Consumer Ethics Essay

In this paper I will express my opinion on the thought that some marketers say that targeting any group of consumers who are willing and able to purchase a product is simply good marketing. I will discuss why I believe that this is a good marketing technique. I will also discuss whether or not I think it is important for college students to study the topic of consumer ethics. Good Marketing? I believe that it is a smart marketing technique to target any group of consumers who are willing and able to purchase a product even if it is fatty foods and soft drinks being marketed towards children. The reason that I believe this is because it is the marketer’s job for a company to get consumers to purchase the product that they are advertising. Although it may be morally wrong to target children for products like candy, they are most likely the group who will either be purchasing this product or influencing their parents to purchase it. This is why I believe it is a smart strategy for marketers, although it may be slightly questionable. Consumer Ethics I believe that it is important for college students to study consumer ethics. The reason that I believe this is because in order for us to fully mature as adults I think that we need to learn how to be completely ethical in all aspects of life, including being a consumer. Consumer ethics can teach us about software piracy, which I believe is a huge problem with many college students who illegally download music and films. I believe that this can help us in our lives so it is important for college students to learn about consumer ethics. This is why I think college students should study consumer ethics. Conclusion In this paper I discussed my feelings on two different topics. The first topic was about questionable marketing tactics, which I believe can be effective and is a good way to market. The second topic I expressed my views on was consumer ethics, and whether or not college students should study it. The main reason that I said college students should study consumer ethics is because of music piracy and how popular it is among college students. These are my feelings on these two important subjects. Bibliography Schiffman, Leon G., Leslie Lazar Kanuk, and Joseph Wisenblit. Consumer Behavior. Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, 2010.

A Foundation Week Story Essay

What is Foundation week? Other students celebrate it by not going to school because for them it’s the time of their rest day but other students celebrate it by going to school and hanging out with their friends. As students of College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences, we celebrate Foundation week by making ourselves busy. On September 22, 2014, Monday, the programme starts with the Cultural Competition and due to our Anatomy Class we’re not able to watch the competition, on the afternoon, the search for MR. and MS. Batangas State University starts. At the end of the competition, MR. Malvar and MS. CEAFA got the title for MR. and MS. BSU 2014. On the Second day of the Foundation Week, September 23, 2014, Tuesday, the programme starts with the opening talk of the University President Dr. Tirso A. Ronquillo, on the same day we perform our Bench Yell and Launched the newest symbol of valor, â€Å"The Red Spartans† , the University’s official mascot which designed by Mr. John Jeffrey Alcantara were â€Å"The Red Spartans† define the values of BatStateU; Unity, courage, and excellence. After that event we start our cooking for our Booth in the Students Fair, the third year BSND are the assigned in cooking, while second year students serves as their helping hands. On September 24, 2014, Wednesday, we need to go to school early for us to end up early our cooking session. On the same day, the opening of intramurals and cheerdance competition held, and due to our cooking we’re not able to watch the competition and according to other students who witnessed the competition, the Main Campus got the title. On September 25, 2014, Thursday, we started the day by cooking for our booth and end up the day by cleaning our booth. On September 26, 2014, Friday, Last day of the Foundation week, we started the day same as we started last Thursday, before the day ended up, the judges decided who has the best booth, and the College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences won the title. With the theme: â€Å"BatStateU @ 111: Gearing for the ASEAN Challenge of Excellence† , Foundation Week ended up successfully yet stressful but it helps us, the students, to apply what we are learning.

The fit between published theory on project management and personal Essay

The fit between published theory on project management and personal practice as a result of my participation in the ActiveBeing project 2014-15 - Essay Example According to this institution, the best leisure and sports facilities require making a consideration for â€Å"Accessible sports facilities† (sportengland.org, 2010:n.p.). Thus, the fit between published theory and the project management pilot panning has been accomplished in this regard. This is because; the pilot planning has made all the necessary designing of the ActiveBeing leisure complex to ensure that it accommodates the needs of persons with disability; both the employees and clients wishing to use the gym and other leisure facilities offered in the complex. This is an important consideration, owing to the fact that; according to section 21 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 of the UK, it is the duty of the providers of any public services to make the necessary adjustments for accommodating the needs of the disabled persons (legislation.gov.uk, 1995:n.p.). Therefore, the necessary considerations have been made to adjust the leisure complex buildings, so as to allow people with disability to access the complex through elevators. The Equality Act 2010 provides that it is the rights of the people with disability to be facilitated to access desired goods, services or facilities (Government Equalities Office, 2010:6). Thus, the elevators will move the persons with disabilities up and down the floor, so they can access the leisure facilities. This consideration is essential, since it ensures complying with the provisions of the UN conventions on the rights of persons with disabilities, which provides that such the needs of such people should be recognized and planned for, as a way of recognizing their dignity, worth and equal rights to enjoy services, good and facilities (United Nations 2006:n.p.). The fit between the published theory and the project management pilot planning has also been achieved, under the provisions of the management-as-planning theory. According to the provisions of management-as-planning theory, there exists a strong causal

Three Steps To Start a New Business Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Steps To Start a New Business - Term Paper Example During times such as this, small starts up businesses are advantaged because the opportunities in a recession are numerous (Bradberry, 2011). However, first step entrepreneurs should follow three steps. These are creating the business identity, registering the business, and funding the enterprise. The first step involves refining the business idea. While most entrepreneurs are stuck in wondering how to begin, simply thinking of opening a business is the beginning. What entrepreneurs must contend with is that there will always be challenges in starting a business (Ready, 2011). In order to be successful at this point, the entrepreneur must define the concept of their business. The entrepreneur will have to make a decision on the form of business they will create. This can be a limited company, a partnership, or a sole-proprietorship, the simplest of which is sole-proprietorship. At this point, do what you know. Think about your past actions in terms of the way you can transform them i nto products and services. There are three main aspects here. One should emulate what others have done, do what feels best for one’s situation, and aim to solve a common problem. In addition, the business plan needs to be worked on in its entirety at this point. This will help the entrepreneur in gaining confidence, focus, and clarity (Butler, 2008). In a sole entrepreneurship, the entrepreneur will have personal liability for the business’ debt, although he/she will earn all the profit. Sole proprietorship is relatively inexpensive with low formation costs, as well as not having to file accounts or have them audited by government-accredited agencies (Butler, 2008). If an individual is in business with another entrepreneur, then the individuals can form a partnership. In this case, both will be jointly liable for debts accrued as partners. Taxation is done separately for each partner; while this form of business owners can have limited liability for the purpose of debt s. Partnerships also have more formal structures as compared to a sole proprietorship. These must be registered with the relevant government agency. They could also decide to form an LLC, in which case their liability is limited to how many shares the individual entrepreneur has bought. This is the most expensive with registration and account costs, taxable profits, and separate taxation for each of the entrepreneur’s dividends and salary (Butler, 2008). After giving an identity to the business, he/she wants to start, the entrepreneur should then move on to the regulatory and legal requirements that they require to fulfill. First, they must register with a government agency for the purposes of the national insurance, tax, and their PAYE payments (Broad, 2012). In addition, the entrepreneur will need to get a VAT registration PIN. With regards to VAT, the government has various schemes for different entrepreneurs. If one chooses to be part of a partnership, then he or she will have to outsource to an accounting organization. This is important for protection of each partner in case of liability claims. These accountants are trained and certified with professional qualifications in public accounts. The choice of accounting firm will be important in relation to the nature of the business since every accounting firm has a unique way of member

Living on a Lifeboat Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Living on a Lifeboat - Essay Example According to Hardin, lifeboat ethics become hugely critical elements of human survival. Lifeboats have lifeboats have limited space and people in it can survive only if they do not exceed the number of persons that it can take up. Thus, people in the lifeboat must desist saving people from overcrowded boat or drowning people if they want to survive. The self-interest must prevail in the lifeboat ethics. The tragedy of the commons is perceived as hugely crucial factor that adversely impacts the interests of the people at large. The metaphor broadly refers to resources that are used by all people and as such, being ‘common’ nobody takes up the responsibility for it. Hardin says that natural resources like air and water are prime example of the metaphor. People use it indiscriminately but are not concerned as to how it should be saved for posterity as legacy for our children. Christian-Marxist moral imperatives cannot be applied across the board because world is crowded wit h imperfect human-beings and selfish people would tend to look for their own interests and which would ultimately lead to mutual ruin of the commons. This he has defined as tragedy of the commons. The system of common that affect everyone must be incorporated within the framework of government agendas and world organizations like United Nations, World Bank etc. The wealth and natural resources of the rich nations are increasingly being used to serve the needs of the poor through various agencies. Thus, they can become vital tools or platforms to promote sustainability of resources, with pre-requisite conditions like population control, plantation drive, reforms in agricultural area etc., while disbursing aids in the poor countries. Human survival is at stake because of extreme burden due to increasing population on the limited resources of earth. The rising population has led to fast urbanization which has caused destruction of natural resources in terms of deforestation, pollution of air and water, indiscriminate use of fossil energy etc. Thus, it is important that system of common must become more responsible towards their consumption of natural resources. Hardin has applied the theory, tragedy of the common, on the immigration policy of the rich nation like America to show how the good intentions of the government could adversely impact the interests and survival of the American citizens in the long run. He says that net inflow of immigrants in America is around 400,000 per year while illegal immigrants is nearly 600,000 which goes undetected because they offer cheap labor who can be easily exploited to make huge profits by the business. Natural annual population growth rate is 1.7%, out of which immigrants make up nearly 37%! He has also put forward very interesting concept of pajoristic system that creates unacknowledged commons that tend to worsen situations. It can be applied on the immigration policy of the government that continuously allows immigrati on. A time will come when the immigrants would be same or more than legitimate American citizens and the wealth from rich American will keep going to the poor immigrants till both become poor! Indeed, Hardin’s concern is genuine because after some time, the immigrant population will not only out number the legitimate American citizens but it would also lead to scarcity of resources, lower quality of life and no significant resources left for our future generation. Hardin’

Prospective Maltese Workers and Trade Union Values Literature review

Prospective Maltese Workers and Trade Union Values - Literature review Example Until 1964, Malta was under the colonial rule of the British Empire, and it is for this reason, that its trade union values even after gaining independence, tend to reflect the rules and values of UK. At present, Malta has one of the world’s highest national union membership densities, though without any regional distinctions, of a specific type. This is largely owing to the fact that the small size of the country and the associated membership base, have led most of the Maltese trade unions to feel that affiliations to a confederate structure, are not essential. The chief religion of the state, the Roman Catholic Church, also plays a major source of inspiration for the functioning of the various trade union organisations in this country. In this context, we will first examine the trade unions in general, their values, and relevance in the modern labour market scenario. 1.1 What are Trade unions, their values, and relevance in the modern industrial relations â€Å"Trade union means any organisation, whose membership consists of employees, which seek to organise and represent their interest birth in the workplace and society and, in particular, seeks to regulate their employment relationship through the direct process of collective bargaining with management† (Salaman, 1987). ... This kind of an alliance, which is based on social partnership values, have helped in the creation of a new dimension in the study of industrial relationships, which has made it possible for starting â€Å"social dialogue[s], and [forging] cooperative relationships between employers and unions† (McLaughlin, 2007, 9). The members in the social partnerships, within industrial relations, define and identify their own requirements within the framework of their democratic structures and elected heads, which are based on the nature of the specific problems that they face in their country of operation. These requirements must necessarily portray the scheme, preferences, and orientations of the members, which form a part of the social partnership values. Within trade union values, partnership aspires to be a â€Å"relationship of equals, based on mutual respect, trust and understanding, where diversity and differences are recognised and accepted† (ibid). A look at the Trade Uni on Principles within the Madrid charter (final) shows us that trade unions accept partnerships as ‘two-way’ alliance which is also a learning experience for all the concerned parties. Partnership is founded on resolutions for the preservation of solidarity and inter-organisational cooperation, and is based on values that are stable and mutual, while its functional principles relate to the safeguarding of the rights of employees, and the democratic organisations that represent these employees. According to the trade union values, when these organisations have access to public or government resources, they become accountable to the general public. In such

Is judicial review consistent with democratic ideals Term Paper

Is judicial review consistent with democratic ideals - Term Paper Example For Marx and Engels, there is no supernatural being, only matter exists and as such, humans are alienated from material conditions. In this case, alienation is only eliminated when true freedom is achieved The first premise of this theory therefore, is the existence of living human individuals who then engage in economic activities for their subsistence and in the process develop relations that form the basis of legal and political superstructures. However, to achieve freedom societies go through conflicts or class struggles whereby the ruling class is overthrown and new order established. So according to the Communist manifesto by Marx and Engels â€Å"the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.†1This struggle or historical process ends when man achieves true freedom through a socialist state or communism. The theory is well expounded in the Preface to A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy written in 1859 by Marx. While this t heory has gained a lot of prominence over the years, it has been under scrutiny for decades owing to the failure of communism in the Twentieth Century such as in the Soviet Union and emergence of states that do not conform to Marx’s theory such as in China. The insistence on the role of economic forces in shaping history has also been disputed by sociologists over the years. Despite all these criticisms, it is apparent that historical materialism can withstand the test of time and continues to be relevant even today. This paper will discuss the primary features of the theory as an account of historical development and change. It will also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the theory in explaining historical development. To do this, I will utilize the works of Marx and Engels such as the German ideology, communist manifesto, a contribution to the critique of political economy and theory of surplus value. To understand the theory of historical materialism, it is essentia l to understand the theory upon which it is based and that is the dialectics by Geog Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Hegel was a German philosopher interested more on ideas as opposed to the reality thus the use of dialectical methods. This dialectical method is the foundation of Marxism. According to Hegel, there exists a supernatural being beyond the reach of human beings. Humans are separated from this supernatural or Absolute and can thus only perceive the world through economic and material lenses and reality is turned upside down by perceptions.2 According to Hegel, humans can only be reunited with the Absolute through a historical process and once they are reunited, it is the end of history. This progressive movement towards the Absolute is aided by the dialectical process which according to Shimp involves increasing awareness thus gradually replacing man’s perception of reality with newer and truer forms.3 For dialectical process to work there must be contradictions which he refers as thesis and antithesis. The thesis is higher in rank than the antithesis but in the process of competition, the antithesis overthrows the thesis and a new thesis or synthesis is achieved. The thesis and antithesis are not opposites in the real manner but are oppositions such as a master and servant and wherever there is a thesis, there must be an antithesis. As such, when a new thesis is established, a new antithesis emerges to compete with the thesis and the process

How to Write a Paragraph Essay Example for Free

How to Write a Paragraph Essay Writing a paragraph does not simply involve throwing words into the pool, hoping that it would create something meaningful. One must first create an outline in order to organize the scattered ideas before dedicating words into the paragraph. When writing a paragraph, one must start off with a â€Å"hook† sentence which can attract readers and encourage them to read more. That would be applicable to the introductory paragraph only. The succeeding paragraphs should contain a topic sentence rather than the â€Å"hook† sentence. After every topic sentence, the writer should support it with ideas that are related to the topic sentence’s idea. This actually composes the body of the paragraph. This part of the paragraph should be clear and concise. The writer must not use wordy sentences since it takes up a lot of space. Finally, one must conclude each paragraph by summarizing the ideas into one sentence and creating a transitional sentence which can relate the paragraph to the next. For introductory paragraphs, the last sentence should be the thesis statement of the whole paper. So when writing a paragraph, the writer should always start with an outline to organize his or her scattered ideas. This is where every paragraph should begin.

Aldi and Lidls Market Strategy: A Comparison

Aldi and Lidls Market Strategy: A Comparison Aldi and Lidl are both successful grocery retailer stores that started off their business in their home country Germany and ended up expanding their markets to almost all parts in Europe. In case of Aldi, they even have their stores in Australia and Unites States. They both had the perfect market strategies for their grocery retail store that helped them increase their profits on a larger scale. While Aldi followed a Hard discount strategy, Lidl followed a Soft discount strategy. Because of their huge success, the companies are now trying to enter the markets of Russia, Croatia, Mexico, Brazil etc. ALDI: Aldi is a German grocery retail store that offers HARD discount i.e. they sell less number of items (store brands) at a very cheap price which increases their profit. Aldi was founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in the 1960s. Aldi is short name for Albrecht Discount. They had a simple strategy of increasing their sales volume and profit by subsidising the prices of the product. They had a minimalistic approach wherein they did not spend much on the store design, customer care or advertisement. They sold their products in warehouse like stores. By decreasing the prices of the products, they were able to sell more number of products and hence larger profit. Their target consumers were the average budget consumers who prefer quality products at lower prices. They followed the theory of economies of scale. If we were to compare Aldi and Lidl in terms of their sales volume, Aldi could be found to have more market in Germany than in a foreign market. Lidl could be seen to have more sales volume in foreign markets than Aldi. Aldi has now reached market saturation on Germany and is now looking forward to expand their markets further and target a different audience. They had a turnover of  £2.76bn in 2011 (The Grocer, 2011). Aldi has over 9000 stores all around the world now. LIDL: Lidl is also German grocery retail store that offers SOFT discount i.e. they sell larger number of items that include both branded products and store products at lower prices. Lidl was opened in 1973 by Dieter Schwarz in Ludwigshafen, Germany. Lidl entered France in 1988. They now have stores almost all over Europe and also in some parts of South America. COMPARISON- SALES VOLUME: If we were to compare Aldi and Lidl in terms of their sales volume, Aldi could be found to have more market in Germany than in a foreign market. Lidl could be seen to have more sales volume in foreign markets than Aldi. REASONS WHY ALDI AND LIDL CHOSE GREENFIELD INVESTMENT STRATEGY: Greenfield investment strategy is where a company buys a land and builds its store from zero level. Aldi had a strategy of buying lands in remote districts or in regions where the cost of property is low so as to spend minimum and gain maximum. Greenfield investment strategy helps the company to integrate with the culture of a foreign market i.e. if they are targeting a foreign country. Companies could even get tax subsidies from the foreign country they are trying to penetrate on the basis that they provide employment to the locals there. Employing locals is even more beneficial as they help in better understanding of the culture in the foreign land which could in turn help in adapting and modifying their products and strategy according to the cultural differences. Aldi and Lidl were able to adapt better to the foreign markets because of this strategy as it helps in a better understanding of the market in terms of customer preferences and tastes. This strategy had a positive impact on emerging markets as there was generation of employment, exchange of knowledge and increase of living standards. Hence, the Greenfield investment strategy was beneficial to Aldi and Lidl as their primary market strategy while entering a foreign market. TO IMPROVE ITS IMAGE OF AN UNDERCLASS DISCOUNTER IN THE U.K AND IN SWITZERLAND, WHY ALDI ENLARGED ITS PRODUCT RANGE AND OFFERED A HIGHER SERVICE LEVEL TO CUSTOMERS? PROBLEMS AND RISKS ASSOCIATED: Aldi had to depart from its hard discount strategies it had back there in its home country Germany. Of course they had to come up with new strategies to survive and to make profits in the new foreign market. When they entered the UK and Switzerland, they had to face competitions from the local brands already situated there. Also in UK, cheaper goods were looked upon as low in value and quality. Hence Aldi had to increase the prices of goods so as to attract the consumers and ensure that they sell quality products. Only recently they increased the price of milk again in September, 2012. They did this so as to breakdown the image of an UNDERCLASS discounter. Prices in the UK and Switzerland are almost two times of that in Germany. Aldi also did some advertising campaigns to attract customers. In UK they started offering wide options of meat products. The sales have doubled in the UK as of 2012 survey. Aldi also had to adapt their products to suit the customer needs. They did not sell G erman products; instead they relabelled them in Switzerland and also sold regional products to satisfy the customer demands and tastes. This shows the importance of having and understanding strategies to be a winner in a foreign market. RISKS- Since Aldi is breaking way from its image of a hard discount provider and changing its strategy to survive the foreign market by increasing its price range, it could lose its customers to Lidl. In foreign markets like the U.K and Switzerland, Aldi no longer stands as an example of hard discount strategy. They spend money on customer service, advertising campaigns, store building and designing following which increase the selling price of the goods. They now sell quality products at high price. They have started un-using the very basic strategy- selling at low prices for increased profits-for which they were known. Because of their changed image, they are at risk of losing their customers. INTERNATIONALISATION OF LIDL- FAST PUSHING AND ALDI- SLOW AND WELL- CONSIDERED? REASONS? It is true that the internationalisation process of Lidl is fast and pushing while that of Aldis is slow and well considered. Aldis slow and considered approach is quite evident from the fact that it enters a foreign market with a gap of around 10 years. Aldi initially operated in Germany only. It moved to Austria only in 1967 i.e. seven years after its opening and success in the home country Germany. After ten years in Austria it entered the US market. This shows that Aldi first studies the foreign market, the scope for their growth, identifies the target consumers and come up with strategies before venturing into a foreign market. As the case study mentions, in Switzerland, Aldi first targeted German speaking regions of the country following which they penetrated their expansion. Aldi is quite cautious before venturing into a foreign market as clearly shown by the examples above. Lidl on the other hand is quite fast in their approach. They follow a sort of trial and error method. This could be seen by the way they entered Poland and Norway. At times it worked for them, but at times it has also led them to huge losses (for e.g. in Norway) In 2007, when they expanded to Poland, they were able to make huge profits as compared to the rival Aldi. This is because when Lidl entered Poland, there were lesser or no competition in the market and they were able to get a fresh start and attract customers with offers that were new for the Polish customers. On the other hand, Aldi had to face more competition as by the time they entered, the markets had matured and saturated with more competitors. But this kind of adventurous venturing could also be harmful at times for example, in Norway in 2008; Lidl had to sell its stores to the local competitor Rema due to the failure of their strategies. First of all Norway has a unique population density spread and a different geographic location. Because of this the logistics and implementation became costlier and led to losses. The location of the shop was also seen as wrong by Werner Eversten (Head of Lidl, Norway). Also there were some internal management problems like, the top management officials kept changing which in turn affected the strategy and planning process of the company. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF ALDIS STRATEGY. WHICH STRATEGY DO YOU RECOMMEND TO LIDL IN TERMS OF ITS GEOGRAPHICAL PRESENCE UNTIL 2020? Aldi is known for its well-considered approach. It still has more foreign markets other than in Europe as compared to Lidl. Advantages: Since they go for deep study of the market, the strategies required and the local demands of a foreign market, it works positively for the company as they are able to adapt to a foreign market in a better manner. Venturing into markets like the US added to their profits because they were first to offer discounts and they experienced the First mover advantage. They had fewer competitors there. They work on the theory of economies of scale and penetrate into new markets where this is a new and a strategy never heard of. They avoid risks by carefully studying and analysing the market. DISADVANTAGES: When Aldi entered foreign markets, it had to change its strategies to adapt to the customer demands of that country. As a result it had to bring in customer service schemes, advertisements, pamphlets, store designing which increased their expense. They had to increase their prices to cover for this thus shifting from their hard discount strategy. Due to this they could lose the customers in the lower income strata of the society. They will have to face the common and obvious risk of internationalisation i.e. understanding cultural differences (like in the UK) and facing the local competitors. Strategy for Lidl: Lidl has always entered foreign markets in haste. It never considered the market demands or analysed the scope or the strategies. This could do harm to the company like it did in Norway where they had to sell off around 50 stores. They open a large number of stores simultaneously in a foreign environment which is quite risky and could lead to huge losses and debts. They could have analysed more on the cultural aspect and customer tastes/preferences of the people that exist in a foreign market. They could open a few outlets initially to study the level of acceptance of their store in the foreign market and then go for gradual increasing in number of stores. They could also analyse a foreign market before they enter so as to adapt well into the market and have better strategies. They could consider the location and geography of the country before they venture to avoid huge risks. Lidl could also consider entering emerging markets like India, China, and Brazil where there is a huge market for discounted items. If they could have a well-planned strategy before they enter these markets, they could make huge profits. For example, in India, there is a large young population who are attracted to foreign store outlets and also middle-class population that prefer items in low prices. There is a promising and potential market for Lidl in India and also in China. They could have to deal with the cumbersome regulations by government but with perfect implementation of strategies, they could be a huge success there.