Classical Era

In music, many of the great composers Like Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn all became prominent names through their ability to fully embody all that classical music is. Following in a similar pattern, art also took a turn in the sass towards a much more modern medium. The need to fell each open space with some form of art was no longer a big worry in classical art. In fact, the use of lighter colors, more structure, and small ornate details where much more preferred. This view point of art was not only seen in paintings, but also in the sculptures and architectural designs for this time period.A well-known architect for this time was Robert Adam. Who was more adapt at interior design. His designs showcased exquisite delicate details as well as portraying a common comfort and intimacy. This time period, would be a time for stretching the boundaries of the mind and creating an everlasting image through simple and pure techniques. Pertaining to the music, an example of an almost effortless seeming form of music is, Beethoven's own â€Å"FÃ'Ëœr Elise† (1810). In this piece specifically, parallelisms within the piece are prominent as well as a much slower melodic tempo than that seen In Baroque pieces.His use of dynamics pairs with the tension created throughout the piece only to be resolved at the end by the simple main melody coming back through. From this time period there is another great composer, Haydn. One of his many pieces is his â€Å"Symphony No. 94† (1792), which is also known as his, â€Å"Surprise Symphony. The title in itself describes the piece beautifully, while following along with the piece, there were quite a few surprises In it. Sudden changes in dynamics and rhythm would shock the audience creating quite a stir.Another Beethoven piece to look at Is his piano sonata, â€Å"Passionate† (1805). In this sonata, the common occurrence is a strict melody played by a solo pianist. Keeping with the classical trend, most of the piece i s contingent with following a similar chord pattern which gives tit much smoother flow. Music during this time embodied, simple fluidity creating some of the most well-known melodic and consistently flowing pieces still today. Art, Just like Its counterpart music, also experienced a change during this time period. No more would artists more minimalist feel.Art itself was viewed during this time as a form of education for the community, and was meant to enhance and promote the morality of the public. An example of this form of art is â€Å"The Apotheosis of Homer† (1827) by Jean- Augusta-Dominique Ingress, although painted a couple years later than when the classical period ended, it is still very much in that classical mode. By using lighter colors, and centering in on one specific aspect, Jean draws his audience's attention to the center of the painting where he shows them the crowning of Homer.The lighter colors like the lighter melodic feel in music are an attribute of the Classical Era. In Joseph-Marie Vine's, â€Å"The Cupid Seller† (1763) he uses a technique commonly used in many Classical Era pieces, he lightens his main subjects. When looking at the painting, the subjects themselves seem to have a glow while everything else around them is darkened and less focused. Another piece that has this same effect is Franà §ois Grade's â€Å"Portrait of Juliet Racier† (1805).His painting portrays a single woman lounging across a chair. She like in, â€Å"The Cupid Seller†, is lighter than her surroundings making her the focal point. Music and art both had this similar tendency, to focus on a single aspect or form by which they were trying to portray. The Classical Era was a time of enlightenment and change, from the heavy, dark, and lambent properties that were the Baroque Era to a more noble simplicity. In this time, ideas were borrowed from their ancient counterparts of the Romans and Greeks.

Granite Apparel- Source of Funding

Presented to: Mr. Kurt Sullivan Subject: Source of funding From: JMSB consultants; Despina Papadopoulos Angela Christopoulos Mathieu Apuzzo AJ Kenth Date: March 2007 Main Issues * Choosing the appropriate source of financing, between Initial public offering, long term debt or preferred shares, to raise funds for the expansion of Granite Apparel. Recommendations * Granite Apparel should use an Initial Public Offering as a source for raising funds. Analysis Quantitative Initial Public Offering The cost of issuing common shares for your company was found by adding the following expenses (APPENDIX ONE):Bridge Financing Rate (Annual)| 10. 25%| Amount of Bridge Financing| 50,000,000| Period| 6 months| Yearly Interest Cost| 2,562,500| Lump Sum Issuance Fee| 4,000,000| Total Issuance Costs| 6,562,500| To issue common shares is very expensive to underwrite and there are also other related costs for a company going public. These costs can be: * More experienced accountants for financial statem ents issuance and high internal compliance * Auditing fees * Dividends Much of the factors are above are very difficult to quantify, but using assumptions we could have an idea of the cost over a 5 year basis to compare with preferred shares.First, let’s find a dividend cost, hoping the company does well and we pay out a 20% dividend rate with a growth of 25% in sales from 2007 – 2012. We get a total dividend amount to be 18. 82 million (APPENDIX ONE). Since dividends are not an obligation but they are a benefit for shareholder satisfaction, we have a range over a 5 year period of costs between 11. 5 million and 30. 4 million. These values take into consideration many assumptions (g= 8%, b = 0. 80 and ROE= 10. 55%) Total 5 year dividend| 18. 82 million| Audit fee (1M per year assumption)| 5 million| Fees/ Bridge Financing| 6. 56 million| Total| 30. 80 million| Range| 11. 5 – 30. 4 million | Another factor to consider for an IPO is the decrease in control for Tay lor and the current shareholders. | Before IPO| After IPO| Total Shares| 20,000,000| 26,000,000| Taylor Ownership| 12,000,000| 12,000,000| Percentage Ownership| 60%| 46. 15%| If Mr. Taylor is comfortable losing total control of his company with 46. 15% ownership (where control is 50%), the IPO can be a very attractive solution. If Mr. Taylor decides to keep full control of his company, he can either purchase himself more shares or the company could issue two types of common shares; Non-voting and voting.Taylor Ownership| 12,000,000| Percentage Ownership| 50%| Total Voting Shares| 24,000,000| Total Non Voting Shares| 2,000,000| Preferred Shares As seen in APPENDIX THREE, the total cost of issuing preferred shares would be $30,200,000 over 5 years. Raised Capital| 50,000,000| Dividend Yield| 9%| Annual Dividend (9% * 50,000,000)| 4,500,000| Repurchase Premium| 10%| Face Value| 55,000,000| Issuance Fees| 2,700,000| 5 year Dividends (4. 5M x 5)| 22,500,000| Repurchase Premium| 5,000,000 | Total Cost| 30,200,000| Long-Term Debt Long-term debt is the second source of financing the company has the option of adopting.Metropolitan life approached Granite Apparel and was prepared to lend them 50 Million dollars at a fixed rate 2% higher than the long-term U. S treasury yield. The term of the loan was 10 years. Exhibit 6 illustrates the U. S treasury yields. Since the loan has a 10 year term, we decided to select the 10 year Risk Free rate, which is 4. 56%. In total the interest rate of the loan would amount to 6. 56%. In order to decide, which alternative is best suitable for the company, we must find the cost associated with borrowing. In addition, we must also add the upfront fee of 1,800,000.The upfront fee is calculated by multiplying 200,000 common shares and the stock price of 9$. We assumed that the value of the firm was equal to 180,000,000 in order to use the 9$ stock price. We also assumed that the loan payments would be done monthly, which gave us a monthly pa yment of 569,267. 46$. Appendix 2 is a loan amortization schedule and indicates the amount of interest and capital is included in each payment. The sum of all interest payments is equal to 18,312,099. If we take the total interest cost and the upfront fee the total cost of the loan would equal to: 20,112,099.However it is also important to note that interest is tax deductible. The loan amortization schedule enabled us to find the PV of the tax shield of 79,712. 24$. In conclusion, the total cost of the debt option is equal to: 20,032,386. 75$ We also wanted to note that paying 10% principal per year for 10 years on the loan is impossible. According to loan amortization schedule, the 10% yearly principal payment would start from year 6. For the first 5 years, most of the payment is attributed to interest, which decreases the principal portion of the payment.Performance and Ratios An important factor in deciding on which way to finance growth is how it affects your financial statement s. Since these tools will be the primary source for investors it is important have them appear strong (APPENDIX FOUR). If the company chooses an IPO, the following ratios would occur in the 2007 financial statements of Granite Apparel. Ratio| Industry| Granite Apparel | Debt/Capital| 15. 1%| 31. 0%| TIE| 41. 2| 57. 75| PE| 22| 12| ROE| 18. 4%| 14. 16%| With an IPO the company’s financial statements would look very strong.Its debt is already higher than the industry average and therefore issuing common shares would decrease the risk of the company. Both the Debt/Capital and TIE ratios express that strength. If the company chooses to issue debt, the following ratios would occur in the 2007 financial statements of Granite Apparel. Ratio| Industry| Granite| Debt/Capital| 15. 1| 61. 52| TIE| 41. 2| 6. 47| ROE| 18. 4| 21. 94| The risk of the company by issuing more debt would be extremely high and way above the industry averages. By demonstrating both Debt/Capital and TIE, we could see a large increase in the company’s risk which is not in the company's favor.They might be reevaluated as a riskier company and therefore would no longer be able to purchase at low interest. The ROE plays in favor, however, because the total Equity is divided among fewer shareholders. It looks good for investors but not for creditors. If the company chooses to issue preferred shares, the financial statements would look very similar to issuing an IPO. This occurs because the preferred shares would be booked in the Equity section of the financial statements due to their â€Å"ownership† qualities. QualitativeGranite Apparel is faced with three financing mediums; initial public offering, long term debt or preferred shares. In the decision process, it is important to weigh the benefits and shortcomings of each financing option. Initial Public Offering (IPO) Benefits * Increase in Shareholder Capital * Increased wealth without dividing authority amongst partners * No div idend obligation on common shares. * Inexpensive method of financing. * Able to maintain control of the company as long as shareholders have less than 20% ownership Drawbacks Granite would need to undergo a thorough assessment of its operations, financial records and legal situation by both Continental Securities and the securities commission. * Three to six month due diligence process. * Minimum requirements in accordance to US GAAP system is very expensive to implement * Decisions based on stock price The public trading of the shares establishes a value for the company and sets a benchmark. This works in favor of the company as it is helpful in case the company is looking for an acquisition or merger. It also provides the share holders of the company with the present value of the shares.Furthermore, once the shares are traded, they carry a market value that is different from the book value depending on demand (volume traded); this can provide Granite with the incentive of offering stock options to employees as an added compensation. Additionally, the investors that are in the company have liquidity on their share of the company, however, if an investor should decide to redeem his portion the company is not entirely affected because the sale is completed on the market. When a company issues common shares, there is no obligation to pay dividends.This can be an immense advantage for Granite as the company is in a growth phase and dividends can be limited in order to compete in an industry with larger players. In turn, this also allows Granite to keep the cost low for the future. In addition, the firm will not go bankrupt if is not able to pay out dividends. More than frequently, management’s decisions may be effected by the market price of the shares and the feeling that they must get market recognition for the company's stock. Often, this can lead to bad decisions and consequently a decline in stock price.As the share price of Granite falls, may lose ma rket confidence, decreased valuation of the company may affect lines of credits, secondary offering pricing, the company's ability to maintain employees, and the personal wealth of insiders and investors. Not to mention if Granite decides to issue most of its shares to the public it may be a target for a hostile takeover, evidently a loss of insider control. Long term Debt Using long term debt will allow granite apparel to immediately acquire the funds, however it will place both financial and operational standard covenants in effect. Operational Prohibited to surpass annual capital budget * Not allowed to acquire without authorization * Cannot change current executive compensation or dividends Financial * Limited to a borrowing to equity ratio of 1. 20 * No possibility to raise short or long term debt without authorization Using long term debt for Granite is very risky if the economy suffers and sales are down. Granite will still have to pay the interest on the principle loan witho ut having the flexibility of acquiring another loan. When the interest payments are not distributed to debt holders, the firm may go bankrupt.As stated, If earnings decrease it might be very risky to carry over 3. 57 million dollars in interest expense as an annual obligation. Moreover, in the event that Granite is presented with the opportunity to merge or outright acquire a competitor, the decision will have to pass through Metropolitan. This can lead to further complications and loss of decision making control for the management of Granite. Preferred Shares Although this method is cost effective, it can also confiscate the ability for management to take important decisions without approval from shareholders. Granite can redeem the shares at a ten percent premium only after five years * Shareholders have no voting right, but receive priority over dividends * Can be given voting rights if Granite does not pay for two consecutive years Similar to long term debt, preferred shares pre sent the drawback for potential loss of control. For instance if there is an economic downturn and Granite is unable to issue payments for two consecutive years to its preferred shareholders, they are granted full voting rights and can potentially control the entire company.Preferred shares can either be placed in the equity or liability section of the balance sheet. In this particular scenario, the preferred shares would be in the equity section because they show evidence of â€Å"ownership†. For instance, if dividends are not paid for two years consecutive, they can exercise their voting rights and consequently allow them to decide on major business developments. Given the three financing methods, Granite would receive the necessary capital in time to fulfill their marketing needs.Given the economic state preferred shares are risky when considering the potential loss of control to the shareholders. Similarly, long term debt caries the interest risk burden without possibilit y of acquiring a new loan. Conversely, initial public offering allows the flexibility to gain capital at any point with the exchange of ownership and still allows the decisions to be made by the board of directors. Although the net income on the expansion is not quantifiable, by the issuance of IPO, Granite remains protected from third party influence and control, interest burden and loss of decision control. Plan of Action Announce the plan to the board of directors and wait for quorum approval or issuing an IPO * If Mr. Taylor and other board members are expressing worries about dilution of ownership, consider issuing two classes of shares; non-voting and voting. * Contact the investment firm to find out potential differences for issuing two classes of shares * Hire and find experienced accountants to prepare the financial statements in accordance to US GAAP for public companies since the company will go public * Select an investment bank with a good reputation and expertise to ad vice and perform underwriting functions. Organize internally for high compliance in accordance to the securities commission Contact and find a reputable auditing firm (KPM, Deloitte, Price Waterhouse or Ernst ; Young) * File with the Securities and Exchange Commission. * Once the request has been processed Granite Apparel should request its IPO on the stock exchange with firm commitment. * Once capital is certain (under firm commitment) and as quickly as possible, search for store locations.These locations should be prime, and in an area where Granite * Apparel can compete strongly with the major players. Time is important, since competitors are catching up to Granite’s innovative products. The company must enter quickly and efficiently into the market. * Prepare for manufacturing increase to supply new stores. * The company should find new innovative products to keep it a step ahead from the competition and become first movers to gain customer loyalty.

St. Augustine’s Confessions

During his time, St. Augustine wrote thirteen autobiographical books entitled â€Å"Confessions†. The book tells how St. Augustine life was changed from living a sinful life to his conversion to Christianity. After studying the Confessions by St. Augustine, several parallelisms can be seen between the said autobiography and the Old and New Testament of the Christian Bible. Parallelisms do not appear only within the text but as well as in structure and format. One of the major parallelisms that can be seen between Augustine’s Confession and the Bible is the pattern or way of developing each stage or part of each one. The Bible started by the creation of everything perceivable by the human senses. On the other hand, Augustine’s Confession started by telling the story of Augustine’s childhood, his birth. Thus, Augustine’s birth symbolizes the creation in the first of book of the Bible, in the book of Genesis. The development of Augustine’s Confessions also followed the same trend as the Bible. The first eight books of the Confessions told the story of Augustine’s life from infancy to living in sin and then, finding his way to God. The story of Augustine’s infancy can be related to the story of Adam and Eve in the Old Testament. As an infant, Augustine knows nothing of sin, innocent as Adam and Eve were in the beginning. Then, Augustine was exposed to the world along with its sinful desires that causes Augustine to live a life afar from God, just as Adam and Eve after eating the fruit of knowledge of good and evil. Augustine continues to live his life following the desires of the flesh until he sees hopelessness without God. This part of Augustine’s life somehow reflects the Old Testament. The Israelites continued to sin causing them to reach the promise land in a lot longer time. The later part of the Confessions can also be linked to the New Testament. Augustine was Christianized that also symbolizes rebirth, rebirth in his attitudes and views of life just as the New Testament signifies the birth of Christ, the one who is to save the people. The dark ages in Augustine’s life can be viewed as the Old Testament wherein the people lived in sin. On the other hand, Augustine’s conversion can be viewed as the New Testament wherein God provided salvation and a new birth. Thus, it can be noticed that the transition of events in the two books are also similar to each other: the conversion of Augustine to Christianity and the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Consequently, it can be said that the first part of the Confessions, like the Old Testament speaks of past events: the birth and early life of Augustine and the creation in the Old Testament. The last parts of the two books are also connected; they both speak of future events. The last part of Augustine’s Confessions stated the eagerness of Augustine to interpret the inner meanings and messages of the Bible. He ended the Confessions by referring to the Sabbath, the seventh day when God rested. Augustine refers to the Sabbath figuratively that can also be interpreted as the final rest of the soul in the presence of God, the eternal life. In the same way, the Revelation or the last book of the New Testament speaks of things to come in a metaphorical sense. Thus, it can be concluded that both the last part of the two books are to be viewed in a metaphorical way in order to understand its true meaning. The Revelation was full of symbolisms in the same way as the last book of the Confessions. Both leaves the readers time to reflect and to search for the true meanings and essence of the text in their own way. Both in the Old and New Testament of the Bible, God reveals himself to man through angels, visions and others because of the inability of man to reach Him. In the same way, Augustine sees God through the life of his mother: through her actions and advice. Both show the inability of man to reach to God in their own way and thus, it was God providing man the means of understanding and obeying Him. Another similarity is that the Bible was comprised of different books (67 books in all) that also include several chapters. In the same way, Augustine wrote several books of which each were named by their order, that is, Book 1 to 13. Each book of The Confessions is also divided in to chapters that are similar to the chapters of the books in the Bible. Thus, it can be said that parallelisms indeed occur between the Holy Bible of Christianity and the Confessions by St. Augustine both within and outside of the text. It can also be said that most Christian literatures of the contemporary time follows the same format as the Confessions in which the original pattern can be rooted to the Bible of Christianity.

Discovery of a Time Capsule Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Discovery of a Time Capsule - Essay Example Time capsule has numerous benefits and limitations. Among the benefits of time Capsule include: they help Archeologist and future generation to learn about the development of human race and the society at large. In addition, Time Capsule provides vital information concerning people way of life in a given region at a given period. However, despite those benefits, Time Capsule tends to have some limitations. Among those limitations include: they may not adequately provided all the relevant information regarding people in a particular region. In addition, they tend to be based on a particular geographical location and hence, some of the most important facts regarding the entire nations may not be communicated. In addition, capsule tend to be buried on the ground whereby, the archeologist and future generation may not access them items and hence, making them quite an effective method of communication (Rosenberg, 2013).Therefore, this study aims to provide an insight of the five items wer e found in a time capsule of 1960 by Archeologist in the year 2325.In addition, the study will explain the importance of the five items found in defining the era of the 1960s. 1. Describe each of the five items you have found. The five items that were found in the 1960s capsule include: a letter containing information on Vietnam War, a piece of paper containing anti war songs, DVD and CD’S Containing 1960’s of 1960 and photographs of the assassinated political leaders. The letter A letter containing information on Vietnam War was written by Dien Hu to the U.S president requesting for their support after Dien Hu, a French Leader, was defeated by a revolutionary leader, Ho Chi Minh. The letter was further explained the causes of war as well as reasons why United State was involved in the Vietnam War in 1960’s.Based on the letter, the war erupted as a result of political and economic differences between the U.S and Vietnamese regarding the issue of communism. Where by, the United State was against the idea of having communist society because it pulled down the economic development a country. Additionally, the U.S feared that communism might spread into their entire region. However, having U.S being involved in the war, the U.S involvement was not to win the war but to help southern Vietnamese who dint like the idea of communism to take over the leadership. The U.S increased its military troops in Vietnam in the year 1965 to 1969 in order to try and defeat supporters of communism. However, U.S troops faced great challenges because they did not fully understood about the topography of Vietnam where Guerilla warfare tactics were being applied by their opponents (Rosenberg, 2013). Apiece of paper containing songs The paper contained the songs of the year 1960’s that were communicating vital message concerning the American people traditions, culture, society, theirs struggles. The most important messages contained in letter emphasized on the words like; change is goanna come and people must get ready for the struggle. For example, the song by Aretha Franklin containing the song â€Å"Respect† communicated vital message concerning struggle of the American people against racial discrimination especially among the black Americans. In his song Mr. Franklin was trying to communicate vital message to the American and society at large on the importance of respecting all kinds of people

Marketing Financial Services Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Financial Services - Case Study Example Marketing is defined as â€Å"managing profitable customer relationships â€Å" (Kotler Armstrong 28). Marketing is a way of approaching business, not simply a function that deals with sales and promotional material. Most industry sectors adopted a marketing mindset in the middle of the last century, but for financial services, it was not until government regulations were relaxed that banks found they needed to use marketing to win new customers and retain existing ones. The market in financial services is dominated by several large organisations, some specialising in specific financial products, such as pensions and life assurance, while others provide a full range of products, being a â€Å"one-stop shop† for a customer’s financial needs. Financial services are broadly divided into retail and commercial activities. The retail area is further divided into personal and business, with products in each specifically for those customers. Many of the commercial activities are not marketed heavily as they are extremely specialised. They would fall within business-to-business marketing, as would marketing activities directed at business customers within the retail area. Banking is an unusual activity in that it requires customers to deposit the raw material required to do business – money. What the banks do is limited by how much they hold on behalf of customers (savings and credit balances), compared with the amount they make available to other customers (through lending) and the relative risk associated with the funds held. Legislation also requires that banks maintain a specific ratio of capital assets available at all times. Financial institutions have to manage risk associated with default – overdrafts or loans not being repaid. This is usually reflected in the price of the produce – the â€Å"margin† or interest rate charged. The higher the risk, the higher the rate charged. In some cases, banks will not permit overdrafts or provide

Exploring the Role of National Culture on Attitudes towards Education Research Proposal

Exploring the Role of National Culture on Attitudes towards Education - Research Proposal Example As the report declares education is the only way to ensure the survival of the civilization, mainly by passing existing knowledge to the younger generations and giving them the capacity to seek further knowledge. However, in the face of globalization, the old methods of transmitting knowledge have become out-dated, especially since the world has become more competitive with the need for people to keep up with changing conditions. These days the world is information-driven and no one can afford to have out-dated information. The United Kingdom emphasises on historical happenings and preservation of cultural values. In the current world, people must be ready to learn from experiences but not to keep looking back at them. All citizens must be involved in the development agenda despite their age, race or gender. This study aims at identifying the cultural values underlying perceptions on education, and making recommendations that would enable stakeholders to work seamlessly for the betterment of the country. The sample will consist of between 120 and 160 secondary schools, only including schools that have data on their student composition, performance, and are willing to give out the data freely. If more schools are willing to provide their data such that it overwhelms the researcher, then random sampling will be employed but taking into consideration the representation of schools and students. This will be the sample for the qualitative part of the study, which will be all about identifying extent, correlations and statistical significance of the interactions of various phenomena under study. The qualitative part of the study will use a cluster sample, and the importance of this sample will be to identify for trends, and look for other

Childhood vaccinations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Childhood vaccinations - Essay Example Describing her helplessness, another polio sufferer writes, â€Å"I found it very frustrating to have an active mind in a permanently disabled body† (Gillan 1). Many individuals suffer from completely preventable diseases that could have been avoided if they were vaccinated in childhood. The very fact that a disease as preventable as polio was allowed to ruin so many lives makes it unbearable. Despite the awareness on immunizations and vaccinations, the multi-million dollar investments made by governments on vaccinations, the free camps and vaccination drives organized every day, there are many who fail to get their children immunized or are too scared to do so. Failure to get children immunized puts them at risk of innumerable life-threatening or permanently disabling diseases that would otherwise have been completely preventable. It is argued here that children should get immunized and that vaccination is the right of every child, as much as is his right to living. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a Millennium Development Goal 4 for reducing child (under five years of age) mortality by up to two thirds by the year 2015 (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). According to reports, millions of children die every year from diseases that could have been prevented through immunization. Vaccination is also a key strategy for the prevention of emergence of pandemic infections. The WHO reports that vaccination results in the prevention of about 2-3 million deaths all over the world each year (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). Deaths in all age groups from pertussis, diphtheria, tetanus, measles and polio have been prevented through vaccination, which is â€Å"one of the most successful and cost-effective public health interventions† (â€Å"10 facts on immunization† who.int). However, many individuals fail to get their children immunized, resulting in morbidity or

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II Assignment

Organizational Support for Creativity Part II - Assignment Example ate Education (2012) noted about the impact of the size of organizations on the support for creativity, I am convinced that your organization can do even better in supporting creativity if there was a way of categorizing the potentials of different people within the organization. This way, the organization would have a relatively smaller quantum of creativity to support than supporting individual creativity in the manner that currently exists for your large organization with 6000 employees. Hoever, I., van Knippenberg, D., van Ginkel, W., & Barkema, H. (2012). Fostering team creativity: Perspective taking as key to unlocking diversitys potential. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 97(5), 982–996. In terms of the room given to employees to be creative, I find that your organization is very different from mine because in my case there is so much room for people to explore their individual creative skills. But analyzing your organization critically, I find that one crucial factor that influenced creativity was the nature of organizational structure you have where the top seem to be so much apart from the down. This is because Ekvall (1996) notes that in such situations, there is much likely to be absence of support for creativity because the top hardly knows what is taking place downward (Kim, Kim and Wilde, 2008). I am therefore of the opinion that if there was a frontline management system, a lot more would have been seen of employees in terms of what they have to offer to the organization and so they would have been given the freedom to create (Ekvall, 1996). I would therefore conclude by saying that the importance of leading from all levels of the organization is to ensure that leaders are close enough with subordinates so that they can promote them to be

Liberty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Liberty - Essay Example Other academicians have related life to existence in state of nature under a social contract. Liberty is connoted into two major different kinds. Classical liberalists and individualists have conceptualized liberty as consisting of individual freedom outside coercision and compulsion, this is the kind of liberty known as Negative liberty.Whereas, social liberalists conceptualize liberty with emphasis to the social structure and agency, this is the second kind of liberty known as Positive liberty .In summary we basically have two kinds of liberty which are: positive liberty and negative liberty. Positive liberty explains that a person can find freedom in his ability to exercise agency, by having adequate power and resources to enable him to do his will without being misled by societal views such as sexism, structuralism and racism. Thomas Hobbes explains that``a free man is he that†¦.is not hindered to do what he hath the will to do `` Hobbes (235).John Stuart Mill was the first to recognize that there is a difference between liberty as a freedom of action or to act and liberty as an absence of coercion. According to Berlin (221), the difference between the two perspectives as opposite concepts of liberty; positive liberty and negative liberty where the latter manifested a negative condition of individual protection from tyranny as well as arbitrary exercise to authority. Whereas the former meant the ability to have means or opportunity other than to lack restraint of doing things or acting. The term negative liberty has different noteworthy aspects.Firstly; it defines zones or realms of freedom in the aspect of science (science of law) Hobbes (197).The distinguishing idea between the two kinds of liberty is traced back to Kant who examined it in the year 1940s; he explained that the two kinds of liberty are not merely different but rivals. Positive liberty requires not

Recognise the impact of prejudice Essay Example for Free

Recognise the impact of prejudice Essay Three of the examples of prejudice or stereotyping in Task 9 and describe what strategies/methods as a community interpreter would use to influence/educate agencies in overcoming these barriers. Write about what systems agencies already have in place to overcome these particular barriers. Example 1: The Iranian Interpreter, how would you deal with this situation in a professional manner? Strategy: Get to know a person on an individual basis before you decide if you dont like them. Youre not going to like everyone, but you do need to respect them as an individual and spend time with them before you make a judgment. You need to realize that your way isnt the only way. Example 2: People who came from an Arab background and who attended mosques were looked at differently. This means that people you passed every day on the street were given a discrimination.This is not fair treatment Strategy: Learn about different cultures and people to understand differences between yourself and others. As you learn more, you can relate to other people better even when differences exist. You need to go where you are in the minority and experience what it is like to be in that situation. Example 3:Many people have the view of a person with mental illness as someone who is violence-prone. Strategy: Be respectful of differences. You need to be able to agree to disagree. Even if you dont have eye contact with each other, you will feel and know that their attitudes and behavior.

Business Analysis of Yoplait in Mauritius

Business Analysis of Yoplait in Mauritius What is yogurt? Yogurt is a dairy product formed by the fermentation of milk from the action of two live bacteria; lactobacillus bulgaricus and streptococcus thermophilus. These are micro-organisms which transform the milk into the yogurt through a process by which they convert the lactose present in the milk into lactic acid, making the product digestible for people who are cannot ‘tolerate milk and maintaining the balance in the intestinal flora. The yogurt should contain 10 millions of lactic ferments per gram and must be alive to be designated as ‘yogurt. Yogurts are thus fresh products which should be kept frozen at most at 6à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ up to its expiry date in order to conserve all its nutritional benefits. History of Yoplait Yoplait was established in 1965 and was recognised as the first complete range of fresh daily products. Furthermore, Yoplait showed innovation as it was the first brand ever to offer refrigerated products to its customers in ‘throw-away packages whereas other products were still sold in jars. In 1967, Yoplait came with the concept of fruit yogurt and established itself on the French market before conquering the world. From its huge success, new products were consecutively launched; diet dairy products in 1972, the first drinking yogurt, Yop, in 1974, yogurt specially for kids in 1985, the fromage frais, Cà ¢lin, in 1987, a range of milk-based desserts in 1992 and Perle de Lait in 1996 (to cite the most famous ones). Yoplait also differentiates itself from other yogurt brands as it constantly shows originality by launching new products, improving them and working strongly on promotion around the world. Today, Yoplait is so successful that it is present in almost 50 countries through subsidiaries, joint ventures and franchisees. It is the number two worldwide (after Danone) and latest statistics show that more than 15,000 cartons of Yoplait are eaten every minute around the world. As the Chairman of Yoplait states, â€Å"We are determined to ensure that the little flower continues its growth and blossoms all over the world.† Yoplait in Mauritius The Yoplait brand established itself in Mauritius in 1976 through a franchise with Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e, a subsidiary of the Food and Allied Group of companies, established in 1966. Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e is today the producer of Yoplait, Candia and Miko products through franchise, technical partnerships and international branding. Marketing mix of Yoplait in Mauritius Product The presence of Yoplait in Mauritius is not only concerned with yogurts, but with a variety of other products. However, for the purpose of the study, it should be noted that the emphasis will be entirely made on yogurts. In this sense, Maurilait has segmented its yogurts into different categories; 1. Firm yogurts; comprising of Nature Sucrà ©, Nature, Silhouette Nature, and Ti-Yoplait. 2. Mixed yogurts; 3. Drinks It should also be noted there also exists different conditionings and groupings for Yoplaits yogurts, namely, tubs of 100g, 115g, 125g, 150g and 1kg. Price Different Yoplait goods have different production costs and therefore have different market prices. When these products are freshly manufactured at Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e, they have a lower price than when they are distributed by Panagora Marketing Ltd. This is so, because Panagora also has to gain a profit from their transactions. However in Mauritius, the outlets show differences in price of Yoplait yogurt products over the whole island. Since, there is no law pertaining that the manufacturer or distributor can impose a fix price for their products, retailers have the right to put their own prices irrespective of whether it is exaggerated or not. Thus, Maurilait and Panagora can only recommend prices for the products. (see Appendix) Place (Distribution) It is Panagora Marketing Ltd, another subsidiary of the Food and Allied Group of Companies, which is in charge of the distribution of all products manufactured at Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e. It ensures that all Yoplait products are accessible to everyone within the island. To do so, it was established that the distribution will be carried out according to three distinct groups: 1. CDP, that is, Commerce De Proximità ©. This category englobes all cornershops, cafetarias and other little businesses around the island. 2. GMS, that is, Grandes et Moyennes Surfaces. For this group, Panagora ensures that the distribution is adequately made to all supermarkets and hypermarkets in the country. 3. Food service, comprising the sale and distribution of Yoplait products in bulk, namely to hotels and restaurants. It should be noted that this system is in fact used for all products distributed by Panagora Marketing Ltd, in order to ensure that the specific needs and requirements of the different categories are met. Promotion All advertisements of Yoplait in Mauritius are designed and disseminated by one of the most famous advertising agencies in Mauritius, namely, Circus Advertising Company Ltd, which is again a member of the Food and Allied Group of Companies. Regarding sales promotion, feasibility studies are conducted by Maurilait Productions Ltà ©e in collaboration with Panagora Marketing Ltd. If the studies reveal that such promotion will be profitable for both organisations, it is again Circus which will be in charge of promoting the new offers. Literature Review Introduction This section will mainly investigate how customer satisfaction, retention and loyalty affect an organisation. But before going into the subject, an essential point should be considered; customer relationship. As will be demonstrated in details below, satisfaction is more likely to induce loyalty and hence profitability if relationships between customers and firms are effectively managed. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) deals with the management philosophy that enables a business to identify, attract and retain the most ‘profitable customers and at the same time build and manage strong relationships with them by delivering superior value and satisfaction. The different stages related to the creation of those relationships are illustrated below: The courtship stage is the one in which the company starts to ‘know the customer and so loyalty is very weak and nearly inexistent. The relationship phase is where the feeling of commitment towards the organisation starts to grow. A strong attachment to the firm is created and the customer is no more likely to switch to competitors. Finally the marriage stage is when a long lasting relationship is created. At this stage, the degree of loyalty is very high and the customers even get personally involved in the organisation. It should be noted that the customers should somehow not be taken for granted. The marriage stage is not an eternal one, and if ever the customer gets disappointed by the company repeatedly or if the relationship is not effectively managed, he may stop any contact with the company, that is, dissolute the relationship. From now on, this section of the study will focus on how these relationships are linked to the satisfaction rate of the customer and how it affects the whole organisation. Customer satisfaction In earlier decades, Hunt (1977) already identified customer satisfaction as the degree to which the customer is pleased by a product and how far he feels his needs and wants being met. More recently, Schiffman, et al. (2008) defined customer satisfaction as being ones perception of the performance of a product or service relative to ones expectations. As can be noticed, the dimensions of customer satisfaction have evolved and they are no longer restricted to simple terms like pleasure and needs fulfilment. Instead, thorough investigation was conducted to come with the essence of the customer satisfaction state; expectations and perceptions about the products and services offered. Kotler et al. (2005) also argued in the same sense, saying that â€Å"customer satisfaction depends on the products perceived performance relative to the buyers expectations.† Both definitions show that if the performance of a product is below the level of expectations, the customer will eventually be dissatisfied and if ever the expectations level matches that of the product performance, satisfaction occurs. Hoyer and MacInnis (2001) illustrated this theory by using the confirmation and disconfirmation paradigm; This model conceptualises the occurrence of satisfaction and dissatisfaction states. For instance, consumers have expectations about the performance of a product. For example, a consumer has certain expectations before tasting a yogurt. If the level of expectations matches that of the performance, in this case the taste of the yogurt, there is confirmation of expectations and the customer is neither satisfied nor dissatisfied. On the other hand, if the performance of the product goes beyond customers expectations, there is positive disconfirmation and the customer is satisfied. If ever the performance of the product is below the level of expectations, there will be negative disconfirmation and thus, dissatisfaction. Furthermore, it is also claimed that a customer is highly satisfied and even delighted if the performance experienced from the product exceeds the expectations level, meaning that both satisfaction and delight may occur from the positive disconfirmation stage. To come forward with this argument, Lovelock and Wirtz (2004) adapted a diagram of how factors influence the customers expectations based form Zeithaml et al. (1993) work. However, there is no ‘absolute definition of the term ‘customer satisfaction and over the past years, many authors tried to illustrate it but we can observe that the different definitions converge to the same broad ideas on the relationship between how the product performs and what the buyers expect from the good itself. During the last decades, organisations came to understand the growing importance of customer satisfaction and from there, the need for delivering value to customers and building relationships came into existence. Importance of customer satisfaction Even with the growing importance of customer satisfaction, some companies still underestimate its value. In the article Surveys value is underestimated (Anon, 2005) it was consequently argued that measuring customers satisfaction also involves the measurement of their dissatisfaction. The author firmly believed that the dissatisfied customers, together with prospects, hold valuable information contributing to the success of the company. Arussy, L (2005) even consolidates this argument by saying that customers and companies both demonstrate distinct ways of thinking, operating and decision-making. Companies fail to satisfy their customers as they assert that they understand them when in fact, they are just following their own rules. Behaving in such a manner ends up in creating the efficient relationship paradox, as illustrated below. In simple terms, the efficient relationship paradox relates to the way in which customers are taken for granted. Before the creation of any relationship with customers, that is, at the courtship stage, companies invest huge amounts of money in promotion and other marketing tools to attract them. When the customer enters in the relationship phase, that is, he starts to demonstrate financial and emotional interests, the firm drops the level of investment in order to maximise profits. In so doing, the customer does not feel valued and automatically defects, thus having the opposite result of firms prior expectations. This is illustrated as the gap in the above diagram, showing that there is a complete misunderstanding between the customers anticipations and the companys actions. Consequently, organisations must be able to understand that customers should not be treated as â€Å"one time acquisitions†. They should essentially be oriented towards valuing their customers and fulfilling their expectations in order to provide them with what they are waiting for and so, giving them satisfaction. Sà ¶derlund (1998) also points out that customer satisfaction generates a powerful tool of colossal importance for organisations; the word of mouth. As described by the cited author, it is â€Å"the extent to which the customer informs friends, relatives and colleagues about an event that has created a certain level of satisfaction†. Hart et al. (1990) went into more details by claiming that the level of the satisfaction may either positively or negatively affect the word of mouth. For instance, satisfying the customer creates positive word of mouth, that is, talking ‘good about the company, and dissatisfying the customer leads to negative word of mouth, that is, talking ‘bad about the firm. He added that â€Å"customers who have had bad experiences tell approximately 11 people about it; those with good experiences tell just 6†. This demonstrates that companies should be extremely careful in delivering value to their customers as failing to do so, may cost them a lot in terms of their reputation. Bad comments may be spread nearly twice faster than it would have been with positive comments. Subsequently, organisations should focus on providing satisfaction to their customers so as to enhance the building of a good reputation. To return on the efficient relationship paradox subject, firms should be conscious that maintaining such an unwise strategy will create a pool of frustrated and dissatisfied customers who will not hesitate to ‘bad-mouth† them and degrade their reputation, which would evidently imply extensive costs for the organisation to overcome this dilemma. Factors affecting customer satisfaction Many drivers of customer satisfaction have been identified through the numerous research conducted during the past decades. However, for the purpose of this study, factors influencing customer satisfaction in the service industry will not be considered since it will not be relevant with the actual research being performed. Consequently, some of the most important drivers of satisfaction are summarised below:- Total Quality Management (TQM) In this line, Rampersad (2001) argued that to attain satisfaction of customers, everyone in the organisation should consider that constant improvement in performance is of primary importance. In order to achieve this, there are fundamental questions that the firm should take into consideration: Which products/services the company provides The product/ service should be defined as more concretely as possible; the more specific the definition is, the better the customer needs are met. Who are the customers The company should know all its customers and examine their needs attentively. It should be noted that both internal and external customers should be considered, the internal ones being the employees. What are the wants and requirements of customers At this stage communication is crucial. Customers needs and desires should be investigated together with their feedback about the current offering. Which are the processes that need to be improved From all the data collected, the company becomes aware of whether they are able to fulfil their customers expectations, needs and wants. And the firm is also now able to improve areas in which all the above steps revealed failures. However, even if everything is respected, TQM relies on the principle that there is always room for improvement. Employee Skills and Satisfaction Rampersad (2001) also stated that â€Å"All employees determine the degree of customer satisfaction. Employees from within departments should be considered as customers of each other† For a customer to be satisfied, he should obtain a good service from the employees, and for the latter to deliver such a service, they should be satisfied with their job. Regular surveys Monitoring customers expectations and perceptions via regular research is an excellent tool for maintaining the standards of an organisation. When a firm is well informed about the expectations of a customer, it can easily deliver value according to those anticipations. Furthermore, it is also essential for a firm to be aware of how customers perceive it, together with the perceptions of the product or service offerings and performance. With these precious pieces of information, organisations are able to be proactive and thus know exactly how to satisfy and even delight its clientele. Technology According to McKinsey (2001), technology can be critical in leading to critical improvements in levels of customer satisfaction if it is properly used. West (unknown) also added that companies should compulsorily be up to date with technological advances or else be confronted to irreversible consequences. Technology can provide additional features to a product, enhancing better product quality. Technology can also improve productivity and thus be easily fulfilling increasing demand. Taking Yoplait in Mauritius as example, technology succeeded in increasing the yogurts lifetime from 28 to 30 days within only a few years. Reputation and Credibility Kuusik (2007) found in his research that it is of critical importance to match the image and values both from the companys and customers perspective. Also referred as trustworthiness, the level of credibility is critical to the behaviour of the customer. If the level of trustworthiness decreases, the customers will no longer be satisfied and will eventually start to look out for other alternatives. A company should always maintain a high reputation in order to keep its customers satisfied. Sales and Post-Sales Experience It is often the case that products are more likely to be sold by distributors rather than the manufacturers themselves. Therefore, an eye should be kept on the customer experience at the point of sale, since the satisfaction level of customers is inevitably linked to the service quality obtained there. As such, customer sales experience can leave â€Å"a good or bad taste†. If a customer obtains a great sales experience, it is most probable that he will be satisfied and stay with the organisation, whereas if the sales experience is poor, he is more likely to switch to competitors. In the same line, after sales is also a critical factor. The customer should be able to obtain the desired information and assistance about the products purchased. For example, a customer must be able to ask for exchange if ever he purchased an expired product. Customer loyalty Oliver (1999) suggests that loyalty is â€Å"a deeply held commitment to rebuy or repatronise a preferred product or service consistently in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same-brand set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts having the potential to cause switching behaviours.† However, the term customer loyalty may be found to be complex to define, and for this reason, many authors tried to categorise and segment customers with the aim of understanding the nature of their loyalty and thus take the most appropriate marketing actions. Rowley (2005) tried to illustrate it by asserting that customers may show loyalty in various ways; i) they can choose to continue to do business with a particular provider, ii) they may also increase the number of purchases or the frequency of those purchases or iii) they can become advocates of the firm. However, it should be noted that the categories above may eventually be overlapping, that is, a customer may show all three behaviours, or simply one or two of them. Taylor, Celuch and Goodwin (2004), came with the following research model Taking the definition of Bowen and Chen (2001), the behavioural approach considers the repeat and consistent purchase of products and services making the customer a loyal one. However, repeated purchase does not necessarily symbolise a form commitment to the company Attitudinal approach uses the emotional and psychological attachment felt towards the firm. It states that â€Å"the attitudinal measurements are about the sense of loyalty, engagement and allegiance.† After having questioned nearly 10,000 respondents in the United States of America about the real application of these variables on loyalty, these two authors reached to the following conclusions: Behavioural loyalty is mostly concerned with brand equity and trust while affect, resistance to change and value do contribute but to a lesser proportion. Concerning satisfaction, it seems that there exists no significant statistical relationship. Again, brand equity and trust have a major relationship with attitudinal loyalty whereas affect and satisfaction have a smaller contribution. In contrast with the results obtained with behavioural loyalty, no significant statistical connection seems to be present between attitudinal loyalty and value and resistance to change. Therefore, they asserted that all the variables present in the model have a contribution to the loyalty level of customers but they can vary across different settings and situations. Bowen and Chen (2001) in addition to the behavioural and attitudinal approaches, illustrated another measurement of loyalty; the composite approach. It combines both the behavioural and attitudinal dimensions which states that loyal customers have positive attitudes towards the organisation, are committed to repeat purchase and recommend the product/service to others. Furthermore, Dick and Basu (1994) argued that loyalty is in fact the strength of the relationship between those behavioural and attitudinal behaviours (repeat patronage and relative attitude) and accordingly proposed four conditions of loyalty which are illustrated in the diagram below Rowley (2005) segments even more the loyalty dimension by suggesting four additional orientations: Captive are most of the time customers who continue to purchase and use a product or service because they have no other alternative. They have a positive attitude towards the brand but may easily be poached by competitors who offer alternative products and especially if the switching cost is reduced or facilitated. Convenience-seekers are routine buyers who purchase with low involvement and usually engage in repeat transactions associated with the brand. They do not show any particular attitude towards the brand and are susceptible to promotions offered by competitors which show more convenience than what they are actually having. Contented customers generally evaluate products based on their merits and attributes and the brand owner may use this opportunity to build relationship with those customers who already made transactions with the brand. They have a positive attitude towards the brand but may switch if they get better value elsewhere or if the product is lagging behind compared to others on the market Committed ones barely consider other brands and are prepared to be involved in the brand or firm. They have a positive attitude and deliver positive word of mouth comments. These customers may somehow be lost if the product fails repeatedly with no appropriate recovery and if competitors offer new products that deliver more value. Each level of the diagram can be defined as follows;  · Suspects: These include all the buyers of the product present in the marketplace who are either unaware of the product or have no intention of purchasing it  · Prospects: These are potential customers who are attracted by the businesss offerings but have not yet started any transaction.  · Customers: Buyers of the product who do not have any feeling of attachment towards the organisation.  · Clients: These are repeat customers who do have a feeling of attachment towards the company but whose contribution is more passive than active.  · Advocates: They are clients who support actively the organisation by recommending the product and service to people around them.  · Partners: This is the strongest form of customer-supplier relationship which is maintained as both parties perceive the relationship as being mutually advantageous. Relationship between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty and profitability. Many companies tend to assume that the link between satisfaction and loyalty is simple and linear, that is, the higher the satisfaction level, the higher the loyalty rate. However, many studies showed that this believed link is neither simple, nor linear. In their study, Bowen and Chen (2001) found out that â€Å"customer satisfaction does not equal customer loyalty†. The resulting table below indicates the relationship between the overall satisfaction of the respondents and their intent to return and willingness to recommend the company. Score on overall satisfaction % Stating they would recommend the hotel % Stating they would return 7 62.6 65.0 6 29.8 24.6 5 and lower 7.6 10.4 Their research, making reference to that of Oliva et al. (1992), also revealed that when satisfaction has reached a certain level, there is a considerable increase in loyalty, and similarly, when satisfaction level declines to a certain point, loyalty drops radically. As the research of Bowen and Chen shows, only extremely satisfied customers would repeat purchases and spread positive comments on the firm. The authors Hill and Alexander (2006) also gave their opinion about this relationship. Based on the research of the Royal Bank of Scotland (n.d), they pointed out that there was a very close link between satisfaction and intended loyalty and customers could only be retained at the highest levels of satisfaction. On their part, Mittal and Lassar (1998) claimed that, while a dissatisfaction state was synonymous with a switching behaviour, a satisfaction one did not guarantee loyalty. They therefore asserted that, still, there was a correlation between satisfaction and loyalty, but that this relationship was rather asymmetrical. In this sense, Bennett and Rundle-Thiele (2004) concluded that managers should not entirely rely on sole fact that satisfaction ratings of customers are high are enough to predict future purchase. Hence, companies should realise that merely satisfying customers is not enough; instead they should concentrate their efforts to extremely satisfy and delight them. As Berman (2005) stated, organisations must do more than delivering on expectations of their customers. In this sense, Gee et al. (2008) added that customer delight can provide the stable loyalty that companies look for. The Kano (1984) model cited in Berman (2005) work distinguishes three levels that explain how customer delight can be reached. i) Must be requirements It is defined as the basic requirement that the customer expects from the product. If this requirement is not matched, the customer will eventually be dissatisfied. ii) Satisfier requirements This requirement has the ability to bring about satisfaction. The more of these are fulfilled, the higher the level of satisfaction. iii) Attractive requirements These are additional requirements that the customer neither expected nor expressed. It is believed that if these requirements are met, delight will be attained. Nevertheless, Gustaffson et al. (2005) also identified two other drivers of customer loyalty, namely, calculative commitment and affective commitment. The calculative commitment is the rational and economic decisions taken by the customer regarding costs and benefits implied, together with costs of switching to other brands, whereas the affective commitment is an emotional factor based on the value and trust offered to the customer. Subsequently, as argued, loyalty is essential to retain current customers. Reichheld (2002) suggested that if customer loyalty is obtained, profits will eventually follow. In his collaborative study with Sasser (1990) and cited in Lovelock and Wirtz (2007), four reasons why loyalty contributes to a firms profitability were identified; 1) Profit is derived from increased purchases When an organisation provides high-quality products and service, individuals may wish to purchase more with them. This may be due to an increase in family size or increase in affluence. It should be somehow noted that in whatever the cause, the loyal customer will continue to purchase with a single company. 2) Profit is derived from reduced operating costs Loyal customers cost less to serve because they know the product and attached procedures and thus require less information and assistance. 3) Profit from referrals of other customers Loyal customers provide free promotion to the company by spreading positive word of mouth, implying that the firm needs less investment in this domain. 4) Profit from price premium It often happens that new customers benefit from an introductory discounted price, whereas loyal customers are more likely to pay regular prices, and even higher ones during peak periods. Clark (1997) went in the same sense by saying that loyal customers will remain customers for a longer period, will purchase more, will be willing to pay more and will provide more business by means of referrals. However, organisations should understand that it is far better to ‘cultivate existing customers than to ‘hunt for new ones. Reichheld and Sasser (1990) even found that 5% increase in customer loyalty and retention is enough to generate a profit increase range of 25% to 125%. Still, companies should bear in mind that all their customers are profitable ones. Clark (1997) recognised that a firm should accurately choose and care for its most profitable customers and at the same time, deselecting the least profitable ones. To make the right decision, organisations can make use of Reinartz and Kumar (2002) model. Customers are segmented into four categories based on their forecasted lifetime duration and profitability. According to Noone et al. (2003) interpretation of Reinartz and Kumar (2002) work; * Butterflies are highly profitable short-term customers. They are always in search of best deals and avoid building relationships with organisations. * True friends are highly profitable long-term customers. These customers are believed to exhibit true loyalty and commitment to a single firm and efforts should be directed towards building relationships with them. * Strangers are low profitable short-term customers. It is with this kind of customers that firms should particularly avoid investing in building relationships with them. Gee et al. even states â€Å"Identify early and dont invest anything† * Barnacles are low profitable long-term customers. They are usually loyal but have a negative impact on profitability. Dear Sir/Madam, My name is Marie-Estelle Lebon and I am a student in Marketing Management Level III at the University of Mauritius. For the purpose of my final year project, I would like to have your opinions on the Yoplait yogurts specific range of products and I would be grateful if you could assist me in filling this questionnaire. Rest assured that all the information that you will provide is only for academic purposes and will rema