Alton Towers Coursework Essay Example

Alton Towers Coursework Essay Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire. It attracts around 2.8 million visitors per year. It is the 11th most visited theme park in Europe. Alton Towers opened in 1980 as a theme park and in the 1990s it was purchased by The Tussauds Group. They added 3 rides to the park on opening, The Corkscrew, Pirate Ship and The Alpine Bob Sled Ride. Over the years more rides were added and the theme park was heavily invested in. Alton Towers also have 3 hotels, a golf course, a conference centre, a spa and a water park. In 2005 Dubai International Capital bought Alton Towers when it purchased Tussauds for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½800 million. In March 2007 The Tussauds Group was bought by Merlin Entertainments (MEG) for over à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½1 billion from Dubai International Capital. In July 2007 the theme park and resort was bought by Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury who now lease the park back to Merlin Entertainments. Alton Towers is know for its breath taking rides, and has 35 in total. The rides range from childrens froghoppers to extreme roller coasters. Alton Towers profits come mainly from families visiting the theme park and foreigners experiencing it when theyre on holiday. It is said to be the most popular and thrilling theme park in the UK. Alton Towers is in the tertiary sector, meaning they sell products e.g. food, sweets, souvenirs but also provide a service, which people pay for, e.g. the theme park. Alton Towers has a lot of competition, as all theme parks are often getting new rides to be better than other theme parks. I think Alton Towers competes well because it caters for all ages and provides things other theme parks dont for example a hotel and spa. Alton Towers has been voted Britains biggest and best theme park, and hold the record for the most visited theme park in England. It is also the second biggest theme park in the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Alton Towers Coursework specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Alton Towers Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Alton Towers Coursework specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Good and Services Alton Towers Provide: * The theme park itself (rides) * Food Outlets * Water parks * Accommodation (3 hotels) * Well known Food Outlets (KFC, Burger King, Pizza Hut) Alton Towers also has customer services, where a help desk help customers in the case of being lost, loosing friends or loosing children. They also provide storage for visitors to put bags and belongings so they dont have to carry them round. Alton Towers also provide things to do within the hotel, for example Spas and Relaxation rooms. This is so you can have a rest from being at the theme park all day; alternatively for people who are unable to go on rides they offer a miniature golf course. At the theme park they offer a variety of rides suited for all ages, theres thrills for teenagers and adults, fun frights for the whole family and magic, young fun for kids. Some of Alton Towers main attractions are their unique thrill rides: * Rita Queen of Speed * Air * Nemesis * Ripsaw Alton Towers also provide goods to the public; these are things like Souvenirs (key rings, pens, pencils, clothing), food and drink. Alton Towers also have cameras on the rides, which take a picture when you get to a certain thrilling part of the ride, you can then buy the pictures or have them transferred onto a mug or into a key ring. They also have games stalls and arcades, which just brings in more money for Alton Towers but is also fun and attracts an audience whilst they are waiting or having a break. Marketing There are many ways Alton Towers advertise their theme park and services, these are things like: * Adverts (TV, radio, cinema) * Promotions (direct to houses, via Merlin Entertainments Group) * Leaflets Alton Towers use advertising a lot, this is to attract new customers but also older customers. Alton Towers are always putting on special offers and events to celebrate special occasions. They also offer different tickets like Family Ticket, Annual Pass and Parent Share pass (where one parent can use a ticket, and the other can use it after). They also offer parents buggy hire, a safety child scheme and height wristbands, all to ensure the safety of visitors are the park. Alton Towers offer discounts for large groups like foreign tourists and school trips, this is because they spend a lot of money on other goods Alton Towers offer. Alton Towers main ticket prices are à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½35 for adults, à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½17 for seniors and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½26 for children aged 4-11. Aims and Objectives A mission statement is a short paragraph to show and remind staff what a business hopes and wants to achieve. It also shows what the business is about. Alton Towers mission statement is: To dazzle our guests with the most captivating city centre attractions in the world and the most diverse and exciting portfolio of theme parks in Europe. An aim is a goal that a business would like to achieve. It usually involves something to do with making a profit, providing goods and services, surviving and expanding, maximising sales, improving the quality of products and services, making customers happy. The aims Alton Towers have are: * To maximise sales and increase profit. This means Alton Towers do what they can to sell as many tickets as possible to the theme park to get higher sales and increase their profit. They would do this by advertising special offers and events on things like the radio, television, cinema screens etc. They would also source low costing supplies. They do all these things so they can survive, pay their employees and make a profit. * To ensure existing customer base will remain loyal. By this Alton Towers want to ensure older customers will return to the park. Alton Towers use questionnaires to ensure nothing is wrong with the park and to ensure the customers had a good day. On the questionnaires Alton Towers have put options for customers to write down email addresses, therefore they can contact them about special events and offers on at Alton Towers which will make customers return. * To attract new customers. This means Alton Towers aim to attract new customers to the park and then have them return. To do this Alton Towers use advertisements such as local newspapers, billboards, cinema adverts, television. By doing this more people will notice Alton Towers and the opportunity for a good day out, therefore this attracts customers to the theme park and resort. When advertising Alton Towers offer something for every age to ensure the family there is something for them all to enjoy. * To ensure goods and services deliver Magic Moments. This means Alton Towers aim to have their staff make customers days at the theme park and good and as magical as they can. Alton Towers would meet this aim by employing friendly, willing, imaginative people. Alton Towers also aim to make their rides the best they can be, and everything else sold within the park should be of a high standard. * To expand. This means Alton Towers want to become more known and expand the park to attract the customers. They could expand by increasing goods and services, for example making a new ride, opening a new hotel etc. They could also sell a bigger variety of goods to the park. They could make more shops to sell their goods but most of all increase the size of the park and offer even more rides to different kinds of people. * To deliver Alton Towers vision all employees must perform our key values: 1. Be able to make difficult decisions. 2. To make sure that the customers are the heart and soul of the company. 3. That staff feel they can make suggestions on how they can make the business better. 4. Staff should always have a positive attitude and energy. In this Alton Towers are saying that staff should be able to think about decisions and make the right one, but make a quick decision if put on the spot. The second key value is saying staff must make sure they are always putting customers needs first, for example they must put customers health and safety before anyone elses. The third key value is making sure that staff feel comfortable about the business and feel they have their own say on how it could be improved. Finally the fourth key value is making sure staff are always polite and bursting with energy, making their customers feel welcome and happy. SMART Businesses use SMART objectives for themselves or for their products or services they are launching, they do it to show what they hope to achieve. They also do it to motivate employees and the business to reach a goal. Specific This is where you have to make an objective and be very precise about what you are going to achieve. Measurable This means that they will be able to add up their sales and total their sale by the date. Agreed The objective has to be seen and agreed to by a board of directors. Realistic This means is the objective achievable in the time given and do they have the resources to achieve it. Timed This is where the business set a date for the objective to be completed by. On our visit to Alton Towers, they would not tell us their SMART objective, this is because they have high competition and they do not want competitors to find out anything they are planning or hoping to achieve. Ownership Alton Towers are owned by Merlin Entertainment Group (MEG), who own many other tourist attractions, for example London Eye, Lego Land, Thorpe Park. MEG are a private limited company, which means that members of the public are unable to buy a share of the company unless asked to. A private limited company (LTD) is normally a family run business. Alton Towers also have the protection of limited liability, which means if the company fails they can only loose the money they have put into the business and not their personal possessions. Advantages for Alton Towers: * Owners have more say in what happens to the business and how it is run; they can have their say in important decisions. * They cannot be taken over suddenly. * Because of limited liability they will not loose their personal possessions. * They can be promoted as part of a group, encouraging people to visit different parts of MEG and buy shares in it. * Visitors to other things MEG own for example Lego Land, may have their details (with permission) passed to Alton Towers who can send direct marketing material to potential visitors. * It is easier for Alton Towers to raise capital to be able to afford new rides events at the park, because of all the money available as part of MEG. * The company name Alton Towers is protected by law. This means that it is copy righted and no other business can use the name unless with permission by law and the company itself. * Because MEG are a large entertainment group they know what the public want, where as when they were owned by Dubai International Capital (DIC), they did not know what the public wanted. * When Alton Towers want to do something or have plans they have the money to do so straight away because MEG is a big business. Disadvantages for Alton Towers: * It is not easier for them to raise capital to fund new rides and events. * They may have a lower profile because they arent on the stock exchange. * People are less likely to buy shares in MEG because Alton Towers may be less well known. * Alton Towers have to pay huge costs because of the amount of employees they have to pay and their electricity, gas and water bills. * Affairs results Alton Towers have must be published publicly with MEG. Activity Alton Towers first opened as a theme park in 1980, since then many changes have been made. Here I will include a timeline of changes within Alton Towers: 1980 * Alton Towers opens to the public as a theme park where it added three new rides Corkscrew, Alpine Bobsled, and Cine 2000. 1981 * Around the Worlds in 80 days and Fantastic Fountains added. Log Flume added, opened as the longest Log Flume in the world. 1982 * Haunted walk through attraction Doom and Sons added. Mini Apple roller coaster added. 1983 * Black Hole added. 1984 * Octopus, Mississippi show boat, 1001 Nights, Turbo Star and Magic Carpet added to the theme park. 1985 * Grand Entrance Added. * Magic Carpet closed. 1986 * 4 Man Bob Roller coaster, Towers Street, Grand Canyon Rapids Ride and spider were added. Kiddies Kingdom opened which included over 14 attractions. * Alpine Bob and Cable Cars closed. 1987 * Mini Dragon renamed to Dragon. * Open air, Monorail, Skyride, Teacup and Swan Boat added to the park. 1988 * Ferris wheel closed. * Alton Beast, Alton Mouse, 3D cinema added. * Black Hole renamed to Black Hole II, Junior Apple renamed to Mini Apple. 1989 * Black Hole II renamed to New Black Hole. * Britannia Building Society Farm added. 1990 * Park purchased by The Tussauds Group. * Gravintron and Thunderloop added. * Turbo Star closed. 1991 * Tri Star added. * Spider, Alton Mouse, 4 Man Bob and Octopus closed. 1992 * Thunder Valley, Gloomy Wood, Kantanga Canyon, Haunted House and Runaway Minetrain added. * Alton Beast relocated to Thundervalley and renamed The New Beast. * Grand Canyon Rapids renamed to Congo River Rapids. * Dragon relocated to Thunder Valley and renamed Beastie. * Britannia Building Society Farm renamed to Society Farm. * Gravitron, Doom and Sons, Fantastic Fountains, Cine 2000 and Tri Star closed. 1993 * Talbot Street renamed to Land of Make Believe, and new attractions added. * Vintage Car Ride relocated to Land of Make Believe. * Astro Dancer added to Fantasy Worlds. 1994 * Peter Rabbit on Ice show added. * Nemesis added Europes first inverted roller coaster. * Around the Worlds in 80 Days becomes Toyland Tours. * Thunder Valley renamed to Forbidden Valley. * Junior Flyer added to Festival Park. * Safeway Farm renamed to Old MacDonalds Farm. * 1001 Nights, Model Railway and Mississippi Show Boat closed. 1995 * Energizer added to Festival Park. * Miniature Golf closed. 1996 * Kiddies Kingdom renamed to Adventure Land. * Storybook Land added. * Thunderlooper and Railway closed. * Alton towers Hotel Opens. 1997 * Land of Make Believe renamed to Cred Street. * Beastie relocated to Adventure Land. * Astro Dancer relocated to Festival Park. * Nickelodeon Outta Control added to Cred Street. * Mini Apple Roller Coaster and New Beast closed. * Ripsaw added. 1998 * Nickelodeon Outta Control closed. * Fantasy World renamed to X sector. * Enterprise and Energizer added to X sector. * Oblivion added Worlds first vertical drop roller coaster. 1999 * Festival Park Renamed to Ugg Land. * Soakasaurus added to Ugg Land. * Astro Dancer renamed to Dino Dancer. * Wave Swinger renamed to Ugg Swinger. * Junior Flyer renamed to Ugg Bugs. 2000 * Hex added to the park. 2001 * Submission added to X-sector. * Energizer relocated to Ugg Land and renamed Bone Shaker. 2002 * Dino Dancer relocated to Forbidden Valley and renamed Dynamo. * Air added Europes first flying coaster. 2003 * Duel added (re-themed Haunted House). * Ribena Berry Bush Bash added. * Calypso Springs Hotel and Splash Landings Water Park Added. * Dynamo, Bone Shaker and Swan Boats closed. 2004 * Spinball Whizzer added (spinning coaster). * Flume added, re-themed Log Flume. * Gallopers Carousel relocated from Adventure Land. * Cred Street and Vintage Car Ride closed for the season. * Splash Kart Challenge and Bungee Run added. 2005 * Black Hole Closed. Timeline information taken from www.coastergrotto.com/reviews/features/at_timeline.jsp. From the timeline you can tell a huge amount of change has happened in the last 30 years. Some of the points in the timeline are in bold, this is because I think they are major changes that happened to the park. For example, the first major change I think happened was kids rides being added to the park, Alton towers was originally for thrill seekers. I know this because of the first ride added to Alton Towers, Corkscrew, was a roller coaster. I also made bold Peter Rabbit on Ice show this is because it shows Alton Towers is making more rides for younger people and families. Nemesis being added to the park is a major change to the park because this would have brought Alton Towers more income, this is because it was Europes first inverted roller coaster and would therefore attract more customers, also other roller coasters being added for example Oblivion and Air would also attract new customers because they are new to Europe and the world, making people want to try them out. In 1996 A lton Towers opened their first hotel, I think this is big for them because it means people can come to the park from places further away and stay over for the night, this means Alton Towers would become more known. Opening their other hotel would have been big for Alton Towers too because it includes the water park, and therefore the park may bring in a wider variety of customers. Alton Towers are constantly adding new rides and attractions to bring in more customers. For example they are currently planning and building a new childrens land, which will bring families to the park. Information found from www.towerstimes.co.uk. Alton Towers main competitors are Drayton Manor, Thorpe Park and other theme parks in the UK. This is because they offer customers the same goods and services for similar prices. All of these theme parks have thrill rides, water rides, kids rides etc, building up competition for Alton Towers. Drayton Manor is Alton Towers biggest rival because of how close they are to each other, and how similar the goods and services they offer are. For example Alton Towers have a pirate ship ride called The Blade and Drayton Manor have one called The Bounty, they are very similar. I think Alton Towers is slightly ahead of Drayton Manor, this is because of the three hotels it owns and runs. Other competition Alton Towers have is indirect competition, things people can spend their leisure time and money on instead of Alton Towers. These are things like The Sea Life Centre, cinemas, shopping, going for a meal. People do these things more often than spending time at Alton Towers because it is cheaper and easier to do. Alton Towers also have competition globally, for example Disney is known all over the world and has its main attraction Disney World located in Florida, and Disneyland Paris. This is a disadvantage to Alton Towers because they only have one theme park. Also Disney sell products like toys, clothing all over the world, this makes them better known. Alton Towers main customers are families, this is because Alton Towers provide fun and rides for all ages. Other main customers they have are teenagers who spend their money on Alton Towers at weekends, occasions and half terms to go and have fun with their mates. Other areas money comes from are Businesses, Alton Towers have conference halls in which businesses hire for meetings, speeches, lectures etc. They do this because of the large amount of land they have available. Alton Towers brings in revenue from families, they come from all over the country because they are able to stay at Alton Towers hotel. Schools visit Alton Towers on educational trips or as a treat or and award, Alton Towers benefit from this because large groups come from schools and pay. External and Internal factors of Alton Towers At Alton Towers they have external factors, which is what pushes customers away from visiting. These factors are unable to be solved. These can be things like: Technology New technology could out do Alton Towers, which Alton Towers dont have or cant afford, and therefore customers dont visit because of the lack of technology. Weather Conditions If hurricanes, snow, or terrible rain was to occur, the park would be unable to open and customers wouldnt turn up. It could also cause damage to the park. Terrorist Attacks If these occurred at Alton Towers customers would not want to visit there because of the risk. Internal factors are things that push customers away but can be solved if Alton Towers do their best to work on them. Production Problems This is when Alton Towers are planning or making a new ride and the resources to make it are not right or arent delivered in time, this delays the building of the ride, this affects Alton Towers because say they are building a ride over January, February and march when they are not open and are due to open with a new ride, if the ride is delayed and not finished they would either not attract as many customers or not be able to open at all and loose out on important sales and profit. Over ambitious aims, objectives and targets These could lead to Alton Towers not meeting their aims, objectives or targets, for example their profit target they could lower because they are unlikely to meet it. Alternatively they could do things like employ more people, offer more services, expand the park etc which would help bring in profits and expand the park. Problems with suppliers These are things like ordered stock e.g. food not turning up on time, or being wrongly delivered. This affects Alton Towers because customers may complain and they cannot offer their goods, to overcome this they could be more cautious and make sure they are ordering from reliable suppliers. Location Alton Towers is located in Staffordshire, in-between Stoke on Trent, Derby and Uttoxeter. Factors Influencing Location Availability of skills This means the amount of people in a certain area with appropriate skills to work at a particulate job. Many jobs are available at Alton Towers, for example managing a department, working on a stall, security guards, and ride operator. What the employee becomes depends on their age experience and qualifications. Alton is a small town and isnt highly populated but it is situated next to motorways because it is only an hours drive from Birmingham, Englands second biggest city. Therefore it isnt hard for Alton Towers to find employees. Although some skills are required for different jobs. For example engineering skills are required if you are a ride fixer or operator. But other jobs with fewer skills needed are available, for example selling food on a stall. Other jobs at Alton Towers like First Aider require lots of skills and qualifications, this is to ensure the Health and Safety of all customers. I do not think availability of skills was a major influence to the location of Alton Towers but I do think it is useful that the park is near Birmingham and Motorways. Cost of labour Cost of labour is the amount an employee gets paid. The cost of labour varies in different places, depending on the cost of living. Employees are protected by the national minimum wage, this is a wage which states the minimum a company can play an employee. The minimum wage rates are: Adults (22 or over) à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.73 per hour Workers aged 18-21 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.77 per hour Workers aged 16-17 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.53 per hour Apprentices under the age of 19 are not entitled to the national minimum wage for the first 12 months. Alton Towers have to pay the minimum wage at least, however they may offer higher wages to certain jobs which require certain skills, they may higher or lower wages depending on the rate their competition pays. Alton towers might offer higher wages to people to attract more staff to the park. In Alton there are not many other large businesses, therefore I think that the cost of labour did have an influence on the location, because there will be people in Alton with the skills to work at Alton Towers, and people around Birmingham who would be attracted to the jobs. Cost of premises I do not think this was a factor influencing location, because I think the buyer was more interested in the amount of land and how they could use it. To overcome the large cost of the land/premises Corkscrew was built, to bring in profits and to help expand the theme park. Local government charges I do not think this was a factor influencing this location because wherever you go you will get government charges. Also the charges were only a small fraction of their sales revenue, therefore it would not affect the business hugely. Financial Help Financial help is when the council offers grants to businesses that choose to locate their business in a run down area, they will offer them financial help to businesses who will help generate employment. Although Alton Towers did not receive funding I dont think they needed it because they are located in an area of high unemployment. Transport Links I think these were a major factor for Alton Towers and I think they looked into it closely before buying the land to build on. This is because good transport links are essential for Alton Towers to receive supplies, attract customers to the park and for staff as well. Alton Towers bought the land because it is close to national motorway networks. Also Alton Towers has a number of entrances for staff/suppliers/customers so no congestion is caused. Although some of the roads near Alton Towers are very narrow they are close to Birmingham City Centre. Closeness to competitors Alton Towers has many competitors, its main competitor Drayton Manor is located in Tamworth, about an hour away from Alton Towers, it is not as big and doesnt offer as many services as Alton Towers, therefore it wasnt a major factor influencing location, although it is successful in what it does and offers huge competition to Alton Towers. History and Tradition I do not think this is a factor influencing location for Alton Towers because before purchasing the land they were thinking more about the size of the land and what they could do with it rather than where it was, although Alton Towers is named after the place and will always be there. A map to show an overview of the roads surrounding Alton Towers and easy routes to access the park. Cadbury Coursework. A1. Cadburys is a company that produces chocolate. It was founded in 1824 when Mr John Cadbury opened a coffee shop in Birmingham, which served hot chocolate; this was a drink only the rich drank. Mr Cadburys business took off; therefore he decided to start manufacturing drinking chocolate. He bought a factory on Bridge Street and went into partnership with his brother. Because the business got off to such a good start the government reduced the taxes of importing raw materials for the hot chocolate so less fortunate families could afford it too. The two brothers opened an office in London in 1854 where they received the Royal Warrant as manufacturers of chocolate and cocoa. In 1878 John Cadburys sons bought the Bournbrook estate, which covered loads of lands. The Bournebrook estate was renamed to Bournville and the Bourneville factory opened in 1879. The factory still stands here today and as well as producing chocolate, it is used as an educational trip that shows how chocolate is made and the history of Cadburys. Since then Cadburys has become known all over the world, and mass amounts of Cadbury chocolate is produced globally. Cadburys headquarters now stand in London. Cadburys has become the worlds second largest confectionary manufacturer. Cadburys is in the secondary industry sector because their ingredients are bought to make the chocolate and it is then manufactured into the finished product to sell. Cadbury World (located in Bourneville) is in the tertiary sector because it only sells the chocolate and provides a service to the public. Cadburys are marketing orientated, meaning they use market research to find out how they can make more money. For example, polls were done on Myspace with people saying they want Wispa back; therefore they looked into it and brought back Wispa bars. Goods and Services Cadburys is a company known globally and does very well. It sells goods, mainly chocolate and sweets. Some of the main chocolate products Cadbury sells are: * Dairy Milk Range * Wispa * Bourneville * Chomp * Fudge * Cadburys Hot Chocolate * Crunchie As well as chocolate, Cadbury also own Trident Chewing gum, The National Confectionary Group, Green and Blacks and Halls. Although they own these, their chocolate range is the most well known. Cadburys service is Cadbury World, which is situated in Bourneville, one of Cadburys first factories. It is a popular tourist attraction and is there to tell people about the history of Cadbury and how their chocolate is made; it also has a kids ride and a big shop, which sells all their products for a discount. Competitors Mars and Nestle are Cadburys main competitors, they also provide a variety to their customers, Mars also own Wrigleys, Pedigree, Uncle Bens, Dolmio and Whiskas. Mars like Cadbury are known for their chocolate, popular chocolate they produce is Mars Bars, Snickers, Twixs and Galaxy. Nestle also produce chocolate along with other things for example cereal and coffee. Nestle advertise and use their logo on all their products, where as Cadbury and Mars dont, for example although Cadbury own trident they dont use the Cadburys logo on the packaging. Some chocolate brands Nestle produce are Aero, Kit Kat and Yorkie. Aims and Objectives Cadburys dont have a mission statement but have a vision, which is similar and states what the companys goals are. Cadburys vision: To be the biggest and best chocolate confectionary company! This means Cadbury hope to be bigger and better than any other chocolate manufacturer. They want to be well known across the world, and want the best quality chocolate in the world. As I said, they are they second largest confectionary company, therefore they are not meeting their vision. An aim is a goal that a business would like to achieve. It usually involves something to do with making a profit, providing goods and services, surviving and expanding, maximising sales, improving the quality of products and services, making customers happy. Aims Cadburys have are: * To deliver superior shareholder performance. This aim Cadburys have means they want to show good attitude, ability and skills in making the business successful. In this they are also aiming for the people who own shares in the business to know about the business and how it runs. All shareholders get part of the profits, the more they get the more likely they will be to keep being invested in Cadburys, and invest more money into it. * Profitability and significantly increase global confectionary shares. This means Cadbury want to increase the amount of people who own parts of Cadbury globally and to make more profit as a business. * To ensure our capabilities are the best in class. In this statement Cadburys are talking about their commitments to reduce packaging and carbon emissions. They are stating they want to be as eco friendly as possible. They would do this by recycling as much as possible, therefore cutting down on waste packaging. Also by choosing more energy efficient ways of transport. * Reinforce our reputation with society and employees. Cadburys are saying that they want to be fair to their employees in all countries, to do this they will give more than the fair trade wage to poorer countries who prepare raw materials. Cadburys are doing things like this to show the world they are fair and to make a good impression and give them a good reputation. * To be supportive of our consumers, customers and colleagues and to remain passionate about success. In this Cadburys are saying they want to be supportive of people who work for them and buy off them. They are also saying they want the business a whole to always be thinking about success and where working hard will get the business. Objectives To deliver superior shareowner performance, this mean that they want to pay shareholders dividends each year. Ensure our capabilities are the best, particularly in the area of environment, maybe reducing the packaging, cut in net, carbon emissions. this means Cadbury want to be environmentally friendly by doing everything they can to reduce packaging and recycling materials. Ownership Cadburys is a Public Limited Company (PLC), it is therefore able for any member of the public to buy a part of the business (share) and become a shareholder. The shares can be bought from a stock market or stock exchange. If Cadburys failed and went into debt, the shareholders would only loose money they put into the business, not any of their personal possession, this protection Cadburys have is called limited liability. The biggest share someone owns of Cadburys is 3%, although seems a small percentage he receives millions of pounds a year for owning that small 3%. The Cadbury family own 2% of the business, but dont have a lot of say on the way the business is now run because they are not on the board of Directors. If a company wants to become a PLC then they must submit two documents; a Memorandum of association and Articles of association. When these are submitted the company can then go ahead and start trading. Advantages for Cadburys: * Shareholders have limited liability and can therefore only loose money they have invested into the business. * Cheaper borrowing and bulk purchasing. * Cadburys company name is protected. * The company can continue despite the death, resignation or bankruptcy of management and members. * New shareholders and investors can be easily assimilated. * Goods can be produced at a lower unit cost. * The company can be globally successful. * The company may have large discounts when buying raw materials in bulk., for example milk and sugar (UK) and cocoa beans (Ghana). * Share Capital helps expand the business, and could help them be a global success. * They can raise finance easily and would not find it hard to pay back a loan. Disadvantages for Cadburys: * Shareholders expect a dividend in return for investing in the business. * Original owners of the company have less control over what happens to the business. * If dividends go down shareholders may want to sell their shares. * Decisions can be slow due to the size of the business. Organizational Structure Activity Over the years Cadbury has changed a large amount, it has gone from being a small shop selling drinking chocolate to being know globally selling chocolate, mint and chewing gum products. Cadbury first started in 1824 when John Cadbury first opened his shop in Birmingham. By 1842 he was selling 16 sorts of drinking chocolate and 11 varieties of cocoa. A major change to the business was in 1847 when John Cadburys brother Benjamin joined the business, making it become a family business. In 1854 Cadbury received their first Royal Warrant. By 1878 Cadburys had outgrown their bridge street factory in Birmingham, they then went on to buy Bourneville factory. In 1905 Cadbury introduced Cadbury Dairy Milk bars, this was a major part in their business because it became a real hit and is still sold today. During the 1900s Cadburys growth accelerated with the establishment of manufacturing operations in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and South Africa. Cadbury then became the clear market leader in the 1920s. This was a very proud time for Cadbury, and they stayed as the market leaders for years, but now mars (master foods) have taken over, making Cadbury work harder than ever to get back on top. In 1969 Cadbury merged with Schweppes Ltd and became Cadbury Schweppes PLC, it was then listed on the London stock exchange. In 1989 Cadbury Schweppes was listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange in Australia. I think this was an important change for Cadburys because they were gradually becoming well known globally. In March 2007 it was revealed that Cadbury Schweppes were planning to split its business into to separate things: one focusing on its main chocolate and confectionary and the other on the drinks. The demerger took place in May of 2008, with the drinks business becoming Dr. Pepper Snapple Group. (Information from history taken from Wikipedia) Throughout all of these changes Cadbury still kept their Bourneville Factory in Birmingham. It was made into and educational trip for families and schools to show how Cadburys grew and developed. Cadbury world produces chocolate where visitors can see how it is made; Cadbury World includes a chocolate factory, a ride, a playground, Cadbury shop, and a playground. When Cadbury chocolate was first being produced it was mainly solid bars of chocolate, over the years this has developed and Cadbury now cater for all members of the family and different occasions. For example in 1915 Milk Tray was first introduced, this is a box of chocolate often bought for special occasions. Gradually Cadburys widened their range of products, for example Mini Freddo bars came out, these were suitable for children to put in their lunch boxes. At Easter Cadburys bring out a range of different Easter eggs, small, large, and huge ones. These are suitable for children and adults. Cadburys main competitors are Mars (master foods), Nestle, Lindt, Thornton, Wrigley. Mars and Nestle are head on competition because they both make and sell similar products. For example Boxes of Roses and Boxes of Heroes compete, Kit Kat goes against Kit Kat, Nestles crunch is in competition with Cadburys Crunchie. Nestle and Mars also make chocolate for occasions, for example they make chocolate selection boxes. Lindt and Thorntons compete with the chocolate Cadburys make on special occasions, for example Easter eggs, boxes of chocolate. Thorntons specialize in making boxes of chocolate and are popular with Easter eggs. Wrigleys are also competitors of Cadburys, because they make a well known brand of chewing gum, which competes with Cadburys chewing gum brand, Trident. I think Nestle do better than Cadbury in some areas because they sell other products as well as chocolate, like cereal, where as Cadbury only sell chocolate and chewing gum. Other competition Cadburys have is indirect competition with other manufacturers who make and produce snacks; these are companies who make sweets, biscuits, crisps etc. Cadbury World has indirect competition with activities people can do in their leisure time, for example swimming, cinema, and bowling. This is competition because it is things people can spend their money on instead of chocolate and visiting Cadbury World. I think Cadbury does very well in the UK because it has no major competition that are based around there, although Mars, Nestle, Lindt products etc are sold in shops and supermarkets there are no other chocolate factories like Cadbury that can be visited. People all over the world buy the products Cadbury make. Mainly children and people with sweet tooths eat the chocolate bars but on special occasion most people have some Cadburys chocolate. The main people who buy Cadburys products are supermarkets, Cadbury benefit from this because they buy the stock in bulk to sell to the general public. Other revenue comes in from vending machines, cafes etc. The main reason people visit Cadbury World is to find out about the history of Cadbury. Their main customers would be schools, because they go on an educational trip or as an award from school, this is interesting for students because they all enjoy the free chocolate given and the opportunities Cadbury World offer them. Families visit Cadbury World because it isnt too expensive and it keeps kids occupied. Foreigners visit Cadbury World to learn about the process of the production, they also go because Cadbury chocolate may not be as widely available in their country; therefore they would visit the Cadbury shop. External and Internal factors at Cadbury Internal Factors: Production Problems At Cadburys there could be a problem in the production line, this could result in less products made. External Factors: Competition Cadburys have very high competition (Mars ; Nestle) who are constantly bringing out new products for the public, at times this could be hard for Cadbury to keep up with. Credit Crunch Because of the credit crunch people may cut back on spending days out, therefore Cadbury World will not bring in as much revenue. People may also decide not to buy as much chocolate which would result in a loss of money for Cadburys. Factors Influencing Location Availability of skills Birmingham is a high area of unemployment, therefore Cadburys have no problem employing people to work there, around Birmingham people do many apprenticeships, college courses and university courses to do with machinery, cookery etc, therefore the availability of skills for Cadbury Worlds was not an important factor. Cost of labour Cost of labour is the amount an employee gets paid. The cost of labour varies in different places, depending on the cost of living. Employees are protected by the national minimum wage; this is a wage which states the minimum a company can play an employee. The minimum wage rates are: Adults (22 or over) à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5.73 per hour Workers aged 18-21 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½4.77 per hour Workers aged 16-17 à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½3.53 per hour Apprentices under the age of 19 are not entitled to the national minimum wage for the first 12 months. Cadbury World have to pay their employees at least the minimum wage, although for people with more advanced skills and higher qualifications they may offer a higher wage to attract them to the job. Around Cadbury there are not other chocolate factories that require skills required to make and decorate certain chocolates, therefore Cadbury would not have a problem employing people with the minimum wage. Cost of Premises This was not an important factor for Cadbury World because they were looking to move into a bigger factory so they could produce more chocolate and become more well know. Therefore spending money on a bigger factory to help them succeed and make profits was not a major concern. Local Government Charges These were not an important factor to Cadbury because it is only a small fraction of their sales revenue, also government charges are mostly the same everywhere. Financial Help Cadburys do not need and have never had help from the government, this is because Birmingham is a high area of unemployment. This also means that the Cadbury family used all their own funds to buy the factory. Transport Links These days Cadbury use Lorries, planes etc to send and receive their product/raw materials, although when Cadburys first moved to Bourneville they used the canals because they are situated very close to the canals and Birmingham has one of the best canal systems. Cadburys now use other transport links for example Lorries, because they are situated in Birmingham near motorways. History and Tradition The Cadbury Family were very fair, and thought everyone should be treated equally. They therefore used their money to build schools, houses etc for the Bournville village. Another tradition theyll always have is being located in Bourneville, this is where Cadburys really set off. Therefore they will always have the factory there because it was their first major plant.

15 Influential People You Should be Following on Social Media

15 Influential People You Should be Following on Social Media You’re on the job hunt, doing all the things you’re supposed to be doing. Updating your resume, writing cover letters, doing interview prep, and working on your network. That’s all great, but can sometimes be frustrating- not to mention lonely. If you start to feel like you’re stuck in your own echo chamber and need a fresh perspective, why not tune into some of the best movers and shakers of career development and inspiration?Here are 15 people to follow when you need a job hunting boost.1. Kathryn Minshew (Twitter)Minshew founded The Muse and gives great general career/job search advice as well as news briefs in the career world.2. Simon Sinek (Twitter)Sinek is a motivational speaker and writer who has made a successful living analyzing the communication habits of successful leaders. Check out his books (Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action  and  Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Some Don’t) and hi s social media.3. Hannah Morgan (Twitter)Morgan founded CareerSherpa and is an expert job search/career guru who doles out great advice on â€Å"solopreneurship† as well as self-branding and finding your next big opportunity.4. Abby Kohut (Twitter)Kohut founded Absolutely Abby, and is a career coach and recruiter. She got named among the â€Å"Top 25 Women To Follow On Twitter For Your Job Search† by CEO World and also tours the country in her career advice RV. She’s also great at what she does.5. Guy Kawaski (Twitter)Kawaski is the former â€Å"chief evangelist† of Apple. He’s one of the best speakers out there- about career, business, and leadership- and super motivational. His feed is full of advice and sometimes even a cute animal clip.6. Adam Toren (Twitter)Toren founded Young Entrepreneur and is an author and an entrepreneur himself. He’s great because he doesn’t just focus on young job seekers. He has advice for those of any ag e wishing to turn to entrepreneurship and make a career/branding leap.7. Seth Godin (Twitter)Godin is the quintessential career coach. He’s the bestselling author of 14 books about leadership, marketing, branding, and personal growth. Read his feed for links to his blog and get insights straight from the guru.8. Women 2.0 (Twitter)Women 2.0 actually offers good advice for any gender, though it is a media company specializing in education/innovation and business opportunities for women. Gain great insights into diversity and learn about opportunities for any entrepreneur starting out.9. Randi Zuckerberg (Twitter)Zuckerberg is the other Zuckerberg’s sister, and the author of Dot Complicated. She’s a social media legend, with great insights on how to use the internet to brand yourself personally and professionally and follow in her excellent footsteps to social media domination.10. Elon Musk (Twitter)Musk is a tech innovator extraordinaire. He’s also a CEO a nd overall â€Å"it† influencer in the executive world. Follow him for insights on how to redefine leadership and innovation in the science and business worlds.11. Laszlo Block (LinkedIn)Block wrote Work Rules! and is a senior adviser at Google. He also publishes a lot of excellent content on LinkedIn, about his work at Google as well as his leadership experience.12. Lisa Gates (LinkedIn)Gates founded She Negotiates, and is a killer career coach. She offers tons of great tips on how to negotiate successfully- and nearly all of us could use some work in that department. Learn how to be your best advocate when asking for a raise or a promotion, or even a starting salary.13. Meg Guiseppi (LinkedIn)Giuseppi is a branding guru, career and personal branding coach. She writes articles that have great strategies and tips for taking yourself to the next level.14. Heather Huhman (LinkedIn)Huhman is a digital marketing specialist and career coach who focuses on Gen Y (pre-Millenials). I f you’re not Gen X and not quite a Millenial, then she has great career advice for you to help you build, or rebuild, your career and negotiate changes over the course of your working life.15. Paul Freiberger (LinkedIn)Freiberger is a job search consultant and resume writer who doesn’t post terribly often, but the articles he does post are extremely worthwhile- often covering topics that don’t tend to be discussed as much.Remember, following folks on Twitter and LinkedIn gets you tons of free advice. You can decide how involved to get, but it’s always good to get a sense of what’s available out there. The resources are out there for you to find (and follow)!

The controversy of MLDA PowerPoint Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The controversy of MLDA - PowerPoint Presentation Example However, this paper presents the arguments and statistics put forward by the two sides of the controversy in supporting their claims. The Controversy of MLDA MLDA or the minimum legal age for drinking has been one controversial issue ever since its inception in the 1850s. This controversy arises from the proponents and opponents of either raising or lowering the MLDA. Before establishing the controversy, it is important to examine a brief history of the MLDA. After prohibition ended, many states restricted the access of alcohol by the youth by designating 21 years as the minimum legal age for drinking. However, between the years of 1970 and 1975, about 29 states reduced the MLDA to eighteen, nineteen, or twenty years, (AMA 1). This was a time when the lowest age for activities such as voting was also being reduced. At this time, scientists started studying the impacts of a reduced MLDA, by focusing on motor vehicle accidents, the leading cause death of teenagers. Several such studies indicated that accidents significantly increased among teens when MLDA was reduced. Armed with the facts that a lower age for drinking led to more traffic fatalities and injuries among the youth, citizen advocacy groups piled pressure on states to restore MLDA to 21 years. Indeed, between 1976 and 1983, 16 states increased their drinking age. This was met with resistance from other states amid rising concerns that minors would traverse across state lines in order to purchase and consume liquor. This prompted the federal government to pass the Uniform Drinking Act. Among alcohol policies, MLDA is the most studied, with studies mainly focusing on the effects of either a higher or lower MLDA, (AMA 1). Therefore, MLDA continues to elicit controversy even as all the 50 states have set the MLDA at 21 years, with exceptions existing in different states regarding consumption at home, medical necessity, and under adult supervision among others. So where does the controversy lie? Those who p ropose the reduction in the MLDA from 21 years argue that it has not put a stop to teenage drinking. Instead, it has transferred underage binge drinking into private and less restricted environments, and this has led to increased health and life-threatening behavior by teenagers. For example, while many believe that people who are under the age of 21 years are prohibited from alcohol consumption in the US, underage drinking is permitted in 29 states if it is done on private premises with parental consent, in 25 states if used for religious purposes, and in 7 states of it used for educational purposes. Those who oppose the lowering of the minimum age for drinking argue that teenagers have not yet attained an age where they are capable of responsibly handling alcohol, and hence have a higher likelihood of causing harm and even killing themselves or others by drinking prior to the age of 21. Their perception is that when the lowest age for drinking is increased, the number of traffic f atalities decrease. In fact, research findings tend to support the claims by the people who oppose the lowering of the MLDA. According to the American Medical Association (1), a higher drinking age is successful in curbing alcohol-related deaths and injuries among the youth. When the age is lowered, the death and injury rates increase. When the age is increased, the death and injury rates decrease. This also means that the number of motor vehicle accidents decrease with an increase in drinking age.

Critical assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Critical assignment - Essay Example (Position Statement, 2004). In one California study, it was revealed that more than 32 percent of all schoolchildren are overweight and 7.4 percent are unfit (O’Connell, 2008). This indicates that schoolchildren everywhere are struggling with issues of weight, not just your child. There is also a greater likelihood that obese people, what most would recognize as significantly overweight, will develop Type 2 diabetes if they don’t have it already. They have more body fat than is considered healthy for a person of their particular height. Generally speaking, a person who is 40 to 100 pounds over their recommended weight is considered obese while those who tip the scale at 100 pounds or more over their desired weight are categorized as morbidly obese. The condition dramatically lowers life expectancy and is directly linked to the deaths of at least 300,000 in the U.S. every year (Dorfman, 2007). Up to 90 percent of people with diabetes (type two) are either overweight or obese. Diabetes plays a significant role in the deaths of millions of people worldwide and the number is growing exponentially. According to the International Diabetes Federation (cited in Dorfman, 2007), the number of people diagnosed with diabetes has risen from 30 million people to more than 246 million people in only the past twenty years. This illness is well documented in the United States, revealing that the total annual economic cost of diabetes in 2002 was estimated to be $132 billion, or one out of every 10 health care dollars spent in the United States. This means it can have a significant impact not only on the health and happiness of your child, but also on the family’s finances, particularly as insurance benefits continue to suffer cutbacks. A primary factor in diabetes is the level of insulin present in the body. Insulin is a chemical the body produces naturally to mange the induction of glucose into the system. When the body produces too little amounts of

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior Research Paper

Theoretical Dimension Involving Criminal Behavior - Research Paper Example Academic stakeholders started gaining interest in the connection between psychology and law after the World War II was over. During the period of 1960s, various psychologists were called upon in various criminal and civil cases to help with the cognitive side of the cases (Ogloff, 1996). By 1980s, psychology was applied to law, and students started taking courses and training in the field of psychology of law (Ogloff, 1996). Today, criminology and psychology are taught together in formal and professional educational settings, and various theories explaining why criminals perform criminal activities are taught to students and professionals. Body Among the various theories that examine why individuals perform criminal activities, the choice theory is the most commonly used. Choice theory was created by Dr, William Glasser; according to him, the decision of an individual to commit a crime is made in a rational way (Glasser, 2011, p.224). The theory further suggests that there are severa l reasons due to which one acts in a deviant manner; these reasons includes greediness, desire, rage, envy, suspicion, excitement and pride. The base of the theory of choice is the classical school of criminology, which states that an individual is not restricted, and whether to select a criminal path or a socially acceptable path is his or her own free choice. The classical school of criminology has even suggested a way to counter crime – fear of punishment can help prevent criminals from performing criminal activities (Glasser, 2011). The theory of choice categorizes criminal behavior into three different types. The first type is the rational actor; this means that a criminal makes his or her own decision whether or not to commit a crime, and he or she can be stopped through fear of punishments. The second reason due to which an individual commits a crime is because of his or her inner drives and the environment he or she lives in. The best possible way to counter this kind of criminal is to change the environment in which he or she is situated. The last kind of criminal is the one who has been abused or has been a victim of a crime; this kind of criminal can be controlled with the aid of rules and regulations. Criminology is even associated with personality; Eysenck, a psychologist from Britain, is highly recognized for producing a theory that connects criminal behavior with the individual’s personality. He suggested that an individual performs criminal behavior because of the communication between that individual’s environment and his cognitive system (Raine, 1993). This theorist has focused on the predispositions related to criminal activities available in the genes of an individual. People who are in favor of this theory share a common belief that individuals have distinct mental processes. When these processes interact with a particular stimulus, individuals end up acting in a deviant way. This theory has not signaled that an indivi dual is born with criminal-like qualities; this theory rather suggests that only when the neurobiological processes of individuals interact with a certain environment do individuals act in a deviant manner. The study conducted by Eysenck further proved that individuals who exhibit a lower level of extraversion have a tendency of getting angry quickly, acting in an aggressive manner, and are not reliable (Raine, 1993). He even stated that individuals categorized as extraverts tend to experience increased levels of excitement, which

Atomic Short Range Order (SRO) in Ni20Pd80 Alloy

Atomic Short Range Order (SRO) in Ni20Pd80 Alloy An Experimental and Theoretical Study of the Atomic Short Range Order (SRO) in Ni20Pd80 Alloy Abstract The behavior of atomic short range order (SRO) has been investigated in a polycrystalline alloy of Ni20Pd80 at different temperatures by using diffuse X-ray scattering intensities. The ordering energies and the atomic SRO-parameters (ÃŽ ±1) have been calculated by using the electronic theory of ordering in the pseudopotential approximation and compare with the experimental results. The intensity distribution pattern of Ni20Pd80 obtained through XRD depicts a deviation from random structure at all annealing temperatures. We make an analysis using the prior obtain X-ray intensities of Ni20Pd80 and calculate the atomic short range order-function (SROF) g(r) as a function of annealing temperatures. Some of the values of ÃŽ ±1 calculated by using SROF and appears as negative, indicating the existence of SRO in Ni20Pd80 alloy. We have obtained the parameter for second and third nearest neighbors, which turns out to be positive. Electronic theory of alloys in the pseudopotential approximati on was employed to calculate the ordering energies and the values of ÃŽ ±1. It was found that this theory predicts the same sign of ÃŽ ±1 for selected alloy as observed from the experiments. The results can be further improved by considering the order of perturbation and the atomic size effect for the studied alloy. Keywords: Ni20Pd80 alloy; short range order (SRO); X-ray diffraction (XRD); transition metal model pseudopotential (TMMP); short range order-function (SROF); SRO-parameter (ÃŽ ±1) 1. Introduction X-ray scattering intensity measurement of alloys reveals in the information about degree of atomic SRO and has been immensely used by many authors to establish the presence of ordering in various binary and multi-component alloys [1]. The presence of the atomic SRO in the disordered solid solutions influences the physical properties of the alloys significantly and a recent study of the electronic theory of alloys based on the pseudo-potential approximation has appeared successfully to predict the ordering in transition metal alloys [2-4]. Lin et al. have shown the formation of clusters in the samples with Pd concentration of 25-75 at.% [5]. Our study shows that beyond 75 at.% Pd, Ni-Pd alloy has a tendency to form SRO. In this paper, we have carried out the calculation of temperatures in binary Ni20Pd80 alloy by combining the method of pseudopotential approximation. Therefore, it encourages investigating the atomic SRO in the Ni20Pd80 alloy. Not only, we establish SRO in Ni20Pd80 and also compare the theoretical results with the experiment. 2. Experimental Technique For experimental work XRD technique was employed. The round-shaped master ingot (~10 g) of polycrystalline Ni20Pd80 alloy was gratefully supplied by Degussa (Germany). These pellets were cut into two halves, surface-ground and polished to produce a mirror surface suitable for XRD study. Chemical analysis carried out by electron probe micro-analyzer gave nearly the starting compositions. Ni20Pd80 alloy was annealed at each given temperature for 5 hrs in a vacuum better than 10-5 mbar and quenched. The X-ray experiments were performed on a Shimadzu XD-5A diffractometer in the reflection mode, using line-focused Cu-KÃŽ ± radiation. The intensity measurements were carried out in the angle range 40à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °Ã‚ °Ãƒ ¯Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  with a step of 0.2 and all measurements were made in the fixed time mode with counting time of 100 sec per angle. All of the measurements were made at room temperature of 25 ±0.5 °C respectively. 3. Theoretical Calculations The electronic theory of alloys gives the following expression for the ordering energy of binary AB alloy [10] as below: Where, is the average atomic volume of the alloy and Ri is the radius of ith coordination sphere in the particular crystal structure. The factor FAB(q) represents the energy-wave number characteristics of the alloy [10]. The electronic theory of alloys in 2nd order perturbation theory gives the ordering energy of a binary alloy corresponding to the ith coordination sphere is given by [6]. Where, = à ¯Ã‚ -/N is the volume per atom, N is the number of atoms in the crystal of volume à ¯Ã‚ -, is the difference of the unscreened pseudopotential form factors of the alloy constituents [7], and are the dielectric and modified screening factors which include the effect of exchange and correlation [8] and ÃŽ · is the Ewald’s parameter. FAB(q) is the energy wavenumber characteristic which is the local pseudopotential approximation may be expressed as [10]: The first term in Eq. (2) gives the contribution of the band structure and this second term is of the electro static energy. In 3rd order perturbation theory, the ordering energy is given by [9, 10]: Here, The term T(q) is the effective pair corrections to the ordering potential. This correction arises in the 3rd order perturbation theory due to double scattering process of conduction electrons from the ion pairs. The term responsible for the effects connected with the presence of three body interaction are not taken into consideration. In disordered binary solid solutions, if two different atoms A and B have size difference they exhibit static displacements from exact lattice positions. For close neighbors, there can be three different distances depending on whether it is an AA-, BB- or AB-pairs. In case of two atoms, that is no close neighbor and the variation in distance results from the variations in the composition of the region between them. The variation in close neighbor distances attributes to the kind of atoms making up the pair [10]. The ordering potential is modified by incorporating the atomic size effect and is given by: E(R1) =A(R1)−B(R1) Where, A(R1) and B(R1) are the first nearest neighbor distances of A- and B-atom. Here, the factor B(R1) is given by: And B(R1) =B1Aà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  1A+B1Bà ¢Ã‹â€ Ã¢â‚¬  1B Here, The expression for B1B can be written in a similar manner. Where, And Where, Here, , Clapp-Moss relation was used to determine the value of SRO-parameter. The values of ÃŽ ±1 were determined from the ordering energy by using the Clapp-Moss expression [11]: Where kB is the Boltzmann constant. In this work, we have also investigated the effect of the exchange and correlation factors on the ordering energies. The expressions to account for the exchange and correlation correction effect f(q) proposed by Kleinmen [12], Singwi [13], Hubbard-Sham [14], SLTS [13] and Lindhard [15] are given below: Kleinman: Singwi: A=0.8894 B=0.3401 Hubbard-Sham: SLTS: Lindhard: f (q) =0 4. Results and Discussion Fig. 1 shows the XRD pattern recorded at room temperature obtained for the annealed sample of Ni20Pd80 at various temperatures. The splitting of high angle Bragg reflection for CuKÃŽ ±1 and Cu-KÃŽ ±2 radiations demonstrates the quality of the sample. The patterns were indexed following the procedure mentioned in Ref. 16. Since, all the fundamental reflections (hkl all even or all odd) were present; the patterns were therefore indexed as Face Centered Cubic (FCC). The sample was single phase and has FCC of A1-type structure with lattice parameter a=0.382 nm [17]. The lattice parameters were calculated from XRD patterns taken after annealing the Ni20Pd80 alloy at various annealing temperature by the extrapolation of the Nelson-Riley function and their values are plotted in Fig. 2. It can be clearly seen that the value of lattice parameter ‘a’ increases linearly with temperature. The reason for this increase in ‘a’ is the thermal expansion in lattice due to increase of temperature. Fig. 3 shows the plot of SRO-function g(r) corresponding to temperatures i.e., 100, 300 and 600  °C. The SRO-function g(r) was determined from the measured intensities using the following relation [18]: Where, r is the radial distance, and Q is the reciprocal lattice vector Where, Ieu(SRO) is the observed intensity free from parasitic contributions and is measured in electron units. The procedures for the removal of parasitic contributions and the method to convert the measured intensities into electron units are outlined in Ref. 19. The radii of the coordination spheres were calculated from the lattice parameters determined from the XRD pattern. The function g(r) was determined from the intensities measured for each annealing temperature. It is clear from Fig. 3 that the variations in the g(r) with respect to temperature are subjected to the changes in SRO inside an alloy. The first peak in the plot of g(r) is not relevant to the structure but comes from the modification function used in the calculation in order to take into account the infinite limit of the integral in the expression of g(r). This feature is more prominent in the curve corresponding to 100  °C as compared to the other two curves. The SRO-parameters were determined from the data shown in Fig. 1 using the following expression [18]: Where ci is the coordination number and ÃŽ ±i is the radius and ÃŽ ±1 for the ith coordination sphere. There values are listed in Table 1 for the first, second and third nearest neighboring spheres. The value of ÃŽ ±1 was observed to be negative for all annealing temperatures. The variations in its value are due to the variation in the degree of SRO taking place with a change of temperature. The values of ÃŽ ±2 and ÃŽ ±3 were found to be positive for all investigated temperatures which indicate the formation of clusters in the second and third nearest neighboring spheres. The parameters of TMMP [7] and the lattice parameters determined using the Vegard’s rule was used as input for these calculations. The results of these calculations are listed in Table 2. It is seen that the values of ÃŽ ±1 is negative corresponding to different exchange and correlation factors. The values of ÃŽ ±1 were found to be negative from the XRD experiments too. It is therefore concluded that the electronic theory of alloys (2nd order perturbation) yields a good agreement between the experiment and theory as far as sign of the ÃŽ ±1 is concerned. The values of ÃŽ ±1 calculated employing the 3rd order perturbation correction and by taking into account the difference in atomic size of Ni20Pd80 are also given in Table 2. The difference in the magnitude of experimental and theoretical values may be attributed to the following reasons, (i) these calculations apply only to the ground state 100  °C where as the experiments have been done at higher temperatures. (ii) The val ues of lattice parameters used in these calculations were calculated from Vegard’s rule. 5. Conclusions XRD experiments were performed on the Ni20Pd80 alloy to study SRO. In order to compare the experimental results with the theory, calculation of ordering energies was undertaken using the electronic theory of alloys in the pseudo-potential approximation. The analysis of the experimental data yields information regarding the SRO. The structure of the alloy is FCC over a temperature range of 100-600  °C. The lattice parameter of the alloy increases with temperature as expected by theory. The experimental values of ÃŽ ±1 were found to be negative at all investigated temperatures, which indicates formation of SRO in this alloy. The experimental values of à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡2 and à ¯Ã‚ Ã‚ ¡3 were found to be positive, which indicates formation of clusters in the second and third neighboring spheres, if order of perturbation and size-effect is taken into account in these calculations. Acknowledgements The author S. K. Ajmal would like to thank and are acknowledged for their helpful discussions. References [1] V.I. Iveronova, A.A. Katsnelson, Short Range Order in Metallic Solid Solutions (in Russian), Moscow University Press, (1977). [2] W. Pfeiler, Acta Metall. 36 (1988) 2417. [3] T. Abbas, R.M.A. Khalil, A.M. Rana, Mahtabullah, Mod. Phys. Lett. B 20 (2006) 2425. [4] S. Akhtar, A.B. Ziya, T. Abbas, Physica B 404 (2009) 2241-2243. [5] W. Lin, J.E. Spruiell, Acta Metall. 19 (1971) 451. [6] F.A. Khawaja, A.A. Katsnelson, V.M. Silonov, Phys. Stat. Sol. 88 (1978) 477. [7] A.O.E. Animalu, Phys. Rev. B 8 (1973) 3542-3554. [8] P.A. Rossiter, The Electrical Resistivity of Metals and Alloys, University Press, Cambridge, (1987). [9] F.A. Khawaja, A.A. Katsnelson, V.M. Silonov, M.M. Khrushchov, Phys. Stat. Sol. 82 (1977) 701. [10] A.A. Katsnelson, V.M. Silonov, F.A. Khawaja, Phys. Stat. Sol. 91 (1979) 11. [11] P.C. Clapp, S.C. Moss, Phys. Rev. 171 (1968) 754. [12] L. Kleinman, Phys. Rev. 160 (1967). [13] K.S. Singwi, M.P. Tosi, A. Sjolander, R.H. Land, Phys. Rev. 176 (1968) 589. [14] J. Hubbard, L.J. Sham, Proc. Roy. Soc. (London), A240 (1957) 359. [15] Lindhard, D. Langreth, Phys. Rev. 181 (1969) 753. [16] B.D. Cullity, Elements of X-ray Diffraction, Addison Wesley, Philippines (1978). [17] S. Ahmad, A.B. Ziya, A. Aziz, Z. I. Zafar, J. Mater. Sci. Technol. 25 (2009) 208-210. [18] B.E. Warren, X-ray Diffraction, Dover, New York, (1990). [19] T. Abbas, A.B. Ziya, J. Mat. Sc. 28 (1993) 5010. Figure captions Fig. 1 XRD pattern of Ni20Pd80 alloy taken at 100-600  °C after annealing temperature. Fig. 2 Temperature dependence of lattice parameter a(Ç º) of Ni20Pd80 alloy determined from the Nilson-Riley function. Fig. 3 Temperature dependence of atomic short range order function g(r). Table captions Table 1: The SRO-parameters for various shells of atoms obtained from experimental diffuse scattering intensities of X-rays for Ni20Pd80 alloy. Table 2: The ordering energies for Ni20Pd80 alloy calculated using the electronic theory of alloy in the pseudo-potential approximation. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Table 1 Table 2

The Fast Food Culture is Detroying America Essay -- Fast Food Research

The typical American diet, with its emphasis on fast food and frozen food, is a consumption pattern reflective of, and symptomatic of, our production patterns -- what kind of jobs we find ourselves going to day-in and day-out, and the way these jobs encourage us to see the world we live in. If people are more apt to think of themselves as consumers rather than producers, if gratification is associated with consumption rather than working, doing, and making, we have only to bear in mind that this is a society where work is either unattainable or alienating. (Willis, A Primer For Daily Life, "Learning From the Banana," page 59) The psychological impacts based on today's workplace lead us to believe we have no time. We no longer make our own food. We no longer cook our own food. We experience an alienation from its sources; food comes to us ready-made, pre-packaged, and/or frozen. Our usual food choices are commonly referred to as "junk-food," and when we happen upon someone cooking a meal entirely from scratch, we often joke, "What's this, real food?" Our relationship towards food has become so skewed that we no longer expect quality. If, by chance, we happen to encounter it, we are genuinely shocked and surprised, and almost threatened, for the rare presence of quality exposes that there usually is none. We have no idea what is in our food, or where it comes from. We are alienated from the land which gives us food, and from the actual production of our food. Do we know whose hands our food has passed through before we see it stacked neatly on shelves, or handed to us in a bun at Burger King, ready for us to consume at leisure? Contrary to McDonald's "educational literature" passed out to young children in schools, hamburge... ...5; call 408.423.4069 Vegan Outreach, 10410 Forbes Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15235; e-mail mba8+@andrew.cmu.edu Other Useful sources : McSpotlight -- contains over 1600 spotlights of McDonald's wrongdoings (Once you click, choose the server nearest you: Netherlands, Finland, USA, New Zealand) Viva!Guides -- some interesting literature and ideas; "How Now Mad Cow," + others... McDonald's Very Own Dietary Info -- ingredient lists of every product, complete with calorie, fat, fiber, etc counts Screwing McDonald's -- in case you missed the McSabotager earlier in the page... McDonald's is suing people who call their food unhealthy Opposing Viewpoints : Myths & Facts About Beef Production -- The incredible health benefits you will receive by eating beef! (Curiously, funded by...) Beef Handbook--Nutrition & Health -- the U.S.D.A. tells it like they see it...

Porters 5 Forces

Sonia’s smoothies 1) Nick calculated that of 200 customers who completed the questionnaire at the rock festival, the mean age was 23. The age distribution conformed to a curve of normal distribution with a standard deviation of 5. Calculate the number of customers aged 33 and over who featured in Sonia’s survey (33-23)? 5 = 2 2% of 200= 4 Answer= 4 2) With reference to the report on the UK smoothie market (appendix 2) analyse two limitations of using secondary sources as the basis of Sonia's decision making. Secondary research is one that is carried by a third party and not yourself.The information is collected as it may serve propose in the information you need even though it may have been collected for a different research. There are however some limitations of Sonia using this secondary research whilst making a decision on what smoothie flavours to bring out. In this essay I will discuss these and give my opinion on whether Sonia should or shouldn’t solely bas e the decision on this information. The first limitation of using secondary research is that it may be several years old and may not reflect the current market conditions.If this is the case for Sonia then it would mean that she may be releasing a flavour into a market that no longer exists. This would mean that her sales will not be as high as she would of hoped, it would also mean that her costs will rise as she would be producing smoothies unaware that these are not going to sell. The impact of both of these things happening will result in Sonia losing profit. This one example shows that for Sonia to solely base her decision on secondary research it would not be good for her business as she could lose out on a lot of potential customers.The second limitation of using secondary research is that it may not be accurate and reliable as it may be biased. If this does happen then it would mean that Sonia would be making a decision on information that is not 100% accurate and true. This would be misleading for her as she would be making a decision based upon something which is not going to benefit her at all. This would result in her again losing profits as her costing will rise through producing the goods and sales being low. This again shows us that if Sonia does make a decision solely based on the secondary research it may result in failure of the product she releases.In conclusion I think that Sonia should use secondary research as it gives her a basic idea about what is happening or has happened in the market which will give her a slight idea but it should be used in conjunction with some primary research such as questionnaires so Sonia 100% accurate data and knowledge. If this is done then it would ensure that the decision being made will be the correct one resulting in the success of the product she releases. 3) Discuss why nick might have recommended that Sonia should not base any decisions on the rock festival research.The rock festival research is a type of primary research. Primary research is one that is collected by yourself. In this essay I am going to discuss the reasons why Nick may have recommended Sonia do not make decisions solely based on the rock festival research, I will then come to a conclusion as to what Sonia should do to ensure the decision being made is the right one. Firstly by carrying out the rock festival research it means only targeting one group of people, therefore other groups such as families and children would be missed out.The consequence of Sonia making her decisions on just the rock festival research could be misleading as she has not taken into consideration groups that may be her major customers. For example families may be her major target audience and if Sonia makes a decision based on a group other than the families she could release a non desirable flavour. If this does happen then it would mean that she could be releasing a flavour that is not in demand which would result in less sales and this less potential profits.It would also mean that her costs will rise through production and this would be wasted money as she may not be able to sell these products. Secondly the response that Sonia may get from the people attending the rock festival may not be 100% accurate as they may not give the correct answers as they will want to enjoy the event itself. For example Sonia may approach an attendee at the rock festival and ask them questions but they may not give thought out answers as they are focusing on the music itself.If this does occur and Sonia does make a decision on this information it could mean that she is making a product which is based on incorrect data which could affect her sales which will make the released product less profitable. I think that Sonia should not base her decisions solely based on the rock festival. I however do think using a method of primary research is a good start to making a decision but she could have thought out where the questionnaires would be conducted a little better. For example she could have done it in a high street where there is a variety of people which would give her better feedback.For Sonia to base her decision solely on this it may result in her getting inaccurate results which would mean that the product released may not be as successful as it could be. I think that if Sonia wants to make the product as effective as it can be she should take do the primary research (questionnaire) in a more suitable place such as the high street. I also think that it should be used in conjunction with another type of research such as the secondary research that she had collected before.By using both types of information it will give her more of an understanding as to what a customer wants and it would make her decision making process a lot more easy and accurate. 4) If Sonia decides to use a market research agency to investigate the new smoothie flavours, analyse two ways they might use a quota sample. Quota sampling is a sample created by gathering a predefined number of participants from each of several predetermined categories, for example choosing 25 people both from the categories male and female.There are many advantages of using quota sampling one of which is that it clearly shows the demand from each of the categories. Sonia may want to decide to use a market research agency to investigate new smoothie flavours. I am going to analyse two reasons why they may use quota sampling whilst doing the research for Sonia. The first reason why the market research agency may use quota sampling is so that they can determine clearly what each group of people would like. For example once the research has been done using the groups male and female they can determine what each group wants and can look at the rends. By having this type of sampling it would give Sonia an idea of the wants of each group and she can then make her decision based upon this. I think that this type of sampling would be very good for Sonia as the market she is entering is one which is different according to people’s personal preferences and by understanding what each category wants she can make a decision so that she can cater for all of them. The second reason why quota sampling may be done is because it is a cheaper method as opposed to taster sampling.Taster sampling is when samples are given out to random customers to get their opinion on things, this means that the costs involved are very high as products are actually given away. By doing quota sampling it means that the cost of actually giving out products is avoided, this would mean that the cost that Sonia has to pay the agency will be less meaning her costs will stay down. 5) Discuss methods of primary research the market research agency might use to investigate new smoothie flavours for Sonia’s smoothies.Primary research is one that is done and collected by yourself, primary research can be split into three categories; test marketing, su rveys and observations, these can be then split even further into the actual activities. There are many types of primary research that can be undertaken and in this essay I am going to discuss some that the research agency may take up in order to investigate new smoothie flavours for Sonia’s smoothies. The first type of primary research that can be done is questionnaires; these are types of surveys.This method is a very good way of getting back answers from the customers as it can be both qualitative information and quantative information. Questionnaires can be either done in person but can also be done through post. Questionnaires are the most common type and I think that for Sonia smoothies it would be a very good method as she can get a lot of feedback from potential customers. this information would give her a very good idea of what the customers will want and it would help her make the correct decision.The correct decision will intern help her make profit as she knows sh e has the right product for the right market. However whilst doing questionnaires they will have to make sure that they do not annoy the potential customers through a lot of phone calls etc as this could result in the business losing its reputation and potential sales. The second type of primary research that the market research agency may undertake is consumer panels. A consumer panel is a group meeting that is held whereby questions are asked and noted to give the results.The advantage of consumer panels is that the information is likely to be accurate as the people attending it will have a lot of time to answer the questions meaning that they can thoroughly answer them. The disadvantage is that this type of research is that it may be more costly as the premises etc will have to be organised. This is a very good type of research as it allows qualitative information to be collected as well as opinions however I do not think that it is entirely suitable for Sonia smoothies as she do es not necessarily need discussions to take place as all she wants is opinions of flavours and what customers want.Therefore I think that this method is not entirely suitable for Sonia smoothies. Another type of primary research that can be undertaken is taster sampling. This is when samples are given of the product and feedback is received by potential customers. This type of method is very good for a product that people will have different opinions on as it allows feedback from all types of people. Although there is a short term cost of actually producing these samples the long term affect it could have is a positive one as it would mean that the right product is being sold to the customers thus increasing sales and profits.I think that this is a very suitable type of research that can be done by the market research agency as it would not only allow Sonia to get feedback for certain flavours it will also increase brand awareness which would help her in the long run. Furthermore th e market research agency may ask supermarkets about the best selling smoothies in their stores. This is a method of primary research as it will be done by themselves. This is a fairly cheap method of research as all it involves is contacting the supermarket with what they need.I think that this is a very good method of research for the market research agency to use as it will help Sonia identify which are the best selling types of products and she could use this information whilst making hers. However Sonia wants to create a new smoothie flavour so copying other flavours may not necessarily be the best option. A way in which Sonia could avoid copying is to maybe mix the two top selling smoothies in the store for example mango and peach flavoured smoothie; this would be different and unique. As a whole I think this method s fairly good in helping Sonia identify what flavours the customer tend to buy. As you can see there are various types or primary research methods that the market r esearch agency can undertake for Sonia smoothies. I think Sonia should use a combination of these. Firstly she should use questionnaires to ask the potential customers what types of flavours that they would like. Once this is done she can begin to make the samples for taster sampling which will then give her brand reputation as well as the opinion of customers. By doing this it would ensure that the research done is thorough helping her make her final decisions.As a whole I think to maximise effectiveness Sonia should use a combination of research methods to get a lot of peoples opinions. 6) Evaluate the importance of market research for Sonia’s smoothies LTD in making decisions over expansion. Market research is a systematic, objective collection and analysis of data about a particular market. There are many ways to carry out market research. In this essay I will evaluate the importance of Sonia’s smoothies using market research and will give my opinion of how it shou ld be carried out.Sonia smoothies has three man ways that she has identified so that the business can expand further, these are; expanding geographically, by seeking to distribute through a wider range of outlets and lastly expanding the range of flavours that they have. Firstly I am going to talk about the importance of using market research for the third aim of expanding its range of flavours. I think it is very important for Sonia smoothies to use market research as the smoothie market is one which is ever changing through new flavours and changing external factors such as health issues.By doing market research before releasing the product it would help the business understand the current market so that when they do release the new products they know that it is going to work in this market. By ensuring that the product being released is current it would help them increase their sales and profits, intern this would also have a knock on effect on helping them to achieve their first aim of expanding geographically as they will now have the money to do so. Secondly having the arket research can not only be a method for the company to release new products but it can also increase brand awareness as doing things like taster research will make people more aware of the company. If this happens then it could help them with their sales as people would be more aware and will be more confident in buying the product as they have already tasted it. By increasing the brand awareness it would mean that the sales will increase thus helping their profits. As you can see market research has more purpose for Sonia smoothies than just helping them to release new products.It is very important that Sonia’s smoothie takes out the necessary research so that they are successful in achieving their aims. Although market research brings a short term cost in the long run these costs will be covered by the success of the product depending on how well the research is done. Secondly is Sonia smoothie’s aim of distributing their products through a wider range of outlets than just health foods shops and events. There are many ways that market research will enable Sonia smoothies whilst making a decision as to what retailers to choose.Firstly market research can help them to choose the most effective shop. for example it can be used to see which shop has the least competition in it. By using market research to look at such things then it will help the success of the product as they will know that they do not have a lot of competition meaning that their product is more likely to be successful. This type of market research is vital as the market is always changing and the competition is always changing so for Sonia smoothies to have a competitive edge they will have to ensure that they have more sales.This is very important because if there are a lot of competitors it would reduce sales and intern decrease the amount of profits that are made. The second way that the market research may be used for this aim is to look at what retailers sell the most smoothies. By looking at this it will ensure that the smoothies that are made have the necessary demand. This is very important as it would ensure that sales can be made. Increased sales would mean bigger profits. however whilst doing this they will also have to look at the level of competition.As you can see market research is again very important in helping Sonia smoothies in their aim of expanding the number of retailers that they sell in. by increasing this it would help them increase brand awareness which will this increase the sales and profit. An increase in profit will help the business as it would mean that it will help them with their first aim of expanding geographically. Lastly Sonia smoothies has a aim of expanding the geographical area in which the smoothies are sold.This is linked to the second aim of selling through more retailers as that could help them do this. Market resea rch again plays a vital role in making the decision as to where to expand. For example market research can be used to see where there are there is the largest number of children for example (using children as Sonia smoothie’s main customers) by doing this it would give them a good perspective as to where there is a large number of their target audience. By having a lot of people that they can sell to it will increase their sales which will intern increase their profits.Market research is very important in using this as the market is ever changing and there is no point of geographically expanding into an area where the sales are not likely to be high as it would be a waste of money. In conclusion the importance of market research is very high as it could help the business achieve all of their aims that they have set. All the aims are interlinked for example increasing the range of flavours and selling these flavours through more retailers would mean increased sales, increased sales would result in higher profits which can then be used to fund for the geographical expansion.Because of this Sonia smoothies will have to ensure whilst doing the market research that it is done thoroughly, however they also have to keep an eye on the cost of the market research as they do not want to do it in such a depth where it costs them too much. If Sonia smoothies takes out the necessary market research then it could help them achieve all of their objectives of expansion, without market research the business cannot achieve their aims as effectively. Porters 5 Forces PORTER’S FIVE FORCES 4 Power of Suppliers Criteria Level Effect on Power Effect on Profit Difference of Inputs High Increases Decreases Cost of Switching Suppliers High Increases Decreases Threat of Forward Integration High Increases Decreases Supplier Concentration High Increases Decreases Difference of Inputs ?Product differentiation within inputs in the tech industry is largely dependent on how recently the input has been developed (the extent of which it is considered cutting edge). In cases where component innovations are the property of the supplier prices increase to compensate.However, in cases where products are low tech, older innovations, product differentiation is minimal. In some cases the differentiation between products may be so extreme that companies are forced to buy components from a direct competitor, just as Apple purchased roughly $8 billion worth of parts from Samsung last year (Levine 2013). Since newer, more recent technology is where the vast majority of profits are in the tech sector the level of difference of inputs is going to be considered high.This then increases the level of the bargaining power of suppliers put pressure on the company’s profit margin. Cost of Switching Suppliers ?Companies within the tech sector design their products around certain components, impacting size, shape, weight and function. If a company is to change their component supplier then the product will have to be reengineered, costing the company time and resources that could be allocated elsewhere. These then threatens the company’s ability to compete, stay relevant and develop newer products in a market with a high product turnover rate.Thus company’s have a high cost of switching suppliers, which in turn increases the bargaining power of suppliers which puts pressure on the buy’s margin and profitability. Threat of Forward Integration ?Forward integration, the ability of a supplier to enter a state of competition with their buyer (â€Å"Porter's Five Forces† 2012) is extremely high in the tech sector. For instance, MSI and ASUS, two long time component suppliers have both entered a state of direct competition with companies such as HP and Dell, who they still supply components for (â€Å"ASUS† 2012).Because component suppliers often have a majority of all of needed parts to make the final product they can easily enter the market, and while their products may not be on the cutting edge they are solid competitors. This threat of forward integration increases the bargaining power of suppliers, which decreases the profitability of the buyer. Supplier Concentration ?Supplier concentration refers to the strength of market share the top suppliers in the industry have in relation to the total industry (â€Å"Porter Model – Suppliers † 2010).Many of the larger tech companies have large market shares in their specific specialization, for instance Samsung has 97% of the world mar ket share in OLEDs (Choi 2011), 40. 4% in DRAM (Liu 2010), and 40. 4% in NAND flash (â€Å"Samsung Expands† 2012). ASUS currently controls 40% of the world’s motherboard market (â€Å"ASUS† 2012), while Intel controls 82. 3% of the global processor market (Shilov 2012). This extremely high supplier concentration results in a very large increase in supplier power, which drastically decreases buyer profitability. Summary The technology sector is rather brutal on buyers when it comes to their relationship with suppliers, who have a disproportionate amount of bargaining power with every category going in their favor. The difference in inputs, cost of switching suppliers, threat of forward integration and supplier concentration all favor an increase in supplier bargaining power and a decrease in buyer profitability. With all these factors considered it comes as no surprise that many companies make and develop their own components or are previous suppliers who have un dergone forward integration.Power of Buyers Criteria Level Effect on Power Effect on Profit Product Differentiation Low Low Decreases Number of Buyers/Sellers High High Increases Switching Costs Low High Limits Profitability Access to Information High High Degreases Access to Information ?The more information the buyers have, the better the bargaining power they are in. With all of the product information that can be accessed via the Internet, it gives the buyers added bargaining power. The Internet is a powerful tool for consumers.Buyers can easily use the Internet to compare prices, features, packages, and find great deals at the time of a purchase. There are many buyers who use the internet to access information and the effect on power is very strong which leads to having decreasing profitability for the whole industry. Switching Costs ?Buyers who can switch brands at any given time due to a low switching cost have more leverage than buyers who have high switching costs. The swit ching costs for this industry are low and have a high effect on bargaining leverage for the buyer. This leads to having limiting profitability for the industry.It limits the profitability because in principle, it puts a cap on how much producers can raise or reduce quality before they will lose the buyers business. However, in a few cases the switching costs can be high. When buyers purchase a phone, they can be purchased at a low price but with that it comes with a 2 or 3 year contract with a given provider. If this contract is breached, large fees are usually acquired by the customer. During this contract if a customer would like to purchase a new phone then they will have to pay full price for their purchase if their provider does not allow non-contract purchases.Product Differentiation ?In certain industries buyers will make their selection based on prices — which would increase price completion among companies. When the products are differentiated then the buyer’s options will be limited. Unfortunately, in the industry Samsung is currently in the product differentiation is low. This has a strong impact on buyer bargaining power and results in lower profitability. When we take a look at Samsung’s Galaxy Tablet compared with the ipad, we can see many similarities among the two products.The price is very similar, size, as well as features, and even the battery life. Number of Buyers ?In this industry, there are many buyers that it can attract. Since Samsung makes products such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops, TV’s, cameras, and much more they have many buyers since most of the items mentioned everyone has. The more buyers in a given industry results in more sellers the company will have to compete with and more alternatives a buyer can choose from. The larger the buyers as well as the number of sellers, means the customer is more important to the sellers business.Summary ?The overall buyer bargaining power for the industry that Samsung is in would be labeled as high. This creates a few challenges for Samsung as it makes the market very competitive, leaves little room for error, and creating a following for the company. With the buyers having most of the power the chances for profitability can be difficult to reach but Samsung has done a great job reaching good profitability. They have handled the high effects of buyer bargaining power very well and have been gaining more buyer loyalty. Threat of SubstitutesCriteria Level Effect on Threat Effect on Profit Relative Price of Substitutes Low Increases Threat Decreases Profitability Relative Performance of Substitutes High Increases Threat Decreases Profitability Switching Costs High Decrease Threat Increases Profitability Buyer Propensity to Substitute Low Decreases Threat Increases Profitability Relative Price of Substitutes ?When it comes to the price of substitutes in the electronics industry, it really depends on the particular product being considered, b ut overall, they are fairly low.For example, if someone is looking to replace their laptop and is looking for a product that can satisfy their need to access the internet and communicate with others, they could consider purchasing a tablet, which is fairly inexpensive compared to the price of some computers. (Spoonauer 2011) The low cost of substitutes increases the threat on businesses because they are at risk of losing customers to the businesses that are offering lower priced substitutes. This loss of business would decrease their profitability. Relative Performance of Substitutes As with the price of substitutes, the performance of substitutes also depends on the particular products being considered, but overall the performance is fairly high. Technology has rapidly advanced throughout the past few years, which has led companies to create devices that allow users to complete many tasks on one device, rather than have separate devices for each task. Someone that normally uses a l aptop to access their email and chat with friends on social networking websites can now access those same things on a tablet, which is a much smaller and convenient device. Biggs 2011) The high performance of substitutes leads to increased threat, because customers are more likely to switch to a product that is high quality and extremely convenient. The increased threat would ultimately decrease the profitability, because it would be difficult for them to compete with a company that is offering a higher quality product. Switching Costs ?Depending on the individual customer, switching costs could be high or low. Switching costs tend to be high with electronics, because making the decision to purchase a new product usually takes some time and research. Chen 2000) It is risky to purchase an electronic device without looking up product information and customer reviews beforehand. Switching costs can also be high because it takes time to get used to a new product and figure out all of th e capabilities and features. This can be a time consuming as well as frustrating process. High switching costs leads to a decrease in overall threat, because many customers do not want to switch products if it involves a lot of time and effort. It is much easier to stick with a product that is familiar rather than try to learn something completely new.This will lead to an increase in profitability because customers won't want to switch to a new product offering from a different company. Buyer Propensity to Substitute ?Overall, buyer propensity to substitute is fairly low, with a few exceptions. Most people are satisfied with the products they are using and are not looking to switch products all the time and look for the most recent technology. Many people who have laptops would never consider buying a tablet, because a laptop does everything a tablet does, minus the convenient size. But there are people who are always looking for the most echnologically advanced products and they ar e more than willing to substitute their products. Some people like the convenience of a tablet and would gladly replace their bulky laptop with it. (Adhi Techno 2012) Because buyer propensity to substitute is fairly low, it decreases the threat of substitution, since most people don't have a need to switch out their current products. This ultimately increases profitability, because customers are remaining with that product rather than switching to a company that offers something else. Overall Threat of Substitution Overall, the threat of substitution has roughly the same negative and positive impact on profitability. The low price and high performance of substitutes draws customers away from the business and encourages them to look to those substitutes to satisfy their needs, thus decreasing profitability. High switching costs and low buyer propensity to substitute have a positive impact on profitability, because customers would rather stick with their products rather than take the time and effort to find a new product to satisfy their needs. Threat of New Entrants Criteria Level Effect on Power Effect on Profit Product Differentiation High HighHigh Diversity of Competition Moderate Moderate Low Start-up Costs High High High Distribution High High High Product Differentiation ?According to Randy Khoo, author of â€Å"Why Apple is Very Afraid of Samsung,† Samsung carries itself through many different production areas even though most people believe Samsung only dabbles in the electronics market. At this time Samsung has 6. 5% of the IT Hardware market share, 7. 1% of the peripheral market share, 8. 5% of the converged devices market share and 5. 2% of the personal computer market share (Khoo, R). This means that the company’s ability to spread over a broad span of products is immense.According to Khoo, Samsung’s power could one day take over Apple’s entire market share. Diversity of Competition ?According to the U. S. Patent and Trad emark Office’s records from 2011, Samsung applied for the second most patents in the Nation. In 2011 alone, they applied for and were granted 4,868 patents, right behind International Business Machines Corporation, who were granted 6,148 patents. Samsung’s closest competitor, Panasonic Corporation, raked forth with 2,533 patents granted (Patenting by Organizations, 2011). Start-up Costs ?As for all electronics, start-up costs are extremely high.According to Craig Kuhn, author of â€Å"Barriers to Entry,† the start up costs for firms selling electronics are extremely high due to the amount of technology and materials needed to create a marketable product. ?Another aspect new firms need to think about is their incoming reputation when attempting to compete with very popular firms. These existing firms are knowledgeable about the industry and already maintain relationships with key manufactures and the biggest retailers. These new firms need to infiltrate these rel ationships in order to make way into the market, which isn’t easy (Kuhn, C).Distribution ?Randy Khoo, author of â€Å"Why Apple is Very Afraid of Samsung,† states that Samsung’s ability to sell their products anywhere is enormous. Since Apple strictly sells their products in their stores, through their website and through their strict distribution channels, Samsung has the ability to take over the market by selling their products anywhere that will accept them. â€Å"Samsung also has an existing distribution network from their existing businesses. This is of tremendous value†¦These distribution channels will also be there for the future dissemination of other Samsung products.This means that if they want to, it’s easy for them to market more than just electronics (Khoo, R). † Intensity of Rivalry Supposed to have four criteria. Criteria Level Effect on Power Effect on Profit Product Differentiation High Decrease Power Increase Switching Cost H igh Decrease Power Increase Diversity of Competitors High Decrease Power Increase Cost Product differentiation: ?According to Arthur Thompson, in his article, â€Å"Crafting and Executing Strategy,† â€Å"the essence if a broad differentiation strategy is to be unique in way that are valuable to a wide range of customers† (Thompson 2010).He also mentioned that, â€Å"a focused strategy to focus keyed to differentiation aim at securing a competitive advantage with product offering carefully designed to appeal to the unique preference and needs of a narrow, well defined group of buyers† (Thompson 2010). Broadly, Samsung faces many competitors who produce a wide range of electrical appliances. They have competitors like LG, Panasonic, GE and so on. In a small niche, differentiation is still a major factor that influences the sales of certain products.For example, in the cell phone industry, there is a lot of differentiation constantly appearing in the cell phone co mpetition, because differentiation can gain more advantage to their products. Therefore, the more differentiation their rivals make on their products, the less power Samsung has, and the more they will have to increase the cost of their phones. Switching cost: ?The majority of Samsung’s products are electrical appliances which require relatively high switching cost. According to Samsung, the common price of high tech products, like cell phone or tablet, is around $500.The price of big electrical appliances is usually more than $1,000 (Samsung, 2012). Compared to other low switching cost products, the majority of Samsung’s products have higher switching costs. Also, the life cycle of those products are long, which means as long as customers buy the products, it is not easy for them to switch. Therefore, there will be more competition to attract customers. That would decrease Samsung’s power, and they would drive up cost to make their products more attractive. Div ersity of competitors: ?There are many competitors in the electrical appliance industry.In the high tech industry, there are also many different competing companies. Apple is one of the main competitors in the high tech industry. According to Vaughan-Nichols, â€Å"Apple has sued Samsung around the world. Apple has made the same lousy patent design claims: Samsung has stolen the look and feel of its iPhone and iPad† (Vaughan-Nichols 2012). The more competitors an industry has, the more the companies will spend to compete against rivals. Apple is only one of those competitors. As the industry becomes more mature, the diversity of competitors becomes wider. Therefore, the effectiveness of Samsung’s power in the industry will decrease.In addition, the more competitors the industry has, the more money each competitor will put into the production and marketing of goods in order to increase brand identity and image. Therefore, the cost goes up. Overall Power of Rivalry: ?Ove rall, the power of rivalry would have a negative effect on Samsung. The influence would be losing power in the market and driving up costs. The major influence from rivalries would be differentiation of products, high switching costs and diversity of competitors. RESOURCES Adhi Techno (2012) â€Å"Top Five Reasons Tablets Will Substitute Laptops, Cellular Cell phones, and Pcs† Accessed 15 February 2013. ttp://adhi-id. blogspot. com/2012/04/top-five- reasons-tablets-will. html. ASUS, â€Å"ASUS. † Last modified 2012. Accessed February 18, 2013. http://www. asus. com/About_ASUS/Marks_in_History_ASUS_Motherboards/. 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