The Marriage Contract Essay Example

The Marriage Contract Essay A wedding is something that most little girl’s dream of having one day. The perfect dress, the perfect flowers, and the perfect man is what they see their wedding day consisting of. The wedding is the beginning of marriage, and there are certain things that I would like from my dream man so that we can have a â€Å"perfect† marriage. A marriage, to me, is a relationship between two equal beings who want to spend their rest of their lives together. I believe that both of us should be treated equal in the relationship, and the power is split between us. . I believe it is important to have a marriage contract between my future husband and I because I would like to see if we believe in the same things. Do we see eye to eye or close to on how we want the household run or do we want children? As we get older, we’ll probably need to redo the contract to fit our changing lifestyle. We’ll probably need one for how we want to raise our children and how the household duties will be run when we have children running around. Another time we may need to revise it is if we get to busy for each other. I would like to still have a marriage when I have children. We will write a custom essay sample on The Marriage Contract specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Marriage Contract specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Marriage Contract specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer I see how some people forget about their spouses because they get so involved with work and children. There may be other times when we need to revise this marriage contract because our lives may change with children, a possible loss of a job, or anything that’s life altering which will cause a need to fix it. At this point in my life my marriage contract will state that I would like for us both to have solid jobs. I think it’s important to both have jobs so that neither of us is supporting each other. It’s possible when we have children this feeling may alter to work best for our lifestyle. For the time being though, I don’t want to be taking care of my husband, nor do I want him to take care of me. Since I would like to be a teacher, I shouldn’t have too many issues with my job being too demanding. If his job is more demanding than I’ like, I would want him to make up for it on his days off. If he had to travel a whole bunch I don’t know if I could continue the marriage, unless it was only for a short period of time. So that would have to be discussed if it ever came about. If his job caused him to move, I would agree to move with him after my school year was done. I on’t have a problem with moving around a lot if his job is pays well, because I would be willing to volunteer around the community rather than working a full time job. I want to be a part of something outside my marriage whether it’s job or volunteering. When it comes to friends, I think it’s very important to have friends who are couples. I grew up where my parents would always hang out with other couples and it really worked out nicely for them. They would go on two or three vacations a year with each other and if both of their families couldn’t make it for holidays we would all spend it together. I would want that for my marriage, so that I don’t feel like we can’t go out together with groups. I would also like to have to opportunity to have our friends over to our place. If we decide to go out separately, as a girls or guys night out, I would expect a text here and there about what’s going on and who they’re with. It would also depend on where the trust level is in the relationship, because that may change how one of us feels about the other going out. Another problem, if there is trust issues, is if we have friends of the opposite sex. I tend to have friends that are guys, so I would have to be okay with him having girls for friends. However, our best opposite sex friend should be each other. I once had a counselor who told my boyfriend and I that it’s okay to have friends of the opposite sex but they can never be your best friend because it never works out unless you marry your best friend. All in all, I want us to have friends outside of each other, because I feel that is a very important factor in maintain a healthy relationship. Religion is a huge part of my life, and I would like for my husband to be on the same page as me. I have no religion except for the belief in Agnosticism, but I love visiting new churches and speaking with members so I can understand more. One day, I would like to settle on some belief, possibly when children come into the picture, but I want to have similar beliefs. I was raised Christian, so I would like to think that one day I’ll go back to that train of thought, so I would like him to possibly know Christianity. I want us both to be open minded when it comes to religion, and I do not want a man who pushes his religion on me. When we have down time, such as the weekend, I would like us to have some things we do together and some we do separate. I think it’s important to have our own identity where we have different interest, but I also think it’s important to have things we enjoy doing together. As for vacations, I don’t believe they should be taken without each other, unless it’s to see our family. I believe vacations are meant for single people or families, and if you looking to enjoy yourself, you can do so with your spouse. If both of us are working, I think we should have separate accounts and one shared account. Every pay check we put a set amount in our own account that we get to spend on whatever we’d like. Then we put the rest of our pay check into a shared account and with that money we pay our bills. Any extra money in that account is only usable if we both agree on what it’s being spent on. With this set up we have our own money and we both contribute to paying for our expenses. No one can get mad about unnecessary spending, such as video games or brunch with the girls. As for credit cards, we have separate ones that we pay for out of our own account. If one of us needs to borrow money I’d be more than willing to help them, unless they were out of control with their own spending. I don’t want to deal with someone who isn’t finically stable or at least knows how to control their spending. Household chores aren’t very important to me. I don’t mind cleaning and I don’t mind picking up after someone else. The only time it would play a major role is when I cleaning for something or someone and I want to clean very well. I would expect help around the house if someone was coming to visit or if we were having a party, but even then I wouldn’t care if I did most of the work. I’m not concerned when it comes to household responsibilities, so I’d be willing to take that responsibility on. I want to find someone who wants to start having kids before the age of thirty-five. I don’t really have a preference at this point in time on how many kids I want, but I would like to find someone open-minded and not set on what they want. As long as my partner is willing to negotiate about how many children we want and when they want them I will be willing to find a medium with him. When raising our children I would like to maintain a more authoritative parenting style. I would like my husband to have the same style or close to. I do not want a man who cannot connect with his children, and I also do not want a man who wants to be his child’s friend. I feel like there needs to be a middle ground. I also don’t want my kids to think I’m the push over or think I’m the bad cop compared to their dad. I want them to see us as an equal parent because I think it’s important to raise a strong family. I love moving and traveling so I wouldn’t mind moving around a whole bunch the only objection I would have is I couldn’t live in a small town. A small suburb would be fine, but no country towns. If we didn’t move a lot I would want a house or a large apartment. I want animals so a place for them to run around is important to me. Ideally I would like to live somewhere in Europe or Canada, but if that’s not an option living anywhere cold is what I want the most. I also don’t want to find ourselves ever moving in with other family members, because I feel like you need to make it on your own. I’m not too particular on the living arrangements as long as we can agree that living in the heat is not an option unless we move a lot. My husband is my husband and I am his wife. We do not share each other with other people and I have no desire to explore other options. So if that’s what he wants than I would have to end things. I think also if that it’s something he believes in but would be willing to change I would still end things because it shows he doesn’t respect the monogamy of marriage and would easily slip up. Anything outside of monogamy is just not an option for me. If an abortion was necessary or unnecessary I would want my husband to be okay with it like I am. If he did what I wanted I would feel fully responsible for taking a child’s life. If he was against it I would feel pressured to give birth to a child I wasn’t ready for. There are just too many different situations that could occur that I would want my husband to feel open to the idea of abortion if it was needed. I could never be with someone who didn’t want pets or at least allow me to have pets. I don’t want a zoo but I don’t want to feel like I can’t own a pet if I want one. I have a dog currently who is an inside dog and if my husband wasn’t okay with that, I wouldn’t be okay with him. Animals are a huge part of my life and I wouldn’t be with someone without them. When it comes to in-laws, I don’t want to live with them and I don’t want them to live with me. I feel like it causes too much stress on the relationship which will lead to problems in the relationship. I also don’t think it’s healthy for the relationship between parent and child. So unless it’s necessary that they move in then it’s not an option for me. If I was put on life support I would want to be let go because of the financial struggle to will cause my husband and the pain it will cause us both to suffer. If he was put on life support I would ask what he wants before it happens and try to follow his wishes. I can’t say I’ll be strong enough to let him go because I’ve never been through it, but I would hope I can be strong enough for him. On thing that is very important to me is traveling. Traveling is something I’ve always wanted to do and I want to find someone with that same passion. If they had no interest in it or didn’t have to the funds I don’t know if I could make things work because I think it’s import to find someone who shares your dreams. If they don’t share dreams with you, you may grow to resent them. I want to enjoy my life traveling and exploring with my husband so we can grown together. These are most if not all the things I would like to be present in my marriage, and I hope to find someone who is on the same page as me. If they don’t agree on most if not all I’ll have to make the decision between changing my views or possibly finding someone else who meets more to my needs. Finding someone you care about and someone who agrees on your points of view is important to marriage.

WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES by Philip Gourevithc essays

WE WISH TO INFORM YOU THAT TOMORROW WE WILL BE KILLED WITH OUR FAMILIES by Philip Gourevithc essays BOOK REVIEW Gourevitch, Philip. We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with our Families. My presentation today is over Philip Gourevitch book "We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with our Families" First I will shortly say a little bit what the book is about, then I am going to tell how its got its title, after that I will tell about Rwanda in general, and finally I will talk about the Hutus and Tutsis. In the book "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families", Mr. Gourevitch explains why the Rwandan genocide should not be written off as just another tribal dispute. The stories in this book are both the authors and the people he interviews, as he repeatedly visits Rwanda in an attempt to make sense of what happened. Some of the people he interviewed include: a Tutsi doctor who has seen much of her family killed over decades of Tutsi oppression, a hotel manager who hid hundreds of refugees from certain death, and a Rwandan bishop who has been accused of supporting the slaughter of Tutsi schoolchildren. The title, "We wish to inform you that tomorrow we will be killed with our families," comes from a letter that was sent in the midst of the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 by seven Tutsi pastors, members of Rwanda's Tutsi minority. They were inside a church where they'd taken refuge, as many Rwandans who were slated for death did, and at that point, everybody in the Tutsi minority was slated for death. They'd taken refuge in the church headquartersthis was an Adventist church in western Rwanda. And they had been told that they were slated to be massacred the next day. So these pastors got together and they wrote a letter to the president of the Adventist Church, who was also a pastor and a Hutu and the president of the church for this entire region. So they wrote, `Dear leader, we hope that you're well i ...

International Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

International Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example Thus an ice-cream brand for high-income consumers seems apparently senseless. The other two variables left would be benefits sought and age group. The target market for this ice-cream is adults above 30 who have children. This means this market indirectly targets the bulk of the population as the thirty year olds are likely to pass on the ice-cream to their children and to adults in the house The kind of marketing segmentation strategy that will be used would be undifferentiated market segmentation strategy. Undifferentiated marketing strategy is one in which the company ignores all the segments in the market and appeals to the market with a single basic product. While a focus market could be defined for instance premium ice-cream, but that won’t be wise at this stage as this is not a known company and is just a startup. It will confine the analysis and will restrict us from selling to all price-categories. (Kotler, 2008) Qs 2: Competitive Analysis In Argentina most ice-cream parlors are opting for 250g pots today. Instead of sharing a 1 kg pot, consumers tend to opt for their preferred choice. Nestle had for long been the market leader in ice-cream in Argentina. Its retail value share stood at 15% as of 2009.Nestle’s huge distribution network has been the primary reason behind its success and it continues to attract significant brand loyalty. The two primary competitors that we will face would be in Buenos Aries – Grido Helado and Un Altra Volta. Grido Helado offers a wide range of flavors of ice cream from Vanilla to Flan to pine-apple ice-cream. The company currently has 9 stores operating in Buenos Aires and that’s where we will be marketing too. Their ice-cream is pretty moderately priced. We will also be facing stiff competition from Freddo. Their brand is cheaply priced and their cheapest ice-cream is available at 6 USD. The competition in the market is intense and tough. The ice cream market in Argentina is definitely competi tive and lustrous. Not only are the Argentine people known for their excellent high grade beef and wine but they are also renowned for their delicious ice cream and gelato products available. Price is also a threat that Dipping Dots might face after the craze has drown from the initial grand openings. Ice cream in Buenos Aires ranges from $1 to $4.5 in exclusive ice cream shops. The medium price for Dipping Dots ice cream is between $3.50 for a small dish. This might be a barrier for low income folks in Buenos Aires. Another threat they might face might entail with copy cats later on, since the product is so unique there is also not a particular patent preventing anyone else from copying the distinguished ice cream dots it is so famous for taking away its truly unique quality. Qs 3 Marketing Objectives: To slowly and gradually build the market share to 10% at least towards the end of the second year. Create awareness about Dipping dots by conducting low-cost promotional activities. Since our target audience comprises of thirty plus adults of who use internet as a medium of communication, information, etc, we are creating awareness for our product by placing ads on free classifieds sites, by making commercials and placing them on free video submission site. Moreover, social networks such as Facebook and twitter are used to spread the message across. Capitalize on the opportunities available in Argentina and churn out varied flavors of the ice-cream

Monachy of the Middle ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Monachy of the Middle ages - Essay Example At this point leadership followed the Roman standard of having an Emperor, who took power through being named as successor or through overthrowing the previous successor. At the start of the early middle ages, Justinian I (who ruled from 527-565) was able to restore some of the western territories to the empire, however most remained under Germanic control. The Macedonian dynasty rose to power in 867, cementing the influence of what remained of the Roman Empire1. Those in the West were considered to be barbarians, and any advances that they made were scorned or ignored. The Germanic monarchy in the West was formed from the leaders of tribes and this was often known as the Barbaric Monarchy. Unlike in the East, there was no single leader; instead there were multiple kings, each of whom had to follow three functions. These were: to act as a leader at the time of warfare, as a judge during assemblies and as a priest when sacrifice was needed. Unlike the system in Eastern Europe, under G ermanic monarchy, all sons had equal right to rule. This often resulted in co-rulership of the tribes. Under Germanic monarchy, there were three levels, similar to the class system present in the Roman Empire; these were the king, the nobility and the free man2. The Late Middle Ages (c. 1300-1500 CE) were differentiated by a strong advancement in the level of knowledge and cultural attainment that were obtained. In addition, towns were becoming established as self-sustaining entities that were distinct from one another. Social unrest was prevalent with much of the population being lost through plagues and famines. The influence of monarchs and ruling powers over their citizens was substantially decreased as the consequent of the development of state laws3. These laws were designed to ease the growing civil unrest by providing civilians with reassurance, and by the creation of a system that was distinct from the whims and desires of the monarch. Nevertheless, the monarch remained the predominant power within the Late Middle Ages, determining which laws were established and which were not. Consequently, the Late Middle Ages differed from the Early Middle Ages through the development of more consolidated monarchies and increases in the rights of citizens. The creation of state laws allowed for the application of justice that was relevant to the case in question. Part Two: The Role of Religion on Western Civilization Religious activities have had a significant impact on the formation and development of the Western civilization between the years of 1050 and 1690 CE. One source of this influence was the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was not the only strong religious influence of the Middle Ages, another was Judaism and Christianity in general as well as the Protestant religion. In 1054, an event known as the East-West Schism saw the division of the roman church into two divisions, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. This was the first developme nt of the Catholic Church as its own entity. The Catholic Church exerted powerful influence on the lives of citizens determining many of the ways in which they interacted and what they could and could not do. An example of this is contraception. Contraception was considered immoral under the Catholic religion, and consequently no member was allowed to use any method of birth control. The result was

TEENAGE SEXUAL HEALTH AND CRITICAL INCIDENT Essay

TEENAGE SEXUAL HEALTH AND CRITICAL INCIDENT - Essay Example unintended pregnancy, related policies and legislation of the United Kingdom government towards child and adolescent protection, and a critical analysis of John’s Model of Reflection 1995, towards improved nursing practice in the field of teenage sexual health. Sexual Health is defined by the Family Planning Association as â€Å"the capacity and freedom to enjoy and express sexuality without exploitation, oppression, physical or emotional harm†. Sexual health is stated to be an important part of physical and mental health. Together with other fundamental rights, it is a key part of our identity as human beings. According to Bekaert (2005: 86), the essential elements of good sexual health include access to information and services to avoid the risk of unintended pregnancy, illness or disease. Sexual intercourse at a younger age and poor condom use have led to increased rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the teenage group, states Bekaert (2005: 14). The government has responded to the general increase in STIs with the national strategy for sexual health and HIV. It recommends the promotion of sexual health and of mainstream sexual health services to decrease the incidence of STIs. 20% to 30% of teenage females diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection acquire another disease within eighteen months. The consequences of infection with an STI vary according to the infection. They can include increased risk of cervical cancer, pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy and infertility. With acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the individual is susceptible to opportunistic infections and will ultimately die. The consequences of STIs can be worse for teenagers as they tend to present late for treatment, have a poor knowledge of STIs and have unrealistic perceptions of their risks. The risk factors for contracting sexually transmitted diseases are: male sex, young age, early age at first intercourse, number of partners, ethnic

Brand Extensions In An FMCG Sector

Brand Extensions In An FMCG Sector Brand Extensions are a vital element for a business and it has become a very common practice for the companies, especially in the FMCG sector to grow in its sales and profit targets. Although, how much ever advantages brand extension possesses, it can still be of major risks in terms of brand dilution and its equity (Loken John, 1993). Understanding the consumers better is what adds of significant value or if not could lead to major failures. Brand owners or managers need to have a very thorough and holistic approach in this without damaging their brand image and equity built over the years. The purpose of this article is to find how Indian customers evaluate brand extensions within an FMCG context; How significantly different are they in respect of evaluations of their competitors around the world? Most significantly how well does the present literature on the topic of brand evaluations of brand extensions fit within the context of Indian consumers? As launching a new product takes considerable amount of time and money, companies are adopting brand extension strategy in order for them to achieve growth. Major FMCG (Fast moving consumer goods) companies like Unilever and P G, the use of brand extension is quite common as they concentrate on big brand names in order to generate sales. The logic of brand extension is that the brands value to consumers reduces the cost of market launch by gaining readier acceptance than creation of a new brand (Barwise Robertson, 1992, pp.277). The key reason for choosing this topic is to know how Indian consumers evaluate brand extensions in an FMCG context. This is relevant seeing the significant economic growth the country is experiencing even when other nations are struggling to recover from the global economic downturn. Furthermore, Indias economic growth is projected to reach 10% in couple of years and expected to beat China in the next four years (The Hindu, Business Line.com). 1.2 Motivation for choice for this topic Customer based brand equity occurs when the customer is familiar with the brand and holds some favourable, strong and unique brand associations in memory (Keller, 1993, pp.02). If a company chooses a wrong category of extension, then it can lead to a negative image of the parent brand. Lack of communication for promoting a new product can devaluate the Brand Equity as the wrong criteria of category extensions can create the perception of diminishment in the value of the brand. This article explores to find out as to which brands are more likely to succeed as brand extensions into new categories within the Indian packaged consumer goods environment. This could be better understood by understanding if certain established Indian FMCG brands be extended into other FMCG categories that they do not currently compete more successfully than newer brands? How do Indian customers actually seek to evaluate brand extensions and does this differ from greater literature covered in this topic? Introduction Across the globe, many companies are stretching the brand across different product areas to gain confidence to customers. In the UK a very prominent example is the Virgin group. With one single brand Virgin, the founder and CEO of the group, Richard Branson and his team have introduced and promoted so many diverse kinds of products, starting from airlines to mobile phone to Virgin Active. Since the start of the Virgin group in 1970s, Virgin has at the moment over 200 companies under its belt (Virgin.com). The success behind all this rapid expansion of the company according to its CEO is simply by its brand extension strategy. This article focuses influences on the type of brand on customer perception of the proposed brand extension and how distant each particular brand can be extended. A large percentage of brand extensions like the Virgin Cola end up as major failures. This has a very high influence in harming the reputation of the brand as well. To summarise this article discusses both on a existing literature on the topic and to know how Indian customers evaluate brand extensions? 2.1 Strategic framework of Brand Extensions Due to an ever increasing competition, brand marketers seek to achieve growth while reducing the cost of both new product introduction and the risk of new product failure (Swaminathan et al., 2001). Usually well managed brand extensions, cannot only help in reinforcing brand meaning but can also help to build up brand equity. However, a concern for many managers is its failure in the same way as how new products fail in the market. With the global recession recovering at a very slow rate, all kinds of luxury goods have been going on sale at very low prices. Prada is an example where there has been a tremendous decrease in its appeal in recent years. Although its runaway couture is pretty well made, but it bags are just another way to make money out of its brand name. These bags are not being sold for nearly more than half the price of its selling value. Due to the brand equity held by major brands, many risk not to extend their brands into new categories, mainly due to the equity held by these brands. Like that of Prada, many companies seek to launch into new brand names often failing in the process. There are another group that leap in without even understanding what exactly the customer wants and leading to a very high risk if they can be successful in their approach or not. New product launch criteria will require a very careful thought as to which and how the branding strategy needs to be applied, with which a new brand could be launched successfully. Furthermore, in the market today, the centre of attention among brand managers is rapidly moving towards leveraging those brands in their existing portfolio of branded products. 2.2 Key Objective of Investigation This article investigates on how consumers view the stretchability of existing Indian FMCG brands across multiple product categories. Can established and emerging Indian FMCG brands be extended successfully into new product categories, not related to the core brand? 2.3 Dissertation Structure The basic structure of this dissertation is as outlined below in the diagram:- Introduction Literature Review Methodology Findings and Discussion Conclusions, Recommendations Further Research References Appendix 2.4 Limitations This article is limited to investigating whether there is coherence between the recommendations in the literature and the findings from the research on how the consumers evaluate brand extensions in the Indian FMCG environment. Literature Review 3.1 The Objective of the literature review The main objective will be to understand in greater depth the key drivers that impact upon brand extension acceptance or non-acceptance in a new product category, the dilution/improvement of the brand image due to new extension and the effect that congruent and incongruent brand extensions have on customers perceptions of the core brand (Thorbjà ¸rnsen, 2005). Furthermore, a critical evaluation of previous works, in order to find a thorough consistency of thought on this topic. In this way, the reader can get a theory base pertaining to my literature review. According to Hofstee (2006), a good literature review shows:- The author is aware of what is going on the field There is a theory base on what the author intends doing How the authors work fits in with what has been already done in the past The work has a significant value This work will lead to a new knowledge 3.2 An Introduction to Brand Extension Brand Extension is the use of established brand names to enter completely new product categories (Aaker Keller 1990). It is the most frequently used branding strategy in business reality (Và ¶lckner Sattler 2006). In contrast Kotler, 1991 states that a brand extension strategy is any effort to extend a successful brand name to launch new or modified products or lines. Brand extension strategy can help companies leverage on its existing brand equity both within and the original category of products. Although, the profitability of brand extensions is not guaranteed, due to the high failure rate of 80% FMCGs (Mahajan et al,.2000 and Và ¶lckner Sattler, 2006). Kim, 2003 states that there are two broadly classified extension strategies namely:- Line Extension: A new Product within a current product category; Category Extension: A new product in a different product category, currently served by the parent brand; Close Extension/ Remote Extension: Distance of extension from the parent brands is uniquely and strongly associated. Tauber, 1981 states:- Franchise Extensions: To explain the phenomenon of leveraging the existing brands into new categories. Although all the above discussed extensions are quite clear in theory, the limits are much less clear in practice. For Example: Diet Pepsi could be placed in a new, narrower category of diet drinks, colas or carbonated soft drinks etc. Tauber, 1988 lists the below 7 types of brand extensions, a company should adopt:- Same Product in different form: When the company changes the form of the product from the original parent product; Example: Snickers Ice-Cream Bar or Mars Chocolate Thick Shake. Distinctive taste/ ingredient/ component in the new item: When a brand owns a flavour, ingredient or a component that the company owns and making it part of an item in a new category; Example: Kraft extended distinctive taste of Philadelphia into Philadelphia Cream Cheese Salad Dressing. Companion Products: Same brand extension of what the company actually makes; Example: Colgate Dental Tooth Paste with Colgate Tooth Brush. Same Customer Franchise: Here a brand extension represents a marketers efforts to sell something else to its customer base; Example: TATA extending its offering into consultancy, steel, automobiles, hotels, salt etc. Expertise: To offer extension in a category where consumers believe the company has skilled knowledge or skill; Example: Johnson and Johnson in baby oil, soap, baby bottles etc. Benefit/ Attribute/ Feature Owned: Many brands own a benefit or feature that can be extended; Example: Nivea Moisturising Cream, Shave Gel, Deodorants, Face Wash etc. Designer/Image Status: Using status or expertise in one area to strengthen offerings in another; Example: Giorgio Armani watches, spectacles, cosmetics etc. Co-branding is defined as pairing two or more branded products (constituent brands) to form a more sole and separate product (Park, et al., 1996). This has become increasingly evident in India and its FMCG market. The marketing of Gillette A3 Power Shaving equipment with Duracell batteries (both brands owned by Procter Gamble). Dabur, one of Indias leading FMCG companies have tied up with Disney consumer products by using the character Mickey Mouse to adorn Daburs Real brand jice and nectar packs. Indian Automobile giant Maruthi having partnership with Suzuki of Japan and Maruthi co-branding with Kenwood for its car stereos. Co-branding is the result of combining two brands to name a product and when evaluating that product, one has to consider overall fit between the brand pair and the product (Hadjicharalambous, 2006). Figure 3.1 represents the different types of brand extension classifications:- Figure 3.1: Typology of Brand Extensions (Hadjicharalambous, 2006) 3.3 Branding as a new Concept Shocker, et al., 1994 says that speed is an important element in building stronger brands as if not the competitors can leverage on similar technologies to duplicate similar products and identifies these criterias :- Harvesting the best customers:- Most innovative companies pick up customers who are more likely and willing to pay more; Occupying the mental corner stone:- Buyers keeping the option of selecting only few important brands over others; Developing a reputation for innovation:- Establishing a reputation of developing latest technology, part of brand equity and developing business customers; Shorter order fulfilment cycle:- GE uses a quick response programme using fast information technology, that lead to reducing inventory requirements by 200$; Mass Customization:- Permitting the brand manager to take advantage of market segmentation while controlling costs. Dell computer is the leader in this approach whereby all its products are made to order according to customer tastes. Keller (2001) states that building a strong brand has been main priority for many firms for financial rewards and suggests a Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model to assist management in brand building steps which involves the following guidelines:- Establishing proper brand identity with proper breadth and depth of brand awareness Creating the appropriate brand meaning through strong, favourable and unique brand associations Eliciting, positive, accessible brand responses and Forging brand relationships with customers characterized by intense, active loyalty. Competitive Brand positioning especially during this current economic climate has become intense, when there are local brands competing with large multinationals to gain customer trust. According to Keller (2002) following are the five pitfalls to watch for:- Companies sometimes try to build brand awareness before establishing a clear brand position. For Example: Many dot-coms know this pitfall well as a number of them spent heavily on expensive television advertising without first being clear about what they were selling. Companies often promote attributes that consumers dont care about. For example: For years, companies that sold pain-killers claimed their brands were longer lasting than others. Eventually, they noticed that consumers wanted faster relief more than sustained relief. Companies sometimes invest too heavily in points of difference that can easily be copied. Positioning needs to keep competitors out, not draw them in as a brand that claims to be the cheapest or the hippest is likely to be leapfrogged. For Example: Fast food chains like Pizza Hut investing too heavily in their business, but unable to understand that what customers actually want is lower prices which the customers are able to get from non-recognised fast food outlets. Certain companies become so intent on responding to competition that they walk away from their established positions. For Example: General Mills used the insight that consumers viewed honey as more nutritious than sugar to successfully introduce the Honey Nut Cheerios product-line extension. A key competitor, Post decided to respond by repositioning its Sugar Crisp brand, changing the name to Golden Crisp and dropping the Sugar Bear character as spokesman. But the repositioned brand didnt attract enough new customers, and its market share was severely diminished. Companies may think they can reposition a brand, but this is nearly always difficult and sometimes impossible. For Example: Although Pepsi-Colas fresh, youthful appeal has been a key branding difference in its battle against Coca-Cola, the brand has strayed from this focus several times in the past two decades, perhaps contributing to some of its market share woes. Every attempt to reposition the brand has been followed by a retreat to the formers successful positioning. Care should be taken to see a brand is nurtured well before extending it so diversely in different categories. With the success of the core product in the short span, brand owners are tempted to extend its parent brand much sooner than done in the past. One such classic example is the Maggi brand launched in India in 1982 by Nestle India Ltd (NIL), the Indian subsidiary of global FMCG major, Nestle SA. NIL introduced a new category of instant noodles in Indian market called as Maggi Noodles. Due to the first mover advantage, NIL maintained its strong leadership in instant noodles category until the early 2000s. Furthermore, over the years Maggi brand was extended into soups, ketchups, sauces etc. Unfortunately, these product extensions were not as successful as the instant noodles. The failure of the extension into ketchup, soups suggests that the brand owners have been too quick in their philosophy that sufficient equity was built by their core brand (Maggi Noodles) for the transfer of positive effect to occur. Core Brand: Noodles Sauce Extension Soup Extension Successful Un-Successful Figure 3.2: Maggi Noodles Brand Extension Evolution 3.4 Brand Extensions in framework Tauber, 1981 suggested a growth matrix that differentiated brand extensions from other new product forms. This was done by viewing opportunity from the viewpoint of the brand owner. Following figure represents the different types of opportunities characterized according to whether they are in a product category new to the company and if the brand name used is actually new or already familiar to the consumer (Tauber, 1981). Product Category New Existing New Brand Name Existing Figure 3.3: Growth Matrix (Tauber 1981) Given the fast phase of change taken place in brand extensions since 1981, the above growth matrix was no longer considered of adequate use to guide brand strategy. This is when Lane and Sutcliffe, 2006 proposed a Jigsaw Brand Matrix to extend the existing literature on brand portfolio strategy. He proposed additional four options and five additional strategic categories (Figure 3.4) as illustrated below:- Figure 3.4: Jigsaw Brand Matrix (Lane Sutcliffe 2006) The four additional growth options as described by Lane and Sutcliffe, 2006 are as follows:- Piggybacking: When products enter a new category with a related brand name, then this is being used as a related brand name to launch new products For Example: Figure 3.5 shows Parle-G, Indias leading biscuit manufacturer attempting to enter the confectionary and snack market with Kisme Toffee bar and Poppins. Figure 3.5: Parle-G Piggybacking Strategy Associate brand: Here the product launch is related to a product category with a new brand name as the new product can work side by side with the parent in order to extend to new consumer segments. For Example: Below Figure shows an illustration by global beer supplier United Brweries extension from Beer into spirits, wines, vodka and in champagne to name a few. Figure 3.6: United Breweries (UB) Group Example of an Associate Brand Strategy Strength Extension: In order to capitalise and strengthen a parent brand, strategy of using an existing brand name to a related product category is being used. For Example: Below Figure illustrates Kissan Jam into Squeeze bottles of mango and in apple flavour. + Figure 3.7: Kissan Jams strength Extension Flanker: An established product having a related brand name fights for a fixed position within its parent category. For Example: In India, Hindustan Unilever Limited are masters in developing flanker brands and often have three or more products under the same brand name, targeted at different consumer segments as with the Surf brand. Figure 3.8: Hindustan Unilever Limited Flanker Extension Strategy with Surf Excel The other additional strategy directions are:- Matrix Branding: Here the brand and category extension are utilised without adopting a fully diversified or multi-branding category approach Diversified Branding: Dissimilar brands enter in a partly related or unrelated segment Elastic Branding: A broad range of related and non related product extensions centred around the core brand name Focus Branding: Use of existing core brand ad category to develop any product or service Multiple Branding: By focusing on the companys core brand category new brands are being focussed frequently. The Jigsaw Brand Matrix by Lane Sutcliffe, 2006 needs to be still verified across a different number of industries, although it is quite helpful for marketers in capturing branding strategy for extensions. However, the only disapproval is that this particular model doesnt address co-branding, which is widely used technique in the FMCG industries. 3.5 Advantages of Brand Extensions Brand Extensions enable firms to fill out their product lines, expand into related markets and increase revenue by licensing brand names for use in other product categories (Srinivastava, et al.,1998, pp.11). This has been supported by Smith Park, 1998 who demonstrates the positive impact of brand extensions have on the market share and advertising and proves on how brand extensions can lower significant costs. This is evident in the current economic downturn when firms try to extend their brands rather than venturing into new business. Volckner Sattler, 2006 provides an overview of conceptual framework (Figure 3.9) proposing that the success of a brand extension is influenced by direct effect of determinants, mediating effects and moderating effects. They determined the success of brand determinants into four groups namely:- Parent and Brand Characteristics; The extensions marketing context; The relationship between the Parent Brand and the extension product; The extensions product category characteristics. Figure 3.9: Overview of Conceptual Framework in Brand Extension (Volckner Sattler, 2006) Brand Equity too helps in the effectiveness of brand extensions as consumers who display trust and loyalty towards a brand are then willing to adopt brand extensions (Lassar et al.,1995) Research Design The objective of the research The objective of the research is to investigate the impact of similarity and dissimilarity between:- The original brands and the extension, Brand reputation, Core brand image, Brand dilution Effects of co-brands on the customer evaluations of brand extensions in the FMCG sector within the context of Indian environment Methodology The research method used during this stage will be of quantitative with questionnaires by use of face to face interviews. The main objective behind the methodology will be to measure the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of respondents towards brand extension concepts The key steps being undertaken during this process will be as follows;- Checking all the possible ways to test my stated hypotheses Arriving at the exact optimum approach Drawing on a strict time-table for various research tasks Finalising the questionnaire Collection of data and structuring it into Excel and SPSS Finalising the questionnaire Analysis Conclusions and Recommendations Project Planning Schedule Work on the project is intended start in the first week of June 2010 and last a periods of sixteen weeks. Figure below gives a summary of how the project is intended to be carried out. It also shows the milestones to be achieved, the task management and the writing schedule as well. Task Duration June July August Sept. Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Detailed Literature Review 7 weeks Background to Questionnaire 2 weeks Familiarization with Methodology/Research Objectives 4 weeks Design of the Structure of Report 1 week Analysis of Hypothesis formulation 2 weeks Interviews and Data Acquisition 4 weeks Data Analysis and Conclusions 10 weeks FINAL WRITE UP Introduction/ Literature Review 3 weeks Surveys and Data Acquisitions 3 weeks Results, Discussions and Conclusion 4 weeks Abstract, Reference and Appendix 2 weeks Final Review 3 weeks Figure: Gantt chart showing Dissertation Planning Schedule Apart from the above schedule, regular meetings with my supervisor whenever necessary either personally or by email and keeping updated on my progress on a regular basis through draft, for review and feedback. Also, meetings as a group/individual will be attended to the deadlines as mentioned before by the supervisor.

The Poverty and Obesity Epidemic Essay -- Poor, Obesity

In the United States, as of 2001, 34% of the population was overweight. (Townsend) Overweight and obesity would seem to be problems associated with the United State’s wealth and more than sufficient food supply. Much attention in recent years has been paid to people becoming more physically fit and changing their diets to become healthier. Gastric bypass surgery has become a popular choice for people trying to overcome extreme obesity. The operation limits â€Å"food intake by creating a narrow passage from the upper part of the stomach into the larger lower part, reducing the amount of food the stomach can hold and slowing the passage of food through the stomach.† (NIDDK) The presence of this emphasis on health and nutrition would seem to be the solution to our nation’s obesity problem. However of the population with moderate food insecurity, 52% were overweight. (Townsend) Food insecurity exists when the availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods or the ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways is limited or uncertain. Over half of the United State’s population with a threat of hunger is overweight. Why would obesity be more prevalent amongst this group of people with fewer resources? Dieting and surgery do not address the problems of the economic groups with the most severe weight and nutrition problems. Surgery is expensive, and people with limited resources are not likely to buy expensive health foods when there are cheaper alternatives that satisfy hunger. The â€Å"Dollar Menu† at McDonald’s is certainly less expensive than preparing a wellbalanced meal. Another reason for obesity in lower income groups is a theory called the â€Å"food stamp cycle† hypothesis. Food stamps and most paych... ...urity and Obesity in Rural Women http://ruralwomenshealth.psu.edu/s05_colson-cbove.html Task Force for the Bishops’ Initiative on Children and Poverty. Community with Children and the Poor. Nashville, Tennessee: Cokesbury, 2003. Townsend, Marilyn S., Janet Peerson, Bradley Love, cheryl Achterberg, and Suzanne P. Murphy (2001). â€Å"Food Insecurity is Positively Related to Overweight in Women.† Journal of Nutrition, 131, 1738-1745. The American Society for Nutritional Sciences. http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/131/6/1738 U.S. Conference of Mayors – Seduxho USA. Hunger and Homelessness Survey 2004. 3-5,42 http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/hungersurvey/2004/onlinereport/HungerAndHomelessness Report2004.pdf Weil, Andrew. Eating Well for Optimum Health. New York: Random House, 2000. Willet, Walter C. Eat Drink and Be Healthy. New york: Simon & Schuster, 2001.

Echoic Memory Essay

Echoic memory, otherwise known as the auditory sensory memory, is a part of our short term memory. When we hear a sound, like a lyric, or a short sentence, our echoic memory engages the brain to keep a perfect replica of the sound we heard in our minds for a short amount of time. Sometimes we defer paying attention to the sound’s meaning when we hear it and instead interpret the brain’s copy. For example when we are not fully paying attention to the person we are listening to, we may ask for them to repeat what they said and then realize what was already said. This is our echoic memory in action producing the copy of the sound we heard so that we can catch up on what the person was saying. This allows us to be able to briefly think on that sound’s significance. Echoic memory is often compared to iconic memory. Iconic memory is the brain’s ability to replicate exact copies of an image in our minds. The difference between the two, however, (besides iconic memory dealing with images) is the auditory sensory memory is much longer. Iconic memory lasts for less than a second, whereas echoic memory may reproduce that short sound for up to four seconds. An example of echoic memory would be if you were sitting next to your friend and your friend had asked you for the time. You respond by asking, â€Å"What did you say? Oh, 8:45.† You did not necessarily hear the question until after asking. This means that even though your focus was not initially on what your friend was saying to you, when you did eventually turn your attention toward them, you knew what was said. Research has shown that our echoic memory increases with age and also declines after adulthood. That means that a toddler’s echoic memory is not nearly as advanced as a teenager’s, but also means that an elderly person has worse echoic memory than a teenager’s. This may be because our cognitive development declines with age.

Research And Change Example

Research And Change Example Research And Change – Coursework Example Searching for the Right Employee for the Organization Searching for the Right Employee for the Organization Ways that a candidate culture fit can be assessedGetting an employee whose culture fits concur with the culture of an organization has become essential in the present world of business. An employee with similar interest as the company will find it easy to get in the system. For example, an organization that embraces teamwork will be doing an injustice to itself by hiring an individual who is a loner (Arthur, 2012). To increase productivity of an organization, it is beneficial to hire an individual with a culture that will blend well with that of the organization without hitches. An individual exhibiting the same culture as an organization offering the job will be happy and will also enjoy job satisfaction hence increasing productivity.One can conduct a culture fit assessment on a candidate by asking them about their previous job, what kind of an environment they best work in an d how they deal with people they do not like. Getting the best candidate can be a challenge at time; this is because most of the organizations have websites that show the culture they embrace (Arthur, 2012). A smart candidate can hence go through the web and tune his culture toward that of the organization so that they can get the job. This notwithstanding, by engaging candidates in both formal and informal conversation will help unearth the real character of a candidate.What is the best way to avoid occupational stressor?Stress in the workplace is inevitable; hence one needs to find a way on ways to deal with the stress. Stress in some instance can be productive as it pushes an individual to work harder to achieve the targets. On the contrary, excessive stress can render an employee less productive or completely unproductive. This being the case, it is important to set up as good work environment so as to prevent the employees from being stressed (Arthur, 2012). Communication at wo rkplace is essential in that the employees through good communication can help point out sources of stress at the workplace.In conducting the research, one may find challenges such as uncooperative interviewee from fear of intimidation for disclosing information. Some organizations may not be willing to participate in the research. Cultural background may be a hindrance to the research as some of the social cultures in some areas may be considered good yet in a different set up they may fall on the negative side.ReferenceArthur, D. (2012).  Recruiting, Interviewing, Selecting & Orienting New Employees. New York: AMACOM.

Gullivers Travels Essays - Gullivers Travels, Houyhnhnm, Gulliver

Gullivers Travels Essays - Gullivers Travels, Houyhnhnm, Gulliver Gullivers Travels At first Gullivers travels comes off as a fantasy/adventure, but in actuality its a satirical commentary on society in Johnathan Swift. It starts off with Gulliver talking about himself. Later he gets shipwrecked and ends up in Lilliput, where the people are 6 inches tall. At first they think Gulliver is an enemy, but then realize he is no threat. He is taken to the palace and housed in a cursed temple. Gulliver is amazed at how silly the governments rules are, for example to gain entry to the court the candidates must petition to the emperor. After the emperor gets 5 or 6 petitions he sets up a competition in which the candidates must do the Dance on the Rope, whoever jumps the highest without falling gets the job. The Lilliputians employ Gulliver to help in their war against Blefuscudians, but he refuses and that is the beginning of his downfall. He then gets transported to Brobdingnag, where the people are 60 ft. tall. At first they think Gulliver is an animal of some sort, but when they realize he can communicate they house him with a farmer. This place is very different than Lilliput, the king is appalled when Gulliver tells him about England, and asks why the people are so vicious and mean. However Gulliver feels like a freak there, and one day while he was out with the king and queen, an eagle swoops down and carries him off to drop him in the sea. Some sailors then rescue him. But yet again there is a shipwreck, and he finds himself in a world inhabited by Houyhnhnms, a creature that looks like a horse, yet has an amazing intellect. The Houyhnhnms are amazed that Gulliver is intelligent and take him in. Later Gulliver realizes why they are amazed; the only humans in that land are savage and stupid. Swifts writing style reflects what he thinks of the characters or actions, without telling the reader outright. Also keep in mind that this is a social commentary, in a satirical view, of the times that Swift lived in. The Lilliputians are supposed to symbolize the Whigs, and Swift thinks of them as stupid and power-hungry. He demonstrates this when they search Gulliver for weapons. In Swifts time the Whigs searched the Tories for evidence of their connections with England. He also makes fun of the thinking at the time; the Lilliputians were discriminated against whether they wore either high heels or low heels, and the ones that tried to remain neutral worse one high heel and one low heel. At the end of the book Swift demonstrates his thought on humans, when all the humans were savage and stupid, while the animals were brilliant. I believe that Swift demonstrates all his points very well. The reader is transported to the story, yet unlike most books, Swift doesnt tell the reader exactly what to think, he insinuates it but lets the reader come to his own conclusions.

Sociology research Paper and Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sociology research Paper and Questions - Essay Example rime, this study proposes to examine whether increasing crime can in fact be attributed to race, or whether there may be other factors that could explain the explosion in crime. People belonging to ethnic minorities had long complained of racial profiling by law enforcement personnel, which is often the cause of feelings of resentment, hurt and an increasing loss of trust in the police among members of racial minorities. But Kleinig and Risse (2007) have discussed racial profiling in the context of the September 11, attacks, and detailed the results of a study that appeared to justify the evils of racial profiling as an efficient law enforcement strategy. The reason was because it was based upon the underlying belief that members of certain groups appear to possess a greater tendency to commit crimes and police can curb crime by adopting harsher measures against members of such minority groups. Based upon the findings of this study, an argument is offered that racial profiling is attributable to pre existing racism, hence profiling only expresses that racism rather than perpetuating it. Another argument offered is that the benefits of profiling and benefits provided by Government to the minorities far outweigh the harmful effects. Huff (2007) reports on an extensive ethnographic study that was carried out among police officers to examine their attitudes towards gang related crimes, their reasons for wanting to be assigned to units fighting against gang related crimes and how gang units are managed. Although this was an exhaustive study utilizing multiple data sources, it was limited by the selection of four primarily southwestern cities with a higher incidence of Hispanics. The study found that officers feel more independent while functioning in gang units but there was also clear evidence of racial profiling against the minorities. Graham and Lowery (2007) examined the problem of racial profiling from another perspective – the working of the criminal justice

Molecular Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation Essay

Molecular Mechanisms of Atrial Fibrillation - Essay Example Progression in the studies of genetics and molecular biology would assist in dealing with this disease in a better way. Recently studies by Chelu et al (2009) have brought into light the fact that differences in the ionic (mainly Ca 2+) current flow are responsible for causing AF and turning it into a chronic condition. As Brugada points out â€Å"Research efforts to elucidate the molecular basis of AF are focused into two main areas: human genetics and alterations in genetic expression of ion channels† (Brugada, Is Atrial fibrillation a genetic disease?: Molecular Mechanisms in Arial fibrillation). The beating of the heart muscles, according to research, is strictly controlled by a procedure known as ‘Ca 2+ induced Ca 2+ release’. Here we find that the number of Ca ions that are entering through the Cav. 1.2 which is the L type voltage gated Ca ion channel helps in the increase of the release of more Ca ions from the sarcoplasmic reticulum through the intracellular Ca 2+ channels (ryanodine receptor type 2 or RyR2). This influx and release of Ca ions are strictly regulated by the heart muscles for the controlled beating of heart. In AF, where the atria beats rapidly, this rapid beating of the heart leads to production of more Ca ions or Calmodulin- dependent protein kinase II ( CaMKII) phosphorylation of the RyR2. In AF conditions it has also been noticed that L type voltage gated Ca ion channels show a decrease in its amplitude, so it has been deduced that this release of the Ca ions may be due to enhanced functioning of RyR2 channels. There are many reasons as t o why the RyR2 channels may function differently. Earlier it was seen in researches conducted on dogs showing AF conditions, that RyR2 channels remained open in cases having low cystolic Ca ion presence. Another reason as Vest, et al, tells us from his experiments into molecular mechanisms that â€Å"SR Ca2+  leak due to RyR2