Intermediate Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Intermediate Accounting - Essay Example MHS inventory system indicates a retail method but it does not explain the entire process of the retail method. This method associates with purchases and sales or any other returns or disbursement accounts. In its application, this method requires that the company should keep all records associate with these accounts for internal purposes and control. For example, sales revenue, beginning inventory valued at both cost and retail, purchases during the period, which is also valued at cost, and retail, adjustment for markups and markdown, cancellation or discounts, and data related to damaged goods, returns, transfer, breakage, or because of other reasons. The objective of using the retail inventory method is â€Å"to find the ending inventory value at cost† (Ibid). For MHS to use bar code with the products are recorded and classified by the cost value makes the physical count time consuming and difficult. This type of unit cost inventory method is unsatisfactory. Goods on stock or inventory are related to accounts payable and affect sales. If they are not properly recorded, they can cause ending inventory to be overestimated and pretax income to be overestimated by the same amount. Similarly, ending inventory can be underestimated and pretax income be underestimated by the same amount. This method also makes it difficult for the company management to evaluate which items cause problem in stock out or over stock.

Charting a New Course for Education and Teaching about Religion Essay

Charting a New Course for Education and Teaching about Religion - Essay Example Such decline is manifested in OECD (2006) report which indicated that educated Americans dropped from 30% to 14% while its national students’ achievement percentile level similarly plummeted down. This for authorities is truly alarming. It’s in this context that educators proposed seven strategies to reform American educational system. These proposed strategies are as follows: (a) development of a student progression; (b) reinvest resources devoted for improving quality of early education, recruiting more quality teacher, enhancing their instruction capabilities and provision of more resources to disadvantaged students; ( c) allocating budget for infrastructure construction for universal pre-school education; (d) hiring of top quality graduates for teaching courses and offering attractive but reasonable salary scheme and incentives as motivation; (e) improve performance management in the educational system and conduct of regular performance appraisal among educators and administrators; (f) provision of support mechanism for disadvantaged students;and (g) upholding education standard and adoption of curriculum that is responsive to the needs of the national economy and polity.

Factors to Consider Before Merger and Acquisition

Factors to Consider Before Merger and Acquisition CHAPTER 1 Introduction 1.1. Background to the research According to the Chambers 20th Century dictionary the research could be defined as a â€Å"Systematic investigation towards increasing the sum of knowledge†. It was also stated as â€Å"An endeavor to discover new or collate old facts by the scientific study of a subject or by a course of critical investigation† in the Concise Oxford Dictionary. (The Concise Oxford Dictionary) Research can also be defined as the process which helps to find something new or it helps in clarifying certain doubts about the research that was being done already. This research looks in to the factors that encourage business organization all over the world to engage in the process of mergers and acquisitions (MA). It also examines the factors and incentives on the basis of which the MA have been a continuous popular strategy for the firms for expanding their businesses. Why and what type of firms will engage in this process. This research also helps the firms to understand the benefits that they can get from the MA process. There are various other growth and diversification strategies like franchising, licensing and Joint ventures which are popular amongst the business organizations. This research also discussed the challenges that firms face while engaging in the process of MA. MA is not an easy process because it is difficult for the organizations that are previously competing with each other to join and work together as one new entity. Organizations have different culture; they are using different management practices. It is very difficult for the employees to adjust to the new culture of the organization. In this research it is also going to be found out that what benefits that a firm can get after a successful MA process. Mergers and acquisitions is an issue of great academic interest. There are studies about this issue in the field of industrial economic and strategic management as well as on organizational theories. Especially in the current economic situation, where companies are facing liquidity problems and facing tough competitions from their rivals, MA is an important survival strategy as well for the organizations. With the globalization and the world is being a global village, the need for companies to join together and to cater the needs of the customers have to work together. The phenomenon of MA is equally popular amongst the firms with same kind of business as well as for the organization in different business. The firm that is discussed as a case study in this research is a big pharmaceutical company of the world. After the merger the company became the biggest pharmaceutical company of the world. In year 1998 the volume of business through the MA process was 2.4 trillion. This increases every year with more and more companies are entering the process of MA. In this research the case study GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) was discussed. It is going to be evaluated in this research that how the organization benefitted from the merger and acquisition process and whether it was a successful merger or not. In this research the definitions of MA given by different authors and the types of mergers were also discussed. The motive that attracted the organization to involve in the process of mergers and acquisition and the benefits that they got from this process was also discussed. MA is a complex process that involves two different companies, having their separate identity, so the problem arises in the integration process after the MA. In order to measure the performance of GSK the financial statements are analyzed. 1.2. Significance of the Study This research will help in finding out the factors that encourages companies to engage in the process of mergers and acquisition (MA). What are the factors that firms have to consider while starting the process of mergers and acquisitions? It is also going to be find out in the research that why companies are using MA as business expansion strategy for the growth of their business both in the International as well as local markets. This research will help in better understanding of the issues that are involved in the process of MA. The firms have to look at the human resource aspect of the mergers and acquisitions instead of just considering the financial and business aspect. Apart from the factors and parties involved in the process of mergers and acquisitions it is also going to be find out that what are the factors that have to be managed in the process, otherwise they will result in the failures of the whole process of MA. This study will also help the companies who are planning to engage in the process of MA about the relationship between the parties involved in this whole process. Globalization has made it easy for the firms to interact with each other, share their experiences about the markets, made strategic alliances to expand their businesses. This study will help in understanding the fat that how firms are using the mergers and acquisition as international business expansion strategy. It is also going to be find out in this study that why companies adopt the MA to expand their businesses in the international as well as national market when they have other business expansion strategies available to them like Strategic Alliances and joint ventures. 1.3. Statement of Purpose The purpose of this study was to find out that what were the factors that encouraged firms to engage in the process of mergers and acquisition? This research was going to evaluate the different business growth and expansion strategies that firm are using in order to expand their businesses. As GSK was taken as case study for discussing the mergers and acquisition as a business growth strategy, it was also going to be discusses that why GSK selected MA as a growth strategy to expand their business. This research also looked into the factors that encouraged firms in general and GSK in particular to involved in MA process. It was also going to evaluated that what were the positive points, that GSK would get after their merger and what were the challenges that GSK faced in the during merger and pre merger phase . In order to evaluate the performance of the GSK in this research the financial statement of the GSK was evaluated so as to saw the performance of the company in the post merger stage. This research looked at the annual turnover of the GSK after their merger so as to see that how much growth company had after the merger. In this report the earning per share (EPS) of the GSK was discussed and compared over few years in order to get the feel of that how well the company was working and how much benefit, the shareholders of the company had of their MA. The purpose of doing this research to help the students, researchers and companies to understand that how they can merger and acquisition effectively in order to expand their businesses. This research is really helpful full for the companies who are interested in doing mergers as they come to know through this research that what are the benefits they can get after the MA process. They will also come to know through this research that what will be the challenges that they will have to face if they want to be a part of mergers and acquisition process. This research will provide will help the firms who are interested in the process of mergers and acquisition to understand that how they will face with the problem of cultural differences if they are going for mergers with organizations from others cultures. They will also come to know that how important is the proper integration of cultures and integration of different department of the organization in the successful process of MA. 1.4. Aims and objectives This research will help the companies who are planning to engage in the process of mergers and acquisitions. They come to know through this research that what factors they have to take into consideration while going for mergers and acquisitions. What are the benefits and what are the negatives of MA. Who are the parties that are involved in merger and acquisition? The research has several aims regarding mergers and acquisitions of companies, especially Glaxo and SmithKilne. Merger and Acquisitions are never easy as many companies fail in their initial steps but some of them succeeding as well although number of failure is high. They fail because they could not recognize the actual factors on which they are doing mergers and acquisition. There are several factors upon which merger and acquisition takes place like HR, lack of capital, IT, lack of expertise, need for globalization and it is not necessary that companies do merger and acquisition on all factors but it depends on companies strategies and requirements as well. But in todays dynamic environment companies do merger and acquisition for increase their efficiency and effectiveness; companies have increasingly used mergers and acquisitions to change the scope and/or competitive environment of their business. Other factors which are useful in successful mergers and acquisitions are communication, corporate culture and change for surviving. In this project the researcher will discuss the factors that have impact on before, during and after merger and acquisition. Researcher will also look into the financial statement of the GSK for the last three years to determine that whether the company grows in its market price per share and price earnings ratio. That is the main indicators that determine the performance of the company. 1.5. Research Questions What factors encourages firms to adopt mergers and acquisitions as an international business strategy? What are the other international business expansion strategies available to firm? What benefits are likely to be gained by the firm, under the international business expansion strategy in mergers and acquisitions? What factors encouraged GSK to engage in merger and acquisitions? What are the benefits of MA? What are the challenges faced by the firm while engaging in the process of mergers and acquisitions? What strategies could be implemented to enhance the international business operations? CHAPTER 2 Literature Review 2.1 Business Expansion and Growth Strategies Businesses can expand or grows by number of ways. Whatever type of choice there may be, the business owners are on the hot seat because they have to make judgments, they should consider the best available choice that are in line with their main objective of expanding or growing business. In order to provide an initial understanding of the basic business growth and expansion strategies, some of them are discussed here. Directly exporting, Indirectly exporting with the help of middle man, producing product in the target company, Franchising and joint ventures, strategic alliances are some of the methods that companies all over the business world are using to expands all over the world. Apart from methods mentioned above, Mergers and acquisitions are the method that big multinational companies in all business sectors are using to expand their businesses internationally as well as in domestic market. Firms are using MA as an expansion growth strategy in order to cut down their cost of unnecessary advertisement and other marketing programmes that they are using in order to capture new markets with the help of MA. Companies diversifies their businesses so that they can enter new markets. 2.1.1 Business expansion through Geographical expansion It is the first and foremost aim of every business to grow in term of capturing new markets as well as in the financial terms. It is easy with the help of MA process, two companies that were previously competing with each other and spending a lot of their financial resources on un necessary marketing their products, can join their hands with MA process to capture new geographical markets. GSK after their mergers captures big market of Europe, Asia, USA and Japan. In most of the world GSK, after their merger became the biggest pharmaceutical company of the world. It is important to know that what are the methods, modern small, medium and large businesses are using in order to expand their businesses internationally. Some of the methods that organizations are using to expand internationally and in the local markets are as follows; 2.1.2 Ansoffs Growth Matrix (Product Market Mix) In order to understand the growth strategies, one of the common business strategy frame work is called as Ansoffs Growth Matrix. This matrix is developed by H. Igor Ansoff, a strategic management guru. This matrix helped organization in establishing a direction for the growth. In this growth matrix product and market are taken against vertical and horizontal axis. It helped organizations to understand the factor that how they grow their business. They can either enter the existing market with new product or they can enter the new market. (Campbell and Craig 2005) 2.1.3 Market Penetration In this kind of growth strategy the firm actually wants to sell more of its product in to the existing market. The firms want to grow their business by capturing more market share, for that firm allocates more of its resources to product development. This is less risky because the firm already knows the market. (Campbell and Craig 2005) 2.1.4 Market Development In this strategy the firm tries to enter the new market with the existing products. This happens when the firm wants to sell their existing product to new geographical markets in order to capture them. In this strategy firm has to invest highly on the marketing and sales department, in order to pursued customers to purchase their product. (Campbell and Craig 2005) 2.1.5 Product Development This strategy necessitates on the development of new product for the existing markets. In this strategy the organization had to invest highly on the research and development. Firms have to come up with new products that are in accordance with the current trends and needs/tastes of the customer. (Campbell and Craig 2005) 2.1.6 Diversification Diversification is the highly risky strategy. In this strategy firms want to sell entire new product in the entire new market for entire new customers. Diversification is of two types, related diversification and unrelated diversification. Related diversification is the one in which firms stick to the business in which it already are working. Unrelated diversification refers to the strategy where firm enters in to the entirely new business. (Campbell and Craig 2005) 2.1.7 Franchising Franchising is a business growth model in which the franchisor not only sells the its trademarks to the franchisee but despite of that he provides the franchisee with the whole business model that includes, accounting system, processes, training and technical and marketing support as well. This kind of business expansion model is very common in retail, food business, as well as in the service sector. As GSK is a big multinational company that is involved in the pharmaceutical industry so, business expansion models like Franchising are not suitable for them. 2.1.8 Licensing Licensing is another form of business expansion strategy that is very similar to the franchising. It worked the same way as franchising but in licensing licensor only allow licensee to use their intangible assets and in return gets royalty fees on monthly or annual basis. Intangible assets include patents, formulas, designs, copyrights and other intangible assets. This type of strategy was also not feasible for big company like GSK. 2.1.9 Strategic Alliances Strategic alliances are a kind of business expansion strategy in which two potential or actual competitors enters into a cooperative agreement. This is usually used by the companies, that are interested in entering the markets with less risks and they want to divide their initial fixed cost for starting a business. There are few other methods apart from the ones that are discussed above. Some companies used to expand their businesses by exporting, some like to go for joint ventures. 2.1.10. Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and acquisition is the method that is used by the firms all over the world in order to expand their businesses. According to a research, the total volume of mergers and acquisition business in year 1998 was 2.4 trillion. Mergers and acquisition is the kind of business expansion strategy that was used by GSK. Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham were the companies that are in the same business of pharmaceutical and healthcare products. GSK selects mergers and acquisition because it is easy for the manufacturing companies in the same trade and having almost same culture. A major factor in the mergers of the two firms was the suitability of the process for both the organization. After the MA of the two organizations they became the largest pharmaceutical company of the world. 2.2 Mergers and Acquisitions (MA) Merger and Acquisition have been discussed by the Strategists and been at the centre of management research as a quick and efficient way to expand their business and to get into new unknown markets, to create competitive advantage, to have spread risk and dominate existing market as well. 2.2 Definitions of Mergers and Acquisition Merger and acquisition is usually defined as a coming together of two companies however although people thought merger and acquisition to have same meaning but technically its different. An acquisition can be defined as the process of taking over of another, firm in which firms develops its own current situation by acquiring other firms resources and competencies (Johnson and Scholes 1999). Acquisition could also be defined by (Bowman and Asch 1996) as a process in which a firm acquired the shares and assets of other companies, liabilities and as well as its trading activities. Business all our the world are learning the fact that they have to find strategic partner, if they expect to be successful in todays globalized business world even big huge multinational companies are looking for companies in national as well as international markets with whom they can make strategic alliances. In order to operate in another country a firm has to get license for its product; get raw material or other stuff from local suppliers to meet the requirement of â€Å"local or domestic content† and so on. In order to overcome and avoid those difficulties firm develop global strategic alliances and strategic networks (Coffey, Cook and Hunsaker, 1994). Companies, Firms are always looking for partners with whom they can balance their strengths and counterbalance their weaknesses. This thing helps companies to achieve greater sales and economies of scale (Coffey, Cook and Hunsaker, 1994). Concept of merger and acquisition is not, new in Europe. This concept is reforming the financial landscape of the global business world from the last three decades and the most number of businesses grouped together in USA. It was shown from the data available that in 1998 more than $1 Trillion were spent on the activities of MA. Banking industry occupied the major part in the activity (Hitt et al, 1998). Acquisition is usually seen as a part of the growth of particular firm but some also believes that it was also often used by firms to save their dyeing and diminishing industries. Business growth could either be external or internal. Internal growth was in the form of investment in new or second hand plant or machinery or acquiring an existing going concern organization i.e. the example of external growth. A firm would choose amongst the internal and external growth according to its own requirements by thoroughly studying it as which one was more profitable. An acquisition is a bilateral agreement where the owner accepted the cash and securities or the mixture of both of these in returns of the shares in existing company. (Chiplin and Wright, 1988). Chiplin and Wright (1988) stated that, merger could also be defined as a process in which two companies decided to come together to shape a new legal body. Sian Herbert Jones (1982) defined merger â€Å"as a marriage between two companies of roughly of the same size†. The bigger company in the process usually controlled the assets of the new entity. The shareholders of the companies will have to exchange their shares with the newly created companies. A merger can also be defined as a process in which one firm amalgamate with another firm and disappeared in the new company. All mergers were accepted by the governments as they were in accordance with the laws of the states where they actually happened as well as they were also on the official scale. (Reed S. etal 2007). The number of mergers in 1980s has far exceeds the number of mergers in 1960s. Usually in 1960sthe mergers took place between companies of same sizes and in most of cases doing the same business. But in 1980s and 1990s the trends have with eased the MA of companies of different size of business and of dissimilar type of business (Tetenbaum 1999). The tendency of the organization to present in the mergers of vertical nature and the diversification type does not seem to be stop in future. Yet firm that starts merger usually attained small economic profits but value created by MA and that benefitted mostly to the small firm that was reached (Barney 1997). Lubatkin (1983) defined the main reason of acquiring and merger a novel firm to get better overall performance by attaining the synergy effect which is also normally described as â€Å"2+2=5†effect (Cartwright and Cooper, 1993, Hover 1971) between two organizations and that at the end helps them in gaining competitive advantage (Porter, 1985, Weber 1996). (British Institute of Management, 1986, Hunk 1988, Marks 1988, Weber 1996) stated that the successful rate for the firms in the process of MA were around 20 to 60 percent. 2.2.1 Different Types of Mergers and Acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions can take various forms. It depends upon the firm, a firm may choose to invest its recourses away from its current firm but within same type of business or it can decide to move to a complete new industry and invest in the area that is entirely new to it. There are following types of mergers and acquisition (MA). Different authors defined them as 2.2.2 Horizontal Mergers Horizontal merger can be defined as merger between companies that produce identical or closely related products. It can also be defined as a combination of two or more competitor working within the same geographic locality. The merger of Carlton and Granada television on UK as both are television companies to form ITV plc was a horizontal merger same as the example of Daimler and Chrysler link up. Other examples of horizontal merger in Europe in airline industry is the Lufthansa-Swiss International Linkup, Air France-KLM merger and the takeover of Buzz by Ryan air are the examples of horizontal merger in recent past.(Smart and Megginson 2008) 2.2.3 Vertical Mergers Merger in which companies with current or potential buyer relationship combines to create a more integration company, that type of merger can is called as vertical merger (Scott, Megginson, 2008). Vertical merger can be of Forward Integration or Backward Integration. Vertical merger can also be used as a marketing tool like Ford has acquired a financial subsidiary that has make it easy for their customer to obtain finance to purchase their products (Ford Motor Credit). 2.2.4 Conglomerate Mergers Conglomerate Mergers can be defined are of two types. One is called as product extension merger in which firms with similar but exact line of business joins. On the other hand a pure conglomerate merger occurs between companies involved in completely different line of businesses. Pure conglomerate merger is also called as classic conglomerate mergers. Pure conglomerate mergers were very popular in 1960s but it started to decline from 1980s onwards. In year 1984 the merger of car maker General Motors and that of computer consulting firm (EDS) Electronic Data System is a prime example of pure conglomerate mergers. 2.2.5 Concentric Mergers In the concentric mergers the companies might not moved to the different kind of business as they does in conglomerate merger. In this firm expands its activities at the same time measuring of unity of existing activities. This can be done by acquiring technologies that can help the firm in marketing customer type (concentric marketing) or it can also be done by acquiring customers for existing technologies (concentric technology) Jones 1982. The merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKlineBeecham was a concentric merger as both companies were in the business of pharmaceutical and health care products and their merger at that time created the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world. 2.2.6 Strategic Merger All merger are in some aspects are strategic mergers because they starts with having a particular strategy in mind. It can be define by authors and strategist to create an efficient merged company than that of its remerged companies. As it was explained in the definition of strategic merger that all mergers are strategic mergers, similarly the merger GSK was a pure strategic merger because they management of GSK was aware of the fact that they was going to be the biggest pharmaceutical company in the world after that MA process and they were able to reduce their cost of producing new medicines and formulas by economies of scale after merger. They were also expecting to capture the world market by geographically expanding their business. 2.2.7 Non value maximizing Motives and different theories of Mergers The basic motive of merger should be of maximizing shareholders wealth but unfortunately not all mergers are motivated towards the maximization of shareholders wealth. Different authors have given different theories related to non value maximizing motives. According to this theory poorly monitored managers will pursue mergers that will not create value maximization for the shareholder but they are of the view that this will increase the asset value of the company. They think that remuneration is linked with the size of the company, so in order to pursue their motive they initiate and do mergers. Michael Jensen (1986) hypothesizes that the mergers will use free cash flow to the process of merger that will have a negative NPV in order to expand the assets of the firm. So that they will derive greater remuneration from the firm because they are of the view that larger the firm larger will be their remuneration and they can also get personal benefits from the organization. Shleifer and Vishny (1989) purposed that the unmonitored managers try to pursue the projects that have negative NPV so as to increase the size of the firm in order to make them indispensible to the organization because they have the team that has expertise in managing the large organizations. 2.2.8 Hubris hypothesis of corporate takeover Richard Roll (1986) contends that some managers overestimates their qualities and pursue takeovers because they are of the belief that they have capabilities that can manage their takeover targets better than the people who are already managing that. 2.3 Value Maximization and Realistic Benefits of Mergers Numbers of theories are discussed regarding the benefits of MA. Some of theories and the important benefits that firms think that they are getting from MA are as follows. 2.3.1 Synergy Donald (2008) describes synergy as a simple phenomena that suggested that joining together of two companies can helped the organization in creating more share holders value than they have created while working separately. Synergy can be of two types. 2.3.2 Operating Synergy: (Economies of Scale and Scope) Economies of scale and economies of scope were both considered as the part of operating synergy that any organization had after mergers. Studies revealed that both these studies are important determinants in the creation of shareholders wealth (Houston, James and Ryangaert 2001). 2.3.3 Economies of Scale It can be defined as the spreading of the fixed expenses that any firm had over the manufacturing level. The expenses that were considered as scale in this case were the fixed cost in the form of rent, maintenance cost of machinery, depreciation of building, lease payments, interest expenses, and property taxes. that you have to pay, no matter how much production you have. So here the cost is decreased with every unit produced e.g. if fixed cost for producing one unit id  £2 and the firm is producing 1000 units per month. The cost decreased to  £1, half as it was in previous month, if the firm starts producing 2000 units per month in a month and so on (Donald 2008). 2.3.4 Economies of Scope This synergy is refers as by using specialized set of skills or assets that are already there for production related services and products. Like Honda already has infrastructure to produce engines, so they are using those infrastructure to produce items like lawn mowers, snow blowers apart from making engines for cars (Donald 2008). 2.3.5 Financial Synergy (Lowering cost of Capital) The financial synergies helps the organizations in the way that they can either creates higher cash flows or it can low the cost of the capital. Synergy is a stated motive in almost all the mergers and acquisition. Bide (1993) examined the motives of 77 mergers and acquisition in 1985 and 1986 and he stated that in one third of the takeovers synergy is the primary motive. 2.3.6 Diversification Diversification can be refers to the act of a company to buy a firm that was currently out of its previous main business. There were normally two reasons that encouraged firm to go for diversification. The first the acquiring company wants to take advantage of financial synergy that can help them in reducing their costs second being that with the help of diversification firms wants to enter the new product line or new product so as to spread its operation. If a firm is having slower growth rate it can increase its market share as well as increase and expands its market. Investor often perceived companies in unrelated business areas as riskier because it is difficult for top management and they are sometime reluctant and did not have enough financial resources to finance the golden opportunities available to them. (Morck, Shleifer and Vishny 1990). 2.3.7 Strategic Realignment The strategic realignment theory that firms engaged in the process of mergers and acquisitions because they think that this is the easiest way of getting used to of the external environments. Changes came from various sources but the change that is related to the regulatory environment and technological innovation is considered as the most. 2.3.8 Regulatory Changes In recent years companies, where deregulation occurred are seen to have more MA activities. This includes financial industry, healthcare, defense utilities, media telecommunication. There is proof which shows that the takeover activity is more in deregulated industries than that of regulated industry (Jensen 1993, Mitchell and Mulherin 1996, Mulherin and Brooke 2000). Deregulation helps in breaking down of the artificial barriers that exists in these companies. This can be evident by the facts that in now days ba

HYPNOSIS :: essays research papers

METHODOLOGY †¢ CASE STUDY RESEARCHES  INTERVIEWS  QUESTIONNAIRES What is Hypnosis? Hypnosis is a specific and unusual form of verbal control that apparently enables one person to control another person’s behavior, thoughts and perceptions. Examples of hypnosis: Under hypnosis, a person can be induced to bark like a dog, act like a baby, or tolerate pierced with needles. Importance of Hypnosis Hypnosis is important to psychology because it provides insights about the nature of consciousness and has applications in the fields of medicine and psychotherapy. Uses of Hypnosis Hypnosis can play a useful role in medicine, dentistry and psychotherapy. Thus, it can be used to suppress the pain of the childbirth or of having one’s teeth drilled. It is also useful in reducing the nausea caused by the drugs used in chemotherapy for cancer. Hypnosis can also be used to help people break a bad habit such as smoking. Finally, hypnosis is often used in psychotherapy to help patients discuss painful memories whose inaccessibility is impeding progress. Reasons for Hypnosis, not being used in every day life: Not all can be hypnotized The induction of hypnosis takes some time Habits reside largely in the subconscious. Willpower alone can't reach the subconscious. Hypnosis can HOW HYPNOSIS WORKS TO HELP PEOPLE QUIT SMOKING? Hypnosis can be an astonishingly powerful tool for shifting a person into becoming a nonsmoker. For some people, the results are miraculous. They emerge from their hypnosis session permanently convinced in body, mind and emotions that they will never light up a cigarette again. There is, however, a catch: the person must be fully willing to become a nonsmoker. Sometimes a prospective hypnosis client believes that the hypnotist can get him/her to quit smoking. That is not the truth. No one can help you quit something but yourself. But...if you've already made the decision to quit, what hypnosis can do is reinforce that choice, and make it much easier and more comfortable for you. DOES BEING HYPNOTIZED FEEL WEIRD? No. Most people experience hypnosis as a pleasant and normal sensation of deep relaxation. In fact, all of us go in and out of light hypnotic states every day. An example of this is daydreaming. WILL I FORGET EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS DURING MY SESSION? Although it's possible to relax so deeply that one doesn't remember her or his hypnosis session, most people remain fully aware of all that occurs. If this is a concern for you, ask your hypnotist to suggest to you that you will remember everything that has happened--and you will.

Dokument Bez Tytu U

It is the story of wholeheartedly, naughty redhead Dads Mezzanine who lives in a titular academy with tenderfoot other boys – whose names begin with the letter A. Mr. Sleeks takes care of them with MattheWs, a starling who can pronounce only words' endings and who was once a boy. But The Sleeks' Academy is not a typical school – Mr.. Sleeks can interprets dreams, and his students throw ink during lessons as well as talk to heroes of other fairytale. The second book that I want to compare is a series of â€Å"Harry Potter† novels written by the British novelist J. K. Rolling in 1997.Her books about Harry Potter are still a age phenomenon not only in the Great Britain but also around the world. It is about a young boy (Harry Potter) and his adventures during his presence at the Hogwash's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In school he goes on many adventures with his friends: Ron and Hermann. Many people in Poland who read both books are saying that the plot is alm ost the same. The similarities between â€Å"Harry PoetIn this essay will try to compare these kooks and to find out whether it's a plagiary or just a result of happenstance. In both books main heroes, Adam and Harry, suddenly go to the Academy of Magic. Both schools are run by the elderly men who have long, grey hair and distinctive glasses. Both directors love children and they really love teaching. Tumbledown and Mr. Sleeks are famous for their unusual actions. Moreover, Harry and Adam are at the same age, they learn in a magic academy, know the magic tricks, they can fly and they have identical professors. Furthermore, areas of the universities where they are learning are magical places.On the there hand these books have also many significant differences. Before Adam went to Academy Of Mr.. Sleeks he was living with his parents whereas Harry lost his parents when he was a baby. Henceforth, he was living with his aunt Petunia, uncle Vernon and their son Dudley. On his eleventh b irthday, Harry found out that he is a wizard and he will go to Hogwash's. Adam got into Academy of Mr.. Sleeks in slightly different circumstances. Before he joined the academy he was always late for school, obviously he never had his homework done, he was also all fingers and thumbs. That was the main reason why his parents sent him to the Academy of Mr..

Movie Industry Essay

1)What competitive forces have challenged the movie industry? The movie industry is challenged by increased levels of high-speed Internet access, improved PCs with DVD readers and writers, easy-to-carry video devices, and leading-edge file-sharing services. These forces make the video download easier and faster than ever before. 2)What problems have these forces created? Meanwhile, benefits are not the only things came with these competitive forces, problems came as well. The movie industry has a recession. They cannot make revenue as much as before by releasing movies, people more like to download a free movie or even it is illegal rather than buy tickets or buy a DVD home. At the same time, these free download things also involve copyright infringement. Most of these download sources are from people who have no permission to upload these movies or clips. 3) What changes have these problems caused the movie and television studios to make? Movie companies have to make some changes to adapt to the market. They cooperate with sites such as CinemaNow and Movielink to sell downloadable movies online with a 24-hour watch time limitation. Describe the impact of disruptive technology on the companies discussed in this case. YouTube, a video-sharing website, started their operation up in 2005. Many YouTubers upload movies or movie clips without permission which infringe the right of major studios, including NBC Universal, Time Warner’s Warner Brothers Entertainment, and News Corporation’s Twentieth Century Fox. YouTube cannot deal with this situation well, because hot movie clips are from multiple users and they can be moved as quickly as they were posted. Major studios have a recession on the DVD market, and this infringement behavior leads they lose money in cinemas. Q3. 1)How have the movie studios responded to YouTube? The movie studios are seeking $1. 25 billion from YouTube. And before 2007, after Google purchased YouTube, the movie studios seek a way to cooperate with YouTube about establishing licensing agreements which make copyright content available legally. 2)What is the goal of the response? The goal of the response is to protect their rights from infringement. And their negotiation shows that the movie studios have realized it is important to put more attention to online digital market. The movie industry should move forward to a new potential market. 3) What can the movie studios learn from the music industry’s dealings with online digital music and copyright infringement? The movie studios should know it is an irresistible trend that improvements of the movie and music markets move towards to digitized media. Digitized media can promote new releases on time-saving and money-saving bases. And it is important protect copyright if you do not want to lose revenue in a biggest movie and music market. Q4. Should motion picture companies continue to use YouTube to promote their new films? Why or why not? Motion picture companies should continue to use YouTube to promote their new releases. There are three reasons. First, promotion on YouTube is time-saving. YouTube, this heavy traffic website, has millions of visitors which are much more than other video-sharing websites. Thousands of people around the world upload, download, watch and comment on YouTube every second. YouTubers can see a new release at the same time its promotion posted. Second, it is more money-saving. Promotion online saves the cost of advertising expenses (prints and related fees), DVDs stocks, shipping expenses and salaries of salesperson and other expenses in real-life stores. Third, it is trend that world is becoming smaller because of the Internet, and online promotion or release will be the most efficient way for a new product.

The Effects of Genetic Research in the Modern World Essays

The Effects of Genetic Research in the Modern World Essays The Effects of Genetic Research in the Modern World Paper The Effects of Genetic Research in the Modern World Paper John S. Allen, and Susan C. Anton. Exploring Biological Anthropology: the Essentials. Second ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2010. Print.

Images of darkness essays

Images of darkness essays Araby, Sonny's Blues and The Secret Sharer, Dark images exist in our life in a Fabulous way. We see dark images in everywhere we exist. Moreover, sometimes we got their meanings and sometimes not. Actually, images of darkness reflects our actual life and feelings. For that reason, some authors got their inspirations from dark images to reflect their feelings, attitudes toward their nature of existence. Furthermore, in Araby, Sonny's Blues and The Secret Sharer, images of darkness demonstrate the nature of existence in a chaos and unknown world. First, Joyce uses images of darkness in Araby to reveal the setting ,internal mood of the characters and theme. First, the setting is full of dark images to inform readers of the story. The settings where the story takes place are gloomy and cold. Moreover, darkness reveals condition and surrounding area around characters. This is illustrated by the use of dark images such as ; "" Dark dripping garden"" through the dark muddy lanes behind the house". Furthermore , darkness reflects melancholy and obstacles in the society where the boy lives. For example, the boy states " I looked over at the dark house where she lived" " gloomy rooms liberated me" .Besides, the bazaar at the end of the story is presented by images of darkness such as;" Part of the hall was in darkness" and the " dark entrance". Moreover, Joyce uses dark images to support the theme of isolation and lack of knowledge in the story. For instance, through " gazing up into the darkness " the boy states that he saw himself as" a creature driven and derided by vanity". These images are employed to show the boy is growing up and lack of knowledge about the obstacles in life. In addition, images of darkness is revealed the character's mind and mood in the story. For example, darkness reveals boy's reality as a boy who sees only the external images around him. Besides, t ...

Analysis of Statement Life is Not Fair

It is not fair to get used to life in (Bill Gates) an unfair life. In some aspects of our lives, we have heard someone's opinion. Life is unfair because things will not happen in the future. Life gives people and harms. Life is like a picture by an unknown painter, and it is only a part of it. Pictures can always deceive someone about what they truly mean. Lies, appearances, contradictions, colors, integration, and letters are mere decorations in the overall interpretation of images. First, the work statement is not necessary but an analysis unit, with emphasis on defining and capturing the actual demand report. Parents teaching children lessons lessons have a job to do. The work to do is not a requirement, requirement, requirement, or concern. It is a process that can be disassembled and investigated to understand useful customer input. It is an indicator that the customer uses for measurement at the time of success. Traditional VoC experts do not focus on the tasks to be performed. In other words, if you find a customer's needs, work is not a unit of analysis and the request statement is not related to work. Finished. In fact, the VoC community does not have an agreed analysis unit. Some VoC experts use products as analytical units (Katz does this) and others focus on customers Financial statement analysis (or financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing the company's financial statements to make better economic decisions. These statements include income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and equity change statement. Financial statement analysis is a method or process that includes specific methods to assess the organization's risks, performance, financial condition, and future prospects. It is used by various stakeholders, including credit and equity investors, governments, the public, decision makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different technologies to meet their ne eds. For example, equity investors are interested in the organization's long-term profitability and the sustainability and growth potential of dividends. Analysis of Statement Life is Not Fair It is not fair to get used to life in (Bill Gates) an unfair life. In some aspects of our lives, we have heard someone's opinion. Life is unfair because things will not happen in the future. Life gives people and harms. Life is like a picture by an unknown painter, and it is only a part of it. Pictures can always deceive someone about what they truly mean. Lies, appearances, contradictions, colors, integration, and letters are mere decorations in the overall interpretation of images. First, the work statement is not necessary but an analysis unit, with emphasis on defining and capturing the actual demand report. Parents teaching children lessons lessons have a job to do. The work to do is not a requirement, requirement, requirement, or concern. It is a process that can be disassembled and investigated to understand useful customer input. It is an indicator that the customer uses for measurement at the time of success. Traditional VoC experts do not focus on the tasks to be performed. In other words, if you find a customer's needs, work is not a unit of analysis and the request statement is not related to work. Finished. In fact, the VoC community does not have an agreed analysis unit. Some VoC experts use products as analytical units (Katz does this) and others focus on customers Financial statement analysis (or financial analysis) is the process of reviewing and analyzing the company's financial statements to make better economic decisions. These statements include income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement and equity change statement. Financial statement analysis is a method or process that includes specific methods to assess the organization's risks, performance, financial condition, and future prospects. It is used by various stakeholders, including credit and equity investors, governments, the public, decision makers within the organization. These stakeholders have different interests and apply a variety of different technologies to meet their ne eds. For example, equity investors are interested in the organization's long-term profitability and the sustainability and growth potential of dividends.

List a phobia and explain the systematic desensitization of a phobia Essay

List a phobia and explain the systematic desensitization of a phobia - Essay Example ty disorders, and consists of teaching those who suffer from it coping strategies, establishing a hierarchy of stimuli that cause the phobic fear and then progressively and gradually exposing them to the thing they fear (Wikipedia, n.d; Rainey, 1997). When people suffer from irrational fear such as height, they tend to avoid the thing they fear. Since theyre avoiding it, their anxiety level reduces and the reduction of the fear is reinforced by negative reinforcements. Instead of this, the systematic desensitization first teaches how to reduce the levels of anxiety and fear by cognitive strategies that help control the fear rather than letting it build up inside until it becomes unbearable. These strategies can be meditation, thinking happy thoughts, concentrating on breathing and more. Having been taught how to relax and reduce their anxiety, the phobic person will be exposed to the object of his fear gradually, by first being able to talk about it, then seeing a picture illustrating the situation or thing he fear, then experiencing something similar, and finally by experiencing it. One common fear is the fear of flying. Many people think it is extremely dangerous to fly airplanes since it is high in the air and the plane can crash. These people view the experience of flying as terrifying and something which they can never do, seeing as how it completely paralyzes them. Accordingly with the systematic desensitization, the therapist will first teach the patient different ways to relax, like the ones previously mentioned. Relaxation is very important when discussing this fear, because unlike other fears from animals or other objects, flying a plane can last hours, and in this case, it is crucial to be able to fully relax. Then, having established the stimuli which cause the phobic episodes, the therapist will start with the least anxiety-provoking stimulus and gradually move on to the next one, until all of the items listed on the anxiety hierarchy have been

Financial Management - Study of 3 Companies and their Flotations (IPO) Essay

Financial Management - Study of 3 Companies and their Flotations (IPO) onto the Stock Exchange - Essay Example Through IPO, companies intend to raise money by offering shares for the first time to the outsiders (Espinasse, 2011, p.1). Recently, Groupon, LinkedIn and Angie’s List decided to go public and released their IPOs. ‘Facebook’ has also filed its IPO recently. These are US based high profile internet companies and are running successfully worldwide. There are lot of benefits as well as some challenges too that are to be faced by companies going public. About the companies and its products and services Groupon: Groupon is a daily deal website, headquartered at Chicago, IL, US and was launched in November, 2008. Groupon is an e-commerce marketplace. It provides a link between the local merchants and consumers. The goods and services are offered at a discounting rate to the consumers. Groupon is a means of advertising through internet where local merchants can attract customers in order to facilitate selling of its goods and services. Consumers are informed about the d aily deals through emails, websites and mobile applications. These daily deals are about, what the consumers can do, see, eat or buy in their local markets where they live. One coupon named, ‘Groupon’ is offered everyday in each of the markets where it serves. The ‘Groupon’ is like an assurance contract which requires a minimum number of people to sign up for the deal or offer before it is available to everyone, or else the deal gets lapsed for the day. LinkedIn: LinkedIn Corporation is a social networking website which is mainly meant for professional business purposes. It is headquartered at Mountain View, California, US. LinkedIn was launched in May, 2003 and its website is available in different languages like English, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, etc. It provides a leading service in professional networking globally. An individual can post their profile in LinkedIn website and then they can use different tools available in the site for accessing different services. These services include, opportunities for searching jobs, recruitment of candidates searching for job, search for partners, suppliers and customers, finding expert advice, etc (Yoffie, Slind & Achsaf, 2008). Through LinkedIn, registered users can maintain their contact details of users with whom they are related to each other. Sponsored advertising facility is also available in the site. The subscribers or members can also form groups which provide a platform for group discussion on various topics, mainly related to employment and career opportunities. Angie’s List: Angie’s List, Inc. is a US based company headquartered at Indianapolis, Indiana, US. It maintains a huge database of reviews made by customers. Angie’s List provides services that are consumer driven and requires membership fees. Customers give online reviews on the services provided by different companies and then grading of these companies is done by Angie’s List based o n different criteria like, price, professionalism, quality, etc. From the reviews and grades provided, customers get to know more about services in the areas of architect, plumbing, medical, automobiles, etc (Green Watch, n.d.). Only the top graded companies in Angie’s List are allowed to advertise. Build-up to the Floatation (IPO) onto the Stock Exchange Groupon Inc. IPO Groupon Inc. decided to go public for the first time and launched its IPO during November, 2011. It got listed in NASDAQ stock market with the ticker symbol â€Å"

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing Research Paper

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing - Research Paper Example Outsourcing of core business activities was seen to be trend of SMEs however it is evident that today even larger organizations outsource their core functions as these activities are seen to be burden for the management. In the present business or corporate world competition has increased thus the managements are more inclined in utilizing their time for the business and competitive strategies thus they find outsourcing a feasible option however before making any such decision both the pros and cons of outsourcing core business activities like accounting/finance must be analyzed and then it should be decided whether to keep them in-house or outsource. Considerations for Outsourcing Finance/Accounting It is not just burden of working and maintaining records that has to be considered before making the decision for outsourcing there are mixture of risks and rewards involved that must be analyzed. First and for most criteria has to be the cost analysis the cost maintaining a finance depa rtment keeping in view all the expenses like training, salaries, office space, benefits, equipment and software would have to be compared to outsourcing keeping in view that same targets are to be achieved thus the related costs of outsourcing along with in-house operations must be recorded and documented (Jayamalathi, Magiswary, Dr. Murali, & Noreen, 2009). In case of finance department being outsourced decision regarding the access of records has to be made that how the relevant data would be delivered, who would be accessing the company records and in what format they would be presented to the outsourcer. All these factors have to be discussed in outsourcing agreement so as to be clear and whether they would be comfortable as it should not be impeding their regular course of business. It has to analyze the level and range of services that the outsourcer would be offering they should be less than what the company maintains in-house. Deadlines are important for finance and accounti ng as the relevant records are required from time to time thus it had to be made sure as how the resources would be allocated in order to ensure that the deadlines are met. In choice of outsourcer it has to be focused that whether his working style could be integrated into the culture of company otherwise data integration would be an extra burden over the company (Tejaswini & Rajiv, 2010). Company records are the critical factor for working and operations thus it often seen that management is not comfortable in sharing the information and the internal data even with the outsourcer thus it has to be considered the level of services required and decisions to be made regarding the data that would be shared with the outsourcer. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Finance/Accounting Pros mostly can be said to be the reasons or the benefits for which the small and medium sized companies chose to outsource their finance/accounting departments (Yunus, Ren, & Jing, 2005). Cons can be said to be the risks that may cause to avoid the decision of outsourcing. Following are the pros and cons of outsourcing discussed: Pros of outsourcing Financial saving is most lucrative advantage that the SMEs focus on due to their limited financial resources thus

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management Essay - 14

Enterprise and Entrepreneurial Management - Essay Example This was followed by a close examination of the competition in London with restaurants with a similar theme of organic food serves. Analyzing the strategies and financial aspects followed by reviewing the success prospect of this business project. I also included the start up cost as well as the feasibility of funds According to a report; organic food Industry is growing internationally, its sales have grown 8% in 2010 globally and it is valued as pounds  £ 44.5 Billion. It has shown remarkable growth in the European and the US market and for future the prospect is positive ("soil association"). People in Europe are more concerned about consuming safe food. They are aware about the harmful affects of modified foods and hence the organic food market is the fastest growing filed in United Kingdom. People tend to choose organic food to compliment their living standard which has increased significantly in the recent years. UK sells Organic food and presently it the second highest sale in Europe. The most popular organic foods in UK are fruits, potatoes, cereals, milk products and vegetables (George 205-206). When it comes to the word ‘Organic’, the very first impression one gets is of a product which is free of chemicals, it is mostly attributed to vegetables and fruits and not with any non vegetarian food. However, animals those are raised in an organic environment, taken complete care with natural substances and without any pesticides involvement are highly preferred by consumers. They are fed with natural diet and they are free from genetically modified organism, when they are sick they are treated with drugs and not with antibiotics. These animals are never given hormones ("Soil association"). Presently there are very few restaurants in London; engaged in serving organic food. This report will highlight the possibilities of its successful venture. It is quite evident through research reports provided by the soil association, UK’; that organic

Petroleum extraction process Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Petroleum extraction process - Term Paper Example However, to start drilling the reservoir containing the sufficient amount of oil should be found. The researches on oilfield exploration started in 19th century. They were aimed on studying features of bedrocks. The main purpose was to find the rocks that were suitable rock as reservoir of oil (Speight 100). In the beginning of the 20th century surface rock with suitable characteristics were studied. New techniques developed in 1960s provided the possibility of exploration below the surface of earth (Speight 101). New geophysical technologies are based on studying gravitational, magnetic, seismic, electric, electromagnetic and radioactive properties of the bedrocks. The methods are subdivided on techniques without depth control and techniques with depth control. The first group utilize spontaneous responses from local and distant sources that are controlled by the observer. The second group foresees introduction of energy (electric or seismic) into the ground, analyze and interpretation of transmissibility (Speight 101). Gravitational methods are connected with studies of gravitational field which is affected by differences in density of geological bodies. Therefore, the gravimeter detects differences in density, and the detected variations permit to make a conclusion about the presence of rock formations (particularly oil). Magnetic methods are based on detection of the magnetic properties of the rocks. Detected difference provide the possibility to suggest the presence of desired materials. Seismic methods are based on creation artificial shock and detection the time necessary for the vibration impulse to get to the seismic detector. Depending on the obtained results, the conclusion about presence of oil can be made. Electric and radioactive methods are based on the measurement of conductivity and radioactivity (respectively) of the studied

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing Research Paper

The benefits and drawbacks of finance and accounting outsourcing - Research Paper Example Outsourcing of core business activities was seen to be trend of SMEs however it is evident that today even larger organizations outsource their core functions as these activities are seen to be burden for the management. In the present business or corporate world competition has increased thus the managements are more inclined in utilizing their time for the business and competitive strategies thus they find outsourcing a feasible option however before making any such decision both the pros and cons of outsourcing core business activities like accounting/finance must be analyzed and then it should be decided whether to keep them in-house or outsource. Considerations for Outsourcing Finance/Accounting It is not just burden of working and maintaining records that has to be considered before making the decision for outsourcing there are mixture of risks and rewards involved that must be analyzed. First and for most criteria has to be the cost analysis the cost maintaining a finance depa rtment keeping in view all the expenses like training, salaries, office space, benefits, equipment and software would have to be compared to outsourcing keeping in view that same targets are to be achieved thus the related costs of outsourcing along with in-house operations must be recorded and documented (Jayamalathi, Magiswary, Dr. Murali, & Noreen, 2009). In case of finance department being outsourced decision regarding the access of records has to be made that how the relevant data would be delivered, who would be accessing the company records and in what format they would be presented to the outsourcer. All these factors have to be discussed in outsourcing agreement so as to be clear and whether they would be comfortable as it should not be impeding their regular course of business. It has to analyze the level and range of services that the outsourcer would be offering they should be less than what the company maintains in-house. Deadlines are important for finance and accounti ng as the relevant records are required from time to time thus it had to be made sure as how the resources would be allocated in order to ensure that the deadlines are met. In choice of outsourcer it has to be focused that whether his working style could be integrated into the culture of company otherwise data integration would be an extra burden over the company (Tejaswini & Rajiv, 2010). Company records are the critical factor for working and operations thus it often seen that management is not comfortable in sharing the information and the internal data even with the outsourcer thus it has to be considered the level of services required and decisions to be made regarding the data that would be shared with the outsourcer. Pros and Cons of Outsourcing Finance/Accounting Pros mostly can be said to be the reasons or the benefits for which the small and medium sized companies chose to outsource their finance/accounting departments (Yunus, Ren, & Jing, 2005). Cons can be said to be the risks that may cause to avoid the decision of outsourcing. Following are the pros and cons of outsourcing discussed: Pros of outsourcing Financial saving is most lucrative advantage that the SMEs focus on due to their limited financial resources thus

Petroleum extraction process Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Petroleum extraction process - Term Paper Example However, to start drilling the reservoir containing the sufficient amount of oil should be found. The researches on oilfield exploration started in 19th century. They were aimed on studying features of bedrocks. The main purpose was to find the rocks that were suitable rock as reservoir of oil (Speight 100). In the beginning of the 20th century surface rock with suitable characteristics were studied. New techniques developed in 1960s provided the possibility of exploration below the surface of earth (Speight 101). New geophysical technologies are based on studying gravitational, magnetic, seismic, electric, electromagnetic and radioactive properties of the bedrocks. The methods are subdivided on techniques without depth control and techniques with depth control. The first group utilize spontaneous responses from local and distant sources that are controlled by the observer. The second group foresees introduction of energy (electric or seismic) into the ground, analyze and interpretation of transmissibility (Speight 101). Gravitational methods are connected with studies of gravitational field which is affected by differences in density of geological bodies. Therefore, the gravimeter detects differences in density, and the detected variations permit to make a conclusion about the presence of rock formations (particularly oil). Magnetic methods are based on detection of the magnetic properties of the rocks. Detected difference provide the possibility to suggest the presence of desired materials. Seismic methods are based on creation artificial shock and detection the time necessary for the vibration impulse to get to the seismic detector. Depending on the obtained results, the conclusion about presence of oil can be made. Electric and radioactive methods are based on the measurement of conductivity and radioactivity (respectively) of the studied

Alternative Beverages Essay Example for Free

Alternative Beverages Essay Alternative beverages competed on the basis of differentiation from traditional drinks such as carbonated soft drinks or fruit juices. The market started out with low competition, however that is rapidly changing as many new product lines enter and profit margins will inevitably suffer from the price reduction. The rest of the beverage industry is faced with low profit margins because of high competition and little ability to differentiate products. The alternative beverage segment help companies to sustain volume growth in mature markets where consumers were reducing their consumption of carbonated soft drinks. Also the alternative beverage industry offered products that catered to different demographics. For example energy drinks were purchased more by teens and young adults while energy shots were bought by adults to get extra boosts of energy during the work day. In addition the vitamin-enhanced drinks and sports drinks went more toward athletes and people who exercised often. This differs from just the usual carbonated soft drinks that people were used to drinking. Now they had products that they could consume for different activities. Demand is expected to grow worldwide as consumer purchasing power is increased and alternative beverages offered profit margins much higher than those of other beverages. One key characteristic in the beverage market was introduction of the energy shots and they were an important growth factor in the industry; the 5 hour energy shot was introduced in 2004 and took the market by storm with its high containments of B6, B12 and caffeine. Competitor’s course introduced energy shots to the market but none have come close to the 5 hour energy shot, with it holding 85% of the market share in 2009.

Hinduism And The Child Bearing Process Theology Religion Essay

Hinduism And The Child Bearing Process Theology Religion Essay Having a baby and changing your life with a new being is a very important part of life. Regardless of culture and traditions, it is a very special process for most mothers, fathers and families in all cultures around the world. This essay will look in depth into the ways the Hindu culture views child bearing, infant feeding, post partum beliefs and in general how their beliefs differ from our Canadian modernized culture. Child-bearing The Hindu religion in itself is a very tight-knit culture, relying a lot on the power of their Gods and finding enormous strength in the faith itself. The child-bearing process is no exception. Ceremonies are usually performed during pregnancy to ensure the health of the mother and growing child (Hindu, 2012). Initially at conception a ceremony called samskar is performed and this involves prayers of hope that a child will fulfill the parents obligation to continue the human race. There are rituals that the father practices with the mother such as the father parting the hair of the pregnant mother three times upward from the front to the back, this is believed to assure ripening of the embryo inside. Also, charms may be placed on or around the mother that ward off evil eyes and witches and demons. As the pregnancy advances there are a set of prayers that are held during a ceremony to continue the blessings of the mother and child. Between the fourth and seventh months of pregnancy a ceremony called Simantonnayana is held in which the father combs his wifes hair and expresses his love and support for her. Traditionally in the seventh month of pregnancy Hindus have another ritual that is performed which would be compared to a modernized Canadians version of a baby shower, this is called Seemantham. This event is organized by the family members and involves gift-giving and religious rituals. A prayer to fire is recited to sooth the expectant mother. Light instrumental music is played, and it is believed that this will refine the development of the babys ears (Hindu, 2012). During pregnancy the mother usually assumes a passive role and follows directions of the trained professionals (Leifer, 2011). During all examinations and the actual birthing process a female couch is usually preferred and they value the teachings of professionals. While the woman is in labour, her head is usually covered and if any examinations are to be done to the mother the husband must always be present. Rituals immediately following the birth of the child are practiced as well. Prior to the cutting of the umbilical cord, the father may touch the babys lips with a gold spoon or ring dipped in honey, curds and ghee. The word vak (meaning speech) is whispered three times into the right ear, and mantras (prayers) are chanted (Leifer, 2011). This ritual is normally called Jatakarma and is viewed as a sacrament or samskar. This ritual is given by the father to welcome and give blessings to ensure a long life, peace and to continue the generation of talent for the newborn child. After the newborn is delivered the sex of the child is not revealed until the placenta is delivered. This information is with-held to delay stress of the mother if the gender of the child is not of her preference until after the placenta is delivered. One of the last rituals in this category includes the performance of Namakarana (a ceremony done to name the child). This is held between the tenth and forty-first days of life. This particular ceremony marks the childs formal entry into his or her seat of Hinduism. Names are chosen according to astrology (BeliefNet, 2012) and a consultation is done in deciding the name of the child and usually names of Hindu gods or goddess are chosen and preferable. Hindus believe this tradition is special and a blessing because you will have an added benefit of remembering how your child was named. Infant Feeding Typically a newborn baby in the Hindu culture is breastfed; the belief is that by feeding the child breast milk, mothers are worshipped by the Hindu goddess Durga (the mother goddess). It is believed that breast milk is thought to have special powers which are in their religious text as the Sushrauta Samhita. These texts also recommend delaying breastfeeding until true milk comes in. (McKenna, 2009). Following religious beliefs a mothers colostrum and prelacteal feeding is discarded. Among some Hindus colostrums is discarded because of a belief that its thickness and viscosity may be difficult for the newborn to swallow. Also, there are beliefs that the first breast milk is stale or old from being stored in the breasts for the duration of the pregnancy (McKenna, 2009). Mothers ensure that their breasts are washed and all colostrums are discarded for the first day until the true milk comes in. Hindus also believe that by discarding the colostrum they are purifying the tubes of the mot hers mammary glands. Prior to the mothers giving their child the true milk, Hindus give prelacteals which their religious beliefs and cultural backgrounds state they are to have positive effects on the babys gastrointestinal and genitourinary systems. Hindus use prelacteals like honey and ghee, which are thought to evacuate meconium, reduce colic and act as a laxative (McKenna, 2009). When the infant reaches an age of six or seven months an Annaprasana ceremony is performed for the first solid foods. Annaprasanas meaning is anna= rice and prasana= to enter, thus the reasoning why rice is typically the first food given, and is given at this ceremony. The difference of the month for the ceremony depends on the gender of the child. A girl childs ceremony is held on an odd month, while a boys ceremony would be on an even month. When a baby gets solid food for the first time numerous prayers are offered to the child. It is believed with Annaprasana that the flaws that arise due to intake of impure food are removed. At the ending of this ceremony different articles such as books, fruits, toys and money are spread in front of the child. The baby is allowed to touch these items and it is believed that what the baby touches first will be his interest for rest of its life. Post Partum Beliefs Typically in most Indian cultures after a baby is born there is a lot of family support for the mother and many believe that the baby is to be handled as little as possible to allow its spine to grow normally. For the post partum women sponge baths are usually done (Leifer, 2011) in the Hindu culture. Usually the woman who delivered the child is kept in seclusion for 40 days postpartum (Leifer, 2011). This time of seclusion allows for bonding of the woman and child and immediate family. After this bonding time is complete then other family, friends and presents are welcomed into the home of the child. A traditional art of painting the skin with Henna is also performed on the woman after having a baby. Hennaing a woman after she gives birth is a traditional way to deter the malevolent spirits that cause disease, depression, and poor bonding with her infant. The action of applying henna to a mother after childbirth, particularly to her feet, keeps her from getting up to resume housewor k. A woman who has henna paste on her feet must let a friend or relative help her care for older children, tend the baby, cook and clean. This allows her to regain her strength and bond with her new baby (Cartwright Jones, 2002). Personal Reflection The process and importance of having a child in the Hindu religion really intrigues me. Although every culture finds importance and happiness in the process of a new child being welcomed into their family, the Hindu religion has opened my eyes into how special and meaningful this process can be. All the ceremonies and special activities that are done to embrace this beautiful time in life made me wish some of these special events were incorporated in modernized Canadian cultures. I truly believe that having this much culture and religious belief incorporated into having a child makes it even more special. It is very important as a nurse that you take the time and consideration to value all the different areas that cultures around the world celebrate and embrace different parts of life, such as having a baby. As a nurse you must be respectful of each and every persons beliefs and be culturally aware that every person regardless of race, color or culture may choose to embrace this part of life in their own way. It is the responsibility of the nurses and health professionals to make this the best possible experience for them and in turn being respectful to their wishes, regardless if they are different than your own.

Kingship in Shakesperean Plays Essay -- Kings Royalty Shakespeare Essa

Kingship in Shakesperean Plays Due to the powerful influence of the monarchy, the nature, duties and responsibilities of kingship were of particular interest to Shakespeare. The mark of a bad king was the decline of the political, social and economic climates, while the mark of a good king was the blossoming of such worlds. Therefore, the characteristics of the person occupying the kingship were crucial to the health of the nation. Shakespeare explores this issue in many of his plays by examining the traits of poorly fulfilled kingships, and the political and social ramifications of such monarchical failures. He does this most notably in Macbeth and Richard II. In both plays Shakespeare ultimately concludes that tyrants are formed by their own lack of foresight, strong lusts for power, overly large egos, unstable natures and rash tempers. When a king fails his country it is because he has neglected his duties and responsibilities to the state. To do so is to spit in the face of God, the state and the people . Thus, in both Macbeth and Richard II, Shakespeare defines the nature, duties and responsibility of a successful kingship by exploring the ramifications and manifestations of a denial of or lack of such characteristics in the person occupying this position. Throughout the Shakespearian plays, particularly in those that explore the issues of kingship, the theme of foresight runs strong. A king must have considerable levels of foresight within his nature in order to retain the kingship. He must be able to identify potential threats to his throne by recognizing unhealthy lusts for power and ambition in the men and women that surround him. If a king does not have this foresight within his nature, or if he ... ...God more greatly than a blasphemous utterance from a commoner. A king’s sacrilege is divine betrayal to the highest degree. Thus, in both Macbeth and Richard II, Shakespeare outlines the duties of kingship, and implies that to deny such responsibilities is to betray God, the state and the people. Throughout his plays, Shakespeare explores the nature, duties and responsibilities of kingship. A healthy amount of foresight and suspicion must be within a king’s nature in order to recognize ambition in the men and women that surround him. He must also be benevolent, reward the loyal, and think of the wants and needs of his nation before he thinks of his own selfish interests. To not do so will result in not only the devastation of a nation, but it is also sacrilege. Shakespeare explores and supports this theme most notably convincingly in Macbeth and Richard II.

Crisis Management: Why Businesses Should Have an Active Crisis Plan Es

Crisis Management Crisis communication is one of the most important and neglected components of organizational communication in today's business world. It is vital that every corporation have contingency plans for emergency situations, both natural and man-made. Studies show that eighty percent of organizations confronted with a major disaster runs out of business within two years.(Hickman & Crandall 1997) Nevertheless, we also know that almost forty percent of all Fortune 1000 companies have an operational crisis management plan in place. (Hickman & Crandall 1997) This paper will examine and evaluate three journals that discuss different aspects and needs for an active crisis plan. The first journal evaluated comes from an article in Business Horizons named "A Multi-faceted Approach to Crisis Management" that discusses the need for developing many parallel plans before disaster strikes. First and foremost, the article says that a crisis management team must be created for the mere anticipation of possible crisis events in order that recovery and rebuild of the organization may be conducted in an efficient manner. The team should be named and move into action. The first order of business for the new team should be developing worst case scenarios. In order for this next step to happen, the team must establish what business functions are mission critical and necessary for the survival of the organization. They must also understand and plan for the proper technology needed to back up these functions to be in place. After all of this is completed, the team needs to develop and distribute to all those involved a crisis management plan. It falls on managem ent to ensure all parties stay current and trained on t... ...ial for failure at the catastrophic level. References Cheney, G., Christensen, L., Zorn, T., & Ganesh, S. (2004). Organizational Communication in an Age of Globalization: Issues, Reflections, Practices. Prospect Heights: Waveland Press, . Inc. Goldstein, G. "A Strategic Response to Media Metamorphoses." Public Relations Quarterly, Summer2004, Vol. 49 Issue 2, p19, 4p Epstein, M."Communicating with Stakeholders in a Crisis" Financial Executive, Oct2003, Vol. 19 Issue 7, p23, 3p Hickman, J., Crandall, W. "Before disaster hits: A multifaceted approach" Business Horizons, Mar/Apr97, Vol. 40 Issue 2, p75, 5p Ulmer, R,. Sellnow, T. (1997) "Startegic Ambiguity and the Ethic of Significant Choice in the Tobacco Industry's Crisis Communication," Communication Studies 48 (1997)

“As Good As It Gets” Film Essay

Hollywood film producers and authors of fictional novels destined for the big screen have often given their characters psychological disorders. Producers and writers seek ways to add depth to their characters’ personalities and give them something to struggle against during the course of the story. The average movie-goer does not necessarily have the knowledge to determine if the disorder displayed on the big screen is accurate. To understand the dilemma of the average movie watcher, this paper reviews As Good As It Gets (Mark, Sakai, Ziskin, Producers, 1997) in the context of Melvin Udall, the protagonist, who suffers from at least two psychological disorders. The film followed Melvin Udall, a romance novel author, who exhibits a score of odd behaviors. During one scene Melvin visits his psychologist who states the author’s diagnoses as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). However, Melvin also seems to struggle with the more troubling antisocial personality disorder, previously known as narcissistic personality disorder. David Myers (2014) defined obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) as â€Å"an anxiety disorder characterized by unwanted repetitive thoughts (obsessions) and actions (compulsions), or both.† The character, Melvin Udall, certainly exhibits OCD traits. His behaviors are compulsive and are often triggered by anxiety. For instance, he compulsively locks his door and flips the light switch in groups of five. He washes using extremely hot water and several bars of soap per washing. These are typical compulsions for those with OCD and are notable as those attributed to evolution and natural selection.  Other behaviors Melvin Udall exhibited include his preference for a particular table at a restaurant, his organizing of items by color and hyper-organized packing, and his refusal to step on the cracks of New York sidewalks. While Melvin’s behaviors seemed linked to anxiety, his OCD only manifested as compulsive behaviors. No evidence of obsessive thoughts was dramatized. Melvin struggled against an undiagnosed antisocial personality disorder throughout the movie as well. Melvin’s narcissistic tendencies manifested in his egotistical actions and his inability to show interest in another’s point of view. This often led to verbally abusive behavior. â€Å"Where do they teach you to talk like this? In some Panama City â€Å"Sailor wanna hump-hump† bar, or is it getaway day and your last shot at his whiskey? Sell crazy someplace else, we’re all stocked up here.† – Melvin Udall, As Good As It Gets Myers (2014) described a person suffering from antisocial personality disorder as generally a man who exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends and family members. Melvin greets each person he interacts with his own sterotyped beliefs regarding their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference and so forth. Nothing he says is considered culturally acceptable. He often hurts the feelings of those he interacts with and is not the least bit affected by the knowledge. At times he seems to know hurting someone’s feelings by his words and actions is wrong, but does not understand why what he said was improper. He has trouble understanding, for example, why his love interest Carol Connelly is offended when he refers to her carefully selected dress as a â€Å"house dress†. At other times, he only seeks others out for what they can do for him, but are unwilling to reciprocate any sort of friendship. This is the case when he asks his publicist for a personal favor from her husband to treat Carol’s sick child, but this is unwilling to listen or even pretend to be interested in a story about her own son. The movie, albeit entertaining, is a poor substitute for education on psychological disorders. Because the only disorder mentioned is OCD, the viewer may be left with the impression that the antisocial behaviors, symptoms of a personality disorder, are a product of the  obsessive-compulsive disorder, an anxiety disorder. Melvin’s behaviors begin to normalize toward the end of the movie as he makes closer attachments with several other characters. This may falsely imply to the movie-goer that his psychological disorders are easily treatable or curable. People with mental illnesses suffer from a stigma from the greater community. Unfortunately, this movie perpetuates the dangerous notion that mental illness is something one can take a stance against and overcome through will and action. Mental illness, just like an illness of the body, requires medical intervention. References Mark, L., Sakai, R., Ziskin, L. (Producers), & Brooks, J. L. (Director). (1997) As Good As It Gets [Motion Picture]. United States: Tristar Pictures. Myers, D. G. (2014). Exploring Psychology. New York, NY: Worth Publishers

Marketing Plan analysis on Forever Living Products Essay

1.Summary This assignment will look at the existing marketing plan for the company Forever Living Products that focuses on the selling of aloe vera based products. The marketing plan will show how the company focuses on two areas – the consumer and the distributor. Both seem to be interlinked and both are important in the objective of the company. Furthermore, recommendations on shortfalls and lacking information will be made as to ensure that marketing is optimised and that this sales orientated company can improve on sales and profits. 2.Introduction and Background Founded in 1978 on little more than dreams and hard work, Forever Living is a multi-billion dollar company, based in Scottsdale, Arizona, that manufactures and sells dozens of wellness and beauty products. People from  all over the world, including South Africa, distribute these life-enhancing products, providing the opportunity to own an own business and secure a financial future with a proven plan. With over nine and a half million distributors in over 145 countries, Forever Living offers a once in a lifetime opportunity of living a healthier, wealthier life. The founder proposed a very simple business idea to his closest family and friends over thirty years ago. Offer consumable products to the public that are proven to promote lasting wellness and health—and do it in a personal way. Instead of dumping big bucks into traditional advertising, compensate anyone willing to share these products with their family and friends. In minimising traditional advertising, the company’s marketing plan was developed as seen in Addendum A . This marketing plan is very simple and focuses primarily on sales and promotion levels of sellers. Since 1978, very little changes were done to keep up with trends over the years. 3.Business Mission Forever Living believes their greatest legacy is what they do for others and how they do it. â€Å"We adhere to sustainable practices that let us work in harmony with the earth, leaving a more promising future to our children. We take great pride in our charity foundation, Forever Giving, because it allows us to help others around the world who has needs far greater than our own. We are taking ideas and turning them into reality. It is a part of our business that’s so deeply ingrained you could call it our culture. Working towards a brighter future is so much more than our duty—it’s truly our pleasure. Forever Living offers a unique opportunity where distributors are in business for themselves, but never by themselves.† 4.Objectives Seeing that the company primary focus is on sales, that is exactly what drives the objectives of the company. This is very clear in the current (unchanged) marketing plan still in use. The main objective is: Own your own business – You are in charge of your own destiny. Instead of making your boss rich, all the work you do actually benefits you. Thus, the company tries to empower ordinary people with the ability to own an income related to the amount of effort put into sales and marketing based on known and proven products and catering for people with the same values in life. A promotion scheme is followed where the distributor starts at entry level and then progress to higher levels determined by the amount of sales accomplished. It seems like primarily the focus is based on the total of sales obtained, but on the other hand a strong emphasis is placed on customer satisfaction. 5.SWOT Analysis Strengths – Being a company that has existed since 1978, it proves that this is no fly-by-night company. Sound records and proven results are in favour of establishing this company as a reputable business. Forever Living has a track record of more than 30 years of success. The company offer excellent training, seminars, incentives, and a support center. Forever Living is a company with an international presence that demonstrates stability, growth, and ample industry experience. Innovative, quality products speak of the credibility of the company. Weaknesses – Seeing that the Forever Living Company, on customer related issues, primarily makes use of word-of-mouth marketing, as well as drawing the majority of costumers from family and friends, it seems like this could lead to a potential gap in their marketing plan. On the side of distributors, it seems like there is limited protocols and measurements regarding the amount of sale being monitored and available for  scruitinising. Thus, it seems like whatever sales you submit per month is the only way of monitoring your own progress in the company. Opportunities – Although it could also be seen as a stumbling block, Forever Living Products utilise the opportunity to play the ecological card (which seems to be quite popular in recent trends) and puts a great deal of emphasis on being â€Å"green† and sustainable. As quoted they are: â€Å"- Accountable to the Environment Ever since Forever Living Products was founded in 1978, we’ve had the utmost respect for nature. – Not Just Greenwashing Our challenge to be more eco-friendly wasn’t based on following fads or silencing critics. In 2006 we launched a formal environmental sustainability program to challenge ourselves to do more. We designated two areas where we could improve: * Waste Generation * Waste Recovery Since we began monitoring our progress we have reduced our waste by 50% and increased our recycling from 26% to 61%. – Our Carbon Footprint When it comes to the efficiency of converting CO2 into oxygen, 20 aloe plants are equal to one tree. With over 40 million aloe vera plants in our plantations, our Aloe Vera of America plantations actually cleanse the earth of 2 million tons of CO2 every year!† https://www.foreverliving.com/marketing/Page.do?name=sustainability Threats – Looking at the global economy, this could be a factor in reduced sales as Forever Living Products might be costly for costumers in countries (third-world countries) that are struggling economically. Few competition threats in relation to the product itself are known of as aloe vera products  are limited by resources (aloe plants mostly grow in arid/ desert areas). Also, the amount of aloe vera in the base product makes this product range unrivaled by most other products. 6.Competitive Advantage For consumers, the Forever Living Company’s product range is solely based on Aloe Vera products, which are divided into health drinks, nutritional supplements, weight management products and cosmetic / personal care products. This alone already gives the company a unique foothold on the health and beauty market – a fresh approach with a definitive product focus. As for distributors, Forever Living also has the advantage of a multi-level â€Å"step-up† promotion scheme for distributors where you can reach a certain level and not â€Å"degrade† once you have reached that level. With this being said, other advantages are: Owning your own business – You are in charge of your own destiny. Instead of making your boss rich, all the work you do actually benefits you. Little risk and no overhead costs – Traditional brick-and-mortar businesses cost tens of thousands of dollars to establish, not to mention a bank loan that will take you decades to repay. Starting your home-based business with Forever Living only costs you a few hundred dollars. No salary cap – Corporate jobs limit your pay range based on a market standard. With Forever Living, there is no cap on how much you earn. The harder you work, the more money you make. Residual Income – Perhaps the greatest benefit is that the multi-level marketing strategy offers lasting income. You as a distributor will always earn commissions on distributors you introduce to Forever Living, continually reaping the benefits of your hard work. 7.Marketing Strategy 7a). Target Market As the company’s unique product – aloe vera – is linked to many health and cosmetic benefits, it is a product that is sellable to virtually anyone. The target market is generally based on friends and/ or family buying from the distributor. This is not limited though to the above mentioned, but also includes people that have the urge or need to better their lives by living more healthy and doing so in reaching out to products (like Forever Living Products) that could sustain and/or improve that kind of living. Because of the relative high pricing linked to these products, one would classify the core target market as middle to high income groups. Being a sales orientated business, distributors are however expected to contact as many as potential â€Å"consumers† to sell to and build up enough credit points (as part of the sales plan) to earn their compensation/rewards. Although a fair deal of business comprise of new business, a large part of sustaining and re-enforcing selling targets is based on repetitive sales from previous customers. 7b). Positioning The positioning basically rest on aforementioned health and cosmetic benefits – to improve your way of life. With few competitors supplying specifically (certified) aloe vera products (keeping in mind that at least 75% of the base product must comprise of aloe vera), Forever Living has created a niche market and a unique selling opportunity. 7c). Marketing Mix Marketing to potential customers basically comprises of launch events, word-of-mouth and sample tests conducted in various environments suitable to potential customers. In this instance distributors seem to gather a group of people and thus present the products to various potential customers. This type of approach seem to work well in that people in numbers agreeing on an issue would more likely be proned to buying and thus push up the sale quota. As for distributors, Forever Living Products provides them with a simple, proven cycle that guarantees your success. If the distributor and their team members follow the steps in this cycle, there is no limit to how large their business will become and how much money you will earn. 1. Purchase a Business Pak 2. Develop a personal selling/marketing plan 3. Set your foundation by retailing four case credits per month 4. Follow up with your clients and prospects 5. Present the business opportunity 6. Sponsor new team members and guide them through the cycle i)Product Since the foundation in 1978, Forever Living Products markets extensively aloe vera based products. They pride themselves in claiming at least 75% of the base product consists of this core ingredient. Thus all products marketed are said to contribute to the health and cosmetic (e.g. skin care) satisfaction of their customers. Over the years, with the trend of energy drinks that became popular in recent years, the company made sure that the products offered also includes these trends. Focusing on a better living, the name Forever Living Products leans quite suitably towards what the company tries to â€Å"sell† – a longer, better, healthier life. The company also offers a full refund and/ or replacement of products without any disputes. What has been noted in delivery service is that customer service in this regard is very sufficient and fast – 2 days delivery since placing an order to delivery on your doorstep. ii)Place Forever Living took a stance on the fact that they want to assist ordinary people to â€Å"own† their own businesses. As Forever Living Products markets primarily through the use of family and friends and word-of-mouth, it seems that there could be a gap in utilizing other means of distribution. However, it is also understandable that the company would like to empower distributors (without the necessity of holding a large stock reserve) and thus ensure that even the smallest distributor would be able to make a  living. This would furthermore project the products as being more exclusive – not being able to walk into your nearest shop and pick it off the shelf, and in this way â€Å"justify† the price of the product. The home company is situated in Arizona, United States. The South African setup with four distributor outlets services distributors all over South Africa. iii)Promotion As mentioned earlier, products are primarily marketed by means of word-of-mouth, friends and family. Other means of marketing and advertising includes internet advertisements and online testimonials. All of these are rather inexpensive marketing tools being utilised. Through these channels is seems that there is sufficient affirmation to uphold the reputation of the products offered. However, with these channels used it seems to be difficult to obtain a clear estimation of the effectiveness of these efforts. On actual selling by distributors there is no clear indication of time spend, the only indication that could be used as a measure is the sum of â€Å"case credits†. Case credits determine the effective selling of a distributor. The more case credits accumulated during a month, the higher the incentives and possibility to progress to another level (often with even better incentives). The company tries to keep their products â€Å"exclusive† and thus the use of database marketing seems ineffective, as this would make the products seem â€Å"common†. In general, promotion of products for this company is based on testimonials from â€Å"regular consumers† who can recommend the benefits to others. Through this line of advertising, it would seem that benefits of the products are more creditable, true and trustworthy – due to the fact that you â€Å"know† the person who introduced you to the line of products. iv)Price Pricing on international products are generally seen as being expensive, especially on â€Å"niche† products. Even with Forever Living Products, this phenomenon occurs. However, focusing on health and cosmetic enhancements, the company can still make a reasonable stance in the pricing arena. 8.Implementation, Evaluation and Control The marketing plan appears to be in line with the goals set out by the company to achieve the desired goals. Primarily the activities required are achieved through sales of the distributors, which is measured on a monthly basis. Most probably the company would need to attempt a fresh approach on current marketing strategies such as e-commerce, although this could affect the purpose of the current structure and â€Å"mission† of the company – to empower â€Å"normal people to own a business of their own†. Seeing that performance standards are basically measured in the amount of sales per month (to achieve the desired â€Å"case credits†, this is the only way to measure the above mentioned. 9. Conclusion / Recommendations The Forever Living Products Company has set remarkable sales initiatives in place, rarely found in this type of marketing. For one, when a distributor has reached a certain sales level, there is no reverting back to a lower sales level. In every sale that is made down your line as distributor (no matter what level), you benefit from the inputs of â€Å"your team. Although the company follows a very plain marketing plan, which seems to be quite effective, some improvements can be noted. Lack of information is found in the distributors’ channels. As the company’s main aim is based on sales, it could be recommended that an on-line â€Å"portal† be created as to inform distributors of a current sales analysis (as of the first of every month, and therefore should be accessible and reflect updates any time of the month). This would pose to be a great motivational tool in driving this  sales orientated business and ensuring that you as distributor acquire the necessary â€Å"case credits† required. It is also recommended that the use of social media such as e.g. television and radio, bill-boards and poster be used on a global and general scale to promote products. This would in turn mean that a central access point (like a website or telephone call centre be utilised to direct potential customers to their nearest distributor. References Forever Living Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd.(2014): https://www.foreverliving.com/marketing/Page.do?name=sustainability, [Accessed 29-04-2014] Forever Living Products South Africa (Pty) Ltd.(2014):.https://www.foreverliving.com/marketing/Page.do?name=our_culture, [Accessed 29-04-2014] http://aloe-business.yolasite.com/resources/Marketing_Plan_English%20Forever.pdf, [Accessed 28-04-2014]