Whole Foods Essay Example for Free

Whole Foods Essay Whole Food’s chief elements of the strategy are to position the company as a market leader in the natural and organic foods, expand the brand internationally, provide the highest quality, and be the best food retailer in every community in which Whole Foods stores are located. Is Whole Foods’ strategy well matched to market conditions in the food retailing industry (one of the criteria for a winning strategy discussed in Chapter 1)? Whole Foods’ strategy is definitely well matched to market conditions. Currently, there is a huge demand for healthy food. People are more health conscious, expect taste and quality, and look for convenience in shopping. Whole Foods is able to address all the current trends through its strategic vision. The CEO John Mackey’s vision was for Whole Foods to become an international brand, carry the highest quality natural and organic foods, and be the best food retailer in every community. The products are free of pesticides, hormones, and other genetically engineered products that could affect health, community, and agriculture. In addition, Whole Foods is recognized by the USDA as being a Certified Organic grocer by Quality Assurance International. This means that all their products are grown organically; the products are grown without the usage of pesticides, fertilizers, bioengineered organisms, growth hormones, or antibiotics. Whole Foods had successfully addressed the economic conditions of 2008; as sales dropped due to the recession, Whole Foods executives changed the company’s strategy to better match the economic downturn. For instance, they reduced prices of certain foods, offered family sized meals, offered coupons, and managed to cut certain products’ costs. Based on the financial statement data in case Exhibits 9, 10, and 11, how well is Whole Foods Market performing? Use the financial ratio information in Table 4.1 of Chapter 4 (pages 98-99) to assist you in calculating a revealing set of` financial ratios and interpreting them. According to Exhibits 9, 10, and 11, there is an increase of their net income from $136,351in 2005 to $203,828 in 2006. In 2007 and 2008 Whole Foods net income decreased gradually, in 2009 net income increased to $146,804 due to the change in the company’s strategy. According to Yahoo finance net income has been increasing since 2009; in 2011 the company’s net income was $342,612. Whole foods’ balance sheet shows total assets of $3,783,388 and total liabilities of $2,155,512 in 2009. In 2011 total assets were $4,292,075 and total liabilities were $ 1,300,770. Ash The cash flow data shows a net cash provided by operating activities of $587,721 in 2009. Also, the company has invested $386,283 in 2009 as part of the growth strategy. Based on these recent information Whole Foods has recorded a strong financial performance. Fiantial Ratios 2009 Gross Profit Margin= Revenues-Cost of goods sold= $8,031,620-$5,277,310=34.3% Revenues $8,031,620 34.3% is the percentage of revenues available to cover operating expenses. Current Ratio= Current assets =$1,055,380= 1.54 Current liabilities $684,024 Since the current ratio is greater than 1, Whole Foods is able to pay current liabilities using assets that can be converted to cash in the near term. Debt to assets ratio=Total debt = $2,155,512= 0.057 Total assets $3,783,388 This ratio is very low, in other words the company’s operations are not financed through the use of debt.

When to use Adobe Photoshop Essay Example for Free

When to use Adobe Photoshop Essay Plain and simple, Photoshop is for creating and editing photos and raster (pixel) based art work. The program was originally developed as a tool to enhance photographs, but over time its functionality has developed to the point where it can be used to create: User interface designs Web pages Banner ads Video graphics Editing pictures for print Because there is so much information about Photoshop out there in the form of tutorials and guides, some people feel that it’s all you need – a one stop shop. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The problem is that there are instances when you don’t need to use Photoshop, and should in fact be using Illustrator or InDesign. Do not create logos with Photoshop – It’s a bad idea that will do nothing but cost you time and money. Again, Photoshop is pixel, or raster based. If you create a logo with it, the files that it creates can not be enlarged or manipulated in the same manner that an Illustrator-based logo can. Do not set type in Photoshop for print projects – For type to print at its clearest, it needs to be vector based; Photoshop exports type as pixels. Now, you can save your Photoshop files in as an .EPS file which allows you to export type as vectors, but still this is not a best practice, so just don’t do it. Adobe Photoshop There are a lot of tutorials on Adobe Photoshop. As a matter of fact, there are so many tutorials that focuses on Photoshop that many people contact me or comment on this site stating that there are not enough tutorials on Illustrator or Indesign. (One factual tidbit: My Illustrator tutorial section is the most popular page in the tutorials section according to Google Analytics. To be even more honest, it is the most popular page in the whole domain.) It is a good thing that there are a lot of tutorials on Photoshop, but there are some negative side effects within widely vast available information. These tutorials help you become an expert on this software, and to my honesty, that is how I learned most majority of the techniques with Photoshop. The problem: The vast information network on Photoshop tutorials also causes people to become â€Å"too comfortable† with Photoshop and tend to â€Å"try† to do everything with Photoshop alone. What is Photoshop? The most important thing to know about Photoshop is that it is a pixel based program. Photoshop was primarily created in the beginning as a photograph enhancing tool and not so much anything else like it is used today. Adobe has recognized that many users were starting to use Photoshop to create elaborate UI designs, web page graphics, banner ADs, text effects and more. Adobe then started rolling out features that help designers create images for print, web, motion graphics and so on. However, again, the problem is that there are certain times when Photoshop is not needed (gasp!) to create certain projects. Photoshop is generally used for: Photo enhancement/Photo color correction Software/Web/Mobile UI design Web graphics Motion graphics Special effects Common mistakes/misconceptions One common misconception is the idea that it is good to use Photoshop to create stationary systems and logo’s. For the sake of yourself, please take this idea outside the window. Let’s talk about business cards as an example. There is an alarming number of tutorials online that shows you how to create business cards in Photoshop. These are what I call â€Å"bad tutorials† that teaches you the wrong way of creating a business card. Despite the result and outcome of these tutorials being amazing, or perhaps you can even get it printed and it will look fine, it is a bad practice to get into an habit. Just because the result looks fine don’t mean the practice is the best way. First off Illustrator type is by far superior in print output than Photoshop is. Yes Photoshop can output type, and even in vector â€Å"paths†. Yes Photoshop can bring in vector objects as â€Å"smart objects†. Yes Photoshop can draw paths using the pen tool. But the most important thing out of all this is that IN THE END, it is outputted as pixel data. Yes I am aware that it also depends on the file output. For instance, .TIFF does not output vector data but does output layer information and transparency. But .EPS does support vector output, yet it still doesn’t mean this is the best practice to do so. So should you never use Photoshop to create business cards? There are times you actually want to use Photoshop to create business cards. When it is justified to use Photoshop for business cards and other print projects If your business cards contain any textures, photography, special effects, blurs (not that I am encouraging this), or any type of pixel based design, Photoshop is obviously the best way to go. However, remember to output ANY pixel based art work in 300 ppi resolution with CMYK color mode. Do not output it RGB. If you have Photoshop filters in your artwork, changing your work to CMYK mode, or even applying certain filters in CMYK mode seem to look desaturated or not look too good. The work around to this: Create all your special effects, filter effects, etc in RGB mode. Flatten the work (merge layers) after you feel that your work in Photoshop is complete, and change the color mode to CMYK. Again, you will regret not switching color modes to CMYK after you send it off to the printer. Your result will look significantly different than you hoped for. When you should never use Photoshop for print projects For the love of all things that you love, do not use Photoshop to set type in your print projects. It is important to note that I am not saying you should never use the type tool in Photoshop. I am stating that it is not a good idea to use it in print projects. Never use Photoshop to create logo’s. The obvious reason is because pixel data cannot be enlarged without distortion. If you create the logo in vector format, your logo will be scalable to any size forever.

Vitabiotics Marketing Analysis And Future Strategy Marketing Essay

Vitabiotics Marketing Analysis And Future Strategy Marketing Essay Vitabiotics LTD is a UK-founded but globally prominent nutraceutical corporation and describes its business as nutrient-technology based healthcare. The first product to market was a mouth ulcer treatment called Oralcer in 1971 followed later that year by Omega-H, a multivitamin which has since seen huge success in various countries worldwide, often becoming the number 1 selling nutritional supplement. Since then, Vitabiotics invested heavily in research and development and began to increase their product range, creating international manufacturing facilities and landing increased distribution into large UK retailers such as Boots, Superdrug and several of the largest supermarkets. During this expansion Vitabiotics gained UK brand leader status with various products (Pregnacare, Menopace, Perfectil, Osteocare) and now export to over 100 countries. At the current day, Vitabiotics is the second largest branded multivitamin manufacturer (behind Seven Seas) and has a very wide product ra nge: Aquamarine Cardioace Diabetone Dietrim Feroglobin Goldcare Immunace Jointace Liverel Menopace Nerozan Omega-H3 Osteocare Perfectil Premence Pregnacare Tricologic Ultra-D3 Visionace Wellkid WellTeen Wellman Wellwoman (For the full list of products within each of these categories see appendix 1) The fundamental factor behind Vitabiotics success to date has been effective research and development of new products to remain at the forefront of new scientific developments in vitamins and nutrients with respect to health. In the past 30 years, the supplements market increased massively in accordance with the increase in the health food market and the populations increase in disposable income to spend on daily health products. The multivitamin market quickly become very competitive which induced the development of a myriad of more specific supplements by Vitabiotics, most of which were more expensive than the generic multivitamin. These specific supplements were developed on the basis of scientific research and the speed at which the science was developed into useable, marketable products was reflected in terms of growth, profits, brand awareness and brand loyalty. It is often the case that businesses are built upon an idea or a new product/service without the thought and investme nt into creating a brand. In these cases, the product/service can often be replicated or a similar service can be created, thus taking custom away from the original idea. The creation of a brand along with the product/service can protect their future by creating loyal customers. In addition to the brand creation, especially in the health/supplements markets, innovation and new product development is needed in order to keep or increase any market share. Vitabiotics have succeeded in this, both in the development of new products by being at the forefront of scientific research and in brand creation, which are the primary factors behind its exports expansion and its brand UK brand leader status in many of its products. Current SWOT analysis Creating a SWOT analysis is an effective way to assess a companies current market position along with its future prospects, the table below gives a summary SWOT and a much more detailed discussion and analysis follows; Strengths Weaknesses Continued growth during economic difficulties Strong brand image several recent awards Lack of knowledge towards supplements Opportunities Threats Emerging markets in developing countries Diversification into a broader product base health foods and beauty products Recent Product recall could damage brand image A change in consumer behaviour towards eating healthy foods as opposed to taking supplements could erode Vitabiotics growth Strengths Despite a 16% drop in single and multivitamin sales in the UK between 2004-2009 (Mintel), Vitabiotics continue to show growth and therefore future promise; this is in-part due to the expansion and diversification of its product base. Also, its expansion into over 100 countries has shown that globalisation of the brand is not only possible, but is currently being achieved. Another strength is Vitabiotics positive brand image with consumers, this is shown not only in increased sales but also in the recent awards that It has won; Boots Vitamin supplier of the year (for the fourth year running) Boots are the largest European pharmacy chain and this award is often advertised within Boots stores. When customers see an award from a very trusted and successful business such as Boots, this strongly encourages brand trust and greatly reinforces the brand image. BT Vision 100 award Given to the most visionary companies. This further establishes the image of Vitabiotics as a strong British company, a factor which consumers will most likely find appealing. The Queens award for enterprise. Prestigious export award Weaknesses The general consumer still has a lack of knowledge about supplements and it is very difficult to communicate benefits underpinned by science. Also, despite Vitabiotics relative success during the current worldwide economic crises, it isnt going to be ending soon and consumers are getting more conservative with their spending. Opportunities Vitabiotics have recently opened headquarters in Egypt, USA, Iran and Russia (ref) to complement the globalisation strategy. This will allow for greater expansion and possibly increased market share within the respective regions as it will enable more specific and coherent marketing strategies depending upon the region. Even though exports are currently to over 100 countries, there is still much opportunity in emerging markets as consumers have more money to spend on health related products. Threats A very recent FSA (food standards agency) recall of 9 different batches of products in the UK will damage both UK profits and may damage the brand image Vitabiotics have worked so hard to achieve, however this was only due to a labelling issue but any negative media needs to be handled appropriately. Another threat is regarding consumer opinion and behaviour towards taking supplements and multi-vitamins wherein there is an increasing preference towards eating healthy foods as opposed to taking pills. Perceptual Map Below is a simple perceptual map describing Vitabiotics current product diversity and market positioning, the first diagram shows a selection of its products, and places them on the map relative to the particular market segment that they occupy. The promotion strategies of the specific products are also segregated and tailored to where these fall on the map; Omega-H3 promotion spending has reduced drastically and the specific Wellman/teen/kid/woman multivitamins have all received lots of investments, with promotion in gender specific magazines. Perfectil, a skincare multivitamin is advertised separately in more beauty-orientated media. The second diagram represents Vitabiotics product diversification strategy which is reacting to current consumer trends, products are moving away from traditional multivitamins and towards the beauty, specific and medicinal markets. Despite the diversification, segregation and separate promotion strategies, product branding remains similar and noticeable to reinforce the Vitabiotics image: A consumer can easily associate any of the Vitabiotics products with each other. In addition the ecommerce store that Vitabiotics have launched brings these products together excellently, to give the consumer a broad choice when selecting what product is right for them. Future strategy and recommendations For Vitabiotics to continue to grow and attempt to gain more market share from seven seas and chainstore-branded products

United States vs Microsoft :: United States v. Microsoft

â€Å"United States v. Microsoft was a court case filed against Microsoft Corporation on May 18, 1998 by the United States Department of Justice and twenty U.S. states. The plaintiff’s alleged that Microsoft abused monopoly power in its handling of operating system sales and web browser sales†. (Wikipedia 1) Basically this means that Microsoft Corporation was accused of forming a monopoly against all other software corporations because Microsoft was selling its computers with Internet Explorer already installed on it. This way customers were getting a web browser for free almost and therefore. Microsoft sold more computers. This is known as bundling. Bundling them together is what gave Microsoft the victory in the so called â€Å"browser wars† because e very Windows user had a version of Internet Explorer installed on their computer upon purchase. Because of this advantage it was alleged to be unfair to other web browsers because it unfairly restricted the competing web browser market. The trial started in May 1998 with the US Justice Department and the Attorneys General of twenty US states suing Microsoft for illegally hindering competition in order to protect and extend its software monopoly. They were later sued because they were forcing computer makers to install IE onto the computers they sold. They threatened PC manufacturers with revoking their license to distribute Windows if they removed the IE icon from the initial desktop. (WIkipedia) Videotapes were submitted as evidence during court procedures. Among these tapes was one that demonstrated that removing IE from Microsoft Windows caused slowdowns and malfunctions. Viewers noticed that the tape had been altered because certain desktop icons would be present in once shot and then not present in another shot. Microsoft later submitted another tape which turned up to be faulty as well. The government produced its own tape of downloading other browsers onto the PC. This process was slow and the icon was not placed on the

Modern Day Prophets: Islam versus Christianity Essay -- Essays Papers

Modern Day Prophets: Islam versus Christianity In today’s world of chaos and war, many people are turning to religion. People look to organized religion not only for solace but on the contrary, they also look to attribute cause for the world’s woes. The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th has many people looking to the religion of Islam for a culprit, as the men who flew the planes were Israeli suicide missionaries. These men thought themselves to be on a mission from God (Allah). This implies that they were acting on the words of a prophet, or thought themselves prophets. In response to this, I decided to research the major religions in today’s world that rely on modern day prophets for guidance. By doing so, I am attempting to prove the religion of Islam innocent by comparing it to many other religions that have similar structure but no terrorist intentions. The first question we come to when studying religions based on the teachings of modern prophets is this: can modern prophets exist? Christianity, one of the three major religions followed today, says yes. â€Å"†¦The Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they will kill and some of them they will persecute†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ † (Holy Bible) This quote from Christianity’s great rule book also predicts that when prophets do come to the Earth, people will not accept them as such. This is fairly accurate in Christians’ reactions to religions that have their basis in Christianity but have diverged from the church into their own sects. One of the largest and strongest divergent sects of Christianity is known commonly as Mormonism. Mormons believe that there have been prophets in the past, so why should there not be pr... ...ny different faiths from an unbiased perspective: the Unification Church section. [6] Holy Bible. Book of Revelation, Chapter 12: verse 17. [7] https://webmail.stanford.edu/silkymail_pop/imp/login.php3 A sampling of statements regarding Mrs. Eddy’s place in Bible prophecy, which have been published by the Christian Science Publishing Society. [8] http://205.180.85.40/w/pc.cgi?mid=14891&sid=7271 Jehovah’s Witnesses and the use of the word â€Å"prophet.† [9] http://www.urantiafoundation.org/about.html A website about the Urantia Book and the subsequent Urantia Foundation. [10] http://www.geocities.com/muhammadsite.html A site explicating the role of Muhammad within history and the religion of Islam. [11] http://allafrica.com/stories/200211290320.html An interview with an Islamis scholar, Sidi Ali, concerning the terrorist attacks in the Middle East.

Ghost Stories Essay -- Literary Analysis, Realism and Victimization

Ghost stories are a truly timeless form of literature, the ghost, like death, has no end. Stories of the supernatural date back to early ancient manuscripts involving mythology, legend, and religion. The past few centuries have seen the supernatural flourish in Gothic romanticism through tales of fantastic creatures, demonic forces, and parallel dimensions (Scarborough). Interest in the other-worldly has provoked many stories involving the interaction between the living and the returning dead. The well-engineered ghost stories of M.R. James seem to arouse these eerie skin tingling feelings. Techniques aimed at involving the readers awareness James's narrative and folkloric superstitions in â€Å"the mezzotint† engage the reader's imagination and psyche. The realistic settings, supernatural elements, and sensational fiction that is doused in mystery, builds anticipation. James's clear an intelligent knowledge of human nerves elicits fear, excitement, and curiosity through imag ery, the uncanny, and subtle suggestions that transform into personal supernatural experiences. The oratory nature of James's stories bring the characters and the drama to life and constructs fear in the reader with disembodied texuality; â€Å"fearing that these words on the page might spring to life† (Mulbey-Roberts 236). In contrast to supernatural Gothic tradition, James's short stories shy away from the elaborate romanticism and concentrate on basic elements of fear such as realism and victimization. The narrative style of James's â€Å"The Mezzotint† is similar to the original delivery of his ghost stories. With elements of direct speech and candid conversation the narrator awakens the readers awareness by controlling and regulating the flow of information similar... ...t no man wish's to be buried on the north-east side of a churchyard for it is Hells corner (48). Another popular superstition or tradition that can be found in today's culture is the number three. The number appears several times in the story and James's small attention to detail adds to the mystery. Sayings like â€Å"all things thrive at thrice . . . and encouragement . . . to try the third time . . . will say that the third's a charm† or â€Å"a coroner never comes once but thrice†(Opie,Tatem 403). Gawdy is executed and returns for his persecutors, Francis's, only son. Francis is found dead on the third anniversary of his sons disappearance, having just completed the mezzotint, with all three dead and the climax coming to an end James ensures that a residual effect from the fear continues with the narrator stating that the picture still hangs in Ashliean Museum.

Ethical Actions Worksheet Essay

†¢ Was there anything in either the University of Phoenix Student Code of Conduct or the Student Code of Academic Integrity that surprised you? If so, what was it? Why were you surprised? If not, why not? After reading the University of Phoenix Student Code of Conduct, like expected, I did not find any of the information contained within to be surprising. Like in any professional and sometimes even public settings, I expected nothing less from the University of Phoenix’ own Code of Conduct. The University of Phoenix Code of Conduct reflects that of many of the abovementioned settings in order to ensure an environment where when followed; the rules help ensure a positive learning and work environment where each and every individual can focus only on the tasks at hand, leaving behind any personal issues derived from unprofessionalism. †¢ What did you learn about the behaviors considered important for an ethical learner or student in the University of Phoenix learning community? I learned that in order to ensure a more positive learning environment, it is important for students who are enrolled at the University of Phoenix to always take into consideration whether or not their actions may be found offensive by other students. One must always keep in mind that what may not be found to be offensive by one individual, may offend another individual regardless of the similarities between the two. This is due to the various backgrounds and personal beliefs of students enrolled at the University of Phoenix. For example, one person of a particular racial background may find humor in a racial joke while another person of the same racial background may find the same joke to be offensive. †¢ Why are the Student Code of Conduct and Student Code of Academic Integrity important to you and the University of Phoenix learning community? The University of Phoenix Code of Conduct is important in order to achieve an environment where students can focus only on their main academic goals. The Code of Conduct minimizes distraction brought on to students when they are in an environment where their attention is focused on issues not of an academic nature. The University of Phoenix Student Code of Academic Integrity ensures that all students take advantage of the opportunity to learn new things, which in turn will be rewarding to each individual’s future. Academic Integrity ensures a safe and peaceful learning environment where students can focus on the studying.