Political Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Philosophy - Essay Example ers like others in their times thought deeply about the role of the rulers who were at that time Kings and Queens and whether hereditary rights alone are enough to govern. This reflected in their works on property and man’s right to own property as well as the kind of contract that man had with state in such matters. In this paper, I draw upon the works of these three thinkers to assess their contribution to the issue of private property and man’s right to own such property as well as the fact that we might not have such rights at all. These three thinkers represent different bands in the spectrum about the issue and hence their contributions are worth comparing and contrasting to arrive at an understanding of what their views about the issue were. Among all the three thinkers, Locke was the most vocal exponent of man’s right to own property and the role of the state in facilitating such rights. However, Locke’s views were nuanced as far as owning private property was concerned. For instance, Locke held the view that since we are free in our movements and are owners of our bodies, so, any efforts that we put in to â€Å"pour ourselves† into improving natural objects like land must necessarily belong to us as we have invested significant time and energy in making the land worthwhile for human use. The way in which Locke proposed this in The Second Treatise on Government is by alluding to the investment of labor that one does to improve the land for the use by all. To cite Locke, â€Å"The same principle of appropriation by the investment of labor can be extended to control over the surface of the earth as well, on Lockes view. Individuals who pour themselves into the land—improving its productivity by spending their own time and effort on its cultivation—acquire a property interest in the result. (2nd Treatise  §32) The plowed field is worth more than the virgin prairie precisely because I have invested my labor in plowing it; so even if the prairie was

Council of Trent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Council of Trent - Essay Example This paper looks at four themes of the Council of Trent. The themes are, Reformation, Interpretation of Scripture, Condemnation of Corruption in the Church, and Faith and Works. Reformation The reformations that were executed by the Council of Trent were meant to ensure order and efficiency in the Catholic Church and also to curb rampant corruption in the church. The following are the reforms that were made by the Council of Trent. First, the council decreed that bishops must live within their diocese. The bishops also were prohibited from buying or selling religious offices. This measure was meant to curb the common practice of appropriating church properties by the rogue bishops. It was also decreed that each bishop had to establish a seminary within his diocese. This was meant to ensure that there were training facilities, within each diocese, for the candidates for priesthood. The council also decreed that candidate for priesthood had to be firmly grounded in Theology, the candid ates also were required to lead a virtuous life (The Council of Trent (1545-1563): Roman Catholic Church, Web.). ... By this decree the council fathers in the Council of Trent meant that it is the Magisterium only, the official teaching office of the church, has the authority to interpret the Holy Scriptures. The members of the Catholic Church are supposed to abide by the church interpretations of the Scriptures, and not any other interpretation. This directive was meant to cushion the catholic believers from the erroneous and heretical interpretations of the Holy Scriptures. This decree on the interpretation of the scripture reinforced the position of the Magisterium as the official teaching office of the church. Condemnation of Corruption The fathers in the Council of Trent condemned the selling and buying of religious offices. This corrupt practice was known as Simony. And to curb this crime, the fathers put in place a clear declaration against buying and selling of religious offices (The Council of Trent: Bull of Indiction, Web). The council fathers also condemned the abuse of indulgences by th e clergy, and to curb this vice, the fathers reaffirmed the efficacy of the indulgences and put in place cautionary measures to ensure that indulgences are not misused for selfish gains by the clergy. Faith and Works The fathers of the Council of Trent taught that both faith and works/action were instrumental for justification. The fathers decreed that justification depended on the sacrament of baptism, co-operation with infused grace, and good works. The fathers of the council supported their view with St. James teaching that faith without good works is dead, Jms. 1: 26.This position of the fathers of the Council of Trent was diametrically opposed to

Chicago as global city_Census analysis_1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 Dissertation

Chicago as global city_Census analysis_1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 - Dissertation Example Methodological Framework. For the purposes of the present study, a problematique of urban restructuring serves as its principal object. With this in mind, two core aspects will be highlighted. The first one is connected with the occupational shift brought about by neoliberal globalization, which is inescapably followed by the emergence of the â€Å"dual city† (Mollenkopf and Castells) class structure, i.e. the development of the new professional-managerial class, on the one hand, and the growth of the ranks of service worker-composed underclass, on the other. The latter aspect is, in fact, adjacent to the former one, resulting from the need to cope with the problem of the formation of new consumption models that are directly tied to the newest changes in production/occupational patterns. For that reason, the research in post-modern urban geography, with a specific focus on its relationship with capitalism, is of utmost importance – as demonstrated, inter alia, by the pi votal works by David Harvey. That said, an examination of the intricacies of the neoliberal transformation of Chicago in the decades from the 1980 on is scarcely possible without taking into account the results of the censuses that document the demographical changes that transpired in the city for the duration of this period. That is why it is necessary to turn the attention of a researcher to these data. Chicago Census Data as a Source. The main purpose of a census is to provide information on socio-economic and demographic variables of a given population groups. That is why the use of U.S. Censuses and related datasets are of utmost importance within the context of the present study. The comparative analysis of the cumulative changes in Chicago’s demographics and particularly occupational structure will be duly reflected in this study’s analysis. Chicago’s Data for the Period of 1980 – 1990 Summary. Within this period, the city of Chicago still retained certain basic elements of a Fordist, industry-dominated, social structure. The following table may reflect some underlying trends that nevertheless brought about a gradual shift towards a more ‘post-modern’ situation. Missouri State Census Data Center: Basic Demographic Trend Report United States Cities AREA: Chicago city GEOCODE:17-1051 IL ------1980------ ------1990------ ----CHANGE---- CHG VARIABLE VALUE PCT VALUE PCT AMOUNT PCT IN % ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- T1. TOTAL PERSONS....... 3,005,078 100.0% 2,783,726 100.0% -221352 -7.4 LIVING IN FAMILIES.... 2,519,648 83.8% 2,274,594 81.7% -245054 -9.7 -2.1 IN GROUP QUARTERS..... 46,066 1.5% 46,903 1.7% 837 1.8 0.2 IN RURAL AREAS........ 0 0.0% 0 0.0% 0 0.0 T2. RACE / HISPANIC WHITE................. 1,512,411 50.3% 1,265,953 45.5% -246458 -16.3 -4.9 AFRICAN-AMERICAN...... 1,197,174 39.8% 1,086,389 39.0% -110785 -9.3 -0.8 ASIAN & PAC. ISLANDER. 73,745 2.5% 104,141 3.7% 30,396 41.2 1.3 AM. INDIAN, ESK. ALEUT 6,804 0.2% 6,761 0.2% -43 -0.6 0.0 HISPANIC (ANY RACE)... 423,357 14.1% 535,315 19.2% 111,958 26.4 5.1 T3. PERSONS BY AGE UNDER 5............... 231,181 7.7% 214,994 7.7% -16,187 -7.0 0.0

Intel Corporation PEST and Value Chain Analysis Essay

Intel Corporation PEST and Value Chain Analysis - Essay Example In the year 2001, the IT industry faced global decrease in demand for IT products which adversely affected the balance of trade of US and other countries (Buffet 2011). In this regard, the US government improved its tax laws, labor policy, tariffs and trade liberalization policies to attract the global consumption for IT products from US manufacturers. Robert (1990) undertook a study to examine the impact of Japanese trade liberalization policy and tariffs in semiconductor market on the US manufacturers. This positive political environment acts as an opportunity for Intel Corporation to capitalize upon its products and expand globally. 2) Economic Factors: The US mixed economy has a GDP growth rate of 2.5 percent in the third quarter of 2011 which is a decrease by 0.4 percent from previous year (Bureau of Economic Analysis). The International Monetary Fund reported that the Gross World Product of the US GDP is $15 trillion dollars that is 23 percent at the market exchange rates (Grey hill Advisors). Furthermore, it observed that this amount is equivalent to 20 percent of Purchasing Power Parity or PPP (DeNavas-halt, Proctor & Smith 2011). US ranks third largest exporter. Its public debt amounts to $15.03 trillion dollars and poverty is 15.1 percent according to 2010 estimates (Treasury). The CPI Inflation has been estimated as 3.5 percent between October 2010-2011 period (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics). According to 2009 estimates of World Bank, the US economy is largely based on its private sector enterprises accounting for 86.4 percent of its economy. The large contribution of private sector in US economy means an opportunity for Intel to expand and benefit from the overall affirmative macro-environment factors. However, PricewaterhouseCoopers conducted... Intel Corporation is the US leading semiconductor manufacturer that maintains a significant global market share of semiconductor industry. In the recent global recession has adversely affected the US economy. However, the recovery has created a tremendous increase in the exports for semiconductor based microprocessor chips throughout the world. The US economy’s growth is largely due to the major contributions of this sector. As a result, the US economy is growing and encouraging the future revolution in the semiconductor technology. The global trade liberalization movement in response to the global demand for newer and updated technological products has reduced trade tariffs that US government welcomes with open arms. As a result, the growth of microprocessors and other PC components picked tremendous volume to become the largest contributor of revenue for the US economy. Intel Corporation has a favorable macro-environmental analysis which only has one issue and that is the un precedented recession of the US economy. In terms of value chain analysis, Intel Corporation has a sound value chain that is helping it to maintain its competitive edge over other competitors like AMD.

HR Planning 3 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HR Planning 3 - Research Paper Example ce of support into a confined niche market.’ This forms the basis of this paper which seeks to answer the question of why rapid growing industries should hire from the outside rather than develop internally. Acquisition of knowledge and experience that does not exist in your organization about specific areas is undoubtedly a major reason for hiring from outside. Getting someone who has the expertise in what you intend to do is crucial as it will help your team rapidly speed up on time to success. This is so because an expert from outside will bring along a vast experience which will help in identifying challenges and communicating the potential outcomes which are important for rapidly changing industries. According to a new survey of 400 employers conducted by the non-profit COLLEGE FOR AMERICA (2014), study revealed that most employers preferred strongly developing existing employees as opposed to hiring from outside. However, the research also showed that the major challenge for these surveyed employers show that there is a hurdle in the lack of promotable skills to enable develop internally. According to Kristine Clerkin, the Executive Director of College for America, â€Å"American employers are almost universally in agreement about the importance of building talent and leadership within the organization. That being said, nearly nine out of ten employers report a gap where their current employees are missing key promotable skills† (COLLEGE FOR AMERICA, 2014). This study shows that there is a big problem in talent development internally owing to the gap of the missing promotable skills among employees in organizations. This has seen many employers outsource to fill this gap among its employees to enable countering the pull of the market. On the same vein, hiring enables an organization to access knowledge that could have been developed over a long time. According to research conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research from December 6 – 16 2013, â€Å"76% of

Embracing the World through Hospitality Course Essay Example for Free

Embracing the World through Hospitality Course Essay Traveling is one of the most exciting and adventurous experiences that an individual could ever have in his or her life. Almost everyone has a dream of traveling the world to see the things beyond their horizon. It has been said that an individual who travels a lot, learns and experiences a lot. This is one of the reasons why I chose to take a hospitality course. Aside from the fact that I do love traveling, I also wanted to learn and experience more. I want to discover all the wonders of the world and be able to share it with other people. Among the greatest experiences that contribute to my desire to be involved in hospitality service are my travel experiences in various countries like South Africa, Senegal, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica. Through these experiences, I came to realize how wonderful our civilization is. I also came to discover that there are other rich cultures outside my territory and knowing other culture has made me aware how important the concepts of understanding is. I grew up in a country where racism is prevalent. The differences among cultures are the reasons why some people tend to harm people who behave differently from them. My travel experiences taught me the value of going beyond our horizon and getting to know other people as well. Their knowledge and experiences might be helpful and significant in one way or another as we traverse the roads of our life. I want to discover the world. This is also one of the reasons why I want to take a hospitality course. The importance of discovering the world would make us more academically, emotionally, mentally and physically involved in promoting the good of what we have. Indeed, like plants and animals, we are inhabiting a place that is more mystical and complicated in many sense. But unlike these creatures, we have the power to think and act according to what would be good for this earth. I may sound like a Miss Universe candidate answering a question that is likely to influence my audience, yet my claim that we could do more things to make this world more comprehensible, best managed, and taken cared of is indeed possible. Through hospitality course, I know in my self that I could be one of those individuals working to promote the best of this world. Moreover, studying the different aspects of our society, specifically of the different countries, would make me aware of how these countries, despite their differences, were able to build and employ an international relationship that has unity and coherence. Knowledge in history, economy, politics and other important aspects or systems of different countries would enable me to devise an activity or program that would promote understanding and encourage unity from different people. Through this, people with racist attitude might be reduced, particularly in many racist countries. Indeed, my love of traveling in different places made me a more open person, with lots of dreams for my country and for the whole world as well. My travels and discovery of other cultures such as what people in South Africa, Senegal, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica also made me a more knowledgeable and improved individual such that embracing other peoples culture and studying the different systems of their country have enlightened me that it is not enough that I am living within my horizon because life and discovery beyond this is significant in many ways as we are living in a diverse world. I do hope to become a part of the hospitality industry for me to be able to share to other people how wonderful our complex world is, how important hospitality industry in supporting the countrys economy, and how understanding differences in culture and other systems make us a better person. In addition, I hope to become a part of the hospitality industry for me to be able to serve the diverse people of this world in the most applicable and appropriate way that would satisfy them and make them realize how wonderful it is to travel and discover the world.

Desert Industry

Desert Industry INVESTIGATING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGEIN THE SMALL SCALE DESSERT INDUSTRY IN SOUTH WALES. 1. INTRODUCTION: Financial Success often depends on marketing ability of a firm. Finance, operations, accounting and other business functions cannot help unless there is sufficient demand of products and services of a firm in the market. Hence, the focus of the firms today is totally on the customers (Kotler and Keller, 2006). In broader sense, the whole marketing process can be defined in the following diagram: In every stage of the marketing process, a firm not only has to keep its focus on the customers but also have to keep the efforts to be ahead of its competitors. Hence, in each stage of the marketing process, a firm tries to be ahead of its competitors by gaining a competitive advantage over them. In order to do this, certain competitive strategies are followed. These strategies involve taking offensive or defensive actions to create a defendable position in the industry. The best competitive strategy for a firm is unique and dependent on the challenges that the firm is facing. However, it is not possible for a firm to enjoy a competitive advantage in the market over a same strategy for long term basis. So, with the change in the external environment and competitors strategies, the competitive strategies of a firm, too, has to undergo certain changes. The project proposes to study competitive advantage for small firm in desserts industry, which has created a niche segment for itself in the competitive dessert and bakery market of South Wales. It also aims to study the importance that such small firms give to competitive advantage and the way they evolve with time. 2. FOCUS 2.1 Aim: By considering the above mentioned facts, the aim of the project has been narrowed down to: â€Å"To study Wales dessert market taking into consideration the prominent players in the industry, thereby, identifying the evolution of its competitive advantage and strategies over a period of time and the possible opportunities and threats in the coming time†. 2.2 Objectives: 1) To study Wales Dessert market and evolving competitive strategies of prominent players of industry with time. 2) To carry on a comparative study on the competitive strategies of the prominent players of wales dessert market. 3) To identify the upcoming threats and opportunities, hence, making recommendations in terms of how players can gain competitive advantage over its competitors. 3. CONTEXT: The concept of gaining competitive advantage forms the thrust of marketing activities in an organization. Working on a project using a study on competitive advantage would be a great value addition to me as a student of marketing specialization. This is because of the reason that Competitive advantage encompasses almost all major aspects/fields of marketing ranging right from the conception of product development through product promotion to product launch and strategies for its sustenance in the market. The reason for choosing not too developed dessert market was that information about the competitive advantage and strategies of large firms and MNCs is well talked of in books, articles, news, journals. Even while compounding theories and frame works related to competitive advantage and strategies, theorists have given major consideration to large corporations and MNCs. The Focus of project on such small segment industry is to understand the perspective and dimensions of the concept of competitive advantage and strategies at a small scale. 4. LITERATURE REVIEW: 4.1 About the Conceptual framework: Competitive advantage: The Concept The concept of Competitive Advantage was compounded by Michael E. Porter in 1985. In order to create a defendable position in the market or in order to survive successfully in the presence of various competitive forces so as to generate high returns on investments, it is important for a firm to take either offensive or defensive strategies (Porter, 1998). Resource Based Theory The major contribution of the resource-based view of the firm to date has been as a theory of competitive advantage. It argues that it is very important for a firm to develop a sustainable competitive advantage (SCA) within so as to successfully survive in highly competitive market. According to the theory, achieving a SCA allows the firm to earn economic returns over its investments. Also, it lays emphasis on how firms achieve and sustain competitive advantages. The theory puts forward the idea that in order to gain competitive advantage, possession of certain key resources that have unique features like value, barriers to duplications and appropriability, acts as an effective stimulus. The theory also stresses upon effective deployment of the resources in the market to maximize returns and on the appropriate strategic choice of the firm (Fahy and Smithee, 1999). A customer should see any competitive advantage as a customer advantage. For example, if a company sells fresh food than its competitors, this will not be a customer advantage if customers do not value fresh food. Companies must concentrate on building customer advantages because only by focusing on customer advantages, high customer satisfaction and vale can be assured which further leads to repetitive purchases that are i.e. A loyal customer base and ultimately higher market share (Kotler and Keller, 2006). Resource-Based Model of Sustainable Competitive Advantage : Source: (Adapted from Fahy and Smithee, 1999) Porters Generic Strategies: These are the Basic approaches to strategic planning that can be adopted by any firm in any market or industry to improve its competitive performance. For an organisation to obtain a sustainable competitive advantage Michael Porter suggested that they should follow either one of three generic strategies: 1) Cost Leadership 2) Differentiation 3) Focus These strategies are applied at the business unit level. They are called generic strategies because they are not firm or industry dependent. Each generic strategy implies different skills and requirements for success which commonly translates into differences in organisational structure and culture. Cost Leadership A firm is said to be following the strategy of cost leadership if it is able to deliver a product with same features and quality as its competitors but at a comparative lower cost to the customer. For a business to achieve such a strategy, it is important to achieve low cost of production and distribution. In short, the strategy emphasizes on charging lower price than competitors to gain more market share (Kotler and Keller, 2006) (Dibb et al, 2006) and (www.quickmba.com). Differentiation The differentiation strategy, unlike cost leadership, lays stress on delivering products with the benefits exceeding the same products produced by the competitors in the market. According to the strategy superior performance of the product is valued by a large part of the market (Kotler and Keller, 2006) (Dibb et al, 2006) and (www.quickmba.com). Focus The focus strategy is also known as a niche strategy. This strategy is adopted when a firm is neither in a position to implement cost leadership nor differentiation strategy. In this strategy the focus in terms of efforts and resources is confined to on a narrow and defined segment of a market. A niche strategy is often used by smaller firms. A company could use either a cost focus or a differentiation focus. A firm using a focus strategy often enjoys a high degree of customer loyalty, and this entrenched loyalty discourages other firms from competing directly (Dibb et al, 2006) (Kotler and Keller, 2006). PROS: 1) Porters generic strategies model achieves to reduce the strategic alignment of the organisations between cost and differentiation. The model successfully indicates that differentiation strategy is equally effective as cost leadership. 2) The selection of a generic strategy provides direction to management and staff that helps them acquire internal consistency between management style, reward system, recruiting policy, etc. so as to shape its internal structure as per the choice of strategy of the firm. CONS: 1) The concept of porter generic strategies is mostly focused on large multinational companies with multiple business units although the strategy can be implemented on small organisations too, but the tools employed in the strategies are too complex to add optimum value to them. 2) Porter stated that competitive strategic analysis needs to happen on an ongoing basis. But even when a quantitative/economic change in the industrys conditions is detected, the reaction is frequently too late to realign the company. Most change occurs bottom-up, intuitively and creatively, and can be detected early using soft data rather than hard data Porters Five Forces: Michael Porters Five Forces of Competitive Position model provides a simple perspective for assessing and analysing the competitive advantage or strength and position of a corporation or business organization. Industry structure and positioning within the industry are the basis for models of competitive strategy promoted by Michael Porter. The â€Å"Five Forces† diagram captures the main idea of Porters theory of competitive advantage. Source: (Adapted from Ankli , 2007) Bargain Strength of Supplier: Since a powerful customer always has the discretion of forcing supplier for discounts, delay payment or preferred services, later, sometimes have to partly finance the former, so the supplier has to partly finance them. As for examples, Enormous bargaining power is enjoyed by huge Supermarket chains that have huge, concentrated buying power (C Murphy, 2005) (Thompson and Strickland, 2004). Bargain Strength of Customers: The bargaining power of the customer depends on the range of choice of suppliers that it has with him/her. In a situation of monopsony, where one customer has the choice of many suppliers, the bargaining power of customer is high to an extent where he himself sets the price. Whereas for a situation where customers are poorly placed, their bargaining power is negligible and hence they have to accept the terms offered by the suppliers (Ankli, 2007) (Aaker and McLoughlin, 2007) (Thompson and Strickland, 2004). Potential Entrants: The firm has to be alert from not only the competitors but the new entrants in the market pose equal threat of market share being snatched. The possibility is even higher if there are minimal barriers to the entry and exit to business entities in the market. However, in reality, the industries have the policies that protect the financial interests of existing firms in the market and restrain additional rivals from entering the market (Thompson and Strickland, 2004) (Ankli, 2007). Substitutes: Another set of competitors that may pose threat to the market share of a firm are the firms that produce the products that can be substituted against the existing product of the firm. This threat is of high intensity if there is high willingness among the customers to switch from the use of current product to its substitute. Some major factors that may stimulate the willingness of customers to switch to the use of substitute can be use of breakthrough technology in substitute, Steep price difference between the existing product and the substitute (C Murphy, 2005) (Ankli, 2007). Industry Rivalry: The intensity of competition is directly proportional to the structure of the industry. What matters here is the number and capability of your rivals if you have many competitors and they offer equally valuable products and services, then in this situation you will have little power. If you are doing the same thing what others are doing i.e. suppliers and buyers are not happy with your deal, theyll go elsewhere. On the other hand, if you do that no-one else can do, then you can often have tremendous advantage and strength (Thompson and Strickland, 2004) (Ankli, 2007). According to Obasi Richard, with the use of the concept of Competitive advantage and strategies, it would be easier for the firms to have a better insight in business situations and the appropriate strategies pertaining to these situations. Also, the managers would be able to make tactical decisions rather than relying on their intuition, experience, or trial and error alone (Akan et al, 2006). 4.2 About the Chosen Sector: The desert industry of UK is although small industry however it is growing at a good pace. Since last few years many new players have entered in this segment and have been using competitive marketing strategies like Online Marketing, Customisation etc to sustain and do well. According to the website of British baker magazine there is an increase in the cake and cake bars market by 7% in the year 2008 as compared to 2007 to reach GBP 1.52 bn. According to research from Mintel out of the whole only two-third of the consumers only consume the cakes, frequency of use and penetration level is declining. Report also stated that the market is likely to grow between 2008 and 2013 by 26 % (www.bakeryinfo.co.uk). According to Reuters the UK biscuit and the cake market in the year 2007 was approximately to be worth GBP 2.96bn, a boost of 13.6% since 2003. It is likely to see a rise in the biscuit and the cake market between 2008 and 2012, even though this may be largely driven by rise in input cost. Biscuits and cakes are getting a tough competition from other alternatives such as fruits and savoury snacks but its value growth is maintained due to some added value activities (www.reuters.com). It can be seen that the dessert industry is growing and considerable research can further contribute to aspiring small desert industries which is my intention. 5. Research Methodology: 5.1 Research Paradigm: The research paradigm which will be used in the dissertation is Phenomenology. Phenomenological approach to research is so called because it is based on the way people experience social phenomena in the world in which they live. Phenomenologists are concerned with what things mean, rather than with identifying and measuring phenomena. They are particularly interested in the idea that human experience is a valuable source of data, as opposed to the idea that true research or discovery lies in simply measuring the existence of physical phenomena. 5.2 Research Approach: Since the project aims to find out competitive advantage and competitive strategy, so the findings of the project would be qualitative in nature. 5.3 Research Methods: Different research methods used for primary data are: * Surveys * In Depth Interviews Different research methods used for Secondary data are: * Self study from internet * Books * Research articles and journals 5.4 Sampling: For the analysis, two samples are considered, namely: a. Consumers b. Players in the Dessert Industry The consumers would be taken from all age groups, geographic locations and lifestyles. Similarly, players too would range from the biggest players in the market to the small organizations involved in the same business. 5.4.1 Sampling Criteria: For the analysis, two samples are considered, namely: a. Consumers b. Players in the Dessert Industry The consumers would be taken from all age groups, geographic locations and lifestyles. Similarly, players too would range from the biggest players in the market to the small organizations involved in the same business. 5.4.2 Number of Respondents/Participants: For Customers: 125 150 For Players: 10-15 5.4.3 Sampling Technique: The probability Technique will be used. The probability sampling is also known as random sampling. It gives each member of the target population an equal probability of selection. 5.5 Methods to analyse Primary Data: The study would use MS excel for the analyses of the primary data and text analysis as well. 6. ETHICAL CONSIDERATION AND ISSUES: Ethical considerations towards respondents: * Proper information about the study * Anonymity of the participants * Freedom to choice Ethical considerations for self: * Clear communication with respondents * Use of authenticated data * Proper interpretation of data 7. REFERENCES: MURPHY, C. 2005. Gathering, Analysing and putting it to work 1st edition. Aldershot, Hants: Gower Publishing Limited Doyle, P., Stern, P. 2006. Markeing Management and Strategy 4th edition. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited Dibb, S., Simkin, L., Pride, W., Ferrell, O. 2006. Marketing Concepts and Strategies 5th edition. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company Thompson, A., Strickland, A. 2004. Strategic Management Concepts and Cases 13th edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Aaker, D., McLoughlin, D. 2007. Strategic Market Management 7th edition. Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley Sons, Ltd Kotler, P., Keller, K. 2006. Marketing Management 12th edition. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education Limited Porter, M. 1998. Competitive Advantage Creating And Sustaining Superior Performance 11th edition, New York, NY: The Free Press QuickMBA. 2007. Competitive Advantage [WWW] http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/competitive-advantage/ (15th Nov, 2009) Bakeryinfo.co.uk. 2008. cake market on the up but trends are changing [WWW] http://www.bakeryinfo.co.uk/news/fullstory.php/aid/3879/Cake_market_on_the_up,_but_trends_are_changing.html (13th Nov,2009) Reuters. 2008. Fahy, J., Smithee, A. 1999. Strategic Marketing and the Resource Based View of the Firm. Academy of Marketing Science Review, 10, pp. 1-20 Ankli, R. 1992. Michael Porters Competitive Advantage and Business History. Business and Economic History, 21, pp. 229-232 Akan, O., Allen, R., Helms, M., Spralls, S. 2006. Critical tactics for implementing Porters generic strategies. Journal of Business Strategy, 27(1), pp. 43-53 8. TIME PLAN In 6 months of the dissertation 2 weeks will be dedicate to introduction 1 month will be dedicated to Literature Review. 2 months for data analysis. 1 month for research methodology. 1 month for conclusion