Michelangelo Buonarroti Essay -- essays research papers fc

Michelangelo Buonarroti   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo Buonarroti was born in 1475. He was born in a small town called Caprese, in Tuscany, Italy. Michelangelo was one of the most famous artists of the Italian Renaissance. According to Charles de Tolnay Michelangelo's three greatest works of his later life, were the Tomb of Pope Julius II, the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the Medici Chapel(37).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo's specialty was painting the human body unclothed. In order to learn to paint the human body so well he would dissect human corpses. His artistic talents were noticed at a very early age. Michelangelo went to study with Domenico Ghirlandago, who taught him about painting. He then went on to work with Donatello to learn about sculpture. Between the years of 1490-1492 Michelangelo lived in the house of Lorenzo de' Medici and was influenced by Neoplatonic thought. Some of Michelangelo's early painting showed the influence of Giotto and Masaccio. Also many of his early sculptures show the influence of Donatello (Columbia University Press) .   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo's artistic career can be divided into two periods. In the early period he focused on realism. During this early period Michelangelo's works included the â€Å"Pieta† and the â€Å"David.† At the age of 24 he completed a statue called the â€Å"Pieta,† showing the dead Jesus Christ in his mother's arms. In 1501 Michelangelo returned to Florence, Italy to sculpt the famous nude sculpture called the â€Å"David.† The â€Å"David† measures 18 feet tall, and is so massive that it took 40 men to move it from Michelangelo's workshop(World Book 5016)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second period of Michelangelo's career was based upon his imagination. In 1505 Michelangelo was summoned by Pope Julius II to fabricate his tomb. Michelangelo was so excited about making the tomb for the Pope that he spent many months looking for the perfect piece of marble to make the tomb. A short time after starting the tomb Pope Julius II selected Michelangelo to decorate the Sistine Chapel ceiling.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Sistine Chapel is in the palace of The Vatican in Rome. The Sistine Chapel was built by Pope Sixtus IV in 1473. The Sistine Chapel ceiling took over four years to complete, 1508-1512. Michelangelo was able to accomplish this enormous job in such a short amou... ...ecause of Michelangelo's unhappiness with the Pope it caused him not to express his true feelings to the Pope. This made Michelangelo more upset and frustrated. Michelangelo's relationship with the Pope became a vicious cycle(Liebert 152).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Michelangelo was one of the most recognized artists of the Italian Renaissance. He was a great sculptor, painter, writer, and poet. He was a true Renaissance man. One of his best works was the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Even though he was unhappy with the outcome of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, the ceiling turned out to be magnificent List Of Works Cited De Tolnay, Charles. The Art and Thought of Michelangelo. New York:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Random House, 1964 Janson, H.W. History of Art. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1966. Liebert, Robert S MD. Michelangelo, A Psychoanalytic Study of His Life   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  and Images. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1983. â€Å"Michelangelo.† Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. Online.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Columbia University Press, 1994. â€Å"Michelangelo.† The World Book Encyclopedia. 1959. Vol. XI.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  pages 5015-5016.

A Semiotic Approach on How Meaning Can Be Created in an Audience

A Semiotic Approach on How Meaning can Be Created In An Audience â€Å"Human intellectual and social life is based on the production, use, and exchange of signs† (Danesi, 2002) As Danesi (2002) states, signs are an integral part of society; from watching television, listening to music, reading, writing or talking, we are engaged in sign based behaviour. This engagement with signs is known as the study of semiotics.Dating back to 460-377BC, with the founder of Western medical science, Hippocrates, coining the term, then known as semeiotics, he described signs consisting of three dimensions; the physical dimension, known as the signifier, the referent, or signified, and the signification (Danesi, 2002). These dimensions only have meaning when â€Å"it has someone to mean to† (Williamson, 1978). In the 20th century, semiotic theory was developed by a group of semioticians, linguists, psychologists and cultural theorists, based on the saussurean-Piercean paradigm (Danesi, 2 002).First introduced to the public in the 1950’s by Roland Barthes, to describe our mediated culture, semiotics is essential when creating an advertisement. Among other things, semiotics plays a significant role in engaging the intended audience- the buyer. Whether it is the elderly, teens, children, men or women, the placement of colours, text, images and other signs, play a key role in the success of the advertisement (Scott, 1994).By taking a semiotic approach, this essay will demonstrate how meaning can be created in an audience, by the analysis of two advertisements, and discussing how codes and context are central in the ‘anchoring’ of meaning. First introduced by Roland Barthes (1977), the notion of anchorage, discusses the linguistic essentials that can help anchor, or constrain, how a reader interprets an image: â€Å"to fix the floating chain of signifieds† (Barthes, 1977). The advertisements chosen are from differing and contrasting magazines; the first from iconic fashion magazine Vogue and the other from a men’s magazine, Men’s Health.These differing genres have been chosen to illustrate how contexts and codes within specific social relations, groups, classes, institutions, structures and things (Thwaites, Davis and Mules, 2002) play an integral role in creating meaning (Scribd, 2012). Much of what we have come to understand about society, is learnt from the texts that are presented around us; through Hollywood blockbusters, to novels and magazines. Chandler concludes that â€Å"life is thus lived through texts and framed by texts to a greater extent than we are normally aware of† (Chandler, 2001).This means that advertisements not only refer to ‘real world’ concepts that we deal with day to day, but they also make reference to other texts. The level of this ‘intertextuality’ (Fiske, 1987) is what influences social beliefs and ideals in the world we live in. The advertiseme nt from Vogue (See ad 1) features a sepia- colour scheme, with an alluring female to the right, and a bottle of ‘j’adore Dior’ perfume, to the left. Many signifiers are present in this advertisement; the female (Charlize Theron), is dressed in an elegant gold beaded dress, with a high beaded neckline, drawing the viewers eye to her strong jaw-line and bronzed face.Her pose is that of elegance and power, the background light shining around her slim figure. The colour of the clothing, and overall image, compliment the golden-sepia tone of the bottle of perfume on the left. Chandeliers are placed around the perfume bottle, and out of focus behind the woman. The signifieds present are; the gold dress giving an impression of the woman being a high profile member of society of, chandeliers are present in homes of the wealthy and the sepia tones represent warmth. By using a female of celebrity status, the advertisements appeal rises with the wider female audience, due t o her known status.The key connotations featured in this advertisement are; the gold coloured dress connotes wealth, elegance and popularity. The powerful and elegant stance of the woman connotes power a female will gain when wearing this fragrance. Due to her celebrity status, the audience can also feel empowered, with a ‘celebrity’ status. The sepia tones connote warmth, and invite the viewer to become involved with the advertisement. Along with the bronzed body of the woman, the French writing j’adore (meaning I love) adds an essence of romance, and connotes desire, and sex appeal.As the ad connotes power, it is open for both upper and lower/middle class woman to interpret. Upper class woman could strive to maintain power, whilst lower class desire to gain power, by using the product. The way the creators of the ad have placed the female in this position, in these surroundings, to represent the product, has been done deliberately to target the desired audience ; woman have a desire to feel beautiful, powerful, and sexy, therefore the creator has appropriately placed the advertisement in a women’s very well known and popular fashion magazine, to gain maximum results from the targeted audience.Leiss (1990) states that â€Å"at the core of advertising’s purposes now is not the message itself as a communicator of meaning, but rather its relationship to the audience† (Leiss et al. , 1990). With the development of the theory of marketing segmentation, it is logical to therefore conclude that creators of advertisements don’t focus on the product, but the signs and codes that connate particular meanings of positivity that are related to a certain lifestyle, culture, or social group (Scribd, 2012).The connotations pervade media representations, and symbolise psychological or social themes and situations that are familiar and understandable to the audience (Danesi, 2002), in order to successfully sell the product. The ad vertisement from the Men’s Health (see ad 2), is selling ‘Tom Ford Perfume’. This somewhat controversial ad has many key signifiers. The male figure lying on a bed is the predominant focus, followed by a female hand with red nail polish touching the male’s chest. The object that is being advertised is only shown as a half.The basic colour scheme is black and white, with the exception of the red nail polish and orange cologne bottle. The signifieds present are; the male is an essential selling point of the advertisement, therefore he takes up the majority of the page. Sex appeal is what the advertiser is trying to convey, and the glimpse of a female hand can be seen as elegant and flirty. The key connotations are; the male figure as desirable and powerful- every woman would want an intimate connection with him. The red fingernails connote passion, desire, lust, and a thirst for action (Danesi, 2002).By using this cologne, the advertisement connotes that the user will become the ultimate object of desire, playing in to the male want of intimate connections with females. As the male figure has ‘sex appeal’ the advertisement encourages the partner of a male to purchase the fragrance, so she could have a ‘sexy’ male partner. The orange tone of the cologne bottle connotes warmth, stimulating the senses. When producers try to convey certain meanings, audiences may or may not assign the same meanings (Littlejohn, 1996).As mentioned in the first analysis, the advertisement is open to other audiences, whilst the male cologne ad is more closed, but it is up to the reader to decide whether or not they belong to the context or not. Signs are combined in to texts, but a text has no meaning on its own (Smagorinsky, 2001). It draws value from surrounding elements and from reader association, but also from what it is not (Littlejohn, 1998). The amalgamation of these creates the context in which the text functions; if you are n’t a wearer of perfume or cologne, you will have no interest in what it is trying to sell you, hence the importance of context.Thwaites and colleagues (2002) mention that â€Å"the social situations in which a sign is used may determine the appropriate content, type of sign and coding; signs contextual functions indicate the context in which it operates (Thwaites, Davis and Mules, 2002). Chandler explains that Stuart Hall pointed to the role of social positioning in the interpretation of mass media texts by different social groups (Chandler, 2001). Hall also suggested three hypothetical models of interpretive codes or positions for the reader of a text (Hall, 1980). But what Hall and also Chandler miss, is what happens when you don’t understand an advertisement at all?Because, as Griffin says; â€Å"like chameleons that take on the colouration of their environment, words take on their meaning of the context in which they are used† (Griffin, 2000). The opinion that the usefulness of semiotics decreases and is above all dependant on the skill of the interpreter is not new. Leiss (1990) argues that a key drawback for semiotics is that â€Å"it is heavily dependent upon the skill of the individual analyst† (Leiss, 1990). Less skilful analysts â€Å"can do little more than state the obvious in a complex and often pretentious manner† (Leiss, 1990).As Littlejohn (1996) states â€Å"meanings of a message are affected by events outside the message itself†, therefore the most successful advertisements focus on making sure the audience understands the content being conveyed (codes) and the content lays emphasis on certain meanings over others (context). In this perspective, the kind of magazine reflects how meanings are emphasised. Bignell (1997) even argues that â€Å"as well as being a collection of signs, the magazine is a sign in itself† (Bignell, 1997), the magazine is therefore a â€Å"powerful ideological forceâ €  (McRobbie, 2000) in society.Even though some postmodernists believe that texts are endlessly polysemic (Barthes 1977, Fiske 1987), meanings are still able to be communicated. Leiss (1990) argues that â€Å"for advertising to create meaning, the reader or viewer must do some ‘work’, because the meaning is not lying there on the page, one has to make an effort to grasp it† (Leiss et al, 1990). When analysing both of these advertisements, this statement is correct- the creators of the ad have given the reader ‘A and C’ but the reader must fill in the blank, or as it is known in this example, B.The application of semiotics in advertising varies significantly depending on the product being sold. Common themes almost always stay the same- the sense of freedom or excitement you get from purchasing a specific car or the feeling of popularity when you drink a certain type of alcohol (Messaris, 1997). This is done by using specific images, which resonate with the intended audience. For example, if there is an advertisement for a new Jeep, images of it going through all types of terrain will be shown, or alcoholic beverages are advertised at a party scene, all to make the audience want to buy the product (Messaris, 1997).As Chandler and Bignell suggest, signs and codes can be a medium itself, and described by Leiss (1990) â€Å"an ad is a mediator between creator and reader, standing at the confluence of the double symbolic process in the marketplace, where producers of goods try to attempt to construct one set of meanings, and where consumers use these meanings (along with meanings drawn from other sources) in the construction of their own lifestyles† (Leiss et al. , 1990).This is why semiotics is significant, even on a basic level, as it can show us how meanings have the ability to both construct and maintain particular social attitudes and ideals of a specific society. On a multifaceted level, the notion of intertextuality is intriguing and should be studied more widely as it exposes the many intricate ways in which contexts transfer from each other, showing how the contexts migrate from one another and portray the uncertainty of meaning. Appendix Ad 1. Ad 2. Bibliography Barthes, R. 1977, Image-Music-Text, London. Bignell, J. 1997, Media Semiotics: An Introduction, Manchester: Manchester University Press.Chandler, D (2001), â€Å"Semiotics, the basics†, Routledge. Culler, J. 1985, Saussure, London. Danesi, M. 2002, ‘An Outline of Semiotic Theory’, In Understanding Media Semiotics, London, pp 28-53. Dior, 2012, (‘Dior Advertisement’), Vogue Magazine, June 2012, pp. 1-2. Fiske, J. 1987, â€Å"Intertextuality† in Fiske, J, Television culture, Methuen Griffin, E. 2000, Communication; a first look at communication theory, McGraw-Hill. Hall, S, 1980, Encoding/decoding, In Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies (Ed. ): Culture, Media, Language: Working Papers in Cu ltural Studies, London. Leiss, W. Kline, S. & Jhally S. , 1990, Social Communication in Advertising: Persons, Products and Images of Well-Being, 2nd Edn, London. Littlejohn, S. 1996, Theories of Human Communication, 5th Edn, Wadsworth. McRobbie, A. 1995, Feminism and Youth Culture, 2nd edition, Macmillan Press, London. Messaris, P. 1997, Visual Persuasion: The Role of Images in Advertising, Sage. Scott, M. 1994, ‘Images in Advertising: The need for a Theory of Visual Rhetoric, Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 21 No. 2, pp. 252-273. Scribd 2012, Scribd, Date Accessed 25 May 2012, http://www. scribd. om/doc/22099314/Semiotic-analysis-of-two-ads? &lang=en_us&output=json&session-id=74ea6fd65172766fface3eec2d5bfb14. Smagorinsky, P. 2001,’ If meaning is constructed, what is it made from? Toward a cultural theory of reading’, Review of Educational Research, vol. 71, pp. 133-169. Tom Ford, 2010, (‘Tome Ford Advertisement’), Men’s Hea lth Magazine, March 2010, pp. 2. Thwaites, T. , Davis, L. & Mules, W. 2002, Introducing Cultural and Media Studies; a semiotic approach, New York. Williamson, J. 1978, Decoding Advertisements; Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, London.

Mcdonalds Operating Strategy Essay

Introduction McDonald?  ¦s, first started by Ray Krov, is now one of the most popular fast food restaurants across the world. They proudly serve more than 46 million customers in 59 different countries and have more than 30,000 different locations domestically and internationally (Food Service). The fast food industry is booming at a rapid rate, especially the healthy trend, with this in mind, McDonald?  ¦s has strategically plan to stay on top of their competitors by providing consumers with more options of healthy meals, cheaper prices, and better service. McDonald? ¦s is competitive in many categories; examples are price, quality, management and employee training, other categories will be explained throughout the preceding sections. Consumers trust McDonald?  ¦s products because they use many of the same trusted brands that families buy at local grocery stores. The only difference is that their shopping cart is a whole lot bigger. OPERATIONS COMPETITIVE STRATEGY McDonald?  ¦s Corporation competes in a challenging market segment by providing need-satisfying products to customers. In this segment, ineffective competitors often fail without proper strategies . To sustain its viability, the McDonald?  ¦s corporation employs an effective competitive strategy to make it stand out against competitors such as other fast food restaurants. McDonald?  ¦s competes on several bases, including cost, speed, and nutrition, their strongest priority is ?  §making customers happy (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 3). The company recently made drastic changes to its process by introducing the ?  §Made for You system (Chase). Competition Bases Speed McDonald?  ¦s competes on several bases mainly to ?  §make their customers happyby providing speedy, affordable, and nutritious foods. Through extensive market research and survey, the organization discovered that its customers desire speed as one of the restaurants?  ¦ top priorities. Therefore, McDonald?  ¦s vision aims to ?  §provide fast, friendly and accurate service (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 5). McDonald?  ¦s realizes that specific targets are necessary to measure the performance of speed, and continuously takes relevant measurements to compare actual performance with desired targets (measurements are detailed later in this report in the ?  §Quality Managementsection). To achieve efficient service times, the company utilizes proven, standardized training processes for its employees and new drive-thru layouts to reduce service times. Along with speed, McDonald?  ¦s also competes by offering prices at a low cost. Cost To offer high quality products at low cost, requires efficient processes throughout the entire McDonald?  ¦s organization. Once again, this goal is built into their vision statement when they claim that ?  §We will be the most efficient provider so that we can be the best value to the most people (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 5). McDonald? ¦s incorporates several avenues to provide great value to its customers: ? XOne strategy that the company has employed for many years is the value meal. The value meal allows customers to buy a sandwich, french fries, and beverage at a discount when purchased together. McDonald?  ¦s restaurants offer from seven to twelve value meals, both for their lunch menu and breakfast menu. ?XMore recently, McDonald?  ¦s began offering a value menu, consisting of many individual items costing only $1. 00 each. First tested in southern California, the value menu has proved to be very successful and has been since incorporated to the individual stores .? Some individual franchise owners choose to offer daily specials of special menu items, such as ?  §$0. 39 hamburger Wednesdays, or other similar specials. Big Mac Mondays are a popular regional promotion. Nutrition McDonald?  ¦s third main competitive base is nutrition. The organization understands that health trend is an increasingly popular trend therefore; the organization has recently focused extraordinary efforts to promote their new nutritious choices. Although not specifically built into the organization?  ¦s vision, McDonald?  ¦s has already introduced many options to achieve this goal: ? In the United States, ?  §Go-Active meals have been offered within the last few years. These meals include a salad, bottled water, and a ?  §step-o-meter to help customers keep track of how many steps they take a day. ?XOther countries have seen similar healthy options. The United Kingdom saw fresh fruit bags, containing apples and grapes, as an alternative to french fries (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 12). ?XNot only does McDonald?  ¦s care about its customers, but it is also considerate of its employees?  ¦ health. In Europe, the organization worked with external nutritionists to develop an ? Employee Guidebookwhich contains tips and nutrition information for healthy lifestyles (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 13). ?XMcDonald?  ¦s has assembled their Global Advisory Council on Balanced Lifestyles. This council consists of exercise & obesity specialists, environmentalists, and other professionals to ensure that McDonald?  ¦s takes appropriate steps in helping its customers achieve optimal health. ?XThe company is also utilizing technology to their advantage. The current McDonald?  ¦s website lets a user select any combination of menu items, place the items in the online bag, and conduct a nutritional analysis on their selections. The user can break down the analysis even further than a menu item, down individual condiments, including ketchup, pickles, etc. (?  §Bag a McMeal ). Not only has the company introduced many steps to ensure nutrition, but it will strive to continue the trend toward nutrition. McDonald?  ¦s plans to: add additional healthy menu options (fruits and vegetables); increase nutrition awareness among McDonald?  ¦s employees; conceive new ways to deliver nutrition information to its customers, and other actions (?  §McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide 13). Strongest Priority ? §At McDonald? ¦s, making customers happy is what our business is all about. And we know it takes a lot to make that happen. We work hard to provide every customer with a choice of meals and an experience that exceeds their expectations. The preceding statement is the quote which introduces McDonald?  ¦s Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility Report (2004). Although the company strives to compete on several bases, their ambient goal is customer satisfactions. They reach this goal through a variety of efforts. McDonald?  ¦s visionary goal is to continually improve their organization. One example is the manager on duty task of completing a ?  §travel path every thirty minutes of his shift. During a travel path, the manager personally checks every aspect of the restaurant, including: the lobby area where customers eat; the restrooms; the grill area behind the counter; the walk-in refrigerators and freezers; the stock area; as well as the entire perimeter outside the restaurant (Phillips, Eddie). Through completing travel paths, management continuously checks every aspect of the restaurant throughout the day. In addition to short term continual improvement, McDonald?  ¦s organization also thinks ahead for long term improvement. To ensure that they serve 100% safe food, McDonald?  ¦s conducts food safety tests multiple times throughout the day. The corporation changes ?  §Food Safety book used by the managers several times a year, in efforts to think toward the future for the most appropriate variables to measure (food safety will be further illustrated in the ?  §Quality Management section). Along with internal improvement to the organization, McDonald?  ¦s also collects external information from its customers to discover which aspects the company performs well, and which aspects could be improved. The manager is supposed to talk to at least one customer during each travel path and the manager can immediately react to this direct face-to-face communication. On a larger scale, McDonald surveys its customers two times per year. To entice customers to submit feedback, the organization offers a free sandwich in return for a completed survey (Phillips, Kenny). In summary, McDonald?  ¦s strives to reach its goal of ?  §making customers happy through their normal competitive bases of speed, price, and nutrition, and they also ensure customer satisfaction through continual improvement of their operations. Strategy Changes Made for You McDonald?  ¦s organization recently underwent drastic strategy changes to better serve their customers. Under their ?  §old system, the company would make several sandwiches at once, and hold the sandwiches in a warming bin until purchased by a customer. Under this system, management had to precisely predict how much food had to be put on hold. Precise prediction had to be used because if there were not enough food placed on hold, this would create the problem of increase waiting times for customers, and too much food would cause waste of expired items. McDonald?  ¦s dramatically changed their strategy in order to stay competitive with other fast food organizations. In 1999, McDonald?  ¦s spent $181 million to introduce their ?  §Made for You system (Chase). Under this new system, standard food items are not held in a bin until they are sold. In the ?  §Made for You system, modern technology greatly assists McDonald?  ¦s operations. When a customer places an order, the sandwich items are immediately displayed on a computer monitor in the kitchen and a tone sounds to alert the kitchen staff. Upon a new order, an employee in the kitchen will toast the bun, and assemble the sandwich accordingly. Standard items simply list the name of the sandwich, while customized orders list the sandwich name and the desired condiments. Once the sandwich is assembled, it is presented to the food loading area, where a different staff person retrieves the sandwich and completes the order by adding french fries, desserts, etc. The system works the same for front counter orders as well as drive-thru orders (Phillips, Kenny). Unfortunately, the introduction of the ? Made for Yousystem did not come easily. McDonald?  ¦s watched its customer satisfaction drop for the three consecutive years beginning in 1999 (Chase). After further research, they realized that although the new system provided fresher food, it was not as quick as the previous system. Instead of reverting back to the old system, McDonald?  ¦s continues to fine tune ?  §Made for You and add new options to help the system work faster. Revitalization Plan In order to cope with the first ever quarterly loss that resulted from inefficient use of the Made for You system (Chase), McDonald? ¦s has devised a new plan to increase profits. Previously, the corporation emphasized adding more restaurants to increase sales, but the new plan places emphasis on increasing sales at existing restaurants. The new plan will reduce spending, to enable more cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases (Cantalupo). Specific goals of the revitalization plan are to: ? XAttract new customers ?XEncourage existing customers to visit more often ?XBuild brand loyalty ?XCreate enduring profitable growth The main goal is to increase sales by creating an exceptional customer experience. McDonald?  ¦s plans to achieve this goal by focusing on its people, products, places, prices, and promotions. Menu Along with changes in their process strategies, McDonald?  ¦s has flirted with menu changes as well. Last year, they offered a ?  §new taste menu, where they offered a new sandwich for one week. The purpose was to offer customers a variety of options to satisfy peoples?  ¦ desire for variety. However, the new taste menu proved to be ineffective. Some customers would fall in love with an item, but it would only last one week, and they would be frustrated that they couldn? ¦t purchase their new beloved favorite sandwich. More recent changes to the menu have proved effective. McDonald?  ¦s realized that many of today?  ¦s customers seek healthy food options, and the corporation has offered items accordingly. As mentioned under ?  §Competition Bases, McDonald?  ¦s now offers a wider variety of nutritious items and provides information to help its customers as well as employees make informed healthy choices. QUALITY MANAGEMENT McDonald?  ¦s Corporation incorporates many quality management factors in its business process. Some of the most important plans undertaken to ensure quality include speed measurements, the five P?  ¦s (People, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion), employee training, and other factors. Speed One of the major quality management control factors includes minimizing the time that processes are done; this ensures an effective and efficient operations. A lot of these processes are done through the use of the latest information technology, whether it was through calculating the time of the processes or even making a database to value and make improvement to their processes. For example, one measurement is called Total Time in Line (TTL) which calculates the total time customers spend in the McDonald?  ¦s line, from the time the customer begins ordering until the time they get their food. TTL measurements are calculated the same way, the target TTL differs because of the service provided through the drive through or inside the restaurant. McDonald?  ¦s considers the fact that drive through customers usually expects their order faster and therefore, the drive through target TTL is 90 seconds. The target is slightly higher for the in-the-store customers because of the extra time they are willing to spend in the store (Phillips, Eddie). Along with measuring TTLs, other programs are utilized to make the speed of the service more efficient. The ?  §Made For You system uses the Kitchen-Video-System (KVS) to support fulfilling speedy orders. The Made for You system allows the order taker to enter or delete the orders on a touch screen that lists sandwiches, as well as individual condiments, in a way that eases the data entry process for the worker. As soon as any food is ordered, from any register, the necessary food items are displayed on a computer monitor in the kitchen. The kitchen staff immediately begins to prepare the food, and then erases the orders from the screen as the food is finished. Similar to TTLs, the time is measured between when an item is first displayed on the monitor, to the time when it is served. McDonalds continuously monitors these kitchen times in order to ensure that the Made for You system is working as efficiently as planned (Phillips, Eddie). Technology not only measures performance values within the organization, but it also assists in the drive through area. When a drive through worker is taking an order, it is displayed automatically on a screen available to the customer outside, called the Customer Order Display (COD). The customer can review the COD and correct any mistakes, thus making the ordering process more precise. More precise orders eliminate time wasted from correcting mistakes (Phillips, Kenny). Maintaining the speed and accuracy of the processes in McDonald?  ¦s is also done through less technological techniques. McDonald?  ¦s uses different colored packages to help the employee recognize the different types of food; colored wrapped sandwiches makes it easier to distinguish what is wrapped beneath. For example, a cheese burger is wrapped in yellow colored paper and a fish fillet is wrapped in blue, while a hamburger is wrapped in white paper. Special ordered sandwiches without standard condiments come in red and white paper, with a paper receipt attached which details the items on the sandwich (Phillips, Eddie). Quality Inspections Food safety is one of McDonald?  ¦s top priorities. Every restaurant is required to check food temperatures, expiration dates, and other food safety hazards several times throughout each day of operation. The corporation sends a standardized Food Safety book to every store which includes a comprehensive list of every item that needs to be measured. Cooked food temperatures are measured to ensure that all food is cooked properly before served. Refrigerated and frozen foods are also checked to make certain that they do not get too warm and are not spoiled. Expiration dates are checked on foods frequently, if the item is expired than it is discarded. Equipment is also measured to ensure that it is functioning properly. Also included in the safety checks is the water temperature in the restroom sinks, workers must be caution because water that is too hot can burn customers. Food safety checks are performed throughout the day, often during one of the manager?  ¦s many travel paths, which were described earlier in this report under ?  §Competitive Strategy (Phillips, Eddie). Periodic corporate inspections are one of the major quality management controls at McDonald?  ¦s. The McDonald?  ¦s Corporation applies two major inspections on each restaurant per year. One is called Field Operations Review (FOR), and the second is called System Observation Review (SOR). Since the inspections are made periodically, restaurants have two opportunities to pass the test. If the store fails to pass the inspection the second time, corporate takes over the store and brings in better employees to ensure that the proper processes and equipment is being used properly. Both inspections are extraordinarily thorough and they are based on a point system, points can be taken off for many different reasons. For example, points can be reduced if the credit card system is too slow, the store? ¦s walls have cracks, or even if the restaurant performs processes that slows the serving time. Points will also be lost if employees are not dressed according to regulations, this includes wearing name tags (Phillips, Kenny). Mcdonald?  ¦s must also provide a food safety log of recorded entries to ensure that proper food testing is completed properly (Phillips, Eddie). The Five P?  ¦s Even though many of the quality management processes in McDonald?  ¦s are done through the use of information technology, other quality management factors such as maintaining the five P? ¦s forces (People, Product, Price, Place, and Promotion) are essential in any business. Consequently, McDonald?  ¦s Corporation uses these related forces in the sense that each P creates a chain affect on each other. The following is a list of methods using the P forces. The first force is the people working in the McDonald?  ¦s chains, which are represented by service, hospitality, and pride. The staff employed in McDonald?  ¦s are continuously trained and kept in the company to reduce the cost of training short-term inexperienced workers. Moreover, the training process has been improved to include online e-learning tools for the restaurant staff. Maintaining the workers in the company is very important to McDonald?  ¦s and the corporation rewards workers who do outstanding services. This form of incentive is motivational to the workers (Cantalupo 4). The second force is the products which include the quality, taste, and price of the goods sold. McDonald?  ¦s is trying to establish flexibility with the changing tastes and preferences in the market, Moreover, they are also seeing growing interest in premium product and wholesome food choices. The quality and safety of the food is a main entity in maintaining the quality of the food at McDonald?  ¦s (Cantalupo 4). The third force is place which is represented by the clean, relevant, and modern store environments. Whether it was in the main restaurant area, the kitchen, or even the restrooms, the company ensures the safety and comfort for the consumers and staff workers. The company intends on having the gold standards for cleanliness (Cantalupo 5). The fourth factor is price, which is presented in the productivity and value. The value of the product is increased when consumers gets high quality products for lower costs. Therefore, McDonald?  ¦s Corporation ensures that its customers receive the highest value of food for the price they pay (Cantalupo 5). The fifth factor is promotion which is presented in marketing, leadership, and trust. The company has already earned its reputation for good quality food so they just focus on customers cares. They do this through community involvement and their social responsible towards the environment. This process will gain the trust of loyal customers and keep them for life (Cantalupo 5). Training McDonald?  ¦s realizes that its employees must understand their duties in order to fulfill the organization? ¦s goals. To ensure that all employees properly perform their assigned duties, McDonald?  ¦s invests greatly in their training program. The company continues to receive prestigious awards for their leading-edge training, including the ?  §Employer of Choice Award from the Restaurant Business Magazine (?  §Restaurant Management ). New crew members go through a thorough orientation process consisting of several videos, followed by several days of direct one-on-one training by a trainer. After employees feel comfortable with the operations, they may be promoted to Crew Trainers. Crew Trainers undergo further training for specialized processes such as the grill area, front counter, drive-thru, and other areas. Shift supervisors are the next step in the organization, followed by Second Assistant Managers, followed by First Assistant Manager, and the top manager at each McDonald?  ¦s restaurant is the Restaurant Manager (Phillips, Eddie). Training never stops at McDonald?  ¦s, no matter which position an employee holds. Some current employees describe McDonald?  ¦s as the ?  §best training company in the world (Phillips, Kenny). To improve the Made for You system, McDonald? ¦s recently introduced a strategy called ?  §Shift into Overdrive,?  ¦ and this strategy focuses on helping shift managers work more efficiently. All McDonald?  ¦s restaurants are required to send at least one manager to participate in the new training program (Phillips, Kenny). This training mainly focuses on the human aspects of Made for You, this ensures that the system is being used as design. Since the new system requires seamless work from several people, the entire team must work together for the system to work quickly to provide food to customers. Finally, to ensure the quality of the operations, McDonald? ¦s does surveys periodically to get feedbacks from customers (Phillips, Eddie). As shown throughout this section, the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation has been doing a very good job at keeping the quality of its products and services, whether it was through using computerized equipment or to train their human resources. RAW MATERIALS The Arrival & Maintenance Through the intense process of choosing and manufacturing raw materials, McDonald?  ¦s customers can be assured of a quality product. Whether arriving via truck or train, raw materials are delivered fresh and ready to use everyday. To ensure that this freshness is passed onto the customer, each arriving package is personally inspected for damage during its travel. In addition, the condition of delivery trucks are also taken into account to make sure that meat was untainted due to a filthy meat cooler. The meat cooler should always be set at 10 degrees below zero and the meat should remain at a constant temperature of 34 to 38 degrees. While some inspections are known, others are random to ensure that quality is consistent from one delivery to the next. The promise of high quality for McDonald?  ¦s raw materials does not cease to end at the delivery trucks. Inside the restaurant, the temperatures of freezers and refrigerators are recorded twice a day to guarantee the highest grade of ingredient usage. These temperatures are recorded in a book which is required to stay on premise for 60 days. After such time span, the book is moved to a local record storage where all previous data information is held. Grade ?  §A Beef and Other Meats All beef cooked at McDonald?  ¦s is of Grade ?  §A quality and 80%-82% lean. McDonald?  ¦s not only supports humane slaughtering of animals and refuses to purchase dairy cows over 5 year old due to the toughness of their meat. Upon the arrival of meat, received from Otto & Sons, Inc. in Chicago, a two hour supply is taken directly to the grill side freezers which stand at a constant temperature of 0 degrees. Once placed on the grill, the meat is cooked at a specific temperature to assure the meat holds the proper internal temperature to meet the requirements of food safety and yet hot enough to hold its natural juices. Cooked hamburger patties and other meat products are stored in a humidity controlled cabinet until usage to ensure that patties remain hot and moist. The preparation time of a hamburger should not take longer than 90 seconds and only 35 seconds after the hamburger bun itself has been toasted. This allows each customer to receive his/her meal in the timeliest fashion. Produce It is a known fact that agronomists can spend up to two years assisting a farmer grow perfect russet potatoes, 6-inches long, that produces a finished fry which is appealing both in looks and taste. In addition many produce items, lettuce for example, have specifications that are two pages long. With this many guidelines in place, McDonald? ¦s can guarantee that they are delivering to their customer the best ingredients possible. The produce delivered from Condie?  ¦s in Salt Lake City to the Evans and Colorado McDonald?  ¦s restaurant arrives via railroad to ensure that freshness is maintained. Upon inspection, should any produce not meet the correct internal temperature, the refrigerator is either immediately altered or the items are discarded. Restaurant Inspection Since McDonald?  ¦s believes so strongly in high quality products, Licensees are expected to obtain their desired product needs directly from suppliers rather than the McDonald? ¦s Corporation. While this ensures that the best raw materials are purchased at a reasonable price, it often leaves the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation ?  §in the dark concerning the safety precautions and procedures of franchised restaurants. As a result, the McDonald?  ¦s Corporation makes both announced and unannounced visits to international McDonald?  ¦s restaurants to ensure that proper procedures are being followed. With each visit, the restaurant being inspected is graded on their proficiency and performance. Based on this grade, the corporation will determine eligibility for growth of new franchise locations. In addition, the failure to meet requirements can result in a default in your franchise agreement for the following term. FORECASTING Aspects of Forecasting McDonald?  ¦s has a continual means of receiving information from customers, employees, and the industry that effects short, medium, and long term decision making and forecasting. Different kinds of information are received from all levels of the corporation and are used to learn more about the market movement and advertisement structure, to basic everyday processes in production and packaging of goods for the targeted markets. Forecasting is done in large by the corporation, as part of their responsibility to the franchisee?  ¦s and McDonald?  ¦s shareholders. Through our interview with the owner, we learned a lot about the basics of McDonald?  ¦s business and hierarchy; we were not able to get more in-depth information that is used for their budgeting, marketing, advertising, forecasting, and innovations of new products to come because it contains confidential contents. This is due to the scrutiny from people looking for flaws, bad business conduct, and other degrading allocations of McDonald? ¦s. Everything that was recorded was cleared at the corporate level. Forecasts are vital to McDonald?  ¦s organization and significant management decisions. Forecasts provide the basis for budgetary planning, cost control, planning new products, process selection, capacity planning, and facility layout. Typically, McDonald?  ¦s uses a qualitative type of forecasting. The main information used in forecasting the stability and future growth of the corporation is by the number of customers going in and out the door and all voiced opinions. There are different medians of communication for customer to relay there ideas, opinions, concerns, and problems they have with McDonald?  ¦s. At the particular location, a customer has employees, managers, and owners to voice what?  ¦s on their mind and how they like what?  ¦s going on in the restaurant. Often, McDonald?  ¦s managers and owners use open ended questions to allow customers to expand on what they want to talk about. McDonald?  ¦s nationally offers an 800 number for customers to use when the corporation has fallen short of their expectations or when a location makes a mistake with their order. Internationally, McDonald?  ¦s has a website that is not only interactive and informative throughout the 59 nations they supply to, but is a place for customers to voice their opinions and complaints. And as an owner of the McDonald?  ¦s on the intersection of Evans Avenue and Colorado Boulevard, Ronald Lessnau exclaimed, ?  §We listen! At the corporate level, qualitative forecasting can be seen, even with limited information that was given. Market research department takes data from talking with customers to find out how they like or feel about a particular ad campaign or a specific commercial. And product development department uses input on developing a new product or changing how the new product is prepared, priced, or packaged. McDonald?  ¦s has been extremely accurate in forecasting trends or needs the customers want and request. Mr. Lessnau states, ?  §McDonald?  ¦s, in the past has helped customers deal with their changing lifestyles. An example of this is when the Egg McMuffin, the first hand held breakfast sandwich by Herb Peterson, was introduced for the first time. ? §It took 10 years for breakfast to be successful at McDonald?  ¦s and now McDonald?  ¦s cracks more farm fresh, grade ?  §A eggs daily than the largest institution in the United States, the US Military. As consumers, it is known that McDonald?  ¦s has gone through a lot and where not always correct in projections influenced by the greatest number of customers. Even with using a qualitative forecast, the future is not always so clear so see. 12 years ago, due to the strong focus group surveys responses to healthier products put into motion the making of McLean Burger. McDonald developed and marketed the McLean Burger. It had 7% fat and was the best low fat burger on the market, costing 53 cents a pound more then the normal beef. It did not sell! Customers later decided that the product was too expensive and did not taste as good as its?  ¦ fatty brother. And maybe decisions that are based on the idea that the history of occurrences over time can be used to predict the future, time series forecasting, can explain why McDonald?  ¦s is slow to react to the Atkins Diet trends. Ronald Lessnau also gave examples of when qualitative forecasting influences how he fixes errors of the passed business decisions at his establishment. Decisions he has made have been based on estimates and opinion from surveys, interviews, history of products, and questionnaires. That particular McDonald?  ¦s has extended their hours as a result of many comments. Also, years ago they reduced some of the seasoning in the chicken products in a test market, and based on interviews and focus groups they went back to the original product and did not take the change national. He also described that in Denver, Colorado locations went back to the 99-cent double cheese burgers years ago because of feedback they received in focus groups that were conducted as part of their normal market research. As Lessnau explained, ?  §Sometimes you can prevent a good idea from going bad by talking to those closest to the customer, your sales people. The data collected for these long terms and every day business decisions were from employees as well as customers. SUPPLY CHAIN Examination of Supply Chain. Food quality is the key at McDonald’s restaurant. That?  ¦s why they take pride in the foods they serve to their customers. They seek out fresh lettuce and tomatoes, quality buns and potatoes, pure ground beef, select poultry and fish and wholesome dairy products. McDonald?  ¦s ensures that their products are guaranteed to be the best quality before serving to their customers. McDonald?  ¦s has many suppliers in which each supplier plays a vital role in providing McDonald?  ¦s with their products. First, McDonald?  ¦s receives its raw.

Essay on Goal

Essay on Goal Essay on Goal Essay on Goal What is your Wildly Important Goal?Wildly Important Goal could be formulated from different perspectives. In the video, the professional perspective is considered in the first place. From the professional point of view, a Wildly Important Goal for me is to be an outstanding marketer of sports in Qatar. From personal point of view, my Wildly Important Goal is to achieve self-realization and self-actualization in my professional life and in my family life. More precisely, from personal point of view the Wildly Important Goal is to find an optimal work-family balance so that I would be able to realize my personal and professional abilities to the maximum, serve the community and at the same time make the members of my family happy. WHO do you want to be? The answer to this question is closely linked to the Wildly Important Goal. I want to be a successful person whose personal and professional life is optimally balanced. I want to be the man who makes the community better, healthier and happier through marketing sports to people, and at the same time a responsible and caring spouse and parent who can bring happiness to the lives of family members. While the video demonstrates mostly professional goals and objectives, I believe that it is wildly important to live in balance and to give enough attention both to professional and to personal life; otherwise, the fullness of life is lost. So in my opinion, it is not possible to formulate own Wildly Important Goal in terms of one sphere of life only. Can Project Management help you achieve your Goals?Project Management is a multifaceted discipline that will definitely help me achieve my Goals. First of all, Project Management offers a number of models and techniques that will help me plan my career and advance in marketing. Project Management is very good for professional growth because it shows how to use resources effectively, how to assess the viability of plans and forecasts and how to adjust plans and resources in a dynamic environment. These approaches are also very efficient for self-development. Using Project Management knowledge, I will be able to manage time better, to improve own performance and to become more resilient and flexible. In addition, these skills will help me achieve a balance between professional and personal life, which is also part of my goal.

Free Essays on The Crying of Lot 49

Before the telephone was invented, people wrote letters to each other to stay in touch. Soldiers would write letters to their wives and families conveying their love and, even today, people write letters to better communicate. Writing is a way of expressing yourself, a way to think about what you are feeling and communicate that to other people. In The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon has his characters write letters in order for them to better understand each other and also to communicate to the reader what is happening in the novel. Indirectly, Pynchon is also satirizing the importance of letters and written communication because, in the novel, the letters confuse the plot instead of clarifying it. As the novel begins, Oedipa receives a letter that is seemingly clear, yet it is the beginning of a mystery that complicates the story and complicated Oedipaà ­s ability to think clearly. As she finds out more about the mystery of the Tristero, she comes across the W.A.S.T.E. system of mail. This system forces people to write letters even when they have nothing to say and mocks the United States Postal Service. Although this novel seems like an ordinary mystery, its underlying tones of satire, through malfunctioning communication, are prevalent within Oedipa and in the letters that are written between characters and the W.A.S.T.E postal system. Oedipa Maas receives a letter that states that she is the legal executor of her ex-boyfriends estate. It contains pertinent information about what happened and what her duties are. To the reader, this is a point of clarification. Although the letters seems to be concise and to the point, it is the beginning of a big conspiracy that Oedipa will eventually uncover. After she receives the letter, she starts to see weird images that do not seem to be related. She talks about Rapunzel, magic, and Pierce. Its hard to understand why she would have such mysterious images from one letter, but what seems like... Free Essays on The Crying of Lot 49 Free Essays on The Crying of Lot 49 Before the telephone was invented, people wrote letters to each other to stay in touch. Soldiers would write letters to their wives and families conveying their love and, even today, people write letters to better communicate. Writing is a way of expressing yourself, a way to think about what you are feeling and communicate that to other people. In The Crying of Lot 49, Thomas Pynchon has his characters write letters in order for them to better understand each other and also to communicate to the reader what is happening in the novel. Indirectly, Pynchon is also satirizing the importance of letters and written communication because, in the novel, the letters confuse the plot instead of clarifying it. As the novel begins, Oedipa receives a letter that is seemingly clear, yet it is the beginning of a mystery that complicates the story and complicated Oedipaà ­s ability to think clearly. As she finds out more about the mystery of the Tristero, she comes across the W.A.S.T.E. system of mail. This system forces people to write letters even when they have nothing to say and mocks the United States Postal Service. Although this novel seems like an ordinary mystery, its underlying tones of satire, through malfunctioning communication, are prevalent within Oedipa and in the letters that are written between characters and the W.A.S.T.E postal system. Oedipa Maas receives a letter that states that she is the legal executor of her ex-boyfriends estate. It contains pertinent information about what happened and what her duties are. To the reader, this is a point of clarification. Although the letters seems to be concise and to the point, it is the beginning of a big conspiracy that Oedipa will eventually uncover. After she receives the letter, she starts to see weird images that do not seem to be related. She talks about Rapunzel, magic, and Pierce. Its hard to understand why she would have such mysterious images from one letter, but what seems like...

Analysis Of Marketing Positioning Of Kelloggs Special K Marketing Essay

Analysis Of Marketing Positioning Of Kelloggs Special K Marketing Essay Kotler et al’s ideology of marketing entailing understanding consumers and their needs and designing marketing initiatives to deliver those needs (2009, p. 5) emerges in the marketing endeavors undertaken by the Kellogg’s Special K (SK) cereal brand. The marketing foresight inculcated by the brand not only helped it contribute to the overall success of the Kellogg conglomerate but also helped it evolve as a strong contender in the UK cereal industry. This assignment will unravel the marketing practices followed by the SK brand by analyzing its positioning in the UK cereal market. The analyses will encompass highlighting the customer segmentation adapted by this cereal brand followed by evaluating the efficacy of its target market selection. Subsequently, it will assess the cereal’s positioning as compared with its competitor’s positioning including its usage of the marketing mix elements to sustain that positioning. Finally as an outcome of the above anal ysis, it will offer recommendations to strengthen the brand’s market positioning. Assumptions Made: Barring considering the retailers as buyers for a five force analysis of the UK cereal industry, the assignment considers the end users as the consumers of the SK cereal. Whilst for a perceptual map, price   [ 1 ]   has been used to draw inferences on the product quality of the various cereal brands, Kellogg’s product life cycle stage in the UK market and SK’s brand share have been used to draw inferences on SK’s product life cycle stage. UK Cereal Market and Kellogg’s: The UK cereal market grew by 15.7% in value between 2004 and 2008 because of the perceived health benefits of and convenience in consuming cereals coupled with the declining popularity of the traditional breakfast (Worth, 2009). This growth rate indicates the attractiveness of UK cereal industry, which is also substantiated by a Porter’s five forces analysis of the market ( represented diagrammatically in Figure 1.1). This oligopolistic market is dominated by three big brands: Kellogg’s, Weetabix and Cereal Partners (Worth, 2009 and Datamonitor, 2009a) with Kellogg’s leading the market (as shown in figure 1.2). Since giving the world its very first ready to eat cereal – cornflakes (Emerald, 1991, p. 16), Kellogg’s has become practically synonymous with breakfast cereals (Mitchell and Boustani, 1992, p. 21). With over 100 years of experience in the cereal business, it appears that Kellogg’s has built its high brand value (shown in figure 1.3) on consistent pioneering innovations and incessant delivery of consumer’s nutritious food requirements. And keeping true to this tradition is Special K, the leading cereal brand of the Kellogg’s family   [ 2 ]   . Special K and its marketing choices: Launched in the UK in 1959 (Kellogg’s Special K, 2009), Special K is a nutritious low-fat, ready to eat die t cereal that owes its eminent market position to the enhanced marketing choices made by the Kellogg marketers (Kellogg Company, 2003,2004). Following section of the assignment will analyse the components of the marketing choices made by the SK brand. Market segmentation and Target Market: SK is targeted at weight conscious women, employed/homemakers, between the ages of 25-49 who desire to attain a slimmer shape either for a healthy lifestyle or for an occasion. And in pursuit of their weight goals these women will prefer to consume nutritious food substitutes including paying an above average price for the product.

Diversity Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Diversity - Article Example I stayed in the country for two weeks. This was a good thing because I needed a few days to recover from jet lag. By the third day, I was beginning to feel more like myself and could appreciate some of the differences surrounding me. The culture in South Africa was very similar to my own in many ways. People were wearing western style clothing and everything was very modern. I was in Cape Town the entire time, so I did not get to see any of the more rural areas in South Africa. My colleagues assured me that the rural areas looked more like stereotypical Africa than did the city. One part of the business culture that was different than at home is the number of ethnically uniform meetings I had. This is perhaps a left-over from the age of Apartheid in South Africa. When I met with one firm, all of the participants in the meeting were white. In another firm, everyone was native. I do not know if this is the norm for South Africa, but it was my experience. In the few meetings that were interracial, there did not appear to be any animosity between races, but racial tensions seemed to be an unfortunate part of the business environment in South Africa to a much larger extent than they are at