Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship Essay Example for Free

Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship Essay The songs or lieders made by Hugo Wolf and Franz Schubert, although of the same origin, are totally different when analyzed side by side. For a brief history, the song is from the poem â€Å"Do you know the land where the lemon trees bloom? † and is written as a part of the novel Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship. This was the script for the actor of Mignon, a lady whom Wilhelm encounters on his travels. The two composers perfectly created a melody each distinct from each other, showing their vast differences in terms of style, knowledge, and even understanding of the poem itself. In listening and discerning these pieces, one must understand the two composers had different theories and practices pertaining to composition. This would help in understanding the songs even better. A very noticeable fact, even for first time listeners would be the difference in the overall structure of the songs. Franz Schubert’s song seems to be composed of two main parts, a verse followed by a chorus, then repeated again for a number of times. But it can’t be helped to notice that the chorus is of a different mood, and totally contrasting to the preceding verse. The verses have hints of sorrow, and mystery to it while the chorus is almost like a jolly tune in terms of melody and rhythm. Hugo Wolf’s piece on the other hand was slow, mellow and dark all throughout. The whole song also seemed to flow continually, with different melodies happening every time. There was still a chorus type of part, which was repeated for about three times during the song. But unlike Schubert’s contrasting themes, Wolf’s chorus only intensified the dark and minor theme of the song. In Wolf’s composition, the use of a very thick texture is dominant in the chorus. The piano plays the bass part heavily, while his use of the hamper pedal occasionally brings up a very striking minor melody. It is also more chromatic compared to Schubert’s, which is predominantly diatonic. On Schubert’s side, there is a lesser change of texture during the parts of the song, but more on rhythm change. There are some instances however, like when the chorus ends, where a very appropriate change in volume occurs that signifies the end of that part. Although the sudden return of the verse gives away the sense of texture that could have occurred. In a whole, Schubert’s song seemed to be played straightforward, but his change of mood gives the listener a type of excitement. The two songs also differ greatly in the vocal parts sung by the singer. In Schubert’s arrangement, the voice seems to be very attached to the piano’s melody. Almost as if the piano was playing the exact melody the singer is singing. There is also less change in power, but more of, as said earlier rhythm change. The singer shifts from legato lines to staccato-like phrases beautifully but keeps her volume and projection at an almost constant level, except for the ends of the choruses where she follows the rising tone of the accompaniment. The singer also had a wider range of notes to work with. In contrast with Wolf’s piano lines, the melody only seems to support the singer, to provide a cushion on which the singers sing on. This is very evident during the chorus parts where the melody played a stream of sad notes completely off with the singers rhythm. The singer stayed at a constant feel, increasing the projection and power as the accompaniment does. I can say that in Wolf’s song, the singer would have worked harder in hitting those notes with the right amount of power. The range of notes are very much wider than that of Schubert’s. These and many more differences on the two compositions show a much deeper idea in composing other than just scales and notes. By thoroughly understanding the poem and the two song arrangements, we can make a conclusion regarding the view of the composers in regard with the said poem. In summary, the poem seems to be questions by the singer to a certain someone. The singers hopes of finding a place, somewhere where the lemon trees blossom and the roof rests on the pillar of the house. Franz Schubert may have viewed this as a two mood poem – the solemn, sad part where the singer asks the questions and a happy one where the singer got a kind of excitement in knowing that the place was found. This is very much portrayed in his composition. By using two totally different rhythm and modes, he is able to allow the listener to perceive a change in the singer’s mood. It is as if the singer found hope in her questions. The continuously sad atmosphere of Wolf’s piece on the other hand may suggest that Wolf sees Mignon as a woman of a dark and mysterious background. Something where happiness may be drawn out of her, and the questions asked were in hope of desperation. Finally, the songs differ in terms of their effect to the listener. Schubert’s song kept on resolving every time the chorus was sung. It is evident that there are only two major parts, and a very well made fake ending covered the real one. It is as if the song had been repeating after the first set was done. This leaves a distinction of hominess, where the listeners tend to feel relieved, safe, at home. The diatonic nature of the song and the frequent tonic tone heard helps in providing this certain feeling. But for Wolf, the chromatism and dissonance created a lot of tension during the songs. Wolf is known for avoiding resolving at the home key when not needed. This song shows much of this character, as there is a sense of floating when one hears it. Wolf also tries to avoid the common strophic type of songs. He likes building his melody as he goes along, making verses differ from each other. These two songs are great manifestations of their composers’ ideas. Each has different structures and quality, none of which is inferior to the other. By analyzing these, we can conclude that composers not only compose the melody, but they also create a certain atmosphere on which the listeners can submerge to, by using different styles. And Franz Schubert and Hugo Wolf’s songs are great examples of these.

Ethical problem in psychological research Essay Example for Free

Ethical problem in psychological research Essay One very common ethical problem in psychological research is participants falling to answer question which they consider to be very personal (Michell, 1999). When conducting psychological research, the researcher is required to interview the respondents on each and every issue he considers suitable. Some questions posed could be very personal. This makes the respondent feel ashamed of answering the questions or he may feel that his personal life is being interfered with. The researcher needs to be very careful when asking the questions. He should understand the temperament of the respondent before asking the questions. People are normally different. There are some peoples who are hot tempered and others who are not. When approaching some one for an interview, as a researcher I should put on a smiling face. Smile is believed to be the shortest distance between peoples even between enemies. I as a researcher I should understand the mood the respondent is in. By understanding the mood of the researcher I would avoid any unnecessary disagreements, which might make me not get the information I am looking for. If the respondent is in a bad mood, I will try to approach him in a decent manner such that I may make his bad mood capsize. In each and every research, choice of language is very vital. Polite language may make a respondent who is not even willing to give answers to change his attitude and provide answers. Immediately I encounter some potential respondents, I should introduce myself. It defeats equity and common sense reasoning, to go straight to interviewing respondents immediately. As a good researcher I should great them. By so doing I will win their confidence and every doubt they could be having about me is dismissed. Dressing is an important aspect as for as research is concerned. Dressing does not only make one decent but also makes one look genuine in what he is doing. The participants may cease to participate in the research. The participants have the following responsibilities: They should explain to you why they wish to leave, so that you can conduct a debriefing. The participants may wish you to complete the research because you would not again ask personal question. When I am faced with an ethical problem there are some steps I would follow so as to solve it. In the very first I would determine whether there is an ethical issue. I would determine if in one way or another I have infringed one’s rights or values. If so I would ask for forgiveness and a lasting solution is reached at. Secondly I would identify the key values and principles involved. I would typically assess the meanings and limitations apparent to these competing values. Thirdly I would rank the values or ethical principles, which in my professional judgment are relevant to the issues. For example if one is doing a research on the, workers who are getting a monthly salary of $200, a question about salary scales have to be asked. It would sound unethical to ask a person how much he gets. Fourthly I would develop an action plan that is consistent with ethical priorities that have been determined, as crucial to the research. In my mind I will have several alternatives to present to the participant incase they react negatively. In the fifth step, I would implement my plan utilizing the most appropriate practice, skills and competencies. I would employ some tactics like sensitive communication, skillful negotiation and cultural competence. Lastly I would reflect on the outcome of this ethical decision making process. An ethical review committee or ethics team is necessary. These committees will provide counseling to those aggrieved.

Creation Of The Starbucks Experience Marketing Essay

Creation Of The Starbucks Experience Marketing Essay Started up in 1971, Starbucks is one of the worlds largest chains of coffee houses. Starting out as a single shop that specializes in high quality coffee and brewing products, the company grew to be the largest roasters with multiple locations in America the early 80s. From there it expanded its operations and growth to North America, Europe, Middle East, Latin America and the Pacific Rim. Worldwide there are approximately 35 million customers that visit a SB Coffee house each week. Starbucks is all about 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 addition to sales through their company-operated retail stores, Starbucks sells whole bean coffees through a specialty sales group and supermarkets.   The Companys objective is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand in the world. The company grew from 17 stores in 1987 to more than 16,000 worldwide today (ONeill, 2008); see Table 1. The stores are all company owned except for the licensing arrangements for kiosks in places such as airports and hospitals. Recently, Starbucks was in the news for shutting down 500 of its stores and laying off 7% of its work force (Adamy, 2008). The reason for the store closings were that earnings were down and the stock price has tumbled since late 2006. Other than the economic recession in the U.S. and around the world, the downslide in Starbucks earnings is also attributed to a slowdown in consumer spending and an increase in competition from other coffee and restaurant chains, especially McDonalds (Adamy, 2008). Today, Starbucks is working to regain market share, and improve productivity and profitability without sacrificing the quality and reliability of its products and service. 2. Starbucks Experience (Process Technology) Starbuckss strategy in targeting its customers is to position itself as a third place in the lifestyles of its customers. That is to say, the prototypical Starbucks customer will spend their time at home, at work, and at Starbucks. To encourage this idea, Starbucks locations are furnished with comfortable seating, provide outlets for electronic equipment, and a blanket no-smoking policy ensures that all customers are comfortable in the environment, refer to Figure 2. Coffee Drinks Menu Promotions Pastries Espresso Bar Cashier Magazines Products Condiments Entrance Figure 2. Basic Starbucks Coffee Store Layout in a Penang, Malaysia Making customers more comfortable while spending time in the stores causes them to stay longer and, in doing so, indulge in more of what Starbucks has to offer. As customers linger, they are more likely to buy a second cup of coffee or a snack, to pay for wi-fi internet access, to burn a CD, etc. In addition to diversify its product offerings, Starbucks is also looking to broaden its customer base beyond just young urban professionals and college students. Many of the more recent adjustments to how Starbucks conducts its business are aimed at accommodating the varied lifestyles of the not-so-traditional Starbucks customer. The Coffee (Capacity Management Supplier chain strategy) 3.1 Managing Operations Early On at Starbucks: Today, Starbucks is a publicly traded company, more than a retail store; its an importer, a manufacturer, a wholesaler, and a direct mail business organization. However, in the beginning, before going public in 1992, the roasting plant and headquarters were located next to each other in the city of Seattle, Washington. This close proximity allowed Howard Schultz, to be involved in the operational planning and control of this enterprise on a day-to-day basis (Schultz and Jones, 1997).. 3.2 Early Supply Chain: A supply chain (SC) is the network of activities that deliver a product or service to the customer. It is the sourcing of raw materials, assembly, warehousing, order entry, distribution, and delivery. In other words, a supply chain is the sequence of organizational facilities, functions, and activities that are all involved in the production and delivery of a quality product or service at an affordable and competitive price (Gates Gill, 2007; Wisner et al, 2005). By facilities meaning warehouses, factories or plants, processing centers, distribution centers, retail outlets, and offices. By functions and activities we mean demand forecasting, purchasing, inventory management, information management, quality assurance, scheduling, production, delivery, and customer service (Russell and Taylor, 2011). It is no wonder that supply chains are also referred to as value chains, because the ultimate value of a product or service takes place along this chain from raw ma terial purchasing to receiving to storage to operations and finally through the distribution system to the end user (Stevenson, 2009). Supply chain management (SCM) is the business function that coordinates all of the network links, thereby, coordinates efficient movement of goods through the supply chain from suppliers to manufacturers to distributors, and promotes sharing of information such as the demand forecasts, sales data, and sales promotions along the chain (Stevenson, 2009). The main reasons for supply chain management are twofold: (1) a total systems approach to managing the entire flow of information, materials, and services from raw-material suppliers through factories and warehouses to the end customer; and (2) the strategic coordination of business functions within a business organization and throughout its supply chain for the purpose of integrating supply and demand management and creating a balance between supply and demand (Wisner et al, 2005). Effective supply chain management is a key component of competing successfully in todays cutthroat global marketplace. Without effectively managing the flo w of goods, supplies, and even services, no company can hope to maintain control of their quality, costs, or meet their customers needs. Starbucks learned early on that the quality of the coffee that ends up in the customers hands can be easily ruined by mishandling activities in the supply chain. To control process quality, Starbucks had to manage its own supply chain. Simply put, if the farmer does not get a good price for the green coffee beans, they then would not invest in fertilizer and the maintenance involved in growing quality coffee beans (Schultz and Jones, 1997; Wikipedia II). The coffee can be under or over roasted. If the coffee beans sit on the shelf for too long they go stale, so the right amount of inventory is a crucial factor, which in turn relates to the effectiveness of supply chain management. Starbucks prefers to handle its own supply chain, open company-owned stores, and has resisted franchising in fear of giving up its control over selling a high-quality product. 3.3 Why Dark Roast: The highest quality coffee beans have always been dark roasted which is what differentiates Starbucks from other coffee sellers. By roasting the coffee beans dark, Starbucks gave up a way to improve the productivity of the roasting process; the lighter the roast the more money is saved (Schultz and Jones, 1997). Starbucks has always struggled with maintaining its value of serving high-quality dark roast coffee even though there are many non-customers who think the dark roast tastes like burnt coffee. 3.4 Instability in the Supply Chain: Purchasing green coffee beans from developing countries brings several risks such as bad weather, political risk, and inconsistent quality. There were times when the weather affected the price of green coffee beans. Starbucks managed supply chain costs by locking in the price of green coffee through long-term contracts at a fixed price which ensured a constant flow of inventory. In June of 1994, the cost of green coffee had been locked in at 0.50 cents a pound. Then a severe frost in Brazil caused the price of green coffee beans to increase 330%. A decision was made to pass the incremental cost on to the customers rather than replacement cost as the gasoline stations are doing today each time the price of oil goes up. Immediately, profitability was affected by an adverse effect in the supply chain. An unstable supply chain can cause an immediate reaction from Wall Street when profits for a company are expected to be affected by adverse conditions (Carier, 2007). 4. Customer Service (Lean Production) Each Starbucks store has customer comment cards available at the condiment stations. The comment cards help Starbucks management keep in touch with what customers want from the coffee products and The Starbucks Experience. The cards give the customer a chance to judge the experience they just had and make suggestions on new products. Starbucks has a guarantee statement posted in the store as Our Promise that states the customers can get a coffee drink the way they want it. If the customer is not satisfied with a drink another one will be made to their satisfaction. If a customer wants to try the taste of the coffee before purchasing, the barista will offer a sample. The Starbucks guarantee statement is as follows. Our Promise: Your drink should be perfect, every time. If not, let us know and we will make it right. 4.1 Customer Requirements: Starbucks continuously solicits feedback from customers via a wide variety of means. These include but are not limited to: direct feedback at the counter; customer feedback through the Starbucks Customer Connections (SCC) website; and questionnaires on the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) report (Starbucks Company Timeline). Customer requirements are considered when designing the quality and reliability of the coffee drinks and the experience at Starbucks. As the stores became popular as a third place for the customers, Starbucks responded by finding ways to respond to the requirements of the customers and enhance the spirit of the stores. See Table 2, Starbuckss Quality Table, for an organized list of customer requirements, appearing in the rows of the table, gathered from research and talking to people who drink coffee. The corresponding solutions, appearing in the columns of the table, describe how Starbucks is responding to meeting the customer requirements. It is suffice to say that Starbucks has attempted to meet all the requirements of the customers. The Quality Table also demonstrates the relationship between the customer requirements and the Starbuckss solutions. The strength of relationships is determined using the conventional symbolism of the quality function deployment (QFD) process. What follows next are some highlights on how some of the requirements were met. sbucks.jpg Strength of relationships: Strong , Medium , Weak 4.2 Training Improves Customer Service Reliability: The coffee drinks are inert (Schultz and Jones, 1997). Its the people that work at Starbucks that pass on the passion and knowledge about coffee. Because baristas are expected to be more than transaction handlers, the skill involved is higher than is required from a server at McDonalds, for example. Starbucks has traditionally invested more on training than on advertising. Employees, partners as they are called, all go through 24 hours of training on making a quality cup of coffee and learn about the all coffee varieties that are served at Starbucks. At Starbucks, the customer is in control of the process, thus, the baristas are trained to prepare a drink the way the customer wants it. This can make the order process take longer time, but improves the sales opportunity. One thing a barista will not do, for sanitation reasons, is make a drink with milk that customers may bring in to the store with them (Schultz and Jones, 1997). In addition to training, there are other ways that Starbucks guarantees a reliable coffee drink. A poka-yoke (error-proofing) technique is used to help relay an espresso drink order to the barista behind the espresso bar (i.e., callout order, repeat order), see Figure 2. A typical service blueprint of the order process at Starbucks is shown in Figure 3. To start the order process, the barista behind the cash register gives friendly service by looking the customer in the eye and then greeting the customer. The customer gives the order. If the order is for an espresso drink, the barista repeats the order, out loud, and states the ingredients in a predefined order (size, type of milk, type of coffee, etc.) (Gates Gill, 2007). The barista behind the espresso bar repeats the drink ingredients in the same order. This simple poka-yoke technique helps to guarantee that the drink will be made correctly the first time (Gates Gill, 2007). This process was observed at the Michigan store with one addition, the barista asked for the customers name and repeated it with the drink order. In the early days, the baristas were trained to ask the customers name. Howard Schultz has brought this step back as another way to differentiate Starbucks from the other coffee shop s; this act, in turn, has had a positive impact on improving market share. 4.3 Benefits Reduce Partner Turnover: Starbucks employee turn-over rate is 120% less than the industry average for retail coffee shops (Michelli, 2007). There are three reasons for this low-turnover rate: (1) hourly wages are higher than the industry average, (2) partners are offered health care benefits, and (3) a company stock plan is given if they work more than 20 hours per week. Starbucks employees tend to be young and healthy which keeps the cost of health benefits low. The benefits package at Starbucks is a key competitive advantage. The wage, health benefits, and company stock plan have all helped to reduce Starbuckss employee turnover; in turn, low partner turnover has reduced training costs. In 1997, research showed that the average customer returned 18 times per month (Schultz and Jones, 1997). Customers develop a relationship with the baristas serving coffee. One may reasonably assume that low-turnover contributes to a reliable Starbucks Experience and customer loyalty. The Starbucks Experience (Performance improvement strategy) 5.1 Stores Location Selection Decision: Location decisions are not easy and many factors affect them. Location decisions are closely tied to an organizations strategies, low-cost, convenience to attract market share, effect on capacity and flexibility, represent a long-term commitment of resources, effect investment requirements, operating costs, revenues, and operations, impact competitive advantage, and importance to supply chains. Definitely a multivariate constrained optimization problem. Location decisions arise for a variety of reasons such as addition of new facilities, as part of a marketing strategy to expand markets, growth in demand that cannot be satisfied by expanding existing facilities, depletion of basic inputs which requires relocation, shift in markets, and cost of doing business at a particular location which makes relocation attractive (Stevenson, 2009; Wisner et al, 2005). Starbucks uses its own real-estate strategy for locating company-owned stores. When enterin g a new market, analysis is made to determine if multiple stores will survive in order to take advantage of economies of scale. A major customer complaint is the long lines waiting for coffee drinks at Starbucks stores. Starbucks opens new locations close to busy locations in order to relieve the wait in lines and increase service rates. The downside to this strategy is the new location tends to cannibalize sales from the busy store. To establish a new store, Starbucks also experiences resistance from rural communities who feel a Starbucks store will put the local coffee shops out of business and change the character of the rural community. There have been times that Starbucks declined to move into a new community because of this local resistance sentiment (Schultz and Jones, 1997). Starbucks management is sometimes able to reverse this sentiment by becoming involved in the community with donations and charitable events or contributions. There are many jokes about Starbucks becoming ubiquitous. Traditionally, when a new store would open the customers would come by word-of mouth without spending large amounts of money on advertising. 5.2 Store Layout Evaluation: Layout is about the configuration of departments, work centers, and equipment, with particular emphasis on movement of work, customers or materials, through the system (Jacobs and Chase, 2011; Russell and Taylor, 2011). Facilities layout decisions arise when designing new facilities and/or re-designing existing facilities. Basic layout types are product layouts, process layouts, fixed-position layout, and combination layouts which contain hybrid layouts and cellular layouts ((Jacobs and Chase, 2011; Stevenson, 2009). From the beginning the idea behind the Starbuckss stores layouts was to recreate the experience in the espresso bars in Italy where customers come in daily and stand to enjoy an espresso drink (Schultz and Jones, 1997). Over time, Starbucks has become a third place for customers to go to get away from daily hectic, enjoy a cup of coffee, listen to music, do some work using the Internet service, socialize with friends, and even hold a business meeting. Young customers drink lots of coffee and enjoy having a place to go where alcohol is not served. Before moving into a new location, research is done to understand the culture, and art work is displayed in the stores that reflect the communitys culture. The store layout shows that Starbucks mainly uses the product layout approach where customers stand in line, going from station to station so to speak, to be served while interacting with the baristas to place an order. No credit cards or checks are taken which helps keep the lines moving. During busy times, at this store, one or two baristas take the order and payment while one makes the basic coffee and tea drinks and another fills orders at the espresso bar. Everything happens in view and in control of the customer. The customer watches the barista grind fresh coffee beans before brewing which is a change that Starbucks has recently made to re-introduce the spirit of the Italian espresso shops. This spirit or Starbucks Experience is more important than the mere productivity improvement of, for example, the quick opening of a package of pre-ground coffee. The customer watches a drink order being made while, concurrently, having a conversation with the barista. This high-degree of c ustomer contact is enhanced in two ways: when a barista walks around the store offering samples of products or when a master barista is holding a coffee seminar or demonstration. The espresso bar is separated from the area where the drink order is taken, so the customer must walk to the bar to pick up the specialty drink. One of the changes that Starbucks plans to make is to replace the espresso machines with the old style machines that sit lower. The downside to this decision is that the old style machines are not as efficient; however, the customers will be able to see the barista as the drink is being made which adds to the ambiance of the Starbucks stores and provides the spirit of the Italian espresso shops. Future Trend and Changes Going Green and creating awareness Starbucks, appearing to be an agent of environmental protection, has been busy promoting responsible environmentalism by minimizing their carbon footprint. Starbuckss evaluation their infrastructure too has led the company to implement their own initiatives by dialoguing, building a foundation called Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), collaborating with representatives supporting environmentalism, designing and constructing green storefronts and utilizing the conservation of natural resources within their operations. Back In 1992, Starbucks became a publicly traded company. Shortly thereafter, a cross functional team of Starbucks partners adopted an environmental mission statement. What evolved was an Environmental Affairs team that seeks to develop environmentally responsible policies and procedures. As new environmental issues arise, this group examines our current measures and identifies opportunities for improvement. Environmental Footprint Analysis To determine our environmental impact, or footprint, as a company, in fiscal 2001 Starbucks worked with The Natural Step, a nonprofit consulting and education group helping organizations take steps toward sustainability. We analyzed Starbucks supply chain-from coffee bean to coffee cup-looking for opportunities to make our footprint smaller. Throughout the process, we focused on achievable measures that could significantly reduce our footprint or environmental impact. Some solutions were obvious, such as addressing packaging, energy, waste, and recycling issues. Other measures are more challenging but necessary if we are serious about demonstrating environmental leadership. Thus, our efforts are focused on four areas: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Coffee, tea and paper sourcing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Transportation impacts (people and goods) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Electricity, gas and water use à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Store design and operations Starbucks identified ways to measure our performance for each focus area and developed specific initiatives to improve our resource efficiency. Our store recycling metric measures the percentage of stores with established recycling programs. Starbucks goal is to offer recycling in all of our company operated stores. Achieving this goal is determined by the availability of commercial recycling services in each community, and the support of our property managers. In fiscal 2002, we will collaborate with other like-minded retailers to encourage our mutual property managers participation in recycling programs. For commuter mug usage, we measured the percentage of beverages served in reusable commuter mugs against fiscal 2000. Although Starbucks provides a $0.10 commuter mug incentive discount to customers, our data indicated a decline in usage. In fiscal 2002, we will take measures to raise awareness of this waste reduction opportunity to our partners and customers. Embracing Change The key to fulfilling our environmental mission rests on our ability to make changes within our operations.With the commitment of Starbucks senior leadership team to make meaningful progress, and the adoption of an action plan that is communicated throughout our organization, Starbucks is moving in a direction that will minimize our environmental footprint. 1.9% Another important step Starbucks has taken is to cultivate an active Green Team, which consists of retail store managers across North America. The Team was created in 1994 and has been instrumental in identifying environmental opportunities, creating solutions, and communicating those solutions to our retail partners. The Green Teams efforts have been critical to our efforts to conserve energy, reduce waste and involve our partners some of our initiatives for fiscal 2001 included the following: Energy Conservation Starbucks established a Utility Task Force in fiscal 1999 to identify conservation measures, such as modified lighting and adjusted thermostats. In fiscal 2001, the Utility Task Force piloted several measures aimed at conserving energy while providing cost savings. We rolled out the Utility Task Forces recommendations in our North American company-operated stores at the end of fiscal 2001. Waste Reduction Starbucks Green Team first promoted the idea of offering coffee grounds as compost in spring 1998, and now it is an annual event. This initiative has helped reduce waste in our stores and provided many customers with nitrogen-rich material for their gardens. Earth Day To celebrate Earth Day 2001, last April more than 600 Starbucks partners contributed nearly 3,000 volunteer hours helping to improve the environment. For Earth Day 2002, Starbucks will support the Earth Day Network (www.earthday.net), an on-line resource for environmental information and opportunities to get involved on a local level around the world. We will raise awareness about this valuable resource to our partners and customers who seek to get involved in their communities. Future Decades in Operation Growth Using E-Commerce and customer loyalty programs to generate constant demand and growth, Starbucks Converting Browsers into Buyers: Visitors to a Web site often look over the site without purchasing anything. Recommender systems can help consumers find products they wish to purchase. Increasing Cross-sell: Recommender systems improve cross-sell by suggesting additional products for the customer to purchase. If the recommendations are good, the average order size should increase. For instance, a site might recommend additional products in the checkout process, based on those products already in the shopping cart. Building Loyalty: In a world where a sites competitors are only a click or two away, gaining consumer loyalty is an essential business strategy (Reichheld and Sesser, 1990; Reichheld, 1993). Recommender systems improve loyalty by creating a value-added relationship between the site and the customer. Sites invest in learning about their customers, use recommender systems to operationalize that learning, and present custom interfaces that match consumer needs. Consumers repay these sites by returning to the ones that best match their needs. The more a customer uses the recommendation system-teaching it what he wants-the more loyal he is to the site. Even if a competitor were to build the exact same capabilities, a customer . . . would have to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy teaching the competitor what the company already knows (Pine et al., 1995). Creating relationships between consumers can also increase loyalty, for consumers will return to the site that recommends people with whom they will like to interact. The Starbucks success story Starbucks jumped into the social media arena with My Starbucks Idea Starbucks own version of a social network where customers are asked to share their ideas on anything related to Starbucks. Starbucks also started a blog entitled Ideas in Action. This allows them to reach many more customers across a wide social media landscape, recognizing that not all consumers use the same social networking sites. Starbucks increased its online brand presence with these additions: Starbucks on Twitter Starbucks on Facebook Starbucks on YouTube In a blog post, Starbucks Formula to Social Media Success, marketing consultant Ayelet Noff analyzes Starbucks highly-visible social media footprint across the web, the secret for its success. Overall Starbuckss social media strategy integrates many different elements into the mix and combined together, these elements create a social media plan that works beautifully to create millions of fans for the brand and keep them involved in the brands doings. The brand has created a digital dialogue with its customers, enabling people to give their feedback and receive a response back from Starbucks addressing their concerns/comments. Starbucks is showing its customers and potential customers hey, we care about what YOU have to say. I am certain that if each one of these elements was done alone then the strategy would not have been as successful and complete as it is when done like this in integration with the rest of the elements on board. Starbucks has over 705,000 followers on twitter and over 5,428,000 fans on Facebook. I guess you could say that theyre doing something right on the Web. Ayelet Noff, aka Blonde 20, 1/11/10 A post by Clark Fredricksen offered this insight. While the classic mantra on social media may be all about conversation and no up sell, the reality is that a mix of promotion and interaction can yield results, as companies like Dell, JetBlue, and Starbucks show. More to the point: Consumers even those on social networks really arent that offended if you give them a good deal. As we wrote in a recent newsletter article, those polled for the 2009 Cone Consumer New Media Study were interested in brands that would keep them informed, provide product information and give incentives-and generally use new media to help solve consumers problems. Tracking Twitter Success at Dell posted by: Clark Fredricksen December 11, 2009 Starbucks has selected Square to process mobile payments at its approximately 7,000 stores nationwide in the United States, in a move that could shake up the nascent mobile payments market in the country. The coffee company had introduced the first mobile payment via iPhone app in 2009. It took mobile payments nationwide in January 2011 after testing its app for iPhones, the iPod touch and BlackBerries. At a press briefing in New York on Wednesday, Starbucks chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz told reporters the company had been approached by all the mobile payment processors in the market over the past six months. It selected Square after meeting with that firm. The evolving social and digital media platforms and highly innovative and relevant payment capabilities are causing seismic changes in consumer behavior and creating equally seismic disruptive opportunities for business, Lisa Passe, Starbucks director of global brand public relations, told the E-Commerce Times. Both Starbucks and Square take a similar approach when building products and running our business, and together we can bring the best possible payment experience to Starbucks customers, Passe continued. We also expect to reduce our payment processing costs as a result of this agreement.

Delta Airlines :: Essays Papers

Delta Airlines Who would have thought that a major airline of today could contribute it's success to Boll Weevil insects that decimated the cotton fields of the south. Some say there would not have been a Delta Airlines at all if it were not for the Boll Weevil infestation of the early 1920's. Even the name came from the Mississippi Delta where the Boll Weevil's plagued many cotton fields. According to the book Delta Airlines by Jones, C.E. Woolman was the assistant district agent working for the U.S. Department of agriculture's bureau of Entomology laboratory in Tullulah, Louisiana. Woolman was an agricultural engineering graduate from the University of Illinois and could be categorized as an aviation enthusiast. Along with Dr. B.R. Coad, Woolman developed a promising weapon against the insect but needed a more efficient means to spread it across a vast area. Congress gave the researchers a small grant that allowed them to acquire two ex-US Army Curtiss Jenny Aircraft. However, it was not until 19 23 that things started to happen for the two researchers. A man by the name of George Post, a New York Businessman from Huff-Daland Airplanes, Inc. was flying south when he was forced to land because of mechanical problems with his airplane. He landed in Tullulah and discovered Coad and Woolman's experimental dusting operation. He considered this to be a commercial opportunity he could not pass up. After convincing management, the Huff-Daland Dusters started at Macon, Georgia, in 1924. However, there was not much success so the operation moved to Monroe Louisiana. From Monroe, the business quickly grew but it was only seasonal so Wollman decided to diversify and set up operations in Peru. It was while in Peru that Woolman and his company secured South American airmail rights to fly between Peru and Ecuador. This was when Woolman first appreciated the possible value of a passenger service in 1927. When back in Monroe, Woolman secured some private financing from private businessmen a nd started his own Aviation Company. Delta's first aircraft were three five passenger Travel Air 4000s. On March 15, 1940, Delta added it's third crewmember, the Stewardess, to its air service on the DC-2 Aircraft. In 1941, Delta moved its general offices and overhaul base from Monroe to Atlanta. Through the years Delta merged with Northwestern and Western Airlines to become one of the largest airlines in the world.

The facts of eating Poop!!!!!!!! :: essays research papers

The Facts of Eating PooP Have you ever wondered what it would do to you if you ever ate your poop or someone elses. Chances are you will die a day or two after eating poop. According to the national scientists organization where they test on collage students who are looking for quick money say that after their first thirteen sets of tests they began to realize that their test subjects also refered as humen lab mice say that eating poop has a very negative effect on your body. The effects range from eating stomick worms to death. So the nationa scientists organization reconmends that humans never ever ever ever eat any type of poop and when i sayu type i mean type because animal feces has a just as worse effect on the human and mice body as well. We know it has a bad effect on mice because all the mice that were forced to eat the various types of human and animal fecces/ poop died exactly 1 hour after ingesting the nasty poop.A case has been made where a mother of a son who participated in this very stupid an d dumb experiment died went to court and the mother lost acording to the libertysos lastanes news paper in a forbineded island. The mother did not win due to the document signed bt the sun saying that he aggreed that whatever happend to him during the test was his own fault and guess what the foolish boy actualy signed that document.But unfourtunetly the the lab mice can noat be used for any experiments because th e court said it was bad bad bad bad bad real bad animal crualty i mean they have to pay the apet store of which they owe it millions and trillion and a bazillion dollars. Ha look what you broght on your self you are freaky cowards . I meani expect kids to do animal cruelty but adults who aactualy know the law . or atleast they are supposed to know how very foolish. hehe you who evererer everer is readin this is very foolish to read this because this is a foolish paper and me myself am very real foolish to write this at all but you wanna know what else is also realy foolish it is foolish that my foolish teacher gave me a very foolish grade and its real foolish that the bag boy had to tripple bag the ice-cream.

Economics Review :: Economics Cheat Sheet

Economics Review Chapter 1 Section 1 1. Economics: study of how individuals & nations make choices about ways to use scarce resources to fulfill their needs & wants. 2. Scarcity: state in which people don’t & cannot have enough income, time, or other resources to satisfy. 3. Factors of production: resources of land, labor, capital, & entrepreneurship used to produce goods & services. 4. Entrepreneurship: ability to start new businesses, to introduce new products, & techniques. Section 2 1. Trade-off: exchanging one thing for the use of another, often making unavoidable choices because of the problem of scarcity. 2. Opportunity cost: value of the next best alternative given up for the alternative that was chosen. Section 3 1. Economy: all activity in a nation that affects the production, distribution, & use of goods & services. 2. Economic model: simplified representation of the real world which shows people’s reactions to changes in the economy; theory. 3. Values: beliefs or characteristics that an individual or group considers important. Chapter 2 Section 1 1. Traditional economic system: economic systems are based on customs, beliefs, & ways of doing things that have been passed down from generation to generation. 2. Command economic system: the government controls the factors of production & makes all decisions about their use; also called controlled economy. 3. Market economic system: individuals own the factors of production & make economic decisions through free interaction – government doesn’t intervene. 4. Distribution of income: money payment for work, the amount of health care, education, food, & so on, that each person receives; distribution of goods & services among all members of an economic system. Section 2 1. Capitalism: private individuals own the factors of production and decide how to use them within the limits of the law; market economic system & free enterprise system. 2. Free enterprise system: individuals own the factors of production & decide how to use them within legal limits. 3. Profit: money left after all the costs of production – wages, rent, interest, & taxes have been paid. 4. Profit incentive: desire to make money that motivates people to produce & sell goods & services that others ant to buy. 5. Competition: rivalry among producers or sellers of similar goods to win more business by offering the lowest prices or better quality. Section 3 1. Standard of living: material well-being of an individual, group, or nation measured by the average value of goods & services used by the average citizen during a given period of time.

Compare and contrast two psychological approaches Essay

My intention in this essay, is to compare and contrast the following psychological approaches Behaviourism and Psychoanalysis, in doing this I will unpack the key points of these two approaches, highlighting the differences and explaining them. The first approach I will look at is Psychoanalysis; the most famous psychologist linked to this is Sigmund Freud an Austrian psychologist who first proposed his Psychodynamic approach. These perspectives states, that there are three main sections to the human psyche. The first is the â€Å"ID† this is the natural drive, which seeks gratification constantly, the second is the â€Å"EGO† this is our personal set of values developed as children, and finally the â€Å"SUPEREGO† a set of learned values, taken from society and our parents rules and values. Also he believed that as children we all go through five stages oral, anal, phallic, genital, and latency. If the child is either under or over gratified in any one of the stages then they will have problems in adulthood. Another element of Freud’s theories was his studies of dreams; Freud believed that dreams acted as a form of fantasy, a defence mechanism against the unacceptable urges of the id. Fantasy allows the individual to act out events in the imagination, which can satiate the urges of the id, which are repressed. Freud theorized that dreams were a subconscious manifestation of these repressed urges, and that they served mainly to satisfy sexual and aggressive tendencies The other theory I will refer to is Behaviourism; this is an approach, which states that all psychology must be directly measurable and recordable, if it is to be regarded as scientific. In his 1924 book Behaviourism, Watson made the notorious claim that, given a dozen healthy infants; he could determine the adult personalities of each one, â€Å"regardless of his talents, penchants, tendencies, abilities, vocations and the race of his ancestors.† While  making such a claim seems ridiculous today, at the time Watson was reacting to emerging Freudian psychoanalytical theories of development, which many people found threatening. Watson’s scheme rejected the entire hidden, unconscious, and suppressed longings that Freudians attributed to behaviours and posited that humans respond to punishments and rewards. Behaviour that creates positive responses is reinforced and continued, while behaviour that creates negative responses is eliminated. After both of these psychologists came other expanding on their theories, psychologists like Pavlov and Skinner expanded Watson’s theories and Psychologists like Jung and Adler expanded Freud’s. An important component of many psychological theories in the late nineteenth century, including psychoanalysis was â€Å"introspection†, the study of the mind by analysis of one’s own thought processes. It was in reaction to this trend that behaviourism arose, claiming that the causes of behaviour were not founded in the mind, but rather that they were the results of conditioning and responses to stimulus. Behavioural theorists emphasize that behaviour is a result of a process of learning from observing. What actions pay off and what works. This theory simplifies human behaviour by neglecting the many other influences on us, many of which are vital to the psychoanalytic theory. In direct conflict psychoanalysis uses introspection as the basis for all theory stating that behaviour is caused by childhood experiences, to quote Freud â€Å"the boy is father to the man†. Another difference is found when you look at research methods. Psychoanalysis is based around introspection and as such has very little research, due to the fact that the theory has very little testable data, it can neither truly be proved nor disproved. Behaviourism tested and researched ideas before they were published, all of the research was directly observable and and testable, this was due to the basic aim of behaviourism, which is to produce analysable and scientific results. The research done by the approaches differ as much as who they are studying behaviourism focuses all of its attentions upon animals and how their  behaviour equates to human behaviour. The reasons for this focus of experimentation was stated by theories being made on the evolution of creatures scientists such as Charles Darwin were stating that all life found on earth descended from basic organisms, due to this behaviourists of the period believed that any reaction from a animal could be observed in humans as all creatures â€Å"evolve† from one another. The techniques used for Freud’s research, were based around introspectional research into members of the public, the problem however was that Freud lived in a place where the only willing volunteers for research were Jewish housewives, as such Freud’s research can be critised as it focused mainly on one (extend) As time has gone by both of these theories have received critism from various sources, and their views have been expanded and changed by psychologists who came after them. Since Freud first described his psychodynamic theory, Freud and his psychoanalytic theory have faced intense criticism. His most famous critic is Jung, a former college. Jung started to disagree with Freud in 1913 over many of the key of issues to the theory, including amongst other points, Freud’s emphasis on children’s sexuality and its importance in early development. Jung had a different view of the construction of human personality, for instance, and had different ideas about how dreams should be interpreted and viewed as part of psychoanalysis, dreams of course being very important to the study of Psychoanalysis; they were seen as to quote Freud † a window to the subconscious†. Alfred Adler, another college of Freud, also disagreed with the masters view of childhood sexuality, instead he believed that infants and children are driven mainly by a need for acceptance and praise rather than sexual gratification. In modern times, Freud has been the target of criticism from many corners. Feminists especially criticize his understanding of â€Å"hysteria† and his theory of Oedipal conflict, they deny that a child would think and seek to act in this way. Basically the main criticisms of Freud’s theory are that it is based too much in studying sexual urges and the need for gratification. Also many people believe that Freud had no real proof for his theories and they were too much based around introspection. His theories have been expanded and criticised by his peers, Jung, Adler ECT, and their theories although still psychoanalytic list the influences on behaviour as society and a persons environment. Much of the research done in Behaviourism was done prior to john Watson championing the term â€Å"Behaviourism† in his 1924 book. Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) initially proposed that humans and animals learn behaviours through the association of stimuli and responses. He stated two laws of learning to explain why behaviour occurs the way that it does: The Law of Effect specifies that any time a behaviour is followed by a pleasant outcome, that behaviour is likely to recur. The Law of Exercise states that the more a stimulus is connected with a response, the stronger the link between the two. Ivan Pavlov’s (1849-1936) carried on work on classical conditioning also he provided an observable way to study behaviour. Although most psychologists agree that neither Thorndike nor Pavlov were strict behaviourists, their work paved the way for the emergence of behaviourism. Later the behaviourist approach was taken up by B.F. Skinner (1904-1990) who worked out the evolution of human behaviour by observing the behaviour of rats in a maze, where certain actions lead to different consequences In the 1950s, however, the popularity of behaviourism began to decline. Behaviourism is very difficult to crititse as unlike other approaches the data is not open to interpretation. As such the theory has received very little crititsm over the years. One of the main critisms was made by Noam Chomsky (1928), an expert in  speach, who demonstrated that the behaviourist approach simply could not explain the way a child picks up its native language. Today, many psychologists debate the extent to which cognitive learning and behavioural learning affect the development of personality. Also much of the research done by behaviourists would not be possible in the present day as the general public are much more aware of issues of cruelty to animals. Both of these theories have one key element, which is shared. Namely both have inspired and been the basis of therapies, which are still used to aid a variety of problems. From psychoanalysis, psychotherapy grew. Psychotherapy is a way of treating psychological or emotional problems, through talking both about the issue and about other issues. The main focus is to talk the patient through their experience hoping to discover the personal feelings, relationships, and events that have created their vegetative behaviour. Freud first used this therapy whilst living in Austria where he was a practicing physician specializing in neurological disorders. When Freud could find no physical cause for an illness, he would experiment with this new therapy and in this way he found it extremely useful. It is now used widely across the world and is even a recommended treatment in the NHS. Behaviourism has led to other therapies, mainly treatment for phobias. Classical conditioning is also the basis for different types of fears or phobia, which can occur through a process called stimulus generalization (a child who has a bad experience with a particular dog may learn to fear all dogs). Although classical conditioning is the cause of many phobias, classical conditioning can also help eliminate them through a variety of therapeutic techniques. One is â€Å"systematic desensitisation†, in which an anxiety-producing stimulus is linked with a positive response. The opposite result (making a desirable stimulus unpleasant) is obtained through â€Å"aversion conditioning† therapy, in which a behaviour that a person wants to stop e.g. an addiction, such as alcoholism is paired with an unpleasant stimulus, such as a nausea-producing drug. So in conclusion, no one theory can be proven either correct or incorrect, as elements of each are useful and effective in modern life. Psychologists will constantly expand these theories and critism will continue, for as long as the debate rages on. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Psychology for A level by Mike Cardwell, Liz Clark and Claire Meldrum (2000) Gale Encyclopaedia of Childhood & Adolescence. Gale Research, 1998. Rachlin, Howard. Introduction to Modern Behaviourism. 3rd ed. New York: Freeman, 1991 Lieberman, David A. Learning: Behavior and Cognition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1990. Gale Encyclopaedia of Psychology. Gale Research, 1998. Blackman, Derek E. Operant Conditioning: An Experimental Analysis of Behaviour. London: Methuen, 1974.