MGM600-0803B-02 Applied Managerial Decision-Making - Phase 3 Essay - 1

MGM600-0803B-02 Applied Managerial Decision-Making - Phase 3 Individual Project - Essay Example Thus the chi-square test hypothesis may be described as follows: The test statistics is calculated by the formula T = (n-1) (s/ ÏÆ'0)2. The main element of this formula is the ratio s/ ÏÆ'0 which compares the ratio of the sample standard deviation to the target standard deviation and n is the sample size and s is the sample standard deviation. The more this ratio deviates from 1, the probability of rejecting the null hypothesis increases. Here X2 (., n-1) is the critical value of the chi-square distribution where n-1 represents the degree of freedom. X2a is considered as the upper critical value and X2 1-a is considered as the lower critical value in the chi-square distribution. The chi-square test is performed to obtain answer questions like, whether the standard deviation is less than the predetermine value of standard deviation, whether the standard deviation is greater than the predetermine value and whether the standard deviation is equal to the predetermined value (Engineering Statistics Handbook. 1.3.5.8. Chi-Square Test for the Standard Deviation). The F-test is conducted to check whether the standard deviation of two set of population or sample is equal. Like chi-square test this can either be a two-tailed test or a one-tailed test. The two-tailed version tests against the alternative that the standard deviations is not equal and the one-tailed version tests in one direction, that is the standard deviation from the first population is either greater than or less than the second population’s standard deviation . The option of the test is confirmed by the problem. This is applied in a case while testing a new process and when a firm wish to know if the new method is less variable than the old one. F hypothesis test is represented as follows: Chi-square distribution can be found out using a statistical

Report on Housing Prices Statistics in Oregon from a Sample of 108 Houses Essay Example for Free

Report on Housing Prices Statistics in Oregon from a Sample of 108 Houses Essay From the eleven variables identified, area of living space in the house (sq_ft), age of the house in years (age) and selling price of the house in thousand dollars (price) were identified to be in the ratio scale for the level of measurement while number of bedrooms (beds), number of bathrooms (baths) and number of spaces for cars in the garage (garage) were identified to be in the ordinal. Lastly, the variables architectural style (style), school district were the house is located (school), method of heating the house (heat), presence of fireplace (fire) and presence of basement (basement) were identified to be in the nominal scale. These levels of measurement were the basis on what type of tests were done for the different analyses (See Appendices for table 1). On all the tests and comparisons with p-values, a 95% level of confidence is used. Descriptive Statistics on the Variables With the results gathered, most of the houses use the gas forced air method of heating. Out of the 108 houses, 96. 3% use this method while only 3. 7 use the electric baseboard heating. Also, most houses are of ranch architecture. Of the 108 houses, 40. 7% are of this architectural style, 36. 1% are of the tri-level style while 23. 1% are of the two-story type. Moreover, 84. 3% of the houses have basements. Similarly, 88. 9 of them have fireplaces. Lastly, the largest part sampled houses are located in the Apple Valley School District. From the 108 houses, 60. 2 are located in this school district while the rest are in Eastville (See Appendices for tables 2, 3, 4, 5 6). For the ordinal variables, the median number of bedrooms in the house is four which means that fifty percent of the houses have less than four bedrooms while the rest have more than four bedrooms. Similarly, fifty percent of the houses have less than three bathrooms while the other fifty percent have more than three bathrooms. In the number of spaces for cars in the garage, fifty percent of the houses can accommodate no more than two cars while the other fifty percent can. From the sample, most of the houses have three bedrooms, three bathrooms and can accommodate two cars. Since these three variables are rank variables, the means for each cannot be computed (See Appendices for tables 8, 9, 10 11). For the ratio variables, it was found out that the mean selling price of the house in Oregon is 97. 99226 thousand dollars. With a relatively small standard error of 2. 543183, the statistic for the selling price is considered accurate. Fifty percent of the houses are priced below 92. 46950 thousand dollars while the other 50% have selling prices greater than 92. 46950 thousand dollars. Having a variance of 698. 520, the data from the sample are considered to be extremely dispersed. On the average, the selling price of a house in Oregon deviates by 26. 429529 thousand dollars from the mean selling price of the house generated from the sample. The mean area of living space in the house in square feet is 1745. 72. However, the standard error of the mean, which is 42. 836, is sufficiently large. The data values for this variable are the most dispersed among the three ratio variables having a variance of 198173. 39. Fifty percent of the samples houses have areas which are below 1758. 00 square feet while the other fifty have areas greater than 1758. 00 square feet. On the average, the area of living space in the house deviates by 445. 167 square feet from the mean. For the last ratio variable, the mean age of the house in years is 11. 23. Having a standard error of 0. 448 which is very small, this statistic is considered accurate. Fifty percent of the sampled houses are below 11 years of age while the rest are more than 11 years of age. The distribution of the variable is not that dispersed. With a variance of 21. 675, the age variable is the least dispersed among the three ratio variables. On the average, the ages of the houses deviates from the mean by 4. 656 years only (See Appendices for table 13). Summing up the descriptive measures obtained on the eleven variables, a typical home in Oregon has an area of 1745. 72 square feet, approximately 11 years of age, has four bedrooms, three bathrooms and can accommodate two car spaces in the garage. Furthermore, it is of ranch architecture and uses the gas forced air method of heating. It has a basement and a fireplace. It is located in the Apple Valley School District and its selling price is 97. 99226 thousand dollars. Correlation From the scatterplots, the selling price is identified to have a positive linear relationship with area of living and a negative, close to nonlinear relationship with age of the house (See Appendices for figures 12 13). Since the data do not follow the normal distribution Spearman’s rho was used to determine the correlation between the dependent variable, price, and the other ratio scale variables (See Appendices for table 24). With a correlation coefficient of 0. 828, there is a positive very strong linear relationship between the selling price and area of living space in the house. Moreover, even if there is a negative weak linear relationship between selling price and age of the house in years, both the correlations of selling price with area and age are significant with p-value equal to 0. 000 (See Appendices for tables 14 15). Also, though there is a negative weak linear relationship between the ratio variables age and area for the -0. 292 Pearson correlation coefficient, the 0. 000 p-value says that the correlation is significant. Pearson correlation was used for the two ratio variables because both are normally distributed (See Appendices for table 22). For the ordinal variables, all of them have a significant correlation with selling price with p-values 0. 007, 0. 000 and 0. 000 for number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms and number of car spaces in garage, respectively. The number of bedrooms in the house has a positive weak linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 259. Moreover, the number of bathrooms in the house has a positive strong linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 675. Also, the number of spaces for cars in the garage has a positive moderate linear relationship with selling price having a correlation coefficient of 0. 475 (See Appendices for table 16). Among the ordinal variables, the number of bedrooms and number of bathrooms, and the number of car spaces and number of bathrooms has a significant correlation, with p-values equal to 0. 000 and 0. 003 respectively, and has a positive weak linear relationship, with correlation coefficients of 0. 358 and 0. 283 respectively (See Appendices for table 23). Among the nominal variables, only the architectural style has a positive moderate association with selling price having an Eta coefficient of 0. 485 (See Appendices for table 18). The rest has either weak or very weak associations with selling price (See Appendices for tables 17, 19, 20 21). For the two categories of method of heating, it was found out that the use of gas forced air in the house, presence of basement and presence of fireplace increases the selling price of the house. The school district location also affects the selling price. Houses located in Apple Valley School District tend to have higher prices than that of Eastville School District. Moreover, there are no significant differences on the selling prices of houses with tri-level and two-story architectural style. However, houses that are of ranch architectural style tend to have higher selling prices than that of the tri-level and two-story architectural styles (See Appendices for tables 31, 33, 35, 37, 39, 41 43). Predictors of Selling Price Using the regression model, the selling price of a house, when all other factors are held constant, decreases by 16. 113. The interpretation for the intercept is significant since the confidence interval of the estimate includes zero. Holding other factors constant, the selling price is estimated to increase by 0. 042 thousand dollars for every square feet increase in the area of living space of the house. Also, there is an estimated increase of 3. 269 thousand dollars on the selling price for every unit increase in the number of bedrooms holding other factors constant. The selling price is estimated to increase by 13. 876 thousand dollars for every unit increase in the number of spaces for cars in the garage holding other factors constant. Similarly, an increase of 6. 953 and 4. 269 thousand dollars on selling price is estimated if there is a basement and a fireplace, respectively, in the house. The selling price is also estimated to increase by 4. 874 thousand dollars if the house is located in Apple Valley School District with other factors held constant. Furthermore, the selling price is estimated to increase by 11. 053 thousand dollars if the house is of ranch architectural style holding other factors constant. If the house is of a two-story type, there is an estimated increase of 1. 714 thousand dollars. If the architectural style is tri-level, then the value to be multiplied with the beta estimates for two-story and ranch will be equal to zero since the coded value for tri-level in the dummy variables is zero (See Appendices for table 44). With a Durbin-Watson statistic of 1. 746, then the residuals are independent. Having an adjusted R square of 0. 820, the variation in the selling price of the house can be explained by the eleven variables. A mean square error of 126. 070 implies that the sum of the squared deviations of the selling prices to the true value is relatively small. With a computed F statistic of 45. 169 and a corresponding p-value of 0. 000, then the regression adequately represent the data and can be useful for prediction (See Appendices for tables 45 46). To test, given the following data on a certain house: two-story house with 1600 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a one car garage, gas heat, a basement, no fireplace, is 9 years old, and is in the preferred school district, then the predicted selling price of the house is 60. 804 thousand dollars. Summary The larger the area sizes of the living space of the house, the more expensive the selling price. Also, more number of bedrooms and spaces for car in the garage would also increase the selling price. In terms of architectural style, the ranch type would increase the selling price of a house most than the other two styles. Finally, the house with a basement, a fireplace and which is located in the Apple Valley School District increases also the selling price.

Analysis Starbucks Operational Financial Organisational Marketing Capabilities Marketing Essay

Analysis Starbucks Operational Financial Organisational Marketing Capabilities Marketing Essay The organisation chosen for the task is Starbucks Corp. and the report would compare it with two similar companies, one being Costa Coffee and the other being Caffà © Nero. The report would highlight the frameworks underpinning the competitive position of Starbucks and also would identify and asses the economic and the competitive position of the firm. A financial model using appropriate ratio analysis would also be presented in a spreadsheet format identifying the industry trends and their impact on the performance of Starbucks vis-à  -vis Costa Coffee and Caffà © Nero. Both quantitative and qualitative data would be made available so as to provide an insight into Starbucks sustainable performance and prospects. Analysis of Starbucks operational, financial, organisational and marketing capabilities would be made available through application of PESTEL analysis and Porters 5 forces model. The report would also discuss the issues, the problems, the opportunities and the options available to Starbucks for future business growth, followed by conclusions to draw together all the variables identified. Recommendations would be provided for the company highlighting the direction it needs to take to ensure business profitability with comments on the suitability, acceptability and the feasibility of the options made available. INTRODUCTION The Starbucks Company was founded in Seattle in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Seigel with a vision to educate American consumers about the fine coffee drinking experience. In 1987 Howard Schultz took over the Starbucks Group, he wanted to create the Italian espresso bar experience in the States by creating a personal relationship between the customers and their coffee. In 1995, the company really took off with the opening of its 676th store, and the expansion strategy to Hawaii, Singapore and Japan being very successful. By 2000, 3,300 stores were already in operation and Starbucks had ventured into markets ranging from England to Australia. As standing, Starbucks is number one in the industry, with more than 12,000 shops in more than 35 countries. Just within a couple of years they grew from a small coffee business house to a multi-million dollar player in the speciality coffee industry by buying only the best coffee available and providing the people with an unmatched store experience. The Starbucks mission statement is To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighbourhood at a time. Freshly brewed coffee is the main product offered by Starbucks along with other drinks which include cold and hot teas, cakes and pastries. The Starbucks coffee comes in a many varieties each possessing a different taste, aroma and flavour. INDUSTRY TRENDS AND MARKET ANALYSIS The market right now for gourmet coffee business is hot. All the multi-national fast food chains and street-corner shops want in on the boom. Many big companies are focusing on the supply of specialty branded coffees and the scenario is heating up. Specialty coffee is one of the fastest growing food services markets globally. Growth in the coffee industry is continuously peaking, with many new overseas companies entering the market using policies like special discounts and perks despite the questionable quality of the coffee being used to increase the market share. A notable trend seen is that often a significant increase in sales occurs every time a cafà © starts to use branded consumables. The consensus is that these coffee drinks would be a long-term trend, with focus on elevating the customers taste for a product that they are already familiar with and then leading them to coffee houses to get it. Many companies are also tinkering with expanding the food menus as well including an in-store display of fresh baked goods, sandwiches and various confectionary items. The newest trend is the drive-thru coffee stores. Starbucks has many such stores, all of which are seeing continual growth and long lines. Another trend includes customer requests for organic coffees, which has encouraged retailers to move towards the beans growing environment. The array of products offered has never been as wide, as retailers are adding more flavours to whole beans and creating variations to the basics of espresso and steamed milk. The clever retailers have added iced tea concoctions and coffee shakes to their menus to outdo competitors. Most specialty retailers now also retail whole beans and many such stores have added coffee grinders, espresso machines and other brewing supplies for add on sales. STARBUCKS ANALYSIS This part of the report would analyse the working of the business by application of PESTEL analysis, Porter 5 forces and the BCG Matrix. PESTEL Analysis POLITICAL Taxation policy High taxes levied on farmers in the bean producing countries, would consequently increase the rate at which Starbuck would buy the coffee beans and any such fluctuations in the taxation policy would certainly be passed on to the consumer, who now would have to purchase the end item at a higher price. International trade regulations and tariffs Trade issues would affect Starbucks directly when exporting and importing goods. When the government of the trading country imposes a tariff it would not only result in an efficiency loss for Starbucks but such large income transfers can also become inconsistent with equity. This extra charge would have to be borne by the consumers. Government stability A change in government policies has a direct impact on the taxation and legislation framework. Also the countries in political turmoil or civil war should be approached with great caution when considering new ventures. Employment law A reduction in licensing and permit costs in the bean producing countries would lower production costs for farmers. This saving would in turn be passed on to Starbucks when purchasing beans and finally to the consumers. ECONOMIC Interest rates High interest rates would mean putting off the investment and expansion plans of Starbucks, which would result in fewer earnings for the firm. Low interest rates should have the opposite effect. Economic Growth Consumer incomes would fall in periods of negative growth leaving less disposable income impacting the sales for Starbucks. Inflation rates Business costs will rise in times of inflation which would ultimately have to be borne by the consumer. Competitors pricing Competitive pricing from competitors would impact Starbucks pricing that would drive down the profit margin as they try to maintain their market share. Exchange rates If the currency value falls in a bean supplying country, Starbucks would get more for the same price, when importing the goods. This saving would be passed to the end consumer. SOCIAL Population demographics Identification of the target population at which Starbuck needs to aim their products is a significant factor in the business operations. The marketing campaign undertaken would focus accordingly. Coffee is more of a luxury product, so the people with the most amount of disposable income should be targeted. Working Population A large number of workers in big cities now go out for lunch and meals. Starbucks can cash this to their advantage and promote the shop as a place where people can meet and eat, boosting the sales. Location A good location which is easily accessible is vital to ensure that the customers visit the shop. TECHNOLOGICAL IT development Starbucks launched its first-generation e-commerce website in 1998. As a result, scalability and performance have improved, and the company now has the tools it needs to profile and target customers, analyse site data, and deliver new features to the market in the shortest time possible. New materials and processes Developments in the technology of coffee making machines and the computers that Starbucks use to run their cash registers will enable their staff to work more quickly and efficiently. This will result in customers being served quicker and create the potential to serve more customers in a day.. Rate of technological change The pace at which technology is advancing is astounding. Starbucks would need to invest heavily just to stand still in the ever expanding and developing market, and even more so to try to stay ahead of competitors. ENVIRONMENTAL Pollution problems Starbucks customers create a lot of waste by disposing off the cup and the contents incorrectly. The material for the cup should be carefully considered to make it as biologically degradable as possible. Planning permissions Planning permission may not be granted to Starbucks if the construction would harm the environment. The land may be protected. Work disposal There are strict laws in most countries pertaining to waste disposal and non-adherence to these could lead to Starbucks being sanctioned, which would affects them financially and also tarnish the reputation of the brand name. Environmental pressure groups Starbucks should be aware of the physical and influential power of groups such as Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth. Any violation of animal or environmental rights by a company is usually followed by a swift and attention-drawing protest from one of the groups. Brand image and customer bases are often irreconcilably tarnished due to the actions of these groups. LEGAL Trade and product restrictions Starbucks need to be aware of the trade laws in the countries where they have established businesses. They need to ensure they are not in violation of any such laws. Certain countries impose a tariff that has to be paid when goods are imported/exported so this must be taken into account as well. Employment laws Each country has different employment laws, like a limit on the number of hours an employee can work per week, varying levels of minimum wage etc. Starbucks should be aware of such factors when considering business expansion. Health and Safety regulations By not maintaining high standards they would be liable for damages if found in violation as it is a legal requirement for them to enable that their staff and customers are safe when they are in their stores. Land use Starbucks have to abide by the laws of the building authorities when constructing shops or altering purchased sites and if found in violation of land rules, it can be panalised by the local authorities. PORTER 5 FORCES ANALYSIS 1. COMPETITIVE RIVALRY Starbucks is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world. Major competitors include Costa coffee, Caffà © Nero, Seattles Best Coffee and secondary coffee providers such as McDonalds, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts. The competition is nowhere near to Starbucks volume of operations and sales. Consumption of coffee is not dependent on the price of the product but also on the differentiation between each product and several value adding variables such as the quality of customer services, brand, brand recognition and image of the company. Hence, Starbucks is not majorly sensitive to movements of other firms in this segment. 2. THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS Starbuck is the world leader in its industry and has controlled access to distribution channels. Starbucks have exhibited this control over distribution channels by setting guidelines for their suppliers to follow. Starbucks is also constantly innovating and showing strong product differentiation to hamper the possibility of new entrants. However, the entry barrier for the industry is relatively low and any big firm where capital is not a problem could be a potential entrant. Some of the more current and on-going threats of new entrants include fast food chains such as McDonalds, Burger King and Dunkin Donuts which can become a major problem in the near future. 3. BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS A big threat to Starbucks is the absence of switching costs in the speciality coffee industry, customers face no switching costs in switching from Starbucks to Costa Coffee or Caffà © Nero for a cup of coffee. Another threat to Starbucks is that their customers have the ability to brew their own coffee. Starbucks has tried to counter this threat by offering Preferred Office Coffee Providers as well as directions on how to make the perfect cup of Starbucks coffee at home, called the Four Fundamentals of Coffee. The perfect cup of Starbucks Coffee includes, of course, Starbucks ingredients! Also with new entrants and competitors such as McDonalds who claim to offer premium roast coffee of reasonable quality for lower price, it is clear that Starbucks customers have some bargaining power in the industry. 4. BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS Coffee is the worlds second largest traded commodity. South and Central America produce the majority of coffee traded in the world. Starbucks depends upon both outside brokers and direct contact with exporters for the supply of premium coffee beans. The quality of coffee beans sought by Starbucks is very high, proving to be a potential threat to the company. Only suppliers who can meet Starbucks coffee standards will be able to supply the giant company. The supplying industry only has few firms which can deliver the quality giving them considerable bargaining powers. However, Starbucks counters this due to its massive size and being the primary buyer and also because of the importance of Starbucks business to any individual supplier as it would account for a large percentage of the total suppliers sales, thus reducing the bargaining power of suppliers. THE THREAT OF SUBSTITUTION Substitute products are the products that can pose as a trade-off for the product being offered by a company. In the specialty coffee industry, substitute products can be soft drinks, tea, energy drinks, fruit juices and other caffeinated drinks. Here innovation would play a huge role. To counter this Starbucks have given their menus a complete revamp and have differentiated so many of their products which are now part of the main product line. The menu includes various teas, hot and cold coffee, baked goods and various confectionary items. The only true direct substitute for specialty coffee would be the basic coffee, which is of lower quality than specialty and as such does not present any threat. STARBUCKS FINANCIAL ANALYSIS This part of the report would highlight the financial position of Starbucks using the annual reports and comprehensive ratio analysis for the financial years 2008, 2009 and 2010 which are enclosed in the appendix. 2008 In fiscal 2008, Starbucks experienced declining store sales in its stores, primarily due to lower customer traffic. The weaker traffic was caused due to number of on-going factors in the global economy such as the higher costs of gas and food, rising levels of unemployment and personal debt along with reduced access to consumer credit. In fiscal year 2008, store sales declined a margin of 8%. Consolidated operating income was $503.9 million in fiscal 2008, and operating margin for the year was 4.9% compared with 11.2% in the prior year. Approximately 260 basis points of the decrease in operating margin was a result of restructuring charges, primarily related to the significant US store closures. EPS for fiscal 2008 was $0.43, compared to EPS of $0.87 per share earned in the prior year. Restructuring charges and costs associated with the execution of the transformation agenda impacted EPS by approximately $0.28 per share in fiscal 2008. 2009 Fiscal 2009 was a challenging year for Starbucks. The difficult economic environment had strained consumer discretionary spending in the US and internationally, which negatively impacted company revenues, store sales, operating income and operating margins. Starbucks responded by creating a business model that was less reliant on high revenue growth to drive profitability. The primary initiatives of the strategy included rationalizing the global company operated store portfolio and reducing the cost structure, while renewing the focus on service excellence. Starbucks closed down approximately 1000 stores. Initiatives targeting reductions in the cost structure in fiscal 2009 proceeded as planned, with full year costs of $580 million removed from the cost structure. The company maintained a solid financial foundation, with no short term debt outstanding at the end of fiscal 2009 and with cash and liquid investments totalling more than $650 million. The solid financial position and continued strong cash flow generation provided Starbucks with the financial flexibility to implement its restructuring efforts. 2010 In fiscal 2010, revenues increased to a record $10.7 billion. Operating income increased by $857 million from  ¬Ã‚ scal 2009 to $1.4 billion. The full-year operating margin of 13.3 % represented the highest full-year consolidated operating margin in Starbucks history. Fiscal 2010 ended with the highest full-year comparable store sales growth that Starbucks have seen in the recent past, while the earnings per share also grew more than double from  ¬Ã‚ scal 2009. BENCHMARKING WITH COSTA COFFEE AND CAFFÉ NERO Starbucks is a US chain whereas both Costa Coffee and Caffà © Nero were established in the UK. Costa Coffee was setup in London in 1971 by Bruno and Sergio Costa and acquired by Whitbread PLC in 1995. Caffà © Nero was established by Gerry Ford in 1997 in the UK. The comparison would be carried out using the financial information of the three firms which is available in the appendix. The comparison would majorly be based on the UK market. There are 1,175 Costa Coffee shops in Britain as compared to 731 of Starbucks and 440 of Caffà © Nero. A comprehensive business analysis of Starbucks has already been supplied in the above report; this part would focus on the business analysis of Caffà © Nero and Costa Coffee individually followed by a coherent conclusion of the findings. Costa Coffee According to the financial data available operating profit grew by 59.5% to  £36.2  million; 312 net new stores were acquired or opened and like for like sales increased by 5.5. Costa operates in 25 countries and is now the number two international coffee shop operator with 1,600 stores: 1,069in the UK; and 531 overseas. Sales performance improved strongly across the year, confirming the brands resilience, even in a recessionary environment. Caffà © Nero The groups 60% equity is held by the Ford family, the rest 30% by a private equity firm Paladin and 10% with the management. Caffà ¨ Nero has recently completed a successful  £140m refinancing in a bid to fund the businesss future growth ambitions. The business, which has 500 outlets in the UK and internationally and has registered 54 consecutive quarters of positive like-for-like growth, is forecast to generate  £31m in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) for the 12 months to May 2011. Revenue for the same period is forecast to reach  £171m, an increase of 11% on the previous year. The new financial structure would provide the Group with a financial platform to support its growth ambitions and expansion plans both in the UK and internationally. Nero has a lot of ups including strong brand positioning, intensive marketing campaigns and a clear differentiation point. However, there are some weaknesses, one of them being lack of experience in going international, thus some problems could arise while penetrating foreign markets. Though both the companies Costa and Nero are well established in the UK market, Starbucks is the industry leader in the world and is a major competition to them in the UK. Financial turnover of the Starbucks Group is so massive that it provides them with all the capital requirements to innovate and differentiate their product from the 2 competitors; it already has established a sizeable market share in the UK, but still needs to take over Costa Coffee which it should be able to do in the near future, looking at the financial figures provided and the international global strategy adopted by the group which seems very promising. ISSUES FACING STARBUCKS The major challenge that Starbucks is dealing with is the current financial crisis in the world economy forcing them to call closures of many stores around the world. Another challenge that Starbucks is dealing with is competitors. There are numerous coffee shops all over the world and being able to stand out to generate customers is important. Their main competitors are Dunkin Donuts, McDonalds, and Nestle in the US and brands like Costa Coffee and Caffà ¨ Nero in the UK, the two major markets for Starbucks. It is important that for Starbucks to know their competitors and what they are currently doing. Also Starbuck coffees are priced higher than other market competitors because of Starbucks only purchasing the highest quality coffee beans for their product, thus increasing the price of the drink. As Starbucks have many competitors, this can be a potential advantage to for such competitors. Also Starbucks inadequate marketing strategy on advertising is a hindrance in the business growth opportunities. They prefer to build the brand by promoting the drinks cup-by-cup with customers. The advertisement ends until they drink the coffee, reducing the chances to attract valuable customers. Starbucks also does not emphasize on distributing their products to supermarket because of being concerned with the quality of the coffee; if the coffees were packaged into plastic bags. Also the rigorous expansion strategy followed by Starbucks can take a toll on the firms brand image. As corporations grow there can be a tendency to focus too heavily on increasing output and locations, and less focus on quality and brand image. Starbucks needs to stay with its values and ideals that have made it successful. Also Starbucks policy of not franchising can be a cause of concern for the firm. Advantages of Starbucks franchising would be to open hundreds of new stores with less risk to the company, and make profits in doing so. In addition Starbucks would have less research and development costs because the franchisee would have greater knowledge of the local market in terms of demographics, psychographics, geographic, and local/state/country regulations. RECCOMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION Starbucks has to effectively pursue a Focus-Based Strategy in conjunction with differentiation and cost leadership based strategy. Being a lower cost store will increase the difference between Starbucks and provide it with a competitive edge. At present, Starbucks competitors are attempting to specialize in the coffee business, therefore Starbucks must pursue focus strategy to increase its strength. Starbucks must reduce their product price by producing a new product of coffee using cheaper beans or can come out with special discounts and promotions to reduce cost, thus increasing sales enabling Starbucks to enter new low cost markets and increase profitability. Also needs to focus on building alliances in new markets/countries to reduce management focus and benefit from the local and experience curves. Should focus on advertising the brand through internet services for users to access, do road shows, hand out brochures etc. so that consumers become more aware of the brands strong international presence and brand name. Market penetration and market development will help increase the sales. Access unexplored distribution channels like making available packaged Starbucks coffee for consumers by displaying it nationwide in various convenience and shopping stores and not only Starbucks stores. Starbucks must adopt twin policies of Product Development and Product-Market Diversification to counter the stiff competition in international markets. It is important to understand this in the product development phase as they would need to focus solely on making their existing products better. The company can demonstrate product and market diversification through research and development coupled with creativity and innovation. Product differentiation has proven an excellent defence against threats such as bargaining power of buyers. Developing new products will offset such potential risks. A strategy should be formulated to tackle the competition by entering into agreements, long-term contracts, with the food service companies that they are competing against. This way their coffee would be sold at these outlets and they would gain access to new markets and increase sales while decreasing competition. Starbucks should continue to be a first mover into markets with new products and ideas. Being a first mover of new products into new international markets will be an excellent way for Starbucks to build customer loyalty and uphold its image as an innovative company. Starbucks should continue to locate their operations in high traffic areas, high visibility areas. The company should continue to take excellent care in picking locations. It is extremely important that Starbucks international stores reflect uniqueness in their location and layout. Having locations in a variety of locations will ensure large market exposure.

Africa :: essays research papers fc

When I was first assigned this research paper on Voodoo, the first thing I thought of was Voodoo dolls, zombies, and evil magic. I think Voodoo is an evil religion which sacrifices humans as well as animals to demonic gods. I think it has been around for thousands of years, but is little left today. I believe that Voodoo is nothing but evil and the work of the devil. Voodoo originated in Western Africa by the Yoruba tribe. The Yoruba religion has about four hundred lesser gods called Orisa. This is not the actual Voodoo religion as we know it today, but plays an important role in it. Voodoo believes that the Grand Master or God rules over all things, but pays no attention to human affairs. This is why they believe in lower spirits or Loa to whom they worship and make sacrifices to(Belgum 14-28). When the slave trade started, people of the Yoruba tribe were captured and brought over as slaves. when the slaves arrived, they were baptized into the Catholic religion. The slaves continue d to practice their native religion in secret which over time was mixed with Catholicism to create the Voodoo that we know today (Introduction 1). Over sixty-million people still continue to practice Voodoo worldwide (Vodun 1). The main center of Voodoo in the United States is New Orleans (3). About fifteen percent of New Orleans practices (Voodoo 1). The Voodoo religion contacts the spiritual worked Quite frequently. They believe that spirits help people in all that they do (Belgum 30-1). The Voodoo religion believes that true communion comes only through possession of the body by a Loa or spirit. Possession is very common during rituals for it is how the Loa give instructions to or help the people. They believe they get possessed for certain reasons. Such things as protection, cures from illness, or even to give warning to an individual or to the whole community of worshipers (Possession 1). When a person gets possessed, they show struggle moving and jumping around like crazy peop le. Then all of a sudden they go blank and motionless. They then come out of that trance a totally different person. While a person is possessed all bodily functions and gestures take the form of the Loa which possesses the body. While the Loa possesses the body it will often smoke, drink alcohol, and eat.

Group Influence Essay

A group is a combination of more than one individual sharing some values, beliefs, or a set of behaviors. Many individuals together sharing a common goal or need is a group of people. People in a group sharing these common things tend to have interdependent behaviors. Each of the members of a group influences the behavior of another. Individuals will tend to react to situations or have specific behaviors in specific situations guided by a reference group view to those situations. Groups of people that influence their selves are members of the same religion, roommates, school friends, workmates, etc. Groups influence their selves in two ways. A group may influence the identity through conformity or obedience. Group influence has many effects on their selves. Some of them are positive while others are negative and damaging to the personality. The aim of this paper is to evaluate group influence and its effects on the individual. The observation was done at Inland Behavior Health Center , which is an outpatient rehabilitation center in San Bernardino. The physical arrangement or layout of the room and setting was as follows: chairs were arranged in a circle setting and the instructor was in the center of the group. The instructor used brochures and a standing trifold poster. The composition of the group on terms of ages, sex, and ethnicity, this particular class was is given to pregnant women only, ages varying from 19 through 35, ethnicity groups being: 40% Caucasian, 40% Hispanic, and 20 % African American. The purpose, mission, and goal of this class is to learn about the tobacco health effects on the pregnant women and unborn baby, the mission is to be self-reliant and not to depend on tobacco during when stress is experienced. The goals are to teach them to about all the health effects that can happen due to smoking, to prevent premature birth and low birth weight. The duration of the class duration is ninety minutes. Each participant needs to attend eight con secutive weeks and be smoking free for eight consecutive weeks; otherwise, the class has no end date. If any participant relapses during program, they are sent back to week one starting with no incentives. The discussion structure of this class is that the instructor follows a curriculum based on a weekly topic that includes, videos, provides handouts, and group discussion. A quiz was given at the end of session to test comprehension. The class structure and organization is difference, since the class is given at an outpatient rehabilitation center, the participants were in a class when the instructor arrived at 10:45 am. The instructor pulled all the pregnant women from the classroom. Some of the pregnant women were already in the Comprehensive Tobacco Treatment program (CTT), which the instructor was aware of it. The other pregnant women, who were not part of the CTT program, were substance abused screened and those who screened positive for tobacco were enrolled in program. At the beginning of the class, a signing sheet was passed to all attended participants. The instructor has a folder that included a â€Å"communication form† in where she keeps track of each participant’s cessation status. In a group discussion, she begins by asking if anyone would like to share an anecdote to tell about her past week smoking cessation experience. At this time, two participants mentioned how difficult they found that week to stay without smoking and one stated that knowing that if they smoke one cigarette it would equal thirteen packs to the baby. The second participant mentioned that knowing that she had to provide a urine test kept her away from smoking. After the discussion was done, the instructor transitioned by introducing the topic of the week. The topic of this particular week was on â€Å"Secondhand Smoke.† During session, a handout was passed out to all attendees including myself and a video was shown titled â€Å"The Perils of Secondhand Smoke.† A quiz was given at the end. All attendees were tested through a urine test to make sure they were nicotine free and those who achieved session, were rewarded with infant diapers and xylitol gum as an incentive. After nicotine test was done, the session concluded. The primary facilitator of this class was only one female instructor, who was the program coordinator. She has her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies and currently enrolled in a Human Resource Management program. The program has two instructors who travel to various sites through San Bernardino County. The subject or issues did the group members examine during the meeting was primarily smoking during pregnancy. Other topics may include parenting and baby bonding education. The different information that the members exchanged in this class was the difficulties facing through the cessation process that evolves through stress, financial issues, emotional experiences, and lack of support. The group’s norms, roles, status hierarchy, or communication patterns were that the participants are low income, low level of education (less than high school diploma), and normally come from a substance abuse setting. The communication patterns illustrated if this class was that participants were involved as a group and they were very open for discussion and sharing their experiences. The participants’ members share a sense of identity with one another and the participants shared the same interest of trying to stay tobacco free, provide a health living environment for their unborn baby and other children living with them. In this class or group there was not any indication that members might be vulnerable to groupthink, because at the beginning of the session, the instructor ask for each individual struggles through the cessation process and they all had their unique storytelling. Although some responses were similar, they did not seem influenced by their partner’s response. In my opinion, the group has a positive influence in each other’s behaviors because the participants share the same background and they all seemed to understand each other by giving praises for their successes and advices on how to deal with the cravings and withdrawals of tobacco. Unfortunately, due to the background of the participants, they were influenced by their living surroundings and the only thing they knew is to reach for drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. In this class, the participants learn the tools necessary to cope with stress factors rather than reaching out for a cigarette as a coping tool. A group influences their selves in many ways. While communicating and sharing some defi nite norms, people from the same group tend to behave in the same way. The group influences their selves through either obedience or conformity. This influence has many effects that are both positive and negative but mostly negative. References Myers, D. G. (2010). Social Psychology (10th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

economy jobs and you essays

economy jobs and you essays 1. If the government were to tax alcohol on volume alone we would see a rise in consumption of higher grained alchohol. People would be able to buy a less amount and reach the same effect due to a higher concentrate of ethyl alcohol. The governments' current system helps reduce drunkenness a bit because it puts a greater price tag on alcohol that is higher in potency. 2. I would believe that the quality of liquor in a speakeasy that was less prone to police invasion would be higher than that of one that was not. If a speakeasy had made certain arrangements with a law enforcement agency they would be able to ensure their customers better product without the possibility of losing their product. By doing so they could afford a higher quality because they knew they were not going to lose inventory to police brutality. A speakeasy that could not guarantee police invasion would only try to get rid of cheaper product in case they were raided. They would protect themselves knowing that the chances of losing product were greater and that a cheaper alcohol was better losing than one which cost them more. 3. I believe that in New Jersey the price of hiring a prostitute would be lower than that of one in Nevada. In New Jersey prostitutes trey to earn as much as they can. There a quick buck is not as regulated and therefore a customer has to be attracted more to price than to quality. A quick hit is better if it is cheaper despite the overall effect. Although it is sad I feel as though there would be more consumption in New Jersey. People are more concerned with money today than any other time. Cheaper is almost always more appealing especially when we measure the values these people particularly have. 4. Smoking is still legal for simply one reason. The amount of dollars coming in is greater than that going out. Until only recently has the tobacco industry had to worry about paying out to its customer ...