The Effect of Media on Young Girls

The Effect of Media on Young Girls The Effect of Media on Young Girls One of the most sensitive stages of a human being are their youth, whilst growing up one is faced with numerous transitions that transform one into someone mature. Our society has been swamped by endless media around us coming in different formats, i.e. magazines, newspapers, TV, Internet, etc. Each one of these has managed to flood dominating messages that put one’s self-image into question. Within the context of this essay, it examines the effect of media on young girls. The fact young girls are at a vulnerable phase they are most likely to be impacted by what they watch on TV, read in the magazines and get pumped by the current social media. Unfortunately the media has put a great deal of stress and pressure on the minds of sensitive young girls who are compelled to accomplish a so called ‘perfect image’. When we refer to the term ‘ideal image’, it directly includes supermodels, models, singers, actresses and icons who seem to be the ideal of young girls. Media is clearly responsible for promoting fake images of models who undergo an airbrushed and edited image of themselves when presented in magazines. Furthermore, these supermodels undergo strict and dangerous diets where their health suffers to an extreme. There are issues of self-image which are seen to be the biggest concern. Within self-image it results in three destructive effects, namely; depression (physical and mental) and eating disorders (Schlegel, n.d) York (2012) exposes the shocking figures from 2011 at 16% highlights there has been a boom in eating disorders. One of the biggest increase was mainly girls who were aged from 10 to 15 up at 69% in 2011. It could further be elaborated that eating disorders have the highest morality rates of any mental illness which were accounted at 20%. Interestingly, the depiction of the so called ‘ideal’ body kinds portrayed by Western media has been perceived as a major factor in inseminating eating disorders. It can be highlighted how social media has rapidly promoting these diseases. Shockingly, the research points out eating disorders were becoming widespread just like a virus due to social networks, whereas pro-anorexic websites would offer tips, guidance and an online community was designed for unhealthy weight management. One fine example demonstrating the widespread search conducted online on eating disorders and losing weight unhealthily is the case of Pinterest who have take n an initiative to put an end to search words, i.e. ‘thininspiration’ that would provide users a list of results which were linked to eating disorders. Pinterest offered users to read warnings that would refer to the dangers of eating disorders and how they weren’t a part of lifestyle choices but were simply a mental disorder which if they left untreated could possibly result in major health problems and even pose a major threat to one’s life. One of the other social networks that is notorious with promoting self-consciousness is Facebook. Facebook has been pro-actively promoting ‘self-consciousness as being an extremely important issue where body image and weight are center of attention. Maree (n.d) believes media has been compelling numerous youth to commit suicide, it has brought youth suicide to the front row where there has been a boom in youth depression that results in a high rate of suicide in the recent years. Maree refers to the statistics taken from the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) back in 2011 which showed the suicide rates stood at four male to one female ratio. Furthermore, suicide amongst young girls was displayed in 2012 as a result of numerous tragic deaths. There were three major deaths that raised eye brows and outraged the public, the tragic deaths of Ciara Pugsley, Erin and Shannon Gallagher raised a very significant issue of why these deaths took place and scrutinizing the negative influence of media and promotion of self-image pushing these young souls to plunge to their own death. Their deaths resulted in organizations within the government along with the media instantly initiating work on fighting the lack of resources for the youth who were suffering from depression. It should be pointed youth depression has emerged due to numerous factors, where such a condition is simply complicated in nature. Self-esteem is said to be one of the main issues which emerge in youth depression. Unfortunat ely the media has been predominantly playing a negative role in promoting conflicting interest in itself also for the youth, where if bad exposure is restricted it can certainly make a major difference. The number of times the young girls view a super model, this makes them wonder if they could share a resemblance to their so called ‘media ideal’s and accomplish this by undergoing cruel diets at a tender age when their bodies are undergoing numerous kinds of changes. The fact the media is constantly flooding the TV channels, fashion magazines and social media with representing a so called ‘perfect woman’, this results in the creation of mental and emotional issues, this specially refers to the inability to remain joyful in their very own body. As per the comments by a counsellor, such a depiction clearly delivers a very impractical body image in the media which can have an extremely serious and deep impact on susceptible woman than one imagines. Sanders (n.d) emphasizes how media marketing has simply depicted a very fake image of models, actresses and icons that becomes an impossible objective for young girls to accomplish. The fact the youth are highly influenced by celebrities and pick up the latest fashion, hair-style and lifestyle trends from their ideals, this results in a trend of being a copy-cat where one is compelled to imitate their ideals and feel a sense of dissatisfaction if they are unable to do so. If one takes into consideration how popular media has been progressively promoting a thinner and thinner body image as the so called ideal for women, this has become more like a competition for the youth where they feel it is necessary to maintain a thin image. Being thin for today’s youth means being beautiful, here they are unable to distinguish between reality and what is digital editing in magazines, social media and online websites. Unfortunately, the youth are paying a heavy price at the expense of their health to be socially accepted by starving themselves on fad diets that will have a major side-effect on their health. In terms of self-confidence, the youth will feel out of place, lacking a sense of affinity and unable to confidently socialize if they do not fit the so called ideal criteria of being thin and beautiful. They feel their social group will reject them on basis of them being slightly fat or what is normal. There is this unpleasant bullying that comes into the picture where one is experiencing teasing from their counterparts on the basis of how they look like, i.e. fat. The fatter you are, the more unpleasant and disconnected you are from being a part of the popular group of girls. Heubeck (n.d) takes the example of American girls who are facing the burden of being model like thin which seems like a real aspiration for them, however this starts off at a very young age which is extremely disappointing. There are countless bombardments of TV adverts featuring models with perfect lips, body, hair-style and the entire attractive physical appearance that seems a must achieve for these young minds. Unfortunately these young girls seems to consider these celebrities as role models even if these role models have a cruel bad reputation. According to Renee Hobbs, EdD, Associate Professor of Communications at the Temple Univesity she found in her research the exposure an average teen gets to media is nearly 180 minutes with only 10 minutes of interaction with their parents on a daily basis. This view is shared by Elissa Gittes, MD- a pediatrician at the adolescent medicine at the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, she believes young girls are obsessed with imitatin g the ideal image they watch in media, they end up taking harsh and desperate measures. There has been an increase in the number of young girls who comment on how unhappy they are with their body and are working obsessively hard to change this image of themselves. As per the research conducted by Nancy Signorielli from the Kaiser Foundation, Nancy discovered one in every three articles in leading teen girl magazines also consisted a key focus on physical appearance, where majority of the advertisements (reported at 50%) used an appeal to beauty to market and sell their products. Furthermore, the TV adverts and commercials which were targeted at female viewers depicted frequently were regularly watched by young girls where beauty was seen as the central theme for product appeal. When examining the figures on eating disorders, it points how 1,000 women died annually as a result of anorexia nervosa. Nearly, five percent of adult women and adolescent along with one percent of men were suffering from binge eating disorder, anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. When comparing the figures on men to women suffering from depression and eating disorders, it clearly demonstrates it is young girls who are most affected and suffer from depression and eatin g disorders (Media’s effect on body image, n.d) It can be concluded from the findings within this essay popular media is certainly responsible for influencing young girls in a negative way by making them self-conscious about looking perfect. There has been an artificial imagery of icons created, flashed and swamped in different mediums of media that has caught the eye and attention of young minds who take it in a positive manner. The fact more and more young girls are driven towards looking like their ‘role models’ they take up unhealthy options to look physically perfect even if it means it is a life threatening one. The issue of self-image is an umbrella which entails issues of mental and physical depression along with eating-disorders that have multiplied and compelled young girls to commit suicide. More and more young girls are drawn to look perfect starting from as young as the age of 5. It is the responsibility of media, government, health organizations and parents to intervene and deviate these young girls from taking an extreme measure which would result in a complete chaos. There is a strong need to tackle this matter as the rapid flow of information available online and easily accessed by anyone at the click of a button, i.e. mobile device, tablet, etc., it is truly concerned as to how there is an endless amount of literature available that attracts more and more young minds to imitate their favorite celebrities, icons and become just like them. Governments and health organizations need to implement strict codes that would ban media from promoting an unrealistic picture of what is a perfect woman as these young minds are vulnerable and capable of believing what they see on TV. Parents should be actively involved in monitoring on the habits, patterns and changes in behaviors of their children. The fact we are living in a modern world has meant we are suffering greatly with a fabricated image of what is considered perfect by the media and what is truly perfect in the real world, which ob viously is a complete conflict. Schools and colleges should promote an awareness of accepting oneself rather hating one’s own image. Successful media campaigns conducted like the one by Dove was an impressive and attention grabbing one which demonstrated how beauty in women is not limited to any form of perfection of being thin but rather accepting oneself the way they are. It truly celebrates natural beauty and promotes this image by featuring a group of women in different colors, sizes, heights and empowers female beauty in a natural way. There is a strong need for more and more media campaigns similar to this that should be created and promoted to wash away the wrong image depicted of perfection into the young minds of girls.

Data For A Given Business Problem Marketing Essay

Data For A Given Business Problem Marketing Essay Introduction In this assignment discuss about type of data, a methodology of gathering data from various sources, arranging them according to a system to get useful information which leads to take better decisions. Analysing data and information is very important to take efficient and effective business decisions. This will help the management to understand the industry status, can be a value addition tool and introduce new processors, rules and regulation to increase quality, quantity and productivity. Now a days organisations uses technology to arrange data and to get information according to their requirement. According to the scenario is about Halford group a product, service and expertise provider of motor, bicycle, and great getaway that means a transportation facilitator according to customers requirement. Halford has more than 402 superstores, 34 compact stores, 31 metro compact stores and 261 auto centres across in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland. They have introduced a Bike hut as a showcase to promote their bike brands. Where they want to increase their customer satisfaction level and need to clarify the feedback of the market about their products. Task 1 Requirement 1: P1.1 Create a plan for the collection of primary and secondary data for a given business problem Data are statistics, details, verses, photographs, charts, images and etc. There are two types of data, such as quantitative data and qualitative data. As per Pawar (2004) quantitative data means where data gathered from surveys, questionnaires, trials and etc. these data are much in number format. Qualitative datas are that has recorded in detail. It is very important to collect both types of data to get a great output. Primary data can be collected by interviews, research, or by observations. But for the given scenario it is important to gather customer feedback therefore interviews are important. The Even Halfords Group can use their site, e-commerce link as a resource to collect data by adding a short questionnaire. Secondary data are records which exist currently. Plan to collect primary data and secondary data for the given situation are, quick questionnaires, informal interviews, telephone surveys, observing the customers, analyse the previous company details, use the web site to get feedback from customers and etc. Figure 1: Data Cycle (Source: http://analyticalconsulting.info/services/) P1.2 Present the survey methodology and sampling frame used Survey methodology is a tool that use to gather data from a specific segment. In this scenario it is important to gather information mainly from cyclists about their requirements, their liking and dis-likings, value additions, knowledge about the product, ideas to improve the invention and etc. The survey question list can be made out of closed questions and open questions. According to Curwin and Slater (2008), surveys can be conducted mainly in two ways, that is interviews and questionnaires. This is also can be done by qualitative assessment or as a quantitative design methodology. On the other hand there are two sampling types, as probability and non probability sampling. Probability and non probability sampling has different techniques of sampling. For example probability sampling has simple random sampling method, cluster sampling, stratified sampling method and systematic sampling method. Where non probability sampling has snowball sample method, quota sampling and judgmental sample method. In this case it is appropriate to use questionnaires containing both open ended and close ended questions. And non probability sampling technique can be use as the sampling frame. Figure 2: Selecting a Sample (Source:http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~dfinnega/sw690/RBnotes_ch9_full.htm) P1.3 Design a questionnaire for a given business problem Halfords Product Awareness and Customer Satisfaction Evaluation Survey 2013 Dear Valued Customer, We Halfords group as the leader in cycles retailing market always looking forward to give more that our client expects. We have introduced Bikehut Stores where you can easily reach and access premium bike brands. To enhance more customer oriented service we would like to ask few questions. Many thanks in advance for your precious time taken to fill the below questionnaire. Looking forward to provide better service in future. Best regards, Manager, Halfords Group Name : à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Address : -à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Age :-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Gender :- Male  £ Female  £ Are you happy to deal with Halfords : Yes  £ No  £ If your answer is no please specify :- à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Are you aware of the new store chain called Bikehut : Yes  £ No  £ Please range the below from 1 5 (1-Unsatisfied, 2-Good, 3-Very Good, 4-Satisfied, 5-Exceed expectation) Question 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of the product  £  £  £  £  £ Overall satisfaction of the product  £  £  £  £  £ Service in the Bikehut  £  £  £  £  £ After sales services  £  £  £  £  £ Compared to other suppliers our product and services  £  £  £  £  £ Do you think the price of this product is reasonable : Yes  £ No  £ If your answer is no, please state why? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Do you recommend our products to another person : Yes  £ No  £ Your ideas are very important to us to provide an extravagantly personalised service and products to you. Please comment : à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Please use the envelope attached to send your valued ideas. Task 2 Requirement 2: P2.1 Relate information for decision making by summarising data using representative values Total Response is = 225 Product use age according to the gender Male 150 Female 75 Happy to deal with Halfords Yes (217) No (8) Awareness of the Bikehut stores Yes (185) No (40) Overall quality of the product 1-(4) 2-(23) 3-(68) 4-(120) 5-(10) Overall satisfaction of the product 1-(2) 2-(32) 3-(89) 4-(79) 5-(23) Service in the Bikehut 1-(0) 2-(93) 3-(102) 4-(23) 5-(7) After sales services 1-(3) 2-(42) 3-(88) 4-(80) 5-(12) Compared to other suppliers our product and services 1-(0) 2-(17) 3-(107) 4-(75) 5-(26) Price is reasonable Yes (157) No (68) Product recommendations Yes (210) No (15) (1-Unsatisfied, 2-Good, 3-Very Good, 4-Satisfied, 5-Exceed expectation) P2.2 Analyse the results draw valid conclusions in a business context. Total Response is = 225 Product use age according to the gender Male 150 Female 75 Male 66.67% Female 33.33% Happy to deal with Halfords Yes (217) 96.44% No (8) 3.56% Awareness of the Bikehut stores Yes (185) 82.22% No (40) 17.78% Overall quality of the product 1-(4) 1.78% 2-(23) 10.22% 3-(68) 30.22% 4-(120) 53.33% 5-(10) 4.44% Overall satisfaction of the product 1-(2) 0.89% 2-(32) 14.22% 3-(89) 39.56% 4-(79) 35.11% 5-(23) 10.22% Service in the Bikehut 1-(0) 0% 2-(93) 41.33% 3-(102) 45.33% 4-(23) 10.22% 5-(7) 3.11% After sales services 1-(3) 1.33% 2-(42) 18.67% 3-(88) 39.11% 4-(80) 35.56% 5-(12) 5.33% Compared to other suppliers our product and services 1-(0) 0% 2-(17) 7.56% 3-(107) 47.56% 4-(75) 33.33% 5-(26) 11.56% Price is reasonable Yes (157) 69.78% No (68) 30.22% Product recommendations Yes (210) 93.33% No (15) 6.67% (1-Unsatisfied, 2-Good, 3-Very Good, 4-Satisfied, 5-Exceed expectation) The customer base is at 66.67% of males and 33.33% female. The company should look forward to encourage more females to use the product. When advertising focus to touch famine market too. 96.44% customers are happy to deal with the establishment, 82.22% customer base is aware of the new store chain. 98% of customers are satisfied about the product quality, where 99% are overall satisfied about the product. 100% customers are happy about the service provided at Bikehut. 97% of customers are delighted about after sales services. 70% of clients say that the product price is reasonable. 93.33% of customers will help to bring business by recommending the product to others. This is a free advertising for the company. When considering the overall information the company is performing well. Customers are satisfied with the establishment and as well as the product and the service. P2.3 Analyse data using measures of dispersion into inform a given business scenario. As per the deliberation by Francis (2008), measures of dispersion means when scattering data how the statistics are comparable individually. There are three ways to measure dispersion, namely as the range, the semi interquartile range (SIR) and variance / standard deviation.In range dispersion uses the lowest value and the highest value in the given data set and the difference is taken as ranges. 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of the product 4 1.78% 23 10.22% 68 30.22% 120 53.33% 10 4.44% Overall satisfaction of the product 2 0.89% 32 14.22% 89 39.56% 79 35.11% 23 10.22% Service in the Bikehut 0 0.00% 93 41.33% 102 45.33% 23 10.22% 7 3.11% After sales services 3 1.33% 42 18.67% 88 39.11% 80 35.56% 12 5.33% Compared to other suppliers our product and services 0 0.00% 17 7.56% 107 47.56% 75 33.33% 26 11.56% Question Highest Value Lowest Value The Range Overall quality of the product 120 4 116 Overall satisfaction of the product 89 2 87 Service in the Bikehut 102 0 102 After sales services 88 3 85 Compared to other suppliers our product and services 107 0 107 Semi interquartile range (SIR) = (Q3-Q1) /2 Q3 Q1 Q3-Q1 (Q3-Q1)/2 Overall quality of the product 68 4 64 32 Overall satisfaction of the product 89 2 87 43.5 Service in the Bikehut 102 0 102 51 After sales services 88 3 85 42.5 Compared to other suppliers our product and services 107 0 107 53.5 Standard Deviation 1 2 3 4 5 Std. Div. Overall quality of the product 4 23 68 120 10 49 Overall satisfaction of the product 2 32 89 79 23 37 Service in the Bikehut 0 93 102 23 7 49 After sales services 3 42 88 80 12 39 Compared to other suppliers our product and services 0 17 107 75 26 44 P2.4 Explain how quartiles, percentiles and the correlation coefficient are used to draw useful conclusions in a business context. According to Anderson et al (2012), quartile use to separate data in two quarters. Percentiles are where the observed data are similar or larger than the percentile figure. The correlation coefficient is the tool that uses to interpret the linear relationship between two variables. M1. Apply quartiles, percentiles and the correlation coefficient in your data set. 1 2 3 4 5 Overall quality of the product 4 23 68 120 10 Overall satisfaction of the product 2 32 89 79 23 Service in the Bikehut 0 93 102 23 7 After sales services 3 42 88 80 12 Compared to other suppliers our product and services 0 17 107 75 26 QUARTILE 0 1 2 3 4 4 10 23 68 120 2 23 32 79 89 0 7 23 93 102 3 12 42 80 88 0 17 26 75 107 Correlation coefficient Overall quality of the product 4 23 68 120 10 Overall satisfaction of the product 2 32 89 79 23 87% Service in the Bikehut 0 93 102 23 7 After sales services 3 42 88 80 12 62% Overall quality of the product 4 23 68 120 10 Compared to other suppliers our product and services 0 17 107 75 26 78% Task 3 Requirement 3: P3.1 Produce graphs using spread-sheets and draw valid conclusions based on the information derived Main customer sector can be identified from the above chart. This graph will indicate the satisfaction level of customers. This graph shows the correlations of the overall product and quality satisfaction. P3.2 Create trend lines in spread-sheet graphs to assist in forecasting for specified business information The customers are highly satisfied about the overall quality of the product but it is important to improve product satisfaction and after sales services. Quartile forcast. Almost every purchaser likes to deal with the company. More than 50% of the clients agrees that the product price is reasonable. Therefore no need to do price change. Has to advertise more about Bikehut for customer awareness. M2 Critically analyse the findings in 3.4 P3.3 Prepare a business presentation using suitable software and techniques to disseminate information effectively P3_3- Halfords Group.pptx P3.4 Produce a formal business report, M3 Present and communicate the results in 3.4 Subject : The customer satisfaction and Bikehut awareness survey To : The Management From : The Market Research Team Date : 12th March 2013 This is about the awareness and a satisfaction survey about our products and services. In addition to that verify the new outlet chain status. As per the management request our team conducted a questionnaire survey and interview to collect the required data. We have got 225 feedback forms from customers. According to the collected data after sampling and analysing them, we recognise that the males are using our product greater than the females. Overall the customers are happy to deal with our establishment. 185 customers out of 225 were aware about the Bikehut store. 70% of clients are pleased with our product prices. As per the information our products quality and services satisfies customers where the company has built a very good reputation. Therefore we have a 93% of word of mouth promotion via the satisfied customers. Conferring as per the data gathered the organisation performs incredibly well than the industry competitors. We recommend that the after sales service should improve. Most of the feedback has rated very well, but the organisational goal should be to give an extravagantly personalised service to get more rates on exceeding expectation. The customer service manager is responsible to introduce customer oriented training. It is the human resource managers duty to implement appreciation programme and reward the employees as a motivation factor. Production has to innovate appropriate cycle designs for females. Advertising team should attract feminine market and promote Bikehut stores as well as Halfords products Task 4 Requirement 4: P4.1 Use appropriate information processing tools As interpreted by Bajic and Wee (2005), information processing tools are the processors and tangible and non tangible equipment that use to arrange data, such as database, servers, computers, transmitters, ATMs as well as softwares, methodologies, internet, networks, websites and etc. By using the correct methods and equipment the organisation can be benefited. The output will be accurate to take effective and efficient decisions. In an organisation, budgets, project plans, cash flow statements, investment appraisals are used as information tools. Figure 2: Data Processing Tools (Source: http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/SB-EETD-tuning-buildings.html) P4.2 Prepare a project plan for an activity and determine the critical path P4.3 Use financial tools for decision making. To evaluate a project in the main financial tool which use as a decision making technique is calculated net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR). Organisation invests in projects expecting an upright return in long time span. By using NPV the management can decide the surplus or the shortage of the cash flow. IRR calculation mainly considers about the discount rate only. The discount rate may change over the time period. Therefore the IRR rate will also change accordingly. Using the internal rate of return is not rational to evaluate a project. Discount Rate 12% Period Sum 0 (50,000.00) 1 12,000.00 2 15,000.00 3 15,000.00 4 18,000.00 5 10,000.00 NPV 462.49 IRR 12.371% D1 Explain the results of NPV and IRR Since this has a positive NPV, it is worth to invest in this project. It will recover the initial investment and can earn a better return. Net present value is the difference that occurs when evaluating the project market value and its cost. In addition to the NPV the internal rate of return (IRR) is 12.37%. When the internal rate of return is higher than the discount percentage then it will indicate a continuation of the project. Though investors calculate net present value and internal rate of return, they mainly consider on the net present value. D2 Use Critical reflection to evaluate and justify your overall valid conclusion Conclusion

Slow Food Essay -- Nutrition

The trend of the Slow Food Movement has existed since the 1970’s but has recently been thrusted into the fore front of prominent world issues as the cause and remedy of environmental challenges, local economic circumstances, and the complexities with social norms. The Slow Food Movement can be considered a counter-trend to Fast food. It was created in response to the augmentation of fast food a culture, the diminishment of people caring where the food comes from, and the diminishment of local food traditions. After a close examination of these factors, a prediction is made of the future trends of Slow Food Movement, and how the Slow Movement concept will evolve to become a part of everyday life. The Oxford American Dictionary defines trends as â€Å"a general tendency or inclination, the general direction in which something tends to move† (1999) A trend analysis is defined as an examination of a trend to identify its nature, causes, speed of development, and potential impacts (Cornish, 2001, p.78). Trends at times arise as a response to other trends. The same deduction can be made about food trends. For example when the Atkins diet was popular, retailers responded with low carbohydrate food options. In 2006, Burger King offered bunless burgers wrapped in lettuce, to appeal to the dieters embracing a low, or no carbohydrate lifestyle. Additional fast food restaurants including Arbys, Hardees, Carl’s Junior, and Subway followed suit with bunless options. While the trend of no or low carbohydrate diets have diminished the low carbohydrate options continue to be available upon request. The trend illustrates the affects trends have on each other. The Slow Food Movement has similar roots of establishment. The Slow Food Movement can be... ...ustry's Parade toward Low-Carb Menu Items. . Knight Ridder Tribune Business News 1(1), Retrieved Jun. 10, 2011, from from ProQuest Newsstand. (Document ID: 524271311). Schneider, S. (2008). Good, Clean, Fair: The Rhetoric of the Slow Food Movement. College English, 70 (4), pp. 384-402. Slow Food International. 1989. Slow Food Manifesto Retrieved from http://www.slowfood.com/international/2/our-philosophy "Trend n. & v." The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English. Oxford University Press, 1999. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. August 2011 US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. 2008. U.S. Fertilizer Use and Price. Data set. Available atWeb site http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/FertilizerUse/ (accessed 11 June 2011).

Comparing A Streetcar Named Desire and The Glass Menagerie :: essays research papers

“A Streetcar Named Desire'; and “The Glass Menageries were written by Tennessee William in the late Thirties, where the depression made countless of people struggled in poverty. Both of the plays used the typical American family during the Thirties as the background setting. There were many similarities between the plays: including characters and events. Did Tennessee William write the same play twice? Or, did the plays each hold a different meaning underneath?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before analyzing the two plays, we must first analyze the characters. Blanche Dubois in “A Streetcar Named Desire'; and Laura Wingfield in “The Glass Menageries'; have a lot of similarities throughout the two plays. Blanche and Laura are both living in a separate world from other people. Blanch is living in a world of fantasies, while Laura is living in her world with all the glass Menagerie. Blanche seeks for desires and fantasies only because she feels she murdered her husband. Laura lives in her world of glass animals only because of a disease that gives her a slight physical defect. They are mentally and physically crippled, and they want to use illusions to deceive other people. In P.117 Blanch said “I don’t want realism. I want magic! Yes, yes, magic! I try to give that to people. I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell truth, I tell what ought to be truth.'; Laura does the same thing, where she deceives her mother. She lies to her mother about going to the Business Collage, just like Blanche lies to everyone else about her past.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In “The Glass Menagerie'; the unicorn represents Laura. She is different from all the others, and she would not be able to fit in with the others. She is too sensitive and shy, a very fragile being. Blanche in the play does not fit in with the rest of the people in the community either. She cannot tolerate the way husbands treat their wives in New Orleans, and she is shocked when Stella goes back with Standley after the Polka Night. The same thing happens to Eunice(Stella’s neighbor) a few scene after. In P. 63 Stella tells Blanche “You are making much too much fuss about this.'; And later says “it wasn’t anything as serious as you seem to take it.'; Blanche will never understand how, or why Stella would go back to Stanley because she doesn’t fit into their community, just like Laura will never fit into hers either.

For Whom The Bell Tolls(term-paper) -- essays research papers fc

When reading an Ernest Hemingway novel, one must try very hard to focus on the joy and encouragement found in the work. For Whom the Bell Tolls is full of love and beauty, but is so greatly overshadowed by this lingering feeling of doom--a feeling that does not let you enjoy reading, for you are always waiting for the let down, a chance for human nature to go horribly awry. This feeling is broken up into three specific areas. In Ernest Hemingway's novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, humanity is exploited through brutal violence, unnecessary courage, and hopeless futility. Hemingway has the uncanny gift of imagery, and he possesses a brilliant mastery of the English language. He is adept at manipulating words and weaving complex sentences; furthermore, "Meticulous description takes its place†¦For Hemingway†¦description is definition." (Tanner 228) All of this genius can show the ultimate beauty and grace of existence, but the flipside to that is the same devices used to show all of the wonder and greatness in life can also be used to show to many hardships and painful truths we must endure, such as violence and gory injustices: â€Å"Then some one hit the drunkard a great blow alongside the head with a flail and he fell back, and lying on the ground, he looked up at the man who had hit him and then shut his eyes and crossed his hands on his chest, and lay there beside Don Anastasio as though he were asleep. The man did not hit him again and he lay there and he was still there when they picked up Don Anastasio and put him with the others in the cart that hauled them all over to the cliff where they were thrown over that evening with the others after there had been a cleaning up in the Ayuntamiento.† (Hemingway 126). The mob-violence that is portrayed in that passage is one inspired by ignorance, weak wills, and alcohol. All through Pilar and Robert Jordan’s flashbacks, one cannot help but be overwhelmed with feelings of disgust towards humankind. These stories are not uncommon, either. Most of the people fighting against the fascists in this novel have similar stories. It is absolutely horrid to hear these anecdotes in which people tell in great detail how they saw their parents, siblings, cousins, and so on, die is extremely heart wrenching ways. One little girls family was murdered in a particular... ...rible situation comes along to undermine the reader’s faith in human nature. From his meticulously descriptive anecdotes, to his realist narratives, in his novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway exploits humanity through brutal violence, unnecessary courage, and hopeless futility. Works Cited Frohok, W.M. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway—The River and the Hawk.† The Novel of Violence in America. Mississippi: Beacon, 1957. 166-98. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom the Bell Tolls. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1940. 1-471. Howe, Irving. A World More Attractive: A View of Modern Literature and Politics. New York: Horizon Press, 1963. 65-70. Tanner, Stephen L. â€Å"Hemingway’s Islands.† Southwest Review. Winster: Southern Methodist University Press, 1976. 74-84. Tanner, Tony. â€Å"Ernest Hemingway’s Unhurried Sensations.† The Wave of Wonder: Naivety and Reality in American Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1965. 228-57. Villapiano, Gavino. Interview. Off-Camera Conversation with my Father. By Nicholas Gavino Villapiano. New Jersey: 1999. 1-2 Wain, John. â€Å"The Conflict of Forms in Contemporary English Literature.† Essays on Literature and Ideas. St. Martins: Macmillan, 1963. 230-35

ACC 290 Financial Statements Essay

Financial statements are a means of communicating numbers within a business. Without proper numbers your business could be a success or a big failure. â€Å"You will rely on them to make decisions, and managers will use them to evaluate your performance. That is true whether your job involves marketing, production, management, or information systems† (Kimmel, 2009). The financial statements shows the business financial standpoint at a given time period, and it also helps the business to understand what they need to do to improve. A company’s livelihood depends greatly on their financial statement because it determines if the business is successful, can it hire new employees, or can it receive any more additional loans. A financial standpoint of the company is monitored by its financial statements. The four basic financial statements are retained earnings statement, balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flow. During a certain time period presenting a snapshot of what your business owns (its assets) and what it owes (its liabilities), you prepare a balance sheet. â€Å"To show how successfully your business performed during a period of time, you report its revenues and expenses in an income statement† (Kimmel, 2009). Specifying how much of prior income was dispersed to you and the other owners of your business in the form of dividends and how much was reserved in the business to allow for future growth a retained earnings statement is presented. Showing where your business obtained cash during period of time you would prompt a statement of cash flow. The purpose of balance sheet it to show the amount of assets a company has obtained by evaluating the claims of creditors and the claims of owners. This type of relationship can be shown in an equation assets equal liabilities plus stockholders equity. A company success or failure is monitored by its income statement because it shows a company’s revenue monitored by its expenses. The net income is obtained through the income statement by deducting its expenses from its revenues. The retained earnings statements are different because retained earnings are the net income retained in the corporation. Dividend payment practices are assessed because the amount of the retained earnings statements is deducted or added by the company’s dividends. The statement of cash flow shows the company operating, investing, and financing doings. It shows the company cash position and what is happening to its most important source. Managers use financial statements for several purposes. If a company needs to meet labor demands and need to hire new employees the financial statements helps in knowing how many employees they can afford to hire. On the income statement, management compares sales and expenses of a period of time with recent events to notice if there is a big change. They can identify likely problems and investigate the cause; however, they can regulate if they can afford new equipment, merchandise, and other operating expenses. Using the balance sheet managers can determine if a change applied helped the company or delayed it. Employees look at financial statements to know if the company is managing their money well and can meet payroll obligations. Employees also can gain knowledge of potential bonuses or layoffs based of the net income that is reported on the income statement. Financial statements are useful to investors and creditors because it shows the company’s financial position and allows them to make better decisions concerning the company. For the investors and creditors financial statements helps to evaluate the risks related to the possible investment or loans issued as well as estimate returns from the money invested. Investors and creditors analyzes company’s financial position, operational results, cash generated by different activities before making investment decisions. If the company owes more than it owns than creditors may not allow that company to receive additional loans. To investors it shows if the company is operating profitably. Financial statements are vital to the success of a business. They can be used as a roadmap to direct you in the correct direction and help you avoid costly failures. Maintaining financial statements for a company can only help a company. Improper financial statements put a company in jeopardy. The different statements show if a company can afford to hire new employees or if they need to do some lay-offs. To determine if a company can be approved for additional loans or if it is expected to fail you must rely on the financial statements. In general financial shows the financial standpoint of a company and decisions a company has to make cannot be made if there are no financial statements.

Blood Diamonds Essay

The result in the deaths of more than fifty thousand people, left millions homeless, and integrated violence such as mass rapes and mutilations were caused from these jewels earnings which helped to subsidize a war. It was also stated that these blood diamonds increase the battle in Africa which resulted to the loss of four million lives and millions of residents has been dislocated. Same of what happened at Sierra Leone which had discrepancy; these conflict diamonds yet in little ways can cause massive destruction in a country. In the vile civil war at Sierra Leone, the rising up evolutionary United Front apprehended control to a great extent of the nation’s diamond fields. The issue regarding blood diamonds did not occur only long-ago. There was a report recently by the United Nation that twenty-three dollars of diamonds are being smuggled into international diamond markets which are from the Ivory Coast. Diamonds have also played an important role in financing conflicts in Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Fortified sadism and vicious human rights abuses go on with over control of diamond mines in eastern Congo which was the bloodiest war since World War II. The Global Witness in 1998 had to start a revelation operation about the role of diamonds in financial support argument. Amnesty International a proletariat human rights organization in the world became so influential in enlightening citizens concerning the problem and urges the governments and industry to take action. International tension has augmented from a large federation of Non Government Officials through the years. United States is the seventy percent of the world’s diamond trader and this only means that it was the leading costumer of diamonds. With this reason, they should be the first and major head to cover on the problem of blood diamonds which also called conflict diamonds. On the way hard works for the United States Congress to control the trading of blood diamonds. Terrorist operation are possible funded by the international trade of diamonds and with this, the United States Congress Members obtains tactics to put a stop to it. Diamonds are expensive goods that can easily be covered and transported according to the U. S. General Accounting Office and was used in illegal means of trading. It was extracted from inaccessible areas which no hint to find from its origin. Government-run Kimberley Process which is an international agreement endorsed by the United Nation which aimed and developed a diamond certification program that would prevent the flow of blood diamond and initiated stop to its trade was presently participate United States together with other countries. The â€Å"chain of warranties† or the â€Å"system of self regulation. † was the agreement wherein the diamond companies will take charge to guard itself in dispatching diamonds from its place to the stores where it should be delivered. This became there support to the Kimberley Process. However this agreement I not fully applied to the industries because it is a must for a company dealing in diamonds to have a course of action in place to guarantee that their diamonds are conflict-free. Actual visit of the government in the diamond industries should be practiced for more assurance of freeing from conflicts and conduct cyclic area confirmation to diamond companies to make sure they have schemes in place to avoid any trade in conflict diamonds. Several of the countries rich in diamonds are those really poor and citizens do not get any benefit from their resources particularly the soil richness. Confusions and explosive natures are widespread in the diamond fields because revolutionary group’s antiterrorists can still seize benefit and right to use the diamonds. Given all the problems concerning the conflict diamonds the United States government should take a look in implementing the diamond law and require all regions to build up a reliable diamond industry. The practice for tracking arrangement in each of the diamond companies will be helpful to make sure to prevent the entrance in the market of conflict diamonds. Additional force should be given off by the Administration for the implementation of Clean Diamond Trade Act (CDTA) in impeding the operation to conflict diamonds as they support the Kimberley Process. Nowadays, blood diamonds are still a serious dilemma. Experientially the government action in controlling the finance conflict in diamonds are not that powerful and functional to ensure that the rebel groups, terrorist and other criminal networks will not anymore make use of it. This continual weakness of the Control System found by the Government Accountability Office of United States was because of the paltry imposing of Clean Diamond Trade Act. The needs for development in monitoring process in the diamond industries in line with the law and accumulating precise information on United States trade in rough diamonds. Being the leading consumer of diamonds, the United States should insist on strengthening the Clean Diamond Trade Act and the Kimberley Process. Suggested step that will be the best help addressing on the problem will be: working with other key administration to reinforce the Kimberley Process and break down on blood diamonds smuggled out of the Ivory Coast. In addition ensure that the Kimberley Process taking on procedures to develop the accurateness and investigation of the information, call for authentication of production conformity, endow with satisfactory financing to encourage effective completion of the system. They should also provide more forceful support as well as technical and financial aid, to help countries develop their accomplishment of the Kimberley Process. The on time application of the proposals of Government Accountability Office including the spot checks of diamond companies and tracking of rough diamonds inside and outside the country especially the goal setting in executing the proposal will be a great help in resolving the problems. Having hands on urgent dealings to progress the accuracy of United States rough diamond trade statistics will also be a help. References: Combating Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, http://www. globalwitness. org/pages/en/conflict_diamonds. html Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. amnestyusa. org/news/doc/diamonds_survey_text. pdf US Congress Tackles ‘Blood Diamonds’ Trade, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. voanews. com/english/archive/2002-02/a-2002-02-14-2-US. cfm Conflict Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, www. un. org/peace/africa/Diamond. html Stop the Trade in Blood Diamonds, Retrieved August 18, 2007, worldvision. org/worldvision/†¦ /stable/globalissues_conflictdiamonds