Starbucks Case Analysis Free Essays

string(130) " an effective cost leadership strategy depends on careful monitoring of a firm’s internal operations and its customers’ need\." Starbucks corporation| Starbucks Corporation Vision- Founded in 1971 Starbucks vision statement is;† To establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected coffee brand inthe  world  and  become  a  national  company  with  values  and  guidingprinciples that employee could be proud of   The vision statement clearly describes the dream or the future of the company that is to be the world’s most well known coffeehouse and also to be the most appreciated and positively graded brand by all levels of people around the world. The  company also  focuses  its  vision  to  employee  satisfactions,  so  that  the employees will be happy. It was an abstract vision that reflected the vision of the founders. We will write a custom essay sample on Starbucks Case Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mission Their mission statement from the company profile is as follows: â€Å"Our mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. † Their core competencies can be defined as high quality coffee and products at accessible locations and affordable prices, provided a community to share in the coffee drinking experience, and variety of choices. Their mission statement includes six elements which they regard as part of their core competencies. Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality. We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments. Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business. We can be a force for positive action – bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility – and our potential for good – is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Our Shareholders We know that as we deliver in each of these areas, we enjoy the kind of success that rewards our shareholders. We are fully accountable to get each of these elements right so that Starbucks – and everyone it touches – can endure and thrive Competitive advantage The advantage a business has over its competition which allows it to reap greater profit margins, retain customers and remains sustainable is referred to as its competitive advantage. Businesses have to have some form of competitive advantage to be successful in the long run. Competitive advantage can take one of three forms that reflect basic customer values: customers want goods and services (1) better, (2) cheaper and (3) faster. These forms of competitive are known as (1) differentiation, (2) cost leadership and (3) quick response respectively. Research has proven that having some form of competitive advantage increases profitability of a firm , having two forms combined leads to highest profitability and firms that have neither form perform poorly or generate just ‘normal’ profits. Competitive advantages that are gained because the pioneer was on the first to enter a market are sometimes called ‘first movers advantages. ’ The three forms of competitive advantage are described below Differentiation Creating a unique bundle of products and/or services that will be highly valued by customers constitutes competitive advantage based on differentiation. Product features, after-sales service, desirable image, technological innovation, reputation, manufacturing consistency, status symbol are attributes that can differentiate products. Each of these features can be considered a form of quality. Differentiation allows firms to reap higher-than-typical returns because competitive rivalry maybe lessened as firms successfully distinguish themselves; brand loyal customers are less price sensitive, new entrants entering the market have to overcome the barriers to entry. However, if many firms adopt a differentiation strategy then they are all perceived as equals and specialists operating in niche markets may be more successful at differentiation and a continuous attempt to stay ahead of customers may result in ‘gold plating’ ( the development of features which are not valued by consumers but add to the price). Successful differentiation depends on (1) understanding what customers value, (2) being uniquely able to provide that value, and (3) being able to charge a premium price for it. Cost leadership This competitive advantage requires achieving a low-cost position relative to one’s competition. Classic cost leadership strategy involves creating a no-frills product aimed at the most typical customer in a large target market. Standardization of products and services is looked for in cost leadership and targeting a large market segment for these standard products allows for mass production techniques which create greatest possible benefits from economies of scale and experience curve effects. Cost leadership addresses competitive forces in the following ways; holding the low-cost position convinces rivals to hold a price war, low-cost producers are protected from customer pressures of lowering prices, because of higher margins low-cost producers are better able to withstand pressures from increasing in suppliers’ costs, barriers to entry exist for new entrants and manufacturers use price to threaten substitute products. However, cost leadership has some drawbacks namely ; cost leadership can be called an ‘all-or-nothing strategy’, cost cutting that leads to loss of desirable roduct attributes can be ruinous, it is easily duplicated by competitors, and dedication to cost cutting limits a firm’s abilities to remain competitive in other ways. Use of an effective cost leadership strategy depends on careful monitoring of a firm’s internal operations and its customers’ need. You read "Starbucks Case Analysis" in category "Papers" Quick r esponse This form of competitive advantage stresses on the provision of the quality and cost the customer wants faster than the competition does. Quick response refers to the speed with which a new product, a product improvement, or even a managerial decision that affects the customers can be made. It is a way of looking at a firm’s flexibility. Competitive advantage can be achieved through quick response in which such as faster development of new products, customizing products, improving existing products, delivery of ordered products,, adjusting marketing efforts, answering customers’ questions. Firms with quick response can avoid head-to-head rivalry, faster forms can charge a premium pricing, faster firms encourage quick response from suppliers, and quick response deals with the threats of new entrants and substitute products by leading in innovation themselves. However it must be kept in mind, speed is not equally important to all markets or customers, speed creates stress, and speed for speed’s sake does not create competitive advantage. Starbucks Competitive Advantage Starbucks competitive advantage is a mixture of differentiation and quick response. Since their coffee is priced at $4 a cup; they are clearly not competing on costs here. In fact at Starbucks’ it’s the opposite. The brand image that has been created due to the strong differentiated marketing efforts, the ambience of their outlets has created a brand loyalty in Starbucks customers. They are willing to pay a premium price because they feel they are having the best coffee made with the finest quality ingredients. Starbucks achieved the first movers advantage as they were among the pioneers of coffee houses in America, also they have maintained their leadership in the market by launching new variants and varieties faster than competition does and have upgraded their menu from time to time. Their supply chain is integrated vertically and horizontally allowing for a faster response time among suppliers and with customers. They have used elebrities to endorse their brand further enhancing their differentiation strategy. Because Starbucks has successfully differentiated itself, developed a strong brand following, has opened up outlets to cater to their target market both in U. S. A. and globally, has always strived to serve its customers faster, and focused on innovation, it is able to reap higher-than-average returns. They have also been quick in realizing their fail ures as the case mentions them closing down stores that were not functioning. Thus this shows that the corporation is quite flexible in its operating decisions. Starbucks Corporate Strategy- how they have used it to create a successful business model The corporate strategy for Starbucks was an expansion strategy based on opening new outlets in U. S. and expanding overseas. Operations: They looked for diversification and vertical and horizontal integration to maximize control over their supply chain and maintain satisfied customers. They launched new products and variants to maintain their leadership in the market. A differentiation and quick response strategy is used. HR: Starbucks looks for diversity in its employees. They employ people from various backgrounds and give them independence and freedom to make decisions. This has enabled Starbucks to address customers faster and reduced their response time. Also hiring people form diversified backgrounds helps them in their expansion strategy and improves their communication in new countries of expansion. Marketing: Their marketing has always been coffee centric. They have strived to create a strong brand identity and brand loyalty. Starbucks is not just about coffee. It is about providing that experience of comfort, socializing and happiness. This is what they build on. The firm has been successful in maintaining premium pricing because of the creation of a brand image that allows for it. Finance: The expansions have been sensible and not based on intangible goodwill or long term debts. The firm has invested a lot in fixed assets and their debt to asset ratio is low. The management started closing down low operational stores; instead of letting they operate at losses, indicating the management’s concentration on financial efficiency and having good financial ratios. The following strategies have enabled Starbucks to maximize its reach to its consumers by opening up different outlets globally hich have lead to market development and increased profitability. Starbucks expansions have all been well financed and done sensibly. Also their quickness to act in areas where they were reporting losses further shows that their Corporate strategy has lead to successful business development model. The product variety offered at Starbucks has enabled it to remain market leader thus showing that RD efforts are paying off. The exceptional customer service due to the employment of a diversified labor force has facilitated business expansion and increased the size of the pie for Starbucks. Starbucks thus has transformed the image of ‘coffee. ’ The strong brand loyalty supported by a well managed expansion plan which allows them to be present where their customers want them has made the business a success. Need analysis A need analysis is the process of identifying what the users need and want. It related to the goals, inspirations and objectives of the users. Following shows the factors that contribute to customer satisfaction at Starbucks. Thus Starbucks needs to discover what consumers want regarding the product quality, price and service. Following are SWOT ands PESTLE analysis of Starbucks which give a clearer picture of the strengths and environment within which the firm is operating. SWOT Analysis Strengths †¢ Brand recognition and consumer loyalty †¢ Diverse product portfolio catering to all tastes and ages, including non? coffee beverages and food items †¢ Excellent customer service and the value of the Starbucks experience †¢ Licensing relationships with top? brands such as Pepsi? Cola and Kraft that minimize costs and leverage the strategic advantages of those companiesxviii †¢ Strong employee relationships Economies of scale providing superior distribution networks and supplier power †¢ Primly? located retail stores †¢ Positive image attributed to socialresponsibility Weaknesses †¢ Pay 23% more for coffee than market prices †¢ Saturation of the market diminishes long? term growth prospects †¢ No monetary switching costs for consumers †¢ Negative large corp oration image †¢ Potential limitations of international expansion due to cultural clashes with American coffee experiences. Opportunities †¢ Have the ability to reduce premiums paid for coffee Room forinternational expansion (78% ofrevenues came from the United States in fiscal 2007 and international same? store sales growth is strong)xix †¢ Room to compete on multiple fronts including quality and price †¢ Increase licensing relationships to further utilize brand strength to capture profits at little cost to the company Threats †¢ Increasing coffee and dairy prices †¢ Intense competition in the specialty coffee beverage business †¢ Unfavorable economic conditions that lowerthe demand for expensive beverages †¢ Community resistance to store expansion The possibility that the demand for specialty coffee is a fad †¢ Diverging from the Starbucks experience †¢ Further diversification of fast food restaurants that cuts into market share. P ESTLE ANALYSIS The PESTLE analysis of Starbucks. Political: Taxation policy High taxation imposed on farmers in those countries producing the coffee bean will usually mean Starbucks pay a higher price for the coffee they purchase. Any fluctuations in taxation levels in the industry are almost certainly ultimately passed on to the consumer Deregulation A decade ago, the USA pulled out of the ICA (international Coffee Agreement) hat set export quotas for producing nations and kept the price of coffee fairly stable. Coffee quotas and  price controls ended. Since the deregulation farmers have suffered and their earnings have dropped. Many have struggled to make a living so have given up. International trade regulations/tariffs – Trade issues will affect Starbucks predominantly when exporting and importing goods. When another country’s government imposes a tariff it not only results in an efficiency loss for Starbucks but large income transfers can become inconsistent wit h equity. This extra charge can turn a bargain into a rip-off. Also, since 9/11, trade relations have been adversely affected between the USA and some other countries. International  stability The international economy must be brought into  consideration as it can affect Starbucks’ sales and markets. The aftermath of 9/11 was an example of an economic downturn that affected the world market. If the world market is in a slump it is not usually the ideal time for a  business to look at grand expansion. Employment law A reduction in licensing and permit costs in those countries producing the coffee bean for  Starbucks would lower production costs for farmers. This saving would in turn be passed on to the purchaser. Economic: * Interest rates – A rise in interest rates means investment and expansion plans are put off resulting in falling sales for Starbucks and their suppliers. Also mortgage repayments rise so consumers have less disposable income to spend on luxury  products such as coffee. Low interest rates should have the opposite effect. * Economic Growth – If growth is low in the nation of location of Starbucks then sales may also fall. Consumer incomes tend to fall in periods of negative growth leaving less disposable income. Consumer confidence in products can also fall if the economic ‘mood’ is low* Inflation rates – Inflation is a condition of increasing prices. It is measured using the Retail Price Index (RPI) in the UK. Business costs will rise for Starbucks through inflation, as will shoe-leather costs as they shop around for new ‘best prices’ of  materials, menu costs will rise as Starbucks have to create new price lists. Also, uncertainty is created when making decisions not least because inflation redistributes money from lenders to borrowers. Competitors pricing – Competitive pricing from competitors can start a price war for  Starbucks that can drive down profits and profit margins as they attempt to increase, or at least maintain, their share of the market. * Globalisation – Globalisation of the coffee market has meant farmers of the bean now earn less money than they used to. This can result in a decrease of people willing to do it for a livi ng, which will mean a decrease in coffee produced, resulting in a drop in Starbucks supply levels and probably profits. * Exchange rates – Starbucks are affected by exchange rates when dealing with international trade. If the value of the currency falls in the country of a coffee supplier  this enables Starbucks to get more for their $ or L when importing the goods to their  country. This saving can be passed along to the customer. Exchange rates are forever  changing throughout the world in today’s market. Social: Population demographics – Population demographics are a very important factor for  Starbucks as they identify what parts of the population they need to aim their products at or which parts of the population they need to encourage to visit their stores more than they presently do. Looking at the table in the case study demonstrating the  percentage of the age groups that drink coffee or specialty coffee it can be seen that the age groups that Starbucks should be aiming their marketing at are the people  between 35 and 54. They should consider targeting the 18-24 age group as they drink  the least amount comparatively and by encouraging this segment to choose Starbucks coffee now, there is a chance they may continue to drink it long into the future. Income distribution – Where income is distributed is another factor that Starbucks should look at as this also demonstrates the ideal place to aim their marketing or to locate their stores. Coffee is more of a luxury product so it is those people/places with the most amount of disposable income to spend that should be targeted the most intensely. * Attitude to work – Starbucks would not want to locate to an area where the local  population have a poor attitude to work. Recruitment would be difficult, training arduous, and staff turnover would be high. Attitudes to work are important in other  ways. A large number of workers in large cities now go out for their lunch rather than use an internal canteen. Starbucks can use this to their advantage and promote the shop as a place where people can meet up and so it will mean that they will get alarger amount of people in their stores at this time of the day. * Standard of education/skills – When Starbucks are deciding upon new premises they must look at the standards of education and skills locally. They must be sure there are  people who live there with sufficient skills to ensure successful operation of the  business, or at least the potential to learn that comes with a good education. Working conditions/safety – Those people with the most disposable income, e. g. young single professionals etc, will be accustomed to high standards. Starbucks must ensure its shops are clean and comfortable, service is of the highest order and health and safety issues are fully addressed * Location – Transport needs to the p remises must be considered for both staff and customers. Easy access is vital to ensure there is no excuse for staff to arrive late or  for customers not to visit. Age distribution – Research shows the average age of the population is getting older  and birth rates are stagnating. Starbucks is presently aiming it’s product at young  people but maybe these views will change in the long-term as the market proportion for young people diminishes. The most profitable way forward may be to widen their  target market despite the risk of alienating present customers. * Health consciousness – Good health and foodstuffs associated with healthy living are important I today’s market place, as this is a trend that is occurring at the moment in western societies. Starbucks can use this information when deciding the additional  products to sell, as well as coffee, as a large number of their customers are looking for  healthy alternatives to cakes and biscuits, which have been associated with coffee in the past. Technological: * IT development – Starbucks is always looking to develop and improve its Internet facilities. Starbucks launched its first-generation e-commerce Web site in 1998. In late1999, Starbucks decided the site needed a major upgrade to enable new functionality and prepare for long-term growth. To achieve these goals, Starbucks upgraded to Microsoft Commerce Server 2000, one of the key Microsoft . NET Enterprise Servers. As a result, scalability and performance have improved, and the company now has the tools it needs to profile and target customers, analyze site data, and deliver new features to the market in the shortest time possible. * New materials and processes – Developments in the technology of coffee making machines and the computers that Starbucks use to run their cash registers will enable their staff to work more quickly and efficiently. This will result in customers being served quicker and create the potential to serve more customers in a day. This will  prevent customers from having to wait around for long periods thus improving customer relations along with increasing the customer base. * Software upgrades – In the short-term, Starbucks must identify the most efficient software upgrades to use to keep up with the competition. This applies to the improving the accessibility of their website (www. starbucks. com) and also improving the speed and quality of the service provided on the shop floor. Research and Development activity – As a multi-national business empire, Starbucks has the budget and the resources to have a cutting-edge R+D department. The website is very accessible, the facilities are state of the art but more importantly new ideas are consistently being tried in terms of a constantly updating menu. * Rate of technological change – The rate of technological change in the current world market is high, much higher than, say, thirty years ago. Much of this is down to the Internet and the speed with which information can be communicated around the globe. Starbucks will need to invest heavily just to stand still in their ever expanding and developing market, and even more so to try to stay ahead of competitors. Legal: * Trade and product restrictions – Starbucks need to be aware of the trade laws in the various countries they occupy and do business with. They need to ensure they are not in violation of e. g. , religious laws. Also, certain countries impose a tariff that has to be  paid when goods are imported/exported so this must be taken into account. * Employment law – Each country has varying employment laws. Some may have aSabbath day, diwali,some may have a limit on the number of hours an employee may work  Ã‚  per week, all will have varying levels of minimum wage. Starbucks should consider  these factors when deciding on relocation. * Health and Safety regulations – Starbucks may find these regulations are not as stringent or well enforced in certain countries. It would be wise though to enforce universally high standard of health and safety throughout all it’s shops to maintain a good global image and ensure all laws are abided by. Also, by not maintaining high standards they will be liable for a large amount of civil cases as it is a legal requirement for them to enable that their staff and customers are safe when they are intheir stores. * Monopolies commission – If Starbucks consider expanding their operations further  to control an even larger percentage of the market than they already have they will have to consider the possibility of breaking monopolies legislation as they may have a share of the market that is too large. This would mean that they would have unfair  advantage over other companies in the same market. This would mean that they could  benefit from economies of scale and would also be able to charge prices that were not competitive in the market and get away with it due to the lack of competition. * Land use – Starbucks may have to abide by local planning regulations when building shops or altering purchased sites, as certain areas of land may be protected or  unsuitable. All matters would be addressed by the local government. Environmental: Pollution problems – Starbucks customers create a lot of waste as they often leave the shop with their cup of coffee and then dispose of it in the street. The packaging for  this cup must be carefully considered to make it as biologically degradable as  possible. Certain other materials can be very harmful to the natural environment. * Planning permissions – Planning permission may not be granted if Starbucks wish to  build in an area that could be harmful to the environment. The land may be protected. * Work disposal – Starbucks need to carefully consider the methods in which they dispose of their waste as there are strict laws in most countries to ensure a firm trading in their country disposes of the waste that is created in their business in a specific and efficient way. If they do not follow these laws they may find themselves being sanctioned, which not only affects them financially but also tarnishes the reputation of  the brand name, as most of the waste created will bear the logo of Starbucks. * Environmental pressure groups – Starbucks should be aware of the physical and influential power of groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Any violation of animal or environmental rights by a company is usually followed by a swift and attention-drawing protest from one of the groups. Brand image and customer bases are often irreconcilably tarnished due to the actions of these groups Porter’s five forces Barriers to Entry: Medium-High –  Low  capital requirement:  It can be varied depend  on  the location, but  it would be safe to say  coffee industry   still  requires low capital compared to other industries. –  Little  product  differentiation: It is difficult to establish a certain unique flavor for coffee. – can be offered at restaurants which normally don’t serve coffee as a beverage; this will allow for even lesser investment. Threat of Substitutes: High – Soda, fresh fruit juice, healthy juice for drink and tea are all direct substitutes for coffee. – Alcohol drink- beer, wine,  cocktail,  and more can be indirect substitutes. ( Alcohol drinks will be sold in only a few selected places,  so it is  too early  to  get rid of alcohol drinks in the threat of substitution part. ) Bargaining power of Buyer: Medium-high – Even though the price goes up, the buyers who like only  Starbucks would still come. The brand has generated enormous brand loyalty.   Buyers can  buy their coffee from various  places: Starbucks has their stores  all over the nation, so as other major companies do. Buyers have a lot of substitutes to choose from. Supplier Power: Low-Medium – Starbucks is a global coffee chain and many suppliers are eager to work with them. The company has successfully established vertical integration to make suppliers loyal to its supply chain. –  It c an be problematic if  a certain product  suppliers raise the price of their product, such as green tea powder or coffee bean. Although Starbucks decided to  change their suppliers because it still takes some time to inform  to the customer and price changes will be inevitable. Industry Rivalry: High –  Many companies: Coffee Bean, Mcdonald’s, Dunkin Donuts, and local  cafe. –  Also; McDonald’s had started an advertising attack aimed directly at Starbuck’s saying ‘$4 coffee is dumb. ’Thus; rivalry was high. –  Many people started to look for  more  healthy  and fresh  juice instead of coffee, so there is little chance that demand is growing at the same rate as it was earlier. How to cite Starbucks Case Analysis, Papers

Emerging economical trends

Questions: 1. 5 Most Emerging economic trends shaping up the global business today? 2. Identify 5 technologies in India which have direct influence with political decision-making? Answers: 1. Emerging economical trends shaping Global business Globalization has reduced restriction and allowed transfer of technology and knowedge reducing the World to a mere global village. This has changed the way business carry out their operations. The following are emerging economic trends that are shaping global businesses today; Technology: Technology is disrupting business models that have been in existence and generating new business models. Technology is making it easy for customers and businesses to connect. Technology has also changed traditional means of payments. For example, the Uber taxi service technology has disrupted and continues to disrupt the traditional taxi business model. Converging tastes and preferences: As a result of globalization, consumer tastes and preferences are converging requiring global business to produce the same products for larger world market. Customers from different parts of the world are requiring the same products. Increasing middle class: The world middle class has been broadening. This is increasing the purchasing power of the world market as a result of increase in disposable income. This is necessitating global business to increase their production to meet the increasing demand. Decreasing production cost: Global businesses are attaining low production cost as a result of automation of the process and use of robots in production department. This factor is making the products in the global market to be cheaper. E commerce: Global businesses are trading through the internet. They sell their products and outsource labour through the internet (Sharma and Loh, 2009). Global business are outsourcing labour through the internet. Instead of hiring employees on permanent basis, companies are outsources services from the global labour market. This has reduced the cost of operations of the global businesses. 2. Technology creates interfaces that connect people allowing the share, contribute and get information while in different locations (McGregor and Mourao, 2016). When people connect, they discuss issues that affect them including politics. India being a democratic country, it political decisions are influenced by information trending on technologies. The following are technologies that have direct influence on political decision; Social media: The social media include Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and WhatApp. The social media enable citizen to post issues and then the information can be shared, commented or liked (Ortuoste, 2015). This makes the information to trend on the social media. The government is influenced by the opinion of citizen on matters that are discussed on social media. YouTube: This technology enable posting of videos. These videos contain information shared for certain objectives. These videos are watched by all individual on YouTube and they give their feedback on the comment section. Blogs: These are internet pages owned by individual or group that write on different topic. These blogs express the opinion and occurrences on the country. These information influence political decisions made because political leader want to make decisions that directly relate to citizen in order to gain popularity. Online mass media: These include online TVs stations, electronic journals and online news papers. This technology informs citizens on the current events and allows them to make their opinion. News is quickly spread to citizens through these mass media. Websites: These are pages that are owned by specific organizations or individual. Owners update information that is visible by anybody accessing the website. This influence decisions made as it providing information to political leaders. References McGregor, S. and Mourao, R. (2016). Talking Politics on Twitter: Gender, Elections, and Social Networks. Social Media + Society, 2(3). Ortuoste, M. (2015). Social Media, Public Discourse, and Governance. Asian Politics Policy, 7(3), pp.497-502. Sharma, A. and Loh, P. (2009). Emerging trends in sourcing of business services. Business Process Management Journal, 15(2), pp.149-165.

Schizophrenia Essays (962 words) - Psychiatry, Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia Schizophrenia is a severe mental illness characterized by a variety of symptoms, including loss of contact with reality, bizarre behavior, disorganized thinking and speech, decreased emotional expressiveness, and social withdrawal. This illness affects those parts of the mind that are fundamental to a person's sense of self. It changes a person's perception of reality, through hallucinations and delusions. This mental illness is diagnosed in about one person in every 100. Schizophrenia has been categorized into two specific classes and has possible causes for each class. We will also focus on the roles of the nurse and the family and the importance of medication. (Anonymous, 1996a, 1996b, Fontaine & Fletcher, 1999). A psychiatrist's classical categories of schizophrenia once included undifferentiated, catatonic, paranoid, and disorganized subtypes. A new classifying system which is widely used has replaced the former categories. This system includes two categories which are positive characteristics and negative characteristics. There are five sub-characteristics which can be described as positive and negative. These are behavioral, affective, perceptual, cognitive and social (Fontaine & Fletcher, 1999). Positive characteristics are additional behaviors which are not usually found in normal adults. These patients experience delusions, hear voices, and have inappropriate emotional responses. These clients feel as if people are harassing them and they cannot do anything about it. They experience feelings of guilt and try to punish themselves and others with aggression (Fontaine & Fletcher, 1999). Negative characteristics can be described as the lack of behaviors, or "flat effect." Symptoms include anhedonia and attention deficits. Most of these clients forget about self-care and their appearance can be a signal of negative Schizophrenia. These patients often have feelings of worthlessness and some eventually commit suicide. Negative characteristics have been found more difficult to treat (Fontaine & Fletcher, 1999). There is a wide range of causes of Schizophrenia. Research has yet to come to a conclusive overall cause of Schizophrenia. There are a number of possible causes to this disorder. One determining factor is that the disorder may be a genetic problem that runs in the family. Another factor may be an imbalance in the brain that results in the client obtaining jumbled thought processes. Other factors may include birth complications, many stresses in life, and family structure. Any of these factors and many more can have a trigger action that leads to insane behavior (Anonymous, 1996a). The role of the nurse in treating someone diagnosed with Schizophrenia has to start with a trusting relationship. The nurse must first spend time with the patient to discover the problems the patient finds the most stressful and what the patient does to alleviate his or her symptoms. The nurse can set specific goals and preferred expectations with the client that will help build a one-to-one relationship with the client and will also help the client cope with regressive behaviors. Nurses should pay specific attention to all of the clients actions, verbal and nonverbal. Furthermore the clients are very aware and sensitive to our verbal and nonverbal actions. For example, a patient that is at high risk for violence, directed at others, related to suspiciousness, may be a result of a misunderstanding in communication. Therefore, these particular clients should never be underestimated. The client's assessment is an ever-changing evaluation of how treatments are working (Anonymous, 1996b). Antipsychotic medications are used to control the symptoms of Schizophrenia. Examples of these Antipsychotic medications include phenothiazines, thioxanthenes, butyrophenones, dibenzoxazepine, dihydroindolone, and diphenylbatylperidine. These medications are the most useful in helping intervention with these clients suffering from Schizophrenia. For the drug to be most effective it has to be taken consistently as a relapse of symptoms is common when medication is discontinued. It is usually prescribed on a long term basis and has serious side effects. Because of these side effects, the patient may discontinue the use of these drugs. This is when the nurse has a major role to educate these clients about the medication and it's importance. The clients should fully understand the effects of the drug. Also the nurse and the client should freely discuss what particular effects the drug has on the client and if necessary to help negotiate a change in medication with the client. The family should also help in dispensing doses to the patient therefore the nurse needs to educate the family about the drug as well (Fontaine & Fletcher, 1999, Anonymous, (1996b). Nurses need to focus on the importance of family members along with the individual with Schizophrenia. Not only do the clients suffer, but the family is involved also. The nurse should show equal compassion to the family as well as

Crash More Than a Collision of Cultures essays

Crash More Than a Collision of Cultures essays If you know someone with strong, conservative political beliefs and who attends evangelical church services and listens to Rush Limbaugh faithfully from Nebraska or perhaps rural Idaho, who has never been to Los Angeles, ask them if they saw Crash and ask what they believe about L.A. now. They might just turn and run away. If they do have the grace to answer your question, compare what they say with what someone says who has actually visited South-Central, or Korea Town, or East LA at night, alone, in recent weeks or months. Granted, life isnt really as bad and people couldnt possibly be as rude, hateful and unbendingly racist as one would believe if taking the film literally. But life is bad, pretty damn bad, for a lot of people who live in greater L.A. or in any sprawling, multicultural urban setting in 2006. Visit Dallas, Chicago, New York, Newark, Miami, and try to tell me those many and diverse cultures and sub-cultures truly love and embrace each other. Ill show you a cow that flies. Ill show you a pizza that solves math problems. Meanwhile, it is the thesis of this paper that while this movie was an eye-popping, jaw-dropping jolt of hideously racist individuals living out various twisted ethnocentric ideologies, it is in broad brushstrokes a gross exaggeration of 21st Century urban life. And yet at the same time, it honestly reflects realities in artistic terms. It is what we see it is, and more: a glut of pilgrims from diverse points of entry, polarized by a political system that borders on fascism, yet in their hearts a love that fights for survival can snuff out the loathing in wink of a jaundiced eye. Crash had to be an exaggeration, otherwise it would not have attracted the attention it did, and people would perhaps still be slumbering, thinking everythings cool on the Western front. And take this to the b...

Can You Use Old Practice SATs to Study for the New SAT

Can You Use Old Practice SATs to Study for the New SAT SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Since the SAT has just been redesigned, you might feel like there aren’t very many practice questions around for you to use. The College Board has released four free practice tests, but once you get through those, what should you do? You might be wondering if you can use old SAT practice tests to study for the new SAT. The answer is yes, you can! I will show you how. Read on to see why you would want to use old practice tests, what practice tests won’t do for you, and then a how-to guide on the most effective way to use old tests to prep for each section. Finally, I’ll also briefly discuss using the ACT for new SAT prep, since the tests are surprisingly similar. Why to Use Old SAT Practice Tests Simply put, you should use old practice tests if you want to increase your stock of practice questions! While you will have to be careful to skip the irrelevant questions, and there are some new question types you won’t be able to prep for using old tests, they are still a valuable resource, especially if you need extra questions to work on a particular section or skill. While the SAT has been redesigned, many of the question types are still the same between the old and new tests, so you can use old tests for practice questions for those question types. I will break down which question types to use and which ones to skip in the next sections. They are also useful because they are official College Board materials, and you can expect rigorous quality control from the official makers of the SAT more so than from most prep book or test prep companiesso no situations where the correct answer is actually ambiguous, for example. You know old tests were really administered to students, which means those questions are College Board-approved! So high quality they should put this seal on them! What Old SAT Tests Won't Help You With Taking an entire old test from start to finish won’t really prepare you for the experience of sitting down to take the new SAT, so don’t do that. The overall tests are too different structurally for taking the old SAT to give you a good sense of what taking the new one will be like. If you want to take a complete test to get a sense of what your SAT experience will be like on test day, take one of the College Board’s four complete free practice tests for the redesigned SAT instead of an old one. Old tests also won’t help you practice the new SAT essay. Instead of a 25-minute opinion-based essay as on the old SAT, the revised SAT gives you 50 minutes to analyze an argument. These are completely different in form and content, so looking at old SAT essay prompts is a waste of time. Now I’ll move through each section in turn and describe how best to use it to prepare. I’ll go over what question types to use, which question types to skip, and what’s missing from the old SAT that is tested in the new one.All of my old SAT question examples will come from the2014-2015 Practice SAT, and my new SAT question examples will come from Practice Test 1. With all these questions you'll be as prepared as this lady! And she looks ready. Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Reading The Reading section has not changed too dramatically with the revision, so you’ll be able to use most of the old Reading questions to practice for the revised SAT. The primary changes are that all of the questions are now passage-based, passages are longer, and Sentence Completion questions have been eliminated. Old SAT Reading: Questions to Use Using any and all of the passage-based questions will help you prep for the new SAT. The Old SAT has some very short (i.e. one paragraph) passages, while the revised SAT only has longer passages, but the questions are similar and useful for practice. Old SAT Reading: Questions to Skip The redesigned SAT has done away with Sentence Completion questions. There were complaints that these unfairly prioritized arcane vocabulary knowledge. So when you see these on old SATs, skip them. Example: Old SAT Reading: What's Missing Old SAT Reading did not have any charts or graphs integrated into the passages and questions. New SAT does, so be sure to study those! (If you want more practice questions to do with reading charts, skip down to the â€Å"Practicing with the ACT† section). Example: Old tests did not have any Evidence Support question pairs. These are question pairs in which you are first asked to identify something about the passage, then to select evidence from the passage to support your answer. Example: Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Writing Writing has changed the most of any test. While the old SAT had very few passage-based writing questions, the revised SAT is entirely passage-based in the Writing section. There aren’t very many one-to-one matches on question types between the old and new SAT, but you might still find some of the old SAT practice questions useful. Old SAT Writing: Questions to Use Passage Revisionthese are questions that ask you to edit a â€Å"rough draft† of a passage or essay. While the errors in these passages are a little more focused on style, and the revised SAT writing section is more focused on skilled argumentation, these questions are still helpful for getting a feel for answering passage-based SAT writing questions. Example: Even though the specific format of the Sentence Errorquestion typewhere you had to choose from five potential errors in one sentenceis missing from the revised SAT, doing old Sentence Error questions is still a good way to drill down on your grammar skills. You should be aware, though, that the revised test does have a slightly different grammatical focus. The old SAT often tested dangling modifiers and subject/verb agreement in tricky ways, while the revised SAT has a greater emphasis on punctuation and common English usage. But if you need to work on your grammar, practicing those skills with Sentence Error questions is a fine way to do so. Example: Similarly, the Sentence Improvement question type, in which you have to edit a single sentence for grammatical clarity, no longer exists on the revised SAT. But you may be asked sentence-improvement like questions on the revised SAT in the context of the passage-based questions. So knowing how to approach these in isolation will help brush up on your grammar and writing-style skills, which will be useful for the revised test. Example: Old SAT Writing: Questions to Skip The essay - the 25-minute â€Å"opinion† essay from the old SAT used to comprise part of your writing score. The new essay is 50 minutes, asks you to evaluate another author’s argument expressed in a passage, and is a completely separate score from your 1600-point score. Don’t write any old essay prompts; they won’t help you at all on the new SAT. The old essay: as obsolete as this car. Old SAT Writing: What's Missing Old tests really don’t have the same format and feel as the revised SAT. The revised SAT asks all questions and question typesthose on grammar, writing style, organization, argumentationbased on passages, while the old SAT has very few passage-based questions. So while the old SAT writing section will help you brush up on your grammar, style, and editing skills, it really won’t give you a great sense of what the writing section of the revised SAT is actually like. Example: To practice more passage-based writing questions once you’ve used all four free practice tests, you might turn to the ACT English section, which is passage-based. (More on using the ACT for new SAT practice below.) Additionally, the writing section now includes questions that involve graphs and charts: both interpreting them and understanding how they act as evidence for arguments. Example: Using Old SAT Practice Tests: Math The primary changes in Math are that the questions are distributed differently across topics, a small amount of trigonometry has been added, and logic-type problems have been eliminated. For a complete breakdown of these changes, see our guide to the revised SAT. Old SAT Math: Questions to Use The truth is that you can use most of the questions on the old SAT to practice for new SATMath. However, you should be aware that old tests contain a different percentage of some of the question types than the revised SAT. For example, the old SAT contains much more geometry than the revised SAT. Old SAT Math: Questions to Skip The revised SAT has done away with â€Å"logic problem† type questions, so if you see any of those, skip them. There were usually only 1-2 on the old SAT anyways. Example: Old SAT Math: What's Missing From Old Tests The revised SAT has two no-calculator sections: one for grid-ins, and one for multiple choice. The old SAT was all-calculator. You might try working on some of the less calculation-heavy questions on the old SAT without a calculator to practice answering math problems without one. The new SAT involves more â€Å"real-world† type questions and word problems. Example: The revised SAT now has multi-part questions, in which the answer to one question affects the answers to the following question. It’s very important to get the first question correct or you could have a negative cascade effect! Example: The revised SAT also contains some basic trigonometry questions, which is a new topic area for the SAT. Example: Practicing For the New SAT With the ACT The revised SAT is actually more similar in many ways to the ACT than the old SAT. Both exams have four answer choices per question, there is no guessing penalty, and the Reading and Writing (or English in the case of the ACT) tests are entirely passage-based. For this reason, you may wish to practice with ACT questions. The key difference (other than the scoring scale) is that the ACT has four sections to the SAT’s three- English, which corresponds to SAT Writing, Reading, Math, and Science. While it has no directly corresponding section on the SAT, practice questions from the Science test will be very helpful in preparing for the data-based questions on all sections of the revised SAT. I’ll go over questions to use, ones to skip, and what’s missing from the ACT that’s covered on the SAT. Science: the fourth section on the ACT. ACT: Questions To Use There are questions you could use to prep for the new SAT in all four sections of the ACT. Reading You can use all of them! The ACT is focused slightly more on reading comprehension, but the general idearead and interpret a passageis the same. English You can (and should!) use most of the questions on the English section of the ACT for SAT Writing practice. Not only is it great practice for the passage-based style of the revised SAT, many of the questions offer similar tasks as those on the SAT. The ACT is slightly more focused on grammar, however, while the SAT really hones in on writing style. Math You can use most of the questions on ACT math to practice for revised SAT math. However, you should be aware that there is more geometry and trigonometry on the ACT than the revised SAT. Additionally, you may see one or two topics on the ACT that aren’t covered on the SAT, like matrices, logarithms, graphs of trig functions, and even scientific notation! Science ACT Science questions are passage-based, which is good practice for answering the data interpretation questions linked to the passages for the revised SAT’s Writing and Reading tests. The questions that will be most useful, however, will be those about interpreting data and figures. So focus on those and skip the rest. Example: ACT: Questions to Skip Save SAT prep time by skipping unnecessaryquestions. Reading No need to skip any reading questions. However, it’s worth noting that unlike on the SAT, questions on the ACT are not â€Å"in order†- the questions on a particular passage don’t move through the passage from start to finish, but instead may jump around A question may ask about the beginning of the passage, then the next may ask about the very end. This is just something keep in mind in terms of differences when you are using the ACT for practice. English You can skip the questions asking if the author fulfilled their purpose in the passage and why, as there is no similar question style on the revised SAT Writing test. There is normally about one of these â€Å"author’s purpose† questions per passage, towards the end of the questions on a particular passage. Example: Math You may want to skip the occasional question on logarithms, matrices, graphs of trig functions, and scientific notation, since you won’t see these things on the SAT. Science You can skip any question on the science test that’s not directly concerned with interpreting or representing data. This would include questions about hypothesis testing, experimental design, the scientific method, and so on. Example: What's Missing From the ACT That's Covered on the New SAT There are some key question types missing from the ACT that you need to be prepared to see on the SAT. Reading There are no Evidence Support question pairs on the ACT. Remember, evidence support question pairs involve answering a question about the passage and then providing evidence to support that answer in the following question. The Reading test on the ACT also does not include any questions on charts or data. These questions are covered on the Science test. English The English section on the ACT does not involve charts and graphs as on the revised SAT's Writing section, probably because these skills are tested on the Science section. Math The ACT math section lacks two key features that the revised SAT has: a no-calculator section, and grid-in questions. You may want to try solving ACT questions without a calculator when reasonable for some no-calculator practice. Also, practice ACT questions are all multiple-choice, so they won’t help you prepare for the SAT’s free-response grid-ins. Be prepared to be without this on the SAT! (The calculator, not your hand.) Where To Find Old SAT Practice Tests and ACT Tests The College Board and ACT, Inc. have kindly published free practice tests. We've collected them here for you. Old SAT Tests 2014-2015 Practice SAT|Answers 2013-2014 Practice SAT | Answers 2007-2008 Practice SAT (includes answers) 2004-2005 Practice SAT (includes answers) Practice ACT Tests ACT Practice Test 2015-2016 (Form 72CPRE) ACT Practice Test 2014-15 (Form 67C) ACT Practice Test 20-12 (Form 64E) ACT Practice Test 2008-09 (Form 61C) ACT Practice Test 2005-06 (Form 59F) A soothing rock pile in case you get overwhelmed by all these tests. Key Takeaways You can use old SAT tests as a resource for practice questions for the revised SAT. Old tests won’t give you the same feel as taking the revised test from start to finish, but many of the question types are similar.Writing has changed the most out of any of the sections; revised SAT Writing is much more similar to the ACT than the old SAT. In addition to old SAT tests, you can also use the ACT to prep for the new SAT. The English section and questions on the Science section about interpreting data and graphs may be particularly useful. There may only be 4 official free revised SAT practice tests available, but between old SATs and the ACT you can still build up a substantial stock of practice questions! What's Next? Check out our complete expert guide to the revised SAT. Need more prep materials? See our reviews of the best SAT prep books for 2016. If you're wondering how important your SAT score is, read our breakdown of the SAT and admissions. Taking the ACT? See our complete index of critical ACT prep articles. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. 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Tourist guide system Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tourist guide system - Essay Example base stations such as chain of cell base stations, units that are designed to be hand-held that are based on Off-the-Shelf Fujitsu Team Pad Units and visitor’s information as reflected in the PC back at the office. These stations are PC’s that are standard that have a link to the internet as well as a WaveLAN Card. Thus, these base stations enable broadcasting of data and information that is within the vicinity and transmissions of position information from the local cells. Additionally, a GPS can be fitted if more accurate information is needed. In order to be able to retrieve data from the device, one need to press the ‘info’ button which then displays all the information about the visitor’s current position. The version in this project is an advanced version of the former that displayed a number of position choices on the tourist’s location. This is because unlike the project guide device, the former version of the guide device did not have the search engine (Andrew, 2009). However, using the new version, the visitors’ position can be identified using a Guide Tag Insert Position. This label is useful in identifying a visitor’s location in a dynamic way. For example, a tourist can identify their location by just asking a question on his or her location. This approach has got many advantages over the earlier approach. Using this guide a visitor is able to make bookings online, able to identify his location, make text messages and also able to navigate to various places. The earlier a pproach did not have the ability to identify the location of the visitor and also was not portable like the latest model. According to Martin 1994, push based strategy of information delivery is found in the communication between the tourist and the guide. The delivery of information in this case can be non-interactive or can be interactive. For example if the delivery of information is done through a radio or television then interactions between the buyer and the

Pricing and Distribution in Marketing Decisions Research Paper

Pricing and Distribution in Marketing Decisions - Research Paper Example In reference to Blue Mountain Coffee Company and Starbucks Coffee, pricing and distribution strategies will help them acquire these useful utilities for their efficient functioning. This paper aims at contrasting the pricing and distribution strategies of these two products. Though the two companies produce the same products, they are not competitors because they serve different markets. Pricing Strategies The worst mistake that can easily collapse a company lies in decision making that concerns pricing strategies. Wrong pricing decisions are almost a guarantee on damaging the company as well as eroding services tot the community and customers (Florissen, et. al, 2001). In many cases, manager’s cut-off prices so as to fend off new market rivals and then, they launch price wars that are full fledged hoping to compete attackers and hence emerging victorious. At any rate, this is just hope because reality is normally very different. For example, Blue Mountain Coffee Company that mainly specializes in exporting its products bases its decisions on pricing in reference to international market prices. In pricing, companies should take into account the competitor’s prices, cost to serve, switching rates, and customer value in order to ensure profitability. By evaluating these four factors, the two companies can make more reasonable decisions on their pricing decisions in increased competition faces. Instead of blindly undercutting attackers, the companies can safely charge commercial accounts and private customers a premium that will secure their business, do away with costly price wars, as well as preserve the market. To compete against its rivals, the company has established higher prices for its products because they are high in quality and hence, they have won consumer loyalty and captured a wide market in Japan. On the other hand, Starbucks Coffee, that mainly targets the local market, sets prices that will help it acquire a larger market share in th e local market than its competitors. Price reduction for its products is however profitable only in the short run but in the long run, they lead to heavy losses. Good pricing strategy should ensure that the company gets enough profits and is also able to meet its costs. Therefore, though price reduction is important in trying to capture the market or compete out rivals, such decisions should be carefully sought. As Bertini & Luc explains, reducing prices below the cost of production is very risky to the company as it can easily collapse the entire business. Cutting prices means that a company will have to work harder for less because you have to sell more units of the product for the same revenue. However, cutting prices only increases profits when you produce more units and increase sales (Bertini & Luc). Product Distribution Starbucks distributes its products to local consumers while Blue Mountain Coffee Company distributes its products to an international market in Japan. Anonymo us explains different modes of product distribution. For Starbucks Coffee, which distributes its products locally, the coffee can be sold to large scale wholesalers, who then sell it to Retailers. The retailers sell it directly to consumers or to small scale retailers who then sell it to consumers (Anonymous). However, the distribution mode for Blue Mountain Cof