Annual day function

Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with a deity, an object of worship, or a spiritual entity through deliberate communication. Prayer can be a form of religious practice, may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of a hymn, incantation, formal creed, or a spontaneous utterance in the praying person. There are different forms of prayer such as petitionary prayer, prayers of supplication, thanksgiving, and worship/praise.Prayer may be directed towards a deity, spirit, deceased person, or lofty idea, for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. Thus, people pray for many reasons such as personal benefit or for the sake of others. Yoga is also a common form of prayer. Most major religions involve prayer in one way or another. Some ritualize the act of prayer, requiring a strict sequence of actions or placing a restriction on who is permitted to pray, while others teach that prayer may be practiced spontaneously by anyone at any time.Scientific studies regarding the use of prayer have mostly concentrated on its effect on the healing of sick or injured Prayer has many different forms. Prayer may be done privately and individually, or it may be done corporately in the presence of fellow believers. Prayer can be incorporated into a daily â€Å"thought life†, in which one is in constant communication with a god. Some people pray throughout all that is happening during the day and seek guidance as the day progresses. This is actually regarded as a requirement in several Christian denominations, although enforcement is not possible nor desirable.There can be many different answers to prayer, just as there are many ways to interpret an answer to a question, if there in fact comes an answer. Some may experience audible, physical , or mental epiphanies. If indeed an answer comes, the time and place it comes is considered random. Some outward acts that sometimes accompany prayer are: anointing with oil; ringing a bell; burning incense or paper; lighting a candle or candles; facing a specific direction (i. e. towards Mecca   or the East); making the sign of the cross. One less noticeable act related to prayer is fasting.

John Updike’s a ; P Man vs. Society Conflict

A ;amp; P Conflict Sammy vs. the Sheep There are many different opinions and views as to what is right or wrong. Society has developed a standard as to how an individual should act or portray themselves. In reality the majority of public comply with this policy. They prefer to be average and mundane. A literary analysis of John Updike’s A ;amp; P will show how the main character chooses to rebel against this social order An ordinary day at work can change the rest of your life. The story is told in the third person point of view. The setting is a petite and old-fashioned town that sits just North of Boston.In this touristy town is a typical grocery store labeled A ;amp; P. The store sits in the middle of town on Central Street, looking out of the doors two banks, three real-estate offices, a newspaper store and the Congregational church are all in view. Bright fluorescent lighting, organized aisles, and conventional setting depict the atmosphere. The main character is Sammy wh o is an employee at A ;amp; P and dislikes his job. He is an adolescent, who resides with his parents and enjoys making them proud. Sammy does not enjoy the customers and their boring personas.He states, â€Å"I bet you could set off dynamite in an A ;amp; P and the people would by and large keep reaching and checking oatmeal off their lists and muttering, let me see, there was a third thing, began with an A asparagus, no applesauce† (Updike para. 5). The customers Sammy deals with are ignorant and arrogant. Except three good looking girls who come into the store less dressed then others, Sammy relates to them and chooses to defend them. Sammy is faced with the conflict of man vs. society. Throughout the story Sammy struggles with the customers at his job.This battle first presents itself, while he is ringing up a patronizing, snobbish lady who is always pointing out his mistakes. He then notices a lady sneering at the girls because of them being dressed in beach attire. McMa hon, a meat counter employee, began patting his mouth and sizing up the girls’ joints after they asked for his assistance with something. Sammy begins to sympathize with the girls. â€Å"Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldn’t help it,† he says (Updike para. 10). Ultimately, Lengal, his manager, approaches the girls and informs them of how inappropriate their garments are.Sammy is furious with the way Lengal humiliates the girls. Sammy defends the girls, and stands up to Lengal. As an end result he quits his job as a direct effect of the way Lengal treated the girls. Sammy is hopeful that the girls will recognize his chivalry and wait for him after he resigns, but they do not. Nevertheless, as he steps outside a feeling of accomplishment is present, although he knows how much more difficult his life is going to be. The definition of â€Å"sheep† in this sense is a conventional person, a traditionalist. During the story, Sammy refers to th e customers as sheep several times.Referencing society to sheep symbolizes the fashion in which they flock together. Instead of having their own beliefs and judgment of the girls, they follow the policy that society has already created for them. Like sheep who do not journey out on their own. They abide by the structure already formed, never breaking the cycle. While Lengal scolds the girls, Sammy describes â€Å"All this while, the customers had been showing up with their carts but, you know, sheep, seeing a scene, they had all bunch up on Stokesie, who shook open a paper bag as gently as peeling a peach, not wanting to miss a word† (Updike para. 1). In closing, Sammy stood up for what he believed was the right. He disagreed with the preconceived attitude others in the story had toward the girls. He knew that quitting his job would upset his parents terribly, but to him it was worth it. He took a stand that day that changed his life forever. Even though the girls were gone a fter he quit, he still has the satisfaction that he did what was honorable. Sammy can truly say that he is not a follower, he is not a sheep. Works Cited Updike, John. â€Å"A ;amp; P. † Blair Reader. September 14, 2011.

Commercial Fixture Essay

Suggested questions for the Commercial Fixtures Inc. case are given below. 1. What would you as an outside third party bid under the same conditions (with the same information) for the entire company (both halves)? Why? 2. What do you expect Albert Evans to bid for Gordon’s half interest? Why? 3. What should Gordon Whitlock bid for Albert’s half interest? Why? 4. How would you structure the purchase of the business? Question #1 is a business valuation question. There are a number of ways to estimate the value of a business. You have probably covered one or more of these ways in a previous class. The next two pages review a few of the various ways to go about it. For a discounted CF approach of valuing Commercial Fixtures Inc., I will use the following template: VALUATION APPROACHES – OVERVIEW/REVIEW 1. Comparable Trades Analysis — Using valuation ratios, or â€Å"multiples† of comparable firms Use one or more valuation ratios, which include (a) Price-Earnings (b) Market-Book (c) Price-CF (d) Price-Revenues (e) Enterprise Value to EBITDA, and (f) Other ratios. The prospective value (price) of the subject firm is quantified into—and compared with—one or more of the valuation ratios of its peers. The better the performance of the subject firm relative to comparable firms in the relevant performance measures (as measured by operating ratios), the higher the appropriate valuation ratio for the firm (and vice-versa). 2. Liquidation Value, aka Book Value approach Place liquidation values on the net working capital and fixed assets of the firm. Include tax write-off benefits, if any. This approach is rarely useful, and will typically serve as a minimum value (unless the firm is in severe distress). 3. (i.) Discounted Present Value of the Firm’s Free Cash Flows   Ã¢â‚¬â€ commonly referred to as DCF Valuation, or WACC valuation Value of the Firm = PV of future free cash flows + PV of terminal value a.Estimate the first 3 to 10 years’ free cash flows and calculate the PVs. (A five year horizon is common, but this can vary.) Typically you will use the WACC as your discount rate. Depending on the circumstances, the estimated cash flows may be available for fewer than five years, or more than five years. b.Estimate the PV of the terminal value. One estimate for the terminal value involves assuming perpetual cash flows after the initial time horizon, e.g.: i.If the cash flow after 5 years is expected to grow at a rate g for the foreseeable future: Terminal Value5 (TV5) = FCF6 /(k – g) = FCF5 (1+ g) / (k – g)., where k is the required rate of return. You must discount the TV to time 0, and then add this to the PV of the FCFs during the projection horizon. ii.If the cash flow at the end of 5 years is not expected to grow, i.e., g=0, then the general formula collapses to the PV of a no-growth perpetuity: Terminal Value5 = FCF6 / (k-g) = FCF5 (1+ g)/(k – g) = FCF5 / k c.Use the Value of the Firm equation above, i.e. sum PV of free cash flows + PV of terminal value . The Value of the firm’s Equity = Value of the Firm – Debt Currently Outstanding. 3. (ii.) Adjusted Present Value approach — we will only briefly discuss this approach; a topic for a future finance course. 4. Comments on Valuing the Firm using DCF (or WACC) and APV valuation approaches a.Watch the free cash flows (not reported earnings)! In particular, as in the capital budgeting decision process: –Depreciation charges are not cash outflows. –Investment in new property or equipment is a cash outflow. –Increases in net working capital are cash outflows. –Taxes are cash outflows b.Do not subtract interest expense from FCFs. We want to estimate a value for the whole business. The return to creditors is reflected in the discount rate used. c.Consider other factors, such as a control premium or a lack of marketability discount. These are mentioned in your textbook, and we will discuss these in class. d.Notice the sensitivity of your estimated firm value to changes in assumptions, particularly the perpetual terminal growth rate, and the discount rate. Typically a range of firm values is calculated from various ranges of these two rates (as suggested in the template on p. 1), particularly when uncertainty is high.

Why has the concept of work life balance become such a focus concern Essay

Why has the concept of work life balance become such a focus concern in the past decade - Essay Example working from home, compressed work weeks and flexible working hours), leave arrangements (e.g. maternity leave, paternity leave, and leave to care for a sick dependent), dependent care assistance (e.g. on-site daycare, subsidised daycare, eldercare, and referral to child care), and general services (e.g. employee assistant programs, seminars and programs related to family needs)’. These initiatives give employees work flexibility and ensure that those depended on them, children and the elderly parents, are cared about, thus reducing the family-work conflict, as well as providing time to be spent for personal interests and hobbies, which reduces stress and increases employees’ satisfaction with life and work. The issue of work-life balance was aroused in the USA in the mid of 1980s, yet since then it has become only more vital. This was caused by a number of reasons. In this paper we are going to discuss the sources of the problem and highlight the aspects making it a pr oblem, as well as benefits of work-life balance. Work-life balance initiatives are essential for creating normal conditions of work for people. Reports and surveys indicating the problem have been released and conducted for several decades already. However, the issue continues acquiring its vitality. In May 2005 Europe was worried by the report released by the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO) showing that the workers in 10 new state entrants to the European Union worked three weeks more than employees in 15 core EU countries. Voters blamed politicians for shrinking vacation period. The 22 days of paid vacations in Estonia, Lithuania, Poland ad Slovenia were perceived as the violation of human rights. Meanwhile, according to the Families and Work Institute report 79 percent of US employees got no more than 16,6 days of paid vacation in 2001, the figure having dropped to 14,6 days by 2004. About 37 percent of US workers took less

HIRING pROCESS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

HIRING pROCESS - Assignment Example Being a registered member of the nursing board is one of the major qualifications that are needed for one to become a nurse at the healthcare facility. In case the candidate is not yet registered, she/he should be willing to be registered with the body. One of the federal obligations is that an employee has to be able to legally work in the US. This means that children and people of unsound mind are not qualified for this employment (Yoder, 2011). The state also requires that every nurse has to be licensed and so this becomes one of the federal obligations. In order for the hospital to provide the best healthcare facility to the public, they have to ensure that only the best nurses are selected for the job (Yoder, 2011). After the short listing, an interview has to be done during which each candidate is awarded marks that will be used to grade them. The national labor regulation board (NRLB) has no role at all in the interview process and so the interview process is completely thee job of the interviewing panel that is selected by the HR based on

Outsourcing Supply Chain Support and its Effectiveness and Implication Dissertation

Outsourcing Supply Chain Support and its Effectiveness and Implication in R&D Environment in Singapore - Dissertation Example and Objectives 1.3 Research Methods 1.4Significance of Research 1.5 Dissertation Outline 1.6 Conclusions Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Information Sharing and Outsourcing 2.3 The importance of Information sharing in Outsourcing 2.4 The risk factors of Information sharing 2.5 How much information can be shared? 2.6 How to ensure effective information-sharing 2.7 Conclusion Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Approach 3.3 Research Methods 3.4 Research Design 3.4.1 Sample 3.4.2 Method of Data Collection: Interview 3.4.3 Research Instrument 3.4.4 Method of Data Analysis 3.5 Research Validity and Reliability 3.6 Ethical Considerations 3.7 Conclusions Chapter 4: Findings 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Part A: Findings from i3lab 4.2.1 Challenges of Managing the Supply Chain for Support Products for i3lab 4.2.3 Performance Assessment of Outsourcing Partners 4.2.4 Outsourcing Partner Selection Criteria (size, capabilities, and geographical locations) 4.2.5 Outsourcing Partner Trust 4.2.6 Protocol for Sharing Information with Outsourcing Vendors 4.2.7 Channels of Communications Employed 4.2.8 Decisions Regarding Information Sharing 4.2.9 Managing Integrity of Shared Information 4.2.10 Importance of Information sharing and Concerns Regarding Integrity 4.3 PART B: Findings from the Interviews of Outsourcing Partners 4.3.1 Challenges and Problems faced during Supplying Components to Buyers 4.3.2 Channels of Communication Employed Between Outsourcing Partners and Buyers 4.3.3 Information Sharing with Buyers 4.3.4 Adequacy of Information Shared from the Buyer 4.3.5 Buyer Information Security 4.3.6 Suggestions for Buyer Information Security 4.3.7 Differences in Procurement Practices in China and Singapore 4.4 Summary Chapter 5: Discussion and... This paper tells that in the past decades, there has been experienced an acute shortage of supply chain support services, especially for Research and Development (R&D operations), There are multiple reasons for these shortages and these include outsourcing to foreign countries like China and India where cost advantages can be obtained, inflationary pressures on the costs of operations. Indices like the manufacturing unit labour costs have shown an increase of 15% while unit business costs have increase by 7.8% over 2010. In addition, there is also a shift towards knowledge based economy as opposed to manufacturing and engineering, which has led to the government focusing on other sectors. There is a lowering of demand in the ultra-precision engineering segment in Singapore. A recent survey by the Ministry of Trade and Industries (MIT) has revealed that there is a decline of 5.9% in the manufacturing sector in the second quarter of 2011. The Precision Engineering sector comprising of precision modules and components has shown a 10% decrease in 2011 from the year 2007. The above factors have made it lucrative for organizations in the in the ultra-precision engineering R&D activities to follow the path of outsourcing. However, while outsourcing leads to cost cuttings, it may also lead to a loss of control over standardization and problems of product quality. There is therefore a need to share information with the outsourcing partners. The current dissertation is aimed at evaluating how the ultra-precision engineering R&D need to manage their sensitive information while sharing knowledge and practices with their outsourcing partners.

Intelligent Systems Assignment Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Intelligent Systems Assignment - Coursework Example The neural networks aid in the relationship of parameters of the tumor with the profile of temperature over the breast model. There is a comparison of the obtained relationship to the one obtained by an element software (Bradbury 2007). There is a possibility of determining the parameters of the cancer with a five and ten percent random noise. With ten percent noise, the estimation accuracy deteriorates for tumors which are deep-seated. INTRODUCTION Breast cancer in women is common making it an international concern. Every year about two hundred thousand new cases are reported. There is estimation that more than one million women are not aware that they have the cancer (Bradbury 2007). Infrared imaging is one of the conventional ways that were used in the detection of the cancer. Abnormal skin temperatures may be used as an indication of benign tumors and cancer. The objective of the neural networks is to develop a methodology to be used in the estimation of different parameters of t he cancerous tumor (Kings 1996). The report relate to breast cancer and the different neural networks used in the methodology estimation. Demonstration of the methodology is done by the use of a simple model, in the illustration of the details and the involved procedures. Various conditions of the cancerous tumor were used to illustrate the neural networks generality (Millburn 2000). The diagnosis of breast cancer is a significant medical problem in the real world. An important class of medical science problems involves the disease diagnosis. This is based on various performed tests upon the patient (Rockville 2008). When there is an involvement of several tests, the final diagnosis may be obtained in a difficult manner, even for experts in the medical field. This has given an increase, over a few most recent decades, to diagnostic computerized tools (Hill 2012). This are intended to help the physician in reaching a sensible conclusion out of data confusion. Much research has been d one on medical diagnosis of the cancer. A learning algorithm combines annealing logarithmic simulated with perceptron algorithm and an accuracy of almost one hundred percent is reported (Hagan 1996). Breast cancer is commonest cancer type in women. Men can also get breast cancer, but this accounts for a much lesser percentage of all diagnosed cases of breast cancer (Hill 2012). Atleast one in every eight women develops cancer once in her lifetime, that is, if they live upto the age of eighty five. More than a half of women diagnosed with breast cancer are fifty years and older. The majority of the rest are between thirty nine and forty years of age. Breast cancer can easily be treated if detected at an early stage (Hagan 1996). It can be treated successfully before it spreads out all over the body. Nine out of ten women diagnosed with cancer, live a minimum of an extra five years if their cancer is detected early enough. Once the cancer spreads to other parts of the body, it becomes difficult to completely treat it (Rockville 2008). The disease can be controlled using certain method of treatment if it has already spread to other parts of the body. Initially, breast cancer develops in the breast tissue, in the milk ducts and in the glands (Hunt 2008). This cancer type is still considered breast cancer, even if its discovery comes after

Managing human resource in travel and tourism management Essay

Managing human resource in travel and tourism management - Essay Example In most situations, the driver becomes multipurpose; that is, acts as both the driver and guard. This is important because it reduces cost. However, the driver has to undergo training to be considered an expert in guiding. This training is arranged by the human-resource department. It is worth noting that the guide has extensive knowledge of history, literature and of England. As a result, the information aired is accurate hence the customer enjoys and appreciates the time with P&P Tours (Mathis & Jackson, 2003). The demand and supply forces are the most important forces in a business organization. This is because these forces keep the company in check hence make the right decisions. In the travel and tourism environment, the demand for the personnel in this sector is very high. This is because the tourism sector in the United Kingdom is considered to be one of the best in the world. Therefore, the influx of tourists to see the world sites is considered to be on an all-time high. Thi s translates to the fact that demand for tour companies is high, hence personnel to work in these companies is also high. Supply of the personnel, on the other hand, is notably low. This is because the industry requires skilled personnel to work in the sector. This is because some detail is crucial for a tour to be considered successful, hence personnel need to be trained on this information. However, persons that have undergone this training are less compared to the demand for these personnel. It is, therefore, right to say that the demand for personnel in this business environment is more than the supply (Human-Resource Resource Planning Society, 1998).). A human-resource plan exists as a departmental document thatstipulates programme that... "Human Resource in Travel and tourism management" essay outlines the value of the human resource in the travel industry, describes important skills and forces in business organization. It shows the different examples how to achieve a superior product through improving staff. The demand and supply forces are the most important forces in a business organization. This is because these forces keep the company in check hence make the right decisions. In the travel and tourism environment, the demand for the personnel in this sector is very high. This is because the tourism sector in the United Kingdom is considered to be one of the best in the world. Therefore, the influx of tourists to see the world sites is considered to be on an all-time high. This translates to the fact that demand for tour companies is high, hence personnel to work in these companies is also high. Supply of the personnel, on the other hand, is notably low. This is because the industry requires skilled personnel to wo rk in the sector. This is because some detail is crucial for a tour to be considered successful, hence personnel need to be trained on this information. However, persons that have undergone this training are less compared to the demand for these personnel. It is, therefore, right to say that the demand for personnel in this business environment is more than the supply. A human-resource plan exists as a departmental document thatstipulates programme that are to be followed in the next few years to facilitate proper human-resource management.

Abnormal Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Abnormal Psychology - Essay Example It is probably the best illustration ÃŽ ¿f a temperament potentially involved in the etiology ÃŽ ¿f these disorders. The behaviors associated with the behavioral inhibition construct have been demonstrated to be stable over time; these children have been observed to develop an increase in anxiety disorders, particularly social phobia, as they mature. In addition, their relatives have been demonstrated to exhibit more anxiety disorders. Finally, and most pertinent to the articles in this volume, this childhood history has been shown to be predictive ÃŽ ¿f a poorer response to treatment ÃŽ ¿f panic disorder in adulthood. All this evidence suggests that behavioral inhibition, and the highly related separation anxiety in children, can serve as excellent models ÃŽ ¿f temperamental predispositions to anxiety that can probably predict adult anxiety disorders, as well as certain characteristics (e.g., treatment refractoriness) ÃŽ ¿f these disorders. This work "connects" adult anxiety disorders longitudinally to childhood issues, at least at the level ÃŽ ¿f the models we utilize to understand these disorders. In DSM-IV, for the first time, adult anxiety disorders are recognized as beginning in childhood. However, the extent to which adult anxiety disorders begin in childhood is still not determined; research is urgently needed but is difficult because ÃŽ ¿f its longitudinal nature. On the other hand, the evidence suggests that anxiety difficulties can wax and wane through childhood and routate into other problems over time. Also, there is a clear impact ÃŽ ¿f parental behavior on anxiety. Both these issues lead us to broaden our model ÃŽ ¿f these difficulties beyond mere temperament. A model ÃŽ ¿f a genetic predisposition or temperament that invariably, and with little other influence, develops into adult anxiety disorders does not seem to fit the data. Instead, there is strong evidence that different parenting behaviors affect the

How to balance online school work with family demands Essay

How to balance online school work with family demands - Essay Example These days, it is quite popular (Hinkle, 2009). The advantage of distance learning is that it seeks to maintain a balance between family and education. In addition, individuals are free to pursue the fields that they feel are more suited to their interests. It also allows the students to study freely and at their own pace. It has the further benefit of costing less (Zimmerman, pp. 39-41). However, there are always problems associated with time management. Most of the individuals who are studying online are mature adults who have the responsibility of the household and various family demands. Therefore, there is an inherent challenge associated with managing both things at the same time. A study done in United Kingdom showed that adults have faced problems trying to balance online education with the demands of family and household chores (Wheeler, pp.32). Pursuing education is an amazing experience; however, it requires a lot of time and patience. It can be quite exhausting doing all the cooking, cleaning, looking after children, and studying as well. On a personal level, I have faced numerous difficulties because my family demands came in the way of my studies. One such example was when I had to submit a paper, and suddenly one of my children fell ill. Now child requires my constant attention, and mostly I put him to sleep while I am studying. However, the paper was extremely lengthy and my child was constantly crying. A crying child in hands while typing away on the laptop is an extremely excruciating experience. A person has to think of the child first, while there is a constant nagging at the back of the mind that there is a lot of work to be done, which may include laundry, ironing, cooking, and obviously studying. Another worrisome thought is also to protect the electronic gadget from the child’s hands. The child demanded constant attention, and even when I took him to the doctor, I had to wait quite a lot. Buying medicines, rushing home, forcing th e medicine down the child’s throat, and finally putting him to sleep took away all my energy. Quite obviously, I submitted my paper late and I had to deal with many issues. My other child is an avid sportsperson. He participates in softball and basketball. I have to manage driving him around to his games and sitting to cheer him on during these games. He expects me to be there with him for all the games and he ends up getting hurt if I even talk about missing one game. Caught up in work and extended family issues, I could not prepare properly for an exam that was coming up. The final match of my son’s basketball team had to be one day before the exam. Well, that is my fate, I guess. Sitting with books, with my other child on the next seat constantly tugging my hand for drinks and popcorn, and trying to cheer my child was an extremely agonizing experience. The question was to study or not to study. Although I managed to secure good marks in the exams, but it did require a night of staying up to study, already exhausted from the day. Therefore, the point of sharing my personal experiences was that although distance learning has made me return to education, it is still not as convenient as people might think it is. However, quite a lot of time has passed since I have been pursuing online education, and I love almost every minute of it. On weekends usually, I cook quite a lot of food and deep freeze it. In addition, I do the laundry and

Twitter Emerges as a Digital Marketing Tool Case Study

Twitter Emerges as a Digital Marketing Tool - Case Study Example Thousands of businesses in the United States are using tweeting as part of their marketing strategy. A survey revealed that over 88% of businesses in the U.S tweet messages to their customer base. The online connectivity of smartphones has made it easier than ever to follow tweets in real time. Key Marketing Issues Digital Media – consumers have become more accustomed to receiving their daily news through electronic media channels. One of the fastest growing media channels are social networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Electronic Marketing – Electronic marketing has become more popular than ever in the 21 century. In 2011 the global online advertising industry generated $71 billion in revenues (Plunkett Research). Social network – Social networks have grown in popularity during the past few years. Facebook is the industry leader with over 845 million users (Facebook). Twitter has become more popular among business owners due to its ability to receive followers without having the need of being in the network of friends. Personal Case Analysis The case study showed the growing tendency of people being in love with social network websites. The interesting thing about the article was that it showed how companies are taking advantage of this lifestyle change among consumers. I think that companies should use Twitter because it is a cost effective way to market to a growing population of consumers that use the services of Twitter on a daily basis. People in the Unites States have become addicted to their smartphones. These devices can be used by people to follow tweets in real time from any location. Interactivity is a feature that brings a lot of excitement to consumers. Case Questions 1) Why is Twitter appealing to companies? Twitter is very appealing to companies because it provides firms with a cost effective marketing medium that can be used to reach thousands of customers instantly. Advertising on Twitter is very cheap in comparison with the advertising costs of traditional media channels such as television and radio. The size of the Twitter population is another attractive feature of the website. There are over 175 million users of Twitter (Carlson). Twitter gives companies the ability to interact with its users. The use of Twitter can be very effective to target younger buyers between the ages of 18 and 35 years of age. 2) How can Twitter be used to strengthen customer relationships and to gather customer feedback? Twitter is a great website because it connects people and businesses with each other. Customers that are interested in the products or services of a company can follow the latest company news using Twitter. Customer relationships can be reinforced by creating loyalty programs in Twitter that allow customers to receive special deals through the twitter feeds. Twitter can also be used as a tool to collect secondary data. â€Å"Secondary data is the data that have been already collected by and readily av ailable from other sources† (Managementstudyguide). 3) What are some of the drawbacks of using Twitter as a marketing tool? Twitter can be a very effective marketing tool that can be implemented at a low cost, but there are certain drawbacks associated with its use. The use of Twitter for marketing purposes is limited to the reach of the medium. A lot of people are not users of social media websites. Other channels such as television and the written press have greater reach than Twitter. The use of Twitter is not as popular among senior citizens as it is among teenagers. Using Twitter as a sole marketing strategy does not let companies achieve adequate penetration among all demographic groups. Another drawback of the use of Twitter

The Effect of WWII on the Visual Arts Essay Example for Free

The Effect of WWII on the Visual Arts Essay The global trauma of World War II, particularly the events that took place at Auschwitz and Hiroshima, caused dramatic changes in the visual arts. New ideas and criticisms of culture and society had come about, and artists were respondingconsciously and unconsciouslyto the war. New ideas about the arts had emerged shortly after the war. The long-standing notion that the arts make society more civilized and raise people above their instincts of fear and violence was proven untrue. Consequently, arts very right to exist came into question. In 1949, Theodor Adorno stated in his essay, Cultural Criticism and Society, that to go on writing poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric. He argued that new rules and conventions for art must be found and the old ones must be abandoned. One major attempt in creating these new rules and conventions is when arts main concern shifted from object-making to performativity. Jackson Pollock was among the first to make this transition. With his all-over drip paintings of the late 1940s, he had successfully liberated painting into becoming a kind of performance. His process has been described as a kind of dance with the canvas and paint. When examined closely, the viewer can trace the first marks made to the very last ones. In response to the controversy surrounding his method of painting, Pollock stated that New needs need new techniquesthe modern painter cannot express this age, the airplane, the atom bomb, the radio, in the old forms of the Renaissance or of any other past culture. His mention of the atom bomb proves that Pollocks method was a kind of response to the trauma of WWII. An artist as equally performative as Pollock was Lucio Fontana. In works such as Concetto Spaziale, Fontana attacks the surface of the canvas, thereby focusing the viewers attention on art-making as an action. This could also be seen as a literal attack on the medium of painting. In the Manifesto Blanco, Fontana stated that We live in the mechanical age. Painted canvas and upright plaster no longer have a reason to exist. This was a proclamation of his goal to create spatial art, art that is more engaged with technology. Similar to Fontanas attacks on the canvas, Shozo Shimamoto would repeatedly puncture the painting surfaces of his works. He also experimented with smashing bottles filled with paint onto the canvas. Shimamoto was a member of the Gutai Art Association, a group founded in Osaka, Japan which explored new areas of perfomativity and innovated the proto-happening. These early performative artists were not consciously addressing the trauma of the war in their art, but this shift to performativity suggests an unconscious response to it. In contrast, other artists were responding very consciously to what had happened during the war. The Nouveaux Rà ©alistes in France were the first to do this. Artists that belonged to this group included Arman,Yves Klein, Daniel Spoerri, Joseph Beuys, and Jean Tinguely. These artists stayed within the Bourgeois paradigm of art, but their art was clearly a conscious response to Auschwitz and Hiroshima, since many of the titles of their artwork make direct references to these events. Yves Klein, for example, named one of his monochrome IKBs Hiroshima, a negative anthropometric painting showing dead bodies after the nuclear attack. Arman did many pieces that dealt with Auschwitz by showing negative presentations of Nazi victims through accumulations of their belongings. In the early sixties, Arman became more performative with his combustion pieces, probably an influence from the Happening which started taking place in New York around 1959. The happening brought about one of the most important changes when the audience was made to play a major role in the outcome of the piece. A much more significant movement than the Happening, however, was Fluxus, an international movement consisting of many different kinds of artists from many different ethnicities. It is practically impossible to combine all Fluxus artists into a single group, since their art ranges from anti-expressionist to hyper-expressionist, political to not political at all. Whereas Happenings were unconscious of their politics, some Fluxus artist created highly political art. Those in favor of anti-expressionism were following the example of John Cage, while another tendency, inspired by the Living Theater, created highly expressive art. The struggle with World  War II was fully conscious with the Living Theater, which, like the Happening, would involve audience participation. Fluxus was the alternative to Pop art, which was taking place at the same time. Though both consciously addressed the war, Pop art sometimes seemed to glorifyor bring attention tothe American way of life after the war, as in James Rosenquists F-111. His most famous antiwar painting, F-111 combines images of a fighter plane, a nuclear bomb, and a little girl sitting under a hair dryer. Such art can be seen as a reflection of the Wests collective response to Auschwitz and Hiroshima; they denied that it had to do with capitalism, did not agree with the idea of Instrumental Reason, and were, on the whole, optimistic, still enjoying life after the war. In conclusion, following the tragedy of World War II, art has never been the same. Artists realized that they could no longer continue making art in the same way that they did before the war, acting as if nothing had happened. Performativity and politicized art were perhaps the most significant of these changes. Whether unconscious or conscious, performative or not, responses to the horrific events of Auschwitz and Hiroshima can be seen in many postwar art, and the trauma of these two events can be seen even in the art of today.

Managerial Effectiveness In Indian Organizations Management Essay

Managerial Effectiveness In Indian Organizations Management Essay Purpose- This paper seeks to explore the dimensions of managerial effectiveness within the context of Indian organization and to analyze the impact of experience and level of manager (senior, middle, junior) on their overall effectiveness, and also to compare the female and male counterparts. Design/Methodology/ approach- This study based on Motts scale to explore the dimensions of managerial effectiveness adopted by managers while discharging their functions and responsibilities. The scale is used to analyze overall effectiveness and also subsets of effectiveness i.e. productivity (three items), flexibility (three items), and adaptability (two items). Findings- Results of study presents a pattern of relationship between dimensions of managerial effectiveness within the context of Indian organization. Practical implications- Study through its empirical evidences provide a clear picture of managerial effectiveness perception of Indian managers at different level and further help managers to improve his/her managerial performance. Originality/ Value- The study enrich the existing literature and theories of managerial effectiveness and provide understanding of the issue of managerial effectiveness in Indian organization. Keywords- Managerial effectiveness, Indian organization, productivity, adaptability, flexibility, responsiveness, resources. Paper Type- research paper. Introduction With Increasing cut throat competition and dynamic business environment around the globe Organizations require a team of effective managers to run the day to day operations. Managers play significant role in the development, formulation, and execution of the organizations long as well as short term strategies that determines the organizations success. As mentioned by the Peter F. Drucker; Management is a dynamic, life giving element in every business; without it the resources cannot be converted into high production. There are many attributes which are the necessities of time and critical to delivering improved results, effective operations, and programs (Kotter, 1995; Hacker and Washington, 2003). In the ever changing business environment and with increased dependency of business on information technology, managers are required to sort-out new ways to facilitate production and sustainable growth of self as well as of the organization. Regardless of its increasing importance, the fie ld of managerial effectiveness has been neglected as compared to other issues of management (Willcocks, 1992). So it is the need of the hour to study managerial effectiveness in a new dimension and dynamic business environment. Managerial Effectiveness The concept of managerial effectiveness has always been a big issue of concern for academicians, scholars and practitioners. The problem is mostly attributed to the presence of a great deal of misunderstanding and vagueness regarding What is Effectiveness? and who is an effective manager? (Brodie and Bennett, 1979, p.14). Due to its complex nature and vast sphere, in literature managerial effectiveness has been defined in different ways (Langford, 1979). Brodie and Benett (1979, p.14) defined it as, results and consequences, bringing about effects, in relation to purpose, and giving validity to particular activities. Reddin (1974) explained managerial effectiveness as the degree to which managers achieve the output requirements corresponding to their respective positions. In other words it is the act of fulfilling multiple expectations rather than optimizing one (Kirchoff, 1977), while Drucker (1988) termed effectiveness as the foundation of success. Boyatzis (1982, p. 35) underlined effectiveness as qualities, intrinsic abilities or personality strengths of an individual. Mintzberg (1973, p.24) defined effective manager as one who identifies the need to understand the functions and uses the available resources to carry out managerial functions. Rastogi and Dave (2004) explained effectiveness as something a manager generates from a situation by managing it appropriately, and thereby achieving the targets in every sphere of the organization. Managers have many resources and authorities at their disposal and the performance of any organization is largely dependent on how well these resources have been utilized (Rastogi and Dave, 2004). So, the ability of the managers and the techniques to increase their degree of effectiveness is becoming important day by day (Analoui, 1997). Why organizations need effective and skilled executives? because effectiveness is a key component which enables an executive for effectual operation and delivery of complex initiatives (Analoui et al. 2010). Effective managers also provide leadership to the business and help in achieving core objectives of the organization. Drucker (1967, p.1) explained that an executive is expected to get the right things done and this is simply saying that he is expected to be effective. So from the available literature study it can be concluded that there have been as many explanations as there are researchers in the field, and there is not a single clear cut definition for managerial effectiveness, which could be single handedly applied in every aspect of management. Comprehensive review of literature reveals the three important perspectives of research areas of the managerial effectiveness are Conventional Perspective, Organizational level proficiency based perspective and individual level competency based perspective. Conventional approach stresses the ability to set and achieve goals (Bartol and Martin, 1991, p.11) and explains that it is the managerial effectiveness which is responsible for organizational effectiveness. The organizational level proficiency based theory explains that internal and external factors have influence on long term future orientation of the organizations. Organizations mission, vision, and strategic plan formulation plays vital role in achieving future goals. This approach further divulges that any organization incorporates the internal resources i.e. man, material, money, machinery, know-how and the external surroundings as a system to accomplish tactical intent. The individual competency approach focuses upon the in dividuals rather than the association of external actors and puts stress on the enhancement of convenient management skills and tactics. Katz (1974) allied managers job with three major dimensions-technical, conceptual, and human. So it can be said that the efficiency of any organization can be amplified by the effective union of all the above three dimensions. Analoui (1995, 1997, 1999, and 2007) proposed following eight parameters (i.e. Managerial perception; The need for managerial skills; Organizational criteria; Motivation; Degree of demands and constraints; Presence of choices and opportunities; Nature of intra- and inter-organizational relationships; and Dominant managerial philosophy) of managerial effectiveness and explored that personal, organizational and environmental contextual factors influenced these parameters significantly. Mott (1971) also developed an instrument to measure managerial effectiveness and identified productivity, adaptability, flexibility as the dimension of managerial effectiveness, while in another study, Jain (1999) has recognized three dimensions of executive effectiveness namely fu nctional, interpersonal, and personal effectiveness. Drucker (2006) further identified the following eight factors : need identification, familiarity with organization culture and climate, development of action plans, responsiveness towards decisions, effective communication, taking advantage on opportunity, productive meetings and, team work, which are very common and enables the executive with required content knowledge and also helps him in translation of this knowledge into advantageous output. Sen and Saxsena (1999) enrich the list by adding i.e. do right things; focus on self contribution; time handling; motivational aspect; management of change; value system and ethics; as some important traits of an effective manager. In another study, Bao (2009) explored that provisions of necessary resources, appropriate staffing, training, and setting achievable goals are the factors that are able to promote managerial effectiveness. Stewart (1991, p.102) pointed that demand, constraints, and available choices of jobs are three important ele ments that are required in order to be an effective manager. The above discussion suggests that different researchers have highlighted different dimensions and aspects of managerial effectiveness and also suggests mapping of the degree of effectiveness of any individual basis not only on his skills, knowledge and personal competencies but also on his interpersonal interactions and the ways how he manages his team. Scope of the study Managers have been defined as those who organize business activities and every organization depends on managers. With growing competition, boom in information technology and availability of substitute products and services, job of a manager has become very complex and important. Not only the organization but also the development of any nation depends upon the effectiveness and contribution of its people. India is being a rapidly growing country and with different dynamic market forces (i.e. science and technical breakthrough, economical growth, infrastructure development, flow of FDI, Global Mergers and acquisition of firms etc.) increasing in number and tendency, needs organizations equipped with effective and efficient managers who can optimally utilize the available resources, and can contribute in the national development. So, it is very important to explore the perception of Indian managers towards different dimensions of managerial effectiveness. Objectives and Aims of Study Main objective of this paper is: To explore the perception of managers towards dimensions of managerial effectiveness. To investigate the managerial effectiveness perception of managers at different level (senior level, middle level, and junior level) To compare managerial effectiveness perception of male and female managers in Indian organization. Research Methodology Sample, Size and Instrument The study targeted all level of managers (senior, middle, and junior level) in large public and private sector companies in India and based on primary data. A survey was carried by means of a self administered and open ended scale developed and validated by Mott (1971). The scale basically divided in to three subscales (productivity, adaptability, and flexibility) consisting of eight items. The Cronbach alpha for the present scale is .78 as overall effectiveness scale. After establishing rapport, the subjects are asked to tick mark his or her choice against any of the five statements in each set. Scoring for the scale was done manually after getting response. There is no right or wrong answer to the statements or items. A total 63 response collected from 16 Indian (Service and manufacturing both) organizations (Details given in Table I). After collection of response data was initially administered by using Factor analysis, average and means. Factor analysis was used to reduce the dimensions of the factors and also to explain the variance in the observed variables in terms of latent factors (Kundu, 2003). Finally mean of the overall scale used to interpret managerial effectiveness with experience, position held by executive. Profile of Respondents: Position, Gender and Age A large fraction (Table II) of the respondent were male (N=52; 82.5%) and female comprise small fraction (N=11; 17.5%). Age profile of respondent varies with the youngest manager at 24 and oldest executive at 57 years old with average age of 40 years. All the respondents have some experience of work which varies between a range of 1 year to 34 years and with an average value of 16 years of experience. Most of the respondent (N=30) held senior level position, small portion (N=10) held junior level position and remaining (N=23) belongs to the middle level position. Analysis and Results Since the objective of this study is to find out the dimensions of managerial effectiveness. To achieve this, factor analysis has been used for data analysis. Before employing factor analysis data was examined whether the size of sample is adequate to run factor analysis and outputs shows that the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO=.703) value is near to 1 and indicates that the patterns of correlations are condensed. Bartletts test of sphericity with approximated chi square value 91.068 and with 28 degree of freedom, which is significant at the 0.05 level and held the factor analysis appropriate. A total of 8 variables regarding perception of managerial effectiveness were subjected to principal component analysis with varimax rotation by using the factors with eigen value more than 1.00 were retained. Harman (1976) indicated that factors with Loading score greater 0.29 at the 0.05 level were significant but in this study the factors having loading greater than 0.4 were considered and included to define the factor. Factor analysis has extracted a good amount of variance with values of communalities vary from 0.465 to 0.838. Three factors were extracted on the basis of eigen value criterion more than 1 (ranging from 1.058 to 2.790) and explaining 63.334% of variance. Table III gives rotated loading of variables for extracted three factors, Eigen value, and variance explained by each factors. At last on the basis of results from statistical analysis (Table III) of primary data a total of three factors are extracted and explained hereunder. Productivity This is first factor which shows highest value of variance and measure the productivity in terms of physical output of product and service delivered. This factor also includes using new method of production for capacity enhancement, optimum and efficient utilization of resources, and problem anticipation. Adaptability Second important factor with variance value 15.237% includes the variables i.e. acceptance of new system design, and adjustment to new work situation. Quality Flexibility The last one includes two variables each for quality and flexibility and measure the perception of employees towards work quality, and coping with new emergencies rapidly and successfully. Table IV shows the pattern of correlation between the items/variables measured reveals the correlation among eight items/variables used in the study. It can be observed that variable 6 (acceptance of change) has highest correlation with Variable 7 (adjustment to new situation) with a correlation coefficient of .450 (p> .01) followed by variable 1 (productivity) with variable 5 (change management). Table further reveals that highest correlation is observed among variable 2 (quality) and variable 8 (damage control) with a value of .405 and followed by variable 1 (productivity) and variable 4 (problem solving) and further with variable 4 and variable 5. Overall correlation matrix reveals the association among variables is statically significant. Table V shows the mean value of overall managerial perception of managers held different position and having varying work experience. It shows mangers at senior level (with mean value 3.42) have significant in compare to junior level (with mean value 3.06) but very little low than managers at middle level (mean value 3.5). The overall mean value of scale is (with mean value 3.40) very near to mean value of senior managers but significantly differ in the case of junior level managers. Their managerial perception lies below the average score. Managers at middle level have larger value than total mean value of overall scale and they also show greater perception than both other levels. But it gives contrary results with increasing work experience, from junior to middle level it increases but from middle to senior level it falls again. Results also show that mean value (3.42) of overall perception of managerial effectiveness remains above from mean value of total sample (3.40) and the mea n value of male participants (3.36) remains little somewhat lower than mean value of total sample (3.40). Average work experience of male (26) and female (9) participant support that it has no a significant impact on overall managerial perception. Discussion This study provides an overview of managerial (senior, middle, and junior level) effectiveness perception. A scale consisting of subscale (productivity, adaptability, and flexibility) and eight variables used to get responses from the sample. Mott (1971) grouped these eight variables under three factors i.e. productivity (three items/variables production output, optimum utilization of resources, and adoption of new method of production), adaptability (three items/variables i.e. quality, problem anticipation, and acceptance of changes) and flexibility (it includes two items/variables adjustment to new situation and cope with emergencies readily and successfully). Luthans et al. (1988) in his study also explained the same variable and describe a model of managerial effectiveness. Results of present study reveals the grouping of variables under the factors, factor analysis sorted the three important factor which are explained as productivity (including four items/ variables production output, optimum utilization of resources, and problem anticipation, and adoption of new method of production) As result shown in Table III, productivity has the maximum variance with 34.881% it shows that managerial productivity is highly related with managerial effectiveness and it is measured by the extent of their output (Laufer and Jenkins 1984; Reddin 1970; Campbell et al. 1970). Analoui (1997) explained that managerial effectiveness is depends on the extent of output of productivity. Dayal also (1984) in his study identified the developing capability of employees as an important dimension; the present study also identified the efficiency of employees as important variable for managerial effectiveness. Productivity of employees in this study includes items i.e. output of pro ducts and services, optimum utilization, problem anticipation and adoption of new method for production, these all variables can be concluded under competence of mangers and competence is identified by Gupta (1996) as one of significant dimensions of managerial effectiveness. Labbaf et al. (1996) referred competence as key stone of managerial effectiveness and also mean for improved organizational performance and effectiveness, and this competence further considered to reiterate the overall capability of management. Another important dimension of managerial importance which appeared from the study is the adaptability (includes two items i.e. acceptance of changes, adjustment to new situation) and it shows some contrasting results from the literature (Mott 1971: Chauhan et al. 2005; Luthans et al.1988) and only two variable shows significant rotation loading (0.6978, 0.907) with factor two adaptability with a variance of 15.237%. The third factor which evolved from the factor analysis has been named as quality concern and responsiveness and include two variable i.e. quality of services and products, and cope with new emergencies readily and successfully with a variance value of 13.226%. The important findings from the study are that this study reassembles the variables/items of original scale with significant alpha value and correlation pattern for perception of managerial effectiveness. The study also (table V) found that effectiveness perception has little significant effect of work experience and position held and increases with the experience. Mean value for overall effectiveness increases from junior level (3.06) to middle level (3.5) and again falls from middle to senior level (3.42). These findings are in tune with Sriastva and Kumar (1984) who explained that junior level executive are less effective than middle level executive. The study also found that overall managerial effectiveness of female managers (mean value 3.42) is more than their male counterpart (mean value 3.36) and their overall effectiveness is also greater than the average effectiveness of the whole sample (with mean value 3.40) and support the view of Schwartz (1992) that if a company attrac t, promote, reward and values women it will speaks directly and also provide a evidence for equal opportunity on employment. Overall mean value for the effectiveness remains close to the senior level and middle level and it proves that degree of effectiveness raises with respect to the position of managers in the hierarchy of the organization. Results further explain the if all variables are considered independently than Variable like adjustment to new situation, quality, and optimum utilization of resources (Table III) shows the higher loading value (0.8 Conclusion and implications The present study aimed to explore the dimensions of managerial effectiveness within the context of Indian organization and to analyze the impact of experience and level of manager (senior, middle, junior) on their overall effectiveness, and also to compare the female and male counterparts. Results of the study support the findings of other studies and suggest that effectiveness of managers at work place is generally a function of items, and importance of these items vary form manager to manger and from organization to organization, and it is, therefore assumed as the extent to which a mangers achieves. Findings from the study indicate the changed perception of managers in Indian organization from past, the reassemblies of items and emergence of responsiveness as new factor shows it clearly. Each of three factor shows a good value of Cronnbach alpha (productivity 0.78, adaptability 0.69, and quality and responsiveness .74) and validate the reassembly of items in the factors i.e. productivity, adaptability, and quality and responsiveness. Furthermore, the study reveals that there is a clear indication that female managers are more effective as compared to their male counterparts and hence strives for increased number of female managers in Indian organization at all level. Another important finding of the study is that effectiveness is not associated with the age of mangers (it increases from junior to middle and again fall form middle to senior level). In case of junior manager the study support that training and development programs can play significant role to raise their effectiveness. On the basis of review of referred literature and empirical evidence from the study it is concluded that managerial effectiveness can be referred as continuous improvement of the output and it plays an important role in overall organizational effectiveness. 9. Scope for Future Research The present is study is based on the limited number of subjects and targeted organization, and also restricted to geographical boundaries. Further research can be done with large sample size and with more number of organizations. One more important aspect untouched by the study is the moderators and mediators of managerial effectiveness; these can be studies within same context with their degree of influence on effectiveness. Many scholars devised the items to measure the effectiveness (i.e. Analoui, Gupta, Dhar) but present study based on Mott scale. More research can be done with other available parameters also.

Swot Analysis Of China Telecom Marketing Essay

Swot Analysis Of China Telecom Marketing Essay In this chapter, we will perform SWOT analysis to each company mainly based on their annual reports, as well as forecast their future trends and external environments development in the coming years through their future strategies and news. SWOT summarizes the key issues from the business environment and the strategic capability of an organization that are most likely to impact on strategy development. This can also be useful as a basis against which to generate strategic options and assess future course of action. (Johnson, G.2008) Strengths: characteristics of the business, or project team that give it an advantage over others Weaknesses (or Limitations): are characteristics that place the team at a disadvantage relative to others Opportunities: external chances to improve performance (e.g. make greater profits) in the environment Threats: external elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project 6.1 SWOT analysis of China Telecom Strengths Absolutely leading broadband resources and network infrastructure in China. They have very strong advantages in fixed communication field  [1]  . Strong abilities in the development of new business because their affluent network resources and various business types. The first telecommunications operator in China to publish Cloud computing strategy and solutions  [2]  . To innovated the data traffic marketing model, through strengthening sales and marketing to enhance customers experience and cultivating users habit of usage to increase data revenue  [3]  . They will strive to enhance their strengths in innovation, service, efficient centralisation and operation management, and take more solid steps towards the goal of being a world-class integrated information service provider so as to create more value for shareholders  [4]  . China Telecom owns a great mount of customers in China, and they have good customer relationship. With 77 million wireline broadband subscribers and 126 million mobile subscribers  [5]  , they have a great advantage in the market share. China Telecom has advanced service quality; they build the Group Customer Service Center to supply more perfect services to their customers  [6]  . Weaknesses As a state-run company, it has a heavy social responsibility. There are more than 400 thousands employers working in this company, and the company also have a duty to help some backward areas build communication networks, as well as do investment in the basic network facilities. So the companys operation cost is very high  [7]  . Complex organization structure of the company leading to their market reaction speed is relatively slow, and the cost of innovation is high  [8]  . The starting point of Chinese new network development is lower than the European countries. The channel of distribution is weak because of the limitation of state policies and profession  [9]  . The companys strategy only focus on the current operation, the lack of long-term strategy and strategic planning talents make the company be weak in the overall situation  [10]  . The recently network infrastructure cannot supply specific services to customers because China Telecom has advanced network infrastructure which are mostly used to meet the demand of general service, not based on the actual market demands. Opportunities In 2011, Chinas mobile telecommunications market has gradually migrated from 2G to 3G services. With accelerated growth in 3G services, the market potential was huge  [11]  . China has launched its own domestic 3G mobile technology standard TD-SCDMA, which will challenge CDMA2000 and W-CDMA  [12]  . Government determination to invest in Chinas telecommunications industry ensuring that it becomes innovative  [13]  . With 1.3 billion citizens, the size of the telecom markets is the biggest. China is actively expending its political and economic ties with major emerging markets, which contribute China Telecoms Strategic cooperation all over the world  [14]  . At present, 3G service and wireline broadband service are still in a period of high growth. The commercialization of new services such as mobile Internet, Cloud computing and Internet of Things is further accelerating, which will open up a new area for the Companys development  [15]  . Threats Since 2010, the governments investment in 3G will be reduced gradually, and the development of the telecom industry will be driven mainly by consumption  [16]  . In recent years, a lot of foreign companies solicit telecom talents in China by high-salary or high-welfare policy. As a result, the brain drains of China Telecom become serious  [17]  . In China, there are relatively strict limitation by industry policies in the aspect of business license, Internet services and telecom fees etc. In the present China telecom market, the control of inequality has restricted the development of China telecom  [18]  . The telecom market is becoming saturate and competition between domestic telecom companies become more intense  [19]  . The integration of the information industry and intensifying market competition in China. 6.2 SWOT analysis of Royal KPN Strengths KPN is ranked amongst the most sustainable European telecommunications companies for the second year in a row  [20]  . The number of households that KPN can serve with fiber services has grown sharply  [21]  . Strong Operational Performance in terms of telephony services  [22]  . The strong KPN brand. KPN has a number of other consumer brands in different countries, because they have a varied customer base which calls for a suitable range of products and services. KPN will strengthen their market positions in the Netherlands by an enhanced focus on product and service quality, a more efficient organization and a tighter policy on costs. KPN will create a nimble organization by simplifying the organizational structure and by offering a clearer set of products and services in both the business and consumer markets in the Netherlands. KPN aim to increase the customer base for fixed and mobile telephony and see particularly good opportunities for the fiber network. They will continue their Mobile International Challenger strategy in the coming years. Weaknesses Business market size declining due to price pressure, continued rationalization and macroeconomic impact  [23]  . Concentrated revenues from Netherlands, with other geographies contributing very less in terms of profits  [24]  . Customers lose in traditional mobile service because of new Internet communication services  [25]  . Lost market share to competitors in the mobile sector due to what customers perceive to be high prices and inflexible service packages  [26]  . Market reaction speed is relatively slow, leading to a downtrend in the operation revenue  [27]  . Opportunities Strategic acquisitions- opportunities across the globe, and the company said that KPN will continue to explore all strategic options  [28]  . Increasing demand for the more profitable 3G services, variety of 3G services also supply more broad development space to KPN. 4Gs springing up request the support of a sustained investment  [29]  . The sharp rise in mobile internet usage, as is data usage, the telecom and ICT landscape is continuously developing  [30]  . The growing range of new and profitable services based on internet protocol  [31]  . Technological opportunities from Smartphone, tablets, fiber and cloud services  [32]  . Threats Competitive pressures from its more global competitors. The European local telecom markets tend to saturate. Regulatory issues across Europe. Due to MTA (Matanuska Telephone Association) impact, the regulation about Roaming and Spectrum may lower KPNs growth in ARPU  [33]  . Increasingly substitute text messages or voice calls with instant messaging or voice over internet protocol services such as Skype  [34]  . European debt crisis and looming recession impact the companys business and corporate market, lead to consumer confidence declining. NMA (National Media Association) starts an investigation regarding possible collusion of mobile operators on propositions in the mobile market. Regulator OPTA announces to put KPN on close supervision further to alleged violations of obligations based on the Telecommunication Act  [35]  . http://wenku.baidu.com/view/7cef4a070740be1e650e9af6.html à §Ã‚ ²Ã‚ ¾Ãƒ §Ã‚ ²Ã‚ ¾ 6.3 SWOT analysis of Deutsche Telekom Strengths The widely basic network facilities across all over the Europe and strategic partnerships  [36]  . Bid amount of customers with high loyalty and upscale markets. A leading Internet service provider with more than 25 million broadband subscribers and strong performance of broadband services  [37]  . Absolutely leading technology advantage in telecom industry and comprehensive business services. It is placing a wide range of products and services in the Telekom cloud  [38]  . The global famous brand with broad market distribution and their business services provide all over the world  [39]  . They will continue to invest in key growth areas despite unfavorable regulation. They are building modern broadband networks both wireless and wireline, which makes them a major contributor to the online society. They are focusing on innovation- with some areas, such as mobile internet and cloud computing, already generating substantial revenues  [40]  . They will be investing in modernizing the network and continuing their efforts to establish T-Mobile as the carrier that offers customers the best value for money. Weaknesses High operate pressure from the companys high debt  [41]  . Fast expand lead to the companys scale is too bid, as well as the market reaction speed is relatively slow. Relatively lower service quality than the other leading telecom companies in Europe  [42]  . The cost of management is too high because of the corporate merger and acquisition in recent years  [43]  . Competition from other European and global operators means little market share growth. The falling fix-line business markets make a big loss in companys revenue  [44]  . Limited presence in Asian markets  [45]  . Opportunities Germany is the largest national economy in Europe and the consumption level is high  [46]  . The fact means that Deutsche Telekom has a comfortable development environment and business markets. Germany has Europes largest telecom market, with average penetration in the broadband and mobile sectors  [47]  . High data volumes, a booming smart phone market and customer demand for high-speed networks in local market  [48]  . Corporate merger and acquisitions over the world. Increasing demand for the 3G services and new networks technologies such as 4G and mobile internet usage  [49]  . Positive outlook for cloud computing. According to experts, in 2020 many companies will no longer have their own servers and instead switch to cloud  [50]  . The development of modern wireless technologies highlights their original technical advantages  [51]  . Threats Government intervention. Government intervention could put downside pressure on the stock and increase political risk. Unfavorable regulation and the imposition of special taxes in some countries in Southern and Eastern Europe  [52]  . Difficult economic situation in Europe as well as the huge challenges that Deutsche Telekom are facing in telecom industry- continuing intense competition in their core business with network connections. Depression of European telecom industry and the local market tend to saturate. The shortage of talent in Germanys telecom industry  [53]  . Users demand for the service quality is becoming higher and higher  [54]  . Increasingly substitute network services threatened the traditional business. 6.4 Conclusion In concluding, we can see from the SWOT analysis, China Telecom is one of the worlds largest telecom provider due to the Chinas huge population and potential market, so the companys advanced technology, innovation ability, as well as 3Gs spring up in China will bring a huge business value to China Telecom. This is meaning the same huge potential investment opportunity for the investor. It will be a very good period to invest in China Telecom. Besides, Mobile Internet, Cloud computing and Internet of Things will open up a new area for the Companys development. That is all the good news that brings investors more benefits from their investment. But Chinas telecom business is immature relatively because the late start and China Telecom as a state-run company has a heavy social responsibility and limited develop environment. For investors, invest in state-run company means they will meet more investment restriction. High operating costs, strict limitation policies and increasing competit ion will be huge challenges to China Telecom. That also means more investment risk for investors. According to the chairman of China Telecom, Wang Xiaochus report in 2012, China Telecom is aiming to be the world-class integrated information service provider. To enhance their strengths in innovation, service, efficient centralization and operation management will be China Telecoms core strategy in the future. Royal KPN is a leading telecom provider of Netherlands, with strong operational performance especially in telephony services. It will be a strong advantages at present when the demand for varies of telephony services is growing rapidly. The companys stable development strategies make it be one of the most sustainable European telecommunications companies. So it can be seen that invest in KPN is favorable and safe. Then, increasing usage of new communication technologies such like mobile internet will make a lot of business opportunities to the company. Besides, Companys acquisitions and telecom services across geographies will further promote the companys development. We believe that KPN will attract more investors as the development of new communication technologies and the companys extension strategies. But the competition from other European telecom companies means limited market shares, as well as the saturated market and regulatory issues across EU, giving huge pressures to the company. Besides, global economic slowdown and debt crisis in European also make adverse influence to the companys development. For investors, the saturated telecom markets and floundering economy in Europe means they will get relatively few returns when they invest in KPN at present. And the debt crisis in EU also leads to investment risk. In the coming years, we can see from KPNs new strategy 2011-2015, they will promote the Strengthen, Simplify and Grow strategy and ambitions towards their goals in 2015, aim to give more favorable product and services to customer. Deutsche Telekom is the largest telecommunications company in Europe with widely basic network facilities and strategy partnerships. A lot of investors prefer to choose Deutsche Telekom because its global famous brand with broad market distribution and their business services are provided all over the world. High telecom technology, high loyalty customers and upscale markets make the company have strong competition powers among the increasing competitors in Europe. So invest in Deutsche Telekom is general considered to be reliably. But undue corporate merger and acquisition strategy, as well as the companys high debt make high operating pressures to the company. These adverse factors in companys operation will threat the profit returns in the investors investment. Also as an EU country, regulatory issues, strict competition and debt crisis in Europe will be big challenges to the company. In the future, Deutsche Telekom will continue to invest in key growth areas despite unfavorable r egulation. They are building modern broadband networks both wireless and wireline, which makes them a major contributor to the online society. They will also focusing on innovation with some areas, such as mobile internet and cloud computing. In general, all of the three companies have their respective advantages and disadvantages. Increasing competition, saturated markets and regulatory issues are the situations which the telecom industry must to face with. How to balance the increasing demand for new network services and the loss of traditional business will be the key points to every telecom provider. For investors, despite we can see that invest in China Telecom will have much potential due to the increasing demands for new services, but the immature telecom markets and limited develop environment in China mean higher investment risk than the other two companies. Invest in KPN and Deutsche Telekom are both considered to be safe and reliably, because their strong brands, advanced network facilities and technologies. We can see that, be contract with the adverse economic environment and regulation in Europe, KPN relatively well development strategies help them reduce many losses, and meet more business opportunities in new technical demands. Deutsche Telekoms low market reaction speed and high cost lead a higher loss in their traditional communication services. So we prefer to choose KPN for investors to do investment due to the companys sustainable competition advantages and future development strategies.

The Supermarket Essay -- Observation Essays, Descriptive Essays

The Supermarket The other day I walked into the supermarket to buy a box of Kleenex. I was faced with a variety of colors, textures, box designs, and even the option of aloe. All these features designed for a product to blow my nose into! Selection wasn't limited to the Kleenex section, either†¦I found abundance in every aisle. We seem to always want more - more choices, more variety, more time. In fact, even the word "supermarket" implies a desire for more than just a simple market. No longer just a place to buy food, the supermarket has become a place to cash a check, buy a birthday card, or pick up some tulip bulbs. These new extras are all centered on the idea of convenience. We all hope to find a few extra moments in our days, so supermarkets offer us a way to save time. I'll be the first to admit that buying three things at the same store is nicer than driving across town. Saving time can definitely be a good thing. Variety is another "more" I found on my trip to the supermarket. In the refrigerator case alone I found over thirty kinds of cheese. ...

The Witches in MacBeth Essay examples -- Macbeth essays

The Witches in MacBeth      Ã‚   Shakespeare utilized many sources of information when writing his plays.   One of his sources for the witches in MacBeth was almost certainly Reginald Scot's The Discoverie of Witchcraft, published in 1584.   In his book, Scot refuted many of the common notions regarding witches and their powers; nevertheless, the book created a basic outline for the typical witch, including physical descriptions and abilities.   The witches in MacBeth are representations of those described in Scot's book.   In the play, Shakespeare describes authentic witches in their physical appearance and behavior and MacBeth's character is made more villainous through his association with these terrifying figures.    Scot describes witches as being "women which be commonly old, lame, blearie-eied, pale, fowle, and full of wrinkles...They are leane and deformed, shewing melancholie in their faces, to the horror of all that see them" (Scot 4).   Basically, witches were thought to be poor old women with hideous appearances.   Shakespeare obviously picks up on this notion, as the witches in the play are described as ugly old hags.   During their first encounter with MacBeth and Banquo, Banquo is clearly appalled by their appearance and questions whether they are human: "What are these, / So withered, and so wild in their attire, / That look not like th' inhabitants o' th' earth" (1.3.40-42).   From Banquo's description, it seems they are poor, as evidenced by their clothing, and old and unattractive because of their vile and wrinkled appearance.   MacBeth later addresses them as "secret, black, and midnight hags" (4.1.48).   This phrase also suggests that they are old and ugl y women.   Thus, these women fit th... ...ers.   MacBeth is the only character to become closely associated with the witches.   He acts on their revelations of the future, whereas Banquo does not.   In allying MacBeth with the witches, Shakespeare makes MacBeth seem even more evil.   After all, the witches are the devil's servants, and by associating with the witches, he is indirectly associated with Satan.   Therefore, it would have been very easy for Shakespeare's audience to find him just as appalling as the witches themselves.   Thus, one of the reasons for writing the witches into the play was to make MacBeth a more despicable villain.    Works Cited Scot, Reginald. The Discoverie of Witchcraft. Montague Summers Ed. Dover Publications: New York,   Ã‚  Ã‚   1972. Shakespeare, William. MacBeth. Barbara Mowat and Paul Werstine Ed. Washington Square Press: New   Ã‚  Ã‚   York, 1992.

Marketing Plan for Emirates Airline

e- Book Series Guide to Writing a Killer Marketing Plan Written by: Steven Fisher Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Purpose of this book You are either someone that has been doing marketing as a part of your professional career or you look at as that â€Å"thing you do to promote your business and attract customers to buy†. Regardless of where you are along that spectrum, you have arrived here because you have been charged by the CEO of the startup you work for to write a marketing plan for your business or you need to create one for your own business. You need to not just write just any marketing plan.You need to write a Killer Marketing Plan. One that your boss will say â€Å"awesome, let’s get started† and which will tell all those people who have been looking for a product or service like yours for a long time. This book is written for you. Marketing plans are sexy mistresses that tempt you to include all of the coolest of campaign ideas without th e sanity of budgetary constraints. While marketing is one of the more important functions of a small business, it is one that is limited by the budgets of that business and campaigns must demonstrate a return in order to justify their existence.Since I have written more marketing plans than I care to tell you, I can share with you my knowledge and experience of what has worked almost all the time, some of the time and none of the time. While this is not the single tome on marketing plans, I hope that this helps you balance the unlimited creative ideas with the budget you have to work with and find a mix that is both innovative and results in sales. I invite you to explore as many resources out there, some of which are mentioned at the end of this book. I don’t need to wish you luck.Just get started, get out there and crush it. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Overview: Section 1: Product and Purpose Part 1 – 5 Section 2: Analysis and Competition Part 6 â₠¬â€œ 10 Section 3: Strategy and Action Part 11 – 12 Section 4: Financials in Plain English Part 13 – 15 Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Section 1: Product and Purpose Part 1: The Art of Marketing Doing marketing planning, which is captured in the marketing plan, is an essential organizational activity, considering the hostile and complex competitive business environment.Our ability and skills to perform profitable sales are affected by hundreds of internal and external factors that interact in a difficult way to evaluate. A marketing manager must understand and build an image upon these variables and their interactions, and must make rational decisions. Here is a great description of Marketing from HowStuffWorks: â€Å"According to the Dictionary of Marketing Terms, marketing is â€Å"the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods, and services to create exchanges that satisfy individual and org anizational goals. What does that mean to you?It means marketing encompasses everything you have to do in coming up with a needed product or service, making potential customers aware of it, making them want it, and then selling it to them. So then, is sales considered â€Å"marketing†? Is advertising â€Å"marketing†? Often, you’ll hear sales functions referred to as â€Å"marketing,† but really sales is just a part of the larger marketing process, as is advertising. In the olden days (back 30 or 40 years), marketing did consist primarily of sales. Rather than having marketing departments, companies had sales departments with an advertising manager and someone who did market research.Sometimes they added a promotions manager or hired an agency to handle advertising and promotions. Things began changing as some companies grew larger and larger and began offering many product lines that warranted having their own brand managers, market segment managers and many more specialized positions that addressed and mulled over the needs of their particular markets. The need for a marketing department began to be seen as a vital part of business. The marketing department also takes most of the blame if a product (or company) isn’t successful, regardless of whether or not the fault actually lies there. Logically, your CMO or VP of Marketing would be in charge of this effort but in many startups you don’t have someone in that position so it is probably you with the ultimate responsibility. So my dear reader, I am here to the rescue to guide you through very important part of executing your overall business plan. Planning your company’s marketing program is a process much like the one you go through in writing the business plan. You go through phases of: †¢ What are you going to do with the plan? †¢ What are the company’s skills, strengths and weaknesses? Goal setting based on those strengths and weaknesses â € ¢ Setting strategies for achieving your goals †¢ Executing the plan †¢ Putting the numbers together to back up your words But before you dive into the plan, you should know what type of plan you are expected to write. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Part 2: The Three Types of Marketing Plans Most of the time when you are writing the marketing plan, it is usually something that needs to stand on its own and in other cases it might need to be incorporated into another document like a business plan.So before we dive into the executive summary, it is important to understand that there are three marketing plan types with various content and sizes. Marketing Plan Type #1: The Marketing Plan for the Business Plan In a business plan, the sales and marketing section as part and parcel to the business plan, which is true, but it is not the entire picture. The business plan essentially holds the executive summary and key components, graphics and financials that suppo rt the greater business plan. This means that the data came from somewhere †¢ Page Range: Usually 3-6 Pages Marketing Plan Type #2: The Strategic Marketing PlanHere is a great description of the Strategic version of the Marketing Plan from Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Oakville, Canada: At the strategic marketing plan level, marketers are scanning the environment, pondering what is happening and looking for emerging or robust market segments which they could consider as target markets. The outcomes of such plans are clearly identified target markets and the strategies which will meet their needs, as identified in our analysis. Marketing plan objectives are typically on the level of sales, profit, return on investment or, for the larger firm, market share. Page Range: Usually 3-6 Pages Marketing Plan Type #3: The Tactical Marketing Plan Here is another great description of the Strategic version of the Marketing Plan from Sheridan College Insti tute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Oakville, Canada: Tactical plans, in contrast, presume the target market and marketing strategy as a given and don’t look much at the external environment. They deal with issues such as raising awareness or getting more returning customers. The main way to tell at which level you are working is whether your target market is a given or not.If you are scanning the environment, you are seeking new target markets or looking for subtle changes in your existing target markets; you are preparing a Marketing Plan. If however, you start from the premise that you know exactly who your target Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC market is, you would then develop a range of tactics to reach them; this is a Tactical Plan. Many people mistakenly operate at the tactical level when they should be at the strategic level. For instance, suppose your product sales were poor, so you came up with a plan to advertise more. The result was an even f aster decline in sales.Why? People found even faster that your product was terrible. Had a strategic marketing plan been developed, we would have determined what consumers want, compared those desires to our product and made the appropriate modifications. †¢ Page Range: Usually 10 – â€Å"As many as people want to read† Pages Sometimes it is better to start big and widdle your way down There are different schools of thought on this one. The first being to write the tactical version with everything and then extract information to create the strategic and narrow further for inclusion in a business plan.The second is to write the strategic one first to focus your thoughts and have one person tighten it up for the business plan and a team expand on it so the tactical issues are worked out. This can be a problem because your financial projections might not be totally accurate and your plan will fail. I would offer taking the tactical plan and mapping out the sections w ith the abstracts so that all the issues are addressed, then write the strategic so there is a plan that others outside of marketing can digest and only when it is approved should it be tuned up and included in a business plan.Now you know so let’s get started Now that you understand what a marketing plan is, its purpose and the type you should write, let’s get to the heart of the matter. In Part 3 we will discuss the Killer Executive Summary. Part 3: Framing a Successful Marketing Plan In Part 2 we talked about selecting the right type of plan to fit your needs. Now that you have decided that, let’s get into the general structure of a marketing plan. Please note that this is a proposed outline and depending on your emphasis, this structure can and might change. Marketing Plan Outline Section I – Cover Page Section II – Table of ContentSection III – Situational Analysis (Market, Competitive Environment, Technological Environment, Socio-Polit ical) Section IV – Problems and Opportunities Section V – Objectives Section VI – Action Plan Section IX – Financial Data Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC So there you go, a basic outline. I know that putting all this together might seem daunting, especially if you are not a marketing and sales person. Fear not, that is what we are here for and from here on out we will break down each section and subsection in detail so you understand what information is required and how to get it.Part 4: Killer Marketing Plan Summary Everyone who begins the journey of writing a marketing plan usually looks at the Executive Summary section early on in the process. A Marketing Plan Summary is usually 1-3 pages long and the goal is to summarize the entire marketing and possibly sales plan into something digestible by new readers and those in other departments who want to get to the bottom line. Don’t despair, the hard work you put into the marketing plan will be useful to some people, not all of them.Each reader is trying to get something different and the executive summary is the best way to give them the big picture so they understand their part in this area of the operation. When is the best time to write the Marketing Plan Summary? There are many schools of thought on when to write the Marketing Plan Summary, either write it first, write it along the way or write it at the end. I take a little different of an approach in that you should try and write it at the beginning and then re write it again at the end.There are two reasons for this: Reason #1 – Writing it at the beginning can focus you and force you to answer questions in the shortest way possible. This is an interesting and valuable exercise for many because they work to answer many of the hard questions and because it forces you to get in the habit of getting to the point. Reason #2 – Writing it at the end is great because you will revisit what you wrote an d either be on track with only a little tuning required or most likely will roll your eyes and see how far off you were and really have a much easier time tuning the summary up to make it truly a killer Executive Summary.What are the overall components of the Marketing Plan Summary? Generally, you need to write 2-3 sentences MAX on each of the following sections: Company description of what you are doing Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Problem and Opportunity Your products and/or services that address the problem and take advantage of the opportunity Money You Need and What it will be used for (this is if the summary is targeted at investors) The market and your customer The Competition and Your Differentiators (how you will kick the competitor’s butt) Your current Marketing and Sales (if you have them)Your Management Team (If they are an A-Grade team this might be further up) Current Business Operations (if you are an existing business)3-5 Year financial project ions and plans (How much have you made, how much will you make and if you are looking for investment, how you will use it) – This includes a small table of numbers in addition to the 2-3 sentences. What makes a Killer Executive Summary that stands out from other businesses? There are many well written Executive Summaries out there that have never been funded or missed the market or for whatever reason never got off the ground.But what makes an Executive Summary â€Å"Killer†? Here are six key things to make it â€Å"killer†: 1. BE focused and clearly state what you do -Too many businesses, especially startups try and â€Å"boil the ocean† making you look like you are all over the place and will not be able to execute successfully. 2. BE a business that solves a problem and not a solution in search of one – You might have an awesome â€Å"widget† but if people don’t need it or companies can live without it, why are you starting a busin ess? 3. BE strong and positive with your language – This is not a time to be passive.From potential investors looking to give you money to those people willing to join the team, people must know that you †are† going to execute, not â€Å"may† or â€Å"might† do something. 4. DON’T cut and paste – Read the sections and extract the best and write a new concise section 5. DON’T use Jargon – Most industries have acronyms or buzz words that are neat and catchy. One or two that make a point are fine but if your engineer is writing the business plan, don’t get all geeky on the solution. Remember, the Executive Summary is about telling someone the time, not how the watch works.The business plan will have plenty of places for that type of content. 6. Write an â€Å"Executive Summary† of the Executive Summary – Most people have very short attention spans and once you are done the Executive Summary you should try and compose a 2-3 sentence summary at the top that gets all the critical elements in so that people really want to read the rest and get excited about reading the entire business plan. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Part 5: Understanding Your Market The Situational Analysis is designed to take a snapshot of where things stand at the time the plan is presented.The Situational Analysis is probably one of the hardest sections you will write because you are essentially laying out how the product will function in various environments and how it will be perceived in the marketplace. In many marketing plans, the first section could be the product analysis. If you already have existing products/services you should start with this so that you provide a â€Å"lay of the land† for readers not familiar with where you are at with your current product(s) and/or service(s).That section covers the product attributes, current pricing, current distribution and services offered. This should be about a page or two in length. For the purposes of this Marketing Plan series we will assume you are a new company and dive straight into defining the market. That is why the first part of the situational analysis is called the â€Å"Market Analysis†. This subsection of the situation analysis section should be about two to four pages in length and provides actionable information on selling to target buyers and stimulating purchases or usage by the ultimate end users.Key questions answered in this subsection include: description of target buyers or end users in demographic, psychographic, and lifestyle terms target buyer/end user wants, needs, attitudes, and perceptions of category products and services where target buyers/end users are located and how to reach them, which segments of the total market or category are growing or declining and why. You will need to tell the story in a way that makes sense to you and your readers so the following outline should be arranged as you see fit: Target Market Approach Start with a description of your total potential market (your potential customers).Present a general strategy that is used to reach targeted customers that might include a mass market or segmentation approach. Describe the needs/benefits sought by market, the product usage, the positioning and what people’s attitudes are regarding the product you are selling and the product category in general. Target Market Profile(s) Create and describe the demographic/psychographic profile(s) of the market including elements such as gender, income, age, occupation, education, family life cycle, geographic region, lifestyle, attitudes, purchasing characteristics, etc.Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Target Market Motivations Since you know the profile(s) within your target market you need to explain what motivates them to buy your products/services. Begin by describing how your product/service satisfies the needs of this market. Fo llow up with describing the particular customers that you will target. Expand into the size of your total potential market (number of potential customers), and then drill down into your target market so that you can make the motivational case you set out to in the first place.Target Market Purchasing Strategy Ok, great. You have the market explained, the target profiles done, the market motivations are worked out, now how are people gonna buy your amazingly cool new widget? Well, you need to detail that out in your purchasing strategy. First, you will need to explain how the target market makes their purchases. Then explain what is involved in the decision-making process and the timeline for the purchase (is it an impulse buy or something that takes an extended period of time).Finally you will cover who influences and then makes the purchase. Target Market Growth Strategy To wrap things up you will need to provide market size estimates but keep in mind these are estimates for the ma rket, not for a specific product. You will need to provide size estimates for the potential market that include the largest possible market that would buy. Then you need to narrow your focus and provide estimates of size for the current target market (how many actually purchased this kind of product) and provide estimates for these growth rates.Lastly, all of this needs to be projected out for at least through the timeframe for the plan (e. g. , 1 year) but most likely longer (e. g. , 3-5 year projections). A Final Thought on Numbers Throughout all of these explanations it is critical that you need to support estimates with factual data. You can have the best laid plans with awesome projections but if you have nothing to back up your story and make your case you are just fooling yourself that your strategy is the right one. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Section 2: Analysis and CompetitionPart 6: Understanding and Beating the Competition This is the second part of the situational analysis which deals with the competition and appropriately called â€Å"Competitor Analysis†. I mentioned in Part 5 that the Situational Analysis is probably one of the hardest sections you will write and this section validates that statement. You believe your product/service is the best on the market but not just to validate yourself but to validate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats along with trends of those competitors.Here is how the Competitor Analysis sub-sections break down: Competitive Landscape First you need to identify major competitors: name, location, and market share. The best thing to do is create a table that allows clear comparisons of your product/service with that of your major competitors (brand name, quality, image, price, etc. ). Then you need to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis (coming in a future post) and compare your firm with that of your major competitors.Include factors such as company reputation, size, distribution channels, location, financial standing, target market perception and if relevant, research and development capabilities. After your SWOT analysis is complete, use that as sounding board to honestly evaluate your chances as the new competition and how successfully you would be able to enter this market. Include your thoughts and observations on what you have learned from watching the competition and you can learn from the good and bad parts of their business models to increase your chances of success. Competitive OpportunitiesWhile in the competitive landscape doing much of the SWOT analysis, you should include a section that really expands on the opportunities you uncover because those usually end up being the foundation for things like your marketing messaging and web site content. It is designed to really expose the differentiators that make you stand out in a competitive marketplace. Competitive Trends This section is where you should discu ss the trends of your competitors. This includes whether your competitors’ sales increasing, decreasing or steady. Answering those questions clue into the growth or decline of competitors from a shifting market shareConfidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC perspective and also from a more macro market size perspective. This should also help you identify any future competitive threats that your team should be made aware of but not focused on, yet. Describe direct competitors in terms of: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Target markets served Product attributes Pricing Promotion Distribution including the distributor network Services offered Discuss competitor’s strengths and weaknesses: †¢ May need to consider much more than just marketing issues such as: financial standing target market perception R & D capabilities Part 7: Technology, Economy and SociopoliticalAnalysis As we continue our Marketing Plan Series and keep working our way through th e Situational Analysis we make a pit stop to talk about the macro-level environments that impact your marketing and your competition. This part of the Situational Analysis is usually called â€Å"Environmental Problems and Opportunities† and is about 1-2 pages in length. This could easily turn into a diatribe about politics and economics so what you need to focus on in this sub-section is how technology, the economy and the socio-political environment affect the marketing of your products/services. The Technological EnvironmentWhen you discuss the technological environment think about how you create/leverage/affect creating new ways of satisfying needs (i. e. using technology to enhance the demand for existing products). Innovation can create or wipe out industries and businesses in less than a year. One example is the popularity and convenience of DVD players all but eliminated the sale of VCRs and seriously depressed the manufacture and sale of video tapes. This is especial ly important for you if your product is technology based. The Economic Environment Regardless of the current state of the economy, there will be good times and not so good times.You need to describe how your company will survive and grow in this most challenging of economies. Look at the bright side, if you can find the opportunities and sell successfully in this market you could position yourself as almost recession-proof in the long run. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC The Socio-Political Environment These are governmental policies and regulations that affect the market. It is also the economic environment around your company; which is the business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues.For example, here in America there is a sweeping trend to dress more casually, with function and comfort driving new clothing and shoe trends. People are cooking less and are more concerned about nutrition and fat in their diets. And today, American busin ess people are less willing to sacrifice family life for business careers. These types of factors can impact the marketability of your product or service. Part 8: Financial Summaries that Sing You can’t have a product discussion and not include financial for the number geeks in all of us.We will dive into our â€Å"Marketing Plan Financials in Plan English† toward the end of the series but many will need to connect some financial dots in the situational analysis at a high level leaving the detailed stuff (budgeting, break even analysis and cash flow analysis) for the â€Å"back of the book†. This section should be about 2-4 pages in length and kids, keep it pretty for the rest of us. Now while you will need to write some short paragraphs to explain your information, tables and graphs are your friend here. The Financial Analysis section is separated into two general areas – sales and profitability Part 1 – Sales AnalysisIn this section you need to f ocus on the current sales that your industry and you business are doing across segments, product categories and various distribution channels. Let’s break it down like this: Overall Industry and Market Share †¢ Sales for the Entire Market †¢ Sales for Your Company †¢ Sales for Your Competitors Sales By Segments and/or Product Categories †¢ Sales by segments and/or product categories †¢ Sales by company product(s) †¢ Sales at this level compared to competition Sales By Distribution Channel †¢ Sales for each channel †¢ Sales for company product(s) by channel †¢ Sales for Your Competitors by hannel Sales By Geography †¢ Sales for Each Region †¢ Sales for company product(s) by region †¢ Sales for Your Competitors by region Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Part 2 – Profitability Analysis Since we focused on sales which is really revenues, we need to splice this up and see what is actually profitable. Ju st because you can make money from it does not mean you make a profit. You will need to look across the revenues and include the marketing related expenses. Let’s break it down like this: †¢ †¢ Revenue Breakdown o Use the sales numbers from above but identify realized revenues not just projectionsMarketing Expense Breakdown o Direct Marketing Expenses – These are the expenses that are tied to the product(s) and must be identified in that way o Indirect or Proportional Marketing Expenses – These are the general administrative and broad marketing expenses that may be assigned to a product based on some criteria like percentage of sales or a pre-determined distribution amount. Lastly, remember that this is the â€Å"30,000 foot view† †¢ Since this part of the situational analysis, you are using this sub-section to make your point and support your overall analysis. †¢ Stay high level †¢More detailed financial stuff comes later and in the marketing plan and we will do explain it in plain English later in this book. Part 9: The SWOT Analysis Dance Concluding our dive into the sub-sections of the situational analysis, we wrap up with the all important SWOT analysis. It is a â€Å"dance† of sorts because you have to dance around the fact that in some ways your competitors might have over you but it is better that you learn this now and how to work around it or market against it that will help you in the long run. The term SWOT analysis stands for â€Å"Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats†.Start with posing these sessions to your brainstorming team: †¢ Are your competitors becoming stronger? †¢ Are there emerging trends that amplify one of your weaknesses? †¢ Do you see other external threats to your company’s success? Internally, do you have financial, development, or other problems? Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Let’s break each part down and th en wrap up with some the advantages this section can offer you and your team: Strengths: Here is where you must capture the positive aspects internal to your business that add value or offer you a competitive advantage.This is an opportunity to remind yourself of the value existing within your business. Think about what your company does well. You should address the strengths within your business that add value to your product or your marketing efforts. You should also describe your positive tangible and intangible attributes. Weaknesses: These are factors that detract from your ability to have a competitive edge. It includes the negative aspects internal to your business that distracting customers from seeing the value you offer or place you at a competitive disadvantage. These are areas you need to enhance in order to compete with your best competitor.The more accurately you identify your weaknesses, the more valuable the SWOT Analysis is to your readers. Some questions to help yo u get started are: What do your customers complain about? What are the unmet needs of your sales force? We continue breaking each part down†¦. Opportunities: Traditionally, a SWOT looks only at the external environment for opportunities. I suggest you look externally for areas your competitors are not fully covering, then go a step further and think how to match these to your internal strengths. Remember, these are opportunities external to your business.If you have identified â€Å"opportunities† that are internal to the organization and within your control, you will want to classify them as â€Å"strengths†. Try to uncover areas where your strengths are not being fully utilized. Are there emerging trends that fit with your company’s strengths? Is there a product/service area that others have not yet covered? Threats: What situations might threaten your marketing efforts? You have to ask this hard question. Get your worst fears on the table. A threat is a challenge created by an unfavorable trend or development that may lead to deteriorating revenues or profits.As with opportunities, threats in a traditional SWOT analysis are considered an external force. By looking both inside and outside of your company for things that could damage your business, however, you may be better able to see the big picture. Competition — existing or potential — is always a threat. Other threats may include intolerable price increases by suppliers, government regulation, economic downturns, devastating media or press coverage, a shift in consumer behavior that reduces your sales, or the introduction of a â€Å"leap-frog† technology that may make your products, equipment, or services obsolete.Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Advantages of a SWOT Analysis – Uncovering Opportunities This is where you look externally for areas your competitors are not fully covering, then go a step further and think how to match these t o your internal strengths. Try to uncover areas where your strengths are not being fully utilized. Are there emerging trends that fit with your company’s strengths? Is there a product/service area that others have not yet covered? Once you have uncovered these opportunities take each one and discuss how you will market them.Will it be a mixed marketing campaign? A targeted sales effort? What resources will you need (e. g. new collateral, selling guides, web site content, e-mail marketing)? Advantages of a SWOT Analysis – Address and Overcome Problems Problems are not necessarily a bad thing. They are just issues that need to be overcome. It is better to get out front of problems that may exist than have them rear their ugly head when you are selling or raising money. Problems could be strong competitors, your product lacking critical features that you are not able to roll out yet or a long sales cycle.You should list each problem and discuss an approach to overcome the m in a sales situation and with specific marketing messages that counter what a customer might be thinking. Part 10: Mapping Out Your Marketing Objectives OK. You are half done the marketing plan and while you might scream â€Å"only half! † at the top of your lungs, you have suffered through the tough part – the analysis. You have spent time building the case that your products/services are competitive, viable and profitable. Now that you have proved that point you have to demonstrate how you are gonna actually do it.The first part of telling this second half is setting out the overall objectives in the marketing plan. Now let’s breakdown the Marketing Objectives section. We have put together this great breakdown and outline of how you might want to structure the objectives section. Please note, some of this outline may or may not apply to your business so use this as a suggestion and not a list of requirements. Target market objectives †¢ Market Share â⠂¬â€œ total, by segments and by channel †¢ Customers – total, by number/percentage new, by number/percentage retainedConfidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Channel Objectives †¢ Dealers – total, by number/percentage new, by number/percentage retained †¢ Order Processing and Delivery – on-time rate, shrinkage rate, correct order rate Promotional Objectives †¢ Level of brand/company awareness †¢ Traffic building (e. g. store traffic, web site traffic) †¢ Product Trials (e. g. sales promotions, product demonstrations) †¢ Sales Force (e. g. cycle time, cost per call, closing rate, customer visits, etc. Continuing our breakdown and outline of how you might want to structure the objectives section.Please note, some of this outline may or may not apply to your business so use this as a suggestion and not a list of requirements. Market Research Objectives †¢ Studies Initiated †¢ Studies Completed R&D Objectives †¢ Product Development Other Objectives †¢ Partnerships Developed †¢ Rate of Purchases, size/volume of purchases †¢ Purchases Advice on Setting Your Objectives Remember these are objectives that you expect to meet so keep in mind that these should be achievable. I have used the SMART approach to setting objectives and that stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-based.Section 3: Strategy and Action Part 11: Setting Your Marketing Strategy Once you have completed writing your Marketing Objectives, as discussed previously in Mapping Out Your Objectives, you need to write your marketing strategy. The marketing strategy section of your plan outlines your game plan to achieve your marketing objectives. There is no other way to say it but this section which is in the center, is essentially the heart of the marketing plan. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC The marketing strategy section should then include information that revolves around the â€Å"4Ps of Marketing†.Don’t know what they are? Let’s do a quick refresher: The â€Å"4Ps of Marketing† are a few decades old but are the most basic and classic way of slicing up your marketing strategy. They are broken down as follows: †¢ Product – your product(s) and services †¢ Price – what you will charge customers for products and services †¢ Promotion – how you will promote or create awareness of your product in the marketplace †¢ Place (distribution) – how you will bring your product(s) together with your customers. Product Describe in detail your products or services in terms of the features and benefits they offer customers.Describe what you need to have or do to provide your product or service (how it’s produced). Pricing List the price of your products and describe your pricing strategy. List price ranges for product lines. For example, if your product is a line of cosmetics, include info rmation in this strategy section about your lipsticks â€Å"ranging in price from $5. 00 to $15. 00 per item† rather than a detailed product price list. (You should, however, consider including a detailed price list in the Supporting Documents section. ) Describe any price flexibility or negotiating room, as is common with large purchases such as houses or cars.Outline any discounts you offer for long-term customers, bulk purchases or prompt payment. Also, include the terms of sale, such as â€Å"net due in 30 days,† extended payment plans, and whether you accept credit cards Promotion Plan A promotion plan describes the tools or tactics used to accomplish your marketing objectives. In your Action Programs section, you will describe the steps that need to be taken in detail, when they should be done, who will do them, and so on. If your marketing objective is to: Create awareness of baby care products among mothers of newborns.Increase sales of potato chips to teens. T hen tools or tactics might be: †¢ Advertise in baby care or motherhood magazines. †¢ Distribute product samples to obstetricians. †¢ Offer free baby care seminars to expectant mothers. †¢ Distribute free samples or discount coupons at high school football games. †¢ Sponsor an event attended by teens. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Placement (Sales and Distribution) In this section, describe how your products and customers â€Å"meet† or come together through sales and distribution. Describe your sales philosophies and methods.Do you employ an aggressive sales method for a large number of quick sales, or a relaxed method where the emphasis is on having customers feel comfortable to come back another time even if they don’t buy now? Do you use contract sales people or employees? Explain your approach to sales issues. Describe your distribution system. (Where will your product be placed so customers have access to it? ) A few points about distribution to address in your marketing plan are: Is the exchange of the product made in a store? Through the mail? Through a direct sales representative?What are your production and inventory capacities? (How quickly can you make products and how many can you store? ) Are there cyclical fluctuations or seasonal demands for your products? For example, if you produce Christmas decorations, how will you manage peak production and sales periods as well as slow periods? Do you sell to individuals or to re-sellers? Your company may use more than one method. For example, you may sell directly to customers who place large orders but also sell to customers who buy small quantities of your product through retail outlets. Part 12: Action PlansThe Action Plan covers the â€Å"Who, Where and How Much† of your plan. You should look at this section as the â€Å"to do list with budget numbers† and separate it into sub-sections or â€Å"miniplans† that are involved in y our marketing efforts. They can include but are not limited to the following: Publicity Marketing Plan – How do you pitch? I am not talking fastballs, but rather using the media to spread the word about your business. You could also call this mini-plan your media plan and it includes the costs and tasks involved in pitching stories to the press and writing press releases on a consistent basis.Customer Marketing Plan – No small business can survive without customers and smart business know that it is FAR cheaper to keep the customers you have than always working to replace them with new ones. This mini-plan talks about what activities you will undertake with your current customers and the types of targeted offers you will be making to retain them. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Advertising Plan – Now we all know that most traditional advertising is hit or miss and it is hard to track results.However, there are more and more promotional programs that provide you with a way to measure results that you can create a mini-plan of where you are going to advertise and how much of it you will be doing. Internet Marketing Plan – Every one these days has a web site. If you don’t and you are small business, then that is another matter. If you are a small business that is actively engaged on the web to promote your products or services then you need to include a separate mini-plan on Internet marketing that could include search engine optimization, pay-per-click advertising and any other online campaigns.Promotional Event Plan – Related to advertising and Internet marketing the promotional event plan includes different promotional activities such as, having sales, sponsoring contests, awards, or events. Referral Marketing Plan – All small businesses need referral business. In fact, it is how many survive and even thrive. Here is where you need to identify specific programs that will add incentive for those that value your work enough to tell others about you. Budgeting AKA â€Å"The Bottom Line†We all wish we could do awesome and cool marketing campaigns but we are quickly brought back to reality when the limitations of our budgets are staring us in the face. Small Business Notes provides some great advice on putting together your budget. Estimate the cost of the marketing activities you’ve described in the marketing plan so you will have a budget to keep everyone on track over the course of the year. Typical marketing expense categories are marketing communications, market research, promotions, advertising, events and public relations.Because marketing needs and costs vary widely, there are no simple rules for determining what your marketing budget should be. A popular method with small business owners is to allocate a small percentage of gross sales for the most recent year. This usually amounts to about two percent for an existing business. However, if you are planning on launching a new product or business, you may want to increase your marketing budget figure, to as much as 10 percent of your expected gross sales. Another method used by small business owners is to analyze and estimate the competition’s budget and either match or exceed it.Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Section 3: Strategy and Action Part 13: Sales Projections in Plain English What Are Components of Sales Projections? Projection of sales is an important part of the marketing plan. Part of the sales projection work is planning for a better performance in the future and correcting past performance with which you are not satisfied. You do this by finding out what profit contribution each sales representative makes. One goal of measuring a sales representative’s performance is improvement assistance. This is done in the marketing personnel section of the marketing plan.Cost of Goods per Unit Worksheet This is the first preliminary worksheet you must complete . The reason you have to start here is because these are the basic costs of raw materials, production labor and other costs that, once added up, give you the cost of goods per unit number you will need to get the â€Å"Estimated Sales Table† completed. Estimated Sales Table Worksheet This is a preliminary worksheet that helps you figure out what the total sales and cost of goods sold are for each product year by year. You need to include the units, or number of things, sold by each product line. Take each number times the elling price of each product and you will get the actual sales for each product. Tally that number up and create a column called % of sales and divide each number by the total and you can see how much each product brings in as a share of the entire sales projection. You should already have the â€Å"Cost of Goods Sold† per unit from the previous section. Put that number in after the â€Å"% of sales† and then multiply that number times the unit s and put the result into a new column called â€Å"Cost of Goods sold total†. Once that is done, do the same thing we did with â€Å"% of sales† and create a â€Å"% of Cost of Goods Sold†.Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Sales Projections Worksheet This is where all the hard work comes into focus and you break things down by months that give you the total amount you put together in the estimated sales table. You will use a concept called â€Å"weighing† which is basically splitting 100% across 12 months as to when you think that total amount will be met each month. Think of busy periods where sales are way up and slow periods where it is way down. A good example is retail with busy holiday periods and slow winters and then busy back to school sales. You will also include he cost of goods sold numbers and percentages that breakdown according to the â€Å"weighing† you set up for each month overall. These projections are also used on th e business plan financials as revenue projections in the way they organize the business. You should also be aware how important this is not only from running your marketing division but when investors want to dive a layer deeper in the business plan and your numbers are what will back things up. It will also be used in other business plan financials but we will get into that in the next two sections. Part 14: The Break Even Analysis in Plain EnglishWe continue talking plain English with you in this fun and crazy world of marketing plan financials and move on to the all important Breakeven Analysis. The Breakeven Analysis is especially useful when you’re developing a pricing strategy, either as part of a marketing plan or a business plan. The Breakeven Analysis is actually pretty straightforward and asks one question – when do you break even and turn a profit? Simple†¦. Not quite†¦ but I will explain in plain English. You mean there is a formula for this thing ? Yes, you knew I would eventually get to a formula, but fear not math haters, it is straightforward.Fixed Costs divided by (Revenue per unit – Variable costs per unit) Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Fixed Costs – Fixed costs are costs that must be paid whether or not any units are produced. Things like rent and equipment fall into this category. These costs are fixed only over a specified period of time or range of production. Variable Costs – Variable costs are the things that make it fun and go up and down based on your production levels. Things like materials, labor, overhead are in this category. Let’s give you a real example:If your total fixed costs were $500,000, the price tag of your product (unit) was $25, and your variable Costs were $15, the equation would look like this: 500,000/25-15 = 500,000/10 = 50,000 You would need to sell 50,000 units to break even. Everything over that is profit and you dancing to the bank. Still, this n ot a perfect equation: Bplans. com points out that this equation, while important, can be misread or misinterpreted. Here are some key things they point out: †¢ It is frequently mistaken for the payback period, the time it takes to recover an investment. There are variations on break even that make some people think we have it wrong.The one we do use is the most common, the most universally accepted, but not the only one possible. †¢ It depends on the concept of fixed costs, a hard idea to swallow. Technically, a break-even analysis defines fixed costs as those costs that would continue even if you went broke. Instead, you may want to use your regular running fixed costs, including payroll and normal expenses. This will give you a better insight on financial realities. We call that â€Å"burn rate† these post-Internet days. †¢ It depends on averaging your per-unit variable cost and per-unit revenue over the whole business.However, whether we like it or not, thi s equation is a cornerstone of financial analysis. You may choose to leave it out, but really, a business or marketing plan would not be complete without it. Part 15: Sales Cash Flow Statements in Plain English As important as when you will break even, you must be able to show how, on a monthly basis, you will manage the cash flow to support the business and not sink it from an overly ambitious strategy and action plan. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC Similar to the Cash Flow Statement in a Business PlanThe cash flow statement reports the cash generated and used during the time interval specified in its heading. The period of time that the statement covers is chosen by the company. For example, the heading may state â€Å"For the Three Months Ended December 31, 2007? or â€Å"The Fiscal Year Ended September 30, 2008?. For many, looking at a cash flow statement it looks a bit weird but it provides a different, yet critically important view of the business. For the mark eting plan, you need to create a subset of this that eventually rolls up into the business plan to support it and give detailed projections.Three Sections of a Marketing Plan Case Flow Statement For the purpose of the marketing plan cash flow statement that flows up and reports to the master cash flow statement, there are three sections that must be created – Operating Activities, Investing Activities, Financing Activities. We explain these on the next few pages. SECTION 1: Operating Activities This section converts the items reported on the income statement from the accrual (you book the sale but you might not have the money yet) basis of accounting and includes the following: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Cash receipts from sales or for the performance of servicesPayroll and other payments to employees Payments to suppliers and contractors Rent payments Payments for utilities Tax payments SECTION 2: Investing Activities Investing activities include capital expenditures – disbursements that are not charged to expense but rather are capitalized as assets on the balance sheet. Investing activities also include investments (other than cash equivalents as indicated below) that are not part of your normal line of business. These cash flows could include: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Purchases of property, plant and equipment Proceeds from the sale of property, plant and equipmentPurchases of stock or other securities (other than cash equivalents) Proceeds from the sale or redemption of investments Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC SECTION 3: Financing Activities Financing activities include cash flows relating to the business’s debt or equity financing: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Proceeds from loans, notes, and other debt instruments Installment payments on loans or other repayment of debts Cash received from the issuance of stock or equity in the business Dividend payments, purchases of treasury stock, or returns of capital IMPORTANT: Don’t Forget to Include an Expense BudgetBecause you will be estimating cash inflows for various product lines you must account for the expenses that are incurred related to them. This must include enough detail to track expenses month by month and follow up on plan-vs. -actual analysis. That’s a Wrap! Well, this concludes our 15-part series on writing a marketing plan. We hope you have learned new things and relearned things forgotten long ago. The following pages include extra resource for this Guide to Writing a Killer Marketing. We hope you have enjoyed this series and visit GrowSmartBusiness. com for more great content to help you grow your business.Additional Resources Small Business Administration http://www. sba. gov SCORE http://score. org American Marketing Association http://www. marketingpower. com/ Microsoft Small Business Center http://www. microsoft. com/smallbu siness/hub. mspx Microsoft Startup Center http://www. microsoft . com/smallbusiness/startu p-toolkit/default. aspx How to do a Competitive Analysis http://www. ehow. com/how_5220467_writecompetitive-analysis. html Writing a Marketing Plan http://www. knowthis. com/principles-ofmarketing-tutorials/how-to-write-a-marketingplan/ http://www. entrepreneur. com/marketing/marke ingbasics/marketingplan/article43018. html http://www. marketingforsuccess. com/MFSmarketingplan. html Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC About the Author Steve Fisher Blogs: http://stevefisher. me http://rulesforbusiness. com http://shootyourshow. com Connect with him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo or Flickr. Steve has been actively writing about small business and innovation since the late 90s on how small business could leverage the Web and stellar customer experiences to innovate their business and compete with the largest of competitors. He was among the arly thought leaders on the intersection of user experience, customer service and innovation. Steve curr ently is Managing Principal of AppSolve. In its 10th year, Appsolve specializes in user experience design, enterprise web development and online community management. Through AppSolve, he works with Network Solutions to manage its online small business community. Prior to that he was founder and CEO of Slipstream Air, a software provider to the private air travel industry. It was sold in 2008 to JIT Airline Resources, which rebranded as Slipstream Aviation Software. Steve has also held key leadership ositions at Global Network Solutions, OnSite Technologies, IKON, USConnect, Ryland and Wells Fargo. He has published several e-books on Small Business Management, User Experience, Online Marketing and Innovation. Currently, he is working on his first book, â€Å"101 Rules for Entrepreneurs† slated for a Spring 2010 release. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from University of Baltimore and on a personal note he is a great airplane pilot, a horribly slow 5K runner, a fair ly talented musician and a budding concert photographer. He currently resides in Columbia, MD, USA. Confidential  ©2009 Network Solutions, LLC