Taking Deep Breaths free essay sample

I take deep breaths trying to tame my wildly beating heart.My eyes tear up. I lock myself in my bathroom until its safe to come out, until my younger brother calmed down.I desperately called my mom on her cellphone, but she was driving her afternoon bus route and couldn’t answer. I sat with my back against the door for almost two hours. Quietly, I cracked my bathroom door and peeked out. My brother had settled down, or at least given up on trying to hurt me. Adrenaline coursed through my body, leaving me sweaty, cold at the same time. I tip-toed out of the bathroom and made dashed to my room. Seeing the discarded kitchen knife on the living room floor, I panicked and ran faster. I locked myself in my room and broke down. My younger brother was only eight at the time.I couldnt understand what would make him so angry. We will write a custom essay sample on Taking Deep Breaths or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By this time, my mom had called back, and a raspy voice I explained to her what happened: that I didn’t know what had set him off, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry.She repeated that it wasn’t my fault, but I wouldn’t listen. My mother rushed home and took my brother to a crisis center. It was there they recommended he to go to a hospital that could better facilitate autism. My mother and I were shocked that my brother had autism. When the hospital admitted him, they disclosed he had a mild form of autism called Asperger Syndrome. We had always assumed he was doing things purposefully, acting out and so on. This strange new name threw my mother and me into a whirlwind. We searched for answers. What caused it? How can we cure it? Each time we were met with disappointment. My brother would be on medication for the rest of his life.I didn’t understand autism at the time; I was only 12 years old. As I have gotten older, I better understand his challenges, his moods and his limitations.Five years later, my brother has made leaps and bounds. He’s no longer violent and angry all the time, but he still has limits. Since its just my brother, my mom and me at home, I help pick up the slack. I help my brother with homework, cook us both dinners multiple times a week, help with chores, all while maintaining my own schedule as a college-bound student. All of this has left little time for a social life, and in my early teens, I used to resent that. As I’ve gotten older, I have lost that resentment. Having a younger brother with special needs has given me a unique outlook that my peers lack. Their ignorance to people with special needs is appalling and demeaning. Ive heard special needs students called stupid, worthless and even worse. Through the hardships, I have a better understanding of patience and compassion.Growing up this way has affected my family dynamic a lot. As my brother and I get older, we both grow and take on new challenges. For me, this means going away to college on my own, even though Im very emotionally dependent on my family. I know starting over will be intimidating, but Im motivated and hard working and I plan to do everything I can to make my college education mean the most it can. Ill be the first person in my family to go to a four-year university. The only thing I’m not worried about is the people I’ll meet. Since I’ve seen my brother get taunted and teased I’m more accepting of all different types of people. With this pressure added on combined with my family who supports me, I know Ill be able to secure all of our dreams.

Essay Topic Ideas - Why Your Essay Needs to Be Persuasive

Essay Topic Ideas - Why Your Essay Needs to Be PersuasiveWriting persuasive arguments is really important in the essay that you are going to write for college. Sometimes, students make the mistake of thinking that they can just write an essay that will win over their teacher's approval. However, this is not the case.Of course, there are many college essays that have come up from students who can make persuasive arguments on an entirely different level than the rest of the group. These types of arguments may come from their own experiences and personal experiences. However, as a group, you have to stay on task and think about writing out a compelling argumentative essay.The next question that comes to mind when thinking about persuasive essay topics is why. The reason is because people are often scared when they think about writing an essay that may stand out. They become nervous about writing a piece that might get them or their classmates the accolades that they want. However, this is not true.Just as you need to be confident and comfortable with your skills, you also need to work on your confidence. When you do well in your writing, you will feel good about yourself. This will lead to more confidence in what you are writing.Another reason why you should think about writing about an interesting topic is because it will increase your opportunities in a major way. When you write about a topic that you know a lot about, you will have an easier time getting a few students to look at your essay. This is because many people have already come up with their own ideas about the topic and may already have developed a specific thesis about it.One last reason that you should think about writing argumentative essay topics that are appealing is because you will give more credibility to your essays. If you are not confident in what youare writing, you may feel afraid to show your entire writing style in an essay. This is because you don't want anyone to question your credibi lity. However, if you have confidence in your own expertise, then you will no longer be afraid to show off what you know.When you are able to put together all these reasons why writing persuasive essays are a good idea, you will find that it will make writing the essay much easier and you will be able to put together more convincing arguments. Remember that you can be the one that writes the essay, so just go ahead and write something good. If you are not able to write, then at least show how you have taken some pointers on how to write an interesting essay.Be sure to write persuasive essays for college and have more confidence in yourself. This will give you the platform to write the best essays for your class and your admissions exam.

Emerging Market MNC Analysis Essays

Emerging Market MNC Analysis Essays Emerging Market MNC Analysis Paper Emerging Market MNC Analysis Paper Some of these firms were very successful and some had to withdraw back to their country of origin. In OTOH scenarios, those companies adopted to different business models, strategies analyze two different Macs, TCL and Acre, which fall in the category of electronic firms from emerging markets, in order to come out with a better understanding of their globalize process. TCL Overview TCL is one of the largest consumer electronics NC in the world. It was founded by Mr.. Lie Donnishness, the Current CEO, in 1981 in China. The company produces a wide diverse of electronic products such as TV, mobile phone and Internet access devices; in addition, it is one of the leading companies and was ranked sixth in the global TV arrest in terms of market share (TCL Annual Report, 2011), which is the main business for TCL. See figure 2. The company has a worldwide presence; it has more than 40 sales offices, 18 R centers, and 20 manufacturing bases (TCL Introduction, 2011). Many critics attribute the companys success to focusing on innovation as well as quality; as a result, TCL suppressed many leading companies such as Samsung and Sony. Acre Overview Originally known as Multitude, the Taiwanese company was founded by Stan Shih in 1976, which grew to become the fourth largest PC producer in the world and has a worldwide presence (Acre Overview, 2013). Moreover, Acre considered being one of the largest original equipment manufacturer (MEMO). The company was able to achieve this by having one of the most distinguish integrated operations, between parent company in Taiwan and subsidiaries, as well as between one subsidiary and another. Remarkably, in its globalize process, Acre took more flexible approach which differs from the control based American, European or Japanese models. Acre has a long term mission which is breaking barriers between people and technology (Acre Brands, 2013). Also, the company targets many different customer segments by having multi-brand strategy; it has 4 different brands which are: Acre, Gateway, machines, and Packard Bell (Acre Brands, 2013). 2 Market Presence (Question 1) TCL Market Presence TCL has a worldwide presence in terms of sales, manufacturing and operations. The company was able to have a big presence in all six continents through Joint venture and acquisitions (Donnishness, Lie, 2011). It distributes its products through more than 40 sales offices and agencies worldwide. Moreover, the company has 18 R centers in China, USA, France, Germany and Singapore. The company also owns 20 manufacturing bases globally, in China, Poland, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam. (Donnishness, Lie, 2011). See figure 3. The geographic growing patterns will be discussed in the following topic. Acre Market Presence Acre also has a worldwide presence in terms of sales, manufacturing and operations. Through its acquisitions, Greenfield investments, and multi-brand strategy, Acre was able to penetrate in all six continents and excel. It has four regional business units (Rabbis) in US, Europe, Singapore, and Taiwan. The main functions of those business units to sell, market and provide after sale services. Each one of those units has branches in many countries. See figure 5. 3 Patterns of Growing (Question 2) TCL Growing We can divide the company growth into four main phases. First phase (1981-1997), order to expand its business in the PRE market (Sandra Bell, 2010). Second Phase(1998-1999), expanding to neighboring country, which was having a Joint venture with Taiwan C.V. base, TCL-C.V. Computer Co. Was established (CAB, 1998). Third phase (2000-2004), expanding to the developed countries mainly in Europe; TCL had many international investment such as acquiring Schneider Electronics GAG in Germany (TCL Annual Report, 2002), a JP with Locate (Murals, D. , 2011), and a JP with Thomson (Elaine Quarterback, 2009), in this phase TCL focused on loss companies, hopefully they can turnaround those losses. However, almost all investments faced huge losses due to several reasons such as management style and the misjudged of its power to turnaround a loss company (Sandra Bell, 2010). Fourth phase (2005- present), in this phase TCL acquired partners shares in Jobs; for instance, TCL acquired Locate shares in the JP (Helen Yuan, 2005), as well as, Thomson shares in the JP (Sandra Bell, 2010). Further, they focused on building a global brand name through partnering with key distributes such KEA and Carefree. See figure 6. Acre Growing For Acre we can divide the company growth into four main phases. First phase (1976-1977), which includes the establishment of the company, and start selling to the local market (Milestones Innovations, 2013). Second phase (1978-1984), in the beginning of this phase the company started to target small neighboring markets such as Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. Later on, it expanded its exporting to reach the US and some parts of Europe. This phase was remarkable in Acres life and considered to be the take-off (The Wall Street, 2007). Third phase (1985-2000), in this phase Acre started to invest worldwide (Milestones Innovations, 2013), they made a lot of acquisitions, Joint ventures, and green field investments such as the acquisition of Altos Computers Systems, a JP with Computed from Mexico to form Acre Computed Latin America (UCLA), and establishing Acre America Corporation in the US. This phase considered to be critical in the life of Acre, it went global, big losses were made, and the company was restructured more than three mimes. To summarize, the cost of learning in this period was high. Fourth phase (2001- Present), which represents the changing from manufacturing company to a service company, in another words, the company outsourcer manufacturing, and the main activities became sales, marketing, and after sales services , which is similar to NIKKEI business model (The Wall Street, 2007). See figure 6. 4 Entry Modes (Question 3) TCL Entry Modes TCL had two types of foreign direct investments; Joint venture and acquisition. They had Jobs with Taiwan C.V. base, Thomson (French company), and Locate (French many). However, the acquisitions were by acquiring Schneider Electronics GAG in Germany, Thomson shares in the JP, and Locate shares in the JP as well. Recently, they made some agreements and cooperation with Samsung (outsourcing agreement) (Marie Han, 2008), KEA (Anna Rainstorm, 2011) and Carefree (Sandra Bell, 2010). See figure 1. The Joint venture with Thomson was remarkable in terms of amount, nature and outcome. Both companies put together ?450 million (cash and assets), where TCL and Thomson shares were 67% and 33% respectively (TCL Annual 20,000 sales outlets. On the other hand, Thomson brought to the deal its factories in Poland, Thailand, and Mexico (Elaine Quarterback, 2009). The JP was not profitable and carried out losses for both companies. As a result, both companies came to an agreement, and TCL bought Thomson shares in the JP. Furthermore, the acquisition included Thomson TV plants in Mexico, Thailand and Poland, RD centers in USA, Germany and Singapore, and worldwide sales networks (Sandra Bell, 2010). Acre Entry Modes Acre had three types of foreign direct investments; green field, Joint venture and acquisition. The green field investments were mainly to establish regional operation units (in Europe, USA, Asia, etc ) which have sub-branches in many countries. The main functions for these units to sell, market and provide after sale services (Ping Lie Peter, 1998). The company also did some Jobs such as a JP with Texas Instruments to form TTL-Acre DRAM, as well as a JP with Computed to form Acre Computed Latin America (UCLA) (Ping Lie Peter, 1998). See figure 1 . Acres acquisition goals were mainly to achieve multi-brand strategy. The company acquired Gateway, machines, Packard Bell, E-ten and agree. These acquisitions enhanced Acres global presence, and made it able to target different customer segments (Acre Overview, 2013). 5 Factors for Investing Abroad (Question 4) TCL Factors for investing abroad In general, there are many factors that led Chinese companies to seek global market. For TCL there were 5 main factors: In 2000, competition inside the PRE electronics market was aggressive which led to a price war and industry margin was shrinking (Sandra Bell, 2010). In 2001, China became a WTFO member which helped a lot of Chinese companies to partner with companies from developed countries, as TCL had any agreements and Jobs. Lie Donnishness, CEO of the company, was thinking about going global since the Asian crisis in the late sasss, taking advantage of the Chinese stable economy to build a brand which was the company competitive advantage in his vision. The company also did some international investments to overcome trade barriers, such as the anti-dumping European policy (The Financial Times Limited, 2003). The company also overestimated its power to turnaround a loss company, which was a main drive for some acquisitions such as acquiring Schneider Electronics GAG in Germany (Sandra Bell, 2010). Acquiring Schneider Electronics GAG in Germany is a clear example for the last two factors. Acre Factors for investing abroad For Acre the main reason for expanding is that the market size at that time, early sasss, was small. They targeted small neighboring countries, however, as Shih stated the combination of many small markets is not small, also there was a potential since those small markets were becoming bigger. The following are some reasons for investing abroad and expanding operations to reach more regions: The industry became mature rapidly which led to an aggressive competition, price war, and giggling of the margin. As a result, all companies in the industry started to expand to less competitive regions (Acre Inc. History, 2008). The Taiwanese dollar became stronger, which made difficult to the company to make profit since its product became more expensive abroad (Acre Inc. History, 2008). Major Operational TCL Operational Difficulties It seems that all international investments made by TCL were unsuccessful and turned huge losses. This was due by many issues on the managerial and operational level, which will be discussed in the following paragraph. The main problem for TCL s that they underestimate the difficulties of managing global operation, and they also overestimate their ability to turn around a loss company, which represents a broader dilemma for Chinese companies Justine Ala, 2006). As Vincent Yang, SCOFF of ATE and TCL stated in the past three months of operations, we found out the challenges and difficulties are deeper than we thought. (Even Armadas, 2004). Furthermore, the desperate to go global and use acquisitions as a shortcut without evaluating partners and investments were a main drive for those wrongful investments, for instants, Schneider Electronics GAG, Thomson and Locate were cording losses, moreover, Schneider Electronics GAG were viewed as an old fashion brand in Europe (Sandra Bell, 2010). Moreover, TCL was slow to react to the market changes Justine Ala, 2006) lack of market know-how, lack of transparency, and lack to culture adaptation when they changed the German manager of Schneider Electronics GAG with a Chinese noel (Sandra Bell, 2010). TCL has no brand positioning issues since it managed this aspect in a very professional way, for instants, they were able to position the brand TCL to a high end clientele very successfully by sponsoring Golf ornaments three years in a row in China(Sandra Bell, 2010) , which represent the target market. The company also has many brand names such as TCL, ROW, and RCA, as well as some agreements to use others brand names such as Thomson and Locate, which serve different customer segments. Acre Operational Difficulties Acre started with 13 employees including Shih and his wife, and in ten years that number grew to reach 1000, and continued to grow. This fast growing led to create a big gap between available capabilities and capabilities needed, further, it also led to a shortage in qualified managers. As a result, Acre started to recruit many top-level and mid-level managers, where some were not qualified enough, such as Leonard Lie, former senior IBM executive who led the company to a disastrous situations. Another problem caused by the fast growing is that the company was restructured more than three times which led to more failed operations (The Wall Street, 2007). Chris Foster, an analyst at Technology Business Research in Hampton, stated The bottom line is Acre has a more volatile business model than HP or Dell (The Wall Street, 2007). Other difficulties such as changing the company name from Multitude o Acre after more than 10 years of building brand name (The Wall Street, 2007), aggressive competition which reduced the profit margin, and the shortening product life cycle, among other factors which led to more operational and managerial difficulties. However, the company in many scenarios managed those obstacles very well. The following are examples for successful managerial strategies and operations. Dependent innovation which made Acre beat IBM and offer 32-bit PC first. Employee ownership, delegated accountability, and management frugality helped in the fast growing. Overcoming the shortening of the product life cycle by developing a strategy transit. They also developed the 2-3-1 System. Two months for product introduction, three months for selling, and one month for phase-out (Ping Lie Peter, 1998). Multi- brand strategy which helped the company to target different customer segments, therefore, the company does not have any brand or positioning issues (Acre Brands, 2013). 7 Comparison Conclusion Both companies have a lot in common. Both of them started to invest in neighboring countries and later on expanded to other parts of the world. They also depend a lot n acquisitions and Jobs to penetrate international markets, which reflects their weaknesses to build an international brand and have a successful international operations. Last but not least, both of them have a worldwide presence and mainly targeted developed countries. See figure 6. It seems that Macs from emerging markets recognize brand/country image as primary problem; as a result they have used strategies to overcome this obstacle such as multi-brand strategy and global brand strategy.

What to Do Before Leaving for College

What to Do Before Leaving for College Overwhelmed with everything you need to do before heading to college? Familiarizing yourself with everything on this list can help make the process easier. 1. Contact Your Roommate That first conversation is pivotal for getting to know each other, for building your relationship as roommates, and for figuring out whos going to be bringing what. A great roommate can make all the difference in school. 2. Organize All Your Purchases Knowing what to bring is just as important as knowing what not to bring. Deciding on what kind of computer youll have is also a big decision that will influence several aspects of your college life. (Can you bring it home? Is it powerful enough to run graphics programs or economic models youll need for your major?) 3. Understand Your Financial Aid The last thing you want to have happen is for finances to get in the way of your academic progress (yes, it really does matter if you miss that deadline for submitting your FAFSA). Make sure your finances are in order- and that you understand all you need to do while youre in school. 4. Make a Budget Youll need to know, from your first day on campus, how much money you can spend on certain things, whether or not youll need an on-campus job, and how much money you should have at the end of every month so you dont have to beg your roommate for food come December. 5. Take Care of Your Physical Health Picking the right meal plan and knowing how to make healthy choices in your new environment will greatly aid your time in school. Who wants to miss a midterm because of a stress-induced cold? 6. Familiarize Yourself With College Terminology If your RA tells you that the problem youre having with your TA can best be handled by the dean, will you know what all of that means? What if your cute lab partner is complaining because adjunct professors werent invited to convocation? College life is full of acronyms and new lingo: do what you can to familiarize yourself with it before you arrive. 7. Get the Most out of Orientation Everything from meeting people to making it through your first week takes a lot of courage- but pushing yourself through will make a huge difference during your entire time at school. 8. Plan to Keep in Touch With Friends and Family Its a good idea to know how to manage relationships with your boyfriend or girlfriend, parents, and even siblings. If you talk about how to keep in touch before you leave, everyone will know what to expect. 9. Develop a Time Management System Figuring out how to manage their time is often one of the biggest challenges for college students. Set yourself up early with a system that you know will work for you. 10. Keep Yourself and Your Stuff Safe The last thing you need to be worried about while in school is dealing with something that may have been preventable. Losing your computer, for example, can wreak havoc on your academics- and, if someone breaks into your room while you left the door open, can wreak havoc on your roommate relationship. Its easier to stay safe than to deal with theft. Lastly- an unofficial #11- congratulate yourself on a job well done for getting here in the first place, and have fun!

Statistical Analysis Math Speech or Presentation - 1

Statistical Analysis Math - Speech or Presentation Example A population is defined as the complete collection of all elements of the target groups (individuals, items or objects) whose characteristics are being studied (Brase and Brase 6). The population in this research is the total students in the second semester Bachelor of Human Resources class. A sample is defined as the subset of the population, which consists of a portion of the population selected for study (Brase and Brase 6). In this case, the sample in this research is the male and female students with slightly or very overweight. This is because these overweight students were being drawn and identified from the total 100 students, so the 100 students is the set and overweight students is the subset of the 100 students. The purpose of constructing the frequency table is to show the distribution of the percentages of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight into classes or intervals. By constructing the classes or intervals, the percentages in the respective category can be fit into exactly one class. The frequency table with the design containing the class limit, class boundary and frequency of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight was constructed in order for us to compare the data distribution clearly between the percentages of male, female and total students with slightly or very overweight. In order to evaluate is there any significance different between the mean percentages of male and female students with slightly of very overweight, two-tailed t-test analysis is carried out at the confidence interval of 90%. The mean percentages of the male students with slightly or very overweight is partially skewed to the right because the mode has a lower value than the median and mean has the lower value than the median, but in this case, the mean is slightly higher than the median, which in turn make the distribution partially skewed to the right. The mean percentages of the female students with

Basket of currency and the economy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Basket of currency and the economy - Term Paper Example Every country has its own accepted currency. They have unique ways of identifying the currencies; for example, the American Dollar ($) and the Swiss Franc and so on. Basket of currency can be defined as the weighted average of a group of currencies that can be used as a measure of its value. What makes up the basket of currency and the weighting is highly depends on the purpose intended. It serves as a way to tell the movements of regional currency. As Investopedia asserts, countries sign contracts to avoid the fluctuations of currencies. The best examples are the Asian and European currency unit but, the Euro replaced the European Currency Unit. The basket of currency helps countries' currencies not to collapse. In 1997, Asia experienced a currency crisis and this has led to the discussion on how the Asian countries can have a desirable exchange rate. The crisis major cause was the adoption and use of the dollar peg system. It is said that the dollar peg system led to huge capital inflow in to the Asian countries thus led to the crisis (Ogawa & Sasaki, 2002). Huge capital inflows are dangerous to the economy as it can lead to a reverse of the capital flow direction. This led to the Asian economies adopting the currency basket system which included a more flexible exchange rate. The main currencies which show a strong economic relationship are included in the currency basket. The strong relationships are in terms of international finance and trade and foreign direct investment. The main currencies are: the Japanese Yen, the Euro and the US dollar. An analysis of the Asian countries interest and exchange rates, foreign reserves and monetary base was done and it revealed that the Asian currenc ies and the US dollar exhibited a strong link and the exchange rates were not floating freely as expected (Calvo& Reinhart, 2002). The Asian countries saw that by acquiring the intermediate exchange rate, it would lead to overvaluation or undervaluation of their currencies. Undervaluation would yield import inflation while overvaluation would make goods for trade to be less competitive. Therefore, currency of basket was the only significant way for Asian countries to avoid the crisis but they must have been export-oriented. Currency swap A currency swap occurs when two parties agree to exchange a specific amount of different types of currencies. At the initial stage of the exchange there are interest payments that are done. The deal can be either of the parties to pay floating exchange or fixed interest rate. Agreements can be made to ensure that both parties use both at the same time. The principal amounts are always exchanged back as the currency swap matures. It must be noted that in a currency swap, both the principal and the interest are exchanged in full amounts. After the Asian countries currency crisis, the monetary authorities have come up with a new initiative, Chiang Mai Initiative, which is a regional monetary cooperation. The initiative comprises of many currency swaps to help manage the currency crisis. More so it acts as a tool of surveillance and helps in the preventing currency crisis. It helps the Deputy finance Ministers to mainly observe the macroeconomic domestic variables, inflation rates and GD P, at any policy making meetings and economic

Situation Analysis for Revive! UK

Situation Analysis for Revive! UK SITUATION ANALYSIS Situation analysis is the first step on a marketing communication plan. It is necessary step for a company to recognize the key markets issues and understand communication drivers (Fill, 2009). The goal of current assessment is Revive! Company to follow the above glidepath and in the end of the situation analysis there should be key issues that will drive the campaign objectives and communication plan of the company. 1.1 Organisational Analysis Revive! UK operates in the automotive repair sector since 2004 but its history goes back to 1994 as a franchise of Colourworks. The central offices of the company are located is in Rugby with 58 UK franchisees and 135 technicians in total. Their main services include Small and Medium Area Repair Technique such as: Bumper scuffs or scrapes Alloy wheels damage Paint or bodywork scratches Blending repairs to wheel arches Vandal scratches Cosmetic repairs Minor paint repair to trim Body panels Besides providing the above services, Revive! UK is strongly focused on franchising sales as a key mean of growth and market expansion. This fact is also supported from their decision to poach one of the top industry experts on franchising as a franchise director. In the franchise sales sector Revive! UK offers to the clients: Training Branding Minimum personal investment  £10,000 Accreditation systems The company had a 20% increase in sales on year with over 45% of all franchisees running multi van businesses (Revive! Auto innovations (UK) Ltd Bfa, 2017). Their cash in hand was increased from 2014 and according to companys latest financial data for 2015 their Net Work was increased 39,35% from 2014. Revive! UK performs in business to business environment and at the same time directly with the general public. They work closely with dealership groups, fleet and insurance companies and one example of their partners is National Tyres and Autocare (Revive! Auto innovations (UK) Ltd Bfa, 2017, Endole.co.uk, 2017). Key issues: Main focus of the company in franchising sales Very good latest financial data (Their cash in hand was increased from 2014 and according to companys latest financial data for 2015 their Net Work was increased 39,35% from 2014). Possible action: from marketing aspect the company should make more visible their actions in order to be easier approachable for the costumers. During this assignment it was very hard and à Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ²ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ± to find details for the company. It is vital for their franchising sales to give as more details as possible to the costumer to make their first step, to make a call into the company. Communication strategy The main communication strategy of the company is based on three basics elements: the convenience, the quality and the low cost of their services. There is no specific campaign for franchise sales besides the information on the website or the public relations stories on websites for the franchising industry. The first impression of a potential costumer with the company comes through the companys website. In order to convince a customer to go through the whole website, get informed about the services and make contact with the company, the website should be visually appealing, should give a general customer relationship management, personalisation and privacy (Mà ¶ller, Brezing, and Unz, 2012; Solutions, 2012). In case of Revive! UK it is found that the website is appealing, well designed, professional and easy to use. It has relevant service information and a standalone section dedicated to public relation stories, while communication contacts are easy to spot on main page. Franchisi ng is also easy to spot with most relevant information. Revive! UK has also a Facebook page with 2,442 followers and they have posts 2-3 times a week. The reviews from clients on the Facebook page are positive. There is no interaction among the company and the Facebook page visitors-followers. It is important to mention that besides Facebook page, the company does not have any other social media tool. Also, according to the companys website, Revive! UK does social responsibility actions for charity organization and community support which are not communicated through other channels beside their website and Facebook page. Another factor that was detected through this assignment is the poor optimization that the company has done for search engines. During the search for the company on Google with different words like: care repair UK, SMART repair services, minor car damage reaper UK, the position of Revive! UK website was not among the first results of the research (appentises a,..). In order to be noticed, the company should improve SEO as a digital marketing practice which will focuses on optimizing the website to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines. Key issue: Low Search Engine optimization Many activities with social impact but without being well communicated No interactive social media Possible Action: The company need to examine again the keywords and contents that they are using for the SEO. They should find the correct keywords to connect with words that clients use. But this is not the only solution. Because in some cases according to Ledford (2008) having optimized the correct keywords it is not enough. Factors such as advertising campaigns and update frequencies also affect SEO (Ledford, 2008, pg 14). So, a better strategy on the search engine optimization, without forgetting the optimization for mobile users The company should promote through different channels their social activities. For example, the latest action that they organized Andrew Jordan Goes Calendar Girls for Charity was only promoted from their website. Searching for articles or stories on Google there were no result for this action. In this case, a better PR strategy on this sector of the company would increase their communication strategy. The only social media that the company is using is Facebook. The use of Facebook, although, is limited on posting only news for the company. There is no feedback on the clients comments, even the fact that the comments are good. First of all, as many social media channels the company uses there is a good possibility to increase the SEO. The use of social media should give the opportunity to the company to communicate with its clients. A contest for a free service which would be only through social media, asking followers their opinion for something new that company did, engaging the franchisors in the social media game, these could be some steps to be more involved with their clients/followers/visitors etc. 1.2 Market Analysis 1.2.1 PEST Analysis for Revive! Company PEST analysis is a managerial tool used to analyze and measure market potentials and stands for political, Economic, Social and Technological issues. Political Potential changes on the franchise regulations because of Brexit. EU competition rules will continue to apply to franchising post-Brexit although the Commission will have reduced powers, and block exemption measures at UK level will be needed. (International Franchise Association, 2016) Potential increase in taxes. According to the Bank of England taxes are expected to increase in the following years (Inman, 2017). First of all this means that will affect Revive! UK services and products. With potential increase in taxes Revive! UK will have to increase their prices. That probably will make them to lose one of the current advantages that they have; which is cheap prices. As for the customers a potential increase in taxes will reduce their buying power. Potential risks on franchising outside UK. Due to a potential Brexit. It is unclear which will be the legislature of EU and company should re-examine it is franchise strategy (International Franchise Association, 2016). Import/Export tax duties applied for leaving common market. Changes on agreements would mean potential increase custom duties that will lead to more expensive row material, paint tooling, machines etc import. Export goods might lose pricing competitive advantage and become more expensive to EU market (Whos Who Legal, 2017). Economic Decrease of car sales on 2016. According to articles there are possibilities of a decrease on car sailings. This means that costumers will try to keep their old cars and fixing them if it is necessary (Sharpe, 2016). Worries for new trade deals with EU because of Brexit. According to articles because of Brexit Uk will give up full access to the single market along EU. In a soft Brexit trading would be on a tarrif-free basis (Sharpe, 2016; Bennett, 2016). These factors may make the company more cautious on investments or franchising outside UK. Potential interest rate increase (Moneywise, 2013). Increase of GDP and average salary for 2016(Statistics, 2017) Current improve export rate due to currency exchange Euro VS GP These facts show that costumers will have a good average of salary and this means that they will be more elastic on spending. According to the above information, because of the ongoing Brexit situation, franchising in another European country at this moment would be a risk for the company. The only countries that Revive! UK can approach are Ireland and Scotland. Since they already have tried to franchise in these countries years before without succeeding, probably now with the knowledge and the expertise they have would be easier. Social Current low unemployment rate with uncertain future projection (Statistics, 2017). There is a decrease of the number of the unemployment in the last 2 years (Appendixes). Need for vehicles and repairs expected to have a growth trend. Customer perception trend swift from car being a status symbol to fuel efficiency and low emissions. Customer buying pattern expected to change to short term investing into repairing existing cars for as long as possible before switching to new eco friendly vehicles. New legislation for low fuel cell cars, eco- friendly cars, paint and waste disposal. This factor should make the company examine the products that use in order to be eco- friendly. Technological Catch up changing technology on new cars that will be battery cars etc. This factor means that the company should gain knowledge and skills in new products for these new cars. Improvements in technology for client services. New technology in order to improve client services. Since the companys advantage is the direct answer to the client there should be some improvements from technological aspect. There should be more use of social media and more interactive relation with the costumers. 1.3 Competitor analysis General information Services History Franchise Investment location Clients Minimum investment Support for the franchisees Perfect Detail Smart Repair Mobile minor damage Paint Vinyl Windscreen Bodywork alloy wheels Online shop 150 years Yes UK General public Main dealers Brands (McLaren, Jaguar and Rover) Retailers groups  £10,000 Training Equipment selection Van installation Branding Website and social media support Chips away Brand Leader Automotive paint repair system Car body repairs Bumper scuffs Paintwork scratches Minor dents kerbed alloy wheels 23 years Yes Over 220 units UK General public Main dealers Retailers groups  £15,000 Branding Training Ongoing support Exclusive territory National advertising Expansion opportunities Dentwizart/ Flying colors services Smart repairs Cosmetic damage Scratches Scrapes Bumper scuffs Vandal damage and chips away Yes UK, Europe, North America General public Main dealers Retailers groups  £22,950 Personalised website Training Credit control management services Exclusive geographic territories Low frontend fees SprintFinish Scratches Bumper Scuffs Damaged Interior Trim Damaged Alloy Wheels Repairs to: tears holes cigarette burn in seats and carpets 20 years Yes UK General public Main dealers Retailers groups Charges on different services (more details on appendix 12) Ongoing training defined territory branding UK Final touch Car paint work Smart repairs 24 years New Zealand 4 years in UK Yes UK, Ireland, Europe  £29,995 Exclusive geographic territories Training Machinery, paint, supplies and stock items Marketing material Business and accounting reviews Car Medic SMART repairs Alloy wheel refurbishment Car interior repairs Car seat repairs Car upholstery and car interior plastics 20 years / New in franchising No data Comprehensive Skills, HS and Commercial Training Quality Branded Tools Consumables. Competitive Package including all you need to run your own business Low franchise management fees Key points: Relatively with the most of their competitors Revive! UK has less main services (no inside repairs, no online shop etc.). As most of their competitors the company is operating in England ΆºÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ à Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¡ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ ÃŽÂ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¹ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ± ÃŽÂ ±Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ à Ã¢â€š ¬ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ ÃŽÂ ¸ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ µÃƒÅ½Ã‚ »ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ ÃŽÂ ½ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ± ÃŽÂ ±ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ³ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã‚ ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ±Ãƒ Ã†â€™ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ¿Ãƒ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ÃƒÅ½Ã‚ ½ franchise According to google search some of the competitors have better SEO strategy (appendix.) Relatively young company with low market and reputation in comparison to their main competitors. 1.4 Consumer Analysis Revive! UK company started their economic activity as a company that provides smart car repair services. Their customers are general public, dealership groups, fleet and insurance companies (Revive! Auto innovations (UK) Ltd Bfa, 2017). Clients in the general public group, according to the data and information that have been collected for this coursework, could be people from 17 years old to 25 years old that are more possible to have small damages in their cars and costumers from 45 to 60 that are also prone to small damages. These consumers in the ACORN classification may be from the category- Financially Stretched 38: Semi-skilled workers in traditional neighborhoods and from the category Comfortable Communities 25: larger family homes, multi-ethnic areas but also from the category 15 younger professional in smaller flats (ACORN/CACI, 2013). Another category that possibly buy Revive! UK services belong to the category 49: Young families in low cost private flats. (Appentixà ¢Ã¢ ‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦) The gender that is more interested in the products and the services are male. Also, according to a Mintel research from 2015 shows that 31% of adults drive a car under 3 years old and a 50% of the drivers have cars over 3 years up to 10 years old (Mintel, 2015). This research may reinforce the fact that costumers use smart repair car services. For the franchise sales the costumers are from different categories. According to statistics on business start-ups the characteristics of majority of entrepreneurs are white males in their forties. Specifically: 25% of employer owners are between 35 to 44 years old, 31% are 45 to 54 years old 26% are 55 to 64 years old 29.4% of owner managers tend to be A Level or equivalent 21.8% followed by a degree or equivalent 11% has no educational qualifications. Two-thirds of entrepreneurs had no prior experience of owning or managing a business, Half of active entrepreneurs have previously worked in the sector they start a business in. (Startup Team, 2004) In agreement with the above information the costumers on the franchising sales of the company may be in the type 28: Owner occupied terraces, average income (ACORN/CACI, 2013). In this category there are people with income around or above national average, moreover their educational status are in national average and finally in a combination of characteristics such as average age and savings it is shown that this category are in the middle of the average age (ACORN/CACI, 2013), (Appendix ..) 1.5 SWOT Analysis/ Key issues Strengths Revive! Operating nationwide with 58 franchisees with 135 vans Increase of cash in hand and bank in 2014 to 2015 Increase on current Liabilities 2014 to 2015 Increase of total assets Recognized and specialist employees 20% increase in sales on year with over 45% of all franchisees running multi van business Achieved Internationally recognized Investors in people status Investment in systems and technology to reduce franchise admin time and improve Updated website B2B and B2C services Mainly focused in franchise Weaknesses Decrease on Net Worth Potential loss of sales in customers that require other features (tyre ..) Mainly focused in franchise The company operate only in England Relatively young company with low market and reputation No interactive social media Many activities with social impact but without being well communicated Low Search Engine optimization Not enough promotion Revive! UK has less main services (no inside repairs, no online shop etc.). Opportunities Decrease of car sales on 2016 (Sharpe, 2016) Increase of GDP and average salary for 2016 Current improve export rate due to currency exchange Euro VS GP Unknown agreements among UK and EU for franchising sector exporting of goods due to currency Euro vs GP Change on customer buying pattern into being more in repairing their cars than buying new ones Threats Potential changes on the franchise regulations because of Brexit (Mark, 2013) Potential interest rate increase (Moneywise, 2013) Unknown agreements among UK and EU for franchising sector importing of goods: Changes on agreements would mean potential increase custom duties that will lead to more expensive row material, paint tooling, machines etc. Potential increase in taxes (Inman, 2017) Low unemployment rate with uncertain future projection (Statistics, 2017b ). 1.6 Key Issues From the above SWOT analysis the key issues that should the company consider in a new communication campaign are: Recognized and specialist employees Achieved internationally recognized Investors in people status Investment in systems and technology to reduce franchise admin time and improve Mainly focused in franchise Only in England No interactive social media Many activities with social impact but without being well communicated Low Search Engine optimization Not enough promotion 2. MARKETING COMMUNICATION OBJECTIVES Make your Smart move with Revive Reflecting on the above key issues, the companys next communication campaign should be focused on: Raising awareness to specific target group in order to increase their publicity through online marketing tools such as website and social media. Making franchise sales in another market beside England. Since the company in the past have tried to distribute their franchise product in the N. Ireland and Scotland market and there were no results (based on the information that we gathered for this assignment) it is time to make efforts again but only in one of the two countries. It is suggested here Scotland. The campaigns name would be the same but other distribution channels. To get involved in a new market, the communication and marketing steps should be more focused. The main marketing communication objectives of the campaign are: 1. Increase awareness with 20% among adults 25-35 years old, of category 2 Rising Prosperty: 2.15 younger professional in smaller flats (ACORN/ CACI, 2013) in the area of West Midlands for Make your smart move with Revive! campaign starting from March 2017 September 2017. 2. Increase awareness with 10% among adults 30 to 45 years old, of category 2 Rising Prosperty: 2.18 career driven young families (ACORN/CACI, 2013) in the area of Edinburgh for Make your Smart move with Revive! campaign starting from March 2017 September 2017. APPENDICES REFERENCES Fill, Chris. Marketing communications: Interactivity, Communities and Content Chris Fill, 5th edn. Essex: Pearson Education Limited. Westwood, John. How to Write a Marketing Plan, edited by John Westwood, Kogan Page, 2013. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/coventry/detail.action?docID=1135738. Jobber, D. and Ellis-Chadwick, F. (2012) Principles and practice of Marketin+. 7th edn. 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