Cirque Du Soleil Essay Example for Free

Cirque Du Soleil Essay Cirque du Soleil began in Quebec with two street performers (Guy Lalibert and Daniel Gauthier) back in 1982 and called their small group of young street performers ‘The High Heels club’ and decided to put on a small festival for the audience. By 1984 Cirque du Soleil was born, the name meaning ‘Circus of the sun’ in French. The main philosophy or aim of Cirque du Soleil is creativity and innovation of the circus to redefine the entertainment landscape, and thrill audiences around the world. Since its inception, Cirque du Soleil has created a lot of shows with incredibly different themes and issues. The most popular of these shows are: Saltimbanco- explores the urban experience in all its myriad forms, Alegria-explores power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth. Quidam-it could be anyone, anybody. Someone coming, going, living in our anonymous society. A member of the crowd, one of the silent majority. Dralion- Dralion derives much of its inspiration from Eastern philosophy with its perpetual quest for harmony between humankind and nature. Varekai- production pays tribute to the nomadic soul, to the spirit and art of the circus tradition, and to the infinite passion of those whose quest takes them along the path that leads to Varekai. Cirque du Soleil captures many dramatic forms including acts from contortionists, jugglers, feats of strength, clowning, dance, mime, light climates, puppeteers, stage maneuvers, comedy, interaction with public, acrobats and trapeze artists. An example of your typical act, is a man in a mouse wheel, being spun around in 360Â ° circles, doing tricks that amaze the audience because of the manipulation of gravity. Also, Cirque du Soleil does not make use of any such animals. Traditionally, Cirque du Soleil shows do not use pre-recorded music, with exceptions; all music is played live and in many circumstances sung live by singers with magnificent voices. The costumes used in the show are always very elaborate, or if flexibility is needed the costumes can be plain but are usually colourful and creative, matching the theme of the show. The sets for the shows are typically amazing again always matching the culture being performed on stage. Cirque Du Soleil has a vast range of characters in the huge number of performances and the company itself has over 4000 employees and 1000 artists. Characters in the performance are always bright, colourful and extremely skillful and always are doing amazing tricks that depict the theme of the show or that can lighten and entertain the audience. As the performance goes on most of the time you enter the life of some of the characters as they tell their life story (normally the host) and interact more and more with the audience.

EasyJet emarketing strategies and its implementation

EasyJet emarketing strategies and its implementation Management Summary This report undertakes a study of EasyJet e-marketing strategies and its implementation outlining its impact on EasyJet operations as a whole. EasyJet is an airline company operating in Europe with its base in UK. It was founded by Stelios Haji-Ioannou in mid 1995. EasyJets operations are paperless, with all business transactions done through the internet. EasyJet has experienced a successful online business due to its e-market strategy that aims to provide low cost no frills air transportation. Under the strong and charismatic leadership of Stellios, it has accomplished its goal by creating brand awareness, adoption of an efficiency-driven operating model and maintenance of a high level customer satisfaction. EasyJet conducted its business using telephone in order to achieve the goal of undercutting traditional carriers and increase savings by direct selling. Business was later on conducted over the internet aiming to cut down cost on it call centers, to make flying affordable and to compete even with busses by attracting people who would have otherwise not travelled by air. EasyJet is doing this by using a website which is designed with high usability and has an intuitive navigation allowing user to do booking and purchase ticket online. EasyJet also does promotion on newspaper by running internet only promotion, giving discounts to consumers who purchase online only. This mix has helped in EasyJet promotion giving impressive results by achieving tremendous sales results. The design, structure, usability and usefulness of its website have enabled EasyJet to secure leverage over its competitors. The most important fact is that EasyJet has incorporated flexibility in its e-marketing strategy enabling it to anticipate changes and further develop its strategies to counter-act accordingly. The impact of EasyJet e-market strategy is evident on the growth that EasyJet has enjoyed through the years In general the e-marketing strategy followed by EasyJet works for it. EasyJet is obviously aware of its surrounding environment, and appreciates the magnitude of closely monitoring and control of its strategy, so as to stay ahead in an environment that constantly evolves by keeping a close eye on any happening changes. Its evident that EasyJet takes few risks and applies firm business principles while carefully exploring the market. Introduction Company Background, Financial Performance and Key Services EasyJet is an airline company based in Britain with its headquarters at London Luton Airport. It operates 500 domestic and international routes between 118 countries within Europe, West Asia and North Africa carrying more passengers than any other UK based airline. Its parent company EasyJet plc is listed in London Stock Exchange. (Wikipedia, n.d). EasyJet Airline was founded in Britain by Stellios Haji-Ioannou, holder of masters degree in business and son of a Greek Cypriot shipping tycoon. He started the company with  £5 million loaned by his father after he was approached by Virgin Atlantics Greek franchisee to invest in a London-Athens route and decided to start his own airline instead. The company started with two leased airplanes operating in two routes; London Luton to Edinburgh and Glasgow respectively and later Aberdeen. Stellios was inspired by principle of price elasticity applied by Southwest Airlines based in the United States. Southwest air fares were so low that the airline attracted people who would not have otherwise traveled by air. It aimed to compete with busses as much as it did with other airline companies. In the beginning, EasyJet operated a paper airline contracting British World Airlines to fly and maintain its two 148 seats leased planes. Its base in London was at Low-rent Luton airport. After acquiring its first plane, EasyJet started competing against British Airways and KLM on the route to Amsterdam focusing on short-haul routes aiming to offer half of its competitors fare. Stellios later on capitalized on the Swiss connection buying 40% stake in a failing charter airline; TEA Switzerland. It is believed that, in the beginning EasyJet spent all its revenue on advertising, offering cheap air fares. A specific example of billboards declaring a fare of  £29 for London-Scotland route which was one-tenth the price charged by British Airways. Advertisements on TV directed customers to bypass travel agents and directly call the company reservation number which was also painted on all EasyJet planes. Direct selling was the strategy from start and later the Internet became EasyJets preferred booking media. Dress code for its employees was jeans and orange sweatshirts which reflected a casual yet fast-paced attitude. Only pilots were allowed to wear neck ties. Organization culture of EasyJet was described as brutally transparent, allowing employees in all paperless offices to share all types of information except payroll, by scanning all its documents into a computer system accessible to all employees. The company is lean on services having no in-flight catering, charging for snacks and soft drinks and having no cancellations or refunds option. The three keys to EasyJet strategy were Simplification, Frugality and Friendliness with a motto of Easy come, easy go. Some passengers were apprehensive of low-rate airlines compromising safety, EasyJet had to change tactic in advertising by explaining why it was possible to reduce fares without compromising safety. EasyJet stimulated traffic in all the markets it entered by introducing price competition to a market that was previously driven by free offers such as frequent flier miles. This enabled EasyJet to turn a profit of  £2 million in the year 1997. In 2000 fiscal year, EasyJet declared a profit of $33 million and floated a quarter of the companys stock on the London Stock Exchange with shares offered exclusively to institutional investors, raising  £190 million which was used to purchase 32 new Boeing 737 airplanes. After it merged with Go Fly in August 2002, it became one of Europes biggest and leading low cost airlines. (Business Essays, n.d) Since its establishment in mid 1990s, EasyJet has enjoyed a rapid expansion growing through a combination of mergers, acquisitions and base openings brought about by demand of low-cost air travel by consumers. It now boasts a fleet of over 180 aircrafts with 20 bases across Europe and is ranked as the second largest low-cost carrier in Europe having carried 45.2 million passengers in 2009. (Wikipedia, n.d). EasyJet has had its fare share of legal battles, the most popular one being with British Airways. It has also faced criticism in Germany for not observing the European Union law on compensation and on environmental issues due to its advertisement that EasyJet aircrafts made 22% less emission compared to its competitors. Services offered by EasyJet include real time on-line booking, telephone booking for 3 months before flight bookings, in-flight magazines containing destination guides, holiday and accommodation products, car rentals, airport parking, travel insurance and on-board sales of fragrances, cosmetics etc. Situation Analysis A business does not operate in isolation. Business reactions and decisions depend on what happens on its environment. The factors happening outside an organization are known as external factors or influences. The external factors affect main internal operations and the objectives and strategies of the organization. It is therefore important to identify factors that might in turn affect a number of vital variables that are likely to influence the organizations supply and demand levels and operation costs (Kotter Schlesinger, 1991; Johnson Scholes, 1993). The strategy of EasyJet is to offer low cost, no-frills air transportation. This strategy has enabled EasyJet to prosper. It is however, important to continually strive to satisfy customer needs and stay in a competitive position by evaluating market trends and situation. This calls up the need to do situational analysis which involves the studying of important business elements such as competitors, customers, costs, climate (external environment), collaborators and the company itself. Conducting a situational analysis for a company provides the knowledge and context for planning by describing the companys competitive position, financial and operating conditions and the general state of the companys internal and external affairs. To accomplish this methods such as SWOT and PEST are used. PEST Analysis PEST stands for Political, Economical, Social and Technological. PEST analysis is a framework used to categorize environmental issues that influences an organization Politically, Economically, Socially and Technologically. Papers4you.com (n.d) quoting Kotler (1998) and Porter (1985) states that: Kotler (1998) claims that PEST analysis is a useful strategic tool for understanding market growth or decline, business position, potential and direction for operations. The headings of PEST are a framework of reviewing a situation, and can in addition to SWOT and Porters Five Forces models, be applied by companies to review a strategic directions, including marketing proposition. The use of PEST analysis can be seen effective for business and strategic planning, market planning, business and product development and research reports. PEST also ensures that companys performance is aligned positively with the powerful forces of change that are affecting business environment (Porter, 1985). PEST is useful when a company decides to enter its business operations into new markets and new countries. The use of PEST, in this case, helps to break free of unconscious assumptions, and help to effectively adapt to the realities of the new environment. (papers4you.com, n.d) PEST analysis is therefore useful tool for understanding and determining the market growth or decline of an organization, the position as well as the potential and direction of a business. PEST analysis for EasyJet shows the following: Political The change of government or policy may influence the company profile as new regulations are introduced. EasyJet has been involved in various legal disputes a good example is when Germany criticized EasyJet for not observing the European Union law on compensation. Political changes in the countries where EasyJet has routes. EasyJet operates in different countries across Europe; changes in these countries may affect its operations. Local government councils object to noise and prohibit building of new runways. Governments wanting to promote tourism in their countries may welcome and act in the favor of EasyJet. Different taxes that are charged in different countries for fuel, landing, airport tax etc. Changes in employment laws, trade restrictions and tariffs has impacts on EasyJet business operations for example in April 2000, EasyJet had to launch a campaign to stop Barclays from increasing landing fees by 300%. Economic Economic recession where some countries economy might grow and some might collapse. Uncertainty due to the cost fluctuation of energy and fuel. Business involves having loans; change of interest rates and foreign exchange rates may affect EasyJet long term loans. There has been unrest in consumers attitude due to the September 11th attacks which caused a significant decrease in the confidence of airline travelers. Social Flying with EasyJet may attract companies with employees doing frequent business trip since EasyJet do not offer in-flight luxuries thus less cost to companies. Stability in economy and expansion of tourism means many people want to fly away for holidays. Low cost, no frills attracts wider demographic of consumers including people who would have otherwise not think of travelling by air. Outbreak of contagious diseases such as the bird flu, SARS may cause decrease of travelers. Safety measure applied while on air and on the ground conveys a positive image of the company thus many people feel safe to travel with EasyJet planes. The friendliness and efficiency of EasyJet employees make customers to always want to travel by EasyJet. The growth of population means more travelers and people in a certain life stage have more disposable income to spend. EasyJet runs an environmental friendly business; depending entirely on the internet running paperless operations which means less waste. This gives it a positive outlook from a world that is so environmental conscious. Technological The rate at which technology changes has favored EasyJet by making it possible to conduct paperless operations therefore reducing operation costs. IT technology is available in competitive price thus enabling EasyJet to design a system that can be remotely accessed by all its employees. The growth in technology also ensures the availability of spares and maintenance services to its fleet of airplanes. Technology has become cheaper; it is cost effective in the running of the company but at the same time the entries to barrier are lower for competitors to join in. SWOT Analysis SWOT is an important part of strategic planning that involves a scan of internal and external organization environment. SWOT analysis provides helpful information for fitting organizations capabilities and resources to the competitive environment it operates in. SWOT analysis is used to determine the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of an organization. Strengths EasyJet is under the strong and charismatic leadership of Stellios who possesses great entrepreneurial vision, is adaptable to change and is able to identify business opportunities EasyJet is original and has very effective promotional strategies. EasyJet is serving many of the leading city destinations across Europe and is leading as provider of low budget and no added costs air travel. It is a well known, respected and recognized as the leading brand name in travel industry in UK. Has a low running cost due to the use of internet giving its customers the benefit of paying for local calls. EasyJet is easily recognizable and distinguishable from their competitors due to the high distinctive corporate colors on all of its aircraft. EasyJet has diversified into other market such as car rental and internet cafes making life easy for their customers by being served by same company when requiring these services. Has an excellent customer service for example EasyJet offers refunds for flights that have been delayed for 4 hours or more. It operates an efficient and fast service with an average turnaround time of 30 minutes or below thus is able to maintain a hassle free and reliable service to its passengers. It has a very user friendly website showing fully the price breakdown structure for passenger planned trips. Divulging the full breakdown price plan prevents any hidden charges to customers when confirming their booking. It has a sophisticated system that offers online promotion alerts by e-mail to existing customers. Weaknesses EasyJet relies so much on computers for booking and information storage which could be risky. EasyJet flies exclusively within Europe. EasyJet does not offer free in-flight food services. The extreme competitiveness of the domestic air travel industry can restrict and shape pricing policies on some of EasyJets less profitable routes. EasyJet has to charge low rates even on these routes to compete with their competitors which are Jet, BMI Baby, Ryan Air and other smaller independent companies. Opportunities Possible opening of other routes to major cities in Europe such as from Dublin to UK and new links into business flyers to and from UK. Restructured versions of the fly on the wall documentaries would provide the EasyJet brand with more coverage and publicity. Offering free in-flight refreshments would be a bonus and would increase comfort to EasyJet customers. Threats Threat of substitution where travelers travelling as a group might choose other means to save on travelling expenses. Other airlines flying the same routes compete fiercely on price forcing pressure on margin on popular flights and time slots. External market forces such as the rise of price of oil can have major impact on running costs posing significant pressure on the profit of less popular routes and time slots. Day to day operations of EasyJet can be significantly affected by pressure from unions and employee relations committees, strikes have proved to be costly to the company and its image. Economic recession may decrease the number of casual and business travelers. E-Marketing Strategy To fully understand what e-marketing involves, it is worthwhile to revisit the original definition of marketing before it was prefixed by e. Nowsell.com, (n.d) quotes cim.co.uk definition of marketing as follows: Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably (nowsell.com, n.d) The definition accentuates the focus of marketing on the customer, while implying the need to link other business operations to achieve the required profitability. E-marketing is therefore defined as achieving marketing objectives through the use of electronic communication technology which includes internet, eBooks, e-mail, databases, wireless mobile phones and digital television.(nowsell.com, n.d). The internet, as noted by Smith and Chaffey (2001) can be used to support the aims mentioned in the definition i.e. identifying, anticipating and satisfying as follows: Identifying use the internet for market research to find out customer needs. Anticipating the internet provides an additional channel for customers to access information and makes purchases. Understanding this demand is basis to governing resource distribution to e-marketing. Satisfying an important success factor in e-marketing is accomplishing customer satisfaction through electronic channel by making sure that the site performs adequately and is easy to use. Planning is essential in order to succeed in e-marketing. A successful e-marketing plan relies on traditional disciplines and planning techniques that is adapted for the digital media environment and mixed with digital marketing communication techniques. SOSTAC is a generic framework used for e-marketing planning. SOSTAC stands for: S Situational analysis (where are we now) O Objectives (where do we want to go) S Strategy (how do we get there) T Tactics (the details of strategy) A Action (or implementation) C Control (evaluation, measurement) The Situational analysis above has identified the current position of EasyJet using SWOT and PEST methods. The analysis shows EasyJet holds a strong position and has gained a competitive advantage due to the use of technology internet in particular in conducting its business operations. The objective of EasyJet is to increase online revenue, minimize cost and retain their customers. EasyJet has accomplished this by creation of brand awareness, adoption of an efficiency-driven operating model and maintenance of a high level customer satisfaction. Strategy is the process of developing options to achieve a desired outcome. E-marketing strategy therefore consists of steps taken and procedure followed for marketing a brand through the website. (buzzle.com, n.d). The important aspect in any e-marketing strategy is the company website which needs to be properly formatted and designed, so as to give a good impression and attract users and thus increase sales. EasyJet uses internet to meet its objectives. EasyJet has a comprehensive website with good usability and structure that presents EasyJet services without the use of redundant graphics and advertisement which usually distracts website visitors. EasyJet went online because of the need to reduce cost. EasyJet aimed at making flying affordable and urged travelers to deal direct and cut out travel agents. An overview of EasyJet lists the following strategies: Reduction and distribution of costs by online booking. No tickets during travel, just an e-mail with the booking reference is adequate to board the plane. This reduces tasks and costs associated with issuing, distributing, processing and reconciling tickets. Paperless operations making the internet useful in other aspects of the business such as administration and management. EasyJet URL is printed alongside all its planes. The company aimed to scale down its call centers operations by selling most of the tickets online. By putting the company URL everywhere, it increased the use of the website and this helped EasyJet get more customers thus making EasyJet flights prices cheaper. EasyJet also uses the website as an aggressive tool. A good example is the competition to predict BA losses on Go enticing visitors with prizes. EasyJet also had earlier on used a TV series to promote itself in every household in the UK. The value proposition and differential advantage of this strategy can be seen on the benefits offered to customers as well as cost cutting experience by EasyJet. EasyJet operates cheaply making it possible to give its customers reliable, convenient and great value for money service. The EasyJet market mix (i.e. the 4ps: product, price, placement and promotion) can easily be evaluated at the structure of its website. EasyJet has identified its website audience as those on-line visitors living in Europe requiring cheap, comfortable and comprehensive real time travel without needing to go through travel agents. For this, EasyJet offers low cost, no frills flights and other services such as car rentals and accommodation (product) at reduced online price with no hidden-added cost (transparency) showing fully the price breakdown structure (price), that can be purchased direct (disintermediation) online without the need to go through third party travel agents (placement), letting travelers know where to buy ticket by advertising on TV, newspapers, EasyJet planes and through e-mails (promotion). The website has all the required information readily available in all dominant languages of the continent and is sectioned under different tabs of accommodation, travel insurance, car rentals, flight bookings and airport related transport to enable users to go directly to the service they require. Moderate use of text eradicates wastage of time yet communicates accurate message to website visitors to guide them through various links based on logical visitors usage. It also has enough information on each page to support the need of visitors without abstract marketing banners to distract real buyers. EasyJet website gives attention on usability and reliability of information rather than visibility and colorful display alone; it however does not lack color. Orange color has consistently been used throughout the website helping clients to easily associate the website with the airline. EasyJet maintains a website that can be considered an ideal re-intermediation where service provider is in direct contact with the consumers via an electronic medium (Internet). This reduces cost to both consumer and service provider and creates business value. (businessteacher.com, n.d) Implementation The implementation of EasyJet e-marketing strategy has been achieved on the companys website. The EasyJet website has been designed to offer high usability to visitor and is simpler to use compared to some of its competitors. It is simply designed, with an intuitive navigation allowing users to move from page to page without the need to go via home page. It has high functionality and is without excess baggage. It was created with the intention not to tire the visitor with redundant graphics and advertisements which would distract its visitors and make them walk away from the website. It employs moderate use of text eliminating time wastage while conveying accurate message to guide users through various links. Each page on the website consist enough required information without abstract marketing banners to sidetrack real buyers. For example if a user wants to book a flight, he would enter the date of travel, destination and check flight availability then move on to make booking or p urchase. How the managements creates new core and extended value for customers The purpose of setting up an on-line business is to ensure growth, efficiency, competitive advantage and leverage over competitors.(businessteacher.com, n.d). Using the internet, EasyJet has been able to reduce running cost and to cut down its supply chain by removing intermediaries and dealing direct with customers enabling it to sell almost 90% of its flight over the internet. EasyJet website targets business and leisure travelers who are keen on saving time and money and do not want to deal with third party intermediaries, providing them with easy access to booking, flight scheduling, transportation and accommodation. Facilities such as choice of airport lounges or parking are important in completing the process of travel booking, and having this on the website EasyJet extends value for customer. They also analyze consumer e-mail queries and use these to formulate services according to customer needs. Operating in this way reduces cost and helps the company, by use of technology mediation, to sell its product and services and create business value. There are exclusive promotions for on line booking customers and all customers who book online receive discount for each leg of the journey example EasyJet was able to reduce  £1 for people who booked online. Online customers also get the benefit of paying the price of local call. EasyJet make it a point to put all cheap flights online and customers can search flights by fair and view flights that are available over two weeks. Customers can make flight transfers, change names, reschedule flight bookings, and request duplicate confirmation by e-mail and check in on-line. There is also an option of speed boarding which enables the passenger to board the flight before other passengers. They also have flight promotions which intend to avoid customers who would fly with EasyJet. These promotions are advertised few minutes before the flight time aiming to get rid of empty seats. Balancing online and offline promotion methods The management balances online and offline promotion by using newspapers to advertise about new online promotions and offers by calling or e-mailing journalists and referring them to the website. EasyJet does this by putting internet-only promotions in newspaper encouraging travelers to purchase their ticket online. The guess BA Go Losses and the section entitled Battle with Swissair were advertised on newspaper to lure more people to the website. Impact of the implementation of the strategy on business performance The implementation of the strategy has an impact on the business performance because the site is well integrated into EasyJets existing systems and business process. A good example is the ability to feed press release into the site through electronic and new destination appearing automatically once fed into the companys information system. Also the effectiveness of the website was proved when the dedicated phone number on the site hit six months target within six weeks. The log file recorded 8 minutes average time spent on the website per person and almost each caller made a purchase. The website proved that EasyJet phone operators were busy selling tickets rather than answering questions over the phone. Legal and Ethical issues The use of Internet in e-commerce has brought up invasive legal and ethical issues. This is partly due to its underlying features and the way it has been exploited by businesses disrupting existing social and business relationships and understanding. EasyJet like many other businesses has benefited from commercial development of the internet but this commercial development demand a price from individuals. EasyJet gathers and processes customer information and uses this information for marketing by sending e-mails. This is regarded as intrusion of solitude because once a customer registers in the EasyJet website, then they will be receiving constant emails which can be really annoying. This has resulted to consumer use of spam guard (junk mail filters) to stop receiving unsolicited emails. Sherrington (2009, p 19) emphasizes that the status of a business is not respected; it is earned (Sherrington, 2009, p 19). It is not good for a business to burst into peoples inboxes or profiles on social networks such as Facebook, advertising their brands just because it has spotted a potential customer. Consumers regard this as abuse and violation of their privacy and some can punish the business by never purchasing their product or service. It is important in e-marketing to demonstrate integrity, honesty, respect and a willingness to share and apply the golden rule of treating consumers as you would like to be treated. This can be accomplished by letting consumers know before their information is gathered, give consumer the opportunity to agree or deny secondary usage of their information, give consumer access and the right to review personal data, store accurate consumer information and have in place a clear means by which consumer can address the situation if any of their right is violated. The use of cookies, spyware and other techniques enables tracking of consumers online behaviors, recording searches and sites visited by individuals. This helps business such as EasyJet in profiling customers and targeting them for specific marketing campaigns. The law and consumers regards this as intrusion of privacy (like stalking in the physical world). As a result there are a number of privacy advocacy groups on the web that monitor developments in privacy.(Laudon Traver, 2008, pg 500). The use of internet excludes a certain group of people who do not make use of internet. A good example is older people who do not seem to grasp the use of computers. EasyJet are likely not to have customers from this group of people. The use of internet sometimes violates copyright laws where intellectual properties such as trademarks of others are used without consent. EasyJet went through a legal battle with British airways for using a slogan that resembles that of BA. EasyJet called itself The webs favorite airline mimicking the BA slogan The worlds favorite airline. Conclusion This report mirrors EasyJet strategy for its online business model. In wide-ranging EasyJet strategy works well for the company. EasyJet is aware of its business environment and realize the importance of monitoring it. Through the use of internet, EasyJet succeeded to be among the top low cost, no frills airline companies in the UK. The design, structure, usability and usefulness of its website have enabled EasyJet to secure leverage over its competitors. The most important fact is that EasyJet has incorporated flexibility in its e-marketing strategy enabling it to anticipate changes and further develop its strategies to counter-act according

Sonic Drive-In Restaurant Essay -- Business Analysis

The fast-food industry is changing everyday. There are new products being introduced in the market and new slogans being created. The companies in the fast-food industry will do their best to make the greater burger, and to make bigger and better fries. Founded in 1953, Sonic has become the largest drive-in chain in the nation. Sonic was founded by Troy Smith, Jr. in Shawnee, Oklahoma. His dream was to own his own business. Sonic Drive-In keeps the 1950s alive through its chain of drive-in restaurants, each complete with speaker-based ordering systems and carhop servers - some on roller skates. Sonics top competitors are McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. McDonald’s is the leading competitor in the fast-food industry. McDonald’s has the most restaurants with 12,380 locations and has over 364,000 employees. Burger King has 11,350 outlets in 57 countries and territories worldwide. About 75% is located in the United States. Wendy’s is the third largest quick-service hamburger restaurant chain in the world, with more than 6,600 restaurants in North America and international markets. In Exhibit 1, this states the Porters Five Forces Model of Competition of The Restaurant Industry. Threat of new entrants: Because the profit margins are so small, cost is low and anyone can enter into the quick-service restaurant business. Bargaining Power of Buyers: The National Restaurant Association showed that three out of ten customers agreed that food that was prepared at a restaurant or a fast-food restaurant were an important factor in their everyday lives. The survey also stated that â€Å"three out of five customers plan to eat on the premises of quick-service restaurants and seven out of ten said that plan to eat takeout or delivery. (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson, pg. 367) Customers buy when they feel it is necessary giving them the upper hand on the industry. Bargaining power of suppliers: In the quick- service restaurant, the suppliers vary. They really do not rely distributors as large restaurants do. Threat of new substitutes: The restaurant industry is segmented into many parts: full service restaurants ($120 billion); quick- service restaurants ($110 billion); away-from-home managed institutions, examples: food services for schools and hospitals ($21 billion); and other food industries ($106 billion). (Marshall Jones, 1999). Rivalry among competi... ...que product differentiation but find ways to reduce cost to stay ahead. There is not a perfect solution in the industry. No one can predict the economic because it is always changing. Sonics specialty menu has allowed the chain to differentiate. Through its increased marketing efforts, Sonic will gain brand recognition and increase its customer base. Works Cited †¢ Hitt, Michael A; Hokisson, Robert E.; Ireland, RD. Strategic Management. 6th Ed., Masson, Ohio: Souht. Wester 2005. †¢ â€Å"Burger King.† Burger King Corporation. http://www.bk.com/ †¢ â€Å"Answer.Com.† Burger King Corporation. http://www.answers .com/burger%20 †¢ â€Å"McDonald’s.† McDonald’s Corporation. http://www.McDonalds.com/ †¢ â€Å"Answer.Com.†McDonald's Corporation. http://www.answers.com/topic/mcdonalds-s †¢ â€Å"Marshall Jones& Co.† Restaurants. http://marshalljones.com/new_page_30.htm †¢ â€Å"Restaurant Business.† Sonic Says Payment Stalls Boosted Gains. http://www.restaurantbiz.com/restaurantbusiness/headlines/articles_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000853253 †¢ â€Å"Wendy’s Restaurant.† Wendy’s International. http://www.wendy’s.com/ †¢ â€Å"Yahoo!† Yahoo. Yahoo! Finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/?u

Born Of Different Cultures Essay -- Cultural Identity Essays

â€Å"Many of us live on the hyphen of Different cultures.† This statement by Richard Rodriguez is true from many people in the world today. But what factors contribute the identification with culture and a nation? The various factors that define a culture are the way people see a cultures attitude, family values, religion in the family, and the origin of your family. At the present time the people of the world are very stereotypical, this is one of the many ways to misinterpret people of a different culture. To best understand a culture you should take the time to absorb their way of life to really appreciate their culture.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first factor, which contributes to the identification with a culture and a nation, is a culture attitude towards outsiders. In â€Å"Canadians: What do they want?† written by Margaret Atwood, it tells of Americans attitude toward the Canadians as a lesser person and their need to be liked by others. The Canadians are looked at as inferior because after WW II, American business owners went into Canada and took over most of their businesses. Some Canadians hate Americans for this because they have taken their own identity away from Canada. In â€Å"The Arab World† by Edward Hall, he uses hidden dimensions and proxemic patterns to show how the Arab culture presents itself. â€Å"I moved my body in such a way as to communicate annoyance. Strangely enough, instead of moving away, my actions seemed only to encourage him, because he moved even closer.†(p.201) This statement shows how an Arab man makes an American man nervous by getting to close. But what is too close? In the Arab culture closeness is a sign of   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2 respect, but in American culture closeness is only for people who are affectionate. Another example of attitudes in culture is in the story â€Å"Some Reflections on American Manners† by Alexis de Tocqueville. Tocqueville argues that American have no code of behavior and also has too much mobility in their actions. Through his essay Tocqueville uses the example that America has turned into an Individualistic Society and have destroyed the Aristocratic way of life with the new idea of democracy. The attitude of an insider of a culture is seen differently than what the visitors of that culture see. This view f... ...en their child is growing up in a neighborhood where they are the majority they can identify with them more easily. But when they move into a new neighborhood where they are the minority, they are usually picked on and have lower self-esteems. Trying to identify with a culture is a hard task to do for the children of the world today. Trying to find an identity for a child is an important thing while growing up.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion I believe that the factors that contribute to the identification of a culture are attitude, family values, religion, and the origin of your family. I was brought up not to stereotype; my parents put me in a school where there were diverse cultures. I 5 made many friends of different cultures and that has helped me to this day. Being able to identify with a culture better helps you to understand why and how the do things differently than you do. Most people are afraid to learn something new but when learning a new culture and not having a basis against it makes other cultures more interesting. I believe having more influence from many cultures make you a better person because you have the view of many, not just a few, or just one.

Free Essays on Terrorism: Bomb The Bastards Back to the Stone Age :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Bomb The Bastards Back to the Stone Age The terrorists groups Hamas and al-Qaida have their foundations in Islam. Both of these organizations have interpreted the teachings of Islam in a violent manner. Al-Qaida calls for the founding of a "pan-Islamic Caliphate" to overthrow and expel Westerners". Hamas views any attempts at peace as turning over control to "non-believers", and they refuse to take part in any efforts for peace. Bill Clinton's previous inaction on embassy bombings and terrorists' threats has never prevented further violent action by either one of these groups. The United States must realize the enemy this country is now facing. The philosophy in the Middle East is one of retaliation and the appearance of strength. The members of both al-Qaida and Hamas are willing to die for their cause. Suicidal attacks are common, and they will not back down or look weak. America's course of action has always been to attempt diplomacy and peace talks. Any loss of American lives proves to be unacceptable to this country. Pulling out of a country where fellow countrymen are put at risk seems completely logical to Americans, but this action appears weak and cowardly to these terrorist organizations. The worst possible course of action that the United States could take would be to pull out of the Middle East. Because of the militant philosophy of both of these religious groups, inaction will not bring peace. Although pulling out would make sense from the American point of view, it would be seen as weakness from the point of view of al-Qaida and Hamas. These groups would take this failure to retaliate as a victory and simply continue their attacks more aggressively. A strong showing is the only language these terrorists will understand.

Kaplan University

The increased use of online universities in this country have given millions of Americans the opportunity to get their degree later in life while possibly trying to juggle a career and family at the same time. These are five such universities.The first is Kaplan University.   Its website is www.kaplan.edu and the university offers master’s, bachelor’s and associate degrees as well as certificates that can provide the student with skills to compete in the fields of health care, design, criminal justice and education to name a few.   The university was founded in 1937 and the current tuition costs are ranging from $305- $475 per credit hour. This is depending upon the type of degree that the individual has chosen. The university is helpful to its alumni in the fact that accepts resumes and posts jobs on their website for employers.Its mission statement is: Kaplan University is an institution of higher learning dedicated to providing innovative undergraduate, graduate, and continuing professional education. Our programs foster student learning with opportunities to launch, enhance, or change careers in a diverse global society. The University is committed to general education, a student-centered service and support approach, and applied scholarship in a practical environment.†To contact Kaplan University by email, [email  protected] is the email address. â€Å"Since 1937, we’ve built a long and distinguished tradition as both an academic pioneer and career-maker. We’re part of Kaplan Higher Education, a premier education provider, with more than 75 campus-based schools nationwide. Unique to our education family are some of the highest ranked programs in the world. Kaplan is the world leader in test preparation and has helped more than 3 million students prepare to take the tests necessary to achieve their education and career goals. The Kaplan Professional companies provide certification training developed for adult learner s who are juggling the demands of home, family, and busy careers.† (getinfo.kaplan.edu)University of Phoenix   www.phoenix.edu) is the largest online university in the country with more than 20,000 faculty and more than 220,000 undergraduates. The university was founded in 1976 and its central location is in Phoenix, Arizona. The University of Phoenix, has grown considerably and it was recognized as the first university in the country to offer course work online. The email of the university is [email  protected] and its tuition is $475 per credit hour.Its mission statement is: The Statement of Mission and Purposes focuses clearly on student learning and identifies that focus as the vehicle through which broader institutional goals will be pursued. It also emphasizes innovation, convenience, continuous improvement, and service quality as essential to mission fulfillment.The University of Phoenix has extensive resources in the area of job postings.   There are literally th ousands of jobs postings in the website which is frequented by University of Phoenix undergraduates and alum on a daily basis. â€Å"Beginning in the early 1970s University of Phoenix reinvented the way in which working adults could achieve a higher education and made academic innovation, quality and accountability its hallmark. It pioneered an educational and service model specifically geared toward the way adults learn best and made its programs widely available to working students using common-sense scheduling and fresh new approaches to academic delivery.† ( www.phoenix.edu)DeVry University is one of the most widely known and respected universities in the country.   And now they can add their online university to that list. DeVry University: (www.devryonlinedegrees.com)   is a for profit institution for full or part time individuals seeking training in some of the more technical jobs in the country and which are already in the work force.Devry was founded in 1931 and its tuition costs per semester is $4975. Devry offers an online search engine in the way of job postings and offers a wide and diverse range of jobs to chose from; many of which place a great deal of merit on an alum from Devry University. Its email for students is: [email  protected] and its main programs are computer engineering, electronic engineering network and communicationIts mission statement is: The mission of DeVry University is to foster learning through high-quality, career-oriented undergraduate and graduate programs in technology, business, and management.   The university delivers its programs at campuses, centers and online to meet the needs of a diverse and geographically dispersed student population.Strayer University: www.strayer.edu. Is located in Washington D.C. and it a private institution.   Strayer has more than 31,000 students within its 45 campuses and serves its students online as well as in the classroom and it is unique in that fashion.The tuition is $1730 per course and its job postings and postings of resumes on behalf of its undergraduates is very helpful to the students and the website has received positive feedback for these services. The university was founded in 1892 but was made a university as recently as 1998. Its email for applicants is [email  protected]Its mission statement is: To establish opportunities for Strayer University alumni to stay connected to the University and remain on the cutting edge of business and technology. Over 112 years, the school has expanded to 45 campuses and in 11 states. â€Å"Strayer University offers an alumni directory as well as daily postings of job fairs as well as a newsletter for its alumni and undergraduates. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are available at  46 campuses in Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Washington, D.C., as well as online. Many students take advantage o f both on-campus and online courses.† ( www.strayer.edu.com)Thompson Rivers University is another online school that has earned the respect of its students.   Its campus is located in British Columbia, Canada and was established as recently as 2005 as an online university.   The school was established in 1978 and it is a public institution.   Its website is www.tru.ca/ and its email for interested applicants is [email  protected]/   The university offers free job postings and well as resumes to be posted on their website.   The services that the university offers in this are not as extensive as other, more established universities but it promises to increase its listings in the coming months.Its mission statement is: To support planning at a variety of levels across the university by providing accurate, timely, impartial and reliable information and analysis for decision-making, policy development, and internal and external constituent needs. The tuition fees are v ery reasonable at $111 per semester hour which is much lower than the above mentioned universities and one of the more affordable tuitions that I have ever come across.   And with that total being in Canadian dollars, the tuition is even less than that at just over $100 per semester hour. Here are a few fast facts about the college: Almost 50 undergraduate degree options at the TRU Kamloops Campusâ€Å"Nearly 20 professional career Diploma programs, all with ‘ladders' to a degree at the Kamloops campus Six- to ten-month Job-entry certificates, Trade-entry and Apprenticeship training at the Kamloops campus Distance education courses, and complete distance programs in selected fields. Flexible distance and degree, diploma and certificate access through the BC Centre Open Learning, currently based at our Burnaby campus.† ( www.tru.ca)Here is a summary on just a few of the online universities that are available.   And with more becoming accredited, it is becoming easier for professional adults to go back and get their degree and open up the door of opportunity when they thought that it has been closed forever.

Black Panther and Ku Klux Klan Essay

After doing research to compare/contrast the two groups, the Black Panthers and the Ku Klux Klan, it opened my eyes. I realized that the new generation is oblivious to the existence of both groups and the similarities and differences in them. I researched the two different groups to see when the groups came into existence who were the members, why they fought for rights they thought they deserved and the group’s involvement in violent acts and their remnants today. In World War II, blacks fought for the American dream willingly, but separately from the white soldiers. When the war was over, human rights activists of all races and educated blacks thought the soldiers and blacks deserved the right of equality. Malcolm X was one of the many human rights activists. He was an African-American Muslim minister he thought after years of non-violence, signing petitions, marching, praying and crying and blacks doing the impossible to be recognized as human beings, it was time for them to take it into their own hands. Malcolm X was then assassinated February 21, 1965. Today many of his quotes like this one are famous. â€Å"And when I speak, I don’t speak as a Democrat. Or a Republican. Nor an American. I speak as a victim of America’s so-called democracy. You and I have never seen democracy – all we’ve seen is hypocrisy. When we open our eyes today and look around America, we see America not through the eyes of someone who has enjoyed the fruits of Americanism. We see America through the eyes of someone who has been the victim of Americanism. We don’t see any American dream. We’ve experienced only the American nightmare.† The Black Panther Party was then founded by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale,  in 1966, it was based on ideas which were strongly associated with Malcolm X’s life works it was made up of progressive militant political organization. They advocated Black Nationalism and had strong believes in the necessity of violence and armed self-defense. They patrol African American neighborhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality and to obtain freedom from white oppression. Fought for the rights of American blacks in the US, they called themselves â€Å"Revolutionaries†. Ku Klux Klan on the other hand was founded in 1866 in Pulaski, Tennessee. The Klan members were many former Confederate veterans determined to fight for the right to restore white supremacy they called themselves â€Å"The Invisible Empire of the South†. Ku Klux Klan believed that black weren’t fighting for right but for special right and that Negros were happier when they had nothing not even their own name. They also showed resistance to policies that gave the right to economic equality for blacks and other minorities. The Black Panthers were non-violent they petitioned for the right for Black Americans to bear arms. Reason being the police weren’t there for their safety or to promote their welfare they were there to contain, brutalize and murder them. With the blacks starting to carry guns came violence. There were shootouts with police which killed many innocent people, riots that destroyed towns, blacks had means to defend themselves but then crime skyrocketed. The Black Panther weren’t organized as some thought and weren’t ready to fight a revolution they just wanted to be treated like an equal and were ready for anything that crossed there path. Ku Klux Klan had and still have a very violent disposition, they could terrorized the black and any other minorities that they thought threatened their white purity as they referred. Being that the sheriff upheld the rights of the Klan and courts upheld the rights of the sheriff. The Klan killed civil right helpers’ blacks and whites. Civil rights helpers assisted blacks learn to read so that they could vote as well as getting them to the poles to vote. KKK burned many churches, schools and were involved in lynching of hundreds. Now after two decades of failure 1982 was the official end of the Black Panther Party they did accomplish one thing a major change in police brutality in Oakland went way down. Black Panther also went back to square one the non-violence approach, by setting up organization to help needy family such as free clinic and free meal programs. Educated blacks and activist in this generation are very disappointed in blacks not getting involved and how they accept the minimum for themselves. KKK on the other hand are still very prominent and doubled in size. They even still to this day try to recruit new members by putting flyers with candy on doors in residential areas, doing pod cast, and even do interviews to try to convince the public what they are doing is right and isn’t racist as all. They are even trying to adopt highways in some states which judges aren’t allowing, even after they try to convince them it’s to keep nature clean.