Balancing school work while maintaining full time employment with Essay

Balancing school work while maintaining full time employment with Wellpoint - Essay Example Now we should distribute the remaining 9 hours. It is quiet important to set clear priorities and outline a strict schedule. Workload is different in different semesters, but nonetheless, it would be better not to delay the tasks. On average for the beginning of the learning process 3-4 hours (for example, 6:15 pm-9:15 pm) a day may be a sufficient term. Most likely it engages in the evening (for example, Tuesdays and Thursdays) that unfortunately will affect the efficiency of employment, but to work a little every day is much easier than to deal with the whole information during twenty-four hours. This time on Monday, Wednesday, Fridays, plus weekends we use for revising the material. Of the remaining hours, two of them will be spent on â€Å"work-home† way and the associated shopping. If you do not cook at home, then 1.5-2 hours will be enough for taking meals. Half an hour will be taken for the procedures which you could not refuse in any case, for example, taking shower. The rest hours will be used for the family needs and force majeure during the week. So, the week time would be divided nearly like

Business plan Essay Example for Free

Business plan Essay Introduction Selective marketing strategy Most of the small business or businesses seeking to enter into new venture like creative technology seeking to enter the American headphone market will employ select marketing with the main objective being to get higher returns on their marketing investments. To achieve this objective, creative technology should strive hard in knowing their customers in the basis of their origination, who they are and where do their products do well (Homburg, etaal, 2009). Once they have that in mind, then they will try to maximize the best performing market segment, to realize these high returns on investment (ROI). The other vital objective of creative technology is to eliminate the guess works and the wastes involved in new venture and replace them with specific targeted efforts. This will ensure that they reduce on the operating cost and maximize their returns on investment. Also, owing to the luxury nature of the product that Creative Technology is to introduce in the United States market, they should gravitate towards these selective marketing as their product target a very limited population segment. Creative Technology employs this type of marketing to achieve their objectives as this product which they want to engage in is not for everyone and so they want to ensure that the message meets the right consumers and so reflecting in increased sales. Mostly, Creative Technology might include a glossy ad in the magazine and televisions. This is so because most of the population would be uninterested with luxury goods adverts. Moreover, Creative technology should employ tactics to differentiate the product from other brands in their category of products. This entails at classifying a brand as being more superior to other competing brands. This will involve stressing the quality of brand and design on their historical relevance and the longevity of the brand. In this approach, they will strive to paint the other competing products as unreliable, generic as and of a lesser quality than their own headphones (Homburg, etaal, 2009). This will ensure that Creative Technology meets its objectives of high returns on investments. This is so because it will reduce the extra cash and time spent on advertising messages directed towards consumers who may otherwise not be interested in the product. Also in addition to making this product stand out, specialized focus on specific market areas can help in building product’s reputation and ensure that this product has a long term fostered loyalty. Target Market Creative technology will then employ the tactics of target market selection in order to engage in the market which they are sure that their product will sell. There are two important factors which they should consider in doing this. These include; the attractiveness of the market segment and also how the segment will fit their objectives and resource capabilities (Shaw, E. 2012).. When they are selecting the target market, they should consider the following aspects. The size of the segment; this basically entails to the number of their customers that are in that population. When they ascertain that the segment has a considerable number of people then they can choose to invest in it and the vise versa. The other aspect which they should also consider is the growth rate of the segment. This will help them to determine their future prospect in the market. Also, they should be at a position of determining the level of competition in the population that they want to invest in. this will enable them decide their product in a manner that they will be more appealing than that of their competitors. In doing so, they will also know the loyalty of the customers in the competing brands and hence know the strategy of invading this market segment. In addition they will be at a position of determining the attainable markets share if they got the knowledge of the competitor’s expenditure in promoting their brands. Given the size of the population, they should also ascertain the required market share so as to break even and the profits they expect from the sales in the said segment (Aaker and David, 2008). To obtain this information, market research and analysis is vital for Creative Technology. For instance, buyer intentions, test marketing, sales estimation and analysis in demand is very useful in determination of sales potential. The micro and macro environmental variables on the segment should also be put into consideration (Shaw, E., 2012). It is very important for the Creative Technology to note that larger segments are not advisable for targeting as they will already have more competition. It could be more profitable to invest in two or more small segments with little or no competition. However, if the firm is sure of developing a competitive advantage like patent protection, they can engage in larger market segments. Target Market Strategies There are different marketing strategies that should be employed by Creative technology in their endeavors of choosing a market strategy. These strategies include; Single segment strategy: this strategy is also referred to as concentrated market strategy.Here one market segment is served as opposed to the entire market. It is a strategy which should be employed by smaller firms with little resources. Selective specialization: it is a multiple- segment strategy and is also referred to as differentiated strategy. Different market segment are served with different marketing strategies. Only the promotional message varies with the product not being the same in these markets. Product specialization: In this strategy, the company specializes in particular products that tailored to different market segments Market specialization: here the company will specialize in a single market and serve it with varied products. Creative Technology cannot employ market specialization as it is planning to employ only one product, the headphones. Full market coverage:   Here the organization tries to cover the whole market. It is mostly achieved either through mass marketing where a single undifferentiated market mix is employed to the entire market or by a differentiated strategy in whicha different mix is offered to every segment. Individual marketing strategy: this is a strategy which has been employed recently owing to the technology where market mix is tailored in accordance to the individual consumer (Brian Solis,2011). For the Creative Technology to remain competitive in the market and realize high returns, it should always target a market that matches its capabilities. Once it has gained momentum, then it can expand by embarking on specialization strategy, tailor the product for different markets. Positioning strategy After selecting the target market, the firm will now embark on deciding on how it will position itself in the chosen market segment. Positioning refers to how the firm wants their customers to view their product. It is about effective conveyance of messages to the target market about the firm’s product or service. Position strategy development The first step is to do a market research. The main aim of this is to feel the features of your product that the consumer wants to feel their presence in the target market of your choice. You research the general features and not the features offered by a particular brand for example headphone features by Creative Technology Company. Once you have identified the features which are preferred by your potential customers and their ranking according to your target customers, the then compile a list of product in that target market offering these features. Then draw a map showing not only the features of the product but also the competitors that offer those products with the same features. It is also advisable to place your product in this map too, for comparison purposes. After this you will have a clear picture on where competitors products are positioned in your map in the chosen target market, you can the make an informed decision on where you would like your product to appear on the map. Position strategy development mostly depends on how the firm will position itself. The firm can take a ‘me too’ strategy and position themselves adjacent to the competitor and allow the customers to directly compare the product features or they can choose a strategy positioning themselves away from their competitors. One way of doing this is by offering a feature absent from the competitors’ products that their market research revealed that the consumers in that market rank as vital. Market mix This refers on how the firm, Creative Technology will distribute their headphones to their consumers. They should plan this strategy so as to distribute their products (headphones) to their consumers at the right time and place. Efficient distribution is imperative if the firm is to meet their objectives. If for any reason they underestimate or overestimate the demand, the firm’s profitability will be negatively affected (Borden, Neil,2013). Choosing the Distribution channel There are two available channels of distribution which include direct and indirect distribution channels. Indirect pertains to the distribution where one uses the intermediaries in distribution. For instance, they can sell to the wholesaler who sell to the retailer and then to the end user. Conversely, direct distribution is where the company will be distributing directly to the end users at the right time and place required. It is mostly preferred as it gives the manufacturers direct control over their products. Choosing a distribution strategy Different products are distributed differently and there are three different distribution strategies which can be employed. There is; intensive distribution strategy which is employed in distributing low priced products, exclusive distribution which involves limiting distribution to a single outlet. This strategy is mostly employed in the highly priced product like vehicles and also may require an intermediary (Borden, Neil,2013).. Selective distribution; here a small number of outlet, especially retailers, are chosen for product distribution. If Creative Technology adopts a selective or exclusive strategy, they should choose an intermediary who is well versed with handling these or similar product and is well know by the target consumers.       Planning assumptions Projected cost and sales Financial tracking is a very vital part of any given business plan. In this financial tracking, one should be careful to note that the programme cost not only refers to the cost of the project but also the cost involved in administering this programme itself. Any project, for instance the Creative Technology’s project of venturing into the US market should contain the expected cost and the return or the sales expected from the same. In addition it should show clearly where the project’s resources will be obtained to make sure that it will not fail on the way. The projected sales and cost is the culmination of all the previous section of the business plan as each section will always impact on the cost and sales hence affecting the whole project finance. For it to create accountability, it should show clearly the firm organization structure so that it may indicate who is responsible for what, who will be making decisions regarding productions, legal compliance and financial management. Sensitivity analysis This is a tool which can be used by firms to examine their effects on the net income whe sales levels increase or decrease. These changes against which the sensitivity analysis is done are the unexpected event or the contingencies I outlined in the contingency planning. This analysis will usually centre its process on the ‘what if question’. Mostly these questions are as the following; what would be the firm’s income if it has a sales forecast of 12%, 16% or 34% higher? Also what can be my firm’s net income is the firms forecast a 12%, 16% or 34% lower than the expected (Helton etaal, 2009). Contingency plan Contingencies are events which are not expected or not expected in the firm business plan. So the company must develop a contingency mitigating strategies or plans in order to be prepared for these unexpected outcomes. This is because these events do not arise from time to time and so they must be ready with these plans in case they occur. These plans entail preparing for crises and for unwelcome outcomes in case they occur (British Standards Institution, 2012). This will ensure that the firm will easily recover these unexpected events. It will also ensure that these impacts are minimized. When drawing a contingency plan, the first step is recognizing its need, and then indentifying all the possible scenarios. After this they must know what the consequences of these crises will be. Then assess the degree which might be caused by these eventualities. After they have done all this then the final step is to choose a risk strategy to employ so that they can mitigate these crisis and lastly do a crisis simulation which is testing their plan. (British Standards Institution, 2012) The firm management should also consider the ‘what if’ question where they prepare scenarios which could arise in the business operations. Some of these questions could include: what if the competitors produce a very powerful product with much favorable features in the eyes of the consumers of the target market? What if the firm does not meet its expectations? What if their competitors employ advanced advertisement strategies than the firm? Etc References Baker, Michael The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit 2008. p. Homburg, Christian; Sabine Kuester, Harley Krohmer (2009): Marketing Management A Contemporary Perspective (1st ed.), London. Marketing basics Marketing strategy based on market needs, targets and goals. Aaker, David (2008) Strategic Market Management Baker, Michael The Strategic Marketing Plan Audit 2008 p. 27 Shaw, E. (2012). Marketing strategy: From the origin of the concept to the development of a conceptual framework. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing, 4(1), 30–55. Pinson, Linda. (2004). Anatomy of a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide to Building Business and Securing Your Company’s Future (6th Edition). Page 20. Dearborn Trade: Chicago, USA. A. Simon, Rational decision making in business organisations, American Economic Review Borden, Neil. (2013)The Concept of the Marketing Mix. Brian Solis(2011) Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web, John Wiley Sons, Inc. pp.201-202. Koichi Shimizu (2003)Symbiotic Marketing Strategy,4th edition, Souseisha Book Company. Intrieri, Charles (10 September 2013).  Business Contingency Planning. Flevy. Retrieved 29 September 2013. British Standards Institution (2012). Societal security – Business contigency management Systems – Requirements: London Saltelli, A., Ratto, M., Andres, T., Campolongo, F., Cariboni, J., Gatelli, D. Saisana, M., and Tarantola, S., 2008,  Global Sensitivity Analysis. The Primer, John Wiley Sons. Campolongo, F., J. Cariboni, and A. Saltelli (2008). An effective screening design for sensitivity analysis of large models.  Environmental Modelling and Software,  22, 1509–1518. Fassà ², Alessandro ()  Sensitivity Analysis for Environmental Models and Monitoring Networks. Preprint J.C. Helton, J.D. Johnson, C.J. Salaberry, and C.B. Storlie, 2009, Survey of sampling based methods for uncertainty and sensitivity analysis.  Reliability Engineering and System Safety

Contribution Of Media In Society Media Essay

Contribution Of Media In Society Media Essay Media is very important to the society. People are using the media to get the news or information from television, radio and video. For example, television is a source of media that has strong influence on society today. According to the survey, people mostly spend their time on television and internet for getting news and for entertainment. But the impacts of television and computer have both positive and negative. For the advantages of television and internet, we can get the news and information quickly and more convenient. And some time, we also can have some entertainment for relax. We also can keep connect to our friend from other place by internet. Media also can help us keep up with the trend of the society. Most company will use the media to promote their companyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s product. With the impact of media, their product will soon be all well known. We also can use media to promote the health awareness to the society to help the people gain the knowledge to know what will affect their health. Furthermore, we also can use media to teach the people about the knowledge of self-defenses. For example, we can see the video of self-defenses on television in our home or the small television on the train. The video will teach the female how to protect themselves when they facing a robber. The media play an important role to tell us the truth of everything that happens in our society. Besides that, media is not only delivering the information to us. It also will affect our thinking patterns. For example, if we let our children watch the moral educational program; they will learn some moral value from the program. Furthermore, they also will know what their responsibilities to the society are. Media also will provide some entertainment to the people. When you feel stress, you can go to the internet and find some music to hear or just watching the movie from internet. And the most important thing is we can save the money for go to the cinema to watch a movie. Media also can help we stay connect with our friends and family. Now have many social media like Facebook and Twitter, we can share our new feeds, photo and video to our friends and family. Some companies also use the social media to communicate to their sponsor or their stakeholder. For another example, we also can use the mobile phone to text messages or make a call to the others. Besides that, the media affect people not only through television. They also use the radio and newspaper to deliver the information of the society to the people. The advertising media is a communication of marketing and used to promote something. This type of media can make the product become more vivid and attractiveness to attract people comes to buy their product. Because of this, this type of media plays an important role to the company. Then, the broadcasting media is a distribution of audio and video content, it usually used for a radio. The radio is using this type of media to send out the informat ion (voice and sound) to the people so the people can get the information when they turn on the radio. Furthermore, digital media also helps the people doing their computer job. For example, they may save their information in the hard drives for future use, because hard drives also known as a digital media. Then, the electronic media is used for electronic communication, such as television, radio, telephone, desktop computer and more. Next is the hypermedia, it is a generally non-linear medium of information because it was created by graphic, audio, video, plain text and hyperlinks intertwine. There have some computer program are using this media, such as Adobe Player, Adobe Director, Macromedia Authorware and more. Then we will talk about the multimedia. The multimedia is usually used to record and play, and it is a combination of text, audio, still images, animation, video, or interactivity content form. And the multimedia devices are electronic devices used to store and experience multimedia content. The mass media is very important to the society also because people mostly get the news or information from the mass media. The mass media is using the broadcast media to transmit their information electronically and comprises television, radio, and firm. Besides that, print media use a physical object as a mean of sending their information, such as newspaper, comic, magazine and more. Other than that, mass media also included in in internet media, due to many mass media services it provides, such as e-mail, websites, blogging and more. By this reason, people also can get the information on the internet. Another example is the outdoor media. The outdoor media is a mass media that comprises billboards, signs, placards placed inside or outside the shopping mall and more. Now the media mostly is digital media so the media become very more important to us already. Come to today, media has become as important as food and clothing. There is no denial that the media is playing important roles in our life. With the medium of media whether it is radio, television, newspaper or internet, we are able to connect with the world or a large number of people around us. Especially is the internet, people are using the internet every day to search something or working. If without internet, we may feel missing something in our life. Conclusion, media is playing an important role in our society. With the effect of media, we can get to know the information or the problem that we are facing now in our society, so media has a huge contribution to our society.

Money Now or Cancer Later? Essays -- Drugs, Legalization of Marijuana,

The new debate over drugs is the passing of the legalization of marijuana for medical use. In ancient texts, there is a described time and use for cannabis to treat diseases and it continues on from over two thousand years ago to today (Johnson). The argument is widely debated and has been on the lap of congress for over one hundred and seventy-five years (Johnson). The political debate now isn’t just over legalizing it, it’s about do we allow it to be legalized so we can tax it now and pay for the after effects later, or do we not allow it to be passed and still arrest people in states that allow it and are following the rules? The thing stopping most of the passing is the FDA’s statement that, â€Å"Smoked Marijuana Is Not Medicine.† To the average person walking down the street is that marijuana is smoked or baked into food. With the college student usually knowing that ‘Special Brownies’ will give you a high from the marijuana baked into i t; a high school student usually knows that a joint of marijuana will give you a high because it’s a drug. So the typical misconception with the whole legalizing of marijuana is that just legalizing it doesn’t mean it is legal to use it in a smoking manner. When I was researching this topic for my paper, I asked a lot of my friends still in high school and college on why they wanted the bill to pass in Missouri. They told me that they wanted it passed so they could get permission to grow and smoke the plant from their doctor for their ‘illness’, or to go to the marijuana dispensing machines and get some for the fun of it. Then they laughed and walked away. This was also the reason why I was so against it from the start. Legalizing the drug so anyone who found a quack doctor could get a Schedule ... ...g/treatment/findingandpayingfortreatment/managinginsuranceissues/the-cost-of-cancer-treatment>. Johnson, Albert T., and States United. Medical Marijuana And Marijuana Use. New York, N.Y.: Nova Science, 2009. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 17 Apr. 2014. Miron, Jeffrey A. The Budgetary Implications of Marijuana Prohibition. Rep. Cambridge, MA: Harvard U, 2005. Www.cannabis-commerce.com. Marijuana Policy Project, June 2005. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . "Tobacco-Related Cancers Fact Sheet." American Cancer Society. American Cancer Society, 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014. . "We Do Not Inherit the Earth from Our Ancestors; We Borrow It from Our Children." Quote Investigator. WorldPress, 26 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.

Cross-cultural Communication and French Culture

Individual Assignment: â€Å"Euro Disneyland† 1. Using Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions as a point of reference, what are some of the main cultural differences between the United States and France? PDI: Power Distance IDV: Individualism MAS: Masculinity UAI: Uncertainty Avoidance PDI: Power Distance IDV: Individualism MAS: Masculinity UAI: Uncertainty Avoidance The main cultural differences when using the Hofstede dimensions are in the dimensions Power Distance and Uncertainty Avoidance. It is clear that French culture accepts and welcomes a relatively big power gap.This means that it is hirarchical country where power and the flow of information is determined much more by hierarchy then in America, where this gap is less accepted by people with less power. The other big difference is France’s hight level of uncertainty avaoidance. The French would like to control the future as much as possible, they are not risk takers. The Americans on the other hand have lo w uncertainty avoidance that makes them risk takers, this coppeled with extremely high indiviualism and very low power distance makes them very entrepreneurial.They act on their own and are less likely to accept the status quo when someone has more power then them. French culture also has low masculinity which means it’s a femini culture. This means that soft skills and the family are very important in France. This can be seen by France’s extensive social welfare systhem. 2. In what way has Trompenaars research helped explain cultural differences between the United States and France? Trompenaars research is based on 46000 managers from over 40 countries who answered questionnaires based on their experiences in many different cultures.Trompenaar and his colleague Charles Hampden-Turner (â€Å"The Seven Dimensions of Culture† 2012) created a model where national culture is determined by 7 dimensions. First an important dimension is the individualism – colle ctives dimension. Americans are very individualistic. In the French culture work, decision-making and power is attributed to the collective. This can also be also seen in the Achievement vs. Ascription dimension. In America individual achievement is valued highly. France’s culture is more â€Å"Ascription† based, that means that the title and status you were born into determines your social level more then individual contribution.This is called â€Å"reproduction sociale. † The research is valuable because the methology is fact based and quantitative. The 7 dimensions look at factors that are not deemed relevant by Hofstede and give a more in depth picture of cultural differences. 3. In managing its Euro Disneyland operations, what are three mistakes that the company made? The biggest mistake first and foremost was that Disney did not understand the needs and behaviour of the customer. The customer was severely misunderstood and that let to many operational and cultural mistakes.Only 40% of the customers were French, many were vacationing Americans and Japanese. The French people expected to be able to buy wine and Disney initially did not offer it. Large luxury hotels were built for people who were expected to spend a week in the parks, however Europeans see theme parks as daytrips. Mistakes were made when misjudging breakfast and lunch routines and dishes, witch lead to long lines and bad service. The second mistake was not being able to convince the French that Disneyland is not an American assault on French culture.The French society was hostile from early on. Public intellectuals called the park an assault on French culture and farmers blocked the entrance of the theme park on opening day. The third mistake was the high pricing of tickets and hotel nights. Europeans have more vacation days then Americans, with similar income levels that means that the French have less expendable income per vacation day then the Americans. Disneyland r eacted to the mistakes by changing the name to â€Å"Disneyland Paris† this created a stronger bond with the city and France.Then wine was sold and the dining experience was adapted to meet customer needs. Also day ticket and hotel nights were cut by a third. The result of the changes was an increase in visitors from 8. 8 million in 1994 to 11. 7 in 1996. Based on its experience, what are three lessons the company should have learned about how to deal with diversity? The biggest lesson that they should have learned is that cultural differences matter. It is not possible to take the exact same concept that is working in America and apply it in another cultural context and then expect the same outcomes.This is especially relevant when it comes to behaviour. The second lesson is trying to have a better understanding of who the customer is and what he wants before the launch. Extensive customer research has to be done. In the Euro Disney case many of the customers where not Frenc h and many of the French customers did not want or expect to eat the best French food in Disneyworld. They saw Disneyworld as American and therefor expected an American customer experience that included, self-service and American food.However they also expected wine, so research is needed to understand the subtleties, what French culture can be left out when offering an American experience and what cannot. The entry into a market has to be careful and transparent in order to get more local support. The discussions with the government and the local population should not only be about the tax benefit Disney can get, but heavily focused on the positive effects Disney can bring to a host nation. These advantages, such as jobs and increased tourism have to vehemently communicated to the public.The third lesson is to focus on opening new theme parks in emerging economies. Not only are there less attractions to compete with, Disneyland Paris is competing with the city of Paris for tourists , but also are they more open to western influences and products. Disney symbolises America. So sell America where there is demand for her, like China. Bibliography: graph (http://geert-hofstede. com/dimensions. html) ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://geert-hofstede. com/france. html

Andy Warhol essays

Andy Warhol essays When envisioning in your mind what Pop Art precisely is, there is no artist that could provide a more lucid example of this other than Andy Warhol. Through the use of paintings, sculptures, drawings, and films, Warhol transformed the standard of modern art by making more vibrant and lively features. His nonconforming style attracted much of society that included many celebrities. Using many techniques such as isolation, repetition and colour placement, Warhol brought to the world of art his views on materialism, politics, economics and the media. Warhol's works were meant to be taken at face value, for nothing more than what they portrayed on the surface. Much of his life can be visualized through his extensive time capsule located in the Andy Warhol Museum. Everything he thought to be interesting and valuable was gathered together and set in containers so that that his own human experiences could be captured in time for the general public to view. In my own experience of viewing the time capsule, I noticed that there were many prominent themes in ea ch individual vitrine that represented some segment of Warhol's life and ideas. In the first vitrine, it was apparent that the theme was politics and entertainment of the era, which were obviously very important matters to him. These matters were important to him because he always wanted to keep up to date with cultural trends so that he could reflect them in his art pieces. This vitrine contained items such as publications of the 1960's, magazines that promoted sexual openness, and photographs of Marilyn Monroe, a definite icon of the era. The second vitrine displayed many items that pertained to the production of Warhol's films. Some contents include a letter from Rick Clayton (a man who sat in for a Warhol screen test), postcards, letters, a marriage invitation, and pornography. These items relating to his films were noteworthy because they reflect some the most sign...