Brain development from infancy to the age of two Research Paper

Brain development from infancy to the age of two - Research Paper Example Positive in that the infant’s brain is open to learning new things and acquiring new skills as well as enriching influences. However, the young brain is prone to developmental problems especially when the environment is un-nurturing or impoverished. Research shows that the environment of an infant’s early years can have effects affecting the infant throughout life. Muehlenbein, (2010) further says that due to advanced technology, effects relating to early brain development and the environment are now easier to study and understand. Patterns in brain activity that seem to be related to some types of negative early experiences can now be identified by neuroscientists. However, some scholars argue that even before the brain scanning tools allowing this study, some behaviors stemming from early stress, poverty, maltreatment and neglect could be seen even before technology. The evidence provided by neuroscientists is of essence and should be paid attention to since it is crucial in helping people understand how exactly the environment affects brain development. Such knowledge will help children who are at risk and to reverse where possible the consequences of early adversity. Neuroscientists may also aid in our efforts to learn when experiences affect children. Understanding the patterns of specific periods of vulnerability is a better way of improving efforts towards intervention. Brain development begins in the first three weeks after a child is conceived. At conception, it is the egg and the sperm that meet forming a single cell that determine the potential of the genes. Over 55% of the genes carry out the work of brain development. Cells in a thin layer develop on the embryo (Brestan & Lee, 2009). The cells merge to form a tube filled with liquid which is the foundation of the brain and the spinal cord. At this stage, the embryo produces neurons also called nerve cells and in the first month, the cells multiply to produce

Management - 3 tools or approaches that contributes to decision making Essay

Management - 3 tools or approaches that contributes to decision making [sap5] - Essay Example Measures to be implemented are those that draw immense support. In systems 1 and 2, the main features are observed when perceived from objectives-led and problem-oriented planning approaches (Moore & Lowenstein, 2004). The objective of joint-versus-separate decision making solves the problem of people failing to move from suboptimal System 1 thinking to improved System 2 thinking. The system is chosen and considered among multiple options concurrently rather than conceding or declining alternatives separately. The objective approach cites a promising stream of research that evaluates how System 2 thinking can be weighted to lower System 1 errors. It demonstrates that analogical reasoning can be applied in reducing bounds on people’s consciousness like impulsivity and anxiety about relative outcomes. It is possible that the study on joint-against-separate decision making highlights the reality that our initial impulses lean more on emotions than logic (Moore & Lowenstein, 2004). For instance, additional suggestive results in passing exams include the findings that willpower to succeed is weakened when students are placed under severe cognitive burden and when they are insufficient knowledge in their study areas. Students will most likely make less impulsive, but suboptimal decisions during schools years while further making choices in advance of their consequences. Another scenario is where school management adopt unilateral decisions that suggest that change in the decision’ s context that promotes coolheaded System 2 thinking. This has the capability of reducing common biases from arising. I believe that when people get busier on their schedules, their minds get committed irrespective of time constraints faced, thus relying on System 1 thinking. Managers of corporate companies implore System 1 thinking, where superior decision making is a recipe for improving efficiency without sacrificing brand quality. The problem and

Emergency Preparedness Essay Example for Free

Emergency Preparedness Essay Emergency preparedness is vital for the safety and security of the general public. Disasters, according to Powers (2010), are events that cause damage to lives and property during which community resources cannot keep up with the demand. In the unfortunate event of a disaster, having a plan in place as to how a it will be managed allows for the smoothest possible outcome with the fewest amount of casualties. The three levels of emergency preparedness prevention are each an important part of being ready for a disaster. The planning involves the time before the disaster, the acute disaster scene, and the long term management of the disaster survivors (Rittenmeyer, 2007). At the disaster scene, a triage color code system is used to organize and prioritize patients and the level of care they require. There are many types of disasters that can affect the public. see more:short essay on disaster management Three technological disasters will be addressed, all involving exposure: biologic, chemical and radiation. Nurses and other health care workers may encounter a disaster where their skills are needed, whether it be on the job or as a citizen. It is important that health care workers understand the components of disaster management, triage at the scene, and different types of agents to which patients may have been exposed. Levels of Disaster ManagementEmergency Preparedness Prevention There are three levels of a disaster management plan: primary, secondary and tertiary. Each of them is important to allow for the best possible outcome in the event of a disaster. Primary Prevention Primary prevention involves everything that can be done before the actual disaster occurs. This includes training personnel, educating the public, and creating evacuation plans. Rittenmeyer (2007) describes disaster planning as assessing the risk of a disaster occurring as well as the capacities that will be available during a disaster. First, a risk assessment to determine what hazards a particular community is vulnerable to is done (Powers, 2010). Based on the findings, a disaster response plan is created for the greatest risks to the community. Training and practice for the disaster(s) are the core components of primary prevention. For instance, in a hospital setting, nurses can attend a seminar on evacuation as well as participate in an evacuation drill to simulate a real disaster. The simulation provides the opportunity to become familiar with the disaster plan and how it will be carried out. Secondary Prevention Secondary prevention, or relief response, is the interventions that take place during the acute disaster stage (Rittenmeyer, 2007). Patients are triaged based on level of acuity for further treatment. If exposure to a toxin or microorganism has occurred, the nurse may be assisting with decontamination and/or applying chemical suits and respirators. As Powers (2010) mentions, nurses in the field may be assessing the needs of the community that has been affected to determine who needs shelter, food, water or vaccinations and helping them to obtain what they need. Disaster relief also includes performing rescues, relocating people who are displaced, and preventing disease and/or disability (Rittenmeyer, 2007). For instance, during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, nurses and other health care workers were deployed to assess, stabilize and evacuate patients to safer ground (Klein Nagel, 2007). Tertiary Prevention Tertiary prevention, or disaster recovery, begins when the initial crisis is over and involves long term support for the needs of the population affected by the disaster. Activities that take place during the recovery phase include rebuilding affected infrastructure, hospitalization for the injured, rehabilitation and therapy to cope with the disaster. These will vary according to the type of disaster that has occurred. Rittenmeyer (2007) states that during the recovery phase the effectiveness of the disaster plan should be evaluated and the plan then altered based on the findings. Triage Color Code System In the event of a disaster, the triage color code system is beneficial for three major reasons (Klein Nagel, 2007). First, triage determines who needs rapid medical care. Next, triage reduces the amount of patients sent  to hospitals by separating minor versus major injuries. Thirdly, triage distributes casualties among available medical facilities to keep any one facility from being deluged with patients. The system most widely used during a disaster triage is the IDME color code system. The mneumonic IDME stands for the levels of acuity of the patients. Each level is assigned a color. They are as follows according to Husted (2012): IImmediate (Red); DDelayed (Yellow); MMinimal (Green); and EExpectant (Black). The categories have criteria that the responder should be familiar with in order to triage the patients into the appropriate color. Based on the patient’s level of injury, each is given a triage tag, commonly placed on the wrist. Using this system, patients are treated in order of the urgency of their injury. The red category is reserved for critical patients. These patients are seriously injured but do have a chance of surviving. The yellow category is for patients that need first aid but should not deteriorate rapidly if care is not immediate. The green category is for patients that are considered the â€Å"walking wounded†. These patients may have minor injuries such as abrasions or contusions and can either self treat or be taken care of by a someone without medical training. The final category is the black which is for patient who is unresponsive and without a pulse or has a catastrophic chest or head injury (Husted, 2012). Types of Disasters Three types of disasters that could occur are exposure to biologic, chemical and radioactive agents. It is important that medical personnel are familiar with the types of possible toxins and agents to appropriately treat those affected while protecting themselves as well. Exposure to Biologic Agents This type of exposure is a deliberate release of a virus, bacteria or other germ (Briggs, 2006). These agents are used to cause illness or even death. They are naturally occurring agents and can be spread via inhalation, orally in food or water, or through the skin (Briggs, 2006). Examples of biologic agents, also know as bioterrorism agents, are smallpox, the plague, and anthrax. Exposure to Chemical Agents The release of a hazardous chemical that is released and may harm people’s health is termed a chemical emergency (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Chemicals can be natural or created. Examples of possible chemical health threats are nerve agents and vesicants. Nerve agents such as Sarin and VX affect nerve function. Vesicants cause erythema and vesicles on the skin and can also injure the eyes, the airway and internal organs. The nerve agent Sarin was used in 1995 in a Tokyo subway, affecting over 5,500 people (Briggs, 2006). Chemical agents are now deemed terrorist weapons. Exposure to Radiation Briggs(2006) describes ionizing radiation’s effect on the body. Radiation alters the cells in the body, damaging or killing them. External irradiation occurs when the whole body has been exposed to radiation from an external source such as an x-ray. Contamination occurs when radioactive material comes into contact with the body, either externally or internally. Contamination by radioactive agents can occur through contact with the skin, being inhaled or ingested. Conclusion Emergency preparedness is extremely important for the safety of the public. By having a disaster management plan in place, the acute disaster scene will not be just chaos but will have a sense of order amidst the mayhem. The injured will be organized by the triage color code system to ensure the treatment of those in greatest need first and delaying treatment for those that can wait. It’s important to understand the differences in biologic, chemical and radioactive exposure in order to best treat patients should an unthinkable disaster occur. References Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderlund, L., Brizee, A. (2010, May 5). General format. Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Briggs, S.M. (2006). The  ABCs of disaster medical response. International Trauma and Disaster Institute, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts. Retrieved from http://www.gs-interactive.net/ITDI/ABCs2ndEDition.pdf Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2012). Retrieved from http://www.bt.cdc.gov/hazards-specific.asp Husted, E. (2011). Principles of triage during a mass casualty incident. (PowerPoint Slides). Retrieved from http://www.ohioresponds.gov/docs/Triage.pdf Klein, K.R., Nagel, N.E. (2007). Mass medical evacuation: Hurricane Katrina and nursing experiences at the New Orleans airport. Disaster Management and Response: DMR: an official publication of the Emergency Nurses Association, 5(2), . Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17517364 Powers, R. (2010). Introduction to disasters and disaster nursing. In E. Daily (Ed.), International disaster nursing (pp. 1-10). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://www.wadem.org/documents/chapter_one.pdf Ramesh, A. C., Kumar, S. (2010). Triage, monitoring, and treatment of mass casualty events involving chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear agents. Journal of Pharmacy and BioAllied Sciences, 2(3), 239-247. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/ PMC3148628/ Rittenmeyer, L. (2007). Disaster preparedness: Are you ready?. Men in Nursing, 2(3), 18-23. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/prodev/ce_article.asp?tid=726331#

Market and situational analysis: Starbucks Coffee

Market and situational analysis: Starbucks Coffee Executive Summary Starbucks is a long history company in specialty coffee industry, established in 1971 Seattle Washington USA and traded in NASDAQ stock market since 1985 under the symbol SBUX, provided beverages e.g. high quality coffee, tea and light food items through company-owned and licensed stores in domestic market and international market all over the world with strongly focus in differentiate and innovation known by Starbucks experience together with Global Responsibility strategy; commitment to communities and employee satisfaction policy complemented in its business strategy (Starbucks, 2009). Starbucks is a fast growing company and played a major role as the leader in specialty coffee industry until in 2006 to 2007, the company growth was starting to declined and turned to negative growth since 2008. While the company was in the bad situation with the global economic crisis and forced by the strong competitors McDonalds and Dunkin Donut, Howard Schultz had return as CEO (MSNBC, 2008) a nd tried to transform Starbucks from the struggling period return to innovative and growth again (Howard, 2009). In this following report provides analysis of company mission, business strategy with Porters Generic Strategies (Michael, 1980), using Michael Porters five forces (Michael, 1979) to analyze specialty coffee industry, situation analysis with SWOT, Starbucks core competencies (C.K. Gary, 1990) and competitive advantage (Michael, 1996) examine by C.K. Prahalad Gary Hamel method and Michael Porter competitive advantage model. The report includes strategy recommendation by using TOWS matrix in conjunction with SWOT analysis and competitive advantage, and ending with Potential fallout. Company Mission To inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. (Starbucks, 2009) as Starbuckss recently mission statement. The company has the principles and concerns all stakeholders including their suppliers, employees which recognized as partners, customers, communities, shareholders and even environment. Starting from its products themselves (coffee bean, tea, cocoa), theyre passionate to find the finest sources, finest process of products with improving the quality of life of the farmers. With the feeling of partners, all employees treat with respect and pride, also the engagement with customers and sense of human connections by the friendly and warming stores atmosphere to earn their royalty and trust, responsibilities and contribution to communities and social, together with one of the important missions is environmental friendly these make them Starbucks as a leader for changes and new standards. (Starbucks, 2009) Business strategy According to Starbucks mission, their business strategy used is mainly on differentiation focus strategy (Michael, 1980), not the cost leadership strategy, which try to make the different, to be the leader and innovate new standard with their unique products and services that customer could perceived and valued better than others competitors which not easy to be copied or time needed (for some particular periods), as their named it Starbucks experience and with quite focus on particular target and market; customers whom share the same valued, required premium-level coffee, have spending ability; young urban professionals, teenage and trendy (Wikinvest, 2010) but not the pricing competition. Source: Generic Strategies Michael Porter (1980), http://www.marketingteacher.com Starbucks business strategy (differentiation focus) has been used in all processes and all stakeholders; starting from suppliers and farmers that Starbucks made the different in the way of finding the source of materials (e.g. coffee bean) at the origin places not from the secondary sources and the most significant is tried to improve farmers quality of life in the same time also got the good quality of coffee beans. Secondly, they treat the employees differently from the others whom they called partners that hope to make the different in the way of service-minded and relations. Another most important and differentiate point is the global/environment/community responsibilities as their shared value as mention by Howard Schultz, Starbucks CEO, said You dont do these things for recognition, you do these things because they are the right thing to do (Nancy, Marya, Katherine, 2008). Industry Structure As a different industry has different nature of business, competition or level of profitability (productivity and efficiency). So for better understanding in this coffee specialty industry, it could use a framework of Michael Porter, which influenced by the five forces (Michael, 1979). First, the industry competitors or rivalry among existing firms in the current situation is very high. There are a lot of coffee specially brands and stores offers in the market including independent, local or small-chain coffee house. They are also choose the variety of competition including lower pricing, products differentiate improvement (e.g. taste, technique or quality of services Caribou coffee) (Nancy et al., 2008), innovative channel or new distribution (e.g. through fast-food chain McDonalds, Dunkin Donut, digital media, social network Facebook). There are many factors that influenced the rivalry intensity of the industries such as increasing the numbers of specialty coffee stores, declined of market growth so the firms have to fight for market share or expand the market (Starbucks is also faced this factors) with the same demand or fewer buyer and crowding with new entrances (Pascal, 2009). Next, Threat of Substitutes; the substitute of the products from other industry that can cause by the economic situation or even some new concern issue, for example, health concern (Starbucks, 2009). In economic recession period, the spending and value of customers might be an important concern and with more alternatives they may choose to consume instant coffee at home instead of costly premium-quality coffee from the stores. Also with healthy concern, customer might switch to drink healthier beverage juice, milk or less/no caffeine drink such as tea, herbal tea. Third force, Bargaining power of buyer (Buyer power), in this specialty coffee industry customers are powerful because there a lot of alternative choice of stores or others type of beverages to choose with limited scope of market, as not everyone like to drink coffee. It is easy for customer to change from one product to another without difficulty so its also low switching cost; one may pass by McCafe nearby their working place and get a coffee with meal instead of walk a long way to Starbucks. Another is Bargaining power of supplier (Supplier power), that most of industry needs raw material, component, others supplies. In this case the most significant supplier for specialty coffeehouse is Coffee bean that is the main cost of the productions following by milk (Starbucks, 2009). And the premium or high-quality coffee bean usually from the specific places or proper agriculture areas so supplier power plays important role and has power in this industry so the one who understand and take these into account also can gain the advantage from the others competitor like Starbucks currently does. At last, new entrance (Barriers to entry) is the barrier or threat to enter to this specialty coffee market. When there are opportunities or increasing in the profit of an industry, we can expect to have new comer to take or those benefit. With the not too (quite low compare to some advance technical expert required industry) expensive start-up cost, it can be seen that this specialty coffee industry is easy to entry or low barrier to entry so for the ones existing in this industry have to concern and find a proper strategy to gain the advantage or create barrier for the new comer. Starbucks Situations and SWOT Analysis From the specialty coffee industry, it can be seen that this industry has high competition with low barrier for new entrants and customer switching cost to others brand or substitute product is low. So during the previous year Starbucks faced the struggling situation to growth that will explain in the following paragraph. From the study from Pascal (2009) found that the situation in which Starbucks revenue was rose slowly in 2008 and net profit fell significantly. The growth rate began to be negative the first time in 2008 since 1997. One of the reasons may come from the economy recession that reduced customer spending but in the same period some company such as McDonalds sale increased which can be assumed that customer finding for most value for the spending from the less income. Secondly, Starbuck strategy of fast store expanding especially in U.S. markets that almost every a corner in the big city had Starbuck store has to find more customer to keep up with new opened store. So in 2008 and Jan 2009, Starbuck had closed around 800 stores in U.S. and 100 stores internationally. Third, another reason was from increased rival in coffee-house business and new competitor from fast food chain restaurant; McDonald and Dunkins Donuts that have large number of stores and existing customers provided with var ieties value or economy meals and beverages. Even Starbucks tried to provide hot breakfast but finally had to stop by the customers complaint of smell detraction from coffee house environment. According to those situations, it could be use SWOT analysis to study the detail of Starbucks situation, challenges and opportunity to overcome those situations. At first, the Strengths, it can be seen that Starbucks has a strong brand name and good brand reputation (Nancy et al., 2008), Strong visionary leadership of currently CEO, Mr. Howard Schultz with experienced management team (Starbucks, 2009), Expertise and know-how in coffee house business, Well-training systems and engagement from partners (employees) and large number of distribution stores. Especially they have their own exclusive sources of coffee beans with experienced and expert team to prove the quality of materials in conjunction with researchers to improve the quality of coffee bean. In addition Starbucks has strong financial situation as can be seen from the cash flow and the increasing of dividend which will be paid in August this year (2010) (The New York Times, 2010). Secondly, the Weaknesses, Starbucks branded itself as a premium coffee for premium customers, trendy, young and teenage that limits the scope of the markets or loses the new potential customers (Wikinvest, 2010). Because of Starbucks has experienced management and has long term relation with the company, the loss of high level management can affect the current operation and strategy plan (Starbucks, 2009). Another point is that Starbucks is a fast-growing and successful company in the past decade so this make Starbucks complacent (Howard, 2009) making the company not creating new innovations in coffee business. Next weak point is that currently, there are higher turnover rate of partners (employees) that some caused by company restructuring and others by the heavier load in the stores, less connection or relation between managements and partners also causing by the fast expansion and the large number of partners (Nancy et al., 2008). Additional, Starbucks has high cost of productions especially for the coffee bean that normally 15% higher than the market price (Nancy et al., 2008) to maintain the business strategy which aim to improve quality of farmers or workers life- fair wages and research and development for the best quality of coffee beans. Furthermore, there is not too nimble to make decision and execution together with struggling in the business strategy so there are lacks of new distribution channels, partners and networks. Third, Opportunities: There is the growth trend of specialty coffee as the demand of more people drinking coffee and the trend of flavor to have a coffee at coffee house (Vending market watch, 2008). There are International market gap that still available to fulfill the demand of coffee drinking, especially in the emerging country like Russia, India and China (The Seattle Time, 2010). Another good sign is that the economic recession seems to be at the lowest point and starting to recovered (Jeremy, 2010). And with the new technology arrival, Starbucks can improve IT system from back-end processes that can provide faster and prà ©cising information helping management to react or make immediate decision to the market situations and competitors including using IT to improve the supply chain management, factory/warehouse automation or even the operation processes at the stores to improvement customer ordering process such as billing and information gathering to expand customers network and distribute information through digital media and social network like Facebook or iPhone Apple online store (Starbucks, 2009). Additional condition of the global warming and climate change situation has bring the social concern and that can make more reputations to the Starbucks as the leader in environment friendly which is one of their mission and business strategy. Forth, Threats: The economic crisis and recession change the way of consuming and spending of customers (Pascal, 2009) and also high rivalry in the coffee house industries in which the competitors can provide similar products and services with difference values and strategies like fast-food chain restaurant such as McDonalds and Dunkin Donut in addition with new entrances which have expertise of coffee brew or experienced barista in the local brand stores. Another threat is the new technology of automatic coffee machine that can provide similar quality or taste with cost competitive and convenience as the coffee house provided. One of the most important threat is the Demographic changes which the reduce of the growth rate in number of young and teenage compare the baby boomer ages that become more and more (Wikinvest, 2010) that are not Starbucks target market and not match with their strategy. The last threat may include the concern of the health of the people to drink coffee that h as caffeine, lots of sugar and fat and this issue can become the significant threat of customers switching to the substitute more healthy products. Core competencies and competitive advantage As the core competencies are the source of competitive advantage and they are lead to the development of products and services (C.K. Garry, 1990). Source: The Core Competence of the Corporation by C.K. Prahalad and Gary Hamel Starbuckss Core Competencies: From the diagram above, Starbucks uses one of its competency (e.g. expert and passionate to find the finest source of raw material) to build their core product (Coffee bean) that did not sale directly to the customers but they use it to create a large numbers of end products. It can be explored more detail of Starbucks core competencies such as: From Nancy et al. found, it can be seen that, Starbucks develop their own competency on the expertise of coffee bean selection that difficult for the competitor to copied by use their passion to find out the source of great coffee bean also with the mind of differentiate and innovation, they keep researching and developing the process to improve the way of agriculture and transfer the knowledge to the contracted farmers or worker with long-term relationship using the principle of fair wages and improving the quality of their life together with community engagement. Also with the knowledge and research development in roasting technology in their factory make them expertise in coffee bean roasting process as another competency, these make Starbucks own unique premium quality coffee beans as their first core product. From this point, Starbuck distribute this core product to different business to create varies end products; one of the business unit is Global Consumer Product Group (CPG) that responsible for the different products type of packaged coffee. Another business unit, foodservice, will distribute the coffee bean to Starbucks stores to make many type of coffee beverage drink; Cappuccino, Late, etc. (Starbucks, 2009) Additional competency that we can extract from Starbucks is their expertise in management and leadership with ethical to transfer and make all stakeholders shared the same values which include partner (employees), supplier, communities or public and customers. Some of the values are global responsibility, fair trade certified, environment friendly, engagement of partners with customer in personal level and engagement of the firm to communities. From this competency they got Starbucks brand itself as another core products. These core competency can be distribute to different business units and provide others the end products such as Starbucks coffee machine, Souvenir-Mug, Cup, Cap, T-shirt, etc. or even CDs, music and books in the name of Starbucks selections. And it can be seen that these kinds of the products also generate good revenues to the company. Starbucks competitive advantage These can be used Michael Porter Competitive advantage (Michael, 1996) to analyze Starbucks competitive advantage that he categorized into two type; Cost advantage and Differentiation. It can be seen that Starbucks position itself in differential advantage and use it as their business strategy to create competitive advantages. The detail explanation will be shown in following paragraph. Source: Competitive Advantage, Strategic Management from http://www.quickmba.com As diagram above, in order to develop competitive advantage the firm must to have resource and capabilities know to utilize the resource in efficiency way, in this case Starbucks has superior resources than others competitors as mentioned in their core competency, they have strong brand and firm reputation, knowledge or expertise in specialty coffee process and business including royalty and good networking in the value chain suppliers, licensed stores and customers that not easy or very few competitor and gain similar resources. With the capabilities to utilize or bring their products and services to the market faster than competitors, those make them has the distinctive competencies (QuickMBA, n.d.). Compare to a competitor like Caribou Coffee which has fewer resources fewer stores network (less than 5% of Starbucks) (Wikinvest, 2010) and less capabilities (slower expansion stores growth rate) to bring products or innovation to the market. While compared to the potential competitor such as McDonald that has good similar resources, brand reputation in food-services and with more stores networks than Starbucks but there still some resources (know-how of coffee brew and coffee bean) Starbucks has more superior than McDonald. Even McDonald has almost the same capabilities to use those resources but they choose to use cost advantage as their strategy that opposite with Starbucks. Combining with the value that Starbucks created in the value chain system (upstream value created with suppliers, social and downstream to customer) that perceived by the customer has overall more value and differentiate than McDonald. Strategy recommendations Currently, most of Starbucks strategy are tried to create differentiate and tried to use Blue Ocean Strategy with pursuit differentiation and cost advantage (low-cost) in the same time (W. Chan Renee, 2004). So from the SWOT (TOWS) analysis in section 5 above, strategy recommendation might be developed using TOWS Matrix (Heinz, n.d.) as Source: The TOWS Matrix A tool for Situation Analysis, Heinz Weihrich, University of San Francisco First, as the opportunities in the growth of coffee drinking markets, Starbucks could use their strength in Brand reputation to build more brand awareness to new potential customers by using various type of medias include digital media especially in social network that might increase stronger network and royalty, in which Starbucks currently does it (Willis, 2010) but these would cover only the target which customers involving in the social network such as teenage and young adult so they should expand more target market to ones who still use the traditional way of media including TV, Magazines or Sport or communities activities. Also create more social responsibility activities and interaction between customers and the company. Another opportunities is to fulfill in international market that compare to the current ratio of domestic stores in U.S. (11,128) and international stores (5,507) that only a half compare inly in U.S market (Starbucks, 2009). As their strength in knowledge and experience in Specialty Coffee industry, strong management training procedure and financial situation, they should focus more in international expansion, finding local experienced partner that understanding and knowledgeable in customers in that local market. Additional strategy recommended is using Maxi-Mini which utilize strengths to minimize threats is that, as they are strong in Brand, knowledge to find the own sources of coffee bean and strong financial position by using cost advantage strategy in this economic recession, Starbucks may create additional second brand which they are started to have another brand named Seattles Best Coffee (Starbucks, 2010) distribute to different channel such their new fast food chain partner, Burger King, to compete and try to get additional market share in this sectors also create a barrier for the new local coffee brew to entrance to this industry too. And as their strength in quality coffee bean, Starbucks may create more varieties products to serves new target market to minimize the change of demographic situation that more senior citizen or baby boomer ages that have different value and life style these products may include premium quality coffee bean packages and Starbucks automatic brew coffee machine which they can make their own high quality at home and new distribution channel (not only sell in Starbucks stores) such as discount stores to supply instant soluble coffee and packaged coffees bean, even Starbucks already had this kind of products such as VIA, TAZO (Starbuck, 2010) but in the target market and focus still so strong to aim at this population changed as were not easily see those products in currently situation. One more strategies to minimize the weakness by take advantage of the opportunities that are: first, even Starbucks has faced the drop in revenue growth during economic recession but there are opportunities for them to improve their business to be more productivity using new opportunities in new IT system technology that can help them to improve customer satisfaction in the process of the stores, ordering, billing and customer feedback also provide fast and precise information for manager to make decision such as additional partners (employees) in peak period or in crowded stores by those technology include semi-automatic coffee brew machine to reduce overload task of employee that can improve partners satisfaction and reduce turnover rate. Also free WIFI-internet available (Rick, 2010) for customer while waiting and crate new attraction for customers to spend frequently time at Starbucks. Another strategy recommends minimizing weakness and avoiding threat, which Starbucks has experienced and good management team as their strength also its the weakness of them if they are lost good management team, so to minimize this effect of management turnover, they have to make sure that they have prepared successors or executive trainees to be ready to take in charge. To minimize partners (employees) turn over caused by over loaded task at store, they have to improve employees satisfaction, proper workload, improved skilled by provide well-training course, valued creation and attractive benefits. In the same time, avoiding some threats such as customers health concerned by provide more choice in healthy options like Low-sugar, Sugar-free, low-fat, decaffeinate on beverages and snacks/meals. An another important threat is the changed in demographic of Higher number of seniors and reduced number of teenage or adults that can overcome by prepared additional or wider range of product s and services to match with their life style such as more healthy drinks- fruit juice, high-calcium milk product beverages and warm friendly (not too trendy) classical with senior facilities-easy accessible comfortable chair/table at stores. Potential fallout According to the suggestions and solutions in which some of them are using different business strategy and competitive strategy (Michael P., 1980); Differentiate and Cost advantage, in the same time and same industry may create conflict each other or create others issue (Constantinosc Daniel, 2010) or even bring the company to get stuck in the middle (Michael P., 1996) so Starbucks has to concern some of this consequence that could go wrong and make problems in the future such as: As the recommended strategy they might have more distribution channels (Stores, discount/convenience store, second brand Seattles best and fast-food chain restaurants), variety of products (In-store, Ready-to-Drink, Soluble, packaged bean and meals) and different type of international expansion (Starbucks own stores, Licensing and franchising). One issue that may occur is the Channel conflict which cause by the new way of provided products and services or over productions or product substitutions such as less consume at store increasing soluble and packaged coffee bean make at home might that may drop the demand of in the store and rising the coffee sale in discount store that harm some of channels. Increasing sale through fast-food chain restaurant such as Burger King and Subway (Carol, 2010) but reduce revenue from the Starbuckss own stores or even decreasing the partner (licensed/Franchise) relationship. More than that the recommendation strategy to make new innovation, differentiation by create more Social/global responsibility, research and development, suppliers and partner satisfaction and used of new technology as customer satisfaction are more costly to the production and with the concern of cost advantage for simultaneous use of differentiation and low cost (W.Chan Renee, 2004) to create more value to customer, efficiency and stretch all the resources are important and some of them may lose from this process that may damage brand reputation or even lost the value or culture of the company (Constantinos Daniel, 2010). At last, as the current situation in August, 2010 of Starbucks leading by Mr. Howard Schultz, it seems that Starbucks has got back into the track which has the positive growth in both sales and profits (The New York Times, 2010) and will have new innovation products and services launched in sooner days.

Beef Customer Satisfaction :: essays research papers

Executive Director, Issues Management — NCBA Summary The checkoff-funded beef safety tracking survey conducted in November 2004 found that fresh beef steaks/roasts remained the protein with the highest consumer confidence in safety. The survey asks consumers to give grades to foods for being safe to eat and 76 percent of survey respondents gave steak/roast an A or B for safety. Background The beef safety tracking surveys are quarterly telephone surveys of a national, random sample of U.S. adults. Vegetarians do not answer the survey. The margin of error for survey data is plus/minus 3.2 percent. General food safety The percentage of Americans giving U.S. food in general an A or B for safety has remained relatively stable with some small fluctuations in the past year. However, this survey found the percentage of A/B grades (70%) significantly lower than in November 2003 (74%) and at the lowest score since November 2002 (69%). The November 2004 score is much lower than the 77 percent measured during the last survey in May 2004. Safety of specific fresh foods The safety ratings for specific fresh foods remained stable during the past year with no significant differences in the ratings in November 2004. Fresh fruits and vegetables are consistently at the top of the list when it comes to safety grades given to specific fresh foods one might buy in a grocery store. Fresh beef steaks and roasts receive the highest meat product safety grade (76%). Tied for second place with 70 percent of consumers grading A or B were fresh pork chops and microwaveable foods. Foods with lower consumer safety grades were fresh ground beef (64%), fresh chicken (63%), fresh fish (60%), fresh ground pork (56%) and pre-prepared foods from the deli (52%). Specific concerns regarding food safety The safety tracking survey asks consumers to rate their level of concern about specific safety issues on a 5-point scale, with one being not concerned and five being extremely concerned. The percentage of â€Å"top two† scores (4-5 ratings on the scale) indicate the issues of greatest concern. Safety issues tend not to be top of mind with consumers, evidenced by the fact that safety issues barely register when consumers state reasons for eating less beef. However, when asked to think about specific safety concerns, bacteria (62%) and pesticides (62%) top the list. Consumer concerns about chemical additives (58%) and mad cow disease (57%) make up a second tier of safety concerns. Concerns about mad cow disease did not increase significantly as a result of the first U.S. case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in December 2003, and in fact, currently are significantly lower than the 61 percent concern level measured in November 2003.

Investigating for Cations and Anions :: Papers

Investigating for Cations and Anions In this experiment I will investigate what cations and anions are present in various compounds. This will include carrying out a qualitative analysis, because I need to find out what type of cations and anions are there and not quantitative analysis, which includes finding out how much of each element there is. Safety Points:  · Wear glasses  · Wear gloves  · Do not mix more than two solutions  · Only mix the solutions listed by the teacher  · Handle the chemicals with extreme care  · Put the chemical solutions into a test-tube which is resting on a test-tube holder  · Follow school lab safety procedures. Materials:  · Various chemicals.  · Test tubes.  · Boiling tubes.  · Pipettes.  · Test tube holder.  · Bench mat. Method  · I first copied the chemical solutions listed.  · I put on some gloves and safety glasses.  · I got a test-tube holder and placed five test-tubes in it. Cations  · I added the test solutions Copper Chloride to the test-tube.  · To this I added a few drops of Sodium Hydroxide solution. After the few drops a pale blue precipitate of Copper Hydroxide appeared that indicated the presence of Cu ions.  · I then added the test solution Iron Chloride to the second test-tube.  · To this I added a few drops of Sodium Hydroxide.  · After that a brown precipitate of Iron Hydroxide appeared that indicated the presence of Fe ions.  · To the 3rd test-tube, I added the solution Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate and added Dilute Sodium Hydroxide.  · I quickly covered the test-tube with a delivery tube and put the end of it into another test-tube with limewater.  · The limewater turned a cloudy/milky colour which indicated that there was CO present. Anions  · In the 4th test-tube, I poured the solution Copper Chloride into the test-tube.

Florida- Blind, Deaf, and Dumb Essay

Coleman already knew one thing for sure about his future, and that was that he wanted to make educating children his life’s work. Coleman knowing about the lack of educational decrees in Florida decided to take the opportunity to advantage, by writing to Governor William D. Bloxham asking for a sum of $20,000 minimum appropriation to start a school for the deaf and blind. Coleman’s hopes came true when in 1883 Florida’s legislature establishes an institution for blind and deaf children for two years at $20,000. The location of the school was put to a biding between the towns in Florida. Captain Edward E. Vaill offered St. Augustine the biggest bid of $1,000 and 5 acres. The original three wood buildings were erected by contractor William A. MacDuff at $12,749. The school was completed in December 1884. The first class entered in 1892 with 62 students. The two first graduates were both deaf, their names were Artemas W. Pope of St. Augustine and Cora Carlton of Island Grove. The two later married and became parents of Florida Senator Verle A. Pope. The first blind student graduated in 1908. The first African American graduates were Louise Jones a blind student in 1914, and Cary White a deaf student in 1925. The school originally only had 5 trustees in 1905, until 1963 were there were 7. Taylor Hardwick began construction on new dormitories in late 1958 and opened in 1959. The school is now the largest of its type in the U. S. The school now has 47 buildings and 72 acres. The school’s annual budget is over $30 million dollars. The schools no longer an boarding school but, now a public school. It’s the only school in Florida that is pre-school through 12th grade. It also has a post-secondary program. The school is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges, and Schools. The Conference of Education Administrators serving the deaf, and the National Accreditation Council for Agencies Serving the Blind and visually handicapped. The school has two departments: the Deaf department, and the Blind department. The school also has outreach programs for parents, teachers, and other staff in small and rural school districts in Florida. The also has a healthcare center on campus for students, as well as two well-appointed auditoriums. The school boasts the Copeland recreation and fitness center, which is specially designed and constructed for the blind. The center is the site of the annual USABA’s youth national goalball tournament. Not only that but blind high school students get state of the art sound system within the school. The school has 11 sports you can join at the school: Football, Soccer, Volleyball, Basketball, Little League Baseball, Track, Cross Country, Swimming, Goalball, Wrestling, and Cheerleading. They have preforming arts groups, the deaf department has a traveling dance troupe, and the blind department has a band known as the OuttaSight. The school also has several clubs: the blind skier, academic bowl team (competitive), and a traveling math club called MathCounts. -Notable Alumni- * Ray Charles- He learned to read braille here. When he went to the school it was known as the Institute for the Blind, Deaf and Dumb. * Ashley Fiolek- A very well-known rider in motocross racing. * Marcus Roberts- A famous Jazz pianist. -My Perspective- I really enjoyed researching and writing this essay. Originally the essay was supposed to be about all deaf culture related things in Florida but, as I started one of the things that kept popping up was the Florida school for the Deaf and Blind. Since it kept popping up I clicked on it and was amazed that it was in St. Augustine (which is where I was going to go for spring break), and that it was the oldest school for the deaf in Florida. All of a sudden I knew that I wasn’t doing my project on the deaf culture in Florida but instead a certain school for the deaf in Florida. Then I realized I had to make a decision; the schools name is the school for the Deaf and Blind. Meaning I would have to decide if I wanted to do my project on the school as a whole which means the Deaf and Blind, or just the Deaf department. As you already know (because hopefully you read the essay) I choose to both. The reason I choose to do both is because if I’m writing (or typing) this essay about the school than I’m going to write about the school in a whole. When I saw the school in person was when I finally realized just how big 47 buildings and 72 acres is. the school is huge and looked like it could swallow are school times two. I wasn’t able to go into the school. I was also surprised that I didn’t see that many people who were either deaf or blind from what I could tell at least. I do remember seeing this one girl who was deaf a couple times, I think she might have been a tourist though because I saw her at a tourist spot. The first time I say her we were sitting across from each other at a restaurant. My dad kept telling me to go say hi, and I swear I told him a million times that I couldn’t and that it would be considered rude. All in all I feel extremely pleased with what I came up with for this essay, and I hope you are too.