Beer’s Law Lab Report Essay

Abstract: The Beer’s law lab was conducted to determine the optimal wavelength of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O with the use of spectrometry. The results determined that the optimal wavelength to study the absorbance of this salt was 500nm. It also demonstrated how transmittance of light and absorbance of light are inversely proportional because absorbance is calculated by multiplying transmittance by a negative log. Introduction: When one is studying chemicals, there are many important factors of significance. The color of a chemical is a useful tool in its study. The light one sees produced by a chemical is the result of both reflection and absorbance of wavelengths. The wavelengths that are absorbed by a chemical are not visualized. The wavelengths that are reflected back are the colors that one sees. When chemicals are diluted in water, their colors also become diluted. As the chemical is diluted, the molecules spread apart. The more dilute the solution, the further apart the molecules. As the molecules spread, the color that is reflected becomes less intense because some of the wavelengths are able to pass through the solution without encountering any of the solute. The more wavelengths that are able to pass through a solution without encountering any of the solute, the greater the transmittance. The transmittance can be mathematically calculated by dividing the amount of light that exited the solution (IT) by the amount of original intensity (IO). That value is then multiplied by 100 to give the percent transmittance (%T) Beer’s Law is used to relate and compares the amount of light that has passed through something to the substances it has passed through. The Law is represented by A=abc. â€Å"A† is the absorbance of a solution. The â€Å"a† represents the absorption constant of the solution being tested. The â€Å"b† represents the thickness of the solution in centimeters, and â€Å"c† represents the solution’s molarity or concentration. The â€Å"A† can be calculated by using the negative log of the transmittance (T).   The lab experiment conducted used the salt Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. The Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O  was diluted in distilled water to four different molarities. The most concentrated solution was used to determine the optimal wavelength to study the salt by measuring the transmittance of the Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O with twenty different wavelengths of light. Once the optimal wavelength was concluded, the transmittance of the less concentrated Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions was also measured. The measurements of the less concentrated solutions was to determine the absorbance constant, â€Å"a†. Finally, the transmittance of an unknown concentration of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solution was measured and molarity was determined based on the absorbance constant determined earlier in the experiment. Procedure: A test tube was prepared with 0.1 M solution of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O in 10mL of distilled water. Half of the .1M solution, 5mL, was drawn up into a pipette and put into another test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make a 0.05 M solution. Half of the 0.05 M solution, 5mL was drawn into a pipette and put into a test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make 0.025 M solution. Half of the 0.025 M solution, 5mL, was drawn into a pipette and put into a test tube with 5mL of deionized water to make 0.0125 M solution. A test tube of 10mL of deionized water was also prepared. The bubbles on all test tubes were removed by tapping on the outside of the test tube. The outside of the tubes were dried off and any fingerprints were removed with paper towels and placed into a test tube rack. An absorbance spectrometer was zeroed by measuring the transmittance at 400nm with no test tubes in the spectrometer. The spectrometer was then calibrated to 100 percent transmittance with the test tube of deionized water. The deionized water was removed from the spectrometer and the 0.1 M solution was put inside the spectrometer. The transmittance of the solution was recorded and the solution was removed. The wavelength on the spectrometer was changed to 410nm and the deionized water was placed back into the spectrometer and the transmittance was calibrated to 100 percent. The deionized water was replaced with 0.1 M solution and the transmittance was recorded. This process was repeated twenty times with the wavelength increasing by 10nm consecutively until the last wavelength, 600nm, was  measured. It was necessary to calibrate the spectrometer between each change in wavelength. Every change in nanometers had to be measured and calibrated at 100 percent with the control of deionized water. This maintained accuracy when the transmittance of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions measured. Based on the data gathered, the optimal wavelength was determined and the spectrometer was set to that wavelength. The transmittance was set to 100 with the deionized water. The 0.1 M solution replaced the deionized water in the spectrometer chamber and the transmittance was recorded. This process was repeated with 0.05 M, 0.025 M, and 0.0125 M solutions and the transmittance was calibrated to 100 between each solution with the deionized water. Finally, a Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solution with an unknown molarity was provided (unknown â€Å"B†). The wavelength of the spectrometer was not changed. The deionized water was placed in the chamber and calibrated to 100 percent transmittance. The deionized water was removed and replaced with a test tube containing unknown â€Å"B†. The transmittance was recorded to determine what the molarity was. Data: After the solutions had been completed, the transmittance was measured at 10nm intervals from 400nm to 600nm. The measurements were determine the wavelength to best study Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. Higher transmittance demonstrated less absorption of the wavelength and lower transmittance demonstrated higher absorption of the wavelength. Discussion: Beer’s Law is a law that demonstrates that the absorbance of light at a certain wavelength is directly proportional to the concentration or molarity of a solution. This was apparent with the naked eye. When making the solutions, 0.291 moles of was added to a test tube with 10mL of deionized water to make a 0.1 M solution. By taking 5mL out of the solution and mixing it with 5mL of deionized water, the number of moles was halved which made the second solution a 0.05 M solution. When the process had been repeated, it was apparent that the solutions had been diluted based on the color of the solutions in the test tubes. The 0.1 M solution was absorbing more light and was a deep rose color. As the solutions became more dilute, the concentration of the visible color diminished as less light was absorbed to a very pale translucent pink in the 0.0125 M solution. For the first part of the lab, the wavelengths 400-600nm were used. These wavelengths were used to determine the optimal wavelength when the most light was absorbed by the solution. It was important to calibrate the transmittance to 100% on the spectrometer with the deionized water because there were no solutes to absorb light. The spectrometer was then able to use that calibration to determine how much of the light was absorbed by the solution containing Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O by comparing the difference in how much light was absorbed by the detectors in the spectrometer. The spectrometer than calculated the percent transmittance (%T) and displayed the data in a percent. As was shown above in table 1 and graph 1, the %T started high and ended high with percentages over 90. The higher %T demonstrate less light was absorbed by the solution and therefore not the wavelength of light that is absorbed by Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O. Toward the middle of the data, 500nm and 510nm, the %T became substantially lower. This demonstrates that Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O absorbs wavelengths about 500nm. In the second part of the lab, the different molarity, or concentrations, of solution were measured for %T with a 500nm wavelength. The absorbance was calculated by using the negative log of T. This was done because T and A are inversely proportional. This was demonstrated in table 2 and table 3. These tables confirmed that as T decreases, A increases. The third part of the experiment used the point slope formula to determine a molarity based on an absorbance. The absorbance of light was dependent on the concentration of solute. The variables â€Å"A† and â€Å"y† are both dependent variables and were comparable to one another. The variable â€Å"x† and â€Å"c† were the independent variables. The variable â€Å"a† was the absorption constant and â€Å"b† was the thickness of the solution. In this case, â€Å"b† was equal to 1 cm. Graphs 2 and 3 demonstrated the plotted points and from that, excel calculated a trend line based on the point-slope formula. Graph 3 demonstrated how the estimated molarity of unknown â€Å"B†, based on the point-slope formula, fits the trend line. Conclusion: Beer’s Law was studied in this lab. The goals of this were to determine optimal wavelength absorption by Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O and determine transmittance and absorption from the data collected. The optimal wavelength absorption for Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O occurred at 500nm. The data also showed that while the transmittance and absorbance were indirectly proportional from one another, both variables were dependent on the concentration of the solution. Once the data had been collected and understood, an unknown concentration of solution was tested for transmittance. Based on the trend line formed from other concentrations of Co(NO3)2 ·6H2O solutions, the molarity was easily calculated to be 0.048. Possible errors that may have occurred during this lab have to do with calibration of the spectrometer. The transmittance values changed second to second so if the timing was not perfect in measuring the samples, the transmittance would have been erroneous. The transmittances would have been too high (based on experimentation) so the absorbance rates would have been too low. This in turn would have caused the absorbance constant to be too low. If the absorbance constant was too low, the concentration of unknown â€Å"B† would have been calculated too high.

Organic & Processed foods: What’s Better Essay

There are a lot of differences and similarities with organic and processed foods. I’m sure when everyone was a kid they could eat whatever they wanted and didn’t worry about what it did to their body. I remember when I was younger I would cook a whole Tostito’s Pizza and consume the whole thing myself in under five minutes. I wouldn’t gain a pound and that same night I would have two big macs (back when there was a big mac Monday) and sit on my butt playing video games. It’s not like I didn’t have the exercise. I played all sorts of little league sports including baseball and soccer. You may think I was writing an essay on the effects of metabolism but I’m more interested in finding out what the words â€Å"Organic† and â€Å"Processed† foods really mean. What kind of chemicals are in them and what the huge fuss is about. I think this is an important topic to write about because most people don’t know what the difference is. What makes a food organic? What happens to the ingredients when converting it into a processed food? I think if you understand more about this issue people would choose to live healthier and know how easy it is to alter their diet. Organic food has gone back in history ever since the first person decided to take and seed, plant it, and then eat what the plant produced. This is known as farming if you were confused. Over the years farming has evolved from types of fertilizer used, machinery, tools, equipment and even animals. Machines can harvest a field of crops in one hour where a hundred years ago it would have taken a full day. Processed foods are more close to our time. In the 1920s, women were growing weary of preparing foods from scratch, and ready-to-cook foods were becoming more available. World War I brought about new methods of food processing, including canned and frozen foods. When World War II hit by the 1940s people needed away to ration the food for the soldiers. After the war, many new â€Å"convenience foods† were introduced like dehydrated juice, instant coffee, and cake mix. Farmers used fertilization and irrigation to increase crop yields, decreasing the vitamins and minerals in those plants. Government subsidies for corn and soy led to a food industry with a financial incentive to use high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, modified corn starches to produce lots of highly processed (and unhealthy) foods. The U. S. issued guidelines for adding iron, vitamin B, thiamine and riboflavin to bread and other grain products to offset nutrient deficiencies. With all of the changes that were going on in the food industry there was always someone trying to tighten the noose by the power of democracy. Soon farmers were being replaced by machines and factories. Fast food corporations were growing more and more and farms were depleting less every day. As I researched into the major debating controversy I found that most people would agree that the organic foods are healthier to consume. The organic industry has sky rocketed in the last couple years because of the messages that was sent out saying organic farming is safer and healthier for the environment. But is it actually healthier for you in the long run? Other consumers argue that organic farming can be dangerous and unsafe to digest due to the invisible toxins and pesticide found in organic produce could even be as dangerous as synthetic chemicals. Most people would agree that switching from a processed food nation to an organic food country would be best. But it’s easier said than done. Organic foods and processed foods are different in a lot of ways. Processed foods contain more bad chemicals and bad fat per calorie than any other natural food. You can determine whether a food is processed by looking at the ingredient list. The longer the ingredient list, the more processed a food is likely to be. Processed foods are usually found in the center aisles of the grocery store and are more likely to contain ingredients that you are not able to recognize. Organic foods are foods that don’t have any harmful fertilizers, pesticides or sewage. Animals that produce meats, poultry, or eggs and don’t use any kind of steroids in the process are considered organic. There are a lot of different sides to both of these categories. Most critics who agree with organic foods are humanitarians who believe in renewable resources and not using exotic chemicals that may be harmful to the environment. Also in this case it helps with how the animals are being treated. For example, in a processed factory for animals the cows are caged in tight corners and forced to eat so they are worth more. When animals are raised by farmers, they have the freedom of a decent sized field and their manure will decompose and fertile the land. On the other hand processed food critics have done research that shows processed food saves on money and meets the demand of the growing population of consumers. The only way to meet this demand is by using steroids and food enhancers/substitutes. People buy processed foods because they have a longer expiration date and you can freeze them. It takes time to prepare a meal from organic foods. Processed foods can be made easily by adding water, boiling, frying or if you’re an American like me, microwaving. Plus processed foods are typically cheaper, you get more bang for your buck. What is organic food? The term â€Å"organic† refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. Specific requirements must be met and maintained in order for products to be labeled as â€Å"organic†. Organic crops must be grown in safe soil, have no modifications, and must remain separate from conventional products. Farmers are not allowed to use synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes (GMOs), petroleum-based fertilizers, and sewage sludge-based fertilizers. Some organic foods contain more vitamins than processed foods, according to Organic Facts. For example, organic milk contains more vitamins than non-organic milk. Organic milk is believed to be of better quality because the cows that produce it eat a better diet, which includes grazing for large parts of the day. Organic fruits and vegetables also tend to contain more vitamins than processed ones, according to nutritionist Shane Heaton. Not only do many organic foods contain more vitamins than processed foods, they also contain more antioxidants, according to Organic Facts. A University of California Davis study found that organically-raised tomatoes had higher concentrations of the antioxidants quercetin and kaempferol, both of which may protect the body against certain diseases by helping promote cell health. The researchers at the University of California Davis believe that organic foods contain more antioxidants because plants create antioxidants in order to defend themselves from plant-eating insects. Conventionally raised plants do not need to produce as many antioxidants because any plant-eating insects that might prey on them are controlled with insecticide. Because organic foods must be raised and processed without insecticides, herbicides or similar chemicals, the finished product available in the store usually contains fewer of these chemicals than processed foods, according to Heaton. Although many pesticide residues may be harmless to humans, people who are sensitive to others may experience symptoms that can be alleviated by reducing the amount of conventionally processed food in the diet. Farmers also use a cycling method when farming so they can reduce the amount of bugs and pesticides. They will plant different crops in each cycle so that they do not get the same pesticides returning. Organic farming is designed to protect the environment. By removing chemicals and other artificial farming methods from the equation, you save soil and water and reduce pollution. Organic farmers also use more humane methods of producing their meat, eggs and other animal products. For those concerned with the environment or the treatment of the animals they eat, the peace of mind is worth the extra cost. With all of the good that comes from organic food what could possibly be some negative things about eating organic foods and why does everyone think that processed foods are so bad? Because organic farmers do not use artificial means to produce their products, they tend to produce less. Organic farming is also more expensive than conventional farming, as can be seen with the cost of using a chemical weed killer versus the manpower required to manually pull weeds and rotate crops, for example. The combination of lower production rates with higher overhead makes organic products more expensive. One can also argue on the fact that it may be more environmentally friendly if you drive the shorter distance such as 50 miles to your local farmer to purchase food rather purchasing the organic food that has traveled over 1500 miles to get to you. Organic food can sometimes be limited to people, especially if you live in more rural areas. The most important issue that seems to affect all of America is the simple fact that because organic food is harder to process and is more time consuming to grow there is a shortage of it. Organic food does not come in huge quantities like other food does. So because of organic food being in high demand from grocery stores and other consumers the prices are extremely high. That then means there are a high percentage of people in our society that cannot afford to eat organic food, to me that is just reminding someone that they are basically â€Å"poor†. So what if they want to eat healthy as well? We are just going to say sorry you are out of luck because you can’t afford it? Next let’s talk about processed food. What is processed food? Processed foods have been altered from their natural state, either for safety reasons or for convenience. The methods used include canning, freezing, refrigeration, dehydration and aseptic processing. Processed foods are very convenient for the society because they can usually be prepared very quickly and allow minimal time and energy. By processing food we can also preserve food so that it will have longer shelf life, allow us to lower prices, and get food to more rural areas. When we process food we are putting preservatives into them so that they will last longer which allows stores and consumers to sell them longer without them spoiling. By allowing the foods to not spoil as quickly as others the stores can lower the prices which allows everyone of all social classes to be able to buy the foods. Another huge reason that processed foods is very ideal for our society is the fact that we are able to get the food to more rural areas. When we transfer organic foods to rural areas it ends up costing more because to get it there before the food would spoil would cost an extreme amount of money which then makes the prices of food go up. By being able to preserve the food so that its expiration date is longer we can get the food to rural areas in more effective ways that allows the environment to be safer and cleaner, then also reducing the prices in which more people can afford the food. We tend to think of processed food as bad, like most high-fat, high-calorie snack foods or even those prepackaged meals you fix in a skillet, but it turns out that some of these foods are not bad for your health at all. For example, milk would be considered a processed food because it’s pasteurized to kill bacteria and homogenized to keep fats from separating. Some people prefer raw milk, but it can lead to lead to food-borne illness, so most of us are happy to consume the healthy processed milk we find in our grocery stores. Freezing vegetables preserves most vitamins and minerals and makes them convenient to store, cook and eat all year around. Fruit and vegetable juice is also an example of a healthy processed food — usually. In fact, some orange juice is fortified with calcium to make it even more nutritious. Oatmeal, unbreaded frozen fish fillets, canned salmon, frozen berries and 100-percent whole grain bread are also examples of processed foods that are good for you. Sure, there are a lot of processed foods that aren’t good for you. Many of these bad ones are made with trans-fats, saturated fats, and large amounts of sodium and sugar. These processed foods should be avoided, or at least eaten sparingly. Processed foods are also more appealing to the eye and because of food additives they can taste even better. Basically the biggest downside to processed foods is one will lose a few nutrients. After researching these two topics I understood what the communal agreement was and the controversy that surrounded it. But I needed to find out what else needed to be further questioned. There wasn’t a lot of information surrounding what affects it would have on the grocery stores. The prices that were listed on a trusted source showed that the organic food was often priced higher than any processed food items, usually forty to fifty percent more. This is because it takes a lot of steps to grow and distribute organic foods, here are some of the steps it takes to successfully distribute the produce. Prepare the field and properly fertile the land after the previous plants have been harvested, this process is what takes most of majority. They have to buy the seed themselves and base off what they want to sale the crop for to turn around for some profit. They also have to put in the man hours and distribution cost. As you can see it takes a lot of time to complete this process rather growing and distributing it all in one location like how the processed food organizations do it. As I was saying I would like to see what the total cost was on organic food verses processed food, maybe from a big corporation like Wal-Mart to compare the differences. One other thing that I think should be a little more covered is the shelf life on an organic and non-organic food item. Because non-organic food has preservatives in them they can last a lot longer. In this case you would have to make less trips to the store and save money on gas, it will also help with the environment. But would it be worth it in the end. Organic foods can go bad very quickly but it needs to be broken down to a science. How much longer will a processed mango last than organic mango. After the experiment has concluded customers will have more knowledge of what to buy accordingly. Between organic and processed foods organic foods may have more natural nutrients when eaten. But you can get just as good nutrients from processed foods. It really boils down to what one chooses to eat and what they prefer. There are alternative ways to getting all nutrients one needs for their body without having to pay a high price if you can’t afford it. Even if you eat organic foods that doesn’t mean someone will not indulge on the fatty foods such as ice cream, potato chips, etc. It comes down to what one will eat whether it is processed or organic.

Site Finding And Planning For Wind Farms Environmental Sciences Essay

Finding a air current farm site is a juggle act where many, frequently conflicting, issues need to be considered and balanced before a determination to develop a possible site is taken. At the most basic degree, after set uping that the end product from a air current power undertaking can be sold at an acceptable monetary value, the following are the acerb trials for any possible development: 1.Is grid connexion probably to be cost effectual for the coveted size of development? 2.Is the air current resource adequate? 3.Will the undertaking be able to obtain all the licenses necessary for the air current farm to be built? 4.Is entree to the site and building of the air current farm likely to be cost effectual? 5.Can the rights to the land be secured? A good outlook that the reply to all of the above trials will be positive is a pre-requisite for doing the investing necessary to gain a undertaking, although necessarily early determinations need to be made on uncomplete information. A Each of the issues is considered in a little more item below:Grid connexionWhen looking for a site, propinquity to a medium electromotive force grid is a good initial index that an appropriate connexion is practical. The following phase of the procedure is to keep treatments with the appropriate electrical authorization. A The consequences of such treatments will normally bespeak a cap, or a series of caps on the upper limit installed capacity at a possible site which are associated with increasingly more dearly-won grid connexion scenarios. A Some elaborate analysis by the electrical authorization, at the cost of the developer, may be necessary before even approximative figures are available. A The presence of merely a high electromotive force line n ear to a little or average air current farm may non be helpful as the cost of connexion to such a grid may be prohibitory.Wind ResourceIt is hard to generalize how best to measure the air current resource at a possible air current farm site when no site air current informations are available, as different states have markedly different air current governments. A Some general regulations, for which there are many noteworthy exclusions, are listed below: Good exposure, peculiarly in the prevailing air current way, will well better the resource at a site. The rate at which wind velocity reduces off from the countries of a site with the best exposure should non be underestimated. A An â€Å" ideal † hill would hold smooth inclines of about 17 A grades gradient. Steeper inclines do non give significant extra sweetening of the air current flow but can do separation of the flow which complicates the air current conditions at a site. A Low flora at and around a site retards the air current flow less than tall flora. A However, a site with good exposure and little trees is likely to turn out better than a site with hapless exposure and no trees. ABuilding licensesKey issues will change between parts and states but common sense indicates that countries with particular appellations are best avoided. A Low visibleness from cardinal countries of habitation or diversion is besides desirable. A If there are homes within a few 100 metres of the air current farm site noise or shadow spark may turn out an insurmountable job in some states. A Turbines can interfere with electromagnetic telecommunications signals. A The presence of a telecommunications mast at a site or such signals which cross a site may therefore perplex the procedure of obtaining a edifice license. A A cheque for telecasting communications should besides be made which may non be evident from ocular review.EntreeThe distance to the nearest route entree and t he complexness of the terrain will well act upon the capital cost of the undertaking. ALand handinessLand handiness varies from state to state but a possible site where there are comparatively few landholders and landholders who can give sole rights to the developer is the ideal state of affairs. The job of site happening lends itself good to a thorough and elaborate Geographical Information System ( GIS ) based attack where air current atlases, an electrical grid map, roads, environmental appellations and other standards can all be input and the optimum sites defined. A In pattern, nevertheless, a more matter-of-fact attack may good turn out more appropriate.2. WIND FARM LAYOUT DESIGNThe air current farm layout is typically designed utilizing a professional air current farm design bundle. A Such tools allows for an effectual loop and optimization of the cardinal parametric quantities for the layout.Preliminary layout designOnce a site has been identified and the determination has been taken to put in its development the air current farm design process commences. A This is necessarily an iterative procedure. A The first undertaking is to specify the restraints on the development: Maximum installed capacity ( due to grid connexion or Power Purchase Agreement footings ) Site boundary Set dorsums from roads, homes, overhead lines, ownership boundaries etc. Environmental restraints Location of noise and shadow spark sensitive homes, if any, and appraisal standards Location of visually sensitive point of views, if any, and appraisal standards Turbine minimal spacings as defined by the turbine provider. Constraints associated with communications signals such as microwave nexus corridors, if any. Local ordinances that limit the turbine type permissible for the development. These restraints may alter as treatments and dialogues advancement with assorted parties. For the intent of specifying the preliminary layout it is necessary to specify about what sizes of turbine are under consideration for the development, as the installed capacity accomplishable with different sizes of turbine may change significantly. A The choice of a specific turbine theoretical account is frequently best left to the more elaborate design stage when the commercial footings of the assorted providers are known.Specification of anemometryThe air current resource at the site is the cardinal parametric quantity in finding its economic viability. To measure the energy for a undertaking it is necessary to obtain informations on the local air current government. Typically this means installing anemometry equipment at the site. The preliminary layout allows the air current measurings to be made in appropriate locations. As a general regulation the mast should be at least two tierces of the hub tallness of the turbines. A utile regulation in complex terrain is that no turbine is located more than 1 kilometer from the closest mast. In really terrible terrain, the closest mast should be within 500m, but for air current farms located in simple terrain a much lower denseness of masts over the site may be appropriate. For big developments that require several masts there may be advantages in ab initio put ining merely one mast on the site. Once it is confirmed that the air current resource is sensible, other masts can be installed to corroborate the fluctuation in air current velocity over the site country. Provided the original mast remains as a changeless mention other masts can be moved after, say, six months of operation to cut down the entire figure of masts required.+Detailed layout designA cardinal component of the layout design is the minimal turbine spacing used. A In order to guarantee that the turbines are non being used outside their design conditions, the minimal acceptable turbine spacing should be obtained from the turbine provider and adhered to. The appropriate spacing for turbines is strongly dependent on the nature of the terrain and the air current rose at a site. A If turbines are spaced closer than 5 rotor diameters in a frequent air current way it is likely that intolerably high aftermath losingss will ensue. A For countries with preponderantly uni-directional air current roses, such as the San Gorgonio Pass in California, greater distances between turbines in the prevailing air current way and tighter spacings perpendicular to the prevailing air current way will turn out to be more productive. A Tight spacings require blessing by the turbine provider if warranty agreements are non to be affected. With the air current farm restraints defined, the layout of the air current farm can be optimised. A This procedure is besides called air current farm â€Å" micrositing † . A The purpose of such a procedure is to maximize the energy production of the air current farm whilst understating the substructure and operating costs and run intoing all restraints. A For most undertakings the economic sciences are well more sensitive to alterations in energy production than substructure costs. A It is hence appropriate to utilize the energy production as the dominant layout design parametric quantity. The elaborate design of the air current farm is facilitated by the usage of commercially available air current farm design tools. A Once an appropriate analysis of the air current government at the site has been undertaken, a theoretical account is set up which can be used to plan the layout, predict the energy production of the air current farm every bit good as being used to turn to economic and be aftering related issues. For big air current farms it is frequently hard to manually deduce the most productive layout. A For such sites a computational optimization utilizing a air current farm design tool may place a layout for which significant additions in predicted energy production are achieved. A Even a 1 % addition in energy production from improved micrositing could easy stand for an addition in one-year gross of $ 50,000 to $ 100,000 for a 50 MW air current farm. A The computational optimization procedure will normally affect many 1000s of loops and can include noise and ocular restraints. A Wind farm design tools handily allow many substitutions on air current farm size, turbine type, hub tallness and layout to be considered rapidly and expeditiously increasing the likeliness that an optimum undertaking consequences. A Financial theoretical accounts may be linked to the tool so that returns from different options can be straight calculated, further streamlining the development determination doing procedure. In many states the ocular influence of a air current farm on the landscape is an of import issue. A The usage of computational design tools allows the Zone of Visual Influence ( ZVI ) , or visibleness footmark, to be calculated to place from where the air current farm will be seeable. A The tools may besides be used to supply visual images, to ease the production of photomontages and to foretell the noise and shadow spark which consequences from a proposed development. A These are frequently cardinal facets of the Environmental Assessment for a undertaking. Figure 1 shows an initial preliminary layout of a air current farm consisting of 26 turbines that meets all site specific restraints. A There are two noise sensitive homes west of the proposed air current farm with a defined noise bound that are marked with brooding icons. A The solid black line represents the site boundary in which the turbines can be placed. The layout of the air current farm after the optimization is shown in Figure 2. A Compared with the initial layout the predicted energy production has increased by about 3 % . A In the upper subdivision of Figure 2 the optimised layout of the air current farm superimposed with the noise degrees predicted for this layout can be seen. A A rendered visual image of the air current farm visual aspect from a point of view sou'-east of the air current farm is shown at the underside.

Adversarial and inquisitorial criminal justice Essay

Adversarial and inquisitorial criminal justice - Essay Example There are two systems that are utilized in the administration of criminal justice: 1) the adversarial system (also called accusatorial), and 2) the inquisitorial system. This paper aims to present the difference between the two systems in relation but not limited to the purpose, who are the parties involved, what are role of the parties involved, and the rules involved in the criminal procedure towards the attainment of their aim.Once a crime has been committed, the criminal justice is initiated by the filing of the complaint or criminal action by the victim (called the plaintiff in the complaint) to the police or to the prosecution, against the accused (called the defendant in the complaint). The different steps or procedures undertaken from the filing of the criminal complaint, trial by the court of the case, and to the conviction or non-conviction of the plaintiff is called the criminal procedure. After the complaint has been filed, the next step in the criminal procedure depends on the country of the court where the case was filed. In England and Wales and other common law countries like the United States of America for example, criminal proceedings are sometimes referred to as an adversarial system. 1 In this system, parties to a controversy, develop and present their arguments, gather and submit evidence, call and question witnesses, and control the process within the confines of certain rules and regulations.2 On the other hand, the inquisitorial system which is employed on the continent of Europe among most (but not all) systems of civil law, the conduct of investigating the case, gathering of evidences, and questioning of witnesses is the sole responsibility of the judge of the case.3 While the judge or jury in the adversarial system is a passive recipient of information4, which means that he will only know the facts and arguments of the case during trial, the judge/s play/s much more active roles in the criminal process in the inquisitorial system that include investigating, collecting of evidences, and questioning of witnesses.5 The most striking differences between the two can be found in criminal trials. In the Anglo-American adversary system, the parties to a dispute (plaintiff and defendant), or their advocates (prosecutor and defense counsel), square off against each other and assume roles that are strictly separate and distinct from that of the decision maker that is usually a judge or a jury.6 Each party has to develop and present arguments supported by proofs. In the United States for example, the prosecutor (counsel of the state and in behalf of the plaintiff) will be the first one to present his arguments and evidences to support his arguments. His purpose is usually to prove and convince the judge that the defendant (or the accused) really committed the crime and should be penalized. After which, the defense counsel will also present his arguments and evidences to prove the innocence of his client (the defendant). After the presentation of arguments and evidences by parties, the direct examination and cross-examination follows. The prosecution and the defense counsel will have the opportunity to examine the evidences and witnesses presented by the adverse party to illicit further information and to determine the veracity and truthfulness of the evidences presented. The adversary process is governed by strict rules of evidence and procedure that allows both sides equal opportunity to argue their cases and to ensure that the decision of the judge is based solely on the evidences presented.7 If both of the parties already rested their case, meaning when direct, redirect, and cross-examinations are over, it is where the function of the judge enters. The judge should decide based from the merits of the case presented before him, whether to convict the defendant-accused or to set him free.

Exploring Programming Languages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Exploring Programming Languages - Essay Example Secondly, the C# is also an object-oriented programming language developed by Microsoft for the development of windows based and internet applications which is literally the counterpart to Java of Sun Microsystems. Thirdly, the C++ programming language was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup, and defined as general purpose programming language that is better than the C language which supports data abstraction, object-oriented programming, and generic programming. Due to its extensive capabilities, most of the programs running in computer system such as applications, games, and even the operating system are written in C++ language. As what I have mentioned above, the three different programming languages are all object-oriented wherein the programming methodology focuses on the data rather than the process. The data can be entities or objects that are being manipulated. Objects are commonly defined as sufficient modules, conceptual entities, and run-time units that are used as the foundation of the program. In most object-oriented programming language, an object is characterized by its identity, state, and behavior. Identity is a property of an object that distinguishes from other objects, while the state describes the data stored in the object, and lastly, the behavior is the one that describe the methods of the object's interface Ja Java programming language defined objects as the bundle of related state and behavior wherein it stores its state in the fields and exposed its behavior through methods. In other programming languages, fields are treated as variables while methods are treated as functions. The classes in java are blueprints that are used for the creation of an object, thus, it makes an object an instance of a class. Java uses inner classes instead of pointers to create a concise adapter classes that are often used to connect a callback and event from a module to others. Inheritance in Java is the ability of a class to inherit frequent used states and behaviors of other classes. In general rule of inheritance, a class must only have one direct superclass or parent class, while one superclass can have unlimited subclasses or child classes. Instead of the templates being used by other programming languages, Java used generics to create classes and objects that can operate on any defined types. This adv antage gives the programmer an ease of use and better code. In C# programming language, a type was defined by a class, while the instances of the class are called objects. There is a similarity in the definition of the object in both C# and Java, wherein it stated from the latter that object is an instance of a class. The class is the heart or core of all object-oriented programming and so it is vital in C#. A class is a container of data or fields and operations that manipulate the data or method. Pointers are variables that hold the address in the memory of other variable. Since it is a pointer, it could be used in value types and arrays but not to a structure containing a reference types. The same as Java, that inheritance was also implemented for it was the specialization relationship wherein the class could inherit only from a single parent or superclass, but a certain class can have many or multiple interfaces. C# uses generics instead of

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN DOVE REAL BEAUTY Essay

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PERSUASIVE TECHNIQUES USED IN DOVE REAL BEAUTY SKETCHES - Essay Example The film, which compares, the images of women and strangers about various women uses numerous persuasion techniques to capture the attention of the viewers. An analysis of the persuasion techniques that the film uses is essential in understanding the reason why the video captured a market of fifteen million viewers within one month. Cialdini’s Weapons of Persuasion Cialdini describes successful marketing as a science rather than magic or luck. The author argues that public proof is one of the principles of successful persuasion, and marketers should make use of it by proving to their customers that other people have also tried their products or services (Cialdini, 1993). The Dove film uses social proof by showing the viewer the participants of the research, and how they described themselves. A viewer sees the women who took part in the research, and how they described themselves while behind a curtain. Viewers can also see the artist who sketched the appearances of the women a s well as the strangers who described them during the study. This creates an impression in the mind of the viewer that there are other people who believe that they are beautiful more than the way they think (Perloff, 2010). ... The strangers who describe the women also take part in the study in the same location and they answer the same questions (Dove, 2013). The viewers of the film think that the experience is real because of this consistency that the firm maintained throughout the study. Therefore, the audience is persuaded by the reality factor in the film, and they begin to view themselves in a more positive way. Older women also begin to view themselves as young and enthusiastic beings as Cialdini argues that they are more prone to inconsistency (Sullivan, 2008). The researcher argues that they prefer consistency and commitment more than the young because of their old age, which takes away most of their energy. Therefore, the consistency in the film may capture the attention of the elderly more than the young. Aristotle’s Artistic Proofs Aristotle argues that speakers have to persuade to their audience using their personal characteristics, proving to them, and ensuring that they influence their minds (Heinrichs, 2007). The lack of these elements is unproductive leading to low sales and profits for marketers. Ethos is the first technique that Aristotle describes as the art of creating authority and credibility to the audience (Oshaughnessy, 2004). This means that the audience is persuaded by speakers who have the qualifications to perform the tasks. The Dove film uses ethos in that the artist who sketches the women has the knowledge of sketching images in a perfect manner. Gil, Zamora, the artist is a forensic sketch artiste who has experience in drawing the sketches of over three thousand criminals (Dove, 2013). The artist also speaks in an authoritative way as he asks women to describe their

Coca-Cola Financial Perspective Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Coca-Cola Financial Perspective - Essay Example The vision of the company covers internal and external factors that influence its operations (Begley, 2000). These include people, portfolio, partners, planet, profit and productivity. People-The company aims at motivating it employees to enhance their performance Portfolio-Coca-Cola aims at expanding its brand portfolio and bring to the world quality brands that meet the needs of its consumers. Partners- Coca-Cola aims at creating a strong network of suppliers and customers. Planet-Coca-Cola is focused at becoming a responsible firm that supports sustainable communities (Kurtz, 2010). Profit-To maximize shareholders returns and improve on its profitability. Productivity-Coca-Cola aims at becoming an effective and fast growing company. Overall strategy In its effort to produce quality brands that have remained competitive in the soft-drink industry, Coca-Cola has adopted a winning culture that defines its behaviors towards its 2020 vision. These include effective leadership, collabor ation, integrity, accountability, passion, diversity and quality. To ensure it remains the market leader, in the soft drink industry, the company has embarked on providing quality brands that meet the needs of its consumers (Habermas, 1989). Examples of brands manufactured by the company include Valpre, Powerade, Coke, Sprite, Nestea, and Dasani Water among others. The financial stability of Coca-Cola has been enhanced by its culture of acquisitions and merger. Key companies that have been acquired by Coca-Cola include Minute Maid, Barq’s, Odwalla, Fuze Beverage, and Columbia Pictures among others. As a result, the company has expanded its assets to reach at approximately US$ 73Â  billion. The table below indicates the financial performance of the company in 2010 and 2011 financial years. Items 2011 2010 Gross profit 28,326 22,426 Operating income 10,154 8,449 Income before income tax 11,439 14,243 Consolidated net income 8,634 11,859 Net income 8,572 1,809 From the table ab ove it is clear that while the company registered a significant increment of the gross profit, operating income and net income in 2011, the income before income tax and consolidated net income was low in 2011 as compared to 2010 (Baker, 2008). Marketing strategies Coca-Cola marketing strategies include e-marketing, product innovation, extensive advertisement and promotional strategies for example sponsorship of FIFA World Cup. In this way, the company has been able to expand its customer base as well as acquire a substantial market segment in the world soft drink market (Stephen and Kate, 2006). Coca-Cola management systems In order to improve the quality of its products, Coca-Cola has implemented Coca-Cola Operating Requirements (KORE) as one of its key management system. Key roles of KORE include improvement of the product quality, as well as safeguarding the security and health of its workers. In addition, the company has adopted eKOsystem in its bottling facilities (Stuart, 2009 ). The eKOsystem aims at initiating control measures that include water resources management, ozone protection, waste management as well as energy management. Objectives for improving the organization's financial position objectives Introduction of low priced products. To increase total sales and satisfy the customers with the gratifying taste of quality products. Production of healthy beverages lines which do not have negative effects on the consumer’

Marketing research .. project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing research .. project - Essay Example With 95% confidence interval; it means that we accept the null hypothesis that the mean response to X166-reasonable Prices are lower than 6 and reject the alternative hypothesis that the mean response to X166-reasonable prices are higher than 6. From a practical standpoint, the results of the Univariate hypothesis test showed that respondents perceived the menu were significantly lower than 6 and this can be reflected by the mean of 4.508641975 for X14 and 4.338271605 for X16. The mean values for X22 and X32 are 4.82963 and 0.348148148 respectively. To determine if the two mean are significantly different with an equal variance, a t-statistical analysis is undertaken. The one tail results give a t-critical of 1.647649 while the two tail gives a t-critical result of 1.964318. However; going by the one tail, the t-critical is 1.647649 compared with a significance level of 0.00, we accept the null hypothesis that the two means are statistically significant. According to the book page 498, this analysis was supposed to compare the level of satisfaction between male and female-considering the mean. However, from the results there is no substantial support for the null hypothesis to ascertain that the two means are equal, and hence we conclude that male customers are significantly more satisfied than female customers. The mean values of X21, X22 and X23 are 4.82963, 4.464198 and 3.785185. The null hypothesis is to test if the mean of the variables are significantly different. The p-value=3.59 while the significant level ÃŽ ±=o.05; therefore we accept the null hypothesis that the mean of the variables are significantly different (p-value>0.05). That is, the mean perceptions of males between the two restaurants do not differ significantly on satisfaction or likelihood of

COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

COMPUTER AND NETWORK SECURITY - Assignment Example It is still free to use and is not patented Memory requirements for blowfish are less than 5 kilobytes of memory. The semantics are simplified and is relatively easy to deploy. Part 2 Click the button File then click on New Certificate option. Now press the button Create a personal open PGP key pair option. After this an email address along with name of the sender is added. At this point the key details can be changed. Furthermore, after pressing Advance setting option you can create RSA 4096 bit. This creates an additional strength. An expiration date will also be added according to the senders will. In order to generate a key you have to click Ok and then next. The passphrase is required in order to decrypt the sent message. Now enter this passphrase. The passphrase must be kept stronger in order to be secure. The following options are available such as email your public key, backup private key and upload public key. These options can be utilized after generating a key. The private key must be kept as a secret. However, the public key can be used without any security. The public keys can be mentioned on public forums or websites. Moreover, to keep a backup of both the keys is a good option. Press the finish button. Now the Mailvelope is downloaded over the chrome. In the below screen shots the Chromium on mint Linux is showed. However, this will work fine over both Chrome for windows and the Mac. Now after installing chrome search for http://mailvelope.com/. After opening this website click Mailvelope Chrome Extension and download the free version. The Mailvelope icons is located over right corner of the Chrome and click on this icon then choose options. On the left side the key ring is present click on it and creates the keys for the page. Now add all the required details such as passphrase, name and email address of the sender. Now the advance option can be changed according to the user. After finishing all the steps press the complete button. For the priva te and public keys the same rules and regulations are applicable. However, the public keys are changed. In Mailvelope, the chrome users will click on the display keys. Now select the key pair and then press the Export button. Now next step is to press the display public key and then click on the Create file in order to install the copy on your work station. This copy is sent to the outlook user as a copy in attachment.    The Outlook user must now save the attachment and import it into the Kleopatra program. After the attachment is saved to the computer, open Kleopatra and the Import Certificates button. Find the certificate and import it. Click OK when completed.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Click the My Certificates tab and right click your certificate. Select Export Certificates. Save it to a location and email it to the user that just sent their public key to you.   Ã‚   The public keys must be received by the webmail users. Now save this file and then open Mailvelope. Now after completing this process the keys are imported ad uploaded the file. After this select a key text file to import and then click submit. You are now ready to exchange Encrypted email! In order to get started we will allow the gmail users to transfer any message that is encrypted towards the outlook service.

World War I Essay Example for Free

World War I Essay The economy of Christiania steadily grew until before World War I. When the First World War broke out in 1914, Norway declared its neutrality. However, Christiania benefited economically from the war by carrying British cargoes inspite of the loss of Norwegian lives and ships that were caught in the war (Compton 610). After the war Christiania settled back to its normal life. In 1924, Christiania was renamed back to Oslo (â€Å"Oslo: City† 2006). Second World War On April 9, 1940 Oslo was defeated by the Germans almost with only a slight resistance due to the betrayal by Norwegian Officer and Fascist politician Vidkun Quisling who collaborated with the Nazis. As a result, the city was only slightly damaged during the war (Halsey 239). In 1942, Germany installed a puppet government in Norway under National Union leader Vidkun Quisling. However, the Norwegians resisted the Germans and its puppet regime. Oslo became a place of opposition strikes. Other citizens were secretly involved in the large-scale industrial sabotage and espionage on behalf of the allied powers. (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). During their occupation of the city the Nazis used Akershus as a prison and place of execution for those convicted of allied conspiracy and today its the site of Norways Resistance Museum, which provided a detailed account of German takeover and the Norwegian struggle against it (Thodock 2003). The German forces that overran Norway surrendered in May 8, 1945 enabling the exiled King Hakon VII to return to Norway from London in June. Oslo then began to rebuild its ruin buildings while at the same time prosecuted â€Å"about 90,000 alleged cases of treason and defection†. Convicted traitors faced execution foremost of which was Vidkun Quisling (â€Å"Oslo† 2006). When it came to The Cold War, that is the postwar to World War II, two major alliances were created. Although, in World War I a system of alliances did not work, the systems of alliances that formed after World War II were bigger and they werent buddy-buddy alliances. These two alliances were formed to bring peace throughout the world, to end The Cold War, and to prevent anymore future high scale wars. Toward the end of the war, hostility between Norwegians and the German occupying forces grew considerably stronger. A prime cause was the German withdrawal from all fronts. Retreating German units from the fronts in the north, the USSR and Finland, withdrew to Norwegian territory. In the autumn of 1944, the Red Army followed the Germans into Finnmark, where it liberated Kirkenes and the northeastern areas. As the occupying troops retreated, they ordered an evacuation of the entire Norwegian population in Finnmark and in Troms south to Lyngen. In Lyngen, three German army corps dug in. Then the entire region north of Lyngen was burned and destroyed. The destruction included 10,400 homes, bridges, power stations, factories, fishing vessels, telephone facilities and other types of infrastructure. The scorched earth area was much larger than all of Denmark. After the Soviet Red Army crossed into North Norway, a Norwegian military mission and a small number of Norwegian soldiers from Great Britain and Sweden followed. The Russians withdrew from Norway in September 1945, a few months after the German capitulation. When the costs of the war were estimated in Norway, the tally showed that 10,262 Norwegians had been killed, including 3,670 seamen. The Germans had executed 366 and tortured 39 to death. Among political prisoners and members of the underground, 658 died at home and 1,433 abroad. After the war, legal proceedings were initiated against those who had betrayed their country. About 46,000 persons were punished for treason. Among these, 18,000 were sentenced to prison terms, 28,000 were fined and deprived of their rights as citizens. A total of 45 Norwegians and Germans received death sentences, 37 of the executions were carried out. It did not take long for the country to recuperate from the effects of World War II. Industrial production and the gross domestic product were greater in 1946 than in 1938. Three years later, the countrys national wealth had also returned to its pre-war level. Part 3: Major Event in the modern Era of the City The world over there is no other coveted price that comes even in comparison to the Nobel peace prize. It is one of a kind and its importance and value can not be underrated. Oslo helped to promote the preservation of worldwide peace when it was chosen to be the place for the annual awarding of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize in 1901. Alfred Nobel, a renowned Swedish inventor of the dynamite, left in his will dated November 27, 1895 the order to use some of his fortune as a prize for any individuals, irregardless of his race, who helped promote peace in the world. The Nobel peace was to be specifically awarded to person or persons who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding of peace congresses. In 1901 the first Nobel Prize was awarded to International Red Cross founder Henry Dunant and International Pacifist Frederic Passy. In succeeding years Nobel Peace Prize according to an Oxford Dictionary of Twentieth Century World History, became The worlds most prestigious prize. † The prize was to be awarded by a committee of five persons to be elected by the Norwegian Storting†. The members of the committee are all Norwegians and for more than a hundred years the committee members were able to generally make a respectable and decent selection although controversies were also present. The criteria for choosing the recipients have enabled the world to get acquainted with Norwegian perception or definition of peace. In the study of the recipients of the award, it can be said that the values that Nobel Prize committee members adhered to represented the â€Å"Norwegian version of Western liberal internationalism. Thus, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has been a strong believer in international organizations, from the Inter-Parliamentary Union to the League of Nations and the United Nations†. Moreover, Norwegians believed that â€Å"small nations almost instinctively prefer international law to the might they do not possess, and they believe in the arbitration, mediation and peaceful solution of international disputes†. In this context, the Nobel Prize actively encouraged and awarded humanitarian assistance to the weak and the poor especially with the exercise of their human rights as well as the control of military power that may threatened the peace and order of the world. In a more personal level, Nobel left no explanation as to why he chose the Norwegians to award the Nobel Peace Prize. Educated inferences were presented to explain his action. Nobel may have been aware of the close ties between Sweden and Norway since the latter was once ruled by the former. Aside from that he may have admired Norway’s participation in settling international disputes of the 1890’s. Perhaps he may have regarded Norway as a more peace-oriented and more democratic country than

A Model Of Consumer Behavior Online

A Model Of Consumer Behavior Online Del Monte operates in a very competitive global food industry. In addition to manufacturing canned fruits and vegetables for human consumption, Del Monte produces pet food such as Gravy Train, 9 Lives, and Meow Mix. Therefore, using market research the company constantly looks for innovative ways to increase its competitive edge. The company also decided to implement social media. Once Del Monte made the decision to deploy social media projects, the company had to decide how best to use social media research to support its diverse product line-in this case dog food. The Solution The basic idea was first to connect and collaborate with dog lovers via social networks. Since the corporate IT department was not equipped to deal with social network research, Del Monte hired Market Tools Inc., a market research firm. With the help of Market Tools Inc., Del Monte began offering an online platform for customers to chat and comment on blog entries about different Del Monte products. Using their propriety software, Market Tools monitors millions of relevant blogs in the blogsphere as well as forums in social networks, in order to identify key ideas and issues that consumers are interested in, analyze them, and then predict consumer behavior trends. To analyze the collected data, Del Monte teamed up with Umbria (a division of J. D. Power and Associates), a pioneer in drawing market intelligence from the online community. Umbria assisted in further analysis of and in profiling the collected information. Such analysis is usually done by using computerized tools such as monitoring consumer interactions, analyzing consumers sentiments, and using social analytics methods (e.g., see Hedin, et al. 2011 and Jayanti 2010). By utilizing social media, Del Monte can conduct market research much more efficiently. The conventional approach was to use questionnaires or focus groups that were expensive and difficult to fill with qualified participants. Using social media, Del Monte can gather much of the same or more qualitative data faster and at a lower price. All that is required now is to monitor customer conversations, collect the data, and analyze the vast amount of information. The software also facilitates subgroup creation, idea generation, and panel creation. The results of the analysis help Del Monte understand its customers and consequently plan its marketing activities, communication strategies, and customer service applications. The results also help evaluate the success of marketing campaigns, how well the business processes accomplished the goals, and better justify proposed new activities. The Experiment Del Monte used the above application first to help improve its dog treat, Snausages Breakfast Bites. For guidance, Del Monte relied on its dog lovers social community. By monitoring customer blogs and by posting questions to customers to stimulate discussions, Del Monte used text analysis methods to investigate the relationship between dogs and their owners. Del Monte concluded that owners of small dogs would be the major purchasers of Snausages Breakfast Bites. The company also found differences due to the age of owners, and discovered other people-dogs relationships. Next, a small sample of the improved dog food was produced and tested in the physical market. As a result of both social media and physical research, the product design decisions were revised. Also, marketing promotions were modified. The product sells better because the dogs love it. Finally, the new approach solidified the community of dog lovers who are happy that their opinions are considered. The Results Product cycle time was reduced by more than 50 percent to only 6 months, and Del Monte was able to develop a better marketing communication strategy. Furthermore, the analysis helped the company better understand customers and their purchasing activities as well as predicting market trends and identifying and anticipating opportunities. Note: Similar research on cat food was conducted in 2012 in an online survey, by Kelton Research, using e-mail invitation and an online survey. For details see Meow Mix (2012). Sources: Compiled from Steel (2008), Greengard (2008), Hedin et al. (2011), Jayanti (2010), Meow Mix (2012), Wikivest (2012), and Market Tools (2008). What we can learnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The opening case illustrates that market research can be useful in a competitive market by providing insights for better product development and marketing strategy. In this case, the company collected data online from its socially-oriented customers. Market Tools Inc. monitored conversations (over 50 millions of them) on blogs and discussion rooms to find the voice of the customers. The collected data were then analyzed. The results of the analysis helped Del Monte improve its dog food and devise new marketing strategies. Market research, as seen in the case, is related to consumer behavior, purchasing decision making, behavioral marketing, and advertising strategies; all these topics are addressed in this chapter. 9.1 Learning About Consumer Behavior Online Companies are operating in an increasingly competitive environment. Therefore, they please customers and influence them to buy their goods and services. Finding and retaining customers are major critical success factors for most businesses, both offline and online. One of the key elements in building effective customer relationships is an understanding of consumer shopping behavior online. A Model of Consumer Behavior Online For decades, market researchers have tried to understand consumer shopping behavior, and have summarized their findings in various models. The purpose of a consumer behavior model is to help vendors understand how a consumer makes a purchasing decision. If a firm understands the decision process, it may be able to better influence the buyers decision, for example, through advertising or special promotions. Before examining the consumer behavior models variables, lets describe who the EC consumers are. Online consumers can be divided into two types: individual consumers (who get much of the media attention) and organizational buyers, who do most of the actual shopping in cyberspace in terms of dollar volume of sales. Organizational buyers include governments, private corporations, resellers, and nonprofit organizations. Purchases by organizational buyers are generally used to add value to materials or products. Also, organizational buyers may purchase products for resale without any further modifications. We discuss organizational purchasing in detail in Chapter 5 (e-procurement) and will focus on individual consumers in this chapter. The purpose of a consumer behavior model (for individuals) is to show factors that affect consumer behavior. Exhibit 9.1 shows the basic elements of a consumer behavior model. The model is composed of two major parts: influential factors and the consumer decision process. [Insert Exhibit 9.1 here] Æ’ËÅ" Influential factors. Five dimensions are considered to affect consumer behavior. They are consumer characteristics, environmental characteristics, merchant and intermediary characteristics (which are at the top of the exhibit and are considered uncontrollable from the sellers point of view), product/service characteristics (which include market stimuli), and EC systems. The last two are mostly controlled by the sellers. Exhibit 9.1 illustrates the major variables in each influential dimension. A more detailed description is provided in Online File W9.1. Æ’ËÅ" The attitude-behavior decision process. The consumer decision process usually starts with a positive attitude and ends with the buyers decision to purchase and/or repurchase. A favorable attitude would lead to a stronger buying intention, which in turn would result in the actual buying behavior. Previous research has shown that the linkages among the previously mentioned three constructs are quite strong. For example, Ranganathan and Jha (2007) found that past online shopping experiences have the strongest associations with online purchase intention, followed by customer concerns, website quality, and computer self-efficacy. Therefore, developing a positive consumer attitude plays a central role in the final purchase decision. The Major Influential Factors These factors fall into the following categories: Personal characteristics. Personal characteristics, which are shown in the top-left portion of Exhibit 9.1, refer to demographic factors, individual preferences, and behavioral characteristics. Several websites provide information on customer buying habits online (e.g., emarketer.com, clickz.com, and comscore.com). The major demographics that such sites track are gender, age, marital status, educational level, ethnicity, occupation, and household income, which can be correlated with Internet usage and EC data. Males and females have been found to perceive information differently depending on their levels of purchase confidence and internal knowledge (Barber et al. 2009). A recent survey by Crespo and Bosque (2010) shows that shopping experience has a significant effect on consumer attitude and intention to purchase online. Psychological variables such as personality and lifestyle characteristics are also studied by marketers. These variables are briefly mentioned in several places throughout the text. The reader who is interested in the impact of lifestyle differences on online shopping may see Wang et al. (2006). Product/service factors. The second group of factors is related to the product/service itself. Whether a consumer decides to buy is affected by the nature of the product/service in the transaction. These may include the price, quality, design, brand, and other related attributes of the product. Merchant and intermediary factors. Online transactions may also be affected by the merchant that provides the product/service. This group of factors includes merchant reputation, size of transaction, trust in the merchant, and so on. For example, people feel more secure when they purchase from Amazon.com (due to its reputation) than from a no-name seller. Other factors such as marketing strategy and advertising can also play a major role. EC systems. The EC platform for online transactions (e.g., security protection, payment mechanism, and so forth) offered by the merchant may also have effects. EC design factors can be divided into motivational and hygiene factors. Motivational factors were found to be more important than hygiene factors in attracting online customers (Liang and Lai 2002). Perceived usability is highly related to user preference for commercial websites (Lee and Koubek 2010). Motivational factors. Motivational factors are the functions available on the website to provide direct support in the transactional process (e.g., search engine, shopping carts, multiple payment methods). Hygiene factors. Hygiene factors are functions available on the website whose main purpose is to prevent possible trouble in the process (e.g., security and product status tracking). Environmental factors. The environment in which a transaction occurs may affect a consumers purchase decision. As shown in Exhibit 8.1, environmental variables can be grouped into the following categories: Social variables. People are influenced by family members, friends, coworkers, and whats in fashion this year. Therefore, social variables (such as customer endorsement, word-of-mouth) play an important role in EC. Of special importance in EC are Internet communities (see Chapter 7) and discussion groups, in which people communicate via chat rooms, electronic bulletin boards, twitting, and newsgroups. These topics are discussed in various places in the text. Cultural/community variables. It makes a big difference in what people buy if a consumer lives near Silicon Valley in California or in the mountains in Nepal. Chinese shoppers may differ from French shoppers, and rural shoppers may differ from urban ones. Other environmental variables. These include aspects such as available information, government regulations, legal constraints, and situational factors. [Comp: please shade the bullet list] Section 9.1 Ã… ¸ Review Questions 1. Describe the major components and structure of the consumer online purchasing behavior model. 2. List some major personal characteristics that influence consumer behavior. 3. List the major environmental variables of the purchasing environment. 4. List and describe five major merchant-related variables. 5. Describe the relationships among attitude, intention, and actual behavior in the behavior process model. 9.2 The Consumer Purchasing Decision-Making Process Consumer behavior is a major element in the process of consumers decisions to purchase or repurchase. A Generic Purchasing-Decision Model From the consumers perspective, a general purchasing-decision model consists of five major phases (Hawkins and Mothersbaugh 2010). In each phase, we can distinguish several activities and, in some, one or more decisions. The five phases are (1) need identification, (2) information search, (3) evaluation of alternatives, (4) purchase and delivery, and (5) postpurchase activities. Although these phases offer a general guide to the consumer decision-making process, one should not assume that every consumers decision-making process will necessarily proceed in this order. In fact, some consumers may proceed to a specific phase and then revert to a previous phase, or they may skip a phase altogether. The phases are discussed in more details next. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Need identification. The first phase occurs when a consumer is faced with an imbalance between the actual and the desired states of a need. A marketers goal is to get the consumer to recognize such imbalance and then convince the consumer that the product or service the seller offers will fill this gap. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Information search. After identifying the need, the consumer searches for information on the various alternatives available to satisfy the need. Here, we differentiate between two decisions: what product to buy (product brokering) and from whom to buy it (merchant brokering). These two decisions can be separate or combined. In the consumers search for information, catalogs, advertising, promotions, and reference groups could influence decision making. During this phase, online product search and comparison engines, see examples at shopping.com, buyersindex.com, and mysimon.com, can be very helpful. (See decision aids in Chapter 3.) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Evaluation of Alternatives. The consumers information search will eventually generate a smaller set of preferred alternatives. From this set, the would-be buyer will further evaluate the alternatives and, if possible, negotiate terms. In this phase, a consumer will use the collected information to develop a set of criteria. These criteria will help the consumer evaluate and compare alternatives. For online consumers, the activities may include evaluation of product prices and features. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Purchase and delivery. After evaluating the alternatives, the consumer will make the purchasing decision, arrange payment and delivery, purchase warranties, and so on. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Postpurchase activities. The final phase is a postpurchase phase, which consists of customer service and evaluation of the usefulness of the product. Customer services and consumer satisfaction will result in positive experience and word-of-mouth (e.g., This product is really great! or We really received good service when we had problems.). If the customer is satisfied with the product and services, loyalty will increase and repeat purchases will occur afterward. [Comp: please shade the bullet list] Several other purchasing-decision models have been proposed. A classic (1925) model for describing consumer message processing is the Attention-Interest-Desire-Action (AIDA) model at Wikipedia (see AIDA at Wikipedia). It argues that consumer processing of an advertising message (part of the information search phase) includes the following four stages: 1. A-Attention (Awareness). The first step is to get the customers attention. 2. I-Interest. By demonstrating features, advantages, and benefits, the customer becomes interested in the product. 3. D-Desire. Convice the customers that they want the product or service and that it will suit their needs. 4. A-Action. Finally, the consumer will take action toward purchasing. Now, some researchers also add another letter to form AIDA(S), where: 5. S-Satisfaction. Customer satisfaction will generate higher loyalty and lead to repurchase after using a product/service. (Loyalty, satisfaction, and trust are discussed in Online File W9.2.) A recent version of AIDA is the AISAS model proposed by the Dentsu Group that is tailored to online behavior. The model replaces decision with search and adds share to show the increased word-of-mouth effect on the Internet. It indicates that consumers go through a process of Attention-Interest-Search-Action-Share in their online decision process. This model is particularly suitable for social commerce. Customer Decision Support in Web Purchasing The preceding generic purchasing-decision model was widely used in research on consumer-based EC. In the Web-based environment, decision support is available in each phase. The framework that is illustrated in Online File W9.3 shows that each of the phases of the purchasing model, which were described earlier, can be supported by both a consumer decision support system (CDSS) that facilitates the process and Internet and Web-aiding facilities. The CDSS facilities support the specific decisions in the process. Generic EC technologies and analytics provide the necessary mechanisms as well as enhanced communication and collaboration tools. Specific implementation of this framework and explanations of some of the terms are provided throughout this chapter and the entire text. The planner of B2C marketing needs to consider the Web purchasing models in order to better influence the customers decision-making process (e.g., by effective one-to-one advertising and marketing). [Insert Exhibit 9.2 here] Online File W9.1 shows a model for a website that supports buyer searching and decision making. This model revises the generic model by describing a purchasing framework. The model is divided into three parts. The first includes three stages of buyer behavior (see top of exhibit): identify and manage buying criteria, search for products and merchants, and compare alternatives. Below these activities are boxes with decision support options that support the three top boxes (such as product representation).. The second part of the model (on the right) has a box that includes price, financial terms, shipping and warranty negotiations. These become relevant when alternatives are compared. The third part at the bottom of the exhibit, major concerns are cited. Players in the Consumer Decision Process Several different people may play roles in various phases of the consumer decision process. The following are five major roles: 1. Initiator. The person who first suggests or thinks of the idea of buying a particular product or service. 2. Influencer. A person whose advice or view carries some weight in making a final purchasing decision. 3. Decider. The person who ultimately makes a buying decision or any part of it-whether to buy, what to buy, how to buy, or where to buy. 4. Buyer. The person who makes an actual purchase. 5. User. The person who consumes or uses a product or service. [Comp: please shade the number list] A single person may play all the roles if the product or service is for personal use. In this case, the marketer needs to understand and target such individuals. In many situations, however, different people may play different roles. For example, a newly graduated engineer proposed to buy a car for his mother, which was followed by suggestions from his father and friends. Finally, he followed his fathers suggestion to buy the car. When more than one individual comes into play, it becomes more difficult to properly target advertising and marketing. Different marketing efforts may be designed to target people who are playing different roles. Section 9.2 Ã… ¸ Review Questions 1. List the five phases of the generic purchasing-decision model. 2. Use an example to explain the five phases in the generic purchasing-decision model. 3. Describe the supporting functions available in Web-based purchasing. 4. Describe AIDA and AISAS models and analyze their differences in illustrating an online purchasing behavior. 5. Describe the major players in a purchasing decision. 9.3 LOYALTY, SATISFACTION, AND TRUST IN E-COMMERCE Good online marketing activity can generate positive effects, which are generally observed as trust, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Loyalty is the goal of marketing, while trust and customer satisfaction are factors that may affect customer loyalty. CUSTOMER LOYALTY One of the major objectives of marketing is to increase customer loyalty (recall the Netflix case). Customer loyalty refers to a deep commitment to repurchase or repatronize a preferred product/service continually in the future, thereby causing repetitive same-brand or same brand-set purchasing, despite situational influences and marketing efforts that have the potential to cause switching behavior. Customer acquisition and retention is a critical success factor in e-tailing. The expense of acquiring a new customer can be more than $100; even for Amazon.com, which has a huge reach, it is more than $15. In contrast, the cost of maintaining an existing customer at Amazon.com is $2 to $4. Attracting and retaining loyal customers remains the most important issue for any selling company, including e-tailers. Increased customer loyalty can result in cost savings to a company in various ways: lower marketing and advertising costs, lower transaction costs, lower customer turnover expenses, lower failure costs such as warranty claims, and so on. Customer loyalty also strengthens a companys market position because loyal customers are kept away from the competition. In addition, customer loyalty can lead to high resistance to competitors, a decrease in price sensitivity, and an increase in favorable word of mouth. Loyalty programs were introduced more than 100 years ago and are widely used among airlines, retailers, hotel chains, banks, casinos, car rentals, restaurants, and credit card companies. But now, loyalty programs have been computerized and expanded to all kinds of businesses. For example, Octopus Hong Kong (octopuscards.com), a stored-value card operator, launched a reward program for consumers aimed at increasing card usage across Hong Kong. Reward points are gained by purchasing at a number of leading merchants across the territory, including Wellcome, Watsons, UA Cinemas, and McDonalds. Each Octopus card can store up to 1,000 rewards points, which can be redeemed on the next purchase. FANCL, see the company atfancl.com, a Japanese cosmetics and health-care company, offers the FANCL point program where consumers earn FANCL points that are saved for gift redemption. However, the introduction of Internet technologies and social networking has the potential to undermine brands and discourage customer loyalty. The customers ability to shop, compare, get quick advice from friends, and switch to different vendors becomes easier, faster, and less expensive, given the aid of search engines and other technologies. Furthermore, customers are less loyal to the brand because of the lower switching costs for them to take advantage of special online offers and promotions, as well as to try new things. It is interesting to note that companies have found that loyal customers end up buying more when they have an optional website from which to shop. For example, W.W. Grainger, a large industrial-supply company, found that loyal B2B customers increased their purchases substantially when they began using Graingers website (grainger.com). (See Chapter 4 for more information.) Also, loyal customers may refer other customers to a site, especially with word of mouth in social networks. Therefore, it is important for EC companies to increase customer loyalty. The Web offers ample opportunities to do so. E-Loyalty E-loyalty refers to a customers loyalty to an e-tailer or a manufacturer that sells directly online, or to loyalty programs delivered online or supported electronically. Companies can foster e-loyalty by learning about their customers needs, interacting with customers, and providing superb customer service. Another source of information is colloquy.com, which concentrates on loyalty marketing. In an online environment, merchant ratings can be the source of interpersonal communication and are obtained from other consumers, not just friends and family. It is interesting to note that positive customer reviews have considerable impact on repurchase intention. It is not the total number of reviews that influences customer repurchase intention, but the percentage of positive reviews. This increases e-loyalty. (For reviews and recommendations in social networks, see Chapter 7.) Also, online ratings and word of mouth may undermine the effects of competitors low prices. For example, Amazon.com has higher prices than Half.com, but Amazon.com is still preferred by many customers. The difference is that Amazon.com has customer reviews and other personalization services, and Half.com does not. Many factors may affect customer loyalty and e-loyalty. A typical model is to check the relationship quality between retailers and their customers, which often is composed of trust, satisfaction, and commitment. Satisfaction and trust are particularly important because they will lead to commitment. For example, a recent study by Cyr (2008) found that e-loyalty is affected by trust and satisfaction across different cultures. Hence, we shall further discuss these two factors. SATISFACTION IN EC Satisfaction is one of the most important success measures in the B2C online environment. Customer satisfaction is associated with several key outcomes (e.g., repeat purchase, positive word of mouth, and so on) and it can lead to higher customer loyalty. A survey indicates that 80 percent of highly satisfied online consumers would shop again within two months, and 90 percent would recommend Internet retailers to others. However, 87 percent of dissatisfied consumers would permanently leave their Internet retailers without any complaints (Cheung and Lee 2005). Satisfaction has received considerable attention in studies of consumer-based EC. For example, ForeSee Results, an online customer satisfaction measurement company, developed the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) (theasci.org) for measuring customer satisfaction with EC. The Customer Respect Group (customerrespect.com) also provides an index to measure customers online experiences. The Customer Respect Index (CRI) includes the following components: simplicity, responsiveness, transparency, principles, attitude, and privacy. Researchers have proposed several models to explain the formation of satisfaction with online shopping. For example, Cheung and Lee (2005) proposed a framework for consumer satisfaction with Internet shopping by correlating the end-user satisfaction perspective with the service quality viewpoint. The framework is shown in Exhibit 9.3. The ability to predict consumer satisfaction can be useful in designing websites as well as advertising and marketing strategies. However, website designers should also pay attention to the nature of website features including navigational, visual, and information design (Cyr 2008). Different features have different impacts on customer (dis)satisfaction. If certain website features, such as reliability of content, loading speed, and usefulness fail to perform properly, customer satisfaction will drop dramatically. In contrast, if features such as those make the usage enjoyable, entertaining, and useful, they could result in a significant jump in customer satisfaction. [Insert Exhibit 9.3 here] Factors that Affect Consumer Satisfaction with Internet Shopping TRUST IN EC Trust is the psychological status of depending on another person or organization to achieve a planned goal. When people trust each other, they have confidence that their transaction partners will keep their promises. However, both parties in a transaction assume some risk. In the electronic marketplace, sellers and buyers do not meet face to face. The buyer can see a picture of the product but not the product itself. Promises of quality and delivery time can be easily made-but will they be kept? To deal with these issues, EC vendors need to establish high levels of trust with current and potential customers. Trust is particularly important in global EC transactions due to the difficulty of taking legal action in cases of a dispute or fraud and the potential for conflicts caused by differences in culture and business environments. In addition to sellers and buyers trusting each other, both must have trust in the EC computing environment and in the EC infrastructure. For example, if people do not trust the security of the EC infrastructure, they will not feel comfortable about using credit cards to make EC purchases. EC Trust Models Trust in e-commerce is often called online trust. Several models have been put forth to explain the factors that may affect online trust. For example, Lee and Turban (2001) examined the various aspects of EC trust and developed the model shown in Online File W9.2. According to this model, the level of trust is determined by numerous variables (factors) shown on the left side and in the middle of the exhibit. The exhibit illustrates the complexity of trust relationships, especially in B2C EC. [Enter Exhibit 9.4 here] EC Trust Model A newer model expands previous ones to include internal and external factors. Internal factors are directly related to online services provided by the vendor, and external factors are those that have indirect relationships (Salo and Karjaluoto 2007). How to Increase Trust in EC Consumer trust is fundamental to successful online retailing; it is considered the currency of the Internet. The following are representative strategies for building consumer trust in EC. Improve Your Website. The most important factor that affects online trust is the quality of the website. Cyr (2008) found that the navigational, visual, and information design of a website affect consumer trust. Gregg and Walczak (2010) reported a positive relationship between website quality and trust. Higher perceived website quality induces higher trust and price premium based on a survey of 701 eBay users. Therefore, how to design the EC website that delivers high-quality information and navigational experience

The Beginnings of Coca Cola in America

The Beginnings of Coca Cola in America The Coca Cola drink was originally created in Atlanta, USA in 1886 by John Pemberton, the pharmacist and owner of Jacobs Pharmacy. Originally sold in the pharmacy from the soda fountain for 5 cents a glass, and in year one sales were only 9 glasses a day as compared to 23.7 billion unit cases worldwide in 2008. Only after John Pembertons death, Coca Cola started its growth. Taken over in 1888 by Asa Griggs Candler, an Atlanta businessman, who transformed Coca Cola from an invention into a business and secured the rights. He became the companys first president, and through advertising and promotion he introduced the drink to the rest of the United States. By 1895 there were three syrup plants: in Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles. Through innovation of a bottle, Coca Cola changed its way of serving the drink from a soda fountain to bottled drink, and in 1916 the contour bottle has been developed and till this day it is the signature shape of Coca Cola. By 1923 Robert Woodruff has become the new president, and for over 60 years worked hard to introduce Coca Cola to the rest of the world. 2.2 Coca Cola going global By 1895 Coca Cola had managed to expand all over the United States and its Territories. Soon after, the company started to set first steps outside its home country. In 1905 Coca Cola was first bottled in Cuba, Canada and Panama, and the expansion continued rapidly. After World War I the company set up two bottling plants in France, from which they served the European market. By the 1940s Coca Cola was operating in 44 markets outside the United States and even during the Second World War it continues to expand, as it promise that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca Cola for five cents, wherever he is and whatever it costs. As a result Coca Cola spreads its operations to every place where American soldiers were based. Peter Dicken says in his book Global Shift that companies need to feature three characteristics that make them a Transnational Cooperation: its ability to coordinate and control various processes and transaction within transnational production networks, both within and between different countries; its potential ability to take advantage of geographical differences in the distribution of factors of production networks (for example, natural resources, capital, labour) and in state policies (for example, taxes, trade barriers, subsidies, etc.) its potential geographical flexibility, an ability to switch and re-switch its resources and operations between locations at an international or even a global scale. Comparing Coca Cola at the end of World War II with these features, it is certain, that the company does not cover them completely, but it can be said that Coca Cola has already been on the way to match these characteristics, at a time, when the terms of Transnational Cooperation and Globalization had not been used at all. To understand how Coca Cola managed to expand in such a quickly way the organizational structure developments is going to be examined before the companies development towards a TNC is going to be analysed in chapter 3. 2.3 The Coca Cola system A really important step for the Coca Cola Company in their development to a multinational company was the establishment of the first bottling franchise system in 1899, which has contributed significantly to the companys overall success over the past century. Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead signed the first bottling agreement with Asa Candler, president of Coca Cola Company, which gave them exclusive national rights to bottle Coca Cola across most of the United States for the sum of one dollar. By 1916, more than 1,000 Coca Cola bottling plants were operating in the United States, most of them small family-run organizations. In the 1920s and 1930s bottling operations were established outside the United States, in approximately 44 countries worldwide. Ernest Woodruff, the CEO, was responsible for this international expansion of the todays worlds largest beverage company Coca Cola. During World War II, 64 bottling plants were opened around the world to supply the troops and t he international expansion of Coca Colas bottling system gained strength. Because of the permanently enlarging bottling system and accelerating growth of the companys worldwide business, in the 1970s and 1980s a strong bottler consolidation was necessary to reduce the number of independent franchise ownerships. With the consolidation of the many small and medium size bottler, the company gained more control over the bottling network. Today there are more than 300 bottling partners worldwide ranging from international and publicity-traded businesses with independent share-owner structures to small, family owned operations. In general, the Coca Cola Company owns the brands, is responsible for consumer brand marketing initiatives and produces concentrates, beverage and syrups, which are sold to various authorized bottling operations throughout the world. The bottling partners, who hold territorially exclusive contracts with the company, are responsible for manufacturing, packaging, merchandising and distributing the final branded beverages to customers, like grocery stores, restaurants, street vendors, convenience stores, movie theatres and many others around the world, who sell the product to consumers. This business system, consisting of the Coca Cola Company and its 300 bottling partners worldwide, is known as the Coca Cola System or just The System. While the Coca Cola system is not a single entity from a legal or managerial perspective, the sustainable growth of the system as a whole depends on the collaboration, support and shared values and goals of the company and its bottling partners. This unique source of strength of the closely and collaborative relationship between the company and its bottling partners, allows the beverage company to conduct business on a worldwide scale while still maintaining a local approach. The four most important bottling partners, which make up the worlds largest and most powerful and extensive beverage distribution network, provided the company several benefits including increased geographical reach, increased scale of operations, more coordination of the distribution system and centralized negotiations. Finally this system is a century-old alliance and a key strength of the Coca Cola Company. 2.4 Growth strategies The recent years and the changing global economic conditions brought about new challenges and opportunities for the Coca Cola Company. In order to maintain its market share and keep ahead of innovation the beverage company developed a multi-faceted domestic and global innovation strategy. This growth strategy focuses on strong organic growth supported by product innovation, geographic expansion, particularly in developing and emerging economies, strategic alliances and acquisitions and joint ventures. This strategy, focusing on organic growth and expansion, was very important for the development to a multinational company and plays also until the present day and the future an essential role. The key of the success of the worlds largest soft drink producer is to reach and meet its long-term targets by growing its existing business. Nevertheless, the company will grow organically as well as through targeted acquisitions, which have to be done in a disciplined manner. Coca Cola made already acquisitions around the world in the last years and will seek more acquisition opportunities in the fast growing soft drink market to expand its revenue sources and its portfolio. This results from recent acquisitions, where Coca Cola has benefited from. These helped boost the companys sales at a time, where traditional carbonated soft drinks experienced sluggish sales. Finally acquisitions strengthened Coca Colas international operations and gave it an opportunity to grow through new product launch or to increase the capacity to penetrate existing international markets and to diversify its revenue stream. Another important aspect in an increasingly complex and evolving environment to accelerate sustainable growth for the Coca Cola Company were and still are Joint Ventures and Partnerships. Coca Cola has joined forces with a number of well established businesses such as Nestlà ©, PG, Illycaffà © to further its diversification efforts. These joint ventures allowed Coca Cola to enter related businesses or new geographic markets, that would be inaccessible without the partner, and to develop new markets of iced tea, coffee and fruit juices. Furthermore it provided the opportunity to gain new technological skills and knowledge, to gain new capacity and expertise, to access greater resources and to share risks with the venture partner. Therefore international joint ventures were extremely advantageous for Coca Cola. 3. Globalization Process of Coca Cola 3.1 Entering new difficult markets: The Coca Cola Company in China and Russia 3.2 Coca Cola: thinking global, acting local Before to analyse Coca Colas adapting to local demands and needs, the term Glocalization and its importance within the process of Globalization are going to be discussed. 3.2.1 Globalization vs. Glocalization Globalization is one of the most important phenomena of the recent past and of the future. The term Globalization describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies and cultures are becoming more integrated through a dramatically increased global network of technological, economic, political and cultural exchanges. In specifically economic contexts, the term refers to the integration of national economies into the international economy through trade, particularly trade liberalization or free trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration and the spread of technology. This worldwide phenomenon of interaction among the countries is driven largely by advances in communication, transportation and legal infrastructure as well as the political choice of countries to open cross-border links in international trade and finance. Due to many difficulties that a globalization strategy faces another term has developed in recent years called Glocalization. In contrast to globalization, the glocalization strategy, which means thinking globally but acting locally, is a more modern and different approach. The term Glocalization, which had become a buzzword in business world in 2000, describes a historical process whereby the local is integrated into the global. This means that localities develop economic and cultural relationships to the global system through information technologies, bypassing and subverting traditional power hierarchies like national governments and markets including cultures clash with newly introduced cultural concepts, ideologies and practices. So put simply, globalization is a move toward centralization, while glocalization is a move toward decentralization. In this section the concept of glocalization is elaborated. In this context it will be explained why glocalization is important for multinational companies in general and especially for Coca Cola. Furthermore this section describes which advantages and disadvantages glocalization comprises and how the concept of glocalization is applied by Coca Cola in China. 3.2.2 Definition of Glocalization Glocalization is a combination of the words globalization and localization and emphasise the idea that a product or service is developed and distributed globally is more likely to succeed if it is adapted to the specific requirements of local practices, legislation, fiscal regime, socio-political system, cultural expectations, local laws, customs and consumer preferences. Today it is possible to understand by glocalization the intelligent adoption of concepts and ideas to the local and regional needs, instead of having exactly the same products and solutions everywhere. The concept of global localization explains the interactions between global and local dimensions in any strategy like political governance strategies, business marketing strategies, media and communication strategies and so on. Glocalization also explains the failure of some strong strategies, as they dont consider the effect of cultural diversity and strength of local dimensions. It is more considered as creation or distribution of products or services intended for a global or trans-regional market, but customized to suit local laws or culture. 3.2.3 Multinational Companies and Glocalization, Example: Coca Cola The increasing globalization process has altered the international competitive dynamics in the various industries. The recent changes in the global marketplace call for fundamentally different vision and strategic thinking inside all types of companies. The strategy of glocalization is becoming more and more important in all types of businesses in recent years and seems to have received wide acceptance. Especially in the food and agribusiness industry the concept of glocalization is particularly important, because of the seamless challenges this industry faces due to the typical differences that exist in the food and drinking habits of people belonging to various regions, religions and cultures across the globe. Therefore the modifications of the glocalization strategy help consumers in the host country relate with the character in a much better and effective way. In todays highly competitive business life a number of multinational companies currently apply glocalization strategies in an effort to build their customer bases and grow revenues. If multinational companies decide to expand their operations to a new country, they have to make a choice between following uniform business strategies as in their home country or modify their strategies to suit the host country socio-economic and political environment. Because most of the time a company, which is doing extremely well in the global market or their home market, can fail completely in their local market or vice versa due to the problem of not being able to adapt to the local conditions, which is one of the highest priorities for successful global companies. In order to operate successfully in their host countries, multinational companies must adopt glocal strategies in marketing, product development, advertisement etc. Therefore the companies try to be both local and global, big and small, centralized and decentralized, stable and dynamic. The main objective of these companies is to simultaneously offer standardized mass manufacturing, customized mass manufacturing and individually designed goods and services. To tackle this growing dilemma and for corporation success it is essential to maintain an appropriate balance between global homogenization and local customization. Also the successful global brand like Coca Cola, which has had a global campaign, adopted a glocal strategy. The worlds largest beverage company is the best example one could cite for a multinational company practising glocalization. The soft drink company stands for global brand, global taste, global communication differentiated with local language. In the 1990s the worldwide business development was changing and the world was demanding a greater flexibility, local responsiveness and local sensitivity and a desire for local autonomy and preservation of unique cultural identity appeared. Coca Cola recognized that speed, transparency, local sensitivity and responsibility had become essential to their success. Simultaneously the worlds largest soft drink company realised that a single global strategy and a single global campaign wont work in different countries with different cultures in the long term. Therefore it has realised that it is important that they act according to relevant local needs, local tastes and preferences, local laws, local cultures to support global brand strategies. As a result they developed a strategy, allowing differences in packaging, distribution and media for a specific region or country according to its cultural, regional and national uniqueness and which fits within fundamental values, policies and standards of integrity and quality of the company. Coca Cola showed that it is crucial for worldwide business activities to succeed in any foreign country, to understand and respect local culture, history, differences, to adapt to consumer needs, habits and diet, as well as local conditions, characteristics and circumstances of the market. The best example for Coca Colas glocal strategy is China. China was always one of the biggest opportunities of all emerging markets with a huge potential for the Coca Cola Company. When Coca Cola first entered the Chinese market, it faced unusual problems and success did not occur in the beginning. The reason for that was that Chinese people had a historical preference for health-oriented beverages such as green tea and juices and the product was misunderstood by the people. Because of these different tastes and preferences, the Coca Cola Company adopted a glocal strategy. This customer-based strategy was very effective for Coca Cola, because if their brand was not instantly recognizable in a variety of setting or they would have no congruence with local needs it may result in a loss of their brands global image or they could fail to attract potential customers. Coca Cola has overcome this problem in China by creating a glocal strategy, which enabled them to combine the best of global and local marketing to maintain their brand image. This step established a strong sense of cultural congruence with a strong focus on social responsibility. For Coca Cola this was a really important step, because also brinking habits vary significantly across cultures and countries like in the food industry. Therefore the Coca Cola Company has to be particularly sensitive to various cultural and religious issues because challenges faced in this industry due to the cultural differences are more critical and complex as compared to the other industries. This effective long-term business strategy of glocalizing allowed most decisions regarding developing new drinks and approving local initiatives to be determined by local subsidiaries or distributors and to establish nationwide operations, which generated a strong market presence. Coca Cola developed with this strategy a world, where local areas benefit from global resources while they are retaining their own cultural identities. In the meanwhile China is not the only country for which it has adopted a glocal strategy. Over the last decade it has taken up this approach around the world, but especially for the Asian countries, because of their diversity of cultures, which does not provide a unified consumer base. This section explained that glocalization explores both the effective expansion of transnational companies into new markets and the ability of cultures to exert their own identity in their interplay with the global scenario. It also showed that going global might not take much effort, but going glocal means a lot of responsibility. Therefore it is important to consider glocalization in expansion plans or when a company decides to launch in different locations, because it plays an important role if a company operates successfully or not. Summarized, it is possible to understand by glocalization a global decision, which has local impact and, at the same time, it can be a local event with global effect. So, it can be said that glocalization represents the need for multinationals to be global and local at the same time. 3.2.4 A glocal strategy: Coca Cola wants to by Huiyuan It has been shown that Coca Cola always tried and tries to adapt to any changes in the consumers habits and demands. Therefore it changed its range of products, either by the invention of new product lines or through acquisition of other beverage brands and companies. The consumers preferences and demands of beverages in the Chinese market experienced a significant change in recent years. Whereas the demand of carbonated drinks stagnated, the demand of non-carbonated drinks such as teas and especially juices increased dramatically. Therefore Coca Cola introduced a couple of new drinks of these sorts. In 2008, however, Coca Cola decided to strengthen its position in the Chinese beverage market through the acquisition of the Huiyuan Group, the biggest producer and distributor of juices in China with a market share of nearly 50%. The company had been extraordinary interesting for Coca Cola, as it is not only well known and has a strong position in the Chinese market but also because of its very strong bases of raw materials and a good production and distribution infrastructure all over the country. Coca Cola expected to strengthen its position in the Chinese and also in the international beverage market through this acquisition and therefore was will ing to buy Huiyuan Group at an extraordinary high price. In fact, Coca Cola offered to buy the company at a price nearly three times higher than its actual stock market value at the time. Furthermore Coca Cola was willing to put Zhi Xiuli, the chairman and a big shareholder of Huiyuan at the top of the merged company and thereby increasing its Guanxi and secure its position in Chinese business. By the end of 2008, the deal seemed to be home and dry, as all shareholders of Huiyuan Group to sell their shares. Therefore, Coca Cola only needed to the allowance of the Chinese authorities to take over the juice manufacturer. But the Chinese government imposed the Anti-Monopoly-Law in August 2008 which made all acquisitions of Chinese companies by multinational corporations subject to stringent checks, as the government saw it as a risk to the national economic security. After a couple of month of investigations and negotiations the Chinese government finally rejected Coca Cola to take over Huiyuan, as it suspected Coca Cola to reach a market controlling position, which would harm the Chinese economy. Critics accused the Chinese authorities to block this merger due to national sentiments and therefore act not in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organisation, whose member China is since 2001. Both companies, Coca Cola and Huiyuan, however accepted the Governments decision and did not try to act against it. This shows that in the politically controlled Chinese market it is still important to always try to collaborate with the authorities and never try to act against them, for example by going to court what would probably had happened in most other country, if the company had been confronted with such a decision. It also showed that the Chinese government, because of the size, potential and attractiveness of its economy has a lot of power and does not risk big conflict internationally by acting this way. 3.2.5 Advantages and Disadvantages of Glocalization In this section the advantages as well as disadvantages of glocalization will be identified and described. First of all glocalization makes sense when a firm faces high pressure for local responsiveness and where there are significant opportunities for leveraging valuable skills within a multinationals global network of operations. Through glocalization international products are adapted to the local taste of the population and thereby local communities are introduced to different aspects of foreign cultures. This helps multinational companies to grow and gain trust of the people of particular regions. So, glocalization helps in connecting with the consumers of that region on an emotional level and also leverage its global position. This is the most important aspect that leads to success of the company. Another positive aspect of glocalization is that multinational companies bring in foreign revenue and offer employment opportunities for locals. Disadvantages of this strategy can be that companies are unable to realize location economies or failure to transfer core competencies to foreign markets. Another disadvantage is that it is really difficult to implement a glocal strategy due to organizational problems. This means that glocalization doesnt always benefit multinational companies because individuals and groups in each region or country can choose to accept or reject the products offerings or the companys presence. 3.3 Developing a global trade mark 3.4 Coca Cola using natural resources An important question that Coca Cola faces every day, regards natural resources and the environment, especially water and its usage. Water is an essential ingredient for the beverage business. In 2005, Coca Cola used 290 billion litres of water in its plants to manufacture its products, 40% of it was used to make drinks and 60% was consumed in the supply chain and for the production of sugar and corn. 3.4.1 Handle resources sustainably Coca Colas efforts to reduce and to improve the efficiency of its water consumption have increased since the 2000s. Indeed there have been lots of global initiatives that Coca Cola has undertaken to hit this mark. With regard to that, Coca Colas chairman and CEO said that Coca Colas purpose is to return every drop of water that the company consumes, by recycling water used for production processes. Moreover the company supports initiatives of water supply in developing countries and to protect the environment through local projects. Coca Cola was blamed, in less developed countries, of draining the underground water and of discharging improperly treated industrial wastewater. The most difficult situation is in India, in the Kerala district, where the company was accused to extract 15 millions litres of groundwater everyday, without any expense. Another important complaint against Coca Cola India is that its bottle washing plants used chemicals in their processes, and produced effluents that, according with local residents, were discharging before any kind of treatment. Moreover, some reports estimated that, in 2004, Coca Cola India used 283 billions litres of water, which corresponded to the worlds usage of water for about ten days, and that Coca Cola utilized 2.7 litres of water for each bottle of its drink and 1.7 litres of them were released as effluent. In the year 2002, the company undertook its water sustainability projects to supply communities of developing countries, which lived in zones near its bottling factories, with potable water. Especially for India, the company, in June 2002, was participating in many rainwater harvesting initiatives, with the help of many non-governmental organizations, central authorities, state groundwater committees and welfare associations. Additionally, in 2004, Coca Cola undertook the global water initiative, with which it not only had the goal of the containment of its water use, but also the purpose of finding and developing some sustainable solutions to water resources management. Coca Cola tested 840 areas around the world to understand the problem of global water shortage, since this resource is its most important ingredient and the company wants to sustain this resource to be able to continue its business. Coca Cola aspired to improve its usage of water in its production processes in association with local governments, authorities and communities in many developing countries. With regard to Africa, Coca Cola established an association with the US Agency for International Developments (USAID) and they started, in 2007, 9 water initiatives with an investment of US$ 7 millions. The projects aim was the enhancement of the quality of water and a basic supply of fresh water and sanitation to communities without these basic services, for example in Kenya, Tanzania, Angola and Uganda. In Europe, Coca Cola cooperated with the United Nations Development Programs (UNDP) and thereby invested US$ 7 million into a project to improve water supply in the less developed areas of Croatia, Kazakhstan, Romania and Turkey. In China the company undertook a rainwater harvesting initiative, with the association of Soong Ching Ling, to provide and improve a healthy access to potable water for about 3000 inhabi tant. Furthermore it supported the development of 27 equipments for harvesting rainwater and water storage in five small towns. In India, Coca Cola together with the government built about 300 rainwater gathering systems to improve the water storage. Finally, In Mexico Coca Cola took initiative to improve re-use and water supply facilities for its own usage. Furthermore it supported reforestation programs and the restoration of 25,000 hectares of forest. 3.4.2 Strategies for sustainable usage of water resources In 2007, Coca Cola undertook a water stewardship strategy that is composed by four key points: plant performance, watershed protection, community water initiatives and global awareness action. About the plant performance, Coca Cola has tried to increase the efficiency of its plants with regard to water consumption, creating an interactive water resource management toolkit to help bottling companies to enhance their efficiency in the use of water. In fact, in 6 years from 2002 to 2007, the companys system had improved its water usage efficiency by 21%. But its water consumption had gone up by 4%, in 2007, because it had launched new products such as tea and coffee. The second area of the strategy is the watershed protection; Coca Cola, with the association of governments, NGOs and many communities, works to educate developing countries and its bottling factories about the importance of maintaining watershed. This programme involved also some investments to promote water conservation in seven river systems in China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and East Africa. The community water initiatives involved partnerships with 70 communities in about 40 nations. These partnerships aimed sanitation, hygiene, watershed protection, water providing, efficient water usage and education and awareness. Additionally, Coca Cola participated in some projects with regard to reforestation, efficient usage of water in agriculture and rainwater gathering, especially in India. Finally, the last core area of the strategy is the global awareness action, with which Coca Cola developed a programme which had the purpose to provide healthy and potable water to schools in developing countries. This project involved the education of students, in many schools, about sanitation and hygiene. 3.4.3 Criticism on Coca Cola and its responses In spite of several initiatives, partnerships and programmes about water consumption efficiency, Coca Cola had to face lots of criticisms for its business. The most important criticisms focused on the reduction of groundwater tables and on the fact that the local communities were without access to potable water due to the company, particularly in India. Further complaints against Coca Cola were about the discharge of wastewater in the agriculture fields close to its blottling companies, the illegal seizure of lands from agricultural laborers and the release of dangerous material and sludge in the contiguous areas in India. The responses of Coca Cola against these criticisms have been constant since the 2000s. First of all, the company launched a website, called www.cokefacts.org, where it has tried to fight the allegations linked to its business. Moreover, Coca Cola defended itself with the publication of reports and the conduction of studies. For example, the Palakkad District Environmental Protection Council and Guidance Society prepared in 2002 a report wherein they concluded that the Coca Cola plants had not had any kind of responsibility for any environmental damage that happened in zones near to them. In response to the compl