Pushing Too Hard

Problems in Youth Athletic Problems in Youth Athletics One of the greatest feelings a parent can experience is watching a child excel in an activity. Rightfully so, many parents encourage children to perform well in sports. The problems start when the encouragement begins to go too far. Many parents and coaches toady exceed the boundaries of encouragement, and enter a realm of abuse. A lot of this behavior will start when a parent of coach believes that they are mentoring the next superstar athlete. When parents and coaches start to look at children as major prospects the problems in youth athletics begin to become major issues. In the 1950’s youth athletic programs began to grow quickly all over the United States. Today millions of children participate in organized youth sports programs. These programs were set out to help develop the skills of the youth not only in sports but in life as well. Also, an important focus of the youth leagues was for the children to have fun. In the past few years, the focus of the youth leagues has been changed by the parents and coaches due to the focus on performance and winning. Children are being introduced to competitive play at an earlier age than ever before. Some of the youth leagues have children competing as early as age four. Today many children are expected to play one sport all year long through various leagues. A commitment of this level is not good for young children. There are many problems that come along with pushing children too hard in competitive sports. â€Å"Burnout† is one of the biggest problems a young athlete can experience during youth sports. Burnout is also known as overtraining syndrome. According to the Childrens Memorial Hospital, â€Å"burnout, or overtraining is a condition in which an athlete experiences fatigue and declining performance in his/her sport despite continuing or increased training. †(2002). There are many factors that can lead to burnout in a young athlete today. Burnout can be caused by pressure to perform at a high level, from parents and coaches. Parents pushing children through excessive training will also contribute to burnout. Excessive training can be seen as parents pushing children to play only one sport, and play that sport all year long. Burnout does not just mean that a young athlete does not want to play sports any longer, but also has other repercussions. Childrens Memorial Hospital states that symptoms of burnout can also include muscle and joint pain, fatigue, and weight loss among other symptoms. (2009). For many young athletes burnout will cause them to quit sports all together. This is becoming a major issue with children in their early teens. Cary stated that some eighteen million children stopped participating in team sports in 2002. (2004). This is a very disappointing number considering how many of those children loved the sports they played at one time. Burnout causes many talented players to quit playing just because they do not enjoy sports any longer. As parents and coaches continue to become more aggressive toward youth sports, injuries to the participatants are on the rise. The old saying, practice makes perfect may be true but, overuse can also cause injury to young athletes. As more children are pushed into participating in just one sport, and often on a year round schedule, doctors are seeing more overuse injuries. The National Alliance for Youth Sports stated that Dr. James Andrews, and orthopedic surgeon, is seeing four times as many overuse injuries than he did in the last five years. (2010). A good example of overuse is in youth baseball travel teams. A talented pitcher is asked to pitch in thirty or more games in a season. They would also have the young child practicing year round. The pitchers at the professional level are not asked to pitch that much in a season to prevent injury. The children are not protected from overuse but the professionals are. When a parent or coach asks a young athlete to perform at a level that even the professionals are protected from, it is just a matter of time before a child will sustain an injury. When youth sport began the programs were brought about with great intentions. Children were supported by positive role models and learned teamwork, but most of all had fun learning to play a game with their friends. It has been shown that parents and coaches are taking the fun out of youth athletics. Many of the parents want to believe that children will have more fun if they are the best at the sport they play. Overtraining a child has shown that children stop having fun and no longer care to play sports. The schedule and intense training that many children are being pushed into are causing many children to give up on sports. Most children want to start participating in youth sports because â€Å"They want to have a good time, make friends, and learn something new. † (Stenson 2004). â€Å"Avery Faigenbaum, an associate professor of exercise science at the University of Massachusetts in Boston asks kids who have quit why they are no longer interested in sports their typical response: â€Å"It is not fun anymore. †. (Stenson 2004) This helps prove that pushing kids too hard in sports will only take the fun out of the game. When the children do not want to play any longer then all of the time invested in over training children will not benefit anyone. When parents and coaches take the fun out of sports the children will not learn teamwork, and will have lower self-esteem. Childr en should be able to enjoy sports and gain all of the benefits from playing games they love. Actions must be taken to resolve the problems in youth sports. The children are the ones getting hurt in the process of parents and coaches pushing too hard in youth athletics. As children begin to quit playing sports they become more susceptible to bad influences and poor decision making. Without playing sports, children will become less physically active. Children that are not physically active will have a greater risk of becoming obese. Kids that are obese at a young age have more health risks as they get older. When the children that have dropped out of youth athletics get older the poor decision making can really take effect. Without the positive influence that a team sport can have on children, they will be more likely to try using drugs. Children using drugs will only lead to more problems and other illegal activity. Parents are a large problem in youth athletics. Many parents have turned watching their children play into something more serious that it really is. According to Parade, there was a case where a woman assaulted an eleven year old boy who was rooting for the team her son was playing against. (2005). There have been many time that parents and coaches have made children continue to pitch in a little league baseball game even though the child was complaining that their arm was hurting. One of the worst cases of parents going too far over youth athletics came at a hockey practice. Two parents were involved in a fight and one of the men was beaten to death during the altercation. Children should never be witness to these kinds of actions, especially during participation of a sporting event. Coaches can be just as big of a problem as parents in youth athletics. Many youth coaches want to win no matter what it takes. Coaches have been seen screaming at children when they make a mistake. They have been seen pushing and even hitting kids during a practice or game. Coaches are the ones who set out overly demanding practice schedules. It seems as though many coaches have forgotten what it really means to be a coach. The focus of youth athletics today needs to shift to fixing the problems in Youth athletics. Parents and coaches have to stop trying to live their dreams through the children they mentor. There are a few people who understand that changes must be made in youth athletics. Some organizations have begun to start up with the vision of teaching parents and coaches how to be positive role models in children’s sports. The National Alliance for Youth Sports has certified over two million youth coaches. (Cary 2004). The Positive Coaching Alliance is a training program that teaches parents and coaches to be positive. The famous National Basketball Association coach, Phil Jackson found the ideas of the PCA to also be effective at the professional level. (Cary 2004). These programs are just a good beginning to changing the way youth athletics are ran across the United States. One of the best programs to improve youth athletics started in the state of Maine. The program is called Sports Done Right. According to Parade, it is a program led by Duke Albanese and Robert Cobb. The SDR program marks parents and coaches as the two biggest problems in youth sports. The program requires that parents of children in youth athletics go to training sessions on behavior at sporting events. The parents also have to sign a compact to abide by a higher standard of sportsmanship. (2005). If improvements are to be made in any youth sports program has to be a main focus. The Sports Done Right Program is on coaching as well. Sports Done Right recommends compensation based on their level of training. †(Parade 2005). Coaches that are trained in the correct ways to motivate and teach children see improvements in their abilities. As parents and coaches receive proper training in dealing with youth athletics, the children participating will have more fun playing sports. As with many things in life, youth sports have drifted away from the original intentions . Youth sports organizations began as a way for children to stay busy and stay out of trouble. Sports gave children role models to look up to. Children will always benefit from the physical activities required by participating in organized sports. It is a shame that children are overworked too early and too often in sports so parents and coaches can try to relive their childhood dreams. The parents should let the children work on their dreams at their own pace. Youth athletics can have a major impact on a child’s life. It is the responsibility of the parents and coaches to ensure that the children they mentor are having a positive experience when participating in youth sports. The parents should focus on youth athletics is a fun experience with an opportunity to learn new skills and life lessons. Everyone knows that winning is fun, but winning should not be the number on goal in sports. It is time to take back youth sports for the children, and just let them play. References Cary, Peter. (2004). U. S. Fixing kid’s sports: rescuing children’s games from crazed coaches. News and World Report. Retrieved From http://www. alcdsb. on. ca/~regiath/cats/articles/FixingKidsSports. df National Alliance for Youth Sports. (2010). Overdoing it. Retrieved From http://www. nays. org/fullstory. cfm? articleid=10303 Parade. (2005). Who’s killing kids’ sports? Retrieved From http://www. parade. com/articles/editions/2005/edition_08-07-2005/featured_0 Stenson, Jacqueline. (2004). Pushing too hard too young. Retrieved From http://portal. northbayyouthsoccerclub. com/Clubs/portals/InnisfilSoccerclub/Medi a/Image/Articles/tt_pushing. pdf If you need to type anything after the reference list then start it on this page

Marketing Success Factors of Coca-Cola Company Essay

1.0 Executive Summary This report was commissioned to analyze the ten marketing success factors of Coca-Cola Company and suggest Coca-Cola Company on how to solve the problems that had been faces. The research shows on how Coca-Cola Company achieves their success in nowadays by marketing success factors. The ten marketing success factors of Coca-Cola Company are market research, market analysis, selecting target market, SWOT analysis, marketing mix, positioning, factors that influencing customer choice, innovation, brand development strategy and implementing, monitoring, controlling. Further investigation reveal that the market problems of Coca-Cola Company. Coca-Cola Company has facing market problems such as health effect, competitors and environmental impact. Based on the study, we recommended Coca-Cola Company solve their health problem by launch sugar free, sugar less, low-calorie and no-calorie product. We recommended Coca-Cola Company solve their competitors problem by understand the culture of a country and launch a product that has not launched by others competitors before. Finally, we recommended Coca-Cola Company solve their environmental impact by using recycle plastic in their bottle. 2.0 Business Overview 2.1 History of Coca-Cola Company Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia. Coca-Cola Enterprises, established in 1986, is a young company by the standards of the Coca-Cola system. Yet each of its franchises has a strong heritage in the traditions of Coca-Cola that is the foundation for this company. The Coca-Cola company traces it’s beginning to 1886, when an Atlanta pharmacist, Dr. John Pemberton, began to produce Coca-Cola syrup for sale in fountain drinks. However the bottling business began in 1899 when two Chattanooga businessmen, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. White head, secured the exclusive rights to bottle and sell Coca-Cola for most of the United States from The Coca-Cola Company. The Coca-Cola bottling system continued to operate as independent, local businesses until the early 1980s when bottling franchises began to consolidate. In 1986, The Coca-Cola Company merged some of its company-owned operations with two large ownership groups that were for sale, the John T.Lupton franchises and BCI Holding Corporation’s bottling holdings, to form Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. The Company offered its stock to the public on November 21, 1986, at a split-adjusted price of $5.50 a share. On an annual basis, total unit case sales were 880,000 in 1986. In December 1991, a merger between Coca-Cola Enterprises and the Johnston Coca-Cola Bottling Group, Inc. (Johnston) created a larger, stronger Company, again helping accelerate bottler consolidation. As part of the merger, the senior management team of Johnston assumed responsibility for managing the Company, and began a dramatic, successful restructuring in 1992.Unit case sales had climbed to 1.4 billion, and total revenues were $5 billion. 2.2 Mission of the Coca-Cola Company A mission statement is a statement of the purpose of a company or organization. The mission statement should guide the actions of the organization, spell out its overall goal, provide a path, and guide decision-making. Coca-Cola Company Roadmap starts with their mission, which is enduring. It declares their purpose as a company and serves as the standard against which they weigh their actions and decisions. The mission of Coca-Cola Company is to refresh the world, to inspire moments of optimism and happiness, and to create value and make a difference. In order to achieve these missions, Coca-Cola Company must create value for all the constraints they serve, including their consumers, their customers, their bottlers, and their communities. The Coca-Cola Company creates value by executing comprehensive business strategy guided by six key beliefs which are consumer demand drives everything they do, brand Coca-Cola is the core of their business. Besides, they will serve consumers a broad selection of the nonalcoholic ready-to–drink beverages they want to drink throughout the day. They will be the best marketers in the world. They will think and act locally and lastly they will lead as a model corporate citizen. 2.3 Target Market of Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company’s beverages are generally for all consumers. However, there are some brands, which target specific consumers. For example, Coca-Cola’s diet soft drinks are targeted at consumers who are older in age, between the years of 25 and 39. PowerAde sports water target those who are fit, healthy and do sport. Winnie the Pooh sipper cap Juice Drink target children between the ages 5-12. This type of market approach refers to market segmentation. The Coca- Cola Company when advertising has a primary target market of those who are 13-24, and a secondary market of 10-39. 3.0 Marketing Success Factors of Coca-Cola Company 3.1 Market Research When attempting to implement a new Marketing plan a business must address its target market and conduct the relevant information to insure the new marketing plan both differs from the old and is better for the business. When conducting market research a business must first define the problem and then gather the appropriate information to solve the problem. There are 3 types of information a business can gather to solve its problems. First type is Exploratory Research which clarifies the problem and searches for ways to address it. Second type is Descriptive Research that used to measure and describe things like the market potential for a product and characteristics of the target market. Lastly is Casual Research which used to test a hypothesis about a cause and effect relationship. Coca-Cola Company through its market research has addressed all three types of research to define the problem raised by shareholders and gathered information to serve their needs. 3.2 Market Analysis The market analysis investigates both the internal and external business environment. It is vital that Coca-Cola carefully monitor both the internal and external aspects regarding its business as both the internal and external environment and their respective influences will be decisive traits in relation to Coca-Cola’s success and survival in the soft drink industry. The Internal Business Environment and its influence is that which is to some extent within the business’s control. The main attributes in the internal environment include efficiency in the production process, through management skills and effective communication channels. To effectively control and monitor the internal business environment, Coca-Cola must conduct continual appraisals of the business’s operations and readily act upon any factors, which cause inefficiencies in any phase of the production and consumer process. The External Business Environment and its influences are usually powerful forces that can affect a whole industry and, in fact, a whole economy. Changes in the external environment will create opportunities or threats in the market place Coca-Cola must be aware off. Fluctuations in the economy, changing customer attitudes and values, and demographic patterns heavily influence the success of Coca-Cola’s products on the market and the reception they receive from the consumers. 3.3 Selecting Target Market Once the situation analysis is complete, and the marketing objectives determined, attention turns to the target market. The soft drink market is very large, and the business cannot be â€Å"all things to all people†, so it must choose which market segments have the greatest potential. The target market is the group of customers on whom the business focuses attention. The target market is where Coca-Cola focuses its marketing efforts as it feels this is where it will be most productive and successful. The target market for Coca-Cola is very wide as it satisfies the needs for many different consumers, ranging from the healthy diet consciousness through Diet Coca-Cola to the average human through its best selling drink regular Coca-Cola. Most Coca-Cola products satisfy all age groups as it is proven that most people of different age groups consume the Coca-Cola product. This market is relatively large and is open to both genders, thereby allowing greater product diversification. There are four broad ways which Coca-Cola can segment its market is Mass marketing, Concentrated marketing, Differentiated marketing, Niche marketing The most apparent method used by Coca-Cola is with no doubt the differentiated marketing method as Coke satisfy’s a range of different markets. Diet coke satisfy’s the weight consciousness, regular Coke, Sprite, Fanta the average human, coffee, iced tea etc. Each group of beverages satisfies a particular group of people but majority the average human. 3.4 SWOT Analysis SWOT stands for Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats. SWOT analysis is a technique much used in much general management as well as marketing scenarios. SWOT consists of examining the current activities of the organization- its Strengths and Weakness- and then using this and external research data to set out the Opportunities and Threats that exist. The Strength of Coca-Cola has been a complex part of world culture for a very long time. The product’s image is loaded with over-romanticizing, and this is an image many people have taken deeply to heart. The Coca-Cola image is displayed on T-shirts, hats, and collectible memorabilia. This extremely recognizable branding is one of Coca-Cola’s greatest strengths. Additionally, Coca-Cola’s bottling system is one of their greatest strengths. It allows them to conduct business on a global scale while at the same time maintain a local approach. The bottling companies are locally owned and operated by independent business people who are authorized to sell products of the Coca-Cola Company. Because Coca-Cola does not have outright ownership of its bottling network, its main source of revenue is the sale of concentrate to its bottlers. Weaknesses for any business need to be both minimized and monitored in order to effectively achieve productivity and efficiency in their business’s activities, Coca-Cola is no exception. Although domestic business as well as many international markets is thriving, Coca-Cola has recently reported some â€Å"declines in unit case volumes in Indonesia and Thailand due to reduced consumer purchasing power.† Coca-Cola on the other side has effects on the teeth which is an issue for health care. It also has got sugar by which continuous drinking of Coca-Cola may cause health problems. Being addicted to Coca-Cola also is a health problem, because drinking of Coca-Cola daily has an effect on your body after few years. The Opportunities for Coca-Cola is brand. Brand recognition is the significant factor affecting Coke’s competitive position. Coca-Cola’s brand name is known well throughout 94% of the world today. The primary concern over the past few years has been to get this name brand to be even better known. Packaging changes have also affected sales and industry positioning, but in general, the public has tended not to be affected by new products. Coca-Cola’s bottling system also allows the company to take advantage of infinite growth opportunities around the world. This strategy gives Coke the opportunity to service a large geographic, diverse area. Currently, the Threat of new viable competitors in the carbonated soft drink industry is not very substantial. The threat of substitutes, however, is a very real threat. The soft drink industry is very strong, but consumers are not necessarily married to it. Possible substitutes that continuously put pressure on both Pepsi and Coke include tea, coffee, juices, milk, and hot chocolate. Even though Coca-Cola and Pepsi control nearly 40% of the entire beverage market, the changing health-consciousness of the market could have a serious affect. Of course, both Coca-Cola and Pepsi have already diversified into these markets, allowing them to have further significant market shares and offset any losses incurred due to fluctuations in the market. Consumer buying power also represents a key threat in the industry. The rivalry between Pepsi and Coca-Cola has produce a very slow moving industry in which management must continuously respond to the changing attitudes and demands of their consumers or face losing market share to the competition. Furthermore, consumers can easily switch to other beverages with little cost or consequence. 3.5 Marketing Mix The marketing mix is probably the most crucial stage of the marketing planning process. This is where the marketing tactics for each product are determined. The marketing mix refers to the combination of the four factors which are price, promotion, product, and place that make up the core of a business’s marketing strategy. In this step of the marketing planning process, marketing mix must be designed to satisfy the wants of target markets and achieve the marketing objectives. The most successful businesses have continually monitored and changed their marketing mix due to respective internal and external factors and have monitored the external business environment in order to maximize their marketing mix components. First factor of marketing mix is product. Many Products are physical objects that you can own and take home. But the word product means much more than just physical goods. In marketing, product also refers to services, such as holidays or a movie, where you enjoy the benefits without owning the result of the service. Businesses must think about products on three different levels, which are the core product, the actual product and the augmented product. The core product is what the consumer is actually buying and the benefits it gives. Coca-Cola customers are buying a wide range of soft drinks. The actual product is the parts and features, which deliver the core product. Consumers will buy the Coca-Cola product because of the high standards and high quality of the products. The augmented product is the extra consumer benefits and services provided to customers. Since soft drinks are a consumable good, the augmented level is very limited. But Coca Cola do offer a help line and complaint phone service for customers who are not satisfied with the product or wish to give feedback on the products. Second factor or marketing mix is price. Price is a very important part of the marketing mix as it can affect both the supply and demand for Coca-Cola. The price of Coca-Cola products is one of the most important factors in a customer decision to buy. Price will often be the difference that will push a customer to buy our product over another, as long as most things are fairly similar. For this reason pricing policies need to be designed with consumers and external influences in mind, in order to effectively achieve a stable balance between sales and covering the production costs. Price strategies are important to Coca-Cola because the price determines the amount of sales and profit per unit sold. Businesses have to set a price that is attractive to their customers and provides the business with a good level of profit. Long before a sale was ever made Coca-Cola had developed a forecast of consumer demand at different prices which inevitably determined whether or not the product came on the market, as well as the allocation of adequate money and resources to produce promote and distribute the product. Promotion is the third factor of marketing mix. The promotional mix is the combination of personal selling, advertising, sales promotion and public relations that it uses in its marketing plan. Above the line promotions refers to mainstream media: Advertising through common media such as television, radio, transport, and billboards and in newspapers and magazines. Because most of the target is most likely to be exposed to media such as television, radio and magazines, Coca-Cola has used this as the main form of promotion for extensive range of products. Although advertising is usually very expensive, it is the most effective way of reminding and exposing potential customers to Coca-Cola Products. Coca-Cola also utilizes below the line promotions such as contests, coupons, and free samples. These activities are an effective way of getting people to give your product. The last factor of marketing mix is place. The place refers to distribution of the ways of getting the product to the market. The distribution of products starts with the producer and ends with the consumer. The Coca-Cola Company sells its products to bottling and canning operations, distributors, fountain wholesalers and some fountain retailers. These then distributes them to retail outlets, milk bar and corner stores, restaurants, petrol stations and newsagents. There are two Place strategies which are indirect distribution and intensive distribution. The Coca-Cola Company uses intermediaries in indirect distribution. That is the company does not sell its products directly to its consumers. The Coca-Cola Company uses the intensive distribution strategy. The business’s products are sold in almost every outlet including retail outlets, small shops, restaurants, petrol stations, newsagents, schools, sports and entertainment venues from vending machines. 3.6 Positioning Positioning mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of their target market for its product, brand, or organization. Positioning divided into two which are re-positioning and de-positioning. Re-positioning involves changing the identity of a product, relative to the identity of competing products, in the collective minds of the target market. De-positioning involves attempting to change the identity of competing products, relative to the identity of your own product, in the collective minds of the target market. Once a business has decided which segments of the market it will compete in, developed a clear picture of its target market and defined its product, the positioning strategy can be developed. Positioning is the process of creating, the image the product holds in the mind of consumers, relative to competing products. Coca-Cola and Franklins both make soft drinks; although Franklins may try to compete they will still be seen as down market from Coca-Cola. Positioning helps customers understand what is unique about the products when compared with the competition. Coca-Cola plan to further create positions that will give their products the greatest advantage in their target markets. Coca-Cola has been positioned based on the process of positioning by direct comparison and have positioned their products to benefit their target market. Most people create an image of a product by comparing it to another product, thus evident through the famous battles between Coca-Cola and Pepsi products. 3.7 Factors that Influencing Consumer Choice When making decisions on products a business must look at factors that influence consumer choice such as psychological factors, Socio cultural factors, Economic factors and Government Factors. Psychological factors such as motivation, perception, lifestyle, personality and self concept, learning, and attitudes influence the consumer’s behavior towards a product and Coca-Cola has addressed this issue by introducing Diet Coke to satisfy different lifestyles. Socio cultural factors such as culture, subculture, socio-economic status, family and reference groups influence the consumer’s behavior towards a product. The family is probably the biggest influence on buying behavior. Marketers also need to focus product design and promotion of both males and females. When planning a marketing strategy, the marketing manager should know which member is the main decision-maker for the product so that promotion can direct at that person. Economic factors such as Disposable income and discretionary income. A person’s economic situation will influence the sorts of products they will buy. Economic situation is determined by a number of factors such as level of income, savings and ability to borrow. The more a person earns the greater their ability to buy goods and services. Coca-Cola has addressed this side of the influence by maintaining a low price on the price of its products. Government Factors such as new regulations, inflation, interest rates all influence consumer spending and choice. Decisions made by the government at all levels will have an effect on the buyer’s behavior. Government policies also influence the level of economic activity which affects consumer’s confidence and ability to borrow. 3.8 Innovation Innovation generally refers to the creation of better or more effective products, processes, technologies, or ideas that are accepted by markets, governments, and society. Innovation differs from invention or renovation in that innovation generally signifies a substantial positive change compared to incremental changes. Coca-Cola has been able to survive and grow in an ever-changing market because of its ability to systematically innovate and deliver new products. In the late 90s the company, typically showing earnings growth of 15-20% per year, turned in three straight years of falling profits. It was apparent that the market was changing and in order to keep up with these changes, Coca-Cola had to move from a single core product to a total beverage company. 3.9 Brand Development Strategy Brand development strategy of Coca-Cola has been far reaching and has managed to remain in the limelight ever since it became a favorite with the non alcoholic drinkers. It has been noticed that brand loyalty is an important factor in maintaining the number one position. It is often hard to say exactly why we buy one company product over another. Companies such as Nike and Adidas spend large amounts of money trying to win consumers away from their competitors who make products that are very similar. The popularity of the brand is often the deciding factor. Over the time Coca-Cola has spent millions of dollars developing and promoting their brand name, resulting in worldwide recognition. ‘Coca-Cola’ is the most recognized trademark, recognized by 94% of the world’s population and is the most widely recognized word after â€Å"OK†. Coca-Cola red and white colors and special writing are all examples of world-wide trademarks. There are a number of branding strategies: Generic brand strategy, Individual brand strategy, Family brand strategy, Manufacturer brand strategy, Private brand strategy and Hybrid brand strategy. Coca-Cola utilizes the Individual brand strategy as Coca-Cola major products are given their own brand names e.g Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola etc although they may be presented as different lines they operate under the name of Coca-Cola. 3.10 Implementing, Monitoring and Controlling Implementation is the process of turning plans into actions, and involves all the activities that put the marketing plan to work. Successful implementation depends on how well the business blends its people, organizational structure and company culture into a cohesive program that supports the marketing plan. For its further success, Coca-Cola must impose several key changes. Production needs to be on time and meet the quota demanded from wholesalers. It must also be efficient so as not to build inventory stocks and inventory prices. The marketing needs to be motivated and knowledgeable about the product. The forms of promotion such as advertising must be attracting and enticing to the target market to get the greatest amount of exposure possible for the product. This will ensure the success of the product in the stores. Distribution of the product must be efficient. This problem has already been taken care of with convenient transport routes to commercial areas and transport already being arranged. Monitoring and controlling allows the business to check for variance in the budget and actual. This is important because it allows Coca-Cola to take the necessary actions to meet the marketing objectives. There are three tools Coca-Cola should use to monitor the marketing plan which are Sales Analysis, Market Share Analysis, Marketing Profitability Analysis. The sales analysis breaks down total business sales by market segments to identify strengths and weaknesses in the different areas of sales. Sellers of Coca-Cola products vary from major retail supermarkets to small corner stores. This gives the products maximum exposure to customers at their convenience. Market share analysis compares Coca-Cola business sales performance with that of its competitors. Coca-Cola looks to increase its market share by over 60%. With the changes Coca-Cola is currently undergoing, they aim to regain an iron fist control of the market. Target market various age groups and lifestyles from high school students too universities, and male or female. This analysis looks at the cost side of marketing and the profitability of products, sales territories, market segments and sales people. There are three ratios to monitor marketing profitability; they are market research to sales, advertising to sales and sales representatives to sales. The results of these three tools can help Coca-Cola determine any emerging trends, such as the need for a different product. Comparing these results with actual results gives the business an idea on when to change. 4.0 Market Problems 4.1 Health Problem Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink. Since studies indicate â€Å"soda and sweetened drinks are the main source of calories in the American diet†, most nutritionists advise that Coca-Cola and other soft drinks can be harmful if consumed excessively, particularly to young children whose soft drink consumption competes with rather than complements a balanced diet. Studies have shown that regular soft drink users have a lower intake of calcium, magnesium, ascorbic acid, riboflavin, and vitamin A. A common criticism of Coca-Cola based on its allegedly toxic acidity levels has been found to be baseless by researchers; lawsuits based on these notions have been dismissed by several American courts for this reason. Although numerous court cases have been filed against The Coca-Cola Company since the 1920s, alleging that the acidity of the drink is dangerous, no evidence corroborating this claim has been found. Frequent exposure of teeth to acidic drinks increases the risk of tooth damage through dental erosion. This form of tooth decay is unrelated to dental caries. Consume too much of carbonated soft drink will threatening kidney, increase diabetes risk, Increase obesity risk and others diseases that will affect our healthy. The people with diabetes to consume sugar is strictly prohibited because the hormone insulin in the body is not enough, not even able to convert these sugars into the muscle sugar (glycogen). As a result, blood sugar (glucose) will be increased and dangerous. Carbonated drinks rich in calories. Calories that enter the body can increase the risk of obesity. 4.2 Competitors Coca-Cola Company has many competitors in the soft drink industry, such as Pepsi, Sarsi and so on. The main competitor of Coca-Cola Company is Pepsi. Pepsi is clearly a market challenger to market leader Coca-Cola Company. Pepsi’s trendy advertising featuring American pop stars, from Michael Jackson to Britney Spears is clearly geared towards American young consumers. On other hand, Coca-Cola Company‘s approach to the market has traditionally been more wholesome relying â€Å"more heavily on images of happiness and togetherness, tradition, and nationalism.† However Pepsi has made its share of blunders as well. Pepsi Blue, a blue, berry-flavored version, has gone the way of Pepsi soft drink disasters, Crystal Pepsi and Pepsi Clear had been discontinued. Around the world, there are many local brands compete with Coke. In South and Central America Kola Real, known as Big Cola in Mexico, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. On the French island of Corsica, Corsica Cola, made by brewers of the local Pietra beer, is a growing competitor to Coca-Cola. In the French region of Brittany, Breizh Cola is available In India, Coca-Cola ranked third behind the leader, Pepsi-Cola, and local drink Thums Up. 4.3 Environmental Impacts In December 1990, Coca-Cola Company announced that they would begin using recycled plastics (PET) in their bottles, but they have not followed through. The technology to make 100% recycled-content plastic bottles has been available in the United States since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its approval in 1994 for food contact applications. Coca-Cola Company is abandoning the decades old practice of packaging its soft drinks in recycled content containers like aluminum cans and glass bottles in favor of non-recycled plastic. Coca-Cola Company no use the PET in their bottles cause the plastic waste is increasing ten times faster than recycling of plastic soda bottles. The packaging chooses by Coca-Cola Company seriously effect health and environmental impacts. Coca-Cola’s plastic soda bottle in particular, stem from extraction of non-renewable resources, energy consumption in manufacturing and in the refining of raw materials and industrial processes used to produce plastics have seriously effect health and environmental impacts. 5.0 Recommendation 5.1 Health Problem Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink. As we know that consume too much of the carbonated soft drink will threatening our kidney, increase diabetes risk, increase obesity risk and others diseases. Coca-Cola Company should put more effort on innovation of new product that good for health. Coca-Cola Company can produce sugar free or less sugar Cola-Cola product. Coca-Cola Company has success produce sugar free Coca-Cola product such as Coca-Cola Light. Besides, Coca-Cola also creates Coca-Cola Zero which is low-calorie compare with other Coca-Cola product. Besides, Coca-Cola Company can keep launch low-calorie and no-calorie product. The ingredients use must be in high-quality and can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. Coca-Cola Company can also help consumers manage calorie by introduce smaller packaging sizes in markets to make sure that consumer will no consume too much at one time. In addition, Coca-Cola Company can try to produce isotonic sport drinks that have not produce before. Isotonic sport drinks can reduce the risk of water intoxication by replenishing fluids and electrolytes in a ratio similar to that normally found in the human body. It is good for health. 5.2 Competitors The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s leading soft drink manufacturer. Coca-Cola Company has many competitors in the soft drink industry. The main competitor of Coca-Cola Company is Pepsi. Coca-Cola have difference competitor at difference country. Coca-Cola Company must understand the culture of a country before they launch their product. Coca-Cola Company need to know their product name sounds good or not according to the language and the meaning of their name at the country. If Coca-Cola Company do not know the culture of a country, Coca-Cola Company is hard to defeat the competitor at that country. Besides, Coca-Cola Company can launch a product that has not launched by others competitors before. Coca-Cola Company can try to produce new taste of Coca-Cola soft drink. The creativity of a company is very importance in innovative a new product to defeat their competitors. Coca-Cola can try mix the fruit taste they have not mix before to produce a new product that their competitors have not produce. In addition, Coca-Cola Company can also have a promotion to promote their product. Promotion can be discount promotion, free gift promotion, lucky draw promotion and so on. Most of the consumer like buy goods when have promotion. Coca-Cola can use promotion strategic to defeat their competitors. 5.3 Environmental Impacts In December 1990, Coca-Cola Company announced that they would begin using recycled plastics in their bottles, but they have not followed through. Coca-Cola Company no use the recycle plastic in their bottles cause the plastic waste is increasing ten times faster than recycling of plastic soda bottles and seriously effect health and environment impacts. Coca-Cola Company Should uses the recycle plastic in their bottles to reduce the increasing the plastic waste. Plastic waste can be reducing by recycling the plastic bottle and produce new plastic bottle. If Coca-Cola Company still uses non-recycle plastic in their bottle, the plastic waste will keep increasing and the raw material for producing plastic will decreasing. This will cause lack of material to produce others plastic product. Besides, recycled plastic can reduces all of the associated health and environmental impacts compared to production of non-recycle plastic from raw materials. When Coca-Cola Company use non recycle plastic, extraction of non-renewable resources like oil and gas for the plastics industry occur. Highly energy intensive consumption in manufacturing when production of non-recycle plastic. Furthermore the refining of raw materials and industrial processes used to produce plastics associated materials generate toxic chemicals posing a risk to worker safety and public health. So, Coca-Cola Company should use recycle plastic to solve this problem. 6.0 Conclusion Nowadays, Coca-Cola Company is a very successful beverage company because of their market success factors. The market success factors of Coca-Cola Company are market research, market analysis, selecting target market, SWOT analysis, marketing mix and so on. The Coca-Cola Company faces some market problems such as health effect, competitors and environmental impact. We have suggested Coca-Cola Company solve their health problem by launch sugar free, sugar less, low-calorie and no-calorie product. Coca-Cola Company understands the culture of a country and launches a product that has not launched by others competitors before. Finally, Coca-Cola Company must use recycle plastic in their bottle to solve environmental impact. From the report, we learn the market success factors of Coca-Cola Company and their history. We know about the Coca-Cola Company problems and the ways to solve their problems. Bibliography 1. Coca-Cola. (November 2011) Retrieved October 24, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola 2. Coca-Cola Marketing Plan. (2006) Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2003/6/14/53228/5227 3. Coca-Cola’s mission, vision and values. (2010) Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/about-us/coca-cola-mission-vision-statement.html 4. Coke’s Broken Promise. (1997) Retrieved November 8, 2011 from http://www.ecomall.com/activism/coke3.htm 5. Fakhar.z 101. Coca-Cola Marketing Strategies (January 2009) Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/10552013/Coca-Cola-Marketing-Strategies 6. Kasi. Marketing Mixx. (March 2011) Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://marketingmixx.com/marketing-plan-2/165-coca-cola-marketing-plan.html 7. Marketing201. Easy on Coca Cola Marketing (May, 2009) Retrieved November 2, 2011 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/15277105/Essay-on-Coca-Cola-Marketing 8. The Coca-Cola Company. (2011) Retrieved October 24, 2011 from http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/

American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and the First 100 Days Essay Example for Free (#100)

American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and the First 100 Days Essay Though none opposes the fact that motivation is the real driving engine of every action, there is considerable differences among the theorists about its mechanism, especially when it comes to explore the possibility to bring out the best out in the employees of an organization, where one school of thought advocates for extrinsic motivation for instant solution and the other insists on capitalizing the long-term efficacy of intrinsic motivation. Under the present context of economic downturn, this issue is extremely important, as extrinsic motivation primarily involves money. Therefore, this paper explores the core elements of motivation and concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards from relevant literature, before coming into its own conclusion. Core of Motivation The core of motivation contains three elements like Consciousness, Inverted Qualia and Absent Qualia. These three together create various mental states. Consciousness It has six major identifiable states like 1. State of awareness: When someone is aware of something (Rosenthal, 1986). 2. Qualitative states: Sensing something out of something like enjoying a meal or experiencing a pain. Such experiences are called â€Å"qualia†, and are regarded as â€Å"intrinsic, private, ineffable and nomadic features of experience, † (Dennet, 1990). 3. Phenomenal states: A state involving more than sensory qualia, covering spatial, temporal and conceptual organization of experiences about the world and the person’s inference about it. 4. What-it-is-like states: Associating a sense of experience with another. 5. Access consciousness: It’s like seeing a thing and ideating something and then deciding on something, where there may or may not be any relationship among the above-said three stages. 6. Narrative consciousness: This â€Å"stream of consciousness† contains a series of thoughts from the â€Å"perspective of an actual or merely virtual self† (Dennett, 1991). Inverted Qualia It refers to a personal package of intrinsic and intricate experiences, with which humans decipher various external signals and respond to them, where the nature of experience governs the nature of response. The difference in perception causes inverted qualia, as for example someone might like green tea and detest coffee for no unexplainable reasons. This trait has a strong connection with intrinsic motivation (Dennet, 1991) Absent Qualia The concept of absent qualia claims that functional duplicates of a creature would do the same. As for example, if Mr. X likes tea and dislikes coffee, then his absolute clone would also do the same, for which the clone would not need an intricate and intrinsic package of experiences (Dennet, 1991). This concept backs the idea of getting result through extrinsic reward – as for example, if Mr. X and Mr. Y do identical jobs under identical conditions, then if Mr. X feels satisfied with cash reward, Mr.  Y would too follow the suit without a second thought! This study thus highlights two sets of hidden relationships, one, between inverted qualia and intrinsic motivation/rewards, and two, between absent qualia and extrinsic motivation/rewards. In any case, humans’ (apparently) involuntary association with rewards too has its routes in their perceptions, which maintain a master list of individual desires, and accordingly propel them to fulfill such desires. Put into an imaginary diagram, the mechanism of human mind can look somewhat like below: Mechanism of Motivation Motivating Tools From the organizational perspective, the ways and means to motivate the employees can be many. However, the common ones among them are, 1. Rewards 2. Retention 3. Morale 5. Job-enrichment 6. Reinforcement 1. Rewards System: Rewards or recognition system has a great bearing on the emotional plane of humans. † Every behavior comes out of ‘pain and gain’ principle†, says Khera (2004, p. 110). There can be many types of tangible gains like money, vacations or gifts, or they can be intangible, like recognition, appreciation, sense of achievement, growth, responsibility, sense of fulfillment, self-worth, etc. 2. Retention: It highly motivates the employees, as â€Å"Retention is critical to the long term health and success of the company† (Heathfield, 2008). 3. Morale: The elements like praise, love and faith can charge up anyone under any circumstance. 4. Job Enrichment: It relates to the in-house grooming of the employees to become an expert in the related field. 5. Reinforcement. By all means, it is a tool to control the employee behavior (Positive, 2000), which binds the company activities together. Other Factors Related to Motivation There are three other factors that can be instrumental to keep employees motivated, and they are: Job Satisfaction, Goal-setting and Performance appraisals. They are considered to be the self-boosters of the employees, and according to Murphy (2001), belief is a thought that causes the power of subconscious to be distributed into all phases of life. Motivation and Reward System Reward systems are created to fuel the employee cooperation, effort and overall satisfaction of all members of the company Cacioppe (1999). Other researchers like Hackman (1997) Shea and Guzzo (1987) too have endorsed this view, and suggested to align rewards with group activities. The basic parameter of the formulating a reward structure, however, is expected to apply the common logic like optimizing the ability of the workforce as a whole, though in practice it might go down to an individual, especially where the work patterns are not interdependent. This situation commands a quick review of the nature of intrinsic and extrinsic rewards. Intrinsic Rewards Deci (1975) says that intrinsic rewards evoke a sense of personal causation – i. e.  , an inward mechanism serving as the guiding engine for the action, where its elements are usually intangible and working on the plane of one’s perception, where the journey is being enjoyed over the outcome. Extrinsic Rewards Extrinsic rewards are supposed to generate perceptions of external causation (Deci, 1975) by being mostly tangible in nature – a hike in salary or status, or material gains in other forms. However, researchers like Guzzo, (1979) defies any division in the reward system and considers it a single, usable tools to tweak the frequency of desired response of the employees towards a desired direction. Researchers like Hull (1943) and Skinner (1953) placed extrinsic reward as a direct link between stimulus and response, and their views include punishment as a stimulus too, besides subscribing to the power of stimulus. Reaction No matter how much Hull (1943) and Skinner (1953) wanted to establish extrinsic motivation as the best motivating tool to earn competitive advantage, extrinsic motivation carries a hidden cost besides the cost involved in its implementation. Researchers like Deci and Ryan (1985) used attribution theory and suggested that humans constantly reassess the reasons for their behaviors besides others. Before that, Lepper et al. (1973) had observed that reinforcement generates two effects for the management, like gaining control over activity or fastening the process; two, the backlash effect in absence of reinforcement. The example below would explain it better: A group or an individual gets a reward of x amount of money for a period y, where x+y=m, m being the increased rate of production. Before that, the situation was y=z where production was z. Now in the absence of reinforcement and with the influence of attribution theory, the situation would stand like y-x = n, where n < z. This clearly goes against the basic reason for motivating the employees, i. e. , to enhance the profit of the organization. â€Å"Engagement occurs when an employee connects emotionally with his work,† says Paul Glen (2007), and if one checks the mechanism of motivation, one gets convinced that extrinsic motivation cannot influence the employees to connect emotionally with their work, as it is guided by absent qualia, i. e. , a momentary and involuntary chase, where emotion has no role to play. On the other hand, the intrinsic motivation is guided by inverted qualia, i.  e. , conscious chase and that clearly takes along emotion in its journey and influence the human mind in no less than six ways. Conclusion The research and discussion above clearly shows that extrinsic motivation system can be a threat in disguise for the organizations especially under the present context of economic downturn, while intrinsic motivation can be the ideal solution under the same circumstance, where it can raise emotional attachment with the organization and inspire the employees to produce more for less. References Cacioppe, R. (1999). Using team-individual reward and recognition strategies to drive organizational success. Leadership and Organization Development Journal, 20(6), pp. 322-331. Deci, E. and Ryan, R. (1985) Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behaviour. New York: Plenum Press. Deci, E. L. (1975). Intrinsic motivation. New York: Plenum. Denett, D. C. (1990). Quining qualia†. In Mind and Cognition, W. Lycan (Ed. ), Oxford: Blackwell, 519-548. Dennett, D. C. (1991). Consciousness explained. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. Glen, P. (2007). You Can’t Outsource Retention. Computerworld, July 16, 2007. Guzzo, R. A. (1979). Types of rewards, cognitions, and work motivation. Academy of Management Review, 4(1), pp. 75-86. Hackman, J. R. (1997). Why teams don’t work. In R. S. Tindale, J. Edwards, & E. J. Posavac (Eds. ) Applications of theory and research on groups to social issues. New York: Plenum. American Politics in the Context of Obama’s Election and the First 100 Days. (2016, Oct 14).

Kants Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Kants - Essay Example But the only thing that could be an object of respect for me is something that is conjoined with my will purely as a ground and never as a consequence, something that does not serve my inclination but overpowers† (320). From the definition above of Kant’s categorical imperative, one can see that the categorical imperative aims to test whether the reason behind an action contradicts itself if one uses a rational basis for it. Kant actually explains it in this way: â€Å"Is it a necessary law for all rational beings to judge their actions always in accordance with those maxims which they can themselves will that they should serve as universal laws?†(332). The formula has a procedure that states what one is supposed to do. It therefore clearly distinguishes between what one has to do and what one wants to do. The basis of the categorical imperative is therefore not in the necessity of the action, not in the motivation of the desire or pleasure but in the rationality of the action. For a motivation to be acceptable, it must be purely rational and its being rational is for the greater good, or for what is good to all people without any exceptions. Based on Kant’s definition of the categorical imperative, the motivation for the first case is that if the action were to be made into a universal law, then no one would say such things because one would expect the other person to say it. Thus, it would contradict itself. For the second case, the motivation should be a situation which is debt free so that it would not contradict itself. As for the third case, it is similar to the first. In short, if the motivation would be getting something in return, and if this were to be converted to a universal law, then there is no one would give anything anymore. Thus, one should wait to be that second person. For the fourth case, the motivation would be to get a good grade. However, if everyone would do this, then there would be no

Reflection essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

Reflection - Essay Example Thus, a respectable woman is to be a good housewife and a careful mother, while her husband must maintain family. It seems to be an old-fashioned stereotype now. A huge number of modern families may illustrate this. The task of many husbands is to take care of children, while their wives adopt a role of breadwinners. Statistic data may illustrate this: Thus, precious few people are surprised to hear that a wife earns more than her husband does. It seems to me that this tendency roots in adolescence or even in childhood. The aim of most young people is to build up a successful career in future. Earlier it was accepted to think that high ambitions are more typical and even natural of men, rather than of women. This is not the case in our time. I notice such a tendency among my friends – girls usually pay much more attention to their studies than guys. As they say, they must think about their future career in advance. At the same time, most guys seem to be quite careless about this. Such a tendency may partially be prescribed to the fact that girls are proven to grow up faster than boys, both physically and mentally (Bergland, 2013). It seems to me, however, that certain feminist ideas exert much more influence in this case. Anyway, such girls are quite likely to become successful business-ladies in future. One more thing which helps girls and guys become friends is their similar hobbies. Surprisingly, a lot of my female friends adore football, basketball, and even hockey, though all these games are traditionally associated with men. For example, as statistics show, in 2012 soccer was the third most played team sport by high school girls – almost 1,5 million school girls tried this game only in the US (NFHS, 2011). When it comes to pastime, it is also necessary to mention computer games and computer skills in general. People are used to think that computer games are only for narrow-minded and not really responsible

Reflection on a recent media-related news item Essay - 1

Reflection on a recent media-related news item - Essay Example agency based in Toronto initially known for inventing Catvertising receives another honor of having being the pioneers and originators of Reactvertising (Wheaton, 2014). John St describes Reactvertising as not as the art of fun or being smart but having the ability to work faster on advertisement. Working faster and maintaining the standards appears to be the primary concern of many of the speed writers in the promotional video (Wheaton, 2014). The respondents raise their concern if they are to write whatever pops in their minds or ignore the old style of thinking and adopt Reactivism. According to one of the client’s testimonial, in the video the John saint provisions state that no one has better thinking than others do (Wheaton, 2014). Social media are changing the dynamics of contents in marketing and advertisement. The historical ways of advertisement were procedural from the warehouses to the advertisement Medias like the newspaper broadcasts or radio and televisions. The dynamics in marketing in the social media such as Facebook and twitter have since improved the speed of advertising with communications between brands and customers being direct. Wheaton, K. (2014). The Next Logical Step in Real-Time Marketing: Reactvertising. Retrieved on November 3, 2014, from

International Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 3

International Business - Essay Example (Appelbaum and Lichtenstein, 2006, pp.106-107). These global networks create buyer-driven commodity chains, which play the crucial role in shaping the world’s markets, setting the prices, and decide on the global distribution of labor. Both the UK and the US economies have undergone dramatic changes following the retail revolutions. The US is home to 7 out of 10 largest world retailers, which account for 30.1% of all sales of the 250 retailers(Campling,n.d). The most important US retailer is Wal-Mart, which owns nearly 4200 stores all over the world. In the UK, there are four big retail chains: Tesco, Asda, Safeway and Sainsbury, which possess 65% of the national market share (Burt and Sparks, 2003, p.239). Such market concentration, in the US case on international scale, has never taken place before. Thus, rapid rise of retail chains has benefited their shareholders and managers with enormous profits; Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart, was ranked as the richest man in the U nited States from 1982 to 1988. Wal-Mart also created workplaces for 1.35 million associates all over the world. Thus, shareholders, managers and employees of large retail chains are definite winners of retail revolutions. However, there have been also waves of criticism regarding negative impact of retail concentration on suppliers, suppliers, and society in general (Seth and Randall, 2001, pp.256-257). Both the UK and the US economies have undergone dramatic changes following the retail revolutions. This paper focuses on the cases of Wal-Mart and the four leading UK retail leaders to contrast and compare the retail revolutions in both countries, their key factors, characteristics, and the winners and the losers of retail revolutions in the UK and US. To start with, while the changing structure of British retailing has affected the markets only on a national and local scale, the rise of large US retailers has had an enormous impact on the global economy (Burt and Sparks, 2001). In 2001, the world’s thirty largest retailers, most of them based in the USA or the European Union countries, reached the annual revenues of nearly 1.3 trillion dollars. The report by an international consulting group Deloitte from 2008 reveals that the economic concentration of the largest world retailers is growing continuously; in 2005 alone the market share of 10 largest retail companies increased 10 %, accounting for the 30.1% of all sales of the 250 top retailers (Campling, n.d). While 7 out of 10 the largest retailers are US-based companies, such as the world leader Wal-Mart or Home Depot, there is only one UK company, a grocery and general merchandising retailer, Tesco, in this ranking. Thus, the influence of the US leading retailers on the global economy is greater than of any other country; Wal-Mart alone operates nearly 4200 stores and employs nearly 1.35 million associates all over the world (Burt and Sparks, 2001). It owns over 386 million ft 2 of floor space in the US and 80 million ft2 abroad, with approximately 94 000 ft2 of sale space in each discount store and 182 000 ft2 per supercenter. In fiscal year 2000 Wal-Mart added 30 million ft2 to its floor space, planning to add further 40 million ft2 of space in 2001. In comparison, the British leading supermarket chain ASDA owns a total of only 18.8 million ft2, out of which 52% is sale space. That great difference in the scales of the UK and the US retail activities is also reflected through the overall share of world trade of these

Women and Culture in the West Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Women and Culture in the West - Research Paper Example nce, mathematics, history, philosophy, Latin, Italian, French, Greek and German unlike the majority who preferred the girl child doing worsted work and practicing quadrilles. Their education was his responsibility (Aler, 2008). All these teachings resulted to Florence being intelligent and well educated which in some way shaped her to the nurse she came to be. Since Florence came from a wealthy background she was not expected to work. Her mother most of all deemed it best if she was to get married some day because she assumed that was her destiny. It was after a long emotional battle that tutors were eventually allowed to teach Florence mathematics over home duties. She was taught a number of subjects such as algebra, geometry and arithmetic’s. During her leisure time, Florence spent it tutoring children on this particular topics thus in the process enhancing her knowledge and having a wider scope on mathematics. She enjoyed being of service to others (Aler, 2008). Unlike these present times where people are strongly campaigning for the girl child to have a decent education and a lead a decent life where they are able to fend for themselves and be independent there was once upon a time an era where the English girls had little or no education at all, this was during the nineteenth century. Boys had an advantage over girls in the sense that parents were more willing to take them to private schools and pay more since there was no system of free schools until the 1880s. Girls of all ages had a disadvantage in relation to boys of the same age and level because of the depravity of education knowledge. Governesses taught the girls of the upper –class since they did not go to school at all but the funny part is that these very governesses who are supposed to be the source of enlightenment had no formal training. The objective of this strategy of the upper-class being taught at home was to alienate them from the lower classes as well as to keep them away from the

Why NO to Genetically Modified Foods Speech or Presentation

Why NO to Genetically Modified Foods - Speech or Presentation Example GM foods were firstly introduced into market in 1996.Generally; biotech foods include soybean, canola, rice, corn, and cotton seed oil. The use of GM foods has been increasingly growing since its introduction in 1996 despite their adverse effects on health and environment. I would like describe why genetically modified foods are not good to eat. Genetically modified foods Here I am going to discuss impacts of GM foods on human health. Health complications resulting from genetically modified foods can be categorized into fatal and near-fatal. Fatal risks of GM foods 1. Deaths 2. Cancer 3. Allergic reactions 1. Deaths Reports indicate that use of some sorts of genetically modified foods may cause death. To illustrate, a number of Americans died and thousands of others sustained serious health issues by a genetically modified food supplement called L-tryptophan in 1989; this food supplement created a debilitating ailment named Eosinophilia myalgia syndrome (EMS) (â€Å"50 harmful effec ts†). Regulators point out that some of the GM foods are still sold without proper safety tests and this adverse practice may lead to severe complications. In addition, scientists report that animals used in the lab tests of GM foods die prematurely. However, recent developments in the agriculture biotechnology promise that it is possible to develop GM foods containing sufficient levels of nutrition. 2. Cancer Researchers argue that eating genetically modified foods may result in cancer. The risk of stomach and colon cancers is increased by GM foods that contain a cauliflower virus. According to one argument, â€Å"it is possible GM DNA could affect stomach and colonic lining by causing a growth factor effect with the unproven possibility of hastening cancer formation in those organs†. (â€Å"GM food can cause cancer†). And people who reside near GM crop farms are highly vulnerable to cancer as they are most likely to be affected by GM contaminated food and water . Many other studies reflect that GM foods have the capability to stimulate cancerous cell growth. However, well tested GM foods can provide benefits including herbicide tolerance and cold tolerance. Furthermore, GM foods discourage the use of toxic chemicals as it can be resistant to pests. 3. Allergic reactions Allergenicity is one of the potential risks of genetically modified crops to human health. According to reports, many children in the United States and European countries have developed dreadful allergic reactions to peanuts and other genetically modified foods. As Whiteman states, when introducing a new gene into a plant, either a new allergen may be formed or allergic reactions may be developed in susceptible individuals in response to this process. StarLink corn is one of the best known cases of GD food causing serious allergic reactions. The StarLink contained a protein called cry9C to protect the corn from black cutworms and corn borers. In 2000, components of cry9C DN A were detected in food products. As per the reports of ScienceDaily, it is believed that StarLink corn was the primary cause behind increased rate of asthma attacks and other allergies developed in its consumers. However, this technology eliminates crop wastage because of its pest resistance capability. Hence, it is the most cost effective way of agriculture. Near-fatal risks of GM foods 1. Viral and bacterial illnesses 2. Environmental risks 3. Other general risks 1. Viral and bacterial illnesses Even though viral and bacterial illnesses are not severe like those risks described above, they may also lead to death unless the infected person seeks treatment in time. Researchers have identified that viruses like cauliflower mosaic virus CaMV, used in genetic

Program Review (Fresh Eyes) Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Program Review (Fresh Eyes) - Research Paper Example This review also determines how to avoid or mitigate these challenges during program process. All these points aim at enhancing success in implementing this program and, thus, achieving the required objectives and goals of the program. Program design is very essential in program implementation. This is because it acts as a guiding tool in the program implementation. According to Wiggins & McTighe (2005), designing of curriculum and learning experiences to meet specified purposes is an essential act of the teaching profession. Therefore, since this program revolves around the education profession, its design will involve crafting of curriculum and learning experiences. The crafting must be designed to help the program implementation team to achieve the objectives of the program. This crafting is not an easy task since it requires employment of both tactics and experience. It also requires teamwork since it would involve several individuals and stakeholders. Therefore, this is one chal lenge that would be encountered in the course of program implementation. Moreover, for the design chosen for a program to be successful, there are various education issues that it should address. According to Kelly & Melograno (2004, p. 8), â€Å"it must address issues of individualization, accountability, and effective practice.† Incorporating specific students’ needs on the program will address the issue of individualization. Enhancing competence of the people involved in the program will address the issue of accountability. On the other hand, ensuring that the program meets the required standards will address the issue of effective practice. Addressing these issues is not always easy since there are several limiting factors. Some of the limiting factors are learners’ learning styles, educators’ instruction style and the learning environment available. This might make addressing the issues identified to be difficult, thus, it is another challenge that m ight be encountered during implementation of the program. Different learners have different learning abilities and characteristics. This program will involve teaching education professions on effective research practice and management. Therefore, the audience for this program will be the education professionals regardless of area of specialization. Such an audience consists of adult learners only. One major characteristic of these learners is that they have other responsibilities in their life, which they consider more important than learning. As a result, they would be combining learning with their other activities, responsibilities, and duties that they have to undertake in their life. This might distract them from the learning process, thus, making them not fully dedicated to learning. The lack of dedication might hinder the learning process among these adult learners. Therefore, this is another challenge that might be encountered during the implementation of the proposed program . Time and resources are two essentials of any type of program implementation. This means that any type of a program implementation has to use a certain amount of time and resources. A major characteristic of these two is that they are limited in terms of availability. It is always difficult to find sufficient time and resources for implementation of any program. As a result, the resources and time available for program implementation must be maximally utilized. In this research, a challenge of having

History of Television Essay Example for Free

History of Television Essay Television Broadcasting Malaysian television broadcasting was introduced on 28 December 1963. Color television was introduced on 28 December 1978. Full-time color transmissions of grand launched until officially inaugurated on New Years Day 1982. There are currently 8 national free-to-air terrestrial television stations in Malaysia and 2 national pay subscription television stations in Malaysia. Out of eight television channels, four of them are available in Sabah and Sarawak, and the other four are available only in Peninsular Malaysia.Transmissions in Malaysia were black-and-white until 28 December 1978. First stereo audio broadcasting was introduced in 1985 by TV3. Five out of eight channels does not have 24-hour schedule. 24-hour television was introduced in Malaysia between 13 to 16 May 1989 on TV1. The first 24-hour broadcasting in Malaysia was introduced in 2007 by TV2. Local Programming RTM had local programmings in each state until 1984, and those local stations had been replaced by relay of RTM1. RTM1 had 1 hour of local programming between 1984 to 1992. Today, RTM broadcasts the same version nationwide except in Sarawak and Sabah, which still have some local programmings. RTM have plans to re-introduce the local channels after digital switchover. The local channels had the name RTM and state name, for example RTM Pinang for Penang. Each channel had its own schedule and broadcasting hours, and some programs relay from RTM1 and RTM2 (usually news programs and government programs). Between 1984 to 1992, the local programmings was around 5:00pm on RTM1. For the new local channels, the broadcasting hours are currently unknown. Today, RTM still broadcasting radio in local, but television in national.

What Love & Logic Means to Effective Parenting Essay Example for Free

What Love Logic Means to Effective Parenting Essay What parents want is to cherish their kids, have fun with them, and enjoy a less stressful family life. There is never a shortage of advice from friends, family and even well-meaning strangers when becoming a parent. Nothing can ever truly prepare parents for the actual experience of raising children. We all want to be great parents and we all want to do the right thing, but in addition to balancing all the advice we’re given against our own upbringing and instincts, we still struggle. As parents we set the rules and expect our children to obey them†¦. In other words: What I say goes-or else. Previous generations took a much more punitive and fear-based approach to parenting, which feeds the illusion that our parents and grandparents didn’t have to do much to earn respect; it was simply an automatic response by their children. The truth is much of that discipline was rooted in corporal punishment or fear –inducing experiences that made their children appear to have respect and did indeed impact their behavior. Love and Logic Parenting offers an affective and beneficial way to parenting without resorting to corporal punishment, spanking or hitting our children. It is no longer considered healthy or socially acceptable to paddle children in school, slap children in the face or spank them with a belt when they do something wrong. In fact, those actions are now typically considered child abuse. Respect nowadays needs to be earned through appropriate discipline techniques not fear. By setting clear rules and expectations, explaining the consequences of their actions, and following through and enforcing those consequences fairly and consistently. Modeling, showing a good example, has been proven to affect children positively in every area of life: academic achievement, employment, health habits, peer and romantic relationships, coping, as well as communication and conflict resolution. And just as modeling good behavior is important, it’s also important for a parent to admit when they have made a mistake, particularly when it comes to their kids. If they see an adult own up to having done something wrong, they, too, will learn to take responsibility when they do something wrong. It may be desirable of parents to hang out with their children or teenagers and be more like friends than parent/child. Being a child’s friend can’t be a priority, our job is to be a good parent! This doesn’t mean that parents can’t enjoy activities and good times with their children, but it does mean that rules need to be made, boundaries set, and consequences enforced. At times, parents may not be the most popular person in the house! Sometimes, what’s right for your child and/or family isn’t what your child wants. When it comes to a parent/child relationship, there is an automatic hierarchy: the parent is in charge. In an actual friendship , both parties ideally get equal say. But parent‘s aren’t exactly a friend. Parents are guides, leader, instructors and disciplinarians†¦ and when the work is done, and then they can hang out with their children. All parents want a close, good relationship with their children and to enjoy time with them. As parent’s we get to say when, how and what happens. There may come a point, if parents have been dealing with their child’s serious problems for a prolonged period of time, at which they simply give up hope that things can change for the better. If parents are coping with serious issues like substance abuse, mental illness, eating disorders, truancy, aggression or even rebellion, parents may feel like anything and everything in their power to change the situation has been tried. At no time in history have parents been unsure of their parental role, even the best aren’t sure about whether they are using the best techniques. Society has changed; therefore the children of this genera tion compared to the children of previous generations have changed. Through the years, parenting styles have changed however, one newer parenting program, parenting with Love Logic offers parent’s simple and practical techniques that aren’t as easily found with other parenting programs such as Total Transformation or The Incredible Years Parenting Program. Parenting with Love Logic helps parents and teachers have more fun and less stress while raising children. Most parents do not understand how the techniques our parents and grandparents used so effectively just don’t seem to work with kids today. A lot of parents today are wondering what to do with their kids and frustrated that the old techniques just don’t seem to get the job done anymore. Many conflicting philosophies and books have been written and many of them sound good, but they haven’t seemed to be able to do the job of helping children become respectful, responsible and a joy to be around. Although, many ideas are offered with the best intensions, they center on making sure our kids are comfortable and feeling good about themselves in order to have self-concept. However, through Love Logic parents have discovered that self -confidence is achieved through struggle and achievement, not through someone telling kids that they are number one. Raising children, who are self-confident, motivated, and ready for the real world, can be a win-win approach to parenting. Children will win because they will have learned to solve problems while gaining the confidence they need to meet life’s challenges. Parents will win by establishing healthy control without resorting to anger, threats, nagging or exhausting power struggles. Love Logic teaches parents to â€Å"lock in â€Å"empathy, love, and understanding prior to telling kids what the consequences of their actions are. It teaches parents to hold their kids accountable for their mistakes. When a child is talking back or yelling at you, instead of yelling back or match wits with the child try something new and unexpected, don’t waste energy simply try telling them â€Å"I love you too much to argue, or â€Å"I will talk to you when you when you can talk in a normal tone of voice;† and see what happens. This will surprise the child when they aren’t getting a rise out of you. Children need to be given the opportunity to make choices even if the choices they make are not always right ones, it is a choice that they made, therefore, they have to face the consequences and be held accountable. Provide choices by avoiding power struggles, letting the child make decisions, and help them learn from their mistakes. This helps improve parent/child relationships and builds the child’s self -confidence. Love Logic offers parents the skills required to feel more relaxed, hopeful and positive with their children. Parents will discover that parenting doesn ’t have to be as hard as it seems to be and parents can teach personal responsibility and respect without losing their child’s love. As parent’s, many only have a few years left to prepare our children for a world that requires responsibility and maturity for endurance. Many parents are continually amazed how Love Logic changes lives and how the principles work not only with children, but also parents and adults. It has converted many people’s parenting philosophies. With Parenting with Love Logic parents have a place in guiding their children to healthy and successful lives. Parents are expected to be experts, but parenting is a learning process, especially appropriate and effective parenting. There is a way through parent training that has been shown to be effective at reducing child behavior problems including rebelliousness. Parent programs may seem like common sense but many needs to learn techniques and implement them consistently. The instructions given are important in determining compliance; the way in which a command is given can often greatly influence the child’s understanding of the command. Parents often give orders that are not specific or clear enough to be truly understood by the child and parents often do not give children sufficient time to act in accordance with requests. Techniques that work with Love Logic are forcible statements, choices, compassion, then consequences, diffusing arguments and guiding children to solve their own problems. Enforceable statements are no threats, anger, frustration and no warnings. Parenting programs are offered to help parents in helping raise our children effectively. Love Logic primarily teaches character. The formula is the child makes a mistake, and the adult responds with compassion instead of anger, the child learns from the consequences of their actions. The rules of Love Logic are adults set firm limits in loving ways, without anger, lecture or threats. When a child causes a problem, the adult hands it back in a loving and consistent way. There are three different styles of parenting. Helicopter parenting, where the parent hovers over children and try to save them from the hostile world in which we live. Drill Sergeant parenting, where the parent commands and directs the lives of the children. The Consultant Parent provides the guidance and consultant services for their children. The helicopter parent never allows their children to suffer the natural consequences of their mistakes and choices, constantly bailing them out. This type of parent requires or expects nothing from their child and does not instill accountability in their child. The drill sergeant parent demands that things be done now and tells the child how to think, feel and handle all responsibilities. The consultant parent uses Love Logic techniques, they give messages of personal worth and strength, provide and help explore alternatives and then allows the child to ma ke his or her own decision, provides time frames in which the child may complete responsibilities. Consultant parents model doing a good job, finishing, cleaning up and feeling good about it. They use many actions but very few words, and allow the child to experience life’s natural consequences. Family values were considerably different than those of previous decades, and to a great extent, this was the intention of previous generations. Other than the fact that teenagers have more technology and more material things nowadays, there is no difference in teenagers now as opposed to teenagers in my generation. Teens have been rebellious, prone to experimentation, impulsive, and in great need of acceptance from their peers. This has led them to teenagers making some not so wise choices, both in the previous generations as well as in the current generation. Every generation of parents has worried and wondered if there is any hope for the next generation. Kids and teenagers also have been enthusiastic, generous, energetic, and creative to their schools and communities. Give our children a chance to do something worthwhile, and most of them will step up. All they need is a little guidance and a sense of meaning in their lives. The driving societal changes in the 80’s and 90’s women’s liberation movements, high divorce rates, and the need for mothers to enter the work force played into the hands of those starting families early in the previous decades of the 20th century. All of these influences directly impacted the families we grew up in, and how the next generation would be raised. More often, than not children are growing up in broken homes. The reality is that more children are born to unwed or teenage mothers. I think that the Love Logic program should be offered as a mandatory program for all parents. Through Parenting with Love Logic introspection gives our children the values they deserve, it guides our children to solve their problems; it helps in making our children responsible for their own actions; and our children will love us for holding them accountable; and it offers parents ways to teach our children. Cline, Foster W. Fay, Jim Rev. ed. of: Parenting teens with love logic. c1992. Fay, Jim. Teaching with Love Logic. Golden, CO: The Love and Logic Press, Inc., 1995 School Discipline, Classroom Management Ginott, Haim G. Between parent and teenager. [New York] Macmillan [1969 Glasser, Howard. Transforming the difficult child: the nurtured heart approach. Tucson, Ariz.: Center for the Difficult Child Publications, c1998. Grandin, Temple. Developing talents: Careers for individuals with Asperger syndrome and high-functioning autism. Shawnee Mission, KS: Autism Asperger Pub., 2004. Grundfast, Kenneth. Ear infections in your child. Hollywood, Fla.: Compact Books, c1987. Haddon, Mark. The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. 1st Vintage Contemporaries ed. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2004. Despite his overwhelming fear of interacting with people, Christopher, a mathematically-gifted, autistic fifteen-year-old boy, decides to investigate the murder of a neighbors dog and uncovers secret information about his mother. Hallowell, Edward M. Driven to distraction: recognizing and coping with attention deficit disorder from childhood through adulthood. 1st Touchstone ed. New York: Simon Schuster, 1995. Hamersky, Jean, 1953-. Cartoon cut-ups: teaching figurative language humor. Eau Claire, Wis. : Thinking Publications, c1995. Navigating the Social World. Kajander, Rebecca. Living with ADHD: a practical guide to coping with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: for parents, teachers, physicians, and all those who care for children with ADHD. Minneapolis, Minn. : The Foundation, c1995. Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy, 1953-. Raising your spirited child: a guide for parents whose child is more #intense, sensitive, perceptive, persistent, and energetic. Rev. Ed. New York: Harper, 2006. Kurcinka, Mary Sheedy, 1953-. Raising your spirited child workbook. 1st Ed. New York, NY: Harper to The Effects of the Becoming Perennial, c1998. Leftin, Howard I. The family contract: a blueprint for successful parenting. Washington, D.C. : PIA Press, c1990.

The Development Of Victimology Criminology Essay

The Development Of Victimology Criminology Essay This paper will explain and evaluate the development of victimology as a field of study, focusing on victimology within England and Wales. Firstly, it will define the concept of victimology, and the victim before explaining the origins of the study. The development of victimology will then be evaluated, focusing firstly on the concept of the victim and then upon more general issues. This paper will discuss the impact of these issues on the success of victimologys development, but will conclude by acknowledging the potential strength of the continual development of victimology as a field of study. As a concept, victimology is difficult to universally define, due to the fact that different people define victimology in varying ways. At best, one can only forward a broad definition of victimology and acknowledge that other definitions do exist. As a recently developed sub-discipline of criminology victimology focuses equally on victims as it does on crime (Dignan, 2005:31). Within victimology, the victims experience, events leading to victimisations, victimisations themselves and the response of society and organisations to victimisations are all studied (Dussich, 2006:116). To clarify, victimology studies events where persons, institutions or communities are significantly injured or damaged (Dussich, 2006:116). In an academic sense, the term victimology is translated as a system of knowledge of victims (Dussich, 2006 : 116). To add, according to the Crown Prosecution Service (2001), a victim is defined as a person who has complained of the commission of an offence against themse lves or their property; this can include bereaved relatives, alongside parents or careers and small businesses. Kearon Godfrey (2007) explain that in the past, victims have been central to the processes of justice. There would have been little recorded crime before the end of the 19th century if it wasnt for the activity of victims. To illustrate, in Anglo-Saxon times, courts dealt with complaints brought directly by victims against the perpetrator which often resulted in financial compensation paid from the perpetrator to the victim (KearonGodrey,2007:6-7). The concept of the victim will be discussed in more detail later in this paper. Preceding this will be the overview of the origins of victimology, exploring in particular three criminological categories that underline victimology. It is often said that the origin of victimology lies in the hands of Mendelsohn and Von Hendig (Walklate:2007b:15). Von Hendig describes victims as having crime provocative functions, in other words, having proneness to crime (Hendig,1967:450), but Mendelsohn describes victims in terms of their culpability or responsibility for their victimisation (Marsh,2004:105). Mendelsohn and Von Hendig together explore criminological and philosophical aspects in relation to crime and victims, and despite their differences, both theorists have influenced victimology and are linked specifically to positivist victimology (Marsh, 2004:104). The positivist position links with the theories that underline victimology. Goodey (2005) claims that embedded in victimology are three categories of victimology that are based in criminology, in which she attributes to Walklate and Mawby. Firstly, there is the positivist position of which proposes the scientific nature of victimology; it defines victimisation according to the criminal law and is twinned with the idea of blaming the victim, or victim culpability (Goodey, 2005:93). Secondly, there exists the radical position which concentrates more on human rights (particularly the rights of victims) than on the scientific nature of victimology (Goodey, 2005 :93). This category emphasises all aspects of victimisation, even that which is outside the law, whilst examining the role of the state alongside the law in producing victimisation (Walklate,2007b:117). This position can be considered as having influenced the victims movement. Thirdly, there is the critical position which combines the two positions above which looks at the experiences of individual victim s and how the state and societys powers influence them (Goodey, 2005: 93). The critical position is concerned with the invisible victims and acts as well as the visible, and holds that policy should be influenced by both (Walklate, 2007b:119). The main focus of the critical position is on rights, citizenship and the state; these are three important policy oriented concepts which are linked to other versions of victimology (Walklate, 2007b :120). The underlying theories discussed are important as a base to victimology. This next section will go further and provide a explanation of the development of victimology as a field of study. Dignan (2005) describes the significance of the visibility of victims and argues that this is what led to the development of victimology. To explain, this visibility could be considered as a focus on victims rather than offenders. Dignan (2005) claims that in the 1950s the interest of victims was supported by penal reformers, and it was the first time in which penal reformers considered crime as not just a violation of legal obligations but as a violation of the rights of individual victims. Penal reformers had a deep impact in policy and in the development of victimology, for example, Margery Fry was key in promoting the improvement of services for victims (Dignan, 2005:14). Also, the mass media was thought to increase the visibility of victims, focusing strongly on victims and the families of victims; a main illustration being the emphasis that was put on the impact of the Moors Murders on the families of those victims. In addition, the publications of incidents and extensive media coverage focused on the impact of the crime upon the victim (Dignan, 2005: 14). A further increase to victim visibility stemmed from the late 60s in that a recognition had been growing of particular vulnerable groups, specifically domestically abused women, sexually abused women and abused children (Dignan, 2005 :15). With the growth of the feminist movement came an emphasis on women and children as victims of interpersonal crime (Goodey, 2005:102). This brought on broader concerns in regards to the handling of victims (Dignan, 2005: 15). Furthermore, the introduction and growth of victimisation surveys could be considered paramount to the increase of visibility of victims and so the development of victimology. These surveys increased knowledge about the nature and extent of criminal victimisation (Dignan, 2005:16). The surveys arose in the late 1960s and were initially designed to discover more about the dark figure of crime. The surveys were based on individual interviews, with figures about the extent of victims injuries and financial loss, alongside the emotional impact of crime (Maguire 1988:7 8). The Crime Survey for England and Wales, which was formerly known as the British Crime Survey, is an institution which is part of the official crime date (Green, 2007:105). In 1982, the first Crime Survey for England and Wales was conducted, with two following in1984 and 1988 (Maung 1995:1). It is important to point out that previous research in surveys focused on delinquency rather than on victimisation (Maung, 1995:2) . Evidently, the focus of the victim over the offender had increased influencing the development of victimology. One can argue that the introduction of victimisation surveys had an indirect impact on criminological theory, policy, and societys view on crime (MaguirePointing,1988:8). In addition, other forms centred on the victims were emerging alongside victimisation surveys. Following the Victim Movement in the U.S, in the 1970s, the UK courts began to offer retribution for the victims, making them a more central focus in the courts (Maguire, 1988:3). The UK victims movement, largely run by the National Association of Victim Support Schemes, focused on the services to the victims rather than on the rights of victims (Maguire, 1988:3). These services were seen as positive for many people as the objective of the services was to achieve better links between local communities (Maguire, 1988:4), and also they grew fast, with a significant increase in the amount in just five years (Maguire, 1988:21). One of the reasons for the emergence of the Victim Support schemes arguably was the rising crime rate, and with it was the rejection of the rehabilitative criminal justice model in regards to dealing with the offender (Goodey 2005:102). In relation to this rejection, the criminal justice system in England and Wales has introduced the restorative justice model in recent years (Dignan, 2005:108). With restorative justice, victims are central in the justice process, which operates from a belief one can get justice through problem solving and reparation rather than from punitive solutions (Conflicts Solution Centre, 2009). To illustrate, the compensation order of 1972 and the community service order of 1988 were both set in place to provide reparations to the community, but more specifically to the victim (Dignan, 2005:108). The restorative justice model therefore demonstrates the centrality of the victim within the criminal justice system, and through the emphasis of the victim and their compensation, the model links favourably with the study of victimology. Despite the seemingly unstoppable nature of victimology, there are several weaknesses deeply rooted in the study itself. In particular, the concept of the victim can appear to have a significant effect on the development of victimology. Firstly, the differing definitions of the victim can be considered to affect the development of victimology, for example, through reducing the applicability of results derived through research methods . To demonstrate, a survey designed to gain a greater understanding of victimisation which fails to clarify what constitutes being a victim, will have inutile findings as the results would not reflect a collective, consistent understanding. As an illustration of varying definitions, the polices understanding of the concept victim is narrow and in fitting with crime-recording practices, but for others in which these practices do not directly affect, the meaning of the concept may vary indefinitely(Walklate, 2007:38). In contrast, perhaps it is not realistic to attempt to achieve a universal definition of the victim, due to the fact that it is a concept and therefore cannot escape subjectivity. One might say that in terms of this issue, the most desirable option would be to modify research methods in a way that somehow circumvents the problem regarding varying definitions. However, if this occurred, victimology would still be founded on a problematic concept and the possibility of this may be perceived as implausible. Although, it could be argued that the lack of universality may be resolved with the idea of the ideal victim, as the concept seems to provide universal criteria in regards to the victim and the perception of the victim. However, this is not the case as this term deals with a desired definition of who a victim is deemed to be, not what a victim actually is. Generally, the ideal victim is a victim who is weak, of an interpersonal crime, and cant be blamed for being in the place in which the offence occurred; the offender is physically dominant and unknown to the victim (Whyte, 2007a:447). Christine describes an ideal victim as being:- a person or category of individuals who-when hit by crime-most readily are given the complete and legitimate status of being a victim (Christine cited in Walklate, 2005:99) It is said that those people who meet the ideal victim criteria are typically the victims that attract media attention which influences public attention and their sympathy (Whyte, 2007a:447). Therefore, ideal victims are more likely to receive a response and support from the public which may have an influence in regards to the reparation of the offender (Walklate,2007a:114). One may argue, however, that it is fundamental that all victims are recognised first and foremost as have being victimised. Not only is the concept of the ideal victim arguably unfair, but the victimisation it focuses on is disproportionate. To illustrate, the chance of being a victim is :- unevenly distributedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦with poor people from ethnic minorities, especially males, being most likely to be victimised by a stranger and women most likely to be victimised by someone they know (Walklate, 2007a:113). Contestably, the existence of the ideal victim takes away valuable resources, namely general support, which could be used to target and reduce victimisation of those who are victimised more frequently and on a larger scale. This brings the paper onto the concept of victim visibility. What needs to be considered here is the less visible crimes which create the less visible victims (Walklate, 2007a:112). A major example of a less visible crime is corporate crime. It is believed that in the U.K, corporate activity causes over 900 deaths a year, which exceeds the number of people murdered due to interpersonal violence (Whyte,2007a:449). These deaths are as a result of injuries caused by work, poisoning caused by the environment, and food related illnesses (Whyte, 2010:141-143). From this, one can see that corporate crime is a significant social problem, but in practice these incidents are rarely processed or recorded as equivalent to real crimes (Whyte,2010:149). Moreover, if corporate crimes are thought to be largely unreported, a significant number of people who have suffered as a result of these crimes will not be considered as valuable individuals in terms of research, and furthermore they will not get the reparations they deserve. It seems evident that there is an obvious distinction in terms of public and media perception between the victims who carry certain ideal characteristics and the significantly less visible victims. On the whole, the development of victimology as a field of study cannot be considered entirely successful if there exists such major issues with the concept of the victim. Less visible crimes need to become a main focus for victimologists in order to gain more information about the impact of crime on victims of all types of victimisations and, ultimately influence the provision of support for a variety of victims. One could even argue, that verifying the concept of the victim may in itself contribute to solving the issues surrounding the less visible victims and the eradication of the ideal victim. In addition to the problems that arise from the concept of the victim there are several criticisms of the methods used in the development of the study itself. Even without considering the well-known issues of under-reporting and the dark figure of crime, there are problems with methods that are used to gain data, which therefore limit research (Green,2007a:104). To explain, it seems necessary to understand research about victimisations within wider historical, social, ideological and economic conditions, but as victimisation surveys tend to neglect context, there arises a limit to the meaning which can be derived from the surveys (Green, 2007a:104). For example, within a survey a person located on one side of town may reply that they have been the victim of crime in the last six months, and another person may reply the same but on the opposite side of town. It should be essential that these answers are received individually, as being in opposite locations there are bound to be differing contexts of which have influenced the individuals victimisation or the impact they have felt from the victimisation. One could believe that the context is more important that the figures derived from the surveys, as the context may be what deeply affects the victim or increases their chances of victimisation. Therefore, it could appear that victimology has only developed so far, due to the difficult nature of research in this area. Unsurprisingly, there are problems with the Crime Survey for England and Wales, which was formerly the British Crime Survey. Green (2007a) describes several problems with the survey. Firstly, he argues that the survey does not actually tell us about victims and the impact they feel, but the findings from quantifiable, closed questions about victimisation. Secondly, the survey does not attempt to explain trends or attempts to interpret the findings, to explain, as mentioned above it does not appreciate the wider conditions of which victimisations are based. Thirdly, not only are there methodological issues with the survey, due to the entirely positivist nature, there seems to lack are an acknowledgment of its limitations. For example, the survey cannot tell us why some victims are more vulnerable than others but there has been little attempt to rectify this issue. Without acknowledging methodological limitations, one cannot find out what other factors influence the victimisation of di fferent groups and who is immune from victimisation (Green, 2007:105). Another issue to consider is the Crime Survey for England and Wales being limited in its application to under sixteen year olds. As previously stated, children are perceived to be vulnerable and prone to victimisation, but yet this survey seems to disregard children. In contrast, one could argue that children have actually been included in the survey. For instance, in 1992 children aged 12-14 were provided with a self-completion survey about their experiences of crime (Maung, 1995:1). Also, in 2009 children were also included as interviewees (British Crime Survey:2010). One should also highlight that the Crime Survey for England and Wales has data for children which are currently deemed experimental (Economic and Social Data Service: 2010) and so should be considered as a developing source. Arguably, it is not necessarily the Crime Survey for England and Wales that is the problem but how it the survey used (Green, 2007a :106) . To demonstrate, the survey ought to be less about description and more about the impact on the victim. As explored above, if the survey is developing in terms of children as victims, then one could consider that it may be developing and improving generally. In summary, with the main tool in research methods being victimisation surveys, one has to acknowledge the weaknesses of the surveys, but with recognising the necessity of future improvement, one must take into account the possibility of future improvement. In a like manner, a further weakness of the development of victimology is in regards to the weaknesses of Victim Support schemes. Due to the voluntary nature of the schemes, it seems that it is difficult to support a full coverage of crime victims (Corbett Maguire, 1988:31). For example, volunteers of Victim Support can only cover so many victims in a town and can only provide them with a limited amount of resources. Due to the small supply of funding currently provided for Victim Support schemes, payment for a sufficient amount of workers cannot be possible (CorbettMaguire, 1988:31). One could argue that victimologys effect on policy, and its encouragement of a supportive view of victims, has not been fully successful. In order for resources and support for crime victims to improve, one needs the support of the criminal justice system in the focusing of the victim in order to influence the state in providing more compensation for such schemes (CorbettMaguire, 1988:38). In contrast, it could appear that victimologys development has impacted on society enough in that restorative justice is becoming more and more a part of the criminal justice system (Ministry of Justice, 2012). In terms of focus on the victim and their impact from crime, restorative justice implements these considerations significantly. It is true that restorative justice has not been fully implemented in the system as practices thought as most restorative are committed to other processes that are not seen true of fully court-based reparative interventions, for example, mediation (Dignan, 2005:125). Although this is the case, in development there are action plans in place for the restorative justice model (Ministry of Justice, 2012). Therefore on this view, if victimology as a field of study can be considered as an influence on highlighting the importance of the victim, then one can say it has been a successful development as it has contributed to changes in the criminal justice system in favour of the victim. Despite victimologys apparent success in influencing policy in favour of the victim, there exists weaknesses in the theories of which victimology is based upon. Firstly, positivist victimology can be considered to assume the identity of victims as self-evident, without acknowledging the construction of the ideal victim for example (Dignan, 2005:33). Also, positivism concentrates on the scientific nature of victimology, but the perception of what is scientific has become debatable, making the foundations of the theory unstable (Walklate, 2007b:115). Similarly, radical victimology can be considered to be based on the same conception of science as positivist victimology and so suffer from the same weakness (Walklate, 2007b:117). Also, it can be argued that it is limited as it concentrates its analysis of the processes of victimisation on the social classes, whilst ignoring other factors, for example, race, age and gender (Dignan, 2005:34). On the other hand, critical victimology can be seen to highlight the importance of historical and cultural contexts in shaping victimising practices and our feelings towards them, and due to this, critical victimology acknowledges that concepts such as victim and victimisation are contested and not universal (Dignan,2005:35). As discussed previously, the issues with the concept of the victim are almost overwhelming, and so the fact critical victimology at least acknowledges these issues helps bring on a potential process of resolution. Although there are profound issues with positivist and radical victimology, it seems that critical victimology has its strengths which one could argue provides a degree of stability for the field of study of victimology. To summarise, this paper has explained the development of victimology as a field of study, claiming that the development generally occurred through a focus on victims and their centrality in the criminal justice process. The paper went on to consider several weaknesses of victimology itself, arguing that if there exists such major issues with the concept of the victim, the development of victimology as a field of study cannot be considered wholly successful. Secondly, the paper discussed problems surrounding research methods. Although one must acknowledge these problems, it is essential to recognise the possibility of future improvements of such methods. In addition, there are obvious issues with positivist and radical victimology which affect the stability of victimology, nevertheless it seems that critical victimology has its strengths which one could consider to overshadow the weaknesses of the other theories., especially in regards to the recognition of issues surrounding the con cept of the victim. However, most importantly it seems that one cannot say that victimologys development has been completely successful until we see its influence contribute to a fully implemented change in favour of the victim within the criminal justice system. To specify, this would be restorative justice having a more full and firm place in the system, which, for example. could lead to more funds for Victim Support schemes. In conclusion, this paper has explained and evaluated the development of victimology as a field of study, and has argued that the development has not been fully successful. Despite this, the continual development of the study could potentially lead to improvement, and could therefore result in a more successful development of victimology overall.