The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdin Essay Example for Free

The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdin Essay A good book for me is something that you don’t want to stop reading. Something that would keep you up late at night and make you try so hard to keep those eyes from closing. The book is over 300 pages long and I figured out that this book by Robert Cialdini might be a little boring so I decided to read colorful magazines in between chapters just to get me through it. It is a classical book published years ago and there are examples of commercials that Im not familiar with. No big deal though, it’s not his fault. I have to admit that on the overall, the book is quite amazing. This classic book on persuasion explains the psychology of why people say â€Å"yes† when they could have said â€Å"no†. It purports why people comply with requests that do not necessarily benefit them. This book talks about the ways salesmen use social conditioning to influence us to buy. Robet Cialdini, a psychologist at Arizona State University, brings evidence from his field to bear on the techniques used by salesmen, politicians, and others to gain compliance. The major techniques advertisers use to manufacture desire are all discussed. These include: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, liking, authority and scarcity. . They may seem a bit unethical at some points but each chapter ends with ways to defend against each type of influence. Each social tactic is explained thoroughly and the author uses a lot of stories, anecdotes as well as his own experiments to back it up. Dr. Cialdinis research and stories detailed in this book were interesting, applicable in real life situation, and often humorous. I was flabbergasted to read about the powerful, yet restrained and cunning tactics used by many organizations and the media to influence our thoughts, behaviors and opinions. Most folks will recognize these principles in some way from personal experience such as salespersons, telemarketers, advertisements and the like. One of the great points that I find in this book is that, even after just reading the first few pages, you become very aware and realize that indeed those tactics have been used by people using these psychological tools around you. The approaches which I have experienced are on reciprocation, commitment and consistency and liking. In my own personal experiences, some individuals whom I’ve accidentally met would insist on paying for my meals in the restaurant and in return would be asking for favors which they think I can perform in my capacity. That’s just fine though; it is creating an obligation and expecting something in return. This is to trigger an innate response for me to give back. Like they say â€Å"there’s no such thing as a free lunch†. Now, that is clearly applying reciprocation. On my part, I have to do what the other person requests me to do with the idea of paying off the free payments on my meals just to get even and call it quits; you’ve paid for several meals and now I’m doing you a favor; it’s as if I’ve paid for those meals myself although I should have said ‘no’ on the first place. On commitment and consistency; making a commitment and upholding to that commitment even if something goes against what is expected is quite difficult to do. However, it is a proven fact that people who have sworn to do something will do his best to be consistent enough and adhere to that commitment. A politician in one of the local polls in my place committed to help his constituents whether he wins or loses. He lost in the local polls but he sustained what he said. He offered livelihood programs to individuals whom he assesses to be in dire need even if it meant getting the funds out of his own pocket. Cialdini’s book covers six weapons of influence. This book opens people’s eyes to all the psychological tools that people use to influence them. The book tells many stories to illustrate the tools of persuasion, and while reading it you will be thinking of the personal experiences when someone has persuaded you or when you unknowingly used one of these tools to persuade another. Cialdini did not only explain to readers the many ways that these, 6 weapons of influence are used against us, he also explains how we can avoid falling prey to them, and even turn them against the marketers and individuals who use them. It is nice to note that securing compliance from people can be greatly increased by doing them a favor, whether they ask for it, like it, or not; the simple act of a gift creates an obligation to comply with the gift givers request. Public verbal or written commitments drive intense desires to comply; people tend to determine what is correct, or not, by what other people think is correct; we are inclined to say yes to people we like; people tend to comply to authority figures; and other things seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited. This book may be classical but most folks will recognize these principles in some way from personal experiences. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in cognitive science and applied psychology. It is applicable to our daily lives. Readers can use it to defend themselves from marketers or they can use it to influence others as well.

Regulation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)

Regulation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Using Osteopathy as an example, describe and critically evaluate the ways in which the organisation and regulation of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in the UK provides safeguards for users. The provision of CAMs in the UK is historically both a component of healthcare services and viewed with suspicion by the dominant medical model of healthcare which has characterised the NHS since its inception in 1948. The kinds of CAMs which are included under the aegis of NHS provision have been restricted, to, for example, homeopathy and osteopathy (Nicholls, in Lee-Treweek et al, ). Such provision is typically regulated and monitored in ways that a wide range of other therapies which come under the same umbrella are not. This essay explores the ways in which this organisation and regulation can provide service users with the same kinds of safeguards that other NHS services have always provided. This kind of regulation, such as that provided by the professional bodies of Nursing (the Nursing and Midwifery Council) and Medicine (The General Medical Council, is a valuable means of ensuring the highest quality of care provision by ensuring only properly trained practitioners are allo wed to practice, whilst at the same time holding practitioners accountable for their practice. Patient feedback and other studies has demonstrated that the provision of CAMs within NHS care provides valuable treatment and support for patients with complex medical conditions. This is a symptom what Heller et al (2005) describe as the ‘late modernity’ of healthcare in the preesent context, characterised by increasing diversification (which is often not recognised by the dominant medical authority of the NHS).Rigorous randomised controlled trials, the gold standard for the provision of evidence for medical care, have demonstrated that CAMs are effective, yet the Medical model of care still does not always allow for the value of such treatments, and they are treated as ‘fringe’ medicine. Because of this, and because of the general standards of regulation and surveillance of medical care, very few complementary therapies are provided as a matter of course within the NHS, despite some therapies, such as Homeopathy, having a history of regulation and care pr ovision going back to 1844 (Nicholls in in Lee-Treweek et al). The training of CAM practitioners has also changed, with a more rigorous training process which reflects professional education processes and principles, and some standardisation (though not national standardisation) of education and standards. However, one therapy which is provided in this context is osteopathy. The changing face of medicine has both served the inclusion of CAMs within the NHS and served to bring about regulation by aligning the training and provision of such therapies with the principles which have governed medicine and medical practice in the UK (Heller et al, 2005). The concept of health has also evolved (Cant, in in Lee-Treweek et al; Heller et al, 2005). This has led to the emergence of integrative medicine, in which CAM practitioners work in conjunction with multi-disciplinary healthcare teams which manage patient care in an holistic and comprehensive manner (Cant, in Lee-Treweek et al). Obviously, this is the ideal from the point of view of the service user, because the hitherto unchallenged medical model of health has been replaced by a growing understanding of the complex nature of health and illness and the similarly complex responses required from those charged with promoting health and treating illness, disease and injury (Cant, in Lee-Treweek et al). However, th is has had what some view as a negative effect on CAM provision. As Heller et al (2005) state, â€Å"the growth of ‘integrative medicine’ represents an undermining of counter-cultural values, as more holistic paradigms based on challenging orthodox biomedical or ‘scientific’ theories may become displaced proximity to the dominant biomedical systems† (P xiii). Another issue is that as CAMs become more prevalent within ‘normal’ medicine and health, medical and nursing staff who are asked to advise on these therapies may not have been able to maintain current knowledge of the evidence about these therapies (Heller et al, 2005). One of the potential benefits of this influence, however, is that of ensuring patient safety. Heller et al (2005) state clearly that patients must make informed choices about such therapies, and should be able to have the information to evaluate the safety of the practitioner and the therapy. This is evident in the ways in which most people access CAMs, through private practice, through seeking out treatment and evaluating which practitioners of which therapies to access (Heller et al, 2005). However, there is such a diversity amongst many practitioners of sources of training and regulation that for many therapists, having a certificate of membership of a ‘professional’ organisation is no guarantee of quality or of redress should the service user be dissatisfied with or harmed by the therapy provided. The author has anecdotal evidence of discussions with medical doctors who believe that CAMs practitioners are dangerous, poorly regulated, and represent a danger to the pub lic by preventing sick people accessing or utilising medical healthcare services. This is a rather limited view, but one which signifies certain areas of public opinion, which in turn reflects the ways in which many therapies have not been regulated, evaluated through rigorous testing, or been subject to the same kinds of quality control and surveillance as conventional medicine. Osteopathy, however, is regulated by Acts of Parliament in a similar fashion to medicine, nursing and allied healthcare professionals, and is described as one of the ‘big five’ of the CAMs, which have a better reputation and standing within conventional medicine (Heller et al, 2005). It is this regulation which is supposed to protect patient safety and safeguard the interests of service users, but it also serves other purposes. Stone (1996) argues that regulation is not merited by the majority of therapies and would be inappropriate for therapies which are too different from medicine. Regulation ensures that the profession itself has a better professional status, that all its practitioners are trained in a similar manner, and provides support, guidance and legal support to practitioners. This suggests an increased level of responsibility and accountability, because professional bodies maintain agreed and defined standards. Therefore, in terms of informed choice, any serv ice user can be assured that any practicing osteopath is subject to the same standard of training and the same regulation, and so should be ‘safe’ to access, much in the same way as medical care is accessed. Thus regulation may safeguard patient safety by being required to formally adhere to ethical principles. Heller et al (2005) describe the requirements of professional ethical practice as: â€Å"a duty to tell the truth; a duty to act honestly and fairly; a duty to respect people’s wishes, and not to treat people as a means to an end, but as individuals with rights; a duty not to harm people;†¦[and the right] not to be harmed [and] not to be lied to.† (p 85). While these may be considered general human rights they are augmented by principles which are generally agreed to underpin healthcare, including the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence (Heller et al, 2005). It could be argued that no therapy should be provided, therefore, which does not have proven benefits to the patient, and is proven to do no harm to the patient. Professional regulation may serve this purpose, because it professionalises the therapy and demands acceptable standards of evidence to demonstrate these features. But only therapies which can provide this standard of evidence would be regulated (Stone, 1996) which could have detrimental effects on the status and reputation of more esoteric therapies which cannot be subject to the kinds of evidence that underpins medicine. Voluntary regulation may be the answer: â€Å"Consumers will best be protected by a dynamic, ethics-led approach to voluntary self-regulation in which high standards of practice together with visible and effective disciplinary procedures are given higher prominence than the pursuit of professional status (Stone, 1996 p 1493). In conclusion, this author believes that regulation, either statutory or voluntary, holds practitioners accountable and serves the interest of consumers by demonstrating that those providing CAMs are at the least educated to some kind of agreed standard, and by offering consumers a means of redress should they be dissatisfied with their treatment. However, only statutory regulation would give proper redress, but in the current legal context, there is so much legislation protecting the interests and rights of consumers of goods and services that there is plenty of room for redress through other means. Only statutory regulation could offer assurances of safety, but this is not suitable for all therapies (Stone, 1996). References Heller, T., Lee-Treweek, G., Katz, J. et al (2005) (eds). Perspectives on complementary and alternative medicine. Milton Keynes: Open University Press/Routledge. Stone, J. (1996) Regulating complementary medicine: standards, not status. BMJ 312 1492-1493.

Theprince By Machiavelli Chap :: essays research papers

The Prince Chapter Analysis The Prince, by Machiavelli, was written for the Italian deMedici family and intended to be used as a guidebook for retaining political power. In the chapter entitled "That We Must Avoid Being Despised and Hated," Machiavelli describes the traits that a leader should avoid. He also describes the traits a leader must have in order to have the respect and loyalty of his subjects. Machiavelli writes, "He is rendered despicable by being thought changeable, frivolous, effeminate, timid, and irresolute." Machiavelli believes the leader should never vacillate. The leader's words would become meaningless for he cannot gain anything by constantly changing his goals and his decisions. An example of this would be a manager wishes to complete a task and he orders his workers to begin this task. The manager later decides to change this task abandoning his first task, and he instructs his workers to begin the new task. The manager instructs his workers to return to the first task. The workers begin to become frustrated, and the manager has yet to accomplish a task. Thus, a leader must not vacillate in order to accomplish any goal. A leader must always accomplish the goals he sets out to accomplish, for if he chooses to attain a goal which he has no hope of gaining, then he is a frivolous ruler, and according to Machiavelli, deserves to become despised. A t imid ruler would be too weak and too scared to rule his people, and he would never get a task done. An effeminate ruler is thought to have feminine qualities. In those times, someone who was feminine could not be taken seriously. A leader must always resolve a problem for all problems allowed to "get out of hand" tend to become large problems, and this will show the leader's inability to resolve things. An example of this would be a king becomes aware that his crops were not as productive one year. The king decides nothing on it. Later that winter, his people begin to starve, but the king has done nothing to help. The starving people begin to revolt against this irresolute king. Therefore, a king must not be irresolute. Machiavelli describes these traits so the traits may be avoided by the leader. The leader would become despised and not respected by his citizens and fellow rulers if he is thought to be changeable, frivolous, effeminate, timid, and irresolute.

Free Euthanasia Essays: Assisted Suicide and the Supreme Court :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Assisted Suicide and the Supreme Court The Court upheld two state laws absolutely prohibiting assisted suicide, stating that Washington state's law does not violate constitutional guarantees of "liberty" (Washington v. Glucksberg) and that New York's similar law does not violate constitutional guarantees of equal protection (Vacco v. Quill). Oregon's law selectively permitting assisted suicide for certain patients had been found by one federal district court to violate equal protection; that ruling was not before the Supreme Court. See Lee v. Oregon, 891 F.Supp. 1429 (D. Or. 1995), vacated on other grounds, 107 F.3d 1382 (9th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 328 (1997). As Chief Justice Rehnquist said in his majority opinion in Glucksberg: "Lee, of course, is not before us... and we offer no opinion as to the validity of the Lee courts' reasoning. In Vacco v. Quill..., however, decided today, we hold that New York's assisted-suicide ban does not violate the Equal Protection clause." Washington v. Glucksberg, 117 S. Ct . 2258, 2262 n. 7 (1997) (emphasis added). To this day no appellate court in the country has ruled on the constitutionality of a law like Oregon's. The Court also said nothing about assigning this issue to state as opposed to federal jurisdiction. In reviewing the Nation's longstanding tradition against assisted suicide, it cited federal enactments such as the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997 alongside state laws. Illustrating the government's interest in protecting terminally ill patients, the Court favorably cited an earlier decision upholding the federal Food and Drug Administration's authority "to protect the terminally ill, no less than other patients," from life-endangering drugs. Washington v. Glucksberg, 117 S. Ct. at 2272, quoting United States v. Rutherford, 442 U.S. 544, 558 (1979). What the Court did rule is that laws prohibiting assisted suicide (whether state or federal) are constitutionally valid and serve several important and legitimate interests. Excerpts follow: Washington v. Glucksberg The question presented in this case is whether Washington's prohibition against "caus[ing]" or "aid[ing]" a suicide offends the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We hold that it does not... In almost every State -- indeed, in almost every western democracy -- it is a crime to assist a suicide. The States' assisted-suicide bans are not innovations. Rather, they are longstanding expressions of the States' commitment to the protection and preservation of all human life.

Essay --

PET/ PETE: Polyethylene Terephthalate 1. Thermoplastic polymer in polyester family, with â€Å"C10H8O4† as empirical formula for its monomer. 2. It exists in two forms: fiber (synthetic) and resin. 3. PET is converted into fiber form by permanent press fabric and bottles by blow molding. 4. Recycling Code: #1 5. PET is not biodegradable and its incineration produces harmful gases which have high potency to air pollution. That’s why recycling it for further use. Properties [1] Density 1.38 g/cc (20 â„Æ') Young's Modulus 2800-3100 MPa Tensile Strength 55-75 MPa Elastic Limit 50-100% Glass Transition Temperature 67-81 â„Æ' Table 1: Properties of Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate. 6. Strength and stiffness of PET exists because of the presence of large aromatic rings in the long chains which results in high resistant to deformation too [2]. 7. PET (waste) used as construction materials: Based on available research in the literature, waste PET (mainly bottles) is recycled in four major ways: I. Waste PET bottles depolymerized into unsaturated polyester resin to produce polymer mortar and polymer concrete [3]. Advantages: †¢ Higher compressive and flexural strength than normal Portland cement. †¢ Modified concrete achieves 80% of its ultimate strength within 1 day. Disadvantages: †¢ Properties of modified cement sensitive to temperature. †¢ Cost for producing this modified concrete is high. II. PET Fiber to reinforce concrete [4]. Advantage: †¢ Enhances the ductility of quasi-brittle concrete. †¢ Reduce the cracking by plastic shrinkage. Disadvantage: †¢ Water Repellent and low surface energy of plastic which result in weak mechanical bonding b/w fiber and concrete. †¢ Poor mechanical bond strength causes internal micro-cracks in the interfacial mechanical... ...s Composites, 21(17): 1597–1607, 2002. 16. A. B. Inceoglu and U. Yilmazer. Synthesis and mechanical properties of unsaturated polyester based nanocomposites. Polym. Eng. Sci., 43(3): 661–669, March 2003. 17. M. S. Devi, V. Murugesan, K. Rengaraj, and P. Anand. Utilization of flyash as filler for unsaturated polyester resin. J. Appl. Polymer Sciences, 69(7): 1385–1391, August 1998. 18. A. B. Cherian and E. T. Thachil. Blends of unsaturated polyester resin with functional elastomers. J. Elastomer Plastics, 35(4):367–380, October 2003. 19. Y. Xu, M. L. Li, Y. Guo, and F. J. Lu. Structure and properties of modified unsaturated polyester resin by nano-TiO2. J. Mater. Sci. Technol., 19(6): 578–580, November 2003. 20. E. Kicko-Walczak. New ecological polyester resins with reduced flammability and smoke evolution capacity. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 74(2):379–382, October 1999.

Physics And Engineering In I.T. Power Management Essay

The cost of energy continues to increase with shrinking in corporate budgets and need for more energy input. At times like this, even IT industry is affected and the stakeholders are starting to look for new ways of cutting down the cost as they keep the quality of work high and efficiency maximized. Implementation of a good energy policy in an organization’s premises can lead to reduced costs of ICT infrastructural costs in terms of capital required in setting up servers and cooling systems. If the right energy saving and proper utilization habits are adopted and effective construction and installation ideas implemented in natural air flow optimization and proper heat insulation can lead to less cooling facilities requirements, cutting on costs (Greenguard, 2009). Efforts of energy conservation in IT infrastructure have been initiated through: †¢ Technologies like PoE (Power over internet) and midspans; this is a technology that enables gadgets like phones to receive power together with data through the Ethernet connection. Midspans are stand alone gadgets that are used to interface the Ethernet switch with the power sources for optimized power distribution to the ports as required. †¢ Implementation of Smart energy and lighting technology in huge company premises with many workers using ICT equipments. †¢ Efforts of IEEE-the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, to set standards for manufacturers of electronic and electrical gadgets (IEEE 802. 3-at) to ensure optimized energy utilization at the design level. †¢ IT technology in energy auditing and virtualization of power management †¢ Use of Integrated circuits (ICs) to control magnetic and pulse width modulators for external power connection in devices. †¢ Use of Power Source Equipment (PSE) and Power Devices (PD) in network classification during powering of new connections to ensure only PoE connections are powered in wireless and telecom devices. Electrical Power With the introduction of Power over Ethernet (PoE), many electronic devices that work in direct connection with computers through Ethernet cables have shifted from use of external power cables to reception of power together with data on the Ethernet connection. The (IEEE) has established some standards (IEEE 802. 3-at) for such technology, contributing to encouraging the manufactures of electrical and electronic products to contribute in efforts of making ICT infrastructure environment friendly, through less energy consumption. This is a strategy which if adopted can lead to very improved efficiency in power delivery in devices’ interconnection. The manufacturers of such devices, for example Texas Instruments’, are manufacturing devices with power capabilities of choosing either to use PoE or switch to standard mode when the option is not available. This is in the effort to become compliant with the IEEE 802. 3-at. Even when PoE is a better option than external cables, a more detailed power saving strategy can be applied through use of midspans, which interface the switches with power sources, injecting power to the ports using way much better technology and hence more efficient. Such consciousness is needed in order to contribute to the overall infrastructure. According to (Conner, 2008), for the manufacturers of the gadgets, the design of PoE can contribute to making of smaller boards and reduce the cost of inputs on large scale. The technology shift there in the physics of electronic gadgets is the replacement of impedance power reduction through dissipation with the magnetic and switching methods in pulse width modulators, controlled through ICs. In efforts to increase power efficiency, the cost of production is also bound to reduce in the long run. The application of PSEs and PDs in network in power control centers gives an option to do power budgets and determine the proper management strategies to be applied. These are such refined levels of control that give the way to streamline and generally control power use. With the current state of globalization in online business, the ICT infrastructure has grown to very complex networks, especially with emergent of mobile devices. Power systems for these networks are as huge as the extents of the networks while management is done manually at physical points of contact. The samples provided in the cases of Highmark and the University of Minnesota (Greenguard, 2009) form a small part of the global business ICT infrastructure that interact with the environment. Educating people/employees A huge effort should go to changing the habits of power use in a working environment. The employees can too contribute to the efforts of a greener ICT infrastructure by ensuring proper use of power. Switching off devices when not in use can help accumulate huge power savings with time. This is not a common thing in most IT departments and will take the initiative of the management to organist fro training of the power users on good use of energy sources. When organization becomes too huge with thousands of employees, energy efficiency becomes a major issue. Such a high number of users of the infrastructure can accumulate a high energy demand and proper management for cost effective and sustainable operation. An example of such a firm is the Highmark with 11000 employees. Energy Computations and Software Virtualization Right from the Physics hardware, the availability of interfacing in ports control to enable remote power on and power off (Ronen, 2009) in PoE makes complex networks manageable. In the Highmark case the Company strategized on extra careful management method on using software technology like energy auditing tools and virtualization as well as new technology in smart energy and lighting systems (Greenguard, 2009). According to the report, there has been increase in need for organizations to use power consuming ICT infrastructure with new technologies to do business as compared to the traditional methods. This has led to ratings of about â€Å"61 billion kilowatt-hours in 2006† by data centers (Greenguard, 2009). The figures could even increase with more ICT use, alarming the corporate to strategize on conservation and efficiency. Owing to this, there have been numerous instances of application of IT solution in power management. Highmark installed a system for collecting rain water and using it in a datacenter cooling system and virtualized the servers to monitor PC usage by employees. This strategy helped adopt the method of remote powering down of equipment not in use, to minimize wastage. The company consulted with IBM to do computations of server spacing for maximum utilization of cooling systems. It appears clearly that many organizations have massive equipments powered up even when not in use because of poor management policy. From these results, it is important to carry each of these computation and software analysis methods with weigh while considering efforts to manage such massive data infrastructures. In many cases, the companies rely on employees to be reliable in implementing the energy conservation policies but even that cannot be enough. If software methods are used to monitor use of powered resources and power them down remotely, a great deal of energy could be saved. A perfect example here is the IT organization of the University of Minnesota which could â€Å"switch off about 25,000 devices each night† (Greenguard, 2009). Conclusion The IT infrastructure comprises of billions of gadgets that use electrical power to operate and network equipment to keep them connected. Power consumption is therefore starts from a single device’s design and connection to the system and spans to the networking level. The physical electronic power consumption can be managed and through standardization methods such as those by IEEE. It is at such low levels that interaction with the environment can be analyzed and energy consumption optimized. The physical arrangement of power consuming data facilities is also of significance importance as clogging them closely together reduces the ability of natural air flow to take care of cooling done by electrical motors in fans. The relationship between IT and these physical sciences is so direct when it comes to practical application fields. The application of software power computation, management and control also helps ICT fit into the practical idea of conservation and greener infrastructure. From the cases analyzed, there is enough evidence that application of technology from the physics and engineering of devices and systems, software tools and ICT infrastructure can be managed in away that can lead to more environment friendly use. References Conner, M. (2008). PoE for high-powered applications. Electronics Weekly, (2263), 18 Retrieved from: http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=cph&AN=36122010&loginpage=Login. asp&site=ehost-live Sani Ronen, (2009) Midspans for next-gen PoE,An inside look at technologies and standards, Tech update, Available: www. networkworld. com Samuel Greengard, (2009), Building an Energy-Efficient IT Infrastructure, Baseline Magazine Available: http://www. baselinemag. com

Paradise Vacation Case

Key Decisions: * Should Leduc agree to Air India’s offer? * What’s the company’s competitive strategy for 2008/2009? * How to respond to FunTours’ expansion and aggressive pricing strategy? SWOT Analysis: Paradise holds strong buyer power which enables it to bargain for lower price and discount. As market leader and Quebec company, Paradise can promote itself through reminding customer about company hisotry to strength their preference and loyalty . The weakness lands at that Quebec is the only market in Canada; the collapse of one location will damage the entire business.The threat mainly lands at pricing competition from FunTours. Competitive Analysis and Consumer Analysis: Because Paradise has its main market in Quebec, Benoix is the main competitor. However, the biggest threat comes from FunTours’ expansion currently. The competitive advantage of FunTours is its low pricing strategy. Travelling is has an elastic demand. With price being the most important determination, FunTours' strategy could drive Paradise out of the market. This strategy targets at mid and base segment of the market. It creates threat to the same segments for Paradise, which represent 90% of the revenue.Nonetheless, Quebec is a brand new market where FunTours does not have supplier connections or customer loyalty yet. FunTours serves no premium market where 10% of the revenue comes from for Paradise. Therefore, Paradise can utilize its bargain power with its suppliers to ask for lower prices, also lower its retail price to keep customers from switching to new brand, and advertise to strengthen brand loyalty. Segment| Focus| Conclusion| Base| Low price| Lower price than FunTours offers| Mid| Best value| Lower price than FunTours offers, and special promotion with higher value. Premium| Luxury service| Lower price to prevent customer from downgrading to Mid segment. Keep agents as partial distributors for better services. | Recommendation : Base and Mid package will be sold through internet solely; Premium package will be sold through both agent and internet by 50/50; at the same time lowering wholesale price by 5%, and asking Benoix Air for 5% discount on the flight. Implementation Plan: Paradise will reject the offer from Air India. We will stay with the original segments of consumers, and lower price to stop FunTours from ntering the market; at the same time, keep the package unchanged to ensure customer experiences; use promotional strategy to re-enforce brand name and loyalty. Product| Travel package provides both service and product. Paradise includes 3 packages targeting at base, mid and premium market. | Price (See Exhibit 4 for detail)| We will be using Value-based pricing strategy. We will set lower retail price to stop FunTours from entering the market, and to provide lowest price for Base segment, best value for Mid, and both luxury service and low price for Premium segment. | Retail| Base: 89| Mid: 134| Premium: 193(Ag ent) 178 (Internet)| | Wholesale| 88| 132| 176| | Tactics| Markdowns| Seasonal discount, coupons. | Markdowns. | Place| Indirect Distribution: -100% of base and mid, 50% of premium package through internet distributor -50% of premium package through travel agents with 10% commission| | Exclusive Distribution: Distribute through good reputation internet distributors only for the purpose of keeping professional brand image, and high-end travel agents to keep Premium customer privileged. Promotion| Objective: To re-enforce the brand image as a local and experienced travel operator who always respond to Quebec travellers' needs beyond expectation. | | Reminder Advertising: TV advertising and internet ad to re-enforce the brand image. Sales promotion: (1)Price promotion is mentioned above at Price section. (2)Loyalty points-collection program to encourage repurchase and creates loyalty; (3)Contests to win trips in order to increase consumer involvements and personal feelings. | Expected Results: See Exhibit 4 – Alternative 5//Recommendation for income statement.Appendixes Decision criteria: * Provide short-term viability * Provide long-term sustainability Alternative Evaluation * Cost cutting through partnership with Benoix and cost structure change to start a price war with FunTours. * Setting pricing strategy as price war and cutting cost through vertical integration. * Sell its packages through Internet distributors exclusively. * Offering packages to more remote and less developed destinations. Base and Mid package will be sold through internet solely; Premium package will be sold through both agent and internet by 50/50; at the same time lowering wholesale price by 5% and asking Benoix Air for 5% discount on the flight. Alternative 1, comparing all other 4, gets the least revenue (32,540,428). Although it is feasible in short-term and might drive FunTour out of the market, it does not concern with the obsolete of travel agents. Giving the negative reve nue for the base segment (see Exhibt 2), it is not long-term sustainable.Moreover, even if the competitor is eventually driven out the market, Paradise will have to raise the price again in order to get back on its previous profitability; Paradise runs into the risk that the customers will feel cheated and uncomfortable with the raising price, and thus shift to other operators. For Alternative 2, although leasing private airline will decrease the variable cost and increase revenue (71,192,907), Paradise runs into the risk of heavy responsibility for flight issues, decrease of flight destination and time flexibility, and high fixed cost, which will eventually be added to the price of the package.In addition to those, same problem with Alternative 1, it does not concern with the obsolete with travel agents. Thus, this alternative is not sustainable in the long-run. For Alternative 3, it addresses the problem of high agent cost, and the obsolete of agent distributor. 5% of revenue is a ssumed from using internet to reach broader customer base with lower retail price. However, the price is still higher for than FunTours’ offer (e. g. $93 vs. $90); therefore provides FunTours the chance to take away market share. It is short-term viable but not sustainable.Alternative 4 increases market variety but turns away from the main market (top 5), which is providing 89% of Paradise’s package sale. It equals to giving up a bigger pie for a tiny one. (Exhibit 2) The recommendation ranks the 3rd place in the 5 alternatives quantitatively. However, it provides both short-term viability and long-term sustainability. Lowering the price from utilizing the buyer power on Benoix Air gives Paradise the ability to win over FunTours price-wise in the short-run, and keep price low in the long-run.Internet distributor addresses the obsolete of travel agents. By offering both agents and internet distributor for premium market helps sustain our competitive advantage on luxury customers. Exhibit 1: Marketing Share, Value and Growth of Canada and Paradise Vacation for 2007 and 2008 Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | Â  | PR Market Setments| | National| PR Canada | Quebec| PR Quebec | Base| Mid| Premium| Percentage| 100. 00%| 7. 80%| 20. 00%| 39. 00%| 60%| 30%| 10%| 2007| 6,400,000| 499,200| 1,280,000| 499,200| 299,520| 149,760| 49,920| 2008 4. 0% growth| 6,694,400| 522,163| 1,338,880| 522,163| 313,298| 156,649| 52,216| Exhibit 2 – Alternative 4 Market Share, Value and Growth for 2007 and 2008 | National| Paradise Canada| Other destinations other than top5| 8%| 11%| 2007| 512,000,000| 54,912,000| After 25% of expected growth | 640,000,000| 68,640,000| Exhibit 3 – Income Statement for Alternative 1 and 2 (2008) | Alternative 1 i| Alternative 2iv| | Base| Mid| Premium| Base| Mid| Premium|Total Revenue| 313,297,920| 156,648,960| 52,216,320| 313,297,920| 156,648,960| 52,216,320| | Agent| Internet| Agent| Internet| Agent| Internet| Agent| Internet| Agent| In ternet| Agent| Internet| Industry Total Sales| 72%| 28%| 72%| 28%| 72%| 28%| 72%| 28%| 72%| 28%| 72%| 28%| | 225,574,502| 87,723,418| 112,787,251| 43,861,709| 37,595,750| 14,620,570| 225,574,502| 87,723,418| 112,787,251| 43,861,709| 37,595,750| 14,620,570| Retail price| 90. 00ii| 82. 64| 135. 00| 123. 95| 180. 00| 165. 27| 90. 00| 82. 64| 135. 00| 123. 95| 180. 0| 165. 27| Commission| 8. 18iii| 0. 82| 12. 27| 1. 23| 16. 36| 1. 64| 8. 18| 0. 82| 12. 27| 1. 23| 16. 36| 1. 64| Wholesale price| 81. 82| 81. 82| 122. 73| 122. 73| 163. 64| 163. 64| 81. 82| 81. 82| 122. 73| 122. 73| 163. 64| 163. 64| costs of sales| | | | | | | | | | | | | Airline| 40| 40| 40| 40| 40| 40| 30v| 30| 30| 30| 30| 30| Hotel| 40| 40| 50| 50| 60| 60| 40| 40| 50| 50| 60| 60| Contribution| 1. 82| 1. 82| 49. 90| 49. 90| 63. 64| 63. 64| 11. 82| 11. 82| 49. 90| 49. 90| 73. 64| 73. 64| SG&A| 9. 00| 8. 26| 13. 0| 12. 40| 18. 00| 16. 53| 9. 00| 8. 26| 13. 50| 12. 40| 18. 00| 16. 53| EBITDA| (7. 18)| (6. 44)| 36. 40| 37. 5 0| 45. 64| 47. 11| 2. 82| 3. 56| 36. 40| 37. 50| 55. 64| 57. 11| Earning contribution| (8%)| (8%)| 27%| 30%| 25%| 29%| 3. 13%| 4. 30%| 26. 96%| 30. 26%| 30. 91%| 34. 55%| ` Earning| (18,000,390)| (6,840,346)| 30,410,785| 13,271,102| 9,531,852| 4,167,425| 7,063,444| 3,775,013| 30,410,785| 13,271,102| 11,620,505| 5,052,058| Total| 32,540,428| 71,192,907| i. Assume during price war, market share does not changeii.Retail price drops 10% for distributor of agent; wholesale price will shift according to retail price and commission change (Wholesale=Retail/(1+10% commission); internet retail price change according to wholesale and commission (Internet=wholesale*(1+1% commission). iii. Commission for agent will increase to 10%; internet stays the same as 1%. | iv: All assumptions from Alternative 1 holdv: Airline price decreases 25% from$40| Exhibit 4: Income Statement for Alternative 3 and Recommendation (2008) | Alternative 3vi| Alternative 5 – Recommendation ix| | Base| Mid| Premi um| Base| Mid| Premium| 48,271,360vii| 328,962,816| 164,481,408| 54,827,136| 334,445,530| 169,964,122| 43,861,709| | Internet| Internet| Internet| Internet| Internet| Agent| Internet| Segment Percentage| 100%| 100%| 100%| 100%| 100%| 50%| 50%| | 328,962,816| 164,481,408| 54,827,136| 334,445,530| 169,964,122| 21,930,854| 21,930,854| Retail price| 93. 53| 141. 30| 187. 05| 88. 85| 134. 23| 193. 534xi| 177. 70| Wholesale price| 92. 6| 139. 9| 185. 2| 87. 97xii| 132. 905| 175. 94| 175. 94| costs of sales| | | | | | | | Airline| 40| 40| 40| 38| 38| 38| 38| Hotel| 40| 50| 60| 40| 50| 60| 60| Contribution| 12. 6| 49. 9| 85. 2| 9. 7| 49. 9| 77. 94| 77. 94| SG&A| 8. 42| 12. 72| 16. 83| 8. 00| 12. 08| 19. 35| 15. 99| EBITDA| 4. 18| 37. 18| 68. 37| 1. 97| 37. 82| 58. 5866| 61. 95| Earning contribution| 4. 47%| 26. 32%| 36. 55%| 2. 22%| 28. 17%| 30. 27%| 34. 86%| Earning| 14,711,841| 43,283,583| 20,038,677| 7,428,695| 47,885,482| 6,638,907| 7,645,225| Total| 78,034,101| 69,598,308| vi: Because that internet distributor can reach more customer, 5% growth on expected revenue (2008) is assumedvii: Total revenue after 5% assumed growthviii:With internet distributor, SG&A decrease by 10% from before, for agent, it stays the same| ix:. % revenue growth is assumed same from Alternative 3 due to the use of internet distributor. Premium market as luxury will decrease due to the upcoming recession, it is assumed that Premium segment will decrease to 8%, Base and Mid will increase by 1% each. X: From bargaining with Benoix Air, a 5% discount is expected. xi: 10% commission on agent is provided. Xii: Taking 5% off wholesale price|