Designing, Developing an Evaluation g Educational Technology Essay

Designing, Developing an Evaluation g Educational Technology - Essay Example The process of using technological evaluation also assists in setting objectives. Every institution involved in education must have set objectives that must be achieved. It is only through evaluation that the extent at which objectives are being achieved can be identified. It is therefore necessary for learning institutions to adopt technological evaluation tool since it will assist in setting and achieving objectives. According to John Dewey, a teacher should not be a sole figure in the process of education but rather as a guide to the process of education and learning (Howland, 2012). Learning is a continuous process that has no end. Most importantly in order to learn one should have the knowledge. Knowledge comes from the daily interaction with the environment. It is therefore not right to conclude that pedagogical knowledge is enough and complete for the process of learning. Although possession of content is very important for learning, it is not also complete for the whole process of learning. In order for complete learning to take place, there must be a good learning environment, which is required by leaners. Learners have different needs and have different capacities to learn. Possession of content alone cannot be used to determine whether learning has taken place. There is also need to test the psychomotor domains of learning in addition to affective domain of learning in order to accompli sh a satisfactory process of learning. Some of the skills proposed by NETS are improving high thinking skills for students such as problem solving, critical thinking, and creativity. For a thorough learning process to occur in a lesson a teacher should find a way of testing these skills. The teacher posing questions that requires critical thinking and reasoning can do this. Allowing group discussions can also help learners in coming up with solutions for their problems hence

The Bookshop Company Essay Example for Free

The Bookshop Company Essay 1. Introduction 1.1 Background The company that I have chosen to do my project on is a small book distribution company called Bookshop. Bookshop is a small company based in South London and was set up in early 2002. They have a small workforce of 4 people. Each person therefore has a large and important role to the company. Each worker is always hard pushed to meet deadlines for schools and social centres demanding books. Because that are a small company they cannot afford to have large computer staff to look after al their accounts. They are limited to the time that they can spend on different tasks. Each day they deal with a round à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1000 worth of orders, but this might vary to as much as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4500 or as little as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500. The director of the company has put in a large lump sum as a loan to start off the company, which she hopes will trunk into profits, which she will later recoup. 1.2 Statement of the problem I have conducted an interview with the director of the company and we encountered the following problems. * Because the bookshop is new, there are many things that could go wrong and caused bankruptcy. There is the fact that the company has no real image and cannot conduct rely on customers. Therefore they need to profit maximise. They need all staff working to their full potential. They need no wastes of time with things that can be done automatically. * Also with the small amount of money available to them they had o make do with old computers, which ran old computer programs that are DOS based. * The problem that ABC Books as a company has is that it is limited to the workforce that it ca spend on different tasks. Therefore time is a major part of what is wrong. * If there were a way that was quicker than the current way to do it then the time taken by each person would be greatly reduced and there may be a chance that each person would have more time to do other jobs. For example two people handle all the accounts. * If there were an easier way then they might only need 1 person and therefore there would be an extra person left over to do other work. Because of a shortage of time that they spend on the accounts, orders dont get delivered and because it is a small business, it needs all the orders it can get and any a late order and schools will look to other suppliers. This was picked up on by Pat Horsefield (director) when a meeting was held to discuss the problems with the system. Mrs. Horsefield feels that: * with the introduction of a computer accounts system, * a system that can process customer orders faster and more accurately, * a reduction in the amount of paper generated by the system and feels that a centralised system could improve communication between staff, then the whole company will run more smoothly and then they would make more money and she would start going in to profit As the company is new they have not got enough capital to go out and but fleets of vans and cars, they have to rely on people own cars and transport of that of a delivery company which all costs money. Because of this they need to save money on expensive large especially designed programs by large specialist companys that produce such programs. 2. Investigation 2.1 The current system The current system that the company use is a spreadsheet package that was created 17 years ago and is therefore quite basic and not easy use for all the staff that are used to more modern forms of spreadsheets. At the moment as each school places an order, it has to go through a processing system that takes a long time to fill out. Input Processing Output Forename Surname Position School Address Home Phone Mobile Books ordered Total Price Paid Payment method This is the route that the current data takes. 2.2 Constraints of the Current system The format of the current accounting system is in DOS and therefore has no GUI that is useable to a user for formats like EXCEL. The software and hardware are old and need to be replaced. * That main one is that it is not like the new accounts systems such as EXCEL and SAGE Line 100. There are many problems encountered when external people wish to view the accounts i.e. Auditors. * Another problem is that when outside people wish to review the accounts, they are totally unfamiliar with the system and are not able to use it correctly. This is mainly because of the layout and the basic look of the interface. * There is one major problem with the actual system and that is that it does not automatically perform calculations. Therefore all calculations need to be done using a calculator. This is time consuming. If there were a way that the users could just put in numbers and the computer could automatically calculate the totals and the answers the user would have more time to do other things. * Due to the lack of complexity of the system, errors are often made. 3. Requirements of the new system 3.1 General objectives The general objectives that I hope to be able to achieve are: * To create an up-to-date system that can be easily used by the staff and new staff * To be based on a modern GUI that all users will understand * To make it self explanatory so that new users will be able to pick up the methods quickly. * It will need to be able to hold the companys accounts * There will be no need for passwords to any of the data, as no strict personal data is held on the computer 3.2 Specific objectives quantitative * Customer accounts should be found in less then 20 seconds * The user should be able to locate a page by using in the click of a button. * All users should be able to use the system to do accounts. * Customer Details should be able to be printed off at the click of a button. * There should be buttons to do all reasonable jobs (print/open/add) * All pages should have links back to all the other pages, with the click of a macro and should be clearly labelled. 4. The current systems 4.1 Hardware The hardware that is available to the users is a small LAN of 4 computers and a server. All the computers have a barcode scanner for scanning in book barcode numbers and ISBNs. The computers that I have available for me to use are a set of 5 networked PCs at my house of which one has a barcode scanner. At college there is a large number of networked PCs for pupils use. They are all networked so that the users can log on to his/her area. The hardware available to me is Specifications Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Connectors: Audio Line In (1/8 Mini) Ethernet RJ45 Twisted-Pair (XBaseT) IEEE 1394 4 pin Unpowered IEEE 1394 6 pin Powered Keyboard 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2) Mouse 6 pin mini-DIN (PS/2) Parallel 25 pin D-shell (IEEE 1284A) USB Universal Serial Bus 2.0 Video 15 pin High-Density D-shell (VGA) Included Devices: Keyboard Mouse Barcode Scanner Chassis Style: Tower Input Devices: Keyboard Mouse Modem Speed: 1mb Cable *networked to all 5 Modem Type: Na Included Network Card: Ethernet (10/100 Mbps) normalized-Processor Speed: 2000 Video Integration: Motherboard Included Monitor: No Included Printer: No Sound Support: 3D Audio CD-ROM Read Speed: 40 X (CD,CD-R) CD Rewrite Speed: 12 X (CD,CD-R) CD Write Speed: 32 X (CD,CD-R) DVD-ROM Read Speed: 16 X (CD,CD-R) Hard Drive Capacity: 80 GB Included Drives: DVD/CD-RW Combo Floppy Drive Hard Drive Number of Hard Drives Included: 1 Bus Speed: 400 MHz Installed Memory: 512 MB Max System Memory: 1.5 kB Shared Video Memory: 32 MB Number of PCI Slots: 2 Processor Class: Intel Pentium 4 Processor Processor Speed: 2.0 GHz All 5 of the PCs that I have available to me at my house are all the same. (see above) 4.2 Software The software that the user has available is Microsoft Windows 95 professional edition with Office 95 and all relevant software for the barcode scanners and for the tele-book ordering. What I have available to use is Microsoft XP professional with Office 2000 which has excel, which Im using to create the new spreadsheet program 4.3 Users IT skills and knowledge I feel that the users ICT knowledge and skills are limited to what they can do. They are inexperienced in computer use and therefore they have not developed, because of this there will need to be a basic and informative and self-explanatory interface. I think that the interface will need to be bold and relevant to the tasks. The user manual will have basic information in using the system as well as a trouble shooting section. 1. Consideration of a possible solution There are many different packages that I could use to create an accounts program there is Sage Line100, which is widely used in large company businesses. There is also Microsoft own Excel, which is widely used, in smaller businesses. I am going to use excel to create the program because it is the most commonly available and is therefore the best choice to use. I think that it is also the easiest to use out of the two because many people use the program already and have a basic knowledge of the program already and how it works. It is also a lot clearer to see than the basic graphics of Line100. there is also the case that Excel is cheaper to buy than a copy of Sage Line100. at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½250, Line100 is rather too expensive for a small company. I feel that with the cheaper, only à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½89.99 Excel they will have a better deal on their hands. Microsoft Excel clearly dominates the spreadsheet market. Not too long ago, Lotus 1-2-3 was considered the standard spreadsheet. Excel now holds that distinction, with an estimated 90% market share.

Martin Luther Essay -- essays research papers

Martin Luther Martin Luther was a German theologian and religious reformer, who started the Protestant Reformation, and whose vast influence during his time period made him one of the crucial figures in modern European history. Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10, 1483 and was descended from the peasantry, a fact that he often stressed. Hans Luther, his father, was a copper miner. Luther received a sound primary and secondary education at Mansfeld, Magdeburg, and Eisenach. In 1501, at the age of 17, he enrolled at the University of Erfurt, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1502 and a master's degree in 1505 . He then intended to study law, as his father had wished. In the summer of 1505, he abandoned his studies and his law plans, sold his books, and entered the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt. The decision surprised his friends and appalled his father. Later in his life, Luther explained his suprising decision by recollecting several brushes with death that had occurred at the time, making him aware of the fleeting character of life. In the monastery he observed the rules imposed on a novice but did not find the peace in God he had expected. Nevertheless, Luther made his profession as a monk in the fall of 1506, and his superiors selected him for the priesthood. Ordained in 1507, he approached his first celebration of the mass with awe. After his ordination, Luther was asked to study theology in order to become a professor at one of the many new German universities staffed by monks. In 1508 he was assigned by Johann von Staupitz, vicar-general of the Augustinians and a friend and counselor, to the new University of Wittenberg (founded in 1502) to give introductory lectures in moral philosophy. He received his bachelor's degree in theology in 1509 and returned to Erfurt, where he taught and studied. In November 1510, on behalf of seven Augustinian monasteries, he made a visit to Rome, where he performed the religious duties customary for a pious visitor and was shocked by the worldliness of the Roman clergy. Soon after resuming his duties in Erfurt, he was reassigned to Wittenberg and asked to study for the degree of doctor of theology. In 1512, after receiving his doctorate, he took over the chair of biblical theology which he held till his death. Although still uncertain of God's love and his own salvation, Luther was active as a preacher, teacher... ...ependence of rulers from papal supervision won him the support of many princes. His fame made Wittenberg an intellectual center. By 1537, Luther's health had begun to deteriorate, and he felt burdened by the resurgence of the papacy and by what he perceived as an attempt by Jews to take advantage of the confusion among Christians and reopen the question of Jesus' messiahship. Apprehensive about his own responsibility for this situation, he wrote a violent polemic against the Jews, as well as polemics against the papacy and the radical wing of the reformers, the Anabaptists. In the winter of 1546, Luther was asked to settle a controversy between two young counts who ruled the area of Mansfeld, where he had been born. Old and sick, he went there, resolved the conflict, and died on February 18, 1546, in Eisleben. Luther left behind a movement that quickly spread throughout the Western world. His doctrines, especially justification by faith and the final authority of the Bible, were adopted by other reformers and are shared by many Protestant denominations today. As the founder of the 16th-century Reformation, he is one of the major figures of Christianity and of Western civilization.

‘Good Friday’ by Edwin Morgan

‘Good Friday’ by Edwin Morgan In this essay I will show how Edwin Morgan uses different poetic techniques to highlight central themes in the poem. The poem is about a slightly drunk working class man Morgan encounters on a public bus in Glasgow at Easter. One of the main themes with features in this poem is religion, in particular about how society is becoming more secular. The title ‘Good Friday’ immediately refers to the date Jesus was crucified, bringing religion into the poem from the start. Also, ‘3 o’clock’ is the time Jesus is thought to have died, another biblical reference.The fact that the man is going to get ‘Some Easter eggs for the kiddies’, but isn’t really sure at all about the relevance of them to the holiday he is celebrating, shows that they have no real relevance to him even though he is spending money on them, though to Christians, they symbolise the stone covering the tomb where Christ was buried. It shows how religion has faded, and busine sses commercialise these holidays for profit. Another key theme in the poem is social-class; in particular how the fact that this man is working class affects the way he treats the holidays.The man explains ‘I’ve had a wee drink’, but the way he ‘flops’ into the seat suggests differently. He must have seen a difference between himself and Morgan because he feels the need to explain ashamedly, almost, ‘I like to celebrate when I’m no working’, and the way his speech is broken up suggests embarrassment, ‘I don’t say it’s right -I’m no saying it’s right – ye understand – ye understand? ’ The repetition of the question shows he feels pressurized; he doesn’t want to be judged, and it shows an eagerness to be approved.It shows that even by appearances he can see the line between himself and Morgan, and in saying ‘You’re an educatit man,’ he is sort of putt ing himself down, sounding as though he thinks he is below Morgan. He gives off the impression of being slightly angry, and emotional, when he says ‘Its been seen time and time again, the working man has nae education’. He describes himself as ‘bliddy ignorant’. His emotional, chatty persona may partly be because of the ‘wee drink’ he has had, the aftermath has left him feeling slightly depressed.The Scottish dialect that Morgan uses for the drunken man also give the poem a sense of place, the ‘fae’, ‘aye’, and ‘wasny’, all give the impression a Glaswegian man, as well as the poor sentence structure, ‘rose fae the dead like, see what I mean? ’. It further adds to the impression that the working-class man is poorly educated. The verbs that are used ‘lurches’, ‘flops’, ‘lunges’, and ‘swings’ are all quite erratic and violent movements, and the fact that the poem is in the present tense add to that feeling of immediacy and make you feel in the poem.At the end, the structure of the last sentence, ‘On very nearly steady legs’ could be describing the man’s movements as he steps off of the bus, because the words are used as a sort of calligram, the words look like steps. In conclusion, ‘Good Friday’ is a poem in which strong poetic techniques such as speech, verbs, repetition, and symbolism , and they are used to highlight central themes in the poem such as social class issues, and the way society is becoming increasingly secular.

Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages

Case Study: Competition in Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Vitamin-Enhanced Beverages ————————————————- [email  protected] com 1. What are the strategically relevant components of the global and U. S. beverage industry macro-environment? How do the economic characteristics of the alternative beverage segment of the industry differ from that of other beverage categories? Explain. Demographics: The total sale for beverages in 2009 in the US was about 458. 3 billion gallons and it is one of the largest markets with dollar value of 1,581. billion in 2009 and with a forecast of $1,775. 3 billion for 2014. 48. 2 percent of industry sales were from carbonated soft drinks and 29. 2 percent of bottle water industry sales. In 2009,The Alternative beverage industry included sports drinks, flavored or enhanced water and energy drinks made up 4%, 1. 6%, and 1. 2% of industry sales r espectively. The global market for alternative beverages in 2009 was $40. 2 billion, while it was $17 billion for alternative beverages in US market. It was $ 12. 7 billion and $9. billion for Asia pacific and European markets respectively. Market growth: The market growth has huge potential with the dollar value of the global market for alternative beverages grew at a 9. 8% annually between 2005 and 2009, but was expected to slow down to 5. 7% annually between 2010 and 2014. US is the country which has strongest growth internationally in term of alternative beverage sales with an annual growth rate of 16. 6% between 2005 and 2009 and a forecasted growth rate of 6. 7% between 2010 and 2014.Europe and Asia-Pacific grew at annual rates of 5. 3% and 5. 6% between 2005 and 2009 and were expected to grow at a rate of 4. 4% and 5. 1% respectively between 2010 and 2014. However poor economic conditions in the US in 2008 and 2009 led to a 12. 3% decline in sports drink sales and a 12. 5% de cline in flavored and vitamin waters sales. It was also the reason why energy drinks sales increased only 0. 2% between those years. Rivalry between competitors: Coca Cola, Pepsico and Redbull are the three big players that made the industry rivalry become global.However, there were hundreds of brands like Otsuko which were specialty yet regional brands that did not have a foot print internationally but were doing well in their own terms. Beverage producers had made various attempts at increasing the size of the market for alternative beverages by extending existing product lines and developing altogether new products. Social Forces: * Global beverage companies such as Coca Cola and PepsiCo had relied on such beverages to sustain in volume growth in mature markets where consumers were reducing their consumption of carbonated soft drinks. Expanding the market for alternatives beverages and increasing sales and market share, beverage producers also were forced to content with criticis m from some that energy drinks, energy shots, and relaxation drinks presented health risks for consumers and that some producers’ strategies promoted reckless behavior, the primary concern of most producers of energy drinks, sports drinks, and vitamin-enhanced beverages was how to best improve their competitive standing in the market place. Driving Forces for this industry: * Expanding Market share Desire to reach out to Consumer needs and meet the demand * Personalization of the Market Segments* Branding * Market Size * Maximization of Growth Potential General Economic Conditions: * Global growth is projected to grow at 3. 5 percent in 2012, then accelerate somewhat to 3. 6 percent from 2013-2014. In 2012 It is expected that emerging economies will be slow in growth by 0. 7 percentage points on average, going from 6. 3 percent growth in 2011 to 5. 6 percent in 2012, partly as a result of slower export growth and partly because several of them have been growing above trend an d the GDP Growth for the world is predicted to be at 3. . Things look a little slow but are picking up slowly and there is no recession in sight so far. This could really help the industries like Food, Beverages, Health surge ahead like they already are into the market with more percentage of market share and consumer usage based on the increasing numbers in the trend. Impact of Economic Factors: * Demand on beverages and alternative beverages should remain incremental or stable * Branded alternative beverages with national and international presence should do well * Business opportunities should be encouraged with fair and encouraging interest rates 2.What is competition like in the alternative beverage industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? The Beverage industry is highly competitive and the segments that come into picture when it comes to competition are Distribution, Shelf management, Licenses, Brand name and Image, Pricing, Labeling and Packaging, Marketing and Advertising, Quality and taste, Trade and Consumer promotions and Branding. Competition with non-alcoholic beverages * Competition with Carbonated beverages * Competition with regional beverage producers and private label soft drink suppliers * Competition in maintenance of distribution network * Competition on quality and pricing* Competition on Branding, Labeling, Marketing, Packaging and Promotions. Bargaining power of Buyers: Strong * Convenience store, grocery store, and wholesale buyers had considerable leverage in negotiating pricing and slotting fees with alternative beverage producers because of their bulk purchases. New entrants with comparatively lower market shares are most affected with this like how it is mentioned in the case where the shelf space is limited to top brands like Coke, PepsiCo and Red bull for that p articular market segment. The larger brands like coke and Pepsi also already have spaces worked out with them for their other products and this makes it easier for the bigger brands to get their newer products in the shelf’s too. * Delis and restaurants have low switching costs to other brands but they have less volumes compared to stores and less space, shelfs etc. nd also will not have the same bargaining power that a store enjoys. * Demand is highly dynamic Bargaining Power of Suppliers: Weak * Suppliers for alternative beverages do exist in huge numbers and the competition is high * The producers of alternative beverages are important customers of suppliers and buy in large quantities. * Packaging is readily available Threat of Substitutes: Medium* Many substitutes like tea, bottled water, juices, nutrition water etc. have surfaced but the market is not as big as alternative beverages and this customer preference had weakened the competitive power of substitute beverages. Many substitutes that can quench the thirst of the consumers * Price point of substitutes is less compared to alternative beverages Threat of New entrants: Weak * Brand leaders already exist in the industry with competitive prices and well established distribution system * Convenience stores and Shelves across the stores are already in partnership with existing big-wigs * Customer loyalty towards branded products is high * Need for large financial resources and funds * High Brand equity for already existing and successful brands Threat of Rivalry: Strong Competition centers among major brands based on brand image, appealing taste, packaging, R&D, Marketing and Distribution capabilities * Attempts by all the brands to increase the number and types of products in their product line * Low switching costs for the consumers of the industry * Strong marketing campaigns by each brand to gain customer loyalty The Bargaining power of consumers and rivalry that exists between the competi tions in this industry contributes to the attractiveness of the industry.The numbers are promising, the industry is dynamic and increase in demand each year. The factors that affect the potential profitability of the new entrants are the Brand image, Distribution network and Product line breadth. 3) How is the market for energy drinks, sports drinks and vitamin-enhanced beverages changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those forces individually or collectively make the industry more or less attractive? * Driving forces of the alternative everage industry are dependent on the creating/sustaining market demand, dynamics of the growth rate and product innovation. * Industry leaders established: Segments within the alternative beverage industry have consolidated as markets have matured and leaders have been established. Red Bull GmbH and Hansen Natural Corporation remained independent in 2010, Coca-Cola controlled such brands as Powerade sports drink, Fuze vita min-enhanced beverages, glaceau vitamin water and NOS.In addition, Coca-Cola distributed Hansen’s Monster energy drink in parts of the United States, Canada, and six European countries. * Changes in Long term Growth Rate: The recession had an impact on sales of sports drinks and flavored or enhanced water and has stalled growth in the market for energy drinks; there was also growing market maturity for most categories of alternative beverages. The annual rate of growth for the dollar value of the global market for alternative beverages was forecasted to decline from the 9. percent annual rate occurring between 2005 and 2009 to an anticipated annual rate of 5. 7 percent for 2010 through 2014. While dollar value growth rates were expected to decline only slightly in Europe and Asia-Pacific, the annual rate of growth in the U. S. was projected to decline from 16. 6 percent during 2005 – 2009 to 6. 7 percent between 2010 and 2014 * Product Innovation: The industry is conti nuing to evolve with introduction of new products that enable rise of new category of products.The recent introduction of energy shots is an example of how an innovation that has given rise to an altogether new sub-segment in the industry. * The creation of new product segments, the increasing positive trends in growth rate and increasing market share for each product are a good indication and good drivers of change that increase the attractiveness of the market for an emergent industry. 4) What does your strategic group map of the energy drink, sports drink, and vitamin-enhanced beverage industry look like?Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? The strategic group maps show the industry participants competing with axes of Geographic foot print and Brand. The Map shows that Industry giants like Coke and Pepsico are positioned strongest in the industry due to already existing contracts, supply chain, distribution network and shelf spaces i n retail spaces. * Red Bull is seeing a successful brand in Europe and the U. S. Hansen's Monster is also doing good standing up to the other market giants with distribution partnership with coke giving it the required space and opportunity to grab the market and hence can be considered at a favorable position. * Rock star has also been at a favorable position due to the same reason of distribution network partnership with PepsiCo* Companies with a single brand and regional distribution like Otsuko, Vitamin water etc. appeared to be at an unfavorable place with chances of competition gulping the market share of the small players very soon. ) What key factors determine the success of alternative beverage producers? The Key success factors for Alternative Beverage producers are * Constant Product Innovation: A company must be able to identify what a consumer is looking for and also maintain the ability to adapt with the changing market trends. They must be able to keep up and not lag behind. * Price: Price is always a factors in many cases and in this case consumers with a low brand preference will buy a product based on its competitive pricing * Brand Loyalty: Consumers are particular about what brand they purchase and they stick to it in most of the cases.This stresses for a superior brand image and quality * Distribution system: Probably one of the most important, Effective distribution channels will not only help reduce costs but also helps a company remain competitive. * Size and Scale: Successful alternative beverage producers were required to have sufficient sales volumes to keep marketing expenses at an acceptable cost per unit basis. 6) What recommendations would you make to Coca-Cola to improve its competitiveness in the global alternative beverage industry? To PepsiCo? To Red Bull GmbH? Recommendations to Pepsi Pepsico have to launch a major image building campaign for the most promising products it has. * Pepsico also needs to develop its own energy shot brand try to convince Rockstar to add an energy shot to its distribution agreement. * In addition, Pepsi should negotiate for distribution rights to European and Asia-Pacific market with Rockstar or launch its energy drink brands in attractive international markets. * PepsiCo can expand its foot print and focus on other international markets in energy drinks for more international presence and to utilize the demand of a branded and standard product.Red Bull is currently the number in the energy drinks category and they should really take advantage of that and come up with more product line extensions and more products so people can identify with that brand and try other products too. They should focus more on product innovation and product line extensions. Recommendations to Coca Cola * Coca cola should improve its product by innovating and building up good image to recapture the market share it lost in energy drinks category. * Coca cola should also try to create more rapid gr owth in vitamin-enhanced beverages and energy shots product. Coke should focus on products and Branding efforts to gain market and regain lost market share in energy drinks * It should build up its strength in term of alternative beverage sales in by pursuing acquisitions and focus on building its strength of sales in Asia and react quickly to solve the problem of lacking competitiveness in the European market for alternative beverages. * Coca cola can use a combination of new flavors and formulations, brands, line extensions, improved image building, and distribution capabilities to increase sales of alternative beverages internationally.Recommendations to Red Bull GmbH * Redbull should improve the performance of its recently introduced energy shots and continue to expand into rapidly growing country markets for energy drinks. * It is necessary for the company to maintain its lead in the U. S. and European energy drink market with additional product line extensions based upon produ ct innovation. * It should develop sports drinks or vitamin-enhanced beverages that can further exploit the appeal of the Red Bull brand 7. Using the data in Ex. 11, 12, 13 compare Pepsi, Coke, and Hansen.Who has been the most profitable? Who has better managed their expenses? Which business has shown the most growth? Which of the three would you give the strongest grade for their performance? * Using the data from Exhibit 11,12 and 13 for Coke, Pepsi and Hansen, Hansen seems to be the most profitable so far as it became the largest seller of energy drink in the US by leading most of alternative beverage categories. PepsiCo’s global market share in 2009 was 26. 5 percent, overcome by 11. 5 percent to Coca-Cola.The Coca Cola has better managed their expenses it was the third-largest seller of alternative beverage and in the top five best-selling non-alcoholic beverages worldwide in 2009. But they have lot of catching up to do. I would give the strongest grade for performance t o Hansen for its market share, range of products, product innovation and distribution strategies. Hansen also managed to have higher revenue growth and higher cash flow growth. Net Revenue| 2007| 2008| 2009| CAGR| Pepsi| 39374| 43251| 43232| 3. 17%| Coca Cola| 28857| 31944| 30990| 3. 40%| Hansen| 904465| 1033780| 1143299| 4. 50%| | | | | | | | | | Net Income| 2007| 2008| 2009| CAGR| Pepsi  5674| 5166| 5979| 1. 76%| Coca Cola| 5981| 5807| 6824| 4. 49%| Hansen| 149,406| 108032| 208716| 11. 70%| | | | | | | | | | | Operating profit| 2007| 2008| 2009| CAGR| Pepsi| 7182| 6959| 8044| 3. 85%| Coca Cola| 18451| 20570| 19902| 2. 55%| Hansen| 230986| 163591| 337309| 13. 40%| The company growth rate analysis of the three companies in terms of revenue, income and profit show that Hansen has higher percentage of growth rate well above the industry average. Hansen has greater revenues in the industry segment and higher customer demand and financial success.

Jose Pichardo Essay

Jose Pichardo Essay Jose Pichardo Essay Jose Pichardo Eng. / Rdg. 072 April 8, 2014 Prof. T. Peacock Topic: Should Schools Provide Information about birth/ contraceptives to students under the age of 16 without parental consent? Some schools currently provide basic information about birth control/ contraceptives to its students. Some people believe that because students nowadays are engaging in sexual activity at younger ages, schools should provide information about birth control/ contraceptives without parental consent to students under the age of 16. I agree with this approach. First, students under the age of 16 are at a very vulnerable phase of their lives and should be instructed about sex wisely. Some parents do not have the appropriate preparation to talk to their children about such a delicate topic. Moreover, parents do not feel comfortable having the sex discussion with their children. This is because parents know that children under the age of 16 are embarrassed and are not mature enough to address such subject with them. Also, parents believe that if they bring up the subject to their youngsters, they may be awakening the desire for sex, as opposed as if a teacher, who may be better qualify, brings up subject to them, may do a better job. Another reason why parents should not to talk to their children about the matter is because the sex discussion may make the parent-children relationship bonding fragile. Second, instructions through schools about birth control/ contraceptives to students under the age of 16 may provide awareness about preventing pregnancy and the spread of STDs. By schools providing this basic information to our children on how to properly protect against STDs and unwanted pregnancy, the rate of sexually transmitted diseases and students conceiving at the age of 16 and younger will drop favorably. In addition to that, this may also help the students understand the consequences of being pregnant at the age of 16 or younger. With the help of schools, this will aid to inform these inexperienced folks that if sex is not addressed properly, the result may

Free Essays on History Of Wilkes-barre

During the early 1700's various Indian tribes, such as the Shawanese, Delaware and Nanticoke, settled in the valley of Wilkes-Barre. In 1768, a group of Yankees, led by Major John Durke, built Fort Durkee near Ross Street. They named the area for John Wilkes and Iasaac Barre. Several battles took place in the following years, but the Yankees were finally recognized as the owners of the land. By the turn of the century, the area had a Newspaper, a post office, and court house. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, hundreds of thousands of immigrants came to the region to work the anthracite coal. This transformed the Wyoming Valley from an isolated farming area to a metropolis. However, the costs of extracting the clean-burning coal from the deep mine shafts were great in human and environmental terms. One out of every four mine workers was a boy. Boys as young as 7 worked the breakers, sorting out rocks from the coal. When mining was at its peak in this area, almost every day the papers carried an account of someone being killed. The most common injury was from fallen rock. The success of coal brought a steady stream of entrepreneurs who grew very rich and powerful. J. C. Atkins built the Wilkes-Barre Lace Manufacturing Co., and Fred Kirby opened his first five-and-dime stores at 172 E. Market St. Men like Charles Parrish and the Coxe brothers owned mines, powder mills, timber companies, and railroads. In 1857, Charles Stegmaier began brewing beer on Hazle St, and he was turning out over two hundred thousand barrels a year by 1916. Silk and garment mills became major employers for mining woman with companies such as the Empire Silk Mill importing silk from Japan. Richard Jones, a mill worker, founded Vulcan Iron Works on S. Main St. in 1849, which grew to one thousand six hundred employees, producing loc... Free Essays on History Of Wilkes-barre Free Essays on History Of Wilkes-barre During the early 1700's various Indian tribes, such as the Shawanese, Delaware and Nanticoke, settled in the valley of Wilkes-Barre. In 1768, a group of Yankees, led by Major John Durke, built Fort Durkee near Ross Street. They named the area for John Wilkes and Iasaac Barre. Several battles took place in the following years, but the Yankees were finally recognized as the owners of the land. By the turn of the century, the area had a Newspaper, a post office, and court house. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, hundreds of thousands of immigrants came to the region to work the anthracite coal. This transformed the Wyoming Valley from an isolated farming area to a metropolis. However, the costs of extracting the clean-burning coal from the deep mine shafts were great in human and environmental terms. One out of every four mine workers was a boy. Boys as young as 7 worked the breakers, sorting out rocks from the coal. When mining was at its peak in this area, almost every day the papers carried an account of someone being killed. The most common injury was from fallen rock. The success of coal brought a steady stream of entrepreneurs who grew very rich and powerful. J. C. Atkins built the Wilkes-Barre Lace Manufacturing Co., and Fred Kirby opened his first five-and-dime stores at 172 E. Market St. Men like Charles Parrish and the Coxe brothers owned mines, powder mills, timber companies, and railroads. In 1857, Charles Stegmaier began brewing beer on Hazle St, and he was turning out over two hundred thousand barrels a year by 1916. Silk and garment mills became major employers for mining woman with companies such as the Empire Silk Mill importing silk from Japan. Richard Jones, a mill worker, founded Vulcan Iron Works on S. Main St. in 1849, which grew to one thousand six hundred employees, producing loc...

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY As we all know that an essay is a form of short piece of writing that is created to share authors point of view. An essay is a pedagogical tool used to teach and to improve students writing skills. One of the most common and widely-used essays is descriptive essay. Descriptive essay can be categorized as the type of academic writing that majorly focused on picking up of sensory sort of details. Â  Sensory details mean an authors perception like getting and understanding the sensory information. Sensory information is obtained through physiological capabilities of the body and processed through mind perception. By describing your own sensory perception in the descriptive essay, you are appealing to the readers. You major goal is to draw in the reader’s attention through his emotional, physical and intellectual involvement. While writing your descriptive essay, consider your audience, focus on getting the strong impression, use variety of linguistic descriptive tools to receive audience reaction. DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY Writing descriptive essay is an academic skill that requires some practice. The major knowledge about descriptive essay is actual knowing exactly what this type of writing requires. Initially, descriptive type of essay implies the excessive use of description methods. Prepare your mind to give the reader a full picture of the events that took place. Think of yourself as a reporter that is here to provide detailed descriptions of all things that happened at the specific time. By giving a full picture that may include momentary face expressions of participants or eminent gestures, the reader will be able to create a picture in his mind that is proven to fit the reality of description by 99%. To open up a secret to you, while many people agree that the information is perceived by the mind, but the actual information processing oftentimes is being conducted with the help of our subconscious mind as well. That is the reason that stands behind a good descriptive essay that is able to show all events in a format of descriptive writing to all readers in the same manner.

Funding Sources within Upcoming Entrepreneurs Research Paper

Funding Sources within Upcoming Entrepreneurs - Research Paper Example This is the scenario where there emerge various businesspersons who are willing to start their own businesses for the purpose of providing better services to the people, which in the process results to better profit realization. Consequently, in the process of starting a new business organization, entrepreneurs should make sure they consider and meet various factors such as capital, labor and better management in order to avoid the collapse of the organization at its early stages. Moreover, the emergence of these business organizations are helpful as they results to the creation of job opportunities within the given environment, therefore, they should be encouraged. Thesis Based on the development of new businesses, this paper provides the three types of funding sources that an entrepreneur should considers during capital generation, some of the merits of the provided funding sources and their disadvantages. It also provides some of the factors that the lender should consider in the borrower and some of the ways in which the information need to be presented to the lender. The research paper also provides some of the procedures that need to be followed in future in during the process of entrepreneurial endeavor and some of the ways in which entrepreneurs may manage to start their own businesses. ... Question 1: Types of Funding Sources to Entrepreneurs During the process of coming up with a business organization, there are various factors that an entrepreneur should consider for the success of the business to be achieved. One of the main factors to be looked at is the capital for starting the proposed business. Therefore, there are three main types of funding sources that an entrepreneur should consider in the process of generating capital for starting a business. These include: Debt Financing Through the process of debt financing, an entrepreneur is required to apply for loans from various financial institutions such as banks and non-government institutions. Therefore, before an organization decide to borrow money from these institutions, the need to consider the lending process, interest provided and the period in which the organization is required to settle all their debts. If the information provided by the banks complies with the situation of the business, the entrepreneur needs to apply for the loans (Viramgami 178). On the other hand, for the bank organization to strike the deal with the organization they need to consider the cash flow of the organization and the security that the proposed organization provides against the loan provided. Grants This is the process whereby various entrepreneurs become part of some of the government agencies within their respective countries. For instance, in the United States, most of their new entrepreneurs who are willing to start small businesses become members of the Small Business Administration, which is part of the Small Business Innovation Research programs (Talloo, 78). Therefore, in the process of becoming part of these government organizations, these people are in the position of getting help

Policy Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Policy Paper - Essay Example Al-Shabaab, actually the Harakat Shabaab al-Mujahidin, was the rebellious branch of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts. A major portion of the southern Somalia was taken over by this group during the last six months of the year 2006. The group has exercised control over the southern and central Somalia, at times temporary, otherwise sustained through recruiting local sub-tribes along with their armed force, even forcibly. Majority of the fighters within the group are concerned with fighting against Somalia’s Transitional Federal Government (TFG). The senior leadership of Al-Shabaab group is associated with al-Qa’ida and it is believed that a number of the terrorists within the group have received training and battled in Afghanistan. Ideology of Al-Shabaab The ideology of Al-Shabaab is another tread towards the vision of the global ‘jihadist’ movement. The group operates with the notion that the troubles of Somalia can only be eradicated through such governance that runs on religious values. They work with the notion that everything has to be in compliance with the laws of the Islam. According to a report written by Abu Mansoor al-Amriki, an American mujahid, a conference was boycotted by the Al-Shabaab group because it was violently against working with any non-Islamic group. Al-Shabaab’s ideology was that if they work with any group that does not value religious belief, the scope of political feeling within the group increases. The politics ultimately build up a path that gives rise to defeats and losses. Ideology of the group that is developed upon the God’s verses makes the terrorists’ group believe that they are ‘good Muslims’. This idea of the group bars them from realizing their mis deed through taking the lives of many (Gartenstein, â€Å"The Strategic Challenge of Somalia's Al-Shabaab†). Structure of Al-Shabaab The nominal leader of the Al-Shabaab group is Sheikh Mohamed Mukhtar Abdirahman. However, according to various experts, the group’s activities are guided by a number of senior leaders. Al-Shabaab group is classified into mainly three geographical locations. The locations are: the regions of Bay and Bokool where it is led by Mukhtar Roobow, Mogadishu with southern and central Somalia and Somaliland and Puntland. There is another unit whose leader is not a member of the Al-Shabaab group but is believed to have a strong association with the group. A report of the ‘December 2008 UN Monitoring Group’ revealed that the four regional units of the group operates separately and even passes through conflicts among themselves. There are carious estimates about the exact size of the group. However, it is according to the notions of analy sts that people believed the group to be consisted of thousands of fighters. A major portion of the group belongs to the Hawiye tribal community

The comparison of Kindred by Butler and Beloved by Toni Morrison Essay

The comparison of Kindred by Butler and Beloved by Toni Morrison - Essay Example Beloved is the story of former slave, Sethe, who lives with her daughter, Denever and mother in law. She has been excommunicated by her community as she killed her child named Beloved 15 years ago in order to save her from being a slave. Here slavery is so cruel that death has been preferred over it. Parents of would be slaves kill their own offspring instead of giving them to slave-catchers. But the choice made by Sethe is criticized and rejected by her own community. To them Sethe’s choice of freedom for her child is unacceptable. They think that a slave should submit to his fate. In Toni Morrison’s Beloved â€Å" the ghost is the reminder of how the phallus of slavery disrupted all bonds when it came down to the black family† ( Bloom 100) Butler’s Kindered also portrays a world where slavery and violence are the common practices. The racial divide has already determined the roles where white are slave-owners and blacks are the slaves. The White have power over the existence of their slaves and they use violence as their instrument. The slavery seems to be an inevitable institution in this society and violence of masters is a common happening. Commenting on this acceptance of reality by the salves Dana says, â€Å"â€Å"The ease. Us, the children . . . I never realized how easily people could be trained to accept slavery† (101). The world seems to deterministic where slavery is accepted as fate. Rufus is a ruthless master who has learned to use his authority since his childhood and treats his slaves cruelly. Sam and Nigel are mistreated. The slaves are victim of all forms of violence: lashing, rapes and other physical and mental brutalities. Slaves’ only refuge and solace against these brutalities is their family and home. Home is the binding force which is a symbol of safety and freedom for the slaves and their family is a binding

Gendered Roles in The Tale of Genji Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gendered Roles in The Tale of Genji - Essay Example Notable among themes is the illustration of unique livelihoods of high courtiers at the time of the Heian period. This illustration also qualifies the social constraints and liberties which men and women faced in the Heian period, as shall be seen forthwith. Social Constraints Which Compelled Elite Men and Women to Negotiate As Part of Their Privileged Status In the Tale of Genji, there are particular sorts of social constraints which compelled men and women to negotiate as part of a privileged status. In the Genji Monogatari, it is the concept and reality of class and class consciousness. She is not able to fit into the life in palace, despite being the queen, Lady Kiritsubo. As is provided for by Seidensticker, the grand ladies in the palace regard her as a presumptuous upstart while ladies who hold lesser or lower social standing than Lady Kiritsubo are resentful towards her. The gravity of this development is portrayed as being highly potent since the same affects the queenâ€⠄¢s psychosocial life: she falls ill and becomes more frequently at home, than at the palace1. Again, it is indisputable that life’s natural courses are constraints and forces which compel men to negotiate as part of their privileged status. Since man must die, he has to genetically propagate himself and his genes. Marriage is the environment in which propagation is done, and love is the force which creates this environment and also sustains it. To get into marriage, all like Emperor Kiritsubo had to negotiate with their fiances or girlfriends. Despite the glaring disparity of fortunes, Emperor Kiritsubo falls in love with Lady Kiritsubo, marries her and sires Genji with her. At a certain point, Emperor Kiritsubo, Emperor Suzaku, Kokiden, Lady Fujitsubo and Genji die. One of these constraints is the integration of individuals to their occupation, in lieu of their personality and character. To this effect, none of the characters in the original texts are assigned explicit name s. All characters are referred to, in relation to their roles, their social standing and the relations that these characters have with other characters. This is the case so that there is the Minister to the Left, His Excellency and the Heir-Apparent, respectively2. While this development above may soothe the ego of aristocrats and people with reputable occupations, it may also serve as a source of stigma to those who are less privileged in the society. In the same wavelength, referring to people by their character may subject the same to prejudice and stigma too strong to allow them the power and chance to reform. Anyone who is always and consistently referred to as a thief may not see the need to reform as that label is permanently stuck on him. The same may also entrench classicism since those who are poor and weak in the society are referred to as such. The elite are always referred to by their honorifics and thereby entrenching their sense of self importance. The Greatest Source s of Freedom (Or Joy) and the Greatest Constraints on Individual Identity That Men And Women Faced In This Age, As Seen In the Novel Some of the greatest freedoms which men and women enjoy in the Heian Period are biologically induced, meaning that because of biological reasons, certain

Introduction to computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Introduction to computing - Essay Example f software programs that run on a much deeper level than these surface uses that are essential to the usability and accessibility of any of these other programs. This type of software is called system software, without which the computer would be a nearly useless collection of plastic, metal and wires. This software governs everything from how the computer stores and interprets data to how it is analyzed and accessed and eventually displayed on the screen for user input. Additionally, how the computer responds to user signals is also managed by system software in operations that are generally never seen or even imagined by the end user. To understand how this works, it is necessary to understand the difference between the shell and the kernel embedded in the operating system as well as the main features of graphic user interfaces as opposed to command line or human/computer interfaces, ending with a look at some of the more common programs such as Unix, Linux and Windows Vista. A shell is the interface program that allows a user to communicate with the computer. Like the shell of a turtle or crustacean, the shell can be viewed as the outermost layer of the computer’s operating system. â€Å"Shells incorporate a programming language to control processes and files, as well as to start and control other programs† (â€Å"Chapter 11†, 1997). There are various ways in which a shell acts to facilitate information transfer between the user and the computer including providing the necessary prompts for user input, translating that input into language that the computer can understand and acting to turn any output from the computer into usable information back out to the user. This process can take place either through information transferred through the use of a keyboard or through the execution of a set of commands contained in a file called a shell script. â€Å"When you log in to the system, the system locates the name of a shell program to execute. Once executed,

Gendered Roles in The Tale of Genji Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gendered Roles in The Tale of Genji - Essay Example Notable among themes is the illustration of unique livelihoods of high courtiers at the time of the Heian period. This illustration also qualifies the social constraints and liberties which men and women faced in the Heian period, as shall be seen forthwith. Social Constraints Which Compelled Elite Men and Women to Negotiate As Part of Their Privileged Status In the Tale of Genji, there are particular sorts of social constraints which compelled men and women to negotiate as part of a privileged status. In the Genji Monogatari, it is the concept and reality of class and class consciousness. She is not able to fit into the life in palace, despite being the queen, Lady Kiritsubo. As is provided for by Seidensticker, the grand ladies in the palace regard her as a presumptuous upstart while ladies who hold lesser or lower social standing than Lady Kiritsubo are resentful towards her. The gravity of this development is portrayed as being highly potent since the same affects the queenâ€⠄¢s psychosocial life: she falls ill and becomes more frequently at home, than at the palace1. Again, it is indisputable that life’s natural courses are constraints and forces which compel men to negotiate as part of their privileged status. Since man must die, he has to genetically propagate himself and his genes. Marriage is the environment in which propagation is done, and love is the force which creates this environment and also sustains it. To get into marriage, all like Emperor Kiritsubo had to negotiate with their fiances or girlfriends. Despite the glaring disparity of fortunes, Emperor Kiritsubo falls in love with Lady Kiritsubo, marries her and sires Genji with her. At a certain point, Emperor Kiritsubo, Emperor Suzaku, Kokiden, Lady Fujitsubo and Genji die. One of these constraints is the integration of individuals to their occupation, in lieu of their personality and character. To this effect, none of the characters in the original texts are assigned explicit name s. All characters are referred to, in relation to their roles, their social standing and the relations that these characters have with other characters. This is the case so that there is the Minister to the Left, His Excellency and the Heir-Apparent, respectively2. While this development above may soothe the ego of aristocrats and people with reputable occupations, it may also serve as a source of stigma to those who are less privileged in the society. In the same wavelength, referring to people by their character may subject the same to prejudice and stigma too strong to allow them the power and chance to reform. Anyone who is always and consistently referred to as a thief may not see the need to reform as that label is permanently stuck on him. The same may also entrench classicism since those who are poor and weak in the society are referred to as such. The elite are always referred to by their honorifics and thereby entrenching their sense of self importance. The Greatest Source s of Freedom (Or Joy) and the Greatest Constraints on Individual Identity That Men And Women Faced In This Age, As Seen In the Novel Some of the greatest freedoms which men and women enjoy in the Heian Period are biologically induced, meaning that because of biological reasons, certain

MUVES and the 21st Century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

MUVES and the 21st Century - Essay Example In the same way, these have enhanced access to learning and business practices. Many people from different parts of the world have been enrolling in institutions abroad to enroll in distance learning courses through the e-learning portals and systems created by the institutions offering this kind of learning (Jarrett, 2008). In this, the benefits of technological advancements cannot be overemphasized in any way. It remains the responsibility of institutions and business organisations that want to take advantage of these developments to make approaches through which they can improve their social and business process through the use of these systems and others, which continue to be developed. Multi-User Virtual Environments, also known as MUVEs refers to the popular and well-known forms of multi-media based entertainments. However, in the recent past, these kinds of media have been receiving wide acceptance in various other disciplines, because of the ability to facilitate important practices when effectively used. For instance, in many places the attention of MUVEs seems to have changed drastically, to focus on the ability support learning activities in the education sector. In this regard, many research groups have been active in designing different kinds of MUVEs, while investigating their perceived effectiveness in delivering some of the set goals and objectives. These research processes have been offering various kinds of MUVEs in different formats in order to determine their ability to achieve the set goals and objectives in teaching and learning. It is expected that the ongoing research into the effectiveness of these technologies will play a leading role in influencing the various practices not only in the education sector, but also in other sectors and in this century. MUVEs that are designed for use in the wider educational community often have certain embedded problems and

Assessment of Students’ Satisfaction on the Restructured Essay Example for Free

Assessment of Students’ Satisfaction on the Restructured Essay 1.0 Introduction At the University of Ghana there are reports that rooms originally built to take two students, are now officially allocated to five students (after minor modifications), but unofficially occupied by as many as eight or nine – to the knowledge of the university authorities! Apart from the obvious hygiene and health hazards posed, what kind of ambience does this provide for study after classes? All of which have brought most African universities to a state of serious deterioration. This is evident not only to those who work or study in those universities but to even the most casual visitor. – (Association of African Universities, 2004) Housing is a basic human need in all societies and fundamental right of every individual. In advanced countries, housing is more accessible to all categories of people including the poor and the needy as a result of subsidies from the government. The situation is not the same in developing countries of the world. In Ghana, for example, accessibility to housing by the poor is quite a difficult situation which is worsened by the harsh economic conditions and poor enabling environment. Likewise, accessing housing facilities by Ghanaian students at the university is no exception, especially where such university happens to be the dream destination of most Ghanaians entering into tertiary institution. In tertiary institutions worldwide, the provision of accommodation to the students’ population takes different models. This includes; non-residential, where students source for their own accommodation. Residential, where the university houses all its students and dual-residential, where the university houses its student population for a period of time only, probably the first and final year, while the students during the remaining period source for their own accommodations. The experiences of students in tertiary institutions in sourcing and securing for their own accommodation around university communities are likely to be interesting and significant. However, it is worth noting that, University of Ghana, the nation’s premier university has gone through a series of development when it comes to how to accommodate its students, both undergraduates and postgraduates. 1.1 Research problem University of Ghana has undergone a series of reforms when it comes to the residential policy for its students. The ever increasing number of enrollees in the institution is what defines this restructuring of the policy governing students’ accommodation over time. In the past two years what the incumbent vice chancellor of the university term as â€Å"Decongestion† has taken place in anticipation to the fulfillment of the university achieving efficiency in its field of operation. The drive has also been fast tracked by his informal goal that the university should achieve a world-class status. Effective August, 2011, the university effectively implemented its decongestion policy allocating rooms to a maximum of three (3) students and four (4) students in the main halls and annexes respectively. This was done to address the problems of overcrowding that resulted in adverse effects of poor sanitation, pressure on residential utilities such as reading rooms and libraries, kitchen and washrooms, among other poor conditions for effective personal studies by students. Residential facilities have been increased to make the policy successful. Even though, the problem of inadequate accommodation for students is not entirely solved, the restructuring have been effective since its implementation, and it is worth investigating the effects of the new policy, whether it has achieved its goal or it is towards achieving its intended goal or otherwise. 1.2 Purpose of the study The main reason why this research is being conducted is to evaluate the satisfaction of students with the current students’ residential policy and its effects on their studies. 1.3 Objectives of the study Specific objectives of the study are as follows: 1. To assess students perception of sanitation in the halls/hostels now. 2. To assess students perception of security in the halls/hostels now. 3. To investigate students accessibility to some basic hall/hostel utilities. 1.4 Research Questions 1. What is students’ perception of sanitation in the halls/hostels now? 2. What is students’ perception of security and comfort in the halls/hostels now? 3. What is the accessibility status of students to basic halls/hostels utilities now? 1.5 Relevance of the study As a top university in Ghana and Africa and one which is striving to attain a world class status, adequate facilities should be provided and already existing ones improved, especially standards of services and facilities which include providing conducive on-campus student housing facility. The above research provides the grounding for this study and highlights the areas of new knowledge which are needed; to focus upon students’ satisfaction of residential facilities in University of Ghana. A key question is what is the level of students’ satisfaction with regards to the students housing facility (SHF) in the context of University of Ghana? The study contributes to a better understanding of SRS of UG. The results offer valuable feedback to the university authorities, facility managers and university hostel/hall administrators in terms of the present standards or the need for further improvement of the SHF through effective designs and management. The results will help to formulate guidelines in terms of allocation of rooms to students, maintenance and for future developments of student housing ensuring that the university is able to provide adequate and contemporary on-campus SHF. 2.0 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction This section reviews existing literature on the student residential facilities. It is mainly made up of previous studies, journals, articles, periodicals amongst other sources. They form the secondary source of data to the study. 2.2 The Concept of Student Residential Facility Student housing has long been regarded as an essential component of the facilities provided by the higher learning institutions in assisting students to expand their intellectual capabilities. According to Hassanain (2008), well planned student housing facilities (SHF) promote desirable educational outcomes and help to achieve the broader objectives such as social cohesion and responsible citizenship. An earlier study by Zahran (1972) reveals that a good student housing promotes interactions between roommates of different backgrounds and specializations; and thus broadens the students’ knowledge. Amole (2005) argues that facilities such as study areas or meeting places for academic discussions and social gatherings provided in the student housing will encourage informal intellectual activities outside the students’ own faculties. Price et al. (2003) related student interpersonal growth to adequate facilities and Fay (1981) highlighted the importance of students’ satisfaction in the SHF as a strategy to enhance student development. Despite the importance of SHF, little literature is available to evaluate student opinions of their housing facilities. Most studies on post-occupancy evaluation focus on family housing either public or private residences, investigating the interaction between owner-occupiers or tenants and their housing settings. Majority of these studies utilized the concept of housing satisfaction when evaluating the interactions between the residents and their physical environment (Amole, 2009b). Arguing that housing satisfaction can lead towards improving individual’s quality of life, Salleh (2008) investigates dwelling, housing services and neighbourhood factors that influence the residents of private low-cost housing in Malaysia. The study revealed that the residents are more satisfied with their dwelling units and housing services if compared to their neighbourhood facilities. Elsinga and Hoekstra (2005) study housing satisfaction among European communities and find out that except in Austria, homeowners are more satisfied than the tenants because homeownership provides security, freedom and financial benefits. In contrast, James (2008) analyses the influence of age and type of ownership on the level of satisfaction and establishes that tenant satisfaction increases with the age at a much faster rate than the type of homeownership. However, student housing and family housing are not the same. Student housing comprises of basic bedroom units with other shared facilities such as bathrooms, toilets, laundry, kitchens, common lounges and cafeterias located either per floor level, per block or for the whole student housing accommodation (Amole, 2009a). On the contrary, the basic unit for family housing is a house which includes bedrooms, bathrooms, toilets and a living area all as part of the unit with other housing facilities such as playground, shops and school at the neighbourhood (Parkes et al., 2002). In addition, student housing offers limited security of ownership and freedom if compared to family housing. Therefore, the above findings may not apply in the context of student housing. Studies on residential satisfaction (RS) from the student perspective are mostly focused on factors affecting RS; such as reasons for students to maintain their previous residence (Cleave, 1996) and predictors of student residential satisfaction (SRS) (Foubert et al., 1998; Khozaei et al., 2010b). There are also studies on student housing with narrower scopes such as the effects of floor height on over-crowding (Kaya and Erkip, 2001); students’ perceptions on indoor comfort (Dahlan et al., 2009); students’ sense of attachment with a particular student housing (Khozaei et al., 2010a); coping strategies for students staying in student housing (Amole, 2005) and the relationship between satisfaction and levels of environment (Amole, 2009b). These studies offer little guidance as to whether the students are satisfied with SHF provided. Among the limited studies on SRS are studies by Amole (2007, 2009a), Hassanain (2008) and Radder and Han (2009). Amole (2007, 2009a) investigates RS among students in Nigeria and the findings indicated a low satisfaction with the SHF provided. Radder and Han (2009) researched student satisfaction levels in South Africa and the findings indicated again a level of dissatisfaction with campus residences. Alternatively, Hassanain (2008) found that students in Saudi Arabia indicated a level of satisfaction with the SHF provided. However, the studies were conducted in countries where the culture and climate are different from that experienced in the Southeast Asia region, which is likely to affect the perceived environment of the built environment. Therefore, the results of the studies may not be applicable to the study context. 2.3 Evolution of the accommodation structure Originally, halls in the university were built to accommodate two students per room. This provision was adequate for students because not many people sought for higher education. However, as the population of Ghana increased and the need to seek higher education became prominent in the country, the number students enrolled each academic year increased rapidly as well. Residential facilities were increased and expanded to accommodate the ever increasing number of student intake which demanded restructuring of student residential policy given the limited resources the university had. In the midst of the reforms, beyond the expansion and modification of the original rooms to accommodate two persons at a time, the number increased to five (5) in a room officially, both in the main halls and the annexes. The continuous increase in the student intake amidst the unexpanded residential facilities meant that, not all students could be accommodated on campus, therefore, private hostels began to spring up to absorb the excess students who could not secure accommodation on campus. The private hostels motivation to make profit meant that they charge high prices which were unbearable by many students. This brought about one of the prominent terms that everyone who has passed through the four walls of the University of Ghana is popular with â€Å"Perching†. 2.4 The issue of â€Å"Perching† The word connotes students who illegally share residential facilities with official occupants of a room. This resulted in overcrowding in the halls, putting extreme pressure on washrooms, reading rooms, hall libraries, dry lines, among other facilities that were originally constructed for two people. This was happening who many reforms were going on. The two most popular reforms were the â€Å"in-out-out-in† and the â€Å"in-out-out-out† policies. The former meant that, all first year students were qualified for accommodation on campus, this qualification did not mean automatic allocation of rooms to freshmen but allocation was subject balloting for a â€Å"YES† or â€Å"NO† and second and third year students were to look for their own accommodation. Under this policy, final year students like first year students also qualified to be accommodated on campus; it is however, worth noting that, even for the final year students, because of the limited number of rooms available, allocation of rooms was also done via balloting a yes or no by students. The latter policy, in-out-out-out raised a lot of eyebrows as it meant that only first year students were offered accommodation on campus. And for this policy allocation to level 100 students was automatic and assured. With this policy in place the problem of â€Å"perching† worsened. The official number of occupants in a room almost doubled for almost all the halls of residence. The adverse effects of poor situation created a lot of problems; poor sanitation, insecurity, discomfort, which had direct impact on students’ health, hygiene, and efficiency. 2.5 The current residential policy â€Å"The University of Ghana Hostels with a capacity of 26000 beds, which was to be built at the University of Ghana, Legon, with partnership between the university and six banks was a dream come alive as long as finding a solution to the perennial problem of accommodation in our public universities is concerned† this was an assertion made by Professor C. N. B. Tagoe, Vice Chancellor of the university of Ghana (GhanaWeb, 2008). From the above statement I would to acknowledge the â€Å"Contingency theory† one of the prominent schools under the Open Systems perspective of Organizations. This theory as a branch of systems design emphasizes that design decisions are dependent on environmental conditions. Contingency theory is guided by the general orienting hypothesis that organizations whose internal features match the demands of their environments will achieve the best adaptation. Lawrence and Lorsch (1967), who coined the label â€Å"contingency theory†, argue that different environments place differing requirements on organizations. In a recent review article, Lawrence (1993) provides a partial list of factors that one or another theorist has considered important. They include size or scale, technology, geography, uncertainty, individual predispositions of participants, resource dependency, national or cultural differences, scope and organizational life cycle. With concentration on the resource dependency factor, it is indicative that, the adaptation and realization of the said solution was heavily contingent on the provision of financial resources by the six banks which are external to the organization. As the resources from the external environment was provided by the six banks, the expansion of the residential facilities have been a reality indeed, making it possible to establish four different hostels which accommodates about 7, 120 students. It is a combination of these factors that made it possible for the decongestion exercise in the five traditional halls feasible. Currently, some of the hostels have been restructured into halls and run as the traditional halls. The standard rooms accommodate four (4) persons as the annexes do. With other stringent measures put in place to control â€Å"perching† it is believed that, the purpose for which this restructuring was done is being worked towards. It must be stated categorically that, the main reason for this exercise is to improve students’ efficiency in the university. 2.6 Halls of Residence/Hostels The University believes in community living as an essential part of student life. It is therefore primarily residential, providing accommodation in Halls of Residence for both undergraduate and post-graduate students as well as flats and guest rooms for senior members and guests. There are five halls of residence (available to all students) and several Hostels. The present Halls and Hostels are as follows: Each Hall consists of junior members (students) and senior members (academic and senior administrative and professional staff), and is managed by a Council comprising members elected by persons belonging to the Hall. The Master (or Warden in the case of Volta Hall) is the Head of the Hall. Each Hall has Junior and Senior Common Rooms for students and Faculty, respectively. A tutorial system offers an opportunity for counseling students and ensuring their welfare at both academic and social levels. Students maintain interaction with each other and the wider community through recogni zed clubs and societies. Each Hall has a kitchen and a dining hall to cater for students feeding. Chapels and a mosque are also available for use by various religious denominations. A Chaplaincy Board co-ordinate the activities of religious groups. Social life on the campus is organised mainly by the Students Representative Council and the Junior Common Room Committees which provide various kinds of social programmes. LEGON HALL: Legon Hall was the first to be built on the permanent site of the University of Ghana at Legon and is, therefore, the Premier Hall of the University. Its foundation tablet was laid during the Michaelmas Term of 1951 and, in September 1952, the first undergraduates were accepted into residence. On Trinity Sunday, 31st May 1953, the first service was held in the Chapel and the first meal served in the Dining Hall. From these events, the Hall took Trinity Sunday every year as its birthday, celebrated by a common Feast for both its Junior and Senior Members. The Halls motto, Cui Datum (To whom much is given†¦), was selected from St. Lukes Gospel, in recognition of the special responsibility attached to the Halls seniority. Senior Members of the University may be assigned as Fellows of the Hall by the Vice Chancellor and they usually keep their Fellowship for as long as they remain with the University. Persons of academic distinction outside the University may be elected as Honorary Fellows at a General Meeting of Fellows. The rest of the membership of the Hall is made up of persons in statu pupillari. The governing body of the Hall is the Hall Council, members of which are Fellows of the Hall. The principal Hall Officers are: The Master, the Vice-Master, the President of the Senior Common Room, the Senior Tutor, and the Hall Bursar. AKUAFO HALL: Akuafo Hall was established with the appointment of Professor D.A. Taylor, a Master-designate and a Hall Council in 1953. The Hall Council in 1954 decided to name the Hall Akuafo to commemorate the generous gesture of the farmers of Ghana in giving money for the foundation of the University College. A crest which depicts a cocoa tree, an open book and a drum, designed by Professor W.J. McCallien, and a motto, laboremus et sapiamus, suggested by Professor L.H. Ofosu-Appiah, were adopted by the Council. A commemorative plaque with a Latin inscription composed by Professor L.H. Ofosu-Appiah was set up to show the gratitude of the Hall to the farmers of the country and to the British Government who gave the University College funds for the building of the Hall. The Hall was officially opened on 17 February, 1956, but the first students, numbering 131, came into residence on the 5th October, 1955. The Hall has its own statutes governing the election of officers and the administration of its affairs. Once a year, the Master has to convene a meeting of the Fellows, who form the governing body, to receive his annual report. The Senior Common Room is open to all Fellows and their guests, and the Senior Combination Room to all senior members of the University. Senior Members may also invite students to the Combination Room. COMMONWEALTH HALL: The first batch of students was admitted into residence in Commonwealth Hall at the beginning of the 1956-1957 academic year. In the Lent Term of that academic year, Ghana attained its independence from Great Britain, and the Hall, hitherto known as the Third Hall, was officially christened Commonwealth Hall to commemorate Ghanas admission into the Commonwealth of Nations. The official opening of the Hall was performed in March, 1957. It is, so far, the only all-male Hall of Residence in the University. The motto of the Hall, Truth Stands, was taken from a quotation from Satyre by John Donne (1572-1631): On a huge hill, cragged, and steep, Truth stands and hee that will Reach her, about must, and about must goe This motto combines both the physical situation of the Hall (on a hillside overlooking most of the University and beyond) and the proper pursuit of a University education, the search for truth. It is the only Hall of Residence in the University which has a theatre and Amphitheatre for lectures and plays. The Coat of Arms of the Hall depicts the strength and unity of purpose of members of the Hall deriving from the bonds of association enjoyed by the individual members of the Hall. High Commissioners of the Commonwealth countries in Ghana are accorded Honorary Membership of the Hall. There is a Hall Council which administers the affairs of the Hall, assisted by the Tutorial Board and the Senior Common Room Committee. VOLTA HALL: Volta Hall started as the Fourth Hall in the 1959-60 academic year, on 16th November, 1960. The University College Council, on the recommendation of the Hall Council, named it Volta Hall. The Hall consists of the main hall originally designed to accommodate 82 students, and an annex with an original capacity for accommodating 198 students, the occupation of which began in January 1966. The motto of the Hall, chosen during the Halls tenth anniversary celebrations, is in the Akan language and it is: Akokobere Nso Nyim Adekyee. This means that the secret or knowledge of life and nature is a gift to women as it is to men. The Hall has a governing Body which comprises all the Fellows assigned to it and those elected by the assigned Fellows. The government of the Hall rests with this body which delegates some of its powers to a Hall Council. The Hall Council consists of ten members, including the Warden, the Deputy Warden, the Senior Tutor and the Bursar who are ex-officio members. The day-to-day administration of the Hall is carried out by the Warden with the help of the Senior Tutor, who deals with all students affairs, and the Bursar. MENSAH SARBAH HALL: Mensah Sarbah Hall, the fifth Hall of the University, stands in the southern part of the campus. The Hall consists of a main Hall built around a quadrangle and a number of Annexes standing to the north and east. The last two south annexes are attached to the Hall. Until October 1991, Mensah Sarbah was the only co-ed Hall of Residence in the University, which made it quite unique among the Halls. The governing body of the Hall is the Council, which is responsible to the full body of Fellows who form the Senate. Students affairs are handled by students own elected government headed by a President, while the general administration of the Hall is under the Master who is assisted by the Senior Tutor and Tutors on the one hand and the Bursar on the other. Other Hall Officers are the Chaplain, who is responsible fo r the Roman Catholic Chapel, the Prayer Room Warden, who is responsible for the Protestant Chapel, and the Librarian. Senior Common Room affairs are managed by an elected committee under the President of the Senior Common Room. The Hall is named after the famous Ghanaian jurist, writer and statesman, John Mensah Sarbah of Cape Coast. It has been customary for the Hall to celebrate the birthday anniversary of this great man every year. This anniversary is known as Sarbah Day and is highlighted by a dinner and a get-together. The Hall has a crest designed to bring out the principal features of Mensah Sarbahs life. It consists of three elements: a pair of scales, a stool with a book resting upon it, and a hill surmounted by a castle. The scale signifies the legal profession, the stool and the book symbolise culture while the hill and the castle are intended to depict the familiar landscape of Cape Coast with its many hills and forts. At the same time, the castle is intended to symbolise strength and honour. The Halls motto is: Knowledge, Honour, Service three words which aptly summarise the guiding principles of Mensah Sarbahs life. VALCO TRUST HOSTELS: The idea to build a graduate hostel was first nurtured w hen Legon Hall Annex C was prepared exclusively for graduate students of the Hall. The quest for a suitable accommodation for graduate students gained attention when Valco Trust Fund offered to finance the construction of a graduate hostel. As a further boost to this course, Legon Hall Annex C was converted into an Annex of the Hostel. The Valco Trust Hostel, donated to the University by the Valco Trust Fund to ease pressure on student accommodation, is a block of purpose-built, self-contained flats for 190 students. The Hostel, which was completed in June 1997, is the University’s first hostel for graduate students. A second block with similar facilities was opened in January 2006. Located behind Mensah Sarbah Hall on the southern part of the campus, the flats are arranged in single and double study bedrooms with en suite shower and toilet. There is a shared kitchen for every twelve rooms. Facilities in the hostels include common rooms, washrooms and a restaurant. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS’ HOSTELS: The International Student’s Hostels are located on the southern part of the campus off the road to the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. For a long time, it had been the dream of the University of Ghana to create and strengthen links with other universities in order to enhance the international student presence on campus. The first phase was commissioned in June 1999 and the second in January 2006. The Hostels are co-educational and each has 43 single rooms and 85 double rooms. In addition, there are facilities such as a well-fortified security system, kitchenettes and restaurants. REFERENCES Amole, D. (2005),â€Å"Coping strategies for living in student residential facilities in Nigeria†, Environment and Behaviour, Vol. 37, pp. 201-19. Amole, D. (2009b),â€Å"Residential satisfaction in students’ housing†, Journal of Environment Psychology, Vol. 29, pp. 76-85. Association of African Universities (2004), â€Å"Challenges Facing African Universities: Selected Issues†, African Studies Review (2004) Vol. 47, No. 1, 1-59 Dahlan, N., Jones, P., Alexander, D., Salleh, E. and Alias, J. (2009),â€Å"Evidence base prioritization of indoor comfort perceptions in Malaysian typical multi-storey hostels†, Building and Environment, pp. 2158-65. Elsinga, M. and Hoekstra, J. (2005),â€Å"Homeownership and housing satisfaction†, Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, Vol. 20, pp. 401-24. Fay, G. (1981),â€Å"A model for reviewing growth environments†, Journal of College and University Student Housing, Vol. 11 No. 1, pp. 46-7. Foubert, J.D., Tepper, R. and Morrison, D.R. (1998),â€Å"Predictors of student satisfaction in university residence halls†, Journal of College and University Student Housing, Vol. 21No. 1, pp. 41-6. Hassanain, M.A. (2008),â€Å"On the performance evaluation of sustainable student housing facilities†, Journal of Facilities Management, Vol. 6 No. 3, pp. 212-25. James, R.N. (2008), â€Å"Residential satisfaction of elderly tenants in apartment housing†, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 89, pp. 421-37. James, R.N. (2008), â€Å"Residential satisfaction of elderly tenants in apartment housing†, Social Indicators Research, Vol. 89, pp. 421-37. Kaya, N. and Erkip, F. (2001), â€Å"Satisfaction in a dormitory building: the effects of floor height on the perception of room size and crowding†, Environment Behavior, Vol. 33 No. 1, pp. 35-53. Khozaei, F., Hassan, A.S. and Khozaei, Z. (2010a), â€Å"Undergraduate students’ satisfaction with hostel and sense of attachment to place: case study of â€Å"universiti sains Malaysia†, American Journal of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 3, pp. 516-20. Lawrence, Paul R. and Jay W. Lorsch. (1967)â€Å"Organization and environment† Boston; Harvard University, Division of Research, Graduate School of Business Administration. Parkes, A., Kearns, A. and Atkinson, R. (2002), â€Å"What makes people dissatisfied with their neighbourhoods?†, Urban Studies, Vol. 39 No. 13, pp. 2413-38. Price, I., Matzdorf, F., Smith, L. and Agahi, H. (2003),â€Å"The impact of facilities on student choice of university†, Facilities, Vol. 21 No. 10, pp. 212-22. Radder, L. and Han, X. (2009), â€Å"Service quality of on-campus student housing: a South African experience†, The International Business Economics Research Journal, Vol. 8 No. 11, pp. 107-19. Salleh, A.G. (2008),â€Å"Neighbourhood factors in private low-cost housing in Malaysia†, Habitat International, Vol. 32, pp. 485-93. www.ghanaweb.com, (Tuesday, 8th January, 2008) retrieved on 4th October, 2012. www.ug.edu.gh (2012) retrieved on 10th October, 2012 www.ug.edu.gh (2012) retrieved on 2nd November, 2012 www.ug.edu.gh (2012) retrieved on 5th November, 2012

A Marketing Plan For Lipton Ice Tea Marketing Essay

A Marketing Plan For Lipton Ice Tea Marketing Essay In 2005, the tea industry reached the $1.7 billion category and it is expected to continue growing indefinitely (Mintel 2005). Market analysts believe the tea industry will continue to boom and is not expected to reach saturation level in the near future. The favorable movement in the tea industry can be attributed to two major factors: a) consumers need for convenience and time-saving services; and b) the positive press given to tea. American lifestyle and work habits have made convenience a necessity. As employers demand for productivity from their employees, consumers are more pressed for time. In addition, the shaky economy has made Americans fear for their jobs; thus, any product that can fill the consumers need for convenience and speed are almost automatically embraced into the American lifestyle (Mintel 2005). For the last decade, the health benefits of tea have gained wide coverage in the media. Studies continue to show the beneficial properties of teas, with health benefits ranging from lower cholesterol levels to improve arterial health and decreasing chance of cancer. This positive press has definitely catapulted the demand for tea (Mintel 2005). Both the need for convenience and positive press on tea have spurred an increase in sales of tea products, specifically ready-to-drink (RTD) teas sold in single-serve containers (Mintel 2005). Recognizing this trend, various companies in the tea industry have come up with innovative products to take advantage of the booming market for ready-to-drink teas. Lipton tea, one of the global leaders in refreshment brands, launched new products to meet the growing the need for ready-to drink teas and introduced innovative product line to capture the health- conscious market. For over a century, Lipton has been dominating the world tea market with the companys tea-based drinks including leaf tea, infusions and ready-to-drink tea. Its success has been attributed to the firms strong focus on innovation and the expertise of its tea specialists- professionals in tea-growing, tasting, buying, blending and RD teams (Wikipedia 2007). One of the main driving forces for Liptons success is the companys source of tea. Lipton teas are sourced from various plantations in well-know tea-producing countries such as India, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. It maintains specialized tasting rooms in seven regional located across the globe. Presently, Lipton has about 30 different tea blends (Wikipedia 2007). As Lipton is a part of the Unilever global consortium, the company ensures that its tea producing farms do not only yield high-quality product but also protect and improve the natural environment and livelihood of workers and local communities. Liptons plantations in East Africa have been working with third party estates to ensure compliance with Unilevers sustainable agriculture guidelines and the Ethical Tea Partnership criteria (Wikipedia 2007). As part of Lipton teas drive to capture the booming market for ready-to-drink teas, the Anglo-Dutch Unilever Company entered into a joint agreement with American PepsiCo in 2003. Through the joint venture agreement, PepsiCo distributes or markets Lipton tea products, specifically Lipton Ice Tea in more than 60 countries where PepsiCo has established its corporate presence (Wikipedia 2007). The 50-50 JV Pepsi Lipton International is the latest move in Unilevers Path to Growth strategy which has mostly involved the disposal of non-core businesses rather than support for existing brands (Unilever-PepsiCo 2003). In a press statement, Unilever announced that the joint agreement with PepsiCo has two main goals: to move the Lipton brand into new distribution channels and into new markets. While Unilever claims that Lipton is the leader in the 16-billion liter world market for ready-to- drink tea, its presence remains slim in a number of key markets; thus, the agreement with PepsiCo is expected to address such concern (Unilever-PepsiCo 2003). Unilever stated that the [50-50 JV Pepsi Lipton International] will target the white space markets where Lipton has no current presence and it is anticipated that significant business opportunities will come from the key high-potential markets where Pepsi is already strong (Unilever-PepsiCo 2003). PepsiCo is expected to build the sales of the Lipton ice tea in 60 countries including Brazil, Spain, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi and the six Gulf States. The Pepsi Lipton International venture is a logical expansion of an earlier collaboration between the two companies. The Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership was set up by the two companies some 10 years ago to expand sales in the North American market, and is now firmly established as the leading RTD tea player in both the United States and Canada. With the aim of achieving a similar level of market dominance in the rest of the world, the latest joint venture will aim to leverage the strengths of both parents. It will principally sell ready-to-drink tea concentrate to franchise bottlers for distribution by Pepsi. As the worlds largest tea producer, Unilever will bring the brand, knowledge of the tea industry and a substantial research and development capability to the JV; Pepsi will contribute access to its extensive bottling and distribution network with strong customer relations (Unilever PepsiCo 2003). Customer Analysis There are two major target markets for ready-to-drink ice tea. One group is the consumers on the go. These are the employees, students, and other consumers who lead a busy lifestyle. The hectic American lifestyle demands for optimize productivity with lesser time- consumption. Thus, there is a need for products that are accessible and readily available. Convenience has dominated the market, particularly the food and beverage industry. The other group is made up of health conscious consumers, specifically the baby boomers who patronize anything healthy. The positive reviews as well as the studies on the benefits of tea drinking have stirred an interest in tea drinking. Representing about 10 percent of the world market for tea (Wikipedia 2007), Lipton ice tea is poised to improve its customer base through a joint agreement with PepsiCo and aggressive marketing strategy. Recent report (Winslow 2006) that the main factor for the improving market performance of Lipton ice tea is its health benefits. Consumers believe that tea is very good for the body; thus, it is more logical to drink more tea and less soda pop and other drinks. Consumers drink Lipton tea because of its beneficial effects to ones health. Consumers consider drinking Lipton as a healthy habit. The 100 percent Natural Tea and 150 mg of protective natural antioxidants has made Lipton tea a major participant in the global tea market. Many tea drinkers choose Lipton because it is really inexpensive and you can get it just about anywhere. It is surprising that more people do not drink tea, as they would longer, happier and healthier lives if they did (Winslow 2006). Furthermore, some customers think that taking anti-oxidants are healthy, thus, customers drink a couple of gallons per week: Tea makes you look younger too and gives you energy as well. You know it also costs a lot less to drink tea too, for 100 bags at $2.50 lasts you about 3- weeks. 2-quarts per day are possible when it is really hot out, of course it varies with the drinker (Winslow 2006). Recognizing that majority of Lipton ice teas consumers are the health-conscious and on- the-go drinkers, Lipton continues to develop its product lines to make it more convenient, accessible and health-appealing to consumers. Brand Analysis and Positioning Lipton ice tea is produced to make it great tasting and good for [consumers] because it is rich in protective antioxidants (Unilever 2007). Lipton ice tea is marketed globally as the perfect drink for active, healthy lifestyle (Unilever 2007). It is available in 16 oz plastic bottles with select flavors sold in six-pack cases. Flavors available are: Iced tea Sweetened Lightly sweetened iced tea Iced tea Unsweetened Tea with no sugar and no added flavors Iced tea with Lemon Sweetened iced tea with a twist of citrus flavor Iced tea with Raspberry Sweetened iced tea with raspberry flavor Iced tea with peach Sweetened iced tea with peach flavor Iced tea Diet Sweet Tea Lightly sweetened with Splendid and no calories Iced tea Diet Lemon Lightly sweetened with a hint of lemon Iced tea Extra Sweet Very sweet iced tea, marketed as Southern Style in some areas Half Half Half sweetened ice tea and half lemonade Diet green tea with Mixed Berry Mellow tea diet and lightly flavored with mixed berry (Wikipedia 2007; Unilever 2007). The packaging and marketing strategy for Lipton ice tea is a reflection of Unilevers thrust for consumer welfare and sustainable development. To meet the growing demand for ice tea, Lipton continues to develop new products through its research and development department. New flavors are being added to cater to changing and adventurous tastes of consumers. More importantly, the Unilever-PepsiCo ensures that Lipton ice tea continues to expand its niche in the global market. According to Patrick Cescau, director of Unilever Foods: We [Unilever] have a strong presence in the developing and emerging markets yet there is plenty of white space to move into. These markets are the next in our planned rollout and we see Pepsi as the best partner to help us achieve this. This new joint venture marks a truly significant step in the expansion of the brand, bringing it within the reach of many millions of new consumers.(Unilever PepsiCo 2003). Moreover the alliance between Unilever and PepsiCo is expected to enable Lipton to strengthen its global position. At the same time, we are rounding out our portfolio with a strategic partnership in one of the fastest growing beverage segments and providing consumers with Lipton, the world leader in tea. (Unilever PepsiCo 2003). Direct Competitor Analysis One of the major competitors for Lipton in the world ice tea market is Nestle Refreshment Company, maker of Nestea Ice Tea, well-known competitor for Lipton ice tea. Like Lipton-Unilever, Nestle Refreshment Company has forged agreement with another soda manufacturer, Coca Cola, to form the Coca Cola/Nestle Refreshment Company (Sturdivant 1992). Nestles alliance with Coca Cola has the same purpose as the Unilever PepsiCo joint agreement: global distribution. The strong presence of Coca Cola/Nestle ice tea in the United States and some parts of the globe remains a threat to the goals of Unilever PepsiCo to make Lipton the most dominant player in the global ice tea market. Coca Cola/Nestle has two major products: Nestea sweetened with natural lemon flavor and diet Nestea with natural lemon flavor. Both are available in 12 ounce cans and in 16 ounce wide mouth glass bottles. In addition to the cans and bottles, Nestea is available in refrigerated cartons (as in milk cartons) in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores and convenience stores. The tea is preservative free and made from a brewed product taken back down to a tea powder. While Nestle Coca Cola continues to develop the packaging and marketing strategies for Nestea Ice Tea, there are no recent announcements of impending new products or new flavors of ice tea to be developed soon. There is a limited flavor of Nestea Ice Tea which is basically the original ice tea flavor. The company has not shown interest to capture the emerging demand for healthy ready-to-drink ice tea products. This can be a good opportunity for Unilever PepsiCo to exploit. Lipton Ice Tea can continue to expand its market niche by capturing the growing market for healthy ready-to- drink ice tea. Unilever PepsiCo can exploit the limited flavors of Nestea Ice Tea. Recommendations/Conclusions: With the expected growth of the billion dollar ready-to-drink ice tea market, Lipton Ice Tea is poised to capture a bigger share of the market with an aggressive marketing strategy: from packaging to advertising. Short Term Goals: Improve market presence by 20% Short-Term Objectives 1) Aggressive Marketing Strategy Unilever can take advantage of the positive press on the health benefits of tea to boost the sales of its ice tea product line. The company can use recent studies on the health benefits of tea as the basis of its press releases and advertising campaigns. 2) Improve Packaging Currently, the Lipton Ice Tea are available globally in two sizes: the 16-oz bottle and 2 liter bottle. Unilever can come up with other packaging sizes to ensure that consumers will have other choices and that Lipton Ice Tea will be easily and readily available to consumers. 3) Improve Shelf Presence Unilever PepsiCo can make a deal with retailers ensure retail shelf space and prominent positioning for Lipton Ice Tea. Although an average shopper may not notice what brands are positioned in prominent places on shelves or how much room is allotted to each manufacturer, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦shelf space and positioning as make or break factors in introducing new products (Sturdivant 1992). Long-Term Goals: World Number One ready-to-drink ice tea Long-Term Objectives: 4) Product Innovation Unilever PepsiCo must continue its innovative research and development strategy to come up with new flavors and products. Unilever has extensive research facilities on product improvement. The company can use its resources and professional expertise to come up with new flavors that will suit the continuous demand for healthy ready-to-drink ice tea. With aggressive marketing strategy and product positioning, Lipton Ice Tea is poised to take the global lead in ready-to-drink ice tea industry.