Plural Nouns Definition and Examples

The plural (PLUR-el) is the form of a noun that typically denotes more than one person, thing, or instance. Contrast with singular. Although the English plural is commonly formed with the suffix -s or -es, the plural of some nouns (such as sheep) is identical in form to the singular (see zero plural), while some other nouns (such as dust) have no plural form. Etymology From the Latin, more Examples and Observations Unusual Plurals [P]hysics, mathematics, economics, linguistics, and hydraulics are all words that are singular in sense and are construed as singular, despite their form. They do not have plurals. Politics and ethics, by contrast, are construed as plural but do not readily admit a singular form. Arithmetic and logic are singular in sense and form, but do not readily accept a plural. . . .Pants, trousers, breeches, scissors, shears, bellows, spectacles, and glasses are all plural in form, and they need a plural verb: These trousers are too small; these scissors are blunt. The curiosity is that we often re-double the plural character of the things by referring to a pair of pants, scissors, etc. Yet the semantically identical two scissors, two bellows would be absurd. (Julian Burnside, Word Watching. Thunders Mouth Press, 2004) As a general rule, game or other animals often take the same form for the singular and plural: one elk, six elk (*elks). This is more often the case in a hunting/sporting context: She hunts lion in Africa each year. In another context, the -s plural is more likely to be used: She saw three lions at the zoo. Here are some other interesting examples of nouns that have identical singular and plural forms:three aircraft (spacecraft, hovercraft, etc.)six head of cattleLook up aircraft and head (as in of cattle) in a dictionary to see what they say about the origins of these words and the likely reasons for their forms. Also, whats the plural of a computer mouse?(Anne Lobeck and Kristin Denham, Navigating English Grammar: A Guide to Analyzing Real Language. Wiley Blackwell, 2014) Now, yall is plural. Believe me, I use the word a lot. (Nick Stokes in Fannysmackin. CSI, 2006) Multiple Plurals The two champions for variations in plurals are octopus and rhinoceros. The two most obvious plurals of octopus are octopuses and (incorrectly since the root is Greek, not Latin) octopi. The proper Greek plural is octopodes--so three possible plurals for octopus. Similarly for rhinoceros, we have rhinoceroses, rhinoceri (incorrectly), rhinoceros (presumably pronounced differently from the singular) and (an obsolete but correct form) rhinocerotes. In fact, rhinoceros is the English word with the most possible plural forms: four in all.Even more confusingly, one word may be the plural form of two different singular words. So bases means more than one of both base and basis, and ellipses can refer to both ellipse and ellipsis. The winner in this category is axes, which is the plural of ax, axe and axis. (Richard Watson Todd, Much Ado About English: Up and Down the Bizarre Byways of a Fascinating Language. Nicholas Brealey, 2006) Irregular Plurals and Double Plurals In his song One Hippopotami, the comedian Alan Sherman sang, The plural of half is whole; the plural of two minks is one mink stole. It is an astute observation. The linguist Peter Tiersma has found that whenever a set of objects can easily be construed as a single assemblage, a regular plural is in danger of congealing into a mass noun or an irregular plural. This is happening today to the noun data, which often refers to large quantities of information and which is easily conceived of as stuff rather than things; the word is turning from a plural (many data) to a mass noun (much data). . . .Nonstandard dialects are filled with double plurals such as oxens, dices, lices, and feets, and that is how we got the strangest plural in Standard English, children. Once it was childer, with the old plural suffix -er also seen in the German equivalent Kinder. But people stopped hearing it as a plural, and when they had to refer to more than one child, they added a second plural marker, -en. T oday many rural and foreign speakers still dont think of children as plural, and have added a third suffix, yielding the triply plural childrens. (Steven Pinker, Words and Rules, Basic Books, 1999) The Lighter Side of Plurals I think sometimes the word overseas is pluralized unnecessarily. The way I look at it, New York to London is oversea. After all, theres only one sea in between them. (George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? Hyperion, 2004) A second grader came home from school and said to her grandmother, Grandma, guess what? We learned how to make babies today.The grandmother, more than a little surprised, tried to keep her cool. Thats interesting. she said. How do you make babies?Its simple, the girl replied. You just change y to i and add es. The English Lesson (author unknown) Now if mouse in the plural should be, and is, mice, Then house in the plural, of course, should be hice, And grouse should be grice and spouse should be spice And by the same token should blouse become blice. And consider the goose with its plural of geese; Then a double caboose should be called a cabeese, And noose should be neese and moose should be meese And if mamas papoose should be twins, its papeese. Then if one thing is that, while some more is called those, Then more than one hat, I assume, would be hose, And gnat would be gnose and pat would be pose, And likewise the plural of rat would be rose.

Ancient Greece Western Civilization - 1260 Words

About 3000 BC, on the island of present day Crete a people now called Minoans existed. The name comes from their King Minos. Minos and other Minoan kings grew rich from trade, and built fine palaces. Around 480 BC the golden age of Greece began. This is what historians call Classical Greece. (2) Ancient Greece is called â€Å"the birthplace of Western Civilization,† many western ideas on philosophy, government and art are from Greek civilization. The Greeks were fearless warriors, their culture and society were civilized, and they perfected trade. The ancient Greeks lived in many lands around the Mediterranean Sea, from Turkey to the south of France. They had close contacts with other civilizations such as the Egyptians, Syrians, and Persians. The Greeks lived in separate city-states, but shared the same language and religious beliefs. (1) Over-time, constant conflict and competition between city-states broke down a sense of community in Greece. The neighboring states were in creasing in power and were more unified than the city-states of Greece. Over time, Rome was increasing in size, power, and trade. By 146 BCE Romans had conquered the Greek city-states. (3) However, the legacy of ancient Greece, and all their ideas, would not be conquered. Why do we live in the world we live in? Where do our roots come from? Many would say that the Greek life has influenced every culture in some way. There are many ways to classify Greeks, but one thing other than a tourist attraction, isShow MoreRelatedAncient Greece s Influence On Western Civilization2158 Words   |  9 PagesMuch can be said about the Greeks and their contribution to Western Civilization greatly and how they paved the way. The Greeks subsidized Western Civilization greatly, contributing areas of architecture, government, and many more. The Greeks built the Parthenon, a temple dedicated the infamous goddess Athena, who they viewed as there patron. The famous temple has columns and groundwork that characterizes Greek architecture. The architects were concerned with conducting a sense of perfect balanceRead More Contributions to Western Civilization Made by Ancient Greece and Rome2004 Words   |  9 PagesThe ancient Greeks and Romans were perhaps two of the greatest civilizations of the ancient world. These two civilizations thrived in their ancient environments which eventually led to a vast amount of prosperity within these two cultures. It is because of this prosperity that these ancient cultures were able to make a variety of advancements in literature, architecture, art and a variety of other fields. These two civilizations also produced some of the ancient world’s greatest writers, leadersRead MoreHow Did Ancient Greece Influence Western Civilization951 Words   |  4 Pages The Western world was highly influenced by the ancient Greeks. The Greeks changed the way the world looks at art, math, architecture, philosophy, sports, and drama. Without the ancient Greeks, the modern world would not be the same. Men such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle changed the way we look at philosophy. The Athenians created the first known democracy, setting the stage for future governments. The Euclidian Theorem and the Pythagorean Theorem among others made mathematics easier and moreRead MoreGreek And Roman Civilizations : Greece And Ancient Civilizations1503 Words   |  7 Pages Greek and Roman Civilizations In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In scrutinizing the trajectory of modern historyRead MoreGreek And Roman Civilizations : Greece And Ancient Civilizations1498 Words   |  6 Pages Greek and Roman Civilizations In examining the impact that the ancient world has had on modern Western civilization, the two ancient civilizations which are frequently understood as having had the greatest influence are Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. These two civilizations would eventually come to shape much of what would become the modern European culture, politics and society, and by extension, a vast proportion of global culture and society. In examining the trajectory of modern historyRead MoreContributions of Greek Civilization to Western Civilization825 Words   |  4 PagesAlejandra Fraguada Ancient amp; Medieval Western Civilization Contributions of Greek Civilization to Western Civilization. Ancient Greeks made many influential contributions to western civilization such as in the areas of philosophy, art and architecture, math and science. These contributions, which are also the achievements of ancient Greece, include certain things in the areas of philosophy, art, architecture, math and science. The ancient Greeks were a remarkable civilization in that they haveRead MoreAncient Greece : A True Civilization1507 Words   |  7 PagesClassical Greece A True Civilization Joshua Soifer and Remy Dunn Eurasian History Mr. Yamada October 6 2017 As the politician and bishop Stephen Gardiner once claimed, â€Å"The center of Western culture is Greece, and we have never lost our ties with the architectural concepts of that ancient civilization†. In many ways, through their academic pursuits, philosophical ideologies, or advanced trade systems, Ancient Greek culture has proven to be the foundation for Western culture. AncientRead More greek Essay607 Words   |  3 Pages When people think of ancient cultures and civilizations, they don’t think about the kind of influences they might have had on our society. One of those cultures having the most influence being Ancient Greece. The Ancient world of Greece is far from ancient in the arts, philosophies, ideas, architectures, governments, religions, and everyday life of the people in the latter half of the twentieth century. Come, discover and explore the civilization that forms the foundation of human history. ComeRead MoreWhat Did the Greek and Roman Culture Leave f or Europe889 Words   |  4 PagesWhat did the Greek and Roman culture leave for Europe The ancient Greek and Roman civilization is not only the cradle of Europe culture , but also the Western culture. The two major ancient civilization is the worlds two eternal monument of cultural history, is the golden age of the West with great relish. Hard-working people of ancient Greece and Rome created countless masterpieces with their wisdom. Ancient Greek culture is the source of Roman culture, Roman culture developed constantlyRead MoreWhat Did the Greek and Roman Culture Leave for Europe883 Words   |  4 PagesWhat did the Greek and Roman culture leave for Europe The ancient Greek and Roman civilization is not only the cradle of Europe culture , but also the Western culture. The two major ancient civilization is the worlds two eternal monument of cultural history, is the golden age of the West with great relish. Hard-working people of ancient Greece and Rome created countless masterpieces with their wisdom. Ancient Greek culture is the source of Roman culture, Roman culture developed constantly on

Recycling Free Essays

Recycling: The Best Savings Plan for a Better Tomorrow. Recycled Orchestra is the orchestra which consists of kids and teenagers who play music with the help of recycled instruments in Cateura, Paraguay which a slum made on a landfill. The people in the slums cannot afford to buy musical instruments for their children. We will write a custom essay sample on Recycling or any similar topic only for you Order Now So, they collect the instruments and waste items from the garbage and by repairing the instruments and using the other required things to make the instruments for their children. Thus, recycling of the broken instruments had led to an orchestra with an increasing number of participants in the group and which now competing in many of the tournaments in and out Paraguay. Recycled Orchestra is one of the best examples of recycling things with great output. This also shows that recycling the waste and trash into useful goods not only keeps the environment clean and saves money and raw materials but also help completing peoples dreams. Recycled Orchestra and Recycled business of games and other articles are some of the most popular concept of the biggest slums in the world. Recycling is the process of converting waste and materials into useful products to avoid the wastage of potentially useful resources, conserve the fresh raw resources for the future, reducing the pollution caused during the disposal of waste like the combustion of useless products and the activities like landfills which causes the contamination of soil and minerals and groundwater beneath it and basically to protect our planet from contamination. Recycling is one of the components of â€Å"Waste Hierarchy† –Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Recycling is a huge topic to take into the picture the steps for recycling like collecting, sorting, processing and finally using the recycled waste into useful products, then comes in the things to be recycled which give the maximum output like paper, metals, water, glass and plastic these are some of the most important ones and finally the global issues like global warming, greenhouse gases and pollution which recycling provides a solution. Firstly, the steps for recycling consist of some of the basic steps like collecting, sorting and processing it into useful products. These steps induces the â€Å"Waste Hierarchy† by itself by collecting the waste and the recyclable material from the garbage it reduces the amount of the usage new and fresh material and also reduces the waste going for direct incineration or dumping. Reuse is the final step after recycle, which is acceptance from the consumers or the usage of recycled products. The collection process is taken care by the government by assigning central collection facility for various localities and areas which collect the waste and trash from different places such as drop-off centers, buyback centers and the curbside centers. The drop-off centers consists of the various utilities which help in the collection of the junk like the rubbish bin, the other public usage trash bin and this rash consists of unknown stuff as these drop-off centers are located in public places where so people throw a lot of unwanted and unknown stuff. The buyback centers are the profit making organizations which charge customers for collecting their trash from their community and their houses and collect the trash and sorting it and selling the same trash to the recycling facilities and waste management centers. The other facility for trash collection is the curbside centers wherein the client separates their trash according to their knowledge prior to the curbside center’s trash collection vehicles come and pick up the trash. These vehicles then dump the trash directly to the central sorting facility. Sorting is one of the most important parts of the recycling process, because if the all the things in the trash are not properly sorted the important recyclable things or even simply repaired could go in vain as in the case of recycled orchestra wherein the processes of sorting they find the broken instruments which by repairing save a lot of money and cleaning up the waste. The sorting process helps in proper recycling and decomposition as well. The recycling process goes through a lot of chemical and physical changes in the actual matter which is being processed. Thus, the mixture of two different matters might change in the final result and the whole process of recycling from the collecting till the end goes in vain and creating toxic waste. Sorting of easily recyclable materials such as metals, glass, paper and plastic are the most common ones. The sorting process is taken carry by the material recovery facility wherein his paper and metal waste is separated using the vibration method which brings the light items up like first paper, then plastic and finally metals and glass which are the heaviest. The steel items such as cans and bottles are sorted by the magnetic separation method. Then the aluminium and other metallic waste are sorted by the electric current and the plastics by the sensors and finally the glass is taken out and using the scanner for glass is checked for any other materials except the glass and then passed for recycling. Thus this thing is finally given out for finally processes. The www. recyclingguide. k org website approved by the waste management organization gives information regarding recycling and some facts such as that Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled and this unused energy from the dustbin could light up a television for more than 5000 hours. After the sorting processes the sorted garbage or trash is taken to their particular recycling centers for recycling. Recycling processes in general consists of breaking the used things in to its basic structure and then again using it for as a new product. The recycling of paper consists of breaking down the paper by mixing it with water and other chemicals and once the solution of the liquidized form of paper is formed it then heat treated and finally converted into new paper. The Bureau of International Recycling suggests that the recycling of the paper can be done for at least 7 times with a small amount of degradation in the quality of paper. Recycled paper produces 73% less air pollution than if it was made from raw materials. It’s always better to use a 1 ton of recycled paper than using 24 trees for making 1 on of newspaper. The other most important substance which is recycled is metals which if sorted properly would save a lot of fresh natural resources. The recycling of metal is done by melting the used and thrown out metals at high temperature which breaks the rigid grain structure of these metals and then these metals are heat treated and and formed into desired shapes but these recycled metals are not used for heavy duty purposes due to low factor of safety and durability in it. The vehicle waste which mainly consists of metals, around 80% 0f the vehicles can be recycled. The other metals and substance like lead, glass and plastic go through the same process of melting and breaking down the grain structure and heat treated and finally molded into substances of daily usage but not used at the same level. With an increase of usage of plastic at the rate of 4-8% per year throughout the world, recycling them is the best option and anyway decomposition of plastic takes around 500 years. The other form of waste and the most dangerous one is the toxic waste and the waste after recycling all the waste is usually dumped into the modern landfills and modern incinerators. The landfills are big pits wherein the toxic waste and the non degradable waste is stored for decomposition. The decomposition takes place with the help of the chemicals and bacterias added in the landfills which increase the rate of the disintegration and lead to the formation of one of the most toxic gas which is methane more harmful to the environment than carbon monoxide. This gas is collected from the top of the the landfill through a suction pipe and then supplying methane to the thermal power plants near by to produce electricity. Some of the examples of landfills like the Cateura, Paraguay in the illustrations and another famous example is the Olympic Grounds in Australia wherein a lot of toxic waste like tanks and old warships is dumped Olympic grounds. The other types of landfills are for the human waste such as Biogas plant, Digestor which are usually implemented in the rural areas for the production of biogas to cook food and heat the house. These are big vessel or container of human and agricultural waste which is mixed with water and this solid-liquid mixture known as slurry is dumped into the digestor or the vessel and an electronically operated stirrer is provided to mix the slurry from time to time. The slurry is then kept in the digestor for a couple of weeks and due to which there is an increased in the temperature up to 70 °C – 80 °C in the vessel due to the decomposition and this induces the production of butane gas which useful in cooking and heating the house. The left out in the bioreactor known as the sludge is used as fertilizer for agriculture. Generally, biogas plant was popular in the rural areas only but nowadays there are being taken into account due to urge of renewable energy. One of the world largest biogas plant is the Penkun biogas park which has 40 modules of 500 kW electrical power each, digesting mainly energy crops. The thermal energy produced is used in a fertilizer factory next to the biogas park which is situated in Germany. Finally, if the recycling doesn’t work, incineration is the only way by which this non- recyclable byproduct cannot be used but vanished. The biomass from this landfills and biogas plant is usually used as fertilizer but the toxic ones are usually incinerated in the modern high temperature incinerator which incinerate both the liquid and the solid waste at really high temperatures. This high temperature incineration is the â€Å"Best Technology Available† as quoted by the Mitchell Young, the editor of the book Garbage and Recycling as determined by the EPA. Most of the big factories have their modern hazardous waste incinerator on –site in their factory. But the small business depends on the off-site incineration managing all the hazardous wastes. These incinerators operate at high temperature around 1800 °F. The incinerator consists of a primary combustion chamber, an afterburner or the secondary combustion chamber which is connected to the pollution control system for controlling a monitoring the process. The afterburner increases the temperature form 1800 °F to 2200 °F which completely converts the hazardous solid and liquid waste into ashes or gases. The big banner companies such as Dove, Reliance and many more production hubs like it. But it always better to recycle than to incinerate which at some point pollute the environment. This all will help in solving the global issues like global warming, pollution, greenhouse effects and many more and reduce his usage of fresh and raw resources for future. To conclude this, Recycling waste is a long term project. But its key lies in segregation and putting in some efforts to clean up the neighborhood. The main motto of recycling is creating zero waste which a worthwhile goal. If the process of recycling starts from the waste producer then it becomes much easier to recycle the process like sorting the waste and avoiding the non-recyclable material out of the landfills and dumps. Thus,recycling said to be a process not a step. These awarenesses in the people would help in achieving the goal of zero waste. Recycling is equal to a better, healthier savings plan for tomorrow. How to cite Recycling, Papers Recycling Free Essays Don’t litter, it makes the world bitter! Recycle your bottles, cans, plastic and paper. Do not litter them; they can be used in some other way. Environmental sciences ERSC 1020H Marta Wolniewicz Recycling 2 Introduction: Recycling is very important for the natural environment and for humans as well. We will write a custom essay sample on Recycling or any similar topic only for you Order Now Littering has a huge negative effect on our environment and human health. Such as plastic, this is made up of non-biodegradable material and will always stay in some form. It is hazardous for all the lives living under water as it could be eaten as food by many birds and sea creatures. Also plastic resins are flammable and have caused many accidents worldwide and release many deadly toxins upon burning. Though cans are completely recyclable but it requires a huge amount of electricity which is provided by hydroelectric plants thus affecting our natural river and lake ecosystem and forests. Papers are made by cutting millions of trees which destructs the natural environment and forest. So don’t waste the paper and put them into the recycle bin. Recent progress has been seen in plastic recycling (Al-Salem, Lettieri and Baeyens, 2009). Technological sciences are working on recycling on food packaging materials (Arvanitoyannis and Bosnea, 2001). Environmental Sciences are working on all kind of recycling to make our earth a better living place. The purpose of my study is to find out the recycling habits of people and to aware them about its effects and damages on our environment and human health. To find out people’s habit of recycling we will conduct surveys at Trent University. After getting the result we will have a look and see how much people are aware of recycling, its ways and programs. We have predicted that most of people know about plastic and paper recycling but we plan to discuss more about plastic recycles as Toronto has recently started recycling clamshell plastic containers which many people are not aware of (The star, 2013). Recycling 3 Research question: How does paper and plastic use affect our environment? How can paper and plastic recycling have a positive impact on our environment? Method: The study method we have chosen is survey. Getting information from people is an important way to make decision about the interested topic. They help viewing the current situation and help decide what needs to be changed and where and how money should be spent to improve it. We will be conducting surveys to know about the recycling habits of people, like if they are recycling properly or not and if not then what can we do to improve their habits in order to save our environment. We haven’t done the survey yet but we will be doing it in Trent University, Oshawa at Thornton hill. They will be distributed in Environmental Science class of about 30 students and each participant is over 18. The questionnaire will be based on closed ended multiple choice questions. Depending on the survey result, we might decide to aware students more about recycling, its ways and other plastic items/containers that can be recycled. We will also be showing video or distributing some articles on the effects of plastic and paper use, its effect on our environment and the ways to prevent it. Please see the appendix for questionnaire. Recycling 4 Result and discussion: As mentioned before, we haven’t conducted the survey. But we are expecting to see a positive result as all students are young and they are connected to community somehow so they know about recycling. Plastic and paper recycling is more common than any other type of recycling and people do actually recycle as university has placed recycling bins in classes. And community has placed recycle bins on sidewalks and bus stops etc. Various technologies and studies conducted of plastic solid waste have greatly contributed to the waste management, its recycling, treatment and recovery (Al-Salem et al. , 2009). Study limitations: The class of about 30 students is not good enough to come to a decision and will not give enough data to know about the recycling system of a particular community. Also some students at Trent University are from other city (as 4 members of my group come from a different region), which will effect the results too because other city might have better recycling programs and facilities than the city survey conducted at. Questionnaire is subjective so people may not respond truthfully so it is hard to know if the survey is accurate. All participants are students, who are probably working part time so they are mostly out for university or work and might not know much and what items their family has been recycling. Recycling 5 References: Aghbali, Arman. (2012, September 13th). Toronto now accepting ‘clamshell’ plastic containers in recycling blue boxes. The Star. Retrieved from www. thestar. com Arvanitoyannis and Bosnea. (2001). Recycling of polymeric materials used for food packaging: current status and perspectives. Food reviews international, 17(3), 291-346. Al-Salem, Lettieri and Baeyens. 2009). Recycling and recovery routes of plastic solid waste. Waste management, 29, 2625-2643. Merrild, Damgaard and H. Christensen. (2008). Life cycle assessment of waste paper management: the importance of technology data and system boundaries in assessing recycling and incineration. Resources, conversation and recycling, 52(12), 1391-1398. Yusuf and L. Ify. (2011). The effect of waste paper on the kinetics of biogas yield from the co digestion of cow dung and water hyacinth. Biomass and bioenergy, 35(3), 1345-1351. Astrup, Fruergaard and Christensen. (2009). Recycling of plastic: accounting of greenhouse gases and global warming contributions. Waste management and research, 27(8), 763-772. Jagdish Kuniyal. (2005). Solid waste management techniques for the waste generated and brought down from campsites in the hill spots, trails and expedition tops. Waste management and research, 23(3), 182-198. Appendix: Survey questionnaire Recycling Don’t litter, it makes the world bitter! Please select the best option for the following question 1)Do you recycle? i. Yes ii. No iii. Sometimes iv. Never )If yes, what do you recycle? i. Paper ii. Aluminum and metal cans iii. Plastic food and beverage containers iv. Glass bottles and jars v. Cardboards / tires 3)If you recycle, what is your primary motivation? i. Environmental benefits ii. Provincial regulations iii. Fiscal responsibility iv. None 4)Do you sort your recyclables at home? i. Yes ii. No iii. Sometimes iv. Not really 5)If you don’t recycle on regular basis, indicate which one of following is your contributing reason i. Needs more information on how to recycle ii. Don’t know what to do with recyclables iii. Takes too much time v. Don’t believe in it 6)What is your difficulty level on deciding what items can be recycled or not? i. Easy ii. Difficult iii. Moderate iv. Neither 7)If recycling containers were more readily available, would you make an effort to recycle more? i. Yes ii. No iii. May be iv. You don’t know 8)Overall, are you satisfied with your community recycling program and pick-ups? i. Very satisfied ii. Somewhat satisfied iii. Very dissatisfied iv. Somewhat dissatisfied 9)How do you get information on recycling ways and programs? i. Radio ii. Cable / TV iii. Community newspaper iv. internet How to cite Recycling, Essay examples Recycling Free Essays Recycling Free Essays One way the US Government could develop an incentive plan that when you take your items to the recycling enter, that you get a receipt showing what you brought and receive points that can be used toward your utility bill. The point system would convert to dollars for this purpose. Many communities have recycling bins that the sanitation department picks up. We will write a custom essay sample on Recycling or any similar topic only for you Order Now The point system can be used with these as well. The workers could leave the slip in the bin for the customer. They could also make sure that all communities’ sanitation departments issue these bins. Consumers have several choices in how to recycle. You can take it to drop-off centers, curbside collection, and refund or deposit programs. There are three steps in recycling. First step: after collection is done, the recyclables go too recovery facility to be sorted and cleaned. They are then processed into materials that are used in manufacturing. The materials are then bought and sold like any raw materials for production. Second step: You will find that most of today’s products are manufactured with recycled materials. The most common are paper towels, newspapers, plastic, aluminum, glass soft drink containers, plastic laundry detergent bottles, steel products, car bumpers, cereal boxes, comic books, aluminum cans, egg orators, nails, motor oil, and trash bags. Other ways that the materials are used are using recycled glass in asphalt for paving roads and using recycled plastic in park benches and carpeting. Step three: Most products you buy are now made with recycled material. When shopping you can look on the labels to see if they are. By buying these products, you will help close the loop on recycling. Other things that you can recycle are the wooden pallets that are used in shipping. You can be used in your gardens, people make furniture Tires are used in asphalt and used for shoring up areas of erosion. The overall benefits of recycling is that it will help to reduce the amount of trash and discarded items go to the landfills and incinerators. It will help to prevent pollution and help to not use new raw materials. Our natural resources like timer, water, and minerals will be able to be revalidated. When it comes to saving energy, it will help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that are apart of the climate change. The main goal is also to help us to sustain the environment for generations to come. The Job market also depends on recycling centers for paying Jobs in that community. There is one question we can ask ourselves. â€Å"Are we throwing away an energy solution? † If we were to burn all the waste in the landfills of the US, it would provide an extra 33 gateways-which is the equivalent of 33 large power plants. Philipp Schmidt-Pitchman) We are missing out on a viable energy source to help us to not to depend on other countries for our natural resources. Many Americans still believe that burning trash gives off toxic fumes but, with how modern waste-to-energy factories process it, there is very little air pollution. How it works is that the high temperatures burn off the bonds of toxic chemicals. I use many plastic container for storing craft materials as a way to recycle. We take any egg cartons to the farms that sale eggs. How to cite Recycling, Papers

4ps Innovative Frameworks of Woolworth-Free-Samples for Student

Question: Choose a Company that you are familiar with and map its innovation activities onto the 4P framework. Answer: Introduction This report reflects key understanding on the 4 innovation Ps which should be assessed by each and every organization before implementing any innovative and creative business process. It is evaluated that if company wants to see growth in its value chain activities then its research and development department should actively indulged in developing innovative ideas and strategies. In this report, Woolworth Company and its innovative activities have been assessed in effective manner. It has shown that company has shown growth in its business functioning due to its ramified use of innovative and creative action plan in its value chain activities for the betterment of clients in market. Present description of company It is an Australian company which has been running its business since very long time in super market business. It has about 80% market share which covers clothing, supermarket and other business. 4ps frameworks innovative frameworks of Woolworth This company is clients oriented and indulged towards providing customized products and services in Australian market. These 4Ps innovative frameworks helps management department and other key managerial persons to formulate innovative and creative business practice for the better satisfaction of clients in market. These 4ps consists of product, process, paradigm and promotion. However, in order to give ramified competition to rivals in the market, company has come up with developed innovative and creative business practice which could be seen as below (Arli, et al. (2013). Present portfolio of innovative activities Woolworth is an international organization and has strong brand image due to its innovative and creative business functioning in market. It is evaluated that company has strong innovative ideas and creative strategies which attracts high number of clients in Australia and other countries. These could be evaluated by understanding these below given 4s p of company (Lee, et al. 2014). Product of Woolworth Woolworth Company is indulged in offering goods and services in supermarket business. It has several retails showroom and offer various grocery items in market as per clients choice and demand. The main innovative activity which Woolworth has followed is related to changes in its selling practice of its goods and services to clients. It has installed online mechanism through which clients could make online payment through their mobile. It has also allowed their clients to purchase goods and services through their mobile app. After implementing enterprises resources planning process in its value chain activities. However, Woolworth has managed to keep only high quality products by offering best quality services such as using durable packaging which could keep products save from the germs and other insets in effective manner. This level of innovative framework practice will surely increase the overall turnover of the company and profitability at large (Lee, et al, 2014). Position of Woolworth It is the most influential innovative factor which highly influence the clients in market. However, clients in Australia are less inclined towards cheap products. It is evaluated that if Woolworth could instead of keeping price low would inclined towards offering high quality of products then it will surely result to core competency in Australian market. It is observed that other rivals such as Tesco and Morrison Plc do not offer best quality of goods and services to clients due to the price band problem. Therefore, it would increase the overall brand image of company. Therefore, Woolworth could keep price of the products and services low and at the same time it could offer high quality of products for its long durability. Woolworth could do it by following innovative business practice such as entering into strategic alliance, hiring of experts and increasing its integrated value chain activities with other organizations (Pour, Nazari and Emami, 2013). Paradigm of Woolworth Company has followed customized business strategies to overcome market barriers. Woolworth is indulged in providing its goods and services not only in Australia but also on international level. Company has installed cyber computing system to keep its all the data base online and also developed an online portal for international and domestic clients. However, as per the traditional business practice, Woolworth has opened up more than 65 business outlets in UK and Australia for grabbing more market share. It is evaluated that Woolworth has installed various online portals and electronic mechanism to make clients satisfaction better and effective while shopping in retails stores. For instance, clients who visit in stores will be asked to fill the survey online for their feedbacks. After that, their given feedbacks will be save in the cyber system to identify the common problems which clients face from the organizations and employees. This level of innovative business practice will surel y increase the market share and industry coverage of company on domestic and international level (Lee, et al, 2014). These are the innovative strategies which helps company to directly connect with its clients. Woolworth has followed newly developed innovative and creative promotional plan. The main innovative promotional strategic plan of Woolworth is related to use of loyalty card (Beske, Land and Seuring, 2014). This is the mechanism through which employees take all the personal details about the clients and create loyalty card. This is the newly developed innovative ideas and creative strategic plans which Woolworth is following for promoting its stores and online business services in Australia. However, Woolworth has considered all the data privacy policies and act for keeping clients information confidential at large. In addition to this, company has also use online cyber computing system through which all the clients and their relatives numbers will be taken under the automat ic way message sending mechanism. With the help of this innovative tool, company could easily promote its products and services in public. Furthermore, another innovative tool is related to using social media (Zipser, 2014). Process of Woolworth Woolworth could follow innovative business practice by following SMART business strategies which other rivals in the market cannot copy (Norton, 2015). However, it could be tough but company could make it possible by using its enterprises resources planning to increase the overall clients satisfaction in determined approach. However, clients could also be given option to take special offers once they download companys app in their mobile to place orders online or making online transactions (Wongleedee, 2015). In addition to this, automation in the factory working would increase the overall quality of products and services in organizations. Strength and weakness of Woolworth in context with the innovative activities Strength Company has installed cyber based computing system which could be used by company to attract high number of clients in Australia (Pickton, D.W. and Wright, S., 2008). It is evaluated that if Woolworth could indulged in branding of its products and services through social media then it will surely increase its current market share by 25%. As more than half population of Australia are stuck in addition of using social media in consistent manner (Gereffi and Fernandez-Stark, 2016). Company has strong experienced staffs who are accompanied with innovative and divergent mind set. These employees could help company to develop newly fresh ideas and divergent plan to increase the clients satisfaction level. Woolworth developed Website and app which could be installed by clients for placing orders and booking items instantly. This process not only allows clients to save their time and reduce the cost of the products but also increase clients satisfaction in effective manner. Weakness There will be high complexity of business process and employees may face problems while adopting this new process system based on cyber security. There are several other rivals who are also making investment in their research and development department to install new high tech computing system. Company has faced sluggish market conditions since last five years due to Euro crises and global financial crises (Sweeney, 2009). There are various cases and imposition of penalties which keep Woolworth one step back from its existing potential. Identify new targets for strategic innovation for that company The new targets company could be based on its investment and efforts put for developing innovative process and creative business strategies. Company has target to develop a packaging mechanism which could increase the durability of its products for clients. Another one is related to increase Australian market share to 45% as whole. Company currently earning AUD $ 75890 million revenue from its business functioning. Therefore, by installing new innovative business Practice Company wants to increase its annual revenue by 25%. In addition to this, company need to manage its value chain activities in effective manner after implementation of enterprises resources planning in its business functioning (Sup, 2015).However, ERP system in value chain activities of Woolworth will also reduce the overall cost of productions by 5%. Loyalty card developed by company for clients will also help company to grab clients information in large numbers (Hunter, 2013). Conclusion This report provide deep understanding on innovative business practice and strategies used by Woolworth in its business functioning. It is evaluated that if company wants to increase its brand image and overall turnover then it has to use innovative business practice such as high technology in its value chain activities, using of oracle based computing system for its accounting and finance work. Now in the end, it could be inferred that if Woolworth could provide its products and services which differ from the other rivals in offering in market then it will surely increase the overall market share of company in Australia. References Allen, S., Crawford, P., and Mulla, I. 2016. Exploring the acceptability of innovative technology: A pilot study using LENA with parents of young deaf children in the UK.Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 0265659016671168. Arli, V., Dylke, S., Burgess, R., Campus, R., and Soldo, E. 2013. Woolworths Australia and Walmart US: Best practices in supply chain collaboration.Journal of Economics, Business Accountancy Ventura,16(1). Beske, P., Land, A., and Seuring, S. 2014. Sustainable supply chain management practices and dynamic capabilities in the food industry: A critical analysis of the literature.International Journal of Production Economics,152, 131-143. Gereffi, G., and Fernandez-Stark, K. 2016. Global value chain analysis: a primer. Hunter, M., 2013. A typology of entrepreneurial opportunity.Economics, Management and Financial Markets,8(2), p.128. Lee, V.H., Ooi, K.B., Chong, A.Y.L. and Seow, C., 2014. Creating technological innovation via green supply chain management: An empirical analysis.Expert Systems with Applications,41(16), pp.6983-6994. Norton, A. L. 2015. Enterprise resource planning II-A review of critical success factors.International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,13(11), 5. Pour, B. S., Nazari, K., and Emami, M. 2013. The effect of marketing mix in attracting customers: Case study of Saderat Bank in Kermanshah Province.African Journal of Business Management,7(34), 3272. Sup, A.H.M., 2015. Market analysis and development in Germany for a Dutch organization: a case study for 4Everyware Stocklots bv. Sweeney, R.A., 2009. A Strategic Analysis of Foot Locker, Inc. Wongleedee, K. 2015. Marketing mix and purchasing behavior for community products at traditional markets.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,197, 2080-2085. Zipser, B. 2014. Being held accountable to standards.Precedent (Sydney, NSW), (121), 2.

Corporate Development During The Industrial Revolution The Standard Oi

Corporate Development During the Industrial Revolution The Standard Oil Company founded by John D. Rockefeller and the U.S. Steel Company founded by Andrew Carnegie. The Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel Company were made successful in different ways due to the actions of their different owners. The companies differed in their labor relations, market control, and structural organization. In the steel industry, Carnegie developed a system known as vertical integration. This means that he cut out the middle man. Carnegie bought his own iron and coal mines because using independent companies cost too much and were inefficient. By doing this he was able to undersell his competetors because they had to pay the competitors they went through to get the raw materials. Unlike Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller integrated his oil business from top to bottom, his distinctive innovation in movement of American industry was horizontal. This meant he followed one product through all its stag es. For example, rockrfeller controlled the oil when it was drilled, through the refining stage, and he maintained control over the refining process turning it into gasoline. Although these two powerful men used two different methods of management their businesses were still very successful (Conlin, 425-426). Tycoons like Andrew Carnegie, "the steel king," and John D. Rockefeller, "the oil baron," exercised their genius in devising ways to circument competition. Although, Carnegie inclined to be tough-fisted in business, he was not a monopolist and disliked monopolistic trusts. John D. Rockefeller came to dominate the oil industry. With one upward stride after another he organized the Standard Oil Company, which was the nucleus of the great trust that was formed. Rockefeller showed little mercy. He believed primitive savagery prevailed in the jungle world of business, where only the fittest survived. He persued the policy of "ruin or rule." Rockefeller's oil monopoly did turn out a superior product at a relatively cheap price. Rockefeller belived in ruthless business, Carnegie didn't, yet they both had the most successful companies in their industries. (The American Pageant, pages 515-518) Rockefeller treated his customers in the same manner that Andrew Carnegie treated his workers: cruel and harsh. The Standard Oil Company desperately wanted every possible company to buy their products. Standard Oil used ruthless tactics when Rockefeller threatenedto start his own chain of grocery stores and put local merchants out of business if they did not buy oil from Standard Oil Company. Carnegie dealt with his workers with the same cold lack of diplomacy and consideration. Carnegie would encourage an unfriendly competition between two of his workers and he goaded them into outdoing one another. Some of his employees found working under Carnegie unbearable. These rivalries became so important to the employees that somedidn't talk to each other for years (McCloskkey , page 145). Although both Carnegie and Rockefeller created extermely successsful companies, they both used unscrupulous methods in some aspect of their corporation building to get to the top. The success of the Standard Oil Company and U.S. Steel company was credited to the fact that their owners ran them with great authority. In this very competetive time period, many new businesses were being formed and it took talented businessmen to get ahead and keep the companies running and make the fortunes that were made during this period. Terra Harnish Heather Rodgers Carly Wolfensberger BIBLIOGRAPHY Conlin, Joseph R. History of the U.S.: Our Land, Our Time. pp. 425-426. 1985. Bailey, Thomas A. and David M. Kennedy: The American Pageant. pp. 515-518. 1987. Latham, Earl: John D. Rockefeller; Robber Baron Or Industrial Statesman? (Problems in American Civilization Series). pg. 39. 1949. McCloskey, Robert Green: American Conservatism In The Age Of Enterprise 1865-1910. pg. 145. 1951.

SNCC book review essays

SNCC book review essays The evolution of SNCC is interesting because it began almost by accident but ended up having a profound effect not only on the Civil Rights movement but on multiple movements for change in the United States during that time, including the growing movement to protest the United State's involvement in Viet Nam. The book also makes an important point about historical movements: no one group will have all the answers any more than any one person will have all the answers. While Martin Luther King and his group, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, tends to get most of the credit for gaining civil rights for all, they did not do it alone, and sometimes SNCC's contributions both in their actions and in their evolving philosophy were crucial. The book is divided into three major parts: "Coming Together," "Looking Inward," and "Falling Apart." As the author analyzes the actions and thought processes of those involved in SNCC, he reveals a much more three-dimensional picture of the group than people might otherwise be aware of. While the SNCC ended up promoting ideas that were much more radical and confrontational than those of SCLC, those who shaped the group's philosophy were thoughtful, determined people, not just angry young firebrands ready to lash back at a system that had wronged them. The word "non-violent" in their name is not double-talk. They started out embracing a non-violent approach to ending segregation in the south (eventually focusing more on voter registration) and only accepted confrontation as part of their strategy when they realized that non-violence by itself would In the first section, "Coming Together," the author describes the first student sit-in at a lunch counter. Early in February of 1960, four Black students from a Black college in Greensboro, North Carolina, walked into a Woolworth's lunch counter and sat down. This was...

Excerpts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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African Slave Trade and West African Underdevelopment

African Slave Trade and West African Underdevelopment This paper looks at whether the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. The paper argues that the issue of African underdevelopment is extremely complex, including many factors, aside from the Atlantic slave trade, that have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the underdevelopment of Africa. The paper begins with a review of the slave trade, in terms of the numbers of people involved in this, and the immediate effects of this trade on local economies. The effects of this trade on importing economies is then reviewed, and it is shown that many importing countries benefited massively from this trade, through increased labour supply and through monetary gains which were then applied to developing industry in the importing countries. The repercussions of this industrial development are then discussed, in terms of its effects on Africa. The paper then moves on to look at the effect of the slave trade on Africa, in terms of the demographic imbalances this caused, and the effects this had on the development of African countries, in terms of social, political and economic development. The paper then moves on to look at the roles, and effects, of the colonial powers on African countries, in terms of exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the immediate and long-lasting effects this has had on Africa, and the continuing exploitation of Africa, through development loans, for example, which cripple the economies of many African countries, through the massive interest payments required, which leaves little money for investment to develop local industry, or social projects. The paper thus sees African underdevelopment as a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans. In addition to looking at the effects of the slave trade on African underdevelopment, the term ‘underdevelopment’ will be discussed in an African context. As will be seen, Rodney (1972) argues, in his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). The paper will conclude that capitalist exploitation of Africa began with the slave trade and continues to the present day and is, as we have see, the major factor that was, and continues to be, responsible for th e comparative underdevelopment of African nations. As we have argued, the slave trade per se did not contribute to the comparative underdevelopment of Africa, rather a complex mixture of exploitation, lack of opportunity, and capitalist interests contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa. It is estimated by Curtin (1969) that 9,566,100 slaves were exported from Africa to the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin, from it’s beginning in 1451 to when this trade ended in 1870. Many subsequent researchers have, however, provided evidence which shows that this figure is an under-estimation; for example, Stein (1978) has presented a figure some twenty per cent higher than Curtin’s (1969) estimation and Lovejoy (1982) used new calculations, and new shipping data, to put the figure at some 11,698,000. Whatever the exact figure, however, it is clear that demographically, this trade had a massive impact on West Africa, with Thornton (1980) showing that there are marked differences in economic, demographic, political and social development between slave-depleted areas, slave-importing areas and slave-trading areas. The debate that subsequently surrounded Curtin’s estimation of the number of people involved in the Atlantic slave trade has therefore i nvolved much more than a disagreement about numbers: it rests more, now, on whether the slave trade was actually a contributing factor in the current underdevelopment of West Africa. This paper expands the ideas presented by Curtin (1969), and Thornton (1980), looking at the social, economic and political effects of the slave trade on Africa. Rodney (1972; p9-10) argues very strongly that development is characterised by growth in economic production, equity in the distribution of social product and autonomy in control over social processes, and that, as such, underdevelopment is not a state that can be overcome as ‘backward’ societies move through the same stages of growth as ‘advances’ societies, as, instead, Rodney sees capitalist development and underdevelopment as two sides of the same coin (Legassick, 1976). Rodney argues strongly, throughout his book, for African capability, but argues that deeply rooted, externally imposed structural constraints prevented, and prevents, the further development of African society[1]; for example, he argues that what he terms the ‘determinative power’ of the colonial state was one factor that contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa, not necessarily, therefore, that it was the slave trade per se that contributed wholly to the underdeve lopment of West Africa; this argument is somewhat supported by Brett (1973), who argues strongly throughout his book that the colonial state presence prevented industrialisation in the East African countries he studied, arguing that resource allocation led to peasant agricultural systems becoming the dominant form of agriculture in these countries, for example. It is interesting, then, that both these authors see colonial rule (i.e., political structure) as being the dominant force shaping underdevelopment in Africa, with Brett (1973) arguing that this was the sole factor important in shaping underdevelopment, and Rodney (1972) arguing that colonial rule was but one factor shaping underdevelopment in Africa, in concert with, for example, the demographic skews caused by the slave trade. As such, as Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972) argue, the presence of a colonial power in Africa prevented the development of political structures which would have been conducive to a coherent and holistic development of an industrialised society in Africa; without a political structure which supported assessments of the international economy, from an African perspective, and without political power with an African interest, Africa was left high and dry, unable to develop on African terms, and left at the mercy of the colonial political power, who made decisions based on their own interests, not decisions that were best, in the short or long term, for Africa. The presence of the colonial power thus, itself, led to the underdevelopment of Africa, politically, which had, and continues to have (as we shall see) massive repercussions for African society, in terms of its economic and social development. This academic argument over the numbers of slaves involved in the slave trade shadows the massive scale of the problem: slaves were preferred to be between the ages of fifteen and thirty five, and more men were taken than women, at a ratio of 2:1, skewing the demographics of the towns and villages from where the slaves were taken (Rodney, 1972). As we have seen, 9,566,100 slaves were exported from Africa to the Americas and other parts of the Atlantic basin, from it’s beginning in 1451 to when this trade ended in 1870. Many subsequent researchers have, however, provided evidence which shows that this figure is an under-estimation; for example, Stein (1978) has presented a figure some twenty per cent higher than Curtin’s (1969) estimation and Lovejoy (1982) used new calculations, and new shipping data, to put the figure at some 11,698,000. Whatever the number of slaves that were exported, however, the slave trade essentially extracted all of the healthy men, of reproductive age from African countries involved in the slave trade: this, essentially, led to a lack of a suitable workforce with which to forge ahead with agricultural, social or technological developments, leading to a lack of internal development within Africa, which, couple with the import of cheap goods in to Africa from industrialising nations (i.e., the colonial powers) led to the death of the African manufacturing industry. This, coupled with the lack of a coherent African political power with a presence, and an influence in the region, led directly to the underdevelopment of African countries. In essence, due to the slave trade and the presence of the colonial power, Africa (African leaders) never had a chance to assess itself and to make decisions as to how to go forward and develop political, economic or social structures that would have led to econo mic success. This alone has contributed to the lag in development of Africa, if, indeed it is a lag, if Africa can ever come out of the underdeveloped state it is in, which is a moot point, and which many argue can never happen. This, in conjunction with the massive exploitation of Africa’s natural resources, such as oil, diamonds, bauxite, copper, by external companies (owned by individuals based within the colonial powers) seeking to make a profit from these resources has, many argue, doomed Africa to perpetual underdevelopment. This, in conjunction with ‘aid’ loans given by the World Bank, for example, which have left the economies of African countries in massive debt, with the interest, alone, crippling the economies of these countries, has, again, left Africa in a situation from which it is difficult to see a recovery, let alone a move towards any form of meaningful economic development. The raping of Africa: it’s people, it’s resources, it’s opportun ities, is therefore something that has been present throughout it’s history and which continues to the present day. Thus, not only did the Atlantic slave trade contribute to the underdevelopment of Africa, through the many routes that have already been discussed, but the colonial presence in Africa which led to the raping of Africa’s natural resources, and the domination of these natural resources by external, foreign, companies, has led directly to underdevelopment. These resources were not available for exploitation by Africans, and so Africans were not able to profit from these resources, and were not able to invest these profits in growing industry or technological developments. As such, many scholars argue, Africa was, by the very fact of the raping of its natural resources, doomed to underdevelopment. This coupled with crippling levels of debt that have been incurred through ‘developmental aid’ loans with unfairly high levels of interest, from previous colonial powers, has led to the continued underdevelopment of many African countries. Current campaigns to ‘drop th e debt’ in many African countries may, it has to be said, have come far too late to have much effect, especially when one considers the other, more deadly, scourge which is altering African demographics today: HIV, which, it is estimated, culls more of the African population in many African countries than was ever taken by the slave trade. This new demographic threat is even more deadly considering that drugs are available to treat the disease caused by this virus, but that the current colonial powers, and the companies that are protected by laws of these colonial powers, do not allow these drugs to be sold at a reasonable cost to Africa, essentially blocking off a route to treatment, and condemning a whole generation of Africans to death, and through this, condemning Africa to decades, if not centuries, of continued underdevelopment. In light of this historic pattern of the raping of Africa, perhaps the question should not be how did the slave trade contribute to Africa’s underdevelopment, but, rather, how did the imported slaves contribute to the rapid development of the host countries. For example, African slaves were used in gold and silver mining in the Americas, and certainly speeded up Europe’s technological development, with, for example, English ports involved in the slave trade, such as Liverpool, growing economically with the importing of slaves, and then this economic growth fuelling development in this region which, ultimately, led to the Industrial Revolution. Other specific examples from an English context include individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insuranc e following involvement in the slave trade. James Watt, of steam engine fame, also accepted money from slave traders to fund the development of his steam engine; without the slave trade, therefore, many technological developments in Europe, particularly England, would not have happened, and Europe, the world, would not be so well-developed. Imagine a world without the Industrial Revolution: it would, ironically, perhaps look something like Africa looks today. This simplistic analysis of the effects of the importing of slaves is just that: simplistic, but it shows, in rough terms, how the slave trade contributed to economic development and societal progress in the importing countries. This, then, fuelled the rise, the development, of these societies, at the expense of the exporting countries, fuelling longer and stricter periods of colonial rule in the exporting countries, and causing yet more underdevelopment in these countries. This process, in concert with massive demographic depletions, which left, realistically, no workforce in some regions of West Africa, contributed to the underdevelopment of these societies, economically, socially and politically, as, we have seen, is argued by Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972)[2]. In addition, as many current scholars argue, it was, perhaps is, the inability of African societies to come to terms with the consequences of the slave trade that has also held the development of Africa back in realistic terms. For example, many of the African slaves were actually sold to Europeans by Africans themselves, either African leaders or traders, who often conducted raids to collect (i.e., kidnap) suitable subjects for sale in to slavery. Some of these African slave traders became very rich on the profits of their trade, but, unlike in Europe, as we have seen, these traders did not invest their profits in African society or in technological developments; they simply used the money for personal gain and personal interests. The interests of African slave traders in the slave trade, and their reliance on this trade, was shown to be extremely strong following the discussions to abolish this trade; much of the opposition to abolition was from African slave traders themselves, wh o were worried that they would lose out on a massive source of income. Indeed, many did lose income from the Atlantic slave trade and then turned to internal slave trading as a means of generating income. Thus, the slave trade, whilst lessening in volume, did not cease entirely in many African countries, and continued to contribute to a disruption of local societies and to a lack of holistic development of social, political and economic forces within many African societies, in which the slave traders (often rulers, as we have seen) began to act, to take the role of, the colonial power, forging similar patterns of underdevelopment to those described by Brett (1973) for colonial powers in Africa. In addition, much of the profit from the slave trade made by African slave traders was not invested in infrastructure or social projects, or in planning for development through technological improvements; most of the profits, as we have seen, were invested in arms for warfare or in consumer goods. This flood of consumer goods, produced outside of Africa, in Europe for example, had the effect of destroying the few local industries there were, with the long-term effect of destroying many of the manufacturing industries in Africa and, as such, denying Africans the basic conditions for economic growth. The slave trade did not encourage African societies to enter in to the international economy in a positive way, rather it encouraged Western economic development, through, as we have seen, providing a source of labour and income, and by providing markets for some of the new products that were being produced by the Industrial Revolution. This paper will conclude, therefore, that the Atlantic slave trade did not per se cause underdevelopment in Africa, rather that the slave trade is but one piece of a complicated jigsaw of effects that, as a whole, forced Africa in to underdevelopment. The slave trade did take massive numbers of young males out of Africa, thus causing severe depletions in the African workforce, and meaning that the African population growth was curtailed for many years, through lack of breeding, for example[3]. In addition, the import of a workforce in to Europe caused inflations in the local economies at the importing ports, which had cascade effects on the local areas; the slave trade also meant that many individuals became rich, and were able to fund technological developments, which helped to fuel, in part, the Industrial Revolution, for example. This meant that the colonial powers could govern more effectively and for a more prolonged period; meaning that political and social systems of control w ere not developed internally within the African slave-importing countries, this itself fuelling years of political and social underdevelopment. Thus, many factors, not just the slave trade per se contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. A statement such as â€Å"the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa† is far too simplistic to describe the whole cascade of effects that were, have been, and continue to be important in the underdevelopment of West Africa. James Baldwin’s statement, â€Å"The past is what makes the present coherent, and the past will remain horribly incoherent for as long as we refuse to assess it honestly† is particularly apt for the current discussion of this issue. Scholars of different persuasions (whites vs. blacks, Marxists vs. non-Marxists etc) all have their own interpretations of this period of African history, but it is the responsibility of all mankind to assess this situation responsibly, to acknowledge the continued underdevelopment of Africa as a global, moral, responsibility of all humankind, and not to distort the past and use it to cause continued repression and underdevelopment of this continent. Recent plans, and recent events, for example, leading to the privatisation of water in many African countries is, for example, nothing more than a repeat of colonialism in Africa, a repeat of the raping of Africa, with foreign firms entering in to African economies and destroying them: water privatisation has been shown, for example, to devastate local economies, through ground-up failures in local businesses who can no longer afford to use water. That this has been allowed to happen is a travesty, an insult to Africa, and to all underdeveloped nations; it is a continuation of the exploitation of Africa, its people and its resources, that began at the time of the inception of the slave trade and which continues until the present day. It should ideally be that governments learn from their mistakes through analysis of historical records, not that these mistakes are hidden and repeated in future. As Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972) argue strongly, however, money talks more than moral resp onsibilities, and capitalism will always have two sides: one side that wins and another that loses, facing underdevelopment and poverty as a consequence of losing this battle. As we have seen, this paper has looked at whether the Atlantic slave trade contributed to the underdevelopment of West Africa. The paper has argued that the issue of African underdevelopment is extremely complex, including many factors, aside from the Atlantic slave trade, that have contributed, and continue to contribute, to the underdevelopment of Africa. The paper began with a review of the slave trade, in terms of the numbers of people involved in this, and the immediate effects of this trade on local economies. The effects of this trade on importing economies was then reviewed, and it was shown that many importing countries benefited massively from this trade, through increased labour supply and through monetary gains which were then applied to developing industry in the importing countries[4]. The repercussions of this industrial development were then discussed, in terms of its effects on Africa, showing that local industry was destroyed as a result of cheap imports of textiles, for example, following the manufacturing of this in England following the Industrial Revolution. The paper then moved on to look at the effect of the slave trade on Africa, in terms of the demographic imbalances this caused, and the effects this had on the development of African countries, in terms of social, political and economic development. It was shown that African economic development was held back directly, due to the lack of a workforce and the decline in population growth in Africa over the period the slave trade was active. The paper then moved on to look at the roles, and effects, of the colonial powers on African countries, in terms of exploitation of Africa’s natural resources and the immediate and long-lasting effects this has had on Africa, and the continuing exploitation of Africa, through development loans, for example, which cripple the economies of many African countries, through the massive interest payments required, which leaves little money for investment to develop local industry, or social projects. The paper thus concludes that African underdevelopment as a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans. The future is bleak for Africa, and it should be the responsibility of all mankind to act to improve the chances, the opportunities for, all African children, so that the cycle of underdevelopment is not repeated in future. Whether this will happen, however, is dependent on governments, who are run on capitalist principles, and as history has shown us, capitalist, whilst having its shining glories also has a very dark side, which is, essentially, underdevelopment. As we have seen, in light of this historic pattern of the raping of Africa, perhaps the question should not be how did the slave trade contribute to Africa’s underdevelopment, but, rather, how did the imported slaves contribute to the rapid development of the host countries. African slaves were used in gold and silver mining in the Americas, harvesting gold and silver, which was then used to develop these countries. Slavery also certainly speeded up Europe’s technological development, with, for example, English ports involved in the slave trade, such as Liverpool, growing economically with the importing of slaves, and then this economic growth fuelling development in this region, which, ultimately, led to the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution led the world in to industrialisation, or rather, those sections of the world which had political, economic and social systems in place to realise the implications of the Industrial Revolution and to jump on board of it before they got left behind and exploited. As we have seen, other specific examples from an English context include individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insurance following involvement in the slave trade. James Watt, of steam engine fame, also accepted money from slave traders to fund the development of his steam engine; without the slave trade, therefore, many technological developments in Europe, particularly England, would not have happened, and Europe, the world, would not be so well-developed. Thus, there is a direct line linking the slave trade with industrial development in the industrial world. Imagine a world without the Industrial Revolution: it would, ironically, perhaps look something like Africa looks today. That Africa was not part of this development, despite the fact that Africans he lped fuel this development is a cruelly ironic historical fact. This simplistic analysis of the effects of the importing of slaves is just that: simplistic, but it shows, in rough terms, how the slave trade contributed to economic development and societal progress in the importing countries. This, then, fuelled the rise, the development, of these societies, at the expense of the exporting countries, fuelling longer and stricter periods of colonial rule in the exporting countries, and causing yet more underdevelopment in these countries. This process, in concert with massive demographic depletions, which left, realistically, no workforce in some regions of West Africa, contributed to the underdevelopment of these societies, economically, socially and politically, as, we have seen, is argued by Brett (1973) and Rodney (1972). As we have seen, this paper thus concludes that African underdevelopment is a holistic problem, involving far more than the slave trade, and having far-reaching implications for future generations of Africans[5]. The future is bleak for Africa, and it should be the responsibility of all mankind to act to improve the chances, the opportunities for, all African children, so that the cycle of underdevelopment is not repeated in future. Whether this will happen, however, is dependent on governments, who are run on capitalist principles, and as history has shown us, capitalist, whilst having its shining glories also has a very dark side, which is, essentially, underdevelopment. As we have seen, Rodney argues that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). Capitalist exploitation of Africa began with the slave trade and continues to the present day and is, as we have see, the major factor that was, and continues to be, responsible for the comparative underdevelopment of African nations. As we have argued, the slave trade per se did not contribute to the comparative underdevelopment of Africa, rather a complex mixture of exploitation, lack of opportunity, and capitalist interests contributed to the underdevelopment of Africa. That this can be allowed to continue in to the present day is a blight on the whole of mankind, on everyone who allows this to happen, and on everyone who stands by whilst it happens. In this day and age, when children of eight years old have mobile phones and laptop computers in the ‘developed’ world, it is a travesty that many Africans are having to pay for their water, that many Africans die of AIDS because drug companies refuse to sell drugs to Africa at a reasonable cost, that the legacy of colonialism is still alive in Africa, causing continued suffering, death and exploitation. Africa, romantic, beautiful Africa, of sunsets and safaris, is more than that: it is a rich country, with strong cultures, the birthplace of mankind, and, as such, it deserves more than continued exploitation. Why should an African child’s life be worth less than an English child’s life? In this day and age this modern form of slavery, i.e., lack of opportunity, is as harmful as previous forms of slavery, if not more harmful, and is little more than a repeat of previous forms of slavery, in terms of condemning Africans to a life of misery whilst, all around, everyone else enjoys the benefits of development. Bibliography Brett, E.A., 1973. Colonialism and underdevelopment in East Africa: the politics of economic change. London: Heinemann Educational Books. Curtin, P.D., 1969. The Atlantic slave trade: a census. Madison: Wisconsin. Henige, D., 1986. Measuring the immeasurable: the Atlantic slave trade, West African population and the Pyrrhonian Critic. The Journal of African History 27(2), pp.295-313. Legassick, M., 1976. Review article: perspectives on African development. Journal of African History 17(3), pp.435-440. Lovejoy, P.E., 1982. The volume of the Atlantic slave trade. The Journal of African History 23(4), pp.473-501. Rodney, W., 1972. How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. London: Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications. Stein, R., 1978. Measuring the French slave trade 1713-1792/3. Journal of African history 19(4), pp.515-521. Thornton, J., 1980. The slave trade in eighteenth century Angola: effects on demographic structures. Canadian Journal of African Studies 14(3), pp.417-427. 1 Footnotes [1] In the same vein, Rodney argues that there is no such thing as ‘underdevelopment’, that underdevelopment is not an absence of development, rather that it can only be understood in the context of comparisons, of ‘more developed’ with ‘less developed’ nations, for example, and that it is best understood in the context of exploitation, as, for Rodney, most currently underdeveloped countries are also the countries that are exploited by others, through capitalist, imperialist or colonialist means (Rodney, 1972; p. 110-112). [2] As has been argued, the slave trade essentially extracted all of the healthy men, of reproductive age from African countries involved in the slave trade: this, essentially, led to a lack of a suitable workforce with which to forge ahead with agricultural, social or technological developments, leading to a lack of internal development within Africa, which, couple with the import of cheap goods in to Africa from industrialising nations (i.e., the colonial powers) led to the death of the African manufacturing industry. This, coupled with the lack of a coherent African political power with a presence, and an influence in the region, led directly to the underdevelopment of African countries. In essence, due to the slave trade and the presence of the colonial power, Africa (African leaders) never had a chance to assess itself and to make decisions as to how to go forward and develop political, economic or social structures that would have led to economic success. [3] Rodney, for example, in his book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa shows that whilst the population of Europe quadrupled over the period when the slave trade was functioning, the population of Africa grew by only twenty per cent. [4] For example, we have seen specific examples from an English context, including individuals who became wealthy through dealing in the slave trade who then used this money to set up successful firms; the Barclays, for example, used money earned from the slave trade to set up Barclays Bank, and Lloyds coffee house expanded in to Lloyds banking and insurance following involvement in the slave trade. We have also seen how James Watt, of steam en

personaliy theories :: essays research papers

1925 - present Theory Behaviorism, with its emphasis on experimental methods, focuses on variables we can observe, measure, and manipulate, and avoids whatever is subjective, internal, and unavailable -- i.e. mental. In the experimental method, the standard procedure is to manipulate one variable, and then measure its effects on another. All this boils down to a theory of personality that says that one’s environment causes one’s behavior. Bandura found this a bit too simplistic for the phenomena he was observing -- aggression in adolescents -- and so decided to add a little something to the formula: He suggested that environment causes behavior, true; but behavior causes environment as well. He labeled this concept reciprocal determinism: The world and a person’s behavior cause each other. Observational learning, or modeling Of the hundreds of studies Bandura was responsible for, one group stands out above the others -- the bobo doll studies. He made of film of one of his students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll. In case you don’t know, a bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock him down. Nowadays, it might have Darth Vader painted on it, but back then it was simply â€Å"Bobo† the clown. All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps involved in the modeling process: 1. Attention. If you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying attention. Likewise, anything that puts a damper on attention is going to decrease learning, including observational learning. If, for example, you are sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick, nervous, or â€Å"hyper,† you will learn less well. Likewise, if you are being distracted by competing stimuli. Some of the things that influence attention involve characteristics of the model. If the model is colorful and dramatic, for example, we pay more attention. If the model is attractive, or prestigious, or appears to be particularly competent, you will pay more attention. And if the model seems more like yourself, you pay more attention. These kinds of variables directed Bandura towards an examination of television and its effects on kids! 2. Retention. Second, you must be able to retain -- remember -- what you have paid attention to. This is where imagery and language come in: we store what we have seen the model doing in the form of mental images or verbal descriptions. personaliy theories :: essays research papers 1925 - present Theory Behaviorism, with its emphasis on experimental methods, focuses on variables we can observe, measure, and manipulate, and avoids whatever is subjective, internal, and unavailable -- i.e. mental. In the experimental method, the standard procedure is to manipulate one variable, and then measure its effects on another. All this boils down to a theory of personality that says that one’s environment causes one’s behavior. Bandura found this a bit too simplistic for the phenomena he was observing -- aggression in adolescents -- and so decided to add a little something to the formula: He suggested that environment causes behavior, true; but behavior causes environment as well. He labeled this concept reciprocal determinism: The world and a person’s behavior cause each other. Observational learning, or modeling Of the hundreds of studies Bandura was responsible for, one group stands out above the others -- the bobo doll studies. He made of film of one of his students, a young woman, essentially beating up a bobo doll. In case you don’t know, a bobo doll is an inflatable, egg-shape balloon creature with a weight in the bottom that makes it bob back up when you knock him down. Nowadays, it might have Darth Vader painted on it, but back then it was simply â€Å"Bobo† the clown. All these variations allowed Bandura to establish that there were certain steps involved in the modeling process: 1. Attention. If you are going to learn anything, you have to be paying attention. Likewise, anything that puts a damper on attention is going to decrease learning, including observational learning. If, for example, you are sleepy, groggy, drugged, sick, nervous, or â€Å"hyper,† you will learn less well. Likewise, if you are being distracted by competing stimuli. Some of the things that influence attention involve characteristics of the model. If the model is colorful and dramatic, for example, we pay more attention. If the model is attractive, or prestigious, or appears to be particularly competent, you will pay more attention. And if the model seems more like yourself, you pay more attention. These kinds of variables directed Bandura towards an examination of television and its effects on kids! 2. Retention. Second, you must be able to retain -- remember -- what you have paid attention to. This is where imagery and language come in: we store what we have seen the model doing in the form of mental images or verbal descriptions.

Marketing Plan for Snap Fitness Essay

Executive Summary With today’s society stressing a greater demand for flexibility, and ease of access to goods and services, a trend has emerged for extended trading hours for service organizations. One of the main profiteers of this trend is gym franchises. With over 1 billion people in the global population being overweight, and the still present economic uncertainty leading to longer working hours for most people, there is a demand for less rigid opening and closing hours of gyms. Consequently, the boom of the 24 hour gym came about. 3C’s Analysis The following section contains an analysis of the company, customer and competitors of Snap Fitness. Analysis of the Company The Snap Fitness franchise has become a global leader within the budget health club industry since starting in 2003. It has since established a large client base of over 1 million members in over 2000 clubs worldwide and 100 clubs throughout Australia (Sloan, 2014). Snap Fitness provides a 24/7 service with limited staffed contact hours ranging from 30 to 40 hours per week, and utilises a â€Å"no-contract† payment system. Additional services include high quality targeted fitness classes, nutritional consultation and access to accredited Personal Trainers. Snap Fitness was ranked by Entrepreneur Magazine as No.1 â€Å"Best in Category’ for fitness franchises in 2009. As well, Inc. Magazine at No. 16 on its annual â€Å"Inc 500† which is a list ranked by Inc Magazine of privately owned businesses. (Snap Fitness, 2014) Customer Analysis A gym can essentially recruit any type of person interested in fitness to sign up because of the variety of services offered, such as weights, cardio machines, group fitness sessions, dieticians etc.. This being said, 60-70% of Snap Fitness customers in Australia are already â€Å"experienced gym users who just want to get in and get started† upon joining (Australian Leisure, 2010). This leaves around 30-40% of members to be inexperienced gym users  that will require help getting started, whether this is by group fitness sessions or personal training sessions. Snaps Fitness offers low prices and the gyms are open 24/7 meaning potential Snap Fitness members are seeking convenience rather than quality. Snap Fitness doesn’t have facilities such as saunas and pools etc. that other gyms such as Fitness First regularly feature and the size of these gyms are smaller in comparison to other big gyms such as Goodlife, and Genesis. This means that Snap Fitness will generally attract people who work out recreationally a few times a week as opposed to a bodybuilder who is training for competitions and would benefit from these additional services. In Australia 13% of the total adult population participate in fitness activities. Within this segment the most significant demographic is the age group bracket is 15 to 34 years in both the female and male segments and females aged 34 to 54 years. Overall there is greater female (16% of the population) participation then male (9.4% of the population) across all age brackets (Australian Bureau, 2009). Analysis of the Competitor With the market for gym-goers being so extensive, there exists steep competition between gyms for patrons. One such competitor of Snap Fitness is Jetts gym. A membership with Jetts is slightly more expensive than Snap, costing $13.95 per week, with an additional joining fee of $89 and $59 for an access card. Jetts also offer an advance 12 month membership, costing $549, paid in one lump sum at the time of joining. Jetts offers its members 24/7 access to all of its 200+ clubs in Australia with the use of the swipe card, delivering a high level of convenience for its members (see figure 1.2). However with Jetts, as opposed to Snap Fitness, once the card is registered in the security system, no further registration is required to gain entry to multiple clubs – the card is usable immediately, creating convenience for its members. (Jetts, 2014) However, unlike Snap Fitness, Jetts has no member benefits to retail outlets or other service centres. Jetts has received a Canstar award t wo years running. For the years of 2012 and 2013, Jetts was voted as the No.1 gym chain in Australia for customer satisfaction. (Jetts, 2014) Another similarly competitive gym is Stepz. As well as operating 24/7, Stepz is entirely Australia owned, with clubs only within Australia. While this, to some people, would be a selling point, it  also poses a threat to Stepz whereby is creates less convenience for its patrons by having fewer clubs members can attend (see figure 1.2). (Stepz, 2014) A Stepz Memberships costs $13 a week, with a one-off joining fee of $89, payable upfront and an access card fee of $55, with which the member has access to any Stepz club Australia-wide. (Stepz, 2014) As too with Jetts, Stepz has no membership perks for gym members that exist outside the gym, i.e., retail discounts, etc. Stepz employs a tactic whereby the number of members allowed to enrol in each club is limited. This is done to provide the members with a more personalized service, and the staff can cater to the members needs more specifically. Also, by limiting the number of patrons, it ensures that there will rarely be a wait time to use gym equipment. (Stepz, 2014) In today’s market, there exist other types of rival services in the gym racket. Not gyms that offer round-the-clock service, rather gyms that cater specifically to the specialty needs of their patrons – gyms such as Curves. Curves is a specially designed gym catering explicitly to the needs of women. Founded in 1992 in Texas, today Curves has clubs in over 70 countries, with over 300 clubs in Australia alone. Curves is the largest company being analysed in this competitor analysis (see figure 1.2). Memberships at Curves cost $18.24 a week, with a $149 joining fee. By far – out of Snap, Jetts and Stepz – Curves is the most expensive gym (see figure 1.1). However, Curves, unlike the others, has tailor-made programs targeted directly at women, for women, by women. This creates a community among the club members and enables the staff and trainers of Curves to have a competitive edge in the service industry, offering a one-of-a-kind service catering only to the needs of women. (Curves, 2014) Gyms such as Curves and Contours (another gym aimed specifically at the needs of women) has created a whole new market segment, which poses a threat to existing generic gyms, and even those that are 24 hours. Gyms that are specially designed for women may take business away from other gyms such as Snap, as a result of such gyms not exhibiting greater dedication or focus to individual needs of groups in the market segment (ie. Female gym-goers). Analysis of the 4P’s: Product Membership entitles the user access to all the gym equipment (including  cardio and weights), group workout sessions and, one initial free PT introduction session with a qualified instructor including; a weight and measure, guidance while using machines and an initial workout plan. Optional membership add-ons include PT sessions, consults with a qualified dietician and 8 week challenges. Price Single membership, joint membership and family memberships are available. The price for single membership is $25 a fortnight; this currently includes group workout sessions and access to all types of training equipment. Joint and family memberships are generally charged at a discounted rate such as $17 each a fortnight for a family membership consisting of a husband and wife. A membership with Snap is not a lock-in contract, and in addition to the fortnightly fee there is a one-off joining fee of $99, paid upfront and a further $29 for the Snap access card. Place A typical location for a Snap Fitness outlet is a high profile business strip or mall, with cafes, small convenience stores and a post office. Locations normally have access to close parking and provide a well lit exterior to ensure the safety of clients using the premise during irregular hours. Currently the most successful Snap Fitness business is located in Milton and through location analysis it was found that Snap Fitness Strathpine also possesses many of these important location characteristics (Australian Leisure, 2010). Promotion Snap Fitness promotes itself as a convenient (open 24/7 and membership grants access to any Snap Fitness location) and budget gym with a focus on physical wellbeing of young adults. Snap Fitness often has one core promotion consisting of a limited, one time offer of free joining and 1 week free gym access. If this offer is not running potential members do still get a free one day trial. Snap Fitness also have offers for current gym members such as â€Å"refer a friend† and get a month free. A consistent message present throughout promotional material is that there are no membership contracts. This means that if a member wants to leave it is a simple process and will be no cancellation fee. With a gym membership to Snap Fitness Strathpine, the member receives perks from organizations affiliated with Snap Strathpine. These benefits include a buy one, get one free scheme at the Strathpine Hyperbowl bowling alley, a 10% discount at Mega Choice and Mega Party variety stores, lunch deals at Outback Jacks Bar & Grill, and more. (Snap Fitness, 2014) Analysis of Customer Service Strategies (People/Processes) Quality customer service is key to an organisations survival in today’s market. For gym owners, the revenue source is in direct proportion to the membership base; i.e., if gym owners aren’t able to get people through the door, their profits will plummet. In order to ensure a gym maintains a competitive edge in the fitness industry, it is essential to provide a consistent level of high quality customer service. This plays a crucial role in member acquisition and retention. It is imperative that the quality of customer service is always top priority, to ensure repeat customers and positive word-of-mouth. (Fagan, 2013) A recent study has shown that customer referrals is the main reason why new customers hear about a business, or come into the business – with 30% of people stating a current member referred them. (Lewis, 2014) Snap Fitness offers a variety of customer services, such as being open 24 hours; having friendly, qualified staff; efficient handling of complaints; strong community presence through social initiatives and business partnerships; no lock-in contracts; 24 hour security surveillance; member benefits (i.e., retail discounts); and having innovative facilities to ensure convenience and comfort for members, such as having access to treadmills, cross trainers, rowing machines, free weights, shower and change rooms, bathroom amenities, stretching areas and group fitness rooms. (Snap, 2014) Snap’s main customer service strategies are promotions with neighbouring establishments, corporate tie ups, and social media facets. In March of this year, Peter Taunton, CEO of Snap Fitness, launched an initiative to coincide with National Public Health Week in the US. With word driven by the force of social media outlets, Snap Fitness, starting April 7, was offering seven days of free workouts, with no further obligations to Snap. This complimentary week was offered in support of public health and to get people motivated, and get potential members through  the door. (Taunton, 2014) With a strong presence within the community through ongoing social initiatives and partnerships with neighbouring establishments and other corporations, Snap fitness consolidates its standing as a people-friendly gym with a community-orientated outlook, making itself as attractive as possible for potential members. Analysis of the Service Environment One of the most significant problems Snap Fitness faces is during peak training times when the facilities are prone to becoming overcrowded (more demand than supply of equipment). Gym users dislike this mainly because of waiting times for machines and weights, and as a result some will completely avoid these peak times favouring a more secluded training environment. This is a difficult issue to resolve as Snap Fitness always wants more members, but at the same time if too many members are at the gym at a certain time members can become unsatisfied. Another issue with Snap Fitness is their process of making the entry cards inactive. It was found through a sentiment analysis (appendices) identified card denial as a significant area of dissatisfaction amongst users as often they have to come back during manned hours to resolve the problem. This problem stems from direct debits not clearing and is made worse by the fact that clients aren’t notified when this occurs (appendices blu eprint). Members of Snap Fitness have had to travel to the gym and be denied access, before realizing their card has been made inactive. A minor issue Snap Fitness faces is that its front counter is not always manned even during staffed hours. There are windows of time when all personal trainers who are in the gym are on the floor with clients, this could be for many reasons including assisting with a workout or maintenance to the facility. During this time if someone calls the gym or comes in to enquire about joining there may be no one available to meet these requests. This can lead to missed opportunities in gaining new clients, and a reputation for bad customer service. Recommendations In relation to the issue of equipment use during a session, one of the most viable solutions is to implement peak and off peak membership options. The way this would work is for people who choose to go to the gym during peak times would pay the rates currently being offered and would be able to also  go to the gym in off peak times. The members who purchase off peak membership are allowed access to the gyms at off peak hours for a discounted membership price. These members have the choice to attend during peak times when they swipe their card to enter the gym, however a small fee will be charged to their fortnightly bill enabling the membership to be flexible. It is worth noting that Snap Fitness aims to be a cheap, convenient gym, so without the option of expanding and adding more equipment, this is one of the best ways to encourage members to train at different times and prevent an overcrowded gym. The issue of card access can easily be solved through a change in the communication process meaning gym members should be informed if their payment doesn’t clear prior to the card being deactivated. This could be done by an automated text message or a phone call from a staff member at the gym. When a payment is declined Snap Fitness members should be given time (48 hours would be appropriate) to resolve this issue and make the payment. If a member still fails to make the payment after this 48 hour window they should then be informed that their card will no longer permit access to the gym until a payment is made. This will ensure members are always informed of when their payments don’t clear and if a member is unable to make this payment they can then contact Snap Fitness and work out a different payment method. A way for the manned counter be solved is having very clearly defined hours designated to man the desk (clear signage of hours at the shop front and on all adver tisement material including pamphlets). During this time there would always be someone answer phone calls and talk to people who physically enter the gym to respond to questions about joining. This way it’s clear when it is appropriate to enter the gym to ask questions in person and when the best time to call up would be. Phone messages should be kept track of and returned during these staffed desk hours to ensure all customer enquiries are being answered in a timely manner. From the evaluation conducted the recommendation with the most benefit would be introducing a distinction between on and off peak membership. This strategy could attract a lot of new members because people who train at off peak times at other gyms would see how cheap this option is and consider transferring. People already signed up to Snap Fitness could also be  interested in cheaper memberships and could change their workout times from on peak to off peak, which would reduce some of the clutter in the gym. This would then help to reduce overcrowded gyms during peak times, which would then increase the enjoyment of on peak members because they would have less waiting time for equipment. Currently the gym is often close to empty at off peak times and having this extra influx of people there at these odd hours is extra money Snap Fitness could capitalize on with its 24/7 system. Appendices Appendices 1: Price positioning map High Price Curves Snap Fitness Jetts Stepz Low Price Appendices 2: Size positioning map Large in size Curves Snap Jetts Stepz Small in size Small in size Appendices 3: SWOT Analysis SWOT Analysis Strengths Weakness Large established client base Known brand name Customised workouts Well trained staff/ PT’s Open 24/7 Can go to any Snap Fitness centre No contracts – monthly payment plan Yoga & fitness classes Range of machine types 7 day trial period Accredited dietician Lockers to secure valuables 8 week challenge programs – club bonding Limited staff resources – not always manned Waiting times for equipment in peak times Smaller gym – less equipment, space and more demand on staff Opportunities Threats Potential partnerships/ sponsors – currently have some with local businesses (e.g. cafe discount) New membership types e.g. based on consumption times/types Paying for one group class without buying a membership Additional services e.g. Steam room, juice bar New health trends – types of classes offered e.g. Zumba Community orientation Expand existing complexes Discounts for locals Widespread competition such as home gyms and other similar companies such as Jetts Unmotivated staff Decreased interest in fitness Being a small, budget gym expansion opportunities could deter clients as they prefer a smaller business Original Service Blueprint Within this blueprint several key bottlenecks were identified, these include contacting the gym Booking into sessions Equipment usage Updated Service Blueprint Reference List About Us – Overview. (2014). Retrieved 4th May, 2014, from http://www.curves.com.au/about-curves/ About Us. (2014). Retrieved 1st May, 2014, from http://www.snapfitness.com.au/about-us/ About Us. (2014). Retrieved 4th May, 2014, from http://stepzfitness.com.au/about-us/ Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2009). Feature article 2: health and fitness centres and gymnasia (no. 4156.0.55.001). Canberra, Australia. Australian Leisure: Snap Fitness Plans for 200 Clubs. (2010). Retrieved from Current Levels of Customer Satisfaction at a CrossFit Gym. Digital Commons @ USU. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1241&context=gradreports Curves Community. (2014). Retrieved 4th May, 2014, from http://www.curves.com.au/community/ Fagan, L. (2013, October 4). What is gym customer service? Retrieved from http://blog.gyminsight.com/2013/10/what-is-gym-customer-service/ http://global.factiva.com.libraryproxy.griffith.edu.au/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=NLJ00000 20140217ea2h0000q&cat=a&ep=ASE http://www.ausleisure.com.au/news/snap-fitness-plans-for-200-clubs Lewis, S. (2013). An Online Customer Service Survey to Determine Memberships. (2014). Retrieved 4th May, 2014, from http://stepzfitness.com.au/memberships/ Prices. (2014). Retrieved 3rd May, 2014, from http://www.jetts.com.au/prices Public Health Week. Retrieved from