Success and Failure Essay Example for Free

Success and Failure Essay Failure is important and essential part of success because we can gain the skills and particular techniques through numerous experiments, the failure is one of motivations to inspire us to keep trying until achieving success, and the failure helps us to build a type of stubborn character. They agree that failure is the essential part of success and they disagree that failure is a kind of blemish of our lives. For example, they said that success requires that learning from mistakes and missteps along the ways rather than falling into despair and giving up. Failure and success are two opposite meaning, but failure can lead us to success if we can learn from failure and take effort to overcome it and it is inspiring for people who are aggressive to measure how success they can do. I agree with Donald’s article that failure is not the imperfection of lifetime; it is a tool to inspire us and guide us the ways to success. I disagree with Rick’s perspective that failure always shocks us to stop investigation the ways to achieve success with aggressive attitude. That issue is important because the majorities of people only concentrate on how important to success and neglect the value of failure. In their lives, success seems to be the whole idea in education, career and lifetime. They are afraid of failure and they can not to rise again after falling down at once. We should have aggressive attitude to identify why failure is the closer answer to success. Their perspectives of their articles are definitely associated me to spread my scope of the main idea of failure. The discussion raises my original question to â€Å"what level of failure cause people to try again until achieving success without losing confidence?† I might try to add other elements or examples to demonstrate and prove what idea I decide to support.

Reflective Practice Relevent To Developing Clinical Skills Nursing Essay

Reflective Practice Relevent To Developing Clinical Skills Nursing Essay Reflective practice has been defined as Involving self, a process that is undertaken in response to a positive or negative event that may be initiate consciously or subconsciously, that requires to provide an answer (Chapman, Dempsey et al. 2009). It has also been defined as Paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform every day actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively, this leads to developmental insight (Clouston, Westcott 2005). Reflective practice is a process to which a person dissects their internal reactions to certain situations, and how they dealt with the cause and effect. It is only through this reflection that an individual can comprehensively understand and learn from their previous decision making mechanisms. Reflective practice gives the opportunity for a health professional to look back at their clinical skills used in given situations, and assess how these skills could be amended to better their professional practice. It is a method of learning from experiences, using experiences to analyze why problems occurred, and then to find a solution to these problems (Taylor 2010). Reflection has been defined by Dewey (1933) as active persistent and careful consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that support it and the further conclusion to which it tends cited by (Mann, Gordon et al. 2009). Boud (1978) reinforces Deweys assessment of reflection, however, he aligns himself with an overtly emotional assessment of personal experience. Boud defines reflection as a generic term for those intellectual and affective activities in which individuals engage to explore their experiences in order to lead to a new understanding and appreciation cited by (Mann, Gordon et al. 2009). There is a gap between academia and good professional practice. Although a student may have a very good understanding of theory, this does not necessarily teach them about good professional practice (Baird 2008). Knowledge is something that is to be challenged and reinforced. Gaining knowledge through clinical experience and reflection is key to being a reflective practitioner (Clouston, Westcott 2005). This can be obtained at university level within Radiography through clinical placement, positioning classes and a personal development system (PDS) (Baird 2008). These classes give the student an opportunity to challenge, discuss, but more importantly reflect on the theory which they have learned. It is through problem solving that a student can reach below the purely scientific understanding of processes and procedures, and can delve into the deeper, and one could argue, the more complexities of clinical practice. Through these teaching methods a student can learn that the theory of practice is not always going to work in given situations, and through reflection they can amend their knowledge to give the result of better clinical skills and professional practice (Baird 2008). It would be nieve to assume that every patient, every ailment, should reprieve a standard set method of treatment. The PDS is an online resource which provides a student with a key initial starting block to which they can build a more successful, productive, and ultimately professional methodology to explore key skill and developmental needs (Rowland 2006). A study of students found that reflective exercises proved successful, and that they thought it could be a valuable part of their professional careers within the health service. Students realised that reflective practice can help to deal with any similar issues arising (Cronin, Connolly 2007). Another study found that student nurses gained confidence in decision making through journal writing also stating that they believed more, that writing could be used to learn (Epp 2008). Both studies show that reflective practice is a beneficial tool that can be used to enhance professional practice. However the first study is seemingly over crediting the usefulness of reflective practice on a one size fits all basis. Students must not become fully dependant on the benefits which reflective practice may bring, and must leave room for ingenuity, and adapt these procedures to specific circumstances. The second study reinforces the benefits which reflective practice can bring to a students confide nce in their own professional expertise. The introduction of key performance indicators (KPI) into healthcare departments increased awareness among staff and gave an obligation to staff to fulfil certain tasks (Abujudeh, Kaewlai et al. 2010). Through KPIs in individual can highlight areas of strengths and weaknesses, however more importantly can develop a systematic and detailed plan to improve their continual personal development. There are methods incorporated into KPIS to encourage reflective practice, Continual Professional Development (CPD) and life long learning (LLL) (Chapman, Dempsey et al. 2009). Within radiography these two strategies are used to develop reflective practice. LLL was implemented with the intention for individuals to continually re-educate themselves on advances within their field of work. CPD is a resource which is discussed in detail with, the relevant line manager. If CPD is used properly reflective thinking is encouraged in the practitioner (Chapman, Dempsey et al. 2009). This reinforces the rel ationship which exists between CPD and the development of reflective practice. The society of radiographers has invested in an exclusive CPD tool which gives advice to members on how to reflect and learn. The CPD plan outlines that reflective practice can be carried out in a number of ways. Firstly by writing a reflective journal about personal experiences in the workplace or secondly in an educational environment through health professionals attending courses, to learn better ways of becoming a good reflective practitioner (Kelly 2005). It is only through implementation of all of these methods that a continual and productive mode of reflective practice can be achieved through the CPD plan. Writing a reflective journal helps a health professional keep a record of their practice, remind themselves of good and bad practice, why it happened and how they overcame or will overcome the problem (Clouston, Westcott 2005). A study found when a group of radiation therapists gathered to write journals together that their motivation, confidence, professional knowledge, critical thinking and professional practice all increased ensuring the CPD of staff (Milinkovic, Field et al. 2008). It is vital for reflective practice to be a success, all individuals within an organisation must be wholly committed to the belief that reflective practice is a worthwhile and productive tool. Things which hinder reflective practice occur in workplaces where there is no emphasis put on it by line management.. The pressures placed on professionals in the clinical environment mean that the health professional may feel that time spent on reflective practice may seem wasted (Mann, Gordon et al. 2009). It is a well known fact that as the health professional spends more time in the profession, it is found that less of their time is spent reflecting. It has been said that barriers to reflective practice include lack of time and space, negative preconceptions, organisational culture, fear, the risk of routine and not fully understanding reflection (Clouston, Westcott 2005). A study found that the use of a facilitator within a healthcare team to guide people and help promote reflective practi ce was very beneficial to the team. The time spent on reflection was said to have enhanced critical thinking, professionalism, making decisions and being able to challenge things they were not in full agreement with (Mann, Gordon et al. 2009). The use of a reflective practice facilitator provides a systematic and constant reminder to practitioners of the importance and benefits which this tool can give in work life. The facilitator provides an outlet for relevant and knowledgeable advice in what a practitioner may perceive as being a difficult circumstance. This study suggests that reflective practice has a positive impact on clinical skills and professional practice. Another study found that within the format of a meeting environment consisting of health professionals, reflective practice was influenced by five factors. The first factor which influenced reflective practice was that too much structure in a meeting lowered the ability to reflect. Secondly the level of interest a prof essional has in reflection, the more interested being better reflectors. Meetings in which people have certain roles and consist of tasks do not provide ideal for reflection. A pressurised environment where a professional is obliged to complete tasks, was shown to prevent reflective capabilities also (Heel, Sparrow et al. 2006). It would be nieve and absurd to remove structure from this mode of reflection, as the KPI targets reinforce good reflection methods. . Reflective practice has been proven to be an important tool in developing clinical skills and professional development. All studies had a similar agreement that reflective practice is good but the method of reflecting varied. Reflective practice has to be carried out from student to professional level. Reflection was said to increase confidence, decision making, motivation and professionalism (Clouston, Westcott 2005). There were no studies found that measured the effectiveness of reflective practice, perhaps this is an area where more research is needed. Another area that no research was located on was bad experiences of reflective practice. Further study into these areas could give more insight into how beneficial reflection is.

Capital Punishment Essay -- essays research papers

The most severe of all sentences: that of death. Also known as the death penalty, capital punishment this is the most severe form of corporal punishment as it is requires law enforcement officers to kill the offender. But, Capital Punishment is a very strong issue in today’s society. In my eyes punishment should be on a case-to-case basis. In the Capital Punishment debate there are 3 major issues, Deterrence, Arbitrariness, and Retribution. Deterrence is â€Å"the inhibition of criminal behavior by fear especially of punishment†. This in easier terms just means that once someone commits a crime, if they are harshly punished for it, other people should then be afraid to commit a crime. Which is related to the idea that it is believed that fear of death deters people from committing crime. Studies of the deterrent effect of the death penalty have been conducted for several years, with varying results. Most of these studies have failed to produce evidence that the death penalty deterred murders more effectively then the threat of imprisonment. The reason for this is that few people are executed and so the death penalty is not a satisfactory deterrent. In conclusion if harsher punishment was carried out, there would be a lower crime rate. The second issue is arbitrariness or Determined by or arising from impulse rather than judgment. Fairness requires that people who break the law be punished the same but we treat it on a case-to-case punishment. Wrongful conviction, if acting on...

Syrian Civil War: Causation Essay example -- arab republic, ottoman rul

Middle East Project: Syrian Civil War: Causation After four hundred years of indecisive Ottoman rule, and three decades fighting the mandate of the French, the many diverse peoples of Syria finally could call Syria their own. Yet, independence was not synonymous with peace. Without a common enemy, the Syrian people remembered their differences and began to squabble amongst themselves. Even now, seven decades after the formation of the Syrian Arab Republic, peace is yet but a far-flung dream. In June of 2000, then-President Hafez al-Assad, of the previous Ba’ath Party, passed away and his title was left, through an unfortunate accident, in the hands of his second, less determined son, Bashar al-Assad. With his death came strife. Powerful clashing forces previously kept quashed by Ba’ath Party Rule began to emerge yet again, and Syria was plunged into conflict. The Syrian civil war crisis, commonly accepted to have begun with the rule of Bashar al-Assad, had roots in history extending past Hafez al Assad (Ba’ath Party Ruling) and, through a combination of external pressures, environmental and foreign, and internal inconsistency and weakness blossomed into the situation today. The Ba’ath Party, the name Arabic for â€Å"Renaissance† or â€Å"Resurrection† (Polk), was founded in 1947 by Michel Aflaq, a Syrian teacher whose views on nationalism gained him support from Arabs across the area (â€Å"Profile†). Quickly merging with other parties, the now-Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party became real competition to its opposition as its popularity surged among students of the nation. Historically, as Syrian people were (and are) extremely diverse, a wide range of opinions on nationalism and religion have been presented, each addressing a different aspect of ... ...LIO, 2014. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. "Urban and Rural Human Geography in Syria." News and Events: Point of View. Geography Services, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Warner, Andy. "Syria’s First Family." Slate. SlateGroup, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2014. . Washington Post. "Syrian Civil War: A Rising Death Count." Washington Post. Washington Post, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2014. . Zahler, Kathy. The Assads' Syria. Minneapolis: Twenty-First Century, 2010. Print. Dictatorships. Zuhur, Sherifa. "Bashar al-Assad." World History: The Modern Era. ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.

Henry James The Turn of the Screw Essay -- Henry James Turn Screw Ess

Henry James' The Turn of the Screw Peter G. Beidler informs us that there have been â€Å"hundreds† of analyses of Henry James’ spine-tingling novella, The Turn of the Screw (189). Norman Macleod suggests that James himself seems to be â€Å"an author intent on establishing a text that cannot be interpreted in a definite way† (Qtd in Beidler 198). Yet, the vast majority of analyses of The Turn of the Screw seem to revolve around two sub-themes: the reality of the ghosts and the death of Miles both of which are used to answer the question of the governess’s mental stability: is she a hero or a deranged lunatic? As Beidler points out, â€Å"It is an amazingly fine creepy, scary, soul-shuddering ghost story or, alternatively, it is an amazingly fine psychological case study of a neurotic young woman† (189). These two views of the governess seem to dominate the analytical world in terms of readings, typically being one view or the other and seldom being anything else. Unfortunately, most of the myriad readings focus only on the visible events as related by the governess. However, there is much that we are not told but that is pertinent to an accurate reading. Bruce Fleming argues that what we are not told in The Turn of the Screw is as important as what we are told (135). Wolfgang Iser suggests that there are â€Å"gaps† or holes within the sequence of the text. He further suggests that it is the reader’s responsibility to fill-in those gaps (Qtd in Beidler 226). The facts â€Å"not in evidence† are equal in importance to the information laid out before us. What happens â€Å"off-screen† or â€Å"off-stage† is just as important as what happens in front of the audience. Much of what we do not see and are not told impacts what we do see and are told so g... ...Couldn't Say.† Studies in Short Fiction 26.2 (1989): 135-143. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. Groome, David, and Nina Grant. "Retrieval-induced forgetting is inversely related to everyday cognitive failures." British Journal of Psychology 96.2 (2005): 313-319. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 26 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw. Peter G. Beidler. Boston: Bedford, 2004. Matheson, Terence J. "Did the Governess Smother Miles? A Note on James's The Turn of the Screw." Studies in Short Fiction 19.2 (1982): 172-175. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. BYUI Lib. 25 Oct 2005. http://search.epnet.com/. Ormrod, Jeanne Ellis. Educational Psychology: Developing Learners. 5th ed. Upper Saddle River: Pearson, 2004.

The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards The 21St Century Marketing Essay

Marketing Proposal Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Different businesses operate within a given market and aim at attracting more customers as well as making profits through higher sales. Furthermore, it is often the aim of any given company to ensure that it provides products that will increase its market share and make it competitive in the market (Khan, 97-107). Therefore, every business will formulate marketing strategies that will help it gain competitive advantage as well as make profits and have more customers for its products. When starting a business and one wants to enter in to a market with a new product, it is important to have a marketing strategy which addresses the marketing mix the company will apply as well as the business environment it will operate in (Khan, 97-107). The following proposal involves the details on the marketing strategy that the company will apply for the Organic Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub. Business Environment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Business environmental is made up of the internal and external factors which affect the operations of a business. In this case, the business environment for the Mint Chocolate product is suitable for the product. On political basis, the political en businesses environment has changed a lot over the years and it has opened up for business across the world (International Cocoa Foundation, n.p). There is political will for across many countries in terms of business policies which businesses can rely on. The issue of trade barriers have been addressed through trade treaties which allow businesses to expand in to other countries. Therefore, based on the business regulations and rules governing business registration, production of goods as well as the issue of taxes that will be paid, the environment is welcoming and hence there is a chance of development and growth (Khan, 97-107).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There is political stability which is suitable for the business hence growth will be experienced within the next 2 years. There have been a lot of technological developments which have helped businesses to expand (Khan, 97-107). Due to the increased technological development, the company will reach more customers through the use of social media as well as the internet for marketing. Furthermore, the cost of production will be lower hence the prices that will be charged for the product will be affordable hence there is a chance of attracting more customers (Constantinides, 407-438). The market for beauty products is quite huge as part of the microeconomic factors which will affect the business. Companies such as Barney’s opened up the market and from observations; there is a huge market across the world. Furthermore, the demand for the beauty products is also readily available although the company will face competition of which it pl ans to overcome through its marketing mix. The potential competitors   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There are several competitors in the market which the company will need to face. Some of the potential competitors include BircyhBox, Sabon NYC, as well as ULTA:. The company will need to formulate a marketing strategy that will fight the competition and increase the profitability of the company (Constantinides, 407-438). However, it is to be noted the market for the organic chocolate beauty products has grown over the years. Therefore, despite the stiff competition, the company through its pricing strategy will be able to overcome the competition. Potential Business Partners   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important for a business to engage business partners so that it can be able to realize the benefits of economies of scale that are available. In this case, the potential business partners of the company will be company such as Barney’s, Ricky’s NYC, and Urban Outfitters as the major retailers that can help the company prosper (Constantinides, 407-438). The relationships with these companies will be in terms of the distribution and the retailing of the product so that the company can be able to reach a large number of customers that visit these retail stores. Market trends   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Over the years, there has been great development in the market with customers embracing the use of beauty products. The market trends have inclined towards the increased use of beauty products hence the growth in the business. The consumers however have become more conscious about their health hence considering that this product is made of organic cocoa, it may be a challenge. However, due to the growth in the market, consumers are likely to embrace it since the pricing of the product will be affordable. Potential market segments   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The potential market segment that the company will be targeting with this product is the youths and young adults. The female youths enjoy products that are made of chocolate which hold some emotional attachment in terms of the love and building relationships and feeling confident. Furthermore, the female gender will form the largest share of the market that will be targeted as females are known to love beauty products than the males. Therefore, in this case, the targeted market segment will be made of female youths aged between the age of 15 to 29 years youths as well as some adults aged between 30 to 45 years, although the product will be available for the older generation too. Geographic Location   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Beauty products are used worldwide and therefore it is a matter of the company choosing which location it will concentrate its business. The US market seems to have grown a lot in terms of the market as well as the demand for the product. Therefore, since this is the initial business, the company will locate its business in the US, the city of New York. The city provides a wide market for the product in addition to the ease of distribution of the product to the customers. Therefore, the first business will be located in the US but as time goes by and with continued growth, the company hopes to expand its operations in to other countries such as England, and across Europe before it can expand to the African Continent. Marketing mix   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important that a company should ensure that it has a marketing mix that meets the needs of the consumers as the primary aim is to capture the market and ensure the company has a higher market share (Khan, 97-107). The marketing mix of this company will include the product, the price of the product, the distribution as well as the promotion of the product. Product   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The company is planning to produce the Organic Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub which will be made from organic cocoa among other ingredients (Constantinides, 407-438). The Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub will be made in form of chocolate bars and packaged in paper packs unlike others that are packed in polythene packs. This is to help conserve the environment. Furthermore, this product will come in variety of colours but the flavour will remain to be mint flavour since no companies produce mint chocolate beauty products. Pricing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The beauty products that are offered have been in the market for some time and hence there is need to ensure that the price for the Mint Chocolate Sugar Scrub is favourable for the customers. The aim of the company is to attract customers hence the price will be lower than that of the current players in the market (Constantinides, 407-438). Furthermore, the price will also depend on the size of the chocolate bar whereby the bigger the bar, the higher the price although for start, all bars will be of medium uniform size. Therefore, the price will be based on the current market prices but is expected to rise after the business stabilizes. Place (distribution)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The place or the distribution of the product is important. Since this is the first time this product will be entering the market, it will be important to place it strategically where customers can locate it easily. The product will be available in major retail stores such as Cos Bar, Sephora and Blue Mercury among others (Constantinides, 407-438). Furthermore, the product will also be available online on the website of the company since there will be an online store. Promotion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to promote the product since it is new in the market. Promotion will help create market awareness of the product as well as help in expending the market share of the company. The promotional strategy that the company will use includes online marketing whereby the company will open up a social media account to post its products and reach out to customers (Constantinides, 407-438). Furthermore, the company will promote its products through television adverts as well as free samples since it is the first time the product is entering the market. All these promotional methods will enable the company to reach out to the customers and build a strong customer base. In conclusion, the company expects the business top start and develop at a gradual pace over the next 2 years after which rapid growth is expected over the next 5 years. References Constantinides, E. â€Å"The Marketing Mix Revisited: Towards The 21St Century Marketing.† Journal Of Marketing Management 22.3/4 (2006): 407-438. Business Source Complete.Web. 13 Dec. 2014. International Cocoa Foundation.The Chocolate Industry February 2014 Retrieved from http://www.icco.org/about-cocoa/chocolate-industry.html on 13th December 2014 Khan, Muhammad Tariq. â€Å"The Concept Of ‘Marketing Mix’ And Its Elements (A Conceptual Review Paper).† International Journal Of Information, Business & Management 6.2 (2014): 95-107. Business Source Complete.Web. 13 Dec. 2014. Source document

Brannigan Foods Essay

Strategic Marketing Planning for the Soup Division Brannigan Foods Soup Division is a 100 year old company with mature products which account for 40% of the whole soup market and it is the most significant division of the Brannigan Foods group. The most important category is the RTE soups which account for 78% of total sales. (Exhibit 2) Other products include Low sodium RTE â€Å"Heart Healthy†, dry soups and mixes and private label and Annabelle’s fast and simply. Annabelle’s was a soup company acquired 5 years ago in order to add healthier sups, dry soups and fast to the company’s portfolio, a growing trend in the market. In terms of costumer perception of Brannigan comparing with competition, Brannigan’s falls behind in the following: Health trends Diet claims Convenience offerings Flavors-especially popular regional ones Seasonal products outside cold weather Retailers perceive Brannigan to be: -Category leader -not innovative -less profitable than store brands and competition Over the past 3 years the results of the division have been decreasing and there are several reasons behind this: The whole soup industry has been declining for several years. The largest and most loyal segment of soup consumers, the baby boomers, which account for 20% of American population and are the main target, have been showing increasing concerns with processed food and high sodium content shifting to healthier alternatives. Increasing trend within working mothers who tended to prefer â€Å"convenience†. Bert Clark, vice-president and general manager of Brannigan Foods’ Soup Division needs to take action and present a plan to senior management to go back to growing sales within the division and increase profits by 3% next year, reversing the 1-2% declining turnover and 2-3% declining volume. With this in mind he has asked his key directors to submit a plan of action independently and now he has to decide which of the 4 proposals he will bring to senior management. The fact that Clark has his 4 keys managers working separately limits their assessment to each of their experiences and thus their proposals are narrowed to their field of expertise. Also, by choosing one particular direction may leave 3 directors uninvolved hence with a minor sense of responsibility. When making hard decisions it is always better, in my opinion, to have everyone on board. On the other hand it provides Clark with 4 proposals instead of one. Nonetheless making the 4 directors work together would have a provided a team solution and a broader approach to the problem. Now, by choosing one particular approach, Clark will have to find a way to involve all directors in this strategy. Looking closely at each proposal: 1st proposal Srikant Tipha, Director of the Simple Meals unit Srikant wants to strengthen the strategy of growing categories of dry soups, healthier soups and meal-in-pouch soups by investing $18 million on advertising and promotion. These products were a direct result of Annabelle’s acquisition, a smaller competitor Brannigan had acquired 5 years ago. Skirant wants to induce trial by increasing advertising; to provide coupling for new flavors: Gazpacho for the warmer months and Teriyaki for positioning in the fast growing Asian soups category. Pros: Focuses on growing segments which address health concerning issues and/or focus on the new flavors Cons: Srikant focuses his whole strategy on the new lines/products which account for 15% of the revenues of the division and completely leaves out the 78% which are the star products, or the cash cow and basically finance the new developments. 2nd proposal Claire Mackey, Director of Finance & Planning Claire focuses on the new healthier and more convenient products gaining territory in the market. Claire suggests the best way to quickly have a strong presence in these segments would be to acquire a small competitor with significant presence on these new products. Pros: Brannigan would very quickly be able to have an adequate response to new trends, as the whole operation is set up and products are already tested. By maintain the current brands, they would increase their shelf space. With joint synergies, the new acquired products would have a margin increase by reducing costs. Cons: Recent bad experience with Annabelle’s Foods although the project is gradually gaining track. It would take a large investment in advertising and promotion if they kept the acquired brands, if they changed into their own, there was a greater risk of cannibalization and of losing shelf space in big retailers. 3rd proposal Anna Chong, Chief Innovation Officer Anna feels that her department could develop new lines that meet the market’s new trends and that the company should increase investment in advertising and promotion for the new products already tested with consumers and investment in R&D for new products. Pros: the proposal addresses the markets new trends, avoiding the risk and investment of a new acquisition and all risks it entails. The new flavors would allow a price increase hence increase in margin. Cons: 1/100 products developed were actually launched in the market and reached Brannigan’s threshold for success. The costs of developing 100 products and launching 9 with only 1 to be successful are very heavy. Also launching products that may eventually fail means also costs for retailers which are becoming increasingly intolerant and more demanding for better conditions. 4th proposal Bob Pugh, VP Sales and Marketing, Brannigan Soups Bob focuses his proposal on the core products: reduce selling price to make the gap between private label and Brannigan less significant (PL increasing by 5%) . Also he wants to invest in advertising the products and wants to optimize the plants in order to recover losses due to reduction of selling price. Bob also wants to bring back a former campaign more appealing to younger generations. Pros: The aimed products are guaranteed successes and retailers will appreciate the strategy. Cons: This plan totally ignores the new market trends and price reduction could damage margin objectives as well as brand positioning. Looking at each proposal individually I think Clark should favor Bob Pugh’s proposal because it focuses strongly on the divisions main core, enables to increase gross margin by reducing production costs and increasing volume and there is no cannibalization effect. However, in long term this strategy does not secure the new trends which may or may not be the next cash cows. Then also noteworthy is the proposal by Anna Chong which goes in a very different direction but is as well an interesting approach. Anna, as the Chief Innovation Officer, focuses, not surprisingly, on developing new products, there is of course a large investment involved, but it does take into account the new trends. My last pick would be the proposal made by Claire Mackey, Director of Finance & Planning, since it represents a very large investment and recent experience with Annabelle will make it hard to pass it by the board. Her preference goes to Red Dragon Foods: Current Sales: $36 million Cannibalization of Sales: 0.45% (Mackey says 0.3%; Clark 0.6%): $13 million Estimated EBITDA $4.2 millions Estimated Cost: $29.4 million (considering highest price) Amortization + interest per year: 2.54 million (in 10 year period) Gross Margin: $16.2 million Gross Margin with cannibalization effect: $10.3 million Cost of A&P: $11 million Net Earnings in the First Year: -$3.24 million In 5 years: Estimated revenues: $75.85 million (growth rate of 2.5% for whole division) Estimated Gross Margin in 5 years (50% instead of 45% as Clark estimates increase of 10% I will be more conservative and just add 5% ): $38 million From the analyzed companies by Mackey, the emerging competition is mainly focused on the area where Brannigan’s is not as strong: health oriented products (MSG free and low sodium), new flavors (Asian flavors) and trends (Deli like). These yet small sub categories may well grow in the next years and this may pose as a problem because costumers will lose brand awareness, recognizing other brands as the Healthy soup or as the Chinese Soup. On the other hand, it will be difficult for new brands to try to compete with Brannigan on their strongest products and in which they are the unquestioned leader. So the natural strategy for new companies is to target the products where there is not such a strong recognized brand. This point must be considered by Clark when making his decision. Can Brannigan’s afford to leave these new products wide open or should he get his hands on this before it escalates? In my opinion Clark needs to take action on the growing needs of the market before it is too late. Brannigan’s Soup needs to lock its position as market leader in soups as a whole concept and not as a segmented market. Clark needs to address two main issues: maintain leadership in the classic flavors and keep up with new demands. For this he should bring in Anna Chong and Bob Pugh and have them work together in defining the new strategy. Bringing their proposals together the cons of each of them are mitigated. Anna addresses the new trends Bob has left out and Bob will secure the financing of the new products that Anna will develop which may become the next cash cows. Reinforcing the current strong products of the company is important but may not be enough in a permanently evolving market. A leader position requires investment in R&D in order to keep up with changing trends.