Thursday, October 31, 2019
Stress Management and Its Effect on Efficient Work Performance Dissertation
Stress Management and Its Effect on Efficient Work Performance - Dissertation Example One of these is the distractions they get away from their work due to stress. In a recent study, Michelson (2004) noted that the commonest cases and instances of stress arise when the roles of employees demand that they have a lot of interaction with people as a means of serving the interest of these people. Employees whose work also put a lot of mental strain on them, as well as those who are engaged in the use of heavy and multiplex machinery have also been identified to be victims of some of the worse cases of stress (McIntosh, 2011). Sadly, even though it is generally appreciated that stress is a major hindrance to successful organisational running, not much has been done by way of managing stress among workers. Coldwater, Mohl, Denny and Mote (2012) blame this situation on the wrong identification and classification of the nature of stressors that employees are commonly faced with. In another instance, Michelson (2004) pointed to the fact that the best form of stress management can only come when there is the right identification of stress that employees are faced with. Purpose of the Study It will be noted that the Administrative Stress Index ASI ascribes five major areas of stressors namely administrative constraints, administrative responsibilities, interpersonal relations, intrapersonal conflicts, and role expectations. As part of the problem of wrong identification and management of stressors faced by employees within the labour force, this research is being conducted with the purpose of using the Administrative Stress Index (ASI) to identify the commonest forms of stressors that employees within three major labour forces namely the education, health and security sectors face in the delivery of their duties. Having used the ASI to identify the types of stress, a questionnaire that seeks to classify the stress management mechanisms used by workers will then be used. This purpose of the study can be noticed to be multi-variant in the sense that it will make it possible to collect sufficient data on all possible stressors that come with the delivery of administrative roles within the education, health and security sectors. The purpose of the study also encompasses stress management of specific stressor. This study is therefore being conducted as an opener to the issue of corporate management of stress by first focusing on the identification of stressors. Aim and Objectives The purpose of the study will be achieved with the aim of identifying different forms of stressors and how they are managed within the educational, health and security sectors. This can however be seen as a very broad and generalised goal, that cannot be achieved by performing only a single task or duty. The aim of the study has therefore been broken down into specific objectives, which signify the very specific tasks that will be undertaken to bring about the achievement of the research aim. The specific objectives of the study are thus given below. To achieve t he research aim therefore, the researcher has a responsibility of achieving all the specific objectives. 1. To identify various forms of stressors with different categories of jobs in the educational, health and security sectors. 2. To ascertain the different forms of stress management mechanisms that work best with each category of stressors identified. 3. To examine the impact and effectiveness of stress manage
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Child and Family and their Social, Cultural and Relationship Problems Essay
Child and Family and their Social, Cultural and Relationship Problems - Essay Example A family assessment should contain discussions regarding the type of family, family finance, safety, health, emotional support within the family and outside the family and family roles. (Pillittery, 2007). This will be the guide that this paper will use in order to gain the necessary information it needs in order to create an appropriate conclusion. This will also help in the goal of the paper, which is to provide recommendations on nursing recommendations for a six(6) week period. This papers main discussion points are; The case we are presented with provides us with a multitude of variables, facts, ideas and sources. Most, if not all of these things are things that will have some sort of effect on the child, either for short-term or in the long run. We were provided with a short family background, relationship descriptions, summaries of actions and histories, and these are the points of the case that our paper will focus on and use in order to get the needed results. We will also be relating these facts to current literature in order to get a bearing on the correct path to take for the assessment and nursing care plan. Aside from the family influence, cultural, religious and environmental influences also play an important role in this case, as, according to a paper by oregonstate.edu, these social influences will have a resounding effect a persons attitude or outlook. Aside from the factors stated above, the case had also described some issues such as the child's difficulty in adjusting to life in a foreign place, being diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder, suffering from a form of Dyslexia, being diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus, having been teased at school due to his racial background, and being unable to be with the people he is comfortableà with for one reason or another. On their own, these issues may be minor, but combined, they create a massive impact on the child and his wee-being. We will take all of these factors into consideration for the entire duration of the case.
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Marketing Analysis of Tesco
Marketing Analysis of Tesco 1.ORGANIZATIONS ORIENTATION An organization orientation depends upon the marketing concept and the market orientations, which are the foundations of strategic marketing. Marketing concept exists on the fusion of all marketing activities. When they are combined, the company can achieve higher profitability (Hooley 2008: 6, 7). Tesco has developed a strategic customer relationship management which builds and keeps a valued customer awareness and powerful brand engagement. Its position in UK is strengthened by overtaking Sainsbury in 1995 and by its online home grocery service (Jobber 2010:583). 2. MARKET SEGMENTATION, POSITIONING, TARGET MARKETING Market segmentation is the process of understanding the characteristics and demand of different individuals. Tesco gather customer information from the loyalty card scheme and identifies their purchasing habits and behaviour patterns, which are used for segmenting customers based on their needs. Customers are grouped based on their similarities. With this information, Tesco introduced different clubs like the kids club, the food club, the baby and toddler club, Healthy living Club. Market segments are chosen for targeting and a marketing mix strategy is selected for that target market (Jobber 2010:262,584).To develop an effective strategic marketing there should be an upstanding positioning of product and services in the market. Positioning is an iterative and vital process in retail marketing. The main goal of positioning is to develop and maintain a remarkable place in the market for the company and its product. Positioning starts with the product (Kalafatis 2000).Nevertheless, Tes co has a brand image and they are proud of its brand value ( Martenson 2007).Keys to successful positioning is clarity, consistency, competitiveness and credibility. Repositioning is carried out when customer needs or target market changes. Repositioning strategies include image repositioning, product repositioning, intangible repositioning, tangible repositioning (Jobber 2010:285,288). 3. MARKET ORIENTATION Marketing orientation is achieved by marketing concept (Blois 2000: 21). It is defined as all the departments working together to develop and understand customers current and future needs and to meet them to keep the customers satisfied (Hooley 2008: 8). The elements of market orientation include Customer orientation, Competitor orientation, and inter functional orientation. 4. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Marketing oriented companies are primarily focused on customers. They get the needs and problems of their customers and find a better solution for them (Blois 2000: 22). Tesco strategy is based on loyalty card scheme and gets information about individual customers and their different needs. The club card helps the customers to save their money when they accumulate points in the card. Club card can be used at any Tescos partners (Jobber 2010:583). Tescos objectives and guidelines are aimed directly at customer satisfaction and it is assessed regularly (Hooley 2008: 11). Customer orientation depends on the employee performance. It results in positive outcomes of the company. It determines the relationship quality of the organization and relationship quality highly depends upon the company loyalty (Macintosh 2007). 5. COMPETITOR ORIENTATION The organization should identify the short-term and a long-term capability of the competitors. A deep understanding of the competition is needed. For Tesco the competitive positioning applies at the level of the companies. In UK the leading grocery retailing competitors include Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda (Hooley 2008: 208).We need to understand the competitors profit sources, position in the market, marketing strategies (Best 2004: 7).Tesco collects information about the activities and conduct regular benchmarking against the competitor offerings (Hooley 2008: 12). 6. LONG-TERM PROFIT FOCUS This is the ultimate objective of all the business. The main objectives of Tesco are to be a successful international retailer, to be strong in non-food as in the food business, to open more stores across the world. The International strategy of Tesco requires a long-term approach (Tesco PLC 2009).The decisions of Tesco are guided by long- term plans rather than short -term benefits (Hooley 2008: 12). 7. INTERFUNCTIONAL COORDINATION Interfunctional coordination concerns with the coordination of all company resources to create a value for target customers. To create an impenetrable competitive position, we have to rely on the coordinated efforts of various functions and people within the organizations. Cross-functional relationship plays a decisive role (Hooley 2008: 12). Tesco has a dedicated team approach to develop and deliver market-based customer solutions (Best 2004: 48).They work together and support each other to serve customer .The financial and management department work closely with the operators of the retailer world. Commercial departments make decisions to deliver best products at best possible prices. Corporate purchasing departments work with suppliers. The graduates in Tesco strive to generate revenue. Distribution team works to deliver products in the right time to different stores. The effective systems IT department improve online shopping for customers and they raise the contacts between vari ous business areas to streamline the entire processes. The marketing team of Tesco works with customers to understand their needs and current trends. The property and engineering department do all the support works of the stores (Hooley 2008: 12). 8. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Marketing orientation can be described as a variety of organizational culture that places the highest priority to establish and maintain the best customer value while considering the interests of stakeholders like investors, employees, suppliers (Blois 2000: 21). The core purpose of Tesco is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty (Tesco PLC 2009). All the staffs work like a team .They gives respect each other and treat customers in a way they feel satisfied. Face to face meetings, trips are conducted and Staffs are rewarded for their work they do. They offer discounts and benefits for the staffs also provide more salaries, training, flexible working hours and health and safety measures are observed as compared to other retailers. Tesco welcomes all people regardless of age, sex, ethnicity etc. Human rights policies are applied to all members (Tesco PLC 2009). Store Loyalty is the output of customer satisfaction and customers will visit the store regularly. All e mployees understand their responsibilities to create satisfied customers (Martenson 2007). 9. TESCO STRATEGIES Tesco has a well-established strategy for their business success. About 70% of the trading and profit is from UK. They are the market leaders in markets outside UK. They have four different store formats like Express, Metro, Superstore, Extra and one trial format Home plus, for non-food and clothing. As an international retailer, they mainly focus on the local customer needs and understand them. They make sure the board appeal. They have various own brands of superior quality to customers to compliment their style of living. Tesco looks after the people working with them (Tesco PLC 2009). Market Corporate responsibility is an opening for growth. The values are the no one tries harder for customers and treat people how they want to be treated (Tesco PLC 2009). The Tesco steering wheel represents performance and is a strategy-driving tool. (Tesco PLC 2009). A sale in non-food is a key part of the strategy. They provide with the best quality and price. Tescos non-food includes electrical, home entertainment, clothing, health and beauty, stationery, bookshop and soft furnishings, seasonal goods, opticians and pharmacies (Tesco PLC 2009). In retailing services, Tesco offers more to the customers. Tesco personal finance has products from credit cards to insurance. Online grocery shopping is made effortless with Tesco.com. Tesco Telecoms offers a wide range of services from mobile network, home phone service, internet access and an internet phone service (Tesco PLC 2009). The Success of Tesco depends on trust and satisfaction of the customers. Overall, Tesco has a strong marketing orientation and compelling marketing strategies which results in the customer satisfaction and the higher levels of profitability. Every Little Helps Tesco to be a market leader (Tesco PLC 2009). 10. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE As Armstrong (2005) defined, competitive advantage is the advantage over competitors obtained by providing better value to customer. It is important to company who wants to win the customers and establish a profitable relationship with them (Armstrong Kotler, 2005). Before the organisation is choosing the right competitive advantage on which to build up its competitive strategies it must analyze the industry environment normally by using the porters 5 forces analysis. 11. Porters Five Forces Analysis Introduced by Michael Porter in 1979, Porters 5 Forces is a powerful tool to analyse the attractiveness of an industry. This framework involves a relationship between competitors within an industry, potential competitors, suppliers, buyers. It helps management to understand both the strength of the current competitive position, and the strength of a position organization want to be. (Michael Porter, 2008) A diagram below shows the Porters 5 forces clearly. 12. Threat of New Entry: As porter said the ability of people who newly enter your market might affect your power. If the barrier to entry the market is low and your have little protection for current position, then the new competitors can easily enter the market and weaken your position. (Michael Porter, 2008). In terms of new entrants Tesco does not have much threat because of the high barriers for new comer to entry into the supermarket industry. According to the TNS (Taylor Nelson Sofres, the leading market research group) data Tesco occupies over one third of grocery market share in UK, and is along with Asda, Saintsburys, Morrisons become the big four which has hold over 68% of UK overall grocery market. This strong solid position makes Tesco the market leader and giant in UK supermarket industry. Due to the massive market share has been hold by the big four, the barriers for new entrants are obviously quite high. It is hard for new retailer to obtain the market share and challenge the existing powerfu l player such as Tesco. In addition, another high barrier for new entrants is the supermarket industry needs huge capital and personnel involved but needs long time to get the return. Therefore, there are high barrier for new retailers entry into the existing supermarket industry dominated by big four. Thus, if Tesco sustains its strong position in the market it will have less threat from new entrants. 13. The power of buyer: According to Porter the buyers have the power to drive price down. Small number of buyers and powerful buyers for a company can likely having greater power on driving the price (Michael Porter, 2008). Generally say, in supermarket industry there is little bargain power for buyers with supermarket because all the prices are fixed price. Moreover, the bigger number of consumers will reduce the power of buyers. Therefore, it is little power of buyers to Tesco due to huge number of customers and little bargain power of buyers in this industry. However, customers can still switch buying from one supermarket to another by many factors. First, the price is the primary factor determinates customers buying activities. In this respect, Tescos strategy is based on its cost advantages. The organization aims to be the best value retailer. Tesco stated its price has been cut by 17% between 2000 and 2006; even facing the higher energy price challenge during the recent recession Tescos price has bee n dropped down by 1.8% last year. Second, due to the differentiation of product is little in the supermarket industry; customers can switch buying easily, thus, to attract and keep customers is relying on their loyalty to the store. Tescos report claims it has the UK number one loyalty card scheme and it has over 13 millions active Clubcard holders. Overall, the power of buyer is little to Tesco and Tesco has big advantages on low price and customer loyalty. 14. Power of suppliers Porter said the suppliers also have power to drive up the price. The power of driven is determined by the number and the strength of suppliers. To the Britain biggest grocery supermarket Tesco, the power of supplier is very little because Tesco has vast numbers of supplier across overall markets. The overwhelming market power of Tesco makes suppliers have no bargain power to it; instead, some of suppliers rely on Tesco. As a buyer Tesco has huge demand and great power to the supplier. However, Tesco also relys on their suppliers to achieve its objectives, without those suppliers Tesco could not deliver best value goods to the customers. Therefore, Tesco has established the long term constructive partnership with suppliers. According to Tescos report, it has over 1,500 suppliers who have been working with Tesco for five years or more. Based on a survey taken in 2008 by Tesco, there were over 90% of UK suppliers thought Tesco was trustworthy. Moreover, Tesco also provide the opportunit ies to small producers and local suppliers. For example, Tesco has opened five new regional buying offices around Britain and hosted regional road shows to attract and increase the number of local suppliers for selling their goods through Tesco. As the result, the small suppliers get more business opportunities meanwhile they help Tesco getting hundreds of new lines into stores. In sum, Tesco has little threat from power of supplier and company achieved its objectives by establishing the trustable partnership with suppliers. 15. The Threat of substitutes Porter introduced this threat as the other industry or business has the ability to substitute you and attract your customers. Although Tesco has head position in the supermarket industry, somehow, the substitutes still exist. For example, eating-out is a substitute to buying food from supermarket. However, a recent survey by analyst Buckingham Research has found that 75% of British families will stay at home during the recession rather than eating out. Under recession, the threat of eating-out to supermarket is less than ever. Another substitute worth to be considered is the online shopping. Nowadays, as the technology growing fast the online shopping becomes easy and trendy. However, it can not completely substitute the real life shopping especially for the food purchase. The technical problem, delivery problem and communication problem may bother people to buy online. Moreover, the real life shopping is also a part of social life to most of people, which would be simply substitute by clicking screen. In sum, the threat of substitute to Tesco is higher than buyer, supplier and new entrant. 16. The Threat of Competitive Rivalry: This threat comes from the competitors and also is affected by the new entry, substitute, power of buyer and supplier. The threat of competitive rivalry to Tesco is high although it is the largest grocery supermarket in UK. Asda, Sainsburys and Morrison are the three main competitors of Tesco. These three companies also have big portion of market share and compete with Tesco through price, product and promotions. The competition between the main grocery supermarkets remains fierce. Tesco has been reported that the market share has been losing and dipping in UK market since 2009 by many main Medias such as Times, BBC news and Guardian. Reports said according to the last figures of 2009 Tescos market share dropped from 31.3% to 30.7% of UK grocery sales. Meanwhile, Asdas market share rose to 17 % from 16.7 % and Morrisons went up to 12.1% from 11.7 %. TNS reported against the UK grocery sales rise 6%, Tescos sales rose 4% which below the market growth. However, Morrisons and Asda were all found beyond the growth of the market, seeing sales rise 9.7% and 7.2%. Moreover, the discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl also compete with Tesco as consumer cut back on spending during the recession. In addition, TNS also claimed that Waitrose, the John Lewis-own supermarket as the up-market grocer is fast growing in grocery market. On the other hand, because Tesco also set foot in non-food industry there are so many competitors such as Shell, BP, Amazon, O2, etc. To sum up, Tesco has highly threat from many competitors in both food and non-food industry. Therefore, Tesco must take its competitive advantages to prevent from threats of competitors. 17. Competitive Advantage of Tesco Through the porters 5 forces analysis the competitive advantages of Tesco can be outlined. First, the significant market power is the big advantage of Tesco. The great market power makes Tesco is able to put up barrier to new entrants and weaken the power of buyer and supplier; it also gives Tesco ability to beat the competitors. Second, namely cost advantage, the big economic scale enables Tesco to reduce the cost at extremely low level and thereby providing the low price to customers. Third, diversification makes Tesco has a further advantage to win the market because Tesco expands the broad markets such as financing, telecom and retail service rather than just food market and spread its business worldwide. To sum up, if Tesco follows its competitive strategy by aware of the threats and competitive advantages, it will keep the strong position in the industry and beat its competitors. 18. MARKETING MIX Firstly, the term Marketing Mix was widely adopted after Neil H. Boren published his article The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1964, where he described marketing managers as a mixer of ingredients. The ingredients in Borens marketing mix included product, planning, pricing, packaging, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, display, servicing, physical handling, fact finding and analysis. Which was later grouped into four categories by E. Jerome McCarthy, today know as the 4Ps of marketing, shown below However, some people argue that along with the Marketing Mix 4 Ps concept, we should add another 2 Ps, which are people and packaging. 19. PRODUCT It is rare to discuss price without the presence of a product and to enable us understand the link between Price and Product. Kotler Armstrong (2006) define a product as anything that can be presented to a consumer for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. They further define a consumer product as the product bought by the final consumer for personal consumption. According to Ferrell (2005), the product is the core of the marketing mix strategy in which retailers can offer consumers symbolic and experiential attributes to differentiate products from competitors. However, it is also concerned with what the product means to the consumer. Product is about quality, design, features, brand name and sizes (Borden, 1984). Wulf et.al. (2005) found that private label products could offer even better quality than national brands but at a lower price. The domestic competitor reacts to the intensifying price competition by engaging in selective price cha nges. A product is a physical good, service, idea, person, or place that is capable of offering tangible and intangible attributes that individuals or organizations regard as so necessary, worthwhile or satisfying that they are prepared to exchange money, patronage or some other unit of value to acquire it. (Blythe 2007) Core products: Core Products are the core benefit that is being sought by the consumer by buying the product, like the cheaper call rates and ease of recharge top up available to Tesco Mobile customers. Actual /Tangible products: Actual Products are all the tangible features/benefits that are associated with the core product such as its features or design, level of quality, packaging, size. There is no clear distinction between a pure tangible product and a service. The Tescos give away deals for the new 3G i-phone deal Augmented products: are the intangible features/benefits associated with the core actual product such as the branding, warrantees, delivery, guarantee, and after sales service. Tesco mobile, for example, is a tangible product, but it often comes with a warranty and software updates. A firmsproduct line refers to the variety of similar commodities that the firm holds, Tesco for example, makes a large range of inter-related goods, Many of Tesco stores stock over 40,000 product lines. Even a Tesco Express stores stock a choice of well over 2,000 lines. ProductDepthrefers to the variety of commodities offered within each product line. Tesco stores stock : Healthy Living products, Free From products for people with food allergies and intolerances, Special healthy Kids snacks and Organic product lines and the recent announcement by the Tescobank CEO Benny Higgins of plans to launch an assault on the mortgage market by the end of 2010, hoping to take advantage of the current problems in the sector. Targeted at providingTescocustomers with financial advice, car and home insurance credit cards, mortgages and current accounts.(MINTEL 2009). Products often go through alife cycle.Initially, at the introduction stage a product is launched. Since the product is not well known and is usually expensive (e.g. the , as). Eventually, many products reach agrowthphase where sales increases dramatically. More firms enter with their models of the product, sometimes with added innovations. Unfortunately, the product reaches amaturitystage where little growth is sighted. For example, in the UK, almost every household has at least one stereo sound system. Some products may also reach adeclinestage, usually because the product is swapped for something better. For example, CDplayers experienced declining sales as more consumers switched to MP3 players and i-pods. Ansoff Theory is a series of suggested growth strategies that set the direction for the business plan. illustrated below Market Penetration: here the business strategy focuses on selling existing products in existing markets.This strategy aims at four major objectives: Maintaining the market share of current products Securing growth market Dominance Drive out competitors with support of an aggressive promotional campaign and favorable price strategy Increase product usage by existing customers e.g. With the Tesco Loyalty Club card scheme. Market Development: here the business strategy seeks to sell its existing product into a new market. The various approaches to this include: New geographical markets e.g.- exporting Tesco UK products to the Express shops in Ireland and Malaysia New Product Dimension or Packaging New Distributional channel Implementing different pricing policies for different markets segments Product Development: refers to a growth strategy where new products are initiated in existing markets. This often requires development of new competencies in the case of Tesco Bank and its new job vacancies for competencies in the financial sector. Diversification points to the growth strategy where a business markets a new commodity in a new market. Unfortunately, for this strategy to be adopted a clear objective of its advantages should be explored and risk assessments carried out seeing as the business may have little or no experience in the new area. Roughly one quarter of Tescos sales, was own label. Many leading retailing companies have substantial grocery interests. Of the top 25 companies in 1978, 22 were involved in groceries retailing, of which 10 can be considered leading firms in the groceries sector [Akehurst, 1983: 169, Table 5] 20. Price : Price refers to the value assigned to something by the seller to something purchased, offered for sale, to a buyer as their willingness to pay for the product and services delivered (Gilbert 1999). Price is the only element in the marketing mix that is revenue generating- all of the others are costs. It should therefore, be used as an active instrument of strategy in the major areas of marketing decision making. Pricing in the international setting is more complicated than in the domestic market, because of factors such as government influence and additional costs (Becker and Thorelli 1980). The price of an item is an important influence on the value of sales made. In theory, price is really determined by the discovery of what customers perceive is the value of the item on sale. Recent research has shown that demand-based pricing is associated with higher retailer gross margins; whereas past price dependence is associated with, lower retailer gross margins (Nijs, Srinivasan, and Pau wels 2007). There are a number of pricing policies used by Tesco today, which include: 21. Market-led Pricing: also known as competitive pricing, this simply accepts the price which competitors are charging for a product and then price its product at the same level or slightly lower in order to gain some advantage over competitors. Significantly found in markets where there is close competitors. For a company like TESCO it is important to monitor other competitors and in order to maintain customer loyalty against discounters, the adoption of a more aggressive pricing strategy was launch by the advent of budget private label ranges and backed up by advertising focusing on price comparisons. Despite challenges due to rising energy prices, but with innovations such as the reusable plastic trays, which was introduced in the fresh food areas have helped make savings these savings are pass on to customers. According to the OFT this led to a fall in real food price between 2000-2005.as shown below 22. Cost-Based Pricing: also known as cost plus Pricing, involves working out the businesss total fixed and variable costs and then adding a percentage of profit. Here the business has to consider the total number of items that it plans to produce and sell. The big advantage of cost-based pricing for TESCO is that the company is guaranteed to make a profit on its sales since it has covered its costs. However, in operating cost-based pricing it is very important to be aware of competitors price. However, this poses a threat when businesses are unable to sell the expected quantity of the product, perhaps because competitors are offering the same goods at a lower price. 23. Price wars In a competitive market such as grocery market, businesses sometimes engage in price wars in which prices of some goods are slashed to a very low price in order to secure sales. Price wars swamped grocery retailers, as the switch to private labels from branded packaged food continued to gather pace. For instance, Tesco and ASDA propose freezing of tax on some products at 15% despite an increase in rates to 17.5%(MMR 2010) This is risky because advantages gained are short-lived and rival, businesses tend to respond by slashing prices even further. If pursued long enough, price wars would cut profits seriously and in the end, only customers benefits by the low prices. 24. PENETRATION PRICING 25. ECONOMY PRICING: Stores such as TESCO, which allegedly charge the lowest prices, attract many consumers based on this conception alone (Peter Donnely, 2007). Among retail stores, the pricing strategy has become the fundamental point, as they need to compete in terms of pricing to lure more customers. Berman (1996) added that among the pricing policies which are of major concern to retail store outlets are the High-Low Pricing and Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP) strategies. This is sighted in operators who have significant economies of scale and buying power (Gilbert 1999). 26. VALUE PRICING This ensues where external factors such as the recession or increased competition forces companies to provide VALUE product and services to retain sales, they are especially important to families on a budget and have made a significant contribution to making healthy food accessible to all. Tesco now has in store 95 fresh fruit and vegetable value lines, and are working with the Pre-School Learning Alliance to help parents and children in some of the UKs most deprived areas make healthier choices. Value pricing may have a negative impact on the profit margin of the company (tesco.com N.D). 27. GEOGRAPHICAL PRICING This is evident where there are variations in price and demand in different parts of the world. TESCOs prices are a little higher in some town centre and neighbourhood stores because of higher overhead costs (mainly rents and rates). These costs are spread over a smaller volume of sales, and can only be recovered by charging prices that are, on average, higher. Example was when Tesco first moved into Ireland the products it sold was more expensive than they were in their UK stores (Irish Times 1998). This was because the UK suppliers were charging the Ireland stores more than they were charging the UK stores. This triggered some conspiracies and allegiances between key stakeholders in the industry resulting in a widespread anti-Tesco campaign (Poole and Clark 2002). In Conclusion Pricing a product too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organization. Therefore, appropriate pricing strategies and policies should be put in place for the various market segments, to ensure 28. PROMOTION Significant P in Marketing Mix 4P (Product, Price, Promotion and Place). Although the 4P characterization has led to widespread use of the term promotion for describing communications with prospects and customers, the term marketing communications is preferred by most marketing practitioners as well as by many educators. Consider that we may want to use marketing communications to refer to the collection of advertising, sales promotions, public relations, event marketing, and other communication devices. Promotion is considered as Sales Promotion (Shimp 2007). Marketing Communication is used by organisations to communicate with customers with respect to their product offerings. In this sense, Marketing Communication is one side of the communication process with customers. Market research, in which suppliers seek to elicit information on consumer requirements from consumers, is the complementary component of the communication process. The following summarises this very simply: (Rowley 1998). According to Rowley (1998) producer should communicate to reach the customers and in turn should listen to the customers needs and requirements to enhance the product and service. Tesco proudly announced that one of the reasons to its Success is listening to their Customers and its suppliers. Tesco has adopted multiple qualitative research techniques to reach their customers such as focus groups, accompanied shops, home visits to collect the feedback and respond quickly with corrective measures. Modestly they say, Its simple we listen and respond, providing customers with Marketing Analysis of Tesco Marketing Analysis of Tesco 1.ORGANIZATIONS ORIENTATION An organization orientation depends upon the marketing concept and the market orientations, which are the foundations of strategic marketing. Marketing concept exists on the fusion of all marketing activities. When they are combined, the company can achieve higher profitability (Hooley 2008: 6, 7). Tesco has developed a strategic customer relationship management which builds and keeps a valued customer awareness and powerful brand engagement. Its position in UK is strengthened by overtaking Sainsbury in 1995 and by its online home grocery service (Jobber 2010:583). 2. MARKET SEGMENTATION, POSITIONING, TARGET MARKETING Market segmentation is the process of understanding the characteristics and demand of different individuals. Tesco gather customer information from the loyalty card scheme and identifies their purchasing habits and behaviour patterns, which are used for segmenting customers based on their needs. Customers are grouped based on their similarities. With this information, Tesco introduced different clubs like the kids club, the food club, the baby and toddler club, Healthy living Club. Market segments are chosen for targeting and a marketing mix strategy is selected for that target market (Jobber 2010:262,584).To develop an effective strategic marketing there should be an upstanding positioning of product and services in the market. Positioning is an iterative and vital process in retail marketing. The main goal of positioning is to develop and maintain a remarkable place in the market for the company and its product. Positioning starts with the product (Kalafatis 2000).Nevertheless, Tes co has a brand image and they are proud of its brand value ( Martenson 2007).Keys to successful positioning is clarity, consistency, competitiveness and credibility. Repositioning is carried out when customer needs or target market changes. Repositioning strategies include image repositioning, product repositioning, intangible repositioning, tangible repositioning (Jobber 2010:285,288). 3. MARKET ORIENTATION Marketing orientation is achieved by marketing concept (Blois 2000: 21). It is defined as all the departments working together to develop and understand customers current and future needs and to meet them to keep the customers satisfied (Hooley 2008: 8). The elements of market orientation include Customer orientation, Competitor orientation, and inter functional orientation. 4. CUSTOMER ORIENTATION Marketing oriented companies are primarily focused on customers. They get the needs and problems of their customers and find a better solution for them (Blois 2000: 22). Tesco strategy is based on loyalty card scheme and gets information about individual customers and their different needs. The club card helps the customers to save their money when they accumulate points in the card. Club card can be used at any Tescos partners (Jobber 2010:583). Tescos objectives and guidelines are aimed directly at customer satisfaction and it is assessed regularly (Hooley 2008: 11). Customer orientation depends on the employee performance. It results in positive outcomes of the company. It determines the relationship quality of the organization and relationship quality highly depends upon the company loyalty (Macintosh 2007). 5. COMPETITOR ORIENTATION The organization should identify the short-term and a long-term capability of the competitors. A deep understanding of the competition is needed. For Tesco the competitive positioning applies at the level of the companies. In UK the leading grocery retailing competitors include Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda (Hooley 2008: 208).We need to understand the competitors profit sources, position in the market, marketing strategies (Best 2004: 7).Tesco collects information about the activities and conduct regular benchmarking against the competitor offerings (Hooley 2008: 12). 6. LONG-TERM PROFIT FOCUS This is the ultimate objective of all the business. The main objectives of Tesco are to be a successful international retailer, to be strong in non-food as in the food business, to open more stores across the world. The International strategy of Tesco requires a long-term approach (Tesco PLC 2009).The decisions of Tesco are guided by long- term plans rather than short -term benefits (Hooley 2008: 12). 7. INTERFUNCTIONAL COORDINATION Interfunctional coordination concerns with the coordination of all company resources to create a value for target customers. To create an impenetrable competitive position, we have to rely on the coordinated efforts of various functions and people within the organizations. Cross-functional relationship plays a decisive role (Hooley 2008: 12). Tesco has a dedicated team approach to develop and deliver market-based customer solutions (Best 2004: 48).They work together and support each other to serve customer .The financial and management department work closely with the operators of the retailer world. Commercial departments make decisions to deliver best products at best possible prices. Corporate purchasing departments work with suppliers. The graduates in Tesco strive to generate revenue. Distribution team works to deliver products in the right time to different stores. The effective systems IT department improve online shopping for customers and they raise the contacts between vari ous business areas to streamline the entire processes. The marketing team of Tesco works with customers to understand their needs and current trends. The property and engineering department do all the support works of the stores (Hooley 2008: 12). 8. ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE Marketing orientation can be described as a variety of organizational culture that places the highest priority to establish and maintain the best customer value while considering the interests of stakeholders like investors, employees, suppliers (Blois 2000: 21). The core purpose of Tesco is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty (Tesco PLC 2009). All the staffs work like a team .They gives respect each other and treat customers in a way they feel satisfied. Face to face meetings, trips are conducted and Staffs are rewarded for their work they do. They offer discounts and benefits for the staffs also provide more salaries, training, flexible working hours and health and safety measures are observed as compared to other retailers. Tesco welcomes all people regardless of age, sex, ethnicity etc. Human rights policies are applied to all members (Tesco PLC 2009). Store Loyalty is the output of customer satisfaction and customers will visit the store regularly. All e mployees understand their responsibilities to create satisfied customers (Martenson 2007). 9. TESCO STRATEGIES Tesco has a well-established strategy for their business success. About 70% of the trading and profit is from UK. They are the market leaders in markets outside UK. They have four different store formats like Express, Metro, Superstore, Extra and one trial format Home plus, for non-food and clothing. As an international retailer, they mainly focus on the local customer needs and understand them. They make sure the board appeal. They have various own brands of superior quality to customers to compliment their style of living. Tesco looks after the people working with them (Tesco PLC 2009). Market Corporate responsibility is an opening for growth. The values are the no one tries harder for customers and treat people how they want to be treated (Tesco PLC 2009). The Tesco steering wheel represents performance and is a strategy-driving tool. (Tesco PLC 2009). A sale in non-food is a key part of the strategy. They provide with the best quality and price. Tescos non-food includes electrical, home entertainment, clothing, health and beauty, stationery, bookshop and soft furnishings, seasonal goods, opticians and pharmacies (Tesco PLC 2009). In retailing services, Tesco offers more to the customers. Tesco personal finance has products from credit cards to insurance. Online grocery shopping is made effortless with Tesco.com. Tesco Telecoms offers a wide range of services from mobile network, home phone service, internet access and an internet phone service (Tesco PLC 2009). The Success of Tesco depends on trust and satisfaction of the customers. Overall, Tesco has a strong marketing orientation and compelling marketing strategies which results in the customer satisfaction and the higher levels of profitability. Every Little Helps Tesco to be a market leader (Tesco PLC 2009). 10. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE As Armstrong (2005) defined, competitive advantage is the advantage over competitors obtained by providing better value to customer. It is important to company who wants to win the customers and establish a profitable relationship with them (Armstrong Kotler, 2005). Before the organisation is choosing the right competitive advantage on which to build up its competitive strategies it must analyze the industry environment normally by using the porters 5 forces analysis. 11. Porters Five Forces Analysis Introduced by Michael Porter in 1979, Porters 5 Forces is a powerful tool to analyse the attractiveness of an industry. This framework involves a relationship between competitors within an industry, potential competitors, suppliers, buyers. It helps management to understand both the strength of the current competitive position, and the strength of a position organization want to be. (Michael Porter, 2008) A diagram below shows the Porters 5 forces clearly. 12. Threat of New Entry: As porter said the ability of people who newly enter your market might affect your power. If the barrier to entry the market is low and your have little protection for current position, then the new competitors can easily enter the market and weaken your position. (Michael Porter, 2008). In terms of new entrants Tesco does not have much threat because of the high barriers for new comer to entry into the supermarket industry. According to the TNS (Taylor Nelson Sofres, the leading market research group) data Tesco occupies over one third of grocery market share in UK, and is along with Asda, Saintsburys, Morrisons become the big four which has hold over 68% of UK overall grocery market. This strong solid position makes Tesco the market leader and giant in UK supermarket industry. Due to the massive market share has been hold by the big four, the barriers for new entrants are obviously quite high. It is hard for new retailer to obtain the market share and challenge the existing powerfu l player such as Tesco. In addition, another high barrier for new entrants is the supermarket industry needs huge capital and personnel involved but needs long time to get the return. Therefore, there are high barrier for new retailers entry into the existing supermarket industry dominated by big four. Thus, if Tesco sustains its strong position in the market it will have less threat from new entrants. 13. The power of buyer: According to Porter the buyers have the power to drive price down. Small number of buyers and powerful buyers for a company can likely having greater power on driving the price (Michael Porter, 2008). Generally say, in supermarket industry there is little bargain power for buyers with supermarket because all the prices are fixed price. Moreover, the bigger number of consumers will reduce the power of buyers. Therefore, it is little power of buyers to Tesco due to huge number of customers and little bargain power of buyers in this industry. However, customers can still switch buying from one supermarket to another by many factors. First, the price is the primary factor determinates customers buying activities. In this respect, Tescos strategy is based on its cost advantages. The organization aims to be the best value retailer. Tesco stated its price has been cut by 17% between 2000 and 2006; even facing the higher energy price challenge during the recent recession Tescos price has bee n dropped down by 1.8% last year. Second, due to the differentiation of product is little in the supermarket industry; customers can switch buying easily, thus, to attract and keep customers is relying on their loyalty to the store. Tescos report claims it has the UK number one loyalty card scheme and it has over 13 millions active Clubcard holders. Overall, the power of buyer is little to Tesco and Tesco has big advantages on low price and customer loyalty. 14. Power of suppliers Porter said the suppliers also have power to drive up the price. The power of driven is determined by the number and the strength of suppliers. To the Britain biggest grocery supermarket Tesco, the power of supplier is very little because Tesco has vast numbers of supplier across overall markets. The overwhelming market power of Tesco makes suppliers have no bargain power to it; instead, some of suppliers rely on Tesco. As a buyer Tesco has huge demand and great power to the supplier. However, Tesco also relys on their suppliers to achieve its objectives, without those suppliers Tesco could not deliver best value goods to the customers. Therefore, Tesco has established the long term constructive partnership with suppliers. According to Tescos report, it has over 1,500 suppliers who have been working with Tesco for five years or more. Based on a survey taken in 2008 by Tesco, there were over 90% of UK suppliers thought Tesco was trustworthy. Moreover, Tesco also provide the opportunit ies to small producers and local suppliers. For example, Tesco has opened five new regional buying offices around Britain and hosted regional road shows to attract and increase the number of local suppliers for selling their goods through Tesco. As the result, the small suppliers get more business opportunities meanwhile they help Tesco getting hundreds of new lines into stores. In sum, Tesco has little threat from power of supplier and company achieved its objectives by establishing the trustable partnership with suppliers. 15. The Threat of substitutes Porter introduced this threat as the other industry or business has the ability to substitute you and attract your customers. Although Tesco has head position in the supermarket industry, somehow, the substitutes still exist. For example, eating-out is a substitute to buying food from supermarket. However, a recent survey by analyst Buckingham Research has found that 75% of British families will stay at home during the recession rather than eating out. Under recession, the threat of eating-out to supermarket is less than ever. Another substitute worth to be considered is the online shopping. Nowadays, as the technology growing fast the online shopping becomes easy and trendy. However, it can not completely substitute the real life shopping especially for the food purchase. The technical problem, delivery problem and communication problem may bother people to buy online. Moreover, the real life shopping is also a part of social life to most of people, which would be simply substitute by clicking screen. In sum, the threat of substitute to Tesco is higher than buyer, supplier and new entrant. 16. The Threat of Competitive Rivalry: This threat comes from the competitors and also is affected by the new entry, substitute, power of buyer and supplier. The threat of competitive rivalry to Tesco is high although it is the largest grocery supermarket in UK. Asda, Sainsburys and Morrison are the three main competitors of Tesco. These three companies also have big portion of market share and compete with Tesco through price, product and promotions. The competition between the main grocery supermarkets remains fierce. Tesco has been reported that the market share has been losing and dipping in UK market since 2009 by many main Medias such as Times, BBC news and Guardian. Reports said according to the last figures of 2009 Tescos market share dropped from 31.3% to 30.7% of UK grocery sales. Meanwhile, Asdas market share rose to 17 % from 16.7 % and Morrisons went up to 12.1% from 11.7 %. TNS reported against the UK grocery sales rise 6%, Tescos sales rose 4% which below the market growth. However, Morrisons and Asda were all found beyond the growth of the market, seeing sales rise 9.7% and 7.2%. Moreover, the discounter supermarkets Aldi and Lidl also compete with Tesco as consumer cut back on spending during the recession. In addition, TNS also claimed that Waitrose, the John Lewis-own supermarket as the up-market grocer is fast growing in grocery market. On the other hand, because Tesco also set foot in non-food industry there are so many competitors such as Shell, BP, Amazon, O2, etc. To sum up, Tesco has highly threat from many competitors in both food and non-food industry. Therefore, Tesco must take its competitive advantages to prevent from threats of competitors. 17. Competitive Advantage of Tesco Through the porters 5 forces analysis the competitive advantages of Tesco can be outlined. First, the significant market power is the big advantage of Tesco. The great market power makes Tesco is able to put up barrier to new entrants and weaken the power of buyer and supplier; it also gives Tesco ability to beat the competitors. Second, namely cost advantage, the big economic scale enables Tesco to reduce the cost at extremely low level and thereby providing the low price to customers. Third, diversification makes Tesco has a further advantage to win the market because Tesco expands the broad markets such as financing, telecom and retail service rather than just food market and spread its business worldwide. To sum up, if Tesco follows its competitive strategy by aware of the threats and competitive advantages, it will keep the strong position in the industry and beat its competitors. 18. MARKETING MIX Firstly, the term Marketing Mix was widely adopted after Neil H. Boren published his article The Concept of the Marketing Mix in 1964, where he described marketing managers as a mixer of ingredients. The ingredients in Borens marketing mix included product, planning, pricing, packaging, branding, distribution channels, personal selling, advertising, promotions, display, servicing, physical handling, fact finding and analysis. Which was later grouped into four categories by E. Jerome McCarthy, today know as the 4Ps of marketing, shown below However, some people argue that along with the Marketing Mix 4 Ps concept, we should add another 2 Ps, which are people and packaging. 19. PRODUCT It is rare to discuss price without the presence of a product and to enable us understand the link between Price and Product. Kotler Armstrong (2006) define a product as anything that can be presented to a consumer for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. They further define a consumer product as the product bought by the final consumer for personal consumption. According to Ferrell (2005), the product is the core of the marketing mix strategy in which retailers can offer consumers symbolic and experiential attributes to differentiate products from competitors. However, it is also concerned with what the product means to the consumer. Product is about quality, design, features, brand name and sizes (Borden, 1984). Wulf et.al. (2005) found that private label products could offer even better quality than national brands but at a lower price. The domestic competitor reacts to the intensifying price competition by engaging in selective price cha nges. A product is a physical good, service, idea, person, or place that is capable of offering tangible and intangible attributes that individuals or organizations regard as so necessary, worthwhile or satisfying that they are prepared to exchange money, patronage or some other unit of value to acquire it. (Blythe 2007) Core products: Core Products are the core benefit that is being sought by the consumer by buying the product, like the cheaper call rates and ease of recharge top up available to Tesco Mobile customers. Actual /Tangible products: Actual Products are all the tangible features/benefits that are associated with the core product such as its features or design, level of quality, packaging, size. There is no clear distinction between a pure tangible product and a service. The Tescos give away deals for the new 3G i-phone deal Augmented products: are the intangible features/benefits associated with the core actual product such as the branding, warrantees, delivery, guarantee, and after sales service. Tesco mobile, for example, is a tangible product, but it often comes with a warranty and software updates. A firmsproduct line refers to the variety of similar commodities that the firm holds, Tesco for example, makes a large range of inter-related goods, Many of Tesco stores stock over 40,000 product lines. Even a Tesco Express stores stock a choice of well over 2,000 lines. ProductDepthrefers to the variety of commodities offered within each product line. Tesco stores stock : Healthy Living products, Free From products for people with food allergies and intolerances, Special healthy Kids snacks and Organic product lines and the recent announcement by the Tescobank CEO Benny Higgins of plans to launch an assault on the mortgage market by the end of 2010, hoping to take advantage of the current problems in the sector. Targeted at providingTescocustomers with financial advice, car and home insurance credit cards, mortgages and current accounts.(MINTEL 2009). Products often go through alife cycle.Initially, at the introduction stage a product is launched. Since the product is not well known and is usually expensive (e.g. the , as). Eventually, many products reach agrowthphase where sales increases dramatically. More firms enter with their models of the product, sometimes with added innovations. Unfortunately, the product reaches amaturitystage where little growth is sighted. For example, in the UK, almost every household has at least one stereo sound system. Some products may also reach adeclinestage, usually because the product is swapped for something better. For example, CDplayers experienced declining sales as more consumers switched to MP3 players and i-pods. Ansoff Theory is a series of suggested growth strategies that set the direction for the business plan. illustrated below Market Penetration: here the business strategy focuses on selling existing products in existing markets.This strategy aims at four major objectives: Maintaining the market share of current products Securing growth market Dominance Drive out competitors with support of an aggressive promotional campaign and favorable price strategy Increase product usage by existing customers e.g. With the Tesco Loyalty Club card scheme. Market Development: here the business strategy seeks to sell its existing product into a new market. The various approaches to this include: New geographical markets e.g.- exporting Tesco UK products to the Express shops in Ireland and Malaysia New Product Dimension or Packaging New Distributional channel Implementing different pricing policies for different markets segments Product Development: refers to a growth strategy where new products are initiated in existing markets. This often requires development of new competencies in the case of Tesco Bank and its new job vacancies for competencies in the financial sector. Diversification points to the growth strategy where a business markets a new commodity in a new market. Unfortunately, for this strategy to be adopted a clear objective of its advantages should be explored and risk assessments carried out seeing as the business may have little or no experience in the new area. Roughly one quarter of Tescos sales, was own label. Many leading retailing companies have substantial grocery interests. Of the top 25 companies in 1978, 22 were involved in groceries retailing, of which 10 can be considered leading firms in the groceries sector [Akehurst, 1983: 169, Table 5] 20. Price : Price refers to the value assigned to something by the seller to something purchased, offered for sale, to a buyer as their willingness to pay for the product and services delivered (Gilbert 1999). Price is the only element in the marketing mix that is revenue generating- all of the others are costs. It should therefore, be used as an active instrument of strategy in the major areas of marketing decision making. Pricing in the international setting is more complicated than in the domestic market, because of factors such as government influence and additional costs (Becker and Thorelli 1980). The price of an item is an important influence on the value of sales made. In theory, price is really determined by the discovery of what customers perceive is the value of the item on sale. Recent research has shown that demand-based pricing is associated with higher retailer gross margins; whereas past price dependence is associated with, lower retailer gross margins (Nijs, Srinivasan, and Pau wels 2007). There are a number of pricing policies used by Tesco today, which include: 21. Market-led Pricing: also known as competitive pricing, this simply accepts the price which competitors are charging for a product and then price its product at the same level or slightly lower in order to gain some advantage over competitors. Significantly found in markets where there is close competitors. For a company like TESCO it is important to monitor other competitors and in order to maintain customer loyalty against discounters, the adoption of a more aggressive pricing strategy was launch by the advent of budget private label ranges and backed up by advertising focusing on price comparisons. Despite challenges due to rising energy prices, but with innovations such as the reusable plastic trays, which was introduced in the fresh food areas have helped make savings these savings are pass on to customers. According to the OFT this led to a fall in real food price between 2000-2005.as shown below 22. Cost-Based Pricing: also known as cost plus Pricing, involves working out the businesss total fixed and variable costs and then adding a percentage of profit. Here the business has to consider the total number of items that it plans to produce and sell. The big advantage of cost-based pricing for TESCO is that the company is guaranteed to make a profit on its sales since it has covered its costs. However, in operating cost-based pricing it is very important to be aware of competitors price. However, this poses a threat when businesses are unable to sell the expected quantity of the product, perhaps because competitors are offering the same goods at a lower price. 23. Price wars In a competitive market such as grocery market, businesses sometimes engage in price wars in which prices of some goods are slashed to a very low price in order to secure sales. Price wars swamped grocery retailers, as the switch to private labels from branded packaged food continued to gather pace. For instance, Tesco and ASDA propose freezing of tax on some products at 15% despite an increase in rates to 17.5%(MMR 2010) This is risky because advantages gained are short-lived and rival, businesses tend to respond by slashing prices even further. If pursued long enough, price wars would cut profits seriously and in the end, only customers benefits by the low prices. 24. PENETRATION PRICING 25. ECONOMY PRICING: Stores such as TESCO, which allegedly charge the lowest prices, attract many consumers based on this conception alone (Peter Donnely, 2007). Among retail stores, the pricing strategy has become the fundamental point, as they need to compete in terms of pricing to lure more customers. Berman (1996) added that among the pricing policies which are of major concern to retail store outlets are the High-Low Pricing and Every Day Low Pricing (EDLP) strategies. This is sighted in operators who have significant economies of scale and buying power (Gilbert 1999). 26. VALUE PRICING This ensues where external factors such as the recession or increased competition forces companies to provide VALUE product and services to retain sales, they are especially important to families on a budget and have made a significant contribution to making healthy food accessible to all. Tesco now has in store 95 fresh fruit and vegetable value lines, and are working with the Pre-School Learning Alliance to help parents and children in some of the UKs most deprived areas make healthier choices. Value pricing may have a negative impact on the profit margin of the company (tesco.com N.D). 27. GEOGRAPHICAL PRICING This is evident where there are variations in price and demand in different parts of the world. TESCOs prices are a little higher in some town centre and neighbourhood stores because of higher overhead costs (mainly rents and rates). These costs are spread over a smaller volume of sales, and can only be recovered by charging prices that are, on average, higher. Example was when Tesco first moved into Ireland the products it sold was more expensive than they were in their UK stores (Irish Times 1998). This was because the UK suppliers were charging the Ireland stores more than they were charging the UK stores. This triggered some conspiracies and allegiances between key stakeholders in the industry resulting in a widespread anti-Tesco campaign (Poole and Clark 2002). In Conclusion Pricing a product too high or too low could mean a loss of sales for the organization. Therefore, appropriate pricing strategies and policies should be put in place for the various market segments, to ensure 28. PROMOTION Significant P in Marketing Mix 4P (Product, Price, Promotion and Place). Although the 4P characterization has led to widespread use of the term promotion for describing communications with prospects and customers, the term marketing communications is preferred by most marketing practitioners as well as by many educators. Consider that we may want to use marketing communications to refer to the collection of advertising, sales promotions, public relations, event marketing, and other communication devices. Promotion is considered as Sales Promotion (Shimp 2007). Marketing Communication is used by organisations to communicate with customers with respect to their product offerings. In this sense, Marketing Communication is one side of the communication process with customers. Market research, in which suppliers seek to elicit information on consumer requirements from consumers, is the complementary component of the communication process. The following summarises this very simply: (Rowley 1998). According to Rowley (1998) producer should communicate to reach the customers and in turn should listen to the customers needs and requirements to enhance the product and service. Tesco proudly announced that one of the reasons to its Success is listening to their Customers and its suppliers. Tesco has adopted multiple qualitative research techniques to reach their customers such as focus groups, accompanied shops, home visits to collect the feedback and respond quickly with corrective measures. Modestly they say, Its simple we listen and respond, providing customers with
Friday, October 25, 2019
Ordinary Feelings in Judith Guests Ordinary People :: Judith Guest Ordinary People Essays
Ordinary Feelings in Ordinary People à Ordinary People is a book that examines the life of a typical American family that seems to have it all together. It exposes the major conflicts among them; pain, misunderstanding, hurt, forgiveness, and ultimately if possible healing. Conrad - with the story told mostly through his perspective, he being the one furthering the resulting course of events and at the same time the protagonist and antagonist ? is the main character of the story. While boating on a lake with his older brother, a fierce gale picks up capsizing their boat and eventually leading to the death of his brother when he drowns. A failed suicide attempt by Conrad reveals how much he blames himself for the tragic turn of events and the lack of communication between him and his parents. The process of healing is painfully slow till the end. Conrad visits a psychiatrist, the conflict with his mother continues to grow and he somewhat patches up the relationship with his father. In the very end, Conrad learn s he cannot replace his dead brother and can only be himself; he is prepared for whatever might come. à There are many important themes and subjects addressed in the book. Most importantly is how Conrad deals with his emotions and comes to accept and forgive what has happened to him. And the author shows us that this can only be done by love, support, and trust. Conrad thinks by not expressing his emotions he is less vulnerable but instead he drifts farther apart from his family. The ordeal of attempted suicide and treatment has left him feeling insecure and vulnerable and he instinctively puts up shields. Trying to appear calm and determined on the outside, he is still very confused, angry and is afraid he slip away again only to kill himself. He still feels responsible for his brother's death due to the fact his mom doesn't want to forgive him and the only way to punish himself is to deny, suppress, and control his feelings lest they give him away. It is not until the very end when Conrad?s father, Calvin finally stops skirting around the subject but tells him that he lov es him and that they finally develop a sense of trust and security in one another: -
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Welfare and Drug Testing
The welfare program was designed to be a temporary solution to help families in need to get back on their feet, and meet their basic needs. It Is estimated that 50 to 80 percent of family based services involve drugs or alcohol abuse (Chug 2001). Some advantages of mandatory drug testing for welfare recipients are that it fosters self-reliance, averts abuse of the welfare system, gives people an opportunity to receive treatment, and ensures correct allocation of tax dollars. So why not drug test the recipients before a person an get qualified for services? Drug abuse has been a problem in the United States for a very long time.In the beginning before there were regulations narcotics were freely used In elixirs and other medical and homemade remedies. It was not until the effects of these drugs were known, and the damage was already done that government regulations were put into place. It has been determined that the use of drugs has been the main cause of most crimes in the United St ates. Statistically it has been shown that nearly half of the current inmate population has some history of drug abuse. It has been brought to the attention of legislators that there is a drug abuse problem within the welfare system.When the welfare reform act of 1996 was passed there was a provision stated to allow drug testing on an as needed basis. This protocol has not been widely used, and seems to have been forgotten, until now that is. The government has identified a problem within the welfare system, and would like to recoup some of the losses, and also help some of the individuals that do have a problem. Welfare was meant to be a temporary fixâ⬠to help a person get back on their feet. If a drug problem Is present, a person will tend to stay on the system, not be employable, and use the benefits for which they were not Intended.To get this issue in check law makers would like to see people be drug tested before being approved for benefits, and periodic random tests whi le they are receiving them as well. There are also provisions for persons who have a drug problem to receive the treatment they need. This pale chart represents the results off poll Fox News did In 2010. The question was, ââ¬Å"Do you Delves welfare recipients snouts De Aragua tested There are many different types of tests used to detect drugs in a person's yester. The type of testing used will be determined on the types of drugs being tested for and the cost effectiveness and time allotment.Some states are proposing the individual will pay for the testing, but will be reimbursed once the results come back negative. Other states are proposing the amount of money they will save by cutting back on benefit fraud will be more than enough to cover the costs of testing. The most cost effective and time efficient method of testing is urinalysis. This test can be administered in an office setting and the results are available immediately. The only down fall to this test is it can be beat b y taking herbal supplements that are made to mask the drug.It is also not accurate in testing for substances like cocaine and alcohol as they are not testable in the urine after 3 days. Hair testing is another option. This test is administered in a clinical setting, and requires small amounts of hair taken from different areas of the head. One inch of hair gives the clinician sixty days of history, and cannot be faked. Blood tests also require a clinical setting and a laboratory to read the results. With the last two options of testing turnaround time an be days, weeks, or months, and can be quite expensive.There are already a few states such as Michigan, Florida, and New Hampshire that have this protocol in place. The strongest argument for the testing of individuals is having such a program in place will help reduce the miss use and miss appropriation of taxpayer's monies. Governor Rick Scott, R Florida, states â⬠It's not right for taxpayer money to be paying for somebody's drug addiction, On top of that, this is going to increase personal responsibility, personal accountability. We shouldn't be subsidizing people's addiction. (Scott, 2011). The state of Florida approved this bill that took effect July 1, 2011.Governor Scott also stated ââ¬Å"It's the right thing for taxpayers,â⬠Scott said after signing the measure. ââ¬Å"It's the right thing for citizens of this state that need public assistance. We don't want to waste tax dollars. And also, we want to give people an incentive to not use drugs. â⬠(Scott, 2011) It is perceived it would help reduce domestic violence and other drug related crimes. Individuals would also receive intervention and care they might not normally have access to without this program. If an individual were to fail a drug test they would be given the option to enter a state treatment program.If the person was to refuse treatment or have a second offense after completing the treatment they would lose their benefits fo r a period of one year. As with all new laws trying to be passed there are also those who are against it. Opponents of drug testing believe that it is violating the constitutional protections in the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment to the U. S Constitution states, the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.Columnist William Safari in The New York Times writes, Not only is my home my castle, my body is my citadel. Unless I give you a probable cause to suspect me of a crime, what goes on in my home and body and mind is my business Robin Merrill of Maine Equal Justice, which provides legal services for the poor states, ââ¬Å"Random drug testing is very questionable legally with respect to constitutional issues. If the government has the right to drug- test people based on receipt of aid from public assistance programs, what is to stop en government Trot requiring Aragua tes ting Tort anyone won receives a student loan or any other government benefit?This law would create a very slippery slope with respect to infringement on people's right to privacy. â⬠Another point in question is will this really save the tax payers any money? How much will the added administrative personal and the testing itself cost? The Miami Herald reports that the savings in Florida could reach one hundred thousand dollars, but no reports of administrative costs have been reported. Adversaries also raise the question about discrimination and alienation. They believe that singling out individuals because of their financial status could be disastrous and have negative effects.Cutting off families benefits because of the actions of an individual could do more harm than good. Just because an individual has a substance abuse problem, how can you prove they are not using their benefits appropriately? (Dona 2005) Whether you are in favor or opposed to welfare recipients being drug tested, the issue is one that most people will encounter on Election Day. People who are in favor say testing will allow people to get help that otherwise would fall through the cracks. It would also raise the UN employment rate by allowing those individuals to become better qualified to obtain and keep Jobs.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Compare and Contrast Sainte-Foy and the Chartres Essay
Both the Chartres cathedral and the Saint-Foy have many things in common and also many things that differentiate them from one another. Firstly they are both Christian churches, so they were made to worship Jesus Christ as the lord and savior. They are both located in northern Europe ; the Chartres in Chartres, France as it is named after the town, and then the Saint-Foy in Conques, France. Both of them were undertakings in which they were paid for by the leaders of the cities they reside in. They both are very much a part of the towns they are in, whereas there are building and houses right next to the churches. They were both built in the cross as most Christian churches are built to symbolize the cross of Jesus, their savior. They were both made of stone which proved to have a lot to do with the architecture of the structures. For the most part those are the major similarities. The differences outweigh the similarities though. The construction and architecture of the buildings (outside of the cross shaped naive) would probably be the main differences. The roofs of the structures are built with different support systems. The Sainte-Foy has a rounded arch on the ceiling. While the Chartres has a triangular arch system that use ribs as the main support structure to keep the building up rather than a sturdy rounded arch. The Chartres cathedral was built mostly of rib like beams that connected at the ceilings so that they could make room for the stained glass windows that are to prevalent on the walls. The stained glass allowed for a more holy feeling to the church, in a sense where you stepped into a piece of heaven when inside, as the light reflected off the pieces of glass as they told stories of the life of Jesus and other Christian stories. Sainte-Foy didnââ¬â¢t have that much glass; it was a lot more structurally sound with its walls being made up mostly by stone. The walls of the churches are built differently where the Chartres cathedral has to have flying buttresses on the outsides of them so that there is more support on the building due to the fact that the infrastructure is made up lots of glass. The Chartres cathedral was very much built with a more vertical feel to it than did Sainte-Foy. At almost every instant there is something in the Chartres that is almost pulling your attention upward towards the heavens whether you were inside or outside of the church.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Cleopatra and the Peasant
Cleopatra and the Peasant Free Online Research Papers The French Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix painted the beautiful and vivid ââ¬Å"Cleopatra and the Peasantâ⬠in 1838. This impressive piece of art draws the viewersââ¬â¢ attention through its superb style, choice of vibrant colors, and its emotional tone. Paul Valà ©ry once said, ââ¬Å"The veritable tradition in great things is not to repeat what others have done, but to rediscover the spirit that created these great things.â⬠In his masterpiece, Eugà ¨ne Delacroix finds inspiration in William Shakespeareââ¬â¢s The Tragedy of Antony and Cleopatra, and uses this prototype to depict Act IV, Scene II. The motivations of the characters in Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play are parallel to the motivations of the two figures in Delacroixââ¬â¢s Cleopatra and the Peasant. Not only does the play influence Delacroixââ¬â¢s artistic style, but it shapes the painting itself (Johnson 81). The late 1800s brought about a new age of art as well as a new Romantic attitude. It started as an artistic and intellectual movement that emphasized a rebellion against established values such as social order and religion. Romanticism exalted individualism, imagination, and emotions emotion over reason and senses over intellect. Artists of the time, including Eugà ¨ne Delacroix, enjoyed depicting the extreme (Athanassoglou-Kallmyer 62-63). Whether it be the heroes of ancient Greek myths, the remote passage of St. Gothard, or the noble Washington as he crossed the Delaware, Romanticism depicted what ordinary people only dared to imagine. In Delacroixââ¬â¢s Cleopatra and the Peasant, the viewer observes the sense of wonder that denotes a painting of the Romantic era (Trapp 338). Delacroixââ¬â¢s artwork, similarly to Shakespeareââ¬â¢s, first draws the audienceââ¬â¢s attention to Cleopatra. When viewing Delacroixââ¬â¢s Cleopatra and the Peasant, the eye instantly falls upon the beautiful, white face of the queen. Her pristine skin illuminates the chamber in which she sits and her jewelry sparkles brilliantly. Luxurious jewels adorn her right arm, her neck and her crown, reinforcing the contrast with her pale flesh as well as giving away her royal status. Delacroix immediately bestows upon her an almost immortal persona with her radiance and extensive signs of wealth. Shakespeare paints a similar picture of the fair queen within his play. The audience first sees Cleopatra in her Alexandrian Palace, as eunuchs fan her and her court stands around her. Immediately Shakespeare establishes her nobility and her importance. To Antony, she is worth his reputation; she is worth everything he owns. He risks his country, his name, and his pride for her lo ve. Cleopatraââ¬â¢s beauty and sexuality, which, as Enobarbus points out in his famous description of her in Act II, scene II, is awe-inspiring. However, Cleopatra, captured by the Romans, faces humiliation, degradation, and belittlement as she sits in her chamber. Her love, Antony, has fallen at the hand of Caesar, while she, his beautiful wife, waits captive. The Romans plan to parade her through their streets, destroying the status she has held for so long, and to perform a play about her in which Cleopatra will be played by a young boy, belittling her royally (Shakespeare 133). Above all else, her lover has been killed; she has a choice to make. This ambiguity between a life of humiliation and death is what Delacroixââ¬â¢s has tried to depict. At second glance of his painting, the viewer notices that darkness exists there. Shadowed, her most beautiful feature contrasts her glow, suddenly changing the once-noble gaze to an ominous stare. Focusing on no object in particular, Cleopatra instills worry in her viewerââ¬â¢s heart. A looming darkness made up of blacks, browns, and tans forces her to the left side of her ornate chair. As she rests on her right arm, Cleopatra beckons the audience to discover the motivation for the sudden sense of doom. The eye travels left to the burly figure serving his queen. A male servant stands, slouched with a basket in hand. One first notices the contrast in his darkened face. An unrestrained beard provides an unbounded masculinity. Dark, monstrous muscles and huge, knotty hands add to his manliness. His rough face casts shadows over his jagged collarbone and dirty fingernails. Where Cleopatra possesses light pinks and blues to highlight her skin, this peasant possesses red. In every corner of his body, Delacroix uses shades of red and burgundy to delineate and elucidate. He wears a red garment about his waist and a rugged leopard skin over his shoulder, concealing the basket he presents to the queen. Interestingly, in the play, the peasantââ¬â¢s name is Clown. When one thinks of a clown, a sense of exaggeration comes to mind. Delacroixââ¬â¢s character definitely possesses embellished characteristics. He brings comfort to his queen, and this is apparent in his stance and sm ile. A closer look at the peasantââ¬â¢s load reveals the image of a snake nested in the basket of fig-leaves and fruit, raising her head between the manââ¬â¢s muscular right arm and his spotted pelt. The snakeââ¬â¢s writhing form seems to be the only moving object in the painting and together with its green and yellow scales make it the paintingââ¬â¢s most realistic element. Once the snakeââ¬â¢s presence is noted, the painting has new significance. It becomes evident that Cleopatraââ¬â¢s face is turned towards the basket of figs and her solemn facial expression is probably influenced by the presence of the snake. Nevertheless, the peasantââ¬â¢s smile now looks somehow inviting and it creates the impression that he is offering the basket of figs to Cleopatra. Yet, despite the unusual offer, the Egyptian queenââ¬â¢s expression does not show any trace of fear. Shakespeare writes a brief scene between the queen and Clown which clarifies that the ââ¬Å"pretty worm of Nilusâ⬠has a bite from which those bitten ââ¬Å"seldom or never recoverâ⬠(134). As soon as Clown convinces Cleopatra of its certain danger, she sends him out. She has the information she needs; her plan is set. Before the servant leaves the chamber, he emphasizes the snakeââ¬â¢s power, ââ¬Å"Look you, the worm is not to be trusted but in the keeping of wise people, for indeed there is no goodness in the wormâ⬠(135). Still Cleopatra bids him leave. On his exit, the peasant wishes the queen the ââ¬Å"joy oââ¬â¢ thââ¬â¢ wormâ⬠(135). This final comment adds just the right amount of irony to the entire situation, and the viewer can detect this irony in the peasantââ¬â¢s strange stare. Stepping back and viewing Delacroixââ¬â¢s piece as a whole with a vague sense of what is about to take place, a viewer notices small details that fortify his dark hypothesis. Elements such as the dirt under the manââ¬â¢s fingernails, the individual fingerprints, and the folds of skin above his knuckles become more apparent and lucid the closer they are to the snake. The snake appears to be highlighted by detail. More symbolically, the peasantââ¬â¢s left hand is uncovering the basket, and above this hand, the dark leopard skin folds over to reveal perfect whiteness. This portion of the fur is the lightest, smoothest feature on the left side of the painting, luring the woman. The queen cowers from the darkness behind her denoting the terrible events which have occurred, and that she is turning to her only means of escape. To highlight the themes of his work, Delacroix employs a great deal of contrast in his painting. The space behind Cleopatra and the peasant is entirely painted in dark colors. By concealing any details about the background, the artist emphasizes the significance of this moment between Cleopatra and the peasant. The peasant wears a slight smile that contrasts with the womanââ¬â¢s solemn stare. The clear size contrast between the figures creates an intense feeling and gives the impression of uncertainty. The queen, the image of paramount femininity, chooses death over a darkened life while his peasant, a seemingly brutish juggernaut, offers her a simplistic solution. Delacroix contrasts beauty and ugliness, illustrating the juxtaposition of the sublime and the grotesque. In between the two he places that which is deadly, symbolically contrasting life and death in the mind of the entranced Cleopatra, whose next move is imminent. In Shakespeareââ¬â¢s writings, as Cleopatra ap plies the asp to her bosom she cries to the guard, ââ¬Å"Peace, peace! Do you not see my baby at my breast, that sucks the nurse asleep?â⬠She dies instantly (Shakespeare 150). The two contrary individuals create a balanced irony as the eye races over their chamber. Cleopatra and the Peasant leads us to discover the complexities Delacroix so ingeniously hid in the work and their correlation to Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play. Delacroixââ¬â¢s subtle clues, hidden in the delicate details not only lead the viewer to the source of Cleopatraââ¬â¢s suffering, but also to the beauty and mystery behind her actions. Delacroixââ¬â¢s interpretation of Shakespeareââ¬â¢s play contains a level of genius that is apparent through his style, rich, luminous color, vibrant brushwork, and turbulent composition that nevertheless contribute to the intense emotional tone of the painting. After viewing Cleopatra and the Peasant one possesses a deeper understanding of Shakespeareââ¬â¢s tone as well as his themes of honor, reason, and emotion. Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, Nina Maria. Eugà ¨ne Delacroix: Prints, Politics and Satire (1814-1822). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991. Johnson, Lee. The Paintings of Eugà ¨ne Delacroix: A Critical Catalogue. New York: Oxford University Press, 1986. Shakespeare, William. Anthony and Cleopatra. Ed. A.R. Braunmuller. New York: Penguin Books , 1999. Trapp, Frank Alexander. The Attainment of Delacroix. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1970. Research Papers on Cleopatra and the PeasantHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementWhere Wild and West MeetMind TravelAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeThe Spring and AutumnThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andComparison: Letter from Birmingham and Crito
Monday, October 21, 2019
The Aftermath of the Enron Scandal
The Aftermath of the Enron Scandal Introduction The Enron Scandal, uncovered in 2001, was one of the largest accounting frauds in history. The fraud occurred as a result of accounting gaps and poor financial reporting which allowed top executives to conceal billions of debts from failed deals and projects. The companyââ¬â¢s CFO and other executives not only lied to its BOD and audit team on risky accounting norms, but also pressed Arthur Andersen to ignore the issues.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The Aftermath of the Enron Scandal specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Arthur Andersen was handling Enronââ¬â¢s auditing activities during this period. As a result of the Enron scandal, shareholders lost billions of dollars and the company was eventually declared bankrupt. Arthur Andersen willingly surrendered its licenses to practice auditing in the US and sold most of its practices (Healy Palepu, 2003). As a result of the scandal, a number of regulat ions were implemented by the government to prevent similar activities from happening again. The most common piece of legislation implemented was the Sarbanesââ¬âOxley Act. Sarbanesââ¬âOxley Act This act was signed into law in 200 and hence sometimes referred to as the Sarbanesââ¬âOxley Act of 2002. The act set new or improved standards for all American-based public company boards, management and public accounting and auditing companies (Kuschnik, 2008). The act was enacted following a series of accounting scandals by large corporations in the US, including Enron, Tyco International and WorldCom. The scandals cost shareholders and tax collection agencies billions in dollars, affected share prices, and led to the collapse of some of the companies. The Sarbanesââ¬âOxley Act comprises of 11 titles ranging from supplementary management board roles to criminal penalties, and compels the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to implement the outlines of the act. Key prov isions of the act include disclosure controls, improper influence on conduct of audits, disclosures in quarterly reports, evaluation of internal controls, and criminal penalties for violating the provisions of the act (Farrell, 2005). Under disclosure controls, the Act sets out internal processes aimed at ensuring accurate financial reporting. The signing officers must verify that they are ââ¬Å"responsible for establishing and maintaining internal controlsâ⬠and the officers must have assessed the efficiency of the firmââ¬â¢s internal controls as current three months prior to the report (Kuschnik, 2008). Further, external auditors are obliged to provide their opinions on the effectiveness of the internal controls during financial reporting (Kuschnik, 2008). The title on improper influence on conduct of audits states that is illegal for an officer (or any other person acting under the commissionââ¬â¢s mandate) to partake in any activity meant to falsely sway, force, infl uence, or misinform any independent public or certified accountant undertaking audit of the financial statements of that company.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Under the title on disclosures in quarterly (or periodic) reports, the Act requires the disclosure of all material off-balance sheet items. The SEC is further expected to monitor the use of such instruments and whether accounting doctrines have been thoroughly adhered to in the use of such instruments. Finally, under evaluation of internal control, management is obliged to give an ââ¬Å"internal control reportâ⬠that confirms the managementââ¬â¢s role of setting up and maintaining an acceptable internal control structure and techniques for financial reporting (Kuschnik, 2008). The report must also contain an evaluation as of the end of the most recent financial year of the firm, of the efficiency of the internal control structures and processes. The Sarbanesââ¬âOxley Act has been commended by a number of financial industry experts, quoting enhanced investor confidence and more precise periodic and fiscal financial reports. References Farrell, G. (2005). America Robbed Blind. Texas: Wizard Academy Press. Healy, P. M. Palepu, K. G. (2003). The Fall of Enron. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 17(2), 7. Kuschnik, B. (2008). The Sarbanes Oxley Act. Business Law Journal, 18(6), 64 ââ¬â 95.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Properties of PVC/ABS blends
Properties of PVC/ABS blends Introduction Polymer blending is one of the fastest growing areas of polymer technology. Blending of polymer has become an increasingly important technique because it is an economical, viable and versatile way in which new material can be produced with a wide range of properties by merely using conventional processing equipment such as extruder or internal mixer. Polyvinyl chloride is most versatile material in plastic family and second largest consumption material in plastic industries compared to polyolefinââ¬â¢s. It is characterized by rigidity, hardness, excellent tensile modulus and low cost. However, it has low impact strength and poor thermal stability. Which limitââ¬â¢s itââ¬â¢s used. Similarly, Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Styrene (ABS) is one of most largely used engineering plastics. It has excellent mechanical, thermal, electrical & chemical properties. Followed by inferior properties such as poor weather resistance, highly flammable and merely high cost. Polyvinyl c hloride is largely blended with number of polymers and rubbers. In most cases, to improve properties of PVC and rarely to improve properties of other materials. One of most inferior properties of PVC is low impact strength. To overcome this problem, it is blended with many rubbery materials. It has been shown that impact strength of PVC increases by blending with rubbery material such as NBR, SBR etc. But, it follows the decrease in tensile strength, rigidity and in most cases thermal stability. Hence to achieve high impact strength, better thermal properties along with rigidity, PVC is blended with ABS. The blend of PVC and ABS posses their advantage of impact strength, rigidity, chemical resistance, electrical properties and overall low cost. In ABS, generally the rubbery phase is made of emulsion polymerized polybutadiene, which constitutes the main polymer chain. The glassy phase is made of styrene and acrylonitrile grafted on Polybutadiene. Thus, it combines the impact strength of rubber and tensile strength, heat stability of styrene Acrylonitrile (SAN) Matrix. Thus properties of styrene acrylonitrile (SAN) and polybutadiene are imparted in PVC/ABS blend. Compatibility of Polyblend of PVC/ABS blends Compatibility is characteristics, which shows that components of blends are soluble in one another in all proportion. However, compatible blends are susceptible to phase separation at elevated temperature. While preparing blend, it is necessary to consider compatibility of components of blend with each other, which are used to prepare blends. In case of PVC/ABS blend, PVC and ABS are used as blend components. ABS is made by emulsion polymerization of SAN grafted by Polybutadiene. Polystyrene and Polybutadiene, have solubility parameter close to PVC. Although, solubility parameter of PS and Polybutadiene are close to PVC, they do not have good compatibility because of their being non-polar nature. While Acrylonitrile imparts good compatibility because of itâ⠬â¢s polar nature (as shown in table). Solubility parameter of components of PVC/ABS blend à Yodouchi and Seto reported that in ABS material, the brittle and glassy component ( PS and SAN) improves tensile strength while Polybutadine contribute to toughness. The mechanical properties have been shown to be affected by type of ABS used, due to different Polybutadiene content.
Friday, October 18, 2019
Evidence, Proof, Argument AND Criminal Law Speech or Presentation
Evidence, Proof, Argument AND Criminal Law - Speech or Presentation Example In the case, your honor, the defendant confronted the victim for raping his girlfriend. The defendant stabbed the victim and he died. He was convicted of murder, but later appealed on the defense of loss of control. The defendantââ¬â¢s appeal was dismissed on the grounds that he was aware of what he was doing. It was established in the ruling that loss of temper cannot be confused with loss of control. Loss of control is defence only where the mind is not in control of the body. The defendant in the case before us today was aware of what was going on around him during the attack If it pleases your Honour, I would go through the qualifying triggers under section 55 (3) (4) of the Act in relation to the case at hand, to demonstrate why loss of control should be withdrawn. The defendant did not express any serious fear towards the victim either by words or actions. The victim was merely acting in defense of his friend, knowing a little more than what he saw after being woken up. Instead of fighting back, was it possible for the defendant to surrender? In the case of R v Martin (Anthony) [2002] WRL1; [2002] CAR 27 Crim LR 136; the defendant shot a burglar (the victim) and argued that it was out of self defence. The defence was not available because the level of force used was more than reasonable. The defendant was convicted of murder. In his witness, Detective Sergeant Philip Dennis said that the defendant was examined and it was found that the damage was not too severe and he was fit to be detained and interviewed. This shows that the victim attack did not threaten the life of the defendant and it was unreasonable to stab him. In the tape recording of the interview, the defendant expressed no remorse that the victim was dead. Was the defendant in this case your honour seriously wronged by the victimââ¬â¢s words and actions leading him to act out of character? I believe not. The defendantââ¬â¢s behaviour provoked
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)