Marketing Influences Essay

Introduction Generally marketing deals with buying and selling a products or services. And consumer behavior is a branch of marketing deals with the process that the consumer purchase or do not purchase the products and services (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). For the retailers and all other businesses consumer behavior is analyzed for identifying key successful marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is the combination of product, price, promotion, channel of distribution and market segmentation (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). There are various factors that affect the consumer behavior for buying a product or services. And for making good strategic marketing decisions any firms or organizations need to understand those factors like cultural, individual, organizational etc (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Analyzing consumer behavior become very important for this competitive world. For gaining competitive advantage it’s important to give more value to the customer than the competitors (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). According to Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins (2006), customer value means the differences between the benefit they get from the products and the cost that they spend for acquiring those products. Quester, Pettigrew and Hawkins (2006) emphasize that giving best customer value mainly requires the firms to react immediate to consumer needs more quickly than rivals. This essay is based on a case study with three questions. And these three questions will be discussed simultaneously. First question is based on describing the situational influences that would affect the customer decisions for buying a products and services. Second question is based on the case that Kate wants to purchase a gift for her boyfriend’s birthday and identify the three situational influences that affect the Kate’s purchasing decisions. And the third question is describing the key marketing strategy by which a marketer might be able to utilize the situation to a market specific type of products or brands. Question 1: Answer As states before that this question is based on describing the situational influences that affects the customer decisions for purchasing products. Any  organizations or companies have to understand that which situations is affecting the customer buying decision of their products or services and how the marketers could serve the best when those situations arise (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Marketers activities should be designed in the context of the situation the consumer faces which influence the customers for purchasing the product when MKT510: Consumer Behavior M. M. Tamim 2 ID: 11511633 they face such situation (Foxal & Yani-de-Soriano, 2005). A consumer’s choices are affected by various personal influences such as mood and if there is limitation of time for purchase etc. Now-a-days people are using electronic source for the initial information for purchasing the products (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). Relating to consumer behavior a number of attempts have been made to classify the situations and the classification has been made by Russel Belk (Belk, 1975). According to Belk there are five types of situation that influence customers’ decisions. They are physical surroundings, social surroundings, temporal perspective, task definition and antecedent states (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Physical surroundings include the location of the store, interior decoration, smell, sound system, lighting, visible surroundings of the materials to the stimulus object (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Those surroundings can significantly influence consumption of the customer and can convince to coming the store repeatedly. (Solomon, Dann, & RusselBennett, 2007). Social environment also affects customer motives for purchasing products or usage of products. In a consumer environment if there are large number of people present then it could increase arousal levels. For example, in a store if there are huge number of people present then automatically arouses another consumer for buying products from that store (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). Temporal factors is the time constraints for a customer. Sometimes consumer could situation for buying with limitation of time that also affects the consumer buying decision. Relative to past or future event for the situation time may also be measured (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Task definition includes the intention regarding purchase the products or requirements to  select the store or products. For example, consumer behaves differently when they buy products for gift compared to purchasing for themselves (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). For evaluating the purchase of products customer mood or physiological conditions at the time of purchase may have huge influence for making decisions (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). Among those five influences let’s elaborate on two situational influences. They are temporal factors and task definition. Temporal factors are situational influences which deal with time that available for purchase. The availability of time for purchasing the product has a big impact to the customers (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). In that context, the information search will be short if the time is limited and the use of short information will be made some suboptimal purchase (Sim & Goh, 1998). As a situational influence time has a bug impact to the customer buying decision. MKT510: Consumer Behavior M. M. Tamim 3 ID: 11511633 For example, the consumers are less like to visit any departmental store if they have limited time but if they are not time pressured they would like to visit more (Kenhove & Wulf, 2000). The number of product alternatives would be smaller for the time constraints. For this the brand loyalty might be increased for many customers. (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Some corners store and convenience store are the successful considering this time factors as a situational influences. Task definition means the reason for purchasing a product or influences the buying decision. The reason may vary to different buyers and user roles performed by the individual (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). For example, gift giving is general reason but gift giving in occasion is specific reason that influence the behavior of the purchasing a product (Ruth, Otnes, & Brunel, 1999). Generally people increase their purchase in specific occasions. Best marketers understand these patterns of situations in which people more tend to buy (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). For example, in promotional activities bookstores invest heavily for the lead up to Christmas because many people are tend to buy books as Christmas present and to stock for reading them during summer holidays (Solomon, Dann, & RusselBennett, 2007). Question 2: Answer Kate is struggling to make a decision and wants to buy her boyfriend a smart phone to his birthday and she was running out of time. The three situational influences that affect Kate’s purchasing decision are task definition, temporal factors and social surroundings. Task definition as told before is the reasons that influence the customer to buy a product or services (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). And the reason could be general and specific like gift giving in a occasion in which also influence the buying patterns (Ruth, Otnes, & Brunel, 1999). In this case the task is specific which the birthday of Kate’s boyfriend. However people feel their needs of products or services for reason whether it’s general or specific. In this case, Kate feel need for buying a product for giving gift to her boyfriend in his birthday. So according to Ruth, Otnes and Brunel (1999), the task was specific for Kate for purchasing the smart phone. Temporal factors as situational influences include the availability of time for purchasing any product (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Here Kate had very limited time for making decision though the birthday of her boyfriend was very near. She had two options that MKT510: Consumer Behavior M. M. Tamim 4 ID: 11511633 whether to buy iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy SIII. As given before that less time gives less information for making decision (Belk, 1975). So Kate had to make a decision so she couldn’t consider the information very well and she had to choose smart phone randomly from the given two options. Last situational influences that affect the Kate’s decision is social surroundings which means the presence of other people who could have an influence on the individuals consumer’s behavior (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Considering behavior social influence is very significant since the individuals behavior is visible and they tend integrate with group expectations (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). In this case Kate has limited time for making decision that she had two options that iPhone 5 which is recommended by her boyfriends’ childhood friend who knew John’s personality very well as well his character and another option  is Samsung Galaxy SIII which is recommended by the salesmen who is expert in smart phone. Shopping and consuming goods in public is highly visible activity which has several social influences others (Shim & Eastlick, 1998). Though the buying patterns of Kate was not so highly visible activity like shopping and consuming goods in public rather it was individual buying decision. Though Kate had limited time to decide whether what to buy then she asked for recommendation in two people one was sales person and another was friend of John which they have influences for buying smart phone. Question 3: Answer In modern competition marketers need to give more value to the customer compare to the competitors (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Customer value is the difference between the advantage they get and the costs they spend for getting that advantage. So considering the situation marketers need to serve best to the consumer for purchasing product (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). Marketing Strategy is the combination of product, price, distribution and promotion which emphasize a particular group of customers (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). So using these key marketing strategies a marketer can utilize the situation to market a specific brand and product type by understanding consumer behavior. Lets describe the three key marketing strategies that how a marketer might be able to utilize situation for a specific type of product. Product type and quality is very important for the marketer. However, thousands of new products are introduced in the marketplace annually. So marketer need to satisfied customer MKT510: Consumer Behavior M. M. Tamim 5 ID: 11511633 by their products for successful business (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Also marketer needs to analyze and understand the needs and requirements of potential customer by which marketer can give the required product in such situation to the potential customer (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Price is another important marketing strategy and marketing mix as well. A marketer needs to understand consumer behavior in order to structure it properly (Quester, Pettigrew, &  Hawkins, 2006). For example a company desiring high quality brand and for this the price should be high. So, if the target customer believes that price-quality relationship. So considering the target market situation price might be structured (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). Promotional activities are another important term for the product. By high quality campaign consumer might be convinced for buying that product. And also at any occasion or festival marketer could bring new promotions for the consumer that might influence the buying process (Foxal & Yani-de-Soriano, 2005). For example, any gift shops or bookshops spend more in promotional activities before Christmas that lead the people for purchasing products or books for gift as they intend to buy (Solomon, Dann, & Russel-Bennett, 2007). So considering task definition as a situational influences marketer could use these promotional activities. Conclusion Understanding of consumer behavior could make the long term success for the products (Quester, Pettigrew, & Hawkins, 2006). And to be successful it’s very important to understand the customer behavior considering the various situational influences (Belk, 1975). In this essay the theories of situational influences that affect their buying decision is discussed and after three of the situational influences is described in case of Kate who was struggling to make the best buy. And in last question how marketer might be able to utilize situation in aspects of using key marketing strategy is described. It is easy to understand that how situation could influence the buying decision process by this essay. MKT510: Consumer Behavior M. M. Tamim 6 ID: 11511633 Bibliography Belk, R. W. (1975). Situational Variables and Consumer Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 158. Foxal, G. R., & Yani-de-Soriano, M. M. (2005). Situational Influences on Consumers’ Attitudes and Behavior. Journal of Business Research, 518-25. Kenhove, P. v., & Wulf, K. d. (2000). Income and Time Pressure: A Person Stuation Grocery Retail Typology. The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Cionsumer Research, 149-66. Quester, P., Pettigrew, S., & Hawkins, D. I. (2006). Consumer Behavior: Implications for Marketing Strategy. North Ryde: McGraw-Hill Australia. Ruth, J., Otnes, C. C., & Brunel, F. (1999). Gift Reciepts and Reformulation of Interpersonal Relationships. Journal of Consumer Research, 385-402. Shim, S., & Eastlick, M. A. (1998). The Hierarchical Influence of Personal Values on Mall Shopping. Journal of Retailing, 139-60. Sim, L. L., & Goh, S. Y. (1998). Singapore’s Revised Concept Plan and Retailing: Impact of the Tampines Regional Centre on Shopping Patterns. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 33-43. Solomon, M., Dann, S., & Russel-Bennett, R. (2007). Situational Effects on Consumer Behavior. Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education.

How to tame a wild tounge Essay

In the essay, â€Å"How to Tame a wild Tongue,† Gloria Anzaldua the author, states the importance of maintaining one’s native tongue. She believes that people should speak whenever or however they please given that it does not harm anyone. Anzaldua does not want to escape her Mexican ways such as speaking Spanish. It is a vital part of her life because she communicates with her family members speaking a variety of Spanish dialects. Since she has no other way to show her Mexican ways, it is key that she speaks Spanish to maintain her Mexican pride. People take pride in the languages that they speak and its not right for others to tell them they are not allowed to express themselves in those foreign languages. On the other hand, it is important that to speak English in order to communicate with her classmates, teachers, and anyone around her. English is fast becoming the dominant means by which the world is able to communicate. It is being referred to as the global language as it is seen as a common means for interaction between different countries. This new phenomena can be seen in a positive light because the use of English as a common language brings efficiency and greater understanding. Nevertheless there some people who believe that this fact has changed and that now it is more important to learn Spanish and Mandarin than the English language. Anzaldua dealt with this issue on a consistent basis in her school life. Though she was not told to lose her Spanish ways, she felt that speaking English would not allow her to express herself. Especially in the American culture, it was necessary for her to learn English to communicate with her peers. Furthermore, the English language is the number one lingua franca no other comes close. At the moment about 1. 113 million people speak Chinese as their mother tongue, whereas about 372 million speak English. Following this criterion Chinese must be the world’s global tongue; and yet analysts considered English to be the global language of the century. Imagine if China’s economy takes flight in the coming few years, enabling the country to replace the United States as the greatest economical power, there would be a possibility that China could take over in the next couple decades. In fact, reports have shown that the number of Chinese learners is increasing dramatically. Chinese learners in Africa, for example, have increased to 8,000 in the year 2005. The Forum on China-Africa Cooperation published the statistic in a 2005 report. The report also says that â€Å"in Sudan alone, Chinese learners have amounted to 450, and many have come to China to learn on Chinese government scholarships, according to Peter Nyot Kok, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research of Sudan. † According to the U. S. Bureau of the Census, ten years ago about one in seven people in this country spoke a language other than English at home. Since then the proportion of immigrants in the population has grown and grown. Ever-wider swaths of Florida, California, and the Southwest are heavily Spanish speaking. Hispanic people make up 30 percent of the population of New York City, and a television station there that is affiliated with a Spanish-language network has been known to draw a larger daily audience than at least one of the city’s English-language network affiliates. According to the census, from 1980 to 1990 the number of Spanish-speakers in the United States grew by 50 percent. Statistically, more people in the world speak Mandarin than English, but Mandarin is not spoken much outside Asia. A global language is a language spoken internationally. A global language is not only a majority people spoken, but also use in international organization or international event. It’s a well-known fact that there is huge demand for English speaking professionals in China who can facilitate international business. There is also acute demand for English teachers who can make the Chinese students better equipped for modern-day business and life. Chinese has more native speakers, however, it also has simplistic grammar, and it lacks articles, prepositions, verb conjugation and tense, singularity and plurality of nouns making it less effective than English at expressing complex meanings. It is also tonal, which limits the speaker’s use of tone for emotional and conceptual expression. Furthermore most Westerners find the Chinese writing system difficult to grasp. So from emerging trends, it seems evident that Chinese is not more popular than English as a global language. English is widespread largely due to the fact that it is used so heavily in television, film and music. Hollywood’s global spread has contributed strongly to the international popularity of English. It is also the predominant language on the Internet. Web pages in other languages often tend to have an English translation. The British Empire and the dominant nature of American popular culture have contributed overall to the spread of English across the planet. Because of this many young Hispanics have favored adopting the English language into their culture. In South East Asia, as a result of English becoming a kind of global currency, there is a large turn towards acquiring language skills not in any language but most specifically in English. As the world becomes more â€Å"globalized† or as corners of the planet open up for trade relations with other countries and tourism booms, the need for English increases. Hotels, shops and schools have a desperate desire to sell their services and make a living. People’s ability to survive is strongly linked to their ability to communicate in English. Consequently native languages become redundant and even endangered. People focus on learning English over learning other languages and also in many cases need to use their individual languages to a lesser degree. In fact more Asians speak English than anyone else. One of them is that it facilitates the exchange of information from one part of the world the other with ease. It is through the existence of a global language like English that peace and trade has been enhanced between dissimilar countries. It has also facilitated the mobility of people both in their physical terms and also electronically. Sufficient statistics indicate that most trade is done electronically and this is greatly facilitated by English as a global language. Finally, there are economic advantages connected with a global language. Crystal claims that the â€Å"more a community is linguistically mixed; the less it can rely on individuals to ensure communication between different groups† (Crystal 2003:11). Consequently linguistically mixed communities, as well as the global community, are spending large sums of money on translations and interpretations in order to reach its citizens. A global language known and spoken by everybody would undoubtedly lower these costs, and the spared money could be used in other important areas instead, for example in humanitarian aid. In fact, during the last decades the need of interpretation and translation in international organizations has progressively has been decreasing thanks to the expansion of English. Many international organizations find it necessary that all people involved speak English, since the translation expenses would be too high. According to Crystal â€Å"half the budget of an international organization could easily get swallowed up in translation costs if there was a lack of a common language† (Crystal 2003: 12). Mutual intelligibility, great career opportunities and reduced administrative costs are some of the advantages a global language would give. We are in need of an international language for communication, politics, trade and security, but at the same time we are worried about language death, the advantages native speakers will have and all the disadvantages non-native speakers will face. English is growing, it is a strong language, and its future seems bright. My opinion is that if there will ever be an official international language English is the best option. It is a strong, well-developed language with millions of speakers. Even if a global language might be important, different languages are of importance for their culture and for the development of their native speakers. Anzaldua wants to maintain her heritage by speaking her language constantly. She is in fear that speaking English will lead to the death of her heritage, but the integration of her heritage with English will only allow her to have communication with more people around her. Languages make the world more interesting and more alive.

Reebok: Advertising and Terry Tate

R â€Å"Reebok† case questions 1. How could viral marketing be used to complement or replace traditional media in this case? In this case, Reebok created â€Å"buzz† to attract the potential customers since its markets changed and its target consumers moved their attention away from the traditional media. Therefore, Reebok moved its advertising resource away from magazines and newspapers to online and mobile platform. Moreover, Reebok also advertised at sporting events, such as in NBA basketball games.The ultimate goal of Reebok creating successful viral marketing programs is to create viral messages that appeal to the potential customers and that the programs may have a high probability of being presented and spread by these individuals in their communications with others in a short period of time. 2. Evaluate the Terry Tate commercials. Did they increase recognition of the Reebok brand and significantly help build brand equity? Explain. Terry Tate was first aired in 2 003 at the Superbowl. Terry Tate is an American Football player who has been hired by an office firm to administer punishment to those breaking any of the companies’ rules.The way he administers the punishment is by tackling the perpetrators around the office environment. The story in Terry Tate commercial is about the office drama, and the humor in the ad was fairly conveyed to the target audience – Gen Xers between the ages of 25 and 40. The shots of the Terry Tate commercial performs more usual office tasks like making presentations and celebrating a fellow employee’s birthday to show that Terry is fitting in the office environment. Therefore, Terry Tate commercial may successfully create the resonance among its target audiences in the similar office scenes and moments.Reebok found that even though there were great amount viewers of its Terry Tate Super Bowl, its sales and market share did not increase at all. The main reason of this less successful result is   in that Reebok brand was not sufficiently mentioned in the ads. Most of the audiences memorized the Terry Tate character and this office comedy, but few of them recognized that this commercial was created by Reebok. Obviously, Reebok would not successfully  build the strong connection between the Terry Tate commercial video with its brand awareness in consumers’ minds.To sum up, this program did not assist Reebok in earning brand recognition and brand equity since the idea from Reebok did not generate more money from its products, as consumers believe that a product with a well-known name is better than products with less well-known names. 3. Was the central message effective? Was it memorable? Did it generate sufficient levels of positive attitudes towards the brand? Explain. 4. Is this type of communication capable of capturing the attention and influencing Gen X consumers? Explain why or why not.This type of communication is able to capture the attention and influenc e Gen X consumers. In this case, this commercial was an instant hit, flying across the Internet for months as the hottest office comedy joke to hit the air since Office Space. The humor in the ad that resonated so clearly with its target audience, mostly Gen Xers between the age of 25 and 40, was not necessarily attributed to the devastating blows which Tate delivered with the greatest of ease, but rather the office vignettes which transpired before Tate moved in for the kill.Clearly, Gen X consumers were fascinated by Terry Tate and they wanted to know more about him. 5. Recommend a possible viral marketing campaign for Reebok in today’s environment. Great idea!!! I love this one, too. This idea will attract the target audiences and make them involved in â€Å"Me and my Reebok† activity. Traveling and photographing are both the hot issues among GEN Xers. Combining these two factors for the marketing campaign is suitable and it will be appealing to them.

Public sector finance and cntrol Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Public sector finance and cntrol - Essay Example through provision of Discretionary Council Tax in a manner that: The payments are made in complex situations and incidences of anomalies thereby enabling different quarters of the society to handle issues ascribed to short term financial crises that would hinder them from paying their normal taxes. However, the essence of applying Discretionary Council of Tax should not focus on undermining the natures as well as the purpose of the Normal Council Tax Support Scheme. Moreover, it should not focus of supporting irresponsible behavior or common practices associated with not paying taxes among the quarters of the society. Consequently, the process should not focus on provision of funds in a manner that the expenditure the maximum permissible by the Local Council Tax. Another method that may be applied to achieve the desired tax charge by the council is provision of Awards. The Awards can be provided to meet current tax needs rather than compensate for past tax debts. In this regard, retrospective payments made be subjected to appreciation thereby reducing Council Tax arrears. The Process of Incremental Budgeting entails a scenario where new Budgets are formulated taking into consideration facets of the previous annual budget. In this regard, increments are usually made in order to fulfill projected needs for the current year using the pats budgets years for purposes of references. Incremental budgets are pertinent owing to the fact that it facilitates the aversion of risks, reinforces incidences of equilibrium created by political facets and provides an efficient and effective platform for stakeholder decision-making. In regard to tax setting, there are various factors that are usually taken into consideration; the fist factor is equality and uniformity. That is, all taxes should be levied in an equal and uniform manner. In addition, the process of levying tax entails a scenario whereby; certain time limits are stipulated for collection of taxes i.e. ends of every

Business of Restaurant Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business of Restaurant - Essay Example traditional structures and balances in the world business environment. Understanding of economic changes and forces in the domestic economy is also of vital importance as such forces have the most immediate impact. Other domestic economic variables are the level of unemployment, the rate of inflation and the level of domestic interest rates, which affect the potential return from new investments and can inhibit the adoption and diffusion of new technologies. Indirect factors like competitive firms can also pose a threat to the restaurants so their activities should be closely monitored. It is therefore vital that firms continually monitor the economic environment at both domestic levels. Economic changes pose a set of opportunities and threats, and by understanding and carefully monitoring the economic environment, firms should be in a position to guard against potential threats and to capitalize on opportunities. Restaurants are unique places where the service has to be there where the customer is located .It is seldom that people visit a restaurant to enjoy the delicacies. The location has an important role to play in the establishment of restaurant. The prime areas where the density is more has the probability to entice customers as your restaurant will be placed in the choice of the customers. The visibility of your restaurant will be more in densely visited areas like the public offices, main junctions, and places near tourist attractions where the human hits are more. The market research has to done to know the viability of the business in that area. The profitability of your business in that area should be ascertained. The number of probable customers should... Restaurants are the places where personalized food and beverage services are rendered. Type of service differs according to different factors. The restaurants are in a continuous state of improvement as it strives to become more effective and competitive. The sector is affected by many other factors by shifts in the economy. The ever changing demographics as globalization shows its mark demands differentiation in the business. Predictions show that the economy will improve and as a result, the hospitality sector must be geared up to meet the current demands. However, the business exists within an external environment consisting of the actions of other players who are outside the business. The external environment consists of: competitors, the economic and political system, the social system, the monetary system, the political/legal system, the environmental system. Restaurants are unique places where the service has to be there where the customer is located. The eating habits have be en changing as the demographics .The employees and youth were inclined more towards fast food culture, to have a quick bite and resume their daily activities. The number working employees have had increased which has opened up a new market. Consumer research through surveys and focus groups can help assess dining demand specific to a particular sector. Consumer segments include residents, daytime population, and tourists and visitors.

Ballast Tank Repair Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Ballast Tank Repair - Assignment Example Mild steel by nature offers poor resistance to corrosion because of its inherent heterogeneous impurities, which facilitate emergence of anodic and cathodic nodes on the surface of the steel. Oxygen and water react with these nodes vigorously causing the metal to lose its electrons to form metallic ions, represented by the anodic reaction: 4 Fe ? 4 Fe++ + 8 e? Iron Ferrous Electrons Atom Ion The above electrochemical corrosion process is feasible only if there is a suitable electron acceptor to combine with the electrons released by the iron atom. Seawater containing dissolved atmospheric oxygen readily serves this purpose. The oxygen is electrochemically reduced to hydroxyl ions in the following cathodic reaction: 2 O2 + 4 H2O + 8 e? ? 8 OH? Oxygen Water Electrons Hydroxyl Ions The heterogeneous character of steel allows for some of its sites to favour the anodic reaction and for others to the cathodic reaction. The ferrous ions and hydroxyl ions formed combine together to produce f errous hydroxide: 4 Fe++ + 8 OH? ? 4Fe (OH) 2 Ferrous Hydroxide The ferrous hydroxide formed reacts with more oxygen to form hydrated ferric oxide, the familiar reddish brown rust – the telltale symptom of corrosion. ... oxygen concentration, water temperature, pH and the presence of metals in the form of dissolved salts such as oxides, chlorides, carbonates, sulphates and sulphites in the mineral state of their stable oxidised condition. In view of the large amount of energy expended for the extraction of a metal by the reduction process, there is a sustained pressure on the metal to revert back to its stable low energy oxidised state in the given environmental conditions. The driving force for corrosion is the energy differential between the pure metal and its oxidised forms in the scenario of ever varying ambient conditions. Pitting Corrosion Penetrative localized attack resulting in formation of deep crevices causing thinning of the parent steel material and revealed by rust is characteristic of Pitting Corrosion. It takes place more often in submerged bottoms, inaccessible edges and corners, and at high temperature locations like in the hull of ships where diffusion is easy. The locations most s usceptible to corrosion in water ballast tanks are: upper surface of face plate of bottom longitudinals, bottom girders and bottom transverses; upper surface of shell and bulkhead longitudinals; Cut edges of slots and lightening holes in horizontal girders; upper surface of horizontal stiffeners and brackets; deck longitudinals; upper part of deck transverses; and, upper part of longitudinal and transverse bulkheads. If left unattended, rust can grow at the rate of 0.22 mm/year, though the assessed average rate is 0.005 mm/year. ASTM D 610 Standard, supported by ISO 4628: 2003 Standard provides further insight into the mechanics and assessment of the degree of rusting. Corrosion Prevention The popular prevention techniques in modern use have been logically derived from the manifestations of

Rules of Engagement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Rules of Engagement - Essay Example According to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, ‘In military or police operations, rules of engagement (ROE) determine when, where and how force shall be used.’ The rules of engagement are designed so as to ensure that uncontrolled violence is prevented, civilian casualties are minimized and the conflict does not escalate. However, restrictive rules of engagement undermine the ability of the military or police to resolve a conflict, as, according to many critics of the war, was the case in the US invasion of Vietnam (1959). The US president at the time, Lyndon Johnson, in order to contain the conflict set down strict rules of engagement that hindered the forces from striking or utilizing force in certain areas. This was done in order to thwart the perceived threat of Soviet or Chinese intervention and to gain support at home. President Johnson wanted the conflict to be restricted to South Vietnam, although aerial bombings in North Vietnam were allowed at certain point in the war. He believed the war was a counter-insurgency battle and the rules of engagement thus were justified. The Secretary of Defense, Robert Mcnamara, authored the rules of engagement. He saw the Vietnamese invasion as a ground war and thus saw little use of the US air force. Thus, the rules of engagement he designed restricted the aerial fighting the most. Mcnamara too saw the entire conflict as a counter-insurgency battle and thus tailored the rules of engagement to be such that most military strategies and moves were to be self-defensive. It was not until the Gulf of Tonkin incident in the August of 1964 that U.S. air strikes were allowed to be more aggressive. It is no surprise that the rules of engagement set down by the civilian suits in the government were not very popular with the military strategists. General William Westmoreland was a key architect of the military strategy. In order to avoid further disaster, he forbade any unit smaller then 750 men from

In what ways can Australia, as a middle power, use multilateralism to Essay

In what ways can Australia, as a middle power, use multilateralism to effectively pursue its foreign policy objectives - Essay Example In the international system, it is as well the prerogative of each nation to fight for their space on the decision making table. Multilateralism as an effort to coordinate the policies of two or more nations together can hence be used by Australia (Beeson 2011). This is supported by the fact that the hierarchy places Australia at a point where it is able to bring together the lower power and the top power as an intermediary. Australia’s diplomatic practice has a strong foundation and has existed for a very long time; it is possible to discern Australian diplomatic elements, which could be said to emphasize on idealism an even legalism (Sampson & Woolcock 2003). Using the available advantage of multilateralism, Australia attempts to achieve its pursuit of foreign policy objectives in the international arena competing with not only other middle power states but also the great power states (Ball 1997). In its quest, Australia faces quite a number of possibilities as well as limit s and constraining factors. Through multilateral corporation of Australia as a middle power, the country is able to direct its efforts of whatever manner in trying to maintain international peace and security. This is one way of penetrating it policies in the international platform (2013). It is prudent to note at this point that middle power status has always defined quality of Australian foreign policy a fact that has always made Australia be a very strong negotiator and protector of its rights without simply obeying the great and mighty (Ball 1997). Such capability also makes Australia a force and to the countries advantage, they are able to bring in their policies onto the international platform. Another way in which Australia is able to use multilateralism to further its foreign policy objectives is through the application of the principle of creative middle power diplomacy. This has an extended impact of aiding the country to enhance its interests (Sampson & Woolcock 2003). Au stralia, as a middle power state, should be strategic in its alliances, as this will affect its pursuit of foreign policies. With other grater layers in the field, Australia must strive to keep up with these powers, as they are the main influential factors in the pursuit of foreign policy objectives. This has been the case with Australia as seen in various instances where Australia allied with other great powers (Ball 1997); including the USA, the super power in a strategic attempt to promote its foreign policy objectives; one notable instance is the support of Bush’s presidency in the USA by Howard’s government (Beeson 2011). The system of interdependence is an important factor that sustains interaction between states in the international syste

COFFEE DIRECT UK SOCIAL ENTERPRISE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

COFFEE DIRECT UK SOCIAL ENTERPRISE - Essay Example Due to the factors like technological advancements, developments in the communication process and globalisation, the terms of the trade are fast changing. The traditional beliefs and the conventional ways are being replaced by newer methodologies and tricks. The massive competition in the industry has helped the processes to become sharper and efficient. Traditionally, it was all about those companies that would have sold coffee powder and the coffees would specifically be prepared at home. But with time, the concept changed and new shops and organisations came up that claimed themselves to be professionally ran in order to sale various preparations of the celebrated drink. Coffee Direct is a front line organisation in that respect and claims itself to stock comprehensive selection of coffees. Established in 1990, Coffee Direct has been primarily a family run business. The group stocks wide range of coffees and teas and take pleasure to supply those to cafes, hotels, offices and also to home. The organisation also deals in the coffee machines all across the United Kingdom. Not only, it supplies but also it installs as well as commissions along with the add-on services like testing and maintenance of such machines. The Coffee Direct also provide free on-site training on the various of arts of coffee as it believe that without the knowledge of operating such machines, there is no point for the buyers to possess a high performance device. The training that the company provides is quite elaborate and includes the basic procedures of extracting the coffee in the proper and scientific way and also the organisation provides training on the various preparations of coffee like that of lattes, cappuccinos and various forms of espresso. The company makes it a point to carry out all the illustrations through adequately trained engineers (Coffee Direct, n.d.). The company acknowledges the fact that the two driving forces behind

The Macro and Micro-Marketing of Counterfeit Goods Essay

The Macro and Micro-Marketing of Counterfeit Goods - Essay Example The act of branding can be traced back to the early 1800s when cowboys would brand their cattle before driving them across the central plains of the United States (Rozin 2002). In order to identify which cattle belonged to each ranch, a unique symbol was permanently burned onto the cow. These symbols, in addition to serving as a means of identification, provided a set of traditions and a social identity for the Cowboys. Today, companies use brands to distinguish themselves from their competition and to communicate unique qualities of their products (Aaker and Keller 1990; Low and Fullerton 1994). Once a brand is established, the brand name itself is thought to add value to the product in the minds of consumers. This added value is referred to as brand equity (Aaker 1991). Companies and designers often employ marketing strategies that capitalize on their brand equity and place a greater value on the shapes and labels of their products than the material from which they are made. Such companies provide buyers with what is conventionally called elite brands, defined by Silverstein and Fiske (2003) as those brands that possess higher levels of quality, taste and aspiration than other brands in the product category. These products are often justifiably priced higher than other brands in order to make their brand seem exclusive and more prestigious. For example, elite designers are able to transform a 10-pound t-shirt into a $200 sought after treasure (Chatpaiboon 2004). Recently, Hermes reported that customers were placed on a two-year waiting list for their most popular Birkin bag, which retails for $6000 (Branch 2004). On eBay, women engaged in bidding wars over a blue Birkin bag for which the winner ultimately paid over $13,000 (Rose 2003).