Nineteenth Century Realism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nineteenth Century Realism - Essay Example The realists democratized art through the depiction of modern subjects from the common people, mostly the working class. The basis of realism was the direct observation of people’s lives as opposed to idealized classicism of art and the themes forming the basis of Romanticism. This paper shall discuss three works of art created during the period of Realism, with emphasis on European art. Gustave Coubert was one of the strongest proponents of Realism. He secured his place as a pioneer through challenging the art that had for a long time been favored by the state-sponsored academy of art. By extension, Coubert challenged the core of history painting. Coubert painted this work and exhibited it at the Salons de Paris in 1849 and 1850-51. In this work of art, Coubert portrayed common people from his native region on a scale previously reserved for the elevation of themes in painting about history. He used people who were present at the burial. This painting was selected for this st udy because of the message that is sought to pass across to the public. The realism in the 315 by 668 cm oil painting comes through the burial of Coubert’s great uncle. The setting is in Ornans, a small town in France. The painting had a significant effect on the art scene, since it did not have the depictions that most artistes would bring out. This work of art was unique in the sense that it had an unflattering air. Gourmet did not attempt to romanticize the depictions of mourning and grief in this art work.

Strengths and Weaknesses of Napoleon as a Military Leader (research Essay

Strengths and Weaknesses of Napoleon as a Military Leader (research paper) - Essay Example There is a volume of academic material on his military legacies that are studied as examples in military colleges (Abbott 23). The simple argument of Napoleon Bonaparte swirls feelings. He was indeed one of the ‘greatest army minds’ in the record of combat. The activities of his life have motivated the creativeness of researchers, fictional numbers, instructing authorities, filmmakers and learners as well. Both the limitless compliment and highly effective criticisms placed on such a famous determine have provided considerably to the development of the Napoleonic legend. The available historical material touching on the life of Napoleon Bonaparte reveals lack of consensus among historians concerning his qualities as a military leaver. While others commend him for his extraordinary skills as an organizer and a charismatic leader, on the other hand, others have argued that he was not a schemer and strategic thinker. This line of argument has it that Napoleon was over-dependent on the strategies of his predecessors, and only managed to improvise military strategies rather than effectively plan war schemes (Antonmarchi 34). Those who hold this line of thought further suggest that his eventual downfall can be directly attributed to his weakness, although those who disagree argue that it is his characteristics that propelled him to dominating much of Europe. This paper seeks to assess the strengths and characteristics of Napoleon Bonaparte that made him a successful military leader. The paper also draws on his weakness and failures, in order to come up with a balanced analysis of his military legacy. In doing the analysis, evidence from some of his expeditions will be used together with empirical evidence from scholarly materials. Armed with an unending ambition and cunningness, Napoleon came into power in 1799 through a military coup d’Ã ©tat, and in 1804, he crowned himself emperor of France in a ceremony that was

Cost Management and Activity-Based Costing Essay

Cost Management and Activity-Based Costing - Essay Example This case is built upon the cutting most of the things and leaving only those which are absolutely necessary for the company like firing of both secretaries, the firing of one secretary, one social worker for Community Mental Health Services and one Social Worker for Outpatient mental health treatment, cutting in half the purchased services of security and consultation and the replacement of an assistant on lower pay rate. Reducing budgets are a very difficult job for the administration. Whosever share gets cut, that person becomes unhappy which may lead to future disagreements or problems. For this reason the management has to sort out the budget cuts from appropriate angles and has to deal with the problems straight on. The budgets cuts that can be reduced in this budget are prioritized below one by one. As mentioned before, budgets must be properly handled when there is a need to reduce them or great problems can occur. The first step to reduce the budget is to review the program and management achievements and fiscal performance over the year. This includes reviewing the objectives achieved, comparing budget to actual figures, and looking at the number of people served in each program. Based on this review, new goals and objectives should be discussed and agreed upon in a preliminary way. These goals must be realistic in nature sticking to the fact that the budget will be reduced and the targets would be harder to achieve. To reduce expenses, it is helpful to determine what each program would cost at different service levels. A fixed percent cut across all expense lines is often not the most effective way to reduce expenses. For instance, do not assume that benefits and costs move together, with each additional dollar spent resulting in an additional dollar of results. The costs to reduce must be properly analyzed first and then the reduction must be implemented. The estimate of the costs required in achieving the objectives,

Etihad towers hotel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Etihad towers hotel - Essay Example For instance, the majority of these rooms range from forty to sixty square meters, while others are designed to have a space ranging from ninety two to nine hundred and eighty square meters. These specially designed rooms are referred to as Royal Etihad Suite and they are situated at the sixtieth floor of the Etihad Towers. Other features of the hotel include 199 residences that are serviced; in fact, this are meant for customers that are available for longer stays (Jumeirah, 2013). The hotel has variety of restaurants and lounges which provide customers with extensive alternatives for cookery temptations, which are located at the sixty third floors to the beach; this cookery offers entire day dinning and Lebanese restaurants and veranda seating. The hotel has an executive lounge, which offers food and beverages, internet lounge, shower suits, and a business center, which is fitted with four meeting rooms situated at level forty five (Jumeirah, 2013). The hotel offers a conference ce nter, which is completely equipped with ballroom; in fact, it has a capacity that can accommodate up to 1400 delegates. There are thirteen meeting rooms and pre-functions spaces that offer sea view, while on the other hand, the hotel offers leisure time through Talise Spa in fourteen treatment suits, Rasoul chamber, and hammam (Jumeirah, 2013). There are extensive gyms fitted with sophisticated equipments, while its other side offers a landscape of oasis pools, gardens and private beach; in fact, section in this part offer retail therapy at superb Etihad Towers boutiques. SWOT Analysis of Etihad Towers Hotel Strengths Jumeirah hotel derives advantages due to its location, since it is accessible to customers from the air port city shopping malls and central business district area. Furthermore, the hotel has been benefiting from increasing demand of rooms due to absence of other hotels of its class. There are numerous features offered by this hotel to customers and they make a signifi cant contribution to the strengths of the hotel (Landman, 2010). Some of these features are unique and cannot be provided by their competitors; for instance, application of technology in their services has earned them a competitive advantage in the market. The other source of strength is increased foreign investment, whereby this has led to increased number of business men taking business trips to UAE and they seek accommodation from this hotel; in fact, this number includes government officials from other countries. In this case, all these customers find this hotel to be in a convenient location due to its proximity to central business district and government offices. Weakness The hotel is highly dependent on its geographical location, whereby they are expecting to attract customers from the nearby central business district and shopping mall, and air port. Therefore this can lead to lack of strategies that can enable them target and venture into new market; in fact, they are confin ed into to a single market which leads to increased vulnerability in case there is economic recession (Landman, 2010). The hotel has commenced operating recently; thus, it has not acquired substantial brand equity and client base in the area (Management Study Guide, 2012). Opportunities There are

Sexual Attraction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Sexual Attraction - Essay Example Therefore on our biological level sexual attraction is a display of reproductive abilities; on psychological level we want to support that spiritual bond among individuals and reveal our emotions; in sociological frames sexual attraction is caused by cultural, legal and other aspects of our lives; from the point of view of philosophy, sexual attraction has prints of all the aspects of inner and outer worlds. Different societies have different mechanisms and criteria of sexual attraction. Historical and cultural backgrounds of our lives create stereotypes of what good and bad is, what sexual and what is not †¦ A complex bundle of personal preferences, experiences, genetic information, moral values of the society determine what is sexually attractive for any individual. First and most common idea is that sexual attraction should be considered in terms of physical appearance of a person. Whether this statement right or not, we’ll consider in this section. Furthermore it is relevant to give a brief overview of historical roots of sexual attraction if any. Thus in prehistoric age a woman with broad shoulders, big belly and flabby breasts considered to be sexually attractive (Buss, 1994). The epoch of Renaissance renovated this tendency and this image followed its existence. Nevertheless it’s hard to imagine that modern society could accept this image as an attractive one. Nowadays in order to be sexually attractive, a modern woman should be tall, slim, have good-looking face, proportional breasts and full lips. Following this criterion, we can conclude that sexual attraction is differentiated on a visual level. But female sexual image discussed above can be transformed in accordance with subjective attitude and imagination of an individual. Another question appears at this point: who is the individual deciding what is sexually attractive and what is

The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management Essay Example for Free

The Home Depot-Leadership in Crisis Management Essay The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management Introduction Established in 1979, The Home Depot has proved to be a leading retail company founded upon providing excellent products at competitive prices sold from knowledgeable sales representatives. Through this concept, The Home Depot has dominated both professional and do-it-yourself sales across the world. In 1992, The Home Depot was faced with a new challenge. Hurricane Andrew struck with vengeance and devastated 75,000 homes across Florida. Since 10% of The Home Depot’s stores were located in Florida, this quickly became a corporate emergency. The Home Depot stepped up to the challenge and stood behind their customers. Depot froze prices for supplies the community would need to rebuild or even sold products at costs in some cases. Then-CEO Bernie Marcus stated â€Å"This is not a time to make money on the back of other people’s misfortune† (Herman). This attitude proved prosperous for The Home Depot when profits increased 44%. With this eye opening experience, The Home Depot decided to take further actions to prepare their employees and customers for future hurricanes. Paul Raines was hired by The Home Depot and eventually was made the Divisional Leader for the Southern Region. His experience in the third world countries made him the perfect candidate to lead Depots crisis management project. When 2004 rolled around, Florida was viscously attacked with four storms in a seven week period. Through the devastation, The Home Depot utilized this period as a learning tool. The storms of 2004 developed three main â€Å"Crisis Management† concepts for The Home Depots: speed, preparedness, and chain of command. Speed was crucial for the community and The Home Depot strived to open as swiftly as possible after the storms ceased. The Home Depot stayed ahead of the storms by having a surplus of storm relief inventory, as well as workers close enough to be called upon when the major threats had passed. Finally, the employees of The Home Depot understood who was in charge and calling the shots. From these concepts a â€Å"Crisis Command Center† was born for category two hurricanes or worse. The Command Center consisted of conference rooms where representatives could meet and develop a plan of attack. With the click of a mouse they were able to determine what their customer’s main needs were. The main goal of the Command Center was to insure employee safety, re-open stores, and make sure computer systems were accurately working which included pay roll and cash registers. In 2005 the Command Center was put to the test when Hurricane Katrina attacked the Gulf Coast. The Home Depot began preparations well in advance and was ready to reopen stores as soon as possible after the storm had passed. Managers worked eighteen hours a day, which paid off when of the thirty-three stores in Katrina’s path all but ten opened the following day. With such an elaborate Command Center and well informed staff, The Home Depot was able to provide the communities with the supplies they needed to begin rebuilding their homes (Herman). In 2007, a new crisis was thrown at The Home Depot. This predicament was far more personal than any storm could ever be. Columnist Scott Burns verbally attacked The Home Depot in a published article on MSN. com. Customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness were all under attack by disgruntled customers. In a short period of time, there were over 7,000 posts and 10,000 emails of customer complaints. Corporate Officials were outraged over the online posts. This was a delicate situation that needed to be dealt with. Official’s feared making a public statement would draw media attention to the article which had not yet been a hot topic for the television. Then CEO Frank Blake, felt he had no choice but to respond on the MSN post board. He made a lengthy apology to all disgruntled bloggers. He pleaded for all concerns to be forwarded to a private email account. He vowed to improve upon these negative insights and hoped to once again regain their trust. As Blake assumed, the media went crazy and picked up the article. Blake decided to utilize the Crisis Management plan to handle their current reputational attack (Herman). At the current time, the main issues faced by the â€Å"Command Center† were natural disasters such as hurricanes. From the Crisis Management Command Center, The Home Depot had found the key to success when handling natural disasters: speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Utilizing these tools, The Home Depot had developed a great starting point for handling their Reputational Crisis. The Home Depots crisis management skills were analyzed in a SWOT analysis, which can be viewed in appendix A. In mainstream media, the public tends to remember the negative and forget the positive. Regardless of how many wonderful things The Home Depot had done for the community, the current reputational attack was going to be remembered the most. Blake’s swift response was both beneficial and harmful to The Home Depot in my opinion. I agree the Home Depot needed to respond quickly to the article; however, I feel they should have brought the media’s attention to the article through a press conference rather than by a post on a message board. If The Home Depot had made a verbal response, they could have put their own spin on the article. Blake’s apology was a good tactic which could have been carried over to a verbal response. Reputational attacks are bound to happen to major companies and The Home Depot needs to learn from this and be prepared to respond through positive publicity. Ways to accomplish this would be through donations, charity events, sales, or other generous acts which would benefit the community. These acts could help cover reputational attacks. The Home Depot also needs be prepared with the proper chain of command to respond to situations like these (Herman). Analysis: Decision Making Biases The Home Depots reputation crisis presented several decision making biases which involved crisis management situations where decisions had to be made under uncertainty. These biases included overconfidence, inertia, selective perception, representation, and self-serving biases. The overconfidence bias was based on the illusion that a company was superior to its competition, allowing the company to focus on successes and forget the situations where failures occurred. The Home Depot most likely assumed they were one step ahead of the competition. This assumption led them to believe their customers also felt The Home Depot was a superior company. Unfortunately, this was not the case and was revealed through the MSN article. The inertia bias was based upon the term procrastination which demonstrates when a projects immediate effect is unpleasant; a company will delay the project even if the long term reward outweighs the immediate negative effect. Essentially, this was a probable cause why The Home Depot postponed improving upon customer service, products, inventory, and cleanliness before it was attacked by the media. The Home Depot also likely encountered the selective perception bias. This bias focuses on instances where a company was influenced by its own base of interpretation more than the environment around them. In simplistic terms, The Home Depot had tunnel vision and was not focusing on the needs of their customers. The representation bias also applies to crisis management when companies ignore the laws of random occurrences and evaluate the likelihood of an event (social disaster such as the reputation attack on The Home Depot) based on how closely they resemble some other event (natural disaster for instance). Lastly, but not least, the self-serving bias focuses on situations where a company takes recognition for successes but blame external factors for failures. The Home Depot could have easily gone down this path with its reputation crisis, but it stood up to its own mistakes and faced the issue head on (Lehrer). Analysis: Crisis Leadership Now As discussed in the introduction, The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan was based on three concepts which included speed, preparedness, and a clear chain of command. Throughout the years, The Home Depot proved their Disaster Management plan worked for various tragedies encountered by the company. Their methods have fallen right in line with approaches mentioned in the book, Crisis Leadership Now. Within this book, it states â€Å"If businesses are ready to survive and recover, the nation our economy are more secure† (Barton). The Home Depot was prepared and wasn’t afraid to get involved. The Home Depot’s Disaster Management plan also went along with the material within the Crisis Leadership Now, by showing The Home Depot practiced the idea that a company can best shield itself not just by assuming it’s protected, but by investigating deeper into potential problems and exposures. Along with that, The Home Depot was also promoting family and individual preparedness for disasters. Home Depot’s latest crisis involving the company’s reputation dealt with managing a crisis and handling key stakeholders. With such a public outcry for improvement, a quick response was needed to keep control of the situation. Crisis Leadership Now explains an â€Å"8 hour window† concept where â€Å"If you can capture what has happened, who is impacted, and how you intend to communicate your response with a clear plan of action within 8 hours, you have the foundation for an excellent recovery plan† (Barton). I believe The Home Depot followed this concept in formalizing a response on the MSN. com message board. The question which arises however is whether or not they should have carried the company’s response over to a verbal reply that would have appealed to more dissatisfied customers. Analysis: Managing the Unexpected The Home Depot’s Disaster Management Plan also follows several principles for HRO’s (high reliability organizations) that were laid out in the book â€Å"Managing the Unexpected†. There are a total of 5 principles which include: 1. Preoccupation with Failure – Do not focus primarily on business successes. 2. Reluctance to Simplify Interpretations – See as much as possible and welcome diversity. 3. Sensitivity to Operations – Be more attentive to the front line and be less focused on strategy. 4. Commitment to Resilience –Have the ability to bounce back after mistakes and learn from them. 5. Deference to Expertise – Do not focus expertise decisions on a hierarchical system where the top level makes all decisions. Place authority with person(s) with most expertise wherever they are located in the hierarchy. Weick) It is in my opinion that The Home Depot closely followed all five of the principles above. The two that stand out the most to me are the company’s â€Å"Commitment to Resilience† and â€Å"Deference to Expertise†. The Home Depot’s commitment to resilience can easily be seen over the years where the company produced a quick turn around after major natural disasters, as well as their response after the company’s latest reputational crisis Also, the company’s deference to expertise can be seen as top executives gave more power to the individual store managers. The executives realized that the specific store managers had more expertise for the individual store location than executives did. The fact that The Home Depot closely follows all five of the principles stated above shows that the company is a highly reliable organization (Weick). Conclusion The Home Depot has become an industry leader in Crisis Management. They continue to learn from their mistakes as well as from experience. The Home Depot should keep in mind there is always room for improvement. The key is not only to have plans set in place for natural disasters, but also for disasters such as reputational attacks. The Home Depot should continue to prepare for all sorts of tragedies. This will only insure their longevity in the field, as well as reassure customers of their core values. The Home Depot should rejoice in their successes and embrace their faults when trying to improve. Negative publicity will always be a concern for such a large company, but with a secure plan of attack, The Home Depot will continue to lead the way for home improvement.

Relationship between BOH tea and consumer behavior

Relationship between BOH tea and consumer behavior BOH Plantation Sdn Bhd was found by John Archibald Russell in the year 1929, together with A.B. Milne, a veteran in tea planting from Ceylon they succeeded in obtaining a concession of land in Cameron Highland in order to start the tea plantation business. Together the duo transforms steep jungles slopes into a tea garden known as BOH Plantations, which is the 1st highland tea garden in the country. BOH Plantations business begins to bloom and currently is the leading tea grower in the country. The plantation expanded and owns four tea gardens, of which three is located 5000 ft above sea level and is situated in Cameron Highlands, and the fourth is centralizing in Bukit Cheeding, Selangor. Collectively, the gardens size in total is 1200ha. BOH Plantation has been firmly entrenched that most Malaysia drinks BOH tea than any other brand. BOH teas are available in 3 different forms (tea packets, tea bags, tea dust). The company currently produces 4 million kg of tea in a year. Malaysian consumes 10million kg of tea which makes BOH tea largest producer locally of black tea, in terms of cuppage, BOH tea produces about 5.5 million per day which almost meets 50% of tea consumption requirement in the country. The success story of BOH Plantation continues to be Malaysias leading brand in tea and is also exporting to Brunei, Japan, Singapore, United Arab Emirates and also the US. Consumer Decision Process BOH tea Consumer Decision Process is basically known as a cognitive process. Consumer is aware of a need or wants and search for possible ways to satisfy it. Awareness of consumer is not an automatic process; it is actually selective external procedure. Example, consumers are expose to thousands of messages that persuades them from advertising, political organization, religious groups , food products and many more other resources. This mass information that seeks out consumer attention then filtered out by individual in order to make the decision in buying a product. In order for a consumer to purchase a product, he or she has to go through the 5 stages of consumer decision process. These 5 stages of consumer decision making process are very important for consumer to make an accurate decision in satisfying their needs and wants. The stages flow in sequence beginning with problem recognition and ending with post-purchase evaluation. The 5 stages are as graph above: Problem Recognition Information Search Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives Decision Implementation Post-purchase Evaluation Problem Recognition The consumer decision process begins when a consumer is aware of satisfying their needs or wants. For the past decade, health benefits have caught the attention of the wide coverage of media. Numerous studies have shown that the antioxidant polyphenols of tea has the anti-cancer properties and also able to reduce the risk of gastric, and also skin cancer. Prevention is better than cure; this statement has drive consumers to seek for healthy product to maintain a healthy lifestyle, likewise tea is a healthy drink. This is where BOH tea as Malaysian leading brand provides high quality tea that contains rich aroma of tea flavors that fills the nose and relishing the taste in the mouth while giving a soothing effect. Below are 2 examples of BOH teas top products. Product 1 (BOH string and tag) Source: https://www.boh.com.my/shop/product_info.php?products_id=71 Most consume product that satisfies the need of consumers that wants to prepare instant pre-pack tea. Product 2 BOH tea leaves Source: https://www.boh.com.my/shop/product_info.php?products_id=29 This product satisfies the needs of consumer that prefers the old fashion tea leave method, as the aroma and taste of tea is stronger. Information Research When consumers identify a problem, they will find ways to solve the problems. Consumer will need to do internal and external research in obtaining the knowledge of products that will satisfy their needs. In the case of BOH tea, since it is the leading tea brand in Malaysia it is important to strengthen the brands leadership by creating awareness for their product through sales promotion and advertising. As internal research, in order for BOH tea to capture the attention of consumer they have come up with a catchy phrase ada Ummph which literally means more than words can describe kind of feeling to show the great quality of tea that is produce by BOH tea. This phrase will strongly register the brands name in the mind of consumer, so that the next time they want to purchase tea, BOH tea will be their 1st choice as the ada Ummph phrase shows that consumer will never regret in consuming their tea. Above is the example of the catchy phrase that is place on the product of BOH tea that always remind people to enjoy the goodness of tea at the same time enjoying a relaxing time, it has specialized BOH tea from different brand of tea such as Twinnings, Chamomile and Lipton. External research allow consumer to access for secondary information from online resources, advertisement, brochures and many more in order to provide them with the excess knowledge to purchase the computer of their choice. Tea drinker in Malaysia will not escape the attention of BOH tea, as their product can be obtained from most retail outlets. BOH tea has also promoted their tea in printed media such as newspaper advertisement, television commercial, and also campaigns. BOH tea promotes their tea with bonding with love ones by creating moments of togetherness with loved ones. This is to show that a cup of tea can unite everyone together without any restriction. One way for BOH tea to educate consumers is by giving away free samplings and by holding contests for consumers. Source:http://old.brudirect.com/public_html/DailyInfo/News/Archive/June05/100605/bb08.htm Above is a picture of a winner who participated in a lucky draw pick that was organized by BOH tea in a shopping mall. This shows that promotion is a very important strategy in order to build consumer knowledge on BOH tea. Evaluation and Selection of Alternatives The following step allows the consumer to evaluate the brands from the information that is obtained. Consumers sees product as a bundle of attributes such as the need, benefits, and attributes in order to make the right decision that satisfy their needs and wants. This bundle of attributes is actually a products objective and subjective factors. Objective factor Strong aroma of tea and relishing taste Subjective factors Comparison of BOH Tea and Lipton tea, BOH tea being the outstanding as product is cheaper then Lipton and has strong aroma that suits consumers taste Purchase Decision Purchasing the brand BOH tea satisfies the entire spectrum of the non-alcoholic beverage in Malaysia and encourages tea to be consumed including, cold, instant, traditional or in any other form that is preferred by consumer. This satisfies the consumer by providing choice of tea consumption according to their taste This is the stage where consumer has decided which brand of product that he or she wants after a making comparison with all the availability of product brands. Consumer will then have to select 2 specific elements which is purchasing the brand choice and purchasing time. Purchasing Time Product can be purchase in most retail outlet in the form of packages. Consumer can also buy it in bundle during promotion period too. Post purchase evaluation In this stage the level of purchase involvement of consumer is very important, it is often known as the level of concern for or interest in the purchase and heavily depends on the extensive information that is seek by the consumer in making a purchase decision. Low purchase involvement process Example, suppose if a buyer buys a certain brand of product (e.g., BOH tea) as a matter of habit, this means the drink is a low purchase involvement situation and consumers do not have to evaluate and seek information extensively. This case consumer will simply buy and consume the product and generates a high level of repeating the same purchase of product. Graph above shows low involvement purchase process that takes place. The benefit of low purchase involvement process is BOH tea has become consumers loyal brand for tea consumption products as repeat purchase has been taking place from time to time. However, if the level of purchase is high and the consumer is involved in extensive decision making, consumer will be more likely to face a more elaborated post-purchase evaluation. High Purchase Involvement process This graph shows that there is a post-purchase dissonance where consumer are unable to commit to the decision of choosing the brand that they want and it will create anxiety among consumers as it is difficult to make alternatives choices. In order for consumer to reduce this dissonance, consumer has to make approaches such as to increase the desirability of the brand that they want to purchase and reject the desirability of rejected alternatives and also reject the negative data on brand purchased. If dissonance is not reduce, the anxiety experience may turn into a dissatisfaction and leads to a new problem. That is why high purchase involvement needs extensive research of information to reduce anxiety and increase the confidence level in purchasing the product they want. Consumer will stay loyal to BOH tea because the company is constantly doing research in order to satisfy the future consumer needs. Psychological Core BOH tea Attention Attention is a concept of cognitive psychology that helps us to actively process information present in our environment. Attention is an unconscious process where consumer can automatically scan the features of the environment surrounding them. Attention can be classified into 2 which are voluntary and involuntary. Selective Attention Selective attention is the study of why people pay attention towards things, and how deep is their attention towards things that they focus. BOH tea pays attention towards animal and environmental conservation and have won numerous awards. Example, the companys packing facility in Bukit Cheeding has receive the ISO 9002 certification, this can further assured of quality tea every time consumer open up a packet of BOH tea. BOH also won the Super brand Excellence Trophy Award in Food Beverage category in 2004. Tea Brands such as Rooibos tea from South Africa although provides lots of benefits but unfortunately they are a bit slow in venturing into environmental conservation. Orientation reflex Orientation reflex is very important in capturing the attention of consumer. The aim of this involuntary action is to create stimuli that surprise the expectation of consumers. Example, BOH Tea is able to capture the attention of their consumer with their advertisement in television which focuses on family bonding where family members can socialize through a cup of tea. Perception Perception is a process that begins with consumer being exposed to information, attended to the information and ending with comprehending the information that is focus on. Perception consists of 5 major elements which is exposure stage, attention stage and comprehension stage. Exposure stage is the beginning process of perception process where consumer is exposing to information in the environment that is observed by the human senses. However, exposure towards surrounding is not enough to give a major impact towards consumers. BOH tea attracts consumer by promoting their products in television commercial, newspaper advertisement, BOH tea website, and also campaign. Example, BOH tea has done numerous televisions commercial by targeting the culture of tea regardless of religious or political options and also not to forget the moment of togetherness by the bonding of family member. The attention stage, is how consumer pays attention towards something, this stage consumer will allocate processing capacity to a stimulus. In order to capture the attention of consumer, BOH tea has involve in animal and environmental conservation. One of their successful stories is when BOH Plantation was the first tea company to be awarded ISO22000 certification, an international standard designed to ensure safe food supply chains worldwide. BOH has also strengthened the leadership of their brand by embarking on numerous marketing campaigns. Consumer will then interpret the information obtain from environment and store it in the memory so that consumer can make the decision at the purchase stage. Different choices of tea X Lipton Tea X Alce Dero X BOH tea X Chayo X Twining X St Dalfour Organic tea Taste/Smell Taste/ Smell X Clear Spring X Alvita Tea X Austral Herbs X Dalhousie X Eden Organic X Nature Cuppa Organics X Sonnetor X Borneo Rainforest Less choices of tea Above is an example of perceptual mapping that helps BOH tea to develop a market positing strategy for their products. This has help us to see how consumer perceive the brands of tea that is available, and also how BOH tea can develop in technology and agriculture in improvising the taste and aroma of tea suits to the mood of consumers. Motivation Motivation refers to an inner drive that reflects the goal of a person, which consist of the urge, wishes, or desire that allow them to strive to achieve the goals and aims that is set. The two motivational theories that is famously know to express the motivation of people are the : Maslows Hierachy of Needs W.J. McGuire psychological motives Abraham Maslows Hierarchy of Needs Maslows hierarchy of need is actually a theory to satisfy the human needs . In order to be at the peak of the hierarchy, a person has to satisfy the lower needs in order to achieve higher needs in the hierarchy. ( Further explanation of this theory will be explain in the appendix) The next theory is McGuires physiological motives , a very detailed set of motives to understand the specific aspects of consumer behavior. This theory consists of 4 major categories with 16 sub-categories which explain the behavior of consumer.( Further explanation refer to appendix) The 2 criteria that satisfy the 4 main categories are as follow: Is the mode of motivation cognitive or affective? Is the motive focus on preservation of status or on growth? This advertisement has shown us that BOH is targeting bonding between people and at the same time satisfying the need for affiliation (active, external). The pictures shows that two hands of different skin complexion holding the cup of tea basically means, no matter who we might be we can bring people together over an occasion of tea and igniting joy. The tag line Brings people together in the advertisement tells consumers that life are always more meaningful when shared with people who matters the most. Here we can see BOH tea market and targets the satisfaction of building relationship of family members and friends. This advertisement target consume by showing the types of product available for consumers. This has satisfy the needs for stimulation, consumer often seek variety and different out of stimulation, so this advertisement has shown the range of preparation of tea they have such as BOH tea leaves packaging and BOH tea in strings and bags. This way consumer can be satisfied depending on how they want to prepare their cup of tea. The next will be the need of expression; the sentence BOH mother brand range has express others about the distinctive and unique character of BOH tea bursts with freshness and aroma in each cupful. They also want to express that BOH tea satisfy much more than just the aroma and taste by preparing a small plate of cookies to show that their tea can go best with evening tea time meal as to relax our mind and soul. Learning Behaviors that results from repetition experience and thinking have allow consumer to develop automatic response to a situation.( Further explanation of learning process can be found in the appendix ). When consumer has chosen a specific product that satisfies their needs, they rely on what they have learned through previous experience about the products characteristic such as the brand name, ingredients or features. In order for BOH tea to provide knowledge on their tea production, they have come up with different kind of tea thats suits different consumer taste. In order to satisfy different taste of consumer, BOH has produced the instant tea mix with no sugar added as seen in the above image. This product does not contain sugar but with added creamer for a smoothing taste. This product not only allow consumer to experience the robust full flavor of BOH tea, but also easily prepared by adding hot water for a quick and refreshing cup of tea . The learning process has registered consumer that does not take sugar can always buy this product. Green tea product of BOH as seen above soothes refreshes and revitalizes the mind and soul of consumer who needs a boost in energy after a hard day at work. This has allow learning process to take place within consumer who will purchase green tea product of BOH tea, that promises 100% tea that is steamed then rolled and dried in traditional process over the century. The delicate aroma, light and refreshing taste with its natural antioxidant properties gives consumer an opportunity to learn that this green tea does not fail to refresh and revitalize our body and mind. Memory Memory is the ability of the human mind to store, recall information or experience, or retain vital information. (types and further explanation of memory can be found in appendix) In order for BOH tea to strengthen their leadership brand in tea has to target consumer in many ways that possible and advertisement in an interesting way that can transform nature of consumer by setting expectation that influence the way consumer interpret that information In order to target loyal consumer, BOH tea has come up with advertisement and promotions to establish their brand. The image above is an example of promotion strategy use to attract consumers. The promotion is about sharing with love ones where consumer takes pictures with family and friends and post them to BOH tea, and BOH tea will then take all the pictures and form a huge collage that says 1 Ummph, 1 smile which literally means BOH tea puts a smiles on every Malaysian no matter who they are. This promotion strategy not only builds the spirit of patriotic Malaysian and builds the relationship with everyone, but also giving them a chance to win RM5, 000 for grand prize and RM1,000 for conservation prize . In addition, a chance for all Malaysian to make history in making their way in Malaysia books of record for forming the largest collages regarding the value of togetherness. This kind of promotion can allow consumer to always remember BOH tea reaching out to people even though th ey are just a tea brand. It shows how BOH tea cares for the people. Attitude Attitude is feeling or affection against a stimulus; it is stored in the long-term memory. The 4 function of attitude consist of Utilitarian function, which is use to obtain reward and avoid punishment, Ego-Defensive function is self-protection, knowledge function is simplifies decision such as brand, and value expression which is express identify towards others. Beliefs is an important aspect in attitude, in order for consumer to have positive beliefs on BOH tea which is strong aroma and soothing taste they have to differentiate their product to the liking of consumers. Other tea brands such as Twinings and Rooibos tea are very difficult to attract consumer in Malaysia because they do not promote and advertise their product much. They do not approach consumers, and that case has given opportunity to BOH tea to target consumer attitude in the sense of drinking tea with love ones, the bonding and relationship that is created with the people around us Culture The direct definition from textbook about culture is That complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man person as a member of society. (Further explanation of culture can be obtain in the appendix) Tea has been diversified over the years such as lifestyle, customs of tea and not to forget combined social process such as learning, planting, and using tea. Tea culture has struck people of all ages. In the young generation, entertainment on weekend draws young group of enthusiastic customers. Example, young people are more interested on meeting people in coffeehouse while having a cup of tea. The interest in tea drinking among people assures diverse and sophisticated customer base on now and future. As for the older generation, the fact that the price of a cup of tea and snack is relatively modest, they can also meet up with friends and relax and work at the same time. This is benefiting them rather than spendi ng money on alcoholic drink in a bar. Thus, the young generation will be an important target market. Subculture Identification with core culture Identification with a subculture Mass market behaviors Unique market behavior Core culture values and norms Subculture values and norms Individuals A subculture is a section of a larger culture whose members shares distinguish values and pattern behavior. Social history and current situation of the groups generates the unique values and pattern of behavior which they practices in their subculture. One good example of tea subculture in Malaysia is the element of showmanship in preparing teh tarik .A hot beverage prepared and commonly found restaurants and outdoor stalls. Teh tarik literally means tea pouring in a sense. Above is a picture on how Teh tarik is prepared. It is the ability to drag a long stream of tea above the head of the brewer in an amusing way that it draws the attention for locals and tourists alike as an entertainment that we do not usually see elsewhere. The sub culture of this has drive teh tarik brewers to gather for competitions and performance to show their skills. This preparation of tea has recognized as beverage heritage in Malaysia. Group Group can be said that two or more individual who shares the same set of norm, values and beliefs. Reference group A group whose values, norms, attitudes, or beliefs that are use as a guide for behavior. A group whose presumed perspective or values are being used by individual as basis for her or his current behavior in situation. Example, colleagues at work, friends at school, members of clubs and so on Aspiration group is a group where an individual would belong, dissociative group which a person does not want to associated with them. Society Society is made up of individuals who have agreed to work together for mutual benefit. It can be a very broad term, as we can make generalizations about what the whole of Western society believes, or it can be a very narrow definition, describing only a small group of people within a given community. But no matter the size, and no matter the link that binds a society together, be it religious, geographic, professional or economic, society is shaped by the relationships between individuals. Life style influence Lifestyle is a common word to explain complicated consumer behaviors. Lifestyle is a way to segment people into groups based on three things: opinions, attitudes and activities. Lifestyle means the ways groups of consumers spend time and money. Lifestyle can include things like bowling, cooking, car racing, kayaking, attending charity events, having pets, interest in politics, watching sporting events and so on Everyone has two lifestyles-the one they are currently in and the one they want to be in, which is always better than the current one. Marketers exploit this desire to move into a better lifestyle by showcasing people who are better off than the intended target market in their ads. For example most ads targeting children show children that are almost too old for the product, this appeals to younger children who desire to be like them. Marketing strategy ( the 4 Ps ) The goal is to make decisions that center the four Ps on the customers in the target market in order to create perceived value and generate a positive response. Product Decisions Tangible physical products that can be sold to consumer .The decision making of BOH tea are such as brands name, safety, packaging, and also quality. Above the BOH tea brands that comes with the trademark of puts the Ummph in life that literally means enjoy life to the max with just a cup of tea. Below are a few products of BOH tea in their preferred packaging. BOH ice tea with blackcurrent flavor Gold BOH Cameroon blend BOH instant tea mix BOH green tea Pricing decision Below is the pricing decision of BOH tea products which is literally cheaper then their competitor such as Twinings and Roobois tea. Name of Products description Size Price ($) BOH Cameronian-Gold Blend Cameronian-Gold Blend is distinguished for its exceptionally smooth flavor and rich golden color. 50 individual foil sealed teabags x 2g (100g) 6.35 BOH Green Tea Natural green tea that refreshes and soothes the mind 50 individual teabags x 1.5g (75g) 6.35 BOH tea instant mix Pre-blended with tasty creamer with sweetened sugar 30 sachets X 20g ( 600)g 7.35 BOH tea instant mix no sugar Pre-blended with tasty creamer with no sugar. 20 sachets X 11.5g (230g) 5.35 Place distribution BOH tea can easily obtain at any retail outlet in Malaysia, consumer can easily purchase it anywhere without having to trouble themselves to travel far and wide. Promotion BOH has done many advertisement and promotion in order to strengthen their brand in the market of tea in Malaysia. BOH yea has created friendly image that was abkle to strike deep in the consumers heart ensuring popularity and liking among the people BOH embraced the new technology, television by combining it with animation, creating one of the most recognizable advertising icons of the period: Mr. BOH The 1Ummph 1Smile 1Malaysia campaign that was organize by BOH tea was a success as Malaysians step up to the challenge of spreading love to the underprivileged merely through a smile. The campaign was promoted through website, radio, tv stations where photograph of consumers can upload onto the 1Ummph 1Smile Malaysia photo gallery website page. This collage took the creative team over 100 hours to put it up together , it measured up to 33 feet by 75 feet tall. There are also different kinds of variables that can be use for segmentation: Demographic Demographic variables such as income, gender, education, location, ethnicity, and family size are basically tied to subculture and segmentation. The graph above shows the Malaysian population by age group from year 2005 to 2009. From this graph, BOH tea can focus on which group of generation that they want to target, but BOH tea has decided to target people from all ages groups except children because there is no harm drinking tea but provides health benefits so it is highly recommended by every age group.