Friday, December 27, 2019

What to Expect from College Meal Plans

One of the big differences between high school and college doesnt happen in the classroom,  but at meal time. No longer will you eat meals around the family table. Instead, youll make your own food choices in the college dining hall. To pay for your meals, chances are youll need to purchase a meal plan for at least part of your college career. This article explores some of the questions you may have about these plans. Key Takeaways: College Meal Plans Most colleges require residential students to get a meal plan. This is especially true for first-year students.The price of meal plans will vary significantly from school to school and the type of plan. Options ranging from 7 to 21 meals a week may be available.At most schools, your meal card will work at all dining facilities on campus giving you a wide range of options.At some schools, the money for unused meals can be spent at a campus convenience store or even with local merchants. What Is a Meal Plan? Essentially, a meal plan is pre-paid account for your on-campus meals. At the start of the term, you pay for all the meals you’ll eat in the dining halls. You’ll then swipe your student ID or a special meal card every time you enter a dining area, and the value of your meal will be deducted from your account. How Much Do Meal Plans Cost? Whenever you look at the cost of college, youll need to factor in much more than tuition. Room and board costs vary widely, typically between $7,000 and $14,000 a year. Meals will often be half of that cost. Meal prices dont tend to be unreasonable, but they certainly arent as cheap as making meals in your own kitchen. Colleges usually subcontract meal services to a for-profit company, and the college will also earn a percentage of the meal fees. Students who live off campus and enjoy cooking can often eat well and save money compared to a meal plan. At the same time, the convenience and variety of a meal plan have many advantages. Do You Need to Buy a Meal Plan? At most schools, first-year students are required to have a meal plan. This requirement might be waved if you are commuting from home. Mandatory meal plans have a variety of purposes. Schools often want first-year students to become engaged in the campus community, and on-campus meals play an important part in that process. It’s also possible the requirement is coming from a contract with the food service provider, not the college itself. And, of course, the college makes money from the meal plan, so it benefits the schools bottom line when a plan is required. Which Meal Plan Should You Get? Most colleges offer many different meal plans—you may see options for 21, 19, 14, or 7 meals a week. Before purchasing a plan, ask yourself some questions. Are you likely to get up in time for breakfast? Are you likely to go out to the local pizza joint for dinner? Few students actually use 21 meals a week. If the reality is that you often skip breakfast and tend to eat pizza at one in the morning, then you might want to choose a less expensive meal plan and spend your saved money buying food at local eateries at the times that better match your habits. What Happens If You Don't Use All Your Meals? This varies from school to school, but often unused meals are money lost. Depending on the plan, the credit for unused meals may disappear at the end of the week or the end of the semester. You’ll want to check your balance frequently—some schools have small grocery stores where you can spend the money from unused meals. Some schools also have arrangements with local merchants, restaurants, and even farmers market that make it possible to spend dining dollars off campus. Should You Get a Bigger Meal Plan if You Eat a Lot? Nearly all college campuses offer all-you-can-eat dining in at least some of the dining halls, so the same meal plan can accommodate you whether you eat like a mouse or a horse. Just watch out for that freshman 15—all-you-can-eat can be bad for your waistline! Nevertheless, athletes with giant appetites rarely complain about going hungry in college. What Can You Do if You Have Special Dietary Needs? When a college has thousands or tens of thousands of students, it is going to have many students who cant eat gluten, have dairy allergies, or are vegetarian or vegan. Food service providers at colleges are prepared to handle students special dietary restrictions. Some schools even have entire dining halls dedicated to vegan and vegetarian options. At very small colleges, its not unusual for students to develop relationships with the food service staff to have custom meals prepared for them. When Your Friends or Family Visit, Can They Eat with You? Yes. Most schools allow you to swipe in guests with your meal card. If not, your guests can always pay cash to eat in the dining hall. More College Life Essentials How Are College Academics Different from High School?10 Things You Should Know Before You Start CollegeWhat to Pack for College10 Tips for Getting Along with Your College Roommate

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Comapring Naivete and Satire in Jonathan Swifts...

Naivete and Satire in Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels and Voltaires Candide A child has the ability to make the most critical and objective observation on society and the behavior of man. How is this possible? A child has yet to mature and lacks proper education and experience. However, it is for this very reason that a child would make the perfect social scientist; his or her naivete may provide an excellent means of objective criticism and most often satire. A childs curious nature and hunger for knowledge would bring about an unbiased questioning of social structures, minus the brainwashing of these very institutions, and his or her vulnerability would expose any societal dangers present. This child-like†¦show more content†¦Finally, both works are travel tales, which expose the main characters to many perspectives. This allows the authors to satirize many aspects of society. These two satirical works make litotes of preposterous situations, thus shedding light on the absurdity at hand. This is an especially effective technique, because a character or narrator is involved in a ridiculous situation. The reader, from an aesthetic distance, is then able to recognize the foolishness of the incident. After careful consideration, a satirical conclusion may be drawn. For example, Voltaires narrator describes a brutal battle scene in a lighthearted manner: Nothing could have been more splendid, brilliant, smart or orderly than the two armies . . . . then rifle fire removed from our best of worlds about nine or ten thousand scoundrels who had been infesting its surface. The bayonet was also the sufficient reason for the death of several thousand men. (22-23) The diction in this passage is ironic. By referring to a battle as splendid (22) and brilliant (22), the narrator demonstrates how common the idea of warfare has become and how little the human life is valued. Also, the phrase, Our best of worlds (22-23) identifies optimism as a focus of this satirical attack (Maurois 100). In this way, the narrator nonchalantly discusses grave matters. Maurois cited both Voltaire and Swift as using this

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Marketing in an International Environment for Milk Company

Question: Discuss about theMarketing in an International Environment for Milk Company. Answer: Introduction In the present scenario, marketing is essential for enhancing the volume of sales and profitability of businesses. Nowadays, companies focus on developing and implementing different marketing strategies to attract new customers and retain the old ones (Armstrong et al. 2015). However, it can be critically argued that carrying out marketing in an international environment is not an easy task for organizations as it requires lots of efforts and resources. The present study is based on Nestle, which was founded in the year 1905 in Switzerland. The selected business enterprise offers various products linked with food and drinks to different international customers. This research explores the history of Nestle along with its critical resources and their capabilities. Nestles overall strength and weaknesses are also reflected in the present study. Company Background History of the company In the year 1866, the Anglo- Swiss Condensed Milk Company was founded, and in the year 1867, Henri Nestle founded an infant food company. Furthermore, both these companies decided to merge their operations in 1905, and the result of this was the foundation of Nestle Group. It can be expressed that since its establishment, Nestle has always followed an aggressive strategy in the context of mergers and operations (Nestle 2017). For example, in the year 1929, the selected business organization carried out the merger with brands such as Peter, Cailler, Kohler Chocolats Suisses. In 1971, it merged with Ursina-Franck with an objective to improve its overall efficiency (Nestle 2017). The most renowned product of Nestle, i.e., Nescafe was launched in 1938, and in 1977, Nestle SA was incorporated. It was the year 1935 when the company launched the most famous international chocolate bar which is KitKat. The brand has been very successful in its domestic market, and it has been able to acquire a substantial market share because of its product quality. Regarding expanding in the new international market, the objectives of Nestle can be to increase its sales and profitability, to find new customers, to enhance existing customer brand and to improve the overall brand image in the international market. Organizational resources /capabilities It can be expressed that human and technology are the two major resources available with Nestle. The HR practices adopted by Nestle can be termed as effective enough to ensure that a pool of talented and skilled employee is available for the organization (Galalae George 2017). Further, the workers are highly motivated and contribute a lot to the overall success of the company. Nestle also focuses on providing training and development programs to its employees so that their skill set and core competencies can be improved (Benyon Dunkerley 2014). On the other side of this, Nestle also emphasizes on adopting new and advanced technology and integrating the same in manufacturing and overall business operations (Brem, Maier Wimschneider 2016). The use of upgraded technology assists the organization in carrying out the smooth flow of all activities and business practices. In addition to this, technological resources also play a vital role in delivering fast, accurate and satisfactory pro ducts/services to people in the market. Organizational strength and weakness The brand image of Nestle in international market can be termed as the biggest strength of the company. The organization lies in the category of fortune 500, and it is also considered as the large corporation in the food industry in the context of revenue generated (Moura, Branco Camoesas 2015). Another key strength of Nestle is its team of research and development which is efficient enough to innovative new products and satisfies the demand of people in the market. Strong product portfolio and high quality of goods offered are some other strength of Nestle. On the other hand, consumer and legal issues at regular interval can be considered as the primary weakness of Nestle. The ban of products such as Nestle Maggie in India and Boycott of Nestle baby Formula has adversely affected the brand of the image of the organization. Further, products such as Carnation milk can also be termed as the weakness of Nestle as these products are not able to satisfy the need and demand of people in present scenario (Bharucha 2016). Market Selections Analysis of target country market micro environment Kit Kat can be termed as one of the most popular products of Nestle, and it has been very successful in many international markets. It was introduced in the year 1935 and still today, Kit Kat is in high demand. Now, the company can look forward to increasing its market share and can introduce Kit Kat in new markets such as Japan (Hamilton Webster 2015). The rationale behind selecting and targeting a whole new market is that it will provide potential opportunities for growth and development to the chosen organization. However, the product will be affected by the political, legal, environmental, social, technological and economic factors existing within the selected market. It can be expressed that Nestles product will be directly affected by the political environment which exists in India. Kit Kat is very popular in international markets but in Japan the government is paying huge attention to diseases such as obesity. Kit Kat is the product which is generally consumed by teenagers and kids (Cavusgil et al. 2014). Further, strict laws and regulations are developed by the government of Japan to protect issues linked with obesity in teenagers. To operate in the new market, Nestle will be required to carry out certain changes in Kit Kat, and it may also need to reduce the calories and sugar level in the products. The strict laws can results in adversely affecting the sales of Kit Kat in new market. Japans economy is very strong and it is also considered as one of the largest economies in the globe. Furthermore, the economic conditions of Japan are favourable to introduce Kit Kat in the new market. Apart from this, social factors such as growing population of youngsters and demand of chocolate bars among kids will also positively affect the sales of Kit Kat in Japan. In context of technology, it can be asserted that at present, the selected new market is having the most advanced technology in the world (Huff, Song Gresch 2014). Thus, Nestle also has an opportunity to set up its manufacturing unit in Japan for carrying out the production of Kit Kat. The advanced and upgraded technology (machines and systems) will also play vital role in making the selected product successful in new market. However, it can be argued that the legal environment in Japan is rigorous and the brand will be required to follow all regulations and laws while carrying out its business operations. Negligence of corporate and labour laws can affect the sales and overall brand image of Nestle negatively. The new market is also stringent regarding environment protection, and the brand will be required to take care of the same (Ang, Benischke Doh 2015). Like other international chocolates, Nestle can introduce Kit Kat bars in foil covers as it will help in lowering down the environmental pollution. Apart from this, green practices for manufacturing of the bar will also be needed to conduct smooth operations in the new market. Detailed micro research The target market here for Nestle is Japan where the company will be looking forward to introducing the most famous chocolate bar, i.e., Kit Kat. Over the past few years, the demand of chocolate in Japan has grown well, and this can be major success factors for Nestle in a new market (De Beule, Elia Piscitello 2014). The country is also considered as the biggest consumer of chocolate in the entire Asian market. Furthermore, the growing population of kids and youngsters will provide a potential platform to Nestle regarding introducing and selling Kit Kat in the new market. The demand for chocolate bars is growing, and at present, it is an excellent opportunity for Nestle to enter the market (BLOOMBERG 2016). Nowadays, the chocolate manufacturers in Japan emphasize on factors such as healthy labeling of the foods, awareness about consumer changing demand and aggressive product development strategies (Powell 2014). The target customer of Nestle in Japan is going to be kids and teenagers who fall under the category of middle and higher income group in the society. Apart from this, aggressive marketing of Kit Kat bar will be carried out by Nestle in Japan to create awareness among target customers. To sustain in the competitive market, Nestle will be required to conduct changes in its overall strategies and products at regular intervals by changing customer demand in a new market. Competitor analysis In the present scenario, competitor analysis is an important function of management as it helps in identification of the key strategies and plans adopted by other market players. The analysis helps in generating useful information which can be used in areas such as product development or formulation of new marketing strategies. Mars can be termed as the biggest competitor of Nestle Kit Kat in Japan. Further, the objective of Mars is manufactured different food products in such a way that all the stakeholders are benefited from the same (Baker 2016). Mars Snickers are one of the most famous chocolate bars in Japan, and it can give direct competition to Kit Kat. In addition to this, Mars has adopted a moderate price strategy and a marketing strategy which is quite aggressive. It can be expressed that Nestle will be required to invest the significant amount of efforts and resources to steal the market share from Mars and make Kit Kat successful. The quality of Snickers is exceptional, a nd thus, Nestle will be required to adopt an innovative strategy in product development and marketing. Conclusion From the above report, it can be concluded that Nestle is one of the most renowned brands in the food industry of the world. Further, it is successful operation in more than 85 countries of the world. High brand image, sufficient research and development team can be termed as the major strength of the company. On the other hand, controversies at frequent intervals have emerged as the weakness of Nestle. To enhance its existing market share, sales and attract new customers, the company will be looking forward to entering the new market such as Japan with one of its most popular products which are Kit Kat. It can be inferred that factors such as economic, social, technological are favourable and thus will contribute in long terms success of the company. On the other hand, Nestle will also need to ensure that it follows the corporate and labour laws developed in the new market. It can be concluded that Mars is going to be the biggest competitor of Nestle in Japan and Kit Kat will face d irect competition from Snickers. Recommendation Some recommendations to Nestle for making Kit Kat successful in Japan are mentioned below as: It can be recommended that the company should go for the strategy of adoption instead of focusing on standardization. As per the recommended plan, Nestle will be required to carry out certain changes in its product and marketing strategies according to the need and culture people in the new market. The rationale behind this is that adoption will support in meeting the demand and needs of consumers in the Japanese market in the best possible manner. It will also play an important role in making Kit Kat successful in the market. It can be suggested that aggressive marketing practices should be used by Nestle in its new market. More focus should be given to social media and online marketing tools. It can be expressed that aggressive marketing will help in developing demand of Kit Kat among people in the market. Further, it also supports the selected business enterprise in getting a competitive advantage over other market players operating in the industry. The strategies and products should be developed from information gathered through macro, micro and competitor analysis of the new market. The data collected will play a vital role in determining the best possible and suitable strategy for the new market. In addition to this, it will also provide a potential platform for long term growth and sustainability to Nestle in the market. References Ang, SH, Benischke, MH Doh, JP 2015, 'The interactions of institutions on foreign market entry mode.', Strategic Management Journal, vol 36, no. 10, pp. 1536-1553. Armstrong, G, Kotler, P, Harker, M Brennan, R 2015, Marketing: an introduction, Pearson Education, New York. Baker, PAFS 2016, 'Food systems transformations, ultra-processed food markets and the nutrition transition in Asia.', Globalization and health, vol 12, no. 1, p. 80. Benyon, J Dunkerley, D 2014, Globalization: the reader, Routledge, New York. Bharucha, J 2016, ' Cadbury Vs Nestle: A Study of The Chocolate War', International Journal of Research in Social Sciences, vol 6, no. 9, pp. 609-620. BLOOMBERG 2016, Growing demand for premium chocolates in Japan, viewed 17 August 2017, https://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/food/growing-demand-for-premium-chocolates-in-japan. Brem, A, Maier, M Wimschneider, C 2016, 'Competitive advantage through innovation: the case of Nespresso', European Journal of Innovation Management, vol 19, no. 1, pp. 133-148. Cavusgil, S, Knight, G, Riesenberger, JR, Rammal, HG Rose, EL 2014, International business, Pearson Australia, Melbourne. De Beule, F, Elia, S Piscitello, L 2014, 'Entry and access to competencies abroad: Emerging market firms versus advanced market firms', Journal of International Management, vol 20, no. 2, pp. 137-152. Galalae, C George, S 2017, Case Study 1: Nestl in Mexico: The Good Food Versus The Good Life Dilemma. In Strategic Marketing Cases in Emerging Markets , Springer International Publishing., New York City. Hamilton, L Webster, P 2015, The international business environment, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Huff, K, Song, P Gresch, EB 2014, ' Cultural intelligence, personality, and cross-cultural adjustment: A study of expatriates in Japan', International Journal of Intercultural Relations, vol 38, pp. 151-157. Moura, A, Branco, M Camoesas, M 2015, 'NESTL, A GLOBAL FIRM AND ITS CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS', International Management Conference, p. 96. Nestle 2017, Key dates, viewed 17 August 2017, https://www.nestle.com/aboutus/overview/keydates. Nestle 2017, The Nestl company history, viewed 17 August 2017, https://www.nestle.com/aboutus/history/nestle-company-history. Powell, KS 2014, 'Profitability and speed of foreign market entry', Management International Review, vol 54, no. 1, pp. 31-45.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

Saudi Arabia Flight 163 August 1980 free essay sample

19th of August, 1980. Saudi Arabia Flight 163, a Lockheed Tristar flight with 301 people aboard had experienced a cargo fire. The problem started when the crew was unable to find the correct evacuation procedures and start then. They began an emergency approach into Riyadh and were successful to make a landing. Poor communication and cockpit management did not lead to an effective evacuation call or to have fire trucks waiting for the flight and attack the fire. For several minutes the aircraft waited on the ground until the fire consumed the entire airplane, killing all 301 passengers and crew. (Aviation-Safety. Net) Flight SV 163 landed at Riyadh at around 16:06h GMT for a scheduled intermediate stop after a flight from Karachi. At 18:08hrs the aircraft took off for the final leg to Jeddah. Six minutes and 54 sec after take off while climbing visual and aural warnings indicated smoke in the aft cargo compartment C-3, a return to Riyadh was initiated. We will write a custom essay sample on Saudi Arabia Flight 163: August 1980 or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page About two minutes later smoke was noted in the aft of the cabin, and passengers were panicking. They let the aircraft roll down the runway for almost 3 minutes. The engines weren’t shut down for approximately another 3 minutes, preventing the rescue personnel from entering the aircraft. Additionally because of the unfamiliarity of the emergency exits, the rescue personnel required even more precious time to enter the aircraft. In all 23 minutes elapsed after landing before rescue crews could access the fuselage. But it was too late all 301 perished. (Baron, 2005) One of the problems that were observed was the fact that cockpit crew didn’t complete their emergency drill promptly and effectively. The crew managed to fly the aircraft back safely to Riyadh and perform a normal landing but after they landed they failed to immediately stop the aircraft engines and begin the emergency evacuation drill that was the standard operating procedure and checklist to do. This could be possibly brought by poor task management. The last minute change of decision and approach procedure by the captain and the crew members is a crucial factor.   Another deficiency observed was that the crew didn’t have the Riyadh fire rescue equipment spray down the aircraft on landing. They had contacted the fire rescue and the fire trucks to go to the back of the airplane as soon as possible. There is too much delay that the Riyadh fire rescue haven’t prepared the fire truck and fire rescue equipment spray   to stop the rapid effect of fire in the aircraft. They requested for fire trucks but due to lack of coordination and immediate response, fire equipment suffered from delay. The captain didn’t have the flight attendants evacuate the aircraft, in spite of questions to that effect. The captain could have underestimated the threat or danger of their situation so he didn’t have the flight attendants evacuate the aircraft as early as possible. The captain’s situation awareness is limited that he didn’t make a sound decision at that point in time. This was one of the biggest mistakes of the captain, his neglect to have the flight attendants and other passengers to leave or evacuate the aircraft safely before it ignited. What could be the caused of this monumental break down in leadership, communication and cockpit resource management? This is just one of the major questions asked on why this kind of accident happened. People all know that the leadership skill of the captain is very important. The captain or the pilot is the most failure prone system in all the staff involved. The captain failed to delegate the responsibility. Although the captain is the final authority as to the final decision there is still a need for equal input of decisions coming from all available people and resources. The First Officer unfortunately also has limited experience on the L1011 and lack of support from the captain has affected the situation. This accident could have been possibly and highly prevented. Crew resource management is very important factor. Like in this case, the crew should have been trained properly to coordinate in times of emergencies. The accident could have been avoided or at least the impact and casualties lessened. There could be a safer and faster flight if crew members were better oriented and trained in emergency situation. Reference Baron R., (2005) â€Å"Crew Coordination/Decision Actions: Saudi Flight 163.† Human Error vs. Airborne Terrorism. Retrieved October 9, 2008 from http:// www.airlinesafety.com/   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Human Factors Still the Current Challenge of the Aviation Industry† (2008) CulturAiles: Human Factors in Air Safety. Retrieved September 20, 2008 from http://www.culturailes.net/ â€Å"Saudi Arabia Flight 163: August 1980† (2008) Aviation-Safety.Net. Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http://www.aviation-safety.net/