Nogo Railroad

Case Summary: NoGo Railroad Dave Keller a chief dispatcher with limited managerial experience has gotten a major promotion, making him the communication manager of the division. However this promotion has come with numerous problems. Because of NoGo Railroads unique operations it has had little to no competition and no compelling reason to modernize operations, but that is about to change as Dave has been given the mandate to observe different job functions, eliminate obsolete practices and modernize wherever possible.With rumors running rampant through the organization of layoffs and job function changes, as well as previous failed attempts to implement other job changes similar to what management is again trying to implement, Dave realizes that he has a few problems ahead of him. With key problems being cutting employee costs and morale problems brought about by blatant nepotism and feather bedding, Dave believes that by eliminating these issues it would prevent major layoff for cl erks and telegraph operators.Both groups however would have to accept changes that would result in reduced compensation and possibly additional responsibilities for them all. With a firm backing from a Union that is known to be rigid against concessions in these areas Dave needs help from upper management that seems to not be forth coming. Coupled with his uncertainty about resistance action that may be taken by the group Dave is feeling vulnerable and apprehensive about his new job and is questioning the intent behind his promotion. Questions and Task Assignment 1.Identify and explain the changes you would make to the current employment arrangement? Sean Murray & Kemoy Miller 2. What strategies would you put in place to effectively manage the change? Explain the relationship between these strategies and the possible resistance to the changes. – Racheal Callaghan & Aundre Hamilton 3. Using the case as a reference point, explain the importance of change/change management, and discuss its relationship to effective organization management and performance. – Asha-Gaye Graham & David Rogers.Question 1: Changes to the Employment Arrangement (Insert answer here) Question 2: Resistance to Change and Management Strategies The inability of people to adapt to change is not new. Employees are not always receptive to change due to a combination of factors. Management may mitigate against high levels of change resistance by taking these factors into consideration and designing and implementing strategies to deal with issues that may arise. Some factors to consider are as follows: 1. Self Interest- Employees tend to resist a change they believe conflicts with their self-interests.A proposed change in job design, structure or technology may increase an employee’s workload, for example, or cause a real or perceived loss of power, prestige, pay or benefits. (Daft, 2012) This factor seems evident in the case of NoGo Railroads as a key source of disgruntlemen t for employees was the rumor that they may have to assume responsibilities outside of their job descriptions without an increase in compensation, as well as a general reduction of benefits with the changes in the contractual pay agreement. . Lack of Understanding or Trust- Employees often distrust the intentions behind a change or do not understand the intended purpose of a change. (Daft, 2012) Information about the changes that were to be implemented was far from free flowing and easily accessible. Instead rumors, whether true or untrue took main precedent and resulted in increased levels of distrust as employees were not fully aware of the reasons for the need for change and the actions that were to take place at NoGo. 3.Uncertainty- Uncertainty is a lack of information about future events and represents a fear of the unknown. It is especially threatening for employees who have a low tolerance for change and a fear of anything outside of the ordinary. They do not know how a chang e will affect them and worry about whether they will be able to meet the demands of a new procedure or technology. (Daft, 2012) Poor access to good information lead to low trust levels of trust and also uncertainty which only increased NoGo’s employees’ resistance to change. . Different Assessment and Goals- Another reason for resistance in change is that people who will be affected by a change or innovation may access the situation differently from an idea champion i. e. in individual or group leading the change movement. (Daft, 2012) In response to these factors one may choose to either conduct a force field analysis of the situation, which involves â€Å"weighing† the driving forces (problems or motivations that provide motivation for change) against the restraining forces (various barriers to change).Another approach would be to adopt specific tactics to overcome resistance depending on the main factors causing the resistance. Some strategies include: * Comm unication and education, which essentially is the attempt to overcome uncertainty and lack of understanding by providing free flowing access to accurate and clear information about the change and its results. * Participation, which involves including stakeholders of the change into the change process in order to have them understand and commit to the change. Negotiation, or the use of formal bargaining to win acceptance and approval for a desired change * Coercion, and the use of formal powers by managers to force the change on employees * And finally, top management support, that sees top executives reinforcing the importance of innovation both verbally and symbolically which signals to employees that the changes is important for the entire organization. In the case of NoGo the most effective strategies would be a combination of four of the specific tactics, namely Communication and education, participation, negotiation and top management support.Communication and education would b e used to tackle the issues of distrust and uncertainty. By clearly informing employees of the objectives of the exercise, outlining the actions that are to take place and the benefits of these actions, all employees will be on the same page and dialogue that would ensue between management and the employees could be used to provide clarification and reassurance to employees where necessary, reducing the chances of conflict. After educating employees on the change that is to take place having them participate in the change would be the next step. By including them in the ecision making where necessary would mean they would be more vested in the project and less likely to reject something they helped build. Because of the role of the unions in employee affairs negotiations would be a must as a part of NoGo’s change implementation process, especially in regards to the pay contract. By coming to a mutually acceptable decision, conflicts are exceedingly avoidable. Finally after wo rking to get employees vested in the change process it is important to now reinforce the importance of the drive for this change by top management showing their support for the initiative.This would assure employees that this process is indeed an organizational wide one, and everyone is vested in the effort and its challenges and successes. Question 3: Change Management and Effective Organizational Management NOGO Railroad has experienced little to no competition over the years. A need for change was identified by Dave Keller the Communications. Change Management will modify and transform the organization so as to facilitate efficiency and performance.Change is crucial to an organization’s survival, as it allows the organization to survive in a dynamic environment. Change is important as it allows an organization to able to be flexible and develop/maintain an organic structure. To achieve this NOGO Railroad will need to conduct an Organizational Development intervention. This intervention will include activities such as: team building, inter-group educational and training, structural, interpersonal, coaching and career planning and organizational transformation.With these activities the culture and structure of the organization will change in such a way, which will improve the productivity of the organization, lower absenteeism, increase loyalty, lower human resource cost with the added implementation and enforcement of proper human resource policies. Reference Daft, R. (2012). New Era of Management. 10th Edition. South- Western: Cengage Learning. Hayes. J,(2002) The Theory and Practice of Change Management. MacMillian Holbeche. L,(2006) Understanding Change: Theory, Implementation and Success. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann.

Marketing analysis of Famous Amos (Singapore) Essay

Famous Amos was established in the year 1983 in Singapore. It is now under Kellog’s Company since it was bought over in year 2001. Famous Amos offers cookies with nine varieties of flavours. It products also includes muffins and brownies. They serve the consumer with its finest and freshly made cookies. They believe in making the chip for the future generation. Famous Amos Cookies are also recognised as the best chocolate chip cookies in the world. Their cookies also meet the needs and wants of the audience. Famous Amos is also widely distributed in the island. Famous Amos targets audience are mainly the cookies and chocolate lovers. However, they segment their products Geographically; around the world, Demographic; targeting kids, young adults and adults, Psychographic; interest in chocolate cookies, and Behavioral Segmentation; can be used in any occasion. Famous Amos strength is mostly on its superior quality product and its weakness is mainly on its marketing skills, which is promotion. This is because, they did not advertise as frequent to inform the consumer about its existence. Famous Amos opportunity is having international expansion and threats that it may face is the increase in aging population when its target audience are mostly young adults. Famous Amos competitor is Mrs. Field and Little Jerry’s Place. Mrs. Field is its major competitor as they are selling mostly the same and it is also known. However, Famous Amos still stays competitive by continuing to produce new products and packaging designs to strengthen their competitive positions. Company Profile of Famous AmosFamous Amos was found by Wally Amos. He was a veteran who worked as a talent agent with William Morris Agency. He started with sending home-baked chocolate cookies to celebrities mainly to attract them before opening a store in Los Angeles, California on 10 March 1975. By 1985, his sales had grown to more than $10 million. By then the people around the world could see how â€Å"famous† Famous Amos is. However, between 1985 to 1989, Famous Amos went through four different owners since inception. The President Baking Company bought the brand from the Shansby Group in 1992 before Keebler foods purchased the President Baking Company in 1998. Kellogg’s Company then bought over Keebler in 2001. Thus, Famous Amos is now part of Kellogg’s Company. It was only then Famous Amos came to Singapore. Famous Amos was first established in Singapore in the year 1983. It serves the cookies lovers varieties of cookies flavour to choose from. Famous Amos is categorized as one of the Food and Beverage industry and Bakery sector in Singapore which they specialised in cookies, muffins and brownies. With 13 stores located island wide, their minimum requirements of Corporate Structure for each store are one Service Provider and a Baker. These are number of employees who serve the customers at each branch of the stores. Famous Amos also then came out with a new way in reaching the market. They produce the packed Famous Amos Cookies that is convenient to be sold at Convenient Shop such as NTUC Fairprice and Cheers. These are for the convenience of the cookies to be reached (manufactured) around the world without having the physical stores at a country or region. Famous Amos does not have any specific mission and vision since it is now part of the Kellogg’s Company. However, they have a tag line, which states that Famous Amos is â€Å"Truly the Chip Made for the Next Generation†. This shows that they want to serve its original and the best cookies made from generation to generation. Overall, Famous Amos has gone through around the world. They served the people around the world with its finest and freshly made cookies. With these, Wally Amos is now known as the father of gourmet cookie industry. Marketing PhilosophyFamous Amos adopts the Product Concept. The product concept holds that consumers will favour those products that offer the most quality, performance, or innovative features. They focus on making superior  products and improving them over time. Thus, based on Famous Amos, we can see that it offer the most quality, which are their finest and freshly baked cookies. They bake their cookies at their each stores everyday to make sure that its cookies are always fresh. Famous Amos also produced the packets one without changing its concept in serving quality cookies. They make sure that the taste of their cookies stays the same. This is to make sure that their performances meet the standard of the consumers. Marketing OfferFamous Amos is a Profit Organization. It offers mainly Cookies. It serves the finest in freshly baked cookies. It satisfies the wants of its customer due to its freshness of products. They offer nine flavours such as â€Å"No Nut Chocolate Chip and Chocolate Chip Pecan†. Their product includes Cookies, Speciality Cookies, Soft â€Å"N† Chewy Cookies and Cookies Cakes. It also includes a wide range of Muffins and Brownies. However, the core benefits that customer received is actually the exceptional taste of Famous Amos Cookies. SWOT AnalysisInternal Environment (Strengths & Weaknesses)Famous Amos brand is the ultimate strength for the company. Its brand â€Å"Famous Amos† shows it all about them being a â€Å"famous† cookie company. To add with it, Famous Amos received an International Brand Recognition, which is widely recommended and recognised. Famous Amos also has the reputation for its homemade cookies. It has a unique taste that would always attract buyers and especially chocolate cookies lover. Being a product company that is Halal Certified is also strength as it does not limit its product to only non-Muslim but to Muslim people too. Its product that is well distributed in Singapore is also a strength to Famous Amos as it reached its target audience easily. Its packed cookies are also convenient that people can purchase almost everywhere. Famous Amos also provides delivery service that makes it easier and convenience for the customer who bought it online. Its Research and Development (R&D) department also make sure that they always improve on its products and packaging design so that they remain competitive company.  Famous Amos also provides training for its employee to provide good services to the customer. Famous Amos does not need experience bakers and only required a minimal space for its store to operate. Therefore, it is cost effective for Famous Amos and act as a strength to the company. Famous Amos main weakness is in its marketing and promoting as it does not advertise its product as frequent that would inform consumer about its new product or its new stores. These will not create a want for consumer to consume its products as advertisement usually attracts the public and advertisement help to reach the public geographically. It also shows that the public are lack of information about its products. External Environment (Opportunities & Threats)Famous Amos operates stores world wide and it has successfully grow in every market it operates. This shows that Famous Amos has the opportunities in its international expansion. It is the best way in expanding its market. Famous Amos also has the opportunity to develop new strategic ways to increase their profitability. They may ask customer for suggestions or they can give suggestions and ask customer to give opinion. For example, Famous Amos can ask consumers for suggestion if they might want to produce other food products besides cookies to be sold in its stores. However, reports have shown that there is more aging population in Singapore. This will thus be a threat to Famous Amos Cookies as their target audience are mostly kids, young adults and adults. Cookies are also considered bad for health, especially when it contains a lot of sugar. This can also be a threat to the company as government has been encouraging the public to have a healthy lifestyle. Consumers will then avoid consuming something that they might consider unhealthy for them. Target Customer SegmentsFamous Amos basically targets those Cookies and Chocolate Lovers. These are their main customer they are targeting at. However, to be specific, Famous Amos segments their products through marketing segmentation. They are Geographic, Demographic, Psychographic and  Behavioural Segmentation. Famous Amos segments their product geographically generally to attract Cookies Lovers around the world such as the one in Melbourne Shopping Centre in Australia. In Singapore, Famous Amos scattered its stores island wide and it is usually at places that is at convenient to the consumers. For example, they have a store in Compasspoint located in Sengkang which caters the needs for the North-East people and Tampines for the convenient of the East people. Demographic Segmentation segment markets by age, gender, income, education, occupation, religion and race, ethnic background and family life-cycle or size. Famous Amos segments their products within most of these parameters such as the age, income and family size. Age is actually concerning anyone above 3 years old but specifically teenagers and adults of both genders. Their price is relatively affordable for consumers to buy it. They also provide packaging for immediate consumptions and as well as larger family size packs. This means that they do cater to these markets segments to attract buyers with large family size. Psychographic Segmentation consists of social class, lifestyle and personality. Famous Amos mostly segments its market through lifestyle. Lifestyle is a person’s pattern of living as expressed in his or her activities, interests and opinions. When a person bought the Cookies, this may show their interest in consuming the chocolate cookies. Lastly, Famous Amos segments their products through Behavioural Segmentations which segment markets through occasions, benefits sought, user status, usage rate and loyalty status. However, in Famous Amos case, they markets through occasions and target the gift giving market. They provide special promotions and labels for special occasion. For example, they provide hampers and gifts that customer can give at any occasion. Famous Amos also offer benefit sought to the customer from its appealing gift designs. Their gift tins, hampers and products have since to become a gift to be treasured by the person who receives it and a pleasure for the one who gives it. This is the benefits sought a customer may receive. Needs and DemandsTherefore, Famous Amos target audience needs are basically to eat or to have a snack. However, the consumer wants Famous Amos Cookies to satisfy their need. Thus, when the consumer finds a need and has the purchasing power, they will then demand for high quality Famous Amos Cookies. Competitor AnalysisFamous Amos competitors are Mrs. Field and Little Jerry’s Place. Mrs. Field is Famous Amos major competitor as it sells exactly the same as Famous Amos which is cookies, brownies and muffins. Mrs. Field are also its competitor as Mrs. Field is also well-known food and beverages products. Little Jerry’s Place is also a competitor to Famous Amos as it sell cookies and muffins too. Mrs. Field products are slightly the same as Famous Amos as they provide a range of products from cookies, nibblers, cookie cakes, brownies to muffins with a wide range of flavours. In Little Jerry’s Place, they sell only cookies but claim to offer slightly more varieties than Famous Amos and they differ by the taste as Little Jerry’s Place contains more milk, thus the rich milky taste. Mrs. Field prices are considerably the same as Famous Amos whereas Little Jerry’s Place cookies prices are cheaper as compared to Famous Amos. This is a way for Little Jerry’s Place to attract customer, which is to provide good products with low price. Mrs. Field has 8 stores located mainly around the town area and at Singapore Changi Airport. Little Jerry’s Place have 3 stores, located in West Mall, Square 2 and Ang Mo Kio Hub. This shows that Famous Amos has the advantage over its competitors for its distribution area. Mrs. Field offers 10 percent discounts vouchers and season’s offer through its website. Thus, those internets savvy might have the chance to get  discount if they came across the website. Mrs. Field also have Students Special promotion, which is free flow of drinks when dining-in before 6 in the afternoon. Little Jerry’s Place also have a current promotion. They offer one free Muffin if the customer buy four of its Muffin. Both Mrs. Field and Little Jerry’s Place promotions are to attract more customers to buy their products. However, in this case, Mrs. Field has an advantage over Little Jerry’s Place as they target the students which can be the main consumers of cookies industry. Famous Amos is definitely the market leader as it is widely known and recognised around the world. Mrs. Field main strength over Famous Amos is the promotion. Mrs. Field promotions are always up to date as compared to Famous Amos. Mrs. Field shop is also attractive. However, another factor besides being a known brand, Famous Amos has an irresistible aroma that other shops like Mrs. Field and Little Jerry’s Place does not have. Little Jerry’s Place weakness to Famous Amos is its new entry to the market. It is still unknown and does not have any official websites for the consumers to check out their details. Thus, Famous Amos has advantages over Little Jerry’s Place due to Little Jerry’s Place weakness. With these, Little Jerry’s Place could not challenge the Famous Amos high quality, freshly baked and irresistible taste of its chocolate chip cookies. Famous Amos continues to provide its customer with the delicious sweet treats. They make sure that they always meet the standard of its customer by their performance in providing the finest in freshly baked cookies. They also continuously rolls-out new products and packaging design to strengthen their competitive position. Marketing Strategies (4Ps)ProductFamous Amos is classified as a Convenient Product. Convenient Products are products that are purchased frequently and immediately, sold at a lower price, mass advertising and many purchase locations. Thus, based on Famous Amos Singapore, Famous Amos is actually purchased frequently and immediately since it has many purchase locations. It can found mostly in shopping centres that are convenient to the markets. It has 13 stores located around Singapore such as in Cineleisure Orchard,  Tampines Mall and Marina Square. Famous Amos offers wide varieties of flavour for just its Cookies. This is to cater to different markets. For example, Double Chocolate Chip with Pecan targets those who really love chocolate as they offer twice the amount of chocolate chips than a normal favour such as Chocolate Chip with Pecan. Its cookies include the brand name, Famous Amos, quality level which they are known as the world’s best chocolate chip cookies and providing appealing gifts designs. It is nicely package even for own consumptions as it has its own packaging (Appendices: Pictures). PricingFamous Amos uses the Market-Skimming under the New Pricing Strategies. Market-Skimming states that company set a high price for a new product to â€Å"skim† revenues layer by layer from the market and make fewer, but more profitable sales. It is used when a product’s and image support the high price. Its costs of smaller volume could not be so high that they cancel the advantage of charging more. Market-Skimming strategies also make sure that competitors are not able to enter the market easily and undercut the high price. Famous Amos adopts these pricing strategies as it is a product of value. Their product and image thus supports the high price they are selling. The consumers are willing to pay as high as $4.20 for only 100 grams of Famous Amos Cookies that they purchased at the available stores. Competitors are also unable to enter the market easily and undercut the high price. This is due to its known brand and quality of its Cookies around the world for ages. DistributionFamous Amos has a Direct Marketing Channel. Direct Marketing Channel is a marketing channel that has no intermediaries. Famous Amos is a direct marketing channel as the cookies are baked freshly at its own stores that are located island wide in Singapore. This shows that it does not went through a number of intermediaries. However, the packed Famous Amos Cookies went through a number of  intermediaries. It has the Intensive Distribution as it aimed at having a product available in every outlet in where consumers might want it. This is to cater and meet those beyond reached of the cookies. PromotionsFamous Amos does not do any mass advertising for its product. However, Famous Amos has done a rapport with its consumers when they won the international acclaim as the world’s best chocolate chip cookies. It is so unique that it spun the birth of an entire new industry. Its cookies are special with a crisp, nutty and richly flavoured at just the right size. This is the public relations that the brand has done over the years. Famous Amos had also made contributing in helping the needy people by partnering with Community Chest in March 2006 (Appendix: Famous Amos Public Relations). This is to promote their cookies to the public. Famous Amos Website is also a public relation as it is a form of reaching and communicating with its audience through internet. Famous Amos provides Sales Promotion on its Cookies in Gift Tins, Gift Sets and Cookies in Gift Boxes. These are all the premium items that Famous Amos offers at lower prices as an incentive to buy their cookies. Strengths & Weakness of Marketing StrategiesFamous Amos products are definitely strength to the organization. Its product is well-known to the public due to its quality of cookies that always meet the standard of the consumers. It is strength as it can be a perfect choice for midmorning snacks or at any time of the day. It is so handy that it can also be brought for picnics or birthday parties. The same goes for the Packed Famous Amos Cookies. Packed Famous Amos Cookies that is usually manufactured to the convenient chop is strength too as it can easily reached its target audience. This is because convenient shops can be found easily and mostly everywhere. Thus consumers can purchase Famous at their convenient. Being well-located throughout the island is also strength for the organization because having stores island wide shows that consumers can easily purchase the products wherever they are. Famous Amos brand name is known that its pricing strategies are strength to them too. Competitors will be unable to challenge its cookies due to the product quality n well-known brand. Competitors have to make sure that their products are better than Famous Amos Cookies to compete with them. The original cookie that is being sold at the stores is strength as they do not have to go through a lot of intermediaries. These thus save the cost of the organization and eventually save cost for the customer. This is because each intermediary that the organization went through, they will usually tax the products and it will then increase the selling price. Famous Amos weakness is mainly on its promotion. It does not have mass advertising that will subsequently inform its consumer about their existence or that they are still there to offer them the delicious sweet treats, their Cookies. They also do not have any con-current sales promotions that usually attract the consumer attention. This will eventually go back to its product. Its irresistible aroma produced at its stores will be the only factor that shows Famous Amos is still alive. This will be its weakness as for those areas without the stores will then cause the consumer to forget about it. Even so, their products are still at advantage as its quality products are irresistible by most Chocolate Lovers. However, Famous Amos could not base on its products and do not make any changes to them. This is because they will soon be forgotten when a new brand arises. They have to make sure they did some activities to increase the relationship with the customer. Recommendations and SuggestionsFamous Amos promotion has always been its key weakness to its competitor such as Mrs. Field. Thus, they should improve its marketing, especially public relations. This is an important factor as they must communicate with the customer to show them that they are vulnerable to the company and they treasure them for consuming their products. Advertising  is equally important as advertisement helps in reminding customer about their existence. Distributing flyers or their pamphlet can also be done. Famous Amos may also like to offer financial benefits to its regular customer by having Frequency Programs. This will help its consumer to enjoy benefits that the company provide. They may also like to give out its pamphlet when they produce new products. This is also a form of promoting its products. Famous Amos may also want to wider their product varieties like providing Famous Amos may also like to make its place for the consumer to dine-in. This means that consumer can dine-in while enjoying the cookies and aroma of Famous Amos cookies. Famous Amos may also like to produce something new that target the older generation since Singapore is having more aging population. This also helps in widening its audience thus generate more profit. ConclusionFamous Amos is widely known in the world. However, it is always good for the company to improve any of its weakness, grab any chances, and be prepared in challenges that they will face and always be innovative that will strengthen their competitive position. In my findings, I found that Famous Amos is preferred as compared to its major competitor, Mrs. Field. This is so as when I consulted some people about cookies company in Singapore, some does not realise the existence of Mrs. Field. Even so, Famous Amos has to really improve on its marketing strategies to attract the consumers. It is because, Famous Amos has the opportunities in doing more than what they are doing currently. They should really inform the public about their new products if there is any. This is because, I did not know they produce a new product until I visited a Famous Amos store located in Tampines. There is a sign that shows that there is new Fudge Cake. When I asked one of the salesperson, they mentioned that it has been out for quite sometime. That is why it is important for Famous Amos to promote their products as to generate more profit to the company. However, one most important factor that Famous Amos has is its cookies fragrance. It  is strong and attract consumer to crave for their cookies. I also visited both Famous Amos competitor stores, Mrs. Field located in Changi Airport Terminal 3 and Little Jerry’s Place located in Ang Mo Kio Hub. Mrs. Field stores are so attractive. It has a good sense of attracting consumer by using bright metallic red as a theme to their store. Little Jerry’s Place does not really attract the public with its appearance. However, it use the strategy of promotion such as â€Å"Buy 4 get 1 free† to attract consumers to buy their product. Thus, I find that it is important for company to plan on its marketing strategies. This will help in their profit maximisation. I also realised that it is important for the company to be attractive in attracting the public attention. However, as a whole, I can say that Famous Amos has done a great job in its effectiveness of providing standard and superior quality products. Famous Amos has also stays competitive and innovative in managing its products. Websites Famous Amoshttp://www.famous-amos.com.sg/Main website of Famous Amoshttp://www.speakers.ca/amos_wally.aspxFounder of Famous Amoshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Famous_amosHistory of Famous Amoshttp://www.sugarstand.com/sc/sc0073-famous-amos-cookies.htmhttp://www.instaoffice.com/famous-amos-chocolate-chip-chocolate-chip-cookie-cookies-famous-amos-food-keebler-snack-snack-food-s.keb98067.0.7.htmInformation on Packet Famous Amoshttp://www.ncss.org.sg/about_ncss/press_release_archives.aspPress Release of Famous AmosMrs. Fieldhttp://www.mrsfields.com.sg/index.htmlMain Website of Mrs. Fieldhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mrs._FieldsHistory of Mrs. Fieldhttp://www.asiacase.com/ecatalog/NO_FILTERS/page-GLOBIZ-653127.htmlInformation of Mrs. Field (e.g. Industry)Little Jerry’s Placehttp://www.timelessfacade.com/2007/04/amk-hub.htmlhttp://www.soshiok.com/print/9256Information websites

Assignment 1 part 3 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

1 part 3 - Assignment Example Anna loved her sister Kate so much that though she also suffered from pains due to medical procedures, she never opposed her parents’ decision in favour of Kate’s health. However, during court trial it was also the same sisterly love which made her pursue the lawsuit against her parents for medical emancipation. During her testimony in court when Campbell asked her as to who convinced her to file a lawsuit, she replied, â€Å"Kate.† (p.449). She recalled the time when she saw Kate holding pills, purposely to end her life (p.460). Then, at one time, Kate convinced her not to donate her kidney by making her imagine a life where she could join hockey, go to any college she wants without having to worry about her sick sister (p. 462). Following her sister Kate’s advice of not donating her kidney, she thought of filing a case against her parents for medical emancipation. Secondly, parents’ love for their children is a value very much evident in the novel. Sara loved Kate so much that she was willing to do every thing for her daughter’s sake even to the extent of representing herself and her husband in court against her own youngest daughter’s claim for medical emancipation. Brian had been a very loving and supportive father to Anna by making her stay with him in the fire station for a couple of days as court hearing commenced. Before the hearing, Brian sympathized with her daughter Anna and vowed to take side with her, allowing her not to donate her kidney. Yet, during the trial, he burst into tears, expressing his wish for Anna to donate her kidney to save Kate’s life. That’s how strong his love was for Kate. In another incident, we also see Brian as a very loving father to Jesse when he discovered that Jesse committed arson in an elementary school near their house as all the clues were pointing to him. Yet, Brian kept it as a secret out of love for his son. This incident touched Jesse

Personality Commonalities Among Adolescent Suicide Essay

Personality Commonalities Among Adolescent Suicide - Essay Example In a research article written by Fleischmann, Bertolote, Belfer & Beautrais, 2005 they reexamined past research that showed the presence and distribution of mental disorders in cases of completed suicide among young people worldwide. A second research study was investigated that performed longitudinal studies to see if traits in adolescents and adults were similar to one another pertaining to suicidal behavior. The research was completed in a five-year span. In the research study performed by Goldston, A third research study by Douglas, Belfrage, Edens, Herbozo & Poythres (2006) was completed to investigate if specific behavioral aspects of psychopath, such as interpersonal-affective, manipulative ness and lack of remorse, are related to suicidal behavior. Adolescent Suicide has been an increasing health problem throughout the world. In many countries, suicide rates have been gradually increasing. Since the 1950s, adolescent suicide has tripled. Multiple factors seem to be related to self-harm in adolescents. Some examples include depression, hopelessness, psychological pain, aggression, and anxiety. In this paper, the task of finding common personality traits is investigated. It is hypothesized that there are certain personality characteristics in adolescents that are contributing factors when the adolescents attempt to self-harm or commit suicide. This document is a description of three research studies attempt to illustrate and support this hypothesis. In a research article written by Fleischmann, Bertolote, Belfer & Beautrais, 2005 they reexamined past research that showed the presence and distribution of mental disorders in cases of completed suicide among young people worldwide. A second research study was investigated

How can managers and employees rethink their organizations even as Essay

How can managers and employees rethink their organizations even as they confront the need to downsize - Essay Example Maertz, Wiley, LeRouge, and Campion (2010) learned that survivors of layoffs experienced the lowest levels of perceived organizational performance, job security, affective and calculative attachments to the organisation, and elevated turnover intentions than a non-downsizing comparison group. Mishra, Mishra, and Spreitzer (2009) presented a gripping question: â€Å"How can managers and employees rethink their organisations even as they confront the need to downsize?† Managers and employees can rethink their organisations by developing organisational flexibility as part of the organisational culture, empowering line managers and HR in helping design and lead organisational change efforts, promoting innovation and creativity, and enhancing communication with stakeholders. Rethinking organisations requires changing how downsizing is perceived and defined and one of the ways to do this is through developing organisational flexibility as part of the organisational culture. Mishra e t al. (2009) explained that flexibility can take different forms, such as work flexibility and management flexibility (41). They stressed: â€Å"Greater organisational flexibility can enhance human capital† (Mishra et al. 2009: 41). Enhanced organisational flexibility can take place when employees cross-train each other, while also engaging customers and suppliers. When employees and the management see organisational flexibility as part of organisational life and culture, they will be more prepared of organisational changes, including downsizing. Openness to changes is demonstrated through several cases. Mishra et al. (2009) gave the example of Rhino Foods Inc., a dessert producer in Burlington, Vermont, who created a strategic response to downsizing, which enhanced organisational flexibility. Ted Castle, Rhino Foods president, requested his best employees to volunteer for tasks outside the company, instead of just laying them off. He promised to rehire them when economic con ditions are better (Mishra et al. 2009: 41). Survivors had the opportunity to learn new knowledge and skills, so that they can replace lost employees. Rhino Foods continued this program, which expanded to five partner companies who hired Rhino employees during low-peak season. Mishra et al. (2009) believed that this practice enhanced organisational flexibility because the organisation discovers new talents. Organisational flexibility must be embedded in the organisational culture through work redesign and other transformed work patterns. The organisation must prepare employees and managers for openness to thinking about work, without losing sight of the strategies, mission and vision of the organisation. Organisational flexibility should be tied to psychological flexibility too. Lynch (1989) asserted that organisational flexibility requires re-examining work per se and how it can and should be done, the existing technologies, and the ways organisations are structured to do work. Thi s paper extends an understanding of future technologies and changing social patterns because they impact future organisational demands and the actions of competitors. Although organisational flexibility requires organisational level changes, they cannot be attained without meaningful individual-level changes. Bond, Flaxman and Bunce (2008: 645) define psychological flexibility as the â€Å"ability to focus on the present moment and, depending upon what the situation affords, persist with or change one’s (even inflexible, stereotypical) behaviour in the pursuit of goals and values.†

Benjamin Franklin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Benjamin Franklin - Essay Example Benjamin Franklin reflected that culture through his life and this reflection of cultural and national pride of the Americans is evident in The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. It is clear that the cultural pride of the nation and its citizens has been so natural in the system that it is found the hardest element in life to live away from. Franklin explains this notion in the work when at the end of discussion on a long list of the desirable qualities of life that can be achieved through practice. Thus, when the Americans are hurt on their cultural pride, the natural outcome of every such attempt has been revolt which has been expressed through the historical events such as those touching the national consciousness and provincial thinking. â€Å"In reality, there is, perhaps, no one of our natural passions so hard to subdue as pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out a nd show itself; you will see it, perhaps, often in this history; for, even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my humility.† (Franklin). This has been the rule of life and that of culture that the integrity of every person, nation and culture is respected or the result will, naturally, be revolt. To find the origin of American provincialism, one may reach up to the days when the American people lived isolated from the disturbances of European life and this has been the center of their cultural pride and heritage. â€Å"Americans have long been proud of their pioneer roots, and have celebrated common sense over the pomp of aristocracy. This is just one of the more visible results of our founding provincialism. In fact, from the beginning, observers noted the salubrious consequences of Americas distance from Europe†¦ The ethic of rugged individualism is not

Security Systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Security Systems - Essay Example A Firewall is effective at protecting one's computer. Firewall sets limits to the allowable access point of users and it restricts the users from entering those sites that are suspected to be harmful. It also blocks malicious sites from opening up; this is done to ensure that the threats are unable to enter into one's computer system. Another type of security system is the virus protection software. In installing this type of software it is important to constantly update its features, most importantly the current virus definition as it tends to change from time to time (Reardon, 2001). Actually, there are a lot of anti-virus products offered online but before one would opt to purchase it, factors like the source or the company offering it as well as the over-all product features must be taken into consideration. Upon using technological gadgets like computers, it is always vital to take the necessary precautions. Installing an antivirus software or turning on the firewall does not ta ke a lot of energy, it only requires a person to click the button of a mouse. By doing this one is guaranteed of protection.

Lap 1 Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Lap 1 - Lab Report Example These dimensions include physical wellness, mental wellness, emotional wellness, spiritual wellness, occupational wellness, social wellness, and environmental wellness. In most cases, multiple dimensions of wellness often overlap as they work together in terms of reducing health risk factors and promoting human life thereby leading to life satisfaction. Additionally, they provide effective strategies for an individual to stay healthy by advising for adequate sleep, rest, diet, nutrients, and engaging in physical exercises as well as looking for a balanced family, work, and relationships (Hoeger, Werner, and Hoeger 12). Hence, fulfilling the seven wellness dimension means achieving healthy and a happy life. Each of the groups that was identified in this study was to properly relate each of the seven dimensions can affect satisfaction in human life. For instance, different professions and ages as well as health or conditional status form the study group so that different relationship to each or a group of dimension to each of the participants. The experiment fully reflects a full repeatability since it is fully understood that stress and business often prevent how people often connect to the environment for that they can foster their positive intention. Therefore, the experiment has fully turned the hypothesis positive. In other words, people often compliment relates to their environment in their daily lives. In most cases, stress hinder people from performing their obligations and in all the cases, the stress is often driven from the an individual’s immediate environment. Therefore, the result of the experiment is real and reflect the reality of human

Letter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Letter - Essay Example Moreover, this is to inform you that my application for US citizenship is in progress, and I will be living in the United States as a permanent resident, until I receive my citizenship after the immigration procedure. I am expecting an appointment date in the near future for your kind information. Lastly, I have endeavored extensively to attend this course in your reputable educational institution, in order to pursue my career as a dentist and serve my community, as well as, the globe as a whole. I once again express my gratitude for considering my application, and appreciate your cooperation in this regard. My passion for learning and enthusiasm for enrichment of emotional maturity has resulted in application at your reputable educational institution. In specific, I am interested to attend XXX School of Dentistry, as I have carried out extensive research related to your organization, and have been able to attain tremendous respect for your organization. One of the significant characteristics of your institution is that it offers a combination of pedagogical and professional perspective of learning by the provision of teacher-focused education with amalgamation of a broader perception of learning through practices of the learnt knowledge. In this regard, XXX School of Dentistry will provide me an effective platform to attend my long dreamed course, in order to serve my community, the country, and deserved people around the globe. Every individual is different and unique in terms of social and cultural perspective. I will be bringing cultural values, different from the United States, which will enhance cultural diversity in your institution and will contribute in the enrichment of learning experience of my classmates, as well as, the

Consumer Decision-Making Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Consumer Decision-Making Process - Essay Example This necessity or want could be triggered by wanting to satisfy a need which arises due to internal stimuli, such as thirst, hunger, etc. (Anonymous). This need can also be sparked by external stimuli such as advertisements, or when your friend buys a new car or a new pair of shoes. At this stage, online marketers should make effective use of the internet to stimulate recognition of this need (Philip Kotler, 2009). They generally start off by collecting information from consumers, about their lifestyles, the products they use, important events in their lives, through online surveys and questionnaires. In the internet world, customers tend to search for pages that they want to browse through. Marketers use the traditional method of using banners and ads to attract customers. Some even use pop-up sites to get the consumer’s attention. A study conducted by IIfeld and Winer showed that about 88 internet companies got frequent hits online due to banner advertising (Limbada, 2006). Online Companies such as amazon.com and easyjet.com use this technique effectively. Not only does it use animated banners and images, Amazon displays links such as â€Å"what customers are looking for† and â€Å"best-sellers†, which could arouse a certain need in the customer. Another need recognition technique could include responding to keywords on search engines. When a customer types a keyword such as ‘airline’ on google.com, Emirates or Air Canada are usually the first two options that appear on the search list. This search list order could be a vital technique for marketing. If the customer initially wanted to travel via Qatar Airways, but the search list brought Emirates on the top, the customer could decide to Emirates instead. Discussion blogs in newsgroups etc. could also help catch the eye of the consumer. Information Search begins once a consumer has identified his need. There are various ways to search for information regarding the product tha t the consumer wants to purchase. By searching, he can find out all his options, the various brands that are available, the different prices, design, etc. (Krishnamurthy, 2006).The extensiveness of this search depends upon how valuable this product is. If, for example, the customer wants a camera, he will research more rigorously about the various alternatives that are available. This way the customer gathers a whole bank of information and companies such as auto trader help direct the customer towards the choice the suits him the most.

Beethoven Sonata No 27 Essay Example for Free

Beethoven Sonata No 27 Essay This piece is highly unusual for Beethoven Sonatas. One, although it was written at the start of his late period, this sonata had only two movements, the first being extremely short. Secondly, this was the first that Beethoven started writing his tempo markings in German, as though implying that this Sonata was more personal. Beethoven has also remarked on this piece that he considered titling it either â€Å"Struggle Between Head and Heart or Conversation with the Beloved. This sonata was dedicated to Count Moritz von Lichnowsky and so describes the love affair he was having at the time. Beethoven literally gave the Count this sonata with the words, â€Å"This Sonata describes your love life.† The first movement of the sonata has an extremely short development, and a surprising coda. The second movement is much longer, much like a Schubert sonata and has another surprising ending of a small epilogue. In fact, Schubert’s first sonata (unfinished) 2nd movement, shows a distinct likeliness to this piece’s 2nd movement. It would almost seem like Schubert’s first sonata was a tribute to Beethoven. Written in 1814, there is a 5 year gap from his last sonata. He gives exact instructions for his tempo markings because, as he said, â€Å"I am deaf, and I can no longer play the piano. Therefore, I must give exact instructions to the performer.† In fact, he became so particular, that he started notating exactly where his dynamic changes are, leaving almost no room for the performer for adjustments. Listening to a lecture recital by Andrea Schiff, he has remarked that Sonata no. 27 is one of the most mysterious of the 32 sonatas. This sonata was written deliberately not to ‘please’ his audience. He wrote it to promote discussion among music lovers and pianists. This sonata wasn’t even written to be performed on stage. Both movements of this piece end quietly, written subito piano and no retardando could be seen. The piece ends quietly and the audience is barely aware the piece has even ended. This sonata is not meant to make an impression. Andrea Schiff has even gone so far to say that, â€Å"Ideally, we wouldn’t even have an applause at the end of this piece, there is nothing to applaud!† Furthermore, the sonata after, No. 28 (in A Major), sounds like a continuation of the 2nd movement. I will be doing a structural analysis of the Sonata, however, I will also be adding some commentary on some aspects I find more interesting. Starting from the beginning of the first movement, we have the exposition and the first theme. Already here in the first eight bars we can see the conflict â€Å"between the head and heart†, like this movement is so aptly nicknamed. In m. 8-16, we see some use of syncopation, indicating that the movement should be counted in one and not three in the  ¾ time signature. In the first 24 measures, ending with the fermata on a rest, we see clearly the backbone of the whole sonata. In the next section starting with an open b octave, we see the composer has marked in tempo and pp. Beethoven really marks everything for the performer, leaving little to question on how exactly he wants it performed. In m. 55, where we have a very awkward left hand broken chords, I would like to point out that the base line for these seemingly randomly spaced chords is actually the inversion of the original theme at the beginning of the piece. The second movement starts at m. 82 on a single b. At m. 109, we have a sudden reminiscence of polyphonic texture much like what Bach would have written. Starting in m. 113, just when the counterpoint ends, we see that the theme has migrated to the tenor line in the left hand, leaving the right hand free to ‘improvise’ over. We modulate at m. 130 and in m. 136 there is an echo of the first theme. Just when we think that it sounds somehow familiar, the recapitulation suddenly appears at m.144. There is a little coda at m. 231 and the first movement ends quietly with no retardando marked. It is assumed that the performer moves immediately to the 2nd movement. The opening theme in the rondo is something that the performer becomes familiar with very quickly, because it is repeated in the entire movement no less than sixteen times. In contrast to the fighting between the head and heart in the first movement, this movement is nicknamed, â€Å"Conversation with the Beloved†. This theme is so unlike Beethoven that it has almost a Schubert-like quality to it. I would also like to note that the opening theme of the second movement is an inversion of the first theme in the first movement. The epilogue at m. 286 quietly ends the piece, just slipping away. No one notices that it has ended until the surprising silence occupies the space. There is no retardando written and the dynamic marking is pp. I would also like to do a Golden Mean analysis with the first movement, the second movement, and the entire work. Movement one: 145m x .618 = 89.61 Movement two: 290m x .618 = 179.22 Whole work: 535m x..618 = 330.63 or 185.63 in the 2nd movement In movement one, the midpoint falls a few measures after the development, where the theme is being repeated in the surprising key of a minor. This is right before we crescendo up to a climax at m. 92. In movement two, the midpoint falls onto another a minor chord. This measure is right before we transition to another choral in the key of B Major. The midpoint of the entire piece falls on an unassuming measure in the middle of the first theme of the second movement. As for the most important parts of the entire work, I would point out the interesting inversions scattered across the board. First would be the awkward broken chords at m. 55 in the first movement that I have mentioned before. And then again right before the recapitulation when the theme is echoed over the keys. Then again at the little coda at m. 231. As for the second movement, the whole theme is the inverted first theme of the first movement.

Solid Waste Management Techniques For Jalgaon City Environmental Sciences Essay

Solid Waste Management Techniques For Jalgaon City Environmental Sciences Essay Solid waste management in India has become a major environmental issue of study increasing environmental concerns and interest in material and energy conservation have lead to increasing advancement in management of solid waste over the past two decades. This paper attempts to put together available information and analyze the problem of solid waste. Proper management of solid municipal waste can play an important role in generation of social, economic and environmental benefits. This paper revolves around the urban solid waste also outlines a solid waste management in Jalgaon city. This paper discusses various future projections for estimating the growth of MSW and the impact of such growth. This paper concludes about collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste for Jalgaon city. The conclusion and recommendation will helpful in disposing of solid waste in scientific manner for Jalgaon City. Keywords: Solid waste management, Environmental issues, future projections. INTRODUCTION In last few years in Jalgaon city the increase in solid waste management plays significant role. This is because of rapid economic development and rapid increase in population in Jalgaon city. This trend is due to change in the living standards of Indian peoples, changing lifestyle and food habits. The municipal council in Jalgaon city therefore, facing the problem of reinforcing their available manpower, equipments and machineries for excellent municipal solid waste management. Solid waste management is undoubtedly an increasingly important element in terms of efficiency and profitability for any municipality, particularly in Jalgaon City. Its especially complex dimension is a result not only of the direct relationship with a number of factors that originate the living standard of a society, but also of our continuously rising consuming lifestyle which analogically enhances the existing operational difficulties. Waste collection transportation is one of the major parts of the process of solid waste management which consists of generation, collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal [3]. It is statistically proved that a major proportion of the total cost for solid waste management is spent into municipal solid waste collection transportation and disposal. Having pinpointed the economic significance of waste collection transportation and disposal, it is equally important to underline that it is also one of the most difficult operational probl ems faced by local authorities in Jalgaon city. The sheer enormity of the project dictates that well organized, well managed teams perform the necessary duties on a daily basis, in order to sustain the demanding hygienic standards that are expected by the Jalgaon citys residents. URBAN SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT Due to rapid industrialization in urban areas huge quantity of municipal solid waste and e-waste is generated. During the mid seventies the per capita solid waste generated lies in between 100 to 350 gm/day for Indian cities whereas in late eighties, it ranges in between 300 to 530 gm/day. Presently the per capita solid waste and e-waste generated daily in developing country like India ranges about 150 gm in small villages to 550 gm in large town [1]. The urban population is currently about one quarter of total population. The collection of waste is tedious problem as house hold waste are thrown outside in the streets and also due to narrow lanes, the smaller vehicles to collect the waste can reach only to the selected accessible points. Hence, unskilled labours are used to sweep the narrow streets and collect the waste and garbage. Though unskilled labours rates are relatively less due to large scale manpower it is estimated that India spends five times as much on sweeping as on refuse collection[2]. Poor motivation of workers, inadequacy of supervisory and management skills at local government levels are leading causes of low productivity. The problem needs to pay attention at proper levels. The three Rs of waste management namely Reduce, Recycle and Recover. The recycling is achieved through kabaries (peoples handling waste) who goes to door to door and collect bottles, broken plastics, metals, waste papers, etc. this material is recycled for manufacturing the secondary product. 2.1 Land filling Like other cities in Jalgaon city most of the waste is used for land filling. The methods followed are not in keeping with modern practices for sanitary land filling. The municipal solid waste is directly dumped on land filling area. This dumping is normally done in depressions which are prone to flooding. Due to this surface water contamination causes due to flooding of such low laying areas and also the ground water pollution causes due to dumping of such waste. Diversion of land for waste disposal is impossible since areas with the largest concentration of solid waste would also be the areas with serious scarcity of vacant lands. This causes ill-effect on the health on the community residing nearby, causes bad odor and the community nearby liable to fear of explosion of methane gas that can accumulated at land fill sites[3], which significantly contributes to global warming. 2.2 Composting The excellent option for solid waste management is composting for urban solid waste in India [4]. The composting may be by aerobic or anaerobic decomposition. In urban solid waste in India a huge quantity of organic content and moisture is present. Conceptually, the idea of composting is appealing as it helps to recycle the nutrients back to the land. Composting process requires segregation of material which is achieved by recycling by kabadies. The composting however still remains strong option for small and medium towns. Semi-mechanized aerobic composting is suitable to reduce the waste volume in the towns. 2.3 Incineration Incineration is the most important treatment method for destruction of all high calorific and highly toxic solid waste. High temperature incineration at 12000C mineralizes all kinds of organic material in solid waste [4]. Nearly 99.99% of various compounds are destructed. Incineration serves dual purpose of reduction of toxicity and the volume of the waste which is an important consideration when the disposal of waste is finally destined for landfills. The technology for incineration is not available indigenously and import options are highly capital intensive. 2.4 Anaerobic digestion [4] For high moisture and organic content of Indian Wastes, the anaerobic digestion is another suitable option. However, there are no ready technologies for processing heterogeneous material such as urban solid waste. The existing methods are suitable to homogeneous materials. The cost of cleaning and separating mixed heterogeneous wastes are likely to be high. A good way to avoid these problems is to intercept suitable wastes at the point of generation before it is mixed with other wastes. Kitchen and vegetable market wastes are largely suited for this purpose. These wastes can be collected and treated at source, if space permits. The resulting bio-gas can be used for captive energy use such as lighting and cooking etc. few bio-gas systems are currently available to treat wastes of fruit and vegetable origin. Though currently unfeasible as a large scale option, bio-gas systems can effectively handle localized and specific wastes and contribute to environment friendly disposal of wastes. THE CASE OF JALGAON CITY The Jalgaon Municipal limit covers an area of 68.24sqkm, out of which 11.45sqkm is the old municipal limit and 56.79sqkm is the extended additional area. This indicates that the Municipal territorial jurisdiction has increased more than four times i.e. from 11.45sqkm to 68.24sqkm. The overall population density of Jalgaon city, according to 2001 census5 is 53.94 inhabitant/hectares. The population of Jalgaon city will grow from 3, 68,000 in 2001 to 8,55,821 in 2033 as per the table 1 shown below. The population of Jalgaon city will increase nearly 43% till 2033. The municipal solid waste generated in the city is 226 tons/day as shown in Table (3). TABLE (1) Population Projection [6] Method Population Projection Geometric rate of increase 2001 2006 2011 2021 2033 368000 430903 530607 693214 855821 With rapid urbanization, industrialization and population growth the municipal solid waste (MSW) which has been a problem in past has become a serious threat in recent years and the situation is going to be worst in coming years if appropriate measures are not taken immediately, keeping in view the seriousness of the issue and its linkages with the economic growth, environmental degradation and health hazards. Dumping the waste as a waste has two fold negative implications. On the other hand, it pollutes the air, water and land resulting in diseases and destruction of human habitat. Garbage collection and disposal, as SWM was known earlier, constituted an obligatory function of the municipalities and continues to be so. As per the guidelines of Honorable Supreme Court of March 1999 and Municipal Solid Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, September 2000, solid waste management system has been recognized. However, comprehensive rules at the national level came to be framed only after the Supreme Court passed orders in the public interest. The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) notified the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules in September 2000 and they are applicable to every municipal body in the country. It was mandatory for the city of Jalgaon also to revamp its SWM services, since there is a need to make substantial improvement in the SWM practices prevailing in the city to meet the standards. It was necessary to address this problem systematically by going into all aspects of the Solid Waste Management (SWM) and devise a simple but cost effective system which must ensure desired level of collection, transportation and disposal. The civic services in the city of Jalgaon are managed by Jalgaon City Municipal Corporation. Managing solid waste generated in the city collection, transportation and its safe disposal is one of the most priority area of attention for improvement of the Municipal Solid Waste Management in light of the MSW Rules 2000. Like most of the cities towns in India, this service falls short of the desired level in Jalgaon as the present systems adopted are outdated and inefficient to meet the standards (MSW Rules 2000). Lot of factors contribute to this present status, the main being lack of knowledge and improper choice of technology coupled with a lack of long term planning. Jalgaon City Municipal Corporation has initiated the process of taking correctiv e measures by implementing a new collection and transportation system along with processing and disposal system comparable to those of modern era. Figure. 1. Solid Waste Disposal Sites [5] 3.1 Existing Status of Collection and Disposal The Jalgaon City Municipal Corporation is responsible for collection, disposal and management of MSW within the city. Due to rapid urbanization and increase in population waste collection and its transportation and disposal is a challenging task to the urban local bodies. No specific land was reserved for compost depot in the sanctioned development plan of the old city limits. The waste generated is disposed in an unscientific manner. The manpower and transport system is inadequate for the waste management of the city. The solid waste generated in the city mainly consists of domestic refuse (including slum area), waste from commercial areas, vegetable and fruit markets, slaughter houses, bio-medical wastes, wastes from hotels and restaurants and industrial solid wastes [7]. The waste generation is large in the high-income groups followed by middle and low-income group. TABLE (2) Physical composition of solid waste in Jalgaon city[5] Sr. No. Physical Composition Income Groups (%) LIG MIG HIG 1 Compostable 45.0 72.2 68.0 2 Paper 4.5 4.25 5.5 3 Plastic 3.5 2.9 3.6 4 Glass 0.9 0.0 09.0 5 Metal 0.5 0.0 0.5 6 Rag 5.4 0.13 1.7 7 Earthen matter 40.0 20.3 11.4 8 Leather 0.2 0.22 0.3 The average collection efficiency for MSW in Indian Cities is about 72.5% and around 70% of the cities lack adequate waste transport capacities (TERI 1998). Open dumping of garbage facilitates the breeding for disease vectors such flies, mosquitoes, cockroaches, rats and other pests (CPCB 2000) FUTURE SCENARIO Waste generation and its impacts in India, the amount of waste generated per capita is estimated to increase at a rate of 1% 1.33% annually [8]. The calculated value of per capita waste generation in 1997 is 0.468 kg. It is estimated that the total waste quantity generated in 2047 would be approximately above 260 million tones more than five times the present level. Generation of waste in Jalgaon City The Jalgaon Municipal area is subdivided in 16 health units for collection and transportation of waste. The average per capita waste generation is 0.491kg/capita/day [12]. The amount of waste generated is about 226 tons per day as shown in Table (3). Proposed Technological Inventions Jalgaon city has lagged behind in terms of adopting technologies for solid waste management. In particular, collection, treatment and disposal of waste require urgent consideration. Collection of waste The preferred option would be to revamp the existing collection service structure to provide community with waste bins, conveniently placed for the people to deposit domestic waste, and door to door collection of waste [9]. Solid waste treatment and disposal techniques Disposal is a no alternative option because it is the last functional element in the solid waste management system and ultimate fate of all waste that are of no further value. Proper segregation of waste would lead to better options and opportunities for its scientific disposal [10]. Recyclable for example, could be straightway transported to recycling units, which, in turn, would pay the corporation for it, thereby increasing their income. Finally, the inert material that will be required to be sent to landfill would be of much lower quantity compared to un-segregated waste, consequently increasing the life of our existing disposal facilities. Segregation should be done into following ways for Jalgaon city, Wet organic matter Composting Dry organic matter Fuel bricks Plastic items Recycling Construction waste Paving blocks Scrap materials Recycling Inert other materials Land filling Strategic Planning (Flow Diagram) For SWM For Jalgaon City Dry Organic Matter Plastic Items Construction Waste Scrap Materials Inert and other Building Materials Wet Organic Matter Composting Fuel Bricks Recycling Paving Blocks Recycling Land filling Segregation Waste Disposal Site TS- 1 TS- 1 TS- 1 TS- 1 HU-2 HU-12 HU-13 HU-14 HU-1 HU-3 HU-4 HU-16 HU-5 HU-6 HU-7 HU-8 HU-9 HU-10 HU-11 HU-15 Figure 2. Strategic Planning (Flow Diagram) For SWM For Jalgaon City Solid Waste Collection, Transportation Model for Jalgaon City Collection Home to Home Collection Mechanical Road Swiping Manual Road Swiping Bulk Generator Litter Bins Transfer Station (Compactor) Transportation Processing and Disposal Processing Unit Segregation Wet Organic Matter Wet Organic Matter Dry Organic Matter Plastic Items Construction Waste Scrap Material Inert and other Building Material Fuel Bricks Recycling Paving Blocks Recycling Land filling Figure 3. Solid Waste Collection, Transportation Model for Jalgaon City Composting Composting is one system which transforms the biodegradable organic material into biologically stable material and in the process reduce the organic volume of waste; to destroy pathogens, insects eggs and other unwanted organisms and weed seed that may be present in municipal solid waste and to retain the maximum nutrient (NPK) content and to produce a product that can be used to support plant growth and as soil amendment [11]. The solid waste from Jalgaon city has been found to contain on an average range of 30 to 40% biodegradable matter. Apart from it, the CN ratio of waste (i.e. 20) on average is within range required for composting i.e. 20 to 25% [11] It was estimated that depending on locality and climate 450 to 500kg of compost can be produced from 1 tons of waste. Based on above discussion it is recommended that composting can be considered as safe, economic disposal method of municipal solid waste generated from Jalgaon city. Dry organic matter may be used for preparation of fuel bricks as energy source. After segregation of solid waste recyclable items are separated out and resource can be utilized for paving blocks. Land filling Solid waste management may be used to improve natural features by raising the level of low lying land to enable it to be used for cultivation or industrial development. The percentage of inert, inorganic and non-biodegradable organic matter is present in adequate quantity in solid waste of Jalgaon city and as for as this quantity is concerned the use of sanitary land filling seems alternative to use as means of disposal land filling method is cheapest method of refuse disposal. TABLE (3) Total Waste Generation for Jalgaon City [5] Health Unit Nature of Generators And Expected Quantity in Kilograms 0.491 / Capita / Day Residents Families Commercial Property Hotels Road Sweeping Debris Nos Quantity of Waste Generated in Kg Nos Quantity of Waste Generated in Kg Nos Quantity of Waste Generated in Kg Length of the Road in Km Quantity of Waste Generated in Kg 1 7555 14221 22 5.87 4 72.28 21.37 1942.11 2 7020 10377 265 70.76 10 180.7 39.49 3588.85 3 5821 10474 2704 721.97 44 795.08 24.26 2204.75 4 5012 9019 4569 1219.92 45 813.15 15.6 1417.73 5 4456 8020 163 43.52 1 18.07 9.06 823.37 6 5714 10286 589 157.26 40 722.8 31.52 2864.54 7 3766 6639 1490 397.83 75 1355.25 16.81 1527.69 8 6166 11096 747 199.45 30 542.1 27.12 2464.67 9 3905 8604 379 101.19 5 90.35 22.07 2005.72 10 11565 20277 1354 361.52 18 325.26 30.62 2782.75 11 6633 11939 209 55.8 11 198.77 28.81 2618.25 12 8374 14653 372 99.32 40 722.8 34.67 3150.81 13 3430 6173 766 204.52 27 487.89 23.05 2094.78 14 10726 19307 383 102.26 9 162.63 29.23 2656.42 15 2375 3816 823 219.74 14 252.98 27.76 2522.83 16 6070 12066 144 38.45 9 162.63 38.12 3464.35 98588 176967 14979 3999.39 382 6902.74 419.56 38129.61 Total Waste Generation in Tones: 226 CONCLUSION Based on physical composition and characteristics of solid waste in Jalgaon city composting can effectively handle solid waste containing wet organic matter in Jalgaon city. For collection of solid waste door to door collection system will be effective one, vehicle. For that purpose Jalgaon city must be divided into 16 health units four transfer stations are recommended. After segregation of solid waste wet organic matter must be used for composting dry organic material to be used for for fuel bricks, plastic items, iron items, scrap material to be used for recycling pupose. Inert and other building material should be used for land filling. ACKNOWLEDGMENT The literature reviewed in this paper is the part of ongoing thesis work named Solid waste management techniques for Jalgaon city at SGB University, Amravati under the guidance of Prof. M. Iqbal. The author thanks the Principal, J. T. M. C. O. E. Faizpur, Dist- Jalgaon for extending all facilities for conducting the research work.

The First American Eagle Outfitters Store

The First American Eagle Outfitters Store After a stagnant market in 1991 which American Eagle had felt the effect of Retail Ventures, Inc. sold the rest of its fifty percent of its ownership of American Eagle to the Schottenstein family making them the complete controllers of the company. In 1992, under new management American Eagle slightly moved its focus on private label casual apparel for men and women keeping the outdoor look. During one of its best years American Eagle went public in April 1994 with a high of $0.91 for the first day of the initial public offering. Most of the earnings from the IPO was invested into the company and during the rest of 1994, fifty-five new American Eagle stores opened and at the one year mark of the IPO a total of 90 new stores had been opened. This rapid expansion caused some problems and forced the closing of all its outlet stores and focus on the mall locations as primary locations. In 1996, American Eagle moved to focus more on womens clothing, because it has proven to be more profitable. After the move American Eagle saw a big jump in sales and coupled with the integration of an apparel manufacture owned by the Schottenstein family, American Eagle became more vertically integrated. Through gained attention and high sales competitor Abercrombie Fitch saw a threat and filed three lawsuits against American Eagle Outfitters for copying their designs. All three times American Eagle won the suit due to the fact that designs cant be copyrighted. In 2000 American Eagle started to refine its marketing strategies and got a deal to provide clothing for the series Dawsons Creek and MTVs Road Rules. In the same year American Eagle went international when it bought a 172 store chain and warehouse operations in Canada, converting many of the stores into American Eagle Outfitters stores. Today American Eagle operates 938 AE stores, 137 Aerie stores and 28 M+O stores  [1]  , which are planned to be closed during the 2010 fiscal year. American Eagle is in all fifty states, Canada, Puerto Rico, and now Kuwait and Dubai. Deals are being made to open stores in Israel, China, and Japan. External Analysis The general environment of American Eagle Outfitters consists of multiple external industry factors that are beyond AEs control, yet significantly affect AEs, as well as the industrys, strategies. Those factors are demographic, sociocultural, political, technological, economic, and global. The aspect of the demographic segment that most notably affects AE is the aging population. With AEs key demographic focused on 15-25 year olds, the aging population results in a lower percentage of the overall population being included in their target market. With a lower percentage of the population included in the target market, a lower percentage of that populations consumer spending will be directed at AE. One factor in the sociocultural segment is an increase in dual-income families. This increase leads to a higher household income, thus, a higher disposable income that can be spent on shopping. Another sociocultural factor that affects AE is the style factor. Specific styles and trends in apparel are constantly changing depending on the latest fashion or current time of year and retailers have to keep up with the changes by having a variety of options available. In Elizabeth Holmess article Abercrombie Fitchs Style Sense Wears Thin with Some Shoppers, the importance of variety is emphasized when she says American Eagle, of Pittsburgh, Pa., is bringing in new merchandise every four weeks, up from every six weeks. Increased variety and choices will be critical and crucial as part of regaining market share (for Abercrombie).  [1]  Increased sales taxes in certain areas and rising sales taxes across the general population is the main political factor affecting AE. Any increase in ta xes results in a decrease in disposable income, which typically leads to less consumer spending. The technological aspect of the general environment in the retail industry is addressed by Jordan Speer in her article Apparels TOP 50 when she says Technology, too, continues to open possibilities like never before, as apparel companies implement ever more capable systems to refine merchandise planning and allocation, or to track consumer behavior in real time.  [2]  The recent increased use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags in the apparel retail industry could revolutionize the supply chain management process. The most obvious factor in the general environment is in the economic segment. The current suffering economy has impacted even the retail industry, as stated in Datamonitors SWOT analysis of AE, Clothing sales fell 3.9% in April 2010 from April 2009, and the sales that month were 8.2% below April 2008. Worst affected is the womens clothing as 4.1% drop in womens fashions was witnessed while mens declined by a mere 0.5%. In terms of American Eagle specifically, the article stated that teen unemployment is also on the rise impacting their spending and as the cautious American consumers cut down on the discretionary spending, the demand for American Eagles products is likely to see a setback.  [3]   The global segment of the general environment includes any influences from foreign countries. While the amount of foreign substitutes for moderately priced, fashionable apparel is relatively low, the opportunities for globalization in the apparel retail industry are prevalent. American Eagle is based primarily in North America, but has opened a couple stores overseas and look to expand into the Asian market in the near future. American Eagles competitive environment can be broken down using Michael E. Porters five forces model, which consists of the following forces that affect a companys ability to compete: The threat of new entrants, The bargaining power of buyers, The bargaining power of suppliers, The threat of substitute products and services, and The intensity of rivalry among competitors.  [4]   We have determined that the threat of new entrants in the retail industry is relatively low. Although there are low capital requirements to start up a new business in retail and there are little to no switching costs for the consumer, we believe that American Eagle is relatively safe in terms of new entrants. First, and most importantly, the retail industry has had very modest growth in the past few years due to the lagging economy, limiting the industrys attractiveness to any new entrants. Next, the existence of economies of scale in the industry is a significant barrier to entry. For a new entrant to be successful, they would either have to come in at a large scale to utilize the economies of scale or come in at a smaller scale and have higher prices. The last factor limiting the threat to new entrants is consumer brand loyalty. Many consumers have certain preferences to select retail establishments and would not be willing to try out a new store.  [5]   The threat of substitution in the apparel retail industry in general is viewed as weak because most consumers prefer the ease of retailers to buying directly from manufacturers, making their own clothes, or settling for counterfeits. In terms of AE specifically, there is a fairly significant threat of substitute products with the various industry competitors, such as GAP, Pacific Sunwear, or Abercrombie Fitch, producing similar products at similar prices. Although some customers tend to have certain brand loyalties, when style is a factor, substitute products are always an option. We believe that the bargaining power of buyers is low in the retail industry. Although switching costs from AE to another competitor are negligible, there arent many more factors that give a buyer power. The buyers, in regards to American Eagle, are typically individual customers. This means that a single buyer does not represent a large percentage of AEs sales, so losing one customer does not significantly affect their profits. Since style varies, retail firms can become very differentiated by being the first on the market to provide the latest trends, thus, weakening buyer power.  [6]  Buyer power is also limited by the fact that consumers are very partial to the retail environment and prefer buying their clothing to making their own clothes or buying directly from manufacturers. The bargaining power of suppliers in the retail industry is also low. Garment manufacturers rely heavily on the retail industry to purchase their goods. There are low switching costs to a different manufacturer because there are numerous low-wage manufacturing facilities worldwide. Another reason why the bargaining power of suppliers is low in terms of American Eagle is that they own and operate their own manufacturing facility so there is no need for the supplier to bargain. We have determined that intense rivalry among competitors, such as GAP, Pacific Sunwear, and Abercrombie Fitch, in the industry is very prevalent. There are numerous balanced competitors in the retail industry, which has experienced slow growth. These factors, coupled with low switching costs and the always-changing fashion, result in a battle for market share. Internal Analysis American Eagles mission seems to be to provide high quality, on trend clothing, accessories, and personal care products at affordable prices.  [1]  Since we opened our first store in 1977, AE has focused on innovation.  [7]  The core value behind the American Eagle brand is people. People, whether they are customers, employees or business partners, are the key to a sustainable and successful company and are the heart of everything they do. We value and respect differing backgrounds, unique talents and eclectic tastes2American Eagle also lists integrity, passion, innovation and teamwork as core values that sustain the American Eagle brand. The American Eagle Slogan, Live your Life is meant to encourage everyone involved with the company, whether customer or associate to be individuals and to bring that uniqueness to the company. Even though American Eagle emphasizes being a value brand in their mission statement, they have decided to underscore the value position in their promotion campaigns by focusing on other sources of value such as quality and style.1 American Eagle is neither the lowest cost or the most differentiated in the market. Customers have been gravitating towards lower priced stores such as Aeropostale and Forever 21 and so the company has shifted the focus away from discounting in a move to strengthen the quality of the brand and therefore focus on a differentiation approach. Customers in their target market seem to be confused; however as to how American Eagle is differentiating itself from many other similar brands. The company sites diversity as a characteristic they value in their company, but it seems that they are trying to brand a lifestyle that is hard to understand.  [8]  Other competitors such as Hollister (which is part of Abercrombie and Fitch) choose more of a focus strategy, aiming towards the California style niche market. The company is focusing on growing market share in core product categories such as graphic t-shirts and fleece and to maintain its market leadership in denim. 1 American Eagles core competencies arise from the execution and combination of its resources. As a company, American Eagle considers its distribution a core competency. American Eagle successfully uses its distribution centers to best supply its retail stores as well as fulfill customer orders from its website and catalog by taking over logistic processes that it had previously outsourced to a third party.  [9]  Three things contribute to the success of their distribution at their Ottawa, Kansas distribution center, high speed shipping and receiving, multiple picking technologies and integrated warehouse management and warehouse control software systems. American Eagle had to develop an innovative way to balance the workload over three concepts (AE, aerie and Martin +Osa). One of the unique features is that we believe we have created the first waveless dynamic picking system in a direct-to-consumer operation for a specialty retailerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦instead of queuing up orders into a wave based on what was received overnight, were able to prioritize orders in the picking pool based on delivery dates in real-time as those orders are received over the Internet. 9 American Eagle has a high market share in denim 1 which suggests the company has a core competency in the production and marketing of its denim product line. The majority of direct mail sales promotions the company produces targeted towards loyalty and credit card holders use each seasons new denim line to showcase other new seasonal items.  [10]  American Eagle uses brand recognition to tie jean sales with other promotional offers such as free movie tickets and free graphic tees from the brands expanding line.  [11]  Jeans are the most easily recognized and first thought of when thinking about the American Eagle Brand. I can easily tell when someone is wearing American Eagle jeans because they have a certain design on the back pockets. 8 Another core competency of American Eagle is its entertainment marketing campaigns. A series of 30 second episodes embedded in the CWs shows Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls featured 12 real girls wearing the new aerie line, a line of dorm wear and intimates for women, talking about how they relate to show themes to their lives and the aerie brand. The mini episodes were also shown online and the website allowed viewers to see exclusive content from aerie Tuesdays and to enter contests to win an American Eagle shopping spree. That particular campaign also included advertising the two shows on in store video screens and surprise visits from show stars.  [12]  American Eagle has also teamed up with multiple MTV shows such as the Real World: Austin and Spring Break as well as collaborating with the musical group The Black Eyed Peas to launch their new album in AE stores.  [13]  More recently, American Eagle became one of the first companies to offer Facebook deals, in an effort t o take advantage of the rising popularity of social marketing. The deal offers customers who check in at American Eagle on Facebook with their smart phones 20% off their entire purchase. American Eagle customers are avid users of Facebook and mobile technology so the company has created an aggressive plan to exploit that opportunity. Facebook Deals enables American Eagle Outfitters to offer our customers even more value, as well as strengthen their connection with our brand in their preferred mode of communication.  [14]   As part of the retail industry, it is difficult for a retailer to develop sustainable competitive advantages since many business processes are easily imitated and low brand loyalty exists among consumers. American Eagle Outfitters possesses three things that are sources of competitive advantage in such an industry. American Eagle possesses its dedicated work force, a well recognized brand name, an employee generated intranet and a high amount of cash and low debt ratios. The company possesses its brand name, which exemplifies a culture of fun, variety, individualism, realness and honesty.1 The American Eagle brand is about being trendy and individualistic. American Eagle uses a small, stitched on eagle emblem on the majority of their clothing and most people from their target market recognize it as the symbol of American Eagle. Members of their target 15-25 year old market feel the brand is casual, laidback, breezy and cozy.8 American Eagle stores are tangible representations of thei r brand and so they are engaging and dynamic but reflect the laid back nature of the brand. Plasma screens in every store provide an exciting playlist of current hits as a backdrop to the shopping experience. 10 American Eagle is upgrading many of its stores to include newer technology (such as televisions that display product collections to shoppers in store). The company opened a flagship store in Times Square that includes a giant electronic billboard similar to the Times Square Landscape. The store will also offer mobile POS devices that allow customers purchase anywhere in the store as well as offer customers who make a purchase a chance to take a photo-booth picture that can be displayed on the giant Times Square Billboard.  [15]  Merchandise turns over quickly in response to customer preference also adding to the perceived trendiness of the brands clothing and accessories.8 Executives, using information from research and from the companys own intranet, have successfully i ntegrated entertainment with the American Eagles product offerings in order to relate to the companys target 15-25 year old market. By continuing to stay on trend with its target market, American Eagle products become featured in magazines popular with women in the 15-25 age segment such as Seventeen and Cosmopolitan.10 American Eagle Outfitters employees are a source of competitive advantage. AEO associates were diverse, hard-working, and loyal to the company; passionate about its brand; and lived the companys values of people, integrity, passion, innovation, and teamwork.  [16]  American Eagle hires employees who are similar on many demographic variables to that of its target market.16 By doing this, management ensures that associate generated content is relevant to the company and can be analyzed to understand its core customers. Walking into an American Eagle store feels unintimidating and relatable because the associates belong to the same core demographic segments that customers do By hiring associates similar to the members of the core target market, management also ensures that associate generated content is relevant to the company and can be analyzed to understand its core customers.8 The career website, liveyourlifeloveyourjob.com, exemplifies American Eagles intense focus on providing a rewarding employee culture. Its compensation and benefit programs are individually based on performance to encourage individuality. At liveyourlifeloveyourjob.com, outsiders can view employee accounts of responsibilities and personal growth afforded to them by being part of the American Eagle community. Interactive videos and photos guide the everyday user through the ins and outs of daily life at American Eagle and encourages them to apply for available positions. Here, students can also discover how to get involved with internships and college recruiting. Internships are designed to introduce college age students to the fast paced retail industry as well as the culture and style of American Eagle.7 American Eagle has developed an associate generated intranet system called AE life-the intranet. The purpose of the intranet is to showcase these employee values in a venue that also provides up to date information and industry news. The intranet allows associates at many locations to share and create a common experience of what is like to work at American Eagle.16 The intranets exciting and interactive format was designed to reflect the companys culture of fun and variety and to encourage employees to visit and update the system frequently. According to American Eagle Executives, their number one competitive advantage is the innovation of their associates. AEOs associates continue to connect to the values and the mission of the company, it can be assured that they will produce an intranet with appropriate and relevant information.16 Financially, American Eagle is a company with large amounts of cash on hand and low debt .1 This affords the company the ability to invest quickly in any market opportunities it may perceive, and would give it a competitive advantage. With large amounts of cash on hand, AE is more resilient to economic and other external environment changes. American Eagle may also be able to take bigger risks in the market, which may lead to large increases in sales and preference among their target market. Because of the nature of the fashion retail industry, American Eagle has a tough time sustaining its competitive advantages. Although American Eagle has a high brand awareness and liking among people in its target market, it does not seem to have a high preference among those consumers, especially among college aged men.8 This suggests that American Eagle could strengthen its brand name and positioning because of the confusion concerning what the brand is about and the lack of the quintessential American Eagle look. American Eagles clothing seems to be overpriced for the kind of quality received, with many in the focus group saying that their garments have fallen apart easily and they felt like they had overpaid for them because of it.10 Even though American Eagle cites innovation as a competitive advantage, very few of their products are unique enough to qualify as new and innovative to their consumers.8 Even though American Eagle locates their stores mostly in trendy, accessible ma lls, this is easily imitated by other competitors since they rent locations in malls as well. Also, the increase of internet purchases has made store locations less of a competitive advantage by substituting for them. Another disadvantage is the Martin +Osa brand name, which failed to gain much awareness and performed poorly financially. In fact the company hopes to increase shareholder equity by closing down the brand completely.1 American Eagle seems be trying to increase its resonance with the target market and maintain its individualistic company culture in order to develop competitive advantages. American Eagle increases its resonance by reducing product lead times to better react to consumer tastes and current fashion trends and by continuing to exploit the opportunity of mobile and social marketing. AE maintains its culture and values by creating exciting career and internship opportunities and by focusing on a user generated intranet. American Eagles presence in the retail market is threatened because of the perceptions about them in their target market. Although some people enjoy and find the clothing to be fashionable and affordable, lack of a differentiated brand name will really hurt American Eagle in the long run. If they choose to focus on a differentiation strategy as opposed to focusing on low cost, they need to get their customers to believe all the things their employees do about the American Eagle brand. Comparison to Competition American Eagle has placed itself in the middle of the fashion industry where they cannot compete on price nor are they a high fashion brand, and they tailor toward a relatively small market segment. They have been able to successfully compete, to this point, by indentifying trends in fashion, positioning the company with a strong and recognizable brand name and maintaining a world class supply chain network. American Eagle most directly competes with Abercrombie and Fitch and The Gap but they have also seen increased market pressure from fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21.4 American Eagle has been very successful at identifying trends in fashion. A fashion retail company that could not would be out of business because of the nature of the fashion industry. This is an advantage that is tough to maintain because a few bad seasons could sink a successful retailer because it ruins their brand name and their revenues. There are two keys to being successful in fashion trending, the first is forecasting and identifying the newest fashion trends, and the second is getting those products through design, purchasing, manufacturing, distribution and to the store while they are still relevant. AE does a good job at both tasks and they are on par with their competitors in this sense. They are losing in these positions with fast fashion retailers, like Forever 21, which offer trendier clothes, cheaper, and faster from design. The fast fashion industry has been in boom as of late because they offer a greater degree of affordability than American Eagle and other traditi onal retail stores, while being trendier.4 American Eagle prides itself on how competitive their supply chain has become and, as we discussed previously, the distribution process is critical to success in fashion. When American Eagle sought to expand their business in 1999 they began by improving their distribution process. The goal was to lower inventory levels and increase the amount of flow in the distribution centers, a strategy often called Just-in-time distribution. They had two reasons to move toward this strategy, the first was discussed above, which was to shorten lead times from design to store shelves. This allowed them to create a store atmosphere of fresh, clean and hip clothes. This was supposed to compliment the overall theme of their clothing, which was supposed to be preppy and young. Short lead times also work to decrease sales lost to stock outs. The other goal was to decrease the cost of holding excess inventory, which will create better profit margins that they would not otherwise realize.  [17]   American Eagle has also been profitable because the way they have developed their brand name. They currently rank number 36 in the top 50 most valuable retail brand name list. The GAP is number 23 and Abercrombie and Fitch is at number 49.  [18]  The value of the brand name is based on how much it will likely earn them in the future. This is the result of both quality product and marketing efforts. AE has worked to market through socially hip medians, such as hip TV shows, and Facebook. The result has been that they are able to spend less on marketing while being as effective as other industry leaders. For instance AE spends 3.2% of total assets on marketing1 while Abercrombie and Fitch spends 12.1%  [19]  , despite Abercrombies much lower ranking. In fashion a brand is everything, two identical shirts with two different brands are going to be perceived as different. Since, American Eagle has placed themselves in a good position when it comes to their brand name, but they are not industry leaders, with the GAP, Polo Ralph Lauren and even Aeropostale coming in above them. The general conclusion has been that American Eagle has been successful due to the defined key metrics for success but at the same time they have consistently fallen short of the top position each category. This is consistent when looking through the stock price of each company, with American Eagle falling well behind Abercrombie and Fitch, Urban Outfitters, The Buckle, and short of The Gap, Aeropostale. Recommendations As American Eagle enters the international market using a wider variety of currencies one of the biggest problems that they will face is the movement of exchange rates. With the change of exchange rates they might have to show a loss of millions of dollars just because of an unfavorable exchange rate. The most important thing that American Eagle needs to develop is a clear and thorough way to hedge this risk. One way could be to set up a manufacturing site in those areas that the company is looking to enter, this will set the costs in the same currency as the revenue hedging that risk. Another recommendation for American Eagle in the aspect of its failed line of M+O stores, is to develop a store in a number of years that will transition its current American Eagle customers into a more adult look. The reason that M+O failed could be that older people now have already had a set look and company that they buy from and its hard to get those people to change and try something new. By wait ing a number of years and having its current customers grow into adulthood they can put out a line or store that fits that customer because they are already used to the American Eagle name and store. Looking through American Eagles 2009 statement of cash flows it is evident that the company has a lot of cash sitting there not being put towards an investment which is almost like losing money. And with advertising as a percentage of sales only being 2.3% compared to Abercrombie Fitch having 12.1%19 American Eagle could put that money towards an advertising campaign. American Eagle is in a unique position from most of their competitors because they are flushed with cash and can afford to invest the money into company growth. The greatest potential for market growth exists overseas, with 90.8% of revenue coming from the United States.4 American Eagle does have online sales overseas, but there are only a few store locations outside of North America. We believe AE would be best served by investing in countries where the economy is struggling and where the brand name would not have heavy negative connotations. These markets would mostly be China, Japan, and other Asian countries. Success overseas is not a given and AE will have to be careful to differentiate themselves from foreign competitors. It may even be necessary to change the brand name depending on market research performed on a country and their reaction to a brand that is so American. If they are able to compete overseas they will be able to take advantage of two huge strategic benefits. The first is accomplishing economies of size by increasing manufacturing demands from a global market, an objective their competitors have already begun to work toward. The second benefit is that ability to weather economic depressions in different companies by being diversified across foreign markets. We suggest that American Eagle differentiate itself from its major competitors, since our focus group research has suggested that members of their core market tend to be c