Market Research Essay Example for Free

Market Research Essay The management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. As a practice, it consists in coordination of four elements called 4Ps: (1) identification, selection, and development of a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customers place, and (4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy. As a philosophy, marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of Harvard Business Schools emeritus professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt) Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs. Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/marketing.html#ixzz25h1HF3mw Marketing, Advertising and Sales a definition Marketing is not advertising. Marketing is finding out what people want, why they want it and how much they’ll spend. Dont confuse marketing with advertising. Advertising is the promotion of a service or product or company. It features a strong call to action and promotes the benefits of that being advertised. . Product/Service †¢ What does the customer want from the product/service? What needs does it satisfy? †¢What features does it have to meet these needs? †¢Are there any features youve missed out? †¢Are you including costly features that the customer wont actually use? †¢How and where will the customer use it? †¢What does it look like? How will customers experience it? †¢What size(s), color(s), and so on, should it be? †¢What is it to be called? †¢How is it branded? †¢How is it differentiated versus your competitors? †¢What is the most it can cost to provide, and still be sold sufficiently profitably? (See also Price, below). Place †¢ Where do buyers look for your product or service? †¢If they look in a store, what kind? A specialist boutique or in a supermarket, or both? Or online? Or direct, via a catalogue? †¢How can you access the right distribution channels? †¢Do you need to use a sales force? Or attend trade fairs? Or make online submissions? Or send samples to catalogue companies? †¢What do you competitors do, and how can you learn from that and/or differentiate? Price †¢ What is the value of the product or service to the buyer? †¢Are there established price points for products or services in this area? †¢Is the customer price sensitive? Will a small decrease in price gain you extra market share? Or will a small increase be indiscernible, and so gain you extra profit margin? †¢What discounts should be offered to trade customers, or to other specific segments of your market? †¢How will your price compare with your competitors? Promotion †¢ Where and when can you get across your marketing messages to your target market? †¢Will you reach your audience by advertising in the press, or on TV, or radio, or on billboards? By using direct marketing mailshot? Through PR? On the Internet? †¢When is the best time to promote? Is there seasonality in the market? Are there any wider environmental issues that suggest or dictate the timing of your market launch, or the timing of subsequent promotions? †¢How do your competitors do their promotions? And how does that influence your choice of promotional activity? The 4Ps model is just one of many marketing mix lists that have been developed over the years. And, whilst the questions we have listed above are key, they are just a subset of the detailed probing that may be required to optimize your marketing mix. Amongst the other marketing mix models have been developed over the years is Boom and Bitners 7Ps, sometimes called the extended marketing mix, which include the first 4 Ps, plus people, processes and physical layout decisions.

The Three Gorges Dam Essay -- China Gorges Dam Essays

The Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam is an unfinished project which will be the largest dam ever constructed on the planet Earth. It is situated in China on the third largest river in the world – the Yangtze. The dam has been debated over since the 1919 and is still a hot topic of debate because of its many pros and cons. In 1994 construction began on the dam, and it is expected to be finished by the year 2009. The massive dimensions of the dam are mind boggling and its functions – if the dam actually works – are truly remarkable; however, with such a large structure also comes difficulties, sacrifices, and cynics. The goal of this essay is to lend an understanding of the dam itself, the prospective benefits of the dam, and the potential drawbacks; this will provide the reader with a solid knowledge base to ascertain whether the dam will be advantageous or detrimental to the country of China. The debates started in 1919 when a man named Sun Yatsen proposed the idea of a dam on the Yangtze for power generation.[1] Since then the debates over whether or not to build the dam have not stopped. Since the early nineties when the project was finally approved the mission has seemed to be very scandalous. â€Å"It was believed that contractors have won bids through bribery and then skimped on equipment and materials to siphon off construction costs.†[2] Because of these corrupt cost cuts the parts of the dam have been poorly built. â€Å"The Chinese media recently reported several incidents in which corruption and poor construction have led to disasters at major building sites. Notable among the reports was the collapse of a steel bridge in the city of Chongqing in January 1999 that killed 40 people.†... ...tml [13] Ibid. www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [14] Adams, Patricia, Haggart, Kelly. Whose Behind China’s Three Gorges Dam, http://www.nextcity.com/probeinternational/ThreeGorges/who.html [15] Ibid. www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [16] Schmidt, Jeremy. China’s coming Flood. International wildlife v26 p34-43. S/O ’96 http://O-vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.sculib.scu.edu/hww/results/results_si... [17] Ibid. www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [18] Ibid. www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [19] Ibid. www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [20] Ibid www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [21] Ibid www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [22] Ibid www.chinaonline.com/refer/ministry_profiles/threegorgesdam.asp [23] Ibid www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html [24] Ibid www.pbs.org/itvs/greatwall/yangtze.html

First World War Essay

I have focussed my monologue on the character of Sheila Birling. Her role in the play was significant as it is coming from the point of view of a young, upper class woman. Her naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve views represent her role as an authoritative figure in society who has the ability to help Eva Smith, but her selfishness and her egotistic manner contradicts the main theme running through out the play of An Inspector Calls that one person’s actions impact another’s and we all have a duty in helping people lower in the system. JB Priestley wrote the play in 1942 about a retrospective time just before the First World War. Sheila’s main role in the play was that she was able and had the power to get Eva sacked because of her position in society, whereas Eva, who was of a lower class than Sheila, was not able to stand up for herself because she did not have enough power. Sheila abuses her superior position in society for petty reasons of that Eva is prettier than her.  I chose to write about her, as she is a very expendable character who has no firm reason or purpose in firing Eva Smith. When the inspector questions Sheila about the photo Sheila says ‘You Knew it was me all the time, didn’t you?’ By saying this Sheila opens herself up (explain) and seems to accept responsibility for her actions and is showing this to the inspector, rather than trying to cover the truth up with lies, or try to pass on the blame to others as some characters in the play do. Her character I think is important in the play, as I believe that Priestly was trying to demonstrate later on in the play that the youth could change. The setting of my monologue of Sheila alone and isolated symbolises her distance from what she was once in the play. The year now being 1916, four years down the line, she has turned her back on the aristocratic life and is trying to dissolve into an unprivileged life.  Her clothes are the colour of green and brown that shake off her previous character of wealth and affluence as to her new attempted classless status. Sheila has disconnected herself from the Birlings and perhaps is trying to punish herself by living the life that the Eva Smith once led. Sheila’s job now includes working at homeless shelters and working for charities. Her language has become less energetic and fluent than it once was. I have however tried to include some of the phrases from the play ‘it was a mean thing to do’ I tried to make use of punctuation and grammar to create her feelings and emotions. In the monologue I have use ellipsis to show pauses, when she might be thinking or reflecting on painful memories. Exclamation marks are used to get her point across that she is getting agitated and snappy To the audience, I was trying to convey the ideas of Sheila being a changed woman. That she has come to realise that status and power isn’t everything. She can look past this now and look forward to a happy future with her new baby and Gerald, her husband.  I think the Play writer’s view on Sheila and all the characters from the play was that the younger generation can learn from their mistakes, and he directs strong criticism towards businessmen who are only interesting in making money and will never lean from their mistakes. Sheila’s the second person to be questioned by the Inspector and her response to Eva’s death is the most caring and heartfelt. She is genuinely upset by the death of Eva. The play is set in 1912. The periods between 1910 and 1945 were a great period of social change. In 1912 was the year that the titanic set sail, the year that the Suffragette movement started campaigning for women’s rights in society. The war being a main factor, affecting society greatly and it began the process of merging class boundaries. The upper class young men were sent to the front line as officers and where many of the great landed families of Edwardian Great Britain began to disappear. My overall intention with this monologue was to understand the significant character of the young, impressionable Sheila Birling and how she is central to the key themes in the play and how the Inspector plays the social conscience on all the characters minds.  By the close of the play, Sheila has come to realise that herself and her family have lied to each other, and also to the Inspector. She begins to see her whole life was a lie, the relationship she had with Gerald and lying to herself. She begins to see that she needs to start her life again with truth, starting with correcting her mistakes.

What Is Poaching

Poaching is the illegal taking of wildlife, in violation of local, state, federal, or international law. Activities that are considered poaching include killing an animal out of season, without a license, with a prohibited weapon, or in a prohibited manner such as jacklighting. Killing a protected species, exceeding ones bag limit, or killing an animal while trespassing is also considered poaching. Key Takeaways: Poaching †¢ Unlike hunting, poaching is the illegal killing of wildlife.†¢ One of the most common drivers of poaching is the desire for rare animal products such as ivory and furs.†¢ Poaching does not necessarily involve the killing of threatened or endangered animals. Any animal can be poached if it is killed unlawfully. People who poach do so for a variety of reasons, including for food, pleasure, and trophies. In some areas, such as China, poaching is driven by demand for highly valued animal products such as ivory and furs. In other places, poaching is driven by poverty or disregard for hunting regulations. One example of poaching is the taking of eggs from the nest of loggerhead turtles. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,  loggerheads arrive on Florida beaches in April and continue to arrive and lay eggs through September. Anyone caught stealing these eggs and convicted may be sentenced up to  five years in federal prison and/or required to pay a $250,000 fine. Effects of Poaching One of the most dangerous and lasting effects of poaching is the decimation of native animal populations. When a certain animal, such as the African elephant, is targeted by poachers, it can take decades for the animals population to recover. This, in turn, affects the ecosystem to which the animal belongs. A reduction in predators like tigers, for example, may cause prey populations to grow out of hand, while a reduction in fruit-eating mammals may affect seed dispersal, altering the fauna of an ecosystem. Demand for elephant ivory has had negative effects in sub-Saharan Africa, where poaching has increased since 2008. Between 2011 and 2017, for example, poachers in Mozambique killed 90 percent of the countrys elephants. In 2018, nearly 90 elephants were found dead near a sanctuary in Botswana, which had recently ended a strict anti-poaching policy. There were a few million elephants living in Africa in the early 1900s, but today there are believed to be fewer than 700,000. Africas lion populations have also been affected by poaching. Since 1994, they have been reduced by 42 percent, and the species is now vulnerable to extinction. Some of the decline is the result of habitat ross (which reduces access to prey), but much of it is due to poaching and commercial hunting. In the early 1900s, there were about 200,000 lions living in Africa. As of 2017, scientists estimate that only about 20,000 remain. Poaching does not only affect wildlife. Park rangers and game wardens are also victims of violence. In Virunga National Park, an animal sanctuary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, more than 170 rangers have been killed between 1998 and 2018. One of the misconceptions about poaching is that it must involve endangered animals. This is not the case. In North America, for example, poaching can involve animals as common as lobster. The big event known as mini lobster season takes place every summer in the Florida Keys. During that time, which precedes commercial lobster season, anyone can take to the water and snatch a spiny lobster from its hide hole and toss it in a cooler. When it comes time to head back home, though, officers from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are sometimes present to inspect the catch. When an officer does an inspection, he uses a standard measuring device. Placing the lobsters side by side on a table, he measures each one in the legally prescribed manner, placing the device on the lobsters carapace to check the size. That state puts a limit on the size of each lobster that can be taken during mini lobster season. According to this state mandate, a lobster with a carapace or body measuring at least 3 inches would be 2-3 years old and old enough to have reproduced at least one season. The penalty for taking such a lobster is a serious one: Upon a first conviction, by imprisonment for a period of not more than 60 days or by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500, or by both such fine and imprisonment. Many state wildlife management agencies have hotlines that the public can call to report poaching. Its not always someone in uniform who will catch you, either—there are undercover cops everywhere. Hunting vs. Poaching Unlike poaching, hunting—the killing of wild animals for food or sport—is protected by law. In the United States, meat and sport hunting regulations vary from state to state. In Montana, general deer hunting season takes place between October 20 and November 25. Hunting without a license or out of season is not permitted and is therefore considered a form of poaching. Hunting regulations ensure that hunting is done safely and responsibly, without causing harm to threatened or endangered species and without affecting commercial and recreational activity.