Managing Strategy: Case Study of Thornton plc Essay

1.0 Thornton Plc – an Overview: Occupying 8 percent market share of the UK boxed chocolate market in the year 2002 the company Thornton had witnessed a decline in its profits even from the year 1998. The turnover of the company and the operating profits of the company for the years 1994 to 2003 are presented below: The company was largely depending on its in house manufacturing facility and also adopted the marketing strategy of distributing the products through its own retail units established throughout the country. To some extent the company also adopted the franchising route also. Though the company was rich in its internal resources and good in the new product developments, the manufacturing and marketing strategy adopted by the company posed difficulties in meeting the seasonal demands which constituted a major percentage of the sales of the company. This part of the paper analyses the strength of the internal resources of the company. 1.1 Internal Resources: The success of any business depends on the strength of its internal resources which greatly facilitates sustaining the growth achieved by the firm. It is equally important for the company not only to achieve reasonable growth in the profits and sales but also to sustain the growth established by it. The internal resources of the company come in handy to help the company to retain the level of growth being achieved by the company. The internal resources of the company Thornton Plc can be detailed as below: A Complete Value Chain: The strategy of the company in having in house manufacturing facility coupled with its own retail outlets represented a complete value chain which is a distinct internal resource the company possessed. Even though the company resorted to external sources for non-core products and the basic liquid chocolate, the company retained the core manufacturing activity and the recipes. This enabled the company to ensure the quality of the ingredients to the chocolates and maintain its exclusivity in the market. Assets and Competencies of the Company: The distinct advantage the company was carrying was its capability to manufacture its requirements with its own facilities. This had enabled the company to maintain the freshness of its chocolates which became a distinguishing feature for Thornton’s products. This represents the internal resources of the company in the form of its ‘physical assets’. The other ‘physical assets’ that helped the company in maintain its market position is the number of the company’s own retail shops spread throughout the country. A graphical representation of the total number of retail outlets owned and franchised by the company is produced below: Intangible Assets: The goodwill earned by the company by maintaining the quality of its products and the quality of its service to the customers account for the intangible asset the company holding as an important internal resource of the company. Product Differentiation: Another feature that distinguished the chocolates of Thornton is the finishing. While competitors like Cadburys’ products are moulded, Thornton used a handmade appearance to the products by enrobing them in chocolates. In this way Thornton could make a marked ‘product differentiation’ that can be counted as a valuable internal resource that the company could use for improving its brand image. Quality of Service to the Customers: By having most of its sales done by its own shops, the company was able to provide a quality service to the customers. Through services like writing personalized messages on chocolates by icing on the top on important occasions, providing specialised gift wrappers etc the company could get to the fifth place by customers’ choice in the high-street vendors. Product Innovations: Developing new products was a passion for Thornton. This is evident from the fact that in the year the company could add 27 new ‘countlines’ and 132 new and updated products in the year 1998.       Unique and Core Assets and Competencies: The Unique assets of the company can be found in its in house manufacturing facilities that contributed largely for the quality of the products. However with the available manufacturing facility the company was unable to meet the peak seasonal demand which represented the threshold limit with respect to this unique asset. Similarly the core competency represented the company’s ability to innovate as many number of new products to cater to the market. But the threshold limit for this competency was the failure of the company to concentrate on the retailing and the poor locations of the shops that could not give the true advantage of this core competency of new product innovation. 1.2 Strengths and Weaknesses of Thornton Plc: While commenting on the internal resources of any firm it is customary to do an analysis of the firm’s relative strengths and weaknesses. An analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of Thornton is detailed below: Strengths: In house manufacturing facility: The availability of in house manufacturing facility enabled Thornton to ensure the quality of ingredient and thereby ensure the quality of its products. It was also possible to maintain the freshness f the products.   Own retail outlets: The establishment of the company’s own retails shops gave the strength of meeting a higher level of customer service and also an effective distribution of the products among own retail units. Capability to innovate new products: The distinct capability of the company to involve itself in innovative products with new recipes had resulted in increasing its sales at some point of time. Several attempts by the company to promote the sales on this strength had proved successful. Strong brand image: The quality of the Thornton’s products coupled with its freshness had created a set of loyal customers to the company and resulted in the creation of a very strong brand image for the company Sound technical knowledge in terms of recipes: This strength has helped the company to plunge in to the creation of many new products that finally proved successful in the market. Added marketing strength through franchisee stores: In addition to the own retail units, the company also adopted the policy of giving franchise rights to more retailers which proved a distinct strength for the company in terms of marketing of its products. Unique product differentiation: The Company had clearly excelled itself in the segment of boxed chocolates which has proved to be the company’s core strength. Strong market presence in the boxed chocolate segment: Having specialized in the boxed chocolate segment the company made its presence felt in the segment. Weaknesses: Heavy Seasonal Demand: More than 50 percent of the sales of the company resulted from the sales during Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day and Easter Sunday. This led to pressure on sales at shorter periods and at times poor sales if there were disturbances in the seasonal sales due to some reason. Dependence on one key product: Excessive dependence on a single product like boxed chocolates had always proved a cause for the failure in sales. Similarly the company depended on the sale of innovative Easter Eggs for the year 2000 that proved an expensive lesson in that more than 300,000 chocolate eggs were left in stock unsold, making the company to sell at half the price. Low quality products and service from franchisee and associated companies: Many a times the associate companies with whom the company had selling arrangements sold products of lower quality. The franchisees, their core product not being chocolates could not provide a quality service to the customers Poor automation capabilities leading to higher labour intensiveness: The finishing of the products with chocolate enrobing made the automation impossible and also due to seasonal sales the company had to employ additional labourers for manufacture as well as for sales during season times which proved expensive. Frequent changes in the marketing strategies: Due to some reason or other the company faced failures successively which made the company change in the marketing strategies. Also changes in the Chief Executives also brought new strategies into practice. Being impulsive purchase unpredictable demand: The chocolate being an impulsive purchase made the demand for the products unpredictable leading to manufacture of the products without a planned approach. Weather conditions affecting seasonal demands: Since the sales of the company were heavily seasonal, any weather conditions that affect the festivals also affected the sales of the company. This was evidenced in the Christmas for the year 1998, when the sales went down by 3.8 percent for the same period last year due to extended summer that affected the buying of customers. Shorter shelf life of the products: One of the major weaknesses of the company was the short shelf life of the products. As against the use of the vegetable fat as the base by the competitors which gave them longer shelf life, Thornton used cocoa base to keep the authentic quality of the products which made the shelf life shorter for the products. Product lines demanding own manufacture: Several products of the company were fit to be manufactured by the companies own manufacturing facilities only. On a research the management of Thornton identified that at least 70 percent of their products need their own manufacturing facility. Higher manufacturing costs: Since most of the products are being manufactured by its own facilities the company could not have a closer control in the manufacturing costs. Moreover the employment of additional workers on peak seasons also increases the manufacturing cost. 1.3 Product Market Research: The Company’s core product range included the boxed chocolates, where it has to meet the competition from major players like Cadburys and Nestle. The company had to compete with high street specialist retailers such as ‘Body Shop’ in  £ 5-10 price range. The percentage of market share of different companies in the boxed chocolate market is graphically represented below: It may be noted that Thornton was able to retain the market share of 8 percent from the year 1999 to 2002 sheer by the product quality against the stiff competition of not only other chocolate retailers but also form others selling postal gifts of wine and flowers. The introduction of 27 new products in ‘countlines’ in the year 1997 and 132 varieties in the year 1998 witnessed an increase in sales of up to  £ 133 million for 1998 and also brought new male, children and teenage customers lowering the average age of the customers. The company planned to increase the new products and re-launch of old products up to 92 percent for Valentines Day, 100 percent for Mothers day and 91 percent for Easter Sunday for the year 2000. New product development with a focus on day-to-day sales rather than for meeting the seasonal demand was taken up to reduce the excessive dependence on the seasonal sales. 1.4 Internal Resources and the Firm’s Competitive Advantage: The competitive position of a firm is determined by its product superiority and the relative market position. These aspects are enhanced by the internal resources and capabilities possessed by the company that adds the competitive edge of the organization In the case of Thornton, the company was clearly placed in more competitive position as compared to other players in the market. The better quality of its products that could be achieved as a result of its own manufacturing facilities is a distinct competitive edge the company possessed. Similarly the positive effects of other internal resources like the establishment of its own retail outlets and the product innovation capabilities had contributed much to the improvement in the marketing ability of the company.                Question 2: Marketing Strategy of Thornton Plc: The marketing strategy of Thornton can be analysed on the basis of the available marketing strategy models. 2.1 Porter’s Generic Strategies: As perceived by Michael Porter in his book ‘Competitive Strategy: Techniques for Analysing Industries and Competitors’ the competition in any business can be reduced to three broad strategies. These strategies are known as ‘Porter’s Generic Strategies’ and are: Cost Leadership Product Differentiation and Market segmentation The competitive strategy of Thornton can be identified with Product differentiation and market segmentation but not with the cost leadership as the company was never able to have a comfortable cost position because of its high packing costs and heavy seasonal demand for the products. 2.2 Bowman’s Clock: As compared to the Porter’s Generic Strategies Cliff Bowman had developed competitive advantages in relation to cost advantage or differentiation advantage. Bowman identified eight core strategies in any business based on the firm’s competitive advantages. They are: Low price/Low added Value: signifying segment specific strategy Low price: being adopted by a cost leader as a result of price wars and low margin on the products Hybrid Option: Represents low cost base and reinvestment in low price and product differentiation. Product Differentiation: This option is being exercised with a price premium and without a price premium. Focused Differentiation: Involving perceived added value to a ‘particular segment’ that needs a premium. Increased Price/Standard: higher margins if competitors do not value follow/risk of losing market share. Marketing Teacher Increased Price/Low Values: This option can be exercised only in a monopoly situation Low Value/Standard Price: This strategy will result in a loss of market share.    Out of these eight strategic options developed by Bowman, Thornton had been following the Product differentiation Strategy originally and later on shifted to ‘focused differentiation’   to capitalize on their product strength. In the case of Boxed chocolates the firm had adopted the   product differentiation with a price premium.          2.3 Ansoff’s Matrix: Developed by Igor Ansoff, this model uses two basic components of marketing namely Products and markets to identify four generic growth strategies namely Market Penetration, Market Development, Product Development and Diversification. Ansoff’s Matrix is â€Å"a framework for identifying the corporate growth opportunities† (Tutor2u) Market Penetration involves more of the same product to the same customers Market Development uses new customers for existing products Product Development uses new products for existing customers and Diversification involves new products and new customers. Ansoff’s Matrix: Example of Thornton The example of Thornton matching the Ansoff’s Matrix can be explained as below: Market Penetration: Increase in the share of chocolate business at the expense of Sainsbury and Asda. Market Development: Movement into more distribution channels like ‘joint venture’ shops with Birthdays Group – a 500 strong chain of greetings cards and novelties outlets; exclusive supply arrangement with Tesco; expansion in to France, Belgium and USA Product Development: Thornton attempted to do product development increasing the rate and scope of new product innovation, repackaging and re-launching of old products that added 27 products in the year 1997 and close to 132 products in the year 1998. Diversification: Thornton developed new product ranges like desserts, ice cream, sponge puddings, cakes and cheesecake.          2.4 Five Forces Model: Thornton’s position with respect to the industry can be analysed on the basis of Michael Porter’s Five Force analysis. â€Å"Porter provided a framework that models an industry as being influenced by five forces. The strategic business manager seeking to develop an edge over rival firms can use this model to better understand the industry context in which the firm operates.†(QuickMBA) Barriers to Entry: Though technologically there is no barrier for the new entrants to the market, the accesses to the distribution channels pose a great barrier to entry. Establishment of a new brand also would take considerable time and money in the form of advertising and promotional expenses. This acts as a barrier to the new entrant to the industry. The strength of this force is negligible. Threat of Substitute: There are a number of substitute products available for the products of Thornton. The new products from the competitors like Nestle and Cadburys as well as products from other brands and own label manufactures often pose a problem of substitute products available in the market. Switching to substitute products for the customers is inexpensive and easy as every brand is available in plenty in the various outlets like petrol bunks, novelty stores, greetings cards stores, super markets and specialized shops. The strength of this force is to be reckoned with. Buyer Power: The ultimate consumer being the buyer the force exerted by them on the industry is sizeable. Any small change in the quality of the products or in the level of service will make the buyers switch their loyalty to other brands. Moreover, being an impulse purchase the availability of a number of substitutes and the inexpensive way to switch to other brands make the buyer power act as a strong force.    Supplier Power:   The timely delivery of the product depends on the availability of the base materials in the right quality and right time. Though it is not difficult to establish new sources of supply it may take some time to establish the required level of quality and reliance on the timely deliveries. But the supplier cannot threaten to increase the price at his convenience as there a number of suppliers are available in the market. Hence it can be said that this force is only mildly acting on the industry. Competitive Rivalry: As such the industry is highly competitive with four major players occupying 72 percent of the market share. Any small downward trend in the market share of Thornton will be taken advantage of by the major players acting in the industry. Moreover except the force of ‘barriers to entrants’ and ‘suppliers power’ to some extent other forces are acting very strongly on the industry. Hence it can be said that the competitive rivalry is very high for Thornton Plc. Question 3: Relationship between Thornton and Marks & Spencer: The case study of Marks & Spencer also indicates the different strategies adopted by the firm to sustain its growth attained over a period. The basic weaknesses in the company that led to the downward trend of the company were: Excessive dependence on the suppliers within UK which increased the cost of the products for the company and affected the profitability Expansion of business within Europe and in the USA that finally proved unworthy or not maintainable due to various reasons Expansion and refurbishment of own retail units in the UK which increased the capital cost of the firm Development of new product lines like food when there was so much to be done in the existing clothing business. Thus the experiences of both Thornton Plc and Marks & Spencer can be identified as more or less same with the only difference is that Thornton depended heavily on the seasonal business. Marks & Spencer followed a Hybrid strategy under Bowman’s clock. With the experience of both the firms in the same direction it is quite possible that the business of the both the firms can be combined to take advantage of the advantage of the combiner synergy. However while combing the businesses by selling the chocolates through Marks & Spence r the following points need to be taken into account. 3.1 Overlap of Network: Though Thornton had a long standing supply arrangement with Marks & Spencer with a renewal of such supply arrangement may pose the problem of the overlapping of the network of the customers of both the stores, especially in locations where both Thornton and Marks & Spencer have their retail outlets. Being a commercial customer it is quite possible that the products offered by Marks & Spencer may differ by style and recipe from those provided through Thornton’s own outlets. It may not be possible for the customers to be sure as to whether the products were really made by Thornton. The authenticity of the products may not be fully realized in the perspective of the customers. This is one aspect that needs consideration when a decision to renew the contacts with Marks & Spencer is to be ever thought of by Thornton. Another issue that Thornton needs to consider is the quality of service to the customers. Marks & Spencer having it thrust on its core products of clothing, food and beauty products it may be difficult for the company to attach the same importance that Thornton gives its products. The personalized approach that is being attributed to every customer at the Thornton store may not be expected out of Marks & Spencer. The availability of substitute products by the side of the products of Thornton may also pose a problem for an effective increase in the sales of Thornton’s products. The product promotions and advertising for the competitors’ products will have its own impact on the sales of the Thornton’s products unless an exclusive arrangement with Marks & Spencer is entered only to deal with Thornton’s products. The display and product promotion of Thornton by Marks & Spencer is another area that needs to be addressed. The floor space and the kind of visibility to the products Marks & Spencer may offer to Thornton’s products will greatly depend upon the financial gain that M&S get out of the deal with Thornton. Hence a careful discussion and finalization of the contract is a pre requisite for Thornton to expect the kind of treatment for its products by M&S as the company expects to have. Thornton should look into the cost aspects and the projected sales through the outlets of M&S and decide on the financial working arrangement with M&S. 3.2 Possibilities of Other Working Arrangements: Thornton may look into the possibility of entering into other arrangements like renting a small shop floor area with M&S in the location where they don’t have their own retail units. Thornton may appoint its own staff to look after the sales and thereby can ensure the quality of service to its customer. The company may enter into a profit – sharing arrangement with M&S to create interest on the part of the latter to offer its shop area to Thornton. In this way both companies can retain their identities and at the same time work for the mutual profitability. This would eventually result in the increase in the sales of Thornton. This ‘shop within shop’ arrangement may be effective in controlling the cost of expansion for Thornton to expand in locations where M&S have its own stores. Moreover this sort of alliance is easy to work out and less complicated in terms of fixing the benefit to M&S. There will be no commitment on the part of M&S to assure any minimum sales also. 3.3 Merger: Another distinct possibility that can be worked out to the benefit of both the companies is a merger of both the companies for an agreed consideration to be paid to the shareholders of Thornton. This was what was tried by the company in the year 2003 to offer its management buyout arrangement. However, since the price for the control of the company was higher, at 180p per share there were no potential bidders for meeting the required price and the talk of a bid for Thornton disappeared in early 2004. Unlike this a workable merger proposal between both Thornton and Marks & Spencer can be worked out on reasonable terms that are beneficial for both the companies. This way the synergies of the merger of both the companies can be enhanced to take advantage of the combined forces of sale. Similarly there will be the distinct advantage of the customers of both the companies being attracted to the products of Thornton which may result in the improvement in the sales of the products of Thornton. Another distinct advantage may result in the form less cost of expansion for the merged company as the existing retail shops of Thornton can function as the retail units of the new merged entity or in the name o Marks & Spencer if it agreed to retain the name of M&S if it is agreed as a part of the merger arrangement. These shops can also market the products of M&S also depending on the availability of space in the erstwhile Thronton.                      References:    1.Marketing Teacher The Strategy Clock: Bowman’s Competitive Strategy Options http://marketingteacher.com/Lessons/lesson_bowman.htm Tutor2u Business Strategy: Ansoff’s Matrix http://www.tutor2u.net/business/presentations/strategy/ansoff/default.html QuickMBA Strategic Management: Porter’s Five Force, A Model For Industry Analysis   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml   

Graphics Design Firm Marketing Plan Essay

Executive Summary: The Metolius Agency is a Graphic design and visual communication firm based in new Concord, New Hampshire. Operating from a small office the company will be targeting a consumer base of 5-15 year old companies and provide them with unique perspectives on corporate identity and visual communication. For the first 7 months Keivs will be handling the firm’s affairs alone after which he will hire an assistant to help him in design and administration. The competitive edge Metolius has is Keivs’ knowledge of not only creative but also business skills that will make it possible for the company to attract its business-oriented clients because of a practical backing to their creative approach Overtime the company will grow due to its low overhead, creative and practical designs attracting increasing consumer attention, reaching profits in the first 9 months and generating $27,347 by the third year. Objective: With a realistic mission statement that focuses on delivering above expectation to customers and good customer relationships, the main objective of the firm is to s to position The Metolius Agency as a creative, unconventional, and innovative graphic design and visual communication firm in the Concord, NH area. In addition Metolius will set its marketing objectives to: a. Increase visibility in the market. b. Generate 30% new business through referrals each quarter, after year one. c. Strengthen brand equity through informal polling during networking activities. The financial objectives will include: a. Maintain positive, steady, growth each month. b. Reach profitability by the end of year one. c. Continue to decrease the variable costs associated with serving a project. Situation Analysis: The Metolius Agency requires a good analysis of both the = market and itself to serve its customers better. The information gathered by the company about the market shows that the potential market is divided into small and medium companies and has shown a CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) of 7.65% over 4 years (2002-2006). The graphic design industry reached $812 million in 2000 and it is predicted that for the next five years it will grow at 5.6%. The increasing desires to appear professional and use the Internet have been attributed to this growth in the industry. Also contrary to the decade old market trend of advertisement agencies offering full service with minimal or no outsourcing, the Metolius agency will concentrate only on their specific skill sets. The company plans to provide customers with a wide selection of its designs and services, better accessibility by centralizing service provision, impressive customer service and competitive pricing. The services offered will be charged by the hour and $75 will roughly be the charge/hour demanded by Metolius. Through SWOT analysis it has been established that the strengths of the company are focus, elegant office space and amalgamation of the business with the creative sense, and the main opportunities for the firm are a growing market, growth based on technological advancement and also low co-relation with downfalls in the economy. The struggle to be cutting edge, to inform the customers and remove time for marketing activities have been identified as weaknesses, and local competition (i.e. large agencies, freelancers and Kinko’s), easy to use software that allow potential clients to cater their own needs and a demographic change due to shift in local industries are the main threats to the firm. Marketing Strategy: A graphic firm relies on referrals and efficient networking and not advertising to generate sales. Based on the market research of several focus groups and a research project completed by three University of New Hampshire graduates, Metolius has devised a 3 point marketing strategy, consisting of networking, client referral, targeted customer acquisition to gain visibility and increase sales. The networking will involve using Kievs’ personal and professional contacts to arrange meetings and get customers. Client referrals will come from the customers and the chambers of commerce who will be impressed by Kievs’ work. Kiev will also be shortlisting companies and finding ways to approach their decision makers and close a deal. Also putting content of all releases on the internet and management of search engine submissions will be done by outsourcing the work to specialists at an internet and e-commerce consultancy firm, â€Å"1st-at-the-top.com†. The firm has identified its market to be the small and medium scale companies in Concord that have been operating for 5-15 years. Metolius will position itself as a focused and innovative graphic design and visual communication firm in the market by dwelling on Kiev’s diverse background of business and creativity. Marketing Mix: The Metolius Agency’s marketing mix is comprised of approaches to pricing, distribution, advertising and promotion, and customer service. * Pricing: The pricing scheme will be based on per project fee that will be calculated by the hours required for a project plus any other additional costs. * Distribution: The distribution of services will be either via the central office or via the Internet. * Advertising and Promotion: The most successful activities will be a comprehensive networking campaign, as well as a targeted customer acquisition system. * Customer Service: In order to ensure long-term profitability, all expenses will be born for customer service to achieve total customer satisfaction. Financial Projections: Metolius requires monthly revenue of $8760 to break even. It is forecasted that in 3 years time (2002, 2003, 2004) the company will grow sufficiently such that the total sales revenue will roughly double to $145,392 and the total expenses even though will rise they will get smaller in comparison to the Revenues by as much as 1.5% and become 4.35% at the end of the third year. Therefore it could be concluded that the business will always be yielding and fast growing. Review and Control: The following areas will be monitored to gauge performance: – Revenue: monthly and annual. – Expenses: monthly and annual. – Repeat business. – Customer service. This will be done by setting up a start and end date for a jobs, assigning the budget for the job and the job to a manager and department so that it can be monitored. Marketing Organization: Initially Kievs alone will head and manage the marketing function till he hires an assistant for help in the 7th month. Contingency Plan: The difficulties and risks posed to Metolius and the worst case scenarios must be addressed in the contingency plan. Problems with generating visibility, landing large projects for increase income and increasing competition are some of the difficulties the firm will face. The worst-case scenarios will be if the firm can’t achieve profits and must liquidate assets to cover liabilities.

How Japanese Religion is Depicted in “Spirited Away”

This can be seen as foreshadowing of what will happen further in the movie, when Choir is somewhat arced, or challenged, to leave behind her naivety and fear for courage and bravery to be able to handle what is to come in her future. The movie begins with a scene very similar to The Wizard of Oz – a turbulent trip followed by a strange Journey through spiritual and emotional growth, where the main character is in limitability. Choir and her parents take a wrong turn and follow a very rough secondary road to what they thought would be their home in the distance.This is what I believe to be the beginning of the display of Japanese religion, here statues, idols, and religious structures are seen. They end up at what appears to be an old abandoned shrine. This shrine is surrounded by tiny house-like structures, which the mother states are â€Å"spirit houses† for the spirits to live in. Everyone exits the car and decides to explore this abandoned area, which the father stat es might be an old theme park no longer in business.The family begins to enter a tunnel leading into the abandoned building. The travel portrayed by the family walking through a physical structure could be seen as the pathway between two orals, old and new. As the family goes through the shrine and emerge on the other side, they begin looking for food that they have smelled. When they find it, the mother and father sit down and begin eating, encouraging Choir to also try it.She feels something is not right, so while her parents are gorging on food, Choir explores the rest of the area. This is very symbolic individuals need to make the journey of spiritual growth on their own. She comes up on a huge bathhouse where she meets Master Haiku. The bathhouse is symbolic in Shinto religion, which refers jack to rural Shinto tradition of villagers and rural people to call upon the Kim (or spirits) to come out and bathe in their village baths.There is also symbolism in meeting Master Haiku, a s he states â€Å"has known Choir since she was very little† – similar to what we see in the relationship displayed in Christianity or Hinduism between God(s) and the individual. It is after meeting Haiku that Choir begins her journey through this spirit world. Shortly after meeting Haiku, darkness falls and Choir sees that she is becoming transparent. Haiku finds her and tells her to eat food of this world† so she doesn't disappear. This â€Å"food† was displayed in the movie as only a small berry.This berry is extremely symbolic, showing that one must take in (even Just small) pieces of the spiritual world to remain whole, or present, and to prevent from becoming transparent within the spiritual world. This could also suggest that without taking in â€Å"food† from the spiritual world, one simply becomes transparent and without substance within the real world. Haiku gives instructions to Choir as to how to survive this lamina Journey and leaves he r. Choir is quite frightened but Haiku tells her that she will be reunited with her parents soon.This is another example of foreshadowing, as we do not know for certain at this point that Choir will be reunited with them, but it is clear to Haiku that she will definitely be reunited. Choir continues her Journey, begging for a Job in the bathhouse to prevent being turned into an animal or vegetable. This references the Shinto belief that everything in life is gift giving – human, animals, and vegetation. But in order to experience the Kim in all vegetation and animals, one has to be pure of heart and mind in such a way that is difficult to attain.This is present in our everyday lives, as we are aware and involved with animals and vegetation, but it is possible that we do not experience the Kim of these things because our hearts and minds are too engrossed and polluted by worldly events, possessions, and unnecessary things. To be able to experience this Kim, we must cleanse our spirits and minds, Just as Choir moved through the various parts of the bathhouse beginning in the very dirty AOL area, and moving through various cleaner parts of the bathhouse.During her time in the bathhouse, Choir meets many new characters. The black ghost-like creatures are the souls of the dead of those who had regrets or worries. This is symbolic, showing that the person must be present-focused in their lives to avoid this punishment. â€Å"No Face† is another character met within the movie. This character initially shows selfishness and behaves like a tyrant; growth of this character is seen very parallel with Choir and toward the end of the movie, No Face learns to be kind ND genuine and helps Granny to knit a harridan to keep Choir safe.Through the various tests that Yuba (the Witch of the bathhouse) puts Choir through, Choir is able to purify and cleanse her heart and mind in such a way that she grows spiritually and emotionally as a person. Through this growth, s he is able to help Haiku remember his true identity. Although Choir was given an alternate identity (â€Å"Seen†) during her time at the bathhouse, she is also able to remember her own name, and is ultimately reunited with her parents.Once they have all returned to the car, Choir is the only one who remembers the Journey, though physical traces of dust and leaves on the car show that they have been gone for quite some time. Another Japanese cultural and religious perspective is seen in the fact that this is a very family-oriented movie. Everyone starts out together as a family, separates for some time while Choir learns to make selfless choices for the good of reunifying her family, then reunites at the end with Choir having gained the attitude that she will try to adjust to the new life for her family.

Psychological Disorders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Psychological Disorders - Essay Example Michael starts to suspect David after some events and the suspicion grows stronger when he quits his job only because he was asked to show his identity card. Michael heirs an investigator to conduct deep search on this but David finds this out and kills her. Michael then with the help of his girlfriend goes to the basement to check out the lockers his stepfather had made and finds the dead body of his father. David also wakes up and traps him in the basement; in this commotion Susan wakes up and becomes shocked. Michael manages to come out and finds his mother and girlfriend but again gets tapped by David and then fights him and both of them falls of the roof to the ground and becomes unconscious. He wakes up a month later and finds out that David is still alive. In the end he is again shown getting involved with some other family (The stepfather, 2010) David was habitual of keeping everything clean and perfectly set and most of the time he used to spend time keeping everything perfect and whatever he did he wanted it to be perfect and in order and it is a symptom that the patient performs repetitive tasks (Menzies, De, 2003). It is also a symptom that the patient changes his name and personality and in this film David exhibited this symptom as well. David never tried to consult any doctor or any professional to get rid of this illness. In the film it is not shown the reason of how David got this illness. Therapies like behavioral therapy is the most effective method to make the patient get rid of this disorder (Giddens,

Your assignment is to identify what you regard as the chief ethical Essay

Your assignment is to identify what you regard as the chief ethical problems in your professional life. Then determine a method of arriving at the best solutions to these problems - Essay Example For instance, I do sometimes come across employees checking their own email accounts during the time they should be working for the organization. There also happen to be employees who happen to be organizational bullies and do not desist from harassing their subordinates and colleagues while being engaged in the day to day activities in the organization. Sometimes, I also come across instances when my juniors engage in fraudulent behavior that happens to be considered a major ethical breach. In such instances, where the acts and decisions of individual employees amount to a larger organizational loss, I do adhere to utilitarian ethics while acting. If the working of an individual employee harms the well being and viability of the larger organizational environment, I seldom hesitate from taking a swift and decisive action against such employees (Schminke, 1998, p. 141. If the issue happens to be minor like checking of personal email, I issue a swift warning to the concerned employee. In case of graver acts like a fraud, I make it a point to take a serious decision against the concerned employee, so that it would deter the other employees from indulging in unethical behavior while serving the organization. Employee working conditions do present major ethical dilemmas for most of the managers and I do not happen to be an exception. Many a times, I come across situations, when the working conditions of the employees happen to be less than satisfactory. I also have to grapple with situations when I feel that a particular employee is not being paid in consonance with the time and efforts being put by one. In such scenarios I believe that utilitarian ethics do not serve me well while taking decisions to ameliorate the situation. In such situations I take ethical decisions that involve opting for the nobler hypothesis amongst the range of available approaches and possibilities. While taking decisions I make

Movie Girl Interrupted Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Girl Interrupted - Movie Review Example Girl Interrupted is a story told by Suzanna Kay son who has been on a locked psyche unit for females for almost two years. She is a bright teenager of 18 when she signs herself in on the suggestion of a family friend and psychiatrist. The story is set in the 60's when it was truly an embarrassment to have this kind of illness and Suzanna goes to the hospital alone, in the back of a cab. Suzanna has already had many problems in her life. She does not get along with her parents, she has had an affair with a high school teacher and contrary to what was alright for a girl in that day and age, she has decided to "write". The ward she is on seems almost to be a dorm. There are several other young women there, some are silly and some are angry but is this not the same elsewhere The truth of the situation occurs when any small thing changes to set off these women and then chaos erupts and everyone seems different than they did just a few minutes before. The head nurse is Whoopie Goldberg and she has previously worked for a State institution and believes this job is a "piece of cake" in comparison. She, however, has a great deal of compassion for these women though she also runs the unit with a needed strong hand. Treatment for misbehaving is an ice bath and many of the nurses use the "there is not going to be any trouble is there" to be sure the patients take their medications etc. There is also, of course, four point restraints. Not to many of these kinds of treatments are used today but seclusion rooms are still prominent on most lock ups. These rooms are padded on all four walls, the ceiling and the floor and you are placed there to do away with you hostility. Suzanna is diagnosed by her psychiatrist as a borderline personality disorder In today's DSM IV her symptoms would seem to match this disorder which is Borderlin epersonality disorder, 301.83. It actually is difficult to see Suzanna as having any psychiatric disorder and she is the kind of patient that is difficult to miss when admitted with problems to the medical surgical floor. Suzanna took a bottle of aspirin and drank an bottle of alcohol but for most of the movies states it was an accident and she did not mean to kill herself, "she had a headache." DSMIV lists the main symptoms of personality disorder as revolving around unstable relationships, a poor negative sense of self, inconsistent moods, and significant impulsivity. They have an intense fear of abandonment and usually push people away so they cannot be abandoned. They become overly involved and very attached to various people (DSM IV) Suzanna does meet all of these symptoms and like she says it is a wavy line because she seems normal. We would not admit her to a locked psyche unit today but we might regularly run into her in clinics and other healthcare facilities and as nurses, have a need to understand that this can be a problem personality and may be why these people are alone. The prognosis here is good if they attend treatment and begin to understand that they are not "crazy" but need to understand their disease. Suzanna does end up being able to go home and has gained a great insight not only into her own illness but into the illnesses of so many of the other patients on the unit. Lisa, on the other hand is what in the days the movie was placed would have

Role of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) Essay - 1

Role of the Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) - Essay Example In a nutshell, it can be concluded that a family nurse practitioner is any nurse specially trained to work with patients of all ages to manage their conditions and must be in possession of a FNP certification (Lugo, O’Gradey, Hodnicki & Hanson, 2007). Entry requirements for one to practice as a family nurse practitioner vary from state to state although some requirements have become basic. Generally, a family nurse practitioner is currently required to possess a minimum of a master’s degree in addition to a post-master’s qualifications as cited by Lesley (2007). Additionally, one is also required to possess a national certification from either the American Nurses Credentialing Center or the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners before being allowed to practice as a family nurse practitioner. Lugo et.al (2007) further explain that this scenario is poised to change because the two bodies are planning to require a doctoral degree in future as the minimum a candidate should present to qualify for the certification test. This will be in addition to the inclusion of a special language at a master’s degree level by some states. In comparing the role of family nurse practitioner with that of family practice physician (FPP), it is noticed that the two register more similarities than differences. From the outset, both are trained to provide continuing and comprehensive health care to each member of the family encompassing all ages regardless of gender and type of problem (Lugo et. al, 2007). Similarly, both roles involve education and training in family practice and operation in a variety of nontraditional settings. Moreover, family physicians may be a good choice for those who do not want to do a lot of procedures or surgeries as opposed to other practitioners. This may allow family physicians to enjoy a more predictable schedule and better quality of life than some other specialists who have to be more available

Apple Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Apple Case - Research Paper Example Material resources comprise of the company’s unique hardware and innovative workforce, while intangible assets include exceptional software and overall technology. As can be discerned from a competitive strength evaluation, Hewlett-Packard (HP) and Dell are two of the strongest industry partisans, hence greatest competitors to Apple. For example, HP reported total net revenue of 127 billion dollars in 2011, with personal systems accounting for 40 billion; IT services at 36 billion, enterprise systems at 22.2 billion, and printing devices at 25.8 billion dollars. Dell Inc., on the other hand, reported net revenues amounting to 61.5 billion dollars in the 2011 fiscal year (Gamble, 2012). Despite Apple’s leadership, as characterized by a 68% overall market share, the company was overshadowed by the aforementioned competitors in some areas of specialty. For instance, in the provision of PCs to the American market, HP led with a 26.1% market share, Dell followed with 22.3%, while Apple came in third with 10.7%. Other potent competitors, especially in the global PC industry include Lenovo/IBM, and Acer, which attained a market share of 12.5% and 10.6% respectively in the 2011 financial year. These Statistics clearly show that Apple derived its highest percentage of revenues from sectors other than sale of personal computers. The collection of more revenue from non-computer devices clearly shows that the company’s greatest strength lies in personal media gadgets and not in computers. For example, in the middle of the 2012 fiscal year, Apple controlled a 68% market share in the tablet computer market. Further Apple’s iPod/iTunes fusion allowed the com pany to gain a 65% market share of the American digital music scene, coupled with a 23% share of all music sales in America. None of the principal rivals in this area managed to accrue more than a 5% market

Research on Proliferation Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

On Proliferation - Research Paper Example According to the research findings it can therefore be said that despite the fact that every country agrees that zero tolerance on nuclear weapons is the way to keep international security, there has been a continued spread of the weapons. This leaves a question on how the terrorists groups still manage to get the weapons and what the role of the government has been in the failure of Non-Proliferation Treaty. It also leaves a question on the role of international community in regulating government-sharing weapons with the terrorist groups. Terrorists are a small number of people â€Å"who act outside the normal boundaries of morality, compassion and humanity†. With a continued nuclear technology growth, the highest possibility stands at there could be a high circulation of nuclear weapons internationally. This has lead to the government yielding to external pressures instilled by the desire to compete with other international states as far as state protection is concerned. As a means of protecting the states interests, nuclear proliferation becomes inevitable since no state like being uncertain of their security. They therefore end up involving the terrorist groups by issuing them with weapons to help in states survival. However, there are instances when terrorist groups get weapons illegally for their own reasons. They purchase them on the grounds of performing terrorist attacks to their rival groups that end up harming innocent people in the fight. Failures that have made it hard to end terrorism The issue of proliferation has remained a mystery for decades now. This has made a thorough approach more difficult to the countries seeking solutions. Its definition of it being a puzzle for many years has made a gap in the definition of its cause and effects hence making every theoretical debate not to arrive at a conclusion (Ogilvie-White 1996, 43). Having politicians at the forefront in perpetrating the phenomenon has contributed to making it difficult to determine how weapon proliferation can be without international processes. The way out is to do a thorough investigation to eliminate these perpetrators so that solutions could be arrived at. Lack of official documentation on the past nuclear proliferation has made it difficult to establish reliable sources of evidence to use against the crimes. This has led to abstractness in every debate that has been done on the same hence resulting to doubts on reliability of the information gathered (Ogilvie-White 1996, 43). Criticism has emerged making it hard to obtain valid information on causes and consequences of weapon proliferation in the international political circle. Some countries are feared to have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty but may not follow the regulations. This has become one of the huddles facing Non-Proliferation Treaty since such countries cannot expose the terrorist groups existing within their borders. Such failures ensure that terrorism continues under the cover o f the individual government. What the role of the government has been in the failure of Non-Proliferation Treaty The government has contributed highly to having distorted evidence on proliferation through its failure to document any such occurrence as it happen. This has led to lack of reliable sources to serve as evidence in the cases against weapon proliferation. With a high foreign secrecy and small number of weapon proliferation cases, politics has proved to be more influential in the causes of proliferation. Nuclear technology funded by the government has been the force behind the production of the nuclear weapons (Ogilvie-White 1996, 44). The speculation as at now is there could be future spread in

Hamburger and Materials Management Essay Example for Free

Hamburger and Materials Management Essay Resources: Ch. 12 of Introduction to Business. Read the Developing Good Business Sense activity on p. 394 of the text. Answer Questions 1–4 from the activity in a 700- to 1,050-word paper in APA format. Post your paper as an attachment. | The operations of a company consist of three stages. These stages are simple: the input, the operations, and the output stages. The process of the input stage includes raw materials, components, labor and customers. The operations process involves the skills, knowledge, machines, and experts needed to operate the company. As far as the output stage, this involves what we physically use or experience from the company, known as the goods and services (Jones, 2007). Every company, whether it be services such as hair and nails, serving, or patient care, or goods being sold such as jewelry, wholesale businesses, or a corporation like ShopRite or Wal-Mart, they all experience these stages uniquely. Each company runs experiencing input, operations, and output stages, but each stage is handled differently according to what kind of business, what is being offered, and who is running it. The activities that regulate the course of the resources between these particular stages is what we call materials management. Materials management helps operate these stages smoothly and effectively, providing necessities and organization (Jones, 2007). Let’s take a look at three different businesses and how each one handles materials management and the three operational stages. The first company that is going to be observed is Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a company that has developed over the years into being a commonly recognized place to get everyday necessities for a great price. The process of operations for a business such as Wal-Mart is simple compared to others. The input stage focuses on what is needed for the company to run, such as, labor and employees, contact with a wholesaler, and more all while keeping the customers in mind. Wal-Mart strives to keep a friendly staff and low prices in order to keep the customer’s best interest and loyalty. The way Wal-Mart would go about doing this is hiring qualified staff and train them to best suit the company, and forming an alliance with suppliers that offer products at low prices. As far as the operations of Wal-Mart, they hire the best suited people with the skills and knowledge of this type of company’s operations. They are equipped with machinery and constantly updating in order to keep up with latest trends. With their input and operations, comes the output stage. This is where the goods and services that Wal-Mart offers is placed into the market for consumers to decide. Mentioned previously, Wal-Mart strives to meet the every need of customers providing a great shopping experience. So far, Wal-Mart is still one of the most successful companies of its kind and doesn’t look like anything is going to change that anytime soon. The second company that was observed is Burger King. Burger King is a fast food restaurant business that has a lot of competition. The slogan, â€Å"Have it Your Way,† has allowed Burger King to make way for success. The operations behind this slogan is a bit more complicated. The input of Burger King consists of associations with suppliers in order to have the best quality possible for a frozen, fast food restaurant. From the supplies of burgers, to fries, milkshakes and salads, Burger King is not going to have a supplier produce outdated food or else that would be horrible materials management. The operations stage of Burger King is figuring out new ways to produce faster and better food and service to its customers while living up to its slogan. Doing this, Burger King would have to make sure everything is up to date and employees are equipped with the skills and knowledge to come up with new innovations to suit the needs of the company. The output stage of Burger King is providing the service fast and efficiently. Making sure that all food is sanitary and delivered quickly. The third company that was observed is St. Joseph’s Hospital. This is a hospital that specializes in critical care and emergencies. The operations of this hospital is crucial because it is not only service, but it holds people’s lives at stake. The input of the hospital would be having ownership of the supplies and relationships with suppliers. This way when it comes to operations stage, the best and most updated equipment is ready for use and can provide the best service possible. Between these two stages, the best and most skilled doctors, nurses, and staff are hired in order to ensure safety and health. As far as the output stage of St. Joseph’s Hospital, the services provided are high-quality service and safety. As we look at these companies, we can see that a lot goes into operations behind the service and goods we receive as consumers. The way a company designs its operating system is crucial for success. The input, operations, and output are only a part of what is contributed. It is the materials management, the flow of how things are ran that really makes or breaks the backbone of a business. The way the systems are designed will give one company an advantage over another. Using materials management effectively and really going into detail about research will give a company more of an advantage than another. It will help a business increase its productivity, innovation, quality, and most importantly, its responsiveness to customers. Not only does the operations come into effect when running a successful business, but costs are a big part as well. Operations and materials management costs, also known as, OMM, consist of many costs pertaining to a company. The main costs of OMM are, raw materials and components, plant, labor, inventory, and distribution (Jones, 2007). These costs affect companies’ operations because each cost if part of the operating system. Without effectively running operations, costs will run a business†¦ out of business. Including costs during the operating process is a crucial way to success. This is all a part of materials management! References Jones, G. R. (2007). Introduction to business: How companies create value for people. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

History of Alzheimers

History of Alzheimers Learning From Alzheimers On November 25, 1901, Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a 37-year-old neuropathologist and psychiatrist at the Hospital for the Mentally Ill and for Epileptics in Frankfurt, Germany, examined a female patient with an unusual mental illness. Her symptoms included memory loss, language problems, and delusional behavior. After the patient died in 1906, Alzheimer examined her brain and found strange formations of the amyloid plaques and tau tangles. Today, Alzheimers disease is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. People with Alzheimers progressively lose memory, language skills, and the ability to perceive time and space. The risk of developing Alzheimers also increases with age. Like PD, the underlying disease of Alzheimer starts decade or more before diagnosis. While the exact mechanism by which the disease spread isnt known, the pathology is driven by the aggregation of misfolded proteins either amyloid-beta plaques or tau tangles, or both with the damage spreading from neuron to neuron in a prion-like manner. Alzheimers researchers have recently developed some ingenious tools to help track the disease in the living brain. In 2002, Chester Mathis and the psychiatrist William Klunk developed the PET imaging method to detect and measure amyloid-beta deposition in the brain of living Alzheimers patients. The method involves injecting patients with a radioactive tracer that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and bind selectively to the amyloid-beta protein. The detectors surrounding the patients head capture the radiation emitted by the tracer and convert them into a picture that represents the relative amounts of plaque buildup in different parts of the brain. PET imaging is an example of a biomarker, a metric that can quantify the progress of a disease in a living patient more sensitively than a clinical test like the UPDRS. No such imaging technique yet exists that can detect alpha-synuclein aggregates in the brains of people with PD. Other potential biomarkers are chemical assays that estimate the amyloid content in a patients cerebrospinal fluid, circulating blood, and urine. In the past decade, with the help of biomarkers, Alzheimers researchers have tested numerous drugs designed to target and break down amyloid-beta plaques. While some showed promise in open-label studies, they all failed when tested in phase 3 trials in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimers. One possible reason is that the drugs were given too late in the disease. To address that issue, Alzheimers researchers are working on three early-intervention studies. The first involves an extended family in South America. They are descendants from an individual who carried a rare mutation, called the Paisa mutation, for a heritable form of Alzheimers disease. By late 20th century, the mutation had spread to around 5,000 people in the city of Medellin. This Alzheimers kindred came to the attention of the University of Antioquia neuroscientist Francisco Lopera. A simple genetic screening test can determine which kindred members possessed the bad gene. Those individuals with the bad gene could be given anti-amyloid-beta drugs long before they showed any cognitive impairments. Loperas project is part of the Alzheimers Prevention Initiative headed by the psychiatrist Eric Reiman at the Banner Alzheimers Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. In the trial, the Paisa volunteers get a baseline cognitive assessment plus a biomarker evaluation (involving PET imaging, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and other assays) to measure the distribution of amyloid beta. They are given Genentechs drug crenezumab, or a placebo. Researchers follow individuals for at least five years. A second genetic study also part of Banners Alzheimers Prevention Initiative involves 1,300 currently healthy individuals age 60 to 75 in Europe and North America. Members of this cohort are at high risk of developing Alzheimers because they have been identified as carrying two copies of a gene called apolipoprotein E4. Such people are not guaranteed to develop Alzheimers like carriers of the Paisa mutation, but their risk is extremely high. Study subjects will receive either a placebo or one of two experimental drugs developed by the Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis. The third study, known as the A4 trials, is supervised by Dr, Reisa Sperling of Harvard Medical School. It involves a cohort of 1,000 healthy individuals age 70 or older. The individuals in the group exhibit normal cognitive abilities but also have higher than normal levels of amyloid-beta plaques in their brains as measured by a PET scan. This puts them at higher risk for developing Alzheimers. The question is, can that risk be reduced or eliminated? *** PD researchers require imaging and other biomarkers for alpha-synuclein that enable scientists to identify people and also to monitor the disease as it progresses. Chester Mathis and his colleagues are developing a radiotracer that will bind to alpha-synuclein and yield a PET image for PD. The PET tracer is just one element in a bigger Fox Foundation project the Parkinsons Progression Marker Initiative. The idea is to follow several groups of people forward in time performing clinical exams, taking biological samples, and doing multiple imaging scans along the way. Other researchers are looking elsewhere for Parkinsons biomarkers that might allow for early diagnosis. Kathleen Shannon and her colleagues at Rush University Medical Center accessed old colon biopsies performed during routine colonoscopy procedures for three individuals who went on to develop PD. Because these biopsies were done two to five years before the onset of the PD motor symptoms, they provided an opportunity to see if alpha-synuclein was present in the gut before motor symptoms emerged. Another possible place to look for alpha-synuclein is the submandibular gland. Charles Adler of the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona, biopsied the submandibular glands in twelve people with PD for more than five years and found Lewy pathology in nine of them. The British mathematician Max Little has developed computer algorithms to analyze human voice recordings to detect irregular patterns in PD patients. His PD Voice Initiative uses phone call data as potential biomarkers to diagnose and measure the progression of PD. Key Takeaways Alzheimers researchers have developed some ingenious tools to help track the disease in the living brain.To address the issue that the drugs were given too late in the disease in human drug trials, Alzheimers researchers are working on three early-intervention studies. Inspired by the Alzheimers researchers, PD researchers are working on multiple fronts to develop biomarkers to track PD in the living brain.