The History of the Snowmaking Machine

The History of the Snowmaking Machine By definition, snow is crystallized ice particles that have the physical integrity and the strength to maintain their shape.† It’s normally created by Mother Nature, but when Mother Nature doesn’t deliver and commercial ski resorts or movie makers need snow, thats when snowmaking machines step in. The First Machine-Made Snow Manmade snow started out as an accident. A low-temperature laboratory in Canada was studying the effects of  rime icing on the intake of a jet engine in the 1940s. Lead by Dr. Ray Ringer, the researchers were spraying water into the air just before the engine intake in a wind tunnel, trying to reproduce natural conditions.  They didn’t create any rime ice, but they did make snow. They had to repeatedly shut down the engine and the wind tunnel to shovel it out. Attempts to commercialize a snowmaking machine began with Wayne Pierce, who was in the ski manufacturing business in the 1940s,  along with partners Art Hunt and Dave Richey. Together, they  formed the Tey Manufacturing Company of Milford, Connecticut in 1947 and sold a new ski design. But in 1949, Mother Nature got stingy and the company was hit hard by a slump in ski sales due to a dry, snowless winter. Wayne Pierce came up with a solution on March 14, 1950.  I know how to make snow! he announced when he  arrived at work on that March morning. He had the idea that if you could blow droplets of water through freezing air, the water would turn into frozen hexagonal crystals or snowflakes. Using a paint spray compressor, a nozzle and some garden hose, Pierce and his partners created a machine that made snow. The company was granted a basic-process patent in 1954 and installed a few of their snowmaking machines, but they didn’t take their snowmaking business very far. Maybe they were more interested in skis than in something to ski on. The three partners sold their company and  the snowmaking machines patent rights to the Emhart Corporation in 1956. It was Joe and Phil Tropeano, owners of the Larchmont Irrigation Company in Boston,  who bought the Tey patent and began making and developing their own snowmaking equipment from Pierces design. And as the idea of making snow started catching on, Larchmont and the Tropeano brothers began suing other makers of snowmaking equipment. The Tey patent was contested in court and overthrown on the basis that the Canadian research led by Dr. Ray Ringer predated the patent granted to Wayne Pierce. A Flurry of Patents In 1958, Alden Hanson would file a patent for a new type of snowmaking machine called the fan snowmaker. The earlier Tey patent was a compressed air-and-water machine and had its drawbacks, which included loud noise and energy demands. The hoses would also occasionally freeze up and it wasn’t unheard for the lines to blow apart. Hanson designed a snowmaking machine using a fan, particulate water and the optional use of a nucleating agent such as particles of dirt. He was granted a patent for his machine in 1961 and is considered the  pioneering model for all fan snowmaking machines today.   In 1969, a trio of inventors from Lamont Labs at Columbia University named Erikson, Wollin and Zaunier filed a patent for yet another snowmaking machine. Known as the Wollin patent, it was for a specially developed rotating fan blade that was impacted with water from the rear, resulting in mechanically atomized water leaving the front. As the water froze, it became snow. The inventors went on to create Snow Machines International, manufacturers of the snowmaking machine based on this Wollin patent. They promptly signed licensing agreements with the Hanson patent holder  to prevent an  infringement dispute with that  patent.  As part of the licensing agreement, SMI was subject to inspection by a Hanson representative.   In 1974, a patent was filed for the Boyne Snowmaker, a ducted fan which isolated the nucleator to the outside of the duct and away from the bulk water nozzles. The nozzles were positioned above the centerline and on the downstream edge of the duct. SMI was the licensed manufacturer of the Boyne Snowmaker. in 1978, Bill Riskey and Jim VanderKelen filed a patent for a machine that would come to be known as the Lake Michigan nucleator. It surrounded the existing nucleator with a water jacket. The Lake Michigan nucleator exhibited none of the freezing problems that earlier fan snowmakers sometimes suffered from. VanderKelen received a patent for his Silent Storm Snowmaker, a multiple speed fan with a new style propeller blade, in 1992.

Overview of the Economics of Demand

Overview of the Economics of Demand When people think about what it means to demand something, they usually envision some sort of but I want it sort of scenario.  Economists, on the other hand, have a very precise definition of demand. For them demand is the relationship between the quantity of a good or service consumers will purchase and the price charged for that good. More precisely and formally the Economics Glossary defines demand as the want or desire to possess a good or service with the necessary goods, services, or financial instruments necessary to make a legal transaction for those goods or services.  Put another way, an individual must is willing, able, and ready to purchase an item if they are to be counted as demanding an item. What Demand Is Not Demand is not simply a quantity consumers wish to purchase such as 5 oranges or 17 shares of Microsoft, because demand represents the entire relationship between quantity desired of a good and all possible prices charged for that good. The specific quantity desired for a good at a given price is known as the quantity demanded. Typically a time period is also given when describing quantity demanded, since obviously the quantity demanded of an item would differ based on whether we were talking about per day, per week, and so on. Examples of Quantity Demanded When the price of an orange is 65 cents the quantity demanded is 300 oranges a week. If the local Starbucks lowers their price of a tall coffee from $1.75 to $1.65, the quantity demanded will rise from 45 coffees an hour to 48 coffees an hour. Demand Schedules A demand schedule is a table which lists the possible prices for a good and service and the associated quantity demanded. The demand schedule for oranges could look (in part) as follows: 75 cents - 270 oranges a week70 cents - 300 oranges a week65 cents - 320 oranges a week60 cents - 400 oranges a week Demand Curves A demand curve is simply a demand schedule presented in graphical form. The standard presentation of a demand curve has price given on the Y-axis and quantity demanded on the X-axis.  You can see a basic example of a demand curve in the picture presented with this article. The Law of Demand The law of demand states that, ceteribus paribus (Latin for assuming all else is held constant), the quantity demanded for a good rises as the price falls. In other words, the quantity demanded and price are inversely related. Demand curves are drawn as downward sloping due to this inverse relationship between price and quantity demanded. Price Elasticity of Demand The price elasticity of demand represents how sensitive quantity demanded is to changes in price.

Game Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Game Critique - Essay Example In the AA game, the player engages in a virtual squad combat under strict rules of engagement and laws that result in a win and lose situations. The game, designed and published in the year 2002 by the United States Army involves the development of the first person shooter. The game serves to enhance proper communication to the public about the services that the army offers them. The game give the public a better soldier experience that is more educative, creative and entertaining. The game starts by having the player to create a soldier and take him through various military training processes before allowing him to go to the battlefield. The soldier moves through various obstacles as her or she gets trained using various weapons. At this stage, the player earns credit by shooting on target and passes different obstacles. If the player fails to pass all the obstacles, he is unfit to proceed to the next level hence repeats the whole process. The whole game is unfair as the game-play mostly favors the commercial side. Shooting the target to earn the credits is the principal players’ task at this point. The moving background in the game makes it difficult for the player to shoot at the target. The complication forces the player to repeat the process several times to pass the level. The next level of the game, the player takes his or her trained virtual soldier to the battlefield. In the battlefield, the soldier moves across the streets as enemies come from different sides shooting at him. There are also several hideouts for the soldier to protect it from the enemies’ bullets (Neiborg 1). If the soldier is hit by a bullet its life decreases and if it continuous the soldier eventually dies, and the game ends. At this level, the play still favors the commercial side as it has more sophisticated weapons and explosives at disposal unlike the player locked from the

Managing Uncertainty- How does the dollar affect the diamond industry Essay

Managing Uncertainty- How does the dollar affect the diamond industry in India - Essay Example In 2011, the amount of uncut diamonds was 120 million carats; as compared to the 150 million carats in 2007. This decline is alarming and is an issue of concern that needs to be addressed. The impact of the dollar on the diamond market in India Based on the complicated and complex forms of uncertainties, one can conduct an analysis of the impact that the fluctuation of the dollar has had on the diamond market in the United States. Before the 1990s, the Forex system used to be fixed; however, after the 90s, the Indian government changed the system to a model based on floating rate. The purpose of the fixed rate system was to ensure that rupee fared well against other major world currencies such as Euro, Dollar, as well as GBP. Under the floating rate, the market forces can be regarded as the determinants of supply, as well as demand of the currency. In this case, there is a decline in the value of the currency when demand is less than its supply. When the supply is less than the deman d of the currency, there is an increase in the value of the currency. ... When there are more payments made using dollars as compared to the amount of foreign currency received, what results is a huge supply of the dollar in foreign markets. Consequently, the value of the dollar will fluctuate compared to other world currencies. This has affected the diamond industry in India, which exports some of its diamond products to the United States (Poros 2011, p.65). The other reason why the dollar has witnessed massive fluctuation is because of the huge amounts of U.S dollars in foreign markets such as India. This high amount of the currency has led to its fluctuation, thus affecting the diamond market in India, which uses the US dollar as one of the major currencies while conducting trade. The fluctuation in the value of the dollar also emanates from the huge gap created by the balance of payments deficit. Over time, the U.S dollar has weakened, thus resulting to a huge BOP deficit. The fluctuation in the value of the dollar has also resulted to the reduction in the Foreign Direct Investment in India. This has significantly affected the diamond industry in India since few people wish to invest in the country. The decline in FDI does not attract investors; rather it keeps them away, thus resulting to low investments and little trade in precious commodities such as diamond (Eskeland et al 2003, p.73). The fluctuation of the dollar has also had an impact on traders who either supply the commodity to India, or import it from India after processing. The diamond market in India has also been affected by the diamond industry in China. Whereas India uses the dollar as a primary currency, China does not highly depend on the dollar. As a result, the Indian

Sec1 Literature Poetic Techniques used Essay Example for Free

Sec1 Literature Poetic Techniques used Essay ?TASK IN 5 STAGES: ?1 CHOOSE a song with English lyrics that use at least TWO literary techniques from the six elements we have learnt, namely simile, metaphor, personification, rhyme, alliteration or onomatopoeia. Here are some examples you may choose: 1. â€Å"SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW† BY ISRAEL KAMAKAWIWO’OLE 2. â€Å"100 YEARS† BY FIVE FOR FIGHTING 3. â€Å"SWALLOWED IN THE SEA† BY COLDPLAY 4. â€Å"DIAMONDS† BY RIHANNA 5. â€Å"I AM A ROCK† BY SIMON AND GARFUNKEL 6. â€Å"THE RIVER† BY GARTH BROOKS ?2 PRINT out at least 2 stanzas of the lyrics of the song you have chosen. ?3 IDENTIFY at least 2 literary techniques and LABEL these neatly on the printout. ?4 COMPLETE the given table and answer the following question based on the techniques used in the song. An example (based on â€Å"Firework† by Katy Perry) has been done for you. Please do not use this same song for your holiday homework. ?5 ATTACH the printout of the lyrics to the back of your completed table and submit it (in hard copy) to your Sec 2 Lit teachers in TERM1 WEEK1 2015. ?TAKE NOTE: 1) You may use any one of the given songs above – or – you may choose any other ENGLISH song lyrics for this assignment. Remember to include the name of the singer and source (weblink) alongside the title of the song. 2) CHECK that you have chosen ONLY SONGS that: ? DO NOT contain any rude, insensitive or inappropriate references. Check with your Literature teachers if you are still unsure as to whether you can use a particular song owing to its lyrics. ?DEADLINE: Term 1 Week1 in 2015 ? TABLE OF ANALYSIS of Literary Techniques in Songs? ? TITLE: â€Å" Heart Attack † ? Singer: Demi Lovato ? Literary Techniques used: Simile , Personification and Rhyme. ? INCLUDE at least TWO STANZAS in your printout When I don’t care  I can play him like a Ken doll Won’t wash my hair Then make him bounce like a basketball The feelings got lost in my lungs They’re burning, I’d rather be numb And there’s no one else to blame So scared I’ll take off and run I’m flying too close to the sun And I’ll burst into flames ? Video link and lyrics (source): https://www. youtube. com/watch? v=gLGtKw_UQCk ?1 COMPLETE THIS TABLE based on your chosen song lyrics: Quote Literary Devices (Technique) SIMILE/ METAPHOR/ PERSONIFICATION/ RHYME/ ALLITERATION/ ONOMATOPOEIA? Function (WHICH QUALITY IS BEING COMPARED? ) Effect   (EXPLAIN THE IMPLIEDMEANING IN YOUR OWN WORDS) ‘I can play him like a Ken doll†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Then make him bounce like a basketball’ ‘The feelings got lost in my lungs. They’re burning, I’d rather be numb’ SIMILE PERSONIFICATION Playful Painful, Overwhelmed She toys with other guys’, making them almost like a game with a toy, the Ken doll, She does not want to fall in love though she can get a man easily with her attractiveness. She made use of personification by giving ‘ feelings ‘ the ability to get ‘ lost ‘. And the fact that they got ‘lost ‘in her lungs suggests that these ‘ feelings ‘ are so overwhelming that it becomes hard to  breathe as they seem to linger within each breath that she takes in. Personification is also seen in the phrase â€Å"They’re burning â€Å"which refers back to those ‘feelings ‘that the singer is currently experiencing. The word ‘burning’ suggests that the emotion has an excruciating impact on the singer, to the point that they seem to burn. ‘And there’s no one else to blame So scared I’ll take off and run I’m flying too close to the sun And I’ll burst into flames’ RHYME Love, Romantic Because she is unable to take the pain and suffering, â€Å"I’d rather be numb† suggests the that singer prefers to  not feel anything at all because the emotions are just too much for her to handle. It suggests that the singer views her crush like the ‘sun ‘because he shines so brightly in her eyes. This however has a setback as seen in the last sentence, â€Å"And I burst into flames†. He shines so much that she is unable to contain her own emotions because she likes him so much, to the point where she ‘ explodes’. Also the word ‘flying’ shows the extent of her love for her crush, to the point that she feels like she’s ‘flying ‘. Thus she is unable to get close to him. ?2 What is the overall meaning of the song? (Personal Interpretation based on your answers above :)) I think that in this song, the songwriter is trying to tell us about†¦ T he feeling of a woman who comes to a point where she feels very vulnerable in falling in love. She is also trying to tell us to tolerate even though when going through any emotional struggles. Also, she wants to let us know to consider our choices wisely and carefully. ANALYSIS DONE BY: Isaiah Leong, 2H, 27. (Your Name, Class and Index Number) SUBMITTED ON: 12 January 2015 (Date of submission) Heart Attack by Demi Lovato Putting my defenses up Cause I don’t wanna fall in love  If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack Never put my love out on the line Never said yes to the right guy Never had trouble getting what I want But when it comes to you I’m never good enough When I don’t care I can play him like a Ken doll Won’t wash my hair. Then make him bounce like a basketball But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear high heels Yes you, make me so nervous that I just can’t hold your hand You make me glow But I cover up, won’t let it show So I’m putting my defenses up Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack  I think I’d have a heart attack I think I’d have a heart attack Never break a sweat for the other guys When you come around I get paralyzed 5 ? HAVE FUN AND ENJOY ANALYSING THE LITERARY (POETIC) TECHNIQUES USED IN YOUR CHOSEN SONG ? ? Prepared by Ms Banu (AHS 2014 Literature/ Poetry Unit) ? And every time I try to be myself It comes out wrong like a cry for help It’s just not fair Brings more trouble than it all is worth I gasp for air It feels so good, but you know it hurts But you make me wanna act like a girl Paint my nails and wear perfume For you, make me so nervous that I just can’t hold your hand. You make me glow But I cover up, won’t let it show So I’m putting my defenses up Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack I think I’d have a heart attack I think I’d have a heart attack The feelings got lost in my lungs They’re burning, I’d rather be numb And there’s no one else to blame So scared I’ll take off and run I’m flying too close to the sun And I’ll burst into flames You make me glow But I cover up, won’t let it show So I’m putting my defenses up Cause I don’t wanna fall in love If I ever did that, I think I’d have a heart attack.

Eradicating the Deaf-World Essay -- Hearing Auditory Essays

Eradicating the Deaf-World Just like members of other minorities, such as Hispanics and African-Americans, Deaf people experience some of the same oppression and hardships. Although the attempts to "fix" members of and obliterate the DEAF-WORLD are not as highly publicized as problems with other minorities, they still exist. Throughout time, hearing people have been trying to destroy the DEAF-WORLD with the eugenics movement, the mainstreaming of Deaf children into public hearing schools, and cochlear implants. Overall, the eugenics movement was meant to discourage Deaf people from socializing, intermarrying, and reproducing with each other. But these goals are very much unachievable. When Deaf children are growing up in a residential school, they have no choice but to socialize with other Deaf children. Since they all pretty much use the same language, socialization is not a problem for them. Because these children grow up with others who use their language, they tend to remain close to their friends and often intermarry. Many people, including A. G. Bell, were opposed to Deaf marrying other Deaf. Bell said that sign language "causes the intermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect" (Lane, 1996:382). Bell also claimed that society was condoning the spread of "a defective race of human beings" by allowing Deaf people to socialize with each other (Jankowski, 1997:53). Since others too saw deafness as a physical defect, they agreed with Bell and started adopting or al schools for the Deaf where signed language is prohibited. If oral schools ended up being the only schools for Deaf, then their signed languages would have diminished along with a part of their heritage and culture. A long time ago, m... ...eliminated. The eugenic movement, mainstreaming, and cochlear implants have yet to prove that the culture of Deaf people can be taken away from them, which is ultimately a wonderful thing. Bibliography Jankowski, Katherine A. (1997). Deaf Empowerment: Emergence, Strugge, and Rhetoric. Gallaudet University Press, Washington DC. Lane, Harlan (1992). â€Å"Cochlear Implants are Wrong for Young Deaf Children.† Viewpoints on Deafness. Ed. Mervin D. Garretson. National Association of the Deaf, Silver Spring, MD. 89-92. Lane, Harlan; Hoffmeister, Rob and Bahan, Ben (1996). A Journey Into the DEAF-WORLD. Dawn Sign Press, San Diego, Ca. Padden, Carol and Humphries, Tom (1988). Deaf in America: Voices from a Culture. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. Sacks, Oliver (1990). Seeing Voices: A Journey Into the World of the Deaf. Harper Perennial, New York, NY.

The Kostelic Family

When it was dark Ivica and Janica were training on the stadium stands running up and down the stairs. ==>Ante said that the exercises were meant to reduce their fear, which was crucial to their future career in sports. ==>Ante said to their friend when the children were young. â€Å"If they let me work man, if they just let me work, I’m telling you I will make them into Olympic champions. † ==>Ante went round telling everybody how skilful and fast Ivica was. =>Ante was hired as a coach at Zagreb ski club in the eighties, but was soon kicked out for training his child more than everybody else. He was then appointed the fitness coach. ==>When Ante start his new job he said to kostelic â€Å"Look Ivo, I came here to create world champions. † The board of Zagreb didn’t believe Ivica and Janica would be a world champions. ==>Kosteli rose the quality of dry practices quickly and amazed the board with his famous concept of winning without technology. Ante amazed the board with his concept of winning without tech. He claimed he didn’t need walkie-talkie, or poles, or drills. He had it all in his head. ==>Kostelic soon expanded the number of snow practices from one hundred to one hundred fifty or even one hundred sixty. He did this because he wanted Ivica to do as much training as possible but for the others they got too tired too quickly. So every year he had to fight against the parents because they tried to get him fired at the end of every contesting season. =>The children were made to work harder then ever. Sometimes Ante would even make one of them dig a hole in the snow and put theirâ€Å"hot† head in it for a few seconds. ==>Ante coached his own son Ivica and left Janica on the side to watch and play. â€Å"What are you going to do with the girl? † Drinkovic asked Kostelic once. â€Å"She’ll be a ballerina or a tennis player. †Ã¢â‚¬Å"Are you out of your mind? Don’t you see her motor abilities? †Ã¢â‚¬Å"But I don’t have enough money for two kids†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Starbuck’s: Delivering Customer Service

Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service Christine Day, Starbuck’s senior vice president of administration in North America, believes recent market research indicates customers are not satisfied with Starbuck’s customer service. To address this concern, she is proposing to invest $40 million to increase store hours in order to reduce customer wait times. Day believes there is a direct correlation between customer wait times and their overall satisfaction with service. Starbucks has implemented a â€Å"secret shopper† program in order to spot check stores on their service, cleanliness, product quality and average wait times.The goal for average customer wait time is 3 minutes. The secret shopper scores for the past 5 quarters have shown a negative correlation between customer service and average wait time (exhibit 1). As average customer wait time decreases, the average secret shopper scores increase. In response, Day feels that adding an additional 20 hours to each of the 4500 North American Stores will reduce the customer’s wait time and in turn, increase their overall customer satisfaction scores. Day’s plan will have the largest impact on the following three major stakeholders: shareholders, employees/partners and customers.Starbuck’s shareholders are primarily interested in the plan’s impact on retained earnings and long term growth. Investing an additional $40 million dollars will reduce the shareholder’s short term earnings. Investors who were looking forward to larger dividend checks would be disappointed, but investors who were interested in the long term growth of their portfolio may support Day’s plan if she could show how this investment would positively impact customer’s loyalty and improve the company’s future profit potential. Assuming the partners were looking for additional hours, this plan would be viewed favorably by store baristas and employees.During peak periods of b usiness, they would have another employee to help share the workload and it could reduce the stress of â€Å"rush hour† on each individual partner. The popularity of this plan would be different depending on each store’s location, layout and manning. Stores with insufficient work flows could create or enlarge bottlenecks and the additional manpower may actually increase wait times. On the other hand, stores who have a hard time recruiting employees may not want to burden their existing overworked employees with an additional increase in hours.In some stores, partners would prefer to reduce the quantity and complexity of available drinks instead of increasing available hours. Starbucks is known for innovative and seasonal drinks and over the years, the knowledge requirement for baristas has dramatically increased. Baristas are constantly challenged to learn more complex drinks and still perform to the 3 minute metric. Reducing the number of drinks offered may be an appr opriate solution if there is evidence to show that there are a number of very unpopular drinks, but we do not have any current sales or market data to support those decisions.Additional research needs to be performed in order to assess this option. Customers visit Starbucks for a variety of reasons and those who value short wait times may approve of the new manning plan if indeed it results in shorter wait times. Customers who visit Starbucks for the quality of their coffee or the inviting environment may not increase the frequency of their visits because of a shorter wait time. Customers who value the intimacy and personal attention their local Starbucks provides may actually disapprove of the plan to increase manning if it interrupts their established relationship with their trusty barista.In 2002, Starbucks surveyed their customers to find out what store qualities they attribute to customer satisfaction. The top 6 of these responses referred to the actual store, relationship with the staff and product quality. Wait time was ranked 7th on the list (exhibit 2). This survey suggests that investing $40 million to decrease the wait time might not have the desired impact on customer satisfaction. There is an inherent issue with self reported customer surveys that may have influenced these findings. Customers may not realize what influences their opinions and what constitutes good customer service.What they think they value and what they actually use to make purchasing decisions may be different. In addition, each customer will have their own bias when rating customer service because they all value different experiences and relationships with their local Starbucks. If you look at the secret shopper findings and the self reported customer service surveys jointly, you could devise that customers may give higher cleanliness, service and product quality scores if their wait time is shorter regardless of the store’s actual level of cleanliness, service and produ ct quality.The shorter wait time may have influenced the customer’s opinion on the other store attributes. Another measure of customer service besides secret shoppers and customer surveys is the number of repeat customers. Customers vote with their feet and if they continue to patron Starbuck’s stores, they are voting that they are satisfied customers. In exhibit 8 of the Starbucks case, it is reported that in 2002, 73% of Starbucks customers have been visiting Starbucks for over a year. Only 23% of customers were new that year. This report suggests Starbucks has done a good job at reducing customer churn and they are already satisfying their customers.A common error when trying to measure and improve customer satisfaction is using quantitative metrics. Customer service is a qualitative experience that is very subjective for each individual. Trying to influence someone’s overall customer satisfaction by improving only one quantitative metric may not give you the intended impact to your overall customer satisfaction scores. Day needs to understand the limitations with her single metric plan and realize that she needs to address all aspects of customer service for an overall improvement.In order to understand the variety and complexity of the issues impacting their 4500 stores, Day needs to engage the store managers to fully understand what each store needs to improve customer service. Increasing available hours may help some stores while others may need new equipment or a re-designed work space. Day’s plan to uniformly increase labor hours over-simplifies the potential needs of the individual stores. Empowering the managers would encourage individual ownership and commitment. The manager’s guidance would ensure Day allocated the $40 million most ffectively to not only reduce customer wait times but to increase overall customer service. During this process, Day may find out managers are frustrated with Starbuck’s aggress ive growth. In metropolitan areas, growth has led to cannibalization of customers which undermines the manager’s efforts to increase customer loyalty. Quality customer service is an individual experience that requires a personal interaction between customers and employees. It is more difficult to create a lasting experience and relationship if customers are constantly changing from store to store.Manager’s will lose their motivation to encourage these relationships if they feel another Starbucks will open nearby and steal away the loyal customer base they have worked to create. Starbuck’s value proposition to their customers concentrate on three goals: quality coffee, excellent service and an inviting atmosphere. These three attributes are focused on building customer loyalty. Starbuck’s loyal customers (8 or more visits a month) account for 62% of their revenue. This group of established customers value high quality coffee and Starbuck’s meets thi s need through mass customization.Starbucks gives customers the ability to specialize their drinks to fit their individual tastes in order to create customer loyalty. This evidence suggests that Starbucks needs to continue to allow for individual drink customization in order to increase customer loyalty even though it may increase their average wait time above their three minute goal. Loyal customers are their largest source of revenue and if their perceived value is centered on quality coffee, they would not want to risk losing this source of steady revenue.Starbucks lacks a strategic marketing group who is responsible for managing their overall marketing plans, promotions and research. Marketing was internally viewed as the responsibility of all senior executives, but as their corporation continued to rapidly grow, the executives could not keep up with their primary responsibilities and effectively contribute to the strategic marketing plan. As a result, Day states â€Å"Weâ€⠄¢ve been operating with the assumption that we do customer service well. But the reality is we’ve started to lose sight of the consumer. In addition, Day admits â€Å"we tend to be great at measuring things, at collecting market data, but we are not very disciplined when it comes to using this data to drive decision making. † Both of these statements validate the concern that Starbucks needs to hire a senior executive who will make marketing their chief responsibility. They need a central department who will integrate their market research with top level decision making, and manage promotions, such as frequency programs, so they are using their resources in the most effective way to increase customer loyalty.The marketing department should not only collect data from their own customers, but they should consider hiring a marketing firm in order to ensure they are collecting unbiased information about themselves and their competitors. Using research on their competitors will allow Starbucks to have a more comprehensive view on their industry and growing trends or concerns from their available customer base. This will also give them the information they need in order to attract new customers from other competitors.Day’s preliminary research shows more resources need to be given to accurately capture their customer’s interests to ensure they are meeting high standards of customer service to create and keep loyal customers. Her original plan to invest $40 million to increase labor hours is not the most effective use of resources because each individual store’s needs are unknown. Quality customer service cannot be achieved by concentrating on a single quantitative metric. Customer service is a personal, qualitative experience only the individual store managers can gauge and deliver.Day needs to work with store managers and a marketing department to formulate a more comprehensive plan to measure and improve customer service. EXHIBI T 1 The AVG line is the average of the secret shopper scores for Service, Cleanliness and Product Quality. The compiled average increases as the average customer wait time decreases. EXHIBIT 2 These are the top 7 attributes grouped by category reported in Starbuck’s 2002 self-reported customer survey. Store Attributes, relationship with staff, product quality were all reported to have a higher impact on customer satisfaction than wait time.

French Absolutism essays

French Absolutism essays In 17th century France, each ruler had very different tactics for gaining and maintaining power. Regardless to the extent of power, each ruler used some absolutist methods in his reign. Although his predecessors are responsible for their own forms of absolutism through politics and war, economics, and religion, Louis XIV was most responsible for the development of the French absolutist state. For many rulers, the situation in which they start already has problems. In 1589, Henry IV inherited the crown and with that, civil wars. The state of France was very weak at the time: terrible harvests and near starvation, great depopulation, and poor commercial activity. At the time of his crowning, nobles, officials, merchants and peasants wanted peace, order, and stability. Henry provided this as a unique ruler who actually cared about his people, which proved important to absolutism because of the trust the people had in their ruler. Henry appointed the devout Protestant Maximilien de Bethune, duke of Sully, as his chief minister. With the effective actions of Sully, public order in France was restored in only twelve years. Besides a small successful war with Savoy in 1601, Henry maintained peace. After the death of Henry IV in 1610, the queen-regent Marie de' Medici headed the government for the child-king Louis XIII and appointed Cardinal Richelieu to the council of m inisters. Richelieu, who became first minister of the crown in 1628, sought the total subordination of all groups and institutions to the French monarchy. This policy was a major factor in absolutism because it gave total power with no opposition to the monarchy. Richelieu prevented the greatest competitor, the nobility, from gaining too much power by reshuffling the royal council. He also leveled castles, which were symbols of feudal independence, and stopped aristocratic conspiracies with executions. In 1634, Richelieu broke France into thirty-two gn...

Stance and Its Relations

Stance and Its Relations â€Å"Stance† and Its Relations â€Å"Stance† and Its Relations By Mark Nichol A previous post listed words such as constitute that ultimately stem from the Latin verb stare, meaning â€Å"stand.† Here, stance (from the present participle of stare), and words in which stance is the root, as well as terms related to those words, are listed and defined. A stance is a literal or figurative attitude or posture or a position in which a person stands to prepare to engage in athletic activity. (Stand is from Old English and is distantly related.) Constance (â€Å"standing with†), meaning â€Å"steadfastness,† is an obsolete term (and a rare female given name), as is its synonym constancy, but the adjectival form constant persists to mean â€Å"steadfast† as well as â€Å"invariable† or â€Å"uniform† as well as â€Å"regular.† The adverbial form is constantly, and the antonym is inconstant. Circumstance (â€Å"standing around†) means â€Å"condition, detail, event, or fact associated with another,† or pertains to evidence that supports the likelihood of an event (as in the phrase â€Å"circumstantial evidence†); circumstances is a euphemism alluding to financial resources (for example, one said to be in straitened circumstances is poor). Distance (â€Å"standing apart†) is the space between two points in space or time, or the quality of being spatially or emotionally remote or intellectually dispassionate; the adjectival form is distant, and distantly is the adverbial form. (Distantness is a rarely used noun referring to the quality of being distant.) One can also describe a far point or area as â€Å"the distance,† as in the phrase â€Å"looking out into the distance.† An instance (â€Å"standing on†) is an example or an occasion; the word can also be a verb meaning â€Å"cite† or â€Å"demonstrate†; in legal terminology, it pertains to the pursuit of a lawsuit. Instant means â€Å"a very small point at time†; an additional, outdated sense is â€Å"the current month,† seen abbreviated in historical correspondence in phrases such as â€Å"in your letter of the 15th inst.,† meaning â€Å"the letter you sent on the 15th of this month.† As an adjective, instant means â€Å"current,† â€Å"immediate,† or â€Å"urgent† or refers to something ready-made or able to be prepared very quickly and/or very easily; instantly is the adverbial form. The adjective instantaneous means â€Å"occurring immediately,† and its adverbial form is instantaneously. The verb instantiate is a synonym for â€Å"embody† or â€Å"express.† A substance (â€Å"standing under†) is any physical material, but substance also pertains to essence, meaning, and quality. Euphemistically, it refers to property or wealth, as in the phrase â€Å"a man of substance.† In reference to addictive or otherwise harmful substances, it is used in the phrases â€Å"controlled substance† and â€Å"substance abuse.† The adjective substantial has multiple senses, including â€Å"essential† or â€Å"true,† or â€Å"considerable† or â€Å"sturdy.† Substantial can also be a noun meaning â€Å"something of substance,† and the quality of being substantial is substantiality or substantialness, and the adverbial form is substantially. Assistance is the act of assisting, or helping, a person or another entity. (Assist literally means â€Å"stand by.†) Desistance refers to desisting, or ceasing to assist; the noun is little used, but desist (â€Å"stop standing†), though rarely employed otherwise, is widely known from the legal phrase â€Å"cease and desist,† which pertains to a demand to stop infringing on a right, such as copyright. Resistance is the act of opposing or an opposing force or a source of opposition, the capacity to resist (â€Å"stand again†), or a behavior in which a patient opposes psychological therapy; capitalized, the noun has referred to various organizations that covertly oppose a force occupying a country or other geopolitical territory. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Idioms About Talking10 Colloquial Terms and Their Meanings50 Synonyms for "Song"

Spring Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Spring - Assignment Example The themes that pop up in the mind, while listening to this piece, can be linked together to form an imaginary saga. The music rejuvenates the mind with flamboyant colors and a lively weather. It populates our imagination with things that are associated with the positive memories of lives. The symphony starts with a beautiful composition of violins which gives off a lot of youthful energy. It conjures an image of a young person in the middle of the meadows. The cloudy weather and cool breeze is captivating the attention of this person. The person has nothing on his mind apart from the ambience surrounding him. His past and future are beyond him at that moment. The present is only what concerns him. He has no idea where he came from and where he is going to go. Two minutes into the symphony, a strange disturbance seems to approach that person. Perhaps some people are following him for something that he is not even aware of. He cleverly escapes from the trouble and tries to figure out why he was being chased. He then enjoys a tender meal out in the open. This whole notion emphasizes the fleeting nature of dark interludes in our lives. Whatever the story of this character may be, he just cannot let go of the beauty that surrounds him. The music does not tell much about the person but it does give a hint of royal touch to the character of the person. It sounds as if he left the royal life and all its riches to live the life of a common man and just be able to feel the blood gushing trough his veins. The music reminds us that life comes from nature and that there is nothing more beautiful than nature. Problems will come and go but one cannot forget to observe and appreciate the beauty and purity of nature because if he forgets than perhaps nat ure will forget to do the same too. The music illustrates that such joy can come after committing a noble act even if it gets us into trouble so our protagonist could have committed such an act. That would explain the