Financial Analysis and Pricing Structure Research Paper

Financial Analysis and Pricing Structure - Research Paper Example Off 2 Gran Grans is a service organization with a significant emphasis on using corporate social responsibility as a positioning and competitive tool. The target market for the company is the senior citizen aged 60 to 100, with a secondary market consisting of immobilized shut-ins of varying age categories to assist in revenue production. Off 2 Gran Grans provides assistance services, such as house cleaning and errand running for medications and groceries, with a supplementary service for visitation, consisting of gate keeping services and interpersonal relationship development. Being alone is rather frightening to most senior citizens supporting psychologists stating that warm interpersonal relationships are the most fundamental of human needs (Brammertz and Akkizidis 9). Off 2 Gran Grans will provide psychological adjustment for its target consumers and also fill a tangible need that require fulfilling due to limited mobility, lack of access to transportation, and lack of family an d social support. Financial Analysis for Off 2 Gran Grans In the financial analysis of the products and services that Off 2 Gran Grans, the business will need to re-evaluate the number of customers that are likely going to require its services and determine the revenue that it expects from the services it will offer to the customers (Brammertz and Akkizidis 9). ... The business will also need to estimate the expected return on investment before venturing into business. This will aid the decision on how much to invest in the business and even estimate the time that the business is going to require in order o break even. The financial analysis for the above company is going to encompass three main areas, that is, the net present value, the sensitivity analysis, and the break-even analysis (Lee, Lee and Lee 25). This is important in leveraging the company in a business that has negative reviews from customers. However, this will enable the business to identify where its competitors have been failing and correct it before setting out to provide the services to the people. Break-even analysis The understanding of the break-even in a business is important because it helps in fixing the financial status of any business. As a service provider, Off 2 Gran Grans will need to have a a competitive price for its services and products to the elderly people t hat will be identifiable with the customers. The business will have to take a number of initiatives that are geared towards ensuring that fixed expenses like rent, electricity and others are kept to the minimum with a view of cutting down on the operation costs (Shim and Siegel 32). In determining the breakeven point, Off 2 Gran Grans will require to have 200 customers who will be charged $100 per month as upkeep costs. Since the organization’s initial investments is between $58,000 and $95,000, the company therefore should expect to break even in five years’ time. However, with investment in advertisement each year, this period may be reduced to 3 years. Sensitivity

Nationalisation of Oil Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nationalisation of Oil Industry - Essay Example However, Argentina has been forced recently to reverse its earlier decision to privatize the company by nationalizing 51% of YPF (Minder 2012). This move has been met with a lot of fury from Spain and other major stakeholders who are strongly opposed to move if media reports are anything to go by. The nationalization has been termed a forced purchase. As a result, the Argentine government is required to pay for Rapsol shares. Tracy (2012) reported that the Argentine government made such a move because of Rapsol’s continued failure to invest in gas and oil production in the country, a scenario that has forced Argentina to over-rely on imports to keep up with its high internal demand. For instance, Tracy (2012) reveals that Argentina spent over $9.4 billion in 2011 to import energy from other countries. This was despite the fact that Argentina is considered one of the countries with the largest hydrocarbon reserves in the world. The privatization of YPF snatched away the control of the government over oil and gas usage in the country. It is important for the Argentine government to understand that nationalization of oil supplies in the country has both its advantages and disadvantages. Advantages of Nationalisation to Argentine Government Oil and gas are commodities that contribute massively to the development of the economy of Argentina. As such they are products that should never be in shortage especially now that they are on high demand almost throughout the year. The Argentine government needs to ensure that no shortage of gas and oil is experienced in the country for their economic importance and therefore needs to be in control of the supply of the commodities. One of the main advantages of the move by the Argentine government to nationalize YPF is that it will give the government power to control how gas and oil is utilized in the country. Privatization takes these powers away from the government as has been the case since the Argentine government p rivatized YPF by selling it to the Spanish company, Rapsol. As Tracy (2012) states, the privatization of this YPF gave Rapsol absolute control of how gas and oil are used in Argentina. However, since Rapsol has not been able to adequately invest in equipment to boost productivity as was expected, Argentina has had to depend on energy imports from other countries, this despite its massive potential to produce its own energy. Nationalizing the company will give the argentine government control over the country’s oil and gas resources thereby enabling the government to invest in the petroleum industry and hence reducing its dependency on oil imports. Secondly, nationalization of the company will be of great advantage to the Argentine government in the sense that it will enable the Argentine government to be able to invest heavily in its oil and gas reserves so as to increase the production of oil and gas in the country. Doing this will enable the country become energy sufficient and avoid or reduce its import of energy as noted by Porter (2001). This is based on the fact Argentina is one of the countries that experiencing high-energy demand in the country. However, just as Tracy (2012) pointed out, privatisation of YPF interferes with the sector that used to supply much of Argentina’s gas and oil. As earlier indicated, Argentina spent over $9.4 billion dollars in 2011 alone because of energy shortage in the country. However, a closer look at what caused this shortage points at the inefficiency of

Analysis of Current Event at Telstra Essay Example for Free

Analysis of Current Event at Telstra Essay Management issue is a common phenomenon that an organization attempting to maximize profits must grapple with. Telecommunication as it is the case with Telstra Corporation Limited has been distinguished by highly competitive market. On the same breath, actors and competitors on the market have been seen struggling with the increasing cost of operation, production, development and mature market. In light of this, the Company faces management issue when it comes to decision making, integrating new models and working within the realm of theoretical frameworks. ResearchMoz (2013) notes that in an industry where competition is rife, analysis of a company’s management issues and current events encompass the recognition of different strategies that enable it maintain competitive position. Despite these positions, it has to be recognized that analysis of management issues of Telstra Corporation Limited must first recognize the position of the Company with regard to managing risks as postulated by the Company’s Chief Risk Office (Schermerhorn et al., 2014). Ideally, Telstra Corporation Limited has Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to undertake and as one of its management issue or strategy. Consequently, such must be conceptualised through its laid platform, structure, financial reports and annual reports. Similarly, evidence based researches have shown that the first step in understanding management of a company is to integrate its undertaking when it comes to CSR and how sustainable the Company intends to operate with regard to the environment, competitors and specific objectives (Millmore, 2007; Hubbard, 2008; Bardoel, 2012). Based on the Company’s Corporate Social Report 2014, its CSR is embedded on four critical issues; internal environment, external environment, customers and sustainability (Corporate Social Responsibility Report, 2014). That is, the commitment of the Company towards corporate responsibility starts with simple but straight forward commitments that cover its areas of operations and targeted objectives. F rom its principled perspective, the primary corporate responsibility can be summarised as follows: Provision of the country a foundation that ensures economic growth, sustainability prosperity, productivity improvement and global competitive Contributing towards resources; increasing technology, product services and people in employment to support the communities in which the Company operates and the specific needs of community at large Give a leading stewardship of environment by first and importantly, conservation, efficiency in the usage of resources, reducing and maintaining environmental footprint and reduction of operation costs (e.g. it took part in the Mobile Phone Recycling Program that was co-ordinated by the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Associations (AMTA) (Daley et al. 2014) Based on the Company’s corporate social responsibility as one of the management issues and as reported in the article, there is an integration of new management approach and that is the fact that risk management approach has been tailored to facilitate maximization of profits. Conversely, it can be established, based on its business principles and risk management approaches that the CSR has succeeded in the reduction of any adverse effects on and injury to the environment. Such is also embedded on the desire to preserve the beneficial qualities of the environment, while ensuring quality products and services in Australia (Baigh, 2014). In addition, to the above principles, analysis of the company’s management of this particular issue has also considered profits to the Company thus concluding that Telstra is revamping on this particular management strategy which is succeeding in line with its short and long term goals. To conceptualise this argument, scholars such as Hooper and Potter (2006) have drawn a thin line between CSR as a management issue and as a marketing issue. To ascertain that the CSR approach as contextualized is a management issue but financial or marketing issue, in most cases, companies always engage in pricing strategies which also depend on value pricing coupled with strategic markdowns. In such cases, this makes sales of their products to go down since it cannot compete effectively with other products. Additionally, products face what Hamlin (2012) terms as ‘a society of shifting priorities’ (p.281). Therefore there is pressure to keep up with the emerging social needs by style modification. It is for this reason that any decision to modify must be embedded on the premise to meet the needs of the targeted consumers. While the explanation above provides for what would constitute a marketing issue, what Telstra engages in is management issue. According to Johnson et al. (2011), CSR is not only management issue but a current one the sense that it deals with financial performance, top management, chief executive and shareholders. Herewith, the management issue within the context of Telstra is the responsiveness that should be taken because in a competitive environment where there are other operator s such as Huawei and Vodacom, managers are supposed to intervene in accordance with their position and power, especially where management can fail to respond to economic challenges and changes. Also related to CSR as a marketing issue is ethical decision making approaches. According to the article, the process of identification of managing risks through ethical decision making is an integral part of the Company’s governance framework and management issue which help in the realization of the success of the strategy as well as financial prospects for future operations. Telstra business ethics entails standards and principles that guide managers, individuals and work group behaviour in line with telecommunication and terms of service in Australia. Additionally, it is important to note that stakeholders of the Company make these conventions (principles) and such have been codified as regulations and laws. Contextualising this definition within the frameworks business management issue; ethical decision making help Telstra family design strategies that eliminate misconduct. According to Peng (2014) there are three significant components that sum up its ethical decision making as critical management issue; ethical decision making being individual factors, ethical decision making being Company’s relationship with others and ethical decision making being opportunities available for the Company. Basically, while this issue might to be seen as revamp on a current management strategy, it has been applied successfully since the Company bases the three components on behaviourist theory where what matters is what individuals in the Company can do rather than specific quality or attribute. That is, different patterns of individual b ehaviours are linked to ethical decisions that are made by the Company and such are geared towards the realisation of the goals and objectives that have been set by the Company. To contextualise the success of the Company with its approach of ethical decision making as one the management issue, Perren and Burgoyne (2010) report that Telstra has been engaging with Communication Workers Union with a view to offering better terms of service and transparency in supply management. For instance, in 2013, the Company engaged Low-Income Measures Assessment Committee (LIMAC) (this is an example of Communication Workers Union which is viewed as independent and transparent) which made changes to the package the Company was initially giving to its workers and suppliers. In connection to this, the Company, this particular issue has successful been engaged in what Katzenbach and Smith (2005) term as ‘vertical management’ (p. 37). Vertical management within the context of ethical decision making is a case where a Company liaises with regulatory organization so as to have a common agenda and conform to the requirements of the industry. Conceptualist theorists a nd ethical formalism argue that ethical decision making process in management encompass evaluations of fairness product stewardships but with respect to firm’s overall culture. In summary, with ethical decision making process as one of the management issue, Telstra has a well-defined management and leadership structure which is focused on the achievement of defined objectives including ‘green’ managements. Lastly, this issue departs from being finance or marketing issue on the ground that the approach lacks market orientation is a model that concretizes the strategy of finance and marketing. Senge et al. (2007) define this theory (market orientation) as a strategy that ensures all products and services as undertaken by Companies are oriented towards specific demands of clients and customers. Still on ethical decision making as one of the Company’s management issue or approach, Telstra’s planning, leading, organising, controlling and functioning is based on choices made on guidelines laid. According to article, one of the important issues to not is that the Company’s risk management frameworks are aligned with ISO 31000 Risk Management (Baigh, 2014). While this is an indicator of a management strategy or practice that has succeeded, underpinnings of theories of issue management are significant to the Company additionally; technical and commercial objectives remain axis for the Company. The success in management of this issue is conceptualised with regard to audience or customer satisfaction. This is to mean that in as much as its ethical decision making remains a priority as a management issue, targeted markets shapes such prioritiesan aspect Aras and Crowther (2009) terms as ‘ascertaining the success of management strategies and policies in dow nstream and upstream relationships’ (p. 213). From Michael Patterson (Telstra’s General Manager for Tasmania) statement on the legal battle the Company had with Optus, it can be realized that the Company’s planning, leading, organising, controlling and functioning are in line with the tenet of management of telephony inputs and components that are required in the market. This is an indication that there is long term transparency and conformity to good practices. Assessing Corporate Social Report 2013 vis-Ã  -vis opening of the China’s SouFun Sensis, there is evidence that efforts are diverted to supply chain relationships with third party suppliers as well as other competitors. It is important to note that Telstra is overemphasizing on CSR strategies; an aspect that may affects its ethical decision making. If this stretches beyond what the Company can handle, strategic alignment with other sectors may be affected. Basically, this is where this strategy differs from the aspect of marketing in the sense that according to the theory of signaling, the best way to market a product is to engage a brand or product in competitive signal that are intended to pass information to potential consumers with an aim of making such consumers believe that competing products are substandard (Cole, 2012). This is exactly how Cadbury for instance has succeeded in capturing the attention of their targeted market every time they engage in marketing. Telstra, through this does management and not marketing as they do not engage in competitive signaling. As a management approach, Telstra looks at ethical decision making differently. That is as a management issue, ethical decision making is seen in terms of transparency when it comes to critical corporate accounting and statements. One of the critical goals of the Company is to attain what it terms as ‘front-line management’ (Baigh, 2014 p.26). The benefits of the people within and around have been necessitated through avoidance of misleading information. The continuum of growth in economy resonates around a transparent business operationwhich is also a recipe of what this assessment considers to be a successful management approach. Synopsis on the Management Issue From the perspective of undertakings in the Company, the aspect is a management issue in the sense that it analyses the environment issues in lieu of external factors that impact business activities. On the other hand, the purpose of the management issues as analysed is to evaluate and determinate competitive advantages as well as threats a Company has with regard to its operations. These analyses recognise stiff competitions, threats and opportunities faced by companies such as Optus, Vodafone and 3 Mobile. In as much, this analysis considers Telstra due to its cutting edge when it comes to services such as broadband, hosting, directory and pay TV which are not as extensive in other companies. Since the management issue has been a success, revamping of a current policy is twofold; first, there is need to strategize the management issue identified to an extent that the company benefits from the economies of scales and the strong relationships with suppliers, which will place it in a strong bargaining position with its upstream partners and allows leveraging the costs. Strategizing the management issue to attain this goal means that a focus on customer-relationship and loyalty creation, as well as investment in research and technical development (RD) to reduce the costs of services so as to compete with niche operators. Secondly, revamping on the current management issue must assess the possibility of working alongside its downstream partners to deliver triple-play solutions in voice, data and video services, expansion of data download quotas and continuous innovation in fixed line services, as opposed to mobile services, to offer incentives to its clients. Similarly on the question of whether Telstra is handling the identified management issue appropriately is manifold but the assessment will review two issues that offer succinct answers to the question. First, proper management of a company circles around how best a company maximizes a profit and expands networks (ResearchMoz, 2013). Through the management issue, Telstra has leveraged the risks of economic downturns by diversifying its income channels. The growing domestic market and the boost in 4G technologies enable further market penetration and help to reduce the pressure of external factors. Secondly, the Company through the management issue has pursued an investment heavy strategy to grow its existing network. However, financial indicators, outline a challenging internal environment in terms of liquidity and internal funding options. References Aras, G. Crowther, D (2009). Global Perspective on Corporate Governance and CSR. Farnham: Gower Pub. Baigh, H. (2014). Seven Strategies for Simplifying Your Organization. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/05/seven-strategies-for-simplifyi/ Bardoel, A. (2012).Tool or Time Thief? Technology and the Work-Life Balance. Retrieved Cole, K. (2012). Management: Theory and practice. Australia: Pearson. Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2014): Understanding the Definition of Corporate SocialResponsibility: http://www.telstra.com.au/abouttelstra/download/document/csr.pdf Daley, J., McGannon, C., Ginnivan, L. (2012). Game-changers: Economic reform priorities for Australia. Melbourne: Grattan Institute from The Conversation, Future of Work: https://theconversation.edu.au/tool-or-time-thief-technology-and-the-work-life-balance-8165 Hamlin. R. (2012) Towards a Universalistic Model of Leadership: a comparative study of Britishand American empirically derived criteria of managerial and leadership effectiveness. Working paper WP005/02, University of Wolverhampton. Hooper, A. and Potter, J. (2006) The Business of Leadership. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Company. Hubbard, G. (2008). Strategic management: Thinking, analysis, action. Australia: Pearson. James, K. and Burgoyne, J. (2001) Leadership Development: Best practice guide for organisations. London: Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership. Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Wittington, R. (2011). Exploring Strategy: Text Cases. (9th ed). London: Prentice Hall. Katzenbach, J. and Smith, D. (2005) The Wisdom of Teams. New York: Harperbusiness. Millmore, M. (2007). Strategic Human Resource Management: Contemporary Issues. Harlow: Financial Times, Prentice Hall. Peng, M. (2014). Global Strategy (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Publishing. Perren, L. and Burgoyne, J. (2010) Management and Leadership Abilities: An analysis of texts, testimony and practice. London: Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership. ResearchMoz. (2013). Australia Telco company profiles Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. Retrieved from http://www.researchmoz.us/australia-telco-company-profiles-telstra-optus-and-vodafone-report.html Schermerhorn, J.R., Davidson, P., Poole, D., Woods, P., Simon, A., McBarron, E., (2014). Management (5th ed.). Australia: Pearson Senge, P., et al. (2007). The dance of change: The challenges of sustaining momentum in learning organizations. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Source document

Customer Based Brand Equity

Customer Based Brand Equity If all Coca Colas assets were destroyed overnight , whoever owned the Coca Cola name would walk into a bank the next morning and get a loan to rebuild everything. VP Corporate Communications, Coca Cola Abstract: The Purpose of this paper is to highlight the major contributions in the process of developing and measuring customer based brand equity (CBBE) models by looking into the contributions of different researchers in this field. From the outset this paper, then, becomes a comparison of different CBBE models. Starting from Aaker (1991) to Keller (2003), it compares four CBBE models. This paper considers Agarwal and Raos (1996) model to be the best suited one for Pakistani environment because it integrates the customers decision making process with customer based brand equity. Introduction: This paper highlights major contributions in the process of understanding different customer based brand equity models. The focus on customer based brand equity is because of three reasons: 1. it allows the assessment of equity at the brand level; 2. researchers in marketing heavily use this concept; and 3. marketing practitioners find this concept of brand equity easier to understand than other brand equity concepts (Agarwal Rao, 1996). Literature Review: A traditional definition of a brand was: the name, associated with one or more items in the product line, which is used to identify the source of character of the item(s) (Kotler, 2000) (p.396). The American Marketing Association (AMA) definition of a brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of them, intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors (p. 404). Keller (2003) defines brand as technically speaking, whenever a marketer creates a new name, logo, or symbol for a new product, he or she has created a brand (Keller, 2003) (p. 3). Before the shift in focus towards brands and the brand building process, brands were just another step in the whole process of marketing to sell products. For a long time, the brand has been treated in an off-hand fashion as a part of the product (Urde, 1999) (p. 119). Kotler (2000) mentions branding as a major issue in product strategy (p. 404). Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) mention that within the traditional branding model the goal was to build brand image; a tactical element that drives short-term results (Aaker Joachimsthaler, 2000). Kapferer (1997) mentioned that the brand is a sign -therefore external- whose function is to disclose the hidden qualities of the product which are inaccessible to contact (Kapferer, 1997) (p. 28). The brand served to identify a product and to distinguish it from the competition. The challenge today is to create a strong and distinctive image (Kohli Thakor, 1997) (p. 208). Concerning the brand management process as related to the function of a brand as an identifier, Aaker and Joachmisthaler (2000) discuss the traditional branding model where a brand management team was responsible for creating and coordinating the brands management program. In this situation, the brand manager was not high in the companys hierarchy; his focus was the short-term financial results of single brands and single products in single markets. The basic objective was the coordination with the manufacturing and sales departments in order to solve any problem concerning sales and market share. With this strategy the responsibility of the brand was solely the concern of the marketing department (Davis Aaker, 2000). In general, most companies thought that focusing on the latest and greatest advertising campaign meant focusing on the brand (Davis Dunn, 2002). The model itself was tactical and reactive rather than strategic and visionary (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000). The brand w as always referred to as a series of tactics and never like strategy (Davis and Dunn 2002). Kapferer (1997) mentions that before the 1980s there was a different approach towards brands. Companies wished to buy a producer of chocolate or pasta: after 1980, they wanted to buy KitKat or Buitoni. This distinction is very important; in the first case firms wish to buy production capacity and in the second they want to buy a place in the mind of the consumer (p. 23). In other words, the shift in focus towards brands began when it was understood that they were something more than mere identifiers. Brands, according to Kapferer (1997) serve eight functions shown in Table 1 below: the first two are mechanical and concern the essence of the brand: to function as a recognized symbol in order to facilitate choice and to gain time (p. 29); the next three are for reducing the perceived risk; and the final three concern the pleasure side of a brand. He adds that brands perform an economic function in the mind of the consumer, the value of the brand comes from its ability to gain an exclus ive, positive and prominent meaning in the minds of a large number of consumers (p. 25). Therefore branding and brand building should focus on developing brand value. Table 1 The Functions of the Brand for the Consumer Function Consumer Benefit Identification To be clearly seen, to make sense of the offer, to quickly identify the sought-after products. Practicality To allow savings of time and energy through identical repurchasing and loyalty. Guarantee To be sure of finding the same quality no matter where or when you buy the product or service. Optimization To be sure of buying the best product in its category, the best performer for a particular purpose. Characterization To have confirmation of your self-image or the image that you present to others. Continuity Satisfaction brought about through familiarity and intimacy with the brand that you have been consuming for years. Hedonistic Satisfaction linked to the attractiveness of the brand, to its logo, to its communication. Ethical Satisfaction linked to the responsible behavior of the brand in its relationship towards society. Adapted from Kapferer (1997) Kapferers view of brand value is monetary, and includes intangible assets. Brands fail to achieve their value-creating potential where managers pursue strategies that are not orientated to maximizing the shareholder value (Doyle, 2001) (p. 267). Four factors combine in the mind of the consumer to determine the perceived value of the brand: brand awareness; the level of perceived quality compared to competitors; the level of confidence, of significance, of empathy, of liking; and the richness and attractiveness of the images conjured up by the brand. In Figure 1 the relationships between the different concepts of brand analysis, according to Kapferer (1997), are summarized. Figure 1 From Brand Assets to Brand Equity Brand Awareness + Image + Perceived Quality + Evocations + Familiarity, liking Brand Assets Brand added value perceived by customers Costs of branding Costs of invested capital Brand financial value (BRAND EQUITY) Kapferer (1997), P 37 Brand Equity Many researchers, while discussing brand building models, have referred to brand equity. Urde (1999) in his model of brand orientation, Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) in their model of brand leadership, Davis (2002) in his model of brand asset management, de Chernatony in his model of corporate branding (De Chernatony, 1999), and Kapferer (1997) have discussed brand equity in their respective models of brand building. But what exactly is brand equity? Brand equity, as first defined by Farquhar , is the added value with which a given brand endows a product (Farquhar, 1989) (p.24). Apart from Farquhars first definition of brand equity, other definitions have appeared. According to Lassar, Mittal, and Sharma (1995), brand equity has been examined from a financial perspective (Farquhar, Han, Ijiri, 1991), (Simon Sullivan, 1993), Kapferer 1997, Doyle 2001), and a customer-based perspective ((Keller 1993; (Shocker, Srivastava, Ruekert, 1994); and (Chen, 2001)) (Lassar, Mittal, Sharma, 1995). In other words, financial meaning from the perspective of the value of the brand to the firm, and customer-based meaning the value of the brand for the customer which comes from a marketing decision-making context (Kim, Kim, An, 2003). Brand equity has also been defined as the enhancement in the perceived utility and desirability a brand name confers on a product (Lassar, Mittal and Sharma 1995, p.13). High brand equity is considered to be a competitive advantage since: it implies that firms can charge a premium; there is an increase in customer demand; extending a brand becomes easier; communication campaigns are more effective; there is better trade leverage; margins can be greater; and the company becomes less vulnerable to competition (Bendixen, Bukasa, Abratt, 2004). In other words, high brand equity generates a differential effect, higher brand knowledge, and a larger consumer response (Keller 2003), which normally leads to better brand performance, both from a financial and a customer perspective. Financial value-based techniques extract the brand equity value from the value of the firms other assets (Kim, Kim, and An 2003). Simon and Sullivan (1993) define brand equity as the incremental cash flows which accrue to branded products over and above the cash flows which would result from the sale of unbranded products (p. 29). These authors estimate a firms brand equity by deriving financial market estimates from brand-related profits. Taking the financial market value of a firm as a base, they extract the firms brand equity from the value of the firms other tangible and intangible assets, which results in an estimate based on the firms future cash flows. Along the same line of thought, Doyle (2001) argues that brand equity is reflected by the ability of brands to create value by accelerating growth and enhancing prices. In other words, brands function as an important driver of cash flow. Customer Based Brand Equity (CBBE): Aaker (1991) provided conceptual scheme which link brand equity with various customer response variables. He suggested using repurchase rates, switching costs, level of satisfaction, preference for brand, and perceived quality on various product and service dimensions as potential measures of CBBE (Aaker, 1991). Aaker and Joachimsthaler (2000) define brand equity as brand assets linked to a brands name and symbol that add to, or subtract from, a product or service. According to them, these assets, shown in Figure 2, can be grouped into four dimensions: brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty. Figure 2 Aakers Model of Customer Based Brand Equity Brand Equity Brand Awareness Perceived Quality Brand Associations Brand Loyalty These dimensions have been commonly used and accepted by many researchers (Keller 1993; (Motameni Shahrokhi, 1998); (Yoo Donthu, 2001); Bendixen, Bukasa, and Abratt 2004; Kim, Kim, and An 2003). Brand awareness affects perceptions and taste: people like the familiar and are prepared to ascribe all sorts of good attitudes to items that are familiar to them (Aaker and Joachimsthaler 2000, p. 17). Perceived quality influences brand associations and affects brand profitability. Brand associations are anything that connects the consumer to the brand, including user imagery, product attributes, organizational associations, brand personality, and symbols (p. 17). Brand loyalty is at the heart of brands value. The concept is to strengthen the size and intensity of each loyalty segment (p. 17). The simplest way in which the brand equity can be considered is that it can be understood as the incremental value a brand name grants a product (Srivastava Shocker, 1991). According to Lassar, Mittal and Sharma (1995), brand equity can be configured against five dimensions: 1) performance, 2) value, 3) social image, 4) trustworthiness, and 5) attachment. They agree to the views of Srivastava and Shocker (1991) who believe that customers evaluate brand equity on the basis of two components; 1) brand strength and 2) brand value. Since they believe that the source of brand equity is customer perceptions, as described by Keller (1993), it is important for the managers to be able to measure and track it at the customer level (Keller, 1993). Figure 3 below explains the model. Figure 3 Lassars Model of Customer Based Brand Equity Brand Equity Performance Social Image Value Trustworthiness Attachment Keller (2003) introduced the Customer-Based Brand Equity (CBBE) model, which approaches brand equity form the perspective of the consumer -whether an individual or an organization (Keller 2003, p. 59). The model is based on the premise that the power of a brand lies in what customers have learned, felt, seen and heard about the brand as a result of their experiences over time (p. 59). He defines CBBE as the differential effect that brand knowledge has on consumer response to the marketing of that brand (p. 60), which emerges from two sources: brand awareness and brand image. According to Keller (2003), brand awareness consists of brand recognition -the consumers ability to confirm prior exposure to the brand when given a brand as a cue (p. 67)- and brand recall -the consumers ability to retrieve the brand form memory when given the product category, the needs fulfilled by the category, or a purchase or usage situation as cue (p. 67). On the other hand, brand image is created by marketing programs that link strong, favorable, and unique associations to the brand in the memory (p. 70). These associations are not only controlled by the marketing program, but also through direct experience, brand information, word of mouth, assumptions of the brand itself -name, logo-, or with the brands identification with a certain company, country, distribution channel, person, place or event. The way to build a strong brand, according to the CBBE model, is by following four sequential steps, each one representing a fundamental question that customers ask about brands: 1. Ensuring the identification of the brand with a specific product category or need in the customers mind -who are you? 2. Establishing the meaning of the brand in the customers mind by strategically linking tangible and intangible brand associations with certain properties -what are you? 3. Eliciting customer responses to the brand identification and meaning -what about you? 4. Converting the response into an active, intense and loyal relationship between the customers and the brand -what about you and me? The CBBE model is built by sequentially establishing six brand building blocks with customers (Keller 2003 p. 75), that can be assembled as a brand pyramid, shown in Figure 4. Brand salience relates to the awareness of the brand. Brand performance relates to the satisfaction of customers functional needs. Brand imagery relates to the satisfaction of customers psychological needs. Brand judgments focus on customers opinions based on performance and imagery. Brand feelings are the customers emotional responses and reactions to the brand. Brand resonance is the relationship and level of identification of the customer with a brand. Figure 4 Kellers Model for CBBE Resonance Feelings Judgments Imagery Performance Salience Identity Who are you? Meaning What are you? Response What about you? Relationships What about you and me? Another model of customer based brand equity was presented by Agarwal and Rao (1996), who linked various components of CBBE to examine their convergent validity. To measure CBBE, they used a framework based on the perception-preference-choice paradigm and the hierarchy of effects model of McGuire (McGuire, 1972). This framework measures the stages through which a consumer passes before making a purchase decision (Agarwal Rao, 1996). The hierarchy model for CBBE is shown in figure 5 below. Figure 5 Agarwal and Raos Model for CBBE Awareness Actual Choice Perceptions and Attitudes Preferences Choice Intentions Unaided Recall Familiarity Value of Money Quality of Brand Name Explicit Preference Implicit Preference Likelihood of Buying Past Purchases Current Purchases Customer Based Brand Equity The model suggests appropriate indirect brand equity measures as conceptualized by Aaker (1991) and Keller (1993). These measures can be considered as the sources that can lead toward creation of brand equity. Conclusion: After discussing above four models to measure customer based brand equity (Aaker 1991; Lassar et al 1995; Agarwal and Rao, 1996; Keller, 2003) it is concluded that the model presented by Agarwal and Rao (1996) seems to be more appropriate to fit Pakistani environment. In addition to measuring CBBE, It seems to incorporate recent theoretical advances and managerial in understanding and influencing consumers decision making process. They have also provided a validated instrument (with Cronbachs Alpha above 0.85) to support their model of customer based brand equity.

War in Iraq Essay -- essays research papers

The war in Iraq brings up a lot of questions, about the future decisions of President of the United States of America, Mr. George W. Bush. After the terrorist attack on the United States, which shook the whole world, US went to war with Iraq. I believe that this is a war on terrorism, and not an â€Å"Oil War†, how other like to refer to it. United States want to liberate people in Iraq and bring up the standards of living in that very rich, but at the same time poor country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before I come to my main topic of this essay, which is â€Å"Which Prince should G.W. Bush put in the Middle East?† I would like to talk a little about the history of international behaviors of the United States of America. After the Second World War United States was seeking for new allies. Well I should not be saying new, but for more allies. Also at that time there was an anti-communism in the US. As Soviet Union moved on across the Europe pushing the Germans back and defeating them. The countries which were left behind Soviet Union put socialistic governments, which brought new and more allies for Russia. But as timed passes United States saw that the best way to bring new allies is by putting democratic government. Which is United States did in Germany and Japan. But while US were busy with Europe and did not paid attention to the Middle East, Islamic countries were out of control. So now G.W.Bush would like to solve this problem, which brings another problem who is going to be...

History of Mathematics Essay

If D is between A and B, then AD + DB = AB (Segment Addition Postulate). And segment AB has exactly one midpoint which is D (Midpoint Postulate). The midsegment of a triangle is a segment that connects the midpoints of two sides of a triangle. Midsegment Theorem states that the segment that joins the midpoints of two sides of a triangle is parallel to the third side and has a length equal to half the length of the third side. In the figure show above (and below), DE will always be equal to half of BC. Given ? ABC with point D the midpoint of AB and point E the midpoint of AC and point F is the midpoint of BC, the following can be concluded: Since the tangent of circle is perpendicular to the radius drawn to the tangency point, both radii of the two orthogonal circles A and B drawn to the point of intersection and the line segment connecting the centres form a right triangle. If and are the equations of the two circles A and B, then by Pythagorean theorem, is the condition of the orthogonality of the circles. A Saccheri quadrilateral is a quadrilateral that has one set of opposite sides called the legs that are congruent, the other set of opposite sides called the bases that are disjointly parallel, and, at one of the bases, both angles are right angles. It is named after Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri, an Italian Jesuit priest and mathematician, who attempted to prove Euclid’s Fifth Postulate from the other axioms by the use of a reductio ad absurdum argument by assuming the negation of the Fifth Postulate. In hyperbolic geometry, since the angle sum of a triangle is strictly less than radians, then the angle sum of a quadrilateral in hyperbolic geometry is strictly less than radians. Thus, in any Saccheri quadrilateral, the angles that are not right angles must be acute. Some examples of Saccheri quadrilaterals in various models are shown below. In each example, the Saccheri quadrilateral is labelled as ABCD, and the common perpendicular line to the bases is drawn in blue. For hundreds of years mathematicians tried without success to prove the postulate as a theorem, that is, to deduce it from Euclid’s other four postulates. It was not until the last century or two that four mathematicians, Bolyai, Gauss, Lobachevsky, and Riemann, working independently, discovered that Euclid’s parallel postulate could not be proven from his other postulates. Their discovery paved the way for the development of other kinds of geometry, called non-Euclidean geometries. Non-Euclidean geometries differ from Euclidean geometry only in their rejection of the parallel postulate but this single alteration at the axiomatic foundation of the geometry has profound effects in its logical consequences. The Lobachevsky geometry is therefore consists of these statements: ? There are lines that are parallel which are everywhere equidistant. ? In any triangle the sum of the three angles is two right angles which is 180 degrees. ? Straight lines parallel to the same line are parallel to each other. ? There exist geometric figures similar with same shape but of different size to other geometric figures. ? Given three points, there is a circle that passes through all three. ? If three angles of a quadrilateral are right angles, then the fourth angle is a right angle. ? There is no triangle in which all three angles are as small as we please. ? There exist squares or equilateral quadrilaterals with four right angles.

Franz Kafka the Metamorphosis

The Metamorphosis is arguably Franz Kafkas best works of literature where author, Franz Kafka, directly casts upon the negative aspects of his life both mentally and physically. Franz Kafka was a visionary, whose works contained the secret to the future. Kafka’s world is one of a kind. To Kafka popular culture portrays contrast between functional and dysfunctional families to frame the elements that contribute to their formation. In similar pursuit, Kafka recognizes one significant aspect in the establishment of a healthy and stable family.In The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka applies symbols, imagery, and settings to impress that a family organization where equally shared responsibilities prevail is more effective in keeping a positive domestic atmosphere. Also Kafka demonstrates the absurdity of human life and the sense of alienation of human existence, a reflection of Kafka’s own life. â€Å"Because the notion of bug aptly characterized his sense of worthlessness and pa rasitism before his father. † (Neider 262). When Franz Kafka was a boy his father abused him.Whenever Kafka disagreed with his father or told his father that he wanted to be a writer, his father got very upset with him. Franz was expected to follow the course his father planned out for him. â€Å"But from his childhood he considered himself a disappointment to his authoritarian figure parent and inadequate when compared with him. † (Czech 255). Kafka’s father viewed Franz as a failure and disapproved of his writing because he wanted Franz to become a businessman like him. This obsession with wanting Franz to become a businessman led his father Herrman to beat his son.There was always a great tension between Kafka and his father; Kafka always had strong mixed feelings toward him. Franz had other siblings but he was left all alone to struggle with the mantle of his father's expectations and frustrations. The relationship between Gregor and his father is in many way s were similar to Franz and his father Herrman. The emotional and physical abuse Gregor goes through is reciprocal to what Kafka went through in real life. They were both abused and neglected by their fathers when they were disappointed with them.â€Å"The mother and sister almost survive the test, but the father rejects him from the start. (Angus 264). The relationship with his father was reflected in Kafka’s, The Metamorphosis. In the book, Mr. Samsa displayed a violent temper from the very first encounter with the transformed Gregor. â€Å"When he chased Greggor back into the room, he kicked him in the back as he reached for the door. † (Kafka). Kafka illustrates that imbalance in family responsibility results in resentment and hatred. â€Å"All our knowledge of Kafka’s life and story technique suggests that it is a precipitation in fantasy of his lifelong sense of loneliness and exclusion. † (Angus 264).Quite apart from his isolation within his famil y, Kafka also felt isolated from the rest of society. Both Samsa and Kafka experienced the difficulties of living in a modern society and the struggle for acceptance of others when in a time of need. Also the lack of affection in Kafka’s childhood is a cause of feeling isolation that both Samsa and Kafka felt. Kafka never seemed to keep a wife. He was engaged twice but both times he was the one that ended the engagement. In The Metamorphosis, Gregor Samsa says â€Å"Constantly seeing new faces, no relationships that last or get more intimate. (Kafka).Gregor Samsa was a character that endured seclusion and exile like no other. Gregor adopts the precaution â€Å"of locking all the doors during the night even at home. † (Kafka). In this quote, the lock symbolizes Gregor’s wish to isolate himself from his family and society due to his anger. â€Å"Into a room in which Gregor ruled the bare walls all alone, no human being inside Grete was ever likely to set foot. à ¢â‚¬  (Kafka 34). The way Samsa was portrayed by his own family was the main cause of the feelings in which Gregor felt.His family purely the basis of the isolationism. Throughout the book, The Metamorphosis, Kafka creates Gregor to express his own feelings of isolation and alienation. â€Å"Reminded even his father that Gregor was a member of the family, in spite contrary, it was the commandment of family duty to swallow their disgust and endure him, endure him and nothing more. † (Kafka). Kafka, in a similar situation, uses Gregor transforming into a bug as a way of exaggerating himself, trying to express his feelings and point of view.Kafka saw the world much as he describes in his novels, just as a man who feels himself to be persecuted sees reality fitting into a system, which is really of a spiritual order, to persecute him. † (Spender 257). Kafka who had the pressure of his father forcing his own occupation on him resulted in a negative way. It was the main reas on that caused Kafka’s animosity towards his father. Kafka’s father already forced him to do what he wanted and not what Kafka wanted. This is similar to Gregor’s work life as a salesman. Gregor is not working for himself but to pay the family’s debt; he is unsatisfied with his occupation.Gregor Samsa is the only provider in the family he gives his family a nice atmosphere making them all feel economic security. Gregor’s atmosphere is one his family wouldn’t understand. He has the burden of finance on just him, only a single person results and this results in bitterness and anger. Kafka implies that in order to achieve a healthy family atmosphere, all members must contribute equally to common causes. Kafka uses symbols to contrast the difference in mood between the unequal and equal shares in financial responsibility of the Samsa’s family.He also uses imagery and settings to provide a transition between positive and negative oppositio n as a result of the shift towards balance and evenness of responsibility. His message is about domestic stability. The first page of The Metamorphosis is Gregor’s transformation. This tends to leave many readers confused at what’s actually going on. â€Å"Kafka states in the first sentence that Gregor wakes up to find himself changed into a giant kind of vermin (â€Å"Ungeziefer†). The term â€Å"vermin† holds the key to the double aspect of The Metamorphosis. † (Sokel 267). When you think vermin you think, bug.According to the dictionary a vermin is â€Å"noxious, objectionable, or disgusting animals collectively, especially those of small size that appear commonly and are difficult to control. † You think its just something that lives off human beings and maybe sucks their blood. However in context to The Metamorphosis â€Å"On the other hand, it connotes something defenseless, something that can be stepped upon and crushed. † (Sok el 267). These words are proven to be a correlation to how Gregor Samsa felt in The Metamorphosis. This is how Kafka felt about himself. He uses Gregor to expand upon what and how he felt.He felt this way relating back to his father. Kafka’s father viewed him as a vermin. â€Å"Kafka’s famous letter to his father would give support to such a view since Kafka has his father refer to him as a blood-sucking type of vermin, a bedbug or a louse. † (Sokel 267). Franz Kafka channels his real insecurities into his writing by attributing them to his protagonist, Gregor. The transformation from human to insect depicted in his novel represents the author’s childhood loss of confidence and self-esteem. The Kafkaesque nightmare of The Metamorphosis mimics the authors own life.