Analysis of Brand Management Strategy for Shoe Company

Analysis of Brand Management Strategy for Shoe Company Chapter 1: Introduction 1. Introduction This dissertation is comprised of brand evolution and sum various steps involved to construct it. The creation and importance of Brand Awareness, Brand Image, and Brand Loyalty is discussed followed by the evaluation of Servis Sales Corporation as how successful Brand they are in Shoe industry of Pakistan. Servis Sales Corporation claims to be the largest retail shoe sellers of Pakistan therefore research is held on the company as what are the various marketing strategies SSC adopted to gain such a large market share. Steps to create brand loyalty amongst their target market and implementing effective brand management are part of this research. Branding is the main ingredient in the process of creating stable reputation, identity and strong image of a company and is always a first requirement to have competitive edge, this create awareness and work as a positive gesture towards customers to be product or brand loyal. As the Chairman of Quaker Oats Ltd, John Stuart said, if this business were to be split up, I would be glad to take the brands, trademark and goodwill and you could have it all the bricks and mortar and I would fare better than you . Leslie De Chernatony(2001 p1) In this era of globalization every company wishes to grow and expand their businesses in order to attain a healthy position in throat cutting world of business . In this effort companies faces many challenges and went through many challenges by their rivals and most of all providing customer’s satisfaction. 1.1 Background Study: The term brand arrived form the ancient Norse word meaning â€Å"to burn† Rita Clifton, John Simmons, Sameena Ahmad (2004 ;13). The original term was developed to signify the source or maker or owner of a product or item. Now a days brand is used to identify service or product’s manufacturer or seller, when we go through we see that many of the many modern concepts of brands and branding were formalised in the United States at a Procter Gamble company in the late 1800s. We get a good example of importance of brand when we talk about â€Å"Virgin† which is currently at the face of hundred business strategies. A brand will be a strong brand if people’s values match the values of brand. Branding’s means adding value to the product Marieke K de Mooij (2005: 96) Brand stands for a reputation, you are always reputed when you are always reputed when you make a promise and fulfil it. Brand is more like a human nature not just a visual, public identity or a picture. Every single who is part of the organization represents the brand of the company and pay its part to construct it. The brand is a performance measured and recorded in interaction of every area involves customers investors, employees business partners and media (www.thebrandconsultancy.com) Its quite clear that every company is conscious about its brand loyalty amongst its customers because they know this if they are successful in managing the brand loyalty of their existing customers which is company’s strategic asset it will automatically add huge value to firm. As Douglas B states that Brand Loyalty is the customer’s willingness to stay with brand when competitor come knocking with offering that would be considered equally attractive had not to the customer and brand shared a history. The degree of customer stickiness is the key to the brand’s market power. Douglas B. Holt (2004 ; p 149) Merlo (2003) mentions that the brand loyalty is rewarded by an increase in profit through repeat business, referral sales, decreased customer maintenance costs and reduced exposure to price competition. When we talk about creating and enhancing brand loyalty we see that there are not-too complex ways of increasing brand loyalty. Companies can learn to recover from mistakes. A good recovery can turn angry, frustrated customers into a loyal ones. â€Å"Companies must handle problems and complaints with Care- Communicate, Acknowledgement, respect and regard and empathy†(Merlo, 2003) 1.2 Statement of Problem: Global challenges today have forced companies not to have their business image within their home land but to spread their identity across the borders by managing brand, securing the product or a service of companies and building loyalty among customers to achieve maximum and lasting competitive edge. The aim of the research is to evaluate the brand management of Servis Sales Corporation by analyzing their marketing strategies. Research covers the analysis that how successful SSC today is in gaining brand loyalty as it is considered to be the biggest footwear seller in Pakistan. 1.3 Aim and Objectives: The main Objective of the research is the finding that to what level SSC is successful in imperialising Brand Management to embrace positive effect on their customer’s perception and has given SSC a competitive edge, as they are Pakistan’s largest shoe company. Core Objectives of Research: To analyze marketing strategies of Servis Shoes Company leading to effective brand management giving SSC a positive brand image amongst their target market. To observe various strategies adapted by SSC to enhance brand loyalty amongst their customers? To find out what steps Servis Shoes Company took to create its Brand awareness amongst it’s target market and what are the areas they still need to focus upon. To identify the involvement of consumers to the brand as in why they prefer a particular brand (Servis) on every other different brands available in the market. 1.4 Report Structure: This report will be organized as follows: Literature Review: The literature review of this report covers understanding and benefit of effective brand management that how people connect to them. Chapter includes importance of creating and enhancing awareness among consumers followed by the concepts and historical perspective of brand loyalty giving a wider view of the perception about brand loyalty and its strategic values. Company Introduction: This chapter consist of the brief introduction to Servis Sales Corporation, giving a wider view of their leading position in shoe line in Pakistan amongst their rivals. This chapter shows company background and demographics with the facts and figures about their expanded business nationwide. Research Methodology: In this chapter different method of research is discussed. It also focuses on research philosophy principle, quantitative and qualitative analysis and secondary and primary data. After studying the methods and techniques different methods are identified which is most suitable to get the reliable and most accurate data? Which is used in research? Finding and Analysis After completing the research, the data gathered through different sources from the company are analysed in this chapter, which is explained with chart and then it is moderated with the findings. Conclusion: This chapter involves conclusion and the result in the light of findings with literature. Analysis of research finding and result are discussed, Recommendation to company and further research is also the part of this chapter. Literature Review Scott Galloway stated a very good definition showing importance of brands in today’s world of marketing that â€Å"Brand is the face of a business strategy† ( Scott Galloway in Alker, 2000 :33) another well appreciated definition of brand given by American Marketing Association cited in (Kotler 2003: 418) â€Å" A brand is name, term, sign, symbol, or services of one seller or a group of seller to differentiate them from those of competitors†. A brand is essentially a marketer’s promise to deliver a specific set of features, benefits and services consistently to buyers. The marketer must think that he is offering a contract to the customer about how the brand will perform ( kotler 2003) Le Pla et ala, (2003: 3) give a more profound and in depth definition of brand: Brand is the interaction between core company ( product or service ) strengths and what is customer value . Company strengths are what company does well. The things that the customers value include the benefits of a products features, as well as what the customer see as the ongoing worth of a relationship with the company. According to Kapferer (1997 : 56), â€Å"Products are mute: the brand is what gives them a meaning and purpose, telling us how a product should be read. A brand is both a prism and a magnifying glass through which products can be decoded†. Renault invites us to perceive its models as cars for living’.. brands guide our perception of products†. Hence it can clearly be seen from the above paragraph that branding goes a long way in giving a distinct identity to a product. Rowley (1997) explains that brand communicates with consumers, according too him when consumers are familiar with a brand, they expect the same qualities, benefits and advantages from products or services which are provided under that specific brand, this easily makes their decision in favour of the brand instead of searching or gathering information regarding products fulfilling their requirements. Therefore, it can be suggested that brand accelerates consumers’ process of decision making as it provides two different ways of communication between suppliers and their consumers (Rowley, 1997) Effective Brand Management The concept of â€Å"brand management† was developed at Procter Gamble in the US in the year 1930 and is also knows as product management .Ambler (2003:82). The main reason behind Brand management is to secure the product’s future and services any company or organization, and this is only possible with the formulation loyalty amongst customers creating emotional as well as rational values. This results sales in market place and stimulating affect on the perception of a company’s products .If brand power is tied together in a proper way organization can easily maximize market share and corporate profitability. Brands if handled and managed sensibly can provide their owners a considerable benefits and rewards. Davis (2002 :6) says that the following benefits accure to the company that manages is brands effectively: Loyalty derives repeat business- A recent study by Bob Pasikoff, president of brand keys, shows that an increase in customer loyalty of only 5% can lift lifetime profit per customer by as much as 100%. Premiums price of brand allow higher margins – Starbucks represents the ultimate example of a strong brand driving a premium price resulting in greater profit. Strong Brands lend immediate credibility to new one in product introductions. A well established brands can provide instant credibility for a new product. Gillette’s Marc 3 became number one personal shaver within a month of its launch. Strong brand allow for greater shareholder and stakeholder returns. One can see a good example is Yahoo and GE are big brands with even bigger shareholder returns. Strong Brand embody a clear, valued, and sustainable point of differentiation relative to competition – No one can FedEx’s claim of overnight delivery. Loyal customer base and strong brand make customer forgiving for the the mistakes made by the company, if a company makes a mistake for instance, the strike at the Saturn car plant had little impact on Saturn’s loyalty or sales. The lever for attracting best employees along with keeping satisfied customers is Brand Strength – Companies like coca-cola, Microsoft, Intel, Disney etc. are almost always in the top bracket of survey which measures employee satisfaction. It is obvious that it’s a difficult thing to build and maintain a brand reputation like Coke, Microsoft, Nike, General Electric, etc and as David D’ Alessandro, President of John Hancock Mutual Life insurance, in Klein (2000: 145), â€Å"it can take 100 years too build up a good brand and 30 days to knock it down†. Effect of Brand on People ( How People connect to them) Scott Davis( 2002) says that, Brands are at least in part a set of promises made to consumer. The leading brand travel a particular PATH in the human mind. This PATH is an acronym for promise, acceptance, trust and hope. Certainly this PATH is intangible and cannot be co modified†. But he then mentions that these very intangibles make a customer choose Sony over JVC and Nike over Reebok. The following are the customers perceptions vis-à  -vis a strong brand (Davis, 2002) 72% of customer sat that they will pay a 20% premium for their brand of choice, relative to the closest competitive brand. 25% of customer state that price matter if they are buying a brand that owns their loyalty. Over 50% of purchases are brand driven. Peer recommendation influences almost 30% of all purchases made today. More than 50% of consumers believe a strong brand allows for more successful new product introductions and they are more willing to try a new product from a preferred brand because of the implied endorsement. The view of Le Pla et al, (2002 ; 3) is that a strong brand is much more than an image or a logo. People emotionally identify with a strong brand and relationship with such a brand makes them feel more secure and comfortable. This is completely in sync with Kotler’s ( 2003) example of a consumer buying a Mercedes because the car ( which is also a strong brand) makes him feel more important and admired’. Aaker (1991) suggests that anything which a consumer realises about a brand can be defined as brand association it according to him it create positive consumer attitudes towards brands, thus influence consumer buying decision process. Kapferer (1997) says that brand is like a living memory. The memory factor explains why individuals preferences endure and why within a given generation people continue to prefer the brands they liked between the ages of seven and eighteen ( Guest 1964, Fry et al., 1973, Jacoby et al., 1978 in Kapferer 1997). This is proof, if it was ever needed, that strong brands do have a long-term effect on people. It is imperative now to take a more focussed look on the three constructs that constitute the basis of this study. The first to be analysed will be brand awareness followed by brand loyalty and brand image. Brand Awareness a number of the definition if the term â€Å" Brand Awareness† abound, a fundamental definition of the term is given by Aaker(1991: 61) â€Å" Brand Awareness is the ability of a potential buyer to recognize or recall that a brand is a member of certain product category†. David Aaker’s (1991) ground braking work â€Å"managing brand equity† details with the concept of brand awareness comprehensively. Hence, it has been use here as a main reference, although it has been complimented with other readings. Aaker says that brand awareness involves a link between the product class and the brand. For example, the use of the large balloon with the word Levi’s on it may make the name more salient, but it will not may necessarily help improve brand awareness. However if the balloon is shaped to resemble a pair of Levi’s 301 jeans , the link to the product is provided, the balloon’s effectiveness at creating awareness is enhanced. Aaker (1991). By using the brand, perceiving it and being confronted with it through advertising, consumers learn about its meanings. All this information is connected associatively to the brand name. the richer this associative network is, and the stronger the associations the greater the chance of consumers thinking. Levels of Brand Awareness â€Å"Brand Awareness involves the continuum ranging from an uncertain feeling that the brand is recognised, to a belief that it is the only one in the product class. This continuum is presented in the ‘ Awareness Pyramids’’’ ( Aaker 19991 : 62) Levels of Brand Awareness ( Aaker, 1991) Aaker stated that â€Å"the minimal level of brand is recognition which is based upon aided recall test where respondents are given a set of brand in a product category and asked to identify those that they had heard of before. Thus, although there needs to be link between the brand and the product class, it needs not to be strong. Brand Recognition is particularly important when a buyer chooses a brand at the point of purchases† (Aaker 1991 ;62). Franzen et al, ( 2001) stated that the situations in which none of the choice alternatives is well represented in or memory, brand familiarity ( recognition) will be the determinant in the choice process. The purchases in which consumers regularly choose and re-choose because of the awareness stored in his memory, aided brand awareness i.e. brand recognition has hardly any significance. If we see further we see that brand recall is the further level dependent on asking a person to name brand in a product class. This is â€Å"Unaided recall† because , unlike in the recognition task, the responded is not aided by having names provide. Unaided recall is a substantially more difficult task then recognition, and is associated with a stronger brand position. The first named brand in an unaided recall task has achieved top-of-mind awareness. (Aaker 1991) Strategic Value of Brand Awareness Brand Awareness provides a sustainable competitive advantage and can be a key strategic asset for the company ( Aaker 1998) The following are the banifits of creating a higher brand awareness ( Aaker 1991: 63) ( Figure 3); Anchor to which other association can be attached : Brand Recognition is the first basic step in the communication task. It usually is wasteful to attempt to communicate brand attributes until a name is established with which to associate the attributes. Familiarity/Liking: Awareness provides the brand with fimilarity and people like the familiar. They are prepared to ascribe all sorts of good attitudes to items that are familiar to them ( Aaker et al., 2000). Especially for low involvement products like soap, chewing gum, sugar , facial tissues etc., familiarity can some times drive the buying decision. Substance/ Commitment: Name awareness can be a signal of presence, commitment and substance, an attribute very important to consumer buyers of durables. The logic is that if a name is recognised, there must be a reason like: The firm is widely distributed. The firm has advertised extensively. The brand is successful-others use it. Even if the person has not been exposed to advertising and knows little about, brand awareness could lead to the assumptions that the firm is substantial and backs the brand with advertising. Brands to consider: The role of brand recall (discussed earlier) is crucial for frequently purchased products like coffee, detergent, serials et. Several studies have demonstrated the relationship between top of mind recall and attitude/purchase behaviour. One such study, of six brands in the three product classes (Fast food, Soda and banking), showed large differences in preferences and purchase likely hood, depending on weather the brand was first, second or third mentioned in an unaided recall task (Woodside and Wilson, 1985 in Aaker, 1991). Sometimes it is possible that people recall brands that they dislike strongly. Benefits of Brand Awareness (Aaker 1991) A number of researchers besides Aaker have also demonstrated that brand awareness is a particularly important concept relative to brand evaluation in predicting and explaining consumer choice behaviour. For instance, Arch G (1996 :38) refered to Axelrod (1968 , 1986) demonstrated that top-of-mind awareness (TOMA) of a brand is a sensitive and stable measure than can serve as an intermediate criterion for predicting brand-choice behaviour and brand-switching behaviour. Axelrod (1968) in Aech G(1996 ; 38) emphasized the needs for developing valid and reliable intermediate survey indicators of whether marketing and advertising influence product and brand choice behaviour because of the greater expense and time necessary for experiments to measure the impact of marketing and advertising actions on such behaviour. Haley et al, (1979 in Holden et al., 1992) postulated that brand awareness is more important than attitude. This nation was supported by Hauser (1978 in Holden et al ., 1992) who, using an information theoretic approach, reported that the probability of inclusion of the brand in the evoke ( recalled ) set accounts for more variation in brand choice thus brand attitude (Holden et al., 1992) Similar to Aaker ( 1991), Holden et al, (1992) also say that in the case of low involvement purchase, Brand recall may be reason enough to buy the brand ( that has been recalled Also a high degree of brand awareness is linked to higher sales due to the factor of â€Å" Social desirability† . Most people tend to behave according to the expectations of their social environment, even when it goes against their own opinion. If they are aware of the brand, they will have a tendency to buy it because it is the socially desirably thing to do ( Franzen et al., 2001). Copeland (1923: 287) talked about the benefits of brand awareness as follows â€Å" if the consumer’s previous acquaintance with the brand has been favourable, or if the manufacturer’s and dealer’s advertising has made favourable impression, other things being equal, the recognised brand will be selected from among other unrecognised brands†. Creating and Enhancing Brand Awareness Because consumers are bombarded everyday by more and more marketing messages, the challenge of creating awareness is considerable ( Aaker, 1996). The best approach for every brand to create and maintain brand awareness depends upon the context but the following do server as good points ( Aaker, 1991: 72) ; Be Different, Memorable: An Awareness message should provide a reason to be noticed and it should be memorable. There are many tacks that work but one key is to simply be different and unusual. Involve a slogan or jingle: A Slogan or a Jingle can make a big difference. Slogans like â€Å" it floats† or â€Å"Just do it† can help recall. For a product class like soap, it might be easier to come up with â€Å" it floats† and then Ivory, rather than to name Ivory directly. The link to the slogan might be stronger because it involves a product characterstic that can be visualised. Similarly, a jingle also is vey powerful awareness device. Symbol exposure: A symbol can play a major role in creating and maintaining awareness because it involves a visual image which is much easier to learn and to recall than a word or a phrase. Event Sponsorship: The primary role of most event sponsorship is to crate or maintain awareness. For example, the Benson and Hedges Cricket world cup, the Mercedes super 9- tennis tournament etc. It must be noted that the strongest brand are managed not for strategic awareness. It is one thing to be remembered ; it is quite another to be remembered for the right reason ( Aaker, 1996). Brand Loyalty Every company’s endeavour is to increase its brand loyalty in order to retain as many consumers as possible and it can be well assumed when we see that in 2000, the NDP Group, an international market research company in New York, conducted a survey that half of 20,000 respondents who described themselves as loyal to a company one year were no longer loyal the next. According to Frederic Rechheld, founder of Boston-based consulting firm Bain and Company, the average American company loses half of its customers every five years The next economy  By Elliott Ettenberg, NetLibrary, Inc (2001 ;34) The Brand Loyalty concept from Historical Perspective Contrary to what some people believe brand loyalty has existed for a long time in the realm of marketing. Copeland (1923) first introduced this concept around 80 years ago. He talks about three ascending stages of brand loyalty-consumer reorganisation ( when the product is recognised and bought from among a host of unrecognised products), consumer preference ( when pervious use or advertising has created a favourable preference in the consumer’s mind) and consumer insistence. The third stage is the pinnacle of brand loyalty where the consumer approaches the purchase of an article with the attitude that he will accept no substitute ( Copeland, 1923). Different Perceptions of Brand Loyalty â€Å" Brand Loyalty is the biased behavioural response expressed over time by some decision making unit with respect to one or more alternative brands out of a set of such brands†. More recently, the concept of loyalty have evolved further, encompassing a rich diversity of dimensions underlying the relationship that a customer may entertain with a brand. Martin et al.,(2004:217) referred Oliver’s statement in his book â€Å"Loyalty involves a favourable attitude towards the brand or organisation and positive re-purchase intentions. This can be further understood by investigating the element of loyalty. Cognitive Loyalty, in which the brand is cognitively compared with alternatives ( generally on functional grounds); Affective loyalty, in which the customer likes the brand or organisation as a result of previous satisfying experiences; Conative Loyalty, which reflects an intention to re-purchase; action loyalty, which relates to a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronise a preferred product/services consistently in future†¦ despite situational influences and marketing effort having the potential to cause switching behaviour’ ( Oliver 1999 cited in Martin et al.,(2004:217) In (2001) Chaudhuri and Holbroo stated couple of characteristic of brand loyalty â€Å"purchase loyalty and attitudinal loyalty mentioned by mentioned by Marion Maguire(2007), â€Å"Behavioural, or purchase loyalty consist of repeated purchase of the brand, whereas attitudinal brand loyalty includes a degree to the authors, purchase loyalty leads to greater market share because of higher levels of repeat purchase among their users†. It is found in the research that consumer’s perception about price of brands is not linked to brand loyalty. Another suggestion given by Dick and Basu (1994) says that â€Å"loyalty related marketing advantages, such as favourable word of mouth, which, in turn might increase market share†. But the findings of Dall’Olmo Riley et al. (1997) discerned that the attitudinal loyalty of many individual consumers appears to be fickle, According to them, various studies (by Achenbaum, 1982 repeat responses ranging about 50% in individual attitudinal answers (e.g. Taste Nice†) at two subsequent times, independent of the attitude scales used and from the length of the interval between interviews. Overall their interpretation was that specific attitudinal beliefs do not seem to be very strongly held but vary stochastically ( in random manner) (Dall’Olmo Riley et al., 1997) Rothschild (1987) at the university of Wisconsin, evaluated brand loyalty as encompassing only the behavioural aspect. He suggests that a psychological process that may explain brand loyalty is the one of behaviourism. The central concept of behavioural learning theory is that behaviour that is positively reinforced is likely to reoccur while that which is not reinforced, or punished, will be extinguished. Consumers become loyal to brands that are reinforcing to them: good decision are reinforces while poor decisions are not ( Rothschild, 1987). Dekimpe et al, (1997) also share Rothschild’s (1987) view and say that the approach is justified as behaviour is observable and hence easier to measure. Richard Elliott and Larry Precy quoted Franzen (1999) saying that loyalty brand users have a high degree of bonding with the brand and do not show much of an urge to switch. Its basically the bonding here meant was part of brand equity but it necessarily doesn’t need to be a function of brand equity. also if its contribution is there. Loyalty of a brand may be not habitual or it can be the high cost of switching to another brand. But when there is a genuine preferences involved it really contribute to brad equity. Quester et al, (2003) say that the behavioural approach to Brand Loyalty (taken by Rothschild, 1987 ; Dekimpe et al., 1997) many present an over simplistic view of the construct. Behavioural definitions are insufficient to explain how and why brand loyalty is developed and modified in consumers ( Dick and Basu, 1994 in Quester et al., 2003). Repeatedly buying a brand (behavioural approach) may reflect only the convenience inherent in the repetitive and habitual behaviour rather than any real commitment to the brand purchased (Quester et al., 2003). Habituals’ as termed by (Knox 1997) in Quester and Lim., 2003) display only behavipural loyalty and are very likely to switch brands if there routine purchases cycle is disturbed. â€Å"For ‘habituals’ and /or spurious loyals’. The brand is not closely tied to the consumers belief system, so they can be easily attracted by a competing brand that offers a better deal, a coupon etc. Behavioural definitions, therefore, essentially fail to distinguish between habitual or spurious loyalty and true ( or international) loyalty and it may be misleading to infer brand loyalty from merely overt purchase behaviour† (Quester et al.,2003 : 27). Fournier et al, (1997) have analysed the concept of brand loyalty in new light and have come up with some very interesting insight regarding the same. According to them, (1997) a major assumption while reaching the concept of Brand Loyalty is that loyalty process is a Black and white quality. This tendency towards dichotomy not only precludes attention to loyalty levels and type, but also blinds the researcher to the value that may exist in relationship classified as Disloyal ( Fournier et al. 1997) The research of eight brand loyal coffee drinkers by Fournier et al, (1997) revealed three intriguing loyal consumer-brand relationships namely martial commitment, falling in love consumers brand relationships namely martial commitment, falling in love and best friendship. Each of the above relationships share a strong and meaningful life theme connection that adds significant value in the consumer’s mind. On the other side, Fournier et al ., (1997) also found some rather piquant Non-Loyal Relationships. One of the interviewees shared meaningful relationships with not one, rather three coffee brands. Financial limitations prevented him from bonding exclusively to one brand. â€Å"By connecting at the level of kinship, a portfolio of brand candidates that at first glance appears as a set of interchangeable substitutes is revealed as a family of meaningful partners in the consumer-brand environment† (Fournier et al., 1997 :463). Fournier at al, (1997) say that the existing brand loyalty measurement process emphasizes share-of-use over the strength and character of brand relationship form. This approach is flawed in their opinion because â€Å"As with people expressions of loyalty need not be associated with exclusivity, but with emotional tenor and sincerity of intentions over time. Also, like normal human relationship, brand loyalty may sour overtime and subsequently change. In accepting the power of both Brand and Consumer to affect the relationship, loyalty is better appreciated as a dynamic phenomenon† (Fournier et al., 1997 :467). A consumer-based conception of loyalty that recognizes multi-brand relationlity and the delicacy of even a strongest of consumer-brand bonds seems more aligned with the realities of today’s variety-filled marketplace. (Firat and Venkatesh, 1995 in Fournier et al., 1997) The biggest criticism of the work of Fournier et al, (1997) is actually acknowledged by their own selves when

The American Dream in Lorraine Hansberrys A Raisin in the Sun and Arth

Centuries ago, Americans were fighting for their freedom from Britain. Then, the American dream was to have freedom. To American then, being free and having their own individual country was enough. Up until a few decades ago, African Americans were fighting to have equal rights. They thought this was all they needed and they would be truly happy. Somewhere over the course of time; happiness had a new meaning for all Americans. Now material possessions are what it takes to be happy. The American dream is to be rich. A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry, and Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, both address the American Dream. Both plays discuss the desire for wealth and how the desire may lead to one’s downfall. However, each play is very different in addressing issues such as race and feminism. A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman have the same major theme of the American Dream, but address other issues differently along the way. A Raisin in the Sun is about an African American family in Chicago. Living in the same old broken down house is Lena Younger, who is the mother to both Beneatha and Walter, who also live in the house. Walter is married to Ruth and is the father of Travis. As the play begins, the family is about to inherit an insurance check for 10,000 dollars. This money comes from the death of Lena’s husband. Each member of the family wants to do something different with that money. Lena wants to buy a bigger house in a nicer area, and Ruth agrees with her. Beneatha wants the money to go to tuition for medical school. Walter wants to invest the money in a liquor store, so he can own the store, and become successful and rich. He is tired of just being a cab driver. However, Lena inten... ...e almost called Mr. Linder and made that deal with him when he found out that he lost the money, but his family was there to help him figure out that that would not be the right thing to do. On the other hand, Willy’s relationship with his family is what led him to suicide. The role of woman is also handled differently in the two plays, along with the role of age and race. The two plays had similar points, but were also quite different. Works Cited Cleage, Pearl. â€Å" Black Issues Book Review†. Playright’s Choice 3 (1995): 20- 23. Evans, Everett. â€Å"What’s Hot on Stage†. Houston Chronicle. 28 Oct 1994: Pgs 10- 12. Laban, Linda. â€Å"Raisin in the Sun Raisin’s in the Rounder†. Boston Globe. 5 Apr 2001: pgs 8-11. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Penguin Books, 1992. Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1949.

College Is a Waste of Time and Money Essay

1. Affluence- Abundance of money, property and other material goods Permissive- Habitually or characteristically accepting or tolerant of something, as social behavior or linguistic usage, which others might disapprove or forbid Elitist- A person having, thought to have, or professing superior intellect or talent, power, wealth, or membership in the upper echelons of society 2. The time and money put into college are not balanced with the return rate. * Society has developed an unspoken standard that college is the best fit for upcoming adults and for them to achieve the highest education possible. But in fact, most students do not want to be there because they do not want to learn. * â€Å"no more than 25 percent of their students are turned on by classwork†¦up to 30% are in college reluctantly† * College has failed at its expectations and promises to give opportunities to students that most bargained for. * There is already a surplus of adult workers in the economy with more experience than the out-of-college student. Even with a degree in hand, graduated students do not have the upper hand over the experienced adults. * College education fails to ready students for the real because liberal arts is a religion rather than a preparation. * â€Å"A liberal-arts education is supposed to provide you with a value system, a standard, a set of ideas, not a job.† 3. College is an over-rated system that does not give out what a student gives in. 4. Based on the author’s logic, I do agree with the author’s argument. Although she uses a small amount of specific evidence, she reasons well and thoroughly. As society has developed, it has pushed for everyone to obtain the highest education possible, which most students aren’t prepared for nor will they continue with their degree. The world simply cannot go round with a population full of highly educated people.

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights

Hillary Clinton Bio - Political Career Highlights Hillary Clinton is a Democrat and the partys nominee for president of the United States in the 2016 election. Clinton is also one of the most polarizing figures in modern American politics. She is a former first lady who launched her own political career after leaving the White House. Her primary opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 was U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a self-described Democratic socialist who drew large crowds after building a solid following among young voters.   If elected, Clinton  would be the first woman president in history.   Many progressive Democrats, however, were lukewarm toward her candidacy because they believed her to be too tied to Wall Street. And Republican Party leaders cheered her candidacy because they believed their nominee would easily beat a scandal-plagued candidate in a general election in which trust would become a major issue.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve As Hillarys Vice President? Here are some key facts about Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clintons Campaigns for President Clinton has run for the Democratic presidential nomination twice, once in 2008 and again in 2016. She lost the primary race in 2008 to Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency that year by defeating the Republican nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain. Clinton won 1,897 delegates in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries, short of the 2,118 needed to win the nomination. Obama won 2,230 delegates. Related Story: Why the 2016 Democratic National Convention is Being Held in Philadelphia She was widely seen as the presumptive nominee even before the 2016 campaign began, and she lived up to those expectations in many of the early primaries, including her substantial victories on Super Tuesday of that year. Key Issues When she announcer her candidacy in April of 2015, Clinton made it clear that the biggest issue of her campaign would be the economy and helping the vanishing middle class. In a short video posted on the Internet by her campaign that month, Clinton said: Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times, but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by. You can get ahead, and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong. Related Story: Hillary Clinton on the Issues At Clintons first campaign rally, held in June of 2015, she continued to focus heavily on the economy and the struggles of the middle class hit hard by the Great Recession of the late 2000s. We’re still working our way back from a crisis that happened because time-tested values were replaced by false promises. Instead of an economy built by every American, for every American, we were told that if we let those at the top pay lower taxes and bend the rules, their success would trickle down to everyone else.What happened? Well, instead of a balanced budget with surpluses that could have eventually paid off our national debt, the Republicans twice cut taxes for the wealthiest, borrowed money from other countries to pay for two wars, and family incomes dropped. You know where we ended up. Professional Career Clinton is an attorney by trade.  She served as counsel to the  House Judiciary Committee 1974. She worked as a staffer investigating the impeachment of President Richard M. Nixon amid the Watergate scandal.   Political Career Clintons political career began before she was elected to any public office.   She served as: First Lady of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and 1983 to 1993: She served in this capacity when her husband served as the 40th and 42nd governor of the state.First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001: She served in this capacity after her husband was elected president and served two terms.U.S. Senator from New York from  Jan. 3, 2001, to Jan. 21, 2009U.S. Secretary of State under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013 Major Controversies Clinton became a polarizing figure in American politics before even being elected. As first lady, she helped draft and propose sweeping changes to the nations health care system, earning the ire of congressional Republicans who believed she was unqualified to oversee the changes and a public that was skeptical of her involvement. The health-reform debacle was critical in framing Hillarys public image, and despite her years of accomplishment in her own right, she still carries the burdens of that failure, wrote The American Prospect. But the most serious scandals surrounding Clinton was her use  of a personal email address and server instead of a more secure government account as secretary of State, and her handling of the attacks in Benghazi.   Related Story: Could Bill Clinton Serve In Hillarys Cabinet? The email controversy, which first surfaced in 2015 after she had left the position, and lingering questions over her preparedness as secretary of State during the Benghazi attacks both plagued her 2016 presidential campaign. Critics alleged Clintons behavior in both cases raised questions about whether she could be trusted if elected to the most powerful position in the free world. In the email scandal, her political foes suggested her use of a private email served opened up classified information to hackers and foreign enemies. There was no evidence it had, however. In the Benghazi attacks, Clinton was accused of doing too little, too late to prevent the deaths of Americans at a U.S. diplomatic compound there, then covering up the administrations bungling of the attacks. Education Clinton attended  public schools in Park Ridge, Illinois. In 1969 she earned a bachelor of arts degree from Wellesley College, where she wrote her  senior thesis on Saul Alinskys activism and writings. She earned a law degree from Yale Law School in 1973. Personal Life Clinton is married to former President Bill Clinton, who served two terms in the White House. He is one of  only two presidents who have been impeached in U.S. history. Clinton was accused of  misleading a grand jury about his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and then persuading others to lie about it. Their permanent address is  Chappaqua, a wealthy suburb of New York.   The couple has one child, Chelsea Victoria. She appeared with Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail in 2016. Hillary Clinton was born Oct. 26, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois. She has two brothers,  Hugh Jr. and Anthony. She has written two books about her life:  Living History  in 2003, and  Hard Choices  in 2014. Net Worth The Clintons are worth  between $11 million and $53 million, according to financial disclosures.   The last time  Clinton filed financial disclosures as a member of the U.S. Senate, in 2007, she reported a net worth of between $10.4 and $51.2 million, making her the  12th wealthiest member of the U.S. Senate at the time, according to the Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics. She and her husband have earned at least $100 million since leaving the White House in 2001, according to published reports. Much of that money comes from speaking fees.  Hillary Clinton is said to have been paid $200,000 for each speech shes given since leaving the Obama administration. ___ Sources for this bio include: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, Living History, [New York: Simon Schuster, 2003],  Center for Responsive Politics.

What to Do the Week Before the SAT if You Havent Prepared At All

What to Do the Week Before the SAT if You Havent Prepared At All This is it. You have exactly one week before you head to the testing center and take the SAT. You have not prepared at all before now, and you only have one week - just seven short nights - before you take the test that can help or hurt your chances of getting into the college or university you are  dying  to get into. So, what do you do the week before the SAT that can make any sort of difference in your score? Cram like a maniac? Completely forget about looking at test prep material at all because, after all, what good would it do? Reschedule your SAT? Have a panicky meltdown in the cereal aisle of Target?   Before you get any crazy ideas, take a peek at the things you  should  be doing to get yourself ready this week so you have a shot at getting a good score on test day.   Go Immediately to a Bookstore and Buy an SAT Test Prep Book Go to the store and pick up a test prep book for the SAT. Choose one from either The Princeton Review, Kaplan Test Prep or The College Board. The Princeton Review is the most readable, so Id start there. Make sure the book you buy is for the Redesigned SAT, the test that took over for the old SAT in March of 2016. There will be nothing worse than prepping for a test that no longer exists.   Go To KhanAcademy.org  and Take an SAT Practice Test The Khan Academy has partnered with The College Board, the makers of the SAT test, to provide students with free SAT practice tests to help you get ready for the exam. Ideally, you should have been using this site for the last four weeks to really hone your skills. However, there are still some things you can do on the site to get you better prepared for the test on Saturday. Before we do them, we need to know the areas in which you need the most help. So first, take a full-length practice SAT test. You will need to sign up with your Facebook or email account.   Pinpoint Your Weaknesses At this point, you must focus on the areas of the test in which youre the least proficient. That means, after you take the practice test and the Khan Academy scores it for you, write down or print out the area scores that were the lowest. Was it Math? Great. Youll be zeroing in on that. Youll need to focus on your weaknesses- and exclusively on them- most of this week.   Strengthen Your Weaknesses Since youve narrowed down the areas of primary concern, you need to start pumping them up! Again, go to the Khan Academy website, and complete the practice problems for the areas that you were the weakest, Likewise, go to your test prep book and read through the sections and complete the practice problems in those weak areas. Youre going to spend 4-5 days working on these sections to really boost them up as much as possible. Check out your Strengths   After youve really nailed down your weakest section, spend one day learning about the sections of the test where you scored the highest. Was it  reading? Or writing? Read through the test directions, the content youll need to know, and complete as many practice questions as you possible can. Write a Practice Essay If you havent already, write a timed SAT essay using one of the prompts from the test prep book. Although the essay isnt figured into your overall score and is no longer a required feature of the SAT exam, many colleges and universities still require it and may use it to assess your overall readiness for the program in which youre interested. At the very least, youll get a refresher on writing an essay in a short amount of time.   Take One More Practice Test This time, try to simulate the test-taking experience as much as possible, and take the paper practice test in the back of the book. Sit at a desk in a quiet room. Set a time-limit just like youd have on test day, and work through the problems with efficient test-taking strategies. Dont you dare cheat by getting up in the middle of the test or guzzling a soda in the middle of it, either. Its good to practice disciplining yourself to sit and focus.   Get All Your Stuff Ready The Night Before There are several things you need to do the night before the SAT. First, be sure you have your admission ticket and photo ID ready to go. Then, check for test center closings and plan out your route to the testing center. Set your clock. Get your clothes ready so youre not scrambling in the morning. Want the complete list? See it here.   Relax the Night Before At this point, youve done everything you can do to get ready for the SAT in the limited time youve provided yourself. So...relax. Go out to dinner with your family. Watch an EARLY movie and hit the sack EARLY so you can be bright and refreshed for that early morning wake-up call. You can sabotage all of the hard work youve put in by doing something silly like going out or partying the night before the SAT.

Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems within SMEs Essay

Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems within SMEs - Essay Example Under these circumstances it is essential to conduct a detail research all factors that help SMEs in providing good corporate governance while preventing accounting crime through careful selection of accounting software. This project, therefore, will provide advice on selecting and implementing appropriate information technology tools or software among hundreds or more available accounting software packages currently available in the market. AMI-partners tell "[in the U.S. alone] small businesses [] spent $86 billion on IT products and services over the past 12 months [in which] spending on IT products and services grew by 11 percent" (Small Business Computing, 2003).1 The project, for that reason, will discuss various considerations need to take into account for SMEs when selecting and implementing accounting software. In compliance with the issue, Lisa Kanarek (2004), the founder of HomeOfficeLife.com and the author of some books on home office business, says that deploying high tech technology like accounting software should consider several items in order to ensure increased productivity effectively and efficiently. For that reason, the product of this rese... ploying high tech technology like accounting software should consider several items in order to ensure increased productivity effectively and efficiently. For that reason, the product of this research is list of several appropriate considerations for SMEs in selecting and implementing accounting software packages that match their operational needs while taking into account strategic software implementation strategies obtained over the courses of the research. Problem to be Solved and Worth Selecting the best accounting software become challenging task since it will determine whether the company have spend money for useful software package or vice versa. There are thousands or possibly millions of standard and customized accounting software available in the market. To figure out the number of accounting software, we can try to use 'accounting software packages' as keywords word while searching out with Google. We might be surprised to see that there are about 1,690,000 sites about accounting software packages. Although the number does not reflect the exact number of accounting software, at least, it indicates the growing concerns on the development of accounting software packages. The vast number further implies that ones should have appropriate tools in selecting and then implementing suitable accounting software that match their diverse needs and characteristics. This situation suggests we should perform thorough research and understand what we needs and expect from accounting software packages so that the software will be supporting tools for managements in assessing the accounting performance while acting in accordance with good corporate governance. Unfortunately, there is no common rules determining the way we should take in selecting and implementing

Corporate Training Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Corporate Training - Essay Example This paper presents a detailed research analysis in to the training practices prevalent in the South African entities and the effect of such training on the global competitiveness of the firms form the view point of the management and also the threats and opportunities the training poses form the employees' view point. The biggest challenge for many companies is found in establishing a workforce that is enthusiastic and at the same time having a sense of belonging to the organization. Through research studies, this has been identified as a key element in ensuring the corporate success both in the short and long-term functioning of the firms. In the current business environment of increased labour attrition rates, employee retention has been the major task of the Human Resources Professional in many larger organizations. They are always on the look out for innovating techniques of increasing the job satisfaction and morale of the employees in order to keep the attrition rates low. One of the distinct ways of securing the employee retention is to impart periodic comprehensive training programmes on developing the skills of the employees so that they become more useful to the organization. ... Section 1 Introduction The biggest challenge for many companies is found in establishing a workforce that is enthusiastic and at the same time having a sense of belonging to the organization. Through research studies, this has been identified as a key element in ensuring the corporate success both in the short and long-term functioning of the firms. In the current business environment of increased labour attrition rates, employee retention has been the major task of the Human Resources Professional in many larger organizations. They are always on the look out for innovating techniques of increasing the job satisfaction and morale of the employees in order to keep the attrition rates low. One of the distinct ways of securing the employee retention is to impart periodic comprehensive training programmes on developing the skills of the employees so that they become more useful to the organization. The effects of such training on the employee motivation and improved performance has been proved many a times res ulting in higher advantages to the employer. It is important to understand though the business employs the greatest business model in the world and the best of the systems, unless the employees have the strength and ability to handle such sophisticated corporate aids, it may not really help the firm to enjoy the benefits of such investments. The employee trainings may cover a wide range of corporate functional areas including developing the communication skills of the employees, improving the technical skills, training about quality concepts and interpersonal relationships. The different aspects of training and development has varying impact on the employers and employees in that the employers look at the training