Pond Lab Report essays

Pond Lab Report essays In the pond water lab experiment, our group has chosen to test the effects of nitrates on a pond community. After a lot of research, we have found that nitrates in a pond community can increase growth rates of plants and some animals. The effects of nitrates include algal blooms, which is when too much food or nutrients are consumed by producers, (i.e. algae) causing them to grow and spread, so they consume all of the dissolved oxygen in the water. Most animals in water like many kinds of fish and some insects need certain levels of dissolved oxygen to live. When it is used up due to algal blooms, they die due to lack of oxygen. It also causes plants who need certain levels of dissolved oxygen to die, so it starves creatures that eat the plants. The safest range of nitrates in an environment is 3-10 PPM. Although too many nitrates can kill them, they still need some small amounts of nitrate. So if there is too little nitrates, then plant life is limited to the amount of food availabl e, giving room for a small, healthy community. The substance enters streams and ponds from fertilizers from farms, animal urine, septic tanks, landfills or agricultural activity. Nitrates are very common. My prediction for this experiment is that the nitrates will cause increased algae growth. Thus providing more food for the creatures in our sample. But since this is a short period of time, I expect the creatures to peak rather than die, because not enough time will pass for the algal bloom process to take place. Our group is trying to find the effects of increased amounts of nitrates in the pond community. Whether or not it is healthy for creatures living in the environment. In addition, what the results are or the effects of the pollutant on plant life and animal life. I expect for this experiment, that the plant life will thrive more and more with the different levels of nitrates entered into the pond samples. I expect for the animal ...

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You know that friend of yours who loves to gossip yet always downplays any drama they get into themselves? Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby is like that friend. A close friend of Daisy Buchanan’s, Jordandates Nick Carraway during the novel and plays a crucial role in reuniting Daisy with the titular Jay Gatsby. A couple of years younger than Daisy, Jordan is single and a professional golfer, which sets her apart from her married friend. In fact, Jordan is Daisy’s opposite in many ways, as we will explore in this guide! Read in for a complete guide to Jordan’s appearance, plot points, major quotes, and character analysis! Article Roadmap To help you easily find the information you're looking for, here's how this article is organized and the information it covers. Jordan Baker as a character Physical description Jordan'sbackground Actions in the novel Character Analysis Quotes about and byJordan Common discussion topics and essay ideas FAQ answering often-asked questionsaboutJordan Bonus: Want to improve your SAT/ACT section scores? Check out our top guides for every single section of the SAT and ACT. SAT 800 Score Guides: SAT Reading | SAT Writing | SAT Math | SAT Essay ACT 36 Score Guides: ACT English | ACT Math | ACT Reading | ACT Science | ACT Essay These are the very best guides available on boosting your SAT/ACT scores, section by section. They're written by Harvard grads and perfect SAT/ACT scorers. Don't disappoint yourself - read these guides and improve your score today. Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Physical Description of Jordan The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it- indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. (1.28) I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. (1.57) Tom and Miss Baker sat at either end of the long couch and she read aloud to him from the "Saturday Evening Post"- the words, murmurous and uninflected, running together in a soothing tune. The lamp-light, bright on his boots and dull on the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, glinted along the paper as she turned a page with a flutter of slender muscles in her arms. (1.121) The first thing Nick notices about Jordan is her placement and posture. Only after that does he notice her appearance, which he finds attractive. Nick tells us a lot about Jordan’s appearance, in fact more than he does about Daisy’s – with Daisy he often focuses on immaterial qualities like her voice. But we clearly see Jordan’s gray eyes, her wan, charming face, the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, her small breasts, the slender muscles in her arms. Clearly Nick spends a lot of time looking at Jordan! It’s also worth noting Jordan and Daisy have contrasting appearances. Jordan is blond andvery athletic, physical, tan, and angular, while Daisy is dark-haired and pale with a musical voice and more delicate figure. Interestingly enough most film adaptations feature a dark-haired Jordan and a blonde Daisy! Jordan's Background Jordan Baker, who is two years younger than Daisy, grew up with the other womanin Louisville. Daisy refers to this as their shared â€Å"white girlhoods† (1.100). Jordan witnesses both Daisy’s initial relationship with Gatsby and how she almost didn’t marry Tom after getting a letter from Gatsby but pulled herself together in time for the wedding. Jordan doesn’t have any major surviving relatives other than an old aunt who controls her money, so it’s implied she’s the heiress to a significant amount of money but, during the novel at least, she doesn’t have full access to it. Instead of marrying, Jordan plays golf professionally and dates around, to the point Tom comments that her family â€Å"shouldn’t let her run around the country in this way† (1.134). To see how Jordan's biography lines up with the lives of theother characters, check out our timeline. A Summary of Jordan's Actions in the Novel In Chapter 1, Jordan meets Nick through Tom and Daisy, who she is staying with. She tells Nick that Tom has â€Å"some woman in New York† and shushes him so she can listen to Tom and Daisy’s argument, revealing herself as a gossip (1.100). In Chapter 3, she runs into Nick again at Gatsby’s party. She is also called to speak with Gatsby, and he tells her about his past with Daisy and how he hopes to meet her again through Nick, Daisy’s cousin. In Chapter 4, Jordan tells Nick about Daisy and Gatsby’s history and gets him to help arrange their meeting, igniting Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. In Chapter 7, Jordan is invited to the lunch party along with Nick, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy, when Gatsby hopes to have Daisy to confront Tom. The group ends up going to New York City. Jordan rides up with Tom and Nick in Gatsby’s yellow car. They stop at the Wilson’s garage, and Myrtle sees the trio and takes Jordan to be Tom’s wife. Later that night, Jordan drives back with Nick and Tom, but this time in Tom’s blue coupe. They come across the scene of Myrtle’s death: she has been run over by the yellow car. Despite witnessing this awful scene, she seems surprised Nick doesn’t want to come into the Buchanans’ afterward for tea. The next day, she calls Nick at work, telling him she’s moved out of the Buchanans’ house and wants to see him, but they end up arguing over the phone and breaking up. Finally, in Chapter 9, Nick seeks her out to more formally break things off, and she tells him she’s engaged. Nick doesn't appear to have liked it enough to put a ring on it. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download this free SAT guide now: Key Jordan Baker Quotes â€Å"And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." (3.29) This is an early example of Jordan’s unexpectedly clever observations – throughout the novel she reveals a quick wit and keen eye for detail in social situations. This comment also sets the stage for the novel’s chief affair between Daisy and Gatsby, and how at the small party in Chapter 7 their secrets come out to disastrous effect. Compare Jordan’s comment to Daisy's general attitude of being too sucked into her own life to notice what’s going on around her. "You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." "I am careful." "No, you're not." "Well, other people are," she said lightly. "What's that got to do with it?" "They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. "It takes two to make an accident." "Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself." "I hope I never will," she answered. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you." (3.162-169) Here we get a sense of what draws Jordan and Nick together – he’s attracted to her carefree, entitled attitude while she sees his cautiousness as a plus. After all, if it really does take two to make an accident, as long as she’s with a careful person, Jordan can do whatever she wants! We also see Jordan as someone who carefully calculates risks – both in driving and in relationships. This is why she brings up her car accident analogy again at the end of the book when she and Nick break up – Nick was, in fact, a â€Å"bad driver† as well, and she was surprised that she read him wrong. â€Å"It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people.† (4.144) Another example of Jordan’s observant wit, this quote (about Daisy) is Jordan’s way of suggesting that perhaps Daisy’s reputation is not so squeaky-clean as everyone else believes. After all, if Daisy were the only sober one in a crowd of partiers, it would be easy for her to hide less-than-flattering aspects about herself. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. (4.164) In this moment, Nick reveals what he finds attractive about Jordan – not just her appearance (though again, he describes her as pleasingly â€Å"jaunty† and â€Å"hard† here), but her attitude. She’s skeptical without being fully cynical, and remains upbeat and witty despite her slightly pessimistic outlook. At this point in the story, Midwestern Nick probably still finds this exciting and attractive, though of course by the end he realizes that her attitude makes it hard for her to truly empathize with others, like Myrtle. "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." (7.75) In contrast to Daisy (who says just before this, rather despairingly, â€Å"What will we do today, and then tomorrow, and for the next thirty years?† (7.74)), Jordan is open to and excited about the possibilities still available to her in her life. As we’ll discuss later, perhaps since she’s still unmarried her life still has a freedom Daisy’s does not, as well as the possibility to start over. While she’s not exactly a starry-eyed optimist, Jordan does show resilience and an ability to start things over and move on. This allows her to escape the tragedy at the end relatively unscathed. It also fits how Jordan doesn’t seem to let herself get too attached to people or places, which is why she’s surprised by how much she felt for Nick. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." (9.130) Jordan doesn’t frequently showcase her emotions or show much vulnerability, so this moment is striking because we see that she did really care for Nick to at least some extent. Notice that she couches her confession with a pretty sassy remark (â€Å"I don’t give a damn about you now†) which feels hollow when you realize that being â€Å"thrown over† by Nick made her feel dizzy – sad, surprised, shaken – for a while. Common Essay Topics/Areas of Discussion About Jordan Jordan, like Tom, is usually roped into essay topics to be compared with Daisy (the way Tom is often contrasted with Gatsby or sometimes George), or to make a larger argument about the role of women more generally. Since Jordan isn’t as major of a character as Daisy, Gatsby, or even Tom, it’s rare to get a standalone essay just about Jordan. To read some excellentdetailed analysis of how to compare Jordan to Myrtle or Daisy, check out our article on comparing and contrasting the novel's characters. Make sure to move beyond the obvious when writing about Jordan – yes, she has a job while Daisy and Myrtle are both married, but what else makes her stand out? Pay special attention to how Jordan is described versus Daisy, Jordan’s dialogue, and Jordan’s focus – it’s clear that Jordan is often focused outward, observing other characters and their interactions, while Daisy tends to be turned inward, with her own emotions. Discuss how Jordan and Daisy illustrate changing women’s roles in the 1920s. Despite the progress in women’s rights made in the early twentieth century, including the right to vote (won in 1919), most women, especially wealthy women, were expected to marry, have children, and stay at home. Daisy sticks to this prescribed societal role by marrying and having a child. But Jordan plays golf professionally, â€Å"runs around the country† and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to marry (1.134). In short, on the surface, it appears that Daisy is a traditionalist while Jordan is expanding the possibilities of a woman’s life. However, Daisy and Jordan aren’t exactly a straightforward housewife and career woman duo. First of all, Daisy is quite removed from her role as a mother, since her daughter Pammy is mostly raised by a maid. She also seriously contemplates leaving Tom during the novel. Meanwhile, Jordan tells Nick at the end of the novel she’s engaged. Whether or not this is true, it suggests that Jordan will certainly get married one day, and that her current golf career is just a temporary diversion, not a permanent independent lifestyle. Indeed, both Daisy and Jordan are also both at the mercy of their families: Daisy derives all of her wealth and power from Tom, while Jordan is beholden to her old aunt for money. They don’t actually have much control over their own wealth and would lose everything if they went too far out of line. So while Daisy and Jordan both typify a very showy lifestyle that looks liberated – being â€Å"flappers,† having sex, drinking in public (which before the 1920s was seen as a highly indecent thing for a woman to do), playing golf professionally in Jordan’s case – they in fact are still thoroughly constrained by the limited options women had in the 1920s in terms of making their own lives. Jordan briefly narrates in Chapter 4. How is Jordan’s narration different fromNick’s? Why rely on her narration at all? What would the novel be like from her point of view? Jordan’s narration is definitely distinct from Nick’s. Her diction is a bit sharper and she has more blatantly judgmental asides, calling Daisy â€Å"drunk as a monkey† (4.136). She also uses more vivid imagery: the red, white, and blue banners on the houses flapping â€Å"tut-tut-tut-tut† in a â€Å"disapproving way† (4.129), Gatsby’s letter to Daisy coming apart â€Å"like snow† in the bath (4.141), etc. Her choice of words is a pretty good insight into her character and how sharply observant she is! So why is there a section narrated by Jordan at all? Perhaps Nick leans on Jordan because he feels unqualified to talk about Daisy’s past. After all, aside from their conversation in Chapter 1, Nick doesn’t have close conversations with Daisy. But since Nick gets to know Gatsby through several close conversations, he feels comfortable telling about Gatsby’s past. You also get the sense he’s washing hishands of whatever Jordan reveals about Daisy. He doesn’t fully trust in the details or really care about Daisy’s story,using it only asa means ofunderstanding Gatsby. It’s also notable that Nick uses Michealis’s point of view to talk about the aftermath of Myrtle’s death, which in a similar manner suggests he feels less connected to the Wilsons than he does to Gatsby. The novel from Jordan’s point of view would likely be much less sentimental when it comes to Gatsby. Nick obviously idealizes him by the end while Jordan doesn’t seem to see him as anything more than a source of fun and intrigue. We would also likely get a much better sense of Daisy’s motivations and thought process throughout the novel, something we barely get access to with Nick’s narration. Daisy's motto: if you don't have anything nice to say, come and sit by me. Extra Advice: Want to get into the best college you can? Read our famous guide on how to get into Harvard, the Ivy League, and your top choice college. In this guide, you'll learn: What colleges are looking for in your application How to impress your top choice colleges Why you're probably wasting your time on activities that don't matter Even if you're not actually interested in Ivy League schools, you'll still learn something fundamental about how to apply to college. Read our top college admissions guide today. Jordan Baker FAQ These are questions that many students have about Jordan after reading Gatsby for the first time. These are points that don’t come up as often in essay topics or study guides, so give them a look if you’re still wondering about Jordan’s feelings and motivations! #1: Does Jordan Actually Like Nick? Daisy professes her feelings to not one but two men in Chapter 7, and Myrtle makes her attraction to Tom Buchanan clear. Jordan, in contrast, is not one to make her feelings so plainly known, so it’s not surprising that many students wonder if she even likes Nick at all. Like Gatsby, Jordan seems drawn to Nick because he presents himself as a stable, honest, and grounded personality in the midst of many larger-than-life, overbearing types.She even says that she’s drawn to him because he’s cautious. There's also a part in the book where Nick says that Jordan tends to prefer being with people she can dominate or pull one over on, and Nick does seem to rely on her for emotional strength at some points (for example in the car when he's thinking about turning 30). Nick and Jordan break up right at the moment when she can't control his actions - can't make him go into the house, can't make him apologize for ignoring her.) By the end of the book, Jordan does admit that she was rather thrown by the break-up, suggesting she came to have somewhat deeper feelings for him. In fact, their break-up scene is worth looking at in full to really answer this question: "Nevertheless you did throw me over," said Jordan suddenly. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." We shook hands. "Oh, and do you remember- " she added, "- - a conversation we had once about driving a car?" "Why- not exactly." "You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride." "I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor." She didn't answer. Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away. (9.130-136) â€Å"Feeling dizzy for a while† is the closest we’ve seen the proudly unflappable Jordan come to admitting an actual, personal, emotional response to a situation. She also criticizes Nick for mischaracterizing himself as honest and straightforward when he dispatched her pretty coldly over the phone. In short, we can tell she has definitely been thinking their short relationship over and was shocked and hurt by how abruptly things ended. #2: Why Does Jordan Help Gatsby Reunite With Daisy? In Chapter 3, Jordan attends one of Gatsby’s parties and is called upstairs to speak with him. We can infer that Gatsby has heard she is staying with Daisy Buchanan, and calls her up so he can find out more about Daisy. In that conversation, Gatsby confesses to Jordan that he’s in love with Daisy and wants to try and see her again. Gatsby’s motivations are clear. But why does Jordan help? Well, for one thing, Jordan’s nosy, and likes to be in the middle of things. She tells Nick about Tom’s affair in Chapter 1 and also tells him all about Daisy’s past in Chapter 4, and seems to love being a source of information and gossip. Arranging a Daisy/Gatsby reunion certainly puts her close to some drama! However, you could also argue that, as someone with knowledge of Gatsby and Daisy’s original relationship, Jordan knows how devastated Daisy was when she got a letter from Gatsby, feels compelled to help the pair reunite. Finally, Jordan might also see it as an opportunity to expose Daisy as much less virtuous as she comes off. Jordan is consistently the only character who recognizes Daisy as less-than-perfect, as evidenced in her remarks about Daisy in Chapter 4 (â€Å"Daisy was popular in Chicago, as you know. They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely spotlessreputation. Perhaps because she doesn't drink. It's a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people. You can hold your tongue and, moreover, you can time any little irregularity of your own so that everybody else is so blind that they don't see or care.† (4.144)). Nudging Daisy into an affair with Gatsby could be Jordan’s way of working to expose Daisy to the scrutiny that everyone else in their circles seems to face for similar behavior. #3: What’s Jordan’s Purpose in the Story? Is She a Necessary Character? Jordan, similar to Nick, is adjacent to much of the main action and not directly involved, so many students wonder what exactly she’s doing in the book. Especially since Nick does have a crucial role as narrator, Jordan can seem a bit superfluous at times. So why include her? Well, for one thing, she does have an important role to play in the story. Purely from a plot perspective, she helps connect Nick to Gatsby in Chapter 3, and she also helps connect Gatsby and Daisy. She helps sets the wheels of the affair in motion, and, of course, the affair drives the main action of the novel. Without Jordan, Gatsby would have relied entirely on Nick to reach Daisy, which would have taken some of the suspense out of Gatsby’s motivations (even though Jordan learns Gatsby’s secret in Chapter 3, we don’t learn it until Chapter 4). But Jordan is also important in how she allows us to understand other characters. She helps us understand Daisy by being such a contrast to her, and of course offers some crucial insights about Daisy herself during her brief stint as the narrator in Chapter 4. Furthermore, Jordan also gives us some insights about Nick since we can see his reactions to her and their relationship. In fact, Jordan’s relationship with Nick is one of our main inroads into understanding Nick’s personal life and feelings. So while Jordan is not directly involved in the main drama, she is a crucial lynchpin both for the plot and our understanding of the other major characters. #4: Why Doesn’t Jordan Go to Gatsby’s Funeral? Nick attends Gatsby’s funeral along with Gatsby’s father and Owl Eyes. Tom and Daisy have skipped town due to Daisy’s role in Myrtle’s death, Meyer Wolfshiem also wants to keep his distance since he is painted as cautious and disloyal, and Myrtle and George are dead. So out of the book’s major characters, Jordan is the only one unaccounted for at Gatsby’s funeral. Some readers wonder why she doesn’t show up, given her relationship with Nick and the fact that she at least knew Gatsby, and even helped him reunite with Daisy. First of all, Nick doesn’t try to invite Jordan to the funeral (that we know of), especially since it seems their conversation late in Chapter 9 is the first they have spoken since Nick â€Å"threw her over† on the telephone the morning after Myrtle’s death. Perhaps Jordan hears about Gatsby’s death but avoids his funeral because she assumes Nick will be there. If Nick invited her would she have considered attending? Likely not. Jordan, like the other characters, is very conscious about appearances and, furthermore, she is a character who likes being involved in gossip and intrigue but manages to mostly remain out of serious trouble or scandal herself. So even were she invited, going to Gatsby’s funeral might be seen as more risky than it’s worth, especially since she wasn’t that close to Gatsby. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. What’s Next? Nick and Jordan’s relationship is unique in the novel – they’re not having an affair, unlike Tom/Myrtle and Daisy/Gatsby, and they’re not married, unlike Myrtle/George and Daisy/Tom. So what does Nick and Jordan's relationship add to the story? Why include it at all? Read more about love, desire, and relationships in Gatsbyto find out. Jordan is a key figure in the first half of the novel as Gatsby moves to reunite with Daisy. Read summaries of Chapter 3and Chapter 4to get some in-depth takes of her most important scenes. We mention here that Jordan is relatively independent in that she has her own career as a golfer. This connects her to one of the novel's more interesting motifs: sports. How does her golf career compare to Tom's football days? Read our article on motifs in The Great Gatsby for some insights. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Management of Knowledge & Information Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Management of Knowledge & Information - Essay Example The main problem of these hotels is the inability to attract more customers. The priority club rewards system resolves these problems by providing the customers with reward points every time they stay in these hotels. These reward points are given to the members of the priority club. The customers can avail the membership and can make use of these points to purchase, travel or stay in these hotels. The benefits of the priority club reward system helps the hotels to earn more profit and increase their revenue. The customers are also benefited as they get to redeem their points in any of the offered methods. Introduction An information system generally manages information pertaining to the organization in which it is installed. This ensures that the employees and customers are always intimated regarding the operations in the organization. Implementing an information system requires certain predefined tasks that determine the requirements of the organization. The information system must be implemented in such a way that it incorporates the requirements of the concerned organization. The system must be designed and developed according to the company’s nature and type. ... The information provided to the user must convey the intended information in an effective manner. This will enable the user to understand the rewards system in a better way. This in turn will increase the revenue of the IHGs and the associated hotels. The rewards system includes components which are easy to understand and implement. Since information system aims at satisfying the user, the rewards system is composed of modules and operations that ease the process of this programme. The services provided to the customers include reward point information, information pertaining to the hotels, updating points each time the customer makes use of any service and providing membership options. Each of these services is designed to suit the requirements of the customer. These services are beneficial to the customer as well as to the hotel groups. Though this framework seems to be simple and satisfying, it lacks certain basic features. The information system must be accessible by the user so that he can get the information about every hotel and its services. This will also enable him to get an idea about the priority rewards system. The membership details must be made available to the customer and this will make the selection of membership an easier task. If the services provided by this system are revived, the user will get more benefited. This in turn will increase the numbers of customers. Priority Club Rewards System Priority Club Rewards system is the information system used by the Intercontinental Hotels Group. It is a hotel loyalty programme which enables the customers to experience world class facilities and enjoy the benefits of club rewards. The aim of this programme is to provide the customers

Family Focus Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Family Focus - Essay Example The family is the primary social group in society, typically composed of parents and their children. Another definition is that a family is: a married couple or other group of adult kinsfolk, who cooperate economically and in the upbringing of children; and all or most of whom share a common dwelling.(Gough 52). In a family, the members are either related by blood, or related by law or marriage, like a husband and wife. The bible sees the family not as a cultural construct but a fundamental God-given institution built into the very nature of the universe . The biblical record of the creation of the world centers on the human family, starting with the creation of Adam and Eve. God wants us to live in happy families. Ephesians 2:10 provides some insight, explaining that God prearranged a good life for us. Joyce Meyer says that you and I can have that life only if we choose to walk in it, if we submit to His will for us. The key is obedience. Obedient followers of God, like Noah and Dan iel received radical blessings from God. Sir John Bowring has said that a happy family is but an earlier heaven, and Leo Tolstoy has accurately observed that : All happy families resemble each other, each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way. Family problems like divorce, illegitimate children, child abuse, and broken homes result from family breakdown. Family problems result in social problems like crime and poverty, sexual promiscuity, economic setbacks, etc.

Nature Versus Nurture Essay Example for Free

Nature Versus Nurture Essay Nature versus Nurture The nature versus nurture debate has been one that has been around for centuries. This debate was spawned from the idea that nature and nurture are both pieces of the human puzzle. Are we as humans shaped because of our genes only or are we influenced by our peers and environment? The opinion of this writer is that a person is who he or she is based on both principals of nature and nurture. Personal Thoughts My thoughts on nature and nurture have never been explored until now. I have always assumed that I am who I am because God made me this way. Now that I have learned a bit more about this debate, I find that I am a product of both nature and nurture. I am tall, have brown hair, wear glasses, and speak with a country accent because of my gene structure given to me by my parents. The way that I act and my thought processes come from influences in my environment and the teachings of my family. â€Å"We are a product of nature and nurture, but we are also an open system† (Myers, pg. 167). This means that even though genes and culture are influences in a person’s overall structure, a person can defy each. For example, as a teenager, I was always pressured to go with the crowd and conform to their ways of thinking and acting. I wanted so badly to fit in and found it difficult because I was tall, lanky, and had acne which was all given to me by my nature or genetic structure. Growing up in a smaller town, teenage drinking was a pressure of my social group and while I knew it would be the â€Å"thing to do†, I opposed what culture was telling me was okay. I chose not to go with the crowd and for that, I enjoyed my high school experience in my own way. I was taught by my parents the consequences of right and wrong and knew that making such choices were wrong for me which was instilled in me through the nurture part of my makeup. God says Train up a child in the way in which he should go (Prov. 22:6) which must have been a very important verse as I was growing up. My parents and grandparents have always been influential in making me a self-respecting, confident adult who can make conscious decisions on my own. History The nature versus nurture debate first began in the 13th century in France. Our genes give us our internal imprint that tell us what color our eyes are, how tall we will be, and how big our feet will be. Our genetic structure makes us unique. Psychological influences refer to our beliefs, feelings, and expectations of life experiences. These characteristics are based on the â€Å"gene-environment interaction† and can give us â€Å"responses evoked by our own temperament, gender, etc. † (Myers, pg. 167). Finally, social-cultural influences are how society influences our development. These can come from our parents, friends, culture, and even gender. A person’s social-cultural influences can cause them to see people differently than they normally would. I could see this being the state where racism is influenced. Unfortunately, I see this becoming a bigger influencing factor in the years ahead and we, as a society, have many different cultural groups in our everyday lives. Conclusion In conclusion, the nature versus nurture debate can take on many different forms in how it is perceived. One could see that they are who they are based on their heredity while another could see it from an environmental viewpoint.

Excess in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar :: Julius Caesar Essays

Excess in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar Excess makes for a very relevant theme in The Tragedy of Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Being excessively large compared to his followers is a trait that credits Julius Caesar's character. Excessiveness encompasses the leading conspirators. Excessiveness also marks Antony and Octavius in several ways. Â   Caesar's descriptions as well as his attitude contain excessiveness. Cassius describes Caesar as excessively large in relationship to his followers. This is shown when he says, "Why, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/Like a Colossus, and we petty men/Walk under his huge legs..."(1.2.135-137). He states that Caesar's followers and close associates make themselves unnecessarily small and meek in their actions when they are around Caesar. He says that this way of acting has become unnecessary and dangerous because it allows Caesar too much room to act like a king. Also, Caesar asks to ."..have men about me that are fat,..."(1.2.192) and he has grown to be scared by Cassius because scrawnyness marks one of his traits. Â   Excessiveness surrounds Cassius and Brutus Cassius declares that the terrifying and supernatural events of the night merely show that something will come that Casca should look forward to and not be afraid of. He enumerates a number of fantastic things that have happened over the course of the night. He states that all of these things, like the ."..birds and beasts from quality and kind,..."(1.3.64), do not represent fear and horror, but the coming of a wonderful new change. Involving Brutus, Portia must resort to gashing her thigh in order to get her husband's attention and make him tell her the truth about his plans. She reveals this to him during a speech where she makes every excessive plea to convince Brutus that knowledge, reliability, and a strong lineage characterize her. Therefor, she has earned her worthyness to not be left out of his matters. Â   Antony and Octavius also express excessiveness or lack thereof. After reading Caesar's will, Antony takes the clothes off Caesar's body so that the Roman populous to whom he speaks can see Caesar's wounds, thus inflaming the public opinion against Brutus. He personalizes every wound, which raises the public's opinion against Brutus even more.

Competency Statement III Complete Essay

To support social and emotional development and to provide positive guidance. SELF I will support each child’s social and emotional development and provide positive guidance to teach them to learn their own self-worth and self-value: By using positive reinforcement to build up each child’s self-esteem By giving pats on the back and hugs to comfort and help each child feel emotionally secure By making sure I am always pleasant and smiling at the children during times of play or teaching, making them feel of value By loving each child and never allowing partiality, I will teach them their value as individuals I believe that every person/child deserves the right to have self-esteem; I believe that this leads us to become much more stable emotionally and socially. I will achieve this by treating each child with respect; listening to each as an individual, taking their feelings seriously, and including each child as a valuable person during group times. My goal is to have a positive attitude at all times, so that I can be an example by my actions. SOCIAL I will support the social and emotional development and provide positive guidance to each child, by giving them the tools they need to develop their social psyche to become productive citizens: By using self-control at all times, I will teach each child appropriate behavior By listening to and respecting all of the children and adults in our environment, I will teach each child to listen to others By modeling  appropriate emotional skills in showing genuine concern for the well-being of others, I will teach each child empathy and forgiveness As teachers of young children, we must help each child in their social development. Part of achieving this goal is to make sure the children interact with each of the other throughout the day; I will achieve this by planning activities where the children can mingle and have different friends at each station. I will also make sure that everyone participates in whole class games and other fun activities that promote teamwork. I will make sure that I am a good example by communicating and being friendly with each child’s parent/care-giver. GUIDANCE I will support the social and emotional development and provide positive guidance by educating children in learning how to make decisions that lead to self-control and self-discipline: By giving positive encouragement for each endeavor, I will encourage them to succeed By demonstrating how to perform a skill with slow and simple directions, I will teach them that they can do anything By being alert to the needs of each child, I can ensure that each child learns to be independent I will use kind body language to direct a child towards the desired behavior I will provide assistance geared towards helping each child reach their full potential. I will work with other staff and parents to set goals for each child. I believe that persistent positive guidance will help each child reach their desired outcomes. Training up children in learning how to navigate life. CSIIIa: I support the development of a child’s positive self-concept and growing social/emotional skills by making sure they feel safe and loved. In giving value to each child’s opinion and by listening to their concerns, they will feel self-worth and be better equipped to value someone else’s opinion; then I gently guide them to understand why a rule must be followed, teaching  compliance. I use consistency in my requirements, which provides them with specific boundaries and teaches them self-control because they understand the consequence of self-actions. Knowing that they are valued helps their self-concept to bloom, and leads to self-confidence and self-worth. A child who feels accepted and loved can slowly learn the social and emotional skills they need. CSIIIb: My philosophy in guiding a young child’s positive behavior is to be a friendly positive influence, giving them lots of love and understanding. I believe that positive reinforcement leads to better behavior in a child; they desire to please the care-giver who makes them feel wanted and valued. My mother guided me this way as a child, and I have used it in my work with children with great success. In several cases where a child, in my care, has repeated challenging behavior, I learned to ignore that behavior, but give attention for good behavior; these children respond to the positive reinforcement and become my helper and learn to improve their social skills.

Mcdonalds Case Study Project Managment

Contents 1. Introduction 1. 1 History of McDonald's 1. 2Philosophy of the company 2. Task 1: SWOT Analysis 2. 1 Strengths 2. 2 Weakness 2. 3 Opportunities 2. 4 Threats 3. Task 2: McDonald's Plan to Win Strategy 3. 1 Implementation of key elements new Strategies 3. 2 SWOT Analysis and Plan to Win 4. Task 3: McDonald's 2003-2009 Strategy 4. 1 McDonald's Dynamic Strategy 4. 2 Strategies Comparison 5. Task 4: McDonald's Competitors 5. 1 Wendy's 5. 2 Jack in the Box 5. 3 Sonic 6. References 7. Bibliography 1. Introduction 1. History of McDonald's The first McDonald's was inaugurated by the McDonald's brothers in 1948, constituting itself as the first local in the history of the quick service of foods, in San Bernardino, California (U. S). They offered quick food, soon they reached a high level of sales and although the menu was limited the success that is to say previously prepared food and served to high speed. Without a doubt the base of its success was in substituting the conventional china that you/they used the rest of restaurants, for the paper bags. It was then when the supplier of the shaking machine shake, Ray Kroc, surprised by the quantity of â€Å"Multi-mixers† requested, it proposed the opening of new restaurants. This way in 1955 the first local of the Corporation was inaugurated in charge of Ray Kroc. During the 50? s and the 60? s, Ray's managerial team Kroc established the successful philosophy of the system of the company: Quality, Service, Cleaning and Value. At the moment this Franchise possesses more than 25. 00 establishments in 117 countries and five are the continents in which the Golden Arches run off with, number that was increased more with the recent opening of 3. 000 local during 1999. Although McDonald's offers its clients a standard menu in its entire local, it is common that these menus combine with special products that are developed in each culture depending on the likes of the clients. {Love, 1995 #4} 1. 2 Philosophy of the company The company brought to this new market of the quick foods a con cept of original quick service, where of the details is taken care to the maximum, to offer the consumer an excellent product. The operative philosophy of the McDonald's system is based on the Quality, Service, Cleaning and Value for 44 years. The company offers a standard menu, although it develops in each culture special products that are adjusted to the pleasure of the community. McDonald’s is successful because it has a system of corporate norms and individual opportunities, to all the Franchised they are integrated in the same philosophy of values and clear expectations. For McDonald's the employees are the most important thing. It is thanks to them for what the clients are taken an incredible experience in each visit and want to return. The principles of Quality, Service and Cleaning begin with their own employees, McDonald's guides all the actions according to organizational values as working in team, to feel passion for the work always offering the best of themselves, to be committed with the partners and with the mission of the company, to be entire in each one of the actions, to be leaders. {Kroc, 1987 #5} McDonald's is a company that offers work eminently to young people over 16 years, it is for it, for what its schedules of work are enough flexible to be able to continue the studies, adding an unique labor experience, it can even become the first step of a great professional career in an international company. The competitors of McDonald's is formed by all those companies that act in the sector of the quick foods that using a very similar technology tries to assist to the same type of clients. When McDonald's begun to give its first steps restaurants of quick food they didn't exist, so soon he became the leader of the sector. It was starting from that Ray Kroc organized the company McDonald's System, Inc. , March 2 1955 when other companies were already in the business and McDonald's it was beginning to lose its advantage in front of other companies like Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken or Chicken Delight. Kroc was then in one of the most competitive markets, that of the hamburgers. {Kroc, 1987 #5} McDonald's has always tried to differentiate its products of the rest of its competitors, and it doesn't in fact try to differentiate them through the price, but through the good quality, the service, the originality and innovation. If for something is McDonald's characterized it is for the innovation, she has always tried to offer something different to its consumers, continually innovating with new products, and a clear example is in the Big Mac. In the market very similar hamburgers were already sold when McDonald's decided to sell it, but she only knew how to give him the form and the in agreement size with its name. And as shown on Table 1 the market share between competitors throw the last 4 years. Table 1. Burger Restruant Market Share |Europe (2006) |Europe (2007) |Europe (2009) |USA | |McDonald's |16. 54 |19. 47 |66. 74 |94. 06 | |Yum! Brands |3. 25 |3. 43 |42. 82 |58. 59 | |Burger King |2. 60 |2. 65 |21. 45 |29. 35 | |Subway |0. 74 |0. 1 |19. 79 |27. 07 | |Starbucks |0. 77 |0. 90 |17. 44 |23. 86 | www. macdailynews. com McDonald's also knew that the strategy of growth was essential and when Burger King and Burger Chef were enlarged so much that they were about to reach him, McDonald's decided to grow e ven more. In 1967 Burger King had settled down as expansion program reaching the 100 new positions a year, equaling the rhythm of expansion of McDonald's for the first time. But the threat of Burger Chef was even bigger, since at the beginning of 1968 its program of expansion had shortened the distances between her and McDonald's reducing it to less than 100 position. [pic] Figure 1 Burger Fast food Market Share 1 . It is obvious that all the competitor companies have tried to sell products substitutes of the Big Mac, without a doubt, the good known one is the Big King of Burger King that tries to satisfy the same clients with the same ingredients. While McDonald's tries to differentiate the Big Mac of the Big King offering fresh products and a hamburger of more quality, Burger King tries to highlight its product offering a hamburger a little bigger and made to the grill and therefore, with different flavor. Figure 1 2. Task 1: SWOT Analysis [pic] 2. 1 Strengths All strengths have been taken from the McDonald’s 2006 Worldwide Corporate Responsibility Report {McDonald's, 2008 #20} †¢ Open door Company Company trust was declining because of public confidence in the safety of beef, poultry and bad intentioned internet rumors. We do also remember the BSE crisis in Europe at the begin of this millennium. On March 2001 MCDONALD’S decided to open its doors to everybody with desire to see how the company is being managed. This action was supported by open invitation through TV and printed advertisement. Consider the courage of MCDONALD’S’s board to open their company to everyone? Have they completely been sure of what is going on in their remotest MCDONALD’S restaurant? How can they risk to show one of their black sheep (and every 1000s of subsidiaries holding concern has some! to the public and could face the tremendous impact a cockroach would have being found in a double-cheese burger or found on their kitchen floors? Roaches are present in many locations we don’t want to have them: Certainly MCDONALD’S intended a growing mindset by its employees and management by implementing programs like this. Vice-president of corporate affairs Eric Gravier said: If any aspect o f our business deserves an open look, it’s our efforts to conduct our business responsibility. †¢ Ceres guidance and co-work MCDONALD’S works together with a coalition of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups to strengthen their social and environmental programs. I would perceive it also as a form of public auditing. It can be valued as strength because this helps MCDONALD’S to focus on what they should do to maintain loyal to its corporate social responsibility targets without losing strength on their business priorities. CERES encourages MCDONALD’S to report their progress and future efforts through an open door spirit. Ceres helps MCDONALD’S to develop and live CSR. The highly decentralized system –Considered as a great advantage in MCDONALD’S business – also has are disadvantages when it comes to achieve mutual global objectives. Ceres puts these weaknesses open on the table and MCDONALD’S’s top management evaluates these statements, research results. Ceres e. g. has advised management that MCDONALD’S should report more metrics and goals to demonstrate and foster progress. Ceres made 3 issues its top priority: 1. Obesity 2. MCDONALD’S’s purchasing power 3. Climate change To 1 – obesity Their approach to the health problem no. 1 in the US is the following: . Offering Menu Choice 2. Providing Nutrition Information 3. Promoting Physical Activity 4. Marketing and Communicating Responsibility To 2 – purchasing power How does MCDONALD’S influence their upstream purchasing power? What is profit oriented and what is really CSR oriented? †¢ Careful supply chain strategy Fo r MCDONALD’S there are several important strategic pillars, the first one is the commitment to social responsibility with food quality and safety, then the issue of sustainable food supply and animal welfare. MCDONALD’S food standards are world class. †¢ Active community responsibility Through MCDONALD’S House Charities and innumerable local and global community programs MCDONALD’S shows that the revenue is not all or part of the revenue belongs to the society and therefore will be given back. It shall demonstrate that MCDONALD’S recognized that through society they can do business and prosper. This consciousness also reflects itself in the attitude of employees and management in a way that they feel more responsible in what they are doing as it is as serving the public. †¢ Rigorous food safety standards â€Å"It goes all the way from the farm right to the restaurant†. MCDONALD’S works hard to make sure that rigorous food safety standards are upheld in each restaurant with training, food, safety and quality, the development of the food and menus. It all ties because many of the suppliers consider themselves extensions of the MCDONALD’S family and so they have the same rigorous approach to the programs. MCDONALD’S has a responsibility to provide a relevant variety of quality product choices that the costumer trust and that means working with partners that operate ethically and meet the social responsibility standards. †¢ Accurate service standards MCDONALD’S works hard to maintain a work environment where everybody feels valued and accepted by providing training and other opportunities for personal and professional growth and to promote job satisfaction. In their own words: â€Å"Our well-trained employees will proudly provide fast, friendly and accurate service with a smile to delight our costumers†. †¢ Affordable prices to high quality products MCDONALD’S keeps its responsibility by keeping values and high standards as they provide food that is affordable to a wide range of costumers and that means being the most efficient provider and offer the best value to the most people. Responsible charity and community work â€Å"We believe in giving back to the communities in which we do business and to Supporting Ronald McDonald House Charities and other charities that promote the health and well being of children†. {Gould, 1996 #9} †¢ Profitability MCDONALD’S is committed to growing thei r business on behalf of the shareholders who Provide the necessary capital for the company to grow, they should realize and Attractive return on their investments. No poor company can allow itself to offer charities or help when it itself is in need. Being rentable makes MCDONALD’S able to help whenever necessary and maintain its corporate responsibility principles fresh. †¢ Bigger menu choices / Product strategy MCDONALD’S works together with the Global advisory council whose members are very high profile scientists in the food industry, experts who are looking at obesity and nutrition. With their help MCDONALD’S has created new menu choices including salads and fruits, keeping their serving size standards and making menus more flexible and easier to mix or change. In the last 5 years MCDONALD’S has included milk and water and a variety of ongoing product innovation will include expanded side and beverages choices in addition to new entrees which will give the costumer to feed himself healthier and proportionate. †¢ Clear nutrition information on packaging I think one of the better strengths from MCDONALD’S is that they where one of the first fast food restaurant that started writing the nutritional info on their packaging advocating for balanced active lifestyles and healthier clear nutrition values. MCDONALD’S has been a terrific leader on their work to explore new ways to deliver nutrition and balanced active lifestyle info to the costumers. †¢ External and Internal leadership stances to encourage activity Internal: MCDONALD’S developed and distributed an own crew training video in seven languages on â€Å"It’s what I eat and what I do†, besides that the company makes a great effort distributing materials encouraging balanced, active lifestyles. MCDONALD’S has also introduced training for both crew and management. External: MCDONALD’S introduced â€Å"it’s what I eat and what I do† initiative. Leveraged Olympic and global sponsorships including Olympic day run. In the USA more than 15 million step meters were distributed and passport to play was launched. †¢ Decentralized but not disconnected system MCDONALD’S recognizes the need to maintain a system in which everyone adheres to the same core values, principles and standards. They balanced this with a program called â€Å"Freedom within the framework†. Local business-owner/operators and restaurant managers have the flexibility and responsibility to develop programs that respond to the diversity of the costumers and local market conditions. Innovative excellence program development MCDONALD’S has a very wide selection of programs on its account, everything with the only goal of growing to be better rather than bigger. MCDONALD’S has aligned around a global strategy program called Plan to Win that centers in the five basic P’s, people, products, place, price and promotion. Each P has i ts own vision, specific objectives and key performance measures. This reflects and approach to long-tern sustainable, profitable growth. Other excellence programs are the well known ROIP (Restaurant Operations Improvement Process). It helps improve restaurant performance and accountability as related to quality, service and cleanliness (QSC) and people practice standards. Those standards have been broken down into specific procedures and are organized into 12 systems that deliver the experience the costumers expect. An excellent program is the Mystery shopper program where unannounced and anonymous inspectors visit as costumers and rate the restaurant according to the QSC. Many restaurants around the world include a measurement program based on customer comment that can provide its feedback via toll-number and they also take input from their own staff by an annual employee satisfaction survey. †¢ Ethical Conduct promotion MCDONALD’S Board of directors and top management work to ensure the company’s integrity in all its dealings with shareholders. Their commitment is codified in policies, standards and codes including the Corporate Governance principles, Code of Conduct for the board of directors and code of Ethics for the CEO and Senior Financial Officers because Corporate Responsibility begins at the top. The principles include provisions designed to ensure independent oversight of the company’s assets and business affairs. This strengths could be as well be left out – as today all public concerns do need to have these policies – and if all are having them they cannot be considered as strength anymore but simply as going concern and standard. For MCDONALD’S employees worldwide the overall framework for ethical business practices is the Standards of Business Conduct which applies to all salaried employees worldwide including restaurant managers. It provides rules for handling every ethical issue that might arise or incorporate all laws and policies that apply to the worldwide business. The standards establish a foundation on their core values, provide an orientation to ethical business conduct, offer guidance in a wide range of issue areas and identify resources for questions and concerns. 2. 2 Weaknesses †¢ MCDONALD’S inflexibility Can MCDONALD’S ever excel or are they caught to always offer economic fast food? MCDONALD’S is weak in reacting fast to markets changes. If more and more customers go onto eating BIO or ECO-food e. g. eat – MCDONALD’S could not follow this trend without losing a lot of profit because such a shift in suppliers a) from the point of offer/demand ratio and b) from logistics could not be made in reasonable time. It would impose a threat of a deep profit recession until MCDONALD’S would have adapted their product portfolio. †¢ Not employee-friendly MC DONALD’S is not a worker-friendly environment in the sense that it offers medium to long term working relationships. In the article3 â€Å"Company before Nation† McDonald claims that it has the hostility of workers’ rights union under control. Well – if e. . in Germany you have a workers rotation on average below 6 months – a company never runs into danger of facing workers protection laws. Every worker in Germany for the first 6 months is under â€Å"trial-conditions† employed and can be discharged at any time without any obligations and cost. In an article4 of the Billings Gazette it has been recognized that MCDONALD’S has a hard time in finding and retaining good workers. Gylette, Wyoming reports a weired case that a MCDONALD’S manager needs to outsource the drive-through order taking process via a call center in Santa Monica, California. McDonalds = too much shareholder value driven {Nachrichten, #26} Shareholder value is o ften not the same as Corporate Social Responsibility i. e. if profits go down and down, stocks go down – often more than they actually should and drastic corporate measures have to fix the problem. The levers are not too many and are well known: Where can we save costs? Where can we get cheaper meat? Where can we get cheaper bread? Where can we release workers and run a MCDONALD’S restaurant with less people? As anyone can imagine – some of these actions cannot be socially or environmentally responsible – that is not what money is all about! MCDONALD’S continues to promote unhealthy food Despite diversification of their product portfolio towards more healthy choices MCDONALD’S still continues a saturated fat filled 850 kcal Burger and other unhealthy but tasty food. That could continue to harm their reputation as unhealthy fast food supplier. †¢ Errors on promoted CSR MCDONALD’S claimed that they have not imported meat from rain forest countries but in court it appeared that MCDONALD’S very well had imported meat from Costa Rica and Brazil where rain forests are eliminated to get more green-fields for cows. {Weekly, 1994 #27} 2. 3 Opportunities Attractive and flexible work environment MCDONALD’S offers many job opportunities. External recognition about how MCDONALD’S is a great place to work has become something that dispels myths that are out there. Programs like MC flexibility make their 1. 5 million employees around the world to love and respect their work place. MCDONALD’S takes very serious its responsibility to promote fair, safe and healthful working conditions, effective management policies, diversity and inclusiveness in all restaurants. MCDONALD’S is pride to say that 42% of their world top management started with MCDONALD’S careers serving customers. However – the attractive and flexible working environment has been not rated as strength as personal observation and press reports make it more of an opportunity. An opportunity for society that there is an employer who always hires people which can be helpful for intermediate jobs – i. e. amongst other advantages keeping jobless-rates lower. †¢ Strong environmental work Also this CSR issue has been characterized within the 2006 Worldwide Corporate Social Responsibility Report more as a strength as an opportunity. The web however has contradictory essays and reports and therefore it is rated here as an opportunity. MCDONALD’S restaurants are committed to manage their business by integrating environmental considerations into daily operations and by constantly seeking ways to add value to the community. For example maintaining the restaurants and drive thrum’s clean. MCDONALD’S continues the refinement and implementation of the environmental guidelines on fish sourcing and trough this guidelines at least 18,000 metric tons of whitefish have been shifted from unsustainable sources. †¢ High Supplier profile Setting the highest quality standards possible makes suppliers to jump the hurdle. They have to be able to deliver what we ask for. We look at taste and quality first not efficiency not cost. Frank Muschetto (Senior Vice-president) clears: the profile of the suppliers that we select is consistent with several attributes that we identified years ago that we felt support what MCDONALD’S is about. One of them is their commitment to corporate responsibility if they don’t have it, forget it. We try to pull together with many other companies and in several cases with the whole industry to be proactive against issues that can affects us all like avian influenza. We use our leadership as a tool to participate with the United Nations on the common goal of stopping the sickness. MCDONALD’S participates in a program called Kaleidoscope to test ways to sustain compliance based on dynamic, internal management systems and ongoing worker input. Annual audits are done globally for meat (beef, pork and poultry) processing plants looking forward to maintain animal welfare farms all over the world and not only in the USA and Europe. †¢ Own corporate responsibility Comity MCDONALD’S takes serious responsibility on what comes from being a major player in the global food industry and that’s why the Board of Directors has a standing Corporate Responsibility Committee. It acts in an advisory capacity to the board and to management on policies and strategies. At the global management level, several groups provide leadership on particular types of corporate responsibility issues, for example: Worldwide Corporate relations council who aligns all communications and external affairs for MCDONALD’S globally: oversees and advises on the corporate responsibility efforts. †¢ Truthful brand image MCDONALD’S ensures to maintain and build the trust with all stakeholders and customers with appropriate and truthful marketing and communications. These topics must also be relevant to costumers and consistent with the brand. Being real makes the people believe in our corporation and give support in our many community and global charity programs. MCDONALD’S continuously works to assess and evolve their marketing and advertising standards; they have newly introduced additional training and accountability for those whose work involves brand related communications and or use of MCDONALD’S trademarks. 2. 4 Threats †¢ Scepticism In recent years we have seen e-mails and information on the web that MCDONALD’S is using monster-chicken †¢ Not healthy enough for children For children the product choice still is not healthy enough. What else besides beef and chicken or fish? What about a soy burger, vegetable burger or fibre containing Deserts or simple deep frozen, quick steamed vegetable bowl (containing at least 80% of the vitamins and enzymes). What about offering small gifts or special packages as a premium for a healthy product or a premium system for kids who eat healthy? A threat if the competition comes up with such a system. †¢ Beef/Poultry/Fish Health Problems Serious initiatives in the US against growth hormone and or antibiotic stuffed cows, bird flu epidemics in the US and Europe, high contents of heavy metals in fish could cause sales slumps and cause profits and stocks to fall. MCDONALD’S as a giant in the fast food business could act to slow to avoid large corporate damage. †¢ Made in China syndrome Labour exploitation in China for the production of McDonalds â€Å"happy meal† toys. †¢ Profit pressure The pressure to deliver shareholder value will force MCDONALD’S to not follow up the one or other CSR issue. No MCDONALD’S CEO will risk his post at the cost for the implementation of a CSR if it would not at the same time create immediate value for shareholders. †¢ MCDONALD’S a major contributor in global warming MCDONALD’S is considered to be the largest consumer of beef. Examples that MCDONALD’S cattle are being fed on former rain-forest territory, the excessive amount of cattle which produce huge quantities of methane, heavy use of chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides just to keep cattle breeding and MCDONALD’S burgers profitable could develop a future threat of conscious consumer choices to visit a MCDONALD’S restaurant or not. †¢ Local fast food restaurants Local fast food restaurants that are don’t have such purchasing power and are less environmental threatening as giants such as McDonalds enjoy better quality reputation, because they buy from local butcheries, or use products e. . made in Austria i. e. free running chickens, approved Austrian grown cows. †¢ MCDONALD’S has the power to create demand Rather than reacting to the free play of market forces MCDONALD’S with its marketing budget of 1bn USD is able to create demand {Phil Lyon, 2007 #28}. That can be a threat for a society and its cul ture. 3. Task 2: McDonald's Plan to Win Strategy 3. 1 Implementation of key elements new Strategies McDonald’s overall strategic plan is called Plan to Win. Their focus is not so much on being the biggest fast-food restaurant chain, rather it is more focused on being the best fast-food restaurant chain. McDonald’s â€Å"strategic alignment behind this plan has created better McDonald’s experiences through the execution of multiple initiatives surrounding the five factors of exceptional customer experiences – people, products, place, price and promotion†. {McDonald's, 2008 #20} McDonald’s also incorporates geographical strategic plans. In the U. S. , McDonald’s strategic plan continues to focus on breakfast, chicken, beverages and convenience. These are the core areas in the United States. McDonald’s has launched the Southern Style Chicken Biscuit for breakfast and the Southern Style Chicken Sandwich for lunch and dinner. In the beverage business, McDonald’s starting introducing new hot specialty coffee offerings on a market-by-market basis. In Europe, McDonald’s uses a tiered menu approach. This menu features premium selections, classic menu, and everyday affordable offerings. They also â€Å"complement these with new products and limited-time food promotions† {McDonald's, 2008 #20} In the Asia-Pacific, Middle East, and Africa markets, McDonald’s strategic plan is focused around convenience, breakfast, core menu extensions and value. With McDonald’s overall strategic plan and its geographical strategic plan, the company should start to see more positive financial results. McDonald’s incorporates several organizational strategies. Some of the organizational strategies consist of better restaurant operations, placing the customer first, menu variety and beverage choice, convenience and day part expansion, and ongoing restaurant reinvestment. McDonald’s plans to â€Å"continue to drive success in 2008 and beyond by leveraging key consumer insights and our global experience, while relying on our strengths in developing, testing and implementing initiatives surrounding our global business drivers of convenience, branded affordability, day part expansion and menu variety† {McDonald's, 2008 #20}. One of the ways McDonald’s can obtain a positive net income is to maximize efficiency in its restaurant operations while at the same time placing the customer first. With strategic focus on menu variety and beverage choice, McDonald’s is hoping for increased sales and guest counts. With their convenience and day part expansion initiative, McDonald’s is hoping to increase efficiency in its drive-thru pick up window, and the company is staying open later for those late-nighters who want a quick bite to eat. McDonald’s also has locally owned and operated restaurants which â€Å"are at the core of their competitive advantage and makes them not just a global brand but a locally relevant one† {McDonald's, 2008 #20}. They are in the process of remodeling and upgrading its franchises. The company is also opening up McCafe’s â€Å"with the expectation that the gourmet coffee shop would move it closer to its goal of doubling sales at existing U. S. restaurants over the next decade† {Peter, 2007 #19} A couple other organizational strategies are branded affordability, and the development of their employees starting with recruitment and training and leading all the up to leadership and management. 3. 2 SWOT Analysis and Plan to Win McDonald’s strategic plan is influencing their marketing efforts by building better brand transparency. They want their image to be recognized globally. They are enhancing the customer’s experience. â€Å"Across their markets, they are making is easier for customers to enjoy a great McDonald’s experience. They are introducing drive-thrus to the increasingly mobile populations in China and Russia, while in the U. S. and Canada, greater drive-thru efficiency and double drive-thru lanes enable them to serve even more customers quickly† (McDonald's, 2008, 13). In Germany, McDonald’s has a reimaging program that includes adding about 100 McCafes. They are also installing new kitchen operating systems so that they can continue to deliver high food quality. McDonald’s has already renovated about 10,000 restaurants world wide. They want their restaurants to be an expression of their brand. The company is also delivering greater value to the customer with new menu selections. â€Å"By serving a locally relevant balance of new products, premium salads and sandwiches, classic menu favorites and everyday affordable offerings around the world, they create value for customers and satisfy their demand for choice and variety† {McDonald's, 2008 #20}. Types of marketing mix that McDonald’s use to achieve their marketing goals are longer operating hours, everyday value meals, and optimizing efficiency in the drive-thru. McDonald’s also uses marketing campaigns. In 2007, McDonald’s used the Shrek movie to give children a choice between milk, fruit, or vegetables as part of their Happy Meal. In addition to their commitment with children, McDonald’s is building their brand image â€Å"with innovated marketing transporting ideas across borders and using I'm lovin’ it to deepen their connection with customers who love their food and the unique McDonald’s experience† (McDonald's, 2008, 17). In the 2008 Olympics held in Beijing, McDonalds offered the Beijing Burger, Carmel and Banana Sundae, and Rice Sticks. They featured nine Olympic and Paralympic athletes on their packaging. In Australia, McDonald’s held a marketing campaign where the people could decide what name to give its new hamburger. The name that won was Backyard Burger. With marketing campaigns like these, McDonald’s is trying to create a better brand image. Other organizational and marketing strategies are â€Å"creating stronger bonds of trust by being accessible and maintaining an open dialogue with customers and key stakeholders† {McDonald's, 2008 #20}. The company is reinvesting approximately $1. 9 billion into their restaurants primarily to reimage existing restaurants and build new ones. McDonald’s is also moving towards a more heavily franchised, less capital-intensive business model. Although in some countries, such as China, this is not permissible due to governmental laws. With McDonald’s growing global brand image and its emphasis on the five factors of exceptional customer service, this should help them increase sales and net income. With the initiative of remodeling and upgrading existing franchises, this will give the customer a more pleasant and friendly place to dine out at. With McDonald’s marketing campaign for the 2008 Olympics, they were an integral part of the games and this only enhanced McDonald’s brand image in a positive way. With the recruitment and training initiatives for current employees or future prospects, this will allow McDonald’s to achieve less of an already high turnover ratio. 4. Task 3: McDonald's 2003-2009 Strategy 4. McDonald's Dynamic Strategy With an established brand, visible leadership and solid financial performance in its own sector, McDonalds has the foundations and options for future expansions. As stated previously, the group sees expanding markets/culture/economies as their future growth areas. One possible strategy for expansion would be to increase the local branding of menus within these markets. There is an opportunity to not only increase the number s of cities, but to make the McDonalds name more recognizable as a restaurateur abroad. This would require the company to manage more outlets, rather than encouraging franchisee, which requires a committed financial expansion. Increasing its market share or at least visibility would heighten the brand awareness, {Kotler, 2005 #18}. The costs associated with a strategy to increase partnerships would be far less than if they attempted to expand to more developing countries and cities on their own. McDonalds is currently aligned with a limited number of government partnerships- China, Vietnam, {Thomm, 1996 #21}. The risks are much lower but there is a risk to brand dilution with regard to consistency of the services provided and perfected by the McDonald's familiarization, management processes and manufacturing and production specifications. McDonald uses existing marketing communication methods such as TV, press, magazines, outdoor posters and taxi sides, all featuring the distinctive logo. Advertising is used to encourage people to try the food items, {Kotler, 2008 #17} and to raise awareness of new product developments and new openings. Nonetheless the marketing department could try increasing and adapting new marketing tactics. Also 18 percent of turnover is spent on advertising; for comparison, the industry standard is five to seven percent. {Kotler, 2008 #17}. The budget must be focused. To further capture the developing markets through local promotions, local endorsements and local menu planning would lead to significant decreases in advertising costs but an increase in the appropriateness of the message to the consumers in the target markets. Using Ronald McDonalds as a marketing tool has certain problems with the younger generation. The traditional iconic figure has less in common with the youth culture, {Schlosser, 2002 #22} and the more reference based figure is more suitable, such as Justin Timberlake. Consumers have a personal affinity with him, {Kotler, 2005 #18}. This must be exploited further. This loyalty could be captured to increase the market share of the Brand. The perception of American quality is paramount to many multinational businesses and exploited the world over. This can be seen in education, engineering and law. McDonald could emphasize the quality and superiority of service provided by the Americans through it's advertising in other countries. Nonetheless, {Schlosser, 2002 #22} states that the traditional American style that once gave them its unique status is now its disadvantage. International markets no longer lust for the novelty of eating out in an American ‘dinner', so McDonald's need to change this and meet the needs of specific markets rather than using a uniform approach. The company should increase advertising in its new target markets, and stress the quality and affordability of service in all promotions. Also, consider alternative marketing strategies such as a credit card rewards program, corporate sponsorship of events, and well-publicized donations to charity. The optimal solution for McDonalds is to expand their service by offering to more cities, offering services in the expanding markets and increasing their promotion. During traditionally low seasons, tactical promotions and price advertising could also used to maximise restaurant capacity, commonly known s yield management, {Kotler, 2005 #18}. McDonalds has the capability to sustain itself as one of the leaders in the worldwide food retail industry, {Thomm, 1996 #21}. With careful planning and effective marketing, they can achieve this. In addition to communication to consumers, they must utilise their community database, partnerships, retailers and community sponsors, who are the primary i nfluences of the target market and who can familiarise all consumers with the products, benefits, and associated benefits, the core and peripheral attributes of the McDonald brand and the products/services. 4. Strategies Comparison McDonald's has many competitors to compete with in the fast food industry for example Burger King, Wendy's, and Arbys see Chart 1. Burger King is McDonald's biggest competitor with their hamburgers being fire grilled rather than fried; both have the kid's meals with the little toys to attract the younger children and combo meals for the young adults. McDonald's and Burger King both have prepaid cards whereas Wendy's and Arbys do not have these cards. Wendy's offer not only hamburgers, but they have taken it to their loaded bake potato, chili, and the frost, and compete with the children's meals. Arby's also has a nice menu besides the average hamburgers, they also have chicken salad sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, and a kids meal that includes a healthy meal such as fruit mix, turkey and ham sandwiches without the crust, with no toys included. Burger King, Wendy's, Arby's are just a few of McDonald's competitors that McDonald's would have to compete with depending were you are located. There may be more or less competitors but at this time McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Arby's all offer the hamburger's, fries, chicken sandwiches and the kid's meal, they also have sweepstakes that you can enter to win prizes. McDonald's competitive landscape for our product, the McDonald's Reward Card, that we have presented would attract McDonald's target consumers between the ages of 18 and 25, will surely bring a higher profit for the McDonald's corporation. The McDonald's Reward Card will offer the opportunity for our customers to earn points which they will be able to purchase not only food, but to purchase the entertainment that they enjoy, there is no contest that they have to enter and wait for a drawing to win a prize. When they purchase at McDonald's they earn points, it is a win situation, McDonald's rewards their customers for selecting McDonald's to feed them with the variety of great fast food. {Kotler, 2009 #23} Chart 1 McDonald's Competitors [pic] 5. Task 4: McDonald's Competitors Performing a competitor analysis will enable McDonald's to understand the industries and market in which it operates. The use of Porter's Five Forces will help them to analyses the dynamics of the market and understand the critical success factors in order to understand its position. Four types of competition {Kotler, 2005 #18} Brand competition |Industry competition |Form competition |Generic competition | |Burger King |Restaurants |Supermarkets |Trends: clothing, music, | |Domino's Pizza, Inc. |Non-fast food outlets |Food market stalls |fashion | |Independent fast food outlets e. g. |Cafes |Eating at home |Consumer durables | |fish and chips, kebab places |Coffee shops | |Similar priced products | |Papa John's In ternational, Inc. | | | |Subway | | | | |Wendy's International, Inc. | | | | |Yum! Brands: KFC, Pizza Hut | | | | 5. 1 Wendy's The first Wendy's restaurant opened in Columbus, Ohio on November 15, 1969 at 257 East Broad Street by Dave Thomas (Wendy's. om). In 1972, the first franchise outside of Ohio was opened in Indianapolis, Indiana. Wendy's is known as the home of the old fashioned hamburger, and is the Number 3 hamburger chain by sales. Its sales trail only McDonald's and Burger King. There are almost 6,700 Wendy's restaurants worldwide; about 78% of them are franchised† (Hoover's fact sheet). Wendy's offers high quality in customer service and allows customers to have their hamburger made the way they want it done. Wendy's is on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol of WEN. Dave Thomas when he started Wendy's new the secret to success was to offer quality to customers and to the Franchisees that would own Wendy's restaurants. Wendy's in the early 90's developed a four part strategy that world guide the company to refocus on what they do best, and grow the business into the next millennium. The first strategy is operating restaurants that exceed customer expectations on each visit. This is vital in today's competitive fast food business, due to the vast amount of choices consumers have, and one bad experience can lose a customer for life. This concept is easily done on paper, but with shrinking margins and lack of ability to attract highly skilled employees this strategy is difficult to implement. Although, Wendy's seems to have instilled these beliefs into management and has seen considerable success practicing these beliefs. This strategy is the most important compared to the other three, because if you don't have any customers it does not matter how good your food is, you won't stay in business. Many companies forget that customer service is vital in staying in business and to growing the market. Fast food restaurants are one area that customer service is vital for survival. The second strategy is accelerating new store openings and strengthening the quality of other Wendy's locations. This is vital for Wendy's to keep its competitive advantage is the ability to keep stores clean and modern. This strategy is being implemented and seems to be quite successful in helping older Wendy's become profitable again. Wendy's philosophy is not to be the cheapest, but to be the best. With this philosophy Wendy's has to offer newly designed restaurants with modern design to attract the cliental that will pay extra for fast food. Wendy's seems to be doing an excellent job in creating an atmosphere that is conducive to customers spending a little more to get a lot more. Wendy's has introduced salad bars, buffets, and has made the atmosphere friendlier to patrons. The third strategy is to aggressively increase penetration by adding new units or so called â€Å"special sites†?. This an excellent way to grow Wendy's market, these small restaurants are cost effective and promote the Wendy's products to more families and truck drivers. Wendy's is aggressively targeting the traveler in this area, which seems to be a good move to make Wendy's the fast food of choice for travelers. Furthermore, these small restaurants are cheaper to develop and share the costs with gas stations they are affiliated with. The last of the domestic strategies is its marketing strategy to promote its perception of promotional items at the upper end of the price spectrum. This has been successful with the spicy chicken sandwich and pita sandwiches, which both have had considerable success. In the fast food business Wendy's has differentiated itself from McDonalds and other fast food restaurants by offering high quality food items consumers are willing to pay for. In this area Wendy's has dominated the market and has seen considerable success. Wendy's needs to keep utilizing this strength by introducing new products, and try not to go head to head with McDonalds. http://www. nzherald. co. nz/property/news/article. cfm? c_id=8&objectid=10537499 http://www. nbr. co. nz/article/wendys-plans-nz-expansion-36423 5. 2 Jack in the Box Although Jack in the Box remained strong with widely varied menu items and unique marketing strategies through the E. coli disaster of 1993, the current economic slump in the fast food industry highlights serious controversy over the company's new growth strategy and accounting practices (Bauder). In this article, analysts are challenging the accounting practices of a San Diego-based company, Jack in the Box. In their 10-k report, Jack in the Box is listing franchise sales as â€Å"other revenues†, which on paper triples their operation income to $9. 1 million. David N. Allen of investment banking firm Caris & Co. , questions this practice as the, â€Å"Selling of company assets to franchisees is not the same as selling a food product†. He goes further saying that the company should separate operating earnings from non-operating income. Reporting gains from asset sales to franchisees is inappropriate. Jack in the Box countered this claim by stating that other fast food chains use the same accounting practices, which is consistent with GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). In defense of Jack in the Box, Bud Leedom, senior analyst at Wells Fargo Securities believes that Jack's accounting technique is specifically disclosed to Wall Street and as such is not troubled by their practices. Yet, on the other hand, David Geraty of RBC Capital Markets points out that by employing this practice the company is simply compensating softer sales with gains for other revenues. Platinum Inc. s responsible for the preparation, integrity, and fair presentation of its published financial statements. For my organization, The Platinum Company, the corporation maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting which is designed to provide reasonable assurance to management and the Board of Directors regarding the preparation of reliable published financial statements. The financi al statements must follow the GAAP guidelines in preparing reports and recording transactions. To insure proper accounting Platinum utilizes their own internal audits and employs a well-known public accounting firm Deloitte & Touche, LLP. Like Jack in the Box, Platinum's Annual Report 2002, under other (loss) income, reports losses due to financial bankruptcy in one of their investment companies and reports financial gains because of investments in unconsolidated affiliates. To make recommendations in improving the companies financial reporting would be difficult at best. Platinum extremely strict and assertive in their internal audits to ensure proper procedures are followed. The companies internal accountants work together with Deloitte & Touche's accountants to preserve proper ethical conduct and moral principals are monitored. Business ethics are proper ethical conduct that implies that you not only consider what is in your best interest, but also what is in the best interest of others. Moral principles are what guide the conduct of individuals. For example, regarding financial reporting, WorldCom used a liberal interpretation of accounting rules when preparing financial statements. In an effort to make it appear that profits were increasing, WorldCom would write down in one quarter millions of dollars in assets it acquired while, at the same time, it included in this charge against earnings the cost of company expenses expected in the future. The result was bigger losses in the current quarter but smaller ones in future quarters, so that its profit picture would seem to be improving. Additionally, the unethical financial reporting decision that WorldCom made cost the company's reputation and most importantly the business. In my opinion, if Platinum continues to follow GAAP guidelines in their reporting practices, they should be exempt from the public analysis, Jack in the Box could not avoid. Unless there is a public build of support in order to challenge GAAP guidelines regarding listing franchise sales as other revenue, this accounting practice is just and fair. An organization must put business ethics in front of profits to ensure that they do not become another WorldCom tribulation http://www. marlerblog. com/2006/07/articles/legal-cases/thirteen-years-since-jack-in-the-box/ 5. 3 Sonic In 1953 Sonic Corporation was founded by Tony Smith in Shawnee, Oklahoma under a different name of the Top Hat. Tony Smith started the company as a drive-in restaurant featuring hot dogs, hamburgers, and french-fried onion rings. In the mid-50s Smith was asked by Charles Pappe for assistance in establishing a similar restaurant in a rural town also located in Oklahoma. This was the beginning of a partnership between the two men. In 1991 Sonic Corporation was the fifth largest chain in the fast-food industry, servicing in the hamburger segment, behind McDonald's, Burger King, Hardee's, and Wendy's. Sonic has and is still carrying the tradition of being a high-quality franchise-based organization in the Sunbelt states. The following case will be broke down into five different stages beginning with early strategies, problems, new strategies, a ratio analysis, and a recommendation. Tony Smith introduced the Top Hat as a drive-in restaurant that reduced start up cost by not having eat-in space. This new restaurant featured drive-in stalls for automobiles that were equipped with a two-way intercom enabling customers to order as soon as they drove in, opposed to conventional practices of waiting for a carhop to take an order. Delivery of the fresh fast-quality products was doing to the unique design of the kitchen, and the use of carhops. Sonic Corporation preferred to do things as easy as possible and avoid sophistication. Another strategy Smith implemented was a collection of franchise royalties. This was done in a way such that Sonic franchise holders were required to purchase printed bags at an additional fee that Smith arranged through a paper-goods supplier. Pyramid-type selling arrangements were formed by franchisees in money making efforts by starting other franchises through friends. This lead to original store managers having a percentage of their own store earnings and a portion of the new operation of the recruited friend manager. This idea further developed to multi-ownership of almost all Sonic operations as store managers were also part owners. This concept of pyramid-type selling carried Sonic forward with rapid growth. In the later-70's almost one new sonic store opened per day. The rapid expansion of Sonic was growing at an uncontrollable rate. With such rapid growth some stores failed. In these cases Sonic assumed control over failed franchise units, driving the number of company owned restaurants from 3 in 1974 to 149 in 1979. This rapid expansion of Sonic was a short lived frenzy which resulted in numerous failures do to lack of planning, market analysis, and requirements for unit managers. The company was forced to operate the failed franchise as company units in most cases, to protect the franchise name and reputation. A loss was posted in 1980 as Sonic began closing some operations. Reason's for the closings were that the board tighten its control which created an operation that left no services being provided to the franchise holders, including no advertising cooperation's, no management training services, and no accounting services. In 1983 Smith decided to go outside the company’s parameters and appointed a professional manager that had no ties to Sonic Corporation in any shape, form, or know how. Stephen Lynn was introduced to Sonic Corporation as president and chief executive officer. The new comer, Lynn, was granted the decision to form his own management team. This team was formed and implemented by mid 1984. By implementing his own management team Lynn could begin to take problems head on, after ridding the board members and franchise holders that had significant conflicting interests that clouded the better judgement of Sonic. In an attempt to turn the organization around, Lynn and his newly formed management team set forth on a strategy that had three key factors: a. attack problems concerning franchise attitude and Sonic's image; b. improve purchasing c. Improve communications. A co-op program along with advertising also helped improve communication and relations between franchise owners. The company's strategies also reached out further as it offered annual conventions, provided training for managers, and training facilities with a test kitchen. The company went even further to offer help in areas of franchisees location sites and construction support to sales and profit improvement counseling. Another strategy was to upgrade the stores appearances and improve energy efficiency. Most franchise owners purchased a â€Å"retrofit† package that offered the mentioned upgrade features. These new designs generated an average of 20 percent increase in unit sales in addition to the overhead savings. Sonic Corporation is an ever improving company that is striving for efficiency, freshness, and quality. Over the life of the company management has always been trying to increase profits and taking steps into the future. Sonic Corporation also learned that in maximizing profits one must incorporate all the ingredients from attitudes of the mangers and owners to the products they offer their customers. In looking at the ratio's Sonic Corporation is looking stronger every year. I would recommend keeping management minds striving to new and better innovations that could again revolutionize the company as it had under the leadership of Mr. Lynn. In doing so the company assures itself and ever lasting life in the fast-food drive-in industry. http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/history2/39/Sonic-Corp. html 6. References Gould, W. (1996). McDonald's. London, Cherrytree Books. Kotler, P. (2005). Principles of marketing. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. and G. Armstrong (2008). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. and K. L. Keller (2009). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kroc, R. and R. Anderson (1987). â€Å"Grinding it out : the making of McDonald's. † 218 p. , [24] pages of plates. Love, J. F. (1995). McDonald's : behind the arches. New York, Bantam Books. McDonald's (2008). â€Å"Annual Report. Retrieved September â€Å". http://www. mcdonalds. com/corp/invest/pub/2008_annual_shareholders. html Nachrichten, F. http://www. finanznachrichten. de/nachrichten-2006-04/artikel-6317906. asp Peter, J. P. and J. H. Donnelly (2007). Marketing management : knowledge and skills. Boston ; London, McGraw-Hill Irwin. Phil Lyon, S. T. a. S. S. (2007). â€Å"The Ritzer debate continued. † http://www. mcspotlight. org/media/reports/silverstone. html Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation : what the all-American meal is doing to the world. London, Penguin, 2007. Thomm, R. (1996). Business China : a practical insight into doing business in China. Chatswood, N. S. W. , Business & Professional Publishing. Weekly, B. (1994). â€Å"McLibel Support Campaign. † summary and extracts of court proceedings in High Court case: McDonald's versus Helen Steel and Dave Morris. . Biblography Gould, W. (1996). McDonald's. London, Cherrytree Books. Kotler, P. (2005). Principles of marketing. Harlow, Financial Times Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. and G. Armstrong (2008). Principles of marketing. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kotler, P. and K. L. Keller (2009). Marketing management. Upper Saddle River, NJ, Pearson/Prentice Hall. Kroc, R. and R. Anderson (1987) . â€Å"Grinding it out : the making of McDonald's. † 218 p. , [24] pages of plates. Love, J. F. (1995). McDonald's : behind the arches. New York, Bantam Books. McDonald's (2008). Annual Report. Retrieved September â€Å". http://www. mcdonalds. com/corp/invest/pub/2008_annual_shareholders. html Nachrichten, F. http://www. finanznachrichten. de/nachrichten-2006-04/artikel-6317906. asp Peter, J. P. and J. H. Donnelly (2007). Marketing management : knowledge and skills. Boston ; London, McGraw-Hill Irwin. Phil Lyon, S. T. a. S. S. (2007). â€Å"The Ritzer debate continued. † http://www. mcspotlight. org/media/reports/silverstone. html Schlosser, E. (2002). Fast food nation : what the all-American meal is doing to the world. London, Penguin, 2007. Thomm, R. (1996). Business China : a practical insight into doing business in China. Chatswood, N. S. W. , Business & Professional Publishing. Weekly, B. (1994). â€Å"McLibel Support Campaign. † summary and extracts of court proceedings in High Court case: McDonald's versus Helen Steel and Dave Morris. http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/history2/39/Sonic-Corp. html http://www. marlerblog. com/2006/07/articles/legal-cases/thirteen-years-since-jack-in-the-box/ http://www. nzherald. co. nz/property/news/article. cfm? c_id=8&objectid=10537499 http://www. nbr. co. nz/article/wendys-plans-nz-expansion-36423