The Odyssey Theme Essay Example for Free

The Odyssey Theme Essay The theme of identity had served as a very important device throughout the story of The Odyssey. Basically, The Odyssey narrated the journey of Odysseus, known as one of the greatest mortal who played a very significant part in the Greek Mythology. His story started since the Trojan War period. But his golden period really began after the fall of Troy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   One of the key scenes which affect the journey of Odysseus towards his home was when he successfully played a trick on Polyphemus, son of the sea-god Poseidon. He attacked the creature. When Polyphemus asked to reveal his name, Odysseus said that his name was â€Å"Nobody.† Thus, in the midst of their fight, the creature had only shouted that he was being assaulted by Nobody. The Cyclopes then thought that nobody was attacking him hence they just ignored Polyphemus. He blinded the creature and declared that, â€Å"No one could beat him not even the son of the god.† Poseidon became so angry on Odysseus and swore that he would make it hard for Odysseus to go back home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The second important part of the revelation of Odysseus’ identity was when â€Å"†¦ he revealed himself to the Phaeacians after he was mesmerized by Demodocus’ narration of two poems which involved his own experiences during and after the Trojan War.† This was important to Odysseus because upon his revelation that he was the Great Odysseus, the Phaeacians promised to help him on his way home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The third key scene was when Odysseus finally met with his son Telemachus. â€Å"Telemachus was with Eumaeus but Odysseus rather kept his true identity to the latter and only disclosed it with Telemachus† thinking that if others would learn about his return, he would have to spend more time planning on how he would be able to return to his home. Thus he decided that his secret should only be between him and his son. After that meeting, the father and son made plans on how to eliminate the abusive suitors of Penelope, Odysseus wife. This plan worked effectively enabling the two to kill all Penelope’s suitors. Thus, Odysseus had finally returned to his family and to his home.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Though Odysseus was regarded as one of the greatest heroes in the Greek Mythology, the themes of identity and the key scenes reported earlier seemed conflicting with how a hero was perceived during the ancient times. He became some kind of boastful and in a way conceited when he declared that he was so great that not even the son of a god could trample him. Another was when he became so emotional and was carried away by the poems of Demodocus. A hero was said to have a heart that was not easily bent. And the last one was when he planned to kill all his wife’s suitors secretly. This seemed to be a traitor’s workings for he did not declare any war against them but instead assassinating them clandestinely. Work Cited Homer. The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Faqles. Penguin Classics, 2006.

The Social Network Facebook And Privacy Media Essay

The Social Network Facebook And Privacy Media Essay Introduction: We are living in the golden age of technology. Day by day technology is going to be more important in human life. Every aspect of our life like education, medical, business, information, transport, communication etc. demand technological support. It is helping us many ways in our daily life. Nothing is impossible nowadays. Information technology, given us the power to move around the world within minutes. What we got from IT: the communicative world is blessed of IT. There is no community in the modern world which can go through without IT. People nowadays become much more depended on IT. Operating business, financial transaction, entertainment, communicating everywhere we are using IT. In a word the globe is in palm and it happened for IT. As the Information technology playing an important role in our life but sometimes it is affecting our privacy and social life. Privacy: Privacy refers to personal secrecy or private or confidential information or property. In general everyone has some preference, someone likes to listening music and collecting songs and it is his personal privacy or secrecy. If anyone interfere his listening or collecting music that mean it is interfere in his privacy. In the website http://www.privacilla.org, they published, The word privacy has been used to describe many concerns with the modern world. It is a complex concept even before other concerns are lumped with it. The concept of privacy deserves to be carefully examined. It defies easy, and many proposals to protect privacy have gone forward without a clear articulation of what privacy really is. Importantly, privacy is a personal, subjective condition. One person cannot decide for another what his or her sense of privacy should be. (http://www.privacilla.org/fundamentals/whatisprivacy.html) So privacy has no visible size or feature. It actually depends on person and varies community to community and situation. It might be personal opinion, political view, or likings or sensitive information. Day by day the globe is coming closer by influence of various inventions and technological bless. And the word privacy is going to be much more complicated in this technological arena Social networks: Social networking is a grouping of people of same community or people of same neighbour or same likings or we can say it a group of friends. But in the IT world, social network is the best way of communication among people from same institutes or workplace via internet. For example; Facebook, twitter, MSN and many other open networks. Facebook: Facebook is the second largest social network on internet was founded by former-Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg and launched in February 2004.People using Facebook find their older friends and stay keep in touch with friends and family, make friendship with new people, publish their personal information. Like as, name, gender, interest, study, job etc. people are posting their likings, personal views, or in a word every single moment of our time we are publishing to share with our friends. This information is recorded by the operators in the server. Though sometimes we are deleting from our profile but we cannot delete it from there. How we are affected: According their (Facebook) privacy and policy, Facebook has the right to save our information and to share with third parties if necessary. That mean, with whom they are sharing our information we do not know it. In the same hand the third party, they do not have any obligation to share our information. So the third party can share our information with anyone or can use our information for any purpose. And thats how we are losing our privacy. Our personal preference is going to anyone who is not familiar with us. On the other hand anyone in our friend list can affect us or our social status putting any comment or any post in our wall which result harassment and hamper social status. Again various companies they can use the preference of individuals for their surveys without acknowledging people from their information given at the time of having the account of any social network. Another thing is, as Facebook is an open source network when you sign in you are gett ing a lot of advertisement or application where someone can easily access. And if anyone access in those applications, there is terms that they can access your personal information. By this you are giving your information to them unwillingly. A case study about Facebook abuse/offence: in 28th of August 2010 the popular newspaper METRO in UK published,  £ 10,000 bill for Facebook Jokes'. The news was about two friends. One of them posted a joke about his friend. He said his friend, he likes kids and he is a gay. And it was claimed that about 800 people watched this and that person was so scared to leave home. And their family expressed, it was a horrible and really stressful time for us. [http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2010/07/28/] This case has been solved by court and the magistrate court fined  £10,000 the person, who commented about his friend. Recent warnings about Facebook: Recently The chief executive of search engine Google has predicted, Web users will one day be able to change their identity in order to escape the traces of their misspent youth available on social networking sites such as Facebook. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/aug/18/google-facebook] Jason Deans guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 18 August 2010 16.54 BST Article history In the same hand the founder of Facebook cited, The Age of Privacy is over. In a six-minute interview on stage with TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington, Zuckerberg spent 60 seconds talking about Facebooks privacy policies. He said, If he were to create Facebook again today, user information would by default be public, not private. [http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/facebooks_zuckerberg_says_the_age_of_privacy_is_ov.php ,January 9, 2010] So that mean in average everyones privacy is the risk. No one is in secret at least who is using the social networks. Conclusion: Finally we can say that social networks does not only publishing or reciting information about personal but also it is a medium of entertainment. If some steps can be taken to prevent the invasion of privacy all the networks are for our society and our community; to entertain people, keeping them happier and peaceful. On the other hand individuals should be much more aware about their privacy and secrecy. And we can stop to interpret anyones personal life and preference and thus the networks of community will be fruitful otherwise day by day it is going to much worse situation as the founder of Facebook is aware about the privacy and policies of society.

Nestle Fruit Yogurt Company

Nestle Fruit Yogurt Company Abstract Nestle Fruit Yogurt is one of the famous product launched by Nestle all over the world. Most of the countries where Nestle has launched it, have accepted the product very well. This shows that product has potential and if marketed properly can do wonder by enhancing Financial statement profits for Nestle. Here we are making an analysis of UAE as Nestlà ©s future destination of launching Fruit Yogurt. In this study we are seeking financial, marketing and Resource planning of Nestlà ©s launching campaign in very first year. This analysis can help Nestle in making deciding whether to launch the product in Emirates and how to launch the product. Executive Summary A marketing plan usually provides a sound framework for development of marketing strategy for any product. There is a list of action items inclusive of objective, sales budget requirement, resource requirement etc. Its very relevant part of the total business plan. In our first submission, we had talked at length regarding cultural and economic analysis related to market and features of offered product. This project submission will be taking us forward from where we had left in the last assignment. Here, We will take closer look at the nuances of running a good business like understanding target market, designing suitable promotion strategy, having total overview of distribution marketing and production processes. The last part has explained in detail about the benefits of the Nestle Fruit Yogurt. It has also explained how it is suitable for UAE climate and how its launch in United Arab Emirates will make a new trend of having healthy snacks and lunch. We, in last part, also analyzed that the market condition of UAE and preference and desires of Emirates. Now, in this study, we are going to study how to market the product how will it work in the UAE.   We are going to analyze fully what will attract Emirates to our product. Traditional approach to look at any product that is based on marketing involves the understanding of: Financial data. Product data Sales and distribution data Advertising and sales promotion data We are going to approach this study in this traditional approach to make a detailed Market launch analysis of the product. (Yogurt) Marketing Plan Introduction Marketing Plan will analyze how to strategize the launch of Nestle fruit Yogurt in UAE. It will check out the advertisement, Promotion and Packaging plans for this new product. The detailed will work as the initial plan for the launch of the product in UAE and it will be subjected to change gradually as the sale will follow the expectation or will deviate from its initial plan. Marketing Objective Target Market Since Nestlà ©s fruit Yogurt will be totally new product in UAE and therefore is not well known. In our last submission, we had highlighted about specifically targeting the age group of 15-35.This was basically based on the consumption trend of this group. Expected Sales Sales objectives define the projected quantity of goods that can be sold. Hence it is very relevant for the success of businesses that realistic and achievable objectives should be set. We are expecting the total sale of 650 tonnages of Nestle fruit Yogurt in United Arab Emirates. Our expectation is very optimistic as it is nearly 60% of the total present market. Profit Expectation As we are planning to have 650 tonnages of sale in UAE, therefore we are expecting Nestle to have at least profit of 9% around on the product which comes in the range of 0.09 percent*650 tonnages *9463 AED per tonnage ~ 553,385 AED which is really decent as we can see that this is just a launch year. Promotion Mix Advertising Objective Main objective of advertisement is that it will be to drawing attention of the health conscious customers towards Nestle fruit Yogurt. Since the Nestle Fruit Yogurt belongs to premium segment where more stress will be provided to attract urban area customers who are willing to use something new. Actually if we start trying segmenting of the people of UAE, we can segregate UAE people into two major categories. One who usually prefers to have new products present in the market and these people are usually called experimenters. Other kind of category which tries to retain their own age-old family used brand which usually bar them from taking any new product. Seeing this, we need to make its Nestlà ©s image to look as fashionable and premium class. To make this image, we can try using some Hollywood star who can endorse our product and which is youth icon famous among Emirates.   Media Mix We are planning to use the media mix in such a way to approach every single people in Emirates to make them aware of this new product coming in the market. Since ours will be the first company launching this product on such a large scale in UAE therefore it can become a tough task to inform to educate consumers about health benefits and differentiation of our product from the entire existing product in the Emirate market. Hence we need to use below given promotion media mix: Kiosks Advertisement in magazines, television and newspapers. TV program. Banners Billboards. The way we are planning to make this promotion is to have it in various phases. Actually, In first phase, we are planning to have awareness program. Then in next phase we are planning to market the real product among the Emirates through use of hoarding, kiosks, banners and all the other media methods. Message Nestle Fruit Yogurt should be aiming to recognized as a healthy food product company. This company wants to be known as a firm which usually provides high quality health products. Idea will be to convey its young and premium image to the consumers. Message should be something similar to â€Å"Taste with Health!!!.. Try me!!†. Cost Advertisement TV Advertisement 40000 Newspaper Advertisement 20000 Kiosk Advertisement 10000 Magazine Advertisement 20000 Banners 10000 BillBoards 10000 Promotion 10000 Advertising Expense $ 120,000.00 Sales Promotion Objective The objective of sales promotion is usually to attract more and more consumer in the very first year. This will be done by the help of affordable micro packaging of size small as 100g. This will be the smallest container that should be available among the customer because tinier than this package can affect the brand image of Nestle which is the last thing Nestle company want to do. Premiums Premium is used in a way in order to associate our product with real use product needed by segment we are planning to target. Since here for Nestle fruit yogurt we are targeting premium segments youth who are really conscious about their health we can offer them some diet free sugar product. Coupon Other kind of consumer attraction tactics that usually comes when some new product is launched is the Coupon Tactics. Here with Nestle fruit yogurt we can plan to give some consumers who are winning lucky draw, a free gym coupon to some posh area gym. Cost Cost allotted with promotional strategy will be less only as company will be targeting more of awareness and less of sales. Therefore company will be stressing more on advertisement and less of promotion which appears from the budget itself which allots $10000 only for promotion activities. Personal Selling In the initial stage company is not planning to sell its product the personal selling as this will reduce the companys brand image which is really good considering the international brand image of Nestle. Other Promotional Method Promotional strategy which Nestle is planning is already mentioned. As of now, Nestle fruit Yogurt product will not be experimented using some strange and innovative promotional technique. May be it can work Nestle will not be taking risk in UAE market. Distribution from Origin to Destination Mode of Distribution Nestle like all of its dairy product will prefer roadways mode of transportation. It will distribute its product to the wholesalers and retailers through Nestle Van which will have freezing facility available with it. Products are of lesser expiry date therefore it will be preferable for Nestle to have its own distribution system to avoid delayed delivery. Packaging Marking and Labeling Regulations Usually, on any package, many kinds of labels are used. Many may include product certifications and trademarks and the food authority approvals. In order to utilize full use of packaging, it is suggestible to publicize the health benefits related with Nestle fruit Yogurt through labeling. Containerization To avoid piracy and ease operational requirement company should always use bar codes, identification and RFID numbers. This should be done for trouble-free shipment tracking of the goods. Another related important aspect which needs to be considered is the container standards. It should be of international standard. Costs Packaging use a significant portion of total cost related with a product. For example, in Dairy Product industry, packaging cost may be as high as 30% of total cost. Whatever be the case company should try to reduce this cost as much as possible. Following international standard of hygiene and maintain a premium quality forces price to increase to go beyond the limits. Therefore company should try to use some beneficial strategy to reduce the packaging cost to be as low as 10% of the product in long term. Price Determination Transportation Cost It will be there as always but usually depends who is going to bear this charge company, wholesaler or retailer. Here it will be borne totally by wholesaler only. Wholesaler will need something in order to take this cost and keep making profit. Therefore company is giving hefty commission to the wholesalers @ 13.5 %. Handling Expenses Handling expense for making the product to reach on board to fulfill the requirement of FOB will be borne by company itself. This cost will be included in other miscellaneous cost. Whole and Retail Mark Up and Discounts Product Cost Percentage of Cost Fruit Yogurt Cost(650 ton) $   1,100,000.00 72.7% Packaging Cost $ 110,000.00 7.3% Selling Expense $ 85,000.00 5.6% Advertising Expense $ 120,000.00 7.9% Distribution Expense $ 93,000.00 6.1% Misc Expense $ 5,000.00 0.3% $   1,513,000.00 Selling price(Profit Margin 8.7%) $   1,644,631.00 Final Price AED price Product Cost $ 1,513,000.00 AED 5,555,736.00 Selling price(Profit Margin 8.7%) $ 1,644,631.00 AED 6,039,085.03 Selling Quantity we are targeting (Ton) 650 Company Price Selling price per ton $ 2,530.20 AED   9,290.90 Selling price per Kg $2.53 AED 9.29 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.63 AED 2.32 Selling Price per 100g pack $ 0.025 AED 0.09 Wholesale Price (@13.5% WS Commission) Selling price per Kg $2.87 AED 10.55 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.72 AED 2.64 Selling Price per 100g pack $0.03 AED 0.11 Retail Price (@13% Retail Commission) Selling price per Kg $3.25 AED 11.92 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.81 AED 2.98 Selling Price per 100g pack $0.03 AED 0.12 (Statistics, 2003) Pro-formal financial Statement and Budget Introduction In this plan we are going to study detailed financials about the Nestle Yogurt Product. The product financial will include product costing and product pricing for the UAE market. Most of the pricing we are doing in $ terms and at last we are converting them in AED terms. Marketing Budget Advertisement/Promotion Expense Advertisement TV Advertisement $40,000.00 AED 146,880.00 Newspaper Advertisement $20,000.00 AED   73,440.00 Kiosk Advertisement $10,000.00 AED   36,720.00 Magazine Advertisement $20,000.00 AED   73,440.00 Banners $10,000.00 AED   36,720.00 BillBoards $10,000.00 AED   36,720.00 Promotion $10,000.00 AED   36,720.00 Advertising Expense $ 120,000.00 AED 440,640.00 Distribution Expense Distribution Cost Store Payroll $ 20,000.00 AED 73,440.00 Store Management $ 10,000.00 AED 36,720.00 Rent $ 10,000.00 AED 36,720.00 Utilities $ 10,000.00 AED 36,720.00 Depreciation $ 10,000.00 AED 36,720.00 Repair $ 20,000.00 AED 73,440.00 Maintenance $ 13,000.00 AED 47,736.00 Total Distribution Expense $ 93,000.00 AED 341,496.00 Product Cost Processing Milk to Yogurt cost Raw product Milk(600 ton) $800,000.00 Processing Variable Cost Sugar Stabilizers Fruit /Flavors Bacteria Culture Fuel Total $200,000.00 Processing Fixed Cost $100,000.00 Final Yogurt product(620 ton) $    1,100,000.00 Product Cost Percentage of Cost Fruit Yogurt Cost(650 ton) $   1,100,000.00 72.7% Packaging Cost $ 110,000.00 7.3% Selling Expense $ 85,000.00 5.6% Advertising Expense $ 120,000.00 7.9% Distribution Expense $ 93,000.00 6.1% Misc Expense $ 5,000.00 0.3% $   1,513,000.00 Selling price(Profit Margin 8.7%) $   1,644,631.00 Final Price AED price Product Cost $ 1,513,000.00 AED 5,555,736.00 Selling price(Profit Margin 8.7%) $ 1,644,631.00 AED 6,039,085.03 Selling Quantity we are targeting (Ton) 650 Company Price Selling price per ton $ 2,530.20 AED   9,290.90 Selling price per Kg $2.53 AED 9.29 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.63 AED 2.32 Selling Price per 100g pack $ 0.025 AED 0.09 Wholesale Price (@13.5% WS Commission) Selling price per Kg $2.87 AED 10.55 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.72 AED 2.64 Selling Price per 100g pack $0.03 AED 0.11 Retail Price (@13% Retail Commission) Selling price per Kg $3.25 AED 11.92 Selling price per 250g Pack $0.81 AED 2.98 Selling Price per 100g pack $0.03 AED 0.12 Other Cost Misc Expense $ 4,000.00 Pro forma annual profit and loss statement (Profit year) Profit And Loss Statement AED Income Revenue $   1,644,631.00 AED 6,039,085 Expense Cost of Goods Sold 800,000.00 AED 2,937,600 Processing Variable Expense 200,000.00 AED 734,400 Processing Fixed expense 100,000.00 AED 367,200 Packaging Cost $ 110,000.00 AED 403,920 Selling Expense $  85,000.00 AED 312,120 Advertising Expense $ 120,000.00 AED 440,640 Distribution Expense $  93,000.00 AED 341,496 Misc Expense $   5,000.00 AED   18,360 Total Expense 1,513,000.00 AED 5,555,736 EBIT $ 131,631.00 AED 483,349 Interest $  55,000.00 AED 201,960 EBT $  76,631.00 AED 281,389 Tax @ 20% $  15,326.20 AED   56,278 Net Income $  61,304.80 AED 225,111 (Ng, 2007) Resource Requirements Introduction Whatever is the marketing plan, until and unless you are not getting your Resource requirement fulfilled, you cannot start a business. This section, we will study about the way the company will be able to get its resources right. Finances Usually Company gets its finances from either debt or equity or through some stake acquisition by some other firm. It will be totally dependent on cost of capital of raising money from the market and cost of debt of raising money from debt. We are assuming to have overall cost of capital as 5%. The launching project will include total requirement of 1.1 million out of which company can plan to have 6 million as debt and 5 million as equity. Personnel Any firm while expanding or launching a new product will require some Personnel. The company should be ready with kind of skills portfolio which company will need for its operation. There can be many skills portfolios which company can look into while planning for the launch of new product like: HR personnel Marketing Personnel Finance Personnel Operation Personnel Sales Personnel Labors Machine specialists Distributor personnel Depending on the scale which we are launching, Companys requirement will be decided. For the 650 tonnages of requirement company will need as per follows: Marketing 60 Sales 600 Operations (including distribution and packaging) 1200 Finance 10 Human Resource 40 Information Technology 5 Production Capacity Production capacity should be planned as per companys aim of expanding in future. As per seeing Nestlà ©s trend of expansion plan in other countries, we can assume following as companys capacity requirement in future. First year 650 tonnages Second Year 900 tonnages Third Year 1050 tonnages Fourth Year 1200 tonnages Fifth Year 1400 tonnages Nestle should have production capacity accordingly. Conclusion As we can see from the analysis, we can conclude that the launch of Nestle Fruit Yogurt in United Arab Emirates will be a sure success. Estimated Income statement of very first year is showing Net Income of

Beyond the Classroom :: Teachers Teaching Education Essays

Beyond the Classroom Teachers in training have a lot to focus on and plan for in their futures. How to handle a classroom, fulfill the curriculum, and accurately assess students are all tremendous responsibilities. Experienced teachers have a decided edge in these categories. One area of the high school environment that developing teachers may be able to more strongly relate to, however, is the life of a teenager. It was only a few years ago that the future teachers of today were just students themselves. It is important to remember that high school is only partly about classroom teaching. A vitally important part of a good high school is it’s extra-curricular environment. Good teachers have the ability both to teach their content area skillfully and to relate to their students. A great way to learn more about students, and for students to learn more about each other, is through the clubs, sports, and extracurricular academic activities of a school. I do not remember a whole lot from my first two years of high school. I went to classes, did a decent job, went home and spent some time on my homework before spending time with my family and going to bed. I felt strangely disconnected from school. I had some friends whom I would occasionally visit after school, but living far from my high school often even prevented that. I looked at school almost as a job, doing the minimum, enough to appease the teachers, and moving on. It was not until my junior year of high school that I learned how to truly develop in school. Part of this sudden realization came from my success as a tennis player, and from my decision to join several other school clubs. I developed closer friendships at that time, and saw teachers who stayed after school to run and even participate in the activities differently. Not coincidentally my grades improved at the same rate as my social life. The teacher’s involvement in Peer Counseling really impressed me. Teac hers would share personal experiences and join in the activities done as a group. I realize now the effect that after school events had on my personal growth. That is one reason that I feel it is critical for a good teacher to participate in something outside of the normal school day. Coaches can have an even larger impact on students in that capacity than they have as teachers.

Deviancy in Society Essay -- essays research papers fc

There are many different kinds of deviancy in today’s society. In this essay I will tell you the meaning of deviance, the different kinds of deviancy, the biological, social, and psychological factors on deviant behavior, and how they differ from each other. According to James M. Henslin, Editor of Down to Earth Sociology, â€Å"For society to exist, people must be able to know what to expect of others.† â€Å"People develop norms to provide regularity to social life.† â€Å"Deviancy is the violation of these rules and expectations.† So according to Mr. Henslin, we all have deviant tendencies in us at some point in our lives. We all violate rules and expectations others have created whether it is a minor or large-scale offense. In today’s society, the word deviant is used very commonly and its meaning becomes distorted. People might associate the word deviant with being twisted, nasty, or perverted. â€Å"Deviance is not a term for negative judgment.† It just means anyone to violate the expectations of others. The norms that we create cover three basic aspects of human behavior: our appearance, manner, and conduct. The rules of appearance and manner, if broken, are usually called civil disobedience and conduct is usually called criminal disobedience. The first major type of deviance that will be mentioned is against the appearance norm. The expectations of appearance concerns clothing, make-up, hairstyle, and other â€Å"social extensions of a person.† There are even certain expectations on things...

Company Introduction, Market Segmentation, and Product Positioning Essay

The key to successful product implementation in today’s national enterprise system is the effective marketing of a new product with the company’s line of existing products. As stated by Lacobucci (2012), marketing is defined as an exchange between a company and its customers. The customer wants something from the company or firm and vice versa. In previous times, a company would manufacture a product they thought the customer would want or need. The customer purchased that product because of a pending need, which basically meant that marketing used to be product oriented. However, marketing today is more that an advertisement for goods and services in an attempt to attract new business. We live in a customer orientated and empowered marketing environment. We realize the importance and ramifications of having an exchange with our customers and developing a relationship with them. It is this exchange of information between our company and our existing as well as future customers that secures our position in our target market. Our company is a regional tool distributor located in the northeastern section of the United States. Our customer base consists of several major retailers, nationally known in the retail and wholesale tool industry. We used the brand label Blue Steel Tools for marketing and distribution of our products to discuss the implementation of an effective plan to market a new product line, the Illuminated Power Wrench. This paper will analyze market, identify our market segment for sales distribution and discuss the reasoning for the segment. Discussing the target market and why the targeted customers were specifically selected. We will do the SWOT analysis; describe the unique market position and the expected service provided in meeting the needs of the target audience. 1. Identify the marketing segment for the product and provide a rationale for this segment. The definition of a market segment as stated by Lacobucci (2012) is a group of customers that shares similar inclinations towards our brand. To define market segment further for our needs, it is an identifiable group of individuals, professionals or organizations that share one or more characteristics or needs in an otherwise homogenous market. In our case, our product will have a very wide market of consumers and small business owners and employees. Therefore we will need to reduce the market segments to larger chunks. Market segments generally respond in a predictable manner to a marketing or promotion offer. The market segment for the new product will vary widely due to the versatility of our product usage. Our main segment approach will focus on the wholesale distribution to retail repair supply stores who carry lines of tools for resale to the private and business consumer. These market segments will include businesses such as Lowes and Home Depot, retail tool distributors such as Harbor Freight Tools, automobile parts stores such as Advance Auto Parts and tool catalogue companies such as great Northern to name a few. As we analyze this segment we ask the question if this segment is viable and can we profit from using it. Other considerations are accessibility and measurability. This segment is small enough to manage our sales and distribution, but large enough to reach the ultimate user of our product. This market segment possesses the potential and versatility to sell and distribute our product to the target consumer market with a widely diversified audience in the retail industry. The bases for this segmentation include similar demographics, geographical locations, and psychological make-up of customers and behaviors of users/purchasers. In other words, the customer base for our segments meets the desired user of our end product. Anyone who builds or repairs something whether they are a novice or professional is a potential customer. Therefore, by using this method of market segmentation for product distribution, we will successfully sub-divide a large homogenous market into clear identifiable and manageable segments that have similar needs, wants or demand characteristics indicated by Lacobucci (2012). 2. Discuss the target market and provide rationale for this target market. The target market defined is the particular market segment at which a marketing campaign is focused. As stated earlier, this product has been designed for the retail tool industry. We have targeted segments in the industry that will be the most successful in reaching the consumer and generating a demand for our product through steady sales. Lacobucci stated the first perspective in assessing segments target is to have a view of the segments themselves and the primary concern is the segment be profitable. This in turn will become a profitability issue for our company as we continue to hold a place in the small tool market and generate profits with continued sales. The second perspective examined was if the market or segment fit with who we are. In this case the answer is yes. The ultimate target for this product is the consumer. The greater exposure we have, the higher propensity for sales growth. The illuminated ratchet screw driver is a quality tool for use by not only the novice home self repair person; it will also meet the needs of the professional repair person, no matter what the industry. The illumination system in the handle of the wrench will appeal to the vehicle mechanic working in the close quarters of an engine compartment, the electrician repairing the circuit breaker box, the computer repair technician working in between electronic circuitry as well as to the basic consumer performing handy maintenance projects. This tool will come with the standard wrench lugs and have availability to accessories such as wrench tips to enhance its versatility to meet the needs of a wider target audience. The wider target audience is customers of our targeted market segments. Therefore the target market is our pathway to the ultimate user of the product is consumer sales. The strategic sales objective of these retail establishments coincides with our strategic vision of reaching the ultimate user of our products, satisfying their needs and increasing the likelihood of additional product sales. 3. Perform a SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities and treats) for the company. As we move forward in the marketing of our product, we need to our own corporate strengths. Lacobucci (2012) suggests the use of a SWOT analysis in identifying our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths and weaknesses characterize our company in relation to competitors where the opportunities and threats characterize the broader environment such as the tool industry, suppliers, the government and etc. Our strengths are in our track record in t he tool industry. We have provided quality products at competitive prices. Another perceived strength is in the management of our company. The senior management of Steel City Tools has provided a strategic vision with clearly defined attainable goals for market position and sales. However a perceived threat is in the foreign market. A number of tool company’s efforts have been over shadowed with a cheaper duplication of products from foreign markets. The US has been plagued with a reduction in the manufacturing industry due to globalized markets, elimination of trade barriers and outsourcing. The end result is our market segment (distributor) could purchase a similar product cheaper and increase their gross margin and not purchase our product for resale. Another threat we are not prepared to react to is loss of a major distributing customer. With more and more businesses merging, we could lose a distribution source with no warning. One of our weaknesses is we have focused on sales east of the Mississippi, thus limiting market expansion. However, this could be turned around as a future opportunity for market expansion. An easy way to expand our market is to establish a retail division and use infomercials through the cable television network to accept mail order/telephone order select product sales such as our new illuminated power wrench. However, a marketing effort of this nature would require careful consideration must be given to the geographical area so as not to alienate our primary segment customers. A move of this nature would require additional capital investment and careful analysis of this type of expansion would be necessary to minimize risk of project failure. The SWOT is useful in clarifying our marketing questions. The key is to address our shortcomings so as not to give the competition an upper hand and not raise concerns with our customers and capitalize on our strengths for continued success. 4. Create the market position for your product and service. Explain your rationale. Product positioning, according to the Encyclopedia of Business, involves the tailoring the entire marketing program to include product features, distribution, price, quality and service to meet the needs of the consumer within the specific market segment. In this manner, the product positioning is part of the overall market segmentation. Product position takes place in our distributors store, or target market segment and tells us how we can strive most effectively in that market segment against our competition which are also present on display. The key is to understand the consumer perceptions of the product and the marketing behind it. Quality, reliability, affordability, unique features, benefits to the customer is just a few attributes of product positioning. According to Lacobucci (2012) positioning is often about modifying the four P’s of marketing (position, price, place and promotion). In the case of our company, our reputation is a reflection of the position to provide a quality product at a competitive price while leading the market in innovation. Our company performance is attributed to the quality of our employment staff. Our employees are at the core to our success. We have established core values for our company’s work force by creating a positive work culture with recognition of the whole person concept. The strategic leadership from the top on down to the employee fosters productivity with reward and recognition to enhance their performance in support of the company operations to include our marketing efforts. Thus the positive and proactive personality of our company in meeting its marketing objectives is a direct reflection of the quality of every member of the Blue Steel Tool Team. As we continue to grow and develop products for sale, we position our products at a distribution sales point or market segment with the greatest customer exposure for maximum market penetration. We will service our product to the satisfaction and benefit of the customer so as not to jeopardize customer confidence as well as the business relationship with our market segment. The product we create and the service we provide are a direct reflection of not only our company, but that of our distributors. Our products are designed to meet the working needs of our professional as well as consumer clientele with a level of quality that meet or exceed expectations at the best value. References Lacobucci, D. (2012) Marketing Management: 2012 custom edition. Mason OH Market Segment Defined Retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/market-segment. html Morley R. (2006), Trumpet Print Edition: The Death of American Manufacturing, February 2006 Retrieved from http://www. thetrumpet. com/index. php? page=article&id=1955 Reference for Business Product Positioning: Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved from http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/small/Op-Qu/Product-Positioning. html Target Market Defined retrieved from http://www. businessdictionary. com/definition/target-market. html

Hosting a dinner party for friends Essay

Ask how many guests will be coming for the dinner. Determine if any of the guests have any special food requirements like being vegetarian or any food allergies. Determine what the budget is for the dinner party. Plan the menu for the dinner; take note of serving nutritious and delicious food. Identify what dishes will be served and list all of the ingredients and the required tools for preparing the ingredients. Go to the market to purchase all the needed ingredients. Recruit help from willing family members to help in the dinner preparation. Set the theme for the dinner and buy flowers and fruits for the centerpiece. Prepare and cook the dishes for the dinner. Clean the house and make sure there is enough room for each person. During Make sure that guests are comfortably seated. Provide entertainment or keep the conversation flowing smoothly. Make sure that the food is well presented and served in order. Ample time is given for the guests to digest the food before serving the dessert. Personal necessities like going to the bathroom, flossing, washing their hands and the like are provided. After Supervise the cleaning up of the dinner table. Wash the plates and cutlery before going to bed. Left-over dishes should be stored properly. Make sure that everything is cleaned and tidied for the next day.