Judicial Activism Essay

It is perhaps unsurprising that the liberal court led by Chief Justice Earl Warren from 1953 to 1969 invalidated federal, state and local laws at almost twice the rate of the Roberts court. But the more conservative court that followed, led by Chief Justice Warren E. Burger from 1969 to 1986, was even more activist, striking down laws in almost 9 percent of its cases, compared with just over 7 percent in the Warren court and just 4 percent in the Roberts court. The court led by Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist from 1986 to 2005 was also more activist than the current one, at 6.4 percent. In a new book, â€Å"Terms of Engagement,† Clark M. Neily III of the Institute for Justice, a libertarian group, calculated that the Supreme Court struck down just 103 of the 15,817 laws enacted by Congress in the half-century ending in 2002. â€Å"It is implausible,† he wrote, â€Å"to suppose the federal government hits the constitutional strike zone 99.5 percent of the time.† Mr. Neily urged the Supreme Court to be more active but rejected the phrase â€Å"judicial activism.† After the Supreme Court argument in the case in the spring of 2012, with things looking grim for the fate of his law, Mr. Obama tried to shift the terms of the discussion back to activism. â€Å"I’d just remind conservative commentators,† he said, â€Å"that for years what we’ve heard is the biggest problem on the bench was judicial activism or a lack of judicial restraint — that an unelected group of people would somehow overturn a duly constituted and passed law.† Three months after Mr. Obama’s remarks, Chief Justice Roberts broke with his usual conservative allies and voted with the court’s four liberals to uphold the law. In a joint dissent, the four conservatives said the majority was wrong to portray its ruling as â€Å"judicial modesty† when â€Å"it amounts instead to a vast judicial overreaching.† In a recent essay, â€Å"Why We Need More Judicial Activism,† Suzanna Sherry, a law professor at Vanderbilt University, said the Supreme Court had erred more often in sustaining laws than in striking them down. â€Å"Too much of a good thing can be bad,† she wrote, â€Å"and democracy is no exception.† The article’s central claim is based upon political science research showing that the Roberts Court has been more likely to reach â€Å"conservative† decisions than its predecessors. Liptak reports: In its first five years, the Roberts court issued conservative decisions 58 percent of the time. And  in the term ending a year ago, the rate rose to 65 percent, the highest number in any year since at least 1953. The recent shift to the right is modest. And the court’s decisions have hardly been uniformly conservative. The justices have, for instance, limited the use of the death penalty and rejected broad claims of executive power in the government’s efforts to combat terrorism. But scholars who look at overall trends rather than individual decisions say that widely accepted political science data tell an unmistakable story about a notably conservative court. This distinction is important because the data presented by Liptak suggests that the Roberts Court is such a â€Å"conservative minimalist† court. Indeed, it appears to be the most restrained – or least â€Å"activist† (if â€Å"activism† is defined as willingness to overturn federal statutes or prior precedents) – Court since World War II. According to the data presented with the article in this chart, the Warren, Burger and Rehnquist Courts overturned precedents at an average rate of 2.7, 2.8 and 2.4 per term, respectively. The Roberts Court, on the other hand, has only overturned an average of 1.6 precedents per term. The record on striking down laws shows a similar pattern. The Warren, Burger, and Rehnquist Courts struck down an average of 7.9, 12.5, and 8.2 laws per term, whereas the Roberts Court has only invalidated an average of 3 laws per term. Liptak acknowledges this data at the close of his article, but downplays it with his description: â€Å"The Roberts court is finding laws unconstitutional and reversing precedent — two measures of activism — no more often than earlier courts.† So, while the majority of the Roberts Court’s decisions are â€Å"conservative,† the data Liptak summarizes does not appear to have resulted in a more â€Å"conservative† legal regime, as the Roberts Court has done relatively little to change the law (at least thus far) compared to its predecessors. This is important, because it effectively refutes claims that there is anything particularly radical or â€Å"activist† about the Roberts Court, even if one accepts that it is notably â€Å"conservative.† There is no evidence as yet that the Roberts Court is as willing to challenge federal power as the Court was under Burger (National League of Cities v. Usery) or Rehnquist (Lopez, Morrison, Boerne). There are exceptions, such as some of the Court’s Miranda decisions – which have certainly made the law less protective of criminal suspects and defendants – and Citizens United, but these exceptions are balanced by aggressive liberal opinions in areas like executive power and the death penalty. In sum, even if most of the Roberts Court’s decisions are â€Å"conservative† a substantive analysis of the Roberts Court’s decisions does not reveal a significant rightward shift in the law.

Personal College Essay

My Personal College Essay By Dina Elyamany My heart froze and my stomach churned as I imagined the red-colored blood gushing out of him like a waterfall. I grabbed my doctor equipment and, with shaking hands, started stitching the wound in his chest with fear that something might go wrong. After sealing the cut, I checked the heart monitor, and a big smile appeared on my face. My teddy bear was safe and alive, and I was an outstanding six-year-old doctor. After finishing surgery, I skipped into the waiting room to see my clinic filled with my sister’s Barbies who needed a heart replacement because Ken had broken their hearts.As a child, I always thought the people I knew could be replaced or brought back to life if something bad happened to them, like the toys I owned. However, one day showed me I was wrong. On a dull Wednesday afternoon, my parents dropped me off at my aunt's house so they could go to work. I spent the whole day talking to the dolls in my aunt's special colle ction before realizing my aunt never came to check on me. Wondering, I walked to her room through the open door; she was lying on the floor motionless, her mouth slightly open, and no spirit left inside her body.That day I learned she could not be replaced. After seeing the image of my aunt's empty body, I woke up to realize that I had been living in a fantasy where people never die. Because of what happened to my aunt, I decided to become a real doctor who would save humans from unnecessary death. I knew that I would have to study my hardest to earn the required test scores to get into the top medical college. But living in Egypt, I knew my dream was not going to be accomplished since well-connected people steal the high test scores for their children.When I turned eleven, my parents brought me to live in the United States. I will always remember my first day in a school in America: I walked to my sixth grade class with a heart pounding like a noisy watch. As I sat in my seat and w atched everyone carefully, I remember thinking that my English would never be fluent as theirs. That day and every day, I went home and studied. Within six months my English became as normal as an average American’s and my medical dream was born once again.After I entered high school, doing well got a little harder. But I just studied more to be able to follow my dream. Through my experiences in America, I have learned some important truths. If I do not go after what I want, I will never have it; if I do not ask, the answer will always be no; and if I do not step forward, I will always be in the same place. I also have come to realize that people can live in my heart but not in my life. And the six-year-old doctor is now even more empowered to work toward her dream.

Tesla in Dubai Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tesla in Dubai - Essay Example The company built a strong brand image that captures the attention of customers through celebrity impact. The company develops sleek car models that meet the expectations of the customers. The marketing strategy through social and traditional media has catapulted the company into celebrity limelight. The company’s customer –centric approach has also been one of the main factors for its success in Dubai. Tesla fosters a strong customer relationship, thus creating a positive image among consumers. The first strategy available for Tesla’s international expansion is strategic alliance. Tesla has the option of identifying other companies in foreign markets that have good performance history and join forces with them. The company can easily gain entry into foreign markets through mergers and acquisitions. Through mergers, Tesla will create joint ventures with potential competitors in the market while acquisitions will involve buy out of rival companies in the market. Mergers and acquisitions in foreign markets will enlarge the company’s customer base and also enhance intellectual capital as well as performance efficiencies of the resultant company (Benjamin, 2006). The second strategy that Tesla can use to expand into international markets is licensing. This strategy involves entering foreign markets through leasing a company’s intellectual property rights to a foreign firm (Kozami, 2005). Tesla can lease its technology, patents, brand name and trademark to companies in foreign markets. In this strategy, Tesla would be the licensor while the other companies to which it leases its intellectual property rights would be the licensee. Ireland, Hoskisson and Hitt (2008) argue that â€Å"licensing is popular because it involves little direct cost or risk for the licensor (p.158). Despite the fact that this strategy offers a cheap foreign

Hotel Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Hotel Management - Essay Example These strategies include the following; Strategic Objectives. One of the best strategies that the Cruise Industry has that has enabled it gain a big market share is its objectives and a how they pursue them. One is to develop a novel cruise segments and inventive packages to reach a bigger number of prospective and past cruisers. It also aims at employing very sophisticated promotional exertions to attain a greater awareness by the public regarding the availability and affordability of cruise travels (Marc, 2010, p. 156). Supply Chain. This is the most sensitive sector of any industry. It keeps the company sufficient by putting it in a position that is able to meet all customer demands. An inside look at the Cruise Industry supply chain is a vivid reflection of its success. From the cruise passengers, the chain breaks down to travel agents – who are responsible of all the routes and destinations of the ships-; then connects down to the Cruise Company itself which perfectly takes care of the following. It starts at the prior and after customer accommodation and transport of passengers from their residential areas, dinning, port services shopping and excursion. The second phase of the cruise industry supply chain incorporates the following; Food, drinks and equipment manufacturers, lubrication services, energy suppliers and port facilities. The service and product flow makes one forget that it is just a ship sailing on water because it creates a new and different image and experience from the ordinary transport ships or vacation trip. It is this complex and cooperative supply chain that Cruise Industry is employing which has seen it attract more customers. Competition Strategy. To some extent, Cruise Industry’s market ranges from a monopoly to oligopoly. Cruise Industry has extended its services in such a way that it is very difficult for new firms

Making Ethical Decisions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Making Ethical Decisions - Essay Example What is the problem? The problem faced by the manager is to determine if it is indeed the best option to fire the employee based on absenteeism and customer complaints versus the employee’s possession of personal virtues of honesty and not stealing. 2. What are your alternatives? The alternative courses of action are: (1) fire the employee; (2) give the employee a warning or reprimand depending on the number of absences and customer complaints; (3) consult the company’s code of discipline that should guide the decision-maker on appropriate courses of action depending on violations of company policies; (4) do nothing. 3. What are the effects of each alternative? Firing the employee without just cause will subject the manager under legal complaints for violating labor laws, especially if the employee is a permanent employee. Giving the employee a warning or reprimand, depending on the number of absences or customer complaints would make the employee aware that management does not tolerate his inefficiency in his working behavior. This would also give the employee a chance to improve his performance. Consulting the company’s code of discipline would ensure that the employee knows the penalties for his absences and the manager would implement the option depending on what company policies state. Finally, by doing nothing, the employee would not have the chance to improve on his working performance. 4.

Case Summary and Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Case Summary and Analysis - Essay Example Cannondale is a bicycle manufacturing company that supplies bicycles in 66 countries. The company has to manufacture numerous and varying models of bicycles ordered by their clients. The company environment is characterized by demand for numerous varying bicycle models that requires different parts. Therefore, the company has to make several orders, which are hard to track and monitor. This created the difficulty in overall performance of the company. The main challenge is the need to manage the numerous bills of materials (BOMs) required manufacturing the different models. Being an international company, the company is faced by complex demands due to the varying needs of the customers. The complexity of the clients’ needs made it difficult for Cannondale to deliver customized products to their customers resulting in customer dissatisfaction. Additionally, the company could not monitor its sales effectively (Rainer and Cegielski 378-379). The rapid response system enabled Cannondale to manage its demand and supply chain effectively. The ease in management was because the RapidSystem made it easy and fast for the company to track the demands from their customers and monitor their supplies. The RapidSystem processes the supply and demand data in an easy to interpret manner making it easy for the customer to manufacture bicycles that meet the demands of their customer in good time. The buyers would easily make orders. Additionally the managers and other planners would easily monitor the daily inventories and make appropriate schedules for production purposes. Financial reporting became easy since the financial managers would easily monitor the sales using the systems. Another impact of the RapidResponse was easing interactions between the different participants in the supply chain. It has made it possible for the participants to instant simulate and share other information crucial in enhancing the supplies. This is cruc ial in enabling the company and the

Business Strategy Report of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc Essay

Business Strategy Report of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc - Essay Example According to the research findings, it can, therefore, be said that The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc also known as RBSG is an international company dealing in banking and financial services. The company offers a wide range of products as well as services and serves the commercial, personal along with the large institutional and corporate customers. The Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc tends to operate through its subsidiary named the royal bank and the National Westminster Bank Plc also referred to as NatWest. Some of the financial services offered by the Bank include commercial banking, investment banking, and services of wealth management. The bank offers the product through its various brands like RBS, Direct Line, NatWest, Churchill, Ulster Bank, Coutts and the Citizens. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) forms it’s headquartered in Edinburgh and serves about 30million customers in Europe, UK, and America, Middle East and also Asia and employees about 130,000 staffs glob ally. Some of the major product and services of RBS includes, credit cards, insurance products, retail issue charge card and service offered by the Bank are foreign exchange finance, money market, deposit and investment, treasury services, electronic services, insurance, loans, development along with other services and information technology operations. The banking and financial sector has encountered unprecedented change and turmoil globally. Failure of some of the renowned financial leader like the Lehman Brothers had focused attention towards interconnected debt. Credit along with interbank liquidity had frozen across the globe and it was since then the government across the globe has been pumping money in order to bail out the failing banks in order to normalize the activities of the financial institution and prevent meltdown down of the global financial system.

Most effective Leadership & Management Styles & approaches Coursework - 4

Most effective Leadership & Management Styles & approaches - Coursework Example Leadership and management styles take different forms depending on changes faced by an organization, demand of the people and the current business situation (Young, 2013, p. 52). Consequently, there is need for various dynamisms affecting their business and assurance of most effective leadership and managerial styles. There are various leadership skills applied by various leaders to enhance success of an organization. These includes visionary, pace setting, commanding, coaching, and democratic leadership styles (Jiang, 2014 p. 51). Steve Jobs is one of the cofounders of Apple Company together with Wozniak. Apple grew from a small electronic company to a worldwide giant company. Steve Job emerged as one of the world’s top CEOs through application of visionary leadership style. Job created ambitious objectives and planned for better future of the company (Mankiw, 2013, p, 21). He dedicated himself to the set objectives that spurred Apple Inc. to its current international state. H relied more on his innovative wits and entrepreneurial skills to realize his dreams for Apple Company. He envisioned and materialized products that suited best his current and prospective customers. Job is recognized as a team player since he organized skilful workforce into his team with a clear vision of the company. Subsequently, it resulted into workers motivation and enhanced innovation and productivity. Leadership requires effective management skills and good team organization that will ensure communication of set goals and generation of ideas from members. Good managing skills have several potential advantages for both the group and the manager. The affiliative style of management is considered more effective since it involves the whole team (Teepapal, 2013, p. 11). Through the style, members are allowed to contribute ideas and discuss issues at hand. Harmony is created amongst the team and diversity is never an issue. Training programmes are organized to help improve

Poetry Analysis Essay Example for Free

Poetry Analysis Essay Introduction Name of poem Home Burial Name of poet Robert Frost Date of publication 1915 Other relevant background info This poem talks about Living, Death, sorrow and grieving, Relationships and Familly And ancestors. It is full of sadness and grief. During it’s publication it is presented as a whole new genre of poetry. Two deaths were depicted in the poem, that of a child and an end up of marriage. The poem deals with essential loneliness. This poem is brought up by his experience of losing his two children at a very young age. One of his son, committed suicide. Form of poem It is a free verse; Dramatic Lyric Structure of poem The Poem has no rhyme scheme yet it have noticeable number of stresses per lines. Lines spoken by people are enclosed in quotation marks and thus recognized as such. It also used emotional or tense form of words Rhyme scheme No rhyme scheme Meaning Overall Meaning Each of us has its own destiny. Decision making takes a big role in human life as such it will dictate the future of a person. Though we may not have the privilege or the ability to see our future, we can rely that in every action there is a reaction. It is said that Frost took the road less taken but in reality all of us travel in this very road and that is life, the run of life. All fo us run the same cycle. How the poem relates to life in general, and/or my life In decision making, we should take into consideration the effects it will burst forth and that what ever the result, I must be ready to embrace the consequence whether good or bad. Alliteration ‘I shall laugh the worst laugh I ever laughed To give of the best. To perform as if it will be the last. To smile at least there’s no tomorrow.

Errors, Uncertainties and Measurements Essay Example for Free

Errors, Uncertainties and Measurements Essay Abstract In this experiment, different measuring devices were used, namely the vernier calliper, micrometer calliper, foot rule, and the electronic gram balance. These devices were used to obtain the mean diameter, volume, mass, and the experimental value of density of the sphere of known composition. 1. Introduction Measurement is the process or act of determining the size, length, quantity, etc. of something being observed or measured. The units of measurement evolved and changed greatly since the day it was made by humans. In different places, these measurements can vary and could well be different from each other. Thus, standards are used nowadays so that we can have a concrete basis and this also prevents fraud or the cheating of somebody especially in business matters. There are different systems of measurement used. We have this CGS system or known as centimeter-gram-second system which is a metric system derived from the meter-kilogram-second system or mks system. It uses centimeter (c) for  length, gram (g), second (s) for time, dyne for force, and erg for energy. The metric system has become a common system for weights and measures. Its simplicity is the reason why scientists use this system of measurement. You can easily change one unit of measure into another. The units of measurement in this system are all based on decimals. By simply moving the decimal point to the right or left, depending on whether the unit is being decreased or increased, you can change its unit. Greek decimal prefixes like deca, hecto, kilo is used to express units of ten multiples or greater. Despite setting  all of these standards, one’s measurement can never be exact and can always have a certain amount of error. When a measurement is done, the outcome could depend on several factors like the measuring system, the procedure taken, the execution of techniques of the operator, and the condition of the environment (Bell, 1999). This dispersion of values that can be attributed to a measured quantity is what we call as measurement uncertainty. The flaws in measurement can come from the measuring instrument itself due to aging, wearing, poor readability or even noise. The item being measured, if not stable, can produce uncertainties. There are two types of measurement error, systematic error and random error. Imperfect calibration of instrument, its age, wear, and tear, throughout the years which lead to errors can be classified as a systemic error. When you measure the weight of an object using a particular balance which is improperly tared and you get a certain amount of grams higher for all your mass measurements is an example of systematic error. Random errors, on the other hand, are caused by unknown and unpredictable changes in the experiments. Irregular changes in the environment can usually cause this and as well as the random noise on an electrical device (Exell). The precision of a measurement is determines the exactness or accuracy of a number of measurements and how the same quantity agrees with each other. Accuracy tells the correctness, veracity or truthfulness of a measurement. The closer the measurement to the accepted value, the more accurate it is. In this experiment, the group aims to achieve the following objectives: (1) to study errors and how they propagate in simple experiment, (2) to determine the average deviation of a set of experimental values, (3) to determine the mean of a set of experimental values as well as a set of average deviation of the mean, (4) to familiarize the students with the vernier caliper, micrometer caliper, and the foot rule, (5) to compare the accuracy of these measuring devices, (6) to determine the density of an object given its mass and dimensions. 2. Theory 3. Methodology The measuring devices were checked for error. The least count of the vernier caliper, micrometer caliper and the foot rule was determined. Ten independent measurements for the diameter of the sphere using the foot rule were made. This was done by taking measurements at different points along its circumference. The mean diameter of the sphere was calculated. The deviation (d) of each measurement of the mean diameter and the average deviation (a.d.) were also calculated. Then, the average deviation (A.D.) of the mean diameter was computed. The % error for the diameter was computed by considering A.D. as the error and the mean diameter as the standard value. The volume of the sphere was then computed. Significant figures were used. The sphere was weighed using the electronic gram balance. The density of the sphere was calculated using the values obtained from the volume and mass of the sphere. The instructor was asked for the accepted value of the density of the sphere. The % error was then computed. The same steps were used using the vernier caliper and micrometer caliper. Base from the data, measurements from the foot rule had the greatest % error for density (53.85 %) while measurements from the vernier caliper had the least % error (0.17%). Possible errors for the measurements are systematic error especially human error. For the foot rule, members of the group possibly commit an error because the foot rule has no handle so that the end of the sphere could easily see. It is also possible that members of the group wrongly read the values. Base from the the data, accuracy of the instruments can be infer; vernier caliper is more accurate that the foot rule. This is because the uncertain digit of the foot rule is certain in vernier caliper. 5. Conclusion The calipers were checked for errors, and studied how they propagated in the experiment. The average deviation was computed for the foot rule, vernier caliper, and micrometer caliper , which is 0.092, 0.042, and 0.0018 respectively. The average deviation of the mean was also determined, namely, 0.029, 0.013, and 0.00057 respectively. The accuracy of the said measuring devices were compared and recorded in table form. The density of the sphere was determined, 12 g/cm3 , 7.813 g/cm3 , 7.831 g/cm3 . Based on the information written above, the objectives of this experiment were achieved. 6. Applications Among the three measuring devices, the vernier caliper gave the least percent error. The accuracy of a measurement is affected by the least count of the  measuring device. Its’ accuracy would always be uncertain because every measuring instrument has a distinctive amount of uncertainty in its measurement. Error is the deviation of a measured value from the actual value. It is the imprecision in measurements that cannot be avoided. There are two types of error, random and systematic. Repeated measurements obtained from a random error can still be reliably estimated. A systemic error occurs if there is a defect in the equipment or in the design of the experiment. The errors that we encountered during the experiment were more of systematic errors. Most errors are human errors; the some measurement in the vernier caliper are obtained from wrong used of the instrument. A student weighs himself using a bathroom scale calibrated in kilograms. He reported his weight in pounds. What is the percentage error in his reported weight if he uses this conversion: 1 kg=2.2 pounds? The standard kilogram is equal to 2.2046. % Error = |A-T|TÃâ€"100 % Error = |2.2-2.2046|2.2046Ãâ€"100 = 0.21% In an experiment on determination of mass of a sample, your group consisting of 5 students obtained the following results: 14.34 g, 14.32 g, 14.33 g, 14.30 g, and 14.32 g. Find the mean, a.d. and A.D. Suppose that your group is required to make only four determination for the mass of the sample. If you were the leader of the group, which date will you omit? Recalculate the mean, a.d. and A.D. without this data. Which results will you prefer? Table 1. Mass and deviation of the sample in five trials Trial| Mass (g)| Deviation (d)| 1| 14.34| 0.04| 2| 14.32| 0.02| 3| 14.33| 0.03| 4| 14.30| 0.00| 5| 14.23| 0.07| Mean = 14.30 a.d. = 0.032 A.D. = 0.014 14.23 will be omitted because it is the farthest value from each other. Table 2. Mass and deviation of the sample in the chosen four trials Trial| Mass (g)| Deviation (d)| 1| 14.34| 0.02| 2| 14.32| 0.00| 3| 14.33| 0.01| 4| 14.30| 0.02| Mean = 14.32 a.d. = 0.0125 A.D. = 0.007 Base on the computed data above, the data from table 2 are preferred. 7. Reference Bell, S. (1999). A beginners guide to uncertainty measurement. United Kingdom: Crown. Error and Statistics. (2012, December 1). Retrieved from http:/www.lepla.org/en/modules/Activities/p04-error4.htm Exell. (2012, November 30). Error Analysis. Retrieved from http://www.physics.umd.edu/courses/Phys276/Hill/Information/Notes/ErrorAnalysis.html Metric System. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008. Random Errors- Physics Laboratory Tutorial. (2012, December 1). Retrieved December 1, 2012, from http://phys.columbia.edu/~tutorial/rand_v_sys/tut_e_5_1.html Taylor, J. (1999). An Introduction to Error Analysis: The Study of Uncertainties in Physical Measurements. University Science Books, 128-129. Undergraduate Physics- Error Analysis. (2012, December 1). Retrieved from http://felix.physics.sunysb.edu/~allen/252/PHY_error_analysis.html

Brand Loyalty Through Emotional Advertising Media Essay

Brand Loyalty Through Emotional Advertising Media Essay Many authors have discussed about what is emotional advertising and its importance over rational advertising but very little work has been done on building brand loyalty through emotional advertising. In this paper I will give a theoretical based view of how we can generate brand loyalty through emotional advertising. Plus what are the drivers of emotional appeal and how to achieve emotional satisfaction through advertising and its experience. Keywords: Emotional advertising, brand loyalty, drivers of emotional appeal, emotional satisfaction and experience Introduction McGuire (1969) argues that there is no difference between emotional appeals and rational appeals in terms of the effectiveness or emotional appeals are more effective. Holbrook and Hirschman (1982) suggested that emotional appeals come from the emotional, experiential side of consumption. Choi and Thorson (1983) found that emotional ads were better than rational ads by most recall measures. Emotional appeals make a brand liked or friendly (Batra and Ray 1985). Where, Kotler and Armstrong (1991, 426-427) define emotional appeal as an: attempt to stir up either negative or positive emotions that can motivate purchase. These include fear, guilt, surprise and shame appeals that get people to do things they should or stop doing things they shouldnt. Communicators also use positive emotional appeals such as love, humor, pride, hope and joy. An appeal, according to Manrai et al. (1992), is the basic idea behind an advertisement or the basic reason why an audience should act. Emotional appeals are often strategically employed to influence consumers indirectly and make the consumer feel good about the product (Calder and Gruder 1989) relying on feelings for effectiveness (Aaker et al 1992). When it comes to changing the message receivers beliefs about the advertised brand (Stafford 1993), Emotional appeal ads may have rational appeal components while rational appeal ads can have emotional appeal component respectively. Stafford (1993) suggests that both types of meanings occur in all ads and only case by case does the balance vary. However, Aaker, Stayman and Hagerty (1986) found a positive relationship between the level of warmth created by a commercial and the attitude toward the ad Page, Goldberg and Gorn (1987) also reported more positive reactions for emotional appeal advertisements than for informational appeal advertisements. Thorson and Heide (1990) also found that emotional advertisements may be more effective and memorable than rational advertisements. One of the most critical concerns advertisers express about television advertising is the potential decline of the persuasive impact on TV spots because of increasing clutters in the media environment. To make advertising appeals more distinctive and hence, perhaps more persuasive, advertisers frequently use dramatic emotional ads messages designed to shock the emotions and make the brain itch (Moore 1989) Such advertising executions often feature high impact, sensually evocative appeals that stimulate strong positive emotions (e.g., the Hallmark greeting card ads dramatizing precious moments and nostalgic memories in life). However, advertisers also employ graphic and sensational negative emotional advertising messages such as those used by insurance companies, healthcare institutions, drug and alcohol abuse clinics, food manufacturers exploiting consumers fears of cancer and cardiac diseases (Alsop 1988), and public service agencies making appeals to prevent child abuse or to promote the use of contraceptive devices (LaTour and Pitts 1989). I have gone through the definitions of emotional advertising from different authors given in different times. Their thoughts and findings are similar somewhat but also vary as the time changes, from these definitions we can get a clear view about emotional advertising and to some extend its importance. Emotional advertising leave a deeper effect and can persuade viewers immensely, but can emotional advertising also develop band loyalty? Very less work is being done from this perspective. I will talk about brand loyalty through emotional advertising and what are the drivers of emotional advertising. Emotional Advertising The human spirit is a rich reservoir of powerful emotions; Passion, ambition, vanity, love, desire, fear, hope and much, much more. Emotional advertising arouses these emotions to get our attention, to touch us more deeply and to persuade us more effectively. Emotional advertising discovers how a product truly fits into a persons life and how it satisfies an emotional need. When that truth is revealed and understood, it becomes possible to create a more honest, relevant and lasting relationship between the consumer and the product. Ideas and the executions that are conceived and created to awaken, stir and stimulate emotional responses produce advertising that is new, unexpected and audacious, advertising that is most persuasive and provides the greatest return on investment. Emotional Advertising drivers Emotions matter because if we do not have them, nothing else would matter (Elster 1999) To make an ad impactful one should be very careful while choosing the drivers because these drivers are the soul of the ad, only wisely chosen drivers can make an ad generate brand loyalty through its experience. In my opinion the basic drivers of emotional appeal are given as under: Figure shows Drivers of Emotional Appeal Brand Loyalty through Emotional Advertising Basic purpose of emotional advertising is to engage more and more viewers into the ad and ultimately influence them to buy the product. As we know that marketings basic function is to target the need of people while emotional appeal aim the hidden feelings behind that need, and then eventually through this we can create brand loyalty. Figure 2 shows brand loyalty through emotional advertising Emotional Satisfaction through Advertising and Experience Future belongs to emotional advertisement. Most of the advertisers try to find out those minor points which were never taken out before, they seek to create something new which is not new and they try to explore that side of emotions that have yet not being tested. The best strategy is to blend emotional appeal with rationale appeal, but in this more percentage is of emotional appeal and less is of rationale appeal. As we have discussed earlier that emotional appeal is to target the hidden emotion of the viewer and then relate it with the advertised product. Emotion is very important is advertising, here we take an example of Dove. When dove started is Campaign for Real Beauty theme is 2004. Prior to this time, the brand communicated largely rationale benefits, such as its moisturizing properties and mildness. It mainly used testimonial-style advertising, but, with little sense of uniqueness, vibrant or conceiving personality, its growth was limited. The Campaign Real Beauty aimed to build the brand at an emotional level by conveying a more self-governing, independent, natural and iconic vision of beauty. In doing so, Dove made women who were tired of trying to live up to the idealized and unachievable standards shown by other brands. Almost overnight, Dove changed from being dull and inactive into a highly distinctive and admired brand with a resulting huge uplift in sales across its entire range and finally it paid off in the shape of growth of its brand loyalty. Future Research

Positives of the Law Essay -- essays papers

Positives of the Law When President Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002, he promised that his education reform would bring hope to children. The law calls for more testing in third to eighth grade each year in reading and math (Bacon, 2003). Students will be tested to make sure that the schools are adequately teaching them the information they should know. In 53% of American schools, which receive direct Federal Government financial support because they have large numbers of low-income students, students can now transfer to another school or receive free tutoring if their school fails for two years in a row to improve the test scores of its students (Bacon, 2003). The plan also ensures that teacher quality will improve. States must now include in their plans, annual, measurable objectives that each local school district and school must meet in moving toward the goal. Schools must also now account for their progress in annual report cards (U.S. Department of Education, 2003). In addition, there will be high criterion for professional development to ensure that federal funds encourage research-based, efficient practice in the classroom (Bush, 2003). The Department of Education is trying to speed up the movement for further skilled educators. States are going to be reviewing their efforts towards better teachers (Ed teams to help states address teacher quality, 2003). The government is finding ways to be able to test teacher quality. Schools are giving pay initiatives to educators who work above and beyond (Dobbs, 2003). This will hopefully make teachers work and try harder to be better teachers. Faculty involvement is a crucial factor in making students want to be more of a part of the school. There c... ...et, http://www.ala.org Standards are listed and its gives ideas on how technology is helpful in raising standards. Bell, T. (2003). Two-thirds of high schools get ‘left behind’ warnings. Associated Press. Retrieved October 1, 2003 from Academic Universe/Lexis Nexis database. Many schools in New Jersey are receiving information that they did not meet the standards of the federal government. The schools are blaming lack of funding on the performance of their schools. Penalties may occur eventually. Polgreen, L. (2003). New york schools to compete for reading grants. New York Times, Section B, page 3. Retrieved October 1, 2003 from Academic Universe/Lexis Nexis database. New York State will receive $129 million in federal money to pay for more programs to improve literacy. Bush will give more money to low performing schools over the next six years.

Flucations In The Australian Dollar :: essays research papers

The Australian Dollar is a "Commodity Currency". A "Commodity Currency" means that its fortunes are heavily dependent on the prices of Gold, Copper, Nickel, Coal and Wool. All of these commodities are Australia’s main exports. At present, commodity prices are low, especially gold. Melbourne-based mining consultant Surbiton Associates said exports of Australian gold were in danger of declining if exploration failed to be supported and production declined as a result. The country produces about $5 billion worth of gold each year and over the past 10 years the metal has earned $42 billion in export revenue. Presently, our dollar has been the weakest in history, comparable to the United States (US) dollar. The record low occurred in early April where it sank to 47.75 US cents. Compared to the US dollar, our Australian dollar buys at present 50.81 US cents. (27 July 2001). It is unrealistic to determine what started the dollars slide or when it started. In this graph it is visible that the dollar started to drop as far back as April 1997. Although, we can never be sure that the fluctuations are actually fluctuations in the $A or those of the $US. For that reason the following figure shows the movements in the $A against the trade weighted index (TWI). As its name indicates, the trade weighted index tries to measure the value of the $A against a basket of currencies. Those currencies are chosen to reflect the weight in Australia's trade with the countries issuing the currencies in the index. At the moment, the US dollar is very strong. This is surprising considering that the American economy is not very strong. Interest rates in the US basically show the situation. Americas interest rates have seen five cuts over the last four months to where it now sits at 3.75%. This was the US governments’ way of trying to kick-start the economy through fiscal policy. This is why many economists believe the US dollar will subside, as there is no backing in the economy. The â€Å"Aussie†, as it is referred to in foreign markets, is believed to be dependent on the performance of the Japanese Yen and the new Eurodollar, with the three currencies tending to move in tandem. This is because of Australia’s importing and exporting relationship with the two other currencies. Interest Rates At the moment the interest rate in Australia sits at 5%. In resent times interest rates have been subject to three cuts.

A Comparative Study on High School Students Between the United States and China Essay

With the development of global economy, the competition in education is becoming an important part of the international competitions. Students all over the world are competing with not only the students in their country but the students in the world. To some degrees, the future competitiveness of a country relies on how great their students are. As for students, their high school time is the critical period in their life, when they form their outlook on life and find out what they want to do in the future. High school students in both the United States and China have huge differences in their school life. First, curriculum. Students in American high school are required to take Science, Mathematics, English, Social sciences, Physical education and other electives such as Computers, Foreign language etc. Nearly 40 percent of U.S. high school students do not take any science class more challenging than general biology. And 55 percent of students do not take any math courses beyond two y ears of algebra and one year of geometry. While in China, the academic curriculum consists of Chinese, Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, etc. The requirement to Chinese students in Mathematics & Science is considered to be quite high. Second, time on studying. According to the research conveyed by BPP production team, American students spend 302,400 minutes in school during their high school time for 4 years while Chinese students spend 583,200 minutes. If adding that to the time spent doing homework and studying after school, by the end of the high school, Chinese students have spent twice as many hours studying as American students. But even though Chinese students spend more time studying, it seems that their homework can never be finished. Thus, Chinese students try their best to enhance their learning efficiency in order to squeeze more time. However, it doesn’t mean that American children don’t work hard. The core of the difference is the distribution of time. American students devote their time to playing sports, doing part-time jobs, and even dating with others, which make them energetic and social. From this aspect, the education system of American high school is more flexible than Chinese since it encourages student s to develop comprehensively and get close to the society. Third, expectation of  parents. In China, parents think highly of the education for their children. They tend to choose roads for their children to follow and make critical decisions for them, like which college to enter, or which major to learn. Especially for the top students, parents usually pay for several kinds of lessons as part of their investment in their education in order to open up a lead in the competition for their children. But American parents seem more relaxed. The percentage of parents who think their child’s high school is teaching the right amount of Math and Science is 70%. American parents have ideas about the future of their children but seldom make decisions for them. So Chinese students face with more pressure from parents. Different education styles result in different students. American students score highly in one area relative to their international peers: self-confidence. They worship freedom and balance work and relaxation well, leading them be optimistic about the future. On the contrary, Chinese students in high school own much academic knowledge so that they do better in examinations. But it cannot make a conclusion hastily that whether high school in both China and U.S,A is good or not because the education system is based on the economic situation of China and America. To make an end, to improve the competitiveness of a country, it is necessary to compare the education system to that in other countries, find out advantages and disadvantages and make some changes to cultivate talents. References: Net 1 BPP production team. ä ¸ ¤Ã§â„¢ ¾Ã¤ ¸â€¡Ã¥Ë†â€ Ã©â€™Å¸Ã¨â‚¬Æ'Ã¥ ¯Å¸Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã§ ¾Å½Ã¥  °Ã¦â€¢â„¢Ã¨â€š ²Ã¥ · ®Ã¥ ¼â€š. [DB/OL] http://video.sina.com.cn/v/b/83732476-2036021381.html, 2012-08-17 Net 2 Wikipedia. Education in the People’s Republic of China. [EB/OL] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_People’s_Republic_of_China#Secondary_education, 2013-06-13 Net 3 Wikipedia. Education in the United States. [EB/OL] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States#Secondary_education, 2013-06-13

Applying for head girl Essay

When I was told that I had been nominated for Head Girl I was, naturally, overjoyed. Many people told me that it was an excellent opportunity and would aid me in later life. Although I agree with this and acknowledge the fact that I would benefit immensely from it, this is not the reason why I initially aspired to this post. Despite the protestations that seem to accompany anything related to school, I have come to realise that we are extremely privileged to receive a brilliant education and have many people to thank. I believe that we should try to give something back to the school, if not to take action in our ‘thank you’, but to provide younger students with the beneficial support that we had. Becoming head girl would mean that I was able to give back to the school and if I could help in any way I would feel that I had accomplished a great achievement. i believe that I am suited to the role of Head Girl. Over the last four years that I have spent at Park School I have learnt many things including responsibility, hard work, commitment and confidence. Not only have I earned the grades that I have strived to achieve; I have also enjoyed myself, something that I believe to be of great importance. I believe that enjoyment is a key element in the experience of school and if you are content and happy in your working environment than you will naturally work harder and put more effort into both school work and extra-curricular activities. I would try my hardest to make sure that younger members of our school were able to enjoy themselves in an environment where they can learn and socialise. I am also an active member of a number of clubs and activities outside of school. I have contributed to teaching the lower school through the P.S.E Drama program. Using Forum Theatre, we address the issues that surround many young adults and help them to understand how to deal with them. Not only has this improved my confidence but I feel that many students have benefitted from the experience. Outside of school I am enthusiastic performer and a member of The Barnstaple Young Generation, Stage Coach and dance lessons. I am also an active member of the school choir. Through my experiences I have gained a huge amount of confidence and self assurance enabling me to talk competently to large groups of people. Performing has also taught me commitment and teamwork because attendance is crucial and  working well with others is compulsory. I have now begun rehearsing for a show in which all the profits will go to charity. Performing occupies a lot of my time but I am still able to apply myself fully to lessons and homework showing that I can give 100% in every aspect without sacrificing any effort in other areas. I gave up a substantial amount of time to aiding G.C.S.E Drama students in their final practical exams by learning how to operate the lights in the Drama Hall. This was an immense responsibility and I spent many evenings at school until 8 o’clock! I also helped in the Fashion Show, helping with the lighting and contributing towards the set by producing one of the flower sculptures that will stand in the square during the North Devon Festival. Performing and Art is a very large part of my life but I am also extremely enthusiastic in academic subjects and have recently begun to voluntarily tutor individual students in Science to hopefully help them realise confidence and work slowly through problems they may face. Earlier this year, I represented the school in The Royal Society of Chemistry competition in which we placed an impressive 5th out of 35 schools in the area. It was held at Exeter College and after being chosen as the year 10 member I became part of the first team that Park School had ever sent. I believe that I would bring a lot to the position of Head Girl. Ever since one of my first days, when we were introduced to the Head Girl, I have aimed towards it and taken every opportunity to contribute towards it. I have tried to achieve high grades, become involved with any after school clubs that interest me and volunteer for any house sports that require team members. I have come face to face with many issues, such as bullying and peer pressure and feel that I can relate to many people in the same situation. Healthy eating, uniform and recycling are three issues I would like to address if I became Head Girl and would strive to listen and reflect any views that I am presented from pupils.

Analysis of Mail on Sunday Article on Tourism Essay

Just by looking at the titles given by ‘the mail on sunday’ and the shelter advertisment, a lot can be told. â€Å"Is he keeping the tourists away.† This title from ‘the mail on sunday’ almost instantly puts negative views on the person named ‘he’. This title is very effective in the way that ‘he’ is used instead of ‘she’ or ‘they’. ‘He’ is used because men are a stronger then women and so people feel more uncomfortable when ‘he’ is used. The title is also effective in the way that it gives the basic backround of the subject. By giving a small bit of information the reader wants to read on and find out all the facts. â€Å"The five faces of homelessness.† The title from the shelter advertisment is clever in many ways. The title is cleverly linked to the pictures at the bottom of the page which are pictures of five homeless peoples faces. This advertisment aswell as the Mail on sunday article feeds potential readers a bit of information which makes them want to read on which is what a titles job is. Looking at the language produced by the two articles a lot can be told. The mail on sunday article is written in an informal manner which is effective in the way that it provides a good use of emotive words and phrases. In this article all of the emotive words are used as a weapon against the homeless people. An example of this is when the article uses words like ‘dossers’ and ‘beggars’ or more effectively ‘unwanted deterant’. The emotive words alone give vital information. Effective phrases like ‘army of scroungers’, ‘hordes of beggars’, ‘traditional begging grounds’ and ‘proffetional beggars’ give the reader the impression that the homeless beg in large proffessional groups that are organized like an army. Also expressions like ‘frightening women and older people’ illistrate that the homeless are clever and threatening. The article aso tries to give the impression that the homele ss are a desease by using phrases like ‘a new plague’ or even by using long discrptive sentances : â€Å"Littered with used condoms, broken bottles, larger cans, syringes and human excrement.† This emotive sentance is yet another example of the article suggesting that the homeless bring desease. The words ‘condoms’ and ‘syringes’ direct the reader to thinking about aids. Throughout the article emotive words are used to describe the homeless but are also used to describe towns and cities. â€Å"Regency splendour of Brighton,† â€Å"The network of medievel streets,† â€Å"Magnificent abbey,† â€Å"Historic heart of London† These quotations are full of poetic words which describe tourist attraction cities such as London or Bath. Poetic words are used so that the reader can compare the so called ‘beautiful cities with so called ‘dossers’ or ‘beggars’. This succeeds because it helps the reader to picture a beautiful city and then think of the homeless ‘trashing’ it. Throughout the article the word Britain is used more then six times. This is effective because it is patriotic towards Britain in the way that it tells the reader that it is their country at stake. The use of quotations in the mail on sunday article plays a big part in the effectiveness of the article by backing up the articles statements with facts. One example of this would be when the reporter says about the beggars targeting visitors and foreigners. Later on in the article this is backed up by a quotation from a homeless man: â€Å"The foreigners are the best catch.† In the shelter advertisment the emotive words are used in defence of the homeless. â€Å"My mother’kicked’ me out,† â€Å"My landlord ‘threw’ me out.† These quotations are examples of how emotive words are used to make the reader sympathetic towards the homeless. In this advertisment emotive words are used to tell the reader that most homeless people do not choose to be homeless. The words used in this advertisment are extreamly powerfull and are sometimes repeated because of this. â€Å"Racial harrassment,† â€Å"Sexually abused,† â€Å"physicly abused,† All of these phrases are very simular and are very powerfull. The use of quotations in the shelter advertisment is scarce but effective. In this advertisment quotations are used cleverly by putting captions next to pictures of homeless people. One example is with the picture of the face woman on the phone. â€Å"For three years i was sexually abused by my brother. My parents didn’t believe me, so i left to get away from it.† This is effective because it shows that homeless people are real and that they can not help being homeless. In an article the layout is one of the key factors of success. In the mail on sunday article the layout is outstanding and a lot can be learned from it. The most effective example of clever layout in the mail on sunday article is the big picture of the homeless man surrounded by small pictures of beautiful tourist monuments.The picture of the homeless man is clever because you can not see his face because it is covered by his hair. This is effective because not being able to see his face takes all things that are humane out of him and makes the reader see him as an animal.This is also effective because the picture of the homeless man fits the discription given by the reporter. â€Å"Crackdown on these ugly gangs, with their torn and filthy t shirts, matted hair and pitful stories.† The most clever and effective thing of all is the way that the big picture of the homeless man seems to be pushing away the small pictures of the beautiful monuments. This symbolises the point that the reporter is trieing to make which is that the homeless people are destroying Britains heritage. Another clever piece of layout is where the really important and effective information is enlarged and put in bold. The bold font draws the readers eyes towards the information which makes sure that the most important piece of information is read. â€Å"Beggars making à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½100 a day who threaten Britains visitors- and a à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½25bn industry!† The layout of the shelter advertisment aswell as the mail on sunday article is very clever and effective. Aswell as the mail on sunday article the shelter advertisment uses bold writing and enlarged font when expressing an important point: â€Å"Homes cost less than homelessness!† In this advertisment the important points are also put in a box which draws the readers eyes. As said before the editor very cleverly put faces of homeless people with captions next to them proving that most of the homeless are no different to any body else. The most effective layout in this advertisment is where anti homeless statements are written in bold and then underneath statements that counter attack the anti homeless statements: â€Å"Squatters are vandals.† â€Å"Very few squatters damage their squats†¦etc This is clever because it has an answer to attack any anti homeless statement and so the readers views on homeless people change.

Hypercompetition

Jouma! of Marketing Management, 1997, 13, 4 2 1 ^ 3 0 Evert Gummesson Stockholm University, School of Business, Stockholm, Sudden In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing Versus Hypercompetition This paper is a discussion on work in progress conceming tke development qf relationship marketing (RM). It is particularly focused on the concept of marketing equilibrium which is a marketing management correspondence to market equilibrium, the traditional concept of neoclassical economic;. The paper starts with a brief introduction to the author's approach to RJ4.It proceeds with a summary of the concept of marketing equilibrium. The next section is a discourse on hypercompetition, a partiailarly intense type of competition that has been observed by several authors. RM offers a marketing theory based on collaboration with various stakeholders through long-term relationships, customer retention and loyalty. In contrast, hypercompetitiett claims that customers uHU switch bet ween suppUers at an inaeasingly faster rate and that competitors will become increasingly hostile to one another.Two basic questions are raised: do RM and hypercompetition represent two conflicting but coexisting trends that arc both growing in intensity? and How can this coexistence or conflict be conceptually handled? Tlie aim qf this paper is not to be complete and provide an answer, only to draw the reader's attention to hypercompetition as an opposite trend to RMand to offer a platform for further analysis and constructive and reflective scholarly dialogue. The 30R Approach to R M The 30R approach to RM is the outcome of an ongoing research project on â€Å"the new markedng† (Gummesson 1994, 1995). 0R refers to thirty reladonships that were found to exist in marketing. During the research process, three core variables stood out: relatiorahips, networks and interacdon. A consequent definidon of RM then became â€Å"RM is marketing seen as reladonships, networks and inter acdon†. The 3ORs wiU not be listed here, but their basic structure wiU be given. A distinction is made between market reladonships (reladonships between actors in the market such as suppUers, customers, compedtors and intermedieiries), nd two types of non-market reladonships which exercise an influence on market reladonships, but are not part of the market propier. These are mega reladonships (reladonships in society, above the market reladonships, such as reladonships to governments) and nano reladonships (reladonships inside organizadons, such as intemal customer reladonships). Services markedng and ttie network approach to industrial marketing have provided the primary theoredcal impietus for the author to explore the shortcomings 0267-257X/97/050421 + 10 $12. 00/0  ©1997'nte Dryden Press 422Evert Gummesson of traditional marketing management theory. ^ Both theories were bom in the 1970s and have continued to giow in importance. The author's idea to merge the two goes bac k to 1982 and has since been pursued and broadened (Gummesson 1983, 1987, 1995). The term RM, however, was not used in a general sense until about 1990 (see e. g. Christopher et al. 1991; Groru-oos 1994; Gummesson 1994; Hunt and Morgan 1994; Sheth 1994). Instead, terms Uke long-term interactive relationships, interactive marketing, network approach and a new concept of marketing were used.My resejtrch approach is theory generating and based on comparative, qualitative analysis and syniiieses between data from inductive, real-world studies^ received theories and new theories in the process of development. Marketing Equilibrium This section is an introduction to the general concept of marketing equilibrium and a discussion on certain aspects of the equilibrium. Marketing equilibrium is a serendipitous outcome of the author's research on RM. The concept is further elaborated in Gummesson (1995, 19%). The three forces of marketing equilibrium are competition, collaboration and regulatio ns/institutions.Although Western economies are repeatedly referred to as market economies with free competition as their ethos, in reality they are mixed economies in which competition coexists with collaboration and regulations/ institutions. Marketing equilibrium contends that a sound market is the outcome of an optimal combination of the three forces of competition, collaboration and regulatiorw/institutions. As all kinds of equilibria in dynanuc envirorunents are unstable, it is a matter of heading toward a moving target, orJy rarely reaching it and only rarely staying there for any longer period of time.Whereas traditional marketing management literature primarily deals with competition, RM highlights collaboration. Collaboration implies that aU parties actively assume responsibility to make relationships functional. The author's conclusion is that: The focus on collaboration is the most important contribution from RM, with an impact on both marketing management and economics, and that collaboration in a market economy needs to be treated with the same attention and resped as competition. Although the third force, regulations/institutions, is not the theme of this paper, a few words will be said about it.Regulations indude both formal regulations through legislation, and informal codes of conduct through culture; institutiorts are both formal authorities whose task is to ascertain that regulations are enforced, and phenomena such as the family or religion that enforce a certain behaviour. In marketing rhetoric, regulations/institutions—and to a large extent also collaboration— are treated with suspidon and as inhibiting competition and the dynamics ^Inputs to the 30R concept also came from traditional marketing management, sales management, quality management, orgaruzation theory, and other areas. The term real world data is iised here instead of empirical data. Thereasonis that too often researchers in business subject mistake empirical for qiiantitative, while in the geiieral language of sdence empirical refers to all types of data, whrther they come as qualitative, quantitative, or in any other format. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Rdationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 423 of an economy. In narketing practice, however, they are ubiquitous. Douglass North, Nobel Prize laureate in the economic sdences in 1993, has shown that regulations/institutions are dynamic and necessary elements of a narket economy (North 1993).Marketing equiUbrium attempts to see the role of marketing management in the context of sodety and on an industry and economics level. It should not be confused with the market equiUbrium of neoclassical theory of economics (also referred to as microeconomics or simply price theory). ^ In neoclassical economics, the core variables are supply and demand balanced by the invisible hand of price in a market of free competition. The market is assumed to be striving in the direction of a longterm equiU brium in which aU prices are equal and all products are standardized. Customers and suppliers are anonymous masses.Companies and industries are not managing their production and sales, they are orUy adjusting to exogenous market influences. All deviations from this idealized model axe referred to as unwanted imperfections. Although marketing management is offen described as an adaptation of neodassical economics, it is blatantly obvious from even a simple real-world study of markets, industries and individual companies, that a different foundation for a marketing management theory is imperative. For example, services which constitute anything from 60 to 90% of today's economies (depending on definition) are not considered.The assumptions of neoclassical economics are simply not vaUd. There are signs that the interest in coUaboration is gaining ground not only in real business life but also in marketing theory; the most obvious being the upsurge of literature on RM and related subjec ts such as customer loyalty and alUances. Brandenbui^er and Nalebuff (1996) introduce the term â€Å"co-opetition†, which is a combination of co-operation and competition. They show that game theory is one possible way of exploring this combination (â€Å"the prisoners' dilemma†).Gray (1989) points to coUaboration as a solution to multi-party problem and says (p. 54): â€Å"Despite powerful incentives to collaborate, our capacity to do so is underdeveloped†. In the same spirit Senge (1990), in his treatise on learning organizations and the need for dialogue says (p. 10): â€Å"Interestingly, the practice of dialogue has been preserved in many â€Å"primitive† cultures†¦ but it has been almost completely lose to modem sodety. Today, the prindples and practices of dialogue are being redbcovered and put into a contemporary context†.EMalogue UteraUy means â€Å"tlunking together† There is ein extensive literature on competition both in mark eting and economics. Particularly the books by Porter (1979, 1985) have received the attention of marketers. No effort wiU be made here to review the various aspeds of competition; the treatment of competition will be directed to its role in the marketing equilibrium and to the properties of hypercompetition. In market economies, competition is hailed as the driver of economic evolution and a necessary condition for wealth. The customer is given a choice, and a supplier can never be sure to have the customer in its pocket.ITiis is a traditional view advocated by the business community, and to an extent also by the pubUc sector in many countries where deregiilation and privatization have become foreeful strategies. The countries of the Westem world—the capitalist sodeties—are not genuine ^See Hunt and Morgan (1995) for further analysis of the shortcomings of neoclassical theory. 424 Evert Gummesson market economies. They are mixed economies in which market forces and re gulations have entered into wedlock. In totally unregulated markets only few can obtain the necessities of life.For example, free markets give large corporations the freedom to offset competition, and those who cannot compete on the labour market are left to charity or misery. The opposite—total regulation — leads to rigidity. There is no general formula that tells us in what projx)rtions individual discretion and collective regulation should be mixed. Every market and period have to find their own specific solution. Competition is a driver of certain types of change. Even if RM puts emphasis on collaboration, I would like to see RM as a synthesis of competition, collaboration and regulations/institutions.The issue is which combination of these will create the balance—the marketing equilibrium — in each sptedfic situation. If either of the three forces becomes unduly powerful, the economy will suffer; regulations/institutions is the sole force of a planne d economy. To some extent there is a naive belief in competition to set everything right. The global wave of privatization and deregulation is a reaction in markets that have become stified. It is an effort to find a marketing equilibrium. Bureaucratic and legal values have often led to a misguided interference by politidans and an unreal belief in centralized control of sodety.Although the term deregulation implies that regulations are abandoned, it is a search for more adequate laws and institutions which can become supportive to constructive forces of sodety and hold back destructive forces: Deregulation is reregulation! Some of the more conspicuous results from deregulation are found in the split up of Bell in the US and national telecom operators in many countries have lost their monopoly; the privatization of British government bodies such as the British Rail and the Airport Authority; and the most dramatic of all, the breakdown of the communist planned economies.However, nobo dy so far has been able to overview the long-term effects of deregulation and privatization. There are necessary elements of the market economy that competifion and the free market forces do not master. They can be expressed in two paradoxes. The first paradox says: regulations are needed to secure that free competition will not be curbed. In spite of adl sweet talk about competition, every individual company or industry prefers to be spared the hazards of competitions (but they consider it essential for other comparues and industries). The second paradox says: The purpose of competition is to get rid of competition.Competition attempts to reduce the infiuence of other suppliers by lower costs and prices, differentiated and difficult-tocopy offerings, or dominance of selected market niches. Hypercompetition The ideas on a new type of competition will be assembled under the umbrella concept of hjfpercompetition. They are taken from many sources, among them D'Aveni (1994), Hamel and P rahalad (1994), Moore (1996), and Verbeke and Peelen (1996). The term hypercompetition was first found in D'Aveni and the ensuing discussion on hypercompefition is mainly based on his concepts, but the comparison with RM strategies and the conclusions are my own.In marketing management and strategy, the recommendation is usually advanced that companies should build a sustainable competitive advantage, thus limiting In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 425 price competition or even creating a monopoly-Uke situation. Hypercompefition is the opposite: a company should actively disrupt status quo and the current competitive advantages, both its own and those of competitors, in an environment of hypercompetition, advantages are rapidly created and eroded.Hypercompefition trends are identified in four arenas of traditional competition (D'Aveni 1994, pp. 13-17): /. Cos/ and quality arena For example, upstarts Uke Southwest Airlines attack estabUshe d carriers by slashing costs or enhancing quaUty, thus lowering the bottom of the market and raising the top of it. This behaviour counteracts the RM strategy of frequent flyers' programmes. 2. Timing and know-hot/' arena The first mover in the nnarket may create an advantage and sets up impediments to imitation. Followers quickly try to overcome these, fordng the first mover to change its tactics.The know-how exploited by one company is imitated by another and imitation becomes faster and faster; eventually the innovator cannot recapture its R&D investment. 3. Strongholds arena Companies create entry barriers to keep the competition out Entrants circumvent the barriers, giving rise to a series of attacks and counterattacks. This is currently happening in inten:ontinental air services between major American carriers and national European carriers. The current war for mastery over the Intemet, with Microsoff and Netscape as the combatants, is another example. 4.Deep pockets arena Thi s means having more money than the competition. The finandally stronger and usuaUy bigger companies can endure price competition from smaUer companies. The latter, however, can caU upon govemment regulations and form aUiances with others, thus balancing out the financJal advantage. In marketing equilibrium, regulations is one of the balancing forces, and alliances is a collaborative RM strategy. For example, Microsoff's financial advantage has been counteracted by the aUiance between IBM and Apple. Information technology is a driver of hypercompetition.By using databases it is possible, and wiU be more so in the future, to quickly survey prices and other conditions, and select the best combination at each point of time. Purchasing then becomes close to the system of exchanges. But even if comparisons of suppUers are made easier for customers, so many conditions are not comparable, for example, to 426 Evert Gummesson what extent can you trust the supplier. Trust and security are basi c condidons for collaboradon and trust has proven to be a driver of business in all types of sodedes (Fukuyama 1995).D'Aveni concludes that the battle for comp>eddve advantage is eventuaUy driving the market back into a price-compieddve market. The outcome is the neodassical long-term equilibrium, although the road to this equiUbrium goes via marketing equilibrium and not just via price adjustments. He refers to the old compedfive equilibrium as looking stable because it moved so slowly that it appeared stable. Hypiercomp>eddon is a coristant state of disequiUbritim. D'Aveni deploys a revised 7Ss framework to propose hypiercompeddve strategies.The original 7Ss — designed by the McKinsey consulting company—comprise seven factors for success: structure, strategy, systems, style, skills, staff, and shared values. Successful hypiercomp;eddve firms need a new set of Ss in order to create disrupdon (p. 31ff). The first new S is stakeholder satisfacdon, referring to new ways of creating satisfied customers and a modvated eind empowered work force. The second is strategic soothsajdng â€Å"a process of seeking out new knowledge necessary for predicting or even creating new temporary windows of opportunity that compiedtors wiU eventuaUy enter but are not now served by anyone else† (p. 2). The comparafive advantage of these two factors is â€Å"†¦ the abiUty to win each dynamic strategic acdon with compiedtors† (p. 32). The third and fourth Ss are spieed and surprise, both capabiUdes for disrupdon. The hypercompeddve company both reacts more quickly and is proacdve, thus taking the market with surprise. The final three are tacdcs for disrupdon. Shifting the rules includes new ways of sadsfying the customers and playing the marketing game with a new set of rules. Signals refer to announcements of strategic intent with the purpose of stalling acdons and misleading compiedtors.For example, a preannouncement of a coining product may make cus tomers wait to see the new version and postpone planned purchases of competing products. Simultaneous and sequendal strategic thrusts â€Å"†¦ are used by hypercompieddve firms to harass, paralyze, induce errors, or block compiedtors† (p. 34). Several acdons are taken at the same dme in combinadons that make it difficult to understand what a compiedtor is actuaUy up to. In summary, whereas RM strives for stabiUty through long-term reladonships, hypercompieddon strives for continuous disrupdon at an increasingly faster rate.In RM, security is found in stabiUty; in hypercompeddon it is fotind in the ability to continuously counteract instabiUty. The RM concept is by many authors broadened to comprise more than the suppUer—customer dyad,'* for example, reladonships through alUances which is a way of counteracting hyp>ercompieddon. The imaginary organizadon^ is a network-based company which transcends the tradidonal organizadonal boundaries. It can more freely acquire Jind drop resources through outsourcing (or rather: resourcing) instead of investing in tradidonal growth (intemal or through acquisidon); the advantage of the deep pocket is thus offset. †¢See Christopher et al. (1991), Kotler (1992), and Hunt and Morgan (1994), who have approached marketing as relationships with a series of stakeholders. This is in line with the 30R approach, but flie 3ORs go further and also establish relationships based on other than the stakeholder dimension. ‘See Hedberg et al. (1994). Other terms representing the same phenomenon are virtual organizations, boundarykss organizations, and rwtwork organizations. In Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercmnpetition 427D'Aveni (1994) discusses the role of co-operation and collusion and says that they should only be used for hypercompetitive purposes. They are not long-term relationships, they are merely temporary strategies. He lists a number of generic instances of hypercompet itive use of collaboration (pp. 338-339): to gang up against others groups; to limit the domain of competition; to biuld resojirces; to buy time; to gain access; and to leam. Hunt and Morgan (1995) suggest a comparative advantage theory of competition within a marketing management paradigm, and they present a devastating critique of neoclassical economics.D'Aveni's conclusions are contrary to Hunt and Morgan's; he rewrites neoclassical theory, using marketing management theory as a lever. Interpreted in my terms, we depart from the original and simple form of neoclassical market equilibrium, go through a phase of marketing equilibrium, and arrive at a more sophisticated level of market equilibrium. Hjrpercompietition goes beyond the neoclassical theory of perfect connpetition and restores it on a new level. Through a series of disruptive moves, where competitive advantage is surpassed, an escalation toward perfect competition develops.This means that we are back in transaction marke ting, the very evil to which RM is held to be the antidote. Conclusions for Discussion This paper has dealt with certain aspects of marketing equilibrium, one of several RM issues that preoccupy the author's nund during the ongoing research joumey into the world of RM. ‘The paper is limited to the two trends of collaboration, advanced by the RM concept, and hypercompetition, advanced by authors on strategy and competition. A paradox is seemingly a contradiction; it is not in actual fact a contradiction. An oxymoron is a combination of two phenomena that cannot be combined.So the first question in the beginning of the paper could be rephrased: are RM and hypercompetition forming a paradox or an oxymoron? When I read up on the current literatxire on competition, I found that the â€Å"new† competition was described as more fierce and faster than ever before. It had affinity with marketing warfare which was in vogue in the 19S0s. It certainly seemed contradictory to the RM idea of long-term relationships and collaboration. In my present state of ignorance the answer is: within the concept of the marketing equilibrium, both competition and collaboration coexist. They can do so and will do so.Our attention has to be directed to both of them. When competition becomes hypercompetition, collaboration may become hypercollaboration. Could it be that hypercompetition is the current driver of the upsuiging interest in RM and that RM tries to neutralize the effects of hypercompetition? To be Continued As this is work in progress, the issues that have been presented are not complete and the views are tentative and wiil be further studied. Among other issues concerning marketing equilibrium that are also being studied are the following: Tlie marketing equilibrium which has so far been described could be seen as 28 Evert Gumntesson partial marketing equiUbrium. The RM researdi project is suggesting an extention into complete marketing equilibrium. It consists of a synthesis of RM and the theory of imaginary organizations where not only the market but also the organizations (suppUers, customers, competitors and others) and sodety are included in a network of interactive relationships (Hedberg et al. 1994; Gummesson 1996). In traditional marketing management and economics, the market is outside the company and n «rketing activities are directed toward extemal customers.But there are also markets inside the company and marketing activities take place between intemal customers. This is laid bare in the treatment of the nano relationships of the 30R approach. Both intemal and extemal customers interact in networks of relationships. The boundaries between the â€Å"inside† and the â€Å"outside† have dissolved and both can be seen as parts of the same networks. Another area is the black economy with tax evasion, bribery, fraud, and organized crime as additional and disrupting forces of competition. One of the relationships in the 30R approach is named The Criminal Network.For example, Blumberg (1989) has pointed out that the strength of the market economy — competition and the profit incentive—encourages fraud. It pays to cheat! He calls this the paradox of the market economy. Everybody is familiar with it from jobs and private consumption, but it is swept under the carpet in marketing theory and textbooks. The Literature prefers the idealized image: competition as the driver to create customer satisfaction and customer perceived quality; to give customers everything they want and are willing to pay for; and to offer numerous options for consumers.Customers are asked about satisfaction and quality, but their knowledge is limited and the ignorance of the customer is exploited. Neither market economies through competition, nor command economies through regulations, have proven themselves capable of handling environmental and ecological issues. What has been achieved is primarily the outcome of vo luntary pressure group activity and law enforcement. Competitive forces have clearly not provided enough incentive for the market to innovate and reinnovate in the field.One of the relationship in the 30R approach is The Green Relationships, adding a relationship angle to environmental issues. Probably most of the achievements for a long time will only come through legislation (regulations), tight control and litigation (institutions). Can the marketing equilibrium conceptually include environmental and ecological issues? After the Paper Presentation: An Addendum In the discussion following its presentation, the paper was criticized on two points in peirticular: (1) The choice of the term â€Å"marketing equiUbrium†.The critics said — and some were dearly provoked by the term — that it gives the wrong connotation and that the term is so heavily committed to neoclassical economic theory that people will not be able to see my point. Suggested substitutes were â₠¬Å"dynamic balance† or â€Å"optimal combination†. EquiUbrium, it was claimed, conveys the idea that such a state exists and it is just a matter of time {long-term, though) before it is reached. In defence of the term {but I intend to give it more thought) I would like to claim that equilibrium can be perceived as dynamic and unattainable, but still have a value n Search of Marketing Equilibrium: Relationship Marketing vs Hypercompetition 429 in providing direction, although the journey is a never-ending journey. Perhaps the provocation as such is o( value. When a new thought or term is met with aggressions from several established scholars it may have hit a sore spot; it may even be important. The original intention was to show that equilibrium from the idealized and imrealistic assumptions of neoclassical theory could be supplemented by a marketing management-oriented equilibrium based on real-world premises.Neoclassical economics currently seems to be no more than a computer game for adult entertainment and career boosting under the disguise of â€Å"sdence†. To me, the contrast between â€Å"market† and â€Å"marketing†, designating an economics versus a management approach but still indicating affinity, makes the term expressive. Whatever term I choose, however, I am confident that economists and â€Å"me-too† researchers wiU not be impressed. 2. â€Å"Hyper† was claimed by Americans to mean â€Å"too much†, for example a hyperactive child is active to a degree that implies mental and/or physical disorder.The British perceived it as â€Å"very much†, for example a hypermarket which is a bigger European version of a supermarket. Maybe this is evidence of the validity of Oscar Wilde's statement that â€Å"England and America are two countries separated by a common language†. On the other hand, maybe â€Å"too much† is also a correct interpretation. For many of us, hypercompetition i s probably too much. Personally, it makes me nervous. References Blumberg, P. (1989), The Predatory Society, New York, Oxford University Press. Brandenburger, A.M. and Nalebuff, B. J. (1996), Co-opetition, Boston, MA, Harvard Business School Press. Christopher, M. , Payne, A. and Ballant)Tie, D. (1991), Relationship Marketing, London, Heinemarm. D'Aveni, R,A. (1994), Hypercompetition, New York, The Free Press. Fukuyama, F. (1995), Trust, New York, The Free Press. Gray, B. (1989), Collaborating, San Francisco, CA, Jossey-Bass. Gronroos, C. (1994), â€Å"Quo vadis, marketing? Towards a relationship marketing paradigm†, Joumal of Marketing Martagement, 10, No. 4 Gummesson, E. 1983), â€Å"A New Concept of Marketing†, paper presented at the 1983 EMAC Annual Conference, Institut d'Etudes Commerdales de Grenoble, France, April. Gummesson, E. (1987), â€Å"The New Marketing: Developing Long-term Interactive Relationships†, Long Range Planning, 20, No. 4, pp. 10-20. Gum messon, E, (1994), â€Å"Making Relationship Marketing Operational†. The International Joumal of Service Industry Management, 5, No. 5, pp. 5-20. Gummesson, E. (1995), Relationsmarknadsforing: Frdn 4P till 30R (Relationship Marketing: From 4Ps to 3ORs), Malmo, Sweden: Liber-Hermods (forthcoming in English).Gummesson, E. (1996), â€Å"Relationship Marketing and Imaginary Organizations: A Synthesis†, European Joumal of Marketing, 30, No. 2, pp. 31-44. Hamel, G. and Prahalad, C. K. (1994), Competing for the Future, Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994, 430 Epert Gummesson Hedberg, B. , Dahlgren, G. , Hansson, J. and Olve, N. -G. (1994), Imagindra organisationer (Imaginary Organizations), Malmfi, Sweden: Liber-Hermods. Hunt, S. D. and Morgan, R. M. (1994), â€Å"Relationship Marketing in the Era of Network Competition†. Marketing Management, 3, No. 1, pp. 9-28. Hunt, S. D. and Morgan, R. M. (1995), â€Å"The Comparative Advantage Theory of Competitionâ⠂¬ , Joumal qf Marketing, 59, April, pp. 1-15. Kotter, P (1992), ‘Total Marketing†, Business Week Advance, Executive Brief, Vol. 2. Moore, J. E (1996), The Death of Competition, Chichester, UK, Wiley. North, D. C. (1993), â€Å"Economic Performance Through Time†. Stockholm, The Nobel Foundation, Prize Lecture in Economic Science in Memory qf Alfred Nobel, Stockholm, December 9. Porter, M. E. (1980), Competitive Strategy, New York, The Free Press. Porter, M. E. 1985), Competitive Advantage, New York, The Free Press. Senge, P. M. (1990), The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Sheth, J. N. (1994), â€Å"The Donnain of Relationship Marketing†. Handout at the Sectmd Research Conference on Relationship Marketing. Centre for Relationship Marketing, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, June. Verbeke, W. and Peelen, E. (1996), â€Å"Redefining the New SeUing Practices in an Era of Hyper Competition†. Paper presented at the workshop Relationship Market ing in an Era qf Hypercompetition, Erasmus University and EIASM, Rotterdam, May.

Mountain Man Brewing Company Case Study Essay

What is the current situation? Mountain Man Brewing Company (MMBC) is a family business founded in West Virginia in 1925 by Guntar Prangel. The company is now operated by Guntar’s grandson, Oscar. Oscar’s son, Chris, is slated to inherit the business in five years when his father retires. Mountain Man (MM) Lager is the flagship product and the only beer currently produced by the company. The recipe for the lager was based on a refined family recipe and is known for its flavorful, bitter taste. By the 1960s, the lager had established itself as a legacy beer with a rich history, and the company continues to maintain its independent, family-owned status which appeals to its core drinkers. By 2005, the popularity of MM Lager in the East Central region of the U.S. had grown to generate revenues of just over $50 million, and the beer held the top market position among lagers in West Virginia. MM Lager won â€Å"Best Beer in West Virginia† in 2005 for the eighth year in a row. What has made MMBC successful & distinguishes it? MMBC has enjoyed success because of several factors. Although it is a regional brewer, it has superb name recognition. A recent study showed that Mountain Man Lager was considered by many to be West Virginia’s best known beer. In addition, it has very strong brand position with consumers favoring MM Lager’s unique taste and quality ingredients from the family recipe. Finally, MMBC has a trained sales force that is very adept and getting its product into the right channels to compete with national breweries. The legacy of the company is its main distinguishing trait from its competitors. As mentioned before, the very strong brand equity has made MMBC stand out as a brewery that has experienced customer loyalty for successive generations. Holding the title of â€Å"West Virginia’s Beer† allows MM Lager to have an ingrained exposure to consumers in the region and act as a natural default for its blue collar patrons. What enabled MMBC to create such a strong brand? To quote the Mission Statement, â€Å"Mountain Man is still standing because we manufacture an exceptional beer with a great brand name, we’ve never lost sight of our core customer, and we’ve never been seduced by the other guy’s market.† MMBC stands for such unique qualities that have been the boilerplate for developing an enriched brand with strong equity. For almost 50 years it held the top market share for lagers of West Virginia in the majority of the states where it was distributed distinguishing them in prime position among competitors. Research of working-class males determined that MMBC was as recognizable as leading manufacturers Chevrolet and John Deere in the East Central region. Besides successful branding efforts in a large  market, MM Lager was priced with an extremely competitive Every Day Value below specialty brands, but above premium domestic brands. This allowed for an aura of authenticity distinguishing it as higher quality than Mill er and Budweiser, for instance, all while gaining incremental revenues from the craft brewers like Sam Adams. MMBC could generate increased turns at registers without having the deep pockets of their competitors. What has caused MMBC’s decline in spite of its strong brand? Analysis of MMBC’s business model requires the backdrop of the U.S. beer industry. Since 2001, U.S. per capita beer consumption has declined by 2.3% due to increasing competition from wine and spirits-based drinks. MMBC’s revenues are down 2% relative to the prior fiscal year. The current state of the company and market conditions suggests that a single product line may be unsustainable. As of 2005, MMBC was the only major regional beer company to not expand beyond its flagship lager product. A segment of the population was still interested in MMBC, but that segment, while loyal, was aging. The rate at which MMBC was building new consumers was only going to replace a fraction of their current buyers. Distributors were discriminating about which smaller brands they would carry, and the percentage of new consumers by age group was continuing to decrease. There have also been numerous uncontrollable circumstances that have been attributed to MMBC’s decline despite their strong brand. Increased taxes and fees to manufacturers have been clearly evident in the rising retail costs of goods in the marketplace. Companies cannot afford to absorb the added expenditures and therefore pass them on to the consumer whom tends to buy less as prices increase; these increases are hitting their pockets on the home front as well. In addition, the average consumer is becoming much more health conscious and has made changes in their preference of alcoholic beverage segment. Beer is very high in calories; for instance, as compared to wine or spirits and decreasing caloric intake has been one of those fairly recent health conscious changes being made. Beer lovers are sticking with their choice of libation; however, substituting a light version of their favorite brand. With these factors on the rise every day and the core demographic of MM Lager reaching an age bracket were considerably less  portions of income are dedicated to alcohol purchases, the brewery has slowly lost market share to the larger domestic brewers that have been fortunate enough to capital to invest on increased advertising and marketing. Should MMBC introduce a light beer? With sales declining and seeking new areas of business growth, Chris Prangel, a recent MBA graduate, is considering a campaign to launch MM Light. Light beer sales in the U.S. have been growing at a compound annual rate of 4%, while traditional premium beer sales, such as MM Lager, have declined by the same percentage. The core age group for light beer drinkers is 25- 44 which extends below the current core age group of MM Lager (men over the age of 45). Currently, MM Lager has a 4-to-1 male-to-female ratio while the light beer category ratio is roughly 3-to-2. Using current rates of decline with profit margin down 6.2% in 2005, 2010 sales of MM Lager will continue to decrease at the current rate of decline. Given the current state of the beer industry, it is reasonable to project that the rate of sales decline will continue to accelerate in the future. In 2005, MMBC was still profitable and could afford to take on the costs of extending its product line; however, each year that the company waited to do so jeopardized its ability to afford new costs. At first glance, there appears to be an obvious opportunity to expand the brand by introducing a light beer to the market. The concern is that a light brew would alienate the core customer base and erode the attributes that make MM a profitable company. MM Light will add additional capital expenditures for plant and equipment upgrades and could potentially hurt sales of the lager as brand loyalty may become threatened. To arrive at a well-informed decision  supported by strong financial calculations, it is first necessary to perform a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis (Exhibit 1). While weaknesses and threats identified are serious, they are few in number when compared to the many strengths and opportunities of expanding the MMBC product line. Because 9.4% of the region’s light beer production was captured by small brewers, there are successes to be had in producing a light beer. In addition, light beer is responsible for more than 50% of all beer sales in MMBC’s East Central region. Even a small percentage of the biggest market had the potential to be valuable for MMBC. Is MM Light financially feasible for MMBC? MMBC must produce a light beer product in order to remain a competitive player in the beer industry. This decision is based on financial projections of sustained profitability. Both industry and company data were initially provided to set the groundwork for these calculations (Exhibit 2). MMBC revenues for 2005 were estimated at $50 million; however, that revenue base was projected to decrease by 2% annually. Additionally, the number of barrels of MM Lager sold in 2005 was approximately 520,000. Regional light beer sales totaled just over 18.7M barrels that year and were estimated to grow at an annual rate of 4% as judged by industry experts. As judged by Chris Prangel, the initial market share for MM Light in 2006 is estimated to be 0.25%. Following Chris’ prognostication, we also assumed an annual growth rate of 0.25% in MM Light revenue for follow-on years. Lastly, we were provided with variable cost per unit data: $66.93 for MM Lager and $71.62 for MM Light. This foundatio nal set of data allowed for a series of critical assumptions to be logically made (Exhibit 2). Break-Even Point (BEP) Analysis In an attempt to demonstrate the viability of extending MMBC’s product line to include a light beer, breakeven point (BEP) analysis was conducted. These calculations were performed for both MM Lager and MM Light as both products will comprise MMBC’s total revenue in years to come (Exhibit 3). It is important to note that MMBC’s fixed costs were partially comprised of aforementioned financial assumptions. SG&A costs for each product line were given, however we chose to allocate an additional $50K in fixed costs for MM  Light to help with label design. Advertising remained consistent with 2005 data for MM Lager, but an additional $750K was added for MM Light as part of an intensive six month marketing campaign. This incurred cost is significant in introducing a new product to the burgeoning light beer market in the east central region. Completing the BEP calculations, we have determined that 66,982 barrels of MM Light and 364,738 barrels of MM Lager must be produced in order for MMBC to break even (Exhibit 3). At a cost of $97/barrel, this is possible for MMBC to achieve by 2008. The following cannibalization analysis provides added detail to support this assertion. MM Lager Cannibalization An increase in MM Light production will require shelf space that had previously be devoted to the MM Lager product. This will directly impact the sales of MM Lager to some degree. Analysis of cannibalization is necessary in order to show sustained profitability despite an anticipated drop in MM Lager sales. Three estimates (Optimistic, Realistic, and Extreme) were chosen for this analysis, each associated with a percentage (5%, 10%, and 20%, respectively) of MM Lager revenue cannibalization (Exhibit 4). In all three cases, as the revenue from MM Lager decreases each year, that loss is offset by the revenue gained from MM Light. Of particular interest is a comparison of Total Revenue (with MM Light) and Total Revenue (without MM Light). Although higher levels of cannibalization negatively affect MMBC’s total revenue each year, the growing revenue of MM Light will continue from 2007-2010 as MMBC earns a larger share of the light beer market. In a worst case scenario of 20% cannibalization of MM Lager, MMBC’s total revenue with  MM Light is projected to overtake its revenue without MM Light by 2009 (Exhibit 4). It is important to consider, however, that extending the product line does not necessary equate to MM Lager cannibalization. Shipping light beer as a standalone product offers MMBC freedom to market to a totally new segment without alienating their existing drinkers. MM Light should not erode sales of their core Lager product as MMBC’s sales were already declining due to erosion by other brewers light beers. Also a brewer with a broad product offering was seen as a more attractive prospect to consumers. According to consumers, additional products not only introduced new drinkers to the brand, but to the brand’s other product lines. If MMBC did not branch out, they are in jeopardy of being dropped from sales channels in their home territory. Additionally, the same amount of effort that supported their single product could be going to support multiple products from a different brewery because MM Light would not require capital expenditures in plant and equipment in the short term due to existing excess capacity in MMBC’s facility Product line extensions help brewers obtain greater shelf space for products and created greater product focus among distributors and retailers. MM Light Marketing Strategies The issue of marketing and advertising the new MM Light product was analyzed using industry data from 2005 along with an aggressive marketing plan for the first six months of production. We examined marketing strategies for introducing MM Light to not only MMBC’s current customers, but also to the growing population of light beer consumers. Basing our calculations off of industry advertising expenditure data from 2005, we segmented our $750K advertising budget for the first six months of 2006 as shown in Exhibit 5. This strategy, based on prior successes throughout the U.S. beer industry, will help gain consumer confidence in our new product primarily through the medium of television. After the first six months of 2006, a refined analysis of marketing alternatives will be necessary in order to judge MMBC’s next steps. Producing a light beer also presents an opportunity for MMBC capture part of the 19.5 million barrels forecasted to sell in 2006. The introduction of light beer will cause a 7% increase in per barrel cost but  given current trends the company needs to change the status quo or risk succumbing to the fate of many other regional brewers (Exhibit 2). MMBC has the chance to tap into a large sales opportunity. Since light beer sales in  U.S. have been growing at a compound annual rate of 4% whereas traditional premium beer sales had declined annually by 4%. Also, younger beer drinkers view MMBC as strong and a â€Å"working man’s beer†. This represents younger people‘s general dislike of â€Å"big business†. It would be effective to entice younger beer drinkers to emotionally and intellectually support the product whil e catering to their general taste for light beer. MMBC has also strategically positioned itself from a marketing perspective as a preferred alternative to large breweries due to its brand and business model. For example, MMBC does not attempt to compete against large breweries directly in its advertising with MM Lager. Instead, they pursue their own style of marketing, chiefly with a trained sales force. What is required is a strategy founded on the principle that MM Light should have a new product name and logo to differentiate it from MM Lager. For example, a bold new label with a subtle, â€Å"by Mountain Man Beer Company† would help further this cause. MM Light should also be marketed as a reducedcalorie beer brought to consumers by the legendary craftsman of MMBC. MM Light needs to set itself apart from the light beer crowd with quality ingredients and complement the bitterness of MM Lager by delivering a rich distinct flavor of its own. The introduction of light beer to MMBC product portfolio represents a classic adapt-or-die scenario. Fortunately for MMBC, its strong brand equity makes it possible to leverage the brand to expand to new products. MMBC must be  aggressive in developing a light beer to take advantage of its brand power, the economic conditions, and its current ability to afford the costs associated with a start-up product. It is imperative that MMBC market its extended product line to customers with the goal of taking advantage of its attention to quality and its niche hold in regional beer brewing.