Saturday, October 12, 2019

Does College Help :: essays research papers

College or technical schools are supposed to be the gateway to higher paying careers, but most are not all that they are cracked up to be. The standards and goals that society wants met are continually not being met by the students today. Also, many higher learning facilities lack the funds to provide positive learning environments for students. For these reasons and many more are keeping the students of today from benefiting fully from schools.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Society today has to make some new choices for the students of tomorrow, choices that will carry them into the next millennium. Society can either “lower standards so that everybody “passes'; in a way that looses all meaning in the real world'; or “ raise standards and then meet them'; (Barber 479). I personally believe in raising our expectations and doing whatever is needed to meet them. Our countries standards are among the lowest in the world and “ at the same moment as we are transferring our responsibilities to the shoulders of the next generation, we are blaming them for our own generation’s most conspicuous failures'; (Barber 472). Every election year the candidates use something about education as one of their platforms, but few ever carry through with them once they are elected. Most education bills die in congress in some shape or another and the ones that actually make it through congress, are usually ineffective because t hey have been changed and modified to the point of ineffectiveness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Also, many of the learning facilities today lack the funding to provide adequate, positive learning environments for students. Underpaid teachers and professors who “ make less than accountants architects, doctors, lawyers, engineers, judges, health professionals, auidiors, and surveyors'; and thus many student disregard teachers as role models. If people see someone who can score touchdowns or dunk a basketball making millions while their teachers are scraping bottom to survive, then how can an educator possibly motivate them to learn (Barber 470). Many people chase after their “dreams'; of money instead of seeing the reality of learning. Although society today rates an education as one of their top priorities, they still allow learning facilities to become broken and run down. Like animals, children and adults file into buildings with bad floors, horrible plumbing, leaky roofs and ceilings, and pack into desk, usually 35+ per educator. Today the gove rnment spends $35,000 a year to keep someone behind bars and only a fraction of that to keep them in school (Barber 475).

Friday, October 11, 2019

GCSE English Coursework (Love Poems) Essay

Love is a common stereotypical subject for poets, which has been used for many centuries. The poems we have been studying contain a collection of emotions all based around the theme of ‘love’. John Clare used the impact of your ‘First Love’ to create the impression of the effect being deathly ill. He creates images such as, â€Å"Are flowers the winters choice? Is loves bed always snow?† This shows me that although he really loves her, he can’t have her and he is thinking that flowers don’t stay forever when it turns winter and she doesn’t love him. Also he says things like â€Å"My legs refused to walk away†. This shows me that he is so astonished of what he is seeing, he can’t look away and she is so beautiful he thinks he could have her. In comparison to this John Clare also states that, â€Å"My face turned pale as deadly pale†. Which also suggests that John Clare’s first experience of his ‘First Love’ being some sort of illness. John Clare also creates the feeling of your true love being forever blossomed as he says things like: â€Å"Her face it bloomed like a sweet flower†. Suggesting to us that the poet clearly states he loves her as he compares her to a flower and the symbolisms behind flowers are usually passion and romance. The fact that she is a ‘Sweet Flower’ emphasises her living beauty as being a perfect flower. John Clare proves to me that this woman, to him, is his dream woman as he states, â€Å"Stole my heart away complete†. This clearly shows me that the moment he set eyes on her, he gave his heart to her forever and when he saw her he never wanted to be with anyone else ever again. At the climax of the poem it turns into a very sad ending, John Clare states that, â€Å"My heart has left its dwelling place and can return no more.† And this makes me feel very sorry for John Clare as his first love experience is marked clearly to me as being something very sad and upsetting. In comparison to first love is ‘Shall I Compare Thee?† by William Shakespeare which is another classic example of love poetry as it was usually used to show your emotions through songs or poems. â€Å"Shall I Compare Thee?† is a sonnet which reflects the mood of the poet. Its rhythm is iambic pentameter, having ten syllables to each line. The structure of three quatrains and a rhyming couplet at the end, In the first quatrain Shakespeare presents a question and an answer to the reader, then in the second, he continues to compare this person to a summer’s day, and not saying a summer’s day is not continuously beautiful. In the third quatrain it has a turning point with the word ‘but’, saying this person is described as superior to not only a summer’s day but to life itself. Finally in the ending couplet he talks about how this person immortally will last, through the ages in the poem’s lines. He uses personification in the line, â€Å"And often is his gold complexion dim’d†. He shows me that he is attempting to compare another attribute of this person with something compared with summer. It also uses a metaphor in the line, â€Å"Sometime too hot the eye of heaven shines†. This shows me that even though he said that this person is beautiful sometimes they can be too beautiful. In the line, â€Å"But thy eternal sommer shall not fade† Shows me that a person’s beauty will last for so many years after, and we are still reading it today. ‘Porphyrias Lover’ is linked to ‘My Last Duchess’; they are both written by Robert Browning and he connects them by his use of possessive words such as ‘Mine’ and ‘I’. He sets off the scene of a really bad, stormy night, which â€Å"Vexes the lake† which brings the poem to life as it makes the wind seem alive with anger, but this sets off questions in my head saying, why would Porphyria want to travel through stormy weather just to see an arrogant man? There is also the ‘Gliding’ entrance of Porphyria as the atmosphere changes from a gloomy, dark cottage to a warming feeling as she relights the fire and performs an erotic display of taking her wet, outer clothing off. The writer’s use of the words ‘Withdrew’ and ‘Let fall’ made the scene sound like a sexual tease. Porphyria comes up to the writer in this poem and offers him her bare shoulder; He tells us that he does not speak to her. Instead, he says, she begins to tell him how she has come over to him in really bad weather just to be with him. He realizes that she ‘Worships’ him and wants to preserve the moment forever so he strangles her, thinking that doing this she can stay with him forever and never leave him, but in doing this it makes me shudder as he says, â€Å"I warily oped her lids again, laughed the blue eyes without a stain.† This is making me feel like he is sort of playing with the dead body and making my original predicament of him as being a psychopath true. Then Robert Browning goes on to say, â€Å"About her neck, her cheek once more, blushed bright beneath my burning kiss†. This shows me that even though she is dead he thinks she can still feel love and passion and when he kisses her she still loves him. The writer in this poem is portrayed as a calculating villain who just stays in a passive stance as he â€Å"Debates what to do†, Being like this totally changes the atmosphere of the poem as the writer states, â€Å"I found a thing to do, and with all her hair, in one long yellow string I wound three times her little throat around and strangles her†. From this it doesn’t sound like porphyria put up much of a struggle and when he said, â€Å"That moment she was mine, mine, fair, perfectly pure and good† This makes him sound like the grim reaper as he states that she is his and his alone. Robert Browning ends the poem in a peculiar way by saying that God agrees with what he has done because he hasn’t said a word, this shows me that he acts like a crazy person as he thinks killing someone, God wouldn’t care less and wouldn’t say anything about it. ‘My Last Duchess’ has a similar contrast of an egotistic nature as the duke portrays himself as a sycophant as he is back stabbing her by saying things about her, even though she is dead, to a person of a much lower class to him. By stating, â€Å"Since none puts by the curtain that I have drawn for you, but I†. Puts his character in a state of control this also links to when he says, â€Å"Will’t you please sit and look at her?† Even though it has a question mark when you say it out loud you realise it sounds more like an order given to the servant. When he says, â€Å"She ranked my gift of a nine-hundred years old name, with anybody’s gift.† This shows me that he is saying a nine-hundred year old title of the duchess made her think that she is very lucky and he is amazing, but when the duke sees her receiving cherries from a man of a lower class she had the same expression as she was: â€Å"Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er, she looked on, and her looks went everywhere.† As he thought that she was cheating on him and she loved every man that gave her a present but in actual fact she was being nice to everyone, even to those of a lower class to her. In this poem the duke is a boaster, he likes to drop famous names of people into the subject to make him sound really important, like when he says, â€Å"Fra Pandolf† by design, for never read, strangers like you. As he drops a famous artists name into the conversation, he also shows yet another strong arrogant word as he says ‘You’ like being something not worthwhile to speak to, or something that has come off the street as he speaks to this servant like a piece of dirt. After reading these poems, I have looked at the different qualities of ‘Love’ and how it can effect people and their actions and how there is a fine line between love and hate, and in love, hate is just as strong.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Stefan’s Diaries: Bloodlust Chapter 18

As soon as Id taken every last ticket and accepted every last dollar, I slipped into the tent behind an overweight man clutching a sweaty wad of Confederate notes in each fist. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, sawdust, and, of course, blood. People were milling around us, paying extra money to gawk at the Strongman and the Tattooed Lady, all of whom were hidden behind thick black curtains at various intervals along the perimeter of the tent. But the majority of the crowd was clamoring around Jasper. Large wagers were being placed, with lots of shouting and hand signals and stacks of greasy notes being passed back and forth. Jasper gleefully chomped on his soggy cigar and laughed. Sailors yanked foreign bills from their billfolds. A few teenagers pooled their coins. Well-dressed men in ties waved gold coins. â€Å"Fight, fight, fight!† one red-faced man began yelling. Instantly, the people standing by him began to chant as well. Three well-dressed women, their hair in curls atop their heads, glanced at each other, giggled, and echoed the cheer, their alto voices contrasting with the mens baritone ones. Gallagher strode into the tent, his cane tapping a path through the sawdust. People turned and craned their necks to catch a glimpse of him; in the circus tent, he was just as much an attraction as the freaks. After all, this was the man whod caught a vampire. Be strong, brother, I whispered under my breath, remembering all the times Damon had won fights back in Mystic Falls. Damon had never provoked those battles but had always been a good fighter, always landing a punch fast when a fight broke out. Thats why hed been so respected in the army. But now, in a battle against a mountain lion, especially after not feeding for days I shuddered. â€Å"Brother?† I whispered tentatively, at a decibel I knew only his ears could detect. I was hoping for some sort of reply, even though I wasnt sure whether he could have actually heard me. If he did, he said nothing in response. â€Å"And now, lets introduce our fighters!† Gallaghers voice broke through my reverie. Two animal handlers, their hands in leather gloves and wearing boots that came up past their knees, walked into the ring, leading a mangy mountain lion. The mountain lion had a grayish-yellowish coat and yellow teeth, and, despite its lean body, looked brutal. And hungry. As if on cue, it uttered a roar. â€Å"In one end of your ring, you have the mountain lion. But this is no ordinary cat. This beast is the Alberta Avenger! He came down from Canada to find the hunter that killed his mate. He eviscerated the hunter, his wife, and all of his children except the youngest, whose legs the lion ate before leaving the rest of him alive to tell the story. Since then, you have followed the mountain lion in the newspapers as it has feasted its way on innocents in the Union and Confederacy without prejudice. Tonight, it is here only after we captured it trying to stow away on a boat bound for the Andes Mountains in South America. The mountain lion, ladies and gentlemen!† Gallagher yelled, his showmanship on full display. The crowd dutifully applauded enthusiastically, and some even cheered. â€Å"Its opponent is a legendary vampire that has been terrifying children and their parents for centuries. Viktor the Cruel was born in 1589 and was heir to the Hapsburg Empire until he first tasted blood–his sisters–and began a three-hundred-year feeding frenzy that has left a trail of drained bodies around the world. At an estimated two victims per day, this brings Viktors kills to one and a half million people, more than double the size of Italy. This unstoppable lust for blood continues tonight.† The applause was more nervous now, but the cheers were louder. Gallagher spread his hands apart with a flourish, and Damon came into the ring, surrounded by four handlers. His hands and feet were in chains, and his face was partially hidden by a muzzle. His skin was bleeding from the vervain, his eyes were bloodshot, and the expression on his face was one Id never seen. I could understand the hatred he felt–I was fighting every instinct I had not to kill the people holding him captive. But his imprisonment had changed him. Damon had called me a cold-blooded killer. The look in Damons eyes was not one of sport, or survival. It was pure bloodlust. A hush filled the tent. The mountain lion strained at his chains, but Damon simply stood in his corner of the ring, as if unaware of what the imminent future held for him. â€Å"And go!† Gallagher yelled. Immediately, the handlers unlocked Damons chains and opened the iron door of the mountain lions cage, then ran off the stage. The lion jumped toward Damon, making contact with his chest. Damon let out an anguished moan and fell backward. Then, just as quickly, he rose to his feet and roared, his face suddenly flushed, his fangs on full display. I knew this was all instinctual: Damons Power rising to the surface as soon as hed felt the attack. I had learned this about our kind in the past few weeks: Our power led us to do things before we even knew we were doing them. Despite Damons external weakness, his Power was still intact. The lion leaped again, and Damon went low, ducking under the claws and coming up at just the right moment to dig his hands into the lions neck. But the lion tossed Damon free; he rolled to a stop only when he slammed into the gate surrounding the ring. Damon let out another moan and lay on the ground. The lion began to stalk over to claim his kill. The crowd went wild, friends hitting one another in the arm and clawing at the air as though they themselves were in the fight. One of the handlers positioned along the sidelines poked at Damon, clearly to get him moving. Damon swung without looking, knocking the man into the stands. As the handler struggled to get up, two nearby customers kicked him in the gut and then dropped him over the back railing to the dirt below, out of sight. Damon paid no heed to the scuffle and moved deeper into the ring, letting the lion slowly circle him. After a long silence, Damon let out a feral growl and ran toward the lion. The lion roared in response and charged, but this time Damon stepped aside, and when the lion missed him, Damon hooked an arm up under the lions neck. With strength no one seemed to expect, Damon threw the lion onto its back. He was about to dive on top and go in for the kill when the lion kicked up and drove a claw right through Damons arm. The lion swatted its paw around, swinging Damon through the air like a fly on a fishing line. At last, the flesh gave way and Damon, with a red arc of blood trailing behind him, shot up through the air, then landed with a thud even I couldnt hear over the hellish roar of the celebrating crowd. Damon struggled to his feet, holding the wounded arm in place with the other. He wasnt healing as quickly as vampires usually do–I wondered if the vervain had dampened that Power. He needed blood, that much was clear. His survival instincts and the attendant adrenalin were waning. I was about to rush forward into the ring, with the stout man in front of me as an offering to my brother, when a warm hand fell on my arm. Callie. â€Å"Its horrible,† she said. Her knuckles had gone white around clumps of her dress. Her lips hung loose and trembled. â€Å"I cant watch this barbarism much longer.† â€Å"Then tell your father to stop it,† I hissed. The stomping on the wooden stands was picking up in speed and along with the racing heartbeats of the people. The splotches of blood in the sawdust werent enough to satisfy them–they needed to see a death. Now Damon was padding around the mountain lion, as the animal hunched, coiled, in the center of the ring, moving as little as possible while following Damon with its reflective eyes. Suddenly, Damon took off, moving at a blurred speed around the lion so that the animal had to rapidly turn and turn, as though chasing its own tail. A quiet came over the crowd, and only the heavy panting of Damon and the mountain lion echoed under the canvas of the tent. Damon circled his prey, moving faster than the lion could comprehend. The crowd gasped as Damon slanted toward the mountain lion, and before the beast could tell which direction he was coming from, Damon dove on the muscle behind the lions head. He bit in and held on, letting the lion kick and flip wildly. Callie clutched my arm. My eyes were riveted on the scene, and my body was primed to run to the cage should I need to intervene. The mountain lion was slowing. Each time it bucked, more blood appeared in the sawdust in little red rivers. Its left hind leg was looking weak now; wobbling, it started to flop toward the ground. Damon unlatched his fangs and reared back, ready to go for the vein in the cats neck. Just then, the cat flailed its hindquarters and threw Damon free. As Damon tried to recover his feet, the mountain lion moved in and wrapped its jaws around his side. The crowd gasped again, then began to boo. Fight, I urged with every fiber of my being, clenching my fists at my sides. Damon had gone limp and was being flung around like an old slipper in a dogs mouth. The lion tossed Damon to the ground, then pulled its head back and opened wide. But just as the animal dove forward, Damon rolled away. He drove his shoulder into the confused beasts side, bowling it over and exposing the short white hairs on its throat. Damon tore into the vein with his fangs. The mountain lion twitched its way to stillness as a puddle of blood became bigger and bigger until it was a great lake of blood within the fighting ring. At its center was my brother, kneeling over a dead mountain lion. He stood and stumbled backward a step. He looked up into the crowd with a wide smile on his face, his fangs out and his whole face and front dripping with blood. The crowd cheered and booed in equal measure, and Damon just turned in a small circle, occasionally licking his lips. Gallagher clapped his fat hands together. The ones whod made money jumped and hugged one another. The ones whod lost threw hats to the ground or stared blankly ahead. I leaped forward, trying to push my way to my brother, but the handlers had already moved in, stakes and vervain-laced nets in hand. Damon was clearly drunk on such a massive feed after not eating for so long and didnt seem to notice them. Before I could even shout a warning, the men wrapped him in nets and began dragging him out of the arena. Even at my fastest, I couldnt get past the crowd that had filled in behind them and now blocked the entire way. All of the revelers, hooting and slobbering, stood between me and the exit, and by the time I pushed and shoved my way out, the wagon was careening out of the fairgrounds. A whip cracked. Hooves beat the ground. And just like that, Damon was gone.

Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ marketing plan Essay

1. Executive Summary 1.1 Synopsis of the Situation The history of Angostura aromatic bitters approaches the year of 1822, when a cholera epidemic whipped the population of Angostura in Venezuela, when the young doctor Johann Gottlieb Benjamin Siegert created a somewhat bitter medicine, quite unusual taste, but of proven volatilities effectively relieve the stomach of his many patients. This potion was composed of over 25 botanicals in abundant natural reserves of these tropical lands, including fruits, roots, herbs seeds, bark, and a  good amount of ingredients whose name and proportion remain, even today, in the strictest secrecy. In 1830 a distillery installed and did not take long to become famous on the continent, winning the gold medal at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873. After the death of Siegert in 1870, the family moved in 1875 to Trinidad and Tobago where there continues today making the Angostura aromatic bitters, preserving their behalf to keep the Venezuelan source most of their inputs to date, as well as also the peculiar label in four languages and signature of its inventor, who since then characterizes it. Its initial use was to relieve some stomach ailments. But some additional benefits subsequently discovered is that the strengthened the taste of certain foods and cocktails preparations, which made time disappear from kits home and hospital to become a common ingredient in bars and kitchens around the world . Today is a precious ingredient in the preparation of cocktails and is also used as a seasoning for soups and sauces. Drops of Angostura aromatic bitters is sold in small bottles of 100 cc and 200 cc, the most famous and popular brand Angostura aromatic bitters. Usually drops in drinks (G & T, Mojito, Cuba Libre, Pisco sour), classic cocktails like the Manhattan, Champagne Cocktail, etc. used and refreshments as LLB – (Lemon Lime & Bitters) or â€Å"Fantasia† Rock Shandy, The Chapman, The Gunner. Currently in the Colombian market there is not drop bitters, there are national essences bitter which are manufactured by CONDICOM and Productos El Bosque, which make the basic condiments for cooking. These national essences bitter have an alcohol content of 3 degrees, which makes you need to use a larger amount of product per cocktail or preparation, unlike drops Angostura aromatic bitters which have an alcohol content of 44.7 degrees making them stronger and with 2 or 3 drops per cocktail is enough to make the mixture,  not only because of its alcohol content but the strong flavor of the merged its ingredients. The category of biters brings sustainable growth in the global market of 4.7% in the last 5 years (Source: International Wine & Spirit Research). Angostura is still the leader in this category of bitter. 1.2 Key aspects of the marketing plan We want to be the exclusive distributor of Angostura aromatic bitters in Colombia. For this reason, we have to import the product, market and build brand image of â€Å"Drops of Angostura aromatic bitters† in the country. Also, position the product as a reference category. The key factors of this marketing plan are: Comply with the requirements of law, such as trademark registration and authorization. The trademark registration protects the producer (trademark owner) against any misuse of it by a third; this register is valid for 10 years. The health record is the guarantee that emits a government institution, which certifies that a product is fit for human consumption. Segment drops Angostura aromatic bitters into two distribution channels, which would be the ON-PREMISE (hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and bars) and OFF-PREMISE big retail channel. Define the cities in which the product and the strategic trade partners (sub-distributors) through which will be sell. Define the selling price to the various distribution channels which through which we will reach the consumer. Develop activities that generate image and brand recall, such as trainings, competitions of cocktails, sponsor cocktails menu, accompanied by free-press training in each activity. 2. Environmental analysis Colombia is a country with a population of 48,321,405 people (2013 estimates, source: DANE), it is in the 28th position in the table of population composed of 183 countries and has a moderate population density of 42 inhabitants per km2. At 2013 the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Colombia recorded an increase of  4.9%, according to data provided by the DANE. Investment and consumption showed a great performance. The sectors driving growth in 2013 were: mining and quarrying (4.9%); electricity, gas and water city (4.9%); financial institutions, insurance, real estate and business services (4.6%); trade, repair services, restaurants and hotels (4.3%); Transport, storage and communication (3.1%). Source: http://es.tradingeconomics.com/colombia/gdp Colombia is the fastest growing economy in Latin America, surpassing the Pacific Alliance (Colombia, Chile, Peru and Mexico). In turn, the country ranked 15th in growth in a sample of 75 nations. Source: world bank The unemployment rate in Colombia in 2013 on an urban scale, in the 13 largest cities is 8.7 percent, the lowest since 1995. The investment rate, the percentage of GDP that the country reinvests, reached 28.4%, the highest in half a century and the second in the region. Another important fact is that the force that is moving the economy is internal. Government consumption is growing at rates of 5.7% and 4% households. Within the household consumption stand purchases of durable goods, which accelerated during the third quarter of this has to do with the better performance of income and a higher level of confidence. As for imported spirits market figures in Colombia by categories to December 2013 in boxes of 12 bottles 9 liters each one, are: Alcoholic beverage Number boxes Whisky 403,189 Vodka 66,195 Gin 20,578 Brandy and cognac 1,532 Ron 205,518 Tequila 58,413 Wine 1,178,758 2.1 Strengths and weaknesses Strengths: Recognized as #1 in the world (large gap vs. competition). High concentration and high level of alcohol, making the product more efficient. Strong price position (inelastic). Rich in heritage and legacy (royal warrant). The product is nonperishable. Angostura will continue to make a consistently high quality product that will make people’s food and drink recipes come alive. Angostura train people in the classics, as well, as the cutting edge to make them better bartenders and cooks. Angostura will no longer see itself as traditional and old-fashioned, Angostura will exhibit flare, passion and attitude, and inject a little more irreverence. In ten years from now Angostura aromatic bitters will revolutionize the cocktail industry again and Angostura will be as popular a food ingredient as Lee & Perrin’s. Angostura is one of the most iconic brands in the world. The rich, dark and mysterious liquid adds a distinguishable color and taste to all its creations (adding color and flavor to life). Weaknesses: Low visibility at point of sale (especially ON-PREMISE channel). Consumption tax payable by the category, increasing the price. 2.2 Opportunities and threats Opportunities: Currently in Colombia the food industry (food and drink) is booming, a growth in recent years and still considered one of the 4 most important gastronomic destinations in Latin America. There is no category of bitter in Colombia and would be the first brand in this category, entering with the most recognized brand in the world. Partnerships with other major spirit brands. Partnership with Pernod Ricard and Monin. Improvements made into accessing new markets. Partnership with Bartender Guilds and Associations (The Golden Service, BAR) and schools of mixology. Slow food to capitalize on opportunity.   Currently the non-alcohol cocktails are booming. Threats: In Colombia the regulation of alcohol consumption is very strong. Financial monopoly, departments control the marketing of alcoholic beverages within its territory, to authorize or prohibit the entry of such products. Changing landscape of tax structure. Parallel Trade. Currently in Colombia there are two national brands of â€Å"essences† of bitter, which are CONDICOM and Productos el Bosque. In the future when the category of bitter â€Å"drops† will be develop; international brands reach (Fees Brothers, Bitter truth, Peychaud’s, Bitter Cube, Bittermen’s). This kind product does not enough known in the Colombian market. 2.3 Current objectives and performance The current objectives are: Enter the brand in Colombia. Develop nonexistent bitters category. Create image and brand awareness to achieve the referent category in Colombia. The performance of the marketing plan will be described in the following sections. 2.4 Five forces’ Porter analysis Threat of New Entrants: Capital, economic muscle, expertise, brand, regulation, taxes. Power of Suppliers: The Angostura aromatic bitters’ business in Colombia has only one supplier who is the company who made the product. For this reason, the supplier is extremely susceptible to the demands and requirements of the market and hold very high power. Power of Buyers: The consumers of cocktails and food in Colombia are very price sensitive, but they want to taste new flavors and they are very susceptible to trends. Availability of Substitutes: The bitters drops have no substitutes, as a unique flavor enhancer with the ability to marry flavors in the preparation of all food dishes. Competitive Rivalry: the market of bitters in Colombia has two local brand competitors, but they are not concentrated bitters (drops), they are essences. 3. Marketing Strategy 3.1 Segmentation As we mentioned above, Angostura Aromatic Bitters are used to be added to the cocktails and food to create new possibilities of flavor and a whole range of new and exclusive beverages and dishes. Due to the Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ conditions as an alcoholic beverage for the Colombian market (according with the requirements from INVIMA), Angostura Aromatic Bitters has to pay a special tax. For that reason, the price is higher than the Colombian competitors. Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ segmentation is defined in the two next tables related with the consumer and business markets: Segmentation variables for Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ consumer markets Geographic region South, north, and central Colombian areas City Bogotà ¡, Cali, Medellà ­n, Barranquilla, Cartagena, Santa Marta, Pereira, Manizales, Bucaramanga Density Urban Demographic age Above 18 Gender Male and female Religion All. The product has a kosher certification Social class Middle, upper middle and upper classes Behavioral occasions Regular and special occasions Segmentation variables for Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ business markets Demographic Hotels, restaurants, bars, coffee shops It does not matter the size Located in major cities in Colombia Operating variables Customer who use to drink cocktails and gastronomy Purchasing approaches Hotels, restaurants, bars and coffee shops who wants to be different, to supply a different and new cocktails age, to offer to their customers a high quality alcohol and non-alcohol beverages. Situational factors We focus either on large or small orders Personal characteristics We want to serve whatever hotels, restaurants, bars and coffee shops (ON PREMISE) and big retailers (OFF-PREMISE) 3.2 Target Market According with the segmentation, the Angostura Aromatic Bitters ´ targets are  the main and representative hotels, restaurants, coffee shops and bars, from the main Colombian cities, who serves the middle, upper middle and upper classes of the population who are above 18 years (the minimum Colombian age to be permitted to a people to drink an alcohol beverage). 3.3 Positioning (Value Proposition) Angostura Aromatic Bitters will position itself as the premier and unique enhanced flavor to non-alcohol and alcohol cocktail and food. This positioning will be achieved by leveraging Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ competitive edge: industry experience, innovation possibility and high quality. Angostura Aromatic Bitters is a high quality product produced for people who wants to have a new flavor experience related with a non-alcohol and alcohol beverages (new cocktails age) and food. The Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ company is able to use its vast experience and personal passion to create a high quality product to develop innovative and new flavored food and cocktails, for the whole cocktails drinkers and people who want to live a new experience about their food. 4. Marketing Programs 4.1 Product Respected and recognized as the leader in aromatic bitters worldwide; no bar or kitchen is complete without it. Angostura Aromatic Bitters is a high quality product produced from alcohol and many others aromatic plants. Unique flavor enhancer (seasoning) for the preparation of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as, any savory or sweet food dishes. Sodium and Gluten-Free. Exported to 150 countries worldwide. Kosher Certified. Tempers the acidity of citrus ingredients for individuals who are acid sensitive (also explains why Angostura aromatic bitters can settle the stomach). Classified as a food ingredient in many countries (in Colombia is  classified as an alcohol beverage). Although the product contains 44.7% alcohol by volume, each drop contains an insignificant amount of alcohol and therefore remains non-alcoholic. 100% Vegan. Because is more concentrated than the competition product, Angostura aromatic bitters yields more and their cost – benefit relationship is higher. Through these features, we want to develop and add value to the Angostura Aromatic Bitters’ consumers and the brand, in order to be successful in Colombia as the product has had successfully in the world. The price of the Angostura Aromatic Bitters make possible to generate revenues to all the different actors involved in the production and distribution chain. 4.2 Pricing Although the price of the Angostura Aromatic Bitters is higher than the Colombian competence, because of the taxes and importation costs, their cost – benefit relationship is higher: Product Volume per bottle Alcohol by volume Drops per bottle Drops per cocktail Cocktails per bottle USD per botle USD per cocktail Angostura aromatic bitters 100 cm3 44.7% 180 2 90 11.4 0.13 Colombian essences bitters 148 cm3 3% 266.4 15 18 5 0.28 The product price is favorable for the dealers allowing them to have a very attractive profit margin: 100 cm3 bottle USD Revenues % of price Selling Price from producer to distributor 3.6 Distributor final price after import and taxes 4.5 0.9 25% Selling price distributor to allied distributors 8.2 3.7 82% Selling price allied distributors to final consumer 11.4 3.2 39% 4.3 Promotion Use the original Angostura aromatic bitters’ webpage to show what the product is and several recipes. Create a viral marketing using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest to show the product. Using the mixologist’s network to develop the brand and product’s uses. Create Youtube videos in order to massify the recipes that used the Angostura aromatic bitters. Create  cellular phones applications (android and iphone) to widespread the access to the people to the product and its uses. Make a cross marketing between hotels, bars, coffee shops and restaurants and all the places where the product will sell, in order to the people knows the benefits and they can learn how they can use the Angostura aromatic bitters. Create contests in each city to involve consumers highlighting their creativity to make new cocktails using Angostura aromatic bitters. The bars, hotels, coffee shops and restaurants would make the winner’s cocktail available, on drinks menu for duration of contest, the winners will be adjudged via customer sales for cocktail. The winners will participate in a national contest to be the Colombian winner and take the chance to go to the â€Å"Legends of the Cocktail† World Tour. Create learning and e-learning courses to teach people the uses of the product. Involve the use of the product in TV specialized food and beverage shows (free-press). Make free samples to the launch time, in order to distribute it across the main restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and bars in each main city of Colombia, to create product recognition. Through these ways of promoting the Angostura aromatic bitters, we want to get consumers massively to become familiar with the product and its uses. 4.4 Distribution The Angostura aromatic bitters will have the next logistics to make the distribution: 1. The company sells us the product directly from their manufacturing plant located at Trinidad and Tobago. 2. We import the product to our warehouse located in Cali – Colombia. 3. We will have one distributor for each main city in Colombia. 4. The selling will be doing by internet, by phone and by visit directly to the client. The dispatching will be centralized from our main warehouse and with the application system help, the product will be send to each regional distributor in order to be dispatched to each client. 5. The main clients will be the restaurants, hotels, coffee shops and bars located in middle and high income areas of each mains Colombian cities. 6. We will sell the product in selected big retail chains and in wine and spirits specialized stores. 5. Evaluation and control 5.1 Performance measures Our strategic objectives are: Expand the distribution by placing products in: 50 retail stores (OFF-PREMISE) 15 wine and spirits specialized stores (OFF-PREMISE) 1,400 on the ON-PREMISE nationwide. Sale of 80% of first import at year 2015 (4,896 bottles during the year). We will evaluate our marketing plan according with this metrics, also external and internal: External metrics Metric Measure Market share per volume Angostura aromatic bitter volume of bottles sold versus total bottles of essences bitters sold Market share per value Angostura aromatic bitter total USD sold versus total USD of essences bitters sold Market share per customers Angostura aromatic bitter total customers versus total bitters’ customers Consumer satisfaction Surveys results from 90% of total Angostura aromatic bitter’ customer (hotels, restaurants, bars) Loyalty Percentage of customers who changed to the competitors Distribution Percentage of customers who received on time and full the deliver Learning Number of courses dictated Internal metrics Metric Measure Financial goals Percentage of financial goals accomplish by period Employee satisfaction Internal survey results Skill levels Knowledge about the product and its uses Learning Number of new learning and e-learning course created. Recipes Number of new recipes created. 5.2 Evaluation procedures The evaluation procedures we will do to do the performance measures are: Surveys Direct customer and channels control visits Statistical beverages consumer Statistical sells Statistics presence of the product in customers.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Being Unionized or Union-Free ( just paraphrase ) Human Resource Class Essay

Being Unionized or Union-Free ( just paraphrase ) Human Resource Class - Essay Example ith employees, education of employees and management, hiring and promotion policies, quality working conditions, resolving of complaints efficiently and teamwork (Maille, 2009). To be able to remain union free for a long time a company should in the course of production ensure that wages of employees in the same lines of production is analyzed, so as to allow the company to make relevant adjustments in meeting its employees demands. The wages and other compensation can be increased after making the necessary analysis. These benefits will work as a great boon and will help in motivating the employees who will start working effectively after realizing the fact that the company has done a great deal to help them. The internal system should also be analyzed by a company, it includes salary and wage rates in order to determine the exact amount of compensation and wage to be given to different individuals holding various positions, and the varied lengths of service in the company, as it may not be realistic to pay a similar compensation to a new employee as compared to an old employee. If there is any disparity which cannot be explained then an evaluation should be done in order to come up with a fair solution. Employees have quite a few concerns these days and it is very important for a company to address these problems. The management and the employees should interact more often so that the communication becomes crystal clear, it is very important to have a good communication system in place. Some ways of making communication better are door to door policies, suggestion boxes, bulletin boards, job orientation, forms which communicate to the employee benefits and company events like holiday parties and therefore making the employer to know the needs of the employees. After the communication the company is able to act according to the views from its staff and hence make the required changes (Richard, 2008). Educating the employees is essential for a company; the union

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

To study the feasibility and profitability of establishing an Essay

To study the feasibility and profitability of establishing an international school in Mainland China - Essay Example Reed (l988) in her study of Education in the People's Republic of China and U.S underscored the importance of having international schools in China to cater for educational requirements of children of expatriate parents working in the country. Similarly, Fuldien (as cited in Hammond, 2007) demonstrated how the presence of English Schools Foundation (ESF) in Hong Kong has contributed to the education sector by providing high quality and cost-effective education through the use of English as the medium of instruction. This chapter presents review of the literature of studies done on the feasibility and profitability of establishing an international school in the emerging cities in Mainland China. The chapter is divided into various headings for easier presentation of the literature review. The Chinese education system is lauded as one having the longest history in the world. Available documented evidence indicates that the Chinese practice of education developed from the imperial civil examination system introduced in the early 7th century (as cited in Feagles, 1999). This type of examination system was devised exclusively as a mechanism for choosing and enlisting aspirants for the official system of government of the time and was found to identify only worthiness, competition and valor. Paver and Wang (1992) explain that this instrument was considered a powerful tool built upon social ambitions rather than individual concerns and therefore made examinations the only gauge for future success and achievement. This system has been found to strongly influence the education systems of Chinese communities to date, while still emphasizing the educational values highly esteemed by both parents and students (Paver and Wang, 1992). Reed (l988) in her study reported that the Chinese education system is found to be a mixture of two cultures namely the Chinese culture and the British culture. She maintains that the British culture is responsible for the establishment of elite schools. These elite schools are accordingly sponsored and managed by the major religious bodies such as the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, the Church of Christ in China and the Methodist Church (all cited in Reed, l988). Moreover, the regal social examination system laid down in the 7th century has inculcated certain values in the Chinese people which are seen to strongly influence the nature almost all the local schools and the elite schools in Hong Kong. Available studies further argue that this culture inculcated by the system have been responsible to produce all round students and graduates in the world (Kennedy, l977). The consequence of this argument is demonstrated in global comparisons of student achievements. Aanenson ( 1979) illustrates that Chinese students mainly from Hong Kong are always positioned amongst the top. Apart from fostering the spirit of hard-work and competitiveness, the Chinese tradition also underscores the importance of moral education which very much differs from the concept of morality as perceived in the Western countries (Reed, l988). The concept of moral education as recognized by the Chinese puts into account virtually all characteristics of education including but not exhaustively ethics,

Monday, October 7, 2019

Sexuality in America comedy show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sexuality in America comedy show - Essay Example It is obvious that comedy shows tend to replicate the environment which fits the society regardless of the degree of contamination of the environment. Last Holiday is a comedy movie directed by Wayne Wang and is a remake of a 1950 British comedy that involves a woman who decides to enjoy pleasure when she finds out that she is going to die. It is a generic and romantic comedy with Queen Latifah, the main character and the main reason to enjoy the movie. It is interesting to note that someone enjoys her life only when she realizes that she is going to die instead of what most people could have done of forgoing the fun and perhaps ask their doctors for any other alternative and pray hard (Wang Film). The Queen Latifah’s ailment, which the doctor describes as diabolical, leads to her instant transformation from being a boring spinster to life of pleasure. She decides to abandon her desire of becoming a great cook and the need for dieting when she is told that she has three to four weeks to live. Latifah who plays a sales clerk named Georgia cashes in her savings to enjoy life in Czech Republic where her hero Chef Didier works. She mingles with other major powerbrokers in the hotel, she treats herself to all the services of spa, and the ski slopes (Wang Film). Georgia attracts the attention of wealthy men seated in the hotel and could not help taking their eyes off because of her beauty. She brings romance in the air due to unmistakable chemistry with LL Cool J as well as being attractive to the staff and the chef. However the films starts to bore when the focus turns from being a romantic comedy to parts that are more concentrating on politics, healthcare issues and corruption. This movie shows the attitude of most men who view women as sex tools. Sexual appeal of a woman’s body is crucial since a woman is considered a