Study of Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jean Coffee

1. 0 INTRODUCTION 1. 1 Background of the assignment Coffee is one of the world's most popular beverages. Some claim it is the most widely consumed liquid in the world aside from water. Coffee is more than a beverage, however. It is a memory, anticipation, a lifetime of consoling moments of modest pleasure woven into our lives. Coffee's success as a beverage undoubtedly owes both to the caffeine it harbors and to its sensory pleasure.Coffee lovers come to associate the energizing lift of the caffeine with the richness and aroma of the beverage that delivers it. Coffee is produced from the seeds of a small red (sometimes yellow) fruit that grows on plants halfway in size between shrub and tree. The process that turns these seeds into beverage is a long and complex process, perhaps the most complex process associated with any major beverage.It is also a very labor intensive process involving a vast intercontinental collaboration that starts with the coffee grower, moves from there to th e picker, then to the mill workers who meticulously remove the fruit and dry the beans, then to those who clean and grade the beans, to those who roast them, to those consumers and baristas who finally grind the beans and prepare the beverage. Every act along the way can be performed either with passion and precision or with careless shoddiness.It is the cumulative quality of all of these creative contributions that together make the difference between a lackluster cup and a fine and distinctive one Starbucks, a corporation that has grown since its retail inception in 1982 to reach global stardom with over 6,000 shops worldwide, it is truly one of the most successful business ventures to-date. Starbucks purchases and roasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style espresso beverages, a variety of pastries and confections, and coffee-related accessories and equipment – primarily through its company-operated retail stores.In ad dition to sales through our company-operated retail stores, Starbucks sells whole bean coffees through a specialty sales group and supermarkets. Additionally, Starbucks produces and sells bottled Frappuccino ® coffee drink and a line of premium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships and offers a line of innovative premium teas produced by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tazo Tea Company. The Company's objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world.To achieve this goal, the Company plans to continue to rapidly expand its retail operations, grow its specialty sales and other operations, and selectively pursue opportunities to leverage the Starbucks brand through the introduction of new products and the development of new distribution channels. The competitor is Gloria Jean’s Coffee was franchising in 1998, and opened 185 stores within 6 years where all are locally owned and operated by more than 100 franchisees. By 2003, Gl oria Jean’s Coffee has established stores in every state of Australia.The company has opened 906 stores and signed 34 Master Franchise agreements across 33 countries worldwide, its strength is built upon a strong recognized brand synonymous with coffee quality and industry leading franchise systems. Gloria Jean’s Coffees has played a major role in the development and growth of the retail coffee market in Australia. Our team of Franchise Partners is passionate about the brand and its products, and has the dedication and determination to succeed. To meet the rapid global expansion, the corporation unwillingly had compromised on some of its key success factors.This paper will examine these factors from the customer’s point, and how essential are they for Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s Coffee to retain its current customers. 1. 2 Objectives of the assignment The objective of this assignment is to achieve: 1) Analyze company A background STARBUCK COFFEE 2) Analyz e company B background GLORIA JEAN’S COFFEE 3) Compare and analyze between two company services retention. 4) Compare and analyze between two company services recovery strategies. 1. 3 The important of the assignment ) The output of this report will give us the clear view of both company perspectives in the customer retention strategic program. 2) Revile both company service marketing plan In addition to sales through our company-operated retail stores, Starbucks sells whole bean coffees through a specialty sales group and supermarkets. Additionally, Starbucks produces and sells bottled Frappuccino coffee drink and a line of premium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships and offers a line of innovative premium teas produced by its wholly owned subsidiary, Tazo Tea Company.The Company's objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. [pic] 2. 0 STARBUCK COFFEE – COMPANY A 2. 1 Introduction Starbucks purchases and r oasts high-quality whole bean coffees and sells them along with fresh, rich-brewed, Italian style espresso beverages, a variety of pastries and confections, and coffee-related accessories and equipment – primarily through its company-operated retail stores. Starbucks is primarily known for selling coffee, but also sells other hot and cold beverages, pastries, sandwiches and other snacks.A â€Å"Skinny† line of drinks rolled out in 2008, offering  lower-calorie  and sugar-free versions of the company's offered drinks which use  skim milk  and are sweetened by a choice of artificial sweetener or one of the company's  sugar-free  syrup flavors 2. 2 Company background Starbucks, named after the first mate in Herman Melville's Moby Dick, was founded in 1971 at Seattle's Pike Place Market by three atypical businessmen, Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Zev Siegel. Starbucks mission is to â€Å"inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one nei ghborhood at a time. † Starbucks, founded in the 1970s, opened heir first location in 1971 in Seattle’s Pike place. In 1982, Seattle’s Best began to sell to restaurants and coffee bars. In 1987, the company’s name became Starbucks. The same year, stores in Chicago and Canada where opened. In 1988 Starbucks began mail-order sales of their products. Today Starbucks sells hot and cold beverages, complementary food items, coffee-related accessories and equipment, teas and other non-food products through retail stores in 37 countries. The company operates primarily in the US, is headquartered in Seattle, Washington and employs about 204,000 people.Starbucks has experienced expansion globally, and has created licenses throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Americas, and maintains a 40% market share internationally. The goal of the company is to create brand awareness through the â€Å"Starbucks Experience. † This experience translates well, hel ping folks start their day with an aromatic cup of coffee, pleasant customer service, and each person’s finding a niche while enjoying their favorite drink and listening to music or reading a book. The first Starbucks location outside North America opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996.Starbucks entered the U. K. market in 1998 ,UK-based Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. In September 2002, Starbucks opened its first store in Latin America, at Mexico City. In 1999, Starbucks experimented with eateries in the San Francisco Bay area through a restaurant chain called Circadia . These restaurants were soon â€Å"outed† as Starbucks establishments and converted to Starbucks cafes. In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises .The deal only gained 150 stores for Starbucks, but according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer the wholesale business was more significant. In September 20 06, rival Diedrich Coffee announced that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company-owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks converted the Diedrich Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks, although the Portland airport Coffee People locations were excluded from the sale In August 2003, Starbucks opened its first store in South America in Lima, Peru.In 2007, the company opened its first store in Russia, ten years after first registering a trademark there. In March 2008 they purchased the manufacturer of the Clover Brewing System. They began testing the â€Å"fresh-pressed† coffee system at several Starbucks locations in Seattle, California, New York and Boston. Starbucks has always been a place where you can find the world’s best coffees. But in 1971, you would have had to travel all the way to our only store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. [pic] |[pic] |[p|1970s | | | |ic|The first Starbucks opens. The name comes from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, a classic | | | |] |American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. The seafaring name seems | | | | |appropriate for a store that imports the world’s finest coffees to the cold, thirsty | | | | |people of Seattle. | | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|1980s | | | |ic|Howard Schultz joins Starbucks in 1982. While on a business trip in Italy, he visits | | | |] |Milan’s famous espresso bars. Impressed with their popularity and culture, he sees | | | | |their potential in Seattle.He’s right – after trying lattes and mochas, Seattle | | | | |quickly becomes coffee-crazy. | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|1990s | | | |ic|Starbucks expands beyond Seattle, first to the rest of the United States, then the | | | |] |entire world.After becoming one of the first companies to offer stock options to its | | | | |part-time employees, Starbucks becomes a publicly traded company. | |[pic] |[pic] |[p|20 00s | | | |ic|The Starbucks phenomenon continues. As of this writing, Starbucks has more than 6,000 | | | |] |locations in over 30 countries.In addition to our excellent coffees and espresso | | | | |drinks, people now enjoy for Tazo ® tea | Logo description In 2006, Valerie O'Neil, a Starbucks spokeswoman, said that the logo is an image of a â€Å"twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she's known in Greek mythology†. The logo has been significantly streamlined over the years. In the first version, which was based on a 16th-century â€Å"Norse† woodcut, the Starbucks siren was topless and had a fully visible double fish tail.The image also had a rough visual texture and has been likened to a melusine. ] In the second version, which was used from 1987–92, her breasts were covered by her flowing hair, but her navel was still visible. The fish tail was cropped slightly, and the primary color was changed from brown to green, a nod to Bowker's Alma Mater, the University of San Francisco. In the third version, used between 1992 and 2011, her navel and breasts are not visible at all, and only vestiges remain of the fish tails. The original â€Å"woodcut† logo has been moved to the Starbucks' Headquarters in Seattle.At the beginning of September 2006 and then again in early 2008, Starbucks temporarily reintroduced its original brown logo on paper hot-drink cups. Starbucks has stated that this was done to show the company's heritage from the Pacific Northwest and to celebrate 35 years of business. The vintage logo sparked some controversy due in part to the siren's bare breasts,] but the temporary switch garnered little attention from the media. Starbucks had drawn similar criticism when they reintroduced the vintage logo in 2006. The logo was altered when Starbucks entered the Saudi Arabian market in 2000 to remove the siren, leaving only her crown, as eported in a Pulitzer Prize-winning column by Colbert I. King in The Washington Post in 2002 . The company announced three months later that it would be using the international logo in Saudi Arabia. In January 2011, Starbucks announced that they would make small changes to the company's logo, removing the Starbucks wordmark around the siren, enlarging the siren image, and making it green. [pic] Starbuck mission Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Here are the principles of how we live that every day: Our Coffee It has always been, and will always be, about quality.We’re passionate about ethically sourcing the finest coffee beans, roasting them with great care, and improving the lives of people who grow them. We care deeply about all of this; our work is never done. Our Partners We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect a nd dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. Our Customers When we are fully engaged, we connect with, laugh with, and uplift the lives of our customers – even if just for a few moments.Sure, it starts with the promise of a perfectly made beverage, but our work goes far beyond that. It’s really about human connection. Our Stores When our customers feel this sense of belonging, our stores become a haven, a break from the worries outside, a place where you can meet with friends. It’s about enjoyment at the speed of life – sometimes slow and savored, sometimes faster. Always full of humanity. Our Neighborhood Every store is part of a community, and we take our responsibility to be good neighbors seriously. We want to be invited in wherever we do business.We can be a force for positive action – bringing together our partners, customers, and the community to contribute every day. Now we see that our responsibility – and our potential for good – is even larger. The world is looking to Starbucks to set the new standard, yet again. We will lead. Branding strategies Three components to this experiencing branding strategy: ? First, coffee itself – offering the highest-quality coffee in the world,    coffee standards by controlling the supply chain as possible and the distribution to retail stores ? Second, service – customer intimacy ? Third, atmosphere. To make customers want to stay.Based on human spirit, a sense of community, the need for people to come together. Channels – Broad distribution strategy ? Want to reach customers where they work, travel, shop, and dine ? Good Location: Company-operated stores located in high-traffic, high-visibility settings ? Product mixed tended to vary depending on a store’s size and location non-company-operated retail channels, food-service accounts, domestic retail store licenses Good starbuck partner ? All Starbucks employees were called  "partners† -Most hourly-wage employees ? Generous policy of giving health insurance and stock options High partner satisfaction rate (80% to 90%), well above the industry norm. ? Lowest employee turnover rates in the industry (just 70%, compared with fast-food industry averages as high as 300%) ? Lower managers turnover rates & encouraged promotion from within its own ranks Delivering on Service and good measuring service performance ? Training: hard skills and soft skills ? Treated as a valuable customer (75%), friendly staff (73%) and highest quality coffee (67%). ? A variety of metrics, including monthly status reports and self-reported checklists. ? â€Å"Customer Snapshot† measurement toolLess competition ? A variety of small-scale specialty coffee chains (regionally concentrated). independent specialty coffee shops & Donut and bagel chains Strategic for supply ? Part time employees- Starbucks had lowest employee income rate of any restaurant or fast-food company b ut Starbucks offering health insurance and modest stock options to part-timers. ? Increased consumer participation- Starbucks does a nice job of encouraging this through its integrated marketing communications efforts. For example : has questionnaires in its stores urging customers to send in feedback about their experiences Facilities for future expansion The company's efforts to greatly increase its sphere of strategic interest by its joint ventures with Pepsi and Dreyer's, its move to sell coffee in supermarkets, and the possibility of marketing fruit-juice drinks and candy under the Starbucks label represented In order to sustain the company's growth and make Starbucks a strong global brand, that the company had to challenge the status quo, be innovative, take risks, and alter its vision of who it was, what it did, and where it was headed. 2. 3 Customer Retention Strategies When Mr.Schultz founded Starbucks and created its unique service experience which is based on a customer-d riven marketing strategy, fully understood the strategic importance of segmenting his target market, differentiating his products and thus achieving a successful positioning for Starbucks not only in its traditional markets, but globally. These strategies are to protect their current customers from deserting to competitors and to capture new markets. Starbucks’ unique blend of relaxing ambience and innovative coffee drinks positioned it as a leader in its category, and made it an all time favorite for millions of devotees around the world.The third place theme highlighted that Starbucks surpassed a place for just a cup of coffee, but instead it gave its customers the comfort of a home, excellent customer service, quality products and the feeling of being special. These elements made the Starbucks experience key in retaining its customers. Starbucks' overall retention strategy has cleverly covered the 5Ps, among others, as we will see below. Product Quality Starbucks trademark was the unique features of the coffee-based beverages. These innovative drinks have attracted new customers to experience luxury coffee drinks at affordable prices, in a very cozy environment.Starbucks created a coffee culture, educating its customers on the coffee types, origins, and the roasting process, thus building brand credibility and gaining clients’ trust in the brand and quality of products provided. Consistency Starbucks’ major coffee priority is the consistency of the product taste and quality assurance. Starbucks whilst priding itself as the best quality coffee in the world tries to control much of the supply chain for quality control and product assurance. Starbucks’ reliability and product consistency is driven by the super-efficient coffee maker machines.Besides making the same drink shot, it is noise-dampening, making sure the customer’s ‘experience’ is not disturbed by the blenders’ noises. Customized and Seasonal Pr oducts Starbucks’ brand name and popularity came through customizing the beverages to the consumer’s desire through offering flexible drink options such as extra cream, caramel syrup etc. Starbucks also introduces various and new seasonal products to differentiate themselves from its competitors and to capture new clients. The new drinks add to the overall experience of loyal clienteles and this specialization increases its competitive edge over other players in the market.Convenience Through Location Starbucks applied the first rule in opening a store i. e. a successful and strategic location, and for thousands of its stores worldwide, credit should be given to their sharp foresight in store-site strategy to reach its target customers and eliminating its competitors. Starbucks' store-site strategy is to have high visibility, high traffic and convenient location like shopping malls, bar districts and populated business towers, so a daily commuter will be delighted to s top everyday at the store for his Latte.The stores’ high visibility, convenience and accessibility in terms of its locations and amenities provided (comfy furniture, grand amount of seating, clean restrooms, etc) attracts attention and increases brand recognition and reputation, thus diminishing customer defections and increasing the stores’ traffic and sales. Strong Brand Equity The unique earthly-colored walls of the each store, innovative product display and cozy atmosphere, seasonal themes, promotions etc makes Starbucks a strong brand that allows for brand recognition and consumer retention.In addition, Starbucks promotes the idea of supporting the local communities by being a good neighbor, and aims to involve its partners in the decision making process. The image of Starbucks sustaining local coffee farmers and helping in grooming their crops builds the customer’s trust in the coffee bean superiority and Starbucks as a socially responsible corporate brand looking after the long-term benefits of the local community with the aim of growing together and not to exploit. (www. tarbucks. com). The store’s clean and hygienic image has added very much to the strong image of Starbucks; a survey states that 83% of the sampled clientele rated a clean store as highly important, a reputation which is equally important for Starbucks’ overall image. Customer Bonds and Loyalty Programs Starbucks recognized that one of the ways to obtain customer satisfaction is by manipulating their perception of equity and fairness in gaining maximum return for their money and loyalty.So, Starbucks introduced the Starbucks Loyalty Card which gives great benefits to its customers; ranging from syrup and milk options on their drinks free of charge, complimentary coffee refills and free beverage with whole bean purchases. The Starbucks Card or the Duetto Visa Card (a reloadable prepaid card/Visa credit card) binds the customer whereby they feel that the y are gaining more value for their money, being treated fairly by Starbucks and feeling appreciated by a better quality service in being a loyal and a regular client, thus preferring to stay devoted to the brand and gaining further benefits with their future purchases.Starbucks also created its own world culture by innovating new proprietary language for its products, to the extent of publishing a booklet for such vocabulary for its clients. This syntax enabled customers to choose the drink that suits them the most, thus creating a customization bond with Starbucks’ beverages and products. The mastering of this language is essential for the customer to get exactly what he wants, and since this lingo cannot be found out of Starbucks, it will refrain the regulars from flocking to other coffee shops.In addition to the customization of the drinks, Starbucks’ interior store design was carefully studied and aimed at reaching the human inner-soul, sending subliminal messages making the customer comfortable and at ease in enjoying his ultimate coffee experience. An Affordable Experience Starbucks market entry and key success was in providing high-end quality coffee drinks at affordable prices. This clever blend of unique quality drinks with a great ambiance and an excellent service made their pricing reasonable and fair for millions.The customer satisfaction on the overall package in exchange for the price paid is reflective in their patronage. Sustaining their prices is essential for customer contentment and retention. The Relationship with Customers Employees of Starbucks are a critical factor since they interact directly with the client. Starbucks’ strategy of creating a personalized service that is vital for the customer’s satisfaction is pivotal in ensuring his loyalty; personalized services include personal greeting, flexible changes to the drink/order and memorizing the favorite order of each customer, all with a genuine smile and fr iendly spirit.The human touch and customer intimacy is an essential element in the overall Starbucks experience by making each client feel special and well looked after. This point clearly marks Starbucks’ acknowledgement of creating relationships and having personal bonds with their clientele to deter them from changing stores. 2. 4 Services Recovery Strategies Starbucks interacts with customer in two ways. The first way is at the Point of Sale (POS). The interaction with the customer begins with the greeting, followed by taking the dink/food order, money exchange and leaving.Pleasant conversation is encouraged the regular customer. This build the idea of the third Starbuck phase for its ambiance meaning that a person has their house, work and Starbuck to make them comfortable. The second interaction is taken place over the phone or by email concerning question comments, or any complaint that they might have. During the first set of interactions, the customer has a high leve l involvement. The customer has all the choice in how they would like their drink made. There are no self-service or technology used in these interactions.The second interaction has medium involvement with the customer and has no face time. If a situation does arise, Starbuck has several different ways to rectify the situation. The first way is with their guarantee. This guarantee is that the customer drink should be made right in time and particular item needed by the customer. If not, let the â€Å"barista† know and Starbucks will give a remake it for the customer. This is also called within company â€Å"a right now recovery†. This allows the â€Å"barista† to remake the drink to any specification that was missed in the previous attempt for free.If the â€Å"right now recovery† is not enough to fix the situation, the supervisor will give the customer a recovery certificate. This is a coupon that allows the customer to receive any drink of their choice for free. Finally Starbucks also has the store managers as well as the district managers lave their business card in the store. This allows the customer to have direct communication with the management if any situation become out of hand. Online feedback at www. starbucks. com from one customer reads that â€Å"The licensed stores never had a conception of the â€Å"heart† of the business to start with.They are exemplary of everything that is wrong with current store operations. † [pic] 3. 0 GLORIA JEANS COFFEE – COMPANY B 3. 1 Introduction As one of the world’s leading providers of specialty-flavored whole bean coffees, Gloria Jean’s has been providing the ultimate coffee experience for over 29 years. In 1979, Ed and Gloria Jean Kvetko purchased a small gift shop in a quaint little town just north of Chicago. Deciding to share their secret for great tasting coffee, the store soon developed a loyal following as people came from all around to experi ence Gloria Jean’s gourmet coffees.Due to increasing demand and popularity, Gloria Jean’s began franchising stores in the mid-1980’s to entrepreneurs in the Chicago market who shared their passion for specialty coffees. Today Gloria Jean’s has grown to be one of the largest mall-based retailer of specialty coffees in North America. Committed to quality and selection, Gloria Jean’s is the premier destination for people who know and crave gourmet coffee. Each of our flavored coffees receives utmost care from harvest to cup. We meticulously roast and flavor to exacting standards, making Gloria Jean’s coffee the finest you can buy.Gloria Jean’s Coffees is known for its signature range of hot and cold coffee drinks including traditional espresso and ice blends; coffee beans, specialty teas, pastries and coffee accessories. (Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia 2008) 3. 2 Company background In 1979, Gloria Jean Kvetko founded Gloria Jea n’s Coffees with her first outlet opened in Chicago, USA, selling coffee and gifts. 1n 1996, Jireh International Pty Ltd, founded by NabiSaleh and Peter Irvine, purchased the rights to franchise Gloria Jean's Coffees in Australia.With stores in over 30 countries world, Gloria Jean's Coffees is one of Australia's leading coffee specialists and one of the fastest growing franchise organizations in the world. The company has opened 906 stores and signed 34 Master Franchise agreements across 33 countries worldwide, its strength is built upon a strong recognized brand synonymous with coffee quality and industry leading franchise systems. Gloria Jean’s Coffees has played a major role in the development and growth of the retail coffee market in Australia.Our team of Franchise Partners are passionate about the brand and its products, and have the dedication and determination to succeed. Gloria Jean’s Coffees is one of the top 30 fastest growing franchises in Australia a nd is also listed as one of Australia’s top 1,000 companies and top 500 Private Companies (Source: BRW 2007/2008). The company has been recognized for their systems, most recently winning the ‘Food Franchisor of the Year 2007’ in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Excellence in Franchising Awards and ‘2006 International Franchisor of the Year’ awarded by the Franchising and License Association, Singapore.Passionately committed to creating the ultimate coffee experience for every guest from bean to cup, the Gloria Jean’s Coffees difference comes from a true dedication to handmade coffee – from hand picking beans to handcrafting each individual cup. Gloria Jean’s Coffees is driven by a desire to be the most loved and respected coffee company in the world. They are committed to leaving a positive net benefit to both the communities from where they source their coffee and those communities they serve. With the sale of each cup, Gloria Jeanâ €™s Coffees helps to support local and international communities through their partner programs.Over the last year Gloria Jean's Coffees has made a huge investment in new resources, systems and tools that will take their franchise model to the next level globally. The team has put in place leading-edge platforms, systems and tools that have strengthened their business and created a robust model that can be implemented successfully and consistently across their overseas markets. Gloria Jean's Coffees provides ongoing management and support from the moment new Franchise Partners join the Gloria Jean's family. The Gloria Jean's Coffees  business model  is a  franchising  system similar to many fast-food chains.Franchise owners have to pay franchise fees and royalties on their sales as well as operating costs. The organization’s board consists of chairman Nabi Selah, and directors John Dwight, Peter Irvine and Andrew Tyndale. Product Coffee houses serve and sell a ran ge of espresso coffee drinks, cold drinks, blended and estate whole bean coffees and specialty teas along with pastries and coffee accessories. Gloria Jean's Coffees recently purchased through auction an allocation of the whole coffee bean that came fifth in Brazil's Cup of Excellence awards, Niche/Small Target MarketGloria Jean’s Coffee is currently targeting small market segment, young adults segment, which comprises people age 18 to 25 years old, compared to Starbucks, 15 to 64 years old. Besides that, Gloria Jean’s mainly focuses on female customers, where half of the sales came from that particular gender. Customers Are More Demanding Nowadays, customers are more knowledgeable towards coffee. Besides, there is no switching cost to other competitors. They know what different types of coffee taste like and what kind of beans came from where. Thus they only drink those that they prefer and they like.Customers are price sensitive, where a slight change in price might lead to change in preferred brand due to the low switching cost. This means that if customers do not get what they want from a brand, they will have no obligations to switch to the other brand, or they might as well buy coffee beans from supermarkets and brew themselves, which is one of the reason why sales is declining. Highly Competitive Industry There are a lot of brands that selling the same product, which is coffee. Most of it is already well established. Thus it is a highly competitive industry where all are fighting for a share in the industry.The reason for many companies being in the same industry is because of a profitable market and low entry barrier. Growth in specialist coffee shops such as Hudson’s Coffee and Starbucks Coffee took up a huge portion of the share in the market. Selection of Franchisee/Partners Gloria Jeans is very particular in selecting franchisees or partners. The company stands by their values, which is â€Å"Our partnerships are based on inte grity and trust†. They only choose those that they prefer and they feel good with. Logo description Gloria Jean's coffee  logo colors  are two  shades of brown, orange, yellow, and silver.The logo itself is a coffee cup with steam coming out of it. The motto is â€Å"escape the daily grind† are full of meaningful in a coffee lover life. [pic] 3. 3 Customer Retention strategies Operations Gloria Jean’s Coffees strive to develop their operations in retail business environment by using several channels. One of their distribution strategies is having a very well known third party companies that basically shares their beliefs, values, and commitment to quality. Gloria Jean’s Coffees also expanded their coffee business by making their coffee and coffee-related products available via mail order and the World Wide Web.This suits their main slogan, which is, â€Å"Making It Glorious† (Gloria Jean’s Coffees n. d. ). Donate / Joint venture with so ciety Our success is thanks to the communities that support us, and in return we aim to give back whenever possible. We strive to have a positive impact, both on the communities from where we source our coffee and the communities we serve. Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ core value of â€Å"Belief in People, Building and Changing Lives† Gloria Jean’s Coffees in Singapore has collaborated with World Vision International by sponsoring seven children through the Child Sponsorship Programmed.The Child Sponsorship Programmed supports the world’s less fortunate children from various countries by addressing the root causes of poverty and diseases, helping these children, their families and communities break the cycle of poverty, and empowering them to help themselves in the future. A Bean for a Dream for our sponsored children. When you buy a Happy Cookie at our outlet, part of the proceeds will go towards the outlet’s sponsored child. The bean represents t he dreams that you will help fulfill, and the card shows your support for the Child Sponsorship Programmed.Customer Service Due to the company’s ‘family spirit’, they tend to take customer service as an important role and expect their partners would share these values in the area. Since Gloria Jean’s Coffee houses around the world are known for providing a very friendly environment and offers a personalized service. Therefore, Ian Martin, group chief executive of Gloria Jean’s Coffee franchise said that, â€Å"At Gloria Jean's we don't talk about customer service because we don't have customers, we have guests. This is more than emantics – we don't see ourselves as retailers, but as a coffee house, serving guests, and you treat guests differently from customers† (Franchise Business 2007). This is one of Gloria Jean’s Coffees strength as it is proven that they do take their consumers seriously. Production-Operations Gloria Jeanâ €™s Coffees stores are typically more like a gift shop concept than a specialty coffee outlet. Stores vary in size and located in a variety of settings, including overlooking parks and gardens, the beach, and main thoroughfares. Most of the location chosen for their outlets usually is a metropolitan area which most of people usually go.They believe in the concept of higher volume, higher chances of having customers. The product mix varies between each store based on the size and location of the store. It was a take-away concept, which is totally un-Australian. Marketing Gloria Jean’s Coffees positions their products on quality and experience, rather than just offering coffees. A comparison of specialty drinks with its competitors reveals very minor differences. Gloria Jean’s Coffees’ image is one of the key elements to their success. The company has realized that people don’t only come for the coffee; they come for the atmosphere.People socialize, rea d, study, dine, or just enjoy the music while drinking their coffee. By knowing this, Diedrich Coffee try to make their stores unique in some way or another that will create a vibrant store atmosphere. Research and Development Gloria Jean’s Coffees consider research and development (R) as one of the main factor to be successful in the market thus they constantly urge their employees to be innovative and creative. This is evident through the continuous developments of new and exciting products, being the various drink flavors and coffee related products.By introducing more and more new products and by developing new distribution channels, it coincides with Gloria Jean’s Coffees goal of becoming the most loved and respected coffee company in the world. 3. 4 Services Recovery Strategies Caring for Upset Customers Now and again there are bound to be problems. A customer may be dissatisfied with his meal or may find the quality to be below his standards. There are special t raining for server and they have to attend it, in able to get confirmation of services. At Gloria Jean’s Coffee they are 100% sure servers know the best ways to handle customer complaints.Retaining upset customers can be a challenge. By putting in the effort and respect to recover distressed customers, usually Gloria Jean’s may be able to convince their customer to return to in the future. Customer Comment Cards Customer comment cards are recently use and most type of way in evaluating the customer experience. Customer comment cards are typically set out on the table or delivered by the server at the end of the meal. Customers can rate qualities of the Gloria Jean’s Coffee cafe, such as food presentation, menu pricing and server friendliness. 4. 0 COMPARATIVE ANALYSISThe definition of comparative analysis are the item-by-item comparison of two or more comparable alternatives, processes, products, qualifications, sets of data, systems, or the like. In accounting, for example, changes in a financial statement's items over several accounting periods may be presented together to detect the emerging trends in the company's operations and results. 4. 1 Comparisons Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jeans Coffee in term of Customer Retention Strategies In order to maintain the customers for both companies in this industry, there have to make sure that their customers always satisfied with their product.The definition of customer retention strategy are helps the organization to keep their sales up, to create social and structural bonds and build engagement to delight the customers. The top strategies to retain customers are: market to the existing clients, connect with the customers, ask for feedback and input, share resources, reward customers for staying, be consistent in the approach and interactions, and follow through on the commitments, and keep learning. It is well documented that optimizing customer loyalty has a direct and positive impact on a co mpany’s financial performance and strategy.Increasing customer loyalty through improved customer experiences can be driven by the insight gained from a comprehensive customer feedback program. Below are comparisons table for both company. 4. 2 Comparisons Starbuck Coffee and Gloria Jeans Coffee in term of Services Recovery Strategies Service recovery has drawn the attention of researchers and academicians recently. The concept of service recovery is seen as both business practice and focus of  marketing study which has developed over time.Perhaps the strongest single factor  that causes service failure is the nature of service products themselves, which increase the possibilities of errors, or service failures, and therefore the need for recovery. Most scholars point out that the difference between tangible products and intangible services has increased customer awareness of the possibility of service failures either  from the operational perspective or from the custome r’s viewpoint and it’s difficult for marketers to understand and to meet customer  expectations. Besides, service variability has been identified as ongoing problem both for marketing and quality managers.Below is the table of both companies for services recovery strategies. 5. 0 CONCLUSION 5. 1 Conclusion for Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s As one of the famous coffee brand shop, the coffee shop does well in the field of marketing. According to the analysis of the shop’s situations concerning the marketing mix and positioning, a clear picture of the shop’s competitive advantages can be achieved. Generally speaking, there are some important factors that help the shop to achieve business success, which include convenient location, guaranteed high quality of both coffee and service and the Starbucks and Gloria Jean’s brand itself.On the other hand, this research also gives some recommendations to help to solve problems found during the course of research. For example, the shop should pay more attention to create a more comfortable environment in the guest area, and be more positive to introduce the â€Å"Member Card† which can help to build more stable and loyal customer relationship. 5. 2 Recommendation for Starbucks Coffee Based on the analysis, there are some issues should be taken into considerations to make further improvements for the Starbucks coffee shop.First one is based on the customers’ expectation survey. Some customers suggest that Starbucks should offer more comfortable armchairs and coaches, canopy and replace the outdoor floor with the wooden floor as same as the indoor decoration. In service industry, customers often look for tangible clues, namely physical evidence which can influence customer’s evaluation of service quality. In this case, there is knowledge gap between the service providers and the customers perceived service quality.More comfortable environment can help create frie ndlier atmosphere, which enhance the supplementary services by adding values to customers. It is more attractive to customers, especially when they want to have a relaxed time in this Starbucks shop except for a cup of coffee. Besides that, many customers were surprised when they heard that Starbucks also offer a reward card called â€Å"Starbucks Card Visa†, which, however, is not introduced to customers by staff, compared to the Gloria Jean’s positive attitude to introduce their discount card to customers.Loyalty reward programs can offer existing customers incentives to remain loyal and perhaps even increase their purchases. In this case, the coffee shop appears negative to reward their customers, which is easily resulting in customer defection because customers will feel like being defected when they get to know the truth. The shop should realize that existing customers are more profitable while winning new customers are costly. Thirdly, should pay more attention t o educate its customers about Starbucks’ coffee culture. Starbucks does well in brand building.Besides good coffee, it also provides its customers a very particular type of experience called the â€Å"third place†, a place away from their home and work, where people can meeting friends and business partners or just get relaxed by reading a book with a cup of gourmet coffee. This is the Starbucks’ positioning, the selling point. However, according to the survey results, no one knows it. The shop should realize that differentiation is most of the time why people buy. A clear concept of what the difference is will directly pull customers to come in. There should be a complete consideration about the cost issue before taking action. 5. Recommendation for Gloria Jean’s Coffee Product Uniqueness Gloria Jeans should opt for better coffee beans or a variety of coffee beans from around the world. Beans could be obtained from areas such as South America and Indones ia. These are the places that venture into to obtain variety of beans that suits the consumers. By doing so, consumers will definitely have a variety of brew that they could choose from, besides, the special beans could even provide a better taste of coffee for different types of consumers. Using low fat milk, creamer and artificial sweetener could benefit those whom are worried about obesity and have obesity problem.This specially caters to them as it is less fattening and less sweet, thus it could comply with World Health Organizations agenda of providing healthier food and beverages. Product Differentiation Gloria Jeans should provide food to customers instead of only cakes and pies. This is because walk in customers would find it convenient to dine in instead of just buying coffee from the outlet. Menu such as breakfast sets and set lunch should be provided besides serving light food such as sandwiches and cakes. Raising standards Most walk in customers look for a cozy and warm place to hangout when they enter the outlet.Gloria Jeans could provide a better environment for them by using comfortable sofas and furniture, warm ambience with music and also providing handicap facilities. This will improve consumers’ perception towards the outlet. Modern equipment such as The Clover, which is a specialized brewing machine that allows a barista to quickly deliver one freshly brewed cup of coffee at a time, would be useful. It takes quite some time for a freshly brewed cup of coffee to be served to customers with traditional equipments, thus it might lose some customers whom could not wait.Many people patronize coffee outlet is because it is a neutral place for people to talk about business and do their homework and assignment. This means that internet connection is very useful for them, including students whom usually do their assignments and homework at the outlet. Providing Wi-Fi service to them might benefit Gloria Jeans, as more people will patronize th e outlets for usage of Wi-Fi, which will indirectly linked to purchasing of coffee in the outlet. Increase baristas standards Providing further training such as entrepreneurship skills and management skills to baristas might improve their services.Baristas will feel more knowledgeable in handling situations that might occur. Giving baristas extra incentives such as entertainment allowance and company trips might boost up their morale, which might indirectly increase their productivity level and decrease the turnover rate. Widen the target market Gloria Jeans target market in considerably small, where there only target people aged 18 to 25 years old compared to other competitors. They could widen their target market to cater students as well as corporate business people.This can be done by widening the operation to hotels and resorts, healthcare, college and university campus environments and business and industry cafeterias. Besides that, they could provide kids menu, which could be favorable to those families that brings their children together to Gloria Jeans’ outlet. Increase Customer Awareness Gloria Jeans hardly did any advertising and promotions. They should advertise in local newspaper on their special promotions and their new products to gain customers awareness. Celebrity endorsement could also be useful in the sense that Gloria Jeans is their choice of coffee.This will gain attention of the fans of the celebrity and also people in public. Local celebrities such as Nicole Kidman is prove to be useful as a marketing strategy in the sense of celebrity endorsement. Social and environmental effort can be seen as a good way to increase customers’ awareness towards the brand name. Doing charity work such as funding the coffee bean farmers, building schools and clinics could be seen as a useful tool to gain worldwide attention towards what Gloria Jeans is doing for the world. They could also be part of Governments plan of reducing the consumpti on of electricity and water by doing so in the outlets itself.Customer incentives Gloria Jeans should reward their loyal customers with membership card or loyalty card to encourage them to stay loyal to the brand and also continue patronizing. These rewards will be beneficial to them and make them feel happy and treasured. They could provide them with discounts coupons and free refills for them who have the membership card, and encourages those that have not sign up, to sign up for these benefits. Franchisee Criteria Gloria Jeans has a strict policy in choosing franchisees for their business. This causes a lot of potential franchisees withdrawn from franchising for Gloria Jeans.The company should be more lenient towards the requirement in selecting franchisee or partners. But then also they have to do adequate power research on the background of the franchisee before choosing them. This is because they reflect the brand image of the company when they are operating under Gloria Jeans ’s name. Choosing the Right Partner From the problem regarding funding Mercy Ministry against anti-gay society, Gloria Jeans should discontinue the funding of it in order not to interfere with serious issues that could jeopardize the business.Instead, they should fund beneficial organizations such as Red Crescent Society and World Wildlife Fund. This will also help promote Gloria Jeans name worldwide, as a form of consumer awareness 6. 0 REFERENCE ? http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Gloria_Jean's_Coffees ? http://www. gloriajeans. com. sg/our-drinks/ ? http://www. starbucks. com. my/ ? theentrepreneurshipjournal. wordpress. com/†¦ /customer-retention-strategies ? www. slideshare. net/Spartanski/starbucks-case-analysis ? http://www. ukessays. com/essays/marketing/gloria-jean-coffee. php

Irish Drama Essay

In the book â€Å"Blood and Oil: The Dangers and Consequences on America’s Growing Dependence on Imported Petroleum† by Michael T. Klare, he focuses on the growing attention that the natural resource of oil has had and for sometime has been the main focus of just how American foreign policy has been molded to gain, either by force or peace, oil. Klare offers an important look at U. S. national security policy in very turbulent regions of the world where most oil is black gold. The author argues that U. S. foreign and military policy has been increasingly driven by the need to ensure reliable access to foreign oil, especially in the Middle East, and that American foreign oil dependence continues to grow, U. S. forces in increasingly find themselves fighting to defend oil producing regions and supply routes. Klare points out his thesis by documenting the substantial and growing U. S. dependence on foreign oil and the problems it has creat4ed, Klare describes the increasing involvement of the United States in the Middle East since World War II and with the particularly close ties with Saudi Arabia as well as the negative consequences of this involvement has on American security. The authors writes in detail the latest phase of the story by analyzing the energy strategy adopted by the Bush administration in 2001 and how this has only reinforced U. S. dependency on foreign oil with this being especially true in the Persian Golf. Klare goes on to describe the administrations polices toward that region. In chapter five the author discusses the possible prospects for diversifying foreign oil supplies and concluding that this approach offers little hope of reducing U. S. reliance on the Gulf even though it would increase the chances of conflicts in other region. In one description Klare discusses how the U. S. oil dependence may increasingly turn towards conflict with Russia and China. The author summary of what the cost of oil dependency in the final chapter and briefly gives an alternative strategy which would detach our pursuits of energy from security commitments to foreign governments by reducing oil consumption and in the development of alternative energy sources. Michael Klare gives a good argument and shows just what the national security consequences of U. S. foreign oil dependence or consequences that have been overlooked. The theme throughout the book is that American leaders have gone to great lengths to secure oil and has made this a matter of national security to be able to safeguard it through the use of military force. The author well documents his writings with a great number of notes and uses primary sources. The most shocking is the current policies Bush has in place towards the Gulf and how Bush has a very detailed strategy for the American domination of the Persian Gulf for gaining great amounts of oil. This strategy has three goals; the first is the stability of Saudi Arabia, the second was removal of Saddam Hussein and to replace him with a stable government that could give more output for oil and finally pushing Iran for a more stable leadership change. As the lust for oil increases an increase of military response will be seen as a necessary and just cause for wars. Reference: Klare, M. T. (2004). Blood and oil: The dangers and consequences of America’s growing dependency on imported petroleum. New York: Henry Holt.

Financing Strategy Essay

There are many options for expansion for a privately held company. The Huffman Trucking Company has options to expand the operations of the business. The three best options that the firm faces are; going public through an IPO, acquiring another organization in the same industry, or merging with another organization. With each of these being a possibility, there are some aspects that must be taken into consideration. First there are strengths of the option, as well as weaknesses. Each option also comes with its own opportunities as well as threats, which must not be over looked. While there are pros and cons to any decision that will be made as far as going forward is concerned, expanding operations is imperative to staying competitive in the business world this day in age. Weighing each option will allow The Huffman Trucking Company’s decision makers to come to the best conclusion when moving forward. Going Public through an IPO An initial public offering (IPO) is a process in which a private company issues shares of stock to the public for the first time. Often times this process is known as â€Å"going public†. Regardless of how people refer to it though, it is extremely important for Huffman Trucking to consider this option for further expansion (â€Å"Encyclopedia Of Business†, 2013). The strength in this approach is that it could generate revenues that do not have to be paid back. The initial purchasers of the stock are buying a portion of the company in hopes that the value will increase. Huffman Trucking can then use those funds to purchase new equipment, hire more employees, and more importantly to expand their service area in the United States. However, there are weaknesses in this decision. The current ownership and management would lose a great deal of decision making power for the company. In an instant, the entire management team would have a group of stockholders to answer to. The knowledge savvy that got Huffman Trucking to where it is would become secondary to the whims of the stock holders. The opportunities of this approach are many, but primarily, it would put Huffman Trucking on the map. Increasing the recognition and reputation of the company can go a long way to increasing revenues. Also, going public would create a financing climate for the company that would provide even more opportunity to gain investment monies (when needed) for further growth. The major threat of this decision is that current ownership and management would be thrown out. If the stockholders felt that they knew better for the company, steps could be taken to get rid of anyone deemed detrimental to the company. This could mean that in a matter of years the original owner and every member of the original management team could be removed from the company. Acquiring another Organization in the Same Industry Another option for Huffman Trucking is to acquire another organization within the trucking industry. Huffman trucking can already credit some of its growth in the past to acquiring other businesses, though each case is different and it’s important to consider the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats associated with another acquisition. Acquiring another business can help Huffman Trucking to increase their efficiency and business. This is a known strength for acquiring another business, because they already have a location that they cover as well as a customer base, and their name is known, associating Huffman Trucking with that name will help their customers feel comfortable offering their business to Huffman. Depending on how Huffman is already staffed, a weakness of acquiring another business could be bringing on to many employees, or even having to let some of that company’s current employees go. If Huffman brings on those employees they have to make sure they have enough business to pay for all of their labor, and if they have to terminate those employees it can give the company a negative public image for cutting jobs. There are countless opportunities when acquiring another company in the same industry. It all depends on how the specific company handles the acquisition. One major opportunity is unlimited growth, if the acquisition goes well for both companies than Huffman will probably have the chance to acquire other businesses within the same industry and continue to grow. A threat would be that there is really no guarantee how the other company will handle the acquisition. There could be negative publicity or issues with current employees if Huffman doesn’t handle the situation appropriately from the beginning. Merging Organizations Many times, a company like Huffman Trucking potentially can build strength by merging with other organizations. Careful consideration and planning needs to take place before simply diving into any venture; however, if the company were to mesh itself with a company that is already holding itself upright, Huffman Trucking potentially could have more to offer its customers. In combination with the diverse services Huffman already provides, it can expand on these services. Especially, if Huffman aligns itself with another well-known company, consumers could still get their needs met by the former company while also being introduced to the products and services offered by Huffman. In relation, if Huffman shares nearby territories with other companies that offer similar services, it may be a wise move to merge the companies into one entity. â€Å"It is smart to merge with, successful companies if the services complement each other. The acquiring company would have access to a new market and an already established customer base† (NFIB, 2013, P. 1). In this instance Huffman would serve as the main headquarters; the head honchos taking over. Combining similar companies together potentially can ignite more power as a union, reinforcing the strength in numbers concept. â€Å"Merging is a way to encourage growth; it can be looked upon as a way to open up new channels and new markets† (NFIB, 2013, P.1). Occasionally companies experience down times, mostly because of market trends. On their own, they simply would lose steam and eventually fade into financial despair, unless another company chooses to offer a life raft. In these instances, a large company may swoop in and â€Å"buy† out the struggling company. The endeavor can prove to be fruitful if the larger company is successful at not only turning around profits for the struggling company but also building onto its own. Acquiring additional assets also helps to make a large company â€Å"look† better to investors. Huffman Trucking initially may desire to keep everything the â€Å"same.† It may even promise that employees will not lose their jobs. The reality, however; for any successful merger, is that change is inevitable and some employees will be let go. If Huffman attempts to retain too many employees it sets itself up for failure as the synergy processes can become strained. Within a given organization, only so many associates are needed to fill the necessary departments. The action of merging with other companies automatically reveals the existence of several different â€Å"departments† of employees doing the same type of work. Huffman will have to determine how many workers are â€Å"needed† to fill these positions and then layoff, or relocate the rest. Larger companies merging with other large, successful companies may merge more smoothly with minimal layoffs, and such a condition would be ideal. The merging endeavor could unfortunately cause a temporary downward trend in stock prices. Huffman may be tempted to get cocky with prices because it is now owner of many smaller entities. It may would reason that since it offers products widely sought by consumers that pricing rests solely within their whim. Consumers, however, â€Å"may rebel when confronted by increased costs as they seek cheaper product alternatives within the marketplace† (Rimm & Media, Wint). The opportunities are numerous when a merger is successful. Two well-financed, profitable companies potentially can exponentially increase their net worth by joining forces. Keeping lines of communication open among the entire company promotes enthusiasm from workers old and new. Acquiring companies can benefit from the broader customer base; in conjunction it can often decrease expenses as they produce more of their own brand. Although the reality exists that some employees will be let go, there also lays potential risks. â€Å"Customer service may suffer as employees feel less motivated to go out of their way to help clients and shoppers† (Rimm & Media, Wint). A gradually weakening workforce fueled by employee stress and weakened morale will eventually affect the face of the entire company. Many merger efforts actually discourage employees from seeking employment elsewhere, as they want the merger process to unfold smoothly. This is no way guarantees job security for workers long-term. Consequently, some employees will be intolerant toward the unknown. They feel unmotivated. Turnover is sure to spread among departments. As departments begin to weaken, remaining workers may start to feel the squeeze of added work load. During the merger, the company is unlikely to hire replacement workers right away. The overall spirit within the company may slowly deteriorate as result. Another potential threat is an already weak company deciding to merge with another weak company, assuming that combining the two will induce success. Two broke companies will seldom find success together. More than likely, they simply will fail as one unit. Huffman Trucking should consider several factors when choosing to pursue an international location. Financial decisions for Huffman Trucking will be affected by the decision to branch out into international markets. The usual factors that Huffman Trucking takes into consideration in the planning efforts of supply and demand will include new risks. These risks will â€Å"include unanticipated commodity price shocks, volatile exchange rates, and unexpected supply disruptions as a result of forces beyond our controls, such as physical disasters and terrorist attacks† (Neuman, 2005). The company should consider interest rates as this will affect the exchanges from one currency to another. Employment levels and economic growth expectations will also potentially affect exchange rates. Rising unemployment in another country could bring the value of that country’s currency down, thus creating a less favorable exchange rate. The same is true for general economic conditions. If a country’s economy is not growing interest rates are likely rising and potentially affect exchange rates as well. Another factor Huffman Trucking should consider when choosing a location for potential international expansion is the trade balance of the other country as well as its political and regulatory structure. A country wants to maintain a positive trade balance to keep a favorable demand for its currency. The political structure within a foreign country needs to be strong to help protect the investments of Huffman Trucking. The foreign country should possess clearly defined regulations. Strong regulations will also help protect the company’s investments. These critical factors will aid Huffman Trucking is determining where international expansion aligns with their operations. Each of the choices before Huffman Trucking are valid and each has its own strengths and weaknesses. It is important to note that expansion is an important part of successful business, but not necessarily a requirement. Huffman Trucking must decide if negative side effects of any of these choices is worth the gain.

Finance 4.5 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Finance 4.5 - Essay Example The bond prices are different from part (a) and (b) in the question because interest rate is lowered. Bond prices are inversely proportional to interest rates therefore; as interest rate lowers, bond prices hike. This would eventually lead to lower yield. Therefore; in the above given scenario, the interest rates were lowered which caused the bond prices to rise. No, the bonds should not be called. The bonds should only be called if interest rates drop below coupon rate. This will give you the opportunity to call in your previous debt at a lower rate and then reissue debt at a lower interest rate if needed. The second scale will increase profits at a greater pace than scale one after q=3125 units. As the fixed cost is limited, and variable cost per unit is less therefore; the overall cost would be less than scale one. This means that even if the break even sales are  in the original cost function, the company would not face negative cash flow if it surpasses 142856 levels of sale because majority of the cost is of depreciation which is a non cash expense. Even though the company shows negative profits but that would not mean negative cash flow unless the level of sale is above 142561

Business report on A service experience for local consumers Essay

Business report on A service experience for local consumers - Essay Example The analysis revealed that there are some problems with customer service, product fit, promotional efforts, parking, employee involvement, and parking of Starbucks. Surprisingly, the packaging is the only aspect where there are no objections at all. The recommendations proposed in this report include first, offering discounts, coupons, free benefits, rebates, premiums, lotteries. Second, increase the volume of promotional activities. Third, train and manage employees in such a way that they could associate themselves with the company. Fourth, at off peak one employee must greet the customers at the door and the other must help customers with their parking problems. Table of Contents Introduction 4 Discussion 5 Target Market of Starbucks 5 Pricing 6 Promotion 7 People 8 Product 9 Process 10 Physical Evidence and Place 11 Recommendations 12 Conclusion 12 References 14 Appendices 15 Appendix # 1 – Questionnaire 15 Appendix # 2 – Respondent # 1 18 Appendix # 3 – Resp ondent # 2 19 Appendix # 4 – Respondent # 3 20 Appendix # 5 – Respondent # 4 21 Introduction It was in March 1971 in Seattle, when three people Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker decided to open their coffee shop with the name of Starbucks (Bussing-Burks, pp. 26-34, 2009). The name came from their favorite novel Moby-dick but at that time they did not realized that this name would remain restricted to Seattle, but it is going to rule the hearts and minds of millions of people all around the world (Pride & Ferrell, pp. 36-38, 2007). With 2010 revenue of more than 10.71 billion US dollars, Starbucks is the biggest coffee house on the planet earth. With its 16,858 stores in more than 50 countries, Starbucks is one the corporations that have been able to survive when its fellow brands were failing due to revelations of corporate scandals, manipulations, socially irresponsible behaviour but despite going through all this, it was able to make it through to what it i s today (Armstrong et al., pp. 312-317, 2009). Currently, Starbucks is operating almost 23 stores in various parts of Australia. This report is an attempt to explore, investigate, and critically examine the service experience of the Starbucks shop at 201 Elizabeth St, Sydney, New South Wales. The report would first start by drawing lines to highlight the target market of Starbucks in Australia. The report has collected its data from four different people that fit in the picture of Starbucks’s target market and have who have recently been to Starbucks. The data collection method was primarily through an interview questionnaire, which is a part of this report under the heading of Appendix # 1. Furthermore, the responses of these people, in form of the brief bullet points and notes are also there in the appendix section. This report would be profound importance of to the Starbucks executives of Australia. For the past few years, Starbucks has been struggling in Australia to prod uce the same results that it has been showing in rest of the world. It was in the year 2000, when Starbucks entered the Australian market with hopes that it would capture the market and become the market leader as it is in the US and many other parts of the world. Important here to note is that this was the time when Starbucks was touching its peak. â€Å"Open a store a day and beat the competitors away† was the policy of the company (Michelli, pp. 255-256, 2007). However, Starbucks soon realized that this model is not producing the intended results and in mid 2008,

Oswestry Mutual Insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Oswestry Mutual Insurance - Essay Example In 1991, the company decision-making process was highly centralized. The growth experienced by OMI in the mid to late 1980's and the need to become more responsive to the dynamics of the industry, top management decided to change the operating structure. In 1991, they reorganized into 6 sectional-regional profit centers. The branch offices remained at 68, each branch office reports to a specific sectional profit centre and sectional office. The sectional office is responsible for approving all policies written and claims filed through both branch offices and the independent agents located in that region. The head office's is suppose to establish overall corporate policy and provide support to 6 sectional offices. The head office in Oswestry and the sectional offices were organized on a functional basis. The functional units in all locations are: Premium Audit, Underwriting, Sales, Claims/Losses, Finance, Human Resources, Loss Monitoring and Support. However, even though the operational structure was decentralized, most of the information services still remain centralized in the head office, which includes related planning, control, budget authority and decision- making stays at the head office. Computers were used, at first, for financial and statistical report production: standard MIS reports included, profit/loss, operations, claim data, loss ratios, and marketing information. In the 1980's, it became painfully obvious to OMI that the companies method of processing policy and claim data needed a major overhaul. John Robson, at the time, director of Information Systems called for a serious review of information service operations. He wanted to know what data was being collected, processed, and how the information was being used by every department and branch office. In 1991, a committee was established. Representatives came from Information Systems, and the major functional area user groups. They studied current information system problems, determined future requirements, and developed specifications for new systems to meet their needs. The project was completed in 1993, implemented was: an automated policy-writing system which would issue policies, cancellations, changes and renewals, marketing and financial reports were regularly prepared, directly from the data already entered into the policy writing and claim system, an automated claim input system which automatically issue claims cheques, online retrieval of policyholder information became possible at all branch offices, online retrieval of claim information became possible at all branch offices Overall Process To Implement Change The new systems were not perfect, but was a great improvement. When a new application for insurance was received by the Underwriting department in a sectional office, relevant data was entered by a sectional office by a PPD clerk over a telephone line link into the company's large IBM 3090 central mainframe located in Oswestry. Data would then be processed in overnight batch mode to produce a policy which could be printed in multiple copies the next day in Oswestry, and on a remote printer in the sectional office. Also, an online policy-holder file would also be available the next day for retrieval on the sectional office terminal which was also connected to the 3090 in Oswestry. Prior to the systems development, work that took place between 1991-1993 and before, the establishment of the sectional offices, handling personal policy information was a semi-automated clerical

Era of Totalitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Era of Totalitarianism - Essay Example All these totalitarian regimes consequently took monumental toll, with millions of people perishing and suffering under the insistence of the political party in power to regulate and dictate all facets of economic, social and even spiritual aspects of human existence. The mobilizing power of the totalitarian regimes, their ability to foster mass movements was based on extreme interpretations of the ideologies of Marx and Nietzsche. Both Marx and Nietzsche lived during a time in the 19th century when science was on the rise and religion was on a decline as the guidepost in matters of human progress and direction. The inward aspects of human existence, the spiritual aspects were seemingly irrelevant with the unprecedented economic progress as can be seen in the West, that was albeit accompanied by the marginalization of certain sectors of society (the toiling, labor classes of Marx) as well as corruption and decadence (the nihilism, the weaknesses engendered by the Christian religion1) as observed by Nietzsche. Both philosophers stressed the ability of mankind to change their reality, Marx in his deterministic belief that the workers rise to power is inevitable and in Nietzsche's trumpeting of the morality of the master over the slave. The historical determinism of Marx and the infinite call to power of the individual with no boundaries in Nietzsche's ideas were potent brews that combined to foster the totalitar ian regimes of the 20th century. Marx, whose ideas led to left-wing totalitarianism turned Hegel's dialectics on its head, converting the latter's predominance of ideas over reality to that of the material determining ideas of reality. For Marx, man is determined by his material or economic needs, forming superstructure for which social, moral and spiritual norms are erected. If mankind could take control of his economic life, and revolutionize it so that the workers will own the fruits of their labor, then all the other aspects of life could be wiped out clean, with oppressive relations disappearing and the mankind living in communal bliss. Far from blissful, the followers of Marx took cue on the deterministic flavor of his ideology from which the communist party became rather an organ of repression of dissent and of oppression in the dogmatic insistence on the interpretation of what constitutes and what will constitute reality. Nietzsche's ideas on the will to power and master morality on the other hand, were the Nazis' ticket to avenge Germany's humiliation after World War I. Morally relativistic, Nietzsche on the one hand when seem in a good light enjoins man to freedom, the creation of what one sees as fit for his life, without the encumbrances of societal traditions. But if used by a group or party out for political power, it had the most fantastic consequences where a nation could be made to believe that one's race is superior and consequently others are inferior - with the resulting Holocaust that killed millions of Jews in the altar of Aryanism.

Sounding fetish Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sounding fetish - Research Paper Example Once inserted, tiny electric shocks are administered† (Snow, 2012, p. 1). As the rod vibrates inside the penis touching its walls, it feels great, which is why people have a sounding fetish. â€Å"That feeling of â€Å"should that be in there?† followed immediately by â€Å"who cares! It feels FANTASTIC!†Ã¢â‚¬  (urethralplay.tumblr.com, n.d.). A fetish is an intense emotional and/or psychological attachment to a part of body or an object. The attachment is sexual in that people that have the fetishes cannot have sex unless they think about the part of body or the object with which they have the fetish. The presence or absence of the fetish in either or both of the sex partners plays a fundamental role in their ability to enjoy the sex. If only one of the sex partners has a fetish, it may be disturbing and irritating to the other sex partner, or at least, the sex partner who does not have a fetish might feel unfulfilled and unsatisfied during and after having the sex. However, if both the sex partners have a similar fetish i.e. they have a fetish towards the same part of body or object, then the sex between them can be very enjoyable, wonderful, fulfilling, and satisfying. The fetish can be with anything. Things people can have fetishes with may include but are not limited to shoes, hair color, and nipple ring. Some people think that sexual attraction of a man for another man or of a girl with an old man is also fetish, but it is not since age or gender is not something that can be touched, they are abstract nouns. Defining a particular class of people who have a fetish is not realistic, since anybody can have it. However, there are certain factors that increase an individual’s tendency to have a fetish. For example, models working in the porn industry frequently have sex with models who wear tongue rings, navel rings, nipple rings, penis rings,

A Strategic Marketing Assignment on Etisalat Essay

A Strategic Marketing Assignment on Etisalat - Essay Example The telecom industry of the Middle Eastern countries has seen a continuous growth. A forecast by Informa Telecoms and Media shows that the year 2009 will continue to see a constant growth, with almost 28.68 million net inclusions into the mobile market this year. The market is very wide and has as many as almost 250 million mobile subscribers and is expected to reach as high as 250.79 million by the end of 2009 . Company Information:The Company:Etisalat is one of the oldest telecom providers in UAE. It is headed by Mohammad Al Qamzi, the CEO. The company was incorporated in 1976 and has become a part of the Financial Times Top 500 Corporation. In terms of the capitalization and revenues, this company stands on the 6th position in the Middle East. This is the only other largest contributor other than the oil sector, in the development programs of the UAE federal Government. It has also been awarded for being a socially responsible corporation. Etisalat has also been honored for the na tionalization programme . Etisalat offers a number of different products and services. They have a wide variety of products in their portfolio, which totals to almost a hundred and fifty. These include items like the fixed lines, mobiles, and value added services for businesses and consumers. This does not include the additional products and services that are provided by the company to people with special needs . Etisalat’s main region of functioning is in UAE and Iran.

Human Resource Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Human Resource Managment - Essay Example Figure 1 Applying the principles of total reward strategy into reality, Taj Group devised the STARS (Special Thanks And Recognition System) as an attempt to appreciate the excellent performers and making employees happy by recognizing their efforts and contribution made to the organizational success. STARS was more inclined towards fostering a spirit of cooperation, motivation and excellence by introducing more of intrinsic rewards than cash awards. STARS as such, worked as a five-level strategy where employees earned points for their acts of kindness, hospitality and teamwork (Chandran 2003). Based on the accumulated points, employees were put into silver, gold, platinum, etc. grades and were applauded in public. An overview of the nature of reward system and its components at Taj are shown in table 1 below: STARS Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 5 Grade Silver Gold Platinum Chief Operating Officer’s Club Managing Director’s Club Points 120 130 250 510 >760 Time l imit 3 months Within 3 months of attaining silver grade Within 6 months of attaining gold grade SPECIFIC FEATURES OF STARS Receipts Only recognition, no cash awards Acts Honesty, kindness, leadership, teamwork, etc. Gathering points Positive feedback or appreciation received either from colleagues or customers Rewards Hampers, vouchers, free vacation sponsored by Taj Group, etc. Recognition Award giving ceremony to highest point earners and public display of their photographs. Table 1: Components of STARS at Taj Group The incorporation of STARS fulfills the basic underlying principles of reward management. As Taj Charter says, its people philosophy is orchestrated to make employees feel important and special while working at Taj (Chandran 2003). Its core principle remains to attract,... This paper approves that reward management facilitate employees remain stuck to the organization’s vision of quality, responsiveness and assurance. Cross-functional teams which are the talk of the town also perform well when total rewards strategy is put in place. Reward management even establishes a sense of equity amongst employees whereby they feel that efforts of every single person are appreciated proportionately. The research conducted on Le Meridian’s Hotel of practicing reward management as one of its core HR strategy put forth many positive findings, major of which was employees ranking high on their health and energy aspect. This essay makes a cocnclusion that Taj Group has no doubt innovated in its human resource adaptations and aligning its business objectives with that of people objectives. It thrusts on people-oriented culture rather than work or profit oriented one. This is the reason behind its immense success and expansion spree worldwide. Same feat is replicated by Le Meridian Hotel in Mauritius which is also known for its top class quality and service delivery. The commonality between both remains their people strategy and inclusion of a total reward component in their HR dimension to retain their best talent. Both these hospitality giants present an example of how recognizing and appreciating the efforts of people can garner unimaginable benefits and growth prospects to a service business. Though sustaining on such philosophies and making them happen against set standards remain risky, yet what these two have done is commendable and should be followed by others in the industry.

Research proposal about adolosence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research proposal about adolosence - Essay Example According to Frame, Richard and Matthew (2009) if divorce occurs, it is likely to be one of the most stressful events in the lives of both parents and children and can be characterized as a significant period of transition, regardless of age. Aro and Palosaari (1992) state that divorce "will directly or indirectly touch nearly all American children" (p.14). Therefore, it is important to study how parental divorce may affect families and to investigate the consequences of marital dissolution for the children involved. Knox, Zusman and Decuzzi (2004) suggest that approximately 6 million divorced families exist in the United States and majority of them have children. According to Kreider and Fields approximately 26 percent children are currently living with just one parent in the United States (cited in Comerford, 2008). There are many studies in the literature investigating the short term and long term effects of divorce on children. The loss of a parent through divorce disrupts the fa mily life, the parent to parent relationship and the parent to child relationship in significant ways (David and Mark, 2009). The effects of parental divorce have been found to linger in the children of divorce, even as they develop into adults. This study will attempt to investigate the impact of parental divorce on the past and present sexual behavior of college aged children. A wide array of sexual behaviors will be examined. Specifically the age at which each behavior occurred will be examined to gain a more accurate picture of possible differences between those from intact and divorced families. Research suggests that daughters from divorced families are more likely to have intercourse at an earlier age and are likely to have more sexual partners (Hetherington and Kelly, 2002; Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004). This study will examine a much wider spectrum of sexual behaviors to investigate whether these results are supported. In addition, male sexual behavior will be examined in a comprehensive way, as this area has been neglected in previous research. Literature Review The Impact of Parental Divorce on Adolescence Although Forehand et al. (1991) suggested that the effects of divorce may be less detrimental to children and adolescents than was previously thought, much literature does indicate that children and adolescents who experience parental divorce function less well than those who do not, particularly in the area of social adjustment (Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati, 1998). When compared to adolescents from intact homes, adolescents in divorced families are two to three times more likely to behave in an antisocial and delinquent way, to associate with delinquent peers, to show poor school performance (Grimm and Wassil, 1994) and to drop out of school (Hetherington, 1993). These adolescents have been shown to have more problems in social relationships when compared to adolescents from intact families (Hetherington, Law and O'Connor, 1993). Such adolescents have also been shown to have lower levels of trust towards others (Giuliani, Lafrate and Rosnati, 1998), they receive less parental supervision, they receive fewer curfews and rules (Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004) and they often take more responsibility for themselves (Wallerstein and Lewis, 2004) than peers who come from intact families. Wallerstein and Lewis (2004) also reported that parents in divorced f

Justify The Proposed Approaches Essay Example for Free

Justify The Proposed Approaches Essay My campaign has various links to the national campaign which has the same topic as mine. This campaign is called ‘reducing underage drinking; a collective responsibility. This campaign used the mass media approach and the community development approach similar to my campaign. In my campaign I have used three approaches and have embedded them into the creation of my campaign. These are the role of mass media, national campaign and involving health e educators. The first approach would be the role of mass media. As I have mentioned in a previous task, media can be presented in various forms such as through the television, radio, Magazines newspapers and billboards. I have chosen to use the media approach because I think it will be more applicable to my target audience. The age group that my campaign applies to are very knowledgeable in the world of media. Having our own twitter page gives our campaign the opportunity to be seen on a large scale, on an off change that someone could see our twitter account it could be very beneficial for them. However using the media as an approach does some with some disadvantages, such as not being able to teach vital skills. Using the media in our campaign didn’t allow us to go into detail and give the personal support that some individuals may need. Using twitter didn’t allow us to write much, only short sentences. This approach relates to the health belief model. The health belief model suggests that people will only seek help when they have to. Our target audience was forced to listen to our campaign as we were presenting it to them. But to them go away and search our twitter page because they needed help happens on their own accord, and has nothing to do with us. They will be seeking help because they believe that they may have been one of the teenage binge drinkers we aware talking about. The second approach is uses were the social marketing approach. Using this approach made me use my brain strategically to see if what I was doing in my campaign would had related to my audience. Using the social  marketing approach I decided to use an app to get some information across. Using an app was a good idea for my target audience. Most people in the room had an iPhone and were excited to hear that there was an app available. The excitement made people download it, hopefully the information on the app, and the help that is provided will have a positive effect on the adolescence. The model I used the theory of reasoned action. This is because my audience had had the intention to drink when they drink. But after my campaign and the information I showed them that intention changed. They now realised the problems that come with drinking at obsessive measures, and have changed their intentions to not wanting to drink. Now that the people who were in my audience have changed their intentions. According to the theory of reasoned action they will no longer be involved in drinking activity.

Encephalitis Is An Infection Of The Brain Biology Essay

Encephalitis Is An Infection Of The Brain Biology Essay Encephalitis is an infection of the brain that cause of irritation and inflammation to the brain Medical Encylopedia, 2012. Primary encephalitis is happened when the infection of the brain or spinal cord. Secondary encephalitis is happened when the infection is started to spread to the whole body and to the brain (Nordqvist, 2009). Encephalitis is a swelling of the brain parenchyma (nervous tissue in brain) that responsible for function of electrochemical communication and the ability of body to send message to different parts (david) http://www.doereport.com/imagescooked/4049W.jpg Goodman (2003) argued that encephalitis is an acute inflammatory disease of the parenchyma of the brain. It is caused by direct viral invasion or hypersensitivity initiated by a virus. Encephalitis is characterized by inflammation primarily in the gray matter of the central nervous system (CNS). Neuronal death can result in edema. There can be damage to the vascular system and inflammation of the arachnoid and pia matter. 1.1.1 Encephalitis http://findlaw.doereport.com/imagescooked/4047W.jpg Debbie Bridges (2012) argue that encephalitis is a swelling of the brain tissue, it will become serious when it can cause change personality, debility and another symptoms with the different part of brain affected. It usually happened to children and elder with low immune system. It is very rare, in U.S, about one in 200,000 people in year. Nordqvist (2009) agreed that encephalitis is acute inflammation of the brain because immune system of the body is too low to attacks viral infection. Fever and headache usually the first symptoms and it become more dangerous like unconsciousness, confusion and coma. The patient will be faced a problem such as behaviour changes, loss of memory, language and speech problem (aphasia) and epilepsy. Arthropod à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ borne (mosquito à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ borne) viruses and herpes simplex (herpes simplex type 1) are the most common that causes encephalitis. Encephalitis is an acute febrile disease usually of viral origin and involves with nervous system (). 1.1.2 Viral Meningoencephalitis According to kumar 2004, viral encephalitis is infection of the brain at parenchymal almost constantly associated with meningoencephalitis (meningeal inflammation) and sometimes with encephalomyelitis (involves spinal cord). 1.2 Anatomy of brain http://healthy-lifestyle.most-effective-solution.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/human-anatomy-brain.jpg Figure Anatomy of the brain http://antranik.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/dura-mater-superior-sagittal-sinus-subdural-space-subarachnoid-space-falx-cerebri-periosteal-meningeal-arachnoid-villus.jpg Figure Layer of meninges The brain is protected by the scalp, the skull and the meninges, cerebrospinal fluid and blood-brain barrier. The structures of brain consists cerebellum, cerebrum, brainstem and pituitary gland. Layer of meninges include the dura mater (strongest layer), arachnoid mater) and pia mater (nearest to the brain). (Stephen n all 2010). Antranik (2011) states that meninges are surround the brain and protect the brain itself. The function meninges is cover and protect the blood vessel that supply at brain and contains cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) between the pia mater and arachnoid mater. Dura mater consists periosteal and meningeal at immediately deep to the poriosteum. Tortora (2009) notes that the function of the blood- brain barrier (BBB) is to protect the brain from harmful substances and pathogens by prevent it enter brain through blood. The function of CSF is protecting the brain and spinal cord from chemical and physical injury. The cerebrum is the largest part of the brain. Each area of cerebrum is the most important function for example controls movement and languages. The function of cerebellum is control coordination and movement. Function of brainstem is control involuntary functions such as blood pressure, temperature and breathing movement. The structure that controls of the endocrine gland is pituitary gland (Stephen 2010) 1.3 Type of Encephalitis Western equine encephalitis is arboviral infection that spread by mosquitoes which more occur in summer and most common in young children. St. Louis encephalitis is more usually at United States and affected older person. It is more seriously than younger person. West Nile fever is a form of encephalitis that caused by falvivirus, spread by mosquitoes with certain birds as an intermediate host. Encephalitis has spread from northeastern United States. Neuroborreliosis (lyme disease) is due by a spirochete, transmitted by tick bites in summer season. The part of the tick bite is red with a pale center and gradually increasing size. Herpes simplex encephalitis is arising from spread of herpes simplex virus type 1 from the trigeminal nerve ganglion. It is occurs occasionally and dangerous. This encephalitis can cause extensive necrosis and haemorrhage in the brain and usually involves the frontal and temporal lobes figures .. http://neuropathology-web.org/chapter5/images5/5-hsvl.jpg Figure heamorrhagic necrosis of the temporal and frontal lobe in adult Herpes Simplex Virus encephalitis. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Causes encephalitis Figure 2 a herpes simplex virus the most common cause encephalitis. Viral infection is the cause that affects the encephalitis. Encephalitis may be cause with different type of viruses. Herpes simplex virus is the main cause of severe cases in all ages including newborns. The person will get this virus from an infected person through breathing in respiratory droplets and skin contact. It can also through by insect bites like a mosquito and contaminated food or drink. Arbovirus encephalitis is a viral encephalitis that carried by insect (mosquito and ticks). It is rare condition where severe case more likely is happened to young children and elderly. Picture of Culex mosquito laying eggs Figure Culex mosquito laying eggs Picture of arbovirus transmission cycle It also may cause by a vaccine such as rubella, mumps and measles (Kathryn Sue 1994). Adenovirus, coxsackievirus. Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus and Echovirus are also associated with encephalitis. A number of viruses for which there is now a vaccine may also cause encephalitis. These include meales, mumps, polio, rabies, rubella, varicella (chickenpox). Other causes of encephalitis may be occurring by an allergic reaction to vaccinations, autoimmune disease, bacteria (lyme disease and tuberculosis) and the effects of cancer. According to (Christian Nordiqst ) the causes of encephalitis can be category by two which are primary (infectious) encephalitis and secondary (post infectious) encephalitis. For primary encephalitis, there are three main categories of viruses which are common viruses (herpes simplex virus) , childhood viruses (measles ,mumps), and arboviruses. Secondary encephalitis can be caused by a complication of viral infection. 2.2 Incidence 2.2.1 Incidence Encephalitis in Malaysia In September 1998, an epidemic of severe fever encephalitis among pig farmers was first reported in the state of Perak Malaysia that was associated with high rate mortality. At first death were thought by Japanese encephalitis (JE) that is endemic in Malaysia and occur occasionally. However, characteristic of JE is different to these cases. A few cases patients were young children and most of the cases happened to men that have worked with pigs. Whereas, JE is mosquito borne that most common among young children and has no associated with particular occupation. JE was eliminated from possibility JE was the cause due to illness and deaths among infected pigs. By February 1999, similar disease were happened in pigs and humans in other area in Malaysia. 2.2.2 Incidence Encephalitis in Overseas Different viruses will occur in different locations. Many cases will tend to cluster in a certain season. According to Kathryn Sue (1994) the arthropod à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬borne occurs in epidemics with different incidence like as geographic and seasonal incidence (table). Eastern equine encephalitis is the least common of encephalitis but is the most serious encephalitis. table Viral encephalitis Type Geographic incidence Seasonal incidence Arthropod- borne : Eastern equine encephalitis Eastern United States Autumn Western equine encephalitis Uniform distribution, throughout the United States Summer and early fall St. Louis encephalitis Widespread distribution , in the far west occur in rural area, elsewhere in urban areas Late summer Venezuelan equine encephalitis Sourthwestern united States Year round California virus encephalitis Midwestern states Early fall Herpes simplex encephalitis No particular geographic distribution No seasonal incidence Poliovirus poliomyelitis Sporadic distribution where nonimmunized persons cluster Summer and ealy fall Rabies Sporadic distribution throughout the United States Bites more common in the late spring and throughout the early fall DISEASE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION VECTOR/ HOSTS Herpes encephalitis United states / the world Human to human contact West Nile encephalitis Africa, West Asia, Middle East, United States Mosquito / mostly birds Eastern equine encephalitis East Coast (from Massachussetts to Florida), Gulf Coast Mosquito / birds Western equine encephalitis Western United States and Canada Mosquito / birds Venezuelan equine encephalitis Western Hemisphere Mosquito / rodents La Crosse encephalitis United States (Midwestern Southeastern) Mosquito / chipmunks, squirrels St. Louis encephalitis Milwestern mid- Atlantic United States Mosquito/ birds Japanese encephalitis Temperate Asia, southern and southeastern Asia Mosquito/ birds and pigs Picture of worldwide distribution of major arboviral encephalitides Figure worldwide distribution and arbovirus transmission cycle. 2.3 Mortality/morbidity Encephalitis may be a mild infectious disease to a severe disorder that is life-threatening. The dramatic clinical manifestations of encephalitis are fever delirium or confusion progressing to unconsciousness, seizure activity cranial nerve palsies, paresis and paralysis, involuntary movement and abnormal reflexes. Signs of marked intracranial pressure may be present, 2.3.1 Mortality Charles Patrick 2012 argued that the certain of patients with encephalitis the death rate can be high. The death rates of St. Louis encephalitis can up to 30% of the cases. For Japanese encephalitis, the range death rate is from 0.3% to 60% of the people infected usually within the first week of illness and herpes encephalitis, 50%-755 of people die within 18 months. In contrast, it can increase survival up 90% when treatment by acyclovir (Zovirax). 2.3.2 Morbidity According to james nina 2004. Survival rates are due to the etiology of the disease. In some cases it can be fatal. In USA, according to Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention), encephalitis most occur in children, elderly people and individuals have weakened immune systems approximately in 0.5 in every 100,000 individuals. Besides that, in UK the National Health Service (NHS) places a figure at 1.5 cases per 100,000 people. ( Christian Nordqist 2009) 2.4 Signs and Symptoms 2.4.1 Symptoms of Encephalitis Before encephalitis begins, some patients will feel cold or stomach infection. For the case of encephalitis is not very severe, the symptoms may be similar with other disease such as fever (not very high), mild headache, low energy and poor appetite. For other symptom is confusion, drowsiness, light sensitivity, vomiting, irritability or poor temper control. (encephalitis , 2012) According to Christian norqist 2009, symptom for less common severe in encephalitis is the patients will experience stiff neck and back (occasionally). There also can be stiffness of the limbs, slow movement and clumsiness. The patient will also have cough and feels drowsy. For the more severe cases, the patients experience severe headaches, nausea, vomiting, confusion, memory loss, hearing problems, hallucination, seizures and possibly coma. The patient will be become aggressive for some cases. (christain norqist 2009). Symptoms of encephalitis in infants and newborns may be difficult to recognize. The parent or guardian should be alert of baby crying more than often (there will become worse when the baby is picked up and comforted). Besides that, the parent should be look out of vomiting, soft spot on the top of the head (frontal) may bulge out more. Other symptoms are includes body stiffness and poor feeding. (christain norqist 2009). For emergency symptoms in encephalitis is the patients will loss of consciousness, poor responsiveness, coma, muscle weakness, seizures, severe headache, and sudden change in mental functions which are amnesia, lack of mood, impaired of judgement inability to make decision and less interest in daily activities. (encephalitis 2012) 2.4.2 Signs of Encephalitis Signs of encephalitis may be show muscle weakness, speech problem, skin rash, mouth ulcers, mental confusion and neck stiffness. Other than that, signs of encephalitis are abnormal reflexes and increased intracranial pressure. Table Summary of symptoms Symptoms of encephalitis Less severe More severe In newborn and young infants Mild headache Fever Poor appetite Light sensitivity Vomiting Disorientation Stiff neck and back Severe headache Nausea Vomiting Confusion Memory loss Speech problem Hallucination Seizures coma body stiffness poor feeding Bulging soft spots on the top head table Summary signs of encephalitis Signs of encephalitis Muscle weakness Mouth ulcers Neck stiffness Skin rash Speech problem Abnormal reflexes Increased intracranial pressure Mental confusion 2.5 Pathophysiology The virus causes inflammation of brain tissue. The brain tissue swells (cerebral edema), which may destroy nerve cells, cause bleeding in the brain (intracerebral haemorrhage), and brain damage. When the virus spread by haematogenous (via bloodstream) like example rabies virus, it replicates outside the CNS and enter in the CNS. Since the virus through the blood- brain barrier t virus enter neural cells. These will result disruption of cell functioning, perivascular congestion, haemorrhage and a diffuse inflammatory response that disproportionately affects gray matters over white matter. Certain virus depend to neuron cell membrane preceptors that only found in specific parts of the brain like example Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) more likely causes haemorrhage necrotic encephalitis with predilection for the limbic system, inferior and medial temporal lobes. (David) According to james nina 2004, individuals who obtain encephalitis more frequently develop permanent neurologic disabilities. This condition is more serious than meningitis. This is happened when the viral infection produce in cerebral edema with numerous hemorrhagic spots scattered throughout the cerebral hemispheres, brainstem and cerebellum. 2.6 Histopathology 2.6.1 Arthropod- Borne Viral Encephalitis CHAPTER THREE IMAGING MODALITIES 3.1 Computer Tomography (CT scan) Computer Tomography is the combination of computer technology and x-rays as a result two dimensional images of organ, bones and tissues. To detect sign of encephalitis or inflammation of the meninges, usually procedure with contrast is required. The contrast is injected into bloodstream to more differentiate tissues in the brain. (national institude of neurological disorder and stroke 2011) Mahesh (2011) states that in adult, encephalitis in CT scans visualize hypodensity in the temporal lobe either bilaterally or unilaterally. It also involves with or without frontal lobe. 3.2 Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) MRI is use strong magnet and computer- generates radio waves to produce more detail images of body structures which are tissues, bones, organs and nerves. MRI is better than CT scan which is give more clearly picture that can help to recognize brain and spinal cord inflammation. Infection, tumors, eye disease and blood vessel irregularities that can be stroke. The images that require more detail, a contrast may be injected. (national institude of neurological disorder and stroke 2011) 3.3 Electroencephalography (EEG) EEG is use by monitoring electrical activity in the brain through the skull to detect abnormal brain waves. The function of EEG is to help diagnose certain seizure disorder, specific viral infection, for example herpes virus and inflammation of the brain or spinal cord. (national institude of neurological disorder and stroke 2011) 3.4 Ultrasonography Mahesh (2011) states that the role of ultrasonography in detects herpes encephalitis are limited. This is because it limited to identify the periventicular destructive process in neonatal evaluation ultrasonogaphy. Ultrasound showing a good near field but less far field resolution (Cranial Ultrsonography in Neonates 2010) . According to (james nina , 2004) MRI is precious diagnosis because it can detect brain inflammation earlier than Computed tomography (CT), ultrasound, nuclear medicine studies, or EEG evaluation. Other anomalies such as a brain abscess or subdural emphysema or hematoma that mimics the clinical sign of viral encephalitis can be rule out by MR. 3.5 Nuclear Imaging CHAPTER FOUR IMAGES OF FEATURES OF PATHOLOGY 4.1 Computed Tomography (CT Scan) http://www.mypacs.net/repos/mpv3_repo/viz/full/0/38/120/39969726.jpghttp://www.mypacs.net/repos/mpv3_repo/viz/full/0/38/120/39969721.jpg Figure shows 30 years old men that have AIDS, presenting with left facial palsy. Figure (a) shows CT scan non contrast as a result a isodence lesion in the right basal ganglia, surrounded by hypodense edema and mass effect. Figure (b) shows CT with contrast that represent a ring- enchancing lesion in the right basal ganglia that surrounded by edema. ( Antonio, 2011) a b http://www.pediatriconcall.com/fordoctor/diseasesandcondition/pediatric_emergencies/IMAGE/v7c09a%5B1%5D.jpg Figure (a) show some hypodensity in the thalami and temporal lobes without contrast, indicative of bilateral cortical and subcortical edema. Figure (b) shows there is meningeal enhancement at the margins of abnormal parenchymas as well as mild central enhancement after IV contrast is injected. There is no evidence of herniation. a bImage of encephalitis Figure 4.1 (a) is a CT scan of a normal brain. Figure 4.1 (b) shows contrast materials have accumulate in infected areas and around the brain from encephalitis. (Paul 2011) 4.2 MRI Imaging http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d5/Hsv_encephalitis.jpg/230px-Hsv_encephalitis.jpg Figure 4.2 high signals in the temporal lobes including hippocampal formations and parahippogampal grae, insulae and right inferior gyrus by using coronal T2- weighted MR. http://images.radiopaedia.org/images/539441/ea09c9c0186c85af7c888a031e559c_gallery.jpg Figure shows that MRI demonstrates extensive oedema in the right temporal lobes with areas of intrinsic high T1 signal, in keeping with haemorrhage. Axial proton densityà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬weighted image in a 62-year-o Figure shows 62 years old woman with confusion and herpes encephalitis with axial proton density- weight image. It demonstrates T2 hyperintensity involving the right temporal lobe. 4.3 Ultrosonography Full-size image (20 K) Figure demonstrate coronol ultrasound scan at the level of the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles. It performed with phased array transducer. It is shows mildly dilated frontal horns and bilateral grade 1 intraventricular hemorrhage (arrows). CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION 5.1 Difference Encephalitis and Meningitis Encephalitis is the dangerous than meningitis because the person that has encephalitis is more develop to permanent neurologic disabilities. According to james nina 2004, meningitis is an inflammation of the meningeal that covering the brain and spinal cord. Bacteria, viruses or other organisms that reach the meninges are the causes of meningitis. This can be happened in elsewhere in the body by blood or lymph as a result from trauma and penetrating wounds, or from adjacent structures that become infected. Most common that cause meningitis is bacterial infection. Kathryn sue 1994 states that meningitis is infection of meninges that causes by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites and other toxins. This infection can be classified to acute, subacute and chronic. The pathophysiology, treatment and clinical manifestation are different for each type of organism. Bacterial meningitis is a primary of an infection of the pia mater and arachnoid, the subarachnoid space, the ventricular system and the CFS (kathyn sue 1994). The types of bacteria that carry for acute bacterial meningitis are meningococci, streptococci, and pneumocci. Middle ear or frontal sinus is responsible that carried the bacteria to meninges. The most common meningitis in children is meningococcal, the most common meningitis in adult is pneumococcal and streptococcal meningitis is the most common in young children. CHAPTER SIX TREATMENT 6.1 Treatment The objective of treatment is to help the human body to fight the infection and relieve symptoms with give supportive care like example rest, nutrition, and fluids. Antibiotics will give to patients if the infection is caused by bacteria (certain bacteria) and antiviral medication (acyclovir and foscarnet) to treat herpes encephalitis or the severe viral infection. Anti seizure medication ( phenytoin) will be given to prevent seizures. (encephalitis 2012) Mayo 2011 states that treatment for mild cases include bed rest, drinking plenty of fluid and anti- inflammatory drugs such as acetaminophen to relieve fever and headache. For more severe cases of encephalitis can be category into three treatment which are Antiviral drugs, supportive care and follow up therapy. 6.1.1 Antiviral drugs Acylovir and Ganciclovir are antiviral drugs that common used to treat encephalitis but it is not responding for some viruses such as insect-borne viruses. This drug also can be very effective to treat herpes simplex virus. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, pain of muscle or joint and loss of appetite are the side effect for the antiviral drugs. Abnormalities in kidney or liver function are rare serious problem (Mayo 2011) 6.1.2 Supportive Care For severe encephalitis, additional supportive care also be needed in the hospital. This is including breathing assistance as monitor heart function and breathing, intravenous fluids is to ensure that appropriate levels of essential minerals and proper hydration. Anti- inflammatory also be given to help reduce pressure and swelling within the skull such as corticosteroids. Patient that have seizures or to prevent seizure, anticonvulsant medicine such as phenytoin is given (Mayo 2011). 6.1.3 Follow up therapy Follow up therapy is depending to the type or severity of complication. This therapy includes physical therapy which is to help improve flexibility, strength, motor coordination and balance. Occupational therapy is to use adaptive products that help with everyday activities and develop everyday skills. Patient that have speech problem, speech therapy can be help to relearn muscle control and coordination. Psychotherapy is learning how to be coping strategies and have new behavioural skills that can improve personality changes and mood disorder (Mayo 2011). 6.2 Diagnosis According to National Institute of Neurological disorders and stroke (2011), the doctor may diagnostic tests to confirm the presence of inflammation and infection by following a physical exam and medical history to looking activities of the past several days such as patient have bite by animal or insects or any contact with ill persons. The patients may perform a neurological examination, laboratory screening of blood, urine and body sections and analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid. A neurological examination is to assess nerve function, coordination and balance, mental status, changes in behaviour and function of motor and sensory. Usually, the doctor use small light, reflex hammer to test of strength and sensation or nervous system. Laboratory screening of blood, urine and body secretions is use to determine the presence of antibodies and foreign body that can detect and recognize brain and spinal cord inflammation and infection. Analysis of cerebrospinal fluid is the procedure that known as lumbar puncture. The procedure of lumbar puncture is special needle is inserted into the lower back and then a small of amount of cerebrospinal fluids is removed. CHAPTER SEVEN PROGNOSIS 7.1 Expectations Usually, outcome of encephalitis is depend on what infection involves, the severity of illness, how quickly time treatment is given. Patient with very mild encephalitis most of them can make a full recovery, although the process treatment may be slow. The patient can be recovering in 2-4 weeks for patient have experience only fever, body stiffness and headache. For the severe cases, the patient may be have problem with hearing, speech, blindness, behaviour changes, seizures, memory loss, muscle weakness, and cognitive disabilities. Long-term therapy, medication and supportive care may be required for these patients. (national institude of neurological disorder and stroke 2011) Goodman (2003) notes that patient who may have been ill at the onset , their rate recovery range from 10% to 50%. The patients have mumps meningoencephalitis and Venezuelan equine encephalitis have an excellent expectation. Other encephalitis that have moderate to good rate of survival are western equine, St. Louis and California encephalitis. Herpes simplex encephalitis has a moderately good outcome, 50% of person neurologic disorder and 20% mortality. With similar infections, young children more take longer recover than adults. In infants, permanent cerebral sequelae are occurred. 7.2 Prevention Christian Nordqist (2009) found that the effectives way to reduced risk to get encephalitis by keeping up to date with vaccines. Other than that, take measures to reduce the risk being bitten in area to have mosquito that carry virus encephalitis. For example, keep house mosquito free, wearing appropriate clothing, do not go mosquito infested area, using insect repellent, avoid go outside at specific time where there a lot of mosquito, for example at night and make sure there are no stagnant water in house. Beside that, encephalitis can be prevented by avoid sharing food, glasses or other object that have be exposed from infected person. Good personal hygiene also can reduce risk to get disease from infected person. Wash hand frequently with soap and rinse under running water ( National Institude of Neurologic Disorder and Stroke 2011). CHAPTER EIGHT CONCLUSION