David Livingstone Man Of Prayer And Action Essays -

David Livingstone ? Man of Prayer and Action Author: C. Silvester Horne, M.P. David Livingstone was a faithful pioneer missionary whose greatest desire was granted only after his death ? the stopping of the slave trade and opening up Africa to Christianity and lawful commerce. Livingstone was born on March 19th, 1813 at Blantyre, Lankshire. He was raised in a pious but poverty stricken home in Scotland. By the age on 9, he had already memorized Psalm 119 and won a copy of the New Testament as a prize. He worked 14 hours a day when he was just 10 years old at a cotton-spinning factory. Livingstone spent 10 years in the cotton mill, then he set out to study medicine and theology. David liked to study. After his 14-hour workday, he would come home and start studying his Latin until his mother would come in and put out his candle. All these years of studying paid off when he reached the college age. Glasgow University was the closest college, so David and his father went there and he entered as a student majoring in Greek and medicine. The money for his education was not easily acquired, but somehow he always managed to get it on time. Early in winter of 1836, David and his father went to Glasgow and, all day, searched for a room for David, and finally after a full day's searching, they found a room which could be rented for two shillings a week. During his second session at Glasgow, David made one of the most important decisions in his life. He decided to offer himself as a missionary for foreign services. He was chosen for the London Missionary Society because of his sympathy with the nondenominational structure of its basis. In November of 1840, he was able to return to Glasgow and qualify as a Licentiate of the Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons, and sometime later, he said good-bye to the old folks at home. On the 20th of November, he was ordained and sailed to South Africa. This trip took 5 months, and finally he landed at Algoa Bay. He started into the deep jungles of Africa on his first missionary trip, and it proved to be no walk in the park... it was a walk in a jungle. David Livingstone's main goal in life was to stop the slave trade in Africa and open it up to Christianity. This was his first step. One day while hunting for lions to eat, Livingstone and his party hadn't had much luck finding any lions. They figured that they would go back to the campsite and wait for another day to come to hunt again. On their way back, it was quiet... a little too quiet. Livingstone was in the lead position heading back for the campsite, when he turned and looked to his left side, and all of the sudden, a lion jumped out from out of the bushes and latched onto Livingstone's left arm. The lion was as tall as Livingstone was when standing up and he was shaking Livingstone's arm like a terrier dog does a rat. Fortunately, the lion released him and set it's sights on the others in the party. But, the others were carrying rifles. Lion charges, the men shoot and kill the lion. Livingstone escaped marvelously well, but his shoulder bone and upper arm were chewed and the bone was shattered into splinters. Surprisingly enough, Livingstone claimed there was no sensation of pain or fear when the lion att acked him. Once David had recovered from the lion's attack, they journey continued. David's wife and children desperately missed him, and he wrote them telling them that he would be coming home in 2 years. 5 years later, he still hadn't come home. At almost 6 years, he returned home, still not reaching his goal. His goal was to get to the center of the slave trade - a city called Chitambo. He was home for about a year, the went back to Africa. This time he bought a boat to use in rivers instead of walking. This came in handy, but it sank. Oh well. Tough luck I guess. Anyway, the rest of the way there they were forced

The Consequences of Journey

The Consequences of Journey

The case report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The case report - Essay Example It is an intentional and goal oriented programme. Change can also be unplanned. This is when an organisation is forced by circumstances to change some or all of its processes, strategies, systems or any aspect of its operations in order to remain in operation or perform better. In this case change is reactive. Apart from whether change is planned or unplanned, there are also different perspectives on the nature of change process. The planned approach assumes that the change process is linear and carefully crafted with several identifiable steps, which follow, in a sequential order. Another perspective, however believes that this linear, orderly fashion does not suit the complex and rapidly changing environment in which businesses operate. There is the issue of the locus of emphasis in initiating and implementing change programmes. Three schools of though have also emerged in this regard. There is the Individual Perspective School which believes that the locus of change should be the individual. The Group Dynamics School believes that organisational change should best be achieved through groups and that behaviour of individuals should be changed by influencing group norms, roles, and values. Then the Open System School sees organisations as consisting of several systems and also being parts of the larger system. Thus the internal subsystems interact among themselves while the organisation as a whole interact with the external environment. Changes in any parts of the system affect the other subsystems and also the general performance. TERMS OF REFERENCE: Report how to manage change for a case company Type of assessment - Individual Draft a job description advertising for a change agent suitable for this case organisation. From the points raised by the General Manager, Steve Humphries, it would be good to look at the following areas, which will form a yardstick on which basis decision as to whether or not change is necessary can be taken, what type of change, when and how. Let us look at the strengths of Polyflow Plastics & Packaging Limited: [1] Good contract from established customers [2] Sub-contracts from fellow competitors in the industry [3] Contacts all over London and South East [4] Customer satisfaction due to personal attention by the MD [5] Experienced workers [6] Big market in the packaging products line From the above, it can be noticed that presently there are good contracts both from organisations [established customers] as well as from competitors. From all indications, this has boosted the earnings of the organization and makes

School Safety and Security Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 84

School Safety and Security - Case Study Example During a normal school hour, for example, a crisis management requires the input of the principle, security officers, counselors and the society’s security managers. Â  The case at Central Park High School requires effective crisis management in order to protect both Brian’s family and the disturbed Carl Turner who appears disturbed. As the principal, I would consider Turner’s records of fighting as relevant in managing the case. The history of a student provides adequate information on both his mindset and behaviors. This way, it becomes possible to take the necessary precautions thus protecting Brian and his family from any possible threat that Turner Presents. Â  Turner’s absence from the fourth lesson, while he was in class for the last three lessons, portrays ineffective management of the school. The school lacks an effective system of tracking the students and their actions at any given time during the day. This creates a chance for Turner to sneak out of class. Despite such, Turner’s absence from class influence the decisions on the case since it implies that Turner is free to do whatever he pleases. As such, the principle must contact all the parties involved in the case thus minimize the threat. Â  As the principle, I would guarantee the safety of Brian and his sister especially when they are in school. Additionally, I would ensure that I find Turner. This may require the involving the police especially after confirming his absence from the school premises. In doing these, I would involve the various stakeholders as principal Milhoviak does. The security guard has a history of working with the city’s security system. As such, he understands the threat the case presents and the way the police should handle the whole case.

Strategic Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Strategic Management - Assignment Example The core competencies of an organisation are focused on satisfying customer needs and demands to achieve more than average returns (Thompson, 2001). The Business-level strategies help the organisation to achieve its targets. The actions of Business level strategies provide value to customers and help the organisation to gain a competitive advantage (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). The Business-level strategies are also concerned with the position of the firm in an industry, with respect to competitors and to the five forces of competition (Hill, Jones and Schilling, 2014). A competitive advantage is a benefit which is gained over its rivals by a company by offering customers value for the products, through lower prices or by providing additional benefits and service that can justify similar or higher prices (Ansoff and McDonnell, 1990). Manufacturers or producers who are involved in niche marketing, exploring a competitive advantage, to them it means increased profit and a sustainable business and its success over the long term (Pearce and Robinson, 2000). The following categorisation defines competitive advantage better and discusses several strategies which help in building a competitive advantage of a company. Cost Leadership is a strategy by which the company makes continuous efforts to cut costs relative to its competitors (Goldman and Nieuwenhuizen, 2006). Here the company aims to compete for a wide range of customers based on price. Differentiation is a strategy by which a unique feature in the product provides value to the customers. It is created by lowering buyer’s cost, sustainability and raising buyer’s performance (Stevenson and Hojati, 2007). In Focused low cost strategy, the company selects a small segment of market to sell its products or services at a competitive price (Thompson, et al., 2008). In

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay

A Basic Model Of Consumer Decision Making Marketing Essay The demographic environment is defined as the demographic factors that marketers used to analyze market trends by segmenting the targeted population. BusinessDictionary.com, 2013. It consists of six factors which are; population ethnic mix, education levels, population size and rate of growth, age distribution and migration shifts and attributes. According to statistics, Singapore Residents Growth Rate has decreased from 0.9 to 0.8 from 2010 to 2011 (Department Of Statistics Singapore [DOSS], 2012). However, the growth rate is insignificant as compared to the Non-Residents which grew from 4.1 to 6.9 ( DOSS, 2012). As most of the non-residents are workers that cater to the low end jobs in Singapore, they do not earn high income and may find Singapore Airlines (SIA) too expensive. Therefore, SIA view it as an opportunity to launch a budget airline service to cater to this group. The age distribution of the Singapore population also affects the marketing strategies of SIAs decision to launch Scoot. Singapores population percentage for ages between 45 and over accounted for 38.4% (DOSS, 2012). This is a significant result and it indicates a trend to an ageing population. It is projected that by 2030, there will be a 2.1 replacement ratio to each citizen above age 65 (Our Demographic Challenges And What These Mean To Us, n.d.). Therefore, compared to SIA, the lower cost fare of Scoot is able to cater to this group of consumers as many of the aged are retirees who may not be able to afford the standard flight fare. This may be due to reasons such as not having stable incomes, high medical and living expenses. The other group of consumers that may opt for cheaper ticket fares are the young adults. They are aged between 15 to 34 and accounted for 28.4% of the population (DOSS, 2012). They represent an opportunity for Scoot as their commitments to family, work and study means they may have to control their expenses. Thus, they may have lower purchasing power and might be unable to afford SIAs travel fares. In addition, foreigners are projected to take up half of Singapores population by 2030 (Singapore Population Half Foreigners By 2030, 2013). This trend can be attributed to the migratory movement of foreigners from developing countries such as India and China to Singapore. They come from different parts of China and India and pose an opportunity for Scoot. Thus, this provides a wider targeted consumer group for marketers to promote their services. Citing from the case study, it states that Scoot, which will compete in the growing low-cost travel sector, will fill a gap that now exists within the group. This group of commuters may travel back to their own countries annually for festive seasons or visiting of families and would not desire an expensive trip to exotic countries for holidays such as Europe or Japan. Therefore, SIA launched Scoot to provide low cost travels for these expanding targeted consumers to increase its profitability. To further maximize its market potential, the c ase study also states that Scoot will do longer flights, to Australia, China, India and eventually Europe. Thus, SIA aims to create more opportunities by increasing services to this group of people. The political-legal environment is defined as the legal and political factors that affect marketing decision making strategies. The factors are; changes in business legislation and laws, the number and strength of special interest groups and market reforms and corruption. The recent growth of special interest groups over the years may have contributed to SIAs decision to launch Scoot to serve the lower income consumers needs. The groups such as CASE (Consumer Association Of Singapore) serves to protect the consumers interest, educate and inform the consumers. It also ensures business ethics within the company by advocating fairer legislation. Since SIA is a private competitive firm with no government intervention, it has to maintain constant good services to consumers. Since such consumerist movement is increasing and SIA being one of largest airline company, it will need to establish relationships with consumers and formulate policies to increase consumers interest and reduce custom er complaints. With regards to the political-legal factor, Singapore is liberal in its aviation policy and has continue to adopt this policy in recent times by signing agreements with more countries such as United Kingdom, United States, United Arab Emirates , New Zealand and other countries (The impact of international air service liberalization on Singapore, 2009). This allows Scoot with its bigger aircrafts to fly to more destinations and longer distances where other budget airline competitors cannot reach. The economic environment is defined as the economic factors that affect the marketing decision making strategies. The economic factors include income distribution and savings, debt and credit availability of the population. As per reported, the income levels of all classes have risen over the years. The median monthly household income has risen from 5,600 SGD per month per household in 2010 to 6,310 SGD per month per household in 2011 (DOSS, 2012). Although median income has increased, majority of the increment is due to a raise in the income for the higher income group. The middle and lower income groups might not have higher income and might even be worse off due to inflation. The rich are getting wealthier and the poor are getting poorer. Hence SIA can cater to the wealthier consumers who want premium air travel services and Scoot can cater to people who need to travel at a budget air fare (Scoot: Asias Newest Low-Cost Airline, 2012). The other factor is Singapore populations savings, debt, and credit availability. The Singapore economy has contracted in the 2nd quarter in 2011 triggered by the economic crisis that happened in 2008 (Singapore may escape technical recession but downside risks remain, 2011). This uncertain outlook of the economy combined with inflation rate at 5.7%, (Global recession likely, Singapore says, 2011) may have contributed to SIAs launch of Scoot. With higher inflation rate and slower economic growth, people may be worried about the future and cut back on unnecessary expenditures. Consumers may choose to travel by other cheaper alternatives hence, demand for SIAs flight services will decrease. However, the trend of Singapores future economy and inflation rate remains uncertain as economists have forecasted that for 2013, median inflation rate for CPI would be high at 3.0% (Monetary Authority Of Singapore, 2012). Singapores GDP forecasted growth is expected to be between 1% to 3% indicating a slow economic growth ( Singapore economy expected to grow 1-3% in 2013, 2012). Thus, majority of the people in Singapore are most likely going to save more and spend less on luxury goods and services like expensive air fares which will lead to a decrease in the demand for SIA air travel. As disposable income reduces, more people would opt for budget airlines such as Scoot, Tiger Airways and Jetstar Asia for air traveling. This presents an opportunity for Scoot to expand its services. However, it might be a threat if competitors pricing of tickets are comparatively lower and economy continues to shrink in the future. Question 2 All companies which render services to customers should be highly sensitive to their own service quality and achieved level of customer satisfaction. Service quality is the totality of features and characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs (Kotler, Keller, Ang, Leong, Tan, 2009). Companies performances may fall short, meet or exceed customers expectations. Therefore, companies performances and customers expectations determine customer satisfaction which is customers feelings of pleasure or disappointment resulting from comparing a product or services perceived performance (or outcome) in relation to his or her expectations (Kotler et al., 2009). A business entitys main aim should be to generate consistent profits for its shareholders or owners. Sustained profitability is achieved when companies yield revenue streams that exceed the cost streams of attracting, selling and servicing the customers over time (Kotler et al., 2009). Scoot is a budget airline which strives to be sustainable, at the same time retaining and expanding its market share through ensuring desired service quality and achieving customer satisfaction. For cost reduction purposes, Scoot emphasizes to its customer that they are no-frills. With the removal of certain features which are prominent in full-service airlines, it is unavoidable that customers will make comparisons and mark down the service quality of Scoots flights. Scoot has made conscious efforts to distance itself from its parent company Singapore Airlines (SIA), as well as to create deeper impressions in its customer that it is a budget airline, by having its cabin crew to wear casual crew uniform (Kaur, 2011). With the use of Boeing 777 aircrafts, Scoot provides its customers with more leg space and rooms in the aircrafts to maneuver. This gives Scoot a comparative advantage over its budget airlines, which usually operate smaller aircrafts. Air travelers are expected to be more hands-on when they travel on budget airlines. With no dedicated customer service platform available to these air travelers, they have to navigate the budget airlines websites and online systems themselves, in order to obtain information or make amendments to their bookings. With large pool of available resources and experience, SIA has an efficient and comprehensive online system for its customer. Through the introduction of SIA, Scoot can discuss with SIAs service providers on how to design and implement a user-friendly online system, which is cost effective at the same time. Even though Scoot will not respond to complaints from its customers, they must take note of the complaints and implement corrective and preventive measures, in order to maintain or even improve service quality. Additionally, Scoot can also provide Feedback forms to its customers. This will give quick and accurate information on their service quality, at relatively low costs. Like most if not all budget airlines, Scoot does not offer flight packages which include free in-flight entertainment, food and drinks. With the limited services provided, it is difficult for Scoot to achieve customer satisfaction. Therefore, Scoot has to focus on constantly improving its performances, as well as to mitigate the expectations of its customers. SIA is world renowned to provide great services to its customers, therefore meeting or even exceeding the expectations of its customers. Scoot can leverage on SIAs experiences and methods, as well as the trainings regimes provided to its staff, in order to achieve similar results and have a pool of well-trained staff. Scoot has vigorously tried to shed the public impression of it being a subsidiary of SIA. The marketing strategy of Scoot has to continue in this line, that is to distance itself from premium, full-service carriers and to be in the same market as other budget airlines. Scoot can distance itself from full-service carriers, by having its customer to board and alight from its aircrafts in the same airline terminals also utilized by other budget airlines. This could also prevent customers from using full-service carrier expectations, to judge the performances of Scoot. Scoot will be able to achieve fuel-efficiency by using Boeing 777 aircrafts. This allows Scoot to have lower costs than its competitors who are using older and less fuel-efficient aircrafts. With greater savings from less fuel consumption, Scoot should pass on some of the cost-saving benefits to its consumers. For example, Scoot can afford to reduce its air ticket prices due to lower costs. This will enable Scoot to maintain and capture a bigger market share through securing new customers from its competitors. With the advancement in technology and the popularized use of social media, many companies have turn to social media and internet to advertise their products and services. Scoot has actively tried to portray a lively and young image. Therefore, they should further strengthen this image, as well as to reach out to greater market of potential customers, by exploring and utilizing the social media platform. For example, Scoot can engage fresh-faced foreign celebrities with positive images who are active on the social media platforms, to be their spokespersons in destinations where they wish to gain greater market share. This couples with more online advertising spending, could assist Scoot to reach out to greater diversity of air travelers who are not based in Singapore. Budget airlines like Scoot face mammoth tasks in achieving desired levels of customer satisfaction and service quality, while cutting costs and maximizing revenues to ensure sustained profitability. With concerted efforts in providing basic and necessary services, as well as improving performances and lowering expectations, Scoot can secure its customer base and reduce operating costs which will in turn result in Scoot meeting its main aim of earning consistent revenues and profits. Question 3(a) With the availability of a wide range of choices for air traveling, which includes budget and full-service airlines, air travelers will make thorough comparisons to decide on the most value for money option for leisure travel and business purposes. The procedure from recognizing a need to fulfilling it is shown in Figure 3.1 which is a form of cognitive learning that depicts the five-stage decision making process model. The definition of consumer learning is the process by which individuals acquire the purchase and consumption knowledge and experience they apply to future related behaviour (Belch, Belch, Guolla, 2011). Figure 3.1 A basic model of consumer decision making. (Source) According to Bauer, Consumer behavior involves risk in the sense that any action of a consumer will produce consequences which he cannot anticipate with anything approximating certainty, and some of which at least are likely to be unpleasant (1960, p. 24). Thus, consequences and uncertainty are the two basic factors that are used to determine the level of perceived risks. Bauer stresses that his main concern is only with subjective (perceived) risk and not real world (objective) risk. This is because consumers will only buy a product that he believes to be good and trustworthy. Perceived risk might not be actual risk but the amount of risk a consumer believes that could be incurred when he buys a certain product from a certain vendor (Kotler et al., 2009). The risks include functional, physical, psychological, financial and time risks. Functional risk occurs when the product is not up to consumers perceived level of service. As Scoot is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA), most of us will expect it to be exceptional. However, Scoot is a budget airline and hence, like all other budget airlines, its main concern is to provide cheap air transportation. The basic air fare covers only transportation from one point to another. So, one has to pay for whatever is desired. The utilitarian approach is to ensure that all costs are reduced to the minimum which allows the air fare to be low, yet, profitable. Thus, consumers who expect regular amenities on budget airlines will be greatly disappointed. If a person thinks that consuming a certain product can be harmful to him or his loved ones, then this is a physical risk perceived and he would probably never consume that product. When travelling with budget airlines, the usual complaint would be limited space and uncomfortable seats. When one has to sit in a cramped aircraft with little moving space for a few hours, it can be very uncomfortable and may cause backaches and other minor aches or even death (space adaption syndrome). These are physical risks of travelling with budget airlines that travellers might want to avoid. Psychological risk is defined as the product that affects the mental well-being of the user (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 186). Some conservative consumers may feel that flying in bigger aircrafts would give them more sense of security and comfort. Hence, they would avoid by travelling by budget airlines such as Scoot. If one purchases a product and it is defective, he will incur financial losses when he has to pay extra money to repair or find a replacement. Hence, the cost exceeds the value of this product. If one intents to travel by budget flight, then he must be prepared to carry extra cash in case he gets stuck in a foreign country when his flight is delayed or cancelled. This is because budget airlines do not provide any other recompense besides ticket refund. That means, one needs to pay for whatever expenses incurred, be it lodging or purchase of another ticket to fly to the next destination. It is believed that budget air flights experiences frequent delays and cancellations. Thus, it is commonly believed that one should avoid budget flights to avoid financial risks. Moreover, with frequent cancellations and delays for budget flight is time wasted. One needs to wait indefinitely or buy another air ticket, which requires extra time and effort. In addition, one could miss an important appointment which might have undesirable consequences. Question 3(b) In order to overcome the perceived risks, marketers should know that consumers are worried about risks that they believe are true and not necessarily real. As per Gordon Allport (1935), Attitudes are learned predispositions to respond to an object in a consistently favorable or unfavorable way.. Consumers hold attitude toward many things that are vital to the marketer. Moreover, their attitudes indicate their emotions, assessment and behavioral tendencies towards a product. Therefore, we need to change the consumers attitude regarding budget airlines. To overcome perceived risks, Scoot could publish statistics of the level of customers satisfaction, of light delays, cancellations and the amount of money saved compared to the cheapest flight available. This can be done through the market research process in which marketers could identify the problem caused by the five perceived risks and provide decision alternatives. When consumers realise that the level of statistics shown is actually similar to other regular carriers, plus the incentive of the amount of money saved, they will feel more encouraged to travel on Scoot. The proven performance will help to build customers confidence in Scoots ability to meet their expectations. Hence, the perceived functional risk is solved. The growth of competitors such as Tiger Airways, Jetstar , Airasia and Webjet may influence consumers purchasing decision with extremely competitive prices and numerous attractive promotions. Scoot marketers could identify the consumers needs and wants and apply differentiation strategies through product improvement, better services and well trained personnel. Some of the frequent complaints while flying budget airlines are poor services, cramped spaces and uncomfortable chairs. Scoot uses product differentiation by offering wider spaces in planes and more comfortable seats. Also, there are pictures of the aircraft interior posted in their website to allow people to see their offerings. Additionally, on-line forums or memo boards on Scoots website allows consumers who have used Scoots service to post their reviews and share their experiences. This marketing strategy could alleviate the conservative consumers psychological risk. These include good and bad experiences and tips when fly ing Scoot. The feedback and control system also allows Scoot to track its results such as customer satisfaction and retention rate and sales. This will also allow Scoot to adapt to a shift in consumers expectations such as better services or technological access. In this way, Scoot has addressed perceived physical risks of the consumers. The purpose of using budget airlines is to save money. It defeats the purpose if consumers have to pay extra money in order to proceed with the journey. However, occasional delays are inevitable and the worst case scenario would be stuck without accommodation. Since budget airlines sustain with minimum expenses, it is impossible to make allowance for lodgings. Thus, Scoot could make a list of cozy corners or cafes that offer comfortable resting venues at minimum or no cost for the passengers as a reference. Hence, the consumers will not need to spend extra money on contingency plans. This will reduce financial risk of a consumer. It is true that delays and cancellations are possible when flying on budget flights. This is because budget flight operates like a bus and travels the identical path to and fro many times daily. Minor delays could occur but, after a long day, the slight delays become significant when many delays build up into major time lapse and even cancellations. However, delays could also happen to any regular air flights. So, it should be made very clearly to passengers that punctuality is very important and any delays will affect subsequent flights. As Scoot target consumers are the young and young at heart, a comic strip could be used to illustrate this scenario to make it fun but not offensive. In conclusion, perceived risks are what consumers believe are true but not necessarily real. In order to overcome these perceptions effectively, we need to understand their worries and help them to correct their perceptions and gain a positive Scootitude. Hence, we gain attention from hesitant potential customers and retain current customers. Question 4 Every business needs effective strategies to meet ever changing demands of the market. For a business to be sustainable, it needs to satisfy its customers expectations and build a lasting relationship. This means it needs to fulfill the customers perceived value (CPV) which is the difference between the prospective customers evaluation of all the benefits and all the costs of an offering and the perceived alternatives (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 133). Hence, long term strategies must be implemented to cultivate strong customer relationships. Customer relationship management (CRM) is essential in cultivation of long term customer relationship. It is defined as the process of carefully managing detailed information about individual customers and all customers touch points to maximize customer loyalty (Kotler et al., 2009, p. 144). There are four ways to good CRM which are: identify its prospects and customers, differentiate customer in terms of their needs and their value to the company, interact with individual customers and customize products, services, and messages to each customer (Kotler et al., 2009). When booking air tickets on-line, consumers are already giving their personal details to the airlines. The information includes: gender, date of birth, billing address, nationality, passport number and payment methods. We can use the customer data base to identify the different market types and establish effective communications to the respective consumers. Through such data mining, we can identify the trend and segments to forecast the needs and wants of different consumers. The consumers could be segmented into different nationality, gender and age distribution. With the market segmentation, Scoot could differentiate customers in terms of their needs and values brought to the company. Scoot has limited financial resources, so it needs to attract more good customers, and retain profitable existing customers. In order to build customer loyalty, Scoot need to implement special benefits for long term customers. The main objective for travelling with budget airline is to save money. Customers will have their personal accounts with Scoot upon successful purchase and they will be able to access this account to check their transactions. Hence, Scoot can emphasize this point by letting consumers know how much they have saved by frequently travelling with Scoot. The amount saved will be translated to reward points for reward redemptions. Loyal customers will be able to redeem rewards with Scoot and its overseas partners like getting free transportation at pick up points and drop off at desired destinations. This will make members feel privileged that they are rewarded for their loyalty. This also acts as a one-stop comprehensive portal that provides cost savings to these loyal customers by providing cheap lodging options and discounted ticket prices to places of interest in other countries, offered by working partners of Scoot. This is in line with Scoots objective of providing low cost and no-fr ills travel for consumers and maximise customer perceived value. Scoot needs to interact with individual customers in order to understand the requirements of different customers and implement changes where required. However, a budget airline is operating within budget constraints; hence it will not be viable to maintain a customer service department to entertain consumers enquiries and complains. Booking fees or administrative fees usually incurred when online transactions are performed. In order to encourage consumers to fill up questionnaires and survey forms designed by Scoot, Scoot can offer customers waiver of these fees when they book air tickets, after the completion of the questionnaires and survey forms. With incentives, consumers will be more willing to provide feedbacks which can help to enhance Scoots services. With data collected from these surveys, Scoot can customize communications to each customer by sending them information only for what they are interested in. This will allow Scoot to identify and differentiate customers in terms of their needs and wants. These include promotions for certain locations which are of interest, special occasions in certain countries and new exciting happenings in certain countries. As such, consumers will not feel frustrated when receiving mail trailers but will be anticipating what Scoot can offer them. In conclusion, while Scoot can lookout for potential consumers and offer them some encouragement to become its customers, the focus is still to establish and strengthen long term relationship with current customers. As such, Scoot needs to identify prospects and customers to differentiate their preferences and allocate resources effectively to enhance profitability and retain customers simultaneously. Interaction is essential to understand customers requirements which will allow Scoot to customize their services to loyal customers who will continue to patronize Scoot with its incentives and loyalty programmes which maximizes perceived customer value.

Changing Oil in Your Car Essay -- Process Descriptive How To Changing

Changing Oil in Your Car When the average person's car needs an oil change we drive to a Quick Lube and have it done in 20 minutes. Another alternative would be to change the oil your self, this is a fairly simple process, most people with some common sense and some basic hand tools can do it at home on a weekend. The first step is finding out how much oil your car holds and what kind of oil filter fits on your cars engine. Your car's owner's manual will have a capacity section in the back, down the list till you come to the engine oil capacity, and the chart will list the number of quarts that your car needs. Also on most new cars when you can look on the oil cap it should state the oil weight which is recommended by the cars manufacturer. Then you need to go to the local parts house (I prefer Advance or Orileys) get the brand of oil that you prefer in the recommended weight, and quantity. When you pay, you can get the part number for the oil filter, all you have to know is the make of the car and the motor size and they should be able to find the information and then tell you which filter belongs on the car. Remember to get an oil filter wrench to remove the filter of with if don't already have one. Next, go home and find a level spot on which to park your vehicle. Before you jack up the front of the vehicle, you need to set the emergency brake and chock the rear wheels; this is just a safety measure to keep the car form rolling back. Once you have completed this, you need to refer to the owner's manual again for the recommended lift points for the car. You are not able to just put a jack underneath a car and lift it up because you will risk damaging the under body. There are certain places to put the jack to properly ... ...place it in the fill hole (it is located on one of the valve cover of the motor and it has a cap) and add the recommended amount of oil. After you have added oil, replace the cap. Now you are ready to start the motor. When you first start it, there will be no oil pressure so don't be alarmed but watch the gauge, and in about ten to thirty seconds the oil pressure should be up in the normal range. With the engine running, look underneath the vehicle and check the plug and filter to make sure there are no leaks. If there are no leaks, shut the vehicle off and check the oil level on the dip stick and make sure it is between the low and full mark. If the oil is a little low, add a little more at a time, and keep rechecking it until the oil level is full. When you have completed this you are done. This is a fairly simple process and can save you a lot of money over time.

Marketing Strategies for Low-Income Customers Essay

Good old fashioned rock ‘n’ roll could be dead. If a mobile phone ringtone in the shape of the vocalizations of the animated Crazy Frog dominates the billboard charts for months on end, then it could well signal the death knell for the industry, and how it operates. If this ubiquitous amphibian’s aurally annoying song, converted from a mobile phone ringtone, outsold even mainstay acts such as Oasis and Coldplay, why should music companies invest millions in cultivating fresh musical talent, hoping for them to be the next big thing, when their efforts can be beaten by basic synthesizer music? The industry is facing a number of challenges that it has to address, such as strong competition, piracy, changing delivery formats, increasing cost pressures, demanding pri-madonnas and changing customer needs. Gone are the days when music moguls were reliant on sales from albums alone, now the industry trawls for revenue from a variety of sources, such as ringtones, merchandising, concerts, and music DVDs, leveraging extensive back catalogues, and music rights from advertising, movies and TV programming. The music industry is in a state of flux at the moment. The cornerstone of the industry—the singles chart—has been facing terminal decline since the mid-1990s. Some retailers are now not even stocking singles due to this marked freefall. Some industry commentators blame the Internet as the sole cause, while others point to value differences between the price of an album and the price of a single as too much. Likewise, some commentators criticize the heavy pre-release promotion of new songs, the targeting of ever-younger markets by pop acts, and the explosion of digital television music channels as root causes of the single’s demise. The day when the typical record buyer browses through rows of shelves for a much sought-after band or song on a Saturday afternoon may be thing of the past. Long-term success stories for the music industry are increasingly difficult to develop. The old tradition of A&R (which stands for ‘Artists & Repertoire’) was to sign, nurture and develop musical talent over a period of years. The industry relied on continually feeding the system with fresh talent that could prove to be the next big thing and capture the public imagination. Now corporate short-term thinking has enveloped business strategies. If an act fails to be an immediate hit, the record label drops them. The industry is now characterized by an endless succession of one-hit wonders and videogenic artist churning out classic cover songs, before vanishing off the celebrity radar. Four large music labels now dominate the industry (see Table 1), and have emerged through years of consolidation. The ‘big four’ labels have the marketing clout and resources to invest heavily in their acts, providing them with expensive videos, publicity tours and PR coverage. This clout allows their acts to get vital airplay and video rotation on dedicated TV music channels. Major record labels have been accused of offering cash inducements of gifts to radio stations and DJs in an effort to get their songs on playlists. This activity is known in the industry as ‘radio payola’. Consumer have flocked to the Internet, to download, to stream, to ‘rip and burn’ copyrighted music material. The digital music revolution has changed the way people listen, use and obtain their favourite music. The very business model that has worked for decades, buying a single or album from a high-street store, may not survive. Music executives are left questioning whether the Internet will kill the music business model has been fundamentally altered. According to the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), it estimated that 8 million people in the UK are downloading music from the Internet—92 per cent of them doing so illegally. In 2005 alone, sales of CD singles fell by a colossal 23 per cent. To put the change into context, the sales of digital singles increased by 746.6 per cent in 2005. Consumers are buying their music through different channels and also listening to their favourate songs through digital media rather than through standard CD, cassette or vinyl. The emergence of MP3 players, particularly the immensely popular Apple iPod, has transformed the music landscape even further. Consumers are now downloading songs electronically from the Internet, and storing them on these digital devices or burning them onto rewritable CDs. Glossary of online music jargon Streaming: Allows the user to listen to or watch a file as it is being simultaneously downloaded. Radio channels utilize this technology to transmit their programming on the Internet. ‘Rip n burn’: Means downloading a song or audio file from the Internet and then burning them onto rewritable CDs or DVD. MP3 format: MP3 is a popular digital music file format. The sound quality is similar to that of a CD. The format reduces the size of a song to one-tenth of its original size allowing for it to be transmitted quickly over computer networks. Apple iPod: The ‘digital jukebox’ that has transformed the fortunes of the pioneer PC maker. By the end of 2004 Apple is expected to have sold 5 million units of this ultra-hip gadget. It was the ‘must-have item’ for 2003. The standard 20 GB iPod player can hold around 5000 songs. Other hardware companies, such as Dell & Creative Labs, have launched competing devices. These competing brands can retail for less than  £75. Peer-to-peer networks (P2P): These networks allow users to share their music libraries with other net users. There is no central server, rather individual computers on the Internet communicating with one another. A P2P program allows users to search for material, such as music files, on other computers. The program lets users find their desired music files through the use of a central computer server. The system works lime this; a user sends in a request for a song; the system checks where on the Internet that song is located; that song is downloaded directly onto the computer of the user who made the request. The P2P server never actually holds the physical music files—it just facilitates the process. The Internet offers a number of benefits to music shoppers, such as instant delivery, access to huge music catalogues and provision of other rich multi-media material like concerts or videos, access to samples of tracks, cheaper pricing (buying songs for 99p rather than an expensive single) and, above all, convenience. On the positive side, labels now have access to a wider global audience, possibilities of new revenue streams and leveraging their vast back catalogues. It has diminished the bargaining power of large retailers, it is a cheaper distribution medium than traditional forms and labels can now create value-laden multimedia material for consumers. However, the biggest problem is that of piracy and copyright theft. Millions of songs are being downloaded from the Internet illegally with no payment to the copyright holder. The Internet allows surfers to download songs using a format called ‘MP3’, which doesn’t have inbuilt copyright protection, thus allowing the user to copy and share with other surfers with ease. Peer to peer (P2P) networks such as Kazaa and Grokster have emerged and pose an even deadlier threat to the music industry—they are enemies that are even harder to track and contain. Consumers can easily source and download illegal copyrighted material with considerable ease using P2P networks (see accompanying box). A large number of legal download sites have now been launched, where surfers can either stream their favourite music or download it for future use in their digital libraries. This has been due to the rapid success of small digital medial players such the Apple iPod. The legal downloading of songs has grown exponentially. A la carte download services and subscription-based services are the two main business models. Independent research reveals that the Apple’s iTunes service has over 70 per cent of the market. Highlighting this growing phenomenon of the Internet as an official channel of distribution, new music charts are now being created, such as the ‘Official Download Chart’. Industry sources suggest that out of a typical 99p download, the music label get 65p, while credit card companies get 4p, leaving the online music store with 30p per song download. These services may fundamentally eradicate the concept of an album, with customers selecting only a handful of their favourite songs rather than entire standard 12 tracks. These prices are having knock-on consequences for the pricing of physical formats. Consumers are now looking for a more value-laden music product rather than simply 12 songs with an album cover. Now they are expecting behind the scenes access to their favourite group, live concert footage and other content-rich material. Big Noise Music is an example of one of the legitimate downloading sites running the OD2 system. The site is different in that for every  £1 download, 10p of the revenue goes to the charity Oxfam. The music industry is ferociously fighting back by issuing lawsuits for breach of copyright to people who are illegally downloading songs from the Internet using P2P software. The recording industry has started to sue thousands of people who illegally share music using P2P. They are issuing warnings to net surfers who are P2P software that their activities are being watched and monitored. Instant Internet messages are being sent to those who are suspected of offering songs illegally. In addition, they have been awarded court orders so that Internet providers must identify people who are heavily involved in such activity. The music industry is also involved heavily in issue advertising campaigns, by promoting anti-piracy websites such as www.pro-music.org to educate people on the industry and the impact of piracy on artists. These types of public awareness campaigns are designed to illustrate the implications of illegal downloading. Small independent music labels view P2P networks differently, seeing them as vital in achieving publicity and distribution for their acts. These firms simply do not have the promotional resources or distribution clout of the ‘big four’ record labels. They see P2P networks as an excellent viral marketing tool, creating buzz about a song or artist that will ultimately lead to wider mainstream and commercial appeal. The Internet is used to create communities of fans who are interested in their music, providing them access to free videos and other material. It allows independent acts the opportunity to distribute their music to a wider audience, building up their fan base through word of mouth. Savvy unsigned bands have sophisticated websites showcasing their work, and offering free downloads as well as opportunities for audio-philes to purchase their tunes. Alternatively major labels still see that to gain success one has to get a video on rotation on MTV and that this in turn encourages greater airplay on radio stations, ultimately leading to increased purchases.

Indian Consumers essays

Indian Consumers essays In the ancient civilization of India, sustainability and moderation in consumption has always been a way of life. This pattern has been respected and left largely undisturbed by Indian consumers who consider themselves a part of the cycle of nature. An interactive relationship with nature and the natural environment is a part of every Indians life. In the past half century, India has made rapid strides in economic development. This, coupled with demographic pressures, a gigantic middle-class known to be the largest market in the world, and the free entry of global players into the Indian consumer market have changed the consumer scene completely. A new consumer culture has emerged from all theses changes taking place around him. It is not just the quantity of consumption and spending that has undergone a change but also the attitude of consumers towards consumption and the reasons to consume. Indian Consumer in Historical Context India, an ancient civilization, has existed for more than 4,000 years and over this time has held immense appeal to invaders and explorers alike. From the ancient Aryans, the Greeks, the Persians (the Mughals), to the most recent British, India has had a multitude of cultures invade and make her their home in different periods of time. These invasions time and again have influenced the consumption pattern of the Indians to a large extent. Mughal political domination of North India began in the sixteenth century and lasted through most of the nineteenth century. The Mughals, who were Muslim rulers, belonged to Persia, and found that the India they took control over, was very different in cultural landscape from Persia. Indians followed a different religion (Hinduism), Indian languages were based on an ancient Indian language (Sanskrit), which was very different from Persian, and tastes in music and the arts were also very distinct from those in Persia. Muslim rule necessitated accommodation with ...

Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty

Washington Naval Disarmament Treaty The Washington Naval Conference Following the end of World War I, the United States, Great Britain, and Japan all commenced large-scale programs of capital ship construction. In the United States, this took the form of five new battleships and four battlecruisers, while across the Atlantic the Royal Navy was preparing to build its series of G3 Battlecruisers and N3 Battleships. For the Japanese, the postwar naval construction began with a program calling for eight new battleships and eight new battlecruisers. This building spree led to concern that a new naval arms race, similar to the pre-war Anglo-German competition, was about to begin. Seeking to prevent this, President Warren G. Harding called the Washington Naval Conference in late 1921, with the goal of establishing limits on warship construction and tonnage. Convening on November 12, 1921, under the auspices of the League of Nations, the delegates met at Memorial Continental Hall in Washington DC. Attended by nine countries with concerns in the Pacific, the principal players included the United States, Great Britain, Japan, France, and Italy. Leading the American delegation was Secretary of State Charles Evan Hughes who sought to limit Japanese expansionism in the Pacific. For the British, the conference offered an opportunity to avoid an arms race with the US as well as an opportunity to achieve stability in the Pacific which would provide protection to Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand. Arriving in Washington, the Japanese possessed a clear agenda that included a naval treaty and recognition of their interests in Manchuria and Mongolia. Both nations were concerned about the power of American shipyards to out-produce them if an arms race were to occur. As the negotiations commenced, Hughes was aided by intelligence provided by Herbert Yardleys Black Chamber. Operated cooperatively by the State Department and US Army, Yardleys office was tasked with intercepting and decrypting communications between the delegations and their home governments. Particular progress was made breaking Japanese codes and reading their traffic. The intelligence received from this source permitted Hughes to negotiate the most favorable deal possible with the Japanese. After several weeks of meetings, the worlds first disarmament treaty was signed on February 6, 1922. The Washington Naval Treaty The Washington Naval Treaty set specific tonnage limits on the signees as well as restricted armament size and expansion of naval facilities. The core of the treaty established a tonnage ratio that permitted the following: United States: Capital Ships - 525,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 135,000 tonsGreat Britain: Capital Ships - 525,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 135,000 tonsJapan: Capital Ships - 315,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 81,000 tonsFrance: Capital Ships - 175,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 60,000 tonsItaly: Capital Ships - 175,000 tons, Aircraft Carriers - 60,000 tons As part of these restrictions, no single ship was to exceed 35,000 tons or mount larger than 16-inch guns. Aircraft carrier size was capped at 27,000 tons, though two per nation could be as large as 33,000 tons. In regard to onshore facilities, it was agreed that the status quo at the time of the treatys signing would be maintained. This prohibited the further expansion or fortification of naval bases in small island territories and possessions. Expansion on the mainland or large islands (such as Hawaii) was permitted. Since some commissioned warships  exceeded the treaty terms, some exceptions were made for existing tonnage. Under the treaty, older warships could be replaced, however, the new vessels were required to meet the restrictions and all signatories were to be informed of their construction. The 5:5:3:1:1 ratio imposed by the treaty led to friction during negotiations. France, with coasts on the Atlantic and Mediterranean, felt that it should be permitted a larger fleet than Italy. They were finally convinced to agree to the ratio by promises of British support in the Atlantic. Among the main naval powers, the 5:5:3 ratio was badly received by the Japanese who felt they were being slighted by the Western Powers. As the Imperial Japanese Navy was essentially a one-ocean navy, the ratio still gave them a superiority over the US and Royal Navy which had multi-ocean responsibilities. With the treatys implementation, the British were forced to cancel the G3 and N3 programs and the US Navy was required to scrap some of its existing tonnages to meet the tonnage restriction. Two battlecruisers then under construction were converted into the aircraft carriers USS Lexington and USS Saratoga. The treaty effectively stopped battleship construction for several years as the signatories attempted to design ships that were powerful, but yet still met the agreements terms. Also, efforts were made to build large light cruisers that were effectively heavy cruisers or that could be up-converted with bigger guns in wartime. In 1930, the treaty was altered by the London Naval Treaty. This, in turn, was followed by the Second London Naval Treaty in 1936. This last treaty was not signed by Japanese as they had decided to withdraw from the agreement in 1934. The series of treaties begun with the Washington Naval Treaty effectively ceased on September 1, 1939, with the beginning of World War II. While in place, the treaty did somewhat limit capital ship construction, however, the per vessel tonnage limitations were frequently flouted with most signatories either using creative accounting in computing displacement or outright lying about a vessels size. Selected Sources Washington Naval Treaty: TextUS State Department: Washington Naval Conference

Propaganda Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Propaganda - Essay Example This probably would have been successful, because such tactics tied directly into self-conceptions of masculinity (Jarvis 2004). The second posters, from WWII, had entirely different goals. They were attempting to influence the population to live in more austere conditions, by sharing and reducing use of resources. They take two different approaches: the Hitler one attempts to invoke guilt, by treating non-austere people as traitors, whereas the second tries to play on positive emotions, telling its viewer that they are making soldiers happy by providing them enough through forgoing extra food. These may have been less successful, because they did not tap in as directly to essential parts of people’s identity (Gullace 2002). These two paintings are both reactions to the First World War. One of the things that becomes very apparent is the disillusionment artists experienced with the propaganda: these directly counter propaganda by maintaining their similar style (especially â€Å"Mustard Gas Victims†), while portraying fundamentally different things: the true experience of war. They fundamentally seemed to need to communicate the true horror of what they had experienced during the First World War, possibly to break the romanticized ideas that had been formed in people’s minds based on war propaganda of the time (Tolson 2010). These are two modern pieces of propaganda. The first is an advertisement for M&Ms, which directly place on the propaganda of the past, especially Soviet propaganda. The second, with a distinctly modern, clean type face, is an advertisement for the Kony 2012 group, who accepted large amounts of funds to supposedly help find and arrest Kony, and help his victims. One of the interesting things about both of these pieces of propaganda is that they play on their viewer’s desire for connection.

Learning Game Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Learning Game - Article Example At first all we did was throw the tennis ball to one another and we spent around thirty minutes doing so. It seemed like a simple enough idea but it didn't merit any innovation on our part. We all wanted to do better and beat our own record. Also it did take awfully long to just get the ball from one person to another and we ended up spending too much time on that. The second time we played the game we all managed to pass the ball between us in only half our previous time and that was 15 minutes. We did this by standing in a new kind of circle, a much smaller one, where all of us were standing much closer to each other than before. We had achieved our goal twice and actually managed to cut down our time by a significant amount in our second try. Unfortunately, we could not carry on our winning streak to our third try because at that point a conflict arose which disrupted everything. When we started thinking about taking a third shot at our little project I had a great idea. I had been thinking of ways in which I could cut down the time even further by exchanging the ball even more quickly. While I was thinking about it I came up with a great solution and all of my classmates even liked my idea. Everyone was willing to give it a try and see if it works out or not; everyone except one person. This was where things started to get a little ou