MARKETING FUNDAMENDALS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

MARKETING FUNDAMENDALS - Essay Example Here we will conduct a customer analysis of the markets of Sainsbury's which is the most established supermarket brand in UK. 1 The macro environment of any organization mainly consists of four factors: Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological factors. In order to analyze the macro-environment PEST Analysis is used. In order to understand the influence of factors in the macro-environment upon the consumer behavior of Sainsbury, we will have to undertake the PEST Analysis of Sainsbury. The market of Sainsbury's is mainly the economy and premium customers of UK. In order to understand the affect of macro factors on Sainsbury we will have to study the macro factors of UK. We will proceed as follows: The political environment in UK is one of the most stable in the whole world. There is a Kingdome rule in it for centuries which lead to a well balanced achievement of successful government rules in the country. In order to control the trading system in the country the government has made many regulatory authorities. These authorities ensure the healthy, well-balanced priced, environmental friendly etc aspects of the various business industries in the country. e.g. in January 2007, the government put a lot of pressure on the supermarket and retail industry to cut short the packaging materials as they were adding to the household waste in country. This step was taken in response to the mounted anger among customers who were facing environmental hazards due to a lot of wasted packaging materials. The Independent moved an anti-waste campaign to reduce customers' worries about packaging waste handling and the government fully supported it. The Office of Fair Trading, Food Standards Agency, and Trading Standards Central Agency etc are various regulatory bodies established by the government in order to provide the consumers a safe and well-aware purchasing environment. Such regulatory authorities not only control the various aspects of product/ service qualities of industries but also offer education to the consumers for making informed-buying. There exists a Supermarket Code of Conduct in the country which deals with the relationships of supermarkets and their dealers. It safeguards the interest of the dealers. Economic factors: The economic condition of the country and the pricing strategies of competitors can have a direct impact upon the sales and costs of the Sainsbury's business. The economic condition of UK is very stable and it has been ranked as the 7th most stable and prosperous country in the whole world in a most recent one year analysis of 235 countries. It has even superseded the United States of America which is placed at 22nd position. It shows a growth and stability in the household disposable income of the customers in the coming five years which directly impacts the sales growth. The economical strength of UK depicts the strong purchasing power of the customers indirectly. The customers have a study level of earning and income and therefore can purchase premium products of good quality from any good supermarket in the country. The recent increase in terrorist attacks in the country has posed a greater risk to the sustainability

The True Meaning of Halloween Essay -- History of Halloween

The True Meaning of Halloween Halloween is a holiday which has been around for a lot longer than many may think. Even the traditions which seem so modern and economically rooted are almost as old as the tradition of Halloween itself. There is a lot of confusion as to when the tradition of Halloween began. Many think that Halloween began with the Celts. The Celts celebrated Samhain which was a holiday that symbolized the end of the time of the light and the beginning of the time of the dark. During the time of the dark it was said that the wall between the spirit world and that of the living was weakened and spirits were able to obtain access to the living more easily. Hence this could be one of the reasons children today think of Halloween as a scary holiday, they unknowingly are going along with ancient traditions. Along with the tradition of Samhain other traditions fused into that one to form the Holiday we know today. According to one website their research shows that, â€Å"After the Romans conquered the Celtic world, they merged Samhain with their own festivals, a harvest fest called Poloma, and a celebration for the dead called Feralia.†(A Traditional Halloween) Though the celebration itself has been explained, the acts in which children celebrate it have not. â€Å"Some believe that Druids, who threatened dire consequences to residence who didn’t respond generously to their demands for free goods or money.†(A Traditional Halloween) Yet another clue where the tradition of trick or treating may come from is that author Joan Lee Faust has pointed out that â€Å"The Roman harvest festival honoring Pomona, the goddess of fruits, was held about the same time of year. Historians suggest this festival also infl... ...ty rules and try to be as careful as possible Halloween can stay an enjoyable holiday for all. So centuries later after the Celts and Romans and early Christians the tradition of Halloween still lives on. Though one is unsure who to specifically thank for this exciting day, everyone at one point in their life or another has celebrated this holiday and really has enjoyed the day with family and friends. Sources Cited Faust, Joan Lee â€Å"Around the Garden† New York Times 31 Oct. 1965 Mealia, Bernie personal interview 8 Dec. 2003 Sanders, Dan â€Å"Halloween Traditions Change from Childhood to Adulthood† The Keystone 8 Dec. 2003 http://www.keystoneonline.com/story.asp?Art_id=779 â€Å"A Traditional Halloween† www.a-traditional-halloween.com 8 Dec. 2003 Wilson, Jerry â€Å"History and Customs of Halloween† http://wilstar.net/holidays/halloween.htm 8 Dec. 2003

Don Quixote

Joseph Andrews is Fielding's first novel. It is a classical example of a literary work which started as a parody and ended as an excellent work of art in its own right. The work Fielding intended to parody was Richardson's first novel Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded which had taken England by storm in the years following 1740 when it was first published. In his novel Fielding intended in the beginning to show how Lady Booby (aunt of â€Å"Lord B. † in Richardson's novel) attempts the virginity of Joseph Andrews, described as the virtuous Pamela's brother but in the end discovered to be different. The whole intention was comic. But after Chapter IX Joseph Andrews seems to break away completely from the original intention. Parson Adams, who has no counterpart in Pamela, runs away with the novel. He â€Å"is one of the most living, lovable, comical bundles of wisdom and simplicity in all literature. † In the words of Edmund Gosse, â€Å"Parson Abraham Adams, alone, would be a contribution to English letters. † He indeed is the hero of the novel, and not Joseph Andrews. Fielding was aware of giving a new literary form with Joseph Andrews which he called â€Å"a comic epic in prose. † Fielding is a great master of the art of characterization also. Fielding's broad human sympathy coupled with his keen observation of even the faintest element of hypocrisy in a person is his basic asset as a master of characterization. He laughs and makes us laugh at many of his characters, but he is never cynical or misanthropic. He is a pleasant satirist, sans malice, sans harshness. He gives no evidence of being angry at the foibles of his characters or of holding a lash in readiness. His comic creations resemble those of Chaucer and Shakespeare. Parson Trulliber and Falstaff, if they were to meet, would have immediately recognized each other! Fielding is one of the greatest humorists in English literature. The same comic spirit which permeates his plays is also evident in his novels. As he informs us, the author upon whom he modeled himself was Cervantes; it is not surprising, therefore, that comedy should be his method. Fielding's humor is wide in range. It rises from the coarsest farce to the astonishing heights of the subtlest irony. On one side is his zestful description of various fights and, on the other, the grim irony of Jonathan Wild. Higher! than both is that ineffable, pleasant, and ironic humor that may be found everywhere in Tom Jones but is at its best in Joseph Andrews where it plays like summer lightning around the figure of Parson Adams-an English cousin of Don Quixote. Fielding's very definition of the novel as â€Å"a comic epic in prose† is indicative of the place of humor and comedy in his novels and, later, those of many of his followers. It may be pointed out here that Richardson had no sense of humor; he was an unsmiling moralist and sentimentalist. Comparing the two, Coleridge says: â€Å"There is a cheerful, sunshiny, breezy spirit that prevails everywhere strongly contrasted with the close, hot, tfay-dreamy continuity of Richardson. † Fielding's humor is sometimes of the satiric kind, but he is never harsh or excessively cynical.

Effective Leadership Style on Groupthink Essay example

Introduction A leader is the key element that affects the overall group’s success by inspiring members to collaborate to achieve a common goal. The approach that the leader takes to lead a group (i.e., leadership style) plays a significant role in group decision-making process and decision quality. Effective leadership encourages members’ participation in decision-making process, and promotes cooperation and motivation among group members. On the other hand, ineffective leadership, which lacks impartiality, can be a great risk factor for groupthink; a phenomenon refers to poor decision process and decision quality (Chapman, 2006). Groupthink is undesirable for groups because it is detrimental to group development. In order to demonstrate†¦show more content†¦Effective decision-making process is possible only when an impartial leader leads the group and encourages participation, collaboration and collective decision-making. Leadership Style: Authoritarian vs. Participative Leadership According to the leadership theory by Kurt Lewin (1939), there are different leadership styles that affect group dynamics such as decision-making, effectiveness of group work, communication, collaboration, and etc. The two of leadership styles, authoritarian and participative, are highly related to the concept of groupthink. Groups with autocratic leaders who promote their preferred solutions are more likely to fall into groupthink than groups with non-promotional leaders (i.e. democratic and impartial) (Ahlfinger Esser, 2001). In other words, groups led by controlling leaders who fail to encourage participation of group members in decision-making process would produce symptoms of groupthink and poor quality of decisions. On the other hand, groups with democratic leaders who make decisions by consulting with the group members while still maintaining control of the group are guarded against groupthink (Kearney Gebert, 2009 ). 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