Football After School Essay Essay

What Parental feelings does McCarthy explore in the poem and how does she use language to present them to you? Football after school is a poem about a mothers, or the poets’, struggles in the harsh realisation of her son maturing, and having to experience school. Patricia is feeling powerless and worried about her sons inevitable future of him going to school which he has to endure. We observe the poet sharing her thoughts, and images, in each verse her view changes on how she thinks her son will combat â€Å"Football After School† . The theme of football fears her, as he â€Å"dribbles the sin about the place†, which conveys how she thinks the football as the â€Å"sun† will become his life, and will become his focus rather than his mother before. We see her worries change, from be concerned about how she can help him and how his attitudes will change when he matures into a teenager. The mother is caring for her son, but we don’t know how the son feels towards the mother. Insecurity is a key role in how the mother feels, as she becomes more distant to her f ragile son growing up. McCarthy explores the idea of growing up is inevitable, and insists to the son that he is going to mature and play football with the repetition of â€Å"You’ll† and â€Å"you† secures the certainty of her son having to grow up, and the mother is understanding this by empathising on it, particularly in the begining as the perfect rhyme empathises this imminent future, and how convinced McCarthy is that her son is going to grow up to be â€Å"common†. There is a continuous theme of worry that the world of school will be violent and aggressive. The use of alliteration produces an image of potential violence â€Å"stiff striped dagger†, the alliteration has harsh continents adding to the aggression of the â€Å"dagger†, as they are â€Å"stiff† is describing the harsh strength of the dagger and â€Å"striped† makes the imagery of the â€Å"dagger† pain. The image of â€Å"warpaint slicked over your face†, this imagery is symbolising battles within school, and how this paint makes you look stronger and confident. The use of harsh sounding images, and actions â€Å"butting it with your head† adds to the violence of the boys later life. Football, being a sport which is sometimes competitively aggressive, making the mother fear her sons teenage development, â€Å"with the premature swagger of manhood†, showing the bravado attitude, and false over confidence, along with â€Å"language jeers†, which describes the pretentious and arrogant teenage future mindset compared to now being young and having â€Å"porcelain skin†. The metaphor of â€Å"Dwarf a tree, stab a flower† illustrates the violent contrast of images, he does this by a â€Å"kick†, this is portraying how his actions reverse what they were previously were, which reflect how he is going to develop, transform and switch characters. As now he is fragile, and later he will have â€Å"premature swagger of manhood†, evoking him growing up and becoming a ‘man’, further to the point she adds that it is â€Å"premature†, which echoes the fact that she thinks he will be too young to mature, ripen and have â€Å"granite jowls†. The poet negatively looks on violence and aggression, doubting her sons ability as the poem moves on. In the 3rd and 4th verses we see the mother apprehending, which is contrasting with before as she expected her son to be involved in bullying, rather than now fearing her son will be the victim of bullying no longer having â€Å"stiff striped dagger†, as he would have to â€Å"tackle fouls with ink stained fists and feet†. The alliteration of the â€Å"f† is adding to the aggression of the language, and the voice sounds like it is struggling to overcome emotions along with the imagery conveying the boy as more of an academic child who had been studying, than being a football player. We can  see that he would â€Å"be clever enough†, which shows the mother has hope in her son, even if he is a ‘geek’. In the previous verses Patricia had started on positive comments, however as she sees the weaker side of her son she says, â€Å"Yet† and â€Å"not hooligan enough†, which are showing how she thinks her son may turn out to be skimpy and lacking in courage. This is a clear change in the tone of her voice as she begins to fear her sons vulnerability, reflecting how her son may turn out to be. This image of the boy having â€Å"to sample punches below the belt†, portrays the image of being bullied, and being an​  illegal ​  boxing move, it will still be allowed in schools,  and some children have to â€Å"sample† it, and put up with it as they can’t fight back, and usually â€Å"sample† means you are trying something because you want to rather than having to be forced, this juxtaposes . Patricia McCarthy successfully uses enjambment to convey her ideas running on as the lines progress, because her ideas are building up and becoming stronger in what she believes will happen. McCarthy says â€Å"punches below the belt from one you know†, the next line â€Å"Without flinching. I can’t prevent† , as she advances in the foreshadowing future, and her feelings are overflowing, which is stopped by the sudden caesura which make her ideas change, and she puts herself in to shelter her son. The mother is constantly trying to protect her sons future, as he would be exposed to the life of school. Patricia doesn’t want to imagine her child growing up as he has â€Å"porcelain skin†, showing he is delicate, precious and cant be touched or harmed, compared with â€Å"their granite jowls†, which are opposites, and show life can toughen you, and you will crack if you stay porcelain. Later on in the poem, Patricia uses juxtaposing ideas to, â€Å"turn bullies into cement†, the use of a more modern material later shows as time goes on the material becomes modern and he toughens up. The mother admits that she thinks her son is, â€Å"too vulnerable for living†, showing she â€Å"can’t prevent crossbones on your knees†, this creates an image of poison and evil on her sons knees which she wishes she could help, but  she can’t protect him at school, therefore he is defenceless. McCarthy is hoping for her son, to stand up for himself, and not â€Å"to trample into the sod your shadow that grows twice as fast as yourself†, because she doesn’t want him to be in the darkness that developes quicker around him and have no friends, and the violent gesture of ‘trampling’, shows her concerns for the constant aggression at schools if he is alone in gloom, people will be able to hurt him as he has nobody to protect him. She also says she can’t â€Å"confiscate the sun†, further repetition of the â€Å"sun† being the football or life, she is saying she can’t be liable for what happens at school, as it i not the end of life even if â€Å"they’ll punter and put out†. However she says â€Å"you’ll be picking scabs of kisses off your skin†, she is telling him that he will have to stand up for himself, but there is juxtaposing imagery of scabs and kisses, this maybe describing how he is growing up, no longer needing kisses son consequent get â€Å"picked off† as he gets â€Å"kicked†. Being oxymoronic plays with the comparison of changing images and how the mother is actually feeling inside as she still  anxious about the prospects of violence in the school, as using emotions of â€Å"kisses† reminds her of wanting to protect him. The rhyming pattern throughout the poem does not stay constant, as the poets feelings change and thoughts develop. The first verse is a confident perfect rhyme as she is projecting her certainty as to how her son will turn out to be. Her assurance changes as the rhyme stops being so constant in the rhyme, but still including two lines of perfect rhyme until the fourth verse when it isn’t as perfect compared to the first. this reflects how the mothers hope changes, until the last paragraph where it is perfect until she projects her own thoughts. Her realisation at the end has no rhyme, illustrating the change in her emotions. The poets has an insight into her concerns for her son as she has regrets in her school life, the poet reflects the mood of the mothers thoughts. She doesn’t want him to idolise her previous life at school, as she wants him â€Å"not to inherit her  fragility†, so he can stick up to bullies, as he will still be delicate with â€Å"porcelain skin†, which will break as he has not developed â€Å"granite jowls†. Overall McCarthy burrowed into all of her parental feelings, justifying her fears which many other parents understand and do not like to have to experience. Being a woman she expresses her emotions more, making the poem test her affection in the rhythm of the poem.

Aung San and Faith Bandler Essay

?Today, lack of equality and peace are prominent issues which shape the world. Such things are demonstrated in Aung San Suu Kyi’s speech, ‘Keynote Address at the Beijing World Conference on Women’ and Faith Bandler’s speech, ‘Faith, Hope and Reconciliation’ through the use of various language devices. The common uses of emotive language between the two texts greatly affect the audience as it creates a sense of sympathy and unity. For example, ASSK states, ‘The struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma is a struggle for life and dignity. It is a struggle that encompasses our political, social and economic aspirations. ’ the repetitive use of ‘struggle’ emphasizes the hardships for the people of Burma and their desire for freedom. It is a struggle for ‘young girls’ to be driven to ‘sexual slavery where they are subject to constant humiliation’, there is a struggle for freedom, dignity and security. Her use of emotive language and repetition enables the audience to sympathise with her and the people of Burma that the causes of these struggles are lack of equality and peace in the world or our ‘global village’. Similarly in Faith Bandler’s speech, emotive language and repetition are recognised once again to unify the audience and the speaker to create a sense of sympathy which draws upon the theme of inequality and peace. It was a rather slow process for her to understand, ‘when there are millions†¦who are hungry, millions who are homeless, millions who are without work, the wrongfully imprisoned, the deaths in custody, the tortured†¦why is it so hard to find our commonalities? ’, Faith stresses the absurdity of how difficult it is for people to find ‘commonalities’ with her use of repetition of ‘millions’. Its becomes a problem when ‘millions’ are hungry, homeless and jobless as it portrays our society as unequal. The rhetorical questions asked throughout her speech such as ‘why is it so hard to find our commonalities? ’ and ‘what is reconciliation about? ’ state the obvious truths, that it isn’t hard to find reconciliation or peace within the world. Faith demonstrates a world of inequality through the use of emotive language and repetition. Suu kyi and Bandler’s speeches are effective in connecting to their audience when demonstrating the theme of equality and peace. Both activists demonstrate unity to the audience by using inclusive language and first person. For example, as Suu Kyi acknowledges the ‘strong and principled women’ who have lobbied for her release, ‘I cannot let this opportunity pass without speaking of the gratitude we feel towards our sisters everywhere. ’ The use of first person and inclusive language is evident throughout the speech, it illustrates a personal approach to her audience as well as clearly portraying her firm views of women. Bandler’s speech is also evident of the use of these devices. By using first person throughout her speech, it indicates her familiarity with the audience as she was â€Å"here once before† and also shows that she speaks from a personal experience giving the audience an idea of what she has been through such as her work in campaigning and co founding various companies. In order to move the audience about reconciliation whether it’s the ‘youth’ or the ‘not so young’, her use of first person and inclusive language connects to the audience. Both ASSK and Bandler bring their audiences together as a whole to look at common issues of the world and better ways to bring peace.

Paper 2 about old spice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Paper 2 about old spice - Essay Example The campaign was re-launched, this time with Isaiah Mustafa answering messages from fans and consumers in real time via YahooAnswers, Facebook, and Twitter. Using sex appeal and humor for entertainment, this ad was targeted at women since the company believed that women are the decision makers when it comes to purchasing household goods in the store. The campaign was very successful, especially in the generation of interest on social media. However, it also led to heated debate about whether the use of branded entertainment as means of communicating with the target audience could drive sales by resonating with them. This paper will use the Elaboration Likelihood Model in analyzing and describing how it is used in the ad, as well as why the model fits with the strategy and message of the campaign. To do this, the paper will first provide an overview of the theory, after which the model will then be applied to the ad campaign. While the concept of persuasion has gained a bad reputation because of its association with being pressured or swindled, it is not inherently negative and should also be considered as a process of influencing audiences (Petty et al, 2012). For example, Perloff (2014) argues that persuasion is, indeed, a form of communication and that it needs one party to send a clear and strong message to another. In addition, persuasion is also an attempt to influence another party and, in this case, understanding the audience, as well as what drives them, increases the likelihood that this attempt will succeed. Moreover, persuasion also uses interactions and aesthetics to make messages more persuasive to audiences. Finally, persuasion also influences and reinforces attitudes based on the assumption that the opinions of the audience should be strengthened over time. One of the most popular and cited persuasion models is Petty and

What distinguishes Philosophy from Religion and Science Term Paper

What distinguishes Philosophy from Religion and Science - Term Paper Example On the other hand, religion presumes that its basis of argument is ascribed to revelations through prayers, recorded sacred texts, and oral transmission from generation to generation. Religion upholds to the existence of several or a single deity that created the universe, still has a significant role in its management, and sometimes usurps laws of nature to initiate miracles. Therefore, it is worth noting that religion is based on teachings that emphasizes on spiritual matters, relation between humanity and god or gods, moral principles, and relationship between human beings themselves (Cottingham 243). According to Cottingham, religious claims can be viewed in different ways. They can either be viewed from the scrutiny and logical analysis of evidence or on emphasis on the will to believe, passion, and faith. Rather being taken as doctrines of quasi-scientific nature, religion is a form of life and has to be assessed based on the impact it has on the believer unlike its being seen as an implication of experimental issues (Cottingham 282). Cottingham notes that religious disputes are liken to conflicts emanating from aesthetic appreciation as exemplified by difference in opinions by two individuals over a piece of artifact. As opposed to science, religion claims that existence of God does not require experimentation to justify. Prayers are perceived to cause changes on a believer. However, science relishes on the combination of machines and waves to impart change in the physical realm. To counter the demand for experimental elements as presented by science, the Mount Camel incident of establishing the existence of god or gods by Elijah remains true and is more appropriate in today’s life than at the moment of its demonstration. Religion difference with science centers on existence of God. Science disputes this because religion relies on feelings rather than experimental facts. Religion is

What explains European technological leadership by the nineteenth Essay

What explains European technological leadership by the nineteenth century - Essay Example The Age of Exploration was in turn rooted in the new ideas, technologies and spirit of enquiry that grew out of the early periods of the Renaissance.Prior to the Age of Exploration, the most vibrant and active economies of Europe had been in Mediterranean regions like Italy and Greece.It all began with the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. European ships boldly ventured into the seas and oceans of the world in search of new trading routes and partners to fuel a newly emerging capitalism in many of the European countries. But as a direct outcome of the daring sea expeditions carried out in the Age of Exploration, a new European economy became dominant. Known as the Atlantic economy, it was run and controlled by countries of Western Europe, such as Britain, France, Germany and Holland. These countries became the wealthiest and most powerful economies in Europe, and continue to be so to the present day.Even as trans-oceanic trade became commonplace, Europe was undergoin g a commercial revolution. As trade and commerce assumed higher levels of importance, traders and merchants superceded feudal landowners to become the most powerful class in society. In relatively short time, for the first time in the history, the bourgeoisie began to take charge of the politics and government in the European nations. The European voyages of discovery led to a vast influx of precious metals from the New World and a wide variety of valuable commodities from Asian countries, thus raising prices, stimulating industry, and fostering a money economy. Expansion of trade and the money economy lead to the development of banks and other institutions of finance and credit. In the 17th century, the Dutch were in the forefront financially, but towards the end of the century, with the establishment of the Bank of England, Britain was set on the road of becoming the foremost economy in Europe. Capitalism kept on spreading, and a new class of commercial entrepreneur evolved from the old-type merchant adventurers. There was a fair amount of technolgy already present, many machines were known, and there were factories employing these machines and technology. However, these early and primitive factories were the exceptions rather than the rule, if only for the simple reason that they were still fuelled by wood. But soon the much more powerful coal would come to replace wood as the fuel of choice. At the beginning of the 18th century, the general population was rapidly expanding and were wealthier than ever before. People began demanding more and more goods of better and better quality (Columbia Enclyclopedia, 2004). In the second half of the eighteenth century, a great economic transformation began sweeping the countries of Europe. The Industrial Revolution has begun. Over a span of 100 years, by 1850's, industry would rapidly become a major force in shaping economy, deeply affecting national life in a the major European countries, but most prominently in the country where it all started: England. The Industrial Revolution would go on to change the face of nations all over the world. This Revolution provided the economic base for the rise of a vast number of new professions, and after the Second World War eventually led to the appearance of unprecendented levels of prosperity in the Western world. Many developing nations of Asia and elsewhere are even now trying to catch up with the pace of progress implied by the word "Industrial Revolution." Since Karl Marx's Das Kapital (1869) and Arnold Toynbee's Lectures on the Industrial Revolution in England (1884), there have been scores of books exploring industrial revolution - this scientific, economic and social phenomenon of most singular importance in the history of the world - from different perspectives. A few of the currently popular books on this subject are Understanding the Industrial Revolution by Charles More, which describes theories of economic growth and

Trying times for President Clinton during the sex sandal with monica Term Paper

Trying times for President Clinton during the sex sandal with monica lewinsky - Term Paper Example The impeachment of the former president came as a result of the scandal and a law suit that was filled by Paula Jones (Neal, 2005:135). This served as the second impeachment of a president in power in the United States of America after the impeachment of the former president Andrew Johnson in the year 1868 (Neal, 2005:136). When the impeachment proceedings were brought forward against the president in 1998 several issues were raised against the governmental processes. While some scholars took the matter lightly, others argued that sexual conduct is a serious offense and is adequate to remove an elected president from the office. Those in support of the president argued that president just like any citizen of the United States have the right to privacy. They also stated that many other former presidents like John F. Kennedy, Roosevelt as well as Warren G. Harding had been linked to extensive extramarital sexual activity but their sexual conduct was not made available to the public. As observed by Chapman (2010: 99), the European observers were surprised that Americans engaged in impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton because he lied about his sexual conduct. In their argument, they stated that just like any citizen of America would avoid the truth about his sexual fidelity and so Bill Clinton will. In the impeachment case against Clinton, separation of power prevailed through the proceedings. In this context, the act of not telling the truth with respect to the sexual misconduct does not constitute enough evidences necessary for impeachable offenses as defined by the constitution of the country as â€Å"high crimes and misdemeanors† (Chapman, 2010:99). In this argument therefore, the impeachment against the president seemed partisan and was seen as an attempt by the legislature to extend its powers and responsibility past the boundary. According to Chapman (2010:100), the charges that the former president faced were not worth impeachment because the y did not grow from the failure of the president with regard to the state functions. However, the failure was from his personal life which is different from his public and political life. These differences in arguments divided the legislature and there was a clear boundary in terms of opinions between the republicans and the democrats. The question of what could constitute impeachment against a president had dominated the list of issues during Clinton’s administration. However, the fact that congress was dominated by the Republicans presented a threat to the former president since the issue had taken political angle dividing the house into pro and against impeachment camps. It is this time that the congress dominated by Republicans appointed a counsel to investigate the financial backgrounds of the president (Kogan & Kelso, 2009: 308). The counsel which was headed by Kenneth Starr was given further responsibilities to investigate the scandal surrounding the former president a nd the white house intern, Monica Lewinsky. In close analysis of the unfolding events, it is clear that the push for the investigations and the impeachment of the former president was more political than legal. This is because the political enemies took the opportunity finish him politically. The trouble began when it became apparent that the intern, Monica had told

I want a wife Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

I want a wife - Essay Example In today’s society, the role of the wife is the most important of the family as the woman is the primary caregiver of the children and the main one who ensures the family stays organized and intact. All of these are pertinent points that this essay has included in its structure. From a modern day mother and wife’s stand point, the article by Brady is totally off the concept of what a wife’s position in the family is in the 20th century. If the type of mentality towards women and wives in general was implied today as it apparently was back in the 70’s, it would leave many women in an utter outrage because a wife/mothers’ role is far more than waiting on a husbands every need, hand and foot. Brady depicted wives as almost slaves in the article, insinuating women had one sole purpose and that was to cater to a man or husband, if you will. There is no equality found in this piece of literature, and for wives today there is no logical association for women of the 20th century to identify with. Times have definitely changed and it’s obvious that they have been progressing for the better, for women, through the decades. From a feminist perspective, the description of wives in the article is inadequate and although it might hold some what of a historical perception of how wives roles use to be considered, it simply is not a viable assumption now. However, when looking back into the mid 1900’s, the wife’s role was basically one in which it was expected that she would be a homemaker and tend to all the areas that had any type of bearing on caring for the children, schedule keeping, keeping the home in order, and paying considerable consideration to her husband and his needs. Beyond that, there was no expectation for the wife to work outside the hoe since it was the common idea that the husband would be the bread winner, and take care of all the more pertinent aspects of

Countering Counterfeit Trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Countering Counterfeit Trade - Assignment Example Counterfeiting is a big business in the world today. It is so big that the total volume of counterfeit (and pirated) goods in the world exceeds the GDP of certain countries. The International Anti-counterfeiting Coalition (IACC) estimates this figure at around 600billion dollars per year. The sad fact is that the menace is growing and many countries and organizations negatively affected by it are quite helpless to find a solution to the menace. The IACC says that the growth of counterfeiting over the last twenty years has been about ten thousand percent. Astonishingly, one of the reasons behind this growth is the consumer demand for counterfeit goods. This paper is an assessment of the counterfeit auto parts industry in the United Arab Emirates in particular and the other countries in the GCC in general. In the process, the nature of the industry, costs to consumers and affected organizations, the reason why people buy counterfeit products (auto parts), some statistics, anti-counterf eiting groups, etc will also be reviewed. This will be followed by some recommendations on how this can be brought down (if not eliminated altogether) and a conclusion summing up the paper. It should be noted that most of what has been written here has been sourced from articles that appeared in the Gulf News and Khaleej Times. There are three types of auto parts available in the UAE namely original equipment, legitimate parts, and counterfeit parts. Original equipment is those made by auto manufactures or by approved original equipment suppliers. Legitimate equipment is those made by other companies sold in their own brand names and will usually be of good quality. They are not intended to cheat the customer. Counterfeit products are usually meant to cheat the customer into thinking that they are genuine.  

Financial Reporting and Analysis Literature review

Financial Reporting and Analysis - Literature review Example The company should try to increase this net profit in the future as it has fallen below the industry’s operating profit margin of 19%. Return on capital employed is way below the industry average for the company. It is 9.8% in 2009 which is very low. Although it has increased slowly to 10.83% in 2010, it is still way below the industry average of 20%. The company must try to increase this return drastically in the future by decreasing their liabilities. The company’s Return on equity measures the efficiency at generating profits from every unit of shareholder’s equity (BRIGHAM, Eugene F. and Ehrhardt, Michael C., 2010). The company’s Return on equity shows how well a company uses investment funds to generate earnings growth (CORREIA, Carlos et al., 2007). And the company’s Return on equity has increased from 2009-2010 from 5.27%-6.12% which is a very good sign but it is still on the low side. The Company’s return on the asset is neither too high nor too low. It is 8.86% in 2009 and has just increased slightly to 9.89% in 2010. Although, an increase is a good sign but the company must try and further increase this ratio in the ratio by decreasing their asset usage and to increase their net profit even further. Liquidity ratios illustrate the company’s ability to pay off obligations in the short term (CHANDRA, Prasanna, 2008). Current asset ratio and acid-test ratio are observed closely when liquidity is in question. The company is in a fairly good position in both of these parameters. The current ratio of the company has increased drastically from 1.46 in 2009 to 2.73 in 2010. In 2010 it is above the industry average of 2.5 which is a good sign for the company. It shows that a fair amount of assets are available to finance the liabilities of the company and that a company can pay off its short term liabilities quite easily. The Quick

Case study-bp struggles to resolve sustainability disaster-Ethic paper Term

Case study-bp struggles to resolve sustainability disaster-Ethic - Term Paper Example This incidence has affected the company severely damaging its reputation, costing it heavy losses and declining its business and productivity. The Deepwater Horizon disaster has produced cleanup costs that may exceed $40 b. In addition, billions more ultimately will be spent as a consequence of criminal and civil penalties and lawsuits. It also has produced an inestimable loss of reputation and goodwill for BP, a huge company that is more than a century old. The company was also blamed for acting unethically and avoiding its corporate social responsibilities. The aim of this paper is to examine key questions concerned with corporate ethics. These questions include whether any corporations believe that they must give evidence of acting ethically, whether this insistence is just politically-correct window dressing in many instances, whether it represents genuine moral concern on the part of top managers at the companies which issue them, whether it is truly good business for a corporat ion to institute ethical practices or whether these practices simply purchase a tawdry respectability within the community for a company. The answers to these key questions will be discussed in this paper in the context of BP. The role and significance of ethical considerations in corporate management Contrary to the earlier business practices and beliefs the present day corporate management provides significant importance to ethics in business and recognizes the the role and significance of ethical considerations in corporate management. Traditionally, the ethical principles were used for defining business rules and regulations and a set of standards which corporations should follow but presently, there are considered as serious issues required for the success of the organization and the top level management consider them vital issues for the business as they have to be accountable to their stakeholders including their customers who are life and blood for them and the ethical issue s are part of their social responsibility (Cavanagh, Moberg and Velasquez, 1981). The ethical considerations are still a dilemma for many corporations and they find it difficult in deciding about ethically acceptable or unacceptable behavior or situation. In the absence of clear and concrete definition of business ethics the corporations need the services of ethical consultants to resolve ethical issues. In the context of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, BP has been alleged for many serious ethical problems that have occurred after the incidence, but a close investigation of the issues suggests, given the facts as presented in this case, that the company has acted quite ethically and genuinely to all its stakeholders. The most critical ethical dilemma before the company was whether the company was fair and honest enough in handling the issues after the disaster. There is no limit to the expectations of the people and they always seek more than what they get. The company is spending substantially for the clean up projects for the damage caused by the Deepwater Hor

The Eureka Stockade Essay Example for Free

The Eureka Stockade Essay Conditions on the gold fields, unfair laws, racism, anti-British attitudes and the miner’s license, played a huge part in causing the Eureka Rebellion to take place. The miners’ eventually grew tired of the unfair laws and living conditions, so they built the Eureka Stockade and gathered firearms, in an attempt to fight for their rights and liberties. During the early morning of December 3rd 1854, the authorities launched an attack on the stockade. The miners’ fought back fervently, but their basic weapons and determination was no match for the military’s vast numbers and fierce weaponry. Even though the revolt itself was a military failure, the miners’ rebellion led to personal and political benefits for many Australians. The Eureka Stockade was a bloody but essential part of Australian history. It played a vital role in the development of democracy and personal identity within Australia. The rebellion was caused by a number of issues within the gold fields. The miners were suffering from a number of injustices. They had no political rights; they were not allowed to vote in elections nor were they entitled to a representative in the Legislative Council, and they were treated unjustly by the blatantly brutal and corrupt government officials. However, their main grievance was the excessive and overpriced gold mining license, which cost thirty shillings each month to renew. Most of the miners’ found it nearly impossible to pay the ridiculously priced mining fee and still meet the cost of living, on the scarce and barely sufficient amount of money they had. The miners’ were required to carry their licenses with them at all times, if they were found without their license they could be fined or imprisoned. The dreaded â€Å"License Hunts† were soon brought in. License Hunts gave police the liberty to check a miner’s license at random. Those found without a license were liable to severe fines and unjust imprisonment and punishment. Most of the police were unsatisfactory, as many of them were ex-convicts and guards; because of this many of the officers were inclined to violence and brutality during a License Hunt. The officers’ brutality and unjust behaviour further infuriated the miners and made the Ballarat Gold-Fields’ police subject to much hatred. Corrupt Officialdom was a heady problem on the gold fields. In one instance, a group of men beat a drunken Scottish digger to death, the group included local publican James Bentley. James was a friend of the local magistrate; because of this he and the other three men escaped persecution. The miners were appalled. A group of three miners went to Bentley’s hotel and burnt it to the ground in defiance. It was not too soon after that the men were charged with arson. On the 11th of November 1854, ten thousand miners met to demand the release of the three men, the right for all males to vote and the abolition of the miners license; this meeting led to the formation of the Ballarat Reform League. Several of the Reform League leaders had also been involved with the Chartist movement in England. On the 29th of November of that same year, twelve thousand people at Bakery Hill watched as the Southern Cross flag, otherwise known as the Eureka Flag, was unveiled for the first time. The flag became the symbol of their struggle; the miners burned their licenses and fired shots into the air under the flag in an act of triumph and defiance. The next day, under the governance of an Irishman, Peter Lalor, a smaller but determined group swore the oath under the Eureka flag. â€Å"We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties† – The Miners Oath The small group of miners, marched to the Eureka Lead and forged wooden barricades, to form what is now famously known as the Eureka Stockade. The uthorities, despising the miners’ rebellion, called in reinforcements from Melbourne and prepared their attack. After two days of leaving the miners unharmed in their stockade, heavily armed soldiers and police attacked the stockade on Sunday the 3rd of December 1854. The miners were unprepared and caught off guard; they fought with determination and courage, but were outnumbered and outgunned. Although th e miners lost the battle, ultimately the war was won. Twenty-Two of the miners were left dead, and a further 125 miners were taken prisoner, many being severely wounded. The authorities only suffered from six casualties, being police officers and troopers. An estimation of 120 miners were arrested after the Stockade, many of them being innocent. However, thirteen of them were charged with High Treason, despite the evidence against them, not a single one of the miners were found guilty. Peter Lalor, the leader of the revolt, and a few other men from the rebellion, managed to escape the scene. Lalor’s left arm which was badly wounded from gunshot wounds was eventually amputated. When Hotham’s Royal Commission Report was finally handed down it assessed all aspects of the administration on the gold fields. The report made several major recommendations including the abolition of the miners license, cuts on the amount of police, the replacement of gold commissioners and the restriction on Chinese immigration. According to Blainey, It was perhaps the most generous concession offered by a governor to a major opponent in the history of Australia up to that time. The members of the commission were appointed before Eureka they were men who were likely to be sympathetic to the diggers. Peter Lalor and the other rebels, who had escaped from the Stockade, came out of hiding after a general amnesty was proclaimed on the 9th of May 1855. Lalor then wrote a statement to the Colonists of Victoria stating, There are two things connected with the late outbreak (The Eureka Stockade) which I deeply regret. The first is, that we shouldn’t have been forced to take up arms at all; and the second is, that when we were compelled to take the field in our own defence, we were unable (through want of arms, ammunition and a little organisation) to inflict on the real authors of the outbreak the punishment they so richly deserved. In 1855 Lalor had become the first Member of the Legislative Council, for the seat of Ballarat. The miners in Ballarat were given eight representatives in Parliament. During one of Lalor’s speeches in the Legislative Council in 1856 he said, I would ask these gentlemen what they mean by the term democracy. Do they mean Chartism or Republicanism? If so, I never was, I am not now, nor do I ever intend to be a democrat. But if a democrat means opposition to a tyrannical press, a tyrannical people, or a tyrannical government, then I have been, I am still, and will ever remain a democrat. Lalor was later elected to the New Legislative Assembly in1856, and then went on to be elected Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 1880. The Eureka Stockade influenced Australia greatly. Even though the short term benefits of Eureka were only mildly beneficial, the long term results have drastically changed and shaped Australia. The Eureka Stockade was the foundation stone of democracy in Australia, with some even arguing that Australian democracy was born at Eureka. Eureka also saw the beginning of Australia becoming its own, independent nation, without having strong ties to the British. It gave many ordinary, working-class peoples the same rights as those who were born in to wealth and power.

Analysis Of The Cartesian Dualism

Analysis Of The Cartesian Dualism There is the relationship between a reason and an action when the reason explains the action by giving the agents reason for doing what he did. The reason explains the action in this way (a reason that rationalizes the action) also causes the action. There is some confusion, then, about reasons for action. The idea of a reason for action seems to some most naturally to pick out considerations that count in favor of acting in a certain way, while to others it picks out psychological states that explain action. We believe that the relation has to be causal, in order to pick out, from among the many reasons that a person might have acted upon, those that the person did, in fact, act upon. It is convenient to begin by considering dualism. The major position here is Cartesian dualism, named after Descartes, the central figure in post-medieval philosophical discussion of the mind-body problem. For a Cartesian dualist the mind and body are both substances; but while the body is an extended, and so a material, substance, the mind is an unextended, or spiritual, substance, subject to completely different principles of operation from the body. It was this doctrine that Gilbert Ryle caricatured as the myth of the ghost in the machine. It is in fact a serious and important theory. In the Cartesian Dualism, the brain is part of the physical body but the mind or the spirit is not. The mind interacts with the physical body through the brain, more specifically, through the pineal gland in the middle of the two hemispheres of the brain. The body could be divided up by removing a leg or arm, but the mind or soul is indivisible. The mind is not only indivisible but also invisible and immortal. The body is the exact opposite being visible, mortal and divisible. The mind in Descartes explanation is a thinking thing (lat. res cogitans) and immaterial. This thing is capable of doubting, believing, hoping and thinking on its own. The body is extended matter: the soul is unextended spirit. When, however, the extended is acted upon by the unextended, some definite point of interaction is required and it is to be found in the pineal gland. Yet the soul is united to all parts of the body conjointly. The whole body is the souls proper housing so long as the body remains intact. When a member of the bodyan arm or a leg, for exampleis cut off, there is no loss of part of the soul as a consequence because the soul is unitary and indivisible. It then occupies what is left of the body. So without attempting to resolve all the problems, he simply stated that there is a dualism of mind and body, and their interaction is clearly real. The brain is the major locus for the mind or consciousness of the soul, yet mind or consciousness is distributed throughout the whole body. The point of interaction between the two is the pineal gland. Monism is defined as the doctrine that there is only one ultimate substance or principle, whether mind, matter, or some third thing that is the basis of both (or) the doctrine that reality is an organic whole without independent parts (Websters New World Dictionary). The concept of psychological dualism asserts that man is more than the sum of his genotype. Dualistic man has a mind that is separate from his body. This mind may be housed or contained within the body, but it is not contingent upon the physical body for its existence. The mind can act upon the body, and the body can act upon the mind, but they are separate entities that have been traditionally believed to separate at death at which point neither has any influence over the other. The most important aspect of this philosophy is its recognition of a non-biological component of the human person. By the turn of the twentieth century, it had become clear that talk of the mind is too broad and that there may be issues to do with experience and sensation that are distinct from those that arise in connection with such mental states as believing, desiring, and the like (the so-called propositional attitudes). It was thought that, while functionalism, for example, might provide a plausible account of belief, it encountered real difficulties when it came to accounting for experience. Functionalism is a material monist theory of mind: it asserts that everything is physical. It is highly significant both in that it develops behaviourism and that it paved the way for empirical work in neuro-physiology and cognitive science. It was created as Hilary Putnam interpreted conscious states in terms of the (then new) science of computational theory. The function of the brain, states the theory, is consciousness. This approach is useful because by reducing the mind to a function it does away with the issue of how that function is performed. A function can be defined abstractly, without concerning itself with how that function is discharged in the same way that an equation can specify the relationship between X and Y without needing to specify how that equation might be solved. Thus, functionalism avoids the question of how the brain might achieve the feat of consciousness that dogs other materialist theories. Functionalism is also both a response to and a development of behaviourism. Behaviourism argues that conscious states can be understood in terms of sensory input and behavioural output. This leads to a significant issue; namely that it ascribes conscious states to any input/output system (e.g. a water tank). Functionalism adds an intermediary step, arguing that sensory input is processed by a function before output. Thus, two crucial differences to behaviourism are introduced: the function can lead to one or many outputs and some or all of the output can form the input to another internal function without the requirement for external expressive behaviour. With this simple device the diversity of the mind can theoretically be accounted for. An everyday illustration of this process might be a car. It receives multiple inputs in the form of petrol, oil, water, etc and outputs motion, gases, heat, etc. During this transformation process (function) we can also see an example of feedback: some of the motion of the car is used to power the alternator to generate electricity, which in turn forms one of the inputs to the combustion process. So now we have a brief understanding of the theory let us examine why this important theory came about. Firstly there is the need to respond to behaviourism and to overcome its shortcomings. Functionalism can also be seen as developing along with other new concepts of the time. The new science of computers and computational mathematics supplied concepts that could be applied to the brain as a complex system. Functionalism was also applying empiricism to a new area, paralleling the method of the huge advancements made in science in the twentieth century. Each mental state (or process) correlates with some neurological state (or process) Different mental states correlate with different neurological states (though one and the same mental state can have different neural correlates). The correlations are based on causal interactions between minds and brains. Mental occurrences can simply be taken as brain processes (Identity Theory). Mental states/processes are brain states/processes. Hence, we can identify sensations and other mental phenomena with (physical) brain processes.

Butch and femme roles of lesbians

Butch and femme roles of lesbians Butch and femme roles were extremely important to the community in the forties and fifties; it was the butch role that was the most visible, and therefore the most likely to cause public scorn (Weissman and Fernie). The two sources, The Reproduction of Butch Femme Roles by Madeline Davis and Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy and Forbidden Love by Aerlyn Weisman and Lynne Fernie focus particularly on the function of the butch role among working class lesbians in Buffalo. These sources draw on articles, oral histories and interviews of lesbians from the early twentieth century. Both the resources state that, although gender-appropriate styles and behaviors were rigidly enforced in order to maintain a clear distinction between the sexes, butch womens choice to not only reject traditional femininity but to also actively adopt masculinity was perceived as a threat to the very order of society and a prelude to social chaos. Despite the fear, and likelihood of harassment by police and other strai ght men, the courage of butches to claim their identities in many ways prepared the way for later generations of lesbians to break free from the narrow conventions of socially constructed womanhood and claim access to a kind of power traditionally held only by men (Weisman and Fernie). As a result, male representations of lesbian sexuality have had the most influence in shaping attitudes towards butch and femme identities throughout the twentieth century. Such representations have almost always assumed the lesbian role -playing is an imitation of heterosexuality. The main theory underlying the feminist disregard of role playing is that roles depend on sexual difference, which is naturally hierarchical, polarizing, and oppressive. Sexual difference is the grounds on which heterosexual roles are built, and thus contains within it an inherently unequal distribution of power. In the relationship of a butch and femme, since the identities of both are built on popular cultural stereotypes of male and female behavior, they tend to reinforce the inequality in power inherent in this dichotomy. In addition, in most cases one of the partners is active, strong, dominant, and initiating whereas the other partner is passive, weak, submissive, and enduring. The partner who is dominant in this equation mimics the role of a male in a heterosexual relationship, whereas the passive, weak and submissive characteristics belong to that of the female. Thus, because the butch- femme roles have the potential for being just as sexist as heterosexual roles, they imita te the latter, especially when talking about power relations between two partners. (Weisman and Fernie) According to Judith Roofs article, The Match in the Crocus: Representations of Lesbian Sexuality, the representations of lesbian sexuality in the dominant discourse often evoke the phallus by calling attention to its absence or substitution in sexual relations between women, so that it appears and seems necessary, at least symbolically, because of the inconceivability of sexuality without a phallus present. Therefore, lesbians are often depicted as having appropriated the penis, masquerading as though they really had it, and thereby assuming male privilege and acting upon it. This evokes the stereotypical image of the lesbians by phallocentric discourse and is seemingly embraced by the lesbian community in the form of butch roles. What Roofs analysis makes possible is an understanding of the ways in which the dominant ideology has a vested interest in making the butch femme role playing appear to be a mere replica of heterosexuality, as a way of calming male anxiety over the threat of female appropriation of male dominance. Thus, because the absence of the phallus requires them to achieve the balance through role playing, they merely are merely imitating the heterosexual norms. Butch femme roles were particularly prominent in the working-class lesbian bar culture of the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, where butch-femme relationships were the norm, while butch-butch and femme-femme were taboo (Kennedy and Davis 244/81). Most of the lesbian community existed primarily in bars, since these were the only places where people could gather publicly, break the isolation of lesbian life, and develop both friendships and lover relationships (Kennedy and Davis 243/80). Just as in straight bars, picking up another type in lesbian bars was often the reason for attending the party. Although there are a few exceptions (like Nairobi in Forbidden Love who sent a rose to her desired person), the butch was typically the one who made the first move towards the femme who just sat and looked pretty. This idea of the male butch having to make the first move, replicates the role of a heterosexual male who usually is the one to make the first move at a club. The objective of a butch was to satisfy and keep his femme safe (Weisman and Fernie). This reiterates the notion of one of the partners being in control, strong, and dominant, whereas the other is weak, and needs the help of a man to keep her safe (Weisman and Fernie). This goes hand in hand with the notion of the society that perceives women to be inferior to men because they need a man to look after them. It was always the butch who put up with the discrimination, and bashing to keep their woman safe. Further, the butch is never attracted to another like herself. Rather, she is always attracted to a more feminine type of person (Kennedy and Davis 251/84). This can be paralleled to the idea that heterosexual males are not supposed to be attracted to the same type of person, but of the opposite sex. Therefore, though they are trying to show a discourse to heterosexual relationships, the fact that society is predominantly heterosexual subjected them to the widely known heterosexual st ructure. The role playing in the bedroom does not strictly and always follow pleasure being received only by one partner. Just like the sex life of heterosexual couples butch and femme complement each other in an erotic system in which the butch was expected to be both the giver and the doer (Kennedy and Davis 244/81), however not always. In simpler terms, as shown in Forbidden Love it was always the butch on top, and the femme on the bottom. Though this earned them a destruction of taboo around the sexuality of lesbians, it can be taken further by the notion that in the sex life of heterosexual couples, the female is the one on the bottom, and the male is the one who is taking charge, and dominant, and therefore on top. In contrast to a butch, a stone butch is a woman who is strongly masculine in character and dress, tops her partners sexually (and sometimes emotionally), and who does not wish to be touched genitally. Not all stone butches identify in female terms; some are known to identify with male pronouns, while many stone butches do not even identify themselves with lesbian or within the lesbian community. A common partner for a stone butch is a stone femme; a femme who bottoms sexually or who wishes not to touch the genitals of her stone butch partner. Moreover, the characteristics of stone butches can be found in many men, who wish to pleasure, but do not expect anything in return; that is to be total givers. These men get their zing from pleasuring their woman, identical to the role of a stone butch. (Weisman and Fernie) By wearing the attire of a man, the butches earn privileges that a heterosexual man would have. The femme, or the woman, who wears feminine clothes, does not have the same privileges of that of the males. Wearing manly clothes gives a lot more mobility and freedom to the butches, which parallels the liberation that heterosexual males get and their females do not. Moreover, the only way for women to achieve independence in work and travel and to escape passivity was to pass as men (Kennedy and Davis 245/81). Wearing manly clothes therefore also permitted these men to earn higher salaries and get better jobs (Weissman and Fernie); similar to how getting a job was known to be a mans responsibility in the heterosexual structure. Though there have been ongoing debates on the roles of butch and femmes, there is no doubt that their role playing imitates the functions which are evident in a heterosexual constitution. There are many reasons that have compelled these lesbians into taking up these heterosexual identities; one being the identification and visibility of the role of females in a society dominated by heterosexual notions of relationships, and another being that taking up the male characteristics, was the only way to let the society view their homosexual relationships as somewhat heterosexual. Thus, butches and femmes took on the notion of the heterosexuals by imitating their masculine style of clothing, sex habits, stratified positions and social behaviours.

The Myth of Rape Culture in America Essay -- Rape Culture Essays

â€Å"Rape is as American as apple pie,† says blogger Jessica Valenti. She and other feminists describe our society as a â€Å"rape culture† where violence against women is almost invisible. According to feminists, films, magazines, fashion, books, music, and humor cooperate in conveying the message that women are there to be used, abused and exploited.(Kitchens, 2015) Rape culture, which was coined as a culture during the second wave of feminism during the early 1970’s and was, according to the encyclopedia of rape, â€Å"often used by feminists to describe contemporary American culture as a whole.† Rape culture, by definition though, is â€Å"a culture in which rape and other sexual violence (usually against women and gender diverse peoples ) are common and in which prevalent attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, or encourage sexualized violence† (qtd. in University Of Michigan Women’s Center). At its earliest beginnings, rape culture was an epidemic without a name. However, today, in 21st century America, one must wonder, why is this even still an issue? Furthermore, one must deliberately consider just why rape culture only applies to women as victims of sexual violence instead of people of sexual violence. Men, for example, are not regarded as victims, ever. Apparently, men cannot be sexu ally assaulted. Rape culture allows for â€Å"gender diverse peoples† but they’re certainly not talking about men. Unless of course, those men just happen to dress as women and are raped because they are mistaken for women. But you see, therein another can of worms is opened, because it specifically relates to women and people who look like women. Sounds a bit ridiculous to me. I can’t remember a time when rape was ever a parlor joke in... ...Time.com Web. 23 Nov 2015 http://time.com/30545/its-time-to-end-rape-culture-hysteria/ Morber, Jenny. â€Å"What Science Says About Arousal During Rape.† Popsci.com. Popular Science, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015. http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-05/science-arousal-during-rape â€Å"R., K†. â€Å"Prison Rape: A Silent Epidemic.† Torture and abuse 3.3 (2001): 16-18. PSJ. Safety and Justice, 1 Oct. 2001. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. http://www.safetyandjustice.org/node/492 United States of America. U.S. Department of Justice. National Institute of Justice and Centers For Disease Control & Prevention. Who Are the Victims? RAINN. RAINN, n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2015 http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims/ â€Å"Women’s Center.† Womens Center. The University of Michigan, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2015.

Riot police clash with SLC crowd :: essays research papers

I’VE BEEN IN riots and this was not a riot,† Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said at a news conference at midmorning Sunday. â€Å"†¦ I believe it was the right amount of force at the right time.† Dinse said windows in several buildings and at least one vehicle were damaged during the clash, which began when individuals in a boisterous crowd in the thousands became unruly after the Bud World beer garden attraction was closed after reaching capacity. Dinse estimated damage could reach â€Å"the low thousands,† but both he and Mayor Rocky Anderson objected to early reports that characterized the incident as a riot. 2002 Winter Games Full Salt Lake coverage †¢ Gold medals stripped from two skiers †¢ Police, crowd clash in SLC; arrests made †¢ Celizic: There should be gold medal for whining †¢ Sorry Ohno, but these are the No Games †¢ NBCOlympics.com: Torson Injury Library †¢ Ask the Olympic Expert †¢ NBCOlympics.com †¢ Official Salt Lake site †¢ Local Games coverage †¢ More on Olympics â€Å"We want to emphasize that this was a relatively minor disturbance,† Anderson said. â€Å"†¦ Frankly, I anticipated far worse than this and far earlier (in the Games).† Dinse said between 180 and 200 helmeted and riot-gear clad officers responded to the area near Main and 200 South Streets after receiving reports that the crowd was getting out of hand. The gathering was declared an â€Å"unlawful assembly† about midnight and officers began slowly pushing the crowd, many of whom were chanting â€Å"USA, USA!†, down Main Street to the south, Dinse said. Rob Garcia, 18, of Salt Lake City told the Associated Press the crowd was yelling at police, and officers forced people against cars. â€Å"The police were pushing people,† he said. â€Å"The cops just jumped across and set up a barricade.† Two revelers fight in the street during a riot. Several shop windows were broken, but no injuries were reported. While many in the crowd obeyed orders to disburse, some individuals began hurling glass beer bottles at the officers, who responded by firing about 40 rounds of â€Å"impact devices† at the lower extremities of members of the crowd, he said. The action quickly scattered the crowd. Eighteen adults and two juveniles were arrested during the clash, and most were charged with public intoxication and failure to disburse, Dinse said. Most of those arrested were locals, but at least one was a Canadian citizen, he said.

Alcohol and its Effects Essay -- essays research papers

Alcohol and its Effects   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Alcohol is a substance that has become a part of the social settings in today’s world. Many people can say they have drunk alcohol and most can even remember their first sip of beer. Whether it was given to us by our parents or at a social engagement, everyone has encountered alcohol in their lives. But as responsible people, have we ever stopped to realize that we are taking a drug in to our system that is both harmful and addictive? Alcohol affects a wide range of digestive-system disorders such as inflammation of pancreas and cirrhosis of the liver. The central and peripheral nervous systems can be permanently damaged causing blackouts, hallucinations, and extreme tremor may occur. As if the there was not enough effects from alcohol, vitamin deficiency is also one of the major effects cause by alcohol causing folate and thiamine deficiencies. Though there are a variety of drinking patterns and the range of injuries among alcohol abusers, some are mild an d can recover on their own with the right tools and techniques. Others are critical and need hospitalization and prolong rehabilitation with custodian supervision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ten percent of the adult drinkers in the United States are considered alcoholics or at least they experience drinking problems to some degree. There is about 5% of ethyl alcohol in a beer, 7-14% in table wine, 20% in fortified wind such as Sherry, and 40% in distilled spirits a...

Sales Report Hema

TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION3 COMPANY ANALYSIS (external + internal + SWOT)4 INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ANALYSIS4 HISTORY OF THE COMPANY4 HEMA’S STRUCTURE4 VISION OF THE COMPANY4 MISSION STATEMENT5 TARGET GROUP5 HEMA’S STRATEGY & POSITIONING6 FINANCIAL POSITION & COMPETITION7 PRODUCT-MARKET COMBINATION8 MARKETING MIX8 TRENDS IN RETAIL9 SWOT ANALYSIS10 STRENGHTHS:10 OPPORTUNITIES:11 THREATS:12 MARKET RESEARCH13 THE 7C’S OF EFFECTIVE WEBSITE DESIGN13 QUALITATIVE RESEARCH15 SALES PROPOSAL17 Executive Summary17 Our understanding17 YOUR COMPANY17 YOUR NEEDS17 DESCISION CRITERIA18Our Solution19 FOOD SECTION CLEANLINESS IMPROVEMENT19 PRODUCT RESTOCKING19 Conclusion19 COST AND BENEFIT ANALYSIS20 REFERENCES23 MYSTERY SHOP REPORTS24 NATALIA ROJAS24 VICTORIA TORRES24 MAIKE BOUWER24 ANNA ZAJAC25 CELIA BAUMGARTNER26 ANOUK VAN NULAND26 INTRODUCTION In September 1926, the dream of  two Jewish entrepreneurs  Arthur Isaac and Leo Meyer  opened their first store on the Kalverstra at. The company became a part of the Maxeda group, which renamed from Vendex KBB. It owns Bijenkorf, Hunkemoller, V&D, Praxis, Plan-it and Brico, Dixons and many other stores.In 2007 Maxeda sold HEMA to a British company called Lion Capital LPP. The company primarily focuses on leveraged buyout  investments in Europe. HEMA has expanded into other European countries, with stores in  the  Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and France. In this report we made a sales analysis of the Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam, HEMA. HEMA is a Dutch discount retail chain that is characterized by relative low pricing of standard housewares, which are mostly made by the chain itself in beautiful and innovative designs.HEMA offers a very wide variety of products, from books and housewares to food. HEMA is located all around the Netherlands, with in total 445 branches and thousands of employees by March 2011. We analyzed HEMA from different standpoints; we analyzed the ho usewares product section and also the food section. We visited in total 12 different stores all in different locations of the Netherlands from Amsterdam to Maastricht and we did qualitative research by analyzing the company’s external and internal environment. The goal of this report was to find out what HEMA can do to improve sales.COMPANY ANALYSIS (external + internal + SWOT) * INTERNAL & EXTERNAL ANALYSIS HISTORY OF THE COMPANY HEMA is a company with long tradition. The first store was opened on Kalverstraat on 4th of November 1926. Two Jewish entrepreneurs, Arthur Isaac and Leo Mever who have witnessed the hardest economic crisis of that century, conceived the idea. They have seen a lot of people struggling and having difficulties to make ends meet so their concept was to create a shop with different household items of affordable price but still maintaining a high quality.Thanks to Alfred Goudsmit, the director of Amsterdam-based Bijenkorf, this dream became reality and H ollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam (known better as HEMA) was set up. The formula was so successful that recently new stores were opened in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. Additionally, in 2007, HEMA was sold to a British company called Lion Capital LPP. * HEMA’S STRUCTURE HEMA’s structure has changed over the years, as two different groups have owned it, and each one of them had a different way of handling their operations.The Dutch company identifies itself as an adapter, because wherever they open a new store they try to fit into the new environment and implement products that are applicable for the target audience they are pursuing. Additionally, the CEO  and shareholders play an important role in all forms of decision making for the company’s processes and changes, being constantly informed of any new ventures being pursued. * VISION OF THE COMPANY HEMA has clearly stated that what drives them toward attaining goals is the need to adapt to what consumers really want, in this constantly changing environment. We are driven by our business goals in everything we do. Consumers’ needs are changing and we continually adapt to those needs†. Over the time HEMA has been developing its brands, and now have more products than what they had when they opened their very first store. MISSION STATEMENT According to official website, HEMA’s mission statement consists of the following: â€Å"The HEMA style can be summarized in two words: ‘exceptional simplicity’, by which we mean that our products are both simple and exceptional. Long before the term ‘home brand’ was invented, we were creating and manufacturing our own products†.This concept should be applied not only to products they offer but also to services. HEMA’s mission is to turn day-to-day products into something exceptional and yet affordable. Another aspect is to recognize the continuously changing customer s’ need and satisfy them. TARGET GROUP Originally, HEMA's market segment was mainly the middle-low class with its consequent medium range income. However, over the years HEMA has attracted more individuals with a higher income, due to the guaranteed quality their products offer at a very affordable price.HEMA states that its target group are men and women of all ages and socio-economic classes as everyone can find there something for himself. However, different surveys have shown that the majority of the audience  is mainly  between the ages of 14-32, identifying young  parents,  and students as part of this segment. Lately we can note HEMA’s tendency to focus more and more on younger customers by different promotion techniques and actions. For example, they recently made a contest for students that were studying any form of design, inviting them to create a new HEMA product with their own fresh ideas.In this digital age, all companies must be aware that if the y truly want to succeed they must reach their target group through up-to-date methods. Therefore, HEMA reaches most of its customers through TV commercials, Internet, magazines and even direct mail. The most important of these, in this modern time and age, has to be its main website, which not only allows customers to shop online but also provides all the information necessary on current promotions and activities. HEMA’S STRATEGY ; POSITIONING As said above, HEMA’s aim is to make people’s life a little more convenient, independently of where they live.That is why the company is planning on expanding across Europe and probably also further. HEMA’s executives believe that the formula they offer is a good product and could go global. The company’s strategy is to captivate new trends and adapt to customers. To be so successful it is essential to have motivated and dedicated staff. To achieve it the relationship of trust and commitment must be created. That is why all decisions, which are being made, are based on belief that all employees are entitled to respect for dignity, individuality and diversity.The positioning of HEMA is based on the distinctiveness of its designs, which are done in-house by HEMA designers, and all the products at HEMA are HEMA branded (in most cases), which makes it stand out in the market by being immediately recognizable to customers. The competent price is another factor HEMA sells as a positioning point, although competition has made its low prices seem relative in comparison to all the other options now offered at the same price range or at even lower prices. HEMA often underlines its will to act with social responsibility.Thus, also the way of producing and delivering goods to customers is of high importance. The corporation uses a â€Å"naturally HEMA’’ approach to protect the environment. Whenever it is time to change the uniforms of their employees, they recycle and use them for so mething else, instead of throwing them into the garbage can. Moreover, in each one of their stores they practice a recycle culture and waste collection programs. FINANCIAL POSITION ; COMPETITION HEMA has been one of the most favourite Dutch stores in the Netherlands, and gradually is gaining hearts of other markets abroad.In the Dutch market, HEMA has 445 stores, in Belgium 62, Germany 8, Luxembourg 3 and France 7. In total HEMA has 10,000 employees, of which 80% are women and the remaining 20% are men. Currently the company is participating in a project called â€Å"return to sender†. However, it does not seek to make a profit by selling these products; it rather strives to support fair trade in third-world countries making sure that profits return to the manufacturers by means of development projects and education in the regions of origin.Hema achieved quite good results in the year 2011 especially if we take into consideration the challenging conditions. It had to face dec lining non-food retail spending, increasing competition, higher raw material prices as well as declining consumer confidence. Compared to 2010 (loss of 18. 3 â‚ ¬mln), net sales increased by 3%, and so did the net profit rising with â‚ ¬11 mln, mainly because of lower financing costs. According to the statements released by HEMA, the share in all categories improved. The company continues on investing, in 2011 spending â‚ ¬57 mln (amount comparable to 2010).However, the profit margin suffered (0. 5% lower in comparison to 2010) due to increase in price of oil, coffee and cotton. Total capital after the acquisition by Lion Capital is estimated on â‚ ¬1. 4 billion, of which 35. 4% is financed by shareholders. As far as competitors go, HEMA has found its largest competition against Jumbo Groep Holding B. V and Koninklijke Ahold B. V. , which comprises itself of Albert Heijn, Etos, and Gall ; Ga. , among others. Additionally, other competitors in retail include Kruidvat, D;A , and Zeeman. PRODUCT-MARKET COMBINATIONHereby is sum up of the best and the worst of HEMA's products, according to each box/category of the matrix: STARS-â€Å"Le Lapin† tea kettle| QUESTION MARKS-HEMA Beauty| CASH COWS-Sausage (worst)| DOGS-| MARKETING MIX Price Based on an overview of the online website, www. hema. nl, the price of products ranges from as little as . 50 to as much as 250 euros, specifically for the bicycles. However, most products range under the 20 euros or less mark, especially when it comes to its office supplies, cosmetics, beauty products, and foods & beverages.They also use many discounted product prices to boost sales. Product The products offered at HEMA are of a great and wide variety, and are divided into clothing, accessories, cosmetics, skincare products, office/school supplies, domestic appliances, home items, textiles (curtains, duvets, etc. ), food & beverages, and finally, its photo printing service, exclusive to only some HEMA stores. Acco rding to the principles of its product mix, the products themselves are not necessarily all consistent with each other, as their diversity is large.The depth of some of the products is also not as varied, though HEMA tries to have in most cases at least two different variations, mostly in price range/quality or color presentation, of the same product. Promotion HEMA is avid in its promotion of products, especially those that are discounted from week to week and new to the store. They use, as mentioned above, TV advertisements, billboards, employ the use of social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google+ and Pinterest, and as well as Internet advertising through their online website. Place HEMA products are sold at HEMA stores and online at www. hema. nl.There are several variations of a HEMA store, ranging from very large warehouse style to small outlets in train stations and airports. Also, specialized stores are popping up recently, such as HEMA Foto’s, HEMA Beauty , and a HEMA with only its ready-made food, in a similar â€Å"to go† style as its competitor Albert Heijn. The products are sold directly, passing on from HEMA's own suppliers in Hong Kong and Shanghai to the stores for selling. TRENDS IN RETAIL For 2012, several trends were present in the retail business in general. Firstly, the investment in mobile applications and services has increased enormously over the past year.Customers are now able to find store locations, prices, customer reviews and eventually order said products all through their mobile phone. With the continued modernity of cellphones, it is no doubt this trend will keep on climbing and showing its importance in the retail business. Another trend this year has been the stagnant sales due to the low economy in recent times. Customers are spending more on necessary products rather than retail, and it is of great importance for retail companies to find a way to demonstrate the added value and worthiness of the pro duct they are selling, as well as placing it in a competitive price range.Additionally, globalization has taken over the world and influenced greatly on retail. More and more retail companies are encouraged to expand themselves abroad, giving them the competitive edge they need to succeed. Lastly, another trend related retail is that economic times and high prices are forcing stores to become more compact, which has actually been well received by customers, who do not wish to wander in a thousand square meters to get the one product they need. SWOT ANALYSIS * STRENGHTHS: Dutch citizens have been acquainted with HEMA since 1926, which means that a large quantity of the population is attached to their brand. They have one of the most important  advantages that a company can have: loyal customers. * HEMA can be proud of its customer-oriented and committed staff, people who do their best every day achieving at the same time high customer satisfaction. * Contrarily to majority of retai lers, HEMA sells its own original brand. The company has its own design department, where highly educated employees come up with new ideas and improved products.What is more, HEMA involves its customers, among them, young talented design students who are given chance to participate in new-product creation. * Own laboratory where all the products are being strictly tested before arriving on store shelves. * Highly creative marketing team often coming up with interesting actions and promotions attracting new customers and retaining the old ones. * Good advertising and multi channel communication with customers. HEMA broadcasts its own TV commercials, distributes leaflets, sends e-mails, newsletters and of course has a well organized website where web shopping is available 24h/24. Ability to track new tendencies and adapt them in a short period; introduction of innovative fashion or an incorporation of a cafe/restaurant into stores is one of many examples. * HEMA takes into considerati on the environment during production and logistics processes. It strives to reduce amount of energy used for transportation as well as production, limits packaging to minimum, takes care of material used and the possibility of their recycling. * Offers a great diversity of household products at quite affordable prices. * Great attention toward a customer and putting his satisfaction first.Thus, each customer that is not satisfied with service provided can claim for refund. * HEMA stores expand with a high rapidity, even monthly. * Demonstrated support for various initiatives such as FAIR TRADE, Return to Sender etc. WEAKNESSES: – Although HEMA claims to produce its products in an ecofriendly manner, still a considerable number of products are made of hardly recyclable material. This aspect should be reviewed by HEMA departments and new solutions should be implemented and comply fully to company’s mission of social responsibility. Based on the market research made, HEMA product quality is not the highest in most cases, especially if comparing it to other products with the same price tag. – HEMA is currently in the process of suffering from the so-called â€Å"commodity trap†, in which its fellow competitors are selling the same comparable products HEMA does, at lower prices. – In reference to our surveys, the cleanliness and neatness of the HEMA stores can be improved upon, as well as a better control of restocking products that are being sold. HEMA’s great range of products, though a great strength, is also a great weakness, as the management of all these products can become overpowering, and the previously mentioned quality and cleanliness control become more difficult to handle. * OPPORTUNITIES: – Its current owner, the London-based private equity firm Lion Capital, has been trying to sell the company since 2011, but there are still plans to, in a year or so, retry its selling proposal. The main stakeholder in this would be Royal Ahold NV, who currently is the owner of the biggest chain of supermarkets in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn, amongst other investments.Pairing up AH and HEMA to sell their products together could prove itself as an incredibly profitable business synergy of brands. -As mentioned before in the retail trends, HEMA could take advantage of the recent mobile phone apps boost, and include an app version of their online store for mobile users to buy the products directly on the go. They already offer their HEMA Photos services online, but could work more on this growing trend to improve sales. -Even though HEMA has a claim on the Corporate Social Responsibility as a company, they could move even further with their actions by actively timulating sustainability amongst their suppliers. Not only does this actively pursue good, it provides a new selling point for customers who believe in sustainability as an added value to a product purchase. Sustainability in companies itse lf is a growing trend, considering all the education new generations have had over global warming and the threat of the carbon footprint. * THREATS: – With the recent economic crisis in 2012 with the European Union and the budget cuts, retailers in general in the Netherlands, with HEMA included, are suffering from these cuts.The Dutch government will boost the highest value added on consumer goods to 21% from 19% before the austerity measures were in place. This will affect most businesses who handle goods that are not foods or beverages, and even though HEMA does have a part of its business focused on that, it is mostly a mixed retailer. – Dutch consumer confidence has hit an all-time low since 2003, notably dropping 1. 3% in February 2012. – Due once again to the austerity, Dutch households are facing stagnant salaries with higher retail prices, which means the consumer spending will be reduced. As mentioned before in the opportunities, its current owner, Lion Capital, has been trying to sell the company since 2011 but has so far been unsuccessful to reach its desired 1. 5 billion euro asking price. There are still plans to, in a year or so, retry its selling proposal, which would provide instability within HEMA due to the change of ownership. Of course, it can not be determined whether this change will be beneficial or not, but it most certainly would be an adjustment to the company, and sales might suffer from it. MARKET RESEARCHThis section consists of an extensive and thorough market research analysis of HEMA, a multinational retail chain that caters several products in different areas of Europe. The report begins an explanation of its target group. Consequently, there is an analysis of the 7 C’s of web, and a final conclusion is provided. The overall objective is to obtain a full understanding on the views, and behaviors from HEMA’S customers, and how these influence within their purchasing decisions. TARGET GROUP Orig inally, HEMA's market segment was mainly the middle-low class with its consequent medium range income.However, over the years HEMA has attracted more individuals with a higher income, due to the guaranteed quality their products offer at a very affordable price. The audience  is mainly  between the ages of 14-32, identifying young  parents,  and students as part of this segment. HEMA is focusing more and more on younger customers by different promotion techniques and actions. For example, they recently made a contest for students that were studying any form of design, inviting them to create a new HEMA product with their own fresh ideas.Moreover, they are also reaching youngsters through their parents, personalizing their own product is a key advantage to them. In this digital age all companies must be aware that if they truly want to succeed they must reach their target group through up-to-date methods. Therefore, HEMA reaches most of its customers through TV commercials, I nternet, magazines and even direct mail. The most important of these, in this modern time and age, has to be its main website, which not only allows customers to shop online but also provides all the information necessary on current promotions and activities being organized. THE 7C’S OF EFFECTIVE WEBSITE DESIGN In order to look into the 7 C’ S, a required observation of HEMA's main website (http://www. hema. nl) was necessary to regard how each one the forms of effective design were implemented. Context- The site's layout and design is dynamic, very colorful and appealing to the senses, making it an effective tool for marketing. Content- Varied is the most proper way to describe their content. Community- HEMA allows customers to interact with each other by participating in contests, activities and promotions, as well as allowing them to voice their suggestions and complaints.Customization-Since customers can subscribe themselves and create themselves an account, it is possible to have their own customized web page, because the web site will display their most recent purchases and tailor itself automatically each single time. Communication-Their web page uses a two-way communication Connection-The site is linked to other web pages, such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. This enables the user to check HEMA’s account in these 3 web sites and to show their most recent acquisitions by uploading pictures of the items. It creates a special bond between the customer and the corporate.Commerce- When there is a purchase of items, the options on payment are several, and allowing the customer to decide what is his or her best option. In acknowledgement of the before stated reasons, HEMA does make a full use of the 7 c's. QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY ANALYSIS The questionnaire will probe the following 9 questions: 1-Do you ever shop at HEMA? 2-If yes, how often? 3-Do you like HEMA, neither like it nor dislike it, or dislike it? 4-How clean are HEMA sto res? 5-Compared to its competitors are HEMA’S prices more reasonable, less reasonable or about the same. -In terms of quality, how good are HEMA’S products 7-Description of HEMA in 3 words 8-On a scale from 1-10, which overall grade would you give HEMA 9-In a maximum of 3 words, please tell us on what you would like HEMA to improve After a survey collection and thorough analysis took place, the results were the following: 1-Do you ever shop at HEMA? 95. 2% of the people interviewed admitted to have ever shopped at HEMA. 4. 8% had never shopped at HEMA before. 2-If yes, how often? From the 95. 2% whom claimed to have ever shopped at HEMA, had 94. % purchase goods at the store once a week, the remaining 5. 6% went to the store at least 3 times a week. 3-Do you like HEMA, neutral, or dislike it? 19% of the interviewees likes HEMA a great deal, 47. 6% like it a moderate amount, 14. 3% like it a little, 19% are neutral 4-How clean are HEMA stores? 19% believe the stores are clean, 61. 9% say they are moderately clean, 14. 3% state that it is slightly clean, and 4. 8% think it is not clean at all. 5-Compared to its competitors are HEMA’S prices more reasonable, less reasonable or about the same? 47. 6% believes the prices are reasonable, and a 52. % that they are less reasonable than the ones of the competitors. 6-In terms of quality, how good are HEMA’S products *90. 5% said the product quality was good, a 9. 5% said they were awful. * QUALITATIVE RESEARCH For the qualitative research, we went on a field trip to several HEMA’s to get a few in depth interviews with their customers. At the quantitative research, we mostly ask fixed answer questions to get structured answers and get clear statistics from it. The qualitative is quite the contrary, we ask open question thus not trying to persuade the customers by giving them several options as answers.We asked the following questions that are relative to the marketing research: 1. What are your experiences when shopping at HEMA? The majority of the interviewees were more than positive about their experiences. Not one had a negative experience at one of the HEMA’s. One claimed that they even have everything in the little HEMA’s in the small villages outside of the big city: â€Å"It is unbelievable (and quite scary) how accurate they know us, costumer! † Another costumer: â€Å"The employees are always friendly and helpful, even though they cannot satisfy our needs as costumers. † 2.How would you describe the quality of the products? Here again, the majority is very satisfied about the quality of the products. â€Å"The price/quality ratio is fairly good. I know what to expect from the products. Let’s take a their china for example, I know their bowls won’t last a lifetime. If I want bowls that last a lifetime I will shop at Georg Jensen. This way I can change my china more often and get a fresh new look in the kitchen. à ¢â‚¬  All the interviewees were satisfied with the products bought, though most of them take inconsideration that the products are not the best on the market. 3.What is your opinion about the tidy/cleanness of the stores? Positive feedback: â€Å"The stores look clean†, â€Å"Well organized†, â€Å"Good structure of the placement of the products† Negative feedback: â€Å"Too many products cramped into too little space†, â€Å"Quite mess at the sales shelves†, â€Å"The floors are dusty, though this problem appears in most shops†. The opinions on this question are fairly divided. The bigger shops seemed to have more negative feedback, due to its large variety of products. The overview was lost and the employers were having troubles keeping the shelves organized and the store clean.Response Summary Criteria-8 people were individually interviewed for more in-depth findings, and 40 answered a survey. SALES PROPOSAL * Executive Summary For HEMA a Dutch discount retail chain, which is characterized by relative low pricing products mainly made by the company itself, the customer’s opinion and view about the company is the most important. Time by time, the company has been including new products and ideas to the company trying to make it more attractive to buyers, and then is when the food section came to HEMA becoming its pride with products such as â€Å"rook worst’, Tompouces and pies.However, after having done some research in different locations of HEMA, we found out that even though customers like the food of HEMA, most of them think that the cleanliness of the food section is not positive. Another fact is that since HEMA is characterized by having all kind of self developed articles concentrated on daily necessities, people like to go there whenever they need something especially â€Å"urgent†. According to our research, it happens often that products are not being restocked frequently. This leave s the client with a sense of emptiness after having travelled the whole store in search of that needed product. Our understanding YOUR COMPANY HEMA is a company that makes life fun and easy in an inexpensive way. In HEMA you will find the remarkable combination of â€Å"only the best items for everyday life, with its own especial design, for surprisingly low prices† and with a staff that is always ready to help you with pride, commitment and with love for their company. YOUR NEEDS HEMA is a store where customers go mostly when they need to find something in particular, for example house ware products, school accessories or to have the 1euro breakfast. Customer who go to HEMA, mostly know what they are looking for and what they can find at HEMA.Therefore, HEMA needs to be always prepared to receive these customers, by knowing and having in advance what they are looking for. HEMA needs to create an especial importance to restocking of products. Since most HEMA’s is a lar ge store, where you mostly spend more time than in a particular store, clients do not like to go there, looking for something they know HEMA provides and not finding it because of restocking issues. Makeup, stationery, and house ware tools are some of the sections that have to be always filled. HEMA has a rather small food section, however it is famous for the good taste and low price of their products.The 1euro breakfast, the famous worst and the pastry attract fixed buyers day by day to the store. However, after our research we found out that clients were not especially happy with the cleanliness of this section. Most of the time workers who receive money are the same ones that fixed or deliver the food, this without changing or wearing hand gloves. There must be in HEMA a clear differentiation between the person who is handling the cash and that who is touching the food. In the case that this is the same person there should be a imminent use of hand gloves for each of those actio ns. Prioritized list of needs: More frequently restocking of HEMA products. * Improvement of cleanliness in the food section. DESCISION CRITERIA Key Decision Criteria| Importance(High, Med, Low)| 1. Product Restocking| Med| 2. Food Section Cleanliness Improvement| High | * Our Solution FOOD SECTION CLEANLINESS IMPROVEMENT * For the food section the solution is the implementation of gloves for all employees; enough gloves to be changed after a certain amount of time. Another solution is the distinction of the person working at the register and the person handling and preparing the food. There should not be one person who can use cash and prepare food at the same time.If necessary and for the variation there could be shifts so the employees can also perform different activities, however for one employee the shift should not chance more than once daily. Example: Natalia receives payments from 9 to 12 and then from 12 to 5 she prepares food. PRODUCT RESTOCKING * For the restocking probl em, there could be more frequently revisions of the products that need to be restocked, maybe once a week. Then the making of a product criterion should be made, recognizing which products are the most sold and therefore have to be always available.After the identification of those products, there should be made an agreement that within certain time (for example 2 weeks) those products will be delivered to the store, regardless of the already in store stock of that product. * Conclusion Our group chose HEMA as company for the importance of the store to the Dutch market. HEMA is a story with many years of experience and long trajectory in the market where customers go to purchase good quality products, with personal and innovative designs all for average low prices. Even though we did not find almost any negative points of the company and we were very leased with many aspects of HEMA such as the employees treatment towards customers or the large scale of products they offer, we all a greed on the fact that there are many times that the desired product by the customer is not in stock or the low use of gloves and cleanliness when attending the food section. These two are aspects that are rather easy to improve and that could increase the customers experience and loyalty for HEMA, of course also growing sales of new and fixed clients. COST AND BENEFIT ANALYSIS Last year HEMA obtain great results in an downsizing economie.It has maintained their position within the retail industry by winning the ‘best retail yearprice by ING’ again! Ronald Putting, CEO: â€Å"I am very proud that I can tell you that we, despite a tough economic year, have been continuing our strong line of growth. During the past year HEMA celebrated its 85th anniversary! Thus we have the recent openings of Gare du Nord and Gare Saint Lazare and next to those we already have several successful stores in France. HEMA has grown into an international retail company that continues to grow, with a strong brand that is appreciated by our customers both at home and abroad.This appreciation was once more when the consumer Netherlands HEMA in 2011 chose to best store. In 2011, market conditions were challenging and are expected to deepen the crisis in 2012. Consumers will have more need of a shop where they can rely and which also continues to surprise. A shop where the staff is ready to help consumers with special designed products of good quality and for a low price. So every day we try to make the daily lives of our customers a little bit more fun and easier. † A few figures of the year 2011 – Consumer sales went up to EUR 1. 02 million – Net sales increased just as in 2010 by more than 3% to EUR 1,150 million – The market share of HEMA in all categories improved – The operating result (EBITDA) remained virtually unchanged (euro 155 million) – 47 new stores were opened: 33 in the Netherlands, 8 in Belgium, 2 in Germany and 4 in France. Improvements that can be made In our sales proposal you can read that the most important thing we think that HEMA can improve are: 1. Product restocking 2. Food section cleanliness improvement Lets start of with the product restocking.To sum up the stocks in the store are not at neat as it should be. Some products are placed in the middle of the corridor, which gives a messy appearance of the whole store. In our opinion the manager who is responsible for the product division and visual standards should be educated about this particular subject. HEMA could decide to give those managers some extra training. For improvement of the HEMA food section employees can be trained by a dutch company called HACCP Direct. This will cost HEMA â‚ ¬69,- per store and they will receive a HACCP certificate that is needed to sell food in Holland.Because HEMA is already licenced to sell food the certificates are not necessary to obtain again. But we do think that some extra training is neede d and can be obtained by following an online course. This course will obtain the following subjects: 1. The importance of hygiene and the HACCP method 2. Personal hygiene 3. Cleaning, waste and vermin 4. Temperature Control 5. Furnishing of business premises 6. Purchasing, Storage and shelf life 7. (For) preparing, presenting and serving After these two points of improvement we believe that HEMA is right where they want to be, HEMA wants to be number one.The best in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, France and beyond. HEMA believes that the traditional Dutch success formula of special simplicity with everyone. Anywhere in the world: from city to countryside, from Amsterdam to Tokyo. ING Retail Year price HEMA was chosen by the public overall winner and may have a year long Retailer of the Netherlands'. With an average score of 7. 50 won HEMA in October 2011 even though the audience in the category Baby & Children. HEMA scored during the first round of the high aspect Va lue (7. 92) and Price level (7. 83).During the second round of voting – where the public could vote only on the 26 category winners – HEMA earned fifteen percent of the total number to earn points. HEMA won this award in 2003 and in 2008. In 2005 won the Jury HEMA Price Retail. Special HEMA Beauty shops HEMA opens two beauty shops named HEMA Beauty. HEMA Beauty has been opened the 12th of October 2012 in Amsterdam's Kalverstraat and the day after the opening of the HEMA beauty store in the Barteljorisstraat in Haarlem took place. Now HEMA customers can come in for all their makeup, skincare, inspiration and personal advice. REFERENCES ttp://www. hema. nl/hema/over-hema. aspx http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf http://www. hema. nl/hema/about-hema. aspx http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf http://www. returntosender. nl/en/about/partners htt p://www. hema. nl/hema/voor-de-pers/persberichten. aspx http://www. retail-business-review. com/companies/hema-b http://www. sas. com/news/sascom/2012q1/industry_spotlight. html http://berenschotstrategies. wordpress. com/2011/04/06/hema-in-de-commodity-tra/ ttp://www. marketwatch. com/story/dutch-retailer-hema-no-longer-on-block-sources-2011-06-22 http://edepot. wur. nl/167998 http://www. bloomberg. com/news/2012-05-08/dutch-retailers-face-profit-blow-as-taxes-chill-spending. html http://www. hema. nl/hema/over-hema. aspx http://www. psbydila. com/hema-beauty http://www. haccpdirect. nl/haccp-cursus/ http://perssupport. nl/apssite/persberichten/full/2012/03/27/HEMA+rapporteert+positieve+resultaten+2011 * MYSTERY SHOP REPORTS NATALIA ROJAS Maastricht and Leiden Comparing the two HEMA stores that I visited, I came to different conclusions.First it was appealing to me that both stores were clean and were being cleaned at the moment, so in both cases was the cleaning good. In the food counter in Leiden, even though I bought a closed product, which is a bottle, I did not see any of the employees wearing gloves at any moment, at Maastricht I passes by the food counter as well in the breakfast hour, but I did not see anybody with gloves either. That means in both Leiden and Maastricht the employees were not clean enough in terms of food. In Leiden I was looking for a whiteboard, I asked a girl if they had it, and she said that not in the moment.She knew about what I was talking about so she was acquainted with the store products which is good. the product I was looking for was not there but they had a similar option. In Maastricht I bought a blanket and in the casa I asked the girl if she knew if the blanket was good enough for the Winter to which she responded good enough saying that it has a level 3 which means that it is pretty good for pretty much all seasons, so I was satisfied with my blanket. In Maastricht though the girl in the casa was trying to get rid of people fast because it was pretty much a rush hour and there were a lot of people on the line.However I was satisfied with the product information and personal service at both locations. In conclusion I would say that HEMA employees are well trained and know enough about the products and the store, even though all the products that I needed were not there that is something that can happen everywhere. However probably the cleaning in the food section should be improved at all times and everywhere. VICTORIA TORRES Kalverstraat and hemareguliersbreestraat After analyzing patterns from one HEMA to another, we conclude that; hygiene should become more of a priority.Both locations shared the same pitfall, which was not wearing gloves when in contact with food nor when touching money from the customer. However, employees are well trained and able to answer questions about their product line, for instance the materials used to fabricate such product or its’ origin. Moreover, the answ ers were quite well formulated in acceptable English, bearing in mind that this is not their mother tongue. In a nutshell, the personnel are competent enough, yet sanitization is not as efficient as it should be. MAIKE BOUWER Vleuten and Utrecht Vleuten is a small town right outside Utrecht.Only recently it has opened a HEMA store where the basics are being sold. There were two employees working in the store when I entered. The first one greeted me right when I entered the store. The second employee was busy filling the shelves but still managed to say good morning when I passed by. Both staff members were wearing a HEMA shirt with black pants. The first employee helped me find the duvet covers, knew exactly where they were placed and which one I needed. Though observing the first employee helping another customer at the ‘food section’ she did not wash her hands, neither was the use of cloves involved.Overall the HEMA in Vleuten is a neat store where everything is in pl ace and the employees are friendly. They know the store very well, reasoning that the store is fairly small and has fewer products than the big stores in large cities. The food section, which one hardly can call a section, was not very hygienic. HEMA could improve their hygienic matters by using cloves or wash their hands before touching the food products. Though the employee used a tang to take the sausage and did not get in contact with the sausage self. In general, the small HEMA in Vleuten is a well-organized store with well-trained staff.In comparison with the HEMA in Vleuten, the HEMA in Utrecht is huge. The store is two stories high and is very elaborated. While walking around for a while through the shelves, none of the employee bothered to greet me. Even though I had not received a good morning, the employees looked neat and were all wearing the same outfit. The food section in Utrecht is quite large though the hygiene is not well thought through. No cloves were used when I ordered my sandwich. Wondering if it was a coincidence, I stayed around the food section to observe the others ordering their food.None of the employees washed their hands in my time of observing. The other sections of the store were clean and organized however the food section is certainly a weakness. They could improve by wearing cloves and changing them regularly. Another advice I would give HEMA is to introduce freshly prepared food instead of pre-rolling sandwiches. ANNA ZAJAC Amstelveen and Schiphol The HEMA stores I decided to visit are situated in two different places. One is Amstelveen, peaceful outskirts of Amsterdam and the other, International Airport – Schiphol. I was curious if there could be a difference in service delivered by the employees.As my report demonstrates, I have encountered a major interest, help and friendliness in the store situated in Amstelveen. In both situations the employees were kind and eager to help me. The first one helped me to find a model of a product I was searching for while the other prepared something that I probably should have done on my own. Both had no problem with speaking English with me and made me feel comfortable from the first moment. What is more, I was surprised by a discount I got at the checkout. The store overall was rather clean and kept in order. When it comes to the second store my impressions are a little less positive.The stuff was less cheerful and in some cases they could not answer my questions at all! The level of English was surprisingly lower than that of Amstelveen’s employees. It should be other way around considered that every day thousands of tourists pass through Schiphol Airport. Aspects I would like to seen improved are the employees’ awareness of the products they sell (FairTrade, for example), their readiness to deal with the customer and nicer attitude as well as better command of foreign language. There should be more pressure on keeping food fresh (it coul d be kept in special containers or coverages). CELIA BAUMGARTNERBijlmer Arena and Ferdinand Bolstraat The HEMA chain and concept is a wonderful idea that has spanned great success overtime. However, there are some points that could be worked on based on the day-to-day administration at their shops. The store has a very self-serviced mindset, but perhaps if they worked towards improving their availability to customers, they would be able to improve their sales even more. Also, training employees is of great importance, and it would be nice to see a consistency in the quality of employees working at HEMA, considering it is rather jarring to have good and bad experiences from the same brand store.Product placement is ideal, and we know HEMA is aware of this, as they go to great lengths to display products on â€Å"discount† (they simply happen to be that price the whole time, but they make the customer feel as though they are buying something less expensive). It would be greatly improved if they would work on becoming more neat in their display arrangement, and once again, have more staff on hand to do all the arrangements, the same way AH is always stock full any time of the day.Not only would the displays look more lively and inviting, but it would give HEMA a greater opportunity to sell if their products are actually there to purchase. ANOUK VAN NULAND Kinkerstraat and Nieuwendijk I have visited two stores one in the Oud-West area of Amsterdam and one in the city center. To start of when I entered the store there was nobody to great me. They were all busy with doing their own tasks and were focused on that and on talking with each other. Even tough that’s not what you expect when you come in to a store, in store like this it is fine by me.It just a feeling you get when you are in a store they are very friendly when you ask something and they enjoy their job. I think that’s the most important thing there is. Next to the atmosphere in the st ore there are some practical things I would like to point out. The division of the stores is not really practical. Some large articles do deserve a bit more place and in the middle of the walk there were lots of items on display which gives the stores a messy appearance. The foodarea of the HEMA in the Kinkerstraat was a bit messy. Different kind of ingredients on the same work plate.Nevertheless the food tasted fresh and with good ingredients. The sales person was wearing plastic gloves when she picked up the food, but unfortunately she also received my money with that same hand. I do not think that’s quit hygienic. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf [ 2 ]. http://www. hema. nl/hema/about-hema. aspx [ 3 ]. http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf [ 4 ]. http://www. returntosender. nl/en/abo ut/partners [ 5 ]. http://www. hema. nl/hema/voor-de-pers/persberichten. spx [ 6 ]. http://www. retail-business-review. com/companies/hema-b [ 7 ]. http://www. hema. nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/HEMA_corporate_EN. pdf [ 8 ]. http://www. sas. com/news/sascom/2012q1/industry_spotlight. html [ 9 ]. http://www. sas. com/news/sascom/2012q1/industry_spotlight. html [ 10 ]. http://www. sas. com/news/sascom/2012q1/industry_spotlight. html [ 11 ]. http://berenschotstrategies. wordpress. com/2011/04/06/hema-in-de-commodity-tra/ [ 12 ]. http://www. marketwatch. com/story/dutch-retailer-hema-no-longer-on-block-sources-2011-06-22 [ 13 ]. http://edepot. wur. nl/167998 [ 14 ].