Marketing Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Plan - Essay Example Starbucks recognizes itself as a family destination. It has been offering milk and hot chocolate for kids but of late, the company has recognized a growing market segment in teenagers. The teens even now walk in and indulge in 16-ounce Frappucinos that contains a high dose of caffeine (Linn 2007). Since there is a family destination and since teens frequent the stores, they must have products suitable for the age group. Moreover, McDonald's and Denny’s offer high quality coffee menus. To counter competition and to stay ahead of competitive tactics, Starbucks needs to be ahead of competitors. The company, by introducing innovating products for the new segment, could offer products that are healthy for the teens. This objective would be in line with their corporate vision of being a family destination. Moreover, one of their guiding principles in their mission statement is â€Å"Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time† (Kembell, Hawks, Kembel, Perry a nd Olsen 2002). SWOT and risk analysis Before introducing the product for the new target segment, SWOT analysis would help determine the risks involved. Strengths Global Coffee brand, strong reputation and good products and services It has 17,000 stores in 49 countries Focus on quality and experience rather than on price Strong brand image and a considerable market share.

The Importance of Art Education Essay Example for Free

The Importance of Art Education Essay Manifold, M., Zimmerman, E. (2011). Everyone Needs an Art Education: Developing Leadership Through Positive Attitudes Toward Art Methods Courses. Art Education, 64(6), 33-39. This article reports on a study that was conducted to see if positive leadership, when it comes to art education in the K-6 classroom, would lead to positive responses from students who previously held a negative view to art-related classes. The article also addresses the importance of art education being integrated into the general curriculum, thereby developing students who will be future advocates and role models, with positive attitudes toward the arts. This article is considered scholarly because it is peer-reviewed. The source of academic authority is the peer-review process. Bohannon, R., McDowell, C. (2010). Art, Music, and Movement Connections for Elementary Education Teacher Candidates. General Music Today, 24(1), 27-31. The article discusses a lesson plan using the connection between the visual arts, movement, and music, and introducing the concept of line and contour. Through the use of art, the teacher was able to incorporate the concept of line and contours in match, science, reading, and social studies. The article details how teachers expose their students to art, and then help them make the connection to other subjects. The article is considered scholarly because it is peer reviewed. The source of academic authority is the peer-review process. Diket, R. M. (2003). The Arts Contribution to Adolescent Learning. Kappa Delta Pi Record, 39(4), 173-177. The Arts provide a â€Å"unique core of understanding, and enhancements for learning through other school subjects† (Diket, 174). The article details the importance of art, and it’s incorporation into other subject matters. The article discusses the impact of the â€Å"No Child† Legislature, and the importance of teachers recogni zing the value of art in their lesson plans. The article is peer review and considered scholarly. The source of academic authority is the peer-review process.

Use Of Timber In Projects Construction Essay

Use Of Timber In Projects Construction Essay The informal interviews revealed some additional factors, not discussed in the literature review, which may have helped to shape the position of timber within the marketplace in the UK. These factors were included in the formal questionnaire and are discussed below. Time to complete timber construction projects Discussion with timber engineers revealed that the time taken to build on site with timber is longer than typical steel structures. Though we would not wish to suggest that careful engineering of steel structures is any less important, it must be accepted that the steel construction in the UK has a very well established track record for single storey non domestic use. Steel sheds for commercial and industrial use are ubiquitous the length and breadth of the UK and, by association, the engineering and site skills which produced them must be very well established in the UK construction industry. How long history of steel construction manifests itself in a construction project can be quite subtle. The bolt length in steel is 30mm but timber can be 300mm so tolerance to fit them on site is far narrower with timber. Timber engineer, Peter Steer remarked that to get the bolt into its fixing can be highly problematic and can cause delay for inexperienced fabricators. Such delay simply wouldnt happen for steel fabrication as the skill involved in fitting a 30m bolt is commonplace compared to a 300mm bolt. There are very many more steel fabricators with the skills to deliver the former but far fewer timber site specialists who can comfortably deliver the latter. So the tendency is for delay on site. It is difficult to compare timber projects with an exact match for a steel frame project but timber structural engineer Frank Werling said that engineered timber structures can require 3 weeks to engineer versus 1 week for steel. Price differential between steel and engineered timber sections Nick Milestone, MD of B K Timber Structures said that the rising price of steel during the period 2000-2008 saw the price of engineered timber draw closer to comparable steel sections. This gave greater price competitiveness to timber suppliers and the use of timber gradually became more widespread in the UK. The word gradually must be emphasised there because long span timber structures were still quite rare until very recently when supermarkets and their architects led the way in demanding timber for these low rise, long span timber structures. Even though steel prices were climbing rapidly there was such a weight of expertise, of established supply chains and comfort of architects and clients in steel structures that steel retained its hegemony in the market. However since 2008 steel has crashed from circa 1400euro to 1000euro a tonne. This has coincided with a drop in the value of the pound relative to the euro. (European Central Bank statistics www.ecb.europa.eu/stats) The result is that, although the disparity between steel and Glulam sections had narrowed to approximately 10% in 2008, it is now over 40%. However demand at BK timber structures hasnt fallen while the price differential has widened during the past 2 years. This may be because there are other drivers such as the high aesthetic of Glulam beams and the sustainability of using timber structures that are keeping timber buoyant in the marketplace. Supply of engineered timber for large framed structures Tim Reynolds of BRE explained that UK timber eg Sitka spruce has a strength grade of C16. That grown in the drier EU countries is C24 or better. Glulam requires at least C24 timber. Therefore, here in the UK we must accept a situation where our own forests cannot produce timber of adequate strength grades. Either the timber is imported from other countries for UK factories to produce the Glulam, or Glulam sections are bought ready made from factories overseas. If the former situation were to take place then a company would need to find enormous start-up costs to procure the right machinery and train the workforce necessary to begin producing large Glulam sections. This would need to take place against a growing but still relatively minor market share for engineered timber frame construction in the UK. Furthermore, this hypothetical new UK Glulam factory would still be competing against established European competitors who have developed their expertise and can use locally sourced timber. In fact, often the large forestry and sawmilling companies in EU nations have sufficient scale and turnover to be able to afford the capital investment necessary to develop their own Glulam manufactories. This could not realistically take place in the UK where, not only do our forests produce insuffici ently strong softwood for Glulam manufacture, but the forestry industry is diffuse. Small UK forestry firms with modest turnover are content to sell their lumber for fence posts and other lower grade uses. They would be unlikely to find the capital necessary to establish their own Glulam manufactories. Where timber buildings, such as grid-shell structures, can be built with lower strength UK grown timber there has traditionally been a problem with the supply from the UK forestry industry, according to Peter Wilson of the centre for Timber Engineering at Napier University. The Scottish enterprise centre identified this as a key barrier to development of UK forestry into higher value added markets. It came to the conclusion that the barrier to using UK grown timber was a lack of qualified engineers who understood the potential of the material. For this reason the centre for timber engineering was set up. Peter Wilson says there has been a significant improvement in the skill base in the UK but there is still no culture of building with timber in the UK. Also, here the forestry sector is fragmented and, apart from isolated examples such as the magnificent Savills Grid-shell building, earns its living at the bottom of the value chain with fence posts and pallet manufacture. Due to this fragmented and low earning forestry sector there is little capital to invest in plant and sawmill machinery. By contrast, Scandinavian, Austrian and German forestry companies are large economic concerns with the capital to set up Glulam manufactories where start-up costs can be 20 million euro or more, almost as a secondary concern. No UK timber company or forestry company would be able to set up such a facility. This is likely to remain a structural reason why high strength structural engineered timber must be imported into the UK. This may have implications for surety of supply and cost differentials due to exchange rates. UK traditional procurement methods According to survey respondents the UK has, to some extent, lagged behind mainland Europe in the adoption of Project Management procurement methods, or Novated design and build, where a site structural engineer can be part of the design team at an early stage. There are fewer architects experienced and skilled enough in designing the connection details of large span timber structures in the UK due to the relative scarcity of such projects. By contrast architects who can design and work with steel connections in relative comfort are far more common and all stages of the design process for steel structures are so well established in the UK that the plans are efficiently realised on site by the steel fabricators. The relative lack of recent project experience from UK architects with timber means that the involvement of a site structural engineer is of great importance. The connection details can be complex and often need to be prefabricated to specific design tolerances before they can be assembled on site. A traditional procurement process would tend to leave these connection details until later in the process when there is a pressing and critical need for erection of the structure on site. As the site engineers in this traditional process will be unlikely to have been involved in the design team then there will be inevitable delay as they attempt to interpret the plans of the design engineer. At this point, the costs incurred by the site fabricators are higher as they are devoting more resources into carrying out plans that they have not been involved in. This lack of communication or cohesion in the design of the engineering element of the building can have cost implications and act as a d isincentive to design timber structures. If we look at the example of the Savill building at Windsor great park Green Oak Carpentrys Site Manager, Steve Corbett, said there were genuinely no real problems with the construction, which he attributed to the architect commissioning Buro Happold and Green Oak Carpentry early in the design phase so that engineering issues were addressed as part of the design from the start. Mark Feely, a chartered architectural technologist, who worked on a recent RICS award submitted design for an ASDA timber store in Oldham told me that his client pushed for a sustainable green store and Finn Forest UK Ltd were employed before the architect. It was a design and build contract so it was unusual to go straight for a technical supplier without competitive tender. Mark explained that sometimes this unusual sequence of procurement happens when a contractor is persuasive with a client and can demonstrate a technical mastery of a structure that suits their needs. This possibly lends weight to an argument that both clients and architects lack the experience of working with these timber structures and are looking for technical leadership from contractors who, as we have discussed, are few in UK construction. This ASDA store was also deemed to be time critical as there was a clear marketing strategy to keep pace with Tesco who had recently procured a timber framed store buildin g. Fire risk, perception of risk and insurance implications Suppliers of timber structural products said that they faced a perception from clients that their building insurance would be higher due to a perceived high risk of fire. Discussions with fire engineers at insurance companies have suggested that there is no price difference fixed for timber structures and it depends on the overall building design and detailing. Skills and training in design and assembly of timber structures There are fewer carpentries in the UK than in other EU countries where there is a tradition and a demand for timber building in non domestic settings. For timber contractors such as BK structures, the demand for their services can outstrip their capacity and as there are few competing companies the order books become full and projects may struggle to find contractors without booking well in advance of the project. This would also suggest that the price of carpentry is kept buoyant by a relative lack of competition. At the Napier school for Timber engineering there has been a recent surge in applicants for courses in timber engineering to Eurocode 5 on 31st March 2010. The courses were oversubscribed and, while this represents a positive demand from qualified timber engineers for developing their skills, there will be an inevitable lag effect. Engineers will need to familiarise themselves with EC5 and to become proficient with putting the new code into practise. Dr Julie Bregulla of the BRE told me that this is quite a significant barrier for the UK timber industry and stems from the almost cottage-industry nature of the sector. In other countries the timber sector has more resources to employ people to lobby and negotiate to have the code structured in a way that suits their industry. Analysis of structured questionnaire The table on (page) shows the full data set from the respondents to the questionnaire. The statements listed were put forward to a range of leading figures from all parts of the supply chain in timber construction. Suppliers, clients, timber engineers, architects and academic research professionals were asked to rank these statements from 0 to 10 with 0 at the end of the continuum where there was profound disagreement and 10 at the end where there was strongest agreement. This data is expressed in the chart below, where the bars represent the highest, lowest and mean ranking for each question.

To Deny Competition is to Deny Life Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

To Deny Competition is to Deny Life I can remember in fourth grade having an Easter egg hunt at school and having the teacher tell us that we could pick up only three eggs, and then we were to stop. Truth be told, that rule was probably in place for people like me who were so incredibly slow that the other kids would have gotten all the eggs before I even got there, but that didn't matter. I can still remember how stupid I thought it was and how it took the whole point out of the experience. Or how about when we had an art "competition" and half the class got first place ribbons and everyone else got second place ribbons. I had even less art skills than speed at that time and it still annoyed me. What was the prize worth if it was easily attained? Why were they trying to fool me in order to make me feel good about myself? Why were they afraid of real competition? I have been a fierce competitor all my life. I believe I owe most of the credit to having two older brothers who are somewhat close in age. I remember shooting baskets and knowing full well that the only way I was going to shoot the ball was if I managed to get the ball away from my much taller and bigger brothers. If I wanted to play with them at all, I had to learn some way of bridging that natural gap, and it instilled in me a competitive spirit that has been carried with me, further developed, and found to be essential throughout many aspects of my life. Humans are naturally competitive beings. If we weren't, we wouldn't still be around on this planet. One of the greatest and healthiest forms of competition is found in sports. The fact that sports are still thriving also points to our need for competition, for they are an outlet for our ... ... of life. If people can't see this, then it is easy to understand how they can't see the true beauty of competition. Competition is an essential part of growing up. It mirrors life almost to perfection while allowing it to be a game. To deny competition is to deny that life will present us with struggles. It is to pretend that this world will not offer obstacles to be overcome. To fear the pain of failure for either yourself or anyone else is to misunderstand the importance of challenges to create purpose. It is to misunderstand the balance of life. A hollow victory is no victory at all. So I say give me competition. I'll strive to do and be my best and I'll take my chances and if I fall short then so be it, for that's reality. Allow me to hold in balance the chance of failure and the hope of success, for it is in these moments that I can dare to be alive.

Hamlet in Comparison to the Lion King

Many literary works can be compared due to vast amounts of similarities between theme and characters; Hamlet and the Lion King are two literary works in which character and theme are surprisingly similar throughout each work. The Lion King is thought to be just an animated children’s film, however, it is in fact a modern translation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The main characters in the Lion King are definite parallels to those in Hamlet. Along with the main characters and plot details, the stories were similar in the representation of the secondary characters. Here's my little secret, I killed Mufasa. † The theme in Hamlet can be compared to the Walt Disney movie The Lion King. Hamlet and Simba are betrayed by their uncles whom murder their fathers in order to fulfill their own ambitions. The characters in the Lion King closely parallel Hamlet. Simba, the main character in the Lion King, embodies Hamlet. They are both the son of the King and rightful heir to the thr one. The King of the Pridelands, Mufasa, can be compared to Hamlet Senior, who is killed by the uncle figure. Both Scar and Claudius have an unpleasant image of the uncle. They are presented as cold and evil. Laertes, the henchman and right-hand man of Claudius, becomes, in the movie, the Hyenas. The Hyenas collectively act as hero-worshippers to Scar, loyal subjects, and fellow doers-in-evil. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the comic reliefs in Hamlet, and in the Lion King, this role is fulfilled by Timon and Pumbaa. The main character in The Lion King is Simba. Simba is quite similar to Hamlet in that both are sons of the wrongfully murdered kings. Both princes delay their decisions to seek vengeance for their murdered fathers. Each prince runs from their responsibilities after the death of their respected fathers, although they both know what they must do deep inside. Simba escapes reality from running away, however Hamlet escapes by feigning madness. However, in both situations, the rightful heirs to the throne escape though one way or another. Film techniques used in the Lion King to depict Simba can relate to ways in which Hamlet is portrayed. At the beginning of the film the camera angle looks up towards him, the lights shine on young Simba; the importance of his birth is immense, although Simba may be oblivious to the fact at the time. Another parallel is the fact that both Simba and Hamlet at one stage wish to be dead. When Timon and Pumbaa find him, they believe Simba to be dead when they first find him. He is not – but wishes to be. The same could be said about Hamlet when he questions his life – â€Å"To be, or not to be†. Like Hamlet, Simba tends to need to be on his own to reflect. Hamlet and Simba are near perfect examples of tragic heroes. Both are tested to the extent of their inner strength and faith in the triumph of good. In comparison, Scar’s selfish character is similar to that of Claudius. Both Scar and Claudius have an unpleasant image. Scar is dark in colour, skinny, with long black nails and green evil eyes. The eyes represent jealousy, greed, and envy. Both characters are â€Å"thinly veiled† and scheme to destroy people they dislike. In the opening scene of the Lion King, Mufasa confronts his brother Scar. â€Å"Don’t turn your back on me! † Mufasa stops Scar with a warning. Scar shoots back – â€Å"No, perhaps you shouldn’t turn your back on me! † This is a veiled threat on the king’s life. Because the king is never introduced in Hamlet, the audience is left to wonder whether the king had any notice that his brother wanted him dead. However there is a parallel to this scene found in Hamlet. Scar shows how it is in the nature of the truly evil to have their victims know they are going to die. If they are warned of their death and do nothing, they are weak. Scar and Claudius are a strong parallel shown through their character and evil ways. The themes story of the Lion King closely parallels that of Hamlet. They are stories of jealousy, greed, and murder. Tis an unweeded garden†, is a line used in one of Hamlet’s soliloquy’s to describe the state of Denmark when Claudius takes over the throne after killing Old Hamlet. The metaphor can relate to the film, when Scar takes over the throne after murdering Mufasa; the Pridelands become drained of colour, corruption is spreading fast in Africa, as it is in Denmark, with the uncles usurping the throne and the animal kingdom. This theme of corruption and how it spreads begins with Scar plotting to murder the King. The same can be said for Hamlet. â€Å"Life’s not fair, is it? Scar’s line at the very beginning of the movie instigates the theme of corruption; Hamlet’s soliloquy explaining Denmark as an â€Å"unweeded garden† begins this theme too. Shakespeare’s example of imagery in Hamlet is fulfilled in the film using colour to portray the theme. When Simba returns to the Pride Lands after Scar has been in power, the entire place appears to be dead. There are no animals left, there is no water, and there is nothing but sand and rock. The appearance of Pridelands reflects the heart of Scar. Dead. This is the same as the state of Elsinore reflecting the heart of Claudius. Claudius’s evil ways destroy the image of Denmark. Claudius is dead inside. In comparison, the theme of the â€Å"circle of life† is portrayed in the Lion King through Pride Rock, and the use of colour and imagery. The theme is developed at the very beginning, when Mufasa is ruling, and the whole Pridelands is in perfect harmony. The area of Pride Rock is always under beams of sunlight, suggesting a bright future, and harmony with the world. Each animal has its place in the â€Å"Circle of Life†. â€Å"You see, Simba. Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance†¦ we are all connected in the great Circle of Life. Mufasa explains to Simba that everything and everyone is connected in some way or another – â€Å"When we die, we become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass†. This can be linked with the line â€Å"†¦you must know, your father lost a father/ That father lost, lost his†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Although in context Claudius says this in an unsympathetic and rude way, it can relate to the theme of the circle of life – as it is part of the â€Å"circle of life† for people to lose their father and so on and so forth. With all that being said, there is one vital difference between the two works, and that is The Lion King ends in triumph, with Hamlet, to the contrary – tragedy. The circle of life is completed again when Simba returns to the Pridelands, the future looking promising and bright. As for Hamlet, considered to be the greatest tragedy ever written, the hero of the play dies. It ends in treachery. â€Å"O villainy! Ho! Let the door be locked! / Treachery, seek it out! † Even with a different ending, there still is a resemblance: that is the future of the kingdom. Both Hamlet and Simba ensure the renewal of their domains, and they do so by assuming their lawful roles: rightful king and avenging son. By doing so, they free their kingdoms from evil’s grasp.

Was Hitler a Mad Man †History Essay

Was Hitler a Mad Man – History Essay Free Online Research Papers Was Hitler a Mad Man History Essay Three reasons, that could be taken as model examples why Hitler should be considered mad. If we take them in a chronological order, we’d be starting with his experience in World War I and his reactions to those incidents. His brutality is shown in the holocausts that he has created across the country. Never the less , rumors that may or may not be true, had their fair share once he turned famous, such as hiding his roots, as it was thought that he was Jewish or partial Jewish , and many other rumors such as molesting his niece. There are not only indications of his madness but there are also reasons that make us dismiss the idea of him being mad, whenever occurred. Adolf Hitler served as a messenger in World War I. According to his commander, he was a nationalist and so passionate about the war, except that he couldn’t have cared less for the orders given to him, Hitler believed that he should be the leader and not be lead. He thought that everything around him was done in a wrong and a chaotic way and based on silly orders from ignorant people.† At the beginning of World War I he volunteered for service in the Bavarian army. There he proved to be a brave soldier, but was never promoted beyond the rank of a Gefreiter, because his superior officers didnt believe he would have any qualities in leadership. Short before the end of the war in 1918, he was injured by an English gas attack. Thereby he lost his eyes sight temporally and spent several months in hospital†. After his eyes were checked by the doctors, they were positive that it wasn’t a physical matter but it was psychological. He was taken care of by a Jewish doc tor called Edmund Forster, found a way to cure Hitler , and saw it as a triumph, but what he didn’t see is that his triumph was fatal. â€Å" Hitler , Foster concluded , refused to see because he could not bear to witness the defeat of Germany â€Å". † Finally in the first week of November, a possible therapeutic approach crystallized in his mind : I could attempt to find a way to free him of his symptoms through an ingenious coupling of his two ailments with his drive for status, his drive to be like god, his excessive energy†¦.I had to approach this man not with logical premises but with a tremendous lie in order to conquer him†¦for he was really gigantic lie for whom there was no absolute truth but only the truth of his imagination, his striving, his urge.†. -toy-soldier-gallery.com/Articles/Hitler/Hitler.html -The Man Who Invented Hitler , By David Lewis There’s this one thing that almost every normal person around the world the world agrees that it was one of the most brutal things , that has taken a place through out the history , is the holocaust . To demolish a whole religion and a large group of people could be a dream for a psychopath killer , but not any killer can manage to turn this dream of his into a reality , while on the other hand , Hitler managed to do it. If his country won the war he wouldn’t have commit suicide, in other words, he would’ve proceeded with turning his dreams , who to normal people are considered as nightmares, and who knows what could’ve happened to humanity. â€Å"The Holocaust was the effort of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany to exterminate the Jews and other people that they considered to be inferior. As a result about 12,000,000 people about half of them Jews were murdered. The murders were done by every means imaginable but most of the victims perished as a result of shooting, starvation, disease, and poison gas. Others were tortured to death or died in horrible medical experiments†. holocaust-history.org/short-essays/general.shtml Research Papers on Was Hitler a Mad Man - History EssayAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Assess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductWhere Wild and West MeetPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyCapital PunishmentHonest Iagos Truth through Deception19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraQuebec and CanadaThe Masque of the Red Death Room meanings