Global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global warming - Essay Example You’ve been greatly successful in offering appropriate illustrations, examples, and explanations all through your speech, effectively enhancing them with elaborate graphics. Significantly, the data you’ve provided throughout your speech have been concise and handy, ornamented with computer-model charts, photos, archival footage, and cartoons. The ultimate impact of using these tools in the speech is that the audience is easily persuaded by the seriousness of the issue as these dramatically illustrate the influence of the issue of global warming on the entire universe, and on the U.S. in particular. I’m particularly impressed with the pertinent point of your speech, i.e. the human beings have been destructively influencing the planet by way of manmade pollution and other threatening acts. However, I’m more impressed with the way you have been emphasizing the compelling case for decisive action, through your forceful words and effective mannerisms. In short, I’m highly convinced that you’ve secured a respectable place among the world’s most natural public speakers through your show of public speaking ability in this campaign. Work Cited â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth.† Top Documentary Films. Feb 17. 2011.

Are networks important to entrepreneurs when starting new business

Are networks important to entrepreneurs when starting new business In this essay, I have chosen to write a report about why networks are important to entrepreneurs when starting a business. In this essay, I will analyse and describe the use of social relations in the business establishment process, and the benefits behind networks in entrepreneurship. I will write this essay using my findings in books, articles, newspapers and the internet. I will try to not only produce a logical argument concerning why networks are important, but try and apply theories to back up my view and points. I will also use my personal understandings of why networks are important to entrepreneurs, but reflecting understandings and knowledge I gained by interviewing an entrepreneur. Main Body An entrepreneur is an individual who has a new idea, or enterprise who accepts the financial risks to capitalising on that idea and undertakes a new financial venture. The word entrepreneur derives from the French language, which applies to any individual who is starting a new project or business. (Hisrich, Peters, Shepherd, 2006). To some economists, an entrepreneur is someone who is willing to take the risks of starting a new business if there is an opportunity for them to make profit out of the idea. The concept of entrepreneurship was first created in the 1700s, and the meaning has evolved ever since. There are hundreds of different theories and explanations for defining entrepreneurship. However, all economists and business academics agree entrepreneurs posses behaviours like: initiative taking, the structuring and restructuring of social and economic social mechanisms to turn resources and situations to practical account and lastly the acceptance of risk or failure (Hisrich, Pe ters, Shephard 2006). My definition of an entrepreneur is someone who has an idea, and the idea progresses from just being an idea, to becoming a passion, something that an entrepreneur would sacrifice a lot to see succession in. So why are networks important to entrepreneurs? People usually develop relationships with people like themselves. Athletes develop ties with other athletes, wealthy people develop ties with other wealthy people, and educated people develop ties with other educated people. Its part of our nature, we tend to be attracted to those who are similar to us. So what is the reason for this? Perhaps we feel more comfortable when around those who are similar to us? I believe the answer is yes. Socially similar people, even when competing against each other, spend time in the same locations, which cause relationships to occur (Swedberg, 2000). Having a large network range matters. People with larger contact networks gain better paying positions than people with smaller networks . Network range, indicated by size, is the primary measure (Cosson, 2010). Its simple, the more people you are in contact with, the quicker you will learn the tricks and shortcuts. Dragons Den is a television show, broadcasted on BBC, on which entrepreneurs pitch their ideas in pursuit of securing an investment from one of the dragons (the investors). However, most of the entrepreneurs arent exactly interested in the investment, but the network of contacts that the investor can offer the business. Whenever an entrepreneur secures an investment, they ask the dragons a series of questions concerning whether they have the right contacts which the entrepreneur could use in their business. Having social networks is important, full stop. In any type of activity you take part in, there are advantages of having acquaintances who possess knowledge in that. Being a student, I know the advantages of building friendship with those who are on the same degree scheme as me. At times if I struggle, there are always people that I can turn to for guidance. Its the same concept with an entrepreneur. No matter how clever you are, or how academically brilliant you are, you will always face problems, and at times, these problems could have major impacts on the whole business. Networks help you Accomplish a positive relationship with people who are knowledgeable in a specific field, not only will it strengthen your option of networks, but it can help the entrepreneur enlarge their networks to get important information and resources from their contacts (Wiklunk, 2006). The next advantage is positioning, entrepreneurs position themselves within a social network to shorten the route the more experienced others took to get what they need. Its about finding shortcuts, and possessing a selection of experienced contacts can help you find these shortcuts faster (Burt, 1992). Networking between entrepreneurs is a very effective tool, it various advantages (Cosson, 2010): To improve commercial acumen Encourage collaborations between similar businesses Support one another, help to enlarge the specific market that youre involved in A personal network, consists of all those individuals whom the entrepreneur has direct relations to, this includes individuals like employees, suppliers, partners etc. Strong tie relations are those that the entrepreneur can count on and trust weak tie relations are only casual; people rarely have emotional investments in them. So what is the importance of sustaining weak ties?. Reflecting on Granovetters (1973) reasoning, which links weak and strong ties together, states that entrepreneurs are typical to be found in positions where centrality is high, this allows them to many diverse sources of information (Landstrom, 2009). To explain Social Networks in basic terms, the acquaintances of our friends, are also our friends (Aldrich and Kim, 2005). However, a personal network is a high density network, due to all the persons involved in that network being well known to each other. My interpretation of this is that it is important to sustain a balance of weak and strong ties. In basic w ords, its word of mouth, which plays a crucial role in starting or operating a new business. You might not know the contacts, but perhaps maybe your strong ties are in some form of relation to those weak ties, and that creates a flow of information which the entrepreneur could benefit from (Cosson, 2010). . The social network concept is the relationship between an entrepreneur and the networks of contacts they have who provide them the resources that are important in starting a business and most importantly successfully running the business (Carsrud, Brannback, Brannback 2007). These acquaintances usually have some form of experience and knowledge concerning that specific field. Every entrepreneur, has, or believes to have some kind of knowledge to be capable of running the business, but they also need complementary resources to produce or improve their products (Casson, 2010). The contacts dont necessarily have to be formal, they can be informal, such as friends, family or people who studied on the same degree scheme as you in university. These networks are absolutely crucial in obtaining a successful business (Ross and Brown, 1993). Those acquaintances who guide the entrepreneur to success are their social capital, and one of their key elements of their networks (Casson, 2010). Social Capital is a concept which means the connection and relationship between social networks, in this case, between the entrepreneur and their network. This can be seen as an investment for the entrepreneur. The word investment shouldnt necessarily mean financially investing in a product or company, but, anything that you establish and become part of that is beneficial to you in the long term (Burt, 1992). I personally believe formal networks are as crucial to an entrepreneur as informal networks are. The entrepreneurial process has many lonely and difficult times. Its part of becoming successful. There will be times when establishing a moral-support network is critical. The moral-support network is your friends and family, in simple words, people who make you happy (Hisrich, Peters, Shepherd, 2006). There will be times where even a single phone call from a friend or family will make you feel better, someone to encourage you to pick yourself up and carry on in pursuit of succession. Friends are a critical part of moral-support network, not only can they provide you with honest advice, the form of advice and opinions that others might not be so comfortable in delivering, but they can also provide you with assistance and you can confide with them without the fear of criticism (Cosson, 2010). Although not necessarily true, most entrepreneurs have parents who also own their own businesses or small firms (Cosson, 2010). Young entrepreneurs are able to take advantage of the experience a nd knowledge their parents possess and use it when developing a business of their own. However, a problem comes with this scenario. Off course family members are helpful at particular aspects when giving advice and feedback, however, too much dependence on family members may impact and restrict the entrepreneurs network. Economists stress that dependence on family members may limit an entrepreneurs networking circle. Entrepreneurial parents are a great source of information, there is no doubt about that, but knowing the limit of how much information to acquire from them is critical. You have to interact with the real world, the hard world, to be able to substance a successful business. Sooner or later your parents will be incapable of giving you information, and in that situation, you have no choice but to turn to networks outside your family zone (Birley, 1985). A study by Aldrich, Rosen and Woodward (1987) has suggested that those entrepreneurs with variable networks are more like ly to experience better results. The applicants of the research, reported to have a higher than average number of contacts per week with core network members (Landstrom, 2010). A close friend of mine, Irfan Patel, after 4 years of planning and research, owns his own business, Citybeat53. Citybeat53 is a business that offers young talented musicians events and advertisement through its own channel of networks. it provides opportunity to those who need guidance and help. Irfan is a Music Engineering graduate from the University of Leeds. After graduating, he successfully secured an internship to work for SONY BMG. As he explained, whilst being an employee for Sony BMG, he learnt an ocean of information and skills. He believes it was due to the people he worked with, all of whom had side activities and businesses. Whilst working at the company, he formed a relationship with a colleague who specialised in organising concerts, book signings and formal events. And he began a string of net works for Irfan. Using those networks, Irfan managed to gather enough information and resources to create this incredibly unique business. As he explained, when the business established, the first year was the loneliest and most difficult time he has ever experienced. He explained that if it wasnt for the relationships he formed whilst working for Sony BMG, he would have never made it this far. He values the network he established in London, more than achieving his degree. At times, he believe that maybe he should have done things differently, maybe taken different routes, but he believes everything that has happened to him counts as experience. To conclude this essay, I have learnt that to be a successful entrepreneur, its critical to obtain a variety set of networks for yourself. To set up a successful new business, you must make relations with those who you believe can help you gain better results. By reading through this essay, I have learnt that not only the entrepreneurial experience is a hard and at times, long process, but it can affect an individual mentally. By carrying out a research about this field, I have learnt that those entrepreneurs who constantly try and expand their networks, and use their social network contacts to learn about new opportunities, often find a shorter route to success than those solo entrepreneurs (Wiklunk, 2006). Trying to expand your network of contacts is like investing in a flow of information, at a cost of putting the effort of finding those contacts and maintaining a positive relationship with them. By looking at different types of theories and stories from entrepreneurs, I learnt th at the majority of experienced entrepreneurs advice those younger entrepreneurs to expand their range of networks, and most importantly, maintain a diversified network. Weak ties are as important as strong ties. Entrepreneurship is about change, its about offering the market something unique, and throughout the entrepreneurial process, the entrepreneur will face environmental changes, changes which can be extremely challenging, hence the entrepreneur needs to be prepared to face these challenges. Having a network becomes like mechanism, a device created to help you to successfully respond to these changes.

Greek mythology :: essays research papers

The Mycenaeans of the ancient Greeks explained the origin of the universe using Greek gods. The gods were the makers of the universe and watched over mortals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Greeks explained that in the beginning there was emptiness, and the emptiness was called Chaos. From Chaos came the first three immortals: Gaea, who was the earth mother; Tartarus, who ruled the Underworld; and Eros who was the god of love.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gaea gave birth to Uranus without a partner. Gaea then married her son and she bore him three children called the Hundred-handed giants. The Hundred-handed giants each had fifty heads and one hundred incredibly strong arms. These would be the most frightening creatures that Gaea had. Uranus was afraid of their potential power so he confined them to the Underworld. The Hundred-handed giants became mad with their father and hated them with all their might.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Next Gaea had three Cyclopes. Each Cyclopes had one wheel shaped eye in the middle of their forehead. The Cyclopes were very strong and very skillful. Therefore they became the first immortal craftsmen. Again, Uranus became jealous of their skill and potential power, so he bound them with the strongest chains and threw them into their mother. After nine days and nights, they reached the Underworld. They were condemned there along with their brothers, the Hundred-handed giants. They, in turn, also grew to hate their father.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gaea then bore the first generation of immortal gods. Later, Uranus named them Titans (â€Å"Stretchers†). He named them stretchers because they had stretched their power and had overthrown his rule. Twelve of the thirteen Titans either controlled the major functions of the universe or had children that did.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Cronus was one of Gaea’s children, a Titan. He killed his father for condemning his children. Before Uranus died he prophesied that â€Å" You murder me know, and steal my throne-but one of your own sons will dethrone you, for crime begets crime.† Cronus was very careful from then on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Cronus’s wife, Rhea, goddess of earth, bore cronus children and one by one he swallowed each and every one of them. First, three daughters-Hestia, Demeter, and Hera; then two sons-Hades and Poseidon. Rhea was very furious with Cronus. She was determined to make sure that Cronus didn’t eat their next child which she was sure was going to be a son. When the time came, she snuck off down the slope of Olympus to a dark place to have her baby.

Holocaust Awareness…Contemporary Lessons Essay

Few events in recent history have had as dramatic an impact on history as the mass murder of Jews in concentration camps during World War II, the Holocaust. The Holocaust appears to be a well documented event (Hilberg, 1992), yet today there are those who feel it is just a myth. When he discovered the concentration camps, General and future President Dwight David Eisenhower knew that a future day would come when people would claim that the Holocaust never happened, so he took great pains to document and record the events on film so that the world would never forget. Even so, his efforts did not eliminate what he knew would happen. In spite of evidence to the contrary, today, there are many who claim that the Holocaust did not occur and that there is no evidence that it did. Yet the evidence suggests that is did happen and similar events such as the murder of more than 2 million people by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia plus mass murders ethnic intolerance in Iraq, the Sudan, Rwanda and Yugoslavia continue to take place even now. During the early hours of September 1, 1939, Adolph Hitler invaded Poland bringing about the Second World War. Historically, this war began because of Hitler’s contempt regarding the way Germans were treated at the end of the First World War and other related issues. At the time World War II began, there was a world wide depression that helped bring Hitler rose to power in Germany and President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to power in the U. S. It is generally viewed that Hitler used the issue of Jewish economic domination in Germany both to push for war and as an excuse for the economic woes of Germany. (Bartov, 2000; Friedman, 1993). Ultimately, Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s economic problems and to begin exterminating them in concentration camps—mass genocide. (Gigliotti and Lang, 2005) on a scale that surpassed anything that had ever happened up to that time within so short a time span. Does engraining memories of past atrocities into the public psyche eliminate future atrocities? Political campaigns demonstrate that by slinging mud candidates provide name recognition for their opponent(s). In a similar vain, perhaps remembering the events of the Holocaust and similar events throughout history (and unfortunately, still occurring around the world today) will only drive home the fact that those events exist and are continuing. Do we really want to do that? We could be reinforcing the Holocaust in the minds of individuals who might not otherwise be aware that any such thing has ever happened or ever will. We have every reason to believe that Hitler knew of the mass extermination of the millions of Jews but ironically, there is no documented evidence in writing to confirm this idea. (Irving, 1977) Most German citizens during WWII also claimed ignorance of the Jewish extermination in progress at the time. â€Å"How could such a widespread extermination and mass murder have gone unnoticed† and â€Å"Where are the documents to show that Hitler was aware of it? † Today, nearly seventy years after the beginning of WWII and Jewish extermination, the question is still asked, â€Å"Did Hitler even know about the Jewish extermination process underway? † The fact that anyone even asks this question is, perhaps, the greatest evidence that we need to teach that it is a real part of human history. While it seems irrational to assume that Hitler actually had no knowledge of what was going on, it appears to be equally true that few if any documents exist to demonstrate his knowledge of what was going on (Irving, 1977) even though there certainly appears to be a great deal of documentation about the war and the Holocaust (Wolfe, 1990). We can only wonder why these contradictory situations exist. In his 1977 book Hitler’s War, one noted British historian, David Irving, outlines why he feels that stories of the mass killings of European Jews in Death Camps are merely British and American inventions, war-time propaganda perpetrated by the Allies. Irving presents several lines of argument to support his claims. For example, he points out that there is no archival evidence anywhere for the gassings, no wartime German documents that refer to the gassings of human beings and there is no clear evidence as to who gave the orders to gas people. He also claims that forensic tests of the laboratories, crematoria, gas chambers and Auschwitz fail to find any trace or significant residue of a cyanide compound. Irving dismisses eye witness accounts on the grounds that there are equal numbers of eye witness accounts of the gas chambers in Dachau even though there weren’t any gas chambers in Dachau and he believes that photographs documenting the Holocaust have been misrepresented. Why is it so vital that we remember the Holocaust? Arguments can be made both for and against that stance, but certainly, the history of the Holocaust should not be slighted or overlooked. The repeated efforts to try to wipe the memory of the Holocaust out of the human psyche as if it never occurred may be one of the strongest points in favor or remembering it. The intended purpose of â€Å"engraining† events from the Holocaust into the mind of today’s generation is to allow them to learn the lessons of horror from the past and avoid them—so that we won’t repeat them. Whether this is true or not, we more or less taking comfort in the belief, right or wrong, that if people see the horrors of those events, they will make every effort to avoid them, prevent them and take precautions against repeating them whenever they see the signs in the future. Perhaps the way to combat future human atrocities is to focus on the opposite rather than to memorialize them. What lessons can we learn from the Holocaust? First, the Holocaust demonstrates how large groups and numbers of people, even on the scale of nations, can subtly be influenced into â€Å"groupthink† (i. e. , where groups of people think and behave alike because others are thinking and behaving the same way) (Janis, 1972) and manipulated by a very few influential individuals. Second, the Holocaust demonstrates that all too often, man treats his fellow man inhumanely. â€Å"How do we avoid this in the future? † I fear that there is no global answer. Whenever such a situation begins in the future, only then can we address the issue. Another lesson we can learn is that anyone can be the victim, so everyone should recognize and acknowledge it whenever it happens. When we recognize it, we must act together to stop it, and that, unfortunately, is much easier said then done. Perhaps there is no satisfactory solution to preventing future atrocities like the Holocaust. In he end, perhaps all be can do is to try to recognize such events when we see them approaching and then to do everything we can to prevent them. References Bartov, Omar. The Holocaust. Origin, Implementation, Aftermath. New York, NY: Routledge, 2000. Friedman, Saul S. Holocaust Literature. A Handbook of Critical, Historical and Literary Writing. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993.Gigliotti, Simone and Berel Lang. The Holocaust. A Reader. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 2005. Hilberg, Raul. Perpetrators Victims Bystanders. The Jewish Catastrophe 1933-1945. New York, NY: Aaron Asher Books, 1992. Irving, David. Hitler’s War. New York, NY: Viking Press, 1977. Janis, Irving L. Victims of Groupthink. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1972. Levi, Neil and Michael Rothberg. The Holocaust. Theoretical Readings. New Brunswick. NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2003. Wolfe, Robert. Holocaust. The Documentary Evidence. Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 1990.

McDonalds Marketing Plan Essay

I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY McDonald’s Philippines is a subsidiary of the Filipino-owned Golden Arches Development Corporation. The first Filipino McDonald’s to open for business was in the Morayta university districts in Manila during 1981. These days McDonald’s is operating over 150 restaurants throughout the islands of the Philippines. Being a 100% Filipino-owned franchise allows McDonald’s Philippines to be more agile and take quicker actions, making them an even more competitive force in the Filipino fast-food market. It is one of the leading fast-food chains internationally as well as in the Philippines, with a rapidly developing consumer brand and growing customer base. . It is a place for family togetherness organized around a common love of the traditional food. Its operating system is characterized by focusing on uniformity for consistent quality, the formation of partner relationship with its franchises and supplier to improve operating system innovatively and last but not least the introduction of new products. With its steady drive for improvement and consistently high quality, McDonald’s revolutionized the entire supply chain. Instead of regimenting its supplier and franchisees, McDonald’s expected commitment from them in terms of adherence and experimentation. The implemented, smooth operating chain of suppliers, McDonald’s corporate management and franchisees balances each other, creates an entrepreneurial spirit that added value, innovation, economics of scale, the bargaining power for advertising and purchasing, as well as new product and process ideas to the company. Additionally, all involved parties maintained a collective emphasis on disciplined quality standards. As years passed by, McDonald’s needed to adapt to industry changes by accomplishing some process design innovations in fruitful collaboration with its suppliers and franchisees. In this context, McDonald’s improved the chain’s chicken and fries’ quality and consistency by switching from raw to frozen delivered fries as well as the productivity of employee. Another major process enhancement was the introduction of the breakfast at McDonald’s. In this way, the corporation expanded its operating hours since it had to pay for rent, utilities and insurance 24 hours a day, anyways. The generation of a totally new business came along with the nice side effect that it again distinguishes itself from its competitors. This marketing plan is used in outlining the product, pricing, and distribution and promotion strategies to be implemented and executed during this time. It proposes a revitalization of the McDonald’s philosophy so as to focus on the quality of products and services for customer’s value and a healthy lifestyle, healthy eating habits, smart choices and education. The plan also outlines the structural issues that may arise during its implementation and execution, tactical initiatives to turn strategy into action. II. CHALLENGE Problem: Before, the company use grilled direct system. Which becomes the problem of the company because the customer always complaining about the quality of the product like chicken mcdo, when it is served to the customers it is not crispy because it stays longer in the warming bin, and also the patty of the burger, it is not juicy because it is not hot. The access of McDelivery to the call center is another problem of McDonalds because some times the information about on the location of the customer is wrong. Solution: Now a day the McDonald’s uses the Made for You (MFY) system. †¢ Food is made or prepared to actual customer demand, providing each and every burger only when it is needed just in time (JIT). †¢ It standardizes assembly of all sandwiches to one or two at a time. †¢ Requires minimal Human Decisions Making. †¢ It requires Behavioral change ⠝â€" Quality ⠝â€" Complete waste ⠝â€" Equipment ⠝â€" Standard procedure III. SITUATION ANALYSIS Company Analysis †¢ Goals – Develop a solution to improve kitchen layouts, people positioning and operational procedures for a better guest experience. In simple terms: our goal is to have a happy and satisfied customer. †¢ Focus – the company should focus on products and services. McDonald’s is a customer-oriented company that strives to offer Filipinos a combination of great tasting, quality food productions at value prices with excellent service. †¢ Values – Customer – driven, Malasakit, Integrity, Teamwork and Excellent. †¢ Strengths ⠝â€" Quality of the product, services and cleanliness of the store. ⠝â€" The service of the company is fast and accurate, and we believe that taking good care of our customers is the first vital step toward effective sales building. ⠝â€" Patents and Trademark ⠝â€" Branding such as through the use of logos, colours, slogan and other images. A key part of the McDonald’s brand is its ‘M’ logo otherwise known as ‘The Golden Arches’. †¢ Weaknesses ⠝â€" The competitors like Jollibee, Mang Inasal, Burger King etc. ⠝â€" Lack of cooperation between the management and in the crews. †¢ Market Shares – McDonald’s has captured more than 40% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. Customer Analysis †¢ Number – 30% is ages 60 and above, 20% is ages 1-15, 50% is ages 16 and above. This is the percentage of customer who are eating at the McDonald’s everyday especially during breakfast, lunch, and dinner. †¢ Type – Class B & C †¢ Value Drivers – a part from our product and services. McDonald’s gives back to the community through the Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC). RMHC supports children’s development and well being through Bahay Bulilit and Bright Minds Read (BMR). Every happy meal purchase gives 50 centavos to RMHC. †¢ Decision process – The customer have a lot of decision making it is base of what they needs and wants, also the customer decide to buy a discounted product like in coupon and the mcsaver meals. Competitor Analysis †¢ Market Position No. 1 (Jollibee) No. 2 (McDonald’s) †¢ Strengths Lasang Pinoy Raw materials are environment friendly †¢ Weaknesses Jollibee has a poor service †¢ Market shares – Jollibee has captured more than 52% share of the hamburger market in the Philippines. SWOT ANALYSIS Strength †¢ Risk diversity †¢ Large market share †¢ Strong supply chain †¢ Promoting ethical conduct †¢ Competitive fast-food chain †¢ Attentive and friendly staff/crew’s †¢ Rigorous food safety standards †¢ Good reputation among customer †¢ Decentralized yet connected system †¢ Strong brand name, image and reputation †¢ Strong financial and performance and position †¢ Affordable prices and high quality products †¢ Nutritional information available on packaging †¢ Strong global presence and performance in the global marketplace †¢ Specialized training for managers known as the Hamburger University †¢ McDonalds Plan to Win focuses on people, product, place, price and promotion Weaknesses †¢ Unhealthy food image †¢ High staff turnover including top management †¢ Customer losses due to fierce competition †¢ Lack of access to the best natural resources †¢ Lack of access to key distribution channel Opportunities †¢ Growing health trends among consumers †¢ Joint ventures with retailers †¢ Consolidation of retailers likely, so better locations for franchisees †¢ Respond to social changes by innovation with in healthier lifestyle foods †¢ Strengthen its value proposition and offering, to encourage customers who visit coffee shops into McDonalds †¢ The new â€Å"formats†, Mccafe, having wi-fi internet links should help in attracting segments. Also installing children’s play-parks and its focus on educating consumers about health, fitness. †¢ International expansion into emerging market’s of other country †¢ Growth of the fast-food industry †¢ Low cost menu that will attract the customers †¢ Providing many promotional activities Threats †¢ Health professionals and consumer activists accuse McDonald’s of contributing to the country health issue of high cholesterol, heart attacks, diabetes, and obesity †¢ McDonalds competitors threatened market share of the company both internationally and domestically †¢ Global recession and fluctuating foreign currencies †¢ Affordability of the competitors products †¢ Similar flavors and products of the competitors †¢ Competitors endorsers are much popular when it compares to McDonalds IV.Market Segmentation Market Segmentation is the process of splitting customer in to different groups, or segment within the customers with similar characteristics have similar needs. Geographical Segmentation Mcdonalds offered their services based on certain country basic food. Like Philippines McDonalds realized that Filipino basic food is rice which with fried chicken as its local basic food. Demographic/Psychographic Segmentation Demographic segmentation divided the market into groups based on variables like gender, age, nationality, religion; family life cycle and family size McDonald offered their services by segmented their customer base on age, religion and family life cycle. To offer the best service McDonalds still concern about variations due to differing tastes and cultural issues for their customer over the world. Behavioral Segmentation Behavioral segmentation focuses on dividing consumer based on their knowledge, attitudes, uses, benefit sought, or responses to company’s product. One of the best forms of segmentation is to divide buyers according to the different benefits that they want to get by purchasing the product. Usually people who look for in their product class or look for each benefit. For example, McDonald provide McDelivery for 24 hours, this is the only one delivery service that not stop even once in a while a day by just call it and order, after that within a minute it comes to your place with the food that still hot and fresh. V. Alternative Marketing Strategies McDonalds has seen recent success through a careful implementation of its â€Å"Plan to Win† strategy, which focuses on several key aspects of the business, namely increasing traffic to restaurants, providing everyday value to customers, innovating the company through the creation of new menu items, re-imaging the company’s look, as well as its marketing campaigns. McDonald’s Plan to Win is based on a core set of four main goals: †¢ Acquire more customers †¢ Get these customers to eat at McDonalds more often †¢ Develop more brand loyalty for the McDonalds brand †¢ Ultimately become more profitable Increasing restaurant visits Current market condition help the appearance of McDonalds as a low cost alternative to eating at more expensive restaurants in the minds of customers, which has consequently led to an increase in foot traffic at McDonalds franchises. McDonalds has addressed these conditions through an increase in advertising, specially displaying the company’s attention toward a diversified menu of low cost items. Such advertising serves to satisfy all four of goals of Plan to win program, drawing customer interest through a short display of the plethora of new menu options recently added, while also helping to change the look and feel of McDonalds in the minds of customers. Providing everyday value In order to create an overall feeling of value for customers to experience, McDonalds has released a modular value meal, where customers have the benefit of both low prices coupled with increased freedom when deciding on a meal. While traditional menu options emphasize a trade-off between ordering freedom and price, the McDonalds value menu provides customers with both all at once, helping customers associate the brand with good value. Innovating new menu items At the same time as their menu choices have become modular and less expensive, McDonalds is also creating value for customers by providing a diverse menu with many more ordering options. Customers can now expect an increase in health-conscious options by adding some vegetables in the burger and also they provide some dessert like apple pie or pineapple pie. McDonalds also provide a mccafe like ice mocha, ice latte, and cappuccino, Americano to provide some different variety of coffee to satisfy the customer. Marketing campaigns As well as considering the important of keeping customers informed of the continuing changes to the company through advertising media and social media dialogues, McDonalds also recognizes the value of maintaining an ongoing support system and training structure for each of its franchise operators. As mentioned above, McDonalds uses well defined, and measurable milestones to help their constituents meet company goals with as few inconsistencies as possible. McDonalds’ training programs have been continuously recognized for their excellence, and with the continuing changes being carried out throughout the company, this attention to the value of training is a terrific asset to the company. Re-imaging the restaurant Directly benefiting the company’s goals of brand development for the company, McDonalds is reenergizing their brand through an understanding of â€Å"brand power†, which is built on the cultivation of four key areas of the brand, brand identity, familiarity, specialness, and authority. Brand identity is defined as the set of characteristics that customers recognize your brand by; in McDonalds’ case these are speed, consistency, value, and variety. Brand identity works with brand familiarity, helping to expand the message that symbols of the company, or even the overall impact of advertisements themselves in reinforcing the identity of the brand in the minds of customers. If carefully managed, McDonalds can use their brand identity to make their investments in advertising go much further. Beyond this, brand specialness and authority continue the process, representing the perceptions of McDonalds as the company appears to customers. Ideally, McDonalds should leverage brand specialness and authority to clearly stand out as a distinct and trustworthy source of value, allowing customers to increase the value of the McDonalds brand through their positive interactions with the company. McDonald’s adopts different strategies to attract customers of different age groups, but still the main target remains to be children. So in order to attract them, McDonald’s use a key tool: the Happy Meals, which seem to fascinate children due to the toys included in the menu. In addition to this, they have a tie up with The Walt Disney Company for the Disney characters included in the menu, in order to make sure that they offer the kids a wide range of toy options. Moreover, McDonald’s provides the children with a special facility, unique for food venues and fast-food restaurants: a playground. This strategy is aimed at making McDonald’s a pleasant and fun environment for both kids and parents. Even the exterior of every restaurant is also strategically designed using bright colors to invite in the customer, especially kids who can easily be influenced by these aspects. So not only that the children like it, it is a chance for the parents to spend some â€Å"quality time† with their kids. Another aspect of their marketing strategy is the fact that every McDonald’s restaurant provides Wi–Fi facilities, a detail that adds to the attractive qualities and is aimed at teenage customers. In addition to this, what is representative for this chain is their clown mascot, Ronald McDonald, who is essential for creating the bond with children and entertaining them. They can even have private birthday parties in the facilities, again part of McDonald’s aim to induce happy memories in children’s minds, and to make them associate the McDonald’s brand and logo with happy moments. VI. Selected Marketing Strategy Product Suppliers are dedicated to providing McDonald’s with top quality material that is continually monitored for freshness and safety. McDonald’s uses regional suppliers to ensure that the freshness is delivered to customers in every product they buy. Food quality is keys at McDonald’s. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, onions and pickles, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. All of the beef, chicken and pork that are used are purchased from federally inspected facilities to ensure freshness, wholesomeness and peak quality when served to customers. Non-Vegetarian Ingredients Chicken The chicken products are made from high quality boned rib and leg meat and are covered in a specially seasoned, lightly battered coating. They are shaped in uniform sizes to ensure consistency in weight and value. Fish The fish products in McDonald’s Filet –O- Fish are 100% pure whole white fillets that are lightly breaded. Their exacting quality standards for fish surpass federal requirements. The ocean-fresh quality of Filet-O-Fish is a result of the process and ability to freeze the fish at sea to maintain freshness. Vegetarian Ingredients Vegetables McDonald’s use freshly shredded lettuce, onions, pickles and tomatoes in their restaurants. All their vegetable products are processed from high quality graded vegetables in a 100% dedicated vegetarian plant. Potatoes McDonald’s French fries are famous around the world. To make French fries, McDonald’s uses only the best potatoes available from their own potato farms. Their potato suppliers make many of the same nationally recognized brands of potato products to make customers feel that they are with their family at home. These potatoes are cut, blanched and processed on state-of-the-art processing lines to ensure maximum retention of nutrients. Their French fries and Potato Wedges are cooked at the plant in 100% vegetables cooking oil. Other Ingredients Cheese and other Dairy Products All dairy products like cheese, McShakes and Soft Serves are made from fresh dairy milk. All dairy products including cheese have a role to play in balanced diet because they contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, calcium, fat solubles, phosphorus, etc. McDonald’s uses a special blend of pasteurized American cheese to complement the flavor of their sandwiches. Buns McDonald’s uses buns made from locally grown wheat flour. They are baked locally and delivered fresh, several times each week to McDonald’s restaurants. Cooking Oil Food preparations are done in 100% refined vegetable oils at the restaurants plants. They use liquid oil and not hydrogenated oil. This means there are no TFAs or Trans Fatty Acids in the French Fries or any other products. Additionally, these vegetable oils contain some essential fatty acids necessary for growth. Quality Food quality is the crucial element at McDonald’s. Despite extensive and meticulous quality test at the suppliers end, all products are once again carefully scrutinized at the restaurant. Immaculate of quality allow for nothing but the best to reach customer’s tray. Their products are sourced from the highest quality ingredients, prepared hygienically and treated to regular quality checks such as the McDonald’s Inspection Program (QIP). Scope of Product Line Distribution (Place) Place, as an element of the marketing mix, is not just about the physical location or distribution points for products. It encompasses the management of a range of processes involved in bringing products to the end consumer. McDonald’s outlets are very evenly spread throughout the cities making them very accessible. Drive in and drive through options make McDonald’s products further convenient to the consumers. Intensive Distribution Distribution arrangements tend to be long term in nature. Because of this time horizon, channel decisions are usually classed as strategic, rather than tactical or operational ones. Many of McDonalds restaurants are open 24 hours per day which satisfies the customers needs and wants, especially for exists their hunger. This kind of distribution strategy is called â€Å"intensive distribution†, means marking the product available for sale through all possible channels of distribution. â€Å"Intensive distribution is stocking the product in as many outlets as possible.† Promotion The promotions aspect of the marketing mix covers all types of marketing communications One of the methods employed is advertising, Advertising is conducted on TV, radio, in cinema, online, using poster sites and in the press for example in newspapers and magazines. Other promotional methods include sales promotions, point of sale display, merchandising, direct mail, loyalty schemes, door drops, etc. The skill in marketing communications is to develop a campaign which uses several of these methods in a way that provides the most effective results. For example, TV advertising makes people aware of a food item and press advertising provides more detail. This may be supported by in-store promotions to get people to try the product and a collectable promotional device to encourage them to keep on buying the item. At McDonalds the prime focus is on targeting children. In happy meals too which are targeted at children small toys are given along with the meal. Apart from this, various schemes for winning prices by way of lucky draws and also scratch cards are given when an order is placed on the various mean combos. VII. Conclusion Since the problem of McDonalds is about the customer that keeps on complaining for the quality and freshness of the products that is being served. Therefore I conclude that the company should use the MFY (Made for You) system, so that the food is made or prepared for the customer just in time with a good quality for a reasonable cost. The company should also provide a large number of riders to avoid late delivery.