The Effects Of Religious Stereotyping And Prejudice On Teens

The Effects of Religious Stereotyping and Prejudice on Teens All Muslims are terrorists, Jews are greedy bankers, and America is a Christian country. These are just a few of the many stereotypes that cause negative perceptions toward minority religious groups. Every day, religious groups across America experience some form of discrimination because of these stereotypes about their beliefs. Hate crimes and discrimination are on the rise; there have been 31% more hate crimes in 2017 than at this time last year. Teenagers in our society are victims of false religious stereotypes, but so are those who accept and perpetrate these stereotypes. Historically in the United States, stereotyping and prejudice has been a widespread tradition. There†¦show more content†¦Across our country today, discrimination is evident in hate crimes and protests, even more so after the 2016 Presidential election. The events of Charlottesville, VA. represent one of the many examples of religious hatred and divisions. When white supremacists shouted â€Å"the Jewish oligarchs and the capitalists and the bankers want to enslave the entire world† they were referring to old, ugly stereotypes (Times). These white supremacists are still cling to the view that Jews are collectively greedy and evil. The hatred doesn’t end with Judaism. There have been â€Å"35 attacks on mosques — including vandalism, break-ins and death threats† that have occurred in just the first few months of Trump’s presidency (Goldberg). People are verbally and physically attacking Muslims based on misunderstanding their religious belie fs. The most prominent issue today is demonstrated by President Trump’s travel ban. The ban attempts to block access to America from Muslim-dominated countries despite the fact that â€Å"no citizen from the barred countries has carried out a fatal terrorist attack in the USA† (Board). Many Americans wish to deny Muslims access to America based on the stereotype that all Muslims are radical terrorists. When people today have negative perceptions of religious groups other than their own, these perceptions create a divided America. Religious stereotyping and prejudice aren’t just limited to adults; teens are joining in as well. For instance,Show MoreRelatedEffects Of Stereotyping In Schools1122 Words   |  5 Pages Stereotyping in High Schools Stereotyping is alive and well in today’s society. â€Å"Stereotyping is a form of prejudice that forms damaging images of an individual, by classifying him or her according to a particular characteristic that is found among the group of people that the individual is associated with†(Malika). Everyone gets stereotyped no matter their gender, color, religion, political view, or how you act. Stereotyping is labeling someone because of who they are or what they do. StereotypingRead MoreNcfe Equality Diversity Level 2 Unit 1 Essay2346 Words   |  10 Pagesrange of opportunities and experiences. †¢ Enhances the local community Diverse qualities that are combined can create a new culture or society leading to a much more unified community, for example it can help to change previously held prejudice or discriminatory views. †¢ Enhances this country. A much richer society is born of diversity and with it comes a much more varied range of experiences and backgrounds that enhance the country as a whole 5. Describe what it means toRead MoreWhy Are Stereotypes Dangerous and What Can Be Done to Reduce Them?3092 Words   |  13 Pagesstereotypes can be very dangerous, and can lead to prejudice, discrimination, persecution and even genocide.[3] This is the point when, apparently â€Å"hurtles† remarks and conclusions about other people, based on their appearance, way of speaking, job or nationality, become very serious. This is when people, led by some preconceived, over-generalized, and exaggerated images, start having certain expectations and assumptions about the others (prejudice), start acting and treating them in a cruel way (discrimination)Read MoreRemember The Titans : The World Needed Change2278 Words   |  10 Pagesteammates and how close they had actually become. Not a single player missed the funeral, and in the end they came together and all were friends even when they moved on with life. Three main points pop out when watching this move prejudice, discrimination, and stereotyping because they are so widely used to show to tension between the two races in the movie. To this day these three themes are used, they may not be as severe as there were back in the same time as Remember the Titans (2000), but theyRead MoreUnit 1: Exploring Equality and Diversity Essay4351 Words   |  18 Pagesdiverse because of the people that live or work there. We can think simplistically at first by defining differences maybe in age, gender and physical appearance; but of course there is so much more. Diversity can also cover the choice of clothes, religious beliefs and ways of carrying these out, sexual preferences, hobbies and interests, political affiliations, mental and physical disabilities, attitudes, social and economic statuses along with the barriers that those present, language and ethnicityRead MorePhysical Signs That Show There Is Diversity Within Your Community4483 Words   |  18 Pagesinterests young people early teens seem to favour socialising that could be on the internet or the local pub were as older people may go to bingo most interest seem to be social media in the young and older people like myself like fishing horse riding most people of both ages young and old have a Christian beliefs but this is only in my local area life styles are from a working class area of my town Blackpool as a very high unemployment rate most of which effects the young people 16-25 yearRead MoreETH305V Assign 2 15 June 444961334126 Words   |  17 PagesETH305V Assign2 †“ 15 June -44496133 Page 1 ETH305V Assignment 02 Compulsory Closing Date: 15 June TUTORIAL COMMENT ASSIGNMENT SECTION A: Question 1: Theoretical background a) Describe the following concepts and give examples: i) Prejudice (3) Prejudice is a pre-held negative opinion, perception, or judgment a person holds or expresses against something or someone, without justification or analyzing facts. For example, when one meets a Muslim person, or sees someone dressed as a Muslim on a flightRead MoreThe Media Of Teen Drug Abuse2396 Words   |  10 PagesWhat causes the negative stigma among African American teenagers in the media regarding teen drug abuse, and does this stereotype hold any ground? We chose to research this topic because of the common stigma that the media portrays on every day African American teens, and we wanted to know how this effects their everyday lives, like how they are treated because of this stigma. Further research in this area could be a step forward into eliminating every day stereotypes and helping take another stepRead More Gender Dichotomies on MTV Essay4969 Words   |  20 PagesViacom, MTV’s parent company, claims to reach 320 million households in 90 countries on 5 continents for 24 hours a day (Mundy 240). Such a large spanning audience has many worried about the great world influence the network has. One such questionable effect of MTV is the power the network to perpetuate the stereotypes depicting women as purely sexual beings, not respectable individuals. This is a difficult controversy to discern because it is only the latest skirmish in a never ending culture war betweenRead MoreEssay Witchcraft Portrayed in Films6180 Words   |  25 Pagesthe occult and associating with the Devil. The people involved were not necessarily interested in occult arts in any way, simply being different from the mainstream was enough to arouse suspicion. Quakers and Jews were treated with similar religious prejudice as suspected witches; they faced excommunication from church and rejection in the community in Colonial America. Regardless of all the abuse Witchcraft took over the last several centuries, it refused to be subdued. With the coming of the

Industrialization after the Civil War - 1164 Words

Industrialization after the Civil War Industrialization during the 1860’s through the 1900’s caused many problems globally. Industrialization changed a lot in the US for Americans because it made it easier for citizens to do labor work, expanded capital for businesses and opened up many job opportunities for people. Although this was beneficial to the Americans it caused other problems to escalate, and caused many people to flee into the cities, as well as caused a differentiation between the rich and the poor. However, after the civil war, industrialization affected the US politically, economically and environmentally way more than them benefitting from it. The negative effect brought political controversy and resulting in riots, poor working conditions, child labor, greed for the rich and immigrants also wanting to work and the positive effect were improving and developing the south. Although, that was beneficial for the people as industries, such as railroads and steel started to culminate throughout the North, there were a greater need for workers (Lyson/Welsh 2005). Not only did Blacks come from the South for jobs but immigrants started to flood the United States from other countries. Because the population grew rapidly in the North, the factories were also over crowded with people including children. Meanwhile, as the factories grew the factory owners cared less about the concerns of their people or their cities welfare. The factories were unsafe, unsanitary, and smokyShow MoreRelatedIndustrialization After Civil War1523 Words   |  7 PagesAssignment 1.2 Industrialization After the Civil War Final Paper Student’s Name—Lacey Jaslaine Young Course Number –HIS 105 ------------------------------------------------- Quarter Name and Year—Fall Quarter 2015 ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------- 1. Introduce your paper with your previously crafted thesis statementRead MoreThe Industrialization After the Civil War1438 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1.2: Industrialization after the Civil War Final Paper Melissa Rogers November 10, 2014 History 105: Contemporary U.S. History Dr. Reeves Introduction The Industrial revolution improved the American lifestyle all the while causing many problems along the way. The Industrial Revolution contributed to the growth of cities and their economy. This created more jobs thus causing for workers to move their families to the northern regions of the country for work on farmsRead MoreIndustrialization After the Civil War1789 Words   |  8 PagesAssignment 1.2: Industrialization after the Civil War Final Paper Belinda Scott History 105: Spring 2014 Prof. Michael Smith Industrialization after the Civil War After the Civil War the United States became a much more industrialized society. Between 1865 in 1920 industrialization and proved American life in many ways. However industrialization also created problems for American society. This paper willRead MoreIndustrialization After the Civil War694 Words   |  3 PagesIndustrialization after the Civil War influenced U.S society, economy, and politics in many ways. Industrialization after the Civil War made the way of living more convenient for people but it was a time were the government was corrupted. 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There were alsoRead MoreEssay on Industrialization After the Civil War952 Words   |  4 PagesAssignment 1.2: Industrialization After the Civil War Strayer University- HIS 105 August 3, 2014 After the Civil War, the United States went through a period of rapid industrialization which affected the nation dramatically. Industrial growth, the spread of railroads, the rise of big businesses, and the appearance of labor unions during these decades created a modern industrial economy, and American workers and farmers faced new challenges in adapting to these changes. There were three majorRead MoreIndustrialization After the Civil War Research Paper1321 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1.2: Research Paper Industrialization after the Civil War Shana Dukes History 105 Professor Tracey M. Biagas February 3. 2014 Introduction Industrialization after the Civil War was a period where Industrial city were being built, there were jobs for people and the political aspect was having corruption. In this paper the main points in this paper discussed the major aspects of the Industrialization Revolution, such as groups that were affected by the Industrial society,Read MoreIndustrialization After the Civil War Thesis and Outline Essay1303 Words   |  6 PagesAssignment 1.1: Industrialization after the Civil War Thesis and Outline Amiah-Mone Parker The Industrial Revolution was of great importance to the economic development of the United States. The new era of mass production kindled in the United States because of technological innovations, a patent system, new forms of factory corporations, a huge supply of natural resources, and foreign investment. The growth of large-scale industry in America had countless positive resultsRead MoreHis 105 Assignment 21361 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿ Industrialization after the Civil War John E. Brown Strayer University HIS 105- Contemporary U. S. History Professor Anthony McCormack November 9, 2014 Industrialization after the Civil War When the Civil War was declared over, the United States became a better nation because of the Constitutional Amendments that were passed outlawing slavery and giving the government as well as the state the ability to serve and protect everyone. This paper will also show major aspects ofRead MoreIntroduction Of Industrial Revolution And The War Of 18121577 Words   |  7 PagesIndustrial Revolution first began in North America. This location was very important for the sparking of the revolution because the railroad , which was one of the causes of industrialization, was built here. The Historical Catalysts of Industrial Revolution: †¢ The Embargo Act and the War of 1812: In the early 1800s, the Napoleonic Wars between Britain and France challenged the neutrality of the United States. Britain and France created trade restrictions which was not only peaking others’ economies but

Speech Sound Disorder

Question: Identify what communication strategies you have used to support clients with a communication impairment and then evaluate what worked and didnt work whilst doing so? Evaluate how you overcame two factors (impairments, language barriers, environment etc.) that influenced your one to one and group communication activities on your work experience; and explain why you were successful or unsuccessful in working with these clients? Answer: Introduction A communication disorder is any disorder that may affect ones ability to communicate with other people. Communication disorder can be of many types like from simple sound or when cannot understand or use his native language. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) was published by American Psychiatric Association (APA) which offers a common language and mentions all the different types of mental disorders. It is used all over the world by researchers, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, psychiatric drug regulations agencies etc. In this Project we are going to write down some strategies for people who have hearing problem and see how it worked for them. Speech Sound Disorder Speech sound disorder is when one has difficulties in speech sounds. It is either not produced, not produced correctly when saying, or is not used correctly (Knapp Daly). There are four different types of categories: Addition Distortion Omission Substitutions One To One Communication One to one communication is basically the act of an individual to communicate with another. Effective one to one communication is a skill that can be learned and its corrective application of a systematic approach to manage the encounter with the client. This type of communication also comes with a lot of barriers that include non-verbal communication, medical terminology, language, the context, language and the advice provided. On my business visit to a client to strike a deal, I faced the problem of inaccuracy in the language being spoken by my client. Its important to have clarity in words in the business world so as to remove any sort of discrepancies later on. I learnt that my client had been facing an articulation disorder since his childhood. Articulation disorder (also called phonetic disorder) is based on the difficulty in learning how to physically produce the intended phonemes. Articulation disorder compiled with phonemic disorder (also called phonological disorder) may coexist in a person. The client could not pronounce the words accurately and hence the meeting got prolonged. However with the help of a technology and the clients assistant, it became easy to catch what the client wished to communicate. Though the meeting got a bit late, but the technology helped us to understand each other and we could solve the problem and discuss what was important. In case the technology wasnt present that the clients assistant showed us, it would have been near impossible that my client could have gone forward with the project (Wiemann Harrison). Articulation and phonemic disorders need to be treated effectively in the earlier stages of childhood. However sometimes the disorders persists are for lifetime. Group Communication Group communication is when many different people sit in particular room to discuss something. A room full of people who were affected by different types of speech sound disorder was brought together. The age varied from 7 years to 30 years. The total number of people in the room was 10 who all suffered from two different kinds of disorder- Articulation disorder and Phonemic disorder. 5 people were facing Articulation disorder that is when has difficulty learning or to produce the intended word. The main articulators are lips, teeth, hard plate, and alveolar ridge. If any disorder is found in these articulators then that person is facing from Articulation disorder. 5 people were facing Phonemic disorder that is when a person is having problem to learn the sound system of the language. For example sounds P and L may not be recognized as different sounds. If one is facing such a problem then he has phonemic disorder. When everyone started talking in the room, it was chaos because no one could understand each other. To overcome these two disorders we placed a small mic inside the mouth of each candidate. Then we used an App which helped us overcome the problem of speech sound disorder. The difficulties that were facing were communicating with different people fluently. They felt shy while talking to other people because of low confidence. With the help of the mic and the app the problem was solved. They were now confident to speak whatever they wanted to and could speak fluently. The mic could be permanently fitted in the persons mouth. This helped them to overcome a childhood problem which didnt have a cure for a very long time. Everybody was communication with each other in the group with ease. People were very confident and the results were great. Everyone was talking their minds out and they seemed really happy as they felt they got their voices back. People wanted to keep that technology and found new ways to communicate with each other. This helped them solve the problem and the business went ahead successfully (Wiemann Harrison). Knapp Relationship model The relationship explains how all the existing relationships grow and then also how it ends. The category usually has 10 different stages and shows how the activity works. Knapp, M, J Daly,The Sage handbook of interpersonal communication. in , Thousand Oaks, Calif., SAGE Publications, 2011. Wiemann, J, R Harrison,Nonverbal interaction. in , Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1983. Wiemann, J, R Harrison,Nonverbal interaction. in , Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1983. The picture above explains in steps how relationships get built up and how they slowly get terminated. The model; basically helps us to understand how relationships progress and how it decorates. Coming together could be explained in 5 parts (Dillon): Initiation This is the first stage and its all about how to people interact and how one makes impression in front of other. The judging would be perfect as this is the first time. Experimentation This is the second stage where people interact and get to know each other. They explore each other and find out about them. This provides the with common interest or others likes and dislikes and how the person actually is. This is an important stage. Intensifying This stage is all about how the two people now interact. They are no longer just acquaintances and are less formal with each other. They act like good friends and the relationship starts to intensify. Integration In this stage, people usually start giving other too much importance, they may fall in love or become best friends in real life and their relationship is very close. Bonding This stage is all about how people tell others about their relationship, they are not worried or afraid and are proud to have that particular relationship. Termination theory could be explained as follows: Differentiating This is the first stage where people usually due to external pressure start behaving differently or may indulge in other activities. The everlasting bond that they had might get broken and things might start taking another turn. Circumscribing This is the next step where people usually dont interact as much as they used. They would set boundaries and limits and not communicate for too long. Stagnation This stage the relationship almost comes to an end. They dont stag in a bit of contact because of situations in the past or their bond they used to have. The interaction would be limited. Avoidance As the name suggests, in this step people usually avoid each other and dont have any physical contact with them. They would try and speak and less as possible. Terminating this is the last stage where the relationship usually comes to an end. The people engaged will chose another path and live their life differently as they wish to. It all changes. Conclusion By doing this project we learnt the different of disorders faced by people around the world. These disorders have caused problems is some way or the other. The speech sound disorder is a childhood disorder faced by many. In this project we showed how to overcome problem of speech and sound barrier by the use of new technology. The technology has advanced so much that now it come overcome mostly all the different types of disorders. References Bradford, L, W Hardy,Hearing and hearing impairment. in , New York, Grune Stratton, 1979. Dillon, H,Hearing aids. in , New York, Thieme, 2001. Knapp, M, J Daly,The Sage handbook of interpersonal communication. in , Thousand Oaks, Calif., SAGE Publications, 2011. Naff, C,Deafness and hearing impairment. in , Farmington Hills, MI, Greenhaven Press, 2010. Ruben, R, T Van de Water, K Steel,Genetics of hearing impairment. in , New York, N.Y., New York Academy of Sciences, 1991. Suss, E,When the hearing gets hard. in , New York, Insight Books, 1993. Wiemann, J, R Harrison,Nonverbal interaction. in , Beverly Hills, Sage Publications, 1983. Dillon, H,Hearing aids. in , New York, Thieme, 2001. Bradford, L, W Hardy,Hearing and hearing impairment. in , New York, Grune Stratton, 1979. Suss, E,When the hearing gets hard. in , New York, Insight Books, 1993.

Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture Essay Example

Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture Essay Marshall McLuhan and Raymond Williams have made key contributions to our understanding of media and its relationship to society and culture. McLuhan, in particular, has been an influential thinker on the subject and his ideas continue to be debated to this day. McLuhan’s work laid emphasis on how media is not an exclusive domain, but a space for the intermingling of politics, commerce and culture. One of the founding fathers of the field of media ecology, McLuhan introduced his core ideas in the 1950s and 60s. This was a period of rapid growth in telecommunication technology. The project McLuhan undertook is no less than to explain how â€Å"the nuances and great sweeps of human history are made possible by media of communication–how media determine the thoughts and actions of people and society.† (Strate, 2004) Raymond Williams’ career as a media analyst succeeded that of McLuhan. Consequently, he was able to see the flaws in several of McLuhanâ€⠄¢s theories and rectify them to a large extent. Where Williams differed from his predecessor was on his ability to place media in the larger socio-cultural and economic dimensions rather than merely the technological dimension. This essay will argue that while McLuhan laid out many fundamental concepts governing media studies, it is Williams who offers a more robust and veritable framework of understanding for studying media. Their arguments are weighed in the cases of digital media such as the television and the Internet. And finally, where either scholar’s concepts fall short, the Propaganda Model proposed by Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman is referred to present a more comprehensive understanding of media and its functionality. One of McLuhan’s interesting ideas is that media is much more than the communications technology. It includes all â€Å"human inventions and innovations†. In this view, the constituent components of mass media includes â€Å"the spoken word, roads, numbers, clothing, housing, money, clocks, the automobile, games, and weapons, in addition to the major mass media and communication technologies.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) Hence, media is effectively an extension of human beings and their perceptory faculties and capabilities. While there is efficiency and expedition in the dissemination of information in this setup, the concerns are the attendant negative consequences. For example, an outcome of this pervasive media space is the numbing of our critical faculties under the overload of information processing. In this cultural order where ‘the medium is the message’, there is danger in media technology’s role in â€Å"how and what we communicat e, how we think, feel, and use our senses, and in our social organization, way of life, and world view.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) I concur with McLuhan’s apprehensive about the power of media technology in determining and dictating culture. McLuhan further argued that We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhans views regarding the relationship between media technology and culture specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer â€Å"the sensory organization, and the relationship between sensory organization and the nature of thought were shaped by a person’s direct experience with a medium. He saw television as a high-involvement medium, which leads viewers to crave the same level of involvement in all of their experiences. This was based on his designation of television as a â€Å"cool† medium, drawing on the distinction between â€Å"hot† jazz which was highly structured, and â€Å"cool† jazz, which was more unstructured, generating more listener involvement.† (Driedger Redekop, 1998) It is fair to claim that this theory is now proven to be inaccurate, for television actually only requires passive consumption as opposed to active engagement. Indeed, television has thus acquired the derogatory terms ‘idiot box’ and ‘the tube’. This is one of several instances where McLuhan’s grasp of the nature of a medium was off the mark. But some of his other theories pertaining to media’s influence on culture generally hold true. He first articulated his theories on media in his debut work The Mechanical Bride: Folklore of Industrial Man. First published in 1951, this book focussed on media content as opposed to his later ruminations on the nature of media and the enabling technology. McLuhan identifies ways in which â€Å"popular culture reflects and promotes the attitudes, beliefs, and values of technological society†. (Strate, 2004) In this milieu, human beings are conditioned in certain ways that promote the technocratic so cial order. McLuhan refers to the ‘technological man’, who is a super specialist in his professional field, but is limited in his ability to critically engaging with the system he is a part of. While McLuhan doesn’t fully articulate the repercussions of this limitation, Raymond Williams’ fulfils this scholarly void. He elaborates that the ‘technological woman’ is mass produced as in an assembly line. She is a product of consumption of commodities such as soaps, cosmetics, household appliances, etc. With greater mechanization, some of her traditional roles are shifted to an automatic machine like, say, a washing machine. The vast sweep and penetration of mass media is such that children are especially hostage to its effects. Whereby, technological children grow up feeding on baby formula instead of mother’s breast milk. The resultant unfulfilled neo-natal urge leads them to carry an oral fixation in later life. This manifests in t he form of addictions to cigarettes and alcohol – even Coca-Cola is a source of satiating this fixation. But beyond these physical entrapments that keep them entrenched in the consumerist cycle, the more significant effects are on the faculties of mind. Even McLuhan concurs with Williams on the above point, as he notes: what passes for education is usually technical training that â€Å"will allow them to fit into the machine-like organizations of corporate America. Even in death, we are ruled by technology through the sale of coffins that are weather-resistant.† (Strate, 2004) Through these insights McLuhan introduced the concept of ‘technique’ or ‘technopoly’ that is the dominant method of indoctrination of human beings in modern technological societies. McLuhan and Williams were thus able to foresee the unsavoury and detrimental effects – so far as general human progress is concerned – of the confluence of media technology and consumerism on culture. Of the two, it is Williams who disapproved of these tendencies more vehemently and lamented the abuse of media. He expressed disappointment over the fact that the enabling and emancipating potential of technological media is usurped by business and political interests for perpetuating their own narrow goals. Through the mere fact of exposing this reality, Williams is pitching for critical thinking and corrective remedial action on part of civil society. One of Raymond Williams’ key ideas is how culture â€Å"is a whole way of life, and everyone adopts a certain way of life or wants to have a changed way of life†. (Murray, Roscoe, Morris, Lumby, al-, 2002) This aspiration takes a whole set of connotations in the era of globalization. Under this global economic paradigm, the primary concern is how local or indigenous culture would be impacted by â€Å"the global flows of capital, information, ideology, values, and technology.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Consequently, Williams identifies a general anxiety permeating all cultural discourse. There are fears that globalization might challenge and eventually quell several historically developed local linguistic, ethnic or national cultures. Several social critics, including Williams, have pondered if globalization is synonymous with â€Å"unification or Americanization of the world culture†. (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Others insist that â€Å"globalization is not nec essarily the story of cultural homogenization or Americanization; instead it encourages and creates cultural diversity and protean difference.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) It is important to remember that the process of globalization happened on the back of an equally rapid growth in telecommunication technology. Hence, Williams’ observations on globalization are fully applicable to its iconic technological symbol – the Internet. In the debate surrounding Internet’s effect on indigenous cultures, a third position has emerged â€Å"that attempts to reconcile the global and the local–it argues that globalization is a two-fold process which brings the universalization of particularism and the particularization of universalism at the same time.† (Fengzhen Xie, 2003) Bringing in the viewpoint of Chomsky-Herman to this debate, it is fairly clear that their view of globalization and attendant media consolidation is negative. Chomsky, for example, has ci ted the failure of NAFTA to create prosperity for a majority of Mexicans, thereby exposing its rhetoric as propaganda of half-truths. Coming back to McLuhan, in his later work, ‘The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man’, he performs media analysis at the level of ‘system’ or ‘ecology’. Of the various observations and insights offered in the book, many pertain to the role of media (mainly the television) to the formation of culture. He identifies oral communication at the level of tribes as the earliest media developed by human civilization. The invention of the printing press at the beginning of the modern age thus brought a radical shift to the manufacture and assimilation of culture. There is even the contention that it was print technology which precipitated the beginning of the modern age, breaking away from the feudalistic and culturally stagnant medieval times. In this view, the invention of the alphabet is a watershed event in the evolution of human culture. According to McLuhan, the electronic culture (standing for both television and the Internet) is the ‘fourth culture’ which is ‘paradise regained’. Developing from â€Å"the invention of telegraphy to television and the computer, this culture promises to short-circuit that of mechanical print and we regain the conditions of an oral culture in acoustic space. We return to a state of sensory grace; to a culture marked by qualities of simultaneity, indivisibility and sensory plenitude. The haptic or tactile senses again come into play, and McLuhan strives hard to show how television is a tactile medium.† (New Media, p.81) Undertaking the study of the evolution of media in the last five centuries, McLuhan considers the dominant contemporary media forms in great detail and depth. It is in the context of modern electronic media and the conditions of globalization that the term ‘global village’ is introduced. One of McLuhan’s most enduring quotations in this regard is how â€Å"the new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village†. (Murray, Roscoe, Morris, Lumby, al-, 2002) There is truth to this view as the stupendous success of Hollywood and other American cultural products across the world prove. But McLuhan’s articulation is incomplete as it does not mention the commercial backbone of the electronic/digital culture. For example, in studying the film industry one can see how there is an â€Å"intersection of political economy and cultural studies†. (Druick, 2004) In the current set up where local cultural sensibilities are challenged by Hollywood, Raymond Williams’ argument rings true. He noted that

How to Start Tutoring From Home

How to Start Tutoring From Home Recently, I started a tutoring business in addition to my classroom teaching. This works really well for me at the moment because I am teaching part-time, so I have plenty of time and sanity left for a few hours of one-on-one tutoring in the afternoons. If you’re teaching full-time, I would not recommend adding any other responsibilities to the mix, much fewer ones that involve more time spent with other people’s children! However, if you are in a situation where tutoring would enrich your life and/or your bank account, then I’d like to help you out by giving you an overview of how I planned and implemented my tutoring business plan. Think of the Big Picture What subjects are you qualified to teach? How can you prove to prospective clients that you have the knowledge and experience for these subjects? Ive found that there is the most demand for high school math tutors. If you are competent and comfortable teaching Algebra and Geometry, you will have way less trouble finding clients. I am a little rusty on these subjects, but I am taking a lot of time right now brushing up on my high school math. I figure that I only have to do it once and then I will be back on track to tutor math for the foreseeable future with no worries. Consider Your Possible Clients What age group would you like to work with? You’ll also want to decide on a reasonable radius from your home that you’d be willing to accept clients from. For example, I made the mistake of accepting a client that lives 20-minutes away from me and I will have to drive on the freeway through traffic to get there and back. Not ideal, by any means. But I was just starting out and I felt desperate for clients and I said â€Å"yes† before I let myself ponder if it would really work for me and be worth the money. If you think about this beforehand, you won’t be caught off-guard on the phone, saying yes when you really mean no. Now, I plan to only accept clients that are in my immediate neighborhood. Marketing Techniques Think about the best way to reach your target audience. Some of the options include: Flyers with tabs on the neighborhood mailboxesFlyer delivery service to your target areaPost on CraigslistSign up for an online tutoring referral servicePut up flyers on the communityAdvertise in community publicationsSend a letter and business cards to the guidance counselors at local schools Ive had the most success with mailbox flyers and Craigslist, believe it or not. One of the best things about tutoring is that theres very little start-up costs. As your client list grows, word-of-mouth will be your best way to gain new clients. Collect reference letters from long-term clients and start to build up your reputation as a trusted neighborhood tutor. Figure Your Hourly Rates Do some precise market research to see how much other tutors in your area charge. Don’t sell yourself short and once you set your rate, be careful about compromising and lowering your rate. I made the mistake of agreeing to a slight discount in order to land my first few clients. Now, I’m stuck tutoring for a lower rate that I am not totally comfortable with. At the same time, I’ve lost a potential client or two because they said my rates were too high. However, if you research it properly, you shouldn’t have to lower your rates very often at all. The Nitty-Gritty of Where and When   Will you travel to clients or ask that your students come to your home? Ideally, of course, we’d all love to have our clients arrive neatly and promptly on our doorstep ready to learn. However, if you’re just starting out, you probably won’t be able to demand such a thing. As you build your resume and references, perhaps you can make this idea more of a reality. I try to emphasize that my house is very client with no distractions, which can be appealing to parents who have chaotic homes that would make your tutoring sessions far less productive. As for the â€Å"when† part of the question, be realistic about how much time you need in between appointments and how many hours you can actually accommodate in one afternoon. Alright, the time, place, and rate are all set. Now, heres what you should do during the tutoring session itself.

5 Ways to Work Your Way Around the Weak With

5 Ways to Work Your Way Around the Weak With 5 Ways to Work Your Way Around the Weak â€Å"With† 5 Ways to Work Your Way Around the Weak â€Å"With† By Mark Nichol The preposition with is one of the workhorses of the English language, performing multiple functions, but it’s not a very powerful beast of burden. Writers often put it to work at the wrong task, employing it to link one phrase or another when a stronger word or phrase, or a form of punctuation, is much more structurally sound. Here are five examples of sentences better expressed without with: 1. â€Å"Requirements concerning the marital status of adopting couples are not uniform, with a stable relationship being required in most cases.† Omit with, split the sentence into two, and add, to signal contrast, the conjunction however: â€Å"Requirements concerning the marital status of adopting couples are not uniform. A stable relationship, however, is required in most cases. 2. â€Å"Governance by committee is the norm, with 67 percent of large companies having committees of senior business leaders that oversee and prioritize information-technology investments.† If what follows with is a definition or expansion, use a colon in its place: â€Å"Governance by committee is the norm: 67 percent of large companies have committees of senior business leaders that oversee and prioritize information-technology investments.† 3. â€Å"The debate largely focused on the wisdom of the Iraq invasion with Kerry attacking Bush’s decisions and Bush accusing Kerry of shifting views.† As is, this sentence is clumsily breathless, but rather than simply inserting a missing comma after invasion, try a semicolon instead and delete with: â€Å"The debate largely focused on the wisdom of the Iraq invasion; Kerry attacked Bush’s decisions, and Bush accused Kerry of shifting views.† 4. â€Å"Each year, more than 1 million children are poisoned in their own homes, with thousands receiving permanent or chronic injuries.† Make the sentence a simple compound by replacing with with and, and alter the following subject and verb as necessary: â€Å"Each year, more than 1 million children are poisoned in their own homes, and thousands of them receive permanent or chronic injuries.† 5. â€Å"Most Fortune 500 companies have hundreds of incidents per year, with only a small percentage of those incidents resulting in significant financial loss.† Select, in place of with, another conjunction that is appropriate for the context, and change the form of the subsequent verb: â€Å"Most Fortune 500 companies have hundreds of incidents per year, although only a small percentage of those incidents result in significant financial loss.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Words for Facial ExpressionsLoan, Lend, Loaned, Lent50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

Religious realism vs. anti-realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Religious realism vs. anti-realism - Essay Example However, debate on religion realism and antirealism matters in the society today due to the fact that there are rising radicals in the two areas. For instance, religion relies more on supernatural powers, therefore it needs one to believe that there exists a natural being that they pray to. I take a realist position since on the issue I believe that there exists supernatural being providing spiritual carte despite the fact that science cannot prove that. Thus discussion on realist and antirealist is important since it will enlighten one and let them grow in faith. Therefore, with that knowledge it will be unlikely for one to be waivered form his or her believes. Moreover, antirealist believes that one cannot take theories to be true. Additionally, they give instances of scientific theories that have been proven not to be true. Thus, they believe that majority of theories are wrong and they should never be relied on. For they argue that the newton’s theory which had been used for quite some time, was proven not to be true with the recent technology. On the other hand, realist believe that non observable phenomena does really exist. For instance, people believe that there exists the black hole despite the fact that they have not seen it. The same way Christians believe in the existence of God who is supernatural and can hear at the same time answer their prayers. Despite their differences the antirealist and realists agree that once in religion, one has to engage in particular believes and practices that are meaningful and valuable in some way to the believers (Nuyen, 394). Realism is part of the society today, for instance, a number of people have not been to china but they believe that it does exist. It does not need one to travel to each and every part of the world to ascertain that it really does exist. Thus realism comes in handy since one is obliged to believe that the countries or various places do exist. Secondly, most people

American Revolution in 1775-1783 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

American Revolution in 1775-1783 - Term Paper Example The young government could hardly work effectively too, because the British had bottled up communication channels. The government also had divided institutions; and most of the time, General George Washington was forced to make important decisions by himself. Economic chaos worsened the conditions of the war. Hyperinflation emerged due to overprinting of money and rising debt. American money became almost worthless. America also had troubles in accessing loans and credit. The war, furthermore, stifled trade and commerce. In addition, diplomatic challenges also occurred. America needed European allies against the British. It also needed loans to finance the war. In essence, America needed the diplomatic and financial support of France, Spain, and the Netherlands. From July to December 1776, the initial American strategy was to fight off the British at NYC, to hold Fort Washington, and to fight the British with their own tactics. The motives behind this strategy were that NYC held prop agandistic value for America and losing it could be a large morale blow to American forces; protecting NYC also denied the British the access to Hudson River. The strategy was flawed, however, because America was not prepared to fight the European way. Fighting too close to the ocean worked against the Americans, because the British had superior navy strength. ... They also undercut the British forces using wild goose chases, which was effective in overextending the physical strength and resources of the latter. Eventually, the Americans won because of their guerilla and wild goose chase tactics. Their patience and will, as well as their home court advantage, ensured their victory against the British. In addition, France also sided with the U.S., and the Netherlands loaned money to support the U.S. The British was also exhausted, while the public opinion in the UK increasingly opposed the war against America. The Paris Peace Treaty was signed to end the war. It represented the various agenda of American, Britain, France, and Spain. Americans demanded independence and clearer rights and boundaries as a sovereign nation. Britain wanted to preserve Oregon and Ohio, and decided that America could be an ally that balanced the powers against Spain and France. Spain wanted no treaty with America and desired only to attain British land concessions. Fr ance wanted an independent, but weak, America and to ascertain peace with Britain. The states established The Articles of Confederation, which was the first constitution of the United States. The first draft was made in 1777 by the similar Continental Congress that passed the Declaration of Independence. The Articles provided that the states preserved their â€Å"sovereignty, freedom and independence.† The states did not set up executive and judicial branches of the government, and they chose a committee of delegates that were composed of representatives from each state. These individuals made up the Congress, a national legislature that the Articles established. Summary of Paris Peace Treaty John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Jay represented

Overview of the Film Free

Overview of the Film Freedom Writers Essay Based on a true story, Freedom Writers is an inspiring film about a young teacher named Erin Gruell (played by Hilary Swank) who chooses to work at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. It is a school that is torn by gang violence and racial tension due to the recent integration program in that district. The story begins in 1994, Erin is a newly hired teacher at the high school and is assigned to teach Freshman and Sophomore English. Teaching at the school is nothing like what she expected, as fights constantly break out both inside and outside of the classroom. Additionally, students come to school strapped with guns (if they come at all). The teachers have very little faith in the students and the students have very little faith in Erin Gruell, but as time goes by she develops their trust and respect. Erin throws out her more traditional lesson plans and instead appeals to the students by having them write daily journals about their personal stories. She teaches them about the Holocaust, Anne Frank, and takes them on field trips and to restaurants. At the same time that Erin tries to reach out and inspire these young people, Erin faces a divorce and protests from her fellow coworkers. However, Erin rises above these adversities to inspire her students to soar to new academic and personal heights, none of which they ever thought were imaginable. Erin displays unwavering faith in her students and in their capacity to learn. Likewise, these students find faith in themselves and each other and previous gang, racial, and territorial divides are broken down as students like Eva, Jamal, Marcus, and Brandi gain the courage to do what’s right and improve their lives. The ending is incredibly motivational as Erin gets 35 computers to be donated to her school so that her students can compile their stories from their journals into a book that would eventually be published in 1999. Most of her students went on to college and broke from their previous lives.

East Timor :: essays research papers

The tiny south pacific nation of East Timor has had a long and tumultuous history. While it has been touted as the first independent country of the 21st century, the government originally declared its independence in November of 1975. East Timor had spent over 300 years under Portugese rule and the colonial influences did much to shape Timorese culture and society. As a result East Timor developed very differently from its neighbours and had little in common with the former Dutch colony that became Indonesia. Portugese rule over East Timor was, like that in other colonies, oppressive and exploitive. The Portugese assumed a paternal role over the inhabitants of East Timor, regarding their own culture as superior. Rebellions were brutally suppressed and Portugese customs, and values along with the Portugese language were imposed on the Timorese. Despite this oppression independence movements in the colony remained strong. Political parties, once they were legalized, quickly formed and groups advocating independence won wide spread support. Following the trend towards decolonization is South East Asia Portugal allowed political parties as a step towards indpendence and democracy in East Timor. However the Portugese failed to ensure the security of East Timor. The was result was that nine days after it had declared its independence from Portugal, East Timor was invaded by neighbouring Indonesia. What followd was a quarter century of brutal oppression in which saw a quarter of the Timorese population lose their lives at the hands of Indonesian troops. The failure of the Portugese decolonization policies cleared the way for the genocide which occurred in East Timor.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Until the 1880s Portugese influnece in East Timor was strong, but not complete and the Timorese had been able to maintain their distinct cultural and religious heritages well into the nineteenth century. At this time Portugal was rapidly falling behind its colonial rivals both economically and militarily and thus sought to more fully exploit the economic potential of East Timor. In 1887, using the assassination of the colonial governor as a pretext, the Portugese government instituted harsh new economic programs designed to undermine the existing Timorese clan system, and bring the entire colony under the control of the colonial government. These plicies led to much resentemtn of the Portugese by the Timorese people and culminated in a massive uprising beginning 1910. The revolt lasted two years and was finally put down by Portugese troops in 1912.

Characteristic of an Effective Teacher Essay

1. A ‘Calling’ for the profession This is supposed to be the most important. And this is what is causing me the most headache at the moment. To accept the fact that someone might be doing this job as a job for the perks and the advantages without a real commitment is a real hindrance in achieving my aim of helping teachers become better professionals. How do you train teachers to develop a calling for the profession? Is this something I can possibly aim at? 2. Professional knowledge I tend to feel that a lot of what is considered professional knowledge is in easy-to-assess tests, like TKT or CELTA. Does he know the different kinds of assessments, and the present perfect? Yes, great, then he’s good. Professional knowledge is a matter of pride among teachers. Local teachers make a lot of effort to speak better English and expect ‘native teachers’ to explain random weird ideas they learnt 30-40 years before. I personally attribute little importance to this aspect. Long gone are the days when a clever teacher taught a stupid child about the big-big world. 3. Personal qualities Yeah, yeah. Here we go again: the teacher as the frustrated (failed) actor, the clown, the village idiot†¦ Well actually no, I think there are much more important personal qualities we tend to ignore these days and we shouldn’t: honesty, emotions, intelligence, reliability, enthusiasm, curiosity. These are all characteristics we use to define effective learners, but the more these qualities are shared by their teachers, the more likely it is that they get what they want. It’s always going to be more entertaining to watch Friends, or whatever it is teenagers watch these days, than to attend an English class. So, why compete? Establishing an efficient and mutually beneficial working environment is much more helpful I believe†¦. 4. With-it-ness (McEwan, E K 2002. How to survive and strive in the first three weeks of school) This is an exciting addition to the list. The essential skill of being able to envisage possible classroom and curriculum events. Planning with an awareness of the objectives and the conditions. This is definitely an acquired skill that you can get better with every new year, school and group. This is why every employer should be wary of teachers who do a year or so and then move on regularly. They will not have this understanding of their actions within the bigger picture. It’s arguable of course how important this is, but if we see education – especially public schools – as a continuum with precise expectations, it is important to have teachers who understand them. This is especially true if we want to liberate teachers from prescribed teaching materials and expect them to develop customised tasks for their students. 5. Instructional Effectiveness To be an effective teacher you have to teach well. Hard to argue. The interesting thing about this is that this demands again a very high level of flexibility and a wide range of expertise from the teacher, since something that may be a piece of cake with one group of students can prove to be an absolute nightmare with another. Even if I planned the same lesson for two different groups, they could and they should never be the same. So, this is again a hunch, not more. This seems to work with this group so let’s go with it, but heaven forbid I would try it with the other group. 6. Good communicator Well, this is pretty obvious, and necessary not only with students, but with teachers, managers and parents. Communication is not always direct, which is difficult. Other teachers and management hear about you from students and parents. It’s all a vicious circle, and to communicate your message well in all directions is a bit of a juggling act. 7. Street smart Know about who you teach. This is sometimes perceived as the great advantage of having local teachers or teachers who come from the same-similar context. While I admit that this has its advantages, I think it has just as many disadvantages. There is a false sense of mutuality between the local teachers and students against the foreign teacher in the school. All those dismissive nods from the colleagues and students are the same, really. Sometimes blowing up a little bit of a bomb with a completely innocent face can be very helpful. I’ll never forget the conversation I had with my students about respecting women and giving them rights and me doing the cooking and the washing up. I loved it. In many situations you are expected to be the foreigner. Embracing your foreignness is one way of being successful. You are not expected to be one of them. Why try? Clearly, you don’t want to be rude or hurt anyone but there are several stages between the extremes. Don’t do any thing that would offend you if it was the other way round but don’t expect them to eat the goulash as you serve it, what’s more, they can even be allowed not to like goulash. 8. Willing to go the extra mile This is closely linked to the first one. If you follow a calling, you will go the extra mile. Otherwise you won’t. There is no way of making someone do more than what they are paid to. 9. Lifelong learner The excitement of Amazon delivering yet another book about ELT, Russell Tarr recommending another mindboggingly good link. A conference near you, a conference on the web, all the tweets from last night. If you are still excited about any of these things, we’re talking about you. If you watch a movie and 2 minutes into the film you start thinking about how you could use this in class, this is about you. Most teachers start forgetting what they learn when they start their education, and will have forgotten why they are standing in front of a class by the time they have finished. They are the life-long forgetters. Heaven save students from them. This is not about the ‘best method’ the ‘best book’ ’the greatest author’, ‘the best publisher’, it’s about you and where you are in the wonderful process of your professional development 10 Life outside the classroom Your life outside the classroom is the bread and butter you bring to your students and re-contextalise to feed their learning appetite.

Commessay

Technology's Impact on Communication With new communication technology being introduced almost daily, the classical definition of how we communicate must constantly be redefined. Conversations now exist in a myriad of formats, most of which have only been around for the past 20 years. Faceable, Twitter, and various other current forms of social media now influence how we communicate. Modern technology offers a sterile virtual environment that lacks physical dimensions such as space and time.Modern immunization has progressed so much since the nineteenth century; we now question what Is real human interaction? Medal constantly evolves, which makes studying It difficult. Mass media greatly effects how we perceive other cultures, communities, and ourselves. The Invention of the telegraph, telephone, and radio transformed society In the 1 9th century. The Invention of the Internet changed how humans communicate forever. Unlike the others the Internet has become interwoven into our lives. The invention of smart phones and other Internet capable mobile devices ensures constant connectivity.We are now connected to Mass Media for the majority of our waking hours. News of earthquakes to wars around the world instantly zaps into our pockets regularly. Media directly influences how we create our own personal identity and how we perceive others. According to Michael Bugged author of Interpersonal Divide, media even shapes how we understand our own social identity. Constant connectivity gives us the freedom to control where we put our attention. People text and go on their emails during meetings. We use Faceable while out with friends.Now we create our own experience editing, deleting, and thus touching our thoughts and Ideas that we share. Faceable and Twitter offer us a perception of reality customized to our individual tastes and views. If we can live our lives only paying attention to what we chose to us will well miss something important? The novel Interpersonal Divide by Michael Bugged takes a critical analysis of how modern forms of technology have eroded our sense of community. Budge]a ask the question, â€Å"If electronic communication keeps us wired to the world.Why, then do so many feel displaced in the global village? Modern communication offers such a did array of conveniences, but distances us from our humanity. E. B White, of The New Yorker 1948: Television hangs on the questionable theory that whatever happens anywhere should be sensed everywhere. If everyone is going to be able to be see everything, In the long run all sights may lose whatever rarity value they once possessed, and It may well turn out that people, being able to see and hear practically everything, will be specially Interested In almost nothing. White 3) Mass media and its 24-hour news coverage perpetuate stories from around the world to its unman condition as portrayed by television. Bugged says overexposure to current forms of media may leave us unsympathetic or uni nterested in everything around us. We choose to spend more time with our electronic devices, and not with each other. Children say, â€Å"l love you† to there parents through text messages. Bugged believes modern forms of communication have not only changed society, but also us as individuals.The Internet offers us a way of customizing our experience in society, giving us the freedom to choose our interactions. He believes that humans seek acceptance and the Internet offers that. Without acceptance, we feel unloved. Without love we feel afraid. Lacking time, space, and form the Internet narrows perception and caters to our desires. Without the sense of community we feel unfulfilled we lose essential interpersonal communication skills. The real and virtually real blend so well that we cannot properly ascertain what is genuine from what is not.With all the technological advancements something as simple as tone cannot be properly communicated through cyberspace. In rigid text co nversation often the meaning of what we are trying to say to each other gets lost. Bugged believes cyberspace lacks authenticity, citing that private enterprise controls what we do and see. All technology in its infancy suffers from public ridicule and change. The biggest difference now is that change has happen in such short period of time. The printing press made millions literate, but put copy scribes out of business.The telegraph helped war become more strategic, but made war more violent. The radio made current events current to everyone, but instilled inherent fear into everyone. All these innovations came with great change to how we communicate. Today we can only speculate what negative changes the Internet will bring to society. We know the convenience the Internet brings, but what about the negative impacts? The Internet has changed the nature of entertainment, business, government, stock trading, and much more. 5000 years ago the invention of written language allowed peopl e to communicate, without needing to be face-to-face.Early Mesopotamia would scribe onto walls of caves messages to their counterparts, thus creating the first virtual reality. The printing press of the fifteenth century made it possible for hosannas of people receive the same information at the same time thus creating Mass Media. Telegraphs made direct communication possible at long distances, while telephones and radio let us communicate verbally. These technologies changed how society operated much like the invention of the Internet would in the twentieth century.Rapidly integrating into every facet of our lives the Internet has changed society faster then any of the other forms of media. Cyberspace offers us convenience and control like we've never experienced before. Being able to see your Ovid ones faces when you tell you are getting married, from 500 miles away now seems ordinary. The Internet allows us to get directions to a restaurant, check table availability, and the mana ger on staff all while brushing our teeth. We drive cars that now require Internet connectivity to function. We say things like â€Å"Google it† to prove our points in conversation.We even sleep with our mobile connected devices. People now sit in Social gatherings like Bars and parties in complete silence; we are now together yet alone. Joshua Moneywort, No Sense of place: The evolution of media has creased the significance of physical presence in the experience of people and physically present; one can communicate â€Å"directly' with others without meeting in the same place. As a result, the physical structures that once divided our society into many distinct spatial settings for interaction have been greatly reduced in social significance. Moneywort 2) With technology making virtual direct communication possible, interpersonal communication skills are needed more than ever. Often limiting non-verbal communications like touch, posture, and smell virtual immunization only offers a small percentage of the complexity of a face-to-face conversation. Large companies like Faceable and Apple continuously morph and change how they conduct business. Interpersonal contact is multidimensional; it exists in a specific time and place. Contact is the basic component of community in human relationships.The Internet alters our perception of the world and our place in it. We over indulge in technology isolating ourselves from humanity. As society grows and become more complex so must technology. We must ask the question of when does technology stop and society begin? Bugged says: The transformation of society from the real to the virtually real has been occurring since the nineteenth century, affecting how we perceive others and their cultures, communities, priorities, activities, and whereabouts. Bugged 1) The media offers a glance into other cultures and community virtual reality is not a new concept. What Bugged is trying to say is that now we are becoming satura ted with medias influence. Just about every facet of our lives now has some sort of device that offers some sort of prescribed convenience. Modern technology helps control our daily lives to an extent never thought possible. As a result, the way companies conduct their business has changed. New technology usually means a restructure in the labor force; the difference now is the speed in which it has happened.In 1994 roughly 3 million people, mostly Americans had Internet access, the fugue that increased to 26 million the next year roughly doubling every year after till the year 2000. Companies have downsized and implemented technology to replace its human workers. From automated call centers to online tech support, business has downplayed the importance of interpersonal costumer service. Not only is business lacking in human- to-human interaction, we are too. Small mobile devices like the phone can do everything, even tell you a Joke.Society has evolved quicker in the last 20 years than ever before. Over the past 10 years, studies of mobile communication has shown, those devices in our pockets, are so psychologically powerful that they don't only change what we do, they change who we are. Things we do now only a few years ago we would consider odd or strange, now seem familiar. We check our devices first thing the morning, before even saying hello to our loved ones. We have minor anxiety attacks when our phone battery dies. We take short breaks during social periods to check our Faceable and Twitter feeds.We feel it necessary to take pictures and update statuses of every waking minute of our lives. I share therefore I am. Technology has created an alternative society- one that is digital, a society where we can create our own persona and manage our identity. A world where we can control how our peers perceive us. Relationships are complex and varied, the Internet is linear and sterile; can it truly replace face-to-face interaction? We should not rely on Edie a nd technology to attain enduring relationships, which interactions and today pales in comparison to face-to-face communication.Technology can be the links through which we engage and befriend each other but to establish true relationships we must learn how to balance between the two societies. The classical definition of how we communicate has been redefined. Conversations now exist in a myriad of formats, most of which have only been around for the past 20 years. Current forms of social media now influence how we communicate. Modern technology offers a sterile virtual environment that lacks physical dimensions such as pace and time.Bugged calls attention to the problem that develops when we spend too much time in cyberspace rather than in real society. Constant connectivity gives us the freedom to control where we put our attention. The media and virtual communication shapes how we understand our own social identity. Overexposure to the media may leave unsympathetic or uninterested in everything around us. These days, those devises in our pockets are changing our minds and hearts offering us gratification. One, that we can put our attention wherever we want it to be; two, that e will always be heard; and three, that we will never have to be alone.

Panera Bread - Marketing Business Analysis

Panera Bread - Marketing Business Analysis Free Online Research Papers Executive Summary â€Å"Over the last half century, eating out has gradually become a way of life for many Americans† (Basham Menza, 2007a, para.1). For this reason, the restaurant industry is a fast-growing, diverse and prosperous industry, with many interesting facets. The restaurant industry includes a wide range of food and beverage establishments within the United States. There are three main industry segments: fast-food, full service and specialty. Since the restaurant industry is extremely broad, this paper will specifically focus on the fast-food segment of the industry. The fasts of these chains are KFC Corp, Chick-Fil-A Inc., Popeye’s Chicken Biscuits and Church’s Chicken (Basham Menza, 2007b). Although it is not the industry leader yet, Panera Bread, Co. is an up and coming company that has much potential for growth and development. Panera was the sixth fastest growing restaurant in America as of December, 2006 with 20.3% increase in revenues from December, 2005 (Basham Menza, 2007b). Due to growing health food concerns worldwide and the increase in busy lifestyles in America, restaurants such as Panera, that offer quick service, relatively healthy menu items, and a clean, warm and homey atmosphere are up and coming. Despite the vast opportunities for Paneras growth due to these economic conditions, many other companies want in on the profit and have begun to saturate the market with very similar products and services. Direct competitors include, Cosi, Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, Starbucks, Corner Bakery Cafà ©, and Au Bon Pain while companys like McDonalds, Subway, Yum Brands and Starbucks also have the potential to pose threats. This analysis will highlight the economic, social, and legal environment as well as provide a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the fast-food restaurant industry. This paper will then present a SWOT analysis of Panera Bread, Co., and discuss the company’s marketing mix. Paneras business strategies will be compared and contrasted to that of another popular fast-food restaurant; McDonalds. As a concluding note, strategic problems and alternatives will be mentioned, followed by recommendations for Panera in the future. Industry Structure Within the fast-food restaurant industry, small businesses have the opportunity to dominate because of the low entry barriers and possibility of high returns. Unfortunately, it is difficult for these smaller operators to survive because of the large chains and franchises that serve as major competition. Some pros to becoming a franchise are higher returns, strength in brand name and less day-to-day responsibility for the franchisor. Despite these positive aspects, if one individual restaurant in the franchise is poorly managed or operated, it may give a bad reputation to the entire franchise. Many restaurants that do franchise have the option of re-franchising, which means that the franchisor will buy and sell restaurants that are not performing up to standards. In other words, the franchisor is able to free up capital by selling off underperforming restaurants to create funds for research and development of new ventures (Basham Menza, 2007a). Economic Environment Due to poor economic conditions, such as rising gasoline prices and an uncertain real estate market, many Americans have had to cut costs in 2007, including the cost of dining out. The poor economy coupled with the fact that labor and food costs are increasing is putting a damper on profitability within the restaurant industry. Competition is tough for many establishments that have little to no competitive advantage. Unfortunately, the common trend for 2007 seems to be the merging and disposition of many restaurant chains. Despite these trends, Americans are still eating out, but as inexpensively as possible. As a result, fast-food chains have exhibited the most growth during the past years and the restaurant industry has become the largest private sector employer in the United States (Basham Menza, 2007c). Social Environment Two social environmental issues are present within the restaurant industry. First off, people are becoming more concerned with health related issues. As more consumers become educated about the risks of eating fattening foods, restaurant companies are focusing on the trend toward healthier eating by offering low calorie and low fat menu items to appeal to the health food craze in America. The health craze in part resulted from the many lawsuits filed against fast-food chains for child obesity and other health problems related to obesity. McDonald’s and Wendy’s have both tried to introduce fruit, vegetables and milk into their value meals for children rather than fries and soda. Applebees, Chili’s and Ruby Tuesday are three restaurants that offer smarter menu options for dieters. Burger King and Wendy’s are both experimenting with healthier oils used for frying that will reduce amounts of trans fat in their fries (Basham Menza, 2007b). Second, due to the increase in Hispanics within the US, restaurant companies have been focusing on appealing to many different target markets through either diversifying the menu at a restaurant or by acquiring different types of chains that will appeal to different people. For example, Yum! Brands Inc. (which is the parent company of AW Restaurants, Inc., KFC Corporation, Long John Silvers, Inc., Pizza Hut, Inc., WingStreet and Taco Bell Corporation) and Jack in the Box both have tried to appeal to the Hispanic population, by offering Hispanic foods and hiring more Hispanic employees (Basham Menza, 2007b). Lastly, most families in America have two incomes, meaning there is not much time to cook, and there is more spending money available. Because of these factors, restaurants are a perfect option to the busy family (Basham Menza, 2007a). Most restaurant chains have offered to-go and drive-thru service in the past, but the new trend is for the buffet restaurant chains to offer this service (Basham Menza, 2007b). Legal Environment There are several state and local government regulations that may put a damper on the fast-food restaurant industry. First, many states have now banned smoking in public areas, which includes all restaurants and bars. This rule may cause smokers to opt to eat at home or even forego an after dinner coffee, drink or dessert so they can enjoy their cigarettes after a meal. dSecond, there have been many laws concerning employment compensation. For example, San Francisco now requires employers to compensate employees with higher wages than the federal or state minimum mandates. Health insurance is now a mandatory benefit for even part time employees in several states (Massachusetts being one of them), which significantly contributes to compensation expenses. In 2007, the federal minimum wage was increased from $5.15 per hour to $5.85 per hour and will continue to rise by $0.70 each year until 2009 (yielding a federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour). Many states already enforce an additional state minimum wage, which may cushion the blow that the restaurant industry will face in 2009. Most new legislation and regulation has the potential to add to the cost of owning and operating a restaurant in the United States, which may decrease profitability within the industry (Basham Menza, 2007b). â€Å"According to the CDC and USDA, food poisoning sickens 76 million people a year in the United States, sends 325,000 to hospital, and kills 5,000† (Reuters Health E-Line, 2006, para.9). As a result, the government sends official in to inspect individual restaurants all over the country to ensure that each restaurant maintains a sanitary and healthy environment for cooking and serving food. Restaurants that do not meet the governmental standards are slapped with high fines or in some cases closed down (Jones et al., 2004). Interestingly, according to former restaurant inspector and current vice president of health and safety regulatory affairs for the National Restaurant Association, Steven Grover, the restaurant industry as a whole is getting better each year as far as reducing the number of Americans infected with food-borne illness. Although numerous restaurants are still not up to governmental standards, dining out today is safer now than it has ever been (Garber, 2003) . Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis of the Fast-Food Restaurant Industry Panera Bread is not the typical fast-food restaurant in that it offers a more upscale product for a few dollars more than an ordinary fast-food restaurant. Although Panera does have this competitive advantage, there are many industry wide threats that it faces. The following paragraphs will discuss five primary industry threats and whether or not each is applicable to the fast-food restaurant industry. New Entrants The threat of new entrants is high within the fast-food industry. There are low barriers to enter this market and there is great opportunity to become very profitable. The only large up front capital cost to a potential new entrant would be that of building and equipment. Labor and commodity items are typically low cost items in the fast food industry (Basham Menza, 2007a). Panera itself is a relatively new entrant along with two of its direct competitors; Corner Bakery Cafà ©, and Cosi. Corner Bakery Cafà © offers pastries, salads and cafà © sandwiches with table service while Cosi offers flatbread pizza, sandwiches, pastries, salads and entire entrees. Both offer catering and both have a little over 100 locations throughout the US. Panera, Corner Bakery Cafà © and Cosi all originated throughout the 1990s (Feed the Day Corner Bakery Cafà ©, 2008; Panera Bread, 2008; Cosi Simply Good Taste, 2008). It seems that the new up and coming fast food restaurants are all catering to the ever-changing demands of society. Its like society is over the cheeseburger and french-fries, slice of pizza, drive through phase and moved on to a more sophisticated, healthier taste. The restaurant industry is unique in that consumers are always on the look-out for new entrants into this market. Since people get sick of eating the same foods over and over again, many consumers are eager to try new restaurant ideas (Basham Menza, 2007a). Rivalry The threat of rivals in the fast food industry is also high. With hundreds of choices and in most cases very little differentiation, it is difficult to stay afloat in this industry. Below, in Figure 1, is a depiction of the market share of top fast-food companies in 2007, including Panera. It is interesting to see that the most internationally and nationally well known and largest fast-food companies, including McDonalds, Subway, Starbucks and Yum Brands, make up only 37% of the market. Other restaurants make up more than half of the market which is one of the reasons why rivalry is such a large threat within this industry (Panera Bread Company (PNRA), n.d.). Figure 1 There are two ways to look at Panera and its competition within the industry. If a customer is just looking for any quick service restaurant to grab a bite to eat then Panera is competing with McDonalds, Yum Brands and Subway. If a customer is specifically looking for an upscale cafà © and bakery, then Panera is competing with Cosi, Corner Bakery Cafà © and Au Bon Pain. When looking at Panera as a player in the fast-food industry as a whole, as far as revenues and profits go, Panera is at the bottom of the chart compared to most other companies. Part of the reason is because Panera is a newer company and it does offer a premium product, which may not appeal to lower income level people. Some top fast-food chains are McDonalds, Burger King, Wendys, Subway (Doctors Associates), Yum Brands and Starbucks. Figure 2 below is a graphical depiction of Paneras revenues as of the end of 2007 compared to some top fast-food restaurants (Panera Bread Company (PNRA), n.d.). Figure 2: 2007 Revenue in Billions of Dollars of Key Fast-Food Players Although Panera is in the bottom region of this chart, it is definitely producing more revenues than Cosi, who is one of its direct competitors, which will be discussed next. In many cases, people know what they want to eat and compare Panera to other upscale bakery and cafà ©s such as Au Bon Pain, Cosi, Corner Bakery Cafà © and The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group. Because Panera is a company that has differentiated itself from others based upon its product and price, competitors such as McDonalds and Yum Brands and even Subway do pose a threat but are not direct competition to Panera. When looking at Panera in this sense, the threat of rivalry is still high due to the fact that there are many other similar companies out there offering similar products, but not as high as it is within the entire fast-food restaurant industry. Aside from Au Bon Pain, Panera is the most well known between the bakery and cafà © competitors mainly due to its presence in 40 of the 50 states. Many of these direct competitors have yet to expand out of 10-20 states and none, with the exception of Au Bon Pain have ventured outside the US yet (Feed the Day Corner Bakery Cafà ©, 2008; Panera Bread, 2008; Cosi Simply Good Taste, 2008). Substitutes Although there are many substitute products for a fast-food meal, the threat of substitute products within the fast-food industry is moderate. Two substitutes are eating at home or eating at a full service restaurant. Of course it widely depends on the economy as to whether or not people have the money to eat out, but most people eat fast food for convenience sake. In other words, people eat fast-food when they are either unable to cook or do not want to cook. In the event that prices among fast-food restaurants drastically increased or disposable income drastically decreased, the threat of substitutes would become more severe. On the same token, if disposable income drastically increases people most likely would opt to eat at full service restaurants for better quality food. Again, there really is no threatening substitution for the convenience of fast-food (Vanden Boogard, 2006). Suppliers Since most of the supplies within the fast-food restaurant industry are commodity items, the threat of suppliers is low. Despite this low threat, one common trend within the industry is the rising prices of commodities. First off the cost of labor is increasing due to the continual increase in federal and state minimum wage and new laws enforcing employers to offer benefits to all employees. Second, chicken prices rose by 17.7% while dairy product prices increased by 29.8% throughout 2007. Reasons for these price increases trace back to an increase in the price of corn which is used as chicken feed in most farms. Corn is now being used as a bio-fuel ethanol product which is driving it price up. Corn syrup prices have also increased because of this, which will lead to increases in pricing for beverages, as corn syrup is used as a sweetener in most soft drinks. Unfortunately, these supplier price increases are eating away at profits within the industry as many companies cannot afford t o increase their own prices. On the other hand, many companies have increased menu prices, meaning the consumer is absorbing the increase in commodity costs. The National Restaurant Associations reported that menu prices on average increased by 3.1% in 2006 (Basham Menza, 2007c). Buyers The threat of buyers within the fast-food industry is high. As previously discussed, because there is such a large range of competition and always the option to move on to the next restaurant the cost for a buyer to switch restaurants is low. In many cases, there are several fast-food restaurants within a small radius, so if buyers have a negative connotation with a restaurant (such as experienced a food-borne illness, or poor service or quality of food), very little will prevent that buyer from driving or even walking the extra tenth of a mile to reach another fast-food restaurant. For this reason, it is extremely important for companies to focus on customer demands and keeping the customer happy. It is also important for companies to keep the appearance of each restaurant up to standards and provide a clean and welcoming atmosphere. Now that the industry is defined, discussion will ensue to the target company: Panera Bread. It will be interesting to look at where Panera falls within this industry, what it is doing correct and incorrect, and what it should be doing better. Target Company Analysis: Panera Bread Organizational Culture Panera Bread is a bakery and cafà © that offers bagels, pastries, sandwiches, pizzas and specialty drinks. There are 1,230 individual Paneras across the US and most are franchised (698 to be exact). Last year Panera Bread, Co. acquired 51% of Paradise Bakery Cafà © which is a similar entity that operates in the Southwest region of the US. Panera has yet to venture into the international market but does plan to expand into Canada in the near future (Rozhon, 2006). Ironically, Panera Bread, Co. has roots with its one of its direct competitors, Au Bon Pain. In the late 1970s and early 1980s Au Bon Pain, Inc. originated in Boston. As the company began to grow as a bakery and cafà ©, it acquired a similar company and competitor, St. Louis Bread Co. During the mid 1990s Au Bon Pain, Inc. began franchising its St. Louis Bread units out as Panera Bread. Although Panera began to do well with revenues and growth, Au Bon Pains sales were suffering and by the late 1990s corporate decided to sell off the Au Bon Pain units entirely and become Panera Bread, Co. The current CEO and Chairman, Ron Shaich, was actually one of the co-founders of Au Bon Pain, Inc. in the early 1980s. He has been the CEO and Chairman of Panera Bread since 2001 when his fellow co-founder of Au Bon Pain decided to pursue other business ventures (Panera Bread Company, 2008). The culture at Panera is quite different from most restaurants. Whereas most companies have high turnover rates amongst management, Panera Bread has had the same leader since its beginnings back in the mid 1990s. Ron Shaich is not the only Panera lifer. Several other members of Au Bon Pain management came with Shaich in the late 1990s when Au Bon Pain was sold off and have stuck with Panera since then. Shaich is an intelligent leader who is dedicated to hard work, and committed to his customers. Panera is successful due to the fact that Shaich conducted ample research that determined what the people wanted. That explains why each Panera is decorated with original artwork, always has a fire burning in its fireplace and offers sofas and arm chairs along with typical table seating. He is the type of manager who despite his high ranking position will still be seen serving customers behind the counters of one of his Panera restaurants. Loyal employees who truly care about the business are most valuable in Shaichs eyes (Stewart, 2007). It is also interesting to note that Shaich owns 14% of Paneras voting rights, meaning he has enough faith in the company to invest a portion of his own funds. Not only that but he has an additional motivation to continue to grow the company (Vanden Boogard, 2006). SWOT Analysis: Panera Bread Strengths Panera has many strengths as a company but for the purposes of this paper its top four will be discussed. First, one of Paneras greatest strengths is its leadership and management structure. As mentioned previously, Shaich has been with the company for many years and has much experience in running a successful restaurant (Especially since he was lucky enough to have Au Bon Pain as his trial run). Panera also has a bit of a unique franchise policy in place that adds to its strong management feature. In order for an individual to open a franchised Panera, he or she must purchase a market area in which he or she is to open approximately fifteen Panera restaurants within six years. This strategy prevents people without the appropriate amount of capital and without the will to put their heart and soul into the company from becoming part of the Panera team (Panera Bread, 2008). The company has realized that if it wants to franchise to expand, it needs reliable managers who will work hard a t keeping up the good reputation of Panera. If someone is forced to take on fifteen restaurants, he or she must be a good manager and maintain each individual entity so as to continue to grow. Secondly, Panera has great product. For the price, its food is a great value. According to its website, Panera has won numerous awards all over the country, including Best Bakery, Best Bread, Best Dessert, Best Lunch, Best Summer Beverage, Best of the Best, Best Fast-Food and the list goes on from there. Not only does it offer healthy menu items but service is quick and the atmosphere is comfortable and homey (and includes free Wi-fi). The company continues to be creative and add new menu items, such as the Crispani flatbread pizza, mini breakfast quiches and a wide variety of soups and salads (Vanden Boogard, 2006). Third, Paneras finances are just another strength. For the past five year the company has had positive and growing net incomes. This is mainly attributable to the fact that in 2007 revenues had nearly tripled from 2003. In 2003 net income was approximately $30.43 million while in 2007 it reached approximately $57.46 million. Although the company did experience some negative cash flows back in 2004 and 2005, in both 2006 and 2007 cash on hand increased by $27.65 million in 2006 and $16.15 million in 2007 (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Lastly the brand name and image associated with Panera is a strength. The company has 1,230 stores throughout the US, meaning that most likely a great deal of consumers have heard of Panera. Panera is considered an upscale fast-food establishment and is known for its fresh breads and pastries, comfortable and clean atmosphere and healthy menu options (Panera Bread, 2008). Weaknesses There are a few weaknesses associated with Panera Bread that come to mind. First, Panera has yet to expand internationally. Although the company said that they expected to enter Canada in 2007, that is yet to happen (Rozhon, 2006; Panera Bread, 2008). If Panera wants to play with the big boys (for example McDonalds, Starbucks, Yum Brands and even its top competitor Au Bon Pain) it will have to make a plan to go international and follow through with it. Another company weakness is its dependency on franchising. Although Panera has a good strategy to pick up strong franchisors, the majority of its units are franchised. Industry leader, McDonalds Corporation, also franchises the majority of its units and does just fine, but less revenue comes from franchising and there is always the possibility that the franchisors could destroy the company reputation if they do not adhere to company policy (Panera Bread, 2008). Next, Panera uses all fresh ingredients and in some cases rare ingredients (such as anti-biotic free chicken) in preparing its menu items, meaning supplies are delivered three times per week at a minimum to each Panera restaurant. Panera receives 98% of its ingredients from only three suppliers. Unfortunately this high dependence on such a small number of suppliers may disrupt regular business operations. If bad weather occurs, vehicle problems are encountered, or even if one supplier experiences business problems and shortages Panera will not have enough ingredients to operate, which may upset customers and result in a loss of revenue (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Lastly, there are still many people who would prefer to eat at Subway or McDonalds as they are not convinced that it is worth the extra couple of dollars to eat at Panera. Panera needs to bulk up its marketing and advertising to ensure that it convinces as many customers as it can that they are worth the additional price (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Threats Along with the aforementioned weaknesses, there are a few threats that Panera faces. The economy poses a large threat to Panera. Paneras product is not a necessity and it may be considered a luxury product. This means if people do not have the money to spend due to a poor economy including rising gasoline prices and high unemployment rates, they will either opt for a substitute such as eating at home, or head to McDonalds or Subway for a much cheaper meal (Vanden Boogard, 2006). Competition is another large threat to Panera. In the fast-food restaurant industry, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands of companies, both small and large for consumers to choose from. Within most suburban areas throughout the country consumers only have to drive a few miles for at least five or ten different fast-food restaurant options. Although Panera offers a premium product it is still just fast-food and must constantly stay on its toes to meet the consumers ever-changing demands, especially since there is no cost to the consumer to switch from one restaurant to the next (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Currently, 8% of Paneras locations are in Florida and 6% in California (Panera Bread Company, 2008). This geographic concentration in two natural disaster prone states poses a threat to Panera. If a hurricane or earthquake reeks havoc over either state Panera will suffer a large loss (Vanden Boogard, 2006). Yet another threat is that of management. A great deal of Paneras success can be attributed to Ron Shaich. Part of this success stems from the fact that Panera’s roots really started with Shaichs own little bakery in Boston which he eventually built up to a national restaurant chain. Shaich has been in the business for 25 years and is passionate about Panera because it is his own creation. Although he is not really that old, he will retire someday. The threat here is finding another leader with as much passion to succeed and as much personal baggage invested in the company as Shaich (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Lastly, the following is a threat that all restaurants face. That is the threat of food-borne illness. If one individual restaurant has a bout with salmonella or e-coli or even the avian flu (which is unlikely but it is mentioned in Paneras 10K), the entire brand name will be defamed and most likely sales will drastically decrease (United States Securities and Exchanges Commission Form 10-K, 2008). Opportunities As is the case with many young companies, Panera has various opportunities in its upcoming future. Three primary opportunities come to mind. The first is that of growth and development through expansion. Panera is currently located in 40 of the 50 states, but in most states there are only a few individual locations. On the same token, Panera has yet to go international. The company should test the waters by choosing a specific market, performing research and then dive in. International growth will take the company to the next level by continuing to increase its sales and earn world-wide recognition (Panera Bread, 2008). Another opportunity that Panera is facing is to capitalize on the health-food craze in America. Society has become obsessed in some ways with eating healthy, which could pose large threats to the typical cheeseburger and french-fry fast-food chains. Panera is in a great position because they already offer a healthy-themed menu. Although bread is high in carbs, which most dieters try to stay away from, Paneras soups, salads, and new Crispani flatbread pizzas are all healthy options. If Panera continues to introduce healthy menu items such as by offering low fat wraps rather than bread or expanding on their salad selection, they have the opportunity to capture a larger market share. Lastly, Panera has the opportunity to diversify its menu. For example, by adding alcoholic beverages to its menu after 5pm it may attract a larger dinner crowd. Panera could offer alcoholic coffee drinks with pastry for dessert and wine and beer with sandwiches and salads for dinner. Since it already has most of the ingredients, Panera could introduce calzones and thick crust pizzas. It could even introduce grilled chicken entrà ©es with side salads without altering its supply chain too much. Panera Breads Marketing Mix Product Although Panera does have an opportunity to diversify its product line, its current products are not doing all that bad. Panera offers a bakery menu and a cafà © menu. Items on its bakery menu include bagels, pastries, muffins, freshly baked breads, breakfast sandwiches and soufflà ©s. Items on its cafà © menu include salads, soups, sandwiches, Crispani pizza, hot and cold beverages and a kids menu. With each season, Panera features new products that are seasonally themed. For example, this summer its cafà © menu features a strawberry poppy-seed salad, which includes an assortment of fresh fruit on a bed of lettuce with signature poppy-seed salad dressing. Summer features also include a frozen lemonade beverage and an egg and cheese breakfast sandwich on fresh bread. Panera is also known for its unique soups, which also tend to change with the season and in some cases the day. Each day a different variety of soups are offered on the menu, which are listed on its website. There ar e special seasonal soups as well, such as the summer corn chowder (Panera Bread, 2008). Another product that Panera offers is called Via Panera. This is the companys catering service. Via Panera offers boxed lunches or breakfasts that are delivered to parties of five or more. Along with the food, the customer receives a catering coordinator who is in charge of delivery if applicable and helps the customer make menu selections for large groups such as office meetings or even parties and other functions (Panera Bread, 2008). Aside from the physical product that Panera offers, they offer a psychological product as well. As previously mentioned, each individual Panera is decorated to feel comfortable and homey. Panera is a place where people can gather and relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Although the food is slightly more expensive than McDonalds, Panera offers couches, fireplaces and even free Wi-Fi for its customers to enjoy (Panera Bread, 2008). Price Paneras pricing is by far much higher than the typical fast-food restaurant. Although it charges much higher prices, it offers a higher quality product and atmosphere than the typical fast-food restaurant. As of November 2007, Panera was experiencing a drop in margins mainly due to the increase in commodity supplies and had to determine a strategy to deal with this problem. Shaich decided to raise menu prices by about 2.5% in the cafà © and 5% in the bakery section. Shaich also determined a new promotion strategy to deal with this problem, which will be discussed next (Walkup, 2007). Promotion Panera has many cost efficient successful ways of promoting its products, including newspaper and magazine ads, billboards and most importantly, word of mouth (Panera Bread: Some History and Commentary, 2004). The company posts its menu and soup flavors of the day on its website and has different seasonal menu items featured each season. Some well known menu promotions include the You Pick Two menu item, which allows consumers to pick any two items featured on the salad, sandwich and soup menus and receive one half of each item for about $7. Panera is also known for offering a bakers dozen of bagels rather than they usual dozen. Similar to other bakery chains, Panera also offers a box of coffee to accommodate large groups or tubs of cream cheese to go along with the bakers dozen of bagels (Panera Bread, 2008). Panera has relied upon the fact that its customers will enjoy their experience so much that they will come back and bring friends. This is just another reason for Paneras conce rn with its customer demands (Panera Bread: Some History and Commentary, 2004). As mentioned previously, in late 2007 Panera had been experiencing declining margins and came up with a promotional strategy to combat the problem. Rather than dropping products that yielded low margins, Shaich revamped the menu boards at each Panera to list the products that had the highest margin first. The hope here was that people would see the most profitable menu items first and out of partially convenience sake and partially intrigue order these items. Panera had decided to increase costs meaning each menu board had to be updated, so why not move the items around to put the spotlight on the most profitable items (Walkup, 2007). Panera also offers a wide price range of products to accommodate consumers from a wider budget span. Shaich believes that many of Paneras competitors have already implemented this strategy so it was necessary for Panera to follow suit (Walkup, 2007). Placement Panera is located throughout the US mainly in suburban communities where the cost of living is above average. As Shaich discussed in a recent interview, From the beginning, we focused on one group of customers, those who appreciated an inviting environment and were willing to pay for real food based on homemade artisan bread†¦We only open in community-oriented spots and try to create a place where shoppers, residents, and daytime workers can gather (Stewart, 2007, p. 2). Panera is creeping into the larger cities as well as hopefully expanding to international locations soon (Stewart, 2007). Competitor Analysis: McDonalds Panera is a great company that is currently doing very well. The future for Panera is only to expand and hopefully become a worldwide sensation similar to McDonalds. Although McDonalds is not one of Paneras direct competitors or worst threats, it will be interesting to look at the two companies side by side, since Panera is reaching to grow and gain a larger presence, while McDonalds is the perfect example of a company who has achieved vast growth and worldwide presence. Perhaps Panera can learn a thing or two from McDonalds. Organizational Culture McDonald’s restaurant is a fast-food chain well known for its Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets and Egg McMuffin. The restaurant appeals to people of all genders, races and ages due to its speedy service of value-priced food, which may be one of the reasons for its success. Currently, McDonalds Corporation is traded publicly on both the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges under the ticker symbol MCD. As of the end of the fiscal year in 2007, McDonalds had about 1165.3 million shares of common stock outstanding and was worth about $58 per share (Value Line Industry Report, 2007) The concept for McDonald’s originated in 1955 by Ray Kroc, a milkshake machine salesman. Ray had sold eight of his milkshake machines to the McDonald brothers hamburger restaurant in California. Desperate to sell more machines, Ray suggested to the brothers that they open up more McDonalds hamburger restaurants across the country. The brothers liked the idea but had no one to run their restaurants, so they appointed Ray to take on the challenge. Ray Kroc opened his very first McDonald’s in Des Plaines, Illinois (which is no longer in operation today as it is a museum containing historical articles from the companies past). In 1965 McDonalds went public with only 100 shares of stock, valued at $2,250 (equivalent to $3.3 million today). During the 1970s and 1980, McDonalds grew at a rapid rate. Besides significant domestic growth, where McDonald’s restaurants popped up anywhere from gas stations to shopping malls, the company also founded a charity for sick childre n and their families, and established a global presence. Today, McDonald’s Corporation is arguably the largest restaurant company in the world. It has rights to more than 30,000 McDonald’s restaurants worldwide, most independently owned and operated. (Note: McDonalds also owned Boston Market and Chipotle Mexican Grill but recently sold these chains) (McDonald’s, 2005-2006). Competitive Advantage The following points are just a few reasons why McDonalds owns 19% of the fast food market while Panera has just about 1%. McDonalds has been around for 50 more years than Panera. It has had more time to grow, develop and penetrate the fast-food market. McDonalds offers a good valued product for a cheap price. Although most people do not associate McDonalds with being healthy, most people do recognize the fact that its food tastes good and will not burn a hole in your pocket. McDonalds has better locations. While Panera has been concerned with remaining in well-to-do communities and suburban areas, McDonalds is everywhere. McDonalds targets a larger market. Due to Paneras cost and upscale atmosphere, McDonalds is more conducive to families than Panera. McDonalds also offers play-places and toys with kids meals. Not only is McDonalds kid friendly, but it is much more affordable for the average family. McDonalds has become an industry leader in charitable giving. One of Paneras key focuses is community, but due to the fact that McDonalds has more money, and prides itself on charitable giving, community charities are more likely to receive money from a McDonalds rather than Panera. Although Panera has begun to implement drive thrus at some locations, all McDonalds have drive-thrus. Because of its age, McDonalds has better distribution and supply chains. Unfortunately for Panera, the list could continue on and on. On a better note, Panera should not be discouraged because of this for two reasons. First off, McDonalds has much more experience and has been around for many more years. And secondly, Panera most likely is not losing tons of customers to McDonalds. Panera does have great product differentiation and caters to a slightly different market than McDonalds. The way I see it is McDonalds is the old and Panera is the new. Panera caters to what our society is becoming while McDonalds may eventually lose market share if it does not keep up with societies demands. Problems and Strategic Alternatives One important problem with Panera is its lack of international growth. In order to gain market share and increase revenues, the company must expand outside of the US. There was talk of Panera opening in Canada in 2007 but it is yet to occur. Although it is important for a company to do its homework and only expand when ready into markets that it becomes familiar with through research and experimentation, Panera is ready. Secondly, Panera needs to develop relations with local suppliers. Since it prides itself with always having the freshest ingredients but only does business with three suppliers, severe problems have the potential of occurring as a result of one little snafu with one of the three suppliers. Although this would create cost and possibly menu pricing differences depending upon the region of the country, if Panera builds relationships with many local suppliers the risk of losing large amounts of revenue over one problem with one supplier will dissipate. Lastly, Shaich is Paneras reason for success. He needs to be on the lookout for his replacement soon and begin training his protà ©gà © as soon as possible. By leaving Paneras future in the hands of a leader who does not have the same passion for success and work ethic as Shaich there is no guarantee that the company will continue to grow, or even survive. Recommendations After learning a great deal about one of my favorite fast-food restaurants, I have a few recommendations for the company. First off in order to grow, Panera should research other markets and cautiously make an entrance. The company has had little advertising expense within the US but it may have to resort to commercials or billboards in its new markets. Panera will also have to cater to international tastes through diversifying its menu in its new markets. Perhaps adding pancetta to its sandwiches in Italy or flan and churros y chocolate to its dessert menu in Spain will help to attract customers in these new markets. I also think that Panera will attract a larger customer base by offering alcoholic beverages during its dinner time hours. Since it already has a homey atmosphere perhaps the sale of alcohol will attract an older crowd to gather in the evenings and enjoy a pastry with an adult coffee beverage or one of Paneras gourmet salads with a glass of wine. Overall I think Panera is a good company that has a good foundation laid and is in an opportune position to grow. 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