How to Successfully Expand your Business into the Africa

Import and export figures are also significantly higher for emerging markets and developing economies compared to advanced economies. Looking at these projections as an business or investor should have you seriously considering expanding your business or portfolio into these regions and tap into these revenue. Introduction Today world is becoming less and less defined by its boundaries, the words â€Å"Global Village† and used to reference this evolution. Business is at the fore front of breaking these boarders.Technological advances in communication especially via the World Wide Web have broken down the barriers enabling a business in America to sell rodents in a consumer in China, England, Brazil, Kenya†¦. Anywhere the internet is present can now be included in a business's target market. Not only can businesses sell goods and services anywhere in the world, the can also have operation there and be able to communicate and collaborate with colleagues and other partners m ore efficiently and affordable than even before. Given these facts then why do businesses choice to do trade with one country over another and not both or as many as possible?We the simple answer to this question is that there many other barriers to read with foreign countries that will make it hard or even impossible for foreign business to expand into those regions. African countries have been one of those that many businesses in developed countries have refrained from doing business with. And in their defense it's not without merit. Despite African being blessed with an abundance of natural resources, it has been plagues with wars, and political instability leading to high levels of poverty, lack of education and poor infrastructure.However over the last two decades, many of these countries have made strides in utter there economies, and have registered high economic growth during this period. However even with these changes, not many foreign business have taken note of these reg ion as potentially significant part of the market. Even with slow economic growth rates among developed countries. Africa is poised to be the next big market, especially as things slowly wind down in Asia notably China. The purpose of this project is to establish a successful strategy for American Businesses to expand into the African Market Is this a profitable market?The African economy has seen a significant economic growth of the past two cascades. The economic growth rate is two to three times that of developed countries and still significantly higher than that of other emerging economies like Asia and Latin America. The middle class has shown a sharp rise over the last decade, raising the amount of people with discretionary income thus driving the economy. This growth spike is driven by the growth of the middle class. The middle class growth has happened as Africa makes strides in education, infrastructure, and political stability in many countries.Compared to Just about 10 ye ars ago, a huge economic growth can be noticed. From a similar research project conducted written in 2004 titled † The experience of South African Firms Doing Business in Africa' we can see Just how the economy and other factors have changed. In June 2003, the International Monetary Fund (MIFF) observed that macroeconomic policies in Africa had improved considerably in recent years, although inflation remained a source of worry in a number of countries such as Zombie, Angola, Somalia and Nigeria.In its April World Outlook, the MIFF maintained that the central challenge for Africa remained the establishment of those conditions necessary to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, most notably a sustained reduction in poverty. However, to achieve these goals, an overall growth rate of 7% per annum is required. Far from reaching that goal, Africans economic growth slowed to 3. 1% in 2002, compared with 4. 3% the previous year. (Games 2004) Fast forward to 2013 that goal of 7% gr owth is being attained by several African countries.If you look at the latest MIFF data for economic growth in table 1. MIFF 2013 The average growth for many of the African countries, is at 6. 9% in 2013 and raising up to 7. 9 in 2014. The map further shows where parts are recording these phenomenal growth rates. A 7% average annual growth rate is too significant to Just be ignored. This growth creates an increased demand for goods and services that usually cannot be meet by current businesses and government. Deutsche Bank said the number of households with discretionary income would reach 130 million by 2020 from 85 million now. Cape Argus [South Africa] 14 Novo. 2013) What industries are most profitable? A developing counties or emerging economies the African market has opportunities for business in every industry. This region is playing catch up with developed countries thus means the opportunities for foreign businesses who have already one it can bring with them experience and expertise to contribute to this growth will turning a profit. Retail is one of sub-Sahara Africans hottest sectors, fuelled by expanding populations and fast growing economies.In east Africa, the economies of several nations are growing around 7 percent a year. Real income growth in Africa is averaging 2. 3 percent a year and consumer spending accounts for 60 percent of economic output, the World Bank said in April. Deutsche Bank said the number of households with discretionary income would reach 130 million by 2020 from 85 million now. That's really good news for shops. Daily News [Colombo, Sir Lankan] 14) Africans tourism growth was faster than the average for emerging economies. More than half of Africans tourists arrived by air.International tourist arrivals in Africa had grown almost fivefold since 1990 at a rate of 6. 3 percent a year. International tourist arrivals rose from 15 million a year in 1990 to 50 million in 2011. The growth rate in sub-Sahara African tourism arrival s was nearly 8 percent a year between 1990 and 2011. It is estimated that tourism injects more than $30 billion (Rabin) into the continent a year. Airbus said there had been some positive improvements across the egging despite continued impediments to growth. (Cape Times [South Africa] 1 Novo. 013) What are the barriers? These are: Low levels of development and insufficient investment in people as resources; Political and fiscal risk. A weak private sector, coupled with a strong government presence in the economy; High dependency on donors and other financial mechanisms for aid and the funding of projects; High business costs owing to the lack of basic services, facilities, infrastructure, development, competition and resources; Insufficient air and road links; Poor leadership and bad governance; Corruption at all levels of government;High costs of finance due to high risk and weak economies Currency fluctuations. (Games 2004) This list of barriers to doing business in Africa are fr om a decade ago, at present not all of them have been corrected but significant steps have been taken to fix reduce or eliminate them. In Africa, foreign investors beware: business is often a family affair. Just ask Wall-Mart , the world's largest retailer. Daily News [Colombo, Sir Lankan] 14) Political climate Tunis: The eighth annual African Economic Conference concluded today, calling on development and business leaders to turn Africa into a hub of business and development excellence. The conference, Jointly organized each year by the African Development Bank (BFD), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ACE) and the United Nations Development Programmer (UNDO), brought together 500 decision-makers and development practitioners. Daily the Peak Banker 2013) Infrastructure SCALING up infrastructure investments and adopting modern methods of management have been identified as significant benchmark in releasing potentials in the business sector to contribute immensely to economic growth of the East African Community (EACH) partner states. (Tanzania Daily News 2013) â€Å"We need investment n infrastructure, our roads and ports,† (African news service 2013) Countries to avoid Why sub-Sahara Africa and not north?Growth will weaken in north Africa dues to slow down among oil exporters (miff pop) Sub-Sahara Africa is expected to continue growing at a strong pace during 2013-14, with both resource-rich and lower-income economies benefiting from robust domestic demand (Figure 2. 15). The external environment is the main source of risks to growth, particularly for middle- income and mineral-exporting economies. Given the still-uncertain global environment, countries whose policy buffers are thin and here growth is strong should seek to rebuild fiscal positions without undermining productive investment. miff pop) The generally strong per- performance is based to a significant extent on ongoing investment in infrastructure and productive capacity, con tinuing robust consumption, and the activation of new capacity in extractive sectors. (MFC pop) . In sub-Sahara Africa as a whole, inflation is projected to fall further to 7 percent in 2013 (miff pop) The frequency of growth takeoffs in low-income countries (Lies) has risen markedly during the past two decades, and these takeoffs have lasted longer than those that took place before the sass.Economic structure has not mattered much in sparking takeoffs-?takeoffs have been achieved by Lies rich in resources and by those oriented toward manufacturing. A striking similarity between recent takeoffs and those before the sass is that they have been associated with higher investment and national saving rates and with stronger export growth, which sets them apart from Lies that were unable to take off and confirms the key role of capital accumulation and trade integration in development.However, recent takeoffs stand out from earlier takeoffs in two important aspects. First, today's yeoman Lies have achieved strong growth without building macroeconomic imbalances-?as reflected in declining inflation, more com- appetite exchange rates, and appreciably lower public and external debt accumulation. For resource-rich Lies, this has been due to a much greater reliance on foreign direct invest- meet (FED). For other Lies, strong growth was achieved despite lower investment levels than in the previous genera- Zion.Second, recent takeoffs are associated with a faster pace of implementing productivity-enhancing structural reforms and strengthening institutions. For example, these Lies have a lower regulatory burden, better infrastructure, higher education levels, and greater political stability. Looking for- ward, there remain many challenges to maintaining strong growth performance in today's dynamic Lies, including the concentration of their growth in only a few sectors and the need to diversify their economies, and ensuring that growth leads to broad- based improvements in l iving standards.Still, if these countries succeed in preserving their improved policy foundation and maintaining their momentum in structural reform, they seem more likely to stay on course and avoid the reversals in economic fortunes that afflicted many dynamic Lies in the past. miff 97) In particular, the follow- ins have become more important: a more competitive exchange rate, deeper export links with other Modes, higher human capital levels, initial levels of income per capita, and overall economic size.Indeed, as global trade and competition increase, greater external competitiveness, export diversification, and productive- itty improvements may raise Lies' chances of takeoff relatively more than when the global economy is less integrated. The baseline results suggest that the chances of take- off more than tripled during the sass compared with the period before 1990 (Figure 4. 11). The predicted (miff Pl 10) How can barriers to entry be overcome?He said that in order to kick-s tart a major investment drive on the continent, these banks should partner with institutions such as the Bank Guest Francine De Development, the Africa Finance Corporation and Cairo-based Brinkman. Pressed on whether he had considered the Industrial Development Corporation and the Development Bank of Southern African, he said these too should be considered for partnering and leveraging with bigger commercial banks. (Cape Times [South Africa] 1 Novo. 2013) â€Å"Business on the continent is a relationship, not Just a transaction.If you miss the relationship you will have endless trouble with the transaction. † Building relationships in Africa is an important part of doing business, particularly for South Africans who have to work at countering the perception that they are the new colonizers, the bully boys who have taken over markets, pushing out local businesses. (Games 2004) Are other countries already doing business in this region successfully? About 80 business people have been given advice about increasing exports to Africa. The event, held yesterday in Quern, was hosted by Government agency I-J Trade and Investment (KIT).Susann Hutting, of the East Midlands office, said most of the delegates had already traded with Africa and were looking for ways to increase their sales to the continent. â€Å"Lots of people were looking for different information about exporting more,† she said. (Leister Mercury Novo. ) Which developed countries are doing business here? Asks, who was born in South Africa, said â€Å"everyone is keen on Africa†, including investment banks in the EX. and North America. They had billions of dollars available to invest on the continent but did not know the regulatory terrain and the pitfalls of coal investment markets.He had been in discussions with many of the international banks. â€Å"They are all asking†¦ Are you [Airbus] formulating a strategy for Africa? † (Cape Times [South Africa] 1 Novo. 2013) Marrio tt International, the New York Stock Exchange-listed international hospitality group, is planning to acquire the brands and management business of Protean Hotels in South Africa and sub-Sahara Africa. The US group confirmed yesterday that it had signed a letter of intent with Cape Town-based Protean Hospitality Holdings to acquire Protean Hotels' brands and its management business.Protean Hotels operates or franchises 116 hotels across three brands with 10 184 rooms in South Africa and six other sub-Sahara African countries. (cape times 2013) How are other business from other foreign countries doing? Natural growth of African-based aviation would see the number of aircraft needed to serve the markets for flights to, from and within the continent rising from 618 at the start of 2012 to a projected 1 453 by 2031. It was projected that 122 aircraft of the existing 618 would have to be replaced, while 823 would have to be brought on stream. This meant nearly 1 000 new aircraft would be needed in the next 20 years.

Mass Media Corporations

Assess the view that the owners of mass media corporations control media output and serve mainly ruling-class interests. (33 marks) AO1: Knowledge and Understanding (15 marks) Lower in the band 1. students will present an answer based on very limited knowledge and understanding of the mass media and ownership issues rather than based on sociological arguments or evidence. There will be only a peripheral link to the question. At this level there will be little evidence that the student has understood either the question or the material in response to it.At this level answers might include: †¢ isolated or disjointed statements about ownership of different aspects of the media or †¢ some flawed material from theories of the mass media. Higher in the band, students will present knowledge on the mass media, ownership and control that is incomplete or flawed. However, students’ understanding of both the set question and the material presented as an answer will be marginall y more explicit and more sociological than those lower in the band. At this level answers might include: a very brief list of evidence relating to ownership of different aspects of the media or †¢ incomplete or flawed accounts from theories of the mass media. 6 – 11 Answers in this band will show reasonable sociological knowledge and understanding. Lower in the band, students will present an adequate but possibly generalised or essentially descriptive and narrowly focused account of sociological knowledge on the question. There will be a fairly limited understanding of the demands of the question set.At this level answers might include: †¢ a brief list of factors related to ownership and/or control of different aspects of the media or †¢ brief, descriptive and accurate accounts of one or two studies of ownership and control of the mass media or †¢ outlines of one or two theories of the mass media, with relevance to the question left largely implicit. Highe r in the band, students will present a fuller though possibly still unbalanced response to the question.Answers may still be somewhat descriptive or narrowly focused, for instance dealing predominantly with only one perspective or one study of the media and ownership and control. At this level answers might include: †¢ a more developed list of factors related to ownership and/or control of different aspects of the media, but with a limited theoretical structure or Sources may include: Bagdikian; Miliband; Marx; Gramsci; Doyle; Curran; Whale; Tunstall and Palmer.

Trial for the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard Research Paper

Trial for the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard - Research Paper Example It is also important to note that, while abducted, Dugard gave birth to two daughters aged 11 and 15 years old by the time she was set free. In the year 2011, June 2, Phillip Garrido was decreed to 431 years in prison while the wife, also an accomplice was decreed to 36 years imprisonment. Phillip Garrido had always had a history of rape cases in his past life, he is accused of raping a woman Katherine Callaway in Nevada in 1976 where he was charged and convicted for sexual crimes in both state and federal courts. The psychiatrist report states that he needed psychiatrist help for his sexually deviant behavior coupled with drug abuse. When at Leavenworth, he met Nancy Garrido where they started a relationship based on crime and sexual harassment of victims. After the arrest of Garrido, the investigating officers did an extensive search at his residence and adjacent residences, these included searches in the premises of his business partners too. Though the searches did not produce an y evidence that would sustain a criminal case beyond a reasonable doubt, the police did not overrule Garrido as a suspect. At the detention centre, Garrido would later reveal to a reporter that, though he admits that what he did is wrong, it was the only thing he could do to turn around his life and to be accepted in the society. The defense requested a psychologist or a psychiatrist’s report on Garrido for the argument of the case; at the trial, the defense managed to secure Garrido a bail at $ 30 million but the request for no-bail parole was denied by the courts. On the hearings of October 29 and December 11, 2009, Katie Callaway a past victim of Garrido appeared in court during the defense hearings, though she did not address the court. At a later hearing on January 21, 2010, the defense attorney for the accused was disqualified for failure to disclose some facts and documents to the public and the court, and instead substituted by another attorney; moreover, Mrs Garrido was also granted bail of $ 20 million at this session. Mrs Garrido’s lawyer Mr Tapson later disclosed at a public forum that both the accused had made a confession that they would plead guilty to the offence of false imprisonment and sexual assault. This was to enable a plea-bargaining in order to have Mrs Garrido have a lighter sentence, on the expected day of the plea, both Phillip and Nancy Garrido did not plead guilty as expected in an amended claim. In addition, in order to complicate matters, the attorney for the first accused Phillip Garrido complained of the biased selection of the jury arguing that it will likely affect the final decision. The court was now faced with a decision whether the process in itself had legitimacy; moreover, another area of concern is whether both Mr and Mrs Garrido were unanimous in the decision to plead guilty. While Mrs Garrido’s attorney contended that it was a joint decision for both to plead guilty, Mr Garrido’s attorney Gellman disagreed on this insisting that every attorney should strictly speak or comment on their respective client’s case. The concerns about the jury were dispensed with as they had little legal implications on the case beforehand. On June 2, 2011, Garrido was convicted of rape and kidnapping on his own plea of guilt and convicted to 431 years imprisonment while his wife Nancy received 36 years imprisonment, Jaycee Dugard, their victim did not attend the session of court when the judgment was read. (Karmen, 2012). In

Managed care creating pressure to do more with less Research Paper

Managed care creating pressure to do more with less - Research Paper Example This paper deals with the flaws and issues in the field of health care. The drawbacks and the strategies are also explained. The paper describes the need for improvement in health care and the ways in which managed care can be improved. Then the strategies are also listed with supporting arguments. Managed care was initially developed to reduce the burden of people who seek the medical attention. Medical expenses are increasing day by day and due to this people find it difficult to deal with their medical expenses. These problems led to a situation where managed care becomes an important matter of concern. (Pre 2009). Managed care mainly deals with strategies that aim at providing quality treatments at a better cost. Even employed people find it difficult to manage their medical issues and hence managed care is considered to be an important concept. The concept of managed care takes different dimensions depending on the situation and place where it is portrayed. Managed care is commonly known as the technique used to minimize the medical expenses there by providing quality health care treatments. The main aim of managed care is to reduce the burden of the patient with the help of medical insurance and financial institutions. This is achieved by mitigating the risk to the insur ance company from which a person avails his insurance. This in turn reduces the cost incurred to the patient and transfers the rest of the monetary operations to the concerned insurance firm. Managed care has certain limitations and ethical concerns which form the major part of managed care. These ethical concerns depend on the type of problem and the way in which managed care is perceived. In an organization which provides medical benefits to an employee relies on an insurance company that helps the organization to reimburse the employee’s medical expenditure. This certainly reduces and minimizes the expenses of the employee. But this may not prove to be beneficial in all the

Prevention of Infection in Home Health Care Essay

Prevention of Infection in Home Health Care - Essay Example As such, this brief analysis will seek to analyze the definition of infection, types of infection/most common types of infection that exist within home health care, the modes of these different infection transmissions, ways to impede or disrupt such transmissions, and self protective equipment and its application within the home health care setting. Though home health care accounts for but a small percentage of total health care delivery within the United States, it is nonetheless a growing sector of health care deserves discussion. According to a recent study, published in 2011, there has been a high level of growth within home care; however, it still pales in comparison to the total amount of money that is expended upon hospital care. As of 2011, home care represented just 3% of total health care expenditures as compared to over 31% of total expenditure taking place with relation to traditional hospitals. However, the fact remains that even though the figure is small; it is a growi ng sector and is expected to grow a further 2.5% in the coming decade. As such, it is necessary to understand some of the key nuances that exist within home care as a function of anticipating and treating these issues in a medically expeditious means. For purposes of this brief analysis, the author will consider infection to be, â€Å"the invasion of a host organism’s bodily tissues by disease-causing organisms, their multiplication, and the reaction of the host tissues to these organisms and the toxins they produce† (Krismer 2012). With such a broad and encompassing definition, it becomes clear that infection within home care encompasses a broad range of issues; some acting as a more primal threat to health than others. It is important to note that although many journal entries have warned concerning the level of latent disease and exposure that exists within hospital and primary care, the level to which pathogens exist within the environment of the home is far less u niform. Whereas hospitals most comply with federal standards of cleanliness and procedures for disposal of an array of disease causing agents, regularly schedule cleanings, and a host of other preventative mechanisms, home care is almost invariably not nearly so tightly regulated, or sanitary. For this very reason, the prevalence of disease and the severity with which it affects patients within the given context is almost invariably higher than a similarly community of patients within a traditional medical facility. However, the prevalence of infection within the home care theater is not reason in and of itself to strongly recommend against its implementation as a means of treatment. With regards to the types of infections and the most common infections that exhibit themselves within home care, there are a number which will herein be discussed. As one might expect, the very same infectious disease agents that exhibit themselves within the hospital care front are also exhibited withi n home care; albeit, to different extents and total percentage rates than in traditional hospital care. For instance, studies on home care have typically indicated that the most common types of infections are concentric upon urinary tract infections, followed by an array of different types of skin infections, with staphylococcus aureus, and enterococcus rounding out the least

Speech Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Speech - Term Paper Example It will also suggest that the skillful audience analysis employed by President Kennedy shows why audience analysis is important to public speaking in general. The Cuban Missile Crisis Speech: The Right Words at the Last Minute President John F. Kennedy’s speech at the height of the Cuban Missile Crisis was one of the most important speeches in American history. The Soviet Union was building bases in Cuba for nuclear missiles that could reach the United States. Kennedy had to inform the public of the possibility of a Soviet nuclear strike against the United States and simultaneously calm the people’s fears and assure them that everything possible was being done to remedy the situation. He also had to use the opportunity to send a message to Nikita Khrushchev and the leaders of Soviet Union that nuclear bases in Cuba would not be tolerated (Long & Swett, 2010). By closely analyzing this speech, it is possible to see the techniques that Kennedy used to deliver two separate messages to two different audiences at once. In doing this, Kennedy showed the importance of audience analysis in public speaking. Kennedy spoke to two audiences in his speech. The first and most important audience was the American public. The people of the United States had already been worried about the possibility of nuclear war since the end of the Second World War and the start of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. Kennedy had to deliver accurate news about what was taking place in Cuba and what it meant for America without panicking people. Upon hearing the news, Americans would want to look to a strong leader who had the crisis under control and who would stop the conflict before it spiraled into unthinkable disaster. Because the missiles would be able to reach most of the Western hemisphere, Kennedy’s address held implications for an international audience, as well. The President’s speech also had a secondary purpose. He could also us e the opportunity to make a show of strength to America’s Cold War enemies in the Soviet Union and Cuba. While much of the information delivered in the speech was being exchanged between the powers involved via intelligence, letters, and phone calls, seeing the President proclaim to the American people what strategies would be used against Cuba and the Soviet Union in a speech held more intimidation for the Soviet and Cuban leaders (Bostdorff 1994). A good speech is a powerful emotional tool that can convey the deeper meaning of a message more effectively than a conversation or a written declaration can. Kennedy knew this, and he used the opportunity as a defensive strategy just as much as an informative address. One of the most striking aspects of the speech is the direct and businesslike manner in which Kennedy addresses the American people. To start off, he does not simplify or â€Å"dumb down† the information he conveys, nor does he sugar coat it to make it more pa lletable. Kennedy treats the American people like adults who are capable of understanding the situation. By doing this, he shows the audience that what he’s saying is extremely serious. He then goes on to detail what the Soviet government said about their involvement in the building of the Cuban missile bases and the purpose of these bases, and states emphatically that these assurances were false. Kennedy shows some anger here, but his anger is tightly controlled. By doing this, he

The philosophy on educational Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The philosophy on educational - Essay Example The concept of philosophy was influential in helping Myles Horton to start up learning centers for example; in schools people share dreams and interests while living together. This is based on his definition of a democratic society as one with provisions for positive participation by all in equal terms with secure flexibility (Kohl, Myles and Kohl 1905-90). Since he appreciated the value of education he formed different education centers that led to the spread of citizenship schools to most remote parts in the south and thus helping residents mostly Africans to become literate and qualified to vote. This helped in advancing civil rights movements in 1960s by bringing together coal miners and textile workers. Sharing of ideas and use of the knowledge taught enabled people to challenge and face the negative social problems affecting their lives, boosted and advanced of civil rights, helped workers to form trade unions and cooperatives, helped to make homeless people realize, know and achieve their constitutional rights. The value of education helped to fulfill his determination to see the school he envisioned involve, serve and help poor people in employment and ethnic dissension and in finding ways to gain self-esteem, independence and integrity. Horton organized and appreciated immense transformations in political and social philosophy that enabled restoration of economic prosperity and encouraged patriotism and civic responsibility among the people. One does not need to know the answers to people’s problems but that there are a great deal of views and opinions that people can collectively contribute to build the society. This implies that it is quite crucial to discuss problems in a bid to find viable solutions. Highlander concentrated in inviting the poor who needed sponsorship in order to attend the education centers and learn among other things, their rights in order to overcome the oppression and to learn to handle their problems and

Bmw Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bmw - Essay Example From the marketing side three developments make the need for information greater now than in the past: global marketing, the customer-oriented marketing approach and the nonprice competition. Information transforms the financial decisions governed by the numbers into business decisions based on the probability of alternative strategic assumptions thus it requires that the business has formulated a strategy and this strategy and its assumptions are challenged. Therefore, the organization needs to continuously innovate in order to remain and become antagonistic. The management requires sales data especially up-to-the minute reports on current sales. It needs to have accurate data on stock levels of products, it needs information on customer profiles (financial and personal data), on marketing expenditure, on customers’ perception about the company and its products, on industry sales and market shares, on staff’s training needs, on financial aspects of the company (debts, loans, cash-flow, budgeting etc.), on R&D and on production line requirements. The BMW Group follows the efficient dynamics strategy i.e. the environmental friendly car production and the customer orientation. Thanks to the use of flexible working methods and working-time accounts, the BMW Group directs its production capacities highly efficiently to changes in demand on the various sales markets. Identify an example of each of strategic, tactical and operational decisions which might be/have been taken by your chosen business. Explain why these decisions are respectively strategic, tactical and operational. 18 marks Number ONEÂ  expresses our claim to leadership, its letters O, N and E stand for Opportunities, New and Efficiency: we want to make the most of new opportunities and achieve new levels of efficiency. Essentially, the name Number ONE stands for everything we do in relation

Cultural communication Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Cultural communication - Coursework Example Code of dignity allows self-growth and Joanna accomplished it by breaking her relationship with Ted. Q3. Joanna Kramers story is similar to one of the cases in chapter 4 of Speaking Culturally, the cases of "M" and "K." To which one do you think it is most similar? Explain your answer in one paragraph. Joanna Kramer’s story is similar to M’s case because there are a number of similarities found in both cases. Both the women are divorced and the divorce is because of their husband’s lack of communication. Communication barrier existed between both the married partners of both cases. Both categorize communication as close, supportive and flexible, which is negated by their husbands. According to Joanna Kramer and M, communication is entirely significant for uniqueness and growth of self. Both the women are of the opinion that self-identity is revealed because of personal growth, which is facilitated by communication, which should be close, supportive and flexible. Each person has a unique position in society and should be allowed to find his/her self in order to reveal his/her uniqueness. Q4. What is it about the story of the "scholarship boy" that resonates in Richard Rodriguezs life? What are some of the similarities between the life of Richard Hoggart, the scholarship boy, and the life of Richard Rodriguez? How does the fact that Hoggarts report is told in a story form help Richard Rodriguez identify with Hoggarts story? This should be answered in one paragraph. Richard Rodriguez being associated to Spanish culture by birth, has to make his position in his class after coming to a new culture. He finds similarities in himself and Richard Hoggart’s the scholarship boy because they have to go through the same set of circumstances in order to attain the values of the other culture. According to Hoggart, the scholarship

Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Management - Essay Example . In order to shape employee behavior, a manager should â€Å"encourage self-regulation of behavior† and motivate them. This approach is based on motivation which ‘foster an intrinsic desire on the part of employees to follow organizational rules, and inspire outweighs the influence of command-and-control mechanisms† (Blader and Tyler 2006). Employee responsibilities are inseparable from organizational policies and practices. The manager can shape employees behavior using traditional insensitive and sanctions. Thus, critics argue that self-regulation approach is more effective than the old one. The manager can influence employees through informal superior-subordinate interaction to communicate employees rights and responsibilities. Suggested also is the need for interaction may be endangered by the growth of communication technology. Behavior modeling is needed for communicating shared values. Employees absorb, analyze, and then digest the behavior of managers towa rd them (Drory and Zaidman 2007). It should be noted that an organization's policies and practices may encourage or discourage responsible behavior among employees by the moral messages they convey. As a result, one would expect the way workers approach their responsibilities to be compatible with the organization's moral (and behavioral) environment. 2. Attitudes are learned throughout life and are embodied within socialization process.

Early childhood education Essay Example for Free

Early childhood education Essay Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel (1782-1852) was a German educator born in Oberweisbach. He is known as the founder of â€Å"Kindergarten† and was one of the most influential educational reformers of the 19th century. Froebel had a difficult childhood. His mother died when he was still young, and his father, a pastor, and stepmother neglected to care for him. Finally, an uncle took over his care and ensured that he receive a high school education. It was there that young Froebel grew up with a love for nature and strong Christian faith, which led him to seek happiness and unity in all things. Froebel’s faith also led him to think as an educationalist. Froebel studied at the University of Jena for a short time. In 1805, while studying architecture in Frankfurt, he was persuaded to become a teacher by the model school at Frankfurt. He then studied with Pestalozzi at Yverdon, before returning to the University of Gottigen and Berlin in Germany. Froebel believed that there was something missing in Pestalozzi’s theory- the ‘spiritual mechanism’. According to Froebel, this was the basis of early childhood education. â€Å"Pestalozzi takes man existing only in appearance on earth,† he said, â€Å"but I take man in his eternal being, in his eternal existence. † (Shapiro, 1983, p. 20. ) Froebel took a break from studying to join the army for a year from 1813-1814. Afterwards, he received a position at the mineralogical museum in the University of Berlin. Two years later, he founded a school at Greisheim (which later mover to Keilau) which he called the Universal German Educational Institute. It was there that he taught his methods to other teachers. Froebel opened the first Kindergarten in the year of 1837 in Bad Blankenburg. Later, he also founded a Kindergarten training school at Liebenstein. Froebel felt that children, like plants in a garden, need to be cared for and shielded from outside influences. Froeble believed that children need to imitate a teacher’s values and morals. Therefore, teachers need to be respected, receptive, and easily approachable. Among Froebel’s subordinates, however, there were constant disputes, which he was unable to control. He encountered more problems when the Prussian government did not approve of his ideas. In 1851, an edict was issued, which forbade the establishment of Kindergartens. This decree was repealed almost 10 years later- in 1860. Froebel was not alive at that time and had no idea of the impact he left on the school system worldwide, and especially in the United States. The philosophers of his times, Johann Gottlieb Fichte (1762-1814) and Friedrich Wilhelm Schelling (1775-1854), also influenced Froebel’s educational ideas. He placed an emphasis on self-activity, physical training, and pleasant surroundings in the development of children. His most important work was the book he wrote in 1826 called Menschenerziehung (tr. The Education of Man, 1877). References: Lilley, Irene M. , (1967). Friedrich Froebel: A Selection from His Writings. Kilpatrick, William H. , (1916). Froebels Kindergarten Principles Critically Examined. Retrieved from http://www. uv. es/EBRIT/micro/micro_221_12. html Froebel, Friedrich. (1896). The Education of Man, trans. W. H. Hailman. New York: Appleton. Retrieved from http://www. answers. com/topic/friedrich-wilhelm-august-fr-bel.

The Process Of Time Table Construction Computer Science Essay

The Process Of Time Table Construction Computer Science Essay The process of time-table construction can prove to be a hectic task considering the number of cohorts [courses] and the modules [subjects] offered by a specific university. This is mainly because, there could be a deadlock in allotment of the schedule considering all the constraints to be satisfied .This requires logical thinking which definitely consumes a large amount of time. Moreover, identification of the inconsistencies and their respective solutions can prove to be disastrous. Initially , the task of time table scheduling was done manually .This proved to be troublesome ,error-prone and time consuming .To overcome these problems , automated exam time-table generation has come to light. With a wider range of choices available to the students in the selection of modules [ subjects ] and cohorts [ courses] of their choice , the flexibility of the University improves but at the same time , the task of time-table creation becomes merely complicated .However , a software which can consider all the constraints and cross faculty modules [latter includes the modules taken by students from various faculties]as well , is of immense help. Thus ,the scientific society has given considerable attention to automated time-table generation from the last four decades .One of the most primitive ones used the concepts of one or more of the following operational methodologies network flow techniques reduction to graph coloring integer programming direct heuristics and more The latest technology uses advanced techniques like expert systems which work on the concept of artificial intelligence, logic programming which uses languages like Prolog, constraint logic programming and generic evolutionary algorithms .However , there is no universally accepted language for time-table creation. Several attempts have been made to formulate one but these are left incomplete. In this software , the constraint satisfaction is 99% .Moreover , the interface developed is use friendly where in the user doesnt have to enter the names of the cohorts and modules which he wishes to opt for as he can just select the same from the drop down lists . WHAT IS CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION? Constraint satisfaction was first introduced in artificial intelligence .This is a logical problem solving language merged with a programming language which is used to solve a given problem with a specific set of constraints. This deals with the assignment of certain values to the variables while meeting certain conditions. It is represented as a set of variables Xi and a set of constraints Ci where each constraint specifies a subset of variables and an allowable combination of these. In this project some of the main constraints which are to be considered are as below: Students belonging to different cohorts but studying a common module must have the exam on the same day. No two modules of the same cohorts can have their respective exams on the same day One of the soft constraints is that no two exams of the same cohort must be on the same day Thus, these are satisfied before the software is deployed .The techniques used in constraint satisfaction are purely dependent on the constraints. Constraints specific to a finite domain are solved using search strategies in the form of backtracking or local search. Constraint propagation is yet another technique which is used but however is sometimes incomplete. That is it either solves the problem or proves and declares it unsatisfiable .These methods are combined with the search strategies to simplify the process. There are many constraint programming libraries which can be included in this project. Since Java is the platform we develop the project on, Choco is an appropriate library which can be easily used with Java programming .it is an event based propagating system with backtrack structures. More on Choco is discussed in the later sections on the report. BRUTE FORCE TECHNIQUE: Brute force technique is a process of finding the result by taking all the possible inputs i.e., a trial and error process. If a taken Input yields the correct result then it is treated as the correct input. If not then it goes for the next input until we get the correct result. We can consider knapsack problem as an example of a brute force technique. Knapsack problem generally means a bag which should be filled with weights that should yield maximum profit. The most implicit constraint of knapsack problem is to maximize profit with minimum weight. Let us say there a four types of materials as follows gold , silver , platinum and bronze with profit values of 1000,10,2000 and 5 and weights of 2,3,4,5 .Thief want more profit with his minimum capacity bag let us say it can fit 5.So he applies the brute force technique to get maximum profit.First he fills the bag with gold which weights 2 and then goes for silver which weights 3 here the bag is full and yielding the profit of 1000+10=1010. Now he tries of another combination i.e., he selects platinum which weights 4 and now the rest of the bag is only one so he can select the  ½ part of gold which weights 1 thus the bag is filled with yielding 2000+500=2500 .In this manner different combinations are tried until the max profit is yielded. CHAPTER 2 Aims and Objectives The manual process of generating exam timetable by taking all constraints into consideration is very much time taking and difficult process. So the main aim of this project is to build a software tool to create exam timetables for a university or a school and the application should be user friendly and should satisfy all the constraints. The brief explanation of this is as follows: First analyze the manual process in developing exam time table that is following in schools and universities. This analysis helps us in developing the software tool. After analyzing the manual process we should make a list of all possible constraints which should be satisfied by the developed system. We should identify all the constraints that should be satisfied by our developed system and we should analyze them which is helpful in developing the software product. To gain an understanding of constraint satisfaction tool like choco which we are using in the development process. The developed product should be user friendly, so that user can use the system easily. In AUTOMATED EXAM TIME TABLE product the user should input the cohort name and module name. Instead of typing the entire cohort and module name we should put a dropdown list where user selects from it. By this we can eliminate the incorrect typing. The developed product should satisfy constraints like two exams of the same year of both semesters should not be on the same day. Every student should get their exams on alternate days only. All such type of major constraints should be satisfied by our product. MOTIVATION: Most of the people are interested in playing chess. By playing chess we can improve our concentration power. We have an idea of creating code for playing chess. As chess is played by two players one player is automated and another player plays manually. Here constraint satisfaction is used because there are certain conditions like elephant should have only straight moves, soldier should have one step straight move etc., we have to design our code by satisfying these conditions. Our program is used by the player in the absence of his partner. This player makes use of graphical user interface to opt his plots against other player which makes use of our code. So here artificial intelligence is used. This idea motivated us for designing automated examination time tabling software. FEATURES: Exams are scheduled such that no two exams are overlapped for the same student. Students are informed in case of any changes in the examination schedule like postponement, or preponement etc. User can save data so that he can view the application if he reopens it again. Students are allotted examination halls in a proper way so that a single student is not allotted in two different rooms. Proper allotment of staff in examination halls. Student can post his problems regarding exams. User can add modules to this software if they are relevant to this software. KEY TECHNIQUES JAVA PROGRAMMING JAVA is the language which has many features like multithreading, platform dependent, simple, robust, object oriented etc. Java is portable and performance levels of it are too high. Java concepts are very simple and understandable. Exceptions are also perfectly managed by Java. Database connectivity, GUI, IO packages is the main concepts due to which we go for java programming. CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION PROGRAMMING USING CHOCO CHOCO is a java library which is mainly used for constraint satisfaction. CHOCO is based on events which have the capability of backtracking. It can be used for many purposes like teaching, researching etc. So by using this constraint satisfaction programming we can develop the exam time table perfectly. ORACLE DATABASE FOR DATA STORAGE AND RETRIEVAL Database is a collection of entities. Data is a collection of similar raw information. Data is represented with the help of views or tables. View is not a physical entity. It is the representation for shadow of tables. Oracle database is mainly used for data storage and retrieval. That is data is stored in a place and in future if we want that data we can easily retrieve it. For developing the exam timetable in a university the above three key techniques are very very important and by using these techniques only the development processing of timetable can be done perfectly. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS There are two types of system requirements software and hardware. SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS Based on the operating system many things may depend. So selection of operating system plays very important role. WINDOWS XP operating system is the most appropriate operating system for software requirements of developing exam timetable. Oracle 10g relational database management system is also one of the software requirements. For developing the JAVA code My Eclipse Tool is the most suitable software requirement. For constraint satisfaction programming the preferred version is CHOCO 2.1.0. These are the minimum and most important software requirements for developing exam time table. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS The processor required is Pentium 111 processor with 800MHz. Oracle database 10g and Java code developing tool must be on run mode at the same time so 1GB RAM is required. 20GB HDD also required as hardware requirement. These are the minimum and most important hardware requirements for developing exam time table. CHAPTER 3 SYSTEM ANALYSIS Existing System: The timetable management of a university was initially done normally by using some primitive methods and algorithms. The planning is made by a group of people and the timetable is fixed after certain negotiations. The university needs to set the timetable for each and every student separately and then finalize the whole timetable. The Timetable that is prepared by the Examination department of that institution needs to be sent in atleast 45 days advance to all the departments of the university and concerned affiliated colleges also. There are some issues regarding the timetable preparation. They are The students belonging to different departments will have the subjects related to their course. The subjects may be in common for certain branches. So the timetable designer needs to have a proper idea regarding the date and time of the examinations making sure that the same subject to different departments is conducted on the same day and at the same time. This reduces the extra effort for preparing different sets of question papers and ensuring the same complexity of the paper. A subject may be completed in advance by certain departments and there might be certain students who had failed that certain subject. The students who have failed in the regular examinations are given a chance for writing the supplementary examinations in the next semester. There is a chance of anomaly that the regular examination of the current semester and the supplementary examination for the previous semester may fall on the same day and same time. So the timetable adjustment must be flexible in such a way that no student misses any of the examinations. The regular student needs to have at least a day gap in between the examinations so that he can get ample amount of time for preparation for the next examination. The availability of the invigilators also needs to be checked before scheduling a particular examination. The staff members who are not assigned any class work at that time are to be taken and the schedule for a particular staff is to be prepared. The subject that is opted by maximum number of students is to be held as the first examination itself. The reason behind this is that, if the subject that is opted by maximum number of students is conducted at the last then there would be a problem in validating the answer scripts. So overcoming all the above mentioned issues is a hectic task. The timetable designer needs to have an idea regarding all those issues. The time taken by an individual to overcome all the above issues may take a few months of time. Proposed System: The proposed system of timetable management is rather a key solution for all the above mentioned issues. It gains its importance in eliminating the potential risks that are involved in the process. We can give certain number of constraints as the input and the schedule is prepared considering the constraints. The software is flexible enough for the users to enter the starting and the ending date of the examinations, the names of the students and their respective departments are present in the database and the details are retrieved accordingly. The result of the examination is automatically stored in the database for the preparation of the next semesters timetable. The proposed system is considerably quicker and more efficient. CHAPTER 4 SOFTWARE TOOLS DISCUSSION 1.CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION: We have a lot of constraints which need to be imposed and satisfied in our project. Basically CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION can be defined as the process of finding a solution to a set of constraints that impose conditions for which the variables must satisfy. In general terms, a solution is the set of variables that satisfies all the constraints.This can also be defined as the outcome of constraint satisfaction 2. CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION PROBLEM(CSP): A CONSTRAINT SATISFACTION PROBLEM(CSP) is defined by a set of variables each having a specific domain and also a set of constraints each involving a set of variables. These constraints restrict the values that the variables can take. A CSP performs these two tasks simultaneously. Now coming to the solution to CSP, it is just an assignment that maps every defined variable to a value. There may be cases where you may want to find just one solution, all possible solutions or an optimal solution based on the given objective function in terms of variables. A general constraint problem consists of the following: A set of variables A={a1,a2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.an} For each variable ai, a finite domain set Di of its possible values. D={D(a1),D(a2),à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.D(an)}. A set of constraints to restrict the values that the variables can take. C={C1,C2,à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Cj}. 3. CONSTRAINTS SOLVER: Now we need a constraint satisfaction tool to solve the considered constraints. This tool can be combined with any other programming languages like C,C++,JAVA etc. This tool is nothing but the constraint satisfaction libraries . As we move on with the java programming in our project, different constraint satisfaction java libraries available are given below: Choco JaCop Qstudio Avaya Aptana JCL Koalog From above mentioned java libraries, we use choco in this project. Choco is based on an event based propagation mechanism with an additional feature of backtracking structures which adds to its supremacy. This gives clear difference between modeling and solving a problem. 4. CHOCO: Choco is an open source software implemented in java program that is widely used for constraint programming and constraint satisfaction. General Features: Choco provides problem modeler that handles a variety of variable types that are integer variables real variables that holds an interval of floats. expressions using variables with the many operators like +, -, /, * and etc. Chocos modeler supports 70 constraints some of them are listed below Arithmetical constraints (integers or real): equal, not equal, greater or equal, less or equal. Refined constraints i .e Boolean operations between constrains. It will verify the relation for a set of variables by defining the sets of tuples in the table constraints. Constraint Programming Solver: Constraint programming solver provides The different types of various domains implementations will be done (enumerated, bounded, integer variables). For constraint propagation several algorithms were implemented (parameterized cumulative, full and bound all different, state-of-the-art AC algorithms for table constraints) Chocos Design: Chocos design provides clear separation between modeling and solving. In the modeling the problem will be expressed and variables and relations are defined. The verification for variable constraints for their potential implementation is done. The API is provided that facilitates how to state a problem as user friendly. In the solving phase, the problem solving is done by Constraint Programming and related information is provided. It handles specific memory management for variables and tree-based search. 5. JAVA: We use choco constraint java library to build the tool. By embedding choco java library with the java programming we create the required exam timetabling tool. Java provides us many features which augments security and has many advantages: Java is designed in such a way that you can easily write the code and debug the code. Java uses the concepts of automatic memory allocation and garbage collection. As java is an object-oriented programming language, it allows objects to work together. The code written in java is reusable. Java is platform independent. This is developed by keeping security in mind. Java augments todays web with security and reliability. Because of these features we use java programming in our project. But we need an INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT(IDE) to develop a java application. Lots of IDEs are available. In this project EXAM TIMETABLING with CONSTRAINT SATISFACTIO we use MyEclipse IDE. 6. MyEclipse IDE: MyEclipse is a commercially available JAVA EE and AJAX IDE. This is created and maintained by the company GENUITEC. This is built on the eclipse platform. This integrates proprietary and open solutions into the development environment. MyEclipse incorporates open standard technologies to provide a development environment for J2EE, XML, UML and databases. This is an open source IDE to which you can add external jars. MyEclipse allows you to save the valuable time on debugging environment. By using MyEclipse, it is easy to edit and debug the environment. MyEclipse comes with two versions: a professional and a standard edition. The standard edition adds various tools and a number of other features to the basic Eclipse Java Developer version. CHAPTER 5 SYSTEM DESIGN The development process of the Automated Exam Timetabling tool for a University, we use Choco 2.1.0 version which is implemented using Java Programming. The different tasks which are going to be implemented in the process of developing this application are Designing Graphical User Interface(GUI). Data Calculations. Timetable. Choco tool for Constraint Satisfaction. Step1: Designing Graphical User Interface (GUI) This process includes only Graphical User Interface part, that consists buttons, Tables, Dropdown lists and etc. These controls are arranged in the proper order to display them. Look and feel will be implemented in this process. Step 2: Data Calculations Data Calculations part consists of code which results the final output for the Schedule of Exam Timetable. Here we implement the code with logic that works like selection of exams to be held in alternative days. Here we consider all exams of particular course and prepares a logic for Exam Timetable that includes Supplementary and Regular Exams. Step 3: Timetable Timetable process involves in the creation of a schedule that sets the examinations are allocated into venues with limited capacities within an examination period. This includes the following methods. We cannot schedule a session where one student cannot taken two examinations in the same session. The venues capacity should not exceed from the total number of candidates writing the exam in a schedule. Step 4: ChocoSolver ChocoSolver is a java library for constraint programming and constraint satisfaction. Choco will define all the variables of time tabling problem that includes the Constraint Definitions Candidate Information Venue Information Examination information Exam Session particulars. User has to enter constraints and changes to the exams related to the particular exam or venue. Defining the Constraints This program will allow the users to define all necessary constraints according to the exams. The different duration should be separated for all examinations . The examination time and venue of a particular batch should be held in particular date. Venue Partitioning This process considers the number of faculties and venues. Invigilators are allocated to particular venue for the examinations. User interface is provided for the assignment and manipulation of venue partitions to the faculties. In venue partitioning the following points are considered in the Choco Solver The number of students in a venue should not exceed more than the capacity. The sufficient invigilators should be allocated for the each examination hall. The attendance sheet should be provided to the invigilators to confirm the candidate is attended or not. PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED AND THEIR PROPOSED SOLUTIONS: Scheduling an exam time table is very difficult and time taking task because there are many constraints that should be satisfied for ex: at least one day gap should be there in between two exams so that student gets time to revise, there should not be any other exam on the same day which collides with the present exam, room allocation, staff allocation, invigilator allocation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Etc. All this problems are solved in this project, this project saves a lot of time, this helps to schedule exam time table in more user friendly manner. Proposed System: In this project user can add any module to any cohort by using dropdown menus. Mostly we are not sure about the starting date of exams, but in this application user have chance to select the starting date of examinations. Sometimes same module may be shared by some cohorts. In this case we are going to create new time table for the module shared by different cohorts on the same day. So that time can be saved and number of invigilators can be reduced. Some student may have supplementary exams. This supplementary exam and regular exam should not be on the same day or on the consecutive days. Separate schedule is created for these supplementary exams or those should be held with next intake students. This application allows user to add modules to a cohort by using drop down menus. The user can also make changes to the selected modules list. As per the date, schedule and cohort selected by user examination time table is created. As the user is allowed to choose options from drop down list provided, problems that occur due to typing mistakes can be decreased. Application development and deployment: The steps involved in the development and deployment of application involve Formulating the data interpretation scheme that is sufficient to handle all the requirements of the problem converting all data available to data interpretation scheme Next step is developing the scheduling algorithm that is used to schedule the exams. The application should support the numerous last minute changes during its development and deployment easily. Application Uses: The following are the benefits of Automated Exam Timetabling The initial implementation of program requires a lot of time for data entry and constraint specification. We can reuse the database of previous exams for next exams. Assuming that the constraints are specified correctly, the application should produce the schedule that is conflict free. We can schedule the exam timetable in a short span of time. We can make last minute changes in a short span of time. Shortening the exam period can make the expenses spend on conducting the exams (such as buildings, staff, etc.,) come down. The application benefits from its three tier architecture design. Conclusion: Automated Exam Timetabling software is used to schedule the university exam time table. This is reduces time and complexity involved in scheduling the exam time table manually. This document explains about the space and time complexity involved in scheduling the exam. The application developed is user friendly and it is used to give a graphical look and feel to the user for accessing and entering the information. Automated Exam Timetabling provides all the features that are required for scheduling the exam time table. Implementation of this software at different universities reduces the cost in terms of money and time. Future Uses: Automated Exam timetabling can be extended to schedule the university class time table and school time table School Timetabling: This application is used for scheduling the timetables for weekly classes at higher schools. University Timetabling: This application is used for scheduling the lectures of students of different modules in a university such that they prevent students and lecturers from double booking.

Effects of Colour Packaging on Consumer Behaviour

Effects of Colour Packaging on Consumer Behaviour Abstract: When determining possible colour options for a new product, packaging professionals must keep the consumer in mind. First, they determine what type of message the product should give. Based on the message, a colour scheme that represents this message is chosen. This is why basic research is necessary, whether its from previous case studies of similar products or from focus groups. Finally, packaging professionals must create an â€Å"attention† to the product, making it easily noticeable to the consumer. By following these basic steps, the package could be considerably successful. It may also instil a certain image or message into the consumers mind that keeps them loyal for many years This paper aims at investigating the effect of packaging design of the soft drinks industry, specifically colour, on consumer behaviour. Most buyers make the decision of purchasing because of the packaging, which is often considered as the  «silent salesman ». Now that more and more businesses understand the role of packaging to act upon consumers, it is crucial for packaging to be studied as an influence on consumer behaviour. In todays consumption society, consumers are faced with a large choice of product choices and in this way, the packaging plays important roles as it is a source of information. Primary and Secondary data that has been collected for this research signals that consumers are affected by colours in their purchases From our research, we concluded that Blue and Red packaging were much more popular than the other colours. Moreover, yellow packaging was the least popular. Results show that the colours of packaging have a large impact on consumers and therefore on sales and profits. Chapter One: Introduction 1) Background The central point in todays marketing is to fully please consumers needs and prosperity. The major point in marketing planning is always consumer. The firms and markets have massively developed and the competitive environment is becoming more and more concentrated The market today is packed with so many different brands, which make it difficult for consumers to arrive at the final buying choice. At the same time companies also face complications in attracting consumers A brand visual appearance is very crucial to consumers especially in todays visual-obsessed society, where consumers have more choice and less time than ever before. This is why, it has never been more important for marketers to invest in the design and look of their product or logo. When shopping, consumers are confronted with too much choice and the packaging and colour play an important role into this choice. Colour plays a crucial part of business and marketing at both strategic and tactical level and organisations will pay colossal amounts of money to build and improve, so that colours thought of appropriate will be associated with both the company and its variety of products. It can be so successful that in some cases a colour will be immediately related to the organisation on question. Every major organisation will are developing and designing corporate colours that reproduce the values and products of the organisation in consumers minds. In this way it will be hoped that the use of colours will help the customer instantaneously recognise the organisation and perceive it as being competent, contemporary and truthful. Packaging is very important and a colossal amount of time and money is spent on consumer packaging colour design, trying to get colour combinations that exceed expectations. â€Å"Computer technology has helped a great deal in all areas of product research as 3D images can be portrayed and colours and shapes manipulated on the screen to ascertain a respondents reactions. Such is power of colour that it would be extremely hard for us to imagine such well-known products in a different colour, such as green Mars bar, a blue Kit-Kat, a yellow Coca-Cola, a pink Heinz baked bean tin and black Kelloggs cornflake packets.†(Ray Wright 2006) It has been estimated that packaging design plays a major role because it is often the only factor that can differentiate between two products (Buxton 2000; Rettie and Brewer 2000). Actually, we can even go further and say that packaging is now being seen a new form of advertising (Furness 2003, The Silent Salesman) 2) Rational for chosen topic: This study is selected to find out the factors which affect consumer decision while purchasing or selecting a certain colour packaged product. This research will explore the Technological, Cultural, Social, Personal and psychological factors have a big role in consumer buying decision and also how a packaging design and colour will affect and impact on buying decisions of consumers. 3) Statement of the nature of the problem Because Colours and shapes express about 80% of all visual communication (LaCroix 1998), consumers are getting used to employing colour as a means of amassing information. Thus, colour plays an important part in marketing and advertising and especially in packaging. Researchers have spent more than four decades studying the attitude of consumers in the marketplace (Petty, Cacioppo and Shuman 1983). This area is now called and known as consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour involves the thoughts and feelings people experience paired off with the actions performed during the shopping process (Peter and Olson 1999). When a choice has to be made, a consumer may use the information of size, texture, shape, price, or ingredients to make the decision of which product to purchase especially when setting quality. Thus, it is interesting to investigate the effect of colours used in packaging on consumer behaviour. 2.1The Psychology of Consumer behaviour The study of consumers help firms and organisations improve their marketing strategies by understanding their behaviour. One official definition of consumer behaviour is: â€Å"the study of individuals, groups or organisations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society†. (Hawkins, Best, and Coney, 2001, p7.) Each organisation provides some products that are used by some consumers, even though we may not always recognise the products or consumers as such. 2.2 Factors taken into account when packaging a product Packaging is used to protect the product from damage during shipping and handling, and to lessen spoilage if the protection is exposed to air or other elements. The design is used to attract customers attention as they are shopping or glancing through a catalogue or website. This is particularly important for customers who are not familiar with the product and in situations where a product must stand out among thousands of other products. Packaging designs that standout are more likely to be remembered on future shipping trips. Packaging design and structure can also add value to a product. For instance, benefits can be obtained from package structures that make the product easier to use while stylistic designs can make the product more fascinating to display in the customers home. Decisions made about packaging must not only be accepted by the final customer, they may also have to be accepted by distributors who sell the product for the supplier. For example, a retailer may not accept packages unless they conform to requirements they have for storing products on their shelves. Companies usually create a package for a lifetime. As a matter of fact , changing a products packaging too frequently can have negative effects since customers become conditioned to locate the product based on its package and may be confused if the design is modified. Marketers have long used the colour and design of their product packaging to produce brand awareness. Traditionally, changes to a products look have been undertaken as little as possible as to preserve that hard won brand recognition. Today, rather than sticking with one colour scheme, companies must constantly update their image to keep them as fresh and exciting as the competitions. Packaging decisions must also include an assessment of its environmental impact especially for products with packages that are frequently thrown away. Packages that are not easily bio-degradable could evoke customer and possibly governmental concern. Also, caution must be exercised in order to create packages that do not break on intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks or patents, held by others. (Richardson 1994). Recent research by the Henley Centre (Frontiers, 1996) estimates that 73 percent of purchase decisions are made in the store; the design of packaging must play a key role at point of sale. â€Å"The pack design is the salesman on the shelf (Pilditch, 1972)†, â€Å" it should ensure that a brand stands out, is recognised, and is included in the products under consideration† (Connolly and Davison, 1996). Good business is often about finding out consumer trends and forming a strategy that targets growth in key technologies and market segments to capitalize on these trends. As packagers and package printers, they need to be in tune with trends and changes in shopping habits in order to remain successful. 2.3 Role of colour in marketing Research supports the importance of a brands visual appearance to consumers. One study by the Institute for Colour Research revealed that people make a subconscious judgement about an item within 90 seconds of first viewing, and that up to 90% of that assessment is based on colour. Another of their study study reveals that colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Colour clearly plays an important part in catching the modern-day consumers eye. According to the Henley Centre, 73% of purchasing decisions are now made in store. Consequently, catching the shoppers eye and delivering information efficiently are critical to successful sales. In todays world of infinite choices no brand can afford to ignore the impact of colour. More importantly, why would anyone want to give that potential advantage away to competitors? Colours send a variety of signals about the person, place or thing they adorn. Using this link between human emotion and colour to sell a product is certainly nothing new. 3) Objectives The objective of this research is to investigate if the colours that are used in packaging do influence our (consumers) behaviour. Understanding the effect packaging colour has on consumer decision- making would be as an introductory mean of investigating packaging design as the new advertising. The study also examines how different colours influence consumer decision making, and ultimately, the consumers intent to purchase. It focuses on packaging design from a communication aspect, not an engineering one. We examine how packaging influences buying decisions for packaged soft drinks products. As we know, the package impacts the consumer. This is because of conflicting trends in consumer decision-making. On one hand, some consumers are paying more attracted to label information (Coulson, 2000). These consumers are more concerned in the product decision and use package information more extensively. On the other hand, modern consumers are often looking for ways to reduce time spent on soft drinks shopping. This can influence decision processes, too, as time pressure reduces detailed consideration of package elements ( Warde, 1999). While these are important issues, and becoming even more critical in the increasing competitive environment, there is little comprehensive study on how packaging elements influence brand choice under involvement and time pressure. This paper aims at forming a better understanding of the link between colours used in packaging and consumer purchase behaviour within the soft drinks industry. 4) Relevance and significance of the subject Until recently, the importance of colour as a brand identity wasnt as recognised. It is nowadays clear that colour can play a very large part of any organizations success. This pushes us into asking ourselves the following questions: Ø How does colour affect us? Ø Which colours have an impact on us? Ø Do organisations carefully choose what colours to use when packaging a product? 5) Structure and content The next chapter will be a literature review that will study: 1) A review of consumer behaviour and especially what mostly affects consumer decisions 2) The effect of packaging design and especially colour on consumer decision making and consumer purchase intent. 3) A review of the literature regarding colour, colour association and colour practices. The third chapter will examine the soft drinks industry nowadays in the UK and worldwide. The fourth chapter will be an explanation of the different methods used to practice a research. It will also outline the method used into this particular research question The fifth chapter, Research questions and methodology, outlines the research questions and the methodology of this study. This chapter presents an in-depth look at the research questions. It explains the survey questions used for qualitative data findings. It provides the results and a discussion of the results. The sixth chapter will be a conclusion which restates the goal of this research and provides a summary of the research. This chapter contains limitations of the study, suggestions for future research and reflection on the study for future replication, and how this study adds to the body of knowledge regarding the influence of packagings colour on the consumer decision making process. Chapter 2: Review of the Literature. 1) Consumer behaviour Shoppers in the United States spend about $6.5 billion on consumer goods (Peter and Olson 1999). A companys continued success is associated with a successful relationship with the consumer. Finding out as much information as possible on consumer shopping choices and behaviour provides companies the tools to produce goods and services to strengthen their relationship with the consumer. In other words, companies have discovered that information obtained from customer databases and in-store observations have proved worthy in regard to earning consumers repeat purchases or business. 1.1) What is consumer behaviour? The phrase â€Å"consumer behaviour â€Å"refers to the feelings and thoughts people experience, and the actions they take while engaging in the consumption process† (Peter and Olson 1999). Consumer behaviour also includes the things in the environment (product appearance, price information, advertisements, packaging, consumer comments, shelf positioning, etc.) that can impact the feelings and actions of the consumer. In addition, consumer behaviour includes a process of exchange between buyers and sellers: people exchange money to obtain products or services. Moreover, consumer behaviour involves the study of what influences the feelings and actions of people while shopping. 1.2) Main factors that lead to customer satisfaction 1.2.1 Price fairness Recent research efforts have isolated several factors that influence consumers price unfairness perceptions as well as potential consequences of these perceptions (Bolton et al. , 2003; Campbell, 1999; Xia et al. , 2004). Previous research has proved the distinction between distributive fairness and procedural fairness. Another concept of price fairness perceptions, the principle of dual entitlement, suggests that one party should not benefit by causing a loss to another party. When a firm uses the high consumer demand to its own advantage by increasing prices, consumers will feel being misused and in this way understand the prices as unfair. For example, a study showed that â€Å"82 percent of the respondents judged a price increase for snow shovels the morning after a snowstorm to be unfair, while only 21 percent of respondents viewed an increase in grocery prices following an increase in wholesale prices as being unfair† ( Kahneman et al. , 1986). While the dual entitlement principle arise from buyers reactions toward sellers obvious exploitation based on supply and demand changes, it is possible that consumers may create perceptions of unfairness based on their own demand situations even without explicit exploitation actions from the seller. For example, when buyers feel that they have to buy a product and must accept whatever the price is, they could be concerned that potentially they could be exploited by the seller regardless even if the seller doesnt actually performs such actions. 1.2.2 Relationship of fairness perceptions to satisfaction Recent research in marketing and psychology has shown that satisfaction is positively correlated with fairness perceptions (Bowman and Narayandas, 2001; Huffman and Cain, 2001; Kim and Mauborgne, 1996; Ordià ±ez et al. , 2000; Smith et al. , 1999). , Oliver and Swan (1989a, b) found that customers fairness perceptions depended on a suppliers commitment and the quality of the goods and services comparing to the price paid. 1.2.3 The concept of tolerance Given many different ideas within the literature, however, it is generally agreed that customer satisfaction involves the comparison of standards whether they be in the form of expectations, desires, wants, ideal or equitable performances. To explain the diverse issues surrounding expectations and standards with regarding customer satisfaction, Zeithaml et al. (1993) first proposed the notion of the â€Å"zone of tolerance†, which they describe as the extent to which customers recognize and are willing to accept heterogeneity (Zeithaml et al., 1993, p. 6). It is on this basis they proved that an individuals zone of tolerance is the difference between what they desire and what they consider satisfactory, in terms of performance, and this zone can differ and contrast across situations and individuals. This may explain why some customers are consistently easy to please and others are interminably difficult (Mooradian and Olver, 1997, p.389). It can be that those customers who are easily pleased have a large zone of tolerance, in terms of their product expectations, whereas those who are quite difficult have a very narrow zone of tolerance. This would explain differences in expressed satisfaction ratings of consumers who have essentially had very similar product experiences. This notion was alluded to by Mittal and Kamakura (2001 ) with regards to satisfaction and repurchase intentions. They suggested that consumers may have different thresholds or tolerance levels towards repurchase (p. 132) and that consumers with the same satisfaction rating may have different levels of repurchase behaviour because of these differences. On this basis, it could be concluded that some individuals are simply inclined to product satisfaction and repeat purchases, whereas others are not (Grace, 2005). 2) Packaging 2.1) What is packaging? What is packaging? In general terms, packaging is the container that is in direct contact with a product, which â€Å"holds, protects, preserves and identifies the product as well as facilitating handling and commercialisation† (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). More specifically, and following Vidales Giovannetti (1995), there are three types of packaging: Primary packaging which is in direct contact with the product, such as soft drinks bottles, Secondary packaging which contains one or more primary packages and serves to protect and identify them and to communicate the qualities of the product ( it is normally disposed of when the product is used or consumed). Finally, tertiary packaging which contains the two previous ones and its function is usually to distribute, integrate and protect products throughout the commercial chain. This could be the cardboard box that contains several bottles. Packaging is also considered to form part of the product and the brand. For Evans and Berman (1992) packaging is a product image or characteristic. For Olson and Jacoby (1972) packaging is an important element of the product, that is to say, it is attribute that is related to the product but that does not form part of the physical product itself. Price and brand are also crucial elements of the brand and according to Underwood et al. (2001); these are the most important values when it comes to deciding what products to buy. Keller (1998) also considers packaging to be an attribute that is not associated to the product. For him it is one of the five elements of the brand which include the name, the logo and/or graphic symbol, the personality and the slogans. Packaging is presented as part of the buying and consuming process, but often it is not as important as to the ingredients that are essential for the product to function (Underwood, 2003). 2.2) Packaging functions and elements Different people respond to different packages in different ways, depending on their personnality ( Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999). Since an evaluation of attributes is less important in low involvement decision making, a highly noticeable factor such as graphics and colour becomes more important in choice of a low involvement product (Grossman and Wisenblit, 1999). On the other hand, the behaviour of consumers towards high involvement products is less influenced by image issues. For low involvement, there is a strong impact on consumer decision making from the development of the market through marketing communications, including image building (Kupiec and Revell, 2001). The significance of graphics is explained by the images created on the package, whether these images are purposely developed by the marketer, or unintended and unanticipated. Graphics includes image layout, colour combinations, typography, and product photography, and the total presentation communicates an image. For consumers, the package is the product, particularly for low involvement products where initial impressions formed during initial contact can have lasting impact. According to Nancarrow et al. , 1998, the design characteristics of the package need to stand out in a display as it is one of the most important attribute in order to target consumers Many consumers today shop under higher levels of perceived time pressure, and tend to purchase fewer products than intended (Herrington and Capella, 1995; Silayoi and Speece, 2004). Products purchased during shopping excursions often appear to be chosen without prior planning and represent an impulse buying event (Hausman, 2000). A package that attracts consumers at the point of sale will help them decide quickly on what to buy in-store. As the customers eye movement tracks across a display of packages, different new packages can be noticed against the competitors. When scanning packages in the supermarket, the differential perception and the positioning of the graphics elements on a package may make the difference between identifying and missing the item (Herrington and Capella, 1995). 2.3 The marketing side of packaging Packaging seems to be one of the most important factors in purchase decisions made at the point of sale (Prendergast and Pitt, 1996), where it becomes an essential part of the selling process (Rettie and Brewer, 2000).Packaging is now recognised as the salesman† of the shelf at the point of sale. The importance of packaging design is increasing in such competitive market conditions, as package becomes an important vehicle for communication and branding (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Prendergast and Pitt (1996) review the basic operations of packaging, and delimitate them by their role in either logistics or marketing. The main function of packaging is primarily to protect the product when moving through distribution channels. In marketing, packaging provides a successful method of communication about product attributes to consumers at the point of sale. The package sells the product by drawing in attention and communicating, and also allows the product to be contained, portioned and protected. Packaging is one key product attribute perceived by consumers. It is always fulfilling the marketing function, even if a company does not openly recognize the marketing aspects of packaging. The package is an important factor in the decision-making process because it transmits a specific message to consumers. Intention to purchase depends on the degree to which consumers expect the product to satisfy them when they consume it (Kupiec and Reveil, 2001). How they comprehend it depends on communication elements and this is the key to success for many marketing strategies. The packages overall features can emphasise the uniqueness and originality of the product. In addition, product characteristics influence the perception of quality transmitted by packaging. If it conveys high quality, consumers assume that the product is of high quality. If the package communicates low quality, consumers transfer this low quality perception to the product itself. The package communications can be favourable or unfavourable. Underwood et al. (2001) suggest that consumers are more likely to imagine aspects of how a product looks tastes, feels, smells, or sounds while they are watching a product picture on the package. 2.4 Packaging: biggest medium of communication Behaeghel (1991) and Peters (1994) consider that packaging could be the most important communication medium for the following reasons: It reaches almost all buyers in the category; It is present at the crucial moment when the decision to buy is made; and Buyers are actively involved with packaging as they examine it to obtain the information they need. This is why it is essential to communicate the right brand and product values present on packaging and to achieve a suitable esthetical and visual level ( Nancarrow et al. , 1998). Similarly, McNeal and Ji (2003) underline that the belonging of packaging as a marketing element resides in the fact that it often accompanies the use or consumption of products and, therefore, the possibility of conveying brand values and product characteristics increases. Wit Deasy (2000) points out that the characteristics of a product its positioning are permanently transmitted over seven stages: 1) Point of sale; 2) Transporting the product home; 3) Home storage; 4) Opening; 5) Serving the product for consumption; 6) Reclosing or putting away; and 7) Disposal. Underwood (2003) points out that, unlike the transmission of positioning through advertising, packaging allows positioning to be transferred live. As it accompanies products, packaging lives in the home and potentially becomes an intimate part of the consumers life constituting a type of life experience between the consumer and the brand (Lindsay, 1997). 2.5 ) Packaging: the silent salesman From the consumer perspective, packaging also plays a major role when products are purchased: packaging is crucial, given that it is the first thing that the public sees before making the final decision to buy (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). This has increased with the popularisation of self-service sales systems which have caused packaging to move to the task of attracting attention and causing a purchase. In the past, it had remained behind the counter and only the sales attendant were the link between the consumer and the product (Cervera Fantoni, 2003). According to Sonsino (1990), self-service has taken the role of communicating and selling to the customer from the sales assistant to advertising and to packaging. This is why packaging has been called the silent salesman, as it communicates us of the qualities and benefits that we are going to obtain if we were to consume certain products (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). Nowadays, packaging provides manufacturers with the last opportuni ty to influence possible buyers before brand selection (McDaniel and Baker, 1977). In this way we can say that all the packaging elements, including texts, colours, structure, images and people/personalities have to be combined to provide the consumer with visual sales negotiation when purchasing the product (McNeal and Ji, 2003). According toClive Nancarrow et al. (1998) : nine out of ten purchasers, at least occasionally, buy on impulse and unplanned shopping articles can account for up to 51 per cent of purchases ( Phillips and Bradshaw, 1993). 2.6 Packaging as an advertising tool Consumers are bombarded with about 3600 selling messages a day (Rumbo 2002). Yet, because of technology allowing TV watchers to omit commercials and declining advertising budgets, there has been an emphasis on influencing the consumer at the store shelf (Furness 2003). For many products, such as seasonal items, packaging design has acquired the responsibility of advertising ( often being the only advertising the product will receive) and has evolved into the â€Å" silent salesman† (Furness 2003; Rettie and Brewer 2000) It is estimated that between 73% and 85%of purchase decisions are made at this point and the packaging design must play a key role because it is often the only factor that differentiates two products on a shelf ( Sutton and Whelan 2004; Wallace 2001; Buxton 2000; Rettie and Brewer 2000). With a new reliance on packaging design to persuade consumers at the shelf, it is important for packaging design to be studied academically as an influence on consumer behaviour. Research in this area of consumer response to packaging design is being encouraged to assist with increased product sales and increased benefits to the integrated marketing communications (IMC) mix (Tobolski 1994). IMC refers to the channels (advertising, packaging, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing) used by companies/manufacturers to communicate product information to the target audience or intended users of the product ( BNET 2004). Packaging is expected to protect and preserve its contents, differentiate from its competitors, grab the attention of the consumer, and persuade the consumer to purchase (Packaging: good shelf image 2003; Product packaging: empty promises 2000). The vast consumer packaged goods industry continually relies upon colour as a method of differentiation. Research has shown colour (especially non-traditional colour) attracts the attention of the consumer. 3) Colour in packaging This research investigates the use of surface graphics colour as a cue by consumers for finding out 1) Perceived product quality 2) Perceived product performance 3) Which colours influence consumer-decision making, on the consumers intent to purchase? 3.1) What is colour? Colour in its basic nature refers to what the human eye sees when light passes through a prism and produces what is commonly referred to as violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red and is collectively referred to as the spectrum ( Cheskin 1954). In actuality, when people characterised colour, it is perceived colour or reflected colour. Because colour memory changes some individuals perceive colours differently ( Sharpe 1974). For example one person may see a pure red and another person may see that same red as having a hint of blue or yellow. 3.2) The psychology of colour One marketing cue that global managers can use regardless of location is colour (Kirmani 1997; Schmitt and Pan 1994). Colour is one of t Effects of Colour Packaging on Consumer Behaviour Effects of Colour Packaging on Consumer Behaviour Abstract: When determining possible colour options for a new product, packaging professionals must keep the consumer in mind. First, they determine what type of message the product should give. Based on the message, a colour scheme that represents this message is chosen. This is why basic research is necessary, whether its from previous case studies of similar products or from focus groups. Finally, packaging professionals must create an â€Å"attention† to the product, making it easily noticeable to the consumer. By following these basic steps, the package could be considerably successful. It may also instil a certain image or message into the consumers mind that keeps them loyal for many years This paper aims at investigating the effect of packaging design of the soft drinks industry, specifically colour, on consumer behaviour. Most buyers make the decision of purchasing because of the packaging, which is often considered as the  «silent salesman ». Now that more and more businesses understand the role of packaging to act upon consumers, it is crucial for packaging to be studied as an influence on consumer behaviour. In todays consumption society, consumers are faced with a large choice of product choices and in this way, the packaging plays important roles as it is a source of information. Primary and Secondary data that has been collected for this research signals that consumers are affected by colours in their purchases From our research, we concluded that Blue and Red packaging were much more popular than the other colours. Moreover, yellow packaging was the least popular. Results show that the colours of packaging have a large impact on consumers and therefore on sales and profits. Chapter One: Introduction 1) Background The central point in todays marketing is to fully please consumers needs and prosperity. The major point in marketing planning is always consumer. The firms and markets have massively developed and the competitive environment is becoming more and more concentrated The market today is packed with so many different brands, which make it difficult for consumers to arrive at the final buying choice. At the same time companies also face complications in attracting consumers A brand visual appearance is very crucial to consumers especially in todays visual-obsessed society, where consumers have more choice and less time than ever before. This is why, it has never been more important for marketers to invest in the design and look of their product or logo. When shopping, consumers are confronted with too much choice and the packaging and colour play an important role into this choice. Colour plays a crucial part of business and marketing at both strategic and tactical level and organisations will pay colossal amounts of money to build and improve, so that colours thought of appropriate will be associated with both the company and its variety of products. It can be so successful that in some cases a colour will be immediately related to the organisation on question. Every major organisation will are developing and designing corporate colours that reproduce the values and products of the organisation in consumers minds. In this way it will be hoped that the use of colours will help the customer instantaneously recognise the organisation and perceive it as being competent, contemporary and truthful. Packaging is very important and a colossal amount of time and money is spent on consumer packaging colour design, trying to get colour combinations that exceed expectations. â€Å"Computer technology has helped a great deal in all areas of product research as 3D images can be portrayed and colours and shapes manipulated on the screen to ascertain a respondents reactions. Such is power of colour that it would be extremely hard for us to imagine such well-known products in a different colour, such as green Mars bar, a blue Kit-Kat, a yellow Coca-Cola, a pink Heinz baked bean tin and black Kelloggs cornflake packets.†(Ray Wright 2006) It has been estimated that packaging design plays a major role because it is often the only factor that can differentiate between two products (Buxton 2000; Rettie and Brewer 2000). Actually, we can even go further and say that packaging is now being seen a new form of advertising (Furness 2003, The Silent Salesman) 2) Rational for chosen topic: This study is selected to find out the factors which affect consumer decision while purchasing or selecting a certain colour packaged product. This research will explore the Technological, Cultural, Social, Personal and psychological factors have a big role in consumer buying decision and also how a packaging design and colour will affect and impact on buying decisions of consumers. 3) Statement of the nature of the problem Because Colours and shapes express about 80% of all visual communication (LaCroix 1998), consumers are getting used to employing colour as a means of amassing information. Thus, colour plays an important part in marketing and advertising and especially in packaging. Researchers have spent more than four decades studying the attitude of consumers in the marketplace (Petty, Cacioppo and Shuman 1983). This area is now called and known as consumer behaviour. Consumer behaviour involves the thoughts and feelings people experience paired off with the actions performed during the shopping process (Peter and Olson 1999). When a choice has to be made, a consumer may use the information of size, texture, shape, price, or ingredients to make the decision of which product to purchase especially when setting quality. Thus, it is interesting to investigate the effect of colours used in packaging on consumer behaviour. 2.1The Psychology of Consumer behaviour The study of consumers help firms and organisations improve their marketing strategies by understanding their behaviour. One official definition of consumer behaviour is: â€Å"the study of individuals, groups or organisations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society†. (Hawkins, Best, and Coney, 2001, p7.) Each organisation provides some products that are used by some consumers, even though we may not always recognise the products or consumers as such. 2.2 Factors taken into account when packaging a product Packaging is used to protect the product from damage during shipping and handling, and to lessen spoilage if the protection is exposed to air or other elements. The design is used to attract customers attention as they are shopping or glancing through a catalogue or website. This is particularly important for customers who are not familiar with the product and in situations where a product must stand out among thousands of other products. Packaging designs that standout are more likely to be remembered on future shipping trips. Packaging design and structure can also add value to a product. For instance, benefits can be obtained from package structures that make the product easier to use while stylistic designs can make the product more fascinating to display in the customers home. Decisions made about packaging must not only be accepted by the final customer, they may also have to be accepted by distributors who sell the product for the supplier. For example, a retailer may not accept packages unless they conform to requirements they have for storing products on their shelves. Companies usually create a package for a lifetime. As a matter of fact , changing a products packaging too frequently can have negative effects since customers become conditioned to locate the product based on its package and may be confused if the design is modified. Marketers have long used the colour and design of their product packaging to produce brand awareness. Traditionally, changes to a products look have been undertaken as little as possible as to preserve that hard won brand recognition. Today, rather than sticking with one colour scheme, companies must constantly update their image to keep them as fresh and exciting as the competitions. Packaging decisions must also include an assessment of its environmental impact especially for products with packages that are frequently thrown away. Packages that are not easily bio-degradable could evoke customer and possibly governmental concern. Also, caution must be exercised in order to create packages that do not break on intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks or patents, held by others. (Richardson 1994). Recent research by the Henley Centre (Frontiers, 1996) estimates that 73 percent of purchase decisions are made in the store; the design of packaging must play a key role at point of sale. â€Å"The pack design is the salesman on the shelf (Pilditch, 1972)†, â€Å" it should ensure that a brand stands out, is recognised, and is included in the products under consideration† (Connolly and Davison, 1996). Good business is often about finding out consumer trends and forming a strategy that targets growth in key technologies and market segments to capitalize on these trends. As packagers and package printers, they need to be in tune with trends and changes in shopping habits in order to remain successful. 2.3 Role of colour in marketing Research supports the importance of a brands visual appearance to consumers. One study by the Institute for Colour Research revealed that people make a subconscious judgement about an item within 90 seconds of first viewing, and that up to 90% of that assessment is based on colour. Another of their study study reveals that colour increases brand recognition by up to 80%. Colour clearly plays an important part in catching the modern-day consumers eye. According to the Henley Centre, 73% of purchasing decisions are now made in store. Consequently, catching the shoppers eye and delivering information efficiently are critical to successful sales. In todays world of infinite choices no brand can afford to ignore the impact of colour. More importantly, why would anyone want to give that potential advantage away to competitors? Colours send a variety of signals about the person, place or thing they adorn. Using this link between human emotion and colour to sell a product is certainly nothing new. 3) Objectives The objective of this research is to investigate if the colours that are used in packaging do influence our (consumers) behaviour. Understanding the effect packaging colour has on consumer decision- making would be as an introductory mean of investigating packaging design as the new advertising. The study also examines how different colours influence consumer decision making, and ultimately, the consumers intent to purchase. It focuses on packaging design from a communication aspect, not an engineering one. We examine how packaging influences buying decisions for packaged soft drinks products. As we know, the package impacts the consumer. This is because of conflicting trends in consumer decision-making. On one hand, some consumers are paying more attracted to label information (Coulson, 2000). These consumers are more concerned in the product decision and use package information more extensively. On the other hand, modern consumers are often looking for ways to reduce time spent on soft drinks shopping. This can influence decision processes, too, as time pressure reduces detailed consideration of package elements ( Warde, 1999). While these are important issues, and becoming even more critical in the increasing competitive environment, there is little comprehensive study on how packaging elements influence brand choice under involvement and time pressure. This paper aims at forming a better understanding of the link between colours used in packaging and consumer purchase behaviour within the soft drinks industry. 4) Relevance and significance of the subject Until recently, the importance of colour as a brand identity wasnt as recognised. It is nowadays clear that colour can play a very large part of any organizations success. This pushes us into asking ourselves the following questions: Ø How does colour affect us? Ø Which colours have an impact on us? Ø Do organisations carefully choose what colours to use when packaging a product? 5) Structure and content The next chapter will be a literature review that will study: 1) A review of consumer behaviour and especially what mostly affects consumer decisions 2) The effect of packaging design and especially colour on consumer decision making and consumer purchase intent. 3) A review of the literature regarding colour, colour association and colour practices. The third chapter will examine the soft drinks industry nowadays in the UK and worldwide. The fourth chapter will be an explanation of the different methods used to practice a research. It will also outline the method used into this particular research question The fifth chapter, Research questions and methodology, outlines the research questions and the methodology of this study. This chapter presents an in-depth look at the research questions. It explains the survey questions used for qualitative data findings. It provides the results and a discussion of the results. The sixth chapter will be a conclusion which restates the goal of this research and provides a summary of the research. This chapter contains limitations of the study, suggestions for future research and reflection on the study for future replication, and how this study adds to the body of knowledge regarding the influence of packagings colour on the consumer decision making process. Chapter 2: Review of the Literature. 1) Consumer behaviour Shoppers in the United States spend about $6.5 billion on consumer goods (Peter and Olson 1999). A companys continued success is associated with a successful relationship with the consumer. Finding out as much information as possible on consumer shopping choices and behaviour provides companies the tools to produce goods and services to strengthen their relationship with the consumer. In other words, companies have discovered that information obtained from customer databases and in-store observations have proved worthy in regard to earning consumers repeat purchases or business. 1.1) What is consumer behaviour? The phrase â€Å"consumer behaviour â€Å"refers to the feelings and thoughts people experience, and the actions they take while engaging in the consumption process† (Peter and Olson 1999). Consumer behaviour also includes the things in the environment (product appearance, price information, advertisements, packaging, consumer comments, shelf positioning, etc.) that can impact the feelings and actions of the consumer. In addition, consumer behaviour includes a process of exchange between buyers and sellers: people exchange money to obtain products or services. Moreover, consumer behaviour involves the study of what influences the feelings and actions of people while shopping. 1.2) Main factors that lead to customer satisfaction 1.2.1 Price fairness Recent research efforts have isolated several factors that influence consumers price unfairness perceptions as well as potential consequences of these perceptions (Bolton et al. , 2003; Campbell, 1999; Xia et al. , 2004). Previous research has proved the distinction between distributive fairness and procedural fairness. Another concept of price fairness perceptions, the principle of dual entitlement, suggests that one party should not benefit by causing a loss to another party. When a firm uses the high consumer demand to its own advantage by increasing prices, consumers will feel being misused and in this way understand the prices as unfair. For example, a study showed that â€Å"82 percent of the respondents judged a price increase for snow shovels the morning after a snowstorm to be unfair, while only 21 percent of respondents viewed an increase in grocery prices following an increase in wholesale prices as being unfair† ( Kahneman et al. , 1986). While the dual entitlement principle arise from buyers reactions toward sellers obvious exploitation based on supply and demand changes, it is possible that consumers may create perceptions of unfairness based on their own demand situations even without explicit exploitation actions from the seller. For example, when buyers feel that they have to buy a product and must accept whatever the price is, they could be concerned that potentially they could be exploited by the seller regardless even if the seller doesnt actually performs such actions. 1.2.2 Relationship of fairness perceptions to satisfaction Recent research in marketing and psychology has shown that satisfaction is positively correlated with fairness perceptions (Bowman and Narayandas, 2001; Huffman and Cain, 2001; Kim and Mauborgne, 1996; Ordià ±ez et al. , 2000; Smith et al. , 1999). , Oliver and Swan (1989a, b) found that customers fairness perceptions depended on a suppliers commitment and the quality of the goods and services comparing to the price paid. 1.2.3 The concept of tolerance Given many different ideas within the literature, however, it is generally agreed that customer satisfaction involves the comparison of standards whether they be in the form of expectations, desires, wants, ideal or equitable performances. To explain the diverse issues surrounding expectations and standards with regarding customer satisfaction, Zeithaml et al. (1993) first proposed the notion of the â€Å"zone of tolerance†, which they describe as the extent to which customers recognize and are willing to accept heterogeneity (Zeithaml et al., 1993, p. 6). It is on this basis they proved that an individuals zone of tolerance is the difference between what they desire and what they consider satisfactory, in terms of performance, and this zone can differ and contrast across situations and individuals. This may explain why some customers are consistently easy to please and others are interminably difficult (Mooradian and Olver, 1997, p.389). It can be that those customers who are easily pleased have a large zone of tolerance, in terms of their product expectations, whereas those who are quite difficult have a very narrow zone of tolerance. This would explain differences in expressed satisfaction ratings of consumers who have essentially had very similar product experiences. This notion was alluded to by Mittal and Kamakura (2001 ) with regards to satisfaction and repurchase intentions. They suggested that consumers may have different thresholds or tolerance levels towards repurchase (p. 132) and that consumers with the same satisfaction rating may have different levels of repurchase behaviour because of these differences. On this basis, it could be concluded that some individuals are simply inclined to product satisfaction and repeat purchases, whereas others are not (Grace, 2005). 2) Packaging 2.1) What is packaging? What is packaging? In general terms, packaging is the container that is in direct contact with a product, which â€Å"holds, protects, preserves and identifies the product as well as facilitating handling and commercialisation† (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). More specifically, and following Vidales Giovannetti (1995), there are three types of packaging: Primary packaging which is in direct contact with the product, such as soft drinks bottles, Secondary packaging which contains one or more primary packages and serves to protect and identify them and to communicate the qualities of the product ( it is normally disposed of when the product is used or consumed). Finally, tertiary packaging which contains the two previous ones and its function is usually to distribute, integrate and protect products throughout the commercial chain. This could be the cardboard box that contains several bottles. Packaging is also considered to form part of the product and the brand. For Evans and Berman (1992) packaging is a product image or characteristic. For Olson and Jacoby (1972) packaging is an important element of the product, that is to say, it is attribute that is related to the product but that does not form part of the physical product itself. Price and brand are also crucial elements of the brand and according to Underwood et al. (2001); these are the most important values when it comes to deciding what products to buy. Keller (1998) also considers packaging to be an attribute that is not associated to the product. For him it is one of the five elements of the brand which include the name, the logo and/or graphic symbol, the personality and the slogans. Packaging is presented as part of the buying and consuming process, but often it is not as important as to the ingredients that are essential for the product to function (Underwood, 2003). 2.2) Packaging functions and elements Different people respond to different packages in different ways, depending on their personnality ( Vakratsas and Ambler, 1999). Since an evaluation of attributes is less important in low involvement decision making, a highly noticeable factor such as graphics and colour becomes more important in choice of a low involvement product (Grossman and Wisenblit, 1999). On the other hand, the behaviour of consumers towards high involvement products is less influenced by image issues. For low involvement, there is a strong impact on consumer decision making from the development of the market through marketing communications, including image building (Kupiec and Revell, 2001). The significance of graphics is explained by the images created on the package, whether these images are purposely developed by the marketer, or unintended and unanticipated. Graphics includes image layout, colour combinations, typography, and product photography, and the total presentation communicates an image. For consumers, the package is the product, particularly for low involvement products where initial impressions formed during initial contact can have lasting impact. According to Nancarrow et al. , 1998, the design characteristics of the package need to stand out in a display as it is one of the most important attribute in order to target consumers Many consumers today shop under higher levels of perceived time pressure, and tend to purchase fewer products than intended (Herrington and Capella, 1995; Silayoi and Speece, 2004). Products purchased during shopping excursions often appear to be chosen without prior planning and represent an impulse buying event (Hausman, 2000). A package that attracts consumers at the point of sale will help them decide quickly on what to buy in-store. As the customers eye movement tracks across a display of packages, different new packages can be noticed against the competitors. When scanning packages in the supermarket, the differential perception and the positioning of the graphics elements on a package may make the difference between identifying and missing the item (Herrington and Capella, 1995). 2.3 The marketing side of packaging Packaging seems to be one of the most important factors in purchase decisions made at the point of sale (Prendergast and Pitt, 1996), where it becomes an essential part of the selling process (Rettie and Brewer, 2000).Packaging is now recognised as the salesman† of the shelf at the point of sale. The importance of packaging design is increasing in such competitive market conditions, as package becomes an important vehicle for communication and branding (Rettie and Brewer, 2000). Prendergast and Pitt (1996) review the basic operations of packaging, and delimitate them by their role in either logistics or marketing. The main function of packaging is primarily to protect the product when moving through distribution channels. In marketing, packaging provides a successful method of communication about product attributes to consumers at the point of sale. The package sells the product by drawing in attention and communicating, and also allows the product to be contained, portioned and protected. Packaging is one key product attribute perceived by consumers. It is always fulfilling the marketing function, even if a company does not openly recognize the marketing aspects of packaging. The package is an important factor in the decision-making process because it transmits a specific message to consumers. Intention to purchase depends on the degree to which consumers expect the product to satisfy them when they consume it (Kupiec and Reveil, 2001). How they comprehend it depends on communication elements and this is the key to success for many marketing strategies. The packages overall features can emphasise the uniqueness and originality of the product. In addition, product characteristics influence the perception of quality transmitted by packaging. If it conveys high quality, consumers assume that the product is of high quality. If the package communicates low quality, consumers transfer this low quality perception to the product itself. The package communications can be favourable or unfavourable. Underwood et al. (2001) suggest that consumers are more likely to imagine aspects of how a product looks tastes, feels, smells, or sounds while they are watching a product picture on the package. 2.4 Packaging: biggest medium of communication Behaeghel (1991) and Peters (1994) consider that packaging could be the most important communication medium for the following reasons: It reaches almost all buyers in the category; It is present at the crucial moment when the decision to buy is made; and Buyers are actively involved with packaging as they examine it to obtain the information they need. This is why it is essential to communicate the right brand and product values present on packaging and to achieve a suitable esthetical and visual level ( Nancarrow et al. , 1998). Similarly, McNeal and Ji (2003) underline that the belonging of packaging as a marketing element resides in the fact that it often accompanies the use or consumption of products and, therefore, the possibility of conveying brand values and product characteristics increases. Wit Deasy (2000) points out that the characteristics of a product its positioning are permanently transmitted over seven stages: 1) Point of sale; 2) Transporting the product home; 3) Home storage; 4) Opening; 5) Serving the product for consumption; 6) Reclosing or putting away; and 7) Disposal. Underwood (2003) points out that, unlike the transmission of positioning through advertising, packaging allows positioning to be transferred live. As it accompanies products, packaging lives in the home and potentially becomes an intimate part of the consumers life constituting a type of life experience between the consumer and the brand (Lindsay, 1997). 2.5 ) Packaging: the silent salesman From the consumer perspective, packaging also plays a major role when products are purchased: packaging is crucial, given that it is the first thing that the public sees before making the final decision to buy (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). This has increased with the popularisation of self-service sales systems which have caused packaging to move to the task of attracting attention and causing a purchase. In the past, it had remained behind the counter and only the sales attendant were the link between the consumer and the product (Cervera Fantoni, 2003). According to Sonsino (1990), self-service has taken the role of communicating and selling to the customer from the sales assistant to advertising and to packaging. This is why packaging has been called the silent salesman, as it communicates us of the qualities and benefits that we are going to obtain if we were to consume certain products (Vidales Giovannetti, 1995). Nowadays, packaging provides manufacturers with the last opportuni ty to influence possible buyers before brand selection (McDaniel and Baker, 1977). In this way we can say that all the packaging elements, including texts, colours, structure, images and people/personalities have to be combined to provide the consumer with visual sales negotiation when purchasing the product (McNeal and Ji, 2003). According toClive Nancarrow et al. (1998) : nine out of ten purchasers, at least occasionally, buy on impulse and unplanned shopping articles can account for up to 51 per cent of purchases ( Phillips and Bradshaw, 1993). 2.6 Packaging as an advertising tool Consumers are bombarded with about 3600 selling messages a day (Rumbo 2002). Yet, because of technology allowing TV watchers to omit commercials and declining advertising budgets, there has been an emphasis on influencing the consumer at the store shelf (Furness 2003). For many products, such as seasonal items, packaging design has acquired the responsibility of advertising ( often being the only advertising the product will receive) and has evolved into the â€Å" silent salesman† (Furness 2003; Rettie and Brewer 2000) It is estimated that between 73% and 85%of purchase decisions are made at this point and the packaging design must play a key role because it is often the only factor that differentiates two products on a shelf ( Sutton and Whelan 2004; Wallace 2001; Buxton 2000; Rettie and Brewer 2000). With a new reliance on packaging design to persuade consumers at the shelf, it is important for packaging design to be studied academically as an influence on consumer behaviour. Research in this area of consumer response to packaging design is being encouraged to assist with increased product sales and increased benefits to the integrated marketing communications (IMC) mix (Tobolski 1994). IMC refers to the channels (advertising, packaging, personal selling, sales promotion, public relations and direct marketing) used by companies/manufacturers to communicate product information to the target audience or intended users of the product ( BNET 2004). Packaging is expected to protect and preserve its contents, differentiate from its competitors, grab the attention of the consumer, and persuade the consumer to purchase (Packaging: good shelf image 2003; Product packaging: empty promises 2000). The vast consumer packaged goods industry continually relies upon colour as a method of differentiation. Research has shown colour (especially non-traditional colour) attracts the attention of the consumer. 3) Colour in packaging This research investigates the use of surface graphics colour as a cue by consumers for finding out 1) Perceived product quality 2) Perceived product performance 3) Which colours influence consumer-decision making, on the consumers intent to purchase? 3.1) What is colour? Colour in its basic nature refers to what the human eye sees when light passes through a prism and produces what is commonly referred to as violet, blue, green, yellow, orange and red and is collectively referred to as the spectrum ( Cheskin 1954). In actuality, when people characterised colour, it is perceived colour or reflected colour. Because colour memory changes some individuals perceive colours differently ( Sharpe 1974). For example one person may see a pure red and another person may see that same red as having a hint of blue or yellow. 3.2) The psychology of colour One marketing cue that global managers can use regardless of location is colour (Kirmani 1997; Schmitt and Pan 1994). Colour is one of t