Online Learning versus Traditional Learning Essay

Online Learning versus Traditional Learning - Essay Example Assessment in some cases is done online whilst in other cases, students go to a place to sit examinations under supervised conditions. Personally, I find out that online learning is convenient. It enables people to learn at any location and at anytime. This convenience is borne out of the fact that all what a person needs is access to the Internet and from there, the person can access all course materials at the convenience of his home or on his laptop anywhere in the world. This is a convenience that is not available to people who study in campuses where they are required to put aside other things and attend lectures to meet the requirements for graduation. Dosckocil (2008) states that online learning is very popular with adults who seek to study. This is because online learning allows older people to balance their career and family commitments with education. This is very convenient and allows people who do not have the opportunity to put aside some important elements of their live s to go back to school to also access education. This can come in handy when one wants to gain some career improvement through the attainment of better qualifications. Personally, before enrolling in this online course, I had a lot of responsibilities and thought it will be difficult for me to balance a traditional learning system. I dreaded the idea of enrolling in a traditional course since that would cause me to put aside a lot of important things in my life to meet the attendance requirements and other enrollment demands that such courses have. This course has allowed me to kill two birds with one stone because I can study and also make time to do important things in my life. Also, online learning gives an individual the opportunity to use sophisticated tools and techniques to support his studies. For instance, online learning courses often give an array of important study resources like online libraries and journals that can add up to the potentials and abilities of the student . Additionally, the use of computers enables an individual to build important skills and potentials like typing and computer usage which are imperative skills for employment in our era today. Traditional Learning Traditional learning on the other hand is far from being extinct. There are numerous reasons that imply that people will continue to patronize the normal brick-and-mortar classroom study for a long time to come. Hall (2007) identifies that some courses like natural sciences, teachers education and psychology are not suitable for online learning. This is because such courses require important skills that can only be studied in an environment where there is a concentration of support services and infrastructure. For instance, a medical student cannot graduate by studying online only. This is because the student needs to be accustomed to a schedule that will require him to go to the laboratory, go for lecturers offered by specialists and access traditional libraries. This ther efore makes it imperative for such students to move to a traditional university campus to get a balanced education. Also, traditional study systems solicit for more commitments and promote important elements of studies which cannot be made available through distance studies. This is because there is some kind of personal rapport that exists between the student of a traditional course which is missing in an online course. Additionally, students in a

Asian American and Jeremy Lin Essay Example for Free

Asian American and Jeremy Lin Essay â€Å"Linsanity† Jeremy Lin. Some say he is a god-send, literally. Others say he’s just a one hit wonder who’s had his fifteen minutes in the spotlight. However, many argue especially from the Asian American community, that he’s not just a fad or trend but a full blown star athlete, pushing the envelope not just for Asian Americans, but athletes across all social classes, races, and creeds. So really, with all the media hype and hysteria, who is Jeremy Lin? Why is he the chosen one? More importantly, what has he been labeled and how has he faced this discrimination? What is the cause of this â€Å"Linsanity†? Before the question, â€Å"Why Jeremy Lin? † can be answered, we have to start at his roots. Jeremy Lin was born August 23, 1988, to a Taiwanese emigrant couple. He grew up playing basketball in Palo Alto, Northern California. He excelled not only as an athlete in his young school years, but was also an exceptional student. He went onto Harvard, a fallback school, and continued his academics, majoring in economics. While at Harvard, Lin played for the Ivy Basketball League and quickly made a name for himself. This is where he first encounters racism and discrimination. In short interviews throughout his college days, Lin spoke of his opportunities and how his race had been a factor in his recruitment. Im not saying top-5 state automatically gets you offers, but I do think (my ethnicity) did affect the way coaches recruited me. I think if I were a different race, I wouldve been treated differently. He was never drafted after graduating college and continued to play basically for free as a D-League athlete with the Golden State Warriors. He never sees much action on the court in California and is quickly shuffled across the country during draft season. Rex Walters, an NBA veteran and Asian American says, â€Å"People who dont think stereotypes exist are crazy. If hes white, hes either a good shooter or heady. If hes Asian, hes good at math. Were not taking him. Lin had a brief stint at the Houston Rockets before being traded once again to the New York Knicks. Here, his time came to shine, and he lit a fire under everyone’s collective rear ends that had ever doubted him. It was as if the stars and the heavens lined up for a once in a million year eclipse; so too did Lin’s fortune. He took all his frustration, all his doubts, and all the racism he’s ever faced on and off the court, and brought it to the best, which included the Los Angeles Lakers, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the NBA Champions Dallas Mavericks. With every successive and progressively impossible win, his infamy grew and so did the media hype. â€Å"Linsanity† had come to full term. â€Å"Linsanity† and many other coined adjectives became headline news. His fame crossed oceans and racial lines making him an overnight media sensation. Shockingly but not surprisingly, during a victory celebration on February 10th of 2012 against the Lakers, Fox News columnist Jason Whitlock posted on his Twitter account, Some lucky lady in NYC is gonna feel a couple inches of pain tonight, a sexual reference to an Asian male stereotype. A few days later after a loss to the Orlando Hornets, ESPN’s Max Bretos reported during a taping of SportsCenter, â€Å"We have found a Chink in the Armor†. Floyd Mayweather Jr., a professional boxer and fellow athlete tweets, Jeremy Lin is a good player but all the hype is because hes Asian. Black players do what he does every night and dont get the same praise. â€Å"Linsanity† was bringing in a negative backlash that Lin was all too familiar with. He looked past it, and went even as far as to forgive. I expect it, Im used to it, it is what it is, says Lin. On the â€Å"Chink in the Armor† slur, Lin responds, â€Å"I don’t think it was on purpose or whatever. At the same time, they’ve apologized, and so from my end I don’t care anymore. [You] have to learn to forgive. And I don’t even think that was intentional, or hopefully not. He was willing to brush it off and be the bigger man and not let it affect his game. But aside from the blatantly racial comments from the media, is â€Å"Linsanity† a breeding ground for unintentional stereotyping? As many members of the Asian American communities can attest, stereotypes of Asian Americans are seen everywhere. A case in point, the corporate world of advertisement tried to cash in on â€Å"Linsanity†. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory tried capitalizing on Jeremy Lin by coming up with a new flavor called â€Å"Taste the Linsanity†. The ingredients were basically vanilla ice-cream with a hint of caramel and the addition of fortune cookies. Many members of the Chinese/Taiwanese American community cried foul in this instance, as it did play to some degree more or less on Lin’s Chinese/Taiwanese heritage. In response, an Asian American protestor went as far as to picket the Ben Jerry’s store on Haight and Ashbury in San Francisco. He held a sign that read, â€Å"Taste of Lebron – Watermelon and Fried Chicken in every scoop†. Now piggy-backing on another racial stereotype isn’t exactly politically correct, but it did bring awareness. â€Å"Taste of Linsanity† quickly made its way off of shelves and into trash cans. However, it wasn’t only corporate America playing on stereotypes for publicity. It was the Asian American community itself looking to address positive stereotypes. In the Youtube video â€Å"Superior Lintellect† by studio64comedy, creators Lawrence Kau and Kunal Dudheker (both Americans born of Asian descent) portray Lin solving complex math equations in his mind in order to best his competition during tough situations on the basketball court. Each playback of Lin’s on-court moves are narrated by a forced Chinese accent, and are accompanied with on-screen quadratic formulas and physics theory. It’s no doubt that Asian Americans are poking fun at the â€Å"Asians are good at math† stereotype. But yet in some ways, it just feeds fuel to the fire that stereotypes are okay. The question ultimately comes down to, â€Å"How far is too far? † and â€Å"Who can and who can’t stereotype against Asians? † In conclusion, Jeremy Lin is a unique individual. Yes, he is a Harvard graduate. Yes, he is an incredible athlete. Yes, he is a fiercely loyal Christian. And finally; Yes, He’s Asian. But despite all his unique attributes, why is his race the only thing that seems to overshadow his qualities? After all this time, when the name Lin appears on TV based on performance and skill, the media is still focused on what school he went to and what GPA he had or whether he was Chinese or Taiwanese. Is it the scarcity of Asian Americans in the media that makes it so socially acceptable to shift focus? Is it the Asian American fans all across the country coming to support him, regardless of team pride that focuses the media’s attention to his ethnicity? Is it the blatant ignorance of the general populace? Maybe it’s all of that and then some. But regardless of where all of this attention originates, it is safe to say that Jeremy Lin is on to something very special. He’s allowed Asian Americans into mainstream sports and has brought a positive light to an arena once absent of it. All racial jokes and stereotypes aside, no one can deny his ability and talent, doubt his fierce sense of faith, or question his moral fiber. Jeremy Lin is definitely an Asian American all Asian American’s can be proud of.

Amul as a brand name

Amul as a brand name Company information Amul as a brand name is familiar to almost every individual in India, Amul is known for its quality products purity and hygiene. For over more than the past 50 years Amul has been serving the consumers of India with a variety of quality products. Amul follows a business model to provide products to customers which provides value for money to the consumer. Amul has enjoyed its status of market leader in products like butter, cheese and dry milk, by providing customers with quality products at competitive prices. It is one of the largest food products manufacturing organisation of India. It is a Dairy Cooperative of Gujarat, also known as The Gujarat Cooperative milk marketing federation Ltd. Gujarat as a state of India is a leader in organizing dairy cooperatives and its success is not only limited in India but acts as a model for rest of the World. Over the last fifty odd years, Dairy Cooperatives in Gujarat have created an economic network that connects more than 2.8 million village milk producers with million of consumers in India and abroad through a cooperative system. These cooperatives collect on an average 7.5 million litres of milk per day from the producers. Amul has brought a significant change in social and economic situation of our rural people. The Dairy Cooperatives have helped to bring an end to the exploitation of farmers and has increased the level of benefits to our rural producers of milk. The turnover of Amul during 2008-09 was Rs. 67.11 billion. Amul currently markets the products which are produced by the district milk unions in 30 dairy plants which work under the renowned brand name Amul. The total production capacity of these plants is 11.6 million litres per day, four of the dairy plants mentioned are having processing capacity of more than 1 million Litres per day. The Gujarat Cooperative milk marketing federation Ltd.(Amuls) Total Quality Management ensures that the quality of products meets its standards right from the starting place of milk producer through the value chain until it reaches the consumer thus Amul is trying to provide value to its customers which not only satisfies the customer needs but delights the customer. Amul cannot be considered as business enterprise which works primarily for the generation of profits. It is an institution created by the milk producers to primarily safeguard their economic and social interest. Business houses generate profits in order to distribute profit to shareholders in shape of dividend, whereas in case of Amul the surplus is ploughed back and distributed back to farmers through village societies. Amul has time and again came up with innovative advertising which has helped Amul to develop itself as a brand which appeals people with assurance of its quality. The creative advertisement of Amul has created a position of its products which is generating higher sales for Amul. For 30 odd years Amuls Utterly Butterly girl has managed to keep her fan following intact, the advertisements are now ready to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for being the longest running campaign ever. Business Mission As we take strides towards our future, we need a mission which create an objective for our organization so that we can direct our efforts in order to achieve organizational growth, this mission must be backed up by a set of action plans which may help us in achieving our objectives in a best possible manner Amul has prepared a comprehensive roadmap in order to guide that the dairy cooperatives of Gujarat to have a group turnover of Rs. 27000 crores by the year 2020. The company is planning on its expansion and through expansion the company will create fresh avenues for growth by catering to the rising demand for new products, this would include increasing the capacity for major product categories including milk powders, Ice-cream, paneer, cheese, curd, ghee and other dairy products. Milk drying capacity will also be enhanced. in order to to strengthen the presence of company in the large market, for liquid milk Special emphasis will be given to metropolitan cities.The company is plan ning to double its processing capacity of its plants to 20.7 million kg per day.The basic raw material of Amul products is milk and for increasing milk production nutritious feed should be provided to animals. For this very purpose the company is planning to expand its cattlefeed manufacturing capacity by 2020. Amuls achievement of its mission will not only be beneficial for the organization but it will be helpful for the development of economy as a whole. Marketing objective As a company the marketing objective of Amul is to provide quality products to the customers that satisfies their requirements. The company is manufacturing only those products which are not hazardous for the human consumption. In food items Amul is providing nutritious and good quality food to its customers at affordable prices, which is one of the main reason of its quality image in the mind of consumer. With the introduction of noodles to our product range we are providing a healthier product for our customers in shape of noodles with varied tastes and flavours. Regarding our sales objective we have set aggressive yet achievable objectives for the first, second and continuing years of the launch of our product . First year objective ( jan 2010 to dec 2010) We want to achieve sales for 40% of our existing capacity gaining at least 20% of market. It will be backed by strong advertisement and sales promotion as at least 20% of customers of the total market share may not be loyal towards a certain brand of noodles Second an continuing year objectives (JAN 2011 TO DEC 2011) We want to achieve at least 10% growth in sales on quarterly basis. Marketing plan Organizations use marketing plans for several purposes, which are connected with creation and retention of a customer. Several purposes for which marketing plans are used are : Finding out the market for the products. Tastes and preferences in terms of customer likings. Competitors their strengths and weaknesses. Outlining a plan for getting and retaining customers. Recognizing and predicting change. The main feature of a good marketing plan are: To know the customer. What he likes and what he doesnt like. What he expects out of a product. Know your competition, related products, strengths and weaknesses. Determining these factors can help you understand the strengths and weaknesses of your competitor, needs wants and desires of a customer and changes in the market. A marketing plan should be able to cover all of the above features so as to be successful in terms of achievement of objective In order to make a successful marketing plan it should follow the following steps Remember the four Ps of marketing. To obtain your goal, your plan should consider product, price, place and promotion. Describe your target market. This can be done in many ways including segmenting on the basis of: age, gender, career, income level or where customers live. Recognize your competition. This can be done through market research data, product demand, determining strengths and weaknesses of competitors. Define your product, and try describing it from a customers point of view. Successful marketers know or have some idea of what their customers want or expect from them, companies working on the needs of the customers and marketing products keeping in view customer values usually experience a rapid increase in sales. Make a marketing budget for your plan. This is one of the necessary step in market plan as companies become prepared for what they have to spend on advertisements as it includes money needed for advertising and promotions, materials and a list of media use, as a practical marketing plan needs money. Create a pricing strategy. A company should also develop a pricing strategy, by doing this, you can get a complete knowledge of how to price your product, whether it is in line with competitors price and how you can bring the prices in line. To be successful, you should have a well-planned strategy, establish your policies, and always check prices and operating costs in order to maximize profits. Make an efficient promotional strategy. An efficient promotional strategy can be helpful for the cause of the organization which can lead to increased sales like advertisements in magazines, TV, radio, etc. your strategy should use different outlets to advertise and continue using the ones that work in order to reap high benefits. Existing product range: Situation Analysis FMCG as an industry has had a vast development in terms of the type of products, increasing competition and increasing change in techonology. Due to the ever increasing customer requirements for the processed foods it has created tremendous increase in the production of processed foods. Products launched by Amul during the early 2000 were Amul Pizza, Cheese and Amul slice cheese, Amul ice-cream etc. Amul ice cream has now became the 2nd largest brand in the country and has taken major share in its existing markets in a short period of time. Amuls ice-cream manufacturing unit is located at Gandhinagar which is considered to be Asias largest and most modern integrated ice-cream manufacturing plant. Amul has became very popular due to its excellent and dynamic marketing strategies. Amuls marketing strategy is to understand the needs of the consumer and produce such products that provide superior value to the customer at a very low price. Amul has created an excellent distribution channe l to provide its products to the consumers who are living in the nooks and corners of the country, thus its products available in each part India. Amul is currently producing ready to serve soups like Masti Tomato Soup Masti Hot Sour Soup and is planning to launch noodles as this marketing plan is being prepared for the introduction of noodles into the market by Amul. Before diversification it is good for the firm to analyse competitors, and in order to analyse the competition in India it should compare its product with maggi, as it has been the most successful brand of noodles in India the company should also consider its strengths opportunities weaknesses opportunities and threats. Competitors As this marketing plan has been prepared for the launch of noodles by Amul, it is better to consider the competition the competition in this very segiment. In india the market leader for noodles is Maggi, Maggi has been familiar to every individual in India for more than 25 years. Maggi as a brand came up in 1983 , this brand has been able to create a market for itself as when it was launched it was a new product for Indians. Maggi made noodle a household product by generating its requirement in the masses in India. To lay an emphasis on its silver jubilee, Maggi is running an advertisement campaign Me Meri Maggi. The new campaign is designed to be interactive with the brand, inviting its consumers to share interesting stories Maggi which have a linking in their life. Maggi became a successful product because it understood the needs, wants and desires of the consumers. Maggi slowly attached itself to Indian consumers needs without disruption of his other food habits. Maggi took into consideration preferences of the consumes, as when consumers wanted healthy food, Maggi launched Atta Noodle. Maggi over these years have made lot of mistakes due to its experiments which it has been time and again trying to make with its products. Although there are other competitors for noodles in India like Top Ramen and Chings veg noodles but they are having a limited market share in the Indian market SWOT Analysis Strengths Increasing demand of existing products: A high demand is expected in milk and milk products in future due to the increasing income of the consumers as milk is considered as a necessary product, the demand will increase with the development of an economy, and the projections from various analysts state that India has good prospects to develop in the coming years, thus the sales of Amul are expected to increase over a period of time. Well established brand image: Amul has been able to maintain its value in the mind of consumers in such a way that it is considered as one of the most loyal brands, which will be one of the major strengths of Amul to generate sales for its newly launched related products if the company wishes to diversify in related product lines. High profit and low per unit Margins: Amul is earning a reasonable profit, even on packed liquid milk, it is enjoying the benefits of economies to scale. Whereas the margins per unit limit the entry of potential entrants as it may be a high risk situation for them to enter the market with a low percentage of profits. Flexibility of product lines: Amul has been adding a wide range of products to its product line and has had a high success rate in its diversification, therefore it is providing an option of producing other related products in its diversified product lines. Availability of raw material and labour supply: There is abundant supply of raw material for Amul products in India, besides there is availability of cheap and skilled labour force in India which can lead to high productivity with minimal costs. Amul has a professionally trained human resource pool that possess good experience and varied technical skills. Increasing purchase power and changing tastes of the consumers: The robust economic growth has pushed the disposable incomes of the consumers, 45 per cent of which are spent on food items. In addition to this population growth is also playing a major role in triggering the demand with baby food items showing the great potential to grow at a faster pace The growing urbanisation, nuclear families, increasing number of working women, etc., are slowly influencing the consumption habits and patterns, shifting the consumer preferences in favour of ready-to-eat preparations, thus in turn accelerating the demand for these products and expanding the scope of the industry. Increasing number of NRI-supported families and NRIs themselves visiting the country apart from the increasing number of foreigners residing in the country, are also responsible for changing composition of the consumption basket to some extent, in turn boosting up the demand of food processing companies like Amul. Weaknesses Perishable nature of its products: the products of Amul are perishable in nature and there is a proper requirement of cold storage, the company on its part is playing a vital role for maintaining the freshness of their products but they can get disturbed through the supply of milk from vendors and the sellers of their products in the market although Pasteurization has overcome this weakness partially. Amul Dairy is also taking steps to store milk at the vendors end to improve life of its products. Uncertainty of availability of adequate raw material: There is little control over yield of milk and its price, as a lot depends upon the monsoon in our country. This is due to the reason that quality of cattle feed that would be produced will not be having the required nutrition that can lead to the high productivity of milk. Logistics and insufficient means of transport for perishable food items: Bad roads and inadequate transportation facility make transport of milk a problem. All these factors lead to perishing of the procured milk which can create problems for Amul, but with the overall development of Indian economy, these issues would also get resolved. Lack of adequate Infrastructure: The infrastructure available is not up to the current standards non-availability of adequate infrastructural facilities, like cold chain systems, refrigerated transport and cabinets, etc. Besides there is use of technology in various global dairies which start from the collection of milk up to its distribution to the end consumer which is one of the weakness of Amul Opportunities Processing raw materials for adding value: There is a vast scope for processing milk and making a variety of products from the same. Amul can come up with a diversified range of products as there is the availability of all primary resources like raw material, labour, finances etc, also with a well established brand image, Amul can produce related products and reap the profits from the same. Globalization And increasing Export potential: Amul is exporting its various products to various countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, and the Middle East. Opportunities for the export of agri-products are increasing in general and the increase in export of dairy products is also expected. Globalization has integrated the world market and has increased opportunities of various companies like Amul. Diversification into related products: Amul can diversify into related products which may be already in the market, it may take a large chunk of the market share from the existing producers due to its brand image, which can help in generating the sales for its newly launched products. Threats Milk vendors can degrade the quality of raw milk: Milk vendors can pose a threat to the company as they are only concerned with the profit they are going to earn from milk. The quality of the milk is found to be poor as compared to the international standards. Companies like Amul have now to check the milk properly before it is sold to the end consumer. Threat form the global companies: Due to globalization a large number of multinational companies may get attracted towards manufacturing their products in India due to abundant availability of raw materials and cheap labour force, which may increase the competition for Amul. It may create shortage of milk in our country and can adversely affect the companies like Amul and the increase in the price due to shortage of milk may effect the end consumer. Use of technology by foreign companies and quality consciousness of foreign consumer: of Foreign companies are having improved technology like the collection of milk from cattle can be done with the help of machines this leads to efficiency in terms of less wastage of time and, further it is automatically disposed to various channels for processing or packaging of milk, ultimately this helps in higher productivity involving less variable costs of labour and ultimately low cost of production. However this type if system is not yet prevailing in India. Many European customers emphasize on the collection of milk through machines due to their quality consciousness. Because of these reasons they are reducing the market potential of Indian milk products. The study of this SWOT analysis displays that the strengths and opportunities of Amul outweigh its weaknesses and threats. Amul has a big market share in India where as in European nations it can create its market demand by making the products which satisfy their standards. Thus any investment idea can generate profits for you if a company is having three essential ingredients of: The ability to take risks as an entrepreneur. An innovative approach in product lines and marketing. Maintenance of quality and considering ethics and society. Target market identification and strategy In a market different consumers have varying needs and wants, every person may not like the same food due to their varying tastes and preferences, therefore marketers start dividing the markets into various segments. They identify the features of various consumers who may require the same products and services by checking their utility for the product, like if a marketers starts marketing of newspaper to illiterate, cigarette to non smokers etc, the sellers products will not satisfy any need of consumer and hence the consumer will not purchase the product. Thus a marketer should properly segment the market on the basis of needs and requirements of the consumer in order to determine his target market. In case of noodles we will segment the markets on the basis of age which would determine the target market for our company. We have further fragmented our target market on the basis of tastes of people, some of the prospective customers may like sweet dishes where as some among the people in our target market may like salty dishes whereas there are others who prefer classic noodles with masala. Therefore in order to cater to all the fragmented markets we are coming up with products for all of them in order to have maximum share of the market. In India potential consumers who consume noodles are the people who are of the age group of 3-20 years, and we would target the consumers from the same segment by framing our promotions and advertisement campaigns to attract people from the market segment based on the mentioned age group, by doing this we would be able to focus on the large chunk of people who consume noodles in large quantities and can be our prospective customers. This can onl y be achieved by creating awareness about the product through promotions and advertisements which composes the marketing mix of our company. Marketing mix Product We are manufactured 100% vegetarian noodles in order to target the wide market in India as a lot of people in India have only veg. food we have further prepared a lot of flavours of our noodles in order to give variety to customer. We have further fragmented our target market on the basis of tastes of people, some of the prospective customers may like sweet dishes where as some among the people in our target market may like salty dishes whereas there are others who prefer classic noodles with masala. Therefore in order to cater to all the fragmented markets we are coming up with products for all of them in order to have maximum share of the market. Our product is easy to cook and is at a price which is providing consumer surplus to our customers, thereby we provide value for the worth spent by our customer. If u are not able to cook anything and you are alone, our product can be prepared as they are easy to cook and takes just 2 minutes. The features which differentiate our products from that of our competitors are: Quality raw materials used It tastes great and is good for health Value for money Easy to cook Ready in 2 minutes Add anything you want (make your own recipe) 100% vegetarian Family packs at low prices Product launch information There are three variants in our product: sweet, salty and classic Out of the variants sweet and classic would be introduced in Market in the first stage, that is in the first year or on introduction,. Salty would be introduced during the following year Brand name of our product Branding is all about creating differences between products by letting the consumer differentiate the similar products himself. In order to make a branding strategy successful and to create a brand value, consumers must be convinced there are meaningful differences among brands in the product or service category. The name of our noodles have been set in order to give the buyer a clear idea of the manufacturer, as we are having a good reputation in the market, our newly introduced products that are having a similar name of that of the company may generate huge sales in the initial stage of its launch. We have given brand name of our noodles as Amul classic noodles, Amul sweet noodles and after one year of our successful launch of our product we are going to launch Amul salty noodles, thus the branding strategy which would be used gives corporate name combined with individual product name of the company. Place/ Distribution: Amul noodles will be set out for sale in India for the first year of its launch. During the first year of its launch we will plan for the various nations where the availability of our product will generate some demand by considering the values and needs in those countries. Further we are planning to launch our noodles in Asian nations in the second or third year of the launch of our product which will be determined by the market demand of our product in India. Regarding the distribution channel of our product we already have an existing distribution channel where we sell our products to a distributor and then he further sells the products to a whole seller and then to retailer we have specified the margins separately for each of them, our existing channel of distribution is well established and cover almost all the parts of India. Therefore we would consider our existing distribution channel for our noodles so as to make our product available in the market in a very short period of time. We can see from figure that Amuls distribution channel is simple and clear. The products move through three parties before it reaches to the final consumer. First of all the products are stored at the Agents or distributors and who are mere facilitators in the network. Then the products are sold to wholesale dealers, then they sell the same to retailers and then the product finally reaches the consumers. Distribution Channel Promotion Objectives of Promotion Strategies Before determining the promotion strategies, we need to be very clear about what are the objectives we need to achieve through promotion. Therefore we would first determine the objective behind the promotion of our product, this helps in devising a promotional strategy which is in line with its objectives. The main objective for the promotion of our product is to generate sales, though the objective of promotion is also to some extent determined by our target market, therefore we would devise promotional campaigns that have an impact on the target market. Then we identify the channels for promotion which include various media for advertisement. Which include: Online Advertisement Television Advertisement Radio Advertisement Newspaper Advertisement Pamphlets Sign boards Posters catalogues Marketing Campaigns Price According to economic theories the price of a product determines its demand in the market, thus a firm should be able to visualise its demand for a product before setting its price so as to set a price where it is at least able to reach its break-even point. The different prices for our variants in noodles are set, although they have the same manufacturing costs involved. We have set a price for our classic noodles equivalent to the price of noodles of current market leader in noodles i-e Maggi. We have set such a price to take a share in market of those customers who are loyal towards our brand Amul, and the pricing strategy in the future years will be determined by our relative share in the market. Whereas for our Amul sweet noodles, we have set a high price in the initial stage as there is no availability of sweet noodles in the market and our product will be the first of its kind, so the people will be ready to pay higher price, consequently this can induce competition in the market, therefore we will have to revise the pricing strategy of our sweet noodles accordingly. Determination of price The Cost price is estimated at Rs 5 per 100gm per packet which includes cost of raw material, labour, duties excise , sales tax, transportation costs and cost of packaging and other indirect expenses including advertisements. The retail selling price (Mrp.) for the same will be set at Rs 9 for our classic noodles .The product will be sold to distributor at Rs 6 who will, after having the margin of 80 Paise sell it to whole seller at Rs 6.80. the whole seller will inturn sell the same to retailer at 7.50, and at last it can be purchased by the end consumer from retailer at Rs 9. Whereas our sweet noodles will have Mrp. of Rs 15 per packet, This product will be sold to distributor at Rs10 who will, after having his margin sell it to the whole seller at Rs 11.20, the whole seller will in turn sell the same to retailer at 13, and at last it can be purchased by the end consumer from retailer at Rs 15. Implementation, evaluation and control Bibliography http://www.mydigitalfc.com/companies/capital-foods-launch-ready-cook-meals-384 http://finance.indiainfo.com/2009/04/07/0904071821_nestle_to_add_maggi_variants.html www.amul.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amul http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marketing_plan http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggi_noodles http://blogs.siliconindia.com/atuldeshpande/Celebrating_25_Years_of_Presense_Maggi_Noodles-bid-V9YZX6We51613711.html http://www.scribd.com/doc/6519321/Maggi-2-minute-noodle

Parkinson’s Disease Essays -- Health, Diseases

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders and is classified as a movement disorder with the presence of the motor symptoms bradykinesia, tremor and rigidity. The literature on the management of PD motor symptoms focuses extensively on the medical treatment and outlines the vast advancements that drug therapy has seen over the past 40 years. There are beneficial outcomes of medicinal therapy on the treatment of motor symptoms; however, extensive research also finds there is a wearing off effect as well as potential for motor and nonmotor side effects. As the pharmacological research continues their search for the ideal medical treatment model, awareness of the psychosocial symptoms and the potential burden on caregivers has also achieved much attention in the last few decades. The increasing interest in the psychosocial characteristics of the disease appears to stem from the evolving scientific knowledge of the disease and its lack of a cure. Compounding the sequelae of PD, nonmotor challenges are sometimes unrelated to the common progression of PD and dopamine deficiency. Clinical diagnosis of PD is often confounded by the psychosocial realm of the patients daily functioning and the impact it has on the care and treatment of patients. This paper summarizes the literature of PD from a psychosocial perspective. The first chapter reviews the intrinsic psychosocial symptoms of PD and how they may or may not be influenced by dopamine neurotransmitters. The second chapter examines the side effects of three commonly prescribed medications used to treat PD. The last chapter focuses on implications the disease has on the caregiver’s own personal well-being. Introduction: Parkinson’s Dise... ... cognitive, dementia, levodopa, MAO-B inhibitors, dopamine agonist + side/adverse effects and caregiver/burden/distress. All searches were limited to English language and the years 2000 - 2010. I also referred to reference lists found in articles deemed relevant to the research project. A few reviews were outside the limits of the year restriction but were included as they added to the scope of this paper. The abstracts were reviewed and deemed to be relevant for the inclusion in this literature search based on its focus and relevancy to the topics outlined in this paper. My initial search yielded over 1000 hits from the various literature databases for this paper, of which 61 were included in this review. Those that were excluded were duplicate hits found in the various databases or had a focus on an unrelated subject matter after a review of the abstract.

Angelas Ashes

Chapter Three â€Å"He makes more tea and we have that with bread and jam so no one can say we didn't have a sweet Christmas. † McClure Page 101 Even though they went through all the despairs of the year and the embarrassment of carrying a pig head to have a happy they were still able to have a happy Christmas dinner. Chapter Four â€Å"l wanted the raisin to myself but This shows how selfless Frank is. Payday Cloche's that had standing in Even though he wants the raisin h the corner with no shoes and the mom was freezing and he was gives it to someone who will cherish shivering like a dog had been kicked it more than him. ND I always felt sad over kicked dogs so I walked over and gave Payday the raisin†¦ † McClure page 121 Chapter 5 â€Å"Sixpence will get the two of us in Since Frank doesn't want to take with outplace left Sleeves toffee. Dance he uses the money to enjoy McClure page 143 the luxuries he's not used too. Chapter 6 â€Å"His father is in a bed in the corner groaning and spitting into a bucket. † McClure page 164 It seems that in Franks day, death as more common than now especially for the people in poverty.Frank learns at an early age that death is inevitable. Chapter 7 â€Å"One of our prayers is surely powerful because, next summer Mackey himself is carried off by the GA Looping consumption†¦ † McClure Page 172 Franks life seems too surrounded by death. Ifs also ironic how Mackey wanted his siblings to die not knowing that his time was coming up slowly Chapter 8 † Patricia is gone and I'll never know what happened to the highwayman and Bess the landlord's daughter† Frank seems to be unpleased by Patrician's death.Since he so used to it, he barely flinches when Hess told McClure page 199 the news. He is more concerned on how the poem ends. Chapter 9 † She tells me give my eyes a good rib and make them look as red as I can for the worse you look at the Dispensary the more pity you get the better chance of getting the public assistance. † McClure page 232 In this chapter, since their father is using his check on beer in England, Angela has to get public assistance. She basically loses all of her dignity n the process.

Artificial Intelligence Essays (5026 words) - Cognitive Science

Artificial Intelligence Essays (5026 words) - Cognitive Science Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence is based in the view that the only way to prove you know the mind's causal properties is to build it. In its purest form, AI research seeks to create an automaton possessing human intellectual capabilities and eventually, consciousness. There is no current theory of human consciousness which is widely accepted, yet AI pioneers like Hans Moravec enthusiastically postulate that in the next century, machines will either surpass human intelligence, or human beings will become machines themselves (through a process of scanning the brain into a computer). Those such as Moravec, who see the eventual result as the universe extending to a single thinking entity as the post-biological human race expands to the stars, base their views in the idea that the key to human consciousness is contained entirely in the physical entity of the brain. While Moravec (who is head of Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University) often sounds like a New Age psychedelic guru professing the nex t stage of evolution, most AI (that which will concern this paper) is expressed by Roger Schank, in that the question is not 'can machines think?' but rather, can people think well enough about how people think to be able to explain that process to machines? This paper will explore the relation of linguistics, specifically the views of Noam Chomsky, to the study of Artificial Intelligence. It will begin by showing the general implications of Chomsky's linguistic breakthrough as they relate to machine understanding of natural language. Secondly, we will see that the theory of syntax based on Chomsky's own minimalist program, which takes semantics as a form of syntax, has potential implications on the field of AI. Therefore, the goal is to show the interconnectedness of language with any attempt to model the mind, and in the process explain Chomsky's influence on the beginnings of the field, and lastly his potential influence on current or future research. Chomsky essentially founded modern linguistics in seeking out a systematic, testable theory of natural language. He hypothesized the existence of a language organ within the brain, wired with a deep structured universal grammar that is transmitted genetically and underlies the superficial structures of all human languages. Chomsky asserted that underlying meaning was carried in the universal grammar of deep structures and transformed by a series of operations that he termed transformational rules into the less abstract surface structures that was the spoken form of the various natural languages. He showed also that mental activities in general can and should be investigated independently of behavior and cognitive underpinnings. This idealization of the linguistic capability of a native speaker brought Chomsky to his nativist, internalist, and constructivist philosophical views of language and mind. This concept of generative grammar could be seen as a 'machine', in the abstract Turing sense, that can be used to generate all the grammatical sentences in a given language. Chomsky was searching for a formal method of describing the possible grammatical sentences of a language, as the Turing machine (more below) was used to specify what was possible in the language of mathematics. Chomsky's transformational generative grammar (TGG) possessed the most influence on AI in that it was a specification for a machine that went beyond the syntax of a language, to their semantics, or the ways that meanings are generated. An ambiguous sentence like I like her cooking or flying planes can be dangerous could have a single surface structure from multiple deep structures, just as semantically equivalent sentences involving a transformation from active to passive voice or the like, could have different surface structures emerging from the same deep structure. Computational linguists and AI researchers saw that these rules, once understood, could be applied, or mechanized, with a formal mathematical system. Here, natural languages were strings of symbols constructed to different conventions, which needed to be converted to a universal human 'machine code.' From a computational viewpoint, language is an abstract system for manipulating symbols; the universal grammar could be purified in the sense of mathematics, in other words, being independent of physical reality. Semantics in this view would just be an application of the abstract syntax onto the real world. Chomskyan linguistics, as we shall see further on, does