Choose one of the subjects ( table of content is required) Term Paper

Choose one of the subjects ( table of content is required) - Term Paper Example Consumers tend to purchase more when the interest rates are low, and purchase less when the interest rates are high. This is because low interest rates increase the disposable income available to a consumer, and as such, has more income to spend on purchases, whilst high interest rates reduces the disposable income available to a customer, thereby he or she has less income to spend on purchases. As a natural rule of economics, a person tends to spend more when he or she has a higher amount of disposable income. However, if such a person has lower amount of disposable income, he or she will probably spend less. As such, interest rates primarily tend to affect the middle income and the low-income consumers within the economy who do not have a vast fortune to spend of purchases and luxuries. However, this does not rule out the fact that interest rates also affect the high-income earners within the economy only that its effect on their disposable income is dismal compared to consumers from the other two income brackets. The rich might only feel the effect of high interest rates while investing, especially when the cost of investment raises due to high interests rates. As for shopping and purchase, the rich will probably go for pricy high-end luxury goods and services as they attach price to quality, in the sense that the more expensive it is, the higher quality it is. As for th e other consumers, they tend to purchase within their limits in the sense that higher prices scare them away and reduce their spending and purchasing patterns, while lower prices increase their spending as it increases their purchasing power, As such, interest rates come into play in the sense that higher interest rates equally lead to a rise in common products and services consumed by middle level and lower level consumers. For instance, if a proprietor secures a loan for his or

The Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry And Pepsico Strategy Marketing Essay

The Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry And Pepsico Strategy Marketing Essay The chart below shows the dominant players in the carbonated soft drinks (CSD) industry according to Beverage Digest report issued on March 30, 2009. The results of this report are for the year 2008 (Sicher, 2009, p.2). Coca Cola has the largest market share accounting for 43%, followed by PepsiCo with 31% and Dr.Pepper Snapple Group Inc. (formerly Cadbury Schweppes) with 15% of the market. The remaining 11% is distributed amongst other CSD companies such as Cott Corp, National Beverage, Red Bull, Big Red, Rockstar, Private label and others. Moreover, the top 10 CSD brands in the U.S for the year 2008 were ranked by market share as follows (Sicher, 2009, p.2). Brands Company Market Share Coke Coca-Cola 17.3% Pepsi-Cola PepsiCo 10.3% Diet Coke Coca-Cola 10% Mountain Dew PepsiCo 6.8% Dr.Pepper Dr.Pepper Snapple Group(DPS) 6.1% Diet Pepsi PepsiCo 5.7% Sprite Coca-Cola 5.6% Fanta Coca-Cola 1.8% Diet Mountain Dew PepsiCo 1.8% Diet Dr.Pepper Dr.Pepper Snapple Group(DPS) 1.6% With regard to individual brands, Coke was ranked first with 17.3% market share and Pepsi-cola was in second place with a lower market share of 10.3%. Additionally, the total market share of all Coca-cola brands adds up to (34.7%) which still surpasses those of PepsiCo (24.6%). To be able to give an in-depth analysis and evaluation of the Soft Drink industry, the following factors should be considered: The relevant industry trends and the most noticeable changes in the industry. The strategic group map. The industry attractiveness using Michael Porter five forces model. A. Relevant industry trends Industry Growth The graph below shows the performance of the CSD market from 1990 up to 2008. It is observed that the industry faced a sharp decline in growth starting from 2005, where the percent volume change fell below zero. This was followed by a further decline in growth rates: -0.6% in 2006, then -2.3% in 2007 and -3% in 2008 (Sicher, 2009, p.1). Conversely, the energy drink companies were experiencing a positive growth. Hansen Natural, which has both soft drinks and energy drinks in its portfolio of products, witnessed a +3.3% CSD growth. Additionally, Red Bulls volume also increased +5.2%. Although Hansen Natural and Red Bull make up a small portion of the total market share pie, the increase in their growth rates indicates that PepsiCo has to pay attention to them. Political Factors: There are several political factors that influence the soft drinks industry: Obey food, Drug and cosmetic acts: the process of producing and distributing the soft drinks in the market is subjects to many federal laws such as the food, drug and cosmetics acts. It is also subject to American with disabilities acts. The presence of these laws helps create a healthy environment for the consumers. This will limit the potentials of new entrants in this industry. Environmental laws regulations: these laws enforce packaging, recycling, water and energy policies to make sure the CSD industry operates in a healthy environment. This leads to making the soft drink industry more attractive for consumers. Double Taxation: Another political factor is that companies operating in the industry are obligated to tax payments for the products they offer and distribute in each country they operate within. Hence, this leads to making the industry less attractive because operating firms are subject to double taxation policies. Economical Factors: Inflation in diesel prices: it is an important factor affecting the CSD industry. Since, the CSD relies on trucks to distribute its diverse end line products; trucks are subject to inflation in fuel prices. Since the consumption of fuel is the core activity, diesel prices are subject to inflation depending on the market conditions. Yet, the possibility of a market crisis rises. Foreign exchange rates fluctuations: Carbonated soft drinks firms revenues are affected by exchange rates fluctuations as well as profits and the cost of raw materials. Due to the weak economic growth the industry will suffer heavily by changes in exchange rates. Thus, profits and cost are going to be lower and higher respectively. Socio cultural Factors: Obesity: Dr. Gabe Mirkin says: A study from Harvard shows that of soft drinks may be responsible for the doubling of obesity in children over the last 15 years. (Gabe Mirkin, 2004) Recently, as the people are becoming more and more educated, the level of their health awareness is increasing. Obesity is becoming more and more apparent, leading to people taking good care of their health. Soft drinks are full with empty calories which cause obesity. The trend of obesity in children is rising since the soft drinks consumers are young and between the range of 14 and 30. In fact, studies done by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research shows that Adults who do drink one or more sodas or other sugar-sweetened beverages each day are 27% more likely to be overweight or obese. (16 Facts About Soft Drinks and Obesity, 2009) Change in life style consumer tastes: Nowadays the consumer of the carbonated soft drink industry are shifting their tastes toward drinking more healthier drinks such as water and fresh juices instead of carbonated soft drink full with sugar that will have a negative effect on the consumer health in the long run. People have become more health conscious for instance they are moving toward the consumption of healthier beverages such as water and fresh juices. Its estimated that the consumption of juices will increase up to 20 % within the coming three years. (Health Conscious Chileans Switching to Non-carbonated Drinks, 2009) Technological Factors: Introducing new technologies in the soft drink industry has helped in developing the process of manufacturing. For example: PDX technology: It is a shockwave technology that helps in mixing the ingredients in an efficient way. Pursuit Dynamics, the supplier, said that this technology is most useful for the soft drinks industry. This technology is believed to help in cutting the cleaning time up to 80%. Also, it will also increase the processing speed and save power. (New technology targets diet soft drinks makers, 2009) Other Noticeable trends: Merger and acquisition: It is very common in the soft drinks industry, it causes many firm to exit and then re-enter the industry. Many leaders in the soft drinks industry use acquisition in order to grow and increase their market share. For example, what PepsiCo did to expand into the energy drink sector, it acquired Quaker Oat, who already bought Gatorade. Hence, the competition on the products diversifications for a firm will increase. Using glass bottles instead of plastic bottles: Many soft drinks companies are moving toward using glass bottles because these bottles are more environmental friendly. According to G Karthikeyan, the manger of sales in Jabal Ali Container Glass, the demand for glass bottles has increased recently because some of the chemicals in the soft drinks can react with the plastic and caused serious diseases. Using glass bottles help that the soft drink bottle taste better and last for long time. (Sathish, 2010) Banning soft drinks in schools: The American beverage association has announced the removal of soft drinks from schools. It asked for the removal of full calorie drinks and the replacement will be the healthy, low calorie beverages. That decision has been made because the child obesity is increasing rapidly. The announcement said that in elementary schools, children can only have 100% fresh juices, low fat milk and water, while in high schools the students can have all types of diet beverages and sport drinks as well as the drinks available for the elementary schools.(FBD,2010) B. Strategic Group Map The strategic group map above shows the competitive positions of different competitors in the CSD industry. It consists of the five largest competitors in the industry. The axes represent two competitive characteristics: the product categories offered by each competitor and geographic coverage in terms of the number of countries. The size of the circles is proportional to the relative market share of the company. PepsiCo has offers the largest variety of product categories amounting to 10 categories, followed by Coca-cola which offers 7 categories. Dr.Pepper Snapple Group, Cott Corp and National beverage all offer 5 product categories, however these categories are differ slightly. Also, their geographic locations vary which explains why they are located on different points on the strategic group map. The strategic group map was constructed using the information in the table below: Geographic coverage Product Categories offered Coca cola 200 + (The coca-cola system, n.d.) 1.Soft drinks 2.Energy drinks 3.Juices / Juice Drinks 4.Sports drinks 5.Tea and coffee 6.water 7.other  [1]   Pepsi 150 (Our history, n.d.) 1.Soft drinks 2.Energy drinks 3.Juices / Juice Drinks 4.Sports drinks 5.Ready to drink tea 6.Ready to drink coffee 7.water 8.Dairy based drinks 9.Fruit flavored beverages 10.Frozen beverages  [2]   Dr.Pepper Snapple Group 81 (The best history on earth, n.d) 1.CSD 2.Juices 3.Ready to drink tea 4.Mixers 5.Other Premium beverages  [3]   Cott Corp 60 (About us, n.d.) 1.CSD 2.Energy Drinks 3.Juice Drinks 4.Tea 5.Water  [4]   National Beverage 13 (Overview, n.d.) 1.CSD 2.Energy Drinks 3.Water 4.Fortified powders and supplements 5.Functionally enhanced juices and waters  [5]   C. Michael Porter five forces model Industry is classified as the Carbonated Soft Drinks Industry Rivalry HIGH Rivalry in this market is very intense due to a number of factors such as the number of competitors, growth of the industry, product differentiation, switching costs and change in consumer tastes. There are a few large competitors that are roughly equal in size. These competitors are Coca-cola with a market share of 43% and Pepsi with 31%. The market shares of Coca-cola and PepsiCo combined makes up more than 70% of the whole market. Thus, it allows these major competitors to watch each other closely. However, there are many other competitors that compete with these two giants and intensify rivalry. These include other soft drink companies (e.g. Dr.Pepper Snapple Group and National Beverage) and energy drink companies (e.g. Red bull and Rockstar). As mentioned earlier, the CSD industry faced a 3% decline in growth in 2008. A declining growth rate indicated that the many competitors in the market will have to share the shrinking pie. Also, in an industry such as CSD, there is little opportunity for differentiation relative to other products (e.g. cars) which lowers switching costs for consumers. The change in lifestyles which caused consumers to shift away from carbonated to non-carbonated soft drinks increased the level of competition. As a result, companies such as PepsiCo and Coco-cola had to adapt to these changes in demand by focusing on marketing and innovation (Human sustainability, n.d.). Bargaining power of Buyers MODERATE to HIGH The buyers in this industry can be classified into two categories: Those that buy in large quantities (Matthews Knaus, 2006, p.2): Supermarkets (31%) Fountain outlets: e.g. restaurants (23%) Vending machines (14%) Mass merchandisers (6%) Convenience stores/ Gas stations (5%) Small grocers (4%) Other: gas stations, drug chains, gas stations/minimarts, airlines and other channels of distribution (17%) Those that buy in small quantities: Final consumer The first category of buyers has high bargaining power. Generally, in industries characterized with many suppliers and a few large buyers, the buyers capture a greater share of the profits. This is because they buy in bulk and they can easily switch between suppliers since the product is standard, lacks differentiation and is easily available in the market. Additionally, these buyers have the power to demand higher quality or more service because they buy in large quantities. An example of a buyer that buys in bulk is the large retail store, Walmart. The second category of buyers is the end consumers. The fragmented nature of the buyer group and the low quantities purchased by them lowers their bargaining power. However, the bargaining power is increased due to the presence of substitutes, low switching costs. Thus, the bargaining power of end consumers is considered to be moderate overall. Bargaining power of Suppliers- MODEATE to LOW Before looking at the supplier group, it is important to first consider the types of input or raw materials that are used in this industry. These are: sugar, bottles, cans, water, ink and plastic. The inputs used are homogeneous and not differentiated which makes them readily available in the market. The supplier group in this industry is not powerful and does not possess a high bargaining power. There are many suppliers which make the supplier group more fragmented than the industry it sells to. Also, the product or input is neither unique nor differentiated and the suppliers do not represent a high percentage of total costs in the industry. One factor that may increase the bargaining power of suppliers is that consumers are more becoming more health conscious. This gives suppliers that offer healthier ingredients more bargaining power since they are smaller in number. Nevertheless, this bargaining power can be mitigated by having a long term agreement with the suppliers. Threat of Substitutes: HIGH Again, substitutes are classified into two categories: (1) Substitutes that come from distant industries, and (2) substitutes that come from within the industry- internal substitution. Since we classified the industry as that of carbonated soft drinks, then the substitutes from distant industries will be non-carbonated soft drinks. These include juice, water, milk, tea, coffee and the like. On the other hand, substitutes from within the industry include CSD such as sodas and energy drinks. Both types of substitutes pose a high threat because consumers switching costs between substitutes are low. Additionally, since people are more health conscious, they are more willing to substitute CSD with healthier alternatives. Threat of New Entrants: Moderate to LOW The entry barriers in the CSD industry are of different types, each having a significant effect on the threat of potential new entrants, these include: Technical barriers: For instance, PepsiCo has an absolute cost advantage enabling it to achieve lower average costs. That is, even if an individual or company was able to discover Pepsis recipe, they will not be able to achieve the low costs of PepsiCo. This is because PepsiCo is a large company that has economies of scale. Commercial Barriers: these barriers include brand name, reputation, access to distribution etc. In an industry like CSD, it is very difficult for a new entrant to compete effectively with the existing competitors that already have a large and loyal customer base. New entrants will have to put in a lot of marketing efforts and resources in order to convince customers to switch to their products. This will be time consuming and will also require a large amount of capital. Additionally, it is very difficult for new entrant to gain access to extensive distribution channels like those of Coca cola and PepsiCo. Financial Barriers: these barriers include capital requirement, access to financing etc. The bottling process requires a higher amount of capital than concentrate manufacturing since it is associated with higher fixed assets. For concentrate manufacturing, one plant which has the potential to serve a country as large as the United States costs $25 million. On the other hand, the bottling process needs 80 to 85 plants, each costing $30-50 million, to provide efficient distribution for a country the size of the US. Moreover, the bottling process is highly specific to both the type packaging and the bottling process. This, in return, makes it difficult to exit the market. (Cola wars, n.d., p.3) Retaliation: the more retaliation new entrants expect from existing competitors, the higher the entry barrier. In this industry, new entrants should expect sharp retaliation. The aforementioned barriers to entry lower the threat of new entrants. However, there is another factor that should be taken into consideration: private label brands. Cott Corp. holds the majority of private label brands in addition to few other smaller companies. Since private label brands are cheaper, retailers would find it more attractive to sell them, instead of Coca-cola or Pepsi, taking into consideration the higher profit associated with them. Thus, the threat of these private brands slightly increase the threat posed by new entrants. This makes the overall threat of new entrants moderate to low. (Pepsi, n.d., p.6) Conclusion The spider web below summarized the five forces (the 6th force is excluded). The more intense the forces are, the less attractive the market is. Most of the forces in the CSD industry are moderate to high which indicates that this industry is not attractive for new entrants. However, for those companies that are already in the industry, it is attractive. 2. Key Success Factors of Carbonated Soft Drinks industry 1. Size of Company (distribution and market share) The companies size is an important factor in such an industry. E.g. PepsiCo is the second leader in the industry as well as one with the largest market share. 2. Location (Convenience and Availability) Convenience for customers is also essential in a soft drink industry. Such that a company must make sure the soft drink is readily available everywhere in supermarket, grocery stores, vending machines, and restaurants. Brand Loyalty Due to the diverse soft drinks and the intense competition in the industry, brand loyalty plays an important success factor for a company. E.g. PepsiCos regular customers are devoted to Pepsi and they rarely switch to other brands. Loyalty creates inelastic price change. PepsiCo successfully adapts to customer taste. International market International presence is essential for the success of Soft Drinks industry. Going global is important for it helps the company enhance growth. E.g. the majority of PepsiCos profits come from US yet population growth in markets like India and china could lead to potential market growth. SWOT Analysis Strengths: Strong Brand Reputation Strong market Position PepsiCo is an early entrant which helped build market share. Its market share accounts for 31% of the market share of the carbonated soft drinks industry. Availability of large Free Cash Flow ( and Strong Revenue Growth) Solid revenue results in the second quarter of 2009 reflecting PepsiCos Product innovation, strong effective net pricing, and cost discipline showing a 5.5 percent increase in net revenue and an 8 percent increase in core EPS. PepsiCo Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Indra Nooyi said Our results this quarter reinforce the advantages of our balanced portfolio, as our food and international businesses delivered solid performance while we continued the transformation of our North American beverage business.(Nooyi, 2009) PepsiCo has large amount of free cash flow and lack of capital constraint creating strength for the company to improve its innovative capabilities, and create a strong distribution thus further strengthening its brand. Strong and creative advertisement Besides PepsiCos strong advertisement, it uses creative techniques. Such that PepsiCo created an add through a football field with most well known players (Kaka-Brazilian, Henry-France, Drogba-Godivoi, Messi-Argentine, Lumoard-England) . Extensive product list Pepsi offers various products besides the Pepsi cola. It offers beverages and snacks. Its also the number one maker of snacks (potato chips and corn chips). Weaknesses: Many Large existing Competitors Large existing competitors in the market create significant weakness for PepsiCo and thus create a need for stronger advertising, consequently requiring higher capital. Following are the strong competitors sharing a high market share in comparison to PepsiCo with 31% market share: Coca Cola has a market share of Æ’Â   43% Dr.Pepper Snapple Group Inc. Æ’Â  15% of the market Concentration PepsiCo is concentrated in North America (US, Canada, Mexico), where almost 70% of its revenues comes from. Opportunities: Acquisitions and Alliances: Due to the increased threat of rivalry and competition in the carbonated soft drink industry, acquisitions and alliances create an opportunity that reduces such threats. Through acquisition the market share rises and the revenue rises, though the high cost of doing it is a drawback to such a strategy. Acquisitions of rivals (e.g. RedBull) Increase Market Share Increase Advertisements Advertisements play a major role in Carbonated Industries. For example, for one to see Pepsis add on road while very thirsty would likely to stop by a petrol station or any convenient store who offers Pepsi to purchase it. Strengthen Brand names of N.A portfolio: Since coke dominates Western Europe and Latin America, PEPSI dominates Middle East and Southeast Asia. Threats: Change in customers taste: weakening demand in USA Æ’Â  new federal nutrition guidelines identified regular CSD as largest source of obesity-causing sugars in American diet (Pinto, 2006) Health care awareness Increased awareness of health campaigns cut down revenues of soft drink industries. Customers move to substitutes such as water, non-carbonated drinks and juices. These challenges are PepsiCos target to overcome, such as the figure below shows the peoples negative perception of PepsiCo. High Rivalry As Explained earlier, threat of rivalry is very intense due to the following factors: Large number of competitors, Decline in growth of the industry, Lack of differentiation in products, and low switching costs. Therefore there exists an intense competition for shelf space due to expanding array of products and packaging options Large company size, will demand a varied marketing program; Social, cultural, economic, political and governmental constrains. As a result, the company will incur more expenses and resources. Threat of substitutes is very high. People can easily substitute Pepsi with other drinks. Strategic recommendations to the firm based on your SWOT analysis Since PepsiCo has availability of high free cash flow (strength), I would recommend that PepsiCo opts for Acquisition and Alliance (Opportunity) to increase its market share thus to take over its rivalry (threat) Due to the threat of health campaigns (threat), PepsiCo should increase its product line (opportunity) I would recommend that PepsiCo increases its EPS and increase PepsiCos stock price, by: Increasing Income Decrease amount of outstanding stock B. Company strategy analysis 1. Mission Statement/Strategic intent/Vision Mission statement: Our mission is to be the worlds premier consumer products company focused on convenient foods and beverages. We seek to produce financial rewards to investors as we provide opportunities for growth and enrichment to our employees, our business partners and the communities in which we operate. And in everything we do, we strive for honesty, fairness and integrity (PepsiCo Inc., 2009) Reproduced Mission statement: PepsiCo aims to be the worlds number one foods and beverages producer. It mainly focuses on providing money for its investors as well as enhancing the market with jobs and opportunities for growth. PepsiCo try their best to be honest, fair and truthful in all of their operations. Critique: The mission statement relatively reflects the core values of PepsiCo. It specifically describes its goals and objectives. It also sets guidelines for the activities and operations that need to be accomplished in order to meet the company prospects aims. Vision: PepsiCos responsibility is to continually improve all aspects of the world in which we operate environment, social, economic creating a better tomorrow than today. Our vision is put into action through programs and a focus on environmental stewardship, activities to benefit society, and a commitment to build shareholder value by making PepsiCo a truly sustainable company. (PepsiCo Inc., 2009) Reproduced Vision: Operate by creating a better future sustainable environment. Critique: A vision is a statement that states what the firm will be in the future. Pepsis vision aims toward creating a future healthier, sustainable friendly environment. PepsiCo vision should be more specific to its goals and objectives in order for PepsiCo to be more productive in the future. It should be more creative and easy to adapt to new trends. The vision can help PepsiCo in controlling the future market. PepsiCo Generic Strategy: According to Michael Porter, there are two types of competitive advantages a firm an posses: A firm can either make the same products that its competitors do, but with a lower cost. Æ’Â   Cost Strategy OR A firm can differentiate its products from those offered by its competitors, either by offering better and more expensive products or by offering lower quality cheaper products Æ’Â   Differentiation Strategy. To gain a competitive advantage in the market, PepsiCo looked in its position in the industry. It engaged in cost leadership competitive strategy: Since PepsiCo is a large corporation, it can keep the prices of its products low through the massive production and economies of scale. They also can buy from suppliers in bulk at a discount and make use of the technology to lower the prices of the final products. Not to forget that the extensive distribution channels and the global existence of the firm are considered as important factors to reduce the price. Allocating the cost among the brands carried by PepsiCo, the proficiency in the development and production help PepsiCo achieving its cost leadership strategy. PepsiCo also vertically integrated. It has merged with Pepsi bottling group in order to reduce the cost of distribution. Additionally, the types of input or raw materials that are used in this industry are: sugar, bottles, cans, water, ink and plastic. Since these raw materials are not differentiated and are easily available in the market, PepsiCo can achieve economies of scale. By looking at the graph above we can learn that by achieving economies of scale the firm will reduce its costs which will lead to lower prices of the final products. Although lower prices will result in having price war, which had already existed between PepsiCo and Coca-Cola and other firms in the CSD industry, it will still help the company in increasing its market share and to compete in the industry. Adapting the Cost leadership strategy had raised strong barriers for any new entrants to enter the market since it will be very hard to compete with a well-known brand that offers low prices. PepsiCos key resources that could lead to long term competitive: In order to stay ahead of the future and present competition, Pepsi has developed many attributes. It has constructed a business strategy that will allow it to outperform its competitors. Therefore PepsiCo has concentrated on few main resources that it believes will turn out as competitive advantages for the firm which will help it to goal superior performance in its industry. These competitive advantages are believed to be: Strong Brand Name Advertising: PepsiCo has the luxury to spend around 200 million dollars in this field, which allows it to reinforce the products. The strong advertising helps PepsiCo to introduce new products very quickly because it helps in improving the awareness level on the consumers about launching new products. PepsiCo logo/ being the 2nd leader of the market: PepsiCo is a very well-known brand not only because of products taste but also because of its logo and unique way of packaging. These all created what is called brand recognition. The unique blue and red symbol made PepsiCo very recognizable among people. Pepsi has spent 637 million dollar over the five past years on its marketing plan just to introduce the new rich deep blue packaging. This color represents the eternity of youthfulness and openness. Celebrity endorsement: Pepsi had used famous faces such as Britney Spears and Beyoncà © in advertising its products, which lead to attract more customers and increase the level of costumers preference. Although celebrity endorsement was a success but PepsiCo wont be using celebrities anymore as a step forward reducing its future cost. Extensive Distribution Channels / Location In Feb. 26, 2010 PepsiCo had merged with Pepsi Bottling group and PepsiAmerican which strengthening its distribution. It has local and global locations. PepsiCo has locations in 150 countries all around the world. Physical locations: PepsiCo soft drinks can be found in vending machines which are located in high traffic locations, schools, universities. PepsiCo reaches more consumers by also distributing its products to restaurants, department stores and grocery markets.

national deficit :: essays research papers

As one of the top ten concerns in this years presidential election, the national deficit has been given some attention by both presidential candidates. But the candidates can only make promises to the public on this issue, stating that they will cut the national deficit in half , by 2009. Since both George W. Bush and John Kerry have the same goal, the examination begins on how each of them plan to achieve it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When President Clinton took office, he reduced the national debt by 10% in his last five years. But as Bush took the presidential seat in 2001, he reversed this progress and is now predicting that he will achieve the highest ratio of Gross National Debt to the Penny (GDP) in 50 years, if we re-elect him.(http://zfacts.com/p/318.html) â€Å"When Bush took office, there was a surplus of $236 billion, according to the Office of Management and Budget. By the end of 2004, a record $413-billion deficit is expected because of tax cuts, spending on national security, Iraq and Afghanistan and interest on the debt.† (http://www.freep.com/news/politics/taxgrid23e_20041023.htm) President Bush blames the deficit on the recession, the rise in military and homeland security spending, and tax cuts, which he believes were needed to encourage the economy. He has said holding off on â€Å"non-homeland security and non-defense spending combined with economic growth will make it possible to cut the deficit in half over the next five years.† He still plans to try and make his tax cuts permanent, which have â€Å"affected both businesses and individuals.† In respect to the budget enforcement rules affective in the 1990s, Bush is requiring annual limits on optional spending programs, and a pay-as-you-go requirement to force necessary spending programs to make budget cuts to make up for the increases payments. (http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04284/392809.stm) Sen. John Kerry blames the deficit on â€Å"tax cuts and entitlement spending not paid for with savings elsewhere.† He has said that keeping the optional domestic spending on the same line as inflation, and paying for new proposals which will balance out savings, will make it possible to cut the deficit in half in his first term. Kerry also says he would bring back the traditional pay-as-you-go rules, but keep the right to raise taxes so as to offset spending increases if necessary, though Kerry has â€Å"vowed to put off spending increases or find offsetting cuts first.† Kerry plans to try and decrease tax cuts for households earning more than $200,000, and use other tactics that he estimates will raise â€Å"nearly $900 billion, much of which will go toward funding health care and other initiatives.

Analyse an Example of Propaganda Essay

The use of propaganda has been practiced since early historical times. This is a form of communication aimed at influencing the attitude and view about a given issue in the larger population. This form of communication is meant for some cause or position (Taylor 2006, pp57-78).The information that is given in propaganda is usually not impartial as it is used to influence a given audience and in so doing further a given agenda. The facts used in propaganda are presented in a selective manner usually omitting bits in order to encourage some certain synthesis. Propaganda usually contains loaded messages which are meant to produce emotional response to the given information presented (Sommerville 2012, pp187-193). These being the characteristics of propaganda, the document will evaluate a video â€Å"Russia without Putin† produced in Russia during the 2012 election. The paper will examine the various aspects in the video which makes it qualify to be labeled as propaganda. The supp orting material will be evaluated as well as textual analysis. Discussion                      The release time of Russia Without Putin (2013) video was a calculated move-one day before the 2012 general election. Though there had been a long campaign period by which time such a video could have been released, the same was not carried out until the last minute. Such is the craftiness that can be associated with propaganda material. To the society the video was released to, they were meant to see it as the â€Å"savior† card before they committed political suicide by electing anyone other than Putin. Such is meant to be the power of propaganda (Silverblatt & Zlobin 2004, pp314-323). The timing of the video is also a characteristic of a propaganda video in that it was released late into the campaigns and precisely one day before the election. This did not give the voters enough time to deeply analyze the video and see the misleading presentation of facts. The people were not in a position to judge whether what they were being given was tr ue or not. With the devastating effects that were presented in the video of what would happen if they did not elects Putin, then the people were bound to be influenced to believe the video and vote Putin. In most times, any information that is meant to have the good of the people at heart should be presented in such a timely manner that there will be the full evaluation of the same and countering of facts which may not be true. However, with the video, there was no chance or the time to counter the content (Seidman 2008, pp177-184). In most times as highlighted in the introduction, propaganda material is meant to sway the people’s take in a given aspect. For this case, those rooting for Putin re-election would have wanted to influence most if not all of the voting population. The best option for this group to do this successfully was thus in form of a propaganda video (Reeves 2003, pp164-176). The Russia Without Putin (2013) video was released by Putin’s party channels and pro-Kremlin TV. The loyalty of the two groups is not hard to miss as they are known Putin’s campaign avenues. For the two groups to have released a video indicating what would happen to Russia if their preferred candidate was not elected is propaganda. They two pro-Putin groups were presenting their facts to the people without support of their source of their information or the truth in the same. Objective information should be delivered in such a manner that the reader or consumer is given accurate background with the ana lysis of the same being at hand. Missing the same is bound to be propaganda as the news will be subjective and often misleading. The same will be done with the intention to mislead. All the pro-Putin groups showed was the bad that would result if their candidate was not elected. They did not give the people the analysis of their subject thus the use of propaganda in the video (O’sahughnessy 2004, pp321-325). The channel of release of the video by the two Pro-Putin groups also makes the same qualify as propaganda. In most times, for news to reach most of the people, those who are in need of using a communication channel will utilize the most famous and the most effective channel. In the case of â€Å"Russia without Putin† video, the channel of choice was YouTube. This is a social media site where the pro-Putin groups targeted the larger audience the aim being to influence and sway the people into voting Putin back (Moore 2010, pp163-172). The groups knew that the release of the video on such a channel as you tube was bound to generate interest as it would reach many in the society especially the youth who are the majority group in consuming and using social media channels. For the video to have not qualified as propaganda and to show its impartiality, the same should have been released through Russia news channels. The same would have enabled the concerned group, in this case the R ussia society to see the authenticity and having the plight of the people at heart. However, release of â€Å"critical† information on what Russia would turn into without Putin with the use of social media channel affects the credibility and makes the video qualify as propaganda (Marlin 2002, pp97-124). The content in the video is segmented in such a way that there is a month to month account of Putin-less Russia. The video creators do an impressive job with a specification of the doomsday scenario of how Russia apocalypse will take place after without Putin. The clever crafting of scenes is meant to invoke the memories of the Russians to the past days marked by suffering (Kamalipour 2004, pp238-312). The Russian people are being led or manipulated to believe the calamities that will befall their nation. The specific scenes and accompanying propaganda are as follows: March 2012- The first month of a â€Å"Russia† without Putin is depicted as being marred by the struggle for political power by the various groups that may have had an interest in the same like in the past. The dissolving of the state duma will take Russia back to the dark days when the same was not in place. The various groups in the society who have been struggling to get to power will finally have their way. The video is meant to corrupt the minds of the people as to what will happen with the state when political power in politics is not held by Putin. Such issues as the formation of 200 parties within a month are not factual. The same may be a feat that is hard to occur which can also be read as propaganda (Herpen 2014, pp178-187). With the likes of the USA having been bitter rivals with the Russian, the same are shown to celebrate the fall of Putin where they declare the same as democracy. However, in real sense, such enemies will be celebrating the fall of Russia. The Ma rch section part of the video is to persuade the people not to make such a mistake as eliminate Putin from political power. May 2012                      Business is a big aspect in Russia. The same drives the economy. When such a critical channel is threatened, the people of Russia are bound to rally all the efforts in fighting for the same. Russia without Putin will see the same critical channel (business) face threats from the enemy. After two months without Putin in power, critical business such as oil, the banking sector and the transport sector will be doomed. Such critical amenities will end up in the hands of Russia society enemies. The fact that the video has examples of the same and who happen to be Putin’s political enemies is no surprise. Propaganda dictates that one portray the best case as they would want their audience to believe. In this case, those who have had their voices raised in public in opposition to Putin’s rule such as Eveginia Shirikova, Aleksei Navalnyi and Boris Nemtsov are shown to take over the major businesses (Gillespie 2000, pp 127-137). The Russia peop le are thus being led to oppose such a move. The fact that the same are Putin’s competitors is meant to show how they cannot be entrusted with such public amenities as banks, transport and oil business. However, as is the case with propaganda, the facts are not supported with people such as Boris Nemtsov being depicted as developing a sudden interest in business whereas he has been renowned for politics rather than his business prowess. With the nuclear aspect being a crucial matter in the whole world the fact that Russia’s enemy in this case the USA will be put in control of such weapons is something many in the Russian population would not be ready to allow. Propaganda in this section is meant to rally the Russian people behind protecting their amenities (Gessen 2013, pp98-112). September 2012                      The economy is a central part of any state. Russia without Putin will see the country face downfall in this section. The same should not be allowed to take place which is the message and call to the Russian people. The closure of huge companies such as Avto Vaz, the fall of the Russia stock exchange, the depreciation of the rubles against the dollar, highest rates of inflation, and unemployment are all economic problems that have plagued Russia in the past and left many suffering. This section of the video thus plays with the fear aspect in the society. The same would not want to go back to such times. Thus, the people are being reminded that failure to have Putin in power will result in their greatest fear coming to pass- suffering. Russia without Putin will see the society go back to the days when bread, an important commodity during hard times, becomes unavailable. The fact that this part of the video reminds the people of the past is a character istic of propaganda; relieving past failures in order to make the people think in the opposite direction (Freeze 2009, pp232-235). Going hungry is not something any society would want thus Putin should be allowed to stay in power to make sure that the same does not happen. November 2012                      If Putin is not in power, by this time as shown in the video, Russia will have degenerated into a violent society with civilians being the causalities. The plight of the needy such as the pensioners will have no one to take care of. This part of the video also relies on rekindling past bad memories in order to make people believe what is on offer to be the best. This is a major characteristic of propaganda (Cunningham 2002, pp128-154). March 2013                      This part of the video shows the degeneration of Russia just as it has been in the past with many regions wanting their independence from their mother country. Such a scene is reminiscent of the past times such as the end of the Second World War. Pro-Putin activists who made the video are aware of some of the emotional attachment the Russian people have with the motherland. They thus make sure that this part of the video depicts the fall-out within the same as it has happened in the past. In order to avoid the same, the people are made to believe that voting Putin will prevent such a scenario from emerging (Cull et al. 2003, pp157-163). June 2013                      Occupation of one’s country by foreigners is an aspect that many nations condemn and do not entertain. This is what the society in Russia is made to believe will happen if they fail to retain Putin in power. In the pretense of peace keeping, Russia will be invaded by other nations such as China and Japan occupying the different parts of Russia, for example, Chita, Khabarovsk, Blagoveshensk and Irkutsk and Vladivostok. With their nation’s sovereignty at risk, the Russian society is bound to resist such a move by all means in this case the best option being to retain Putin in power (Chomsky & Barsamian 2001, pp178-183). August 2013                      This section depicts the woes that will befall the society in this case human suffering. Failure to elect Putin will lead to continued occupation and invasion of Russia by the outside world with a human crisis such as the wiping out of entire societies such as Cossack militia. This is a move the society is being urged by this section of the video to desist from (Brady 2010, pp156-162). December 2013                      This section of the video is meant to convince the Russian society that failure to elect Putin will lead to the continued triumph of Russian enemies such as Alex Navalny. The same will receive international accreditation with people such as Navalny being awarded the Nobel peace prize. Navalny is a renowned Putin critic and political opponent thus international celebration of the same will mean Russia’s failure (Baker & Glasser 2007, pp231). February 2014                      International events such as the Olympics are a source of pride and prestige to the hosting nations. The fact that this section of the video depicts the upcoming winter games characterized by violence with Russia as the designated host is bound to touch each and everyone in the Russia society. The people will fight to see that the same does not occur. As per the planned propaganda in the video, the only way they can do so is by retaining Putin in power. The chaos from the games will also affect the rest of the society in that such amenities as communication channels and electricity will be interrupted. This section thus urges the people to protect the pride of their nation in hosting a successful international event by retaining Putin in power (Arutunyan 2009, pp132). Conclusion                      There was a timely release of the â€Å"Russia without Putin† video to the masses specifically one day before the election. The content as presented in the video relied on the influencing power of propaganda material. The target audience in this case the Russian voters were bound to be moved by the graphic portrayal of the doom that would befall their mother-land without Putin. The same would trigger an emotional cord within the voters in such a way that would enhance Putin’s re-election to power. Thus, the â€Å"Russia without Putin† video has all the characteristics of a propaganda material. References ARUTUNYAN, A. (2009).  The media in Russia. Maidenhead, England, Open University Press. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=480619. BAKER, P., & GLASSER, S. (2007).  Kremlin rising. Washington, D.C., Potomac Books. BRADY, A.-M. (2010).  Marketing dictatorship: propaganda and thought work in contemporary China. Lanham, Md, Rowman & Littlefield. CHOMSKY, N., & BARSAMIAN, D. (2001).  Propaganda and the public mind: conversations with Noam Chomsky. London, Pluto. CULL, N. J., CULBERT, D. H., & WELCH, D. (2003).  Propaganda and mass persuasion: a historical encyclopedia, 1500 to the present. Santa Barbara, Calif, ABC-CLIO. CUNNINGHAM, S. B. (2002).  The idea of propaganda: a reconstruction. Westport, Conn, Praeger. FREEZE, G. L. (2009).  Russia: a history. Oxford, Oxford University Press. GESSEN, M. (2013).  The man without a face: the unlikely rise of Vladimir Putin. London, Granta. GILLESPIE, D. C. (2000).  Early Soviet cinema: innovation, ideology and propaganda. London, Wallflower Press. HERPEN, M. H. V. (2014).  Putin’s war: a history of the rise of russia’s new imperialism. Lanham, Rowman & Littlefield. KAMALIPOUR, Y. R. (2004).  War, media, and propaganda: a global perspective. Lanham, MD [u.a.], Rowman & Littlefield. MARLIN, R. (2002).  Propaganda and the ethics of persuasion. Peterborough, Ont, Broadview Press. MOORE, C. (2010).  Propaganda prints. London, A & C Black Publishers. O’SHAUGHNESSY, N. J. (2004).  Politics and propaganda: weapons of mass seduction. Ann Arbor, Manchester University Press. REEVES, N. (2003).  The power of film propaganda myth or reality?  London, Continuum. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=436842. Reveal. (2013).  Russia Without Putin?. [Online Video]. 08 August. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAqqJ-uQRZQ. [Accessed: 25 February 2015]. SEIDMAN, S. A. (2008).  Posters, propaganda, & persuasion in election campaigns around the world and through history. New York, P. Lang. SILVERBLATT, A., & ZLOBIN, N. (2004).  International communications: a media literacy approach. Armonk, N.Y., M.E. Sharpe. SOMERVILLE, K. (2012).  Radio propaganda and the broadcasting of hatred: historical development and definitions. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire, Palgrave Macmillan. TAYLOR, R. (2006).  Film propaganda: Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany. London, I.B. Tauris. Source document

Nurse Anesthetist

Finnie 1 Kerra Finnie Mrs. Todt English III 2 March 2012 Nurse Anesthetist Since 2010 there has been a high demand for Nurse Anesthetist in the United States. A career with a high salary is appealing. With the challenges and hard work of a nurse anesthetist, one must understand the steps and dedication of a person of this type of medical role. To become a Nurse Anesthetist the general requirements are to have an RN license and a bachelor of science degree, either in nursing or an appropriate science.After getting an RN license, one year of work in critical care conditions has to be completed. When the year is over, an application is sent to a program, the application will then be compared to other applicants. More than one year working as an RN will higher the chance of the application to get in because experience in this field of nursing is important. When an applicant is accepted into a Nurse Anesthetist program they are required to attend an admissions interview.No foods or drinks should be brought to this interview, attendants will want to look formal and successful with their wardrobe. These schools are demanding and life changing. They also cause a ton of stress. Most programs last 24-33 months (Andrus 1a). In order to graduate a program a B grade point average must be maintained. After taking all steps a total of 6 years is the amount of time spent in college. You must be willing to dedicate a huge chunk of your life to your education – the information and data you learn will be Finnie 2 oliminous; the many hands-on skills require practice, practice, and tenacity (Freemark 2a). The extra time in college gives a greater knowledge of the anatomy. As a nurse anesthetist there are many choices in the medical field to choose from. Nurse Anesthetist do not possess complex technical capabilities of the doctors they assist, but they provide a wide range of services to support the doctors (McNutt 1). Interviews, reviewing charts, learning physical history, and doing preoperative teaching and developing a nesthesia plan with the anesthesiologist are all duties of a nurse anesthetist. Nurse Anesthetist administer 65% of the 26 million anesthetics given each year (Marquand 1a). The number one priority of a Nurse Anesthetist is the safety of a patient (Inglis 1a). To make a patient feel comfortable while in surgery the nurse anesthetist stays bedside while monitoring vital signs. The Nurse Anesthetist is also held to the responsibility of knowing anesthesia depth, blood loss, body temperature, and positioning.The proper amount of medicine must be given, if anything goes wrong it is a matter of life or death. A patients status can change at any time. In emergency situations there may be no way to get full information on the patient (Marquand 2). With the demand as high as it is for Nurse Anesthetist, it is the leading cause of the high paid salary. Directly after graduation, a nurse anesthetist can get a job with a starting salary averagi ng about $118,000.