Trung Nguyen can in turn earn higher profits as consumers are willing to pay a higher price for this particula r brand of coffee. Also, brand equity can lead to higher economic value of the brand, whereby it becomes an asset for Trung Nguyen when it wishes to sell its brand.Last but not least, Trung Nguyen can achieve brand loyalty through creating preferences towards their brand. If Trung Nguyen coffee is able to sustain a consistently good quality coffee product, consumers would remember the brand, spread the word around and continually purchase its coffee. On the buyers end, they may reap the most benefits from Trung Nguyen’s branding. Coffee is a convenience product and it is important to make it easy to find. Consumers will be able to correctly identify the products in a short period of time due to Trung Nguyen’s branding thus becoming more efficient shoppers.Furthermore, consumers may gain assurance of product quality and performance. Employees need to ensure products offered are of consistently good quality and so are specially trained to deliver this promise. Consumers will remain loyal to Trung Nguyen coffee because they are satisfied with this brand and have no need to search for another. 3) What constitutes the brand identity of Trung Nguyen? What is your evaluation of this identity? How can the brand identity be improved? Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand and also what the organization wants consumers to perceive the brand as.It constitutes of â€Å"Trung Nguyen† as its name, the logo and its tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† A successful brand name should reflect the personality and values of the brand, be simple, memorable, positive and emotional. A logo is the image that embodies an organization. It is one of the most prominent branding elements that consumers will think of when someone mentions the company. A good brand logo should be memorable, futuristic and consistent and be able to portray the benefits to its target audience. The tagline must be simple and easy to remember.It also needs to rem ain short since the tagline is always incorporated into many marketing pieces. Evaluation of brand name: Consumers associate Trung Nguyen to â€Å"Central highlands† which refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee where green coffee is grown. This gives an advantageous association between Trung Nguyen and high quality and fresh coffee beans. Also, the brand name represents the uniqueness and richness of the Vietnamese culture. However, the name Trung Nguyen does not hold any meaning for non-Vietnamese. This may alienate consumers from other parts of the world.Another bad point could be that its name is hard to pronounce for non- Vietnamese consumers. Possible improvements: Because the company’s name has been around since 1996 when it was founded, it cannot be changed otherwise the company has to build up brand awareness from scratch all over again. Thus, the company should work hard in educating people and let them understand the positive association between Trun g Nguyen and â€Å"Central highlands†. For example, they could use their existing Internet website and include this under the â€Å"learn more† option.People visiting the website can then learn about the association and slowly adopt Trung Nguyen as their favourite coffee. Evaluation of logo In my opinion, the logo might be a little small and insignificant. Psychological influences such as selective exposure and retention affects consumer buying behaviour. For example, the appealing cup of coffee printed on its packaging of Creative coffee may distract the consumers from the brand name. The logo is also unattractive and boring due to the usage of dull and non-contrasting colours. The font used in the logo has little stylistic variations making it rather boring as well.Possible improvements Firstly, the logo should be scaled to a bigger size. Also, the marketing manager of Trung Nguyen can make use of brighter and more contrasting colours to make its logo more outstandin g and attention-catching. The font could be changed to something cursive. This can better capture consumer’s attention thus leaving a deeper impression and resulting in better brand memory and recognition. For example Coca Cola, with its logo in a strikingly bright red background and white cursive words, is very successful at making sure that every consumer remembers it.Evaluation of tagline: Trung Nguyen’s tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† consists of only 3 simple words hence should be relatively easy for everyone to remember. However, Trung Nguyen tagline is still quite foreign to people across the globe as they do not use much above-the-line marketing. Possible improvements Through the print media and mass media, Trung Nguyen can improve this aspect of its brand identity. The marketing manager could set up a Facebook page and make it known to people. Maintaining a Facebook page is relatively low-cost as compared to constant TV advertisements.Becaus e millions of people are using Facebook, it is very effective for Trung Nguyen to get their brand identity across. Another point of improvement also through the mass media is through its online website. Perhaps the tagline can be added in the â€Å"history of Trung Nguyen† tab as it is currently not. On top of that, they can make use of emotional branding to elicit a favourable emotional response. Adding emotional words like â€Å"Happy†, â€Å"Healthy† and â€Å"Beautiful† could boost sales of their coffee.As consumers become increasingly aware of health and beauty these days, Trung Nguyen can market more of their Passiona coffee which is enriched with collagen, vitamin PP and other rare oriental herbs through its tagline. 4) What is the branding strategy of Trung Nguyen? What are the advantages and risks of this branding strategy? Trung Nguyen uses an umbrella branding strategy. Different types of coffees have a sub-brand which combines the corporate br and with a new brand. Trung Nguyen’s Passiona Roasted coffee and Trung Nguyen’s Espresso coffee are 2 examples. Advantages of umbrella branding:Capitalizing on the existing brand equity of Trung Nguyen, it can sell newly introduced products quickly. Consumers who have had a good experience with its coffee will transfer this favourable attitude to new items. For instance, Trung Nguyen’s Creative coffee may have been developed earlier than Passiona coffee. Consumers who liked Creative coffee would have a higher chance of buying the Passiona coffee because they are under the same brand and so would also be of an equally good quality. Furthermore, the Passiona coffee can be set at a higher price as consumers are willing to pay more for brand value.This can bring about additional profits for Trung Nguyen. Another advantage of using an umbrella brand is a lower advertising and promotion costs. Trung Nguyen only needs to come up with a single advertisement because its coffees share one identity. Also, because Trung Nguyen is used on all of the products, level of brand awareness is easy to raise. To name an example of a successful sub-branding strategy, Gatorade has developed and introduced Gatorade Frost, Gatorade G2, Gatorade energy bar, etc into the market and stayed popular being the leading sports drink brand in many countries.Risks of umbrella branding: In every marketing strategy there is bound to be a down side. Some risks of umbrella branding are that the failure of one type of coffee may affect the sales of the whole Trung Nguyen branded products. It is inadvisable to put all the eggs into one basket. For instance, if the production G7 Mocha had some discrepancy that caused the coffee to be too sweet, consumers may feel that the rest of Trung Nguyen packet instant coffees are as sweet and so switch over to Nescafe coffee instead.Secondly, sales of one product item may come at the expense of other items offered in the same product line. L astly, the meaning of Trung Nguyen may also be diluted with an umbrella branding strategy. Apart from coffee, Trung Nguyen also has other product such as Green Tea, Oolong tea, etc. However, Trung Nguyen refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee and so offering tea as an alternative beverage is not so relevant to the brand name.

Standard Molar Entropy

Standard Molar Entropy Youll encounter standard molar entropy in general chemistry, physical chemistry, and thermodynamics courses, so its important to understand what entropy is and what it means. Here are the basics regarding standard molar entropy and how to use it to make predictions about a chemical reaction. What Is Standard Molar Entropy? Entropy is a measure of the randomness, chaos, or freedom of movement of particles. The capital letter S is used to denote entropy. However, you wont see calculations for simple entropy because the concept is fairly useless until you put it in a form that can be used to make comparisons to calculate a change of entropy or ΔS. Entropy values are given as standard molar entropy, which is the entropy of one mole of a substance at standard state conditions. Standard molar entropy is denoted by the symbol S ° and usually has the units  joules per mole Kelvin (J/mol ·K). Positive and Negative Entropy The Second Law of Thermodynamics states the entropy of isolated system increases, so you might think entropy would always increase and that change in entropy over time would always be a positive value. As it turns out, sometimes entropy of a system decreases. Is this a violation of the Second Law? No, because the law refers to an isolated system. When you calculate an entropy change in a lab setting, you decide on a system, but the environment outside your system is ready to compensate for any changes in entropy you might see. While the universe as a whole (if you consider it a type of isolated system), might experience an overall increase in entropy over time, small pockets of the system can and do experience negative entropy. For example, you can clean your desk, moving from disorder to order. Chemical reactions, too, can move from randomness to order. In general: Sgas   Ssoln   Sliq   Ssolid So a change in state of matter can result in either a positive or negative entropy change. Predicting Entropy In chemistry and physics, youll often be asked to predict whether an action or reaction will result in a positive or negative change in entropy. The change in entropy is the difference between final entropy and initial entropy: ΔS Sf - Si You can expect a positive ΔS  or increase in entropy when: solid reactants form a liquid or gaseous productsliquid reactants form gasesmany smaller particles coalesce into larger particles (typically indicated by fewer product moles than reactant moles) A negative ΔS  or decrease in entropy often occurs when: gaseous or liquid reactants form solid productsgaseous reactants form liquid productslarge molecules dissociate into smaller onesthere are more moles of gas in the products than there are in the reactants Applying Information About Entropy Using the guidelines, sometimes its easy to predict whether the change in entropy for a chemical reaction will be positive or negative. For example, when table salt (sodium chloride) forms from its ions: Na(aq) Cl-(aq) → NaCl(s) The entropy of the solid salt is lower than the entropy of the aqueous ions, so the reaction results in a negative  ÃŽâ€S. Sometimes you can predict whether the change in entropy will be positive or negative by inspection of the chemical equation. For example, in the reaction between carbon monoxide and water to produce carbon dioxide and hydrogen: CO(g) H2O(g) → CO2(g) H2(g) The number of reactant moles is the same as the number of product moles, all of the chemical species are gases, and the molecules appear to be of comparable complexity. In this case, youd need to look up the standard molar entropy values of each of the chemical species and calculate the change in entropy.

How To Create Opt-In Forms 5 Ways To Convert Traffic Like Crazy

How To Create Opt-In Forms 5 Ways To Convert Traffic Like Crazy Without a doubt, everyone wants to turn their website visitor into a customer. But did you know that  95% of first-time visitors  are not ready to purchase from your website right away? In fact, it takes on average three to four visits to your website for prospects to actually think of buying from you. This means if you’re selling a product or a service on your website, you could be losing many potential customers unless you build an email list and nurture them to purchase your products. Nonetheless, persuading visitors to submit your opt-in forms is key to the success of your business. Now, opt-in forms require various elements to attract leads and encourage completions. Each  of these elements is essential for boosting sign ups by reducing friction. In this post, let us discuss various key elements of high conversion opt-in forms, and how each element can contribute to improving your conversion rate.How To Create Opt-In Forms: 5 Ways To Convert Traffic Like Crazy1. Make Your Lead Generation Form Visually Appealing Studies show that  55% of visitors  spend fewer than 15 seconds on your website. Evidently, if you’re looking to increase conversion rate, you’ll need to grab the attention of your visitors as quickly as possible with a beautiful opt-in form. While prettiness of your form can be pleasing to eyeballs, the primary goal should be to make your form stands out from the rest of the content of your page, so it easily grabs the attention of your visitors. QuickSprout’s lead generation form is one of the perfect examples of a visually appealing opt-in form. Wondering what makes the QuickSprout’s form stands out? Let’s take a look at them below. Subtle shadow: You can notice a subtle shadow below the bottom corners, providing the form a little popping kind of effect. Directional cues: Using a directional cue has an inevitable role in designing a high converting opt-in form. It shows your visitors where to focus in your form. In the QuickSprout example, the header points downwards where the fields and button are placed. Recommended Reading: How To Write Landing Pages That Will Boost Your Conversions The below example of Constant Contact’s form is another example of using directional cue that points CTA button. Use directional arrows on opt-in forms to direct user actions.Actionable Tips for Creating a Visually-Appealing Opt-in Form Design When it comes to from design, below are a few tips that might help you: Create pretty opt-in forms using a form generator: You don't  necessarily have to be a designer in order to create an eye-catching form. If you’re on WordPress, you may use a free plugin like  Optin Forms  or use a premium SaaS solution like  OptinMonster. Visually appealing landing pages: While opt-in forms are an essential element of your landing page, make sure all other elements are also optimized for conversion. WordPress offers  various landing page plugins  for designing a page. Here are some other popular options to consider: LeadPages Unbounce Instapage 2. Increase Perceived Value With Compelling Content Upgrades What is the most important thing that encourages people to subscribe to your list? If you ask me, it is the opt-in bribe you offer your leads for subscription. Undoubtedly, visually appealing design attracts eyeballs to your opt-in forms. However, design alone is not sufficient to encourage people to subscribe to your list. It doesn’t matter how pretty your design is, unless you convey the benefits of subscription you can’t expect many sign ups. In order to encourage sign ups, make sure you offer something valuable which your prospects can’t refuse. That being said, you shouldn’t necessarily offer something huge as an opt-in bribe, but make sure it should be perceived as high-value. Encourage signups via opt-in forms by offering something prospects can't refuse.Again, let’s take a look at the QuickSprout’s opt-in form and its title copy. It says â€Å"Free Course: Double Your Traffic in 30 days + Secret Bonus (Valued at $300)† Let’s see how it increases perceived value with this compelling content. It focuses on solving a pain point: Solving a common pain point is one the best ways to encourage leads to subscribe to your list. In this case, QuickSprout offers a guide that tells how to double traffic in just 30 days. Because gaining traffic is a time-consuming task, this is an undeniable offer. Images: Another thing I liked about the form is that it shows the free course as a bundle of books and CDs, which definitely raises the perceived value of the opt-in bribe. Specifying dollar value: It also mentions how worthy the offer is by specifying its dollar value- yet another great way to increase perceived value. Recommended Reading: 10 Stunning Examples Of Visual Content Marketing Content Upgrades: Increasing Actual Value vs. Perceived Value While it is always possible to raise the perceived value of your content upgrade, one of the drawbacks of this approach is that since more and more marketers are offering generic opt-in bribes like ebooks, it is hard to differentiate yours from your competitors. And this is the primary reason  why the team at CopyBlogger launched a free paywall for MyCopyBlogger rather than a generic opt-in bribe such as an ebook. They wanted to offer both perceived as well as actual value than traditional methods. If you haven’t heard about MyCopyBlogger yet, it is a premium content library consisting 15 eBooks and a 20-part internet marketing course. In order to access the content, subscribers are required to log in to the site by entering their email address. Below are the results of this approach. This strategy of increasing perceived value and actual value boosted the sign up rate by 400%. Besides the sign up rate, the lead quality remained high and it helped to generate $300,000 in Authority  sales in their first month. This video from Jeff Sauer of  Jeffalytics shows how to build content upgrades to gate behind your opt-in forms: Recommended Reading: How To Use Social Media Analytics To Create The Best Content 3. Reduce the Number of Form Fields Undoubtedly, reducing the number of form fields is one of the easiest ways to increase sign up rate. And it has been proven by many studies. By analyzing contact forms of 40,000 of their customers, Dan Zarrella at HubSpot  found  that conversion rates improve when unnecessary fields are eliminated. Blivakker.no  found  an 11% rise in sign up rate when the number of form fields is reduced. Expedia eliminated just one field  resulting in a $12 million profit. These results make sense because shorter opt-in forms make submission easy and convenient for your prospects, which in turns encourage more sign ups. Increase signup form completions by eliminating unnecessary fields.So when creating an opt-in form, always double check whether each field is necessary and try eliminating the fields that are not critical for your marketing strategy. Number of Fields: Lead Quantity vs. Quality With that said, do keep in mind that the quality of your leads  is as important as the conversion rate. For that reason, if you’re eliminating the number of fields for boosting conversion, make sure to test the quality of your leads  as well. For instance, while auditing the lead flow, the team at B2B software company Iron Mountain found that eliminating number of form fields tremendously reduces the quality of leads. For them, in order to qualify a lead, simply gathering name and email address are not just enough. So, instead of reducing the number of form fields for boosting sign ups, they focused on improving qualified leads. A form submission is considered qualified if a lead submits accurate information for sales inquiry. At the end of the test, the A/B test with form design variations  improved qualified leads by 140%. Below are a few lessons you can learn from this case study. Validate fields: Leads submit accurate info if the fields are validated. This can help improving lead quality. Qualified leads improve efficiency  of sales teams: If you’re a B2B business, qualified leads help your sales team to focus on selling rather than researching contacts. Capturing more info: Gathering more info helps in personalizing follow up emails tailored to the lead’s industry. Two Additional Actionable Tips Aside from validating form fields, below are a few tips to follow. Add help text: Provide helps tips next to each field explaining why each info is being collected. Use ghost text: Ghost text helps users to identify in what format each field should be filled in. However, if you insist users to insert irrelevant fields, for example, dashes for a phone number, chances are it will create friction, which in turn reduces conversion rate. 4. Make the CTA Button Stand Out Make sure your users can easily differentiate your CTA from rest of the opt-in form elements. This strategy can help to grab the attention of your potential leads and encourage clicks. In one case study,  Dmix tested  comparing green and red button colors in their CTA. After testing 600 subjects, they found that conversions increased by 34% when they used red button. The reason why red button outperformed the green in the above example is that the red stands out from the rest of the design. So it draws attention and encourages click. Recommended Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Using Color Psychology In Marketing + Free Color Schemes Below is another example of using a button that doesn’t blend into the design. Additionally, make sure your CTA is actually a button. This separates the button from other elements placed on your page, which persuades visitors to click on it. For example, RIPT tested their original call to actions against a new CTA button. When the control is tested against the original, they immediately saw a rise in sales. The copy of your CTA button is as important as the color. According to a  survey by Formstack, little changes in button copy can help boosting conversion rates tremendously. With that said, you shouldn’t blindly follow someone else’s test on your opt-in form. The only way to improve conversion is to conduct a test on yours and learn how various CTA versions resonate with your audience. Recommended Reading: How To Write A Call To Action In A Template With 6 Examples 5. Place Forms Above-the-Fold Placing an opt-in form above-the-fold is a common practice to grab the most attention of your visitors. Entrepreneurs-journey.com offers a good example of a form that is placed above-the-fold. The best thing about this leaderboard sized opt-in form is that unlike popups, it grabs attention without annoying visitors. In fact, visitors can also choose not to display the form if they wish not to view it. Such placement is advisable,  especially because  Google recently announced  that they’ll start penalizing "intrusive interstitials" like popups on mobile devices from Jan. 10, 2017. So if you’re currently using any kind of intrusive opt-in forms for growing your list and are concerned about receiving a Google penalty, you might want to remove it from your website and place it above-the-fold for mobile devices. While above-the-fold placement can be an easy tactic to grab the attention of your visitors, it is not a "one size fits all" solution for driving more conversions. Let’s take a look at when you shouldn’t place your form above-the-fold. Should opt-in forms be above-the-fold? It depends.When Above-the-Fold Isn't The Best Option Did you remember the age old marketing lesson AIDA? AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Remember the AIDA formula when building opt-in forms.When it comes to the placement of your opt-in form on your landing page, this means before asking your potential lead to complete a form, you’ll need to explain about your offer and convince them to subscribe to your list by explaining its benefits. Various sales pages have been using this AIDA tactic for boosting conversion. Optimize Your Opt-In Forms And Drive More Conversions! I hope this article gives you some insights on creating a high converting opt-in form for your next list building campaign. Every website and its audiences are unique. It is always better to test what brings better result before making assumptions. What is your favorite tip for creating a high-conversion lead generation form? Share your thoughts with us by dropping a line below in the comments section.

Indicators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Indicators - Essay Example This cuts costs for businesses which would enable them to reinvest the spare cans and hire more workers. There are also other ways that should be considered to address the problem of unemployment. These include training programs that are better than those in the past. This will ensure that the skills of employees are better matched to the jobs that are newly available. The full-time employment policies should also push for full-time employment a bit faster. This is because when labor markets grow tight, companies go ahead and hire any individual even those who have been unemployed for a time greater than one year. The gross domestic product is defined as the output of the final goods and services that are produced by a country. The GDP is calculated as Personal Consumption Expenditure plus Investment plus Government Expenditure plus (Exports minus Imports) The advantage of using real GDP is that it is dynamic because it changes with the constantly new figures. It is the best indicator of the overall economic health of a nation. The past figures show that GDP has increased since the last quarter and has been showing an increasing trend for the past two years. GDP is used as a coincident indicator as it changes at the same time the economy does. A negative economic growth for two quarters that are consecutive is considered a recession and the Federal Reserve usually lower the interest rates in this period in order to increase the rate at which the economy is growing and to stimulate the economy. Real GDP takes into account inflation as we multiply the nominal GDP with a deflator. GDP tells us if the economy is growing more quickly or slower than past years. The US sustainable rate as believed by economists is between 2.5% and 3 % as that has been the average rate in the past. The five components of GDP as cited above are private consumption, government consumption, investment and net exports. The