Radiographic Modalities in Detecting Suspected Child Abuse

Radiographic Modalities in Detecting Suspected Child Abuse The moves people make against a youngster so as to dispense enthusiastic or physical mischief are, lamentably, constrained uniquely by the creative mind. Youngster misuse has been officially characterized as the shaking, punching, battering, hitting, harming, singing or consuming, suffocating or suffocating a kid as well as in any case taking an interest in activities that lead to the child’s physical mischief (Safeguarding Children 2006). As of the most recent quite a long while, the meaning of youngster misuse has likewise coordinated the inability to forestall mischief to a kid (Safeguarding Children 2006). In 1946 pediatric radiologist John Caffey first used radiographic pictures in the analysis of youngster misuse when cracks of the long bones were joined by subdural hematomas (Longman, Baker Boos 2003). In 1962 Kempe et al. (as refered to by Longman, Baker Boos 2003) offered the term battered kid disorder to depict wounds found in youngsters steady with examples of misuse, with skeletal abnormalities the most well-known wounds found in this condition. For instance, bone breaks are seen in as much as 55% of misuse cases (Longman, Baker Boos 2003). As flow research shows (Freeman 2005; Zimmerman Bilaniuk 1994), the radiographer is regularly the main human services supplier that kid sees who is in a situation to associate or decide the nearness with a non-mishap injury (NAI). Davis (2005) calls attention to the radiographer sees the kid uncovered and is in a situation to see lash marks and other wounding demonstrative of youngster misuse while looking to distinguish different territorie s of injury through the radiographic assessment; consequently seeing strange wounding or other unseemly substantial checks on the patient can help build up an example of maltreatment related to the radiologic discoveries of injury. While Silverman (1987) states that radiography can be utilized to decide both nature of injury creating power just as time of injury alert is additionally supported as different issues that radiography traditionally is utilized to distinguish can be mistaken for kid misuse, for example, the radiologic proof of scurvy, osteogenesus defective, self-continued injury and childish cortical hyperostosis. Kid misuse measurements Longerman, Baker and Boos (2003) relate stunning measurements for youngster misuse. In the only us during 2000, 1,200 kids were lethally harmed in scenes of kid misuse, For instance one to two kids are lethally manhandled by a parent or other guardian on a week after week premise (Safeguarding Children 2006). Norris (2001) states that as much as 27% of cases introduced as accidental wounds were in reality because of episodes of youngster misuse. Youngster misuse related fatalities among kids under 1 year old enough establish 41 44% of revealed instances of misuse or disregard (Offiah 2003’ Longerman, Baker Boos 2003). Radiographer obligations by law The law is very express in regards to the job of the radiographer in instances of suspected youngster misuse. For instance, the Children’s Act of 1989, Section 27 unequivocally requires every medicinal services supplier to play out any assessments mentioned by other human services experts or lawful specialists when cases present with suspected youngster abuse or misuse (Aspinell 2006; Freeman 2005). As a subordinate to the 1989 Act, with explicit respect to social insurance experts, The Children Act of 2004 orders an additional obligation past individual practice rules when working with a manhandled kid or suspecting abuse, and necessitates that medicinal services specialists cooperate to share data as suitable and collaborate so as to offer the best treatment for the youngster (Aspinell 2006; Davis 2006). Extra rules on the radiographer’s job in instances of suspected youngster misuse are promptly accessible (Freeman 2005). Be that as it may, regardless of whether law or not, eventually, the radiographer has legitimate, proficient and individual duties in identifying instances of suspected kid misuse and has many imaging methodology choices. Stover (1986) lets us know explicitly that radiographic assessments can help the ID of the injury, instrument of injury, for example, shaking, contorting, footing of an appendage or direct blow. Also and all the more significantly, the radiographic assessment can distinguish earlier injury and decide proof of recuperating forms; which are all central in circumstances of suspected youngster misuse, abuse or danger (Stover 1986). Consequently, this article will audit the scope of radiographic imaging methodology alternatives accessible when youngster misuse is suspected. It is considered past the extent of this paper to talk about the lawful jobs and duties of the radiographer in instances of suspected kid misuse and in that capacity, data identifying with this will be expressly avoided past those demonstrations and rules featured previously. So also, it is considered past the degree to examine radiographic diagnostics corresponding to imaging advancements. The rest of this article will concentrate carefully on imaging modalities. Standard radiographic x-beam Kirks (1983) accepts that standard radiographic x-beam (SXR) imaging is suitable for wounds related with skeletal breaks, pneumoperitoneum, gastric dilatation or injury to the aspiratory parenchyml, which are normal in instances of kid misuse. Analysts reveal to us that skeletal assessments are especially applicable in cases were non-incidental injury (NAI) is suspected (Gutanunga, Evans Harrison 2007, Johnson 2007; Summerfield et al. 2007; Offiah 2003) and is the most grounded radiologic based markers that youngster misuse or abuse has occurred (Diagnostic imaging 1991). Specifically, Alexander and Kleinman (1996) accept that in youngsters under 2 years old giving wounds reliable with kid misuse the skeletal review is basic. Parks (2002 as refered to by Imaging suspected NAI 2002) reveals to us that in spite of the fact that the most fitting in instances of suspected NAI, the skeletal review is one of â€Å"the most troublesome assessments to perform† given general hesitance of the little kid to submit to the assessment, the sincerely charged situation encompassing the skeletal overview demand and the continuous earnestness required. The skeletal study ordinarily comprises of the accompanying pictures: AP/PA chest, diagonal perspective on the ribs, parallel skull review in a more seasoned kid, AP pelvis/femora, AP tibia/fibula, AP humeria, AP lower arms, DP/AP hands, Half pivotal/Townes skull projection, AP 20 degrees skull projection and sidelong aptitude projection in more youthful youngsters, horizontal spine and DP of the feet (Parks 2002 as refered to by Imaging suspected NAI 2002). So as to limit radiation introduction to the creating tissues of small kids, uncommon pediatric imaging frameworks have been modernized to utilize exceptional tapes, movies and escalation screens (Diagnostic imaging 1991). In kids more established than five years old, Alexander and Kleinman (1996) disclose to us the skeletal study is for all intents and purposes of no utilization when screening for wounds, yet clinical markers should direct whether such a radiographic assessment is performed. A more up to date radiographic extra to skeletal reviews is the bone scintigraphy, additionally alluded to as radionucleotide scintigraphy (Conway et al. 1993; Howard, Barron Smith 1990), upheld by momentum research as a reciprocal system to the skeletal study as opposed to a substitution when NAI and youngster misuse are suspected (Mandelstam et al., 2003). Mandelstam et al. (2003) recorded the capacity to distinguish hard irregularities that avoid conventional radiographic skeletal pictures. For instance, 20% of those concentrated by Mandelstam et al. (2003) revealed ordinary skeletal studies; anyway wounds were obvious upon bone scintigraphy. This model confirmations the expanded affectability of the bone scintigraphy noted by Conway et al. (1993), making a preferred position in surveying delicate tissue wounds notwithstanding injury to bone structures. Apgar (1997) stresses SXRs can be of fundamental significance for surveying potential kid misuse or abuse through the imaging of hands and feet to evaluate for cracks. Specifically, Apgar (1997) discloses to us that bone outputs and skeletal overviews that emphasis on an angled perspective on the hand or foot consolidate to archive cracks in the hands and feet through confirming mending at numerous phases just as distinguishing breaks from bowing or contorting an appendage or digit as opposed to causing a hard impact. Alexander and Kleinman (1996) accept the skeletal overview ought not be utilized as an essential demonstrative methodology, yet ought to be utilized related to SXRs. For the most part a GP or essential consideration doctor will demand a skeletal study be performed when youngster misuse is associated to evaluate current and age with earlier wounds. CT Scan Non-inadvertent head wounds (NAHI) are the main source of death or neurological brokenness found in newborn children (Jaspan et al. 2003). Specialists concur CT filters are the perfect radiographic methodology to survey pediatric head injury from which to assess injury and additionally family conditions that may prompt NAIH ends characteristic of youngster misuse or abuse (Jaspan et al. 2003; Hymel et al. 1997; Alexander Kleinman 1996). Fell (2007) reveals to us CT is suggested over standard SXR as SXR are known to postpone conclusion; anyway SXR in a triage setting when CT isn't accessible when combined with understanding perception is as yet a choice. Stover (1986) accepts that a head CT ought to be viewed as required for episodes of pediatric head injury. Tragically, as Jaspan et al. (2003) demonstrate, there are no consistently settled upon conventions for radiographic imaging of NAHI. Furthermore, Alexander and Kleinman (1996) accept that CT examines without the utilization of a MRI may think little of the degree of injury continued, for instance, MRIs can picture subdural hematomas, which as indicated by Alexander and Kleinman (1996) might be â€Å"the just target imaging proof o

Internationalizes and Explore New Geographies - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Talk about the Firms Internationalizes and Explore New Geographies. Answer: Presentation This is the time of rivalry and client is the ruler. With computerized showcasing and coming of internet business, organizations are coming to their clients across globe in the blink of an eye. At the point when buyers are going worldwide and purchasing from remote organizations, it additionally made the organizations believe that for what reason should they center around nearby buyers just and why cant they extend their client base. All the associations have driven targets consistently and frequently investigates the unchartered domains to satisfy the objectives in light of the fact that the development gets steady following not many years .Also, reliance, be it on anything, is a hazard and organizations needs to expand as far as purchasers, providers, ability, etc to relieve their hazard which is one of the explanation that has brought forth Globalization (Cavusgil, Knight, Riesenberger, Rammal, Rose, 2014). This paper will examine about the elements that roused the association to grow past national limits. It begins with dissecting the most fundamental factors and afterward go on towards progressively unpredictable and basic reasons. Checking nearby contenders by exploiting Presentation of an item in a market where there are no contenders starting at now alludes to the primary mover advantage. Since first mover associations gives one of its sort items and administrations to the individuals, it rapidly gains footing from the individuals and increases the total piece of the pie in light of the fact that there is no contenders. Advertising cost is additionally less in such nations where no opposition exists. Being an early mover will enable the association to in any event, when contenders begins going into the market as shoppers will think that its hard to switch among items and furthermore the individuals will think the primary organization is the most unique and valid and more up to date organizations are simply emulating the model to exploit more noteworthy piece of the overall industry. Not just this, being a first mover and rapidly catch the market will likewise demotivate the neighborhood business people to wander into a similar field in light of the fact that Global organizations are by and large money rich and it is hard to rival them except if your contributions are extremely creative and gives more worth (Sasi, Sperling, Arenius, 2015). Take case of IKEA, IKEA has gone into such a large number of nations and by exploiting economies of scale, its super-productive gracefully chain, smoothed out business forms, it is giving minimal effort furniture to the individuals. Nearby contenders will think that its hard to make furniture at that cost. What's more, subsequently IKEA remained the pioneer and check the neighborhood rivalry. Not just this, There are organizations like Airbnb present in US and comparable model was duplicated in Europe by Wimdu before Airbnb goes into European markets. In the event that Airbnb has gone into the European markets before all else, it could be conceivable that Wimdu would have never occurred (Cavusgil, Knight, 2015). Hazard broadening This is the age of the globalization and joint effort. At the point when organizations are seeing that outside firms are going into their home markets and threating their current piece of the overall industry, they are just addressing business as usual an examining their possibilities of going to remote nations looking for new markets and clients and diminish their hazard by relying upon a solitary market. For example, there are numerous economies which are experiencing the various stages like monetary droop, development, immersed and in this way it is a gigantic hazard for an association to rely upon a specific economy (Kim, Mahoney, Tan, 2015). Enhancement is the best strategy for moderating danger and firms decide to go to universal market for broadening their client base and alleviating their danger of relying upon a restricted market. For instance, there are various US and UK organizations that are confronting pressures because of log jam in development and consequently investig ating Asian markets which are in creating stage and has enormous potential for development. For instance, Hamleys which is a UK based toy retailer chain when sees lull in existing markets started to extend to India since livelihoods are ascending in India and with better openings for work, there is a gigantic interest possibilities for Hamelys item in India (Sunny, Sund, 2014). Working in numerous business sectors additionally encourages the association to all the more likely react to the stoppage in some specific markets since development markets can counterbalance the moderate development and help the association to support itself in the economies which are confronting log jam or downturn. Along these lines, expanded markets for selling your items is one part of hazard broadening. Other angle is having numerous providers at various Geographies to moderate the danger of flexibly chain interruption. In past, there are a few occurrences of how the single provider reliance wreck a devastation for a portion of the assembling organizations in light of the fact that their providers confronted some cataclysmic events, lawful issues and limit issues and incapable to give the material. In this way, it is constantly a decent practice to have providers at various areas with the goal that catastrophic event at 1 spot can't impact the entire gracefully chain. Having more providers will likewise build the bartering intensity of the assembling organization over the providers and this is a motivation behind why the organizations hoping to go worldwide (Hadjikhani, Hadjikhani, thilenius, 2013). Immersion of household advertise/capability of fresher markets and serious weights In this period of forceful targets and gigantic rivalry, organizations consistently have an objective for development and when the nearby markets gets develop, organizations have no other choice however to investigate the unchartered domains to support and accomplish the objectives. In a nearby market, organization can develop for not many years however over some stretch of time, its development will get steady and friends needs to look past national limits. Likewise, on the off chance that the more up to date nations have enormous potential for the items, at that point it is unquestionably a decent open door for the organization. Organizations can likewise consider going worldwide as first mover or after their nearby rivals who have just moved to universal market. Both the methodologies have their own advantages and disadvantages (Bianchi, 2014). For example, first mover bit of leeway will assist with infiltrating profound into the market and procure greatest markets yet it likewise convey a hazard that if item isn't effective, there will be a gigantic misfortune. Then again, on the off chance that you move after your rivals, at that point in such cases, hazard will be exceptionally less as association can rapidly decide how the customers are reacting to results of their rivals and what is the development potential. Not just this, first movers frequently faces immense cost structures at first so as to comprehend the market, include a few restrictions before they gain the trust of the clients. Not being a first mover will assist the organization with entering into the business sectors without making ventures to try things out as this had just been finished by the contenders. Likewise, some of the time contenders who have just gone into the remote markets and tasted achievement in such markets will likewise bring back the extra income and benefits once more into their nation and increment their advertising, battling financial plan and become progressively forceful. During such occasions, rethinking itself , Mergers and Acquisitions or duplicating contenders by going worldwide are the main scarcely any choices for the associations and organizations regularly search for venturing into outside business sectors. Consider another comparable measurement where some outside organization goes into new nation and posture danger to neighborhood players. In such cases, nearby players likewise investigate the home market of the remote players with the goal that the outside organization can redirect its consideration as far as cash and exertion in its household advertise and not simply completely centers around remote market. Therefore, this is likewise another significant motivation behind why the organizations are hoping to venture into remote geologies (Boehe, 2016). Geographic/Strategic favorable position Topographical bit of leeway is one of the most significant explanation of moving to worldwide markets. A few nations particularly Developed ones by and large have greater expense structures, progressively exacting and directed work laws which makes the expense of creation very high in such nations. With expanded rivalry, there is hit on edges and along these lines associations interest the way of cost slicing to continue them and moving to remote and modest areas is a result of cost cutting. For example, there are various organizations like Apple, Dell, Ford, Hitachi that have moved their assembling units to China and India in order to exploit modest work in these nations (Buckley, Munjal, Enderwick, Forsans, 2016). Aside from modest work, access to new pool of ability is another explanation. For example, Google, Microsoft and Amazon has moved their advancement habitats mostly to India in order to exploit gigantic ability. India is known to have skill in programming improvement and i nnovation and along these lines huge associations are moving to more current markets in order to use ability in such nations to support their own capacities and giving more an incentive to their clients. A few associations will in general move their area close to their providers to include provider in plan conversations just as to decrease the lead time of the items and diminish stock. In this way, associations additionally investigate to more up to date advertises close to their provider base. Likewise, There have been numerous cases in the past where the association is reliant upon a solitary provider for their gracefully and if some cataclysm occurs or provider incapable to flexibly the material, this can be a tragic for the organization. In this way, associations will in general globalize themselves to look for the neighborhood providers too. Likewise, a few associations power their providers to move to their nation. Indeed, even a few firms have command that they will buy just from those providers which are available in their nation and which powers supplies to globalize their tasks. Along these lines providers are compelled to

Book Riots Deals of the Day for October 24th, 2019

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Paine s The Age Of Reason - 1192 Words

Paine s American Pamphlet (to be independent from England - 1776) 48 pages in duration Thomas Paine (1737 - 1809) Anglo-American political activist / philosopher. Author of The Age of Reason. - - - Common Sense was an addressing for the America people, I doubt Thomas Paine intended the book to go beyond print and into the realm of digital media eight years ago. Now America again is about to elect another commander and chief on November 8th, I felt it was time to reinstate the words of Thomas Paine s Common Sense; it s avidly a man s sentiment for a nation; whereby comprehending the nation s origin and do so with a honour and duty is vital to the role of a President. Whatever the 2016, Race to The White House result, I†¦show more content†¦Deep respect resides for centuries and in our weak hours during the Battle for Britain, the Americans came to our aid. Not much has changed during the seventy years, the special relationship remains; common sense prevailed and we continued to co-exist in our unbreakable ideology, in the free world - Civilised nations idolized the Western ideology and replicate it as a vigorous form of idealism. Pre- 1776, America may have chosen Empire rather than Republic, alas the strong British connection albeit, the caste system i.e. slavery had annexed off into undisclosed societal divisions, Thomas Paine of Thetford didn t adhere to the in-justness of servitude. In fact Britain republican virtues were non-existent, the values were notably borne to America not transmitted / inherited. What is exposed is the germinal moral energy of Paine, for he who knew of the Welsh coal miners who fled their grim valleys and whose sorrowful place names still dot the map of Pennsylvania, to which the Americans bought a piece of tradition and organization; see the Appalachian Mountains, renown for anthracite mining. Under the chapter: of the origins and design of governments in general, remarks on English Constitution; Paine delivers on Absolute governments are necessary because of the disgrace of human nature; if the people suffer then they know where their sufferings springs from, andShow MoreRel atedThomas Paine s The Age Of Reason1666 Words   |  7 PagesIn this contemporary era more people do not identify with God and in turn have become more skeptical of God. This shift can be seen in Thomas Paine’s The Age of Reason; which is an excellent example of deism. Paine spares no detail on why he does not believe in the Bible and why he does not believe God is continually working in the world. Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, A Divine and Supernatural Light, on the other hand, adamantly believes in the Bible and that God is actively present in the world. Edwards’sRead MoreThomas Paine : Towards An Independent Nation1718 Words   |  7 PagesThomas Paine: Towards an Independent Nation Thomas Paine is most known for his influence in the freedom loving American colonies. With his excellent use of rhetoric and his charisma, he quickly began to gain followers. In his writings, such as Common Sense, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason, he used these skills to call the Americans to action. Thomas Paine influenced American society and literature with his argumentative pamphlets and influential writings which inspired AmericansRead MoreThe Age Of Reason By Thomas Paine1089 Words   |  5 PagesThomas Paine was an influential 18th-century writer of essays and pamphlets. Among them were The Age of Reason, regarding the place of religion in society; Rights of Man, a piece defending the French Revolution; and Common Sense, which was published during the American Revolution. Common Sense, Paine s most influential piece, brought his ideas to a vast audience, swaying (the otherwise undecided) public opinion to the view that independence from the British was a necessity. Thomas Paine wasRead MoreThe Age of Reason and Revolution Essay810 Words   |  4 PagesThe Age of Reason and Revolution Many individuals that lived in the period of time known as the Age of Reason, discovered many new inventions and advancements to improve the quality of life. Some of these advantages brought fourth new ideas to extraordinary people who forever changed the way we look at life. Although many people found these discoveries to bring great revival to mankind, others rejected these new improvements and felt as if they were defying god. TheseRead MoreThe Was A Man With His Own Ideas1348 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Paine was a man with his own ideas. He was a strong supporter of the French Revolution. Paine Believes human rights are given by nature. Rights cannot be given by a government because that implies that human rights are legally allowed to be taken away from someone, thus making rights a privilege. He believes that the purpose of a government is to protect the individual and his/her inalienable rights that they carry. He claims that an illegitimate way of government is a monarchy and an aristocracyRead MoreThe Enlightenment By Thomas Paine And John Locke1709 Words   |  7 Pagesand science. Enlightenment thinkers who emulate these spreading of ideas include Thomas Paine and John Locke. Thomas Paine constructed The Age of Reason challenging traditional religion and validity of the Bible, while John Locke established The Second Treatises of Government which explained the need for a more civilized society with natural rights. Influences from enlightenment thinkers like Locke and Paine, are what shaped individuals attitudes about politics and religion within their societyRead MoreCommon Sense1686 Words   |  7 Pagesof Thetford, County Norfolk. Joseph Paine and Frances Cocke were the parents of Thomas Paine and they both wanted him to become something in a higher profession other than to follow his father’s trade. With this intention, his parents made a sacrifice to enrolled Paine into the local grammar school at the age of six in hopes of him becoming a lawyer or a doctor but unfortunately, Paine dropped out of school later on in the years to follow his father’s trade. Paine didn’t do so well at that either andRead MoreHow Did Thomas Paine Influence The American Revolution795 Words   |  4 PagesThomas Paine was an England born political activist, theorist, philosopher and revolutionary. He was an influential writer of essays and pamphlets. His works included â€Å"The Age of Rea son, â€Å"Rights of Man† and the widely known and well accepted â€Å"Common Sense†. He is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States and had a major influence on the American Revolution by helping shape many of the ideas that marked the Age of Revolution. His extremely popular Common Sense pamphlet (which I will be discussingRead MoreThe Document Common Sense By Thomas Paine1714 Words   |  7 Pages The document Common Sense by Thomas Paine was written in 1775, and published in 1776. Though, in order to be shared with the public, Thomas Paine had to be inspired first. Some of the more common inspirations were derived from the ideas of John Locke and Thomas Hobbes. The main points of Thomas Paine’s document were to separate from English rule and to form a democratic nation. Some of John Locke’s most common ideas of the human nature were that humans needed independence to thrive, a statementRead More Thomas Paine Essay1437 Words   |  6 PagesThomas Paine For many years Thomas Paine was the epitome of American histories greatest drawback. In American history there is always that one detail that doesn’t make it into popular curriculum. Whether it be the point of view from the loosing side of a war, to the secret dalliances of a popular politician, to the truth of a times social opinion- the American student is taught only so much. The most proper, popular material makes it in; along with any major facts too commonly known to ignore

Dr. Gallo And The Band Played On Essay - 2087 Words

And the Band Played On surprised me with its intricate character development. I found myself becoming attached to characters and heartbroken as I found they had contracted the HIV virus and made me root for research to find a vaccine or cure. Out of the characters presented in the film, I decided to focus on two main ones: Dr. Robert Gallo and Dr. Don Francis. These two characters stood out because they were so contrasting to one another. I also felt myself becoming angry at these characters and some of the decisions they decided to make. In summation, I will analyze these characters and determine which actions I believe were right and which were wrong in helping advance the research of AIDS in relation to the movie And the Band Played On. Even though the character Robert Gallo appears later in the film, he plays a significant and frustrating role in ‘And the Band Played On’. Dr. Gallo is a well-known scientist who had at the time won many awards for succeeding in the medical field, so many in fact that it seemed as though he started to become a fame-hungry doctor. Instead of doing what was best for humans the only reason he took on researching HIV in the first place was because he was after the Nobel, and he never portrayed that he cared that there were people dying from this horrible disease. They may never have been able to stop the disease in its tracks, but they may have been able to raise awareness faster if it had not have been for Dr. Gallo’s self-centered ways andShow MoreRelatedAnd The Band Played On1723 Words   |  7 Pages And The Band Played On By Randy Shilts And the band played on is a true story published in 1987 that illustrates the AIDS epidemic. The AIDS outbreak started in this book around the 1970’s and is still around in today’s society. Randy Shilts wrote this book in order to show the many errors that occurred and killed while trying to find what this virus was and how it was spread. Many people during this time were affected by this virus especially in New York and San-Francisco, which is where mostRead MoreFilm Critique Paper: and the Band Played on1627 Words   |  7 PagesFilm Critique Paper And the Band Played On The movie is about the first couple years of AIDS, mostly in the United States. It tells the political as well as the scientific struggle that occurred with the discovery of AIDS. The main character Dr. Don Francis heads the research of AIDS with little money and little help. This was because AIDS was considered the â€Å"gay man’s disease† and there was more emphasis on who discovered the disease than actually helping those who had it. 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Hint use the concepts presented in class toRead MoreBureaucracy Has Been Twisted Over The United States Governance876 Words   |  4 Pages Like many words in the English language, bureaucracy has been twisted over the years to mean something different; much like how awful went from meaning â€Å"full of awe† to â€Å"very bad or unpleasant†. In And the Band Played On, we see organizational practices that obstruct progress referred to as â€Å"bureaucratic†, when the official definition refers to a system of governance where state officials make important decisions instead of representatives. A complete switch in how we see our administrationRead MoreFilm And The Band Played On By Director Roger Spottiswoode2238 Words   |  9 Pageshealth: biological, psychological, and sociological factors. These three factors had determined the spread of the disease in the late twentieth century, and they still affect the global distribution of AIDS today. In the documentary-film And the Band Played On (1993), director Roger Spottiswoode effectively showcased all three factors. The film is a chronological sto ry of the AIDS epidemic from the 1980s. The story of the epidemic garners attention when gay men in both the west and east coast of the

Nursing School Barriers Free Essays

Review of literature valued several other barriers that contribute to student being unsuccessful. The top barriers included lack of financial support, inadequate emotional support, low self-efficacy, and time constraints. A review of the literature found a major barrier interfering with the success of students is financial constraints. We will write a custom essay sample on Nursing School Barriers or any similar topic only for you Order Now Many Of today’s students are considered nontraditional and have many responsibilities outside of the classroom that require the student to work. If unable or not allowed to work, students risk losing the necessities needed for survival. For many, working hours are more than or equivalent to he time spent in class. Therefore, the work schedule and hours, interferes with the amount of time the student can dedicate to studying. Students are also working more to cover financial obligations to the school. With the rising cost vitiation, students faced the harsh reality of not being able to afford school (Peterson, 2009). Proactively, many have decided to attend community college instead of a university, in hopes of decreasing the financial burden so the number of hours worked can be decreased. Others are forced to work because the lack of available scholarships or financial aid. Most consider mans as a last result because of the interest rates and the fear of not being able to repay in the future. Nursing school can be mentally, physically and emotionally draining. Many students are not prepared for the challenges the body endures because of the emotional roller coaster of school. Many consider the idea of preparing for a profession where human life can be jeopardized if an error occurs very stressful. At the same times, are surrounded by family and friends who do not understand the ramifications if an error occur. Some students are the first in the family to attend college; therefore, family members may not understand why the student has to choose between family functions and studying. Students can face ridicule from family and friends because there is a lack of understanding as to the amount of time and dedication needed to complete a nursing program successfully. Time constraints also affect student success in nursing school. Students find it difficult to balance personal life and a school schedule. Students find the rigor of nursing school overwhelming. Often, in nursing, students are in the classroom six to eight hours a day and clinical can range from eight to twelve hours, two or three days a week. The school leaves little time for family or extracurricular activities. At least 35% of a student’s day is dedicated to class, studying and preparing for the next scheduled class (Department, 2014). Students with families struggle with feeling as though they have abandoned their responsibilities. Mothers returning to the classroom often feel guilt when not able to cook a meal or attend a child’s activity. As a result, many withdraw with the hope of returning to school when the children are more independent. Researchers have also found low self-efficacy contributes to the lack of success in the classroom. Self-efficacy is defined as ones belief in actual ability to complete a task (Bandeau, 1997). Thus, self-efficacy is a crucial concept in a student’s perception of capability to complete a nursing program. According to Brothers (201 AAA), self-efficacy has become an instrument in evaluating student’s outcome in the classroom. Lower self- efficacy students often avoid challenges and set less challenging goals. Many enter nursing programs lacking the confidence to be successful. The students often dwell on personal deficiency and attributes failures to bad luck. Lower self-efficacy students often doubt their ability to successful complete a urging program and often give up when faced with a challenge. How to cite Nursing School Barriers, Papers

The law of diminishing marginal utility free essay sample

The law of diminishing marginal utility means that the value of a good, the extra utility derived from good, declines as more of the good is consumed. The law of diminishing marginal utility pops up throughout the study of economics, it is most important to the study of demand and the law of demand. It offers preliminary insight into the age-old question: Why does the demand curve have a negative slope? The key to this connection is that the demand price that a buyer is willing and able to pay for a good depends on the satisfaction (utility) generated from consumption. A buyer is willing to pay a higher demand price if utility is greater or a lower demand price if utility is less. Marginal utility declines asthe consumption of good increases and as quantity demanded of good increases its price tends to fall. So this is clear evidence that for larger quantity consumers offer low prices because of low level satisfaction they gained from such large amount quantity. We will write a custom essay sample on The law of diminishing marginal utility or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The law of diminishing marginal utility has a direct bearing on the market demand, the demand price, and the law of demand. If the satisfaction obtained from a good declines, then buyers are willing to pay a lower price, hence demand price is inversely related to quantity demanded, which is the law of demand. The Law of Equi-Marginal Utility is an extension to the law of diminishing marginal utility. The principle of equi-marginal utility explains the behavior of a consumer in distributing his limited income among various goods and services. This law states that how a consumer allocates his money income between various goods so as to obtain maximum satisfaction. In other words, when consumer’s marginal utilities of last unit money spend on each good is equal, then he is said to be in equilibrium position. 3) Limitations of Marginal utility theory/law of diminishing marginal utility: 1) Utility is theoretical term, so it is based on estimation and cannot be measured. 2) It is based on many assumptions, so the result may be inaccurate and unrealistic. 3) There are some products for which utility increase as consumption increases like the desire to acquire knowledge increase as a person gets the education. Moreover, In the case of Giffen goods, for which consumer will buy less of a quantity when its price falls, theory of marginal utility fails. 4) It assumed that consumer income and price of products remain constant but as we all know that consumer income plus prices of commodities doesn’t remain same for long period. 5)This approach assumes that the utility to a consumer depends upon that commodity alone, while in real world, utility also depends upon the availability of substitutes and complements like the utility of a car also greatlyrely upon availability of petrol. Taste and preference of a consumer changes from time to time. 7)It is assumed that the consumption of commodity should be continuous. If there is interval between the consumption of the same two units of the commodity, the law of diminishing marginal utility may not hold good. 8) According to this theory consumer always behave rationing manner but sometimes consumer may be forced to choose a wrong choice due to ignorance or advertisement.

End User Example

End User Example End User – Term Paper Example Managerial End User Responsibilities in Information Systems Your First Your middle initial, Your of here Managerial End User Responsibilities in Information Systems In order to better understand a manger’s responsibilities in information systems, first let’s briefly define the role of a manger in general. A manager’s role is to help build the company. Building a company in reference to the role of a manager means bringing on staff, presenting an organized structure for the staff and overseeing and directing the organized structure. The staff is very important in the structure and building of a company. The staff looks to the manager for direction in all aspects of the business. The staff is the end user in any new technology or programs implemented in the business. The staff’s understanding of new technology or programs implemented depends heavily on the direction of the manager. The responsibility of a manager exemplified in the final outcome of end user information systems is through implementing a system of successful learning. End User Satisfaction (EUS) is critical to successful information systems implementation (Au, Ngai, Cheng 2008) In several studies there has been a proven decline in performance and quality of work when new information systems are implemented. This is due to end users having to learn a new system yet produce if not more the same amount of work. The time and training for learning a system can become costly. To responsibly put this new system into effect a manager should first consider before purchasing the system what’s the ratio of user control to the controlling of the user. In other words better user control would be more adaptable in the end user learning the system than the system controlling the user. The systems are usually developed by designers who don’t know the specific needs of the user. So user control is very important. Also forming focused training sessions instead of individual â€Å"trying to figure it out with the instructions† would be cost effective. A follow through would incorporate weekly or monthly checks.ReferencesAu, N.; Ngai, E. W. T.; and Cheng, T. C. E.. 2008. "Extending the Understanding of End User Information Systems Satisfaction Formation: An Equitable Needs Fulfillment Model Approach," MIS Quarterly, (32: 1).

What Is a 401k Everything You Need to Know

What Is a 401k Everything You Need to Know SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Do you have the option of setting up a 401k plan? Does your employer offer a 401k matching benefit? Are you confused about what these words even mean? Don't worry! We'll explain everything you need to know about these accounts, but, first, what is a 401k, exactly? A 401k is a retirement savings account sponsored by an employer and designed by the government to give you tax benefits on your savings. Your money quietly grows until the time you can withdraw it in your late 50s. This guide will explain exactly what a 401k does, what you can and can't do with it, how to put money in it, and how it can set you up for a financially secure retirement. For anyone new to the world of 401k plans, let’s start with a quick review of terms. Saving for Retirement Terms: A Glossary Here are some terms you’ll see throughout the guide and a brief working definition of each: 401k: an employer-sponsored retirement account that allows your money to grow over time. Your company has to offer it, and it chooses the rules. Traditional 401k: this is the most common 401k account. You contribute money before it is taxed. Then, you pay taxes on your money when you withdraw after age 59 1/2 (or 55 if you've retired). Roth 401k: this is a newer 401k account where you contribute money that’s already been taxed. You don’t have to pay taxes later when you withdraw. IRA: this stands for Individual Retirement Account. An IRA doesn’t have to be employer-sponsored. You can transfer your 401k money into an IRA in the event you lose your job or your company goes under. Brokerage account: another option for investing your money independently. A brokerage account doesn’t offer the same tax benefits as a 401k or IRA, but your stock options are unlimited. Employer matching: many employers will match all or some of your yearly contributions to your 401k. Free money! While Roth 401k’s are gaining in popularity, most of us will still be offered a traditional 401k through our company. Therefore, we'll start by going more into detail about traditional accounts to answer our million dollar question: what is a 401k plan? Employer matching is the best. With both you and your company contributing to your nest egg, it can grow quite large over time. What Is a 401k? A 401k is an employer-sponsored retirement savings account. Not all employers offer 401ks, but those who do determine how it works. For instance, the employer chooses the various funds that make up your 401k portfolio. Since your employer has to offer it, you can't set up a solo 401k on your own. If you decide to open a 401k account, you’ll typically contribute money to it automatically each month or year. If so inclined, your company may match your contributions anywhere from 25% to 100% (some companies even go beyond 100% for the highest paid employees). Some 401k companies start by matching a small percentage of your contribution and increase this percentage the longer you work for them. There are lots of ways you can save money for retirement, including establishing an IRA or brokerage account or collecting bills in an old coffee jar. What are the advantages of putting money into a 401k as compared to these other methods? What Are the Advantages of a 401k? There are several advantages to a 401k, as well as a few limitations. Let’s start with the benefits. #1: Tax Benefits 401k plans allow your money to grow untaxed. Traditional 401ks let you contribute pre-taxed money. When you eventually withdraw the money, that’s when you’ll pay taxes on it. Roth 401k plans have you contribute already taxed money. When you take it out, you don’t have to pay any taxes on it. IRA and Roth IRA accounts also have tax advantages, but they often set restrictive limits on how much money you can contribute per year. Some only allow you to put in $5,500 a year, while 401k plans, as you'll read below, allow you to put up to $18,000, or even more if you're including an employer match. In a brokerage account that you can set up independently of an employer, your money would be taxed twice. In a 401k (traditional or Roth), your money is only ever taxed once. This tax set-up is a big benefit of 401k accounts. #2: Annual Compound Growth The second advantage of putting your money into a 401k as opposed to say, a coffee jar, is that it allows your money to grow over time. Thanks to the power of compounding interest, you could see your money grow significantly over decades. If you contribute $5,000 per year when you’re 25 and your money grows at a 5% annual rate, for example, then you would have an additional $30,000 more than you would if you started contributing ten years later. You’ll see significantly more money the earlier you start saving. You could bury your savings in your backyard, but the only thing your money would grow is mold. #3: Employer Matching Some, but not all, employers will match a percentage of your annual contributions. Employer match is essentially free money! Unless you really can’t afford it, you should strive to get the full employer match you can per year to make the most of this offer. #4: High Contribution Limits As mentioned above, 401k plans also have higher contribution limits than some independent retirement accounts. Some IRAs only let you put about $5,500 a year, while 401k limits are set at about $18,000, depending on the year. That limit doesn’t include any matching contributions made by your employer, so you could actually put a lot more per year into your 401k. We’ll get into the exact numbers below. All in all, 401ks are appealing because they offer significant tax advantages for your retirement savings, allow your money to grow over time, and they may involve significant contributions from your employer. That being said, there are some 401k limits that you should know about. Below are the three main limitations. What Are the Limitations of a 401k? Since your company offers the 401k plan, it also sets up certain rules and regulations. For instance, your employer chooses the stock options that make up the 401k. While you might have unlimited options with a brokerage account, you may only have a few with your 401k. This can actually be an advantage for some people, who would rather take a more hands-off approach to how their money gets invested. Secondly, some employers put in place a â€Å"forfeit law.† If you get laid off and have less than a certain amount of money in your 401k, then you don’t get that money back. Your company will set this amount and the details of any forfeit law. Make sure to ask whether or not your company has one. Finally, some companies also require you to work with them for a minimum number of years before you’re fully â€Å"vested† and can retain their matching contributions. If you leave or lose your job before that time, you can still keep your own savings, but any employer match contributions will disappear. Now that you know the advantages and limitations of a 401k, what do you have to do to set one up? Do you choose your investments, or does the company decide for you? Continuing with the nest egg metaphor, do you have to build the basket where your savings eggs will grow? What Steps Should You Take to Set Up Your 401k Plan? The first step in establishing your 401k plan is signing up with your employer. Typically, your employer or an HR professional should go over the steps with you when you get hired. If you chose not to sign up when you first started working at the company, you can still speak to your employer about how to sign up now. As you fill out the requisite paperwork, you’ll decide how much money you want to contribute. You can increase or decrease this amount if your circumstances change, but you won’t be able to withdraw money once you’ve deposited it (before retirement age) without a penalty. Once you’ve opened your account, you can take an active investing approach or put the 401k on autopilot. As mentioned above, your employer will choose the stock options, and you can choose how your money gets distributed among them. The majority of people, though, simply go with a â€Å"target-date† fund. With a target-date fund, you set the date you might retire, say, 2050, and the 401k does the rest. You won’t have to design your portfolio; instead, the account itself will adjust how your assets are allocated over time. If you do decide to take a more active approach, a good rule of thumb to follow is to have a diversified portfolio that can ride out the ups and downs in the market. With a diversified portfolio, you can help make sure that your savings will grow over time. While the amount of money you can afford to contribute to your 401k varies by individual, there are certain limits in place. Read on for the 401k contribution limits in 2016. How Much Money Can You Contribute to Your 401k? There are 401 k limits that determine how much money you can contribute to your account per year. These 401k contribution limits fluctuate a bit over time along with inflation. As of 2016, people under 50 could put in up to $18,000 per year. People over 50 could put in $24,000. The additional $6,000 is considered a â€Å"catch up† contribution for those who didn’t max out their limits in earlier years. Any company matching doesn’t count toward this 401k limit. The maximum combined contribution (yours plus your company match) can go up to $53,000. A good rule of thumb is to invest about 10% of your annual income, if possible. If you have employer matching, then you should also strive to get the biggest match contributions you can. Besides 401k limits, there are also rules about when you can take money out of your 401k. Read on to learn when you can make a 401k withdrawal. If you withdraw your money early to buy a four-day Bonnaroo ticket, you’ll pay a steep penalty. Better to let it sit until you retire. When Can You Get Your Money Out of a 401k? You can take money out of your traditional 401k starting when you’re 59 1/2 (regardless of whether you've retired or not) OR if you retire at age 55 or higher. If you try 401k withdrawal before that time, then you’ll incur a hefty 10% penalty fee. So far, everything discussed applies mainly to traditional 401k accounts. They let you contribute pre-taxed money and have penalties for withdrawing money before you reach a certain age. There is one other kind of 401k with different rules and regulations called a Roth 401k. Read on to learn more about a Roth 401k and how it differs from the traditional 401k accounts that most employers offer. The main difference between a traditional 401k and a Roth 401k has to do with when you pay the tax man. What Is a Roth 401k? In addition to a traditional 401k, some companies also offer a Roth 401k. A Roth 401k has a few differences from a traditional 401k. The most important difference is that a Roth 401k has you contribute money after it’s been taxed. When you withdraw money from the account later, you won’t have to pay taxes on it. The second difference has to do with 401k withdrawal rules. A Roth 401k plan lets you take out your money at any time without penalty after you’ve held the account for five years. You won’t have to pay a 10% penalty as you would on a traditional plan for Roth 401k withdrawal before a certain age or retirement. If your employer offers both traditional and Roth 401k options, which one should you choose? Traditional 401k vs. Roth 401k: Which One’s Better? If your employer offers both a traditional 401 k and a Roth 401k, then you have to decide which one to choose or, alternatively, whether to set up both types. Essentially, you want to figure out which type of 401k will help you save the largest amount of money in the long run. There are also some psychological factors that come into play. #1: Do You Want to Be Taxed Now or Later? As you read above, a traditional 401k taxes your money later while a Roth 401k taxes your money now. If you’re young, not making a lot of money, and not currently getting taxed highly, then a Roth 401k might be the preferable option. While you won’t be putting as much money into the account initially, you will be able to leave your money for many years to grow. If you’re older, make a high paycheck, and are in a high tax bracket, then you might want to go with a traditional 401k. That way, your money will be taxed when you retire and are in presumably a lower tax bracket than you are presently. Both traditional and 401k plans have great tax benefits. You should just need to decide which would benefit you more. #2: How Is Your Financial Self-Control? Beside figuring out the tax situation, there’s a self-control factor to think about. If you need all the money in your traditional 401k, then you’ll want to set aside other savings to pay the eventual large tax bill. Will you be able to set aside money to pay taxes later, or at least plan around the large chunk of your savings that will get taken away by taxes when you retire? On the flip side, if you open up a Roth 401k, will you have the self-control not to withdraw any of your savings after the five-year mark when you can withdraw penalty-free? Besides weighing the tax benefits, you should ask yourself these questions to figure out which option is better. Finally, you might not decide not to choose between them at all and instead opt for both types of accounts. Should You Choose Both a Traditional and Roth 401k? Some financial advisors suggest going with both a traditional 401k and a Roth 401k if you have the option. You don’t actually have to choose one or the other, but instead, can split your savings between the two. Going with both is similar to diversifying your stock portfolio to reduce risk. We can’t know what tax laws will come into play in the future, so choosing both a traditional and Roth 401k is a way to hedge your bets. Now that you know the ins and outs of both traditional 401ks and Roth 401ks, let’s go over the essential points that you need to remember about saving for retirement. What Is a 401k? Just the Essentials These are the key points you need to remember about a 401 k plan: A 401k is a retirement savings account that some employers offer. You can contribute a certain amount per year, and your employee might match your contributions (free money!) In a traditional 401k, your money is taxed when you withdraw, not now. In a Roth 401k, your money is taxed now, not when you withdraw. 401k tax policies are superior to those of brokerage accounts, where your money is taxed twice. Your money will grow over time thanks to the power of compounding interest. Start early to have the most amount of money saved for retirement! Now that you have a better understanding of what HR is talking about during new employee orientation, how should you proceed? Should you join in on the 401k fun? With a 401k, you can predict the future, at least the financial part. Should You Contribute to a 401k? Magic 8 ball says, â€Å"Most likely!† Unless you can’t cover your living needs, there’s no reason not to set aside some money for Future You. She’ll really appreciate it. Of course, your employer has to offer a 401k plan. If your company doesn't offer 401k benefits, then you can't set up a solo 401k. You could instead save money for retirement in an IRA, Roth IRA, or brokerage account. If you do have the option of a 401k, a good rule of thumb is to invest as much money as you can, perhaps about 10% of your income. If possible, try to max out any employer matching benefits so you get the most money you can from your employer toward your retirement savings. Start early to maximize the power of compounding growth. 401k accounts offer a simple, hands-off approach to saving for retirement. With just a little paperwork and rearranging of your daily expenses, you can save for retirement and reap huge financial benefits in your golden years.

Sun Microsystems Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sun Microsystems - Case Study Example Sun Microsystems have good financial capabilities and ideas how to improve its position and increase productivity. Sun Microsystems forecasts developments, predicts logical consequences, translates them into potential opportunities, and plans to capitalize on profitable alternatives. In the company, the assessment of market opportunity is closely linked to the innovative process. Market opportunity encourages innovation and stimulates and extends markets. In fact, the assessment of market opportunity may be considered one of the early phases of the total innovative process. Yet innovation is not equated with market opportunity. Innovation requires the supportive system of marketing resources to cultivate opportunity. Both the stimulation of a continuing flow of ideas and products that can better satisfy wants and needs, and the supply of a marketing system to support them, are requisites of opportunity realization (Annual Report 2007). International expansion and acquisition strategy allow Sun Microsystems to develop unique approach to marketing and boost sales. Jabbar developed a strategy that focused on five countries that were each potential billion-dollar-a-year markets for Sun's server business. They were Brazil, Spain, China, India and Italy. Shareholders were optimistic about Sun's potential for growth" (Jacobs and Ensign 2008, C 237). Thus, for Sun a philosophy that competition is essential for innovation. For management expects new developments to destroy existing product positions. Assuredly, firms want to secure future opportunities and "capture" markets. New products are developed for this purpose. Innovations result in two groups of forces, competitive and monopolistic. The monopolistic forces, or the delayed action of competition, offer the innovator incentives to innovate. The competitive features diffuse the benefits of past innovations into the public domain. This puts the innovator under pressure to make further innovations if he is to maintain his competitive advantage and the better-than-minimum profits that go with it. Innovation is, then, one of the competitive tools of the business firm. It is a major means of creating a differential advantage, albeit sometimes short-lived. In adjusting to change, and in attempting to meet the demands of the marketplace, it must be managed, and programmed innovation is becoming one of the foundations of business strategy (Hollensen 2007). This places additional pressure on management to understand more fully the process of managing change and programming innovation through manipulation of knowledge. Innovation approaches manageability when participation in the process becomes part of the continuing responsibility of all levels of management. Sun develops the appropriate environment and set of attitudes to encourage innovation. Only then can a firm hope to deploy its resources most profitably in order to meet the challenge of change. In novating firms face a range of possible marketing policies (Annual Report 2007). 2. The chief elements of Sun's strategy are acquisition strategy and investments, expended portfolio, reduced costs through unit volumes and consulting services. For Sun, innovation is a core of differentiation. This combination of strategic policies allows Sun to "improve operating income by nearly $1.2 billion" during the first half of 2007 (Sun

What are the similarities and differences between Single Loop and Essay

What are the similarities and differences between Single Loop and Double Loop Learning - Essay Example Given that single-loop learning is more applicable for immediate learning, this model is often applied in our routine and repetitive day-to-day learning (Agryris, 1999, p. 69). Double-loop learning can take place given that errors or mistakes are being corrected by modifying the organizational norms (Choo, 2002, p. 14). Unlike the double-loop learning, single-loop learning can occur in case the immediate action performed to modify or correct errors is sufficient enough to correct mistakes without having the need to challenge the validity of an existing organizational norm. In line with this, Choo (2002, p. 14) explained that the main goal of single-loop learning is to â€Å"increase organizational effectiveness without the need to change the existing norms†. Single-loop learning is similar to incremental learning in the sense that the learning of new skills happen through incremental improvement. For example: Knowing that the marketing manager does not appreciate negative outl ook with regards to achieving the sales target, the sales people should learn how to deal effectively with the sales manager by simply questioning how the sales team will be able to meet the sales quota rather than saying that the sales target is unrealistic and demanding of their time and effort. By learning how to immediately deal with the sales manager, the sales people could avoid encountering work-related problems without the need to change the existing organizational norms. Double-Loop Learning Double-loop learning is more complicated as compared to the single-loop learning. Unlike the single-loop learning, several authors explained that double-loop learning is more complicated in the sense that the use of this... Lots of theories were developed to give us a better understanding on how learning can take place and how it can be improved in the long-run.Specifically the loop learning models are among the few learning theories that could enable use have a better understanding on how learning could happ Learning can take place wherever we are. It is possible to learn from our own mistakes or mistakes of other people. Considering the usefulness of loop learning models, this report will focus on discussing the similarities and differences between single-loop and double-loop learning. Similarities and Differences between Single-Loop and Double-Loop Learning Applicable to any types of organizational learning, single-loop and double-loop learning are models that could make us have better understanding on how formal or informal learning could take place (Agryris, 1999, p. 69). According to Kelly (2008, p. 57), single-loop learning can be utilize to increase our stock knowledge and make final decision ba sed on what we already know whereas the double-loop learning is applicable in cases wherein what we have learned in the past could give us the opportunity to create further questions based on assumptions or what we understand about something.Single-loop and double-loop learning are learning models that are applicable in any business organization. As compared to the use of single-loop learning, the use of double-loop learning is more effective in solving complicated organizational problems which requires the need to change organizational goals, values, frameworks and strategies.

Analysis of Product Packaging Design

Analysis of Product Packaging Design ABSTRACT 1 Introduction Product design and specifically product shape and looks have long been identified as factors that may contribute to product value and new product success. Design of products evokes both cognitive and affective responses in the mind of the observers and this can be used to tailor a more attractive product proposition. While a lot of excellent research has been conducted on the positive effect that industrial design can have on the perceptions of customers about the product functionality, embedding issues like utility, safety and comfort, the importance of the perceived value by a customer on judgements about product elegance and social significance have not been extensively studied until recently. reference In this thesis I am trying to test whether Yes please soup pot design not only communicates to the potential customer a series of qualitative attributes about its content, i.e. quality and healthiness, but also triggers positive emotional responses on the perceived beauty and difference with similar products and that can be leveraged by the company to command a price premium 2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCT DESIGN New product development processes are the subset of standardized procedures that companies use to manage the new product project phases that lead to the launch of new products in the market. The objective of these procedures is to implement a systematized approach to ensure the potential of new projects based on their financial and development feasibility while maximizing the value of new products as perceived by its target customers. 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is industrial design Industrial design is the set of activities within new product development processes that deal with optimizing the functionality and appearance of a product to maximize its value for both consumer and manufacturer (1). The ultimate objective of a product design is thus to align the set of attributes embedded within the product with the target customer preferences and to implement them in a way that they are actually perceived and valued by them. In order to achieve a successful design and implementation, companies engage in direct market research to elicit the target customer segment implicit and explicit needs (the voice of the customer) and align those with product attributes, using techniques such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) which systematically links the needs the product must satisfy with technical specifications while also prioritizing them based on the level of importance to customers. At the same time, the identification of the customer segment preferences and the mapping of those within a perceptual map, comparing how well different products in the market fulfill the identified needs, allow for the design of specific product propositions that no other product does and thus achieving a unique positioning and successful product differentiation. The dimension of product design has been recognized by several authors (Cooper, Trueman) as being critical to the ultimate success of the launch of new products. The focus of design development is centered around the efficient implementation of the product features, ergonomics and quality form to maximize its utility to users, while at the same time embedding it with a pleasant appearance that is able to communicate positive attributes that contribute to the ultimate value proposition. (3) (4) Trueman: Design has the facility to improve product reliability and quality standards thereby raising the perceived value of goods and services in the eyes of the customer, allowing companies to increase profit margins As Trueman estates (6), A value proposition must successfully integrate a product within its own environment by combining and merging coherently the different attributes, aesthetics, price and quality so that they are aligned similarly and reinforce each other. Although mistaken by artists that only worry about the visual appearece of a product, or styling, successful industrial designers are able dig into such fields as engineering, Materials science, manufacturing, and marketing to embed new products with a set of attributes directly influencing new product success in the market.(2) (3) (4) (5) (6). Ultimately, the design of an object is the specific configuration of elements, materials and components that give its particular attributes of function, shape etc. and determine how it is to be made and used. (13) By embedding the design dimension into the processes, companies ensure that the final value proposition is increased as it contributes to the perceived value by the customer. A successful design increase the perceived quality of a product, ensures that is aligned with market and regulatory standards and thus increase the odds to satisfy customer expectations. A consistent Design strategy in new product development processes also contributes to build a product and company image and helps to pull together the dimensions of company identity with branding and promotion (Trueman). Also, by taking the design dimensions early on the NPD projects, companies can reduce the final time to market and product costs by simplifying the manufacturing processes and reduce the final costs of fabrication. 2.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The contribution of Industrial design in the final product value proposition There are many design attributes that can be embedded into new products, roughly separated within ergonomics and aesthetics, being the former more related to the experience of using the product, while the latter is focused into the experience of seeing the product. Aestethics, embedding all product parameters that determine the way the product look, are a an essential element of the purchasing process since customers base their preference on products by the subjective perceptions elicited by the product on the potential benefits it can provide.(7) In that line, the Lens model first introduced by Brunswick (?), states that the potential customer makes a mental bundle of the information it receives about the product and from there triggers a set of perceptions that will ultimately lead to a set of preferences and choices. The ways a specific design can lead to a positive perception and thus to a choice of preference vary and are entangled with other sources of information the customer receives and which align the propostion to the customer already decided preferences. The perceptions that a product can evoke are immediately related to past information received and allow the person for example to relate it to a certain corporate and brand identity, a process that many companies have followed by implementing a sustained design strategy on their products. Brand identity allows to ultimately link the products observed to perceptions on company values and overall level of attributes of the products and has been used as means of effective product differentiation. (9) (10). In different industries, companies tend to emphasize different attributes in their communication to be aligned with their specific company positioning and customers most importance preferences, like tastiness and safety in the food industry and reliability and environment friendliness in the car industry. The physical form of a product has been researched to have an important impact in the way customers judge it and has ultimately a strong correlation effect with the final product success in the market (). As Bloch (10) states the physical form or design of a product is an unquestioned determinant of its marketplace success. A good design attracts consumers to a product, communicates to them, and adds value to the product by increasing the quality of the usage experiences associated with it. 2.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Which financial benefits can it provide Companies with an effective industrial design strategy achieve better perfoming products in the market in terms of several financial indicators as return on assets, return on sales and higher profitability, which can be linked to both the design differentiation factor as stated previously by Porter in the famous book Competitve strategy (1980) and to reduced costs due to more efficient use of materials and manufacturing processes. (14) Also, the study of Roy (13) in 1993 on 221 small and medium sized UK manufacturers which received a government subsidy to promote the active use of industrial design in the development of new or improved products showed that 60% of all projects and 90% of the implemented ones were commercially successful and profitable with payback periods averaging under 15months, which show that the effective strategic approach to include design in new product development processes can be implemented in firms of different sizes. Bloch in his research also collected previous studies that linked new product financial success factors with the inclusion of design as an inherent part of their NPD processes. He identified in a survey of senior marketing managers that, design was mentioned as the most important determinant of new product performatice by 60% of respondents by only 17% considered Price most important . Also and based on the work of cooper on the analysis of the performance of 203 new products identified that product design was the most important determinant of sales success . Most interestingly for the case of Yes Please foods product, which as will be explained later chose specifically a designer for the pot based on his previous award winning record, Some research has identified that the receipt of design awards is positively associated with profit margins above average and sales growth (Goodrich 1994; Roy 1994). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purchasing process and the visual effect of a product design 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XXXXXXXXXXXXX The ultimate act of purchasing occurs as a result of a complex mental process where the information received is analyzed and weighted as per to measure to which extend the product satisfies the needs of the customer. A general categorization of customer needs has been frequently compared with the Maslow hierarchy of needs which states that once most basic requirements have been satisfied by a product, the emphasis on a customer shifts to satisfy other more intangible needs related to symbolic and aesthetic attributes. As a result of this the purchasing process is triggered by the fulfillment of the requirements for the intended use of the product but also by the satisfaction of more intangible needs like status, elegance or social significance. In order to understand the ultimate behavioral response of a customer triggered by the visual appearance of a product it is critical to assess the cognitive and emotional processes that result from the act of observing the item under evaluation. The cognitive processes take place when a customer uses his visual senses to observe the product and perceives certain information which mentally organizes to make some judgments about its attributes and which are influenced by previous visual references or similar product stereotypes, which suggest familiar usages of the product and ultimately help the observer to interpret the signals received. It has been described a number of different approaches on how to categorize the judgments that a customer does based on the perception of a product observation. Crilly (?) has summarized all previous approaches and identifies a total of three main categories of cognitive responses to product appearance: Aesthetic, Semantic and Symbolic. From those three, the semantic interpretation, the mental inferences that an observer does to judge whether a product is capable of performing the tasks for what is intended for, is the only processes where the tangible attributes of the product are assessed. During this process the practical qualities of a product like function, performance and efficiency are analyzed and mentally compared with other references to judge the utility a product will offer to the observer. In this category I include the information that is gathered by the customer when obtaining information from reading the label and which is directly processed to identify the physical attributes of the product. The emotional responses following this cognitive process are then aligned to assess the instrumental utility of the product which ultimately lead to satisfaction, when fulfilling the expected requirements, and dissatisfaction when the product is not fulfilling them. The two other described cognitive processes are used to identify intangible attributes of the product that may or may not be perceived as valuable for the customer depending on a number of different factors, like current positioning within the Maslow hierarchy of needs, consumers cultural context and personal characteristics. The symbolic association is the cognitive response that attaches to the product some socially determined symbolic meaning. During this process, as series of values are realized to be attached to the product and assumes that others must also associate them with it. As Crilly states This culturally agreed meaning will allow the customer project a desirable image to others, express social status or communicate its personal characteristics through it. Examples of intangible values that can be associated to the product through symbolic meaning are exclusivity as the identification with certain economic status and environmentally consciousness. Finally the aesthetic impression comprises all cognitive responses that are directed towards a perceived judgment of elegance and beautifulness. Even if still there is no unanimous consensus on what comprises beautiful objects, the perception of aesthetic attraction triggers positive emotional thoughts on the customer and contribute to attaching value to the product observed. 3.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Aesthetics Dimension As researched by several authors (?) the definition of what makes an item beautiful or aesthetically pleasant is not conclusive. It has been described though that cultural and social forces have an influence in the preferences for specific forms. Specifically, it has been described that a specific culture values and preferences may influence the acceptance of a particular style. Also seems to be proven that cultural norms may overwhelm an individual inner preferences and help shape its perceptions towards the acceptance of a specific design form. (blaich, Bloch) Thus, and although cross cultural differences stay in the way of having an unified view of what can be considered as aesthetically pleasant, the current era of advanced information technology is working towards unifying the concepts that influence the perceptions of the soft values within a product design and thus working towards a more globalized and uniform set of criteria. The cognitive processes described triggered upon the observation of a product lead to a series of emotional responses that will ultimately lead to the final decision on the purchasing process, being the most important the attraction or disgust towards the aesthetics, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards the fulfillment by the product of instrumental requirements for its use, the surprise or indifference based on the perceived product novelty and the admiration or indignation towards social significance. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DESIGN IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY In the food industry, Tauber (8), collected through extensive market studies an exhaustive set of problems related to food products. By doing so, he was trying to identify potential opportunities for new products while also providing with a thorough analysis of the basic needs to be fulfilled by this kind of products. From that list it can be identified a series of attributes that the product under study is fulfilling and thus achieving a specific positioning. Some of them, like low calorie content, convenience of transport and preparation and adequacy of the serving size are efficiently communicated through the information contained in the label. Others like healthy, tasty, and high quality can only be perceived by the customer through the design of the pot and label and by some previous information it might have received. Moreover, as Berkowitz researched, the shapes and images that have a more natural looking are associated with products that are fresher, taste better and have a better texture, and are ultimately more preferred by customers. At the same time, he found that aesthetic appealingness of the product, defined by bloch (10) as the ability to evoke positive beliefs, positive emotions and sympathetic with consumers aesthetic tastes, and by Crilly (11) as the sensation that results from the perception of attractiveness (or unattractiveness) in products was not of any specific interest to food products customers. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Yes Please! Foods Company, products and market The trigger for the writing of this thesis has been evaluation of the influence that the design of the Yes Please! Foods soup product packaging may be having in its market performance. Yes Please Foods is Germany based company that entered the chilled organic convenience food German market in 2007. Although belonging to the generally mature food industry, both the organic and convenience sub segments have been growing at an average rate of 12% in the period 2003-2008 in Germany (15). Yes please foods can be considered to be positioned in the Premium priced range of offers within the segment as its Price its on average 33% more expensive than that of the competitors. The company started its operations in the Berlin area and has been enjoying a high growth rate in volumes sold ever since (the actual numbers can not be disclosed in this paper as they are covered by a confidential disclosure agreement). The company is currently planning to expand its operations throughout Germany and is about to close its first round of external financing. Based on the information provided by the company, it is know that the customer profile of this kind of products is that of mid to high educated people, working full time, with above average income and health conscious. It is inferred from the information provided by the company that the product is intended to fulfill the need of high quality healthy food that can be prepared and ready to serve within a short period time frame. The motto of the company portrays this positioning of healthy convenient to prepare food for customers that do not want to spend time in the kitchen as good food for busy people The design of the pot, as explained by the company owner and general manager, Gemma Michalski, was the central part of their strategy to build a company identity and resulted in one of the biggest expenditures incurred during the initial company launching. The design was commissioned to Willimas Myurray Hamm from London which used the artwork of Berlin based illustrator Martin Haake. As explained by Ms Michalski, they were specifically chosen to perform the design task because of their previous record of award winning product designs that resulted in highly successful products in the market. (16) 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Use of conjoint analysis to elicit the importance of attributes in the eyes of the costumers The first part of the field study I am going to conduct has been designed to measure a the potential correlation between price and design in the final willingness to pay expressed by respondents. Also I shall use the results to mesure the relative importance of each, for the whole of respondents and for potential segments I shall identify within the sample of respondents. The technique used, an empirical marketing research using conjoint analysis, was first introduced as an effective marketing tool during 1970s and has been validated as an effective means to identify the most relevant features of product, its key design attributes, and the degree of importance that customers attach to them. (17) The usefulness of the tool is extended by the ability to sort the answers from respondents to some specific criteria which allow eliciting the kind of different features preferred by different segments of consumers within the same market. At the heart of the technique, consumers are asked to rate as per their own preferences a number of different product prototypes that are embedding different features and levels of features. By doing so, the customer is making choices and trade-offs from those multi attribute alternatives based on the overall perceived utility or value of the product under evaluation. The statistical treatment of the data, using a multiple regression model, allows quantifying how much each of the single attributes is affecting the overall value of the entangled set of properties, as it is assumed that consumers have an implicit utility value for every single one of them. The first part of the technique is normally a consumer attitude survey were the general attitudes of the consumer towards the product are collected. One of the main outcomes of this part of the research is to determine which features of the product are relevant for the consumers. The aim of this first part is typically to find out why the products are purchased, which use they make of them and their attitudes toward them. Once the information is collected allows the design teams to elicit which features of the product seem to be more relevant for the customers and allows to potentially determine needs that still unresolved or problems existing with current products in the market. In this thesis I have overcome this phase since this part of the research is aimed at determining which physical features of the product are relevant, whether the focus of this thesis is aimed to the soft values attached to physical appearance. Thus, by assuming that the current most important features of the product for the target customer segment are actually satisfied by all products in the study, I have been able to focus any significance preference in the actual aesthetic value of the product and its potential relationship with the price they would be willing to pay. In order to communicate to respondents that all products evaluated had exactly the same features and were only differing in design and price, the following statement was introducing the questionnaire: The products you are going to see are all soup products. They contain just natural organic ingredients without any conservatives and must be kept in the fridge. The portions are all 500ml Generally, The second part of the conjoint process uses the information gathered to determine the whole set of attributes that define all of the existing products in a market and introduces new ones to test their acceptance by consumers. Also, different levels for each attribute are defined to obtain a meaningful representation of the different ranges within each attribute that are or could be available in the market. In order for the research to be significant, prototypes having different combinations of levels of all attributes have to be created to be ranked in preference by consumers. Typically, and due to the large number of possible permutations of attributes that can be created, a smaller sample is chosen to facilitate the consumer research study. It has been shown that eliminating combinations through an experimental design called orthogonal arrays or through judgment (those that are not possible physically i.e. by cost or conceptually i.e. by design), has no significant effect on the final outcome of the study (18) Since the research to be conducted for this thesis is aimed at identifying any preferred designs for a soup product and potentially monetary value attached to specific product appearances, I have chosen to study two sets of attributes, design comprised by the three levels, picture of natural ingredient, artistic draw and no draw and the attribute price, also with three different levels: â‚ ¬ 1,99, â‚ ¬ 2,49 and â‚ ¬ 2,99. Due to the small number of total possible combinations (32), the empirical survey shall ask respondents to evaluate all possible combinations. The rationale for choosing these type of designs has been based on previous literature on shape and images in food products (Berkowitz) and the need for the actual inclusion of the design of the Yes Please Food product to test its hypothesized perceived value on the design. The third design included no draw has been arbitrarily selected hypothesizing it to be a representative sample of an unaesthetic design. The three price level selected have been chosen on the basis of actual prices of products in the market for the picture of natural ingredient (â‚ ¬2,49) and artistic draw (â‚ ¬2,99) designs, while the third level price has been arbitrarily selected to represent a low price level within that attribute. The third part of the procedure gathers a meaningful sample of the product consumers and asks them to rank the different prototypes (combinations of the different levels of the selected attributes) based on their preferences. The aim of this part is to gather the structure of consumers preferences for different product features. In this part is important to define the question to be asked properly so it collects the opinion on consumers about the perceived value they attach to each specific product proposition. In my research I have chosen the sentence from 1-7 how likely would you be to buy this product at the stated price. One of the benefits of conjoint analysis is that it is able to achieve statistical significance on the results with a relative small sample of respondents. The aim of this research will be to achieve at least 33 respondents in order to be able to make some inferences about the direction of the proportional influence that design has in the final monetary value of the proposed prototype, being that either positive or negative. One of the limitations of my study shall be that the random sample of respondents to the questionnaire shall only be validated as actual consumers of soup products by one of the questions in the demographic profile, do you like soup? that is embedding three possible answers: no, sometimes is ok and love it. It shall be assumed that a positive answer to this question (all possible answers but no) allow to make inferences about their potentiality to be consumers of the product. That limitation is affecting jus this part of the study were the research is trying to elucidate whether design has a relationship with willingness to pay. For the second part where it will be researched the consumers perceptions about intangible attributes of the design, it will be assumed that cultural context and general profile of the respondents is similar to that of the consumers of fresh soups as explained before in the Yes Please Foods product and market chapter of this thesis. A segmentation of the respondents by any kind of useful criteria like demographics, type of usage, attitude towards the products etc will also allow to identify the preferred attributes for each type of customer segment. The final part is the statistical treatment of the results that tries to identify which attributes are preferred by consumers and which are considered to be of more relative importance to them, and thus to the final value of the product proposition. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Experiment 7.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Objectives The objectives of the experiments executed were designed to validate and refute previous research about the influence that design have in the purchase decision making process and to elicit specific findings about the design of the soup product of the sponsor company Yes Please! Foods. In the first experiment, the objective is to validate whether a series of qualitative attributes about the product can be inferred from the customer just by looking at the design, specifically the respondents are required to rate each of the three designs as per their perception on how they consider them to be healthy, fresh, of high quality, different and beautiful. One of the objectives of this part of the experiment is to validate the hypothesis that the design of the pot of the Yes Please! Foods soup product has is somehow original that can be clearly differentiated from that of the competitors and that is considered to be an aesthetically pleasant design. Another objective of this part of the research is to validate previous research like that of Berkowitz (9), Bloch (10) and Trueman (6) which asserted that in mature markets, product form is one way to gain consumer notice and achieve a clear product differentiation. By assessing the responses about the attributes quality, freshness and Healthiness, it is pursued to validate the research of Bloch (10) and Nusssbaum (?), which stated that exterior appearance of a product is an important channel to communicate information to consumers, that Product form allows to generate inferences regarding other product attributes. Also this experiment will help to validate the research from Berlkowtiz () which found that natural shapes displayed in the packaging of food products help consumers to make assumptions about the product as being more fresh healthy and of higher quality. Finally I intend to validate the research of Trueman (6) which found that products that are considered to have a good design (which I shall relate to the weight of the responses on the attribute beautiful) are considered to be of superior quality, by checking whether products to be considered beautiful on my research are also considered to be of high quality. The inferences that I will try to make with the results of the second part of the research, a conjoint analysis of 9 different prototypes which result from the combination of three different design styles and three different sets of prices, will be dependent upon the results of the first part. If during the first experiment I am able to proof that some of the three designs are considered to be significantly more beautiful than the others, I shall be able to validate with the results of the second experiment are aligned with the results found by Bloch. Kotler and Nussbaum when they found that given two identical products in terms of features and price, the one with the most beautiful design is preferred by respodents. At the same time I shall try to validate whether a product considered to be more beautiful can command a higher willingness to pay, which is stated in the survey designed as the likeliness to buy the shown product. If that is proven to be the case, I will try to identify the reasons why those customers would be willing to spend more in such product by relating it to their perceptions on the other attributes of the same product, either being the subset of attributes regarding product utility, (higher quality, more natural or more healthy) , the subset of aesthetic attributes (more beautiful, more different) or both. Finally I shall use the results of the second experiment to validate the research of Berkowitz which found that products with natural shapes tend to be considered more natural, and healthy. I shall do this by specifically analyzing the results of one of the chosen designs which portrays a picture of a natural tomato on the label. Also I shall try to refute the findings of the same author which found in previous research that attractive designs where not of any specific interest to consumers in terms of aesthetic appeal. 7.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methodology 7.2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sample The survey will be send to all recipients of the address domain [emailprotected], for which I expect a random sample of respondents within the employees of ESMT and all recipients of address [emailprotected], for which I expect a random sample of ESMT MBA 2009 students I believe this sample shall be repre Analysis of Product Packaging Design Analysis of Product Packaging Design ABSTRACT 1 Introduction Product design and specifically product shape and looks have long been identified as factors that may contribute to product value and new product success. Design of products evokes both cognitive and affective responses in the mind of the observers and this can be used to tailor a more attractive product proposition. While a lot of excellent research has been conducted on the positive effect that industrial design can have on the perceptions of customers about the product functionality, embedding issues like utility, safety and comfort, the importance of the perceived value by a customer on judgements about product elegance and social significance have not been extensively studied until recently. reference In this thesis I am trying to test whether Yes please soup pot design not only communicates to the potential customer a series of qualitative attributes about its content, i.e. quality and healthiness, but also triggers positive emotional responses on the perceived beauty and difference with similar products and that can be leveraged by the company to command a price premium 2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT AND PRODUCT DESIGN New product development processes are the subset of standardized procedures that companies use to manage the new product project phases that lead to the launch of new products in the market. The objective of these procedures is to implement a systematized approach to ensure the potential of new projects based on their financial and development feasibility while maximizing the value of new products as perceived by its target customers. 2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What is industrial design Industrial design is the set of activities within new product development processes that deal with optimizing the functionality and appearance of a product to maximize its value for both consumer and manufacturer (1). The ultimate objective of a product design is thus to align the set of attributes embedded within the product with the target customer preferences and to implement them in a way that they are actually perceived and valued by them. In order to achieve a successful design and implementation, companies engage in direct market research to elicit the target customer segment implicit and explicit needs (the voice of the customer) and align those with product attributes, using techniques such as Quality Function Deployment (QFD) which systematically links the needs the product must satisfy with technical specifications while also prioritizing them based on the level of importance to customers. At the same time, the identification of the customer segment preferences and the mapping of those within a perceptual map, comparing how well different products in the market fulfill the identified needs, allow for the design of specific product propositions that no other product does and thus achieving a unique positioning and successful product differentiation. The dimension of product design has been recognized by several authors (Cooper, Trueman) as being critical to the ultimate success of the launch of new products. The focus of design development is centered around the efficient implementation of the product features, ergonomics and quality form to maximize its utility to users, while at the same time embedding it with a pleasant appearance that is able to communicate positive attributes that contribute to the ultimate value proposition. (3) (4) Trueman: Design has the facility to improve product reliability and quality standards thereby raising the perceived value of goods and services in the eyes of the customer, allowing companies to increase profit margins As Trueman estates (6), A value proposition must successfully integrate a product within its own environment by combining and merging coherently the different attributes, aesthetics, price and quality so that they are aligned similarly and reinforce each other. Although mistaken by artists that only worry about the visual appearece of a product, or styling, successful industrial designers are able dig into such fields as engineering, Materials science, manufacturing, and marketing to embed new products with a set of attributes directly influencing new product success in the market.(2) (3) (4) (5) (6). Ultimately, the design of an object is the specific configuration of elements, materials and components that give its particular attributes of function, shape etc. and determine how it is to be made and used. (13) By embedding the design dimension into the processes, companies ensure that the final value proposition is increased as it contributes to the perceived value by the customer. A successful design increase the perceived quality of a product, ensures that is aligned with market and regulatory standards and thus increase the odds to satisfy customer expectations. A consistent Design strategy in new product development processes also contributes to build a product and company image and helps to pull together the dimensions of company identity with branding and promotion (Trueman). Also, by taking the design dimensions early on the NPD projects, companies can reduce the final time to market and product costs by simplifying the manufacturing processes and reduce the final costs of fabrication. 2.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The contribution of Industrial design in the final product value proposition There are many design attributes that can be embedded into new products, roughly separated within ergonomics and aesthetics, being the former more related to the experience of using the product, while the latter is focused into the experience of seeing the product. Aestethics, embedding all product parameters that determine the way the product look, are a an essential element of the purchasing process since customers base their preference on products by the subjective perceptions elicited by the product on the potential benefits it can provide.(7) In that line, the Lens model first introduced by Brunswick (?), states that the potential customer makes a mental bundle of the information it receives about the product and from there triggers a set of perceptions that will ultimately lead to a set of preferences and choices. The ways a specific design can lead to a positive perception and thus to a choice of preference vary and are entangled with other sources of information the customer receives and which align the propostion to the customer already decided preferences. The perceptions that a product can evoke are immediately related to past information received and allow the person for example to relate it to a certain corporate and brand identity, a process that many companies have followed by implementing a sustained design strategy on their products. Brand identity allows to ultimately link the products observed to perceptions on company values and overall level of attributes of the products and has been used as means of effective product differentiation. (9) (10). In different industries, companies tend to emphasize different attributes in their communication to be aligned with their specific company positioning and customers most importance preferences, like tastiness and safety in the food industry and reliability and environment friendliness in the car industry. The physical form of a product has been researched to have an important impact in the way customers judge it and has ultimately a strong correlation effect with the final product success in the market (). As Bloch (10) states the physical form or design of a product is an unquestioned determinant of its marketplace success. A good design attracts consumers to a product, communicates to them, and adds value to the product by increasing the quality of the usage experiences associated with it. 2.3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Which financial benefits can it provide Companies with an effective industrial design strategy achieve better perfoming products in the market in terms of several financial indicators as return on assets, return on sales and higher profitability, which can be linked to both the design differentiation factor as stated previously by Porter in the famous book Competitve strategy (1980) and to reduced costs due to more efficient use of materials and manufacturing processes. (14) Also, the study of Roy (13) in 1993 on 221 small and medium sized UK manufacturers which received a government subsidy to promote the active use of industrial design in the development of new or improved products showed that 60% of all projects and 90% of the implemented ones were commercially successful and profitable with payback periods averaging under 15months, which show that the effective strategic approach to include design in new product development processes can be implemented in firms of different sizes. Bloch in his research also collected previous studies that linked new product financial success factors with the inclusion of design as an inherent part of their NPD processes. He identified in a survey of senior marketing managers that, design was mentioned as the most important determinant of new product performatice by 60% of respondents by only 17% considered Price most important . Also and based on the work of cooper on the analysis of the performance of 203 new products identified that product design was the most important determinant of sales success . Most interestingly for the case of Yes Please foods product, which as will be explained later chose specifically a designer for the pot based on his previous award winning record, Some research has identified that the receipt of design awards is positively associated with profit margins above average and sales growth (Goodrich 1994; Roy 1994). 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The purchasing process and the visual effect of a product design 3.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  XXXXXXXXXXXXX The ultimate act of purchasing occurs as a result of a complex mental process where the information received is analyzed and weighted as per to measure to which extend the product satisfies the needs of the customer. A general categorization of customer needs has been frequently compared with the Maslow hierarchy of needs which states that once most basic requirements have been satisfied by a product, the emphasis on a customer shifts to satisfy other more intangible needs related to symbolic and aesthetic attributes. As a result of this the purchasing process is triggered by the fulfillment of the requirements for the intended use of the product but also by the satisfaction of more intangible needs like status, elegance or social significance. In order to understand the ultimate behavioral response of a customer triggered by the visual appearance of a product it is critical to assess the cognitive and emotional processes that result from the act of observing the item under evaluation. The cognitive processes take place when a customer uses his visual senses to observe the product and perceives certain information which mentally organizes to make some judgments about its attributes and which are influenced by previous visual references or similar product stereotypes, which suggest familiar usages of the product and ultimately help the observer to interpret the signals received. It has been described a number of different approaches on how to categorize the judgments that a customer does based on the perception of a product observation. Crilly (?) has summarized all previous approaches and identifies a total of three main categories of cognitive responses to product appearance: Aesthetic, Semantic and Symbolic. From those three, the semantic interpretation, the mental inferences that an observer does to judge whether a product is capable of performing the tasks for what is intended for, is the only processes where the tangible attributes of the product are assessed. During this process the practical qualities of a product like function, performance and efficiency are analyzed and mentally compared with other references to judge the utility a product will offer to the observer. In this category I include the information that is gathered by the customer when obtaining information from reading the label and which is directly processed to identify the physical attributes of the product. The emotional responses following this cognitive process are then aligned to assess the instrumental utility of the product which ultimately lead to satisfaction, when fulfilling the expected requirements, and dissatisfaction when the product is not fulfilling them. The two other described cognitive processes are used to identify intangible attributes of the product that may or may not be perceived as valuable for the customer depending on a number of different factors, like current positioning within the Maslow hierarchy of needs, consumers cultural context and personal characteristics. The symbolic association is the cognitive response that attaches to the product some socially determined symbolic meaning. During this process, as series of values are realized to be attached to the product and assumes that others must also associate them with it. As Crilly states This culturally agreed meaning will allow the customer project a desirable image to others, express social status or communicate its personal characteristics through it. Examples of intangible values that can be associated to the product through symbolic meaning are exclusivity as the identification with certain economic status and environmentally consciousness. Finally the aesthetic impression comprises all cognitive responses that are directed towards a perceived judgment of elegance and beautifulness. Even if still there is no unanimous consensus on what comprises beautiful objects, the perception of aesthetic attraction triggers positive emotional thoughts on the customer and contribute to attaching value to the product observed. 3.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Aesthetics Dimension As researched by several authors (?) the definition of what makes an item beautiful or aesthetically pleasant is not conclusive. It has been described though that cultural and social forces have an influence in the preferences for specific forms. Specifically, it has been described that a specific culture values and preferences may influence the acceptance of a particular style. Also seems to be proven that cultural norms may overwhelm an individual inner preferences and help shape its perceptions towards the acceptance of a specific design form. (blaich, Bloch) Thus, and although cross cultural differences stay in the way of having an unified view of what can be considered as aesthetically pleasant, the current era of advanced information technology is working towards unifying the concepts that influence the perceptions of the soft values within a product design and thus working towards a more globalized and uniform set of criteria. The cognitive processes described triggered upon the observation of a product lead to a series of emotional responses that will ultimately lead to the final decision on the purchasing process, being the most important the attraction or disgust towards the aesthetics, the satisfaction or dissatisfaction towards the fulfillment by the product of instrumental requirements for its use, the surprise or indifference based on the perceived product novelty and the admiration or indignation towards social significance. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DESIGN IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY In the food industry, Tauber (8), collected through extensive market studies an exhaustive set of problems related to food products. By doing so, he was trying to identify potential opportunities for new products while also providing with a thorough analysis of the basic needs to be fulfilled by this kind of products. From that list it can be identified a series of attributes that the product under study is fulfilling and thus achieving a specific positioning. Some of them, like low calorie content, convenience of transport and preparation and adequacy of the serving size are efficiently communicated through the information contained in the label. Others like healthy, tasty, and high quality can only be perceived by the customer through the design of the pot and label and by some previous information it might have received. Moreover, as Berkowitz researched, the shapes and images that have a more natural looking are associated with products that are fresher, taste better and have a better texture, and are ultimately more preferred by customers. At the same time, he found that aesthetic appealingness of the product, defined by bloch (10) as the ability to evoke positive beliefs, positive emotions and sympathetic with consumers aesthetic tastes, and by Crilly (11) as the sensation that results from the perception of attractiveness (or unattractiveness) in products was not of any specific interest to food products customers. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Yes Please! Foods Company, products and market The trigger for the writing of this thesis has been evaluation of the influence that the design of the Yes Please! Foods soup product packaging may be having in its market performance. Yes Please Foods is Germany based company that entered the chilled organic convenience food German market in 2007. Although belonging to the generally mature food industry, both the organic and convenience sub segments have been growing at an average rate of 12% in the period 2003-2008 in Germany (15). Yes please foods can be considered to be positioned in the Premium priced range of offers within the segment as its Price its on average 33% more expensive than that of the competitors. The company started its operations in the Berlin area and has been enjoying a high growth rate in volumes sold ever since (the actual numbers can not be disclosed in this paper as they are covered by a confidential disclosure agreement). The company is currently planning to expand its operations throughout Germany and is about to close its first round of external financing. Based on the information provided by the company, it is know that the customer profile of this kind of products is that of mid to high educated people, working full time, with above average income and health conscious. It is inferred from the information provided by the company that the product is intended to fulfill the need of high quality healthy food that can be prepared and ready to serve within a short period time frame. The motto of the company portrays this positioning of healthy convenient to prepare food for customers that do not want to spend time in the kitchen as good food for busy people The design of the pot, as explained by the company owner and general manager, Gemma Michalski, was the central part of their strategy to build a company identity and resulted in one of the biggest expenditures incurred during the initial company launching. The design was commissioned to Willimas Myurray Hamm from London which used the artwork of Berlin based illustrator Martin Haake. As explained by Ms Michalski, they were specifically chosen to perform the design task because of their previous record of award winning product designs that resulted in highly successful products in the market. (16) 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Use of conjoint analysis to elicit the importance of attributes in the eyes of the costumers The first part of the field study I am going to conduct has been designed to measure a the potential correlation between price and design in the final willingness to pay expressed by respondents. Also I shall use the results to mesure the relative importance of each, for the whole of respondents and for potential segments I shall identify within the sample of respondents. The technique used, an empirical marketing research using conjoint analysis, was first introduced as an effective marketing tool during 1970s and has been validated as an effective means to identify the most relevant features of product, its key design attributes, and the degree of importance that customers attach to them. (17) The usefulness of the tool is extended by the ability to sort the answers from respondents to some specific criteria which allow eliciting the kind of different features preferred by different segments of consumers within the same market. At the heart of the technique, consumers are asked to rate as per their own preferences a number of different product prototypes that are embedding different features and levels of features. By doing so, the customer is making choices and trade-offs from those multi attribute alternatives based on the overall perceived utility or value of the product under evaluation. The statistical treatment of the data, using a multiple regression model, allows quantifying how much each of the single attributes is affecting the overall value of the entangled set of properties, as it is assumed that consumers have an implicit utility value for every single one of them. The first part of the technique is normally a consumer attitude survey were the general attitudes of the consumer towards the product are collected. One of the main outcomes of this part of the research is to determine which features of the product are relevant for the consumers. The aim of this first part is typically to find out why the products are purchased, which use they make of them and their attitudes toward them. Once the information is collected allows the design teams to elicit which features of the product seem to be more relevant for the customers and allows to potentially determine needs that still unresolved or problems existing with current products in the market. In this thesis I have overcome this phase since this part of the research is aimed at determining which physical features of the product are relevant, whether the focus of this thesis is aimed to the soft values attached to physical appearance. Thus, by assuming that the current most important features of the product for the target customer segment are actually satisfied by all products in the study, I have been able to focus any significance preference in the actual aesthetic value of the product and its potential relationship with the price they would be willing to pay. In order to communicate to respondents that all products evaluated had exactly the same features and were only differing in design and price, the following statement was introducing the questionnaire: The products you are going to see are all soup products. They contain just natural organic ingredients without any conservatives and must be kept in the fridge. The portions are all 500ml Generally, The second part of the conjoint process uses the information gathered to determine the whole set of attributes that define all of the existing products in a market and introduces new ones to test their acceptance by consumers. Also, different levels for each attribute are defined to obtain a meaningful representation of the different ranges within each attribute that are or could be available in the market. In order for the research to be significant, prototypes having different combinations of levels of all attributes have to be created to be ranked in preference by consumers. Typically, and due to the large number of possible permutations of attributes that can be created, a smaller sample is chosen to facilitate the consumer research study. It has been shown that eliminating combinations through an experimental design called orthogonal arrays or through judgment (those that are not possible physically i.e. by cost or conceptually i.e. by design), has no significant effect on the final outcome of the study (18) Since the research to be conducted for this thesis is aimed at identifying any preferred designs for a soup product and potentially monetary value attached to specific product appearances, I have chosen to study two sets of attributes, design comprised by the three levels, picture of natural ingredient, artistic draw and no draw and the attribute price, also with three different levels: â‚ ¬ 1,99, â‚ ¬ 2,49 and â‚ ¬ 2,99. Due to the small number of total possible combinations (32), the empirical survey shall ask respondents to evaluate all possible combinations. The rationale for choosing these type of designs has been based on previous literature on shape and images in food products (Berkowitz) and the need for the actual inclusion of the design of the Yes Please Food product to test its hypothesized perceived value on the design. The third design included no draw has been arbitrarily selected hypothesizing it to be a representative sample of an unaesthetic design. The three price level selected have been chosen on the basis of actual prices of products in the market for the picture of natural ingredient (â‚ ¬2,49) and artistic draw (â‚ ¬2,99) designs, while the third level price has been arbitrarily selected to represent a low price level within that attribute. The third part of the procedure gathers a meaningful sample of the product consumers and asks them to rank the different prototypes (combinations of the different levels of the selected attributes) based on their preferences. The aim of this part is to gather the structure of consumers preferences for different product features. In this part is important to define the question to be asked properly so it collects the opinion on consumers about the perceived value they attach to each specific product proposition. In my research I have chosen the sentence from 1-7 how likely would you be to buy this product at the stated price. One of the benefits of conjoint analysis is that it is able to achieve statistical significance on the results with a relative small sample of respondents. The aim of this research will be to achieve at least 33 respondents in order to be able to make some inferences about the direction of the proportional influence that design has in the final monetary value of the proposed prototype, being that either positive or negative. One of the limitations of my study shall be that the random sample of respondents to the questionnaire shall only be validated as actual consumers of soup products by one of the questions in the demographic profile, do you like soup? that is embedding three possible answers: no, sometimes is ok and love it. It shall be assumed that a positive answer to this question (all possible answers but no) allow to make inferences about their potentiality to be consumers of the product. That limitation is affecting jus this part of the study were the research is trying to elucidate whether design has a relationship with willingness to pay. For the second part where it will be researched the consumers perceptions about intangible attributes of the design, it will be assumed that cultural context and general profile of the respondents is similar to that of the consumers of fresh soups as explained before in the Yes Please Foods product and market chapter of this thesis. A segmentation of the respondents by any kind of useful criteria like demographics, type of usage, attitude towards the products etc will also allow to identify the preferred attributes for each type of customer segment. The final part is the statistical treatment of the results that tries to identify which attributes are preferred by consumers and which are considered to be of more relative importance to them, and thus to the final value of the product proposition. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Experiment 7.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Objectives The objectives of the experiments executed were designed to validate and refute previous research about the influence that design have in the purchase decision making process and to elicit specific findings about the design of the soup product of the sponsor company Yes Please! Foods. In the first experiment, the objective is to validate whether a series of qualitative attributes about the product can be inferred from the customer just by looking at the design, specifically the respondents are required to rate each of the three designs as per their perception on how they consider them to be healthy, fresh, of high quality, different and beautiful. One of the objectives of this part of the experiment is to validate the hypothesis that the design of the pot of the Yes Please! Foods soup product has is somehow original that can be clearly differentiated from that of the competitors and that is considered to be an aesthetically pleasant design. Another objective of this part of the research is to validate previous research like that of Berkowitz (9), Bloch (10) and Trueman (6) which asserted that in mature markets, product form is one way to gain consumer notice and achieve a clear product differentiation. By assessing the responses about the attributes quality, freshness and Healthiness, it is pursued to validate the research of Bloch (10) and Nusssbaum (?), which stated that exterior appearance of a product is an important channel to communicate information to consumers, that Product form allows to generate inferences regarding other product attributes. Also this experiment will help to validate the research from Berlkowtiz () which found that natural shapes displayed in the packaging of food products help consumers to make assumptions about the product as being more fresh healthy and of higher quality. Finally I intend to validate the research of Trueman (6) which found that products that are considered to have a good design (which I shall relate to the weight of the responses on the attribute beautiful) are considered to be of superior quality, by checking whether products to be considered beautiful on my research are also considered to be of high quality. The inferences that I will try to make with the results of the second part of the research, a conjoint analysis of 9 different prototypes which result from the combination of three different design styles and three different sets of prices, will be dependent upon the results of the first part. If during the first experiment I am able to proof that some of the three designs are considered to be significantly more beautiful than the others, I shall be able to validate with the results of the second experiment are aligned with the results found by Bloch. Kotler and Nussbaum when they found that given two identical products in terms of features and price, the one with the most beautiful design is preferred by respodents. At the same time I shall try to validate whether a product considered to be more beautiful can command a higher willingness to pay, which is stated in the survey designed as the likeliness to buy the shown product. If that is proven to be the case, I will try to identify the reasons why those customers would be willing to spend more in such product by relating it to their perceptions on the other attributes of the same product, either being the subset of attributes regarding product utility, (higher quality, more natural or more healthy) , the subset of aesthetic attributes (more beautiful, more different) or both. Finally I shall use the results of the second experiment to validate the research of Berkowitz which found that products with natural shapes tend to be considered more natural, and healthy. I shall do this by specifically analyzing the results of one of the chosen designs which portrays a picture of a natural tomato on the label. Also I shall try to refute the findings of the same author which found in previous research that attractive designs where not of any specific interest to consumers in terms of aesthetic appeal. 7.2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Methodology 7.2.1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Sample The survey will be send to all recipients of the address domain [emailprotected], for which I expect a random sample of respondents within the employees of ESMT and all recipients of address [emailprotected], for which I expect a random sample of ESMT MBA 2009 students I believe this sample shall be repre