The House on Mango Street and A Dream Deferred Essay Example for Free

The House on Mango Street and A Dream Deferred Essay In the short story The House on Mango Street Sandra Cisneros unfolds her childhood memories where she and her family struggled with poor living conditions on the way to their own house, and she seems to suffer from it more than anyone of the family. When one day they finally get the house of their own and her family seems to be ready to settle with it, she continues suffering because its not the house she imagined and built up in her dreams. At that point Cisneros obtains her dream to be fulfilled: she decides that whatever happens, she must have her dream house. Whereas Cisneros talks about a dreams birth, Langston Hughes in his poem A Dream Deferred investigates the destiny of a dream. Predicting what could happen to a dream that is not yet realized, he tries to measure the impact of a dream in our life. At first sight, these two works might seem completely different; however, upon a closer look its obvious that they are closely connected: Cisneros tells us what led her to obtain a dream, whereas Hughes contemplates on continuation of a dreams existence. In The House on Mango Street the author tells us how she found her dream. Her large family had to move all the time in search of a decent place to live. Experiencing what not having her own place is like, moving all the time and being ashamed of her shelters, Sandra Cisneros defines the features of the house of her dream. It has to be not just her own place to live, but also a place that she could be proud of. She describes her dream house: inside it would have real stairs, not a hallway stairs, but stairs inside like the houses on TV; it would be white with trees around it, a great big yard and grass growing without a fence(501). Moreover, she says it has to be the house one I could point to (Cisneros 502). Even though these features are not necessities for living, the authors own dream becomes her necessity to be fulfilled. In A Dream Deferred the author proposes a lot of theories of a dreams destiny: it may calm down, but still exist. In his words, it dries like a raisin in the sun, or crust and sugar over like a syrupy sweet (Hughes); or it may redouble with the time: fester like a sore- and then run (Hughes), and eventually, it may just explode. But one thing he shows he is sure about that dream deferred never dies; he doesnt even  consider such an option in his poem. Sandra Cisneros describes what caused her to build up her dream, whereas Langston Hughes tries to guess the results of any dreams existence. Cisneros doesnt unveil to us what happened to her dream; in contrast, Hughes gives a lot of options. However, upon a closer analysis we might notice that their ideas are quite similar: Cisneros leaves her future on a readers imagination, and Hughes gives the reader a right to chose from options he gave. And what completely unites them is their belief that dream is immortal. Cisneros proves that by her certainty that she has to have her dream house: I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. (Cisneros 502), and Hughes refutes the traceless disappearance of a dream. From millions of childhood experiences there are some that form our dreams. These experiences can be positive, thus, they will play as a role model throughout our life, or, they can be negative then our dream will be imagined ideal for our future. Whatever it is, once dream is born, it will never disappear; it can become almost indistinct, but still, its influence on us is tremendous. Even though both authors leave the question open, they imply similar ideas of dreams importance in ones life and danger of a dream to be deprived of fulfillment. When we read both works, the final decision is not a question for us: we agree with Hughes that dream doesnt extinct and is made to be fulfilled and we know for Cisneros that shell pursue her goal, because the energy of a dream is absolute. Works Cited: Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. 40 Short Stories. Ed. Beverly Lawn. New York: Bedford, 2001 Hughes, Langston. A Dream Deferred.

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay

The Importance Of Environmental Scanning Marketing Essay Marketing oriented firms mostly focus on marketing planning method through which a thorough analysis of market environment is carried out to scan opportunities within market environments, audit the skills and resources of the firm needed to maximize these opportunities, formulating marketing objectives and designing how firm offerings will be positioned among consumer segments when targeting them, and subsequently developing plans to implement and control them to sustain competitive advantage ( Dibb and Simkin, 2008). history of Just Us! Cafes Just Us! Cafes a coffee Roasters Cooperative was co-founded by Debbie and Jeff Moore in the year 1995 (Just Us!, 2012). The cafà © whose headquarter is located in Grand Pre, Nova Scotia, Canada was incorporated under the Cooperative Association Act as the first company (see Appendix 1) with a fair trade coffee roaster in Canada in 1996 (Just Us!, 2012). The vision of Just Us! Cafes is to be a market leader in fair trade business that stands for quality, fairness, professionalism and innovation while the mission of Just Us! Cafes is rooted in authenticity, cooperation, community, and justice (Just Us!, 2012). Just us! Cafes offers products include Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and pastries. Just Us! has 4 Cafes in Nova Scotia, Canada located in Grand Pre, Wolfville, Halifax and Barrington Street (Just Us!,2012). Just Us! has received many awards such as EK chamber of commerce Award as a Best Large firm in Kings County (2000), Ethics Award (2005), Acadia University President Award for Entrepreneur (2005) etc (Just Us!, 2012). 1.0 Critical Evaluation of the Importance of Environmental Scanning. Environmental scanning is simply the method through which marketing environment of an organisation is been closely monitored and carefully analysed (Jobber, 2007). The importance of environmental scanning are; Provides an understanding of Consumers Choice Criteria Body shop (a cosmetic industry) in its environmental scanning through market research in Canada, identified that 34% of consumers use ethical behaviour of companies (in addition to quality of product) as their choice criterion upon which their buying decision is based (Strandberg consulting, 2009). In addition, the impact of firms activities on the ecological habitat of consumers has been another criterion employed by consumers in their buying decision as consumers in Canada tend to embrace moves that decrease Co2 footprint in their environment (Bonini and Oppenheim, 2012). Environmental scanning reveals a paradigm shift in consumers value, attitude and beliefs about products as ethical issues have become a yardstick in their buying decision. The need to be highly sensitive to rapidly changing specific and general business environmental factors is a pre-requisite to the survival of an organisation where a quick change in product/ service line must be matched with changing consumer re quirements (Goyal, 2007; Albright,2007; Jobber;2007). Helps in Identifying Business Trends and Opportunities In 2008 alone, products (such as Flowers, Cocoa, Coffee, Rice, Shea butter) that were fairly traded was said to be imported from 59 countries (Eric, 2012). It takes a thorough environmental scanning of Canadian market to obtain this useful information about the fast growing fair trade business in both the food and non food segment (for example, fashion industry). With environmental scanning, Just us! Cafes and its competitors (Kicking horse, Kraft foods, StarBucks etc) were able to capitalize on the fair-trade opportunities and thus get sensitized on the drastic changing needs and expectations of their consumers. Environmental scanning offered these market players qualitative and quantitative information about the needs of their consumers, enabling them to strategise on how these needs could be met and as a result the image of these organisations were improved through a clear definition of what they stood for in Canadian fair trade wholesale and retail market (Costa, 1995). This is a n evidence that environmental scanning is linked to improvement in organisational performance (Slaughter, 1999). Provides Basis for Segmenting Consumer Markets Part of the achievements of Cafes in Canadian markets attributed to environmental scanning is ability of these brands to segment their products and services effectively and efficiently well. For example, all brands of Cafes in Canada (Kraft foods, Just Us!, Kicking horse, StarBucks etc) have been able to adopt a behavioural segmentation in the consumer markets where fair trade is used in one way or the other to gain market share as consumers beliefs, values and perception are rooted in fair trade. Psychographic segmentation that entails the strategy by which consumers are grouped base on lifestyle and personality characteristics (Jobber,2007) has been exploited by brands where Just us! Cafes had been targeting young, well educated consumers that are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products (Ethical Consumer, 2011) while Kraft Foodservice are caught romancing college students (perceived to be part of socially and environmentally conscious customers) with its All Life 100 % Colombian coffee brand (Rain Forest Alliance, 2004). Brands utilise Profile Segmentation where geographic variables like areas local names and culture (Jobber, 2007) are been used to differentiate their coffee from competitors and thus adapting their services and products to customers taste and culture, and locating their outlets in close proximity to their target consumers. Helps an organisation to identify it shortcomings and address them Through environmental scanning, Just Us! Cafes has been able to identify emerging issues and conditions leading the company to a dead end. This led management of Just Us! to develop an organisational structure where roles are allocated to employees based on their competencies and skills (e.g. the need for Juliet to handle the marketing functions of Just us! Cafes) to be able to deal with emerging issues confronting Just Us! Cafes. Limitation of Environmental Scanning. However, environmental scanning does not totally lead to an accurate prediction of business future and it does not guarantee effectiveness as witnessed in situation where many competitors of Just us! Cafes located in the heart of Nova Scotia had to close down their businesses when they couldnt survive in the midst of heated competitions. But businesses should ensure frequent environment scanning so as to increase their sensitivity to environmental signals rather than relying on analysis of historical data or predicting how such data will change (Johnson et al. 2008). 1.2. Internal and External Challenges Confronting Just Us! Cafes. Internal challenges are issues that focus on resources and competence (capabilities) of a company, revealing the strengths and weaknesses of such company while external challenges are concerned with the external environment in which the company operates, predisposing its activities to threat or presenting it with opportunities ( Hill and Joney, 2008). SWOT analysis of Just Us! Cafes Strengths Just Us! Cafes brand over the years has successfully won strong customer loyalty with strong preference for its products, services, and what the business stands for in Nova Scotia (fairness, justice and quality). The founders of Just Us! Cafes (Jeff and Debbie Moore) have a sound background experience in social and community development well aligned with their humanitarian philosophy (people before profit) enough to equip them in fulfilling their business mission (quality, fairness, and justice). The products and services (that are fairly traded and F.L.O certified) which Just us! Cafes offer her customers are immensely differentiated from competitors and thus give Just Us! Cafes a crystal clear market advantage over all her competitors. Just Us! Cafes management has a deep understanding of it distribution channel and an intimate relationship with wholesale and retail stores (Atlantic Superstore and Sobeys). Just Us! Cafes is equipped with employees that are committed to delivering products and services in a manner that meets and surpasses consumers expectation. Just Us! Cafes operates in favourable locations that are in close proximity with her consumers such as Grand Pre, Halifax, Wolfville and Barrington Street as well as a very strong presence in 3 key universities of Canada in Nova Scotia. Weaknesses Inability or lack of capability of Just Us! Cafes to expand it business to new markets within Canada. Just Us! Cafes doesnt have enough financial resources and competence as compared to some of its competitors tapping into the fair trade market. Just Us! Cafes have 4 Cafes (Wolfville, Halifax, Grand-pre and Barrington Street) just in Nova Scotia province. This is limiting its ability to reach enough consumers with its fair trade products as compared to Tim Hortons and Second cup who have 170 and 360 stores respectively. In the area of advertisement, Just Us! lacks experience and expertise. The reduction of revenue and the inability to defend and extend their core business shows lack of a good business strategy. Just Us! is too dependent on stores like Loblaws (also Just Us! competitor) and Sobeys as its distribution channel in the retail market. Threats Just Us! could face scarcity of fair trade products as a result of wide swing in commodity market. Transporting fair trade products from developing country to Canada may be stopped due to the need to lessen carbon emission to the environment. If importation of fair trade raw materials are stopped, the fair trade mission and strategy of Just Us! will be in jeopardy. The fair trade and organic business of Just us! Cafes have become fiercely competitive as competitors struggle intensely to attract and retain consumers in order to benefit from the attractive fair trade market. Fair trade certification is not recognised by the government of Canada and as such, no government policy has being designed for it and thus resulting in unfair practices among Just Us! competitors who portray their products as fair trade when they are not in the real sense. Consumers preferences for Just Us! products is changing rapidly resulting in fast decline in new product life cycle. Opportunities Majority of consumers in Canadian market are interested in fair trade products, presenting huge opportunities for Just Us! to increase their revenue through fair trade. Consumers are willing to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us! if they better informed. There is an increasing trend in the number of fair trade farmers from developing countries and thus leads to availability of fair trade products. There are still wide gaps or opportunities to explore by Just Us! in the fair trade market if a right strategy is put in place. PESTEL of Just Us! PESTEL Framework (Political, Environmental, Socio-cultural, Technological, Environmental (green) and Legal) are external factors/challenges that is common to all businesses. Political In Canada, though government policies contain rules and regulations for activities concerning healthy lifestyle of citizen as well as environmental protection, policy for fair trade market has not been developed by Canadian government. For example, CISO (2012) stated that Canadian Federal and Provincial Agencies (CFPA) are guided by respective purchasing departments in their purchasing decisions. At Federal level, Public Works and Government Service Canada (PWGSC)-who have standing offers (open contract) for many goods and purchase them on behalf of other Department-, make green purchasing or recommendations to the department through their office of Greening government operations but their recommendations do not include fair trade products Evidence of lack of attention given to fair trade in Canada is shown in the table 1.1 below. This made it easier for Just Us! competitors who are not dedicated to fair trade (maybe due to cost associated with it) to portray their offerings to the market as fairly traded. Country Policy or Guideline Specifies Certified Fair Trade Canada Federal à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Policy on Green Procurement (as of April 1, 2006 for all federal departments) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Sustainable Development Strategies (prepared by all federal departments every 3 years) and Departments Environmental policies and Departmental Performance Reports à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environmental Petitions by Canadian Residents à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Green Procurement checklist à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Department of Foreign Affairs Kit for Ensuring Green Conferences à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Environment Canada principles or practice on green purchasing, as well as a standard clause for product tenders and service contracts Provincial à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The Sustainable Development Act (Manitoba and Quebec) and related Sustainable Development Procurement Policies Local à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Ethical Purchasing Policies (Vancouver, Toronto, Black Diamond) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No (for Foreign Affairs, others unknown) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ No à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Yes (no for Toronto) Table 1: Examples of Relevant Guidelines and Policies that Encourage Social and Environmental Purchasing in Canadian Government Agencies (CISO,2012). Economy Between 2010-2011, Canadas GDP was said to have grown by 2.8% a year (which was more than economies of other rich country, most especially U.S). However, in 2012, Canadas economy has been discovered to have a slow GDP growth of 1.9% as a result of lower prices for Canadas resource exports, weak demand of its goods from Europe and its strong currency (The Economist, 2012). This has led to recession presently in Canada, preventing Just Us! Cafes from implementing her expansion strategy. Also, Recession in Canada due to decline in GDP could result in budget pressure and spending cuts leaving consumer with little or no disposable income to spend on premium fair trade products that Just Us! offers, since availability of consumers purchasing power absolutely relies on income, prices, debt and savings (Kotler and Keller, 2012). Social-Cultural Over the last 3 decades, the main driver of fair trade is expressed to be the highly growing trend of ethical consumerism (Burke and Berry, 1974, cited in Opal and Nicholls, 2005, page 23).Consumers values, attitude and lifestyle are rooted in high quality, ethically sourced and healthy products. The preference for these attributes has created a great opportunities for fair trade markets and thus resulted in a highly competitive fair trade market that is becoming too heated for Just Us! the early player. Technological. From between 2002-2008, there was no record that reveals that Just Us! Cafes integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation despite the fact that e-commerce that includes online service had been the major driver of supply chain in coffee industry in the 21st century. However, Just Us! has integrated e-commerce into their customer service operation where customers orders are received and fulfilled via e-commerce. Environment and Legal The current trend in Western Europe involves series of public actions (legal) to reduce Co2 emission to the environment, seeing majority of firms been taxed heavily on the basis of Co2 emission that their activities (majorly machinery) dissipate to the environment (co2gram/kilowatt/hour). However, opportunities abound for organisations that can reconcile profitability with the protection of their business environment (Kottler and Keller, 2012). But this trend towards greener activities is partly a threat to Just Us! fair trade as the need to source for raw materials locally rather than sourcing from distant developing countries (which is the basis of fair trade) to lessen Co2 emission to the atmosphere due to transportation is becoming an emerging issue presently. On the other hand, weather is becoming quite unpredictable and this is a threat to farm productivity. For example, the Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) the worlds largest agricultural commodities traders recently got its net profits reduced by 60% due to a sudden drought in the U.S that hampered farm productivity (Financial Times, 2012). This can also pose threats to the fair trade markets, resulting in scarcities in the commodity markets, high prices for food and high cost of raw materials. Porters 5 forces for Just Us!. The Porters 5 forces as shown in Fig 1.1 below is used by businesses to indentify how profitable a particular business is (Johnson et al. 2008). Threat of New Entrants to Fair Trade Market There is a high threat of new entrants to the fair trade market with a growing trend in the demand for fair products. As a result of this, small, independent and well established cafes are competing with Just Us! as a result of this. Threat of Substitute for Just Us! products and Services As barriers to fair trade market are getting weaker, competitors are offering a similar fair trade product as Just Us! thereby presenting consumers with opportunities to replace Just Us! products if they do not meet their expectations. Bargaining Power of Suppliers The number of farmers producing farm produce has been reported to be growing. In 2008 alone, 59 countries have been reported to have supplied Canada. Thus, as the growing trend increases, the bargaining power of buyers becomes higher than the farmers. On the other hand, bargaining power is also dependent on the availability of produce. If there is scarcity of fair trade produce, then the bargaining power of farmers become higher. Bargaining Power of Buyers Logically, as barrier to new entrants gets weaker and threat of substitute get higher, end users may not be able to offer premium price for fair trade products of Just Us!. This gives consumers the ability to determine price. Threat of Rivalry Since competitors of Just Us! offer similar products to same group of consumers, competitive rivalry is certain. 1.3 Extent to which Challenges threaten the Future of Just Us! Up to a very large extent, challenges in the form of fierce competition (which is promoted by government policies), constant change in fair trade market (occasioned by rapid change in consumers preferences for coffee and other products) and lack of sustainable strategy of Just Us! to address these issues will lead to lower consumer base, reduction in market share and profit and as time goes on, Just Us! fair trade business will cease to exist in Canada. 2.0. Appropriate Framework of Analysis to Analyse Competitive Strategy Adopted by Just Us! In analyzing the competitive strategy adopted by Just Us!, marketing mix strategy (7Ps) will be adopted. Products: Just Us! satisfied the wants and needs of consumers with fair trade and organic products like Coffee, Tea, Chocolate, Sugar, and Muffins. Just Us! adopted a distinctive product differentiation strategy through provision of fair trade and organic products to its customers that are willing to pay premium. Just Us! also have specialty products lines such as Coffee (Rwanda Cafà © Femenino, Tarrazu Honey, Mexican Morning, Wisdom, Rainforest Rhapsody, etc), Teas (Chai Tea, Early green, Darjeeling loose, Maritime Breakfast tea etc) that meet various tastes of consumers. Price: For all Just Us! fair trade products and added services (atmosphere adapted to consumers taste), a premium pricing strategy was adopted by Just Us! where consumers are charged for added value in form of organic and fair trade products provided to them. Place: With respect to place, Just Us! pursued an adaptation strategy where atmosphere of different locations (Wolfville, Halifax, Grad Pre and Barrington Street) were adapted to taste, culture of consumers and making it comfortable as incubator for developing relationships among consumers within their communities. Just Us! adopted two types of strategic alliance in a bid to make their products available to consumers and in a bid to expand. The two types of strategic alliance adopted were; a.Logistical Alliance: where Just Us! formed alliance with wholesales and retail outlets (e.g. Loblawas, and Sobeys), health food shops, churches, universities (Saint Francis Xavier, Saint Mary University etc) that offer logistical service to ensure the availability of Just Us! products all around Canada. b. Product and Service alliance: although this type of strategic alliance failed Just Us!, Just Us! had once partnered with a local businessman in Toronto as part of their expansion strategy into Toronto market. Just Us! also formed partnerships with Acadia Cinema Cooperative to use the cinema service as a means to sell fair trade products. Promotion: In a bid to promote Just Us! fair trade offerings, 10% of its profit was allocated for opening fair trade coffee museum where consumers are enlightened about the advantages of fair trade. On top of this, a non-profit organisation known as JUDES (Just Us! Development and Education Society) was developed to create awareness for fair trade and societal development. Just Us! through JUDES also used documentary and educational activities to enlighten social institutions on the importance of fair trade. Just Us! also used newspaper, magazines (student magazines and discount coupons), outdoor advertising (board in Grand Pre), point-of-purchase advertising (Valentine, Christmas and other seasonal events), internet (www.justus!cafes.com), sales promotion (reduced Christmas merchandise) and PR, events and sponsorship (during CEDIF meeting). People: through proper recruitment and selection process, Just Us! was able to attract talented staff and committed employees which were subsequently trained to deliver finished products (e.g. Coffee and Tea) in a way that expressed quality and care. Process: part of the process of Just Us! aimed at preserving and delivering fresh and quality coffee to her consumers includes roasting Coffee for example in small batches after which they were packaged in the plant and subsequently sent to consumers. Process of Just Us! also involves close supervision of coffee quality at every stage of the production process (from raw materials to finished products) Physical Evidence: This is essentially environment that surrounds the fair trade products and services that are offered by Jut Us! (Richard and Gilligan, 2005). This includes; fair trade coffee museum in Grand Pre, the brown coloured logo of Just Us! that differentiated them from competitors, coffee bean manufacturing plant in Grand Pre , Just Us! theatre, gift shops and other facilities and equipment (tangibles) that communicate message concerning fair trade that Just Us! stood for. 3.0 Strategic Options Available to Just Us! Despite the continuous growth of consumers in fair trade segments since 2008 (now around 44% of consumers in Canada), Just Us!, a distinctive fair trade food business that was incorporated under the Cooperative Act and certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation (FLO) has seen it growth slightly increased between 2008 to 2011 (Figure 1.1) in the midst of competitors (Kicking Horse, Tim Hortons, Second cup, Kraft, Nestle etc) that are not deeply committed and consistent to fair trade model witnessing a high revenue from the fair trade market. For example, between 2009 to 2010, sales revenue grew by 1.72% to $7,103,981 with an increasing cost from 4,257,282 in 2009 to 4,310,222 in 2010 (Figure 1.2). Figure 1: Revenue of Just Us! between 2002 to 2011(Just Us!, 2012) Figure 2: The End of Year Statement of Just Us! Coffee Roasters (Just Us!,2012). To address these problem, Just Us! can engage one of these options; Consolidation This is the situation where Just Us! can strategise on defending their existing fair trade products (coffee, chocolate, tea, sugar) in their existing market in the province of Nova Scotia (Wolfville, Barrington Street, Grand Pre, and Halifax) . According to Safah (2008), this non-growth strategy is aimed at maintaining the business status quo to protect a business status in its environment. Just Us! can achieve consolidation through either; Defending their market share: Through Customer Relationship Management (CRM) , Just Us! can build a protective wall around its customer base (Smith and Zook, 2011) through effective management of individual consumers information in order to maximize loyalty ( Kotler and Keller,2012). Just Us! should invest in communication technology where consumers database will be housed and used effectively. For example, automated greetings should be programmed to respond to any occasions consumers are celebrating. CRM management should go beyond business transaction to personal affection and care for consumers welfare. Through this CRM, Just Us! will be able secure their consumers. Even CRM can also be done through social media where Just Us! club can be formed for the purpose of a two-way communication between Just Us! and existing consumers. Downsizing or Divestment In Figure 1.2 above, cost of good sold, administration and members expenses all constitute a higher cost to Just Us! Cafes. Just Us! could seek to consolidate by pruning its staff size to reduce cost of human resources or it could hold on to 20% of Just Us! products that contribute 80% of its revenue while the rest are shed off the Cafes product line. For example in Table 1.2 below, between 2004- 2007, fairly traded Tea and Sugar (though sugar is perceived to have adverse impact on health and thus fair trade honey could be a good substitute) have been observed to contribute a less margin to revenue and hence less growth to fair trade market in Canada. So Just Us! could remove these products from it portfolio while they concentrate on Coffee and Cocoa. Growth 2004 2005 2006 2007 Total market share % market rank Cofee 41% 56% 61% 55% $ 9,083,836 80% 1 Cocoa 115% 96% 91% 0% $ 1,253,849 11% 2 Sugar 139% 158% 97% 63% $ 789,150 7% 3 Tea 54% 74% 68% 339% $ 173,642 2% 4 Total Revenue 49% 65% 67% 50% $ 11,300,477 100% market share % 100% market rank Table 2: The growth of fair trade products in Canadian Market Market Penetration. Just Us! could also increase sales of their current fair trade products in the province of Nova Scotia in which they are presently operating (Halifax, Barrington Street, Wolfville and Grand Pre) through winning competitors consumers by planning and implementing effective promotion or distribution strategy or they could cut prices of their products Promotion A good promotional strategy with an appropriate channel to reach target markets will be one of the appropriate methods by which Just Us! can attract competitors consumers. Through integrated marketing communication, Just Us! can better coordinate its marketing tools in order to deliver its social and environmental responsibilities, quality, fairness and equity message in a clear and consistent manner to all consumers. For example, Just Us! is the only Cafà © business that is incorporated under the cooperative act which seeks greater fairness and poverty eradication in developing countries and on top of this, all fair trade products of Just Us! were certified by Fair Trade Labeling Organisation. Just Us! could choose to deploy it resources towards creating awareness about what it stands for and this could stimulate interest, desire and repeated purchase of its products. The landing page of Just Us! site (www.justus.com) should be decorated with prestigious awards obtained by Just Us! to affirm what they stand for and this could lead to customer conversion upon arrival to the landing page. Just Us! should also use social media to communicate their messages while using emotional adverts on Tv and Radio station to preach fairness in addition to what JUDES does for them. For example, over 4 years, Cadbury Schweppes had attributed its high revenue to high expenditure on promotional efforts. Distribution According to Chopra and Meindhl (2007), distribution has been expressed to be the major driver of an organisations overall profitability since it directly determines both supply chain cost and consumer experience. The presence of Just us! in 4 places within the province of Nova Scotia alone is not an effective means of reaching potential consumers of Just Us!. Tim Hortons (170) and Second cup (360) within Nova Scotia have been able to decentralize their shops in every nook and cranny to better reach their consumers and increase response time and convenience and through this, they have been known as a quick service restaurant in Nova Scotia. There is no point in having good quality fair trade products without reaching enough consumers. Even if there is no fund to lease or build more cafes, Just Us! could form more partnerships (logistical or product and service alliance) with more retail and wholesale outlets in Annapolis, Pictou, Inverness, Yarmouth, Antigonish, Hants etc. For example, Sainsbury has emerged as market leader in UK grocery market due to its ability of Sainsbury to open more convenience stores all around UK. Pricing strategy Just Us! could also use price to penetrate and attract competitors consumers. Just Us! involving itself in a price war wont go too well for the Cafà ©. However, a psychological pricing strategy could be adopted to increase demands for its quality fair trade products. For example, Apple used price to penetrate the market when it launched its 3G iphone at a cheaper price ($199) as compared to its competitors that were offering $399 for 2G iphones (Jobber,2007) Market Development Market development is another strategic option that Just us! can explore to increase it market share by selling fair trade products to new markets beyond the shores of Nova Scotia or outside Canada. For example, in Vancouver and Black diamond, Just Us! can seek to expand their Cafes to these provinces where there are ethical purchasing policies that favour their fair trade business model (as indicated in Table 1) unlike Nova-Scotia. Mergers or acquisition will be a fast way through which Just Us! can sell its existing products to Vancouver and Black diamond swiftly. For example, Just Us! could merge with Earths Choice a fair trade coffee roaster business in Vancouver or Cinnamon spoon in Black diamond . Other

Tradegy in Greek Literature :: essays research papers

Tragedy in Greek Literature   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When one hears the word tragedy, they might think of someone dying in a car wreck, being killed in a plane crash, or even a massive tsunami that wipes out nations. This type of tragedy is the most common, but when referring to Greek literature, a tragedy is an outstanding piece of drama originating in Ancient Greece. Greek tragedy originated in honor of the god of wine, Dionysus, the patron god of tragedy. The performance took place in an open-air theater. The work tragedy is derived from the word â€Å"tragedia† or â€Å"goat song.† Aristotle said, â€Å"Tragedy is largely based on life’s pity and splendor (Lucas).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greek tragedy would not be complete with out a tragic hero. Sophocles, the great writer of tragedy, wrote of noble and courageous heroes with specific â€Å"tragic flaws† that lead the hero to his downfall. In Aristotle’s analysis of Greek tragedy he states, â€Å"Greek tragedy has an effect on the audience called â€Å"catharsis,† or purging of the emotions (Mcavoy).† The two specific emotions that Sophocles provokes are pity and fear. Sophocles wrote Antigone with a specific character in mind for this noble hero. Creon fits the image of the hero with the â€Å"tragic flaw.† Creon is significant because he is the king. The hard decisions that Creon is faced with, is what makes him fit Aristotle’s image of a tragic hero. Creon faced decisions that lead to a no-win situation. He believes that Polyneices should not be buried because he was a traitor to his family. This decision affected Antigone greatly, and Creon knew that the decision would be hard on some people. Family and burials are very important in society, and Creon is asking Antigone to not consider them, to only consider that Polyneices was a traitor to his home city. Creon is then faced with the knowledge that Antigone went against his will and law, and buried her brother. Again, Creon is faced with a hard decision. He must choose to kill his own family member and uphold the law, or punish her less severely and show that he is not serious about death as a punishment to his law. Creon doesn’t want to show weakness, even for family, but he doesn’t want to kill Antigone, who is not only his niece and sister, but engaged to his son. The final decision that Creon must make is whether or not to revoke his death sentence on Antigone.

Network Troubleshooting :: essays research papers

Introduction If you’ve ever been a network administrator, the call you dread the most might be one you receive in the middle of the night by some panicked employee stating that a portion of your critical network has gone down. What troubleshooting options are available to provide answers to your network problem? Besides having a proactive helpdesk that can â€Å"read† the mind of your network, an important part of troubleshooting involves using a network protocol analyzer. If you’ve done your research, you realize that there are many choices on the market today that may satisfy your needs but make a dent your company’s pocket book. Plus, you have to factor in training your helpdesk on how to use this new tool and if it will provide some type of return on investment (ROI). After conducting a thorough research of tools to analyze and troubleshoot a network, we decided to use Ethereal. Many versions such a Sniffer ® Portable by Network General and Observer ® by Network Instruments provided more options but were only available in â€Å"demo† versions and didn’t provide full functionality. Since we wanted to use Tcpdump as one of the tools in our network troubleshooting arsenal, it made sense to run Ethereal since it supports this type of filter. So, what is Ethereal? Ethereal is a network analyzer. It has the ability to read packets from a network, decipher them, and then display the results with a very intuitive GUI. According to the book Ethereal Packet Sniffing, â€Å"the most important aspects of Ethereal are as follows: that it is open source, actively maintained, and free†. After conducting thorough research, Ethereal also supports TcpDump format capture filters, supports over 700 protocols (new ones are added on a regular basis), and the tool can capture data from Ethernet, Token Ring, 802.11 Wireless, etc. For anyone interested in a command line interface (CLI) interface for Ethereal, you’re in luck since there is a CLI available called tethereal. History of Ethereal Ethereal is a fairly mature networking tool that was developed by Gerald Combs back in 1997, but has only been available to users since 1998. Something unique to this tool is the numerous dissectors that are available. If you’re like me, you may ask yourself, what are dissectors? According to Brockmeier, they â€Å"are what allow Ethereal to decode individual protocols and present them in readable format†. Since the code is open source, you will notice every few months that the list of supported protocols has increased due to individual contributions to Ethereal.

Mind and Rumors Essay

Rumors are dark, hurtful, mischievous things that are spread to cause destruction. Rumors have been around since the beginning of time, and are stronger now more than ever. Rumors are whispered, as if to indicate that they will not spread. Rumors are shouted, printed, posted, and broadcasted. Rumors are lies and those whom associate with rumors are bad people, or are they? Rumors are not always bad, and they don’t always turn out to be lies. There are many unknown things about rumors, like how and why are they really created? DiFonzo defines a rumor as â€Å"†¦unverified information statements that circulate about topics that people perceive as important; arise in situations of ambiguity, threat, or potential threat; and are used by people attempting to make sense or to manage risk† (375). A rumor starts out as an important thought in one persons mind. A thought that is kept to oneself merely stays a thought and never develops into a rumor. But, a thought that is just important enough to share with someone else morphs into a rumor. Rumors are not always intentional lies. They do however start out as unverified information. If a rumor is verified it is no longer a rumor, it then becomes factual information. The information that is passed from one person to many people is thought to be of importance. Whether the rumor pertains to something local, nationwide, global, social, political, public, or private it contains information that is substantial and has the possibility to be life changing. A rumor is targeted to a certain group of people. The spread of the rumor depends on the number of people who perceive the information as important. The group can range from a few people to the majority of the world. A rumor of â€Å"Bob cheated on Mary with Susan† would certainly be very important to a small number of people and could devastate their lives. On the other side of the spectrum a rumor that â€Å"An asteroid five times the size of Saturn is headed toward earth and total death is imminent† would also be of great importance and would affect many people. Rumors are born, bred, and sought out of human emotion. The amount of rumors increase in times of perceived danger, threat, and stress. â€Å"In practice it has been found that the emotional needs most frequently served by rumors are wish, fear, and hostility† (Knapp 361). A rumor is spread or sought to satisfy an emotional need of hope, comfort, fear, and hostility. Therefore it makes sense that the amount of rumors increases during stressful times. In the aftermath of the recent tornados in Oklahoma, rumors exploded. Social media, radio stations, and television stations broadcast the information from the moment of touchdown. Two different television stations broadcast contradicting information at the same time and facebook erupted with photos, videos, and information. People were calling other people, turning on the television, and getting on facebook to seek information or give it. They sought answers, comfort, and hope. Why then do some rumors flourish and are known all over the world and others die out after only a short run? One reason has already been brought up, the number of people who consider the information important. A rumor can live longer if it is adaptable to its audience. A rumor that has information added to or taken out may appear more important to certain groups. Another factor in a successful rumor is the length of it. A rumor that is long and complicated will be hard to remember and hard to tell. Another reason is the desire for humans to be accepted. People will agree with someone else even if they are not sure themselves to avoid hostility and risk losing other peoples good opinion of them. Perhaps people agree because of self-doubt. If one person thinks a rumor is wrong but is hesitant to disagree because the majority believe it to be true then they must be wrong and not the group. People’s personal and social anxiety can escalate a rumor fast and wide. If the majority of people are passive, have self-doubt, or want to avoid conflict then the number of people who perceive the rumor to be true increases. Sunstein states, â€Å"Often people will be suspicious of a rumor, or believe that it is not true, but they will not contradict the judgment of the relevant group, largely in order to avoid social sanctions† (393-394). In conclusion, it is sufficient to say that rumors are more complex than originally thought. They have distinct characteristics and classifications that define them. The most successful rumors are important to the world. If a rumor is assembled just right under the perfect conditions, the result are everlasting.

A World Without the Internet Essay

No internet is a good thing. The internet is the most important, integral and ingenious invention known to the modern world. As a population we have developed our understanding of it until we have finally become dependent on it. Imagine a life without the internet. Imagine this utopia†¦ I know what you’re thinking. How would I research for your history project? Apply for a job? And how am I meant to talk to my friends without my Facebook account? I believe that life without the internet would make the world today a lot fitter, more knowledgeable and a lot more sociable and I am here to tell you why I believe this. see more:without internet I believe that going back in time and using the old fashioned way of research like books and library’s would benefit us as humans greatly. We would all have a wider range of knowledge as well as eliminating one of the major sources of plagiarism. I believe that students would have a broader understanding of the world and its history due to sifting through many books to find the information that is needed instead of typing it into the internet and having the information awarded to you without having to look for it. This change would also mean the would be a lot less coping and pasting meaning people may retain information easier as a result of having to write things out for themselves. There would also be a massive change in the way we communicate if all mobile phones and the internet disappeared. This would result in everyone having better social because communities would have to talk to each other face to face rather than everyone hiding behind a computer screen. Linking into this I believe that our nation would all be fitter by the reason of having to visit friends instead of emailing or ringing and playing outside more instead of games on the internet. Following on from this, many identity theft crimes take place on the internet, meaning the internet can be very unsafe. Bank details wouldn’t be at risk as much if the internet wasn’t around for the reason of it would be a lot harder to get hold of them if they are protected properly. No illegal downloads would take place considering that the internet doesn’t exist; no cyber bulling either thanks to no social sites on the internet. In conclusion, we have to remember that the internet is a relatively new thing to our lives at the moment; many generations coped have without so why is it so hard for us to do? Though it helps us immensely with our everyday lives this change could be a great asset for our ever-growing community.

Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia - 856 Words

Suicide is a very hard issue to deal with in this world. Just thinking about any individual case raises so many questions. What causes these people to deem their lives useless? Do they really have no one? Are their day-to-day lives that miserable? And of course, is the act of suicide ever justifiable? The last question is probably the toughest to answer, and has been debated for a long time. Is it selfish to take your own life? Some would believe that everyone in this world has a special place in it. Others believe that we’re all disposable. After all, life goes on. There is no law in America that punishes a person for trying to commit suicide. That person may be taken to therapy, or talked to by his/her loved ones, but at the end of the day, it’s his/her choice to continue living or not. Suicide is rarely an easy choice, but it’s even harder to find a way to do it comfortably. Few people have ever held a real gun, let alone used it. It must be terrifying to en d life through such forceful means. The fear of self-inflicted pain is only natural and of our basic human behavior. There are of course many ways to commit suicide. The trouble is finding the right one. Probably the most painless tool for doing so is euthanasia. Medical aids are administered to the subject’s body lethally to put him/her out in a quick and easy manner. However, only experienced hands, such as doctors, are the only ones who can perform such procedures efficiently. This raises the question; shouldShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia And Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia2323 Words   |  10 PagesAssisted Suicide Assisted suicide is the act of deliberately assisting or encouraging another person to kill themselves (Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide , 2014). When talking about assisted suicide there are two types: Physician-Assisted Suicide (PAS) and Euthanasia. Although they both have very similar goals but, they differ in which role the physician has in the action that finally ends life. Euthanasia can be defined as â€Å"the act of bringing about the death of a hopelessly ill and sufferingRead MoreEuthanasia - Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia843 Words   |  4 PagesAccording to the Health Law Institute at Dalhousie University, assisted suicide is â€Å"the act of intentionally killing oneself with the assistance of another who provides the knowledge, means or both.† Euthanasia is a â€Å"deliberate act undertaken by one person with the intention of ending the life of another person to relieve that person’s suffering where the act is the cause of death (Health Law). As of Jun e 17, 2016, both assisted suicide and euthanasia are legal in Canada as long as the established criteriaRead MoreEuthanasia and Assisted Suicide1645 Words   |  7 PagesEuthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are actions at the core of what it means to be human - the moral and ethical actions that make us who we are, or who we ought to be. Euthanasia, a subject known in the twenty-first century, is subject to many discussions about ethical permissibility, which date back to as far as ancient Greece and Rome. It was not until the Hippocratic School removed the practice of euthanasia and assisted suicide from medical practice. Euthanasia in itself raises manyRead MoreAssisted Suicide And Euthanasia Suicide1578 Words   |  7 Pagesissues is assisted suicide. Physician assisted suicide (PAS) has been an important ethical concern in medicine in recent years. It is important to understand the various forms of assisted suicide, the legality of assisted suicide as well as the impli cations it may have for patient as well as healthcare professionals alike. When considering assisted suicide there are several different definitions that may fall into this general term. Often times â€Å"assisted suicide† is confused with â€Å"euthanasia†. Tamayo-VelazquezRead MoreEuthanasia And Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia1811 Words   |  8 Pagestopics of debate comes the question of legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide. Debates and courts have raged on with this impending question. Naturally, those for it stand on the question, â€Å"is it not right to offer someone a peaceful death?† No one wishes to pass away painfully and no one wants a love one to die horrifically either, therefore it is easy to agree on mercy. Even so, it does not change the fact that euthanasia and assisted suicide, whether done by good efforts or not, is wrong. JustRead MoreEuthanasia And Assisted Suicide And Euthanasia2262 Words   |  10 PagesUnited States that prohibits euthanasia and assisted suicide— euthanasia is the act of assistin g in the death of a person suffering from an incurable disease (Macionis 402-403); however, assisted suicide and euthanasia are not the same thing. The law denying euthanasia and assisted suicide brought conflicts because Brittany wanted to pass peacefully. In order to fulfill her wish, Brittany and her husband moved to Oregon, a state that allows euthanasia and assisted suicide with the â€Å"Death With DignityRead MoreThe Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide1505 Words   |  7 Pageshave an assisted suicide death, which could cause several issue with the family members. Or if the child of the ill or elderly parent has to decide whether their mom or dad should go forward with active euthanasia, could also cause some issues amongst the family. Euthanasia and assisted suicide is a way for family members and friends to be able to say their goodbyes to their loved one and know that they won’t be suffering for much longer. First, this essay is going to explore what euthanasia and as sistedRead MoreEuthanasia Essay : Euthanasia And Assisted Suicide910 Words   |  4 PagesBackground about Euthanasia in The Netherlands. Patients Rights Council. Patients Rights Council, n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2015. This website address euthanasia, assisted suicide, advance directive, disability rights, pain control, and more. This article features background information on euthanasia and assisted suicide in the Netherlands. In the Netherlands, for euthanasia or assisted suicide to be legal, â€Å"The patient must be experiencing unbearable pain†¦ must be conscious, The death request must beRead MoreAssisted Suicide And Euthanasia Is Not An Act Of Euthanasia916 Words   |  4 Pagessuffering. For this reason, physician assisted suicide and euthanasia are compassionate responses to a terminally ill patient’s unbearable suffering. By definition, assisted suicide is when someone provides an individual with the information, guidance, and means to take his or her own life with the intention that they will be used for this purpose. When it is a doctor who helps another person to kill themselves it is called physician assisted suicide. Euthanasia is the intentional killing by act orRead MoreEuthanasia And Physician Assisted Suicide865 Words   |  4 Pagessubject for people; add in the idea of assisted suicides and there’s an uproar in society. Euthanasia or physician assisted suicide is a very controversial topic in our society today. Physician assisted suicide by definition is â€Å"suicide by a patient facilitated by means (as a drug prescription) or information (as an indication of a lethal dosage) provided by a physician aware of the patient’s intent (Merriam-Webster). There are two modes of looking at assisted suicides; either it’s seen as an absurd immoral

An Overview of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

NGO stands for non-governmental organization and its function can vary widely from service organizations to human-rights advocacy and relief groups. Defined as an international organization that is not founded by an international treaty by the United Nations, NGOs work to benefit communities from the local to international levels.   NGOs not only serve as checks-and-balances for government  and governmental watchdogs but are crucial cogs in wider governmental initiatives such as relief response to a natural disaster. Without NGOs long history of rallying communities and creating initiatives around the world, famine, poverty, and disease would be a much bigger issue for the world than it already is. The First NGO In 1945, the United Nations was first created to act as an intergovernmental agency — that is an agency that mediates between multiple governments. To allow certain international interests groups and non-state agencies to attend the meetings of these powers and ensure an appropriate checks-and-balances system was in place, the U.N. established the term to define them as characteristically non-government.   However, the first international non-government organizations, by this definition, dated back well into the 18th century. By 1904, there were over 1000 established NGOs in the world fighting internationally for everything from the liberation of women and slaves to disarmament.   Rapid globalization led to the quick expansion of the need for these non-government organizations as shared interests between nationalities often overlooked human and environmental rights in favor of profits and power. Recently, even oversight with U.N. initiatives has given rise to an increased need for founding more humanitarian NGOs in order to compensate for missed opportunities.   Types of NGOs Non-governmental organizations can be broken down into eight different types within two quantifiers: orientation and level of operation — which have further been delineated into quite an extensive list of acronyms. In a charitable orientation of an NGO, investors acting as parents — with little input from those benefitting — help initiate activities which meet the basic needs of the poor. Similarly, service orientation involves activities which send in a charitable person to provide family planning, health, and education services to those in need but require their participation in order to be effective.   Conversely, participatory orientation focuses on community involvement in solving their own problems by means of facilitating the planning and implementation of restoring and meeting the needs of that community. Going one step further, the final orientation, empowering orientation, directs activities that provide tools for communities to understand the socio-economic and political factors affecting them and how to utilize their resources to control their own lives.   Non-government organizations can also be broken down by their level of operation — from hyper-localized groups to international advocacy campaigns. In Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), the initiatives focus on smaller, local communities while in City-Wide Organizations (CWOs), organizations like chambers of commerce and coalitions for businesses band together to solve problems that affect entire cities. National NGOs (NGOs) like the YMCA and NRA focus on activism that benefits people across the country while International NGOs (INGOs) like Save the Children and the Rockefeller Foundation act on behalf of the entire world. These designations, along with several more-specific quantifiers, help international government organizations and local citizens alike determine the intent of these organizations. After all, not all NGOs are supporting good causes — fortunately, however, most are.