Goldman Sachs Fraud Case Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Goldman Sachs Fraud Case - Research Paper Example Goldman Sachs Fraud Case Introduction Goldman Sachs defrauded investors by failing to reveal the apparent conflict of interest on mortgage investment it floated as the housing market became sour. The charges that were brought forward by the Securities Exchange Commission against Goldman Sachs argued for unlawful action and fraud in the trading of toxic subprime mortgage derivative securities. Nevertheless, Goldman Sachs affirmed that they were merely following normal business practices and had not committed any wrong. The Goldman Sachs fraud case elicited critical issues centering on the inadequacy of the investment banking practices, and raised the question whether it is a case of deceptive or unethical behavior (Craig & Scannell, 2010). The three-month legal ordeal erased close to $20billion of the firm’s stock-market value. A lively public discussion that followed the charge of Goldman Sachs by SEC centered on whether Goldman Sachs, broadly viewed as an embodiment of bubble -era greed, was also a lawbreaker. Questions emanated on whether Goldman bankers warranted condemnation for deliberately exploiting the naivety of investors to gain from the trading of debt instruments that were bets on a market Goldman Sachs was doomed to collapse (Whalen & Bhala, 2011). Although the transaction entailed in the SEC’s lawsuit can be regarded as small by Goldman Sachs’ standards, its arrangement alludes to weighty questions regarding the fault of the banks in driving up a market within mortgage-derived securities that lingered practically inclined to self-destruction (Buell, 2011). The SEC was asking whether Goldman Sachs gained from both sides in a way that contravened their fiduciary obligation to their customers. The SEC claimed that investors essentially lost over $1billion dollars and that Paulson’s short option debt instrument on the credit instrument derived a profit of more than $1billion (Jones, 2010). Email traffic pointed out that Tour re plus others were aware of the subprime mishap as early as January 2007 before the crisis became full blown. The SEC sought a restriction, disgorgement of profits, and sanctions with regard to interest and civil monetary penalties (Craig & Scannell, 2010). In addition to these charges, criminal prosecutors were exploring whether Goldman Sachs or its employees committed securities fraud with regard to the firm’s mortgage trading. #1 The Fraud Goldman’s case entailed four forms of securities that all played some roles amid the 2008 financial downturn: first, the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) embodying a form of security derived from pooling of mortgages on residential real-estate into bonds; a credit-default swap (CDS) representing a form of insurance policy; a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) representing a debt security collateralized by debt obligation; and, synthetic CDO’s (SCDOs) equivalent to ordinary to ordinary CDOs excluding that inv estors own CDOs on real securities rather than the real securities themselves. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil fraud charge against Goldman Sachs & Co, as well its vice presidents for fraud for misrepresenting information meant for investors by misstating key facts regarding a financial product connected to subprime mortgages at a moment when the housing market within the United States started to crumble and lose value (Buell, 2011).  

Type A Influenza Virus And Why The Biology Of This Virus Is A Threat Essay

Type A Influenza Virus And Why The Biology Of This Virus Is A Threat To Human - Essay Example This is of great importance in the epidemiology of the disease. Antigenic variability is highest in influenza virus type A and less in type B, while it has not been demonstrated in type C. The internal RNP antigen and M protein antigen are stable but both the surface antigens, hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, undergo independent antigenic variations, which may be of two types - antigenic shift and antigenic drift. Here, the new antigens, though different from the previous antigens, are related to them, so that they react with the antisera to the predecessor virus strains, to varying degrees. Antigenic drift is due to the mutation and selection, the process being influenced by the presence of antibodies to the predecessor strains in the host population. Antigenic drift accounts for the periodical epidemics of influenza. Antigenic shift, on the other hand, is an abrupt, drastic, discontinuous variation in the antigenic structure, resulting in a novel virus strain unrelated antigenically to predecessor strains. Such changes may involve hemagglutinin, neuraminidase or both. Antibodies to predecessor viruses do not neutralize the new variants and can, therefore, spread widely in the population causing major epidemics or pandemics.

Appropriation of Brand Extension

Appropriation of Brand Extension LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter intends to set the theoretical frame of the thesis by introducing the main areas needed to create the basis of our analysis, shaping the ways towards our own main purpose. Thus, it begins with the roots of brand extension and starts of with the concepts of brand, brand identity and brand hierarchy and then leads into brand extension and explains it as a means of growth for a brand. Narrowing down the scope, it goes into the typology of brand extension and identifies the successful and unsuccessful factors of brand extension. Finally it identifies certain rules for the success of brand extension and looks at different models used for the effectiveness of brand extension. 2.1 BRANDING: In todays world of increased competition and consumer awareness, the marketing of new products has become ever more complex. We have moved into a time where consumers are literate enough to choose their own products on the basis of their judgment and where competition among products and services gives them an opportunity to select the best product that would suit their need. Branding has become one of the most important issues in the launch of a new product. Having functional and emotional attributes attached to it, branding has gained popularity as consumer relates more and more to it. Historically examples of branding can be found as early as 9000 years ago when owners or manufacturers used to give distinctive and distinguishing symbol or name to their property or product. However it was the 19thcentury that arguably saw the dawn of the modern branding era and it was the industrial revolution that caused its birth. It was the industrial revolution that created the mass production t hat meant an ever- increasing proportion of people worked for a manufacturer and not themselves. They no longer needed to mark the products that they produced as their own; rather what they produced was collectively produced for one company. Before we proceed further, lets look more deeply into branding and then link that to the concept of brand extension. 2.1.1 DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION Different scholars have defined the word brand differently as different meaning or contexts have been attached to them. Balmer and Greyser (2003) have given the most explanatory definition of branding explaining both the traditional and their own perspective about branding. They have stepped forward from the traditional definitions of branding and have defined branding on the corporate level having corporate implications. According to them three type of definitions have been identified. The first two are traditional whereas the third one is the advanced version of branding which incorporates their point of view about branding. They are: Erstwhile. In its simplest sense a brand denotes a name, logotype, or trademark and was originally used to signify ownership as with branding of live stock. These are, increasingly, seen to be points of entry to the essence of a brand rather than the essence of branding per se. (Definition similar to the one given in Oxford Concise Dictionary) Established. This refers to the added values that a brand brings to a product. Products may or may not have brand values. Product brand values are superimposed by the organization by its marketing and communication experts and advisers. They are made memorable. In the main, such values are fashioned in the mind; not on the production floor. They are, essentially, synthetic. Whereas products are made in a factory, brand values exist in the mind. Brands can be timeless in a way that products may not be. However Balmer and Greyser(2003) have identified a new understanding about brands. They call this aspect of branding as emergent Emergent. While the category most certainly is established, the fundamental differences between this category and the other two are only beginning to be appreciated. This category refers to brands at the corporate level. Corporate brand values are not contrived; they need to be bona fide. The role of personnel and of culture in establishing and maintaining and understanding corporate brand values is of essence. In the words of Sir Michael Perry, a former Chairman of Unilever, brand is much more than a symbol to differentiate goods and services: In the modern world, brands are a key part of how individuals define themselves and their relationships with one another. More and more we are simply consumers We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive. This description of brand explains that brand is much more than the physical and functional value that it holds. Its a bundle of attributes both functional and emotional. Thus brands not only meet our physical needs but also address our emotional needs. A blind test was conducted on Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was found that Pepsi was preferred over Coke in regards to its taste. Yet the sales of Coke are much higher than Pepsi that shows that despite being functionally better, people are emotionally attached to coke. Stephen King was Director of planning at one of the largest advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson, when he described brand as: People choose their brand as they choose their friends. You choose your friends not usually because of specific skills or physical attributes (though of course these come into it) but simply because you like them as people. It is the total person you choose, not a compendium of virtues and vices. 2.2 BRAND IDENTITY Brand identity refers to the public image of a product, line or service in the eyes of a consumer. McClendon (2003) considers that brand identity is something that exists in the minds and hearts of the consumers when they hear the name of the brand. He further adds that it is the identity of the brand that provides the real strength to the business. It is the visual link between the company and the consumer. Brand identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations and brand personality. Upshaw (1995) has identified brand identity as a brands DNA configuration. He supposes that the particular set of brand elements is blended in a unique way to establish how the brand will be perceived in the market place. According to Kapferer (2001), it is critical for each business to understand that the attributes of a brand represent the indispensable elements. Not all brand managers are aware of this. Yet in order to find out which of the extended brand elements is needed to me diate with the market, pre testing is done and this is considered to be the best method to avoid trails and errors. In his book, Aaker (2000) argues that a brand is more than a product. Creating an extension can benefit the parent brand by helping it break out of the box. According to him, there are several reasons for building a rich extended brand identity, reasons that are going to be illustrated in the following figure and explained underneath it. A richer brand identity is a more accurate reflection of the brand. Just as a person cannot be described in one or two words, neither can a brand. Three word taglines or an identity limited to attributes will simply not be accurate (Aaker, 2000, p. 54). Aaker (2000) considers that the identity of a brand represents what the brand stands for. Taking into consideration that the brand identity is inspirational, it must comprise and reflect the values and cultures of the entire organization. Moreover, customer concern should dominate the strategy of the business. And lastly, Aaker emphasizes in his picture that the extended identity provides a home for constructs that help the brand move beyond attributes. In particular, brand personality and symbols normally fail to make the cut when a terse brand position is developed, yet both are often extremely helpful strategically as well as tactically (Aaker, 2000, p.54). Balmer (2003) has emphasized on the concept of corporate identity and in his historiography model, we are currently in stage 4 in which the emphasis would be on organizational identity, corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate reputation and finally but most importantly corporate branding. 2.3 BRAND HIEARCHY TREE Brand structure can be illustrated logically by using the brand family tree together with all the related sub-brand branches. The figure below can be viewed as an organizational chart. The horizontal and vertical dimensions are grouped after numerous factors such as segment, product, quality and design (Aaker, 2000). The horizontal dimension shows the scope of the brand in terms of the sub brands that lie under the brand umbrella in the box visualized Colgate as a parent brand. The vertical dimension represents the brands and sub-brands that exist for an individual product- market entry (Aaker, 2000). The visualized overview of the whole brand guides the brand managers to keep an eye on its entire brand and to analyze if there are too many or too few. The question is how these brands can be reinforced, what message they deliver to the consumer and what improvements to the particular message can be done (Aaker, 2000). Keeping an eye on this hierarchy is quite important as it enables a company to identify the fit for new extension and also helps to maintain a clear vision of each product keeping in view the rest of the brands in the hierarchy. Thus its easy to maintain fit and leverage in brand extension with the help of this brand hierarchy. Every company would like to see its brand growing and prospering. Brands grow through two principle means. The first mean is called organic growth whereas the second one is called growth through extension. 2.4 ORGANIC GROWTH FOR BRANDS In this case making a brand or product frequently available or adding incentives to the brand makes it more popular. Sales of any one brand increase because what they have to offer becomes attractive to somebody, somewhere. Brands can be made more attractive by improving either the functional or emotional attributes of the brand. Thus in functional attributes we can improve any of the four Ps whereas in emotional one can improve the personality or image of the brand. A good example would be of Coca Cola and their distribution. Not only have they made it available from Atlanta to Zanzibar, from Moscow to Melbourne but also you can buy it from supermarkets, newsagents, cinema, restaurants, street corners, cafà ©, football stadium, pop concert and even at car parks where you have vending machine1. Whilst there are numerous marketing tools to achieve organic growth, this type of growth stems from three things: getting that brand used by more people, getting it used by the same people more often or getting people to use more of it on any of the occasions they use it in the first place. 2.5 GROWTH THROUGH EXTENSION The second and relatively newer way of growing brand is through extension, which is the core focus of this study. Before going into detail about how brands grow through extension, I will firstly define extension and try to differentiate the various types of extensions. Due to the relative immaturity of the concept, there is no standard definition of brand extension and various marketing scholars have given different definition to the same terminology. From the readings that I have conducted of books and research papers, its obvious that around a decade back scholars used to give a more generalized definition of brand extension. The generalization of the definition can be observed from the fact that brand extension was used for extension into both related and non-related products. The following definition will clarify my point of view. In a typical brand extension situation, an established brand name is applied to a new product in a category either related or unrelated, in order to capitalize on the equity of the core brand name (DeGraba and Sullivan, 1995; Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Also certain research papers indicated that brand extension being generalized was then differentiated into two types as indicated by this piece of research work. Brand extensions come in two primary forms: horizontal and vertical. In a horizontal brand extension situation, an existing brand name is applied to a new product introduction in either a related product class, or in a product category completely new to the firm (Sheinin and Schmitt, 1994). A vertical brand extension, on the other hand, involves introducing a brand extension in the same product category as the core brand, but at a different price point and quality level (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Sullivan, 1990). In a vertical brand extension situation, a second brand name or descriptor is usually introduced alongside the core brand name, in order to demonstrate the link between the brand extension and the core brand name (e.g. Marriott Hotels, Courtyard Inn by Marriott). Most recently the word line extension has been given to extension done in the same product category whereas brand extension would refer to extension in unrelated products and in this study I will undertake this understanding of extension. Taylor (2003) has referred to them as direct and indirect stretch. Jobber (2003) has given the term brand extension to line extension whereas brand extension has been referred to as brand stretch. The current emphasis on the subject has been due to its enormous success. Consumers being the end users have become friendlier to the concept and are now accepting it as illustrated on the next page. Its obvious from this graph that consumers are becoming much friendlier to the concept then they were a decade ago and this shows the popularity of the concept and the frequency at which it has been used in the past decade. Lets get an insight into the various types of extension. 2.5.1 LINE EXTENSION OR DIRECT STRETCH Line extension is defined as being a variant of the same basic product. It might be a new flavor or a new size. Basically its a slight variation to the original product. Examples would be of Colgate. We used to have Colgate regular but now we have Colgate total, Colgate Max fresh Gel, my first Colgate for kids, Platinum, Deep clean etc. The basic purpose of this strategy is to encourage more people to use a brand. It can also be considered as a first step towards brand extension. But the only bad thing about too many variations in the products or having too many line extension is that it may confuse the user in regards to which product should he/she use. Also it may cause a cannibalization affect within the product range. 2.5.2 BRAND EXTENSION OR INDIRECT STRETCH Brand extension on the other hand would refer to extending your product range into a product category that wouldnt be commonly associated with it. A simple definition described below will illustrate my point of view. Brand extension is using the leverage of a well known brand name in one category to launch a new product in a different category. (Brandextension.org) Giles Lury in his book about Brand Watching has defined brand extension as: Brand extension is the use (and occasional misuse) of an existing brand name and equity to launch a product or service into a category or market not normally associated with that brand. (Lury, 1998) Thus in contrast to earlier scholars, who had generalized the concept of brand extension, new researchers have distinguished the concept well from line extension. 2.6 RATIONALE BEHIND USING BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension has gained a lot of popularity and is considered to be the key tool for launching new innovations. A survey was conducted by Brand gym in 2003 in which marketing directors were asked about brand extension. The following graph illustrates the response. The results indicated that 83% of the marketing directors thought that brand extension would be the main way of launching new innovation in the next two to three years. Yet research has also shown that only 50 percent of brand extension survives after the first three years. Firstly brand extension differs from line extension because where line extension offers customers more varieties or styles of the original brand in its original market, a brand extension takes an existing brand to pasture new ones. Taking Mars as an example we see that the original chocolate bar has been line extended into different styles including Mars Kingsize, Mars miniature and for a limited period Dark chocolate Mars. However when Mars launched the Mars ice cream, it entered a new market for the brand and as such had extended the brand franchise. Mars also extended into flavored milk drinks market with Mars in a bottle. The rationale behind brand extensions popularity is that its difficult and expensive to launch a completely new brand. The most often quoted statistic being that nine out of every ten new brands fail. New brands are therefore seen as a high, though sometimes high return strategy. On the other hand, brand extension is a cheaper and more reliable method of building on what already exists. Not surprisingly companies who have already invested a lot of money in creating a brand are keen to maximize its full potential. Finally it can be concluded that companies would like to leverage and thus give initial success to the new brand by exploiting the equity that has been established by the parent brand. 2.7 KELLER AND AAKERS WORK ON BRAND EXTENSION Keller and Aaker (1998) extending on their typology of product range extension and corporate brand extension have examined the impact of corporate marketing on a companys brand extension. In their research paper they have described how consumers evaluate brand extension in general and then concentrating on corporate brand extension, they have studied the impact of corporate marketing on consumer evaluation of corporate brand extension in the presence and absence of supporting product advertising. The initial research work describing product brand extension is as follows: Research on consumer responses to extensions of product brands, suggest that two key factors influence consumer evaluation. the types of association that make up the parent brand image the relationship between the parent brand and the extension product These factors affect the consumer belief about whether the new product fits as a member of the product line. In sum, the record therefore suggests that a variety of different associations for the parent brand can be transferred to an extension, assuming a basis of fit exists. Now an extension that they made in regards to brand extension was that they applied this concept to corporate brand extension. But before going further its important to know Aakers three dimensions of corporate credibility. They are: 1. Corporate expertise is the extent to which a company is thought able to competently make and sell its products and services. 2. Corporate trustworthiness is the extent to which a company is thought to be honest, dependable, and sensitive to consumer needs. 3. Corporate likability is the extent to which a company is thought likable, prestigious and interesting. This results gathered from this study have strategic implication both to the benefits/risks associated with brand extension and also to the effectiveness of brand extension. Thus a summary of the results are as follows. Firstly by showing that corporate marketing related to product innovation enhances perceptions of corporate credibility and extension fit, and thus much favorable extension evaluations, this study showed benefits for brands with reputation of high quality products. Secondly this study provided a more detailed account of particular dimensions of corporate credibility, namely corporate expertise, trust worthiness and likeability. Thus this study concluded that corporate expertise appeared to play a more influential role in evaluation of corporate brand extension than either corporate trustworthiness or likeability. Thirdly this study suggested the merits of leveraging a strong brand to introduce a new product. One advantage of using a brand extension strategy to name a new product is that a less concerted advertising effort may be necessary. To the extent that brands extensions are able to leverage existing parent brand associations in consumer memory, a company should find it easier to achieve brand image with an extension branding strategy instead of giving a new product a new name. The fact that corporate marketing activity impacted consumer evaluations of a corporate brand extension in the absence of any product specific advertising is further an empirical support for the benefit of adopting a brand extension strategy. Fourthly this study suggested that corporate marketing activity significantly influenced extension evaluations even when the extension was advertised on the basis of another image dimension point. Thus corporate image associations are more likely to transfer to an extension on the basis of the branding strategy. Lastly this study also suggested that where a company is in a situation of having a trade off between various strategies like reinforcing a strong association, strengthening a weak association or creating a new association, then it wholly depends on the situation of each of the elements to decide which strategy to choose. For example: In some cases, existing associations may be so strong that they may be better off emphasizing other information to fortify a weak or supply a missing association. 2.8 TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSION Limited work has been done on the typology of brand extension. From various research papers, books and websites that I have consulted regarding brand extension, very few have distributed brand extension into different types. (Brandextension.org) have generated the following typology of brand extension taking functional and emotional attributes of the brand into consideration. 1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product. This is where a company changes the form of the product from the original parent product. An example is (frozen) Snickers Ice Cream Bars. The original Snickers bar is a shelf stable candy. The brand extension is a similar product, but in a different form. Jell-O Portable Pudding and Pudding Cups is Jell-O pudding in a different form and section of the store. 2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item. When a brand owns a flavor, ingredient or component, there may be other categories where consumers want that property. E.g. Peanut butter is a characteristic ingredient in Reeses Peanut Butter Cups candy. Chocolate is a characteristic ingredient of Hershey. Brand Extension Research identified Reeses Peanut Butter as a logical extension that capitalizes on this association. 3. Benefit/attribute/feature owned. Many brands own a benefit, attribute or feature that can be extended. E.g. Brand Extension Research showed Armor All brand was defined by automotive surface protection which can go beyond vinyl dressing. Paint needs protecting also. Arm Hammer owns a benefit of deodorizing. Their baking soda product has claimed that it removes odors from refrigerators, etc. As a result, they extended the brand into other products such as Arm Hammer underarm deodorant and cat litter deodorizer. 4. Expertise. Over time, certain brands may gain a reputation for having an expertise in a given area. Leverage can be achieved when extending into areas where this special expertise is deemed important. E.g. Hondas expertise in reliable engines led to lawn mowers, gas powered generators and a variety of other gasoline engine powered devices. What brand comes to mind when we think of baby products? Gerber. As a result of this acceptance of their expertise, they successfully launched Gerber Baby Powder, Gerber Baby Bottles, etc. Sara Lee is known for baked desserts, so why not other baked goods like bread. 5. Companion products. Some brand extensions are a natural companion to the products the company already makes. E.g. Contadina was a tomato paste and sauce brand. In brand extension research, consumers thought Contadina pasta was a logical companion product that would have the leverage of the Italian heritage of the parent. Aunt Jemima (the pancake mix brand) launched pancake syrup, as a companion to compete with Log Cabin syrup. 6. Vertical extensions. Some brand extensions are vertical extensions of what they currently offer. A brand can use their ingredient/component heritage to launch products in a more (or sometimes less) finished form. E.g. Nestlà ©s Toll House chocolate refrigerated cookies is an example. Most Toll House chocolate chips are used in cookies, so why not make a brand of Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Fields Cookies were ready-to-eat. They offered frozen cookie dough, moving backwards as a vertical extension. Rice Krispies has always been used in kids treats. Kellogg offered Rice Krispies Treats ready-to-eat. 7. Same customer base. Many brand extensions represent a marketers effort to sell something else to its customer base. This works particularly well when that customer base is large and to some extent captive. E.g. VISA launched travelers checks directed to its credit card customers. 8. Designer image/status. Certain brands convey status and hence create an image for the user. E.g. Designer clothing labels have been extended to furniture, jewellery, perfume, cosmetics and a host of other items. Some brands promote a lifestyle and can extend to items that people wear, as a badge of identifying themselves with that lifestyle. The above-mentioned typology is quite useful as it indicate the key areas where extension is done along with the methodology used to extend the product line. Yet it must be said that not all research work would agree with this typology as it is felt that certain types confuses line and brand extension or in ways generalizes it more to extension rather than brand extension. For example: Adding attribute to the products in the same product line would be line extension and not brand extension. Still it is a good base for my research work and also for further research into the typology of brand extension. Aaker (1998) has described two types brand extension differentiating the concept on a corporate level. The first type described by him is product brand extension. A company makes a product brand extension when it uses an existing brand name distinct from its corporate name to introduce a new product outside its current product offering. With product brand extension consumers are often completely unaware of the company involved. The second type described by him is corporate brand extension. A corporate brand extension is one which relies on the corporate name to launch a new product . A corporate brand extension clearly identifies an organization with a product, and so evokes different reactions from consumers than a product brand extension. A corporate brand may create associations in consumers minds that reflect the values, program, and activities of the firm. 2.9 SEQUENTIAL STRETCHING AND UMBRELLA BRANDING Extension to parent brand is usually a sequential process in which brands are initially line extended and then brand extended. This sequential stretching of brands leads to the formation of a whole family of brands thus giving rise to the concept of Umbrella branding. As the name indicates, umbrella branding refers to extension of a parent brand into a variety of products such that a whole range of products would come under the same brand. Taylor (2003) has divided the sequential extension into three main steps namely core brand extension, direct stretch and indirect stretch. I will illustrate the concept using Dove as an example. Brand extension was a key driver of Doves explosive growth during the 1990s. Coupled with geographic expansion, it helped grow sales fivefold, to almost $1 billion. The brand continues to grow at 20 percent per year and is well on its way to hitting the $ 2 billion mark in the next few years. Let go through the sequential process and apply it to Dove. The first and most crucial step to be noted is that Dove didnt extend its product line until it had achieved the following two things. †¢ A strong bar business had been built †¢ The brand had satisfactory scores on attributes rating for mildness and moisturizing. An important thing to be noted is that extension took place only after Dove had secured its soap bar business and had improved it. Thus once there was strength in the brand, it extending it to other products. Stretching went through the following stages. Stage One: Core Range extensions: Dove remained a product brand with a single format at this stage. It extended (line extension) its product range by adding new versions such as sensitive skin that now accounts for up to a third of sales. Further growth of the bar through product and pack innovation, remains a key source of profitable growth. Diagrammatic illustration of this step would indicate the extension into the two types. Stage Two: Direct stretch: In this stage extension is done into markets that are quite relevant to the product line. In the case of dove, it extended its product range into bath and shower products. Yet till now dove is focused on personal washing. The key reasons of dove extension at this stage were strong product delivery and innovative packing that differentiated them from other products in the range. The following diagram illustrates their stretch in to shower and bath products. Stage three: Indirect stretch: Capitalizing on their skin care outlook, Dove decided to be ambitious and to move beyond the washing and bathing market. Although they started off selectively, they introduced products like deodorants and hair gels etc. that were once again a big success. This process of broadening a product range is referred to as Umbrella Branding as illustrated by the diagram given below. The dove success has been due to consistent marketing and a consistent communication campaign. Consistency has been a key part of building brand identity and has been an additional glue to tie together the extension. 2.10 BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension being the most popular mean of brand growth has some surprising statistics. Success rate of brand extension is hard to find, especially as what constitutes a success varies enormously. Yet a survey conducted by OCC using a simple and effective definition of success (still being on shelf after six years after launch) found out that 50 percent of all brand extension fails. This figure is certainly an eye opener for most companies as half of the product fails using brand extension. Taylor (2003) has associated this huge failure figure due to Brand ego tripping and also gives effective steps to avoid it. But before we go into the detail of this concept, lets look into the benefits and drawbacks of brand extension. 2.10.1 BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION The remarkable popularity of the concept over the last decade is a confirmation of the fact that there are marked benefits that can be associated with brand extension. Taylor (2003) has described the consumer benefits of brand extension in which he has identified consumer knowledge, consumer trust and lower cost as the major benefits of brand extension. Tauber (1988) has differentiated the benefits on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness emphasizing more on the cost benefits. An existing strong brand promotes a new product or service as there is less need to create awareness and imagery. Thus in a way awareness is already present and the only thing left is Appropriation of Brand Extension Appropriation of Brand Extension LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter intends to set the theoretical frame of the thesis by introducing the main areas needed to create the basis of our analysis, shaping the ways towards our own main purpose. Thus, it begins with the roots of brand extension and starts of with the concepts of brand, brand identity and brand hierarchy and then leads into brand extension and explains it as a means of growth for a brand. Narrowing down the scope, it goes into the typology of brand extension and identifies the successful and unsuccessful factors of brand extension. Finally it identifies certain rules for the success of brand extension and looks at different models used for the effectiveness of brand extension. 2.1 BRANDING: In todays world of increased competition and consumer awareness, the marketing of new products has become ever more complex. We have moved into a time where consumers are literate enough to choose their own products on the basis of their judgment and where competition among products and services gives them an opportunity to select the best product that would suit their need. Branding has become one of the most important issues in the launch of a new product. Having functional and emotional attributes attached to it, branding has gained popularity as consumer relates more and more to it. Historically examples of branding can be found as early as 9000 years ago when owners or manufacturers used to give distinctive and distinguishing symbol or name to their property or product. However it was the 19thcentury that arguably saw the dawn of the modern branding era and it was the industrial revolution that caused its birth. It was the industrial revolution that created the mass production t hat meant an ever- increasing proportion of people worked for a manufacturer and not themselves. They no longer needed to mark the products that they produced as their own; rather what they produced was collectively produced for one company. Before we proceed further, lets look more deeply into branding and then link that to the concept of brand extension. 2.1.1 DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION Different scholars have defined the word brand differently as different meaning or contexts have been attached to them. Balmer and Greyser (2003) have given the most explanatory definition of branding explaining both the traditional and their own perspective about branding. They have stepped forward from the traditional definitions of branding and have defined branding on the corporate level having corporate implications. According to them three type of definitions have been identified. The first two are traditional whereas the third one is the advanced version of branding which incorporates their point of view about branding. They are: Erstwhile. In its simplest sense a brand denotes a name, logotype, or trademark and was originally used to signify ownership as with branding of live stock. These are, increasingly, seen to be points of entry to the essence of a brand rather than the essence of branding per se. (Definition similar to the one given in Oxford Concise Dictionary) Established. This refers to the added values that a brand brings to a product. Products may or may not have brand values. Product brand values are superimposed by the organization by its marketing and communication experts and advisers. They are made memorable. In the main, such values are fashioned in the mind; not on the production floor. They are, essentially, synthetic. Whereas products are made in a factory, brand values exist in the mind. Brands can be timeless in a way that products may not be. However Balmer and Greyser(2003) have identified a new understanding about brands. They call this aspect of branding as emergent Emergent. While the category most certainly is established, the fundamental differences between this category and the other two are only beginning to be appreciated. This category refers to brands at the corporate level. Corporate brand values are not contrived; they need to be bona fide. The role of personnel and of culture in establishing and maintaining and understanding corporate brand values is of essence. In the words of Sir Michael Perry, a former Chairman of Unilever, brand is much more than a symbol to differentiate goods and services: In the modern world, brands are a key part of how individuals define themselves and their relationships with one another. More and more we are simply consumers We are what we wear, what we eat, what we drive. This description of brand explains that brand is much more than the physical and functional value that it holds. Its a bundle of attributes both functional and emotional. Thus brands not only meet our physical needs but also address our emotional needs. A blind test was conducted on Pepsi and Coca Cola. It was found that Pepsi was preferred over Coke in regards to its taste. Yet the sales of Coke are much higher than Pepsi that shows that despite being functionally better, people are emotionally attached to coke. Stephen King was Director of planning at one of the largest advertising agencies, J Walter Thompson, when he described brand as: People choose their brand as they choose their friends. You choose your friends not usually because of specific skills or physical attributes (though of course these come into it) but simply because you like them as people. It is the total person you choose, not a compendium of virtues and vices. 2.2 BRAND IDENTITY Brand identity refers to the public image of a product, line or service in the eyes of a consumer. McClendon (2003) considers that brand identity is something that exists in the minds and hearts of the consumers when they hear the name of the brand. He further adds that it is the identity of the brand that provides the real strength to the business. It is the visual link between the company and the consumer. Brand identity includes brand names, logos, positioning, brand associations and brand personality. Upshaw (1995) has identified brand identity as a brands DNA configuration. He supposes that the particular set of brand elements is blended in a unique way to establish how the brand will be perceived in the market place. According to Kapferer (2001), it is critical for each business to understand that the attributes of a brand represent the indispensable elements. Not all brand managers are aware of this. Yet in order to find out which of the extended brand elements is needed to me diate with the market, pre testing is done and this is considered to be the best method to avoid trails and errors. In his book, Aaker (2000) argues that a brand is more than a product. Creating an extension can benefit the parent brand by helping it break out of the box. According to him, there are several reasons for building a rich extended brand identity, reasons that are going to be illustrated in the following figure and explained underneath it. A richer brand identity is a more accurate reflection of the brand. Just as a person cannot be described in one or two words, neither can a brand. Three word taglines or an identity limited to attributes will simply not be accurate (Aaker, 2000, p. 54). Aaker (2000) considers that the identity of a brand represents what the brand stands for. Taking into consideration that the brand identity is inspirational, it must comprise and reflect the values and cultures of the entire organization. Moreover, customer concern should dominate the strategy of the business. And lastly, Aaker emphasizes in his picture that the extended identity provides a home for constructs that help the brand move beyond attributes. In particular, brand personality and symbols normally fail to make the cut when a terse brand position is developed, yet both are often extremely helpful strategically as well as tactically (Aaker, 2000, p.54). Balmer (2003) has emphasized on the concept of corporate identity and in his historiography model, we are currently in stage 4 in which the emphasis would be on organizational identity, corporate identity, corporate communication, corporate reputation and finally but most importantly corporate branding. 2.3 BRAND HIEARCHY TREE Brand structure can be illustrated logically by using the brand family tree together with all the related sub-brand branches. The figure below can be viewed as an organizational chart. The horizontal and vertical dimensions are grouped after numerous factors such as segment, product, quality and design (Aaker, 2000). The horizontal dimension shows the scope of the brand in terms of the sub brands that lie under the brand umbrella in the box visualized Colgate as a parent brand. The vertical dimension represents the brands and sub-brands that exist for an individual product- market entry (Aaker, 2000). The visualized overview of the whole brand guides the brand managers to keep an eye on its entire brand and to analyze if there are too many or too few. The question is how these brands can be reinforced, what message they deliver to the consumer and what improvements to the particular message can be done (Aaker, 2000). Keeping an eye on this hierarchy is quite important as it enables a company to identify the fit for new extension and also helps to maintain a clear vision of each product keeping in view the rest of the brands in the hierarchy. Thus its easy to maintain fit and leverage in brand extension with the help of this brand hierarchy. Every company would like to see its brand growing and prospering. Brands grow through two principle means. The first mean is called organic growth whereas the second one is called growth through extension. 2.4 ORGANIC GROWTH FOR BRANDS In this case making a brand or product frequently available or adding incentives to the brand makes it more popular. Sales of any one brand increase because what they have to offer becomes attractive to somebody, somewhere. Brands can be made more attractive by improving either the functional or emotional attributes of the brand. Thus in functional attributes we can improve any of the four Ps whereas in emotional one can improve the personality or image of the brand. A good example would be of Coca Cola and their distribution. Not only have they made it available from Atlanta to Zanzibar, from Moscow to Melbourne but also you can buy it from supermarkets, newsagents, cinema, restaurants, street corners, cafà ©, football stadium, pop concert and even at car parks where you have vending machine1. Whilst there are numerous marketing tools to achieve organic growth, this type of growth stems from three things: getting that brand used by more people, getting it used by the same people more often or getting people to use more of it on any of the occasions they use it in the first place. 2.5 GROWTH THROUGH EXTENSION The second and relatively newer way of growing brand is through extension, which is the core focus of this study. Before going into detail about how brands grow through extension, I will firstly define extension and try to differentiate the various types of extensions. Due to the relative immaturity of the concept, there is no standard definition of brand extension and various marketing scholars have given different definition to the same terminology. From the readings that I have conducted of books and research papers, its obvious that around a decade back scholars used to give a more generalized definition of brand extension. The generalization of the definition can be observed from the fact that brand extension was used for extension into both related and non-related products. The following definition will clarify my point of view. In a typical brand extension situation, an established brand name is applied to a new product in a category either related or unrelated, in order to capitalize on the equity of the core brand name (DeGraba and Sullivan, 1995; Pitta and Katsanis, 1995). Also certain research papers indicated that brand extension being generalized was then differentiated into two types as indicated by this piece of research work. Brand extensions come in two primary forms: horizontal and vertical. In a horizontal brand extension situation, an existing brand name is applied to a new product introduction in either a related product class, or in a product category completely new to the firm (Sheinin and Schmitt, 1994). A vertical brand extension, on the other hand, involves introducing a brand extension in the same product category as the core brand, but at a different price point and quality level (Keller and Aaker, 1992; Sullivan, 1990). In a vertical brand extension situation, a second brand name or descriptor is usually introduced alongside the core brand name, in order to demonstrate the link between the brand extension and the core brand name (e.g. Marriott Hotels, Courtyard Inn by Marriott). Most recently the word line extension has been given to extension done in the same product category whereas brand extension would refer to extension in unrelated products and in this study I will undertake this understanding of extension. Taylor (2003) has referred to them as direct and indirect stretch. Jobber (2003) has given the term brand extension to line extension whereas brand extension has been referred to as brand stretch. The current emphasis on the subject has been due to its enormous success. Consumers being the end users have become friendlier to the concept and are now accepting it as illustrated on the next page. Its obvious from this graph that consumers are becoming much friendlier to the concept then they were a decade ago and this shows the popularity of the concept and the frequency at which it has been used in the past decade. Lets get an insight into the various types of extension. 2.5.1 LINE EXTENSION OR DIRECT STRETCH Line extension is defined as being a variant of the same basic product. It might be a new flavor or a new size. Basically its a slight variation to the original product. Examples would be of Colgate. We used to have Colgate regular but now we have Colgate total, Colgate Max fresh Gel, my first Colgate for kids, Platinum, Deep clean etc. The basic purpose of this strategy is to encourage more people to use a brand. It can also be considered as a first step towards brand extension. But the only bad thing about too many variations in the products or having too many line extension is that it may confuse the user in regards to which product should he/she use. Also it may cause a cannibalization affect within the product range. 2.5.2 BRAND EXTENSION OR INDIRECT STRETCH Brand extension on the other hand would refer to extending your product range into a product category that wouldnt be commonly associated with it. A simple definition described below will illustrate my point of view. Brand extension is using the leverage of a well known brand name in one category to launch a new product in a different category. (Brandextension.org) Giles Lury in his book about Brand Watching has defined brand extension as: Brand extension is the use (and occasional misuse) of an existing brand name and equity to launch a product or service into a category or market not normally associated with that brand. (Lury, 1998) Thus in contrast to earlier scholars, who had generalized the concept of brand extension, new researchers have distinguished the concept well from line extension. 2.6 RATIONALE BEHIND USING BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension has gained a lot of popularity and is considered to be the key tool for launching new innovations. A survey was conducted by Brand gym in 2003 in which marketing directors were asked about brand extension. The following graph illustrates the response. The results indicated that 83% of the marketing directors thought that brand extension would be the main way of launching new innovation in the next two to three years. Yet research has also shown that only 50 percent of brand extension survives after the first three years. Firstly brand extension differs from line extension because where line extension offers customers more varieties or styles of the original brand in its original market, a brand extension takes an existing brand to pasture new ones. Taking Mars as an example we see that the original chocolate bar has been line extended into different styles including Mars Kingsize, Mars miniature and for a limited period Dark chocolate Mars. However when Mars launched the Mars ice cream, it entered a new market for the brand and as such had extended the brand franchise. Mars also extended into flavored milk drinks market with Mars in a bottle. The rationale behind brand extensions popularity is that its difficult and expensive to launch a completely new brand. The most often quoted statistic being that nine out of every ten new brands fail. New brands are therefore seen as a high, though sometimes high return strategy. On the other hand, brand extension is a cheaper and more reliable method of building on what already exists. Not surprisingly companies who have already invested a lot of money in creating a brand are keen to maximize its full potential. Finally it can be concluded that companies would like to leverage and thus give initial success to the new brand by exploiting the equity that has been established by the parent brand. 2.7 KELLER AND AAKERS WORK ON BRAND EXTENSION Keller and Aaker (1998) extending on their typology of product range extension and corporate brand extension have examined the impact of corporate marketing on a companys brand extension. In their research paper they have described how consumers evaluate brand extension in general and then concentrating on corporate brand extension, they have studied the impact of corporate marketing on consumer evaluation of corporate brand extension in the presence and absence of supporting product advertising. The initial research work describing product brand extension is as follows: Research on consumer responses to extensions of product brands, suggest that two key factors influence consumer evaluation. the types of association that make up the parent brand image the relationship between the parent brand and the extension product These factors affect the consumer belief about whether the new product fits as a member of the product line. In sum, the record therefore suggests that a variety of different associations for the parent brand can be transferred to an extension, assuming a basis of fit exists. Now an extension that they made in regards to brand extension was that they applied this concept to corporate brand extension. But before going further its important to know Aakers three dimensions of corporate credibility. They are: 1. Corporate expertise is the extent to which a company is thought able to competently make and sell its products and services. 2. Corporate trustworthiness is the extent to which a company is thought to be honest, dependable, and sensitive to consumer needs. 3. Corporate likability is the extent to which a company is thought likable, prestigious and interesting. This results gathered from this study have strategic implication both to the benefits/risks associated with brand extension and also to the effectiveness of brand extension. Thus a summary of the results are as follows. Firstly by showing that corporate marketing related to product innovation enhances perceptions of corporate credibility and extension fit, and thus much favorable extension evaluations, this study showed benefits for brands with reputation of high quality products. Secondly this study provided a more detailed account of particular dimensions of corporate credibility, namely corporate expertise, trust worthiness and likeability. Thus this study concluded that corporate expertise appeared to play a more influential role in evaluation of corporate brand extension than either corporate trustworthiness or likeability. Thirdly this study suggested the merits of leveraging a strong brand to introduce a new product. One advantage of using a brand extension strategy to name a new product is that a less concerted advertising effort may be necessary. To the extent that brands extensions are able to leverage existing parent brand associations in consumer memory, a company should find it easier to achieve brand image with an extension branding strategy instead of giving a new product a new name. The fact that corporate marketing activity impacted consumer evaluations of a corporate brand extension in the absence of any product specific advertising is further an empirical support for the benefit of adopting a brand extension strategy. Fourthly this study suggested that corporate marketing activity significantly influenced extension evaluations even when the extension was advertised on the basis of another image dimension point. Thus corporate image associations are more likely to transfer to an extension on the basis of the branding strategy. Lastly this study also suggested that where a company is in a situation of having a trade off between various strategies like reinforcing a strong association, strengthening a weak association or creating a new association, then it wholly depends on the situation of each of the elements to decide which strategy to choose. For example: In some cases, existing associations may be so strong that they may be better off emphasizing other information to fortify a weak or supply a missing association. 2.8 TYPES OF BRAND EXTENSION Limited work has been done on the typology of brand extension. From various research papers, books and websites that I have consulted regarding brand extension, very few have distributed brand extension into different types. (Brandextension.org) have generated the following typology of brand extension taking functional and emotional attributes of the brand into consideration. 1. Similar product in a different form from the original parent product. This is where a company changes the form of the product from the original parent product. An example is (frozen) Snickers Ice Cream Bars. The original Snickers bar is a shelf stable candy. The brand extension is a similar product, but in a different form. Jell-O Portable Pudding and Pudding Cups is Jell-O pudding in a different form and section of the store. 2. Distinctive flavor/ingredient/component in the new item. When a brand owns a flavor, ingredient or component, there may be other categories where consumers want that property. E.g. Peanut butter is a characteristic ingredient in Reeses Peanut Butter Cups candy. Chocolate is a characteristic ingredient of Hershey. Brand Extension Research identified Reeses Peanut Butter as a logical extension that capitalizes on this association. 3. Benefit/attribute/feature owned. Many brands own a benefit, attribute or feature that can be extended. E.g. Brand Extension Research showed Armor All brand was defined by automotive surface protection which can go beyond vinyl dressing. Paint needs protecting also. Arm Hammer owns a benefit of deodorizing. Their baking soda product has claimed that it removes odors from refrigerators, etc. As a result, they extended the brand into other products such as Arm Hammer underarm deodorant and cat litter deodorizer. 4. Expertise. Over time, certain brands may gain a reputation for having an expertise in a given area. Leverage can be achieved when extending into areas where this special expertise is deemed important. E.g. Hondas expertise in reliable engines led to lawn mowers, gas powered generators and a variety of other gasoline engine powered devices. What brand comes to mind when we think of baby products? Gerber. As a result of this acceptance of their expertise, they successfully launched Gerber Baby Powder, Gerber Baby Bottles, etc. Sara Lee is known for baked desserts, so why not other baked goods like bread. 5. Companion products. Some brand extensions are a natural companion to the products the company already makes. E.g. Contadina was a tomato paste and sauce brand. In brand extension research, consumers thought Contadina pasta was a logical companion product that would have the leverage of the Italian heritage of the parent. Aunt Jemima (the pancake mix brand) launched pancake syrup, as a companion to compete with Log Cabin syrup. 6. Vertical extensions. Some brand extensions are vertical extensions of what they currently offer. A brand can use their ingredient/component heritage to launch products in a more (or sometimes less) finished form. E.g. Nestlà ©s Toll House chocolate refrigerated cookies is an example. Most Toll House chocolate chips are used in cookies, so why not make a brand of Toll House chocolate chip cookies. Mrs. Fields Cookies were ready-to-eat. They offered frozen cookie dough, moving backwards as a vertical extension. Rice Krispies has always been used in kids treats. Kellogg offered Rice Krispies Treats ready-to-eat. 7. Same customer base. Many brand extensions represent a marketers effort to sell something else to its customer base. This works particularly well when that customer base is large and to some extent captive. E.g. VISA launched travelers checks directed to its credit card customers. 8. Designer image/status. Certain brands convey status and hence create an image for the user. E.g. Designer clothing labels have been extended to furniture, jewellery, perfume, cosmetics and a host of other items. Some brands promote a lifestyle and can extend to items that people wear, as a badge of identifying themselves with that lifestyle. The above-mentioned typology is quite useful as it indicate the key areas where extension is done along with the methodology used to extend the product line. Yet it must be said that not all research work would agree with this typology as it is felt that certain types confuses line and brand extension or in ways generalizes it more to extension rather than brand extension. For example: Adding attribute to the products in the same product line would be line extension and not brand extension. Still it is a good base for my research work and also for further research into the typology of brand extension. Aaker (1998) has described two types brand extension differentiating the concept on a corporate level. The first type described by him is product brand extension. A company makes a product brand extension when it uses an existing brand name distinct from its corporate name to introduce a new product outside its current product offering. With product brand extension consumers are often completely unaware of the company involved. The second type described by him is corporate brand extension. A corporate brand extension is one which relies on the corporate name to launch a new product . A corporate brand extension clearly identifies an organization with a product, and so evokes different reactions from consumers than a product brand extension. A corporate brand may create associations in consumers minds that reflect the values, program, and activities of the firm. 2.9 SEQUENTIAL STRETCHING AND UMBRELLA BRANDING Extension to parent brand is usually a sequential process in which brands are initially line extended and then brand extended. This sequential stretching of brands leads to the formation of a whole family of brands thus giving rise to the concept of Umbrella branding. As the name indicates, umbrella branding refers to extension of a parent brand into a variety of products such that a whole range of products would come under the same brand. Taylor (2003) has divided the sequential extension into three main steps namely core brand extension, direct stretch and indirect stretch. I will illustrate the concept using Dove as an example. Brand extension was a key driver of Doves explosive growth during the 1990s. Coupled with geographic expansion, it helped grow sales fivefold, to almost $1 billion. The brand continues to grow at 20 percent per year and is well on its way to hitting the $ 2 billion mark in the next few years. Let go through the sequential process and apply it to Dove. The first and most crucial step to be noted is that Dove didnt extend its product line until it had achieved the following two things. †¢ A strong bar business had been built †¢ The brand had satisfactory scores on attributes rating for mildness and moisturizing. An important thing to be noted is that extension took place only after Dove had secured its soap bar business and had improved it. Thus once there was strength in the brand, it extending it to other products. Stretching went through the following stages. Stage One: Core Range extensions: Dove remained a product brand with a single format at this stage. It extended (line extension) its product range by adding new versions such as sensitive skin that now accounts for up to a third of sales. Further growth of the bar through product and pack innovation, remains a key source of profitable growth. Diagrammatic illustration of this step would indicate the extension into the two types. Stage Two: Direct stretch: In this stage extension is done into markets that are quite relevant to the product line. In the case of dove, it extended its product range into bath and shower products. Yet till now dove is focused on personal washing. The key reasons of dove extension at this stage were strong product delivery and innovative packing that differentiated them from other products in the range. The following diagram illustrates their stretch in to shower and bath products. Stage three: Indirect stretch: Capitalizing on their skin care outlook, Dove decided to be ambitious and to move beyond the washing and bathing market. Although they started off selectively, they introduced products like deodorants and hair gels etc. that were once again a big success. This process of broadening a product range is referred to as Umbrella Branding as illustrated by the diagram given below. The dove success has been due to consistent marketing and a consistent communication campaign. Consistency has been a key part of building brand identity and has been an additional glue to tie together the extension. 2.10 BENEFITS AND DRAWBACKS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION Brand extension being the most popular mean of brand growth has some surprising statistics. Success rate of brand extension is hard to find, especially as what constitutes a success varies enormously. Yet a survey conducted by OCC using a simple and effective definition of success (still being on shelf after six years after launch) found out that 50 percent of all brand extension fails. This figure is certainly an eye opener for most companies as half of the product fails using brand extension. Taylor (2003) has associated this huge failure figure due to Brand ego tripping and also gives effective steps to avoid it. But before we go into the detail of this concept, lets look into the benefits and drawbacks of brand extension. 2.10.1 BENEFITS ASSOCIATED WITH BRAND EXTENSION The remarkable popularity of the concept over the last decade is a confirmation of the fact that there are marked benefits that can be associated with brand extension. Taylor (2003) has described the consumer benefits of brand extension in which he has identified consumer knowledge, consumer trust and lower cost as the major benefits of brand extension. Tauber (1988) has differentiated the benefits on the basis of efficiency and effectiveness emphasizing more on the cost benefits. An existing strong brand promotes a new product or service as there is less need to create awareness and imagery. Thus in a way awareness is already present and the only thing left is

James Vance Marshall based his novel walkabout on this.In this novel Es

James Vance Marshall based his novel walkabout on this.In this novel Mary the eldest of the two children is a very complicated and interesting character Walkabout Two American Children were stranded in the middle of the Australian desert due to an airplane crash. The children were stranded all by themselves or so they thought. The only reason they survived is because they met an aborigine boy. James Vance Marshall based his novel walkabout on this. In this novel Mary the eldest of the two children is a very complicated and interesting character. Throughout the novel we have very different reactions towards her and is one to whom we respond with a variety of different emotions. Before Mary and Peter meet the bushboy, Mary is the leader. She decides where they are going and what they are doing. There is a lot of responsibility being passed on to Mary as at thirteen she has to look after young Peter. I admire her for willingly taking control of both their fates. I feel this way because they are marooned in the middle of nowhere. Mary and Peters luc...

The Overhead Projector (Ohp)

The Overhead Projector (OHP) August 24, 2012 Introduction Overhead Projectors are still being used in a lot of schools, like in the Philippines. It is not as modern as other equipments, but it still serves its purpose which is to show enlarged images on screen. I. Description The Overhead Projector is an optical device for showing images on screen, usually for group viewing. The OHP is mainly used for projecting charts, sketches, and other material prepared on sheets of transparent plastic. II. Techniques You can show pictures and diagrams, using a pointer on the transparency to direct attention to a detail. The silhouette of your pointer will show in motion on the screen. †¢ You can use a felt paper or wax-based pencil to add details or to make points on the transparency during projection.†¢ You can control the rate of presenting information by covering a transparency with a sheet of paper or cardboard (opaque material) and then exposing data as you are ready to discuss ea ch point. This is known as the Progressive Disclosure Technique. You can superimpose additional transparency sheets as overlays on a base transparency so as to separate processes and complex ideas into elements and present them in step-by-step order. †¢ You can show three-dimensional objects from the stage of the projector-in silhouette if the object is opaque or in color if an object is made of transparent color plastic. †¢ You can move overlays back and forth across the base in order to rearrange elements of diagrams or problems. †¢ For special purpose, you can simulate motion on parts of a transparency by using the effects of polarized light. You can simultaneously project on an adjacent screen other visual materials, usually slides or motion pictures, which illustrate or apply the generalization shown on a transparency. Other reminders on the effective use of the OHP are: †¢ Stand off to one side of the OHP while you face the students. †¢ Don’t ta lk on the screen. Face the students when you talk, not the screen.†¢ Place the OHP to your right, if you are right handed, and to your left if you are left handed. †¢ Place the OHP on a table low enough so that it does not block you or the screen. Have the top of the screen tilted forward towards the OHP to prevent the â€Å"keystone effect† (where the top of the screen is larger than the bottom). †¢ Avoid the mistake of including too much detail on each image. A simple layout makes an effective slide. If an audience needs to be given details, provide handouts to be studied later. †¢ Avoid large tables of figures. Come up with graphic presentations. †¢ Don’t read the text on your slide. Your audience can read. †¢ Avoid too much text. Rely sparingly on printed text. Come up with more graphs, diagrams, or pictures. †¢ Your presentation must be readable from afar. Simple use of color can add effective emphasis. III. Advantages †¢ Th e projector itself is simple to operate. †¢ The OHP is used in the front of the room by the instructor who has complete control of the sequence, timing, and manipulation of this material.†¢ Facing his class and observing student reactions, the instructor can guide his audience, control its attention, and regulate the flow of information in the presentation. †¢ The projected image behind the instructor can be as large as necessary for all in the audience to see; it is clear and bright, even in fairly well-lighted rooms. Since the transparency, as it is placed on the projector, is seen by the instructor exactly as students see it on the screen, he may point, write, or otherwise make indications upon it to facilitate communication. †¢ The stage (projection surface) of the projector is large (10 by 10 inches), thus allowing the teacher to write information with ease or to show prepared transparencies.†¢ It is especially easy for teachers and students to create t heir own materials for use in the OHP. †¢ An increasing number of high-quality commercial transparencies. Brown, 1969) IV. Limitations †¢ It requires a constant power supply and a white flat surface on which its image can be projected. †¢ If the surface is not suitably inclined at the correct angle, the image will suffer from a phenomenon called â€Å"keystone effect. † †¢ Handwritten material can look sloppy if not pre-prepared. †¢ Presenter and audience can be distracted by the light's glare. †¢ Lamps can burn out and interrupt a presentation. Summary The Overhead Projector is indeed a very versatile equipment. With prepared materials, we can do so much in a short time.We can save much time when we present our lectures on transparencies instead of writing notes or drawings naively on the chalkboard. Also, by learning how to use it properly, we are able to realize our instructional objectives, and adopting them in teaching ensures a lasting lear ning for our students. Sources: †¢ Educational Technology 1 by Brenda B. Corpuz ; Paz I. Lucido †¢ http://www. safetyxchange. org/training-and-leadership/part-3-overhead-projectors †¢ http://www. buzzle. com/articles/what-is-an-overhead-projector. html †¢ New Standard Encyclopedia (Volume 13) pp. 592-593

Planning Process Paper Essay

I will compare the planning process to my current workplace. Followed by what I believe would be more crucial and why I think that. Also, I will briefly go over why I do not believe organizations can over-plan during this process. The Basic: Planning Process Step #1: Situational Analysis—This step is where you would typically answer the question, â€Å"Where are we now? † (Amicaall). In my current workplace, the main focus in this step is to be sure that the customer is aware of the customer survey that lucky few may receive. Now, the goal is to be sure the ones who may receive this survey are honest when filling it out with the most accurate information. All survey’s are read and sent to the dealership the vehicle was serviced, or purchased. Therefore, any concern from the customer will highly be considered. We assure that ever individual that has an opportunity of receiving one of these important surveys is aware when delivering the vehicle after any services. So that if there is an issue with the service, that they please notify us before filling out the survey this way we are sure the customer is happy with all services. Also, so that the consumer will know how honesty we stand by our word of correcting and listening to their suggestions by making them happy right away. â€Å"Planners should gather, interpret, and summarize all information relevant to the planning issue in question. A through situational analysis studies past events, examines current conditions, and attempts to forecast future trends† (Bateman & Snell, 2007). By us being sure that are customers are aware of the survey ahead of time, we are more than likely to get a better knowledge of where we may need to focus more on improving or attempting the consumer’s ideas. By doing so, we are more like to achieve reaching our goals. Step #2: Alternative Goals and Plans—â€Å"based on the situational analysis, the planning process should generate alternative goals that may be pursued in the future and the alternative plans that may be used to achieve those goals† (Bateman & Snell, 2007). A lot of our goals set at work are not just to be sure that all customers are happy but also that they know if there’s something that has not instantly been put into effect that we are still in the process of doing so. It may be something that takes a little more financial effort as well as time. For example, a lot of customer have mentioned the would like if their vehicle was washed and vacuumed after every service. We state the following to the customer when this is brought to our attention, â€Å"As of now we are relocating to another facility, fortunately we will be in a bigger building that will also have a car wash available. But for now we have washed your windows and vacuumed the vehicle. We look forward to being able to serve you better. Step #3: Goal and Plan Evaluation—â€Å"next, managers will evaluate the advantages, disadvantages, and potential effects of each alternative goal and plan† (Bateman & Snell, 2007). This is pretty simple; the goal and plan evaluation is discussed every morning within our manager meetings. Some of the ideas in plans they’ve discussed in meetings are the following: complimentary snacks, drinks, opening a Starbucks coffee station and mai ling/emailing great coupons, specials off of services, even possibly a parking garage. The managers gather together to see what is best benefiting the customers and if there are any new ideas that may be brought to their attention. One, manager even stated he over heard a customer state to another customer, â€Å"that it wouldn’t be a bad idea if they had wireless internet so that I could continue to work while my vehicle is being serviced, you would think they would be caught up with the technology no days. † If so what they plan on doing to implant them, are they realistic and attainable? While in the meeting they’ll discuss several ideas and examples of how to keep all eyes and ears open for any future goals and plans. Step #4: Goal and Plan Selection—â€Å"once managers have assessed the various goals and plans, they will select the one that’s most appropriate and feasible† (Bateman & Snell, 2007). After everyone discussing and gathering information from consistent consumers the dealership has decided to select the following as plans for the future; parking garage, complimentary drinks, a Starbucks station that consists of snacks, breakfast and lunch sandwiches up for purchase. Until the Starbucks station has built their customers, we have coupon vouchers so that the customer may have their first Starbuck’s Drinks for free. As all these ideas come out the next step would be to be sure the news letter gets mailed and emailed out to all of our customers and consumers. The newsletters will state all goals and plans that have been selected for our future facility. Step #5: Implementation—â€Å"once managers have selected the goals and plans, they must implement the plans designed to achieve the goals† (Bateman & Snell, 2007). Well, as of now the dealership has implemented a lot of the planned goals. By this I mean, we now have a Starbucks station filled with snacks and many different beverages. We also have put a refrigerator full of all types of sodas and water all complimentary for all customers and purchaser of Toyota Sales and Service. As for the Parking Garage and Car Wash they are both in the works, we have blue prints showing where the next facility will be built. Step #6: Monitor and Control—â€Å"although it is sometimes ignore, this step in the formal planning process is essential. Planning works in a cycle; it is an ongoing, repetitive process. (Bateman & Snell, 2007). Now, the way the company monitors and tracks all the works in cycle is by asking all customers that look like they have purchased or used the vouchers if they enjoy having Starbucks. All mentioned it’s a great change and they all thanked the company for taking the time to listen to their ideas. The managers noticed that all surveys they were receiving had plenty comments about how the changes really benefit them. A lot commented on the wireless internet how covenant it was to have service performed on their vehicle and it didn’t even seem that they weren’t at work because they could still use their computer and complete work assignments. To management it seemed that they were on the right track, by listening to the customers they could make most of them happy and keep their business. By doing so it seems that they’re helping to provide a better workplace as well as a great setting for people to achieve personal as well as career goals. In conclusion, an organization can not be very successful if they do not stay within the basic planning process. As I’ve explained above every step is very important, though one I believe is most crucial and that is Step #! Situational Analysis. The reason why I feel this is most important is because if you analyze a situation incorrectly then you may be headed in the wrong direction as far as improving. The situation may not need any correction or improvement at the time, therefore the situation that needs most improvement may be overlooked. I don’t believe that any organization may over plan because the more effort put into planning the more correction or ideas m ay be created. This will prepare the organization for several different scenarios.

Assignment 3 Essay Example

Assignment 3 Essay Example Assignment 3 Essay Assignment 3 Essay Assignment 3: My Beliefs on Marriage November 13, 2011 I believe that Marriage is forever. It is a sacred thing and nothing should ever come between it. Marriage is not something to play with. For me, I was brought up believing marriage is forever. Each religion believes different things. I was brought up a catholic. So for me, once you get married its forever. When you say your vows you are not only stating them to your spouse, and in front of your family and friends, you are saying those vows and God knows it. So before you get married you should think about if you want it to be forever. I did. But my spouse I guess thought otherwise. We are currently separated. He let someone else control his thoughts on marriage. Like I said for me, itâ„ ¢s forever, and together you work through any problems. Others give up real easy. If this person that you marry was ever your soul mate, you would do whatever it takes to make things right. Some people that get married, donâ„ ¢t continue their journey with the lord and I think that is why so many marriages are failing. Most people would rather just give up than try. For me, if it means anything to you, what would you do to keep i t together Every person is different. Some people think marriage is just a title, for me itâ„ ¢s two becoming one, and working as one from that day forward. Marriage is supposed to be forever. These days people give up too easily and it doesnâ„ ¢t last forever.

Free Essays on Death of Patriots

While covert ground operations continued, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said the fight against the ruling Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network is ``a war we must win if we want to maintain our freedom.'' ``We have no options here,'' the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said on ABC's ``This Week.'' The bombing that began Oct. 7 has ``hit a lot of their training camps so they won't be doing any training in the near future in Afghanistan,'' Myers said. The goal is ``to squeeze out al-Qaida and diminish the Taliban's influence.'' As has been the Pentagon's practice, Myers would not describe the continuing missions, citing safety concerns for troops. ``I doubt if a coach is going to give away his game plan for today before he executes that plan,'' he said, ``I think the American people understand why we have to keep the details of our operations confidential.'' Asked whether U.S. forces would kill bin Laden on sight, Myers said ``it depends on the circumstances.'' ``If it's a defensive situation, then bullets will fly, but if we can capture somebody then we'll do that,'' he said. Senior Bush administration official said Sunday that the president signed an order last month directing the CIA to destroy bin Laden and his communications, security apparatus and infrastructure in retaliation for the Sept. 11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Bush also added more than $1 billion to the spy agency's war on terrorism, most of it for the new covert action. Myers said Saturday's campaign - involving Navy strike aircraft, several Air Force bombers and a few Air Force fighter-bombers - was conducted on much the same scale as the day before, when about 100 aircraft attacked 15 target areas, including Taliban air defenses and ammunition and vehicle storage areas. Myers would not discuss current U.S. ground operations under way inside Afghanistan. However, a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, s... Free Essays on Death of Patriots Free Essays on Death of Patriots While covert ground operations continued, Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said the fight against the ruling Taliban regime and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terrorist network is ``a war we must win if we want to maintain our freedom.'' ``We have no options here,'' the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman said on ABC's ``This Week.'' The bombing that began Oct. 7 has ``hit a lot of their training camps so they won't be doing any training in the near future in Afghanistan,'' Myers said. The goal is ``to squeeze out al-Qaida and diminish the Taliban's influence.'' As has been the Pentagon's practice, Myers would not describe the continuing missions, citing safety concerns for troops. ``I doubt if a coach is going to give away his game plan for today before he executes that plan,'' he said, ``I think the American people understand why we have to keep the details of our operations confidential.'' Asked whether U.S. forces would kill bin Laden on sight, Myers said ``it depends on the circumstances.'' ``If it's a defensive situation, then bullets will fly, but if we can capture somebody then we'll do that,'' he said. Senior Bush administration official said Sunday that the president signed an order last month directing the CIA to destroy bin Laden and his communications, security apparatus and infrastructure in retaliation for the Sept. 11 World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Bush also added more than $1 billion to the spy agency's war on terrorism, most of it for the new covert action. Myers said Saturday's campaign - involving Navy strike aircraft, several Air Force bombers and a few Air Force fighter-bombers - was conducted on much the same scale as the day before, when about 100 aircraft attacked 15 target areas, including Taliban air defenses and ammunition and vehicle storage areas. Myers would not discuss current U.S. ground operations under way inside Afghanistan. However, a senior defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, s...

Absenteeism In The Workplace

Absenteeism In The Workplace â€Å"The term absenteeism means the deliberate or habitual absence of an employee from work place.† It create a big problem in an organisation when employees misses too many days off from work and in these situations other employees have to cover their work who are off from work and the work simply does not get gone in a well manner. The company must find out that the absence is involuntarily or voluntarily because involuntarily means any kind of illness or any unavoidable reason by which the employee is unable to come on work. Voluntarily means when an employee is absent from work without any reason manager need to worry about this kind of absence of employee need to get any documentation. Some time the absence may be excessive in this case manager should compare the employee’s attendance record with the other employees if the record of one employee is bad then the other means he was too many days off from work then it may be excessive absenteeism. So the manager sho uld discuss all the matter to the employees very friendly to improve the performance of the company the employees must aware of this thing that their absence is affecting others. Manager should give a written notice to the employee who is absent too many days from the work to warn him/her Basically absenteeism occurs when an employee of any organisation does not come to work due to several intentional or unintentional reasons like illness, injury, or any other habitual reason. Absenteeism affects the business in the terms of lost productivity. According to U.S. bureau of the census and U.S. bureau of labour statistic up the direct losses about $40 billion a year and social security administration determined that, annually workers missed more then half a billion days. http://www.enotes.com/biz-encyclopedia/absenteeism Types of absence There are many reasons why people off from work. Some those can be categorised as: Short-range sickness absence (uncertificated, self-certificated, or covered by a doctor’s ‘fit note’ which replaced the ‘sick note’ from April 2010) Long-standing sickness absence Unofficial absence or persistent lateness Other absences: for example, annual leave; maternity, paternity, adoption, or parental leave; time off for public or trade union duties, or to care for dependents; compassionate leave; educational leave. How much does absenteeism cost your business? The workers which are absent from the work cost the business a lot and decrease the revenue of the business Especially unplanned absence from work cost a lots to business like casual sickness of employee casual absence can affect per day productivity of business. This is a common problem of organisations in every organisation employees have 5.4 unplanned absence in 1 day. According to Mercer, Absences,† the total cost of absence can equal as much as 36% of payroll (compared to 15.4% for health care coverage). Of that figure, 9% accounts for unplann ed absences. Planned absences, like vacations and holidays, average 26.6%. For a midsize business, this unplanned absence can account for as much as $4.5 million dollars per year. (http://www.super-solutions.com/CostofAbsenteeism.asp)

Analysing specific financial issues in Cable & Wireless Communications Essay

Analysing specific financial issues in Cable & Wireless Communications plc - Essay Example that are going to be included in the paper are: the stock market, company background, financial performance and investor values, gearing impact on investment, and the final summary section. The financial performance of the company will be evaluated over the last five years. The stock market is the most popular form of investment in the world. The largest and most liquid stock market in the United Kingdom is the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Once a firm is listed in the London Stock Exchange it becomes a public company. Investors can achieve investments in public companies by buying their common stock. Purchasing a common stock implies that the investor gain ownership in the company. To purchase common stocks a person must buy the stocks from a stockbroker. Due to advances in technology people today can purchase stocks using the services of online brokerage firms such as Scottrade. Scottrade charges its customers $7 per trade (Scottrade, 2014). The values of stocks sold in the stock market vary each minute while the market is open. Investing in the stock market can help a person gain wealth, but people must be aware that investing in common stocks is a high risk proposition. In order to lower the risk of investing in the stock market an investor must uti lize a diversification strategy. Diversification can be defined as spreading a portfolio over many investments to avoid excessive exposure to any one source of risk (Bodie, Kane, Marcus, 2002). The safest investment in common stocks that an investor can make is buying blue chip stocks. Blue chip stocks can be defined as a stock of a large, well-established and financially sound company that has operate for many years and whose market capitalization is in the billions of pounds (Investopedia, 2014). From the perspective of corporations the stock market serves the purpose of being a mechanism to raise money. Companies that become public enter the market through an initial public offering (IPO). Companies that already

Bard, M. G. The complete idiot's guide to Middle East conflict Annotated Bibliography

Bard, M. G. The complete idiot's guide to Middle East conflict - Annotated Bibliography Example Bennett, A. G. (2009). The Big Book of Marketing: Lessons and Practices from the World's Greatest Companies. New York City: The McGraw Hill Companies. This book was taken into account because it gave an in-depth detail about the strategies of both Pepsi and Coca-Cola in Cyber war, and how both companies attracted internet users through its marketing approach. Although much is not written about the competition in internet, but at least Pepsi and Coke are competing for marketing slots on the internet. This book is about the internet marketing strategies and rivalry between different well established brands such as Google and Yahoo, HP and Apple etc. The book gives an early history of the initiation of cyber war between Coca Cola and Pepsi; where Coca Cola introduced â€Å"Coke Rewards† as result of Pepsi introduction of â€Å"Pepsi Stuff†. This book is extremely credible because of its neutral approach to cyber marketing with respect to different rival countries. Solis, B., & Kutcher, A. (2010). Engage!: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the Web. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons Inc. This Book was written by well known author of internet marketing Brian Solis and well known actor Ashton Kutcher. It gave an in-depth detail about internet marketing ventures of Coca-Cola and analyzes its success in that aspect.

Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 19

Report - Essay Example ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Citizen Watchdog Coordinator  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   InterNews  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Eipalei@INTERNEWS.ORG The report’s contents include; table of content, executive summary, report text, introduction, project statement, and methods used findings, analysis, conclusion and agenda (reference, appendices) remember to look at the recommendations so that you take the necessary steps as we agreed during our last focus group discussion. Inter-news’  liberated and Fair Media program focuses on election related issues not only in Kenya but the entire continent of Africa by analyzing its media coverage of emerging and sensitive issues (Stifftung , 2012). The program is aimed at monitoring various radio stations in the country to ascertain their coverage of the electioneering period that is; Pre-election period, Election Campaign period, Polling Day and the Results announcing day. This monitoring project involves monitoring dangerous speech in the media and the role of the media in promoting peace and conflict mitigation. There are different media topics being covered including, including gender, dangerous speech, issue based coverage, fairness and balance. The report looks into the challenges that the radio station faced and recommendations that when implemented could improve the situation. The report also documents the findings by the media monitors in the period 1st January – 9th March 2013. All cases of hate speech that were reported were independently verified. The geographical scope of the content covered was primarily national. This survey indicates that in most of the programs monitored, it is male

Menu project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Menu project - Assignment Example chopped fresh seeded red chili 1 bunch of fresh basil with its leaves picked and stalks chopped 2 cloves 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper ? cup red wine vinegar ? cup of soft brown sugar Sea salt Directions Place the vegetables, ginger, chili, basil stalks, olive oil, coriander seeds, cloves and garlic in a saucepan. Stir the mixture often while cooking in moderate heat for 10 to 15 minutes until it softens, seasoning these mixtures with a pinch of salt and the pepper. Add the tomatoes and 1? cups of cold water and bring this to boil, gently simmering it until it reduces almost half fold. Add basil leaves and using a hand blender, whiz the mixture before pushing twice through a sieve. Put this sauce in a pan and add the vinegar and sugar. Heat the pan allowing the mixture to simmer until it thickens. The seasoning can then be corrected to taste. The now ready ketchup (see Appendix I) will then be introduced to jars and allowed to cool before t ightening the lid. Store the ketchup refrigerated for up to six months. Ingredients Comparison This homemade ketchup contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives. All the ingredients are natural. Even Heinz tomato ketchup is made of natural ingredients but uses them in their processed form (Heinz, 2013). Additionally, in both tomato ketchups, vinegar has been used as the tenderizer. Even so, it would be important to note that its tomatoes come as concentrate and not in the natural form as harvested from the farms. The production of tomato concentrate involves artificial processes and preservation that could therefore nullify the claim against incorporation of artificial ingredients. Most of the other ingredients including onion powder and garlic powder would also have undergone processing hence affirming the reservation on naturalness of Heinz tomato ketchup ingredients. The homemade tomato ketchup largely depends on the tomato for flavoring though pepper and coriander also p lay an important role in flavoring. On the other hand, Heinz tomato ketchup includes various undisclosed natural flavorings in addition to the undisclosed spices. Comparison of Eating Quality Both the homemade and Heinz tomato ketchups have almost the same viscosity. Even so, the homemade ketchup has a rougher texture and tastes salty due to the salt used as preservative (Williams, 2011) than the Heinz ketchup whose smoothness is even and tastes more artificial. The Heinz variant appears deep red more than the homemade tomato ketchup which tends to appear more of orange (see Appendix I and Appendix II respectively). This appearance could vary greatly depending on the kind of tomatoes used, with very ripe tomatoes giving deeper color than the slightly ripe ones. Whereas the color of Heinz tomato ketchup remains stable over its shelf life, the homemade tomato ketchup seems to fade in color over time. The shelf life of homemade tomato ketchup kept in normal clean containers would be 3 months and 6 months if kept in sterilized containers, both refrigerated (Hornby, 2009). The Heinz tomato ketchup on the other hand has a shelf life of up to 15 months. Conclusion Homemade tomato ketchup gives the assurance of the naturalness of the ingredients noted to have medicinal value such as celery noted to be an