An Important Macro-Environmental Force in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

An Important Macro-Environmental Force in Vietnam Essay QUESTION 1: An important macro-environmental force on companies is the social/cultural environment, particularly in international markets. Imagine that you are to offer a seminar on the social/cultural environment of Vietnam to foreign businessmen and marketers. Discuss at least three elements of the cultural environment that foreign businessmen should be aware of when doing business in Vietnam. Use specific examples referring to real-life businesses, brands, marketing activities, etc. to support your discussion. Social/cultural forces are the most difficult uncontrollable variables to predict. It is important for marketers to understand and appreciate the cultural values of the environment in which they operate. The cultural environment is made up of forces that affect societys basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. The Vietnamese value system is based on four basic tenets: allegiance to the family, yearning for a good name, love of learning, and respect for other people. These tenets are closely interrelated and based on three main religions which are Buddhism, Confucianism and Christianity. Changes in social/cultural environment affect customer behavior, which affects sales of products. Trends in the cultural environment include individuals changing their views of themselves, others, and the world around them and movement toward self-fulfillment, immediate gratification, and secularism. Firstly, in term of role of people in business environment, the women are not expected to reach high position. This is due to influence of Confucianism, which teach people that a woman should devote all her life to take care of household more than going out to seek foods. The woman is rarely appointed to the first position in a company because man who is lower position usually tends to against the commands coming from a woman. In contrast, a man is expected to become boss who should show his knowledge, learning and power. Secondly, Sex is very sensitive issue so that you should avoid it as much as possible. From an advertisement to a uniform should not be more provocative and especially avoid using obscene words in public conversation. The more you are polite the more you have respect from the others. Furthermore,  rewards and slogans are a part of business. In Viet Nam one of the tenets is earning for good name, so people tend to work hard for reaching some rewards or reputation. It seems that Viet Nam is one of countries, which has the most slogans. People usually act upon â€Å"syndrome crowd† but not patient, so it is better to change your company’s slogan frequently in order to collect and motivate workers following that slogan or the company’s goals. Finally, there are some rules out of laws you should know before starting business in Viet Nam. In some case, you are clearly right, yet someone who holds right making decision say that it is wrong, you can do no things except use some tricks to pass. â€Å"Chá º ¡y† means â€Å"Run†, which uses negatively money covered in the names called gifts, is the most popular way to succeed in document procedures or get some competitive advantages. QUESTION 2: Consider the five stages in the adoption process of a new product, and refer to a major purchase you have made. Identify, describe and discuss each step of that process, using your own case to support your discussion. Be sure to be specific and provide as detailed a description of your adoption process, as possible. You should also discuss the different influences and forces that impacted your purchasing decision. This MBA course is the most major purchase that I have ever bought. In term of considering the adoption process of this course, there are five stages which made me lead to this decision. Firstly, at the beginning of the process, the stage of awareness, which means that the consumer becomes aware of the innovation but lacks information about it. In my situation, I made this plan for a year ago but did not know where I could apply and how its quality was. I started to search for essential information about this course before opened six months ago. After gathering much of raw information, there were four choices which I could make such as RMIT, Hawaii, Columbia and Troy. Secondly, in the Interest stage I began to analyze that information, which could classified into some categories or criterions. Basing on these terms, I matched them to my requirements and made a decision for the most suitable. Finance was the first my issue because all of these course had the  quite high fee. I removed any course that I could not afford. Quality was the second issue I considered very much because I did not want to invest the big money for getting nothing. Time was the last one, which could impact on my decision. It was not only how long this course took and what time a class began. Moreover, I called assistants for more detail information about this course and asked them to send me some materials related to it. Therefore, I had a quite clear view of those courses and easier to make the final decision. Next, after all things considered, I chose MBA program of Troy, which was the most suitable and met more requirements. Those were the fee that I could pay for, the time that I could arrange with work. This happened in the Evaluation stage of adoption process. In the next stage, Trial, in my opinion this might be the transfer course time because I could evaluate the quality and quantity of this program. How was about teachers? Should did I continue or not? And finally, I decided to take this course –Troy MBA 5th intake in March. QUESTION 3: Refer to the article: VN has lucrative retail market: Research and Markets, from Vietnam News (June 15, 2011), copied below. 1. In your opinion, what are the reasons why modern retail concepts may work in Vietnam. Vietnam is famous for a traditional retail, with much many of convenience stores and mini markets placing at anywhere as possible. Therefore, people are formed a habit to buy their needs there. However, I personally believe that a modern retail formats will develop in the short future. There are some reasons why this kind of retail is able to compete with the traditional retail stores embedded in society. Firstly, Vietnam is a developing country with economic growth of around 6.8 per cent in 2010 and will be kept steady for some next years. This means that average income will be increased and then demands more for variety products, quantity and quality of products as well. Consumers tend to buy products that may be different, style, fashion, or special with mass volume and expected price. All things create a strong force for traditional store or mini market, where only offers convenience goods with limited brands, how to meet those demands. Time by time, these stores are not able to satisfy customers’  increasing needs, so that is time the modern retails such as supermarket or hypermarket develops. The second reason is a change of lifestyle. The young generation is more active and dynamic and shopping is one of the most favorite outside activities. Shopping now is not just for buying something but also for enjoying and relaxing. Furthermore, modern people have less time for buying, so they usually go shopping for much more goods in once and then put all of them in refrigerator. The supermarket or hypermarket can meet these requirements easily. The third reason is a strong influence of western culture, which is appearing more clearly recently. The Internet is developing very quickly in Vietnam, so people are able to access to information about western countries easily. The young people tend to western-oriented life, they respect and pursue the modern world with arranged colorful big cities, luxurious cars, and entertainment industry. This changes the way they live and go shopping. Finally, in term of demography, according to the General Statistic Office (GSO) Vietnam population in 2011 in total was 90,549,390 (July 2011 est.) with median age about 27.8 years. This means majority of the population is young and working class with higher purchasing power. The low median age of population means a higher current consumption rate which augurs well for the retail sector. This youthful, exuberant generation, bred on success will not drive the productivity but also set a spiraling effect on consumption and generation of income. 2. In your opinion, are there any pitfalls? If so, explain. There are some pitfalls, in my opinion, in retail market in Vietnam. Shopping habit is the most important one of those. Going to convenience store or mini market to buy necessary things every day is the way the Vietnamese have been doing for a long time. â€Å"Chá » £Ã¢â‚¬  (small market or store) merges in everywhere that makes people more comfortable to buy. Just walk out of home several feet steps, you can encounter many of small stores in  which they sell almost the vital things for living. Moreover, 80% of population of Vietnam who are living in rural areas, where are lack of information about modern life. Thus, retailers should gradually penetrate to these markets to form a shopping habit instead of investing a big budget in style and strange supermarket there. 3. In your opinion, what would be the â€Å"factors critical to the success of the retail industry in Viet Nam†? It is difficult to fit a successful international format directly and expect a similar performance in Vietnam. The lessons from multinationals expanding to new geographies also point to this. For example, Wal-Mart is highly successful in USA but the story is different in Asian countries like China. Therefore, it is important for a retailer to look at local conditions and insights into the local buying behavior before shaping the format choice. Considering the diversity in terms of taste and preferences prevailing in Vietnam, the retailers may go for experimentation to identify the winning format suited to different geographies and segments. For example, the taste in south is different from that in north and this brings challenges to the retailers. Therefore, most of grocery retailers are region centric at this point in time. // may indirect There are some key ways to develop modern market formats. The first, Try and Error mean that a number of retailers are in a mode of experimentation and trying several formats which are essentially the representation of retailing concepts to fit into the consumer mind space. The second, Increasing Acceptance of Rural Markets to exploit mass and potential market // In my opinion, there are two factors critical to the success of the retail industry in Viet Nam. The first factor is that our country’s economy is developing day by day, this lead to change in lifestyle and increase income. Therefore, lever of expenditure is getting higher and the ways to sell and buy is forwarding to the international market formats. The second is that the government of Vietnam gradually reduces barriers of trade by  imposing some laws to favor more foreign investors and also removing some absolute laws. Moreover, Viet Nam has been a member of the WTO since 11 January 2007, this means that it has to play following the same rules and the same trade environment. This offers large and bright road for retailers to dominate in potential retail market in Viet Nam. QUESTION 4: Refer to the communication model described in class, and use two locally available brands of FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), one Vietnamese and the other foreign. Describe, in details, how each brand goes through the elements of the model in their communication with their respective audiences. In your opinion, which one does a better job at communicating, and why? Coca-cola is the most famous brand in the world. It firstly introduced to Vietnamese in 1960 and then immediately received impression from people. After 34 years absenting, in 1994 Coca-cola turned back to Viet Nam as a symbol of America and the number one of producing carbonated beverage in the world. Basing on advantages of famous brand, Coca-cola made a great marketing plan to penetrate in Viet Nam. With this strategy is to create differences and diversities, Coca-cola now holds 65% market share and provides around 25000 jobs for Vietnamese. The question is that how can Coca-cola reach to these achievements when it came to Viet Nam later than Pepsi, the strongest competitor in Viet Nam; when the biggest competitor, Pepsi, has already set up factories and distribution channels completely throughout the country. It may find out some answers to this question in marketing strategies of those. Moreover, in cognitive stage, Coca-cola wants to transmit a messages â€Å"Serve all people†, so Coca-cola uses a great strategy marketing to inform, persuade and remind people. Advertising is the most powerful weapon that Coca-cola used to get potential customers’ attention. It is difficult to find corporations which really fund for advertisements a budget equaling to costs of production, but Coca-cola do this for polishing its brand. Its purpose is to put in consumers’ mind an image of drinking, which is number  one, which is healthy, which is friendly with environment and so on. With young people who are active, enthusiastic; who willing to try different things, Coca-cola used effervescent and provocative advertising clips included a short slogan, which may satisfy ego-centric trends of youth. Moreover, it is wise and creative to use images generating family atmosphere, the most important element in Viet Nam’ value system. Coca-cola has been doing it well by using the box of 24 bottles or cans, which is decorated swallows, happy family, peach tree, cake and something else related to Tet festival in Viet Nam. This creates in consumer’s mind loving, warm family atmosphere, which in turn put in mind images of relationship between Coca-cola and Tet deeply. Because Tet is very important day of Vietnamese, so Coca-cola usually launches large-scale advertising campaign throughout Viet Nam territory. Especially, a series of items, with new packing, style, and attractive colors, were introduced in â€Å"Happiness Factory† in 2009 Tet. In the affective and behavior stages, the customers really engage in activities to create their interest and desire of buying coke. Coca-cola uses very creatively diversity ways such as Money off coupon, Competitions, Free gifts, Point of sales materials and so on. It always chooses one or combined ones for specific or regular time to be launched. It seems that you have to be seen Coca-cola brand or related things every day. On the newspaper or television, on the billboards or posters, on the way you go to work or come back home, or even in the toilet you may see its logos. It is designed to draw in your perception without annoying you. For example, Coca-cola give you free of five style cups, which are printed its logo, in each box of 24 cans you buy. Sometimes you may be engaged in a game of collecting lids to win a car, television or valuable prizes. Understanding an extremely passion of Vietnamese about football, Coca-cola usually hold big programs in the important football events. From donating for the national football team to creating crazy fan club, from some games for prizes to some products for souvenir, all are launched professionally. Sometimes, Coca-cola becomes a major sponsor for a football contest. Coca-cola is usually willing to fund for community campaigns: supporting for  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Cleaning international beach† program in Do Son, collaborating with UNDP to launch the program namely â€Å"Cleaning Water for community in Vietnam† and especially its â€Å"Everest Challenge† program in long-term strategy call Live Positively. By using friendly and profitable public programs, Coca-cola makes the relationships with public closer day by day. In the competitive strategy with Pepsi to penetrate in market, Coca-cola uses mobile means such as bicycle, small store to move everywhere for selling and introducing products. Likewise, Vinamilk is one of successful company in Viet Nam in communication with customers. In the cognitive stage, customers, who are almost children, be attracted by a funny, friendly image of milk cows. Vinamilk wants to transmit to customers a message that â€Å"this milk is made from pure milk of cows and sterilized†. By using a lot of images related to farmers, cows, fields, families, and children, Vinamilk contributes to perception of customers that the products are friendly with environment, vital for health, and suitable for every family. In the affective and behavior stages, Vinamilk holds some sport events, become a sponsor for charity programs, especially almost those programs concentrate on poor children, who do not afford for going to school, who are suffering malnutrition and the other adversity situations. This move impresses children and their families to interest more, desire more, and of course, make a decision to purchase more products of Vinamilk. All things considered, I personally believe that Vinamilk does a better job at communicating with customers than Coca-cola in Vietnam. This is due to the ways Vinamilk informing, persuading and reminding are very friendly, funny, and close to its customers. It chooses the right image for right potential customers at the right time. The funny and lovely cow for the children is showed at school, children television programs, children sport events and so on. QUESTION 5: Consider Porter’s value chain and the holistic marketing orientation model. What implications do they have for marketing planning? How would you structure a marketing plan to incorporate some of their concepts? The marketing planning consists of analyzing market opportunities, selecting target markets, designing market strategies, developing marketing programs, and managing the marketing effort. In short, it outlines the specific actions you intend to carry out to interest potential customers and clients in your product or service and persuade them to buy the product or services you offer. On the other word, it shows how and what customer value is delivered. Therefore, Porter’s value chain and the holistic marketing orientation model help marketers to make a better marketing plan, which satisfies both customers and stakeholders. Firstly, Michael Porter of Harvard has proposed the value chain as a tool for indentifying ways to create more customer value. This model comprises a sequence of value-generated activities found to be common to a wide range of firms. A marketer can use this tool for determining what product features, prices and distributions are, how to utilize sales force, sales promotion, advertising, and other communication tools to announce and promote the product. For example, if the marketer wanted to make a new marketing plan, he or she would need to know core competencies of a company, which may be the current production process, distribution channels and sales approach. The value chain model supports the marketer for adjusting and identifying new product features in order to fit that capacities of production process (in Operations activity) and maximize a level of value that exceeds the cost of this activity, thereby resulting in a profit margin. Moreover, basing on current prices and distribution system (in Outbound Logistics activity), the marketer may determine whether to use current system or to launch new distribution channels. Finally, marketing and sales activities and service activities, which are described in value chain, help marketer find out solutions to promote and deliver product better. Whether a new advertising or sales promotion influence over the other activities in the organizational value chain? What is the most suitable support service to apply to this new product? What is about finance situation?. Looking from this picture, the marketer can make a marketing plan more efficiently and maximize the contributed value of each primary activities and support activities in value  chain model. Secondly, holistic marketing can help capture customer value and succeed by managing a superior value chain that delivers a high level of product quality, service and speed. Basing on value exploration activities, which show how can a company identify new value opportunities, so that marketers easily determine what the most profitable segments are. Next, value creation activities, which show how can a company efficiently create more promising new value offerings, help the marketer know who the customer admires, who they interact with and who influences them to craft new customer benefits. This generates a new idea for adding new features, which in turn increase competitive advantages†¦. QUESTION 6 : What brands and products do you feel successfully â€Å"speak to you† and effectively target your age group? Why? Which ones do not? What could they do better? There is a brand and product that made me impressively at the first sight, Heineken it is. I remembered that I saw a first short advertising clip of it on television several years ago. That was about 32 seconds of moment clip led audiences to experience different level of feelings. At the very beginning, it immediately captured your notice by a gentleman fishing for something in a massive freezing ice bucket with huge efforts and patient. It was very curious to want to know what he was looking for, so your eyes being attached on screen as the way advertiser’s want. Moreover, the melodious music of â€Å"Quando Quando Quando† song really conquered my ears and attention. â€Å"Tell me when will you be mine Tell me quando, quando, quando We can share a love divine Please don ´t make me wait again† After some seconds he picked up a bottle of beer with his blushing and trembling hand and then came to his group of two men, who had the same situation. In the last scenario of the clip, three men were looked very cold  with the bottle of Heineken beer in their hand. All things happened to me was no meaning except the curious, funny, and surprising feelings even though closing scene was showed with slogan: â€Å"Never settle for less†. It took me several minutes after to understand what had been happening, and I am sure that you have the same feelings too. You was put an image of Heineken in mind in the intelligent and interesting way. Thereafter, I began to be interested in searching for information about that beer, which owns and manages one of the world’s leading portfolios of beer brands and is one of the world’s leading brewers in terms of sales volume and profitability. Now, I am completely conquered, so whenever having a chance to drink beers I choose Heineken, which is really delicious beer. This clip also influences on the male, who are mature, by using three gentlemen to create good and respect brand of someone else when drinking this kind of beer. It is successful to position and segment target customers. All things considered, there is no need to launch a large-scale and professional marketing campaign order to inform, persuade and remind me, just needs one 32 seconds of advertising clip is enough. On the other hand, there are some brands and products which do not impress me. ThongNhat bicycle is one of them. In the past, possessing a ThongNhat bicycle was an honor of many people, but now it was defeated in its home. Why? There are many main reasons for this consequence. Firstly, its styles are poor and tradition which do not attract the major customers, who are students tending to fashionable trends. Secondly, its price is quite high compared to same kinds of bicycles and a level of living of almost Vietnamese. Finally, its advertising and sales promotion are not good, it seems that you rarely see it on television except through a word of mouth. In contrast, there are many kinds of China bicycle importing in Viet Nam. These ones meet almost requirements of students in particular and Vietnamese in general. China bicycles are very stylish, fashion and the prices are quite cheap, which are all things ThongNhat needed to consider if it would want to develop and get back its golden age. QUESTION 7 : Consider the lifetime value of customers (CLV). What does the concept refer to? Design an example to support your understanding of the concept. The lifetime value of a customer is a measure of the value of the customer to your business. It is the potential contribution of the customer to your business over a period of time. When you know the lifetime value of a customer, you have a benchmark for how much you would or should be willing to invest to acquire a customer. This means that you should see in the long-term to get potential customers instead of looking in the short-term with a high profit in advance. Therefore, concentrating on creating and maintaining relationships with customers, who will contribute to business’ profit by their loyalty, is very important for a business’ success. Toyota is one of the perfect examples for maintaining customer relationships and brands. It recently has announced to receive up to 2.17 million cars because of a brake fault. This move of Toyota shows not only its responsibility for safety of customers, but also its message that it wants to bring high-valued products and services and the most satisfying ownership experience. This is not the first time Toyota make a recall for some errors, so this can prove how powerful to know and correct fault honestly. Behind this action, Toyota firmly understands about what will happen if one of its clients gets an accident because of that fault. What is more, 2.17 clients and even more will be very satisfied and impressed by this honest and responsible service. It is the beginning point for creating lifetime value of customer when those clients say to their children or friends about this, which in turn to contribute more potential customers to businesses. From generation after generation, those who are willing to buy Toyota car for all their lives. This is the way Toyota generates profits when knowing clearly lifetime value of customer concept. QUESTION 8 : As you have learned, everything can be marketed. Think of yourself, and define and discuss yourself in terms of the 4Ps. It is a reality that everything can be marketed and people in general and myself in particular are not exception. In term of the 4Ps, I myself was considered to be a product for sale. Firstly, regarding to Product concept, with a certificate of information technology engineer and several experiment years, I can offer a labor market capacities of researching, analyzing, and designing information systems, especially the management systems in the financial and accounting fields. Moreover, my English skills are quite good enough for working at international environment. I also can work in high pressure, challenge and creative tasks. In term of service concept, I am patient enough to keep up with a long time project, humor enough to break a tension of someone, humble enough to learn from anyone, compassionate enough to help the others as much as possible, and positive enough to believe that the legend world is true. Secondly, Promotion means that customers have to be made aware of the product. On the other word, I have to do something to inform, persuade and remind the labor markets that who I am, what I can offer and how I can deliver my values. It may be a solution to advertize on some working websites, send curriculum vitae to my friends or go to a company order to introduce myself. Especially, I can involve in some scandals for purpose of noticing the others and media as the way some super stars have done. Thirdly, pricing me is quite difficult and sensitive. The price must be high enough to cover costs (tuition, cost of living, costs of job application) and make profits (salary, bonus) but low enough to attract employers. There are a number of possible pricing strategies. The most commonly used are: PENETRATION PRICING – charging a low price, possibly not quite covering costs, to gain a position in the market. By using this method you can have more chance to get a job, and such opportunity may lead you to success. CREAMING – the opposite to penetration pricing, this involves charging a deliberately high price to persuade employers that the product is of high quality. COST PLUS PRICING – this is the most common form of pricing. Costs are totaled and a margin is added on for profit to make the total price. Finally, in term of Place concept, I am living in Hanoi city where I also want to work. Thus, it is convenient and suitable for the companies, which are located in Hanoi too, which are willing to buy my offers. QUESTION 9 : Colleges, universities and other organizations can be classified as service organizations. How can you apply the marketing principles developed in chapter 13 to Troy MBA? Do you have any advice as to how it could become a better service marketer? QUESTION 10 : Think of some of your favorite brands. Do you know where they come from? Where and how they are made or provided? Do you think knowing these answers would affect your perceptions of quality or satisfaction? Coca-cola is the most famous brand in the world. It firstly introduced to Vietnamese in 1960 and then immediately received impression from people. After 34 years absenting, in 1994 Coca-cola turned back to Viet Nam as a symbol of America and the number one of producing carbonated beverage in the world. Basing on advantages of famous brand, Coca-cola made a great marketing plan to penetrate in Viet Nam. With this strategy is to create differences and diversities, Coca-cola now holds 65% market share and provides around 25000 jobs for Vietnamese. In term of ingredients in Coca-cola, published versions say it contains sugar or high fructose corn syrup, caramel color, caffeine, phosphoric acid, coca extract, kola nut extract, lime extract, vanilla and glycerin. Alleged syrup recipes vary greatly. The basic â€Å"cola† taste from Coca-Cola and competing cola drinks comes mainly from vanilla and cinnamon; distinctive tastes among various brands are the result of trace flavorings such as orange, lime and lemon and spices such as nutmeg. Some natural colas also include cola nut; Coca-Cola does not, and chemical testing reveals none. Because cocaine is naturally present in coca leaves, todays Coca-Cola uses spent, or treated, coca leaves, those that have been through a cocaine extraction process, to flavor the beverage. The coca leaves are imported from countries like Peru and Bolivia, and they are treated by chemical company Stepan, which then sells the de-cocainized residue to Coca-Cola. Some contend that this process cannot extract all of the cocaine alkaloids at a molecular level, and so the drink still contains trace amounts of the stimulant. The  Coca-Cola Company currently refuses to comment on the continued presence of coca leaf in Coca-Cola. To this day, Coca-Cola uses a United States license to purify the coca leaf for medicinal use. (sources: Wikipedia). Advertising is the most powerful weapon that Coca-cola used to get potential customers’ attention. It is difficult to find corporations which really fund for advertisements a budget equaling to costs of production, but Coca-cola do this for polishing its brand. Its purpose is to put in consumers’ mind an image of drinking, which is number one, which is healthy, which is friendly with environment and so on. With young people who are active, enthusiastic; who willing to try different things, Coca-cola used effervescent and provocative advertising clips included a short slogan, which may satisfy ego-centric trends of youth. Moreover, it is wise and creative to use images generating family atmosphere, the most important element in Viet Nam’ value system. Coca-cola has been doing it well by using the box of 24 bottles or cans, which is decorated swallows, happy family, peach tree, cake and something else related to Tet festival in Viet Nam. This creates in consumer’s mind loving, warm family atmosphere, which in turn put in mind images of relationship between Coca-cola and Tet deeply. Because Tet is very important day of Vietnamese, so Coca-cola usually launches large-scale advertising campaign throughout Viet Nam territory. Especially, a series of items, with new packing, style, and attractive colors, were introduced in â€Å"Happiness Factory† in 2009 Tet. Coca-cola uses very creatively diversity ways such as Money off coupon, Competitions, Free gifts, Point of sales materials and so on. It always chooses one or combined ones for specific or regular time to be launched. It seems that you have to be seen Coca-cola brand or related things every day. On the newspaper or television, on the billboards or posters, on the way you go to work or come back home, or even in the toilet you may see its logos. It is designed to draw in your perception without annoying you. For example, Coca-cola give you free of five style cups, which are printed its logo, in each box of 24 cans you buy. Sometimes you may be engaged in a game of collecting lids to win a car, television or valuable prizes. Understanding an extremely passion of Vietnamese about football, Coca-cola usually hold  big programs in the important football events. From donating for the national football team to creating crazy fan club, from some games for prizes to some products for souvenir, all are launched professionally. Sometimes, Coca-cola becomes a major sponsor for a football contest. Coca-cola is usually willing to fund for community campaigns: supporting for â€Å"Cleaning international beach† program in Do Son, collaborating with UNDP to launch the program namely â€Å"Cleaning Water for community in Vietnam† and especially its â€Å"Everest Challenge† program in long-term strategy call Live Positively. By using friendly and profitable public programs, Coca-cola makes the relationships with public closer day by day. In the competitive strategy with Pepsi to penetrate in market, Coca-cola uses mobile means such as bicycle, small store to move everywhere for selling and introducing products. This is in its mission â€Å"Server all people†. In conclude, I personally think that if customers knew about where products come from, how products are made, and how products are provided or delivered, they would understand more about products. This makes customers use those products more efficiently, which in turn contribute better image to customers’ perception and satisfy their requirements.

Promotional Program Situation Analysis

Promotional Program Situation Analysis Sony Entertainment has a large brand name and has a large target market for all of their electronic product line. Because of the high demand for new technology and consumers buying Sony quality products, it has an annual advertising budget of approximately five billion US dollars globally  [1]  . And last year in 2009, Sony spent 3.4 billion dollars in advertising alone, which is around what other competitors spend on advertising. Sony has an effective approach with spending money on advertising their new products and promoting new games for Sony game consoles. The corporation uses a variety of promotional media strategies to advertise new products that are coming out. The way Sony does this is through magazines, newspapers, video game trade shows (like E3), internet advertisement, Playstation internet forums, TV advertising, sponsorship, and word of mouth. The largest reach to consumers is through television commercials. Sony has been found in many different kinds magazines to reach their large target market. Sony airs their commercials on a large scale of channels and networks. For example, Sony PS3 game commercial appears on comedy central, Fox, cartoon network, and many more. Their current commercial is an actor as the Vice President of Sony entertainment that illustrates people asking the VP questions about the PS3 and he answers with something that promotes the PS3 game and console. The commercials have a slight humor to them to keep the viewer interested and to remember the advertisement. Sony Playstation has made appearances in TV shows such as two and half men, and movies, like the 40 year old virgin. The message strategies are to illustrate the entertainment a person gets out of a video game and the detailed computer generated images, CGI, that are used in the games. Overall, Sony Playstation is a strong competitor for the entertainment industry. The competition is moderately intense, but it is fragmented because there is not one major company that dominates the market. The technological trend is leaning towards television advertising and internet advertising. 90% of the target market have internet and 70% use the internet to shop online. Sony is already capitalizing on this trend and spends most of the advertising budget on advertisement spots. The company meets customer satisfaction with its products and customer service. The company is always seeking to make things better and expand its products. Positioning and Campaign Theme Game consoles are trying to reach the demand for the consumers wanting video games that have the latest, like-real life graphics, and an enjoyable experience. When consumers compare the three major video game consoles, Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, and PS3, there is no comparison. The PS3 has everything all in one console. With the new Playstation Interactive, it will bring Sony to another level of gaming and setting it farther apart from the competition. The major difference with the PSI is that it makes the person in control feel like they are really inside the game. PSI is the only product that enables the character to simulate the same movement the gamer is doing by using all of their full body motion. Playstation focuses on having the best technology and implementing having the latest of technology in one console. Sonys mission statement is to experience the joy of advancing and applying technology for the benefit of the public. Sony has positioned all of their product lines around this philosophy. Playstation Interactive will define their position in the market by using product differentiation, and uses of the product. Our logo Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Be interactive positions the product as of being in control of the game and being involved in more than a controller. It also sends the message of being an innovator of having the best and latest technology on the market. Playstation Interactive does more than play games. It has all the capabilities of the PS3. The PS3 slogan now is it only does everything. To keep the mission statement and message of the product to the market intact of its features, another slogan is Having everything at your movement. This slogan shows that it does more than video games, and has the best technology in one console. The message is consistent with the positioning statement. It does this by having slogans that relay the message from an advertisement as it positions the product in the market. As stated above the two slogans that would be used are Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Be interactive and Having everything at your movement. Communication Objectives and Strategies The advertising strategy for the PlayStation Interactive is attempting to communicate the major benefits of the product. The value of the PSI is that it will create an unbelievably real virtual gaming experience. The gamer will feel their game is a reality, which is the ultimate benefit. The goal is to differentiate PSI from any other gaming system that can be made similar, and to appeal to potential customers in a psychologically manner. The objectives of the campaign are to make the PSI a desirable gaming system. Its new technology will be perceived as the leader and pioneer of the next gaming generation. Our objectives are to: Increase knowledge and awareness of this new technology to 90% of gamers in the selected target market in a 12 months period. Close gap in Market share between PS3 and XBOX by introducing new technology. By doing this, we expect to increase our market share by 10% in a 12 months period, and reinforce the brand image of Playstation among existing customers. To achieve our goals we will reach to the early adapters of the gaming industry to have them talking and blogging about our product, creating a Buzz that will provide the company with word of mouth advertising. We will incent product trial and drive purchase among the target market by offering game demos with over 80 games to choose from. We will also set demonstration available to main retailers (BestBuy, Target and Wal-Mart) to stimulate trials for potential customers. A Web site will be launched dedicated to the PSI besides the existing Sony Playstation official Web site. Each game will contain a link to the Web site where users can find out about more games and subscribe to our email list and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.This Web site will also provide visitors with information about the new technology of the PSI. Visitors will be able to order the system and games through the website as well. We plan to offer games with custom made features only for our online customers. We will place advertising ads in the large gaming magazine such as GamePro and Game Informer. We will place commercials on stations such as G4 and Spike which target the same gaming market as PSI. We intend to improve relations with game retailers by providing them with cooperative advertising support. Other examples of advertising would be direct response advertising, co-operative advertising, and sales promotion (like when Sony dropped the price for the PS3 to $299.00). Advertising Appeals The advertising appeals which will be used for the PSI is a fun, sometime humorous and emotional appeal. The advertising will create a desire. Video game/console advertising is sort of like movie trailers, the reason being the trailers get the viewer involved in the situation or, in a gaming case, the action. One commercial, for example, advertises a new game and shows a brief glimpse of what the game is like, the detailed graphics and at the end of the commercial will show the logo for the Sony PSI. An advertisement for the product can show a person playing the Nintendo Wii on the couch and not moving their body just moving the controller. Then the screen will shift to a person playing Playstation Interactive actually moving their whole body as the person in game does exactly the same thing as the person in control. This advertisement will show product differentiation and product usage. Other advertisements can show the advanced graphics of a game with a character running around in the game then the camera will zoom out of the television showing the game footage and show a person running around doing all the things the character is doing, then it will move to a slogan, Be in controlà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Be interactive. We think these types of appeals will work best for our campaign since one of our goals is to establish a reputation for games that poke fun at what many would consider humorous or ridiculous actions by well-known people. Additionally, to help promote games via word of mouth, each game has the option to notify a friend. So, a user can send a text message to a friend instantly to share their excitement or recommendation about the games. Rationale for Creative Recommendations The reason for choosing the advertising strategy selected, is due to the fact that the act of gaming requires more a mental state than a physical state. Therefore by advertising to customers psychological side it may create more of an intense desire to have the newest technology in gaming. Advertising Media Recommendations Strategy We first must create awareness of our virtual gaming system to the novice and serious video gamer so they can be aware that our virtual gaming system actually exists. Secondly we have to show how our gaming system is different and superior to any other gaming system in the market today. This wont be easy task but can yield major dividends if done correctly. In our media strategy we wont neglect the power and the influence of word of mouth advertising which will be a huge factor in promoting our virtual gaming system. The target market we are going to reach has to be overwhelming satisfied with our virtual gaming system otherwise they wont recommend their friends to go out and purchase the system. The target market were reaching would only recommend the system if they all can play against each other. In other words we have to completely satisfy all of their friends so they can all go out and buy a virtual gaming system for their own home. Either we satisfy all of them or none of them to buy the virtual gaming system. We believe word of mouth advertising will eventually supersede all traditional forms of media advertising once people learn more about our virtual gaming system. In the meantime we will coordinate different media strategies to maximize our virtual gaming system by bringing out brand awareness of our gaming system. Advertising and Communication Objectives First our communication to the public will be about how our virtual gaming system is unique to anything on the market. Secondly, any video game enthusiast will have an opportunity to not just a play a video game but to actually feel and be a part of the experience within the game! This is a far different experience then just playing a game and your body movements are mimicked on the screen with the other competitors in our target market. When you think of a video game slogan, such as the one in John Madden Football; Its in the game! This virtual system will entirely change your perspective because the player of the virtual gaming system is going to literally be, in the game. The last message that we want to convey to our target market is that our virtual gaming system comes complete with everything included. No need to go out and buy any accessories to use and play our virtual gaming system since it comes complete in our base package. Target market Video Game Players Teenagers to young adults 15-35 You enjoy playing video games in your spare time and you already own a Playstation 3, Xbox or a WII. This is a video gaming system that you must have immediately! It takes video games the way we know it today and intensives the experience you receive from playing video games and multiplies it 100 over. Getting the system is cool but its even cooler if you get it before all your friends get the system. Since youre the coolest kid out there you open up the virtual gaming system and it blows you away on how realistic and fun the system is. So you decide to brag to all your friends how cool the virtual gaming system is. Since we live in a stay connected era your friends are jealous that not only they dont have a virtual gaming system to play against you, they dont have a system period, to play with. This is an unfair competitive advantage that most teenagers and young adults wont put up with at all. So you know what happens next, youre not cool if you dont own a virtual gaming system. You nag your parents, begin working part-time or you sell your old gaming system to gather the money to get your own virtual gaming system. This is how the popularity of the virtual gaming system will take off and a large part will be attributed to word of mouth advertising. Word of mouth advertising is huge trend in the target market were trying to reach to promote our virtual gaming system. Major Selling Idea or Key Benefits The major selling idea would be that the system includes a 3-Dimensional Virtual gaming experience. This key benefit will be the strength of our selling promotion. Since it gives the video game player an experience they can only enjoy if the use the virtual gaming system. This will be introducing a new state of the art dimension that will be the strength to our sales promotion. The Media Plan To create curiosity among the public, we will first advertise our slogan, follow by the PSI logo and the coming soon words. To effectively market the virtual gaming system we will first have the system setup in a display kiosk at retail stores for people to test and play the virtual gaming system. This will be our Internet/Interactive Recommendation of out media plan. The retail stores we will first launch the system at will retail stores like Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Target, GameStop, Toys R Us and HH Gregg. This will start the process of creating an advertising buzz about the system. This will be done one month before the release date of the actual system to allow people to prepare for the arrival date of the virtual gaming system. In the meantime while they wait for the release date this waiting period will create an enormous amount of hype about or gaming system. Once the systems are all installed and set up and running in all the retail stores listed above we will move to step two of our media plan and thats using the Internet as our recommendation for marketing the virtual gaming system. The Internet advertising will be done on banners on Google, AOL, Bing, You Tube and MSN home pages. This will have our company logo and invite people to see and try out our virtual gaming system kiosk wherever electronics are sold. The advertisement will also list the release date of December 3rd. This will create motion by consumers to get involved and try out the system for a free trail. For an incentive they can obtain a $15 off coupon redeemable off their first game purchase. The timing of this step will be a week after step one has been complete. The timing of the system will be to bring brand awareness in early November and have a release date to be set December 3rd. The rationale behind this marketing strategy is the target market where trying to reach is Internet savvy and love interaction. They will get the best of both worlds with a free trial period and an incentive to buy the virtual gaming system just by coming into the store. This will start the buzz and word of mouth advertising which is exactly the type of response where looking for. Friends discussing their first virtual gaming experience with other friends and bouncing off ideas and opinions about the new virtual gaming system. This will cause our target market to literally salivate from the mouth and cross off each day on their calendar until our December 3rd release date. The third step in our media plan after exactly one week after the Internet/ Interactive phase will be to use mass advertising and more specifically TV advertising. The television advertising will be short commercials showing someone using the virtual gaming system and then it will flash on the screen showing you what they see inside their glasses. The commercial will end with the systems slogan and logo and will simply say, coming December 3rd. Under the release date it will have the companys website address and say visit us online for more details. The television ad will just be used to give people just little bit of information about the virtual gaming system and give them an invitation to the website. When they visit the website it will have the system specifications and FAQs. The website will also show clips of the users at the retail store and interviews from the virtual gaming system designers. It will also have a 10 minute video will a virtual system executive selling to the viewers why the virtual gaming system is so unique. The website will also have a discussion board for others to discuss with others. The rationale behind this form of advertising is to penetrate the market near Christmas time so consumers and families have time to prepare for the added expense during the holiday season. Since our product is a virtual gaming system this will create the broadest amount of brand awareness and since the commercials will be short and to the point will save millions in advertising dollars. The goal for the television advertising is to accomplish a few things. The first is to create brand awareness to the virtual gaming system. The second is giving a brief insight into what the virtual gaming system actually does. The third goal it will do is educate consumers of the release date. Fourth goal is to invite people to visit the website to get more information. Once consumers visit our website were confident they will continue to find out more information by visiting the retail store next for the free trail. The last goal will be for video gamers to purchase our virtual gaming system. Budget Summary The Total Estimated budget is at $1 billion Rationale behind this budget The virtual gaming system kiosk will be approximately $350 million dollars of our advertising budget. This portion of the budget is the Interactive recommendation of our marketing strategy. The second expense will be approximately $150 million dollars in Internet advertising dollars. The remaining $500 million dollars will be dedicated in television advertising since this is the most expensive form of adverting dollars. The expenses will be the order of the steps as listed above. This is the most effective way of reaching the target market and creating awareness of the virtual gaming system. Regardless of whether youre a novice or serious video gamer, this media plan will reach the intended recipient.

The Horror of Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church. Essay example

The Horror of Child Sexual Abuse and the Catholic Church. Early Sunday morning, people shuffle in through the mahogany doors as the smell of Frankincense and Myrrh tickle the nose. Rays of sunlight beam through the stained glass windows, making rainbow images on the red velvet carpet. What sounds like the voices of angels singing praise to the lord harmoniously circulates in the air. A mighty voice roars from the altar, â€Å"Now, let us bow our heads in prayer.† This is a majestic place where one can find peace, confess sins and thank the lord for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon them. In May of 1992, all of this would change, as Catholicism would be thrust to its knees. A story concerning a Catholic Priest sparked the headlines. The Boston Globe newspaper reported, â€Å"Nine allege priest abused them, threaten to sue church† (â€Å"Spotlight Investigation†). The article was a steppingstone for what triggered an intense investigation, extending from Massachusetts to Washington State, into allegations of child sexual abuse and the Catholic Church. For decades the Catholic Church has tolerated and silenced accusations of sexual misconduct by its priests. This essay discusses the link between the Roman Catholic Church, child sexual abuse and the possibility of a cover-up. Are the Archdiocese and the Catholic Church guilty of covering up accusations of child sexual abuse? If so, could the church have stopped the abuse before it became an epidemic? And why have multiple victims come forth alleging sexual abuse after so many years? In order to answer these questions, we must first identify the circumstances surrounding the scandal. First and foremost, the Archdiocese and the Catholic Church spawned a culture of secrecy whe... ... â€Å"Asked to help, priest allegedly abused.† Boston Globe. 05 June 2002 http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories2/060502_matte.htm â€Å"Five Principles to Follow in Dealing with Accusations of Sexual Abuse.† United States. Office of Catholic Bishops. June 1992. http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/kit4.htm â€Å"Major settlements in Catholic sex abuse cases† USA Today. 9 Sept. 2003 http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2003-09-09-catholic-church-settlements_x.htm â€Å"Spotlight Investigation: Abuse in the Catholic Church.† 2003. 20 Oct. 2003. http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/ Turner, Maureen. â€Å"Telling Secrets.† Valley Advocate. 19 Dec. 2003 http://www.valleyadvocate.com/gbase/News/content.html?oid=oid:763 United States. Office of Catholic Bishops. 08 Oct. 2003. 20 Oct. 2003. http://www.nccbuscc.org/comm/restoretrust.htm

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shak

Stereotypical Views Held About Women by Elizabethan Men in William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing Introduction ============ Much Ado About Nothing exemplifies a kind of deliberately puzzling title that seems to have been popular in the late 1590s. Indeed, the play is about nothing; it merely follows the relationships of Claudio and Hero, and in the end, the play culminates in the two other main characters falling in love, which, because it was an event that was quite predictable, proves to be much ado about nothing The pronunciation of the word "nothing" would, in the late 16th Century, have been "noting," and so the title also apparently suggests a pun on the word, "noting," and on the use of the word "note" as an expression of music. In II.3, Balthasar is encouraged to sing, but declines, saying, "note this before my notes; there's not a note of mine that's worth the noting." However, Don Pedro retorts, "à ¢? ¦Note notes, forsooth, and nothing," playing on Balthasar's words, and also demanding that he pay attention to his music and nothing else. In addition, much of the play is dedicated to people "noting" (or observing) the actions of others (such as the trick played on Beatrice and Benedick by Leonato, Hero and Claudio). They often observe and overhear one another, and consequently make a great deal out of very little. Furthermore, women were very oppressed and maltreated during the time, and their status in society was very low. Their names were tarnished with classes, such as "Goddess," "Adulterer," "whore/wife" and "Shrew", and each woman was classed under those headings. They were classed as "nothing" and ... ... in Britain has been exploding over the last 50 years. Majority of the top jobs are performed by men, even though the percentage is slowly sliding downwards, as more women demand equal rights. ===================================================================== Another Hierarchy is that of social class - people were split up into the top class, people like the king and people who were rich, the middle-class, people who were not rich, but not poor. Then, there was the poor class, who could not afford too much, and were very poor. In this play, not many people tell the truth. One of the only one's in the play who speaks the truth is Dogsberry - one of the poorest people in the play. He is adamant that the truth should prevail. This shows that even though he is a "commoner", he is still better than the upper-class.

Song Analysis of Hands Down by Dashboard Confessional Essay -- Music

â€Å"Hands Down† By: Dashboard Confessional Song Analysis Everyone has that one song they can listen to over and over again. There are various reasons people press the repeat button, whether it be the sound of the singer’s voice, the quality of their musicianship, or their heartfelt lyrics and the story they tell. The song â€Å"Hands Down†, by Dashboard Confessional tells the story of a day-in-the-life of lead singer, Chris Carrabba, in high school. Carrabba has said that this song is about the best day he has ever had, and introduces it as such at concerts. Dashboard Confessional effectively uses paradox, irony, imagery, and repetition, to enable the listener to create a visual and experience emotions felt by the writer. â€Å"Hands Down† is an acoustic and emotional song about a teenage boy who has fallen in love with a girl. The setting that is established is a series of events on a significant and passionate night in their relationship. â€Å"Hands Down†, was written to express the feelings and hopes the boy has for their relationship. The song is speaking to the girl he is in love with, and to anyone and everyone who has felt the way he feels in this stage of a relationship. Dashboard Confessional uses the literary device of paradox multiple times throughout the song. Paradoxes seem to contradict themselves, which makes its use so effective when writing about the feelings of a teenage relationship. â€Å"This night is wild, so calm and dull. These hearts, they race from self-control† This line, from the beginning of the song, relates to the anxious and nervous feelings both the boy and girl were feeling. It is describing the anticipation the couple was experiencing about the events to come. Another example of paradox that... ... The repetition used clearly shows the sincerity and meaningfulness of the girl’s kiss. The boy knew that she was sincere in her actions and wasn’t just doing it because it was expected. On the contrary, the night was very special and meant something to her and she expressed her feelings through a kiss. Here, both the boy and the listener realize that she sincerely loves him. Thus, the story is comes to an end, the boy gets what he sought out from the beginning: a real kiss. In conclusion, â€Å"Hands Down†, explains the expectations of our generation and how we, as teenagers react to them. Dashboard Confessional has exceptional talent when it comes to writing relatable lyrics and engaging their fans. This song is a rare example of a boy who is not focused just on â€Å"getting some†, rather he has his sights set on getting the girls’ heart before he gets into her pants.

Domestic Violence in the Lgbt Community

Domestic Violence is fundamentally different in LGBT relationships for numerous reasons. There are many causal and contributory factors that make domestic violence in the LGBT community uniquely different than male-to-female or female-to-male battering. To understand these differences one must recognize domestic violence beyond the stereotypical heterosexual manifestation. According to A Professional Guide to Understanding Gay and Lesbian Domestic Violence, same-sex battering mirrors heterosexual battering, but same-sex victims have fewer resources and are less protected.Seven states define domestic violence in a way that excludes same-gender victims. Making matters worse is the fact that in some states sodomy is still considered a crime which forces a victim to confess to a crime in order to prove a domestic relationship. Many women’s shelters refuse services or safety to same-sex victims. Since same-sex marriage is not legal, many families are not considered â€Å"real fami lies† in the eyes of the law, making it more difficult for these victims to get help. Perhaps one of the most compelling reasons LGBT domestic violence is so different is found in the unique communities of LGBT people.LGBT communities â€Å"provide social forums, rites of passage, rituals for celebration, and bodies of art and literature that combat isolation and allow us to explore our full potentials (Bartlet, 1993). † Because many LGBT people feel shunned and excluded from the American ideal, they have forged their own communities as refuge from the inequalities and persecution of mainstream America. The tools a batterer uses to maintain control, like power and control, cut across all lines of gender identity and sexual orientation, but a batterer’s behavior is always peppered with community influences.Batterers play on their victim’s vulnerabilities and community values to maintain control. The volumes of hate, hostility, and condemnation directed at L GBT people from mainstream America encourage self-loathing and internalized homophobia. It covertly forces isolation and creates a false sense of safety from within the community. And LGBT batterers manipulate those difficult realities to employ highly effective weapons against their partners. So community is a strong contributing factor to domestic violence in the LGBT community.The Frustration-Aggression theory of domestic violence adds another distinction to LGBT domestic violence. In essence, this theory opines that human beings can become violent when their goals are blocked. For gay male and female abusers, this theory is painfully true. Throughout childhood, before sexuality begins to develop, gay youngsters, like everyone else, think about and plan their future selves. They negotiate a life path within the frames of family, community, society, and the culture in which they live.In early adolescence, when sexuality comes to the fore and one’s homosexuality is questione d, those dreams of family and community begin to feel too exclusionary. This can be a time of tremendous stress; the sense of being inherently different and â€Å"bad† can be overwhelming. All the evils about homosexuals one has likely heard in the media and around the family can be internalized, and begin a pattern of self-hate and destruction. All adolescents ask the question, â€Å"Who am I? †, but for the adolescent homosexual it becomes increasingly more difficult to recognize that one is not necessarily growing up to be the person he originally imagined.And the person he is becoming is reduced to villainy by mainstream America. He begins to realize that many of his life goals are blocked, like marriage and basic human rights. Without a strong support system to negotiate and redefine his identity, this can be a traumatic and damaging experience. But family support is often lacking and positive gay role models are scarce. Coming out in adolescence is often a terrif yingly alone experience that can damage the soul and lead to frustration and anxiety that will carry on into future relationships.Coming to terms with second-class citizenship in the families, communities, and society in which he has imagined himself so abundantly different can result in frustration and feed the self-hate that has already started seeping in. And anger develops when certain fundamental goals are blocked. With such rite-of-passage circumstances as these, it is no wonder that domestic violence happens in 39% of gay male relationships (Merrill, pg. 44). A psychological aspect that contributes to the escalation of Domestic Violence in the LGBT community can be associated with the term heterosexism.Many use the term heterosexism to describe an individual who strongly believes in heterosexual relationships. Heterosexual relationships are described as being attracted to the opposite sex and being in intimate contact with only the opposite sex. Heterosexism is used in correl ation to negative attitudes, bias, and discrimination of those who favor same sex relationships. The reason why this term is becoming associated with same-sex relationships that involve domestic violence is due to the use of power and control related to the term heterosexism.The power and control that ensues from heterosexism being used could be easily be described as â€Å"outing the victim in the abusive relationship. † One gathers an idea of the victim’s â€Å"out† status within the individual’s work, friends, and family relationships. Inquiring if the victim has told those he or she cares for about his or her sexual preference usually does this. Knowing this information is beneficial to the abuser because it will allow the abuser to control what the victim will say to the police, or anyone, about any abuse that would exist in the relationship.The contradiction of this term would exist within the abusers identity. The abuser would use the victimâ€℠¢s fear of exposure against that individual as if it would be a bad thing to come out to those who care for and love the victim. The abuser will use ideology related to bigotry slanders, faith, natural law, or popular beliefs as a weapon to keep this victim in the cycle of abuse. Same-sex female domestic violence is an unspoken problem in the lesbian, bisexual, transgender population.Facts about lesbian domestic violence, myths within the population and services are all misconceived reasons why female domestic violence is such a big issue. There is not a lot of data on female same-sex domestic violence. Therefore, most information is taken from heterosexual domestic violence cases and small population samples from the lesbian community such as women’s festivals and lesbian cruises. Within the lesbian, bisexual, transgender community domestic violence is taboo. A fact from the Lesbian Partner Violence Fact Sheet is 17 – 45 % of lesbians have reported being involved in a t least one case of abuse (Rose, 2000).Lesbian victims of abuse are fearful of speaking out for reasons of being judged and pushed out by the lesbian community as a whole. The lesbian, bisexual, transgender communities within a certain area can be small. Unpleasant public allegations ostracize the person and take away community support. Lesbians have few choices of where and how to get help and support, yet the numbers of lesbians affected by domestic violence is about the same as the number of female victims in heterosexual couples (Pattavina, 2007).Types of abuse in female same-sex domestic violence is similar to heterosexual couples, such as hitting, pushing, slapping, disrupting sleep, having sex when one doesn’t want to, and not talking to one another. Behaviors in female same sex domestic violence also include â€Å"jealousy, controlling, becoming involved too quickly, unrealistic expectations, blaming others for their feelings, and hypersensitivity† (rainbowdome sticviolence. itgo. com).A difference is that in a small-knit community, fear of losing support from family and friends isolates and potentially prevents the victim from getting help or even reporting the abuse (Hassaouneh, 2008). But the fear of being â€Å"outted† if that partner is recognized in public, at work, or by the family as being a lesbian is a homophobic fear that hampers the victim in leaving or getting support (Hassouneh, 2008). There is also the isolation within minority groups of lesbians, bisexuals, and transgenders.Lesbians often have less support in terms of cultural, ethnic, and religious background to turn to in time of difficulty, like domestic violence (Pattavina et al. , 2007). Especially in cultures where women are not as valued as much as men, it can lead to feelings of discrimination within one’s own community. There is a myth among the lesbian community that a utopia exists. The myth about â€Å"lesbian utopia† is that women are sensi tive, nurturing, caring, and get along better because of those reasons. Lesbian utopia is just that, a myth. Women do hit, hurt, and violate other women.Another myth about female intimate partner couples is that there is a more masculine â€Å"butch† woman and a more feminine woman in the relationship. That is not always the case. Yet another myth is that the â€Å"butch† or masculine women is the batterer. Again that is not always the case. A big myth is that female same-sex violence is not as dangerous or serious as heterosexual or gay male couple’s domestic violence (Hassouneh 2008). Violence is violence regardless of who perpetrates it. Female intimate partner abuse is under-reported (McClennen and Gunther, 1999).Many lesbians are afraid of losing the only support system they have (Miller et al, 2000). It may be that the perpetrator is their only support system and there is no knowledge of whom or where to turn for help. Then there is the lesbian who does re port and she, the victim, ends up getting arrested (Hassouneh, 2008). The misinformation among law enforcement about how to identify the victim in same-sex domestic violence cases is not always cut and dry (Miller et al. , 2000). There are perpetrators that act as victims.The larger of the two women may get arrested even if she is not the masculine one in appearance. Or the more masculine-appearing woman does get arrested although she may be the victim. There are not always services for women who are lesbian, bisexual, or transgender in the community (Hassouneh, 2008). Either, shelters don’t accept women from the lesbian, bisexual, transgender community or there is no legal standing within the state to substantiate a crime. Many states do not recognize same-sex relationships therefore there are no laws in regards to protection.Many victims in female intimate partner relationships may have experienced violence from a heterosexual relationship in the past. Also â€Å"lesbian i ndividuals are more likely to experience domestic abuse at the hands of their partners than to be exposed to antigay violence perpetrated by strangers† (Pattavina et al. , 2007). A study done by Blaise Fortunata and Carolynn Kohn (2003) of 82 participants, 25 being batterers and 57 non-batterers, states batterers were more likely to have been victims of sexual and/or physical abuse in their childhoods. Also, there was a higher use of drugs and alcohol among batterers.The study suggested some personality traits a batterer would have, such as â€Å"antisocial, aggressive, borderline, paranoid and delusional† (Fortunata and Kohn, 2003). These traits would be seen as lacking in the areas of â€Å"poor boundaries, impulse control, problem solving, affect regulation, along with fear of abandonment, jealousy, low self esteem and an inflated sense of entitlement† (Fortunata and Kohn, 2003). Although Harvey Wallace, the author of the class textbook, would say that there a re not any specific characteristics that would describe an abuser. Wallace then goes n to cite factors by other researchers that backup what was depicted in the Fortunata and Kohn study. Factors or characteristics such as the abuser having â€Å"abuse in the family of origin, low self-esteem, male superiority, authoritarian personality and copes by minimizing the abuse† are Wallace’s (2008) examples. The first step in getting treatment as a victim is to accept that the victim is a victim. Reaching out for help, looking up shelter phone numbers and calling them, or getting a plan together for when the victim needs to get out are some good first steps (rainbowdomesticviolence. itgo. com).Educate the victim in how to create a safety plan by putting personal items such as birth certificate, credit cards, and medications all together so one can leave quickly (rainbowdomesticviolence. itgo. com). Have clothes and hygiene products available in the car or at a friend’s house. Give the victim time to regroup. Her life has been turned upside-down, and the healing process will take a while. When examining homosexual relationships, meaning male-to-male relationships, we see that studies as a whole indicate they have higher rates of promiscuity and violent behavior than heterosexual couples.We must rely on studies for more accurate rates of domestic violence in homosexual couples because much of the abuse is under-reported. Under reporting is due to largely the same reasons we have discussed about why lesbian victims fear asking for help from law enforcement, friends, or family. The American Journal of Public Health has published a detailed study of domestic violence victimization in the homosexual community. It focused on four geological areas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. The study resulted in 2,881 complete interviews (Merrill, pg. 23).In these interviews the men answered highly personal questions under strict confidentiality. This was a large groundbreaking study that has been the cornerstone of homosexual domestic violence research. It was revealed that 39% of those studied reported being battered by their spouse at least once in the last five years. This figure was much higher than heterosexual women victimizations at 11. 6% (Merrill, pg. 44). Men infected with the AIDS virus were more at risk for psychological and physical abuse than their HIV negative peers, and were more likely to be victimized in a sexual manner (Merrill, pg. 1). Solid research like this helps to open our eyes to a real problem with homosexual domestic violence, and it needs to be addressed. We need to de-sensitize law enforcement officials and set up more support for homosexual victims and therapy for perpetrators. There is a direct link between high rates of promiscuity and partner violence because cheating is common. Having multiple partners outside of the relationship can dilute the quality of the relationship; furthermore, it blurs boundary lines. Promiscuity commonly leads to jealousy, which in turn leads to emotional and physical abuse (Cruz, pg. 60). The sexual relationships of gay males are plagued with domestic violence, just as lesbian and heterosexual relationships are. There are many similarities and differences when considering the factors that go into domestic violence when looking at gay males versus lesbians and heterosexuals †¦ lets take a look at a few of them. As discussed before, lesbians have a fear of being â€Å"outted† when others are alerted to the abuse happening in their relationships. Gay males who have not fully come out of the closet have this same fear, which may cause them to not report abuse by their spouses.However, HIV rates run much higher in the gay male population than in the lesbian population, and perpetrators have been known to blackmail their victims with the threat of revealing their HIV- positive status (Cruz pg. 164). In terms of law enforcement and ho w it often handles cases of LGBT domestic violence, they stereotypically see the bigger or more masculine partner as the perpetrator, which often times sends the victim to jail. Police are primarily responsible for enforcing domestic violence laws. Legal agencies, in general, are conservative, and many don’t try to conceal their homophobia.This trait begins with the police, and goes up through criminal justice system. The DA’s, judges, and probation officers have their own social biases, which often do not support gay and lesbian victims. This is especially problematic for criminal prosecutors who enforce victim protection orders. The patriarchal nature of our society makes it difficult for law enforcement to enforce domestic violence laws. This heterosexual bias also reflects the resistance of the prosecution and judicial systems to prosecute same-sex offenders. The vagueness of the mandate to law enforcement personnel allows a great deal of discretion on he part of t he individual officer in the disposition of a domestic violence investigation. â€Å"The lack of systematic training on this issue for police officers heightens the idiosyncratic enforcement of laws. The unpredictable nature of the police response represents a significant deterrent to reporting domestic violence among gay/lesbian/bisexual families. This occurs despite the fact that as a matter of policy, preferred arrest policies do exist in many states and localities. These policies suggest that the preferred response to a report of battering is to make the arrest. There are many resources designed to support the LGBT community. Yet, in researching policies of domestic violence issues, one will find one story after another about the fear surrounding reporting these instances to authorities. It appears that these networks provide the majority of support for many issues, and that those in the LGBT community cannot and perhaps, should not report instances of domestic violence to the police. In conclusion, it is important to remember both the similarities and the differences between heterosexual and LGBT domestic violence.Despite the fact that the same dynamics of power and control are evident in both forms, the sexual orientation of the partners, the effects of the battery, and certainly, whether there are ample helping resources should the victim decide to reach out have everything to do with how the perpetrator chooses to maintain that control. It is essential that we recognize domestic violence in all our communities. And it is essential that we build community-specific strategies to end domestic violence in all its forms.

Ocean Carriers Case Study Solution Essay

Executive Summary Given the current and expected market conditions, the financial department of the Ocean Carriers Group is to evaluate the potential revenues and expenses of commissioning a new capsize ship for cargo transportation in order to meet a received demand for lease. A recommended approach would consist in analyzing the expectations for the world economy, trends in world trade and potential contracts; however, an estimated time of service should be assigned in order to predict future cash flows. Summary of facts In January 2001, Mary Linn, vice president of Finance for Ocean Carriers, had to decide whether to accept an offered leasing contract for the duration of three years. In the event of acceptance of the above-mentioned contract, the profits of the company would depend on the agreed hire rates, operating costs, ship depreciation and inflation. After the closure of the contract, further income would be evaluated based on expected market daily hire rates. The conditions for the proposed lease are shown in exhibit 1. Statement of problem The duration of the leasing contract is quite short so the company has to analyze whether the investment as a whole will prove to be profitable even after the closure of the contract. In order to do so, they will have to take into account the fluctuations of the daily spot rates in the short and long terms, as well as existing differences in taxation policies within its offices in Hong Kong and in the United States. Last but not least, the company has to question the tenability of its 15-year policy. Analysis Spot hire rates Daily spot hire rates are predicted to fall in 2001 and 2002 due to an  increase in the fleet size (63 new vessels are scheduled for delivery) and expected stagnation in iron ore and coal shipments. Iron ore and coal imports are very important for the company because they are about 85% of the cargo it carries every year. Therefore, due to this future stagnation the company will face a weak market position, resulting in lower daily spot hire rates. Overall investment Despite negative market conditions in the upcoming 2 years, long-term prospects look much more promising. Iron ore vessel shipments are going to increase due to new players joining the iron ore industry: India and Australia. As a consequence, in this new global market, daily charter rates and spot daily charter rates will probably rise producing additional demand for shipments. Company’s 15-year policy The company used to scrap or sell ships just before their 15th year of navigation to avoid paying for maintenance expenses related to the 3rd special survey. According to our calculations presented in the Exhibit 2, scrapping the vessel before the 15th year is not recommended. Results show that the NPV of a ship after 15 years is higher than the scrap value of 5 million dollars. Thus, we advise the company to keep the ship longer than 15-year period, since operating the vessel over a longer period will earn additional profit and the ship can be scrapped some time later, granting the same million dollars. However, there are few factors that signal why company might be willing to get rid of the vessel. Firstly, if the company’s priority is to keep a young fleet of cargo ships, operating ships older than 15 years may not be the optimal choice. In fact, older ships are riskier and are less efficient. Secondly, due to low demand for older ships, leasing the same vessel in future might be an ineffective venture. Investment decision We computed two separate calculations for given two assumptions in Exhibit 2.  According to assumption A the company operates in United States, thus has to pay 35% of taxes, whilst according to assumption B, company operates in Hong Kong, and it’s exempt of taxes. Our calculations show that NPV in the first scenario is negative in both 2017 (-6,350,239) and 2027 (- 4,285,462) due to very high taxes, while in the second scenario the NPV is positive in both 2017 (1,719,018) and 2027 (4,025,600). It’s important to understand why we presented two columns for 2017. First column shows the numbers in the case of operating a vessel for 15 years, whilst second column shows the values in case ship was to be operated for a longer period. Another important fact to consider is that in the first scenario, when the company operates ship only for 15 years, we excluded the capital expenditure for 2017 related to the survey, Whilst, in the second scenario, while operating the ship for more than 15 years, we added the yearly capital expenditure back. We made an important assumption; we did not include capital expenditures linked to the last special survey, because we assumed that the company is scrapping the ship just before the special survey is conducted. Recommendations In conclusion, keeping in mind what we demonstrated before, the company should invest in the production of the new vessel only in Hong Kong and should not scrap it after 15 years, because its NPV will still be positive.