Component of Marketing Plan Essay

INTRODUCTION Marketing plan is the central instrument for directing and coordinating the marketing effort. The marketing plan operates at two levels: strategic and tactical. The strategic marketing plan lays out the target markets and the value proposition that will be offered, based on an analysis of the best market opportunities. The tactical marketing plan specifies the marketing tactics, including product features, promotion, merchandising, pricing, sales channels, and service. Marketing plan is a written document that summarizes what the marketer has learned about the market place and indicates how the firm plans to reach its marketing objectives. It contains tactical guidelines for the marketing programs and financial allocation over the planning period. It is one of the most important outputs of the marketing process. Marketing plans are becoming more customer and competitor oriented and better reasoned and more realistic than in the past. Marketing planning is becoming a continuous proces s to respond to rapidly changing market conditions. What is a Marketing Plan? A marketing plan provides direction for your marketing activities. Marketing plans need not be long or cost a lot to put together. Think of it as a road map, with detailed directions on how to get to your destination. Sure there may be a few bumps in the road, perhaps a diversion or two, but if the marketing plan is carefully researched, thoughtfully considered and evaluated, it will help the organization achieve its goals. The marketing plan details what you want to accomplish with your marketing strategy and helps you meet your objectives. The marketing plan: †¢ Allows the organization to look internally in order to fully understand the impact and results of past marketing decisions. †¢ Allows the organization to look externally in order to fully understand the market in which it chooses to compete. †¢ Sets future goals and provides direction for future marketing efforts that everyone in the organization should †¢Understand and support. †¢ Is a key component in obtaining funding to pursue new initiatives? Components of a Marketing Plan A marketing plan consists of following components: 1. Executive Summary 2. Situation Analysis 3. SWOT Analysis 4. Marketing Goals and Objectives 5. Marketing Strategies 6. Budget 7. Marketing audit 8. Evaluation and Control Executive Summary The executive summary is the first part of the marketing plan, but should be written after all other parts are completed. It is a brief overview of the entire plan and covers only the main points. It is useful to people you approach with your plan, such as investors, who may want to read a synthesized version to determine if they are interested in it before taking the time to read it in depth. The executive summary is also useful internally, as it helps to remind you and your employees of the organization’s desired marketing goals and how to achieve them. Situation Analysis The situation analysis helps you to determine where your organization presently stands. It should examine what’s going on outside of the organization, what’s happening with consumers, and how the business is functioning internally. External Analysis What changes are taking place in your city, county, state, country and around the world that could potentially impact your business? Some things to investigate are: †¢ Changes in political positions and legislation at the local, state, and national level. †¢ Changes in technology †¢ Trends in society’s values and habits †¢ Identify competitors and list their characteristics †¢ Economic conditions Customer Analysis Before developing a marketing plan it’s important to find out what consumers want and how they make purchase decisions. This may require some marketing research. Think about these factors: †¢ Current and potential customers †¢ Trends in consumer buying habits †¢ Why do consumers purchase this product or service? †¢ Why do others not purchase this product or service? Internal Analysis Knowing the state of the organization and its resources helps to determine where it is strong and what areas need attention. Include the following in the marketing plan: †¢ Current state of financial and human resources †¢ Anticipated state of financial and human resources †¢ Your business’s performance in relation to competitors The 5 C’s of Marketing can be summarized as: Company – The product time line, experience in the market, etc. Collaborators (or Partners) – Distributors, suppliers, and alliances. These are any companies that you work with on a day to day basis to help your company run. Customers – This is your market. Ask yourself what benefits they are looking for. What motivates them in the purchase process? Where the customer does actually purchases your product? How the product is purchased (impulse buys, internet, etc)? Understand the quantity a customer will purchase and even trends in consumer tastes. Competitors – Both your actual and potential competitors and those that directly or indirectly compete with you. Understand their products, positioning, market shares, strengths and weaknesses. Climate (or Environment) – These are governmental policies and regulations that affect the market. It is also the economic environment around your company; which is the business cycle, inflation rate, interest rates, and other macroeconomic issues. Society’s trends and fashions are found in the â€Å"climate.† The technological environment is creating new ways of satisfying needs (i.e. using technology to enhance the demand for existing products). SWOT Analysis Conducting a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis is essential in assessing the company’s position and serves as a guide to developing marketing plans. Benefits of a SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis provides a fairly simple, low-cost way of assessing the company’s position. It presents information that is important in developing business and marketing plans, as well as setting organizational goals and objectives. It tells you where the company currently sits, and where it needs to go in the future. [pic] When conducting your SWOT analysis, you should: †¢ Examine your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats from a customers’ perspective. If you’re having trouble viewing issues that way, ask customers what they think or conduct surveys. †¢ Separate internal issues from external issues. The company’s strengths and weaknesses are internal; opportunities and threats are external. The key test to differentiate the two environments is to ask, â€Å"Would this issue exist if the firm did not exist?† If the answer is yes, the issue should be classified as external. Some things to consider about your company when determining your strengths and weaknesses are: †¢ Size and financial resources †¢ Scale and cost economies †¢ Customer Perceptions You will probably have to do some research on your competitors, your industry, and the environment in order to complete the opportunities and threats portion of your SWOT analysis. Here are some topics to consider: †¢ Trends in the competitive environment †¢ Trends in the technological environment †¢ Trends in the sociocultural environment Once you’ve finished a SWOT analysis for your company, include the resulting strategy in your business and marketing plans. Some key actions to take include: Transform strengths into capabilities by matching them with opportunities in the environment. Example Strength: The company has a very efficient order fulfillment and distribution process Opportunity: There is an unfulfilled need for the company’s product in other countries Capability: The company is capable of distributing its products worldwide †¢ Convert weaknesses into strengths by investing strategically in key areas. Example Weakness: Employees are not familiar with the latest technology in the company’s industry Investment: The employer sends employees to classes, workshops, and conferences Strength: Employees now have inside information on cutting edge technology relevant to the industry †¢ Weaknesses that cannot be converted into strengths become limitations. Example Weakness: A start-up company that has a tight distribution budget and no connections in the industry may have difficulty getting shelf space in stores Meaning to consumers: Consumers may not be able to find the company’s products Minimization: Allow consumers to purchase products through other channels, such as a web site or mail order catalog. Marketing Goals and Objectives After determining your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, you’ll have a better idea of what marketing goals and objectives should be set. Goals are the overall accomplishments that you’d like to make and objectives are benchmarks to meeting those goals. You might say that goals are more qualitative and objectives are more quantitative. For example: Marketing Goal: Increase awareness of Product X Corresponding Objectives: Increase last year’s direct mail distribution by 20% this year; develop a web site for Product X by June 1st; participate in five trade shows by the end of the year. Goals must be realistic and consistent with the firm’s mission. Objectives must be measurable and time-specific. You may also want to include the person responsible and the budget required for each objective. Marketing Strategies In this section, you’ll define your primary, secondary, and tertiary target markets and their purchasing characteristics. Next, discuss the marketing mix elements (product, price, distribution, and promotion) as they relate to your product or service. Some questions you may want to answer for each target market include: Product †¢ What are the features and benefits of your product? †¢ What is your competitive advantage? †¢ How will you position and differentiate your product? †¢ What complementary products are available? †¢ What customer services are available? Price †¢ What are the costs associated with the product or service? †¢ What will your pricing strategy be? †¢ Will you give discounts? Distribution †¢ Who are your suppliers and intermediaries? †¢ How will you make the product or service conveniently available to consumers? †¢ What partnerships can be developed to distribute the product? Promotion †¢ Where will you advertise? †¢ What public relations activities will be involved? †¢ If you will be involved in personal selling, what is your sales strategy? †¢ What types of promotions will you run? †¢ What sponsorship opportunities are available? Setting the Promotion Mix When deciding how to properly utilize the marketing communications mix to meet your marketing objectives, it is important to consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of each component of the mix. Further, you must always define your total budget first (generally defined in the Marketing and/or Business Plan) and then decide upon the best way to leverage the different elements of the mix to maximize the return on your investment. You will balance the various parts of the mix to not only create an integrated approach to your marketing communications but you must also devote enough resources for each component to be successful. Here are some things to keep in mind: [pic]Reaches large, geographically dispersed audiences, often with high frequency; Low cost per exposure, though overall costs are high; Consumers perceive advertised goods as more legitimate; Dramatizes company/brand; Builds brand image; may stimulate short-term sales; Impersonal, one-way communication; Expensive [pic]Most effective tool for building buyers’ preferences, convictions, and actions; Personal interaction allows for feedback and adjustments; Relationship-oriented; Buyers are more attentive; Sales force represents a long-term commitment; Most expensive of the promotional tools [pic]May be targeted at the trade or ultimate consumer; Makes use of a variety of formats: premiums, coupons, contests, etc.; Attracts attention, offers strong purchase incentives, dramatizes offers, boosts sagging sales; Stimulates quick response; Short-lived; Not effective at building long-term brand preferences [pic]Highly credible; Very believable; Many forms: news stories, news features, events and sponsorships, etc.; Reaches many prospects missed via other forms of promotion; Dramatizes company or product; Often the most under used element in the promotional mix; Relatively inexpensive (certainly not ‘free’ as many people think–there are costs involved) [pic]Many forms: Telephone marketing, direct mail, online marketing, etc.; Four distinctive characteristics: Nonpublic, Immediate, Customized, Interactive; Well-suited to highly-targeted marketing efforts Budget: †¢ The goal of your marketing budget is to control your expenses and project your revenues. †¢ It also assists in the coordination of your marketing activities within your organization. †¢ A realistic budget establishes a standard of performance for your actions, and communicates those standards to others responsible for implementing your marketing strategy. †¢ A well-designed budget is also a tool to keep you on target and indicate when there is needed modification of your marketing plan, especially if something goes really right or very wrong. Budgeting Approaches Where do you get budget numbers? How do you set a budget and organize it? What are some standard ways to measure your budget? There are several approaches you can take to create your budget. Examples of these approaches may include basing your budget on: †¢ Percent of projected gross sales. †¢ Percent of past gross sales. †¢ Per unit sales. †¢ Seasonal allocation. †¢ Projected cash flow. Select a budget methodology that will work best for your business. You may want to make this choice based on how you track your sales and revenues, or based on industry standards. Marketing Audit The Marketing Audit is committed to improving strategic decision making when companies are faced with specific business challenges. Our market research studies provide clarity and insight, often on the most important questions faced by top executives, corporate managers, and strategy professionals. Here are 10 of 25 key dimensions a marketing audit should assess: 1. Key factors that impacted the business for good or for bad during the past year. Including an evaluation of marketing â€Å"surprises†Ã¢â‚¬â€the unanticipated competitive actions or changes in the marketing climate that affected the performance of the marketing programs. 2. The extent to which each decision in the marketing plan—e.g. targeting, positioning, pricing, advertising, etc.—was made after evaluating many alternatives in terms of profit-related criteria. 3. Marketing knowledge, attitudes, and satisfaction of all executives involved in the marketing function. 4. The extent to which the marketing program was marketed internally and bought into by top management and non-marketing executives. 5. Customer, distributor, vendor, and intermediary satisfaction based on research among key target groups. 6. The performance of advertising, promotion, sales force, and marketing research programs in terms of ROI. 7. The performance of non-traditional programs, particularly digital offerings, in terms of ROI. 8. Whether the marketing plan achieved its stated financial and non-financial goals and objectives. 9. Which aspects of the plan that failed to meet objectives with specific recommendations for improving next year’s performance. 10. The current value of brand and customer equity for each brand in the product portfolio. Evaluation and Control Many business owners forget the importance of evaluating their marketing plan. This is extremely important, because it serves as a guideline for what to do or not to do in the next marketing planning period. It is also ensures that the plan will be implemented properly. Some questions to be answered include: How will employees be evaluated and compensated for their work? †¢ How can communication between employees be improved? †¢ Do the employees share the firm’s values? †¢ Is management committed to the implementation of the marketing plan? †¢ What can be done if the product or service does not meet performance standards? †¢ What corrections can be made if the pricing, distribution, and promotion strategies do not accomplish the marketing goals and objectives? †¢ How will marketing activities be evaluated?

Antidiuretic Hormone

Antidiuretic Hormone is a nanopeptide, meaning it has nine amino acids (Allain). The hormone is made in the hypothalamus and is transported by axons to be stored in the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland. From there, it is released into the blood circulation when necessary (Bowen). ADH regulates plasma osmolarity, or the concentration of solutes in the blood. Osmoreceptors are neurons that sense the osmolarity and send information to the hypothalamus. When plasma osmolarity is below a certain threshold, the osmoreceptors are not activated and the secretion of ADH is suppressed.When osmolarity increases above the threshold, the osmoreceptors stimulate the neurons that secrete ADH (Bowen). ADH is released from the hypothalamus when osmoreceptor cells in the hypothalamus detect a rise in blood osmolarity, which is normally caused by an excessive loss of water. It reaches the kidneys by blood vessels. Once at the kidneys, the hormone makes distal convoluted ducts more permeable to wat er so that more is reabsorbed and water is conserved in the blood. The juxtaglomerular apparatus, or JGA, helps the kidney when one has low blood pressure or low blood volume.When blood pressure drops or there is a lack of sodium in the blood, the JGA releases the enzyme renin into the bloodstream. Renin acts on the plasma protein angiotensin, and turns it into its active form, angiotensin II. Angiotensin II then constricts the arterioles, which raises blood pressure. Raising blood pressure in the arterioles increases filtration (â€Å"Hormones of Kidney Regulation†). Antidiuretic hormone has many disorders related to it. The most common disease of man and animals related to ADH is diabetes insipidus.Diabetes insipidus is a disorder characterized by intense thirst, despite the drinking of fluids, and the excretion of large amounts of urine. There are four main types of diabetes insipidus: hypothalamis diabetes insipidus, nephrogenis diabetes insipidus, gestational diabetes in sipidus, and primary polydipsia (â€Å"Diabetes insipidus†). Hypothalamic diabetes insipidus is a deficiency in the secretion of ADH from the posterior pituitary. Causes of the disease include head trauma, and infections or tumors involving the hypothalamus (Bowen).It is treated with the synthetic hormone, desmopressin. Desmopressin eliminates the increase in urination (â€Å"Diabetes insipidus†). Nephrogenic diabetes insipidus is when the kidney is unable to respond to ADH (Bowen). This is caused by renal disease, a genetic disorder, or a chronic kidney disorder. It is treated by a low salt diet, drinking more water, or the drug called hydrochlorothiazide, which reduces urine output. Gestational diabetes insipidus occurs only during pregnancy when an enzyme made by the placenta destroys ADH in the mother.This is also treated with desmopressin. Primary polydipsia is the excretion of large volumes of dilute urine. It is caused by an intake of excessive fluids or a menta l illness. There is no specific treatment other than decreasing the amount of fluid intake, but if the condition is caused by mental illness, treating the mental illness may relieve the symptoms (â€Å"Diabetes insipidus†). Another ADH disorder is the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone, or SIADH. SIADH occurs when excessive levels of ADH are produced.It occurs mostly with people with heart failure, people with a diseased hypothalamus, or a certain type of cancer. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, seizures, coma, and personality changes. It is diagnosed by blood tests, which measure sodium, potassium chloride levels, and osmolality. SIADH is treated by a fluid restriction of between 30 to 75 percent of normal fluid intake or certain medications that inhibit the action of ADH (â€Å"Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH)†). Antidiuretic hormone is vital for survival.The human body would not be able to live without ADH. The small pep tide molecule helps control the levels of water and solutions in the body. Without this, when one loses or gains solutes, the body would not know how to react. Works Cited â€Å"ADH. † Lab Tests Online. American Association for Clinical Chemistry, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . Allain, Pierre. â€Å"Antidiuretic Hormone, ADH or Vasopressin. † Pharmacorama. Pharmacorama, 20 Sept. 2006. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . Bowen, R. â€Å"Antidiuretic Hormone (Vasopressin). Pathophysiology of the Endocrine System. N. p. , 9 Dec. 2006. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Diabetes Insipidus. † Mayo Clinic. Mayo Foundation, 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Hormones of Kidney Regulation. † Kidney and Nephron. Tripod, n. d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . Mullally, Aaron. â€Å"Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH {Vasopressin}). † Sophia. Sophia Learning, n. d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion (SIADH). † The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, n. d. Web. 14 Apr. 2013. .

Restaurant †Eating Essay

One of my favorite restaurants is Olive Garden. Without going to Italy to taste their traditional food just come in to Olive Garden and experience the Italian food. They offer wide varieties of Italians food. While the restaurants are similar in the type of food they prepare the difference in their atmosphere, menu and services will assist the customers in making the big decision on which one they like to satisfy their appetite. Olive Garden is the perfect place for a meal if you’re looking for both exquisite and casual dining. The atmosphere is very comforting and the mood is relaxed with the dà ©cor being contemporary but restrained. The tables are in a good distance apart so the diners are given their privacy, but at the same time do not feel isolated from others. When my first time walked in their restaurant, I said to my self that this is a place that I can bring my family to enjoy our dinner together. Even though, I have to spend time waiting to get the table, but it is worth to wait. While the atmosphere is a place to go so do their services. The staffs are friendly, welcoming and efficient. They are always willing to go to lengths to help make your dining experience as memorable as possible. My family and I were very new to the restaurant; the waitress came make us feel like home. She took us to the table and asked to order the drink. She greed us and told us that she will be your table service for tonight. The service was very knowledgeable of the menu and was very polite while taking order. Olive Garden offers wide varieties of Italian food. You can order from an exclusive range of starters, main courses and desserts. The dishes are quite reasonable price range from $10 to $25 including entrà ©e and dessert. I was order Chicken Alfredo which is my favorite. While we were waiting for our main course the entrà ©e came with the salad and breadsticks and also the wine are exclusively sold only at Olive Garden for their customer to taste; then our order came in a short time after. While we were eating the waitress came asked for drink refill or how did we enjoy the food. We were really enjoying our dinner at Olive Garden where we can enjoy good food, a place where we can relax and the staffs treat us as family. We brought friend and family their many time after and everything is treating us the same way even better. This is our favorite Italian restaurant of all time.

Performance and career management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Performance and career management - Essay Example While talking some inherent skills like that of communication and proper body language become transparent. Some common questions related to sales activities might make the understanding stronger. The career management process should be continuous and new goals should be set as soon as the previous ones have been achieved. (Career management 2002) This is achieved only through a periodic feedback process after assessment. The performance evaluation might be done according to the performance appraisal form given above. This will lead to an appraisal/ reprisal according to the assessment. After the feedback sheet is sent through email to every employee a group meeting will be called. In general all the common weaknesses and areas of improvements in order to gains stability should be discussed. If some team member has surpassed expectations then he or she should be presented as a role model before others. After this session a one-to-one session will be held where every employee will be given a chance to speak about their problems and even grudges against the mangers or their immediate seniors. Any psychological issue, which is hindering them from improvement, should also be dealt with and explained as much as possible. Individual weaknesses should be pointed out and if anyone has done miserably he or she should be warned. However the employees will be given a chance here to even challenge any assessment made under any of the categories. Examples need to be cited by them to prove their point. In case they are uncomfortable to pick such issues in face-to-face conversation, they might even send an email. After all these contradictions are dealt with, a final evaluation sheet is sent to them base don which the appraisal takes place. Identification of one’s strength and weaknesses is a major part of career management and the feedback system enforces

Quality Management Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Quality Management Plan - Essay Example   The manager's responsibility is to ensure that employees do not become sick by their job. Stress makes employees sick. Besides, acts to decrease stress are affordable.   The expense of stress to the organization can show up as an increased employee turnover, a rise in the absence of sickness, decreases job performance, increased customer complaints, and poor time management. Stress in a single employee can result in stress in employees who are compelled to function with the individual or even cover for him/her. Besides, staff members who do not consider stress as a dangerous thing can leave them open to compensation claims from employees who have been affected by work associated stress illness. Thus, stress reduction does not have to cost the organization a large sum of money. The organization can take the following steps to deal with the risk of stress: where stress caused or made worse by the job may result in ill health, the organization ought to evaluate the risk. The risk evaluation for stress entails searching for work pressures that may cause increased and long-term stress levels. It also requires choosing the individual that could be harmed by the work pressure and choosing whether the organization is doing enough to hinder such harm. If required, the organization ought to take steps to address such pressures. It must review the evaluation whenever it considers that it can no longer be correct. Besides, all employees ought to be involved in the assessment process, encompassing safety and health representatives.

Causes of building collapes Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Causes of building collapes - Term Paper Example This means that as long as there are natural disasters, the risk of building collapse will continue to be recorded. This point is made against the backdrop that in most cases of natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis, almost all types of buildings collapse including short buildings and skyscrapers alike. What this teaches is that natural disasters perhaps have the worse effect or impact on building collapse. Having said this, it would also be appreciated that even when an ordinary building and skyscraper all fall, the impact that will be created in the two can never be said to be the same. This is because the extent of loss that will be recorded with the falling of a skyscraper in terms of lives and property will certainly be more than what will be recorded with a shorter building. What this teaches is that as far as natural disasters as cause of building collapse are concerned, it is important to ensure that areas that are noted to be disaster prone will not be clustered with skyscrapers and other tall buildings. Using the 27 February 2010 Chile tsunami as an example, Palermo et al (2013) made a new revelation on the extent of resilience that different buildings endure in the case of natural disasters such as tsunamis. The outcome of the tsunami revealed that there are two major types of buildings which are engineered buildings and non-engineered buildings. These categories are found in both high-rise buildings and shorter buildings. In the case of engineered residential buildings, natural disasters such as tsunamis are found to have very minimal impact. This is because such modern engineered buildings generally exhibit high levels of resilience to the disasters, being affected only in areas of non-structural components. On the other hand, not the same can be said of non-engineered buildings, especially residential buildings. This is because with such buildings, the impacts of natural disasters are not only experienced with

Digital Signal Processing and Linear Algebra Essay

Digital Signal Processing and Linear Algebra - Essay Example To add on this, the use of linear algebra is focused in description of algorithms used in in solving tensors and structured matrices. In recent times, discrete data (digital) data is preferred in data transmission as compared to continuous data in computers to solve various engineering problems. The use of difference equations is accompanied by numerical solution that is as a result of combination of related difference equation. One important application of difference equation is in the discrete time-signals. Here, the definition of functions is only on integers and then visualized as number sequence. Linear signal transmission is a form of digital signal processing. Eigen value distribution is used in relating matrices in terms of frequency – selective channels and capacity of frequency flat in linear signal transmission. These are used in the linear precoding scheme. Linear precoding simply refers to linear transformation of signals. In linear precoding, the information used to carry bit sequence blocks is mapped onto signal sequence with transformational matrix. Using this scheme, a redundancy is introduced in the data to be transmitted before transmission. In cases where there arises some errors in the transmission, there is introduction of error correction codes to correct the erroneous bits. The use of linear precoding is essential in OFDM, Discrete multi-tone, Coded OFDM, among others. Moreover, linear precoding is used in the enhancement of the ergodic capacity within a given channel by altering the Eigen structure of the chosen channel, and in this, there is appli cation of linear transmission. An example of application of digital signal processing is seen in image compression. There are various methods that are utilized in image compression. The basic and most common way of signal processing is singular value decomposition method. Image compression is applied main to save costs, memory

Kids and reading to them Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Kids and reading to them - Essay Example Reading with the kids makes them feel on top of their game. By this, one would mean the consummate ease with which they bring to themselves an understanding of how life’s nuances would be, and how they would be able to tackle the intricacies of the times that are coming up for them. Reading with the kids is the need of the hour because it tells them where they have to grow and develop, and how they shall see the changing realms of life whilst dealing with them on a consistent basis. What is even more interesting is the fact that the children will know that they are being given the attention that they direly require within their midst, as this is a fact that has to see the light of the day. This paper discusses how reading with the kids helps them to grow and develop, and be an important part within this society. The reading element instills in the kids a sense of belongingness that they are bound to learn, analyze and hence understand how life shapes up, and how life’s different turns are handled in the most apt manner. Reading with the kids allows them to feel special; that they are being given the time and energies which shall bear rich fruit as far as their growth and development measures are concerned. What is even more interesting is the fact that the kids need to get in line with the changing norms of the time and for that they have to know what is happening in the world around them (Friedland, 2004). They must be acquainted with the varying norms and routines so that they can achieve results which are complete from all angles. What is even more important is the fact that the kids must adapt to change; and this change shall happen on an incremental basis – for their respective growth and developmental levels nonetheless. It is a well-known fact that the world appreciates if the kids read, study and learn, not only on their own but also with the help and guidance of their elders. Reading makes the kids go wild in their imagination. The y explore the world around them and learn how to implement the same in a practical form (Stewart, 2011). This is a positive undertaking and should always be understood within the relevant angles. Reading with kids allows the parents to comprehend how their kids are shaping up within the study domains and what strengths and weaknesses are within their folds. They would be able to cover up the grey areas that remain within a child’s fore and work upon the strengths to polish them further. It would also tell the parents that their children have some specific preferences as far as career adoption within the future domains is concerned. Hence there is an all-out effort and endeavor on the part of the parents to apprise the kids where they are falling and what they needed to do in order to move ahead further with the passage of time. This is so required because it will tackle the negatives to arise within the kids and keep them at bay with the up and coming issues which might hurt their professional growth and development, and not to forget the personal one as well. How the kids perceive the entire reading process is something that shall be understood properly. This is because the kids want to get acquainted with the changing needs of the time, and this could only be possible if they are on the right track as far as their study realms are concerned. When parents give them the attention the kids learn quickly. It is because the kids know that their parents love them and care for them in the most loving way possible. When they read along with their parents, they come to know the different ways through which a particular language is comprehended, as well as the ways and means through which grammatical and spelling issues are tackled (Demoulin, 2003). The parents teach them how to pronounce words and make use of sentences as are required. They tell them the meanings and definitions of certain words, as well as detail them regarding the sentence structures all the same. Moving ahead with the discussion at hand, the kids need the time of

Which factors influence students self-efficacy with regard to their Research Proposal

Which factors influence students self-efficacy with regard to their academic performance - Research Proposal Example Therefore, self-efficacy in academic performance would refer to the confidence that individual students have on academic issues that allow them to be successful in academic endeavours. Most researchers would agree that there are several factors that have a direct influence on the efficacy of students but these would highly depend on the cultural fits that happen in the educational system and curriculum. The idea of self-efficacy does not just come by chance to the involved victors but there is always a great deal of hard work that aims at maintaining the faith to get the high levels of educational success (Bandura, 1982, p.126). This proposal will seek to provide a base for justification of the fact that self-efficacy has a direct impact on academic performance of students that are involved in an academic program that is on distance basis. In-view of this, it will provide background information about the genesis of self-efficacy in students before embarking on plot development. Backg round of the Study The importance of efficacy is gaining acceptance with every passing day. From a psychological point of view, self-efficacy is a creation from the theories of efficacy as brought forward by Bandura. Self-efficacy is about inclusiveness. This inclusiveness is about the end result. It is an issue that started long ago but Bandura (1977) indicated that here are very important sections of personality that will render the effects effective with the final impact of motivation for student success. The areas that are aimed at being promoted are in accomplishments of performance, verbal and emotional arousal and vicarious experience. To cement the value of self-efficacy in the development of motivation of students therefore, there will be an objective and analytical view of four key issues. These issues will represent the objective of statement question in which case there is need to link self-efficacy and student academic performance in the post graduate case as indicated (Banduras, 1977). Factors Influencing Students Self-Efficacy Self-efficacy is influenced by a collection of very strong factors that influence the total personality of an individual. Experience or "Enactive Attainment† Experience is a very determining factor when it comes to issue of self-efficacy. Dissects (2012) dissects experience as immediate and former. In both cases, it has far reaching effects on the behaviour and confidence of the students and their eventual success. Postgraduate education requires a high sense of risk taking through project and online submissions. This is to say that there is a risk that is taken but the success of previous students may inculcate confidence in the current group. In this case, strong efficacy is generated through such former success by the current students. In vicarious experience, there is a situation in which students watch others handle very complex experiences and succeed which helps them hope for the same (Yao, 2007, p. 6). This p ositive show is enhanced through modelling, performance exposure, performances that are self-instructed as well as performance

Amazon.Com - Project Paper Essay Example for Free

Amazon.Com Project Paper Essay Amazon.com is obsessed with fervour to serve consumer and shareholder alike. Since its inception over fifteen years ago, Amazon.com has steadily grown from a burgeoning â€Å"dot-com† corporation into a multinational monster, a king in the domain of internet retail. It targets two goals: the satisfaction of a customer and efficient corporate growth. Its marketing strategies are near-legendary, and budding business should take a page – or several chapters – from Amazon.com’s proven marketing manual. Amazon.com History Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com founder and CEO, dreamed about books. In 1994, he created Amazon.com, Inc., which he labelled as â€Å"Earth’s Biggest Bookstore.† The ecommerce company went online in 1995 and soon expanded into other media, including DVDs, VHS, CDs, MP3s, and eventually a wide range of other products, including toys, electronics, furniture and apparel. As such, the tagline soon changed to â€Å"Earth’s Largest Selection.† But books were only the beginning of Bezo’s up-and-coming enterprise. Amazon.com went public in 1997. In the first shareholder letter, Bezos penned the fundamental foundation for Amazon.com’s success: â€Å"Start with customers and work backwards †¦ Listen to customers, but don’t just listen to customers – also invent on their behalf †¦ Obsess over customers.† This policy was backed by a startling business philosophy – Bezos planned on operating at a loss for 4-5 years. It was not until 2001 that Amazon.com posted a net profit at a minuscule one-cent per share. Yet, despite its bizarre business strategy, Amazon.com claimed over 1.4 million customers after only two years of being online. Now, 45 million satisfied customers shop at Amazon.com for everything from books (most popular) to fashion apparel to fine jewellery to Christmas toys. It has one of the most recognized brand names in the world and garners an estimated 50% of its sales from overseas consumers. Surviving the dot-com bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s, Amazon weathered the e-storms and now thrives in the retail marketplace, challenging vending giants like Wal-Mart and Target. Focused on technological innovation and entered on customer fulfilment, Amazon.com proceeds into the next decade with a profit firmly in one hand, and the capacity to blow it out of the water in the other hand. Amazon.com’s Business Philosophy Despite its massive growth, Amazon.com remains unremittingly focused on the consumer. Out of 452 company goals in 2009, 360 directly affected customer experience. Amazon.com’s self-proclaimed mission statement is: â€Å"We seek to be Earth’s most customer-centric company for three primary customer sets: consumer customers, seller customers and developer customers.† Vision Amazon’s vision is to be Earth’s most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. Mission The company’s six core values: customer obsession, ownership, bias for action, frugality, high hiring bar, and innovation. Motto The company motto: ‘Work Hard, Have Fun, and Make History’. Question 1 Amazon currently operates in two markets: the business-to-business (offering Internet retailing services) and consumer markets (retailing consumer goods). Identify the characteristics of the two types of buyers and markets. Amazon is an online bookstore that trades books from numerous originators including Wrox, O’Reilly, Premier Press, and so on. In this case, the publishers have the option of either developing their own site or exhibiting their books on the Amazon site (www.amazon.com), or both. The publishers usually prefer to display their books on www.amazon.com at it gives them a larger audience. Currently, to do this, the publishers want to deal with Amazon, involving seller and buyer, is the B2B model. Amazon derives about 40% of its sales from affiliate marketing called Amazon Associates and third-party sellers who sell products on Amazon. Associates receive a commission for referring customers to Amazon by placing links on their websites to Amazon, if the referral results in a sale. Worldwide, Amazon has over 900,000 members in its affiliate programs. Amazon reported over 1.3 million sellers sold products through Amazons World Wide Web sites in 2007. Amazon sellers do not have to maintain separate payment accounts; all payments are handled by Amazon. Associates can access the Amazon catalogue directly on their websites by using the Amazon Web Services (AWS) XML service. A new affiliate product, aStore, allows Associates to embed a subset of Amazon products within another website, or linked to another website. In June 2010, Amazon Seller Product Suggestions was launched (rumoured to be internally called Project Genesis) to provide more transparency to sellers by recommending specific products to third-party sellers to sell on Amazon. Products recommended are based on customers browsing history. Characteristic of B2B Amazon uses B2B by providing the opportunity to purchase and sell all types of products via the internet. It allows for relationships to be established in order to complete sales and business transactions. Additionally, providing email address and having personalized memberships are methods for dispensing sale ads and providing discount coupons is a use of the internet by Amazon. Rather than producing time-intensive and costly physical copies for each consumer, a central server or email list can serve as an efficient method for distributing necessary information to the general public The characteristic of B2B is a long-term: Usually involves negotiations and contractual commitments between long-term trading partners (E.g. Suppliers, manufacturers). Thus, also generates high sales revenue and volume. Significant characteristic is relationship driven not product driven. The BCB model enhances maximization of the value of the relationship and bonding. Buyers and sellers work more closely together and build long-term relationships. Thus rational buying decision is based on business value. The sales cycle in the B2B world is often much longer and more complex. It mainly maximizes on the value of relationships. Amazon focuses on maintaining communication and building relationships. Marketing activities involving lead generation that can be nurtured during the sales cycle can be used to attain this goal. B2B features a multi-step buying process that needs more than one person to decide on the purchase thus B2B companies employ marketing to educate its target audience. Take for example in an email campaign, objective of Amazon is to drive prospects to the site to learn about their products and services. High expectations for service: Customised services and goods delivery and managing inventory for business partners that extend the supply chain so companies can respond on minute-by-minute basis. Knowledgeable buyers: Suppliers (Amazon associates) and buyers who understand and well-versed in trading in their industry. Involving more buyers, with extensive decision process, the process is more tedious and complex. The buying becoming is more formalised professional purchasing effort. Nevertheless, B2B models always emphasis in educational and awareness building activities to grasp repeat business. Characteristic of B2C The above B2C model reflects an individual consumer transact with business organisation, consumer searches for a book on Amazon site and places an order, if required. The B2C category has expanded greatly in the late 1990s with the growth of public access to the Internet. It largely equates to electronic retailing and its main objective is to aggressively convince prospective buyers to shop. B2C companies, including Amazon employ different marketing campaigns for publicizing their goods and services. This would include coupons, vouchers, email blasts, banner ads, limited edition offers and the likes to entice their target market to buy. These campaigns are much shorter in duration thus the urgent need to secure the customer’s interest very quickly. The B2C model of e-commerce is more prone to security threats because individual consumers provide their credit card and personal information in the site of a business organization. In addition, the consumers might doubt that his/he r information is secured and used effectively by the business organization. This is the main reason why the B2C model is not very widely accepted. Therefore, it becomes very essential for the business organization to provide robust security mechanisms that can be guarantee a consumer for securing his information. Consumer markets are the markets for products and services bought by individuals for their own or family use. B2C sales are more engrossed on a very large market segment; market is the total sales market of consumers. There is very little discrimination or qualification of potential customers. If the product appeals to them, then they are a customer to which Amazon may sell their product. And B2C or businesses that sell consumers more focussed on transactional relationship. However, the traffic volume is very critical due to high volume, low unit value. This characteristic explains that number of customers is many or large target market but limited purchase unit or value. Similar to FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) are products that are sold quickly and at relatively low cost. Nevertheless there is fast repurchase derived or in another words frequent purchases. B2C sales are driven by highlighting the advantages of the product and its usefulness. Depending on how the product is presented to the end user, it may appeal to them based on novelty, ease of use, appearance or price. Usually the aspects of status, desire and price can lead to emotional buying decision. Besides that in B2C, since it is product driven, the product and its features also able to influence customer during the point of sale. B2C characteristic is inclusive a single step buying process, shorter sales cycle. The path to purchase must be short and simple – just a few clicks from email receipt to order confirmation. Any more than a couple of clicks and the customer are likely to abandon the shopping cart. The call to action must be obvious and the offer enticing. Besides that email campaigns often highlight special deals and discount that can be used both online and in store. They can also be informative especially if the aim is to build the brand and enhance customer loyalty. Loyalty is an important aspect in B2C marketing. This proved very true for company like Amazon. They combine good customer service and education on their product and services thus their customers keep coming back. Amazon’s brand identity created through repetition and imagery.

Introduction to Microsoft Office

Introduction to Microsoft Office Introduction of Microsoft Excel Excel is the computer programs created by Microsoft. For example, we can use this computer programs for analyzing data. EXCEL are the specific of given the instructions and use for 3 Excel quizzes. Besides, Excel is a very fancy calculator and the most of basic form. Microsoft Excel also help us to control costs and easily to obtain the business information used for the value of the data. For instance, Microsoft Excel will become the tools to businesses and help them to make the most of data. Microsoft Excel have become increasingly significant as it can used for making the resources and return on investment. Excel is the quickly and effectively to analyse and collate the information. In addition, Microsoft Excel can help us in single cell to create a data. In a Microsoft Excel 2010 is a new feature with the sparklines. We can quickly noticed patterns in the data and can create the small charts in a single cell. It’s the easy and quick way to highlight all the significant. For example the Microsoft Excel saving our time, seasonal increases or decreases. Apart from that Microsoft Excel 2010 can quickly use the right data points in zero. For the PivotTables Excel 2010 can delivers a new of the exciting filter enhancement. The PivotTables can provide a rich of visualization with the Slicer. The PivotTable can help us so can easily filter the data and dynamically segment to display precisely what we need. With the new research we can spend a few of time sifting through large data sets in the PivotTable views and table, and more time analyzing. Moreover, we can use the Microsoft Excel is easily working together such as share, connect, and accomplish. Microsoft Excel Web App in the different locations can makes it possible for us to edit the same spreadsheet with others. In the workbooks they can made and with the number of editors shown in the status bar. We can always know who is editing the workbook with us. Apart from that, in our data presentations we can add more sophistication. The Excel 2010 gives us easily to improved data bars, more control over styles and icons and in a few clicks ability to highlight specific or important items. The negative values also can be display data bars and to more accurately illustrate in the data visuals. Furthermore, Microsoft Excel 2010 can help us do the things become faster and easier. The traditional can be replaces by the new Microsoft Office Backstageâ„ ¢ such as share. Print, menu to let our save and publish your spreadsheets with just a few of clicks. With the improved Ribbons, we can access our favourite commands and become more quickly though by customing tabs. In our work style can help us creating our personal with the experience. On top of that, harness is more power to building bigger and more complex spreadsheets with the Microsoft Excel 2010. We can easier to analyse and massive amount of information with the new 54-bit version of Excel 2010. We can analyse large and complex datasets greater than 2-gigabyte file size of the previous Excel versions. In a nutshell, we can through by Excel Services to publish and share. The SharePoint Server 2010 and Excel Services integration and let the businessman user to share analysis and the result across their organization through by publishing spreadsheets for the Web. We can share a sensitive business information and business intelligence. For instance, co-workers, business partners in a security-enhanced environment and business partners. Introduction of Microsoft Power Point Inside the Microsoft Office include the Power Point of the system that enables to help us to present the information such as office meetings, in a minimal amount the time to create maximum impact and lectures. Microsoft Power Point 2010 can amplify our message for the presentations and can be accelerate the information being absorbed. First and foremost, the Microsoft Power Point 2010 can support us a new PowerPoint document. For instance in a big middle had a slide pane, this is help us to work in create our slide. On the other side that call placeholders can help us to choose the type of text with the dotted borders of the various boxes. This is due to the reasons that placeholders can contain a pictures or charts, different sizes, and non- text items. Moreover, Microsoft Power Point 2010 can be adding an additional slides when we needed. When we was open the Power Point we can see the â€Å"new slide† on the Home tab. The title and content will be automatically insert when we using the adding slides. According to Amy Beauchemin many of the slides will be require to enter the text in the placeholder boxes. The minor points under the major points will be automatically place the text into the bulleted lists with the Power Point when we was typing the text. Furthermore, the placeholder boxes will also automatically help reduce font size and line with the text fit and fit everything of the line spacing. Power point in the text font can also to change it with the size use commands and colour in the Font group. The formatting can also to change by paragraph group. For example, bullet type, line spacing, text indentation. Apart from that, the design theme can be adding by the Microsoft Power Point 2010. The font sizes and types, colour of the scheme and the background design can be found in the theme. A new presentation will be started by the default theme mean office theme. There has a black text as well as white background. We can found the themes group with the different design while we click the Design tab on the Ribbon. Power Point can also help us to found more additional themes though click the right of the group. Besides, we can using the Clip Art inside the Power point to add the videos, sounds and pictures if we needed. We can click on the Insert Ribbon and go to Clip Art command or click on the Clip Art icon in a placeholder on the right and choose the type of the clips we want to use it. On the other hand Microsoft Power Point is the best way to us to view the slides or show when we are previewing our presentation to an audience or some documents. We can print the slides and saving files by the Microsoft Power Point 2010. Introduction of Microsoft Word 2010 The best of all the worlds are provide by the Microsoft Word 2010.This is an account of the fact that Microsoft Word 2010 make us easier ways to work together with other people. For instance we can easily organize or more efficiently to write the documents and can capture our best ideas wherever they occur. Firstly, Word 2010 help us to create and more easily to complete all the documents. We can look like a design pro while we stand out with the paramount content for using a new array and improved tools. Furthermore, Microsoft Word 2010 can provide many of the text, same effects and shapes such as pictures, SmartArt graphics and charts and directly to text in the document. Microsoft Word 2010 was using a new and improved picture editing tools. This is including a colour and cropping tools and the advanced correction to us when we was used the Microsoft Word 2010. Apart from that, Word 2010 always helping us to save our time and simplify to work. It can make it easier to browse, even reorganize document content right from a single and search by using the improved Navigation Pane and Find tools. Moreover, we can use the firewall while we are working for a company running SharePoint Foundation 2010. Besides, we can also view the presence information and show to other authors and initiate instant messaging or directly from Word to voice calls with the Office Communicator and Microsoft Lync. There had many of the advantage of co-authoring features though Windows Live such as we can in a small company to use Word 2010 for our school work or home. It is a free of the Windows Live ID, at the same time we can edit the documents with others. For example, we can get our ideas, work emergencies, projects and deadlines to more of the places. On the other hand, Microsoft Word is a fellow with the Microsoft Word App and that are enables to us for extend the Word experience to the browser. In the Word 2010 include the editing tools and the same formatting. Any computer with a Web browser there can be work in a familiar editing environment. Microsoft Word Mobile also given us to edit, review, or comment with the Word documents and offer the navigations tools is help us to quickly jump to the right place every time. Nowadays the Word Mobile also provide us to making report and working with a team on the next big pitch. This is in light of the fact that, Word 2010 are more flexibility and more quickly with the better results. Conclusion of Microsoft Excel In my opinion of the Microsoft Excel 2010 is the most flexible and useful functions to us. This is due to the reason that Excel 2010 can help us to build a great charts. By using the formulas across the grid of cells can allows the businessmen to potential their data. Furthermore, I learned how to use the conditional formatting in the Excel 2010 include using different colour shades, italics and bolds. For example we can via the Quick Analysis button to select an appropriate colouring scheme. Moreover, using Excel 2010 to identify trends also the one I learned in Microsoft EXCEL 2010. For instance it can help the businesses to develop of their future strategy. On top of that, Microsoft Excel can also help us to bring the data together from the documents and various files together such as insert tab or additional spreadsheets. Besides, we can through by the Excel Services to publish and share. For example, we can share a business intelligence and a sensitive business information to co-workers and the business partners in a security-enhanced. In the nutshell, the online access also I learned from the Excel 2010. Excel offer us used with the laptop, smartphone and web-enabled PC for making mobile working viable and making remote. Conclusion of Microsoft Power Point 2010 In the conclusion of Microsoft Power Point 2010, I learned the Power Point can support us a new document such as a big middle had a slide pane and it will help us to work in create our slide. Furthermore, when we needed an additional slides can be adding by Power Point 20210. For instance we can open a â€Å"new slide â€Å"from the Home tab and the title and content will automatically added. Apart from that, paragraph group can be formatting by the Power Point 2010 that I learned in the Power Point 2010. For example, bullet type, text indentation and line spacing. Besides, the types and font size, background design and the colour of the scheme can also be found in the theme and include black text and white background by the Microsoft Power Point that I was learned. In a nutshell, the best way to view the show or slides for presentation is the Microsoft Power Point 2010 that I was learned as it can help us to print the slides and saving files from the Power Point 2010. Conclusion of Microsoft Word 2010 In my opinion of the Microsoft Word 2010 is the best of all the worlds. This is due to the reasons that it can make us easier ways to work together and become more efficiently to write the documents. Apart from that, that I was learned in the Word 2010 can be create and help us complete the documents easily. For instance Word 2010 0ffer many of the text and the same effects like pictures editing tools. Apart from that, Word 2010 always helping us to save our time and simplify to work. It can make it easier to browse, even reorganize document content right from a single and search by using the improved Navigation Pane and Find tools. Moreover, we can use the firewall while we are working for a company running SharePoint Foundation 2010. Besides, we can also view the presence information and show to other authors and initiate instant messaging or directly from Word to voice calls with the Office Communicator and Microsoft Lync. There had many of the advantage of co-authoring features though Windows Live such as we can in a small company to use Word 2010 for our school work or home. It is a free of the Windows Live ID, at the same time we can edit the documents with others. For example, we can get our ideas, work emergencies, projects and deadlines to more of the places.