Costa Coffee Essay Example for Free

Costa Coffee Essay The remote environment comprises factors that originate beyond and usually irrespective and out of Costa Coffees control. Economic factors Since Costa Coffee is a multinational business, top-level managers must consider the economic situations on both the National (Egypt) and International levels. Currencies exchange rate (Forex) affects Costa Coffees final products prices as well as operation costs. Costa Coffee imports high quality coffee beans from rainforest farms where it pays for in local currency, and sells as coffee in another country with its local country. Hence, when the Egyptian Pound depreciates, the cost of beans relatively increases; therefore, causing a fall in profit margin and vice versa. If depreciation is too much, then Costa might increase its selling prices. Moreover, interest rate is vital for a business considering expansion as Costa Coffee. As interest rates increase, Costa Coffee’s ability and willingness to expand or open new branches decreases; due to the high cost of capital. Furthermore, the stock market plays a significant role in encouraging investors to invest in Costa Coffee due to the increasing profits and the good reputation. Finally, high economic growth rate of a country leads people to increase their consumption of Costa Coffees products; since they have more income. Social Factors Egyptians’ culture and lifestyle has dramatically changed in the last 10 years. People are more willing to go to cafes for lunch, dinner or simply a snack. Considering the Egyptian demographics of lifestyle and age groups, most of the Egyptian population falls in the youth age group. Hence, Costa Coffee plays music and offers an atmosphere that is convenient for all ages with special attention to youth. Costa Coffee respects the religion of each nation in which it operates. To clarify, Costa Coffee neither sells alcoholic drinks nor pork-containing food. In addition, Costa Coffees menu is written in both English and Arabic languages. English is the most widely spoken language, and Egypt is known as a touristic attraction. Plus, Egyptians like to come across a menu written in their own language for simplicity and showing cultural respect. Also, many people nowadays are concerned with their health; Costa Coffee is providing low-calorie food, a variety of fresh salads, sandwiches, and fresh fruit juice. Political Factors Governmental rules and regulations could affect the firms suppliers and the price of the raw materials. Imposed taxes or tariffs on the imported coffee beans add to raw materials cost. Rules regarding social insurance add to labor costs. Political instability and strikes do affect labor and consumers of Costa Coffee. Technological Factors Advanced machines affect the firms performance and efficiency through producing tasty coffee as quick as possible. High quality and speed of service affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Costa Coffee uses highly advanced brewers and coffee makers for the best coffee cup. Besides, the use of the Internet to facilitate transactions between Costa and its suppliers lowers transaction costs and decreases lead time. As a result, stakeholders are more satisfied with increased profits and lower costs. Ecological Factors Costa Coffee uses recyclable paper bags and paper cups. And, it tries to reduce its energy consumption as steps towards a greener environment. It also ensures adherence to responsible farming practices, so that natural habitats are protected thereby reducing deforestation and carbon emissions. Furthermore, Costa is working to deliver green (LEED) certification for new stores beginning later this year and is working closely with its suppliers to develop more environmentally friendly packaging. Industry Environment Operating Environment A firm’s operating environment is related to environmental factors that directly affect the firm and its success in obtaining necessary resources. Yet, they are still factors beyond its area of control. 1. Competitors Costa coffee in Egypt faces high direct competition where around almost every corner in the cities, a coffee shop exists. Therefore, product differentiation is a must, and persistent high-quality is the way to keeping customers. Whichever Costa Coffee shop you enter, you are greeted the same, indulge in the same taste and pay what you see in the menu. Menu prices are tax inclusive which is different than most of other coffee shops. Competitors include, but are not limited to, Starbucks Coffee, Cilantro and Beano’s cafe. Creditors Costa’s past payment records and working capital position are the main attributes affecting creditors decisions. Considering the Egyptian markets, banks are not rare to find. Costa might be dealing with several banks, and may be granted loans from several areas. Hence, creditors have little leverage; since interest rates are controlled by central bank of Egypt as well. Customers Costa coffee is a service firm. Therefore, its utmost goal is customer satisfaction and loyalty to yield profits. Constantly monitoring Egypt’s demographics is essential in keeping a convenient atmosphere. For instance, Costa must always recognise what the youth are listening to these days to be able to play the optimum collection of songs in its branches while abiding by the brand’s image. Accessibility of location and parking spaces are of the main issues regarded by people when deciding on their hang-outs. And, the customer buyer behaviour of whether they prefer more salads and sandwiches rather than desserts; affects how much of each should be available at Costa’s branches. Labor Costa’s reputation and image is kept through its workers. Costa has to respect labor rights especially now that people are more aware of the rights than ever before. Also, Costa has to be selective in its waiters and baristas to keep the brand’s image and reputation. As a result of Costa’s reputation, highly-qualified workers apply for jobs at Costa Coffee. Suppliers Supplier relationships are as important as customer relationships. A good supplier relationships decreases yield time and enhances firm’s productivity. In Costa’s case, supplier power is not high as Costa has multiple suppliers, with low switching costs. However, supplier relationships are well-attended to at Costa Coffee; as part of its social responsibility towards coffee-growing countries.

Advertising Today :: Free Essay Writer

For Class Meeting Four Advertising Effects Paper For: SOC 105 Introduction to Popular American Culture Advertising Effects Our learning team got together and went through the advertisements in the Sunday paper. We ended up choosing three incredibly different products and advertisements to write on. The first one is advertising Relpax, which is a migraine medicine. The second one is Colgate whitening gel. The third one is Johnson’s Bedtime cream wash and bedtime cream. After closely reviewing our ads, it is evident all three company’s hoped-for effects are to create a need of some sort. Just by taking a quick glance at the Relpax advertisement it is clear everyone is happy on vacation except for the person with a boulder on their body. Many people that have had or do experience migraines know that exact feeling. Possibly this person has tried every migraine medicine on the market, and this particular one is new and may have to potential to control their migraine. Clinical studies prove people got relief with just one dose compared to another medicine on the market. This will create a need to an individual who has migraines which says what do you have to lose, you will not know until you try it. Our advertisement on Colgate Simply White Night Clear Whitening Gel is another advertisement that creates a need of beauty. A hoped-for effect from this advertisement is a consumer will see â€Å"Whiter Teeth Guaranteed. Use Once At Night For 14 Days† and purchase this product. The actual effect from this advertisement is a nice-looking lady with a pretty smile lying down with very little clothes on. The Johnson’s bedtime cream wash and bedtime cream advertisement also creates a need, except for this need is of a relaxed baby sleeping peacefully. The hoped-for effects are to create a need or want to have a calmed baby at bedtime; however, in order to attain that a consumer needs to purchase this product. The actual effect from this advertisement is a really cute baby sleeping that probably just had a nice relaxing bath before bed. One of the subliminal messages that come across in these three ads is the use of color. In all three of them, the colors are soft and inviting. In the migraine ad, the colors are more vibrant than the other ads but the net effect is the same. It also gives a message of truth.

Sino-African win-win Policy under the One Belt One Road

Literature review: Sino-African win-win Policy under the One Belt One Road initiative: Who invests more wins more? ABSTRACT: Purpose – The main objective of this review is to assess thoroughly the Sino-African relations across time and now the newly introduced â€Å"One Belt One Road† (OBOR) initiative especially the contribution to academic literature. The focus is on the major events that marked the story of Africa since China developed an interest until the new OBOR initiative and the conclusion highlights the importance on the study by comparing and contrasting the different perspectives in previous literature. Approach – We considered an integrated and comprehensive literature based on a qualitative approach, we performed a content analysis of highly relevant and impactful papers. Findings – In this paper, we analyze usually controversial issues and express our viewpoints to conclude. However, the controversies remain a hot topic for further research works to be handled with different methodologies and new theoretical approach. Implicit assumptions may always exist in terms of a quantitative assessment of the benefits from the China-Africa relations. Major differences in narratives exist between Western and Southern stakeholders. Limitations and Implications – The conclusions from the work could be supported by additional research by considering a wider scope of the analysis. To give more clarifications to the empirical findings, more works needed to be done using quantitative data and qualitative evidence that extend beyond the usual economic and geographical limits as well as the socio-political limits. Value – This paper reviews decades of research on China in Africa and presents a snapshot of the recent OBOR initiative. It further draws attention to the necessity for subsequent literature to explore new methods of analysis for better understanding of the China-Africa relations and the role each part plays to the sustainability of this cooperation. Keywords: Africa, China, relationship, One Belt One Road.

What Is Lexical Diffusion in Historical Linguistics

Lexical diffusion, In historical linguistics, is the spread of sound changes through the lexicon of a language. According to R.L. Trask: Lexical diffusion is phonetically abrupt but lexically gradual... The existence of lexical diffusion had long been suspected, but its reality was only finally demonstrated by Wang [1969] and Chen and Wang [1975] (The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics, 2000). Examples and Observations Lexical diffusion refers to the way a sound change affects the lexicon: if sound change is lexically abrupt, all the words of a language are affected by the sound change at the same rate. If a sound change is lexically gradual, individual words undergo the change at different rates or different times. Whether sound changes exhibit gradual or abrupt lexical diffusion is a topic that surfaces persistently in historical linguistics, but as yet has not reached resolution. (Joan Bybee, Lexical Diffusion in Regular Sound Change. Sounds and Systems: Studies in Structure and Change, ed. by David Restle and Dietmar Zaefferer. Walter de Gruyter, 2002)[William] Labovs view of lexical diffusion is that it has only a very limited role to play in change. He says (1994, p. 501), There is no evidence . . . that lexical diffusion is the fundamental mechanism of sound change. It happens but is only a complement--and a small one at that--to regular sound change. The most important factors in linguistic change appear to be long-standing trends in the language, internal variation, and social forces among speakers. (Ronald Wardhaugh, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, 6th ed. Wiley, 2010) Lexical Diffusion and Analogical Change I will argue that... lexical diffusion is the analogical generalization of lexical phonological rules. In the early articles by [William] Wang and his collaborators, it was seen as a process of phonemic redistribution spreading rapidly through the vocabulary (Chen and Wang, 1975; Chen and Wang, 1977). Subsequent studies of lexical diffusion have supported a more constrained view of the process. They have typically shown a systematic pattern of generalization from a categorical or near-categorical core through extension to new phonological contexts, which are then implemented in the vocabulary on a word-by-word basis. . . . [T]he item-by-item and dialectally varying accent retraction in non-derived nouns like moustache, garage, massage, cocaine is an instance of non-proportional analogy, in the sense that it extends a regular stress pattern of English to new lexical items. What I contend is that genuine instances of lexical diffusion (those which are not due to other mechanisms such a s dialect mixture) are all the results of analogical change. (Paul Kiparsky, The Phonological Basis of Sound Change. The Handbook of Historical Linguistics, ed. by Brian D. Joseph and Richard D. Janda. Blackwell, 2003) Lexical Diffusion and Syntax Although the term lexical diffusion is frequently employed in the context of phonology, there has been an increasing awareness in recent studies that the same concept is often applicable to syntactic changes as well. [Gunnel] Tottie (1991: 439) maintains that [m]uch less attention seems to have been paid to the problem of regularity versus lexical diffusion in syntax, while at the same time she argues that [i]n both morphology and syntax, lexical diffusion seems to have been implicitly taken for granted by many writers. Likewise, [Terrtu] Nevalainen (2006:91) points out in the context of syntactic developments the fact that the incoming form does not spread to all contexts at once but some acquire it earlier than others, and says that the phenomenon is called lexical diffusion. In this manner, the concept of lexical diffusion is extendable to various linguistic changes, including syntactic ones. (Yoko Iyeiri, Verbs of Implicit Negation and Their Complements in the History of English. John Benjamins, 2010)