Thorntons chocolate Essays

Thorntons chocolate Essays Thorntons chocolate Paper Thorntons chocolate Paper 2.0 SWOT Analysis 2.1 Strengths 2.1.1 Manufacturing Thorntons Plc conducted their key manufacturing and selling activities in house. The ability to monitor the process of the boxed chocolate selection provides them with greater control over the manufacturing process. This has enabled them to protect the recipe of their core products. In addition, years of manufacturing in the chocolate industry has also helped to develop their manufacturing expertise. Review has also shown that Thorntons was the only possible manufacturer for 70% of its product lines. This will give them competitive advantage over other chocolate producers. 2.1.2 Quality The use of quality ingredients assured the quality of the boxed chocolate selection. It has enabled them to differentiate themselves from other chocolate producers. The company owned retail outlets provided a good quality of service by providing personalized messages on icing during special occasions. Thorntons chocolates freshness is a distinctive feature of their product. Using more cocoa butter instead of vegetable fat has also shown the quality in their products. The company has maintained the customers experience by selling fresh and quality products. 2.1.3 Brand Name Thorntons has become a well known brand to the consumers. Research survey has shown that consumers ranked Thorntons in the 5th place in their typical UK high street products. Their shops have also become part of the UK high street. 2.1.4 Products In 1925 a recipe for Special Toffee gave the business an outstanding product. Walter Willen created the original recipes for Thorntons Continental chocolate range, which became the largest selling specialist assortment of chocolates in UK. Furthermore, since these products are still around until the present day, it shows Thorntons have expertise in chocolate making. New development of French dark chocolate and Belgian milk and white chocolate selection has also been added to the Continental range. In addition, products were also expanded to include gifts for every occasion, which included chocolate scented t-shirts and New Easter eggs. With the continuous innovation of producing new products, Thorntons can overcome the problem of seasonal goods. It helps them to increase sales during peak and off peak season. 2.1.5 Technology In 1998 the company had started to install EPOS in the shops. Electronic Point of Sales will allow them to increase efficiency and have more timely performance information. It will also help them to reduce losses in the future with up to date performance information. 2.1.6 Wide Distribution Channel Thorntons have their own shops to sell their products. Besides that, they have collaborated with other retail outlets such as Marks and Spencer, Tesco and also other grocers in order to widen and strengthen their market distribution channel. Moreover, they also sell their chocolate to pubs and restaurants to broaden their market share. 2.2 Weaknesses 2.2.1 Short Lifespan of Product Thorntons chocolate does not have a long shelf life and is often unsuitable for sales in many retail outlets, corner shops, garages and some of the supermarkets. 2.2.2 Fluctuations of Demand The company faces a lot of pressure and fluctuations of demand due to strong seasonal pattern. During festive season such as Christmas and Easter, business can increase tenfold within a few days. This will lead to the inefficiency of labor and production of chocolate. 2.2.3 Extra Cost of Labor To meet seasonal demand packing staff requires the increased use of casual workers, which will lead to a fall in efficiency. Furthermore, seasonal demand also requires the use of temporary staff in retail outlets. Temporary staff often do not often have the quality and experience needed, which could lead to unsatisfied customers. In addition, the need for casual workers will also increase the cost of the company. 2.2.4 Packaging The chocolates are enrobed in chocolate rather than molded. Thus, their hand made appearance makes the packaging process less open to automation because the chocolates are not in uniform sizes. 2.2.5 Customers Expectation Franchising did not provide the customer with the same experience as shopping in a Thorntons-owned shop and occasionally it could be difficult to maintain standards. As a result of this, Thorntons could end up losing customers because they cannot meet the customers expectation. 2.2.6 Drop in Perceived Value Thorntons have made progress to develop the companys commercial customers and have broadened the range of chocolate products to suit supermarket shelves. These newly developed products to suit the commercial customers were different compared to those sold at Thorntons own outlets. They differed by style and recipe and regular customers could not be sure if they were made by Thorntons. As a result of this, it may lead to a drop in the regular customers perceived value and Thorntons itself losing their identity. Thus, they may end up losing regular customers. 2.2.7 Lost Focus in Initial Objective In 1998, Thorntons have introduced another 132 new and updated products and have widened the product range to place emphasis on count lines, which acted as a snack or impulse buy. This has attracted a wider range of customers but it also brought them into competition with products of such companies as Nestle and Cadburys. Here it shows that they have already lost focus, because they should not be competing with brands such as Nestle and Cadburys. Thorntons should have focused on their box chocolates and use their competitive advantage over others. 2.3 Opportunity 2.3.1 Use of Technology Thorntons have also made use of the internet to let customers place their orders or make online purchases, retain existing customers and also attract new customers. Besides that, online purchases can allow them to receive information quickly and determine whether certain products are favorable or unfavorable to the consumers. Furthermore, online purchases can give them time to make the chocolates and let them know how much they need to produce for the online customers. 2.3.2 Penetration to European Market Thorntons expanded their business thorough the acquisition of Gartner in Antwerp, which was their first European acquisition. After that, they used Gartners products trough Thorntons retail network well as selling its own confectioneries to the Belgium companies customers. Consequently, they acquired 2 French confectionery retailers, Candice-Martial SA and Societe Nouvelle de Confiserie. Thus, Thornton made use of the opportunities for growth through acquisitions in Europe. 2.3.3 Seasonal Sales Thorntons chocolate are highly dependable on seasonal festivals. This way, when festive seasons arrive, the sales will boom and will increase the profits. The differentiated product range suits the various demand of customers during different festive seasons. 2.3.4 Export to Other Foreign Markets Thorntons began to develop sales outside UK by exporting to Europe and Australia which had reached 300 thousand pounds. Export to these foreign markets will increase production and could achieve economies of scale. 2.4 Threats 2.4.1 Competition Against Established Companies When Thorntons wanted to attract a wider range of customers, they entered into the middle range market. The expansion of the target market has lead them into competition against established companies such as Nestle and Cadburys. Since Nestle and Cadburys are already well known in this market segment, they have already created a high barrier for Thorntons to enter. Moreover, by entering the middle range market, Thorntons which is not used to automation and mass production will lose its competitive advantage if they are in the middle range market. In other words, Thorntons will not be able to use their existing resources and advantages to compete with Nestle and Cadburys. 2.4.2 External Factors During Easter 2003, Thorntons sales was affected by the hottest summer in 30 years. In June 2003, it revealed that the companies own stores sale had increased by only 0.9%. This shows that the sales of Thorntons will be affected by external forces such as weather. 2.4.3 Other Substitutes Thorntons competed with a wide range of products ranging from 5 to 10 pounds. Specialist retailers such as Body Shop and KnickerBox provided gifts in the same price range. Besides, postal gifts such as flowers and wine were also addressed to the same market. This way, instead of choosing from Thorntons, consumers will have more choices to choose from the market and in this particular price range. 3.0 Porters 5 forces Analysis on the Chocolate Industry in UK The five forces framework helps identify the sources of competition in an industry or sector. (Johnson Scholes 2002, pg 112) 3.1 Threat of Entry There are many factors which will lead to the threat of entry. These factors are economies of scale, product differentiation, capital requirements, cost advantages of independent size, access to distribution channels and government regulations. 3.1.1 Product Differentiation In this case, it is mentioned that the UK confectionery market is highly competitive with a great deal of product and packaging innovation. In addition, the chocolate market has many sub-sectors. This shows that the chocolate industry in UK has manufacturers who place great focus on product differentiation. When these chocolate manufacturers differentiate their products, it creates a wider choice for chocolate lovers and this will discourage new entries from new manufacturers. 3.1.2 Huge Capital Requirement/Economies of Scale Furthermore, in order to compete among the existing competitors in the chocolate market, those new comers will need huge capital requirement. This is because great economies of scales have already been achieved by those existing ones. In summary, the threat of entry to the chocolate industry in UK is very high. New potential chocolate manufacturers will need huge capital requirements in order to differentiate their product and to compete with the existing manufacturers which have already achieved a high economy of scale. 3.2 The Power of Supplier 3.2.1 Product Differentiation In this case, the suppliers are the ones who supply raw ingredients for those chocolate manufacturers to make chocolates. They are more powerful when they supply differentiated products, which make switching among other suppliers difficult. In this industry, the main raw ingredients such as cocoa beans are not differentiated. Thus, the buyers have the choice to switch among other suppliers because cocoa beans are not differentiated. Therefore, the suppliers do not have as much power as the buyers. 3.2.2 Substitutes In addition, when there are few substitutes among the suppliers, the supplier will be more powerful. In this case, there are a number of suppliers in the chocolate industry which will make switching among suppliers easier, making them less powerful. Examples of cocoa producers are Brazil, Ecuador, Indonesia and other countries. (Refer to appendix A) If one of the suppliers increases the price of raw ingredients, chocolate manufacturer like Thorntons can easily switch to other suppliers. This shows that the suppliers have less power in this case. 3.2.3 Suppliers Revenue Suppliers have more power when the industry represents a small portion of suppliers revenue base. In the chocolate industry, the suppliers could not afford to lose the buyers as the purchases of the buyers represent a substantial portion of their revenue. This explains that the suppliers have less power in this industry. 3.2.4 Forward Integration Suppliers are powerful when they have the capability to integrate forward. In this case, since most of the suppliers revenues are from the established chocolate manufacturers such as Cadburys, Nestle and Throntons, it is extremely difficult for the suppliers to acquire these established companies. Therefore, suppliers are not as powerful as the buyers. 3.3 The Power of Buyer 3.3.1 Product Differentiation According to Porter, backward integration can allow the firm to enhance differentiation by gaining control over the production of key inputs to be able to differentiate its products better. (Porter 1998, pg 318) In this industry, Thorntons and other chocolate manufacturers are the buyers. Buyers have power when the product is not differentiated making it easier to switch. In this case, the raw materials used to produce chocolate are such as cocoa beans, eggs, cream butter, vegetable fat and sugar. All these raw materials are usually not differentiated for the production of chocolates. 3.3.2 Buyers Purchase Moreover, buyers have more power when the buyers purchase represents a substantial portion of sellers revenue. In this case, well established companies like Nestle, Cadburys and Thorntons purchase large amount of raw ingredients from the suppliers to produce the many different types of chocolates. These purchases represent a substantial portion of the suppliers revenue. 3.3.3 Backward Integration Furthermore, buyers will be more powerful when they have the capability to integrate backwards. In this case, Thorntons has the capability to make European acquisition such as Gartner and Candice-Martial SA and Societe Nouvelle for a total of 8.65 million pounds. This shows that Thorntons has the potential and ability to integrate backwards by taking over their supplier of raw chocolate ingredients. 3.4 Substitutes There are many substitutes for the consumption of chocolates such as other confectioneries and snacks. As a gift, consumers can choose substitutes other than chocolates. For instance, in the 5 to 10 pounds price range, consumers can choose from Thorntons, Body Shop and Knickerbox. Also, during festive seasons such as Valentines Day and Mothers Day, consumers have a variety of choices to choose from like flowers, cards, CDs and soft toys. This clearly illustrates that chocolate indeed has a number of substitutes. 3.5 Rivalry When an industry has a large number of competitors and they are of similar size and power; or has high fixed costs and also high barriers of exit, it means that the rivalry is strong. 3.5.1 Number of Competitors In this case, there are many strong competitors in the UK chocolate industry such as Masterfoods, Cadbury, Nestle Kraft and Jacob Suchard. These big fours contribute more than half of the UK box chocolate market, which is 72% of total value of sales which account to approximately 503 million pounds. (Refer to appendix B) Besides the big 4, they also faced competition from other small chocolate retailers and owned labels which account for 14% of total value of sales which is approximately 98 million pounds. Furthermore, smaller more specialist chocolate brands such as Elizabeth Shaw also compete with Thorntons. On the other hand, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury Taste the Difference who have high quality images that support the sale of own-labeled box chocolates would intensify the rivalry in the industry. 3.5.2 High Fix Cost/High Exit Barrier Furthermore, chocolate manufacturers incur high fixed cost. Any new entrants who wished to compete with those established brands in the industry will incur a high cost to purchase the machineries and facilities to produce chocolate. When they have invested such high capital in buying machineries, product differentiation and advertising, it will be very expensive for them to leave the industry. Hence, the rivalry of the chocolate industry is intense. 4.0 Strategy Implemented by Thorntons Thorntons uses the product differentiation strategy. Johnson and Scholes (2002, pg 322) states that differentiation strategy seeks to provide products or services unique or different from those of competitors in terms of dimension widely valued by buyers. Many other manufacturers make greater use of vegetable fat which results in a shelf life of over a year. However, Thorntons uses more cocoa butter in their products in order to maintain the customers experience of the fresh product. This shows that their products are different from others. Thorntons chocolates are enrobed in chocolate rather than moulded unlike other brands such as Nestle and Cadburys where they mass produce the chocolates. In other words, due to the hand made process, the chocolates represent luxury and high end if compared relatively to chocolates mass produced by Nestle and Cadburys. The creation of Special Toffee, based upon cream butter and eggs in 1925 shows that Thorntons has been applying the differentiation strategy since its humble beginning. In addition, it has self manufactured Easter Eggs, which included names and messages that added to the range of freshly made and fresh tasting confectioneries. The innovation of adding names and personal messages through the sale of easter Eggs shows that Thornton indeed tried to differentiate their products in order to enhance the quality of their service. (Generic Strategies: Michael Porter 2006) Walter Willen, the creator of Thorntons Continental chocolates became the largest selling specialist assortment of chocolates in the UK. Likewise, the continental range included a French dark chocolate and a Belgian milk and white chocolate selections. Also, in order to top the product range, a new classic traditional assortment and a Premier Selection of hand-finished chocolates were established. In other words, this shows that by differentiating the chocolates, Thorntons chocolates have became more welcomed and loved by the consumers. At Thorntons, great importance is given on product development. For instance, Thorntons repackage and re launched the classic range, adding Swiss and Austrian selection to the core Continental range and introducing an awesome American range in order to differentiate the range of its chocolates. In addition, 27 new countlines were introduced providing a five fold increase in the available range. By differentiating its products, Thorntons will broaden their target market which ranges from children to adults. Target market consists of a set of buyers sharing common needs or characteristics that the company decides to serve. (Kotler et al. 2003, pg 230) This can be seen by the introduction of the childrens themes including dinosaur eggs, fossils and Dalmatian spots. Furthermore, Thorntons introduced further 132 new and updated products which place emphasis on countlines to act as a snack or impulse buy. In other words, when product is differentiated, different segments of the market will then be targeted and thus increasing the popularity of Thorntons in the mind of young and old. Thorntons continued differentiating their products by adding additional items to their core product such as chocolate scented T-shirts and underwears; and Easter eggs on sticks that could be hidden in the garden. Furthermore, they relaunched the best selling continental selection for Christmas 1999 and a chocolate champagne bottle designed for the millennium celebrations. Not only that, they have adult eggs and novelty eggs which contained a CD when purchased. Product differentiation continues when Thorntons repositioned many of their products so that they could be associated with every occasion such as birthdays, success, exams or job changes and not only festive seasons. Additionally, the company directed towards younger women by introducing Eden, which combine exotically named flavors such as Forbidden Fruit, Grand Passion and All About Eve. With its chic packaging, it shows that packaging was also differentiated to attract this market segment. All these years, Thorntons has tried its best to differentiate its chocolates and have achieved unbelievable results. For instance, Thorntons was the only possible manufacturer for 70% of its product line due to product differentiation. Therefore, we strongly recommend Thorntons to continue and focus on the product differentiation strategy.

30 Words for Small Amounts

30 Words for Small Amounts 30 Words for Small Amounts 30 Words for Small Amounts By Mark Nichol Words that refer to small amounts or objects are frequently associated with specific idioms or a certain connotation. Here are many of those words included in sample phrasings that suggest the sense in which they are often used. 1. Bit: â€Å"a bit of a problem† 2. Crumb: â€Å"a crumb of self-respect† 3. Dab: â€Å"a dab of whipped cream† 4. Dash: â€Å"a dash of pepper† 5. Fleck: â€Å"a fleck of dirt† 6. Glimmer: â€Å"a glimmer of hope† 7. Hint: â€Å"a hint of cinnamon† 8. Iota: â€Å"an iota of sense† 9. Jot: â€Å"a jot of truth† 10. Lick: â€Å"a lick of sense† 11. Modicum: â€Å"a modicum of talent† 12. Morsel: â€Å"a morsel of cheese† 13. Nugget: â€Å"a nugget of wisdom† 14. Pinch: â€Å"a pinch of salt† 15. Scrap: â€Å"a scrap of food† 16. Scruple: â€Å"a scruple of suspicion† 17. Shadow: â€Å"a shadow of a doubt† 18. Shred: â€Å"a shred of evidence† 19. Sliver: â€Å"a sliver of sunlight† 20. Smatter(ing): â€Å"a smattering of laughter† 21. Smidgen (or smidge): â€Å"a smidgen of salt† 22. Snippet: â€Å"a snippet of the conversation† 23. Spot: â€Å"a spot of rain† 24. Sprinkling: â€Å"a sprinkling of action† 25. Strain: â€Å"a strain of weakness† 26. Streak: â€Å"a streak of cruelty† 27. Tidbit: â€Å"a tidbit of information† 28. Touch: â€Å"a touch of humor† 29. Trace: â€Å"a trace of incense† 30. Whisper: â€Å"a whisper of autumn† Some synonyms are seen only in negative connotations, such as â€Å"not worth a continental† (referring to the nearly worthless currency of the fledgling US government during the Revolutionary War) or â€Å"not worth peanuts.† Similar expressions include â€Å"I don’t care a whit† or â€Å"I don’t give a rap† (or â€Å"fig† or â€Å"hoot† or any of several other words) or â€Å"diddly-squat† or â€Å"I don’t know bupkes.† (Each of the latter two usages has several variant spellings.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How Many Tenses in English?Five Spelling Rules for "Silent Final E"5 Ways to Reduce Use of Prepositions

International Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 3

International Banking - Essay Example Banks, by their communally useful effort of converting temporary assets to standard and long-standing credits (changing maturities) get uncovered to liquidity hazards. Hence, the comprehensive banking catastrophe, which started in 2007 summer, has showed this peril and has pressed us to re-evaluate bank threat organization as a whole and liquidity risk specifically. As a result, this risk has gotten ignored until up to the present in errand of other hazards such as credit perils with market hazards. Actually, Basell I (1989) and Basell II (2005) expelled liquidity hazard control from their claim span. Transmission from financing liquidity hazard to marketplace liquidity risk does not involve a single direction. In fact, these dual risks can get jointly underpinning in a controlled system relating the spot to marketplace. Certainly, stock prices lower than their basic prices get instantly shown on the figure of banks balance sheets because of the spot to market (Evanoff 2007, 50).Thus, they get mandated to immediately streamline their balance sheets and discover themselves obliged to vend more resources cheaply to congregate solvency as well as capital dogmatic requirements. In this instance, banks get themselves entangled in hazardous descending liquidity curves. (Evanoff 2007, 50 bring to mind dual equilibriums. The foremost happens when marketplaces become liquid with good margin environment and painless access to funding for speculators, who as a result help out progress this liquidity via their actions. The next one takes place when bazaars become illiquid. Such raised margin necessities, restricts access to financing liquidity to investors who in the end offer smaller amount souk liquidity. Hence, this common strengthening of financing illiquidity with marketplace illiquidity gets mirrored in liquidity curves, which can be margins curves or loss curves. It refers to the plan

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's Essay

History of Science - review a chapter of Peter Bowler and Iwan Morus's textbook Making Modern Science (Chapter on Science and - Essay Example In fact, however, scientists and historians have argued for many centuries about the differences between the two, suggesting that pure science is hierarchically different from its applications in the world of work. The chapter explains how some thinkers place science above technology, and others place science below technology, in importance. The authors finally come to the conclusion that the best way to think about these two things is to observe examples and conclude that â€Å"little practical distinction is made between the two.† (p. 401) The authors start with recent times and argue that the most common view in the twentieth century was that science was more pure, and more important because it dealt with ideas and truths. Technology was considered a lesser area of study because it was concerned with merely things. It could be said that this is an idealist position, because it is theoretical, and imaginary, rather than concrete and applied. An interesting aspect of the auth ors’ approach is that it also brings in cultural and political factors. Scientists often see things through a narrow lens, in terms of numbers and theories, as if these things are absolute, but this chapter shows that ideas like Marxism influenced science. This ideology strongly favors a materialistic view of things, and stresses the usefulness of ideas in the real world. For scientists in Soviet Russia, then, technology was seen as more important. Scientists in the Capitalist western countries, on the other hand, continued with old ideas from the Enlightenment, which favored the theoretical over the practical. Another useful comparison is drawn (pp. 396-397) between French and English government approaches to the funding of science in the nineteenth century. In France the government wanted to promote science for its wealth-bringing potential, and funded research very generously, while in Britain there was a more relaxed attitude which left research to be more of a gentlemanà ¢â‚¬â„¢s hobby which was funded by private money. Looking at the world of science today it is interesting to see that these same old debates are still very relevant, because scientists always have to seek various sources of funding for their work. The American contribution to this debate was to emphasize the importance of inventors like Morse and Edison, who used their craft skills and intelligence to improve existing designs and create completely new ones. These men referred to traditional scientists, also, when they needed to solve some problems, which goes to show that theory and practice need to work together if progress is to be made. The chapter contains a number of headings, some of which are indicators of a particular example such as â€Å"steam culture† while others are more fancy such as â€Å"the chicken and the egg† and â€Å"invisible technicians.† These fancy headings do not help the reader to work out what the next topic is going to be. Unlike mos t historical textbooks, this one does not present the facts in chronological order, since it jumps back and forward through the ages, following the arguments for and against the supremacy of science or technology. This can be confusing, since at first it is not clear which way the authors wish the reader to follow. This is a weakness in the chapter, because a lot of the time the reader feels lost, and wondering what the point is that the authors want to make. After

Informative Paper Essay Example for Free

Informative Paper Essay Introduction I. Attention-Grabbing introduction: Staple center, Los Angeles, California. Friday November, 4th 2013 1:24PM The Championship match. After a weekend full of ups and downs, twist and turns it all comes to this. 1 week earlier, the previous Friday thousands have flown down to the heart of it all. Crowded around the event hall doors, people everywhere, spectators itching to get the best seats. Players going over in game builds, timings, and strategies just one more time until the doors finally open. 8 teams of 5 players to a team were seated into the week long tournament and now only two remain. Royal Club and SK Telecom are season veterans of League of Legends and now they sit on opposite ends on top of the world championship main stage. Ready to compete head to head for the grand prize of 1 million dollars in front of 1000s right there in Los Angeles and millions watching from all around the world. II. Topic: These millions from around the world have emitted their love for gaming into a hugely popular phenomena known as Electronic sports or better known as of E-Sports. Viewership has seen explosive growth in 2013 and is still growing with no sign of deterrence. Now with the integration of technology into our culture a new type of athlete has risen. One that doesn’t achieve victory heavily based on the bronze that is armed but with the critical thinking and reflex of the mind. An outsider might find this such a concept laughable but these pro gamers are far from any negative stereotypes you may have. III. Ethos Audience Adaptation: My name is Jonathon Allen and I have been a fan and member of the E-Sports community for nearly a decade. I have had opportunities to play professionally at the MLG North American Regionals in Columbus and New York  in 2012 which I have placed 2nd and 3rd in out of 30 teams. Over the years I have also conducting extensive research on E-Sports ranging from players and teams to the technology side of running and mending events in the industry. E-Sports can be a lot to digest for someone looking in for the first time so I’ll explain exactly what and how big E-Sports really is including the potential E-Sports has to expand and grow. Before we go any further I’d like to present this video to visually show you exactly what E-Sports is and most importantly what it feels like. Visual Aid! Body I.This is E-Sports, competition at its finest. Players competing for cash prizes ranging from thousands to millions. Top players make 6 figure incomes and are even sponsored by big corporations such as Monster, Intel, Redbull, Asus, and Kingston. Pro gamers are locked into head to head combat in games like League of Legends. A DOTA-MMO style game that’s played as a team of 5 people VS 5 people. The object of the game is strategizing on how to win by taking the enemies base while leveling up and generating gold. Most games usually last around 40 minutes. II.You may ask; why would someone watch someone else play a video game? That’s simple; the excitement from watching others play video games stands as the same excitement we get from watching other athletes perform at sports such as football. T.J. Heffer from PC gamer Magazine states â€Å"What makes any competition interesting is watching very skilled individuals struggle for victory in a setting where the outcome is uncertain and the moment to moment back and forth keeps you on your toes.† Heffer continuous â€Å"Rather or not you want to call them sports they showcase people with amazing critical thinking, planning, and decision making skills and frankly inhuman reflexes as well. The level of professional level in a game lie League of Legends is mind boggling.† Professional gamers put their heart and soul into the game. They have drive, passion, hard work and dedication just like any professional athlete you can think of. III.As I’m assuming E-Sports may be alien to many of you but in nations like South Korea games such as StarCraft have already become something of a national sport. Paul Tassi of Forbs Magazine said â€Å"Overseas, top players are treated like professional Athletes.† Though South Korea has become atoned to the notion of playing games professionally North America believe it or not is where the biggest interest for pro gaming lies. In North American E-Sports, leagues and organizations have risen and grown in the past 3 years. In of these leagues the biggest E-Sports organization is Major League Gaming or MLG. Founded in 2002 Major League Gaming features numerous tournaments in a year where various gamers fly out to major cities across the US like Columbus to compete. In MLG’s Annual Viewership Report for the 2013 season they reported 15 million unique viewers tuned into watch online during the 2013 season. As those 15 million viewers tuned in last year it’s clear that E-Sports has already landed a very stable footing into the hearts of Americans across the United States. But perhaps even more thrilling and exciting is the growth that E-Sports has already shown. Between 2010 – 2013 MLG has seen a 733% growth in viewership from 1.8 million to 15 Million. Comparing that to the NFLS record growth of 18% in the past 3 years that’s 715% more than the NFL. Let’s not down play the viewership of the NFL which has recorded a record of 28.1 Million viewers for their 2013 – 2014 season. But you start to understand thus to how much potential E-Sports has when MLG a company that’s only been around for 11 years has acquired a viewership of 15 million. Just a little above half of the NFLS record viewer count 28.1 an organization that has been around for nearly a 100 years. Conclusion With these statistics of expansion and with how overseas treats E-Sports like a national sport and with pro gamers possessing the same set of virtues that any professional athlete has along the millions around the globe that  already are a part of the community only drives E-Sports. It’s not really a question of is it, it’s really a question of when! When asked about where he sees E-Sports going and what to expect of the industry. MLG Co-Founder Sundance DiGiovanni in a position that puts him at the hell of the entire E-Sports industry told Forbs Magazine in 2012 â€Å"that in 5 years he expects E-Sports to be a globally recognized phenomena. A truly established global sport.†

Free Essays - The Tall Tale in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

The Tall Tale in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Mark Twain's timeless American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, the narrator often finds himself in undesirable situations.   These situations, which are far-fetched even for the nineteenth-century, provide much humor to the novel and demonstrate Huck's cunning.   Huck's adept use of the tall tale becomes a survival tool on this adventure.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the novel, Huck sees lies as more of a practical solution to problems than as a moral dilemma.   He rationalizes that he has "never seen anybody but lied, one time or another"   (1).   Unlike the lawless adventurer of the frontier, Huck does not use his knack for selfish purposes.   He, instead, uses his lies strictly as a means of escaping misfortune and never for his own profit.   At one point in the story, Huck uses his skill to fabricate a story that keeps a skiff of slave-hunters away from Jim:   " 'Well, there's five niggers run off to-night, up yonder above the head of the bend.   Is your man white or black?'...'He's white' "   (110).   Huck's tall tales are used for the survival of both Huck and Jim, and Jim knows this.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Huck's stories are usually believed, but even when doubted, he manages to change his fib just enough to make it believable.   An example of this is when he is caught as a stow-away on a raft and his original story is not believed by the crew:   "Now, looky-here, you're scared, and so you talk wild.   Honest, now, do you live in a scowl, or is it a lie?" (106).   Huck then changes his story just enough to make it believable, displaying his unique ability to adjust his

Alternative Beverage Industry †Paper Essay

1. What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U.S. beverage industry macro-environment? How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of other beverage categories? Explain. The strategically relevant components of the global and U.S. beverage industry macro-environment are Market Size, Market Growth, Markets Segmentation, and Intensity of Rivalry. Market Size: The beverage industry serves an incredible large market. In 2009 alone, the beverage market consumed more than 458 million liters of beverage, resulting in over $1.58 trillion in sales for the industry. Although there is a declining trend in the consumption of carbonated soft drinks in the United States, as of 2009, carbonated soft drinks still accounts for the lion share of the U.S. beverage market with 48.2% of the market; while bottle water and fruit juice account for 29.2% and 12.4%, respectively. The remaining market space was occupied by the alternative beverages segment, which includes sports drinks, flavored or enhanced water, and energy drinks with 4.0%, 1.6%, and 1.2%, respectively Market Growth: While U.S. beverage market saw a decline of 2.1% and 3.1% for the years 2008 and 2009, respectively, due in large part to the economic recession, the global market dollar value as well as volume sales saw an increase year-after-year, from 2005 to 2009. The industry is expected to maintain a growth trend, with sales forecasted to reach approximately $1.78 trillion in 2014, as beverage producer enter new market and develop new types of beverages to accommodate the shifting consumer preferences—and capitalize on the growing and profitable alternative beverage segment. Market Segmentation: The global beverage market is categorized as carbonated soft drinks (soda), bottle water and alternative beverages, which includes sports drinks, energy drinks, vitamin-enhanced water, energy shots, and relaxation drinks. Sports drinks accounted for nearly 60 percent of alternative beverage sales in 2009, while vitamin-enhanced drinks and energy drinks were approximately 23% and 18% of sales in the U.S., respectively. Scope of rivalry: There has been a long lasting rivalry in the carbonated beverage market segment between the two largest producers—PepsiCo and Coco-Cola. However, in the alternative beverage segment, other than Red Bull and Hansen Natural Corporation which also have international presence, most of the other sellers are specialty or regional brands, with distribution limited to a small geographic region. 2. What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? Competition in the alternative beverage industry is low to moderate. Although there are many sellers, the high profit margin in the alternative beverage segment allows for everyone to earn respectable profit. In addition, the leaders, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Red Bull appear to understand the importance of maintaining the stability of the industry as a whole, as opposed to aggressively jockeying for individual strategic advantage at the expense of the industry. Although the five competitive forces in the beverage industry are quite favorable, threat of substitute product is the strongest force. This is evidence by the fact that branding and taste are the primary strategic differentiations in the segment. Additionally, the cost of switching is undiscernibly low; and there were many substitute alternative beverages such as tea, soft drinks, fruit juices, bottled water and tap water, which made it easier for consumers to easily switch from one brand to another. The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers was the weakest competitive force because, with the exception of few rare ingredients, there are many suppliers available for producers to purchase ingredients from. Suppliers for packaging are also abundant. Even though substitute products had a bigger market share in the US, consumers bought more alternative beverages. This change in customer preference weakened the competitive power of substitute beverages. The threat of new brands varies by the development of each alternative beverage category. There is a low threat for mature categories and moderate to strong in young categories. During the early stages of developing a category, when famous brand leaders had yet to be established, the threat of entry in alternative beverage categories was strong. This enabled consumers who did not have a brand preference to be attracted to new beverages and allow a quick gain in market share. Once brand preference is established, the threat of entry would is lower for all types of alternative beverages except energy shots and relaxation drinks. The proficiency among sellers of alternative beverages could be considered the strongest competitive force. Among the sellers of energy drinks and other alternative beverages competition among major brands is focused on brand image, taste, packaging, R&D, sales promotions, endorsements, and better access to shelf space. 3. How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changed? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? As the industry experiences a saturation rate for all types of beverages in the mature markets (i.e. the U.S. and Europe), it is exercising great effort to enter new international markets . In fact, the industry is expected to gain a good portion of its future growth from consumers in developing countries. As a result, maturity of change in the long-term growth rate, industry consolidation and product innovation are all driving forces of the alternative beverage industry. The annual rate of growth for the dollar value of the global market for alternative beverages was forecasted to decline from the 9.8 percent annual rate occurring between 2005 and 2009 to an anticipated annual rate of 5.7 percent – 2010 through 2014. While dollar value growth rates were expected to decline only slightly in Europe and Asia-Pacific, the annual rate of growth in the U.S. was projected to decline from 16.6 percent during 2005 – 2009 to 6.7% between 2010 and 2014. Product innovation is a constant force as the alternative beverage industry is continuing to create new ideas that give rise to new beverage industry categories and niches. Drivers of change are unlikely to dramatically alter the attractiveness of the alternative beverage industry in the next 3-5 years. Even with a slowing economy, there is no indication that the larger producers such as Red Bull GmbH, Coca-Cola, or PepsiCo are prepared to compete aggressively on price for volume and market share gains. They will likely rely on product innovation and acquisitions to increase sales and market shares. However, the individual and collective effect of industry drivers of change can make the industry less attractive for unknown independent brands unless such companies gain an advantage in the industry. 4. What does your strategic group map of the energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage industry look like? What strategy groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? The strategic group maps show the industry participants competing in scope of geographic distribution and brand portfolio breadth. It shows that beverage producers competing internationally with broad brand portfolios are positioned most favorably in the industry, because as the matured market saturate, and volume sale declines, the producers with international presence and capabilities will have the edge to enter into other international markets. Companies with a single brand and regional or national distribution only (i.e., Living Essentials, Vacation in a Bottle (ViB), Dream Water, or Drank) seem to be positioned most poorly in the industry because they are positioned as specialty or regional brand, which exposes them to the ebb and flows of market conditions of the economic cond ition or consumer preference of a narrow market. The current level of competition makes it doubtful that small regional producers will survive over the long-term unless acquired by a large international bottler. 5. What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers? There are four factors that are necessary for competitive success in the alternative beverage industry. The first one is access to distribution, which is seen as the most important industry success factor due to the fact that most brands of energy drinks/alternative beverages cannot achieve good sales volumes and market shares unless they are widely available in stores, and there are also too many brands for all to be included on store shelves, especially in convenient stores who require placement fees. The second factor is innovating product skills. By definition, alternative beverages were different from traditional beverage; line extensions permitted entry to new categories. The third one is name brand, which was also a critical factor in choosing a target customer demographic. The image which the brand represents and exemplified and emphasized in advertisements, endorsements, and promotions created a following and demand for one brand over another. Brand image was also a result of labels and packaging that alternative beverage consumer found appealing; small producers with poor image building capabilities had difficulty competing in the industry. Finally, sufficient sales volume to achieve scale economies in marketing expenditures is also an important driver. Successful alternative beverage producers were required to have sufficient sales volumes in order maintain marketing expenses at an acceptable cost per unit ratio. 6. What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? To PepsiCo? To Red Bull GmbH? Coca-Cola should go beyond a distribution deal with Living Essentials’ 5-Hour Energy drink, and instead, make a move to acquire it. Secondly, with only 10.2% of market share in the United States, as compared to PepsiCo’s 47.7%, Coca-Cola should focus on building strength in alternative beverage sales in Asia where it has a slight edge over its competitors. As globally established brand, and the market leader in the alternative beverage segment, PepsiCo is well positioned to maintain its market strength in the foreseeable future. And with its global distribution capacity, PepsiCo should leverage its strength and aggressively enter new markets in Asia, South America, Africa and the Middle East before its competitors and or new entrants gets ahead of it. For its U.S market, PepsiCo should continue to maintain its market position by investing in R&D in order to develop new expand its product lines. As the energy drink market leader in the U.S. and the third-largest producer of alternative beverages worldwide and the number two seller of alternative beverages in the U.S. and Europe, Red Bull had notable performance for an independent producer. To maintain their competitive advantage, Red Bull GmbH should also create product line extensions to aid in the appeal of its brand.

Describing Friend’s Character

I have a friend, his name is Dima. I know him about five years. He amazed me by his intelligence and brainy. He knows the answer on any question. Even if he doesn’t know the correct answer, he’ll find the way to explain it. I appreciate his optimism and indifference at the same time. When something bad has happened, he is always determined. He says that next time he would be more sense and had learned a lot from that situation. And next day he behaves as if nothing has happened. Moreover he looks indifferently at some situations that help him not to work up.Dima has got a unique humor; I can’t stop smiling when he begins joking. He is unconventional. He looks differently at the world. I can’t even imagine what is going on in his head. Also Dima is broad-minded, he is keen on travelling. He visits different places four times a year, moreover he adore snowboarding, that’s why the main part of his trips includes mountains. Dima is easy-going, he can ea sily find common ground. Nevertheless each person has negative sides of his character. Sometimes Dima is brusque and impolite. His straightforwardness spurns people.If he doesn’t gain person, he will deal shortly with him. I don’t think that it’s bad behavior, but sometimes it goes over the line. However he is frank and open-hearted. He enjoys having heart-to-heart talk with family and friends. In spite of his imperturbability he is vulnerable deep in his mind. But he won’t show it, because he thinks that it points out man’s weakness. In conclusion I would like to add that I’m proud that I have such friend. Dima is goal-seeking and ambitious. He knows what he wants and secures his object in any case.

Increase Exposure Of Sexual Transmitted Infection Tourism Essays

Increase Exposure Of Sexual Transmitted Infection Tourism Essays Increase Exposure Of Sexual Transmitted Infection Tourism Essay Increase Exposure Of Sexual Transmitted Infection Tourism Essay Tourism is an umbrella that covers all the activities that a tourer. Within this research you will be able to sketch the importance of presenting quality client service within the touristry industry and in other concerns. Community based touristry will besides be defined to you, its impacts on the state Jamaica and the significance of engineering on the development of the travel and touristry industry. Discuss the importance of presenting quality service in the cordial reception industry and place differences ( if any ) between service bringing in the cordial reception industry and service bringing in other concerns. Harmonizing to Bethan Powell Customer Service Excellence is about cognizing your clients, run intoing their demands and presenting what matters most to them. The importance of presenting quality service within the cordial reception industry is that you send your clients away with a positive and happy vibration with the purpose of going repetition clients and advancing other clients from self experience and besides give positive feedback about the organisation. It is besides of import to present quality service within the cordial reception industry because it demonstrates choice client service. Quality client service can be maintained by following simple stairss such as meet and recognize the client in a warm, friendly and professional mode at all times put aside differences such as personal or on the occupation issue. Always maintain oculus contact instead than gazing during the conversation, listen actively and attentively, this will demo the client that you have their involvement at bosom. After the client have related their ailment foremost apologise so reiterate what he or she have said to guarantee that you have accurate information to follow up, and at no clip should a client service representative province to a client sentences such as: It s non my section so I ca nt help you or that s the company s policy ; retrieve the client comes foremost and is ever right. After all that information has been collected do non do determinations off manus in forepart of the client inform the client that you will take the affair to the higher-up of the organisation. Ensure that the superior reappraisals and follow up the affair so actions can be taken on the client s ailment ; this is where the staff or whomever collected the study will acquire back to the client and manus down the necessary actions that will follow up. This norm within the cordial reception industry will do the client feel welcome. Delivering quality client service is besides the edifice of a professional relationship with clients. Within both the cordial reception industry and other concern the service bringing have differences which are in some instances similar: Some of these differences are: Cordial reception Industry Customers are greeted in a friendly mode Customers are attended to faster Customer ailments are dealt with instantly Customers are given a pick to show their emotions. Other Businesss Customers are barely greeted and if greeted its without a smiling and heterosexual to the point Within both the touristry industry and other concerns the similarities of client service vary by the attending but most of all in comman which every concern demands is the client and money in order to do a net income. Harmonizing to ( Oikos, 2009 ) Community based touristry is touristry in which local occupants invite tourer to see their communities with the proviso of nightlong adjustment. Identify the pro and cons of community based touristry and discourse the deductions on the state as a whole. Professionals Cross Cultural Exchange Renewed of Cultural Pride Conservation of Cultural Pride Improvement in quality of life of exposure of the music with other music signifier Cons Increase intoxicant and drugs and debut to harlotry Overcrowding of the comfortss e.g. beach, shopping promenade Loss of usage of certain of our civilization Presentation effects Increase exposure of sexual transmitted infection Rural- urban migration Illegal peddling in certain countries Increase offense rate Increase homesteader colony The deduction of community based touristry on the state as a whole. The deduction of community based touristry has a figure of benefits provides chance for touristry in Jamaica as a whole as it provides some of these are: Provides foreign exchange coming into the state More land infinite for edifices More revenue enhancement income More occupations More chance for cognition widen Skills acquired These will all profit both the state and persons or occupants through international criterions. Communities all have their ain morale, beliefs, values and norms to regulate their mundane life and activities. Tourist benefits from the act by larning new civilizations and patterns and will return place and state their friends and household about their brush to the finish and their involvement will be focused on sing Jamaica. The chief purpose to visitants is ever to direct them off making the stimulating image of the perfect finish Jamaica. ( Reynolds, 2011 ) This will profit and authorise many vulnerable groups, such as adult females, immature people, every bit good as under- skilled and unemployed workers. Mr. Edmund Bartlett. Community based touristry is an alternate type of touristry that can be used to diversify the Jamaica Tourism Product and supply Jamaica with a competitory advantage. Community based touristry is an alternate type of touristry which should go popular within the touristry procedure. Harmonizing to ( Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism development, 2002 ) To accomplish sustainability, the key demands are to guarantee that touristry develops in line with the aspirations and civilization of local communities, benefit are spread equally and the environment is protected. Tourism centres can be put in topographic point to help in community undertakings which will both profit the community at big and the people populating in the community. Some of these benefits include: Create occupations Foreign exchange The country is set for touristry selling. Communities that pattern community based touristry should supply resources such as tourer resource boards. Measures that could be put in topographic point are: Train and educate individuals that are interesting in working with tourer such as sellers and hair braiders are required to acquire trained and certified by the needed administration that caters to tourism, the Jamaica Tourist Board. Increase supplies of goods provided or supplied within the touristry industry so that clients can ever hold a assortment of taking merchandises. Advertise through mediums such as magazine, air balloons and cyberspace. Technology has important impact on the development of the travel and touristry industry. Discuss. Technology has important impact on the development of the travel and touristry industry assorted elements can utilize to back up this point. Making reserve through the cyberspace can be convenient, fast and saves clip whether doing air hose or hotel reserves online you can see the finish or the air hose of your pick, compared to old ages ago before engineering existed. On the other manus engineering and travel and touristry has advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of Airline A ; Online Reservations You can see what clip each flight departs and arrive and besides cancellations. Cost reduction- this is faster and easier, nevertheless exclude the monetary value for committee and other service fees charged by travel agents. Convenience- This can be done from anyplace at any clip with the cyberspace connexion. Choices- You can take from a assortment of locations where hotels are located, services offered and testimonies on individuals that visited the hotel before. For some hotels or attractive forces return clients usually receive price reduction or wagess for their trueness. Disadvantages of Airline A ; Online Reservations Particular demands ca nt be requested such as unsighted individual, deaf, pregnant female parents or wheelchair. Some locations advertise a low rate to pull clients, but after been observed carefully those rates are for other fees. No 1 to speak to in individual to help with information that was nt provided or clearly outlined. Peoples within the cordial reception concern industry communicate with other concerns from different background and civilizations on a regular footing through mediums such as tele-conferencing and picture conferencing alternatively of sitting in a vehicle for hours or even winging across the universe. This influenced communicating in the workplace as it prepares persons to larn and accommodate to different civilizations and linguistic communications which will profit them personally in the close hereafter. This relates to people who travel for concern. With the execution of engineering and the impact of travel and touristry information can acquire afoot to anyone, anyplace and at anytime.

5 Warning Signs You Should NOT Take The Job

5 Warning Signs You Should NOT Take The Job You’ve been looking for a long time and you’ve finally landed an interview. You think to yourself: This is the job. I have to get this job. And then it looks as though you might actually be hired. Trouble is, there are some red flags. Failure to spot these warning signs might result in you ending up right back where you started, looking for a job. Here are five things to watch for before accepting an offer, even when you’re desperate.1. Herky jerky interview processYou get called in, you interview, and then you don’t hear anything for weeks. Then maybe they call you in again, you do another interview, and†¦ radio silence. If your hiring process is this erratic- without some suitable explanation (some crisis at the company, or an unexpected leave of absence by your supervisor), then it’s time to ask yourself 1: whether you can be bothered being treated this way, and 2: what would it be like to actually work for a company that treated potential h ires this way? If you really really want the job, it’s okay to give them a second chance (though maybe not a third). Just keep your eyes open and your feelers out for other opportunities.2. They’re all about themThere’s a constant stream of requests. We need this from you. And we need that. First a writing sample, then a project on spec, then a statement, then a test. They don’t seem to have any respect for your effort or your time. You’re not given space to ask your interviewers any questions. Sound familiar? Run away.The interview process should be just as much about them recruiting you. If they start to get really demanding and ask for really in-depth work, suggest an hourly consulting rate for that work. Until you have a guarantee of employment, make sure you get paid.3. They’re shadyBy the end of the interview, you’re not sure exactly what your position entails, who you’d report to, what the compensation and benefits would be. You note a lack of any real leadership in the team, and you can’t discern any real structure. Most importantly, if you’ve asked questions and fewer than half of them have been answered to your satisfaction, that’s a sign of major disorganization, even chaos. Run away.4. They’re nosyYou start getting questions about your past position, your past salary, your personal financial details. None of this is really relevant to your potentially being hired. They only need to know what your target salary range is now. Nothing more. And even that you shouldn’t tell them until they’ve specified their range for the position first.5. They give you an ultimatumYou get an offer letter out of nowhere. First of all, that letter should really be a phone call or an email from the person you’ve been speaking with, suggesting they’re ready to make an offer and opening negotiations with you. And if they make it clear there will be no negotiation s (â€Å"We have a dozen other candidates who will take this offer as it stands†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ), then you should probably turn your back and wait for a company that will respect both you and the process of bringing a new employee on board.

THE LECTORAL SYSTEM OF GERMANY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 10000 words

THE LECTORAL SYSTEM OF GERMANY - Essay Example The parliament is usually given fourteen days to elect its chancellor officially after the final election results. Normally, elections happen after every four years and the same process begins all over again. There are no by-elections in Germany - if members of the Bundestag die or resign in office, those next on the list of the party in the appropriate State/Land automatically succeed them (Welle, 2009, para13). 30 Like all countries in Western Europe that have adopted the proportional system, Germany has more than twenty percent female parliamentarians, which clearly indicates a strong correlation between the type of electoral system and the level of female representation. As expounded earlier on, Germany uses a mixed or double electoral system with both a proportional representation system and single member constituencies and each of them selects half of the Bundestag members. However, the election of the majority of German female politicians is through the proportional representation list. Unlike in other countries such as the United Kingdom where voters and local parties object to having imposition of all-women shortlists on them, the list system in Germany has enabled parties to increase the proportion of female members of parliament in the Bundestag quickly.   38 The system of proportional representation also includes a quota that requires from each province, a minimum of two female delegates. This means that the parliament body will be at least twenty-five percent women. In full representation, there is an increase in the access of greater number of candidates. Sun argues that holding all other factors constant, under proportional representation system, the likelihood of electing women is almost twice as compared to majoritarian systems. Furthermore, under full representation system, measures such as quotas for minimum number of candidates aimed at increasing the representation of women are much easier to implement since the