The Effect of Brain Hemisphere Dominance on Learning Research Paper

The Effect of Brain Hemisphere Dominance on Learning - Research Paper Example Teaching and learning have been extensively studied with respect to hemispheric dominance in order to improve the teaching experience for the benefit of students. Left brain dominant students learn better in the classrooms through lectures because they are primarily auditory learners while right brain dominant subjects grasp more knowledge when information is delivered through visual media. This paper is primarily based on analyzing the major effects of brain hemisphere dominance on students’ learning process by reviewing what contemporary research material has to say on the subject. For many years, brain hemisphere dominance has been considered little more than a scientific myth and researchers have had to struggle relentlessly to bring light to the facts. Because the effect of hemisphere dominance on learning is established now, it is important for parents and teachers to realize which children are right brain dominant and which otherwise to adjust teaching methods to those preferences. It is important to realize that â€Å"neither of these hemispheres is superior to the other, they just have different specialized functions† (Duman, 2010, p. 2078). ... lassroom are right brain dominant and which left brain dominant, information can be delivered in a way that is best received by dominant hemispheres and more importantly teachers can then â€Å"review or practice that information in ways that involve their less dominant hemispheres† (Child Learning, 2012). A variety of reliable quiz tests are available these days which can be used teachers to judge brain hemisphere dominance in their students and then devise teaching styles according to results gathered. When right/left hemisphere dominance is decided, true parental and teaching guidance can work miracles in enabling a student to intelligently process his/her thoughts, interact with, and understand others. Research implies that brain hemispheric dominance inflicts huge influence on an individual’s â€Å"study skills, homework habits, and grades† (Fleming, 2013). Right brain dominance is related to an impulsive nature less equipped with the ability to reason while left hemispheric dominance is related to a more logical mind which takes time in reaching decisions by weighing pros and cons of everything. It is claimed that right brain dominant students are rather impulsive, active, and have difficulty coping with verbal directions like in case of lectures. They also face a harder time expressing themselves in words than left brain dominant students and lose track of time easily. On the other hand, the effects of left brain dominance on learning are such that students learn better through verbal directions and effortlessly express their ideas in words. This difference in brain hemispheric dominance explains why right brain dominant individuals are often described as dreamy and left brain dominant persons as very analytical and logical. This difference in brain types is

Harry S. Truman Essay Example for Free

Harry S. Truman Essay Harry Truman was born in Lamar, Missouri, on May 8, 1884. He was the eldest of three children born to John Anderson Truman, a farmer, and livestock dealer, and Martha Young Truman. To avoid disagreement as to whether the boy’s middle name should b Shippe (for his maternal grandfather), his parents gave him only the initial â€Å"S. † Truman graduated from high school in Independence, Missouri, in 1901 and worked at various clerical jobs in Kansas City until he was 22. For the next 11 years, he operated the family’s 600-acre (240-hectare) farm at Grandview, Missouri. The purpose of this study is to describe the background, personality, character, and integrity of Harry S Truman and know some of the crucial decisions that Truman was forced to make during his seven and three-quarter years as president (Ryan, 1999). II. Background A. World War I and After When the United States entered World War I, Truman’s National Guard regiment was ordered into active service. He was sent to France in 1918, becoming captain of an artillery battery. He commanded the battery through the heavy fighting of the Vosges Mountains, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne offensives. When discharged in May, 1919, Truman was made a major in the service. Eight weeks later, Truman married Elizabeth Wallace, of Independence. He had known â€Å"Bess† Wallace since childhood. Meanwhile, in partnership with an army friend, Truman invested his savings in a Kansas City men’s apparel store. The business failed in 1922, a casualty of the postwar depression. Truman refused to declare bankruptcy, however, and spent more than a decade repaying all his debts (Gardner, 2002). B. Truman Enters Politics His business gone, Truman turned to politics, being helped by his friendship with the brother of Kansa City political boss Tom Pendergast. In 1922, he was elected one of the three judges of the Jackson County Court. This position was an administrative rather than a judicial one, with duties corresponding to those of a country commissioner or supervisor in other states. While in this post, Truman also studied law at night at Kansas City Law School. In 1924, Truman was defeated in his bid for reelection, but in 1926 he was elected presiding judge. He conducted his office with such honesty that his integrity could not be questioned. In 1934, Truman was elected to the U. S. Senate. Generally, he supported Roosevelt’s New Deal programs. World War II began during his second term, and Truman became a national figure as chairman of the Special Senate Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program, 1941-44. He estimated that 15 billion dollars was saved through the committee’s recommendations. II. Discussion Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States. After only 82 days as Vice President, he succeeded to the Presidency on the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1945. Despite having had little preparation for the office, Truman proved to be a strong and forceful President. He led the country to victory in the Final phases of World War II and through the critical postwar reconstruction period, and he set the course for United States policy in the cold war. During his presidency made a number of crucial decisions that were both controversial and historically significant. In seeking to shorten World War II, he authorized the use of atomic bombs against Japan. After the war his administration created the Marshall Plan in a successful effort to prevent the economic collapse of Europe; his administration also was responsible for the creation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Levantrosser, 2003). When North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, Truman sent United States troops to halt the aggression. His efforts to gain congressional approval for his domestic legislative program (the Fair Deal), however, were generally not successful. Truman was a skilled and fiercely partisan politician who had worked himself up through the ranks of Democratic politics in Missouri. He was a controversial figure throughout his public career. During his years in the White House, Truman was called impulsive, obstinate, and tactless by his critics; courageous, self-confident, and forthright by his admirers (Levantrosser, 2003). IV. Conclusion In conclusion, as president of the United States, I will give him a rate of 8 out of 10. Though President Harry S. Truman had weaknesses as other presidents also have, yet he showed his sincerity as a public figure by serving the people wholeheartedly. Though there ware many criticisms against him yet it did not stop him to stand and do what was right for the welfare of the many. 1. Gardner, Michael R. (2002). Harry Truman and Civil Rights: Moral Courage and Political Risks. Southern Illinois University Press. Carbondale, IL. 2. Levantrosser, William F. (2003). Harry S. Truman: The Man from Independence. Greenwood Press. New York. 3. Ryan, Halford R. (1999). Harry S. Truman: Presidential Rhetoric. Greenwood Press. Westport, CT.

One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest Essay -- One Flew Over The Cuckoos Ne

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sometimes in life people are forced to conform to a certain situation for lack of a better alternative, and this is the case in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. These such people lack the will to stand up for their scruples, and intern are simply guided through their mundane lives by the powers that be. Until someone comes along offering them leadership and the prospect to become â€Å"big again.† The man who does so is no other than R.P. McMurphy. Scanlon, Harding, Bibbit, and Chief Bromden may have become adjusted to the oppressive system in which they lived, but certainly were much better adjusted to the real world and life in general after their experience with McMurphy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people may argue that the people of the mental hospital were better off without McMurphy because their lives were â€Å"normal† and routine. Their daily routine guided them through a series of happenings, which were both comfortable and tolerable to them, even though as a result of this they would remain subject to the manipulative ways of Nurse Ratchet. These people would say that the â€Å"oppressive society† that they lived in may not suit everyone, but certainly suited them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  McMurphy, on the other hand, finds this setting to be suitable for no human being, and soon after arriving he sets the tone for change. â€Å" Well what they got that man strapped down for,† says McMurphy, â€Å" I don’t like that, no sir, it just aint dignified.† By coming to the hospital he brings a sense of realism and courage to the lives of these patients. They have been longing for leadership and McMurphy won’t be intimidated. â€Å"I’m thinkin’ a takin’ over this whole shebang,† says McMurphy, and he knows in order to do this he must instill courage into the patients of the ward.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As we are first introduced to the characters, we as the reader meet Harding, a middle aged man, who wears glasses and basically keeps to himself, saying only what he feels need be said. â€Å"Miss Ratched is a veritable angel of mercy and why, everybody knows it. She’s unselfish as the wind, toiling thanklessly for the good of all, day after day, seven days a week†¦ Oh no my egomaniac buddy, she is dedicated, she gives every bit of herself, she desires nothing more to see us walk out of her adjusted and capable once more of coping with life,† says Harding. What Harding does not yet know is McMurphy will... ....) I’m big again, Mac.† He turned and rushed out the window into the horizon.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some people are forced to conform to a condemning situation, but thanks to McMurphy these people did not. He brought them all hope and a new light and sense of well being. He taught them how things were on the outside, in the â€Å"real world† and took them away from the boring lives they lived in the hospital even if it was only for a short amount of time. He gave Harding, Billy, and Chief Bromden the courage which they had always longed to have but could never exude on their own, and I certainly think society needs more people like him, more people to lead other and instill them with power. We as human beings long for leadership and someone to give us worth, and R.P. McMurphy was certainly the person to do so for these people. He may not be the best contribution to the economy, but in regards to people in general, there is no denying the potential we could have if only there were more people like him, people to motivate, and give us pride. McMurphy certai nly did this for all of the people he encountered in the hospital and made them better adjusted to live their lives to the fullest every day.

Factors Influencing Employee Performance Essay

1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the study There are many challenges which hinder the delivery of public service reforms in Africa (Lienert, 2003). The factors include those relating to human resources like manpower deficiencies and lack of psychological dispositions and shortage of financial and material resources necessary for effective delivery of services. The problems of accountability as well as ethical issues also continue to affect effective delivery of public service. In an effort to mitigate some of these challenges, the Government of Kenya (GOK) has in the past launched several reform programs to improve service delivery. Some of these reform efforts include the Civil Service Reform Program (CSRP) (GOK, 1993) whose aim was to enhance public service efficiency and productivity. The program was designed to contain costs, improve performance in the public sector, and consolidate and sustain the gains made by reform initiatives (Opiyo, 2006). The other reform initiatives included the implementation of Results – Based Management that was guided by Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment creation (GOK, 2003) whose strategies included developing benchmarks and evaluating the performance of public institutions. In order to enhance the performance of public officers, the government introduced a program where rewards and sanctions were to be used to encourage provision of quality services in the public sector. This paved way for the piloting of the process of in state corporations in 2003 which saw the introduction and implementation of performance appraisals in the entire public sector. Most firms in Kenya now employ some performance appraisal system (GOK, 2009). The Performance Appraisal System (PAS) was introduced by the GOK to refocus the mind of the public from a culture of inward looking to a culture of businesslike environment, focused on the customer and results in addition to improving service delivery (Obong’o, 2009). According to the new PAS, the evaluation of staff performance is supposed to run concurrently with the duration of ministerial performance contracts and the Government Financial year. Targets should meet acceptable quality standards and benchmarks as determined in each category of service delivery; the system should be supported by training of staff, particularly those with managerial and supervisory responsibility; and the process should be regarded as interactive, for mutual agreement between supervisors and appraisers (GOK, 2009). Longenecker and Goff (1992), observed that managers and human resource professionals belief that a PAS is a good tool for human resource management and performance improvement. If well designed and implemented it can benefit both the employees and the organizations (Coens and Jenkins, 2000). According to GOK (2009), the PAS has caused a cultural transformation within the public service from a baseline of extremely poor performance before 2003. The GOK has in the past made some efforts in launching and implementing Public Service Reform initiatives aimed at improving the performance of public servants in service delivery (GOK, 1993; GOK, 2003). However, these reforms have not achieved the envisaged results (AAPAM, 2005; Opiyo, 2006). The introduction of the new PAS (GOK, 2006) is yet another attempt by the Government to manage and improve performance of the Civil Service and Local Authorities by enabling a higher level of staff participation and involvement in planning, delivery and evaluation of work performance. Despite the successful roll out of the program, there is evidence of room for improvement in the process (GOK, 2009) and a lack of knowledge on the factors that influence the PAS in the Ministry of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, (MoSPA) Nyamira district, Kenya. Specifically, this study addresses this gap by: (a) Establishing how the implementation process of the PAS in the public sector influences the system; (b) Determining how rater and ratee interpersonal relationship in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (c) Determining how psychometric rater accuracy in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; (d) Determining how the level of information exchange between the rater and the ratee in a PAS context influences the system in the public sector; and (e) Establishing how the attitudes of employees towards the last PAS rating, towards the rater and towards the PAS influence the system in the public sector.

Philosophy

What do you think philosophy is? I understand philosophy as something which answers questions to humans who seek for wisdom. When you study Philosophy, the negative thing about this Is that you don't get to know all the answers as you go through the process of learning because philosophy talks about life and life unfortunately has handed us a numerous unanswerable questions. Philosophy has also had the negative sense of a subject full of Idle speculation, useless to the practical business of finding things out and consisting mostly In Irrelevant theorizing.I suppose Philosophy Is trying to answer mysteries about life. However, these mysteries are beyond what human mind can perceive. Philosophy makes people think excessively before acting on It. It simply acquaints us with the fact that Philosophy is ‘love for wisdom'. 2. What is your philosophy in life? â€Å"Never settle for anything less† I suppose that there will always be something ahead of where you are now. And if that something has the ability to be ahead of you, why can't you be as well? The only thing that limits us from doing something better from what we're doing now is none other than ourselves.I can't afford to be in a â€Å"less† situation when I know I have all the guts to be â€Å"more†. The point here is not to overpower someone or to be ahead of something on purpose, the point is that to be aware that we can do more than our minds can perceive. It's Just a matter of encouraging yourself and some touch of optimism. One day, we would be surprise of what not-settling-for-less has done to our life. Life has more to offer all we have to do is to search for it. We can't just settle. The worth of life is dependent upon us. The meaning of life is how we give life a meaning. By Magical 1. What do you think philosophy is? r wisdom. When you study Philosophy, the negative thing about this is that you don't get to know all the answers as you go through the process of learning be cause of idle speculation, useless to the practical business of finding things out and consisting mostly in irrelevant theorizing. I suppose Philosophy is trying to answer perceive. Philosophy makes people think excessively before acting on it. It simply that something has the ability to be ahead of you, why can't you be as well? Philosophy What do you think philosophy is? I understand philosophy as something which answers questions to humans who seek for wisdom. When you study Philosophy, the negative thing about this Is that you don't get to know all the answers as you go through the process of learning because philosophy talks about life and life unfortunately has handed us a numerous unanswerable questions. Philosophy has also had the negative sense of a subject full of Idle speculation, useless to the practical business of finding things out and consisting mostly In Irrelevant theorizing.I suppose Philosophy Is trying to answer mysteries about life. However, these mysteries are beyond what human mind can perceive. Philosophy makes people think excessively before acting on It. It simply acquaints us with the fact that Philosophy is ‘love for wisdom'. 2. What is your philosophy in life? â€Å"Never settle for anything less† I suppose that there will always be something ahead of where you are now. And if that something has the ability to be ahead of you, why can't you be as well? The only thing that limits us from doing something better from what we're doing now is none other than ourselves.I can't afford to be in a â€Å"less† situation when I know I have all the guts to be â€Å"more†. The point here is not to overpower someone or to be ahead of something on purpose, the point is that to be aware that we can do more than our minds can perceive. It's Just a matter of encouraging yourself and some touch of optimism. One day, we would be surprise of what not-settling-for-less has done to our life. Life has more to offer all we have to do is to search for it. We can't just settle. The worth of life is dependent upon us. The meaning of life is how we give life a meaning. By Magical 1. What do you think philosophy is? r wisdom. When you study Philosophy, the negative thing about this is that you don't get to know all the answers as you go through the process of learning be cause of idle speculation, useless to the practical business of finding things out and consisting mostly in irrelevant theorizing. I suppose Philosophy is trying to answer perceive. Philosophy makes people think excessively before acting on it. It simply that something has the ability to be ahead of you, why can't you be as well? Philosophy Philosophy of Teaching Philosophy is described as â€Å"one of the various established or traditional way of looking at the world that have been defined and indentified by those who practice the discipline whether in the academy or not. † With any profession there are responsibilities that come with the career, in my chosen career path there are people that I have to make sure that I reach; students, parents, the Physical Education department, and the school systems. The two philosophies that first come to mind when thinking about physical ducation are idealism and realism.The philosophers that created idealism are Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato along with the creators of realism whose founders are John Locke, Herbert Spencer, among others. These philosophers were the founding men of philosophy and have created a theory that other generations behind them could follow and dream with. Idealism's philosophy is about fair play, sportsmanship, obedience to rules, classroom lectures and assignments, which relies on direction and guidance. Realism's philosophy describes more of the focus of anatomy, bodily ovement, statistics, and the technicalities of the body.In taking the VOI Personality Profile, I was able to see that my personal preference for structure, knowledge, classroom lectures and assignments, and direction and guidance closely align with idealism and realism. I have always thought that I was more in line with eclecticism, but once I did the profile I was able to see that is a point of teaching that I need to work on. I believe that I have the personality of one that does not Just conform to one nd is able to adapt to different situations and theories that come with a lot of philosophies.In high school, I was always the athlete that helped the teacher structure the class, introduce new sports, and be an example of what a healthy teenager looks like. Not only was that fun for me, but it showed me that I could be a positive example for others around m e. At the high school that I went to there was a â€Å"student-teaching† class that was offered to Juniors and seniors that allowed us to go into the lementary schools and teach physical education and other subjects that the students needed to be tutored in.It allowed me to go into the school and feel like I was making a difference in the students that I was teachings lives. Knowing that I had students that depended on me for guidance was enough to make up my mind that I wanted a career in teaching. Although most people think that physical education teachers Just roll out the balls and say â€Å"play basketball† that's not what goes on. There is a lot more that goes into he education that the teacher does along with all of the lesson plans and the science and health that the teacher has to teach to their class as well.Teaching physical education does not constrict you to solely teaching physical education but it more so about teaching and being an example of what a hea lthy life is, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Physical educators are more so about the whole body versus Just the content knowledge and end of the year exams. It becomes very evident that most physical education teachers do not get the recognition that they deserve.Most schools are going into more â€Å"chair-based† learning where the child does not have an outlet to get out of the setting of the classroom and into the playground or even into the gym; which poses a problem for physical education teachers. Will there be a Job for physical education teachers when I graduate? I believe that the answer to that question is yes, for the simple fact that medicine, fitness and wellness, and the entire aspect of physical activity cannot and will not be pushed over to the curb.

Poetry Appreciation Essay Essays

Poetry Appreciation Essay Essays Poetry Appreciation Essay Essay Poetry Appreciation Essay Essay In this essay I am traveling to compare and contrast ‘When we two parted’ a verse form of George Gordon. Lord Byron’s written in 1815 and Letitia Elizabeth Landon’s ‘Love’s last lesson’ written in c1838. both poets are British and of the romantic period. ‘When we two parted’ is an lament of the loss of love. Byron is reflecting and analysing a relationship that has already ended. His heartache. choler and desperation. intensifies his usage of first individual. which maintains a strong impact on the audience throughout. The verse form is powerful. personal and unreserved. the emotion and passion is decidedly felt through his authorship. Byron’s message is equivocal ; so the reader is able to do their ain premise this is the beauty of the verse form. it is capable to single reading. doing it inclusive and relatable to many different state of affairss. The construction of the verse form is separated into four stanzas each one being an eight. Punctuation suggests that every two lines can be read as one. the meter of the verse form is iambic pentameter. each line holding 5 iambs and 10 syllables when two lines are read as one. The riming form in stanza one. two and four is ababcdcd but stanza three is ababacac. The verse form chiefly has a regular rhyming strategy but the ‘flow’ is disrupted in stanzas one and four lines five and six. I am non certain if this was knowing. I believe the verse form can be interpreted in many different ways ; the overall feeling is the separation of two lovers. throughout the verse form there are legion mentions proposing mourning. loss and unfaithfulness. In the first Stanza the metaphor ‘Pale grew thy cheek and cold. colder thy buss ; ’ uses pale and cold in contrast with the rose-colored warm imagination of life. this could really good be an indicant of decease but could merely be an hyperbole of how he felt after the interruption up. On Line four the statement ‘To sever for years’ is equivocal as it suggests a drawn-out separation but can besides intend cut in two therefore could be related to line three ‘Half broken- hearted’ . another interesting point is that the Byron used the word old ages instead than infinity or everlastingly. possibly there was a hope of being reunited once more in the hereafter. ‘Sorrow’ symbolizes the heartache and bereavement he feels. non needfully for person who has passed off merely merely a loss. In stanza two ‘The dew of the forenoon. Sunk iciness on my brow’ the dew is the cold moisture. the image of rain could be an fable of cryings and meaning his wretchedness. ‘Thy vows are all broken. ’ implies his ‘lover’ was or is married or the promises she made to him were shattered. later Byron speaks of feeling ashamed when he hears his/her name. perchance because their relationship was illicit. The undermentioned stanza uses a powerful look ‘They name thee before me. A knell to mine ear ; A frisson comes o’er me’ a knell is the sound of a dejecting bell round easy at a funeral. his lover may hold died or Byron could once more be overstating his emotions. speech production as though his lover or ex lover has passed off. On line 20 Lord Byron asks ‘Why wert 1000 so beloved? ’ why were you so particular? Or why did I love you so much? . he is oppugning and resenting these feelings. the verse form so goes on to asseverate that cipher was cognizant of the relationship non even those that knew them both good. ‘Long. long shall I repent thee. excessively profoundly to state. ’ Byron is clearly stating that he bitterly regrets the state of affairs. wishing it had neer occurred possibly even experiencing guilty if his lover was married. Finally the 4th stanza confirms an matter of some kind ‘In secret we met- In silence I grieve. That thy bosom could bury. Thy spirit deceive’ . if his lover had died or simply returned to his/her spouse. so he would still sorrow in silence as the relationship was private. Byron feels betrayed and acrimonious about the relationship. the usage of the word ‘spirit’ once more gives the feeling of decease. ‘If I should run into thee. after long old ages. how should I recognize thee! With silence and tears’ . the last line of the verse form is a echo of the 2nd line ; giving an feeling of indecision. whilst the exclaiming grade puts the echoed line in a different context. when they meet once more it will be with silence and cryings nevertheless the silence will hold a different significance and the cryings will non be 1s of sorrow. It is about like each stanza represents the rhythm of Byron’s emotions. stanza one is the initial dissolution and the start of his sorrowing procedure. in stanza two Byron is still distressed and goes on to show his letdown and embarrassment. by stanza three he is ashamed of himself. oppugning the love and profoundly repenting the state of affairs eventually in stanza four he is acrimonious and fantasising of how he would ignore her/him if they were to of all time run into once more. Love’s last lesson’ is a soliloquy stand foring Landon’s defeat. My feeling is that the character has fallen for person who hasn’t returned her love or wasn’t taking the ‘relationship’ every bit earnestly as she was. The construction of the verse form is free poetry ; it has neither regular meters nor rime In lines one to eight Landon expresses her choler and defeat towards her ex love. who has evidently moved on and bury their relationship with easiness. she can non grok how it is her that’s been dismissed as she feels she was the perfect comrade. Landon uses words from a semantic field of faith ‘I who have worshipp’d thee. my God on earth’ is a strong statement but the metaphor emphasizes her absolute worship for him. ‘Your last bid. bury me. ‘she speaks approximately him as though he has control over her and she must obey him. ‘Will it non drop profoundly down within my inmost psyche? ’ oppugning herself for comfort the poet doesn’t think it’s possible to travel on. ‘Forget thee! – ay. forgetfulness will be a clemency to me’ she truly wishes she could hedge her emotions. it would discontinue her grief. The injury has taken control of her life to the extent of avoiding slumber in fright ; she relives the torment in her incubuss ‘a dream had made me unrecorded my sufferings again’ . The dreams she has are in fact worse than world. ‘Acting my misery. without the hope my foolish bosom still clings to. ’ the lone thing Landon can make now is ‘hope’ that there will be some patterned advance even though she herself thinks it’s extremely improbable. her hope is the merely positive thing she has left other than the grief and sorrow. she uses the simile of hope being like a drug that calms her hurting somewhat until the realization hits which makes it intolerable ‘double torture’ . Landon is isolated and passing her yearss entirely feelings nervous and uneasy. ‘when a breath sent the ruby to my cheek. like the ruddy gushing of a sudden lesion ; by all the careless expressions and the careless words which have to me been like the Scorpios stinging’ ruby and ruddy flushing to the cheek gives an imagination of shame. this gave me the feeling of calumny. Landon may hold a history that she isn’t proud of and that is what she really wants to bury. the manner she is being disregarded is what is aching more than anything as she said it was like a ‘scorpion stinging’ which is a simile for indefinable hurting. In this stanza Landon makes some powerful statements ; her felicity has been destroyed everlastingly. she’s deemed with ageless wretchedness. her feelings have been wasted. her wellness destroyed. her hopes have been crushed and her bosom stole.

How to Write a Graduate School Acceptance Letter

How to Write a Graduate School Acceptance Letter Youve  applied to graduate schools, and lo and behold, youve been accepted to the program of your dreams. You may think youre all set and you need only  pack your  bags, book a flight or load your car, and head out to grad school. But, you need to take one more step to ensure your position at the school will be open and ready for you when you arrive: Youll need to write an acceptance letter. Admissions officers have to be sure that you are ready to attend; otherwise, they will likely give your spot to another candidate. Before Writing Your Letter or Email Your graduate school applications were just the first step. Maybe you received  several  offers of admission, maybe not. Either way, remember to share the good news with friends and family first. Dont forget to thank your mentors and people who wrote  recommendation letters on your behalf. You want to maintain your educational and professional contacts as your academic career progresses. Writing Your Reply Most grad programs notify applicants of their acceptance- or rejection- by email or phone, although a few still send formal letters by mail. Regardless of how youre notified, dont immediately say yes. This is especially important if the good news comes in a phone call. Thank the caller, likely a professor, and explain that you will reply soon. Dont worry: You wont suddenly have your acceptance revoked if you briefly delay. Most programs give accepted students a window of a few days- or even up to a week or two- to decide. Once youve had a chance to digest the good news and consider your options, its time to write your graduate school acceptance letter. You can respond via a letter that you send through the mail or you can reply by email. In either case, your response should be short, respectful, and clearly indicate your decision. Sample Acceptance Letter or Email Feel free to use the sample letter or email below. Simply replace the name of the professor, admissions officer, or admissions committee of the school as appropriate: Dear Dr. Smith (or Admissions Committee): I am writing to accept your offer to enroll in the X program at [graduate university]. Thank you, and I appreciate your time and consideration during the admissions process. I look forward to attending your program this fall and am excited by the opportunities that await. Sincerely, Rebecca R. Student Though your correspondence seemingly states the obvious, it is very important that you make it clear that you intend to enroll in the graduate program. And, being polite- such as saying thank you- is always important in any official correspondence. Before You Send the Letter or Email As you would with any important correspondence, take the time to reread your letter or email before you send it. Ensure that it doesnt have any misspellings or grammatical errors. Once youre satisfied with your acceptance letter, send it. If youve been accepted into more than one grad program, youve still got some homework to do. Youll need to write a letter declining an offer of admissions  to each of the programs you rejected. As with your acceptance letter, make it short, direct, and respectful.

Here Are The Most Important Skills Needed For the Future

Here Are The Most Important Skills Needed For the Future For many decades now, people have been predicting the future of just about all industries: robots. And while that hasn’t quite come to pass, we’re already seeing automation and technology take over our working lives. More than ever, our work and communication are online, with fewer human touchpoints. Just look at email: if you were in the workforce 10  or 15  years ago, email was present, but not necessarily the driving force of office communication. And although we’re still a good way off from having a fleet of robots running our lives, it’s a great idea to start thinking about the kind of skills needed for the future.1. Technology Trends2.  Information Overload3.  Flexible Employees4.  Your BrandTechnology TrendsTechnology is the most obvious shift that will happen in all of our lives in the near future. After all, it’s only about 10  years ago that the iPhone was just a secret prototype kicking around Apple’s Cupertino campus. Cut to today: good luck finding people shuffling along a sidewalk and not gazing down at a smartphone screen.And while you’re not expected to be able to predict exactly what the hot new tech will be, you can make sure you’re aware of the cutting edge tech trends in your field right now, and think about where those might be going. For example, if you work in retail, POS (point of sale) software has really affected how salespeople work with merchandise and the public. Another example is office communication systems, like using Google’s Gmail, Gchat, and Hangouts to foster communication between people in the company.Regardless of your field, the trend is likely to be two-fold: a) bringing people together regardless of whether they work in the same office, state, or hemisphere; and b) finding ways to make manual processes, like payment or presentations, digital to free up resources for other tasks.If you’re the person who has 14  devices plus your fitness tracker linked up in one big web of efficient information harmony, great! You likely have the tools to be ready for whatever comes along, tech-wise. Keep an eye on trends in your field, like:New tools and software, especially ones that improve efficiency or customer service. What is your industry able to do now that it wasn’t able to do before?Social media. How is social media used by the movers and shakers in your industry?Security trends in your industry. How is customer or company data protected?Mobile technology, also known as the Internet of Things. Are there any particular apps or devices that are relevant to how your company (or your field) does business?Working to stay updated on trends can help you figure out where to target your attention as you move from one job to another, and can really help you flesh out your resume and/or your personal brand.If you’re not as tech-savvy as you would like, there’s nothing stopping you from fixing that! It just takes a little time and catching up, and then you’ll be ready to trendspot with the best of them. There are plenty of ways to bolster your tech creds:Take classesSites like Lynda.com offer online tutorials and classes that you can take at your own speed, on your own timeline. You can search for specific programs or general areas where you want to expand your knowledge. Also, productivity expert Steve Pavlina has a great to-do list for expanding your tech know-how: 10 Ways to Improve Your Tech Skills.Learn by doingFor example, if you want to learn coding to add it to your resume, all the online tutorials in the world aren’t the same as getting in there and figuring it out. Once you get a baseline sense of how to do things, either from research or a class you’ve taken, set time aside to get in there, play around with apps or programs, and really get a sense for how things work.Talk to expertsYou know what people really like talking about? Things they’re good at. Find people in your field (or your company), who really know their stuff, and ask them if they could walk you through their process for the skills you want to add to your own repertoire. BONUS: you also get to know people in your field, and build your network.Information Overloadâ€Å"Big data,† or using stats and information to make smart decisions about how to work efficiently, whom to hire, how to address new challenges, etc. will play a huge role in the workplace in the next ten years. Analytical skills and problem solving skills will come in very handy here. If these are areas you want to build, you can start now:Analytical Thinking: Why You Need It and How to Get BetterAmp up Your Career by Improving Your Analytical Skills6 Ways to Enhance Your Problem Solving Skills5 Ways To Hone Your Problem-Solving Abilities And Become An Expert In Your FieldFlexible EmployeesThe digital office looks less and less like the traditional one we all know, with a beehive of people typing away and gathering ‘round the coffee machine. With better connections and communication all the time, it’s less essential that everyone be physically in the same room to collaborate. As you move forward through your career, consider ways you might be able to adapt to that kind of changing office. Working remotely or working as a contractor are ways that your daily work life might change. Being open to flexible work arrangements can open up new opportunities that you might not have anticipated if you’re wedded to the idea of working 9 to 5 in a cubicle of office.Your BrandOne trend that doesn’t seem to be going away anytime is the one where you develop and live your own brand. Right now, this entails having clean, career-relevant social media profiles, and keeping up by creating new content that establishes you as a player in your field. Moving forward, the trick will be to keep pace with the hot social media trends of the time- you don’t want to be the guy on MySpace when everyone else has moved on to Twitter 2.0.If you are that guy (or gal) who’s a little behind the time, social media-wise, don’t fret- this is an easy fix! It just involves a little bit of legwork and spring cleaning.If you already have social media accounts:Make personal or social accounts private whenever possible, and untag yourself in those embarrassing photos of you doing a kegstand at Spring Weekend. Similarly, those posts about your hobby of making macramà © portraits of British royalty should be pushed behind the privacy wall as well. You want your career brand to float to the top of those search results.Expand your network. Start connecting with other people in your field- that way, you’ll be in a better position to start dialogues with influential people in your industry.If you want to increase your social media presence, Aaron Agius at Entrepreneur has some great tips for where to start building your brand:1. Choose sites that work well with your career and goals.For example: if you’re in an industry that values image and style, Instagram might be your best bet. If you work in a business that moves fast and values quick insights, Twitter might be the way to go.2. Keep posting content.A site with little traffic and nothing new to offer isn’t going to do much to help your personal brand.3. Leverage big voices.Follow (and engage with) people who are big fish in your industry’s social media pond. Depending on how big their following is, you may not get much one-on-one interaction, but retweets/sharing content shows that you’re active.4. Use marketing to your advantage by using campaigns and contests to get your brand out there.What it comes down to is this: none of us can predict the future, and no one should even try. What you can do is put yourself in a place where you have a base of skills, and the kind of flexible thinking that will allow you to take advantage of opportunities six months from now, or 10 years ago.

Essay One Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

One - Essay Example One can connect the relationship between faith and reason to a couple’s relationship. There would be sides of stories but for a relationship to work, one party should make an effort to recompense if both parties would want the relationship to succeed. This is very relatable to faith and reason, throughout the centuries; the worlds of religion and science have collided without any signs of slowing down. Yet both John Locke and St. Thomas Aquinas believe that faith is a kind of reason. Reading through the works of both Lock and St. Aquinas, both have seemed to suggest that faith can be considered as reason. Even for some from the religious sect, they are using faith in giving reasons as far as miracles or unexplainable occurrences (Tavani, 2-4; Nash, 58). Religion often uses the faith of their most loyal devotees in reasoning about the existence of things which are intangible and cannot be justified by any scientific methods. With such statement being said there is an aspect of religion that is also a part of a feature of science. One point that can be considered by the belief of both Locke and Aquinas is that it can also be reversible. Reason can also be a species of faith. It is not just a one-way relationship. Just what has been stated earlier, faith and reason can be compared to a relationship where one party can complement the other. One party may not always be correct but the other would complement its shortcomings to make the relationship work. Reason may not always have concrete values and scientific explanations yet people who have heard the reason could believe in it and therefore result in having faith in the reason whether or not it has intangible supporting facts which may or may not be resolved any further (Tavani, 3-5) . Locke believes that the scriptures have no role in divine right but rather deep thoughts on the absence of

IT2 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

IT2 - Assignment Example IT therefore ensures that the best available resources are brought to the disposal of business managers, with clear and simple directions to deal with any challenge facing business operations. With continued interaction on online platforms, business process outsourcing further facilitates access to information and resources at near-infinite advantage. Internet facilitation for business operations is best encompassed perhaps when dealing with setting up virtual management of tasks, for instance in coordinating teamwork remote. Alternatively, online business process outsourcing enables employers to reach an astronomical level of possibilities by accessing a huge pool of contractors from every corner of the world. Coordination of such business tasks using Internet makes Internet such a necessity in the emerging business based on unlimited virtual resources. In launching competitive advantage in the market, Internet provides options that eliminate challenges in management, marketing, outsourcing, research and development as well as innovation. Flexibility in use of information available online to turn unique opportunities into possible exploitable ventures makes Internet a rare business asset on which growth and sustainability can be realized. Innovation-hungry consumers following business developments use Internet to drive markets i nto customized entities where wastage and unnecessary costs can be eliminated significantly. The use if lock-in strategy could not be better realized under information technology, where companies rely on higher-end technologies to produce. In the realization of the benefits of locking-in suppliers and customers, continued research and development outcomes giving unique products can now be carried out. From such technology intensive operations, emphasis on technology licensing that makes it difficult for would-be competitors to apply similar technology provides an important beginning point for lock-in strategy (Kemerer, 1998, p179). In

Case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Case study - Assignment Example Management is essentially an act of fulfillment of objectives through people, and efficient management implies getting the maximum output from the people. Therefore, a good manager must encourage teamwork and enhance team spirit by meeting the needs of both the individual and the team. This paper will focus on a case study regarding problems of human resources. In any organization, managerial goal is to extract optimum performance from workers and employees for the benefit of the organization. The concept of High Performance Work Practices (HPWP) is a deliberate attempt to establish working patterns that will enhance the overall performance of the organization. This concept is not new and employees who embrace this concept are only implementing common sense approach to improve their performance level. HPWPs indicate assessment of own work, flexible working patterns, and other strategies to provide maximum results. HPWPs also encompass strategic recruitment policies and motivational schemes like promotions, financial rewards and flexible working hours (Sung & Ashton, 2005, p.2). According to research based on world reports, there are two major advantages of HPWPs. First, such practices maintain a steady improvement in the performance level of employees, and second, employee satisfaction can be enhanced both in terms of work and personal lif e. The combined impact of these two benefits is reflected in high level of employee commitment, improved financial performance, sustained competitiveness, and innovation (Sung & Ashton, 2005, p.8). In this section, I will be highlighting the problems of human resources in ServiceCo which is a â€Å"support services partner in the UK providing business solutions for clients across the local government, transport, education, health and defence sectors† (Alfes et al., 2010, p.8). Currently, 10,500 employees are engaged in 200 locations in UK. According to survey

Why civil engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why civil engineering - Essay Example Currently, I am also applying for a bachelor of Civil Engineering course in the UK which would provide me with more expertise and enable me to be a remarkable person in the field (Nesbit et al 7). Studying in the UK will also offer me the necessary exposure to mingle and share with students from across the world and learn new skills from them. I would develop a global perspective regarding building and construction before embarking on the pending family projects, which my father wants me to take over once he retires. Civil Engineering is a wide field. In my perspective, society cannot live without Civil Engineering because the complexity of design and management of the construction projects is not something everybody can do. This is evident from the complex and outstanding global infrastructures (Arumala 80). These include roads, airports and railways that make people’s life easier. People presently have realized the need of Civil Engineering because certain structures made by the non-experts have failed in the past, thus causing huge damage of life and property (Nesbit et al 13). I have witnessed this while helping my father in his office, as my father owns and manages diverse construction and building projects. This exposure has offered me vast experience, which I presently have before starting to pursue my bachelor’s degree. I am quite experienced in administering projects, which entails implementing adequate measures to ensure that the projects are completed within the deadline and adhere to the standards of quality established by the client (Arumala 81). Mainly, this by allocating the right and quality materials required for completion of each project as necessitated. However, this is a rigorous exercise, which entails vast knowledge, but under the surveillance of my father, I was able to administer each project

Promotion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Promotion - Essay Example Concerning the placement of the advertisement, the Australian laws prohibit any kind of deception in an advertisement and the Advertisement Standards Bureau (ASB) is tasked with ensuring compliance. In addition, any advertisement viewed as untruthful or dishonest or one that deceitfully targets children is not allowed (ASB p.2). As for ‘Tastie’, no falsehood shall be witnessed because the ingredients shall be the ones placed on the advertisement cover. Secondly, it shall not feature any child to avoid misinterpretation. Instead, the tagline of â€Å"Australia’s best chocolate pop for all† shall be used to imply the suitability of the products across all age group. This advertisement will be placed on family magazines- Offspring and The Australian family to be precise reason being that these are very popular and the fact that the content printed is mainly family-related. Additionally, the major newspapers like Herald sun, Courier mail and the Daily telegraph shall also be used as platforms due to the high demand. For the TV, the advertisement will be aired on ABC due to the high viewership and this will happen during the night sport news. The importance of placing it at this time is to capitalize on the audience, which is quite high at this time. Concerning the budget, the ABC’s cost is around AUD$ 1000 for 30 seconds at the prime time. It will be placed 3 times a week. As for the newspaper, the will appear daily on the back pages to lower the cost while on the magazines will be once a month. In total, the budget is expected to be around AUD $ 4000 weekly and the projected sales from these advertisements are expected to bring in twice a s much. With internet having advanced a notch higher in this century, social networking sites shall play a significant role in popularizing this product. Firstly, in the Australian advertising laws, any product, which implies or encourages promotion, is regarded as

Why civil engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why civil engineering - Essay Example Currently, I am also applying for a bachelor of Civil Engineering course in the UK which would provide me with more expertise and enable me to be a remarkable person in the field (Nesbit et al 7). Studying in the UK will also offer me the necessary exposure to mingle and share with students from across the world and learn new skills from them. I would develop a global perspective regarding building and construction before embarking on the pending family projects, which my father wants me to take over once he retires. Civil Engineering is a wide field. In my perspective, society cannot live without Civil Engineering because the complexity of design and management of the construction projects is not something everybody can do. This is evident from the complex and outstanding global infrastructures (Arumala 80). These include roads, airports and railways that make people’s life easier. People presently have realized the need of Civil Engineering because certain structures made by the non-experts have failed in the past, thus causing huge damage of life and property (Nesbit et al 13). I have witnessed this while helping my father in his office, as my father owns and manages diverse construction and building projects. This exposure has offered me vast experience, which I presently have before starting to pursue my bachelor’s degree. I am quite experienced in administering projects, which entails implementing adequate measures to ensure that the projects are completed within the deadline and adhere to the standards of quality established by the client (Arumala 81). Mainly, this by allocating the right and quality materials required for completion of each project as necessitated. However, this is a rigorous exercise, which entails vast knowledge, but under the surveillance of my father, I was able to administer each project

An Industrial relations issue, its source and how to deal with this Essay

An Industrial relations issue, its source and how to deal with this - Essay Example When employees continue to press for their demands, they are sometimes considered greedy by the management who expect more work from them with little complaints. The employees are thus sometimes considered acquisitive, selfish and a union that has a tendency to consider itself as a political watchdog of the management and abandoning their primary goal of work. This paper reports about origins, development, primary causes and the effects of industrial disputes between the employees and the employers in state corporations. The wider aspects of these industrial disputes go to wage disputes, which most managers cannot justify especially after the global economic crisis. The consumers of goods and services, which results from these state corporations, have suffered a great deal. The quality of goods and services that results from these state corporations have also been greatly compromised since the employees have not devoted a good quality of their time to service. Industrial disputes in Australia Strikes are shaped on many levels that range from the macro to the mundane, as such, attempts to understand strikes must include broadest implications of industrial relations landscape. ... In the university level, students repeatedly mobilize and demonstrate against government measures and core of the union activists agitating from within the political system, causing a lot of disruptions in the learning system. Neoliberalism and labour Neoliberalism reforms, macro stabilization and structural adjustments programs promoted by international financial institutions, state reform, trade and investment liberalization seen in most parts of the world has enlightened the work operations. These reforms have led to creation of free market economies of all types followed by liberalization regimes resulting into protective labour standards. The reduction of employer’s contribution to social security and the dismal of workers with good jobs increased subcontracting of production resulting into increased employment based on low wages and low job security (Price, 2007). These developments weakened the capacity of labour relations to represent the workers hence leading to sever al disputes arising from workers. The establishment of entrepreneurial society dominates moat organizations leading to unexpected labour relations (Alexander and Lewer, 2004). Key developments in Australian employment relations The political and employment relations process at the national level led to the creation of new rules to take care of employment interest and to increase the cooperation between the employer and the employee. The swearing in of Rudd Labour Government and the appointment of Julia Gillard as deputy prime minister saw a number of changes in employment relations but the path to change seemed slower and complicated than anticipated (Burgess and McDonald, 2003). The government has been subjected to a lot of pressure on employment and increase in wage demands from the workers in

Effect of Globalization on Media Essay Example for Free

Effect of Globalization on Media Essay The globalization since it took over the whole world in its vintage has given new dimensions and shape to varying aspects of Media in its whole vicissitude. As transnational in character, media has crossed all the cultural and political boundaries to reach the world audience with depth in dimensions in the shape, style and pattern of various programs. These intercontinental and transnational media outlets have posed challenges to the boundaries, questioned the territorial integrity and given shape to the media spaces. When many of the media markets all over the world got saturated, the media companies began to look at the global market place to earn revenues for their own firms and industries and global audiences are kept in mind while generating media content. As the accounting and regulatory structures differ in different countries and there is no reliable global financial data, it presented challenge before the media economic researchers. The companies are competing in the global as well as in the domestic market to gain a maximum share of audience and advertisers revenue. The whole gamut of programs seems to be seen as the representation of commercial interests of the bureaucratic elite and rich at the expense of public opinion and democracy. Views and opinions of the people to create their influence on the masses diminish when large media players do not hold themselves accountable to the state regulations. In other words, globalization has become an issue of privatization. Big market players are using the media to gain their commercial endeavors in the form of advertisements. In his Preface to â€Å"The Codes of Advertising† Sut Jhally said, â€Å"The symbolic dimensions of needing and culture and the economic dynamic of capital accumulation are symbiotically intertwined in the new communication age of advanced capitalism. † (1990) Here the advertisements act as the modern mediators between the end consumers and big conglomerates. Shoemaker and Mayfield (1987), for instance, underlined the view that â€Å"Sources of finance like advertisers are generally strongly influential on all aspects of News production and that a funder’s ideology is likely to have an ultimate effect on editorial’s decisions relevant to this ideology. †(McQual 1992: 113) Most of the media content also depends on the advertisers will, their commercial propositions and their market position. The advertisers offer the contents, which are friendly to the audiences and cater to their taste and liking. For e. g. Television soap operas function as advertisements aiming at attracting audiences to stay in tune. The scriptwriters in soaps use the strategies in their writing to keep the viewers on hold. An advertising industry has come under heavy criticism among groups such as Adbursters who accused industry of becoming a powered engine of most complex economic production system. Suggestions are being forwarded by many public interest groups to tax advertisers for their continuous intrusion in the mental space of audiences. The advertisers too are indirectly dependent on the changes in the demographical set up and society in its various shape and magnitude creating tremendous impact on the way media industries capture the moods of the their audiences. â€Å"They have an insatiable appetite for media related content and services and as people live longer and obtain more discretionary income, spending on media will likely rise. These shifts in audience composition and makeup will present new pressures on media firms to develop content that will appeal to these unique and differing audiences. † (Downing, McQuail, Wartella Schlesinger 2004: 299) Graham Murdock treats advertising more as a cultural and social phenomenon rather than economical. (Jhally, 1990: 3). But the social influence is only a smaller stroke in a big game of Media players. For the New York Times and other companies associated with Media, as said by Naom Chowsky, the products are audiences, and customers as corporate advertisers. The product of New York Times is the paper itself audiences buy and it becomes an information for advertisers and therefore for them, the audiences that buy the products themselves become products for advertisers and it is the advertisers that bring in revenue for the companies. (Shah 2008: online). It would be most appropriate to mention that advertising is a â€Å"Superstructural facade† (Jenks 2004: 299) as they just not only are the expressions of capitalism but also produces and reproduces it. Advertising has reduced the concept of public opinion to cherish the desire of acquiring capital rather than fulfillment of personal desire. In the words of Marx, â€Å"In bourgeois society the commodity-form of the product of labor or the value-form of the commodity is the economic cell-form. † (Jenks 2004: 299) Audiences too reciprocate the same way. A certain kind of close relationship is developed between audiences and advertisers. Advertisers have created an image a global way making social relation, as a form of commodity yet creating an incredible influence on the ideological perception of individualism and consumerism. And in this atmosphere, political economy too is opening only a new door on the old platform- a typical characteristic of capitalistic society, whereas the content of media is being modified to keep to the capitalist standard. There is a whole new concept of audience ratings, used by the media companies to make the plans of their programs schedule and for studying the success rate of programs and media products. Government agencies, Government authorities and public service media organizations act as basis for making adequate economic decisions, endorsing regulations, and controlling the mass communications. Audience ratings are merged with research and also used by advertisers as tools to identify their target audience and prepare media plan accordingly. But these rating systems are being criticized on the ground as said by Liina Puustinen in her working paper on â€Å"The Age of Consumer audience† that â€Å"they do not give an adequate image of the consumers and audiences, and they objectify people into numbers and faceless masses†. (Puustinen 2006: Online edition). Number of theories, like audience receptive theories have been propounded to reflect the attitude and perceiving nature of mass audiences, which are contradictory to the rating systems. The rating system only give information of how many people have watched any particular program or advertisement but not how they perceived the program and what value they give to it, therefore the theories rightly said that the rating systems do not accurately represent audience satisfaction. Hypodermic Needle Model states that the media players make the contents of any program, idea or information enter into the consciousness of the people. In other words, audiences are manipulated to the ideologies and thinking of the creator of media product. Hans Robert Jauss and Wolfgang Iser developed the Reception theory by studying the people’s attitude and their receptive tendencies toward programs. The theory delves on the way people adapt to various programs and play their role in actual analyzing of the text. Another theory Culmination theory too deepens down the audience approach on the sensitivity of the programs. If they watch too much of the violence, they would in the years to come make you less sensitive towards violence in the same way if violence towards women are watched on year to year basis then it would make you ultimately less insensitive towards the issue. The audience receptive theory deepens down to the study of the psychological patterns of the audiences and how they reciprocate and adopt the programs and how the media players mould the sensitivity of the audiences to receive what they show. Some critics state that these theories are only based on their preconceived notions and assumptions. For example in 1930’s one of the advertising executive said about radio audiences: â€Å"The typical listening audience for a radio program is a tired, bored, middle-aged man and woman whose lives are empty and who have exhausted their sources of outside amusement when they have taken a quick look at an evening paper. Radio provides a vast source of delight and entertainment for the barren lives of the millions. † (Media studies: Online) It is not just about radio audiences, but we can hear about it for several soap operas or quiz shows. Every human being has his tastes, liking and his own way of perceiving the things. Some may be critical and some may be appreciative. In this scenario, it is the way media players reach their target audience becomes the whole crux of their strategies and plans of their programs. To hit the right audience at the right time, right moment and right situation is the motive of media players around which the whole of media content depends. And it is the only way advertisers are attracted to use the media content for their valuable business propositions for these right audiences. Number of programs like â€Å"Pop Idol† created by impressionist music maestro Simon Fuller became the most popular format for the first show on the European TV and also reached the other continents as well. The craze of the Pop idol carried Americans, Canadians and Australians as American Idol, Canadian Idol and Australian Idol followed by Spanish bonanza â€Å"Operacion Triunfo†, making the Latin and South Americans also to come under their sway. Ipod, a melodious device of new generation and a complete new innovation being carried by the young and old alike in Shanghai as well as Innsbruck rapidly transferred to the new generations across the borders. It is quite true that if digital home cinema has gained so popularity in Japan then why it shouldn’t reach the other continents? Well, it has reached the homes of other continents. (Reding 2005: Online Edition) More than the spread of news, the world of music has imbibed in itself international facets in its thematic expression and lyrical notes. Music has reached new dimensions in the technological advancement. According to Steiner, â€Å"The totally new fact is that today any music can be heard at any time and as domestic background music. †(Nesbitt 2006: 103). The other programs are now more of sensational, individualist and reductionist in nature as these programs touches the heart of audiences. Paul Lazarsfeld, Bernard Berelson, and Hazel Gaudet studied how the voters made the decision during 1940 presidential election campaign and got their results published in paper The People’s Choice. They found out that information did not directly reach the consciousness of the audiences rather modified and passed down by the opinion leaders, which was again passed over to lesser active associates. In 2002, Anthony Giddens, a sociologist in the radio national broadcast made the people feel the essence of Globalization. He said, â€Å"Globalization is like a code-word standing for the reconstruction of our social institutions, going all the way through from the family, gender, sexuality (because after all the changing position of women is surely a global phenomenon as much as any other one) through the economy, the restructuring of business organizations, a restructuring of the nation and government, through the restructuring of international organizations†. (O’Regan 2002: Online edition) The politics since last 2300 years have been influencing the communication processes in the state. But since last few centuries, the relationship between politics and media is being seen in much controversial light than it was seen in the past and it is due to the political influence and control over the content of media and thereby their indirectly control over the public opinion. The political control over media reciprocates the views of Marx who said that media is a product of ruling elite wherein there is no scope of any alternative ideas. In Marx’s own words, â€Å"The class, which has the means of material production at its disposal, has control at the same time over the means of mental production, so that thereby, generally speaking, the ideas of those who lack the means of mental production are subject to it†. (Chandler 2000: Online) Marx further stated that mass media brings to the people’s consciousness false notions and ideas making media as a product of expressions of the ruling class. Graham Murdock too emphasized that economic factors play a determining role in the domination of ruling elite over media messages. The political economists look at ideological messages as superior to the economic criteria. (Chandler 2000: Online). In the 1966 article, Stein Rokkan brought into focus the two ways of decision making in the media circle: corporate system and numerical. In 1996, the whole of media was under the control of one or the other political party. But in the last two to three decades, we have seen number of changes in the way politics is being related to Media. Globalization has touched every sphere of human commodity from increasing a sense of risk to creating uncertainty. Interconnectedness in the global sphere increased the value of the humanity as a whole and an awareness of deep understanding and tensions between Global Diaspora, national and local perception of shared identities. (Gillespie, 1995: 3). It is no doubt a global village and we are all now a part of this global village where not only individual’s perception is taken into account but the perceptions of the whole in all its shades and dimensions is considered as the most virtuous and commercial proposition. REFERENCES LIST Chandler, D. 2000.Media as means of production in Marxist Media Theory. [Online] Available: http://www. aber. ac. uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism03. html [13 May 2008] Chandler, D. 2000. Media as amplifiers in Marxist Media Theory. [Online] Available: http://www. aber. ac. uk/media/Documents/marxism/marxism05. html [13 May 2008] Downing, J. , McQuail, D. , Wartella, E. Schlesinger P. 2004. The SAGE Handbook of Media Studies. California, London New Delhi: SAGE Gillespie, Marie. 1995. Television, Ethnicity and Cultural Change. Routledge. Hjarvard, S. 2003. News Media and the Globalization of the Public Sphere. [Online] Available: http://www. kommunikationsforum. dk/default. asp? articleid=10761 [13 May 2008] Jhally Sut, P. 1990. The Codes of Advertising. Routledge. Jenks Chris, P. 2004. Urban Culture. Routledge. Johnson, P. 2004. Are the media playing politics? USATODAY. com. [Online] Available: http://www. usatoday. com/life/columnist/mediamix/2004-10-10-media-mix_x. htm Media Studies. Audience (Adapted from Steve Bakers Media Studies website) [Online] Available: http://www. northallertoncoll. org. uk/media/audience. htm McQuail, D. 1992. Media Performance: Mass Communication and the Public Interest. California, London New Delhi: SAGE Nesbitt, T. 2006. Global Media and cultural change. China Media Research, Chang, et, al, Intercultural Symposium on Cultural Globalization, 2(3): 103. O’ Regan, Mick. 2002. Media and globalisation. The Media Report. [Online] Available: http://www. abc. net. au/rn/talks/8. 30/mediarpt/stories/s678261. htm [13 May 2008] Puustinen L. 2006. The Age of Consumer-Audience. [Online] Available: http://209. 85. 175. 104/search? q=cache:FsxLpxbPeeQJ:www. valt. helsinki. fi/comm/fi/english/WP5. pdf+The+audience+reception+theories+on+ratings+systemhl=enct=clnkcd=5gl=inie=UTF-8 [16 May 2008] Rantanen T. 2005. The Media and Globalization. 1st Edition. California, London New Delhi: SAGE Reding, V. 2005. The Media and Globalisation. European Forum Alpbach [Online] Available: http://europa. eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction. do? reference=SPEECH/05/469format=HTMLaged=0language=ENguiLanguage=en

Keventer Agro Market Analysis

Keventer Agro Market Analysis ABSTRACT Most producers do not sell their goods directly to final users. They design a multi-channel system to reach them. The design of marketing channel, that acts, as a strong interface, can provide competitive advantage to a firm in the industry. By contrast the absence of a good distribution network can also be a major fiasco in todays cutthroat competitive world. Marketing channel decisions are the most critical ones facing the marketing management today. It is complex and the complexity further gets compounded by the fact that the channel system take time to build usually years. Channel partners are not owned by the company in most cases. The sales force plays a crucial role in getting the best out of marketing channel. Integrating the efforts of channel partners and sales efforts within the whole marketing effort becomes crucial towards achieving organizational goals. Food and beverage giant Parle had entered into a franchisee agreement with Keventer Agro, for Keventer Agro to manufac ture, package, distribute and market its well-known brands namely Frooti -a popular mango drink, Appy and Appy Fizz-the in-style apple drinks and Bailley Packaged Drinking Water mostly in the eastern parts of India. The project Study of the distribution channel and market analysis of the products distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro involves the study of the strategies undertaken by Keventer Agro to distribute and market products of Parle Agro which includes Parles HIPPO Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. Hippo is a player of the snack food industry of India. As per an industry estimate, the branded and organized snack food segment dominated by major players such as Frito Lay, Con Agra, Kelloggs, Marico, Dabur, HLL, ITC, Parle, Haldirams. Thus, the study mainly constituted of studying and analyzing the distribution channel of Hip po and doing a market analysis of the product with respect to pricing, competition, brand awareness and consumer behavior of Hippo its present market position in relation to the well known established brands through retailer and consumer survey. Questionnaire, Schedule and interview and observation methods have been used in conduction of surveys. After completion of analysis of data collected through various methods regarding the sales and distribution and market position and other strategies proper conclusions can be drawn about the awareness and market strength and potential of Parles Hippo. These conclusion and deductions will help Keventer Agro to make any possible changes that would be feasible for the sustenance of the brands and any measure that will increase the market penetration of the brands Introduction The Project Study of the distribution channel and market analysis of the of the products distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro involves the study of the strategies undertaken by Keventer Agro to distribute and market Parle Hippo Keventer Agro: The Company Keventer Agro Limited is a subsidiary of Keventer Group which has been operating years in the Food Processing Industry in India for more than 125 years. Keventer exports Alphonso Mango Pulp, Totapuri Mango Pulp, Guava Pulp, Sweetened Alphonso Mango Pulp, Mango Pickle, Sesame Seed, Cashew Nuts, Peanuts, Cumin Seed, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek, Coriander Seed, Bakery Ingredients, Fruit Jams, Tutti Fruiti, Red Chilies Button Mushrooms etc. to various countries. Keventer Agro Ltd. (KAL) was established in the year 1986. The division exports food products such as Mango Pulp, Guava Pulp, Sesame Seeds, and Bakery Ingredients to various customers across the globe. In no time, it earned the coronet of being the first to i ntroduce aseptic packaging in the beverage category (a high-end packaging procedure that preserved the natural goodness of drinks in hygienic packs). The Group entered into a franchisee agreement with the food and beverage giant -PARLE to manufacture, package, distribute and market its well-known brands namely FROOTI -a popular mango drink, APPY and APPY FIZZ- the in-style apple drinks and BAILEY PACKAGED DRINKING WATER mostly in the eastern parts of India. In late 2010, Parle Agro inked another agreement with Keventer Agro to set up a plant at Barasat. This new unit manufactures Parle Agros snack brand Hippo. Besides manufacturing, Keventer is also responsible for marketing, sales and distribution of Hippo. Parle Agro chose to partner Keventer for their range of food brands which w.ll h.l. them to expand Hippos market share in the eastern part of India. Parle Agro: The Company Parle Agro is a household name in the beverages industry and has leading brands like Frooti, Appy, Appy Fizz and packaged drinking water, Bailley. A pioneer in the Indian industry, Parle Agro were the first to introduce fruit drinks in tetra packaging, first to introduce apple nectar and the first to introduce fruit drinks in PET bottles. In 2007, Parle Agro forayed into foods with the launch of two confectionery brands, Mintrox mints and Buttercup candies. This was soon followed by two more brands Buttercup Softease and Softease Mithai. Recent beverage products from Parle Agro include Saint Juice, LMN and Grappo Fizz. In 2009, Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. The snack brand Hippo, was launched in the western region starting with Maharashtra and then it was soon rolled out nationally. Parle Agro commenced operations in 1984. Starting with o nly beverages and diversifying to include bottled water in 1993 and confectionery in 2007. Frooti was the first product that was rolled out of Parle Agro in 1985. It went on to become Indias favourite mango drink. It still has a leading market share. Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd operates under three business vertical Beverages fruit drinks, nectars, 100% Juice, sparkling drinks, Water Packaged Drinking Water and Foods confectionery, snacks Product Industry Overview Product: HIPPO Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. Hippo is a toasted bread snack. Its ingredients include wheat flour, edible vegetable oils, seasoning mix, corn starch, sugar, raising agent, milk solids, salt, emulsifier, yeast extract powder, instant yeast. It contains added natural color and added natural identical flavoring substances; but no added MSG, no GMO and no Trans Fat. It comes in two variant; Hippo Munchies and Hippo Round-Round. The Hippo Munchies comes in 7 flavours (Chinese Manchurian, Hot-n-Sweet Tomato, Thai Chilli, Yoghurt Mint Chutney, Italian Pizza, Indian Chatpata and Arabian Salted) and Hippo Round-Round comes in 5 flavours (Punjab Da Pickle, Gujrati Mango Chatni, Shillong Noodle Masala, Goan Butter and Garlic, Firangi Cheese n Spice). It is available in three sizes which are priced at Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. Snack Industry: Industry to which Hippo belongs Hi ppo is a player of the snack food industry of India. The Indian snack industry is one of the largest when considered in the global level. With rising standard of living, people are more resorting to snacks items during breakfast, supper or any time; snacks most often take the place of meals. Right from production, using up, export and growth prospects owing to emerging markets, increasing demand, and incorporation of latest technologies, the snack industry in India has witnessed a dramatic change. Ready-to-eat foods, samosas, kachoris, namkeen, chips, are few of the snacks that are most preferred by Indians. Given the rising demand, the snack industry is going to witness further growth in the future. The snacks food industry in India can broadly be categorised into three segments staple (biscuits category), traditional (namkeens) and ready-to-eat packaged snacks (chips / crisps). The snack food market in India is $3 billion; with the organized segment accounting for almost half of the market share and growing at rate of 15 to 20 percent per year. A growing economy, changing lifestyles, rise in disposable incomes and preference for quality products of U.S. origin will continue to fuel growth of imported U.S. snack food items in India. As per an industry estimate, the branded and organized snack food segment dominated by major players such as Frito Lay, Con Agra, Kelloggs, Marico, Dabur, HLL, ITC, Parle, Haldirams, Nestle, Britannia, Cadbury, Bikano and Balaji is estimated to grow by 15 to 20 percent per year; whereas the growth of un-branded snack food is likely to grow modestly at 8 percent per year in the near future. Frito-Lay India led sweet and savory snacks with a retail val ue share of 46% in 2009. The companys Kurkure, Lehar and Lays Stax offerings have helped it to consolidate its leadership during the year. Haldiram Foods International Ltd and ITC Ltd remained the second and third ranked players respectively. Products like Hippo claim to be made from healthier ingredients than chips/crisps. With Indian consumers becoming more health conscious and more inquisitive about the ingredients in their food, sweet and savory snacks will witness an increase in products which are positioned as better for you and healthier snacks. Objectives of the Project To execute a qualitative study on the trend of packaged snack industry To gauge the acceptance of baked and healthy-snacks To understand competitors strategy in the market To study the sales and distribution structure, pricing (both to the retailer and to the consumer) of Hippo and problems in those respected area. To develop marketing strategies for Hippo To analyze the markets and determine the factors responsible for sale of products and provide recommendations about the scope for improvement. To provide a statement of collective responses of the retailersand determine the scope for improvement in the distribution channel for the products and the problems faced by the retailers. To study the pattern of consumer behavior and their awareness towards HIPPO To find out the problems faced by HIPPO if any and suggest solution to address those problems Project Methodology Primary Research is done through market survey. The research is mainly based on: Questionnaire Method Interview Method Observation Method Secondary Research has also been used as a supporting tool like: Some of the data related to holistic picture of the industry has been gathered from the data available on the internet PROJECT PROFILE The project revolves around Parle Hippo distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro. The first stage constituted of mainly studying and analyzing the distribution channel of Hippo and doing a market analysis of the product with respect to pricing, competition, brand awareness and consumer behavior of Hippo through retailer and consumer survey As per the objective of the project, two sets of questionnaire were prepared; For the retailer which aimed to assess the availability of Hippo, pricing of Hippo, sales, defect handling and some financial aspect of Hippo viz. Its competitors and the other for the consumers. For the consumer which aimed to gauge awareness of the product and the brand, product acceptance, their choice of product and buying pattern. The second stage constituted of observing the total sales procedure which consists of division of product, division of area, selective loading, selling, collection and submission STAGE ONE: RETAILER SURVEY FOR HIPPO This stage involved daily visits from the stock points to the designated markets. The markets covered includes: Salt Lake, Lake Town, S.K. Deb Road Market, Nagerbazar, Mrinalini Cinema Hall Market, New Market, Ultadanga, Kankurgachi, Bagmari, Beadon Street , Aurobindo Road and Vivekananda Road area, Shyambazar, Rajballavpara Baghbazar. Every shop that kept branded snacks in the respective areas was approached. The initial plan was to conduct the survey through questionnaire method but while performing the survey the method had to be changed to schedule, observation and interview method as it was not convenient for the retailers to fill up the questionnaire Objectives of Survey by observation method Findings to be recorded through observation method included: The visibility of Hippo and of competitors product Mode of stocking/displaying Hippo and competitors products i.e. whether it is on shelve or in the basket or inside almirah The location of the store i.e. whether it is beside main road or inside a lane or on a square Type of store Approximate demography Objectives of Survey by schedule method Findings to be recorded through schedule method included: About Hippo: Whether he keeps Hippo or not, if not the reason, its availability, reorder period, quality of defective product handling, margin offered, supply of banners and danglers. About Competitor: The competition brand kept, approximate margin they offer. About the market as a whole: The most selling brand. Objectives of Survey by interview method The interview methodology aimed to gain the intrinsic details of the market functions such as; if the retailer does not keep Hippo would he like to keep it future, the credit policy, frequency of visit of sales representative, retailers view on Hippos marketing strategy and scope of improvement. STAGE TWO: TOTAL SALES PROCEDURE OBSERVATION Distribution structure of Keventer Agro for Hippo Keventer Agro has 2-level consumer marketing channel. i.e. Manufacturing Unit>Distributor>retailer>Consumer. The product is manufactured in their plant located in Barasat. The products are sold directly to distributors on cash. A sales representative is appointed to the distributor by Keventer, who represents Keventer Agro and works shoulder to shoulder with the distributor. Level 1 Manufacturing unit to distributor The distributor buys the product in cash and the price of the free products which are part of below the line promotional activity are reimbursed on the claim made by the distributor. The transportation charge is borne by the distributor. Division of product and appointment of distributors: The aim of the company is: To ensure not only the highly profitable established products, but also new products with low initial sales reaches the end of supply chain. To ensures that all the SKUs of different products end up in the racks of retailers. Parle Agro has wide and deep product line; it is difficult for a single distributor to manage all the products. Earlier, Hippo was supplied to all the distributors of a specific area but as coordination became difficult, they have changed their policy and now supplies only to one distributor of the specific area. In some distribution area Keventer appoints more than one distributor each having different divisions of product. The division of products includes: Division A Division B Division C (Full information about this division is not known since I never had the chance to work in this divison) 200 ml, 400 ml, 1.2 litre of Frooti 160 ml 500 ml 1.5 litre and 2 litre of Frooti 200 ml of Appy 500 ml, 1 litre, 2 litre of Bailley Packaged Drinking Water 100 ml, 250 ml of Frooti 200 ml of LMN 600 ml of Bailley Soda. 300 ml, 500 ml and 1 litre of Appy Fizz The strategy of division of product along with division of distributor is adopted due to the reason discussed above. Level 2 Distributor to retailer Each distribution area is divided into five different distribution zones. They sell their products to those five zones in five days i.e. Monday to Friday. The sixth day which is Saturday is an extra day in which the sales representative does the miscellaneous work such as: If an order was not delivered on the due date then that product is delivered on Saturday. They conduct an approximate survey to estimate or forecast the forthcoming weekly demand. If a replacement of defective product was not done on the due date then it is also done in Saturday Hippo along with other product that are in the same division are be loaded in the LCV everyday. The flavours and quantities are not fixed. They load it according to the demand estimation of the zone. For example, on a particular day, more SKUs of Goan Butter and Garlic flavour is loaded more than the average quantity; the reason being from the experience, the sales representative found that when certain flavour/flavours are supplied to some particular area/areas, the retailer has lower re-order period i.e. the flavour/flavours sales more in that area depending on the demography of the area and buying pattern of the consumers. Sometimes the sales representatives are given target. For example: If they can sell 100 cases of Division A products on a particular day which includes Hippo, then they would get some incentive (Rs 250 extra). In that case, Division A products are loaded more, proportionally quantity of Hippo rises. However the elasticity of quantity of loading is low for Hippo compared to Frooti and Appy which are of high selling category. The sales representative finds it easy and handy to sell Frooti and Appy than applying push strategy for Hippo. Sometimes Hippo is not at all loaded in the LCV because the particular market demography could not accept Hippo and is not popular. Selling Each sales representative has different style of selling. Some capitalize on relationship between him and retailer and some on communication skill. Relationship marketing: In this type of marketing procedure, the SR does not start talking business in the first instance; rather he greets the retailer, talk about general things like current affairs or about family which helps him to build a rapport and trust. The trust and rapport becomes the psychological tool to win over the psychology of the retailer making it difficult for the retailer to reject the sales representatives selling proposal. Sometimes the sales representatives shares such good relationship with the retailer s that they dont even ask whether he needs anything or not but directly dump the products and produces the bill. Credit sales are more by this procedure since the SR does not want to freeze the warmth of the relationship. Communication Marketing In this procedure the SR starts talking about the business from the first go. The deliberation of the schemes or price seeks the attention of the retailers. Sales representative convinces the retailers by giving a clear picture of the business model. For example: Suppose the shop is near a school, he would right away say with much conviction that Hippo is bound to sell and with Rs 1.23 margin per piece, it would be a great business for him. He further elaborates on the schemes and produces a very rosy picture. The chances of credit sales are low. The sales representative of Keventer Agro is responsible to write the bill of receipt where he mentions name of the shop, the date, quantity of total product sold and its price. An account of free products is also scribed in the bill. The cash is handled by the distributors representative. Collection It is a process of collecting money for the credit sales made. Usually Keventer does not encourage credit sales. However if any credit sales are made, the credit period is generally 2-3 days or the period till the next order, whichever is earlier. Collection is not so difficult as Hippo is backed by Frooti which has high bargaining power. Submission Both the representatives are required to submit every bills and cash respectively to the stock point/distributor. The cash collected and the sum total of the bill has to tally. Problem identification and its solution: Problem 1: The targets that are set by Keventer for the sales representatives are not dis tinct enough. The target constitutes of only two conditions i.e. name of Division and amount of cases. For example, on a particular day while we were working in certain area with the sales representative, he was given a target to sell 100 cases of Division A product for an incentive of Rs 250. He worked till 8 pm and ultimately reached to the target. However most of the sales were of Frooti and Appy with very little proportion of Hippo. Solution to the problem: Providing target worked well but had skewed portfolio. The target scheme for the sales representatives should be more distinct for example, if the target would have been X cases Frooti, Y cases of LMN, Z cases of Appy and U cases of Hippo of Division A for Rs V then the sales representative would not have capitalized on Frooti and Appy but would have tried to push low moving new brands such as Hippo, Bailley Soda etc. The portfolio of sales would have been varied and would have provided an impetus to the sales of new brands s uch as Bailley Soda and Hippo. Problem 2: Most of the sales activities are done by the company representatives such: Converting potential customer into actual customer in level 1 of distribution structure Bagging re-order from the existing customer Handling defective product Negotiation and persuasion Accounting( bill of receipt) The distributor only provides with infrastructure such as godown, light commercial vehicle(LCV) and a representative. The field work is mostly done by the company representative. Solution to the problem: Initially in a new market, it is quite rationale to capitalize on the market knowledge and relationships of the distributor but while working with sales representatives we found in some areas that the retailers already trust the company representative while the company representative has commanded the knowledge on the respective market. In that scenario Keventer Agro can go for forward integration and move on to 1-level distribution structure which consists of only manufacturer> retail> consumer eliminating the distributor. This would further optimize the profit earned by the company Evaluation of the distribution system of Parle Hippo through statistics This part of data analysis is segmented in to two parts. The first part deals with retailers and the second part deals with the consumer. The first part is further broken up in to two scenarios. The first scenario provides a holistic view of the markets surveyed and the second scenario deals with analysis of the attribute according to the area in which the survey is conducted. Part I (A) -Holistic View of the Markets Surveyed 1. Hippo Stocked The graph below showcases the frequency of the shops who stocks Hippo in their shops. 36.2% of the samples do not keep Hippo, where as 24.6% of the sample use to keep Hippo and the rest however keeps Hippo. So it can be said that there are presently more shops where Hippo cannot be found. Since the percentage of shops that use to keep Hippo is considerably high, we get a negative sales trend here. 9 definite reasons for the low sales turnover have been identified. They are: Some of the shops were never approached by the distributor Some shops are already flooded with competitors product so there are no space to stock Hippo In Some areas, the supply was halted due distributor reappointment and other issues Some shops use to keep Hippo but due to low sales they dont keep it anymore Hippo has a limited credit option, so many retailer finds it difficult to block their money for a new product Some retailer does not keep Hippo due to lack of merchandize provided. Retailers demand shelve and almirah so that they can store and display and also protect from mice but very limited or no merchandize is provided to most of the retailers Some retailers do not keep Hippo because they perceive that it is a new product with low awareness, the market is still not ready to accept the product. Had it been ready, the consumer would themselves ask for it Some retailers complained about poor follow up from the sales team and is the reason for not keeping Hippo Some retailers, who use to keep Hippo complained that the expired stock were not replaced and they have lost faith in Parle Agro The chart provided below showcases the frequency of the reasons discussed above. Interpretations: 32.5% of the shops were never approached by the company. From the qualitative data it has been found that many retailers were positive about keeping Hippo if they were being approached by the company. 12.5% of the shops have no space to keep Hippo. While conducting survey it is found that many shops were flooded with competitor brand leaving no space for Hippo. Out of 24.6% of sample who use to keep Hippo, 11.2% stopped keeping Hippo due sudden halt in supply due to distributor reappointment problem and other associated problems. 8.8% of the samples do not keep Hippo anymore due to its low sales while 2.5% of the samples do not keep Hippo because of the credit policy. The low sales associated with limited credit policy makes it difficult for the retailer to invest in the slow moving stock. 1.2% of sample reported that they do not keep Hippo because Parle Agro do not provide them with almirah or rack as result the products get damaged because of mice. Among the samples who never kept Hippo, 10% of the sample never kept Hippo because no customer demanded for it. They said, they will only keep Hippo when customer starts asking for it. The demand graph is provided below. Among those who use to keep Hippo, 8.8% of sample do not keep it anymore due to bad follow up from the distributor. One of the samples was approached by the distributor ho took order but never delivered the products. The expired date products were never replaced for which 2.5% of the sample does not keep Hippo. The reason for the 8.8% of the shops could not be gauged due to any response from the retailers. 2. Demand of Hippo: The graph below provides a holistic view about the demand of Hippo. 42.7% of the sample said that the demand of Hippo is low while 33.7% of the sample said that the demand is average followed by 23.6% of the sample who said that the demand is high. 3. Reorder period: Among the samples who keep Hippo, 57.6% of the sample orders on a weekly basis, 24.7% orders on a monthly basis, 10.6% on a fortnightly basis and 7.1% of the sample orders twice a week. 4. Most selling Stock Keeping Unit (SKU): 74.1% of the sample reported that the small packs are most selling stock keeping unit (SKU) while 25.9% of the sample reported about the medium pack. 5. Most selling flavour: On an overall analysis, we found that there is very low consistent pattern of choice of flavour. However 21.2% of the sample said that the bluish green pack (Goan Butter and Garlic) sells the most followed by Punjab Da Pickle. 6. Awareness of nutrition facts among retailers: 70.5% of the sample had no idea about Hippo being baked but not fried while that 29.5% of the sample had idea about the health positivity of the product. Among 29.5 % of the samples who are aware of the fact only 2.4% of the samples pitch about it while selling it. 7. Analysis of the margin/profit offered by Hippo and its competitors: The objective is to find whether there is significant difference among the margin offered by three brands i.e. Lays, Bingo and Hippo. In other words, it is a test for difference in distributions (medians) of the margin/profit for the different brands of snacks. Methodology applied is Kruskal-Wallis Test. The null hypothesis H0 = PL = PB = PH and the alternate hypothesis H1 is PL, PB and PH are significantly different. PL = Proportion of retailer to whom Lays provide them with highest margin PB = Proportion of retailer to whom Bingo provide them with highest margin PH = Proportion of retailer to whom Hippo provide them with highest margin The significance level (a) is 0.05. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, the p-value is as low as zero, so we reject the null hypothesis. So we see that at the a = 0.05 level of significance, there exists enough evidence to conclude that there is significant difference among the three snack brand in terms of the margin/profit provided to the retailer. 8. Factor Analysis: The main applications of factor analytic te (1) To reduce the number of variables and (2) To detect structure in the relationships bet Therefore, factor analysis is applied as a dat The variables taken are: .Supply Quality of Hippo as r .Quality of Product delivered as r .Quality of service(Replacement .Merchandize offered and its a .Margin perceived by the samples .Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples or analytic techniques are: the number of variables and tionships between variables, that is to classify sis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method. Supply Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples ed as responded by Samples placement and Adjustment) as responded by Samples and its availability as responded by Samples ed by the samples sponded by Samples classify variables. tion method. y Samples The main applications of factor analytic te (1) To reduce the number of variables and (2) To detect structure in the relationships bet Therefore, f actor analysis is applied as a dat The variables taken are: .Supply Quality of Hippo as r .Quality of Product delivered as r .Quality of service(Replacement .Merchandize offered and its a .Margin perceived by the samples .Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples or analytic techniques are: the number of variables and tionships between variables, that is to classify sis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method. Supply Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples ed as responded by Samples placement and Adjustment) as responded by Samples and its availability as responded by Samples ed by the samples sponded by Samples classify variables. tion method. y Samples From the component plot above it is quite clear that plot above it is quite clear that quality of product, quality of supply and replacement and adjustment constitute one factor while margin of hippo and merchandizing provided constitute the other factor. From the Scree Plot it can be seen that 2 components have Eigen Value more than 1 and they can explain 74.09% of the variation. Part 1 (b) Area wise analysis of the attributes 1. Demand hippo vs Area 70%, 55%, 50% in Lake Town, Shyambazar, Ultadanga respectively consider the demand of Hippo to be low. 72.7% of sample in Salt Lake and 50% of sample in New Market feels the demand for Hippo is average. However 44.4%, 50%, 41.7% of the sample in Nagerbazar, Baisakhi and Ultadanga respectively fell the demand is high over there. 2. Flavour vs area Goan Butter and Garlic flavour is the most liked flavour in Salt Lake. While Punjab Da Pickle is the favourite in Nagerbazar. All the other area has no definite favourite. 3. Area vs Hippo Stocked Cross tabulation Area * Hippo Stocked Cross tabulation Hippo Stocked No Yes Previously Kept Area Salt Lake Count 0 12 0 % within Area .0% 100.0% .0% Lake Town Count 4 3 4 % within Area 36.4% 27.3% 36.4% Nagerbazar Count 2 10 0 % within Area 16.7% 83.3% .0% Baisakhi CK Market Count 3 1 5 % within Area 33.3% 11.1% 55.6% New Market Hogg Market Count 11 0 6 % within Area 64.7% .0% 35.3% Ultadanga, Murari Pukur, Kankurgachi Bagmari Count 13 5 7 % within Area 52.0% 20.0% 28.0% Beadon Road, Aurobindo Road Vivekananda Road Count 13 10 5 % within Area 46.4% 35.7% 17.9% Shyambazar, Baghbazar Rajballav Para Count 4 13 7 % within Area 16.7% 54.2% 29.2% Total Count 50 54 34 % within Area 36.2% 39.1% 24.6% From the cross tabulation above, we see that the penetration of Hippo is excellent in Salt Lake and Nagerbaz Keventer Agro Market Analysis Keventer Agro Market Analysis ABSTRACT Most producers do not sell their goods directly to final users. They design a multi-channel system to reach them. The design of marketing channel, that acts, as a strong interface, can provide competitive advantage to a firm in the industry. By contrast the absence of a good distribution network can also be a major fiasco in todays cutthroat competitive world. Marketing channel decisions are the most critical ones facing the marketing management today. It is complex and the complexity further gets compounded by the fact that the channel system take time to build usually years. Channel partners are not owned by the company in most cases. The sales force plays a crucial role in getting the best out of marketing channel. Integrating the efforts of channel partners and sales efforts within the whole marketing effort becomes crucial towards achieving organizational goals. Food and beverage giant Parle had entered into a franchisee agreement with Keventer Agro, for Keventer Agro to manufac ture, package, distribute and market its well-known brands namely Frooti -a popular mango drink, Appy and Appy Fizz-the in-style apple drinks and Bailley Packaged Drinking Water mostly in the eastern parts of India. The project Study of the distribution channel and market analysis of the products distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro involves the study of the strategies undertaken by Keventer Agro to distribute and market products of Parle Agro which includes Parles HIPPO Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. Hippo is a player of the snack food industry of India. As per an industry estimate, the branded and organized snack food segment dominated by major players such as Frito Lay, Con Agra, Kelloggs, Marico, Dabur, HLL, ITC, Parle, Haldirams. Thus, the study mainly constituted of studying and analyzing the distribution channel of Hip po and doing a market analysis of the product with respect to pricing, competition, brand awareness and consumer behavior of Hippo its present market position in relation to the well known established brands through retailer and consumer survey. Questionnaire, Schedule and interview and observation methods have been used in conduction of surveys. After completion of analysis of data collected through various methods regarding the sales and distribution and market position and other strategies proper conclusions can be drawn about the awareness and market strength and potential of Parles Hippo. These conclusion and deductions will help Keventer Agro to make any possible changes that would be feasible for the sustenance of the brands and any measure that will increase the market penetration of the brands Introduction The Project Study of the distribution channel and market analysis of the of the products distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro involves the study of the strategies undertaken by Keventer Agro to distribute and market Parle Hippo Keventer Agro: The Company Keventer Agro Limited is a subsidiary of Keventer Group which has been operating years in the Food Processing Industry in India for more than 125 years. Keventer exports Alphonso Mango Pulp, Totapuri Mango Pulp, Guava Pulp, Sweetened Alphonso Mango Pulp, Mango Pickle, Sesame Seed, Cashew Nuts, Peanuts, Cumin Seed, Fennel Seed, Fenugreek, Coriander Seed, Bakery Ingredients, Fruit Jams, Tutti Fruiti, Red Chilies Button Mushrooms etc. to various countries. Keventer Agro Ltd. (KAL) was established in the year 1986. The division exports food products such as Mango Pulp, Guava Pulp, Sesame Seeds, and Bakery Ingredients to various customers across the globe. In no time, it earned the coronet of being the first to i ntroduce aseptic packaging in the beverage category (a high-end packaging procedure that preserved the natural goodness of drinks in hygienic packs). The Group entered into a franchisee agreement with the food and beverage giant -PARLE to manufacture, package, distribute and market its well-known brands namely FROOTI -a popular mango drink, APPY and APPY FIZZ- the in-style apple drinks and BAILEY PACKAGED DRINKING WATER mostly in the eastern parts of India. In late 2010, Parle Agro inked another agreement with Keventer Agro to set up a plant at Barasat. This new unit manufactures Parle Agros snack brand Hippo. Besides manufacturing, Keventer is also responsible for marketing, sales and distribution of Hippo. Parle Agro chose to partner Keventer for their range of food brands which w.ll h.l. them to expand Hippos market share in the eastern part of India. Parle Agro: The Company Parle Agro is a household name in the beverages industry and has leading brands like Frooti, Appy, Appy Fizz and packaged drinking water, Bailley. A pioneer in the Indian industry, Parle Agro were the first to introduce fruit drinks in tetra packaging, first to introduce apple nectar and the first to introduce fruit drinks in PET bottles. In 2007, Parle Agro forayed into foods with the launch of two confectionery brands, Mintrox mints and Buttercup candies. This was soon followed by two more brands Buttercup Softease and Softease Mithai. Recent beverage products from Parle Agro include Saint Juice, LMN and Grappo Fizz. In 2009, Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. The snack brand Hippo, was launched in the western region starting with Maharashtra and then it was soon rolled out nationally. Parle Agro commenced operations in 1984. Starting with o nly beverages and diversifying to include bottled water in 1993 and confectionery in 2007. Frooti was the first product that was rolled out of Parle Agro in 1985. It went on to become Indias favourite mango drink. It still has a leading market share. Parle Agro Pvt. Ltd operates under three business vertical Beverages fruit drinks, nectars, 100% Juice, sparkling drinks, Water Packaged Drinking Water and Foods confectionery, snacks Product Industry Overview Product: HIPPO Parle Agro forayed into snacks with the launch of Hippo, in line with the companys vision of becoming a major player in the foods and beverages industry. Hippo is a toasted bread snack. Its ingredients include wheat flour, edible vegetable oils, seasoning mix, corn starch, sugar, raising agent, milk solids, salt, emulsifier, yeast extract powder, instant yeast. It contains added natural color and added natural identical flavoring substances; but no added MSG, no GMO and no Trans Fat. It comes in two variant; Hippo Munchies and Hippo Round-Round. The Hippo Munchies comes in 7 flavours (Chinese Manchurian, Hot-n-Sweet Tomato, Thai Chilli, Yoghurt Mint Chutney, Italian Pizza, Indian Chatpata and Arabian Salted) and Hippo Round-Round comes in 5 flavours (Punjab Da Pickle, Gujrati Mango Chatni, Shillong Noodle Masala, Goan Butter and Garlic, Firangi Cheese n Spice). It is available in three sizes which are priced at Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20. Snack Industry: Industry to which Hippo belongs Hi ppo is a player of the snack food industry of India. The Indian snack industry is one of the largest when considered in the global level. With rising standard of living, people are more resorting to snacks items during breakfast, supper or any time; snacks most often take the place of meals. Right from production, using up, export and growth prospects owing to emerging markets, increasing demand, and incorporation of latest technologies, the snack industry in India has witnessed a dramatic change. Ready-to-eat foods, samosas, kachoris, namkeen, chips, are few of the snacks that are most preferred by Indians. Given the rising demand, the snack industry is going to witness further growth in the future. The snacks food industry in India can broadly be categorised into three segments staple (biscuits category), traditional (namkeens) and ready-to-eat packaged snacks (chips / crisps). The snack food market in India is $3 billion; with the organized segment accounting for almost half of the market share and growing at rate of 15 to 20 percent per year. A growing economy, changing lifestyles, rise in disposable incomes and preference for quality products of U.S. origin will continue to fuel growth of imported U.S. snack food items in India. As per an industry estimate, the branded and organized snack food segment dominated by major players such as Frito Lay, Con Agra, Kelloggs, Marico, Dabur, HLL, ITC, Parle, Haldirams, Nestle, Britannia, Cadbury, Bikano and Balaji is estimated to grow by 15 to 20 percent per year; whereas the growth of un-branded snack food is likely to grow modestly at 8 percent per year in the near future. Frito-Lay India led sweet and savory snacks with a retail val ue share of 46% in 2009. The companys Kurkure, Lehar and Lays Stax offerings have helped it to consolidate its leadership during the year. Haldiram Foods International Ltd and ITC Ltd remained the second and third ranked players respectively. Products like Hippo claim to be made from healthier ingredients than chips/crisps. With Indian consumers becoming more health conscious and more inquisitive about the ingredients in their food, sweet and savory snacks will witness an increase in products which are positioned as better for you and healthier snacks. Objectives of the Project To execute a qualitative study on the trend of packaged snack industry To gauge the acceptance of baked and healthy-snacks To understand competitors strategy in the market To study the sales and distribution structure, pricing (both to the retailer and to the consumer) of Hippo and problems in those respected area. To develop marketing strategies for Hippo To analyze the markets and determine the factors responsible for sale of products and provide recommendations about the scope for improvement. To provide a statement of collective responses of the retailersand determine the scope for improvement in the distribution channel for the products and the problems faced by the retailers. To study the pattern of consumer behavior and their awareness towards HIPPO To find out the problems faced by HIPPO if any and suggest solution to address those problems Project Methodology Primary Research is done through market survey. The research is mainly based on: Questionnaire Method Interview Method Observation Method Secondary Research has also been used as a supporting tool like: Some of the data related to holistic picture of the industry has been gathered from the data available on the internet PROJECT PROFILE The project revolves around Parle Hippo distributed and marketed by Keventer Agro under the license of Parle Agro. The first stage constituted of mainly studying and analyzing the distribution channel of Hippo and doing a market analysis of the product with respect to pricing, competition, brand awareness and consumer behavior of Hippo through retailer and consumer survey As per the objective of the project, two sets of questionnaire were prepared; For the retailer which aimed to assess the availability of Hippo, pricing of Hippo, sales, defect handling and some financial aspect of Hippo viz. Its competitors and the other for the consumers. For the consumer which aimed to gauge awareness of the product and the brand, product acceptance, their choice of product and buying pattern. The second stage constituted of observing the total sales procedure which consists of division of product, division of area, selective loading, selling, collection and submission STAGE ONE: RETAILER SURVEY FOR HIPPO This stage involved daily visits from the stock points to the designated markets. The markets covered includes: Salt Lake, Lake Town, S.K. Deb Road Market, Nagerbazar, Mrinalini Cinema Hall Market, New Market, Ultadanga, Kankurgachi, Bagmari, Beadon Street , Aurobindo Road and Vivekananda Road area, Shyambazar, Rajballavpara Baghbazar. Every shop that kept branded snacks in the respective areas was approached. The initial plan was to conduct the survey through questionnaire method but while performing the survey the method had to be changed to schedule, observation and interview method as it was not convenient for the retailers to fill up the questionnaire Objectives of Survey by observation method Findings to be recorded through observation method included: The visibility of Hippo and of competitors product Mode of stocking/displaying Hippo and competitors products i.e. whether it is on shelve or in the basket or inside almirah The location of the store i.e. whether it is beside main road or inside a lane or on a square Type of store Approximate demography Objectives of Survey by schedule method Findings to be recorded through schedule method included: About Hippo: Whether he keeps Hippo or not, if not the reason, its availability, reorder period, quality of defective product handling, margin offered, supply of banners and danglers. About Competitor: The competition brand kept, approximate margin they offer. About the market as a whole: The most selling brand. Objectives of Survey by interview method The interview methodology aimed to gain the intrinsic details of the market functions such as; if the retailer does not keep Hippo would he like to keep it future, the credit policy, frequency of visit of sales representative, retailers view on Hippos marketing strategy and scope of improvement. STAGE TWO: TOTAL SALES PROCEDURE OBSERVATION Distribution structure of Keventer Agro for Hippo Keventer Agro has 2-level consumer marketing channel. i.e. Manufacturing Unit>Distributor>retailer>Consumer. The product is manufactured in their plant located in Barasat. The products are sold directly to distributors on cash. A sales representative is appointed to the distributor by Keventer, who represents Keventer Agro and works shoulder to shoulder with the distributor. Level 1 Manufacturing unit to distributor The distributor buys the product in cash and the price of the free products which are part of below the line promotional activity are reimbursed on the claim made by the distributor. The transportation charge is borne by the distributor. Division of product and appointment of distributors: The aim of the company is: To ensure not only the highly profitable established products, but also new products with low initial sales reaches the end of supply chain. To ensures that all the SKUs of different products end up in the racks of retailers. Parle Agro has wide and deep product line; it is difficult for a single distributor to manage all the products. Earlier, Hippo was supplied to all the distributors of a specific area but as coordination became difficult, they have changed their policy and now supplies only to one distributor of the specific area. In some distribution area Keventer appoints more than one distributor each having different divisions of product. The division of products includes: Division A Division B Division C (Full information about this division is not known since I never had the chance to work in this divison) 200 ml, 400 ml, 1.2 litre of Frooti 160 ml 500 ml 1.5 litre and 2 litre of Frooti 200 ml of Appy 500 ml, 1 litre, 2 litre of Bailley Packaged Drinking Water 100 ml, 250 ml of Frooti 200 ml of LMN 600 ml of Bailley Soda. 300 ml, 500 ml and 1 litre of Appy Fizz The strategy of division of product along with division of distributor is adopted due to the reason discussed above. Level 2 Distributor to retailer Each distribution area is divided into five different distribution zones. They sell their products to those five zones in five days i.e. Monday to Friday. The sixth day which is Saturday is an extra day in which the sales representative does the miscellaneous work such as: If an order was not delivered on the due date then that product is delivered on Saturday. They conduct an approximate survey to estimate or forecast the forthcoming weekly demand. If a replacement of defective product was not done on the due date then it is also done in Saturday Hippo along with other product that are in the same division are be loaded in the LCV everyday. The flavours and quantities are not fixed. They load it according to the demand estimation of the zone. For example, on a particular day, more SKUs of Goan Butter and Garlic flavour is loaded more than the average quantity; the reason being from the experience, the sales representative found that when certain flavour/flavours are supplied to some particular area/areas, the retailer has lower re-order period i.e. the flavour/flavours sales more in that area depending on the demography of the area and buying pattern of the consumers. Sometimes the sales representatives are given target. For example: If they can sell 100 cases of Division A products on a particular day which includes Hippo, then they would get some incentive (Rs 250 extra). In that case, Division A products are loaded more, proportionally quantity of Hippo rises. However the elasticity of quantity of loading is low for Hippo compared to Frooti and Appy which are of high selling category. The sales representative finds it easy and handy to sell Frooti and Appy than applying push strategy for Hippo. Sometimes Hippo is not at all loaded in the LCV because the particular market demography could not accept Hippo and is not popular. Selling Each sales representative has different style of selling. Some capitalize on relationship between him and retailer and some on communication skill. Relationship marketing: In this type of marketing procedure, the SR does not start talking business in the first instance; rather he greets the retailer, talk about general things like current affairs or about family which helps him to build a rapport and trust. The trust and rapport becomes the psychological tool to win over the psychology of the retailer making it difficult for the retailer to reject the sales representatives selling proposal. Sometimes the sales representatives shares such good relationship with the retailer s that they dont even ask whether he needs anything or not but directly dump the products and produces the bill. Credit sales are more by this procedure since the SR does not want to freeze the warmth of the relationship. Communication Marketing In this procedure the SR starts talking about the business from the first go. The deliberation of the schemes or price seeks the attention of the retailers. Sales representative convinces the retailers by giving a clear picture of the business model. For example: Suppose the shop is near a school, he would right away say with much conviction that Hippo is bound to sell and with Rs 1.23 margin per piece, it would be a great business for him. He further elaborates on the schemes and produces a very rosy picture. The chances of credit sales are low. The sales representative of Keventer Agro is responsible to write the bill of receipt where he mentions name of the shop, the date, quantity of total product sold and its price. An account of free products is also scribed in the bill. The cash is handled by the distributors representative. Collection It is a process of collecting money for the credit sales made. Usually Keventer does not encourage credit sales. However if any credit sales are made, the credit period is generally 2-3 days or the period till the next order, whichever is earlier. Collection is not so difficult as Hippo is backed by Frooti which has high bargaining power. Submission Both the representatives are required to submit every bills and cash respectively to the stock point/distributor. The cash collected and the sum total of the bill has to tally. Problem identification and its solution: Problem 1: The targets that are set by Keventer for the sales representatives are not dis tinct enough. The target constitutes of only two conditions i.e. name of Division and amount of cases. For example, on a particular day while we were working in certain area with the sales representative, he was given a target to sell 100 cases of Division A product for an incentive of Rs 250. He worked till 8 pm and ultimately reached to the target. However most of the sales were of Frooti and Appy with very little proportion of Hippo. Solution to the problem: Providing target worked well but had skewed portfolio. The target scheme for the sales representatives should be more distinct for example, if the target would have been X cases Frooti, Y cases of LMN, Z cases of Appy and U cases of Hippo of Division A for Rs V then the sales representative would not have capitalized on Frooti and Appy but would have tried to push low moving new brands such as Hippo, Bailley Soda etc. The portfolio of sales would have been varied and would have provided an impetus to the sales of new brands s uch as Bailley Soda and Hippo. Problem 2: Most of the sales activities are done by the company representatives such: Converting potential customer into actual customer in level 1 of distribution structure Bagging re-order from the existing customer Handling defective product Negotiation and persuasion Accounting( bill of receipt) The distributor only provides with infrastructure such as godown, light commercial vehicle(LCV) and a representative. The field work is mostly done by the company representative. Solution to the problem: Initially in a new market, it is quite rationale to capitalize on the market knowledge and relationships of the distributor but while working with sales representatives we found in some areas that the retailers already trust the company representative while the company representative has commanded the knowledge on the respective market. In that scenario Keventer Agro can go for forward integration and move on to 1-level distribution structure which consists of only manufacturer> retail> consumer eliminating the distributor. This would further optimize the profit earned by the company Evaluation of the distribution system of Parle Hippo through statistics This part of data analysis is segmented in to two parts. The first part deals with retailers and the second part deals with the consumer. The first part is further broken up in to two scenarios. The first scenario provides a holistic view of the markets surveyed and the second scenario deals with analysis of the attribute according to the area in which the survey is conducted. Part I (A) -Holistic View of the Markets Surveyed 1. Hippo Stocked The graph below showcases the frequency of the shops who stocks Hippo in their shops. 36.2% of the samples do not keep Hippo, where as 24.6% of the sample use to keep Hippo and the rest however keeps Hippo. So it can be said that there are presently more shops where Hippo cannot be found. Since the percentage of shops that use to keep Hippo is considerably high, we get a negative sales trend here. 9 definite reasons for the low sales turnover have been identified. They are: Some of the shops were never approached by the distributor Some shops are already flooded with competitors product so there are no space to stock Hippo In Some areas, the supply was halted due distributor reappointment and other issues Some shops use to keep Hippo but due to low sales they dont keep it anymore Hippo has a limited credit option, so many retailer finds it difficult to block their money for a new product Some retailer does not keep Hippo due to lack of merchandize provided. Retailers demand shelve and almirah so that they can store and display and also protect from mice but very limited or no merchandize is provided to most of the retailers Some retailers do not keep Hippo because they perceive that it is a new product with low awareness, the market is still not ready to accept the product. Had it been ready, the consumer would themselves ask for it Some retailers complained about poor follow up from the sales team and is the reason for not keeping Hippo Some retailers, who use to keep Hippo complained that the expired stock were not replaced and they have lost faith in Parle Agro The chart provided below showcases the frequency of the reasons discussed above. Interpretations: 32.5% of the shops were never approached by the company. From the qualitative data it has been found that many retailers were positive about keeping Hippo if they were being approached by the company. 12.5% of the shops have no space to keep Hippo. While conducting survey it is found that many shops were flooded with competitor brand leaving no space for Hippo. Out of 24.6% of sample who use to keep Hippo, 11.2% stopped keeping Hippo due sudden halt in supply due to distributor reappointment problem and other associated problems. 8.8% of the samples do not keep Hippo anymore due to its low sales while 2.5% of the samples do not keep Hippo because of the credit policy. The low sales associated with limited credit policy makes it difficult for the retailer to invest in the slow moving stock. 1.2% of sample reported that they do not keep Hippo because Parle Agro do not provide them with almirah or rack as result the products get damaged because of mice. Among the samples who never kept Hippo, 10% of the sample never kept Hippo because no customer demanded for it. They said, they will only keep Hippo when customer starts asking for it. The demand graph is provided below. Among those who use to keep Hippo, 8.8% of sample do not keep it anymore due to bad follow up from the distributor. One of the samples was approached by the distributor ho took order but never delivered the products. The expired date products were never replaced for which 2.5% of the sample does not keep Hippo. The reason for the 8.8% of the shops could not be gauged due to any response from the retailers. 2. Demand of Hippo: The graph below provides a holistic view about the demand of Hippo. 42.7% of the sample said that the demand of Hippo is low while 33.7% of the sample said that the demand is average followed by 23.6% of the sample who said that the demand is high. 3. Reorder period: Among the samples who keep Hippo, 57.6% of the sample orders on a weekly basis, 24.7% orders on a monthly basis, 10.6% on a fortnightly basis and 7.1% of the sample orders twice a week. 4. Most selling Stock Keeping Unit (SKU): 74.1% of the sample reported that the small packs are most selling stock keeping unit (SKU) while 25.9% of the sample reported about the medium pack. 5. Most selling flavour: On an overall analysis, we found that there is very low consistent pattern of choice of flavour. However 21.2% of the sample said that the bluish green pack (Goan Butter and Garlic) sells the most followed by Punjab Da Pickle. 6. Awareness of nutrition facts among retailers: 70.5% of the sample had no idea about Hippo being baked but not fried while that 29.5% of the sample had idea about the health positivity of the product. Among 29.5 % of the samples who are aware of the fact only 2.4% of the samples pitch about it while selling it. 7. Analysis of the margin/profit offered by Hippo and its competitors: The objective is to find whether there is significant difference among the margin offered by three brands i.e. Lays, Bingo and Hippo. In other words, it is a test for difference in distributions (medians) of the margin/profit for the different brands of snacks. Methodology applied is Kruskal-Wallis Test. The null hypothesis H0 = PL = PB = PH and the alternate hypothesis H1 is PL, PB and PH are significantly different. PL = Proportion of retailer to whom Lays provide them with highest margin PB = Proportion of retailer to whom Bingo provide them with highest margin PH = Proportion of retailer to whom Hippo provide them with highest margin The significance level (a) is 0.05. According to the Kruskal-Wallis test, the p-value is as low as zero, so we reject the null hypothesis. So we see that at the a = 0.05 level of significance, there exists enough evidence to conclude that there is significant difference among the three snack brand in terms of the margin/profit provided to the retailer. 8. Factor Analysis: The main applications of factor analytic te (1) To reduce the number of variables and (2) To detect structure in the relationships bet Therefore, factor analysis is applied as a dat The variables taken are: .Supply Quality of Hippo as r .Quality of Product delivered as r .Quality of service(Replacement .Merchandize offered and its a .Margin perceived by the samples .Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples or analytic techniques are: the number of variables and tionships between variables, that is to classify sis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method. Supply Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples ed as responded by Samples placement and Adjustment) as responded by Samples and its availability as responded by Samples ed by the samples sponded by Samples classify variables. tion method. y Samples The main applications of factor analytic te (1) To reduce the number of variables and (2) To detect structure in the relationships bet Therefore, f actor analysis is applied as a dat The variables taken are: .Supply Quality of Hippo as r .Quality of Product delivered as r .Quality of service(Replacement .Merchandize offered and its a .Margin perceived by the samples .Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples or analytic techniques are: the number of variables and tionships between variables, that is to classify sis is applied as a data reduction or structure detection method. Supply Quality of Hippo as responded by Samples ed as responded by Samples placement and Adjustment) as responded by Samples and its availability as responded by Samples ed by the samples sponded by Samples classify variables. tion method. y Samples From the component plot above it is quite clear that plot above it is quite clear that quality of product, quality of supply and replacement and adjustment constitute one factor while margin of hippo and merchandizing provided constitute the other factor. From the Scree Plot it can be seen that 2 components have Eigen Value more than 1 and they can explain 74.09% of the variation. Part 1 (b) Area wise analysis of the attributes 1. Demand hippo vs Area 70%, 55%, 50% in Lake Town, Shyambazar, Ultadanga respectively consider the demand of Hippo to be low. 72.7% of sample in Salt Lake and 50% of sample in New Market feels the demand for Hippo is average. However 44.4%, 50%, 41.7% of the sample in Nagerbazar, Baisakhi and Ultadanga respectively fell the demand is high over there. 2. Flavour vs area Goan Butter and Garlic flavour is the most liked flavour in Salt Lake. While Punjab Da Pickle is the favourite in Nagerbazar. All the other area has no definite favourite. 3. Area vs Hippo Stocked Cross tabulation Area * Hippo Stocked Cross tabulation Hippo Stocked No Yes Previously Kept Area Salt Lake Count 0 12 0 % within Area .0% 100.0% .0% Lake Town Count 4 3 4 % within Area 36.4% 27.3% 36.4% Nagerbazar Count 2 10 0 % within Area 16.7% 83.3% .0% Baisakhi CK Market Count 3 1 5 % within Area 33.3% 11.1% 55.6% New Market Hogg Market Count 11 0 6 % within Area 64.7% .0% 35.3% Ultadanga, Murari Pukur, Kankurgachi Bagmari Count 13 5 7 % within Area 52.0% 20.0% 28.0% Beadon Road, Aurobindo Road Vivekananda Road Count 13 10 5 % within Area 46.4% 35.7% 17.9% Shyambazar, Baghbazar Rajballav Para Count 4 13 7 % within Area 16.7% 54.2% 29.2% Total Count 50 54 34 % within Area 36.2% 39.1% 24.6% From the cross tabulation above, we see that the penetration of Hippo is excellent in Salt Lake and Nagerbaz