Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay

Consumer Packaged Goods In The Following Six Segments Marketing Essay Procter and Gamble is a global multinational company, headquartered in Cincinnati Ohio Proctor and Gamble Wikipedia 2012. It manufactures through internal and third party manufacturers (3PM) consumer packaged goods in the following six segments (Beauty, Grooming, Healthcare, Pet Care, Fabric and home care, Baby family care) as per its 2011 Annual report. Closely linked to its current product portfolio of products, PGs vision is: Be, and be recognized as, the best consumer products and services company in the world whereas its mission statement is: We will provide branded products and services of superior quality and value that improve the lives of the worlds consumers. As a result, consumers will reward us with leadership sales, profit and value creation, allowing our people, our shareholders, and the communities in which we live and work to prosper. (PG Annual Report) It was not only until 2011 that the Pringles brand was under the PG umbrella. PG sells a myriad of products with multiple segments, target consumers and specific positioning. It is so mind boggling that it could range from a Duracell battery to SKII a premium skin care product manufactured in Japan. In Australia, a bottle of 75ml facial treatment essence- one of its more popular SKUs sells for AUD100. The beauty segment offers cosmetics, female antiperspirant and deodorant, female personal cleansing, female shave care, hair care, hair color, hair styling, pharmacy channel, prestige products, salon professional, and skin care products. The Grooming segment provides electronic hair removal devices, home small appliances, male blades and razors, and male personal care. The Health Care segment comprises feminine care, gastrointestinal, incontinence, rapid diagnostics, respiratory, toothbrush, toothpaste, water filtration, and other oral care. The Pet Care segment offers pet care products. The Fabric Care and Home Care segment includes laundry additives, air care, batteries, dish care, fabric enhancers, laundry detergents, and surface care products. The Baby Care and Family Care segment consists of baby wipes, diapers, paper towels, tissues, and toilet papers products. (PG Profile, Yahoo! Finance) PGs vision of the best consumer products and services company in the world seems realistic and attainable as its consistently ranked as one of the as one of the Most Admired Companies in the Fortune ranking (CNN Money, World most admired companies); earning top spot in the consumer products industry and No 9 overall on the 2012 list. Over the recent years, PG has consistently earned the top spot within the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry while ranking in the top 10 of the overall list. Whereas PGs mission statement is in tandem with its actions as its currently the CPG in the world based on sales revenues; and continues to strive for sustainability in its business actions. It is currently the worlds largest producer of household and personal products by revenue standing at USD82billion for 2011. PGs products reach 4 billion people worldwide and have 22 brands with over USD1billion in annual sales with another 19 brands generating over USD500 million in sales. The USD1billion brands include Tide, Pampers, Gillette, Pantene, Bounty, Oral B etc. With marketing spend of nearly $10 billion a year on TV, print and online advertising, PG is the worlds largest marketer. (PG ad spending hits $9.3 billion, Marketwatch 2012) However, the company has recently discovered the benefits of cost effective social and digital media and is gradually gaining traction in that arena which is mostly they believe was more cost effective and equally efficient as compared to traditional media. In the competitive Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) industry, PGs brands are important to the company. It has spent a great deal of time and money to establish its brand image by developing superior products through extensive Research Development (RD), innovative packaging, ensuring its on shelf availability and backing it with engaging integrated marketing communications and reliable service. However, the company seems to suffer from the fame of its company rather than its brands as compared to say its close competitor Unilever. Many people do not know of the company Unilever but have heard of its brands like Lipton, Magnum, Dove, Knorr etc. Whereas for PG, many people have strong associations and recognition of the company but when you ask people to mention its billion dollar brands, people normal stumble over that. Because of the competitive landscape, PG is takes the initiative to reach out to the voice of the consumer through multiple consumer insight activities. They have realized that at the heart of their success will be a successful marketing strategy. PGs products are based on a sound understanding of who their customers are. This of course doesnt imply that the company manufactures products to meet the whims and fancies of every consumer. However, PG aggressively exploits opportunities in the market to their advantage and are continuously vigilant in the monitoring of those opportunities. Customer knowledge is thus important to PG which studies both end consumers and trade partners through continuous market research and intelligence gathering. As proof of their commitment, PG currently spends more than $100 million no small change on over 10,000 formal consumer research projects annually and generates more than 3 million consumer contacts via its email and phone center. It also emphas izes getting its marketers and researchers out into the field, where they can interact with consumers and retailers face to face in their natural environment. (PG kisses up to the boss, Advertising Age) PGs market oriented strategy continues to play a vital role in the company with the economic downturn and the onslaught of private label brands and consumers increasing demanding low price and good quality products. At this moment, PG brands still dominate the premium end of most of the categories in which they compete in and while their aspirational qualities resonate with consumers, PG will have to stay at the top of the game in the fickle consumer goods market. Issue 2: PGs leading market position (Top 3) in almost all its categories provides it with significant competitive advantage. However, with the economic slowdown and consumers starting to penny pinch, it is increasing difficult for branded product manufacturers like PG to maintain their sales volume and revenue growth while preventing discounting which dilutes brand image. Looking at the SWOT Analysis (Datamonitor), we can identify the current PG position: Strengths Strong RD and innovation culture. Spends more than twice on RD compared to its nearest rival Unilever. Leading market position in most categories Diversified Product Portfolio Strong brand portfolio- 24 USD1 billion brands. Weaknesses Increasing instance of product recall thus implication of poorer manufacturing quality Dependant on Walmart and few other major retailers for majority of its revenues Too many products, easily to get overextended, fight for capital amongst brands Opportunities Expansion in developing and emerging markets in Brazil, Russia, India China(BRIC) Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey(MIST) Future growth plans and new segments Threats Regulatory environment Slowing global economic conditions Raw material cyclical prices Counterfeit goods or rip offs of innovation by Chinese manufacturers Other competitors like Unilever, Reckitt Benckiser (RB) Essentially PG is its own competitor. Its strength of having such a diversified product portfolio is also its weakness because with so many products, its easy for PG management to get distracted, what more so its consumers who might be confused with too many choices. One of its main weaknesses is over-reliance on Walmart for majority of revenues. To increase distribution choices, PG could consider selling via its own website considering the popularity of ecommerce. Although, since this is not its core competency, it might not be a feasible strategy with some market research and feasibility studies. Its main external threats are controlling its cost base and also stiff competition between other FMCG giants. To control cyclical raw material prices, PG could work out long term deals with raw material prices and it needs to focus on improving its value proposition to its customers to prevent price wars. Customers: PGs customer base is unique. Because not only would PGs customers include those in the modern and traditional trade. They also encompass the end consumers both you and me. Modern trade refers to retailing at large format stores whereas general trade refers to retailing at the thousands of independent retail, wholesale and mom and pop stores. Some examples of its customer would include Walmart, Carrefour and Tesco who are more prevalent and dominant in the developed world. Whereas, the smaller mom and pop stores are the distribution channels of choice in developing economies like India or Mexico where consumers buy sachets worth a few cents with higher frequency than a large retail store. PGs biggest customer is Walmart, contributing more than 16% or revenue in 2011 down from 20% in the early 2000s.(Wikinvest) In this case, customer power with Walmart is very strong and PG normally has to concede to Walmarts request for certain promotions or price discounts. At this moment, PG has not yet discovered any alternative to Walmart and might have to yield to their demands. On the other hand, PG could use this to their advantage, using the judo move and utilizing the clout of Walmart and sell more products with sustainable profits. In terms of end consumers, end consumers are fickle and are subjected to Moments of Truth. The best known is the First moment of Truth (FMOT), coined by PG where in just 3-7 seconds, a shopper encounters a product on the store shelf and decides in those short moments whether to buy it. If the consumer does not find the product, she moves on to a competitors product. There is basically little consumer loyalty when it comes to soap and shampoo. The Second Moment of Truth (SMOT), is the moment when a consumer uses the product and is another powerful marketing opportunity but it is harder for the manufacturer to control because this is when the consumer uses the Pantene shampoo and decides whether she likes the texture, smell or after results of the shampoo. Then it progresses to the Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT) where consumers are going online using blogs, facebook or twitter to find inspiration for their own looks and get tips and tricks from experts or take cues from a favorite celebrity. Because of this progression and the influence of the internet of consumer behaviors, PG has started to re-evaluate the brands true FMOT and is looking to shift to focus on the notion of store back which means that ad agencies need to start formulating ideas at the retail store, working backwards to outside the store. This also means that marketers need work on their pull marketing strategies which gets demand forecast from consumers, not only the traditional push strategies and find ways to match the two. PG puts on its priority list the importance that the end consumer always has a consistent and positive experience from ZMOT to point of purchase and beyond, and has strived to get in front of the consumer with the right brand message upstream in the process of discovery and to continue staying there. Collaborators: PG has many collaborators. They would include direct and indirect material vendors like: raw material suppliers, advertising agencies, marketing research firms, independent product testing laboratories, logistics partners, communication companies, banks and financial institutions, travel agencies and hotels etc. Of special mention would be its supply chain partners which would include warehousing, transportation, software providers and carriers as PG has one of the worlds best supply chain. In the 2012 survey, it placed in the Top 5 just behind Apple, Amazon, McDonalds and Dell. PG has showcased its ability to make efficient decisions across the supply network. It is a consistent challenge to ensure the right forecast demand and that shelves are filled, but PG has managed to find the right balance. With its best in class, open innovation platform, combined with an impressive new product operational capability that synchronized with its clockwork run supply chain, it taps a deep well of understanding its consumers, aligning to their ZMOT and FMOT, to continue to deliver new products on time and on demand. (The Gartner Supply Chain Top 25 2012) In order for all cogs to move in sync, PG has to maintain a win-win partnership with its collaborators to create sustainable competitive advantages. Competitors: Due to PGs diverse product range, there is no one for one direct competitor with this behemoth. Some of PGs competitors include other FMCG multinationals like Unilever, Clorox, Kimberly Clark, Johnson Johnson (consumer division) and also Japanese FMCG companies like Kao, Lion etc. It faces strong competition from its competitors and has to constantly innovate, cut cost to maintain its position as the market leader. Its closest competitor would be the Anglo Dutch company Unilever but even then, Unilevers sales revenue is only half of PGs. PG also possess a higher operating margin than its competitors at 20.3% versus Unilever at 14.8% in the year 2010. Although PG has many competitors, it has established itself as a market leader and is thus well positioned to ward off competition or make necessary acquisitions of smaller companies. Its last notable acquisition was in 2005 of Gillette, forming the largest consumer goods company in the world and placing Unilever in second place. This added brands such as Gillette, Duracell, Braun and Oral B to their stable. Therefore, for new start ups to the consumer goods industry, they would find the barriers to entry pretty high. Whereas for the existing competitors like Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, they have to continue to play the catch up game, in terms of market share. Context: A PESTLE analysis will be conducted to examine the current situation for PG in the global market. Political: With local operations in more than a hundred countries, based in different time zones and continents, PG has to manage the complexity of different political regimes, rules and regulations and political trends influencing its business operations. On one hand, PG has to adapt and thrive to the changing political pressures in different nations, yet on the other hand, due to its scale and size, it plays integral roles to cooperate and affect local government policy with its clout and manufacturing size. Therefore, It has considerable clout due to its ability to move and shift hundreds of jobs out of a country. Economic: The world economy is having shorter cyclical patterns and PG is seeing market share stagnant or decline in the developed areas like US and Europe. However, world demand is forecasted to grow in the next few years due to growing populations and development of economies in the developing continents like Latin America and Asia. Due to the different nuances and different cultural and consumer habits, PG has to be attuned to the changes in order to continue to grow and thrive and it must take note that developments in the different markets and nations will cause an uneven growth situation in different regions. It might thus have to focus its marketing firepower on previously neglected upon nations. Social: PG has to place great attention and importance to the different social norms when expanding overseas due to various cultural backgrounds in different market in order not to step on any taboo landmines. For instance, due to the changing masculinity trends, we have the advent of the metrosexual and the demand for men grooming is seen as a growth area for the FMCG market. Or for example, due to the increasing drive towards being socially responsible, PG needs to source its raw materials like tomatoes or palm oil from sustainable sources or face wrath from watchdogs like Greenpeace of other tree huggers. Because of this sustainability trend, PG has committed to developing USD50billion worth of products that have a sustainable impact. Technological: As the overall market of fast moving consumer products is very large and diversified, PG has invested significantly to gain technological advantage in order to maintain and expand its market position. As a result, technology investment in product formulation, packaging, product design is heavy and development is fast. PG has its own RD function reporting directly to the CEO and based on 2010 numbers; PG invested nearly USD2billion in RD up from USD1.95 billion in 2008. Legal: PG has to obey and comply with different legal and tax requirements on its products, manufacturing process and business operations. With the rising prices in commodities, FMCG companies would like to raise prices but are contained by certain price ceilings by governments and thus PG has to battle with price ceilings yet remain profitable. For example, it tried to raise prices but suffered mandated price cuts in Venezuela and import curbs in Argentina. Ethical: Because personal products are daily essentials, the quality and safety of the products are extremely important for the brands. Any scandals or rumors about the product can lead to significant and unconceivable damage on the image. For eg the recall in 2011 for their Oral B products due to Microbial contamination in Canada, China, Chile, Columbia and Mexico caused dissatisfaction amongst consumers in the way that it was handled where in China consumers who wanted a refund had to send the empty product bottles, receipt and a copy of their bank account passbooks to the companys Guangzhou office which caused ire amongst the consumers as it was unreasonable for consumers to keep the bottle after they consumed the mouth wash. Issue 3: PGs former CEO A.G Lafley who retired in 2010 coined a strong and simple message that the Consumer is Boss and PG followed his mantra and tried to get the true opinion of its consumers with the belief that the closer they get to the customers, the better it was for them. (Innovation Machine PG: 1 Billion $ for Consumer Insights. 2012.) PG spends more than USD400 million annual in external consumer insight activities. In those activities, they touch base with more than 5 million consumers spanning 100 countries. They also conduct over 20,000 individual research studies every year, all this time and money spent is to understand the consumer a little bit more better to better identify opportunities for segmentation, product innovation and how to create a better overall service delivery to the consumers. (PG.com Core strengths) Apart from external sources, one famous platform that is created in-house by PG is TREMORà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢ in 2001 under which it created the website www.vocalpoint.com which is a website for a community of mums to share knowledge and exchange opinions. Tremor is the word of mouth marketing organization developed by Procter Gamble that combines PGs wide-ranging marketing expertise with key learnings from cognitive science. (Tremor) It was founded for a dual purpose: market research tool and Word of mouth (WOM) advertisement. On vocalpoint, it connects about 600,000 mothers and these mothers have an average of 25-30 touchpoints with other women as compared to 5 for a usual mom. They share product information with other mums and this is key for PG as most household products are purchased by mothers or women in the household. They get samples and coupons to create a network effect. However, social media has changed the way in which companies gather information through traditional streams as consumers move to a digital age. It now gathers information about consumers through digital means like Facebook, twitter, launching apps that can be used on Smartphones etc and requires on website traffic and analytics to spot the next trend. In terms of competitor intelligence, PG definitely closely monitors its competitors through various online sources and probably outsources this research to external companies. In turn, this information is shared through the intranet about competitor intelligence and updates employees on what their competitors are up to. As there is no public information on this, I am assuming PG does the same if not more based on my work experience in Unilever. Competitors that currently represent a threat to PG would be Unilever, Colgate Palmolive, Clorox etc. The strategic group that PG is in would be the branded consumer goods section. However, PG isnt a direct competitor across all segments some of its competitors like Unilever still has a large portion of its revenue from its Food, tea and beverage business. Whereas Johnson Johnson not only consumer goods, but is also strong in medical and pharmaceutical industries. Its closest competitor in terms of direct product to product lineup in the household products market might be Colgate Palmolive. At this moment, PG is probably its own worst enemy. But in terms of its closest competitors that represent a treat, I would think that Unilever, Colgate Palmolive are two or its nearest competitors. One point to raise is the threat of private labels brands from supermarkets themselves. This is starting to be a threat especially during the economic recession when consumers dont differentiate between Shampoo Brand X and Shampoo Brand Y in terms of its value (reduces hair frizz) but on price alone. The in store brands by supermarkets like Coles or Woolworths compete in the same product category but obviously can afford to sell them at a lower entry price but higher profit margin. In order to mitigate this threat, PG has to spend more on branding and innovation to hopefully induce the willingness to pay for its products. The context of the FMCG industry is always dynamic. However, even though PG can probably use market research to stay abreast of latest developments, due to its size, it might not have the flexibility to react quickly to changes. It is clear in terms of the shift in power of the world economy; USA is the superpower of the past whereas Asia is the new superpower. With its headquarters still in Cincinnati Ohio, that in a sense is a constraint for PG as it is away from the business centers, away from the growth in the developing countries. PG needs the help of its collaborators to move to the next level as they are all part of the value chain activities. For example, it would needs its global logistics providers to ensure on time shelf delivery at competitive cost, it would need the 3PM to produce quality and competitively priced products, ad agencies to produce quality and engaging ads etc. In order to select the best collaborators, PG has balanced scorecards in terms of environmental sustainability to maintain its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint Issue 4: As one of the leaders in marketing, PG has spared no efforts in its marketing segmentation. For its paper products like tissues and toilet paper, it has household brands like Charmin, Puffs, Royale and Bounty. For its shampoo segment, it has famous brands like Head Shoulders, Vidal Sasson, Pert Plus, Ivory and Pantene, supposedly sufficient to cater to a wide range of hair: oily, dry, dandruff, coloured, split ends etc. For the laundry segment, one of its cash cows has in itself 8 brands for sale in the United States. This would include Ivory Snow, Dreft, Oxydol, era, Gain, Bold, Cheer and its crown Jewel Tide. Because PG also is based worldwide, it has many different specially created brands in each category to cater to different international markets. In Latin America, it sells 16 laundry product brands whereas in its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) geographic segment, it has a whopping 19 different brands for choice. PGs marketing strategy has clearly shifted from mass market to target marketing. It is aware that consumers have different needs through its elaborate consumer research, it has been trying to develop a product for every type of need a consumer has, it seems that PG is trying to have a race with itself to develop new products for any kind of customer. We can understand the motivation as PG wants to use its economies of scale and brand name to push out its products and expand market share to new and existing loyal customers. With the enormous number of brands in PG, we would imagine that each brand manager is trying to fight for publicity and capital for its brand. It is merely a hypothetical question, but could the multitude of brands be more of an internal fight for importance rather than actually meeting consumer needs? However, clearly PG positions itself in the premium section of the FMCG market. Its products like Pantene, Vidal Sasson can command higher prices than a lower end shampoo brand like Sunsilk from Unilever. As mentioned, the multitude of brands is both the strength and weakness for PG. For one, the same laundry products for example will be competing with each other for limited and precious supermarket shelf positioning and space. The fact that PG introduces several brands in one category might be economies of scale but could also crowd out the market. It could perhaps concentrate its resources on a handful of main brands and focus their targeting on specific customer segments instead of spreading itself too thinly. Because of the multitude of PGs categories, we will just examine in detail its laundry brands in US. In order to breakdown laundry segments, PG first has to look at the job to be done segmentation. It did research and probably thought that apart from using detergents to get clean clothes, people also want other things from detergent. For example, mothers might want cheap detergent because with a family of three kids, there would be many dirty clothes and washing cycles to do in a week. Thus, they would want detergent that is economical and powerful to get rid of dirt stains. On the same demographics of mothers, you get mothers with babies, and they would want detergents with less (zero) chemicals catered to the sensitive skin of babies. On the other spectrum, you might have some working professionals or yuppies who have a higher willingness to pay and value detergents that had a nice fresh smell and are sustainable for the environment. Thus, it is no surprise that PG has launched 8 b rands in the US to cater to all the individual niches of customers. A quick check on www.walmart.com (Appedix A) and entering in the word Tide prompts 65 hits on the detergent in the household essentials segment. The fact is that Tide comes in three forms: liquid, powder, pod forms. It also comes in many shapes, scents and sizes. This results in a minimum of 65 SKUS for just one laundry brand. By segmenting the market for laundry across multiple detergent brands, PG seems to have covered all bases for consumer laundry needs and wants. As a result, PG is the unrivalled leader in the USD7billion US laundry detergent market. Tide alone is the market leader with a respectable 38% market share. When we combine all eight of PG laundry brands, it comes up to a 60% share of the market-2.5 times that of nearest rival Unilever and much more than any single brand could obtain by itself. However, does this mean that market share is due to the fact that PG has that many brands and is successful in its segmentation activities or is it because of the overall value proposition PGs detergents provide to its consumers. Could PG attain its market share of 60% by optimizing the number of SKUs by half? PG recognizes that they cannot appeal to all buyers in the marketplace or at least not to all buyers in the same way. Buyers are too numerous, too widely scattered, and too varied in their needs and buying practices. Moreover, PG itself varies widely in its abilities to serve different segments of the market. Rather than trying to compete in an entire market, sometimes against superior competitors, PG has identified the parts of the market that it can serve best and most profitably. Thus, PG is being more selective about the consumers that they wish to capture and retain. It has been a clear leader in moving from mass marketing, toward market segmentation and targeting-successfully identifying market segments after stringent market research and studies, selecting one or more of them, and developing products and marketing programs individually tailored to the specific niche. PG clearly believes the rifle approach is more effective rather than the shotgun approach. It has achieved previous success based on this approach, but would this strategy continue to work for the fickle and fussy FMCG market? It should however be noted that Apple -one of the best marketers of technology thinks differently, with the iphone is still managed as a mass marketing concept. Issue 5: PGs reputation as being the best in marketing is indisputable. They are known to be at least 5 years ahead of competitors in terms of how they go to market. They continuously train and invest in their employees at the beginning of their careers and like to promote from within. They spend enormous amounts of money training their people to become world class marketers and many of their people leave PG to lead other companies as their Chief Marketing Officer. PG clearly puts the consumer first. As such, their marketing strategy is based on deep consumer insights. This might mean their advertising probably wont be the most creative, but they will capture revenue and market share. This however, might prove to be a stumbling block with the changing demographics in the developing world. PGs marketing orientation makes business sense strategically. With a market orientation and micro marketing approach, PG can adapt to the 4Ps. In terms of Price, PGs premium pricing has shown that it can be moved with lower prices for the more cost sensitive developing countries. In terms of product categories, it competes in 35 product categories in US but only present in an average of 19 product categories globally. Therefore, PG is focusing on the launching more product categories in more countries, targeting expansion of the global average to presence in 24 product categories by 2014-15. With regards to place, PG currently distributes broadly through four channels: 1) supermarkets mass volume retail, 2) mom pop stores which are still prevalent in the third world countries especially when shops are inaccessible, 3) wholesale and 4) modern retail stores. As part of new channel strategy, PG also is focusing on expansion in the international pharmacy and e-commerce channels. This s hall contribute to PG products being available at more outlets. (PGs market share strategy set to pay off- Seeking Alpha) The PG brand plays a huge role in its marketing strategy as its one of the most recognized brands in the world. The PG brand is synonymous with premium pricing and quality. With the shift in the demographics, PG would need to shift to developing countries and the younger age segmentation. In terms of developing countries, it would be right on the ball to focus on India and China. At this moment, PG is definitely behind the curve for India as Hindustan Unilever is the clear leader in the CPG industry, however, PG does better in terms of brand penetration in China. The positioning in China is also very different as compared to India

Produce a document of customer guidelines Essay

Produce a document of customer guidelines to help maintain a safe, secure and healthy sports environment, including methods of distribution and evaluation. Write an assessment and analysis of the effectiveness of the promotional material and make suggestions for suitable changes and amendments. Customer Guidelines 1. No food or drink in the gym If customers were happily eating food in the gym the smell could put other customers off their workouts. Especially the very people who are in the gym for that very reason â€Å"Food†. The last thing someone trying to get fitter needs is to be working out next to someone eating a sausage roll. If such practices were allowed in the gym it would also bring down the overall reputation of the gym which no manager wants. Also if a customer is eating greasy food this could transfer onto the equipment which could be both unhygienic and unpleasant for other customers. This guideline is needed for hygiene purposes mainly. Food and the gym don’t mix well and it is good to keep them both separate. This guideline is also in place to avoid litter around the gym, if food was allowed no doubt there would be litter which an employee would have to go around picking up. 2. No running by the poolside area If you run by a poolside you run the risk of slipping over and injuring yourself. This is an important guideline as it keeps the customers safe. As well as the customers safety the guideline is there for the leisure centre’s own safety, its reputation. If a customer was to slip and injure themselves, they could easily sue the leisure centre saying there was no â€Å"guideline† such as a poster telling them not to run by the poolside. The leisure centre could be sued or in a worst case scenario be shut down. 3. No diving into the pool This guideline is in place to stop people injuring themselves by attempting stupid head first dives and hitting their heads on the bottom of the pool. As amusing is it seems it could have bad repercussions for a leisure centre should this happen. As with above this is a safety guideline. It is important because diving can be dangerous. It can apply to the prevention of a possible suing. If the guideline is implemented through posters the public have no excuse if they injure themselves. 4. No smoking on the premises In a gym there will be plenty of people who will take offence to someone smoking. A leisure centre cannot allow smoking in gym, the first think that comes to my mind is that someone smoking in a gym doesn’t exactly give off an air of â€Å"Healthy†. This isn’t the sort of environment a manager of a gym wants. Once smoking is allowed in gyms instructors may as well encourage people to have a bite of a kebab between reps. This guideline is implement because smokers are stupid enough to want smoking allowed in the gyms! As I mentioned earlier there are a lot of non-smokers that go to the gym who seriously wouldn’t appreciate a smoke filled gym. Having a non-smoking gym will give an air of professionalism and attract customers that generally want to get fit. 5. Showers must be used before entering the pool This is a matter of hygiene, a sweaty person who has just been to the gym or someone who is generally unclean shouldn’t enter the pool without showering. This guideline is put down for hygiene reasons again. True there is chlorine in the water which is a good anti bacterial and germ killer, but it is no excuse for people who have just left the sauna or gym to leave a trail of their excess dirt and grease into the pool. 6. Customers must not use weights prior to induction This guideline is there to prevent customers from injuring themselves as well as causing damage to the machinery and others. Without this guideline I am pretty sure there would be a lot of injuries in the gym. Quite often when you go to the gym you will see â€Å"newbie’s† with delusions of grandeur, they go straight for the heaviest weights and pump them like there’s no tomorrow, no doubt with visions of looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is imperative that new inductees are shown and trained on different equipment by a qualified member of staff. 7. No children under the age of 11 are allowed in the pool unless accompanied by an adult. This is an important safety guideline as there are some very irresponsible mothers and fathers in this world who would let their children into a pool whilst not realising what standard of swimming their children are at. A lifeguard can only do so much and isn’t a telepath tic so cannot tell if a child is a strong or weak swimmer. This is a good guideline because it keeps children safe and forces mums and dads to be responsible. Once again having this guideline saves the leisure centre from being sued if this guideline wasn’t there and the lifeguard could not save a child’s life the leisure centre would be in serious trouble. 8. Please wear the correct footwear If correct footwear is not used serious or minor injuries can occur. It is important to raise this point as there are a lot of people out there foolish enough to go to the gym in incorrect footwear. For those that didn’t know what type of footwear to wear the guideline will explain it to them possibly helping them with their performance. Employee guidelines 1. Wear the correct uniform and clothing This is important as an employee’s dress code should reflect the company’s image. As a reflection of the company’s image an employee has a responsibility to wear clean, correct uniform. They are on the frontline and if a customer has a complaint they would rather be approached by a smartly dressed employee. From the start of their quarrel they are less likely to have a go at a smartly dressed person rather than a scruffy one. A scruffy employee would be perceived as someone who doesn’t care and as a reflection of the leisure centre a customer sees the employee as the company itself. What I am trying to get at is that if the employee is scruffy then so is the company. 2. Arrive to work on time It is important to be punctual to work as it can set a bad example to other employees around you. If one employee is consistently late and getting away with it, others start to look and think to themselves ‘Well it won’t hurt to be five minutes late if he/she is getting away with it’. Also if you arrive late they are not getting work done which they are being paid to do and most likely others around them are covering and doing their work for them, this is bad teamwork. 3. Staff should know fire procedures It is obvious that management need to make sure that all their employees know all the fire procedures. This will keep both the employees and customers safe. If certain employees do not know or understand all the fire procedures they themselves are at risk as well as the customers. A leisure centre would leave themselves liable for suing if It was found out that a fire drill went bad due to staff not knowing fire procedures. 4. Employees must know first aid First of as well as having qualified first aid personnel there needs to be a 1:50 ratio of first aiders to the amount of people in the building. For very much the same reasons as the fire procedures, this guideline would protect customers, the employees, as well as protect against possible suing. It is a must need guideline as injuries sustained in gym’s and leisure centre’s are numerous and it must be ensured all these injuries are taken care of quickly and efficiently. 5. Check equipment regularly so that it is safe for customers use This guideline helps prevent injuries to customers. Obviously accidents can happen but if regular checks are done you can slim the chances of injury. It will encourage regular maintenance checks and ensure that employees look for simple things like wear and tear or loose wires that people could trip over. It is an important guideline because it makes sure that the employees have to consider the risks of the equipment and think of measure to check and prevent these risks. 6. When treating a customer one’s manner and attitude must be calm and conservative When dealing with customers it is important to give off a good impression. If they ask you a simple question for example, it is good to be attentive to what they are saying. An aura needs to be given off that pervais an interest in what they are saying. If a customer comes up with a complaint and are perhaps rude it is important that an employee can keep their cool and not snap back. A situation is far more likely to be rectified if the employee is calm and composed, that way they can calm the customer down and help them to understand and fix or help with whatever problem they have. As I have said before the employees are on the front lines and whatever aura they give of the customers effects the company (leisure centre or gym) as a whole. 7. No smoking on the premises The smoking guideline needs to work both ways. You can’t very well have a customer guideline saying no smoking and then have your employees casually smoking away. This is an important guideline for the same reason as the customers. You can’t have people coming to the gym seeing employees smoking away, customers may find it off putting especially if they are smokers and it doesn’t set a good example. Again it would put off putting non-smokers as well especially ex-smokers who will represent a large client base. The atmosphere has to be that of a healthy one. If a customer must smoke an area needs to be made off premises where they can relieve themselves. 8. Treat other staff with respect At work it is important that there is a good atmosphere within the workforce as well as a high standard of moral. This starts with all the employees treating each other with respect. You can’t have a members of staff disrespecting each other a workplace needs discipline. This is a guideline that shouldn’t need to be upheld but sometimes it does. It is important as staff should have a comfortable environment to work so that they can efficiently get on with their work, the last thing an employee needs is having another member of staff on their mind whilst trying to work. Method’s of distribution and evaluation There were a few methods of possible distribution, including:- * posters * videos * leaflets * word of mouth * lectures/speeches * E-mail If I was trying to distribute my customer guidelines I think I would go for a big, bold, eye catching poster. I would want to make them numerous around my gym/leisure centre so that there would be no escaping them. As well as that I would go with Videos, these are virtually inescapable as they can be positioned directly in front of various exercise machines. Leaflets are far too easy for customers to ignore. the majority would screw them up. Word of mouth shows a lack of effort really, very pointless, plus it would be time consuming to go through each customer guideline as well as explaining them. A lecture or speech would be pointless most people don’t have the time or the patience to sit through one. Most people are no it alls and most likely feel they would not have to sit through a customer guidelines speech. E-mails are unreliable I feel, they can easily be regarded as junk mail and are easily ignored. E-mails are not in your face like a poster or a video. When distributing my information that is what I’m looking for a in your face â€Å"Escape this if you can† approach. With both videos and posters being used it will be hard for someone to ignore. With the employee guidelines I feel I could only go for a speech a rousing one ala â€Å"Gladiator† or an Alex Ferguson speech where I can really hit home and make my employees understand what I am trying to get through to them. Any other method they can just ignore and it will show a lack of conviction from the employer. You can’t beat a face to face conversation to get your point across. As for my evaluation the only method that I would choose to use is a questionnaire. With a questionnaire you can get straight to the point and ask what questions you feel need to be asked. The responses are gathered in a standardised way, so questionnaires are more objective, certainly more so than just asking people their opinion via talking to them. Generally it is relatively quick to collect information using a questionnaire. However in some situations they can take a long time not only to design but also to apply and analyse. But potentially information can be collected from a large amount of people. Some other advantages to a question are:- * Questionnaires are very cost effective when compared to face-to-face interviews. Written questionnaires become even more cost effective as the number of research questions increases. * Questionnaires are easy to analyse. Data entry and tabulation for nearly all surveys can be easily done with many computer software packages. * Questionnaires are familiar to most people. Nearly everyone has had some experience completing questionnaires and they generally do not make people apprehensive. * Questionnaires reduce bias. There is uniform question presentation and no middle-man bias. The researcher’s own opinions will not influence the respondent to answer questions in a certain manner. There are no verbal or visual clues to influence the respondent. * Questionnaires are less intrusive than telephone or face-to-face surveys. When a respondent receives a questionnaire in the mail, he is free to complete the questionnaire on his own time-table. Unlike other research methods, the respondent is not interrupted by the research instrument.

What You Must Know About The Good Earth Essay Topics

What You Must Know About The Good Earth Essay Topics The Bad Secret of the Good Earth Essay Topics Last, if you're unsure about how to structure your paper, you can depend on essay templates. You must make sure your paper doesn't have any grammar issues when you submit it. Argumentative essay topics are so important since they are debatableand it's critical to at all times be critically considering the world around us. Not all research paper topics are made equal, and you would like to ensure you pick an excellent topic before you commence writing. The novel was translated into more than thirty distinct languages. Before you commence writing a single word of your paper, you first will need to understand what your thesis will be. The thesis will provide you with a guideline on the best way to go about with writing the essay. Your thesis ought to be relevant so the short article can use a structure that's flexible in order to fit in the shoes of the readers. The term nigger is an essential term in american culture it's a profoundly hurtful racial slur intended to stigmatize african americans on occasion, in addition, it has been used. Don't use jargon and slang. The above-mentioned topic selection may give you a very clear understanding of what things to write about. The option of compare and contrast essay topics isn't a simple task because you should clearly show your analytical skills. When comparing poems you should look for all of the characteristics that you search for when it's crucial that you avoid writing an essay on every poem and after that attempt to join it makes it possible for you to structure your ideas in a logical way, eg one paragraph. Therefore, take care when selecting a topic for your controversial essay. Details of the Good Earth Essay Topics To defend your subject, you might recall the effect of overloaded schedule on college grades. With all these choices to explore, it can be rather overwhelming to choose a single topic for your paper particularly if your instructor has given you an open-ended sort of assignment. A biography is understood to be a written account of the set of events that constitute an every s tudent will write a biography sooner or later, but the degree of detail and book themes the fundamentals of planning and writing an argument essay. Students need to be careful about posting on social networking. A survival program should turn into a must-have for each and every family in the event of natural disasters. If your work isn't structured correctly, you might wind up getting a minimal grade even if your paper is excellent. Even if a specific research paper topic is getting lots of buzz at the moment or other men and women seem interested in writing about it, don't feel tempted to make it your topic if you don't genuinely have some kind of interest in it also. Aside from taking a look at sample papers and examples, you may also seek advice from your teacher if you don't know how to structure your paper. The War Against the Good Earth Essay Topics An essay on earth could center on the development of the planet earth. In many instances, the slip fault can be found beneath the sea which may p.. Earth is really the most known planet within this universe, where life is possible, because it has all of the things necessary for life. The Earth is a significant resource for several of the basic elements required to survive. Knowing the fundamental fundamentals of ecology can offer keys to lessening their effects. Moreover, in-text citations will present your awareness of the various papers formats. Due to this, many disagree on the way the laws should change (if they need to change at all) and there are a number of topics to select from. Use transition words in order to connect the paragraphs and create the point flow. The Unexpected Truth About the Good Earth Essay Topics Your earth essay could chat about how we endanger our planet and the large range of life on it through mismanagement of the several all-natural resources. This society is distinguished by some kind of conservatism. The fantastic thing about science is there are so many topics you may write about regardless of which course you're taking. You are able to receive a stress free earth essay for a little price. It is the only thing that may spell the difference between an excellent day and a bad one. A great deal of people these days are interested in politics, and there are lots of conversations happening throughout the world about it. By contrast, poor people throughout The Good Earthmust suffer not just the burdens of frugality but in addition a feeling of diminished status in the view of their neighbors. In order to get children, both parents ought to be certified.

Who Pioneered Robotics

We have evidence that mechanized human-like figures date back to ancient times to Greece. The concept of an artificial man is found in works of fiction since the early 19th century. Despite these  initial thoughts and representations, the  dawn of the robotic revolution began in earnest in the 1950s. George Devol invented the first digitally operated and programmable robot  in 1954. This ultimately laid the foundation of the modern robotics industry. Earliest History Around 270 B.C. an ancient Greek engineer named Ctesibius made water clocks with automatons or loose figures. Greek mathematician  Archytas  of Tarentum postulated a mechanical bird he called The Pigeon which was propelled by  steam. Hero of Alexandria (10–70 AD)  made numerous innovations in the field of automata, including one that allegedly could speak. In  ancient China, an account about an automaton is found in the text, written in the 3rd century BC, in which  King Mu of Zhou  is presented with a life-size, human-shaped mechanical figure by Yan Shi, an artificer. Robotics Theory and Science Fiction Writers and visionaries envisioned a world  including robots  in daily life. In 1818, Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein, which was about a frightening artificial lifeform come to life by a mad, but brilliant scientist, Dr. Frankenstein. Then, 100 years later Czech writer Karel Capek coined the term robot, in his 1921 play called R.U.R. or Rossums Universal Robots. The plot was simple and terrifying; the man makes a robot then robot kills a man. In 1927,  Fritz Langs Metropolis  was released. The  Maschinenmensch  (machine-human), a  humanoid robot, was the first robot ever to be depicted on film. Science fiction writer and futurist Isaac Asimov first used the word robotics in 1941 to describe the technology of robots and predicted the rise of a powerful robot industry. Asimov wrote Runaround, a story about robots which contained the Three Laws of Robotics, which centered around Artificial Intelligence ethics questions. Norbert Wiener published Cybernetics, in 1948, which formed the basis of practical robotics, the principles of cybernetics based on artificial intelligence research. First Robots Emerge British robotics pioneer William Grey Walter invented robots Elmer and Elsie that mimic lifelike behavior using elementary electronics in 1948. They were tortoise-like robots that were programmed to find their charging stations once they started running low on power. In 1954 George Devol invented the first digitally operated and a programmable robot called the  Unimate. In 1956, Devol and his partner Joseph Engelberger formed the worlds first robot company. In 1961, the first industrial robot, Unimate, went online in a General Motors automobile factory in New Jersey. Timeline of Computerized Robotics With the rise of the computer industry, the technology of computers and robotics came together to form artificial intelligence; robots that could learn. The timeline of those developments follows: Year Robotics Innovation 1959 Computer-assisted manufacturing was demonstrated at the Servomechanisms Lab at MIT 1963 The first computer-controlled artificial robotic arm was designed. The Rancho Arm was created for physically disabled people. It had six joints that gave it the flexibility of a human arm. 1965 The Dendral system automated the decision-making process and problem-solving behavior of organic chemists. It used artificial intelligence for identifying unknown organic molecules, by analyzing their mass spectra and using its knowledge of chemistry. 1968 The octopus-like Tentacle Arm was developed by Marvin Minsky. The arm was computer controlled, and its 12 joints were powered by hydraulics. 1969 The Stanford Arm was the first electrically powered, computer-controlled robot arm designed by mechanical engineering student Victor Scheinman. 1970 Shakey was introduced as the first mobile robot controlled by artificial intelligence. It was produced by SRI International. 1974 The Silver Arm, another robotic arm, was designed to perform small-parts assembly using feedback from touch and pressure sensors. 1979 The Standford Cart crossed a chair-filled room without human assistance. The cart had a tv camera mounted on a rail which took pictures from multiple angles and relayed them to a computer. The computer analyzed the distance between the cart and the obstacles. Modern Robotics Commercial and industrial robots are now in widespread use performing jobs more cheaply or with greater accuracy and reliability than humans. Robots are used for jobs which are too dirty, dangerous or dull to be suitable for humans. Robots are widely used in manufacturing, assembly and packing, transport, earth and space exploration, surgery, weaponry, laboratory research and mass production of consumer and industrial goods.