Sample Caltech Graduate Application Essay

Sample Caltech Graduate Application EssayAn individual is entitled to apply for a Ph.D. degree program in the university of the same name, provided that the thesis is completed, approved and accepted by the director of the college. As a student applying for a post-baccalaureate, bachelor's or master's degree program, a sample Caltech graduate application essay should be prepared, submitted along with the application.Students may apply for a doctoral program that requires completion of an internship that is paid or unpaid. They may also apply for a doctorate program that does not require any internship. They may also apply for a post-baccalaureate, bachelor's or master's degree program that requires the completion of an internship.These are just a few examples of what constitutes a typical sample Caltech graduate application essay. Here is an example of a sample Caltech application essay for students who intend to pursue a PhD in Chemistry.You should provide your personal and professi onal experiences in chemistry as well as information about your educational background as you relate to the topic of your graduate dissertation. Examples of experiences may include your academic performance in biology, computer science, chemistry, mathematics, physics, or economics.Utilize your personal accomplishments in career-related areas such as teaching, research, military service, or medicine. Use this experience to address issues related to your dissertation topic.Provide information about your past educational experience. Students may want to use their career goals as a guide to emphasize topics regarding their graduate work.If you're going to submit a sample Caltech graduate application essay, it is recommended that you add your graduate school number or your UC campus location as well as your PH.D. The graduate admissions office will be able to look at the sample and can help with any questions regarding the application.

Overview of the Research Process for Business Students Essay Example

Overview of the Research Process for Business Students Essay What is Research? People undertake research in order to find things out in a systematic way, thereby increasing their knowledge (Jankowicz, 1995). â€Å"Systematic† suggests that research is based on logical relationships and not just beliefs (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010). To â€Å"find things out† suggests there are a multiplicity of possible purposes for your research (Becker, 1998). It is therefore an activity which has to be finished at some point to be of use. The results of research really are all around us in everyday life. Politicians often justify their policy decisions on the basis of research; Newspapers report the findings of research companies. Documentary programmes tell us about research findings and advertisers may highlight the results of research to encourage consumers to buy a particular product or brand. The most difficult hurdle to overcome in doing research is not in learning the techniques or doing the actual work or even writing the report. The biggest obstacle, surprisingly, lies in figuring out what you want to know. Two problems are very common: choosing a topic which is too broad†¦ or â€Å"dressing up† a topic (Kane, 1987) Formulating and clarifying the research topic is the starting point of research (Ghauri and Gronhaug, 2010; Smith and Dainty 1991). Most research originates from a general problem. Usually, the problem is broad enough that it could not be addressed in a single research study. We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of the Research Process for Business Students specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of the Research Process for Business Students specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Overview of the Research Process for Business Students specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Consequently, the problem is narrowed into a more specific research question. A well-constructed research question is one described by Maylor and Blackmon (2005, p. 54) which â€Å"identifies the scope of the research and guides the plan of the project†. The research question is the central issue being addressed in the study and from this research objectives can be set. The table below sets out criteria to help devise useful research objectives. Criterion| Purpose| Transparency| The meaning of the research objective is clear and unambiguous| Specificity| The purpose of the research objective is clear and easily understood, as are the actions required to fulfil it| Relevancy| The research objective’s link to the research question and wider research project is clear| Interconnectivity| Taken together as a set, the research objectives illustrate the steps in the research process from its start to its conclusion, without leaving any gaps. In this way the research objectives form a coherent whole| Answerability| The intended outcome of the research objective is achievable. Where this relates to data, the nature of the data required will be clear or at least implied| Measurability| The intended product of the research objective will be evident when it has been achieved| Saunders (2012) Research Methods for Business Students, Table 2. 3 p. 44 Literature Review A literature review is a body of text that aims to review the critical points of current knowledge on a particular topic. Its ultimate goal is to bring the reader up to date with current literature and forms the basis for another goal, such as justification for future research the area. Knowledge does not exist in a vacuum, and your work only has value in relation to other peoples† (Jankowicz, 2005). It seeks to describe, summarise, evaluate, and clarify/integrate the content of previous researches and assists in limiting the scope of inquiry while conveying the importance of studying a topic to readers. Literature sources available include Primary, Secondary and Tertiary. Primary data is ori ginal data that has been collected from the original source with a purpose in mind. Secondary sources are the subsequent publication of primary literature and tertiary sources (search tools) are designed to either help locate primary and secondary literature or to introduce a topic. Tertiary Indexes Databases Catalogues Encyclopaedias Dictionaries Bibliographies Citation Indexes Secondary Journals Books Newspapers Government Publications Primary Reports Theses Emails Company Reports Unpublished Manuscripts Some Government Publications Increasing time to publish Increasing level of detail Saunders (2012) Research Methods for Business Students Table 3. 3, p82 Primary versus Secondary Research Primary data has not been published and so is more reliable, authentic and objective. It has not been changed or altered by human beings therefore its validity is greater than secondary data however it is important to remember it can only be considered as reliable as the people who gathered it. Gathering data in this way is time consuming, and incurs a high cost. More resources tend to be required and it can result in inaccurate feedback. Secondary data is less valid but it is readily available and can be reused. It is cheaper and quicker to obtain in comparison to primary data. In some circumstances primary data does not exist and so one has to confine the research of secondary data. The Research Process Research is not neutral, but reflects a range of the researcher’s personal interests, values, abilities, assumptions aims and ambitions. â€Å"The research philosophy depends on the way you think about the development of knowledge† (Saunders et al. 2000, p. 84) Collis and Hussey (2003, p. 52) highlight two main research philosophies and detail that there can be overlap between the two and both positions may be identifiable in any research project. They are the positivistic and phenomenological. Positivistic approaches are founded on the belief that the study of human behaviour should be conducted in the same way as studies conducted in the natural sciences. Therefore seeking to identify measure and evaluate any phenomena and to provide a rational explanation for it. This approach attempts to establish casual links and relationships between the different elements (or variables) of the subject and relate them to a particular theory or practice. Phenomenological approaches however, approach research from the perspective of understanding behaviour from the participants’ own subjective frames of reference. Research methods are chosen, therefore, to try and describe, translate and explain and interpret events from the perspectives of the people who are the subject of the research. The following diagram describes the research process â€Å"onion† that supports the researcher to â€Å"depict the issues underlying the choice of data collection methods† (Saunders, 2012 Research Methods for Business Students, Fig 4. 1, p. 128) The layers of research represent the following aspects: * Research philosophy; * Research approach; * Research strategy/methodology; * Time horizons; and * Data collection methods Research Approach – Deductive or Inductive? It is the theory that decides what can be observed† Albert Einstein Bryan Bell (2007) state that the researcher will either use: 1) deductive in which a theory and hypothesis is developed and a strategy is designed to test the hypothesis, or 2) inductive approach will be used in which the data is collected and as the resu lt of data analysis theory and hypothesis are developed. However, Mason (2001, p. 181) supports the use of more than one research approach, â€Å"it is worth pointing out that most research strategies (approaches) in practice probably draw on a combination of these (inductive or deductive) approaches†. What is the difference between method and methodology? A method is a technique used for gathering evidence or the various ways in which proceeding in gathering information. Methodology is the underlying theory of how research does or should proceed, often influenced by discipline. Research Strategy The research strategy is of paramount important in setting the parameters and creating the credibility of any study. According to Collis and Hussey (2003, p. 55) research methodology refers to the overall approaches and perspectives to the research process as a whole and is concerned with the following main issues: Why you collected certain data; * What data you collected; * Where you collected it; * How you collected it; * How you analysed it The choice of research strategy is dependent on the research questions and objectives, the extent of existing knowledge, the amount of time and resources available and the philosophical foundations (Saunders et al. 2007). There are various research s trategies proposed by different authors including experiment, survey, case study, action research, grounded theory and ethnography. Experiment is a classical form of research which allows studying the effect of change, an independent variable can bring in another dependent variable (Hakim, 2000) * Survey is a methodology which is usually associated with the deductive approach and is mostly used in the situations where there is a need to collect the data from a large population in an economical manner (Saunder et al, 2007) * Case Study is defined as a â€Å"strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence† (Robson, 2000: 178) * Action Research is focused on finding a way to bring about a change in a controlled environment * Grounded theory is often thought of as the best example of inductive approach as the hypothesis is developed from the data generated by a series of observations (Glaser Strauss, 1967) * Ethnography is a research strategy which focuses on acquiring the social knowledge in order to understand the observed patterns of human activity (Hussey Hussey, 1997) Ethical Issues Ethical concerns may emerge at all stages of research. Saunders et al. (2007, p. 31) summarise the main issues to consider, although ethical issues surrounding these items are not always clear: * The rights of privacy of individuals * Voluntary nature of participation – and the rights of individuals to withdraw partially or completely from the process * Consent and possible deception of participants (Appendix ? ) * Maintenance of confidentiality of data provided by individuals or identifiable participants and their anonymity * Reactions of participants to the ways which researchers seek to collect data * Effects on participants of the way data is analysed and reported * Behaviour and objectivity of the researcher Reliability and Validity

Lion Capital and Blackstone Essay Essays

Lion Capital and Blackstone Essay Essays Lion Capital and Blackstone Essay Essay Lion Capital and Blackstone Essay Essay Question 1: Why would Lion make a trade with Blackstone? Why would Blackstone make one with Lion? What does each hazard? What can each derive? Lion and Blackstone are fall ining together to leverage industry expertness and funding power. Lion has a strong apprehension of consumers of such trades include Weetabix and Jimmy Choo. Blackstone has the power to convey really big funding into a trade. capable of puting up to $ 1 billion in a company. while besides holding an international presence. conveying synergisms across boundary lines. However. this partnership besides brings in a lagging gait in shutting trades and public visibleness and examination. Lion typically moves rapidly on trades. and already has decided in front of Blackstone on timing and monetary value. Blackstone. nevertheless. still needs to carry on due diligence and have the trade reviewed by the investing commission. Furthermore. Lion’s partnership with Blackstone brings it into the Financial Times’ forepart page and pressures it further to execute. Question 2: Is Orangina a good trade? It seems that Lion and Blackstone are paying a reasonably full monetary value ; what angle might the Blackstone-Lion pool have found to warrant it? Yes. Orangina is a good trade. for its trade name power. its resiliency. its financing-friendly nature. and its operating and distribution web in France and Spain. Orangina has iconic trade names that are good known in France and Spain. and it commands a strong presence in its niche without irrupting on the soft drink infinite of trade names such as Coca Cola. It can be levered easy. as it is in a defensive sector. has strong hard currency flows. and with touchable assets that can be claimed. Despite being undermanaged. it continued to execute good in bad times. bespeaking that it has a working operating substructure and does non depend on a personality to steer the concern. Furthermore. the squad has a good apprehension and tantrum with the company. Javier Ferran of Lion. a Spanish national who speaks French. is good suited to understand a company with operations concentrated in Spain and France. and is besides ideal for his past experience in the soft drinks sector. Question 3: Based on the information provided in the instance. how would you value Orangina? We will NOT value the company based on any price reduction hard currency flow theoretical account. including LBO rating or APV theoretical account. as we are covering with a private company. whose beta and future capital construction are impracticable to gauge. Private companies have no estimable beta. since they are non publically traded and are illiquid – their value does non travel in any way with regard to the market. There are besides no strong barriers to entry in a soft drink market. so terminal growing besides can’t be easy estimated. However. we can first try a simple Venture Capital rating theoretical account to acquire a speedy ballpark for our rating. We find that a sensible equity rating for a private equity purchaser lies between $ 900 million and $ 1. 9 billion. This implies an equity rating between 760 million euros and 1. 6 billion euros. With programs to put 900 million euros of debt. Orangina can be priced at 1. 7 billion euros to 2. 5 billion euros. We can presume that the 1. 85 billion euro rating of Blackstone and Lion is rather sensible. Question 4: What is the best trade attack? The squad needs to do a command that will do them one of the sure and approved purchaser campaigners instantly. even with the hazard of overpaying. They need to go one of the groups with entree to the Orangina direction squad and their advisers. and get down inquiring the inquiries they need answered on the company – such as the execution of a stable direction squad in a clip of a high direction turnover. the ability to turn in the nutrient channel or obtain higher command power in the out of nutrient channel. and a turnaround scheme for France. Given that Blackstone and Lion have a particular border that Lion’s squad understands the sector. the concern. and the geographics good. they should be willing to pay up forepart in the early auctions. so that they can extinguish strategic purchasers such as Pepsi. while besides detering other fiscal purchasers who don’t have the same degree of understanding. border. or angle on this sector. Once the likeliness of a trade is strong plenty. Blackstone and Lion can get down negociating a unequivocal amalgamation understanding with monetary values and footings that are a bit more suited and just for it. However. the current precedence should be to acquire into the bargain and cut others out every bit shortly as possible.

Changes in Leadership and CEO Succession slp Assignment

Changes in Leadership and CEO Succession slp - Assignment Example It had all worked out very well and everybody was used to the way things were being run for the last twenty years. This was also possible because the company had been only manufacturing one product. With time, however, the company branched into other products and the company grew bigger putting a strain on the finance department to perform both roles of human resource and finance as it had always done. Tensions started between departments and the finance office due to delays in processing as the department was understaffed. There were delays in supply procurement, staff requests and other general work requirements. In hindsight, these issues could have been solved very amicably through adding more staff to the department and assigning the different responsibilities to individual persons in the department. Unfortunately, the finance department as a unit took the many complaints against it as an all out war set out to discredit the department when the matter was raised at a general sta ff meeting. The finance department developed very fierce hostility towards all the other departments in the company. The senior management of the company put the finance director on a six-month compulsory leave pending investigations. He refused to comply with the decision and reported as usual to the office refusing to hand over anything. His contract was terminated and, the department was divided into two departments. This was the human resource and finance departments with two new mangers to led them. Nearly everybody was happy with the management’s decision to remove the finance director. However, there was a lot of confusion and quite a number of crises that surrounded that action. It would have worked out better for the management if they had worked out the changes needed in the company after the Lewin’s model of organizational change and transition (Lippitt, 1958). The company would have had time to weigh the pros and

How the American media influenced Japan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

How the American media influenced Japan - Essay Example as well as political effects on a society, and thus, a huge number of scholars and experts are putting efforts to understand the influence and effects of media on its own society, as well as societies around the globe. In particular, this paper will be endeavor to analyze the role of American media in the Japanese society, and will attempt to identify different aspects of the American media that is playing a crucial role in altering the Japanese culture and society. In sociology, experts (Richardson, pp. 23-25) consider American media as a powerful body that has the command of influencing nations globally, and they often term American media as ‘pop culture.’ In specific, American media is a wide sector involving huge range of components, such as television, films, newspapers, and radio; however, experts believe that only television and films have the ability to influences masses due to their long-ranging availability as compared with newspapers and radio that confront limitation of national, as well as educational boundaries. Interestingly, the two components of the American media: television and films have yet been successful in promoting individuals in other countries to think, behave, act, and respond in an American way, and that is visible in most of the countries, especially the Asian countries that are already under influence of American politics and power. It is an observation that sociologists (Porter, pp. 12-13) in Japan are now afraid of cultural homogenization in the country due to increment in the influence of American pop culture globally. In this regard, they are putting efforts to prevent such cultural deterioration in a significant manner by putting barriers. Still, the American media has been successful in acquiring mass audience in Japan, and nowadays, MTV, Star World, Hollywood, etc have now become a part of Japanese society, especially young members of Japan that will be the future leaders of Japanese culture and society. A number of

Family Branding Or Umbrella Branding Marketing Essay

Family Branding Or Umbrella Branding Marketing Essay In this paper we have a short overview on the concept of brand, branding, retail brand, their definitions, classifications, branding strategy, brand positioning, brand integration etc. Here in this report we try to collect information from published books, journals, magazine and various reliable secondary sources. In the later part we will analyze the influence of branding in the retail business. The next part of this report focuses on issues for branding retail, especially the apparel industry. There are several definitions of brand: The main thing of brand are that it is not just only a mixture of design, name, symbol or other features it also distinguish it from the other product and services of the competitors. (Dibb1997) A Brand is: name, term, sign, symbol, design, or combination of these intended to identify the good or service, and differentiate them from those of competitors. (Jennifer Rowley 1997, pp. 244-250) Clyde C. Tuggle, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Public Affairs Communications, Coca-Cola says A brand is a distinguishing name or symbol intended to identify goods or services of a seller and to differentiate those goods or services from competitors. Sicco van Gelder says: (1) Sometimes products and services become so similar that it becomes hard for the customer to distinguish them according to their quality, efficacy, reliability, assurance and care. Brands help the customer to identify these qualities and add emotion and trust to the product and services. (2) This emotion and trust help the organization to build a good relationship with the customers and make them loyal to their products and services. (3) Sometimes brand creates aspiration to the lifestyle and transfer these onto the lifestyle of the consumers. (4) Branded lifestyle has an effect on the other product or service category of that brand which allow marketers for vertical integration and save the troubles and costs of developing new brand. (5) The combination of lifestyle, emotions, relationship, and values allows the marketers to charge a higher price than the other non-branded product or services. Characteristics of brand name A good brand name must be short, sweet and easy to pronounce and remember. It should suggest something about the products benefits and quality. Unique within the industry. Do not used by any other and legally defensible. Good alliteration, especially if a longer name. Does not lend itself to abbreviations. Flexible and expandable. The name should translate easily into foreign languages. Should not age quickly. Fits within companys brand portfolio. Classification of Brand Individual product branding In this branding approach the marketer try to introduce a product by assigning new names and that has not any connection with the existing brand of the company. In this approach the marketer have to try hard to establish the brand in the market place. Family branding or umbrella branding In this approach a new product is placed under existing brand of the organization. The major advantage of using this approach is to use the image of the organization and expand the product rapidly in the marketplace and gain market share. Product branding Sometime suppliers produce products for other companies and also place another companys brand name onto their product this is product branding. Co-branding In this branding approach two different companys brand name are used on same product. No brand or generic branding Sometime suppliers produce their product without any brand name, generally for basic commodity products. Branding licensing In this branding approach one company allows others to produce and supply products carrying the brand name through a contractual arrangement. Advantages of Branding Through a brand name consumer can easily recognize the product and also have an idea what will be the product. As for example: in the radio advertisement consumer will hear the sound and recognize the product. Consumers who frequently purchase product of a particular brand become brand loyal which is the ultimate goal of marketer. Sometime customers want to purchase branded product, brand names make it easier for the customers to identify the appropriate the actual product. Brand name also help in positioning the product to the market, and gain a market share, sometime it also helps to gain competitive advantage for the product. Firms that successfully establish a brand in the marketplace it also help them for launching a new product to the market by declaring it as a family brand. Sometime firm can also use its corporate image in marketing a product. Brand Positioning According to Philip Kotler and Gary Armstrong, 2005, Marketers need to position their brands clearly in target customers minds. They can position brands any of three levels. At the lowest level they can position the brand on product attributesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Attributes are the least desirable level for brand positioning. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. a brand can be better positioned by associating its name with a desirable benefit. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.. the strongest brands go beyond attribute or benefit positioning. They are positioned on strong beliefs and values. Brand Equity According to Kotler and Armstrong, 2005, Brand equity is the positive differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or service. For determining the brand equity company has to find the brand valuation of the organization that means how much customers are paying more for the brand. Brand development Strategies While a company will think about brand development four types of situation can be arise. The situations are shown in the figure below: Product Category Existing New Line extension Brand extension Multibrands New brandsExisting Brand Name New Source: Kotler, Philip Armstrong, Gary, 2005, Principles of Marketing, Prentice-Hall of India Pvt. Ltd., 11th edition, New Delhi, India. Figure: Brand Development Strategies. Line Extension: According to Kotler and Armstrong, 2005, Line extension occur when a company introduces additional items in a given product category under the same brand name, such as new flavors, forms, colors, ingredients, or package sizes. Line extension can be use for existing brand names extended to new forms, sizes, and flavors of an existing product category. Brand Extensions: According to Kotler and Armstrong, 2005, A brand extension involves the use of a successful brand name to launch new or modified products in a new category. This strategy may be used on existing brand names extended to new product categories. Multibrands: According to Kotler and Armstrong, 2005, Companies often introduces additional brands in the same categoryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Multibranding offers a way to establish different features and appeal to different buying motives. It also allows a company to lock up more reseller shelf space. This strategy may be used in case of company want to new brand name in the existing product category. New Brands: According to Kotler and Armstrong, 2005, A company might believe that the power of its existing brand name is waning and new brand name is needed. Or a company may create a new brand name when it enters a new product category for which none of the companys current brand names is appropriate. This strategy may be used in case of company want to new brand name in the new product category. UNDERSTANDING RETAIL BRANDING As per our above discussion it is clear that brand is the most valuable intangible asset to the organization and also the matter of most priority of the top management. As brand is highly competitive in nature and for its advantages it becomes very much important towards the retail industry for attracting and influencing the customers decision and build loyalty. In this paper I tried to integrate branding with retail business and also try to find out the strategy for managing a retail brand. RETAILERS AS BRANDS Though many important principles go with the retailer brand but they are different form product brands and actual application of principles may be varied. Retailers brand is much sensitive and it builds on the rich customer experiences, their impact and equity. Retailers may also create their brand images on many ways such, delivering quality service, uniqueness on association, pricing, credit policy, product assortment, merchandising etc. The image of retailers brand depends on the images and equity of manufacturer because these help to gain customer interest, patronage, loyalty of the customers. Manufacturer brands operate almost as ingredient brands that yield significant consumer pull, often more than the retailer brand does. THE DIMENSIONS OF RETAILER IMAGE Retail image depends on: access in-store atmosphere price promotion cross-category product/service assortment Within-category brand/item assortment. Access For customer, convenient location is a basic criterion in their store choice decisions. Beginning with gravity models (e.g., Huff 1964) store choice and the optimization of retail site location attracted a lot of research attention in the eighties (e.g., Achabal, Gorr, and Mahajan 1982; Ghosh and Craig 1983; Donthu and Rust 1989). Store Atmosphere Mehrabian and Russell (1974) note that the response that atmosphere elicits from consumers varies along three main dimensions of pleasantness, arousal, and dominance. This response, in turn, influences behaviour, with greater likelihood of purchase in more pleasant settings and in settings of intermediate arousal level. Different elements of a retailers in-store environment, e.g., color, music, and crowding, can influence consumers perceptions of a stores atmosphere, (Bellizzi, Crowley, and Henderson 1983; Milliman 1982; Eroglu and Machleit 1990; Grewal et al. 2003). Price and Promotion Price represents the monetary expenditure that the consumer must incur in order to make a purchase. From the vast literature on pricing, we highlight three areas that are of direct relevance to consumers image and choice of retailers. Store price perceptions: A retailers price image should be influenced by attributes like average level of prices, how much variation there is in prices over time, the frequency and depth of promotions, and whether the retailer positions itself as EDLP or HILO. Retailer pricing format: A retailers price format, which is on a continuum between EDLP (Every Day Low Price) and HILO (High-Low Promotional Pricing), also influences consumers store choice and shopping behaviour. Bell and Lattin (1998) show that large basket shoppers prefer EDLP stores whereas small basket shoppers prefer HILO stores. Price promotion induced store switching: The third research area studies whether retailer price promotions result in store switching by consumers. Bucklin and Lattin (1992) show that retail promotions in any one category do not directly influence a consumers store choice decision, but they indirectly affect where the category is purchased .Because the longer consumers stay in a store, the more likely they are to notice promotions and buy more than planned during the shopping trip. Cross-Category Assortment The branding literature, however, suggests some potential pitfalls of broad assortments, apart from the rather obvious downside that increasing assortment breadth brings with it significantly higher costs for the retailer. Inman, Shankar, and Ferraro (2004) show that certain types of product categories have signature associations with specific channels, e.g., supermarkets with food, drug channel with medications and health products, and mass merchandisers with household items. But, research has shown that a brand that is seen as prototypical of a product category can be difficult to extend outside the category (Farquhar and Herr 1993.). Within-Category Assortment Consumers perceptions of the depth of a retailers assortment within a product category are an important dimension of store image and a key driver of store choice. As the perceived assortment of brands, flavors, and sizes increases, variety seeking consumers will perceive greater utility (McAlister and Pessemier 1982; Kahn and Wansink 2004). Kahn and Wansink (2004) shows that the organization and symmetry of an assortment moderate the impact of actual assortment variety on perceived variety and consumption, with organized and asymmetric assortments having a more positive effect. BRAND ASSORTMENT One specific aspect of the retailers assortment strategy, brand assortment, has become particularly important in the last decade as a tool for retailers to influence their image and develop their own brand name. One motivation for offering private labels is the higher percent margins that they provide to retailers (Hoch and Banerji 1993); another is the negotiating leverage they provide over manufacturers (Narasimhan and Wilcox 1998); and a third is the implicit assumption that providing a private label brand engenders loyalty to the retailer (Steenkamp and Dekimpe 1997). OVERVIEW This literature highlights the brand and branding concepts. Significant studies were gone through to gather abundant information on branding and brand. Writer reviews different secondary sources such as journals, online materials and discusses with the giant brand personalities of different local and international brand. The literature review focuses areas of defining brand, types of brand, brand positioning, brand equity and giving emphasize on retail branding. It also reflects ideas of different brand strategies. It clearly depicts the difference between product and retail brand. This literature discusses different retailers dimension that has impact on brand positioning and as well as strategies. It also suggests some strategies for the retailer to establish brands and enhance image of retailing.

Is Frankenstein a reality? Essay -- Technology Society

Mary Shelley’s 1818 book, Frankenstein, started a popular trend with authors and movie screen writers of science fiction and horror. For over a century now, movies have been produced replicating the Frankenstein novel and the mysteries revolving around creating life from scratch. Numerous films show humans creating creatures or monsters, with good intentions, only for something to go wrong and the creation creates havoc on everyone involved. Viewers will find every variation of creation from cloning to mixing chemicals. In Frankenstein body parts were stitched together like patchwork creating an odd monstrous looking figure. The moral of the movie gives the viewer the impression that we should never play god. Otherwise, we will need to seek out and destroy what we created, just as Victor Frankenstein wanted to do. However, these movies are actually becoming a reality to a certain extent. Is it possible that the Frankenstein myth may actually become a reality in the near futur e? Scientist and doctors have been hard at work for many years to make this fiction a reality. When Frankenstein, was made into a movie in 1931, a memorable scene from it became the dark and gloomy night Victors creation came to life. The violent thunder and lightning had the audience predicting an intense moment was about to occur. Victor’s dead corpse was raised to an opening at the top of the ceiling where a magnificent display of light is shown jolting the machines connected to his creation. After the corpse was completely descended back into the laboratory, Victor notices a slight movement of the corpse’s stitched on hand. He shouts â€Å"Look! It’s moving. It’s alive! It’s alive! Oh in the name of God. Now I know what it feels like to be God.† Soon after,... ...tp://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-ropeik/scientists-bring-back-art_b_583876.html> . Sato, Rebecca. â€Å"Playing God† Scientists in Final Stage of Creating man-made Life.† Daily Galaxy. The Great Discoveries Channel. 21 June 2007. Web. 5 Dec. 2010 . Sato, Rebecca, and Casey Kazan. â€Å"The Ilulissat Manifesto-Creating Artificial Life.† The Daily Galaxy. The Great Discoveries Channel, 12 Mar. 2008. Web. 5 Dec. 2010. . Shelley, Mary, Frankenstein. Romantic Circles. University of Maryland. Stuart Curran. Web. 7 Nov 2010 . Tigges, Sabina. â€Å"Clint Hallam: Guinea Pig Takes the Reins.† Guinea Pig Zero. 29 Dec. 2005. Web. 5 Dec. 2010 .