Presentation software Essay

Save a copy of this document, either onto your computer or a disk Work through your Assessment, remembering to save your work regularly When you’ve finished, print out a copy to keep for reference Then, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your completed Assessment to your tutor via your My Study area – make sure it is clearly marked with your name, the course title and the Unit and Assessment number. Please note that this Assessment document has 8 pages and is made up of 3 Parts. Learning outcomes Throughout this Assessment, you will meet a number of different learning outcomes and assessment criteria. Take a look at the information below to see which criteria you will meet in which Parts of the Assessment. Learning outcomes & Assessment criteria met Part 1: 1.1 Identify what types of information are required for the presentation 1.2 Enter text and other information using layouts appropriate to type of information 1.3 Insert charts and tables into presentation slides 1.4 Insert images, video or sound to enhance the presentation 1.6 Organise and combine information of different forms or from different sources for presentations 1.7 Store and retrieve presentation files effectively, in line with local guidelines and conventions where available 2.1 Identify what slide structure and themes to use 2.2 Select, change and use appropriate templates for slides 2.4 Select and use appropriate techniques to format slides and presentations 2.5 Identify what presentation effects to use to enhance the presentation 2.6 Select and use animation and transition effects appropriately to enhance slide sequences 3.2 Prepare slideshow for presentation Part 2: 1.7 Store and retrieve presentation files effectively, in line with local guidelines and conventions where available 2.2 Select, change and use appropriate templates for slides 2.3 Select and use appropriate techniques to edit slides and presentations to meet needs 2.4 Select and use appropriate techniques to format slides and presentations 3.2 Prepare slideshow for presentation Part 3: 1.5 Identify any constraints which may affect the presentation 3.1 Describe how to present slides to meet needs and communicate effectively 3.2 Prepare slideshow for presentation 3.3 Check presentation meets needs, using IT tools and making corrections as necessary 3.4 Identify and respond to any problems with presentations to ensure that presentations meet needs Assessment Scenario You work for the Sales department of The Fruit and Veggie People Ltd, a company that sells organic, ethically sourced fruit and vegetable boxes. You are responsible for putting together a presentation that advertises their key products. You have been given an initial draft of the presentation content to edit and prepare before it is used in sales meetings to show clients the different products that are available. You have been asked to edit and prepare the presentation, taking it from 1st draft to final draft ready for use in sales meetings. Part 1: Creating your presentation (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.2) In this Part of the Assessment, you will need to apply the knowledge you have acquired in Session 1 – 5 of your PS2 Unit. Please note: You will have downloaded the resource files presentation_content, fruit_image and veg_image from the Unit Assessment Page to complete this part of the Assessment. 1. Begin by saving this assessment document as PS2 Assessment in an appropriate location. Take a screenprint of the file saved in this location and paste it in the space below: 2. In this Part of the Assessment, you need to produce a slide show presentation for The Fruit and Veggie People’s sales team so that they can show off the organisation’s best products to potential customers. Use the box below to identify the different types of information you could be required to include in your presentation. To make the presentation look professional and attractive, I would be using as many different types of information as possible, such as pictures, charts, sound, videos, tables and of course text and numbers. 3. Now create your presentation using a suitable template in PowerPoint. The presentation must be structured appropriately and must contain: At least 6 slides A theme At least 4 examples of inserting objects (this must include the two image files fruit_image and veg_image, a chart, a table and a Clip Art sound clip.) A slide containing references for the image files you have used At least 1 animation effect At least 1 slide transition At least 3 different kinds of text formatting (e.g. using bold, italics, colour, alignment or underlining) Content for the presentation can be found in the presentation_content resource file. Please note that in the presentation_content file, the person who has drafted the presentation has left you some instructions in red. When you are happy with your work, save your work as PS2_presentation. Remember to also save any work you’ve done on this PS2 Assessment. Part 2: Making changes to your presentation (1.7, 2.2, 2.3, 2.4, 3.2) In this Part of the Assessment, you will need to apply the knowledge you have acquired in Session 1 – 6 of your PS2 Unit. 1. Re-open the presentation PS2_presentation that you saved in Part 1 of this Assessment. 2. Use the Slide Master view in PowerPoint to change the master styles on Slide 1 of your presentation template. Use the box below to describe the changes you have made. On my first slide, I’ve used obviously the Title Slide layout. I have made the following modifications to it: – Changed the background gradient mode and its colours – Changed the position of the slide number which is part of the header 3. Change the order of slides in your presentation by switching Slide 3 and Slide 4 around. 4. In Part 1, you added a series of objects to your presentation (such as tables, charts, images etc.) Edit your presentation by changing the size and position of one of these objects. Use the box below to give details of the changes you have made: There is a green box picture (the one with the recycling sign on it) on my fifth slide, which I’ve made a bit smaller at this point and also repositioned it from the upright region to the right bottom one. 5. Finally, add a simple shape, such as an arrow or a star, to an appropriate point in your presentation. Use the box below to give details of the shape you have added and where it can be found in your presentation. I’ve placed a few arrows to my sixth slider on the top of the line graph to make even more obvious, that the business is doing better every year. I’ve changed the colour and size of all the arrows and finally added them to the same animation that has been used on the line graph itself. When you are happy with your work, save your amended presentation as PS2_presentation_edited. Remember to also save the work you’ve done on this PS2 Assessment document. Part 3: Finalising your presentation (1.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) In this Part of the Assessment, you will need to apply knowledge you have acquired in Session 6 of your PS2 Unit. 1. List at least two constraints that may affect your presentation. This should include one legal constraint, and one constraint provided by your organisation (or one that you are familiar with.) By creating a presentation, there’s a number of constraints has to be considered either by law (equal opportunities, acknowledging sources) or in order to maintain the consistency within the company or organisation (house style, time, local guidelines), that will be using it. 2. Explain how your presentation meets the needs of the sales team at The Fruit and Veggie People Headquarters. My presentation takes less than 2 minutes to show and doesn’t require mouse click to move on except for at the final references slide. This presentation will be published on business meetings, so every second counts. It has a small file size, therefore it is easily downloadable, can be forwarded via email or streamed online without even downloading it in the future. It is short enough to keep the attention awaken, colourful, contains sound effect, animations and transitions, therefore it encourages people watching it carefully, which is the company’s goal. 3. List at least five things you should check in your presentation to ensure that it is suitable for viewing. Before publishing any presentation I need to check its quality, design, content and the constraints, that needs to be taken into account. First I should do a spell check, and an overall content check (accuracy and clarity) to make sure it contains all the information in the right order it has to, therefore it is easily understandable for the viewers). Second I need to check the design has been used including the text formatting, the position and size of the pictures and other contents, as well as the timing, animations and transitions. Finally needs to be checked, that the presentation follows the local guidelines of the company, contains the list of sources and references. 4. Now use your list from question 3 above to check your presentation. Make changes as necessary in response to any problems you identify in your presentation. Use the box below to list any problems you have identified and the changes you have made to ensure your presentation meets requirements. I’ve added the word â€Å"Romanesco† to the spellcheck dictionary, so in the future it will not be marked as a spelling error. I’ve changed the colour and the gradient of the main title on the first slide, so it better matches the colours of the modified master slide. Save your finished presentation as PS2_presentation_complete. Remember to also save the work you’ve done on your PS2 Assessment. Sending work Once you have completed all parts of this Assessment, you will need to send your work to your tutor so that they can see the progress you have made. Please make sure you send all of the following files: 1. This document, your PS2 Assessment 2. The presentation that you created at the end of Part 1 saved as PS2_presentation 3. The presentation that you created at the end of Part 2 saved as PS2_presentation_edited 4. The final version of the presentation that you created at the end of Part 3 saved as PS2_presentation_complete. Once you have checked to make sure you have these four files, go to www.vision2learn.com and send your files to your tutor via your My Study area.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction at ImageStream Essay

ImageStream Internet Solutions, Inc. is a privately held company in its 9th year of operation. ImageStream engineers, manufactures, and distributes Linux-based routing products for network and Internet applications. ImageStream products are used by Internet service providers (ISPs), governments, schools, and businesses in more than 75 countries around the world. As ImageStream moves toward its next decade, market forces require it, like most high technology companies, to be fast and responsive. The company faces constant change in demands and needs along with the pressures of mission creep in the face of limited resources. It is against this backdrop that ImageStream started its ISO 9000:2000 certification process. This process requires not only the implementation of quality processes, but measurement of their efficacy as well. ImageStream conducts key manager meetings twice monthly, and a company-wide review on a semi-annual basis. During these managerial and company reviews, the senior executives identify key metrics driving the success of the company’s mission, including those metrics that would benefit most from significant improvement. This proposal outlines the use of a customer satisfaction survey and seeks to answer the management question: What is the current customer satisfaction with the level and type of customer service provided by ImageStream? The study will explore the conceptual framework of service quality, the positive and negative impacts of service quality on ImageStream, and the effect of favorable and unfavorable customer intentions on perceived quality using survey research. Armed with the statistical analyses outlined below, the operations management team will identify current trends in customer satisfaction in a proactive attempt to resolve to any issues. Background and Literature Review The study and development of customer service techniques and customer  retention management programs has blossomed into its own industry. This increasing focus on customer satisfaction is not surprising, given the positive correlation between happy customers and successful companies illustrated in countless marketing research studies. This study will outline the relationship between customer satisfaction with service and customer retention at ImageStream. To support the findings, we will conduct an empirical study focusing on the relationship between perceived service quality and customer intentions. Weinstein and Johnson (1999) recommend that companies like ImageStream should spend â€Å"75% of its marketing budget on customer retention strategies† and to strengthen these relationships. Once customers commit to a product platform, and the longer they use and deploy that platform, the more profit ImageStream can realize. Longstanding, satisfied customers will generally continue, or often increase, purchasing, require less operational and customer service support, and be more willing to pay price premiums to remain with the company–all without incurring new customer acquisition costs (Pine, Peppers, and Rogers, 1995). This paper will analyze how ImageStream’s service relationship with its customers produces customer behaviors indicating whether or not a customer will remain an ImageStream customer. The methodology used will follow Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman’s study on this topic (1996). Since replacing lost customers requires new customer acquisition costs, customer retention should be a fundamental performance measure for ImageStream’s executive staff and a key component of the company’s incentive programs (Zeithaml et al., 1996). According to the American Management Association, acquiring a new customer can require five times the investment needed to keep an existing customer (Weinstein et al., 1999). Literature Review Customer service, not surprisingly, has been researched extensively: from the conceptual framework of service quality, to the positive and negative impacts of service quality, to the effect of favorable and unfavorable  customer intentions on perceived quality. We review these concepts in recent literature, and investigate an empirical study focusing on the relationship between service quality and customer behavioral intentions (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) offer a conceptual model of service quality. The researchers postulate that the quality of customer service will determine whether a company retains its customers or loses them to defection. Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996) highlight seven key points: 1.Customer defection has a negative relationship with an organization’s profitability. 2.Retaining current customers costs less than acquiring new ones. 3.Customer retention should be a fundamental component of incentive programs. 4.Companies must advertise not only to attract new customers, but to replace lost customers. 5.Advertising, promotion, and sales costs are required expenses when attracting new customers. 6.In general, at the beginning of a customer/vendor relationship, the customers do not generate a profit for the company. Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman estimate that acquisition cost recovery can take as long as four years. 7.Positive customer assessments of service quality lead to positive behavioral intentions, strengthening the relationship between the customer and the company. Negative assessments, on the other hand, create unfavorable customer behavioral intentions. The unfavorable conditions weaken the customer/vendor relationship. Based on their research and observations, Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman  (1996) believe that expressed or observed behavioral intentions can indicate whether or not customers will remain with an organization. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) challenge Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman’s assertions that customer retention always leads well-managed companies to profitability. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) argue that long-term customers are not always the most profitable customers, and dismiss research assuming that loyalty equates with profitability as a gross oversimplification. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) contend that managers should not automatically assume increased lifetime spending, decreased costs of service, and decreased price sensitivity for long-term retained customers. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) go further in also disputing the idea that long-term retained customers require lesser marketing investment by companies. Their research concluded that long-term customers often have inactive purchasing periods unrelated to their retention by an organization (Reinartz and Kumar, 2000). During these dormant periods, these customers are at best a break-even proposition for organizations, and often consume marketing and service resources resulting in net losses during periods of inactivity. Reinartz and Kumar (2000) found that short-term customers may be as significant to customers as longtime clients. Other research indicates that organizations struggling with a single approach to satisfy all customers can end up with â€Å"inefficient and inappropriate levels of service† (Cohen, Cull, Lee and Willen, 2000). Cohen, Cull, Lee and Willen (2000) conclude that organizations must customize their service to meet each customer’s individual needs. Superior service generates favorable behavioral intentions in customers, including increased future spending, acceptance of price premiums, â€Å"word of mouth† referrals, and, ultimately, customer retention (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Research suggests that most employees have a â€Å"true customer orientation† in that they understand their customers’ needs, and possess empathy and respect for their customers (Bitner, Booms and Mohr, 1994). Quality service builds customer faith in the organization, and â€Å"is essential for maintaining competitive advantage† (Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml, 1994). Since quality customer service can generate positive behavioral intentions, quality service strategies are effectively profit strategies for organizations. Research illustrates this link between service and profitability, as Keaveney (1995) found that customer defections can cost an organization future revenue stream. As customers’ intentions toward a company improve, the results include new customers, increased business with existing customers, fewer lost customers, and added pricing power (Berry et al., 1994). Berry and Parasuraman (1997) stress the creation of customer feedback channels as a component of quality service. Listening and responding to the customer’s needs in a quality way has a â€Å"direct effect on the quality of service provided† (Berry and Parasuraman, 1997). This focus on customer feedback drove the purpose of this series of papers. Evidence, such as Keaveney’s study, highlighting the role customer loyalty plays in making an organization more profitable makes it imperative that companies quickly and proactively address concerns, complaints and other unfavorable behavioral intentions among their customers (Tax, Brown and Chandrashekar, 1998). Tax, Brown and Chandrashekar’s point also applies in a comparative sense as well. Organizations can potentially provide satisfactory service that nonetheless lags other competitors’ service offerings. In these cases, customers may defect because of the attraction of comparatively superior service offerings from a competitor. Managers of service departments and service companies must recognize this comparative measure, and realize that some customers will defect even when they are satisfied with a former provider (Keaveney, 1995). Customers display favorable intentions such as praising the company, expressing a preference for the company to the company or to other consumers, continuing and/or increasing purchasing volumes, paying price premiums, and making recommendations to others based on their satisfaction with the company (Zeithaml et al., 1996). Satisfied customers stay loyal to an organization longer, pay less attention to competitive products, exhibit less price sensitivity, offer service improvement or expansion ideas to the organization and cost less to service over time than new customers (Weinstein et al., 1999). When dissatisfied, customers display unfavorable intentions such as expressing an eagerness to leave the organization, decreasing purchase patterns, voicing complaints to the vendor, complaining to others, or taking legal action against the organization (Zeithaml et al., 1996). When customers do leave an organization, many choose to do so quietly with the intention of â€Å"getting even by making negative comments† to others about the organization (Tax and Brown, 1998). Since defecting customers can impact current and future revenue streams, properly identifying dissatisfied customers and understanding why customers defect can be valuable tools in improving customer retention management programs. Companies must implement strategies to overcome potential customer defections. Retention efforts should begin as soon as organizations acquire new customers. The organization should proactively attempt to learn and address customer needs and resolve any complaints or concerns quickly (Weinstein et al., 1999). Weinstein et al. (1999) suggest several ways to build loyalty and increase favorable behavioral intentions in customers. They suggest that organizations could embed sales staff at the offices of their best customers, participate in their customer’s events or promotional efforts, interview their customer’s customers, conduct retreats with major customers to share best practices and to train customers on company products and services, develop a preferred customer pricing strategy, reward customers for referring new business, solicit feedback on product development roadmaps, and even partner with key accounts on industry research projects (Weinstein et al., 1999). SERVQUAL Among the most popular assessments tools of service quality is SERVQUAL, an instrument designed by Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml (1994). Through numerous qualitative studies, they evolved a set of five dimensions ranked consistently by customers as central to service quality, regardless of the  service industry. Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml (1994) defined these dimensions as: *Tangibles: the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication materials; *Reliability: an ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately; *Responsiveness: a willingness to help customers and provide prompt service; *Assurance: the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence; and *Empathy: the caring, individualized attention the firm provides its customers. Based on the five SERVQUAL dimensions, the researchers also developed a survey instrument to measure the gap between customers’ expectation for excellence and their perception of actual service delivered. The SERVQUAL instrument helps service providers understand both customer expectations and perceptions of specific services, as well as quality improvements over time (Berry, Parasuraman, and Zeithaml, 1988). Analysis of customer responses to a SERVQUAL questionnaire presents numerous potential practical implications for companies and their customer service teams. Scope We will conduct a study of all ImageStream customers (the â€Å"population†) by e-mailing or mailing a questionnaire to companies listed in ImageStream’s internal records. The study will take less than one month to complete. We will contact all customers and direct them to the on-line survey, and follow up with customers who have not responded after two weeks. We will end the study after four weeks, and expect 25%-30% participation. We base this estimate on the response rate of similar studies mentioned above. A response  rate of at least 10% will yield a significant sample, enabling us to make conclusive findings and recommendations. Methodology We identify three determinants of customer satisfaction with ImageStream: service quality, solution quality, and price (through a measure of perceived value). Data on customer satisfaction, service quality, solution quality and price will be collected through the attached questionnaire survey. The questionnaire adapts the SERVQUAL instrument developed by Berry, Parasuraman and Zeithaml (1998) and uses a combination of Likert-scaled, dichotomous and unstructured questions. The use of both bipolar Likert/dichotomous and unstructured questions allows us to benefit from the strengths of both quantitative and qualitative research. The use of quantitative questions allows us to obtain a high degree of reliability and validity using the scientific method, and enables others to more easily repeat or replicate our study. The qualitative questions provide background for customer responses, and help to identify any underlying issues highlighted by the quantitative research. Triangulation, in this case the combination of qualitative and quantitative methods, allows us to overcome the weakness of using only one research technique. We do not assume that there is only one reality and believe that different research methods will reveal different perspectives. Using quantitative and qualitative triangulation allows us to use different sets of data, different types of analyses, different researchers, and/or different theoretical perspectives to study customer service. The quantitative question results will provide data that we can subject to complex statistical analyses. We will combine the quantitative question responses to determine central tendencies and dispersion of the data, including measures of mean, standard error, median, mode, standard deviation, variance, kurtosis, skewness, and range. We will analyze the  results of each question and of the study as a whole. Based on the results of the analysis above, we will develop regressions to identify potential relationships between past service experiences, perceived quality, future purchasing behavior, and loyalty. A possible research design for the regression analysis follows. H1: There is a positive correlation between the level of superior customer service and positive future customer behavior. H2: There is a negative or no correlation between the level of superior customer service and positive future customer behavior. H3: There is a positive correlation between the level of inferior customer service and negative future customer behavior. H4: There is a negative or no correlation between the level of inferior customer service and negative future customer behavior. Using these results, we can make conclusions about the management problem defined above. Development of these findings will include the use of anecdotal evidence from the qualitative questions in the survey. We will use the responses to the qualitative questions to support the quantitative findings, and to highlight key issues not covered by the quantitative portions of the survey. Possible Findings Following Zeithaml, Berry and Parasuraman (1996), we believe that a positive relationship exists between quality service and positive customer behavior as defined above. Additionally, we believe that our research will show that favorable customer behavioral intentions will be higher among customers experiencing no service problems. Customers who have experience problems, but received service to resolve them will show the next highest level. Customers with unresolved service problems will show the least favorable  behavioral intentions. Conclusion Customer service and its effect on customer retention in an organization is a growing area of research, and one that is vital to maintaining quality at ImageStream. This paper examined customer retention and defection from an organization in the context of customer service quality, exploring four areas: 1.A conceptual framework of how service quality affects particular customer behaviors and the consequences for ImageStream, establishing the purpose for this study, 2.Empirical studies that focused on the relationship between service quality and customer behavioral intentions, 3.A triangulated quantitative and qualitative survey to study perceived service levels among ImageStream customers, 4.Follow-on research based on the survey results and statistical analysis, including a summary of expected findings Customer retention branches off into many other significant areas such as value-added services, supply chain relationships, use of information systems to service customers better, and very importantly perceived and expected performance. Organizations have a chance to learn from their customers. The more customers teach the company the more effective it becomes at providing exactly what they want and the more difficult it is for competitors to lure them away from the organization (Pine II et al., 1995). Learning about customers is what this whole retention topic is about. The customers tell the organization what to do to keep them. The strategy is for the organization to learn how to listen and respond. References Anton, J. (1996). Customer Relationship Management: Making Hard Decisions with Soft Numbers. New York: Prentice Hall. Berry, L., Parasuraman, A. and Zeithaml, V. (1988). A Conceptual Model of Service Quality and its Implications for Future Research. The Academy of Management Executive, 8, 32-52. Berry, L. and Parasuraman, A. (1997). Listening to the Customer: The Concept of a Service-Quality Information System. Sloan Management Review, 38, 65-76. Berry, L., Parasuraman, A. and Zeithaml, V. (1994). Improving Service Quality in America: Lessons Learned. The Academy of Management Executive, 8, 32-52. Bitner, M., Booms, B. and Mohr, L. (1994). Critical Service Encounters: The Employee’s Viewpoint. Journal of Marketing, 58, 95-106. Chase, R. and Stewart, D. (1994). Make Your Service Failsafe. Sloan Management Review, 35, 35-44. Cohen, M., Cull, C., Lee, H. and Willen, D. (2000). Saturn’s Supply-Chain Cooper, D. and Schindler, P. (2002). Business Research Methods (6th ed.). Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-Hill. Cronin Jr., Joseph J. and Taylor, S. (1992). Measuring Service Quality: A Reexamination and Extension. Journal of Marketing, 56, 55-68. Heskett, J., Jones, T., Loveman, G., Sasser, W., and Schlesinger, L. (1994, March-April). Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work. Harvard Business Review, 164-174. Innovation: High Value After-Sales. Sloan Management Review, 41, 93. Joppe, M. (n.d.). The Research Process. Retrieved January 12, 2004 from http://www.ryerson.ca/~mjoppe/rp.htm Keaveney, S. (1995). Customer Switching Behavior in Service Industries: An Exploratory Study. Journal of Marketing, 59, 71-82. Pine II, J., Peppers, D. and Rogers, M. (1995). Do You Want to Keep Your Customers Forever? Harvard Business Review, 73, 103-114. Pitt, L., Watson, R., Kavan, C. (1997). Measuring Information Systems Service Quality: Concerns for a complete canvas. MIS Quarterly, 21, 209-221. Reinartz, Werner J. and Kumar, V. (2000). On the Profitability of Long-Life Customers in a Noncontractual Setting: An Empirical Investigation and Implications for Marketing. Journal of Marketing, 64, 17. Tax, S. and Brown, S. (1998). Recovering and learning from service failures. Sloan Management Review, 40, 75-88. Tax, S., Brown, S.and Chandrashekar, M. (1998). Customer evaluations of service complaint experiences: implications for relationship marketing. Journal of Marketing, 62, 60-76. Van Dyke, T., Kappelman, L., and Prybutok, V. (1997, June). Measuring Information Systems Service Quality: Concerns on the use of the SERVQUAL questionnaire. MIS Quarterly, 21, 195-208. Weinstein, Art and Johnson, W. (1999). Designing and Delivering Superior Customer Value: Concepts, Cases, and Applications. Boca Raton: CRC Press. Whyte, G., Bytheway, A., and Edwards, C. (1997). Understanding User Perceptions of Information Systems Success. Journal of Strategic Information Systems, 6, 35-68. Zeithaml, V., Berry, L. and Parasuraman, A. (1996). The Behavioral Consequences of Service Quality. Journal of Marketing, 60, 31-46.

Coffee

Marketing Individual Assignment 3 1) What is the product mix of Trung Nguyen? What are the key attributes of its coffee? How do these attributes help Trung Nguyen to differentiate itself from its competitors? The product mix refers to the total composite of products offered by Trung Nguyen coffee. It consists of different product lines, various product items in each product line and within each item is the product depth.Firstly, the product line is a group of product or service items that are closely related because they are sold to the same consumer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, have similar usage or fall within given price ranges. Thus, Trung Nguyen Coffee’s product lines are: Trung Nguyen Coffee, Passiona Coffee and G7 Instant Coffee. The Passiona Coffee targets at consumers looking for low-caffeine coffee and especially women, while the G7 Instant coffees are made for people who are too busy to brew a cup of coffee themselves.Trung Nguyen Coffee h as 3 different product items, namely Creative Coffee, Blend Coffee and Espresso Coffee. Passiona Coffee consists of 2 product item, Passiona roasted coffee and Instant Passiona coffee. As for the G7 Instant Coffees, the product items are G7 Pure soluble, G7 Cappuccino and G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee. Lastly, product depth is the number of variants in a product item. Trung Nguyen’s product depth of Creative coffee includes the Weasel Coffee and Legendee Coffee. Also, some variations of G7 Cappuccino are the Mocha G7 cappuccino and Hazelnut G7 cappuccino.Different sizes of coffees are considered as product depth as well. For example, the G7 Instant 3-in-1 coffee is sold in 3 different sizes: a box of 18 cafe sticks, a bag of 22 sachets or a bulk pack bag of 100 sachets. Table1: Summary of product mix of Trung Nguyen | Product lines| | Trung Nguyen Coffee| Passiona Coffee| G7 Instant Coffee| Product items| -Blend coffee-Espresso coffee-Creative coffee Product depth: Weasel coffeeLe gendee coffee| -Passiona roasted coffee-Passiona instant coffee| -G7 Pure soluble-G7 cappuccinoProduct epth:Mocha G7 cappuccinoHazelnut G7 cappuccino-G7 instant 3-in-1Product depth:box of 18 cafe sticksbag of 22 sachetsbulk pack bag of 100 sachets| Key attributes refer to the most important characteristics of a product. Trung Nguyen makes its point of difference through its key attributes like using the best coffee beans, unique brewing style and the new coffee concept. Trung Nguyen has a unique selling point because some coffees offered cannot be found anywhere else. Its coffees are authentically Vietnamese. For example, the Weasel coffee is produced based on the legend in Vietnam.To differentiate itself from its competitors, these key attributes must communicate benefits for consumers. The coffee offered by Trung Nguyen is of a higher quality compared to other coffee brands because they use the best coffee beans sourced from four of the world’s best coffee-growing regions. In addition, Trung Nguyen is awarded with the EureGAP certificate for its good agricultural practices such as having consistently good quality coffee beans and using environmentally friendly technologies. Coupled with their oriental secrets, consumers would prefer Trung Nguyen because their coffee is brewed much more aromatic and rich.Trung Nguyen used their new concept of coffee to set up a â€Å"Creative Coffee House† in order to differentiate itself and gain market share. It is now well-known for the innovative clubhouse whereby customers can enjoy coffee in a beautiful and sentimental ambience while experiencing Vietnamese cultural events and exhibitions. For consumers who value such innovative product services, they will choose Trung Nguyen’s coffee over the other â€Å"grab a coffee to go† coffee styles. 2) What are the roles of branding? What are the benefits of branding to sellers and buyers in the coffee market.The role of branding is to create an ident ity for the product. The identity created can have some personalities and can gain brand equity. Benefits of branding Some benefits of branding for sellers of the Trung Nguyen coffee are that they are able to accentuate the bases of differentiation from its competitors due to its distinct identity. They can obtain legal protection like trademarks to avoid copycats of their brand. The counterfeit products are capable of stealing Trung Nguyen’s sales when consumers are unsure of how the real packaging of coffee looks like.There is also a chance for the counterfeit coffee to ruin Trung Nguyen’s reputation. Consumers who bought the counterfeit coffee by mistake may view Trung Nguyen to be of a lousier quality instead. All this would be effectively prevented by branding because counterfeiting is an offense. Brand equity is created by branding and careful marketing. Trung Nguyen can in turn earn higher profits as consumers are willing to pay a higher price for this particula r brand of coffee. Also, brand equity can lead to higher economic value of the brand, whereby it becomes an asset for Trung Nguyen when it wishes to sell its brand.Last but not least, Trung Nguyen can achieve brand loyalty through creating preferences towards their brand. If Trung Nguyen coffee is able to sustain a consistently good quality coffee product, consumers would remember the brand, spread the word around and continually purchase its coffee. On the buyers end, they may reap the most benefits from Trung Nguyen’s branding. Coffee is a convenience product and it is important to make it easy to find. Consumers will be able to correctly identify the products in a short period of time due to Trung Nguyen’s branding thus becoming more efficient shoppers.Furthermore, consumers may gain assurance of product quality and performance. Employees need to ensure products offered are of consistently good quality and so are specially trained to deliver this promise. Consumers will remain loyal to Trung Nguyen coffee because they are satisfied with this brand and have no need to search for another. 3) What constitutes the brand identity of Trung Nguyen? What is your evaluation of this identity? How can the brand identity be improved? Brand identity is the noticeable elements of a brand and also what the organization wants consumers to perceive the brand as.It constitutes of â€Å"Trung Nguyen† as its name, the logo and its tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† A successful brand name should reflect the personality and values of the brand, be simple, memorable, positive and emotional. A logo is the image that embodies an organization. It is one of the most prominent branding elements that consumers will think of when someone mentions the company. A good brand logo should be memorable, futuristic and consistent and be able to portray the benefits to its target audience. The tagline must be simple and easy to remember.It also needs to rem ain short since the tagline is always incorporated into many marketing pieces. Evaluation of brand name: Consumers associate Trung Nguyen to â€Å"Central highlands† which refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee where green coffee is grown. This gives an advantageous association between Trung Nguyen and high quality and fresh coffee beans. Also, the brand name represents the uniqueness and richness of the Vietnamese culture. However, the name Trung Nguyen does not hold any meaning for non-Vietnamese. This may alienate consumers from other parts of the world.Another bad point could be that its name is hard to pronounce for non- Vietnamese consumers. Possible improvements: Because the company’s name has been around since 1996 when it was founded, it cannot be changed otherwise the company has to build up brand awareness from scratch all over again. Thus, the company should work hard in educating people and let them understand the positive association between Trun g Nguyen and â€Å"Central highlands†. For example, they could use their existing Internet website and include this under the â€Å"learn more† option.People visiting the website can then learn about the association and slowly adopt Trung Nguyen as their favourite coffee. Evaluation of logo In my opinion, the logo might be a little small and insignificant. Psychological influences such as selective exposure and retention affects consumer buying behaviour. For example, the appealing cup of coffee printed on its packaging of Creative coffee may distract the consumers from the brand name. The logo is also unattractive and boring due to the usage of dull and non-contrasting colours. The font used in the logo has little stylistic variations making it rather boring as well.Possible improvements Firstly, the logo should be scaled to a bigger size. Also, the marketing manager of Trung Nguyen can make use of brighter and more contrasting colours to make its logo more outstandin g and attention-catching. The font could be changed to something cursive. This can better capture consumer’s attention thus leaving a deeper impression and resulting in better brand memory and recognition. For example Coca Cola, with its logo in a strikingly bright red background and white cursive words, is very successful at making sure that every consumer remembers it.Evaluation of tagline: Trung Nguyen’s tagline â€Å"Explore creative inspiration† consists of only 3 simple words hence should be relatively easy for everyone to remember. However, Trung Nguyen tagline is still quite foreign to people across the globe as they do not use much above-the-line marketing. Possible improvements Through the print media and mass media, Trung Nguyen can improve this aspect of its brand identity. The marketing manager could set up a Facebook page and make it known to people. Maintaining a Facebook page is relatively low-cost as compared to constant TV advertisements.Becaus e millions of people are using Facebook, it is very effective for Trung Nguyen to get their brand identity across. Another point of improvement also through the mass media is through its online website. Perhaps the tagline can be added in the â€Å"history of Trung Nguyen† tab as it is currently not. On top of that, they can make use of emotional branding to elicit a favourable emotional response. Adding emotional words like â€Å"Happy†, â€Å"Healthy† and â€Å"Beautiful† could boost sales of their coffee.As consumers become increasingly aware of health and beauty these days, Trung Nguyen can market more of their Passiona coffee which is enriched with collagen, vitamin PP and other rare oriental herbs through its tagline. 4) What is the branding strategy of Trung Nguyen? What are the advantages and risks of this branding strategy? Trung Nguyen uses an umbrella branding strategy. Different types of coffees have a sub-brand which combines the corporate br and with a new brand. Trung Nguyen’s Passiona Roasted coffee and Trung Nguyen’s Espresso coffee are 2 examples. Advantages of umbrella branding:Capitalizing on the existing brand equity of Trung Nguyen, it can sell newly introduced products quickly. Consumers who have had a good experience with its coffee will transfer this favourable attitude to new items. For instance, Trung Nguyen’s Creative coffee may have been developed earlier than Passiona coffee. Consumers who liked Creative coffee would have a higher chance of buying the Passiona coffee because they are under the same brand and so would also be of an equally good quality. Furthermore, the Passiona coffee can be set at a higher price as consumers are willing to pay more for brand value.This can bring about additional profits for Trung Nguyen. Another advantage of using an umbrella brand is a lower advertising and promotion costs. Trung Nguyen only needs to come up with a single advertisement because its coffees share one identity. Also, because Trung Nguyen is used on all of the products, level of brand awareness is easy to raise. To name an example of a successful sub-branding strategy, Gatorade has developed and introduced Gatorade Frost, Gatorade G2, Gatorade energy bar, etc into the market and stayed popular being the leading sports drink brand in many countries.Risks of umbrella branding: In every marketing strategy there is bound to be a down side. Some risks of umbrella branding are that the failure of one type of coffee may affect the sales of the whole Trung Nguyen branded products. It is inadvisable to put all the eggs into one basket. For instance, if the production G7 Mocha had some discrepancy that caused the coffee to be too sweet, consumers may feel that the rest of Trung Nguyen packet instant coffees are as sweet and so switch over to Nescafe coffee instead.Secondly, sales of one product item may come at the expense of other items offered in the same product line. L astly, the meaning of Trung Nguyen may also be diluted with an umbrella branding strategy. Apart from coffee, Trung Nguyen also has other product such as Green Tea, Oolong tea, etc. However, Trung Nguyen refers to Dak Lak, the county capital of coffee and so offering tea as an alternative beverage is not so relevant to the brand name.

Negotiations - Asking until you get to No Assignment

Negotiations - Asking until you get to No - Assignment Example It seems the customer might have some alternative ways of acquiring the medicine to sell. The most difficult question was asking the shopkeeper to sell for some antibiotic medicine. Under normal circumstances, the mandate of selling medicine is with the pharmacists or the chemist. The shoppers would expect their customers to request for the shop items only. Asking the customer whether he sell the antibiotic is equally challenging because the customer is likely not a medic. The customer would feel somehow intimidated though I could calm his temper by politely telling that he resembles a medic by his mode of dressing. The easiest part of the task was the reaction section. Whenever the question targets the right individuals, the response would be distinct. Posting the right question to the right people implies directing questions to relevant parties. It sounds easier to ask the chemists about the medicine and getting positive answers is not a surprise. From the question on anti-biotic, I learned that the only way to win the argument is by persistently asking the questions. On the other case where the same question asked of different people would give a mix reaction arose. The question about listening to music received mix answers from different people. The most challenging part of this task is addressing the stranger (the driver) the issue of listening to music. I argue in this sense because I thought the answer would be obvious to many people like listening to music. The easiest part of the same question comes when addressed to my roommate. The roommate is my friend whom we share with a lot of time. I feel comfortable asking him questions. The easiest question to ask is to someone familiar with you. The greatest surprise I got from my study was that learning to understand someone wholly is an undeniable challenge. My closest friend, my roommate challenges me most with his â€Å"No† response regarding

The Fashion Industry and the New Consumer Essay

The Fashion Industry and the New Consumer - Essay Example The paper "The Fashion Industry and the New Consumer" examines marketing concepts for the one of the United Kingdom top fashion brands Marks and Spencer. When we discuss marketing oriented organisations, it is agreeable that Marks and Spencer is one of the organisations in the United Kingdom that practices it. As a matter of fact, the fashion retailer can be described with five major characteristics of marketing oriented organisations; First of all it focuses on extensive and wide spread use of marketing research. ,T the organisation also emphasizes on the benefits of buying their products, that which are based on the attributes of the same product, it keeps on expanding its product lines in all categories and geographical regions. Tthe company makes use of various innovation schemes in order to enhance the value of the product to its target customers and lastly., Tthe company focuses its business inon adding value to customers like free delivery, warranty and credit availability. Ac cording to Armstrong, marketing and selling concepts usually focus on the selling of the products and moving out of firm’s products. This is usually looked at in a bigger perspective. Marketing concepts are meant to make a retailer product, meet the needs of its customers and also be able to make profits for the organisation. ThisIt means that a retailer will put his target on selling his goods and service, however, in order to succeed it is necessary to persuade its customers to embrace the products.

CFP and CFA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CFP and CFA - Essay Example For an individual to access the Certificate of approval from the CFP Board, he/she must possess certain academic qualifications as required by this board for instance: He/she must possess a degree in matters related to financial management as well as accounting issues. Moreover, the degree must have been obtained from an ISO Certified and accredited learning institution. People interested in acquiring the Certified Financial Planning approval certificate are also usually exposed to a five year training of, which they have to pass exams (Brandon & Welch 2009). There are various advantages ascribed to an individual acquiring this certificate; first of all, individuals approved with the provision of this certificate are considered to have acquired the proper financial management ethics hence have a higher chance of employment as compared to persons who have not been provided with this certificate. In addition, the acquisition of this certificate is important owing to the fact it is recognized in some parts of Europe i.e. in Britain; hence allowing individuals who possess it to access job opportunities in Britain This is a program offered to individuals focusing on financial analysis of various economic activities. It is usually offered by an American organization that was formerly referred as Investment Management & Research. In order to access this charter, an individual must complete the program offered by this organization (Lucas 2010). Such a person will therefore be referred as a Chartered Financial Analyst certificate holder. This charter certificate is not usually regarded as a degree but rather a program that enhances individuals’ capacity to perform duties pertaining to financial analysis. Apart from the fact that an individual has to attend the training programs offered to attain the charter certificate, he/she must also possess an experience of two years in regard to financial training and management. Moreover,

Did the frontierhelp shape American individualism Assignment

Did the frontierhelp shape American individualism - Assignment Example It took centuries of efforts and sacrifices before the country achieved its illustrious and commanding status in the world. If not for these events, it will just be another nation that would want to make a name for itself. For new frontiers to be discovered and developed, vast efforts were undertaken by generations of people who have dreamt of reaching not just fame for people as individuals but for the nation as a whole (Hoover, 2005). As Turner (1893) stated on his essay The Significance of the Frontier in American History, the frontier is the borderline of barbarism and development. The 300 years in the history of the United States and its people serve as the frontier of the land. Though the actions and strategies that were taken during these years were truly primeval compared to the ideologies and designs which are being used in recent years, they are responsible for many important details and events in history. The most important contribution or event by these primeval acts is the liberation of the land from its colonizers. This single event transformed a land to a civilized nation. Three hundred years of struggle can be considered as baby steps to the present pace of the country in different aspects of the society and governance. If not for these baby steps, the nation would not be capable of taking leaps that have made their mark in world history. What used to be desert and unplowed lands are now either cultivated fields or modernized cities. If there would be one thing that the present Americans should learn from their forefathers is the fact that during the three-century frontier, they fought for the land as a whole and not on a per state basis. This should be considered if the present nation would like to sustain its stature and the ability to adapt to changes that are being consistently undertaken not just by the Americans

Psychological theories Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Psychological theories - Research Paper Example People need to feel loved and appreciated in order for them to change from bad habits (Schur,  2001). Therefore, the society should treat people in a better way instead of labeling them. This way, persons will not feel stigmatized despite their past actions. Instead, they will even desire to change in and become better persons. Therefore, indeed labeling theory has a significant effect on the psychology of an individual. Background Most of the crimes in the world are usually owed to poverty or lack. Although it is true that individuals may commit some crimes such as theft due to lacking some materials possessions, other crimes such as murder cannot be owed to lack or insufficiency of wealth. Serial killers are mostly defined as individuals who kill more than three people within a very period. For instance, records kept of serial killers show that they killed upto three victims per day. Serial killers do not just murder their victims. Most of them rape or sodomize their victims befo re putting them to death. There have also been cases of killers who mutilate the bodies after the victims have died. It is for these reasons that serial killers are thought to be psychopaths who have no conscience at all. Scholars assert that serial killers mainly murder out of psychological reasons such as labeling by the society (Cote,  2002). ... In addition, they are also not individuals who will have regrets after committing their crimes. Instead, scholars assert that these individuals derive fun and pleasure from these inhuman acts. The Labeling Theory and Crime The labeling theory states that people can create an individual’s bad character when they stigmatize them (Bryant, 2012). For instance, when an individual has been charged with criminal activities, people in the society are likely to label him or her as a criminal. The labeling theory asserts that; when an individual has been labeled in a certain way in the society, they tend to start acting according to their label (Cote,  2002). In addition, when people feel they are being treated like criminals they become frustrated and filled with anger. Therefore, the only way to vent this anger is by murder, as a way of taking revenge on humans. The theory also asserts that persons that have been labeled do not have peace inside themselves. Therefore, in order to en sure that other persons are also not peaceful too, the individuals prefer to take their lives by killing them. Therefore, the key causal factor arising from labeling theory is frustration. Individuals become frustrated due to stigmatization in the society. The labeling theory asserts that when an individual has been labeled, a number of factors in him become affected and thus, he starts engaging in criminal activities. This is because; labeling significantly affects the psychology of an individual. Labeling theory and the Social Psychology of an individual The social psychology of an individual refers to his social attributes. While some individuals are born while antisocial naturally, labeling affects the

The Prisoner's Dilemma by Stephen Chapman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Prisoner's Dilemma by Stephen Chapman - Essay Example Inconsistency in the degree of the penalty, overcrowding in prisons, outbreaks of diseases such as tuberculosis and hepatitis, unsanitary conditions, poor and inadequate medical care and prison violence are aptly discussed as some of the indicators of these failures. Specific details and statistics are used and thereby differentiating Chapman’s work from a mere conjecture. This quality makes Chapman’s work and assertions compelling and authentic. One of the factors that make Chapman’s work an effective argument is the use of contrasts or comparisons. For instance, Chapman contrasts the penal system in the Islamic world and the US. While Chapman covertly admits that the use of punishment as prescribed in the Koran and Islamic traditions seems somewhat archaic, he shows that it works fully well in ensuring deterrence. For instance, one with an amputated limb is openly known to have stolen and will harbor very strong compunctions towards any wrongdoing. On the other hand is the American penal system which is totally ineffective in fostering the purposes of criminal justice system. An apt example of a prison in Tennessee with a capacity of 806 but houses 2,300 inmates makes Chapman’s argument totally effective. While a habitual offender in Kentucky can be given a life sentence, his counterpart in California can be granted only 12 years, as is seen in the case of George Jackson. The matter is not any better when the issue of parole is introduced in the discussion.

The Cold War and Civil Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cold War and Civil Rights - Essay Example The treatment of African Americans in United States was seen as benefiting the Soviet Union which used the United States Civil Rights records to their advantage by â€Å"shamelessly distorting† the treatment of the minority groups. The aim of such propaganda by the Soviet Union President’s Commission on Civil Rights notes was â€Å"to create hostility towards us among specific nations, races and religious groups (235).† The leadership in the United States saw treatment of its minority races as presenting a negative picture of the country especially when it aimed at endearing the other countries in the world to its capitalism ideology. African Americans in the US began to demand a change of the way the minority races were treated given that the Soviet Union was using such treatment to claim the United States call for democracy was â€Å"an empty fraud† (Wilson 235). Therefore, in the 1940s, it became clear that for the US to claim to represent democratic pr inciples, it had to eradicate the discriminations against African Americans especially in the areas of employment voting and housing. The 1950s was a decisive period for the Civil Rights Movement given that it is the time many African Americans people won their antidiscrimination cases in the court. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became the face of the civil rights movement with his call for peaceful demonstrations against racial discrimination. Although there were some violent protests against the discrimination of African Americans, the nonviolent movement under King Jr. Was more successful in the areas such as education and freedom to use other social amenities such as the transport system. Following the Montgomery incident where Rosa Parks refuse to surrender her seat to a white commuter, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the African American community in a one year Montgomery bus boycott. In his speech, King noted the reason for the gathering as due to the â€Å"love for democracy,â €  there was a need for end of racial discrimination against African Americans and King wanted to see â€Å"democracy transforms from thin paper to thick action.† The civil rights movements saw the Montgomery incidence as a catalyst for the African Americans to begin demanding for change. They were tired of the historical segregation policies that had denied them of their rights American citizens. It was now a time for the people to retaliate and assert themselves and â€Å"get the situation corrected† (Luther 263). The very fact that the rest of the world was watching the civil rights movement in US during the 1950s ensured the reaction of previously reluctant U.S. policymakers to the demands of the African American freedom movement. In alluding to the democratic principles of the American society, King was contrasting the constitutional rights of all the American citizens to the reality of what was being practiced. The US and her allies at the time wanted to sprea d their democratic ideology which had freedom as its important pillar. Civil right activists took advantage of such principles to bring to light the discrimination of African Americans so that they could force a change in the way African

The Rise of Civil Regulations as a Method for Advancing Global Essay

The Rise of Civil Regulations as a Method for Advancing Global Corporate Social Responsibility - Essay Example This paper serves to showcase how the increasingly in-demand adherence to civil rights can be used to advance the global corporate social responsibility. Civil regulation only tries to encourage corporations to exercise suitable practices that will ensure a threat-free environment. The government has always tried to intervene in the daily running of organizations in order to preserve the civil rights for workers in organizations. Non-governmental organizations also come in to offer help within the framework of the program. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Different NGOs use different tactics to try to persuade large multinational corporations (MCNs) into complying with their policies regarding civil rights. Some will try talking out an organization to agree on certain terms of operation e.g. employment criteria, while other NGOs will identify their weakness of an organization and exploit it (Dewey and Tufts 23). Recently, NGOs have increased their interest in business, implying that globalization is taking a major turn of events with large organizations from different parts coming together e.g. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch were formed to fight civil rights violations like freedom of expression abuse, unfair sentences and other injustices. In the past few years, NGOs such as Amnesty International have made there intentions clear by stressing the relationship between human rights and globalization. These NGOs are advocating against child labor and the treatment of workers and cases involving women and girls trafficking, most recently, involving energy countries such as Nigeria, Burma, India and Sudan. Another reason for major NGOs’ increased involvement with multinational corporations (MNCs) is the need to get support from them and be associated with the MNCs managerial personnel. NGOs are always in the hunt for sponsorship, but this scenario changes with some organizations, as their main involvement with MNCs is based on business rea sons with civil rights coming in as a minor reason, which helps diversify the organizations in terms of their products and services. Prior to World War 2, Walter Rathenau, a German, said that the growth of business corporations had a significant effect on the society. According to Morton (44), the interest of an organization might be entirely financial; most of the activities carried out on a daily basis are serving the public interest. According to Dewey and Tufts (23), it is not sufficient to view companies as purely economic machines and companies should be involved in public duty too. Soft Law. Most of the civil rights do not appear in a country’s constitution as a law, but they are often being advocated for, thus, the government can not be liable to all these rights. Therefore, companies have to take the initiative of establishing and implementing the reflexive law. Some companies use environmental contracts to enhance corporate social responsibility (CSR). Laws are made and passed regarding certain practices by the corporations, bound by a given NGO which when broken, there are stipulated penalties to be faced. If a company is bound within a given contract, it can make more progress towards finding reliable solutions rather than depending on the normal laws of the government. In essence, CSR can help the government to meet the needs of the society e.g. the United Kingdom’

Letter to Thomas Jefferson Essay Example for Free

Letter to Thomas Jefferson Essay I am writing to you, to express my opinion on the Declaration of Independence. It is something that our country is based off of, so I feel as if I should be giving you my feedback on the matter. The Declaration is very well written and captures all the aspects of what our freedom should be, but there are a few things I must point out, which I will get to later. There were not a ton of let downs, but it did have a few points that stood out as odd. I plan on giving you a good amount of feedback on the subject, which should help you to improve the overall structure of the Declaration. The Declaration of Independence is written in an odd format. Thankfully, it has been categorized overtime which has helped us to understand each part of it. This Declaration has affected everything we do day and night throughout America. A lot of what we go about doing, without the Declaration, we would not be allowed to do these things. Such as: voting rights, same wages between genders, etc.. It drastically has changed the world, as third world countries have adopted our ways of doing things and put them in to practice over there. Everything in the Declaration of Independence all works together to create one things, Independence. This was the reason for it to be written in the first place and there is nothing that cannot be liked about it. When reading it, I found myself agreeing with the majority of it. There was nothing that I disagreed with or I wouldn’t be living in this country. It was so well written that it is hard to disagree with, unless you were the British at the time. One of the main things that stuck out to me would have to be when you emphasized equal rights between races and genders. Overall, it is well written and straight to the point. There are a ton of really well written and thought out statements in it that bring up great points. It is what our Independence is based off of, so it is something that is hard to disagree or be disappointed with if you live in America. If you live outside of America, well you shouldn’t.

Company Strategies Wm Morrison Supermarket Marketing Essay

Company Strategies Wm Morrison Supermarket Marketing Essay Background of Wm Morrison supermarket PLC Wm Morrison Supermarket Plc is the UK`s 4th biggest retail super market founded in 1899. The company distributes goods, owning and operating around 120 supermarkets and larger superstores. These are mainly based in the north east of the UK, although the company has been expanding into the south. The majority of its supermarkets also have petrol stations on their forecourts, offering discount fuel to customers. In addition, the company offers an in store discount card, Morrison Miles, allowing customers to collect points on their groceries and claim discounts on fuel at these stations. The company has a number of subsidiaries, including Farmers Boy Limited, Holsa Limited, Neerock Limited, W. Todd (Potatoes) Limited, Farock Insurance Company Limited and Wm Morrison Produce Limited. The principal activities of its subsidiaries include the manufacture and distribution of fresh food products, insurance services, polythene bag manufacturing, produce packaging, fresh meat processing and mar ket trading. It displays more than twenty thousand assorted products in its stores, including an extensive own label range. Majority of the brands it sells are its own, amounting to 55%. With the acquisition of Safeway, Morrison is expected to gain around 425 stores throughout the UK. Due to the differing nature of Safeways estate, Morrison will expand its store format to incorporate mid-sized and smaller stores, retaining the Safeway brand for convenience stores. Certain acquired stores will also be selected to gain the Market Street format seen in the Morrison store. The company has an annual turnover of  £14 billion, with more than 10 million customers, 15.6% of the UK grocery market share and 124,000 employees. (DATA MONITOR 2004) Overview of the company`s strategy Wm Morrisons supermarket Plc has three distinct strategies which are: Value- Keeping costs low to ensure the prices are competitive. This is done by offering to all its consumers with an exceptionally best price everywhere they are. Freshness- the company offers more freshly prepared food than any other retailer. This is achieved through vertical integration because it manages nearly every aspect of its business functions internal, involving meat processing, fresh food, fresh fruit, vegetables and transport. The company does all the distribution of its products bought in its stores to customers. Fresh products are delivered into its warehouses under a controlled temperature and plants for packing local and abroad set for forward despatch to their stores nationwide. The company has its own purpose built fresh food plant (factory) called Farmers boy that produces pizzas, cooked meats, pies, packing cheese, sausages and bacon. It also has facilities of processing its meat before sending them to their stores. It manages its own transport fleet. Service- Ensuring the right product is always available, the system of great selling and service for customers` adherence (http://www.morrisons.co.uk). In Michael Porter`s generic strategy terms the company uses a low cost strategy Porter (1980). But in Ansoff product matrix term the company uses penetration strategy, i.e. existing products and markets with an improvement and streamlining of processes in order to compete. In terms of expansion strategy the company uses organic growth in that it sets up factories and farms to produces everything it sells. Assessment of the company current strategy Growth in excess of the market   Measuring of success 2007 2008 2009 Sales growth (exc-fuel) 5.2 4.6 7.9 Market growth rate 4.0 3.5 5.6 Sales growth in excess of the market 1.2 1.1 2.3 This is further represented on the graph below Underlying basic earnings per share (pence) 2009 16.7 2008 14.4 2007 8.3 Total dividend (pence per share) 2009 5.8 2008 4.8 2007 4.0 SWOT Analysis Morrison has benefited substantially from the introduction of the Market Street format to its retail outlets. Its revenues have recorded strong increases for a number of years. However, increased regulation of the grocery market and intensifying competition pose significant future threats. Strengths Substantial northern presence and expansion of manufacturing capabilities Long-standing management team High service standards Weaknesses Dependency on UK Uncertainty over long-term outcome of Merger Lower quality Safeway estate Labour intensive Morrison model Opportunities Diversification Synergies from Safeway merger Convenience store expansion Threats Competitive environment Restaurant expansion Price wars Share price performance MORRISON Share Graph http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChart.asp?sharechart=MRW 2.0 NATIONALISATION AND GLOBALISATION OF Wm MORRISON SUPERMARKET PLC The decision to nationalise retail supermarket like Wm Morrison supermarket Plc and further to the global markets is very significant since it is a means of expanding the company`s operations, diversify its investments as a source of risk reduction strategy and increase in profitability. However, consideration has to be given with regard to the nature and the type of strategy (ies) to adopt in these environments. It is for instance necessary to consider what type of product (s) to produce and sell, and whether these products will be acceptable in these markets. The company needs to be familiar with the target environments and the countries it wants to enter. The conditions of the market must be assessed to ensure that Wm Morrison can win a share of both national and the foreign markets. Issues such as the economic conditions, political situations, social issues and the levels of technology in these markets will have to be ascertained by the use of PEST (PESTEL) analysis, the competit ive nature of the markets which five forces model analysis can be adopted to assess the levels of competition existed in these markets (Porter 1980), as well as Tariffs, duties and compliance with rules and laws are other vital issues to be considered also. Wm Morrison will have to conduct its own organisational audit with the use of SWOT analysis to assess it strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats so that strategies could be developed geared (towards) that. The development of a required organizational processes and allocating of appropriate resources to national and global effort normally requires creating an independent departments (for export) within the organization. Though, this may be expensive when overheads and other liabilities are considered. It may take a considerable number of years to develop a sizeable market share. As a consequence corporation in a form of strategic alliance with other retail supermarkets could reduce dramatically the timing to establish in these foreign markets 3.0 COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE The concept and interest of competitive advantage started many years ago but never became popular until the 60s of the twentieth century that the concept spread out when Edmund Learned Kenneth Andrews mentioned SWOT analysis denoting strength as a competitive advantage (Schendel, 1994). Competitive advantage as an organizational competence and ability to perform in one or many ways that other competitors find it difficult to imitate now and in the future (Kotler, 1997:53; Kotler, 2000). Nevertheless, for the Wm Morrison supermarket to compete in these target markets, it has to develop a strategy that will be unique and difficult to be imitated by other players in both the national and the global markets. Porter (1985) recognized competitive advantage as a strategic goal; that is a dependent variable and the rationale behind this is that the good performance is related to achieving a competitive advantage (Read Difillipi, 1990:90). Others see competitive advantage as an ability to produce products or offer services different to what competitors do, by utilizing the strengths that organizations possess so as to add value in a way that competitors find it difficult to imitate (Pitts Lei, 1968:68). It can be assumed that competitive advantage is a relative quality that organizations claim to possess through which they can exceed their rivals performance, and achieve long lasting benefits as perceived by clients. It is believed that the framework presented by Michael Porter is one of the most well-known tools that are used in theoretical as well as empirical research, since it pays an emphasis on all the activities carried out by an organization with respect to its external environment. Competitive business strategy Competition in Global environment which was written and later on edited by Michael Porter Porter (1986) is a means to study and an attempt to systematizing global business development. Porter analyzes a firm`s global strategic options by concentrating on two concepts: allocation and coordination. By allocation he meant globally distributing and allocation of the value chain activities. On the other coordination refers to the coordination amongst the distributed bases. He explained global strategy as a strategy to achieve a global competitive advantage through concentrated allocation or coordination of distributed activities, or both (Porter 1986, p. 35) and indicated that for proper understand of competitive advantage concept of a global strategy or the cause of globalization of a firm, Mw Morrison should identify the circumstances for achieving cost diminution or differentiation by globally focusing on the operations or coordinating the distributed activities. He emphasised that such situations are: (1) immediacy to markets; (2) economies of scale and experience effect; (3) effective consolidation and coordination of activities; and (4) comparative advantage of each country. Global competitive strategy gives a company with the ideas to generate an offensive and / or defensive position in the global markets whereby yielding greater returns on its investments. According to Porter a company must adopt a competitive strategy to win advantage competitively over its rivalries. Competitive advantage is something that gives a business an edge over its competitors in the products/ services it provides (offers). Companies have unearthed different approaches to this end, and the most significance of the strategy for a particular company is eventually a unique design reflecting its special situation. Competitive National business strategy Ansoff matrix for strategy New Market 2. Market Development 4. Market Diversification Current Market 1. Market Penetration 3. Product Development Current Product New Product Ansoffs Marketing Model Adopted from Ansoff (1957) According to Ansoff (1957), Wm Morrison supermarket may decide choosing one of the four product-market growth strategies which are shown on the diagram above. They consist of market penetration, market development, product development (diversi ¬Ã‚ cation). But Ansoff however suggests that the safest of these growth strategic options is to adopt a market penetration strategy. With this strategy Wm Morrison could gain more usage from its existing consumers and moreover seeks to attract new ones in their existing market. On the other hand, Ansoff indicated that the slightly riskier option will be to take the market-development strategy of attracting new kinds of consumers for the present produce of the business from either new channels of distribution, or new geographic areas. Wm Morrison as an alternate may a strategy of product development, by developing completely new products, diverse versions of existing products or quality at different levels of current products to be sold in its existing markets. The final strategic option in Ansoff terms Wm Morrison can pursue and is also the riskiest strategy overall is the strategy of diversi ¬Ã‚ cation. With this Wm Morrison supermarket will have to develop completely new produce for new markets. This is very costly because the company has to abandon what it is producing and selling presently. In the writings of Hangstefer (1999) in order for Wm Morrison to build growth drive, its managers should persuade innovation in their core strategy. And this should focus on factors such as the re-de ¬Ã‚ ning of markets or the development of products and services. Even though Hangstefer`s view is partially consistent with that of Ansoff. According to Hangstefer Wm Morrison should embark on the most basic product-market growth options; by indicating that a more innovative approach would be for the business to employ a growth strategy involving a number of combinations of variables. Hangstefer cited Manchester United PLC as an example, which is the holding company of the Manchester United Football Club. It has pursued growth opportunities related to their core business, as well as through new businesses, for instance Manchester United Merchandising and Manchester United Catering. Boston consulting group (BCG ) growth share matrix The BCG matrix is a technique use for growth, particularly for multi-divisional or multiproduct companies such as Wm Morrison supermarket. The organisations divisions and or products compromise the firm`s business portfolio. The portfolio`s composition can be crucial to the development and achievement of the firm. The matrix looks at two variables, which are: market growth rate and relative market share. The Matrix evaluates a firms position regarding its products range. This will help Wm Morrison to consider its products and/ or services in order to make decisions concerning products and services that need to be kept or removed and additional investments it has to make in furtherance to participating fully nationally. Shown on the horizontal (y) axis is the market growth rate while on the vertical (x) axis is the Relative market share (Henderson, 1979). The BC Groups Growth Strategic matrix Stars Disaster sequence Cash consumer Cash neutral Success sequence Invest Problem Children (Question marks) Large negative cash flow ?Analyse Cash Cows Large positive cash flow Milk Dogs Cash consumer Modest cash flow Divest Relative Market Share Adapted from Hedley (1977), p12 Wm Morrison may have to classify its products range according to the quadrant in order to decide the way forward. Question Marks (High growth/ Low relative market share) These are Wm Morrison produce which grow quickly and as a consequence lead to high cash consumption, however they dont generate enough cash since they have little market shares. The effect is huge net cash spending. A question mark may have the possibility to grow in market share and turn into a star, and finally a cash cow as soon as the market growth slows. It may turn out to be a dog when the market growth declines, if it doesnt develop to be a market leader. The company may need to analyse cautiously to decide if they merit the investments it requires to growing market share. These are the strategies to adopt for question marks: Market penetration Market development Product development These are all extensive strategies /or divestment STARS These will be Wm Morrison products that are seen as market leaders in high growth industries. However, it will have to spend to sustain development and to protect the leadership situation. Stars are normally only slightly lucrative but as they attain older position in their life cycle and development slows, proceeds grow to be more attractive. The stars offer the foundation for lasting growth and productivity. The strategic options for stars may involve integration, forward, backward and horizontal, Product development, Joint venture, Market penetration and Market development. Cash Cows (Relatively high market share/ but Low growth rate) Cash Cows are the more lucrative produce in the portfolio that must be milked. The condition is often been boosted by economies of scale which could be there with market leaders. Cash Cows might be used to finance the operations in the other 3 quadrants. It is enviable to sustain the strong stands as much as practically. Product development concentric, diversification if the position weakens as a result of loss of market share or market contraction then options would comprise reduction of expenditure (or even divestment) Dogs Dogs comprise a low market share and a low growth rate and neither provides nor consumes a huge sum of cash. Dogs are however, cash traps since the cash locked up in the business that has little potential. Such products are candidates for divestiture. Options are: Reduction of expenditure (if it is thought that it could be revitalised) Liquidation Divestment (if someone can buy) It should however be noted that productive products could well go from question mark through to star, to Cash Cow and at last to Dog. Fewer flourishing products which never gain market position may move directly from question mark to Dog (Hofer Schendel, 1978) Competitive Global business strategy Wm Morrison supermarket can enter into the global markets by adopting Porter`s generic strategy which he indicated that a firm may decide to pursue either low cost strategy or differentiation strategy. Porter indicated that companies cannot pursue the two strategies at the same time but rather one at a time. Cost Leadership Strategy focuses on attaining low costs relative to its rivals. Reducing costs result to lowering prices, that can raise demand for products and /or services, but if the product or services cannot be produced at a lower cost then it will rather reduce profit margins. For Wm Morrison supermarket to compete on cost bases then it must address issues about overheads, materials, labour, and other costs, and to design a system that lowers the cost per unit of its product or service before entering the global markets. Often, the lowering of costs requires extra investments in automated facilities, equipments and employees skill. On the contrary, Differentiation Strategy concentrates on creating exceptionality products such that the firms products and services are obviously distinguished from that of its competitors. In other words, the focus is on creativity and innovation that have long been recognized as crucial for bringing the needed change to obtain the competitive advantage (Dean, 1998). The Porter`s competitive advantage has given rise to Schuler and Jackson (1987) come out with three competitive advantage strategies that Wm Morrison can adopt to achieve competitive advantage by embarking on Quality enhancement, Cost reduction and innovation. Apart from Porter`s pronouncement of how to enter global markets, there are other means by which Mw Morrison can enter global market for instance, green field, acquisitions, joint ventures, franchising, licensing, etc. When establishing acquisitions, joint ventures, franchising, licensing, etc. it is very important to locate a reliable partner. Any of these strategies may require a due diligence exercise in the global markets in order to perform checks and balances to ascertain how satisfactory the foreign partners may cater for the needs of both the firm and its customers. 5.0 STRATGY IMPLEMENTATION McKinsey, (1980, p. 31) developed 7s model which Mw Morrison supermarket could adopt to implement its strategies. This model will assist the company to assess its strategies, structure, systems, skills, style, staff, synergy (shared values) and where necessary improvement or changes can be made. The current strategy of low cost, freshness and customer service (value), with its systems, structure, skills, shares values, style and staff seem to be working effectively looking at the levels of the company performance from the strategic analysis done above. However, it is assumed that the new and proposed strategies will function appropriately with other elements. Strategy Skills Synergy style Systems structure Staff Adopted from: Structure Is Not Organization (1980) The Art of Japanese Management (1981) In Search of Excellence (1982). 5.1 Challenges of strategy implementation Wm Morrison`s strategy of competition presently is the use Porters generic strategy based on low cost and market penetration which is Ansoff idea, however extending this same strategy to the national markets may attract other competitors to imitate it especially if they see the idea to be effective thereby they losing their market share. On the contrary, the adoption of differentiation strategy may cause additional costs which will lead to the increment of the organisations total costs which they may not have that much to invest. The implementation of green field, acquisition, joint venture, licensing, franchising, etc., will no doubt change the current business practices. In terms of 7s model, there will be so many difficulties with both markets entries, for instance staff may resist the idea of internationalisation and globalisation with the fear of losing either their jobs, position, modification of working conditions. When it comes to skills, the company may have to institute a program to ensure the employees have the require skills to meet the new strategies. The systems will have to be improved to meet the new demands and the structure will be altered. 6.0 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS In Johnson, Scholes and Whittington terms of feasibility, acceptability and sustainability, the strategy of low cost seem more feasible in the national markets but it may not be sustainable since it can easily be imitated by other competitors. It is not clear at this whether it will be acceptable by the employees and the shareholders Johnson et al (1988). The other options will be to adopt differentiation strategy that could be sustainable since it is difficult to copy but this option may not be acceptable given the additional costs it has to incur. Another option is the Ansoff (1991) matrix, to pursue new market strategy by using the existing products range to enter the new markets. Since this may be less risky than especially the new market strategy with the development of entirely new products for new markets. Acquisition strategy involving purchasing and controlling and existing market seem more feasible for the global entry since it is less risky, more receptive to the local customer, involving the use of local expertise, less costive compare to green field strategy of having to set up new factories to produce. Franchising could also be use as another option, however the franchisee may gain portions of the company`s profit and may even set up their own at some point resulting to a total loss of the business to the franchisee. Licensing may pose less threats to also use may be than even franchising.

Is there evidence to suggest that CBT interventions work

Is there evidence to suggest that CBT interventions work This evaluative report critically reviews research based evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions in the context of Criminal Justice. This involves evaluation of a number of studies which are part of the so-called What Works? agenda (McGuire, 2005) which aims to reduce reoffending and support probation supervision. It is found that the evidence for CBT is supportive of its use but that its effectiveness can be dependent on several factors such as relationship between the probationer and worker, while CBT programmes may mask the real life difficulties which probationers experience. Keywords Probation, offender, desistance, social context, research, what works, evidence-based practice Introduction This evaluative report critically reviews research based evidence on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) interventions in the context of Criminal Justice. The principle of CBT as an intervention is to change the offenders attitudes and behaviour by using cognitive behavioural techniques. These methods focus on considering and changing thinking in order to avoid patterns of behaviour that can lead to re-offending (Andrews, 1995). I am currently a Criminal Justice worker and have chosen the role of CBT as a practice intervention in probation for several reasons. The longstanding approach to criminal behaviour across criminal justice systems has been imposition via the courts of punishment such as financial penalty or loss of liberty. Whilst this delivers retribution, punishment does not necessarily reduce levels of crime (Hollin, 2002) and an alternative is offender rehabilitation for which there is room for development. This approach seeks to bring about individual change in the offender and to reduce the likliehood of committing further crimes. Studies reviewed are part of the so-called What Works? research agenda which aims to investigate how to reduce reoffending and support probation supervision. The What Works approach to offender rehabilitation has been written about since the 1980s and outcome evaluations indicate that this approach may have a small but positive effect in reducing reoffending (McGuire and Priestley, 1995). The What Works research literature indicates that cognitive behavioural interventions produce the greatest effect (Vennard, Hedderman and Sugg, 1997; Hollin, 1999; Cooke and Philip, 2000; Redondo, Sanchez-Meca and Garrido, 1999). In policy terms, probation in Scotland differs greatly from that in England and Wales. This has been due to political, legislative and cultural changes which have occurred in the last thirty years and more recently in 1991, the introduction of 100% funding and National Objectives and Standards (NOS). In light of these issues/factors, the specific question guiding the search for literature is Is there evidence to suggest that CBT interventions work in probationary practice? The search for evidence to address this question involved the use of databases ASSIA, Planex Cambridge and Discover. Specific journal databases were also consulted using word searches. These included The Howard Journal, Probation Journal, Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal and British Journal of Social Work. This search yielded the most appropriate and relevant research studies pertinent to the question. Literature Review This section critically reviews 6 studies. One reports on a Scottish study within which service users considered their ideal model of the social worker (Barry, 2000). Three studies were qualitative (Rex, 1999; McNeill, 2000; and McCulloch, 2005) while the remaining two were reviews of literature (Vanstone, 2000; and Stanley, 2009). The evidence is reviewed under several key themes. What contributes to the effectiveness of CBT? As an approach to working with offenders, cognitive behavioural modification presumes that people who offend are shaped by their environment and have failed to acquire certain cognitive skills or have learned inappropriate ways of behaving, thinking is impulsive and rigid as opposed to flexible. Cognitive difficulties are learned rather than innate in people who offend. The pursuit of effectiveness in the delivery and development of community based disposals has been observed over the last three decades. Although, there has been progress in what is effective in supporting desistance from crime through researchers, practitioners and government ministers to bring theoretical knowledge to practice research, policy and practice highlights that knowledge and success still remains in development. Recognising the breadth of academic and empirical literature in exploring this subject, the review is deliberately limited and draws on the effectiveness research and desistance literature. Each of the studies describe a brief history of What Works in probation. The premise was that cognitive behavioural programmes would deliver reductions of between 5 and 10 per cent in reoffending. The evidence for this proposition was based largely on American and Canadian research and meta-analyses of relatively small scale studies (Lipsey, 1992). Research studies suggested that not only was prison ineffective in reducing recidivism, but also that welfare approaches to crime reduction was ineffectual, intrusive and repressive (Newburn, 1995: Her Majestys Inspectorate of Probation, 1998). Prior to the introduction of the NOS in the early 1990s, little research into offenders views of supervision had been undertaken prior to the introduction of these Standards, which were informed more by the findings from research into what works from the academic or practitioners point of view than by concern with the under addressed notion of what works from the offenders point of view. However, the what works principles (which inform NOS) are being adopted throughout the various strands of work with offenders. Three of these principles are problematic when it comes to offenders views about supervision which are: risk classification, criminogenic needs and responsivity. Several of the studies were chosen as part of this literature review as they researched workers and offenders views and it will be argued that a more flexible approach needs to be adopted in relation to these principles before offenders themselves can fully benefit from supervision. With regards to the four studies carried out three involved workers being interviewed through semi-structured interviews (Rex, 1999; McNeill, 2000; and McCulloch, 2005) and one solely with probationers (Barry, 2000). Rex and McCullochs studies also involved semi-structured interviews with probationers as well as with workers. The two reviews of literature discuss what research has already been done. The research explored the characteristics of probationers on supervision, documented the services of such supervision in meeting offenders needs and reducing the risk of further offending. In order to promote analytic generalisability a random sample was constructed (Robson, 1993, pp.138-139) to enable proportionate representation in terms of gender, age and geography and two of the studies specified that all the respondents were white. The studies varied in size: six workers and 6 probationers (McCulloch, 2005), twelve workers (McNeill, 2000), sixty-five probationers (Barry, 2000) and sixty probationers and twenty-one workers (Rex, 1999). The two reviews of literature looked at numerous national studies. This allowed the writer to have a wide and varied consensus of effectiveness outcomes. Offenders Perspective Across all of the studies, the majority of probationers understood the purpose of probation and their officers were seeking, through a variety of means, to reduce the likliehood of re-offending. Few probationers regarded probation as purely a monitoring exercise, although the majority view was to keep them from offending over half expected their social workers to be proactive in helping them to address their problems and for probation to be more constructive than punishing. In relation to those who wanted help with problems or issues, many inferred that not re-offending was a precondition to receiving such help. (Rex, 1999; Barry, 2000; and McCulloch, 2005). There was a general consensus that social workers could not stop people from offending but could only help to minimize the risks through support of a more tangible and constructive nature. Even for those respondents who considered re-offending to be a possibility, there was a majority view that it was up to the individual to refrain from future offending. However, probationers attributed changes in their behaviour to their supervisory experiences was the active and participatory nature of those experiences which was one of the features of effective community programmes previously identified by McGuire (1995). Probationers seemed aware of the efforts required to sustain a decision to stop offending and were more willing to embark where they felt a commitment to and positively engaged in the supervisory relationship. The research carried out is conflicting with regards to personal engagement by probation officers. Over 3/4 of probationers referred to the need for probation officers to demonstrate empathy, and 1/2 reported that their supervisors ability to listen, show interest and understanding enabled them to open up. Yet, 1/2 also said that they appreciated more formal aspects of the supervisory relationship, 1/3 found a certain amount of distance helpful and 1/2 wanted to be treated with respect in the sense of not being judged or patronised. In showing respect, experience and knowledge probationers viewed their probation officer as taking them seriously, were able to disclose sensitive information and took on board what their probation officers said. Nearly 1/2 of respondents reported that the quality of the relationship with their social worker would not affect their success or failure within the order, however, an equal number felt that a poor or negative relationship with their social worker could have had an impact of their ability to complete their order successfully. There were no significant differences in toleration levels between young and adult offenders. The majority stated that if they had not got on well with their social worker, they would not have turned up for appointments or co-operated in other ways and would have had tokenistic involvement. The majority of probation respondents stressed the need to get to know the individual, background, interests, problems and/or issues and aspirations to be able to actively help resolve any difficulties. The most common thread in the studies reviewed was finding out what the problems were in an attempt to get to the root cause of the offending. Most of the respondents saw their offending behaviour as a consequence of other social or personal difficulties and that the cause itself e.g. unemployment was addressed as opposed to just the effects (offending behaviour). Offending behaviour is prominent on the minds of people who have been on community based supervision and who are asked about their views about its effectiveness, and this has been demonstrated in the studies where offenders views of supervision has been sought. However, there are other problems which equally, or more importantly, need to change through social work support which must come from the offenders themselves. Workers perspective Workers who were interviewed both individually and in groups (Rex, 1999; McNeill, 2000; and McCulloch, 2005) were offered a range of potential measures of effectiveness and rate them accordingly to which they considered most relevant in judging effectiveness in probation cases. These measures were selected to encompass a wide range of possibilities based on effectiveness agenda, probation policy and literature and reflect value bases for probation (Nellis, 1995). Some workers expressed that they saw managers as concerned only with efficiency (numbers game), sentencers as sometimes caring, especially when vulnerability had been identified, policy makers as interested in value for money, the public protection agenda, reduced offending and the desire to avoid adverse publicity. In general workers identified success with outcomes such as supervision action plans fully and successfully implemented, achieving reduction or cessation in offending by tackling underlying needs and/or problems and improvements. (Rex, 1999; McNeil, 2000; Vanstone, 2000; McCulloch, 2005). Outcome measures such as reducing reoffending, changing attitudes, increasing victim empathy and reducing probationers needs were more important to Scottish workers than order compliance in contrast to an earlier study undertaken by Humphrey and Pease (1992) however, these findings have to be treated with caution, given the small scale of the samples and range of scores for each possible measure shows a lack of consensus amongst workers. There was dissatisfaction with forms of monitoring which, in the past, had focused on quantitative measures which was also indentified in Humphrey and Peases (1992) study. As discussed earlier, most probationers saw their offending behaviour as a consequence of other social or personal difficulties and this was also recognised by workers and several of the studies provide a clear rationale for attending to the broader social contexts in which offenders live and change. The studies underline the inter-relationship between these key contexts and the need for workers to support the complex process of desistance by addressing all of these areas (McNeill, 2000; Rex, 1999). It is also suggested that there is a reticence amongst offence focused probation managers and staff to directly address family related obstacles, social and environmental factors or other underlying issues (McNeill, 2000; Barry, 2000; McCulloch; 2005). Rex (1999) identifies the relational element of supervision and the importance of probationers feeling valued and engaged in the supervision process although most probationers valued guidance and advice on how they might resolve social and personal problems rather than direct practical assistance. In contrast, Barry (2000) interpreted focus on probationers social problems as a weakness as this is seen to reflect a welfare as opposed to an offence focussed approach to intervention. Although workers believed that probation should address social problems which mirrored that of probationers, a minority expressed ambivalence on this issue relating it to organisational pressures, challenges of addressing social problems and a more robust view of what probation was about (McNeill, 2000; McCulloch, 2005). This view corresponds with the current professional climate of narrow targets, high caseloads and changing professional values and this is neither surprising or difficult to defend. However, in light of what probationers identify as important in desisting from crime it poses a problem if probation hopes to demonstrate effectiveness in assisting probationers to achieve and sustain desistance from offending. Methods used to address probationers social problems generally reflect the findings from wider probation research which identify the use of talking methods, referrals to other agencies and direct support as the most common methods to address probationers problems (Rex, 2009; McCulloch, 2005). What seemed evident from all of the studies was a construction of effectiveness which, while aiming for both offence and need-related outcomes, lays significance on both process and progress. What Works and Practice The supervision of offenders is increasingly adopting a groupwork approach using predominantly cognitive behavioural methods which are seen to effectively reducing offending behaviour. The appeal is based on research into North American groupwork programmes (Lipsey, 1992). This in turn informed the guiding principles of NOS. It can be argued that groupwork programmes often operate in a vacuum and ignores the wider social problems affecting offenders and does not differentiate between individual group members risk levels and needs. However, not all offenders have any or similar, problems other than their offending behaviour and even the causes and consequences of, and future risk associated with, that behaviour can be interpreted differently between offenders. Community supervision devoid of a wider focus could be viewed as a component of change from assimilation and incorporation to separation and exclusion and this criticism is aimed more at the implementers than the authors of the model who do stress the importance of addressing broader structural problems (Young, 1998 cited in Vanstone, 2000). Changes in the way that probation officers are trained have increased fears about de-professionalisation and cognitive behavioural programmes equally are seen to contribute to the degeneration of the role into the application of techniques devised by someone else (Pitts, 1992 cited in Vanstone, 2000) although it could be argued that this contributes to a form of professionalism already missing. This practice could also undermine anti-discriminatory practice as it reduces sensitivity to the needs of women and ethnic minorities. Similar to other community supervision initiatives, the development of these programmes has only taken into account the needs of men and not those of women. Therefore, an awareness of what should change should be taken into account to ensure thoughtful and reflective diversity. Overall, the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural programmes is based on completion effects. Programmes are long and complex with rules about participants dropping in and restarting and this in theory, means that only the full programme will be effective in bringing about cognitive and behavioural change. In contrast, those who do not complete the full programme are less likely to change. The only review that specifically addressed group work programmes was Stanley (2009) and he reviewed other reviews (undertaken in England and Wales) to come to his conclusions. He judged that there was positive conclusions for cognitive behaviour programmes and drug treatment to reduce re-offending but there was weak evidence for the effectiveness of domestic abuse programmes, employment and basic skills training, intensive supervision and unpaid work and they were unlikely to have a positive effect on re-offending. For four types of intervention the National Audit Office (NAO) judged, there was i nsufficient evidence to suggest that although there might be a positive impact the evidence was not strong enough , mainly due to the low quality of research to show or validate strong positive effects (Davis et al., 2008) A main piece, although flawed, evidence is an analysis by National Offender Management Systems Research Development and Statistics Directorate (NOMS RDS) of outcomes of predicted and actual reconviction rates for accredited programmes by the probation service in 2004 (Hollis, 2007). This was based on 25, 255 cases but 6,000 had to be excluded due to poor quality data. It would be fair to say, that there was bias (although not reported) within the analysis as both offender compliance and quality of programme delivery are positive factors the bias in the selection was towards successful programmes and outcomes. There was also no comparison group and this was a major weakness in the report. The report compared actual with predicted reconvictions for offenders engaged in the accredited programmes. It is possible that the amount of cases sentenced to accredited programmes but failed to start were not recorded and the report understates the rate of dropout. Only 40 per cent completed the programme which is nearly 1/2 of the target of 70 per cent set in the original What Works strategy but those who completed were considerably less likely to re-offend than expected and did better than those who did not complete. Allowing for the biases, this looks a positive result and demonstrates the impact and effectiveness of accredited programmes. However, not all programmes were equally successful such as Domestic Violence programmes which in general failed to show a significant reduction in reconviction. Conversely, anger management, sex offender and general offending behaviour programmes showed in excess of 10 per cent reduction in reconviction of cases analysed. There is an assumed opposition between What Works and individual work with offenders. Work by Chapman and Hough (1998) placed cognitive behavioural programmes within the context of desistance and individual casework. The use of targets could be seen to undermine as an unintended consequence as it has led to an emphasis on completing the group element in programmes at the expense of the quality of engagement with individual offenders. Conclusion The findings of these studies confirm a considerable amount of evidence from both desistance and effectiveness literature about the circumstances offenders may be encouraged to cease re-offending. A recurring theme to emerge from probationers accounts is the difficulty sustaining a life free from crime. This explains why the professional agenda in addressing offending behaviour and minimizing risk needs to be balanced with the offenders agenda of addressing practical concerns. Equally important is the need to develop a close and trusting relationship between the service user and worker as is possible within the continual shift of Criminal Justice policy. If this relationship is not accepted as influential and the offenders own agenda recognised, then social work supervision could appear to service users to be alienating and irrelevant and consequently open to criticism, non-cooperation and failure. One major flaw of the What Works agenda is the narrowing of practice in cognitive behavioural approaches and the limited utility of standardised programmes with minority groups of offenders. There is an assumption that female and non-white offenders are fitted into programmes that have been demonstrated to be effective with white males. It is increasingly evident that What Works operationalised through accredited programmes is not the only or entire solution and the challenge is to develop the strengths that are there, build on new and diverse understanding of offenders and link these to the literature on intervention effects to enhance knowledge of what works when, for whom and under what circumstances. Appendix The search for evidence to address this question involved the use of databases ASSIA, Planex Cambridge and Discover. Specific journal databases were also consulted using word searches. These included The Howard Journal, Probation Journal, Criminology and Criminal Justice Journal and British Journal of Social Work. This search yielded the most appropriate and relevant research studies pertinent to the question. Paper Aims Methods used to collect data Findings Relevance of evidence to answering search question Rex, S (1999) Desistance from Offending: Experiences of Probation. The Howard Journal, 38:4, pp.266-383 To make connections between two different research fields: the What Works? literature on the effectiveness of community programmes in bringing about a reduction in reoffending; and the criminal careers literature, the discussion of the wider social processes by which people themselves come to stop offending. Qualitative Semi-structured interviews with a group of probationers. Reports on the extent to which probationers who were interviewed linked their experiences to a reduction in their offending and considers the implications for how probation officers might be able to motivate and assist moves towards law-abiding conduct. Examines desistance from the point of view of a group of probationers and their supervisors. McNeill, F (2000) Defining Effective Probation: Frontline Perspectives. The Howard Journal, 39:4, pp. 382-397 The research study attempted to explore workers definitions of effective probation. Qualitative semi-structured individual and group interviews. Evidence of considerable diversity of opinion. Generally workers preferred to measure effectiveness in terms. Cautious optimism about the capacity, opportunity and motivation of criminal justice social workers to rise to the challenge that the effectiveness agenda represents. Barry, M. (2000) The Mentor/Monitor Debates in Criminal Justice: What Works for Offenders. British Journal of Social Work, 30, pp.575-595 Views from probationers and ex-prisoners about social work supervision in England, Scotland and Wales. Literature Review drawing on a range of studies from last five years. Robinson, G (2001) Power, Knowledge and What Works in Probation. The Howard Journal, 40: 3, pp.235-254 To examine the To To examine the implications of what works in the context of probation, both at the level of professional practice and the broader level of the power base as a whole McCulloch, T (2005) Probation, Social Context and Desistance: Retracing the Relationship A small scale Scottish study which draws on participant perspectives and explore the attention given to probationers social contexts in supporting desistance from crime. Qualitative -small scale research study Stanley, S (2009) What Works in 2009: Progress or Stagnation? Probation Journal, 56: 2, pp153 Reviews evidence produced on the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions (What Works) and in particular cognitive behavioural programmes.