One-Child Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

One-Child Policy - Essay Example From the research "One-Child Policy" it is clear that the Policy contributed to increased saving by individuals and provided better support to children’s higher education. It also helped to provide better healthcare services to women and reduced pregnancy-related risks. The policy proved hugely beneficial in terms of increased employment, reduced burden on natural resources and rate of exploitation. The overhead cost of social service and social maintenance and problems associated with overpopulation like poverty, epidemics, law enforcement etc were considerably reduced. This helped the government to focus on economic growth. The policy has come under flak for myriad reasons. While forced abortion and infanticide are cited as major human right violations, many social problems have also emerged with the single child. It has resulted in abnormal sex ratio and it is expected that there would be 30 million more men than women by 2020! It is also believed that spacing birth would h ave yielded the same result as the policy. Most importantly, the dependency of the elderly population on young generation has significantly increased which could ultimately impact their overall welfare. The one child policy was an important initiative to control burgeoning population which was already under huge pressure from many spheres of the public good. The overpopulation not only increases dependency on the state and increases overhead costs, it also adversely impacts social policies like employment, environment considerations and economic growth. The policy proved quite effective in controlling population dynamics and promoted higher economic growth and employment. Environment efforts also got the boost as large volumes of waste were significantly reduced. It was also important element of the national saving as it motivated individuals towards higher saving and investment for

The History and Evolution of Personnel Protective Gear Essay Example for Free

The History and Evolution of Personnel Protective Gear Essay Fire fighting is one of the most important jobs in the world because the threat of fire to the society is real and present everytime. Fire fighters are needed in different fields and in different locations fire fighting in the city inside residential and business districts, fire fighting in forests and woodlands and even fire fighting on seas when ships and sea vehicles catch fire. The threat to the place that is burning is as important as the threat to the life of the fire fighters who are battling fires. Because of that, it is important that fire fighters are equipped not just with equipment that can help them put out the fire, but also with equipment that can help them protect themselves from the threat posed by fire, like burning, smoke inhalation and oxygen deprivation, and worse, death. Through the years the equipment and materials used by fire fighters to protect themselves from fire has developed and evolved. This is because it needs to suit to the needs of fire fighting and adapt to the latest development and advancement in the field of fire fighting. The importance of protective gear and equipment of fire fighters and how it evolved through the years is a significant aspect of the fire fighting history in the world. Because of that importance, this paper will focus on discussing such developments and how it impacted fire fighting and made fire fighting a more effective aspect of social welfare service rendered by the government for the safety of the people and the environment. The protective gear of the fire fighters must take into consideration that the level of protection needed by fire fighters vary depending on the condition of the environment wherein the fire fighter operates. The protective gear, particularly, the basic protective outfit that fire fighters wear, must be able to protect the fire fighters in as many life threatening aspects of the job as possible. Aside from the immediate threat that the fire fighter might be burned while conducting fire fighting exercise, there is also the threat of environment like the weather (snow, rain etc) and the presence and exposure to water itself. â€Å"The environment that a fire fighter experiences in the normal course of duty ranges from benign to very dangerous. The protective clothing that fire fighters wear must meet a variety of performance criteria; it must protect from the extreme heat of fires, it must protect from the cold of winter (Yarborough, 2005, p. 74). † But the notion of protection is not just limited on the characteristic of protective gear and clothing inhibiting the impact of fire, cold and smoke to the body. Protection also means that the protective gear should not hinder the movement and ability for mobility of the fire fighter. In fire fighting, being unable to move is a very dangerous situation to be in, since fire fighters sometimes come inside a burning house to save individuals. But if they cannot manage the return trip outside of the burning house, it endangers not only the lives of those they were hoping to save but also the lives of the people who came in and was expected to save the people in trouble. Because of this, the notion of protection also included the idea that the protective gear should not impede or restrain the fire fighter so that the fire fighter can protect himself and the victims from fire by being mobile and moving from an unsafe location to a safe location as the fire fighting process is underway. â€Å"It must be light enough that sheer weight of the gear does not cause undue stress on their bodies. To this end, one design has become the standard for fire fighter turnout gear. This design includes a heat resistant outer shell, typically made of some synthetic fiber; a moisture barrier, typically made of a water resistant breathable material, and a thermal barrier, typically made of wool felt with some aramid fiber woven into it (Yarborough, 2005, p. 74). † The History of the Protective Gear and Clothing that Fire Fighters Used and Wore With the absence of technology and the knowledge about this particular discipline in social welfare service, the earliest forms of fire fighting was unorganized as it was lacking with suitable equipment. Fire protection among the fire fighters was not present then. The people doing the fire fighting have to rely on the clothes on their backs. The first notable development in fire fighting gear and protective clothing happened in 1730s after Jacobus Turck made what was considered as the first ever fireman’s helmet. Unlike modern day fireman’s helmet, the Turck helmet has a wide brim and was made with leather. It also featured a high crown. The development of the fireman’s head gear made its next milestone the following century, when Henry T. Gratacap improved the design of the fire fighters helmet. It was the improvement to Turck’s design including the protection in the neck and nape and the presence of front shield; while the hat itself was more reinforced than the previous design. Besides head protection, the development on coats and pants especially for fire fighting was also taking place, with fire fighters getting to use these clothing which was reinforced by wool so that it is more heat and water resistant compared to ordinary everyday clothing. Because fire fighting exposed fire fighters to hot surfaces and a terrain that is filled with dangerous materials like broken glass and splinters of sharp woods, rocks and mangled steel, fire figthers already started wearing safety boots right about the time the second development in the helmet happened and the fire fighters were wearing wool jackets and pants (Hasenmeier, 2008). The same century marked the work of Giovanni Aldini who was made one of the earliest attempts to design a mask that can protect fire fighters from the smoke present during fire fighting, working on this apparatus at 1825, an effort that was pursued similarly by other individuals including John Roberts. But a more definitive mask for fire fighting came out in 1863 behind the efforts of James Braidwood. Braidwood’s idea of a mask that can supply fresh air to the wearer consists of bags that act as artificial lungs, strapped on the back of the wearer and features a waist belt to go with the shoulder straps necessary to carry it and bring it wherever the fire fighter goes during the course of his work. A mouthpiece connects the hose to the sacs of air that the wearer can inhale. This development improved the fire fighter’s list of protective gears and clothing at the time, which also already included goggles, as well as whistles and leather hoods for added protection. This is to allow fire fighters to communicate even through non verbal means, allowing other fire fighters to know the position and location of each other during fire fighting operations. At the start of the twentieth century, rubber was integrated in the uniforms of the fire fighters. Hasenmeier (2008) noted in his article that there were already existing proofs that some fire fighting groups that used rubber jackets and rubber boots as early as the 1930s so that they are as dry as possible and far from the health threats brought about by being soaked in cold water especially during the cold parts of the year (Hasenmeier, 2008). Then came next are the bunker gears or turnout gears. The name of which Hasenmeier believed to have originated either from the act of bunking together and turning out during fire fighting missions, or because it was the same protective clothing worn by soldiers turned fire fighters especially those who are designated in the cannon positions in the bunkers during World War I. After the end of the Second World War, standards for protective equipment among fire fighters became official and enforced as a necessary protocol for fire fighters safety. It was also about the same time that improvements in the breathing apparatus for fire fighters were developed, including the time when the concept of Scott Aviation was applied in the 1945-era breathing equipment that fire fighters started using. In 1982 there was already what is known as the Personal Alert Safety System or PASS and the necessary standards to maintain this. Today, more and more efforts were being made to ensure that the gear and clothing of the fire fighters are more and more suitable to the needs of the fire fighters and their particular working condition. Different countries are making many different developments in the material of the coats and pants, as well as the design and ability of the breathing apparatus used by fire fighters so that they are safe, and so are the people they are trying to rescue in the process. Because of the presence of more modern approach to fire fighting and the development of fire fighting gears and clothing, the design of future apparatus for fire fighter safety includes the â€Å"harmonious design† of the gears and clothing, as well as the â€Å"functional integration of characteristics such as resistance to cuts and punctures, mobility, waterproofness, fit and durability (Barker, Coletta, 1986, p. 487). † Because fire fighting is more modern now, the design includes other safety considerations like the consideration that â€Å"fire figthers also may come in contact with poisonous, flammable, or explosive gases and chemicals, as well as radioactive or other hazardous materials that may have immediate or long term effects on their health. For these reasons, they must wear protective gear that can be very heavy and hot (US Department of Labor, 2006, p. 360). †

Creatio ex Capacitas and Creatio Continua: When having Power just isnt Enough :: Essays Papers

Creatio ex Capacitas and Creatio Continua: When having Power just isn't Enough In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, "Let there be light;" and there was light. ~ (Genesis 1:1-2a; 3 NRSV). The biblical passage above has been the subject of much debate in light of not only how God created, but also as to out of what He created. There are two main camps in this debate: those who affirm creatio ex nihilo and those who affirm panentheism. Both speak of God's omnipotent creativity expressed through the generation of new modes of existence. Creatio ex nihilo advocates claim that God did this 'out of nothing;' creating all things out of absolutely nothing. Panentheists purport that God created by influencing a realm of 'non-divine actualities.' These non-divine actualities are comprised of 'moments of experience,' which have always been, and these actualities present the options from which the next moments are created. Panentheists believe a realm of actualities has always existed alongside God, although the individual actualities themselves are neither eternal nor do possess any divine power in, or of, themselves. Those on both sides of this debate profess God to be a sovereign, holy, omnipresent, and a personal being who interacts with the loving intent of bringing about the most possible good for all creation. The discrepancy in the debate is found in the different views of how this goal is carried out. As a result, some of the attributes of God are conceived differently: in particular God's love and omnipotence, and free creaturely response to God. Those professing creation ex nihilo come under fire by those who ask the question "what is nothing?" This question cannot be ignored, because, while it endows God with unlimited power over creation by showing Him to be the sole actor in creating, creatio ex nihilo seems paradoxical. Or as Peter Van Inwgen says, To say that there is nothing is to say that there isn't anything, not even vast emptiness. If there were a vast emptiness, there would be no material object - no atoms or elementary particles or anything made of them - but there would nevertheless be something: the vast emptiness (Qtd. "Creation Out of Nothing" Lodahl. 2). Critics criticize panentheists for affirming the existence of a 'realm of non-divine actualities. Creatio ex Capacitas and Creatio Continua: When having Power just isn't Enough :: Essays Papers Creatio ex Capacitas and Creatio Continua: When having Power just isn't Enough In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep . . . Then God said, "Let there be light;" and there was light. ~ (Genesis 1:1-2a; 3 NRSV). The biblical passage above has been the subject of much debate in light of not only how God created, but also as to out of what He created. There are two main camps in this debate: those who affirm creatio ex nihilo and those who affirm panentheism. Both speak of God's omnipotent creativity expressed through the generation of new modes of existence. Creatio ex nihilo advocates claim that God did this 'out of nothing;' creating all things out of absolutely nothing. Panentheists purport that God created by influencing a realm of 'non-divine actualities.' These non-divine actualities are comprised of 'moments of experience,' which have always been, and these actualities present the options from which the next moments are created. Panentheists believe a realm of actualities has always existed alongside God, although the individual actualities themselves are neither eternal nor do possess any divine power in, or of, themselves. Those on both sides of this debate profess God to be a sovereign, holy, omnipresent, and a personal being who interacts with the loving intent of bringing about the most possible good for all creation. The discrepancy in the debate is found in the different views of how this goal is carried out. As a result, some of the attributes of God are conceived differently: in particular God's love and omnipotence, and free creaturely response to God. Those professing creation ex nihilo come under fire by those who ask the question "what is nothing?" This question cannot be ignored, because, while it endows God with unlimited power over creation by showing Him to be the sole actor in creating, creatio ex nihilo seems paradoxical. Or as Peter Van Inwgen says, To say that there is nothing is to say that there isn't anything, not even vast emptiness. If there were a vast emptiness, there would be no material object - no atoms or elementary particles or anything made of them - but there would nevertheless be something: the vast emptiness (Qtd. "Creation Out of Nothing" Lodahl. 2). Critics criticize panentheists for affirming the existence of a 'realm of non-divine actualities.

Anne Frank :: World War II History

Anne Frank Anne Frank lived with her family in a pleasant house. For Anne and her sister, Margot, their early childhood was a sucure place inhabited by loving parents, relatives and nurses. However, the Nazis had gained power in some parts of Germany. The Nazis wanted all Jews to be killed. Otto Frank, Anne's father, did not hestitate to wait for the Nazis to come into full power. In 1933, the Franks left Frankfort. Mrs. Frank and the two girls joined her mother in Aachen, near the Belgian border. Otto Frank went to Holland and started a business in food products. In the spring of 1934, the Franks reunited and settled in Amsterdam. Anne Frank lived in Amsterdam happily, like she did in Frankfort. She attended Montessori School and had a host of friends. Her father, however, was still worried for in Germany the Nazis gained almost complete power. In 1940, the Germans envaded and conquered Holland. Anne's life had changed by the Germans taking control. She could not go to her school, and was to attend the Jewish Lyceum. No Jews were allowed out on the streets at night. In 1941, the Germans had their first round-up of Jews in Amsterdam. 5 months later, the Germans summonded 16-year-old Margot Frank to report for deportation. Otto Frank, however, had contact with Dutch friends, and were able to hide out in the attic of a house. The morning after Margot was summonded they left Amsterdam and went to the attic of the house called the Secret Annexe. In the Secret Annexe they were joined by the Van Daan family. There was Mr. and Mrs. Van Daan and their son Peter. Later, a eldery dentist, Alburt Dussel, was invited to share their refuge. The 8 Jews hid in the Secert Annexe for many years. Otto Frank's Dutch friends, brought them food and even gifts. The news in the fall of 1942 was terrifying for the Franks. The roundup of Jews from Holland was proceeding according to plan. While the Franks were in hiding, Germany was at the height of conquest. But of August 4, 1944, the Gestapo penetrated into the Frnak's hiding place. The 8 Jews, together were taken to Gestapo headquaters in Amsterdam. The Franks, Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel were sent to Westbork. Anne Frank, Diary of a Young Girl was actually the diary of Anne Frank. Anne Frank was a girl who lived with her family during the time of while the Nazis took power.

Thoreaus’ Campaign against Blind Obedience to the Government

Led by his disgust against the slavery and the war of the United States against Mexico, Henry David Thoreau (1848) called on men and women to stand up against a government that perpetuates injustices through his essay Resistance to Civil Government, also known as Civil Disobedience. The central tenet of this essay is his pronouncement that â€Å"that government is best, which governs least. † He expounded on the role of the government as being more harmful than helpful to the overall condition of the people in the society.He said that even democracy is not an answer to this, because democracy simply highlights the decision of the majority, which is not necessarily seasoned by wisdom. One of the important expressions of the will of the government is through its laws. Thoreau, however, favors the cultivation of respect towards what is right since the law does not make humans more just. In this essay, he also used the metaphor of the machine in depicting the kind of agency the go vernment is.Moreover, he referred to people who blindly follow the government as robots without conscience. Thoreau also raised his voice against paying taxes and even voting for justice since, according to him, these activities only contribute to the injustices committed by the government. He conceded, however, that he is willing to pay taxes which will directly contribute to the upholding of his neighbor’s good.In a bold statement, he also called for the breaking of the law if the law is unjust. Being put in jail is but another means to assert one man’s freedom since the government cannot really take away from him who he is. Simple living is another value exemplified by Thoreau in his essay. By being simple, he does not have great anxieties. Thoreau’s essay has had far-reaching consequences and influence on subsequent leaders who used civil disobedience. Reference Thoreau, H. D. (1848). On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Retrieved 19 July 2007 from http://www.panarchy.org/thoreau/disobedience.1848.html.

Gothic vs. Romantic Elements Essay Example

Gothic vs. Romantic Elements Essay Example Gothic vs. Romantic Elements Paper Gothic vs. Romantic Elements Paper Essay Topic: Poetry What are the 4 Gothic elements? Psychological Torment, Bleak or Remote Setting, Supernatural Elements, Physical Violence What are the 5 Romantic elements? (The 5 is) Imagination, Intuition, Idealism, Inspiration, Individuality Describe IMAGINATION (5 is) Emphasized over reason, necessary for creating all art. Age of Reason Describe INTUITION (5 is) Romantics placed value on intuition or feelings and instincts, Emotions were important to romantic art Describe IDEALISM (5 is) the concept that we can make the work a better place, Refers to any theory that emphasizes the spirit, the mind, or language over matter thought has a crucial role in making the world the way it is Describe INSPIRATION (5 is) the romantic artist, musician, or writer is an Inspired creator rather than a technical master, Means to go with the moment or being spontaneous, rather than getting it precise Describe INDIVIDUALITY (5 is) Romantics celebrate the individual, During this time period, womens rights and abolitionism were taking root as major movements Define parable a simplified story that teaches a moral lesson Define allegory a story or poem in which characters, settings, and events are symbolic of other people, events or for abstract ideas Define facade false front Give an example of allegory from The Ministers Black Veil. The veil that Reverent Hooper wear represents secret sin (his true self) Define assonance repetition of a vowel sound Define consonance repetition of a constant sound Define single effect sounds and setting contribute to a single emotion in the reader Define irony the opposite of what is expected to occur Define meter the rhythmic structure of poetry found my measuring syllables and feet According to the Romantics, death is_______. something to be trusted/ a part of life Despite their stylistic differences, what two writers suffered personal loss throughout their lives? Longfellow Poe What are the 3 Romantic poems? Thanatopis, Spalm of Life, The Ropewalk What are the 3 Gothic literatures? Hop-Frog, The Raven, The Ministers Black Veil What do The Romantics see? they see things for not what they are, but for what they have the potential to be Define Romanticism a movement in art, literature, and music during the 19th century What is the theme of Thanatopsis? people come and go, nature is always there In death, you return to nature and become part of something bigger than yourself Differences between trimeter, pentameter, tetrameter, and hexameter trimeter-6 syllables (3 metrical feet), pentameter- 10 syllables, tetrameter- 8 syllables, hexameter- 12 syllables What is the central message of The Ropewalk work that dehumanizes the individual is unexceptable Example of foreshadowing in Hop-Frog When Hop-Frog suggests to dress up the king and his seven ministers as arrangatangs and hang them from the center of the saloon with tar and feathers on them How did Hop-Frog get his name? By the seven ministers because he wasnt able to walk like everybody else; he is a dwarf What is the central theme of Ministers Black Veil? people are unwilling to face the truth about themselves What does the black veil represent? Secret sin (allegory) How did Hawthorne think towards his ancestors? embarrassed and guilty that they judged witch trials Give an example of SUPERNATURAL ELEMENT from any text. From the Raven when Poe quotes the raven Nevermore, ravens cant talk Give an example of a BLEAK AND REMOTE SETTING from any text. In Hop-Frog when the grand saloon is described as a circular room, very lofty, with light coming from one single window at the top of the room Give and example of PSYCHOLOGICAL TORMENT from any text. In Hop-Frog when the king reminds HopFrog that his friends are absent and hell never see them again Give an example of PHYSICAL VIOLENCE from any text. In Hop-Frog when the king pushed Tripetta and poured the wine in her face

Definition and Examples of Standard American English

Definition and Examples of Standard American English The term Standard American English customarily refers to a variety of the English language thats  generally used in professional communication in the United States and taught in American schools. Also known as  Edited American English, American Standard English, and General American. Standard American English (SAE or StAmE) may refer to either written English or spoken English (or both).Standard American English is not a myth, say linguists William Kretzschmar and Charles Meyer, but it is not identical with the language of any natural population of speakers; it is a very real institutional construct that has attracted the loyalty of a committed group of speakers who claim that they speak it (The Idea of Standard American English in  Standards of English, 2012). Examples and Observations The notion of a widespread, normative variety, or standard dialect, is an important one, but it is not always easy to define in a precise way, especially for English. . . .In the United States, we dont have a language academy, but we have many grammar and usage books that people turn to for the determination of standard forms. The key words in this definition are prescribed and authority so that the responsibility of determining standard forms is largely out of the hands of most speakers of the language. . . .If we took a sample of everyday conversational speech, we would find that there are virtually no speakers who consistently speak formal standard English as prescribed in the grammar books. In fact, it is not unusual for the same person who prescribes a formal standard English form to violate standard usage in ordinary conversation.(Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, American English: Dialects and Variation, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 2006)Standard American English UsageStandard A merican English usage is linguistic good manners, sensitively and accurately matched to context- to listeners or readers, to situation, and to purpose. But because our language is constantly changing, mastering its appropriate usage is not a one-time task like learning the multiplication tables. Instead, we are constantly obliged to adjust, adapt, and revise what we have learned.(The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. Columbia University Press, 1993) Standard American English and Social PowerStandard American English is not a variety of English that is inherently standard, or better, or more beautiful, or more logical than other forms of English. What makes it standard is that some speakers of American English have the social power to impose the variety of English they happen to use on speakers of other varieties. They are in a position to make their English the prestigious form of English. They can do so thanks to their social power. Since this social power is desired by other people, the English spoken by people with power is also desirable for others. In this sense, the possession of the prestigious variety is the possession of social power.(Zoltan Kovecses,   American English: An Introduction. Broadview, 2000)Standard American English Pronunciation- StAmE pronunciation differs from region to region, even from person to person, because speakers from different circumstances in and different parts of the United States commonly employ regional and social features to some extent even in formal situations.(William A. Kretzschmar, Jr., Standard American English Pronunciation. A Handbook of Varieties of English, ed. by Bernd Kortmann and Edgar W. Schneider. Mouton De Gruyter, 2004)- As for pronunciation, Standard American English is best defined as the avoidance of pronunciations associated with particular regions or social groups.(William A. Kretzschmar, Jr. and Charles F. Meyer,  The Idea of Standard American English. Standards of English:  Codified Varieties Around the World.  Cambridge University Press, 2012). Also see: American EnglishEdited American English (EAE)General American EnglishAfrican-American Vernacular English (AAVE)American SpellingLanguage StandardizationNonstandard EnglishPrescriptive GrammarPrestigeStandard British EnglishStandard EnglishWhat Is Standard English?

Free Essays on George Whitefield

George Whitefield The English evangelist and founder of the Calvinists Methodists, George Whitefield was born in Gloucester, England, on December 16, 1714. He was an innkeeper’s son and did not care much for schooling as a young child. In 1732, he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford. During his studies at Oxford, Whitefield became associated with John and Charles Wesley who were trying to revive the lifeless and passionless Anglicanism that seemed grip the nation. In 1936 Whitefield graduated from Oxford and in the same year was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England (4). It was within a year after his ordination that Whitefield started to become known as a controversial figure for he dared to challenge the established church, which nobody really did at that time. In 1738 Whitefield made his first of seven trips to America. During his first visit he preached and helped organize schools and orphanages in Georgia. In late 1738 he returned to England only to find that the natio nal church looked down on him (including being denounced by the bishop of London) and pulpits began to close to him and the clergy of the local churches grew very wary of him. This was all due to his mingling with dissenters and controversial preaching against The Church. As the churches closed their doors to him, Whitefield took to the idea of preaching in open fields so he would not be dependent on the church or their society in order to continue his preaching (2). It was shortly after the bishop denounced him that Whitefield decided to return to America. If one reads Whitefield’s journals these events are thoroughly described (1). Once back in America Whitefield began preaching through the 13 colonies starting in the North and working his way south. It was his presence and revivalism spirit that helped set flame to the â€Å"Great Awakening† in America, which lasted for about 20 years. One can say that he helped spark the first ... Free Essays on George Whitefield Free Essays on George Whitefield George Whitefield The English evangelist and founder of the Calvinists Methodists, George Whitefield was born in Gloucester, England, on December 16, 1714. He was an innkeeper’s son and did not care much for schooling as a young child. In 1732, he matriculated at Pembroke College, Oxford. During his studies at Oxford, Whitefield became associated with John and Charles Wesley who were trying to revive the lifeless and passionless Anglicanism that seemed grip the nation. In 1936 Whitefield graduated from Oxford and in the same year was ordained as a deacon of the Church of England (4). It was within a year after his ordination that Whitefield started to become known as a controversial figure for he dared to challenge the established church, which nobody really did at that time. In 1738 Whitefield made his first of seven trips to America. During his first visit he preached and helped organize schools and orphanages in Georgia. In late 1738 he returned to England only to find that the natio nal church looked down on him (including being denounced by the bishop of London) and pulpits began to close to him and the clergy of the local churches grew very wary of him. This was all due to his mingling with dissenters and controversial preaching against The Church. As the churches closed their doors to him, Whitefield took to the idea of preaching in open fields so he would not be dependent on the church or their society in order to continue his preaching (2). It was shortly after the bishop denounced him that Whitefield decided to return to America. If one reads Whitefield’s journals these events are thoroughly described (1). Once back in America Whitefield began preaching through the 13 colonies starting in the North and working his way south. It was his presence and revivalism spirit that helped set flame to the â€Å"Great Awakening† in America, which lasted for about 20 years. One can say that he helped spark the first ...

Compare Hobbes' and Locke's understanding of the state of nature and Essay

Compare Hobbes' and Locke's understanding of the state of nature and of natural law. Who is more convincing - Essay Example John Locke was also regarded as one of the most remarkable political thinkers in seventeenth-century Europe. But defiantly, his philosophical arguments differed significantly from Hobbes. Locke perceived mankind as naturally good and kind. He argued that people could cope with and survive well with others, but a government was needed (Christman 2002). The government would merely possess enough power granted by the people. The perception of Locke on the government was founded only on serving the greater good or the public interest. He detested having an unlimited, supreme authoritative government (Christman 2002). Locke’s considerable importance in political thought is better known. As the first systematic theorist of the philosophy of liberalism, Locke exercised enormous influence in both England and America. In his Two Treatises of Government (1690), Locke set forth the view that the state exists to preserve the natural rights of its citizens. When governments fail in that task, citizens have the right—and sometimes the duty—to withdraw their support and even to rebel. Locke opposed Thomas Hobbes’s view that the original state of nature was â€Å"nasty, brutish, and short,† and that individuals through a social contract surrendered—for the sake of self-preservation—their rights [...] (Academic American Encyclopaedia 1994, 388). Locke dealt with the assertion of Hobbes that a state of war was the state of nature, though he did not relate this assertion to Hobbes. He disproved it by citing existing and actual historical cases of individuals in a state of nature. For this intent he considered any individuals who are not under the authority of a common arbitrator to resolve conflicts or disputes, individuals who may justifiably take steps themselves to punish criminals, just as in a state of nature (Academic American Encyclopaedia 1994). Thomas Hobbes was evidently a monarchist. He

Interview Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Interview - Essay Example I am therefore in constant communication with the hospital’s well-wishers and donors. My job description also involves troubleshooting personnel and organizational upheavals and conflicts. I am in charge of a personnel workforce of 1320 people: nurses, doctors and the support staff. Management and control of the hospital’s budget is also under my docket. This is done in collaboration with other hospital stakeholders that include hospital donors and well-wishers and the hospital’s specialists working in the human resource and accounting departments. This kind of job also involves working in unison with my fellow health specialists heading different departments in the hospital. Ensuring the hospital operates within government regulations is a task that I should carry out as the health administrator in this hospital. It should be noted that this kind of profession requires a medical and managerial training and educational background of the highest level. I must admit that it is a demanding job that requires a lot of concentration and sacrifice. I have always dreamt of pursuing a career in human health sciences. I first pursued a dental degree in Dental Sciences and later did my Master of Science degree in administration of healthcare services. In recent times, most healthcare institutions have gripped the idea of hiring Healthcare administrators who hold masters degrees or a correlated higher academic qualification. Clinical experience is also a requirement for this job. Internships offered by medical colleges and universities help students to accumulate the necessary experience required when working in any hospital or healthcare organization(s). After completion of these entire training procedures, one has to acquire an operating license of which one has to pass his/her licensing tests. Obtaini ng a master’s degree and gaining the required clinical experience does not signify the end of pursuing education in healthcare matters. It

Discussion u10d1, u10d2, u10d3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Discussion u10d1, u10d2, u10d3 - Coursework Example On April 5, 1998, when Mars Global Surveyor flew over Cydonia for the first time, Michael Malin and his Mars Orbiter Camera (MOC) team snapped a picture ten times sharper than the original Viking photos. There was no alien monument after all. The Face on Mars is located at 41 degrees north martian latitude where it was winter in April 98 -- a cloudy time of year on the Red Planet. The camera on board MGS had to peer through wispy clouds to see the Face. Perhaps, said skeptics, alien markings were hidden by haze. Nevertheless, on April 8, 2001 -- a cloudless summer day in Cydonia -- Mars Global Surveyor drew close enough for a second look. Malins team captured an extraordinary photo using the cameras absolute maximum resolution." Each pixel in the 2001 image spans 1.56 meters, compared to 43 meters per pixel in the best 1976 Viking photo. The first feature to arouse the interest of both the scientific community and the general public was the detection of a â€Å"face-like† anomaly in the area known as Cydonia, a plain in a transitional region between heavily cratered southern highlands and the smooth northern lowlands; the so called â€Å"Face of Mars†. It was photographed by the Viking 1 Orbiter in July 1976 while making detailed imaging for the selection of the landing site for the Viking 1 Lander. The image of the â€Å"Face† gained immediately great publicity and a keen interest in, along with various speculations on, the origin of the familiar looking formation. There are strong advocates for the interpretation that this feature with a length of 2,5 kilometres and a height of 250 metres is artificial, being some kind of a vast monument or perhaps a cenotaph. Later images taken by various orbiters having instruments with higher resolution than those onboard Viking 1 has lent credence to the view of the Face being a natural formation, a rocky hill or mesa with crevices on top simulating the features of a giant face

In what ways do reggio emilia philosophies and practices of pedagogy Essay

In what ways do reggio emilia philosophies and practices of pedagogy support and enhance children's creativity and their understandings of the world - Essay Example It was deeply felt that children should be given firsthand experience of their surroundings, and that they should explore and establish relationships with the world around them using their own natural curiosity, instincts and gifted abilities; instead of being taught about the world with a preset curriculum. â€Å"One of the focal points of the Reggio Emilia philosophy... develops a complex system of abilities, learning strategies and ways of organizing relationships.† (Rinaldi, 2006, p. 83). My experience in Reggio Emilia convinced me that all children have the right to work and play with a wide range of the highest-quality materials in the highest quality settings in their daily life in school. It is in this way that children are able to build rich and complex relationships with the world, which will grow and evolve over time. (Cadwell, 1997, p. 72). The Reggio philosophy was based upon giving the children the freedom and the right to set their own curriculum, according to their individual needs and interests; it incorporated parents as partners, and teachers as learners. The teacher in Reggio Emilia is not viewed as the expert or sole dispenser of information; rather, the role of the teacher becomes one that is shared among members of the group... The teacher’s role is to create a partnership with the learners ... and begin the process of the co-construction of knowledge. (Fraser & Gestwicky, 2002, p. 46-47). She always directs their attention back to the essence of their own lives [and invites them] to turn their own language upon this world...At the same time she knows that she is initiator at the outset... if the children are to take over, it is because she has opened up the possibilities and established the tone. (Connie & Harold Rosen, 1973, p. 64) A very important aspect of the Reggio philosophy is the use of documentation of the child’s progress and development through various critical

Optical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Optical - Essay Example Since the future demands a high speed networking, plastic optical fibre can be a possible option in the next generation. Â  There are different types of plastic optic fibres. These types arise due to the attributes that determine any type of transmission media. The main attributes are; the length over which data will be transmitted and the speed at which the data will be transmitted over a given length. There can be loss of data during the transmission process, and this arises from scattering the light or absorption of the light by impurities in the fibrelike molecules of water or metals, fibre defects like voids, interfaces of core cladding and the end faces. Any one of the loss mechanisms is usually a function of the transmission wave’s wavelength (Weinert, 1999). One type of a plastic optical fibre is the PMMA. The PMMA loss spectrum has 530 nm, 570 nm and 650 nm transmission windows. All these windows are in the visible range. The 650 nm window is more sensitive because it is narrow. If a 650 nm source shifts with temperature, there could be arousal of problems in this window. On the other hand, the 57 and 530 windows are broader hence less sensitive to source wavelength shifts due to temperature variations. The PMMA plastic fibre is limited to transmitting light of less than 100 m. this is because the losses at 650 nm are 125dB/km while the loses at 570 nm and 530 nm are less than 90dB/km (Plastic Optical Fibres and Applications Conference (Paris)), 1992). Another type of plastic optical fibre is made from perfluorinated polymers. This newer type of plastic optical fibre exhibits greater light transmission over a wider range of wavelength. There are two notable features that are seen when comparing the loss spectrum of perfluorinated polymer to that of PMMA. One is that the spectrum for the perfluorinated polymer ranges from 650 nm to 1300 nm. This range is notably higher than the range for PMMA. The second outstanding

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

1 - Essay Example Today, my community regards me as a better soccer player. I can trace my perfection in soccer to good mentorship, talent, and consistent practice. This narrative will demonstrate just how mentorship, talent, exposure, and practice can cause a player to become a better soccer player. My parents and I realized my talent and interest in soccer at the most crucial time that allowed for dedicated training, support, and perfection of my skills. My parents usually narrate to me how I had immense love for soccer balls at a tender age, which played a major part in convincing them that I may have a talent and interest in soccer. My parents bought me several soccer balls and I would even try to make some using polythene papers. At two years of age, I was already gazing a pictures of people playing soccer and kicking balls in my room where soccer balls were some of the toys that I loved. While I was joining kindergarten my parents informed my teachers about my love for soccer where the teachers helped me to nature my talent from an early age. When I gained the capacity to read, I demonstrated my interest in soccer by reading soccer magazines and identifying with popular soccer players. My colleagues at the elementary school nicknamed me Ronaldo. I zeroed in on captivating soccer pullouts, hung magazines, and newspaper cuttings related to soccer in my small room. My parents supported my quest by buying me soccer magazines. With time, I started practicing some of the soccer skills defined in the soccer magazines. The soccer magazines enhanced my knowledge on playing skills, soccer literacy, and detailed information on soccer as a professional sport. I learnt about coaches, rules, players, levels of competition, financial benefits, physical benefits, and FIFA from the soccer magazines. I have been practicing the lessons derived from the soccer magazines in my entire life, which has helped me to perfect my soccer knowledge and skills. Ever since I realized my dream and

Statement of Cash Flow Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Statement of Cash Flow - Essay Example The statement of cash flow has been in use since November 1987 when the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a statement of financial accounting standards requiring businesses to use a statement of cash flow instead of a statement of changes in financial position. There are two methods for preparing and presenting a statement of cash flow; the direct method and the indirect method, the main difference lies in the presentation of the operating section. The sections of investing and financing are the same in both methods. In the direct method, cash flows from operating activities encompass amounts such as cash from customers and cash paid to suppliers. On the contrary, the indirect method shows the net income, followed by the adjustments required to convert the total net income to the total cash from operating activities (Brahmasrene, Strupeck & Whitten, 2004). In addition, the direct method must provide a reconciliation of net income and the cash provided by operating ac tivities, a process which is achieved automatically in the indirect method of cash flow statement. The indirect method is found to be more effective in relaying cash flow information. Thus, it is preferred to the direct method in most corporations (Brahmasrene, Strupeck & Whitten, 2004). Whereas the direct method or the income statement method reports the main categories of operating cash receipts and payments, the indirect method places emphasis on net income and the net cash flow from operations (Taulli, 2004).

Essay 1 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 10

1 - Essay Example Today, my community regards me as a better soccer player. I can trace my perfection in soccer to good mentorship, talent, and consistent practice. This narrative will demonstrate just how mentorship, talent, exposure, and practice can cause a player to become a better soccer player. My parents and I realized my talent and interest in soccer at the most crucial time that allowed for dedicated training, support, and perfection of my skills. My parents usually narrate to me how I had immense love for soccer balls at a tender age, which played a major part in convincing them that I may have a talent and interest in soccer. My parents bought me several soccer balls and I would even try to make some using polythene papers. At two years of age, I was already gazing a pictures of people playing soccer and kicking balls in my room where soccer balls were some of the toys that I loved. While I was joining kindergarten my parents informed my teachers about my love for soccer where the teachers helped me to nature my talent from an early age. When I gained the capacity to read, I demonstrated my interest in soccer by reading soccer magazines and identifying with popular soccer players. My colleagues at the elementary school nicknamed me Ronaldo. I zeroed in on captivating soccer pullouts, hung magazines, and newspaper cuttings related to soccer in my small room. My parents supported my quest by buying me soccer magazines. With time, I started practicing some of the soccer skills defined in the soccer magazines. The soccer magazines enhanced my knowledge on playing skills, soccer literacy, and detailed information on soccer as a professional sport. I learnt about coaches, rules, players, levels of competition, financial benefits, physical benefits, and FIFA from the soccer magazines. I have been practicing the lessons derived from the soccer magazines in my entire life, which has helped me to perfect my soccer knowledge and skills. Ever since I realized my dream and

Meaning of Education Essay Example for Free

Meaning of Education Essay Recently, a university professor wrote a letter to the editor of the local newspaper. He commented that people shouldnt put too much weight on the recently released trends in SRA scores of the states high school students. The professor went on to describe some of the unanswered questions about the nature and value of assessment. He mentioned that one of the problems with assessment was the ongoing disagreement on the very purpose of education. A few days later, a scathing response was printed from a community member who questioned whether the University really wanted someone on their staff who didnt even know the purpose of education. Clearly, this person assumed that his definition of education was shared by all. What is the meaning of education? Webster defines education as the process of educating or teaching (now thats really useful, isnt it? ) Educate is further defined as to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of Thus, from these definitions, we might assume that the purpose of education is to develop the knowledge, skill, or character of students. Unfortunately, this definition offers little unless we further define words such as develop, knowledge, and character. What is meant by knowledge? Is it a body of information that exists out there—apart from the human thought processes that developed it? If we look at the standards and benchmarks that have been developed by many states—or at E. D. Hirschs list of information needed for Cultural Literacy (1), we might assume this to be the definition of knowledge. However, there is considerable research leading others to believe that knowledge arises in the mind of an individual when that person interacts with an idea or experience. This is hardly a new argument. In ancient Greece, Socrates argued that education was about drawing out what was already within the student. (As many of you know, the word education comes from the Latin e-ducere meaning to lead out. ) At the same time, the Sophists, a group of itinerant teachers, promised to give students the necessary knowledge and skills to gain positions with the city-state. There is a dangerous tendency to assume that when people use the same words, they perceive a situation in the same way. This is rarely the case. Once one gets beyond a dictionary definition—a meaning that is often of little practical value—the meaning we assign to a word is a belief, not an absolute fact. Here are a couple of examples. â€Å"The central task of education is to implant a will and facility for learning; it should produce not learned but learning people. The truly human society is a learning society, where grandparents, parents, and children are students together. † ~Eric Hoffer â€Å"No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure. † ~Emma Goldman â€Å"The only purpose of education is to teach a student how to live his life-by developing his mind and equipping him to deal with reality. The training he needs is theoretical, i. e. , conceptual. He has to be taught to think, to understand, to integrate, to prove. He has to be taught the essentials of the knowledge discovered in the past-and he has to be equipped to acquire further knowledge by his own effort. † ~Ayn Rand â€Å"The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men. † ~Bill Beattie â€Å"The one real object of education is to leave a man in the condition of continually asking questions. † ~Bishop Creighton â€Å"The central job of schools is to maximize the capacity of each student. † ~Carol Ann Tomlinson These quotations demonstrate the diversity of beliefs about the purpose of education. How would you complete the statement, The purpose of education is ? If you ask five of your fellow teachers to complete that sentence, it is likely that youll have five different statements. Some will place the focus on knowledge, some on the teacher, and others on the student. Yet peoples beliefs in the purpose of education lie at the heart of their teaching behaviors. Despite what the letter writer might have wished, there is no definition of education that is agreed upon by all, or even most, educators. The meanings they attach to the word are complex beliefs arising from their own values and experiences. To the extent that those beliefs differ, the experience of students in todays classrooms can never be the same. Worse, many educators have never been asked to state their beliefs—or even to reflect on what they believe. At the very least, teachers owe it to their students to bring their definitions into consciousness and examine them for validity. Purposes and Functions. To make matters more complicated, theorists have made a distinction between the purpose of education and the functions of education. (2) A purpose is the fundamental goal of the process—an end to be achieved. Functions are other outcomes that may occur as a natural result of the process— byproducts or consequences of schooling. For example, some teachers believe that the transmission of knowledge is the primary purpose of education, while the transfer of knowledge from school to the real world is something that happens naturally as a consequence of possessing that knowledge—a function of education. Because a purpose is an expressed goal, more effort is put into attaining it. Functions are assumed to occur without directed effort. For this reason its valuable to figure out which outcomes you consider a fundamental purpose of education. Which of the following do you actually include in your planning? Acquisition of information about the past and present: includes traditional disciplines such as literature, history, science, mathematics Formation of healthy social and/or formal relationships among and between students, teachers, others Capacity/ability to evaluate information and to predict future outcomes (decision-making) Capacity/ability to seek out alternative solutions and evaluate them (problem solving) Development of mental and physical skills: motor, thinking, communication, social, aesthetic Knowledge of moral practices and ethical standards acceptable by society/culture Capacity/ability to recognize and evaluate different points of view Respect: giving and receiving recognition as human beings Indoctrination into the culture Capacity/ability to live a fulfilling life Capacity/ability to earn a living: career education Sense of well-being: mental and physical health. Capacity/ability to be a good citizen Capacity/ability to think creatively Cultural appreciation: art, music, humanities Understanding of human relations and motivations Acquisition/clarification of values related to the physical environment Acquisition/clarification of personal values Self-realization/self-reflection: awareness of one’s abilities and goals Self-esteem/self-efficacy As Tom Peters reminds us, What gets measured, gets done. Regardless of the high sounding rhetoric about the development of the total child, it is the content of assessments that largely drives education. How is the capacity/ability to think creatively assessed in todays schools? To what extent is the typical student recognized and given respect? How often are students given the opportunity to recognize and evaluate different points of view when multiple choice tests require a single correct answer? Teachers who hold a more humanistic view of the purpose of education often experience stress because the meaning they assign to education differs greatly from the meaning assigned by society or their institution. It is clear in listening to the language of education that its primary focus is on knowledge and teaching rather than on the learner. Students are expected to conform to schools rather than schools serving the needs of students. Stopping to identify and agree upon a fundamental purpose or purposes of education is rare. One sees nebulous statements in school mission statements, but they are often of the â€Å"Mom, baseball, and apple pie† variety that offer little substance on which to build a school culture. Creating meaningful and lasting change in education is unlikely without revisiting this basic definition. At the very least, educators must be challenged to identify and reexamine their beliefs in the light of present knowledge. It is time for the focus of education to shift from whats out there—the curriculum, assessments, classroom arrangement, books, computers—to the fundamental assumptions about and definitions of education held by educators and policymakers. NASA did not send men to the moon by building on the chassis of a model T. In the same way, education cannot hope to move beyond its present state on the chassis of 18th century education.

Analysis of impulse buying

Analysis of impulse buying Impulse buying is defined as a buying action undertaken without the problem having been previously recognized or a buying intention formed prior to entering the store. Operational Definition Shoppers are asked upon exiting the store what items they purchased. For each item, they are then asked some variant of the question when they decided to buy; before or after entering the store. The items purchased whose decisions were made after entering the store are impulse purchases. Problems identified with impulse buying studies: There are three main problems with the earlier research on impulse buying Prior studies conducted were based on a taxonomical research approach which classified products into impulse and non-impulse categories. This tends to ignore that fact that almost anything can be bought on an impulse. This approach is ineffective because it divert attention from the internally triggered motivations and their expression which is crucial to understand impulse purchase. At the end of the day, it is people, not products that show impulse consumption behaviour. Not all impulse buying can be categorized as unplanned purchase and vice versa. A lot of purchase which are not planned can be a result of stimulation in the minds of the consumer inside the store which leads to recall of the purchase which they planned long before but had been delayed or postponed. It is incorrect to classify such behaviour under impulse. Impulse buying drops down to a much narrow and specific range of phenomenon than may come under unplanned purchase. To clarify it can be said that impulse buying occurs when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately (Hoch Loewenstein,1991) There hardly exist any theoretical models or framework on impulse buying behaviour. Previous work has not offered any behavioural model to explain impulse buying in totality. Especially if we look at the functional or implementation level for the marketers, there hardly exist any organized reference models to use impulse purchase as a tool to improve sales. Many models link arousal and purchase indirectly linked by some external variable. But they have no mention of phenomena where arousal leads directly to purchase. Five factors that affect impulse purchase: 1. Navigating through categories lead to impulse buying: I found this paper on e-Commerce that had a very interesting study on impulse buying and what causes it. The paper studied habits of consumers shopping online, and found that people browsing through products by clicking categories were more likely to buy something on impulse than people searching for stuff online. The rationale is that people navigating through categories get exposed to a much greater breadth of products than people looking for products through search. 2. Power Distance Belief (PDB): I found this research paper that discusses the concept of Power Distance Belief (PDB) and its impact on impulse buying. I am not sure if I fully agree with it, or even understand it, but its a really interesting and novel take on the subject. Power -distance belief is the degree of power disparity that the people of a culture expect and accept. Higher the PDB, the more a person expects and accepts disparity in power. Eastern cultures like China and India have a high PDB and western cultures like America have a low PDB. A low PDB results in greater impulse buying, and a high PDB results in lower impulse buying. The reason for that people is eastern cultures who expect more power disparity, are also brought up to practice self restraint much more than people in western cultures who dont expect so much power disparity. 3. Prosperity: I really dont need research to tell me that prosperity leads to impulse buying. During the peak of the recession impulse buying was not even something I thought about, let alone engage in. Now, that the situation has markedly improved, a lot of people are engaging in it, including myself. 4. Shiny stuff causes impulse buys: According to this piece, things that are sparkly, noisy, jiggly, furry, fuzzy, or have any other feature that makes them draw attention will sell well on impulse. This makes sense too, because the more attention something draws, the more likely it is that you will think about it and end up buying it. 5. Price: This factor is the most talked about when it comes to impulse buying. A lot of people say that they indulged in impulse buying just because something was on a discount. I am sure deals and discounts contribute to impulse buying, and when we see something priced much lower than what we are used, that triggers a desire to get that thing and save money. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3374/is_n13_v12/ai_9204083/?tag=content;col1 Visual aid to trigger impulse purchase: Emotions are at heart of impulse buying decisions Todays retail stores are almost universal in their reliance on self-service merchandising and a high rate of impulse buying. Self-service merchandising is facilitated by store design and careful attention to traffic flow, while impulse buying is enhanced by the use of special displays. Estimates shows that at least 5 percent of total sales are the result of special displays. Impulse sales are created not by persuasive reasoning, but by striking an emotion that the customer can act upon quickly. There appear to be three mechanisms by which the impulse buying response can be triggered. First, the special display cues the customer to respond to an external advertising campaign. The display creates impulse sales by reminding customers about the extensive advertising to which they have (hopefully) been exposed. Second, the display can serve to break the consumers conditioned reflex to buy a particular product. If the consumer buys Brand A because it has become a habit, then it will be necessary for them to have a reason to break this conditioned purchase behavior. Special displays provide a way to accomplish this because the consumer is responding emotionally, not through a reasoned process. Finally, special displays create impulse sales for new or novel products by instigating the desire to try something new! The salient feature to remember about impulse sales is that they are a response to an emotional appeal. A successful appeal may take many forms, but those most universal and easiest to communicate are identified by simple phrases such as: low price, new, free, extra, etc. A special display is used to get the customers attention for each of these messages. To be successful in creating sales, each of the special displays must meet two objectives. The first and most basic is to get noticed. This is accomplished by positioning the display, where it is easily seen (either on an end cap, or sticking out from a shelf). However, given the competition for customer attention, this often is not enough. Methods of increasing visibility include bright colors, maximizing separation from the shelf or general merchandise, and massive size. Using special displays to increase impulse sales. To be successful in creating sales, each of the special displays must meet two objectives. The first and most basic is to get noticed. This is accomplished by positioning the display, where it is easily seen (either on an end cap, or sticking out from a shelf). However, given the competition for customer attention, this often is not enough. Methods of increasing visibility include bright colors, maximizing separation from the shelf or general merchandise, and massive size. The space and situation will dictate which method is appropriate. If, for example, the objective is to increase soft drink sales, this most likely is best accomplished by creating a large display with prominent signing. You also would want to increase impulse sales by creating a display of related merchandise such as snack foods and barbecue supplies. However, if less space is available, then the traditional `shelf-talkers and checkout counter displays are more useful approaches. Another excellent method for attracting attention is the use of special lighting. Lighting not only attracts attention to products, but also communicates a message. Incandescent light creates a softer, warmer image associated with quality. Coloured lighting can be used to achieve other effects. The second objective of a special display is to create an impulse to buy. The message must be clear, immediate, and the action required, unambiguous. Of course, the trick is knowing how to communicate an emotional appeal that translates into the `buy me now message. For chain drug stores, the messages that are most likely to be consistent with the merchandising mix and business policy are price and convenience (Ted Gladson Emotions are at heart of impulse buying decisions.) Model to explain purchase behaviour: Any visual contact with the product or product related communication produces a stimulus or need to look at the product and try it. This leads to development of an attitude towards the product stimulus and leads to three situations: Affect This leads to Behaviour Cognition Reliance martC:UsersnimishDesktopRelianceMart at Ahmedabad.JPG Spread across 165,000 square feet of shopping area, RelainceMart will provide the shoppers a never before experience shopping delight. The hypermarket will carry a range of over 95,000 products catering to the entire family. Shoppers will have the option to choose from a wide array of products in every category ranging from Fresh Produce, Food Grocery, Home Care Products, Apparel and Accessories, Lifestyle Product, Footwear and much more. RelianceMart offers some unique services to the shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, a photo shop, gift services and laundry services all within the store. The store also houses its own fresh bakery serving hot off the oven bread and bread products throughout the day and local savories, an ice-cream train for the kids, a chakki, ready-made batter and loose tea and pickle for the housewives. RelianceMart will also sell fine jewellery and fashion jewellery as a part of its Lifestyle section. RelianceMart will also house a health and wellness store providing pharmaceutical drugs and other wellness products. For the shoppers convenience, the store has a cafeteria providing quality food and beverages for ready consumption, an ATM machine and a consumer service / membership desk to provide the customer a truly international shopping experience. RelianceMart with 61 check-out counters has for the first time in India introduced the Mobile POS system for faster check outs. This is aimed at reducing the customer wait time. The store planning, atmospheries and layout has been designed specifically to provide a complete solution to the customer. RelianceMart will remain open from 10:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. seven days a week. The store has over 400 highly skilled and trained customer sales representatives. STAR BAZAAR The uniqueness of each Star Bazaar store lies in the size and spread of its merchandise range. Shoppers can select from a large range of staples, fresh goods, apparel, luggage, consumer durables, household products and much more and also enjoy the benefit of generous reductions on the market rate.C:UsersnimishDesktopimages.jpg The stores stock goods according to regional customer preferences, as customers in different regions favour different essentials. For instance, in Gujarat, people tend to stock up on their pulses whereas in northern India, basmati rice is a big item. Star Bazaar is aware that people today look at value as a critical component while shopping. And that the first visit may be put down to curiosity, but customers will keep coming back only if they are satisfied with the choices, the quality and the value of the products on sale. So the big focus is on understanding its customers who they are, what they want, what is relevant to them, and how to package it in a manner that makes the store more attractive to them. PRIMARY RESEARCH FINDINGS (All the information used below is taken from the quantitative and qualitative study done for this dissertation) The figure shows the percentage of respondents ever visited one of these stores. 97% of the respondents said that they have visited Big Bazaar at least once, followed by reliance mart, Star Bazaar and Vishal mega mart in the respective order. Factors leading to choice of a hypermarket store Quantitative research shows that the factors affecting the choice of hypermarket store can be broadly classified into three categories: Category Factors Most important Location Variety Discounts Average importance Brand name Quick billing Ease of finding product Quality Experience Least important Size of store Assistance in shopping Shopper Behaviour Trends Pre Planning of purchase From the research it is evident that majority of the shoppers prefer planning their purchase before going to shopping. Research says almost two third (74%) of the respondents pre plan their purchase. This may include everything from the written plan to the mental plan the shopper has. More expenditure than planned Even when a majority plans their purchase, most of the time shoppers end up spending more than planned in a hypermarket. From the above graph it is evident that almost 60% spend more than planned almost every time they go out shopping in a hypermarket. This extra amount can be attributed to the impulse purchase of the shoppers, which means that even when the shopper plans the purchase before entering a hypermarket they still end up purchasing products out of the list. Relationship between preplanning of the purchases and actual impulse behaviour The above figure shows how impulse purchase varies with pre planning of the purchase by the shopper in a hypermarket. It shows some relation between the two: Among the people who end up spending more every time, 61% are the ones who plan their purchase and rest 39% are the ones who dont plan. Among the people who hardly ever spend more than planned, 86% plan their purchase and 14% do not plan. Hence, pre planning of purchase can affect the overall impulse purchase but the impact is very less and consumers planning of purchase dont really influence to their impulse behaviour. It clearly suggests that a good number of purchase decisions are actually taken inside the store. Thus, opens a huge window of opportunity for marketers to influence their behaviour in favour of their product. Mode of payment preferred The number of credit and debit card users in India is climbing fast, and rising affluence is likely to erode Indians lingering reluctance to spend on credit. Indians have traditionally valued thrift and frugality. But the spread of affluence in the wake of rapid economic growth is challenging these values, at least for many middle-class and high-income families. One sign of this is the phenomenal growth in the number of credit and debit cards in India-in the past three years, the number of credit cards has more than doubled and the number of debit cards has almost quadrupled. It has been observed that the mode of payment can influence pain of payment. Since paying by the card will feel less painful than paying in cash, participants will spend more with card. Similar trend is observed in the above pie chart, which says almost 60% of the shoppers today prefer using their credit/debit cards in place of cash. Relationship between mode of payment and impulse purchase From the above figure it is clear that people who end up spending more in form of impulse purchase are the ones who prefer card over cash. On the other hand people using cash hardly ever spend more than planned. Thus, mode of payment can be very significant in influencing the purchase behaviour, especially impulse purchase, since the pain of spending is much less in card payment. Purchase from attractive kiosk The above pie chart shows how product placement and point of purchase communication influence the shopper behaviour. Retail Communication helps the retailers generate sales by using any one or a mix of these outputs and inform, persuade and remind customers about the retailer and its offers. Stores use tools such as visual merchandising, signage and graphics, and other forms of point-of-purchase communication (PoP) to achieve an effective in-store strategy. The consumer response from the above figure shows that 61% of the total respondents show an intention to purchase from an attractive kiosk for product launch or promotion. The above graph shows the trend of actual purchase from such kiosks. It clearly suggests that shopper may try it at times but it depends on various factors such as (findings from depth interviews): Price When it comes to picking up product on impulse from a promotional kiosk, price matters a lot. People would not want to risk buying an expensive product, which they dont have a prior experience with. At low price the risk associated with the purchase gets reduced a lot and results in high trial rate. Category openness to new product depends a lot on the importance of that product in our daily lives. For example, women are very particular about the cosmetic products that they use and are not open to experiment much on the other hand product category like snacks and chocolates does not pose any such risk. Thus, product category also influence this impulse purchase behaviour. Brand Brand name brings with it trust and reliability, which reduces the risk associated with a product trial and shoppers are more open to buy such products. For example, Apple launches its new products and even before the reviews comes out, brand loyalist buys them, because of the trust Apple has built over the years. Packaging Visual appeal plays a very important role in differentiating the product from hundreds of other products kept in a hypermarket. Packaging cannot just attract the customer but can also lead to final purchase because it is the first POP communication by the product. Brands like Parle Agros Hippo took this insight and launched the product in almost all hypermarkets and have been very successful. Discounts / offers Most of the time trial can be triggered by offering discount or some promotional scheme. In this way marketers can reduce the risk by adding more value to their offering. Also, it catches eye and the psyche of Indian customer is such that it looks for higher value at lower cost. It also creates a sense of urgency because even when customer does not need the product he/she may buy thinking that the discount may or may not be available in future. This result in impulse purchase for the purpose to stock. Purchase near billing area Billing counter is the most strategic location to trigger impulse buying behaviour in the shopper. Few factors that affect are: Time Most of the times in Indian hypermarkets people have to stand in queues before billing, this extra bit of time is when they actually think of other things they wanted to buy but may have forgotten. Presence of products around Area near the billing counter is full of products that are high on impulse purchase. These products are not the low priced and mostly eatables. For example, chocolates, toffees, chewing gums, chips, etc. Presence of such products generally tempts the shopper to pick them. The whole experience of shopping happening all around them leads to such behaviour. Influence of others purchase There is a saying that grass on the other side is always green, which holds true with Indians, while shopping too. Every person carrying a product in its shopping cart is marketing for the product. We also tend to look at other peoples shopping cart when we are waiting in the queue and that is the time when we recall most of the items that we need but forgot to buy. This is a major reason of impulse purchase in a hypermarket as compared to that of traditional retail format. Fear of loss Section wise unplanned visit The movement of the shopper inside a hypermarket is the most important thing to study for a marketer because it is very important for any manufacturer to place the product in such a way that it is visible enough to the shopper so that they can make up their mind and buy it. Impulse purchase is hugely dependent on the way the shopper move inside the store. From the research, the above graph shows what sections of the hypermarket witness highest unplanned visit. Most of the times shopper just walk through the section even when there is no intention of buying any product. Looking broadly at the various sections the hypermarket is divided, I listed down the major ones. From the above figure it is clear that: Highest unplanned visit happens in Snacks section that includes chips, biscuits, wafers, chocolates and other packaged snacks. Research shows 71% of the total respondents visit these sections even when they had no plan of buying anything from these sections initially. This is because of the following reasons: Price: Temptation: After snacks comes apparel and personal care section. Here Category bought on impulse QUALITATIVE findings Factors affecting the purchase behaviour and specifically impulse purchase in a hypermarket: Time Hypermarket is a retail format which offers a wide variety of products and practically all the consumer needs can be met at that very place. In such a situation it becomes important for them to spend time inside and take a look at every section of the hypermarket. During the depth interviews, there has been a significant change in the shopper movement and behaviour when given a situation where they have some extra bit of time to spend in the store. For example, they were given a situation where they came for a movie but got tickets of the show that is 2 hours late. Now, they have these 2 hours and they enter a hypermarket when they had no intention to visit the store initially. The response shows that now there movement would not be driven by the pre planned intention but the choice they unconsciously make. Sections they prefer to visit now are the ones which will witness maximum impulse behaviour. During the interviews it was evident that in such a situation maximum number of shoppers would want to visit the apparel and footwear section. Below table shows how the behaviour vary with different age groups. This is an important indicator for marketers and retailers to generate impulse purchase by placing their products at the entry or exit of these category sections. Disposable money (amount willing to spend on different categories) The amount a shopper carrying is also a very significant factor that influence his/her movement inside the store and hence impulse purchase. During the depth interviews, the respondents were given a situation where they were asked to imagine a situation where they are having some extra money and they wont mind spending it that days shopping. There was again a significant change in the behaviour in this situation as this extra amount psychologically give them the freedom to wander in sections that earlier they avoided because lack of money not lack of interest or time. This behaviour is again is important for marketers and retailers to generate impulse purchase by placing their products at the entry or exit of these category sections. In this case, there is a higher chance of impulse behaviour due to availability of extra cash and high intention of purchase. Payment mode Mode of payment is also a very important factor which came into light by observing shoppers at the store and depth interviews. To conduct this study I traced shopper movement inside the store and their purchase trends. If was evident that people end up spending more when they dont pay in cash because the pain of payment is very low in card as compared to that of cash. In store design Billing Counter From the above research it is quite evident that products kept near billing counter have a high probability to stimulate impulse buying behaviour. Various factors like time of queue, access to others shopping cart and the mental satisfaction of buying products contributes to this behaviour. It is designed in such a manner that while waiting in the queue you cannot avoid the sight of the products. Most of the times the products found are low priced and discounted like chewing gums, chocolates, chips, soft toys etc. Shelf placement Shopper movement Entrance Exit Shopping frequency and impulse The above graph explains the relation between shopping frequency and impulse purchase behaviour. Generally, people going for shopping everyday do not spend more than planned. It is evident from the higher number of respondents in the last three categories of everyday shoppers. On the other hand people going shopping less often tends to spend more than planned most of the time which is clear from the fact that first three categories are high on once in 3 months purchasers. Recommendations Promoting impulse buying behaviour Businesses who wish to promote their products and focus on impulse buying should create an environment where shoppers can be comforted and relieved of their negative perceptions of impulse. They should focus on the relative reasoning of impulse buying in their marketing efforts. Similarly, they should also focus on the non-economic rewards of impulse buying. Additionally, businesses can make the environment more complex, further straining consumers abilities to process information accurately. Such techniques as stocking more merchandise, creating stimulating atmospherics, and increasing information may be useful to stimulate impulse buying. Businesses have to make impulse purchasing more risk-free, through convenient return policies, or increase enablers such as credit and store hours. Importantly, this model also offers options for consumers to control their buying impulses, if they choose to, or feel better about their impulse buying, by relieving their negative evaluations of impulse. How to promote impulsive buying Emphasise needs versus wants Highlight that it will not impact on their shopping budgets over time Create a store environment which dazzles them and where they lose control Provide flexible payment methods. Some people have less cash in your wallet and sometimes leave credit cards at home Avoid making the customer wait 24 hours before making an unplanned purchase Demonstrate that this deal/offer will not last tomorrow before they realize that such deals occur on a regular basis Stress on the emotional aspect of owning the product. Good amount of effort should be put into messages which should make consumers recognize that buying on impulse is not bad. Once consumers recognize that products are more than commodities and that they are buying to please their desires, they will feel more comfortable with the impulse buying decision. Product trial There is a wide gap between the points where the product visual generates the stimulus to final purchase. To minimize this gap and to convert all stimuli into action product trial can prove very effective. This helps customers check the quality of the product and its utility, such an experience can reinforce the buying impulse and the need to buy starts dominating. Some well known things about impulse buying Traditionally impulse buying is defined as Unplanned buying refers to all purchases made without such advance planning and includes impulse buying, which is distinguished by the relative speed with which buying decisions occur. Impulse buying occurs when a consumer experiences a sudden, often powerful and persistent urge to buy something immediately. The impulse to buy is hedonically complex and may stimulate emotional conflict. Also, impulse buying is prone to occur with diminished regard for its consequences. Why people buy impulsively? Some say that it acts as a stress reliever Perceive it as the best buy of that time People are captivated as an audience Consumers have extra money in their budget These are some of the characteristics of impulsive buying Unplanned, Spontaneous and intense urge to buy the purchaser often ignoring the consequences Without much prior knowledge of the product or intension to buy A kind of emotional and irrational purchase often for reasons like fun, fantasy and social and economic pleasure Consumer often regret their purchase after purchasing Internal factors affecting impulsive buying Depends on the mood of the individual, positive mood triggers impulsive buying Impulsive buying is more a need than a want Potential entertainment and emotional worth of shopping Cognitive/affective External factors affecting impulsive buying Windows display Visual merchandising In-store form display Promotional signage Word of mouth messages E-commerce Impact of impulsive buying on the consumer Disturbs the overall financial budget Often gives product dissatisfaction and less alternatives are considered People who go for impulsive buying often have post purchase regret Irrational decision making being more emotional http://www.focus.com/briefs/marketing/impulse-buying-boosting-your-bottom-line/ Limitations People in the city are not used to research hence they were not very responsive or had less idea on how to answer certain questions. As a student, I had limited amount of resources (money, time, contacts etc) to spend on this research. This research has been conducted in two hypermarkets (Reliance mart and star bazaar), the research findings cannot be extended to all hypermarkets in India. This restricts the scope of applying the findings. There are various psychological factors driving impulse behaviour which cannot be covered in this study due to knowledge limitation. Hence the findings cannot be extended to these areas.

GM Financial Overview Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

GM Financial Overview Introduction The General Motors Corporation is a multifaceted company but its primary function is the manufacturing of automobiles and light trucks (SIC 3711). The General Motors stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has approximately 1,426,592,046 outstanding shares on the marketplace, as of 10/14/2001. It is headquartered in Detroit Michigan with offices around the world. General Motors has many other operations besides automobile manufacturing including: General Motors Acceptance Corporation Financial Services, Hughes Electronics Corporation, and the GM Locomotive Group. (Disclosure.com) Financial Statement Analysis Overall, General Motors has had five profitable years with increasing sales during the same period. GM has also paid a fixed dividend to its shareholders over the same period. The one-year, which was below average for GM, was 1998. During this period, GM was restructuring its top management and operations and also incurred a union strike of 54 days. However, GM did return to better performance in 1999 and 2000. GM overall was able to attain a fixed dividend of $2.00 per share and increase the shareholders value over the past five years. The first observation from the financial data in appendix one is that General Motors has a low profit margin and is generally less than the industry average each year. The firm is able to keep a low profit margin because they have such high sales volumes throughout the world. This strategy can be both an asset and liability in business planning. The plus side of the strategy is that GM is able to sell a large number of vehicles in the marketplace due to the lower selling price as compared to the competitor. However, the down side of the strategy is that there is a possibility that if sales volumes decrease, the firm can incur a significant decline in the EPS because the profit margin on each item sold is very low. If the global economy sours, GM can have a very difficult time meeting shareholder expectations. Another observation is that GM looks to use more debt financing that equity financing for funding their activities. The debt to equity ratio has steadily decreased over the past five years and is higher that the industry average. Also, the current and quick ratios are much lower than the industry averages. This again can pose so... .... 1996 edt. (1997) (page 320). Murray Hill, NJ: Dun & Bradstreet. Dun & Bradstreet. Industry Norms and Key Business Ratios. 1995 edt. (1996) (page 327). Murray Hill, NJ: Dun & Bradstreet. General Motors Corp. (2001, October 14). Retrieved on October 20, 2001 from www.disclosure.com. General Motors Corporation 1998 Annual Report. (1998). (pp. 55 – 83). General Motors Corporation 1999 Annual Report. (1999). (pp. 53 - 93). General Motors Corporation 2000 Annual Report. (2000). (pp. 41- 79). Standard & Poor’s. General Motors (GM). (1999) Standard Corporation Descriptions. (pp. 6000 – 6003) New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Troy, PhD., Leo. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. 32nd edt. (2001) (page 159) Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall. Troy, PhD., Leo. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. 31st edt. (2000) (page 159) Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall. Troy, PhD., Leo. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. 30th edt. (1999) (page 159) Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall. Troy, PhD., Leo. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. 29th edt. (1998) (page 159) Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines :: Essays Papers

Company Analysis: Northwest Airlines Introduction Northwest Airlines is one of the pioneers in the airline transportation industry and is ranked at the fourth largest air carrier in the United States today. The success of the carrier depends on the quality and reliability of the service at a reasonable price. Close competitors force Northwest to innovate their services by increasing efficiency. This essay will try to examine different perspectives in the services needed to successfully complete the company’s objectives. The analysis will explain historical and financial perspectives that may give a better understanding of the current market trend of the organization. Services â€Å"Northwest Airlines is engaged principally in the commercial transportation of passengers and cargo.† (5) NWA is a complete full service air transportation carrier that is the forth-largest air carrier in the world that services over 750 destinations located in 120 different countries on 6 continents. They operate 2,600 flights daily around the world and operate more than 200 nonstop between the United States and Asia each week. Headquarters is based in Minneapolis/St. Paul. The main connecting hubs are located at Detroit, Minneapolis, Memphis, and Tokyo. Northwest employs 50,600 employees nationwide as of Dec. 31, 1998. (6) NWA also has 1269 Stockholders as of Feb. 26, 1999. (6) Northwest continues to improve cargo shipping by proudly dedicating 12 Boeing 747 aircraft and easily becoming one of the largest cargo airlines in the world. (4) Cargo is very profitable for Northwest because â€Å"Northwest has predicted cargo revenue will top the 900 million mark in 2000 †. (3) The enormous fleet of aircraft contains 400 airplanes. (1) Northwest has subsidiaries wholly owned (Unless otherwise indicated by NWA) by Northwest Aircraft, Northwest Aerospace Training corps, MLT Inc, Express Airlines, and Express Airlines I. (6) History Northwest Airlines began service on October 1, 1926, flying mail between Minneapolis / St. Paul and Chicago. (2) They started passenger transportation in July 7, 1927. (2) Throughout the years Northwest has grown steadily by acquiring new system routes in the northwestern region of the USA. The year 1930 was a landmark in history because Northwest moved their home base operation to their present headquarters in St. Paul. The air service grew overnight with the acquisition of Southern Airways in 1936. Northwest’s famous red tail was introduced for the first time on February 1948.

Analyzing Retail Concept Store: Excelsior

Analyzing Retail Concept Store: EXCELSIOR By: Cheryl Angeline Sumeleh Kosova Olga Leinuo Zhang Wan Le Master Fashion Buying 12/13 1 Content Concept†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦.. 3 Market Segmentation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 3 Customer Target†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Marketing Mix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Competitors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 22 SWOT- Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 23 Merchandising Mix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 25 Display†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 34 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 35 Questionnaire†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 36 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦37 2 Concept Excelsior Milan is an innovative space that mixes and combines fashion, technology food and design.The shopping experience it offers aims to be cross-genre, choosing less well known brands and always putting the focus on excellence. The ambition is for it to become a place to socialize, somewhere to meet people, to buy things that satisfy you, to choose a sophisticated take-away to take back to your office or home that evening – somewhere to do high-profile shopping. Excelsior is a place full of energy, a floating series of inspirations and ideas. The influential boutique ANTONIA floors are surely a fashion lover’s playground, dedicating fashion womenswear, menswear and accessories to their customers. The most important thing at the moment is to have a real mix on the inside of all happy things, not just expensive things† said Antonia Giacinti, well – known to mix avant- garde and business. As a result, Excelsior Milano perfectly balances the concept boutique with a department store. The complex is an audacious injection of modernity in the city’s historical heart. The inner walls of the old movie theatre are coated with reflecting paints, while the exterior supports led screens all along the outer edge.Each floor is connected to the next by an automated ramp that is kind of a cross between a people mover and an escalator. Unlike any other store in Milan, Excelsior is hi pper than La Rinascente and brasher than Corso Como 10. Gruppo Coin spent more than 40 million dollars on its development and renovation over three years. Described by the shop owners as â€Å" a journey through shopping of the future† Market Segmentation After the group did the deep research of the different types of consumer, it shows that there are three main groups of people who buy the products in Excelsior store.The largest percentage group is contained by the people who come from the high classes level, another group invovled some middle classes level consumers who are educated well and they desire to buy the creative luxury goods, and the last group takes by the people who are the ‘new money'. 3 Market Segmentation Middle level class 13% Others 3% High level classes 84% Customer Target Five types of consumers emerge at each of the life cycle stages Since Excelsior is on its growth stage, the customers are mostly the opinion leaders.Fashion opinion leaders (celeb rities, fashion editors, journalists and early adopters) are the next most likely adopters of a fashion product. They copy the inspiration from fashion innovators and change the product into a popular style. 1 Most of them are very fashion-forward and updated. 1 https://instruct1. cit. cornell. edu/courses/cuttingedge/lifeCycle/03. htm 4 (From the questionaires) Demographic Target †¢ Customers of Excelsior are mostly 20 – 45 years old women and men who have a medium economic capacity income between â‚ ¬1500 – 3000 per month. The targets can be students/managers/business men or ladies/marriage or single.Tourists or tourist groups are 20-45 old women and men from Russia, USA and Asia. With middle income â‚ ¬1500 per month. It can be students/managers/business ladies/marriage or single. Sex Age Occupation Italy resident or tourist Status Income Frequency of shopping Married: 45% >17: 7. 6% Female: 60% 18-20: 19. 7% Male: 40% 21-29: 47. 1% 30-45: 25. 6% †¢ Employed: 75% Unemployed: 25% Tourist: 65% Italy resident 35% Single: 28% In Relationship: 27% 2000 – 3000: 3. 4%; 3000 – 5000: 24. 1%; 5000 – 10000: 42. 2%; 10000 – 20000: 12. 7%; 20000 – 60000:10. 1%; ? 60000 >7. 4% Frequently: 62% Rarely: 10% Occasionally: 28%Psychographic Target The types of clients that Excelsior Milan wants to attract are people with a clear sense of style, people who is well-informed and travelling internationally. Designed to target a cross for age, sex, social background but fashion enthusiast, curiousity, cosmopolitan. 5 Marketing Mix Product Excelsior provides clothes , footwear, accessories, beauty and food hall for women and men from high and middle level incom. The clothes include evening dresses, formal and casual wear. 4000 square meters in single volume, divided into 7 floors Each floor have their own names: -1 floor (Underground floor) 6 7An exclusive food haven EATS – a real supermarket offering a wide var iety of fresh meat, fish, vegetables, ready-to-eat gastronomic specialties and wines, here you can not only find the best quality products from Italy and abroad, but also find a corner dedicated to show-cooking and a wine cellar that offers 46 different top wines through a clever machine specifically designed for tasting wines by the glass. The restaurant offers three dimensions, â€Å"Now† for the elegant take-away, â€Å"Fast † for the bistro characterized by seasonal specials, and â€Å"Slow† for the more traditional restaurant, regularly hosting renowned guest chefs like Davide Oldani. Between -1 and 0 – â€Å"M† floor There are bistro and wine shop. 9 0 floor – â€Å"G† This floor is always packed with young people, the ground floor presents accessories from keys of Tiffany to DJ headphones WESC, perfume Commes des Garson, inexpensive SWATCH watches, cuckoo iphone accessories and limited edition of sunglasses Ray Ban. 10 1 floor – ICON TEMPORARY Women’s floor offers concept brands – contemporary American designers such as Helmut Lang, Theory, Rag & Bone, Alice and Olivia, Vince, Globe Trotter, Swatch, Anta, Mario Portolano, Antipast with price range from about â‚ ¬200-400.Also here presents hats, which are made specially for the store. 11 2 floor – ANTONIA UOMO 12 The second floor displays only men’s collections, Such as Maison Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Marni, Balmain, Marc Jacobs, Neil Barrett, Band of Outsiders, Golden Goose, RRL Ralph Lauren; Visvim, Haversack, Nigel Cabourn, Mackintosh, Piombo, Edwin, Gilded Age, Levi's limited Edition, Prps, Porter, Moscot, NIKE e. t c (Advanced designers: Very select pieces from Balmain and Proenza Schouler) 13 3 floor – ANTONIA 14The third floor presents famous first-line brands from all around the world such as Balmain, Valentino, Chloe, Maison Martin Margiela, Dries Van Noten, Proenza Schouler, Marni, Joseph with a higher price range than the womenswear in the first floor. 15 4 floor – ANTONIA ACCESSORIES This floor presents accessories from Christian Louboutin, Giuseppe Zanotti, Jimmy Choo, Sergio Rossi, Pierre Hardy, Repetto; borse di Givenchy, Proenza Schouler, Zagliani, Marni, Chloe, Manolo Blahnik    16 Price The collections of Excelsior store sells for the prestige class so the clients can expect to pay more for the original design, and good quality pieces.The prices range from â‚ ¬ 50 – 1500 Womenswear â‚ ¬ 90 – 3530 Menswear â‚ ¬ 120 – 3620 Accessories (both Men and Women) â‚ ¬90 – 4700 The majority of sales are fashion forward jeans, tops and shoes, as these garments have middle price and more affordable for customers. Place Fashion, beauty, accessories, food and design are mingled in this historical building, located in Galleria del Corso 4, the heart of Milan, just behind Duomo. It is a very strategic area which is one of the †˜most-visit’ area in Milan. It has been completely refurbished by French starchitect Jean Nouvel. Promotion Advertising 1. Campaign 1Advertising campaign by Giampaolo Sgura 17 This advertising campaign was made to show to customers that the concept of Excelsior is where fashion, beauty and food meet in one place. It was put in a digital signage video wall in Piazza Cinque Giornate 2. Campaign 2 Illustration for Excelsior’s Video Wall These pictures above are the graphic illustrations created for Excelsior by the author of SNIPPET, Luca Mainini. It is projected on the video wall of the department store in Galleria del Corso among the scraps of paper, photographic research and the nostalgic memory of the divas of the past.He said, â€Å"The diva embodies the maximum visual potential on the female figure. The Hollywood stardom is the seed of all my work: the fallacy of success, the technicolor of the character, the black and white of privacy. †2 2 http://www. exce lsiormilano. com/#/it/category/events/news/322/luca- ­? mainini 18 Events One-Year Celebration To celebrate Excelsior’s first year anniversary, they held an event with a title â€Å"We’re Waiting For Something† which were held in the 14th of September 2012 in Cafe Excelsior. It was a public event, o basically everybody can attend the party. This event was posted on Facebook, so everybody who ‘like’ Excelsior’s page can get the invitation on Facebook. Photos From The Event Sales Promotion 1. Discounts Discounted Products 19 To clean up all excessive stocks and to attract more powerful customer purchase, Excelsior sometimes do the sales in some special period of the year, such as in Summer or Christmas. By this way, they are able to have more spaces to display and or to keep the stock of new products while generating more sales and attracting more customers. 2.Extraordinary Gift Card The Extraordinary Gift Card by Excelsior allows customers t o give a budget of their choice to someone special and also customers can customize their gift according to their taste. The other advantages of this gift card for Excelsior is that the receivers of the card can only shop their goods in Excelsior. There are more chances which lead the receiver to spend much more money on the goods than the value of the card. Social Media †¢ Facebook Excelsior’s Facebook Front Page Excelsior’s facebook page are used to put any kind of information related to their activity.And also to keep the person who ‘like’ their page keep informed if they held any events, new arrival products, products reviews, or special offer. 20 †¢ Twitter Excelsior’s Twitter Page Excelsior’s twitter page is well managed as they update their status on twitter frequently. The content of their ‘tweet’ is mostly about their products information. For example if there are some new arrival products in their store or sim ply just to invite people to have lunch on their â€Å"Eat’s† restaurant. Foursquare †¢ Excelsior's Foursquare Page 21As it is shown to us, Excelsior did not manage it in the right way since the Foursquare page seems not really popular. Competitors Direct Competitor 1. La Rinascente The first department store la Rinascente was opened in 1865 by brothers Bocconi. The department has 7 floors, which is selling majority kinds product like clothing ,interior, daily needs and kitchen cookers. They also have a restaurant , a beauty salon and an art gallery. By 2011, the network has eleven la Rinascente department stores in Italy: two are located in Rome, one, the largest, in Milan and one at la Rinascente in other cities – Palermo, Florence, Genoa, Turin.Strengths †¢ †¢ Has a wide range A long time Italian market background †¢ Succesful Brand Awareness †¢ Located in more significant area †¢ †¢ High turnover Well–known luxury br ands †¢ 100 euro+ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Weaknesses On-line shop No parking area Lack of the new creative fashion design brand Too crowded in peak time 22 Indirect Competitor Monobrand stores around Duomo Near the Duomo Area there are so many monobrand stores, they could be Excelsior's competitors too. For example, boutiques in Via Montenapoleone. Almost all of the luxury brands are located there.And even those brands which are sold in Excelsior. So the customers can choose wether to buy the goods in Excelsior or in its own monobrand store . Strengths †¢ Successful Brand Awareness †¢ Located in the central (near Duomo area) †¢ †¢ Well-known for tourist Much more selection to choose from †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Weaknesses Going in to every each stores might be tiring Scattered shops location Not convenient for shopping all the brands at the same time Doesn't provide limited items SWOT- Analysis Strengths I. The Excelsior Milano located in the most center place in Milan, just behind the Duomo church.Thousands of visitor and located people need to cross the street by everyday. II. III. The Excelsior marketing department has been managed very well for their brand website. There are mix branding which contain all types of fashionable clothes and accessories around the world. 23 IV. The advertising in the shopping mall is the video that display in the monitor. It is very creative and vivid to display the products and trend of the Excelsior. Weaknesses I. II. The excelsior did not own the online shopping which may lead to lose some consumers by many reasons. There is no obvious advertising r big Logo around the area in results that some people cannot find the shopping center especially the tourist. Opportunities I. II. Since the range of consumers is becoming much younger, the people now are caring about the product’s personalities and designable. Milan prepares to host the next universal Exposition in 2015 (Apple, Nik e and Prada are looking to expand within the neighborhood of the Duomo) in anticipation of a tourist boom. Threats I. The Excelsior Milano seldom uses the communication tools which may lead to become less popular or may loose the brand images of the worldwide costumers.II. III. There are some Indirect and direct competitors just located beside the Excelsior Milano. In the Excelsior Milano, the trend of the fashion is much younger, colorful and street style. The local consumers may not accept this American causal style. 24 Merchandising Mix Fashion Product Life Cycle Fashion Product Life Cycle Fashion product life cycles last a shorter time than basic product life cycles. By definition, fashion is a style of the time. A large number of people adopt a style at a particular time. When many no longer adopt it, a fashion product life cycle ends. After more than one year from its opening, Excelsior now is on its early growth stage. As it is shown from the graph, on the growth stage, they sell most on fashion products and also basic products. From our perspective, this is exactly how Excelsior buys its merchandises. The exact percentage will be explained below. Pricing strategy In the retail market, there are two popular pricing strategies, one is called everyday low pricing, EDLP, another is called high/low pricing strategy. 4In the excelsior, they chose the â€Å"high/low pricing strategy†, which means retailer set the price would be higher than he others competitor’s daily low prices, but they will recurring the reduction by using the advertising promotion. In fact, this is a very effective method since the main features of the strategy grabs the consumer’s psychology. Many customers usually purchase the products, which are in lower prices only. In this way, 3 https://instruct1. cit. cornell. edu/courses/cuttingedge/lifeCycle/03. htm    4 http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pricing_strategies 25 it will beat the other competitors because once the customer realize that the goods are in the reasonable price, they will purchase much more than they usually bought.Product Categories 2% 9% 8% 23% 10% 48% Man Woman Accessories Beauty Food Design Breadth vs Depth The product breadth means the variety of product lines offered. 5 The shop usually need to identity the breadth vs. depth. Breadth means being broad in scope. Carrying items in many different product categories. Offering several different types of service under one roof. For example, if you are a remodeling company you might do everything from adding a closet, to trimming out some cabinetry, to building the patio, up to a complete kitchen remodel.Depth means being intense in scope by immersing your business into an industry or product category. Stocking is focused product mix, a specialized service offering. 6 There usually have 3 models, which are Narrow and deep, Square, Broad and shallow. In the 3 models, there are some different types of depth. In excelsior, they chose the â€Å"broad and shallow†. The products include men’s wear, women’s wear, accessories, beauty, food and design. They aim to buy the right product for customers and not to buy so many.The group has the fortunate for interviewing the sales manager of the excelsior, and the lady told us that they choose in different style or lots of color but purchase in small amount of 5 http://retail. about. com/od/glossary/g/breadth. htm 6 http://themarketingspot. com/2009/08/breadth- ­? vs- ­? depth. html 26 sizes. Like a silk top, they may only purchase 2 pieces of each sizes (from XS to M) and 1 pieces of the Large size. Men’s Product Men’s Product Breadth T-shirt, Shirts, Jackets, Coats, Sports Wear, Jeans, Trousers, shorts and Accessories.Men's Product Breadth T- ­? shirts 2% 6% 7% 8% 12% 14% 25% 11% 15% Shirts Jackets Coats Sports Wear Jeans Trousers Shorts T-shirts: V- neck, Designing neck, Collared T- shirts, Sleeveless T- Shirts, Sweat T Shirts S hirts: Casual wear, Formal & Office wear, Evening & Club Wear Sports Wear: Nylon and Cotton Tracks Jeans: Boot cut, Skinny fit, Regular& Loose fit Trousers: Wrinkle Free, Cotton Chinos, Italian Fit Shorts: Regular in cotton and waterproof material Accessories: Ties, Belts, Scarves Shoes: Boots, Lace-up shoes, Loafers, Sandals, Sneakers 7 Men’s Product Depth and Price Range CATEGORIES T-shirts Shirts Jackets Sports Wear Jeans Trousers Shorts Sweaters Accessories PRICE RANGE 120 – 350 200 – 630 450 – 3620 130 – 380 150 – 350 245 – 545 120 – 255 245 – 515 100 – 3500 SIZES S – XXL S – XXL S – XL S – XXL S – XL S – XL S – XL S – XL Single size Sizes offered at the stores range from S to XL. But there are a few pieces having large sizes. Colors The different shades of White, Black, Blue, green, yellow, red and orange, etc.Mens Shoes Sizes 41 – 44 (Italian si ze) Designers Antonia Uomo †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ WESC BALMAIN CHURCH'S DRIES VAN NOTEN MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA MARC JACOBS MARNI CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN HTC INCASE 28 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ MAISON KISTUNE RICK OWENS KENZO MISSONI GIVENCHY Women’s Product Women’s Product Breadth Women's Product Breadth 20% 16% 10% 15% 4% 35% Formal Wear Ethnic Wear Casual Wear Club Wear Sportswear Accessorries Casual wear: T-shirt, Shirts, Jackets, Sweaters, Coats, Jeans, Capris, Cargos, Shorts, Skirts and Dresses.Formal wear: Formal Shirts, Blazers, Pants and Evening wear dresses Club Wear: Stylish Tops, Skirts, Hot Shorts, Party dresses Sports Wear: Jackets, Track Pants and Shorts, Sweat T- shirt Ethnic Wear Accessories: Belts, Stoles and Bags Shoes: Boots, Flats, Lace-up shoes, Loafers, Pumps, Sandals, Sneakers, Wedges 29 Women’s Product Depth and Price Range CATEGORIES Formal Wear Casual Wear Club Wear Spor tswear Ethnic Wear Accessories PRICE RANGE 150 – 3530 100 – 2300 300 – 1500 90 – 800 110 – 1500 70 – 4700 SIZES XS – L XS – L XS – L XS – L XS – L Single sizeColors Various shades of Red, Green, Orange, Purple, Black, White, Blue, Yellow and Pink Shoes Sizes 36 – 40 (Italian Size) Antonia brands †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ BALMAIN CHLOE ETOILE ISABEL MARANT JOSEPH GIVENCHY VANESSA BRUNO VALENTINO REPETTO PROENZA SCHOULER MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA ISABEL MARANT THEYSKENS' THEORY M MISSONI CAMILLA & MARC 30 †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ JAMES PERSE DRIES VAN NOTEN AURELIE BIDERMANN HAIDER ACKERMANN 3. 1 PHILLIP LIM THAKOON JOE'S JEANS MARNI ERDEM MAISON MICHEL BILITIS CURRENT/ELLIOT T BEX ROX HUDSON JEANS RICK OWENSExcelsior focuses o n the clients who do not want to be copied but rather want to create their own look and to plan a new way of being yourself every day. That is why store chose brands such as Martin Maison Margiela, Dries Van Noten. Their collections are a complete, intelligible. The designers are feeling very well about what girls want to dress. A pair of high but stable heels, skinny jeans and leggings, stretched T-shirts and sweaters, jackets, leather jackets, coats, who immediately snatched ladies of Milan and its isitors, and then combining them together in freestyle, rock ‘n' roll style. A little aggressive, sharp and tough image of brands will add uniquenesses to our new boutiques. Here presents collection of Balmain. The simplicity and luxury wonderfully combine the practicality, sexy and glamour. Clothing from this brand is designed for energetic, confident and self-sufficient women. The main advantage of models is that they make dresses comfortably while remaining consistently elegant and stylish. Excelsior includes high quality and fashion brands.Each collection includes cult, unmistakably recognizable elements. 3. 1 Phillip Lim brand creates sensual, confident, intelligent and beautiful collections. The uniqueness of this brand is that the designer uses a very thin, almost weightless cashmere, cotton, semi-treated soft pure silk and    31 wool. Rochas – described as a quiet, discreet nod to the retro. These commercial brands, which can bring financial    perspectives, because they are already quite wellknown among the people like good quality and fashion brands, and on them have a certain buyer. Antonia Accessories †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ CHLOE CHRISTIAN LOUBOUTIN CHURCH'S GIUSEPPE ZANOTTI JIMMY CHOO PIERRE HARDY PROENZA SCHOULER REPETTO VALENTINO GARAVANI MANOLO BLAHNIK MAISON MARTIN MARGIELA HTC RENE CAOVILLA MARC BY MARC JACOBS MARNI 3. 1 PHILLIP LIM RICK OWENS GIVENCHY M MISSONI UGG DR. MARTENS 32 Fabrics Their fabrics selection depends on the season. In this case we observe during the Fall/ Winter Season, therefore the selection are dominated by a thick and warm fabrics such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Wool Knitwear Nylon/ Synthetic (used for windbreaker) Fur LeatherBesides, there are also some light fabrics to provide the current trend, such as: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Velvet Silk Brocade Cotton Display After the group talked to the sales manager of excelsior, we have noticed that each season, the excelsior will hire 2 shelf merchandiser to display the products on the shelf in a way that will attract customers (one is for the men’s floor and anther is for the women’s wear and shoes and accessories). They usually display 2 pieces of clothes in the both womenswear, however in the men’s floor, they only display 1 piece of clothes.We can also see it from the pictures. 33 Excelsior Shelving At first, the group thought it may be because the womenswear have 2 floors that they have more space to display the dresses and the men’s only have one floor so they need to use every place they can since the excelsior have lots of brand and style for male. But after the sales manager of excelsior told us it’s only because of shelf merchandiser’s willing. In this way, the shelf merchandiser plays a very important role in attracting the customer to purchase the products. 34Conclusion In conclusion, Excelsior is a place full of energy, a floating series of inspirations and ideas. It not only sells the clothes of women and men, but also spread the sprit of fashion. The customer target is not only focus on single group and the product breath is very wide from food, dress to technology. Although we are in the financial crisis now, the excelsior will not be influenced since it has its distinctive strategy. 35 Questionnaire N O. xxx Date: xx/xx Sexual: o Female o Male Nationality: o Italy resident o Tourist Ages: o o o Under 17 18 ––30 30 ––45 Above 50 Status: o Married o Single o In relationship Occupation: o Employed o Unemployed Income: o o o o o o Under 2000 2000–– 3000 3000––5000 5000––10000 10000––20000 Above 20000 How many times will you shop in the Excelsior : o Frequently o Rarely o Occasionally The main reason that lead you to shop in this store: 36 References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. NYTimes. com Vogue. it http://www. vogue. it/en/magazine/daily-news/2011/09/opening-coin-excelsiormilan http://www. excelsiormilano. com http://www. odemonline. com/fashion/mini-web-sites/multilabelstores/references/5729-excelsiormilano http://www. modemonline. com/fashion/mini-web-sites/multilabelstores/references/5729-excelsiormilano http://www. vogue. it/en/shopping/where-to-shop/2012/06/sales-at-excelsior https://instruct1. c it. cornell. edu/courses/cuttingedge/lifeCycle/03. htm http://www. vogue. it/en/shopping/where-to-shop/2012/06/sales-at-excelsior 10. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Pricing_strategies 11. http://themarketingspot. com/2009/08/breadth-vs-depth. html 37