Harley Davidson Case Analysis

Case Analysis 2: Harley-davidson MKT 201:001 Long Island University Angel Pagan November 17, 2012 Case Analysis 2: Harley-Davidson This case focuses on the iconic motorcycle brand of Harley-Davidson. Harley-Davidson is an American motorcycle manufacturing company founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Since Harley-Davidson was established in 1903, the manufacturer has experienced its ups and down. It especially encounters struggles like any other automobile industry during economic downturns. On the verge of bankruptcy around 1980, Harley-Davidson made a surprising comeback.This comeback was mainly a result of Harley-Davidson’s incorporation of customer services into its products, product differentiation through quality and design as well as focusing production on a consistently high level of quality. Today, the company’s annual worldwide sales total more than $4 billion worldwide and have an annual output of 200,000 motorcycles along 35 different models in seven product line s. With these results it is safe to say that Harley-Davidson dominates the U. S. motorcycle market and is also strong in Europe and Japan.Harley-Davidson does a very good job at differentiating its product. In fact, product differentiation is the main component of Harley-Davidson’s marketing strategy. They want to offer a motorcycle like no other motorcycle on the market at the highest quality. Harley-Davidson not only stresses its level of quality but its consistency of quality as well. Quality refers to the overall characteristic of a product that allows it to perform as expected in satisfying customer needs. Therefore quality can be used to differentiate products because not all products satisfy the needs of the consumer.Harley-Davidson offers many different lines of motorcycles including limited edition models as well as customization options. If the customer customizes the motorcycle then they should be getting exactly what they want at a high quality. Harley-Davidson em phasizes the consistency of quality as much as the level of quality because no matter how high the level of quality is, if it is not consistent then they will lose customers. For example, if you go to a restaurant that serves food the way you like it to be prepared only half of the time, it is likely that you will no longer go there.Then word spreads to others and they are less likely to go to that restaurant too. The same goes for Harley-Davidson. They want to ensure that every motorcycle has a high quality to keep the customers satisfied and bring forth even more customers. They also offer financing and insurance which helps differentiate them from competitors even more. Harley-Davidson believes that customer service is an important part of the product. They help differentiate their product by offering customers training, warrantees, guarantees, repairs and accessories.They want the customers to be comfortable with the employees and have a positive buying experience. Some dealers even take it a step further by offering a Rider’s Edge course. Since this course was offered at some dealerships, more than 150,000 people have graduated and earned a motorcycles license. This customer service section aims at the population of people who would like to buy a Harley-Davidson but do not know how to ride. They join these step-by-step courses with the employees and are on track to one day having their own Harley.They also offer a line of bikes for women and teach women how to ride bikes, pick them up, and assist them with any information they need in the buying process. They even have founded the Harley Owens Group in order to instill a sense of community amongst riders. There are over 1 million members. They have access to certain benefits, group rides, members only website, exclusive magazines, and a special customer service hotline. They even offer free tours at four of its factories, not to mention the museum.The Harley-Davidson museum is located in its headqu arters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The museum features exhibits from the company’s past products such as sample boats, bikes, snowmobiles and golf carts, to today’s models. They also highlight the company’s latest technologies, and inner workings of its new product development process. This museum may play a role in influencing how customers perceive the company and its products because they are able to see where the company has been, where they are, and where they want to be.It also gives the potential customers a chance to experience what it would be like to be a Harley-Davidson owner. They even offer a virtual ride bike so that people can almost get a first hand glance at what it is like to own a bike. Harley-Davidson has a very wide marketing mix. They have bikes that attract people of different sizes, styles, age, and gender. They offer a very good bike at a price of $6,999 for beginners. They offer a line exclusively for women with smaller bikes and a wide va riety of customizing products. They aim at creating a sense of individuality and freedom for the riders.As a rider gets more experienced they can trade their bike in for a more advanced one if they feel it is necessary. They also offer different styles of bikes for those who are experienced. They range from cruisers to choppers to sports bikes. In total there are seven product lines with 35 different models. Therefore the product depth is 7 and its length is 35. Below is a list going into greater detail about the marketing mix. If I had to invent a brand name for a line of luxury motorcycles I would call it the American Eagle.This brand name would especially appeal to the American market but would also be appealing worldwide. It implies a high American quality, which is luxurious and valuable and is consistent with the American lifestyle. Product †¢ The major product is heavy weight motorcycle of 750 cc for working out on heavy roads. †¢ A number of brands have been introd uced in its century of age, and each one was very integrated, well equipped and up to date with respect to technological advancements (Johnstone, 1995). The hallmark productions of the company assisted it to acquire eagle mark for itself. †¢ An excellent customer service is provided in case of any ambiguity, and customers are thoroughly guided for the upcoming brands. †¢ Deals in branded motor bikes and other limited sector of open market. †¢ Also deal in used bikes, there usable parts being repaired and introduced in the market at lower price range †¢ Spare part market has also got their name at the top of the list. †¢ Twin Cam engine is its major innovatory product. †¢ They also offer services for repairing. Revolution engine is also introduced on their innovation lists. Price †¢ Their prices are mostly maintained around a certain figure. †¢ The major revenue sector is heavy bikes along with spare parts. †¢ The company has been in crisi s for few years as its market share dropped by 43 (%) percent. †¢ The company is planning to eliminate its employees in the coming year for maintaining the company’s financial position (Wilson, 1993). †¢ During the time of crisis the vehicle prices were suddenly increased but now it’s being hoped that they will be regulated. Place The company has acquired 358,000 square foot plant in Kansas City for the production of Dyna Glide, Sportster, and V-Rod models. †¢ For assisting Latin American expansion n Assemly plant is located in Brazil. By establishing manufacturing units, a vast production was achieved (Margie, 2009). †¢ Harley Davidson is also moving forward to export bikes in India as well to increase its production and export sector as well. †¢ Harley Davidson also caters the motor bikes export in most parts of the world but it is not that much economical because of high custom duty for heavy machinery.Promotion †¢ Different marketing p olicies are being applied for the promotion of the company. †¢ Lucky draws are timely introduced, while promoting its political frame. †¢ Certain free services are announced for showing goodwill gestures on the new motor bikes sale. †¢ Some times fares are also arranged for bulk sales, especially when there is low sale time. †¢ Very attractive commercials are placed on different channels. †¢ Most of the magazines in U. S promote the company by its good coverage. References Pride, W. M.. , & Ferrell, O.C. , (2012). Foundations of Marketing. Pg. 77. Australia Mason, OH: South-Western, Cengage Learning (2012, ). H-D1â„ ¢ Customization | Custom Motorcycles | Harley-Davidson USA. Retrieved. November 17, 2012, from http://www. harley-davidson. com/en_US/Content/Pages/H-D1_Customization/h-d1_cu stomization. html? locale=en_US&bmLocale=en_US (2011, March 8). Harley Davidson Marketing Mix | Marketing Mixx. Retrieved November 17, 2012, from http://marketingmixx. co m/marketing-basics/marketing-mix/159-harley-davidson-marketing-mix. html

Modern Society Essay

Modern society which is very complex and often contradictory has its origin in the ancient times as far back as 4000 years ago. Deeply rooted in spirituality, yet having equal attraction towards materialism, sometimes leading to unethical behaviour, inclination and commitment towards science, logic and reason, yet superstitious practices are rampant. Untouchability has been constitutionally abolished and caste and community based discrimination banned, its practice is common and it is a major tool of vote-bank politics in India. Thus, Indian society presents a contradictory picture and can be seen in the perspective of a society in the process of continued change or flux. Social change is a broader term which implies change in infrastructure, facilities and their distribution, change in thought, attitude and behaviour of the people, change in faith, culture, tradition and living styles, etc. Change is a natural inevitable process which continues in every age and will continue to happen even in future. Social infrastructure, cultural, attitudinal and behavioural changes do not remain static. They continuously change with the passage of time. It is the result of this natural process of change that life underwent sea change from the Stone Age to the Computer Age. Social change basically constitutes a transformation at all level of thought, behaviour and action that does not presuppose either a strict positive or negative impact. In fact, the impact cannot be confined to one direction only. Indeed the change has both positive and negative impact which may lead the society towards progress or regression. Social change is not a sudden process. It is a gradual process which takes lots of time to happen. Neither is it the result of any single factor. It is the result of so many factors which include demographic, technological, political, economic, cultural and legal. Generally, social conflict, growth and expansion and knowledge and scientific and technological advancement lead to social change. Indeed, the research and advancement in the field of science and technology bring about a change in the outlook of society. Besides, the demographic factors also contribute to social change. Rising population, rampant illiteracy, housing and health problems, large-scale migration, etc. all have a bearing on social climate. Rapid industrialisation resulting in economic development and urbanisation has brought about the growth of slums in urban areas as well as a great disparity in the standard of living. After independence, the country with the help of fundamental rights tried to bridge the social gap by providing right to equality to all its citizens and abolished untouchability. No doubt, it has a positive effect on society. It has brought about a decline in social discrimination and reduced the exploitation of the poor. Cultural factors like Sanskritisation, i. e. the process explaining the upward mobility of a sub-caste group in a caste hierarchy, traditional attitudes and customs of the people. Law is also an important tool to bring about social change. In the post-independence era, the Indian Government has taken numerous measures that concern society. The Constitution refuses to recognise the distinctions of religion, sect, caste, sex, etc. in the matter of the opportunities of civil life. It has largely mitigated a number of social evils resulting from the pluralisitc nature of Indian society with regard to religion and caste. Freedom of belief as a Fundamental Right has made religion a personal choice rather than its earlier compulsive and all- pervasive nature for a family or a group. Endogamous nature of casteism is now on the wane as intermarriage, and even inter- religious ones have been legalised. Reservations in jobs and freedom in the choice of vocations have encouraged vertical mobility of many families, irrespective of their caste and class affiliations. In short, laws play prominent role in social changes. Family, which has been almost universally considered the ideal and perfect living arrangement, and the backbone of social structure has undergone a transformation under the impact of industrialisation, urbanisation, spread of education, large-scale migration and other changes taking place in different spheres of life. Nuclear families have taken the place of joint family system. Common residence and property are being substituted by functional joint families, who fulfil their social obligations towards each other and come to help each other in their hours of need. Now old age is perceived with fear. This is rather recent phenomena. The old are now taken as a liability. Old age is viewed as an unavoidable, undesirable and problem-ridden phase of life. This is one of the gifts of modern life. In recent times, economic development and technological advancements have been rapid. They have an inevitable impact on social attitudes and values. This progress has led to the loss of cherished values. With enhanced earning, power and growing consumerism, the parents and children have altered their response to family life. The nature of parenting nd role of spouses have undergone sea change. Family bonds are eroding fast in society, it is particularly frequent in urban society where youngsters, in large numbers, migrate for studies or jobs, their parents, left alone, are faced with the problem of emotional loss and a fear of future. Economic independence has brought in its wake, individualism. In an economically independent society everybody wants to asse rt himself. A man wants his prominence in various spheres of life. He no longer likes to be ignored or undervalued. It has tremendously affected the woman. Now she wants her role in family and society as well. This is, in fact, a challenge to the traditional view of society that women as a class are inferior to men. However, her role in decision-making is assuming significance. Modern women are quite aware of their rights and privileges. At the same time social attitude towards women is also changing, though the process is slow. Today’s society is one of freedom and inquiry. In this age of individualism, authority is no longer unquestionably accepted by children. In this age of Information Technology, children are often more informal and aware than their parents. They no longer stand in awe of parents or any elderly persons. Human values and ethics have taken a backseat. Relations today are increasingly based on mercenary considerations. As a consequence, warmth and obligations have been lost in society. This, in a way, leads to conflict and confusion, adversely affecting family bonds or ties. Age old values of tolerance, hospitality, warmth of attachments, politeness and patience are fast fading out. However, some changes in society are pleasant and encouraging. Technological innovations have changed even the common people’s way of life. This change can be felt even at the village levels. The prevalence of superstitions and evil practices are no longer as frequent and common in society as they were during the pre-independence era. The accessibility of mass media has changed the village life also. The thinking behaviour and lifestyle of the villagers have tremendously changed. This exposure, though not always beneficial, has served to open Indian minds to receive new ideas and views. As a whole, the change on the mental level, has been slow, however, it is encouraging. Thus, at every level and in every sphere, Indian society is experiencing changes. The changes are more pronounced and noticeable in terms of dress, behaviour and egalitarianism while traditional beliefs, even if they are outdated and redundant, are practised and refuse to give up their hold on Indian society. Thus, the contradictory situations create confusion and sometimes lead to conflict. The prevailing anger and frustration arising out of inequality in development, loss of values accompanied by a greedy, grasping mercenary attitude, growing corruption on the part of authorities and the ‘elite’ find expression in the form of violent responses from the oppressed and the downtrodden. Several secessionist movements in different parts of the country are attributed to this retrogressive changes taking place in society. The change is inevitable in a dynamic society but it must be guided by some principles so as to ensure a better future and a progressive society in which everybody can enjoy his share in peace and prosperity. Besides people must be educated and enlightened enough to take its positive impact while ignoring the negatives for the betterment of individual as well as society.

An Analysis of the Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder

An Analysis of the Dissociative Identity Disorder and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Dissociative identity disorder (DID), formally called multiple personality disorder, is a dissociative disorder in which a person exhibits two or more distinct and alternating personalities. A well-known example of this psychological disorder is Dr. Jekyll from the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Henry Jekyll is a respected doctor from London who develops a formula to separate the dual natures of himself (good and evil). After taking this serum, Jekyll transforms into the epitome of his darker self: Mr. Edward Hyde. Mr. Hyde serves as the alternate personality of Jekyll; while Jekyll is upstanding, kind, and amiable, Hyde is cruel, unsympathetic, and remorseless. Hyde demonstrates the violent tendency sometimes accompanying DID by viciously beating a man with his cane, resulting in that mans death. At some point in the novel, Jekyll no longer needs the serum to turn into Hyde, and he often switches personalities without warning. Another as pect of DID, detachment with oneself, is shown in that whenever he is Hyde, Jekyll feels out of control and unable to curb the evil actions of this alternate personality. Toward the end of the novel, no longer able to control his alter ego, Jekyll feels hopeless, even depressed. In his last moments of being consciously himself, Jekyll accepts his own â€Å"death† as his other personality wins out over him for good. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder characterized by exaggerated ideas of self-importance and achievements and arrogant behavior. Many aspects of NPD are manifested in the superhero Iron Man. Tony Stark, otherwise known as Iron Man, is a character originally from a comic book, but he is more commonly known as being from the movie Avengers and having his own movie series. Tony Stark an affluent inventor and CEO of Stark Industries who constructs a suit of armor to become Iron Man. Self-described genius, Stark emanates arrogance and narcissism. He has an aggrandized self-image, holding himself above others in intelligence, wealth, and importance. He revels in the attention and admiration that his status as a superhero gives him, and he feels entitlement due to his celebrity. Stark also embodies the social characteristics of NPD, namely lack of empathy with others. He often takes advantage of others, like Pepper Potts and James Rhodes, and doesnt expend m uch thought to consider others feelings or the consequences of his exploitative behavior. Tony Starks arrogance, inflated sense of self-importance, need to be admired, and limited ability to empathize designate him as someone with NPD.

Research Paper Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper - Article Example The causes of the rising costs are due to aging population and cost of new and modern treatments. Inefficiencies in delivery of healthcare also play a role in rising costs (Reisman, 2010). Healthcare science has rapidly progressed than the ability of managing the systems of healthcare. Patients are the main determinants of directional flow of health care, with the need to get quality and affordable treatment. Economic constraints to offer quality care lead to the need for healthcare institutions to design mechanism to meet the needs of patients. Efficient healthcare systems guarantee affordable, timely, and quality care (Bookman, 2007). Global difference with regard to price among hospitals is brought about by the service rendered quality, health and government policies in respective countries, technology used, wage bill and time. Hospitals, especially in the United States have a high cost mainly due to government policies that has made health sector expensive. Insurance is also unaffordable form many Americans. Hospitals that use state of art technology tend to be more expensive than the ones without. The payments for physicians and doctors also determine the cost in different hospitals. Doctors in America are highly paid than any other doctors. Some patients who need privacy need hospitals that are suitable to them for discrete procedures. Such hospitals tend to charge higher for such services. These are the major factors determining the difference in prices of hospitals globally According to Vick (2010), flow of patient represents the ability of systems of healthcare to serve patients efficiently and quickly as they pass through the various care stages. Working system ensures the sick flow like a river, indicating that every step of care completes with little delays. In a broken system, patients build up like a reservoir. This is seen in chronic delays especially in many emergency

Does the Law Protect the Weak Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Does the Law Protect the Weak - Essay Example The government passes laws that only support the big businesses whereas oppressing small startups. The government also holds people hostage just because of their color or status even without breaking the law of for minor offenses. We also have the American Gulag. The Gulag is believed to hold the highest number of hostages in the entire world. It comprises the natives and the non-natives mostly. Young black men are also said to be at a higher risk of being detained in here as compared to any other group. The gulag "depicts a life of torture, beating and suffering for the people inside this prison" (Dow, 2004). Some of them are not released when they finish their jail term. They are, therefore, forced to remain in prison. Others die or are hanged in there without the mention of it to either their country of origin or their folks. The law has not been able to stand and protect detainees in the gulag prison. It, therefore, means that justice is not exercised equally. The state government is also believed to offer the highest number of scholarships to foreigners eyeing to study in top universities. Since most of them come from a poor background, they are sponsored in every way by the State government. However, there has been some murder cases among these foreign groups. They are then probably dumped in a river or disappear mysteriously. Others are injected lethal drugs and succumb to immediate death. The same is also familiar to visitors. Justice is not done in most such cases. Even their home government or relatives are not informed. Even though the United States claims to be a land of the free, discrimination is still prevalent. It has also evolved over the years from direct discrimination to indirect discrimination. Some people are served faster than others because they "belong". Others believe that they are more superior or more intelligent to other races. They can even say it forthright to the other. The law should protect its citizens whether whites

Professional Development Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Professional Development Plan - Essay Example Different determinants have contributed to my improvement of time management skills (Forsyth, 2013). Being in a time controlled facility is one of the motivating factors. Classes are allocated precise time frames where one has to comprehend all that is planned for by the lecturer. Additionally, consultation hours by the lecturers are set during specific sessions when he/she is available. Without a proper timetable, one can easily miss the lecturers appointments leading to deterioration of performances in the subject. The attained skills will also help in both academic and business fields. My undergraduate has been an eye opener providing knowledge on the importance of time management. Firstly, it will help me meet other personal set goals. A suitable timetable will help me make time for all my goals presenting them with appropriate periods to ensure equity. Personally, it will also enhance my self-confidence by reducing time related stresses. Most of these stresses include late presentation of assignments and attendance of classes. It will also provide me with more free time that I can use in research or work. Time management lets an individual to venture in productive activities while learning. It also assists resource control and monitoring. Planning – one has to make a plan that caters for all the activities that need to be accomplished (Forsyth, 2013). It will help me help me identify and separate school work from other activities that may come up during free time. Planning will aid in the setting of personal ambitions that will contribute to my studies. Assessing – it will review how I am currently using my time hence exposes areas that need changes or improvement. Assessing also provides information of the current trends such as school timetables. I have to set my timetable depending on constant schedules. Prioritizing – leads to allocation of time

Organization and Group Process Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Organization and Group Process - Coursework Example The facilities that organizations use in the course of operation require a lot of monitoring so that they can remain relevant to the process and this requires the leadership or the management team to provide necessary resources to achieve the set goals. This necessary in all organization including the education department where there are various demands that leaders need to put into consideration to come up with strategies to enhance learning for all the students (Passino, 2004). In order to achieve a conducive learning environment for all students, district leader can apply various plans that will ensure that all of them can achieve the most out of their learning. This means the that a district leader will need to have a good understanding of the stakeholders of education in a certain environment in that they will understand the needs of all of them and come up with ways to address them specifically. In order to optimize the learning environment in a district, a leader will need to understand the norms of the people he or she is leaders so that to get the understanding of why people behave in certain ways while they are in the environment. This will ensure that the leader will be able to introduce a plan that will maximize on the various ways those stakeholders have been doing their own things. In order to optimize the learning environment, a district leader will need to understand the organizational structure of the learning institution he or she leads to come up with a plan through which he or she can make communication. The understanding of the organizational structure will ensure that a district leader will be able plan of the best way to ensure that information flows in efficient ways that will ensure that there are no delays and the target gets it with ease (Passino, 2004). To achieve the goal of creating and sustaining an optimal learning environment, there are different things that a district leader will need to carry out the necessary program evaluati on to determine them that are productive and others that may not be necessary. The evaluation will eliminate the unproductive program and optimize on those that give little results and ensure that they improve on the processes that are necessary in implementation of learning. The process of program evaluation will need to be carried out regularly to track on the progress of the programs that are introduced at different times in the course of evaluation and change. This will ensure that all the programs are able to optimize on the available resources that will ensure that minimum losses are made and that all that is invested resources produce the best at such conditions (Doyle, 2008). In the process of optimizing the learning environment, there are different principle and models through which leaders achieve the process of enhancing learning in a district. These models target to maximize the resources by providing a good platform for participation of all stakeholders as well as ensur ing a good control of conditions of that they implement to have the students benefit. One of the models through which a district leader can use to optimize on the learning environment is the action research model whereby the he or she seeks to obtain empirical data that can be used to inform the various things that happen in the organization. Through the action resear

My Personal Story about English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 105

My Personal Story about English - Essay Example Writing formal English is tough because I have to observe a lot of rules not to mention that I have to organize my thoughts. It is easier if I will just write a paragraph or two because I need not organize it but it is different when I have to write long pages of writing especially those that are required in class.   This one is relatively easier to write because I just have to write from my experience.   But when it gets longer and the topic becomes more difficult, I usually have a hard time writing it especially getting the paper started. There are several in the past where my difficulty in speaking English became a burden or in forming a new friendship with people.   I like to meet and know all sorts of people and if possible to have a new set of friends all the time.   People just interests me.   There was this incident however that my English was still not that good that I had difficulty speaking it.   I was introduced to a new set of friends and I was eager and excited to know them.   But alas, I was not a good conversationalist in English and I lost their interest.   As a result, we did not end up as good friends but only acquaintances.   I felt bad about it because I was really interested to make them my friends, know their hobbies and probably learn it too. There are instances however where my knowledge in English was rewarding.   I may not be an excellent writer or speaker of English but I can competently communicate with the language.   There was this time we were on holiday in South East Asia where most of the people speak in their native tongue.   It is difficult because the place is foreign to me and did not know how to go about because I was new to the place.   Luckily, the locals knew that I am a foreigner and are able to speak and write in English.   So the initial intimidation of going around and not knowing my way was overcome because I could ask around using the English language.   English is truly a universal language because people whom you do not expect to communicate with because of differences in native tongue can be overcome by speaking the English language thereby overcoming the language barrier.  

Current Trends Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Current Trends - Research Paper Example The truth is that the longer term fiscal situation in the U.S. Will probably be resolved with the 2012 presidential election. If Obama is reelected, cuts will be minor, and the U.S. Will sink further into debt. If a Republican challenger is elected, cuts will be swifter. Social welfare is not like defence or healthcare, the average citizen does not believe more money should be spent on it. Modern trends tend to indicate that people prefer these kinds of activities to be none by not-for-profit organizations and churches rather than by the government. The truth is that America is polarized on this issue. The recent fiasco involving ACORN is evidence of this. Many people simply do not trust government financed organizations who say they are there to help the poor. Many of these institutions have lost the trust of the people. The trend seems to be away from government spending on this issue and more towards private sector funding of such programs. After 2012 we have a better sense of whe re this is going: towards bigger spending on social welfare, that increases our debt, our towards a more pared down and efficient system that we can afford. Works consulted Dolgoff, R. & Feldstein, D. (2009). Understanding social welfare: A search for social justice (8th ed.).

Abortion and the Medical Profession Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Abortion and the Medical Profession - Essay Example Perhaps no other issue stirs up heated debates and fierce emotions than that of abortion. It is one of the most contentious issues in society today. Medical and health care professionals are often put into a serious quandary regarding abortion and their professional practice in regards to their personal and religious beliefs. This issue of abortion clearly has ethical implications for people who want to avail of these surgical procedures and the ones performing them. Like any divisive issue, there are no easy answers to such a sticky emotional issue. In most cases, it all boils down to one’s deeply-held personal beliefs that will determine a stance the person has on a certain issue such as abortion. Before the landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court passed in the Roe vs. Wade decision, abortion was legal in a few states but illegal in most states of the country. Other countries do likewise have similar ambivalent laws regarding such a basic issue as human life and the right to life of an unborn child. The medical profession forbids the taking of life as contained in its Hippocratic Code. However, there are clearly certain instances in which abortion is justified (based on medical grounds) to be performed such as a threat to the life of the pregnant woman or the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest.

Critical Analysis of Early Childhood Pedagogy Article Essay Example for Free

Critical Analysis of Early Childhood Pedagogy Article Essay Argument stated that early childhood curriculum needs to be analyzed because the old curriculum was introduced by another culture. â€Å"Early childhood curriculum as defined by Haliwell is also called â€Å"cultural construction work† (Ashby, Grieshaber, p 127) and trading post between boundaries of culture, generations, and sexes (Ashby, Greishaber, p 128). † Consideration is given to the child centered education in order to answer the questions on what to be taught, who decides and who are the learners to develop childhood curriculum into â€Å"person-making† (p128). 2. Is the statement of the problem clear in the beginning to the end? The readings concluded that early education in the past did not respond to the changing circumstances (p. 139) makes it unclear since the circumstance of Australia is becoming a nation with multi-racial population contradict the point that traditional education in the past brought by European countries and the west did not respond to change. Statement is incoherent towards a universal outlook or people go through a phase of â€Å"inculturation â€Å"which if traced back came out from the west or European in origin. See more: how to write a critical analysis outline 3. Evidences that support the arguments which is leading to the conclusion. The argument is to consider the present trend with regards also to the so called child centered learning elaborated in the examples by the PCF (see pages 137-138). However, it did not provide other evidence on the effects of the child centered learning option which undermines classroom behavioral patterns or the teacher and pupil relationship. 4. Relevance of the evidence that support argument is it up to date? Moreover, it criticizes that the old or early childhood programs legitimated diverse cultural viewpoints (page 138). Evidence gathered to answer the question about who to teach and be thought and what should be taught was not very well implicated in the succeeding arguments although it discusses on the aboriginal culture of the nation. 5. Is there sufficient evidence to prove the case? Relevance? What is missing? The argument is to determine the best approach in the present childhood curriculum. However, there are no sufficient evidences if the past or the present trends are successful. 6. What (if any) would be a better order to present to strengthen the line of reasoning? The paper is to consider the methods of teaching early childhood education. What is missing are the comparative analysis or the pros and cons of both the early trend and the new trend which is child-centered. The argument discussed several avenues of conflict especially when culture, sex and generation gaps are examined. 7. Are there examples of flawed reasoning? Attempts to persuade the reader through an appeal to the emotions? Is evidence interpreted and used correctly? The reader is appealed to the emotion of seeking identity to a fast changing world and competencies in teaching (page 137-138). Article did not answer the question on how early childhood education should be taught in Australia. Further there is no conclusion for instance concluding that Child centered pedagogy must also become teacher focused.

The Supernatural Events Of Macbeth Plays English Literature Essay

The Supernatural Events Of Macbeth Plays English Literature Essay Supernatural occurrings and prophecies have always been a subject of interest and an unexplained mystery that has awed the human nature ever since the man is born on earth. When the greed, lust and creed for the money, power and throne overtakes the man, he starts seeking help from the evil powers that are often unseen. He tries to get the knowledge of future to take measures appropriate enough to take the short-cut path towards his ambition. Short-cuts always involve evil and evil powers are sought to accomplish evil and horrifying tasks that no man can think to do in his complete senses intact. Shakespeare adopted the same strategy to grab the interest and attention of his viewers. And he was pretty successful in using supernatural events and prophecies as the basic element of the play. this made his play Macbeth one of the greatly remembered and recognized play of all the times. Hence, we can say that the key element that made the play and its concept worked are the witches, the apparitions, the ghosts and the visions that have occurred throughout the play time-to-time. The supernatural events in the play gave clues to the audiences to what is going to happen in the future with the Macbeth as well as Lady Macbeth. The paly holds a very deep meaning for those who have been following the evil powers and magic from centuries and have seen to meet the almost similar fate as that of the Macbeth. Now we shall be throwing the light exclusively on the play Macbeth, to know how the appearances of supernatural events, the witches and the apparitions determined and predicted the fate of Macbeth. The first supernatural event that occurred in the play was the three witches appearing in the beginning of the play, predicting the gruesome fate of Macbeth that gave the audiences an idea for what is going to happen in the end. When the battles lost and won (Act I, Scene I, l.4) said by second witch. This means that every battle will be won by one and lost by the other side. this determined the fate of Macbeth that he will go on and win the battle, but he will lose against the time in the battle of his soul and life. This was the very first supernatural event to occur in the play. This prophecy made Macbeth depend on the witches too much. He started trusting them for guiding him towards his luck or rather fate. This blind trust of Macbeth on the witches cost him his life in the end. After the audiences are given the clue of the Macbeths fate, next came the plan to gain the power and throne. Macbeth had two choices. One was to go on the correct path while the other one was much shorter and the results were expected to be revealed soon. And this path was the path of evil. the plan was to kill king Duncan without any remorse(Act I, Scene V, ll.42-57). Lady Macbeth used her powers to gather the evil spirits that guided Macbeth to kill the King Duncan. In which he succeeded. This was another supernatural event that took Macbeth a step ahead on his disastrous fate. This killing forced him to clear out the other person, who suspected Macbeth of Duncans murder, Banquo. Macbeth hired a murderer to kill Banquo. But as soon as the murderer confirmed the news of the Banquos killing, Macbeth saw the ghost of Banquo that made him create a scene in a banquet, which carved more suspicion on him(Act III, Scene VI, ll.31-120). Here the apparitions and vision of the ghost made Mac beth so bedraggled that he almost lost his senses and started to blurt out what he shouldnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t have done. This made people point at him in suspicion. Next the witches plan to make Macbeth over confident about his fate as he was heavily relying on the prophecies of the three witches (Act III, Scene V, ll.1-35). This plan of the witches was to take Macbeth towards his gruesome end. Macbeth greatly relying on the witches managed to find their cave and went there to find out what lies ahead for him in the future. this was the time of action for the witches. this is where the Macbethà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s blind trust has landed him. he is now in full control of the witches desires and evil powers and he has no power left in him to take decisions of his own. The witches making use of their evil powers started showing him apparitions. The very first one was an armed head that said: à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware of Macduff; beware thane of Fife. Dismiss me: enough. (Act VI, Scene I, ll.77-78). The first apparition tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff. Then the second apparition appears (a bloody child), and says: Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth. (Act IV, Scene I, ll.85-87). This apparition informs Macbeth that no man born from a woman can harm him. Finally, the last apparition appears and is a child crowned, with a tree in his hand. The apparition is saying that he will never be defeated until Great Birnam wood shall come against him to High Duns inane Hill. Be lion melted, proud, and take no care that chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to High Duns inane Hill shall co me against him. (Act VI, Scene I, ll.98-102). Now all these three apparitions were enough to make Macbeth over confident about his fate that eventually led him to his death. Death became his fate as was predicted by the witches in the very first prophecy. Thus, throughout the play it is very clearly shown by Shakespeare in the chain of prophecies and supernatural appearances that the fate of Macbeth was determined and predicted by the prophecies of witches and the supernatural appearances. The first prophecy made Macbeth have a blind trust on the evil powers rather than his own strengths and courage. Then the vision of Banquoà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s ghost made him believe that just like witches, the ghost can also take his revenge that baffled him altogether in front of the whole hall. And the last key in his coffin were the apparitions in the cave that made him so over confident that he started thinking himself as immortal. And this overconfidence killed him.

Factors Of Waste Generation Environmental Sciences Essay

Factors Of Waste Generation Environmental Sciences Essay As a development country, the economic keep on growing and a lot of construction project will be carry out. Since this construction project is kept on increases, it will face a major problem on waste management. It is no longer strange or new for the construction waste and pollution produced in the sites which affect the environment issue. Reuse and recycling of construction waste is now a big recommendation for nowadays construction industry. There is a waste management which conducts a different management process in all over the world. Malaysia is using the Site Waste Management Plan to control the waste in our country. However, there are not much contractor follow the Site Waste Management Plan and just simply dump the construction wastes anywhere. The aim of this study is to learn the ways of recycling and reuse of construction waste management in a construction. Basically this study focus on what type of waste recycle to be use, which construction waste can be recycle or cannot be recycle, and the successful demolition of waste and issue of waste. With the study of waste management in Malaysia, I can know how the contractor did the waste management and how much level of awareness about waste minimization by contractor. 1.2 Introduction Construction waste is no longer a new issue or topic for a construction industry. Some waste is unavoidable even the design is perfect in a construction industry. Construction projects are required to make sure that it give impulse to the economy, improve the standard of living and provide opportunity for jobs. The overall construction industry make profit to the country however it is not an environmentally-friendly industry as it will cause air, water, noise and land pollution which all can be linked to the construction industry (Mohd Nizam Bin Yusoff, 2010). It is to be said that the construction industry creates chances and injects money into a nations economy by giving an opportunity for foreign and local investment (M. Agung, 2009). However, despite these contributions, the construction industry has also been linked to global warming, environmental pollution and degradation (Jones Greenwood, 2009). As we all know that not only construction can generates a huge amount of pollutants, including solid waste, noise, dust and water, other industries also will generate but in a small amount as compare to construction industries (Ball, 2002; Morledge Jackson, 2001). To start construction activities, construction cannot start if no any other direct influence industries. There are many direct influences on many other industries which define as both purchasing the inputs from other industries and providing products to almost all other industries, eliminating or reducing waste will produce a great amount of cost savings to society (Polat Ballard, 2004). Although Material Storage Management (MSM), the new concept for minimizing the waste in the construction industry is recognize, but contractor is not fully participate for this new concept. As the cost of labour is expensive than building materials cost, contractor rather allow construction material waste than put more human resources in managing the waste materials (Yau and Wong, 1997; Wong, 2000). Since foreign country are advance in controlling the construction waste strategies, Malaysia as a developer country should also consider about the problem occur in construction waste management. Recycling of construction waste will help the communities to reach the goal by preserve valuable space in their local landfills (Schlauder and Brickner, 1993). Nowadays many reuse and recycle method for construction waste which will lead to minimization of construction waste. Contractors will have to participate on such recycle method to overcome construction waste management problems. 1.3 Problem Statement Construction waste has affected the environmental problems especially for many large and developing cities. About 38% of the construction waste is generated from construction, which is among 6,408 tonnes of waste per annum are produced from construction activities. The amount wastes generate from construction industries is high as compare to other industry. This problem will affect the cost to expel the construction and demolition waste rising rapidly as it is becoming more and more expensive. The construction and demolition waste (CD) is the most critical waste in the whole world. According to Malaysia Environmental Quality Report 2005, the total quantity of wastes in a year is 548,916.11 metric tonnes. This is a huge amount of wastes that we need to be considered and find out a way to control this situation. As from the Malaysia Environment Quality Report 2005, the oil and hydrocarbon waste has the highest percentage 22.4 while phenol/ Adhesive/ Resin waste has the lowest percentage of 0.3. On the other hand, for the type of industry, electronic waste is the highest with percentage of 23.7 while printing and packaging waste is the lowest with percentage of 0.5. Construction industry is a huge consumer of non-renewable resources and a massive producer of waste and the operation of the buildings are responsible for about half of the toal CO2 emissions (K. A. M. Kamar, Z. A. Hamid 2011). Therefore, it is needed to find out the solution and way to conduct waste control to minimize the construction waste. This must be start from now on and being practice by all construction industry to avoid pollution of environment and reduce the construction waste. 1.4 Scope of Study Construction waste management is too wide for carrying out a research as waste is classified into two types, waste of material and waste of manpower. In this situation, I will narrow down the scope of study for construction waste management in order to get my work done smoothly. In this case, I specify my scope of work by focusing on several aspects on construction waste management. Main focus of my research is on the Kuala Lumpur construction companys waste management practices in Malaysia. I will mainly focus on type of construction waste material which are metal and also concern about metal industry. This is because metal is considers as the middle waste produce in the construction industry and it is a common waste. Metal is always being used by construction industry and almost all the metal waste are not reuse or recycle in a proper ways. Besides, I will also focus on how the contractor reuse, recycle and remove other construction waste material from site. As for different construction industry, they will practice different ways of settling the construction waste and this will be interesting to be known. 1.5 Aim and Objectives Aims: To study the ways of recycling and reuse of construction waste management in a construction. Objectives: 2.2 To investigate the issue of waste generate by construction industry. 2.3 To determine the several factors lead to the waste generation and the success for recycling and demolition of construction waste. 2.4 To determine which construction waste can be recycling and which construction waste cannot be recycle. 1.6 Research Methodology Literature Review I will carry out my research by conducting literature review to further understand and be more familiar on the title and scope of research that I had chosen. I will try to read ad much information as I can about my topic which mainly obtains from internet, journal, books, newspapers, magazine and reference books. My literature review focus on the ways to recycle construction waste material, cause an effect of construction waste material and construction waste material pollution issue. As an overall picture, I carry out literature review to furnish myself on the construction waste management scope in our country. Questionnaire As for this research on construction waste in Malaysia, I will conduct questionnaire which mainly focus on main contractor, developer and sub-contractor. I will give out my questionnaire to about 70 construction firm to help me complete my survey question. I expected that I will receive about 30 respondents to enable me to analyze on the result and continue carry out my research study. The survey questions are design based on the aim and objectives that is stated earlier. Interview Interview will be conduct with main contractor or site agent to further understand their ways to remove construction waste in the site. Throughout interview, I can find out the difficulties of handling construction waste. Contractor can share some experience on how to reduce the waste or how to remove the waste on construction site to me and I think this might be helpful for me to do my research. Chapter 2: Literature Review 2.1 Definition of waste Nowadays the amount of construction waste contribute in a development country is extremely high. As compare to other waste produce by other industries, the construction waste is the highest generation of waste. Waste can be simply define or describe as the material which is produce by human or from industry which does not has residual value ( Serpell and Alarcon, 1998). There are a lot of definitions to describe waste as show below: Waste can be defined as that which can be throw away or dispose without reducing customer value. (Polat and Ballard, 2004) The loss or damage of whatever kind of resources is considered as waste. The waste on materials, time (labour and equipment), and capital is mainly conducted by activities that generate direct or indirect costs but do not increase any value to the last product from the point of view of the customer. (Formoso et al., 2002) Any substances or objects that are mainly for disposed or intended to be disposed or are needed to be disposed off by the provisions of national laws are defined as waste. (The Basal Convention, 1989) The by-product which is generated or remove from a construction work, renovation work and demolition work or sites of building and civil engineering structure is consider as waste. (Cheung, 1993) For any substances or article which are need to be disposed of as being broken, worn out, contaminated or otherwise spoiled is consider as waste. (Section 75 of U.K. Environmental Protection Act (EPA), 1990) Table 2.1 Definitions of waste There are many waste generate everyday in a construction site such as construction waste, material waste and solid waste. Construction waste: Construction wastes are the wastes that are generated from the various activities carry out from the construction which is relatively clean and heterogeneous building material (Tchobanaglous et al., 1993). It is also define as the waste which includes the delay in time consuming, unsafely, rework, unnecessary transportation journeys, far distances, improper management of programme and poor constructability (Lee, et al., 1999). Besides that, (Peavy et al., 1985) indicated construction waste as the waste which is conducted from building works, demolition works and refurbishment works for individual housing, commercial building or other structures. According to (Shen et al., 2004), Construction wastes are arising from the different types of construction activities including the excavation, civil and building construction, site clearance, demolition activities, roadwork and building renovation which result the wastes in the formation of building debris, rubble, earth, concrete, steel, timber and mixed site clearance materials. For the new construction wastes, it is composed primarily of mixtures of unused or damaged raw materials as well as off cuts (discarded cut material) and packaging (Magdich, 1995). Materials waste: Materials waste is mean by whatever material that are far away from earth materials which requires to be transported elsewhere from the construction site or used among the construction site itself for the objective of land filling, incineration, recycling, reuse or composting, other than the intended specific purpose of the project due to materials damage, excess, un-reuse, or non-compliance with the specifications or being a by-product of the construction process (Ekanayake Ofori, 2000). Material wastes are categorized by the activity which are over-ordering, overproduction, wrong progressing, unsatisfied storage, manufacturing defects and theft or vandalism by human ( Garas et al., 2001). Solid waste: Wastes generate from human and animal activities are called solid waste. Wastes establish by public authorities for final disposal, including hazardous waste, liquid-solid sludge from industry and water/waste water plants are within this definition (Kiely , 1997). Solid waste is also to be said as the waste which is in solid form that are unusable or unwanted generally conducted by human activities (Peavy et al., 1985). 2.2 Issue of Waste When due to the issue of waste, the construction waste is or will subsequently become a serious environmental issue in many cities and countries all around the world (Chen et al., 2002; Ferguson et al., 1995; Shen et al., 2000, 2002; Smallwood, 2000; Wong and Tanner, 1997). (Faniran and Caban, 1988; Kibert, 1994; Ferguson et al., 1995; Graham and Smithers, 1996; Guthrie et al., 1999; Symonds, 1999; Lawson and Douglas, 2001.) Stated that waste management for construction and demolition activities has become the major environmental problems in many municipalities. Whenever there is a construction activities carry out, there will produce waste. Waste from the construction industry will cause global warming, environmental pollution and degradation (Jones Greenwood, 2009). Environmental problems in many big cities are also cause by the construction waste generated in construction activities (Begum et al., 2006; Chen et al., 2002; Teo Loosemore, 2001). There are several construction materials which contribute the cause of wastes such as steel reinforcement, premixed concrete, cement, sand, lime and premixed mortar, bricks and blocks, ceramic tiles pipes and wires Formoso et al., (2002). Based on the analysis on sources of wastes concluded that a high amount of material wastes is generated due to the flow of activities like material delivery, inventories and internal transportation and handling, which are usually neglected by site management (Formoso et al., 2002). A research from Environmental Protection Department stated that a daily average of 37,690 tonnes of Construction and Demolition (CD) wastes was conducted (EPD, 2000 a). Besides that, due to the development country which the construction industry activities increasing rapidly and shortage of sustainable landfill sites, the construction wastes are becoming a serious problem forcing the professionals and researchers to focus on the way to reuse the construction wastes (Masood et al, 2002). Globally estimate that many landfill sites around the world will receive 10-30% of construction and demolition (CD) waste frequently (Fishbein, 1998) while (Magdich, 1995) stated that construction and demolition wastes to be throwing to the landfills will contribute 25 percent from all the wastes. There are about 1-10% of the purchased construction materials will be leave at the site for the residential projects as waste (Bossink and Brouwers, 1996). Recent research which carry out in UK stated that at least 10% of all raw materials delivered to the sites will be wasted in the case of damage, loss and over-ordering (Guthrie et al., 1998). In the year of 2005, our lan dfills will be fully dispose of waste and the construction industry will no longer depend on landfills to dispose waste (EPD, 2002a). Other wastes are easy to be handled but for the construction waste, it is more difficult to be reuse or recycle due to the high levels of contamination and a huge degree of heterogeneity. (Bossink and Brouwers, 1996) say that construction waste also contains an extremely high amount of chemical wastes which is harmful and hard to be handling. Usually for the construction waste generate in construction activities will be dump to landfills and in recent days construction waste is recommended to be recycle to recognize its value and potentials of reusing them in future construction project (Trankler, et al., 1996; Peng et al., 1997). As for the total landfills wastes, construction and building activities takes 30% of the total volumes in the States while UK adds more than 50% and Australia takes 20%-30% (Teo and Loosemore, 2001). Research on the construction and demolition wastes has been done which indicate that about 15%-30% of all solid waste by weight and more than 90% of this waste is from landfill in the gulf region, especially in Kuwait (Kartam, et al. 2004). Untitled.png Figure 2.2 Hierarchy of construction and demolition waste (Peng et al., 1997). There are limited practices among the construction sector on the waste minimization, reuse and recycling method because of the building materials which are at relatively low cost (Begun et al 2009). There is no forcing that the construction companies must practice sustainable resource and waste management which conclude that illegal dumping is still an issue for the authorities (Begun et al 2009). As this figure 2.2.1 is concern, it specified that for the solid waste, it contribute the most among the other waste produce in a construction industry in Malaysia. Untitled.png Figure 2.2.1 Percentage of solid waste in 1994 by  ¼Ã‹â€ Hassan et al. ¼Ã…’1998). 2.3 Factors of waste generation 2.3.1 Classification of waste There are classifications of wastes in the construction industry. Research from the pass indicated that the material waste will occur or appear throughout the construction project no matter in initial stage, design stage, construction stage or operation stage (Craven et. al., 1994; Faniran and Caban, 1998; Gavilian and Bernold, 1994; Spivey, 1974). Basically for the building construction waste there will divide into two categories namely structure waste and finishing waste (Skoyles and Skoyles, 1987). Structure wastes are those wastes such as concrete fragment, reinforcement bars, abandoned timber plate and pieces. On the other hand, for finishing wastes, it included a wide range of waste materials which is generated during the finishing stage of the building (C.S.POON*, ANN T.W.YU and L.JAILLON 2003). Furthermore, wastes are being arranged into specific categories like demolition materials, packaging materials, wood, concrete, asphalt, garbage and sanitary wastes, scrap metal, products, rubber, plastic and glass, and pesticides and pesticide containers (Spivey, 1974). Singapore defined the classification of construction material waste into three major categories namely material waste, labor waste and machinery waste (Ekanayake and Ofori, 2000): Material waste: Any kind of materials which is unused and rejected as worthless or unwanted. Labor waste: Simply mean that the waste conducted by laborer such as concrete wasted due to unsatisfied workmanship, brick lay wrongly and broken of floor tiles. Machinery waste: Machinery which is order to the site but did not carry out the construction activities. Classification of solid waste is as below: Municipal waste which the wastes are paper, plastics, food wastes, ashes, and special wastes include Street sweepings and dead animals. Industrial waste which the wastes are timber, demolition and construction waste, treatment plant waste, hazardous waste. Hazardous waste which the wastes are radioactive substances, chemicals, biological waste, flammable waste and explosives. (Kiely , 1997). 2.3.2 Construction Industry Waste Generation A study on the generation of construction waste in the construction industry is very important. Waste generates in many kind of situation and it is important to be identified to reduce and improve the waste management. Nowadays a lot of countries were developing well in construction industry and cause the generation of huge amount of construction waste. Demand for houses and major infrastructure projects make the amount of construction waste keep increasing rapidly which will cause environmental issue (Nasaruddin et. al., 2008; Siti and Noor, 2008). Construction and demolition wastes surpass the volume of municipal wastes in most of the countries. This simply means that construction activities generate and produce a large amount of waste (Sim Lee Gaik, 2005). (Graham and Smithers, 1996) stated that as long as a construction activities or project is concern, there are several factors which will lead to the production of waste. Basically, it is often that the construction wastes are come from the result of human error in design, procurement method, material handling, residues of raw materials and unexpected change in building design (Bossink and Brouwers, 1996). Generally about 10% of the materials delivered to construction site will become wastes at the end of the construction activities (Magdich, 1995). A study contribute that the largest waste generated materials or component is woody (Goetz, 1998). As for other countries, waste generation is show as below: Hong Kong generated the major solid waste in construction industry and in the year of 1998, it generated approximately 32,710 tons of construction and demolition (CD) wastes per day (Poon et al., (2001). Greece surpasses 3.9 million tons of construction and demolition wastes for the year of 2002 which will continue increase the amount of waste subsequently (Fatta et al., 2003). Australian landfills have 20% to 30% of construction waste out of all wastes are being dispose (Craven et al., 1994). Brazil is to be saying that the amount of construction waste generated will be 20% of all materials delivered to site (Formoso et al., 2002). United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) mention that the amount of 124 million metric tons of building-related construction and demolition wastes or 1.2kg per person per day were produced in the year of 1996 (Weber et al., 2002). India has the total generation of construction waste about 14.7 million tons per year as stated in Central Pollution Control Board India (Pappu, 2006). Country CD Wastes (percentages %) The Netherlands 26 Australia 20-30 United States 20, 23, 24, 29 Germany 10 Finland 13-15 Table 2.3.2 CD Wastes as Percentage of All Solid Wastes Entering Landfills in Various Countries (Source: Bossink and Brouwers, 1996) Untitled.png Chart 2.3.2 CD Waste Generation in Million Tons Waste generate in Percentage Tourist Hotel and Industrial Projects 19% Commercial Projects 16% Low Rise Building 13% Government Projects 11% Tunnel and Infrastructure 8% High Rise Building 33% Table 2.3.2.1 Cumulative Percentages of Projects Generating Construction Waste in Egypt (Mohd Firdaus Bin Mustaffa Kamal, 2009) The involvements of waste generation are divided into five sections such as design, procurement, materials handling, construction/ renovation and demolition. The table below shows the different type of project phase which cause waste generated: (Graham and Sniithers., 1996) Untitled.png Table 2.3.2.2 Causes of waste in different project phase The construction and demolition wastes generate rubbish, wood/ related products and miscellaneous wastes where their percentage of waste generation is as follow: Rubbish 40%-50% such as concrete, asphalt, bricks, blocks and dirt. Woods and related products 20%-30% such as pallets, stumps, branches, forming and framing lumber, treated lumber and shingles. Miscellaneous wastes such as painted or contaminated lumber, metals, tar-based products, plaster, glass, white goods, asbestos and other insulation materials, and plumbing, heating and electrical parts. Tchobanoglous et al. (1993) 2.3.3 Wastes in Malaysia Malaysia, a developing country wishing to achieve status by 2020 is facing a big problem and challenge of decoupling economic growth and waste generation (National Economic Advisory Council, 2010). Construction waste generating in Malaysia is becoming more and more pressing issue (Begum et. al, 2007; Begum et. al., 2010). (Recycling Today, 16 March 2004) indicated that Malaysia has a subsequently high waste generator from the construction industry. It can be said that Malaysias construction waste is one of the largest waste rate and yet despite a number of government policy initiatives to address this problem, suitable resource and waste management on site remains a low priority for the majority of the contractors (Begum, 2009). Due to the rapid development and urbanization happen in Malaysia, our country produces about 25,600 tonnes of waste daily (Fazleena Aziz, 2010). There are five states in Malaysia which produce 70% of the total amount of waste in the country and there are Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pahang, Terengganu and Kelantan (Grant, 2001). 30 construction sites are conducted in a study which identified six types of waste materials namely concrete (12.32%), metals (9.62%), bricks (6.54%), plastics (0.43%), woods (69.10%) and others waste (2%). Among these wastes, woods contribute the most in our country (Faridah et. al., 2004). 28% of municipal solid waste and construction waste been generated in the central and southern regions of Malaysia (Mohd Nasir et Al., 1998). Overall summary of 16,000 tons of domestic waste is produced per day by local communities and the amounts per capita change from 0.45 to 1.44 kg per day which very much depending on the economic status of the areas concerned. This simply mean that waste generate about 1kg per capita per day (GAIA Global Meeting, 2003). Based on a research from Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd., there are only 76% of solid wastes are able to be collect back in Malaysia and only about 5% being recycle, with the rest of 95% disposed at the countrys 112 landfills (Alam Flora Sdn. Bhd., 2007). For our country Malaysia, it is quite surprise to say that the Government spends RM400 million per year on waste disposal and the waste is only refers to municipal solid waste which is a huge amount of money (The Star, 2005). Another issue happen in Malaysia is illegal dumping. Seberang Perai of Pulau Pinang stated that there are illegal dump site near along the road which is a very irresponsibility way of clearing the construction wastes (Faridah et. al., 2004). Besides Seberang Perai, the issue of illegal dumping is happening rapidly all over Malaysia (Yahaya and Larsen, 2008). Another study done in Johor which conclude that there are 42%-46% of illegal dumping sites are of construction waste (Rahmat and Ibrahim, 2007). Recent news indicated that almost 30 tons of construction waste was found to be dump illegally in tropical mangrove swamp near Bandar Hilir, Malacca and construction debris problem near roadside at Section 17, Petaling Jaya, Selangor (The Star, 2011; The Star, 2012). Those irresponsibility actions of illegal dumping will cause risk to human health and environmental problem (Faridah et. al., 2004; Rahmat and Ibrahim, 2007). The National Strategic Plan for Solid Waste Management was form in 2005 which mainly focus on solid waste management in peninsular Malaysia and the duration is until 2020 providing the foundation for the subsequent years (United Nations Development Programme, 2008). 2.3.4 Purpose of Waste Management The main purpose of conducting waste management is to reduce/ remove the amount of waste produced and in the same time reducing disposal costs and the environmental impact (Pitt et al., 2002). Waste need to be carries out by using recycle and reusing method so that it will not affect the environment factors and improve our future life. According to (Woolley, 2000), with the help of waste management in term of reducing, reusing and recycling of CD waste, it will help to increase the lifetime of landfills and reduce exploration of natural resources. One of the strategies to reduce waste is by recycling as it contributes to three main advantages (Edwards, 1999): Reduce demand for new resources Reduce transport and production energy costs Use the waste which would otherwise he lost to landfill sites. It is important to carry out waste management from now on although a very small amount of construction and demolition wastes is now recovered by waste management, for sure there will be greater amount of wastes to be recycle in the future in such a way that higher tipping fees, mandatory landfill diversion legislation and the success of entrepreneurs in processing both source-separated and mixed wastes (Tchobanoglous et al., 1993). As by using the recycling method for construction waste, it can help to decrease the demand on land for disposing the waste and also help to conserve natural materials and to reduce the cost of waste treatment prior to disposal (Poon, 2002). Waste management is used for a sustainable development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (Brundtland, 1987). 2.3.5 Waste Management It is a major problem suffered worldwide about the management of construction waste (Adam, 2004). Recycling of construction wastes simply mean that the separation and recycling of recoverable waste which are form during the construction and remodeling stage (Mohd Nizam Bin Yusoff, 2010). Research indicated that 90% of the construction wastes can be recyclable to be reused (Mohd Nizam Bin Yusoff, 2010). The main point of view that will cause the waste generation is by design stage. Design stage will taken into control of materials waste on construction sites as it is taking a central role to help minimizing waste produced (Shen, et al., 2004). To manage the construction wastes well, the method of managing is very important as it should be part of the project management functions and involve employees participation (Shen and Tam, 2002). A lot of various management methods have been applied and discuss from previous research in order to improve the control on construction wastes (Sim Lee Gaik, 2005) and (Koskela, 1992; Alarcon, 1997) mention that many methods have been drawn up and developed such as in the way of policy and programmes to help to reduce the construction waste. Construction management plan is introduce to improve materials resource efficiency by carry out reuse, recovery and recycling as well as to minimize the issue of illegal dumping by properly introduce the waste removal processes (Defra, 2009). As for a successful waste management, the construction waste should not be directly disposed but it needs to pass through several processes before being disposed. The method to treat the proper waste management is to follow the waste management hierarchy (Peng et. al., 1997). By following the concept of waste management hierarchy it will give advantages to the environmental and economy problem to a country (Tchobanoglous and Keith, 2002). Figure 2.3.5 Waste Management Hierarchy (Source: Peng et. al., 1997) Another waste management methodologies in the form of hierarchy in descending order from reducing waste, re

The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle :: Snatcher Stevenson Speckled Doyle Essays

The Body Snatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson and The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle In the two stories tension and suspense is created through many different methods. Weather and time of day are very popular scene settings to make the perfect moment in a tension story. Thunderous skies and pelting rain on a dark night has more of a chilling feel to it than a sweet summers day with sunflowers and butterflies flapping around. Of course there are times and places for such story writing, but it would not fit the mood for a Sherlock Holmes story. In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle the drama and suspense begins immediately, and the reader is given almost a description of what he or she is in store for. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle makes it known directly that Sherlock Holmes only accepts cases to solve that seem out of the ordinary, and he is about to be prompted into quite an unordinary situation. This places the reader in a quizzing state of mind, so already the reader's attention has been grasped, and throughout the story like a detective the reader will pick at each detail of the story. The obviousness of a strong, suspenseful story unravels when Holmes disturbs Watson from his slumber at a very unsuitable time in the morning, according to Watson. It brings tension to the story once again so early on, for we realize that to be up at such a time in the morning, would only be for a special case for the two to attempt to solve. When the detectives interview the woman at their office, we are told of her state, she is shivering, and is said to have pre-maturely gray hair. This itself does not bring spine tingling suspension to the reader, but when we are told that she shivers not from the cold, but from her fear, it begins to become a lot clearer. We also find out that the woman is quite young, but has gray hairs, the only reason I thought of for a woman to have gray hairs prematurely, was because of Stress or trauma of some kind. This creates tension by making us want to find out what was so disturbing or so stressful to cause her premature grayness, and we suspect the most probable cause to be her fear. Shortly afterwards we lean that Helen's cause for the distress she has been put through is her step father, who is described to have quite a nefarious attitude at times. We learn from Helen that he has before

John Steinbecks Of Mice and Men Essay -- Essays Papers

Of Mice and Men Do you have an unrealistic dream? In the book Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, the main characters in the story each had a dream in which they were unable to carry out. Taking place during the Great Depression era in the United States, these individuals struggled to survive. The theme "It is better not to have big dreams in life because they are too difficult to attain and you end up bitterly disappointed and unmotivated" was brought up and proven true by them. Lennie, Candy, and Curley's wife's dreams, like "the best laid schemes o'mice an' men gang aft a-gley, had been led astray. Lennie's dream had been shattered when his craving for soft materials caused him to commit a crime. Lennie dreamt of owning a farm and a little house with George, and most of...

Road Construction in the Amazon :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Road Construction in the Amazon When one thinks of the Amazonian rain forest, it is very unlikely that paved roads and highways will come to the imagination. Unfortunately, in the past 35 years road construction has been the main reason for the deforestation in Brazil's Amazon basin. In an effort to expand its frontiers and develop economically the impenetrable areas of the country, Brazil's government has launched a series of projects aimed at improving the infrastructure in the Amazon region. This included mainly the building of big transport arteries such as the Trans- Amazon highway and the subsidizing of small-scale farming along those arteries. The National Development Plans (NDP's) did not meet their initial goals since few people settled in the newly expanded areas and those who settled still suffered from low income, lack of educational opportunities and low life expectancy.1 The negative impact on the environment of the planned human expansion is tremendous. It has been estimated that 10 million hectares of the Amazon forest have been destroyed due to clear-cutting, burning, slash-and-burn agriculture and conversion to pastures. Deforestation is caused mainly by road construction since 74% of the converted areas is within 50 km of roads.1 This clearly shows that frontier expansion and colonization for economical and social reasons has a devastating effect on the environment. The Brazilian Amazon is the largest piece of undisturbed rain forest and, unfortunately, this natural treasure is being damaged very carelessly and at an extremely high rate. Despite the above grim conclusions, the Brazilian government persists in its effort to expand the infrastructure by appropriating more and more land from the heart of the Amazon basin. In 1999, the government started a new program, called Avanà §a Brazil (Forward Brazil), which intends to add 6,245 km of paved highways and 1,600 km of railroads to the existing transportation network. The highlights of the project include the construction of the Santarem-Cuiaba and Porto Velho-Manaus highways, which would traverse pristine forest areas.1 There is a heated debate about the effects on the environment of the new construction project. Researchers and environmentalists predict that "Avanà §a Brazil" will cause deforestation at a rate between 269,000 and 506,000 hectares per year. They also accuse the Brazilian government in negligence and corruption, because "Avanà §a Brazil" was approved without the necessary environmental assessment reports from the Ministry of the Environment.2 Government officials claim that measures have been taken to minimize the negative impact on the environment, but do not present facts and examples of how this is being done.

Emergency Management

How would you rate the four phases of Emergency Management for meeting the challenges confronting this nation from terrorism? The information the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 gives us on the activities following the attacks largely focuses on the response of resources. There seems to be an abundance of resources available to respond to each disaster area including emergency response teams, disaster mortuary teams, disaster medical assistant teams, urban search and rescue task forces, and incident support teams.Because of this, my thoughts are that in order to have such a response there had to be a certain level of preparedness. Therefore my top rated selection is the preparedness phase. Closely following is the response itself. For reasons previously stated the response phase is my second rated phase for this scenario. Multiple agencies from many different states responded with the appropriate resources within hours of the attacks. Thirdly, the recovery phase is m y next selection of importance.This phase is the measure of how well prepared and/or how quickly the response was including lives and property saved. The recovery phase directly leads into the mitigation phase as the last phase to be implemented. The mitigation phase allows for evaluation of the response and recovery taking into account for the entire operation as a whole. It can be utilized as a teaching tool of what went wrong or right and how to do it better next time. Learning from a disaster and how the event affected the area it encompassed is the primary goal of mitigation.Based on the information contained in the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 which of the following phases of emergency management were best fulfilled? Please place the four phases in order of which phases was best planned/implemented with the best implemented phase ranked first. Please justify your response. After reading the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 I would place the following phases in order of best planned and implemented with the best-implemented phase listed first. * The response phase * The preparedness phase * The recovery phase The mitigation phase Overall, response was overwhelming. Multiple agencies from all over the U. S. responded to the disaster. These ranged from mortuary response teams to disaster medical response teams as well as urban search and rescue task forces. The response was excellent. Because no one prior to the September 11, 2001 could foresee the attacks, planning for such an event could not have been accomplished. Due to the fact that the U. S. had planned for other natural disasters in other parts of the country I believe that the preparedness for the attacks was next best met.Being prepared for other disasters that cause mass destruction and loss of life we were able to respond quickly and efficiently. Recovery was slow due to the magnitude of the attacks. Four separate events within hours of each other heavily taske d our resources and made for a long recovery process. Debris recovery was primarily lead by the U. S. Army Core of Engineers. However, psychological recovery has taken and probably will take many more years. Economic recovery has also been slow. As for mitigation, the damage had already been done.There was no way to know what was going to happen and therefore contingencies to lesson the effects could not be made. Mitigation in this regard comes into play with agencies like the Red Cross providing blood products for the injured, shelter for the disaster workers, and fund raising. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.In retrospect and in YOUR opinion (Hindsight is always 20/20),   if any singular aspect of planning and implementation for such a disaster could have possibly prevented 9-11 what could it have been? No, I do not think that 9-11 could have been prevented. WE have learned valuable lessons from that tragic attack, but it the terrorist took advantage of our security, and process of how we conduct our affairs. Now that we know what we know, we have changed our processes, and we continue to alter them. We have tightend our security.Our Intelligence forces now are able to put threats and information together that prior to 9-11 we wouldn’t have considered. What are some of the distinguishing features between a natural disaster and a man-made disaster such a 9-11? A natural disaster is an effect of nature such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or hurricane. These cannot be prevented but can be prepared for. A man-made disaster is a catastrophe or tragedy caused by humans. Such as bombings, the 9-11 attack, arson. These can be prevented.If a terrorist attack or another significant disaster were to hit the United States today that is similar to that which occurred on 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina were to occur today, which of the four phases of emergency management do you believe we would respond to significantly better today. Please justify your response. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process. Emergency Management How would you rate the four phases of Emergency Management for meeting the challenges confronting this nation from terrorism? The information the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 gives us on the activities following the attacks largely focuses on the response of resources. There seems to be an abundance of resources available to respond to each disaster area including emergency response teams, disaster mortuary teams, disaster medical assistant teams, urban search and rescue task forces, and incident support teams.Because of this, my thoughts are that in order to have such a response there had to be a certain level of preparedness. Therefore my top rated selection is the preparedness phase. Closely following is the response itself. For reasons previously stated the response phase is my second rated phase for this scenario. Multiple agencies from many different states responded with the appropriate resources within hours of the attacks. Thirdly, the recovery phase is m y next selection of importance.This phase is the measure of how well prepared and/or how quickly the response was including lives and property saved. The recovery phase directly leads into the mitigation phase as the last phase to be implemented. The mitigation phase allows for evaluation of the response and recovery taking into account for the entire operation as a whole. It can be utilized as a teaching tool of what went wrong or right and how to do it better next time. Learning from a disaster and how the event affected the area it encompassed is the primary goal of mitigation.Based on the information contained in the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 which of the following phases of emergency management were best fulfilled? Please place the four phases in order of which phases was best planned/implemented with the best implemented phase ranked first. Please justify your response. After reading the National Situation Update for September 12, 2001 I would place the following phases in order of best planned and implemented with the best-implemented phase listed first. * The response phase * The preparedness phase * The recovery phase The mitigation phase Overall, response was overwhelming. Multiple agencies from all over the U. S. responded to the disaster. These ranged from mortuary response teams to disaster medical response teams as well as urban search and rescue task forces. The response was excellent. Because no one prior to the September 11, 2001 could foresee the attacks, planning for such an event could not have been accomplished. Due to the fact that the U. S. had planned for other natural disasters in other parts of the country I believe that the preparedness for the attacks was next best met.Being prepared for other disasters that cause mass destruction and loss of life we were able to respond quickly and efficiently. Recovery was slow due to the magnitude of the attacks. Four separate events within hours of each other heavily taske d our resources and made for a long recovery process. Debris recovery was primarily lead by the U. S. Army Core of Engineers. However, psychological recovery has taken and probably will take many more years. Economic recovery has also been slow. As for mitigation, the damage had already been done.There was no way to know what was going to happen and therefore contingencies to lesson the effects could not be made. Mitigation in this regard comes into play with agencies like the Red Cross providing blood products for the injured, shelter for the disaster workers, and fund raising. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.In retrospect and in YOUR opinion (Hindsight is always 20/20),   if any singular aspect of planning and implementation for such a disaster could have possibly prevented 9-11 what could it have been? No, I do not think that 9-11 could have been prevented. WE have learned valuable lessons from that tragic attack, but it the terrorist took advantage of our security, and process of how we conduct our affairs. Now that we know what we know, we have changed our processes, and we continue to alter them. We have tightend our security.Our Intelligence forces now are able to put threats and information together that prior to 9-11 we wouldn’t have considered. What are some of the distinguishing features between a natural disaster and a man-made disaster such a 9-11? A natural disaster is an effect of nature such as a volcanic eruption, earthquake, or hurricane. These cannot be prevented but can be prepared for. A man-made disaster is a catastrophe or tragedy caused by humans. Such as bombings, the 9-11 attack, arson. These can be prevented.If a terrorist attack or another significant disaster were to hit the United States today that is similar to that which occurred on 9-11 or Hurricane Katrina were to occur today, which of the four phases of emergency management do you believe we would respond to significantly better today. Please justify your response. As with all major disasters or accidents we learn each time we fall victim to them. Future events such as the September 11, 2001 attacks, now that we have experienced such an event, can be better prepared for. In this way we will have better response, more effective mitigation, and a quicker recovery process.

Market Analysis of Fortress

Table of Contents 1) Executive Summary4 2) Company Background4 2. 1) Company Prospect4 2. 2) Market Leading History5 3) Competitors Analysis6 3. 1) Industry Perspective6 3. 2) Market Leader — Broadway (in 4P points of view)6 3. 3) Market Challenger — Gome (in 4P points of view)6 3. 4) Company Review6 4) External Environment Analysis7 4. 1) Geographical view7 4. 2) Demographical7 4. 3) PEST Analysis7 a. Political7 b. Economic Environment8 c. Social Environment8 d. Technological Environment9 5) Consumer Review9 Dissonance-reducing buying behavior10 6) SWOT Analysis10 a. Strengths10 b. Weaknesses11 c. Opportunities12 . Threats13 7) Conclusion and Recommendations13 7. 1) Target Market and Positioning Strategies13 7. 2) Marketing mix programs14 a)Product14 b)Price14 c)Place15 d)Promotions15 1) Executive Summary This marketing report is aimed to analyze the electrical appliance retailer, Fortress, and provide(provides) several recommendations to improve its market positioning that can achieve its targets and objectives. After investigating the current situation and external environment, it is suggested to launch a new promotion campaign that allows Fortress to gain more attention from consumers and succeed in the industry.It is found that the trend of collective purchasing is significant on the internet. Also, the number of marriage increased with the economy rebounded. In the Social Awareness on the environmental friendly penetrate to the public. Therefore, the promotion campaign is designed from these findings so as to enhance its competitiveness in the market. And, other detailed findings will be explicated in later parts. This promotion campaign is to offer a bundle of products labeled with high energy-saving efficiency for the young couples planned to be married.And, the marketing calendar as to the implementation of this promotion campaign will be explicitly shown to execute the proposed marketing mix program. 2) Company Background Fortress was es tablished for thirty six years in Hong Kong, founded in 1975 and acquired by Hutchison Whampoa Limited (HWL) in 1986. It has expanded its business up to around 67 outlets hiring more than one thousand staff in Hong Kong. As for First mover advantages, Fortress is the first Hong Kong retailer to offer one-stop shop convenience and a multi-zone in-store retail concept in this industry.All these contribute to its current market offering, but not market myopia, which allows(allow? ) customers to enjoy excellent time-saving shopping so as to fulfill their needs and wants. In order to publicize its new smart living concept, Fortress publishes online magazine, â€Å"Wave†, and a number of free seminars on different interests including high-definition products, computers, digital cameras, home audio and video studio are held to educate consumers about the technology development and new products arrival in Fortress. . 1) Company Prospect â€Å"Inspiring Smart Living† – I t was introduced in 2004. Of this core aspiration of Fortress, professional services and advices provided by Fortress will be offered to customer in order to inculcate them to start â€Å"smart living†. â€Å"Smart living† means living with the support of the advanced technology. This mainly aims at inducing consumers to alter their life style to the advanced life style through leveraging advanced digital devices and home appliances. Customer-Oriented Services and Products ProvidedTo accompany with its prospect, Fortress allocates much resources in providing excellent customer services and introducing a variety of products. Thus, many external organizations recognized its outstanding services. a. Customer-Oriented Services The frontline staff will base on the different customer’s preferences to provide personalized recommendations on the particular products or other insurance products in After-Sale service. Some of customer services have been firstly introduced in the consumer electronics retail market, which Fortress gained several first-mover advantages.For instance, Fortress was the first one to launch the ‘24-Month Interest Free Installment’ Program, ‘Purchase-to-play’ Service; a ‘PAY THE DIFFERENCE’ policy that guarantees shoppers the lowest prices on every product every day, ‘Ideal Gift List Service’ and an ‘Emergency Replacement Service’ that guarantees ultimate satisfaction through the second year of product life. To ensure the high standard quality of the customer service, â€Å"Fortress Academy† was established to cultivate the continuous learning culture and to provide comprehensive training program to staff, ranging from frontline to management. . Products Offer Fortress has more than 50 suppliers that supply a wide range of electronic appliance and digital products to sell in retail stores. From the supplier list of Fortress, the product differentiation is typically high. It targets on undifferentiated market to satisfy different customers’ needs and wants. Besides, it also manufactures its own products named as â€Å"Fortress† brand to target the consumers with high-price sensitive. 2. 2) Market Leading HistoryTo achieve the large scale of the market shares, many innovative pioneering policies has(have) been created by Fortress, and some of these policies were later also adopted by other competitors. 3) Competitors Analysis 3. 1) Industry Perspective Being a robust market leader in the electronic retailing market, Fortress develops a wide brand network in the local market. Comparing with Fortress, Broadway is the closest market leader in the industry with narrower customer coverage . However, Broadway and Gome are good at different fields. In fact, they have quite different marketing strategies.Fortress aims at developing a wide distribution network and convenient locations for customers in order to create high accessi bility to the target market. 3. 2) Market Leader — Broadway (in 4P points of view) For Broadway, the marketing strategy is more trendy and fashionable. Like the topic of current TV commercials, â€Å"Rock-Happy-Life†, it aims to promote happiness in life with â€Å"rock† style, as â€Å"rock† style is considered as youngster music, so Broadway has given an impression to customers that it is a trendy and young brand, and aims at improving customers’ lifestyle by providing more digital devices.As the closest competitor for Fortress in the industry, it does not only pioneered in using celebrity as spokesman and some policies, but also follows most the pioneering policies made by Fortress, such as the free interest installment payment pioneered by Fortress. However, Fortress has also adapted some of the policies firstly made by Broadway, for example providing gift to customers. It offers products with similar brands and prices as Fortress does. 3. 3) M arket Challenger — Gome (in 4P points of view)Gome is the largest electronic appliance retailer in China. More than 740 outlets are widely-spread in China, including Hong Kong outlets. Gome has seen the potential business opportunity of electronic appliance with Chinese brands in Hong Kong, so Gome invaded in this industry with Market Challenger strategy to offer various the products with Chinese Brand at lower prices, which can attack Fortress’s weaknesses on this kind of products and avoid the leader and challenge in this market. It adopted similar promotion strategy as Fortress. 3. 4) Company ReviewStrength Fortress has won many awards, like Metropolis Daily Print Ad Award 2004, My Best HK Brands 2005, the HKMA and TVB Award for Marketing Excellence, top 10 favorable brands in HK by Guangzhou Daily, etc. The market share is large; hence Fortress is defined as Market Leader. Meanwhile, Broadway also promotes the similar brand campaign. Hence, it is defined as Market Leader. Weakness Fortress does not have much Chinese brand products. Gome provides similar home appliance products as Fortress does, but the brands are mainly China local top brands.Under this review, Gome attempts to attack this Fortress’s weakness, so Gome is defined as Market Challenger. 4) External Environment Analysis 4. 1) Geographical view Hong Kong is the city with large population and high density and its traffic systems also are complete and convenient. When customers want to do shopping here, they can travel to the nearest shop in short time. No matter where the shop it locates, it still have lots of potential customers around the shop place. It means that retailer shops may not need to open plenty of stores within the same areas, which can minimize the overall operating costs.Also, the geographical advantage of the location between Hong Kong and other cities in Mainland China is certainly vital to any business, in terms of logistics and tourism. 4. 2) Demographica l view According to Hong Kong Commercial Daily, Hong Kong’s population consists of approximately 50% of middle class family. This group generally is well-educated, willing to consume and has higher purchase power. In the society, they play a significant role as they have an enormous contribution on consumption. Furthermore, according to Census and Statistics Department, there are about 30% of people aged between 15 and 34.Also, from the latest population census conducted by Census and Statistics Department shown, the number of resident at mid-class increased up to 45 % of the overall working population ( refer to appendix 1). The mid-class is defined as the resident who earn in the range of $10,000 up to $40,000 in their monthly income in the working population. Of these residents at mid-class level, they mostly completed the secondary school certificates and more (than) a half of them completed post-secondary education.It is expected this group of people will continuous to g row for a decade, which is a business opportunity for the companies selling normal goods. In recent year, the number of marriages increased from 43 thousand people in 2005 to 52. 8 thousand people in 2010. The overall trend of the marriages was increase(d) when the economy was better. Also, the number of households was increased by 21 thousands. These two statistics shows the(that) there was an increasing trend of a new marriages forming a new â€Å"love nest†. 4. 3) PEST Analysis a. PoliticalAfter financial budget 2011-2011 released, John Tsang, financial secretary, announced that the government will distribute $6,000 cash to Hong Kong permanent residents aged 18 or above. The overall total cash amount of this policy is estimated to be around 37 billion. Minimum Wage policy is going to implement on the 1st May, 2011. This policy is purposed to set $28 per hour for all full-time and part time workers in Hong Kong. Companies anticipate that this may increase the labor cost for the companies which employ low-skilled workers. b. Economic Environment In 2011, Hong Kong economy is believed to be better than last year.John Tsang, Financial secretary, estimates that the economy will grow about 4% in 2011. With the low unemployment rate and the increased mid-point salary, the purchasing power of consumers will be stronger than ever. The Centa-City Index shows the housing price increased to 87. 52 of 100, compared with that of 2008, which was 55. 46. It reveals the housing price is estimated to approach the highest housing price in1997. From the report on rent index in Housing conducted by Rating and Valuation Department, there was also an increasing trend in the housing rent, which increased to around 130, compared with 100 of the index in 1999.It shows the rent was increasing during the past years. Meanwhile, The United States Federal Reserve Board implemented a second round of quantitative easing (QE2) with 600 billion US dollars. It is expected that QE2 will depreciate value of US dollars. Finally, Hong Kong currency will be depreciated due to the linked exchange rate system. Also, Renminbi (RMB) continues to appreciate year by year. If the tourists from other countries, especially mainland china, purchase goods in HK, they will enjoy the currency depreciation.Thus shopping in HK is so attractive to them but, for local resident, the inflation rate is anticipated to become serious in the near future. However, in March 2011, a serious earthquake in Japan has destroyed lots of factories. Japan will spend a long time to recovery all. Yet, most of electronic components are made by Japan corporations. It is expected that these components may be shortage in the future, so the final goods of these components, such as digital cameras and notebook, are also expected to be out of stock.The recent investigation of overall economic situation in Hong Kong, which was conducted by Census and Statistics Department, GDP per capita was 25430 U. S dollar and the number of visitor was 36 millions, around 50% of that was Mainland visitors. It is expected that the Hong Kong economy will grow steadily. Moreover, on 3rd May 2011, Census and Statistics Department announced the over-night visitors spent around $6700 HKD on average, whilst non-over-night visitors spend about $1800 HKD on average.Most of the retailers believe that the number of visitors will still increase continuously, and their consumption will definitely positively affect to their profits. c. Social Environment The â€Å"Collective Purchase† concept has been recently developed on the internet, which a large group of people who have a same interest on the specific product creates a stronger buyer power to the seller so as to force the seller to offer a discount by buying a large amount of the same item. However, this kind of strategy may encourage the consumers to wait until the success of the group formation.According to the report of WenWeiPo daily on 13rd Mar 201 1, 82 billion U. S. dollars worth of retail business is achieved through online transaction, which was about 1/10 of the retail industry’s trade. With the establishment of Taobao. com, the online shopping model of B2B, B2C and C2C has been developed well. The interaction of the business activities between Mainland Cities and Hong Kong is stronger than ever. More Hong Kong consumers are willing to order the goods on Taobao. com, because the products often are at lower prices than the retailer outlets in Hong Kong.And, more Mainland onliners are willing to spend money on Taobao. com to purchase the goods of Hong Kong local brands. This can be seen that the online business does not just only serve the local consumers only, but also the national consumers. The investigation of the number of hours spending on the internet conducted by Synovate, a marketing research company, shows the average minutes spending on the internet rose from 136 minutes to 145 minutes, during past 4 years . On the contrary, the average time spending on TV was less than that on the internet.Therefore, people tend to spend more time on the internet. People start to cultivate a â€Å"Green† environment. Many of them attempt to choose the electronic appliance with low electricity usage to save the environment. Being environmental-friendly, more companies start to implement environmentally sustainable strategies and practices, such as recyclable packaging, better pollution controls, more energy-efficient operations and so on. This can help companies to improve its(their) image and reputation. d. Technological EnvironmentOnline Shopping has become popular to the society, especially the advanced technology of mobile phone and the mobility internet services are widely used in Hong Kong. Hence, many companies have started to setup a website to operate their business on the internet at the same time. The product life of a digital product is expected to be shorter due to the fast develop ment of a new product model and technology . quickly replaced in a short period. The main reason is that the company frequently promotes the new product in order to compete with other rivals.For instance, IPad1 has already been implemented in last year, but now IPad2 is introduced in this year. It is estimated that the competitiveness in digital products will be more and more intensive in the coming future. 5) Consumer Review Consumer involvement of buying home appliances is mainly determined by, a) previous experience, b) interest and c) perceived risk of negative consequences a. Previous experience As the functions of home appliance are developed to be more advanced time by time, consumers may not be always familiar with the new latest functions when a brand-new product is launched to the market.Hence, it requires consumers to spend time on searching its information internally and externally on the brand’s differences of the home appliance products to deliberate its unfamil iar functions in a familiar product category. b. Interest Consumers’ interests can be derived from the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Home appliances aim at assisting the consumer’s daily life. This can be referred to the physiological needs, safety needs and social needs. Of physiological needs, rice cookers and microwaves are typical example(s) of consumers’ need recognition.Other electronic appliances, such as communication devices, can be fulfilled their social needs that interact with others. Safety concern of home appliances is always an importance factor to influence their buying decision, especially for the consumers who are married couples with children at the Family life-cycle stage. c. Potential risk of negative consequences Price is the key factor for the perceived risk of negative consequences, situation and social visibility, and they are directly related to the price; as the price of the product increases, so does the level of involvement.Som e of the large home appliance, such as refrigerator and television, are set to be at higher prices; therefore the tolerance of the risk of negative consequences will be lower. With home appliances at higher prices, consumer often requires longer length of time to make a decision. Thus, the level of consumer involvement can be concluded as relatively high. Dissonance-reducing buying behavior The price of electronic appliance is ranging from few hundred up to several thousands, and consumers purchase them infrequently.Moreover, the products among electronic appliance retailer industry are perceived with few brands differences with the major competitors. For instance, Fortress and other competitors provide the similar electronic appliances and brands. The products and services provided by Fortress and Boardway are similar, so there is few brand difference. Because of this, the consumers behave as Dissonance-reducing buying behavior and mainly response to the after-sale services, discou nt and promotion campaigns to make their purchasing decision. 6) SWOT Analysis . Strengths Selectively distributed retail stores in Hong Kong From the geographical view, the population density is relatively high in Hong Kong; therefore the number of outlets may not need to be widely distributed. Fortress is one of the leading retailers of electronic appliances in Hong Kong with over 67 outlets, which the accessibility for consumers is high. Thus, the channel power is created towards the suppliers, which can enjoy the competitive advantage of this channel partnering, and the setup and operation cost are optimized efficiently.As a result, consumers can enjoy the optimal price. Reliable Services Mix due to Excellent Comprehensive Training For retail market, service is heterogeneous and vital to the retail market. Fortress emphasizes on the personal selling, so it set up a â€Å"Fortress Academy† to provide a thorough and extensive staff training program for frontline salesperson s on â€Å"frontline consumer service†, â€Å"technical knowledge† and â€Å"management skill†. By joining this program, staffs can be inculcated with effective customer service, in-depth products knowledge and appropriate management skills.Accordingly, experienced and enthusiastic staff serves the customers confidently and convince the customers properly, and so they are the most valuable asset to Fortress. Additionally, Fortress developed â€Å"smart living†, therefore the products displayed in outlets are mostly like to be more advanced technology. Referring to the product life cycle, the new launched products should be displayed with an informative promotion strategy, so Fortress staff is(are) always well-prepared from their trainings. Fortress is a customer-orientated company. It provides differentiated after-sales services to customers.They include â€Å"24-month interest free installment† to release consumers’ burden; â€Å"Purchase- to-Play† service to plan and install AV products for consumers; â€Å"10-days Money Back Guarantee† to strengthen consumers’ confidence towards its products. Furthermore, Fortress provides mobile phone insurance to consumers, which can raise consumer’s confidence in purchasing mobile phone in Fortress. Meanwhile, consumers can get the refund or exchange if they were unsatisfied with the products. The outstanding services are highly recognized and awarded, as in â€Å"Best Customer Services Award† and â€Å"Hong Kong Merchant of Integrity†, by media and other xternal associations, which consumers should comfort with its services and integrity. Sole Agency Advantages Fortress has a number of exclusive agents to engage in a line of business without competition. For instance, Fortress gained the exclusive advantage from Stiebel Eltron, which mainly produces water heaters (See Reference), and launched the promotion campaign of limited quantity wit h it. During the past years, Fortress carried out this strategic alliance along with a number of brands, as in HPC and Hissense, to enlarge its market shares and the product category is enhanced more than the other competitors’ one .Since some consumers may have loyalty to some specific brands, Fortress will be the only distribution channel for them to purchase. This certainly brings a stronger bargaining position in Fortress. b. Weaknesses Difficult to differentiate from competitors Variety of products, quality of products and sales service, proficiency of products knowledge, and distribution of stores of Fortress are similar to its competitors, as in Boardway. It is easy for consumers to seek for complements from competitors due to the low switching cost.Moreover, consumers (have difficulty in) are difficult to distinguish between Fortress and its competitors, since Fortress focus on targeting the mass market and all previous unique marketing strategy were quickly adopted b y other market followers. Consequently, consumers may switch to other retailers based on souvenir, ad-hoc promotion or discounted price but it is not merely because of the brand of Fortress. Multifarious Products Offers Qualified products with low selling price are inclined to be more popular when the economy is downturn.Since the manufacturing cost and the delivery fee of products made in China are lower, the listed prices of China’s brand products are lower. For these reasons, Fortress may lose some price sensitive consumers due to narrow range of products from China’s brand. One of its competitors, Gome Electrical Appliances, is offering qualified China’s brand products with low price. Frontline salespeople are educated with basic and general products knowledge, which is not specific enough. Most buyers, especially the beginners and learners, can be satisfied with the sales service.Nonetheless, some professionals may be discouraged by salespeople’s lim ited products knowledge. Also, the professional specific components of a product, such as camera lens, are uncommon to display in Fortress. Consequently, Fortress may potentially lose these digital professionals, who may consume frequently. High Inventory Cost of Bulk Unsold Items For the unsold Electronic Appliance, they occupy large storage space, so it leads to higher inventory costs to store them. Compared with other electronic appliance companies, Fortress targets mass market, so various electronic appliances at bulk size will be offered.However, when these items are unsold, Fortress suffers a significant inventory cost and cannot utilize the cash flow appropriately. Hard to Hold Customer Loyalty Compared with the direct closest competitor- Broadway, Fortress has not launched the membership programme to build up the long term relationship and loyalty with customer in retail outlets, although there is a membership programme for the customer to do online shopping. From this, the customer loyalty may not be solidified strongly due to the weaker Customer Relationship Management.Even though Fortress co-operates MoneyBack ( ) to promote different kinds of special offers to the MoneyBack owners, this promotion channel of non-personal communication is simply not wide-spread to the target customer causing the promotion strategy and AIDA model may not be effective as expected. c. Opportunities Extra HKD$6,000 allowance Hong Kong government proposed to distribute 6,000 for each citizen who is aged 18 or above. It can absolutely induce citizens, especially youngsters, to consume more.From Hong Kong China News Agency survey shown, about 40% of respondents aged between 18 and 30 who prefer to spend this money on their favor digital products including iPhone and cameras, therefore it is definitely a significant potential opportunity to retailer companies. Trend of collective buying Youngsters in Mainland China, Taiwan and Hong Kong prefer collective buying through the i nternet rather than purchasing in retail shops. According to the Phoenix News, there is a large potential booming trend of collective buying.They can purchase products in a special discount throughout the collective buying. Fortress can take the advantage of the trend to expand the market share in Hong Kong and to promote its products simultaneously. By using the developed and faultless online sales platform, Fortress can implement the idea of collective buying inexpensively. Green concept In recent years, public’s concern on environmental issue has been aroused. Companies like CLP Power Hong Kong Limited and EPS Company have adopted policies to promote their company products and services.For instance, CLP has launched several programs like â€Å"Old Appliances Recycling Program† and â€Å"Energy Saving Proposal† provided from their professionals; besides, EPS has launched the â€Å"EPS iDo† to promote the donation to plant trees in Hong Kong urban distri cts, ever since the program was launched they have already planted more than 2600 trees. By employing green concept, companies can develop a positive image towards public and create a sustainable company income in the future. d. Threats Loss of Japanese suppliers Owing to the disastrous earthquake in Japan, most of the electronic suppliers were suspended.The cost of related complements may increase due to the high demand. In the meantime, the cost of products may be raised and, consequently, Fortress may earn less. Vertical Channel Conflict Online business has been adopted by companies including the direct suppliers. Online retail business can easily be substituted by these mature shopping platforms. Thus, most competitors attempt to prevent from this online business to avoid vertical channel conflict. It is because suppliers may directly distribute their product though the internet channel.All these may affect the online business of Fortress. 7) Conclusion and Recommendations 7. 1) Target Market and Positioning Strategies The purposed promotion campaign aims at targeting those who planned to get married and are going to purchase or renovate their houses aged between 27 and 37 in the coming 6 months. The reasons why this segment is chosen are because the targeted customers are most likely to purchase numerous new home appliances; therefore they have the highest possibility to contribute revenues to Fortress.This target segment is derived from the above analysis with supporting figures and facts, thus it is measurable, accessible and actionable. Unmarried couples can enjoy discounted prices through this promotion campaign. This campaign consists of bundle pricing strategy and niche marketing strategy. To further illustrate, the idea is that the target customers will be acknowledged this package through different promotion channels to motive the collective buying behavior on Fortress online shopping website. This package consists of three product categories.It a llows customers to select one product in each category of A, B and C on a first-come-first-serve basis with limited time and quantity. Goal & Marketing objective This package is purposed to optimize the inventory spaces and the warehouse management efficiency. It generally is for consumers to select the three most favorite products from the product list of washing machine, refrigerator and TV respectively. The product list is suggested to contain clearance items with energy-saving label, since the Green environmental friendly starts to penetrate to the public.This package is suggested to offer special discounts to fiance couples, so as to build up a long term relationship with them. By launching this, it is expected to increase the market share by 6% and significantly increases the revenue by 8% in a short time. 7. 2) Marketing mix programs a) Product This promotion mainly emphasizes on cleansing the warehouse, which is one of the weaknesses of Fortress, so the product list should c ontain high and low brands of home appliances with bulky size, such as air conditioner and washing machine, in each category of the product list promoted.The quantity in each category should be sold based on the number of products left in the warehouse. The selected products in each category will be reserved by customers on first-come-first-serve basis. b) Price The bundle pricing strategy & Promotional Pricing The promotional pricing strategy is applied to the package, this temporarily promotion to offer discounts from normal prices for increasing sales and reducing inventories. The bundle pricing strategy is implemented in this campaign promotion to offer discounted price by purchasing a bundle of home appliances – promoted package.Based on political analysis, a couple will receive HKD$12,000 from HKSAR government. This policy can induce unmarried couple to consume in this campaign. The bundle price of television, washing machine and refrigerator (â€Å"A+B+C†) is se t to be HK$13,140, which means love forever in Cantonese implication. c) Place As for Market factors, the fiance couples would likely own or rent a new house for their new life, so Fortress may promote its campaign through the channels of wedding services as follows. Physical distribution–Strategic Channel AlliancesFortress can use the existing channels to promote this campaign. For instance, Fortress may co-operate with wedding consulting companies, solicitors, interior design companies and property agent to deliver this message, since the target customers may go through these two channels to organize their wedding. All these purposed channels needed to reach an agreement Moreover, according to the investigation of the time spending on the Internet, people spent their time on the Internet more than that of TV.Thus, Fortress may consider the Internet advertisements to draw the target customer attentions, and this is much cheaper than the TV ads. There are some existing famous forums, such as HK Discuss Forum and Uwants, to discuss the plan for wedding issues. Hence, Fortress may advertise its campaign to these forums and support the environmental friendly trend. For other competitors, many of them have not established the online store on the internet and mainly focus on the digital devices rather than home appliances; therefore this promotion campaign is difficult to be imitated due to the barrier of entry.Logistics After the end of campaign, Fortress will consolidate all the ordered products and deliver them in a short time, so it lowers the transportation cost, and it fully utilize the logistics resources. Make use of social network The popularity of the social network, such as Facebook, can be shown by the statistic report of Facebook in year 2010. It was reported that the number of Facebook user in Hong Kong on Dec 31st 2010 has reached 3. 67Millions people. Since the Fan pages of Fortress on Facebook has been established 2 months ago, the number of fans was only around 1650 people who â€Å"Like† this page.The effectiveness is not explosive enough to arouse the attention of the public. Therefore, it is suggested that, in order to grasp the channel effectively, when the pages on Facebook reach a certain amount of fans, Fortress will offer coupons or gifts through their e-mail addresses. With more people â€Å"Like† this page, this channel can raise the awareness of a new product arrival effectively and efficiently with several other promotional channels together. d) Promotions Informative promotion through online channel and strategy alliances Posters with the detail of the program are suggested to be posted on the Facebook communication channel.Fortress can make use of this online instant communication platform in order to convey the most updated information to the customers. Besides, in order to arouse people’s interest on this program, all of the retail shops will display the promotion poster on the eye -catching position. Moreover, leaflets will be distributed to the marketing alliances mentioned in the previous part; these leaflets will be displayed in their information desk or even attached to their promotion documents. Emotional appeals on the promotion campaignIt is recommended to use emotional appeals to move the fiance couple. In the poster, it is suggested to use the emotional slogan emphasizing on the eternity love and the care of husbands towards the wife to touch the target customers. 8) Marketing Calendar 9) Appendix Appendix 1 Extract of 1/2011 Population Report, Census and Statistics Department Appendix 2 Extract of Marriage numbers in Hong Kong from Census and Statistics Department Appendix 3 Poster suggested to be used in the promotional campaign Appendix 4Extract of property price movement between 2002 and 2010 by Centaline Property Appendix 5 Top 30 countries with highest number of Facebook users (31st Dec 2010 – data from Facebook) Rank| Country| Number of Facebook users Dec 31st 2008| Number of Facebook users Dec 31st 2009| Number of Facebook users Dec 31st 2010| 12 month growth %| 24 month growth %| 1| USA| 42,078,960| 101,303,240| 145,749,580| 43. 90%| 246. 40%| 2| Indonesia| 897,040| 14,681,580| 32,129,460| 118. 80%| 3481. 70%| 3| UK| 14,937,180| 22,625,300| 28,661,600| 26. 70%| 91. 0%| 4| Turkey| 7,934,340| 16,943,780| 24,163,600| 42. 60%| 204. 50%| 5| France| 6,587,240| 14,290,700| 20,469,420| 43. 20%| 210. 70%| 6| Philippines| 390,700| 8,387,560| 18,901,900| 125. 40%| 4738%| †¦|   |   |   |   |   |   | 27| Hong Kong| 1,458,520| 2,727,980| 3,673,580| 34. 70%| 151. 90%| 10) Reference [1] Broadway – Company Background http://www. broadway. com. hk/node/502 [2] Broadway – Shop Locator http://www. broadway. com. hk/shop [3]Centaline Property – Centadata http://www. centadata. com/cci/cci. htm [4]CLP Hong Kong:Old Appliance Recycling Program ttps://www. clponline. com. hk/myHome/EcoLivingIdeas/R ecyclingProgram/Pages/Default. aspx? lang=en [5]CnYes. com: iPad2 5 http://news. cnyes. com/Content/20110418/KDW8J0QVCEX16. shtml [6] Fortress homepage – Company Background http://www. fortress. com. hk/fortress/content/ABOUT_US/en/index. html? hs_ctn_ref=ABOUT_US [7] Fortress – Store Locator http://www. fortress. com. hk/fortress/jsp/sys/Sf_render. jsp? hf_s_id=FT11&hf_srv_id=Nv_fstore_loc&hf_rand=2107567796. [8]Gome – Electrical Appliances Holding Limited Homepage http://www. gome. com. k/ [9]Hong Kong Commercial Daily: http://www. hkcd. com. hk/content/2010-06/07/content_2536481. htm [10] Hong Kong Headline Daily: 49% http://news. hkheadline. com/dailynews/content_hk/2011/01/14/136085. asp [11]Hong Kong Information Services Department: News Release http://www. info. gov. hk/gia/general/201104/13/P201104130221. htm [12]Hotpool: poster of DHE SL http://www. hotpool. com. hk/msg. php? id=234 [13] Nick burcher: Latest Facebook usage figures http://www. nickburc her. com/2011/01/facebook-usage-statistics-dec-31st-2010. tm l [14] SingTao: 610 http://hk. news. yahoo. com/article/110309/3/n4m8. html [15] Wenwei: http://info. wenweipo. com/index. php/? action-viewnews-itemid-43284 [16]Hong Kong China News Agency: http://www. hkcna. hk/content/2011/0331/93831. shtml Group photos Ivan Alen Raine Ting Ting Phoenix Jessica Michael Janet ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. broadway. com. hk/shop (Shop location distribution) [ 2 ]. http://finance. ifeng. com/money/wealth/millionaire/20110401/3800251. shtml