Price Elasticity to Identify a Brands Competitors Essay Example for Free

Price Elasticity to Identify a Brands Competitors Essay Firms today are in their perspective industries to maximize consumer satisfaction, increase revenue, and shareholders profits. These tasks require attention to detail when pricing their products. There are always competitors lurking and waiting by the wayside to gain market share and a competitive advantage. When identifying brands competitors, price elasticity is a major determinant. Demand for a product or service constitutes what the company’s price will be and whether the price will be higher or lower than the competitor’s price. In terms of the elasticity, price increases may decrease demand and price decreases may increase demand. However, according to Kotler, The introduction or change of any price may initiate a response (favorable or unfavorable) from customers and competitors† (Kotler, P. and Keller, K., 2012) Ultimately, the concept of price elasticity can identify a brand’s competitors along with marketing research to identify consumer needs, wants, and desires, as well as current industry and competitor’s going- rate pricing. Reference Kotler, P. and Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management 14E. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc. How might marketers use conjoint analysis to improve pricing strategies? When determining pricing strategies marketers must perform research that allows the consumer to voice their opinions in reference to what they need and how important the product or service is to their well-being. One method of doing so is through conjoint analysis. â€Å"Kotler defines this method as a  means to ask customers to rank their preferences for alternative market offerings or concepts, then they use statistic analysis to estimate the implicit value placed on each attribute† (Kotler, P. and Keller, K., 2012). Marketers have their work cut out for them when a firm or pricing department requests their assistance to establish a competitive advantage for their product or service. In order for a firm to know and understand what value or benefits the customer expects when utilizing their products and services the use value propositions is of the essence. According to the strategy and performance coaching company Edborrows,† items that firms need to consider when applying customer value propositions are as follows: †¢ All Benefits †¢ Favorable Points of Differentiation †¢ Resonating Focus †¢ Resonating focus highlights one or two critical differences between the firm’s offerings †¢ Generic Value Propositions †¢ Operational Excellence †¢ Customer Intimacy †¢ Product/Service Innovation (Barrows, 2010) Price elasticity of demand is a way to determine marginal revenue. Optimal revenue and, more importantly, optimal profit will occur to the point when marginal revenue = marginal cost, or the price elasticity of demand The proportion of the total sales of a product secured by one particular company or brand

The Life of William Shakespeare :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Life of William Shakespeare William Shakespeare's father, John Shakespeare, moved to the idyllic town of Stratford-upon-Avon in the mid-sixteenth century, where he became a successful landowner, moneylender, wool and agricultural goods dealer, and glover. In 1557 he married Mary Arden . John Shakespeare lived during a time when the middle class grew and became wealthier and wealthier, thus allowing its members increasing freedoms, luxuries, and voice in the local government. He took advantage of the opportunities afforded him through this social growth and in 1557 became a member of the Stratford Council, an event which marked the beginning of an illustrious political career. By 1561 he was elected one of the town's fourteen burgesses, where he served as constable, one of two chamberlains, and alderman successively. In these positions he administered borough property and revenues. In 1567 he was made bailiff, the highest elected office in Stratford, and the equivalent of a modern day mayor. The town records indicate that William Shakespeare was John and Mary's third child. His birth is unregistered, but legend places it on April 23, 1564, partially because April 23 is the day on which he died 52 years later. In any event, his baptism was registered with the town on April 26, 1564. Not much is known about William's childhood, although it is safe to assume that he attended the local grammar school, the King's New School, which was staffed with a faculty who held Oxford degrees, and whose curriculum included mathematics, natural sciences, Latin language and rhetoric, logic, Christian ethics, and classical literature. He did not attend the university, which was not unusual at this time, since university education was reserved for prospective clergymen and was not a particularly mind-opening experience. However, the education he received at grammar school was excellent, as evidenced by the numerous classical and literary references in his plays. His early works especially dr ew on such Greek and Roman greats as Seneca and Plautus. What is more impressive than his formal education, however, is the wealth of general knowledge exhibited in his works, from a working knowledge of many professions to a vocabulary that is far greater than any other English writer. In 1582, at the age of eighteen, William Shakespeare married the twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway. Their first daughter, Susanna, was baptized only six months later, which has given rise to much speculation concerning the circumstances surrounding the marriage.

Systems Model; Critique

Critique the relevance of the systems model to the study of politics Models, theories and concepts as approaches for analysing policy and decision making have been developed by political and social scientists to guide the study of public policy, to facilitate communication and to suggest possible explanations for policy actions. This essay is a critique of the relevance of the systems model to the study of politics. A model is conceptually defined as a theoretical representation of empirical data that aims to advance understanding through highlighting of significant relationships and interactions. According to Heywood (2007) one of the most influential models in political analysis is the Political system model developed by David Easton (1979, 1981) which aims to explain the entire political process including the functions of the major political actors through what is called systems analysis. A system is an organised and complex whole, a set of interrelated and interdependent parts that form a collective entity. Roskin, Cord, Medeiros & Jones (1997) concur that in the political systems model the politics of a given country worked the same way as a biological system. Here they were trying to emphasise the interrelationships and inter dependence likening it to the biological human body; how the various organs needed or related to each other and likening this to the political system. Systems theory is therefore the theory that treats the political system as a self regulating mechanism responding to inputs (demands and supports) by issuing authoritative decisions or outputs (policies). David Easton’s model illustrated the existence of a linkage between inputs and outputs in a political system(Heywood, 2007). Inputs consist of demands and support from the general public and demands in a political system range from pressure for the need of a higher standard of living, improved employment opportunities, greater protection to minorities, improved social benefits among many. Support on the other hand includes ways in which the public responds to the political system that is by paying taxes, offering compliance to the state through participation in public life and other societal issues. Heywood (ibid) further asserts that outputs on the other and are in the form of laws promulgated by government, consisting of decisions and actions of government that is the passing of laws, the imposition of taxes and most importantly allocation of public funds. The outputs generate feedback which consist of further demands and support from the general public. Further Easton referred to what he called gatekeepers being political parties, church organisations, pressure groups which gatekeepers manage the percep tion of the people and convey their inputs in the form of demands and supports. Outputs from government go back to the people and the cycle goes on and on. He projected that a political system tends to operate at equilibrium as its survival depends on outputs being brought into line with inputs. However, according to Anderson (1997) the usefulness of the systems theory in studying public policy is limited by its highly general and abstract nature. Older studies have devoted little attention to the nature and definition of public problems. It is now conventional wisdom that policy study that does not consider the characteristics and dimensions of the problems that stimulate government action is less than complete. In Easton’s model there is no clarity on the inputs which are the problems of the public. It gives a general picture of society. The importance lies in knowing both why some problems are acted on and others are neglected and why a problem is defined in one way rather than another. It is also important to know the nature of the problem whether it is foreign or domestic, a new item or an outgrowth of an existing policy to determine the ensuing policy making process, issues that the systems model is silent on. According to Jackson & Jackson (2003) the basic argument of systems analysis is that governments are the centre of political systems which involves three stages mainly the effects of the environment on a political system by making multiple demands, as well as providing fundamental support. A demand can be defined as a condition or situation that produces needs or dissatisfaction among people for which relief or redress is sought. For example problems such as air pollution, unwholesome food, abortion, urban congestion, crowded prisons and global warming are conditions that may become problems if they produce sufficient anxiety or dissatisfaction to cause people to seek a remedy. For this to happen people must have some criterion or standard by which the troubling condition is judged to be both unreasonable or unacceptable and appropriate for government to handle Anderson (1997). Conditions do not become public problems unless they are defined as such, articulated by someone or defined as such. The systems model therefore does not explore these highlighted problems. According to Jackson & Jackson (ibid) the systems analysis is criticised often arguing that the model on which it is based does not help discern which part of a political system are essential or influential. It is further argued that it is impossible to predict how or even whether a change in one part of the system will affect another part. Furthermore political systems are not as closely related as the model implies. Political systems are not as static as the model implies Another criticism of the systems theory is that it does not acknowledge the changes that occur with time. According to Roskin (et al) systems change over time with the rise of new powers, new technologies and new alliances. It does not even recognise the existence of bigger entities with many components for example countries or groups of countries that interact with each other forming international systems. To some the fall of the Soviet empire in the 1990’s marked the end of the cold war and the bipolar system. But some argue that the bipolar system did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union, but rather a multi polar economics race emerged. As Moscow gave up the East European nations and no longer posed any invasion threat to Western Europe which moved closer to unity in the European Union (EU). All barriers among the fifteen members disappeared, producing a single economy if not a single political entity. The United States on the other hand had some economic problems, massive trade deficits following massive budget deficits making it the biggest debtor. It could no longer call the tune and get alliance from allies in Europe and Asia. Countries of the Eastern bloc consolidated their political system significantly. The systems model is limited in this sense in that its diagrammatic representation is only limited to small entities. According to Anderson (ibid) a condition to be turned into a problem, must be seen as an appropriate topic for governmental action and further, as something for which there is a possible governmental remedy or solution. The systems model does not articulate the inputs fed into gate keepers, neither does it clarify the difference between conditions and problems. Those who oppose government action to ban smoking in public places may argue that tobacco smoke is not harmful, or that smoke is a matter of individual choice and should not be regulated. Professor Wildavsky contends that officials are unlikely to deal with a problem unless it is coupled with a solution. He thus, states that ‘a problem is a problem only if something can be done about it’,(Anderson, ibid). Thus in Easton’s model there is no emphasis on the nature of the inputs. Power distribution in the systems model is not adequately explored in the graphical representation. In today’s world for example the American system, political power is fragmented and dispersed by constitutional prescription and political practice. Many points of official decision making exist and a multitude of officials share in the exercise of political power and the formulation of public policy. Structural functionalism focuses on the different levels of a system and their reciprocal influences and also the possibility of making generalisations about them. It is premised on what structures perform what functions in any given system and under what conditions. Key proponent Almond (1960) critically examined Easton’s model and proceeded to look for the functions that could be included among the inputs and outputs of a political system and identified six functions. Chief among these functions is interest articulation, interest aggregation, rule application and adjudication and communication. Political systems consist of units or structures that perform certain or particular functions. The detailed variables with which the model is concerned are structural that is pressure groups, political parties, the legislature among many. Political systems are compared on the basis of the functions that are performed by their units. However, according to Jackson &Jackson (ibid), the structural functional approach does not accommodate itself well to the state as a dynamic entity. The mechanical role of performing functions is assigned to the state. It ignores the human element that those who perform functions of the state may have their own interests. Some critics even argue that structural functional approach places too much emphasis on technology and rational procedures and obscures the relationship between structures and functions. Almond seems to contend that all systems must evolve in the same manner and direction as did the Anglo American Democracies if they wish to develop to higher political stages. David Easton’s model of a political system is the basis of most contemporary political systems. But however, it is only ideal as there are constant changes that occur in the society we live in, therefore an equilibrium can never be achieved. It forms a basis of analysis upon which scientific generalisations can be made. REFERENCE Anderson, J. E. Public policy making; An introduction (3rd edition). Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston Heywood, A. (2007). Politics (3rd edition). Palgrave Macmillan: New York Jackson, R. J. & Jackson, D. (2003). An introduction to political science. Prentice Hall: Toronto Roskin, M, Cord, R. L, Medeiros, J. A, & Jones, W. S. (1997). Political science; an introduction (6th edition). Prentice Hall International (UK) Limited: London

Cellphones Should Not Be Allowed in School Essay

Although may not everybody would agree I believe cellphones should not be allowed in schools. First of all, cellphones can be a distraction to students. Secondly, students can use the cellphones to cheat on a test, quiz, or classwork. Lastly, it can be stolen. To start off, cellphones should not be allowed in school because they can interrupt the class and teacher. For example, if a professor is teaching a class a new lesson and suddenly a cellphones starts to ring, the teacher will have to stop the class and talk to the pupil. After that, they would have to remember their â€Å"train of thought†. Additionally, cellphones can interrupt the class when an exam or quiz is in session. In a recent article done by the New York Times, it was stated that 75% of an eighth grade class failed their state exam because of a cellphone interruption. In other words, the cellphone was â€Å"yelling† really loud, the students were not concentrating and it was difficult to turn off. Furthermore, cellular phones should be allowed in school because it can be a cheating tool. For instance, if a scholar took an exam before their friend and their buddy did not study, that person taking the test can take a picture of the questions to show to their companion. Usually, the student(s) are not caught but when they get caught the superintendent, who runs all the public, charter, private or boarding schools in a city, hears about it and the school can have a terrible reputation. Also, when a minor cheats on a huge test (state test, mid-terms, final-terms, etc.) they can especially get in trouble. Equally important, cellphones should not be allowed in schools because it can be stolen. Read more:  Should Cellphones Be Banned in Schools Essay Many youngsters bring their high-tech cellphones to school, to show it off. However, when their cellphone gets stolen, the child and their parents are furious and that means money coming out of pockets to buy a new phone. Statistics have shown that 80% of the time, the lost or stolen cellphone is not found. Therefore, I consider parents keep their children’s cellphone at home and cellphones should not be allowed in schools. My opponents may say that, cellphones can be used for emergencies. I disagree! During emergencies, the school have telephones available for staff and students and if the minor can’t use the telephones they can ask an adult to call for them. Moreover, my adversaries might say that cellphones can be used as tools when needed. In my opinion, this statement is wrong because school is a place of learning. As a result, it has all the materials youngsters need to learn like, calculators, notepads, and maps, so that scholars can use the resources they have at school and not from the piece of technology in their pocket. In summation, cellular phones should not be allowed in school because it can be a distraction, a cheating resource and it can be stolen or lost. When in school, children should pay attention to their education than the daily gossip spread on the internet.

Free Essays on Analysis

â€Å"After High School† by Jake Smith is a referential text that explains the different options you have after high school graduation. The author uses classification to separates the choices you have and the step to reaching your goals. Smith gives different insights on how the schools and educational plans work. His referential purpose shown through the way he explains the different circumstances they will encounter once they’ve made an educational plan. Smith uses an outline of how the school system and classes entwine with each other. The author explains in details and factors to consider as well as the types of studies that best suit them. He also describes the courses and the fields of studies to accomplish his referential purpose. Each educational option is shown by the different ways to achieve that particular goal. Smith makes the reader understand the process that they’ll be getting into once they’ve made their decision about their educational plans. Smith shows the procedures and the courses a student have to take in order to go through help them achieve their educational goals. Through the text, Smith organizes his informative options by using classification. The educational plans, fields of studies, and types of colleges are outline consecutively in this text. Each step is organizes by the option that the student chooses. The option that a student chooses will lead them to an education plan that will help them through the process. Smith wrote â€Å"consider a number of different factors† then he goes on to explain those factors and what might be the best decision for them. He classifies the type of schools and training a student might encounter. Smith outlines the text into four year schools, technical school, and two year colleges. The he goes on to describe the types of studies, such as liberal arts, pre-professional, professional, and technical. This referential classification is useful to a high school se... Free Essays on Analysis Free Essays on Analysis â€Å"After High School† by Jake Smith is a referential text that explains the different options you have after high school graduation. The author uses classification to separates the choices you have and the step to reaching your goals. Smith gives different insights on how the schools and educational plans work. His referential purpose shown through the way he explains the different circumstances they will encounter once they’ve made an educational plan. Smith uses an outline of how the school system and classes entwine with each other. The author explains in details and factors to consider as well as the types of studies that best suit them. He also describes the courses and the fields of studies to accomplish his referential purpose. Each educational option is shown by the different ways to achieve that particular goal. Smith makes the reader understand the process that they’ll be getting into once they’ve made their decision about their educational plans. Smith shows the procedures and the courses a student have to take in order to go through help them achieve their educational goals. Through the text, Smith organizes his informative options by using classification. The educational plans, fields of studies, and types of colleges are outline consecutively in this text. Each step is organizes by the option that the student chooses. The option that a student chooses will lead them to an education plan that will help them through the process. Smith wrote â€Å"consider a number of different factors† then he goes on to explain those factors and what might be the best decision for them. He classifies the type of schools and training a student might encounter. Smith outlines the text into four year schools, technical school, and two year colleges. The he goes on to describe the types of studies, such as liberal arts, pre-professional, professional, and technical. This referential classification is useful to a high school se...

La Isabela, Columbuss First Colony in the Americas

La Isabela, Columbuss First Colony in the Americas La Isabela is the name of the first European town established in the Americas. La Isabela was settled by Christopher Columbus and 1,500 others in 1494 AD, on the northern coast of the island of Hispaniola, in what is now the Dominican Republic in the Caribbean Sea. La Isabela was the first European town, but it was not the first colony in the New Worldthat was LAnse aux Meadows, established by Norse colonists in Canada nearly 500 years earlier: both of these early colonies were abject failures. History of La Isabela In 1494, the Italian-born, Spanish-financed explorer Christopher Columbus was on his second voyage to the American continents, landing in Hispaniola with a group of 1,500 settlers. The primary purpose of the expedition was to establish a colony, a foothold in the Americas for Spain to begin its conquest. But Columbus was also there to discover sources of precious metals. There on the north shore of Hispaniola, they established the first European town in the New World, called La Isabela after Queen Isabella of Spain, who supported his voyage financially and politically. For an early colony, La Isabela was a fairly substantial settlement. The settlers quickly built several buildings, including a palace/citadel for Columbus to live in; a fortified storehouse (alhondiga) to store their material goods; several stone buildings for various purposes; and a European-style plaza. There is also evidence for several locations associated with silver and iron ore processing. Silver Ore Processing The silver processing operations at La Isabela involved the use of European galena, an ore of lead probably imported from ore fields in the Los Pedroches-Alcudia or Linares-La Carolina valleys of Spain. The purpose of the exportation of lead galena from Spain to the new colony is believed to have been to assay the percentage of gold and silver ore in artifacts stolen from the indigenous people of the New World. Later, it was used in a failed attempt to smelt iron ore. Artifacts associated with ore assay discovered at the site included 58 triangular graphite-tempered assaying crucibles, a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of liquid mercury, a concentration of about 90 kg (200 lbs) of galena, and several deposits of metallurgical slag, mostly concentrated near or within the fortified storehouse. Adjacent to the slag concentration was a small fire pit, believed to represent a furnace used to process the metal. Evidence for Scurvy Because historical records indicate that the colony was a failure, Tiesler and colleagues investigated the physical evidence of the conditions of the colonists, using macroscopic and histological (blood) evidence on the skeletons excavated from a contact-era cemetery. A total of 48 individuals were buried in La Isabelas church cemetery. Skeletal preservation was variable, and the researchers could only determine that at least 33 of the 48 were men and three were women. Children and adolescents were among the individuals, but there was no one older than 50 at the time of death. Among the 27 skeletons with adequate preservation, 20 exhibited lesions likely to have been caused by severe adult scurvy, a disease caused by a sustained lack of vitamin C and common to seafarers before the 18th century. Scurvy is reported to have caused 80% of all deaths during long sea voyages in the 16th and 17th centuries. Surviving reports of the colonists intense fatigue and physical exhaustion on and after arrival are clinical manifestations of scurvy. There were sources of vitamin C on Hispaniola, but the men  were not familiar enough with the local environment to pursue them, and instead relied on infrequent shipments from Spain to meet their dietary demands, shipments that did not include fruit. The Indigenous People At least two indigenous communities were located in the northwestern Dominican Republic where Columbus and his crew established La Isabela, known as the La Luperona and El Flaco archaeological sites. Both of these sites were occupied between the 3rd and 15th centuries, and have been the focus of archaeological investigations since 2013. The prehispanic people in the Caribbean region at the time of Columbuss landing were horticulturalists, who combined slash and burn land clearance and house gardens holding domesticated and managed plants with substantive hunting, fishing, and gathering. According to historic documents, the relationship was not a good one. Based on all the evidence, historical and archaeological, the La Isabela colony was a flat-out disaster: the colonists did not find any extensive quantities of ores, and hurricanes, crop failures, disease, mutinies, and conflicts with the resident Taà ­no made life unbearable. Columbus himself was recalled to Spain in 1496, to account for the financial disasters of the expedition, and the town was abandoned in 1498. Archaeology of La Isabela Archaeological investigations at La Isabela have been conducted since the late 1980s by a team led by Kathleen Deagan and Josà © M. Cruxent of the Florida Museum of Natural History, at which web site much more detail is available. Interestingly, like at the earlier Viking settlement of Lanse aux Meadows, evidence at La Isabela suggests that the European residents may have failed in part because they were unwilling to fully adapt to local living conditions. Sources Deagan K. 1996. Colonial transformation: Euro-American cultural genesis in the early Spanish-American colonies. Journal of Anthropological Research 52(2):135-160.Deagan K, and Cruxent JM. 2002. Columbuss Outpost Among the Tainos: Spain and America at La Isabela, 1493-1498. New Haven: Yale University Press.Deagan K, and Cruxent JM. 2002. Archaeology at La Isabela, America’s First European Town. New Haven: Yale University Press.Laffoon JE, Hoogland MLP, Davies GR, and Hofman CL. 2016. Human dietary assessment in the Pre-colonial Lesser Antilles: New stable isotope evidence from Lavoutte, Saint Lucia. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 5:168-180.Thibodeau AM, Killick DJ, Ruiz J, Chesley JT, Deagan K, Cruxent JM, and Lyman W. 2007. The strange case of the earliest silver extraction by European colonists in the New World. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 104(9):3663-3666.Tiesler V, Coppa A, Zabala P, and Cucina A. 2016. Scurvy-related Morbidity and Death amon g Christopher Columbus Crew at La Isabela, the First European Town in the New World (1494–1498): An Assessment of the Skeletal and Historical Information. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology 26(2):191-202. Ting C, Neyt B, Ulloa Hung J, Hofman C, and Degryse P. 2016. The production of pre-Colonial ceramics in northwestern Hispaniola: A technological study of Meillacoid and Chicoid ceramics from La Luperona and El Flaco, Dominican Republic. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 6:376-385.VanderVeen JM. 2003. Review of Archaeology at La Isabela: Americas First European Town, and Columbuss Outpost among the Taino: Spain and America at La Isabela, 1494-1498. Latin American Antiquity 14(4):504-506.

Human nature and war Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human nature and war - Essay Example Apart from Mozart and Purcell, I had to choose Beethoven to compose the birthday song since he has breathtaking compositions like Fur Elise. Fur Elise is undoubtedly interesting. Most people much loved classical piece by Beethoven. The other two composers Mozart and Purcell did not make it into my list to compose a birthday song, because they were not creative like Ludwig for the job. Unlike Ludwig, Mozart in most of his compositions uses minor keys, thus from my own opinion his composition will not suit the mood of the occasion. Also in most of his work, Mozart employs complex instrumentation, which will not make the arrangement intriguing to listen to considering it is a birthday party. Purcell is not a suitable alternative to compose the birthday song because he worked as organist at the Westminster Abbey; thus, his compositions mostly rely on the keyboard instrument. Purcell composes long anthems, which makes me not to appoint him as my main composer because he might compose an u nusually long and repetitive birthday song. Since he mostly wrote operas, odes and accompanied stage music, makes him not an appropriate composer of my uncle’s birthday song. ... Since he developed an individualistic style from the high classical style, he should make the birthday composition more appealing to the ear. This ambitious and virtuosic style will make the audience at the evening party more calm and the birthday my uncle happy. Beethoven (also known as the father of modulation) in the composition should not remain in the same key therefore should modulate to different keys. In some of his symphonies, Beethoven includes chorus and solo voices; also in the birthday piece, he should include them to add beauty and prove his creative personality. In the composed solo section, the libretto must be catching since I want them to bring teary emotion to my beloved uncle. I genuinely want my uncle to be happy since when listening to Fur Elise and the fifth symphony by Beethoven the introduction generates a striking motif. I want my uncle to feel loved and cared for when listening to the composed song since most of the arranged compositions by Beethoven employ a distinct and individualized style. As he will be listening to the music, I want him to get both baroque and classical era music touch since Beethoven lived between those two periods. When listening to the compositions of Beethoven feels a development of works from Haydn and Mozart. Since my uncle has listened to works of both Haydn and Mozart, he will be to listen to a composition expanded on both of them. Beethoven is the perfect person to take the composition job. In most of his work like the opera Fidelio, he brings out the emotion perfectly. Since Beethoven is a transition composer between classical and the romantic era, am sure my uncle will enjoy the composition. The individualistic and creative