Friday Fund Days Drop Some Dollars Help Some Classrooms

Friday Fund Days Drop Some Dollars Help Some Classrooms With the world being a difficult place for those of any marginalized background, one of the things those of us who are looking to do something can do is donate to those in need. Thousands of teachers each year ask for a little help with seeking supplies for their classrooms via Donors Choose; organizations that do work with at-risk communities like prison populations seek spare change to advocate for and bring literacy to those groups, and nonprofits that provide necessary resources to empower women and people of color are always hoping for a few bucks to make their vital work possible. Enter: Friday Fund Days. Book Riot readers have helped fund hundreds of classrooms over the last few years, and we’ll help bring funds to hundreds more. Each Friday, we’ll highlight two classrooms or other literacy-focused, important projects in hopes you’ll help them reach their goals to bring literature, advocacy, and education to others. Even if you can’t spare money, any social sharing you can offer to the projects each week absolutely helps: you never know who’ll find it and have the means by which to make the project’s fundraising goals reached. More, you’ll bring awareness to the unmet needs in communities around the world, as well as right in your own back yard. When all else feels hard or hopeless, remember that you can and do make a difference. This Weeks Projects Ready to Read! Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ($310) Help me give my students materials to help them as they learn to read and annotate text. My Students My students come from the most trauma exposed neighborhoods in our city. They live through nightly chaos, and yet still arrive to school daily, and with a smile on their face. They inspire me, and I want to give them the world. I cant do exactly that, but I can give them a classroom filled with everything they need to succeed. They have made a commitment and have taken on the challenge to be the change. They want college, they want to learn, they want moreâ€"and are starting to gain the confidence that they are capable to do it all. My Project Each marking period my students diligently work on tackling tough text. They have made wonderful gains. One area that we struggle with is being able to dive into a text a 2nd and 3rd time and really see the growth in our understanding. Its hard to switch between pencil and pen, when you only have pencil; or underline on day 1 and highlight one day 2, but youre without a highlighter. My students strive for excellence, and I want to provide them with the materials they deserve to get there. These materials will truly allow my students to dive into texts and show their understanding, and how it has developed. These materials will allow them to worry about the text, and not where to put their materials so they dont become lost, or fall behind in the classwork because they spent so much time looking for a highlighter. They will be able to focus on becoming better readers. Graphic Novels to Keep 4th Grade Readers Reading! Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ($398) Help me give my students age appropriate graphic novels so the can keep up their reading stamina! My Students My fourth grade students come to school every day ready to learn and excited to discuss new ideas and tackle new challenges. Students at my school live in one of the most under-served populations in Philadelphia and face hardships that would hold most people back. My students come to class with a smile on their face and an eagerness to expand their minds. Some students deal with trauma that affects their day-to-day school experience and require sensory breaks as well as individualized attention. My face a great deal of stress outside of the classroom and that stress comes in the door with them every morning. My fourth graders love research projects, independent reading, and hands-on activities. My students are as interested in poetry as they are in essay-writing and are committed to their education. My 4th graders are dedicated, hard-working, and aware of the importance of growth and learning. My Project At the beginning of the school year I was given a number of books for my classroom and the rest have been acquired through friends and family. Nine and ten year olds are veracious readers and need books that will keep them interested. My fourth graders read up to 60 minutes a day and are ploughing through our tiny library. Many of my students have grown leaps and bounds in their reading this year and I do not want the lack of resources to deter their learning. Halfway through the school year, students are enjoying independent reading less and less because there are fewer books to choose from. My students need a positive outlet which many of them find in reading therefore I want to supply with them with current graphic novels as well as some classic books to keep the library well balanced. Having access to these books would change my independent reading block and help students find time and space to get lost in a book! Whether you can donate a dollar, donate fifty dollars, or donate a share on social media, you make a difference!

The Great Debate the Pros and Cons of Guns in the Classroom

The Great Debate The Pros and Cons of Guns in the Classroom Throughout its history, the United States has had a fascination with guns. Americans have used guns in times of war, for protection, and for hunting. Americans also use guns when they are intent on killing people. When violence happens in school shootings, drive-by shootings, assassination of public officials, or in the workplace and shopping malls, Americans demand something be done. This demand fuels the debate between gun rights and gun control activists. It fuels the debate over the interpretation of the Second Amendment. It fuels the debate on allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons in gun-free zones. This makes us ask the question: Should guns be banned from college†¦show more content†¦Guns such as semiautomatic AK-47s and Uzis are easily available along with high-capacity magazines. It was the availability of such magazines that Seung Hui Cho used to kill so many people so quickly (â€Å"What We Want†). Gun control laws on campuses are being reconsidered by many states after the much publicized shootings at Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois Universities. Nadine Mahasneh’s writing in the February 28, 2008 issue of The Exponent states that according to an article published in USA Today, twelve states have been considering bills that would allow people to carry concealed weapons on public university campuses. The Indiana Senate did vote on a bill that would allow people with permits to carry handguns on state property, except in specific places such as airports. The bill did not pass (Mahasneh). Since the fall semester of 2008, Utah’s state law has allowed licensed individuals to carry concealed handguns on the campuses of all nine public colleges in Utah. Concealed carry has been allowed at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado since 2003 and at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers Cove, Virginia since 1995. None of these schools have seen a single resulting incident of gun violence, a single gun accide nt, or a single gun theft (Concealed Campus.com). In Indiana, one must be eighteen years old to purchase a rifle or shotgun. One does not need a permit or license to do so. TheShow MoreRelated100 Essay Topics1545 Words   |  7 Pagesis a great way to get to know your students on a more personal level. I do not place a value judgment on their ideas or how compelling their argument may be. I am concerned with improvement from one journal collection to the next. Ease of expression and sophistication of vocabulary are taken into account in the grade that is assigned. One strategy, as a focus activity, is to start the class with one of the journal topics on the board or overhead when the students are entering the classroom. AfterRead More The Moral Disagreement on Capital Punishment (Death Penalty)2796 Words   |  12 Pagesdilemma can be found through enough lobbying, legislating, media-blitzing or politicking. We often believe that the person arguing most eloquently, reasonably or f orcefully will win every dispute, yet there are times when this optimism fails. Despite great efforts to show the strength of a position, there are arguments that we cannot untangle simply by proving our right and anothers wrong. Some moral questions permit such different outlooks that holders of completely opposing views can both be morallyRead MoreTechnology Essay11684 Words   |  47 PagesTechnology provides a way of communication but is becoming the only way to communicate with today’s youth because it has made one on one interaction less frequent and has made a negative effect on the social abilities of the youth. Technology is a great way to stay entertained but it is disconnecting people. Today’s Internet users have many ways to be occupied online. These days we have the ability to communicate on websites like facebook, ways to watch TV shows and clips mostly on YouTube, and playRead MoreLogical Reasoning189930 Words   |  760 Pagessuggest changes to the text, the author would appreciate your writing to him at dowden@csus.edu. iv Praise Comments on the earlier 1993 edition, published by Wadsworth Publishing Company, which is owned by Cengage Learning: There is a great deal of coherence. The chapters build on one another. The organization is sound and the author does a superior job of presenting the structure of arguments. David M. Adams, California State Polytechnic University These examples work quiteRead MoreModern History.Hsc.2012 Essay25799 Words   |  104 Pageslike istory had turned a corner and never going back * stock market * black Thursday November 24 1929 * the jazz age * a speakeasyyyyyyy How significant were the Republican policies in causing the great depression? The significance of the republic policies were great, they brought a lot of growth in the 20’s allowing the market to strive over lots of trading and the purchase of shares, but was also an unstable market, as the government had no control over what it did and was leftRead MorePopulation Problem in Bangladesh14871 Words   |  60 Pagesof his young learners and helpful to them in making their lesson interesting and preparing their house work. He always keeps them busy in the class and helps them enjoying playful games too. He or she advises them to follow the foot prints of the great mean. Teaching is a noble and honourable profession and he lives ideal lives. 2 Note how the subject shifts from a particular teacher (supposedly chosen by the student) to the general case of ‘an ideal teacher’. The real and the imaginary are blurredRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand industrial depression from the late 1860s to the 1890s, as well as the social tensions and political rivalries that generated and were in turn fed by imperialist expansionism, one cannot begin to comprehend the causes and consequences of the Great War that began in 1914. That conflict determined the contours of the twentieth century in myriad ways. On the one hand, the war set in motion transformative processes that were clearly major departures from those that defined the nineteenth-centuryRead MoreFundamentals of Hrm263904 Words   |  1056 PagesApplication 11: Re-Thinking Compensation at First Merit Bank 283 Working with a Team: Understanding Incentive Plans 283 Learning an HRM Skill: Pay-for-Performance Goal Setting 284 Enhancing Your Communication Skills 284 DID YOU KNOW?: The Minimum Wage Debate 267 Job Evaluation and the Pay Structure 267 Job Evaluation 267 Isolating Job Evaluation Criteria 268 Job Evaluation Methods 268 Ordering Method 268 Classification Method 268 Point Method 269 Chapter 12 Employee Benefits 286 Learning OutcomesRead MoreLibrary Management204752 Words   |  820 Pagesthe book, the Web site provides links that direct students and instructors to other Web resources that give examples or explain processes in greater detail. Because of the rapid changes in librarianship, Web sites can be very important both for classroom activities and as guides for information specialists trying to keep abreast of current trends. xxvii xxviii The Web Site This Web site can be accessed at http://www.lu.com/management/. Obviously, one of the major advantages of a WebRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesVoice 526 xviii CONTENTS S A L Self-Assessment Library How Spiritual Am I? 531 Point/Counterpoint Organizations Should Strive to Create a Positive Organizational Culture 534 Questions for Review 535 Experiential Exercise Rate Your Classroom Culture 535 Ethical Dilemma A Bankrupt Culture 536 Case Incident 1 Mergers Don’t Always Lead to Culture Clashes 536 Case Incident 2 Did Toyota’s Culture Cause Its Problems? 537 17 Human Resource Policies and Practices 543 Selection Practices

Environmental Impact Assessment Of The Sydneys Darling...

Introduction: With the development of the world, numbers of environmental issues were threatening people’s life, like rising Greenhouse gas emission. Buildings provide a connection between human society and sustainable environment, especially for Skyscraper (Ainger Fenner 2013). Establishing a new Skyscraper in Darling Harbour is a plan for Company AIIHigh. Causing a large difference for both human being and environment. Darling Harbour is where has lager number of daily flow capacity, meeting with Sydney major public compelling attractions, located in Sydney central business district. (Darling Harbour) This report will analyze the influences of Skyscraper in Sydney’s Darling Harbour in terms of substantiality by screening the environmental impact assessment, analysis the imparts from environmental, social and economic system, establish the judgments about demand, challenge and alternatives and finally other practical problems involves in project. Screening Environmental impact assessment (EIA) play an essential role for sustainability establishing. As Anzecc (1991) mentioned that EIA producers would take a responsibility for issues like improving the efficiency of the contribution made by making sustainability and environmentally decision, which means the government responsible for EIA process which have the power to recommend environmental conditions. As points out by Beanlands and Duinker(1983), the method to impact assessment base on test the SignificantShow MoreRelatedIndividual Assessment Cover Sheet / Plagiarism Declaration Form8448 Words   |  34 Pages Individual Assessment Cover Sheet / Plagiarism Declaration Form This form must be completed and included with each assessment you submit for marking to the School. Although this assessment is submitted electronically, you must still complete and include this form with your assessment. Student Number: Unit Code No.: Unit Title: Assessment No.: Lecturer: Submission Date: Declaration: I have read the School’s Policy on Plagiarism and Improper Conduct and all the materialsRead MoreMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 Pagescomplete with absence of needed information, an imbalance between needs and available resources, and conï ¬â€šicts among competing objectives. 4 Students develop a general managerial point of view – where responsibility is sensitive to action in a diverse environmental context. Source: C. C. Lundberg E. Enz, 1993, ‘A framework for student case preparation’, Case Research Journal, 13 (Summer): 134. As Exhibit 1 suggests, the case analysis method can assist active learners in the development of their analytical

Important Components of Word Processing Software Free Essays

There are many useful tools in word processing software that can help one to achieve success in their career such as; font settings, highlighting, line spacing, spelling and grammar checking, and the ability to implement spreadsheets, tables and graphs. Word processors such as Microsoft Word have many typesetting features to help the user accomplish their goals. Features like different font sizes and the ability to change the color that a phrase is displayed in, grant the user an avenue to express different emphasis on certain phrases with greater ease. We will write a custom essay sample on Important Components of Word Processing Software or any similar topic only for you Order Now Also this can help to organize and make the general reading of a paper more easy on the reader. Other tools such as highlighting help with this process as well, giving the user a way to ‘point out’ important portions of the information contained in the document. Line spacing is yet another tool that can help in the process of making a document easier to read. By using a broader line spacing you make it easier for the eyes to keep place and follow along the same line. In addition to the options one has with editing the typeface and aesthetics of a document, there are tools implemented into most word processors that help to correct errors in spelling and grammar. Spell check and grammar check are helpful tools when creating a document. When writing a paper, if the program recognizes any errors in spelling it will place a red zigzag underline underneath the word or phrase that is incorrect. The same is also true of grammar check. It will check for errors in punctuation or grammar and place a green underline under the phrase or word. Control Key and Word – Text and Graphics. In both cases, right clicking usually reveals a list of suggestions as to how to properly correct the problem. Last but not least in a situation where one needs to present data to a superior or coworker, most word processors have tools that allow for the placement of graphs and tables which help the user to present data relevant to the subject of the document. With the technology in place in today’s word processing software, the flow and transfer of information has been made a lot simpler. How to cite Important Components of Word Processing Software, Papers

Saint Essays - Cardinals Created By Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis

Saint Francis Life St. Francis's life began as any other man of his time. He was a wealthy individual who was preoccupied with material comforts. This preoccupation also led him to fear the poor, especially lepers. St. Francis then entered into a conversion that led him to be an alter Christus. He gave up all his material possessions and embraced poverty and welcomed the poor and needy into his life with open arms. he ignored the ridicule he received from both his family and his peers and entered this new way of life and became dedicated to helping people in need. St. Francis's conversion began after he had been imprisoned for a year in a foreign country. He returns home and falls ill and is bedridden for another year. He then sets out for another war, but is called home by the beckoning of God. His conversion is gradual as he begins slowly working with the poor and the lepers. Francis eventually becomes estranged from his family and is brought before the Bishop of Assisi by his father. Here Francis publicly renounces his inheritance, strips his clothes, and begins his journey in search of God's Kingdom. Francis is ridiculed by his friends and his peers, but he endures the humiliation and continues his work with the poor. Now Francis begins to imitate Jesus and begins preaching, this leads to many men following Francis and creation the Franciscan Order. These men went throughout the cities and countryside helping the poor and rebuilding the church both physically and spiritually. For the rest of Francis's life he spread the word of God, and in his death he received the great honor of Sainthood. St. Francis not only touched the lives of people in his own time, but he also touched the next generation with his teachings he has left behind. The mere mention of St. Francis's name brings to mind poverty. This is a man who gave up all his worldly possessions and joined the beggars in the streets. St. Francis's reasoning for doing the was to become closer to God and his kingdom. Francis's relationship to poverty can be defined by these lines, "holy poverty stands high above all the virtues that prepare in us a dwelling place for God..." (Sacrum Commercium). It also states that, "blessed are the poor in spirit," Jesus said, "for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven." As Francis interprets the Bible, God enters your life only when you are poor in spirit, and when this occurs the kingdom of Heaven is made available to you. St. Francis and his followers took these words to heart and lived every day of their lives following these lessons. Becoming closer to God was the sole reason for Francis's vow of poverty. Accompanying this vow he also believed he had the solution to war. St. Francis taught his followers that if they had possessions that they would need arms to defend them. He believed that possessions led to violence, hatred, and war. Individuals self worth is to often measured by how money they possess of what possessions they have. Without possessions mankind would all be on equal footing and there for less problems would exist. Today reality shows us that such a way of living is not possible. In today's world, instead of flaunting our wealth, we can share and try not to measure people to these standards. When one brings these teachings into the twentieth century it is hard to imagine actually following them as St. Francis did. When I think of myself and all the materials that we possess; giving everything up is not an option. We are a selfish human race as a whole, and we thrive on buying the newest technology and latest fashions. Giving our time by volunteering and giving to various charities are two small ways we, even as college students, can make a difference. It may not appear to be as radical as St. Francis's conversion but if everyone contributes in a small way it will make a world of difference.

From Brand Values to Customer Value Essays

From Brand Values to Customer Value Essays From Brand Values to Customer Value Essay From Brand Values to Customer Value Essay From brand values to customer value Martin Christopher Recently there has been a growing tide of articles, papers and even conferences devoted to the question of the future of marketing (see, for example Brady and Davis, 1993; Coopers Lybrand, 1993; Mitchell, 1994). Essentially, the point at issue is whether â€Å"traditional† marketing is appropriate for the conditions that now prevail in the late twentieth century. The basic principle of marketing still applies, that is the focus of the business on the satisfaction of customer needs, but, it is argued, the way in which marketing is practised may need to change fundamentally. It has to be recognized that there have been some radical changes in the marketing environment since marketing first came to prominence in the early 1960s. Organizations which had even the most rudimentary understanding of the marketing concept were able to reap the harvest of fast-growing markets comprising customers who had money to spend. In such conditions it was easy to believe that the company’s marketing effort was the main driver of this success. In reality that success was due as much to the fact that the business was being carried along with the tidal wave of market growth. The most significant change to impact western companies has been the maturing of the markets in which they compete. Mature markets have certain characteristics which mark them out as being significantly different from growth markets. Chief among the characteristics of mature markets are: Customer sophistication. In the majority of western economies, today’s customer and consumer has seen it all, they have been there and â€Å"bought the T-shirt†. In industrial markets, as well as fast-moving consumer goods markets, the supplier is now faced with a buyer who is much more demanding and less easily persuaded by marketing â€Å"hype†. One consequence of this change is the gradual decline in brand loyalty in many markets (Industry Week, 1993). Decline in the impact of advertising. It has been suggested by some industry commentators (Maddox, 1995) that, with the decline of the mass market and the consequent fragmentation of markets into smaller segments, conventional media-based advertising, particularly TV, is costing more and more to deliver the requisite ratings. This is causing a rethink in many organizations as to how they allocate their marketing budget. For example, it is reported that in the UK, Heinz is planning to divert most of its arketing communications budget from TV and apply it instead to direct marketing. From brand values to customer value 55 Journal of Marketing Practice: Applied Marketing Science, Vol. 2 No. 1, 1996, pp. 55-66.  © MCB University Press, 1355-2538 JMP: AMS 2,1 56 Perceived product equality. Mature markets exhibit similar characteristics to commodity markets in that customers pe rceive little difference between competing offers. In such conditions, while customers might have brand preferences they have less brand loyalty – meaning that if the preferred brand is not available, they will willingly accept a substitute. : Even product/markets with high rates of innovation do not seem immune from this tendency to â€Å"commoditization†; take, for example, the personal computer market, where clones and â€Å"me-toos† now account for significant market shares. Price competition. Almost by definition the combined effect of the previous three factors is a downward pressure on price. As a result, there is a temptation to seek to achieve tactical gains in sales volume through discounting in one form or another which is compounded by the continuing demands for price reductions by powerful customers. Paradoxically, the more that organizations compete on price, the more they reinforce the customers’ view that they are indeed commodity suppliers. Concentration of buying power A further significant difference in today’s marketing environment, compared to the past, is the continuing concentration of buying power in many markets. Concentration has occurred as organizations merge or grow through take-overs, and as the inevitable result of a competitive process that leads to the â€Å"survival of the fittest† (The Economist, 1993). This process of concentration seems to be present in just about every industry. The grocery retail market is a very visible example. Figure 1 shows the percentage of the total market in western European economies accounted for by the top five retailers in those countries. In that same market, there are beginning to emerge pan-European buying groups which will add to the concentration effect. These groups seek to use their combined buying power to gain better prices than they might be able to achieve by acting alone (Thornhill, 1990). The process of concentration in other industries in western Europe has been further accelerated through the process of European economic integration. Previously, countries had tended to develop their own industrial base independently from their neighbours, but now that the barriers to trade have mostly been removed there exists significant over-capacity in many industries. If a comparison were to be made between the USA and the countries of the European Union – in total the size of their populations are roughly similar – then it will be found that in many comparable industries there tend to be more players in Europe than in the USA. A good example is provided by the turbine generator industry where there are ten companies competing in that market compared to only two in the USA (Cooper et al. , 1991). 120 100 96. 7 From brand values to customer value 80 70. 2 65 62 52. 9 50 46. 7 80 57 45. 2 45. 1 42. 5 60 40 20. 4 20 12. 7 10 0 SF SW Key SF SW A CH UK A CH UK IRE IRE B D NL FR B D NL FR DK SP DK SP P I P IT = Finland = Sweden = Austria = Switzerland = United Kingdom = Ireland = Belgium = Germany = The Netherlands = France = Denmark = Spain = Portugal = Italy Source: AIM report Figure 1. Market share of top five retailers The fragmentation of consumer markets Paradoxically, while buying power in business-to-business markets is tending to concentrate, in consumer markets the trend has been to fragmentation. By fragmentation is meant a transition from the old idea of a uniform, homogeneous, â€Å"mass market† to much smaller segments where consumers seek individual solutions to their buying needs. The emerging idea of â€Å"micromarketing† (Kotler, 1994) is an attempt to focus marketing strategies on ever smaller groupings of customers. In the fragmented marketplace the conventional tools of mass marketing no longer have the same effect. National advertising campaigns through the mass media, for example, may no longer be the most cost effective way of communicating with these micro-markets. At the same time there is evidence that the more sophisticated consumer is influenced less by traditional advertising and that more purchase decisions are actually made at the point of sale (Dickson and Sawyer, 1990). The transition from brand value to customer value Much has been written about the changed nature of brand loyalty (Aaker, 1991), how the continued rise of private label products is further challenging JMP: AMS 2,1 58 conventional brands (Glemet and Mira, 1993) and how the â€Å"company† brand may be taking over from the individual brand (Barwise, 1992). Underlying these discussions is the view that brand â€Å"values† may not be as strong in the eyes of the consumer as they once were. The concept of brand values implies that what makes a brand a brand is its â€Å"personality† which distinguishes it from others and that the presence of this personality imparts some utility – however tangible – to the consumer. There is a strong body of research supporting the idea of brand personality as a source of value to the consumer (King, 1973). However, what seems to be happening is that the changes in the marketing environment summarized earlier are tending to diminish the strength of that value. The thrust of this article is that the original concept of brand value is in need of extension, and needs to be embodied within a wider concept of customer value. The customer value concept recognizes that marketplace success in the new competitive environment described above will require not only continued investment in the brand but also investment in customers. The underlying philosophy is that customers, not just consumers, have goals that they seek to achieve and that the role of the supplier is to help customers achieve those goals. Defining customer value Put very simply, customer value is created when the perceptions of benefits received from a transaction exceed the costs of ownership. The same idea can be expressed as a ratio: Perceptions of benefits Customer value = Total cost of ownership The marketing task is to find ways to enhance customer value by improving the perceived benefits and/or reducing the total costs of ownership. Both the numerator and the denominator of this ratio should be measured relative to competitive offers. Total cost of ownership rather than price is used here because in most transactions there will be costs other than price involved. For example, inventory carrying costs, maintenance costs, running costs, disposal costs and so on. In business-to-business markets, as buyers become increasingly sophisticated, the total cost of ownership can be a critical element in the purchase decision (Ellram, 1993). Life cycle costs, as they are referred to in the military and defence industries, have long been a critical issue in procurement decisions in those markets. The concept of customer value is of equal importance in consumer marketing as it is in business-to-business environments. In 1993, 2 April was termed â€Å"Black Friday† on Wall Street, New York because of major falls in the share prices of most branded goods companies. The trigger for this collapse had been the decision by Philip Morris to cut the price of its Marlboro cigarettes by 20 per cent or 40 cents a pack in order to counter competition from low price own-label products. The reason suggested by commentators for the fall in the share price of branded goods companies was that the Marlboro episode signalled the beginning of a revolt by customers who were starting to question the worth of paying significantly more for branded products which were no longer seen as delivering a commensurate amount of added value (The Economist, 1994a). Lowering the price (which had been increased ahead of inflation year after year) enabled Marlboro to restore the customer value it had been progressively eroding. Since taking this action its market share in the USA has increased dramatically. In seeking to deliver significantly superior customer value the marketer must clearly define, communicate and deliver a â€Å"value proposition† which is recognized by the target market as a better proposition than that presented by competitors. It should also be recognized that in most markets there will be different value segments but that to be successful in any one of them the customer value ratio must be seen to be superior to competitive offers. Figure 2 highlights how this idea might be applied to parts of the UK car market. Focusing on the value proposition forces the marketer to define clearly the two dimensions of cost and value shown in Figure 2 in terms of â€Å"what you give† and â€Å"what you get†. It must also be recognized that these dimensions are perceptual, meaning that continuing customer communication will be important if the value proposition is to be understood clearly by the target market. The sources of superior customer value are many. Treacy and Wiersema (1993) identify three value disciplines which can provide competitive What you get (perceived benefits) Superior value BMW Lexus From brand values to customer value 59 Fiat Uno Inferior value Different value segments What you give (total costs of ownership) Figure 2. Value segmentation JMP: AMS 2,1 60 advantage: operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy. Operational excellence is achieved through a focus on systems, costeffectiveness and speed so that customers are provided with the service they require, but at less cost. Product leadership as a strategy requires a commitment to continuous innovation, high levels of research and development, and a willingness to take risks. Customer-intimate companies are those that focus on building long-term relationships with customers particularly through a focus on service. While these strategies are not mutually exclusive, successful companies tend to follow predominantly one or other of these value disciplines. The emerging philosophy of relationship marketing (Christopher et al. , 1991) is a reflection of the growing recognition that long-term competitive advantage is gained by creating superior perceived value for customers. The argument is that customers are more likely to stay with suppliers if they believe that the relative customer value received from a current supplier is higher than that on offer elsewhere. Furthermore, there will often be considerable switching costs which would make a change of supplier unattractive. There are a growing number of examples of organizations that are establishing market leadership positions through a focus on customer value. Companies as diverse as Procter Gamble, British Steel, DHL and Milliken have all demonstrated that enduring customer relationships can be created through an understanding of the importance of operational excellence, product leadership and customer intimacy. The sources of marketing advantage In the new competitive environment, it is increasingly evident that successful marketing strategies are based on an amalgam of three critical elements: the creation of a consumer franchise whereby end-users are attracted to the product/service in question because they perceive a superior offer; a strong customer franchise where intermediaries want to do business with us because of a tangible economic benefit and, third, an under-pinning supply chain effectiveness that delivers superior service at less cost. Figure 3 summarizes the three sources of competitive advantage. Each of the three dimensions requires a clearly defined strategy, but developed as part of an integrative package to deliver superior value to customers and consumers alike. The consumer franchise While brand loyalty may no longer be as strong as it once was, the need to build a contract with the end-user is still a vital prerequisite for marketing advantage. Brand value is still a critical element in many purchase decisions although it seems that there has been a return to a concept of value based on traditional tangible or core benefits rather than the more emotionally-based, intangible benefits that seem to have fixated many marketers in the last quarter century. Now it seems that consumer loyalty more often is based on â€Å"hard† rather than â€Å"soft† dimensions. So, value for money, convenience, reliability, safety and functionality become the drivers of product or service choice. We buy a TV set Consumer franchise Brand values Corporate image Benefit focused From brand values to customer value 61 Marketing advantage Customer franchise Cost of ownership Value-adding relationship Service quality focus Supply chain effectiveness Network management Quick response Low cost supplier Figure 3. The sources of marketing advantage more for its features and the reputation of its manufacturer for reliability than we do for its image, for example. The impact of own-label, retailer-branded products in many categories is further testimony to this development. Coca-Cola, regarded as the world’s most recognized brand, has seen its market 30 Britain 25 20 15 France 10 Spain 5 Italy 0 1980 Note a 1986 1992 1993 Figure 4. Percentage of own-label market share Germanya Figures do not include Aldi Source: Boston Consulting Group JMP: AMS 2,1 62 share in the USA and the UK (and elsewhere too) under attack by own-label products which are seen by customers to deliver better value for money. Figure 4 shows the growing penetration of own-label products in major European markets. What this means for twenty-first century marketers is that in order to strengthen the consumer franchise, the focus of marketing effort must increasingly be on delivering solutions which can be translated into hard, tangible benefits by individual consumers. In many cases this will mean a transition to micro or one-to-one marketing whereby a greater degree of tailoring/customization of the product offer is achieved (Pine et al. , 1995). The customer franchise Because the power of intermediaries has strengthened in many markets, it is of paramount importance to make the customer – not just the consumer – an integral part of marketing strategy. Whether the intermediary be a retailer, a distributor or an original equipment manufacturer, without their support it is unlikely that even the strongest brand could achieve its full potential. Not only has the purchasing power of the customer increased as a result of concentration, but there is a growing trend towards single-sourcing by those customers. In other words, whereas in the past the practice was to spread the total purchase of an item across several suppliers, now the aim is to reduce the size of the supplier base and to seek further cost reductions as a result (Hines, 1994). While to many suppliers such developments may be perceived as a threat, to others they present an opportunity. If the supplier can offer a superior value package with a measurable positive economic impact on the customer, then the likelihood is that they will win the business. Today’s customer is a more sophisticated buyer, used to working with concepts such as total cost of ownership, life-cycle costing and cost/benefit analysis. Indeed, many customers now actively pursue a partnership sourcing concept (Lamming, 1993) whereby they seek to establish long-term relationships with preferred suppliers based on win-win philosophies. It can be argued that a preferred supplier, continuing to deliver superior customer value, has in effect the advantage of a barrier to entry that in many respects is far more difficult to surmount than more conventional competitive defences. Supply chain effectiveness This author has suggested elsewhere (Christopher, 1992) that individual companies no longer compete with other standalone companies, but rather that supply chain now competes against supply chain. The rationale for this viewpoint is based on the fact that when organizations work independently of their up-stream suppliers and down-stream customers, costs and inefficiencies tend to build up at the interfaces (Houlihan, 1985). The need for co-ordination between partners in the supply chain has increased as the network organization becomes more common. The network organization comprises a complex web of linkages between focused partners each of which adds value through specialization in an activity where it can provide a differential advantage. A company like Apple Computers, for example, relies heavily on other companies to supply components, to manufacture hardware, to create software and to distribute its products around the world. Something like 90 per cent or more of the cost of an Apple computer is going to outside suppliers. It has been suggested (Webster, 1992) that marketing as a function may even disappear as the strategic focus shifts towards network management. This progress towards the idea of supply chain integration as a source of competitive advantage will be accelerated as the growth of time-based competition (Stalk and Hout, 1990) accelerates. In markets that are increasingly volatile, responsiveness becomes a critical competitive requirement. Companies like Benetton and The Limited have gained significant advantage through their ability to respond rapidly to fashion changes in the markets they serve. Through the use of highly co-ordinated logistics and supply chain structures, driven by the real-time capture of sales data, these companies, and others like them, can adapt their product range and their volumes in weeks rather than months. Supply chain management should not be seen as something separate from marketing. Indeed in the new competitive paradigm supply chain effectiveness becomes an essential prerequisite for marketplace success. Delivering customer value Once it is recognized that customer value provides the basis for successful differentiation the next issue is how might that value best be delivered? A profound change is taking place in many companies as they review the appropriateness of their organizational structures for the changed marketplace of the late twentieth century and beyond. The traditional, functional organization structure is thought by many to be unable to meet the challenge of today’s volatile, time and cost-sensitive markets. Instead, the organizational imperative is to become market-facing and to break away from tightly constrained functional departments. The horizontal organization, as it has come to be called (Ostroff and Smith, 1992), is oriented around the management of cross-functional processes. Processes are the fundamental tasks which have to be achieved in order to create and deliver customer value. In any business there are a number of core processes that should be managed on a crosss of core processes would include: brand development (including new product development); consumer development (primarily focused on building loyalty); customer management (creating relationships with intermediaries); From brand values to customer value 63 JMP: AMS 2,1 64 supplier development (strengthening up-stream relationships); and supply chain management (including the order fulfilment process). The transformation from a functional to a horizontal organization has major mplications for the management structure of the business generally and for marketing management in particular. In effect, in the horizontal organization, marketing is no longer a series of activities performed within a marketing department. Indeed in many companies that have made the transition from vertical to horizontal organizations the marketing department has disappeared (The Economist, 1994b). However, this is not to assume that marketing is dead, indeed the reverse is the case – the need for market-driven businesses is as strong now as it ever was. Rather, we are seeing the transformation of marketing from a narrow set of functional skills based on a conventional â€Å"4Ps† marketing mix, to a broader business orientation where the delivery of superior customer value becomes the key objective. However, this being said, it must be recognized that there are still important functional skills that marketing must continue to develop, for example, research to provide in-depth market understanding and knowledge of consumers’ buying patterns, motivations and so forth. Strategic marketing planning also takes on a different form in the horizontal organization. Essentially the task of marketing planning in this new organizational model is to translate strategic goals into process plans, for example one major brewing company established the strategic goal of â€Å"a perfect pint in every pub†. The marketing planning task now becomes one of translating that goal into specific programmes for each process. So, for instance, what does â€Å"a perfect pint in every pub† imply for the brand development process, the customer management process and so on? Because each process in this company is now managed by a cross-functional process team a wider, more integrated perspective is brought to bear on the issue. Some might argue that this underpinning, integrative process of strategic marketing planning might better be termed strategic business planing. This is really only semantic and, in reality, it does not matter what we call this critical process, only that we manage it and recognize its central importance. Figure 5 summarizes the radically different shape of the process organization and the central role of strategic marketing planning. Moving to a process orientation clearly implies significant change for the business. The benefits of the transformation though can be considerable, particularly in the improvement of market responsiveness, the shortening of lead-times and the re-engineering of processes to deliver more customer value at less cost (Hammer and Champy, 1993). Conclusion In a world where the customer has become ever more sophisticated and experienced, where competition comes from new global players, alternative technologies and lower priced generics and me-toos, the focus of marketing Brand development process From brand values to customer value Customer management process Consumer development process Supplier development process Strategic marketing planning process 65 Supply chain process Figure 5. Marketing in a process context strategy must be on differentiation through superior customer and consumer value. Value is perceptual but comprises the customers’ understanding of what they are getting compared to what they are giving. In other words the functionality of the product and any emotional or intangible value plus the hard, tangible benefits must be set against the total cost of ownership. The task of marketing, therefore, has to be expressed in terms of the creation and delivery of customer value. It begins through an understanding of the value requirements of market segments or even individual customers; it then seeks through cross-functional processes to deliver that value through customer specific solutions. As many organizations are now learning, to become a customer value focused business requires a fundamental transformation of the way we manage. This transformation requires a shift from a compartmentalized view of the business where marketing is seen as the responsibility of the marketing department to a view that recognizes that processes deliver customer value and, hence, should be managed accordingly.

How to Use the Semicolon in Academic Writing

How to Use the Semicolon in Academic Writing How to Use the Semicolon in Academic Writing Today, friends and frenemies (we know you’re out there), we’re looking at the semicolon, including when this punctuation mark should be used in formal writing (i.e. not for making emoticons wink). We’ll also take a look at the difference between semicolons and colons. Using a Semicolon to Link Sentences The main use of the semicolon is to link two sentences. This emphasizes a connection between independent clauses that would otherwise be separated by a full stop. For instance, the following sentences work by themselves: My favorite food is spam. I spend a fortune on tinned meat. However, we could link them with a semicolon to show that they are connected: My favorite food is spam; I spend a fortune on tinned meat. This makes it obvious that my love of spam and my meat expenses are related. I also wear this outfit every day. I have a problem.(Photo: Charles LeBlanc/flickr) Linking sentences like this is common when the second sentence starts with a conjunctive adverb (e.g., â€Å"however† or â€Å"furthermore†) or a transition phrase (e.g., â€Å"as a result†): I love spam; consequently, I eat it for every meal. As above, this emphasizes the connection between the two statements. Generally speaking, you shouldn’t use a semicolon before conjunctions like â€Å"but† or â€Å"and,† although they can be used for clarity if either of the clauses being joined contains a comma. Using Semicolons in a List The second important use of semicolons is to separate items in a list. Usually, commas are enough for short, simple lists (like the following): The menu offered four choices: spam, eggs, grits or pancakes. However, if the listed items are more complex and already include commas, using semicolons to distinguish between them aids clarity: The menu offered four choices: spam, fries and beans; pancakes, syrup and spam; egg, bacon and spam; or spam, spam, spam, spam and spam. Here, for instance, using semicolons clearly shows where one item on the menu ends and another begins. Using only commas in a list like this, by comparison, could be confusing. Semicolon or Colon? Knowing when to use a semicolon and when to use a colon can be tricky, since colons can also be used to link two related sentences. There are two factors to consider here. The first is that semicolons can only be used to link complete sentences, whereas the information following a colon can be as little as a single word. For instance: There’s only one food I can’t stand: spam. If we wanted to rewrite this using a semicolon, we’d have to use two independent clauses: There’s only one food I can’t stand; I hate the taste of spam. Just Say No (to Spam) The second consideration is that the information following a colon is usually an explanation or specification of a general statement (i.e., more general: more specific). With a semicolon, however, the sentences linked are typically of equal weight or importance.