Development Of The Submarine :: essays research papers

Development of the Submarine Throughout history, navies have made significant impacts in the technological development of human kind. These impacts range from improvements in metal technologies made while perfecting the cannon to the advent of cybernetics, which allowed more precise targeting of weaponry. One of the more sophisticated developments in naval history has been the invention of the submarine. The submarine was born in 1620 as a leather-covered rowboat built by Cornelius Drebbel. After Robert Fulton came up with a more modern prototype in 1800, the military advantages of a nearly invisible warship were quickly divined. However, they remained unrealized for quite a while. Although Fulton probably foresaw that his invention would be used for war, he hardly could have envisioned it launching projectiles with the capability to level entire countries. However, after a series of innovations in nuclear missile and submarine designs, the submarine-launched ballistic missile has become an integral part of our naval weapons arsenal.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To understand the need for the development of nuclear missile submarines, there is a need to examine the political climate of the world in the era after World War II. The realignment of the superpowers after the war resulted in a unique situation. The two major naval powers of the day, Great Britain and the United States, were now allied against the greatest land power in history in the Soviet Union. In the period from 1955 to 1965, the advantage was heavily in favor of the U.S. As the United States had developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs first, they obviously gained a head start which developed into a decisive nuclear advantage. This advantage acted as an effective deterrent to any Soviet movement into Western Europe. However, as the Soviet nuclear arsenal expanded (mostly during the Kennedy administration), it became necessary to effect a balance in the area of conventional warfare or to make more inroads in nuclear weapons development. Before this could be accomplished, however, advancements in submarine technology had to made as well.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The submarines of World War II, although effective in their roles, were rather primitive. A noisy, slow, shallow-diving sub would hardly be a capable missile submarine as it could be easily detected and destroyed. Even so, before the end of the war, there were intelligence reports in America that the German Navy had developed a U-boat capable of towing or carrying V-2 rockets to launch sites near the U.S. east coast. Although these reports turned out to be false, the Germans had been developing a type of submersible barge to tow V-2s. This scare prompted the American development of ballistic missile submarines.

Consider the poems Dreaming Black Boy and Epitaph Essay

a) Compare the ways in which these two poems deal with the experience of oppression and racism. b) State which of the two poems you find more disturbing, and give reasons to support your answer. c) Identify and comment on TWO poetic devices used in each poem to highlight the workings of oppression or racism. â€Å"Dreaming Black Boy† and â€Å"Epitaph† are two poems which address the issues of oppression and racism. though they both deal with the same problem, it is handled and discussed differently. In † Dreaming Black Boy†, the persona, a young black boy in school, talks about his aspirations and dreams. He hopes for an end to racism. The persona tries to use his education to try to escape the harsh reality of racism. He not only mentions what is going on around him now, but also the past and even how he would like things to be in the future. He longs for acceptance, a good education, success, to travel and a break from mental slavery. He fails to grasp that despite his intelligence and physical maturity, the racist treatment will continue. Thinking that what he experiences as a young boy is the worst, he has yet to find out how it is in the future. On the other hand, â€Å"Epitaph†, a significantly shorter poem, is about a black slave who was hanged. People stop what they are doing to watch the sight, yet the rest of the world continues to go on. the sugar cane continues to grow. Unlike in â€Å"Dreaming Black Boy†, the persona in â€Å"Epitaph† is an adult, looking on a past occurrence and commenting on how these types of events have impacted on our lives today. â€Å"Epitaph† appears to be the most disturbing as it suggests that many of these slaves’ deaths are forgotten. The idea or notion that life goes on after you die and all you are awarded is a â€Å"pause†. The images in â€Å"Epitaph† are also more graphic. In â€Å"Dreaming Black Boy†, the poet uses euphemism to down play the harsh reality of the young black boy. For example, â€Å"plotters in pajamas† is used to refer to the klu klux klan, a group infamous for the terror they caused on the black race. The main literary device used in â€Å"Dreaming Black Boy† is allusion. The persona alludes to white supremacy groups, a famous singer etcetera, to express the things he would like to change about his reality. â€Å"Epitaph† uses the â€Å"apostrophe† to give a visual image of the black slave hanging and swinging as he is hanged. This metaphor is effective in showing also how the slave has taken on the problems of the black race as his own. And his death belongs to the blacks. It is their history. Racism and slavery are two of the most controversial and oppressive elements in human history. Though both poems differ in style and technique, both successfully describe the physical and emotional effects of racism and oppression (slavery). This success is achieved through the use of allusions, vivid images, symbolic language and even euphemism.

Impact of Culture in International Marketing Essay

Introduction The world is made of nations and people who share different values, customs, languages and geographic territories. These diversities, also known as culture, have proven to be the norm that binds or separates them. Carlson and Blodgett (1997) explain culture as different ways, sets of manners and customs that are unique to a society or a group of people. Cultural issues encompass the elements of norms, traditions, materialistic and spiritual of a group of people (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Understanding culture is possible only through human activities and how they act as individuals or members of a group (Coulter, 2010). As businesses enter international market, cultural diversity plays a major role in formulating international marketing strategies. They need to consider differences in national cultures, subcultures and how individuals in such cultures interact with each other and outsiders. This is due to the fact that culture is the main factor that contribute to today’s m ajor conflict aside of material resources and negotiable interests (Avruch, 2002). The diverse cultures tendencies always give rise to ethical issues as one cultural belief may not be the norm or acceptable behaviors for another. The failure to take cultural differences between countries into account has been the cause of many business failures (Ricks, 1993). The purpose of this paper is to showcase instances where cultural issues that were misunderstood proved to be blunders for international marketing strategies for companies involved. It also addresses how cultural risk is as important as political and commercial risk. Finally, cultural reactions during meeting introduction in south Asian countries are assessed, and Jack Daniel’s Whiskey possible marketing strategies in China are explored. Marketing Blunders Cases With the onset of globalization, the strategies used by multinational businesses to expand are changing. Today, companies must thread between thin lines in their desire to understand how their products are received around the world and the underlying impact they have on local perceptions. Through international marketing, this vision can be achieved when many of these things come together. When the opposite occurs, we have blunders. Such is the case for the following companies. Nike in China: In 2004, Nike  decided to run a commercial depicting LeBron James defeating traditionally dressed Chinese elders, women, and even a dragon. The problem is that under China’s traditional culture, elders are held with authority, high esteem and respect In addition, Dragons symbolize things like power, strength and luck (Andersen, 2012). Although China is rapidly developing, its people are still quite traditional. Their traditions are Confucianism where its teachings stress loyalty and rela tionships. The loyalty is to central authority and placing the good of the group first (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). The problem with the marketing message, as advertised, was that people were offended by the weakening of the traditional figures that the culture perceived as strong. The ultimate result was bad publicity and an unfortunate situation for Nike. This situation could have been avoided had the marketers paid attention to the culture and local customs of the target markets. This could have been accomplished by consulting marketer’s facilitators. Published government studies such as The U.S. Department of commerce, Countries Commercial Guides, the Economist Intelligence etc. are few examples. (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). These sources were equipped to advise Nike on the cultural dimension of the Chinese people. Hiring local experts could have accomplished the objective as well. The Coca-Cola Company in Mexico had a popular advertising campaign with the slogan, â€Å"Catch the wave† which was translated into Spanish and put on billboards throughout Mexico. Unfortunately, Coca-Cola quickly discovered that Mexicans also understood the translation to mean â€Å"have diarrhea†. The promotion had to be withdrawn at a price exceeding millions of dollars (Hunt & Hodkin, 2012, p. 4). This failure was probably caused by the company’s lack of having resources in place to oversee and review translations. The small investment of hiring experts with knowledge of Mexican slang could have prevented the loss (Villasana, n.d). International marketers should be aware of marketing messages that are not tested by local experts or they should invest in expert translators who have knowledge of the languages used in the target markets. Language in international marketing aids with information gathering and evaluation. It provides access to local society, not only the ability to communicate, but extends above mechanics to the interpretation of  contexts (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Nike ads in Saudi Arabia. The company made a pricey blunder in the late 1990s when it used the word flames to signify the word â€Å"Air† as the logo on their running shoes. Unfortunately the symbol for flame is similar the Arabic word for â€Å"Allah† which is god’s name in the Muslim religion. I addition, Muslims consider feet as the dirtiest part of the body. Eventually depicting their god’s image as dirty offended the possible consumers. This lack of consideration for religious beliefs caused Nike to remove thousands of pairs of shoes from the marketplace, as well as work hard to correct strained relationship with their estranged customers (Wintranslation, 2011, p.4 ). This blunder could have been avoided if Nike paid attention to the culture and local customs of their customers, especially religious beliefs. Religion defines the ideals for life, which in turn reflects the values and attitude of societies. International marketers are well served when they understand such values and attitudes because they shape the behaviors and practices of members within a culture (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Consulting expert translators and religious belief experts could have prevented this crisis and eventual delay in market penetration. Cultural risk vs. political or commercial risk The survival of global marketing depends on the need for effective risk management tools in international expansion projects (Aliouche & Schlentrich, 2011). Those risks include political, commercial and cultural. Political and commercial risks are closely related as governments’ decisions impacting the economy may also affect business operations. Adverse political and commercial conditions in the host country can be seen as sources of risks for firms expanding into that country (Aydin & Kacker, 1990). Changes in political and economic events can cause changes in the host country’s political structure or policies that result in losses for the firms’ investment operations (Torres, 2013). For this reason, economic development theory emphasizes the existence of strong and stable political, commercial and legal institutions as a prerequisite to investments (Aliouche & Schlentrich, 2011). However, today’s globalization has highlighted the importance of another r isk in international marketing. Cultural differences have been shown to add a further dimension to risks inherent to international franchising (Aliouche & Schlentrich, 2011). This is due to  the fact culture influences contract negotiations between parties, operational business and personnel management practices (Aliouche & Schlentrich, 2011). It is known that values, customs, and beliefs which make the culture vary by country or region and change as population migrate. Therefore, it is not surprising that marketing strategies geared to accommodate cultural variations are as challenging to a business success as political and commercial risks encountered in any market (Hollis, 2011). Thus, cultural risk can lead to efficiency and effectiveness losses to a business whose management lacks the ability to effectively manage the diversity encountered in each cultural environment. Communications challenges in South- Asian countries Among many communications blunders that can happen during business negotiations with South-Asian countries, informal greeting is one of them. This is due to the fact that South- Asian countries’ business culture operates under a Confucianism system of behaviors and ethics. The system stresses the obligations of people towards one another based upon their relationship. Confucianism advocates honor, respect for age and seniority among other traits (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). These traits are demonstrated in their respect for hierarchical relationships in a concept of â€Å"face† which translates to dignity, prestige, honor, etc. It is very important for someone doing business in these countries to avoid losing face or causing the loss of face. Accordingly, South Asians are formal and introduce themselves by using honorific titles followed by surnames and given names (Hunt & Hodkins, 2012, p.3). By asking to be called by my first name will more than likely cause me to lo se face, which is a violation of etiquette in this part of the world. This may be interpreted as lack of respect in these cultures and can lead to unsuccessful business deals. Jack Daniel Marketing Strategy in South Asia Jack Daniel, as a whiskey brand, prides itself in its authenticity and its ability to be known as a premium brand by its customers. This is evident in their marketing strategies which showcase ads that are unique in what is said and shown (Stengel, 2011). Those ads advocate a premium brand experience that conveys a message to their customers of a quality product  that is based on American values of authenticity, masculinity, and fraternalism, and is comparable to none in the marketplace (Syllabus for IS2013, 2013). This strategy has been used throughout their marketing campaign in English speaking countries like England, Australia and South Africa, with great success. But with the onset of globalization, where all literatures advocate marketing strategies that cater to local customs, and more in tune with country specifics culture (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013; Hunt & Hodkin, 2012; Aliouche & Schlentrich, 2011), the challenge is whether Jack Daniel should adjust its strategies to fit today’s norms. That is, should they adjust their market strategy to fit local habits in emerging markets like China? As stated earlier, China’s culture operates under Confucianism. This code of conduct rather than religion advocates teachings that stress loyalty, relationship and respect for traditions (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Under this scenario, Jack Daniel should be able to evoke its premium brand image by advertizing its tradition as a brand experience that is unique in the marketplace. This will insure that they not compromise the quality of the product to meet demand (Stengel, 2011). On the other hand, Chinese society is evolving. Most of its citizens are not wealthy, therefore selling a premium brand may not fit with the norms of targeting the majority of consumers in China. The good news is that, wages are rising, and the middle classes are finding themselves with disposable income that may allow them to splurge on high end drinks if they chose to (Stengel, 2011). In addition, cultural attitudes are not a always a deterrent to foreign business practices, and trends show that many Chinese people display positive attitudes toward Western goods (Czinkota & Ronkainen, 2013). Therefore, the respect for tradition, the affinity for Western brand and the desire to belong in a different class could be the i ngredient Jack Daniel needs in continuing its current market strategy in this part of the world. They should focus their campaign to target a specific segment that is made of middle and upper class consumers who can afford their brand (Stengel, 2011). In a country that is heavily populated, this segment could be large enough to achieve the intended success as in other Western countries. This will insure the brand can remain unique, maintain its equity and still deliver the intended profitability. Conclusion Since culture affects every norms of a society, its value in any society must be carefully analyzed by international marketers. Factors such as religious affiliations of its people, the society characteristics whether collectivist or individualist, political and economic ideologies will all impact the result of any international marketing campaign if left unsearched. As can be seen from examples above, the cultural symbols from target markets are very important. Therefore marketers should know the audience in advance and chose to communicate through languages and means that are appealing to the audience. For this reason, managers engaged in international marketing should use common sense in analyzing how different elements of a brand are impacted by the culture and design different ways to speak to the target audience (Fromowitz, 2013). Failure to do so could lead to failed marketing campaigns, offended consumers and loss revenues. For this reason, cultural risk is as important as po litical and commercial risk in international marketing. International marketers should design campaigns that have the purpose of not only making profits, but of developing relationship with consumers that will insure the survival of its brand. References Alon, I. (2006). Service Franchising: A Global Perspective. Retrieved fromwww.springer.com/†¦/978-0-387-2818 Aliouche, E.H., & Schlentrich, U.A. (2011). Towards a strategic model of global franchiseexpansion. Journal of Retailing, 87 (3), 345–365 Andersen, M. (2012). International Marketing Blunders. Backpaking diplomacy. Retrievedfrom http: www.backpackingdiplomacy.com/3 Aydin, N. & Kacker, M. (1990), â€Å"International Outlook of US-Based Franchisors,†International Marketing Review, 7 (2), 43–5. Avruch, K. (2002). Cross-Cultural Conflict. The Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems EOLSS), 1(3), 25- 26. Retrieved on October 9, 2013 from http://www.eolss.net Jan-Benedict, E. M. & Steenkamp. (2001). The role of national culture in international marketingresearch. International Marketing Review, 18(1), 30-44. Retrieved fromhttp://search.proquest.com.proxy1.ncu.edu/docview/224319818?accountid=28180 Carlson, P., & Blodgett, M. (1997). International Ethics Standar ds for Business: NAFTA, CAUX principles and corporate codes of ethics. Review of

Case: Pizza Chains of the United States and Pizza Hut Essay

Executive Summary Competing in the market today can be very complicated. â€Å"The Pizza industry is a 30+ Billion per year industry (â€Å"Facts,† 2010)† Maintaining a steady position in this industry is very imperative to us being successful in such a competitive market environment. Deciding when to expand a company is very important. There are decisions to be made for example whether management wants to vertically or horizontally integrate. What Resources will be needed? Other decisions may be to add a new product line to compete with other companies already in the market. Recognizing these issues early on help to eliminate falling behind in the market due to not recognizing competition when as it arises. So far to date Domino’s has done a remarkable job at staying ahead of the game. Being an innovator in deliver, later marketing the HeatWave bag, and even entering into new markets with hot oven subs and pasta bowls. The latest of our strive for excellence has resulted in us revamping our recipe. Just like everyone else we have our weaknesses, but our strengths are where we prevail. We have a great supply chain and have integrated it quite well. Our ability to change and implement these though our franchises have been relatively impressive. This is very unique to us indeed. We have overcome many obstacles. Since 2007 the economy has taken a downturn and has yet to recover completely. We have adapted by reducing prices, adding menu items and integrated a new recipe into our company to achieve more of a competitive advantage in this every changing market. As Trends change so do we. Even though we are doing great with the current changes, we need to take full advantage of the momentum and enter into a new market before a new competitor rises up and blindly and takes us by surprise. The frozen pizza market has almost exploded in the last few years with America trying to get more for the buck. â€Å"The frozen pizza market continues to perform well as consumers continue to seek value and convenience and are trading down from delivery and restaurant pizza companies(Shea, 2010)† to include us and our competitors. This is our chance to get into the frozen pizza market. With brand recognition alone we should be successful and now that we have our new recipe behind us we should be able to be a strong contender. Expanding that even further and not only offering frozen but offering unfrozen pizza as well with fresh topping in my opinion has a recipe for success. Imagine customers grabbing a domino’s pizza while grocery shopping. They would be getting the same over freshness we offer without the need for delivery. We could penetrate that market from customers who normally don’t order delivery. Dominos has made these decisions before â€Å"We made a lot of tough calls in terms of expanding our menu and changing our recipe(Veenendaal , & York, 2010) â€Å"according to Mr. Brandon. This is something we obviously are getting really good with. Without recognizing this new threat of competing with the frozen food isle we are destined to fall behind. Introduction Domino’s pizza first began in 1960 from a pizza store known as DomiNicks. It was purchased by Tom Monaghan and his brother James Monaghan for $900. James later sold his half of the partnership to Tom for a Volkswagen Beetle. In 1965 Tom now the sole owner of the company renames it to the name we recognize today as Domino’s. The first Dominos pizza franchise originated from Ypsilanti, Michigan in 1967. In 1978 the Franchise had grew to over 200 stores. Then again only 5 years later in 1983 we hit another bench mark in our company by reaching our 1000th store and were international. Today approximately 90% of our company’s domestic stores are franchised. We use our company owned stores as a testing ground for our new products and technologies which we then pass onto our franchisees. Over our 45-year history, â€Å"Domino’s has developed a simple business model focused on its core strength of delivering quality pizza in a timely manner. This business model includes a delivery-oriented store design with low capital requirements, a focused menu of pizza and complementary side items, committed owner-operator franchisees and a vertically-integrated distribution system (Reuters, 2010). †In 1993 we had to discontinue a successful marketing campaign for delivery that was well known as the 30-min guarantee and redirected out emphasis on more on the Total Satisfaction Guarantee; â€Å"If for any reason you are dissatisfied you’re your Domino’s Pizza dining experience, we will re-make your pizza or refund your money(â€Å"Our Heritage,† 2008). † In the 1992 we rolled out bread sticks which had significance in that it was our first non-pizza menu item. Shorty after that in 1994 we introduced Buffalo wings to our domestic stores. This another technique used to complement our already thriving pizza delivery business. When compared to others in the industry during this time we were sustaining our competitiveness by offering more of a range of products with speedy delivery. Spinning off into the hot wings market allowed us to grab attention of being more than just a pizza delivery business. We now had more variety with the same great speed and service. With the dot com bubble coming to light in the 90’s, we again led the way by getting in early on the dominos. com. â€Å"The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995-2000(â€Å"W dot-com bubble,† 2010). †We recognized this competitive advantage early and launch our first website in 1996, Dominos. com. Our ability to continue to recognize the importance of adapting to an ever changing market has been the key to us maintaining our current position today. In 1998 we launched another industry innovation by offering the first patented technology bag that keeps the pizza oven-hot to the customer door. It was called the Domino’s Heat Wave and was used heavily in advertisement to gain customer confidence in the delivery of a hot piping pizza directly to their door and is still used today. This added to our already strong brand recognition in the market and continued to add more of a distance between us and our competitors. By taking full advantage of the opportunity to be an innovator to pizza delivery, we not only provided a service that was not yet established in the market place early but established the brand name recognition for pizza delivery which is the key advantage over other competitors in the pizza delivery service. After most of the recent research that has been done today, it has come to our attention in today’s market that customers would prefer a great tasting pizza over a speedy delivery. The fact that we have shifted our ideas to revamping our recipes was a great challenge for us this past year and has worked out rather well. This was big step from our traditional idea of being successful by competing to make a speedy delivery and cheaper pizza. Today we are competing by making a great pizza with the added convenience of delivery to the customer door step hot and fresh as well. We operate out business in three segments, domestic stores, domestic supply chain, and international. Our domestic stores are comprised of 4461 franchise stores and 466 company-owned stores, generated revenues of $493. 6 million and income from operations of 121. 5 million during the fiscal year ended jan3, 2010. Our domestic supply chain segment, generated revenues of $763. 7 million and income from operations of $57. 0 million during 2009. Our international segment generated revenues of $146. 8 million, of which approximately 53% related to franchises royalties and fees, and generated income from operations of $66. 8million, of which approximately 91% related to franchise royalties and fees. This was all data taken from the 2009 dominos 10k. This shows our ability to compete. Our mission statement says a lot about us as a company. â€Å"Exceptional franchisees and team members on a mission to be the best pizza delivery company in the world (â€Å"Bloomburg business week,† 2010)† shows that even though we have focused on selling more pizza than any other competitor in the market we want to encourage a fun atmosphere. By encouraging our employees to work as part of a team, it not only encourages a successful work environment, but also reflects over the counter to our customers. This high energetic atmosphere surrounding our establishments has a great impact on the customer’s perspective and how they perceive us and the value of not only the product we sell but our company as a whole. This is in line with our vision statement as well. One of our international vision statements of being â€Å"number one in pizza, number one is people (â€Å"Inside domino’s,† 2008)† shows our commitment not only to making great pizza but ensuring our customer’s stay happy. Today more than ever people are addicted to fast food. It is a fast growing industry. Fast food is considered by most to be a food that is consumed on the go. Customer’s today love style, taste, and have preferences that we as a participant in the pizza delivery sector must tap into to be successful. â€Å"The Pizza industry is a 30+ Billion per year industry (â€Å"Facts,† 2010)† Maintaining a steady position in this industry is very imperative to us being successful in such a competitive market environment. We have made a significant step forward by changing our game plan and mixing up our ingredients to get more of what Americans are in tune with. â€Å"Americans eat approximately 100 acres of pizza each day or about 350 slices per second (â€Å"Facts,† 2010)†. Understanding the current eating habits of our customers today is the key to being successful in tomorrow world. We have led the way by being an innovator and setting the standard in delivery when we first began and don’t need to stop now only by spicing up our ingredients. We now have the momentum to achieve so much more and I highly recommend we take full opportunity of this push forward to regain our customers and compete not only in pizza delivery industry, but in the frozen food isle as well. There are so many avenues of completion we could look at and I would like to take this opportunity to give you’re my insights and the direction I think we should pursue to take our company far in to the future and deter other from entering our industry. Analysis-Debt Analysis In analyzing our debt, I have discovered that our greatest strength according to standard and poor’s is our ability to continue to have reductions in debt. This gives us a favorable upper hand in the market being that our competitor’s realize that we now have plenty of working capital. â€Å"Our favorable view of DPZ reflects the expected benefits we see from the company’s four-pronged strategy. Namely, its ongoing reductions in debt, the early success of efforts to gain domestic market share via its â€Å"New Inspired Pizza,† a heightened focus on operational excellence and financial strength among its domestic franchisee base, and continuing international expansion. (â€Å"S&p focus stock,† 2009). †Hopefully this will help sustain our competitive differences among our competition. In looking at the financials from moneycentral.com, I have discovered that our net profit margin to be 5. 5% and papa john’s net profit margin to be 5. 44%. This shows that we have a slighter higher return on every dollar we have invested and thus leading us to have a stronger position than papa johns. According to the 10k posted on investing. businessweek. com we have a strong cash flow and earnings stream â€Å"A substantial percentage of our earnings are generated by our committed, owner-operator franchisees through royalty payments and revenues to our vertically-integrated supply chain system(United states securities, 2010). †Our system has produced strong cash flow for us, this had led to our success enabling us to invest in the domino’s pizza brand, our stores, and our supply chain centers, pay dividends, and repurchase share of common stock, and repurchases and retire outstanding principle on our fixed debt notes and deliver a better than average return for our stockholders. Our system is a very diversified franchise system. We have come a long way in our line of business. Being that we not only integrated a new recipe to integrate it into this whole supply chain has been quite impressive. With corporate deciding to change our ingredients in our pizza recipe to regain our customer base has been more than a success and the number reflect on our 10k for 2009. This reflects to an extent that our â€Å"new inspired pizza† for the moment is working. New Inspired Pizza This new strategic decision to ramp up our recipe all came about after a study we conducted a study in 2009. We discovered that a lot of people did not like our pizza. With statement made like â€Å"Domino’s pizza crust, to me, taste like cardboard (burkitt, 2009). † We had no other option but to change the way we made pizza dough and sauce recipes and launched new and inspired pizzas earlier this year. We reformulated our ideas to regain new and old customers. After weighing the fact that we no longer have the lead in delivery and the taste of our pizza is a very important to our customers. This alerted us to the how our old strategic performance measured up. This again gave us a much needed opportunity to give the customers something different. Our competition has decided to stay with their traditional style recipes and we now have the opportunity to surge forward and offer a more value to our customers with our new look and feel. We took a huge gamble in our advertising campaign for our â€Å"New Inspired Pizza† by acknowledging our previous shortcomings of our pizza. This campaign included TV ads giving customers a snapshot of our new ingredients. We have encouraged many to try our new pizza and so far it has been a successful campaign. According to the data we collected I am pretty confident that the new pizzas have been a huge success, leading to 14% sales increase in the first quarter of 2010 at most locations opened more than a year. The fact that the customer realizes we listened to them, and we changed our pizza shows our loyalty to how our customer feel. They reacted by returning. As of the quarter ending march 28th, 2010 â€Å"the company’s domestic same store sales grew 14. 3% as a result of increased store traffic from the successful introduction of its new and inspired pizza(â€Å"Domino’s pizza announces,† 2010). †There has been a lot of noise around the change to our pizza. I feel that it has obviously showed it was successful. Our President and chief executive officer J. Patrick Doyle, has been quoted as stating â€Å"a remarkably better pizza, and our honesty in how we told consumers about it, is paying off with a revitalized overall category – with dominos leading that trend. We couldn’t be more please with the success of our new and inspired pizza (â€Å"Domino’s pizza announces,† 2010). † This is a very important statement in that that not only demonstrates that our president is in full tune with what is going on in our company but he truly understood what we faced and has inspired to our competitors that we will not throw in the towel and that we will be giant to contend with if they decide to get into our market. He later added â€Å"Our international division kept up its phenomenal growth trajectory again this quarter, with continued success in our existing markets, along with new markets expected to open in Europe, Asia and Latin America yet in 2010. I think we have by far the best international story in the sector. (â€Å"Domino’s pizza revenue,† 2010) . † This is very significant in that is relays another message that we not only concerned about one division but multiple ones. We are very good at what we do. We show diversification and show the world we are global contenders. Sub Competition Another strength I see that we recognized approximately 2 years ago and was the idea to add oven baked sandwiches. This has led to our competitiveness in that we deliver not only pizza but hot oven baked sandwiches as well. Prices at just $4. 99 and available in 4 varieties offers competitiveness to more than just pizza hut and papa john’s but other fast food chains as well. Papa johns does compete in this area with chicken strips but have failed to expand any further. They have desert pizza’s but so far that decision has not affected our sales. Customer’s ability to have the convenience of sitting at home and have us deliver their oven baked sandwich versus having to drive not only appeals to them on a convenience level but also that they save gas as well. The president of dominos USA commented on the launch stating â€Å"as of today, we are the largest sandwich delivery company in the nation. This launch springboards dominos in the lunch business by providing a product that is high quality, priced right and aimed at convenience-minded people without a lot of time. Of course, sandwiches are also available any time our stores are open (â€Å"Domino’s pizza extends,† 2008). † Reevaluation We have also reevaluated our domestic franchisee stores to change things up a bit. We have recognized the need for improved performance. We recognized the three dimensions of performance according to the Strategic management by bandford and west â€Å"1) summery measures that reflect the impact of integrated efforts across the entire company, 2) measures that can be compared to competitors and 3) measures that account for longer periods of time(Bamford, West, & Reviews, 2009)† We gave the stores a grade from A to D Based on sales, operating profits, and the strengths of their financials. This analyzed the summary of how the franchise stores measured up across our domestic market. This allows to recognized problems and fixes them without causing damages to our reputation. The franchise’s that scored the lowest were offered assistance and advise on how to regain back their customer base. This big push forward in the implementation of reevaluation and adjustments to our existing stores to how we do business is was much needed. We provided them with the option to be bought out. Due to our ability to repurchase these weaker franchisees locations, this led refranchises to its stronger operators. These were measured we considered important when comparing to our competitors. We did have to shut down a number of stores but the results we hope to achieve are higher sales for franchisees and a boost to company royalties as well. This all played in as a part of return on assets (ROA). After this strategic decision of realigning our stores this gave our existing stores more company profitability, and also focused on each stores strengths and weaknesses. Marketing Campaign Without an effective marketing campaign and getting the word out that we got it, our changes would have been pointless. There comes a time when we realized changes needed to be made. The fact that we discovered customers were not completely satisfied with our pizza and reacted was a great move on our part to recognize it could damage us dramatically if changes were not made accordingly. This led to our drive to become better. In taking advantage of today technologically advances and using YouTube to relay the message that we got the message. It allowed customers to see exactly what we were doing to combat the flaws that they had pointed out. We were aware they were unhappy and this has helped in significantly getting the word out our pizza has changed and we do care about how our product taste. Weakness A huge weakness that I feel that we really need to consider and get on board with today is the entry into the pizza into the frozen pizza industry. This has many potential upsides. This may be one of the best strategic moves we could make using the momentum we have with the revitalizing of our pizza. We need to show we can take on any competitor. Taking full advantage of the opportunity provided by the economy and using this to our advantage not only guarantees that we can be successful in the market but also seals the deal that when the economy picks up that we will remain victorious there. The customers have rushed the frozen food isles in grocery stores since it may be cheaper to purchase and microwave a pizza than ordering from delivery which in general tends to be more expensive. Providing pizza’s cheaper grasp the customer’s attention when deciding where money gets the most for its value. We still provide a superior product but in my opinion we have to compete with price in this market to be successful and to do that we need to be in this market. We have to look further than our traditional competitors and broaden our horizon. This way of thinking and planning ahead assures we continue to be competitive and reestablished our ability to adapt to change. The Competition It is not secret who our biggest competitors are. The tradition pizza wars between us and pizza hut, and papa john’s has been among the greatest. Today we not only compete with pizza hut as a top competitor but Papa john pizza as well. There are some other local establishments that try to compete but for the most part domestically, these are the top two we need to be concerned about and devote our attention to analyzing our marketing approach. We need to remain vigilant and aggressive in assessing our competition and not forget that at any moment they could regain the momentum. So far we have sustained our position but to obtain sustainability in the market takes being very proactive and not underestimating the competition or taking for granted our current position. In comparing ourselves among other in the industry it is no secret that we must compete with papa johns and pizza hut to remain successful in our market. In analyzing the big three, domino’s pizza they reported a â€Å"1. 4% increase in domestic same store sales for the fourth quarter ending jan3rd (Morgan, 2010). †2009, pizza hut reported sales were â€Å"down 9% for 2009(Morgan, 2010)†,and papa john’s â€Å"reported same-store sales were down . 5% this quarter (Morgan, 2010). †These numbers have demonstrated our ability to regain our competitive separation. We have focused more on ramping up our recipe but â€Å"it is hard to gauge how to sustainable it is. Typically you see a few good weeks on any promotion, but this is such a different thing (Morgan, 2010). †This approach should prove to be a successful market campaign but time will tell. Pizza hut has elected to go with more of a traditional approach focused on price competition, with a â€Å"$10 any way you want it(Morgan, 2010)† promotion. This shows their ability to at least acknowledge the market in that with a weaker economy customer want more the buck but in long term our ability to take time now to focus more on taste and excitement surrounding our company is a long term solution. Competing with price is fairly easy to implement but recipes take time and focus more on were a company want to go. Papa johns have also got caught up in this price war with pizza hut. Offering same price comparisons similar to what pizza hut offers. Frozen Pizza In comparing ourselves with the frozen food industry which I feel we should consider a competitor, I have noticed a market that is quickly being dominated by a company Nestles(PK) who I think could soon be considered a serious competitor. By recognizing this threat now we can jump ahead of our traditional competition by entering into the market. Nestles add such brands as DiGiorno, Tombstone and California pizza kitchen when they recently acquisitioned Kraft(KFT) . They now own more than 50% of the frozen pizza market.â€Å"this is more than there twice the share of their next major frozen pizza competitor Schans foods, maker of red baron, tony’s and freshmetta brands, who slightly hold less than 25% share of the category(Shea, 2010). † When analyzing and looking at the total sales generated in the 52 week ending august 9th, 2010 the brand digiorno generated sales of $591,262,700 and for the week ending may 17th,2009 generated $534,356,200. The following charts are referenced from (â€Å"Pizza sales 2009,† 2010) Top 10 Frozen Pizza Brands (for the 52 weeks ending August 9, 2010) DiGiorno| $591,262,700|. Tombstone| $270,412,700| Red Baron| $256,308,000| California Pizza Kitchen| $175,750,800| Totino’s Party Pizza| $152,630,700| Top 10 Brands of Frozen Pizza (for the 52 weeks ending May 17, 2009) Brand Name| Dollar Sales| Unit Sales| DiGiorno| $534,356,200| 100,464,200| Tombstone| $254,147,400| 69,809,980| Red Baron| $245,141,600| 62,940,960| California Pizza Kitchen| $175,838,600| 32,818,720| This shows that the frozen pizza industry is having a huge impact on our society today and they are demonstrating that they can achieve a significant growth of sales in a relatively short amount of time. Recommendations In researching out company and analyzing our success to date, and the current market conditions, I see a great opportunity for us to consider entry into the frozen pizza market and not only offer frozen but offer unfrozen daily made fresh pizza’s as well. This will allow the consumer to take our pizza home and get the oven freshness that we can offer without delivery as well. This not only will complement our ramped up recipe but will take less time to cook when a customer is not interested in delivery but rather take advantage of the convenience of cooking it themselves. Unfrozen pizza and made daily with fresh toppings will be a great advertising campaign as well. â€Å"the frozen pizza market continues to perform well as consumers continue to seek value and convenience and are trading down from delivery and restaurant pizza companies(Shea, 2010)† to include us and our competitors. For us to assume that this market doesn’t affect us may be a big mistake on our part. I have seen no reason why we couldn’t penetrate that market effectively, especially with our brand recognition. So far we have done a great job at anticipating the market the knowing when to make changes and adapt or market to make successful changes that keep us on top of the market. We obviously understand our ability to adapt to change and get into other markets rather easily. From hot wings to now hot oven sandwiches our implementations are rather efficient and are easily transitioned to our stores. I have explained that the market is very intense and failure for us to expand into other parts that affect our industry may be a big mistake. I also think that we can take advantage of reducing our prices as well. There is no reason why we cannot bundle our advertisement campaigns together and run them consecutively. Competing with pizza huts price not only may regain customers but also gives customer that otherwise shop for the cheapest delivery service a chance to taste our new pizza. With the time and effort we have put in the new taste of our pizza, I feel that we need to not only get the word out though commercials but through word of mouth as well being not only competitive with taste but price will be our another one of our tools to success. Citations. Facts. (2010). Retrieved from http://www. pizzaware. com/facts. htm http://www. dominosbiz. com/Biz-Public-EN/Site+Content/Secondary/About+Dominos/Diversity/ Inside domino’s. (2008). Retrieved from http://www. dominospizza. co. nz/corporate/inside/visionmission. aspx Our Heritage. (2008). Retrieved from http://www. dominos. com/Public-EN/Site%2BContent/Secondary/Inside%2BDominos/Ou r%2BHeritage/ W dot-com bubble. (2010). Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved (2010, May 31) from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Dot-com_bubble Reuters, T. (2010). Domino’s pizza inc. marketwatch, Retrieved from http://www. marketwatch. com/investing/stock/dpz/profile S&p focus stock of the week. (2009). S&P The Outlook, Retrieved from http://www. spoutlookonline. com/NASApp/NetAdvantage/FocusStockOfTheWeek. do? &context=Company&docId=15485805 Domino’s pizza announces first quarter 2010 financial results. (2010, may 04). Retrieved from http://finance. yahoo. com/news/Dominos-Pizza-Announces-First-prnews-3155025210. html? x=0&. v=1 burkitt, l. (2009, Dec 22). Domino’s launches massive $75 million ad blitz. Forbes.com, Retrieved from http://www. forbes. com/2009/12/21/dominos-pizza-recipe-ad-campaign-cmo-network-dominos. html Veenendaal , P, & York, e. (2010). After Tumultuous year, new domino. Advertising Age, Retrieved from http://adage. com/article? article_id=141334 Bamford, Charles, West, Page, & Reviews, Cram101. (2009). Outlines & highlights for strategic management. Academic Internet Pub Inc. Morgan, s. (2010, April 12). The Pizza portfolio. Smartmoney, Retrieved from http://www. smartmoney. com/investing/stocks/the-pizza-portfolio/? cid=1186 Shea, R.(2010, April 12). Nestle: the new 800 pound gorilla in frozen foods. Seeking Alpha, Retrieved from http://seekingalpha. com/article/207736-nestle-the-new-800-pound-gorilla-in-fr ozen-foods Pizza sales 2009. (2010, Feb 18). Retrieved from https://www. aibonline. org/resources/statistics/2009pizza. htm Domino’s pizza extends its menu. (2008, 2009 09). Retrieved from http://www. franchisekey. com/us/franchise-news/Domino-s-Pizza-extends-its-menu-. htm. Bloomburg business week. (2010, may 31). domino’s pizza inc 10-k , Retrieved from http://investing. businessweek.com/research/stocks/financials/secfilings. asp? ticker=DPZ:US United states securities and exchange commission washington, d. c. 20549 form 10-k. (2010). [Commission File Number 001-32242]. (web), Retrieved from http://investing. businessweek. com/research/stocks/financials/drawFiling. asp? docKey=136-000119312510045334-2CPIO5V2KAG3763AONFHFPD3VN&docFormat=HTM&formType=10-K Domino’s pizza revenue up 18. 4 per cent. (2010, may 06). New Statesman, Retrieved from http://www. newstatesman. com/business-food-and-drink/2010/05/quarter-store-international.

Sex Workers: the Legalization of Prostitution

Iya Clarke Mrs. Peacock 4 December Sex Workers: The Legalization of Prostitution Prostitution, one of the most controversial jobs created, is often revered as one of the lowest jobs of the career totem pole. Sex workers are counted out and their voices are rarely, if ever, listened to, but no longer should sex workers be ignored. They are people too and have a lot to offer the America. Other countries have legalized prostitution and it has simply become a part of the culture, no longer looked down upon. Perhaps, the U. S. hould revisit the job of sex working, and if stigmas and judgments about the field were removed and prostitution was viewed with unbiased eyes, then the positive aspects of legalization could be considered. Sex is simply another commodity that can be bought and sold, just like anything else that is traded, and should be treated as such. With certain restrictions, if brothels were designated for certain places, had their own district outside the major cities, it coul d help uplift a forgotten community. With certain regulations and laws put in place, not only sex workers, but society as large can benefit. Sex workers are not hurting anyone and should be allowed to do what they love. the Declaration of Independence it clearly states that, â€Å"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. † So if sex workers are happy doing their job then who is the government to try and outlaw it? Prostituting is their way of gaining life, liberty and it is their personal way of pursing happiness. If sex workers are doing what they love, not hurting anyone, and prostituting in a safe manner then the only ethical thing to do is to legalize it. But the only reason this will not happen is because of the negative stigma attached to it. Legalizing prostitution would normalize it and the mystery about sex workers would quickly dissipate. But if it became just a regular job then a lot of the taboo allure about it would be lost. After a certain amount of time most Americans would become indifferent to the issue, similar to how the Dutch now view prostitution. According to Melanie Abrams of History Today, â€Å"research has shown that 74 per cent of the Dutch population regards prostitution as an acceptable job and prostitution has been legal in the Netherlands since 2000. † If prostitution is normalized than stereotypes and judgments will decrease about the workers, making them feel less ostracized from society and help to create a richer place with diverse groups of people. The United States claims to be an accepting place, a â€Å"melting pot,† of all kinds of people with different ideas and lifestyles, so why sex workers be put on the outskirts of society? So many of sex workers are taken advantage of and abused physically, but if prostitution was legalized than not as many woman would be injured. Everyday sex workers are beaten and abused, and the intuition who is supposed to be stopping this type of behavior, the police, is often a main perpetrator of it. The police use the power in their job title to coerce the women into illicit sexual acts so that they aren’t arrested and taken to jail. Sex workers live in fear of the possible threats from their customers and threats from the governing force, the police. Legalizing prostitution would help to eliminate abuse from both of these groups because prostitution would be seen as a legitimate job. Just as other jobs have laws to ensure the protection of them, sex workers would be granted the same rights. The workers would be able to stand up for themselves and not be afraid to call out the people who take advantage of them. Also, the countless tax dollars spent on picking up sex workers and holding them in jail could be used for something more useful. Because honestly, if a sex worker really enjoys their job, they are just going to go back out on the streets. This will only encourage a viscous cycle, that will never ever stop, and simply waste money that needs to be used in something more important. The spread of STDs, if prostitution was legalized, would decrease, due to mandatory testing. One of the greatest fears about sex workers is that the spread a large number of diseases to their customers because they do not have to use protection. But if prostitution was legalized then a system could be set up to curb the spread of STDs and STIs. The workers would have to be checked periodically to insure the spread of diseases decreased, as opposed to workers who do not have to follow any rules, because they are participating in an illegal business. In parts of Australia, where prostitution is legal, sex workers â€Å"undergo regular examinations for STIs. If these tests are not done, the brothel will not permit the sex worker to work,† and in Queensland, Australia, â€Å"sex workers in brothels are required to wear a prophylactic during any type of sexual activity. As a result, Australian sex workers now have a very low incidence of STI’s. † With many jobs people have to go undergo certain requirements whether it is periodically drug testing, or getting a background check. Prostitute are going to do their job, legal or not, so imposing a way for it to be done in healthy manner, can only be for the better and help to curb the spread of unwanted STDs and STIs. If prostitutes became a legal then sex worker s could help the economy. Just as with any other job, prostitutes would become a part of the tax paying population. Rather than making all the money under the table, which is what they do now, sex workers could help the Unites States out of the economic downturn of the past few years. They could play a vital part in helping to alleviate the billions of debt that the United States is in imagine the millions of unpaid tax dollars that is being overlooked annually because prostitution is not considered a â€Å"real job. † Finally, the United States need to understand that prostitution is as a real of a job as any and rid themselves of the judgments that have been in the culture for years. Yes, some of the workers are coerced into selling themselves on the street, but there is also a percentage of the woman enjoy the work. Some women enjoy the thrill, or simply enjoy having sex. It is their body, so who is the government to tell them what to do with it; what not to do with it? If the government was able to see past these judgments then America would be a better place for it. The spread of unwanted STIs and STDs would lessen within this field, millions; possibly billions of dollars could be made by taxing the work. And the great melting pot, which is spoken so fondly of, would become even more diverse and accepting of people. In addition, there is no legal reason for it not to be legalized. Most of the reasons for why prostituting is illegal has to deal with morals. But if people do not like the idea of sex work, then they do not have to participate in it, but ultimately it is not their decision to make. If the sex workers are of the legal age, have made this decision on their own, without being forced or coerced, then they should be able to do what makes them happy. That’s all most people search for, the thing that makes them happy, so everyone should be able to experience that without being treated terribly and dealing with the constant oppression from the society from which they live in. Works Cited Abrams, Melanie. â€Å"City Of (Red) Lights. † History Today 59. 11 (2009): 6-7. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Dec. 2011. Sullivan, Barbara. â€Å"When (Some) Prostitution Is Legal: The Impact Of Law Reform On Sex Work In Australia. † Journal Of Law & Society 37. 1 (2010): 85-104. Sociological Collection. Web. 5 Dec. 2011.

Technical Proposal for an Architectual Small ompany Essay

Technical Proposal for an Architectual Small ompany - Essay Example ers of the small architectural company, it should establish certain technological IT solutions along with both hardware and software equipments to communicate with them working in the offsite. The company would entail these particular requirements in order to establish communication facilities with the architects and the architectural engineers for the sake of maintaining a smooth flow of business operations. An efficient flow of information through proper communication channels plays a crucial part in any business organisation. It makes easier to convey any sort of messages, helps to get the work done more efficiently developing a particular idea to be made aware for the participants. Moreover, a perfect as well as an adequate communication often leads toward avoiding any misunderstandings, raises the efficiency of the organisation and ultimately enhances the satisfaction of the workforce (Singla, 2009). After acquiring a brief idea regarding the importance of communication in busin ess organisations, this plan will chiefly be based upon the requirement of the communication facilities between the staffs and the senior officials of the small architectural company. In order to fulfil the requirement of the communication facilities, the small architectural company would have to purchase a few number of desktop computers accompanied with latest operating and software application programs. In addition, apart from these basic equipment requirements, the company also requires a medium of internet for emailing so that it would be convenient to create an efficient communicating network in the workforce, especially with the architects and the architectural engineers of the company working offsite. Contextually, in order to communicate with the engineers as well as the... After purchasing the desktop computers and installation of the software application programs, the architectural company should make proper use of the software programs to access different information regarding the staffs and the company’s performances. The user who would access the software application programs should also possess a detailed knowledge about the software application program. The inadequate execution and lack of knowledge amid the workforce regarding the software application programs might also lead the company to face a vulnerable situation. In this connection, the user should possess a deeper knowledge regarding the use of internet which can facilitate effective communication between the architects and the architectural engineers along with other staffs of the organisation. It is in this context that the proposed plan for the small architectural company would facilitate its communication procedure with the architects and the architectural engineers and will al so contribute in forming a strong base of computing technicalities.

Case study regarding to organisational effectivness theories

Regarding to organisational effectivness theories - Case Study Example Built in 1891, the company had high potential in the past. However, despite the numerous subsidiaries and an enormously large work force, the company failed to maintain a good performance level. In the 1990s, the company lost around $2.2 billion although a lot of focus had been on the improvement of performance. There are a number of reasons that are responsible for the failure of the company. The first and foremost reason for the dwindling for the progress of Philips was the fact that there had always been the problem of the relative distribution of power between the national organizations and the product divisions of the company. The product divisions were responsible for the manufacturing and the Research & Development sector while the national organizations were to monitor the day to day business of the company in different countries. Technically, the product divisions should have been given more importance, as they focused on and acted globally; though the same did not hold valid when it came to the real scenario. Since the company originally was from Netherlands, most of the managers of the company were Dutch. The Board of members belonging to a particular region posed a risk to the working of the national organizations. The national organizations were basically designed to work autonomously so that the needs of different countries, being different from each other, could be served. At times, the purpose of providing of autonomy was not really fulfilled. Yet the national organizations were still more important than the product divisions. There were attempts that had been made to give more power and credit to the product divisions, which acted universally, rather than the national organizations, which differed across countries. However there was little that changed the situation. Along with structural issues that the company was facing, there were environmental issues too. The increased