Sunday, January 26, 2020

Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Marketing Essay

Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix Marketing Essay A product can be seen as what is offered to consumers as an end result after the manufacturing process to satisfy a want or need. A product is not only tangible but may be a service. The consumer product Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake Mix can be seen as a shopping product and is purchased when needed for example a birthday party. This product is seen as an easily made because it allows consumers to buy the cake mix already made and only requires four simple steps to complete the cake. This cake mix is 543 grams which serves 12 people so it may be convenient for small occasions. Betty Crocker cake mix is an Australian product made by Australian and imported ingredients and is distributed by General Mills. The ingredients that are used to make this cake mix is Sugar, wheat flour, vegetable oil, cocoa, raising agents, dextrose, thickeners, wheat, starch, emulsifier, whey powder, salt and it contains wheat, soy and milk. There are many variety of flavours that are available that incl ude chocolate fudge vanilla, chocolate mud, devil food, chocolate swirl, vanilla, milk chocolate chunk and reduced fat chocolate fudge. The primary packaging that contains this product is a cardboard box that is 95% percent recycled and the colours used on it are mostly red and yellow which stood out from most of the other brands on the shelf. The cake mix before opened may be kept until a year and after making the cake can be stored up to three days or can kept in a freezer for three weeks. Betty Crocker offers other products within its product line such as cupcakes, brownies, cookies, shakers and muffins. Betty Crocker has many other products within its product mix as well such as fruit snacks, potatoes, salads, gold medal flour, cereal products and yogurt. The branding of Betty Crocker includes a symbol which is a red spoon that has the brand name Betty Crocker written in it. The red spoon is Betty Crockers guarantee of quality, great taste and convenience. This brand is trademar ked due to the  ® shown after the brand name Betty Crocker. The labeling of this product includes mostly everything that is required such as the registered trade mark, the size of the package, nutritional features, number of servings, instructions on how to make the cake, the expire date, and the name, address the phone number of the distributor. Price is known as the exchange value a consumer gives for a product. Betty Crocker uses promotional pricing such as price leaders to promote their product for example in Coles Betty Crocker cake mix original price is $4.99 and is discounted to $4.87, this pricing method is seen as an odd-even pricing method, were customers look at this price and think $4.99 this product is on sale and do not look at it as $5.00. Betty Crocker also uses special event pricing which they set their prices low when there is a special event for example on Mothers Day. Betty Crocker uses non-price competition even though there prices are discounted they are still higher than competing products around them such as White Wings who sell their products originally for $4.73 and discount it to $4 and Greens Who sell their products for $2. This can be seen as a benefit for Betty Crocker as they may be able to get more customer loyalty. Betty Crocker cake mix and similar companies that produce cake mixes can be see n as an oligopolistic market due to all of them cutting down prices to gain a competitive edge. For example the Betty Crocker cake mix at Coles is shown to be discounted along with all the other competing companies next to it such as White Wings. Demand Curve e.g. For most products, the quantity demanded goes up as the price goes down and goes down as the price goes up. Thus, there is an inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. Place is simply the location of where a customer can find a product that they need. Marketers need to make sure that they provide the product they are selling to the right target market in the correct location. Betty Crocker cake mix can be found in general merchandise stores such as Coles, Woolworths and franklins. Betty Crocker cake mix in Coles is placed in the aisle were the cake mixes are and is found next to the flour and similar products such as White Wings. It is placed in the middle, top and bottom of the shelf; this makes it easier for customers to find what type of cake mix they want without moving up and down the aisle. Promotion is seen as the way a product is advertised to its target market. Betty Crocker promotes its product on their website. They offer sales promotion such as coupons that you can print out if you join their website which you can save $1.00 of any Betty Crocker purchase. If an order is placed online they also offer 10% discount for a party order. Their website also offers discounted items that are on special weekly if anything is ordered online. Most of Betty Crockers cake mixes also provide information on cupcakes on the box in order to promote their cupcakes. Their website offers information on what to make using their products on special occasions such as Valentines Day, Birthdays and Fathers Day. They also use stickers on their products that say Prices are down to grab attention the consumers attention. Competitive product advertising is also done for Betty Crocker though advertising their product on television. The most recent add for Betty Crocker was in 2009 on a chocolate cake mix, and was directed towards mothers and children. They showed that their product is made easily and even children can help their mothers into baking the cake. SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths Company Logo- The red spoon is well known and popular Marketed through a well known food processing company (General Mills). Many different products to choose from, they do not just specialise in one area Offer food range for all target markets such as children, parents and elderly and also offer a healthy range such as fruits and salads. Gluten free products for people who are health conscious Weakness Lowered prices Poor packaging for example the cake mix box cannot be sealed once opened Dependant on the US market Threats Competitors lowered prices Cake shops such as Michaels Patisserie who sell already made cakes Opportunity Milkshakes Ice-cream cakes Provide already made cakes than just cake mixes Introduction General Mills in a food processing industry. It makes products such as Baking Mixes, yogurts, snack foods, ice cream and cereals. They are known to market many well known brands, one of them including Betty Crocker.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Lester Ward’s Contributions to American Sociology

Lester Frank Ward was a man of science. Sometimes dubbed as the â€Å"Father of American Sociology† or the â€Å"Social Darwin† Lester Ward was first a botanist and paleontologist. He understood the power of science. Ward wrote Dynamic Sociology and a few other works with the hopes to reinstate the importance of experimentation and the scientific method to sociology. He served as president of the American Sociological Society in 1906 and appointed assistant geologist of the U. S. Geological Survey, a position he held for two years. Born to Justus and Silence on June 18, 1941, young Lester came from very humble beginnings. His parents were very poor and could not afford to send him to school. So, Ward taught himself at home. Even at a young age, Ward displayed exceptional intelligence. He taught himself how to speak different languages, Latin and Greek to name a few. His studies also included mathematics, botany, and geology. Although, he was not at the intellectual level as Comte or Voltaire, he made many contributions to all things social and founded sociology in America. He went on to join the fight against the Rebels in 1862. He was sent home after the Battle of Chancellorsville after being shot three times. While healing from his wounds, he also saw the reality of war which is legalized murder. He realized that the real enemy was ignorance, superstition, and oppression. In college, he felt that if he was a recognized for his work in the natural sciences, then most would listen to him in the field of sociology. He believed that the natural sciences should be the base for social sciences. Ward’s style of writing was known to be brilliant and crystal clear. One might think this stems from his uncanny talent for language. His writings are plain and comprehensible, which is a breath of fresh air for a reader who might not comprehend wordy and difficult styles of writing. Dynamic Sociology is one of Ward’s well known works. The reception at first was not that grand and Ward almost gave up on sociology to focus his energies on botany and geology. It eventually was praised by one of Ward’s toughest critics, Albion W. Small. When Dynamic Sociology was translated into Russian, it caused such a stir in the Russian government that the Czar ordered all copies to be burned in the city square of St. Petersburg in 1891. This is what George Kennan had to say about the book burning: â€Å"I have tried in my humble way to serve the cause of liberty in Russia, but I have not been able to do it with ability enough to get my writings burned. You are evidently a very dangerous man† (Chugerman, 66). Pure Sociology is Ward’s most popular work. The transition in Ward’s views of society from naturalistic to an almost completely cultural view is evident in this work. It got rave reviews overseas but, America was a bit cold towards it. Ward had many minor contributions to sociology, but there are three major contributions that have endure throughout the years. First was the emphasis which Ward placed upon psychic factors in interhuman relations (Chugerman, 3). Ward believed that human intelligence could guide and control wishes, desires, and feelings. Only the human mind can understand a society in which humans live. A good example would be happiness. In Dynamic Sociology, Ward explains that â€Å"happiness in the popular restricted sense is the experiencing of the higher emotional pleasures afforded by the gratification of social, esthetic, moral, and intellectual taste†(Gerver, 7). Ward’s second contribution for the sociologist of today was his â€Å"emphasis upon human achievement as the proper subject matter for sociology† (Chugerman, 3). He did not believe that any species below man was capable of human achievement. This is proof of his different viewpoint previously mentioned. His view of human society was mainly naturalistic, yet here one sees the change to a cultural view. Ward believed that desires and purposes were the foundation of culture that came about by accident at first, but could be morphed into intelligent social purposes. He also states that sociology is the science of that culture. His third major contribution to sociology is his â€Å"passionate affirmation of the possibility of intelligent social progress† (Chugerman, 3). He firmly believed in and pushed for the development of sociology as a science. He believed education was the safest method in which to develop intelligent social progress. Ward’s definition of social progress is the â€Å"increase of happiness of mankind† (Chugerman, 4). Even then, some found this definition insufficient, yet it can’t be denied that Ward built a strong foundation for sociology with his philosophy. Telesis is the theory that through the power of mind, humans can take control of the situation and direct the evolution of human society. A telic society will develop individuals and therefore society as a whole. The higher the individual is develop, the more develop society will be. Progress depends on the achievements. Like Comte, Ward suggested that sociology should use the cientific method of the natural sciences. Ward’s constructed his synthetic method from Comte’s idea of synthesis and believed that science has no problems that cannot be solved. The core of the synthetic method â€Å"is the law of causality, the magnetic pole which keeps the mind within the bounds of reason† (Chugerman, 100). To ignore this means to go back to metaphysics, where anything is possible and things happen without a cause. Ward’s philosophy as the love of wisdom is the ideal behind his sociocracy. Science keeps the philosopher grounded and not to fly off into mistaken the supernatural for reality. Science alone is the base of all philosophy† (Chugerman, 94). Ward also believed that philosophy is a branch of the scientific method. From philosophy as synthesis rises science-philosophy. Science and philosophy go hand in hand and Ward believed that â€Å"only a scientist can become a true philosopher† (Chugerman, 95). Ward became an advocate for women’s rights. Most sociologists disagreed with his theory that women were superior to men. Ward questioned how the mother of race came to be at such an inferior state and wh at forces has shaped them. He stated that â€Å"male superiority was a fallacy and a result of tradition and prejudice† (Chugerman, 380). Ward’s sex theories were opposed by both sexes and had a small following. One female write, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, dedicated her work, The Man-Made World, to Ward. Ward was a champion for the equality of all races and classes. He believed that this could only be achieved through universal education. He fervently opposed eugenics, the study and practice of selective breeding applied to humans, with the aim of improving the species. Charlotte Gillman strongly agreed with this movement and Ward harshly criticized her for it. Lester Ward passed away in the year 1913 at age 72. Ward was an eccentric man and had few friends. The few eulogies given by his friends remembered a man who fought relentlessly for human freedom and equality. Sadly, the majority of the public only saw him as an old professor. Only those closest to him put him in the same rank as Comte or Huxley. His love for the common people and hard work secures his place in 20th century America.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Cultural Diversity in Music and its positive and negative effects on Society Essay

American music is a melting pot of various genres of music. From the times when the country was colonized American music has come a long way. Rock and Roll, Hip-hop, Rhythm and Blues, Jazz and Country are among the internationally renowned genres. The more indigenous genres include Gospel, Louisiana tejoles, and Hawaiian music and American Folk music. Music intertwines with various aspects of American identity such as race, ethnicity, gender and social class. Of these race is perhaps the biggest driver of any particular genre of music. Hip-hop, jazz, soul and R&B have long been considered as an African –American tradition as has the country music genre been the tradition of whites in America. The mixing of cultures from has permeated popular culture in an unprecedented fashion. Because of its crossover appeal, music is a great unifier of diverse populations. It has gone from the fringes, to the suburbs, and into the corporate boardrooms. Over the last forty or fifty years music has been one of the biggest influential factors in teenage society. So, there’s no problem in assuming that our present adult society is built with some of the ideas taken from the music industry of the yesteryears. Positive Effects: Music in America has and continues to play a very positive role in the society. The emergence of folk music during the 20th century, and particularly the rise of popular folk music of the 1960’s, is probably the best example of music affecting society. The Civil Rights Movement was in full swing and the largely unpopular war in Vietnam was well underway. Folk music is, inherently, music played and sung by and for everyday people—music for the masses, so to speak. Naturally, when a culture becomes aware of radical changes that awareness gives way through expression. Folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie began writing â€Å"protest music† and songs in support of popular movements of the day. Other folk singers such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez followed suit. For the first time, music was not only a vehicle for expression, but it was also a way to mobilize and inspire listeners to think differently and take action. Country music typically embodied idealistic thinking, shunning capitalism and material comforts. It is about everyday people doing everyday things-the bars they go to, the people they have lost, their dreams, their loves, and their friends. Country gives people something to relate to besides urban hip-hop, rap, heavy metal, and pop. As far as society as a whole, for the most part country singers are considered fairly wholesome-they aren’t in the tabloids for drugs and explicitly wanton behavior (not saying they don’t & they are all perfect! ) but their images tend to be cleaner than musicians belonging to other genres so it gives the younger generations people to look up to. Both Hip-Hop and R&B have impacted society in many ways, mainly well. R&B and Hip-Hop have, in their own way, addressed the challenges of African-American individuals, provided help and strength, and left an impact that has been widely debated throughout the years. Many people equate gangsta rap and other isolated artists or songs with all rap and, even worse, Hip-hop in general. This is a huge fallacy because 90% of rap is either something that helps society or at least something that doesn’t hurt it. Consider, for example, feminist rap. Feminist rap goes against any misogyny in other types of rap and forces society – especially men who objectify women—to take a step back and see that what is going on in the cases of gangsta rap is wrong. Another example of a form of rap that helps society is political rap. Political rap from artists such as Public Enemy encourage the black community to stand up for their rights and to become politically active so that they do not get taken advantage of. Rock musicians too have sometimes attempted to address social issues directly as commentary or as calls to action. During the Vietnam War the first rock protest songs were heard, inspired by the songs of folk musicians such as Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan, which ranged from abstract evocations of peace Peter, Paul, and Mary’s â€Å"If I Had a Hammer† to blunt anti-establishment diatribes Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young’s â€Å"Ohio†. Other musicians, notably John Lennon and Yoko Ono, were vocal in their anti-war sentiment both in their music and in public statements Negative Effects: The introduction of rock and roll music in the 1950’s brought with it the fear that its lyrics and new rhythms would adversely affect young listeners. That fear has carried over into the twenty-first century, but now the criticism is focused primarily on heavy metal and rap. It has been suggested that the lyrics in these types of music promote aggression, bigotry, deviant sexual activity, suicide, violence, drug use, and homicide. This issue also arises in the field of medicine. The American Academy of Pediatrics fears that rock lyrics are potential threats to the health and well being of adolescents. These concerns include pregnancy, drug use, sexually transmitted diseases, accidents, and suicide. Rap music is infamous for its inflammatory remarks towards women. Thus the two most popular forms of music for adolescents revolve around themes of disrespect and sexual imagery. Furthermore, the effects music lyrics have on mood, suicidal ideation, aggression, and stereotyping have been questioned. The massive popularity and worldwide scope of rock and roll resulted in an unprecedented level of social impact. Far beyond simply a musical style, rock and roll influenced lifestyles, fashion, attitudes, and language in a way few other social developments have equaled. From its beginnings, rock and roll has been associated with youth, rebellion, and anti-establishment. The blend of black influences, suggestive lyrics, and wild response by the younger set made rock and roll appalling and threatening to the older generation. The ability to shock the elders in turn became part of the appeal of the music to young generations. The rock and roll lifestyle was popularly known as being associated with sex and drugs. Many of rock and roll’s early stars (as well as their jazz and blues counterparts) were known as hard-drinking, hard-living characters; during the 1960s a decadent rock lifestyle became more publicly known, aided by the growth of the underground rock press which documented such excesses, often in exploitative fashion. Conclusion: The impact of American music on society is definitely a positive one. An artist’s music can be positive through lyrics by saying all the things the person listening wants to say. It can also inspire other people to do good things such as the song Imagine by the Beatles. Music enhances creativity. Writers block, it is said, can be cured by a bout of music listening. Although there has been a great deal of negativity that has centered on music, the positive far outweighs the negative. The negative effects of some genres of music, which are the commercialization of music, the loss of creative edge, and the sex, violence and misogyny, are over shadowed by positive effects like political awareness, societal awareness, anti-sexism, and racial awareness. References: 1. How Music Affects Society http://www. musicguidebook. com/articles/how-music-affects-society 2. Cultural Diversity in Music http://www. areditions. com/rr/index/set_musa. html 3. Effect of Rap and Heavy metal http://library. wcsu. edu/dspace/bitstream/0/35/1/tropeano. pdf

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Conflict in the Workplace - 2269 Words

Workplace conflict is a specific type conflict that occurs in the workplace. Conflict can arise anywhere, anytime, by any given person. Workplaces are already stressful enough before conflict contributes to its share of stress. Long hours, hierarchical structure of the organization and unrealistic expectations are just a few of a dozen of factors that help shape the conflict that arises in the workplace. There are many different types of conflict that occur in the workplace. The five most common are as follows: 1. Interdependence Conflict: A person relies on someone else’s co-operation, output, or input in order for them to get their job done. Ex: Jacob, a salesperson, is always late inputting monthly sales figures, which causes†¦show more content†¦* Demographic: As mentioned before, these kids are from all over the state-rarely more than one from the same area-so they may get picked on for coming from a â€Å"country† or â€Å"ghetto† area. Also, it’s quite often that conflict arises because one client is defending his affiliation or so called â€Å"gang† while in the presence of a rival affiliation. They argue over who’s hometown is better and shockingly enough, who has the hottest girlfriend. * Phase Levels: Our program is broken down into 6 levels. The first 14 earned days, a client is on Phase One-Orientation. On this phase, c lients are not allowed to leave the facility to participate in any outings or activities, due to AWOL risk. Usually, learning of the schedule, rules, and names distracts clients from severe misbehavior in the beginning. We refer to this as â€Å"the honeymoon†. The next phase level is Exploration, which also requires 14 days earned (you earn days by having â€Å"0† incidences throughout both 1st and 2nd shifts) and good behavior for advancement to Phase 3; Discovery. This phase requires 28 days earned and good behavior for advancement to Phase 4-Reclaiming. 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