Services Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 1

Services Marketing - Essay Example In 2001 Vodafone ranked first in market value amongst British companies. Companies are affected by macro and micro factors at every stage of the product life cycle. It had always been a first-mover taking advantage of the consumer demands but by 2002, Vodafone’s shares started declining. It had already made huge investments in the 3G technology and the returns were not as expected. Global wireless markets became saturated due to slowing down of demand and increased competition. The company drew a lot of attention in the global market due to its high-profile acquisitions. Their entrepreneurial culture became a hurdle in handling saturation, competition and overexpansion which led to departure of many executives. Its recent  £23.5bn write down earned it the title of biggest loss in UK corporate history (Best, 2006). The shareholders, executives and workers are all displeased with the current state of affairs. Sustaining high performance is difficult, which was the main problem that occurred at Vodafone. Being first-movers and market leaders led to complacency and over-zealous attitude. Vodafone perhaps overlooked that services have distinct characteristics as they are intangible in nature, inseparable, heterogeneous, perishable and have a different concept of ownership (Gabbot & Hogg, 1997 cited by Zwan & Bhamra, 2003). Accordingly, five capabilities support services innovation strategy: These capabilities can drive growth that paces industry performance say Kapur, Ferris, Juliano, & Berman (2006). Based on these parameters, this report will ascertain the problems that arose in Vodafone, what efforts it made to overcome them and suggest the possible solutions to the organization. The Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS) systems and services were supposed to enter the market by 2002/2003 (Ballon, 2004). This was to be a transition from 2G to

Haydn and Mozart Music Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Haydn and Mozart Music Analysis - Essay Example The choice of music was excellent because it illustrated three types of music genre or form of the Classical era: the Concerto/Sonata, the Symphony and the Overture of a vocal piece. These three forms started in the Baroque as smaller instrumental compositions and still exist today. The forms are concrete. The chamber orchestras are defined. The instruments, which were standardized, were used for for proper orchestration. A perfect example today is the use of the piano in the continuation of Haydn's Il ri In the Classical era, as the chamber orchestra took on a different meaning, strings and wind instruments were considered an ensemble and forms of music were more defined. Wind instruments (oboes and brass) were combined with strings. Strings were defined as violins, violas, cellos, and bass. It is interesting that the Basso was still part of Haydn's repertoire though it was not used by other composers. The bass continuo (harpsichord) was still used by Mozart but less and less. As th e chamber orchestra and musical ensembles were well defined, musical form became clearer. The sonata form of three movements differ from the baroque period where it was a group of diverse movements of music (Grout 385) The Sifonio is a short prelude to a vocal piece of music. It was commonly interchanged with overture. overture. The classic era of music lasted over a period of 70 years. Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven were the principal composers. Haydn spending the majority of his life under the patronage of one court, worked as the court composer, conductor, teacher, player and made sure the instruments were in playing condition. Since he was rather isolated, he nothing much to do but to compose music. Mozart started his early adult life under the patronage system and was treated as a servant. When finally got his freedom he was forced into poverty because he could not get any other court work. Beethoven was one composer who made so much money that he was able to tell everyone to go t o the devil. He abhorred being told what to do. The classical era was a period of perfecting instruments, forms of music and making instrument music the most important form of music. The sonata and the sonata form of musical of writing as in the Concerto of Haydn and the Prague Symphony of Mozart were both written in three movements. Beethoven wrote his symphonies with 4 movements towards the end of the 70 years; (1750-1830) (library.thinkquest.org) The most significant form of writing in the Classical Era was the sonata with the three movements. It was a story with a question, an explanation and the answer. Haydn never lived the life of other composers. Whereas Mozart was a child prodigy and had the constant teaching from his father, Haydn was basically self taught and was forced to make a living giving lessons. He was born in 1732 and moved to a church choir until his voice changed. In 1761, he become under the patronage of his first and only patron, the Prince Esterhazy in the Hu ngarian Empire. It is significant because Haydn stayed in his service 30 years which was unheard of. "He was inspired by the isolation of the estate as all he had was his music" (Grout, 484). He was one of the most prolific composers of the classical period. His type of instrumentation had never been done before. The Prince played the baryton, a type of string instrument which doesn't exist today. More than 200 pieces were composed for this instrument in trio form. Mozart spent most of his childhood traveling all over Europe. He would spend up to three

How effective questioning contributes to learning

How effective questioning contributes to learning For the purpose of this essay I will look at effective questioning and how the use of effective questioning contributes to the learning process of pupils in a school or classroom setting. The essay will look at the varying Theorists that talk about questioning and how they believe that questioning was a positive part of the schooling day and delve into different methods of questioning and how best the answers support the learning of how to question. I will look in particular how effective questioning is useful in two subjects thought on the curriculum which are English Literature and Information and Communication Technology or ICT as it is known. To concentrate on these two subjects and to show how important I have found effective questioning I will look at how effective listening and speaking also contributes to effective questioning. The essay will look at different National Strategies and Frameworks and literature available that exist to support the guidelines and theories that ex ist to support effective questioning and evidence I have gathered during my experiences working with children in the class room to portray the practical evidence of this. Main The Primary National Strategy (2006) emphasises the need for the development and promotion of creativity across the curriculum. Speaking and Listening are to be developed in innovative and exiting ways through discussion and questioning. Children need to listen to their teacher and their peers and have the confidence to express their own thoughts, Sharing responses to Literature is one of the most meaningful ways in which good listening and good talking can be achieved.(Nicholson, C as site in Goodwin, 2005). This assignment will take a look into how effective questioning can contribute to pupils learning and will be backed up by examples that I have seen in my practice. Theorists have different beliefs as to how children learn. In my opinion, a mixture of their strategies is needed in schools and across the curriculum to achieve the best results possible. We learn that Bruner is more associated with questioning, problem and discussion in contrast to Vygotsky believed that adult talk plays a central role in developing a childs understanding. He saw all speech as primary social in function, the intellect being developed within social interaction (Goodwin, 2001). He believed in combining language with thought but more emphasis being placed on effective adult language and that through pupil talk, children would develop their reading and writing skills. Ofsted (2005), reported that when children talked through ideas firstly, they were there after better writers. Bruner introduced cognitive scaffolding, which aimed at extending pupil understanding through support of a social system. He highlighted the importance of language and communication with others- peers and others (Loveless, 2003). He didnt believe in giving pupils material in this final form. On placement I would introduce a problem to the children and support them with appropriate questioning. This in turn led to discussion and the utilisation of higher order thinking skills in scaffolding conversations learners can try out ideas make mistakes and adapt their thinking by listening to others as they work towards understanding (Goodwin, 2001). I consider a lot of classes as being too rigid and they are trying to adhere to a strict plan to reach goals and cover material. For example in literacy The National Curriculum and the Literacy Strategy (although this is not statutory) have a wide range of topics to be covered leaving I found teachers under pressure for time. I feel that time needs to be allocated for spontaneity where the teacher focuses and directs children through effective modelling questioning and discussion with educational goals in mind. The Ofstead English Report (2005) found that even though there is more discussion in primary schools at the moment unfortunately it is dominated by the teacher giving the pupils only limited opportunities to express their thoughts and listen to their peers. The report also found reading and writing getting more attention in schools. Excellent and Enjoyment (2003) described teaching in England as being too prescriptive which was impacting negatively on creativity. Another example of how effective questioning contributes to students learning in through the use of information and communication technology or ICT. The National Grid for learning was set up by the DfEE in 1997 to equip schools with computers and this in turn enabled both students and teachers to access materials that became available. This also enabled children to talk to others in the world and to interact globally. Schools therefore now have more resources, computers and packages to enhance ICT usage, some even have laptops. Before my six week placement, I had little knowledge of how to use the IWB as a teaching tool but, my class teacher taught me how to use it with confidence. I found it a useful resource for holding the childrens interest and attention. It enabled supporting use of exciting pictures to brighten up tasks. For example, in Literacy, we were doing a story from the Jungle Book called Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, I was able to search for and insert pictures of the characters fr om Google images to suit the theme. The children really enjoyed this as it brought the characters to life. Stories are important for a number of reasons. They link places to interesting themes, they aid spelling and they can increase knowledge about certain topics or facts. Stories are the fundamental way of organising human experience and understanding the world (Fisher, R., Williams, M. 2006). They can be linked to many different tasks, apart from reading to enhance literacy skills. The book I am basing my lessons on with regard to this assignment, is called Rose Blanche. The illustrations within it present a World War Two setting which gives a truly special historical insight into the suffering and pain endured by the characters as seen through the eyes of a child. Analysis of this picture book will evoke an emotional response to the Second World War through the implementation of effective questioning and discussion in the classroom. Such strategies are central in the new the Primary National Strategy (2006). As a teacher, it will be my role to ensure that the children apply creative/h igher order thinking to their reading through learning how to read between the lines, using inference, deduction and prediction and learning how to recreate and respond to the text. Effective questioning with regard to setting, character, plot, themes dialogue and point of view will extend childrens thinking about a story (Fisher, R., Williams, M. 2006). A mixture of both open ended and closed questions are necessary components of reflective reading where children will skim, scan and read in more detail to find answers. An essential aspect of questioning is allowing children enough time to think before pursuing a response. Towards the end of my placement, the children had an idea of the type of response I required by the length of thinking time I would give them. They knew that more thinking time required more than one word answers. It is crucial also that teachers pitch questions at appropriate levels to challenge the more able without loosing the interest of the less able through lack of understanding. EAL students and those with special educational needs may benefit from visual cues where possible. This is where Literacy through ICT becomes highly beneficial and effective. Interactive white boards are powerful tools for displaying images and texts which can be clearly seen by the whole class. Speaking and listening in the National Curriculum has a strong social focus. Children will learn to take turns, deal with opposing views politely, talk effectively, take different roles and help the group to move forward (DfEE, 1999). These aspects need to be enforced within each subject in order to achieve success where all voices are heard and spoken. Children need to become interactive listeners where they listen to other members of the group but also have the confidence to articulate ideas without fear of embarrassment or ridicule. This is also the view point of Jones, R., Wyse, D., 2004 who believe that in building pupils literacy skills, teachers should reward curiosity and exploration, build internal motivation, encourage risk taking, have high expectations of all pupils, give opportunities for choice and discovery and develop students self-management skills. Children need to know when it is ok for them to speak and when they should listen. For this reason, I always made the rules clear at the beginning of each class. The children then knew how they should request to voice their opinion i.e. put their hand up. An articulate classroom is a community of learners and teachers who share an understanding about the roles of talk in their learning(Goodwin, 2001). Speaking and listening can be enhanced through ICT with the use of tape recorders, digital cameras, recording to computers and much more. Some teachers prefer however, not to use classroom discussion because of fear of losing control through increased noise levels. Another issue with discussion is finding the time to allow learners to ask and seek their own answers. I personally found this difficult to resolve. I strongly believe that group work in Literacy is extremely beneficial to pupils. It certainly suits the shyer pupil who might not have the confidence to express an opinion within whole class interaction. It enables the perfect opportunity for teachers to develop scaffolding on a smaller scale which relates to Bruners theory. On my placement, guided reading was carried out every day after lunch which meant each group had one session each week. The National Literacy Strategy promotes this process where by one group works with the teacher and the other groups work independently (DfEE, 1998). The pupils were split into groups of similar ability which meant the less able children had more support at their level and the more able had more scope. Ofsted (2005) found guided group work to be a positive development in the classroom in terms of speaking and listening. Conclusion The new science of learning and thinning tells us that everybody has the capacity to become a better learner, and that there are conditions under which learning power develops (Pollard 2002). If children are having difficulty in understanding what you are teaching them, then you must reflect and ask yourself why? You as a teacher must reflect on lessons and ask yourself have I asked effective questions in my lesson? Questions can be used for a wide range of purposes and they can be seen as a vital tool for teaching and learning. It is a powerful way of scaffolding childrens understanding and raising their performance. The way in which teachers can use questions to improve the quality of childrens thinking and the extent of their participation (Pollard 2006). As stated above and trough out this essay I have looked at how questioning, effective questioning in particular contributes to a Childs learning through effective listening, speaking in particular through ICT and English. I have learnt in practice that these methods keep a child engaged, motivated and egger to learn. This not only applies to English and ICT but in all subjects on the National Curriculum. Reference List Adams, A., Brindley, S. (2002) Teaching Primary Literacy with ICT. Buckingham, Open University Press. Bennett, R. (2006) Learning ICT with English. Great Britain, David Fulton Publishers. Goodwin, P. (1999, 2005) 2nd edn. The Literate Classroom. Great Britain, David Fulton Publishers Ltd. DfES (2006) Primary National Strategy; Primary Framework for literacy and mathematics. London, DfES. Fisher, R., Williams, M. (2006) Unlocking Literacy. 2nd edn. Great Britain, David Fulton Publishers. Jones, R., Wyse, D. (2004) Creativity in the Primary Curriculum. Great Britain, David Fulton Publishers Ltd. Loveless, A. (2003) The Role of ICT. London, Continuum. Ofsted (2000, 2005) The Annual Report of Her Majestys Chief Inspector of Schools. HMSO, London. Rudd, A., Tyldesley, A. (2006) Literacy and ICT in the Primary School. Great Britain, David Fulton Publishers. Journal McFarlane, A. (2001) Perspectives on the relationships between ICT and assessment. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning 17 (227-234). Website www.kingston.ac.uk/booksalive/ www.ofsted.gov.uk

Contemporary Social Theory Essay -- essays research papers

Two major approaches to contemporary social theory are the Marxian materialist approach and the structural functionalist approach. The materialist approach was developed from the work of Karl Marx, who believed that the economic order shapes society. The functionalist approach was developed from the work of Comte and Durkheim, stating that is the combination of all of society’s institutions that shapes society. An organic analogy is most often used to explain structural functionalism. The analogy represents society with the human body and social structures and institutions are represented by the body’s organs. For a human being to survive, the body must perform certain functions to solve problems and meet needs. For example, we must circulate blood, remove waste, and biologically reproduce. Survival depends on the individual organs and how they perform together. Each organ does something to keep the system going. In order for society to survive and keep order, individual institutions must effectively perform together. The institutions must perform specific functions to meet problems or satisfy needs. This is achieved by institutions such as the family, economic, educational, and religious orders. It is the make up of the interrelated institutions that form society, as the interrelated organs make up the human body.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The materialist approach argues that humans are unique because we can produce solutions for material wants and needs; that materi...

Macroeconomic Issue Paper Essay

Financial crisis has changed our vision of the future. We are scared by the growing unemployment rates and are not confident whether tomorrow economy will bring any positive changes. Non-economists use unemployment rates to determine, how well international and the U. S. economy performs; in simple terms, the growing unemployment rates suggest that we are at the edge of the deepening economic recession. Many of us keep to a misleading opinion that the growing unemployment is the direct result of the current financial collapse. In its recent article, the Economist (2008) sheds the light onto the major unemployment controversies that also impact real GDP, consumption, and speed up the development of the credit crisis spiral. Macroeconomics of the growing unemployment in the U. S. The Economist (2008) provides the detailed review of statistics and economic implications of the growing unemployment in the U. S. â€Å"On Friday November 7th he [Barack Obama] got the news that unemployment had shot up to a 14-year high of 6. 5% in October and non-farm employment had plunged by 240,000 from September† (The Economist, 2008). The figures are threatening, but despite the persistent opinion that the current financial crisis is the direct cause of unemployment, the Economist (2008) suggests that â€Å"whereas it had been thought that the financial crisis pushed a teetering economy over the edge, it now looks like the crisis kicked an economy that was already down†. In other words, unemployment rates had been gradually rising even before the notorious bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers. What makes current unemployment different from all previous crises is that those losing their jobs do not leave labor force as quickly as they used to; â€Å"that may be because losses on retirement savings and homes have deprived many of the option of sitting out of the workforce for a spell† (The Economist, 2008). In any case, the growing unemployment may threaten the stability of the U. S. economy in short- and long-run, and macroeconomic consequences of the growing employment instability may slow down the process of economic recovery in the United States. From the macroeconomic viewpoint, â€Å"a person who is able and willing to work yet is unable to find a paying job is considered unemployed. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force, which includes both employed and unemployed and those with jobs (all those willing and able to work for pay) – (Layard, 2005). Although the majority of the U. S. population tends to evaluate the quality of national economic performance through the prism of the changing unemployment rates, these rates are notoriously difficult to measure. As a result, we frequently lack objective view of the way unemployment impacts our economic achievements. Unemployment tends to produce irreversible macroeconomic effects and requires that state authorities and financial institutions develop sound macroeconomic policies, to minimize and prevent the long-term consequences of the deepening economic recession. In general terms, poverty, crime, and healthcare issues are the three direct consequences of the growing unemployment. In terms of economics, unemployment severely impacts purchasing activity and leads to long-term real GDP decrease. Under the growing unemployment pressures, we are unlikely to use all available financial and non-financial resources to the fullest. â€Å"Much unemployment – called deficient-demand or cyclical unemployment – thus represents a profound form of inefficiency, sometimes called Keynesian inefficiency† (Layard, 2005). The results of profound statistical analysis imply that we have not yet hit the bottom of the economic crisis (The Economist, 2008); simultaneously, it is very probable that statistical figures are at least distorted and do not form an objective and realistic vision of what processes are currently taking place in the national economy. The problem is not in that the United States is going to become the largest international source of potential job-seekers. The problem is in that the United States cannot produce relevant and reliable statistical figures that would help address the growing unemployment rates before they hit the record. Macroeconomics lacks one single universal method for measuring unemployment rates. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counts employment and unemployment on the basis of the weekly survey; â€Å"people are considered employed if they did any work at all for pay or profit during the survey week† (Layard, 2005). As a result, the BLS does not account full-time students and prisoners as employed. Furthermore, those who are jobless but are actively involved into job search are also considered as unemployed. Economic professionals seem to omit the whole population layer, including students, retired, and people with mental and physical disabilities – according to BLS these people are neither employed, nor unemployed. When we hear that unemployment rates have reached 6. 5%, what does that mean? Does that mean that 6. 5% of the American population is no longer willing to work? Does that mean that 6. 5% of population is actively looking for new jobs? Does that mean that 6. 5 percent of the U. S. population is likely to remain unemployed in the long-term period? Statistical research does not provide the answers to these questions. That is why it is very probable that the Economist (2008) operates unreliable measurements and risks distorting the real picture of the American labor market. Macroeconomics lacks agreement as for the causes and the consequences of unemployment. When the Economist (2008) implies that we are facing the challenges of cyclical unemployment, the real causes of unemployment may vary. According to Keynesian theory, â€Å"the main causes of unemployment result from insufficient effective demand for goods and economy† (Layard, 2005). Some economists are confident that the current economic crisis can hardly be the direct cause of the growing unemployment, and that structural unemployment does not threaten economic stability. From the viewpoint of classical macroeconomics, minimum wages and taxes may severely change the balance of forces in the U. S. labor markets. Regardless the exact cause of unemployment in the U. S. , non-economic population lacks relevant instruments that would help re-interpret statistics. We are used to the thought that statistical analysis is the source of reliable and unbiased information and that statistics may open the gateway to understanding the real causes and economic implications of the current financial difficulties; yet, the time has come when the methodology and analytical instruments behind statistics need to be reconsidered. I am confident that while statistical unemployment may cross all reasonable boundaries, the real picture of unemployment may be completely different. Certainly, thousands of people are being laid off and drown in the unemployment pool against their will, but the existing methods of economic and statistical analysis must also be refined; otherwise the coming years are unlikely to being economic relief to the American labor markets. Conclusion Statistical research suggests that the rates of unemployment in the U. S. have reached unbelievable 6. 5%. The Economist (2008) writes that the current financial crisis may not necessarily be the direct cause of the current unemployment shakes. Regardless the specific causes and consequences of unemployment in the U. S. , the national economy lacks relevant economic instruments that could be used to measure statistical variations in labor markets. Macroeconomic theorists lack unanimous agreement on the way unemployment should be defined and measured. The time has come when the major macroeconomic indicators and the means of measuring them should be refined. Non-economists are misled by inaccurate statistical data that causes panics in the labor markets. Unless we are able to evaluate the full labor market potential, and until we are confident that the results of the statistical analysis are at least close to reality, we will not be able to develop reasonable macroeconomic policies, and will fail to protect national economy from the deepening crisis. References Layard, R. (2005). Unemployment: macroeconomic performance and the labor market. Oxford University Press. The Economist. (2008). A painful job to do. November 7th. Retrieved November 18, 2008 from http://www. economist. com/research/articlesBySubject/displaystory. cfm? subjectid=348876&story_id=12583077

Consumption of Luxury Food: Essay

1. Introduction This chapter will serve as an introduction to the concept of Luxury food consumerism in Harrods Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall. It will evaluate customer loyalty incentives, pricing and hype around its luxury food. 1. 1 Overview of Harrods and Luxury food consumerism Harrods covers 1. 2 million square feet of terrain, in the very heart of one of London, England’s most prestigious areas, Knightsbridge. The historical architectural landmark, along with the Egyptian Escalator, which was envisioned by Mr. Al-Fayed himself, is listed by English Heritage. With no less than seven floors devoted to the finest-quality international brands, as well as a sumptuous Food Hall that is like no other. It is no wonder that Harrods attracts almost 15 million people through its doors every year. (http://factoidz. com/harrods-the-famous-british-landmark-department-store-changes-ownership-in-2010-and-remains-out-of-british-hands/) The United Kingdom and many parts of the E. U have been experiencing slow growth and development. However, according to information from this website which states†¦Harrods says its Knightsbridge site is Britain’s largest shop, selling an array of fashion, food and luxury goods†¦ Qatar Holdings bought Harrods from Mohamed Al-Fayed for a reported ? 1. 5 billion last May. (www. fasttrack. co. uk) This could only have been possible if profits had a successful recorded track rate. In 2010, sales in Harrods received ? 519. 8million, leaving Harrods with a profit of ? 86. 5million (www. fasttrack. co. uk) As consumer wealth increases, so does the demand for more premium, value added products as opposed to cost-reduced commodity products. The situation is partly created by an increasingly affluent society and a widening gap with the divide of rich and middle class in the current recession. There are various factors influencing change. In the UK 10% of the population is currently defined as affluent – this figure is expected to rise to 30%. www. foodbytesni. com/text. doc The EU speciality food market (as opposed to the premium food market) is worth â‚ ¬33. 5 billion – (4. 6% of total EU food & drink spend). In Britain and Ireland it is valued at â‚ ¬6. 1 billion (4. 5% of total food & drink spend). It is forecasted to grow to â‚ ¬7. 5 billion in 3 years. It is commonly known that yesterday’s luxury becomes today’s necessity. Luxury tends to be rare and expensive. With the above profit figures, the researcher can only assume that Harrods appears to be the winner in the Patisserie and Bakery Market. With the definition of poverty completely different in the western world to the ratio of poverty in developing countries, luxury consumption of Patisserie and bakery is considered trendy and it’s demand in Harrods is ever growing. Although we may assume that luxury foods are related to income, during this current recession in the UK with dwindling income, the demand for Harrods Luxury Patisserie and Bakery foods has increased over this period of time. I have noticed this as the researcher is employed in Harrods food production unit. Although, the usual scenario for other departmental stores may be to reduce prices during recession, Harrods luxury Patisserie and Bakery foods have retained its prices and popularity. In fact with the VAT increase from 17. 5% to 20% the sales in this section of the food halls has shown no major downturn. Hence, it is my opinion that demand is so great for Harrods Luxury Patisserie and Bakery that consumers of any income group visit Harrods to buy even the lowest cost luxury Patisserie and Bakery foods which has been a contributing factor. Harrods is globally known as unique, as it has an association with class, quality and distinguishes itself from the rest of it’s competitors. This study is limited to only respondents above the age of 18 years and will only be carried out on 30-50 respondents. The study is narrowed to consumers of Harrods Patisserie and Bakery products and not consumers of the rest of the food halls. The study will not cover the life style and overall economic standard of the respondents. This has been consciously left out to avoid lengthening of the study. Hence, the study will be unable to analyse the financial background of the respondents in depth. Lastly, although luxury food consumption is a macroeconomic function, this study will only focus on a singular market. 1. 2 Research Questions 1. Is the recession affecting Consumption of Luxury Food in Harrods Food’s Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall? 2. What are the key aspects or areas of consumer spending behaviour patterns in Patisserie and Bakery Food Halls, Harrods? 1. 3 Objectives of the Research The objectives of the study are as follows: A) To investigate customer consumption and spending behaviour with luxury Patisserie and Bakery foods in Harrods. B) To make recommendations to Harrods on how to enhance their sales and maintain their market share in luxury Patisserie and Bakery foods. 1. 4 How will the objectives be achieved? Objective (A) will be achieved through examination of secondary data. Objective (B) will be achieved through findings of primary data through the use of questionnaire survey and secondary data through Harrods food industry annual reports. CHAPTER TWO Literature Review 2. Introduction. This chapter will show the existing literature in the field of Consumer Behaviour from a global perspective and narrow it down to consumer behaviour in Harrods, UK. It will include marketing concepts, psychological concepts and factual statistics. The luxury market is vastly increasing, and there have been significant changes towards consumer behaviour (Strauss & Howe, 1999). Foods that are expensive have a certain appeal and are regarded as luxuries for special occasions rather than daily meals. Conversely, foods that are widespread and cheap have less appeal. Europe is considered to be the cultural center of fashion, interior design, and cuisine. Gourmet cooking has become a fine art, and visitors to the area can find almost any type of food, and the trend more recently has become luxury foods, luxury desserts etc. http://www. foodtourism. com/ From the literature I have read it can be summarized that the current generation enjoys spending money on luxury brands due to disposable income and lifestyle that this generation avails of due to their income or that of their parent’s earning. 2. 1 A theory of luxury. When Marie Antoinette supposedly said ‘let them eat cake’, she was seen as a luxury junkie whose out-of-control spending grated on the poor and unfortunate French people. But today, cake has become one of the favourite luxury foods. A revolution has taken place where individuals in the world have got richer. Luxury is no longer the embrace of the kings and queens of France but the mass marketing phenomenon of everyday life. Simply put, luxury has become luxuri? cation of the common place (Twitchell, 2001; Berry, 1994). 2. 2 Definitions of luxury products, speciality and premium foods. In order to understand a luxury product, it is essential to differentiate it from ordinary products on the basis of its essential characteristics. Luxury products, speciality and premium foods are defined by their price, quality, aesthetics, exclusiveness, and symbolic significance. To define them, their definitions are summarised below. 2. 2. 1 Luxury products Luxury is defined as quality possessed by something that is excessively expensive http://ardictionary. com/Luxury/5550 As they are highly associated with their core products, common definitions of luxury brands refer to specific associations with their products. The essential characteristics of luxury brands therefore correspond largely with those of luxury products. Consequently, their definition can be derived from that of luxury products as follows: Luxury brands are regarded as images in the minds of consumers that comprise associations about a high level of price, quality, aesthetics, rarity, extraordinarily and a high degree of further non-functional associations (c. f. Heine 2010). As luxury products and brands include a high rating for their characteristics; this marks a differentiation for luxury manufacturers. Even amongst luxury products there are differences such as accessible luxury products, which are affordable for most consumers from time-to-time and some are exclusive luxury products, which are affordable only for the wealthy. 2. 2. 2 Specialty or gourmet foods. Specialty or gourmet foods are unique foods/delicacies, which sometimes exploit regional identity. They are less authentic than artisan products. (Workman C, 2005) 2. 2. 3 Premium foods. Premium products use quality ingredients and careful methods but can be made on an industrial scale. (Workman C, 2005) 2. 2. 4 End Product. Products made by artisan have optimum taste, texture, and flavours or aromas, (and nutrition/health benefits). They resonate with place, tradition and culture (authenticity), and reflect the producer, his/her skill, personality and ethos, and the method of production. They often have an established and stable reputation. Often they are made for fresh consumption locally, or are available in limited quantities, providing a unique, exclusive experience (often including the purchase e. g. at a market/direct with the producer). They therefore also have a high prestige factor and high profile with respect to the quantity produced and distributed. Producers of artisan products are usually hands-on from production through to sales. They are very experienced, skilled and show an uncompromised commitment to their craft, trade and to the superior taste of their products. Often there are small numbers of people making any one kind of artisan product. (Workman C, 2005) 2. 3 Food Tourism During the 20th Century, industrialisation began to threaten artisan producers and many abandoned their traditional techniques. But in the past two decades, there’s been a resurgence in demand for quality products made by time-honoured methods†¦Food tourism has become big business, worth nearly ? 4bn a year. (Lane M,2005) Food has many roles to play for consumers: it is functional (sustaining life); it plays a key role in our celebrations; it is a conduit for socializing; it is entertaining; it is sensuous and sensual; and it is a way of experiencing new cultures and countries. For many, food becomes highly experiential (i. e. much more than functional) when it is part of a travel experience, it can become sensuous and sensual, symbolic and ritualistic, and can take on new significance and meaning. Even the most basic meal can be etched in memory forever when it is eaten when surrounded by awe-inspiring scenery or at the end of a special day exploring a new city. (Hall M and McIntosh 2000) Swarbrooke and Horner have stated that food tourism stakeholders such as restaurant and cafe owners, cookery school providers, festival organizers, hotel and resort managers, bed and breakfast operators, and food producers. By understanding how tourists make their decisions to purchase and/or consume food products we will be able to gain a better understanding of when we need to intervene in their decision-making process. Appropriate intervention can, in turn, be used to persuade them to purchase ‘our’ food products and services. Consumer behaviour research is the study of why people, either individually or in groups, buy the product they do and how they make their decision (Swarbrooke and Horner, 1999). Food tourism is something that is becoming more commonly understood. But how would someone decide where to go, and what to see? http://www. foodtourism. com/ Tourists who enjoy luxury food and patisserie generally make every attempt to at least visit Harrods while in the UK. Often, like the researcher at the visit first to Harrods tourists only visit and see, but, at their second visit at least a small amount of luxury food or patisserie is purchased. Although, consumer spending has slowed down in the UK, Harrods has shown an increase in profits in their Patisserie and Bakery section with its luxury food items. 2. 4 Consumer buying behaviour Kolb M. (2006) associates Maslow’s theory and consumer purchasing as she states Maslow’s theory has a direct application for marketing because many of these needs are met through the purchase of products. Infact, once a consumer has all the food, clothing and shelter they need, all other purchases are made to meet higher needs. Thus, the researcher can state that in order to meet some part of one’s self esteem needs, UK and international consumers may be relating to Harrods luxury Patisserie and Bakery food to experience self actualization and thus for Harrods this has created a niche. The interest in premium, specialty and artisan products is also influenced by the static growth in population, which has lead to a static growth in overall grocery sales. In this situation, foods that command a premium price and higher margins become the only growth sector, and therefore become the target of multiples. Artisan, specialty and premium foods are therefore gaining broader distribution in the multiple retail sector. Workman C (2005) 2. 5 Consumer buying Trends The growth of specialty fine food is attributable to Increasing consumer affluence as consumer wealth increase, so does the demand for more premium, value added products as opposed to cost-reduced commodity products†¦10% of population in UK is defined as affluent – this figure is expected to rise to 30%. When it does premium food, including specialty food is expected to account for 45% of total food sales in UK. The specialty market is worth ? 4. 2 b in UK and has grown from 20% from 3. 5 bn in 2003. British fine food consumers spend ? 900 per year on fine food. Workman C ( 2005) CHAPTER THREE Research Methodology 3. 1 Introduction This chapter discusses the different aspects involved in the methodology used to conduct the present study of Consumption of Luxury Food in Harrods Food’s Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall. It highlights methodological approaches which will allow scope of the Research study in a sustained process of planning and design. The consideration of the process will influence the choice of methods and approaches that will be presented. This chapter, for that reason contains a discussion of the research purpose, research approach, research strategy, data collection methods, data analysis and quality standards. 3. 2 Research Purpose Yin (1994) states that research purpose can be grouped and classified as exploratory, descriptive or explanatory. Exploratory research is conducted to clarify the nature of a problem, where the purpose is to provide insights and understanding, not to provide conclusive evidence. Exploratory research is conducted with the expectation that subsequent research will proceed (Zikmund, 2000:Bryman,1989). An exploratory study method is used when the aim is to develop proposition of future research (Yin,1994). A descriptive research is used when the major objective is to describe something, such as population or a phenomenon. It seeks to answer who, what, where and how questions. In a nutshell, it does not give the explanation of the cause of the findings. However, when solving a business problem, it is often enough with the information obtained from describing a situation and it is not required to know why things are the way they are (Zikmund,2000). In order to perform a descriptive research, the researcher must have prior knowledge of the problem situation and the information needed is clearly defined. In fact, this is the major difference between exploratory and descriptive research, as well as that the descriptive research must be structured and the methods for the selecting sources of the information and collecting data are pre-planned and formal (Malhotra,1996). In explanatory research, the emphasis is on studying a situation or a problem in order to explain the relationship between variables (Saunders et al. ,2000). According to McNabb (2008) typical objectives for explanatory research include explaining why some phenomenon occurred, interpreting a cause-and-effect relationship between two or more variables, and explaining differences in two or more groups’ responses. The purpose of this Research Study is to gain an understanding of Harrods success within it’s luxury food service specifically their Patisserie and Bakery department Food Hall, Knightsbridge, London, UK. In order to achieve this objective, the Research Study will need to consider three core elements which will be how Harrods’ conducts their design, implementation and evaluation strategy of the customer. Since the aim of the research is to describe how Harrods operates within the Luxury food service industry, the study is descriptive in nature. 3. 3 Research Approach According to Zikmund (2000) research can be conducted in different ways and includes both a theoretical and a methodological approach. The theoretical approach can either be deductive or inductive, and the methodological approach is qualitative or quantitative (Zikmund 2000) 3. 3. 1 Qualitative versus Quantitative Research Zikmund (2000) further states that when collecting information, either qualitative or quantitative data can be collected. Qualitative approach may consider the following methods for gathering information like: Participant Observation, Non-participant Observation, Field Notes, Reflective Journals, Structured Interview, Semi-structured Interview, Unstructured Interview, and Analysis of documents and materials. In contrast, quantitative methods for research techniques include gathering of quantitative data, like information dealing with numbers which is measurable. Statistics, tables and graphs, are generally used to present the results of these methods. They are distinguished from qualitative methods. The study, under focus is quantitative using an exploratory design. This kind of method is widely used to gain familiarity with a phenomenon that is not adequately explored. The researcher feels the need to explore this issue since there is not much data relating to Consumption of Luxury Food in Harrods Food’s Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall. 3. 4 Sampling Techniques The universe will comprise of ‘simple random sampling’ method to select samples. This will enable the researcher achieve the desired information. According to Kumar (2008), this type of sampling is also as chance sampling or probability sampling where each and every item in the population has an equal change of inclusion in the sample and each one of the possible samples, in case of finite universe, has the same probability of being selected. To select the sample, ‘each item’ in this research study will be assigned a number from 1 to 100. The sample survey will cover respondents in the age group of 18 years and above only. This will ensure that the respondents are old enough to understand and answer questions in the interview schedule. 3. 5 Population The sample size of this study is intended to be 30-50 respondents, in the age group of 18 years and above. The study will have to be completed in Harrods Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall, Knightsbridge, London. The population will only include consumers and purchasers from the above food hall. 3. 6 Research Instruments For the purpose of this research study both primary and secondary data relevant to this topic will be used. Without the use of both instruments the research study will not verify facts and the scope of analysis if not used together will not make the research interesting. 3. 6. 1 Primary Data Primary data for this research study will result from firsthand experience with the use of questionnaires for preliminary gathering of data. Questionnaires will be prepared prior to in-depth interviews with respondents at Harrods. 3. 6. 2 Secondary Data Sources. For the scope of this research study Secondary Data Sources will include literature review with sources from the library, web, and surveys. Other secondary sources of data will be sourced and will include thesis, newspapers and internal company reports. 3. 6. 3 Data Collection Instruments This section will include the 30-50 respondents completing a questionnaire. The interview schedule will be prepared on the basis of study objectives and aims with structured open ended and close ended questions. Section A may cover income, Section B may cover types of Luxury food and section C on consumption of luxury food. 3. 6. 4 Interviews At the time of the respondents’ completing the questionnaire the researcher will interview the respondents. This approach will enable the researcher gain a better comprehension of consumer spending on Luxury Food items in Harrods. CHAPTER FOUR 4. 0 PROPOSED ANALYSIS This chapter will highlight the Research plan as it will outline the steps for conducting the research in terms of description, timing and presentation. It will be used as a guide to execute and monitor the project which will enable the researcher to achieve the purposes of the research. The data collected will be analysed and presented diagrammatically in tables and charts. This will then enable empirical findings to be compared. In order to carry out statistical analysis of the quantitative data obtained, the Statistical Package for Social Studies (SPSS) and Microsoft Word software will be used to develop a comprehensive and flexible statistical analysis and data management for the research. This will enable a range of tabulated reports, graphs, pie charts, and analysis. 4. 1 Schedule. |Planned activities | | | |March |April |May |June |July | |Topic Selection |X |X | | | | |Literature Review | |X |X | | | |Meeting with Group | |X | | | | |Meeting with Supervisor | |X |X |X |X | |Seek Permission from Harrods | | |X | | | |Write up Questionnaire for data collection | | |X | | | |Data Collection at Harrods | | |X | | | |Analysis of data & Findings | | |X |X |X | |Write up of Dissertation Introduction | | | |X | | |Write up of Dissertation Overview | | | |X | | |Drawing up summary and conclusion | | | | |X | |Proof Reading | | | | |X | |Presentation of Research | | | | |X | |Final Submission | | | | |X |. CHAPTER FIVE ANTICIPATED OUTCOMES The results of this research will provide a specific insight for Harrods Patisserie and Bakery Food Hall into consumer behaviour, trends and patterns. 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