The War on Drugs in the US

Thank God for God †Theology Essay

Thank God for God – Theology Essay Free Online Research Papers Thank God for God Theology Essay As I was walking down the street the other day, I saw a figure coming toward me dressed in clothes reminiscent of those worn by the Pilgrims.â€Å"Who are you?† I asked, thinking this was a leftover from Halloween, perhaps just now finding his way home. â€Å"I am Thanksgiving,† he replied, tipping his hat and allowing a bedraggled turkey feather to flutter to the ground. â€Å"What are you doing here?† I inquired. â€Å"I’m trying to let people know that I still exist,† he said. â€Å"They seem to have forgotten about me over the last several years.† Yes, it used to be that Santa Claus arrived on the day after Thanksgiving. Storeowners then began to have â€Å"Santa Claus† arrive a week or two before Thanksgiving. Now many stores have Christmas decorations and merchandise out right after Halloween. Thanksgiving seems to be lost in the shuffle. But there are still those who remember to give thanks to God for His blessings and goodness to America. I pray that many more Americans will remember God and celebrate Thanksgiving in other ways than by stuffing themselves with everything they can eat and watching eight solid hours of football. Don’t get me wrong, I like food and football, but let’s remember that the first pilgrim Thanksgiving was set aside to celebrate and give thanks to God. Our forefathers proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday to give thanks to God. What are you thanking God for on Thanksgiving? My heart was moved during the baseball playoffs this year when during the seventh inning stretch of each game someone was designated to sing, â€Å"God bless America!† It was so moving. May our prayer be â€Å"God, thank You for blessing America. May you continue to shed your grace on America. And make us a blessing to the world.† â€Å"We have a lot to thanks God for. But as I was pondering the theme of Thanksgiving, I realized that most of all, I thank God for God! I thank God for being who He is. The Greeks and Romans had their mythological gods. They were mostly viewed as demanding, vengeful, austere, fickle, and aloof. Many ancient people sculpted their own gods out of silver, gold stone or wood. They worshipped them and tried to appease them, but had no communication or intimate relationship with them. The psalmist declared, â€Å"Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they but they see not; they have ears but they hear not; noses have they, but they smell not; they have hands, but the handle not; feet have they, but they walk not; neither speak they through their throat. They that make them are like unto them; so is everyone that trusteth in them.† (Psalm 115:4-8) I thank God for God! The God that sees all, that hears and answers prayer, that smells the sweet fragrance of praise and worship, that leads His children by the hand, and allowed His hands and feet to be nailed to the cross for the sins of the world, that walked in the garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, and walks with his children through the valley of the shadow of death, and that speaks to us through His Son, His Living Word, and the voice of the Holy Spirit. I thank God for being God. The God who â€Å"heals the broken hearted, binding up their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension! The Lord supports the humble, but He brings the wicked down into the dust. Sing out your thanks to the Lord, sing praises to our God, accompanied by harps†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (See Psalm 147, NLT) Thank God for being God! He is not a god who is unholy, perverted, capricious, distant, or proud. The true and living God has revealed Himself through His Word. You can know and experience Him personally through His Son, Jesus Christ, who took upon Himself human flesh to show us the Father, and to become a sacrificial Redeemer by His death on the cross. Thank God for being a God of love! â€Å"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.† (John 3:16) Thank God that this awesome God desires an intimate fellowship with you and wants you to live with Him forever! â€Å"Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any man hears my voice, and opens unto me, I will come into him and sup with him and he with me.† (Revelation 3:20). With thanksgiving, invite the Savior into your heart today. And this Thanksgiving, thank God for being God! â€Å"Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our God forever and ever. Amen.† (Revelation 7:12). 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Suggestions for President Obama's Strategy of Declaring Essay

Suggestions for President Obama's Strategy of Declaring - Essay Example United States is one of the countries considered with the best constitutions globally. However, there are several functional departments that citizens are crying foul of their effectiveness in the country, for instance, the congress. Basically, I agree with Obama’s suggestion that he cannot wait for a â€Å"dysfunctional† congress due to the constitutional system adopted by the United States. This paper focuses on difficulties imposed on policy making by the United States’ constitutional system. It also discuses why founders opted for a system based on separation of power, checks and balances. Moreover, it evaluates its effectiveness in the present situation of the United States. Finally, it offers personal suggestions on Obama’s strategy on declaration that he cannot wait for a â€Å"dysfunctional† congress and suggests several policies. United States is considered the world super power with strong and operational constitutional system. However, th e policies system and structure were only effective in the past years. This is because in the past years United States had really advanced both economically and politically. In the recent few years, the constitutional system adopted by United States has proved ineffective and unreliable (Child 48). This is due to non-responsive nature of the system to the problems facing the country over the past few years. In the past years that is twentieth century, united states have been faced with series of problems that have greatly compromised its position globally and exposed certain weaknesses of the constitutional system on policy making and implementation (Congress 37). United states have been faced with series of problems most of which can be controlled by the country, but the policy making procedure adopted in the constitution does not allow for quick response to such issues due to the legal procedures. For instance, unemployment rate have greatly increased in the United States over the past years (Schwartz 90). Basically, this has been caused by trade with china. China offers cheap products in the country which cannot be adequately and effectively competed against by the country’s locally produced commodities. This has led to closure of several companies’ especially local company. This is because they cannot adequately compete against Chinese products due to their market prices. This has led to exportation of unemployment from china to the United States (Leebrick 79). United States is the largest importer of Chinese products. Low cost of Chinese products is due to their currency value and regulation by the government on value regulation of the currency. Though this has caused United States its economic strength and china emerging as a potential contender as a global power house, United States have done little on addressing the issue (Schwartz 43). The country through its legislation could have suspended trade with china so as to address the problems in the economy due to the trade. However, this has taken long and the country has been frequently faced with similar problems arising from trade between the country and china. The issue has not been addressed due to the policy making procedure in the country and separation of power, checks and balances that take long. According to the constitution of the country, there are several departments and legal investigation and considerations that have to be taken before sanctioning trade with china. This shows the weak

My Journey to outer space Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

My Journey to outer space - Essay Example My presence on the spaceship put me in a state of shock but gradually I adapted to the situation. The spaceship was headed towards the planet Saturn where the team members of my crew were to witness certain changes in the outer shell of the planet. This change was considered to have happened because of a reported explosion. I wandered around the spaceship and was delighted by seeing objects and machines that I had never seen. Despite of being in a different place, I started to like my surroundings. My attention drifted to one of my crew members, Ronald, who was sitting around a table that had navigation and mapping devices. The charm of those devices attracted me towards Ronald and lured me to ask the meaning of the terminologies that he was mentioning to the pilot of the ship. Later, it was Ronald and the pilot who explained to me that the term light year and Parsec were both units of length and that the spaceship had to travel 4.28 light years to reach Saturn and to ascertain the distance, a method referred to as parallax was used. During our journey, I witnessed different stars, meteors and asteroids. Few of the celestial bodies that I witnessed glowed in such a way that it displayed a red shade; this was referred to as Red shift in the astronomical language. When I first heard about the distance I thought that it would take many years to reach the destination but within a few hours, I heard an announcement which stated that we were approaching our destination. I was really looking forward to step on Saturn but at that particular moment, I fell with a thud on the floor and my eyes opened. I realized that it was just a

Accounting information systems development Essay

Accounting information systems development - Essay Example The company in this scenario is a small, local CPA firm. The personnel at the organization include three new CPAs and an office manager. Primarily, the company's business consists of tax and write-up work.However, recently the company has required a new client: a homeowner's association with a total of 150 homeowners.The firm has agreed to provide the homeowner's association with several services. There are six service areas that the company has agreed to service the homeowner's association with: billing, collection, payments, reporting, tax, and advisory. With billing, each homeowner will be sent an itemized bill each quarter, dues being payable by the month. Late fees accumulate at one percent of the unpaid balance each month that passes. On the first day of the last month of the quarter, bills are mailed out to the homeowners, and payment is expected by the quarter's end.With collection, the accounting firm is responsible for collecting the payments from the post office box that i t has rented specially for the homeowner's association. They are also responsible for depositing the checks they collect.With the large, new client, the company is hoping to expand that area of their practice by computerizing the main functions of their system. The goal of the company is to computerized the system's main functions. The main focus of the computerization will be on billing and reporting. Other than the actual interface of the new system, the checking account, financial statements, and tax preparation parts will not be computerized at this time. Instead, the billing and collections portions of the system will be computerized. The System and Manual Functions (Inputs, Outputs, and Controls) BusinessTown (2008) tell us to "Think of the accounting system as a wheel whose hub is the general ledger (G/L). Feeding the hub information are the spokes of the wheel. These include accounts receivable, accounts payable, order entry, inventory control, cost accounting, payroll, and fixed assets accounting." Each of these items is a subledger of the general ledger, and each summarizes the entries and then feeds that information to the general ledger. There are a few differences between manual and automated ledgers. In order to consider this, think of the general ledger as a piece of paper that shows assets, liabilities, income, and expenses where all transactions are recorded by hand in a manual fashion. While some of the entries from the different subledgers flow upwards, others are entered manually through the utilization of a general journal entry. "The same concept of a sheet of paper holds for each subledger that feeds the general ledger. A computerized accounting system works the same way, except that the general ledger and subledgers are computer files instead of sheets of paper. Entries are posted to each and summarized, then the summary is sent up to the G/L for posting" (BusinessTown, 2008). Billing is the first component that will be computerized at the firm. This will be highly beneficial to the organization since "Accounting firms can improve their profitability and relations with clients by automating client billing with computers. Accounting firms c

Immigration situation of Switzerland

Immigration situation of Switzerland CURRENT IMMIGRATION SITUATION IN SWITZERLAND AND ESPECIALLY IN CANTON ST. GALLEN Introduction The problem of immigrants has contributed to be one of the thorny issues in the world as we enter into the new millennium. There has been increased legal and illegal immigration over the world which has been prompted by push and pull factor. The push factors have been caused by economic, social and political, problems that have been experienced in many parts for the world. As a result people have been moving from one area to another in search of safer areas. Political unrest which has come with deteriorating economic conditions has been one of the factors that have been prompting people to migrate to other areas. The pull factor has been mainly cantered around the search for greener pastures for better life. As a result there has been increased migration of people especially to the developed nations where there are economic fortunes. The problem of immigration is not new to the world and has been a constant cause of conflict between nations. For example there has been along standing border conflict between Mexico and the United States due to the problem of immigration. Switzer land has not been spared either and there have been increased migration of people to the nation. Some of the regions in the country have been hosting a large number of immigrants than others. For example St. Gallan is one of the regions in the country that has a high population of immigrants. (Clive, 2004) History of Immigrant in Switzerland Due to the economic development that has been taking place in the country, there was increased immigration of people in an out of the country sine the early 1800s. The outflow of Swiss from their country had been well compensated by the inflow of foreigners especial German, Italians and Australia. The issue of immigration from Switzerland is not new and it dates back to many centuries ago. Most of this immigration who replaced the outflow of Swiss was political refugees and many of there were well educated. The first big wave of immigration in the country came after the collapse of the revolution movement in the country neighbour which happened around 1830. The second wave came immediately after the defeat of the revolution in 1848. Many on of the new immigration how came to the country took up professional jobs. For example many of the German immigrants became teachers and when Zurich University was founded in 1833, man of the teaching position went to Germans. (Fahrin, 2003) There was a major contribution that was made by other immigration especially in the are of industrial and entrepreneurial skills. For example a police born Antoine November de Patek was a joint founded of the Patek Philippine company which has been one of the leading watch makes in Geneva since it was started in 1845. Several other immigrants especially the Italians made a great contribution to the labour force and were employed in Switzerland engineering project like Gotthard and Simplon rail tunnel. In general we can say that immigrants are not new to the country and they have been making a greater contribution to the development of the country. The current situation of immigrant in Switzerland Since 1950, the government signed a convention that has confirmed to grant asylum to many people in the world. There has been increased number of application for asylum in the country and currently there are more people under asylum in Switzerland than in any other nation in the world. The population of the foreigners in the country has continued to rise since 1950 when it was recorded that 5.9 percent of the people in the country did not have Swiss nationality. The number has continued to increase since then and by 1970, it had risen to 15.9 percent. By 2002, the percentage had swelled to 21.6 percent. This makes it one of the countries in Europe together with Luxembourg which has a percentage of 37 percent, to have the highest number of foreigners in the soil. There have been factors that have been contributing to the increased number of immigrants in the nation. These are due to several interrelating factors. Although many have seen the neutrality nature of the nation to become one of the leading factors, the main reason that the country has been embracing such a high number of foreigners in its soil have been due to the need to have foreign labour. Since the exodus of the Swiss from their nation, the country has been relying on foreign labour. It has been shown that immigrating composes about 25% of the workforce with 50% working in hotel and restaurant and 33% working in the construction industry. (Riedo, 2008) At the same time there has been increase emigrating from former Yugoslavia, Turkey and other non European countries. There has been a decreasing number of immigration from Italy and Spain while the number of Yugoslavians, Turks, and Portuguese has been growing day by day. There has also been increased number of immigrants from Sri Lank, India and china with most Sri Lankans seeking asylum while most Indians and Chinese are coming as students. Adapted from: Migration Information Source: Switzerland faced common European challenges. Available at http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=284 It has been shown that the number of women entering the country has been increasing each day since 2000 as compared to the number of men who has been entering the country. The population of immigrants has also been remitting a good number of some of money every year. According to the national bank, it is estimated that the remittance to the nation has been standing at more than US$2.4 billion every year. St. Gallen is one of the cantons in Switzerland which boast of a high population in the country. With a highly population of immigrant in the areas, the canton has an abundant labour that supplies all its industries. Most of immigration in the canton are so Spanish origin having settled there long time ago. The canton is well situated as an important port of entrance through the sea which makes it one of the most important starting points for immigrating in the areas. St. Galen has been one of the cantons in the country that has been racing an increased number of immigrating since they started arriving in the country. Throughout history it has been used as the entry point to the country with majority of the immigrant first settling in the canton before moving out to other areas. As a result it population of immigrants has been selling day by day and currently it has one of the highest number of immigrants in the country. Although most of immigrants are Spanish of origin, there have been consequential settlements of other people in the area. There has been increasing mixture of different cultures and it is one of the reigns that represent the true fact of the Switzerland as a nation of neutrality. Therefore the canton has a diverse population of diverse origin and this diversity is also reflected in its religious worship. However Christianity is the dominant religion in the canton but there has been a growing number of other religions as well. With such a high population of foreigners in the canton, there has been an effort to try and integrate them together. The canton has a mixture of many immigrating and therefore the integration efforts have been aimed at ensuring that they live as one in harmony with one another. There have been several other efforts that have been aimed at ensuring that there is harmonisatoi of the Christianity which is the dominant religion in the area with other growing religions as well like the rising number of Muslims and other religions. (Swissowrld.org, 2008) References Clive, C. (2004). The politics and Government of Switzerland. Palgrave Macmillan Fahrin. D. (2003). An outline of history of Switzerland. Pro Helvetia MPI, (2008). Country profile: Switzerland faces common European challenges. Retrieved from http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=284 on 8th May 2008 Riedo, R. (2008). Immigrating in Switzerland: possibilities and difficulties of integration. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1412079 on 8th May 2008 Swissowrld.org, (2008). Immigration. Retrieved from http://www.swissworld.org/en/history/the_federal_state/immigration/on 8th May 2008

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Good evening and welcome to the commencement ceremonies of the class of 2006. It has been a long journey, somewhere around 18 years, but we've finally reached the piece de resistance of our high school years. I'm not very good at this sentimental thing, so I scratched up a little poem. Ladies and Gentleman, may I present to you, "Ode to the Class of '06." ODE TO THE CLASS OF 2012 'Twas the night of graduation, and under the steeple there were very, very emotional people. Thoughts of the future, thoughts of the past, memories which will always last. It all started when we walked through the door, How many years ago? -- -- "Oh it was four!" Freshman year we started as prepubescent teens, with backwards caps and saggy jeans. We went through the teachers, one-by-one Until we got the reputation of "being too much fun." Religion for example, is a class where we behaved badly, Mr. Blanchett's good byes were given quite gladly. And so sophomore year came, like the soft summer wind, and the memories of how badly we sinned, faded away like an old pair of jeans. In fact we were maturing, maturing as teens. A new student joined us, who thought he was a preacher, Oh, wait, I'm sorry, he was a teacher. His name was Thinen. Junior year arrived, and hence came harder classes, but on a good note, gone were the smart-asses. We matured, and conquered, and came out of our shell. And shed the title, "Class from Hell." Having a blast and emerging as leaders, We met once again at 2617 Cedar. As part of the upper-class, we acted superb, partly because we weren't smoking any type of herb. And when it was over, it started again, the year in which we became all fr... ...ds of Jim Carrey, "Spooky." But, as scary as it is, we can feel confident knowing that what we do with the rest of our lives is up to us. Mom and Dad can only hold on to our hands for so long, and then it is time to set sail on the ocean of life. Tonight is the beginning of the rest of our lives. God, the great casino dealer in the sky, has already shuffled the deck and dealt us his cards. What we do with those cards, our talents, is entirely up to us. Will it happen? Will it TO happen, and the possibilities are endless. The challenge from this night onward is to play our hand right, and not go broke. As we revel in our accomplishments chuckle over the memories of good times and sniffle over the memories of the bad ones, just remember, the world is our oyster. We must seize the pearl. As salutatorian, I salute you. Thank you, and have a splendid evening!

Macro Enviroment

Contents Topic PRELIMINARY MATEIALS1. Cover Page2. Table of Contents3. Summary2. 0 BODY OF REPORT Analysis of Mars:2. 1 Introduction2. 2 Introduction to Mars description2. 3 Mars history and development2. 4 The Macro environment2. 4. 1 Demographic forces2. 4. 2 Economic Forces2. 4. 3 Natural Forces2. 4. 4 Technological Forces2. 4. 5 Political Forces2. 4. 6 Cultural Forces2. 5 Organizations within the industry2. 5. 1 Market Position2. 5. 2 Target Markets2. 5. 3 The Marketing Mix (4P’s)2. 5. 3. 1 Product2. 5. 3. 2 Price2. 5. 3. 3 Promotion2. 5. 3. Place2. 6. Strength and weakness of Mars2. 6. 1 Strengths2. 6. 2 Weaknesses2. 6. 3 Opportunities2. 6. 4 Threads2. 7 Conclusion2. 8 References3. 0 BODY OF REPORT   Analysis of Kit Kat:3. 1 Introduction3. 2 Introduction of Kit Kat description:3. 3 Kit Kat history and brand development3. 3. 1 Varieties product of Kit Kat3. 4 Macro environment:3. 4. 1 Demographic Force3. 4. 2 Economic Force3. 4. 3 Natural Force3. 4. 4 Technological Force 3. 4. 5 Political Force3. 4. 6 Cultural Force3. 5 Organizations within the industry3. 5. 1 Market Position3. 5. 2 Target Markets3. 5. 3 The Marketing Mix (4P’s)3. 5. 3. 1 Product3. 5. 3. 2 Price3. 5. 3. 3 Promotion3. 5. 3. 4 Place3. 6 The analysis of the business environment3. 6. 1 Strength3. 6. 2 Weaknesses3. 6. 3 Opportunities3. 6. 4 Threat3. 7 Conclusion3. 8 References1. 4 SummaryIn this assignment of brand analysis and information, products that I choose are chocolate brands. Two brand that been analyze is Mars and Kit Kat in China’s Market. Basically, Mars Incorporated is a family owned company that produces some of the world’s leading confectionery; food and pet care products and has a growing beverage and health & nutrition businesses. Mars incorporated was founded in 1911. It operates in more than 65 countries and employed more than 40,000 associates worldwide. The company’s global sales are approximately $21 billion annually. SWOT analysis is taken in consideration to match the company’s strength to attractive opportunities in the environment, while estimating or overcoming the weakness and minimizing the threats Besides that, Kit Kat products are under Nestle Company. Nestle is the largest food company in the world measured by revenue. Nestle was formed in 1905 by the merger of the Anglo-Swiss Company. Nestle set several qualitative objectives on people who consume Kit Kat, with the vision that Kit Kat would be the natural choice for all breaks. Kit Kat is one of the world’s leading chocolate brands. There were different variety of flavour and shape of Kit Kat products being develop. In macro environment, there are some factor that can have a big impact in it which includes demographic force, economic force, natural force, technological force, political force and cultural force. SWOT analysis is taken in consideration to match the company’s strength to attractive opportunities in the environment, while estimating or overcoming the weakness and minimizing the threats. ANALYSIS OF MARS 2. 1 INTRODUCTION Mars  which is also  called Mars bar is a  chocolate bar  manufactured by  Mars, Incorporated. It was first manufactured in  Slough,  Berkshirein the United Kingdom in 1932 as a sweeter version of the US  Milky Way bar  which Mars, Inc. Produced. It was advertised to the trade as being made with Cadbury's chocolate as ‘couverture'. In the United States, a different confection bears the Mars bar name. Featuring nougat, soft caramel, and almonds coated in milk chocolate, the American Mars bar was relaunched in 2010 after being discontinued in 2002. Mars is a very private company, which rarely interacts with the media because it wants to be known for its products rather than its executives. The company’s secrecy is legendary, and many rumors have circulated about the Mars’ management skills and other business factors. The business’ structure is unconventional with no executive offices and no executive parking spaces. Low ranking and high ranking executives sit together to improve functionality and communication. Mars runs its business based on the philosophy of five principals: Quality:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"The consumer is our boss, quality is our work and value for money is our goal. Responsibility: â€Å"As individuals we demand the total responsibility from ourselves; as associates we support the responsibilities of others. † Mutuality:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"A mutual benefit is a shared benefit; a shared benefit will endure. † Efficiency:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We use resources to the full, waste nothing and do only what we can do best. † Freedom:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"We need freedom to shape our future; we need profit to remain free. † 2. 2 INTRODUCTION TO MARS DESCRIPTION Mars, Incorporated  is an American manufacturer of  confectionery, pet food, and other food products with  US$30 billion in annual sales in 2010, and is ranked as the 5th largest privately held company in the United States by Forbes. Mars, Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, engages in producing and selling chocolates, pet care, and food products in the United States and internationally. It provides pet medicine, nutrition, and food products; ready-made meals, sauces, relishes, and cooking aids; chocolates, chewing gums, candies, and mints; and drinks, including hot chocolate drinks, teas, and coffees. The company also offers insights to dog owners; DNA testing kits for canines; natural substrates to grow plants; and CocoaVia, which provides products that allow cocoa flavanols for healthy lifestyle. Mars believes in implementing their five guiding principles like quality, responsibility, mutuality, efficiency and freedom at all levels of choices made by the company, and the manner in which Mars does business. Mars, Incorporated is generating global sales of more than $28 billion annually and operating in six business segments: Chocolate, Petcare, Wrigley Gum and Confections, Food, Drinks, and Symbioscience. These sections produce some of the world’s leading brands: Chocolate – M&M’S ®, SNICKERS ®, DOVE ®, GALAXY ®, MARS ®, MILKY WAY ® and TWIX ®; Petcare – PEDIGREE ®, WHISKAS ®, SHEBA ®, CESAR ®, NUTRO ®, GREENIES ®, and ROYAL CANIN ®; Wrigley – ORBIT ®, EXTRA ®, STARBURST ®, DOUBLEMINT ® and SKITTLES ®; Food – UNCLE BEN’S ®, DOLMIO ®, EBLY ®, MASTERFOODS ® and SEEDS OF CHANGE ®; Drinks – KLIX ® and FLAVIA ®; Symbioscience – WISDOM PANELâ„ ¢, SERAMIS ®, CIRKUHEALTHâ„ ¢ and COCOAPRO ®. 2. 3 MARS HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT Mars Incorporated is a family owned company that produces some of the world’s leading confectionery; food and pet care products and has a growing beverage and health & nutrition businesses. It was founded in 1911, the company manufactures and markets a variety of products under many of the world’s most recognizable trademarks, including MILKYWAY ®, M&M’s ®, SNICKERS ®, MARS ®, UNCLE BEN’S ® Rice, and PEDIGREE ® and WHISKAS ® pet care products. Its headquartered are in McLean, Virginia, Mars Incorporated operates in more than 65 countries and employed more than 40,000 associates worldwide. The company’s global sales are approximately $21 billion annually. Frank Mars was born in Minnesota, USA in 1882. Due to mild polio his walking was impaired. His mother taught him to hand dip chocolate as a means to keep him entertained. Frank married in 1902 and in 1904, Forrest Mars Sr. was born, in Minnesota. Frank Mars and his second wife started making and selling butter cream candies from their third home in Washington, in 1911. This led them to renting their first candy factory, the Mars Candy factory Inc, which employed 125 staff. In 1920, Frank moved to a larger site in Minnesota, which he called nougat house. The Mar-o-bar was introduced to the candy range in 1922. With a larger site for distribution of this candy the Mar-o-bar company was launched. After three years of researching, the Milky Way candy bar was introduced and was an instant success. Sales increased and more staff was hired. In 1929 Mars incorporated, now with 200 staff, relocated from Minneapolis to Chicago. The central location of Chicago offered a better railroad access to the rest of the country. The Snickers bar was launched in 1930. Forrest Mars Snr arrived in the UK in Slough to start his own business in 1932. The Mars confectionary business diversifies with the acquisition of the dog food business in the UK. M&M’S ® Brand Milk Chocolate Candies were initially sold to the general public in 1941 and gained popularity from the American GIs serving in World War II. The delicious confection was packed in a tube and served with their food rations. M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies were sold in the military as a neat, convenient snack that traveled well in any climate. By the late 1940s, M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies became widely available to the public and the reception was excellent. As America entered the 1950s, M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies became a household name, particularly with the growth of television. In 1954, M&M’S ® Peanut Chocolate Candies were introduced and the sales of both varieties continued to grow. That same year the universally loved M&M’S ® Brand Characters and the famous slogan, â€Å"The Milk Chocolate Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand ®,† debuted in the brand’s initial TV advertising. The popularity of M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies continued throughout the 1960s and 1970s as the brand firmly established itself as an icon of American culture. Even with decades of phenomenal success behind it, Mars North America never forgot that quality and consumer satisfaction were paramount. M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies have continued to be a part of recent American history. In 1982, M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies were the first candy chosen by space shuttle astronauts to be included in their food supply. M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies are now on permanent display at the space food exhibit of the National Air & Space Museum in Washington, D. C. In 1984, M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies supported international athletes as the Official Snack of the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. The 1990s brought two new products to the M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies family. In 1990, the company began selling M&M’S ® Peanut Butter Candies. M&M’S ® Almond Chocolate Candies, first introduced as a seasonal product in 1988, went national in 1992. For many years, M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies have offered a variety of vivid seasonal blends to highlight the holidays, including Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween. In 1995, consumers across the country became a part of M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies history by voting the addition of a new color to the mix. Americans chose between pink, purple, blue or no change. An astounding 10,234,142 votes later, the color blue won by a landslide and appeared in packages everywhere in September of that year. The year 1996 will be remembered as the year M&M’S ® lovers began to customize their color combinations with 21 colors in special dispensers located in selected specialty stores across the country. In 2005, MY M&M’S ® launched as a personalized printing option online at mymms. com, providing consumers the opportunity to print custom messages on a selection of 22 different colored M&M’S ® to celebrate everyday occasions. The historic moment in 1997 was the debut of Ms. Green, the first femM&M’S ® Character. Ms. Green has starred in a number of commercials with the popular Emmy Award-winning comedian Dennis Miller. A multi-faceted motivational speaker and author, Green was on tour promoting her autobiography, I Melt For No One, and has quickly achieved the celebrity status of her male live-action colleagues – Red, Yellow and Blue M&M’S ® Characters. In 1998, the M&M’S ® Brand Spokescandies declared themselves the â€Å"Official Candy of the New Millenniumâ„ ¢. † Since MM means 2000 in Roman Numerals, M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies was the only candy brand that could make that connection, leveraging the Millennium fever for all it as worth. Another major milestone for the M&M’S ® Brand occurred in early January 1999 with the national introduction of M&M’S ® Crispy Chocolate Candies, a crispy rice center surrounded by milk chocolate and covered with a chocolate candy shell. At the same time, the M&M’S ® Crispy Character made his debut for the 1999 Super Bowl. Crispy, the neurotic, orange Character, starred in seven different television spots featuring famous celebrities Halle Berry, Diedrich Bader and Patrick Warburton. In June of 2000, Red, the famous M&M’S ® Spokescandy, had a celebration of his own. After years of trying, Red finally convinced the company he didn’t want to be called â€Å"Plain,† anymore. As a result, the No. 1 candy brand in the world is now known as M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate. M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies, its tagline now said, have the â€Å"Same Great Taste, Much Better Name. † In 2002, M&M’S ® asked the world, â€Å"What color would you choose? † in the first-ever GLOBAL COLOR VOTEâ„ ¢. The GLOBAL COLOR VOTEâ„ ¢ marked the largest promotion ever in the 61-year history of M&M’S ®. Voters in more than 200 countries voted on which color – pink, purple or aqua – would join the famous M&M’S ® mix. Voters hailed from all ends of the Earth. Approximately 10 million votes were cast and purple was crowned the winning color. In 2004, the M&M’S ® Brand experienced a color disruption where all M&M’S ® turned black and white. The company launched the Great Color Quest contest, which led consumers to collect black and white M&M’S ® bags. Six bags featuring all the colors were scattered across the country waiting to be found. Eventually the colors returned with a larger signature â€Å"m† on each candy and a new blend of color for a brighter mix. The year 2006 marked the permanent introduction of M&M’S ® Dark. The brand declared â€Å"Dark Just Got Fun† by having the spokescandy Red appear in famous art masterpieces. Red first appeared playing hopscotch on Edvard Munch’s famous existential masterpiece, â€Å"The Scream,† which had been stolen from the Oslo Museum one year earlier in a highly publicized international art theft. The brand announced a reward of 2 million dark chocolate M&M’S ® for the recovery. Just days after the announcement, the painting was found by Norwegian police, which begged the questions, â€Å"Was it the M&M’S ®? † In 2007, M&M’S ® revealed â€Å"Lady Liberty’s† fun side with a 50-foot statue in New York Harbor. The smiling statue kicked off a new campaign encouraging all Americans to find their Inner M&M (or fun side) inside of them at mms. com. The M&M’S ® Brand has represented superior quality and enjoyment to consumers since Mr. Frank C. Mars founded the brand in 1940. The appeal of M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies is universal, crossing age, gender and national boundaries and bringing colorful chocolate fun to everyone. On Valentine’s Day 2008, Ms. Green fanned the flames on decades of speculation that The Green Ones hold special aphrodisiac powers. The brand celebrated the myths, rumors and innuendo surrounding The Green Ones by displaying limited-edition all-green M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies amidst the holiday’s traditional sea of red and pink. Packages of the candies included the following disclaimer: â€Å"Consumption of The Green Ones ® may result in elevated Romance Levels. If you experience this effect, contact your Significant Other immediately. † An online campaign encouraged American fans to interact and show their support for Ms. Green in her quest to make green the new color of love. Later in 2008, M&M’S ® introduced a fun new way to experience premium chocolate through the introduction of M&M’S ® Premiums – from the shimmering gem-like way the chocolate candy looked to the variety of exotic tastes, M&M’S ® Premiums redefined the premium chocolate experience. Today, there are more than nine permanent varieties of M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies, and then Seasonal Candies made for special occasions including Easter, Halloween and Valentine’s Day. Customers seem to be most passionate about the color found in each bag of M&M’S ® Chocolate Candies. Existing product lines include: M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies, M&M’S ® Dark Chocolate Candies, M&M’S ® Premiums, M&M’S ® Peanut Chocolate Candies, M&M’S ® Dark Chocolate Peanut Candies, M&M’S ® Almond Chocolate Candies, M&M’S ® Peanut Butter Chocolate Candies, M&M’ ®Chocolate Mini Baking Bits, MY M&M’S ® Milk Chocolate Candies, and M&M’S ® MINIS ® Milk Chocolate Candies. SNICKERS The SNICKERS ® Bar was first introduced to the public in 1930. The SNICKERS ® name came from a favorite horse of the Mars family. SNICKERS ® Bar is made of peanut butter nougat topped with caramel and roasted peanuts and covered with milk chocolate. The peanuts are crisp-textured special grade, which have great flavor and stay fresh. From 1933 to 1935, SNICKERS ® Bar was a two-piece bar and was called â€Å"Double SNICKERS. † In 1936, the bar returned to a single format. During the next 50 years, the SNICKERS ® Bar evolved into various sizes. In 1953, handy Snickers six-packs were created for in-home consumption. In 1979, â€Å"Fun-Size† SNICKERS ® Bars hit candy shelves nationwide. In 1990, the introduction of bite-size SNICKERS ® â€Å"Miniatures† proved satisfying to even the slightest of appetites. In 1984, SNICKERS ® Bar became the Official Snack Food sponsor of the Olympics in Los Angeles. SNICKERS ® Brand launched its first ice cream product, the SNICKERS ® Ice Cream Cone, during National Ice Cream Month in July 1994. The SNICKERS ® Ice Cream Bar was introduced two years later in 1996. SNICKERS ® Bar is currently the number-one-selling candy bar in the United States and is consistently named as the â€Å"Favorite Candy Brand† across all age groups in the U. S. SNICKERS ® is sold in more than 70 countries around the world. In 2002, the UK Mars bar was reformulated and repackaged. This made it sell for more money. The nougat was made lighter, the chocolate on top became thinner, and the overall weight of the bar was reduced slightly. This was met with outrage from Mars purists, as in a sales pitch to local media in Slough, the change in ingredients was to follow the trend of its sister the Milky Way bar and 5 Star bars. Product designers at The Mars Candy Company in the US put this down to nostalgia over the past hugely popular  Starbar, which also contained the same reinvented ‘light whipped nougatine. The packaging was also redesigned with a less-bold and a more cursive logo. The slogan â€Å"Pleasure you can't measure†, was intended to appeal to a more feminine, youthful market. M&Ms Chocolate Candies were first sold in the year 1941. The candies were consumed by World War II soldiers, as the candies were an easily packaged energy snack. Forrest Mars Sr. invented the M&Ms recipe after witnessing soldiers from the Spanish Civil War â€Å"eati ng pellets of chocolate encased in a hard sugary coating† (Mars Incorporated, 2008). These candies were easy to take along, as they id not melt easily. M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies were very popular in the 1940s and 50s. Mars introduced M&Ms Peanut Chocolate Candies in 1954, along with the characters and slogan, â€Å"The milk chocolate melts in your mouth—not in your hand†Ã‚ ®. The original candies were chocolate colored, with red, yellow and green introduced in 1960, and orange in 1976. In 2000, the name â€Å"M&Ms Plain Chocolate Candies† was changed to â€Å"M&Ms Milk Chocolate Candies†. Mars's purchase of Doane Petcare Company in June 2007 significantly increased its position in the U. S. dry pet food category. In addition to these businesses, Mars also operates a chain of premium chocolate shops across the United States called Ethel's. These shops are an outgrowth of the Ethel M premium chocolate business that Forrest Mars started in Las Vegas in 1980 when he became bored with retirement. On April 28, 2008, Mars, Incorporated, together with  Berkshire Hathaway Incorporated, announced the buyout of  Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company, the world's largest chewing gum producer, for $23 billion in an all-cash deal. The two companies together are expected to generate sales in excess of $27 billion. The company spent more than $1. 8 million on lobbying during 2008, almost all of it at  Patton Boggs, where it has long been one of the largest lobbying clients. Mars also spent $10,000 atSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. In 2009, Mars also hired  Ernst & Young  to lobby on corporate and international tax issues, including issues related to tax changes proposed by the Obama administration. The company spent another $1,655,000 that year. Until sold in June 2006, a division of Mars known as  Mars Electronics International  produced, among other products, coin mechanisms such as those used in vending machines. MEI also manufactured  bill validators, which were among the most common bill validators found in the US. A further Mars business  Four Square   utilize those products formerly made at MEI in their vending machines. Four Square comprises the  Flavia  and  Klix  brands. Flavia  operates within the US, UK and Japanese markets, while  Klix  operates within UK, Germany and France. In 2007, Mars, Incorporated undertook a major rebranding operation which saw, among other global changes, Four Square being renamed to  Mars Drinks, the pet food division that is formerly part of Masterfoods being renamed to Mars Petfoods and Masterfoods itself (the largest division of Mars, Incorporated) being renamed to Mars Snacks. Mars has taken upon itself the responsibility of seeking to ensure that the company delivers mutual benefit to all with whom it interacts: associates, consumers, trade partners, our communities, and last but not least our planet. With a firm belief that the company’s actions should never be at the expense, economic or otherwise, of others with whom they work, Mars strongly believes that only success that is shared can be sustained and it is their goal to achieve this in all that they do. Mars firmly believes that contributing positively to the environment and local communities is critical to the way the company does business. This includes the company’s products, brands and operations. Mars formulates and implements its business plan with a full understanding of the fact that the company’s social, environmental and economic values and practices impact where Mars does business and how it operates, particularly given the scope and scale of the global environmental challenges. Mars also recognizes that their long-term economic growth is inter-linked with their ability to adhere to the definition of sustainability produced by the UN World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987 ; â€Å"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Mars’ commitment to sustainability builds on the company’s long-standing ethical commitment to the individual and the larger community. With the company’s fundamental belief being that the only lasting success is shared success, this means success across the social, economic and environmental spectrum. The Mars Scientific A dvisory Council (MSAC), established in 2007, extends the expertise and builds on the significant contributions of scientific advice provided through the Mars Nutrition Research Council which operated from 1998-2007. Composed of highly recognized researchers from all over the world and operating as an independent, external source of expert advice to Mars, Incorporated, the MSAC provides objective, expert scientific advice to Mars, Incorporated on advances, opportunities, and barriers to progress in human and animal health and nutrition research, plant sciences and sustainability, and in other areas of research relevant to the Company’s current and potential future product lines. A global leader among snackfood and food brands, Mars, Incorporated has a long history of marketing its products responsibly. Over the years Mars has adopted guidelines and policies for their advertising and marketing activities, reviewing and updating them periodically to reflect consumer feedback, new technologies, and the latest thinking by advertising self-regulatory bodies. The hallmark of Mars’ marketing commitments is their industry-leading policy to not advertise their snack and other food products to children under the age of 12. Mars also aims to promote the consumption of their products in the context of a healthy, active lifestyle and a balanced diet. 2. 4 The Macro Environment 2. 4. 1 Demographic forces This is attempted in terms of the consumers. The advertisements are aimed exclusively at the young and vigorous and almost exclusively at males. High income customers – it is estimated the age group buying the chocolates will be 22 onwards.. The customers are mostly urban, and are mostly professionals (engineers, doctors and executives. The psychographic profile: They can either be individuals indulging themselves, or they could be indulging their children. They are inner directed people who form their own values and norms and believe in not adhering blindly to social norms. They are somewhat occasion driven in their buying behaviour. Middle income customers – it is estimated that the age group in this segment will be 15 plus. The consumers can be urban, semi urban, and is currently spreading to rural areas. The psychographic profile: they are likely to be variety seeking in their behaviour. They are self expressing by nature and inner directed to an extent. They like to indulge themselves. Children – the upper age limit is estimated to be 12 years. They mostly purchase their chocolates with their pocket money. The consumers can be urban, semi urban, and rural, though their is a somewhat greater emphasis on urban. The psychographic profile: they are novelty seeking in behaviour but they are also fun loving. 2. 4. 2 Economic forces In August last year the price of cocoa was threatening to sky rocket as large swathes of the cocoa plantations in Papua New Guinea were infested by the Asian Moth. The region produces some 17% of the world’s cocoa. An infestation of a similar nature in Indonesia in 1998 caused some ? 13 million of damage. Mars were affected to such an extent that they sent out their own team to help eradicate the infestation. Mars are continuing to test a number of anti moth measures. (www. metro. co. uk 2006). The recent business decision to begin producing and using animal based rennet in the Mars bar has been disastrous. The resulting back lash from consumers in the Islamic faith, vegetarians and those with a strong social view on the use of rennet extracted from the lining of a calf’s stomach, has led to Mars making a U-turn on a business decision, apologising for its decision and giving an undertaking that they will return to producing a vegetarian product. Although this issue could be regarded as a social factor, it is in fact an issue of economics as Mars have identified the effect this decision would have on its sales (www. bbc. co. uk 2007). There has been a growth in the chocolate market, the majority of which has been with the high quality, high value products associated to some extent with the growth in disposable income across the developed world. The growth in the market has not necessarily had a positive effect on the sales of Mars due to the inexpensive and generic nature of the product. However, this nexpensive nature of the Mars Bar makes purchasing it an uncomplicated decision for consumers with no financial consequences that could lead the purchaser to regret making the original decision to purchase a Mars bar or to restrict the quantity or frequency of purchases. The largest markets for Mars are generally the more affluent and developed markets with little room for growth such as UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealan d. The emerging and developing markets of India and China with a combined population of nearly 2 Billion individuals is a virtually untapped market of consumers. These markets would require a unique marketing strategy as although it has great potential, the regions are not known as great consumers of chocolate. Although a US product it is not known if the markets in India and China would take to it. For many geographic areas of both countries there would be concerns about refrigeration and chocolate melting, which would limit sales areas to main cities, and maybe bigger stores. nevertheless with the present level of mutual trade and the world’s general love of all things western it may not be a cause for concern. . 4. 3 Natural forces The  natural environment  involves natural resources that are needed as inputs by marketers or that are affected by marketing activities. The green movement has encouraged and even demanded that firms produce strategies that are not only environmentally friendly but are also environmentally proactive. Firms are beginning to recognize the link between a healthy economy and a healthy environment. There are large quantities of waste associated with the production of chocolate which includes waste chocolate product. Over the last five years the Mars manufacturing plant in Australia has reduced the amount of waste it sends to landfill by 90%. For every 3000 tonnes of product produced every month, 220 tonnes of waste is produced. This is now fed to piglets. The animal waste is collected as fertilizer and the gases produced by the fermenting animal waste is burnt and used to generate electricity. These initiatives are reducing the costs to the business. However any positives are offset by the amount of waste that is being produced across the entire industry and at all the other Mars plants. Mars also worked to reduce the quantity of plastic in its packaging. The most recent issue that has affected the Mars bar has been the disastrous business decision to introduce the use of animal rennet as an ingredient in its chocolate the resulting backlash as discussed earlier not only from those with personal and lifestyle sensibilities but also from those with a social conscience with regard to the treatment of animals. This led to Master foods making a U turn on a business decision. The chocolate industry as a whole has been under a political and social spotlight as discussed earlier. Consumers are becoming more ethically aware and are questioning the practices of those associated with the production of cocoa. The industry was heavily criticised over the use of â€Å"child slave labour†. Master foods along with its two rivals Nestle and Cadbury do not perform well when examined for their ethical practices. Mars does not even feature on the league table of those products that are deemed ethical, although it’s fair to say that the ethical names on the list are not household names (www. ethiscore. org 2007). The Mars bar is not produced under a fair trade or ethical banner, thus depriving consumers of a choice. They have a choice – they can buy Green and Blacks, or do without! The market in ethical or fair-trade usually caters for the higher quality chocolates which are priced at a premium. With the continued affluent western lifestyle leading to chronic obesity and ill health there has been a drive to improve the nutritional value of food and to reduce the quantity of high fat and high sugar food groups such as chocolates in our diets. Some members of the health and nutrition lobby are looking for draconian steps to be taken against the chocolate manufacturers to reduce their influence upon diets in a similar way that steps were taken against the tobacco industry. The chocolate industry has received threats about the banning of advertisements aimed at children and at peak times and on children’s television channels. Pre-empting this, Mars has declared that they are moving away from targeting children with their product, a positive social action of their own (www. bbc. co. k 2007). Any reduction in the use of Cocoa will ultimately affect some 26 million people around the world who are reliant upon the chocolate industry, which includes some six million cocoa farmers (www. mars. com 2007). 2. 4. 4 Technological forces To improve cocoa production yields and to guarantee production levels for the future, Mars is investing in research to produce disease resistant cocoa trees to prevent such catastrophes such as t he introduction of the disease â€Å"Witches Broom† which decimated the cocoa industry in Brazil in the 1990’s. Should cocoa supplies be affected, the manufacturer with a guaranteed supply of good quality cocoa should corner the market at the expense of its competitors (www. mars. com 2007). 2. 4. 5 Political forces Should the lobbyists become successful in their campaigns to restrict advertising of chocolates or force changes to reduce fat and sugar content of chocolate, or to have health warnings placed upon labels then this may not be through a voluntary code but through the introduction of legislation. This may denigrate chocolate and make it as socially unacceptable as cigarettes, which may have a profound effect on sales. The safe production of chocolate and how it is presented for sale is governed at present by food safety and trading standards legislation, which is enacted by both national and European legislatures. Nestle and Master Foods with its main brand the Mars bar received criticism for sourcing it chocolate from the West African countries such as Ivory Coast where the cocoa trade is being used to fund conflict to the tune of ? 0 million a year. The Ivory Coast provides some 40% of the world’s cocoa, since 2002 it has been torn apart by civil war. The allegations are that the profit from cocoa has been directly siphoned into government funds and used to finance their conflict with the rebels. In addition the rebels extorted money directly from the industry trying to transport the cocoa through its region. Gentle pressure is being applied on Mars to identify how m uch of its product contains cocoa from the Ivory Coast and strive to become free from â€Å"Conflict Cocoa†. Independent News and Media Ltd 2007). Sustainability and fair trade with regard to cocoa has become a political â€Å"hot potato† with the manufacturers of the Mars bar being criticized for employing tactics that puts cocoa farmers into virtual slavery, forcing them to turn more of their land over to production of cocoa rather than traditional arable farming and then making entire communities reliant on the cocoa market. The power of the global corporation can then manipulate the price of cocoa, ultimately depriving the producer of a fair price for the raw ingredient. The close association of the Mars bar as a product of the United States may cause some with a dislike of all things American to boycott the product; however there does not seem to be any evidence that this has actually occurred. Due to the global use of the product and its association through manufacture and distribution with other countries like the UK, it does not lend itself to being an exclusive American product such as is for the Hershey Bar. In the UK as in other nations where the Mars Bar is manufactured, there is some influence on the processes involved in its production by the legislative requirements of the host nation or other bodies such as the European Union. These relate in the main to food safety and trading standards legislation relating to the safety and standards that the Mars bar must meet in order to be sold to the consumer. Lately this has being more influenced by legislation that relates to advertising, such as the advertising of the product to children. Due to the nature of free market economies, free markets and the established nature of the Mars Bar with its global distribution network it is not felt that the Mars bar is overly influenced by external political factors. 2. 4. 6 Cultural forces The  cultural environment  is made up of institutions and other forces that affect society’s basic values, perceptions, preferences, and behaviors. Certain cultural characteristics can affect marketing decision-making. There was a real team spirit at Mars Chocolate, with a huge number of talented people all sharing the same goal of building on our longstanding reputation or world class products. Throughout, they made sure there’s a business strategy in place that inspires, motivates, develops and engages. Working in a sustainable, ethical and people-focused way generates outstanding results and also produces high quality talent. Mars Chocolate has been a training ground for some of British industry’s most successful l eaders, from Justin King (now the Chief Executive of Sainsbury’s) to Allan Leighton (former Chairman of Royal Mail). Mars has books and football clubs, and as an addition to this, they have their own on-site wellness coordinator who helps associates to enjoy chocolate as part of a healthy active lifestyle with pilates classes, circuit training and sports clubs. 2. 5 Organization within the industry 2. 5. 1 Market Position Although there are different definitions of brand positioning, probably the most common is: identifying a market niche for a brand, product or service utilizing traditional marketing placement strategies. Mars Inc. Market Positioning is similar products on the state of competition in the target market for the customer of the products of certain characteristics or attributes importance for the enterprise products shaping strong, unique and distinctive personality and vivid delivery to the customer, to obtain customer identification. The market positioning of the essence of the enterprise and other enterprises strictly separate, so that customers clearly feel and recognize this difference, and thus occupies a special place in the minds of customers From the slogan for Mars, we can see two points: 1, Mars simply locate a business of chocolate, candy and pet food manufacturing-oriented enterprises; 2, Mars also hoping to start a new business. In fact, market positioning and product differentiation is closely related, but are essentially different. Market positioning is the creation of a distinct personality, their products and thus creates a unique market image. A product is a comprehensive reflection of a number of factors, including the performance, structure, composition, packaging, shape, quality, market position is to strengthen or enlarge certain products of factors to form a different unique image. Product differentiation is the real market positioning means, but does not and the whole of market positioning. Market position is not only emphasis on product differentiation through product differentiation, but also to establish a unique market image, and win customer recognition. [pic] Dove, Mars classic chocolate brand, MADE WITH 100% PURE COCOA BUTTER, DOVE Chocolate has an intoxicating scent, a glossy hue and a rich taste unsurpassed by other bars. Always silky smooth on the tongue with a complex flavor, each DOVE Chocolate product starts with only the best cacao beans, tested twice by expert Mars technicians for quality and flavor. The perfect combination of chocolate liquor and cocoa butter, DOVE has a balanced taste that is never too sweet or too bitter. Because DOVE cares about every detail of the chocolate making process; you are always assured of delicious, lingering chocolate flavor. Mars takes great care and maintains the highest standard of quality in manufacturing DOVE Chocolate from the bean to bar, coupled with its special roasting and grinding – resulting in the signature silky smooth signature taste of DOVE Chocolate. ( Dove Chocolate, 2011) Chocolate consumers are more fashion crowd, is an important part of this population living. Chocolate as a special kind of nutritious food, in people's daily lives, occupy a very important position. Therefore, the quality and taste of chocolate has become the first choice when consumers buy. Dove† is the brand consumers are very familiar with their products in the production of a blend of the base material with puffed cereal products, the LHV sugar body or fruit and vegetable products not only taste good, and its unit calorific value is lower 30% ~ 60%, and quality assured, I believe this is also easier to meet our target customer choice. To meet consumer demand for chocolate while also addressing the cons umers worry about health issues, this is the world's chocolate companies cannot compete with the Dove brand and could win about it. . 5. 2 Target markets Target market analysis: Industry Supportive & Unshakable Facts. For example drinks. (All information below attained from Slideshare, 2012) 2006 Sports Drink Industry Break Down †¢ $300 billion sales worldwide in 2005 †¢ Market increased 10% to 9. 71 million liters in 2005 †¢ North American accounted for roughly 49% consumption in 2005 †¢ Asia Pacific region accounted for a 38% share in global consumption in 2005 †¢ Japan ranked second to the U. S. t terms for per capita consumption, but China is assumed to overtake Japan as Asia Pacific’s leading consumer by volume in year 2010 †¢ 2003, Germany was the leading market for sports drinks in Western Europe follow by Italy then the U. K. This is only the Drink example and except other products to analyze the Mars share in the global world. Market Met rics Global functional drink volume (millions of liters) CATEGORY 2006 FORECAST 2011 SPORTS DRINKS 9,870. 6 13,301. 70 ENERGY DRINKS 2,429. 4 3,534. 10 ELIXRS 320. 7 366. 10 TOTAL 12,620. 7 17,201. 9 (Source: Eouromonitor International. 2007) Demographics The characteristics of this section are very crucial to properly segment the market and determine where these traits fall in a SWOT analysis. Furthermore, the following information breaks down the market. Psychographics †¢ Physical Activity †¢ Healthy Products †¢ Modern Supplement †¢ Relevant Merchandise †¢ Athletes: Age from 5 to 50 Jr. High High School Collegiate Minor League Professional Hobby So from the target market there are two factors: 1) the company’s goal and resources; 2) the marketing strategies power and segment. The Mars has the resources more another competitors and each of every product have complete Marketing strategies and plan. That is why Mars Company can be the top5 in the Food’s Market in the worldwide. 2. 5. 3 The Marketing Mix (4P’s) 4P’s: The marketer, E. Jerome McCarthy, proposed a four Ps classification in 1960, which has since been used by marketers throughout the world. †¢ Product – A product is seen as an item that satisfies what a consumer needs or wants. It is a tangible good or an intangible service. Intangible products are service based like the tourism industry, the hotel industry and the financial industry. Tangible products are those that have an independent physical existence. Typical examples of mass-produced, tangible objects are the motor car and the disposable razor. A less obvious but ubiquitous mass produced service is a computer operating system †¢ Price – The price is the amount a customer pays for the product. The price is very important as it determines the company's profit and hence, survival. Adjusting the price has a profound impact on the marketing strategy, and depending on the price elasticity of the product, often it will affect the demand and sales as well. The marketer should set a price that complements the other elements of the marketing mix. †¢ Promotion – represents all of the methods of communication that a marketer may use to provide information to different parties about the product. Promotion comprises elements such as: advertising, public relations, personal selling and sales promotion. †¢ Place – refers to providing the product at a place which is convenient for consumers to access. Place is synonymous with distribution. Various strategies such as intensive distribution, selective distribution, exclusive distribution and franchising can be used by the marketer to complement the other aspects of the marketing mix. 2. 5. 3. 1 Product Most of the products are popular and famous, Dove and M&M’s has big market share in the global and impact of in the world. 2. 5. 3. 2 Price Mars price: the terminal operator to brand building as the ultimate goal. In the context of today's terminal winning times, product positioning is based on market demand, the Chinese market, for example, the MARS's major brands are both market and customer needs the road. For example: in the Dooyoo website we can easy find the price about the MARS products, all the price are at 5$~10$, the pricing strategies help Mars to be more positive in the competitions. [pic] Compare the different marketing, the price are follow the customers and the market, to position the price there are two big part to consider, the internal and external environmental, to think the outside factors the cultural, income, political, education ect. And the inside factors is the product’s self, the quality and packaging. That is all about the Mars Inc. . 5. 3. 3 Promotion Mars Chocolate North America launched several retailer promotions, Promotions and sponsorships include: 1. Consumers and retailers will score big this season when Mars Brands and the NFL team up for the 2012 Super Bowl sweepstakes and instant-win game â€Å"Celebrate on the Field. † Consumers will have the chance to win one of 5,000 instant-win prizes a day from December 19, 2011, to February 5, 2012 . 2. In January, Mars will showcase a â€Å"Take Your Peanut Butter Pick† cross-brand event featuring flavours from M&M's, Snickers and Twix Brands. The Mixed Singles Shipper and Mixed Singles Counter Unit will encourage consumers to taste a variety of Mars brands. 3. Mars Chocolate North America is shifting its NASCAR sponsorship into high gear with a full year of M's Makes Race Day More Fun, giving M&M's brand fans numerous opportunities to connect with the brand from January to November. 4. The sweepstakes promotion â€Å"When We Win, You Win! † engages NASCAR fans by linking the victorious performance of the M's Racing Team with chances to win great prizes, including new cars and instant-win prizes, from January to November. . Marathon brand will be the Official Energy Bar for the 2012 Rock ‘n' Roll Marathon Race Series, gaining brand exposure at 25 race events, reaching more than two million consumers. 6. Mras created a website as http://www. realchocolate. com in this website Mars claim that it’s the only company that use real cocoa butter not vegetable oil. In this website consumers can read about the h istory and processing of chocolate and if they register in website they can receive a free chocolate. It’s a great point that Mars said in this website that: For nearly 100 years, Mars Chocolate North America has been committed to producing  real chocolate. Mars Chocolate North America defines real chocolate as chocolate produced with cocoa butter per the U. S. Standards. The illustrated processing showed as below: [pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic][pic] 1. Cacao Tree 2. Cacao Pod 3. Raw Cacao Beans 4. Cacao Beans Drying 5. Cacao Beans 6. Fermentation 7. Cacao Powder 8. Chocolate Liquor 7. US confectionery giant  Mars  has launched a ‘Chocolate Relief' campaign in a bid to bring â€Å"sweet smiles† to millions of Americans. The Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act will offer consumers full-sized samples of Mars chocolate, product discounts and coupons along with ‘Free Chocolate Fridays'. Throughout September 2011, Mars gave away around seven million full-size packages of its M&M's, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Dove, and 3 Musketeers chocolates in the US. Mars gave away a quarter-of-a- million full-size packages of ‘real' chocolate on Free Chocolate Fridays. US consumers can claim one of 250,000 full-value coupons each Friday from 8 May by visiting realchocolate. com. â€Å"Brands like M&M's, Snickers, Dove Chocolate, Twix, Milky Way and 3 Musketeers are loved by Americans,† said Michele Kessler, vice president, Mars Snackfood US. â€Å"That's why we've created the Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act. It's our way of giving Americans a small treat during challenging times. † (Aroq, 2012). 2. 5. 3. 4 Place As an example the distribution channels of china was discovered to have a big picture from the whole place policy in Mars Corporation. Mars has a unique approach to China it sells directly to the retailers without benefit of a joint venture or any other type of on-site business. M are sold directly to consumers in China through two different distribution channels: the China National Duty Free Import Corporation for its airport duty-free shops and, more significantly, key local wholesalers for distribution to neighborhood stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. East Asiatic Company (of Hong Kong) has successfully developed a way to distribute the well-known U. S. chocolate product in the city. In the normal distribution system, retailers are used to having to go calling on the wholesaler to try and obtain the product and then figure out a way to transport it to the store. East Asiatic has turned this old practice on its head: M wholesalers sell and transport their goods directly to the retailers. East Asiatic, a Hong Kong-based company has a distribution agreement with Mars for M candies in China. The candies are brought into Shanghai by the container-load from the U. S. or Australia or in smaller shipments via Hong Kong. East Asiatic then sells the chocolates to wholesalers/distributors in Shanghai. The wholesaler has five vans that deliver M throughout Shanghai, either to sub-wholesalers or retail outlets. The Hong Kong agent also has a van in the city. Painted with M advertisements, the vehicle serves as both an advertising and distribution medium. Choosing the right wholesalers and monitoring them closely are very important to the distribution effort's success. Besides having a warehouse for storing M&Ms properly, wholesalers must be committed to making frequent deliveries so that retail outlets receive fresh stock regularly. If a store has a quick turnover, a wholesaler should visit it once or twice a week; if turnover is slower, visits may occur every 1 0 to 14 days. The company works with wholesalers to select sub-wholesalers and hires salespeople directly by running advertisements in Shanghai newspapers. The sales team visits retail outlets regularly to check displays, advertising, and inventory needs. It encourages store managers to put up M&M fliers and sometimes conducts taste tests or other promotions, like giving away trial packages of Skittles (another Mars candy) or balloons decorated with the M&M logo. Salespeople benefit from successful promotion work by earning performance bonuses in addition to their straight salary. The Hong Kong Company informally oversees and coordinates the entire distribution process-from wholesalers to sub-wholesalers to sales staff to retail outlets. It teaches all levels to sell M&Ms into the market, instead of waiting for the market to come to them, as is the traditional practice in China. Coordination is handled by the company's representative office in Shanghai, with personnel in Hong Kong visiting from time to time in order to deal with specific issues. To select the proper retail outlets, East Asiatic set out a list of criteria and commissioned a Hong Kong market research firm that had connections with a Shanghai research firm to help identify stores in selected sales districts. At present, the distribution effort primarily targets state-run stores. Payment terms normally require settlement within one to two weeks after delivery. The Hong Kong agent sells through some private entrepreneurs in Shanghai even though they are somewhat less credit-worthy than state stores, and hopes to expand this network gradually. The company's Shanghai distribution system went into effect in late 1989 and M&Ms are now widely available-both in large outlets and in roadside shops decorated with M&M fliers. A similar system went into effect in Beijing in 1991, boosted by a major advertising campaign in connection with the 1990 Asian Games. The firm also distributes M&Ms in Guangzhou, although the network there is not as developed. Other points in China are covered via these three cities. A major issue for the company has been a fight to protect its trademark rights. Other than that, customers seem to like the chocolate (Shanghainese in particular have a taste for Western sweets), even though domestically-produced chocolate is one-fifth the price of the import (Ernst R. 2008). In Malaysia Mars focused on chain supermarkets and malls and mega malls, they use these channels as high potential channels and send the products to the end user and although its risky that consumer has a lot of other choice from mars competitors, but because high brand awareness and cheaper marketing strategy they use this strategy for Malaysia. 2. 6 The strength and weaknesses of the Brand SWOT Analysis A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such an analysis of the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis (wiliams, 2008). The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. As such, it is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. The below diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into an environmental scan: Framework Environmental Scanning | | | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | | |Internal Analysis  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  External Analysis | | | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   | | | |Strengths  Ã‚  Ã‚  Weaknesses  Ã‚  Ã‚   | |  Ã‚  Ã‚  Opportunities  Ã‚  Ã‚  Threats | | | | | | | | | | | SWOT asks qu estions in these four areas and try to answer them to have a big picture of company. 2. 6. 1Strengths: 1. Strong demand for confectionery: the market has grown consistently at around 5% every year for the last four years. So it will bring bloom to the confectionery market. People tend to use computers and video games or all in all they use their brain more. Glucose is like the fuel for brain and chocolate is a relevant solution. People use chocolate more recently and it’s a power point for chocolate industries like mars. In Malaysia people like to eat sweat foods and snacks and even in some of their food they use sugar, Malaysia is a potential market for chocolate. Mars chocolates nearly can be seen in all malls and supermarkets in Malaysia. (Edward, 2012). 2. Good brand position and quality which is consumer favourites and High brand awareness. Mars is well-known among sportspeople that they use it as energetic meal and is well-known among children and families. The quality of products is elevated and its brand position is high. People know it as a famous and high standard brand. 3. Strong partnerships with retailers. That’s why we can see mars products in the majority of supermarkets and malls in Malaysia and all over the world. [pic] 4. Price kept that it should be in the range of every one purchase. It’s a qualified brand with huge name but the price policy was designed in a way that different layers of society can buy and use it (Gudehus, 2009). 5. Stores are available in almost every market. Mars offers chocolate stores that are kind of brand shops in different countries that are powerful ways for connecting with concentration with customers. In Malaysia it’s not very common that is not under mars marketing strategies, but mars focus on huge malls, supermarkets and chain supermarkets like 101 and seven eleven. 6. More emphasis on sales promotion like surprise gifts and scheme cards. 7. Memorable Slogans. Like on to Unimaginable Heights, Go for the Max! , Mars is Waiting†¦ (mars society, 2009). 8. Creative and simple advertising. That some of them are designed deeply for motivating people psychologically. 9. High Consumer Loyalty. Because nearly all children like chocolates and human pleasurable memories can be hardly forgotten. The image of brand, its taste and good memory of it is recorded in human’s deep conscious mind and people are loyal to what they like and admire. [pic] 10. Leader in UK, Japan and South Africa. Being leader in Asian, European and African context show the multicultural and international face of brand that different races and culture like the taste of products. 11. Innovative chocolate producers. 12. High advertising budget. Because the company is really marketing oriented and work with modern strategies. 13. Great packaging. Designs of packaging have influential effects on consumers and motivate them to buy the products. 14. Sponsors global football teams like England football team that is a great sign for remembering and memorizing Mars brand. 15. Mars Chocolate North America is the North American chocolate operations of Mars Inc. Based in McLean, Va. Mars has net sales of more than $30 billion and six business segments including Petcare, Chocolate, Wrigley, Food, Drinks and Symbioscience. 2. Weaknesses: 1. Mars products causes health problems for consumers. Cocoa contains fairly high levels of the mineral copper, and too much copper can inhibit certain chemical processes in the body and lead to several kinds of health problems (burger, 2008). Dark chocolate contains the three elements of cocoa liquor or cocoa mass (cocoa cake), cocoa butter, and sugar. Cocoa butter is a fat that is found naturally in cocoa beans (burger, 2008). These elements according to medical research produce different kind of health problems if use to extreme. It’s a weakness for Mars that chocolate products are not really under healthy products. 2. Dental problems by consuming Mars products. Dental problems are very expensive to cure. People have some phobias to eat chocolate like obesity, teeth problems and other health problems; it can be a weakness point for mars that their products produce certain problems in future for consumers and specially children. Causing pain and expense for consumers is not a good point for mars. 3. Mars has many different products in which it has to promote. Having different products show the product orientation in the company, but the problem is the variety of products that need to promote and develop and it cause too much expenditure for the company and can reduce the benefits. Mars brands include Chocolate: M's, Snickers, Dove, Galaxy, Mars, Milky Way and Twix; Petcare: Pedigree, Whiskas, Sheba, Cesar and Royal Canin; Wrigley – Orbit, Extra, Starburst, Doublemint and Skittles; Food: Uncle Ben's, Dolmio, Ebly, Masterfoods and Seeds of Change; Drinks: Alterra Coffee Roasters, The Bright Tea Co. , Klix and Flavia; and Symbioscience: Seramis, Cirku and Cocoavia. 4. M is the number one selling candy in the chocolate market; however this product steals most of the promotion and advertising money and it’s not really a balanced strategy. 5. Milky Way has a low sales percentage of Mars domestic market share Because of constantly changing campaigns, people are not aware of Milky Way’s positioning in the market. 6. Mars incorporated are not present online. According to the electronic era and the tendency of market to choose new technology for business exchange among nearly the majority of society, its weakness for Mars incorporated that they are not present online. Finding information about this company and its product on the net is not very convenient. 7. Bad communication, Low market share, Weak management team are other weaknesses of Mars in the world market. 2. 6. 3 Opportunities: 1. Universal demographic development and change is a continuous growth of the world population is an advantage for Mars because more products would be eaten by consumers. People have more tendency to eat candy, chocolate and fast foods in this era. 2. Having more focus on small countries, increasing personal relation even to villages. Heading to huge market share that is waiting for this brand, because in the entire world we can find children and families who are interested in the taste of chocolate and candy. 3. Increase the product range as Jellies, Toffees, Bars, Lollipops, Gums, Unsweetened baked chocolates for garnishing. Same content and in different forms can increase the market share. 4. 1% of households consume chocolate candy. Just mars need to remind them using chocolate regularly. Mars products are so familiar in the mind of people and if you offer people Mars products they won’t reject it. They only need

Foreign Market Entry Strategies Essay Essays

Foreign Market Entry Strategies Essay Essays Foreign Market Entry Strategies Essay Essay Foreign Market Entry Strategies Essay Essay When an organisation has made a determination to come in an abroad market. there are a assortment of options open to it. These options vary with cost. hazard and the grade of control which can be exercised over them. The simplest signifier of entry scheme is exporting utilizing either a direct or indirect method such as an agent. in the instance of the former. or countertrade. in the instance of the latter. More complex signifiers include foreign direct investings which may affect joint ventures. or export processing zones. Having decided on the signifier of export scheme. determinations have to be made on the specific channels. : Many agricultural merchandises of a natural or trade good nature usage agents. distributers or affect Government. whereas processed stuffs. whilst non excepting these. rely more to a great extent on more sophisticated signifiers of entree. These are discussed in this paper. The three chief ways are by direct or indirect export or production in a foreign state. Exporting Exporting is the most traditional and good established signifier of operating in foreign markets. Exporting can be defined as the selling of goods produced in one state into another. Whilst no direct fabrication is required in an abroad state. important investings in marketing are required. The inclination may be non to obtain as much elaborate selling information as compared to fabrication in marketing state ; nevertheless. this does non contradict the demand for a elaborate selling scheme. Here the fabrication is home based therefore. it is less hazardous than overseas based. Besides giving an chance to â€Å"learn† abroad markets before puting in bricks and howitzer. it besides reduces the possible hazards of operating overseas. Exporting methods include direct or indirect export. In direct exporting the organisation may utilize an agent. distributer. or abroad subordinate. or act via a Government bureau. The disadvantage is chiefly that one can be at the â€Å"mercy† of abroad agents and so the deficiency of control has to be weighed against the advantages. For illustration. in the exportation of African horticultural merchandises. the agents and Dutch flower auctions are in a place to order to manufacturers. Harmonizing to Collett3 ( 1991 ) exporting requires a partnership between exporter. importer. authorities and conveyance. Without these four coordinating activities the hazard of failure is increased. Contracts between purchaser and marketer are a must. Forwarders and agents can play a critical function in the logistics processs such as booking air infinite and set uping certification. Foreign direct investing Besides exporting. other market entry schemes include licencing. joint ventures. contract industry. ownership and engagement in export processing zones or free trade zones. Licensing: Licensing is defined as â€Å"the method of foreign operation whereby a house in one state agrees to allow a company in another state to utilize the fabrication. processing. hallmark. know-how or some other accomplishment provided by the licensor† . It is rather similar to the â€Å"franchise† operation. Coca Cola is an first-class illustration of licensing. In Zimbabwe. United Bottlers have the license to do Coke. Licensing involves small disbursal and engagement. The lone cost is subscribing the understanding and patroling its execution.

My Memories of Roger

My Memories of Roger Free Online Research Papers If you were to imagine the ideal, no, perfect best friend, then that would be Roger. He was amazing. You would be lucky to have a brief chat with him, even though he didn’t usually say much, or even meet him; then again he stayed in the house most of the time. Don’t get me wrong, I know I seem very chipper but I do miss him everyday. You have no idea. Even if you have lost someone close to you I still don’t think it could compare to the loss of Roger. We had a bond like no other. We were like peanut butter and jelly, you know? It was just one of those things that you know has to stay together. I remember this one time when my family and I took Roger on vacation with us up to our cottage in Espanola. We got up there and during the ride Roger didn’t look so good. I think he was a little motion sick; too much rocking. Well we got all settled in and I was so tuckered out from the car ride up that I went into an â€Å"instant coma† just as soon as I hit the pillow, so I didn’t really see Roger till morning. I went into the kitchen and I was going to get food for Roger and me, but my mom told me that Roger ate while I was still comatose. Later on in the day, I decided to go for a swim down at the beach, so obviously Roger came with me. We were inseparable remember? Well, then came one of the scariest moments of my life. Roger was always a strong swimmer. Way stronger than I was or ever could be. So, I lost him. He had decided to go for a long swim to a far off little island or something. Just as I was screaming for my mom I saw him and let out a sigh of relief. Even though this isn’t the happiest moment I have of Roger, it is definitely one of the strongest. I haven’t really been able to talk to anyone about what I’ve been dealing with since the loss of Roger. Everyone thinks I just need to let it go by and start anew with a new best friend. I’m just glad I can finally vent my feeling to someone. Keeping all those emotions pent up was not good for me at all. I just can’t really believe he’s actually gone, I guess it hasn’t really hit me yet. Well, I know he’s gone; it’s just that the sadness of the situation hasn’t come to me. I just miss him like crazy! I miss everything about him, his personality, sitting around just talking to him and him listening to every word, even though he was constantly moving. Even his childish habits are something I miss; I grew out of blowing bubbles but I guess he just never did. If you can hear me Roger, I just want you to know that our friendship meant the world to me and I hope it meant just as much to you. I know that some days will be hard to cope with and other days might go by smoother than others but that doesn’t mean I won’t be thinking of you. I might even meet new people and make new friends but they will never replace you. I won’t let them and they would never measure up. I’ll never forget you, Roger. You were my best friend. I’m so glad my parents decided to get me a fish instead of a dog. Research Papers on My Memories of RogerPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayThe Hockey GameLifes What IfsHip-Hop is ArtCapital PunishmentThe Spring and Autumn19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through Deception

Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Devil's Knot by Mara Leveritt - Essay Example hin the book entitled â€Å"Devil Knot: The True Story of the West Memphis Three.† In the first half of the book, readers are given an in depth look at Jesse Miskelley’s trial specifically, and from the evidence provided, the verdict returned by the jury does not appear to be correct. Although some elements of the crime remain shrouded in mystery, there are certain aspects that all parties regard as factual. The murders of three eight year old boys—Christopher Byers, Michael Moore, and Stevie Branch—occurred on May 5, 1993(Leveritt, 6). The details of the crime were particularly gruesome as the boys were found naked, beaten, hogtied with shoelaces, and floating in a bank within the Robin Hood Hills(Leveritt, 11-12). One of the boys was missing parts of their genitals, and it appeared that the primary cause of death was drowning. The murder shocked the close-knit, largely religious community, and there was a lot of pressure on the local police to find the murderers as quickly as possible. After a few leads that did not go very far, the police began to focus on the idea of a gang or cult perhaps having committed or been involved with the murder. This idea quickly took shape due to the disturbing nature of the crime. Additionally, in 1993, there was a certain kind of satanic panic spreading across the United States. Leveritt states, â€Å"By the late 1980s, interest in the suspected prevalence of satanic ritual abuse, or SRA, as it became known, had grown so intense in the United States†(Leveritt, 44). Basically, anyone who dressed in black, listened to heavy metal music, or was in any other way an outsider, was seen as someone who could potentially be involved with satanism. Ultimately, it was a combination of the crime and the satanic panic that pointed the police in the direction of three teenagers: Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin, and Jesse Miskelley. Although these boys were initially suspected due to their odd behavior and dress, there was not really

Personal Statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 26

Personal Statement Example It was about abortion. I have to say that my friend was not married, and her boyfriend, quickly packed up and did not forget to turn off the phone, when he heard the glad tidings. However, my friend was worrying about him in last term. Much more struck to her was mother’s answer. By the way, her mother, though being rich women, is extremely overbearing and often rigid; she is also a fanatical opponent of relationships before marriage. Accordingly, my friend, relying for the support and understanding, alienated upon the stumbled recommendation of an abortion. She was not able to make this decision alone, so she asked to help her. I tried to ignore the personalities and analyse the situation regardless of the identity. The first thing I thought about was the financial side of the issue - not in term of operation, but in term of maintenance of the child. It could be a bit difficult, but possible. By myself I know that people rarely can not give up anything in their life, when it comes to higher-priority things. For example, my friend will have to forget for a while about a career and reduce her considerable demands, what in my opinion is not the most terrible tragedy. By the way, her mother, likely, was shocked by such a confession too, but, as the further story would show, it was not her final decision. In addition, if the issue of abortion is discussed, it emphasizes that my friend ranges between what she wants minutely (to solve all problems at one moment), and the voice of the woman’s instincts and heart. So, if she make the correct choice, the child would not be unnecessary. Here I should say that I am almost a principled opponent of abortion, but rarely prevent people from breaking their own lives, believing that everyone has to go through their own mistakes. Especially, if a particular person is sacred sure that his opinion is the only true one. I should say that both of