Carnegie Steel Mill Company Essay

It’s a honor to be ‘ere today with y’all Congressmen. I came ‘ere today to speak to y’all about the workin’ conditions in the Carnegie Steel Mill Company. We work twelve hour shifts, seven days a week. We don’t get any breaks, only the lucky ones who seem to find a minute or two to spare can get some breaks. Most don’t bring in food ‘cus we don’t have any time to eat while we work. We earn ten dollars only a week, while the salary of Andrew Carnegie is the salary of four thousand workers put together. There are not any old men here ‘cus its always hot and the work just sapped the life out of you. Most can only work ‘till the age of forty ‘cus of the conditions. Its swelterin’ hot all the time, we sweat a lot, an’ we drink tons of water. I lost forty pounds in three weeks. I’m super skinny an’ my wife is starting to worry about me. She wants me to see a doctor but I cannot afford one. Another thin’ to add, we have only one, yes one, holiday an’ that is the Fourth of July. We should have more holidays because we work too long an’ get paid too little. Andrew Carnegie is a stealin’ son of a gun and needs to be brought to justice. My house looks, how to put this, ugly because my family can only afford a single room house, which currently has three in it total. Me, my wife, an’ my son, who is working in the coal mines an’ is only ten years old. His contribution to the family makes us go by barely. We only eat one meal a day if we can afford it. I’m proposin’ a bill that will give us all a better housing’ breaks, more holidays, an’ a better pay. Please take in a consideration of what I said when you are overlookin’ my bill. Thanks for havin’ me ‘ere with y’all Congressmen.

First Few Weeks in High School Essay

High school is an enjoyable, but challenging part of life. From the first day of school to the 5th week of school I was confused, excited, and lost. My challenges are getting A’s in all of my classes and being one of the top students in my classes. My successful moments have been getting A’s on my History, English, Geometry, and Biology tests. My goal in AVID is to find which college would best suit me. Also, I would like to increase my public speaking skills. The transition from middle school to high school is a giant leap regarding the amount of work required and the quantity of responsibilities. First of all, from the first Day of high school to the 5th week, I was confused, excited, and lost. For example, I was excited because I wanted to meet new people and extend my leadership skills. In addition, I was confused because it was a whole different schedule and there was a variety of new topics that I had never heard about. Furthermore, I was lost because the school was enormous and there were a lot of new things to deal with. To conclude, during the first five weeks I still felt like it was summer so I didn’t have my act together which made a couple of things tough on me. Secondly, I have set up a couple of challenges and had a few successful moments. One of my challenges is getting A’s in all of my classes. Another challenge I havpre is being one of the top students in my classes. My successful moments have been getting A’s on my History, English, Geometry, and Biology tests. In conclusion I have challenged myself by setting up a few challenges that I must accomplish and I have had a couple successful moments so far in high school. My goal in AVID is to find which college would best suit me. Also, I would like to increase my public speaking skills. Even though I am in my first  year of high school planning ahead for my future is good because that way I can prepare for what is coming and I won’t have to do anything at the last minute. AVID also helps increase people public speaking skills which is a crucial aspect required for a lot of things that may occur in the future. Another thing AVID provides is community service, which gets you involved with the community. To finish off with, AVID is a great and important program if you want to succeed in high school and in the rest of your life. In conclusion, the transition from middle school to high school is a giant leap regarding the amount of work required and the quantity of responsibilities. From the first day of school to the 5th week of school I was confused, excited, and lost. My challenges are getting A’s in all of my classes and being one of the top students in my classes. My successful moments have been getting A’s on my History, English, Geometry, and Biology tests. My goal in AVID is to find which college would best suit me. Also, I would like to increase my public speaking skills. High school may seem hard with all the work, but It can be easy if you really try and put your mind to it.

Comparison of two Poe short stories Essay

The â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† and â€Å"The Black Cat† are two short stories written by the author Edgar Allan Poe respectively in 1843 and 1845. The two short stories which are characterized by a gothic and mysterious atmosphere has a very similar plot setting, but how do you differ the reason for killing an old innocent man(TTH), and a sudden hanging of the cat that you used to love(BC)? Poe gives a unique opportunity to analyze the way of human behavior through his short stories, where you as a reader have to study the minds of insane individuals who claim to be sane. The atmosphere of Poe’s two shorty stories indicates a lot of fear, which makes the tension rise as the timeline develops. This is seen in both stories, even though we have one big difference regarding the order of the events; in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† our starting point is in a prison or in a mental health center most likely, where the protagonist recounts the preceding actions, which has led him to the place he is now. This means that we know the whole plot of the story. This flashback-like telling technique makes the reader focus more on aspects we normally consider less important; why does the heartbeat get louder and louder? â€Å"[†¦] the noise arose over all and continually increased. It grew louder – louder – louder!†(P. 158 l. 9-10). These dark and odd aspects are quite important in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart†, not only because they make the story more exciting and thrilling by the anaphors for instance, but also because it leads us toward a more â€Å"right† comprehension of the protagonists` behavior; how and why is he driven to his state of mi nd? Poe’s way of writing makes the tension rise a lot towards the end. It almost feels like the text is speeding up for the reader because of the action-packed ending containing all of these repetitions and exclamation marks. Furthermore is the monologue also a central factor in both short stories affecting the atmosphere, because the protagonists enrage themselves more and more. No other individuals tries to calm them down in any way, ask how they are etc. Especially this makes them seem even crazier. In â€Å"The Black Cat† is the atmosphere also dark and frightening, but not exactly in the same way though. In contrast to the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† are the smaller effects not that important in â€Å"The Black Cat†. The atmosphere is  more affected directly by the protagonist whose mood seems to be changing a lot through the story. The atmosphere appears almost idyllic in the beginning when the narrator tells us about this love for animals: â€Å"I was especially fond of animals, and was indulged by my parents with a great variety of pets. With these I spent most of my time, and never was so happy as when feeding and caressing them.† (P. 1 l. 21-23), but as the protagonist starts to go out and drink he gets more and more irritable. It seems like he is aware of the changing, but he finds himself unable to reverse it somehow. The answer for this might very well be the alcohol, which gives the atmosphere a huge twist as the protagonists’ senses are attenuated and he catches the wrong impressions of his formerly loved cat Pluto: â€Å"One night, returning home, much intoxicated, from one of my haunts about town, I fancied that the cat avoided my presence.† (P. 2 l. 55-56). The negative side effects of the alcohol withdraw a condition influenced by paranoia for the protagonist. Poe has an unusual way of building up a fearful; more likely a disgusting atmosphere around hobbies containing good moral and mutual pleasure; caretaking of an old man and petting a loyal cat – not really the things we would consider evil. He does this deliberately to make the reader focus more on the protagonist’s personalities: Why would anyone hang a sweet cat or a kill an old man? The relationships are turned upside down; your friends become your enemies. If we take a closer look on the spectacular personalities we most likely indirectly make an interpretation of the protagonists who are defending their extreme behavior. This is specifically seen in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart†, wherein the protagonist tries to argue for his actions several times: â€Å"And have I not told you what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the senses?† (P. 156 l. 27-28). The denial of the madness almost appear logic to some individuals perhaps, but you do not call it mitigating circumstances what so ever if an individual can hear the heart pounding of a dead man. This is in fact the biggest difference between the two men – the protagonist in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† could as well be a woman, but he says: â€Å"You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing.† (P. 155 L. 3). For that reason we  assume the individual is a man; a man who has planned his murder for about a week. In contrast to this has the protagonist in â€Å"The Black Cat† not planned his murderous actions at all, but carries them out in blind rage. Besides this does the two protagonists have a lot in common regarding the narration especially. They both seem unreliable; they cannot be completely accurate with everything that happened in the past, particularly the narrator in â€Å"The Black Cat† since he was intoxicated by alcohol most of the time. Both titles say a lot about the narrators as well. The title in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart† can be put in relation to the narrator and his own heart, because he can’t bare his own actions at last and we think that it is in fact his own heart that pounds so hard in the end of the story due to the feeling of guiltiness. This applies equally in the other short story, wherein the man is suppressed by guiltiness in the end and suddenly kills his lovely wife. Furthermore is the thematic subject almost the same as the title interpretation; the human heart cannot bare such guiltïÆ'  outwardly they both seem very confident when the police searches the house, but the inside is the guilt-feeling increasing, which reveals the protagonist’s evil acts in the end. Poe masters the gothic genre very well by creating this fearful environment; even making the home a frightening place in the â€Å"Tell-Tale Heart†, whereas he makes irrational pets rational and makes the narrators irrational murdersïÆ'  relationship turned upside down again, this time regarding outwardly behavior. He changes the abilities of human nature in the big whole, which makes the stories a bit hard to analyze and therefore we must as reader think like a psychologist to obtain a slightly right comprehension of the unique stories.

Comparative Analysis of Nurse-patient Ratio Mandates for the Hospital Research Paper

Comparative Analysis of Nurse-patient Ratio Mandates for the Hospital Setting - Research Paper Example Legislation has passed in California, and will be presented in other states to mandate a specific ratio of nurses per patient that must be maintained at all times. The goal of this study is to identify a balance between adequate levels of nurse-personnel while maintaining hospital efficiency both in terms of cost, and the time-resources of medical professionals. A Comparative Analysis of Nurse-Patient Ratio Mandates For the Hospital Setting INTRODUCTION The possibility of nursing shortages is a relevant concern for hospitalists, patients, and the general public alike. Years past have produced numerous concerns of under-staffed, overburdened hospitals as a barrier to adequate care. This paper will endeavor to examine the conventional wisdom that more patient responsibility will yield lower quality care from nurses and other healthcare professionals; and the extent to which such a decline in patient outcome can be quantified. But is is true that patients will receive better care, with fewer medical errors under a system of precise nurse-patient ratios? Are nurses doing a better job under such a system? How would such a change extend to doctors and other medical practitioners? Over a dozen states are now considering some form of mandate that will enforce specific ratios of nurses for every patient under the hospital's care, it is worthwhile to examine critically the available research on the balance between caregiver and patient. It is in the interest of everyone to seek the ideal balance between nurse staffing levels and the cost-effective management of the time-resources of medical professionals. CASE STUDY â€Å" Celeste examined the patient's chart; she had to remind herself that Mr. McGillicuddy wasn't just a disease; he was a case of full-blown nephrotic syndrome; based on the protein-cysts found in his urinalysis, plus a chronic case of trigeminal neuralgia on top of that. Oh, and a living. breathing person. But with his age and prognosis, personhood would n't cut much slack with the transplant committees. The experienced Nurse was not optimistic that he would retain his living status much longer; in part because the very lab results that Celeste found so damning took as long as they did to arrive; compounding the bad news they were reporting. On the one hand, in preparation for the new regulations mandating more nurses for every medical center in the county, patients would get more attention from nurses like her; the problem being – a hospital as small as hers had to cut corners somewhere; so they'd hadn't been able to hire that new med-tech they'd been needing for months now. So the doctors were probably lucky to get their results as soon as they did – as late as it seemed to her. But adding more nurses was about to be required by law; not something she could whine about to the head-nurse. She patted Mr. McGillicuddy's hand in reassurance. Well, it would fall to her – and the new blood they were hiring to pick u p the slack; make up for the corners cut...† PROS More nurses equals better care; in order to ensure the best possible patient outcomes during hospitalization, nurse-to-patient ratios must be mandated by law. The correct ratio will lead to happier nurses, and healthier patients. It seems an obvious solution; more nurses certainly can't hurt, More eyes to watch over

The use, abuse and misuse of performance enhancing drugs including Research Paper

The use, abuse and misuse of performance enhancing drugs including painkillers in sports - Research Paper Example This normally involves a series of workouts and hard training programs, which may make some of these athletes to turn to performance enhancing drugs (Barr, n.d). Traditional training methods involved by any sports athletes includes keeping on a strict diet of healthy foods and drinks that trainers prescribes, daily and routing work outs on their skills and training sessions to help keep their bodies fit. Some of these athletes turn to performance enhancing drugs to help them improve their performance in the field, or to get faster results in sports without lots of training. In addition, these drugs may be prescribed for medicinal use to athletes, but contain some chemicals that enhance the performance of the athlete unknowingly. The athlete acquires others for the sole purpose of enhancing their performance in the field (Orchard et al., 2006). The need to use drugs by athletes has been researched by Coleman and in an article by Prince (2007), whereby he states that an athlete’ s choice to use drugs is based on some of the following factors. First the athlete may use performance enhancing drugs due to cultural, social policy or attitudes and policing. This implies that the athlete’s cultures and norms may prompt him/her to use the drugs in order to fulfill gain acceptance in their culture. Secondly, environmental factors that includes conditioning, learning and life events, in which the athlete grows in and tries to emulate in sports. Thirdly, athlete’s interpersonal relationship with peers and family members may influence their use of performance enhancing drugs. Therefore, being from a family of athletes or working under the shadow of high performing athletes in the family or society may make them use these drugs to enhance their own performance. Another factor is at an intrapersonal, where the athlete develops cognitively feeling inferior, hence may use performance enhancing drugs to achieve high levels of performance. In addition, with al l these factors in place, the choice of use, abuse or misuse of performance enhancing drugs by any athlete comes to a matter of choice. Athletes use performance-enhancing drugs because in many cases they seek an easy way to achieve maximum performance, with minimum effort. Moreover, they feel that if they use these drugs they shall get a winning edge over their competition. As Coleman relates drive in profit, gaining techniques is the main driving force for any athlete to use performance-enhancing drugs. He clarifies that the athlete has a choice to choose between hard training and work or use performance enhancing drugs. Since benefits of using the drugs outweigh the bad, they turn to these drugs for an extra edge. In addition, athletes have the urge to get socially recognized and approved, and are mainly driven by the rational choice and force to succeed and break records in the fields influence their use of these drugs (Prince, 2007). Increase of use and misuse of performance enh ancing drugs has led to the formation of the World Anti- Doping Agency (WADA) to combat this in sports world wide. This agency later gave the criteria in which a drug is considered as illegal for use in any sports (Gerrard, 2005). The first criteria is that any drugs that performance enhancing to any athletes or gives them extra help over the other violates this rule. Secondly, it is stated that any drug that is deemed to cause health

ICELAND'S FINANCIAL CRISIS Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ICELAND'S FINANCIAL CRISIS - Case Study Example During this time period, home values began to fall dramatically and sub-prime rates eventually readjusted so that individuals owed up to double their original mortgage value on homes that were no longer even worth their original market value. A vast variety of the sub-prime mortgages offered to individuals who actually did not maintain quality resources to sustain an adjustable home loan interest rate were suddenly forced into foreclosure, which left lending institutions with a significant inventory of now bank-owned homes worth less than their mortgage values at the time of signing. As the housing bubble burst and grew more fiscally unsound, global investors found that the many derivatives (swaps) associated with home mortgages were no longer viable and lucrative opportunities for investment (Simkovic, 2011). Many investors from the European Union and the United States began looking for better investment opportunities, leaving financial institutions offering these derivatives with c onsiderably less quarterly and annual revenues stemming from mortgage-backed swaps and securities. Because mortgage-related derivatives were, for many years, adequate and lucrative profit opportunities for financial institutions, many offering these securities backed by mortgage guarantees had not diversified their revenue-earning capacities. As such, investment trading partners in the United States witnessed capital depletion rapidly where many institutions required significant fiscal bailouts to keep the entity afloat. Further complicating this situation was what is referred to as a bank run, where nearly five billion dollars in investment resources were withdrawn domestically and internationally in a 48 hour period by concerned and speculating investment firms and independent investors (Altman, 2009). Low-valued credit default swaps, a variety of mortgage related derivatives, and banking facility capital depletion soon hit Iceland and many other European countries. Iceland, after banking privatization had been established, was very dependent on making investments in international capital markets (Olsen, 2010). However, this instability and credit downgrading that occurred during the sub-prime crisis in the U.S. had destabilized multiple investment opportunities associated with mortgage-backed securities and derivatives. Thus, a once lucrative revenue source for Icelandic banks and other financial institutions no longer provided adequate capital infusion for the now-private banking facilities in the country. Since there had not been enough portfolio diversification in Iceland to spark domestic investment opportunity to offset dependencies on international investment losses, the exchange rate of the Icelandic currency value was affected and derivatives relationships with foreign banking partners were largely nullified. As the IMF and the U.S. Central Bank began changing monetary policy and increasing regulation to correct the sub-prime crisis, it inflated the U.S. dollar which only served to further weaken the value of the Iceland currency on the international exchange markets. How could the Iceland Crisis have been Avoided? Firstly, Iceland should have recognized that the U.S. would not necessarily have explosive gains on mortgage-related securities and derivatives that would endure indefinitely. The U.S. had a long history of a volatile housing market which should have provided adequate

Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals Essay

Communicable Diseases Common to Man and Animals - Essay Example These respiratory diseases entail influenza (flu), pneumonia, tuberculosis (TB) and common cold among others. Another malady includes intestinal disease whereby transmission is through food or water that has contamination via urine or feces of a person who is infected or an animal. Example of these diseases includes cholera, dysentery and typhoid among others (Acha & Szyfres, 2001). On the same note, such infections are found in waters that people have been put in containers and used to prepare food. Additionally, these transmissions come because of poor water treatment and living in squalid conditions such as slums. These are places that do not have proper radiation control and environmental management. Alternatively, these diseases are caused by lack of insect and rodent control such as mice that feast on both feces and food inside the house. In the same respect, poor dumping techniques such as contaminated solid material either in rivers or in dumpsite spread these diseases. There fore, this calls for an urgent need to implement control factors to prevent contamination for human life. For example, it is essential to find better methods of dumping waste materials such as feces and dirty water in order to reduce transmission of the communicable diseases such typhoid and cholera among other diseases. Additionally, rodent and insect control should be reduced through use of anti rodents in order to reduce the transmission of contaminated materials and components consumed by human beings. In the same aspect, there should be effective swimming pool guidelines that ensure proper drainage to avoid contact of drinking water with bathing water (Heymann, 2008). Furthermore, effective solid waste management should be instituted through digging of toilets and latrines that do not encourage more contamination.

Date Rape Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Date Rape - Essay Example In majority of this instances, both the victim and the assailant do not usually believe that the action that took place is indeed, rape. This leads to the reason why a high number of the cases go unreported. The women are usually fearful that their recollection of the story may not be believed, and they are likely to take the blame for their predicament (Wilkins, 2010). One of the recent cases of date rape that captured world attention through the social media is the Daisy Coleman rape case in Missouri. The 14-year-old girl had just moved to the town of Maryville with her mother after the death of her father. On the fateful night, Daisy was invited to a night party by her friend, who was a 17-year-old footballer. Daisy was accompanied by her 13-year-old friend whose name has been with-held for legal reasons. The two girls were glad for having attracted the attention of their high school senior who hailed from a prominent family in Maryville. The two girls snuck off to the party where they made merry till late hours in the night. Soon after, the girls finished taking binge, they lost consciousness and the unexpected thing happened. Their male friend took advantage of their defenseless state, and the two young girls were raped. The rape sojourn was captured on film by a friend of the senior boy who had invited the girls to the party. Later, Daisy was carried and dumped off near her mother’s house. Her personal belongings were strewn across the compound, and her shoes were missing, with the unconscious girl lying in freezing temperatures (Vawter 2014). A report on the case was made to the authorities and investigations were initiated to unmask the events that unfolded the previous night. When the investigations were in top gear, the police discovered that the rape ordeal had been captured on an iPhone. Consequently, they levied the charge of felony for sexual exploitation against the 17-year-old friend who

Econometrics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Econometrics - Assignment Example It therefore demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt that the availability of married females in the work place was directly proportional to the size of their families. This could be explained by the competition for time brought about by the existence of families, Such that the woman had to make a choice between taking care of the family and coming to work. Question B The estimated logit model had a lot of resemblance to the LMP in terms of statistical significance and estimated coefficients. The few deviation (variations) were identified in cases where the females involved had some sought of secondary education. Weather this was as a result of better time management skills learnt in school or not is a subject of debate which can be investigated further but what is certainly true is that the level of education had an impact on the availability of married females at the work place. Question C An increase in a married female’s education had a substantial impact on the estimated logit model. The deviation from the logit model caused by an increase in female’s education was up to a maximum of three and a minimum of one. This was very evident from the resultant patterns plotted by the graphs. This confirmed the previous hypothesis that the level of education of a married female had a significant impact on their availability in the work place. The amount of money earned by other family members in the family was found to have a marginal impact on the logit model but the impact was not of statistical significance. It therefore appeared as though the amount of time the women put in to their work did not depend on the availability or increase of other sources of income brought into the family by other members of the family. Regression Model 2, Question D The Tobit model was to investigate weather the various variables had an impact on the amount time married women spent at work. The main variable to be investigated here was the size of the families that th ese females were responsible over. The model and the associated variable focuses on the availability of married females in the labor force, it was expected that their level of availability would be dependant on the size of their families indicated by the number of children they had. Such that, the more the children, the bigger the family thus less participation at the work place. On the logit model, the inlf coefficient was therefore expected to be inversely proportional to the kid_s and kid_m coefficients. The expected signs were realized and they were of statistical significance. The coefficients demonstrated the effect of large families on the amount of hours married females spent at work. It was noted that women with relatively smaller families spent more time at work than those with larger families. Question E There was statistically significant difference in the estimated coefficients between the Tobit and the OLS estimations which were very much expected. The differences were evident I both the signs they plotted and the magnitude of those signs. This led to the confirmation of the previously stated hypotheses namely, that is increased education and reduced families enhanced the availability of married females at work. The other hypothesis was that increase in alternative incomes by other family members had a negative impact on the availabili

Judy Bacas Art for Peace Essay Example for Free

Judy Bacas Art for Peace Essay Making connections: Judy Bacas Art for Peace. Change: According to Baca, Adversity breeds a certain kind of strength Do you agree? Give an example to support your opinion. Is it really true that what does not kill you makes you stronger? I do believe so. Maybe when people face a problem it does not makes too much sense in the near future, however it will do. The story that Bacas grandmother told her when she was a girl is an example of how sometimes people is not able to overcome problems, nevertheless this does not implies that this happens all the time. It is common to appreciate how people become pessimist and often depressive when adversity meet their lives. According to Seery (2011) some theory and empirical evidence suggest that the experience of facing difficulties can also promote benefits in the form of greater propensity for resilience when dealing with subsequent stressful situations. (p. 90) Mark Seery carried a study in which followed 2,398 subjects for a span of three years, he found that there is a balance of adverse life experiences: some adversity seems to make us stronger than those with a life of either no adverse life experiences or many serious struggles. The study concluded that those people who had experienced a lot of adversity had poorer outcomes, on average, than people who reported no history of adversity they were more depressed and anxious, were less satisfied with their lives, and were more likely to have physical or emotional problems that interfered with their ability to work and socialize. Every day, all the time we meet or we know stories of people who had to endure physical abuse, who was exposed to homelessness, or those who had faced natural disaster of physical limitations. A well-known story is the Nick VuJicics story. He was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. He was born without limbs. By the age of eight he was already depressed and by the age often he decided to end his life by drowning himself in a bathtub. After a couple attempts, he realized that he did not want to leave his loved ones with the burden and guilt that would result from his suicide. He had spoken on motivational topics after creating the company, attitude is altitude. He also launched a non-profit ministry, life without limbs, to spread his messages of faith and hope around the world. Finally, seems like Nietzche was right, what does not kill you makes you stronger. No matter what type of difficulties a erson could have face, always we have the chance of learning of them and breed strength.

Understanding the accounting cycle and importance of accounting

Understanding the accounting cycle and importance of accounting The Importance of Accounting To understand accounting information and use accounting information is important for any business. Information that is provided to external parties who have an interest in a company is sometimes referred to as financial accounting information, according to Williams, Haka, Bettner, and Carcello (2006, p. 4). The main reason in providing accounting and financial information is the use of said information in decision-making purposes. Many groups, including company management, government regulatory agencies, creditors, and suppliers, use financial information in various ways to determine a companys financial health and ability to meet obligations as such obligations become current. Companies and their personnel must understand the various steps in the accounting cycle and how such steps provide reliable information to the users of financial information. What is the Accounting Cycle? The accounting cycle is the sequence of accounting procedures used to record, classify, and summarize accounting information in financial reports at regular intervals (p. 94). The final preparation of formal financial statements is always started with the recording of business transactions and this cycle repeats so the business can prepare new, current, financial statements in response to business transactions conducted by the firm. The accounting cycle is composed of eight steps and includes journalizing transactions, posting journal entries to ledger accounts, preparing a trial balance, making end-of-the-period adjustments, preparing an adjusted trial balance, preparing financial statements, journalizing and posting closing entries, and preparing an after-closing trial balance. Remember debits increase assets while credits increase owner equity during the recording and adjustment phases of the accounting cycle. An account has only three elements: (1) a title; (2) a left side, which is called the debit side; and (3) a right side, which is called the credit side (p. 95); such accountings are called T accounts because, on paper, the recording of such accounts resembles the letter T. A sample T account is below: The account balance is determined in the difference between the debit and credit sides of the account. If the debit total is more than the credit total, the account is said to have a debit balance. If the credit total is more, then the account is said to have a credit balance. In asset accounts, the debit recording increases the amount in the asset account and a credit decreases the amount in the account. Under liability and owners equity accounts, the debit decreases the amount in the account, while a credit increases the amount in the account. This aligns with the equation and is known as the system of double-entry account. Journalizing Transactions The first step involves placing the business transactions into a journal, which records the business transactions chronologically (day-by-day). The amounts entered in this section are transferred to the debit and credit sections of the accounts in the ledger. A person investing in the firm pays $80,000 in cash in exchange for stock in the firm. The two accounts affected by this transaction are the Cash and Capital Stock. The first step in journalizing this entry is entering the name of the account debited (Cash), which is written first, along with its dollar amount entered in the left-hand money column. The name of the account credited (Capital Stock) appears below Cash and is indented to the right, with the dollar amount appearing in the right-hand money column. A description of the transaction appears below the journal entry. Below is a sample journal entry: Posting to Ledger Accounts Posting simple means updating the ledger accounts for the effects of the transactions recorded in the journal (p. 98). If the person reads the journal entry aloud, this means the previous journal entries are read as Debit Cash $80,000; credit Capital Stock, $80,000. A person copies the journal entry amounts into the general ledger, which is a series of T account entries; this is performed in the ledger as follows: This process is continued until all journal entries are record in the ledger. Once all of the ledger entries are calculated, the next step is the preparation of the trial balance. Trial Balance The trial balance is prepared to ensure debits and credits equal one another. All of the ledger accounts are listed, with debits in the left column and credits in the right column (Internet Center for Management and Business Administration, 2007). The debit column is added first, then the credit column. If the totals do not agree, the issue could be a debit was recorded instead of a credit, mistakes in arithmetic, and clerical errors in copying account balances into the trial balance. Both columns should be equal; however, this does not mean that a transaction was recorded in the wrong account. A sample trial balance is displayed below: Making End-of-period Adjustments Adjustments after the trial balance is created to record accrued, deferred, and estimated amounts and posting the adjusted entries to the ledger accounts. Once the entries are entered in the ledger, the accountant prepares the adjusted trial balance, which contains similar steps to the unadjusted trial balance; however, the adjusted trial balance contains the adjusting entries. Accrued items would include salaries, interest income, and unbilled revenue; deferred items would include prepaid insurance, office supplies, and depreciation. Preparing Financial Statements Publicly owned companies-those with shares listed on a stock exchange-have obligations to release annual and quarterly information to their stockholders and to the public (Williams, Haka, Bettner, and Carcello, 2006, p. 192). The financial statements include the income statement, the statement of retained earnings, the balance sheet, and the statement of cash flows (also known as the cash flow statement). The income statement is prepared first because it determines the amount of net income in the statement of retained earnings. The statement of retained earnings is prepared next to provide information for the balance sheet. The balance sheet is prepared from the assets, liabilities, and equity accounts of the firm. Finally, the cash flow statement is prepared using data from the other financial statements. Preparing Closing Entries to Journals and Ledger Accounts Closing journal entries closes temporary accounts such as revenues and moves these accounts to a temporary income summary account. The balance is then transferred to the retained earnings account, which is a capital account; likewise, dividend or withdrawal accounts are closed to capital. Closing entries are then posted to the ledger accounts. After these tasks the after-closing trail balance is created to ensure debits equal credits. Error-checking and correction is made to this trial balance. The Importance of the Accounting Cycle Re-visited All businesses prepare financial statements, so it is important all accountants understand the accounting cycle to ensure the proper entry of data and credible financial information out put. Eight steps comprise the accounting cycle, from the journalizing of business transactions to preparing after-closing trial balances. Without the accounting cycle, the information provided in financial statements would not be reliable and decision-making processes would be difficult to perform by users of financial information.

Ethics In Law Enforcement Philosophy Essay

Ethics In Law Enforcement Philosophy Essay Character and ethics are the societys basic tenets. Without these tenets, human relations would become arbitrary and disorderly (Landauer Rowlands. 2001). They assist in interpersonal interactions, the creation of agreements and law enforcement. As such, the issue of ethics is a significant issue for people all over the world, more so in law enforcement. Law enforcers are anticipated to be above accusation in the sense that they should not act in a manner to open them up for accusations (Mignone, 2005). The public expects police officers to be excellent, to exhibit such disposition like being above all the actions that would make a lesser person corrupt. I carried out separate interviews with two police officers as the respondents in my hometown. Not many officers were willing to participate in the interview. I was lucky to have the pleasure of interviewing two law enforcers but on condition of anonymity. For that reason, the said officers will be herein referred to as respondent on e and respondent two. This paper tackles their responses to precise questions alongside my personal understanding of their replies. From my interviews, I got the impression that the two cops were somewhat proud of the ethical choices they make in their line of duty and were confident of always doing their best as law enforcement officers. The Significance of character and Ethics in the area of Law Enforcement When interviewing the first respondent, the following was found to be his perspective of the police force generally. On the importance of ethics and character in the field of law enforcement, he was of the opinion that ethics and character are inseparable. In law enforcement, the officer opined that there are numerous motives for doing the right thing. The first reason he offered was based on the public opinion, and this included their influence on young people who are growing to be citizens of the state and country. The respondent was of the opinion that if the law enforcers fail to have an excellent character they will fail in being a good role model. In fact, he postulated that if they set a bad example, the young citizens would grow to believe their actions are tolerable. For him, in order to enforce the law, it is necessary, first, to examine the things that possibly will sway them to conduct themselves in a poor manner. A law enforce should never allow anyone to alter their vie wpoint in an unconstructive way. According to this respondent, doing so would be falling short of exhibiting good character. When I asked the respondent what between ethics and character is more important, he retaliated that they are both inseparable, but ethics leads to character. However, it was not lost to the officer that one can present an impeccable character but when it comes to following the rules of ethics, fail miserably. According to the officer, the lure of small favors from honest citizens has the capability of influencing the choice of an officer. This can easily impair their judgments. For instance if a person gives a gift to an officer, then the cop is covertly anticipated to return the favor in the form of forms of safety, extra presence of officers, or even disgraceful actions such as letting someone off with a caution and not a ticket. When I asked the second respondent the same question, he presented me with insight into his position on the importance of good character and ethics. According to him, the field of law enforcement primarily involves numerous possible corruption situations. As such upholding of ethics and having a good character is paramount. An officer who catches a suspect with drugs on them can choose to do the ethical thing and show good a good character, which is turn the criminal in, or can let the criminal walk and confiscate the drugs, sell them and make money. An officer arresting a very abusing suspect can get mad and beat silence into him or show good character by doing the ethical thing, which is ignore him, cuff him and turn him in. The second respondent echoed the first one by opining that ethics and good character are so important in that law enforcers are meant to be role models for other citizens. He pointed out the double standards in doing what you are supposed to stop others from do ing. He pointed out the folly of arresting a person who does a crime that you (the officer) commit when off duty. To him police officers are assigned the duty of enforcing the laws and protecting the people. To him they are, and rightly so, held to a higher standard than the citizens are held. They should show others that they are not above the law and demonstrate, by their deeds, how to coexist in the society. The cops, according to him, should follow the laws alongside upholding ethics. Do the interviewees feel that in today, police have more ethics than they had ten years ago? When I presented this question to the first respondent, he seemed to feel that cops are more ethical today than they were a decade ago. This he attributed to extra and improved learning alongside improved leadership. According to him, police officers are nowadays armed with more apparatus and information that enables them to work in a more ethical way and uphold a good character. He points out the fact that a decade ago, law enforcers were not as closely monitored as they are today and were never expected to uphold the ethical standards they are presently expected to uphold. For example, then, a free gift like a cup of coffee was acknowledged by the law enforcers as freebies that they merited for offering services to a society. These small gifts are now recognized as bribes. More stress is being placed on ethics. Delattre, on the slippery incline of corruption, opines that it all starts with a minute thing, which leads to bigger acts until the acts, turn unlawful (2006). The second respondent had a similar response to this question to that of the first respondent. To him, the law enforcers are more ethical nowadays than a decade ago. This, he believes, is for the reason that the public is more watchful of the law enforcers than they were ten years ago. The cops know they are always being recorded on a camera, monitored, or reviewed. His contention, in my view, is that new technology has introduced novel methods of policing everyone. It ensures that officers stick to acceptable standards by introducing checks and balances that were non-existent ten years ago. Everybody, police included, is being watched. According to Delattre, (2006) the main shortcoming with this motivation for ethical conduct is that it is driven by apprehension for being discovered rather than the general ethics and character of the police force. Why do police officers become involved in misconduct? On the question of the reasons why law enforces get caught up in misconduct, the first respondent remarked that the cops he has known to be caught up in misconduct did so out of discontent. Discontent with their life and family alongside their work were cited. Niederhoffer, (1969) opines that loss of faith by the law enforcers in human kind normally generates private and departmental corruption. Cops find themselves not capable of making ends meet with their earnings. In high crime metropolis in which the cost of living is astronomical, police are incapable of paying their bills. The cops also discover that in such metropolis, they can get away with vices such as brutality, or skimming cash from drugs raids. This is so because no one will be willing to castigate an officer for beating up someone who has been selling drugs to their kid or notice a few dollar bills missing from cash from a drug bust as no one knew the original sum to start with. This respondent also hypothesizes that o fficers put in long hours among the worst elements society produces. They see their lifestyle, the money, and the trappings that crime comes with. Slowly they realize that they work more for far less and with their jobs, they will never achieve the material wealth the criminals have. When the second respondent is accosted with the same question, he was of the same opinion with the first officer. According to him, the police swear and desire to offer a safe environment for the society but at times things go haywire in his private life and that could affect his professional life. Personal feelings can, though should not, impair judgment. An officer just having a bad day or with some prejudice acquired in his private life could get themselves caught up in misconduct. This respondent also held the view that an officer can get involved in misconduct for the same reason others do. Officers are after all human. It was also not lost to this officer that the force screening procedure for new recruits is not perfect. A few less-than-ethical elements sneak through the fissures into the force. When they get into the force, they feel protected by the badge to do their misdeeds. The second respondent opined that the societys offhand approach towards unlawful acts at times rubs off on the law enforcers. The moment such an attitude is entrenched in mentality of the officer; it is only a matter of time before the officer commits the criminal acts. Do the interviewees feel that police are trained enough in ethics at the level of the police academy? If not, why is that? The first respondent, replied in the affirmative. The respondent pointed out that there is a recent upsurge in the teaching of Ethics for police officers in Police Academies in the country. This he attributed to a greater media and public awareness of allegations of Police Misconduct. He confirmed that there are both Recruit and In-Service level training for officers in ethics. In the officers opinion it was necessary to equip officers with all the laws and ethics, and train them on how to maintain character traits that are needed to become an excellent officer. When queried on the same issue, the second respondent had an opposite opinion. According to this officer, police in the country are loosing it. Their seniors need to sit back and reflect on the training methods in existence. The methods require either a complete overhaul, extension or a revamp as, in his opinion; they are not working. He went on to assert that some gangsters behave in a more ethical ways than some officers in the country do. He pointed a case of an officer dismissed from the force for molesting female victims of crimes. For him, this was a testimony that training on character traits and how to deal with ethical dilemmas was not effectively offered. Anson, (1983) states that instruction in ethics for police has to be more specific and considerate of time limits. It is however important to note that this respondent was a veteran in the force and therefore may have not been aware of the new methods of training in the force colleges. Should ethics training be offered as continual process for law enforcement officers? The first respondent indentified the need to provide ethics training as a continuous process for law enforcement officers. In his view, an officer can never can never know a lot neither can he or she know it all. He impressed on me the need to learn or refresh novel methods to manage every day unique challenges. Officers must progress their awareness continuously; they must endeavor to uphold a high level of knowledge. The respondent suggested formal sittings as excellent method of teaching new ideas to solve new problems that may crop up. The respondent, in my view, was open-minded, could do whatever is necessary to advance his awareness of ethical conduct, and would recommend the same for the force. Unfortunately, as Delattre (2006) correctly points out scholars are not automatically people of good disposition. Ethics can be taught and drilled; however, the scholars must be of good character and ready to accept the teachings. They must be willing to act in the ethical behavior in w hich they are being trained. The second respondent opined that ethics training should be offered as a continual process for police officers, however, it is important to understand no matter for how long you teach people of bad character they will never take in the teachings. He was on the opinion that there were persons in the job merely for the power. The veteran cop recalls seeing individuals who appeared to be of excellent character at the time when they began work only to disgrace the badge later in their career. These officers started swashbuckling around acting in a manner that is an embarrassment to the force instead of working to improve the relations between the police and the citizens. Officers like those were re-trained and assigned to a desk or some other non-public responsibility. If they were for another time unable to exhibit good disposition and ethical conduct, they were stripped of their budges and guns and expunged from the police force. This is also mentioned in Delattre (2006) where he says that police with uninhibited negative character traits ought not to be part of the police force. Do the interviewees feel that training in ethics would reduce cases of corruption? The first respondent communicated after a moment that he supposes that training would help to diminish the incidents of corruption. He was of the opinion that most of corruption is rooted into the unavailability of knowledge. According to him, unless law enforcers are provided with relevant training or education from others concerning how they are expected to conduct themselves, their single basis of information will be their own conviction that is based on their individual experiences. According to this respondent, a law enforcer who is endowed with ethical understanding will have good basis from which to build up ethical conduct. The respondent though points out that some individuals are simply crooked, and will always be crooked regardless of the education and guidance that is provided. He concluded that officers who are corrupt and irresponsible must be removed from their respective forces as fast as they are proved so. The second respondent agreed in a similar fashion that educating the police in ethics would reduce, occurrence of police corruption. He held that since the late 50s and early 60s the levels and value of education for kids has been deteriorating. He remembers the initial norm that was allowed to deteriorate to nothingness, the Citizenship Class. This was the daily one-hour class from first graders to graduation. Students were actively persuaded and indoctrinated with ethics and morality ideas. This was to integrate them into a law-abiding community. He passionately talked about how the class taught decorum, law and why it is necessary, critical thinking, diplomacy, and judgment, among others. He opined that there was a need to incorporate education regarding ethics to the law enforcement team. He went ahead to lament that there is an apparent raise of instances where ethics have been overlooked among a minor group of law enforcers. This happens despite ethics training having been inte grated into all forces academies, he pointed out. He concluded that there was some inconsistency. This he attributed to the absence of ethical training at early stages. This has affected the ability of some individuals to obey the law even when they are enforcing it. He hypothesized that these crooked cops might perceive an apparent lack of role models for ethical conduct (within the police force and in the community as a whole) and deciding that to hold on to their role in the society is not only pointless, but also insignificant. The respondent was very passionate about this issue. He was of the opinion that early education is weakening the foundation of ethical and moral tenets. Adults with no ethical and moral foundation cannot at all time act decorously, civilly, or with an acknowledgement of the fact that ethics and morals are more desirable than anarchy. During the interview with the first correspondent, I perceived him to be of an extremely fine character. He was patient and considerate. He took time to respond to questions thoughtfully and in an interesting manner. He exhibited a great character, and even politely declined a soda I offered him while I was interviewing him. Through out the time, he did not refer to anyone he has had the joy or misfortune to meet with contempt. He gave the notion that he considers that most human beings are intrinsically good and have the potential for greatness. Aged in his twenties, he is considerably fresh in the force and I perceived him to be a bit idealistic. I thought that either he is yet to be corrupted by bad mind-sets, or he really does exhibit the perfect quality that all law enforcers ought to be exhibiting. In the two interviews, I was able to establish that both officers had been educated in ethics in the course of their service in the law enforcement agency. I sampled these two law enforcers since the two were from dissimilar training generations and dissimilar years. The second respondent had fifteen years of service under his belt while the first respondent had just five years of service under his belt. Ethics and good character are gradually becoming more significant in law implementation. To be able to make and sustain a good working relationship with the society, and secure, professional working with suspects and criminals, it is paramount that an officer be able to manage all circumstances with a level of calm that will guarantee that everybody will come out of any situation alive and healthy. An officer devoid of the entrenched good ethics and character makes errors that can proof to be dangerous to a citizen, the officer or to the standing of the police department. If the public looses the trust and respect for the police, no citizen is secure. The police will not be capable of managing cases as they arise without the public support. Nothing can be more destructive to the police departments and the entire law enforcement profession than acts of officer misconduct and unethical activities. The impacts of unethical acts and conduct are many. One effect of unethical conduct is that it exposes the police department to civil lawsuits. Setting up a defense against accusations not only drains an agency financially but also has a lasting reputation outcome. The second consequence is the individual harm suffered by the supervisors. People loose their jobs or stagnate in their career progress. The involved officers and their family also suffer a devastating public humiliation. Any allegation of unethical behavior in a police person tends to make them to be stigmatized by the community and this can persist in their lifetimes. Thus, by avoiding unethical acts, an officer will be helping a great deal.

Caryl Phillips The Nature of Blood Essay -- Caryl Phillips Nature Blo

Caryl Phillips' The Nature of Blood On its most immediate level, Caryl Phillips’ The Nature of Blood narrates several stories of the Jewish Diaspora, using the familiar Shakespearean character Othello to provide a counterpoint to the others’ experiences of displacement. The Nature of Blood thus initially seems to fit awkwardly among texts by other West Indian authors who use the Caribbean as the setting of their work or incorporate West Indian characters into their work. Through his multi-stranded narrative, however, Phillips creates a geographical setting that mirrors the multi-regional influence of the Caribbean. The triangular space of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa shaped by the character’s stories parallels the historical and cultural exchange among Europe, North America, and Africa: the triangular trade which produced the African diaspora. Unlike people of African descent in mainland North America, those of Caribbean background have historically had a more fragmented allegiance to home, negotiating between African and European influences. Likewise, The Nature of Blood illustrates its characters’ discomfort in claiming one particular space as home and in maintaining ties to one space as they move to another. Each of the characters in The Nature of Blood illustrates the challenges that geography, culture, and memory pose to claiming a singular home. Moshe and Eva, both affected by the Holocaust, convey ambivalence as they seek literal geographical spaces in which to rebuild their lives. Malka’s relocation includes the additional obstacle of cultural and racial differences which mark her past home and prevent her from assimilation in her new space even as she attempts to leave her old one behind. And, Stephan ... ...of such futile negotiation between past and present, The Nature of Blood thus issues an admonishment against the shunning of hybridity. Although issues of geography, culture, and memory continue to burden the Caribbean, its embrace of hybridity places the region on the path to resolving its identity and mapping its destiny. Works Cited Danticat, Edwidge. The Dew Breaker. New York: Vintage, 2005. Ledent, Bà ©nà ©dicte. â€Å"A Fictional and Cultural Labyrinth: Caryl Phillips’s ‘The Nature of Blood.’† ARIEL: A Review of International English Literature 32:1 (January 2001). 185-195. Levy, Andrea. Small Island. New York: Picador, 2004. Marshall, Paule. The Chosen Place, The Timeless People. 1969. New York: Vintage, 1992. Phillips, Caryl. The Nature of Blood. New York: Vintage, 1998. Selvon, Samuel. The Lonely Londoners. 1956. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1983.

The Frying Pan :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The metaphors that Conrad Hilberry stated in his poem â€Å"The Frying Pan†, expressed some of the feelings that some women encounter throughout their life. In this poem I believe that Hilberry related this poem to a female that was in a relationship with a very controlling guy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the first stanza it says â€Å"I am another long-necked girl with the same face.†, a girl that has the same face makes me think of a girl that has no expressions, and hardly ever shows emotion, and this could be because she was controlled by her boyfriend or husband.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the first stanza it states â€Å"I am emptiness reflected in a looking glass, a head kept by a collar and leash†, the first thing that comes to my mind when I read that is that there is a girl that feels empty inside, and that she is kept on a leash by her significant other. Some examples of this could be that her significant other could have beaten her, or verbally abused her by telling her that should could not do certain things, and that can relate to being on a leash. Also in the first stanza it says â€Å"a round belly with something knocking to get in†, this could refer to her boyfriend or husband. From saying a round belly this might mean that he is over weight, and saying that something is knocking to get in could mean that all he wants to do is to have sexual intercourse with her, as in the â€Å"something knocking† refers to his penis, and â€Å"to get in† could refer to her vagina.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the Second Stanza when it says to cross the handle and she would become Venus could refer to breaking up with her significant other and having the confidence of being attractive because Venus is the goddess of love.

Marketing Plan Alaska

TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary2 II. Situational Analysis- Macroenvironment Analysis5 a. Technological Environment6 b. Economic Environment7 c. Socio- Cultural Environment8 d. Natural Environment9 e. Political-Legal Environment10 III. Situational Analysis- Market Analysis f. Market Definition11 g. Market Size12 h. Industry Structure14 i. Porter’s Five Forces Analysis15 j. Competition19 k. Market Trends21 IV. Situational Analysis – Consumer Analysis22 V. Situational Analysis – Internal Analysis26 VI. SWOT Analysis35 VII. Marketing Research37 VIII. Marketing Strategies40 IX. Implementation43 X. Financial Summary64 XI. Scenario/Contingencies65 XII. Appendix66 I. Executive Summary Alaska Milk Corporation (AMC) is one of the leading companies in milk production from the dairy industry. We have been manufacturing dairy products in the Philippines since 1972 starting with liquid canned milk products and eventually expanded to manufacture powdered filled milk and Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk products. For over thirty years, AMC has emerged to be as one of the two major players in the Philippine milk industry and is consistently maintaining its brand leadership in the liquid anned milk category and holds a strong growing position in powdered milk. AMC also expanded into higher value-added milk products, particularly in UHT/Ready-to-Drink milk category. Since 1972, we have been caring for every Filipino family by providing them their good nutrition and health through quality milk products. Also in every other way such as: programs that promote sports development, campaigns that foster good values among children and product innovations aimed at enhancing the Filipino's health and welfare. And we shall continue caring for every Filipino family from every part of the country, may it be Luzon, Visayas or Mindanao. The market for milk and dairy products in the Philippines comprises two very different segments: market for milk and dairy products that are processed in the Philippines from imported dairy ingredients that comprises 99% of the total market and the other 1% which is the market for products that are produced from locally produced raw milk by the Philippines dairy farming industry. Dairy products are commonly seen in every store, from wholesale to retail stores, and the demand for it never diminishes. Every individual will always have to put in mind the need for their health and nutrition. Milk products are one of the basic necessities we should provide our bodies and that is programmed especially on the minds of every Filipino family in the country. Alaska provides the best kinds of milk from liquid to powdered that can ever be provided to every consumer market. AMC’s target markets are consumers ranging from 4-12 years old. Majority of the customers are female and only few are men. Mainly because most of the buyers are housewives or single parents and the children they have are the consumers of the milk produced by AMC. AMC continues building the strengths and competitive attributes of its brand and develop its full marketing potential in the dairy industry. Serve every consumer to their level of satisfaction and will respond to the call to deliver higher quality nutrition to every Filipino home. To increase product awareness, specifically on its powdered milk product and the rise of our market share by 2 percent annually in three years. AMC has experienced and well-trained employees that helps in driving AMC forward with continuous superiority on product quality and strong supplier relationships. But then as costs increases, product prices also tend to increase and results to higher prices over competitors and include the products’ seasonal demand and the limitation of its supply base. AMC’s edge over other brands is our strong and popular reputation in the market that reveals that we have a lead in every consumer mind. Rapid technological advancements have led to innovation and faster production with still better and high quality of goods and wider product distribution nationwide. As AMC rises, many threats will stand in the way such as; competitors tend to escalate and siege AMC’s growth in the market that leads to the buying behavior of consumers to change by substituting Alaska Milk Products to these cheaper brands, price wars between competitors, price cuts and so on could damage profits for AMC brought about by the economic crisis in the country. Alaska’s powdered milk is creamier and tastier than any other brand in the market. Its availability and affordability may be like other brands but its focus will stay on the powdered milk’s creaminess which makes it deliciously tasty that is enjoyed by many consumers. Also, a unique source of Alaska powdered milk’s production is that it uses the finest vegetable oil from coconuts to make it as creamy and tasty as full cream milk. II. Situational Analysis – Macro-environment The macro-environment analysis are the factors that greatly affects the dairy industry. These are considered the external analysis. It is sub-divided into five aspects: technological environment, natural environment, political-legal environment, economic environment and socio-cultural environment. The technological environment deals with how the advent of technology affects the production of dairy products and the way the consumers receive the final products. With the modernity of facilities and equipment, the production of milk becomes better and faster. The natural environment deals with the natural issues that affects the dairy industry. Certain issues can either help or deter the buying decision of consumers. The political-legal environment deals with certain laws and regulations passed by the government that must be followed. It affects the dairy industry in a way that all companies must abide to this laws in order to operate. The economic environment is about the current economic changes that affects the society, the industry and the consumers. It greatly affects the consumer spending. The last aspect is the socio-cultural environment which is about the beliefs, norms, values and culture practiced by the consumers. It indicates person’s behavior and social graces that leads to the buying preference of consumers. a. TECHNOLOGICAL: i. With the demand of people for faster and better products and services, technology was created. It has provided the industry for the tools needed to enhance the techniques and strategies to make dairy products better. Through technology, the way people search for information about the products, the way on how to purchase, and the way on receiving goods are greatly influenced. Factors| Effects on the Industry| Online Retailing| Vast market can be reached by selling goods to people over the net. This will provide better accessibility for the users of the product. | Electronic Data Interchange| It will link the company to its suppliers through communication advancements. Making products available to different establishment. | Customer Relationship Management (CRM)| A marketing tool that binds the power of computers and databases to provide the ability to collect data about consumer buying behavior on individual basis. It will help the industry to familiarize the demands of the consumers and analyze their buying behavior and produce products that will meet the needs and wants of the consumers. | b. ECONOMIC: ii. The economic environment scan determines the economic changes that will have an impact to the society, dairy industry and AMC like unemployment rate, exchange rate and inflation rate. In the dairy industry, these factors affect the level of income of people. Thus, affecting the buying behavior and preferences of consumers. Factors| Effects on the Industry| Decreasein unemployment rate| The decrease in unemployment rate gives probability to an increase in family income resulting to increase in purchasing power. This will lead to profitable commerce and increase in sales of the industry. | Changes in exchange rates| The appreciation of Philippine Peso against US Dollar will lead to a less operating expense in the dairy industry. Inflation Rate| Due to increase of expenditures in the industry, cost of sales will swell making the consumers carry the burden of expenses. | c. SOCIO-CULTURAL: iii. Socio-cultural trend analysis is one of the important factors in making and developing strategic analysis. The socio-cultural environment shapes our beliefs, values and norms. In relation to the dairy industry, this socio-cultural environment analysis indicates person’s behavior and social graces that may lead to change in preference and variation in consumer’s buying behavior. Also, certain beliefs and values can serve as advantage or disadvantage for the part of AMC. Factors| Effects on the Industry| Campaign for Milk Benefits and Usage| Consumers will have better awareness over the industry’s product which will attract more potential customers. | Projected increase in the population| With a population of 101,833,938 (July 2011 est. ) will lead to increase in the need of product. As population gets bigger, a result of higher sales and earnings is expected. | Breast feeding vs. Formula milk| Nutrients found in the mother’s breast milk can be compared to this formula milk. But with the fast pacing everyday routine, formula feed milk can be prepared anytime. Thus it will lead to more consumers and sales. d. NATURAL/ECOLOGICAL: iv. The natural environment scan is about the issues that affects the dairy industry. In particular with the environmental issues like melamine outbreak and green marketing. As well as the nutritional facts of the products produced in the dairy industry. Certain issues can either help or deter the buying decision of consumers. Factors| Effects on the Industry| Global problems and green industry| Natural calamities and disasters can delay the production of dairy products. Thus, it may lead to decrease in the total sales of the industry. Green marketing will enable the industry to reduce its waste material. Thus, making a cleaner planet. | Cholesterol content of dairy products| Health and body conscious people will not consider consuming much of dairy products as source of energy. | Melamine Outbreak and contamination of dairy products. | Contamination like the melamine outbreak threatens the industry growth and decreased sales of products that use milk as an ingredient. As a result, it slackens the growth of dairy industry. | e. POLITICAL-LEGAL: v. The political-legal environment is about how the dairy industry will adapt to changes in relation to proposed legislations, programs and other government related issues. It is important to know the factors affecting the political and legal environment so that AMC will be able to abide to certain legislations and programs. Factors| Effects on the industry| Republic Act No. 7581: The Price Act| Automatic freezing of basic necessities’ prices in areas where a state of calamity is declared. | Republic Act no. 7884: National Dairy Development Act of 1995| Improve livelihood opportunities and thereby increase income level through the dairy industry. In effect, there will be an increase in the milk produced locally and an increase in quality of living. Republic Act 7394: Consumers Act| Establishes standard and quality measures for milk and adopt measures for their pure and safe supply. | III. Situational Analysis – Market Analysis * Market Definition Dairy industry involves processing raw milk into products such as consumer milk, butter, cheese, yogurt, condensed milk, milk powder, and ice cream, using processes such as chilling, pasteurizatio n, and homogenization. The dairy industry is divided into 5 different product categories; yogurt, butter, milk. Cheese and ice cream. The milk category is subdivided into 6 types, cream, powdered milk, evaporated milk, condensed milk, dried powder milk and cultured buttermilk. INDUSTRY STRUCTURE Figure 1: Industry Structure Source: www. nda. da. gov. ph/ * Market Size The Philippines, with a population of 95,687,643 (July 2011 est. ), growing annually at 1. 903% (2011 est. ), is a large market for milk and milk products. Dairy products are the country’s second largest agricultural import after wheat. The country’s dairy industry, which sources 99% of its inputs from abroad, is estimated to generate sales of up to P 43. 45B annually. Philippines is a huge market for milk and milk products with a small dairy farming community that has been growing vigorously for the past two years. The dairy market generates sales amounting to P44B annually. Although Filipinos are generally considered non milk drinkers with consumption at 19 kilograms per year, the Philippine dairy market, including the market for imported milk, generates over P44billion in revenues annually. 44% of the demand for milk is concentrated in Metro Manila. Luzon 46,228,000 (2011 est. ) Luzon 46,228,000 (2011 est. ) Visayas 27,877,103 (2011 est. ) Visayas 27,877,103 (2011 est. ) Mindanao 21,582,540 (2011 est. ) Mindanao 21,582,540 (2011 est. ) * Industry Structure The market for milk and dairy products in the Philippines comprises two very different segments: * The market for milk and dairy products that are processed in the Philippines from imported dairy ingredients or imported in retail packed form. This comprises well over 99% of total consumption; and, * The market for products that are produced from locally produced raw milk by the Philippines dairy farming industry. This comprises 1% of total raw milk. Suppliers of imported milk (2011)| Percentage| Australia | 61%| USA | 23%| Others| 16%| TOTAL | 100%| Table 1: Major Suppliers of imported milk(2011) Source: www. nda. da. gov. ph/ The Philippines’ dairy industry consists of two distinct sectors. One is the milk powder based sector that imports, re-processes and repacks milk and milk products. The other is the liquid milk sector that has its imported UHT milk component and the locally –produced fresh milk component. SECTOR| IMPORTER- REPROCESSOR| LOCAL MILK PRODUCER-PROCESSORS| TOTAL| Liquid milk market| 70| 30| 100| Powdered and other milk market| 100| 0| 100| Table 2: Sectors in dairy industry. Source: www. nda. da. ov. ph/ Figure 2: Total Raw Milk Segmentation Source: www. nda. da. gov. ph/ * Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Figure 3: Porter’s Five Forces Analysis Threat of New Entrants (Barriers to Entry) The easier it is for new companies to enter the industry, the more cutthroat competition there will be. Factors that can limit the threat of new entrants are known a s  barriers to entry. * Existing loyalty to major brands Consumers buy specific Alaska products that they usually buy. Other local or new entrant companies will be having a hard time competing with Alaska brands since their consumers are loyal to them. Scarcity  of resources Philippines imports 99% of its raw milk and only 1% are produced locally. New entrant companies will need a huge budget for importing raw milk. * Government restrictions or legislation Certain requirements provided by the government should be met by the new entrant companies in order to start their business. These restrictions and legislations help AMC to minimize competitors and to remove illegal distributors. Power of Suppliers This is how much pressure suppliers can place on a business. If one supplier has a large enough impact to affect a company's margins and volumes, then  it olds substantial power. Here are a few reasons that suppliers might have power: * Number of Suppliers Large number of supplier s will then result to a high inventory level for raw milk used for the production of dairy products. * Capacity of Supplier Suppliers must be able to sustain the quantity of raw milk needed by the company’s dairy production. * Cost of Changing The total money, time and resources associated with the change of supplier. Buyer Power Buyers are the people or organizations who create demand in an industry. The bargaining power of buyers is greater when: * Number of Customers Large number of buyers will then result to large amount of sales in the consumption of dairy products. * Size of each order The capacity of a customer to buy a certain product on a single purchase in order to fulfill their satisfaction. * Price sensitivity Gradual price changes should be observed to not greatly affect the consumption of the goods in the market. Threat of Substitution The presence of substitute products can lower industry attractiveness and profitability because they limit price levels. The threat of substitute products depends on: * Substitute Performance Other brands that offer the same quality of dairy products but have lower prices will threaten the competency of the company’s products throughout the market. * Cost of change Improving the product quality and decreasing the price at the same time to reach the same demand as the competing brand. Intensity of Rivalry The intensity of rivalry between competitors in an industry will depend on: * Number of competitors Large number of competitors can threaten your position in the market. * Quality differences Aside from quantity, companies must maintain the quality of their products. In dairy industry, it is important to monitor the quality of the products because it will be your advantage over your competitors. * Customer loyalty There will be a little possibility that loyal customers will be persuaded by the competitors to switch over their products. Also, loyal customers can be company’s asset since they can use the word-of-mouth. * Competition Nestle remains the undisputed leader in drinking milk products in 2011 with a market share of 72%, 64% for Bear Brand and 8% for Nido. The company’s very strong position is attributed to its long standing presence in the Philippines which enabled it to achieve strong brand equity for its brands. Alaska ranks second with 20% market share. One percent lower than the previous market share. Competitor| Company| Placement| Promotions| Product sizes and Price| Bear Brand| Nestle’ Philippines| Available in all leading supermarkets nationwide. | Free items, TV, Print and Radio advertising, Events and Sponsorships| 33g – P9. 5080g – P25150g – P46. 75300g – P89. 25680g – P192. 251. 1kg – P331. 252. 2kg – P634. 0| Nido Fortified| Nestle’ Philippines| Available in all leading supermarkets nationwide. | Free items, TV, Print and Radio advertising, Events and Sponsorships| 160g – P68. 70370g – P157700g – P274. 50900g – P3361. 2kg – P467. 251. 8kg – P680. 402. 5kg – P929| Anchor Full Cream Milk| Fonterra Brands Ph ilippines Inc. | Available in all leading supermarkets nationwide. | Free items, TV and Print ads| 150g – P68. 75350g – P157. 50700g – P276. 50| Birch Tree| Snow Mountain Dairy Corporation| Available in all leading supermarkets in GMA, North and South Luzon| TV ads| 80g – P25. 75150g – P48300g – P93. 50700g – P212. 0| Table 3 : Market share of Powdered Milk Category Comparison Table Source: AC Nielsen Figure 4 : Market Share of powdered milk for 2011 Source: AC Nielsen * Market Trends The lifestyle  of the urban  Filipino is continually changing wherein a local patron not only spends more time away from home but home cooked meals are being replaced by packaged or  ready-to-eat meals. With the Filipino propensity for buying only for their daily needs, the variety and availability of smaller retail packs has increased. Food processors realize that this is a huge segment of  the market and develop sachet packaging accordingly. Metro Manila remains as the major market for fresh milk classified into business and consumer markets. The business markets include the institutional markets and the retail sector such as coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, supermarkets and small retailers. Meanwhile, the consumer markets include households and schools through the milk feeding program of the government. Consumption of drinking milk products remains dependent on the level of consumer disposable income. During 2011, there has been a challenge for customers to stretch their budgets due to skyrocketing commodity prices coupled by the volatile prices of fuel and utilities. With these struggles, disposable income has declined which became unfavorable in the consumption of drinking milk. Some middle and lower income consumers are not really milk consumers and milk has a low priority on grocery lists. IV. Situational Analysis – Consumer Analysis The main customers of Alaska powdered milk are composed of parents who have children ages 4-12 who are currently in the so called â€Å"growth gap years†. Teens also consume the product because of its rich taste and creaminess. * Nature of the buying decision According to research 25% of the total grocery budget of people are spent on beverages. And 10 percent of it goes to milk drinks while 5-7 percent goes to milk/dairy products. The average budget for grocery is P 7, 703. Figure 5: Consumer Spending 2011 Source:TNS Global Research * Geographic Philippines is chosen to be the target location of this strategic plan. It has a population of 95,687,643 (July 2011 est. ). The population of Luzon is 46,228,000 (2011 est. ). Visayas has 27,877,103 population (2011 est. ) and Mindanao has a population of 21,582,540 (2011 est. ). Below are the areas with their following percentage in grocery budget for milk beverage. Metro Manila together with Rizal got the highest percentage among all the areas with 13%. And urban areas give higher priority in milk beverages rather than those in rural areas. Table 4: Average Current Budget 2011 Source:TNS Global Research * Demographic The consumers are ranging from 4-12years old. Majority of the customers are female and only few are men. This is because the main customers are housewives or single parent and men are usually in their own jobs. The household income bracket of the consumers ranges from P30, 000. 00 to P 7,000. 00 and below. And the average budget they allot for grocery is P7, 703. Wherein P8, 400 are the average grocery budget of people in urban areas while P5, 400 are being spent in rural areas. Class C allots an average of P 12,000 for their grocery budget. * Psychographics The socio economic status is Class C. Class C is the majority of the consumers which composes of families with regular compensation. Consumers are mostly College Undergraduate and High School Graduate. The consumers are identified as Makers. These consumers are the low-resource group of those who are motivated by self- expression. They are practical people who value self- sufficiency. They are focused on the familiar- family, work, and physical recreation- and have little interest in the broader world. As consumers, they appreciate practical and functional products. The customers of Alaska milk products are housewives and single parents. They are practical in choosing products to buy and are more focused in family life while single parents are focused on their work at the same time with their child. They are also practical in buying products since they are the only one that supports the child. * Benefits Good quality of milk products, nutritional value and value for money are the most expected benefits of the customers. The product should be produced with good quality containing all the nutrients needed of children during their growth gap years with reasonable price. * Usage Patterns Customers are considered to be long time users since the Alaska brand has been trusted for 40 years. People grew up with the Alaska Powdered Milk and because of the intergeneration effect, relatives and mothers are usually the entities to influence the usage of the product. Advertisements also influence the usage pattern of the consumers. * Purchase Patterns The frequencies of purchasing product were in weekly and monthly basis. The numbers of milk products brought per week or per month are depending on consumers’ necessities and preferences. In supermarkets, groceries, and sari- sari stores mostly the products are brought. * Consumer/ Customer Preferences Consumers prefer a milk product that has their demanded qualities like deliciously sweet and creamy, nutritious and affordable. The four P’s, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion were all important factors considered in selection of what milk products/brand to buy. V. Situational Analysis – INTERNAL ANALYSIS ALASKA MILK CORPORATION (AMC) is a leading manufacturer of milk products in the Philippines. It has established a strong brand heritage and recognition among Filipino consumers with its traditional liquid canned milk products, marketed under the Alaska brand. In addition, the Company has developed a strong competitive position in the powdered milk category and a growing presence in the UHT ready-to-drink and ready-to-use segments. Company Resources * Financial Alaska Milk Corporation delivered another year of solid performance, ending 2010 with a new record net income of P1. 82 billion, a 29% improvement over the P1. 41 billion net income earned in 2009. Fueling the growth was the strong sales volume expansion across the Company’s portfolio of milk products alongside lower input costs as well as prudent spending. Net sales for 2010 grew by 15% to P12. 16 billionfrom P10. 58 billion a year ago, underpinned by the double-digit growth of the domestic milk market as the Philippine economy sharply rebounded from the slowdown in 2009. In addition, sustained advertising campaigns and demand-generating promotional initiatives help pushed sales volumes higher yearon- year, a significant achievement amidst aggressive competition and market challenges. Operating expenses for the year increased significantly, by 22% at P2. 28 billion from P1. 87 billion in 2009. The increase can be attributed to higher advertising and promotional spending to boost consumer demand for Alaska Milk products. (In million pesos) Figure 6: Net Sales of AMC (In million pesos) Figure 7: Net operating expenses of AMC (In million pesos) Figure 8: Net Income of AMC (In million pesos) * People Alaska Milk Corporation recognizes that their people, the Alaska Team members, are one of their most important assets and they are committed to promote their safety and welfare. Their wealth of experience, ideas, dedication and strong work ethic lay the foundation for the Company’s continued success. It is the company’s goal as much as it is theirs, to pursue and reach their full potentials through continuing education, training, and skills-enhancement programs. They challenge each individual by providing the opportunity to contribute to the Company’s endeavors. Total employees headcount as of December 31, 2010 are as follows: Executives-14 Managers and Supervisors-225 Rank and File-488 Consultant-1 Board of Directors Our board of directors have successful careers in businese, academe and public service. With their wealth of experience, they add significant perspective and direction into how management shapes and executes business strategies. The Board of Directors is being led by Chairman Antonio Ozaeta. Management Team Our senior management team shares the same mission, vision and values — driven by a sense of accountability to be successful as individuals and as a company. The President and CEO of Alaska Milk Corporation is Wilfred Steven Uytengsu Jr. * Product Offerings * Liquid Canned Milk The Company’s first generation of milk products are Alaska Evaporated Filled Milk and Alaska Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk. Alaska Evaporada and Condensada are the perfect enhancers for various food and beverage preparations. Today, Alaska Milk Corporation has a dominant position in the liquid canned milk category, accounting for nearly 80% of the market. * Alaska Evaporated Filled Milk * Alaska Sweetened Condensed Filled Milk * Cow Bell Condensada * Alaska Creamer * Alaska Evaporada * Alaska Condensada * Alaska Milk Corporation bought from Nestle: * Alpine * Liberty * Krem-Top * Krem-top All purpose Cream * Also long-term licensing agreement for AMC to manufacture and sell the ff. brands for liquid canned milk products: * Carnation * Milkmaid * Powdered Milk The Company has likewise built a solid position in the Powdered Milk Category. With the heritage gained by the Alaska line of liquid canned milk products, the Company’s Alaska Powdered Milk Drink, the most nutritious powdered milk, has emerged as the second leading brand in the market. * Alaska Powdered Milk Drink * UHT Ready -to -Drink Milk Alaska Milk Corporation also offers a line of Ready-to-Drink milk products that come in both plain and flavored milk. The Company’s line of Ready-to-Drink milk products use Ultra High Temperature (UHT) process combined with aseptic packaging – to ensure product quality, hygiene and longer shelf life. Alaska Fresh Milk * Alaska Slim Milk * Alaska Choco! * Alaska Sweet Milk! * Alaska Yoghurt Drink (Strawberry, Blueberry, Orange and Green Apple) * UHT Ready -to -Use Product Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream is a result of the Company’s effort to broaden its product portfolio in higher value-added segments. Launched in 2003, Alaska Crema enhances the taste of a variety of food preparations, bringing gourmet goodness at home. * Alaska Crema All-Purpose Cream * Non-Dairy Coffee Creamer The latest addition to the Company’s portfolio of quality products is Alaska Krem-Top Coffee Creamer. A non-dairy coffee creamer, Alaska Krem-Top enhances coffee experience with its rich flavor and aroma. In a blind test, more coffee drinkers in Metro Manila like Alaska Krem-Top better than the leading coffee creamer brand. * Alaska Krem-Top Coffee Creamer Alaska Milk Corporation currently has a partnership with Kelloggs due the complementary nature of the two products and the two companies' thrust in promoting â€Å"healthy breakfast = cereals + milk†, and the former's strong operational structure and distribution capabilities. * Objectives Mission statement and Vision statement OUR VISION†¦ Is to be a leading consumer foods company with a diversified portfolio of consumer food brands and products that are market leaders in their respective categories. OUR MISSION†¦ PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT We will continue to build on the strengths and competitive attributes of the ALASKA brand and develop its full marketing potential. We will develop new products and identify market opportunities, mindful of our task to be responsive to the ever changing and growing needs of our consumers. PEOPLE We recognize that our people, the Alaska Team Members, are on of our most important assets and we are committed to promote their safety and welfare. Their wealth of experience, ideas, dedication and strong work ethic lay the foundation for the Company's continued success. It is our goal as much as it is theirs, to pursue and reach their full potentials through continuing education, training, and skills-enhancement programs. We challenge each individual by providing the opportunity to contribute to the Company's endeavors. PROFITABLE GROWTH Growth that creates value for our shareholders is paramount. We will deploy our resources on investment opportunities that are within our core competence and yield excellent returns relative to its risks and which are consistent with our growth objectives. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY We recognize our role in nation building by promoting the protection of the environment and taking part in various community-building projects that help enhance and uplift the quality of life of the underprivileged and the marginalized sectors of our society. * Financial objectives * To increase sales by 25. 5% within the strategic planning period. To increase the gross profit by 37% prior to the gross profit annually. * To lower operating expenses by 2% annually. * Marketing objectives * To increase product top of mind awareness amongst the target audience by 15% for the next three consecutive years. * To increase market share by 2% annually in three years. * To increase the BUMO (Brand used more often) percentage by 13% annually . VI. SWOT ANALYSIS INTERNAL FACTORS ST RENGTHS| WEAKNESSES| * Experienced and well trained employeesExperienced employees are the key to the success of AMC helping to drive them forward with expertise and knowledge. Superior quality of productsHigh quality products/services is a vital strength, helping to ensure customers return to AMC. * Good Supplier RelationshipSupplier relationships are strong at AMC, which can only be seen as strength in their overall performance. | | * Higher price than competitorsCost and expenses in the production of milk results to high price of their product in the market. Thus, it will add up to the transportation costs of the product. * Fluctuating Demand of the product. The demand for the product is inconsistent. * Limited supply baseAMC uses imported milk for its products. Future events that might happen, causing delay and disturbances in the supply chain, can affect the operation of AMC. | EXTERNAL FACTORS OPPORTUNITIES| THREATS| * Strong brand imageAMC's reputation is strong and popular, meaning people view it with respect and believe in it. AMC's position in the market is high and strong – a major strength in this industry as they are ahead of many rivals. * Technological AdvancementThe trend in the dairy industry is the use of new machineries and technology for faster production and better quality of milk. AMC can follow the trend to be able to top the industry. Limited choices of productsAMC can have diversified line of related milk products to offer in the market. | * Competition The dairy industry gets bigger and bigger because new entrants in the market. Existing competitors still creates and innovates products. Thus, competition becomes intense. * Product substitutionDue to consumers’ practicality, they prefer to buy cheaper subs titute products. * Economic CrisisA slow economy or financial slowdown could have a major impact on AMC business and profits. In effect, price wars between competitors, price cuts and so on could damage profits for AMC. | VII. MARKETING RESEARCH AC Nielsen conducted a marketing research last August 19, 2011 entitled â€Å"Project Silk Report: A Usage, Attitude and Image Study on Milk Products Used by Food Service Outlets †. According to reasearch, powdered milk is not a widely used ingredient in food outlets. Only kapihans use powdered milk regularly. Moreover, relative to other milk categories, kapihans’ weekly purchase and usage volume for powdered milk is fairly low. Kapihans use powdered milk because it is creamy. Powdered milk is also liked because it is tasty and liked by customers. Alaska precedes Bear brand in terms of awareness and usage. Bear brand owns the powdered milk category with high brand saliency and regular usage. Despite this, Alaska performs relatively better than other powdered milk brands, since they happen to have minimal or no usage at all from kapihans. Alaska and Bear brand excel on the same attributes: affordability & availability. Building a ‘creamy’ image for Alaska will be an advantage since the attribute is not strongly associated with Bear Brand. Also, creaminess happens to be one of the main reasons why kapihans use powdered milk. RESULTS: In general, powdered milk is not a widely used ingredient in food outlets with its usage primarily to kapihan. Figure 10: Usage of Powdered Milk Another marketing research done by TNS International Research entitled â€Å"Project Hermes: Lifestyle and Brand Health Check†, suggests the following actions in the powdered milk category of AMC: * Sustain current retention strategies as well as current strengths on being easily available and affordable * Address challenges in brand usage in Ilocos, Cebu, Davao and among middle class by * further understanding their current needs and any white spaces * continuing with communication efforts addressed to these segments * Further strengthen branding of ads aired to maximize motivational promise. It also discussed the advertising efforts of AMC and its competitors in the powdered milk category. The figure below shows the performance of the ads in powdered milk category. Figure 11: Ad performance measurement The TV ad of Alaska entitled â€Å"Alaska’s Buboy† featuring Caesar Montano gained positive comments. According to the research, the company did a great job in choosing Montano as the endorser of powdered milk. Montano gained 83% positive comments while 4% of the respondents viewed it negatively. And the remaining 11% did not comment. This shows that TV advertisements contributes alot to brand awareness. VIII. MARKETING STRATEGY * Solution The first strategy to be used by the company is redesigning the product. AMC will create a new packaging design for the powdered milk so that it can capture the interest of the people. The next strategy to be used is development. We will add nutritional value to current powdered milk so that it can fully satisfy the needed nutrition of the children. The last strategy to be used is creation. We will innovate the product into another variety like Alaska Powdered Milk for Adults or Alaska Powdered Chocolate Milk to capture different segments of the market. Information The strategies to be used in creating and building brand awareness are focused advertising and sales promotions. One way to spark interest for AMC’s product is through advertising. We will develop a TV commercial since almost all household owns a television set. The next action that we will do is to advertise through transportation medium like taxis and buses. This action is appli cable for Mega Manila. Lastly, we will print out stickers to be posted at the back of tricycles in the provinces. Another strategy is through sales promotion. This can be through coupons and gift certificates, contests and collectibles and freebies. Lastly, we will be having events and sponsorship. We will conduct concerts for a cause and other fund raising activities. The funds that we will get will be used for school feeding programs and activities and for charitable institutions. We will also be having caravan tour for brand activation. With the caravan tour, we will be giving samples of our product. * Value This strategy focuses on how will the company reduce its price to be more competitive in the market. The first strategy is through competitive pricing. This can be done by lowering the distribution costs. Thus, it will result to lower price of the product. Another one is through discounts. This will be applicable for bulk purchasing. The next strategy will be promo package. We will be having bundles wherein the powdered milk will be partnered in other products of Alaska. * Access In order to boost the sales, one way is to improve the distribution system and increase the number of distribution channels that can be used to distribute. In order for the product to be more accessible, our strategy will be through online marketing. The economies of scale will lessen. Thus, the burden of distribution expense will not be carried by the consumers anymore. We will also be having free deliveries within Mega Manila. Lastly, we will be offering online services for loyal customers. The next strategy will be Direct Marketing. We will promote the powdered milk in different retail stores to make the product more accessible to all targeted locations. Next will be thru door-to-door selling. We will designate certain number of sellers to offer the powdered milk to household consumers. The problem of mobility of our product will be resolved with the use of carts to sell the product. IX. Implementation Plan SOLUTION * Product Repackaging One way to capture the interest of target consumers is through creative packaging. We will be planning what will be the best packaging design and size for the powdered milk. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and organizing a team to create a new packaging design| Marketing department representatives| 5 days1st week of December| P 50,000| Finalizing and approval of new packaging design plan| Product department | 1 day1st week of December| P 20,000| Pilot Testing| Marketing Department 1 week 2nd week of December| P700, 000| Reevaluation of the pilot testing| Operation Department | 1 week3rd week of December| P 50, 000| Start of repackaging process| Operation Department| 1 week4th week of December| P 2, 500, 000| Start of distribution on newly repackaged products| | 1st week of January| P 1,000, 000| * Product Development The Product development strategy will focus on adding nutritional value to the current pr oduct of AMC which will benefit the target consumers. With its improved nutritional facts, more health conscious parents will be attracted to purchase the product. Thus, leading to an increase in sales for the company. Action/Activities| Department/Person involved| Time frame| Budget| Planning and generating ideas for the product development. | Research and Development Department| 1 monthJanuary| P 3, 000, 000| Product screening and evaluation. | Top Level Management and Marketing Department| 2 weeks1st to 2nd week of February| P 50, 000| Register/Issuance of License to Operate (LTO) and approval of Bureau of Food and Industry (BFAD)| Marketing Department| 3 months3rd week of February to 2nd week of May| P 60, 000| Producing sample products that will be used in product testing. Production Department| 1 week3rd week of May| P 1, 500, 000| Test Marketing. | Marketing Department| 1 week4th week of May| P 500, 000| Pilot testing| Marketing Department| 1 monthJune| P 2, 500, 000| Reviewing the results of the pilot testing. | Marketing and Research Department| 1 week1st week of July| P 80, 000| Producing product samples and actual products that will be distributed. | Production Department| 2 weeks2nd and 3rd week of July| P 3, 500, 000| Introducing the product to the market and distributing product samples. Marketing Department| 1 week4th week of July| P 1,500, 000| Distributing the actual products. | Marketing Department| 1st week of August| P 1, 000, 000| * Creating New Product Another strategy that we will be using is the creation of new product. AMC will create a new product that will satisfy the demands of the consumer. We will make another segment of powdered milk that will cover not only the children under the growth-gap years, but also other potential customer that consumes powdered milk in their daily basis. The creation of new product will expand the target consumers of AMC and will also increase the potential buyers of the product. Thus, it will increase the sales of AMC. Action/Activities| Department/Person involved| Time frame| Budget| Planning and creating a research study about consumer demands. | Research and Development Department| 3 monthsJanuary-April| P 2, 500, 000| Reviewing research report and planning and brainstorming of ideas for the new product development. Marketing Department| 3 weeks1st week of May- 3rd week of May| P 90, 000| Creating the new product| Production Department| 1 month4th week of May- June| P 4,000,000| Product screening and evaluation. | Top Level Management and Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of July| P 50, 000| Register/Issuance of License to Operate (LTO) and approval of Bureau of Food and Industry (BFAD)| | 3 months2nd week of July to 2nd week of October| P 100, 000| Producing sample products that will be used in product testing. Marketing Depa rtment| 1 week4th week of October| P 3,000,000| Test Marketing. | Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of November| P 300, 000| Pilot testing| Marketing Department| 1 month2nd week of November to December| P 3, 000, 000| Reviewing the results of the pilot testing. | Marketing Department| 1 week2nd week of December| P 50, 000| Producing product samples and actual products that will be distributed. | Production Department| 2 weeks3rd and 4th week of December| P 4,000, 000| Introducing the product to the market and distributing product samples. Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of January| P 2, 000, 000| Distributing the actual products. | Marketing Department| 2nd week of January| P 500, 000| INFORMATION * ADVERTISING Transit Advertising Transit advertising will be done to create product awareness. We will be using different transportation medium to advertise. We will use taxis and buses to roam around the busy streets of the metro, While in the provinces; we will use stickers to b e posted at the back of tricycles. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and Selecting of modes of transportation for transit advertising| Marketing department representative| 2 days1st week of February| P 20,000| Planning and making of the stickers for tricycles and jeepneys. | Marketing department representative| 3 days2nd week of February| P 1,200,000| Finalizing of transit advertising plan| Advertising department| 1 day2nd week of February| P 30,000| Meeting with representatives of the chosen Bus companies and jeepney operators| Marketing department representative| 2 days3rd week of February| P 30, 000| Start of transit advertising. Coverage of transit advertisement(Bus, Tricycles, Jeepney)| | 1st week of March| P 5,000,000| * Television Advertising Almost all Filipino household owns a television set. TV advertising has the power to show and tell many people about the product, and actually demonstrates the benefits of acquiring it. Since they see how it works and how it is packaged, every time they see it they will be psychologically reminded of their desire to have it. Action| Time Frame| Department Involve| Budget| Planning and Selecting of artists, celebrities and personalities to endorse the product in TV ad. | Marketing Department Representative| 1 week1st week of February| P 50,000| Meeting with managers of selected artists regarding payments, endorsement, terms of agreement| Marketing Department Representative| 1 week2nd week of February| P 150, 000| Contract signing and partial payment of the company to the selected endorsers. Company project head, Mangers and Endorsers| 1 day3rd week February| P 2,000,000| Meeting with representatives of advertising company regarding the execution of advertising plan. | Marketing Department Representative| 1 week1st week of March| P25, 000| Creation of story board by the chosen Advertising Agency| Advertising Agency| 6 weeks2nd week of March| P 2,000,000| Finalizing the advertising plan for television. | Advertising Department| 1 week1st week of May| P 50,000| Pilot airing of TV ad| Advertising Department| 1 week3rd week of May| P1, 500, 000| Coverage of TV advertisement. (ABS-CBN 2, GMA 7 and TV5)| | 1st week of June- July1st week of October- December| P 30,000,000| SALES PROMOTIONS * Events and Sponsorship We will be holding events like concert for a cause, fun run and different fund raising activities from which we can promote the products of the company. The proceeds of the events will be used for school programs and activities for the betterment of children. Also we will accept application for sponsorship related to the objectives and goals of the company. Action/Activities| Department/Person involved| Time frame| Budget| Review the sponsorship and exhibitor packages and related benefits| Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of October| P 30, 000| Determining and selecting which best potential event/ exhibit meets the company’s goal| Marketing Department| 1 week2nd week of October | P 50, 000| Meeting and coordinating with the event/exhibit organizers| Marketing Department| 2 weeks3rd week to 4th week of October| P 50, 000| Evaluation and approval for the sponsorship| Top Level Management | 1 week 1st week of November| P 50, 000| Preparing and allocating funds for the event that will be sponsor| Finance Department| 1 week2nd week of November| P 2, 000, 000| Capture data and measure results| Top Management| 1 week3rd week of November| P 30, 000| * Caravan This strategy will be focused on visiting different schools on the month of August, in line with the celebration of the Nutrition Month. There will be selected schools around th e country that will be visited by our team and we will give powdered milk pouch samples to the students of the chosen school. It will contribute to the increase of brand awareness to our target consumers. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and organizing a team to conduct the caravan. Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of June| P 30,000| Identifying the school that will be the scope of the caravan. | Marketing Department| 1 week2nd week of June| P 20,000| Contracting a certain bus company for the leasing of the bus and for the terms and conditions. | Marketing Department/ Finance Department| 1 day3rd week of June| P 500,000| Designing the bus that will be used in the caravan. | Advertising Department| 1 week4th week of June| P 50,000| Preparing the sample products that will be given out to the students of the chosen school. | Production Department| 2 weeks1st-2nd week of July| P 1,500,000| Start of the caravan. | Logistics Department| Whole month of August| P 150,000| * FUND RAISING Action/Activities| Department/Person involved| Time frame| Budget| Developing goals and making fundraising plans| Marketing Department| 2 weeks1st week of June| P 70, 000| Searching for prospects that can help in the fundraising activities| Marketing Department| 2 weeks3rd to 4th week of June| P 50, 000| Searching for venue/facilities needed in the fundraising and other related materials | Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of July| P 40, 000| Estimating and allocation of fundraising programs costs| Finance Department| 1 week2nd week of July| P 30,000| Finalizing plans and evaluation of the programs and events| Top Level Management| 2 days3rd week of July| P 20, 000| Meeting and coordinating with organizers and other sponsors| Marketing Department| 1 week4th week of July| P 60,000| Fundraising Activity| | 1 month August| P 1,000,000| Program evaluation| Marketing department| 1 week1st week of September| P 50, 000| PRICING PRICING * Promotional Package ( Bundle ) Promotional package will attract more potential customers since they can avail discounts when they buy a bundle of AMC products in line with the Alaska Powdered Milk. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and choosing of products that will be used for the promotional package. | Marketing department| 1 week2nd week of September| P 50,000| Meeting with the owners of the chosen supermarkets wherein the promotional package will be distributed. Marketing department| 1 day3rd week of September| P 20,000| Finalizing and creating the design of the packaging. | | 1 week4th week of September| P 1,000, 000| Distributing the promotional package. (SM supermarkets, Robinson’s Place supermarkets and Puregold)| | 1st week of October – Last week of December| P 800,000| * Minimizing Distribution Cost This strategy will be focusing on minimizing the distribution costs. Minimizing the cost will contribute to the aim of having a competitive pricing. By reducing the cost, we can also reduce the price. Action/Activities| Department/Person involved| Time frame| Budget| Reviewing distribution system. | Logistics Department| 1 week2nd week of January| P 10, 000| Brainstorming about the documents. Logistics Department| 1 week3rd week of January| P 15, 000| Planning and organizing Distribution system| Logistics Department| 3 weeks1st – 3rd week of February| P 30, 000| Eliminating unproductive labor and Reducing waste and material usage. | Top Management | 2 monthsMarch- April| P 100, 000| Improve equipment performance and space utilization through consolidation| Logistics Department| 2 months1st week of May-June| P 500 ,000| Implementation of the new distribution system| Logistics Department| 1st week of July| P 1, 000, 000| * Discounts As competition in the milk industry arises, several discounts and promos are coming out in the market. So we also plan to have discounts as one of our strategies to generate interest in getting customers to try Alaska milk products. It will enable more target markets try Alaska Milk products within their budget capability. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning the discounts to be place in the market. | Marketing department representatives| 1 week1st week of December| P 10,000| Identify the target location/area to put the discounts. As well as, identifying how much discounts there would be. | Marketing department| 1 day2nd week of December| P 5,000| Consultation and evaluation of the discount plan. | Top Level Management/ Marketing department| 1 week3rd week of December| P 1, 500, 000| Allocation and budgeting of the discounts to be placed. | | 1st week of January| P 500, 000| ACCESS * Online Marketing Online Marketing is one way of making Alaska milk products more accessibility in the market in which it less time consuming and more convenient to the wholesale target consumers. We will be offering the products only and they can acquire the products in wholesale through the internet. We will also be having free delivery service. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and making a web layout design that will be used for the Online Marketing. | Advertising Department| 2 weeks1st-2nd week of January| P 100,000| Hiring an additional workforce that will maintain and respond to the customers demand/inquiries. | Human Resource Department| 1 month3rd week of January-3rd week of February| P 10,000| Launching of the Online Marketing Website of Alaska Milk Corporation. | March| P 200,000| * Direct Marketing This strategy is designed to increase the sales in which the sales force of Alaska Milk Corporation will conduct door-to-door selling in order to offer the products direct ly to the customers and generate sales. Action| Department Involve| Time Frame| Budget| Planning and organizing a team that will conduct the door-to-door selling. | Marketing Department| 1 week1st week of March| P 50,000| Identifying the location in which the door-to-door selling will be conducted. | Marketing department| 2 weeks2nd-3rd week of March| P50,000| Orienting and training the sales force about the door-to-door selling. | Human Resource Department| 3 weeks4th week of March- 3rd week of April| P200,000| Preparing the materials and products that will be used in the door-to-door selling. | Production Management| 1 week4th week of April| P2,000,000| Start of the door-to-door selling. | | May| P500,000| X. Financial Summary XI. Contigencies 1. Fortuitous Events like natural calamities The company must have inventory management to assure the availability of supply in case of these events. 2. Contamination of raw materials The Company should have an alternative supplier to still meet the demand for their products. 3. Problems regarding pests and rodents Quality control should be practiced by the company to assure the safety and quality of the products. . Recession The Company must still be able to meet the demands of consumers by means of inventory management. 5. Change in Technological environment The Company should adapt to the advent of technology to be able to have better and faster production and service. XII. Appendi x I Alaska Milk Corporation Corinthian Plaza, Paseo de Roxas Building, Makati City, Manila www. alaskamilk. com. ph National Dairy Authority www. nda. da. gov. ph National Statistics Office www. census. gov. ph www. nso. gov. ph Chanrobles Virtual Library www. chanrobles. com Department of Trade and Industry www. dti. gov. ph Ivory Qual Full Report AC Nielsen Research www. ielsen. com Projecy Hermes Final Report TNS Global Market Research www. tnsglobal. com Project Silk Report AC Nielsen Research www. nielsen. com Appendix ll Powdered Milk Offtake: June 2008 – Nov 2011 (In Tons) www. alaskamilk. com. ph Usage Performance: Cesar Montano for APM TNS Global Market Research www. tnsglobal. com How Is The Budget Spent? TNS Global Market Research www. tnsglobal. com Typical Grocery Budget TNS Global Market Research www. tnsglobal. com Weekly Purchase Volume of Powdered Milk AC Nielsen Research www. nielsen. com Quality Awareness AC Nielsen Research www. nielsen. com APPENDIX III A MC Annual Report www. alaskamilk. com. ph