Beano free essay sample

The cates have a distinctive layout ,,d style which is achieved through a combination of contempo? ry design and warm colors that give them a pleasant atmosphere. e cafes environment is characterized by simplicity, elegance, : eanliness, and a modern design. It is known as a place where ung people can gather and where people can enjoy an afford::0 e outing, listen to the latest musie, and use wireless Internet. Cafe, and from other smali, local cafes. Despite these concerns in 2000, Beanos opened its first cafe in Egypt, introducing new coffee products such as cappuccino and espresso to the Arabie market. Beanos wanted to increase its market share and target a new segment-senior citizens-along wit h maintaining and/or increasing its appeal to the youth segment, which represents the majority of its customers. The senior citizens represented the higher socio-economic class; however, Beanos discovered that young clients represented up to 70 percent of their daily clients. We will write a custom essay sample on Beano? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Beanos Cafes higher management wanted to retain its satisfied clients while also increasing its share of the customer base. They therefore put together a new marketing strategy. REVISING THE MARKETING STRATEGY EY MARKET e creators of the Beanos Cafe Group had wanted to open a -ew coffee shop in Egypt for a long time but they saw problems .. ,entering the Egyptian market. They believed that the Egyptian oopulation would not be keen on coffee made from unfamiliar, -ew ingredients. The Egyptian market was locally driven toward ::Jr ental cates, Turkish coffee, and shisha (water pipe); thus, 3eanos marketing strategy was to introduce the Egyptian consurner to a new cafe experience. There was also fierce competi: on from other coffee shops, including Cilantro Cafe and Costa Beanos Cafes management team knew through customer surveys carried out in their chains that 60 percent of their customers keep coming back because of staff friendliness, 20 percent because of the quality of the service, and 20 percent because of the overall atmosphere at Beanos Cafe. The cafss new marketing strategy was divided into three parts: The first was 13 percent value (offering more for the same price). he second part was 17 percent quality (offering an affordable, quality cate experience, and improving the taste of the coffee), and the final part was 67 percent service (improving the face-to-face interaction with customers inside the cafe). Beanos placed the greatest emphasis on improving the level of customer service in its cafes. The company did this in a number of ways. First, management decided to speed up the serving process by allocating one minute for taking orders, seven minu tes to make the order, and a final one minute 244 Part Three I Designing a Customer-Driven Strategy and Mix modern cates were established in the Egyptian market; the focus was more on the local kahwa (Turkish/Arabic coffee), tea, and shisha. Beanos Cafe positioned itself as an affordable, modern cafe with a lively, entertaining environment. Beanos Cafes targeting approach became youth oriented. The cafe was representing a new approach to coffee, selling cappuccino and java solo drinks like espresso. Thus, the segmentation approach started to focus more on the youth differentiated segmentation market approach. As mentioned, the use of a kitchen provided the company with differentiation over the competition, however, Beanos also has a new advantage: It offers a creative art foam that is placed on top of the cappuccino. The consumers name or birth date can be written on a cappuccino cup or any picture can be drawn with the because the mafoam. Consumers can even do it themselves chines are manually operated. This level of personalization, allowed Beanos to differentiate itself from its competitors by offering its customers what they want and exceeding their expectations. By satisfying customers desires, Beanos sawa growth of the company and an increase in sales of its coffee products. III to give the table the bill. Therefore, the whole process took a very fast nine minutes. Beanos also improved its communication with customers by greeting them and paying attention to their needs. Beanos has an ultimate advantage that none of its competitors have-the kitchen. Having a kitchen allows Beanos to offer a larger menu selection. Customers can also ask for items not included in the menu or can modify their chosen item. These options are not available in most cates in the region and impress consumers. Having the advantage of a kitchen allowed Beanos to discontinue using ready-made food and instead making every meal to order, thereby differentiating itself from its closest competitor, Cilantro Cafe. This enabled customers to modify their orders. It also permitted customers to create new, customized products. Beanos is now able to forecast real quantities and therefore store essential, everyday ingredients, getting rid of unnecessary stock of less in demand products. This method turned out to be very efficient in their storage management. Becausecustomer service is such a high priority in the companys new marketing strategy, the marketing department conducted a new survey designed to improve customer service. It was executed through the cafes branch managers and administrated by a smali team from the research department. One of the most effective questions concerned what customers liked and disliked about Beanos Cafe. The survey revealed that customers liked the cafes service, atmosphere, and quick response; they did not like the company allowing some private celebrations to be held, nor did they always like the type of musie played in the cafes or the furniture. Beanos bega n to consider how to react to ali of these reported dislikes from its consumers, especially as the competition was rising with both Cilantro Cate and Costa Cafe, In addition, other new cates, such as On The Run Cafe in the Mobil Petroi Station, were improving their quality and pricing to an affordable level. Despite making these advances, Beanos had weaknesses to overcome. The cafes were not located in the main, central business streets in Egypt. These untapped areas of business opportunities prevented the company from increasing its market share. Cilantro, a competing cafe, employed successful promotional tools to spread its brand image in Egypt, including high-profile commercials. Beanos could not match the level of advertising in terms of budget and instead focused more on customer relationship management (CRM) and relationship marketing (RM) To this end, Beanos introduced a customer loyalty and smart card program that enabled customers to collect points for each separate order. The customer could then redeem the points and receive free products. Beanos also targeted ali customer segments by introducing a promotional Beanos points card. Customers pay for the cards, starting at 50 to 200 LE and use them whenever they wish. The cards turned out to be very effective for customers who are entertaining friends and for family outings. Another area that Beanos needs to improve upon involves making the cate more family friendly-an area where Cilantro is excelling. Cilantro Cafe provides coloring books and crayons for children, encouraging families to spend more time in the cafes and thus increasing business from this particular market segment. OELlVERING ON CUSTOMER SERVICE As customer service featured 50 prominantly in their marketing strategy, Beanos had to ensure that once a high level of service was achieved it was also maintained. One strategy put in place aimed at achieving this was mystery shoppers, who visited different branches to monitor and evaluate the service they receive ano the quality of the cafes products. Among other things, they note how fast and responsive the staff members are and whether the deliver on time. The mystery shopper, a regular customer chose by the branch manager, also evaluates the quality of the coffee served, the food, the environment, the speed and care of sta and the cleanliness of the facility, including the bathrooms. RESPONOING TO THE CUSTOMER As previously mentioned, market research carried out by the company indicated that customers did not like waiting in some of the Beanos Cafe chains and did not like its prices. Its response to the problems was to put more tables in the crowded location: and to reduce prices for some popular, existing products, wh E increasing prices for newly introduced products. Customers ais disliked the musie, which did not change over the course o~ the day, and at the various locations, some said the cafcs playec the same musie for each branch in every vi sit. Manaqemec: responded by introducing new musie every couple of hours in Ci chains. To improve the brand image of Beanos, the company also OEcided to redesign the cafes logo, making it more attractive to c 5tomers. More money is also being spent on advertising for ne and existing products. Most of the advertising appears in prin ec materials to be displayed in cate branches to motivate COnSUrTE purchase of the newly launched products. BEANOS CAFES MARKETING MIX SEGMENTATION In the beginning, Beanos Cafe focused on appealing to the whole Egyptian market, especially young people. The first focus for the company was to create brand awareness, as people did not understand the word Beanos. So,the cafe owners added the word cafealittle modification that solved the issue. At that time, not a lot of Beanos Cafes marketing mix begins by developing new produ _ by studying consumers needs, and then developing and crea ~~ a strong brand. Beanos Cafes distinctive design and pleasan c-mosphere are the first components in its unique dining experien ~ Market research indicates that the brands most distinguishing E::ture is the companys use of the vibrant orange color for all ad Etising. The company also stands out because it is the only local cc== Chapter 7 I Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers Smart pricing, reviewed from a consumer perspective . Updated produet lists wit h new menu offerings. 245 :~ers desserts, which are prepared by La Poire. According to 3es market research, 21 percent of customers indicated that =-:e-: was the most prominent feature of the cafe. :==1105is putting great efforts in establishing new branches : :cpping newareas, bot h local and international. The new 10=Eas are Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada El Gouna Resorts, and, =~ationally, Paris, France. e company advertises its existing products, but in only a few =:=5: FM radio, on the October Industria I City bridge, and in 2;azines. For the Cafes new products, it relies only on banners nt of the chain. The focus of Beanos Cafes advertising and _+otion is primarily on the youth segment (ages 18 to 25). The -:-::gt;any is collaborating with the advertising agency Adhoc, ::n is spearheading the marketing campaign. The agency has 3~ed out market esearch and has also designed and imple-=-~ed promotions. The company also collaborates with White ::_0 o, a full-service design studio that offers creative, profes_-al graphic designs and development services in order to deliver = oest image of the brand to customers. White Studio designed -= companys brochures, logos, ads, and flyers. -or its principal advertising campaign, Beanos used Nugoom , 104. 2 FM), and Nile FM (100. 6 FM), presenting cr eative ads a: would catch listeners attention because of their humor, :-unds, and clever use of musie. The company made extensive use ::-= orint media resources, including magazines (Teen Stuff, Sayyedaty, =oer alnugum, Laha) and newspapers (Alahram, Alahbar, Almasr :: oum, Almussauar). Ali were very effective media in building . set and usage imagery. Beanos created its advertising in a simple . ay by featuring its logo and photos of its cafes to build brand s. vareness and invite ali potential customers in for a visit. The -::Uthful, non-intrusive ads generated a positive response from the :cget audience and collectively helped to expand the cafes brand age in the market. The ads also give customers an opportunity :0 receive unique offers, making them memorable and meaningz: . II. Each month, the cafe introduces a new special offer; for example, in December 2009, it offered a special on American coffee  ·. th chocolate fudge, and at the beginning of 2010, caramel 1acchiato with a muffin. Those offers are the unique invention of 3eanos Cafe and are not offered in other cafes in Egypt. The ofer of the month is always supported with printed brochures, oosters. nd other ads that allow customers to get familiar with tne latest promotions. .z; Better hiring and training programs to ensure a capable staff who deliver more than what is expected. Better quality coffee: People are happy to go to Beanos but respond negatively to the quality of coffee. By offering better coffee, the company will be able to compete wit h the 10cal, classie Arabicffurkish coffee shops. By offering new, modern European flavors, Beanos will also be able to compete with the internat ional chains (such as Starbucks) entering the market. According to Beanos Cafes previously mentioned market research, the main source of the information about the brand was Beanos itself, and then the information obtained from its customers. Research indicates that there is still a performance gap in advertising activities that the company should explore and take advantage of in the future. Its future marketing approaches should also concentrate on e-marketing via YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MSN, Google, online radio, digital radio, e-mail marketing, mobile phone advertising, Yahoo online display banners, satellite TV channels, PRand sponsorship of cultural events and musical concerts. Questions for Oiscussion 1. Based on the segmentation variabies, how is Beanos Cafe now segmenting and targeting the coffee market? 2. Discuss how Beanos positioned itself in the Egyptian local market. Also explain how Beanos differentiated itself from the competition. 3. What changed first, the Beanos customer or the Beanos Cafe experience? Explain your response by discussing principles of market targeting. 4. Briefly outline a marketing campaign targeting a new segment for Beanos Cafe. Sources: Adapted fram Haddad, The Marketing Excellence Handbook, BUE British University Egypt, Dar El Fekr El Arabi Publications (2008); Kotler, P. , Armstrong, G. (2010), Ptlnciples of Marketing, 13th edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall; Grewal Levy (2010), Marketing, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill; William Pride, O. C. Ferrell (2010), Marketing, Cengage Learning; Adcock, D. , Halborg, A. , Ross, c. (2000), Marketing Princip/es and Practice, 4th edition, FT/Prentice Hall; Blythe, J. (2005) Essentia/s of Marketing, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall/FT; Brassington, F. Pettit, 5. (2005), Princip/es of Marketing, Prentice Hall/FT; Dibb, 5, Simkin. L. , Pride, W. and Ferrell, O. C. (2001), Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin. FUTURE STRATEGIES As Beanos develops and looks to the future, it has identified areas where it needs to improve to continue and build upon its success: o Continued development in terms of the cafes atmosphere, pricing, produet, and staff. Increased investment in the branches and the equipment to enhance the atmosphere.

Pricing The Sneaker Pricing Wars (Adidas

Pricing The Sneaker Pricing Wars (Adidas Introduction Price is a very essential aspect in every business as it is the fundamental determinant of the profit to be achieved after the sale of a commodity or service and therefore influences the success or failure level of the business. Pricing is the process of determining the cost of a product or a service so as to identify what a business will obtain in exchange of its products or services.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Pricing: The Sneaker Pricing Wars (Adidas-Nike) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It is one of the components of the marketing mix, the other ones being; product, place, and promotion. The factors associated with pricing are; the production cost, competition, the market place and condition, and also the quality of the product or service. Value of the product towards the customers should also be considered in determining a price to ensure that the customers pay what is equivalent to t he value gained (Pratt, n.d). Pricing Strategy According to Phillips (2005), pricing strategy is a logical choice from a list of alternative prices that seeks to maximize profit within a specific period of time under a certain situation. There are various approaches that can be adopted by companies or businesses in pricing their goods and services and there is no single model identified for the purpose of pricing. However, every pricing strategy should seek to maintain fairness and integrity throughout the pricing process. Here is a guideline on how a company may undertake its pricing process. The company or business should undertake a marketing strategy which involves carrying out a marketing analysis, segmentation, targeting, and positioning of the product in relation to its quality and that of other products in the market. Decision on the market mix is then made where the definition of the product or service is done, and distribution and promotion strategies identified. The other step involves analyzing the demand curve as pricing is directly affected by the prices of the particular products. Calculation of cost is also crucial and the company should put into consideration all costs associated with the product, the fixed and variable costs, so as to make sure that profitability is achieved. The surroundings factors like competition and legal conditions should be considered too. In pricing the product, a business should assess the influence of its pricing towards the pricing of competitors. The price should be in line with that of competitors to avoid unhealthy competition and should also adhere to price control aspects of the government. The business should also establish pricing objectives so as to come up with the most favorable price of the product.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The objectives may touch on aspects like maximi zation of profits, revenue, quantity and quality of the product among others. It is after consideration of all the above that that the price is agreed upon. Classification of Pricing Strategies Pricing strategies can broadly be categorized according to the business objectives and consumer distinctiveness. On the basis of business objectives, there is differential pricing which entails selling a product at different prices to different consumers, competitive pricing where prices set aims at exploiting the competitive position and product line pricing that involves selling related products at prices that maximize reciprocated dependency. In regard to the characteristics of the customers, their uniqueness is identified and pricing based on it. There are those customers that are ignorant of where they can locate the products they require and may buy from any place to avoid wastage of time in tracing the best suppliers at affordable prices. Some consumers are however very sensitive on co st issues and would rather take a lot of time looking for a business that offer the product at the lowest price than buying the commodity at a convenient place but at a higher cost. The last categories of consumers consist of consumers that may incur extra costs and risks for example transportation cost and investment costs (Phillips, 2005). Methods Used In Pricing Different businesses adopt different pricing methods depending on the particular situations and the expected or desired results. The common pricing methods are; psychological pricing which aims at evoking a customer’s emotional rather than rational decision on buying a product by setting the price just a little bit lower than those of competitors for example a shoe worth 20 dollars may be priced at 19.99 dollars. P rice skimming involves a business setting the price of its products higher than that of competitors especially when the business has a competitive advantage though the price usually lowers after many com petitors come in and lower their prices. Economy pricing entails keeping the production and marketing cost at a minimum.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Pricing: The Sneaker Pricing Wars (Adidas-Nike) specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Penetration pricing is achieved by introducing the new products at a relatively low price to capture customers’ attention after which the prices of the commodities go up but the business still retains the customers. Premium pricing on the other hand entails charging a high price where the products involved are unique in nature thus giving the business a competitive advantage over the others (Dean, n.d). Customers Customers are a very important element in any form of business for the reason that there cannot be a business transaction in the absence of customers. They are the reason for the production of goods and services without which no business could take place. Busine sses should therefore put the consumer in mind when undertaking any process concerning goods and services from production to final sale not forgetting pricing. It is for this reason that the business should at all cost invest in determining what best suits the customers and try satisfying their needs by providing the value they require. When the customers are served well they develop loyalty towards the business and may be willing to do any good deed on it’s behave for example doing some marketing by inviting other consumers to the business. Poor or lack of satisfaction of consumers on the other hand leads to lack of trust on the company and may lead to loss of many customers (Hoek and Evans, 2005). Pricing War A price war can be defined as an unhealthy competition whereby competitors seek to increase their market share by lowering the prices of their products and services. There usually exist pricing wars whenever there is a new introduction of products in the market. This i s usually so because the products are introduced at a relatively low price and this is not received in appreciation by the existing competitors as they see the business as a threat on the grounds that it may take customers from them. This forces the other businesses offering the same product to cut down their prices hence reducing their profit margins. Another version is where a new business offers similar products and services but which posses some unique features at a price higher than the existing competitors. This will attract a large pool of customers because of the competitive advantage associated with the products and the business at large. This is perceived negatively by the other existing businesses and they may react by also raising their prices to attain much profit.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This however affects them negatively as the possibility of loosing their customers due to switching costs is too high while the possibility of the new business retaining its customers is high as the prices, though high, do not increase. Switching costs in the market leads to price wars and may subsequently lead to limitation in pricing options. Another cause of a price war is the existence of consumers who do not have a specific business from where they buy their products and services. The consumers are therefore swayed by many factors and lowering of prices by one business may attract and capture them and if well served and satisfied, they can continue to be customers to the particular business entity. Deviation of customers from the market and introduction of new customers also lead to price wars. Some customers may also feel deceived when there are switching costs as they expect that the low costs at the entry of the business will be maintained even in future and so raising of th e prices result in price wars (Klemperer, 1989). Adidas versus Nike Pricing War Nike is the world’s biggest shoe company in regard to its market share and investment on capital. Nike is involved with the manufacture and marketing of athletic shoes, casual footwear, and other sports accessories and equipment. It was founded by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman. Adidas is the second largest in the world, after Nike. Nike and Adidas have for long led in the shoe industry because of the quality of their products, brand names, and image. There has been however war between these two companies over advertising and superstar support agreements. The war can for example be seen clearly in regard to the 2010 world cup through their sales and influence. Before the world cup, the Nike Company made better sales of soccer shoes than Adidas did. This was brought about by the influence of the advertisement by Nike which read; write the future. This influenced a lot of soccer fans and consequently increased the sales of the Nike soccer shoes. When the world cup commenced, Adidas sales went higher than the sales made by Nike. This was due to the domineering aspect of Adidas as it occupied the billboards in the football field attracting all the attention to it. Success in the sales of the soccer shoes also followed Adidas as it supported Spain which had many funs due to its good performance. Adidas and Nike compete in production of quality products. Adidas seem to be fast to meet demands of various teams especially soccer in regard to sports facilities, for example, the Major League soccer relies on Adidas for its supplies. It has gained competitive advantage because of its popularity in producing unique footwear for different sports especially soccer and most countries make use of Adidas footwear. Nike is also popular and its brand name has been known for ages in the world of sports. Its popularity has also been drawn from its support for various sports teams and athlete grou ps all over the world. Nike has particularly gained much favor accrued to its latest design of the Mercurial Vapor, which is the lightest shoe that is efficient in enhancing speed and reducing friction. There has been stiff competition between Nike and Adidas with each struggling to outdo the other. The major guiding principles are; attitude, this is the view and affiliation people feel towards either Nike or Adidas. Quality is also a contributing factor as people usually value the quality of the products they purchase. Competitive advantage is as well a key element for example Nike has been recognized for being the best in basketball shoes while Adidas is known for better football shoes though not all. Pricing is also a very critical element in determining the success of the companies. It influences the consumers in making their final decisions about purchase of various products produced by different companies. The pricing strategies adopted by the Nike and Adidas companies are a c ontributing factor towards the sales they make as price is directly dependent on demand. When one company reduces its shoes prices and still retains the quality it is likely to attract more customers than the other. This will cause pricing war between the two as the other one will be forced to lower its prices so as not to lose its customers to the other. Nike for example is expected to launch low-priced products following its defeat by Adidas in the 2010 world cup. The lowering of prices is aimed at attracting many customers toward its variety of footwear, equipment, and accessories. This will also enhance its positioning in the market. This is a form of price war and although it will attract many customers, it may lower its profitability margins. Nike also employs strong marketing strategies that helps keep its brand name and image high through gaining trust and loyalty of the consumers (Anonymous, 2010). Dealing with Price War Since price war is a negative impact especially to bu sinesses, certain strategies should be employed to curb the effects of price war. They include; anticipating the reactions of the competitors; one should asses how the competitors may react if he/ she lowers the products’ prices as this will definitely affect the sales and the profit to be made. Another step is giving some indications to the competitors that there may be price changes to alert them and make them aware of your intention in adjusting the prices. A business should also try to construct unique price structures to reduce the likelihood of consumers comparing terms (Rao, Bergen Scott, 2000). Conclusion Pricing is an important aspect in the business sector and care should be taken in making any pricing decisions. The customer should be the focus and the price should directly reflect the value accrued to the product or service provided. Price war is a phenomenon that occurs when businesses wish to increase their market share at the expense of lowering their profit m argin. It should however be avoided since it is to the disadvantage of the business as it reduces their profits though to some extent is an advantage to the consumers as they can buy products at cheaper prices. Reference List Anonymous, (2010). Heated War Between Nike Air Max 2010 And Adidas Begin From World Cup. Web. Dean, J. (n.d). Pricing Policies for New Products; Pricing Strategy. Web. Hoek, V.R., Evans, D. (2005). When Good Customers Are Bad. Harvard: Harvard business school publishing. Klemperer, P. (1989). Price wars caused by switching costs. Review of economic studies Vol. 56, 406-420. Phillips, L.R. (2005). Pricing and Revenue Optimization. Stanford: Stanford University Press. Pratt, A. (n.d). The Price Is Right (or is it?). New York: Director Publications ltd. Rao, A. R., Bergen M, E., Scott, D. (2000). How to Fight a Price War: Analyzing the Battleground. Web.

International Perspectives In Organisations Literature review

International Perspectives In Organisations - Literature review Example Besides, the authors refer to institutional legitimacy and explains that there is moral legitimacy that is relevant to the international business though there has been little attention given to the subject. Besides, the article refers to Rawls and human rights cosmopolitan theoretical models to explain the moral obligations of businesses. The notion of the research is that little attention has been given to the extent to which international businesses are responsible for the well-being of the society. The first notion is that business corporations are the agents of international justice. Secondly, the article recommends that the legitimacy of the global governance institutions as well that of the corporations is distinct implying that they exercise different levels of control in the international business arena. The third notion or argument is that the proposed democratic and deliberative model of the political Corporate Social Responsibility is actually unsatisfactory. The final notion is that the Rawlsian theory does not provide the accounts under which corporations are obligated to ensure global justice. On the other hand, the article defends the integration of CRS into business operations. As from the first notion, it is evident that businesses are obligated to ensure that the operations in foreign countries result in fairness to the surrounding communities by providing necessary benefits to them. Besides, legitimacy is a huge concern for international businesses because they operate in multicultural and political environments. As with CSR, the approach is the only way of ensuring that a business engages in sound operations that benefit the community. However, the article finds some limitations to Rawlsians theory of holding businesses accountable for their actions. From the title, the article successfully explores a new topic on the responsibility of international business

West African and African American Cultures - Before and After Assignment

West African and African American Cultures - Before and After Emancipation - Assignment Example Emancipation of the African Americans in 1863, their struggle for equality and citizenship resulted in their assimilating some aspects of American culture while retaining their original heritage to a small extent. Africa was the home of â€Å"people with different languages, traditions, histories, and religions''. The diversity of cultures was evident in the different types of group structures they lived in: some in ancient kingdoms such as those in the oldest of recorded history, and others in small family groups. Some of their societies had men leaders, and others had women as chiefs. The Gods they worshipped were of different forms, and some believed in one, while others in numerous Gods. People from all religions, Muslims, Christians, and others, whether they lived in towns or villages, participated in world affairs, taking central roles in them. Egyptians achieved great development in medicine, language and architecture, which had a significant impact on Greek and Roman culture. Millions of Africans were shipped to America between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries to work as slaves in the plantations, in the construction of towns and cities, as domestic help and for various menial jobs. The African American’s perspectives regarding the meaning and significance of Africa remains unclear; thereby affecting the identity problems of black people in America. The western stereotypical view of Africa as a land of wild people and wild animals affects the way African Americans think about Africa. The white disparagement of Africa was mainly to support imperialist interests and to rationalize â€Å"slavery and oppression of the descendants of Africa in their land of captivity†.

Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan Essay

Tempur Pedic Quality Process Improvement Plan - Essay Example As Hill writes, "top management determines quality priorities, establishes the systems of quality, management and the procedures to be followed, provides resources and leads by example" (Hill, 1991). The concept emerged from the work in statistical quality control at the Western Electric Hawthorne plant in the 1930s and was associated with the work of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran (Chase, Jacobs, 2003). It was introduced to Japan by the Americans as the occupying force in the immediate post war era and found its greatest expression in Japanese manufacturing industry. Literature review. Two themes in the research literature have been particularly prominent in recent years: "the ways of improvement" as a source of service planning and the debate over the different methods and models of successful production technoques. Up-to-date scholarship on both of these themes is reflected in recent researches R.B. Chase, R.F. Jacobs (2003), N. Slack, S. Chambers, R. Johnston (2003), D. Dow (1999), etc. In their works these authors develop a new theoretical approach which can be applied to practice. The works they provide a lot of example of management teams and their experience in TQM. These researches join theoretical and practical side of strategy, giving recommendations for improvement in the TQM to ensure customer satisfaction. "Production and A big layer of literature concerning this topic belongs to such gurus as T. Hill "Production and Operation Management: Text and cases" (1991), N. D. Harris "Service Operations Management" (1989). Their theoretical studies on improvements based on TQM, sustainable competitive advantage, the role of standards, etc, are still the basis of any research in the field of production and operations management. They examine and discuss the role of different companies for product and service improvement can successfully use TQM. Internal factors. Monitoring of the environment is an important method that helps to search for new trends in operations management. Managers should take into account internal and external factors that influence a potential consumer. The policy of implement restructing sooner rather than later was proved to be correct. There is no two cuctomers with the similar requiments, that is why operations management must respond to different customer needs. Factors Internal to a company are types of workers, organization structure, assumptions about people, technology, vision, mission and values of the firm, n ature of ow nership and management. Tempur Pedic is a Swedish Company which manufactures and distributes mattresses and pillows made from its proprietary "Tempur" pressure-relieving material. This material consists of a visco-elastic material that conforms to the body to provide support and help alleviate pressure points.The company operates in 60 countries around the world. In a time of rapidly changing technologies and ever-shorter product life cycles, product development often proceeds at a glacial pace. In an age of the customer, order fulfillment has high error rates and customer enquiries go unanswered for weeks. In a period when asset utilization is critical, inventory levels exceed many months of demand. The usual methods of boosting performance - process rationalization and automation - haven't yielded the dramatic improvements for Tempur Pedic Company need. In particular, heavy

Power subsystem Microsatellite

Power subsystem Microsatellite This subsystem is responsible for supplying power to the entire satellite, converting solar cell energy to on-board battery energy, and distributing power to various other subsystems. The power subsystem of the microsatellite is designed for a remote sensing mission to carry out on sun-synchronous orbits at 700 km altitude at an inclination of 98.19 degrees. The payload of the microsatellite includes a multispectral remote sensing camera which takes picture of polar region in a visible spectrum and a surrey GPS receiver especially designed for low earth orbit. Microsatellite payload weighs 5 kg and with a mean power consumption of 9W. Sub-system power budget is estimated according to the payload power requirement with 15 percent margin. Total estimated power requirement for the microsatellite is 70W. Microsatellite subsystem Power Allocation :- End Of Life Estimated Microsatellite Power 70 W Subsystem % of Operating Power Power (W) Payload 15 10.5 LSTS Bus Propulsion 0 0 Thermal Control 10 7 Attitude Control 15 10.5 Power 15 10.5 Communications 20 14 C D Handling 10 7 Structure 0 0 Margin 15 10.5 Total 100 70 The power subsystem of the microsatellite is designed for Low Earth Orbit for five years period. The power estimated for subsystem has a 15% contingency margin. Primary power source for the satellite is the solar array that is body mounted on the microsatellite. The satellite is in near polar sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 700 km, total orbital period of the satellite is 98.77 min. The microsatellite experience eclipse for about 35.29 min. Solar array for the microsatellite is designed according to the mission requirement. Batteries are secondary power source during the eclipse when no sun light is available. The selection of the solar cell and batteries are made according to power required end of life of the satellite and trade study between different solar cell and batteries but decision is made to satisfy the estimated mass size and power budget of the satellite. As the satellite is a cube shaped and spins stabilized body mounted solar panels to places on all the four sid es of the satellite for a uninterrupted supply of power to the subsystems. Altitude 700.00 km Earths Radius 6,378.00 km Total Power Requirement (const. day and night) 70.00 Watts Earths Gravitational Constant 3,98,600.00 km2/s2 Power transfer efficiencies:- Xd 0.85 Xe 0.75 Inherent Degradation Id 0.80 Worst Case(ÃŽ ¸ deg) 23.00 (deg) Mission Life (yrs) 5.00 (Yrs) Life time Degradation (Ld) 0.98 Angle ÃŽ ± (rad) 1.12 (rad) Angle ÃŽ ± (deg) 64.30 (deg) Orbital Peroid (P) (sec) 5,926.21 (sec) Maximum Eclipse Peroid (Tn) (sec) 2,117.08 (sec) Minimum Power Sunlight (Td) (sec) 3,809.12 (Sec) Average Solar array power (Psa) (W) 134.23 W Multijunction Solar (GainP/GaAs) Po 301.00 W/m2 BOL Power (Pbol) 221.66 W/m2 EOL Power Requirement (Peol) 216.17 W/m2 Solar array Area (m2) 0.62 m2 Mass of Solar Array (kg) 3.36 kg Solar array weight ( body mounted so Msa x 4 ) 13.42 kg The primary power source of the microsatellite is chosen to be Multijunction Solar cells (GainP/GaAs). These solar cells have an efficiency of 23 percent and most advanced for their category. The required solar panel area of the microsatellite to sufficiently support the power requirement of the microsatellite subsystem is 0.62 m2 but for a body mounted microsatellite, all the four faces of the cube shaped satellite will have the following area. The estimated weight of the solar panels is 3.4 kg and the total weight of all the panels on the satellite is 13.5 kg. The main advantage of the body mounted solar panels is such that they have more life expectancy as they are not exposed to radiation for a long time, but it is compensated with the additional weight of the solar panels. The primary power source should be able to generate 135 Watts of power to sustain the power requirement of the subsystems as well as enough to charge the batteries as they are the secondary power source of the mission. For Given Ni H cell Assuming Data for 700 km altitude Energy Density 100.00 W.h/kg DOD 1.60 0.27 log10 [cycles] Power during Eclipse 70.00 W Altitude 700.00 km Battery Voltage 28.00 Volts Xb-l 0.90 No .of eclipes per day 15.00 5 year Mission Orbital Peroid (P) (sec) 5,926.21 Sec Time of Night (Tn) (sec) 2,117.08 Sec Eb (energy supplied during eclipse) (W.h) 45.74 W.h Cycles 26,607.25 Depth Of Discharge (DOD) 0.41 1a)Ebcap (energy battery capacity required) (W.h) 112.87 W.h 1b) Battery Capacity (A.h)(assuming voltage is 28 v) 4.03 A.h 2. Total Battery Mass (kg) 1.13 Kg The secondary power source is required to generate power during eclipse in the orbit to sustain microsatellite subsystems. The secondary power source for the mission is chosen to be NiH batteries as they are good for long cycle life and they have advantage of mass and volume over most of the current batteries available. They have good specific energy density of 50 W.hr/kg. The main advantage of these batteries is such that they are widely used in space mission and constantly updated with new technologies. They have depth of discharge of 40% that is good for this kind of mission. Total secondary power source weight is 2.3 kg. (((((((((( References SMAD and System Integration Aegis)))))))) Communication subsystem The communications subsystem is the lead for the interface between the satellites and the ground stations. The communications subsystem helps in demodulating the received uplink signals and transmitting downlink signals .The subsystem also helps us to maintain a track over the satellite by transmitting received range tones and by acting as logic between receive and transmitted signals. Data Rate The remote sensing microsatellite is designed for a Low Earth orbit at an altitude of 700 km. The payload of the satellite is a multispectral camera that takes picture of the poles in visible spectrum. The 20 degrees minimum elevation angle and a resolution of 50 is assumed for the satellite and the data rate is calculated for the satellite. Altitude (km) 700.00 Radius of Earth (km) 6378.14 Orbit Peroid (mins) 98.77 Ground Velocity ( km/s) 6.76 Node Shift (∆L = S) (deg) 24.76 ÃŽ µ (deg) 20.00 ÃŽ · (deg) 57.86 Zc 27818.52 Za 133.06 Z 3701467.63 DR (Visible)(bps) 37014676.33 Maximum Time in View (min) 6.66 The data rate calculated is 37Mbps adding 10 percent margin data required to send back to ground station is estimated to 40Mbps. Band Link Technology For the current microsatellite mission an S-Band telecommunication system is researched, analyzed, and chosen as the best system for establishing communication between satellite and the ground station. Application Specifications Downlink Rate Max 2.5Mbps Power RF Output .4W Power Consumption 3.4W Weight 420g Volume 190X135X22 mm3 The table above shows the specification if the Surrey Satellite S band communication system transmitter details. This has an advantage of low mass, power and data rate which completely satisfy the mission constrains. The above transmitter system also has a S-Band antenna for this transmitter which has specifications as follows.(((((((((((((((((((memo com2 // surrey satellite)))) Specifications Number of Antennas Needed 4 3dB Beamwidth  ± 35 ° Weight 80g Volume 82X82X20 mm3 Link Budget Link budget for the system S band communication system is designed considering the factor to transmitting the data rate of 40Mps within 6.5mins or 400 sec. The link budget is a process of accounting all the possible gains and losses during transmitting and receiving the signals from transmitter to receiver. The equations below are used to determine link budget: Total spacecraft received power (uplink budget) Uplink Signal to Noise ratio (Will help determine probability of bit error) Total Ground Station received Power (downlink budget) Downlink Signal to Noise ratio (Will help determine probability of bit error) 2.4.1 Slant Range The Slant range was calculated as follows for a 5 degree elevation angle. 2.4.2 Attenuation of the Signal The biggest contributor to the attenuation of the signal is free space loss. There are many other losses such as cable loss, polarization loss, cloud, rain, etc. The frequency used for the S-Band calculation is 2.2GHz. Atmospheric loss is caused by absorption due to such factors as oxygen and water vapor in the atmosphere. Atmospheric, rain, clouds and ionosphere scintillation were assumed to be 0.5dB for 2.2GHz. Further investigation into these effects needs to be completed next semester. With X-Band the total loss due to these factors was calculated to be 0.76dB. S-Band is expected to have a much lower loss. Polarization loss was estimated from [9] 2.4.3 Calculating EIRP There will be passive losses in the equipment such as losses in the coax cables. This number was used from the previous year. Power transmitted was obtained from the specification on the Surrey transmitter as 0.4 Watts. Looking at the Co-Polar gain on Figure 2 it is seen that there is a gain of at least 0dB for angles between +/- 70 °. 2.4.4 Ground Station Antenna Gain Using an antenna that is 4.5m in diameter with efficiency of 0.55 the gain is calculated as follows: 2.4.5 Signal to Noise Calculation The signal to noise ratio will determine the Bit Error Rate (BER), as determined from the following graph [8]. From this graph it can be seen that to obtain a Bit Error Rate of 10-5 which is typical of space missions, a signal to noise ratio of 4.4 dB is needed. The Link Budget calculations will determine if the system will meet the 4.4 dB of signal to noise ratio at the ground station. System Noise is a function of temperature and was determined from table 13-25 [2]. 4.8dB is above the minimum 4.4dB theoretical signal to noise ratio required. This leaves only a 0.4dB margin which needs to be approved upon. The output RF power could easily be increased from 0.4Watts by using an amplifier, but would be at the expense of the satellite power budget. The Surrey Satellite equipment is a viable solution. Thermal Subsystem The thermal control subsystem is the integral part of the satellite design. It helps out all the components that are exposed to thermal environment are not affected badly. Thermal control subsystem accomplish safe working of all the satellite subsystems and their components by constituting a thermal model.The following process includes inputs from different subsystem of the satellite by identifying the thermal loads that will acting on them during the mission lifetime as well as their operating tempertature for the smooth running of the mission. Thermal Loads The satellite experience or exposed to thermal enviroment during gound testing, transportation, launch , orbit transfer and operational orbits. The thermal environment concerned is during its operation in space. There are four main loads acts on the satellite during its mission.(smad) Direct Solar Radiation: The main source of direct solar radiation is the Sun. It is major source of environmental heating on the satellite, it is a stable energy source and it constant to the fraction of second. The intensity of the sunlight on the earths mean distance of 1 Astronomical unit (AU) is 1367 W/m2. Earths Albedo: Albedo is the reflected sunlight reflected from earth . It is highly as it is the fraction of incident sunlight that is refected back to space. Refletivity increases over land rather than in oceans. Reflectitivy increases with decreasing local solar -elevation angle. Earths Infrared Energy: It is also refereed as blackbody radiation, all incident sunlight do not reflected back as abledo rather earth absorbs it and re-emit it as IR (infrared Energy ) or blackbody radiation. Free Molecular heating: This load is result of the bombardment of the individual molecules present in outer reaches of the atmosphere. It affects during the launch ascent of the satellite. The thermal control susbsystem is designed for a sun synchronous Low Earth Orbit at an altitutde of 700km and at an inclination of 98.19 degrees.The main aspect in designing the thermal control system is to first define the worst case hot (maximum loads) and worst case cold (minimum loads ) acting on the satellite in the orbit and the opertonal temperature operational and survival temperature of each component installted

Columbine Film Review :: essays research papers

Bowling for Columbine: The Media’s Falsity A common theme throughout Michael Moore’s documentary, Bowling for Columbine, is the fact that the media is able to produce fallacies and fear in the American public. Michael Moore says, â€Å"American media is being pumped with fear†. As Americans, we are bombarded with media everyday through televisions, magazines, and radio. But most of us do not stop to ponder its effects within our culture. Fear and violence are strongly correlated, and it is amazing how the media is able to play off that fear. Everyday you can not watch the news without being exposed to violence. The media however uses violence to invoke fear and then use that fear as a manipulating and influential power. For example, isn’t it startling that most of the rapists, murderers, and criminals depicted on the news all seem to fit the same profile? Being a regular news watcher, I am appalled at the way the media has shaped our minds into believing that all law offenders seem to be tall dark African American males between the ages of 19-25! It seems as though the nation has used this profile as a scapegoat for societal problems. Likewise, with the Columbine incident the media was desperately searching for someone or something to blame for the incident so that the public could rest a little easier. However, this desperate search for understanding usually creates more problems and not to mention stereotypes. In the case of the Columbine shooting, a favorite scapegoat among the media was Marilyn Manson. The media accused Manson as being an influential figure to the two high school shooters. To me this seemed like a cheap way out. Blaming this already controversial celebrity, was a quick answer that was easy to feed and be accepted by the American public. Manson’s reaction to this was that the president was as much to blame as he was. But of course the media would never blame the president; the public would never buy it. Just like if a picture of a 50 year old white male in a nice suit was put up to describe a raging rapist or serial killer, the public would have a much harder time accepting this image over an image of a 20 year old African American male. This solidifies the idea that the media will take anything and spin it in a way that will make it much more â€Å"believable†.