Essay Summary and Analysis of The Physicians Tale

Summary and Analysis of The Physicians Tale (The Canterbury Tales) The Physicians Tale: As Titus Livius tells us, there was once a knight called Virginius who had many friends, much wealth, and a loving wife and daughter. The daughter possessed a beauty so great that even Pygmalion could not create her equal. She was also humble in speech and avoided events in which her virtue could be compromised. There was a judge, Appius who governed the town who saw the knights daughter, and lusted after her. He believed that he could take the daughter by force. He plotted against the daughter with a churl named Claudius. In Appius court Claudius accuses Virginius of stealing his servant (the daughter), and Appius immediately decides that†¦show more content†¦He chopped off her head and brought it to Appius, who immediately sentenced Virginius to death. However, when the people realized what had happened, they themselves took Appius off to jail, where he committed suicide. Claudius was to be hanged, but Virginius intervened and spared his life. He was merely banished. The m oral of this story: forsake your sin ere you will forsake. Analysis The Physicians Tale is not among the most notable of the Canterbury Tales, significant primarily for the way in which it continues to develop themes more fully realized in other tales. The tale centers around the noble suffering of Virginia, who chooses to be murdered rather than to submit her chastity to a fraudulent man. The Physicians Tale thus resembles the Man of Laws Tale and the Clerks Tale. But unlike Constance or Griselde, Virginia is not the central character of her story. She exists only for the purpose of a single sacrifice, unlike the constant barrage of torment that the other two women suffer. The stature of Virginias sacrifice is therefore diminished. Furthermore, the mechanics of this sacrifice are distasteful. The story focuses primarily on the schemes of Appius and Claudius, who are no more than one-dimensional villains. The sacrifice that Virginia makes is perilously close to murder  ­ the choice that her father offers her between shame and death is nearly a threat, and the means by which her death is achieved isShow MoreRelatedManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesStrategic E-Business Opportunities (and Threats) B2B Applications 260 B2C Applications 263 Two Dot-Com Retailers 264 Two Traditional Catalog Retailers Two Traditional Store Retailers Summary: B2C Retailing 268 266 267 259 239 Contents Dot-Com Intermediaries 269 Summary: Successful Online Intermediary Models 273 Special Issue: What Makes a Good Web Site for Consumers 273 Special Issue: What Makes a Good B2C Social Media Platform 275 Review Questions 276Read MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 PagesNetworked Organizations 20 †¢ Helping Employees Balance Work–Life Conflicts 21 †¢ Creating a Positive Work Environment 22 †¢ Improving Ethical Behavior 22 Coming Attractions: Developing an OB Model 23 An Overview 23 †¢ Inputs 24 †¢ Processes 25 †¢ Outcomes 25 Summary and Implications for Managers 30 S A L Self-Assessment Library How Much Do I Know About Organizational Behavior? 4 Myth or Science? â€Å"Most Acts of Workplace Bullying Are Men Attacking Women† 12 An Ethical Choice Can You Learn from Failure

Essay about The Unholy Trinity as a Reverse Allegory

Edward Spencer celebrated allegorical writing with his classic romantic epic The Faerie Queen. Even as Milton criticized the use of allegory, he indubitably implemented the use of it in Paradise Lost. Although Milton does use allegory, his use of the form tremendously differs from that of Spencer. His application of allegory is a reversal of the typical Spenserian allegory. Milton uses a reverse allegory as an abstract representation of the Holy Trinity of God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit by an Unholy Trinity of Satan, Sin and Death. As indicated by Websters Revised Unabridged Dictionary, an allegory is: a figurative sentence or discourse, in which the principle subject is described by another subject resembling in its†¦show more content†¦Satan deceives all in his presence, even the fallen angels whom he claims as his peers, whereas, God is not capable fabrication. Pride is also another example of an attribute to the Father of Deceit and in veracity the most influential attribute to Satans character. His pride leads him to avenge war in heaven and to return to Earth to deceive Man: New war, provokt; our better part remains/To work in close design by fraud or guile/What force has effected not: that he has no less/At length from us may find, who overcomes/By force, hath overcome but half his foe. Satan cannot back down from God without a fight. Even though he admits that God was the Potent Victor, he claims that God may have won the battle, but not the war. Satan must fulfill his pride by retaliation. Along with Satans pride and thoughts of deceit in Heaven comes Sin, his daughter. Sin sprang from the left side of Satans head when he formulated the plot of rebellion in Heaven. Sin is perceived as a representation of the Son because she is formed in the perfect image of Satan just as the Son is a perfect manifestation of the image of God; therefore, Sin is an ideal contradiction to the image of

Case Study of Corporate Finance Largest Company

Question: Describe about the Case Study of Corporate Finance for Largest Company. Answer: BHP Billiton Limited BHP Billiton, a multinational by nature, is also Australias one of the largest company and it can also be said that BHP Billiton is the worlds largest among the mining companies in relation to its profit generation and value wise. Its global headquarters are in Melbourne, Australia. The company was incorporated in 2001 by the process of merger of two companies Anglo-Dutch Billiton plc and Australian Broken Hill Propriety Company Limited or BHP. The company was listed on various important stock exchanges of the world like Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), London Stock Exchange (FTSE) for BHP Billiton plc. It is also listed with Japan Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange for both BHP Billiton Ltd and BHP Billiton Plc (Bhpbilliton, 2016). The businesses spread over 25 different countries and 30 locations with varied interests and almost 42,000 employees are there. The business visa-vis countries or locations are as-- North America USAOil Gas (3 sites), Coal. CanadaPotash Potash headquarters. South America ChileCopper (2 Sites) Copper Headquarters. ColombiaCoal, Nickel. PeruCopper. BrazilIron ore. TrinidadOil Gas. Europe LondonCorporate Office. K.Oil Gas. Africa AlgeriaOil Gas. South AfricaFerro Alloys Steel, Titanium, Aluminium Smelters. MozambiqueAluminium Smelters. Asia SingaporeMarketing Headquarters. MalaysiaGlobal Processing CentreCorporate Office. PakistanOil Gas The companys growth is still in the line as expected in the areas of Copper, Oil Gas, and Iron Ore. But the disaster at the Brazil operations has placed the company in a very tight situation. The Brazil disaster got politically framed and legal entangles have made the company bit sluggish there (Yeomans, 2016). The Standards and Poor downgraded the BHP credit to A from A+ due to Brazil disaster. The weakness due to Brazil disaster is shown up in the share prices also which had fallen substantially. The accurate role of the CFO is to present accurate and timely financial information to the management and to the stakeholders. The role of the managers are not limited, on the basis of the report the future course of action will be acknowledged. The controlling and the management of creditors, employees and other stakeholders are the primary responsibility (BHP Billiton, 2016). The treasury duty of the management is to ensure that he will decide about the probable option available to the company regarding investment and the investment opportunities. The consideration of liquidity and timeliness is the main area of the treasury responsibility. Financial Management and CFOs Role The Finances of any business needs to be managed in a very professional manner so that the financial health of the company is well lived and profit generation and working capital employed and its assets are used in a very professional and systematic manner. The process depends and varies from company to company and its size and type. The basics of all finance are to have accounting and auditing to know the exact financial position of the business and its growth plan and progress. To do this in better manner bigger companies employ very high knowledgeable and qualified and experienced professional accountants to manage the finances of the company with great caution and care. Such accountants may Chartered Accountants, may be MBAFinance, Cost and Management Accountant and so on as it all depends on the choice of the management concerned and business type where what type of person is required. The main motto is to create e better safeguarding policy for financial management and fund allocation (Investopedia Staff, 2016). The position thus calls CFO or Chief Financial Officer. The main duties of the CFO are of different types although financial management are the main area. In the perspective of BHP Billiton Limited CFOs role should as stated below. The CFOs are mainly responsible for the past and future financial situation of the company. The most efficient and the effective policy of the company are to ensure economic forecasting and modelling and the responsibility rests on the CFO regarding policy making. The role of CFO is complex one and the occasionally it is seen that CFOs need to scratch surface to get the thinks done and or put them in order (Managementhelp, 2016). The other responsibilities of CEO include planning, operation, financial information and risk management (Accountingtools, 2016). Planning and that part comprises of following; The planning for the future direction of the company The financial and the tax strategies are to be developed The capital requirement and the budgeting factors is also part of planning The development of the performance measure of the company Operations include; The participation in the decision making body including shareholders meeting Management of third party transactions Oversee the international business and operations Oversee the employee benefit plan and the operational benefit plan (TRAMMELL, 2014). Companys performance and Liabilities including Cash flow for BHP Billiton The Cash or fund flow management is the most important element to prepare a forecast planning and budgeting without which any big operations cannot perform in the best possible manner. Thus fund flow will help to make proper allocation of the fund available and also to arrange and rearrange of fresh funds from different sources available and to create new sources for more funds so that at any given point of time this new source can be used to make new financial acquisitions or to handle exigencies which are unforeseen (Anderson, 2016). The Liabilities are also risky areas to be handled in such a manner that it does not become a burden on the company at any point of time and also due this the profit will be affected. The legal, taxation part including statutory compliances is the area where unforeseen things can take place hence a policy must be formulated to guard such areas. The main operation of the company is concentrated for five types of areas of interests. They areCoal, Potash, Petroleum, Copper, and Iron Ore (BHP Billiton, 2016). The growth is in the fields of Coal by producing almost 45 Metric tonne in 2015.The oil extraction generated almost 260 million barrels of oil and almost 1.9 million tonnes of copper, and as well 238 metric tonne of iron ore. Financial Relationships, Capital Sourcing, Department management: The CFO is responsible to maintain a departmental control on all its members and employees so that the functional part is at par as policy guidelines stated. The objective of the control should be to see that every one responsible for their job is doing so in right manner and also in time so that any financial data or report required by the Board or the higher management can be easily met and achieved to show that the departments are doing right jobs. All such departments should also be subject to regular audits both internally and externally to find any mistakes are lying anywhere which is not visible but can be located on audit. The CFO is responsible to arrange this audit and preparation of various reports and financial statements for auditors and the management to take vital decisions (Agrawal et al., 2016). The CFO needs to have a good relation with all suppliers, debtors, creditors, bankers, Auditors and shareholders so that all these stakeholders have full faith in the business and its Board and management. Hence the CFO is the bridge actor between the Board higher management and all other stakeholders as well as all other employees of different departments related to finance, accounts, taxation, statutory compliances or government liaison, purchase, sales, marketing, advertising and publicity, budgeting and forecasting, production, packaging, logistics, distribution and most important the inventory or stock department (BIERY, 2015). CFO is the only person needs to in contact with all departmental heads so that actual fund requirement by each and every department is placed into the budgeting and forecasting and planning can be made to arrange for more funds. Banks and lenders are to be placed in confidence of CFO to get more funds easily and to make banks agree to allow more overdrafts for emergency fund requirement as well from the debtors (Investopedia Staff, 2016). Profit Margin Enhancement The profit is the most important of all things people think about a business. It is the primary duty of the CFO is to increase the margin of profit. For this he needs to introspect all areas of functioning and report to management where he sees risk is there and company will be at loss by taking such risks. He also highlights the grey areas where immediate rectifications are required to save company from losses from any particular operations. For this CFO needs to study each and every cost centre reports on weekly, fortnightly , monthly, quarterly, half yearly and yearly basis very seriously and also make variance analysis on such reports (BHP Billiton, 2016). B: Efficient-market hypothesis It is a well known debate among the investors whether the market is efficient and it reflects all the information made available to the participants of the market. According to the theory efficient market hypothesis (EMH) all stocks are perfectly priced because of inherent investment properties and the information available to all market participants. At the first glance several flaws to the concept or the theory can be found. The efficient market hypothesis perceives all available information in the same manner. There are numerous methods and values that are used to valuing the stocks. One investor generally looks for undervalued market opportunities and another looks for the valuation of the stocks on the basis of growth. At the same point of time two different investor values stocks at different fair market value (Team, 2016). According to the other assessment no single investor can attain greater profitability compared to the other investor who has invested in the same fund. According to EMH both investors will gain identical return out of two stocks. According to EMH no single investor has clear advantage over another and there would be no change of return. According to the third assessment of market, EMH observes that no investor ever be able to beat the market and average annual return would be achieved by the investors and by the funds. There are several examples of the investors who have constantly beaten the market. Therefore the EMH theory is not all correct to reflect the human wisdom and intellect (Bergen, 2016). There are some of the evidences which somewhat supports the theory. It is quite common occurrence in the market is negative news. It happens that native news is not followed by the drop of prices but a no correction and it is followed by the surge in price. All investors start saying that market already priced in or discounted the bad news. If EMH is considered essentially to be correct, the no investors can beat the market. Investors performance does not always follow the hypothesis. This is a theory that has some relevance to the operation of the market. The intuition of human mind and the efficiency of humans are not the same, the pricing strategy adopted by the investors and the fund managers are not same. The interpretation of publically available information is also not the same. Unless the theory acknowledges human intelligence, where it is used the most cannot be correct 100% (Maverick, 2015). Most of the economists describe that market has no memory. Therefore the fund managers wait for the managers when the market would become inefficient. This simply means that if the markets were truly efficient then the investors would not have been able to beat the market and constantly achieve superiorratesofreturn. According to two branches of EMH, weak and semi strong theories price in the market is not fairly adjusted and market at times becomes inefficient when investors beat the market and achieve the higher rate of return (Hu, 2014). References: Accountingtools, 2016. Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Job Description. [Online] www.accountingtools.com Available at: https://www.accountingtools.com/job-description-cfo [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Agrawal, A., Goldie, J. Huyett, B., 2016. Todays CFO: Which profile best suits your company? [Online] www.mckinsey.com Available at: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/todays-cfo-which-profile-best-suits-your-company [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Anderson, C., 2016. What Are the Top Ten CFO Responsibilities? [Online] www.bizmanualz.com Available at: https://www.bizmanualz.com/be-a-better-boss/what-are-the-top-ten-cfo-responsibilities.html [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Bergen, J.V., 2016. Efficient Market Hypothesis: Is The Stock Market Efficient? [Online] www.investopedia.com Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/04/022004.asp [Accessed 13 September 2016]. BHP Billiton, 2016. BHP Billiton Announces Simplified Operating Model To Accelerate Productivity and Value Creation. [Online] www.bhpbilliton.com Available at: https://www.bhpbilliton.com/investors/news/bhp-billiton-announces-simplified-operating-model [Accessed 13 September 2016]. BHP Billiton, 2016. OUr Company. [Online] www.bhpbilliton.com Available at: https://www.bhpbilliton.com/aboutus/ourcompany [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Bhpbilliton, 2016. Board of Directors. [Online] www.bhpbilliton.com Available at: https://www.bhpbilliton.com/aboutus/leadership [Accessed 13 September 2016]. BIERY, M.E., 2015. 4 Key Functions of a Chief Financial Officer. [Online] www.entrepreneur.com Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242001 [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Hu, D., 2014. because not all information is factored into the market. [Online] www.coursehero.com Available at: https://www.coursehero.com/file/9913393/1112/ [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Investopedia Staff, 2016. What does a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) do? [Online] www.investopedia.com Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/04/042204.asp [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Managementhelp, 2016. Roles and Responsibilities of Chief Executive Officer of a Corporation. [Online] managementhelp.org Available at: https://managementhelp.org/chiefexecutives/job-description.htm [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Maverick, J.B., 2015. Has the Efficient Market Hypothesis been proven correct or incorrect? [Online] www.investopedia.com Available at: https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/032015/has-efficient-market-hypothesis-been-proven-correct-or-incorrect.asp [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Team, T., 2016. Efficient Market Hypothesis Doesnt Always Work. [Online] www.nasdaq.com Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/efficient-market-hypothesis-doesnt-always-work-cm118007 [Accessed 13 September 2016]. TRAMMELL, J., 2014. Lead From the Top: 5 Core Responsibilities of a CEO. [Online] www.entrepreneur.com Available at: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/233354 [Accessed 13 September 2016]. Yeomans, J., 2016. Mining giant BHP Billiton stumbles to worst-ever loss. [Online] www.telegraph.co.uk Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/08/16/mining-giant-bhp-billiton-stumbles-to-73bn-loss/ [Accessed 13 September 2016].

Kentucky Fried Chicken Malaysia free essay sample

Contents KFC 1. 0 Introduction (Figure 1, Logo of KFC Source: google. com) Kentucky Fries Chicken, better known as KFC, is one of the leading fast food Franchise concepts of today; present in a variety of countries around the world. KFC was founded in 1930 by Colonel Harland Sanders, at his hometown Kentucky, but only in 1952 it has grown and become a true multi-domestic company. KFC has more than 15,000 outlets in 105 countries and territories around the world. The main aim of KFC is to increase and maintain the quality in fast food industry. KFC is the most famous and largest fast food franchise in Asia, such as Indonesia, China, Malaysia, Japan and Korea. In Malaysia first KFC was opened in 1973, on Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman and until now they have more than 500 restaurants through Malaysia. The main competitors of KFC are McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway and many more. Besides providing normal package of fast food like French fries, burger and nuggets, KFC unlike their competitors provides health and vegetarian foods, and this allows them to have a more market share especially in Asia, where more people care about their health and also where more people such as Indians are vegetarian 2. We will write a custom essay sample on Kentucky Fried Chicken Malaysia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 0 Company Background 1930 Colonel Sanders create KFC restaurant in 1930 at his hometown Kentucky. He created an unique technology on how to cook chicken with 11 spices. The business of the restaurant boom gradually and the secret recipe continue to use until now. In order to increase the profit Sanders made different types of snacks and he supplied them to the travelers in his gas station. In 1935, the governor of Kentucky granted him as KFC colonel for his great contribution to Kentucky catering industry. 1950 In 1950 KFC faced a crisis, and he sold his Cafe. But Colonel did not give up and he start to sell his secret recipe to the interested restaurants in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky around. The first authorized KFC restaurant was established in 1952 in Salt Lake City. Within the 5 years KFC was opened 400 outlets in the United States and America, and it was a beginning of the franchise operation in catering industry in the world. 1960 In 1963 Sanders sold recipe to 600 more outlets. In 1964 Sanders sold KFC to group of investors Brown and Massey for $2 million. They owned national and international franchise rights, in countries like England, Canada, and Florida. Later retail outlets reached all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Japan, Jamaica, and the Bahamas. With 1,500 take-out stores and restaurants KFC ranked 6th in volume among food-service companies.  1970 By September 1970 KFC operated total of 3,400 fast-food outlets. In 1971 KFC merged with Connecticut-based Heublein Inc. , a specialty food and alcoholic beverage corporation and KFC had reached $700 million. 1980 Harland Sanders died on December 16, 1980, but his business did not stop and in 1981 it reached $2. 4 billion. By 1983 the company had made impressive progress. With 4,500 store s in the United States and 1,400 units in 54 foreign countries, no other fast-food except McDonald’s could compete with them. In 1986 PepsiCo bought KFC for $840 million. By late 1986 KFC developed new menu. 1990 In 1993, sales and profits of KFC outlets in Asia grow. Profit margin in Asia was double those in the United States. By the year 2000 more than 50 percent of KFCs restaurants were located outside the United States. Until now KFC is continuing to expanding foreign markets. 3. 0 Servuction Model (Figure 2, Servuction model Source: self made) Servuction Model – is a model used to illustrate the four factors that influence the service experience, including those that are visible and invisible to consumer. The Servuction model consists of four factors that directly influence customer’s service experiences. The first three factors are plainly visible to consumers which are servicescape, contact personnel or service provider, other customers. And the last one organizations and system is invisible to the customers, but it impact to the customer’s experience. 3. 1 The Servicescape â€Å"The term servicescape refers to the use of physical evidence to design service environments. Due to the intangibility of services, customers often have trouble evaluating the quality of service objectively. As a result, consumers rely on the physical evidence that surrounds the service to help them from their evaluations. † (John E. G. Bateson, 2011). Hence, the servicescape consists of ambient conditions such as the color, music, scent, layout, lighting, and design in a physical environment. The effective management of servicescape is particularly important to KFC. Due to the intangibility of services, consumers lack objectives sources of information when forming evaluations. As a result, customers often look to the physical evidence that surrounds the service when forming evaluation. Location The location of Kentucky Fried Chicken in Endah Parade is convenient both for customers and employees, because is located near to the entrance on the ground floor of the shopping centre, so they do not need to walk long distance, climb the escalator or wait for elevator. However people who use car need to use escalator or elevator, because parking in Endah Parade is located at lower grand floor. Self Service Not only that, for servicescape KFC use Self Service to make order, as any others fast food restaurants. The client needs to step up to the order place and choose the food, the menu of the food customers will be able to see on the board behind the cashier; after the client choose the food he should order it to the cashier; and while making a payment the food within 30 seconds will be prepared, after this the client can take his order. All these transactions are made at the same place. The line in queue goes so fast so customers will not stay in a queue long time and it means that customers while evaluating physical evidence will not spoil their performance about KFC. Exterior and Interior Design For all their outlets Kentucky Fried Chicken is always using same exterior and interior design. For exterior design they use bright red and white color, so when customers see red and white building they know that it is KFC. Furthermore their mascot Colonel Harland Sanders is also present in outside each of their restaurant. In figure 3 illustrate the exterior design of KFC in Endah Parade, and from this picture in their sign board you will be able to see their mascot. The walls of KFC are made using glass not bricks and stone. This is an advantage to the customers because as they are passing by KFC they can see how the staff is serving the customers and in figure 3 shows that the walls of KFC at Endah Parade is made from the glass. (Figure 3, Exterior model of KFC Source: self made) The interior design of KFC is also same as in any others their outlets. They use same color as outside bright red and white. Moreover, the uniform of KFC staff is standardized in all the countries. They have two type of uniform, all cleaners and cashiers are wearing red T-shirts with KFC logo and black cap; from the picture below, figure 4, illustrates the uniform of employees in Malaysia and in UK, so it proves that in any countries employees of KFC wearing same uniform. The managers of KFC are should wear more office form, shirt and tie, and the figure 5 shows the manager uniform of KFC. (Figure 4, Uniform of employees in Malaysia and UK Source: google. com) (Figure 5, Uniform of managers Source: self made) 3.2 Contact Personnel and Service Providers Contact personnel and service providers are another important aspect of the customer’s experience. Contact personnel are employees other than primary providers that interact with consumer. Service providers are the primary provider of core service, such as dentist, physician or instructor. Employees Employees at KFC restaurant are very friendly, polite and accommodating. Cashiers are the first employee that customers encou nter when coming to KFC, it means that cashier should give to their customers a good mood. When customers ordering food cashiers are always smiling, and always trying to find out the way on how to communicate with customers. For example when a foreign customer does not know local language, the waiters will do everything to understand what customer wants. Apart from that, other employees at KFC are briefly interacting with customers. For example cleaners who keep restaurant clean. It is very important to keep restaurant clean, such as tables, chairs and floor, because hygiene in any restaurants should stand in a first place. Therefore, cleaners doing a big work, because they should always keep restaurant clean, if tables will be dirty customers will not find a place on where to sit, and next time they may not come to this restaurant. Apart from that, they also sometimes interact with customers, like if the customer does not know where to find straw or ketchup or where is washbasin, in KFC he can ask only cleaners, so it means that they should be friendly and polite with the customers, and with smiling in face show where they can find it. Last but not least, employees play an important role in any service provider companies, and in order to make customers more satisfied companies must provide training for their employee; and KFC provides training for their employees every two month. Mangers Managers are the people who guide the spirit of KFC. The managers of KFC shape the character and atmosphere in the restaurant. They are coaching employees to achieve excellence. Managers need to make a great team from the employees, because this will makes better customer service, and also it will  lead in increasing sales and profitability, which is one of the main goals. Managers of KFC are not only focused on commercial, but also they are creative in the way that they solve sometimes-conflicting challenges of managing budgets, driving sales and growing teams. Managers are the driving force behind ensuring restaurant achieves the level of operational excellence that meets the high standards KFC strives for, and that customers d eserve. 3. 3 Other Customers The success of many service encounters depends on how effectively the service firm manages its clientele. A wide range of service establishments such as restaurants, hotels, airlines, and physicians’ offices serve multiple customers simultaneously. Hence, other customers can have a profound impact on an individual’s service experience. Research has shown that the presence of other customers can enhance or detract from an individual’s service experience. TV KFC provides TV for their customers, so when the clients waiting for their turn in queue or while eating they can watch a TV. Malaysian KFC provides Astro TV for their customers, but according to the rules they are allowed to put only sports channels and their advertising video. However, in Malaysia KFC do not provide TV for all their outlets. From the figure below, shows that KFC in bukit tinggi provides TV with Astro for their customers, but in Cheras they do not provide it. (Figure 6, JOM KFC Source: http://kfc. com. my/jom-kuala-lumpur. php) Free Access to Wi-Fi Besides that, KFC provides free Wi-Fi access. They aim of providing Wi-Fi in KFC is same as for TV, for people who are waiting for their turn and people who are eating. Not only that, sometimes people like to come to KFC order juice and just seat and use their Wi-Fi. In Malaysia KFC uses TN Wi-Fi, and  unlike TV, KFC provides Wi-Fi for all their outlets. In hence, KFC is caring about their other customers and they doing everything to keep them in a good impression and it mean that they will suggest to other customers to visit KFC, because they have everything to make customers feel themselves convenient in their restaurant. 3. 4 Invisible Organization and Systems Invisible organization and syst em refers to the rules, regulations and processes upon which the organization is based. Although they are invisible to the customers, they have a very profound effect on the consumer’s service experience. Kitchen At KFC restaurants customers are able to see only a small part of their kitchen, like the chickens which they currently have and drinks which they provide, but customers will never see what is going on inside the kitchen; because it will ultimately impact the customer’s dining experience. Moreover, to prepare so delicious chicken in KFC, takes only 20 minutes. At least 13 people are working in the restaurant At any time in KFC working at least 13 people; 2 persons working at the cashier, around 3 persons cleaning the restaurant and the rest working in the kitchen. But during a traffic time, like lunch or dinner, more employees working there because to serve customers as fast as possible they will need more people at the cashier to serve customers, more people in kitchen to make food faster and more people for cleaning because they need to wash floor and also they need to always keep tables clean, so that customers will be able to sit on where they want, not where is clean. Light Decorations KFC found out that light decoration is also plays important role to make people feel more comfortable in their restaurant. The light in their restaurant in not bright and not dark, they are using warm white glow to make a cozy atmosphere in their restaurant. It is help them to realize a beautiful and modern lighting and it is perfectly fit into red and white KFC design. 4. 0 The Challenges and Recommendations Perceived service quality can be defined as, according to the model, the difference between consumers’ expectation and perceptions which eventually depends on the size and the direction of the four gaps concerning the delivery of service quality on the company’s. First Challenge and Recommendation Sometimes at late evening around 9 p. m. employees in KFC are looks tired and they are not friendly like in a day. When customer want to make order cashier is not smiling and ask customer say again what he wants to order. Also from time to time cashier looking at the queue if there any other customers or haw many customers in the queue. This is happen because KFC do not have enough employees to serve and even sometimes employee may not come to the work and because of these factors some employee have to work whole day and at the end of the day he will looks very tired. To avoid such tired employees, the manager of KFC should hire more employees. Besides that, managers of KFC already made some penalty for the workers who do not come to the work, but it still happening, that employee does not come to the work. To avoid such situation, managers of KFC should make another strategy, to motivate employees to follow the rules. For example increase the penalty or if the employee did not come to the work 3 times in one month, managers should dismiss him and hire another person who will follow the rule. Second Challenge and Recommendation In the some KFC restaurants such as in Endah Parade customers will be able to feel the smell of oil in which they are preparing chicken and some customers do not like this smell; and also clients can feel the smell of expired food, because cleansers’ throwing food which customer did not finish to the rubbish and the rubbish is inside the restaurant where people eating. KFC restaurants cannot avoid the smell of oil because such restaurants is located in the closed premises, such as at shopping malls, so the oil cannot  gone from the restaurant and it will stay for a long time. Furthermore, KFC cannot avoid the smell of expired food because the space of the restaurant is too small and they do not have a space to put rubbish away from clients. Third Challenge and Recommendation When customer wants to order some food at KFC such as nuggets or French fries he must wait for a few minutes, while the food will be prepared. A cashier will give to c ustomer order number, and client should seat and wait until when they will prepare the food. While waiting a customer can became angry because he is hungry and want to eat, and next time he may choose to eat in other restaurant where he does not need to wait. KFC do that because they want to give to their customers’ fresh food and if KFC will prepare nuggets before when someone will order it will be not fresh and cold or even if for a long time no one will order nuggets it can become spoiled and employees will have to throw it away. Recommendation for this can be that KFC should to come up with a new technology, like they can add something to their French fries and nuggets so it does not spoil too fast. Conclusion All in all, KFC is the name of trust for the customers because there is no compromise on the quality of the food, and no one can make so delicious chicken like they do. KFC fully focus on the quality of food that is why it is the hallmark of excellence among the customers. After analyzing KFC restaurant by using Servuction model I can conclude that all of its components are satisfied at the high level. The Servuction model illustrates the impact of the servicescape, other clients, contact personnel and service providers and invisible organization on customers of the restaurant.

Library Management System Essays

Library Management System Essays Library Management System Essay Library Management System Essay Library is an important part of the academic sector as well as some professional sectors too like, Advocacy etc. The efficiency of a library lies in the fact how it is arranged and how easily one can get the books of their choice. Generally, what we see nowadays is the manual library management system whose process of operation is very much hectic. What we are doing is that we are proposing a computerised library management system, which would provide better and efficient service to the library members. Brief outline of the application:- 1. Purpose: This software is meant to transform the hectic manual system to a more efficient computerised system. 2. Scope: This application can be used efficiently in educational institutes and certain professional sectors also. 3. Assumptions: This application assumes that the user doesn’t possess the right to modify information about books. 4. Technology Used: Visual Studio 6(for form designing). Presently, a manual system for managing the library is employed almost everywhere. What exactly is done here is that the persons who like to get the benefits of the library have to fill the membership form and then they are provided with a Identity Card. Members have to bring their Identity card each time they want to borrow a book to home or they want to read the book in the library itself. In this process each transaction are to be noted down in the specified registers and then signed by the member and the library attendant. Drawbacks of the Present System:- Some of the problems being faced in manual system are as Follows:- 1. Fast report generation is not possible. 2. Tracing a book is difficult. 3. Information about issue/return of the books is not properly maintained. 4. No central database can be created as information is not available in the database. The proposed system aims at transforming the manual system into a computerised one. The benefits of the computerised â€Å"Library Management System† are : 1. Planned approach towards working: -The working in the organization will be well planned and organized. The data will be stored properly in data stores, which will help in retrieval of information as well as its storage. 2. Accuracy: -The level of accuracy in the proposed system will be higher. All operation would be done correctly and it ensures that whatever information is coming from the centre is accurate. 3. Reliability: -The reliability of the proposed system will be high due to the above stated reasons. The reason for the increased reliability of the system is that now there would be proper storage of information. . No Redundancy: -In the proposed system utmost care would be that no information is repeated anywhere, in storage or otherwise. This would assure economic use of storage space and consistency in the data stored. 5. Immediate retrieval of information:- In manual system there are many problems to retrieve large amount of information. In this system retrieval is very fa st. 6. Easy to operate: -The system should be easy to operate and should be such that it can be developed within a short period of time and fit in the limited budget of the user. Depending on the results of the initial investigation the survey is now expanded to a more detailed feasibility study. It is a test of system proposal according to its workability, impact of the organization, ability to meet needs and effective use of the resources. It focuses on these major questions:- 1. What are the user needs and how does our system meet that? 2. What and how much resources are being needed for the proposed system? 3. What are the likely impacts of the proposed system? 4. Whether the proposed system solves the present problem? Steps in feasibility analysis:- Eight steps involved in the feasibility analysis are:- . Form a Project team and appoint a Project leader. 2. Prepare system flowcharts. 3. Enumerate potential proposed system. 4. Define and identify characteristics of the proposed system. 5. Determine and evaluate performance and cost effectiveness of the proposed system. 6. Weigh system performance. 7. Prepare the final report and present to the management. 1. Technical Feasibility:- It is the study of resource availability that may affect the ability to achieve an acceptable system. This evaluation determines whether the technology needed for the proposed system is available or not. It decides whether the work for the project be done with current equipments and existing technology. It is thus associated with specifying equipments and software that will successfully satisfy the consumer’s requirement. The technical needs of the system may include:- Front end and back end selection:- An important issue for the development of a project is the selection of suitable front-end and back-end. When we decide to develop the project we go through an extensive study to determine the most suitable platform that suits the needs of the consumer as well as helps in development of the project. The aspects of our study include the following factors:- Front end selection:- 1. It must have a graphical user interface that assists persons not from the computer background. 2. Scalability and Extendibility. 3. Flexibility. 4. Robustness. 5. It must be according to the customer’s requirement and culture. 6. It should have an independent platform. 7. It should be easy to debug and maintain. 8. Front end must support some possible back ends such as MS Access. Back end selection:- 1. Multiple user support 2. Efficient data handling 3. Provide inherent features for security. . Efficient data retrieval and maintenance 5. Store procedures 6. Popularity 7. Compatibility with OS 8. Easy to install 9. Various drivers must be available. 10. Easy to implant with the front end. The technical feasibility is frequently the most difficult area encountered at this stage. It is essential that the process of analysis and definition be conducted in parallel with an assessment to technical fea sibility. It centres on the existing computer system (hardware, software etc. ) and to what extent it can support the proposed system. 2. Economic Feasibility:- Economic justification is generally the â€Å"Bottom Line† consideration for most systems. Economic justification includes a broad range of concerns that includes cost benefit analysis. In this we weigh the cost and the benefits associated with the proposed system and if it suits the basic purpose of the organization i. e. profit making, the project is making to the analysis and design phase. The financial and the economic questions during the preliminary investigation are verified to estimate the following:- 1. The cost to conduct a full system investigation. 2. The cost of hardware and the software for the application being considered. 3. The benefits in the terms of reduced cost. 4. The proposed system will give the minute information, as a result the performance is increased which in turn may be expected to provide extra economic benefits. 5. It checks whether the application can be developed with the available funds. The Library Management System does not require enormous amount of money to be developed. It can be developed economically if planned judicially. The cost of project depends on the number of man-hours required. 3. Operational Feasibility:- It is mainly related to human organizations and political aspects. The points to be considered are:- 1. What changes will be brought with the system? 2. What organization structures will be disturbed? 3. What new skills will be required? Do the existing technicians have the skills? If not, can they be trained in due course of time? Our system is economically feasible as it is very easy for the customers to use it. They just need how to work on the windows platform. 4. Schedule Feasibility:- Time evaluation is the most important consideration in the development of project. The time schedule required for the developed of this project is very important since more development time effect machine time, cost and cause delay in the development of other systems. A reliable Library Management System can be developed in the considerable amount of time. Before starting to design a software product, it is extremely important to understand and document the exact requirements of the customer. In the past many projects have suffered because the developers started implementing something without determining whether they were building what the customers exactly wanted. The primary goal of the requirement analysis and specification phase is to clearly understand the customer requirements and to systematically organize the requirements into a specification document. The SRS document is the final outcome of the requirements analysis and specification phase. Generally requirement gathering consists of the following phases:- 1. Studying the existing documentation: The analyst usually studies all existing documents regarding the system to be developed before visiting the customer site. Typically these documents pertain to issues such as the context, the basic purpose, the stakeholders, etc. . Interview: Typically there are many different categories of users of software. All the different categories of users are interviewed to gather the different functionalities required by them. Based on the interview the document is made. 3. Task Analysis: -The users usually view software as a black box that provides a set of service. A service is also known as a tas k. For each identified task, the analyst tries to formulate the different steps necessary to realize the service in consultation with the users. 4. Scenario Analysis: A task can have many scenarios of operation. The different scenarios of a task can occur when the task is invoked under different situations. For different types of scenarios of a task, the behaviour of the system can be different. 5. Form analysis: The different forms are analyzed to determine the data input to the system and the data that are output from the system. For the different data input to the system, how these are used by the system to produce the corresponding output data are determined from the users. Characteristics of a good SRS document: The skill of writing a good SRS document usually comes from the experience gained from writing SRS documents for many problems. However the analyst should be aware of the desired qualities that every good SRS document should possess. Some of the identified desired qualities of the SRS documents are the following: 1. Concise: -The SRS document should be concise and at the same time unambiguous, consistent, and complete. Verbose and irrelevant descriptions reduce readability and also increase error possibilities. 2. Structured:- A good SRS document should be well structured which is easy to understand and modify. In practice, the SRS document undergoes several revisions to cope up with the customer requirements. Thus it is important that it is well structured. 3. Traceable: It should be possible to trace a specific requirement to the design elements that implement it and vice versa. Similarly, it should be possible to trace a requirement to the code segments that implement it and the test cases that test this requirement and vice versa. Traceability is important to verify the results of a phase with the previous phase, to analyze the impact of a change, etc. 4. Response to undesired events: It should characterize acceptable responses to undesired events. These are called system response to exceptional conditions. . Verifiable: All requirements of the system as documented in the SRS document should be verifiable. This means that it should be possible to determine whether or not requirements have been met in an implementation. Any feature of the required system that is not verifiable should be listed separately in the goals of the implementation section of the SRS document. Project Requirem ents:- 1. User Requirements:- Every user should be: Comfortable with working of a computer. He must have knowledge of library. He must also have basic knowledge of English. 2. Hardware Requirements: Processor: -Pentium II, Pentium III, Pentium IV or higher RAM : -64 Mb or Higher 130 Mb 3. Software Requirements: Operating System: -Win-98, Win-XP, Linux or any other higher version Database: -Ms Access It is clear that the physical objects from the previous section the member, books, library – correspond to entities in the entity relationship model and the operations to be done on those entities holds, checkouts, and so on – correspond to relationships. However, a good design will minimize redundancy and attempt to store all the required information in as small a space as possible. This application can be easily implemented under various situations. We can add new features as and when we require. Reusability is possible as and when require in this application. There is flexibility in all the modules. Extensibility: This software is extendable in ways that its original developers may not expect. The following principles enhance extensibility like hide data structure, avoid traversing multiple links or methods, avoid case statements on object type and distinguish public and private operations. Reusability: -Reusability is possible as and when require in this application. We can update it next version. Reusable software reduces design, coding and testing cost by amortizing effort over several designs. Reducing the amount of code also simplifies understanding, which increases the likelihood that the code is correct. We follow up both types of reusability: Sharing of newly written code within a project and reuse of previously written code on new projects. Understand ability: -A method is understandable if someone other than the creator of the method can understand the code (as well as the creator after a time lapse). We use the method, which small and coherent helps to accomplish this. Cost Effectiveness: -Its cost is under the budget and make within given time period. It is desirable to aim for a system with a minimum cost subject to the condition that it must satisfy the entire requirement. After we have completed the project we are sure the problems in the existing system would overcome. The â€Å"LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM† process is made computerized to reduce human errors and to increase the efficiency. The main focus of this project is to lessen human efforts. The maintenance of the records is made efficient, as all the records are stored in the ACCESS database, through which data can be retrieved easily. The navigation control is provided in all the forms to navigate through the large amount of records. If the numbers of records are very large then user has to just type in the search string and user gets the results immediately. The editing is also made simpler. The user has to just type in the required field and press the update button to update the desired field. The Books and Students are given a particular unique id no. So that they can be accessed correctly and without errors. Our main aim of the project is to get the correct information about a particular student and books available in the library. The problems, which existed in the earlier system, have been removed to a large extent. And it is expected that this project will go a long way in satisfying user’s requirements. The computerization of the Library Management will not only improves the efficiency but will also reduce human stress thereby indirectly improving human recourses Books: 1. Fundamentals of Software Engineering by Rajib Mall(PHI) 2. Black Book of Visual Basic 3. Visual Basic by Tata McGraw Hill(TMH) Web Sites: 1. www. apache. org 2. www. wikipedia. com 3. www. iisjaipur. org

Quotes for Thanking a Special Teacher

Quotes for Thanking a Special Teacher Just about everyone remembers some teachers more than others, and maybe one above all, who made an impact on not just what you learned, but who you are. Whether you see your favorite teacher every day or youve been out of school for many years, that teacher would for sure love to hear from you and know she is making or has made a contribution to your life. So go ahead, make a contribution to her life that is the verbal equivalent of an apple for your teacher. These quotes provide some inspiration, and at least one will fit the bill for your teacher and you.   Quotes for a Special Teacher Maya AngelouWhen you learn, teach. When you get, give. William Arthur WardFeeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it. Dan RatherThe dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth. Alexander the GreatI am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well. David O. McKayThankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts. Henry AdamsA teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Thornton WilderWe can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. Carl JungOne looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. Charles KuraltGood teachers know how to bring out the best in students. Benjamin DisraeliI feel a very unusual sensation if it is not indigestion, I think it must be gratitude. Colleen WilcoxTeaching is the greatest act of optimism. Albert SchweitzerWe should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. Charles DickensNo one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of another. Marcel ProustLet us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom. Victor HugoHe who opens a school door closes a prison. Marva CollinsThe good teacher makes the poor student good and the good student superior. William Arthur WardThe mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains.The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires. Albert EinsteinIt is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Christa McAuliffe I touch the future. I teach.

Are There Counterexamples to the Closure Principle by Jonathan Vogel Article

Are There Counterexamples to the Closure Principle by Jonathan Vogel - Article Example To help make his point, the author provides a clear example in the form of a Dretske case regarding a zebra in a zoo. Through this example, the author is then able to explain the Dretske argument relatively clearly, illustrating what is meant by the Closure principle and how this principle ends up facing a counterexample. From here, he then proves how the counterexample fails in this particular case. This presentation of his argument makes it much easier to understand than some of the other articles on this subject. By presenting a relatively concrete case full of strong imagery, the author makes it possible for the layman reader to follow his thoughts and then gain a relatively clear understanding of what he’s saying. Then he expands his case to apply to a broader example, using examples of car theft and the lottery to explain what he calls the lottery proposition, in which possibilities have to exist somewhere in order for that to be considered a counterexample. In analyzing these examples, the author illustrates how the principles discovered do not undercut skepticism even though they prove that counterexamples to the closure principle do not exist. The detailed style of the article and the straight-forward ‘concrete’ form of his examples, rather than the abbreviated ps and qs of other articles, makes it possible to follow his thought to its final

International Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

International Finance - Essay Example In recent years, there has been a voluminous expansion of ‘’asset-market’’ view of exchange rates (Adolfson, 2014, p. 35). Its popularity lies in the realism of its distinguishing theoretical assumption and its distinguishing empirical implication. The exchange rate must adjust instantly to equilibrate the international demand for stocks of national assets instead of adjusting to equilibrate the international demand for flows of national goods as if it was in the traditional view. That is the theoretical assumption. The empirical implication is that floating exchange rates will display high variability. The paper tries to scrutinize the flexible price monetary model as a model of determining exchange rates and the results of empirical tests and studies done on it. The flexible price monetary model of exchange rate determination has been developed by Frenkel, Mussa, Girton and Roper(1977), Hodrick(1978) and Bilson (1980).Since it is an example of a monetary approach, the assumption is that there no barriers (such as transaction costs or capital controls) that might segment international capital markets. The domestic and foreign bonds are also perfect substitutes in investor demand functions (Gertler, 2014, p. 25). Thus, there is only one bond in the world. In the flexible price monetary model sub-branch of the monetary approach, there is also an assumption of goods markets. That is, apart from there being no barriers that segment international goods markets, domestic and foreign goods are also perfect substitutes in consumer demand functions. In essence, only one good exists in the world. This specific assumption implies Purchasing power parity (PPP) that is the domestic price level is equal to the foreign price level multiplies by the exchang e rates. According to this exchange rate, the relative price of the currency is determined by the supply and demand for

Why the South Lost the War Essay Example for Free

Why the South Lost the War Essay â€Å"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. † These words, spoken by Abraham Lincoln during his campaign to be a senator from Illinois, ring eerily true with the truth about the country’s uncertain future. Only three short years after Lincoln gave this speech, civil war would break out between the northern and southern states, and it would end four years later with the South running away with its tail between its legs. Why did the South lose the war? The South entered into the Civil War unprepared to fight and, ultimately, was starting a fight it was destined to lose. In the end, there were five factors that led to the defeat of the South: The fundamental economic superiority of the North, a basic lack of sound military strategy strategy in the way the South fought the war, the inept Southern performance in foreign affairs, lack of a dominating civilian leader in the South, and President Abraham Lincoln (Hersch, 2002). The first contributing factor to the South’s loss of the war is the fact that the North had a fundamentally sturdier and superior economy. Economically, the Civil War was not a contest between equals. The South had no factories to produce guns or ammunition, and its railroads were small and not interconnected, meaning that it was hard for the South to move food, weapons, and men quickly over long distances. In addition, though agriculture thrived in the South, planters focused on cash crops like tobacco and cotton and did not produce enough food crops to feed the southern population (â€Å"Economy† 2004). The North, on the other hand, had enough food and enough factories to make weapons for all of its soldiers. It also had an extensive rail network that could transport men and weapons rapidly and cheaply. At first, this superiority of the North didnt seem to make much of a difference. Like many wars in history, those involved thought it would be over quickly. However, northern logistical capabilities would prove crucial as the war dragged on (â€Å"Economy† 2004). The second reason for Southern defeat was the fact that the South simply lacked any sort of coherent strategy, military of otherwise. Inferior strategies employed by the South included: the defense of Richmond, the defense of the coastal areas, gaining the Border States into the Confederacy, the offensive defense of taking the war into Maryland and Pennsylvania, blockade running and privateers, as well as efforts to gain diplomatic recognition (or assistance) from Britain and/or France (Resch, 2005). The South utilized the few resources it had effectively, but the Southern railroads could not keep up to the demands placed on it, unlike the Northern railroads, which grew during the war. These several problems hindered the South greatly in winning the war. One might stop and wonder why the South was not more proactive in finding solutions to these problems, but the answer is obvious: the South simply did not have the centralized power structure and decision makers necessary to remedy its struggling economy (Resch, 2005). Thirdly, the South struggled greatly in the area of foreign affairs. The South constantly attempted to become recognized by other nations as its own independent power, but over the course of the war not a single foreign nation would formally recognize the Confederacy. One such country was Britain. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was officially neutral throughout the American Civil War, 1861-65 (Harrison, 2005). The Confederate strategy for securing independence was largely based on British and French military intervention, which never happened; however intervention would have meant war with the United States. A serious conflict between Britain and the United States erupted over the Trent Affair in 1861; it was resolved in a few months (Harrison, 2005). The quandary of the South in the area of foreign affairs was caused by the fact that Jefferson Davis believed that the British dependence on textiles would force the British into an alliance with the South due to its abundant cotton resources. As president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, left foreign policy to others in government and, rather than developing an aggressive diplomatic effort, tended to expect events to accomplish diplomatic objectives (Harrison, 2005). The new president was committed to the notion that cotton would secure recognition and legitimacy from the powers of Europe. The men Davis selected as secretary of state and emissaries to Europe were chosen for political and personal reasons – not for their diplomatic potential (Hersch, 2002). This was due, in part, to the belief that the demand for cotton could accomplish the Confederate objectives with little help from Confederate diplomats. One positive in the Confederacy’s foreign affairs was its ability to employ the British shipyard (John Laird nd Sons) to build two warships for the Confederacy, including the CSS Alabama, causing vehement protests from the United States (Harrison, 2005). The controversy continued after the Civil War in the form of the Alabama Claims, in which the United States finally was given $15. 5 million in arbitration by an international tribunal for damages caused by British-built warships (Harrison, 2005). The British built and operated most of the blockade runners, spending hundreds of millions of pounds on them; but that was legal and not the cause of serious tension. In the end, these instances of British involvement neither shifted the outcome of the war nor provoked the U. S. into declaring war against Britain. The United States diplomatic mission headed by Minister Charles Francis Adams, Sr. proved much more successful than the Confederate missions, which were never officially recognized (Harrison, 2005). Fourthly, is the fact that the South did not possess a dominating civilian leader. The Confederacy was also not as unified as is commonly thought. Parts of the Confederacy were extremely loyal while others such as East Tennessee were hotbeds of Unionist activity (Resch, 2005). These citizens resisted Confederate drafts, and refused to pay Confederate taxes. Many of these Unionists formed groups of activists to resist the Confederate government. Confederate loyalists persecuted unionists in East Tennessee and in other areas (Resch, 2005). Nevertheless, internal opposition to the Confederacy hurt the stability of a region as well as undermined the war effort. These shortcomings in civilian leadership lead to the downfall of the Confederacy, because without the people supporting the cause or stepping up to participate in the war effort, there could be no hope of ever winning the war (Resch, 2005). Finally, the success of the South was ultimately doomed as soon as Abraham Lincoln took office as President. With the election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln on November 6, 1860, South Carolina, followed by six other states, seceded from the Union (Kelly, 2009). Even though his views about slavery were considered moderate during the nomination and election, South Carolina had warned it would secede if he won. This attitude was encouraged by the confederate leaders in the South, and it was this bigoted resentment that was a contributing factor to the start of the Civil War (Kelly, 2009). Lincoln agreed with the majority of the Republican Party that the South was becoming too powerful, and made it part of their platform that slavery would not be extended to any new territories or states added to the union. One could imagine how this would anger the South and cause them to feel threatened by the North. Here was a republican President from the North taking the side of the North in not allowing the South to expand its lucrative business of slavery. Lincoln perhaps single handedly started and ended the Civil War, whether implicitly or not. However, Lincoln was not the only reason the war started, he was only the final push the South needed to break away from the Union. More clear, however, is the fact that he did indeed the end the Civil War through his well-founded and composed politics and strategies. There were two major moves made by Lincoln that heavily influenced the outcome of the war, these were the Gettysburg Address and the Emancipation Proclamation (Kelly, 2009). The first was a moving and decided blow against the image of the South. Part of the address is as follows: â€Å"†¦Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. But, in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate we cannot consecrate we cannot hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth† (as stated in The Gettysburg Address 1863), The people could not ignore the words of President Lincoln, and the South could not refute them with any sort of fact. Truth be told, what Lincoln uttered in his address was the truth itself, and not even Jefferson Davis could argue that. And secondly was the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves in states of the Union; although this did not free every slave in the Continental U. S. it was a start and a colossal blow to the morale of the Confederate army as well as its citizens. The Union proved at that time that it was far more organized and unified in its cause because of the great leader it had in Abraham Lincoln (Kelly 2009). The fact that the South lost the Civil War has been a highly debated issue throughout the history of the United States and the reasons for this loss continue to be tossed around and discussed even to this day, however these five pervious factors consistently reemerge as reasons as to the defeat of the Confederate Army and their reentrance into the Union. The words that would best describe this are the words Lincoln used three years prior to the Civil War, â€Å"A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. † He was correct, it could not and would not stand divided; in the end the United States was one country and always would be.

Free Essay on Nathaniel Hawthornes Scarlet Letter - Spiritual Growth of Hester Prynne :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter: The Spiritual Growth of Hester Prynne The character of Hester Prynne changed significantly throughout the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester Prynne, through the eyes of the Puritans, is an extreme sinner; she has gone against the Puritan ways, committing adultery. For this harsh sin, she must wear a symbol of shame for the rest of her life. However, the Romantic philosophies of Hawthorne put down the Puritanic beliefs. She is a beautiful, young woman who has sinned, but is forgiven. Hawthorne portrays Hester as "divine maternity" and she can do no wrong. Not only Hester, but the physical scarlet letter, a Puritanical sign of disownment, is shown through the author's tone and diction as a beautiful, gold and colorful piece. From the beginning, we see that Hester Prynne is a young and beautiful woman who has brought a child into the world with an unknown father. She is punished by Puritan society by wearing the scarlet letter A on the bosom of her dress and standing on the scaffold for three hours. Her hair is a glossy brown and her eyes deep-set, and black, her attire is rich, carefully caressing her slender figure. The scaffold is a painful task to bear; the townspeople gathered around to gossip and stare at Hester and her newborn child, whom she suitably named Pearl, named because of her extreme value to her mother. In the disorder of faces in the crowd, young Hester Prynne sees the face of a man she once was fiercely familiar with, whom we later learn is her true husband, Roger Chillingworth. Her subjection to the crowd of Puritan onlookers is excruciating to bear, and Hester holds the child to her heart, a symbolic comparison between the child and the scarlet letter, implying that they are trul y both intertwined. Prynne is imprisoned with her child, both of whom are emotionally and physically exhausted from the punishment at the scaffold. The husband, Roger Chillingworth, passes by and is commissioned to be the physician to the two, and remedy them of their sicknesses. She is surprised he had come at such a time where she was at a point of such horrendous turmoil. He demands that she cannot reveal his identity, yet he also wishes to know the identity of her lover, the father of the child. She refuses to tell him.

Fundamentalist: the Fine Line Between Religion and Cult Essay

In the case of the Church of Latter Day Saints, fine lines are drawn in the societal perception of this group of people. Their doctrines and practices make the American public debate whether they are a religion or a cult. The largest factor in the decided public perception lies mainly in their belief of polygamy. While the Church of Latter Day Saints denounced the practice in the 1890s, fundamentalist sects formed over the subject continuing to perpetuate the connection between Mormonism and polygamy. This fundamentalist practice, along with a few doctrines, continues to keep the Mormon faith as an â€Å"outside religion† in the eyes of the general American public. The practice of polygamy is central to the tenants of Mormon faith, extending back to the founder, Joseph Smith. Smith was not the first religious leader to support multiple wives. The Oneida perfectionist supported the practice of polygamy in backlash against the changing family norms due to industrialization (White). Families no longer needed to be large in size to help in a rural farm setting. Smith, being of a displaced farm family, soon craved a change in family life. According to White, Jr. , Smith’s â€Å"personal experience of economic insecurity, death of siblings, and fragile community structure also reinforced his quest for renewing the kinship and community bonds† (White). In some sort of subconscious need for a sense of community stemming from childhood experiences, Smith begins the practice of taking multiple wives. His reasons, according to the faith, are sound. His primary argument is that it was revealed to him by God. The belief in revelations is highly respected by Mormons and is one of the most distinguishing traits of the faith (Perry). It will be discussed in further detail later. Smith also called attention to multiple Old Testament passages that promote polygamy. Yet, his final argument is what upholds this practice today, procreation. Smith argued that, â€Å"man’s righteousness is measured by the size of his family† (Anderson). A proper Mormon man was expected to extensively multiple his family in order to provide more individuals to spread the faith. After social disagreements in several states, many members of the Church of Latter Day Saints fled to western territories hoping to find; â€Å"geographical, social, and cultural isolation required to implement their radical social agenda† (White). However, as the nation grew smaller and assimilation to the mainstream culture became desirable, in addition to persecution by the Federal Government, the Church of Latter Day Saints changed one of their founding principles. Essentially, in the fight for Utah territory statehood, the Mormon Church traded their practice of polygamy. This trade caused dissention among the ranks and multiple fundamentalist sects formed, continuing their practices in even more isolated communities. Joseph Musser, a prophet of the faith, established a fundamentalist community at Short Creek, Utah, that still exists today. There, families live in multi-wife homes where the domestic work is divided between eight or nine women, sometimes many more. The polygamous relationships are consensual and most women have little complaints about their situations. There are many reasons why the women choose to stay. Mainly, they don’t know anything else (Anderson). The religious beliefs they were raised with have been preparing them to be a plural wife. Rowenna Erikson, a plural wife who was excommunicated after speaking out against the treatment of women, says that growing up she; â€Å"sensed that [she] was supposed to be a plural wife mostly because [her] mother guided [her] in that direction. [She] didn’t really want to marry this way but [she] felt pressured and thought that this is what [she] had to do† (443). However, unlike Erikson, there are many women who enjoy their polygamous contract. To them, there is a sorority sense of community, their children are always cared for. During his stay at Short Creek, National Geographic journalist Scott Anderson also noticed a strange power that came with being a woman in the Mormon faith. Women are sought after in the community due to the need for reproduction creating a larger need for men to prove themselves as acceptable partners (Anderson). Brigham Young, another fundamentalist sect leader, also argued that polygamy allows all women the equal opportunity for marriage and, â€Å"†¦eliminates prostitution, economic exploitation and abandoned children† (White). Fundamentalist still argue procreation as a necessary reason for polygamy in the community. However, the main reasons fundamentalist broke off from the Church of Latter Day Saints were the revelations of new prophets. Both Brigham Young and Joseph Musser had revelations from God ordering them to take multiple wives and reproduce, and they weren’t the only ones. Fundamentalists refused to give into the assimilation of their religion. It is these radical, fundamental sects of the Church of Latter Day Saints, like Colorado City, Utah (formerly the Short Creek Community) that continue to tie the Mormon faith to the practice of polygamy. In doing so, along with ample aid from the American media, Mormonism is still considered by the mainstream to be â€Å"lumped into a category of ‘the religious outsiders’† (Perry). Yet, it is not only the practice of polygamy in these sects that support societies’ view. Several other practices continue to perpetuate their perception as part of the odd; some keep Mormons in isolated communities, some condone violence, and others speak out against the American government. Firstly, the practice of polygamy not only ostracized fundamentalist from the United States Government and mainstream, but also from the central Church of Latter Day Saints. Fundamentalist were heavily persecuted by elders of the church in the 1940s and 1950s culminating in the Short Creek Raid of 1953. American media broadcast children being ripped from mothers’ hands right into mainstream America’s living rooms. Decades of persecution and media misrepresentation only supported Mormon practices that led to communal isolation. One of these is the idea of The Gathering. Mormons believe that second coming of Christ is constantly near and that it is their duty to be ready no matter when it happens. Therefore, they live in tight knit communities that seek to prove their righteous existence to Christ. Secondly, their community is slightly communistic. There is the Law of Consecration that allows all property to be held in common and distributed (LeBaron). Additionally, United Order is the Mormon economic system of self-sufficiency (LeBaron). Both of these beliefs keep member separate from the mainstream and make it difficult to leave since they don’t have the rights to their own property. Additionally, many Fundamentalist believe in Blood Atonement established by Joseph Smith and Oaths of Vengeance. Blood Atonement is the basic belief of an eye for an eye. Smith preached that those who commit acts against Mormon should be punished with bloodshed for their sins. The Oath of Vengeance developed after the assassination of Smith stating that all Mormons are to pray for the sins committed against the prophet and should taught through lineages (LeBaron). Both of these practices have been used for justification for murder between sects. Murder justification has also come from the practices of personal revelation and heavenly visitations. As mentioned before, revelation is extremely important to the Mormon faith due to that fact that it is what the Church was founded on and from where most doctrines are derived. Personal revelations are the wishes of God and should be acted upon by faithful practitioners, yet, they give the prophet the okay from God to do whatever they want, even kill if needed (LeBaron). Obviously, murder is illegal in the United States, so how were the Mormons able, beyond personal revelation, to justify to their behavior in the court system? Fundamentalist practices believe in the triumph of God’s Law over Man’s Law. Due to their beliefs that they are forming a community for the return of Christ, Mormons believe they live in a theocratic society separate from Federal Government rule. Therefore, the rules set in place by God reign higher than those set in place by the state. Mormon belief justifies most actions, even murder, by claiming it as a personal revelation and an act of God’s will. Finally, in a religion where the members’ ultimate goal is to prepare for the end, Fundamentalist in the Church of Latter Day Saints awaits the fall of the United States Government. This belief, fueled by bitterness from lack of Federal aid in the 1820s, only reinforces the view that there is superior judgment than the United States Court system. While separation of church and state exists in the United States, Mormon religious beliefs, to a certain extent, defy that right claiming religious rule over states. There were several acts of violence that took place over the last forty years, all justified by different Mormon doctrines. Ervil LeBaron, a Fundamentalist prophet, used personal revelation for the reason he killed his brother in 1972. He then proceeded, with the same justification to kill dozens of others. LeBaron wasn’t finished when he was finally sent to jail. While in Utah State Penitentiary, LeBaron wrote the â€Å"The Book of New Covenants† ordering the deaths of members on God’s Will (LeBaron). His children then proceeded to follow his will working their way down his list. Ervil wasn’t the only one searching for power over the sects; the Lafferty brothers had similar problems in the 1980s. These events perpetuate public stereo types of the Mormon religion and polygamy. A survey I conducted of 25 people showed 100% of them still believe the Mormon Church officially sanctions polygamy and a cult like lifestyle (Venzen). It is these acts of violence based on God’s will that raise mainstream America’s eyebrows at the true classification of this faith. The violence stemming from radical sects also calls attention to Mormonism as an â€Å"other† in society and religious beliefs and raises questions to the credibility of the religion. Fundamentalist don’t only tie the Church of Latter Day Saints with polygamy. Acts of violence based on the will of a high power is often associated with cults as, â€Å"murder and suicide have been inseparable on other [cult] occasions† (Lamberg 2). Additionally, Rowenna Erickson considered her upbringing as a plural wife to be â€Å"brainwashing†, another cult practice, and even outwardly claims Mormonism as a â€Å"polygamist cult†. According to cult studies, the sought out isolation of the Fundamentalist communities only reflects that the, â€Å"†¦cult seeks to control disciples’ entire environment, not only externally but also reaching internally, as if reality were the group’s exclusive possession† (Lamberg 1). The question then remains. Is the practice of Mormonism, the Church of Latter Day Saints, an organized religion or a cult? The practice of polygamy leads the public to view the Church and its Fundamentalist counterparts as one. Therefore, can the debate of organized religion versus cult be separated by the central Church of Latter Day Saints and the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints?

Brand Communication

Journal of Consumer Marketing Emerald Article: Brand communities for mainstream brands: the example of the Yamaha R1 brand community Reto Felix Article information: To cite this document: Reto Felix, (2012),†Brand communities for mainstream brands: the example of the Yamaha R1 brand community†, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 29 Iss: 3 pp. 225 – 232 Permanent link to this document: http://dx. doi. org/10. 1108/07363761211221756 Downloaded on: 08-10-2012 References: This document contains references to 47 other documents To copy this document: [email  protected] comAccess to this document was granted through an Emerald subscription provided by Dublin City University For Authors: If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service. Information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www. emeraldinsight. com/authors for more information. About Emerald www. emeraldinsight. com With over forty years' experience, Emerald Group Publishing is a leading independent publisher of global research with impact in business, society, public policy and education.In total, Emerald publishes over 275 journals and more than 130 book series, as well as an extensive range of online products and services. Emerald is both COUNTER 3 and TRANSFER compliant. The organization is a partner of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and also works with Portico and the LOCKSS initiative for digital archive preservation. *Related content and download information correct at time of download. Brand communities for mainstream brands: the example of the Yamaha R1 brand community Reto Felix ? Department of Business Administration, University of Monterrey, San Pedro Garza Garc? , Mexico Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this study is to understand consumers’ product use, practices, identity, and brand meanings in the co ntext of a brand community dedicated to a mainstream Japanese motorcycle brand. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was used in the form of netnography (i. e. ethnography adapted to the study of online communities). Findings – On the product level, consumers experience multiple con? icts and negotiations of meaning related to the use of the product. These ? dings are reproduced on the brand level, where members of the brand community present a more differentiated look on the brand, accompanied by lower levels of admiration and identi? cation with the brand, as in previous reports of brand communities for brands such as Apple, Jeep, or Harley-Davidson. The results suggest that consumers for mainstream brands may be more prone to multi-brand loyalty instead of single-brand loyalty. Practical implications – Marketers should monitor motivations, attitudes, and decision-making processes on both the product and the brand level.Further, non-co mpany-run online communities such as the Yamaha R1 forum bear the risk of community members transmitting brand information in a way not desired by the company. Thus, marketers should consider sponsoring an entire discussion website, a forum, or part of a forum. Originality/value – Whereas previous studies on brand communities have concentrated predominantly on highly admired and differentiated brands, such as Apple or Harley-Davidson, this study investigates consumer practices, identities, and negotiations of meaning on both the product and brand level for a less differentiated mainstream brand.Keywords Brand community, Brand loyalty, Netnography, Identity, Consumer behaviour, Brand management Paper type Research paper An executive summary for managers and executive readers can be found at the end of this article. Introduction to brand communities and literature review Community-based brand relationships in marketing literature have been discussed commonly with a focus on bra nd communities. A brand community is a â€Å"specialized, nongeographically bound community, based on a structured set ? f social relationships among admirers of a brand† (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001, p. 412). Brand communities have been found to be crucial in order to understand brand loyalty (Fournier and Lee, 2009; McAlexander et al. , 2002, 2003). They are based on a shared interest in the brand (Algesheimer et al. , 2005) and, more speci? cally, on the three characteristics of consciousness of kind, shared rituals and traditions, and a ? sense or moral responsibility (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). As a positive outcome of brand communities, consumers may engage in cocreation (Schau et al. 2009), and religious-like relationships between consumers and brands may evolve, as documented in the case of the Apple Newton brand ? ? community (Muniz and Schau, 2005; Schau and Muniz, 2006). The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www. emeraldin sight. com/0736-3761. htm Journal of Consumer Marketing 29/3 (2012) 225– 232 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited [ISSN 0736-3761] [DOI 10. 1108/07363761211221756] Because of their geographical independence, brand communities can exist in the form of local clubs or interest groups (Algesheimer et al. 2005; Schouten and McAlexander, 1995), entirely on the Internet (Kozinets, ? 1997; Muniz and Schau, 2005), or in combined form (Kozinets, 2001). Further, brand communities have emerged for virtually any product, such as cars (Algesheimer et al. , 2005; Leigh et al. , 2006; Luedicke et al. , 2010; McAlexander ? et al. , 2002; Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001; Schouten et al. , 2007), motorbikes (Schouten and McAlexander, 1995), computers (Belk and Tumbat, 2005), groceries (Cova and Pace, 2006), or movies and television series (Brown et al. , 2003; Kozinets, 2001).The common denominator of the brands patronized in brand communities is a clear and unique positioning in combination with consumers who strongly identify with the brand. Consumers de? ne themselves by the brands they consume as well as the brands they do not consume, and brands are clearly classi? ed into â€Å"our brands† ? and â€Å"other brands† by the community (Muniz and Hamer, 2001). In other words, members of a particular brand community are not only supposed to be more loyal to the own brand, but also substantially less loyal to competing brands.This phenomenon has been described as oppositional brand ? loyalty by Muniz and O’Guinn (2001) and may lead to enhanced intergroup stereotyping, trash talk targeted at members outside the community, and emotional pleasures from news about a rival’s failure (Hickman and Ward, 2007). In extreme cases, oppositional brand loyalty can turn into active consumer resistance or anti-brand communities (Hollenbeck and Zinkhan, 2006; Luedicke et al. , 2010). However, brand communities are not free of oppositional forces and negotiations of meaning coming from inside.Rather, brand communities may embrace consumers who are 225 Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 critical with the brand or the product in general, and it would thus be overly optimistic to expect equally high levels of loyalty from all visitors of a brand community. For example, Kozinets (1999) classi? es members of virtual communities according to the identi? cation with the consumption activity (or brand) and the intensity of the social relationships with other members of the community.Whereas insiders show both high levels of brand identi? cation and social orientation towards the community, other members may have lower levels of brand identi? cation (minglers), lower levels of social relationships with the community (devotees), or both (tourists). Especially consumers who are simultaneously members in competing brand communities in the same product ca tegory may have high levels of participation in the communities, but without showing high levels of brand loyalty or admiration for the brands (Thompson and Sinha, 2008).In an application of these segmentation approaches to a sample of videogame players (Settlers of Catan) and a Swatch brand community, Ouwersloot and Odekerken-Schroder ? (2008) ? nd one segment of community members who are highly interested in the product, but not in the brand (36 and 7 percent, respectively) and a second segment including consumers who are neither interested in the product, the brand, or social relationships, yet still prefer to remain in the community (15 and 7 percent, respectively).Thus, it can be argued that consumer responses, such as satisfaction or loyalty, operate not only on the brand, but also on the product level (Torres-Moraga et al. , 2008). In the following analysis of an online brand community for a Japanese mainstream motorcycle brand, it is shown how consumers negotiate product and brand meanings, and how identity construction and brand attitudes are affected. The analysis is divided into a ? rst part on issues related to the activity and practices of riding a sports bike and the identity of sports bike consumers in general, and a second part on brand attitudes and how brands mediate identity construction. as chosen as the primary data source. Yamaha is one of four mainstream Japanese motorcycle brands with worldwide sales of US$12. 5 billion in 2009 (Yamaha Motor Co. , 2009). As a comparison, Harley Davidson’s same year consolidated sales from motorcycles and related products were US$4. 3 billion (Harley-Davidson, 2009). The Yamaha R1 forum is primarily dedicated to Yamaha’s top-of-the-range sport bike, the Yamaha R1, but there are also members subscribed to the forum who either have motorbikes from different brands, such as Honda, Suzuki, Kawasaki, or Ducati, or who currently do not have a motorbike.As of June 14, 2010, the R1 forum had 107,24 9 subscribed members and more than four million postings in approximately 265,000 threads. The threads in the forum are organized into ? ve different sections: 1 Community 2 R1-related discussion 3 Technique, racing, and stunt discussion 4 Marketplace/classi? ed. 5 Misc. section. After starting reading threads in the Community section, it was possible to identify preliminary themes and issues by further browsing through the postings. At a very early stage of the research, evidence was found for more complex and ambiguous brand relationships than in previous studies on brand communities.Following a purposive sampling approach (Lincoln and Guba, 1985; Wallendorf and Belk, 1989), reading and downloading posts were continued as long as analysis of the postings generated new insights and did not lead to redundancy (Belk et al. , 1988). At a later stage of the study, the forum’s search engine was used to immerse more systematically into the data. Over the period between August 2006 and June 2010, around 10,000 postings were read, of which approximately 300 were downloaded. Organization, analysis, and ethical procedures In a ? st step, downloaded postings were pre-classi? ed into different categories and reoccurrences were coded by assigning one or several codes to the statements in the postings. Using an iterative approach, jumping back and forth between coded and uncoded statements facilitated the interpretation of the data. Codes were then condensed into more meaningful constructs and subsequently into interpretive themes in order to obtain relevant layers of meaning and richly textured interpretations (Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994).This procedure allowed a grounded, hermeneutic interpretation to emerge from the data that did not strive for representativeness, but rather for analytic depth and relevance. In order to impede the tracking of forum members’ identities, user names were changed to generic member names, such as â€Å"forum member 1. † Deviating from Kozinets’ (2002) recommendations, permissions from community members to use direct quotations were not requested. The reason for this decision was twofold: First, in an initial attempt to contact community members, only one response out of ten emails sent was obtained.If only those postings had been used that responses had been received for, the pool of usable data had been reduced signi? cantly. And second, Langer and Beckman’s (2005) reasoning was considered in that postings in an internet community forum are intentionally public postings, comparable to readers’ letters in a newspaper, and that it would be highly unusual to seek 226 Method Netnography was used to explore brand relationships and identity construction for an online community of a mainstream Japanese motorcycle brand. Netnography has been de? ed as â€Å"ethnography adapted to the study of online communities† (Kozinets, 2002, p. 61) and has been used in consumption context s such as the X-Files (Kozinets, 1997), Star Trek (Kozinets, 2001, 2006), wedding messages (Nelson and Otnes, 2005), cars (Brown et al. , 2003), and consumer gift systems (Giesler, 2006). Similar to traditional ethnography, netnography is open-ended, interpretative, ? exible, metaphorical, and grounded in the knowledge of the speci? c and particularistic (Kozinets, 2002). However, netnography is usually faster, simpler, and less expensive than traditional ethnography (Kozinets, 2002, 2006).Further, it has been argued that new online communication technologies have â€Å"expanded the array of generalized others contributing to the construction of the self† (Cerulo, 1997, p. 386), and netnography as a tool of analyzing online communities is thus able to integrate the broadened spectrum of agents involved in the construction of individual and collective identity. Data collection Because of its size and relevance for the motorcycle community, the Yamaha R1 forum (www. r1-forum. c om) Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 ermission to use direct quotations in this context. However, Kozinet’s concerns about adequate ethical procedures in netnography research are certainly valid, and the pragmatic issue (non-responses for permission requests) ? nally was the one that complicated following his recommendations. The product level: practice and identity Although recreational motorcycling in general is considered a high-risk leisure time activity, there are different segments within the motorcycle community that distinguish themselves in attitudes and behaviors related to riding style and speed.On one extreme of street bike riding are the easy-rider oriented owners of choppers or touring bikes who prefer to ride at moderate speeds and enjoy the immediate experience with the environment. On the other extreme are sports bike enthusiasts who prefer a fast, competiti ve riding style that is often accompanied by the exhibition of riding skills and risky stunting maneuvers such as performing wheelies (Haigh and Crowther, 2005).Commercial sports bikes aim to be copies of racing bikes used by professional riders at the Moto GP or Superbike competitions, and a modern liter bike, available at dealerships for under US$15,000, accelerates from zero to 200 km/h (125 miles) in less than ten seconds and reaches speeds in excess of 290 km/h (180 miles). A complete safety gear, consisting of helmet, leather gear, gloves, and boots, is considered an obligation for any sports bike rider by some, but lead to mock comments by others, ridiculing the â€Å"power ranger† out? t of sports bike riders. An important number of psychological and social con? cts are derived from the inherent nature of sports bike riding. Physical, functional, ? nancial, psychological and social risks form a complex, multilayered ? eld of tensions and constraints that are constantl y negotiated by the individual, both internally and externally, and rarely resolved with simple heuristics. The actual or anticipated implications of an accident are dominant in many of the comments on the R1 forum, as the following sequence of succeeding narratives related to accidents and quitting riding suggests: I quit riding one time in my life.I was just getting married, building a house, etc. [. . . ] and coincidentally I was involved in a string of near misses: cars cutting me off, almost getting side swiped by an idiot who didn’t know how to turn into his own lane, getting run off road and up over a curb through a gas station parking lot by a garbage truck who just decided he wanted to cut across two lanes with no warning. It was my opinion that there was just some bad energy around me right then, and with all the other stress in my life maybe it was adding to the problem. I don’t know.I hung it up for a few years, then got back into it when everything felt ri ght again. It still feels right [. . . ] all the while I’ve witnessed bike wrecks, been close to others’ fatal accidents, laid my own bike down at a track day, etc. [. . . ] but it still feels right for me. My single rule is that as long as my head is in the game, then it’s â€Å"rightâ€Å". If my head is constantly focusing on crashing, dying, etc. [. . . ] then it’s time to take another time-out. Shouldn’t be riding if you can’t focus on what you’re doing. Period. No shame in that (forum member 1).I’ve seen bad accidents but also I believe its mental. With so many, â€Å"I’ve gone down† threads, it can eat your con? dence away and make riding not fun. If it ain’t fun, that’s a good time to step back and let time rebuild your enjoyment (forum member 2). [. . . ] Subscribed [. . . ] (forum member 3). Personally everyday that I wake up and am fortunate enough to ride I tell my wife I love her I get my brain focused and I always keep reminding myself that this could be my last ride and I think that is half the reason I ride so responsibly on the street.I don’t want to have a last ride I love this sport. I have been down once very hard and that was a wake up call but I can’t give up what I love and to all my friends and fellow riders if I do go down and don’t get up please keep riding for me cause I would do the same (forum member 4). The con? ict between the hedonistic and aesthetic pleasures of riding a bike and the inherent risks involved in the activity becomes salient in forum member 2 comment about how riding a motorcycle should be related to fun. Speci? life events, such as those mentioned in forum member 1 narrative, amplify these tensions and may lead to important changes in attitudes or behaviors. However, these attitudinal or behavioral changes are frequently dynamic and unstable in time. For example, the decision to quit riding is in many cases a temporal one, and forum members compare riding to an addiction such as drinking or smoking. This addiction-like need to ride a motorbike then becomes an important factor in identity construction: From the point of view of the individual, riders do not choose riding a motorbike in order to signal certain values.Rather, as expressed by forum member 4, the activity forms a natural part of the self and is just there, similar to early conceptualizations of gender or race in the essentialist identity logic. Riding a bike is elevated to a mission that does not leave room for choices, and fellow riders are encouraged to honor the dead by continuing the mission and keeping the spirit alive. The inherent trait of being addicted to motorcycles is assessed critically in a re? ective discourse by many riders. For example, forum member 5 explains that he is aware of the multiple con? cts that surround his hobby, but apparently resolves these con? icts by stating that riding is the most importan t thing in his life, and that he has learned that riding makes him happy. The shared consciousness and discourse related to themes such as the risk of experiencing a severe accident, losing a fellow rider, or problems with girlfriends, spouses, or the family in general, leads to a collective identity that is constructed, complex, and deprived of precise classi? cations. The brand level: attitudes mediating identity constructionThe negotiations of meaning related to the practice of riding a sports bike are reproduced at the more speci? c brand level. Whereas previous research on brand communities has been largely focused on communities with extraordinary high levels of brand loyalty and commitment, members of the R1 sports bike community show a more ambiguous and differentiated relationship with the Yamaha brand: I’m really faithful to Yamaha, but when sitting on a new R1 and a new GSXR1000 side by side, I have to say I like the Suzuki. The R1 just feels so much [. . . bigger. I don’t know. Also, the magazines bitch about the suspension [. . . ] yet how many serious track people leave suspension stock anyway? Regardless, I’m too poor to buy a new bike, so I’ll continue riding my 02 R1 on the track (forum member 6). Faithfulness in this context is not experienced as absolute loyalty to only one brand. Rather, it is legitimate to question publicly the qualities of the favorite brand. Contrary to what might be expected, forum member 6 receives very few objections from the community members, and a relatively ational, attribute-based discussion of the merits and disadvantages of different motorcycle brands and models follows. In general, discourses presented by the forum members include few elements of real enthusiasm and emotional commitment for the brand. Apparently, community members perceive both the products and the brands in the sports bike category as little differentiated. This does not mean that R1 owners are dissatis? ed with th eir bike 227 Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 r the Yamaha brand in general. Rather, the speci? c situation of the sports bike community suggests customers who are highly satis? ed with their brand, yet nevertheless would switch to another brand easily. It has been suggested that brand loyalty can be measured by asking individuals how likely it is they would recommend the brand to a friend or colleague (Reichheld, 2003). Because people new to sports bike riding frequently ask for advice on the forum, a great number of posts are related to what bike from which brand would be recommended.Typical answers include statements such as â€Å"any of the new bikes are great† (forum member 7) or â€Å"I’ve spent some time on all the bikes and seriously there is no true winner, no matter what you get nowadays is a rocket out of the crate and you will be getting a good bike! Each has its ups and down but overall I could see myself on any of them really! † (forum member 8). Rather than showing indifference, consumers like and actually buy any of the important sports bike brands.Using the conceptual partition of the awareness set into an evoked set, an inert set, and an inept set (Narayana and Markin, 1975; Spiggle and Seawall, 1987), it seems that R1 community members place most of the important sports bike brands into the evoked set, whereas the inert set is relatively small. Instead of a highly committed loyalty to one single brand, as in previous accounts of brand communities, the Yamaha R1 brand community is, if anything, prone to multi-brand or split loyalty (Jacoby, 1971; Jacoby and Kyner, 1973). Identity is thus less de? ed by a speci? c brand, but rather by the activity of riding a sports bike itself. Wherever brand personalities in? uence decision making, it seems that these criteria are exclusive rather than inclusive. That is, the considerat ion set is not formed by the inclusion of a speci? c brand or set of brands, but rather by excluding unattractive brands. For example, in the R1 forum, some members distance themselves from Suzuki, one of Yamaha’s main competitors, because they don’t identify with the people who ride Suzukis: Yes, gixxer is by far the â€Å"squid bike† all the ? st time riders and newbies love the gixxers [. . . ] Their mentality and unfriendly attitude is because they are young, dumb, and think their bike is the best ever (forum member 9). the brand and clash with the otherwise positively perceived performance and quality of the product. The identity of the R1 brand community is further formed by the relationship with two other groups of motorcycles. On one hand, most forum members seem to admire the more exclusive Italian sports bike brands, such as Ducati and MV Agusta.On the other hand, the relationship to Harley Davidson is not marked by a clear distinction of acceptance ve rsus rejection pattern, but rather by a complicated and sometimes ambiguous pattern of mixed emotions toward the brand and its users: There are a lot of douche bag riders, Harley and sportbike alike, but I will admit I’ve ? ipped off quite a few Harley riders. I’ve gotten less camaraderie from Harley riders than anyone, but those are just the young wannabies, the old guys are usually cool tho, hahaha (forum member 10). In motorcycle slang, Gixxer stands for Suzuki’s GSX-R line of super sport motorbikes.Forum members do not reject the Suzuki brand because of issues with the quality or performance of the product, but rather because of the characteristics of the riders who use the brand. Squid, an expression that, according to some forum members, is a combination of the two words â€Å"squirrel† and â€Å"kid,† describes irresponsible motorcycle riders who overestimate their riding skills and frequently wear inappropriate and insuf? cient riding gear. By claiming that the Suzuki GSX-R series is the typical squid bike, attributes of the consumers are ascribed to the brand.Thus, brand identity is built on exclusion (â€Å"this is not how we want to be†) rather than on inclusion. Further, meaning transfer in this case deviates substantially from the traditional symbolic consumption process. Symbolic consumption suggests that individuals transfer the symbolic meaning of a brand to themselves, and subsequently the audience, such as peers and signi? cant others, assigns the attributes of the brand to the individual (Grubb and Grathwohl, 1967). However, meaning in the example above is transferred in the reverse direction, from the user to the brand.Negative attributes of Suzuki brand users (such as being squiddish, dumb, and inexperienced) are transferred to 228 Here, forum member 10 develops a differentiated look toward Harley-Davidson riders by explaining that the less friendly Harley riders are typically those that are younge r (and thus less experienced), whereas the older riders seem to be more open. Both positive and negative feelings co-exist at the same time as the result of a cognitive evaluation that avoids simple stereotyping found at other brand communities.Many R1 forum members perceive the Harley-Davidson brand as both cool and obsolete at the same time, and this ambiguity toward the brand is replicated for the users of the brand, where Harley-Davidson riders have been experienced as both cool and authentic riders or as ignorant and unfriendly â€Å"weekend warriors. † Thus, brands in the R1 community are not iconic symbols that unambiguously communicate attitudes and lifestyles of brand users to the larger audience via the meaning of the brand.Rather, brands are complex, multidimensional entities that gain meaning only in the reciprocal relationship with the brand user. Unconditional single-brand loyalty and â€Å"we† versus â€Å"us† stereotypes are replaced in large par t by ambiguous, differentiated, and often critical attitudes toward the own brand. Brand identity is based on exclusion (Suzuki is a typical brand for squids) instead of inclusion, and within a relatively large evoked set, multi-brand loyalty is more common than religious-like brand worshipping described for, e. g. the Apple Newton. Conclusions and managerial implicationsBrand communities have sparked the interest of marketing researchers and practitioners alike because of the high levels of brand loyalty and commitment observed in previous studies on brands such as Apple, Jeep, or Harley Davidson. However, the results of this qualitative study suggest that instead of single-brand loyalty, consumers for mainstream brands may be more prone to multi-brand loyalty. As forum member 8 (see citation above) expressed it, â€Å"[. . . ] no matter what you get nowadays is a rocket out of the crate and you will be getting a good bike!Each has its ups and down but overall I could see myself o n any of them really! † The case of the Yamaha R1 brand community thus presents preliminary evidence that speci? c industry conditions may shape the relationships consumers have with their brand, and more speci? cally, that multi-brand loyalty is more probable to occur for low levels of brand differentiation (Felix, 2009) combined with more choices (Bennett and Rundle-Thiele, 2005). It follows that from the point of view of a company, having many members in a speci? c brand community does not necessarily translate into a highly loyal customer base.Rather, under certain Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 conditions, higher levels of participation may actually increase the likelihood of adopting products from competing brands, especially if individuals are simultaneously members in several brand communities (Thompson and Sinha, 2008). The results of this study suggest that market ers should monitor and track consumers’ motivations, attitudes, and decision making processes on two levels: On the product level, it is important for marketers to understand barriers and con? cts related to the general use of the product. In the speci? c case of a sports bike, the physical risk (in the form of experiencing a severe accident) is probably the most important issue, which in turn may lead to substantial social tensions, especially with family members. For other products, such as clothing, computers, or food, the motivations why consumers may or may not consider a speci? c product category may be different, but it remains essential to understand these reasons. On the brand level, it is important for marketers to understand the degree of brand identi? ation in the community as well as the way how consumers perceive a consciousness of kind, share rituals and traditions, and experience a sense of moral responsibility ? (Muniz and O’Guinn, 2001). In a world of online consumer-to-consumer communications, companies are increasingly losing control over their brands. It is therefore important for marketers to get involved in the process of image building and brand positioning in online communication platforms. Non-company-run communities, such as the Yamaha R1 forum, bear the risk of community members transmitting brand information in a way not desired by the company (Stokburger-Sauer, 2010).Marketers thus should try to integrate consumers by either sponsoring an entire discussion website, a forum, or part of a forum (Pitta and Fowler, 2005). Finally, an unobtrusive and authentic way of increasing a company’s involvement in a noncompany-run forum is exempli? ed by a company that provides motorcycle braking systems. One of the company’s employees invites Yamaha R1 forum members to ask him brake related questions and explains that he is on the forum not to sell, but to educate riders about brakes in general.By choosing a nonselli ng approach in the R1 forum, the company manages to gain credibility in the community and to build customer relationships that are more consumer-focused and authentic than many of the hard-selling approaches at the dealerships. The employee’s thread on brake questions has more than 600 postings, which is signi? cantly above the forum’s average of around 15 postings per thread, and evidences the interest of the community in a direct contact with company representatives. The example also suggests that online communities are not limited to relationships between consumers and the brand and between consumers and consumers.Rather, consumers develop complex relationships with several brands, products, marketing agents, and other consumers within the same community. brand love are divided among the different brands in the evoked set? Or is it possible that several brands receive the same amount of commitment and dedication, as might be claimed by a husband being in a polygynou s relationship with several wives? Finally, how can corporations increase their share in the multi-loyal brand set? 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Jr (2006), â€Å"A tale of tales: the Apple Newton narratives†, Journal of Strategic Marketing, Vol. 14 No. 1, pp. 19-33. ? Schau, H. J. Muniz, A. M. Jr and Arnould, E. J. (2009), â€Å"How brand community practices create value†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 73 No. 5, pp. 30-51. Schouten, J. W. and McAlexander, J. H. (1995), â€Å"Subcultures of consumption: an ethnography of the new bikers†, Journal of Consumer Research, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 43-61. Schouten, J. W. , McAlexander, J. H. and Koenig, H. F. (2007), â€Å"Transcendent customer experience and brand community†, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Vol. 35 No. 3, pp. 357-68. Spiggle, S. and Seawall, M. A. (1987), â€Å"A choice sets model of retail selection†, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 1 No. 2, pp. 97-111. Stokburger-Sauer, N. (2010), â€Å"Brand communities: drivers and outcomes†, Psychology & Marketing, Vol. 24 No. 4, pp. 347-68. Thompson, S. A. and Sinha, R. K. (2008), â€Å"Brand communities and new product adoption: the in? uence and limits of oppositional loyalty†, Journal of Marketing, Vol . 72 No. 6, pp. 65-80. ? Torres-Moraga, E. , Vasquez-Parraga, A. Z. and Zamora? Gonzalez, J. (2008), â€Å"Customer satisfaction and loyalty: start with the product, culminate with the brand†, Journal of Consumer Marketing, Vol. 25 No. 2, pp. 302-13. Wallendorf, M. and Belk, R.W. (1989), â€Å"Assessing trustworthiness in naturalistic consumer research†, in Hirschman, E. C. (Ed. ), Interpretive Consumer Research, Association for Consumer Research, Provo, UT, pp. 69-84. Yamaha Motor Co. (2009), â€Å"Annual report†, available at: www. yamaha-motor. co. jp/global/ir/material/pdf/2009/2009 annual-e. pdf (accessed June 14, 2010). About the author Reto Felix is an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Monterrey, Mexico. He received his Master’s in Marketing and PhD in Business Administration from the University of St Gallen, Switzerland.He has been a Visiting Scholar at the Marketing Group, Haas School of Business, University of California, Ber keley, and has published in journals such as Journal of International Marketing, Journal of Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 Business & Industrial Marketing, and Journal of International Consumer Marketing. Further, he has presented his research at conferences hosted by the Association for Consumer Research, the American Marketing Association, the Academy of Marketing Science and the Society for Marketing Advances.Reto Felix can be contacted at: [email  protected] edu. mx Executive summary and implications for managers and executives This summary has been provided to allow managers and executives a rapid appreciation of the content of this article. Those with a particular interest in the topic covered may then read the article in toto to take advantage of the more comprehensive description of the research undertaken and its results to get the full bene? ts of the material present . The topic of brand communities has provided the focus for much marketing literature.Brand communities transcend geographical boundaries and contain people who exhibit passion for a particular brand. These individuals also display similarities in consciousness while â€Å"shared rituals and traditions† is another cornerstone of their social relationships. Some scholars have even noted the propensity for â€Å"religious-like† associations to develop. Evidence shows that groups can be based locally, online or a combination of both. A wide range of products has supplied the inspiration for brand communities to form. In addition to strong consumer identi? ation with the brands, â€Å"clear and unique positioning† is viewed as a common characteristic among brands concerned. Brand loyalty can be fervent to a degree that an â€Å"us and them† mentality often arises with regard to other brands. Bonding within the community can generate stereotypes and outsiders are treated with some disdain. Any failure of competitor brands is cause for celebration. It is, however, a misconception to assume that brand communities are always homogenous. Signi? cant internal differences appear to be the rule not the exception.Relationship intensity with other members is subject to variation because some are loyal to the brand while others may identify more closely with the product. Levels of social orientation can similarly differ. Researchers have also pointed out the possibility of some individuals lacking interest in brand, product and social relationships yet remaining in the community. Others might become involved with different brand communities in the same product category, resulting in further dissemination of loyalty. Felix explores the topic in a study of an online Yamaha brand community principally devoted to the Japanese manufacturer’s R1 luxury sports otorcycle. Yamaha is one of the world’s leading brands in its category and in 200 9 boasted sales of $12. 5 billion. At the time of the study, there were 107,249 registered members in the R1 forum. Some members did not currently own a motorcycle, while others possessed a different brand. The author considers netnography as the most relevant study method for the investigation of brand relationships and â€Å"identity construction of an online community†. This approach is regarded as ethnography adapted for the purpose of exploring online communities. Among other things, netnography has been commended for its ? xibility, 231 open-endedness and interpretative qualities. Different researchers have used the approach in a variety of study contexts including cars, consumer gifts and TV programs. Following initial analysis of messages posted on the forum, the threads were arranged into ? ve different sections respectively labeled as: Community; R1-related Discussion; Technique, Racing and Stunt Discussion; Marketplace/ Classi? ed; and Miscellaneous Section. Analys is of the threads enabled messages to be coded and then organized into â€Å"interpretive themes† so that appropriate â€Å"layers of meaning† could be identi? d. Message themes were analyzed at the product level to ascertain factors which in? uence practice and identity. In general, considerable risk is associated with riding a motorcycle for leisure purposes. But the variation in attitudes towards factors like speed and riding style means that different segments exist within the biking community. At one end of the continuum are those who ride around at moderate speeds to savor the experience with the environment. Positioned at the other extreme are bikers whose penchant for high speed is often accompanied by an aggressive style of riding.Such individuals are also likelier to ? aunt their biking skills through dangerous maneuvers like pulling wheelies. According to Felix, riding a motorcycle gives rise to various risks and con? icts that can be physical, functional, ? nancial, psychological or social in nature. The activity is therefore highly complex and generates a web of â€Å"tensions and constraints† that the individual must constantly address internally and externally. Concern about accidents is a recurring theme with community members referring to â€Å"actual or anticipated implications† in that eventuality.Message content reveals that con? ict exists between knowledge of the intrinsic risks associated with bike riding and the grati? cation derived from it. Forum members suggest that such tensions may prompt attitude or behavioral changes, albeit sometimes ? eeting in nature. This occurs because riding a motorcycle is almost addictive and an important aspect of identity construction. Some comments imply that it is a â€Å"mission† that simply has to be ful? lled. Even though members are aware of the con? icts which surround this pastime, the desire to ride is the main driving force.Analysis reveals a â€Å"shared co nsciousness† about issues including serious accidents, loss of a fellow biker, and problems relating to the family. The author ascertains a collective identity that is complex in nature but dif? cult to categorize precisely. An examination of meaning at the speci? c brand level reveals a relationship between forum members and the Yamaha brand that is â€Å"ambiguous and differentiated†. Instead of absolute loyalty to the brand, it is more evident that people engage in balanced debate about its qualities and those of other motorcycle brands.Members apparently perceive little differentiation between brands and may switch to another brand even if they are highly satis? ed. Many studies have noted that some consumers can display loyalty to multiple brands and there is some evidence of this tendency here. Messages seeking advice on future purchases are frequent and members typically recommend a range of brands they consider decent. In the opinion of Felix, this indicates tha t riding a sports motorcycle de? nes identity much more that the speci? c brand of bike. Another signi? cant ? nding is how decision making seems in? enced more by exclusive than inclusive brand criteria. A Brand communities for mainstream brands Reto Felix Journal of Consumer Marketing Volume 29  · Number 3  · 2012  · 225 –232 key example is the negative perceptions of the Suzuki brand among some R1 forum members. The interesting fact about this hostility is that is has little to do with product quality concerns. Instead, such evaluation arises because members question those who ride Suzuki sport bikes. With regard to identity construction, meaning is normally transferred from brand to individual. Here, however, it is the negative traits of Suzuki riders that re transferred to the brand. Some con? ict with positive perceptions of the product subsequently occurs. That brands are complex and multidimensional is further illustrated by the contrasting ways in which R1 memb ers relate to Harley Davidson. Positive and negative feelings exist simultaneously as the brand is regarded as cool yet obsolete. Contrasting statements are likewise directed at Harley Davidson riders. One important deduction is that ambiguity surrounds brand meaning, attitude and lifestyle conveyed within this community. This study indicates that consumer-brand relations might be shaped by â€Å"speci? industry conditions†. Marketers are also alerted to lack of clear brand differentiation and the possibility that multi-brand loyalty will ensue, even when a large brand community exists. Understanding what in? uences consumer attitudes, motivations and decision-making at both product and brand level is essential. Certain factors may encourage or deter choice of a particular product, while it is equally important to be aware of brand identi? cation levels and collective sensitivities among consumers. Given the revealing nature of online communication, Felix suggests that ? ms m ight gain greater insight into consumer thinking by becoming actively involved in non-company forums. An unobtrusive approach is considered vital though. The aim should not be to sell but to build authentic consumer-focused relationships with an emphasis on providing advice or information. ? (A precis of the article â€Å"Brand communities for mainstream brands: the example of the Yamaha R1 brand community†. Supplied by Marketing Consultants for Emerald. ) To purchase reprints of this article please e-mail: [email  protected] com Or visit our web site for further details: www. emeraldinsight. com/reprints 232