Personal Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Personal Project - Essay Example Initiation of a new venture has various advantages as well as disadvantages. For example, with the introduction of a new venture, an individual can make more capital and have own freedom (Hultman and Shaw, 2003). On the contrary, initiating a new venture involves huge financial risks and along with that one need to take extra burden of work so as to get success. Yet, individuals explore this avenue so as earn money, respect and at the same time carry out some social works (Carson, Cromie, McGowan and Hill, 1995). In our case, the business chosen was restaurant business. The company was named as E-Food Restaurant and positioned to capitalize on the opportunities arises due to the changing consumer needs. The USP (unique selling proposition) of our restaurant is customer tailored and fresh meals. In addition, the location of our restaurant coupled with large seating capacity acts as a competitive advantage to the firm. The products of our restaurant are mostly inspired from the British culture and wildlife (Hultman, 1999). The launching of our first restaurant business is a part of our long term plan and to drive change in the industry. However, the process was not easy enough and we had to pass through various complexities before reaching this stage. In this report, I on behalf of our company would like to reflect upon the steps that we went through in establishing and running the company through the competition & the decisions that were made during the competition and their outcome. In addit ion, this self reflection report also proposes to shed light on the overall experience and knowledge that we have gained from the module. Lastly, a conclusive statement will be drawn regarding our overall experience and the things we have learned over the years. Our business also took the steps as other businesses usually take before venturing into a business. Likewise, any other business, our

Media & University of Hawaii West O’ahu Essay Example for Free

Media University of Hawaii West O’ahu Essay A critique is not only a personal response, it is considered as a formalized, critical assessment of a text or other media (University of Hawaii West O’ahu, n. d. ). Writing a systematic evaluation of a writing sample is painstaking and it goes beyond saying that the text is satisfactory, out of the ordinary, or unacceptable. The Hunter College Reading Writing Center (n. d. ) listed the steps required to critique a piece of writing which includes describing the writer’s objective, analyzing how the sections of the writings were joined together, interpreting the importance of every section and assessing the value of the work. In writing a critique, it is important to consider the following elements – content, organization, style and correctness (Birk, 2000) as this determines if the essay, article or any literary work is informative, authentic, interesting, appropriate for the target reader, has a clear purpose, sufficient in scope, and free from grammatical error. In the content, one determines the suitability of the theme and how it was developed by the writer. The following questions can also serve as a guide, â€Å"Is the topic appropriate and interesting? †, â€Å"Is the writing intended for a specific reader? †, â€Å"Does it offer sufficient examples, evidence and anecdotes to substantiate the author’s view or argument? † In the organization, the objective of the essay, location of the topic sentence, flow of ideas and the transition of the paragraphs are usually examined (Colorado State University, 2009). For the overall style, it is necessary to look into the appropriateness of the tone, writer’s creativity, sentence structure and the length of each sentence as this contribute to the overall clarity of the essay. Correctness refers to adherence to the rules of grammar, punctuation, and the form of the essay. Writing samples must be completely free from grammatical errors. It is not enough to consider the elements in critiquing a writing sample. It is useful to follow the guidelines and include an introduction, a summary of the author’s main point, evaluation of the author’s success in achieving his or her purpose, response to the author’s view, and a conclusion where strengths and weaknesses of the text are assessed (Birk, 2009). References Birk, B. M. (2000). Essay critique guidelines. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://www. goshen. edu/english/critique. html Colorado State University (2009). Organization of an essay. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://writing. colostate. edu/guides/processes/peerreview/organization. cfm Hunter College Reading Writing Center (n. d. ). Writing the critique. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://rwc. hunter. cuny. edu/reading-writing/on-line/critique. html University of Hawaii West O’ahu (n. d. ). Writing a critique. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from http://homepages. uhwo. hawaii. edu/~writing/critique. htm

Analysis of the World Wine Market Essay -- Business Marketing Case Stu

Analysis of the World Wine Market TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 1 2. World wine producers†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦ 1 3. World wine exports†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦..†¦.2 4. France productions, exports and international image†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦.†¦..3 5. Success of New World over the Old World : key factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦...†¦..4 6. Evaluation of different strategies†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦....5-8 6.1 Premium & Standard wine market 6.2 Creation of an accessible French brand 6.3 The Global wine company (acquisitions and mergers) 6.4 Appellation d’origine controlee and competitive disadvantage 6.5 Protectionism versus being marketing oriented 7. World wine market: long term predictions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..8 8. Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 1. Introduction International competition on the wine market is characterized by a considerable disparity of strategies used by the different producers and wine-producing regions around the world. The objective of this report is to provide an understanding of the competition mechanisms between countries which are traditionally exporters - the â€Å"Old World† producers, represented by European countries - and the so called â€Å"New World† countries which today compete for the supremacy of the traditional model of wine growing and production. 2. World wine producers The distribution of the world wine producers is clearly detailed in the map below. The Old World producers are located in Europe. France, Italy and Spain are the main producers , followed by Portugal, Balkan states, UK and Germany. The European countries are still detaining a dominant position and they accounted for 70% of world production and consumption in 1999 (by data acquired by Euromonitor). The New World producers are scattered around the world and are represented mainly by: Australia, Chile, United States, South Africa, New Zealand, Argentina and Canada. 3. World wine exports The world wine export are still dominated by the Old World producers (see diagram below), with only three countries (France, Italy and Spain) which account for 60% of the world volumes exports in 2003. Among the New World producers, the largest exports are coming from Australia, Chile and United States. Another interesting characteristic is showed by the diagram below: the value of wine in exports market are increasing at greater rate than volume. 4. France productions, exports and international image ... ...duct quality and reliable supplies. The Old World future ability to counter the ongoing threat from New World producers will depend on adopting an extensive marketing approach: size, branding, distribution channels and new mergers in order to benefit from the new global economy will all play a fundamental role in determining its success. 9.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  References http://www.bbr.com/GB/db/news-item/623?ID=HKKKBXLQ56900VN&first_news_F=1 http://www.calwinexport.com/pages/MarketInfo.htm http://www.euromonitor.com/Wine http://www.export.gov/exportamerica/NewsFromCommerce/nc_New_Wine.html Global Trade Atlas-Global Trade Information Source 2004 http://www.greekwinemakers.com/members/news/2003/030426.shtml http://iblnews.es/noticias/09/116440.html http://www.jancisrobinson.com/winenews/jr779 http://www.just-drinks.com/features_detail.asp?art=1026 Kotler P., Armstrong G., Saunders J., Wong V. (2002) Principles of Marketing, Pearson Ed.Ltd, pp.185-188 http://www.waitrose.com/food_drink/wfi/drinks/wine/0203046.asp http://www.wine.co.za/News/News.aspx?NEWSID=5995&Source=News http://www.wineloverspage.com http://www.wineoftheweek.com/winervw.html

Lars and the Real Girl

My perceptions and presumptions about people who order sex dolls is not limited on the morality of the person but on how he was raised as a child. In most cases, people who perform something unusual is a refelction on his childhood days. This perception and presumption was supported by the movie Lars and the Real Girl wherein Lars fell in love with a doll because of his unhappy childhood. In my case, if a family member or a friend ordered a sex doll, I will not judge the person right away.I will deal the matter with reasonable thinking and focus on the reason why the said act happened. 2. Discuss how Lars constructs a social identity for Bianca. Lars constructed a social identity for Bianca by means of introducing her as his girlfriend, as if she was a real girl. The fact that Bianca is just a doll was lost when the townspeople accepted her character as if she was a real girl. Since Lars treated Bianca as a real girl and allowed her to grow by working as a model and attending meeting s, he painted a scenario that Bianca is an active and normal girl who loves him.Hence, the social identity of Bianca is a girl who is willing to love him while reaching for her dreams. 3. How do the people of the town set up social phenomena (or systems—i. e. , concepts and practices) and follow through with them in relation to Lars and Bianca? In other words, how does the community create for Bianca a subjectivity rather than the objectivity of a doll? Give examples of the shared ideas the community adopts and accepts about Lars, Bianca and their relationship. The townspeople accepted Bianca as a real girl despite the fact that she was a doll.They also accepted her as the girlfriend of Lars which made Lars able to interact with them well. Aside from that, the people in the town allowed Bianca to work as a model in a clothing store and attend social activities. When Bianca was sick and later on died, the people in the town also offered flowers and support for the couple, Lars and Bianca. 4. What moral presumptions (rules that we follow) does the community share about family or romantic relationships? About humanity? About dignity? About sexuality? Explain.About family and romantic relationships, our moral presumption is that boy-girl relationships must be acceptable in the soceity in such a way that parents and family members agree to the relationship. The girl must be hardworking, attractive, and intelligent. In the human race, the person who knows how to interact well with other people are always accepted in the society. People base friendship and camaraderie with how a person agree to the norms and practices of the community he or she belongs. A person is also considered dignified when he has pride and wit to run his life.For example, in the movie Lars and the Real Girl, the attitude of Lars in buying a sex doll named Bianca in the Internet made people think that he was insane. But when he introduced Bianca to the people and the latter's acceptance m ade Lars capable of interacting well with them, he became a dignified person and was accepted as a real man (The Internet Movie Database, 2009, p. 1). Sexuality is based on the quest of becoming a real man and capable of performing responsibilities in the family and the society as a whole. 5.Use deductive reasoning to justify the community’s conduct in Lars and the Real Girl. (A one-sentence hypothesis) The people in the community believes that the presence of Bianca in the life of Lars made him a better person. 6. Use inductive reasoning to construct an idea about people who buy sex dolls using Lars and the Real Girl. (A one-sentence hypothesis) Buying sex dolls is not really an immoral act, and what is important is how the act touches the lives of many people. 8. Is Lars’ relationship with Bianca immoral?Why or why not? The relationship of Bianca and Lars is not really immoral. Their relationship is based on the norms of the society and the difference is only the fac t that Bianca is a doll and not the real girl. But it still depends on the way people think and perceive in a given situation. 9. Which statement best describes your assessment of this film? Why? a. I believe that the movie reinforced the belief that femininity (and females) is best represented by silence and passivity. b.I believe that the movie offered a view of femininity (and females) that is vibrant, active and engaged in their abilities and lives. I choose this description in the film as an assessment because it was proven in the movie that a vibrant, active, and hard working girl is mostly accepted in the society. Like Bianca, any girl who works hard and interact well with other people is a likeable person. References The Internet Movie Database. 2009. Lars and the Real Girl. Retrieved June 1, 2009, from http://www. imdb. com/title/tt0805564/.

Accounting Theory and Practice Essay

QUESTION 1 – Question 1.8: What is the difference between developing a theory by induction and developing a theory by deduction? QUESTION 2 – Question 1.9: Is the study of financial accounting theory a waste of time for accounting students? Explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 1.26: Would you reject as ‘insignificant and useless’ a positive theory of accounting on the basis that in a particular research study the results derived failed to support the hypotheses and the related theory? Explain your answer. QUESTION 4 – Question 1.27 (NEW): The International Accounting Standards Board has a number of roles, including formulating accounting standards and developing a conceptual framework. Is the work they do in developing an accounting standard or the conceptual framework normative or positive in nature? QUESTION 5 – Question 1.33 (NEW): In this chapter we provided quotes from Gray, Owen and Adams (2010), in which they discuss an apparent herding phenomenon that seems to be occurring in respect of the selection and use of particular theories. They state, ‘there has been a strange herding tendency, especially around legitimacy theory’, as well as stating that they ‘also have a sneaking feeling that institutional theory may be coming up fast as the next theory around which to herd’. What do they mean by this apparent practice of ‘herding’, and what are some possible advantages and disadvantages that are related to this practice? QUESTION 6 – Question 1.35 (NEW): Do we really need financial accounting theory if all we are interested in doing is developing accounting standards? TUTORIAL 2 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 2 and 3: The financial reporting environment and Regulation of financial accounting QUESTION 1 – Question 2.3: Do you believe that the media portray accounting numbers, such as profits, as some sort of ‘hard’ and objective performance indicator? Why do you think they might do this, and, if they do, what are some of the implications that might arise as a result of this approach? QUESTION 2 – Question 2.7: Is it appropriate to look at changes or trends in corporate profits over time without making any adjustments? Explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 2.14: If regulators acted in accordance with predictions provided by the private interest theory of regulation, which assumes that all individuals (including politicians and regulators) are motivated by their own economic self-interest, what is the likelihood of the introduction of regulations aimed at reducing the problems associated with climate change – particularly if business corporations opposed such regulations? QUESTION 4 – Question 3.7: Is regulation more likely to be required in respect of public goods than other goods? Why? QUESTION 5 – Question 3.30: Accounting headline 3.9 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 2 QUESTIONS) discusses how European banks were able to lobby the European Union (EU) so as to be regulated by a ‘watered down’ version of the accounting standard IAS 39. Explain whether the decision of the EU to embrace a ‘watered down’ version of the standard is consistent with a ‘public interest theory of regulation perspective’, or whether it can be explained by an alternative theoretical perspective (which you should attempt to identify). QUESTION 6 – Question 3.35: Let us assume that the government has become concerned that existing disclosure regulation tends to fixate on the financial performance of organisations but fails to address other aspects of corporate performance, including a failure to provide information about corporate social and environmental impacts as well as about various initiatives and investments an organisation has undertaken to improve its social and environmental performance. As such, the government has decided to introduce legislation that will require business corporations to provide information about the social and environmental impacts of their operations, as well as the social and environmental initiatives undertaken by the corporations. You are required to do the following: (a) Explain from a public interest theory perspective the rationale for the government introducing the legislation and how the government will ultimately assess whether any proposed legislation should actually be introduced. (b) Predict from a capture theory perspective the types of constituents that will benefit in the long run from any social and environmental disclosure legislation. (c) Predict from an economic interest group theory perspective whether any potential legislation to be introduced will lead to an increase in the accountability of corporations in relation to their social and environmental performance despite any implications that this increased corporate accountability might have for the financial success of large but heavily polluting organisations. TUTORIAL 3 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 4 and 5: International accounting and The conceptual framework project QUESTION 1 – Question 4.19: It is often argued that the accounting standards of the FASB are rule-based, whereas the accounting standards issued by the IASB are principles-based. Rules-based standards by their nature can be quite complex, particularly if they seek to cover as many situations as possible. Do you think it would be easier to circumvent the requirements of rules-based or principles-based accounting standards? QUESTION 2 – Question 4.22: Does the standardisation of accounting standards on a global basis necessarily equate with a standardisation in accounting practice? QUESTION 3 – Question 4.25 In considering the relevance of IFRS to developing countries, Chand and White (2007, p.606) state: (see below). Explain the reasons behind Chand and White’s claim. â€Å"While the forces of globalization and convergence are moving accounting practices towards a unified, or at least, harmonized regulatory framework for financial reporting, this is unlikely to best serve the diverse interests of disparate user groups of financial reports.† QUESTION 4 – Question 4.27: Ball (2006, p. 17) makes the following comment: (below). Explain the basis of Ball’s comments. â€Å"In sum, even a cursory review of the political and economic diversity among, IFRS-adopting nations, and of their past and present financial reporting practices, makes the notion that uniform standards alone will produce uniform financial reporting seem naà ¯ve.† QUESTION 5 – Question 4.30 (NEW) In continental European countries, prior to the adoption of IFRS, the domestic accounting rules were typically much more aligned with local taxation regulation than would be the case in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia or New Zealand. Why do you think this could have been the case? QUESTION 6 – Topic 5: Question 6.7: Conceptual framework projects identify a number of qualitative criteria that financial information should possess if it is to be useful for economic decision making. Two such attributes are neutrality and representational faithfulness? Do you believe that financial information can, in reality be neutral and representationally faithful? Explain your answer. QUESTION 7 – Topic 5: Question 6.10: The two main qualitative characteristics that financial information should possess have been identified as relevance and reliability. Is one more important than the other, or are they equally important? TUTORIAL 4 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topic 6: Chapter 10: Reactions of capital markets to financial reporting QUESTION 1 – Question 10.4 (NEW): What is an event study and why would an event study be of relevance to an accounting standard-setter? QUESTION 2 – Question 10.9 (NEW): If individuals have access to insider information and are able to make large gains on a securities market as a result of using information that is not widely known, then is this an indication that the market is inefficient? QUESTION 3 – Question 10.16 (NEW): Evidence shows that share prices might not fully react to financial accounting information immediately and that abnormal returns might persist for a period of time following the release of information (a case of ‘post-announcement drift’). Does this indicate that securities markets are not efficient and that assumptions about market efficiency should be rejected? QUESTION 4 – Question 10.17: If an organisation’s operations rely heavily on the specialised expertise of its management team, would you expect there to be a higher or a lower  correspondence between the net assets recognised in the statement of financial position (balance sheet), and the total market value of the organisation’s securities, relative to an organisation that relies more on tangible assets (for example, commonly used plant and machinery) to generate its income? QUESTION 5 – Question 10.24: Refer to Accounting Headline 10.3 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and explain why investors might have reacted to the false rumour. Is the reaction of investors to this false rumour consistent with the view that the capital market is efficient or inefficient? QUESTION 6 – Question 10.25: Review Accounting Headline 10.7 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and explain the reason for the change in the price of Wesfarmers shares. Also, what might have caused the price changes in the shares in the other retail organisations? QUESTION 7 – Question 10.28: Read Accounting Headline 10.10 (SEE END OF TUTORIAL 4 QUESTIONS) and, relying on some of the capital markets studies considered in this chapter, explain why the share prices of the pharmaceutical companies might have reacted in the way they did. TUTORIAL 5 – Semester 2 2014 Deegan Topics 8 and 9: Accounting for Corporate Social Responsibilities QUESTION 1 – Question 8.1: Explain the notion of a social contract, and what relevance the social contract has with respect to the legitimacy of an organisation. QUESTION 2 – Question 8.7: If an organization was involved in a major accident or incident, would you expect it to use vehicles such as an annual report or a sustainability  report to try to explain the incident? If so, explain how and why it would use reports in this way. QUESTION 3 – Question 8.21 (NEW): Chapter 8 divided Stakeholder Theory into the ethical branch and the managerial branch. Explain the differences between the two branches in terms of the alternative perspectives about when information will, or should, be provided by an organisation. QUESTION 4 – Question 9.1: What has the environment got to do with accounting (NEW)? QUESTION 5 – Question 9.9: What is an externality, and why do financial accounting practices typically ignore QUESTION 6 – Question 9.20 (NEW): Explain what is meant by the following statement: †¦In the long term, environmental sustainability is necessary for both social and economic sustainability, so attention to minimising impacts in respect of the environment is necessary to ensure a sustainable social and economic future. QUESTION 7 – Question 9.35 (NEW): What is a cap-and-trade system and what accounting issues does it create? QUESTION 8: What is international integrated reporting and how does it differ from the current financial reporting system we have. TUTORIAL 6 – Semester 2 2014 Topic 7: Positive accounting theory QUESTION 1 – Question 7.5: Explain why a decision made in London by members of the International  Accounting Standards Board and incorporated within an accounting standard could influence the business operating strategies employed by a manager in Melbourne, Australia. QUESTION 2 – Question 7.10: As part of efforts to develop a revised Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, the IASB is currently investigating alternative approaches for measuring the assets and liabilities of reporting entities. In relation to asset measurement it appears that fair value is a favoured option of the IASB. In this regard, would researchers who embrace the view that accounting plays a vital role in reducing the contracting costs of an organisation favour the adoption of fair value in all situations? Carefully explain your answer. QUESTION 3 – Question 7.12: Would managers who have negotiated debt contracts with accounting-based covenants based around ‘rolling GAAP’ be relatively more likely to lobby an accounting standard-setter about a proposed accounting standard than would a manager from a firm who has negotiated accounting-based debt covenants that use ‘frozen GAAP’. Why or why not? Illustrate using AASB2 Share Based Payments and assume that it is the year 2003. QUESTION 4 – Question 7.15: Do you think the policy decisions made by members of the International Accounting Standards Board would or should give consideration to the insights provided by Positive Accounting Theory? Why? QUESTION 5 – Question 7.17: If senior managers within a company were rewarded by way of accounting-based bonus plans then would they, or the owners/shareholders (or both), prefer the use of conservative accounting methods? Explain the reasoning for your answer. QUESTION 6 – Question 10.22 Accepted assumptions about market efficiency mean that it is the information  content of disclosure, and not the form of the disclosure, that is valued by the market. Therefore it should not matter whether information is disclosed within the notes to the financial statements, or in the financial statements themselves. If this is true, then why would managers care if something – such as a lease liability – is disclosed only in the notes, or included within the liabilities disclosed within the balance sheet?

Music Essay essays

Music Essay essays For some people music is a very big influence, They dress up and act like the music they listen to. They put make-up on, spike there hair, dread it, dye it and ware black and extra-baggy clothing just to show people what kind of music there into. For whatever your into theres some style of music for you. Some people get introduced to a certain type of music and it completely changes their life, the way they dress, act, speak and the people you hang out with There are many types of music and many types of styles that go with the music. For instance theres punks, they shave, spike, dye, and do crazy things with there hair just to be noticed. Theres Goths, they were black and white make-up have crazy piercing etc. Rap supports baggy pants and hats sideways. Theres hippies who like string bands and the old yuppie music from back in the day. They dress up hippied out sporting dreadlocks, dirt, macram, and colorful shirts. And of course all our parents like whatever they were into when they were kids, like our dads who are into Styx, Pink Floyd, led Zeppelin, Def leopard, and whatever else they liked. Our Moms were into Elvis, The Beatles and what ever else was popular at the time. Theres many types of music and styles for whatever youre into. No matter if youre a punk, yuppie, gangster, prep, Goth hippie and ex hippie or even if you dont even know what you like, theres someone to influence you, to like the music that they listen to. Friends are always influencers on other friends if they like the same thing they get something in common and something to talk about. ...

Free Essays on Pipe Organ

The â€Å"king of instruments† has a long history, one which can arguably be traced to the concept of a collection of â€Å"fixed-pitched pipes blown by a single player (such as the panpipes)† (Randel 583). The first examples of pipe organs with the basic features of today can be traced to the third century B.C.E. in the Greco-Roman arena; it is said to have been invented by Ktesibios of Alexander and contained â€Å"a mechanism to supply air under pressure, a wind-chest to store and distribute it, keys and valves to admit wind to the pipes, and one or more graded sets of fixed-pitch pipes.† (Randel 583) These early organs used water as a means to supply air-pressure, hence the use of the terms hydraulic and hydraulis. Hydraulic organs were in use for several hundred years before the concept of bellows, similar in concept and style to those of a blacksmith, came into use with the organ. Numerous bellows were used to supply air to the wind-chest, often being pumpe d in pairs by men. The disadvantages of this method of air supply include the lack of consistent pressure, which leads to inconsistent pitch and tuning; also, many people were required to operate the bellows since there were upwards of twenty-four bellows per organ (Hopkins & Rimbault 35). Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus forcing the organ to be located in a fixed place, such as a church. Up until the eleventh century (approximately), pitch and range of organs were extremely limited, mainly in part to the lack of a any style of keyboard. Keys of a sort were introduced around this time, though not in the manner we are accustomed to. â€Å"The earliest keyboards were sets of levers played by the hands rather than the fingers.† (Randel 428) They looked similar to large rectangles â€Å" an ell long and three inches wide† (Hopkins & Rimbault 33) and were played by pushing on them with a hand, although some were large enough t hat one might n... Free Essays on Pipe Organ Free Essays on Pipe Organ The â€Å"king of instruments† has a long history, one which can arguably be traced to the concept of a collection of â€Å"fixed-pitched pipes blown by a single player (such as the panpipes)† (Randel 583). The first examples of pipe organs with the basic features of today can be traced to the third century B.C.E. in the Greco-Roman arena; it is said to have been invented by Ktesibios of Alexander and contained â€Å"a mechanism to supply air under pressure, a wind-chest to store and distribute it, keys and valves to admit wind to the pipes, and one or more graded sets of fixed-pitch pipes.† (Randel 583) These early organs used water as a means to supply air-pressure, hence the use of the terms hydraulic and hydraulis. Hydraulic organs were in use for several hundred years before the concept of bellows, similar in concept and style to those of a blacksmith, came into use with the organ. Numerous bellows were used to supply air to the wind-chest, often being pumpe d in pairs by men. The disadvantages of this method of air supply include the lack of consistent pressure, which leads to inconsistent pitch and tuning; also, many people were required to operate the bellows since there were upwards of twenty-four bellows per organ (Hopkins & Rimbault 35). Also, with organs of this size, the bellows took up large amounts of space, thus forcing the organ to be located in a fixed place, such as a church. Up until the eleventh century (approximately), pitch and range of organs were extremely limited, mainly in part to the lack of a any style of keyboard. Keys of a sort were introduced around this time, though not in the manner we are accustomed to. â€Å"The earliest keyboards were sets of levers played by the hands rather than the fingers.† (Randel 428) They looked similar to large rectangles â€Å" an ell long and three inches wide† (Hopkins & Rimbault 33) and were played by pushing on them with a hand, although some were large enough t hat one might n...

Bottle Balloon Blow-Up Experiment

Bottle Balloon Blow-Up Experiment    If your child liked the Exploding Sandwich Bag Science Experiment or tried the Antacid Rocket Experiment, she’s really going to like Bottle Balloon Blow-Up experiments, although she might be a little disappointed when she finds out the only thing getting blown up is the balloon.   Once she realizes that none of the various forces used to blow up the balloons in these experiments require her to use air from her lungs, she’ll be intrigued.   Note:  This  experiment  work best with latex balloons, but if any of your participants have using a different balloon will suffice. What Your Child Will Learn (or Practice) The power of carbon dioxide gasThe power of air pressure Materials Needed: An empty water bottleA medium or large balloonA funnelVinegarBaking soda Create a Hypothesis This particular version of the experiment shows how the chemical reaction created by combining baking soda and vinegar is powerful enough to blow up a balloon.  Talk with your child to see if she can predict what will happen when you combine baking soda and vinegar. If she’s ever seen a science-fair volcano, remind her that these are the ingredients used in the volcano. Ask her to predict what will happen if you combine these ingredients when instead of leaving a hole in the top you cover the bottle with a balloon. The Baking Soda Balloon Blow-Up Experiment Fill a water bottle one-third full of vinegar.Put a funnel in the neck of a balloon, and hold onto the balloon neck and funnel. Have your child pours in enough baking soda to fill the balloon halfway.Slide the funnel out of the balloon and have your child hold the portion of the balloon with the baking soda in it down and to the side. Stretch the neck of the balloon over the neck of the water bottle securely.  Be careful not to let any of the baking soda fall into the bottle!Ask your child to slowly hold the balloon over the water bottle to let the baking soda pour inside.Continue to hold tight to the neck of the balloon, but move to the side listen and watch the bottle carefully. You should hear fizzing and crackling noises as the baking soda and vinegar solution activates. The balloon should begin to inflate. What’s Going On: When baking soda and vinegar are combined, the acetic acid in the vinegar breaks down the baking soda (calcium carbonate) into the basics of its chemical composition. The carbon combines with the oxygen in the bottle to create carbon dioxide gas. The gas rises, can’t escape from the bottle and goes into the balloon to blow it up. Extend the Learning Experiment with different size bottles (half-size water bottles, liter bottles, or two-liter soda bottles, etc.) and balloons to see if the amount of oxygen in the bottle makes a difference in how fully the balloon expands. Does the size or weight of the balloon make a difference, too?Try varying the sizes of balloons and bottles and doing the experiment side by side with the variables changed. Which balloon blows up fuller? Which balloon fills up faster? What was the influencing factor?Use more vinegar or baking soda and see what happens. As a last experiment, you can also let go of the balloon when the baking soda drops into the vinegar. What happens? Does the balloon still blow up? Does it shoot across the room?

Crowdfunding in Nigeria Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6000 words - 1

Crowdfunding in Nigeria - Literature review Example This has become a very popular method of raising funds for any time of project but little is known about the motivation and interest of the people donating on the crowdfunding platforms (Fowler, 2007). According to Hemer (2011), the crowdfunding has been defined as the process that involves the making an open call through the medium of internet for provision of the financial resources. These can take the form of rewards in exchange of some form of voting right or equity in the organization. Hemer (2011), further argues that although the crowd funding was in existence in the late 1990 and was largely used on the internet, it was limited to the to get funding for activities in the creative industries that included making of videos or film Publishing by the independent writers and journalist other people in the theatres, visual arts and games. However, the development in the recent times brought by the invention of new tools like the Web 2.0 and social media and networking sites has con tributed to the use the viral networking and marketing (Lee, DeWester and Park, 2008). This has attracted a huge number of people in the to some web communities that is of interest to them within a very short time (Crowdsourcing.org. 2012). Although the crowdfunding has only attracted the scholarly investigation in the recent times, the concept is an old age one that has been practiced in some societies. An example of early application of crowdfunding is seen in the building of the Pedestal for the statue of liberty. This statue was established in1884 by Joseph Pulitzer, who had made an open call to the people in America provide the micro donations to fund the project (pritts, 2010). The online funding is otherwise a new concept that is has been greatly boosted by the development of the Web 2.0 technology (Lee, DeWester, and Park, 2008). This has resulted in the establishment of more crowd funding

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

Consumption - Essay Example If 50% of the group said they liked it and the other 50% were undecided the company if anything would just make the fish flavored soda a special one time a year specialty. I think products drive consumer behavior because if one is a faithful buyer they will tend to go out their way or spend a little more money to get what they want. If they are really dedicated to the point of no return they will search out times, dates, and even locations of their favorite products. This behavior has even driven some people to over stock and go into debt as a product collector. Which brings us back to my first point that without the consumer there is no product. A marketer should put a lot of decision on his market research findings because this is what lets him know if his product is good or not. It's his or her window to world in a way, it lets them know whether their product is marketable weather it should be a certain price and who exactly is buying their products so they know how to market it. Every now and again you have a company that will take a long shot chance and sometimes they do good and sometimes they do horrible but the companies that use the research findings are most protected it's their umbrella in the customer rain storm. The other factors that should be taken into account are emplo

Principles of Structural Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Principles of Structural Design - Essay Example Analysis of a structural collapse involves the study of the basic architectural principles, properties and operation of the different components of the structure, as well as knowledge of different possible causes of structural failure. The Seongsu Bridge is 11th bridge constructed over the Han River in Seoul, South Korea. Construction of this cantilever bridge was set about on April 9, 1977 and completed on October 15, 1979, 2 years and 6 months later. It was a four-lane bridge with 19.4m width and 1,160.8m length [20]. It became infamous when it collapsed on October 21, 1994. The bridge collapsed early in the morning when one of its concrete slabs fell in to river due to a failure of the suspension structure. Around 07:40 hours on October 21, 1994, Seongsu Bridge connecting Seongsu-dong and Apgujeong-dong of Gangnam-gu, Seoul, collapsed. The slab (48 m) between the fifth and the sixth leg of the Bridge collapsed so 32 people died and 17 people were injured while they were on the way to office or school. Seongsu Bridge is one part of arterial road that connects the Kanan district which is residential section in the southern in Seoul City and city center of Seoul City, and its has a lot of traffic volume. The steel truss digit division where the accident occurred was the 672m length, and it was one of the suspension digits of the center part. ... In addition, Seongsu Bridge complained that it had been trembling in motion, so the authorities in Seoul City also carried out the repair work of the emergency in the night in accident the previous day. It was said that the traffic jam arose, because especially, it was for commutation attending school hour in the accident-generation, and because the rain fell, the rolling stock was crowded [20]. Cause of collapse: Various reasons can be associated with the collapse of bridge. Major of them are as listed below [19]: Bad welding of the suspension which member of the I-type cross section, which was hanging the suspension digit of the center from the steel truss, seems to be a main cause. There was visibility cutting corners between surface and splice plate of the fillet welding, so construction management and inspection method in the construction of Seongsu Bridge seemed to be remarkably slipshod. Calcium chloride, which was scattered in order to prevent the road surface freezing, chloride ingress was uppued for the cracks by poor weld or stress corrosion, and so that the corrosion of steel product might be promoted. There is a possibility to produce unexpected partial cracks in the steel surface because in the cross-sectional shape of suspension steel product, the cone angle ( the relaxation curved surface ) for easing stress concentration was insufficient. Though there is no error at the content for the design, there was some possibility that the immature construction level was not sufficiently assumed. There were no technical standards on in-service maintenance repair of Seongsu Bridge. Because of the fiscal resource constraint (budget) of Seongsu Bridge while it was in service, the periodic check was

Marketing Mix of Domino's pizza Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Marketing Mix of Domino's pizza - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that in the United Kingdom, the number of the fast food and home delivery restaurants including McDonalds, KFC AND Domino’s Pizza continues to increase rapidly as is the trend for the past five years. The restaurant's explosion in the high-street outlets represents the lucrative feature of the industry, constituting the resulting large amount of competition in the market. The increased competition is a factor notable as a cause for the increased value of sales as experienced by the various participants in the industry. This implies that the consumer has a better access to the restaurants, as they facilitate the services to the customers. However, recent developments in the industry, entailing the increased negative publicity in the market presents a remarkable challenge to the success of the operators. Consequently, the restaurants sought to dispel these trials in the market. Thus, Domino’s Pizza as a leading operator in the m arket, sought the establishment of strategic procedures to counter the issue. Further, their strategy also sought to engage the customers accordingly, increasing the revenue from sales, as well as, facilitating the expansive operations of the business, taking it to the top in the leading operators in the market. This procedural engagement by Domino’s Pizza entailed the establishment of 7P’s of the marketing mix, in their procedural engagement of the customers and establishment of services.

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War - Essay Example This has been an argument for the root cause of the Civil War by many. However, high taxes alone were not enough of a catalyst to start a war. Others maintain that the reason was states right, the right for states to own slaves. Free labor drove the Southern economy. Without slavery the white privileged would go broke or worse, have to work themselves. Besides; what to do with all the freed blacks? Southerners were not ready to have blacks as neighbors and were frightened of retribution. Poverty and fear are reasons to start a war. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is remembered by history as an altruistic humanitarian effort but it was more a brilliant tactical move. History did get the importance aspect right, the slaves were freed, the union preserved and Lincoln the architect of it all during the most tumultuous time in American history. It was about slavery. Southern states thought of Lincoln as â€Å"an obscure and illiterate man† whose â€Å"opinions a nd purposes are hostile to slavery.† (Ball, 2010). As each state formerly left the Union it cited slavery as the main reason for secession. Hard-line secessionists were rightfully convinced that Lincoln’s election would result in the freeing of slaves. Known as ‘Fire-eaters,’ they used shame and fear to convince wavering Southerners of their stance, that slave-owning states had no choice but to form their own country. â€Å"Resistance or submission† was the fire-eaters rallying cry. Southerners were implored to defend their rights. Those who resisted were publicly humiliated, branded as cowards. Events such as John Brown’s Raid helped the fire-eaters to convince people to join their cause. Panicky white men joined vigilante groups which targeted Northern sympathizers and former slaves meaning, to them, any black person. (Barney, 2004). Prior to the start of the Civil War Kansas experienced the wrath of fire-eaters paramilitary terrorist groups when its citizens were deciding whether or not to become a slave state. They used intimidation as a tactic to get the desired results. In retribution for their reign of terror, John Brown led a group of men who killed five pro-slavery settlers then stole guns from the military at Harper’s Ferry so to continue the fight but were stopped prior to committing more killings. Coincidentally, Brown and his followers were captured by future commanding Confederate General Robert E. Lee who was leading a group of marines at the time. (KEDT, 1999). Unfortunately for Brown his actions ultimately led to his execution by hanging and generated greater support for the pro-slavery faction. Lincoln was an adamant believer in the idea of the U.S., in democracy and individual freedom. He wanted America to be the shining example for other nations to follow. He knew that if the country became divided it would be widely perceived that the grand experiment of democracy didn’t work, a travest y on a worldwide, historic scale. Lincoln insisted that â€Å"the unity of the nation must be maintained. If the nation breaks up, the democratic mission is dead.† (Coker, 2013). As late as 1860 Lincoln said that blacks were entitled to some rights but not to vote or hold office. He had strongly suggested blacks be sent to live elsewhere, ‘rounded up’ so to speak but with the War still very much anybody’s to win and enthusiasm waning, Lincoln needed a new strategy. He added a new element to the struggle by proclaiming all slaves free in 1862. It was now society against society in addition to army against army, a battle of conscience fought alongside a battle of weapons; the former Lincoln thought he was surer to win. He was never considered a military genius but demonstrated his

Compare and contrast research method Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Compare and contrast method - Research Paper Example There are over twenty different types of research methods, but the ones discussed in this paper include focus group method, ethnography methods, in-depth interview, participant observation methods, action research methods, and bibliographic method. Reconciliation Focus Group Methods Focus group is a type of group interview that focuses on communication between interviewees to generate data. Unlike group interviews that are often used to collect data from several individuals simultaneously, focus group usually involves group interaction as part of the method. This implies that a researcher does not ask each person to respond to a question in turn, but encourages people to ask each other question, exchange ideas, comment on other people’s perception and experiences (Chilisa, 2011). This research method is valid for exploring persons’ experiences and knowledge. The focus group method is based on the idea that group interactions can help people to clarify and explore their views and experiences in a manner that would not have been possible with a one-on-one interview (Liamputtong, 2011). The questionnaires used in focus group method have a series of open ended questions and encourages interviewees to answer the questions in their own styles, and even generate further questions and pursue their own priorities. Focus group method helps researchers to include the different forms of communication that people use in their day to day interaction, including arguing, jokes, teasing, and anecdotes. Accessing such forms of communication is significant because the interviewees’ attitudes and knowledge are not restricted in reasoned responses to present the questions (Faherty, 2009). This is what distinguishes focus group methods from other forms of qualitative research methods. Its other advantages include: it does not discriminate against persons who cannot write and read; it encourages participation from individuals who are reluctant to be interviewed a nd encourages participation from persons who feels that they have nothing to say (Faherty, 2009). The downside of this method is that articulation of group norms may derails individual voices of dissent. Additionally, the presence of a group may also compromise the confidentiality of the research process. In the business field, focus group methods are useful when conducting studies that focus on empowering employees. The employees are allowed to share their ideas and present a report about their findings. The results obtained are then used to implement that change required, which is believed to favor all employees (Ozerdem, 2010). Ethnography Ethnography is the study of social behaviors, perceptions and interactions, which occur in organizations, communities, groups, and teams. It primarily focuses on providing rich and holistic insights into an individual’s actions and perceptions, including the nature of the location they occupy, through the collection of detailed interview s and observations (Scott-Jones & Watt, 2010). Ethnographers typically collect participants’ observations, and encourage direct involvement and engagement with the samples they are studying. During research processes, ethnographers usually use conversational and informal interviews that enable them to probe and discuss emerging issues, or pose questions about unusual events, in a

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War - Essay Example This has been an argument for the root cause of the Civil War by many. However, high taxes alone were not enough of a catalyst to start a war. Others maintain that the reason was states right, the right for states to own slaves. Free labor drove the Southern economy. Without slavery the white privileged would go broke or worse, have to work themselves. Besides; what to do with all the freed blacks? Southerners were not ready to have blacks as neighbors and were frightened of retribution. Poverty and fear are reasons to start a war. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation is remembered by history as an altruistic humanitarian effort but it was more a brilliant tactical move. History did get the importance aspect right, the slaves were freed, the union preserved and Lincoln the architect of it all during the most tumultuous time in American history. It was about slavery. Southern states thought of Lincoln as â€Å"an obscure and illiterate man† whose â€Å"opinions a nd purposes are hostile to slavery.† (Ball, 2010). As each state formerly left the Union it cited slavery as the main reason for secession. Hard-line secessionists were rightfully convinced that Lincoln’s election would result in the freeing of slaves. Known as ‘Fire-eaters,’ they used shame and fear to convince wavering Southerners of their stance, that slave-owning states had no choice but to form their own country. â€Å"Resistance or submission† was the fire-eaters rallying cry. Southerners were implored to defend their rights. Those who resisted were publicly humiliated, branded as cowards. Events such as John Brown’s Raid helped the fire-eaters to convince people to join their cause. Panicky white men joined vigilante groups which targeted Northern sympathizers and former slaves meaning, to them, any black person. (Barney, 2004). Prior to the start of the Civil War Kansas experienced the wrath of fire-eaters paramilitary terrorist groups when its citizens were deciding whether or not to become a slave state. They used intimidation as a tactic to get the desired results. In retribution for their reign of terror, John Brown led a group of men who killed five pro-slavery settlers then stole guns from the military at Harper’s Ferry so to continue the fight but were stopped prior to committing more killings. Coincidentally, Brown and his followers were captured by future commanding Confederate General Robert E. Lee who was leading a group of marines at the time. (KEDT, 1999). Unfortunately for Brown his actions ultimately led to his execution by hanging and generated greater support for the pro-slavery faction. Lincoln was an adamant believer in the idea of the U.S., in democracy and individual freedom. He wanted America to be the shining example for other nations to follow. He knew that if the country became divided it would be widely perceived that the grand experiment of democracy didn’t work, a travest y on a worldwide, historic scale. Lincoln insisted that â€Å"the unity of the nation must be maintained. If the nation breaks up, the democratic mission is dead.† (Coker, 2013). As late as 1860 Lincoln said that blacks were entitled to some rights but not to vote or hold office. He had strongly suggested blacks be sent to live elsewhere, ‘rounded up’ so to speak but with the War still very much anybody’s to win and enthusiasm waning, Lincoln needed a new strategy. He added a new element to the struggle by proclaiming all slaves free in 1862. It was now society against society in addition to army against army, a battle of conscience fought alongside a battle of weapons; the former Lincoln thought he was surer to win. He was never considered a military genius but demonstrated his

Final Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Final Project - Coursework Example Provide outstanding new method of music education for students, excellent instructors and new experience for students. Full services to help students applying schools in any country to study music and students can feel safe being with us. b. We want to be the leader of Chinese music education, and make the revolutionary change. Every employee must be highly educated and/or has an international view of music education. We will arrange visits to US music schools for faculty and staff training later in time. The employees are able to express suggestions for improvements. Each leader will be specialized and expertise on required field of knowledge. Mostly the executive board is responsible for the operation of the corporation; employees’ input is encouraged, could be reported straight to the upper level of operation and is delivered to the executive board. We believe this structure would work better with our company since the amount of our employees is going to be large. Best-experienced instructors graduated from great music schools aboard and are great performers; employees are able to offer bi-lingual classes and western educational style classes. Staffs are able to connect and corporate with famous music schools aboard for summer programs and master classes. Textbooks are originally imported from music schools in western countries. Employees that are teaching in the classes are able to operate high-tech equipment. Employees are supposed to have overseas experience, are fluent in English and Chinese in case of dealings with foreign employees. They also have to have the ability to judge the level of people’s work and class quality. c. Right now we only have 4 employees and 5 members (customers); we had 10 members for our summer master class. We are looking to expand to at least 20 faculty instructors in our first Shanghai’s Center, and around 100 members, for summer master class we will look into 50 members. 3. AL is primarily for

Hobsons Choice Assignment Essay Example for Free

Hobsons Choice Assignment Essay This essay will talk about Willies steps from being a shoe maker to becoming the owner of a shop. Willie is an important character although he is one of the only working class characters in the play. (The other, his friend who also works in the shop.) The play focused on the key figure Willie climbing the social ladder. Also his anxiousness towards the other characters. On his way up he even manages to insult his old master. He gains a father-in-law and two sister-in-laws. His old girlfriend Ada Figgins though he was not much to look at but Maggie still wanted to marry him. Mrs. Hepworth thinks Willie the boot maker is good at his trade. Hobson disagrees with her congratulating him. As Mrs. Hepworth says Did you make these boots. Then Hobson remarks If there is anything wrong Im capable of making the man suffer for it. This shows Hobson thinks poorly of his staff, also Mrs. Hepworth thinks People should be praised for doing a good job. However, Hobson gets jealous of Willie because of this. Hobson doesnt pay his daughters waages but he does pay Willies. Jim says and their wages? Then Hobson says Wages! do you think i pay my own daughters wages? Im not a fool! This is saying that Will maybe more important to him or that his daughters are related to him so that they can work for nothing. But later on in the play Hobson offers to give Hobson his old wage back but he doesnt offer Maggie anything. This shows by Ada saying Heres your dinner Will, that Will is considered more important as they say Oh, Miss obson its good of you to take notice like that, which shows that she cant say things properly. He had also gained importance then to have people fighting over him. Alice disagrees with Maggie owning a shop. She also wonders where they got the funding. Maggie produces a card saying Willie Mossop, practical book and shoe This shows the he is professional and proper. This shows they have gone from working in a shop to owning one.  Maggie wants Hobson to wear a collar for work. This shows that Hobson is below Willie in the social ladder. Maggie says Father dont you think to put a collar on for Will. Hobson Put a collar on for Willie Mossop (enraged at idea) Maggie manages to talk him round but he still makes an excuse. Im going to put a collar on, but because my necks cold. She has managed to make Hobson put a collar on, but because Hobson is very proud he says the collar is for something else.  Throughout the drama, Willie gains importance and eventually buys his own shop, with the help Maggie. Willie grows from being a poor laboring man to a professional shoe maker who earns a lot of money, he gains confidence and near the end Hobson is inferior to Willie.

Consumer Motivations for Online Shopping

Consumer Motivations for Online Shopping CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION At the end of the last century, online shopping was already starting to catch peoples attention, and was slowly attracting consumers to use it as a channel, primarily because of its ease in completing purchases (i.e. not needing to step out of the home) and also in providing information as, even then, some sites already provided extensive information (Gay 1999, Gehrt et al 2007). But we are well into the first decade of the 21st century, and since then times have changed and certainly, consumers motivations, as evidenced in this literature review and the results of the research project, have changed. The use of the online channel for shopping varies greatly by country with the UK and the US ranking high up in the list with greatest ratio of online shoppers among Internet users, in addition to also having a large penetration of users for Internet access (Bhatti 2006). In the UK, Internet access among households has increased from 34% in 2000 to 54% in 2004, while Internet access for adults increased from 40% in 2000 to 64% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). 1.1 Research aims and objectives The project had two key questions to focus on and this acted as a guide to the research design and methodology. The two key research questions in my project were: What are the key consumer motivations for online shopping and how are these impacting the development of the online channel? This question focused on the key drivers acting as impetus for consumers to pursue online shopping, and how these drivers were impacting the online channel as an alternative channel for making purchases. What are the emerging trends for online shopping, and how will the online shopping channel develop? As online shopping continues to increase, both organisations and consumers are expected to be better-placed with having a good understanding of where online shopping trends seem to be directed at. 1.2 Consumer motivations The project sought to understand the consumer motivations for choosing online shopping as an alternative channel or, for some consumers, their main channel for shopping particular items. This part of the project was based on determining what consumers have stated as their key motivation factors through secondary research. This was supported by primary research by surveying and interviewing consumers on their motivational factors. The objective was to list out the key motivational factors consumers have for online shopping. 1.3 Emerging trends for online shopping In addition to understanding consumer motivation, this project also sought, as an objective, to understand the emerging trends in online shopping, and establish a viewpoint on where the online channel was expected to move to. Similar for consumer motivations, this part of the project was based on a combination of primary and secondary research. 1.4 Rationale for research project There was a strong rationale for pursuing this project as it aimed to provide a greater understanding of the consumer and the motivations behind online shopping. As the importance of the online channel becomes increasingly greater for organisations, there is greater need for determining the consumers key drivers in choosing this as an alternative channel for shopping. The project results impact both consumers and organisations. For consumers, this gave them a venue for stating their preferences and key requirements to continue using the online channel which could lead to improvements on the online shopping experience. For organisations, this project provided an understanding of the current situation and also the emerging trends based on competitive dynamics, in order to be able to provide the consumers their requirements. This project was also important for me as the student as it gave me an opportunity to develop the knowledge and pursue the analysis of a critical management issue which was becoming a greater value add channel for a large number of organisations. The project, I believe, has led to new insights and a confirmation of consumers key motivations to online shopping. I believe this contributes to the growing knowledge on the online shopping experience of consumers 1.5 Overview of the study Chapter 1 is the introduction chapter where the background, research question and rational, objective and the structure of the research are stated. Chapter 2 contains a brief literature review on online shopping and provided basic understanding about consumer motivations and emerging trends for online shopping which is related to the research question. Chapter 3 is brief about the case study on online shopping. Chapter 4 contains research methodology which includes research frame work the design of the research, sampling and questionnaire. Chapter 5 describes the critical review of the findings. Chapter 6 discusses on recommendation and conclusions. CHAPTER 2 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The study attempts to analyze research works relating to consumer motivations for online shopping and related issues are critically evaluated. This research project was pursued with a ‘qualitative research approach as the focus was on consumer motivations, which, while it could have been developed with quantitative metrics, seemed to translate better into a qualitative focus. The objective was more focused on going in greater depth across the key consumer motivations instead of tallying figures in terms of which factors consumers felt were their key motivations. The qualitative aspect of the research project was pursued through surveys and in-depth questionnaires. 2.1 Consumer motivations Childers et al (2001) defines ‘‘consumer motivations for online retail shopping conducted a few years ago, some of the consumer motivations cited were interest in use of a new technology, ease of navigation and use, and convenience of online shopping. While the research mentioned looked at consumer motivations, the research was only a subset of what could be learned from consumer behaviour as the study focused on only a few possible factors of online shopping activity. Linked to the increase of online shopping is the increase in access and usage of the Internet. Rodgers and Sheldon (2002) researched ‘‘the increasing use of the Internet and highlighted shopping as one of the key motivations for increased consumer use. In this work, the authors looked at shopping as a consumer motivation for increased consumer use. (Ko et al 2005, Tamimi et al 2005, Dadzie et al 2005) discussed that ‘‘it should be noted that there has been considerable growth in Internet access and usage, and this has created a significant market in marketing and communications of organisations. Online shopping has been growing and organisations have been focusing more on developing the online channel to capture a greater share of the wallet of the consumer. Online shopping Hult et al (2007) defines that ‘‘online shopping can relate to any offering of service quality, product quality, or e-Business quality where the objective is the customer-based value creation for organisations. Based on this definition, we can see that the number of online shoppers has indeed increased significantly in the UK, with the percentage of UK Internet users shopping online (including ordering tickets of buying goods and services) grew from 36% in 2000 to 61% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). For this research project, the broad definition is reasonable as the key focus of the research is in understanding consumer motivations for online shopping in general, with no specific product or service in mind. Undoubtedly, there are a large number of ways in which to cut the issue and there would be differences in the consumer motivations for specific products in specific markets. The works cited in this section provided a good starting point in the consumer motivations to be considered. The research works also provided an indication of the increasing use of the Internet and online shopping as an activity. From the limitations cited in the research works, further research needs to be conducted on a general understanding of consumer motivations which are not limited to a few factors. The rest of this section discusses some motivating factors cited by consumers as driving their online shopping activity. 24-hour access Bramall et al (2004) reported that ‘‘motivation by consumers is the 24-hour access provided or allowed by most online shopping channels. Thus, the online channel is utilised by consumers as it provides them with 24-hour access for information, customer service, and purchase opportunity. This essentially gives the consumer the opportunity to browse products and purchase at the consumers own leisure. While the research of the authors states this factor as a motivation, the focus of the research work was actually on potential trust issues in online shopping. This specific motivating factor was not analysed in comparison to other motivating factors for consumers. + Shopping convenience One oft-mentioned reason and an early consumer motivating factor, for shopping online is the convenience of doing so as consumers wont need to go to the retail stores and experience the ‘hassle of buying products in the stores (NBC News 2007). According to one study Furnham (2007) ‘‘not only highlight the convenience of shopping online but also states that shopping only also helps decision-making as a large part of the information requirements a consumer may need to make the decision are found online. Clearly, shopping convenience is expected to rank high among the consumers in terms of their motivations for pursuing online shopping. Gehrt et al (2007) reported that ‘‘Shopping convenience is a large factor for the US and UK consumers but this is not limited to the US or the UK markets only as even in Japan, online shopping has seen increasing growth rates, with shopping convenience as the greatest factor motivating consumers to do online shopping. The shopping convenience factor has been recognised across a number of research works, but these only tend to highlight that consumers have different meanings attached to the terminology, and may actually be referring to different sub-factors under the general term of convenience. In understanding this factor further, specific meanings were attached to and discussed in the surveys and interviews for the research. Greater bargains Craver (2006) reported that ‘‘not only consumers are expected to continue increasing their online purchases but only if they receive greater bargains from sellers in their online sites versus their retail stores. Thus, consumers are already building the expectations that prices online will be less that prices in retail stores. Hajewski (2006) pointed out that ‘‘If only to hammer the point of increasing consumer expectations, two factors mentioned by consumers in their increased interest in doing online shopping were free shipping of their products purchased and also everyday low pricing particularly relative to the retail stores of the sellers. The key limitation in the citations for ‘greater bargains is that these are from press articles and the approaches were not based on proper research conducted to determine the consumer motivations for online shopping. Nevertheless, this should still be accepted as a consumer motivation as this has been mentioned to be a factor based on the articles cited. Overall online shopping site experience Elliott Speck (2005) discussed that ‘‘touches on the overall online shopping site experience which in a way, relates to the overall customer experience in online shopping. This factor is quite specific to online shopping sites which consumers may visit but this nevertheless provides a motivation for some specific consumers and it relates to the overall online shopping site experience and having a positive satisfaction to the experience. Specifically, the authors argued that the following factors impacted on the consumer motivation to complete their online shopping transactions: ease of use of online shopping site, product information available, trust in the brand and the online shopping site, customer support, and entertainment experienced while in the site. The focus of the research conducted by the authors was not on online shopping specifically but rather on the attitude towards retail web sites but using the online shopping experience as an example, with an analysis of the resulting impact on the consumers. Similar to some of the other published research cited in this section, the key limitation is the set of respondents considered for the research which, in this case, consisted of undergraduate marketing students. The results are interesting and provide a good preview of what the results could be if the research is expanded to capture a greater sample of the population. 2.2 Emerging trends for online shopping In reviewing the related literature touching on online shopping and also consumer motivations, a number of emerging trends were clearly seen. These include the following: * Increased efforts in improving online security * Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses * Usability of an online site as an increasing differentiator * Management of Internet product returns * Increasingly demanding consumers * Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships * Increasingly older market * Greater share of ad market Each of these trends is discussed in greater detail in this section. Increased efforts in improving online security (Bramall et al 2004, Arnold et al 2007, OConnell 2005, Cullen 2005) explained that ‘‘online shopping has shown strong growth and yet the belief is that online shopping growth rates could actually be much higher if not for security-related concerns by some consumers. Biswas et al (2006) described ‘‘there are two trends to be noted in relation to the security concerns of consumers. The first, as mentioned, is that there are greater efforts placed by organisations in improving online security as breaches to their security could have considerable consequences. The second trend is that a complementary approach to improving reputation for managing online security risks is paramount. In support of this, where there are great concerns for risk, it has been established that utilising expert endorsers, as opposed to celebrity endorsers or even non-celebrity non-expert endorsers, can actually help in bringing consumers over their risk concerns. Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses Another trend is that organisations are increasingly seeing potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses. For example, in recent months, Kohls, a US department store chain, has offered products online which were not normally found in their department stores and these included higher-priced items such as leather chairs, high-end home entertainment centres, and flat screen televisions (Hajewski 2007). This trend is not without its implications for organisation. In the Kohls example, one problem with the expanded product range as done by Kohls was that Kohls did not offer everything they had online in their retail stores. This is a concern as some consumers utilise the online site for their ‘window shopping before moving to the retail stores to try on and purchase the items (Dodes 2006). The article states that more than 80% of online shoppers research products online first before sometimes going to the stores to see the products firsthand. Given that not all products are available in the stores, it would be prudent for online sites to be clear about which products are available in the stores and which products are not. In terms of ancillary businesses, the increase in online usage and online shopping has even spawned related business such as businesses which monitor traffic into organisations websites with the objective of increasing an organisations online sales (Newman 2007). Another ancillary business opportunity is from online shopping sites is as a social shopping space, such as Jellyfish.com which was recently acquired by Microsoft as it saw the growing opportunity in the business (Gallagher 2007). However, these new business are still untested as these are fairly new and would need some time before potentially growing into profitable businesses. As online shopping continues to grow, organisations will continue to seek out other opportunities that could help build the rationale for investments in establishing a highly competitive online shopping site. Usability of online site is an increasing differentiator Massey et al (2007) reported that ‘‘while the extent of technological readiness of the consumer plays a part in determining the level of comfort in navigating through an online shopping site, the general usability of an online shopping site is an increasing differentiator and distinguishes between the different sites that consumers will utilize in online shopping. The goal with these sites is to have it easily navigated through by consumers such that any potential barriers to keep consumers from purchasing products and services are effectively taken out of the equation. An example of an initiative moving into the direction of overall ease of usability is the recent transaction involving Abazias.com and Google wherein Abzias.com partnered with Google for their shopping checkout process which is considered fast and very convenient (M2 Presswire 2007). The challenge for organisations is to continue making their online shopping sites easier to use. And to support the point, some online shopping sites now provide potential live help from customer service if particular requirements are needed in order to limit the number of lost purchases resulting from consumers abandoning their purchases (Prince 2005). Overall, the design of the website and the ease of use have a large impact on the online shopping sites performance (Auger 2005). Management of Internet product returns Mollenkopf et al (2007) explained that emerging trend is the establishment of clear guidelines in the management of Internet product returns, which then addresses a key concern or questions by some consumers. Internet product returns has been one of the key factors limiting part of the online shopping growth as the uncertainty surrounding how returns of defective or unwanted products impacted on the overall cost and inconvenience for the consumer. Organisations which are able to state clearly their policies on Internet product returns, and which provide a seamless process for allowing consumers to make returns for products bought online are at an advantage versus other organisations which have a perception of ‘being difficult to coordinate with in processing Internet product returns. Increasingly demanding consumers As the development of the online shopping channel continues, we are now seeing increasingly demanding consumers. This is shown in the UK supermarket sector. In this sector, online shopping is still considered a poor offering by the UK supermarkets as none of the top five supermarket chains passed a service test conducted by a consumer affairs staff of a newspaper (Prunn 2006). Their failures were from their product offering to the product substitutes provided. The key good news for the UK supermarkets though was that the websites were generally easy to use for online shopping. Also, the delivery drivers were helpful and friendly. In contrast, in the US, online shopping offering for the supermarkets is a competitive offering with various supermarkets increasingly providing greater online shopping offerings for their consumers including chef-prepared, fresh-food delivery service (Food Institute Report 2006). Thus, the US supermarkets are able to provide the US consumers with their ‘demands from US supermarkets. UK supermarkets will need to focus on improving their offering in order to capture the consumer wallet for shopping deliveries. Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships (Kennedy 2006) pointed out that the online shopping channel provides organisations with an additional channel to develop consumer relationships. Organisations which are able to effectively capture value from their online shopping offering are the organisations which are able to â€Å"collect and analyze data on consumer patterns, interpret customer behaviour, respond with timely and effective customised communications, and deliver product and service value to consumers†. The game is not new to most organisations. The only difference is that there is a new channel to consider for the consumer relationships. In order to be competitive, organisations should be able to learn from their interactions with the consumers, and develop the channel into one that consumers will find value from. With the growth of the online shopping channel, more organisations will invest in ensuring that consumer information is managed properly to be leveraged by the organisation in capturing value from the interactions. Increasingly older market Iyer Eastman (2006) has noted that the â€Å"older internet users market comprises the fastest-growing demographic group in the Internet market† and are, aside from large and growing, generally financially secure. This potential trend has large implications on various organisations that can benefit from this research work. Thus, a greater understanding of the key trends is important in order to allow the organisations to plan and invest properly in their online shopping channels. Greater share of ad market Finally, another trend worth noting is the increasing share of the ad market by the online channel. With the growth of the online shopping consumer market, the ad share of this channel is expected to grow as well from about 5-8% to up to one-fifth of total ad budgets over the next three years (Ong 2005). The greater share of the ad market by the online channel has implications for organisations across two key points. First is that there needs to be a decision on the amount of the ad budget that will be allotted to the online channel. After deciding on the first point, the second key point is that it is imperative for organisations to understand the business model of the online channel, and that the organisations have a plan in ensuring their investments will eventually generate good returns. CHAPTER 3 3. CASE STUDY 3.1 History of online shopping Shopping online is the process for the customer to buy products or services via the Internet. In other words, consumers can buy it from the comfort of a holiday home of their own products from a store online. The concepts of this show before the first World Wide Web that are used with real-time transactions are processed from the domestic television! The technology used is called Videotext and shows the first time in 1979 by M. Aldrick, designed and installed the system in the UK. T. 1990 by Berners-Lee created the first WWW server and browser, and in 1995 by expanding the Amazon online shopping experience. History of Online Shopping is amazing. Gone are the days of waiting in traffic and work our way through the store is too full. All we need is a computer, bank account, credit or debit card and freedom voila! From books, to cosmetics, clothes and accessories to name a few, online shopping is the best in the century to 21 Simply find a site that offers things you want, price and delivery terms and in a matter of a few days of your purchase is at your door. Benefits and the ease of clear predictable as we offer a wider selection, competitive prices and greater access to information in regards to our purchase. Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and allow consumers to shop in their spare time and without travelling outside normal working hours. Another to consider is the first time the Internet was not well prepared that they will change the way we shop. On the web is created as a tool for communication, which in time to let the ease of virtual shopping. History of online shopping by itself represents a change by the people and now has become a service used by the ordinary business and shopping in the world. (Online blog, http://roomen-online.blogspot.com/2009/08/history-of-online-shopping.html) 3.2 Growth of online shopping The ability to shop online has transformed the way many consumers go about purchasing a product or service, giving the power to the individual consumer to access information, allowing easy and convenient research and comparison of various factors prior to making a purchase. The growth rate of online commerce is unparalleled in any other industry, growing twenty times faster than the overall UK retail market in 2005. Furthermore, the number of online shoppers grew by 25.5% to 14.6 million; with the number over the age of 55 doubling to 2.7 million. Forrester Research predict that UK shoppers will drive UK e-commerce from â‚ ¬43bn in 2006 to â‚ ¬76bn in 2011, accounting for 29% of total European internet retail. As such, we see the market study as a good opportunity to ‘take stock of online shopping in the UK, looking at what it has done for UK plc as a whole since its growth through the internet boom of the late nineties to the stable yet competitive market we see today. I t is worth noting many of the businesses that lived through the dot-com crash were internet retail sites, a clear indication of the valuable role they play for consumers. ( OFT Market Study on Online Shopping, http://207.45.116.138/ndbs/positiondoc.nsf/1f08ec61711f29768025672a0055f7a8/6174E87FE56AFC3F8025735300568DBA/$file/oftonlineshopping250706.pdf ) 3.3 Current trend As far as online shopping in UK is concerned, there is clear trend that those who resort to this new system of shopping will increase by 30 to 40 per cent in a period of 4 years. Remember, there was a delay of 2 to 6 years for people to shift to online shopping after getting acquainted to the internet. But the online system is gaining momentum in an unprecedented market reaction. In the early years only younger generation was using the online shopping services, but then came a remarkable change in the pattern of users. More and more people from older generation are getting attracted to the online shopping system. According to reliable projections, by 2050 the retail marketing scene will undergo a thorough change in its form and magnitude, and the shopping in UK will evolve beyond recognition with high street dominating the field. Everyone will be online, every hour every day! It will become an automatic process and convert the high street to something like a gallery style showroom! If the prediction becomes a reality, the Britons will be spending nearly 63 billion pounds for the online shopping. 860 million parcels will be shipped to the United Kingdom to serve 26 million internet shoppers. Each shopper will spend  £ 2400 each on an average. The number of people using online shopping will exceed the predictions and projections, if the present trend is an indication to that. At present, 10 per cent of the total retail selling is through internet. It will go up to 20 percent in 3 years. There will be a remarkable change in the composition of customers, patronizing online shopping. Men and women of all ages and professions will adopt the new system for the advantages inherent in the online shopping. The older generation, will increasingly use the online shopping, to avoid the ordeals of travelling, searching and bargaining involved in the conventional shopping. It is easier, faster, safer and valuable, according to those who have changed over to the system. No doubt the online shopping will gain popularity and momentum in the coming years. Globalization of trade has given a new impetus to this new market initiative. The political borders are disappearing as far as trade and commerce are concerned. The online trading and international postal services are giving new thrust to economy. Cross border shopping is flourishing. The internet has helped to widen the area of information much to the benefits of the customers. More accurate information is available now, about the companies, their products and services. The consumers are able to browse online catalogues and acquire vital information about a variety of goods displayed by several companies in their websites. Regarding prices there is a distinctively clear advantage for the consumer. The absence of middle men in the online shopping system will permit the dealers to trim their profit margins in favour of the customer. There are many price comparison service providers who serve the consumer by providing product information and price advantages. Retailers also publish their price ranges in such websites. The shopping web portals are more than the online version of yellow pages. The price comparison services search and retrieve data directly from retailers and feed them to the consumers through the internet. A comprehensive list of retailers and detailed list of prices are available with regular updating. (Future of ONLINE SHOPPING in UK, http://www.edealsuk.com/articles/online-shopping-trend-uk.html) CHAPTER 4 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . This research project was conducted with an explanatory research approach as the focus was in discovering ideas and insights into consumer motivations and emerging trends on online shopping (Mariampolski 2001). The research methodology also followed the framework of analysis defined in the previous section which resulted from the literature review. As the research work was largely qualitative, the exploratory approach and the analysis and results from the primary research provides a good understanding of the consumer motivations for online shopping, and also provides a framework for further analysis if needed by other researchers focusing on greater depth in some areas or expansion of issues not covered in this research project. The focus of the research project is on consumer motivations on online shopping and will not touch on specific online sites unless these are discussed in the context of increasing online shopping activities and consumer motivations. 4.1 Primary research The key primary research activities for this project included surveys and in-depth interviews to understand the key consumer motivations for online shopping. 4.1.1 Surveys The surveys gave a preview of the various factors which were impacting on online shopping. An open-ended survey was conducted to give consumers the opportunity to give factors which they truly feel were their key motivating considerations. The survey was divided into two main sections: * Open-ended and unprompted This section was designed to allow the respondents to give answers freely without any prompts. This was to ensure that the consumers thoughts were captured properly, and that their ideas and key motivations were the ones that were included in their responses. * Prompted with specific factors After the unprompted section, the survey had a section which had some of the preliminary findings from the literature review. This was designed to test the literature review findings, and also provide the respondents an opportunity to highlight some factors which may be important but were not mentioned by the respondent during the first part of the survey. 4.1.2 In-depth Interviews The in-depth interviews were Consumer Motivations for Online Shopping Consumer Motivations for Online Shopping CHAPTER 1 1 INTRODUCTION At the end of the last century, online shopping was already starting to catch peoples attention, and was slowly attracting consumers to use it as a channel, primarily because of its ease in completing purchases (i.e. not needing to step out of the home) and also in providing information as, even then, some sites already provided extensive information (Gay 1999, Gehrt et al 2007). But we are well into the first decade of the 21st century, and since then times have changed and certainly, consumers motivations, as evidenced in this literature review and the results of the research project, have changed. The use of the online channel for shopping varies greatly by country with the UK and the US ranking high up in the list with greatest ratio of online shoppers among Internet users, in addition to also having a large penetration of users for Internet access (Bhatti 2006). In the UK, Internet access among households has increased from 34% in 2000 to 54% in 2004, while Internet access for adults increased from 40% in 2000 to 64% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). 1.1 Research aims and objectives The project had two key questions to focus on and this acted as a guide to the research design and methodology. The two key research questions in my project were: What are the key consumer motivations for online shopping and how are these impacting the development of the online channel? This question focused on the key drivers acting as impetus for consumers to pursue online shopping, and how these drivers were impacting the online channel as an alternative channel for making purchases. What are the emerging trends for online shopping, and how will the online shopping channel develop? As online shopping continues to increase, both organisations and consumers are expected to be better-placed with having a good understanding of where online shopping trends seem to be directed at. 1.2 Consumer motivations The project sought to understand the consumer motivations for choosing online shopping as an alternative channel or, for some consumers, their main channel for shopping particular items. This part of the project was based on determining what consumers have stated as their key motivation factors through secondary research. This was supported by primary research by surveying and interviewing consumers on their motivational factors. The objective was to list out the key motivational factors consumers have for online shopping. 1.3 Emerging trends for online shopping In addition to understanding consumer motivation, this project also sought, as an objective, to understand the emerging trends in online shopping, and establish a viewpoint on where the online channel was expected to move to. Similar for consumer motivations, this part of the project was based on a combination of primary and secondary research. 1.4 Rationale for research project There was a strong rationale for pursuing this project as it aimed to provide a greater understanding of the consumer and the motivations behind online shopping. As the importance of the online channel becomes increasingly greater for organisations, there is greater need for determining the consumers key drivers in choosing this as an alternative channel for shopping. The project results impact both consumers and organisations. For consumers, this gave them a venue for stating their preferences and key requirements to continue using the online channel which could lead to improvements on the online shopping experience. For organisations, this project provided an understanding of the current situation and also the emerging trends based on competitive dynamics, in order to be able to provide the consumers their requirements. This project was also important for me as the student as it gave me an opportunity to develop the knowledge and pursue the analysis of a critical management issue which was becoming a greater value add channel for a large number of organisations. The project, I believe, has led to new insights and a confirmation of consumers key motivations to online shopping. I believe this contributes to the growing knowledge on the online shopping experience of consumers 1.5 Overview of the study Chapter 1 is the introduction chapter where the background, research question and rational, objective and the structure of the research are stated. Chapter 2 contains a brief literature review on online shopping and provided basic understanding about consumer motivations and emerging trends for online shopping which is related to the research question. Chapter 3 is brief about the case study on online shopping. Chapter 4 contains research methodology which includes research frame work the design of the research, sampling and questionnaire. Chapter 5 describes the critical review of the findings. Chapter 6 discusses on recommendation and conclusions. CHAPTER 2 2. LITERATURE REVIEW The study attempts to analyze research works relating to consumer motivations for online shopping and related issues are critically evaluated. This research project was pursued with a ‘qualitative research approach as the focus was on consumer motivations, which, while it could have been developed with quantitative metrics, seemed to translate better into a qualitative focus. The objective was more focused on going in greater depth across the key consumer motivations instead of tallying figures in terms of which factors consumers felt were their key motivations. The qualitative aspect of the research project was pursued through surveys and in-depth questionnaires. 2.1 Consumer motivations Childers et al (2001) defines ‘‘consumer motivations for online retail shopping conducted a few years ago, some of the consumer motivations cited were interest in use of a new technology, ease of navigation and use, and convenience of online shopping. While the research mentioned looked at consumer motivations, the research was only a subset of what could be learned from consumer behaviour as the study focused on only a few possible factors of online shopping activity. Linked to the increase of online shopping is the increase in access and usage of the Internet. Rodgers and Sheldon (2002) researched ‘‘the increasing use of the Internet and highlighted shopping as one of the key motivations for increased consumer use. In this work, the authors looked at shopping as a consumer motivation for increased consumer use. (Ko et al 2005, Tamimi et al 2005, Dadzie et al 2005) discussed that ‘‘it should be noted that there has been considerable growth in Internet access and usage, and this has created a significant market in marketing and communications of organisations. Online shopping has been growing and organisations have been focusing more on developing the online channel to capture a greater share of the wallet of the consumer. Online shopping Hult et al (2007) defines that ‘‘online shopping can relate to any offering of service quality, product quality, or e-Business quality where the objective is the customer-based value creation for organisations. Based on this definition, we can see that the number of online shoppers has indeed increased significantly in the UK, with the percentage of UK Internet users shopping online (including ordering tickets of buying goods and services) grew from 36% in 2000 to 61% in 2005 (Datamonitor 2006). For this research project, the broad definition is reasonable as the key focus of the research is in understanding consumer motivations for online shopping in general, with no specific product or service in mind. Undoubtedly, there are a large number of ways in which to cut the issue and there would be differences in the consumer motivations for specific products in specific markets. The works cited in this section provided a good starting point in the consumer motivations to be considered. The research works also provided an indication of the increasing use of the Internet and online shopping as an activity. From the limitations cited in the research works, further research needs to be conducted on a general understanding of consumer motivations which are not limited to a few factors. The rest of this section discusses some motivating factors cited by consumers as driving their online shopping activity. 24-hour access Bramall et al (2004) reported that ‘‘motivation by consumers is the 24-hour access provided or allowed by most online shopping channels. Thus, the online channel is utilised by consumers as it provides them with 24-hour access for information, customer service, and purchase opportunity. This essentially gives the consumer the opportunity to browse products and purchase at the consumers own leisure. While the research of the authors states this factor as a motivation, the focus of the research work was actually on potential trust issues in online shopping. This specific motivating factor was not analysed in comparison to other motivating factors for consumers. + Shopping convenience One oft-mentioned reason and an early consumer motivating factor, for shopping online is the convenience of doing so as consumers wont need to go to the retail stores and experience the ‘hassle of buying products in the stores (NBC News 2007). According to one study Furnham (2007) ‘‘not only highlight the convenience of shopping online but also states that shopping only also helps decision-making as a large part of the information requirements a consumer may need to make the decision are found online. Clearly, shopping convenience is expected to rank high among the consumers in terms of their motivations for pursuing online shopping. Gehrt et al (2007) reported that ‘‘Shopping convenience is a large factor for the US and UK consumers but this is not limited to the US or the UK markets only as even in Japan, online shopping has seen increasing growth rates, with shopping convenience as the greatest factor motivating consumers to do online shopping. The shopping convenience factor has been recognised across a number of research works, but these only tend to highlight that consumers have different meanings attached to the terminology, and may actually be referring to different sub-factors under the general term of convenience. In understanding this factor further, specific meanings were attached to and discussed in the surveys and interviews for the research. Greater bargains Craver (2006) reported that ‘‘not only consumers are expected to continue increasing their online purchases but only if they receive greater bargains from sellers in their online sites versus their retail stores. Thus, consumers are already building the expectations that prices online will be less that prices in retail stores. Hajewski (2006) pointed out that ‘‘If only to hammer the point of increasing consumer expectations, two factors mentioned by consumers in their increased interest in doing online shopping were free shipping of their products purchased and also everyday low pricing particularly relative to the retail stores of the sellers. The key limitation in the citations for ‘greater bargains is that these are from press articles and the approaches were not based on proper research conducted to determine the consumer motivations for online shopping. Nevertheless, this should still be accepted as a consumer motivation as this has been mentioned to be a factor based on the articles cited. Overall online shopping site experience Elliott Speck (2005) discussed that ‘‘touches on the overall online shopping site experience which in a way, relates to the overall customer experience in online shopping. This factor is quite specific to online shopping sites which consumers may visit but this nevertheless provides a motivation for some specific consumers and it relates to the overall online shopping site experience and having a positive satisfaction to the experience. Specifically, the authors argued that the following factors impacted on the consumer motivation to complete their online shopping transactions: ease of use of online shopping site, product information available, trust in the brand and the online shopping site, customer support, and entertainment experienced while in the site. The focus of the research conducted by the authors was not on online shopping specifically but rather on the attitude towards retail web sites but using the online shopping experience as an example, with an analysis of the resulting impact on the consumers. Similar to some of the other published research cited in this section, the key limitation is the set of respondents considered for the research which, in this case, consisted of undergraduate marketing students. The results are interesting and provide a good preview of what the results could be if the research is expanded to capture a greater sample of the population. 2.2 Emerging trends for online shopping In reviewing the related literature touching on online shopping and also consumer motivations, a number of emerging trends were clearly seen. These include the following: * Increased efforts in improving online security * Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses * Usability of an online site as an increasing differentiator * Management of Internet product returns * Increasingly demanding consumers * Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships * Increasingly older market * Greater share of ad market Each of these trends is discussed in greater detail in this section. Increased efforts in improving online security (Bramall et al 2004, Arnold et al 2007, OConnell 2005, Cullen 2005) explained that ‘‘online shopping has shown strong growth and yet the belief is that online shopping growth rates could actually be much higher if not for security-related concerns by some consumers. Biswas et al (2006) described ‘‘there are two trends to be noted in relation to the security concerns of consumers. The first, as mentioned, is that there are greater efforts placed by organisations in improving online security as breaches to their security could have considerable consequences. The second trend is that a complementary approach to improving reputation for managing online security risks is paramount. In support of this, where there are great concerns for risk, it has been established that utilising expert endorsers, as opposed to celebrity endorsers or even non-celebrity non-expert endorsers, can actually help in bringing consumers over their risk concerns. Potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses Another trend is that organisations are increasingly seeing potential for an expanded product range and ancillary businesses. For example, in recent months, Kohls, a US department store chain, has offered products online which were not normally found in their department stores and these included higher-priced items such as leather chairs, high-end home entertainment centres, and flat screen televisions (Hajewski 2007). This trend is not without its implications for organisation. In the Kohls example, one problem with the expanded product range as done by Kohls was that Kohls did not offer everything they had online in their retail stores. This is a concern as some consumers utilise the online site for their ‘window shopping before moving to the retail stores to try on and purchase the items (Dodes 2006). The article states that more than 80% of online shoppers research products online first before sometimes going to the stores to see the products firsthand. Given that not all products are available in the stores, it would be prudent for online sites to be clear about which products are available in the stores and which products are not. In terms of ancillary businesses, the increase in online usage and online shopping has even spawned related business such as businesses which monitor traffic into organisations websites with the objective of increasing an organisations online sales (Newman 2007). Another ancillary business opportunity is from online shopping sites is as a social shopping space, such as Jellyfish.com which was recently acquired by Microsoft as it saw the growing opportunity in the business (Gallagher 2007). However, these new business are still untested as these are fairly new and would need some time before potentially growing into profitable businesses. As online shopping continues to grow, organisations will continue to seek out other opportunities that could help build the rationale for investments in establishing a highly competitive online shopping site. Usability of online site is an increasing differentiator Massey et al (2007) reported that ‘‘while the extent of technological readiness of the consumer plays a part in determining the level of comfort in navigating through an online shopping site, the general usability of an online shopping site is an increasing differentiator and distinguishes between the different sites that consumers will utilize in online shopping. The goal with these sites is to have it easily navigated through by consumers such that any potential barriers to keep consumers from purchasing products and services are effectively taken out of the equation. An example of an initiative moving into the direction of overall ease of usability is the recent transaction involving Abazias.com and Google wherein Abzias.com partnered with Google for their shopping checkout process which is considered fast and very convenient (M2 Presswire 2007). The challenge for organisations is to continue making their online shopping sites easier to use. And to support the point, some online shopping sites now provide potential live help from customer service if particular requirements are needed in order to limit the number of lost purchases resulting from consumers abandoning their purchases (Prince 2005). Overall, the design of the website and the ease of use have a large impact on the online shopping sites performance (Auger 2005). Management of Internet product returns Mollenkopf et al (2007) explained that emerging trend is the establishment of clear guidelines in the management of Internet product returns, which then addresses a key concern or questions by some consumers. Internet product returns has been one of the key factors limiting part of the online shopping growth as the uncertainty surrounding how returns of defective or unwanted products impacted on the overall cost and inconvenience for the consumer. Organisations which are able to state clearly their policies on Internet product returns, and which provide a seamless process for allowing consumers to make returns for products bought online are at an advantage versus other organisations which have a perception of ‘being difficult to coordinate with in processing Internet product returns. Increasingly demanding consumers As the development of the online shopping channel continues, we are now seeing increasingly demanding consumers. This is shown in the UK supermarket sector. In this sector, online shopping is still considered a poor offering by the UK supermarkets as none of the top five supermarket chains passed a service test conducted by a consumer affairs staff of a newspaper (Prunn 2006). Their failures were from their product offering to the product substitutes provided. The key good news for the UK supermarkets though was that the websites were generally easy to use for online shopping. Also, the delivery drivers were helpful and friendly. In contrast, in the US, online shopping offering for the supermarkets is a competitive offering with various supermarkets increasingly providing greater online shopping offerings for their consumers including chef-prepared, fresh-food delivery service (Food Institute Report 2006). Thus, the US supermarkets are able to provide the US consumers with their ‘demands from US supermarkets. UK supermarkets will need to focus on improving their offering in order to capture the consumer wallet for shopping deliveries. Increasing opportunity for organisations to develop consumer relationships (Kennedy 2006) pointed out that the online shopping channel provides organisations with an additional channel to develop consumer relationships. Organisations which are able to effectively capture value from their online shopping offering are the organisations which are able to â€Å"collect and analyze data on consumer patterns, interpret customer behaviour, respond with timely and effective customised communications, and deliver product and service value to consumers†. The game is not new to most organisations. The only difference is that there is a new channel to consider for the consumer relationships. In order to be competitive, organisations should be able to learn from their interactions with the consumers, and develop the channel into one that consumers will find value from. With the growth of the online shopping channel, more organisations will invest in ensuring that consumer information is managed properly to be leveraged by the organisation in capturing value from the interactions. Increasingly older market Iyer Eastman (2006) has noted that the â€Å"older internet users market comprises the fastest-growing demographic group in the Internet market† and are, aside from large and growing, generally financially secure. This potential trend has large implications on various organisations that can benefit from this research work. Thus, a greater understanding of the key trends is important in order to allow the organisations to plan and invest properly in their online shopping channels. Greater share of ad market Finally, another trend worth noting is the increasing share of the ad market by the online channel. With the growth of the online shopping consumer market, the ad share of this channel is expected to grow as well from about 5-8% to up to one-fifth of total ad budgets over the next three years (Ong 2005). The greater share of the ad market by the online channel has implications for organisations across two key points. First is that there needs to be a decision on the amount of the ad budget that will be allotted to the online channel. After deciding on the first point, the second key point is that it is imperative for organisations to understand the business model of the online channel, and that the organisations have a plan in ensuring their investments will eventually generate good returns. CHAPTER 3 3. CASE STUDY 3.1 History of online shopping Shopping online is the process for the customer to buy products or services via the Internet. In other words, consumers can buy it from the comfort of a holiday home of their own products from a store online. The concepts of this show before the first World Wide Web that are used with real-time transactions are processed from the domestic television! The technology used is called Videotext and shows the first time in 1979 by M. Aldrick, designed and installed the system in the UK. T. 1990 by Berners-Lee created the first WWW server and browser, and in 1995 by expanding the Amazon online shopping experience. History of Online Shopping is amazing. Gone are the days of waiting in traffic and work our way through the store is too full. All we need is a computer, bank account, credit or debit card and freedom voila! From books, to cosmetics, clothes and accessories to name a few, online shopping is the best in the century to 21 Simply find a site that offers things you want, price and delivery terms and in a matter of a few days of your purchase is at your door. Benefits and the ease of clear predictable as we offer a wider selection, competitive prices and greater access to information in regards to our purchase. Online stores are usually available 24 hours a day, and allow consumers to shop in their spare time and without travelling outside normal working hours. Another to consider is the first time the Internet was not well prepared that they will change the way we shop. On the web is created as a tool for communication, which in time to let the ease of virtual shopping. History of online shopping by itself represents a change by the people and now has become a service used by the ordinary business and shopping in the world. (Online blog, http://roomen-online.blogspot.com/2009/08/history-of-online-shopping.html) 3.2 Growth of online shopping The ability to shop online has transformed the way many consumers go about purchasing a product or service, giving the power to the individual consumer to access information, allowing easy and convenient research and comparison of various factors prior to making a purchase. The growth rate of online commerce is unparalleled in any other industry, growing twenty times faster than the overall UK retail market in 2005. Furthermore, the number of online shoppers grew by 25.5% to 14.6 million; with the number over the age of 55 doubling to 2.7 million. Forrester Research predict that UK shoppers will drive UK e-commerce from â‚ ¬43bn in 2006 to â‚ ¬76bn in 2011, accounting for 29% of total European internet retail. As such, we see the market study as a good opportunity to ‘take stock of online shopping in the UK, looking at what it has done for UK plc as a whole since its growth through the internet boom of the late nineties to the stable yet competitive market we see today. I t is worth noting many of the businesses that lived through the dot-com crash were internet retail sites, a clear indication of the valuable role they play for consumers. ( OFT Market Study on Online Shopping, http://207.45.116.138/ndbs/positiondoc.nsf/1f08ec61711f29768025672a0055f7a8/6174E87FE56AFC3F8025735300568DBA/$file/oftonlineshopping250706.pdf ) 3.3 Current trend As far as online shopping in UK is concerned, there is clear trend that those who resort to this new system of shopping will increase by 30 to 40 per cent in a period of 4 years. Remember, there was a delay of 2 to 6 years for people to shift to online shopping after getting acquainted to the internet. But the online system is gaining momentum in an unprecedented market reaction. In the early years only younger generation was using the online shopping services, but then came a remarkable change in the pattern of users. More and more people from older generation are getting attracted to the online shopping system. According to reliable projections, by 2050 the retail marketing scene will undergo a thorough change in its form and magnitude, and the shopping in UK will evolve beyond recognition with high street dominating the field. Everyone will be online, every hour every day! It will become an automatic process and convert the high street to something like a gallery style showroom! If the prediction becomes a reality, the Britons will be spending nearly 63 billion pounds for the online shopping. 860 million parcels will be shipped to the United Kingdom to serve 26 million internet shoppers. Each shopper will spend  £ 2400 each on an average. The number of people using online shopping will exceed the predictions and projections, if the present trend is an indication to that. At present, 10 per cent of the total retail selling is through internet. It will go up to 20 percent in 3 years. There will be a remarkable change in the composition of customers, patronizing online shopping. Men and women of all ages and professions will adopt the new system for the advantages inherent in the online shopping. The older generation, will increasingly use the online shopping, to avoid the ordeals of travelling, searching and bargaining involved in the conventional shopping. It is easier, faster, safer and valuable, according to those who have changed over to the system. No doubt the online shopping will gain popularity and momentum in the coming years. Globalization of trade has given a new impetus to this new market initiative. The political borders are disappearing as far as trade and commerce are concerned. The online trading and international postal services are giving new thrust to economy. Cross border shopping is flourishing. The internet has helped to widen the area of information much to the benefits of the customers. More accurate information is available now, about the companies, their products and services. The consumers are able to browse online catalogues and acquire vital information about a variety of goods displayed by several companies in their websites. Regarding prices there is a distinctively clear advantage for the consumer. The absence of middle men in the online shopping system will permit the dealers to trim their profit margins in favour of the customer. There are many price comparison service providers who serve the consumer by providing product information and price advantages. Retailers also publish their price ranges in such websites. The shopping web portals are more than the online version of yellow pages. The price comparison services search and retrieve data directly from retailers and feed them to the consumers through the internet. A comprehensive list of retailers and detailed list of prices are available with regular updating. (Future of ONLINE SHOPPING in UK, http://www.edealsuk.com/articles/online-shopping-trend-uk.html) CHAPTER 4 4. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY . This research project was conducted with an explanatory research approach as the focus was in discovering ideas and insights into consumer motivations and emerging trends on online shopping (Mariampolski 2001). The research methodology also followed the framework of analysis defined in the previous section which resulted from the literature review. As the research work was largely qualitative, the exploratory approach and the analysis and results from the primary research provides a good understanding of the consumer motivations for online shopping, and also provides a framework for further analysis if needed by other researchers focusing on greater depth in some areas or expansion of issues not covered in this research project. The focus of the research project is on consumer motivations on online shopping and will not touch on specific online sites unless these are discussed in the context of increasing online shopping activities and consumer motivations. 4.1 Primary research The key primary research activities for this project included surveys and in-depth interviews to understand the key consumer motivations for online shopping. 4.1.1 Surveys The surveys gave a preview of the various factors which were impacting on online shopping. An open-ended survey was conducted to give consumers the opportunity to give factors which they truly feel were their key motivating considerations. The survey was divided into two main sections: * Open-ended and unprompted This section was designed to allow the respondents to give answers freely without any prompts. This was to ensure that the consumers thoughts were captured properly, and that their ideas and key motivations were the ones that were included in their responses. * Prompted with specific factors After the unprompted section, the survey had a section which had some of the preliminary findings from the literature review. This was designed to test the literature review findings, and also provide the respondents an opportunity to highlight some factors which may be important but were not mentioned by the respondent during the first part of the survey. 4.1.2 In-depth Interviews The in-depth interviews were