Children Are Our Future

Children Are Our Future Our greatest glory consist in not ever failing, but in rising every time we fall. (Oliver Godsmith) The children of todays society will never know the true meaning of this quote or what its like to fall and get right back up to try again. Many say if you dont award your children for participating, theyll choose not to participate and wont get anything done. As a parent its hard to see your child fail considering you want nothing less than the best and to see them happy, but they should not be entitled to a trophy just for showing up and going through the motions. The millennials have been called everything from coddled to just downright spoiled. Their overal attitude is horrible, always thinking they know whats best and whatever they do will be accepted and rewarded. This, however, is through no fault of the child but of the parents and caregivers that raised them. A writer from the Amrican Academy of Pediatrics states, From Californias soccer fields to the basketball courts of New York, sports-league organizers are beginning to question the practice of congratulating every kid on every team just for putting on a uniform. This just shows that people can see what participation trophies do to children. By giving them an award for participating and going through the motions will kill their entire motivation and want to do better. With these participation trophies they will fail and not kow how to handle it. With participation trophins theyll never learn to fail, without failure theyll nver learn to succeed. Just as eveyone says, the children are our future. If we continue to hand out awards for participatinon, theyll never learn and give up as soon as they are unable to complete a task. Technology doent make anything better as they get frustrated if something doesnt pop up as fast as they would like. The millennial generation is electroniclly sophisticated as Julie A. Ray from the Association for Childhood Education International states. With as many technological advancements as ther are in the world today, very few people have patience and its getting worse as time goes on. Having no patience is also a factor in weather anyone will continue to fail and succeed or just fail and never try again and expect a reward for onece again, going through the motions. You will never learn to do things to the best of your ability if you dont ever fail. Part of being human is learning to accept the fact that you will fail, weather it be one, three, ten, or even a hundred times before you succeed, you will fail. Michael Jordan, a retired professional basketball player and well reapected rolemodel, says, Ive missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. Ive lost almost 300 games. 26 times, Ive been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. Ive failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed. Jordan was not handed a trophy for missing 26 game winning shots, he was awarded a trophy for working hard and failing. Even though he failed he never gave up. He pushed and pushed and worked everyday until he was succesful, until he was able to make those game winning shots that everyone was depending on him for. When were not feeling overwhelmed, one highly sensitive person (HSP) told a reporter for a California newspaper, we can experience joy and love much more deeply than the nonHSP. (Christine Rosen) Raising children on paticipatin trophies will give them a higher risk of becoming a HSP. They wont know how to handle the conditions of life as it can be fast paced. In the real world, there is no one to hold your hand or tell you what to do and how to do it. You have to learn from your mistakes as well as everyone elses. If you are awarded a trophy for showing up and just being there and participating, you wont learn how to make a mistake and if we continue to hand out trophies like its candy, no one else will learn to make mistakes either. Once you are an adult and youre out on your own and you make a mistake and you fail, youll think that its all going to be okay, someone will come and fix it, once you realize no one is there to fix it and no one is going to be there to tell you its okay, youre going to feel like a failure, something that youve never felt before because for your entire life, everything has been handed to you. Handing out trophies like its going out of style is a big mistake. Children are our future, raising them on participation trophies will improve nothing, do nothing but destroy children and their future. As soon as they fail and realize that its not okay, they will no longer be confident in themselves or in anything that they do. Part of success is confidence in failure, knowing that you will succeed if you just try again , even if you fail more than youd like to admit. You will never get anywhere if you never try.

SWOT and PEST Analysis of Indias Telecom Sector

SWOT and PEST Analysis of Indias Telecom Sector INTRO Indian telecom industry worlds fastest growing industry(last three years 42%) and adding millions of customer monthly and reach to mark of more than 700 million customer mark in the end of year 2010. It is the most dynamic industry and based on the tough competition, price war emerged in the 3rd quarter of 2010. It has lowest tariffs in the world and highest telephone density. It also suffers from highest churn rate 2% and 5% for postpaid and prepaid respectively. It also has lowest ARPU (average revenue per user). It is second largest network in the world (in terms of number of subscriber #1st china) The wireless sector has become so dominant that it is has almost made the landline part dormant with no new happenings/activities/technology in that domain of telecommunication services. A look at their contribution to the total telephone services shows the rapidly change face of the telecommunication industry in India. This sea change has been caused by a number of factors varying from reduction in tariffs and cost of mobile handsets to change in government policies to mindset of the general public. Market Structure Indian telecommunication market is divided into a total of 23 circles, which include 4 metros, and 19 other circles. These circles are further classified into A, B and C type of circles base in the certain economic parameters and revenue potential. Circles were categorized as A,B, C based on the revenue potential as per the 1st auction in 1995. Total Market Size: US $ 60 Billion Telecommunication Services can be broadly classified under 3 heads: Telephone, Broadcasting and Internet. An exponential growth in the number of subscribers has been witnessed over the recent years with the annual growth going as high as 47%. Indian tariffs are very low in comparison to world standards. The COMPANIES which I am going to analyze is top 5 as per the market share shown by above table BHARTI AIRTEL IDEA VODAFONE BSNL AIRCEL PEST ANALYSIS It is the frame work designed to assess the macro environment of any country, organization or company. It is basically include the following four factors but now days it extends further to PESTELED the extension denotes as ENVIROMENT -LEGAL-ETHICS-DEMOGRAPHICS. This analysis tries to find all details related to its four heads, which has some meaning to business and affect business activities.it is the part of external analysis while conducting strategic analysis for business. It is useful tool to understand business growth opportunities and if any previous decline why was decline. With the increase of competition and fast changing global scenario each firm is doing this to be dynamic in its position. POLITICAL FACTORS GOVERNMENT TYPE LABOUR LAW, FREEDOM OF PRESS, RULES OF LAW, BUREAUCRACY, CORRUPTION TRADE RESTRICTIONS/ TARIFFS POLITICAL STABILITY ECONOMIC FACTORS ECONOMIC GROWTH INTEREST RATES EXCHANGE RATES INFLATION RATE BUSINESS CYCLE STAGE SOCIAL FACTOR CULTURAL ASPECTS BUYING BEHAVIOR POPULATION GROWTH RATE AGE DISTRIBUTION INCOME DISTRIBUTION LEVEL OF EDUCATION TECHNOLOGICAL FACTOR RATE OF OBSOLESCENCE RD FACILITIES SPEED OF TECHNOLOGICAL TRANSFER POLITICAL FACTOR- these factors are related to the politics of the country, it has huge impact as India has close environment before 1991 and its difficult or impossible to set up a business. Government type the current UPA government of India is progressive and liberal which laying path to economic development SWOT ANALYSIS It denotes STRENGTH -WEAKNESS-OPPERTUNITY-THREAT and this technique used to analyze a company during strategic planning. This technique is credited to Albert Humphery who led a convention at Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies. BHARTI AIRTEL: Bharti airtel limited is a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 19 countries across Asia and Africa. The company offers mobile voice data services, fixed line, high speed broadband, IPTV, DTH, turnkey telecom solutions for enterprises and national international long distance services to carriers. bharti airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology companies in the world by business week. bharti airtel had 200 million customers across its operations. STRENGTH Bharti Airtel has more than 65 million customers (July 2008). It is the largest cellular provider in India, and also supplies broadband and telephone services as well as many other telecommunications services to both domestic and corporate customers. Other stakeholders in Bharti Airtel include Sony-Ericsson, Nokia and Sing Tel, with whom they hold a strategic alliance. This means that the business has access to knowledge and technology from other parts of the telecommunications world. The company has covered the entire Indian nation with its network. This has underpinned its large and rising customer base. Weaknesses An often cited original weakness is that when the business was started by Sunil Bharti Mittal over 15 years ago, the business has little knowledge and experience of how a cellular telephone system actually worked. So the start-up business had to outsource to industry experts in the field. Until recently Airtel did not own its own towers, which was a particular strength of some of its competitors such as Hutchison Essar. Towers are important if your company wishes to provide wide coverage nationally. The fact that the Airtel has not pulled off a deal with South Africas MTN could signal the lack of any real emerging market investment opportunity for the business once the Indian market has become mature. Opportunities The company possesses a customized version of the Google search engine which will enhance broadband services to customers. The tie-up with Google can only enhance the Airtel brand, and also provides advertising opportunities in Indian for Google. Global telecommunications and new technology brands see Airtel as a key strategic player in the Indian market. The new iPhone will be launched in India via an Airtel distributorship. Another strategic partnership is held with BlackBerry Wireless Solutions. Despite being forced to outsource much of its technical operations in the early days, this allowed Airtel to work from its own blank sheet of paper, and to question industry approaches and practices for example replacing the Revenue-Per-Customer model with a Revenue-Per-Minute model which is better suited to India, as the company moved into small and remote villages and towns. The company is investing in its operation in 120,000 to 160,000 small villages every year. It sees that less well-off consumers may only be able to afford a few tens of Rupees per call, and also so that the business benefits are scalable using its Matchbox strategy. Bharti Airtel is embarking on another joint venture with Vodafone Essar and Idea Cellular to create a new independent tower company called Indus Towers. This new business will control more than 60% of Indias network towers. IPTV is another potential new service that could underpin the companys long-term strategy. Threats Airtel and Vodafone seem to be having an on/off relationship. Vodafone which owned a 5.6% stake in the Airtel business sold it back to Airtel, and instead invested in its rival Hutchison Essar. Knowledge and technology previously available to Airtel now moves into the hands of one of its competitors. The quickly changing pace of the global telecommunications industry could tempt Airtel to go along the acquisition trail which may make it vulnerable if the world goes into recession. Perhaps this was an impact upon the decision not to proceed with talks about the potential purchase of South Africas MTN in May 2008. This opened the door for talks between Reliance Communications Anil Ambani and MTN, allowing a competing Inidan industrialist to invest in the new emerging African telecommunications market. Bharti Airtel could also be the target for the takeover vision of other global telecommunications players that wish to move into the Indian market. VODAFONE- Vodafone Essar is the Indian subsidiary of Vodafone Group and commenced operations in 1994 when its predecessor Hutchison Telecom acquired the cellular license for Mumbai. The company now has operations across the country with over 127.34 million customers. In a survey conducted by Indias leading business weekly, Vodafone Essar was awarded Most Respected Company in the Telecom Sector for 2010.Vodafone is one of the worlds leading international mobile communication group STRENGTH Presence in many countries and backed by number one telecom country. Provider of 3G and blackberry services and business solution. Number one gainer due to MNP 50,000 customer. WEAKNESS THREAT OPPORTUNITIES Emerging markets and expansion abroad Innovation Product and services expansion Growing data business and 3G auctioning VAS as a means to increase ARPU (big boss, Zoo Z00) Growing Enterprise solution market (10.2% in 2009 anticipated) Large capital can be raised by listing Vodafone on Indian Stock Exchange(IPO) Tower sharing business with Indus Towers iDEA- idea is the 3rd largest mobile services operator in India, in revenue terms, and recorded a subscriber base of over 78 million as on end November 10. It became a pan-India integrated GSM operator covering the entire telephony landscape of the country, and expanded its NLD and ILD operations in FY 2010. During the year, Idea increased its revenue market share by over 1%, despite stiff tariff war in the market. The company has won license to offer 3G services in 11 service areas, which generate over 81% of the companys total revenue. Ideas 3G services will be launched in the year 2011. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPORTUNITIES AIRCEL The Aircel group is a joint venture between Maxis Communications Berhad of Malaysia and Sindya Securities Investments Private Limited, whose current shareholders are the Reddy family of Apollo Hospitals Group of India, with Maxis Communications holding a majority stake of 74% .Aircel commenced operations in 1999 and became the leading mobile operator in Tamil Nadu within 18 months. In December 2003, it launched commercially in Chennai and quickly established itself as a market leader a position it has held since. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPERTUNITIES BSNL Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. formed in October, 2000, is Worlds 7th largest Telecommunications Company providing comprehensive range of telecom services in India: Wire line, CDMA mobile, GSM Mobile, Internet, Broadband, Carrier service, MPLS-VPN, VSAT, VoIP services, IN Services etc. Presently it is one of the largest leading public sector unit in India. STRENGTH WEAKNESS THREAT OPPERTUNITIES Industry- pestel, porter, 7s Firm- swot,sap,etop,competitor, internal,externalpestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot pestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot pestel external factor external factor etop industry analysis competitors analysis competitors analysis mraketing analysis internal factor analysis swot

Personal Narrative: Hiking Accident :: essays research papers

Many years ago when I was a freshman in high school, an event happened to me that changed my life for the better. My friend invited me to go hiking with him and his sister. He was going to go hiking in Yosemite. The following day I prepared myself mentally and physically in order to accomplish this hike. While on the road my friend’s sister and I got to know each other very well. We talked about how we were doing in school, and many other things. As time went by we could see the mountains getting closer and closer to us. We could not wait to climb El Capitan. When we finally arrived, we unpacked and got ready to hike El Capitan. On the way up the hike we had a great time because as we hiked up we talked about how cool it was going to be up there on top of the world. After three hours we arrived at our first break stop. We stopped at a section that was on top of the waterfall. The view was amazing and spectacular because we had never seen anything like this. As we continued our hike after several more break stops, and nine more hours of hiking, we finally arrived at the top of El Capitan. Once we got to the top the view was amazing. We could not imagine how beautiful it was up there on top of the world. After about half an hour we started heading back down, when all of a sudden out of no where I felt someone push me out of the way. A man that was in a hurry to get back down pushed me so hard, that I lost my balance and fell of a twenty foot cliff. At that moment in time I could see flashbacks of my life. After a couple seconds of falling I somehow landed between two rocks which shattered my right foot. After that happen every one that was there tried to get help but unfortunately cell phones do not work in Yosemite, but the man that pushed me ove r the cliff had a walky-talky and he called for help.

America Needs Gay and Lesbian Marriage :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Same-sex marriage--why is it even an issue ?   To put it into perspective, 10% of the American population is homosexual, meaning this is not just a minor issue (Harbinger 681).   Also, with our society making significant strides toward equality in recent decades both in gender and racial issues, one has to think about sexual equality.   I will explain to the reader why we should legalize gay marriage, particularly in terms of justice and the benefits society reaps from same-sex marriage.   Also, the ramifications of the legalization of gay marriage, both for gays and society, will be examined.   Finally, I will refute arguments against same-sex marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society benefits by having fewer "closet gays."   "Closet gays" are homosexuals who try to abide by society's standards, and marry a partner of the opposite sex (Harbinger 683).   However, due to the different sexual orientations of the two partners, problems often occur, causing emotional harm to"closet gays," their partners, and their children (Harbinger 683).   If gay marriage were legal, homosexuality would be legitimate.   Thus, the number of "closet gays" would decrease, as acceptance of their sexual orientation increases.  In short, society would be spared a lot of trouble--the breakup of a family or dissatisfaction with one's life, especially of the homosexual partner, as she or he tries to comply with society's standards.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Same-sex marriage is just in that it provides gay couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.   Only marriage binds a couple in the eyes of the law ("Let Them Wed" 13).   It enables partners to make life-or-death decisions, gives them the right to inheritance, medical benefits, and jurisprudence, among others ("Let Them Wed" 13). As in heterosexual relationships, homosexual partners are the significant other of one another.   Unlike heterosexual couples, however, they are denied the right to marriage and all the benefits that go with it.      Ã‚  Ã‚   Gay marriages also provide sufficient reasons for society to promote them.   They at least fulfill two of the most important reasons for marriage:   the domestication of men and the provision of a reliable care giver (Rauch 22).      Ã‚  Ã‚   Civilizing men is one of society's biggest problems (Rauch 22).

American School Versus Chinese school Essay

I am a Chinese girl, growing up and living in China for 18 years. Last year, I went to the United States. Although I have lived here less than two years, I found a lot of differences of two countries’ education style, such as the teaching style, the school life/rules, and the academic environment. The first difference is teaching style of two countries. In America, students are always divided by several groups. Each group has six or four students, and they can discuss questions during the class time, which can help students improve spoken skills and to learn dialogue and debate. After class, they probably have group homework which they need to finish together. Students need to prepare class presentations with a lot of PowerPoint every few week. That can help students improve their public speaking skill, confidence, share with knowledge, understand what they learned, and take a leadership role. The class lecture is delivered by teachers so that students can study by themselves first. In class they can answer questions anytime they want, and instructors will not be annoyed. Students call their instructors first name, and their instructors would like their students do that (Echo Lu, 1). Second, America school life is different from China school life. In American school, students take class at eight o’clock in the morning, and they finish at three o’clock. Students only have one hour to eat lunch and most of them take lunch from home. They have different classrooms when they take a different class. Students only have two big exams, excluding small tests in classes. They get A, B, C, D, or F as their final grade before the end of the semester, and Ding 2 it is according to homework, tests, participation, attendance, presentations, two or three big exams. After class, they can go home take school bus or drive by themselves. Some of them take part in clubs in school, such as sports (soccer, baseball etc. ), performing arts (dance, dram, band etc. ), outdoor education (scouting, campfire etc. ) and so on (Wikipedia). On weekends, students always hang out with friends, they can together with a boy and they allow to date with a boy, and are allowed sleepover in girl friends’ house. Furthermore, AmericaacademicenvironmentisdifferentfromChina’s. Itshowinfour different points: the curriculums and learning environments; class size and examination system. America students can choose their classes, and they have a lot of interesting classes to choose from core classes: Spanish or French, computer, marketing and so on (America High School). They are free and unrestrained (go to bathroom, drink water, laugh). The classroom atmosphere are natural, active and relaxed. American school, every class has 25-30 students, and teachers teach five or six classes. Students can take 7 times SAT exam or ACT exam each year. They can use the highest one to apply universities. However, a high grade is not the important point to enter a famous university. The university will consider very comprehensive and then decide whether you could be enrolled or not. First, they will consider your specialty, especially if you were good at P. E. then you will have more advantages. Second, they will think about social skills, such like part-time job experience, volunteering experience and so on. Also, they will think about what clubs or other activities you had ever taken part in in high school. In Chinese schools, every student has seat. Students cannot discuss questions in the class; they only have individual homework, and it is a lot. Teachers never ask students to prepare  presentations, and class lectures will not delivered. Students cannot answer the questions anytime they want; they must raise their hands first and get permission from teachers. They must say Ding 3 â€Å"Hello† to their teachers when they meet in school. Every time before students take class, they need to stand up and say† good morning† or† good afternoon† to teachers and can only sit down when teacher say they can. Students must respect their teachers very much and can† only call faculty members by their last name with a title like Mr, Ms, and Dr. It is thought to be rude to call their teachers’ first name. In Chinese schools, students go to school at 7 a. m. in high school and go home at 10 p. m. They have two hours to have a break at noon and go to school at two. They can eat lunch at school canteens or go home to eat lunch, but they eat dinner at school. Students will not change classrooms, and they have 8 minutes to go to bathroom each 45 minutes class. Most of them go home by themselves; schools will not provide school buses, but a few students will be picked up by their parents. They get a score before the end of the semester for each subject. Teachers will range students according to grades in class and year level. They even show the results to all students and send a text to their parents. Students have big exams every month in middle school and high school. They need to choose to learn art (Chinese, Math, English, History, Politic and geography) or science (Chinese, Math, English, physics, Chemistry, Biology) in grade 2. In China, students almost do not have any extracurricular activities. Some schools have clubs but only a few students take part in. Most student their teacher do not allow them to take part in clubs. On weekends, students usually stay at home do their homework, sometimes they  are allowed to hang out with friends. But girls cannot with a boy, similarly a boys cannot with a girl. Students are not permitted to date before they go to the university. In Chinese school, students only take normal classes; they even do not have art and music. Students use all the time to study, the learning environment in China is extremely Ding 4 competitive and demanding. Almost every student works hard, they are determined to be at the top of the class and to become straight-A students (Bohan). In China, each class has 60-70 students, and teachers teach 2 classes. The head teacher will stay in office all the time, you can ask questions anytime. Other subject’s teachers will go to your classroom during the self- studying time from 7p. m. to 9 p. m. Chinese students only have one time to take college entrance examination, which take place every June. Selection is based on each students scores in this exam (6 subjects), and due to the number of people sitting in exam. America and China are two different countries. Different culture, social system, history, population; therefore they have different education system. Nobody can say which one is better,  because for their own country it is the best one. But America or China still need to revolutionize the bad part, learning from each other and other countries. Ding 5 Citation work Lu, Echo. â€Å"3 Big Differences between Chinese and American Classroom Culture. † (2013): 1. WEAREIU. Web.

The Hummer Campaign: An Overview

OVERVIEW When General Motors Corporation (GM) acquired the commercial marketing rights to the Hummer truck, the civilian version of the U. S. Army’s Humvee, it faced the challenge of promoting a vehicle that was never intended to be sold in high numbers. Part of the solution was to design smaller, less-expensive versions, the H2 and H3, but much of the success would have to depend on the marketing. Rather than turning to a roster of ad agencies it usually worked with, GM hired a young Boston creative boutique, Modernista! , in 2000. The initial goal of the $35 million campaign, begun in August 2001, was to establish Hummer as a luxury brand. Thus, images ofmud-splatteredHummers that played up the vehicle’s off-road capabilities were scrapped in favor of shots that made it seem jewel-like. Once the brand was repositioned, the marketers’ goal was to pitch the lower-priced H2 and H3 to a wider market, hopefully to more women. Factors such as rising gas prices and the perception that the Hummer was oversized for most consumers proved to be major hurdles for the marketers. However, by the end of 2003 the campaign had succeeded in redefining the Hummer brand, and with the introduction of the H3 in 2005, the marketers took on a new challenge: selling the Hummer to a mass market. HISTORICAL CONTEXT The Humvee was designed for the U. S. Army in 1979 by AM General Corp. , based in South Bend, Indiana. The 3. 5-ton vehicle became a star of the 1991 Persian Gulf War, spurring consumer demand for a civilian version, which was introduced in 1992 as the Hummer. It catered to an exclusive market, as demonstrated by the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger was one of the first buyers. The vehicle never received much advertising support; AM General spent less than $1 million on marketing the Hummer in 1999, when it sold about 700 of the trucks. Nevertheless, AM General did enough business to attract the attention of General Motors, and in the end bought the Hummer brand in late 1999. GM signed a seven-year contract with AM General to produce the next generation, GM-designed version, the Hummer H2 sport-utility vehicle (SUV). The agency Modernista! was hired to promote the brand. Prior marketing efforts had played up the military connection and the Hummer’s off-road capabilities, billing the vehicle as ‘‘the world’s most serious 4Ãâ€"4. ’’ Modernista! won the account because it was the only agency that attempted to fashion a wider appeal by going beyond the tough-guy, army-truck image. The principals involved in the campaign did not lack experience in selling cars. Modernista! ’s cofounder, Lance Jensen, had worked with Hummer’s advertising director, Liz Vanzura, when she was at Volkswagen of America and he was with the Boston-based ad agency Arnold Communications. Both played key roles in developing Volkswagen’s award-winning ‘‘Drivers Wanted’’ campaign. Vanzura commented that, while the Volkswagen ads were aimed at ‘‘cool, young people,’’ her new mission was to sell Hummers to ‘‘cool, rich people. ’’ TARGET MARKET Even before hiring Modernista! , GM had done a great deal of market research. According to Ted Evanoff, writing for the Indianapolis Star, ‘‘In 1999 researchers stumbled across the notion that an unlikely cross-section of America—surgeons, dot-com millionaires, rock stars, high school students, corporate execs—prized their individuality. And they regarded the rugged Hummer as a symbol of individuality, especially compared with the typical sport-utility common in suburbia. ’’ Modernista! was given 2,200 pages of market data to distill into an advertising message. The agency was also handed a brand that skewed very much toward males, averaging 50 years in age and with an annual household income of more than $200,000. The target buyer for the less-expensive H2, while still male, was 42 years old on average and had a household income above $125,000. Vanzura told Chris Reidy of the Boston Globe that the coveted audience included ‘‘rugged individualists, adventurous entrepreneurs, and adrenaline junkies. ’’ In other interviews she described the target market as ‘‘successful achievers’’ and ‘‘style leaders. ’’ She also told Evanoff that Hummer had to vie with other purchases the well-to-do might consider, such as yachts or vacation houses, stating, ‘‘We’re really not competing in an automotive category. ’ COMPETITION The yacht, vacation house, and other status symbols notwithstanding, Hummer competed in the luxury-SUV category against other SUVs, including the Lincoln Navigator, Land Rover’s Range Rover, and the Lexus LX 470. But Hummer’s chief opponent was DaimlerChrysler’s Jee p Wrangler. Boasting similar military roots but extending back to World War II, Jeep had defined the SUV category and at its height in 1993 controlled nearly 30 percent of the traditional SUV market. Over the following several years, however, the brand failed had to introduce new models, and its lessexpensive ones faced increasingly stiff competition, resulting in a severe erosion of sales. As long as Hummer was not a direct competitor, DaimlerChrysler took little notice of it, but as soon as GM acquired the right to mass-market the Hummer, DaimlerChrysler recognized the threat at the high end of the SUV category and became determined to hold on to Jeep’s reputation as the premier heavy-duty, off-road brand. The two vehicles had slightly different target markets, however. Jeep appealed to consumers who loved the outdoors and might attend one of the dozens of Jeep Jamboree off-road events held throughout the year. Typical Hummer customers, on the other hand, wanted the off-road capabilities the vehicle had to offer but were more interested in the image it created. They were as likely to drive their Hummers to an upscale mall as up a mountain. MARKETING STRATEGY In preparation for marketing the lower-priced H2, Modernista! instituted a bridge campaign, paid for by AM General, to sell the H1 while repositioning the brand. As Will Uronis, an associate creative director at Modernista! , explained to the Boston Herald ’s Greg Gatlin, ‘‘Hollywood had defined what Hummers stood for—war, explosions and arrogance . . . We just took a look at another facet of the truck. ’’ Jensen added, ‘‘We went out and talked to guys that drove them . . . they don’t all hunt and kill things. ’’ Nevertheless, Hollywood movies had done a good job of making consumers aware of the Hummer. Market research conducted in 1999 indicated that as many as one in five buyers of full-size SUVs considered purchasing the Hummer. The bridge campaign was intended to play to the ‘‘rugged individualists’’ who, research revealed, were attracted to the Hummer and to set the stage for the launch of theH2 by creating an emotional attachment to the brand that transcended the hard-edged image fostered by Hollywood. According to Evanoff, writing in the Indianapolis Star, the promotion of the H1 was intended to create a ‘‘halo’’ over the brand, providing ‘‘the foundation for a brand image that will carry the smaller H2. ’’ The first national ads for the GM-owned Hummer began appearing on August 13, 2001. It was an all-print campaign that featured photographs of the vehicle in lush locales in Chile. Not only did the pictures suggest where the H1, with its off-road prowess, could take the viewer, but they also made the big truck look small. It was the first time Hummer was not portrayed covered in mud or linked to the military. Reinforcing the visual message of the ad was the text, which included the headline ‘‘How did my soul get way out here? ’’ and the concluding text ‘‘Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere. And sometimes in the middle of nowhere you find yourself. The legendary H1. ’’ Hummer’s longtime tagline, ‘‘World’s most serious 4Ãâ€"4,’’ was replaced by ‘‘Like nothing else. ’’ The four ads ran through the rest of 2001, appearing in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, Esquire, Spin, Wired, and Red Herring. Hummer’s 50 dealers were also encouraged to use the ads created by Modernista! to bring continuity to the brand’s makeover, with some of their media costs being reimbursed by a cooperative advertising program. The H2, based on GM’s Chevrolet Tahoe full-size SUV, was introduced in July 2002. A second model featuring a small pickup bed and a cargo door was supposed to be offered at the same time, but the launch was pushed back, partly because the vehicle needed more work but also as a way to extend the marketing buzz the brand was creating. The new H2, with a base price of $48,000, was about half the price of the H1 and, despite being called the ‘‘baby Hummer,’’ essentially the same size. But it featured a smaller, less noisy gas engine rather than a cumbersome diesel one, and it had comforts and customizable options the H1 lacked but that were expected in a luxury SUV. The introduction of the H2 was supported by another print campaign developed by Modernista! While the ‘‘Like nothing else’’ tagline of the previous ads was retained, the look of the new ads was markedly different, relying on dramatic close-ups set against bold, sky-blue backgrounds. Like the first ads, the new ones ran in a wide range of magazines, with the text tailored to the publication. For example, in the Robb Report, which covered all things luxurious, the text read, ‘‘Excessive. In a Rome at the height of its power sort of way. ’’ The Vanity Fair text read, ‘‘Threaten the men in your office in a whole new way,’’ part of an effort to increase the number of women buying the vehicles. Another ad proclaimed, ‘‘Perfect for rugby moms. ’’ About 10 percent of H1 owners were women, and one goal of the H2 campaign was to increase that number to 25 percent. Outdoor ads were also produced, running in 14 major markets, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit. Print and outdoor ads were made available for the use of dealers. The first Hummer television ads aired in mid-August 2002. The initial three 30-second spots, intended to romanticize the truck, were shot in Iceland and in Vancouver, British Columbia, and featured both natural and urban locations. They showed friends in a Hummer speeding over the tundra of Iceland or a professional woman weaving through traffic in a city. Set to rock music, the only words in the spots were text statements such as ‘‘Maybe if you can, you will. ’ A second phase of the television campaign played on people’s perception of the Hummer as a gas-guzzling road hog. In one spot a young boy constructed a small wooden version of the Hummer to enter in a soapbox derby, while The Who’s ‘‘Happy Jack’’ played in the background and the little girl next door looked on. At the start of the big race the other boys scoffed at little Jack and his less-than-streamli ned racer, but he prevailed by abandoning the asphalt course, breaking the rules to go cross-country and win the race and the girl. Through the humor of the spot Jack was portrayed not as a blatant cheater but as a heroic iconoclast, offering subliminal reassurance to potential Hummer customers who might feel guilty about buying a vehicle that got about 13 miles to a gallon of gas on the highway. A second Hummer spot, also displaying a tough side, hearkened back to the Asteroids video game of the 1980s, with a spaceship blasting boulders only to confront an indestructible Hummer, which chased the ship off the screen. OUTCOME GM and Modernista! ucceeded in introducing Hummer to a wider market, but after a strong showing in 2003, sales began to tail off, partly because of high gas prices. To regain lost ground, in 2004 GM introduced the H2 SUT (sport-utility truck). This was followed by the unveiling in 2005 of the H3, a midsize Hummer priced from $29,500 to $32,000. Almost 17 inches shorter, 1,700 pounds lighter, and more fuel-efficient at 20 miles per gallon, it was a vehicle GM hoped women and younger drivers wo uld find more appealing. In pitching the vehicle to a mass market, Hummer and Modernista! aced a new task. Putting a positive spin on the challenge, Jensen told Jeremy W. Peters of the New York Times, ‘‘The brand has a lot of different personality levels . . . You can do the serious capability stuff, the real rough-and-tumble rock climbing stuff, the peaceful back-to-nature stuff. ’’ Industry analyst Mary Ann Keller disagreed, telling the New York Times that it was impossible to sell Hummer to the masses: ‘‘How in the world can you possibly fathom that something that looks like a military vehicle is practical for the average driver? ’’

Ace Cable

Data Collection – Ace Cable RES 351 Data Collection – Ace Cable As stated in the week two, Ace Cable is an established company that offers cable television, telephone and internet services to its customers. These services are available to customers across the United States and they have been in business since 2000. In recent years, the competition has grown and Ace Cable is experiencing a decrease in customer enrollments. Customers now have multiple options to consider before enrolling into an agreement and Ace Cable is conducting research to persuade more people to sign on with the company.The research included defining the population from which the samples were collected. When it comes to the population and the different samples collected, the main goal is to focus on customers and provide outstanding services by conducting customer interviews, and surveys including group interviews of all ages. There are several methods that have taken place concerning collecting sam ples. The individual interviews we have collected were samples by applying surveys, from face to face interviews, in-store feedback, and telephone surveys. These surveys and interviews are conducted on a daily basis.These surveys are taking place in order to better our business when it comes to Ace cable. Individuals are completing surveys by voicing their opinions when it comes to the services and the channels that are selected. By having these surveys and interviews in place, we are getting the best feedback on what type of services they are looking forward to and what needs to be improved. In regard to group interviews, samples are being collected by surveys that are conducted at the time of the interviews. The surveys samples that are collected deals with expectations, feedback, and improved service.By having these different outcomes taking place, we can collect enough samples through interviewing and surveys bring an outstanding cable company. Next step is to determine the appr opriateness of the sample size. In researching ACE Cable we were able to find it effective in our methods of sampling as well as appropriate for the sample size. Since ACE Cable is a well-known company that ranges all over, we found it key that more than just area sampling (the most important form of cluster sampling) was used in the research. As mentioned earlier, ethods such as interviews, surveys, face to face contact, telephone surveys, and in-store feedback all played a vital role in how it was made possible to reach out on a wide network of customers and collect data. Through each individual store and employee of ACE cable at different locations covering all of the company’s population, feedback is being taken to ensure data is all being compiled for better use of the business' effectiveness. With probability sampling the data of ACE Cable was able to be more detailed and precisely researched on its large scale. Sources of bias or errors are possible when sampling.Valid ity is the degree to which the investigative goals are measured accurately, and the degree to which the research truly measures what it intended to measure. Another measurement tool is reliability, which measures consistency. Reliability refers to the extent to which the research measure is a consistent and dependable indicator of the investigation. If the measuring technique provides the same results once the measurement is repeated the accuracy of the measurement is high (Suresh, 2011) Selection biases are induced by sampling design. The sample group must be a true representation of the population without errors.It is important to decide how you select an appropriate setting and sample to conduct the study in order to avoid errors. Data collection takes place after sampling. Observation approach, investigative questions, communication approach, and questioning approach are just a few data collection methods used to collect data. Observation approach research is collected data thro ugh watching, recording, and analysis of observed behavior as it occurs in a natural setting. Investigative Questions are specific questions that the researchers ask to provide sufficient details and answers to research questions.Communication Approach research is collected of data through mass communication, media or speech. That kind of data involves surveying or interviewing people and recording their responses or analysis. Questioning approach research is better known a surveying. Survey is the process of data collected through interviews, questionnaires, the telephone, mail, a computer, e-mail, or the Internet (Cooper, 2011). The researches decided surveys would be the best way to determine why Ace Cable enrollment decreased and surveys constructed in a format that eliminates any ethical concerns. The data collection has no ethical concerns.All surveys contain the privacy act statement. All surveys explain study benefits and all participants’ answers remain confidential. The surveys are mailed across the United States and surveys are in the customer lobby. At this time, the researchers will not conduct e-mail surveys. It’s best to determine customers’ responses via mail and in-house first before branching out if there is a lack of participation. Cooper, D. &. (2011). Business research methods. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Suresh, K. T. (2011). Design, data analysis and sampling techiques for clinical research. Retrieved July 25, 2012, from RES 351.