Convenience Store and Causeway Bay Essay Example for Free

Convenience Store and Causeway Bay Essay My favourite shopping centre is Times Square. It’s in Causeway Bay. I usually go there with my family on the weekends. I like to go with my family because I like to spend time with them, so we can know each other even better, make our love and care deeper too. Weekends are the best time to go because we don’t have to go to school and neither does our father need to go to work. It has a lot of facilities like a cinema, 4 floors of restaurants and photo sticker machines to remember that beautiful moment!! It also has shops with the newest and trendy brands like clothes, jeans, mobile phones and even toys. The also have some jewellery and bag shops which I like to buy. They have some convenience stores, like 7-eleven and circle k. Where we can find snacks after shopping because you do get tired holding those bags. I usually take the 8P bus because it’s convenient and cheap. They also hold some concerts or parties for special occasions like: Halloween, Christmas or Easter. I think it opens around 8 or 9 in the morning and closes at about 12 or 1 at night. I like it because it’s fun to shop although it could be expensive! Or just come to watch the movies and have dinner with your family or friends. I remember I was around 3 years old when I first went there, because at that time I lived in Causeway Bay, just next to the Times Square!

Strategic Management For Fly Dubai

Strategic Management For Fly Dubai This paper explores the existing aviation company Fly Dubai in a manner that analyzes and evaluates their current operations and efforts in a manner relative to strategic management. Further to this, the paper suggests that Fly Dubai is still relatively young in the market and requires a significantly more amount of experience before it can be labelled as competitive with other companies in the industry- namely, Emirates Airlines, Etihad Airlines and Air Arabia, SAMA, NAS in Saudi Arabia. The first part of the paper comprehensively analyzes the aviation industry at the present, and this serves purpose to gain knowledge about the competition and the market before a constructive and logical analysis can be made about Fly Dubai. Therefore, important factors such as the external environment, internal environment and Porters Five Forces are discussed. The second part of the paper is directly relative to Fly Dubai as well as their chief competitors in the industry. Here, certain Generic strategies are analyzed and proposed to indefinitely help the company gain a competitive advantage. Another important framework we used is the Product Growth Matrix, which analyzes the situation that they are facing, and we have proposed that they use Market Development. Ultimately, the paper ends with a conclusion and recommendations, which we believe would best, support Fly Dubai. Part 1- Industry Analysis Introduction This paper is focused on developing Strategic Management for a major public aviation company and their expansion into the industry with a new strategy to give them a competitive advantage against their competition. Unlike a business plan, a strategic management focuses on the two major factors that surround scheme of business development for the related industry, and the company. Since the core value of a business is generating acceptable returns, this paper concentrates on the methods that they particularly went through in order to achieve it. Although strategic management is increasingly important for the success of products, it is also important to establish that the industry is swiftly ascending with fresh ideas continually making a consumers life relatively easier and more pleasurable. A service-based business is extensively labour-intensive, and to sell the service requires an excellent business development team and therefore, it is also necessary to productively market your employees and their skills in order to gain more business. Therefore, in this paper, we will be studying the public aviation business based in Dubai that only concentrates on chartering passengers through the use of their Low cost carriers. This company is known as Fly Dubai. Our Strategic Management analysis will conclude theories and frameworks commonly used in the corporate world today such as PEST Analysis, Competitor Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porters Five Forces, Porters Generic Strategies and many more. Ultimately, we will establish a number of results and based on it we will provide several recommendations and a conclusion. Industry Trends The Aviation industry in the UAE developed in 1985 when Emirates Airlines was founded after Gulf Air reduced their flight services to Dubai. This is when Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum took action and started the company in order for citizens in the UAE to be able to travel more frequently. In October 1985, the company flew their first routes from two leased planes. Nowadays, many other airlines have emerged in the UAE to compete with Emirates including Etihad Airways, Air Arabia and Fly Dubai. (AFP, 2009). Not with standing the increased success in commercial airlines appearing in the UAE, Fly Dubai differs largely due to the fact that it is a cost effective airline. According to Saif Mohammed Al Suwaidi, Director General of GCAA said: Air operations in UAE so significant growth in the first quarter of 2010 (n/a, 2010). The Middle East Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) has confirmed that the number of business jets in Middle East region have grown to about 500 aircraft in the past few years showing a growth of approximately 30-40%. Further to this report, the Aviation industry is expected to grow at 15-20% annually over the next four years to become a multi-billion dollar industry. It also assumes that from the year 2012-2018 the MENA region will receive 20-25% of the new business amounting to about  £300 billion. (n/a, 2009). PEST Analysis The first general method, which is commonly used in the analysis of the external environment, is through the PEST Analysis. It is increasingly important to understand the nature of external surroundings as they inevitably play a major role in effecting the companys operations. Fly Dubais PEST projections can be seen on the next page. Factor Description Implications on the Aviation Industry Political Low government intervention Supports foreign direct investments which leads to political stability In regards to locally owned companies, the government does not intervene and actually supports their operations Investments help increase the countrys GDP which is favorable for the government Economic Inflation over the past few years has led to more costs Stable interest rates and no taxes Rise in GDP and disposable income GCC unemployment rate had decreased from 12.4% to 10.5% (McGinley, 2010) Inflation has led to higher labor and operating costs, but also shows the expansion in the UAE This has led the business being able to borrow more without the fret of taxation and increased cost The countrys growth in GDP and disposable income mean that consumers have more money to spend on Aviation services This gives a positive sign to increase liquidity in the market. Socio-cultural Growing social trend in the Aviation industry Young workforce Low cost appeal (n/a, 2010). Increased number of tourism More people are using chartered services which indicates an overall industry growth A younger workforce will reduce costs for pensions Because of the recession, people have decreased their spending by allocating cheaper airlines Tourism will increase by 40% in next 3 years. (n/a, 2008) Technological New plane models available in the market Better operational technology Online booking These models which companies have ordered make them more competitive as their service is more desirable by having modern technology Business operations can run smoother as technology helps them reduce costs and improve quality of the service LCC dont focus on sales offices for lowering their costs ,so they focus on their website and make it more efficient for them and clinets. Strategic Group Map As we can see from the graph above, the two measurements we have chosen for our strategic group map is product quality and price. The graph above shows us that Emirates airlines and Ettihad airways have the biggest market share and they are competing against each other. As Emirates Airlines announced in their website, that they aim to increase their market share to 70% by 2010 without compromising their reputation for quality. (Emirates, 2010). Although they dont start from the same point, but Ettihad Airlines are trying their best to compete with Emirates by giving better offers and prices to same destinations, so people got attracted and didnt mind the 45 minutes drive to Abu Dhabi for the same kind of quality and cheaper prices. Now these two companies are indirect competitors for Fly Dubai. The major competitor for Fly Dubai is Air Arabia, where they launched in Sharjah Int. Airport before Fly Dubai was established. So, people were aware of Air Arabia and tried the experience of flying on a low cost carrier. Thats their major competitor, and they have other competitors but from different countries such as, Al jazeera airlines where they are based in Kuwait, and Fly Nas and Sama airlines where they are based in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Five Forces Analysis Michael Porter, the man behind the theory of differentiation states that a business needs to spend more money on creating these values added products or services in order to make it relatively obvious that the product or service is different. (Cordle, 2008). Michael Porter developed the Five Forces Analysis, which primarily helps companies in dealing with internal and external competition from customers and suppliers as well as from other competitors. It also establishes the risk of the current product or service offered. This is all incorporated into a diagram, which is illustrated below: Threat of new entrants Product differentiation: Medium as the aviation industry has been quite innovative on product development and has used all the ideas available- however; they have also proven to be strong competition and adapted similar features as well as their own unique features. Capital requirements: High as the technology used is constantly changing, developing and growing which would justify the need for high capital technological assets and new aircraft models Cost advantages independent of size: High as costs generally vary depending on how large the establishment is, how many staff members are employed, and the amount of customers that use the services or buy the products Access to distribution channels: High as the airline companies can acquire customers through different means such as the internet, travel agencies, sales calls and from their own offices After this analysis we can see that the threat of new entrants is low because the industry is hard to enter. Bargaining power of buyers Concentration of purchases: High as the amount of purchases is decided by the buyer and ultimately determines sales revenue Alternatives and substitutes: High as there are a large amount of carriers that consumers can choose from and all have access to Price or cost sensitivity: High as consumers would generally select a business that offers a fair otherwise cheaper price for the same products Importance of quality: High as consumers have adapted to a certain taste and they constantly assess product quality and customer service to determine their buy Amount of money saved by consumer: High especially during the financial crisis where savings and survival is has grown to be extremely important. (n/a, 2009). Here the bargaining power of buyers is high. Threat of substitute products Price limitations: Medium as this affects the highest amount they are able to charge to consumers and ultimately demonstrates the amount of revenue they will make Ability to upgrade: High due to the rapid advancement of technology and the introduction to newer models of aircrafts from different companies Costs in production: Medium as technology can enable cheaper production but they still employ a large amount of staff in the region Price of substitute: High as this can negatively affect each companies sales growth if another company gains customers due to cheaper prices- this ultimately seems to benefit Fly Dubai more due to their cheaper prices Performance and quality: Low as Low cost carriers are new companies that only started up a few years ago and their scope in the business is low. That is, they do not fly to many destinations and they do not have a wide customer base at the moment. It is high for companies such as Emirates as they have experience, and their high quality brand name and services is difficult to match Here the threat of substitute products is Moderate. Bargaining power of suppliers Low cost carriers purchase their complete air fleet from suppliers such as Boeing and Airbus. They then hand this to third party companies to input entertainment systems and furnish the interior for the different classes, which ultimately create value-added amenities by using this method. Here we can see that the bargaining power of suppliers is Moderate Rivalry among competing firms Numerous competitors: High rivalry as each company is trying to capture the same target market and therefore use their advertising, marketing and promotion techniques Industry growth: High-the market has shown that this industry has grown significantly over the years and more people are gaining access to travelling Differentiation: Medium as there is only a limit to the innovation that can be done on an airplane. However, Low cost carriers have incorporated many other components on their plane such as entertainment, shopping and many more. Amount of fixed costs: This can be determined by factors such as rent, wages and capital expenditure. From this, we can say that it is high. Height of exit barriers: Low for Low cost carriers as they control a relatively small market share, but it is high for Emirates and Etihad who have a vast number of customers which they cater to. Here we can see that the Rivalry among competing firms is Moderate/high. In conclusion, we see after analyzing the five forces, we can say that the market is moderate to high, which is hard to get in because of the difficulties, high starting cost and the experience needed to enter to airline industry. Core Competencies/Key Success Factors A core competency is defined as a companys basic business and area of greatest expertise that provides consumer benefits, not easy for competitors to imitate and can be leveraged widely too many products and markets. (Campbell Luchs, 1997) Essentially, a core competency should accomplish three things: Concrete on the popular destinations to expanded their market. Significantly improve the following attributes. Availability / Scheduling Terminal / Ground Services Price Reputation Prove to be challenging for competitors to imitate their cost leadership strategy. Based on this, airlines would have three major competencies to gain a competitive advantage over each other in the region. The first core competency that low cost carriers will have is related to their prices, which is significantly cheaper compared to other airlines in the region. To accomplish this, they will need to identify and analyze their operations and costs thoroughly to see where they can minimize their costs so that their low fares will not disrupt their ability to generate profit. This will give them a competitive advantage, as customers would prefer low cost airlines, and retain their loyalty to the brand. The second core competency they will offering additional services to customers. Generally, people associate a low-cost airline with no service- but Low cost carriers will differentiate them here and offer a special service by adding additional costs for the service. The last core competency will be the vast variety of destinations they travel to. Although the companies are still relatively small now- they will eventually expand and fly to a large number of countries in the different regions which will attract more people to use their service for less cheaper price from the other airlines. Industry Environmental Scan External Opportunities and Threats Opportunities Lack of price competition in the UAE market: Since most of the airline carriers are relatively high in costs compared to others in the world, local air carriers do not engage as actively in price competition. Fly Dubai however has started with this. Potential to attract clients from the entire region: Since the other airline companies in the GCC do not often fly internationally to popular destinations, the local air carriers in the UAE can attract them as they do fly to these areas. Expansion into international markets: Due to their value added services and state of the art planes, they appeal more to customers and therefore if airline companies in the UAE situate themselves more internationally, they can gain more customers. Contract to corporations and executives: The airline companies can further increase the amount of frequent flyers and gain more revenue by targeting companies that are situated around the GCC. In particular, multinational companies are ones that have executives that need to constantly travel, and therefore they can take advantage of this situation. Threats Increasing costs in the aviation industry: Due to the increase in technology and the value added services they provide, costs have become increasingly expensive for the aviation industry. Furthermore, the costs of labor are also quite high which adds to their total expenses. Shortage of skilled labor: In some areas, the aviation companies here lack skilled labor to perform certain tasks such as aircraft engineering and maintenance, marketing and other activities. Emirates is the only company who has skilled employees in these departments whereas others are not as efficient. Damaging impacts on the environment: The emission of carbon and greenhouse gases from the aircraft fuel has proven to be detrimental to the environment and therefore companies need to be aware of this and somehow prevent it. Falling prices: In certain industries such as real estate, prices have fallen drastically, and this leaves corporations with less money to spend on services. As a result, companies have cut back their traveling costs. Competitors increasing: Due to the increasing amount of free zones in the UAE, multinational companies have found it convenient to start their developments in the region as it is low in cost. As a result, there is an increase in competition from other airlines internationally. Industry Internal Scan Internal Strengths and Weaknesses Strengths Support and patronage from government: The UAE government owns and controls all of their airlines and therefore they all gain financial support. Diversified and state of the art planes: The planes, which they own, are newer and significantly better than many other airline companies around the world. Popular and growing companies: The aviation industry consists of the few primary companies offering flights and since their services are relatively good, this improves their brand image to the population. Value added services provided to all customers: The service incorporated in the UAE airline companies are significantly better than others around the world Memberships: They all have memberships in prominent establishments such as Middle East Business Aviation Association which improves their trustworthiness Weaknesses Based mostly in UAE which limits their intake of customers from abroad and around the region: Most of the aircraft companies focus solely on chartering customers in the UAE which limits the potential business they could be making High employee turnover due to low morale: Labor laws are constantly being refined in the UAE, as it is still a developing country. Further to this, they require more experience human resources staff in order to motivate employees to enjoy their job and stay at the company as well as performing highly Business opportunities such as cargo transporting are not always taken advantage of and are expensive: The UAE is a business hub and many companies around the world are establishing themselves. However, most of these companies have restrictions so they cannot produce many products and local companies only produce products for the UAE- the rest is imported. This greatly increases the amount of costs as exported goods are expensive, and they do not partake in exporting their own products, which could potentially earn them more revenue. Part 2- Company Strategy Analysis Mission Statement A mission statement may be identified as the purpose behind a companys existence. The aim is to create an internal image towards employees and an external image towards the public indicating their intentions of operating the business, as well as what they wish to accomplish. Fly Dubai does not have a mission statement on their websites, but from the words of the chairman (Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum), he mentioned the following: Our mission is to bring some two billion regional inhabitants affordable, efficient and flexible travel options to and from Dubai. Nine Essential Components of a Mission Statement Customers Services Markets Technology Concern for Survival, Growth and Profitability Philosophy Self-Concept Concern for Public Image Concern for Employees Judging by the various essential components of a mission statement, it is clear that Fly Dubai still needs to work on developing theirs more. (FARNBOROUGH, 2008). Fly Dubai Generic Strategy Essentially, a company that excels in the industry with exceptional performance that yield significantly larger profits than their rivals, they are said to possess a competitive advantage. There are two common strategies that allow a company to reach this goal, and this can be identified as: Cost Strategy Niche Differentiation Strategy (CAPA, 2009). Cost Strategy In order for a company such as Fly Dubai to implement a Cost Strategy, they need to be able to deliver the same benefits as competing airlines, but should operate under a lower cost. In the research studies on Strategic Management, the resource-based view is a well-established principal that helps a business gain competitive advantage by working on their Value Chain and implementing value-added principals. In the next section, I will describe Fly Dubais value chain, which will allow us to see how they gain a competitive advantage. The Value Chain The value chain comprises of a number of activities that are commonly found in business operations, and is identified as important in gaining a competitive advantage and developing and sustaining shareholder value. The diagram below best represents the value chain and the significant inputs that are analyzed: Primary Activities Inbound Logistics: This refers to how Fly Dubai receives their aviation products and services before distributing it. Operations: This refers to how Fly Dubai uses their resources and change it into a service. Their resources are primarily their fleet of planes, which are docked at several international terminals, and in this method they pick up and drop off passengers. Outbound Logistics: This refers to the channels of distribution Fly Dubai uses to effectively sell their flights to customers. They mostly use online booking, travel agencies, and contact customers directly, or customers can contact them via their office. Marketing and Sales: This refers to the identification of target markets, which bring Fly Dubai sales revenue. Fly Dubai carries out extensive market research to reach their customers who are interested in low fairs. Also, they have to create brand awareness among their customers since they just launched. This step is important to expand their market share. Also, through out their marketing research, they can develop new attractive packages as part of their promotions. It will be difficult to develop large marketing campaign because most of their money will be as operational expenses. Moreover, sales are more cost effective when they make it through Internet. However, consumers in Middle East region are not used to buy from Internet. Service: This refers to the post-purchase activities that ensure customer satisfaction. Fly Dubai issues a questionnaire, which they can follow up with customers on the quality of their products and customer service. Also, they added additional services to their customers such choosing seats when purchasing tickets. Those extra services will add more value to Fly Dubai image. In addition, those services will generate a good publicity for the company through word of mouth. Support Activities Firm infrastructure: Fly Dubais firm infrastructure ensures that certain policies and procedures are followed to support the primary activities. Fly Dubai operates from Dubai International Airport, Terminal 2. Dubai Government developed high infrastructure for Dubai Airport to provide excellent services to passengers. Since Fly Dubai fully owned by Dubai Government, they have all the necessary facilities under their control. Human resource management: Fly Dubai uses extensive human resources practices to recruit the best employees, and effectively trains them, develops them in certain company positions and finally gives them compensation for their hard work through salaries, benefits, bonuses and motivation. However, lack of experience is major issue in this new company. So, they supported by Emirates Group to overcome this weakness. According to Arabian Business that Fly Dubai has received more than 11,500 applications from flight and cabin crew. (Sambidge, 2009). This shows the huge amount of applicants who want to work with this company because they believe that it has bright future because of the reputation gained from its mother company Emirates Group. Technology development: Fly Dubai uses technology to lower their cost by selling tickets through their website www.FlyDubai.com. Adding more features to help customers to print their boarding pass and to choose their seat location by extra fees. Analyzing customer surveys to help with the general support of the company. Their technology is also developed to monitor sales and create functional reports. Differentiation Strategy The differentiation strategy is when a company can successfully thrive in the market while charging premium prices to their consumers for products or services. Essentially, leveraging either a better standard of service quality towards consumers, or having a better product performance does this. Fly Dubai can be differentiated from other competitors by adding flights to popular destinations that have great demand from their target market. Since their market is fragmented, differentiation is important to attract more customers and to expand their market share. There are several different ways in which Fly Dubai gain a competitive advantage in this way. It is renowned that they offer a great airline service along with the most state-of-the-art amenities and technology for all classes, and people gather such information when a company expresses their differentiation. The company does this in a number of ways, and this includes: Brand Awareness Fly Dubai can use extensive advertising techniques in order to penetrate the aviation market and create a higher demand for their services. Firstly, it is important to note that Dubai is one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the world. Their rapid expansion in major industries has led them to dominate the tourism market. Business Operations Another method, which Fly Dubai can use to gain a competitive advantage through differentiation, is by offering cargo services, freight and logistics, engineering services, and plenty of other subsidiaries which associate these services with the company. Therefore, this reflects positively on the brand name. Service Quality Fly Dubai has won recognition for their high service quality. They spend extensive amounts of their budget on the development of human resources, which ultimately leads to a better service quality, and this improves customer satisfaction. Value Added Features Fly Dubai has a number of value added features, which basically offers them more for the money they spend when flying with them. Firstly, they have a service staff, which is guaranteed to delight every customer they serve. These features contribute to customer satisfaction and improve loyalty in the long run. Marketing Mix One of the prime theories of analysis for a business includes analyzing the market in several terms that would help them identify ways in which they can improve, but more importantly creates a structure in which a company can base their product lines on. This is known as the marketing mix or the 4 Ps as it generally covers the following four factors- products, price, promotion and place. Product: The product entails analyzing the services that Fly Dubai currently offers to their customers and how it meets their demands. They are a public aviation charter service that flies a target market of consumers to a number of countries. Price: The type of services that Fly Dubai offers generally have a high cost margin as they are using modern technology along with the most knowledgeable staff to carry out their operations. Therefore, we can establish that Fly Dubai uses a cost-plus pricing approach where they charge the cost of the operation plus a mark-up for their services. Promotion: Currently, Fly Dubai uses many major forms of promotion, and they generally rely on loyal customers and repeat business to make their profits. They consider various forms of advertising through media sources such as television, radio, newspaper, magazines, cinemas, and Internet. Place: Their operations are run from their primary location, which is in Dubai, UAE. Although they are currently quite profitable and the industry has witnessed a large amount of growth, they have room for expansion in the UAE and other GCC countries as a start. Dubai is quickly being recognized as a business hub and Fly Dubai can exploit that market to be competitive and increase their overall profitability. Competitor Analysis When developing a Strategic Marketing strategy, it is always important to identify the main competitors and find out information about their services and how much of a threat they are to your company in the market. The most efficient way to do this is to compare their marketing mix with Fly Dubai, which is seen below: Emirates Airlines (Indirect) Etihad Airlines (indirect) Air Arabia (direct) Product They offer a range of flights to various different destinations and have a luxurious brand to speak of. They also have cargo transportation that is widely used by corporations. This company offers similar services to Emirates but they do not focus on luxury and are limited to flights. Etihad has cargo services but the division is relatively small They offer similar services to Fly Dubai in terms that it is cheaper- but they are still more expensive. Furthermore, Fly Dubai has better planes. Price Emirates has the most expensive prices in the region but they justify it due to the high value services that are offered They offer slightly lower prices than Emirates but their aircraft fleet is very limited and their services are less desirable Their prices are comparable to Fly Dubai, but their services are not as good Promotion Emirates advertises extensively and has many marketing promotions which is seen throughout the media They

Jimi Hendrix :: essays research papers

Jimi Hendrix: Reflections of the Man Through the Development of His Albums James McGuire UWC 4, Hampton November 4, 1996 On November 27, 1942,Jimi Hendrix was born as John Allen Hendrix in Washington at Seattle General Hospital. His childhood was not a privileged one, however, he did indulge himself in one particular way: Jimi loved to play the guitar. At first he played an old acoustic, and later a cheap Silvertone electric, which were both strung for a lefty on a right-handed guitar, one of the defining Hendrix traits (Murray 34- 5) . As a teenager, young Jimi listened to the music which affected his music so greatly later: â€Å"‘everyone from Buddy Holly to Muddy Waters and through Chuck Berry way back to Eddie Cochrane’'; (Wilmer 38). He played in a few bands in high school, but then dropped out before his senior year. After working as a laborer for a few months, Jimi decided that he was not destined for that line of work, so in 1959, he enlisted into the 101st Airborne (Murray 36). Jimi’s parents were of mixed descent, with Jimi’s family tree had whites, blacks, and Ch erokee Indians. Jimi never denied his ethnic diversity, but rather accepted his diversity and publicly allowed it to show through in his music. Jimi said it best in â€Å"If 6 was 9'; on Axis: Bold As Love when he said â€Å"I’m gonna wave my freak flag high.'; Hendrix’ first forays into professional music came after he received his honorable discharge from service in the summer of 1962 (Murray 36). His background in R&B, a type of music dominated by black artists at that time, led him to play with many R&B singers from the time, such as Little Richard, King Curtis, Joey Dee and the Starliters, the Isley Brothers, and many others (Murray 38-42). The development of his own style of music, which would later be displayed at various stages of its evolution in his four completed studio albums, came from an amalgamation of his intimate familiarity with the blues, ethnic background, the years he spent as an R&B sideman, and his exposure to new musical styles and scenes. The development of Hendrix’ music to our modern perception of it occurred after his move to New York City and the formation of Jimmy James and the Blue Flames, where a young producer named Chas Chandler discovered his act, which by then included Hendrix’ famous playing with his teeth and behind his back.

Defining the Victorian Woman Essay -- Expository Definition Essays

Defining the Victorian Woman      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Victorian Age, there existed a certain ideology of what constituted the perfect Victorian woman. In the beginning of the eighteenth century, young girls began attending schools that offered basic skills such as reading, writing, and math. Manuals of etiquette and conduct instructed young girls in manners of society and the home (Basch 3). All of this prepared a young woman for marriage, which, in the nineteenth century, was "put forward as being the culminating point of a woman's life" (Basch 16). Thus, the perfect woman was also the perfect wife, an active part of the family, with specific regard to the children (Vicinus ix). Yet, although the perfect woman was a married woman, not all marriages were perfect. Victorian society set strict standards for the roles of women, specifically middle class women, as wives and mothers. Women often did not benefit from being married in many respects, such as their personal rights. In addition, the census of 1850 "revealed a significant imbalance between the sexes," creating a surplus of single women (Lerner 176). Many of these single women joined the ranks of spinsters and old maids due to this imbalance in the population. However, society did not give unmarried women the same roles as married women. Society challenged these women because it believed that a woman without a husband was worthless. Society did not respect the position of these unmarried women, often making them outcasts. Yet, there esd a small sect of unmarried women that did not allow society's rules to interfere with their idea of what life should be like. Th... ... or said. Instead, old maids flung themselves at life, unattached and uninhibited, in the best possible way so as to get as much out of it as possible. Supported historically by the likes of great Victorian female authors, these old maids laughed at life, and themselves, showing the perfect Victorian wives there could be more to life than fitting society's mold. Works Cited    Auerbach, Nina. Woman and the Demon: The Life of a Victorian Myth. London: Harvard UP, 1982.    Basch, Francoise. Relative Creatures: Victorian Women in Society and the Novel. New York: Schocken, 1974.    Lerner, Laurence. The Victorians. New York: Homes and Meier, 1978.    Vicinus, Martha. Introduction.The Perfect Victorian Lady. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1972. Vii - xv.         Ã‚  

Underneath My Skin - Original Writing :: Papers

Underneath My Skin - Original Writing I am 15 years old, and I hate my life. My parents are dead, I have no friends, I get bullied every day, and the worst of it is that I can't do anything about it. I now live in Omaha, Nebraska with my aunt, Patrice, who just made 21 and is never home. She is my last living relative. At school this kid named Brian messes me all the time. I never fight back because I'm just peaceful like that. I get good grades (I have nothing else to do with my spare time except homework). I earn my own money by playing craps behind the school with loaded dice. That's why I don't have any friends. So I was walking home and here comes Brian with his sidekick Jim. Brian says, "Hey punk how's it goin'?" Then Jim says, "Yeah punk." I say, "I'm doing fine." "Gimme all your money, or my fist and your face will become good friends." Then he pushes me. All of a sudden, something came over and I just start wailing on the guy. I get up, look at Jim and say, "You want some of this?" He stands there in fear for a while and runs away. The rest of the way home I kept thinking about what happened, thinking about what came over me. In the middle of deep thought, I heard a voice say, "It was me." I looked around and no one was there. So I blew it off and went on home. I got home, laid on my bed still thinking about what happened. There was that voice again, "It was meà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Makius." Now I knew something was up. "Who's there?" I said. "You don't know me but I know you very well," said the voice. "You know me," I said. The voice then said, "Yes, I know about the time when someone tripped you and everyone laughed. I know about the time when some bully stole your shoes, and wore them the next day.

India’s Soft Drinks Industry

india's soft drinks industry table of contents toc o â€Å"1-3† u part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry pageref _toc323046458 h 3 introduction pageref _toc323046459 h 3 1. factor conditions pageref _toc323046460 h 4 1. 1 opportunities pageref _toc323046461 h 4 1. 1. 1 india’s physical resources pageref _toc323046462 h 4 1. 2 threats pageref _toc323046463 h 6 1. 2. 1 infrastructure pageref _toc323046464 h 6 1. 2. 2 education and labour pageref _toc323046465 h 6 2. demand conditions pageref _toc323046466 h 7 3. related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046467 h 9 3. availability of related and supporting industries pageref _toc323046468 h 9 3. 2 bargaining power of suppliers pageref _toc323046469 h 9 3. 3 bargaining power of buyers pageref _toc323046470 h 9 4. firm strategy, structure and rivalry pageref _toc323046471 h 10 4. 1 cultural impact on firm strategy and structure pageref _toc323046472 h 10 4. 2 rivalry among existing com petitors pageref _toc323046473 h 10 4. 3 threat of new entrants pageref _toc323046474 h 11 4. 4 threat of substitutes pageref _toc323046475 h 12 5. government pageref _toc323046476 h 12 6. role of chance pageref _toc323046477 h 12 conclusion pageref _toc323046478 h 13 part b: critical evaluation of porter's national diamond model pageref _toc323046479 h 13 references pageref _toc323046480 h 15 part a: contextual analysis of india and the indian soft drink industry introduction a. g. barr has been in the soft drinks business for over 130 years and is one of the biggest soft drinks company in united kingdom (uk) (a. g. barr, 2012). the company has a long standing success in the european market with its popular soft drinks such as irn-bru, barr and tizer. with a strong-hold in the europen market, now a.G. Barr would like to expand their business to other markets. Following The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) and PepsiCo success in the Asian market, the company would like to venture into the soft drinks industry in India. The definition of a soft drink market is the retail sale of bottled water, juices, carbonates, functional drinks, ready to drink (RTD) tea and coffee, and smoothies (Datamonitor, 2011). According to Dat amonitor (2011), the India soft drinks market is valued at $3. 8 million as of 2010 even though it accounts only 3. 3% of the overall value in the Asia-Pacific market.Japan and China hold the top two positions with a combined market share of 71. 2% (Datamonitor, 2011). Hence, before setting up an operation in India, the company need to know further details of the local soft drinks industry such as the market share, the customer profile, the suppliers and the competitors. As such, the main purpose of this report is to analysis the feasibility of the India expansion and gives proper recommendations. The Porter's Diamond analysis, the SWOT analysis and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis will be used to evaluate and comprehend the India soft drinks market. . FACTOR CONDITIONS Firstly, we will evaluate the factor conditions of India which may serve as an opportunity or a threat towards our venture into the soft drinks industry. 1. 1 OPPORTUNITIES 1. 1. 1 INDIA’S PHYSICAL RESOURCES India is a country rich of raw materials, resources and land. For this report, we will focus on those physical resources that are essential for the soft drinks industry – water, sugar, aluminium, power sources. With a land space of over 2. 9 million square kilometres (sq km) and a population of 1. 2 billion people, India has only 314,070 sq km of water (CIA World Fact book, 2012). Even though the Indian government has done many things do improved the situation by building water plants and water piping in the urban and rural areas, there are still about 18. 5% of the population (226 million) that lack access to clean, drinkable water (CESS INDIA, 2004) With a sophisticated water purification installed in our soft drinks plantation, A. G. Barr are able to process the unclean water into safe, drinkable water and use it for the basis of the final products. Hence, A. G.Barr will be able to offer an alternative drinking source for the citizens with our soft drinks products. Next, w ith a total arable territory of about 1. 2 million sq km, agriculture is the biggest industry and plays a major role in the socioeconomic growth of India (Maps of India, 2012). According to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2012) and the Maps of India (2012), India is the 2nd biggest world producers of sugarcane (sugar) with about 453 sugar mills located all over India. INCLUDEPICTURE â€Å"http://faostat. fao. org/DesktopModules/Faostat/Images/T20/ChartPic_3nemzw945otecriq01oo. ng? 3f2841b2-add0-4841-9dc7-5707a2a011f0† * MERGEFORMATINET Table 1: Top Production – Sugar cane 2010 Source: FAO Thirdly, for aluminium, India is the fifth biggest producer in the world after Australia, Guinea, Brazil and Jamaica (Maps of India, 2012). Finally, to obtain vast economic growth and a flourishing industrial sector, the Indian government has invested and given top precedence to the power sector of the nation and as of the 21st century, India is able to generate about 90% of its own energy through (Maps of India, 2012):Thermal/Coal Power Hydro Power Renewable Resources Power Nuclear Power With most of the raw materials and resources readily available in India, the price for these materials will be relatively standard and low. Hence, this will lower the cost of production. This is a key factor in venturing into the India market as A. G. Barr require a huge amount of clean water and sugar to produce the soft drink products. 1. 2 THREATS 1. 2. 1 INFRASTRUCTURE The infrastructure in India is one of the most problematic and unreliable in the world.As stated previously, even though India is able to generate 90% of its power, due to the poor financial position of many power supply companies, the power supplies are always inconsistent and frequently being cut-off (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). Hence, companies, offices and industrial plants need to have their own back-up power facilities to ensure no interruption to the production p rocesses (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). The road and railway system in India is still undependable and many traffic congestions are resulted due to the inadequacy.Pan (Asiamoney, 2010) notes that while the Indian government are investing US$1 trillion in infrastructure from 2012 to 2017, political bureaucracy and lack of good projects are hindering the developments of infrastructure. At the same time, Roy (Euromoney, 2010) reports that while Mr. Rajiv Lall, chief executive of state-run lender Infrastructure Development Finance Company believes India infrastructure has been slowly improving, the dependable relationship between the public sector and the private sectors in infrastructure will lead to corruption and thus may hinder the progression of big infrastructure projects.Therefore, any company that wish to venture into India soft drinks market will need to spend a sizeable amount on power generator and water purification facilities. This huge expenditure will put a dent on the initial capital investment and A. G. Barr need to take this into account and plan on how much of the expenditure to be transferred over to the final consumers through the products. 1. 2. 2 EDUCATION AND LABOUR According to several organizations; CIA (2012), US Department of State (2011) and WEF (2011), India’s literacy rate is only at 61%.The education level in India is low as many of the population live in poverty or the slump and unable to afford going school. Moreover, the Indian government lacks of provision of education is hindering its people to learn and receive knowledge. This result in a low skilled workforce and the unemployment rate for youth age 15 to 24 in India is high at 10. 5% (CIA World Fact Book, 2012). While a soft drink company with high technology facilities and processes requires employees with minimal skills, it is still essential for these workers have a basic understanding and motor skills to operate the high-tech, expensive machineries.Another e nd of the spectrum is those highly educated Indians where the information technology (IT) sector is booming. These IT personnel and engineers are viable to our company as they able to manage, supervise and suitable of the higher ranking jobs. Hence, to ensure the workers hired have the essential skills, A. G. Barr will need to frequently conduct training programs, skills development workshops and have simple instructions which are easy to follow. 2. DEMAND CONDITIONS With the relaxation of the Indian government policy on FDIs and foreign companies, the soft drinks industry had change tremendously.As the US and EU markets are highly saturated, companies are looking into the Asian markets to expand and gain more revenues. Apart from China, Japan and South Korea, India is the 4th leading Asian soft drinks market and the market is still growing and has yet to reach its saturation point. In 2010, there is a substantial demand for soft drinks as the market has grown by 10. 4% (Datamonitor , 2011). Datamonitor (2011) even predicts that by 2015, the Indian market will grow to a value of $5. 8 million. Table 2 shows the growth of India soft drink market from 2006 to 2010.Table 2: India soft drinks market volume: million liters, 2006–10(e) Datamonitor (2011) also reports that as of 2010, the soft drinks industry has generated total revenues of $3. 8 billion and with 50% of the total revenues, carbonates sale is the most profitable category. Table 3: India soft drinks market segmentation: % share, by value, 2010(e) It is essential to note that currently there is a growing trend of â€Å"vitamin water† or â€Å"nutrient water† in the world as many people are becoming more health conscious.The Times (London) (2012) reports that even India is not spared from the trend as PepsiCo, together with Tata Global Beverages, intend to market the â€Å"nutrient water† to India’s urban, middle-class consumers where a bottle of such product will cost s lightly higher than a standard bottled water. Hence, this could greatly affect the retail sales of carbonates. A. G. Barr has already altered its products to regular variants to low calorie and no added sugar variants in accordance to the gradual shift towards healthly living in the UK (A.G. Barr, 2012). For example, its popular porduct, IRN-BRU now comes in a sugar free variation, the ‘IRN-BRU sugar free’. Thus, the â€Å"nutrient water† market is another sector A. G. Barr could develop into not only in UK but also in India. 3. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES 3. 1 AVAILABILITY OF RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES India has huge supporting industries for the soft drinks market and the availablity of the main components for a soft drinks company in India is high.There are 453 sugar mills in India and the top 6 growing states are located in the Northern, Southern and Western regions of India (Maps of India, 2012). Noteably, the Indian government has been extentsi vely investing in the agriculture sector to ensure that the process of the sector from raw materials to warehousing and merchandising flow smoothly. And as for the aluminium industry, India has a sizeable number of aluminium plants located mainly in Northern and Southern regions. 3. 2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERSAs inputs are readily available, suppliers are unable to provide their services or sell their products at a higher price than their competitors as it is of no loss to the soft drinks company since the company is able to get the same or better services and products from other suppliers. A. G. Barr is able to obtain the primary inputs for its products through several sources in the region or state. Thus, the bargaining power of suppliers such as the packaging producers and raw materials and soft drinks ingredients producers are relatively low (Datamonitor, 2011). 3. 3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERSThe power of the retailers and distributors in this market is weak as most soft dri nks manufactures work closely with the local bottling companies to distribute the ready for sale products to buyers within a certain region or sector (Datamonitor, 2011). Datamonitor (2011) also reports that with 46. 3% of the total market volume, the independent retailers such as the small family mart shops are the main distribution channels for soft drinks but this could change with the introduction of super and hypermarkets. Thus, consumers will have a wider range of soft drinks brands to choose from.In order to gain relatively significant market share, A. G. Barr needs to do plenty of advertising and promotion. One of the strategies A. G. Barr could adopt is to set their soft drinks at a lower price than the main competitors, TCCC and PepsiCo in the rural areas while maintaining the same price in the urban areas where most of the middle-income and high-income classes have high consumer purchasing power. 4. FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE AND RIVALRY 4. 1 CULTURAL IMPACT ON FIRM STRATEG Y AND STRUCTURE A. G. Barr core strategic focus is based on the following 7 platforms (A. G.Barr, 2012): Core Brands and Markets Portfolio development Route to market Partnerships Efficient Operations People Development Sustainability To ensure these strategies and structure is maintain in other country, A. G. Barr has to train its overseas employees, make them understand and cultivate the A. G. Barr working culture. However, this will be a tough challenge in India due to the poor education and different socio-culture. Thus, A. G. Barr needs to accommodate its Western working culture with India working culture, however without losing its main mission and strategy.To ensure this is excuted properly, A. G. Barr needs to obtain a specialist in the Indian market and culture. 4. 2 RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS In India, the soft drink market is dominated by three main players – The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC), PepsiCo and Parle Bisleri Ltd – securing 74. 1% of the total m arket volume (Datamonitor, 2011). Table 4: India soft drinks market share: % share, by volume, 2010(e) BBC News (2011) reports that TCCC planned to invest $2 billion in India to boost its market share and expected India to be in its top five markets by 2020.Meanwhile, PepsiCo intend to launch a new product, â€Å"nutrient water† with Tata Water targeting at the young urban consumers to gain more market shares (Pagnamenta, 2012). This shows how competitive the rivalry in the India soft drinks industry where the two major market shares are actively investing and developing new products to gain more shares. 4. 3 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS The big players of the India soft drinks industry are actively improving themselves and distinguishing their products through various methods. Furthermore, TCCC and PepsiCo are renowned world soft drinks brands which have been existing in the India market for many years.Though new companies in the industry may have difficulty competing with the exi sting players, it may accomplish small success by using different production method or focusing on the lesser ventured catergories of the soft drinks markets such as health drinks and energy drinks (Datamonitor, 2011). This could be a major break through for A. G. Barr as its most popular products; the IRN-BRU; is low in sugar and contains additional benefits of an energy drink. In addition, the Rockstar series which are designed to target those who lead active lifestyles may be able to attract the young, urban consumers.With several advertising accolades, A. G. Barr has the knowledge and is able use the power of media to attract potential consumers and gain more market shares. 4. 4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES The main substitutes for soft drinks markets are traditonal tea and coffee, homemade juices and fresh water from the water plants or piping system. As A. G. Barr and other leading soft drinks companies have diverse products to cater to the different needs of the consumers – c arbonates, bottled water, juices etc – this will narrow down the threat of substitutes.However, the threat is still relatively moderate as retailers and distributors may give more shelf space for traditional tea and coffee products as they may be stored at room temperatures (Datamonitor, 2011). 5. GOVERNMENT BBC News (2011) reports that India is ranked 95th out of 183 nations in the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions (TICP) list. Due to the high corruption scandals among its government officials, low or invisible legislative work, red tape and bureaucracy, India has dropped from 87th in 2010 to 95th (BBC News, 2011).Despite its numerous intervention, corruption in India is an issue which is very difficult to get rid off since most of the political members and officals have their own agendas and are resistant to change (‘India: Risk overview', 2011). Hence, foreign companies will faced many setbacks when they venture into the India sectors. 6. ROLE OF CHAN CE The role of chance plays a small part in factoring the soft drinks industry as most of the technology are at it most advanced state. The only main issue currently is the Iran oil crisis.As India still refuses to cut Iranian oil imports, this may lead to a huge setback if USA decides to attack Iran and ignore India’s relation with Iran (CBS News, 2012, Kennedy, 2012). With a potential strain relationship with USA, this could lead to severe freeze in the trade and foreign direct investments. Furthermore, the other two traid nations, EU and Japan, may follow suit USA’s decision to cut ties with India for refusing to withdraw the purchasing of Iranian oil. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the soft drinks market in India is huge though it is predominately hold by 3 major key players.To venture into this territory, a new company need to set itself apart from the majpr players through unique advertising, differentiated production method and diverse product offerings. New companie s may set an initial low price of its products to attract consumers however; this should not be a long term strategy. Companies need to have a huge capital investment to counter the corruption, trade policies and poor infrastructure. Thus, expenditures and initial start-up cost will be high and companies will have to redistribute part of the cost to its final consumers in order to gain profits.PART B: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF PORTER'S NATIONAL DIAMOND MODEL Michael E. Porter is a well renowned economic strategist whom has writen 18 books and over125 articles (HBS, 2008). With a core field in competitive strategy, Porter has written and developed a number of strategic frameworks such as the Porter’s National Diamond model and Porter’s 5 Forces analysis. Since the model was based on eight developed countries and two industrialized countries, an analysis on developing, growing countries such as India is flawed.This is because these developing countries are not on the same e conomic level as the 10 countries. Thus, though the Porter’s National Diamond (PND) model analysis almost every aspect of India’s profile, it still lacks in-depth analysis and companies should not base their analytical evaluation on the PND model alone. As supported by Van Den Bosch, and Van Proojien (1992), both authors believed that PND model provide limited analysis on the control of national culture on the competitive advantage of nations.Similar to the EU countries, India too has a diverse set of culture which plays significant role in the management of the country’s economy, laws, trade policies and governance. There are limited sources on India and the soft drinks market due to the lack of legistative work from the government officals. Furthermore, some of the reports or statistics may not be entirely accurate due to the high corruption level. For example, reports may state that India is able to generate 90% of its power but the power plants are inconsist ent and supplies are frequently distrupted.Also, to what extend is the literacy rate of India is correct? The literacy rates may be higher than stated as with 1. 22 billion people, India officials may have a tough job collecting the accurate datas. Moreover, with high poverty and low income, most of Indian citizens have the ‘thrifty mindset’ whereby they prefer things which are basically free even though it maybe harmful such as drinking untreated water. These are the pros of the PND model for India: Analysis different aspect of the country profileTakes into account the role of Government which is the most essential for India These are the cons of the PND model for India: Limited credible sources for analysis Little depth as India is a huge country with various swinging factors. Limited analysis on the cultural effect on a country’s competitive advantage Ways to improve the PND model for India: Supporting the model with other analysis model such as PEST, SWOT, Po rter’s 5 Forces and Fons Trompenaars’ Seven Cultural Dimensions. Intentsive research on the market and the growth of the market. REFERENCES A. G. Barr (2012) About Us.Available at: http://www. agbarr. co. uk/agbarr/newsite/ces_general. nsf/wpg/about_us-our_strategy (Accessed: 22 March 2012). BBC News (2011) Coke plans $2bn India investment in bid to boost growth. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/business-15731884 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). BBC News (2011) India Transparency International corruption index blow. Available at: http://www. bbc. co. uk/news/world-asia-india-15979646 (Accessed: 01 March 2012). CBS News (2012) U. K. : Attack on Iran has â€Å"enormous downsides†. Available at: http://www. cbsnews. com/8301-202_162-57380838/u. . -attack-on-iran-has-enormous-downsides/? tag=mncol;lst;1 (Accessed: 20 February 2012). India. CESS (2004) Right to Drinking Water in India. Available at: http://www. cess. ac. in/cesshome/wp%5CWater. pdf (Accessed: 22 March 2012). CIA (2012) South Asia, India. Available at: https://www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/in. html (Accessed: 20 February 2012). FAO (2012) Faostat. Available at: http://faostat. fao. org/site/339/default. aspx (Accessed: 01 March 2012). HBS (2008) Harvard Business School Faculty & Research. Available at: http://drfd. bs. edu/fit/public/facultyInfo. do? facInfo=bio&facEmId=mporter (Accessed: 10 April 2012). ‘India: Risk overview’ (2011) Business Asia, 43, 14, pp. 10-11, Business Source Premier, EBSCO [Online]. Available at http://searchebscohost. com (Accessed: 22 March 2012). Kennedy (2012) US Pleas for Asia to Cut Iranian Oil Imports Fall on Deaf Ears, Oilprice. Available at: http://oilprice. com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/US-Pleas-for-Asia-to-Cut-Iranian-Oil-Imports-Fall-on-Deaf-Ears. html (Accessed: 20 February 2012). Maps of India (2012) India Agriculture. Available at:

Crime Rates and Perceptions of Crime

Sociological Problem The public perception of crime is that it has increased whilst official statistics show that overall, crime has decreased over the years. In this ‘risk society’, a fear of victimisation has become part of our lifestyle and we are constantly reminded of the potential dangers of becoming victims of crime. The famous study by Stanley Cohen (Folk Devils and Moral Panics (1972)) is a prime example of how society is encouraged to worry about certain groups and use them as a scapegoat to blame society’s problems on.Sociologists are concerned with this topic as the fear of crime is becoming a bigger problem to tackle than crime itself. 1. 2 Research Question Why has the fear of crime increased when statistics indicate a fall in crime? What influences people’s perceptions of crime and to what extent do these perceptions impact on society? The central concern of my research is to discover the reasons behind the growing fear of crime and if there is a causal link between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime.As (Blackie 2009: 77) suggests, my research question is to understand, explain and evaluate the reasons behind this problem. This is a topic of interest to sociologists as media’s ‘construction of reality’ creates a distorted view of crime, with people more out of touch with the reality of crime than ever. 2. Data Selection The first table I have selected shows the sources most influential on the changes of perception of crime over the past few years (see Appendix 1), and the second table reflects the correlation between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime (see Appendix 2).I collected these tables from the Home Office’s British Crime Survey on (‘Perceptions of crime, engagement with the police, authorities dealing with anti social behaviour and community payback’ (Chaplin et al, 2011)). This information was gathered by a national face to face victimisation survey of people aged 16 and over from households in England and Wales where people were asked their experiences of crime. 3. Methodology The data I am analysing is quantitative data, since ‘it is not possible to become a social scientist without an understanding of statistics’ (Diamond and Jefferies, 2001: 1).It is also a form of secondary data analysis as the data I am looking at are derived from official statistics. When analysing table 3. 02 (see Appendix 2), I discovered a bivariate relationship between the type of newspaper read, and the public’s perception surrounding the amount of crime. There is a causal relationship here; depending on what newspaper you read your perception of crime is likely to differ. As (Bryman, A and Cramer, D 2000) note, it is important to establish the cause prior to the effect. An effect cannot come before a cause. In table 3. 01 (see Appendix 1) there is a dependent variable and an independent variable.The dependent variable is the pub lic’s perception of crime and the independent variable is the type of source they hear it from. From analysing the variables within the tables I have come up with a hypothesis that media representations of crime can influence people’s view of crime. What I want to discover is if this amplifies people’s fear of crime. Firstly, I will be using formal content analysis to measure the amount of space devoted to crime and the types of crime covered in newspapers. I will then use thematic analysis to look for themes which underlie the content.My third and final analysis will be textual analysis where I will be closely examining the text used in newspapers to see how it encourages a particular reading and creates an impression. Some of the advantages of using secondary data analysis include firstly it is more structured and standardised which gives us more reliable and repeatable results. It allows us to study larger numbers which gives results that are more representat ive of a population. As it is a detached and objective method, the researcher merely manipulates the variables and records the results.Their subjective feelings have no effect on the outcome of the experiment. If subjectivity becomes involved it could interfere with the outcome. In the British Crime Survey they used interviews to find out people’s views. This made the results easy to quantify especially when answers are pre coded. This also makes them suitable for hypothesis testing. However, there are also disadvantages to using quantitative data. As we are analysing from a secondary source, there is a lack of familiarity with the data which may cause confusion with the data presented.It does not allow the researcher to be personally involved, thus they produce a more superficial understanding. The British Crime Survey 2010/11 gives us an overall view of the statistics involved; however it does not give a deeper understanding and a more valid picture of the other factors tha t may be relevant. The results of quantitative data are limited as it produces numerical descriptions as opposed to a detailed narrative which gives us a less detailed account of the public’s perception on crime. 4. Analysis The world appears to have become a dangerous place to live, there is a ‘fear of crime’ and a ‘fortress mentality’.The increased sense of insecurity makes many unable to deal reasonably with the problem of crime. One of the reasons crime has decreased is the privatisation of public space in recent years. CCTV are used to control how people access these public areas. The police have also become confined to certain parts of towns and cities due to ‘tipping’ which allows them to keep a watchful eye on a specific area. Baldwin and Bottoms (1976) looked at the process of ‘tipping’, which is when councils put all antisocial together in the same place.This leads to concentration of crime in a given area, which c an also have the opposite effect of creating more crime. The process of tipping is similar to the broken window theory of Wilson and Kelling (1982). It’s a zero tolerance where there is no acceptance even of the smallest crimes. This will not allow them to grow into bigger problems. The media devotes a great deal of time and coverage to crime and deviance. They are accused of giving a distorted image of crime, criminals and policing. There are studies that indicate that the proportion of news devoted to crime has increased over the past 50 years.An example is a study that found the proportion of space given to crime reports in the Daily Mirror and the Times from 1945 to 1991 increased from 8% to 21% (Reiner et al. , 2000). The coverage of violent and sexual crimes is significantly greater than their incidence as measured by official statistics, victim studies and self report studies. Homicide accounts for one third of all crime news. William and Dickinson’s (1993) stud y of 10 national newspapers in 1989 found 64. 5% of crime stories were about violence against a person, whereas the British Crime Survey only showed 6% of crimes reported by victims in 1989 about violence.The amount of violent and sexual crimes tended to be more frequent the more ‘down market’ the newspaper. Although murder stories attract much of the public eye, it only accounts for 600 or 700 offences a year, with most of these being domestic violence. Table 3. 03 (see appendix 2) shows the difference between tabloid newspapers and broadsheet newspapers and people’s perception of crime. 81% of people who read ‘popular’ newspapers believed crime had increased, in comparison to 59% of people who read ‘broadsheet’ newspapers.This shows how the type of newspaper affects people’s view of crime and how the media want certain groups to worry about crime more than others. If the working class are living in fear of crime, they are less l ikely to rise and revolt, as they are too busy fearing the ‘vicious’ streets. Crime news focuses on the actual incident of the crime rather than the causes. However broadsheets such as the Guardian are more likely to contain an analysis of the causes of crime (Carrabine et al. , 2002). Tabloid readers are mostly working class as they tend to prefer the cheaper and less intellectual types of newspapers.(Simmons and Dodd, 2003) discovered tabloid readers are twice as likely to be ‘very worried’ about burglary, mugging, physical attack and rape. An important fact is that the victims of crime are mostly the poor, working class and ethnic deprived groups. Much crime is done by the working class on the working class. Ironically, the media shows victims being mainly women, white people and high status individuals. This shows how the media are manipulating our view of crime, making us believe the working class are committing the crimes whilst the privileged are suf fering from the crimes.However, there is another view. The British Crime Survey found that people who live in inner-city areas and council estates are particularly concerned about crime, particularly violent crime. These are the areas where most working class people live and the areas where violent crime is more likely to happen. Tabloid newspapers may merely be reflecting their concern with crime rather than shaping it. As Crawford et al. , (1990) says, ‘in inner city areas, mass media coverage of crime tends to reinforce what people already know. ’ From looking at table 3.01 (see Appendix 1) it shows the major sources that influence people’s perceptions of crime is news programmes on TV/radio, local newspaper and tabloid newspapers. Different sources of information affected the different perceptions of crime. The people who thought crime had increased nationally were most likely to find out about crime through TV programmes or radio (62%), local newspapers (35% ) or tabloid newspapers (35%) as their source of information. Both tables are ordinal data as the events are ‘placed in ordered categories along a single dimension’ (Fowler Jr., 2004).The main sources of crime news derive from the police and courts. However, it is important to note that the way the statistics were collected may affect the data. There is a dark figure of crime that does not get reported and that the police consider not worthy to be recorded. Not all crimes are reported and the police record an even smaller proportion of property crime. The official crime index excludes for offences ranging from drunk driving to white collar violations. Marxists believe capitalism exploits the working class and this gives rise to crime.Capitalism encourages the middle class to be greedy and self interested. This sometimes leads to corporate and white collar crime however this is not the media’s main focus. Marxists also argue street crime is disproportionally prose cuted, that the poor commit compared to the white collar crime that the middle class commit. Stuart Hall’s (Policing The Crisis (1978)) study applied a fully social theory of deviance to the study of mugging. Hall’s study shows how the media will focus on a particular minority and create a moral panic, often to cover another problem.The myth of the black mugger served as a scapegoat to distract attention away from the real causes of problem such as unemployment. The black mugger came to symbolise the disintegration of the social order. This is also apparent in today’s society as we are encouraged to fear the ‘hoody’ youth and believe the majority of them carry a knife. Journalists are dependent on official sources for their information. These sources have become primary definers – they define what counts as crime, what counts as justice and what they believe to be significant.In doing so, they reflect the concerns of the powerful – the agents of social control and the state (Hall et al. , 1978). The British Crime Survey includes questions about perceptions of crime and the concerns. It also asks questions about newspaper readership. Findings from the surveys from 2001 to 2003 show that over the three years, a growing proportion of respondents thought that the national crime rate had risen ‘a lot’ (25% in 2001, 30% in 2001/02 and 38% in 2002/03). In comparison, the British Crime Survey indicated a steady fall in crime over these years.The 2002/03 survey shows that 43% of those who read a tabloid newspaper believed the crime rate had increased ‘a lot’ compared to 26% of broadsheet readers (Simmons and Dodd, 2003). The news media tend to portray a positive picture of the Criminal Justice System. Things such as the success and justice of the police are often exaggerated. There are some stories of the corruption of the police however this is presented as an individual’s failings, rathe r than the Criminal Justice System (Chibnall, 1977). The legitimacy of the Criminal Justice System is protected.This underlies many news reports on crimes. The mean ‘is the average of the distribution of the variable’ (Seale C 2004: 327). The most common expression for the mean of a statistical distribution with a variable is the average of all the terms. In order to discover the mean, you simply add up the values of all the terms and then divide by the number of terms. There are other expressions however these forms are hardly used in statistics. ‘The median is the number positioned in the middle of a distribution, below which half the values fall’ (Seal C 2004: 328) The median for table 3.01 (see appendix 1) is Broadsheet newspapers at 20% . The mean for table 3. 03 (see appendix 2) for the tabloid newspapers are The Daily Mail and The Daily Star both at 81% saying crime has increased. The median for the broadsheet newspapers are The Times and The Financi al Times at 60% and 50%. The mode is defined as ‘being the most frequently occurring value in a distribution’ (Seal C 2004:328). The mode for table 3. 01 (see appendix 1) this is the variable that occurs most often. The variable that occurred most often in both tables was the newspapers and more specifically tabloid newspapers.5. ConclusionIn conclusion, the tables and data provided have proved there is an obvious causal relationship between newspaper readership and perceptions of crime. It has effected society as we have almost become reliant on sources of secondary data such as newspapers to feed us with knowledge of crime, which has created a distorted view. We become sucked into the manipulation of the media and believe what we read to be fact, even if we do know at the back of our minds it is an exaggerated version of the truth.Crime has always been a staple ingredient of human’s fascination and it will always make headlines. The main influence of peopleâ₠¬â„¢s perception of crime comes from the media. The media has a huge part to play in shaping the way we think and hear about things, therefore they are also able to manipulate our view, but ultimately it is our choice to believe it or not. For Durkheim (1893) ‘Crime is normal and an integral part of all healthy society. ’ It is also important to realise that we do need crime in society as it affirms our cultural values and norms and promotes social unity.