Reflective Reflection - 1019 Words

What is the influence one classroom and one teacher can have on a persons writing? The answer being â€Å"a lot† because being a part of one English class my sophomore year made it possible for me to understand more about writing and the skills needed to achieve at the process. The teacher that I had such great communication with that year not only made it possible for me to understand what I was doing wrong, but how I could fix my problems. Without changing my writing from the past, I would still be stuck with essays and papers that lack flow and structure. Writing is such a great skill that is strongly needed in the field I wish to study and eventually one day work for in the future. While to some English and writing may not be important,†¦show more content†¦Not to mention, she was the teacher that made writing so understandable for myself. Without having taken this class, I would not have been able to develop my writing skills for the better. Before taking my sophomore year of High School, writing was a very big struggle for me. When I first began writing essays in school I did not know how to go about the process. I had struggled many years with how to start the essay and how to make it flow. My first essays were mechanically flawed and constantly changed topic. As I went up each grade level I began to transform my writing a little at a time. Mr. Marhefka’s class helped me set up the organization, but still I did not understand the importance of transitions between paragraphs. I would stop a paragraph and start the next with a completely different topic because I did not what I was doing wrong. After taking my sophomore year of English I definitely changed my writing in many ways. Learning everything I did, I understood many new things that did not make sense before. Having made such changes in the past have made it possible for me to understand more advanced levels of writing that will help my future in many ways . The changes that have been made in my writing will make it more possible to be advanced in my area of study in the future. I plan to follow the Pre-Law tracks in hopes to one day be hired into Patent Law. Patent Law is a very special area in law that protects the property rights for inventors. To beShow MoreRelatedReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice2289 Words   |  10 PagesReflection is considered as a state of mind which is a continuous practice (Fanghanel, 2004, p. 576). It yields confidential and safe ways to demonstrate personal experiences as well as continuously challenging perceptions, illusions and biases that can be damaging to cultures and society. Reflective practice enables the practitioner to learn about themselves and their work, their culture and society in which they live. 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One of these reflective models will be used to provide a critical analysis of my experience on the Study Skills and Employability module. Critical reflection will be included on how I felt during the module and what I have learnt from the module as well as what I would do next time if I was to repeat the module again. Reflection/ Reflective practice Reflection involves looking back on an experienceRead MoreReflective Reflection895 Words   |  4 PagesI do not recall learning about reflective practice in my undergraduate studies. Reflective practice according to Barbour (2013), â€Å"is the cyclic process of internally examining and exploring an issue of concern, triggered by an experience, which creates and clarifies meaning in terms of self, existing knowledge, and experience; resulting in a changed conceptual perceptive and practice† (p. 7). According to Barbour (2013), reflective process has many positive outcomes to help guide the nurse to becomeRead MoreReflective Reflection819 Words   |  4 PagesThis reflective essay will be adopted from Rolfe, Freshwater and Jasper’s (2001) reflection model. This reflection is based on a case study that I have read and will be based on the intervention I have chosen to treat the patient. Mr. Castello was admitted to the ward for observation after a fight and sustainin g a laceration to his right forehead from a beer bottle and extensive bruising and scratches to his left arm. Mr. Castello had a pre-existing chest infection, Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM)Read MoreReflective Reflection : Reflective Learning913 Words   |  4 PagesReflective learning leads to the growth of an individual both in the personal and professional life supporting him morally, emotionally and psychologically. Reflection learning can help us better understand our strengths and weakness. It also helps us identify our questions values and beliefs. It encourages acknowledging and challenging possible assumptions on which our feelings, ideas actions and reactions are based. We can identify the areas of discrimination and acknowledge our fears. Also, itRead MoreReflective Reflection On Reflective Practice1332 Words   |  6 Pages Reflective Practice in Special Education Using Action Research Sunny Suzanne West St. Joseph’s University Course Title â€Æ' Abstract: Reflective Practices in Special Education Using Action Research Title and Link to Study: Promoting Reflective Practices in Special Education through Action Research: Recommendations from Pre-service Teachers; Paula Wenner Conroy http://journals.library.wisc.edu/index.php/networks Research Problem and Purpose of the Study: What is reflective

Professional Athletes Make so Much Money - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2594 Downloads: 10 Date added: 2017/09/15 Category Advertising Essay Did you like this example? Professional athletes make so much money Alex Rodriguez is a 32 year old Miami native, and, having entered the workforce directly out of high school, currently holds down a job in New York City. Normally, at least for those entering the workforce right out of high school, attaining a good career is rather difficult. This is especially true considering that more and more employers are requiring prospective employees to attain at least a bachelor’s degree just to get into an interview room. However, Rodriguez, since the age of 18, has lived a rather comfortable lifestyle he never has had to worry about where is next meal is coming from, where to find shelter for himself and his family, nor has he had to rely on his monthly paycheck to sustain his family. What makes these facts even more interesting is Rodriguez’ work schedule he works only 7 months per year. This is because, in 2000, at the tender young age of 25, he signed a contract with his employer for 10 years and 252 million dollars all guaranteed salary. What is Mr. Rodriguez’ profession? Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Professional Athletes Make so Much Money" essay for you Create order He plays 3rd base for the New York Yankees. Rodriguez, all in the time it took to sign his name on a contract, quickly became the main scapegoat for a widely growing resentment in American society. This resentment is of the professional athlete. Not the athlete, so much as the salary the athlete earns for participating in an activity that is typically ascribed to the behavior 10 year old child. Are athletes overpaid? Or are their salaries justified? To progress to any understanding on this issue, four key questions must be answered: What does the term â€Å"worth† mean, in the context of professional sports? Who ascribes this â€Å"worth†, and why do they pay athletes such a high salary? What is the difference, in terms of productivity, between the athlete and those with regular professional jobs? What is the correlation between specialization and salary, in terms of the laborer? This review will examine the various social and economic debates concerning the salaries of professional athletes. What are Athletes Worth? In the context of analyzing this issue of whether athletes are worth what they are paid, there must be a clear definition of the term â€Å"worth†. What does worth mean? Is it value in the sense of their essentiality to human nature? Is it their value to a society? Or does how much one produce remain the determining factor of worth? A common sentiment of the typical sports fan is that athletes are overpaid. That is to say, athletes are paid more than their relative â€Å"worth† as opposed to teachers, lawyers, doctors, etc. For example, a USA Today article published in November 1994 cites a survey conducted on 2000 individuals on how adequately they feel athletes are paid. 7% of those surveyed responded that they feel athletes are overpaid, compared to nurses (10%) teachers (8%), and secretaries (2%). Sentiments have not changed much in the past 13 years. Judging from these statistics, one may infer that society views an occupation’s â€Å"worth† as its value to society. After all, nurses are essential components in American health care; teachers are essential to public education; while secretaries are cruci al to various administrative tasks. Within this context of the definition, professional athletes seem to have little intrinsic value to society. They seem rather disposable. Take teachers away, and we have nobody left to teach the children. Take athletes out of the equation? We will simply have no games to watch. This is the essential misunderstanding most people have about professional sports, according to Jimmie Lee Solomon, currently the director of Minor League operations for Major League Baseball. â€Å"Professional sports are a business. Our product just happens to be putting highly paid players on the field or court† (Corbett, 1995, p. 5) Therefore, Solomon says, we must not judge athletes based on their intrinsic value to a society; rather, we must judge them as products that create revenue. When the product happens to be a human, such as is the case with athletes, actors, musicians, or writers, that human must be compensated. Economics professor William L. Anderson expounds on Solomon’s point in an article entitled, â€Å"In Praise of Athlete’s High Salaries†. Citing the Statistical Abstra cts of the United States (1996), he points out that Americans spent close to 13. 1 billion dollars in 1995 on commercial sports. That number has grown even more significant in recent years. Clearly, Anderson points out, professional sports is a very lucrative business. These sports create significant revenue from the fans that pay to see them. Naturally, he concludes, an athlete’s worth should not be examined based on intrinsic value, but rather monetary value. How much money does the athlete create? Who Ascribes this Worth? Solomon and Anderson thus conclude that fans cannot be the people who ascribe worth to professional athletes. After all, an athlete’s only concern is whether his employer thinks he is worth a high salary, not the fans. True, higher fan consumption means higher revenue which means more worth, but fans are not the people who write the checks. This responsibility falls on the owners of these professional teams. Just as any CEO of a Fortune 500 company, it is the owner of the professional sports franchise that has the most at stake when examining whether an athlete is worth the investment. Therefore, he must examine this investment carefully; for if he doesn’t, his company will lose money and he will go out of business. How does the franchise owner examine a player’s worth? In an interesting study entitled, â€Å"The NBA and the Influx of International Basketball Players†, economists Erik Eschker, Stephen Perez, and Mark Siegler examine the process by which an owner, or whoever within the organization has the responsibility of evaluating talent, determines a player’s worth on the market. They use the structure of the National Basketball Association as an example. As long as teams are able to buy or sell players, they say, NBA salaries will resemble an auction- like process (p. 1010) The authors point out that the bids from the teams are determined upon a given player’s Marginal Revenue Product (MRP). The team looks at performance and other factors like age, experience, height, etc. in order to gauge what the player’s market price is. In this environment, we should expect to see the player to be paid close to the highest expected MRP (p. 1011). This judgment is based on limited information and uncertainty, however, so bids are actually more likely to be far above or far below the actual MRP. Thus we find that the bid that is far above the actual MRP wins the player, and we find the case of a player being paid far more than he is really â€Å"worth† (p. 1012). This seems to suggest that, while some athletes may in fact be overpaid, it is in relation to other athletes, rather than to the rest of society. This explanation however, while partly justifying â€Å"how† athletes are paid so much, does not entirely explain â€Å"why†. Why don’t the all the owners get together and decide upon a system of worth such that overbidding doesn’t become a necessity? This is the type of question that would be raised by Adam Smith, the widely renowned â€Å"Father of Economics† and author of Wealth of Nations. There are fewer owners than there are players. Thus, they are more easily able to gather together and force the players to comply with a restructured pay system. The owners will always be able to hold out longer; they have more spare capital at their disposal. Why don’t they use this leverage? This failure has not been for a lack of trying. Collusion, as it is so called, was prevalent in Major League baseball in the mid 1980’s. As such, a rule was negotiated in the Collective Bargaining agreement prohibiting such action, whether on the part of the owners or the players. What Do Athletes Produce? It is quite safe to say that the salaries of various professional athletes are directly proportional to the revenue earned by their respective franchises. Tom Hicks, the owner of the Texas Rangers, was the man responsible for rewarding Rodriguez with the most significant contract in the history of professional sports. Twenty-five million dollars wasn’t merely an arbitrary number, however; Hicks, like other franchise owners in the MLB and other professional sports, had to estimate Rodriguez’ worth in terms of extra revenue he created. Here we come back to the MRP figure, which Eschker, Perez, and Siegler explain more in depth. In essence, this figure calculates the change in total revenue from the franchise when employing one more unit of labor (p. 1011) in Hicks’ case, this unit of labor comes in the form of Alex Rodriguez. Furthermore, the cost of employing Rodriguez, according to this theory, must not exceed the extra revenue he generates for the Rangers. Hick expects Rodriguez, with his vast array of skills (hitting for power and average, superior baserunning, defense) to help the Rangers win more games. If the Rangers win more games, fans will buy more tickets and more memorabilia, networks will pay more to broadcast their games, and the team will generate more revenue. If this revenue is less than the 25 million dollars it costs to employ Rodriguez, then the investment is seen as a failure. However, if the revenue exceeds the costs, then Rodriguez’ salary is justified. The idea that an athlete’s high salary can be â€Å"justified† is indeed absurd for some. Take for example an excerpt from this editorial in a July 2002 issue of USA Today: â€Å"Some sense of sanity has to return to the salary structure of professional sports. Its absurd that a ballplayer makes millions of dollars while research analysts at places such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention get peanuts by comparison for doing work that saves lives. And look at what a small salary a schoolteacher makes. † This is a thinly veiled adaptation of what Smith referred to as the â€Å"diamond-water paradox†. Water, which is essential to our existence, is worth far less to us than a diamond, which is of relatively little ultimate significance. Why, then, is the diamond worth more on the market than water? Anderson, referencing this paradox in his article, explains that the diamond is worth more than the water because water is far more abundant than diamonds. Because diamonds are relatively rare, the demand for them is high, and thus the price is highly elevated. Water, on the other hand, is relatively abundant; thus the demand is low and the price is low. It’s the basic economic theory of supply and demand. Professional athletes, far less abundant than teachers or research analysts, are worth far more on the open market. How many people out there can reproduce the unique skill set Alex Rodriguez has? Or Shaquille O’Neal? Or Peyton Manning? In contrast, how many people are there who can reproduce the skill set of a research analyst, or a teacher? Economist Sherwin Rosen will explain this dichotomy further in-depth. How does Specialization Lend to Salary? The interesting phenomenon of the athletes’ salaries, explained by Rosen in his article, â€Å"The Economics of Superstars†, makes the reward structure in sports differ from those in other professions. The business of sports, unlike other professions, lends itself to a more significant inequality with regards to distribution of incomes (p. 449). Moreover, Rosen finds that this reward structure is highly non-linear the salaries of athletes rise in great disproportion to natural ability (p. 451). For example, if we compare the skill set of Alex Rodriguez, against, say, his teammate Derek Jeter, we find that although their traits might be somewhat different in terms of specificity, they as players more or less have the same impact on the team. The disparity in statistics such as home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, errors, etc. while noticeable to the ardent baseball fan, aren’t that great between the two. Yet Jeter, on average, earns 5 million dollars less than Rodriguez on an annual basis. Furthermore, when we compare the salaries of Jeter and Rodriguez to a player making the league minimum ($327,000 as of 2007), we may find a great disparity in statistics, but not so much in terms of overall skill level. Why, then, does Rodriguez earn ? more salary than Jeter, and over 75 times the salary of a player making the league minimum? And why don’t we find this salary structure in other professions? The seemingly disproportionate salary structure in sports, according to Stefan Szymanski, is not the result of conscious mechanism design, but of intense competition. Professional sports is the prime example of what Szymanski calls the â€Å"tournament theory†; even though the difference in ability may seem small, winning is the vehicle that drives salaries (p. 469). Fans are much more inclined to pay to see the absolute best players in their respective sports; not the second-tier players. Though the difference in ability may be small, winning creates a vast separation between the best and the second best. Thus, we find that relative ability, rather than absolute ability, is of supreme importance. This is not the case so much in terms of a teacher or a research analyst, or an electrician. Rosen indicates that some tasks have become so routine, so circumscribed, that any competent person will achieve the same outcome (p. 455). As such, it is much easier for one to attain the skill set necessary for such a task. For example, there is not much difference in terms of outcome when the best electrician wires a house as opposed to the second-best electrician, or even the worst electrician. (There is a widely quoted joke in the medical business: What do you call the guy who finished last in his class at medical school? Doctor. ) This is not the case is sports. The outcomes are more disparate. Because winning is at a premium, owners will go out of their way to find the superior talent, however small the difference in ability may be. According to Rosen, sports are such that poor talent is an inadequate substitution for superior talent (p. 454). In other words, athletes are far more specialized than their counterparts in other areas of professional labor increased specialization leads to increasing disparities in relative income. Rodriguez, however small the difference in ability between he and Jeter, is worth 150% Jeter’s salary because his slightly superior talent is more likely to win games and create revenue. Conclusion The economics of the market for professional athletes are a conundrum that owners of professional sports franchises face every day. If Tom Hicks is faced with signing one of two players (in 2000 the players in question were Rodriguez and outfielder Manny Ramirez), he has questions to ponder. Which player has the superior talent? Which player is more likely to help the team win games? Which player is more likely to draw fans into the ballpark and sell jerseys? (Ramirez eventually signed with the Boston Red Sox for 8 years and 160 million dollars). In the arena of professional sports, such difficulty in assessing small differences in ability can often seem overwhelming, and might lead to panic on the part of the owners (Eschker, Perez, Siegler, 2004, p. 1010). This panic, stemming from the perpetual uncertainty of talent assessment, may greatly exaggerate an athletes’ worth on the open market, or, less often, even undervalue his worth. Whatever the case may be, most every economist agrees that the common man’s animosity towards athletes’ salaries most likely stems from jealousy and envy rather than economic theory.

Accounts receivable management Free Essays

string(21) " look and feel good\." The brand opened up a new facet of beauty care services that was associated more with market and state-of-the-art hospitals, where customers opted for these services under the supervision of doctors who had specialized in cosmetic surgeries/interventions. Would the differentiation between the first-time users of a beauty parlor and the loyal customers of a parlor offer insights that Kayak would find useful? Issues related to services management as well as customer value and customer loyalty were relevant to Kayak’s competitive strategies. Although the customers of a beauty parlor could be demographically efferent from Kayak’s customers, the commonality of the benefits related to the beauty services offered were the same. We will write a custom essay sample on Accounts receivable management or any similar topic only for you Order Now The challenge for Kayak was to use the insights from the customers in a related category of beauty parlor services in developing its category that did not face direct competition. etc Traditionally, beauty care products in India had been limited to herbs and homemade products. Only soaps, hair oil, shampoos, and talcum powder from the organized industry had been able to penetrate the Indian market. However, with a teddy increase in the awareness of hygiene and personal grooming across urban and rural India, several beauty and personal care categories gained momentum. In India, marketing activities generally involved popular celebrities, and traditionally highlighted aspects such as elimination of body odor and dandruff, improved oral health, and the prevention of infection. This further boosted the demand for beauty and personal care products. No The Indian beauty care industry grew rapidly in a few years with the penetration of premium beauty care products and services. The rising disposable income and the hanging lifestyles of Indians led to a boom in the beauty and personal care industries. The India skin care industry, for instance, was forecast to grow at 9% compounded annual growth rate (CARR) during 2009-2014. 1 Major fast-moving consumer goods brands such as Hindustan Milliner Limited (HULL) and Procter and Gamble (PG) aggressively expanded their product portfolios, distribution networks, and marketing activities in this segment. With the proliferation of beauty and personal care categories and brands, customer awareness of the different types of products and brands increased. The consumption of beauty products and services mimed to have experienced significant growth. 2 The emergence of brands such as Marco’s Kayak Skin Clinic, Lake Beauty Salon, BLOC, Shania Hussein Herbals, Covariance’s Limited, Green Trends, Keen, and Jawed Habit Hair Beauty POOH) could be attributed to this trend. The boom was evident: HULL was opening up a new Lake salon almost every week, and GHB had grown from 37 parlors in Staying ahead of the game: How companies are adapting to the changing face of beauty, Euro monitor, November 2010, http://www. Remuneration. Mom/staying-ahead- of-the-game-how-companies-are-adapting-to-the-changing-face-of-beauty/report, accessed October 3, 2011. 2 Beauty business set to boom, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/news/news-by- industry/cons-products/fashion-/-cosmetics-/]leery/beauty-business-set-to-boom/ artilleries/8921457. SMS, accessed on July 1 2, 2011. S. Rammers Kumar, Anode Deja and Seed Hussein prepared this case for class discussion. This case is not intended to serve as an endorsement, source of primary data, or to show effective or inefficient handling of decision or business processes. Copyright 2012 by the Indian Institute of Management Bangor. No part of the publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise (including internet) – without the permission of Indian Institute of Management Bangor. This document is authorized for use only by SANDY SANDWICH at MDI Management Development until November 2013. Copying or posting is an infringement of copyright. Permissions@hbsp. Harvard. Deed or 617. 783. 7860. Exploring Category Benefits for Brand Building: Kayak and the Beauty Care Market Page 2 of 9 2006 to 225 by the end of 2010. The boom in the Indian beauty market was also able to attract large multinationals, such as Jean-Claude Beguine with annual revenues of ever 150 million Euros, to set up parlors in India. 3 The predominantly unrecognized, locally run beauty parlor market was being replaced by branded chains such as Lake, which was changing the face of this industry in the country. These branded beauty parlors were the leaders in a new era of trained parlor personnel. They offered services based on global insights and professional products that incorporated the latest international technologies. KAYAK SKIN CLINIC The approximately INNER 7,000-core (1 core = 10 million) organized and unrecognized hair and beauty industry was growing at a CARR of 35%. The industry was estimated to reach a potential business of INNER 30,000 core by 2015. Personal hygiene products (soaps and shower products), hair care and skin care products, color cosmetics, and fragrances were the key segments in the Indian beauty care industry (Exhibit 1). The skin care segment was relatively smaller than the personal care segment. The anti- aging cream segment alone, which was only 2% of the skin care market, had been growing at a rate of 90%. The increasing number of educated and working women in the corporate world was a major driver for this rapid growth. What made this industry even more fascinating was that even with the high growth rate, the Indian market was largely untapped, compared to other developing markets. In comparison, a developing country such as China spent ten times more on skin care, six times more on cosmetics, and twice more on hair care on a per capita basis (Exhibit 1). It is also worth noting that India had the highest percentage of women in the age group of 25-44 years, which was the key segment for the beauty industry. These figures and facts indicate the huge unrealized potential of the Indian market. Given the vast attention of beauty care services in the country, customer perception about the value related to the delivery of services, customer loyalty, and brand perception were important from the perspective of any branded or unbranded offering in this category. In December 2002, after conduct ing extensive research, Marino identified an emerging need in the market that translated to an aspiration to look and feel good. You read "Accounts receivable management" in category "Papers" On furthering this understanding with the customers, a more focused need that was still untapped was identified: that of having flawless skin that looked good naturally. Thus, the first Kayak Skin Clinic was launched with the single-minded objective of delivering flawless skin solutions customized to Indian skin using the latest technology. In 2011, Kayak had opened 81 clinics spread across 26 cities in India, 18 highly successful clinics in the Middle East, and 2 clinics at Dacha in Bangladesh. In May 2010, Kayak acquired the aesthetics business of the Singapore-based Dermal Ark Asia Pacific Pete. Ltd. (Dermal Ark). The company expanded its portfolio with the launch of more services such as lip enhancement as well as fairness and hair removal services. Kayak Skin Clinic had a number of services and solutions such as skin beauty, skin concerns, laser hair reduction, and anti-aging. Their product range included over 40 skin, hair, and body products for women and men. Kayak offered 360 degree skin care solutions that included advice on proper diet and exercise regimens. All the services offered at Kayak Skin Clinic were designed and supervised by a team of over 250 dermatologists. The services were carried out by certified skin practitioners who had undergone more than 300 hours of training. The services were US FDA-approved and tested in-house, and conformed to the highest international quality standards. All the services were competitively priced, starting from INNER 1 ,250. Kayak had over 600,000 satisfied customers. Kayak conducted frequent in-house training programs for its skin practitioners and dermatologists. Once in six months, Kayak held training-UCM-refresher courses for its staff to keep them up-to-date with the latest skin care techniques that were available internationally. Its team of dermatologists also participated in the in-house Continuing Medical Education (CAME) program, where international doctors met to discuss various trends in the field of skin care. Beauty bet: JOB plans to set up shop in India, http://economists. Initiatives. Com/ beauty-bet-]CB-plans-to-set-up-shop-India/artilleries/1773980. SMS, accessed on July 122011. 4 Outlook personal care industry: An Indian perspective, Data Strategic Management Group, http://www. Test. Com/download/article/Personal_Care_Chemicals. UDF, accessed on September 12, 2011. Page 3 of 9 PHILOSOPHY OF KAYAK 5 Kayak was divided into six service verticals, namely, Skin beauty, Skin concerns, Hair- free, Anti-aging, Bridal, and Kayak Men. Unlike other retailers, Kayak had not adopted the franchisee model. The company owned each of its clinics, because Kayak Skin Clinic believed in providing consistent services across the country. The philosophy at Kayak was governed by the single value of placing the customer first at all times. The word â€Å"Kayak† in Sanskrit meant â€Å"body. Kayak was all about personal confidence through expert skin care that seamlessly blended looking good with feeling good about one’s inner and outer selves at all times. The emphasis, therefore, was on highly customized and personalized services that were best suited for the Indian skin. The services were provided in a state-of-the-art clinic with a Zen-like ambiance. The core values of Kayak Skin Clinic were: Customer First: Spirit of Partnership: Keeping the customer in focus and partnering to deliver skin care solutions. Doing what was in the best interests of the customer; business interests would follow. Openness: Allowing diversity of opinion by listening to members without bias. Sharing information both good and bad, and having a sense of trust and respect for each other. Ownership: Having a â€Å"my Kayak† mind-set. What would I do if I were the owner of the business? Displaying seamless behavior across the organization when necessary, rather than drawing boundaries of unction’s/grades in the interest of the organization. Exhibit 3 presents some of Kayak’s print advertisements. They give an idea of how Kayak tried to differentiate itself from regular beauty parlors by consistently emphasizing its technology, the expertise of its dermatologists and skin experts, and so on. Kayak Skin Clinic could be called a chain of cosmetic dermatology clinics. It was a pioneer and thought leader in the skin care services space in the country. It offered its clients tailor-made, result-oriented, safe, non-surgical skin solutions, with the latest and most suitable technology available in the world. These services were impolitely administered by dermatologists. Any beauty or skin care brand/service could be considered as competition for Kayak. One of their biggest competitors would be individual doctors and dermatologists who offered one or two specialized services. It was in this context that Kayak needed to use the commonality of the category benefits to develop its brand, especially among loyal customers. KAYAK’S APPROACH TO OBTAIN INSIGHTS ABOUT THE CATEGORY BENEFITS In an emerging market such as India, personal and beauty care has attracted the attention of consumers in several ways. There have been several products and services in this sphere. One recent addition to this category is the services of Kayak that is medically anchored. It is interesting to find that in several markets and product/service categories, consumers prefer a range of offerings or delivery mechanisms to obtain the benefits of the category. For example, for urban transport, there are two-wheelers and four-wheelers; for hair care, there are hair oils and creams; for knowing the time, there are both watches and mobile phones; and for skin care there are creams, lotions, soaps and gels, and cosmetic surgeries. Beauty care has evolved in India from making use of homemade products to obtaining the revives of well-known brands. Although socioeconomic status and chirography’s of consumer groups may influence the type of offering/delivery mechanism, the case is written from the viewpoint of the marketer who would like to learn about consumer loyalty through a substitute in the category. Kayak’s services and beauty parlor services are meant for different types of consumer segments. Kayak, being at a stage in the market where it does not face much of direct competition owing to the emerging nature of the category, the brand would like to know if there can be lessons earn from a service that is related to its services. For example, the hospitality aspects, ambiance, response of the service providers to the needs of the consumer (in this instance, consumers in the beauty care segment) and what differentiates a loyal consumer from a new consumer are dimensions that are common to both Kayak’s services and beauty parlors: they may vary in their styles and approaches. Kayak Culture, Kayak Philosophy, www. Clinician. Com, accessed on September 13, 2011. Note: Additional information about Kayak Skin Clinic was provided by Grammar Sahara and. Audit Chad of Kayak Skin Clinic. Page 4 of 9 What should a â€Å"self-concept†-centered service category in a market do to obtain inputs in a category that has evolved little? The case’s survey was triggered by such a question and beauty parlor services were selected for the purpose. This point can be illustrated as follows. Benefits of beauty care Self-concept of the customer Self-concept of the consumer Beauty-based services Dimensions of customer loyalty Beauty parlors Kayak’s services (new offerings forming a subcategory) Differentiation between new and loyal consumers Dimensions of loyalty Insights Differentiation between new for Kayak ND loyal customers METHODOLOGY OF STUDY The objective of the study was to compare the value perception of first-time customers and loyal customers of beauty parlors in order to obtain category insights that Kayak could use. We were interested in finding out how an emerging category (technology-based beauty care in the consumer market and not in the conventional medical market) in an emerging market without direct competition can obtain insights from a related category (beauty parlors) that offers the same core benefit of beauty care. This context (emerging category, related category with the same core infinite as the emerging category and the emerging market in the Indian context) was a unique one and the case focused on a learning that would be useful to Kayak in terms of understanding the behavior of â€Å"first-time† consumers and loyal consumers. The value perception needs to be built around the customers’ experiences of the service at the service provider’s premises. The questionnaire had a scale related to several components of the service experience as shown in the three sections of Exhibit 2. Responses were collected from the residents of three Indian cities, namely, Bangor, Hydrated, and Delhi. The data collection was done in June and July 2011. Data from 50 first-time customers and 50 loyal customers of beauty services were collected. How to cite Accounts receivable management, Papers

Love in The Hunchback of Notre Dame free essay sample

Love in The Hunchback of Notre Dame In the book The Hunchback of Notre Dame the author, Victor Hugo, used love as a central theme for his book. He showed that love can manifest itself in three main ways depending upon the person. Esmeralda was in a mode of self- destruction because of her lust for Phoebus. Claude Frollo turned into a man of Jealous rage because of his amorousness for Esmeralda, and Quasimodds passion for Esmeralda crumbled his heart as if it was made of stone, because of her death. Hugo used love as a central theme to capture the heart of the reader. He forced his readers to change their perspective on affection and admiration, in ways never thought of before. Hugo used Esmeraldas lust for Phoebus as his first example of how love can manifest itself in many different ways. Esmeralda, blinded by lust only saw Phoebus for what he looked like on the outside. We will write a custom essay sample on Love in The Hunchback of Notre Dame or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page She was very much attracted to Phoebus, a man who was as ugly as a gargoyle on the inside, but as handsome as an angel on the outside. As a result of being blinded by lust, Esmeralda could not see the beauty of Quasimodo on the inside despite his repugnant appearance. Esmeralda had everlasting love for Phoebus and when he died Esmeralda felt as if she had no other reason to live. While talking romantically in a room, Esmeralda said to Phoebus, You are good, you are generous, you are kind; you saved me, me who am but a poor gipsy foundling. I have long dreamed of an officer who should save my life. It was of you I dreamed before I ever knew you, my Phoebus (284). When Phoebus was taken from Esmeralda, it was like taking water from a fish. She could not operate properly, and she soon fell into a state of self-destruction. Even while being tortured Esmeralda still muttered the name of Phoebus. Esmeraldas love for Phoebus destroyed her. She fell deeper into a pit of depression, self pity, and self destruction. Victor Hugo used Claude Frollos amorousness for Esmeralda as his second example of how love can manifest itself in different ways. While in the dungeon where Esmeralda was placed, Claude Frollo said, It was noon, the sun shone brightly, a creature was dancing, a creature so beautiful that God would have preferred her to the Virgin, and be chosen her to be his mother, and had she existed when he was made man (113-144). Claude Frollo found it Just to compare her to the beloved Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, Frollos love for Esmeralda caused him to kill the only man she loved out of Jealousy, hate, and rage. While talking to himself Frollo said, no one else shall have her (372). Surprisingly, when Esmeralda did not want him, he became indirectly responsible for her death. The last and the most important way Victor Hugo showed how love can manifest itself was when he demonstrated the passion Quasimodo had for Esmeralda. When describing the ugliness of Quasimodo Hugo said, The poor imp had a wart over his reastbone prominent, his legs crooked; but he seemed lively (142). Quasimodo had the features ofa gargoyle but the heart of an angel. Unfortunately, Esmeralda was too shallow to look beyond his exterior features. He loved Esmeralda more than he loved himself, and while giving her directions about staying in the church he said, Do not leave the church by day or by night. You would be lost. They would kill you, and I should die (354). He loved Esmeralda too much to live without her. He became intertwined with her heart and soul, like a dog to his master, and if she died, he ould die as well. After Quasimodo saved Esmeralda from death, she asked him why he had saved her, to which he replied, You have forgotten a villain who tried to carry you off one night, a villain to whom the very next day you brought relief upon their infamous pillory. A drop of water and a little pity are more than my life can ever repay (357). Quasimodo loved Esmeralda more than life itself. She was his oxygen and when she died he could not live. Quasimodo refused to live in the same world that was responsible for the death of the only thing he loved, so he voluntarily ended is life. When describing love Hugo said, Love is like a tree; it grows spontaneously, strikes its roots deep into our whole being, and often continues to flourish over a heart of ruins(358). Love is a powerful force that can change someone dramatically for the better or for the worse. In The Hunchback of Notre Dame, by Victor Hugo, the reader learns that love can take on many facets. It can drive a person to self- destruction, it can cause a person to become full of Jealousy and hatred, and cause a person to sacrifice his life, the most valuable thing a person possesses.