Nicaragua Research Paper

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, but is also full of history, tradition and life. It is known for its great folk music, deep heritage and culture. Nicaragua is hidden jewel with warm, gorgeous culture and breathtaking nature. It is surrounded by its incredible history, culture and nature. Nicaragua is a little larger than New York State. The capital of Nicaragua is Managua and other major cities are Bluefield, Chinandega, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Masaya, Matagalpa and Rivas. The climate on highlands is cooler and in lowlands is tropical.Nicaragua is warm and has many land that has lakes, mountains; rivers, volcanoes, sea and sun. The country is divided into three geographic regions which are the Pacific Lowlands on the west, the mountainous Central Region and the Atlantic Lowlands on the east. The central Region is an area with mountains and ranges over 3,281 feet above sea level. â€Å"There are oaks, pines, moss, ferns and orchids are abundant in the massive cloud forests of the region. † [1] There are many hikers and backpackers; many walk along the tree shaded paths which can lead you to clear waters of the mountain springs.Nicaragua’s tropical east coast is far different from the rest of the country. The climate is tropical with high temperature and high humidity. The city of Bluefields is located here, English mostly spoken. Nature lovers will find interest in the tropical forests of the area. â€Å"A great variety of birds are to be studied including eagles, turkeys, toucans, parakeets and macaws. † [2] Animal life in the area includes several different species of monkeys, ant-eaters, white-tailed deer and tapirs. The Pacific Lowlands area runs from the Gulf of Fonseca, on Nicaragua's Pacific border with Costa Rica south of Lake Nicaragua.From this lowland strip, you can view the Maribios mountain range, with its 25 volcanic cones, which towers over most of the beautiful and impressive beaches found anywhere else in Central America. This region is the most populated. About 27 percent of the nation's entire population lives in and around Managua, which is known as the capital city. In addition there are many beaches and resort communities located in the Pacific Lowlands. This area is the Spanish colonial heritage, many cities such as Granada and Leon are as well in Spanish colonial architecture and artifacts.In the year 1998, Hurricane Mitch tore into Nicaragua causing the worst natural disaster of the twentieth century. Till this day the country has slowly been reconstructing their economy. Nicaragua not only has suffered from economy issues but has suffered from political instability, civil war, poverty foreign intervention and natural disasters. Thousands of people died. Some were stuck in mudslides or drowned because rivers broke their banks, which caused towns and villages to flood. â€Å"Roads, bridges, houses, crops and animals were swept away, which left people with a d estroyed land, towns and villages. [3] In order for people to survive and stay safe they would climb trees, and hung from roofs of their home to escape the high dangerous waters. People were hungry, cold and some were sick because they were waiting to be rescued which took really long. Disease began to rapidly spread because decomposing bodies and rotting animal’s flesh contaminated the water supplies. As many as 3,000 people died the day Hurricane Mitch came. About more than a fifth of the population was, stranded in camps; most of people’s home and livelihoods were destroyed when Mitch hit Nicaragua.To rebuild the country would take decades and the estimate cost would be over one billion dollars. Nicaragua has dealt with other tragedies like the earthquake that destroyed many hotels, shops. The earthquake destroyed all offices in the year 1972. Sewage systems and the electricity poles were severely damaged. 4Hurricane Mitch has left a negative impact on the country i ncluding human lives were lost, crops were destroyed, major environmental damage, and there was also damage to highways, bridges, schools, electrical and water supply systems. Nicaragua is surrounded by its beautiful nature including its incredible history.The name ‘Nicaragua’ came from a chief named Nicarao. He was chief to a digenous tribe that settled in Lake Nicaragua around late 1400’s and early 1500’s. In 1524 Hernandez de Cordoda was the first Spanish settler to live in the region of Granada on Lake Nicaragua and Leon Managua. Nicaragua gained its independents from Spain in 1821, making the country part of the Mexican Empire and becoming a member of independent Central American. Nicaragua became an independent republic. The west side of the country was colonized by Spain in the 1520’s; it also has aspects of Spanish culture like other Spanish speaking Latin American Countries.The Eastern half of the country was once a British protectorate. 5à ¢â‚¬Å"There are several indigenous groups that still maintain a distant identity like the Miskitos, Sumo, Garifuna and Rama. † These groups still use their original languages and some speak English or Spanish. Spaniards settled in the Western Nicaragua in the early 1500’s. The Spaniards met three main tribes that each had their own languages and culture. Spanish is an official language that is spoken in Nicaragua and only seventy percent of the populations are Spanish speakers. Most of the Spanish speakers live either in highlands or lowlands.When the British setter came to Nicaragua they introduced English words to the Spanish speakers in the Western Nicaragua. The Creoles, which are the black people of the Caribbean region, were brought from colonial-era slaves. Creoles are English speakers, even though some speak Spanish as a second language. Creoles in Nicaragua included the Miskitos, Rama, and Sumo. Miskitos that speak English didn’t want anything to do with the Spanish culture. The Miskitos referred the Spanish speaking Nicaraguans as ‘los Espanoles’. The Creoles resented the Western Hispanic culture. Nicaragua remains the second- poorest nation in the hemisphere.One of the things the country suffers from is the constant trading products and managing budgeting. Some traditional export products are coffee, meat and sugar. Some nontraditional exports are vegetables, tobacco products and gold. [4]â€Å"Today Nicaragua’s economy is based on agricultural efforts, since the nation has very fertile land and a low density of population on the land. Export crops such as coffee, cotton, bananas, and sugar rose steadily from 1950 to 1975. † The country was severely damaged by civil war and at the same time it suffered natural disasters including earthquakes floods and hurricanes.Nicaragua has strong, folklore, music and religious tradition, which are organically from the European culture. The different cultures that Ni caraguans are creative, varied, happy and humorous cultures. Palo de Mayo is celebration to welcome the rain, production and new life. â€Å"There is no answer as to how it came to Nicaragua. † Some people believe that it originated from the Nicaraguan Creoles so they believe that it directly came from Jamaica. The music it is danced to is sensual with rhythm and as time went on things was added on to it. Palo de Mayo is a very huge part of the Nicaragua culture.Nicaragua's food is known as the finest in the Central America. They are famous for using fresh ingredients. Nicaragua shares the same flavors and ingredients with Mexican, Honduras and Guatemala food. Nicaraguans consume corn tortillas with most meals. Tortillas are larger and thin and are made of white corn. This is used as an edible utensil to wrap meat and beans. When most people cannot afford meat regularly they eat beans because beans have protes. A breakfast dish the most Nicaraguans eat is red beans, which are small red beans that are put into Gallo pinto.They are known as red rooster and it a mixture with red and red beans. Another meal the Nicaraguans enjoy is tamales. Tamales are and entire meal that has corn, rice, tomatoes, chili, potatoes, cassava root and sometimes has meat in them. They are wrapped in a leaf and are cooked. Popular fruits are mangos and plantains. [5]â€Å"Nicaraguans drink coffee with hot milk at breakfast or black with sugar. † A famous drink that is known in the nation is Pinol. Pinol is a nonalcoholic drink, which is made from corn flour and water. Food isn’t the only famous part in Nicaragua; music as well is really huge.Nicaragua’s music and dances are from the heritage and mixture if the different cultures that are around. Each region has its own traditions, and all Nicaraguans consider themselves to share on cultural identity. Some musical instruments that is famous is the marimba, in Nicaragua it is made with hardwood plates, which i s placed over bamboo or metal tubes of vary lengths. A sitting performer normally plays it while they are holding it with there knees. The marimba player is usually accompanied by a bass fiddle, a guitar player. The music that Nicaraguans listen quite varies.They enjoy all types of music coming from Cuba to the Unties States and Dominican Republic. They listen to tons of music that are form different countries. The music in Nicaragua has a mixture of European and Spanish influence. Tourism in Nicaragua is known nation wide and has increased travelers to come visit Nicaragua. The growth in the tourism industry left a positive impact in agricultural, commercial and in finance industries. A famous spot that caught tourist attention is the colonial city of Granada, cities like San Juan del Sur, San Juan River, Ometepe and Mombacho attract many tourists. 6]â€Å"In 2005, 803, 933 tourist visited Nicaragua and many of the tourist came from Europe and United States of America. † Tou rist attractions are volcanoes, sand skiing, doing activities such as hiking, climbing, camping and swimming. Nicaragua is referred as the lands of lakes and volcanoes. Tourism improves Nicaragua every year hotels are cheap and there are so many luxury places to visit. There is always something to do while you are visiting or vacationing in Nicaragua. Nicaraguans have the right for freedom of religion and the people are very fond of their belief of god.Roman Catholicism arrived in Nicaragua with the Spanish settlers in the sixteen century. Many Nicaraguans are Roman Catholic but many blacks believe and belong to the Protestant religion. Roman Catholics are people who attend mass, and receive the sacrament are mostly women, upper class and lower class people. Most Catholic churches are in rural communities and priests preach them. A priest leads mass and delivers the sacraments to church members. Blacks from the coast mostly belong to the Pentecostal. One of the largest Pentecostal c hurches in Nicaragua is the Moravian Church and Baptist Convention.Nicaragua’s education is known as being one of the poorest through out Latin America. Its education system has suffered severely. Elementary schools are free, but many children that live in rural areas are unable to attend due to the lack of school around their area and other reasons. [7]â€Å"Children under the age of seven and twelve get free schooling, but only seventy percent of the children attend school. † Communities that are located in the Caribbean coast have schools that teach them in their native language. Nicaragua’s society’s is largely uneducated; twenty percent of first graders only finished the sixth grade.Poverty affects children’s to go to school because most families are unable to afford to pay for their children to attend school. Secondary education institutions are private and too expensive for a vast amount of Nicaraguans. Only eight percent of the population e nrolls in universities, which are mostly upper class families. One of the first universities to be built was in the city of Leon and Managua. Children in Nicaragua wear school uniforms and pay a fee to the school that covers basic school materials. Mostly all schools lack with money to buy sport equipments, science/ computers technology and musical instruments.Students are taught basic subjects but aren’t able to really learn how to use computers or equipments of any kind. There are different times students are able to attend school which is either in the mornings, the afternoons or the evenings because many kids work to increase there family income. Teachers have no incentives, limited training and horrible working space. Teachers are paid very low salaries. Most of the teachers are single or abandoned mothers who work to provide a future for their children. Poverty is on of the biggest social problem in Nicaragua it has been for decades.In Managua poverty is so bad that som e of the urban people live and have house that are made from cardboard boxes with dirt on the floor. Some Nicaraguans do not have access to clean drinking or plumbing water. [8]â€Å"The government in Nicaragua is making progress in improving healthcare and education mostly for the poor and rural communities. † Almost seventy-five percent of families in Nicaragua live in poverty. Families of low- income are framers and land workers, one member per families work at farms. Most of Nicaragua’s rural poor live in vast dry central region, where natural resources are limited to plant.Rural people dependent of crops such as beans, vegetables etc, but at times droughts occur and it affects their food and income. The reason why the rural people are poor is because Hurricane Mitch causes an environmental disaster, and another reason is Nicaragua was in the civil war from 1980 to 1990 and because of that the economic crisis collapses. Nicaragua’s government is divided into three branches; there is the executive, legislative, and the judicial. The executive branch has the president, vice president and an appointed cabinet of ministers.Such as the Ministry of Education, Defense, Environment, Family, Foreign Affairs etc. The legislative branch has ninety- two members of the National Assembly, and it as well enforces the countries law. The judicial branch has the Supreme Court, which is located in Managua and other lower courts. The Supreme Court has twelve judges and has criminal, civil and constitutional matters divisions. The government is responsible to control the urban development, construction, and maintenance of roads, parks, and bridges including creating museums and libraries.In conclusion, Nicaragua is a country that is full of immersing history, culture, nature and tradition. Nicaragua is known as the second’s poorest country in the western Hemisphere. There are many areas that Nicaragua needs to improve like education, poverty and soc ial problem. Nicaragua’s culture is full of history and immersing tradition. Works Cited Channel, By Nicaragua. â€Å"Culture in Nicaragua | By Nicaragua Channel. † Nicaragua Hotels, Travel and Destination Guide | By Nicaragua Channel. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . Channel, By Nicaragua. â€Å"Page Not Found on Nicaragua. com | By Nicaragua Channel. Nicaragua Hotels, Travel and Destination Guide | By Nicaragua Channel. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . Merrill, Tim. Nicaragua: a Country Study. Washington (D. C. ): Government Printing Office, 1994. Print. â€Å"Nicaragua – History. † Country Studies. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Nicaragua Facts. † Sponsor a Child – Compassion. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"People – Nicaragua – Central America: Nicaragua Population, Nicaragua People, Lake Nicaragua, Mestizo People, Center Government. † Countries Quest. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . Plunkett, Hazel. Nicaragua in Focus: a Guide to the People, Politics and Cul ture. Brooklyn, NY: Interlink, 1999.Print. Plunkett, Hazel. Nicaragua in Focus: a Guide to the People, Politics and Culture. Brooklyn, NY: Interlink, 1999. Print. â€Å"Why Nicaragua? † NICARAGUA Spanish Schools | VOLUNTEER Nicaragua | SPANISH STUDY ABROAD Nicaragua | LEARN SPANISH Granada NICARAGUA | Nicaragua EDUCATIONAL Spanish PROGRAMS | VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES in Nicacaragua | NICARAGUAN EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . â€Å"Youth and Education Issues in Nicaragua. † Foundation for Sustainable Development | Grassroots International Development | Intern, Volunteer, Donate. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. . ———————– 1] http://centralamerica. com/nicaragua/info/general. htm [2] http://centralamerica. com/nicaragua/info/general. htm [3] In focus Nicaragua (A guide to the people, Politics and Culture) Author: Hazel Plunkett [4] http://www. spainshhprogramnicarga. com/nicaragua_information. htm [5] http: elibrary. bi gchalk. com [6] http://www. compasion. com/about/where/nicaragua. htm [7] http://www. spainshprogramnicaragua. com/nicaragua_information. htm [8] http://countrystudies. us/nicaragua/3. htm [9] http://www. nicaragua. com/culture/education [10] http://www. fsinternational. org/country/Nicaragua/hropps

Managing Profitable Customer Relationship

Chapter 1 Marketing: Managing Profitable Customer Relationships GENERAL CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions 1. Central to any definition of marketing is _____. a. demand management b. transactions c. customer relationships d. making a sale e. making a profit (Answer: c; p. 5; Easy) 2. All of the following are accurate descriptions of modern marketing today, except which one? a. Marketing is creation of value for customers. b. Marketing is customer satisfaction at a profit. c. Selling and advertising are synonymous with marketing. d. Marketing involves building and managing profitable customer relationships. e. None of the above statements is true. (Answer: c; p. 5; Easy)3. Like NASCAR, successful companies recognize a crucial dimension of an outstanding marketing company to be _____. a. a strong customer focus b. a relentless pursuit of customer needs c. customer relationships built by everyone in the organization d. all of the above e. none of the above (Answer: d; p. 5; Moderate)4. _____ is defined as a social and managerial process by which individuals and organizations obtain what they need and want through value creation. a. Selling b. Advertising c. Barter d. Marketing e. None of the above is correct. Answer: d; p. 5; Challenging)5. Society and culture sh ape the basic form of human needs called _____. a. needs b. wants c. demands d. value e. an exchange (Answer: b; p. 6; Moderate)6. When backed by buying power, wants become _____. a. social needs b. demands c. physical needs d. self-esteem needs e. exchanges (Answer: b; p. 6; Easy)7. The fundamental reason America’s most admired firms, including Southwest Airlines and Harley-Davidson, conduct extensive research is to _____. a. maximize profits b. increase market share c. increase sales d. understand customers’ needs, wants, and demands e. undermine competitors Answer: d; p. 6; Moderate)8. _____ refers to sellers being preoccupied with their own products and losing sight of underlying consumer needs. a. Selling myopia b. Marketing c. Selling d. Marketing myopia e. Share of customer (Answer: d; p. 7; Moderate)9. American brand icons, including Harley-Davidson, Coca-Cola, and Nike, create deep brand meanings for consumers and do not suffer from _____. a. short-term losses b. long-term losses c. competitive threats d. marketing myopia e. planning problems (Answer: d; p. 7; Moderate)10. _____ are key building blocks for developing and managing customer relationships. a.Consumer expectations and customer satisfaction b. Customer choices and product offers c. Product performance and customer value d. Customer value and customer satisfaction e. Strategic plans (Answer: d; p. 8; Challenging)11. NASCAR’s primary obsession is to deliver a special _____ to every customer. a. assortment of products b. book store c. experience d. set of recommendations e. car (Answer: c; p. 7; Moderate)12. All of the following phrases reflect the marketing concept, except which one? a. We don’t have a Marketing Department, we have a Customer Department. b. We make it happen for you. c. We stay close to customers. d. Putting profits ahead of customer needs is critical to the health of the firm. e. Customers are important. (Answer: d; p. 11; Easy)13. An example of a(n) _____ is when a customer pays Circuit City $250 and receives a television set in return. a. exchange b. transaction c. market d. segment e. scam (Answer: b; p. 9; Easy)14. _____ is the set of actual and potential buyers of a product. a. A market b. An audience c. A group d. A segment e. An exchange (Answer: a; p. 8; Moderate)15. Which of the following phrases reflects the marketing concept? a. The supplier is king. b. Marketing should be viewed as hunting and not gardening. . This is what I make, won’t you please buy it? d. This is what I want, won’t you please make it? e. None of the above. (Answer: d; p. 11; Challenging)16. The art and science of choosing target markets and building profitable relationships with them is called _____. a. marketing management b. positioning c. segmentation d. selling e. managing the marketing effort (Answer: a; p. 9; Moderate)17. _____ is(are) the set of benefits a company promises to deliver its consumers to satisfy their needs. a. A money-back guarantee b. Low prices c. Good customer service d. A value proposition e. An attribute (Answer: d; p. 9; Moderate)18. All of the following phrases reflect a firm’s value proposition, except which one? a. Altoids is positioned as â€Å"the curiously strong mint. † b. Porsche promises driving performance and excitement. c. Cheer laundry detergent promises powerful cleaning at all temperatures. d. All of the above are correct. e. None of the above is correct. (Answer: d; p. 9; Moderate)19. The _____ is a useful philosophy in situations when the product’s cost is too high and marketers look for ways to bring it down. a. selling concept b. product concept c. production concept d. marketing concept e. A and D (Answer: c; p. 10; Challenging)20. Henry Ford’s philosophy was to perfect the Model-T so that its cost could be reduced further for increased consumer affordability. This reflects the _____. a. product concept b. marketing concept c. marke ting mix d. production concept e. selling concept (Answer: d; p. 10; Moderate)21. To avoid traffic gridlock in large metro areas, _____ is undertaken to encourage commuters to carpool and use mass transit. a. target marketing b. market segmentation c. demarketing d. marketing e. the production concept (Answer: c; p. 9; Challenging)22. Selecting which segments to serve is called _____. a. market segmentation b. positioning c. customization . target marketing e. managing the marketing effort (Answer: d; p. 9; Moderate)23. When Wal-Mart profitably targets buyers who value savings, it is an example of _____. a. convenience b. value pricing c. market segmentation d. target marketing e. value packing (Answer: d; p. 9; Easy)24. All of the following phrases reflect the definition of target marketing, except which one? a. Disney targets persons in all stages of the life cycle. b. Porsche profitably targets affluent professionals. c. Dollar Stores profitably target families with modest means. d. The Book of the Month Club customizes offers based on a member’s previous selections. . Charlie Cheese Pizza Factory targets children. (Answer: a; p. 9; Moderate)25. â€Å"Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door† reflects the _____. a. production concept b. marketing concept c. selling concept d. product concept e. target marketing (Answer: d; p. 10; Challenging)26. Which operating philosophy is practiced by the American Red Cross to solicit blood donations? a. The marketing concept. b. The product concept. c. The production concept. d. The selling concept. e. None of the above. (Answer: d; p. 10; Challenging)27. Firms follow the _____ when they face overcapacity. a. product concept b. elling concept c. production concept d. marketing concept e. A and C (Answer: b; p. 10; Challenging)28. Railroads were once operated based on the thinking that users wanted trains rather than transportation, overlooking the challenge of other modes of tra nsportation. This reflects the _____. a. product concept b. production concept c. selling concept d. marketing concept e. none of the above (Answer: a; p. 10; Moderate)29. According to the authors of your text, _____ is viewed not as â€Å"hunting,† but as â€Å"gardening. † That is, a firm has to find the right products for its customers. a. selling b. production c. marketing d. retailing e. dvertising (Answer: c; p. 11; Moderate)30. The _____ starts with the factory, focusing on the company’s existing products; it calls for heavy selling and promotion to obtain profitable sales. a. marketing concept b. production concept c. product concept d. selling concept e. company advertising (Answer: d; p. 10; Moderate)31. According to the authors of your text, fast-food restaurants offer tasty and convenient food at affordable prices; they contribute to a national obesity epidemic that harms consumer health and causes environmental problems in the long run. This stateme nt reflects that they often overlook the _____ business philosophy. . marketing concept b. product concept c. production concept d. societal marketing concept e. new-idea (Answer: d; p. 11; Moderate)32. The set of marketing tools a firm uses to implement its marketing strategy is called the _____. a. promotion mix b. product mix c. marketing mix d. TQM e. marketing effort (Answer: c; p. 13; Moderate)33. _____ is defined as the customer’s evaluation of the difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer relative to those of competing offers. a. Customer relationship management b. Customer satisfaction c. TQM d. Customer perceived value e. Marketing myopia (Answer: d; p. 4; Easy)34. Building, keeping, and growing profitable value-laden relationships with all customers of a company is called _____. a. customer lifetime value b. customer perceived value c. customer relationship management d. database marketing e. societal marketing (Answer: c; p. 14; Ea sy)35. Delivering superior customer value and customer satisfaction are the two keys to building lasting _____. a. customer satisfaction b. customer databases c. market share d. customer relationships e. profits (Answer: d; p. 14; Moderate)36. All of the statements below reflect the definition of customer-perceived value, except which one? . Alex brought home his Lexus for $45,000; he luxuriated in the handling and smell of the leather interior. b. FedEx offers reliable package delivery at a reasonable price. c. The benefits of undergraduate tuition at state schools are judged to be reasonable and fair in comparison to competing private schools. d. The benefits of diet soft drinks are judged to be reasonable and fair in comparison to other types of soft drinks. e. All of the above are correct. (Answer: e; p. 14; Moderate)37. FedEx offers its customers fast and reliable package delivery. When FedEx customers weigh these aforementioned benefits against the monetary and psychic costs o f using the service, they are acting upon _____. a. loyalty b. relationship marketing c. perceived customer value d. social relationships e. a societal marketing campaign (Answer: c; p. 14; Challenging)38. Airlines offer frequent flier marketing programs to build value and satisfaction into the customer relationship. Using this approach, airlines add _____ to the customer relationship. a. social benefits b. structural benefits c. financial benefits d. excitement e. add-ons (Answer: c; p. 15; Challenging)39.Many banks are leading the way in using customer profitability analysis to weed out losing customers and target winning ones for pampering. This is called _____. a. customer relationship management b. positioning c. database marketing d. selective relationship management e. prospecting (Answer: d; p. 16; Challenging)40. Through _____, many companies today are strengthening their connections to partners all along the channel, from raw materials to components to final products that are carried to final buyers. a. supply chain management b. direct marketing c. partnership relationship marketing d. customized marketing e. deviated marketing Answer: a; p. 19; Easy)41. Pooling resources with other firms in order to succeed beyond managing the supply chain illustrates the _____ partnership. a. management contracting b. licensing c. supply chain management d. strategic alliance e. exporting (Answer: d; p. 19; Challenging)42. Stew Leonard, owner/operator of supermarkets, reacts adversely to losing a single customer sale. He feels that this amounts to losing the entire stream of future purchases that a customer is likely to make if he/she remains in the area. This is an illustration of _____. a. share of customer b. market share c. profitability d. customer lifetime value . market share maintenance (Answer: d; p. 20; Challenging)43. Amazon. com leverages relationships with its 35 million customers by offering them music, videos, gifts, toys, consumer electronics, and office products, among other product items. Based on previous purchase history, the company recommends related CDs, books, or videos that might be of interest. This helps Amazon. com capture a greater _____. a. market share b. customer lifetime value c. share of customer d. profitability e. customer base (Answer: c; p. 21; Challenging)44. _____ is the total combined customer lifetime values of all the company’s customers. . Share of customer b. Customer lifetime value c. Customer equity d. Profitability e. Share of market (Answer: c; p. 21; Challenging)45. Current sales and market share reflect a firm’s past performance while _____ reflects the future. a. customer lifetime value b. share of customer c. profitability d. customer equity e. growth rate (Answer: d; p. 21; Moderate)46. Banks classify customers into one of four relationship groups, according to their potential profitability and projected loyalty. JPMorgan Chase Bank wishes to examine its database and identif y customers who are profitable but not loyal. According to the authors of the text, it plans to use promotional blitzes to attract the group called _____. a. barnacles b. true friends c. strangers d. butterflies e. fools (Answer: d; p. 23; Challenging)47. The ultimate aim of customer relationship management is to produce _____. a. customer equity b. market share c. sales volume d. a reliable database e. profits (Answer: a; p. 21; Moderate)48. Which of the following statements about how the Internet is impacting lives everywhere is most accurate? a. Companies are cautiously using the Internet to build closer relationships with customers and marketing partners alike. . The Internet is still in its infancy with few consumers buying products/services online. c. The Internet allows anytime, anywhere connections to information, entertainment, and communication. d. If consumer e-commerce looks promising, business-to-business e-commerce is just plain declining. e. A and B (Answer: c; p. 26; Easy)49. The rapid pace of _____ has allowed companies to greatly expand their geographical market coverage, purchasing, and manufacturing. a. technology b. change c. travel d. globalization e. none of the above (Answer: d; p. 26; Moderate)50. Perhaps the most dramatic new technology today is _____. a. Microsoft Windows XP b. AOL c. the Internet d. all of the above e. none of the above (Answer: c; p. 26; Easy)51. Ben & Jerry’s challenges all stakeholders, including employees, top management, and even ice cream scoopers in their stores, to include concern for individual and community welfare in their day-to-day decisions. Actions by companies to do well by doing good reflects _____. a. ethics b. social responsibility c. profit marketing d. marketing e. myopia (Answer: b; p. 28; Moderate)52. When a church targets different demographic groups to increase attendance, it is an example of _____. a. for-profit marketing b. ot-for-profit marketing c. mindless marketing d. ethics in marketing e. societal marketing (Answer: b; p. 28; Moderate)53. The goal of customer relationship management is to produce _____. a. revenues b. profits c. customer equity d. a database of customers e. all of the above (Answer: c; p. 21; Moderate)54. To create customer value and build strong customer relationships, marketers know they cannot go it alone. Hence, in order to succeed in the long run, they practice _____. a. partner relationship management b. database marketing c. designing attractive websites d. customer equity e. all of the above (Answer: a; p. 19; Challenging)55. The success of a firm hinges upon the performance of the entire _____. a. marketing department’s effort b. supply chain c. product mix offerings d. organizational structure e. industry (Answer: b; p. 19; Moderate)56. The authors of your text classify customers into one of four relationship groups, according to their profitability and projected loyalty. _____ characterize the group with the highest pro fit potential and strong loyalty. a. Barnacles b. Strangers c. Butterflies d. True believers e. Best friends (Answer: d; p. 23; Easy)57. _____ is the act of obtaining a desired object from someone by offering something in return. . A transaction b. Exchanging c. Bribing d. Valuing e. Donating (Answer: b; p. 8; Easy)58. In the case of excess demand, _____ may be required to reduce the number of customers or to shift demand temporarily or permanently. a. marketing b. demarketing c. value marketing d. surplusing e. all of the above (Answer: b; p. 9; Easy)59. The _____ concept holds that achieving organizational goals depends on knowing the needs and wants of target markets and delivering the desired satisfaction better than competitors do. a. product b. production c. selling d. equity e. marketing (Answer: e; p. 11; Easy)60.The _____ concept holds that firms must strive to deliver value to customers in a way that maintains or improves both the consumer’s and society’s wel l being. a. marketing b. selling c. product d. societal marketing e. equity (Answer: d; p. 11; Easy)61. The _____ of a Taco Bell customer exceeds $12,000. a. market share b. CRM c. customer lifetime value d. share of stomach e. salary (Answer: c; p. 21; Moderate)62. For which of the following reasons are marketers everywhere using the Internet? a. To build closer relationships. b. To access new marketspaces. c. To attract new customers. d. To show off their technological skills. . A, B, and C (Answer: e; p. 26; Easy)63. You have learned at work that today’s successful companies at all levels have one thing in common: they are strongly customer focused and heavily committed to _____. a. obtaining the best CEOs b. increasing wealth to stockholders c. marketing d. employee motivation e. earning profits (Answer: c; p. 5; Moderate)64. The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to _____. a. keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction b. keep and grow current customers by delivering competitive pricing c. eep and grow current customers by delivering friendly service d. keep and grow current customers by delivering vast product assortment e. all of the above (Answer: a; p. 5; Moderate)65. You have learned from experience as well as from this course that the most basic concept underlying marketing is that of _____. a. selling and advertising b. customer satisfaction c. retaining customers d. human needs e. fulfilling consumer wants (Answer: d; p. 6; Easy)66. As a new assistant marketing manager trainee, you learn in an orientation meeting that _____ are the form human needs take as they are shaped by culture and individual personality. . wants b. demands c. self-concepts d. desires e. icons (Answer: a; p. 6; Easy)67. What do companies call a set of benefits that they promise to consumers to satisfy their needs? a. marketing offer b. value proposition c. demand satisfaction d. need proposition e. evoke d set (Answer: b; p. 9; Moderate)68. Most firms practice the selling concept when they face _____. a. a crisis b. a recession c. fierce competition d. overcapacity e. marketing myopia (Answer: d; p. 10; Moderate)69. Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines used the marketing concept in his successful organization.His perspective of having a customer department uses a(n) _____ perspective. a. outside-in b. external c. inside-out d. modern e. traditional (Answer: a; p. 11; Challenging)70. Customer-driven marketing usually works well when _____ and when customers _____. a. a clear need exists; are easy to identify b. customers know what they want; can afford it c. a firm can deliver the goods desired; are thoroughly researched d. a clear need exists; know what they want e. a want exists; cannot afford it (Answer: d; p. 11; Challenging)71. The societal marketing concept seeks to establish a balance between consumer short-run wants and consumer _____. . short-run costs and profits b. short-ru n ethics c. long-run welfare d. health e. value propositions (Answer: c; p. 12; Moderate)72. _____ is an important concept when we realize that losing a customer means losing more than a single sale. It means losing the entire stream of purchases that the customer would make over a lifetime of patronage. a. Heuristics b. Net profit c. Customer lifetime value d. Relationship marketing e. Market share (Answer: c; p. 20; Moderate)73. Customers buy from stores and firms that offer the highest _____. a. value for the dollar b. customer perceived value c. level of customer satisfaction . company image e. A and C (Answer: b; p. 14; Challenging)74. Is the following statement true? Clearly, the more loyal the firm’s customers, the higher the firm’s customer equity. a. No. b. Yes. c. Maybe. d. Cannot tell accurately. e. Only if the value proposition is understood. (Answer: b; p. 21; Easy)75. Many not-for-profit organizations are facing huge operating deficits that they must cove r by more aggressive _____. a. volunteer service b. customer service c. advertising d. donor marketing e. social marketing campaigns (Answer: d; p. 29; Moderate) True/False76. Selling is managing profitable customer relationships. Answer: False; p. 5; Moderate)77. Product, price, place, and promotion make up the elements of a firm’s marketing mix. (Answer: True; p. 13; Easy)78. The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction. (Answer: True; p. 5; Challenging)79. Human needs are shaped by culture and individual personality. (Answer: False; p. 6; Moderate)80. When backed by buying power, wants become demands. (Answer: True; p. 6; Moderate)81. When backed by buying power, needs become demands. (Answer: False; p. 6; Moderate)82. Marketing offers are limited to physical products. (Answer: False; p. 7; Moderate)83. Marketing offers include products, services, information, or expe riences offered to a market to satisfy a need or want. (Answer: False; p. 7; Moderate)84. When sellers focus on existing needs and lose sight of underlying customer wants, they suffer from marketing myopia. (Answer: False; p. 7; Challenging)85. An exchange is the core concept of marketing, whereas a transaction is marketing’s unit of measurement. (Answer: True; p. 8; Moderate)86. Marketers of products, services, and ideas only practice marketing, whereas buyers do not. Answer: False; p. 8; Moderate)87. Who is our target market and what’s our value proposition are two important questions underlying marketing strategy. (Answer: True; p. 9; Moderate)88. Market segmentation is the process of seeking fewer customers and reduced demand for profit maximization only. (Answer: False; p. 9; Challenging)89. Demarketing is a marketing philosophy focused upon product differentiation and positioning. (Answer: False; p. 9; Moderate)90. The production concept and product concept are t wo philosophies that can both lead to marketing myopia. (Answer: True; p. 10; Challenging)91. When railroad companies thought that users wanted trains rather than transportation and overlooked the growing challenge of other modes of transportation they were following the selling concept. (Answer: False; p. 10; Moderate)92. Most firms follow the production concept when they face overcapacity. (Answer: False; p. 10; Challenging)93. The societal marketing concept calls on marketers to balance consumer wants and desires, company profits, and society’s interest. (Answer: True; p. 12; Moderate)94. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is nothing more than a customer data management activity. (Answer: False; p. 14; Moderate)95. Delivering superior customer value and customer satisfaction are the two keys to building lasting customer relationships. (Answer: True; p. 14; Moderate)96. Customer value is defined as the customer’s evaluation of the perceived difference between all the benefits and all the costs of a marketing offer relative to those of competing offers. (Answer: True; p. 14; Moderate)97. Customer-perceived value depends on the product’s perceived performance relative to a buyer’s expectations. (Answer: False; p. 14; Moderate)98. The simplest definition of modern marketing is managing profitable customer relationships. (Answer: True; p. 5; Easy)99.The difference between human needs and wants is that needs are states of felt deprivation. (Answer: True; p. 6; Easy)100. Smart marketers look beyond the attributes of the products and services they sell. They create brand experiences for consumers. (Answer: True; p. 7; Moderate)101. Marketing management is interested in serving all customers in every way to remain competitive in today’s markets. (Answer: False; p. 9; Moderate)102. At times it becomes necessary to reduce demand for some products and services. When the government tries to reduce smoking of tobacco products, it ad ds more tax to the products and is practicing demarketing. Answer: True; p. 9; Easy)103. Amy’s law office has developed a new format and wording for wills. The staff believes they offer the most in quality, performance, and innovative features. Her law office is practicing the production concept. (Answer: False; p. 10; Moderate)104. The selling concept holds that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless it undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort. (Answer: True; p. 10; Easy)105. The major difference between customer-driving marketing and customer-driven marketing is that the former considers only existing needs. Answer: False; p. 11; Easy) Essay106. Explain the five marketplace concepts. The core marketplace concepts are: needs, wants, and demands; marketing offers; value and satisfaction; exchanges, transactions, and relationships; and markets. Addressing customer needs and want is at the very heart of the marketing concept. The four el ements of the marketing mix help firms meet the challenges of value creation, customer satisfaction, and to establish meaningful and profitable relationships. (p. 6; Moderate)107. Explain how marketers create brand experiences beyond selling products/services. Strategic thinking underlies creating meaningful and purposeful experiences and relationships for customers. In creating brand experiences, marketers have successfully demonstrated that to differentiate their offer from their competitors, they have to connect with their customers at various levels. (p. 7; Moderate)108. Compare the selling and marketing concepts under which organizations carry out their marketing strategies. List the key components of each philosophy. The selling concept reflects an inside-out philosophy and the marketing concept takes an outside-in perspective. The selling concept is practiced when firms face overcapacity. When consumers do not buy enough products on their own, companies coerce them into buyin g more by undertaking a large-scale selling and promotion effort. The marketing concept, on the other hand, is a three-pronged philosophy based upon: satisfaction of customer needs and wants, integration of resources both within and outside the firm,, and profit maximization. (p. 10; Easy)109. What is the societal marketing concept? Explain. According to this concept, firms today and in the future will survive if they take underlying consumer needs and society’s well being into account over the long term. In setting their marketing strategies, marketers today need to balance company profits, consumer wants, and society’s interests. From day one, when marketing decisions are made, firms need to put people and society before profits. (p. 11; Easy)110. One of the major developments in marketing can be summed up on one buzzword: relationships. Define customer relationship management and its associated strategies for building long-term relationships. Customer Relationship M anagement (CRM) is the process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction.Companies develop customer relationships with target markets at multiple levels. The most basic form of a relationship for mass-marketed products/services is through a Web site, sales promotion offer, or a 1-800 customer-response number. At the other end of the spectrum, companies like Amazon. com create full partnerships with key customers. Other marketers work closely with retailers, for example. Some marketers use tools such as financial benefits like rewards based on frequency of purchase. Other tools include social benefits, like offering key customers the opportunity to network and create communities.Another approach adds structural ties to the aforementioned financial and social benefits. Hence, to retain current customers and remain profitable, companies today are going beyond transactional marketing to customer relationship mana gement. The key is to create and sustain relationships for the long term. (p. 14; Moderate)111. The aim of customer relationship management is to create not just customer satisfaction, but customer delight. Explain. Customer satisfaction cannot be taken for granted. Because brand loyalty is dependent upon strong customer satisfaction, companies strive to retain current customers.Losing a customer once might mean losing the customer for life. Firms like Taco Bell and Home Depot, for example, look at a stream of purchases a customer is likely to make over his/her lifetime. Therefore each sale is critical to the long-term success of a relationship. Because the ultimate aim of customer lifetime value is to create share of customer, firms today create customer delight by over delivering and creating emotional relationships with key customers. (p. 15; Moderate)112. Define customer equity. Customer equity is the sum of the lifetime values of all the company’s customers. Customer equ ity is dependent upon customer loyalty by a firm’s profitable customers. Because customer equity is a reflection of a company’s future, companies must manage it carefully. (p. 21; Easy)113. Explain how the Internet has transformed the way in which we do business today. The Internet links individuals and businesses of all types to each other. â€Å"Bricks and Mortar† companies of the past are now â€Å"clicks and mortar† companies today. Manufacturing firms today are linked to their suppliers and customers to build closer relationships. The Internet allows firms access to exciting new marketspaces. The Internet has spawned an entirely new breed of â€Å"click only† companies—the so-called â€Å"dot-coms. † The post-Internet frenzy of the late 1990s has introduced companies that are both savvy and face promising futures. (p. 26; Easy)114. Describe the impact of globalization on marketing today. Marketers everywhere have been surrounded by global competition for over two decades now. Regional trade agreements, such as NAFTA, have transformed competition and economic cooperation today. Geographical and cultural distances, in addition, have shrunk with the advent of technology, the Internet and new product introduction. Domestic firms in countries such as India have had to contend and compete with U. S. multinational firms for market share, revenues, and profits. Firms worldwide are sourcing their products from different corners of the globe. (p. 26; Moderate)115. Analyze the major challenges facing marketers heading into the new â€Å"connected† millennium. Marketers must connect faster and better with customers. The latest technologies must be used to ensure delivery of time-based competition. Web sites and e-commerce must be fine-tuned to connect with more carefully selected customers.Many companies are connecting directly with customers to customize their mix of products and services. Partnership relations hip and supply chain management must be built with strategic alliances to make those domestic and global challenges. (p. 28; Moderate)APPLICATION CONTENT: Multiple-Choice Questions116. Shawn McCork has an interesting job. He is involved in getting, keeping, and growing customers through creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. What is Shawn’s job? a. General manager. b. Supervisor. c. Marketing manager. d. Sales manager. e. Top manager. (Answer: c; p. ; Challenging)117. The marketing manager at Sunshine Car Washes is holding a training session for new employees. She stresses that perhaps the most important concept of modern marketing is _____. a. customer relationship management b. e-mail advertising c. a quality Web site d. properly trained sales people e. low prices (Answer: a; p. 9; Moderate)118. Greg Williams now has the buying power to purchase the computer system he has wanted for the last six months. Greg’s want now has become a _____. a. need b. necessity c. demand d. satisfier e. none of the above (Answer: c; p. 7; Easy)119. After surveying all 3,500 customers by e-mail, Best Value Stores learned that its customers favor high quality, performance, and innovative features. Best Value’s customers were surveyed about _____. a. product concept b. production concept c. customer satisfaction d. marketing concept e. promotion concept (Answer: a; p. 10; Challenging)120. Jolene’s firm believes that consumers will not buy enough of the firm’s products unless the firm undertakes a large-scale selling and promotion effort. Jolene’s firm is practicing the _____. a. production concept b. marketing concept c. selling concept d. relationship concept . social advertising campaign (Answer: c; p. 10; Easy)121. Jonathan Nash works in sales for a telemarketing firm. His firm uses the selling concept, which take a(n) _____ approach. a. outside-in b. myopic c. inside-out d. marketing concept e. customer servi ce (Answer: c; p. 11; Easy)122. Marie Ortiz enjoys her work at Futuristic Designs, Inc. Her organization understands customer needs even better than customers themselves do and creates products and services that will meet existing and latent needs, now and in the future. Marie’s firm practices _____ marketing. a. customer-driven b. customer-driving c. elationship d. donor e. none of the above (Answer: b; p. 11; Challenging)123. You find yourself in a new job. Your marketing manager is heavily involved in the process of building and maintaining profitable customer relationships by delivering superior customer value and satisfaction. Your manager is concerned with which one of the following? a. Database management. b. Web site hits. c. Relationship management. d. Donor marketing. e. Customer relationship management. (Answer: e; p. 14; Moderate)124. Tommy Gray attempts to deliver customer satisfaction every day in his Audio Expressions installation business. He is a smart operat or who knows that the key to this goal is to match _____ with _____. a. customer expectations; competitive prices b. company performance; competition c. customer expectations; company performance d. company performance; unique products e. relationship building; promotional tools (Answer: c; p. 14; Moderate)125. You have just read a report that alarms you. According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, which of the following conditions exists relative to overall customer satisfaction with U. S. manufacturing and service industries? a. It has increased slightly. b. It has increased very much. c. It has remained steady. d. It has decreased slightly. e. It has decreased dramatically. (Answer: d; p. 20; Easy)126. Shania works hard with her Internet customers to create an emotional relationship for her customers with the products and services that she and her staff sell. She and her staff have created _____ by going beyond the expected. a. customer delight b. customer satisfaction c. customer equity d. customer value e. customer loyalty (Answer: a; p. 14; Challenging)127. Karrie Romanov wants to capture the full essence of customer relationship management. Which of the following will Karrie take into consideration? a. Own the customers for life. b. Capture their lifetime value. c. Building overall customer equity. d. All of the above. e. None of the above. (Answer: d; p. 14; Moderate)128. Some firms find themselves in markets with many low-margin customers. As assistant marketing director, what type of relationship would you develop with these customers? a. Full partnerships. b. Basic relationships. c. Relationship marketing. d. Key customer marketing. e. Lifetime value. (Answer: b; p. 15; Moderate)129. You have just read a report in a leading business magazine. It stated that the major marketing developments as we enter the new millennium can be summed up in what single theme? a. Relationship marketing. b. Connecting. c. Partnering. d. Networking. e. Custom er equity. (Answer: b; p. 23; Challenging)130. You have just been told by your supervisor at work that a new economy has emerged. What is the technology behind this new force? a. The Internet. b. Web sites. c. Voice mail. d. Cell phones. e. Simultaneous engineering. (Answer: a; p. 26; Easy)131. Pete Sanchez has just realized something that he needs to tell his marketing manager at work. Pete knows that today few firms still practice rue _____. a. production orientation b. sales orientation c. mass marketing d. quality orientation e. marketing segmenting (Answer: c; p. 16; Moderate)132. Suzie Chan strengthens her company’s connections with partners all along the supply chain. What type of management is she using? a. Outside partnering. b. Supplier connecting. c. Mentoring. d. Supply chain. e. Channeling. (Answer: d; p. 19; Easy)133. ABC Corporation realizes that they need partners to go beyond supply chain management. What do we call this association? a. Strategic alliances. b . strategic planning. c. Partnering. d. Mutual reciprocity. e. Reengineering. Answer: a; p. 19; Moderate)134. Sally purchased Brand X lotion. In analyzing the product’s perceived performance against her expectations, Sally was measuring her level of _____. a. customer perceived value b. customer satisfaction c. exchange d. demand e. customer lifetime value (Answer: b; p. 14; Moderate)135. Members of the sales team at Dekko International visit only prospective customers who purchase a minimum of $50,000 of insulated wire per year. Dekko is using _____. a. selective relationship management b. a frequency marketing program c. a club marketing program d. demarketing e. a value proposition (Answer: a; p. 6; Easy) Short Answer136. What is the twofold goal of marketing? The twofold goal of marketing is to attract new customers by promising superior value and to keep and grow current customers by delivering satisfaction. (p. 5; Easy)137. Culture and individual personality shape human needs into wants. What transforms wants into demands? Wants become demands when backed by purchasing power. (p. 6; Moderate)138. How might a seller avoid marketing myopia? Sellers should consider the particular benefits and experiences produced by their products, not just pay attention to the specific products they offer. (p. 7; Moderate)139. How might a manufacturer of tents and camping equipment, for example, create brand experiences for consumers? Such manufacturers might produce tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, and so forth that allow consumers to benefit from the numerous products available to campers. (p. 7; Easy)140. The main elements of a modern marketing system relies on profitable relationships all along the way. Considering this, what might Wal-Mart rely on in order to offer low prices? Wal-Mart must rely on suppliers that will provide merchandise at low costs. (p. 8; Moderate)141. How might a marketer define its value proposition? In considering its value propos ition, a marketer will look at how the firm can best serve the customers and how it can differentiate itself in the marketplace. (p. 9; Easy)142. When demand for Beanie Babies was at its highest, manufacturers purposefully maintained strong demand by limiting supply that drove price up. Explain how such manufacturers were not carrying out the production concept. The production concept holds that consumers favor products that are available and affordable. With this concept, manufacturers work to increase production and improve manufacturing efficiency. (p. 10; Challenging)143. Company X carries a vast surplus of office supplies; thus, the company follows the selling concept. Explain how customer relationships may be lost in the process. The company’s aim is to sell the supplies rather than make what the market wants; such a strategy creates sales transactions but not long-term relationships. (p. 10; Challenging)144. Many companies, such as Southwest Airlines, take an outside-i n perspective. How do such companies address their customers’ desires? Outside-in companies are customer driven; they find the right products for their customers rather than the right customers for their products. (p. 11; Moderate)145. A nineteenth-century street vendor in London sang, â€Å"Who will buy my fresh, red roses? † Did the vendor take an outside-in or inside-out perspective? Explain. The vendor’s approach was inside-out. The roses were picked and available. The vendor’s job was then to attract willing buyers. (p. 11; Challenging)146. When a vendor has product available and needs to find customers who are willing to buy, is a production concept, product concept, or selling concept being practiced? Explain. A selling concept is used when the vendor has available product and needs to find customers who are willing to buy. (p. 10; Moderate)147. Explain why electronics and pharmaceuticals manufacturers may use customer-driving marketing. In such in dustries, consumers do not know exactly what new products are available; therefore, consumers rely on such firms to tell them what they need. (p. 11; Moderate)148. Company ABC implements its marketing strategy through a well-defined marketing mix. What elements are being addressed in the marketing mix? Company ABC has created a marketing offer (product), determined a selling price, decided how to distribute (place) the offer, and communicated with the target customer about the offer (promotion). (p. 13; Easy)149. Explain how storing customer information in a database might better prepare Saturn in customer relationship management (CRM). Managing detailed information about customers may allow Saturn to design new models around customer demographics and desires for specific features. These â€Å"touchpoints† can be the key to long-term customer loyalty. (p. 14; Moderate)150. What determines whether sellers create basic relationships or full partnerships with customers? A compan y with many low-margin customers develops basic relationships; a company with just a few high-margin customers relies on full partnerships. (p. 15; Challenging)151. Explain how a supermarket owner might consider customer lifetime value when a disgruntled customer leaves the store dissatisfied. The owner may view the situation as a $50,000 loss if, for example, each customer spends about $100 per week, shops 50 weeks per year, and remains in the area for about 10 years. Customer lifetime value includes the long-term value of the customer. (p. 20; Easy)152. How can a marketer increase â€Å"share of customer†? The marketer can offer greater variety to customers; in addition, the marketer can train employees to cross-sell and up-sell in order to market more products and services to existing customers. p. 21; Easy)153. In classifying customers into relationship groups, explain what marketers can expect from â€Å"butterflies. † â€Å"Butterflies† are profitable but not loyal. Marketers should enjoy â€Å"butterflies† â€Å"for the moment† because they soon flutter off. Marketers should create profitable and satisfying transactions with â€Å"butterflies,† then cease investing in them until the next time around. (p. 23; Moderate)154. If a firm practices â€Å"caring capitalism† in its social responsibility efforts, as does Ben & Jerry’s and Saturn, where does the firm place its focus? Such firms distinguish themselves by being more civic-minded and caring; they may build social responsibility into their company value and mission statements. (p. 28; Challenging)155. How is marketing being applied in the not-for-profit sector? Firms in the not-for-profit sector use marketing to enhance their images, to encourage donor marketing to attract memberships and donors, and to design social marketing campaigns to encourage specific causes. (p. 28; Moderate) Scenario Carol Veldt, owner of Seagull Terrace, watched her inv estment grow from a small, seaside motel to a thriving year-round resort in just a few years.Atop a bluff overlooking the Maine coast, Seagull Terrace had attracted thousands of visits during the summer months, but then faced a tremendous downturn in business during the winter months. â€Å"But, given the industry in the nearby towns, very little year-round competition, and our close proximity to Portland,† Carol added, â€Å"I couldn’t understand why seasonality had to hit Seagull Terrace so hard! † So Carol spent her first winter devising a new marketing plan. She put together a promotional package designed to attract business travelers year-round.Carol’s plan, then, involved a seasonal promotional gimmick—to be implemented from late winter to late spring—that would attract the large summer crowd. Her idea worked! During her second winter, Carol greeted numerous business travelers—both satisfied repeat guests as well as new guests w ho had been snagged by her promotional appeals. â€Å"We still have a long way to go,† Carol Veldt admitted. â€Å"Our delicatessen offers delicious entrees, but we’d like to expand that. We provide health club privileges off-site, but we’d like to eventually provide our own. These are goals I hope to achieve in a few years.Our first project, however, included a renovation of our guest rooms and I’m quite proud of the results. † Carol then added, â€Å"Actually there are so many possibilities! With an indoor pool area, I will eventually offer weekend get-aways throughout winter. †156. Based on the marketing process, what are Carol Veldt’s strengths? Carol was able to understand her customers’ needs and wants. She was able to deliver superior value through her marketing program, which created customer delight. (p. 6; Easy)157. What is included in the marketing offering at Seagull Terrace? Seagull Terrace provides activities and amenities that make a night’s stay more satisfying; these various activities and amenities are sought by two targeted groups— seasonal visitors and year-round business travelers. (p. 7; Moderate)158. How is Carol Veldt attempting to create brand experiences for her visitors? Carol is attempting to include numerous services and amenities for her visitors. Eventually, everything the visitors want or need will be offered at Seagull Terrace. (p. 7; Moderate)159. How has Carol Veldt taken on the role of marketing manager? Carol is attempting to find, attract, keep, and grow target customers by creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value. (p. 8; Moderate)160. Define the target market at Seagull Terrace. Two types of guest are being lured: seasonal visitors during the summer and year-round business travelers. (p. 9; Easy)161. In what ways might Carol Veldt be implementing the product concept? Carol understands that guests will favor services that offer the most in quality and innovative features; Carol’s strategy currently focuses on making continuous improvements. (p. 10; Challenging)162. In what ways might Carol Veldt be implementing the selling concept? Carol understands that the success of Seagull Terrace, as she views it, requires a large-scale promotional effort. (p. 10; Challenging)163. How might the marketing mix at Seagull Terrace differ between its two target markets? Business travelers may be offered a discount business rate; obviously, the promotional tactic will differ for these guests. Summer guests may pay higher rates, but the beauty of Maine’s coast and the beach, as well as Seagull Terrace’s variety of services, will be the main attractions. (p. 3; Easy)164. How will Carol Veldt guarantee customer satisfaction? Carol will attempt to create services and amenities that exceed buyer expectations. (p. 14; Easy)165. Explain how Carol Veldt is engaging in partner relationship management. Explain how t his could be enhanced. Guests at Seagull Terrace currently receive health club privileges at a nearby health facility. Guests during the summer could receive sailboat rentals through such arrangements; year-round business travelers could be given meal discounts at local restaurants, dry cleaning services, and so forth. (p. 19; Challenging)

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What was the significance of the Lawrence, Massachusetts Strike of 1912 - Essay Example They stipulated that: Another impact of the strike is that it proved wrong the theory of conservative trade unions inside the American Federation of Labor. This showed that an immigrant, mostly unskilled female and racially divided workforce could not be organized. It showed women were capable of assuming significant leadership positions in labor. The strike proved successful because the workers overcame strong odds and their demands were met. The poor living conditions in the residences of the workers were exposed. In fear of a repeat of such strikes and unionization movements, some factories, not only in the textile industry, raised wages. It also gave a new, nonviolent strategy to those wishing to participate in strikes, in future. It serves as a motivation for future workers who may also come to demand better wages, treatment, and benefits (Watson

Why girls education is the most important investment Pakistan and the Essay

Why girls education is the most important investment Pakistan and the world can make - Essay Example Currently, the education system has registered minimal progress, but there are concerted efforts from different organizations and the government that seek to make a difference in Pakistan. The value of education in improving the welfare of any society cannot be underestimated, explaining why Pakistan should strive to improve its education system. Mostimportantly, educating girls presets more impact on any society, the ore reason why Pakistan should work towards on tackling the gender disparity evident in the education system. This paper will describe the challenges faced by Pakistan, statistics of education and outline strategies that Pakistan can use in its efforts to improve education in the country. Pakistan has received ranking as one of the countries with the lowest levels of education, and with a high gender disparity level in both school enrolment and retention of girls. The country has an overwhelming 27 million school-age children who have no access to education. The country has an unacceptably low investment in the education sector. ... The specific target defined that by 2015, both boys and girls from every region would have opportunity to enroll and complete primary schooling. Although there is some progress registered in other countries, Pakistan has lagged behind with about 27 million school age children out of school. Worse still, 7 million of these children have never been to a classroom (Mohiuddin, 2007). The situation in Pakistan is worrying because there are only two years before 2015, and a great number of children lack access to education. This emphasizes on the need for the development of new strategies that can improve the education sector in Pakistan. Education of Girls is Important Research on the need to empower girls has indicated that educating girls transforms the entire society. Educated girls often make decision that can affect the society. After education, girls can access employment, a factor that serves to reduce poverty. Moreover, educated women realize the need to plan their families wisely , reducing the explosion of population that is evident in societies where girls lack education (Siddiqui,2013). Education of girls contributes positively in improving the health of the society. This is because education empowers girls and women to promote health within the family by adoptive preventive measures, seek to access maternal health and nutrition recommendations. Educating girls in a society also reduces child mortality rate immensely. Lack of education compels girls to venture into early marriages, but research has indicated that each additional year of retaining girls in school reduces chances of early marriages. Evidently, educated girls realize that they have a duty to participate in political,

An Artistic and Intellectual Revolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

An Artistic and Intellectual Revolution - Essay Example The greatest service that the Renaissance was the liberation of the human spirit and the birth of an original thought. This led to rapid progress in all spheres of activity. It also led to various movements, which took place at the same time, such as the emergence of new geographical discoveries and political reform movement that inaugurated the modern era. Renaissance spirit that emerged during the Middle Ages. Currently in Europe lived in the spiritual tyranny of the church. As the dogmatic attitude of the church was a spiritual concern, as quiet and patient, the development of thought. Seeds of independent thought, which are seeded trees grown in the Middle Ages in modern times. Several factors have contributed to the success of the Renaissance. Ideas that are not based on reason cannot continue indefinitely. The clergy in the church, in practice, acted contrary to the principles of true Christianity that is preached. This faith in the ideas of commitment to the universal Church a nd the universal rule. Original thinkers like Roger Bacon and Peter Abelard succeeded in weakening the intellectual authority of the church with new trails. Peter Abelard (1079 1142) considered it essential to apply the principles of reason to Scripture. In his view, the mysteries of Christianity are not taken for granted. They were examined in the light of reason and intelligence. Original thinkers like Roger Bacon and Peter Abelard succeeded in weakening the intellectual authority of the church with new trails. Peter Abelard (1079 1142) considered it essential to apply the principles of reason to Scripture. In his view, the mysteries of Christianity are not taken for granted. They were examined in the light of reason and intelligence. Another revolutionary thinker was Roger Bacon (1214-1294). Aristotle criticized the church severely. He agreed in the past, everything that was reasonable and worked patiently for the cause of the new spirit. With an open mind and the spirit of scien tific research, studied subjects like math, physics, natural sciences and philosophy. He had the vision to anticipate the latest invasions and wrote about the possibility of having a boat without oars, without draft animals, vehicles and flying machines. However, because of the bold approach of Bacon and original thought, he earned the enmity of the church, which was punished, and Peter Abelard. The Fall of Constantinople led to a widespread and systematic study of the Greek heritage. After Constantinople, the great center of civilization and culture, fell to the Ottoman Turks, the Greek scholars fled to various parts of Europe that emit the great ideas of ancient Greece. Thus, the enthusiasm for the study of the classics was injected into the minds of Europeans. (Pink Monkey, 2011) The rapid spread of ideas was made possible by the introduction of printing. A mid-15th century, Johannes Gutenberg was able to operate the first movable type in Mainz in Germany, where the

The Future of Psychology Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Future of Psychology Paper - Essay Example The last two decades of the century saw the recognition of psychology as not only a science but also as a practice. Thus, contemporary psychology is loosely defined as the study of behavior and all other underlying mental phenomena, reflecting a wider and more integrated, interdisciplinary body of science (APA Monitor Online, Vol. 30, #11, Dec. 1999). Finding its place in contemporary society which has likewise kept evolving, psychology as the world knows and embraces it today has taken the form of self-help, advices, and of concepts like the enneagram, â€Å"inner child†, â€Å"left/right brain†, among others. This is what is categorized now as popular psychology or pop psychology. By definition, popular psychology deals with concepts and theories pertaining to human mental life and behavior that are claimed to be psychology-based. These easily become popular among people because they provide easily-understood explanations that are not known before, and they present theories that are specifically addressing very personal and pressing issues like marriage relationships, parenting, the whys and how-to’s of things. In other words, they offer comprehensible explanations for interesting issues in a manner that even ordinary housewives, teenagers, everyday folks can easily accept and digest. The proliferation of self-help books as part of pop psychology has been a growing industry. An example and the most successful self-help book is â€Å"The Road Less Travelled† by M. Scot Peck, which presents psychology-based explanations about very interesting subjects in life, like love, marriage, parenting, self-growth and development. With the success of this book, several others have followed suit, thus â€Å"how-to† and â€Å"why† books about almost anything that interests the human mind are available. Although they provide better understanding of things, presenting easy-to-digest explanations with basis on psychology, these self-help books also present potential

Effects of global warming on the weather(climate) in Europe Essay

Effects of global warming on the weather(climate) in Europe - Essay Example The TAR (Third Assessment report) also reported on a range of evidence of qualitative consistencies between observed climatic changes and model responses to anthropogenic forcing, including global temperature rise, increasing land - ocean temperature contrast, diminishing article sea ice extent, glacial retreat and increase in precipitation at high northern latitude. The main findings of the IPCC TAR (McMichael et al., 2001) were as follows: -Any regional increases in climate extremes (e.g., storms, floods, cyclones, droughts) associated with climate change would cause deaths and injuries, population displacement, and adverse effects on food production, freshwater availability and quality, and would increase the risks of infectious disease, particularly in low-income countries. -In some settings, the impacts of climate change may cause social disruption, economic decline, and displacement of populations. The health impacts associated with such socioeconomic dislocation and population displacement are substantial. - Changes in climate, including changes in climate variability, would affect many vector-borne infections. Populations at the margins of the current distribution of diseases might be particularly affected. -Climate change represents an additional... This would increase the number of undernourished people in the low-income world, unless there was a major redistribution of food around the world. -Assuming that current emission levels continue, air quality in many large urban areas will deteriorate. Increases in exposure to ozone and other air pollutants (e.g., particulates) could increase morbidity and mortality. Since the beginning of the 20th century the earth's climate has changed rapidly and experienced 0.7oC increase in temperature overall and 0.95oC in Europe (climate Research unit CRU, _ 2003). These changes are unusual in terms of both magnitude and rate of temperature change. The 1990's were seen as the warmest decade and temperature is expected to increase even further. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming is the result of human activities especially the emission of green house gases (IPCC, 2001 a). Significant increase in green house gases results in the substantial increase in temperature. The main green house gas to human activities is carbon dioxide. Anthropogenic emission has increased the atmospheric concentration of CO2 from 280 PPM to 375 PPP at present. Due to increase in the concentration level of GHG, it has been estimated that global average surface temperature by 2100 will be between 1.4oC to 5.8oC more than the 1990 level. Due to unp0recedented increase in temperature the following potential future singular events may occur: " a shut down of the thermohaline circulation in the North Atlantic (the so called North Atlantic current). This may lead to considerable cooling in northern and western Europe- emission of large amounts of methane from natural gas hydrates in the ocean, deep lakes and polar sediments which could accelerate

The Effect of Attack ads on political campaigns Research Paper

The Effect of Attack ads on political campaigns - Research Paper Example Attack ads focus on ‘the faults of the opponent’ (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). Advocacy ads refer to the capabilities of a candidate, without referring to the opponent (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). As for the contrast ads, these are a combination of the above, referring both to qualities of a candidate and ‘to the faults of his opponent’ (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). Two popular political ads are the following ones: a) the ad entitled as ‘Daisy Girl’ was used in the presidential elections of 1964 (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). The above ad, which aimed on causing fear to voters in regard to the potential effects of their voting preferences, showed ‘a small girl plucking the petals off of a daisy’ (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). The next scene showed a nuclear explosion (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). Voters were asked to avoid voting the nominee of Republican Party who could possibly ‘lead the country to a nuclear war’ (R oberts & Hammond 2012, p.5); b) another popular attack ad is entitled as ‘the 3am phone call’ (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5) and was used by Hilary Clinton in the presidential elections of 2008. The particular ad, which can be characterized as a policy comparison ad, aimed to highlight the lack of experience of Barack Obama, compared to Hilary Clinton, in facing emergent issues. The ad entitled as ‘Daisy Girl’, as presented above, has faced strong criticism. Many political analysts did not accept the fact that one of the candidates of the presidential elections was portrayed as a strong supporter of piece, referring to Johnson, while the other was characterized, referring to Goldwater even if he was not named, as a supporter of war... Moreover, Frith & Mueller (2010) notes that political advertisements can be classified into three categories: ‘attack, advocacy and contrast’ (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). Attack ads focus on ‘the faults of the opponent’ (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). Advocacy ads refer to the capabilities of a candidate, without referring to the opponent (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). As for the contrast ads, these are a combination of the above, referring both to qualities of a candidate and ‘to the faults of his opponent’ (Frith & Mueller 2010, p.59). Two popular political ads are the following ones: a) the ad entitled as ‘Daisy Girl’ was used in the presidential elections of 1964 (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). The above ad, which aimed on causing fear to voters in regard to the potential effects of their voting preferences, showed ‘a small girl plucking the petals off of a daisy’ (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). The next scene showed a nuclear explosion (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5). Voters were asked to avoid voting the nominee of Republican Party who could possibly ‘lead the country to a nuclear war’ (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5); b) another popular attack ad is entitled as ‘the 3am phone call’ (Roberts & Hammond 2012, p.5) and was used by Hilary Clinton in the presidential elections of 2008. The particular ad, which can be characterized as a policy comparison ad, aimed to highlight the lack of experience of Barack Obama, compared to Hilary Clinton, in facing emergent issues.The ad entitled as ‘Daisy Girl’, as presented above, has faced strong criticism. Many political analysts did not accept the fact that one of the candidates of the presidential elections was portrayed as a strong supporter of piece, referring to Johnson, while the other was characterized, referring to Goldwater even if he was not named, as a supporter of war (Sparks 2012, p.223). Such perspective could n ot be accepted since the candidate who promoted this attack ad.

Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Market - Essay Example Not to get out of the topic, Peron’s main policies in this period were based on his being a close observer of the axis power’s fascist leaders, and this might have been the reason he acquired the Napoleonic view of being a man of destiny. When it occurred to him that the axis powers were defeated, to him this revealed the foolishness of the foreign policy of the Argentine and this established in him a conviction that he had a chance of avoiding the clear mistakes of Franco, Mussolini and Hitler in order to dive argentine to a great height. This paper explores a biography that describes my family background, economic background and current situation, and position in the U.S. political power structure. As often known, any dictator needs a bodyguard, and for this case when eyeing the office of the president, he assembled a band of followers from the row deist urban poor of the Argentina. In order to keep models of the Brown and black shirts, he went ahead labeling his foll owers No shirts with a reason that they lacked the white gentleman’s shirt. This clearly indicated that he was getting a way to middle ground between the communist and the fascist. Certainly, Peron was an ultra-nationalist who did not fear playing upon the class s rivalry. He took advantage of the powers he possessed while a vice-president to attach himself to the working class. In the event, some military officers sensed that Peron was up to something and went ahead arresting him. In response to this, Peron raised worker’s wages and gave them a paid holiday. Certainly, it was a shrewd investment because it is a chance that her mistress used her beauty in rallying his supporters with giant mobs gathering chanting the slogan of releasing him. This was an advantage for him since though this, he was released, as well as elected president in 1946 elections forming the peronista party. The steps he took after assuming power is what has made him be remembered for transformin g the leadership of Argentina. He first went ahead marrying his mistress Eva Peron with opposition being silenced by the bands of No shirts. He along with his team set up and established a full-fledged welfare state alongside granting women voting rights using Eva as the face of the crusades. Noting that the economic policies of the new regime were as bizarre as the Cultural Revolution of Mao, he went to introduce various changes that cut across social, economic, and political. The prominent economic changes entailed freeing Argentina from the foreign dominance through investing heavily in industrialization. This he did by funding the first ever-scientific analysis of Argentina’s Andes Mountains in which he discovered coal and precious metals. With a view to fund the exploration and the social program, he centralized control of imports and exports. In a period of ten years, the true rich Argentina’s resources brought about a stunning social economic growth that actuall y defied the attempts of experts to attempt explaining it under Juan Peron’s erratic policies. On a social ground, the legacy of Nepoleon left a great impression in Peron, in which case the two leaders viewed their people as those who cared little about their liberty, but about the government goal to provide equality. He was called El Leader following his character that established him as being a good fascist and as a good socialist he provided higher wages,

Historical Research Essay Example for Free

Historical Research Essay Soccer is regarded as the most popular sport in today’s world and has been estimated to be played by more than 40 million people. Considering such high popularity, the epidemiology of soccer injury is needed to be historically researched in an extensive way. In numerous European nations, physical injuries received from this game take around 40% of total sports related trauma ( Hawkins, Hulse, Wilkinson, Hodson, Gibson, 2001). Using the non-parametric statistics, historical research must be conducted by recording the intense injuries and the symptoms in professional soccer players by studying the frequency of occurrence and injury rate during sports and practices. MATERIALS AND METHOD Professional soccer players of any team, while playing in their league, has to be studied on daily basis for past few years when they are engaged in their preseason time July to August and game season September to May . Other important data that is also required may include the age, experience statistical distribution and anthropometric attributes of each player. During the game activities in past years, the record of personal consultations may also be available where players registered any injury received in ongoing games or practices that resulted in missing the upcoming game or practice session. The external risk elements, the active causes, the attributes, the anatomical points, and the event, whether it is practice session or actual game, of the muscular or skeletal traumas will provide crucial statistics. Any physical incident occurred during actual game or practice session that keeps a player to continue his game or practice session is called as injury. Injuries are categorized into three grades depending upon their severity: Minor injury: It keeps the player absent from games or practices for not more than one week. Moderate injury: It keeps the player absent from game or practices for one week to one month Major injury: It keeps player absent from game or practices for more than one month. In many previous studies, the same categorization has been done ( Hawkins, Hulse, Wilkinson, Hodson Gibson, 2001). Injury rate is measured as injuries occurred in each thousand hours of playing; this involves both practicing and actual game Note that in historical research it would be recommended to exclude the goalkeepers as various similar research studies showed they incur different rates of injuries. RESULTS By recording a total of 100 injuries we can discover the percentage of injuries occurred during the actual game and during practice sessions. The intensity of injuries that results in absence from the game or practice can also be measured. The findings will show the rate of mild injuries, moderate injuries and major injuries as well. The anatomic point and the kind of injuries must be a focus in historical research. Studied cases may involve injuries on Spine, thorax, back, lumbar spine, Pelvis, femur, knee, tibia, ankle, foot, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand injuries. Previous studies had showed that in lower extremity injuries, the knees and ankles are the most injured joints of the soccer players ( Hawkins, Hulse, Wilkinson, Hodson Gibson, 2001). Ankle injuries are reported to be occurred about 16 ­Ã‚ ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ31 % of the all, whereas knee injuries are almost 14–34%. There is a dramatic need of more historical research within the ankle and knee injuries to investigate percentages in youth and adult players having mixed skill levels ( Peterson, Junge, Chomiak, Graf-Baumann Dvorak, 2000).

Assignment on Training and Development within Vodafone

Assignment on Training and Development within Vodafone Human Resource Management (HRM), a relatively new term, that emerged during the 1930s. Many people used to refer it before by its traditional titles, such as Personnel Administration or Personnel Management. But now, the trend is changing. It is now termed as Human Resource Management (HRM). Human Resource Management is a management function that helps an organization select, recruit, train and develops. Human Resource Management is defined as the people who staff and manage organization. It comprises of the functions and principles that are applied to retaining, training, developing, and compensating the employees in organization. It is also applicable to non-business organizations, such as education, healthcare etc. Human Resource Management is defined as the set of activities, programs, and functions that are designed to maximize both organizational as well as employee effectiveness Scope of HRM without a doubt is vast. All the activities of employee, from the time of his entry into an organization until he leaves, come under the horizon of HRM. The divisions included in HRM are Recruitment, Payroll, Performance Management, Training and Development, Retention, Industrial Relation, etc. Out of all these divisions, one such important division is training and development. TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT is a subsystem of an organization. It ensures that randomness is reduced and learning or behavioral change takes place in structured format. TRADITIONAL AND MODERN APPROACH OF TRAINING AND DEVLOPMENT Traditional Approach Most of the organizations before never used to believe in training. They were holding the traditional view that managers are born and not made. There were also some views that training is a very costly affair and not worth. Organizations used to believe more in executive pinching. But now the scenario seems to be changing. The modern approach of training and development is that Indian Organizations have realized the importance of corporate training. Training is now considered as more of retention tool than a cost. The training system in Indian Industry has been changed to create a smarter workforce and yield the best results TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES The principal objective of training and development division is to make sure the availability of a skilled and willing workforce to an organization. In addition to that, there are four other objectives: Individual, Organizational, Functional, and Societal. Individual Objectives help employees in achieving their personal goals, which in turn, enhances the individual contribution to an organization. Organizational Objectives assist the organization with its primary objective by bringing individual effectiveness. Functional Objectives maintain the departments contribution at a level suitable to the organizations needs. Societal Objectives ensure that an organization is ethically and socially responsible to the needs and challenges of the society. Role of HRD Professionals in Training This is the era of cut-throat competition and with this changing scenario of business; the role of HR professionals in training has been widened. HR role now is: 1. Active involvement in employee education 2. Rewards for improvement in performance 3. Rewards to be associated with self esteem and self worth 4. Providing pre-employment market oriented skill development education and post employment support for advanced education and training 5. Flexible access i.e. anytime, anywhere training The HR functioning is changing with time and with this change, the relationship between the training function and other management activity is also changing. About Vodafone Vodafone Group Plc is the worlds leading mobile telecommunications company, with a significant presence in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the United States through the Companys subsidiary undertakings, joint ventures, associated undertakings and investments. The Groups mobile subsidiaries operate under the brand name Vodafone. In the United States the Groups associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless. During the last few years, Vodafone Group has entered into arrangements with network operators in countries where the Group does not hold an equity stake. Under the terms of these Partner Market Agreements, the Group and its partner operators co-operate in the development and marketing of global products and services, with varying levels of brand association. At 30 September 2009, based on the registered customers of mobile telecommunications ventures in which it had ownership interests at that date, the Group had 323 million customers, excluding paging customers, calculated on a proportionate basis in accordance with the Companys percentage interest in these ventures. The Companys ordinary shares are listed on the London Stock Exchange and the Companys American Depositary Shares (ADSs) are listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The Company had a total market capitalisation of approximately  £71.2 billion at 12 November 2009. Vodafone Group Plc is a public limited company incorporated in England under registered number 1833679. Its registered office is Vodafone House, The Connection, Newbury, Berkshire, RG14 2FN, England. Vodafone Training and development We provide training and development opportunities to help our employees gain new skills and experiences, and encourage them to reach their full potential. Vodafone offers a wide range of online courses related to specific aspects of the business or key skill sets. Performance Dialogues All employees complete an annual Performance Dialogue with their line manager, enabling them to review their performance annually and set clear goals and development plans for the year ahead. The process ensures our people can make a clear connection between their goals and Vodafones business objectives. Development Boards Vodafone employees with key skills are discussed at an annual Development Board, where their line managers rate their performance and potential. We use this information to identify employees with leadership potential in each local operating company. These employees are encouraged to complete leadership development training, such as Inspire. Inspire leadership development Inspire is a global programme designed to identify and develop high potential employees and accelerate their progression into leadership roles. Participants take part in a three-month international rotation and receive commercial training and personalised leadership development through Imperial College, Oxford Said Business School and the Hay Group. They also gain from exposure to and learning from members of our Executive Committee. The programme promotes cross-cultural understanding within Vodafone and encourages employees to take advantage of the breadth of experience across the Group. Promoting career opportunities within Vodafone We want people to develop at Vodafone and promote recruitment from within. This encourages people to progress their careers within the company, either through promotion or a change of role to broaden their experience. All vacancies across Vodafone are advertised on the job-posting page of our global intranet, which encourages the transfer of talent across the Group. Equal opportunities and diversity We believe employee diversity is an asset to our business. Men and women of various ages from different backgrounds and cultures, with a range of different experiences, help us understand and serve our customers around the world. We have a strategy to improve diversity and inclusion across the Group. It aims to ensure Vodafones workforce reflects its diverse customer base, and that the company has an inclusive working environment that embraces the benefits diversity brings. Vodafone aims to create a working culture that respects the value of differences among colleagues and encourages individuals to contribute their best within an environment that is inclusive, open, flexible and fair. We will not tolerate discrimination or unfair treatment on any grounds. Employees must act with integrity and respect for their colleagues and customers. We are committed to helping talented people from diverse backgrounds meet their potential at all levels of the company. Gender diversity We are working to improve gender diversity at Vodafone, as part of our diversity and inclusion strategy. This includes carrying out senior leadership training on inclusion and diversity. At Group level, we instruct our recruitment consultants to recommend a minimum of one credible female candidate for interview for every vacancy we advertise at management level. We recognise that women can often be more affected by family commitments than men and encourage flexible working to help employees balance their work with their family commitments. Cultural diversity With operations worldwide, Vodafone is not only multinational but multicultural. We encourage our managers to gain experience working in different countries and almost half our senior managers have international experience. International rotation is a key part of our Inspire programme for employees with high potential. See Training and development. Employees with disabilities We are conscious of the difficulties experienced by people with disabilities, and make every effort to ensure access to the Groups facilities and services. Disabled people are assured of full and fair consideration for all vacancies for which they offer themselves as suitable candidates. We do our best to meet their needs, particularly in relation to access and mobility. Where possible, modifications to workplaces are made to provide access for the disabled. Every effort is made to continue the employment of people who become disabled during their employment, through the provision of additional facilities, job design and appropriate training. Reward and recognition We aim to provide competitive and fair rates of pay and benefits in each market where we operate. This helps us attract and retain the best employees. Pay and benefits vary in each local operating company. Vodafone rewards employees based on their performance, potential and contribution to the success of the business. We want to ensure that our people feel their efforts are recognised. Our global short and long-term incentive plans reward performance. Health, safety and wellbeing The health, safety and wellbeing of our employees is a priority for Vodafone. We believe all incidents and injuries are preventable and we are committed to ensuring that our people can do their work safely. And we understand that employee wellbeing is vital for a healthy and effective workforce. Our wellbeing framework tackles significant issues such as attendance and stress management, as well as helping our people understand the importance of work-life balance and the benefits of healthy lifestyles. Many of our operating companies run programmes which aim to keep their employees healthy and free from stress, including flexible working initiatives. Flexible working enables employees to balance work and family commitments better and helps us to attract and retain the best people, as well as use space more efficiently. Our health, safety and wellbeing principles apply equally to Vodafone employees, our service providers, contractors and suppliers. We set consistently high health and safety standards across the Group, and have robust management systems to ensure these are implemented. Our Group Health and Safety Policy covers health and safety management, radio frequency fields and health, and driving safety. Each local operating company must comply with this policy and implement a health and safety management system that is consistent with local operating conditions and legislation. We also provide health and security advice for employees travelling abroad on business. Our Group Health, Safety and Wellbeing Board oversees implementation of health, safety and wellbeing management by local operating companies. Operating companies share information and advice through our Health, Safety and Wellbeing Network and at annual conferences. Employee volunteering Many of our employees give their time as volunteers to support good causes. This benefits charities and communities but also allows our employees to learn new skills. We encourage employee volunteering and help to raise additional funds from third parties. Most of our local operating companies have programmes to encourage employees to volunteer in working hours. Examples of employee volunteering programmes include: Refurbishing a residential care home for young children, by Vodafone Malta to mark its seventh annual Corporate Responsibility Day. Distributing blankets, clothes and food supplies to 10,000 needy families. Over 160 Vodafone Egypt employees volunteered three hours each on average to the cause. Giving blood at Vodafone Albanias Blood Donation Day, in co-operation with The Red Cross. Donors are urgently needed in Albania because 8% of the population carries Thalassemia, a blood condition that can be treated with blood transfusions. Vodafone Australias Beyondyou programme, to help employees make a personal difference to their community and the environment. Beyondyou offers individual and team volunteering, as well as career development opportunities with community partners. Employees can take one additional day of paid leave each year to volunteer.