Markets & Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Markets & Marketing - Essay Example A Market is the demographic and/or geographic group or groups of buyers for products and services on offer. It may be limited to a small area or may be worldwide but that is dependant on the type of product or service on offer. But a market can be defined only through the Marketing effort that is put in to exploit this market. The potential market may be larger but the market for a product or service is the targeted market for which it makes this effort. Using different methods, Marketing determines the size of the market that is being approached but this has to be a controlled exercise otherwise the effort will be aimless. Usually this data is drawn from valued sources such as the U.S. Postal Service Deliverable address counts, Equifax TotalSourceâ„ ¢ consumer database household counts, as well as state and local agencies. Some important databases are: National Change of Address (NCOA) is a database owned and updated by the United States Postal Service (USPS) It containing approximately 160 Million permanent address records filed with the USPS over the last 48 months. (NCOA) ï‚ · Mail Preference Service (MPS)  -   This list is managed by the Direct Marketing Association and lists people who have opted not to receive advertisements through mails. ï‚ · Deceased Master File Suppression  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ This list flags addresses whose primary residents have died. With this data it is possible to segment the market and subsequently to determine the target customers for the organization’s products. Once this data is available, the serious exercise of Segmentation begins. Markets are heterogeneous and are created by reasons of different values, needs wants, constraints, beliefs and incentives. Customers differ in their values and perceptions and want to purchase things that have value for them. Value is not just the monetary part, but also the usefulness and emotions that with go with it. The need and want play a great role in

The last scene Essay Example for Free

The last scene Essay The monster eventually gets up the courage to introduce himself to the old man (Mr Delacey). The old man is blind, so I think the monster thought that if he met the old man, the man would look below the skin and get to know the monster on who he is, not what he looks like. The old man is welcoming to him; he offers him food, warmth and overall friendship. He speaks in a kind manner at one stage he says there is something in your word which persuades me that you are sincere. In Mr Dalaceys words, he really does come from the heart and it is the greatest and kindest way that anyone had spoke to him so far from his original creation. At the end of this chapter, the monster is found with the old man, by Felix who is the old mans child. Immediately he strikes out and attempts to kill the monster. He beats him with a stick till the monster eventually left. At this point, you begin to start feeling sorry for him, as he has no friends, family or even any dignity. As he leaves the house, you begin to wish that you were the old man, and wishing that someone would actually run after the monster and tell him youll help him, and be friends with him because in this chapter this is all I think he needs, is someone there for him. After he was beaten he treks across the wood-land, until he meets a little boy who comes running up to him. The boy starts to make a fuss and reveals that his brother is Victor Frankenstein. He seeks revenge by killing the boy. At this stage in the novel you seem shocked, from what we thought was a change in character in the last scene, where he seemed so sweet and innocent, he has now just killed a boy in revenge for Victor. At this stage you can tell that his character is defiantly changing. You can hear this in his words, for example he says to the little boy I have sworn eternal revenge; you shall be my first victim. When we read the last chapter you would never have imagined the monster saying this to a little boy. The monster seeks revenge to Victor, as Victor left the monster on his own, with no friends in the world and no clue what-so-ever of how to speak or to seek any kind of help. After the monster seeked revenge, he finally reunited himself with Victor. He tells Victor all about his troubles and his problems that he has faced since Victor abandoned him. But Victor turns around and tells him to go away and leave him alone, but the monster keeps speaking and asks Victor to create another human, for The monsters wife. But Victor responds with; Begone! I do break my promise; never will I create another like yourself. To this comment, the monster becomes furious with him, and threatens to make his life hell until he does. I feel more sympathy for Victor as he has no other choice, the monster has already killed his son and he knows that the monster is willing to go further. The monster does use threatening language in this scene though. At one stage he gets so angry he says; Remember that I have power; you believe yourself miserable, but I can make you so wretched that the light of day will be hateful to you. This means that Victor may-be miserable now but the monster is willing to make it a lot worse.  The monster demands that Victor should make him a wife, because the monster has had enough of being a freak and being on his own, he wants someone to be there for him and someone who actually understands what he is going through. The monster decides that if Victor does this one thing, he will leave him in happiness forever. Victor refuses to do this as he doesnt want to create something the same as the monster. As he would be constantly worried. At this stage I do still feel sorry for the monster, he is still all alone, no-one there for him to speak to.  The monster finally decides that if Victor wont create a companion for him, then he wants to be killed. He is fed up of being alone, and all he wants is someone. But no-one will give him that someone. He is also annoyed on how he has turned out, for example him killing the innocent. My quote to this is when the monster says; I am a wretch. I have murdered the lovely and the helpless; He understands what he has done and I still feel sorry for him. At the end of the day, it is true, if someone looked like the monster in our country, people would treat him as an outsider. He would constantly be attacked. Underneath his skin he proved that he was a nice person, but he had a temper, which I believe was the cause of Victor leaving him. The monster was always seeking revenge and he finally got what he wanted.  Mary Shelley must have had a vivid imagination, as well as a scary one. This novel isnt a horror story like people may think it is in-fact a deep down romance. It isnt a love story, but how the monster describes the leaves on the trees and the flower beds, it definitely comes across in a romantic way.

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay

The Marriott International Incs Development Marketing Essay The former of the Marriott International Inc was founded by J. Willard Marriott when he and his wife Alice Sheets opened a nine-stool AandW Root Beer stand which they later called The Hot Shoppe in Washington, DC the spring of 1927.It sold hot food such as tamales, chili, and tacos were added to attracting customers during the winter months. In the following few years, with the hot shoppes kept expanding, Marriotts food service had a good development. In 1957, Marriott opened its first hotel which was a 365-room Twin Bridges Motor Hotel in Arlington, Virginia. In 1967 its name was changed from Hot Shoppes, Inc., to Marriott Corporation and J.W. Marriott, Jr., became President and CEO. During the next 26 years, Marriott was developing fast by opening different kinds of hotels to meet the need of people and acquiring other companies. In 1985, J. Willard Marriott passed away and his oldest son J. Willard Bill Marriott, Jr., was named CEO and took over most major responsibilities. Marrio tt International Inc was established formally in 1993 when the former company splits into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation. With its establishment, Marriott International Inc starts to become a worldwide operator and franchisor of hotels and related lodging facilities step by step. ( http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageTimeline.mi) Today, Marriott International Inc headquarters in the Bethesda area of unincorporated Montgomery County, Maryland. And it is a leading worldwide hospitality company with about 3150 lodging properties located in the United States and 67 other countries and territories. In 2010, its sales is $10,908.00M, And there are 137000 employees in this company. With its excellent business achievement and economic strength, Marriott International Inc has become one of Worlds Fortune 500 for many years. And its rank is 213 in 2010. This big company is still developing and making progress continually. (http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2010/snapshots/10664.html) Marriott International Incs development cant be achieved without the key people in this company. Nowadays, this companys CEO and chairman is J.W. Marriott, Jr. His leadership spans over 50 years, and he has taken Marriott from a family restaurant business to a global lodging company with 3500 properties in 70 countries and territories. Arne M. Sorenson, the president and COO of Marriott International, Inc. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota Law School and of Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. And he joined Marriott in 1996 when he specialized in mergers and acquisitions litigation and now he is responsible for the performance and growth of all of Marriotts worldwide brands and businesses. Marriotts Executive Vice President and CFO is Carl T. Berquist. Mr. Berquist holds a B.S. in accounting from Penn State University and is a member of Penn States Smeal Business Schools Board of Visitors. In 2002, he joined Marriott as a partner at Arthur Andersen LLP. And now Mr. Berquist become the CFO with responsibility for global finance, including financial reporting, project finance, global treasury, corporate tax, internal audit, and investor relations. (http://news.marriott.com/our-leadership.html) Although it has steady growth and profitability every year, Marriott International Incs Mission Statement is still to be the best lodging and food service company in the world. It will achieve this goal by treating employees in ways that create extraordinary customer service and shareholder value. And its Vision Statement is to be the worlds lodging leader. To be the leader, this company keeps focusing on serving the guest, extensive operational knowledge, the development of employees skills, and offering the best lodging brands in the lodging industry. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/culture/heritageJWMarriottJR.mi) Marriott international Incs steady growth and profitability is also related to its strategic alliances. Such as Asian American Hotel Owners Association, Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting, Black Culinary Alliance, Gay Lesbian Alliance against Defamation and Hispanic Association of Corporate Responsibility. (http://www.marriott.com/marriott.mi?page=diversity_partners) Acquisitions play an important role during the development of Marriott International Inc. The recent acquisition on Mar 16 2011, Marriott International Inc acquires AC Diplomatic, Barcelona from AC Hotels SA. And later in March 1997, Marriott International acquired Renaissance Hotel Group N.V. for $916 million in cash and the assumption of $54 million in debt. This acquisition is the largest acquisition in Marriott history. (http://www.alacrastore.com/mergers-acquisitions/Marriott_International_Inc-1065110) Section2 Marriots is committed to global diversity to provide services that are above and beyond its customers experience. This strategy and concept has become its blueprint in its marketing plan to match the needs of the customers to the various products and services and provide the best possible experience for their guests during their stays in the hotel. The company is global having three thousand properties in sixty eight different territories and countries by franchising hotels under different brands. Marriotts marketing plan will entail research in the industry to gather critical information and experiences to better generate marketing strategies that would be effective through application of customer care and integrity. Cost leadership and product differentiation has been integrated at Marriotts which offers different brands either luxurious or moderate to fit various clients needs http://www.marriottconsulting.com/planning_services.php#business_plans Standard packages in service and products provide a more variety to the different atmospheres created by the different products offered by Marriotts. Other parameters must be included in the marketing plan like the marketing concept, product lifecycle and focus strategies that are important to guide a hotels marketing plan. The Hotels entry and foundation in the market place plays a major role in its marketing plan by detailing its goals, marketing objectives and the necessary factors to consider while implementing its marketing plan processes. Marriotts marketing strategies are geared towards the plan of maintaining its tradition of cherished service through the hotel brands to elevate guests stays, thus accomplishing its overall marketing objectives. http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html Our company met previous goals. Marriott International fourth-quarter net profit of 173 million, Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter net profit of 1.73 billion U.S. dollars, earnings per share were 46 cents, this performance better than last year. The fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009, Marriott International hotel management group net profit of 1.06 billion U.S.evenue was 36.4 billion U.S. dollars, 3.38 billion higher than the same period last year dollars. Marriott International Hotel Management Group, the fourth-quarter adjusted earnings of 39 cents per share, exceeding analysts had expected. Market research firm FactSet Research survey, analysts on average expected to Marriott International hotel management group for the fourth quarter of 36 cents per share on revenue of $ 3,580,000,000. http://sandiego.jobing.com/catering-sales-manager-courtyard-by-marriott-old-town/job/2710752 Marriotts commitment to society blends corporate financial contributions with in-kind giving and the volunteer service of our associates around the world. We participate in efforts to provide shelter, food, and childrens health, while creating career opportunities for our associates in the workplace and supporting education in the hospitality industry. http://www.marriott.com/corporate-social-responsibility/corporate-values.mi Marriotts environmental vision is to demonstrate that corporate responsibility in hospitality management can be a positive force for the environment while creating economic opportunities around the world. Marriott International has expanded its goals for its Diversity Outreach Initiative with a $1-billion pledge to minority-and women-owned suppliers over the next four years, relationships with four newly signed minority- and women-owned and managed financial services firms, and a plan to double the number of minority owners and franchisees in five years http://www.resource-recycling.com/rr_conference/hotelandtravel.html Section3 Marriott International Inc. is a participant in the Lodging industry. But it is not only a participant but also a leader. Its industry is stable and keeping growing everyday. Marriott International Inc. has been earning strong profits recently, even through comparable periods last year. With the improvement of economy and room rates have bolstered the industry. Figures from a recent report show that average daily rates revenue per room, and occupancy for U.S. hotels all increased during the first week of 2011. Expansion from the ground up, as well as through acquisitions, has been going on in South and Central America, as well as in China and India. With a growing middle class in India and China, MAR meet the need for increased accommodation in the area. As the economy continues to recover, the Lodging industry will be hoping to continue to develop fast. So MAR will be full of motivation and energy to develop. Whether in China or the world, the service quality, advanced technology, and services of Marriott International advanced the worlds first hotel group. Which has won wide public recognition and customers a high degree of trust? Marriott launched a number of brands through market segmentation for different market segments: they are Marriott, JW Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Renaissance, Courtyard, Ritz-Carlton, Ramada and other hotel brands. Marriott has its own characteristics and different market positions. For example, a luxury-class hotel is JW Marriott, Marriott and Renaissance hotels w ith a high quality, but the brand image of the Renaissance is more flexible. Marriott Executive Apartments is the market for long-term accommodation. Courtyard is for mid-range market. (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marriott-rewards/139599-marriott-reluctant-reward-program-participant.html) Marriott hotels, resort hotels and suites are for upscale, full-service hotels. Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is the high consumption-oriented class, which it is able to provide the best facilities, food and service symbol. Ramada is a high-quality mid-priced brand, mainly for business and sightseeing tourists. (http://www.marriott.com/corporateinfo/glance.mi) Marriott international competitors have begun doing so more pro-actively. The industry of hotels is highly fragmented. Competition with hotels is generally based on the quality of rooms, restaurants, meeting facilities and services, attractiveness of locations, availability of a global distribution system, price and other factors. There are 3 competitors of Marriott international: Hilton Hotels: Hilton is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world. It is primarily involved in the management and development of hotels across the globe. Initially Hilton focused on acquiring and owning more real estate. However, it has recently changed its growth strategy, and it now focuses on spreading its operations through franchisees. InterContinental Hotels: IHG is the largest hotel company by number of rooms, with 590,361 rooms in over 100 countries around the world. It operates a diverse portfolio of brands across multiple economic segments, including Intercontinental Hotels and Resorts. Crowned Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn, and Holiday Inn Express. Orient-Express Hotels: Orient-Express Hotels is a hotel and leisure group, which is focused on the luxury market. The company owns and operates luxury hotels, restaurants, tourist trains, and river cruises in over 25 countries. (http://www.dailyfinance.com/company/marriott-international-inc) The ways to counter the competition: Marriott prefer to use multi-brand strategy to meet the needs of different market segments Marriott for different market segments successfully launched a series of brand They has been struggling to improve the service details and content, customers will be related to differences in the details of effective records, as well as the attitude of its staff and overall good quality Marriotts corporate culture summed up as: Marriotts staff to create a practical action for the guests to experience the service, its purpose is to serve the people. Marriott full play the enthusiasm of employees and retain talent, and attaches great importance to the role of human resources (http://www.academicwritingtips.org/component/content/article/35-social-sciences/562-marriot-hotel.html) As we all know, Marriott face large competition. So they should invest in research and development. Here are their investments: 1 Project construction area of over 20,000 square meters, is expected to invest over 100 million Yuan, the construction of a 16-story, 300 or more rooms of the modern high-star hotels. 2 Marriott said its hotel owners and new franchise partners will invest a total of $ 190,000,000 bed. 3 1.5 billion of investment in large projects settled Marriott International Ming Shan Hall Here are Marriotts ways to promote their products or services. 1. Know your Hotel: You must be a product expert for both your hotel and your competitors. 2. Prime Selling Time: Adhere to prime selling hours, by market, and ensure those hours are dedicated to pure selling activities and customer interaction. 3. Access to Manager: No Messages on any enquiries, even if the General Manager has to take the call. 4. Customer Rapport: All transactions with customers and sales activities demonstrate our desire to know them and build relationships. 5. Determine Customer Needs: You must determine objectives of event, definition of event success and qualitative decision-making criteria in addition to quantitative dates, rates and space.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Marriotts advantages in its area are that Marriott Hotel: Marriott Hotel was at the service management group, the basic philosophy of people serving people, which has two aspects: fair treatment of every employee, while focusing on the feelings of employees, so that they understand home feeling. Marriott nearly 50% of managers are promoted from within the company, the companys job vacancies to give priority to internal staff, only no suitable internal candidate before hiring from the community, and outside recruitment, salary levels provided by the general high the industry average of 50% to 75%. The hotel is a typical service industry, Marriott that only a good company to employees, employees will be good guests. There are five systems to ensure its Marriott Hotel in the real implementation of its people at the service concept. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriott_International) How does the Marriott Internet develop so fast and Marriott will what the situation introduced new brand or new product on-line? The answer is: when its through in the hotel market survey found there is enough, not yet fill blank or the demand is not fully satisfy customer demand, the company will launch when demand for these new products or services this means that companies need to continuously for customer demand research. Through the analysis can be found, Marriott, the core competences lie in her customer survey and customer knowledge, Marriott will be applied to all this from fair hotel to li jia all hotel brand. So, Marriotts superiorities are not Hotel management, but the customer knowledge acquisition, processing and management. Marriott has been committed to seek it the gaps between different brands. If the investigation shows that some segments of the market has enough targeted customers need some new product or service features, so Marriott will ascend product or service to meet customer new demand; If the survey shows that in one subdivision target audience, many people to a range of different characteristics have needs, Marriott will put these people as a new customer group and developed a new brand. Marriott international company provides beneficial for brand development thinking. For an existing product or service for, new features added to what extent is only necessary to ascend? And to what extent can create a new brand? The answer is: when additional features can create a kind of new things and can attract different target customer, you will have the product or service ascension or brand new born. Marriott company announced the development of the elastic suite this brand of practice is a good example. At the time, Marriott will elastic suite price at $75 between 95 and plans to March 1, 1999, 14 home built in when the two years later add 55 house. Elastic suite fair suite and fair suite originally is fair hotel part. Male was founded in 1997, at the time, the Wall Street journal is so describe the fair suite: capacious but lack adornment, toilet no door, sitting room of the shop is linoleum, its pricing is 75 dollars. In fact, people who are sensitive to the price and terms, this suite are fair in the hotel room of the sample more spacious. The question is: fair suite customers may not like linoleum, and are willing to pay for decorate a bit better room some more money. Hence, Marriott by increasing the ironing board and other pleasant thing to change fair suite image, and through laying carpet, adding the fireplace and breakfast room to improve the sitting room conditions. T hrough these aspects of ascension, Marriott hotel clued into the new batch of target customers emphasizing value buyers. But later, Marriott found fairness suite of the ascension is not always effective, price sensitive type customers dont want, and pay attention to value its customers and the pig. Hence, Marriott consider fair suite convert elastic suites, and restart the customer market segmentation. By measuring, Marriott got this data: relative to price sensitive type customers as fair suite brings the income, those who pay attention to the customer value for elastic suite at least $5 more income. In a competitive market segment for product promotion, we must pay special attention acquire and maintaining customers. For the price sensitive type customers, you must undertake product or service to avoid they turn to the ascension of competitors. Without competition or no foreseeable competition exists, then there is no need for ascension. In fact, competition often always exist, the key is to adopt necessary ascension to ensure that competitive advantage. Face price sensitive type customer, too much room doesnt help fair hotel create a competitive advantage. For China, we can learn a lot from the Marriott. Usually, hotel business income can be divided into three parts, one is relatively stable guest room, it is the hotel accommodation income that came with the catering business income, and three is including offices, shops, apartment rent and entertainment business, miscellaneous income each. Now, with all kinds of office buildings, shops, apartment hotel time, a lot of the fat, the hotel by wantonly robbed in this competition, almost crumbled; in big cities is entertainment speaking, the entertainment blossom everywhere, hotel entertainment income is increasingly atrophy. For example, 2000 Guangzhous biggest garden hotel total operating income is RMB 4.1 billion, compared with 1996 garden hotel revenue 5.4 billion, short four years time, incredibly shrunk more than 24 percent. The garden hotel general manager LiaoMingHua some helplessly say, we pulled out all the way, but the garden hotel business performance is still in step by step and sliding into deep In 2000, the China hotel reve nue is 3.9 billion, the white swan hotel revenue for 3 million, compared to 1996 5.2 million and 3.4 million, in a big shock, and Oriental hotel and international hotels performance is also down dramatically. 2001 is attempting to rumors China industry has been the United States has a good hotel in hotel management ability of the Marriott hotel management group purchase; this makes Guangzhou hotel industry sticker shock. China hotel, said to the outside of the top hotel management control only by Hong Kong new world change, in order to Marriott hotel shareholders did not change, the more there is no takeover, said. It is reported, China hotel grunde Hong Kong new world hotel limited company management, but from the beginning of the change in 2001 by Marriott management, accordingly, Marriott hotel every year from China, turnover extracted from 2.5 percentage points in return. With Chinas eventual entry into the WTO, the famous hotel groups like Sheraton, Hilton, west in brand has an grily blew the trumpets into Chinas hotel industry, the international brand and local hotels exchange unavoidable. Domestic even heavyweight hotel even so big alligator, other colleagues situation can be seen, international and domestic hotel gap also therefore! In fact, the biggest gap between Chinese and foreign hotel management, especially in it is the management strategy of the brand as the core. China hotel industry wants to win in the competition and obtain continuous development, it is necessary to learn modestly from foreign peer learning and solid improve their management level. Marriotts approach is to provide some new ideas for us? Nowadays, the hospitality industry is same as consumer goods is undergoing drastic changes. As a hotel operator, you must always ask yourself: I am ready to compete in upgrading of product or service in order to protect their market, or prepare for new segments of the market to develop new product? If choose the former, pay attention to product or service, thus reduces ascension is not incremental cost, because the existing customers often dont want to pay more. If choose the latter, new product or service must contain many new targeted customers expect things, further says, is the need to have a different brand this brand wont impact the original brand, and new customers can accept this new product or service and are willing to pay higher prices. Marriott hotel through creating elastic suite successfully will a make price sensitive type dissatisfied customers mode is transformed into a emphasizing value customer mode, it is a typical case. Section4 MARRIOTT REVENUES totaled $11.7 billion in 2010 compared to $10.9 billion in 2009. Total fees in 2010 were $1,185 million, an increase of 9 percent from the prior year. Stronger base management and franchise fees reflected the increase in worldwide REVPAR and unit growth across the system. Incentive management fees increased 18 percent reflecting higher property-level profit due to worldwide REVPAR increases and continued cost control, as well as international unit growth. For full year 2010, 27 percent of company-operated hotels earned incentive management fees compared to 25 percent in the prior year. Approximately two-thirds of incentive management fees came from hotels outside North America in both 2010 and 2009 BALANCE SHEET : At year-end 2010, total debt was $2,829 million and cash balances totaled $505 million, compared to $2,298 million in debt and $115 million of cash at year-end 2009. Adjusting for the debt associated with securitized Timeshare mortgage notes now required to be consolidated under new accounting rules, adjusted total debt, net of cash, totaled $1,308 million, a decline of $875 million since year-end 2009. At year-end 2010, Marriott had no borrowings outstanding under its $2.4 billion revolving bank credit facility Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 The stock price of the company and major competitors: Key Stats  MARMore Stock Ind Avg Price/Earnings TTM 29.6 41.8 Price/Book 8.3 3.3 Price/Sales TTM 1.2 1.8 Rev Growth (3 Yr Avg) -3.5 -3.1 EPS Growth (3 Yr Avg) -11.3 Operating Margin % TTM 5.9 7.7 Net Margin % TTM 3.9 2.9 ROE TTM 33.6 5.8 Debt/Equity 1.9 1.0 Top Marriott International, Inc. Competitors Companies Location Accor SA Évry,  France Hilton Worldwide, Inc. McLean,  VA InterContinental Hotels Group PLC Denham,  Buckinghamshire Competitor on file Minnetonka,  MN Competitor on file Toronto,  ON Competitor on file Spartanburg,  SC Competitor on file Chicago,  IL Competitor on file New York,  NY Competitor on file Boca Raton,  FL Competitor on file White Plains,  NY Competitor on file Phoenix,  AZ Competitor on file Silver Spring,  MD Google: http://www.hoovers.com/company/Marriott_International_Inc/hjfkxi-1-1njea3.html 29 March 2011 But what happened to the stock prices and why, this is because Marriott Internationals asset-light business model, premier brands, and experienced management team have helped the firm carve out a narrow economic moat. Although 2009 was challenging, the travel market  has stabilized and a slow recovery  has taken hold. In our opinion, Marriotts long-term prospects remain bright. Google: http://quote.morningstar.com/Stock/s.aspx?t=MAR 29 March 2011 And what the company will be in the future, The companys 2011 full year guidance assumes that the spin-off of the Timeshare segment does not occur in the current year and does not include pro forma adjustments or transaction expenses.    For the full year 2011, the company expects a strong pricing environment. The company assumes full year 2011 systemwide REVPAR on a constant dollar basis will increase 6 to 8 percent in North America, outside North America and on a worldwide basis. The company expects to open approximately 35,000 rooms in 2011 as most hotels expected to open are already under construction or undergoing conversion from other brands. Given these assumptions, full year 2011 fee revenue could total $1,310 million to $1,340 million and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, could total $115 million to $125 million. The company estimates that, on a full year basis, one point of worldwide systemwide REVPAR impacts total fees by approximately $15 million pretax and owned, leased, corporate housing and other revenue, net of direct expense, by approximately $5 million pretax. The company expects 2011 Timeshare contract sales to be in line with 2010 adjusted levels. The company expects its 2011 general and administrative costs to increase 3 to 5 percent over 2010 adjusted levels reflecting increased spending for brand initiatives and higher costs in international growth markets. The company expects investment spending in 2011 will total approximately $500 million to $700 million, including $50 million to $100 million for maintenance capital spending. Investment spending will also include other capital expenditures (including property acquisitions), new mezzanine financing and mortgage notes, contract acquisition costs, and equity and other investments. Based upon the assumptions above, full year 2011 EBITDA is expected to total $1,170 million to $1,230 million, a 12 to 18 percent increase over the prior years adjusted EBITDA. Google: http://www.finchannel.com/Main_News/Travel_Biz/80829_Marriott_International_Announces_Plan_to_Spin_Off_Timeshare_Business_/ 29 March 2011 A financial advisor said about the companys stock as an investment. Marriott International Inc.s shares slipped 2.2% premarket to 36.80% after Goldman Sachs lowers its stock-investment rating on the hotel operator to neutral from buy, where it has been since January 2009. Goldman remains bullish on the hotel sector, but says valuation of Marriotts timeshare unit, which it is spinning off, is creating a drag. Goldman says the timeshare division may produce lower margin than expected and units earnings are more cyclical, meaning the remaining hotel entity multiple would have to expand dramatically to offset the possible dilution of the spinoff. Google: http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2011/03/28/hot-stocks-this-morning-nokia-alcatel-lucent-and-many-more/ 29 March 2011

Free Candide Essays: Successful Writing Techniques :: Candide essays

The Successful Writing Techniques in Candide In Candide, Voltaire uses many writing techniques that can also be found in the works of Cervantes, Alighieri, Rabelais and Moliere. The use of the various styles and conventions shows that, despite the passage of centuries and the language differences, certain writing techniques will always be effective. One common literary technique is the author's use of one or more of his characters as his 'voice' to speak out the authors views on a certain subject. For instance, in Moliere's Tartuffe, the author uses the character of Cleante to speak out against religious hypocrites (page 1419, lines 99-102): Nothing that I more cherish and admire Than honest zeal and true religious fire. So there is nothing that I find more base Than specious piety's dishonest face. In Candide, Voltaire makes use of several characters to voice his opinion mocking philosophical optimism. On page 1594, Candide is asking a gentleman about whether everything is for the best in the physical world as well as the moral universe. The man replies: ...I believe nothing of the sort. I find that everything goes wrong in our world; that nobody knows his place in society or his duty, what he's doing or what he ought to be doing, and that outside of mealtimes...the rest of the day is spent in useless quarrels...-it's one unend ing warfare. By having this character take on such a pessimistic tone, he directly contradicts the obviously over-optimistic tone of Candide. In the conclusion (page 1617) an old turk instructs Candide in the futility of needless philosophizing by saying that "...the work keeps us from three great evils, boredom, vice, and poverty." In each of these examples, the character chosen by the author comes across as a reasonable and respectable person, making the author's point of view seem just as reasonable and respectable. Another technique Voltaire uses in Candide is that of taking actual people and events and weaving into his work of fiction. He often does this to mock or ridicule his political and literary adversaries, as shown in the conversation between the abbe' and the Parisian supper guests (page 1593). The abbe' mentions two critics who in Voltaires time have criticized his work. The critics are referred to as boring and impudent by the supper guests. In much the same manner Alighieri, in The Divine Comedy, has placed many of his enemies in various circles of Hell.

Performance Assessment Essay -- essays papers

Performance Assessment Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement. The reasons for the intense interest in an assessment methodology can be summarized as follows: During the 1980s important new curriculum research and development efforts at school district, state, national and university levels began to provide new insights into the complexity of some of our most valued achievement targets. We came to understand the multidimensionality of what it means to be a proficient reader, writer, and math or science problem solver, for example. With these and other enhanced visions of the complex nature of the meaning of academic success came a sense of the insufficiency of the traditional multiple choice test. Educat ors began to embrace the reality that some targets, like complex reasoning, skill demonstration and product development, "require"--don't merely permit--the use of subjective, judgmental means of assessment. One simply cannot assess the ability to write well, communicate effectively in a second language, work cooperatively on a team, and complete science laboratory work in a quality manner using the traditional selected response modes of assessment. As a result, we have witnessed a virtual stampede of teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to embrace performance assessment. In short, educators have become as obsessed with performance assessment in the 1990s as we were with the multiple choice tests for 60 years. Warnings from the assessment community (Dunbar, Kortez, and Hoover, 1991) about the potential dangers of invalidity and unreliability of carelessly developed subjective assessments not only have often gone unheeded, but by and large they have gone unheard. Now that we are a decade into the performance assessment movement, however, some of those quality control lessons have begun to take hold. Assessment specialists have begun to articulate in terms that practitioners can understand the rules of evidence for the development and use of high quality performance assessments (e.g. Messick, 1994). As a result, we are well i... ... student performance in specific academic disciplines. If and when such opportunities arise, thorough training is essential for all who are to serve in this capacity. If the teachers issuing this invitation have developed or gleaned from their professional literature refined visions of the meaning of academic success, have transformed them into quality criteria and provide quality training for all who are to observe and evaluate student performance, this can be a very rewarding professional experience. If these standards are not met, it is wise to urge (and perhaps help with) a redevelopment of the assessment. The third and final contact for counselors is as an evaluator of students within the context of the guidance function, observing and judging academic or affective student characteristics. In this case, the counselor will be both the developer and user of the assessment and must know how to adhere to the above mentioned standards of assessment quality. For all of these reasons, it is advisable for school guidance and counseling personnel to understand when this methodology is likely to be useful and when it is not and how to design and develop sound performance assessments. Performance Assessment Essay -- essays papers Performance Assessment Not since the development of the objective paper and pencil test early in the century has an assessment method hit the American educational scene with such force as has performance assessment methodology in the 1990s. Performance assessment relies on teacher observation and professional judgment to draw inferences about student achievement. The reasons for the intense interest in an assessment methodology can be summarized as follows: During the 1980s important new curriculum research and development efforts at school district, state, national and university levels began to provide new insights into the complexity of some of our most valued achievement targets. We came to understand the multidimensionality of what it means to be a proficient reader, writer, and math or science problem solver, for example. With these and other enhanced visions of the complex nature of the meaning of academic success came a sense of the insufficiency of the traditional multiple choice test. Educat ors began to embrace the reality that some targets, like complex reasoning, skill demonstration and product development, "require"--don't merely permit--the use of subjective, judgmental means of assessment. One simply cannot assess the ability to write well, communicate effectively in a second language, work cooperatively on a team, and complete science laboratory work in a quality manner using the traditional selected response modes of assessment. As a result, we have witnessed a virtual stampede of teachers, administrators and educational policy makers to embrace performance assessment. In short, educators have become as obsessed with performance assessment in the 1990s as we were with the multiple choice tests for 60 years. Warnings from the assessment community (Dunbar, Kortez, and Hoover, 1991) about the potential dangers of invalidity and unreliability of carelessly developed subjective assessments not only have often gone unheeded, but by and large they have gone unheard. Now that we are a decade into the performance assessment movement, however, some of those quality control lessons have begun to take hold. Assessment specialists have begun to articulate in terms that practitioners can understand the rules of evidence for the development and use of high quality performance assessments (e.g. Messick, 1994). As a result, we are well i... ... student performance in specific academic disciplines. If and when such opportunities arise, thorough training is essential for all who are to serve in this capacity. If the teachers issuing this invitation have developed or gleaned from their professional literature refined visions of the meaning of academic success, have transformed them into quality criteria and provide quality training for all who are to observe and evaluate student performance, this can be a very rewarding professional experience. If these standards are not met, it is wise to urge (and perhaps help with) a redevelopment of the assessment. The third and final contact for counselors is as an evaluator of students within the context of the guidance function, observing and judging academic or affective student characteristics. In this case, the counselor will be both the developer and user of the assessment and must know how to adhere to the above mentioned standards of assessment quality. For all of these reasons, it is advisable for school guidance and counseling personnel to understand when this methodology is likely to be useful and when it is not and how to design and develop sound performance assessments.

Antigone Essay

Remember those people who always thought they were right, and they always ended up in trouble for it? I Sophocles’ play Antigone, the main characters Antigone and Creon show how being so hubris can be tragic to your life. Set back in ancient Greece an epic battle takes place and brothers end up killing each other. One was allowed a proper burial, yet Polyinesis was not. Antigone felt disappointed by this and decided to bury them yet Creon the newly appointed king did not appreciate the rule breaking. Due to the fact that Antigone and creon exhibited excessive pride, their lives were ruined. Antigone’s arrogance and brashness ultimately led to her death. For example, on Creon’s first day as king he made a decree that no one should bury Polyneisis body. When Antigone heard this, she went to Ismene and asked for her help; yet Ismene refused and called her a criminal. Antigone still disagreed, â€Å"But I will bury him; and if I must die, I say that this crime is holy; I shall lie down with him in death†(673,55-57) This proved that Antigone was cocky and she was sort of stating that all her wrong doings are â€Å"holy†; she is referring to herself as always being right. This affected her though distorting her view on life. In addition to her argument with Ismene, Antigone then was caught in the act of burying Polyniesis and was brought in and questioned by Creon. â€Å"And you Antigone, with your head hanging – do you confess this thing†(679, 53) When Antigone didn’t deny her crime and boasted to the king and the elders, It proves how narcissistic that she is. If she would have not been so boastful I doubt that Croen would have been so harsh to Antigone. Furthermore, Creon then calls in Ismene to protest against her crime as well. Creon started o believe that she helped Antigone to plot against him. Ismene then lied and said she did help to Antigone’s surprise. Antigone become outraged and denied her hand in the deed. Ismene is displeased in antigone’s punishment, â€Å"Do you refuse me, Antigone? I want to die with you; I too have a duty that I must discharge to the dead†(681, 138). Antigone was then enraged further and rebelled against Ismene, â€Å"You shall not lessen my death by sharing it†(681, 139) Antigone is showing self centered and concided she was. She believed that she was so important because she did the right thing by the gods that no one should die except her because she was special. However, Antigone was not the only major character with this flaw. This proves how arrogance can really damage anyone’s life just like it did to Antigone and Creons’. Pride and the excess of it played a big role in this play, being the tragic flaw of both main characters; arrogance is not only a big part of this play but also our history, there will always be people who can never be wrong. Many people are just like Creon and Antigone, Always thinking they are right. Is your life headed for a fate just like Antigone’s plot?

Entrepreneurs are born and made Essay

There are two sides to every debate, and the â€Å"what makes an entrepreneur† argument has raged for decades with neither side able to conclusively prove their case. There are many who believe that an entrepreneur must possess personality traits such as vision, passion and drive that are innate and cannot be taught. Others argue that the skills of evaluating opportunities, motivating people and operating a business are easily passed on to eager students looking to be entrepreneurs. The truth is that both sides are right and it’s time for a compromise: Entrepreneurs are born and made. Some people may be natural entrepreneurs and immediately open a business, others will have studied and trained long and hard before doing so, and while each may enjoy some success, neither will be as successful as the person who possesses the inherent qualities and has spent the time to get the education and experience of the business world. A lot of studies and research have been done on this particular matter. In the beginning many theorists believe that people are either born entrepreneur or they are not. Professor of Psychology Alan Jacobowitz, after conducting interviews to more than 500 entrepreneurs in a period of 3 years, concludes that entrepreneurs are born not made. He maintains that his subjects share common characteristics, which include: restlessness, independence, a tendency to be a loner, and extreme self confidence. Still, other researchers maintain that there are other personality characteristics that are uniquely entrepreneurial including being innovative, action oriented, high on need for personal control and highly autonomous. In addition to this, Jacobowitz also devised a chronological schema of entrepreneurial indicator that he calls the five ages of entrepreneur. The ages are early childhood exposure, trouble in school, problems with work, desire to risk, and bliss in business independence. Jacobowitz believes that  entrepreneurial aptitude is static, which means that people are either born with the said characteristic or not. Initially this theory was supported by the majority of theorists but other scholars criticize that it has yet to be empirically proven. John Kao, in his attempt to define entrepreneur in a more satisfying manner, holds that they are catalysts. They make things happen. They use creativity to conceive new things and zeal to implement them. In short, they are both creator and innovator. They both generate new idea and serve as the human vehicle by which implementation of that idea occurs. They take the ball and run with it, overcoming obstacles in the way. Still others have also suggested what they term as entrepreneurial traits; Thomas and his colleague summarized the following traits in what they call the characteristics of entrepreneur distilled from 50 research studies. These traits include: Total commitment, determination, and perseverance; Drive to achieve and grow; Opportunity and goal orientation; Taking initiative and personal responsibility; Persistent problem solving; Realism and a sense of humor; Seeking and using feedback; Internal locus of control; Calculated risk-taking and risk-seeking; Low need for stat us and power; Integrity and reliability. In many instances, entrepreneurs are often described as impulsive, gambling adventurer, intoxicated by his or her own adrenaline. But though they put themselves at risk, they are actually motivated to achieve something greater, which is what separates them from the rest of people. Research also shows that they are more of a risk manager rather than risk-seeker. In addition, McLelland’s work on achievement motivation may also help to understanding the entrepreneurship. McLelland holds that human beings are driven by 3 motives: the need for achievement (accomplishing things), for affiliation (being with others) and for power (controlling others). Of these, the need for achievement is considered to be most relevant in understanding the entrepreneur. McLelland further maintains that this particular need derives from people who want to be responsible for solving their problems, setting their goals and  reaching these goals through their own efforts. In addition to this they also desire some kind of measure for their accomplishments. This need for achievement is highly linked to entrepreneurial tendency. The entrepreneurial characteristics largely refer to innate qualities, which separate entrepreneurs from other people who do not seem to possess entrepreneurial traits. These qualities are what drive them to have a vision and remain motivated to pursue their lifelong goals either for personal or practical reasons. It is these qualities that in turn provide jobs for people. Trait theories are not completely condoned by entrepreneurial researchers. Though many agree with what Jacobowitz identifies as entrepreneurial-type characteristics, mostly choose a more dynamic perspective on the matter. Trait theory approach does not provide a distinction particularly to those of managers â€Å"because traits that are used to describe the characteristics of an entrepreneur can just as easily apply to many managers: it lacks specificity, refers largely to men, and is not applicable in all cultures. In his book, he further holds that â€Å"entrepreneurship is environmentally determined†, which means that there are certain conditions that will encourage entrepreneurial activities. This includes capital availability, mechanisms for realizing value, and availability of other resources namely human resources, information resources such as libraries and data banks, and infrastructure resources such as inexpensive space. Other factors would also prove useful in cre ating an atmosphere conducive to entrepreneurial environment; media attention, idea-generating institution, and cultural environment. David Burnett claims that entrepreneurs can be supplied if two important factors are present: opportunity and willingness to become an entrepreneur. According to Praag, opportunity â€Å"is the possibility to become self-employed if one wants to.† And willingness is the relative valuation of work in self-employment compared to one’s other options for employment. An individual’s willingness is positive if self-employment is considered as the best available career option, thus inherently affected by the anticipated market incentives that are available for would be entrepreneurs, namely and  economic benefits. The supply of entrepreneurship is dependent on both individual level factors and general economic factors. Therefore policymakers can foster potential entrepreneurs by creating a supportive atmosphere through initiative market reforms that both increase the market incentives and the availability of capital that available for entrepreneurs. Krueger and Brazeal offer a dynamic model in their approach towards understanding the entrepreneurial behaviors. It suggests that entrepreneurial intention is based on the interaction between personal characteristics, perceptions, values, beliefs, background, and environment (situational context). They base their approach on Shapero’s models of the entrepreneurial event in which entrepreneurship is defined as â€Å"the pursuit of an opportunity irrespective of existing processes†. Basically the model places emphasis on the notion that beliefs, perceptions and assumptions are learned within the context of a given environment (such as business or community). The attitudes and perceptions bring about intentions, which in turn affect behaviors. Through indirect relationship, the Krueger and Brazeal model proposes the following order: individual’s perceptions, attitudes and assumptions are formed through environment or event. This later translates into intention, or potential, which is reflected in behavior. Thus, this approach suggests that entrepreneurial not only can be learned but can vary across individuals and situations. Naffziger even suggests a step further by stating that the intention to act entrepreneurially is influenced by the interaction of several factors namely individual characteristics, individual environment, business environment, an individual’s personal set of goal, and the existence of a viable business idea. They will make comparisons between their perceptions and probable outcome intended targets, intended behavior and actual outcomes. If the outcomes meets or exceeds perceived outcomes, positive behavior toward entrepreneurial endeavors is reinforced. The same thing occurs if otherwise takes place. Though at the dawn of entrepreneurial researches, many believed that entrepreneurs were born, things have changed now. A lot has been understood about the nature of this idea. The processes involved in the business startups have been observed and analyzed to help people better equipped in embarking an entrepreneurial attempt. An increasing number of higher learning institutions, namely tertiary college education, support the idea that entrepreneurship can be taught. While these schools may not produce entrepreneurs of Ford and Gates caliber, persuasive arguments for this notion have been made. The following examples would be cases in point in entrepreneurship-led development strategies further showing that entrepreneurs can actually be made. Conclusively, I would say that while some people are born to be successful entrepreneurs, those who aren’t born with such quality gift can learn and train to be such. Hence, entrepreneurs are born and made.