Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 7

Final - Essay Example There were several aspects responsible for the ineffectiveness that was part of Decision Tech. one of the elements related to effective teams is that combination of people results in better and more efficient work while individualistic work is not as productive. In comparison, the employees within Decision Tech were simply busy in leg pulling, competing against each other and not trusting each other to function as a coherent and cohesive team. Team mates are supposed to nurture and help each other grow in order to be an effective team. However, in Decision Tech this was not the case at all, as most employees were busy with their own work to focus on anyone else. Each member was focused on making sure they could get ahead instead. This was a clear situation where the organizational performance was being jeopardized. The executive team was such that people would call them the staff within the organization. The main reasons behind this were that the executive body would fight against each other, not letting the other succeed. As a result, in most meetings, it was noticed that the executive team could not come to any mutual decisions successfully. Individually, each person was brilliant in his or her job and was working perfectly fine for the organization, however, collectively, they were not being productive as a team. The team had developed a culture of its own where it was hostile and silent in most cases and the team could not perform well due to these issues in the culture of the executive team. Most elements of the norming stage were not even reached where the team would tend to ignore differences and move towards cohesiveness. Instead, the team was primarily stuck in the forming stage where the team mates were still trying to adjust to each other and were more inclined to work independently than as a team. It was noted that the team had not reached all the four stages of team development at all. From the four stages of team development, the executive team at

Childhood Obesity in Mississippi Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Childhood Obesity in Mississippi - Assignment Example Numerous and severe health issues are linked to obesity which include enlarged risk for heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Significantly, overweight children are prone to become obese adults (statistically 80%), overlook schooling and academic performance, and develop chronic diseases and coronary heart disease in adulthood. To deal with the burning issue of overweight children in Mississippi, the state has undertaken several pertinent policy regulations, statutes and standards, including the Mississippi Healthy Students Act in April 2007. As a result of the various efforts to reduce the childhood obesity rates in the state, Mississippi has recently been recognized as one of the top states a propos school health policy implementation. â€Å"To raise awareness, encourage better health, and provide healthier environments across the state, government departments need to continue to work together, support each other, and coordinate their efforts to make a lasting impact.† (Mississippi Department of Education’s Office of Healthy Schools, p. 5). Notably, the policy issue of childhood obesity in Mississippi has been of particular interest to the profession of nursing, because these policy matters are carried out at this level of health industry. This paper makes a reflective research on the issue of childhood obesity in Mississippi, including the policy analysis, in order to help the policymakers in finding the best-equipped programs to deal with the issue at hand. In a profound analysis of the policy issue of childhood obesity in Mississippi, it becomes lucid that the state has the highest rates of childhood obesity in the United States and this issue has invited serious attention to the health policy makers of the state and the nation. The issues related with childhood obesity are numerous and they include both health consequences and psychological problems. Thus, risk factors connected with

The Vision Mission Values Management Essay

The Vision Mission Values Management Essay From the very beginning Sam Walton used the strategy still used by the corporation he founded; a wide variety of low priced goods, more availability by later store hours, buying goods in large quantities from the lowest priced wholesaler and passing on the savings to his customers. With low prices came large sales volume and that allowed him to purchase even cheaper goods from his suppliers. Sam Walton had great distribution methods as well. He built his stores near distribution centers so that items could be delivered quickly, usually within 24 hours. Sam Walton was more than Everyday Low Prices and distribution that catapulted the company to the top. Show More Show Less Walmarts mission today is still, save money, live better this sums up their primary goal, and gives a clue as to who the target market could be. Walmarts intention is to provide the lowest prices. Their customer base is the low income, and lower middle class that seek low prices. Walmart is found in almost every city in the United States, and more specifically in rural and suburban areas. Walmart uses alot of research to locate areas to open new stores, and even more to know what to stock them with. Its difficult to discuss, Vision, Mission and Values without understanding with clarity what the 3 stand for. Vision: The difference that the business wants to make. What will make it better than the rest of the other companies. Mission: How do we plan on carrying this work out; this is the way we plan to do things. Values: This is the nitty gritty; the walk to the talk. The Wal-Mart Vision statement states that The vision of the Global Ethics Office is to support ownership of Wal-Marts ethical culture to all stakeholders globally. Since the first store opened 50 years ago, the store has worked toward making a difference in people lives. The Founder of the company, Sam Walton believed that the service his customers received was very important. Sam Walton shared his vision with his employees and made them accountable for the way his first stores were operated; and later his other stores as well. Mr. Walton assigned greeters at the store entrances, and had them learn customers names. He lowered prices, and was committed to his customers even when his competitors thought that was a sure way to fail. Walmarts Mission is to improve the life of the community they serve through opportunities in employment, volunteer opportunities of its employees, cash or grants, its mission is to improve and help the people of the communities they are in. Globally, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave more than $958 million in cash and in-kind contributions during fiscal year ending Jan. 31, 2012.( Walmart Foundation). Three basic Values guide Wal-Mart employees: Respect for the Individual, is about valuing workplace diversity, everyone is a valued employee, and co-worker. Customers are greeted, and treated with respect. Sam Walton believed in creating an environment that is open and inclusive of all personnel and customers; and treating all people respectfully. In 2012 WalMart operates stores in 27 countries and under 69 different names. Service to Customers. Customer service comes before and after a sale; that includes prices that are affordable, and lower than competitors, and finally, Strive for Excellence; excellence doesnt mean being perfect. Striving for Excellence does mean doing the best job in all that you do, and to do it over and over again, as many times as it takes to get it right. Organization Business: Products and Services Traded on the New York Stock Exchange, Walmart is a corporation. The official name of the company is Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (http://www.walmart.com/catalog/catalog.) Wal-Mart sells everything! Walmart Supercenters are warehouse size buildings, with sizes varying from 98,000 to 261,000 square feet, with an average of about 197,000 square feet (Walmart Annual Report, 2012) These stores stock everything: its a full-service supermarket with a meat dept., bakery, delicatessen, frozen foods, dairy products, produce, seafood and pharmacy; electronics, automotive, houseware, cosmetics, toys, garden centers, one hour photo processing lab; additionally some have fuel pumps in the parking lot. Some Walmarts are equipped with automotive service departments, garden centers, optical center, portrait studio, and numerous alcove shops, such as cellular phone stores, hair and nail salons, local bank branches, and fast food outlets, in the El Paso stores it is Mc Donalds (Longo, 2007) Products, Services and Initiatives requiring HR support. When Sam Walton opened the door in 1962 to the first Walmart, it was operated under a 3 basic belief code: respect for the individual, service to the customer and striving for excellence. Things havent changed much, the Walmart corporation still uses these vvalues; and continues to improve on them; always looking to improve the service to their customers and each other on a daily basis (http://careers.walmart.com/company-beliefs-and-values/). Walmarts open door policy, and open communication is what is credited with the success that Walmart has experienced when dealing with its 2.2 million associates and customer needs (http://careers.walmart.com/hr-benefits ) Walmart employees know they can openly discuss concerns with the management team. Wal-Mart Stores, with 2.2 million employees, tops the first published list of the worlds 500 largest corporate employers (http://www.myglobalcareer.com/). The Human Resource department at Walmart uses the strategy of fitting the employee to the best suitable job to fit the associates cognitive ability, and interests. (Chuck Russell, 2003). Its very important that they hire the best suited person for the job as mistakes can cost large sums of money! According to Dr. Pierre Mornell, if you make a mistake in hiring, and recognize and fix the mistake within six months, the cost of replacing that employee is two and one-half times the persons annual salary. ( Mornell, 2003). Training and development doesnt stop when the associate is hired, it isnt a one time thing, it continues on during the career of the associate, its meant to improve and empower the employee during his service at Walmart. Employees are told the history about the making of Walmart, and shows the roles and responsibilities of the employee, and those of support staff. After the initial orientation every department has its own training to strengthen the individual strengths, and chart career paths. All these initiatives are aimed at making employees stay within the organization more favorable. This empowers the employees and gives them the incentive to remain within the company. (Sullivan and Zaino, 2005). Walmart offers many training and development opportunities.It isnt unusual for a company to train an employee upon hiring, and nevr retrain, or continue to train an employee; but that isnt the case at Walmart. Walmart considers training as part of their regular work environment, this company invests a lot of time in maintaing a ongoing training program for employees. The purpose of the continuous training is to assist associates in maintaining, and or obtaining the needed skills to prepare for climbing the corporate ladder. Walmart likes to hire from within the company, as they like people already educated in their corporate culture. Leaders Out in Front is what Walmart calls the program that places the associate in charge of their own portfolio. This program also places the training in the first line of contact with the associates, the Assistant managers, Market manager, Store managers, and Co-managers, it is believed in the Walmart culture that associates having training with the first line of contact they are continuously training, and strengthening their skills. In 2007, Walmart started a program called Stores of Learning. In this program they use virtual classrooms to show chosen employees about the most effective methods of service delivery. Training and development isnt a only new employee training, its an ongoing event at Walmart. Its a very important part of an associates life (Career Development, 2010). Walmart uses skill assessments to determine, and improve their employee labor, and knowledge of their job skills. The company has instituted a program known as the Associate Investment model where supervisors evaluate employee competencies. This methods of employee assessment is particularly accurate owing to the fact that it allows the assessment of the evaluation process. This means that in case evaluation was done poorly, the company can detect it and makes their employees more prepared for future eventualities. (King, 2006) The company vigorously trains the employees, this helps Walmart to know that the employee is well trained in his job function and knows all the components of his job. Part one of the process is called on boarding. Since the employee must know his job, and all job functions, this can also be called the information phase. The next step is called the fundamental track phase. During this phase the employee is expected to know and understand the responsibilities associated within the scope of his job. Walmart hopes that this information helps the employee to better understand the function of his job and well as build a foundation from which to grow. The third phase of the program is called advanced track phase. In this area employees are taught how to plan their careers. For Walmart this is the portion of the training that guarantees that employees are aware, and knowledgeable in all the steps needed to prepare them for them to get to become promotable, and, or transferable to different positions within the company. Associates are urged to assess their own skills, and opportunities within Walmart,and to guage if they are tracking with the needed job criteria. The above program instructs employees on resume writing, interviewing skills, career planning, and being pro-active in seeking job opportunities within the company. Sam Walton liked to promote people within the Walmart family before seeking outside candidate, and today the same idea still functions within the Walmart culture, promote from within! The training, available through the Human Resource Department is meant to have a readily available pool of talent from the employees. Walmarts executives believe that while other retailers outsource a large part of their production process, Walmart wants to keep talent from within their company to fill vacancies as they arise. The fact that the company has leadership programs for their managers, supervisors, and line staff is proof that they are commited to assisting the employee develop, grow, and remain productive within the Walmart family. The companys Vice presidents feel that the people who have paid their dues, done the job, and prepared should be the ones getting the promotions within the company (Marquez, 2005). It is estimated that the human resource department at Walmart spends a large amount of time in the training, and maintaining, as well as preparing employees to embrace the best opportunity that comes their way. Since Walmart is worldwide they also believe that they are successful because of the consistent manner in which the associates are trained worldwide. Walmarts Human Resource Department has been working on preparing employees to work worldwide, in any environment by preparing them with the correct language, customs, and corporate requirements need to be a success in that area. Because Walmart wants to keep its competitive edge always sharp they also spend thousands of dollars in training their Human Resource Department in the latest hiring, and training practices in any country where they operate. The Walmart corporation does not consider training for any employee to be just an internal issue. They educate themselves in what other companies are doing to make them successful.(Walmart, 2008) Organization Markets Save Money. Live Better. This is the core of what Walmarts Marketing department uses to communicate to its customers every day. The yellow, happy smiling face is what Walmart uses to tell people about its lower prices. Marketing communication is a very important function of marketing. The product and services offered at Walmart would mean nothing if it werent communicating it through various media: collateral, advertisements, internet, packaging, printed media, displays, and logos to name a few. The ultimate goal of marketing communications is to make sure that the shopping population thinks of Walmart as the best place to shop, the place where they will save money, and have a better life because of it. ( more here)..> Organizational Core Competancies A core competency simply stated is what a company does best. For Wal-Mart that means lowering its operating costs, selling at a low price and still making a profit. Wal-Mart is a company that has taken what it does best, which is to deliver products at the lowest possible price, and incorporates it into their vision Low prices. Live better, and made it its competitive edge. Walmarts culture of hiring hardworking, and diligent, customer service oriented employees has paid off for the company. The founder, Sam Walton called his employees associates, and treated them like partners; thus making them feel like they were valued and wanted. Walton belied in his associates input, and valued what they had to say about improvements, and how to make the store better: additionally, he wanted his customers to know that no matter where his store was the customer would always receive the lowest prices and top notch customer service. . Low Cost Operations. Wal-Mart focus has always been on small rural towns. In 1962, the first store was in Rogers, Arkansas, and even then it cut prices so low, and drew customers away from its competitors; the trend to do the same has continued throughout the last 50 years; and in fact this is their mission statement in practice. As the US economy goes into slumps people look for lower, better prices, and Walmart has always been there to rescue the bargain shopper. Â   Distribution. Walmart has a total of 42 regional distribution centers, and 1 transportation office in every one. Each distribution center is over one million square feet. The distribution centers handle a total of about 6,500 tractors with 55,000 trailers. These vehicles moved more than 5.5 billion cases of merchandise last year. There are also specific distribution centers for Sams clubs as well for groceries, jewelry, pharmaceuticals. The Walmart online also have their own distribution centers. They are all located within a 250 mile radius of the stores they service, and most are open 24/7. The trucks deliver their loads, and most return within the same day, to start the process again the next day.( http://careers.walmart.com/distribution-and-transportation-opportunities) Strategic Planning for Organization and H.R. involvement. Charles Holley, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. executive vice president and CFO stated at the shareholders meeting in November, 2011. Our business model is built on our promise that Walmart customers can count on us to deliver low prices every day across a broad assortment, Holley explained. This in turn leads to customer loyalty and higher sales. These growth and leverage initiatives will contribute to our strong earnings growth. (Edgell Communications, 2011) In May, 2011, Wal-Mart President and CEO Mike Duke told its share holders that the next step for Walmart was to expand globally and market to the next generation customer. He also outlined a five-point program at the shareholders annual meeting that would help sell more products online and abroad, but keep cost down. Hoping to tap into those that carry smart phones and spend time on social media , his 5 point priority plan includes: Growth by adding customers, opening new stores and acquiring other retailers. Keeping costs low and passing the savings to customers. Building a global Internet business. Developing talent, including a greater focus on women and minorities. Expanding the company sustainability effort Organizational Development and Change Initiatives Organizational Assesment Processes Human Capital Assesment Processes Training, Development and education Management and Leadership Supervisory Team Building Sales and Marketing Customer Service Safety, Quality and Technical Career Management and Development Programs Succession Planning Performance Management Restructuring of the Organization Job Enlargement, Job Enrichment Personnel Services Payroll HRIS/ HRIM Compensation and Benefits and Pay for Performance Evidence Legal Services : How Provided Other Services by Function: Financial Budgets and Contro;, Bonus systems, etc.

Place Matters :: essays research papers

Place Matters: Metropolitics for the Twenty-first Century â€Å"Could suburbs prosper independently of central cities? Probably. But would they prosper even more if they were a part of a better-integrated metropolis? The answer is almost certainly yes.† (p. 66) Deepening economic inequality is fundamentally associated with the spatial polarization between central cities and sprawling suburbs, and between wealthy regions and poorer ones. Government policies have promoted economic and racial segregation, encouraged businesses and the wealthy to move to outer suburbs, and effectively limited the poor and minorities to central cities or troubled inner-ring suburbs. It was interesting to find that 39 percent of all earnings in New Orleans come from residents who worked in the central city. I did not think that the central city of New Orleans had such a dense market for higher paying jobs! This fact is very positive for the city, and hopefully the corporate services industry continues to grow here in New Orleans because the density allows for overall productivity. And the suburban property values outside New Orleans depend on the availability of jobs and an active economy in the Central Business District. So places like Metairie and River Ridge or â€Å"edge cities† really rely on the strength of the central city of New Orleans. Therefore it should be the vested interest of both city and suburban residents to scrutinize federal policy that affects the economic health of all cities. After reading Place Matters, I realized that all city mayors have struggled and will continue to struggle with addressing and implementing a plan for the concentration of poverty in their cities. They all take different approaches- some believe that instead of concentrating on anti-poverty programs, they want attract new investments, such as international companies to promote smart growth. This is to trickle down the services from taxes and create jobs for the motivated poor. In order to attract these international companies, the city infrastructure must also be attractive. Policies that do not take care of city infrastructure and development get little interest from outside corporate capital for investment. Secondly, they also promise things like better jobs, better low-income housing, and better schools but all to often this is a ploy to rally support for votes. Inner city poverty ends up being far too great of an overwhelming problem; so voting is usually swayed to more programs t hat aid the poor rather than fix the problems. The wealthy want and need different things than the poor and much less involved than their counterparts.

Marketing Introduction and Limatations Essay

Introduction In my assignment I will be writing about Two large business agency, Marks and Spencer’s, and British Heart foundation where I will explain about the different marketing techniques and strategies they use to undertake to promote their products and services. How they Brand their company and about relationship marketing. Marks& Spencer’s Marks and Spencer are a big franchise employing up to 78,000 employees worldwide but mostly in the UK. Marks and Spencer’s are one of UK’s leading retailers with annual sales of  £8 billion. They operate more than 450 stores in 30 countries, and serve tens of millions of customers every week. Marks and Spencer’s are only as strong as the communities in which they trade. They aim to please their customers and market in an easy and understandable manner. Marks and Spencer’s promote over thousands of products, from food to clothing, each product marketed in a different fashion. Marks and Spencer’s have used many strategies to survive the recession. Them being Growth, Branding, Survival and Relationship marketing. Survival Strategies They started by cutting jobs and closing stores. In January 2009 Marks & Spencer’s were planning to close 25 small simply food stores one being Croydon Valley retail store. They cut 780 jobs and 450 head office jobs. Sales plummeted in the 13 weeks leading up to December 27 2008, they fell by 7.1 %.Total sales fell 3.4 % in the UK. Other strategies they used to regain money were Pension cuts, Even though Marks and Spencer’s overall sales fell by 1.2% there was an international sales increase and online retail increase. The retailer made pension cuts to save the company  £175m –  £200million per annum. Chairman of Marks and Spencer’s Vandavelde (2009) gave a key speech on the recovery plan. â€Å"The previous plan was like feeding a tree that was already overgrown and unhealthy. What it really needed was serious pruning back. It had unproductive limbs that were hampering its growth and a lot of its best characteristics were lost in the foliage.† This is regarding the cuts that were being made. A strategy used by M&S is SWOT. SWOT is a method for analysing a business, its resources, and its environment. Marks and Spencer’s used the SWOT method for their food products. SWOT helped them discover: What the business does better than the competition. What competitors do better than the business? Whether the business is making the most of the opportunities available. How a business should respond to changes in its external environment. By using this method and braking down each sector they were able to research if there products would sell, and their competitors such as big organisations like Tesco would affect their up sales. Another strategy which Marks and Spencer’s use is known all the Boston Matrix. The main value for them using this is because it’s a useful tool for analysing product portfolio decisions. Constraints on survival strategies are the financial situation, resources and material. Cash flow is a common constraint to the sales systems. The financial constraint is usually internal. A resource constraint is also an internal limitation. Machinery, power and skills are some resources with constraints. Moving too slowly to get products to where they need to be is a internal constraint. Material is also a constrain due to where we are buying it from, are we paying for quality and receiving a product of quality or are we not spending enough to make sure our products are efficiently made? This is a external constraint. Relationship Marketing Relationship marketing has continued to evolve and move forward as technology opens more communication channels. This includes tools for managing relationships with customers which goes beyond simple customer services. They identify six markets which are connected to relationship marketing. They are: internal markets, supplier markets, recruitment markets, referral markets, influence markets, and customer markets. Relationship marketing is designed to develop strong connections with customers by providing them with information directly suited to their needs and interests and by promoting open communication. This approach is there for results in increased word of mouth activity. Marks and Spencer have created customer loyalty by launching different campaigns promoting different products which connect with each customer. They’ve launched fashion campaigns, food campaigns and an online clothes shop. Marks and Spencer’s have now become partners with Tesco for Fair Trade campaigns; they now have a range of electrical appliances on sale to comply with what their customers want. Marks and Spencer’s customers want to be able to rely on them to succeed and meet their needs as individual customers rather than a group. While Marks and Spencer’s have created a relationship with their buyers and are constantly researching too find out what their customers want more or less of, there are also constraints and limitations with doing so. A market constraint is external. Marks and Spencer’s competitors are always changing strategies and competing in new and better ways to try and come out on top. A question which is asked within big businesses such as M&S is, is the market demand for our products decreasing? This is an external constraint, if there’s no longer a demand for the product then their profit margin decreases. A decrease in sales = decreased profit. Benchmarking is a strategy that is used by M&S for marketing this involves looking outside the box to examine how other organisations are achieving their performance levels and to understand the processes they are using to be successful. In this way benchmarking helps explain the processes behind excellent performances. Although this strategy helps M&S stay ahead it can also bring them down as changing your outlook and ideas can be a constraint, Managing change is a common constraint. Markets are dynamic and always changing. Organisations work to stay ahead of markets and their leading competitiors. Knowledge could be an internal constraint to success, this could become critical if survival is at stake. Growth Strategies Marks and Spencer uses the Mckinsey Growth Matrix, to expand and grow their business. Instead of trying to find out how other business have grown, the Matrix strategy argues to grow on your own strengths. They have developed there growth strategies based on : Operational skills, Privileged assets, Growth skills and Special relationships. By growing based on these strategies M&S have been able to keep their customer loyalty but also have been able to increase their products and launch new promotions to engage new customers, by using different approaches they have a better change to widen their customer satisfaction. Some of these products can be sold to existing customers who may trust the business (and its brands) to deliver but new customers may need more persuasion. Even though M&S base their growth on their on development they do analyze their competitors. They use recorded dare, opportunistic date and observable date. * Recorded data: examples include competitor annual reports and product brochures. * Observable data: good example is competitor pricing. * Opportunistic data: to get hold of this kind of data requires a lot of planning and organisation. Marks and Spencer’s have grown as a company by producing a wide range of products, by up selling and engaging in customer loyalty. Strategies that have been used are the foundation of growing. They have focused their marketing and sales on a specific target market this has improved effectiveness and speed the learning process. Unfortunately a common constraint could be an unresponsive market. Marks and Spencer’s campaigns have reeled in more customers but buyer Motivation is a must in all businesses, companies can often fail to provide incentives to motivate their buyers to purchase. A constraint which can be avoided is the follow up after sale. Once a product has been bought research should be conducted to find feedback on that product and if theirs a chance of growth from that product. Branding The brand of a product is very important when making your decision weather to buy something. People buy branded names due to loyalty. Either they no the quality is good or the product is always going to taste good. For example; going to Tesco and having the choice to buy, 23p Tesco value beans or 63p Heinz beans. Just because it’s not a named brand doesn’t mean the quality isn’t as good, there’s just no risk. Trust is the most critical component in building and maintaining a strong, emotionally driven brand. Strategies used to introduce their brand to the public is media. By promoting their brands its then known by existing and new customers. Many businesses such as M*&S use celebrities in their campaigns this is to engage the buyers and also make them aware that a celebrity likes the brand. Limitations Legal constraints: Marks and Spencer may be constrained by a variety of licensure and other regulatory requirements, based on the industry and activities the business wants to pursue. For example M&S sell alcohol so they will need to have a alcohol license before they are permitted to sell any alcohol. Sales of goods act 1979, This act requires trader to sell goods that are described and are satisfactory. Marks and Spencer’s sell products to members there for the information stated should be accurate and not misleading. For example : selling food which states that there’s only 130 calories in it but really there 600. This is illegal. Voluntary Constraint This is where a company voluntary state that they won’t do something, or they always will. For example: Marks and Spencer’s have joined forces with Tesco to sell Fair trade products, and they are also recycling old clothes to Oxfam. These things do not have to be done but yet they do they do them anyway to give them a better reputation with the public. Pressure Pressure groups can be extremely effective in changing organisational behaviour.

Evergreen Naturals Market Essay

There were numerous factors that contributed towards the constant success of Evergreen Natural Markets. The company’s methodology towards growth and expansion is one of the integral factors. Where most companies seek to grow by re-investing their profits back into their businesses (ploughing back), Evergreen adopted a more radical approach by acquiring other competing companies or companies that show potential of growing rapidly. Evergreen designed a strategy that was twofold in nature. By bringing in rival companies under the Evergreen umbrella, the approach simply eliminated any competition, increased the resources and financial base and made it easier for Evergreen to have a wider scope and reach. Granted, acquisitions have issues with integration of management and operations. However, this approach has been steadily used by Evergreen, and this has resulted in its prosperity as an organic food distributor. As the latest addition to the Evergreen umbrella, Aragula Grocers serve to make the effect of the mother company increasingly widespread. The recent acquisition can allow the company to lower its prices and engage in aggressive marketing that will make Evergreen more successful. 2. Why do stores improve their performance after being acquired by Evergreen? The main reason for the increased performance after joining the Evergreen was the approach adopted by Evergreen. On the surface, they may seem like clear acquisitions. However, the acquired stores are allowed to maintain their functional systems and procedures. In this way, Evergreen owns the stores but allows them to continue operating in the same way. The slight modifications that at times were made on the administration and management included branding, change in sales approach, and other minor issues. Using the operational systems of the different stores, Evergreen was able to utilise their combined efforts and attain massive profits. On the other hand, the smaller stores also got to prosper under the Evergreen because of two arch factors. One was the fresh infusion of capital and administrative support provided by Evergreen. Evergreen offered increased investment opportunities by providing the capital, human resources, and other assistance. The second factor was an advantage of working under a larger company that allows one to work without much competition from the outside. 3. How well does the acquisition of Arugula Grocers align with Evergreen’s established approach to integrating new stores? What modifications, if any, should Norton make? The acquisition of Aragula Grocers is an advantageous addition to the Evergreen group as it offered new opportunities in Nevada, Las Vegas. However, several modifications would serve to improve the situation in their relations. Firstly, Mrs. Norton should introduce more effective communication measures that will ensure that the link between Evergreen and Aragula Grocers is not severed. It was discovered that the link between these two parties was weak, and this will lead to confusion and dilution of the vision of the mother company. Secondly, Norton also needed to rectify the financial status of the store before investing in it seriously. Aragula Grocers was acquired amid a series of financial issues and complications that showed signs of mismanagement. Adopting these problems will lead to failure of the store and eventually, losses for Evergreen. Mrs. Norton should also consider making modifications to the management style in Aragula Grocers. The changes should reflect the three proposals that she made concerning all acquisitions under Evergreen. These changes involved investing in improving human resources, maintaining the local setting, and caring about the welfare of the employees and customers. These three proposals would serve to change the atmosphere and approach taken by the Aragula management as they start operations under Evergreen.

Free Essays on Prisoner Of War

revealed only part of the reality of the forty-four months he was held captive. At the time of his capture, he weighed 180 lbs. and when he was released, he weighed a mere 100 lbs. Obviously, prisoners of war were malnourished. Red Cross supplied them with food but only one packet was actually given to his camp during the 3 and a half years he was there. The Japanese would keep the rest for their soldiers. Bread was supplied but it was mixed with sawdust so that more of it could be distributed. Many prisoners would get sick because of the food and even resorted to eating grasshoppers. Being malnourished did lead to intestinal and respiratory problems and diseases were wide spread such as malaria, tuberculosis and beriberi. ... Free Essays on Prisoner Of War Free Essays on Prisoner Of War Prisoners of War: Living With Uncertainty Is it possible that people can live in such horrible conditions and live to tell about it? In regards to World War II and people who were taken as prisoners of the war, the answer is yes, but only for a few. A prisoner of war, or POW, is a term for a member of the armed forces who is captured and confined during war. The Geneva Convention of 1929 was a series of agreements that stated that prisoners of the war would be treated humanely. But as one can imagine, humane treatment towards POWs was not strictly enforced. During times of war, enemies take men as prisoners. During World War II, both the axis and the allies took prisoners. However, those men captured by the allies were treated somewhat better than those of the axis powers were. Japan never signed the Geneva Convention and therefore did not feel obligated to its rules. In World War II, the Japanese captured 30,000 men. Among them was Arnold Green who was captured at Wake Island. This island was very small and was situated in the North Pacific Ocean. It was captured by the Japanese and held until the end of World War II. Mr. Green remembers gruesome details and his shocking words revealed only part of the reality of the forty-four months he was held captive. At the time of his capture, he weighed 180 lbs. and when he was released, he weighed a mere 100 lbs. Obviously, prisoners of war were malnourished. Red Cross supplied them with food but only one packet was actually given to his camp during the 3 and a half years he was the re. The Japanese would keep the rest for their soldiers. Bread was supplied but it was mixed with sawdust so that more of it could be distributed. Many prisoners would get sick because of the food and even resorted to eating grasshoppers. Being malnourished did lead to intestinal and respiratory problems and diseases were wide spread such as malaria, tuberculosis and beriberi. ...

Industrial growth essays

Industrial growth essays The Industrial growth changed the American Society. To start, Industrialization brought the rise of organized labor. Working conditions were poor and wages were low. Industrialization shortened work weeks and increased wages. It also produced and expanded the blue collar working class. The labor force that made this possible was the new immigrants who arrived and also migrants from rural areas. The American society started to become diverse. Many workers still suffered from unemployment and low wages which led them to move into the city in search of better job opportunities. Another change through the industrial growth was the growth of technology. The major source of light changed from candles to kerosene lamps and then to light bulbs. Technology helped the society grow because as more technology evolved more jobs opened up which increased the amount of blue collar workers. This industrial growth changed the ways millions of people worked and lived. Old industries were ex panding as new ones evolved, such as the railroads, steel manufacturing, electrical power, etc. The Spanish American War affected the United States in several different ways. One being that the United States was considered a major military power. The war also helped the speed in the construction of the Panama Canal. It also raised the awareness of Theodore Roosevelt who soon became president in 1901. A connection I see today which affected our society is post 9/11. I feel that after 9/11 the economy worsened and working conditions became poorer and wages decreased, especially in New York City. Their became bad debt, chronic unemployment, bankruptcies, etc. Unemployed Americans spent more time trying to find work, often finding only lower-paying jobs. I think that any major War or change in society will always effect the economy and the way people live and work especially when it has such an impact on the whole world. ...

Analysis of The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay -- Nathaniel Ha

Although â€Å"The Birthmark† by Nathaniel Hawthorne was written in the mid-1800s, its themes and ideas are still a part of society today. The 19th century was a time of change, just as this, the millennium, is a time of great change. Hawthorne’s ideas about science, beauty, and life still play a major part in our lives, despite many improvements. Even today, people try to play â€Å"God† and change things that nature has put in place. It’s human curiosity; how much can be changed, how many things can be perfected? The themes in this short story-- religion, gender, and science--were relevant in Hawthorne’s day, and still are many years later. The theme of religion is hidden in the desire to erase the birthmark. In trying to â€Å"perfect† Georgiana, Aylmer is testing God’s creation. He doesn’t believe that how God created Georgiana is perfect, and he is obsessive about making her his idea of perfection. Aminadab, Aylmer’s servant, tries to tell his master to leave the birthmark alone. He tells Aylmer that if Georgiana were his wife, he wouldn’t worry about something so trivial. However, the scientific ideas on Aylmer’s mind won’t let him forget the birthmark. He believes he can remove it with the help of science. Even so, science has no part in creation, according to Hawthorne, and Georgiana’s death after the removal of the birthmark signifies that theory. Her death is Hawthorne’s way of showing that judgment and perfection are God’s duti...

Consumer Buying Behaviour Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Consumer Buying Behaviour - Literature review Example Therefore, this assumption challenges the thought of an international consumer culture with homogenised consumer sectors as well as customs, by declaring that those expenditure practices are shaped by the local outlines within which they take place (Bond et al, 2004, p. 33). Youth forms one of the biggest markets around the globe for cell phones, with more than 201 million subscribers between 18 to 25 years of age. Cell phones have appeared as signs of customer revolution, turning into a necessary product and having ‘ubiquitous’ part in the expanding retail landscape. The term customer revolution has as well been extensively used to represent the increase in consumption of cell phones among youth (Munusamy et al, 2010, p. 22). Two distinct attitudes to brands that describe the selection of a mobile phone are by â€Å"attitudes towards the cell phone brand name on one hand and attitudes towards the network on the other† (Usunier & Lee, 2009, p. 372). Whereas cost a nd constancy of service were found to control selections between network suppliers, selections between cell phone brands were influenced by new technology aspects, for instance, ‘memory’ and ‘SMS options’, more than its size.... The diffusion pace is said to rely mainly on manufacturing costs (Perrey & Spillecke, 2011, p. 211). Cost and properties were considered as the most essential causes influencing the choice to buy modern cell phone model among the respondents as exhibited. In accordance with the survey close to 90 percent and more than 95 percent, for cost and properties respectively, believed that cost and properties had influenced their selection procedure at least relatively much. â€Å"Cost might have controlled the decision making in the sample more than it does for the whole population, as the average net income in the target groups was relatively low† (Hackley, 2010, p. 192). Company’s order or sales representative’s suggestions were considered as the least significant reasons. The selection of the operator was influenced mainly by cost and audibility: more or less 93 percent thought that price the operator asks had influenced their selection at least relatively much. Addit ionally, audibility was the next most significant cause: 92 percent thought that audibility had influenced their choice at least relatively much (Soder & Wiedmaier, 2006, p. 99). Other causes of considerable significance were properties, companions' selection of the operator, contract form and free calls. Sales representative and employer were the least significant influencing the selection of one's operator. Majority of the popular services used these days are ‘logos’ and ‘ringing tones’. â€Å"More than 80 percent of the respondents had ordered logos and tones for their mobile devices. These two were chased by cell phone bill inquiry - 71 percent had ordered - and call

Evidence, argumants and evaluation on whether mergres and acquisitions Essay

Evidence, argumants and evaluation on whether mergres and acquisitions incraese shareholders wealth - Essay Example The following sections of the paper discuss the effects of Mergers and acquisitions on the shareholders’ wealth. Mergers and acquisition have led to the increase of shareholders market presence in certain industries according to Brigham and Houston (2009). This has also led to effective sales and marketing associations by the merging companies. As a result, this leads to increased wealth of the shareholders. Mergers and acquisitions often lead to greater market presence of the companies involved (Fleuriet 2008). Higher market shares that result from mergers and acquisitions often lead to increased purchasing ability and control over suppliers as suggested by Bruner (2004). When an organization buys a product in higher volumes than previously, the purchase cost becomes lower making the company become more price competitive. This has the potential of attracting greater sales and, therefore, higher value to shareholders. Mergers ad acquisitions may lead to improvements in company operations especially in the case of manufacturing companies as suggested by DePamphilis (2011). Therefore by increasing facilities through mergers and acquisitions, the company raises its capacity to manufacture more products or higher quality products. The company as well has its credibility increased which positively increases the shareholders wealth (Maddiganand and Zaima 1985). Mergers and acquisition often lead to symbiotic relationships between the two companies. As a result, the two companies tend to support one another, which in return helps the shareholders realize greater value from their investments. Mergers and acquisitions combine the operations of the two companies leading to higher sales capable of supporting their concurrent higher budgets hence raising the wealth of the shareholders (Cartwright and Schoenberg 2006). In some cases, mergers and acquisitions may not add value to shareholders’ wealth. This happens for example when management of one

Public and Private Behavioral Health Services Coursework

Public and Private Behavioral Health Services - Coursework Example People suffering from mental disorder need much attention, supervision, and specialized care (Ince, 2010). When people with sufficient financial resources suffer from mental illness, they get people or institutions that can take good care of their psychiatric needs. On the other hand, when those without sufficient financial resources fall to this illness most of their time is spent at home with little care and most of the times they stray in the public because of the mental disturbances. Private and public behavior health service providers are classically in the same business but with very different objectives and philosophy of work. The difference being due to the nature of the condition as described above, the demands that associated with it and the effects of the condition (In, 2014). Public facilities goals are to have people suffering from this disorder committed to getting help, but most importantly to ensure that they do not end up harming themselves or others in the public places since they may not have people to watch over them all round the clock. Private institutions on the other end have a mission to offer fulltime care and their time on behalf of the patient’s families, who would otherwise have to spend their time taking care of the patients (Freeth, 2007). These fundamental differences between these patients social and economic status, have created the two institutions. This explains why the public behavioral health service facilities lag behind the private institutions in provision of care for mental disorders. The private institutions are in existence to fill a want, whose willingness and ability to pay prevails, while the public behavior health services providers simply exist to contain a menace of mentally disturbed individuals causing harm or offensiveness to the public. According to McNeese-Smith (2003), the general

What do banks really do Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

What do banks really do - Essay Example Commercial banks are financial institutions that provide loans, savings and deposits accounts as well as transactional services to entities and individual members of a country. On the other hand, Central Bank is a supreme monetary bank in any country, which regulates and controls economic as well as monetary affairs in a specific country. Central Banks regulates money supply via specific monetary and non-monetary policies to maintain stable and robust macroeconomic environment. This is in order to enhance sustained economic growth and development across different sectors in the economy. Central banks and commercial banks play distinct roles in the economy. In general, the central banks supervise all financial institutions including commercial banks and advices government on what policy action to pursue to maintain robust and stable macro economic environment. Commercial banks provide both monetary and non-monetary services to members of the public and different entities (companies, s ocieties and institutions). To understand the roles of banks in any given country, it is important to state and explain the different roles that different banks play. Therefore, this discussion is divided into two main parts. The first part describes the roles of central banks in any given economy and the second part describes the roles of commercial banks.... They are the only banks with legal mandate to create and issue currencies inform of notes and coins. Central banks are responsible for regulating quantity of all notes and coins issued. They also protect internal and external value of national currency (Backhaus, 2005). Before the central banks issue notes and coins, it must fulfill certain requirements to avoid inflation, currency devaluations and shortage of money in the economy among others. For example, it must keep reserves against all the coins and notes issued at any given time. As a sole issuer of legal tender, central banks easily control credit creation, maintain confidence of the people because it has government backing and recognition, and ensure that all currencies issued are uniform and acceptable. Secondly, central banks act as a bank, an agent and an advisor of banks as well as other financial institutions. Central banks act as lender of last resort. This happens when commercial banks fail to secure loans or advances from other financial institutions to run it banking operations. IMF (2008) asserts that central banks provide funding to financial institutions as lender of last resort to restore confidence in the banking system and avoid fire sales of banks assets by providing liquidity to financial institutions. Central banks also act as custodians and clearing agent for commercial banks. Central bank collects statistical information regularly on matters touching money, public debt, inflation, foreign exchange, trade policies, government securities as well as banking among other information. The information collected and analysed by central banks is disseminated to relevant financial institutions to assist them make informed choices on what strategies to

Roma (Gypsy) music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Roma (Gypsy) music - Essay Example The attack massacred the people and carried thousands of slaves. Although Rajput fought back, a number of people were displaced. At some point around the eleventh century, the ancestors of Romans made their way into Upper Hindus Valley from Gurjara where they spent some of the time in the region. Thereafter the ancestors of the Romans left India and penetrated into the Northwest China. From there, they followed the ancient trading route which led them to Persia, through Southern Georgia, Armenia and finally reached Byzantine Empire. By fourteenth century, they reached Romania from Byzantine capital (now Istanbul). Some groups also remained in Romania as they moved on both east and west. By the fifteen century, Romanians could be traced in areas such as West, the British Isles and Spain and at the east of Poland and Lithuania. The population is approximately 6 to 10 million people. According to some scholars, they migrated from India changed their original name from Dom (plural) to Rom (singular) and Roma (plural) (Yooors, pg. 14). Roman religious beliefs are deep rooted amongst Hinduism. Romans have a universal believe called Kuntari. On the contrary, everything must have its natural place such as, that birds fly and fish swim. Although hens do not fly, they are considered as not balanced as are frogs. The Romans has believed that there’s a possibility of becoming polluted in a number of ways that included breaking of taboos that involve the upper and lower halves of the body. According to the Romanians, a person who becomes polluted is considered out of balance and need restoration to purity through a trial before a tribunal led by elders. At that instance, one found guilty are isolated from the others and then reinstated. For severe cases of pollution, a Roman could be outlawed from the group forever despite rare nowadays. Exemptions are given to children until they

Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 6

Technology - Essay Example Technology has assisted them long and hard to further their belief in this phenomenon. The proponents of technology have supported it because they find no reason in disapproving the advantages that come along with it in different fields of life. Technology has allowed people to relax more today than ever before.This is the reason why the advocates of technology are always in favor of it. Technology has resolved nearly all the issues plaguing the human society and has been the savior on more than a single occasion to be remarked as the messiah of the modern day society. People have felt more inclined to cope up with the different technological facets today than ever before as their trust and confidence has increased manifolds. This trust and confidence has increased because they have seen the advantages and benefits that technology has offered them over the years. They have found out that technology assists them whenever they seem to be in a problem. Plus it is proactively driven to bring rewards for them which is also something that positively motivates them about technology. The ones who receive these benefits in turn tell others about how good the technological manifestations have been. This is the reason why technology is taken on by people in a sudden manner and then there seems to be no looking back on this tangent at all. If seen correctly, this is one of the major pluses behind the concept of technology adoption (Swart, 2012). Technology has overtaken the human emblem by a fair count. It has made people realize where they can find a substit ute for their own selves. At times, technology has even taken the sheen off the human intellect. This is an alarming aspect because human beings are superior than any other entity in this world yet technology has come out strong to make them redundant on certain occasions (Jensen, 2005). The role of human beings cannot be denied under any case whatsoever. It must be

Roma (Gypsy) music Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Roma (Gypsy) music - Essay Example The attack massacred the people and carried thousands of slaves. Although Rajput fought back, a number of people were displaced. At some point around the eleventh century, the ancestors of Romans made their way into Upper Hindus Valley from Gurjara where they spent some of the time in the region. Thereafter the ancestors of the Romans left India and penetrated into the Northwest China. From there, they followed the ancient trading route which led them to Persia, through Southern Georgia, Armenia and finally reached Byzantine Empire. By fourteenth century, they reached Romania from Byzantine capital (now Istanbul). Some groups also remained in Romania as they moved on both east and west. By the fifteen century, Romanians could be traced in areas such as West, the British Isles and Spain and at the east of Poland and Lithuania. The population is approximately 6 to 10 million people. According to some scholars, they migrated from India changed their original name from Dom (plural) to Rom (singular) and Roma (plural) (Yooors, pg. 14). Roman religious beliefs are deep rooted amongst Hinduism. Romans have a universal believe called Kuntari. On the contrary, everything must have its natural place such as, that birds fly and fish swim. Although hens do not fly, they are considered as not balanced as are frogs. The Romans has believed that there’s a possibility of becoming polluted in a number of ways that included breaking of taboos that involve the upper and lower halves of the body. According to the Romanians, a person who becomes polluted is considered out of balance and need restoration to purity through a trial before a tribunal led by elders. At that instance, one found guilty are isolated from the others and then reinstated. For severe cases of pollution, a Roman could be outlawed from the group forever despite rare nowadays. Exemptions are given to children until they

Communication Essay Example for Free

Communication Essay I. Mass Media Effect on Children’s and Teens’ Body Image Outline Mass media outlets of all forms effect adolescent girls’ and young women’s body image negatively. Be it via magazine, television, movies, advertisement, or other sources, girls and young women are bombarded with mass media constantly that contain hidden messages about the â€Å"ideal† woman, and messages on ways to attain the attributes required to be socially accepted by these unspoken standards. Common attitudes acquired by children and teens from the media of what is acceptable physically, related eating disorders, media literacy’s effect on whether an individual will be easily influenced or not by subliminal mass media messages on body image will be discussed accordingly. A. Mass Media Effects on Children’s Attitudes towards overweight individuals and/or obesity 1. According to Bissell K. and Hays, H. (2011), in the article, â€Å"Understanding Anti-Fat Bias in Children: The Role of Media and Appearance Anxiety in Third to Sixth Graders’ Implicit and Explicit Attitudes Toward Obesity† children develop attitudes about acceptable body weight from media such as television. Children view television close to 6 hours a day according to Bissell and Hays (2011). The subliminal content on acceptable body fat and physical appearance abounds. Bissell and Hays state that, â€Å"Given this amount of exposure, it seems likely children are exposed to television and images that reinforce notions about the importance of thinness and attractiveness (p. 116-7)†. Bissell and Hays also say â€Å". . . The media’s influence on the body image of children that the media perpetuate beliefs about the importance of thinness and that a negative stigma associated with being overweight i s then possibly formed (p. 117).† 2. The Social Learning Theory closely relates to the attitudes of other children towards individuals, and can be applied to this point. B. Mass media effects on eating disorders 1. In the article, â€Å"Influence of Mass Media on Body Image and Eating Disorder Attitudes and Behaviors in Females: A Review of Effects and Processes†, by Lopez, et al. (2010), direct effects of magazine and television on adolescent girls and young women. According to Lopez et al, â€Å"Undeniably, a substantial portion of media content consumed by children and adolescents is replete with unhealthy messages about the beauty ideal, body size, food, weight control, and the gender roles of women and girls, as well as use of alcohol, tobacco, and other substances for managing one’s emotions and self-presentation (pg. 388).† Lopez et al goes on to discuss the way that the mass media effects adolescents without their realizing it; â€Å"People are often unaware—and mass media work hard to keep it that way—of the extent to which, and just exactly how mass media play an important role in promoting consumerism, body objectification, and internalization o f the current beauty ideal (Lopez et al., 2010). 2. According to Rieves, S. (2011) â€Å"Models weigh 23% less than the average woman, while a generation ago the gap was 8%†. This ideal sets an impractical role model for young girls. Rieves (2011) also points out the startling fact that, â€Å"At the start of puberty, 81% of 10-year-olds are afraid of being fat† (p. 123). Rieves also alludes to the evidence of studies, and said â€Å"Researchers consistently ï ¬ nd a strong relationship between media exposure and the epidemiology of eating disorders at the aggregate population level† (p. 123). 3. Social Comparison Theory relates to eating disorder development and mass media influence. According to Rieves (2011), â€Å"Moreover, celebrity images contribute to unrealistic weight through social comparison (p. 124).† C. Mass Media effects regarding Media Literacy 1. In the article, â€Å"Idealism: Factors Affecting the Body Image of College Students† by Pitura A., college students participated in a study to determine the degree mass media effected body image and which media sources were more influential. Pitura says that media literacy is a crucial quality in whether or not an individual’s body image will be negatively affected by media exposure. According to Pitura (2010), â€Å"In order to become media literate one must be able to sort through the information given by the media and determine fact from fiction (p. 63). 2. According to Meng, J. and Bissell, K., (2009) â€Å"As young girls look to television and movie stars such as Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) or Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical), they see the glamorized images, to a large degree, of very thin girls (p. 7).† What viewers can distinguish between what is real and what is glamorized relates to each viewers le vel of media literacy. If a viewer has a low media literacy, the images that viewer regards as realistic and acceptable outweigh the views of viewers who hold a more realistic outlook when consuming media such as the television shows mentioned. D. Mass Media Effects Factors Contributing to Body Image 1. Several factors contribute to mass media effects on an individual. The degree of consumption of media, the media form, and peer pressure all play a role in the internalization of body image; often these ideals are excessively thin due to media images. 2. A study of girls ages 9 through 12, by Clark and Tiggerman (2006), concluded that media does in facts effects one’s body image and self-worth from adolescents and earlier; â€Å"There is no doubt, however, that the mass media are powerful transmitters of societal ideals for children, just as for adults (Clark and Tiggerman).†

UK Fashion Industry: Strategic Analysis

UK Fashion Industry: Strategic Analysis Introduction Fashion industry is one of the most thriving and profitable industries of the world. The advent of globalization has led to greater penetration of fashion into the mind of individuals. Mega fashion shows are being held in many nations across the world which has generated considerable interest among the individuals. The present study deals with the fashion industry of UK. The choice of the nation assumes significance as it is one of the largest fashion hubs of the world. The nation also houses some of the most popular brands in the fashion industry. A study conducted by research firm Grail puts UK as among the top hubs in the global fashion industry along with USA, France, Italy and Japan. London Fashion Week which happens to be the largest fashion related event in the nation is the only fashion event that promotes works done by students thus highlighting its commitment and presence in the global fashion industry. Prestigious awards like River Island Gold Award have their origins in U K (Grail Research, 2009, p.6, 8). The present study would focus on the industry analysis of the fashion industry particularly that of the UK market. The report would include an industry analysis along with the analysis of the competitive framework prevailing in the UK market. Subsequently the key success factors and strategic groups would be analyzed in the report. The report would also feature examples of the strategies that have been adopted by the market leaders to continue their sustainability in the industry. Industry Analysis Global Fashion Industry- An Overview Fashion industry includes fashion designer houses, retail chains and the firms engaged in the manufacture of apparels. A report published by Levis Strauss Co has pegged the value of the global fashion industry at US $ 1334.1 billion as on 2008. The report also predicts a northward trend for this figure in the subsequent years. Apart from being a style statement, fashion also generates creativity, well being and identity. The report also states certain shortcomings of this industry which primarily includes aspects like poor working condition of workers in the industry, wastage of resources and also encouragement of unrealistic consumption. Certain other shortcomings include unavailability and high prices of raw materials which also emerge as a major challenge for the firms engaged in manufacture of fashion apparels across the world. Numerous opportunities also exist for the industry from the emerging markets like India, China, Brazil and Russia which have started emerging as fashion hotspots of the world (Levis Strauss Co, 2010, p.5). Overview of the UK Fashion Industry UK has been among the pioneers in the global fashion industry whose association with the world of fashion dates back to the 1960s popularly known as the swinging sixties, the punk and romantic 1970s and Cool Britannia Image of 1990s. Present age fashion designer label brands like Vivienne Westwood, Burberry and Mulbery, to name a few, are some of the numerous brand names housed in the nation (British Council Fashion Oxford Economics, 2008, p.9). A recent trend observed in the industry is that the nation is shifting from home based manufacturing units to sourcing products from foreign retailers. This has been attributed to the aspects of high labour costs coupled with the rise in prices of raw materials which has forced manufacturers to outsource their production units to nations like China which offer a significant pool of talented resources and raw materials at cheaper rates (British Council Fashion Oxford Economics, 2008, p.16). UK is one of the pioneers in the fashion industry, and the nation is accredited with numerous innovations in the industry segment. A research study conducted on the fashion industry in UK states that consumer spending on fashion apparels in UK saw a growth rate of 6.5 percent in 2009 with sales figures reaching 2.5 billion Pound. One of the major market players in the UK market Newberry reported 19.1 percent growth on an annual basis. The growth of fashion industry has been fuelled by large levels of spending by the local people. Over the last ten years spending levels of individuals have grown by approximately six percent on a real term basis. The fashion industry also has made significant contributions to the economy of the nation. In the year 2009, the industry is said to have contributed approximately 20.9 billion pounds towards the economy of UK which forms about 1.7 percent of the total GDP figure of the nation. Retailer GVA alone has contributed approximately 6.5 billion pound s towards the economy of UK. Indirect contributions to the economy include providing employment options to about 816,000 individuals in a direct or an indirect manner. This figure represents about 2.7 percent of the total workforce in the nation which highlights the growth and importance of this sector towards the economy of the nation. On a standalone basis i.e., excluding the employees at the retail stores, the sector employed about 155,000 individuals or about 0.5 percent of the total workforce based in the nation. The fashion industry is also one of the major contributors to the nations exchequer with contribution figures ranging about 13.2 billion pounds which stands at 2.6 percent on absolute percentage terms. These contributions have mainly come from VAT and through the income tax paid by the employees engaged in this industry (British Council Fashion Oxford Economics, 2008, p.14). The magnanimity of the fashion industry can be adjudged from the fact that the contribution of fashion industry towards the GDP of the nation is significantly higher than chemical and publishing industry. Fashion industry is the fourth largest employment provider in UK and comes only next to travel and tourism, telecommunications and real estate (British Council Fashion Oxford Economics, 2008, p.20). This implies the huge potential of the fashion industry in UK. The following chapter would provide an analysis of the competitive framework prevalent in the UK market. Porters Five Forces Model Competitive framework for any industry can be analysed by using Michael Porters five forces framework. The analysis of a market using the framework proposed by Porter helps an organization to analyse the market potential of other players in the market. This helps in generating sustainable competitive advantage for the firms. According to this framework, the competitive framework can be analysed by using five factors namely, Bargaining Power of Suppliers Bargaining power of Consumers Competition from existing players Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes (Haag, 2007, p.72) Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers have a high barraging power when the raw materials are available in scarce quantities. It also rises when the number of suppliers for a particular product or raw material is quite limited. In case of fashion industry, suppliers constitute of vendors who provide raw material like cotton and other textiles which serve as raw material for apparels. The UK fashion market is characterised by the presence of a few suppliers which is generally due to high costs of raw materials. The suppliers also use traditional practices which again increases the cost of goods sold (Karra, 2008, p.27). High cost of real estate also serves as a major source of concern to the fashion retailers. This analysis implies that suppliers have a fairly high bargaining power. Market leaders in UK have started outsourcing their manufacturing departments to vendors based in nations like China and India where cheap raw material is present at affordable cost of labour (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2004, p.2). Bargaining Power of Consumers Bargaining power of consumers arise when the market is characterised by the presence of numerous players who have a large product line. Presence of large number of competitors puts consumers in the drivers seat as they have numerous options. The present status of the consumer market in UK reveals the presence of large number players. Most of these players have high brand values products to suit every type of customers. This provides ample choices for the consumers. Hence it can be concluded that consumers have a high bargaining power in the UK market. Major players in the market like Marks and Spencer, Austin Reed have started providing value added services to consumers to woo them to their stores. Celebrity promotions have also been used to target consumers like Lane Crawford roping in supermodel Maggie Cheung for its promotions. Competition from Existing Players UK is characterised by the presence of large number of global players like Marks and Spencers, Next, Arcadia, Matalan and Bhs all of which have formidable brand image and an impressive product line to target consumers. Competition exists in almost every segment of the target market. This implies that competition from existing players has a significantly high impact on the fashion industry in UK. Market leaders have formulated policies that tend to win the consumers in favour of their brands. Fierce competition has prompted leading market players to vouch for newer locations like for example Marks and Spencers eyeing the Indian market. Threat of New Entrants New entrants do not pose sufficient threats to the existing players. This is mainly due to the fact that the present market in UK is completely saturated with big brands like Marks and Spencers, Next etc. Moreover, high cost of establishing a business deters new players from entering the UK market. This implies that new players do not have significant power to challenge the existing players. Threat of Substitutes Substitutes are those products which have attributes that are highly similar to the original products. The customer segments of firms like Marks and Spencers are highly niche in nature and are unlikely to switch to substitutes which basically constitute low priced products. Hence it can be concluded that substitutes do not present significant threats to the existing players present in the market. Key Success Factors The key success factors for the fashion industry are stated below: Government support Customer Awareness Ability to bring in continuous innovations Government Support Government support is a key element in the success of the fashion industry. Pro active policies by the government favour the emergence of new players as well as boost up the existing players by creating market conditions that tend to provide greater value to the customers. Creation of competition would automatically generate innovations which is the backbone of the fashion industry. Customer Awareness The success of fashion industry depends on high levels of consumer awareness. Consumer awareness implies that consumers get regular updates about the new products that are being innovated by the fashion industry. Events like London Fashion week, Paris fashion week and other such festivals have emerged as a platform for fashion designers and retailers to showcase their products and creativity. These festivals are characterised by presence of high profile celebrities who endorse products of different designers and fashion labels. In these events, awards and accreditations are given to talented individuals who generate creativity in their designs (London Fashion Week, n.d.). This also serves to motivate individuals to produce greater creativity. Ability to bring in Continuous Innovations Innovations are the key to success in the fashion industry. The basic tenets of this industry are based in continuous innovations. Firms like Hilfiger have created competitive advantage by introducing continuous innovations in their product line (Manlow, 2009, p.242). Innovations in fashion include amalgamations of modern and traditional fashion. Mega events like Paris fashion week and London fashion week serve as major forums where market players can showcase their products to the target audience. Firms are also roping in celebrities and supermodels to promote their designs. These innovations and subsequent endorsements by popular celebrities generate substantial interest among the target audience with regards to the diffusion of innovation among the general masses. Broad appeal and glamour of these events generate enthusiasm among the target markets with regards to adopting new products. The analysis of key success factors reveals the importance of factors like government, awareness among the target market audience. The aspect of innovation also generates sufficient interest among the firms to innovate their products. The UK market represents numerous potential for the market players as all the three key success factors can be achieved by organizations. A suitable mix of the three key success factors would help in generating sustainable competitive advantage for the firms in the highly competitive market. Strategic Groups Strategic groups are defined as a group of firms and organizations which operate within a specific industry who have similar strategies. It has been observed that in most of the cases the difference among the different market players is generally captured by the presence of strategic groups within the industry (Kim Mauborgne, 1999, p.86). The fashion industry in UK is characterised by market players like Marks and Spencers, Next, Arcadia, Matalan and Bhs who are global market players having operation in all major markets across the world. All these firms have the same target market and have a similar marketing mix for their products. The basis of forming a strategic group is based on the fact that all the above stated market players operate in a similar macroeconomic set up and have a similar target market. These firms intend to have similar positioning strategies. The presence of a strategic group also creates entry barriers for new entrants as well as generates sustainable competi tive advantage for these firms in the market. Presence of strategic groups tends to stabilise consumer preferences, it also generates greater competition and rivalries among the market players, as all the players in the strategic group are known to target the same customer segment. This leads to aggressive marketing by the firms to beat their rivals in the business markets. The scenario in UK market resembles a similar situation with firms trying to use every possible strategy to beat their rivals and capture the market (Hoskinsson, Hitt Ireland, 2008, p.87-88). Conclusion The concept of fashion has been prevalent in UK since time immemorial and the nation has been among the pioneers with regards to creativity in this sector. The study reveals that fashion industry is one of the most happening industries in UK. This can be gauged from its contributions towards the economy of the nation both in direct as well as in indirect terms. The UK market also represents tremendous opportunities for market players as it has a large customer base with high levels of disposable income which makes it an attractive destination for fashion brands across the world. The study also shows certain challenges which mainly arise due high cost of raw materials and labour. Presence of strategic group also tends to increase the competitive rivalry among the market players. In spite of this, the huge potential of the target market serves as an incentive for most of the market players to eye the lucrative market of UK. Hence, it can be concluded that success of an organisation pre cisely that of fashion, lies in its ability to generate continuous innovation and to mould the advantages of the market to generate sustainable competitive advantage.

School Violence Essay -- School Violence Essays

Violence in our schools is an issue that has become more prominent in the last few years. News articles about violent deeds within the school setting are on the increase. Our society demands that schools are safe for our children. In order to maintain a peaceful environment for all, we must address and inform our schools, children, and parents as well as the neighboring communities about the issue of school violence. As David W. Johnson, the author of Reducing School Violence states, â€Å"To eliminate violence and resolve destructive conflicts, schools must first admit that such conflicts are out of control.† (Johnson 7) Schools in general must identify with these issues in order to deal with them. If violence in schools is to be controlled, the entire school community must take a proactive stance against violence. Since the setting is the school, it should follow that the schools are responsible and liable for maintaining violent free environments. This proactive stance can be accomplished by holding seminars informing students, parents, and neighboring communities of what is taking place in the school on a regular basis. Educators and administrators should inform the student body and the community of any precautions and safety measure to take if a violent event should occur. Any type of violence in the school setting should be fully addressed in order to prevent further altercations from occurring. Student seminars that inform students of violent behavior and clearly state consequences are becoming a very popular trend across the U.S. Francis Hoang, of the FBI Law Enforcement Agency believes that each school should make sure that they are aware of what is going on and to include this vital information in a presentation to t... ...ion. Alexandra, Virginia: Curriculum Development, 1997. Saunders, Carol. Safe at School: Awareness and Action for Parents of Kids Grades K-12. Minneapolis, MN: Library of Congress. Publication Data, 1994. This book shows the importance of parents becoming involved with the school setting. Markins, Charles. â€Å"School Fundings.† Pittsburg Post-Gazette 12 Feb. 2001: B 12 Craig, Robert. â€Å"Safe School Prevention.† Rolf Jenson & A ssociates 62.22 (1996): 192 Schwartz, Wendy. â€Å"The Involved Teacher.† 2001. (2001.) Kelly, Melissa. â€Å"Taking the Bully By His Horns.† 2000. (2001.) Christner, Terry. â€Å"Zero Tolerance.† Library Journal 126.18 (2001): 106 This journal is about how schools should take every violent act very seriously and to look into it so it does not get worse.

Olestra :: essays research papers

Olestra Technically speaking, it was to be the something that was supposedly going to change the world. Stock analysts even proclaimed it as being the "single most important discovery in the history of the food industry", and would generate over a billion dollars annually in sales becomming Procter and Gambles, the creators, best selling product. What is not to like about a product which replaces the fat content in previosly named junk food such as potato chips? Apparently quite a bit. Olestra was first invented in 1968 as a way of increasing an infants intake of fat. This is when they stumbled upon a special chemcial which was actually the hexa, hepta, and octa-esters of fatty acid of sucrose. These molecules are so big and fatty, that the body cannot be metabolized by the body by enzymes and bacteria in the intestine, and as a result is not digested or absorbed. Instead of increasing fat intake, this chemical replaced it. Almost 30 years later, Olestra was finally given approval by the FDA to be used in food, however, with the condition of a warning label indicating the product can induse upset stomach and loose stools, as well as inhibiting the absorbtion of vitamins A, D, E and K. For a product that was supposed to be perfect, what happened? Studies conducted prior, first with mice, had somewhat alarming results which indicated that in addition to the first two problems stated, Olestra can cause cancer. The reason for this is that the product interferes with the bodies natural absorbtion of carotenoids which are found in fruits in vegetables, which help the body fight against cancer. Studies in humans showed that people who consumed 2 grams of Olestra per day had 15% lower level of carotenoids in their body than those who didnt eat them. A regular sized bag of chips made with Olestra however, contain over 15 grams. Further studies showen that when given Olestra doses every day included in every meal , levels dropped over 60%. Once Olestra hit the market, the FDA recieved more than 1000 reports of the food causing adverse reactions, yet Procter and Gamble still maintain the product is harmless. To perhaps nobodies surprise, "fake-fat" containing products recieved initial high sales, but quickly plummeted due to both the media and word of mouth on its affects, as well as the warning label and relative high price.

Intel Case

Intel makes the microprocessors that are found in 80 percent of the world’s personal computers. In the early days, Intel microprocessors were known simply by their engineering numbers, such as â€Å"80386† or â€Å"80486. † Intel positioned its chips as the most advanced. The trouble was, as Intel soon learned, numbers can’t be trademarked. Competitors came out with their own â€Å"486† chips, and Intel had no way to distinguish itself from the competition. Worse, Intel’s products were hidden from consumers, buried deep inside PCs. With a hidden, ntrademarked product, Intel had a hard time convincing consumers to pay more for its high-performance products. Intel’s response was a marketing campaign that created history. The company chose a trademarkable name (Pentium) and launched a marketing campaign to build awareness of the Intel brand. The â€Å"Intel Inside† campaign was Intel’s effort to get its name outside of the PC and into the minds of consumers. Intel used an innovative cooperative scheme to extend the reach of its campaign. It would help computer makers who used Intel processors to advertise heir PCs if the makers also included the Intel logo in their ads. Intel also gave computer manufacturers a rebate on Intel processors if they agreed to place an â€Å"Intel Inside† sticker on the outside of their PCs and laptops. Simultaneously with the cooperative ads, Intel began its own ad program to familiarize consumers with the Intel name. The â€Å"Intel Inside† campaign changed Intel’s image from a microprocessor maker to a quality standard-bearer. The ads that included the Intel Inside logo were designed to create confidence in the onsumer’s mind that purchasing a personal computer with an Intel microprocessor was both a safe and technologically sound choice. Between 1990 and 1993, Intel invested over $500 million in advertising and promotional programs designed to build its brand equity. By 1993, Financial World estimated the Intel brand to be worth $17. 8 billion. Intel continues its integrated campaigns to this day. For example, when launching its Centrino mobile platform, Intel began with TV ads that aired in the United States and 11 other countries. These ads include the animated logo and ow familiar five-note brand signature melody. Print, online, and outdoor advertising followed shortly thereafter. Print ads ran in magazines and featured ads that targeted that magazine. For instance, an ad appearing in a sports magazine showed the logo in the center of a tennis racquet with the tagline â€Å"High performance laptop. No strings attached. † Simultaneously, Intel held a â€Å"One Unwired Day† event that took place in major cities such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Seattle. In addition to allowing free trial Wi-Fi access, each city held festival events that included live music, roduct demonstrations, and prize giveaways. The company also set up free access demonstration sites (with wireless Centrino-powered laptops) in areas frequented by road warriors, such as San Francisco’s airport. To boost interest in mobile computing, the company partnered with Zagat Survey to produce a mini-guide inserted into The New Yorker that identified more than 50 â€Å"Wi-Fi Hotspots†Ã¢â‚¬â€mainly restaurants and hotels—in the â€Å"One Unwired Day† cities. Finally, Intel ran online ads on such Web sites as CNET. om and Weather. com. Yahoo! created a Wi-Fi Center Web ite co-sponsored by Intel and featuring Centrino advertising. The â€Å"Unwired† campaign was another Intel success in marketing integration. The $300 million total media effort for the Centrino mobile platform helped generate $2 billion in revenue for Intel during the first nine months of the campaign. Among marketers, Intel won the Innovation award in the Business Superbrands Awards 2003. Going forward, Intel CEO Craig Barrett said the company will aggressively target opportunities outside of its traditional revenue stream in PCs. The company ill be moving beyond â€Å"Intel Inside† to â€Å"Intel Everywhere†Ã¢â‚¬â€Intel chips in every type of digital device possible, from cellphones to flat-panel TVs to portable video players and wireless home networks, even medical diagnostic gear. The company is targeting 10 new product areas for its chips. If the new markets take off, they’ll increase demand for PCs and services, bringing new revenues for Intel’s core products even if its own new products do not succeed in these markets. In 2005, former marketer Paul Otellini will succeed Craig Barrett as CEO and take the helm of this $34 billion company.

Focus On The Learner

Gabby has approximately six years of formal education, where he learnt most of the English he uses to communicate with; and a further two weeks of lessons he received whilst at a BBC centre. Gabby currently has no formal work experience; however, he is knowledgeable in the field of electrical engineering and has had some informal experience in this sector. He is highly motivated to learn the English language and his primary goal for this is that so he may one day attend University; perhaps to further his appreciation and love for music or to continue and learn more in the field of electrical engineering.This goal motivates Gabby and is highly evident in the way he endeavourers to be an astute student. Learning Styles and Preferences Whilst observing Gabby in the classroom and through speaking to him one-on- one it is apparent that his preferred style of learning is more centered on visual/spatial and kinesthesia modes of receipt. His completion of the sensory styles quiz compounds th ese assumptions and show that Gabby is able to receive and process information more efficiently if it is visually presented to him either by flashcards, pictures or realize.During classroom observation it was evident that Gabby is highly interpersonal; during pair-work activities he discussed the task enthusiastically with his partner and also listened attentively to their views. When nominated to answer a question Gabby would usually answer correctly, this shows his understanding of and propensity for communicative language. Gabby excels in group based activities and prefers these to individual tasks where he must work alone. The survey also reflected Gabby more developed kinesthesia sensory style, in the classroom he would be observed taking part in physical activities very enthusiastically.He enjoys movement and exercise, and learns better in this way; he also mentioned his love for the game of football which he played regularly in the DRP. Linguistic Ability – Strengths G affs command of spoken English language is average, he often pauses to think of a word and his pronunciation and grammar are weak at times, however, given the time frame that Gabby has been actually speaking the language it is quite impressive. He is more than able to express his opinion or needs within the classroom environment.Gabby is quite able to read a graded ice of text, although he may take some time and get blocked on certain unfamiliar words, he has shown the ability to perform gist reading tasks quite capably. He also admitted his preference for reading romance novels which he uses to enhance his reading skills. The strength in Cabby's writing skill is shown in his remarkably accurate spelling. Although he makes some grammatical errors his writing is generally legible and comprehensible. His formation of written words is sensible and corresponds to their respective phonemic sounds.Although listening is not one of Cabby's strengths he is tie able to understand English spea kers or instructions that are given to him verbally, both the meaning and context Of what he is required to do are clear to him. Gabby performs well in gist listening based tasks. Gabby vocabulary is quite extended, he has the ability to learn new words rapidly and use them in the correct context. He often pauses when speaking, to think of a word, but he eventually remembers it and uses it correctly. His level of functional vocabulary will enable him to navigate most everyday situations with ease.At times Gabby does make some grammatical mistakes but he often endeavors to correct himself. He is aware of most basic grammatical rules, for example, ‘y' changing to ‘ices' for certain countable nouns. He can often be observed writing down new grammatical rules and examples during lessons, thus showing his keenness to improve in this area. Cabby's pronunciation of most words is clear and understandable, for new vocabulary he often responds well to drilling and repeats the word until he feels it is correct.He works very hard to improve his pronunciation and can be observed self- correcting at times. Linguistic Ability -? Weaknesses Completed table attached. Activities: Skill – Listening for specific information (â€Å"New Cutting Edge Elementary Students' Book† – pig. 10) This task requires the student to work on his own, as individual work is something Gabby struggles with, this activity will be challenging and requires him to work on his own and strengthen his ability to listen for specific information.The teacher Will hand out copies of the ‘General Knowledge Quiz' and ask the learner to look through the questions and answer as many as he can. This is a Test-Teach-Test based adaptation that will allow the student to error correct himself after listening o the audio. The teacher then plays the recording and asks the student to listen out for the various pieces of information that are required to answer the questions. After hea ring and answering the student can compare and correct his errors, thereby â€Å"learning from his mistakes†.Gabby is an Elementary level learner and this activity is graded as such. Although it does not tie in with his personal interest in music it is general knowledge and touches on various areas that Gabby may be interested in (brands, currency, Jennifer Lopez etc. ). Activities: System – Grammar – Present Simple (â€Å"New Cutting Edge Elementary Workbook – pig. 22/23). The various activities over the two pages deal with grammar related activities, specifically with the present simple.This is an area Gabby has some difficulty with, and he often confuses tenses which leads to grammatical errors. The activities consist of a mixture of gap fill and answering activities that will improve fluency in present simple. The teacher will hand out copies of the activities and ask the learner to work individually. A high level of monitoring and prompting with the aid of examples will be necessary as Gabby is an Elementary level learner. Focus on the Learner French student from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the intermediate class. Sidekick was born in Albumin's. He got his Matrix in 2008 and attended university for 2 years before and he's learning English so that he can continue his studies in South Africa. â€Å"The reason I'm learning English is that I am a French speaker and I wand to study in a English country,† he writes. Learner style: Sidekick response positively towards practical sessions.During an interview with Sidekick, he also reinforced this statement by saying that he prefers doing something and/or seeing something rather than just listening. This would suggest that he is mostly kinetic and visual with an emphasis on kinetic. These examples can be seen when asked to physically apply what he's learned. Learners four skills: Observing Sidekick, I've noticed that he struggles a little in each form, but that his weakest area is reading. He also struggles with speaking and writing, but both are connected in the sense that he translates directly from French.In English this would change something that he series Into a thin, straight, hand-held stick. There's also certain problems that occur with tenses, as I will mention In language systems. Sidekick also makes use of a speaking rhythm that is unnatural in English. In English phonetics and phonology: a practical course By Peter Roach, Rough explains that there's a difference between the rhythm of English and French. French makes use of a syllable timed rhythm and that all syllables whether stressed or unstressed occur at regular intervals.Listening: Sidekick follows natural speech rather easily. Reading: The main concern I've found is that while Sidekick can continue with listening,writing and speaking with mistakes, he stops when encounters a word that he is unfamiliar with. Writing: Along with his speaking the problem is tense usage. Other problems are spelling mistakes. He'll write words exactly as they sound. Language systems: After view ing 3 letters that I received from Sidekick, I observed several common mistakes. Continuous and simple forms: † My hobbles are: Sports, go to the cinema, Ana listening music. He would use â€Å"go to' (Instead AT going to) Ana â€Å"listening sic† (instead of listening to music. ) It shows logic in the forms that he use, but that there's some confusion of when to use continuous and simple tenses. Pronunciation: As mentioned before, Sidekick often replaces the It/ sound with the [d/ sound. Areas where the student needs help: So far Sidekick's greatest problems stem from the use of future tenses and question tenses. For questions he will at times confuse the subject and verb e. G. Muff are Tom? † and â€Å"Are you Tom? The emphasis on his words imply different meanings as we've learned during class. The former acknowledging that the speaker is vaguely familiar with the person and the latter purely asking. After reviewing his letters, I've decided that it's not Jus t his future tense that is the problem, but that he still struggles with most tenses. The activities I've selected and why: For the skill I've focused on reading. Continuous reading will help Sidekick see how to language is used, and if he stops reading Just because of one word, then he'll never progress any further.At the same time, the activity I've chosen for his reading, also applies to the other language area he requires help in: Vocabulary. The activity isn't focused on his learning style, but what he needs help in. It's been downloaded from www. Insidious. Net and has several tasks which will help him to improve. The gap fill will allow him to look at the entire sentence and then get him the gist of words. There is also a task which will improve his spelling and use of parts of speech, another area that he struggles with. For the language area, I've chosen tenses in general.Sidekick has claimed that it's only the future tense that confuses him, but Judging by his written work , there's also other tenses that he needs help on. The activity is Snakes and Ladders – Tenses from Cutting Edge: Upper Intermediate students' book by Sarah Cunningham and Peter Moor. The questions were all changed to apply to his level and weaknesses. This game focuses on his kinetic and visual needs, helping him learn in a particle and fun setting. References: www. London-translations. Co. UK www. Insidious. Net Moor. English phonetics and phonology: a practical course By Peter Roach Class notes