Explain why perfectly competitive firms cannot make supernormal Essay - 1

Explain why perfectly competitive firms cannot make supernormal profits in the long run but monopolies can - Essay Example Producers are only interested of taking their cost and resources are easily mobilized. Thus it makes a perfect combination. The most interesting part is that Perfect Competitive market has growth levels to improve their quality and revise their prices which make them vulnerable and devoted towards their product. This is observed and practice because a lot of firms comes in and introduce their new may be advanced product to customers and if you fail to offer something equivalent then customers simply turns their backs. These are some positive gestures which you receive from the market to improve further or bring something new to attract the customers. All conditions are to be fulfilled to make it a Perfect Competitive Market. Monopolistic Market: It is a place where only one party holds the system and moulds it accordingly. There are several other problems that occur for consumers if the market is monopolistic like supply constraints are faced often and prices are fixed according to their will, mostly high and excessive barriers are being laid for new comers which is a hindrance in getting new offers and sufferers are only customers as they can’t help buying the product available. This type of markets are usually said to be in telecommunication or media industry sectors as they lay strong foundation by investing a huge amount which cannot be easily challenged. But they are bad for themselves in a way that they do not face competitor, which does not make them realize to go for innovations or advancements. The best example here is American Software Company known as Microsoft which ruled the software sector for decades because of its Windows Operating System. They were later challenged by Apple with extra ordinary efforts for which Apple waited for years and today it is in dominance. Remember efficiency is not the only factor affecting monopoly. Monopolies can still achieve a good profit ratio then Competitive markets in the long run. This term can

Constitutional and Administrative Law (question in instructions box) Essay

Constitutional and Administrative Law (question in instructions box) - Essay Example However, in practice most of the UK’s administrations in the recent past have normally initiated parliamentary debate as a way of legitimizing military deployments abroad even if parliament is lacking express war powers. In 2006, British Prime Minister Tony Blair in reassessing his government-initiated parliamentary approval for the 2003 deployment of troops in Iraq recognized that he could not contemplate a circumstance in which an executive could single-handedly declare war, unless they are dealing with situations where the use of military would be urgently needed to restore or preserve the security of the state1. In such situations, convening parliamentary sittings, debate and approval of military deployments would be belated, hence the need to circumvent parliament. Either way, holding a parliamentary debate on pre-deployment of military forces, the schedule and any eventual resolutions are not legally compelling to the executive and the Prime Minister to act in a certain way2. The vote on the 2003 military deployments in Iraq marked a significant part in the history of exercising war powers. The Tony Blair government donated more of its war powers to Parliament by engaging the people’s representatives to approve of its military agendas3. The need to involve parliament in war declarations has been reinforced by subsequent qualms about whether the Prime Minister, as the individual charged with micromanaging the country’s security apparatus had made the right decision(s), considering the vital trade-off between national security and the potentially high costs that overseas deployments normally attract. A parliamentary approval of military deployments would cushion the executive from â€Å"extreme† parliamentary oversight that would follow such deployments, particularly when the military actions exceed the pre-planned budgets limits4. The current Coalition government has sought parliamentary

Uses of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas

Uses of Renewable Energy in Rural Areas 2. Literature Review According to data from 2005, about 90% of the EU-27 territory is considered rural (predominantly rural and intermediate regions) where 54% of the population lives (EU, 2008). Hence, that the EU has constantly developed different policies orientated to these particular regions. Large amount of studies have been done over the years about sustainable development in rural areas, originating different socio economics theories, policies and systems, even some of them have been put in practice with more or less success in different countries. This review will therefore highlight some works which have been done with the aim of achieving a development in so difficult areas mainly dependent on agriculture and farming economies. Due to the big number of studies done over the years, it would be very difficult to include all of them in this study. Consequently, this review is mainly focusing the attention to those European, national or regional policies that concern the topic of this thesis. Principally, this chapter will review those works about development of rural areas; farming co-ops as an important tool for this objective; Common Agricultural Policy and its positives and negatives influences; and the use of renewable energies for a sustainable and local development in rural areas. It is not the aim of this review to analyse all the studies done about sustainable development in rural areas, cause it would be out of the scope of this thesis, or at least it would be too wide subject, and it would need its own study. Consequently, the literature has been reduced to those policies about rural development and renewable energy done by public institutions such as European Union, Spanish ministries and regional administrations. Neither is it the objective of this thesis to do a study about community benefits from renewable energies as a whole, therefore the range of studies treated in this chapter are merely those more related with the topic of this work. As there are different areas in which it is necessary to concentrate on, the review will be divided in different sections according to the field under study: farming coops as and their role in the development of rural areas; Common Agricultural Policy; Rural Development Policy; and Renewable energies in rural areas. 2.1. Farming cooperative systems. There is a large amount of studies done over the years showing the important role that the cooperative systems can play in the development of rural areas or even poverty alleviation (de la Jara y Ayala, 1992; Lele, 1981; Là ³pez and Marcuello, 2005; Monasterios, 2009; Morales, 1995; Nevares, 1963; Novkovic, 2008; Simmons and Birchall, 2008). These model of company contributes to the rural development not only theoretically but also from the reality. The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) (2007) defines co-operative as â€Å"autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise. They are based on the values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. In the tradition of their founders, co-operative members believe in the ethical values of honesty, openness, social responsibility and caring for others†. Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005) not only assume the obvious role that the co-operatives play as an organizational reference, but also, they could not neglect the value of this model as a socio-economic actor. Accoring to their study, joining this two functions co-operatives can be one the pillars of the economy and society, becoming in a fundamental factor of development in rural regions. Simmons and Birchall (2008) used the same reasons exposed to propose the use of cooperative societies by developing countries as an essential tool to achieve a sustainable economic growth and alleviate the poverty. However, not only developing countries are using these models, but also the developed countries do, and try to protect, reinforce and increase the creation of co-operatives. For instance, Spain has put a great effort throughout the years in the growth of the cooperatives, even the article 129.2 of the Spanish Constitution (1978) says that â€Å"the public authorities shall effectively promote the various forms of participation in enterprise and facilitate cooperative enterprises by means of appropriate legislation†. Consequently, Spain count with the law 27/1999 of cooperatives (1999) that foments the creation of this type of organisations as a key to impulse the growth of the economy and employment, highlighting the ethical values that the cooperative principles such as solidarity, democracy, equality and social vocation, have, considering them indispensables to build an enterprise where the members feel identified with. Proof of the investment made in the cooperatives is that they are very well established in different sectors, especially in the agriculture, in which, for instance, in the European Union and North America imply between 30 and 70% of the market (Cropp Ingalsbe, 1989; van Bekkum van Dijk, 1997; Nilsson, 2001). Besides, there are different international organisations that represents this type of societies joining forces in terms of defending their interests out of the local level. Such as the case of COGECA (General Confederation of Agricultural Cooperatives in the European Union) (2009), which it was created in 1959, and nowadays represents about 40,000 farmers cooperatives, employing 660,000 people. COGECA (2009) recognised the importance of the agricultural cooperatives in the rural regions, being the most important development operators and becoming the connexion of the socio-economic in rural regions. COGECA (2009) shows how the figures originated by the agricultural cooperatives in the European Union, such as more than 50% of the share in the supply of agricultural inputs; more than 60% in the collection, processing and marketing of agricultural products; and a global annual turnover of three hundred billion euros; speak by themselves. Going to a more local scale, de la Jara y Ayala (1992) studied the influence of the agricultural cooperatives in the development of the rural region of Extremadura (Spain), taking advantage of his experienced in the area, creating and working with cooperatives since 1975. The study reveals that, in a region affected by the significant emigration of the population to the cities between 1960 and 1981, clearly dependent on the agriculture from the economic and social point of view with a 27,2% of workforce and generating the 20,24% of its GDP by 1987 (while the figures for the whole country were 13,8% and 5,43% respectively); the different policies accomplished by the national or regional authorities, promoted cooperative societies to develop the region and create stable employment. With especial mention to the plan elaborated in 1982, PECOEX (Cooperative Experimental Plan of Extremadura), on the bases of which 98 new cooperatives were created employing more than 1,000 people. All the t rust deposited in this kind of socioeconomic system, made that the 24,71% of the working population in Extremadura was directly linked with farming cooperatives in 1992. Besides, de la Jara y Ayala (1992) made some case studies in populations between 3,000 and 10,000 inhabitants, revealing a significant influence of the farming cooperatives, especially in the smallest villages, as generators of wealth and stable employment. Actually, in the cases studied the workforce dependent on farming coops was between 52 and 83%. And as consequence of the growth of the cooperative societies, the villages have seen the increase of other commercial activities, agricultural industry and standard of living, remarking the role of the agricultural cooperatives as driving force of the development of their communities. However, there is a significant number of studies arguing the efficiency of this kind of organisations. Among others, Katz and Boland (2002); Lele (1981); Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005); Nilsson (2001); Ortmann and King (2007); suggest that cooperatives suffer from technical, scale and allocative infficiency. Basically all these studies have been done analysing mainly the economic point of view, seeing the cooperatives societies as businesses and leaving on the side the social consequences of this kind of organisations in their community. Nevertheless, cooperatives are still competing in different markets prospering and growing. If they were truly uneconomic they would be eliminated of the markets. Nilsson (2001) and Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005), recognised that one of the possible options of the survival of the cooperatives could be the public support that they have. Usually, due to the important social role of the cooperatives, the different governments compensate this organisations with lower taxes and/or interest subsidies, for instance. Là ³pez and Marcuello (2005) analysed the situation of different agricultural cooperatives, trying to identified the link between their economic situation and the subsidies they were getting from the European Union through the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). The study did not discovered that due to the grants that they received from the CAP the cooperative societies are becoming more inefficient, however, it revealed that these subsidies are allowing some inefficient cooperatives to survive in the market, making them dependent on the European financial support. Consequently with a reduction in the CAP could cause the decease of those inefficient organisations. 2.2. Common Agricultural Policy. CAP. The Treaty of Rome (1957) commence the Common Agricultural Policy in terms of protecting a sector that, by then, employed one third of the population generating the 20% of the GDP (Bureau and Matthew, 2005). The objectives of the CAP set in the Treaty of Rome (1957) were: to increase agricultural productivity by promoting technical progress and by ensuring the rational development of agricultural production and the optimum utilisation of the factors of production, in particular labour; to ensure a fair standard of living for the agricultural community, in particular by increasing the individual earnings of persons engaged in agriculture; to stabilise markets; to assure the availability of supplies; to ensure that supplies reach consumers at reasonable prices. Bureau and Matthew (2005) exposed that the main measure implemented to achieve these objectives was through prices intervention, achieving a stabilisation of the prices and a rapid technological evolution. Consequently, the costs decreased and the production increased significantly, reaching some of the goals. However, the actual consequences were that the population in rural areas decreased due to the low income, and the consume grew, but at a lower rate than the production, generating a surplus disposed in domestic and international markets with almost no competition due to the subsided exports. Nevertheless, the CAP remained untouched until its first great reform, the MacSharry reform that was implemented in 1994. This reform tried to reduce the surplus cutting the intervention prices and compensating the farmers with a direct payment independent of the quantity produced. At the same time it introduced some social policies such as early retirement and agri-environmental scheme (European Parliament, 2001; Fennell, 1993). It would be with the necessity of preparation for the incorporation of the new members to the EU, when the CAP was further reformed with the Agenda 2000 (1999), which introduced new price cuts and reinforced a second pillar of the policy to support environmental and social services and the quality of the products creating a Rural Development Regulation for the following six year. However is in the mid-term CAP reform (2002) when appeared the decoupled payments, called Single Farm Payments (SFP), which depend on the commodity not affecting the production. With this reform, the subsidies do not depend on the volume of production and, to get access to them, it is required to follow the EU regulations regarding environment, food safety and quality, and animal welfare. The SFP and the new cuts in intervention prices started in between 2005 and 2007, depending on the country. Other measures of the reform were, first, to fixed the budget of the CAP for the period 2006-2013, so the nominal quantity would be the same, even with the introduction of Romania and Bulgaria by 2007; and second, to strength the second pillar of the CAP, creating a rural development policy which began to be applied in 2005. All the CAP reforms have been worked out with the aim of reducing the direct subsidies to the prices or volume of production. As Bureau and Matthew (2005) exposed that, after 12 years of reforms, the intervention prices had been cut in more than a 45%, so the support is not being linked to the quantity and to increase the income of the farmers, they will need to do it through the marketplace, and not thanks to the subsidies. Besides, 5% of the SFP was transferred to rural development measures. Although, the scope of the SFP were to reduce the incentives for intensification, this achievement is still unknown. And another issue detected is that the decoupling differs across the different states, and actually, they are allowed to keep part of the previous payments, hence that some countries, like France, still make them, because of the fearing of land abandonment. Despite the attempts of the EU of reforming the CAP to solve the problems caused in the international markets and developing countries, and at the same time maintaining the main objectives within the domestic markets, there are different organisations and studies made, claiming for a further reform of the CAP (Bureau et al., 2005; Redclift et al., 1999; FAO, 2009; Rice, 2003; Butault et al., 2006; WTO, 2006; WTO, 2008). Bureau et al. (2005) summarized the different causes for a further reform of the CAP. Among those are economic, because 40% of the EU budget is going to the CAP, however 50% of it is going to only the 7% of the beneficiaries. Besides there is a growing feeling of spending the money on other sectors like research and development or education. Other reasons are environmental, so making a more ecological CAP, it would be possible to decrease the production farming and intensification. On the contrary, the reality of the EU-27 agriculture, reported by the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (2008), is that it represents 6,2% of employment, varying from 1% to 33% in United Kingdom and Romania respectively, while accounting for 1.8% of GDP, differing from 0.4% to 9.5% in the different countries with Luxembourg at the bottom of the list and Romania at the top. It is evident that the importance of this sector is decreasing in EU-27, although there is still a strong and very important agrifood industry. There is a significant number of farmers and agri-cooperatives associations, represented at EU level by COPA-COGECA (2009), that defends the CAP as a measure to ensure food stability and quality; moderate price for consumers and fair earnings for farmers; employment and public services. It is still soon to have clear evidences of the consequences of the last reforms of the CAP, and even more difficult to associate the changes in the agri-food sector exclusively with the modifications of the CAP, cause, as any other sector, it has been affected by the difficult economic situation of the last few years. On the other hand, the consequences cannot be analysed in a European level and it is much clear at a national or even regional level. In this section, several transformation that the Spanish agricultural sector has suffered in the last few years and, predictably, could be linked to the several CAP reforms, are highlighted. The coordinator of farming organisations, COAG, (2003) predicted some of the impacts of the PAC reform done in 2003. Among them, it brought out the possible reduction in the agrarian exploitations incomes and with it the farmers income between 10% and 50% depending on the cultivated crop. It would imply the abandonment of the farming activity estimating the disappearance of about 1.77 million jobs. In terms of the reduction of the cultivated area, the COAG (2003) made an estimation of the area that would not be cultivated depending on the product (2.1) accounting a total area of 1,757,250 ha. More recently, the National Commission of Agriculture, Environment and Fish (2008) showed that the agrarian working population has decreased in an 8% for the previous four years, and at the same time, the agrarian income is about 65% of the average. Also the COAG (2009) has just reported a decrease in the Spanish agrarian income of 26.3% since 2003, the second worst figure for the last 20 years only overtaken by the registered data from 1992, associating the PAC as one of the causes among others. Nevertheless, due to the pressures, the European Commission, Fischer (2009), started to work on the next reforms of the CAP which should come after 2013, recognising the importance of reducing the direct payments dramatically after 2013. But, due to the high value of the sector and the significant number of population dependent on it, or at least living in rural areas, Fischer (2009) also emphasized the importance of reorientating the CAP to its second pillar, rural development. 2.3. Rural Development Policy. The OECD (2009) defined rural local units as those whose population density is less than 150 inhabitants per square kilometre. But also classifying in three different categories: â€Å"Predominantly Rural region† (PR): more than half of the dwellers of the region lives in rural communes. â€Å"Intermediate Region† (IR): between 15% and 50% of the inhabitants live in rural local units. And those regions with an urban centre with more than 200.000 inhabitants representing more than 25% of the population in a â€Å"predominantly rural† region. â€Å"Predominantly Urban region† (PU): the population living in rural local units is below 15%. Or when having an urban centre of more than 500.000 inhabitants, this represents more than a quarter of the total population of an â€Å"intermediate† region. According to the Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Union (2008), about 90% of the EU-27 territory is considered rural (predominantly rural and intermediate regions) where 54% of the population lives. However, rural areas are not only important because of their extension, but also because they offer 53% of the workforce and 42% of the GVA in EU-27 (83% and 74% respectively for the new members). In those terms, the primary sector in the EU-27 provide 6.2% of employment (varying from 1% to 33% in UK and Romania) and 1.8% of GDP (from 0.4% in Luxembourg to 9.5% in Romania). Nevertheless, the socioeconomic indicators of these regions are much lower than those in non-rural areas as it can be observed in the figures of appendix A. Due to the consecutive reforms of the CAP, as it was explained in previous sections, the agriculture was going to suffer significant changes, specially in those situations where it has been clearly dependent on the European subsidies. Being the agriculture the main source of employment and economic development in rural areas, the problems affecting the sector could have repercussions on the entire rural society. In an attempt to compensate the lack of funding on the agriculture, the EU developed a program to support the rural areas. Agenda 2000 (1999) constituted rural development policy as the second pillar of the CAP creating a unique regulation for the whole EU between 2000 and 2006. Although, it would be in the Mid Term Reform of the CAP (2002) where it was decided to completely reinforce the rural development policy transferring funds from the first to the second pillar of the CAP. The Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) originated the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), allowing to regulate the rural development policy through one fund, one management and control system. This regulation along with the Council Decision 2006/144/EC (2006) defined the priorities and measures for rural development as well as the objectives and the strategic to follow for the period 2007-2013. The objectives of the new rural development policy are: improving the competitiveness of agriculture and forestry by supporting restructuring, development and innovation; improving the environment and the countryside by supporting land management; improving the quality of life in rural areas and encouraging diversification of economic activity. To achieve these objectives, the Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) and the Council Decision 2006/144/EC (2006) specified different key actions acting in diverse fields. Those strategies and plans were divided in four axes according to the objective they are aiming to cover: * Axis 1: â€Å"Improving the competitiveness of the agricultural and forestry sector† The agriculture is losing importance as the main activity in the rural areas. However, the value of the agrifood sector in the rural economy and its role as food and services supplier, it is fundamental to preserve it. The growth of the market due to the enlargement of the EU is also increasing the competitiveness. Hence that factors such as efficiency and innovation are keys for the survival and development of the sector. Increasing competitiveness means reduction of costs production, improvement of food quality, value-added products, less pollutant and more environmentally friendly production technology, for instance. * Axis 2: â€Å"Improving the environment and the countryside† Involve all those measures orientated to preserve the EUs landscapes and natural resources guaranteeing a sustainable use of the land. These actions included in the axis 2 should contribute to the fight against climate change, improvement of water quality and biodiversity. * Axis 3: â€Å"The quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the rural economy† The aim of this axis is to help to create new employment possibilities with the diversification of the activities to those non-agriculture related. All those measures associated to improve the access to infrastructure, better environment and basic services, are also included in this axis. * Axis 4: â€Å"Leader†. The leader axis is a continuation of previous programmes implemented by the EU. Basically it contributes to the achievement of the priorities gathered in the axis 1, 2 and 3, by supporting the execution of local development strategies. This axis is created to reinforce the rural development in the long term encouraging actions leaded by local actors. These actions could ascent environmental consciousness, and invest in renewable resources and energy. The Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005) also established that each member state should create its own strategy plan and programme according to its situation and characteristics. Consequently, the Spanish Ministry of agriculture, fisheries and food (2007a) (2007b), recently renamed Ministry of the environment, rural and marine affairs (2008), did its job and created the correspondent documents in terms of establishing the new European policy. Besides, the law 45/2007 (2007) approved by the Spanish parliament, establishes and regulates the diverse measures to support the sustainable development in rural areas. The law takes as a reference the European policy adapting it to its particular social, financial and environmental situation. As the Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 (2005), the Spanish law include measures to improve the diversification of the economy, the quality of life and to protect and recover the natural and cultural resources of the rural environment. 2.4. Renewable energies in rural areas. In terms of establishing a plan to comply the Kioto protocol and create new commitments after 2012 for the reductions of carbon emissions, the European Union (2009) fixed an objective of 20% of the overall energy generation from renewable sources by 2020. The European Union also highlighted the importance of the development of renewable energies to guarantee the energy supply in the Community; to create new employment opportunities; and to produce a regional development, especially in rural areas. At the same time, the European Union (2009) emphasized the value of boosting investment at regional and local levels to promote the renewable energy installations and with it also promote the creation of employment; regional and local development; and social cohesion. In the case of Spain, in its renewable energy plan (2005) acknowledged the importance of investing in those areas where the resources are located according to achieve its renewable energy targets. It assumed that those resources are mainly in rural areas, creating a socio-economic benefit increasing the employment and stimulating the economic development in these specific areas which are suffering from depopulation, contributing to develop sustainably the rural areas. The Spanish renewable energy plan (2005) also expressed the necessity of promoting the renewable energy development taking into account other European policies, especially the common agricultural policy and rural development. Congruently, the Spanish Royal Decree 1578/2008 (2008) recognised the advantages that photovoltaic installations integrated in the buildings may offered as distributed generation and social diffusion of renewable energies, extending this advantages to the farming installations being consistent with the Law 45/2007 of rural development mentioned in previous sections. 2.5. Defining the gap. As it has been described, the CAP has generated positive and negative consequences in external as well as internal markets for years. Hence that the European Union has been trying to correct the problems with consecutive reforms. It seems to be evident that the CAP needs a deep reform in terms to avoid the disruption that it has generated in the international agri-food markets, especially to developing countries. However, the reforms of the CAP have also favoured an intensification in the production and with it to the larger producers whereas the small farming co-ops, family farms or any other small producers have it difficult to survive without any external support. It looks as though there is the challenge of the CAP reform, to adapt the agri-food industry to the world trade liberalisation and at the same time avoid the environmental impact of the intensive agriculture, not forgetting the preservation of the quality of the products. On the contrary, it is the situation of the farmers. Nowadays they have the conflict whether becoming a specialised producer to compete in the market or assuming a function of environmental manager. Nevertheless, it has to be taken into account that about 90% of the European territory is considered rural areas where more than half of the population lives and the agriculture is the base of the socio-economy. Agriculture employs directly more then 12 million people (DG AGRI, 2008). However, it has already been shown in previous sections, how agri-food cooperatives may develop their surrounding community making much more citizens indirectly dependent on the agriculture. According to the last CAP reforms, it seems that the European Union is trying to diversify the economy in rural areas boosting the second pillar of the CAP, rural development, consequently the population it would not be so dependent on agri-food markets. One of the measures to achieve this, it is through renewable energies. Bearing in mind that rural areas are about 90% of the territory and it is there where the resources are located, it seems to be logic the investment in renewable energies, especially if the European Union is aiming to achieve its targets in this field. It is at this point where the agri-food coops and family farms could have a chance, not only of maintaining the production, but also of increasing the incomes that it would allow them to pay attention to the quality of their products. Although it could even create and independence of the agriculture from the subsidies of the CAP. If the farmers use part of their fields, or even the roofs and facades of theirs agri-food industry facilities, to generate electricity thanks to renewable sources, and then, they could sell it to the national grid, it would give them that extra income completely independent on the European Union. It is the scope of this study to analyse the options that small farms could have to substitute the CAP subsidies for the profit they could get becoming also electricity generators using renewable energy systems. In the case it would be possible for the farmers to become independent of the CAP, it would allow to the European Union to invest that 40% of the budget that it is spending in the agriculture in other fields such as education or research and development. And consequently that investment would also go, directly or indirectly, to the rural areas and agriculture. Because if it is possible to maintain the agri-food coop system in rural areas, it would be also possible to maintain the community benefits that this kind of organisations generate. This measures would follow the objectives of the CAP reforms, allowing the EU to reduce its budget in agriculture, but at the same time improving the standard of living in rural areas. In addition, it would also do its bit according to the rural development policy. This measure would fulfil the four axis of this policy maintaining the agri-food sector, diversifying the economy and combating climate change. 3. A European rural region: Extremadura. 3.1. Introduction. As it was commented in the previous section, the use of renewable energy could be an option for the rural areas to achieve its development. All the policies that are being recently formulated at European as well as national level, focused on the promotion of renewable energy and looking for a development in the most unfavourable areas, could be joined together, or at least some of its main points for the improvement of the standard of living in rural areas. In terms of studying the possibility of substitution of the CAP subsidises for the income a farmer can get with a renewable energy installation, more concretely with photovoltaic, it is necessary to find an European rural region. The rural region of Extremadura (Spain) has been selected for its rurality, highly dependency on the agriculture compare to the Spanish and European average and its high potential for photovoltaic systems installation. In the following points this region and its characteristics will be presented analysing its rural condition; the agrarian sector and the consequences of the last CAP reforms; and its photovoltaic potential. 3.2. Rural Development. Extremadura is one of the 17 regions of Spain. It is located in the mid west, bounded on the west by Portugal (figure 3.1.). With a total population of 1,102,410 inhabitants, Extremadura is divided in two provinces, Badajoz (half south) and Cà ¡ceres (half north), and it is defined as a predominantly rural region according to the OECD criteria. Actually, Extremadura accounts with 41,634 km2, entailing a population density of only 26 inhabitants/km2 (INE, 2009). Another peculiarity of this region is its economic structure. The primary sector plays a significant role in the GDP and employm

Two Key Scenes Between Eddie and Marco in A View from the Bridge Essay

Two Key Scenes Between Eddie and Marco in A View from the Bridge Examine the dramatic effectiveness of two key scenes between Eddie and Marco. In the play, the lead character, Eddie Carbone is an â€Å"A View from the Bridge†: Examine the dramatic effectiveness of two key scenes between Eddie and Marco. â€Å"In the play, the lead character, Eddie Carbone is an Italian longshoreman working on the New York docks. When his wife’s cousins, Marco and Rodolfo, seek refuge as illegal immigrants from Sicily, Eddie agrees to shelter them. Trouble begins when his wife’s niece, Catherine, is attracted to the glamorous younger brother, Rodolfo. Eddie’s baffled jealousy culminates in an unforgivable crime against his family and the Sicilian community.† The playwright, Arthur Miller, writes about an era and district with which he is very familiar. The two scenes that I have chosen to analyse for dramatic effectiveness between Eddie and Marco are: o The last scene of Act 1, where Eddie attempts to teach Rodolfo to box and is challenged by Marco to lift the chair. o The last scene where Eddie refuses to leave the apartment pending Marco’s arrival. In the last scene of Act 1 dramatic effectiveness is displayed in a very strong and powerful way. The effect of this scene is very dramatic on the audience because before this particular scene takes place, Eddie’s anger and jealousy has been building up. The audience is keen to see how Eddie is going to react to the closeness of Catherine and Rodolfo. When Eddie went to see Alfieri, prior to the final scene of Act 1 he explained how he felt about Catherine seeing Rodolfo. Eddie made it very clear that he thinks Rodolfo â€Å"ain’t right.† When Alfieri makes it clear t... ...o the Immigration Bureau. This is a hint as to what Eddie may do later on in the play. The story of Vinny Bolzano is a precursor of what is to become Eddie’s fate. This also prepares the audience for the fact that Eddie may do something that is â€Å"unforgivable for people of Red Hook.† Although Vinny was obeying the law what he done was seen as unjust and wrong by the Red Hook as they have their own law. In conclusion I feel that both the last scene of Act 1 and the last scene of the play have a very dramatic effect on the audience. The last scene of Act 1 shows the audience the build up of tension and suspense between Eddie and Marco and the last scene of the play brings the suspense to a tragic end. Both scenes have a dramatic effect on the audience because they both contain the most exciting and predominant elements of the play – tension and suspense.

Organizational Performance Management Paper and Table

Medical facilities are forced into a position of working together for the sake of the patient. Nursing homes, doctor’s offices, rehabilitation centers, hospitals, and hospice centers all must communicate with each other in order to provide the best care possible. Due to advances in technology, these individual entities can communicate easier with each other than ever before. Email communications, video/telephone communications make acquiring important information less time consuming and exceptionally easy for anyone involved. These new technologies also make it easier for supervisors and subordinates to communicate information to each other, even when they happen to be in different locations. â€Å"When two individuals coordinate their actions within a predefined hierarchy—such as when supervisors communicate with subordinates—their interactions are an observable manifestation of organization-in-action. † (Bidel, Messersmith & Kelley, 2012). One of the most important aspects of attempting a staff buy-in to any change in policy or procedure is to make the staff feel as though they had a hand in deciding how to implement the new policy or procedure changes. Staff members like to feel that their voice and opinion matters in the decision making process where they work. Staff members feel this way because any policy changes or procedural changes are changes that will directly affect their everyday work habits and life. It is important for a facility to do everything they can to follow all regulatory statutes that are required of the business, but it is more important to have a staff that is willing to do all they can to help your business reduce any potential risks that could arise. Training the staff accordingly to follow the proper procedural directives in accordance with state/federal regulations will ensure that the facility is reducing as much of their risk as possible. It is also important to schedule points during the year for additional training for changes that are occasionally made to regulations within the accreditation process. If a medical facility does not stay on top of changing regulations they can find themselves in a bad position both legally and financially. Medical facilities can be put in position to lose their license to practice, be fined into closure, and depending on the level of the violation staff members could be risking jail time for not following regulations precisely. There is nothing more important in a medical facility than patient safety and being compliant of regulations and following regulations contributes to patient safety. Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals are health care organizations that provide post-acute care and services to patients who are discharged from acute care hospitals, but need a longer stay to get well. Patients admitted to LTACH’s are not well enough to be discharged home or to an Assisted Living Facility, where caregivers provide assistance for gainful living. Upon discharged from LTACH’s some patients in need of extensive rehabilitation were referred to Acute Care Rehabilitation Facilities for further care before the patient is discharged home. Terminally ill patients in need of palliative services, upon permission were discharged from Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals and were admitted to hospices for further end-of-life care (Jones, 2012). Each health care organization and assisted living facility are accredited and regulated by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Service. They are also subjected to Joint Commission accreditation and standards to obtain and maintain accredited authority through the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services. Healthcare organizations operating under state regulators may differ in Joint Commission standards (CMS, 2012). The Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission establishes grounds and conditions for participation, and interprets guidelines for compliance. It is noted that Joint Commission’s hospital accreditation program were subjected to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) requirements for organizations seeking accrediting authority. The Joint Commission (JC) also provides CMS with surveys and reports for healthcare organizations requiring and requesting accreditation and seeking to participate in, and receive payment from Medicare and Medicaid programs. Healthcare organization must become certified and comply with the Conditions of Participation (COP) or federal standards (CMS, 2012). Certifications were based on surveys conducted by state agencies on the behalf of the Center of Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). On the other hand, Joint Commission (JC) as a national accrediting organization can evaluate, and classify healthcare organizations as possessing standards that meet the criteria of federal Condition of Participation; therefore CMS may grant that particular accredited healthcare organization â€Å"deemed status,† which are not subjected to surveys conducted by Medicare. Deemed status options are available for hospices, home health agencies, assisted living facilities, hospitals, and other health care service providers (CMS, 2012). Risk and quality management compliments each other and are two important components in organizational structuring, maintenance, and securing the sustainability of health care organizations. They are among the most highly regulated sectors of commerce, especially because administrative liabilities and criminal sanctions could be imposed against health care organizations. Compliances to regulations and the developing risk and quality management systems, contributes to the each of these organization’s entire performance-management system. Effective management improves the healthcare provider’s ability to provide quality care. It promotes better patient, reduces errors, and reduces the likelihood of unexpected events (Lee, 2011). The overall performance management systems improve quality services, ensure better resource planning for effective utilization and ensure that the organization is in compliance with governing regulations that could affect licensing. Effective management also provides assurance to stakeholders that the healthcare organization is meeting expectations, which includes integrating risk and quality management systems that produce the right outcomes for continuance quality improvement and secure the organizations ability to serve public by providing quality care (Phoenix, 2011). Risk and quality management programs utilizes a performance management system to identify risk ,waste, identify federal standard, regulation, setting goals, requirements for accreditation, assigning accountability, monitoring performance and making adjustments as necessary. Evaluating progress, providing feedback and communicate results are among the many activities that comprise a performance management system. As you conduct your research, remember the broad efinition of a performance-management system: a comprehensive system used by an organization to ensure that the organization achieves its goals and improves its performance. A performance-management system is the overarching system that encompasses both risk management and quality management. Determine how compliance with the regulations and development of risk- and quality-management systems for each type of organization contribute to the organization’s overall performance-management system.

Marketing Plan for Sony Xpreia Essay

The following report is a marketing plan for Sony Ericson Mobile in Australia for the 2012-2013 financial year. The Sony Ericson brand continues to grow in unpopularity after several years of underperformance. This has occurred due to Sony Ericson trying desperately to hold onto its premium brand image that comes with a high cost and not focusing its resources on finding the right target market that suites its technology and innovation. The marketing plan will focus on the mobile market and critically analyse this market in Australia. Also analysing Sony Ericson as a company, as well as its competitors, customers and SWOT analysis. Sony Ericson has missed a critical market that its innovative technology would fit perfectly with. This report will argue that by incorporating the tween market through this marketing plan Sony Ericson will be able to stop the growth in unpopularity that it has created over the last few years. Introduction In this report the Sony xperaplay smart phone will be critically analysed in terms of its market segmentation, current objectives, the market it targets, Sony occupies an irreplaceable position in the gaming world, and its subsidiary, Sony Ericsson, also has strong competitiveness in the mobile phone industry. Sony combined mobile techniques with their own gaming technology, which created the Sony Ericson Xperia Play. Xperia Play is a mobile phone with incredible game function which is targeted at young adults and gamers, and has a good reputation within the customers. The marketing strategy that was implemented has directly targeted a specific market, young adults. As a result of this it has made the product have a fairly subjective target market which Sony can seek to increase potential target market by repositioning the Xpera Play phone towards a younger audience. This campaign will reposition it to focus on tweens. Situational Analysis Sony Ericson currently targets older teenagers through to young adults for its mobile phone. But it seems that the mobile phone is lost within this market as the market share the xperiaplay holds compared to many other smart phones in this market is very small, Even thou Sony Ericson is a well known and well respected brand. The drop is caused due to the fact that Sony have been targeting the wrong market. Company Analysis The marketing decision makers for Sony Ericson are the Senior Brand Marketing Manager. Sony Ericson has not been consistent in promotional activities for its mobile phones. Mostly the brand focuses on trying to hold its premium image with marketing mostly focusing on its premium range of smart phones. This has reflected in its sales, it has made consecutive losses since 2010. The most likely reason for its lack of successful campaigns is the lack of resources dedicated to designing and implementing campaigns to attract the right target audience, which is why the company continues to make losses and lose market share. PESTL Analysis Political Proposed legislation such as the carbon tax which will raise prices of shipping. Many businesses have had to raise the cost of their products to make a profit. Also this tax affects outlet stores in terms of electricity charges, which will again raise the prices of mobile phones as business tend to pass on the cost to consumers rather than bearing it themselves. Economic While the global financial crisis has affected a plethora of industries, The Australian economy has remained relatively strong with per capita households spending an average of $40000 (CIA 2010). Despite this consumers have cut back on spending, specifically on items such as food, entertainment, clothing, cars and mobile phones. Ergo the economy is slowing down because consumers are not spending enough money; This affects the sales of mobile phones majority because consumers are not spending enough money on replacing or updating their mobile phones or on entertainment. Also another economic factor is the high Aussie dollar causes imports to be cheaper because countries such as china which manufacture the product have a low rate currency. This means that the companies are able to import more products for a lower price. Socio-cultural Recent consumer trends within the gaming product market are driving a new theme of product innovation. Today’s society tends to be busy and on-the-move and want to increase their leisure time at their own discretion. To meet the needs of consumers, companies are innovating gaming products making it more mobile. In addition the functionality of the multiplayer platform has created a whole new range of social aspects where consumers are able to interact with each other. Technology Technology can be utilized as an advantage within the industry as it provides the ability to design and create new products and expand or promote to specific target markets via interacting with consumers on an online basis. Technology has allowed the ability of online shopping as consumers are leaning towards this option as the most popular option of shopping. The internet has opened up a whole new market with the use of social media networks and websites companies can easily target a global target market. As the rate of technology is increasing consumers are able to communicate with each other on a social multiplayer platform where content may be purchased online and downloaded straight to their device. Legal Sony company has always been one of the main victims of the piracy in game industry. The characteristics of this phone are powerful game function, but it also made it easy to create pirating games. Compared with Sony’s genuine products, pirated products have a huge price advantage, the fact that they are mostly free, and this does attract a lot of people try to obtain these game products illegally, and that is the reason Sony has to use the Copyright law to protect their game products, so their game products can make a maximum profit Rating System for games is required, Users are able to download a lot of games to this phone through the network, according to the Rating System, which these games have to limit the players from downloading content not suited to their age. This is needed to protect kids from Violence and pornography. SWOT Analysis Strengths Remains as a one of the kind device that could become a big hit Not many phones competing in the same category Tactile buttons provide more immersive gaming experience Delivering console quality games Designed portable gaming in mind Include a game pad with input controls and interface recognizable to hardcore gamers. Multi touch gadget powered by Android Gingerbread is one of best versions of Android OS†¦ Weakness’s Release of two more phones from the Xperia line during the same time Not many people buy just for gaming purposes Touch screen gaming controls are not as responsive and precise Suffer key hardware limitations Lacks 4G LTE, HDMI port Touch sensitive circle are not as responsive and don’t replace the precision of actual joysticks Touch sensitive circles are just not as responsive as we would like, and do not replace actual joysticks. Android games don’t support the controller buttons No backups for downloaded games/ purchased games CPU AND GUP not the best Display has poor viewing angles No smart dialing and shutter key†¦ Opportunities A new open market Parent company Sony owns EA and many other gaming companies games can be adapted to be able to be played on the xperia Can earn a lot of revenue from game purchases and applications Better quality Games compared to other phones Exceptional online experience to grow a customer base Strong customer demand High percentage of young adult market High disposable income in rising market Threats Chain stores not wanting to stock a new niche mobile phone independent stores not wanting to store Sony Ericsson phones Retail stores wanting bigger discounts to sell phone because of popularity of competitors models Competitor products such as iphone, htc, Motorola Aussie dollar going back down Retail stores having preferred suppliers or contracted with particular suppliers and having a non compete Competitors copying the innovation of PSP phone and supplying at a cheaper price Fully fledged gaming devices such as DS Objectives Mission Statement Sony Ericson mission statement: â€Å"To provide quality end to end communications services to both retail and small to medium corporate customers† and â€Å"To give them the most help we ever can in the most professional way†. Market Objectives Maintain and increase sales in specific target market. Advance and open up new market for kids and teenagers. Increase the brand awareness among the target market; to measure this objective, the organization will conduct interviewer-led surveys in shopping centers or on the street every three months. Increase the brand share by 1% within two years, which will be confirmed by periodically checking the brand share chart for growth indication. Establish multi-channel retail practice, especially focusing on internet retail, to expand sales. Adapt and respond to the wide consumer needs of products. Sales objectives Increase sales by 15% in first year. Increase sales by 30% over three years. Increase market share to 20% of the total target market segment within three years. Communication objectives Set up feedback section for Xplay on website Increasing Feedback questionnaire response rates Competition There are 100’s of companies which make thousands of mobiles phones. Which break down further into smart phones and non smart phones. This makes the mobile phone market very competitive. The average price of mobile phones in Australia range between $300 and $800. Sony Ericson phones tend to price in the premium range with their mobile phones ranging from 700 – 900 AUD, Which limits the retail segment for Sony Ericson even further. The main competitor for Sony Ericson is the Iphone, as it has the largest share market of any phone. A selection of the primary target market competitors is found in table 1. A secondary group of target can be found in figure 1.They are secondary only because of they are not as used as the primary competitors and others do not compete in the mobile phone market but in the game market. These are still considered competitors due to the type of phones Sony Ericson make which has a heavy focus on gaming. Primary Secondary Iphone Alcatel Samsung Blackberry Nokia Amoi HTC Sonim LG Playstation Portable Motorola Nintendo DS Competitive Advantage Sony Ericson currently is the only brand that is making a mobile phone combined with a portable gaming device. Sony Ericson mobile phones are made by Sony which is a multinational company owning many companies in many areas. Including gaming, Sony owns EA, one of the leading gaming brands in the world. Sony Ericson is one of the most well known mobile phone brands in the world. Sony Ericson has innovative designs and materials, which is appealing to the target market. Customer Analysis Even though the product is a smart phone, price is a major factor for the Australian consumer. The primary consumer is primarily young in age, and they demand value for money at a competitive price. The product must also fulfil their everyday needs. The other factors that are important to the consumer are quality, comfort, function, style, design, speed, image, status, power, and functionality, variety of apps and games and durability. Target market Segmentation and Positioning Profile market segments Geographic segmentation People can purchase the Xperia play anywhere in the world. Entire Australia will be the target market for this product, but mainly focuses on the three biggest cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Demographic segmentation Xperica Play targets this product for Tweens age between 12 to 15. Generally young people do not have a high income they may have to persuade parents to purchase this product. Psychographic segmentation These days’ young people are experiencing a rapid lifestyle which leads them to save time including spending time to play games. The sales potential for this specific product is high as little kids enjoy playing video games and interact with their school friends. Targeting Tweens (12 – 15) The sales potential for this specific market is high as little kids enjoy playing video games and with this product they are able to interact with their school friends. Tweens will be able use the ability of pester power to allow their parents to purchase the Xperia Play for them. There for the price of the product may be moderate as they consumers parents have the income to pay for the expenses. There is also a large market share as tweens receive their first phone and they will be influenced by the video game functions. Young Adults (16 – 25) The sales potential is for this specific market is high as the age group has a moderate income and will be likely paying for their own expenses therefore they will be able to make their own decisions on what product to purchase. The cost structure can be moderate as they will have sufficient funds to pay for the Xperia Play. The Market share for this market is high as the consumers are able to purchase their own applications at their discretion. Other 26+ The sales potential for this specific market is fairly low as the age group has inadequate time to pursue the leisure activity of gaming. Although this market may have greater income the phone may not have the functionality that this market is looking for. The competitive situation is not that good as this market may be looking for a product that provides better communication functions opposed to video game functions. Select Target Segments Tweens of the ages of 12 – 15 tend to have a large amount of leisure time; the large majority enjoys new technology. The specific Target market locations will be in Australian located in the major cities. The use of Pester Power amongst tweens may persuade parents to purchase this product increasing total sales. Tweens tend to be more social, opposed to older generations because they have more free time available, Tweens have the opportunity to react with each other, and this can be an opportunity to allow the consumers to utilize the multiplayer functions leading to multiple purchases by peers increasing the total revenue. Xperia play will attract the target market with the phones functionalities, lower price range as the target may have lower income, social benefits and essentially the video games. After careful analysis and evaluation, the target market segment chosen will offer the greatest potential for the product and consumers. It provides maximum sales potential increasing the sales revenue and total market share, and will have a competitive advantage within the young audience. Positioning The Sony Xperia play will undertake a market positioning strategy where the target market will perceive a valuable offering in relation to competitors. The experience that the Xperia can provide is of a fun nature opposed to a professional business nature as a fundamental aspect is the slide out gaming functionality. The phone has a very innovative design and functions; the price of the phone will be of a moderate price as the target market chosen tend to go for the cheaper options. Although the price of the mobile phone may not be expensive, a high quality must be met as customer generated media can play a vital role in the decision making process of consumers. The service that will be provided is comprehensive; it has a specific market where owners of an Xperia Play are able to purchase and download various games and applications which will be of high convenience in regards to the user’s discretion. Following these set of attributes will help position the Xperia play to the assigned target market and provide a competitive advantage in relation to other products. The target market segments will perceive this product as the dominant offering. Product Xperia Play is a gaming mobile phone with incredible function which is targeted at young adults (age 12 to 15) and gamers. The phone has a very innovative design and functions; the price of the phone will be of a moderate price as the target market chosen tend to go for the cheaper options. Brand name highly impact on the target market due to the variety of good quality related with technology. Sony’s slogan is meant to make people smile, so it tried to design mobiles like Xperia Play to deliver the Sony’s purpose. Sony encourages their customers to buy this mobile phone by giving guarantee for their high quality products. Place Mobile phones will be sold through online retail stores, big Australian retail stores such as JB HIFI, etc, as well as smaller retail stores, Telco’s such as Telstra, Optus etc online store as well as retail stores, Stores specializing in mobile phones such as crazy johns, all phones etc, Sony Ericson’s own retail stores and its online website, department stores and Technology stores. The opportunity exists to expand the distribution network in all areas listed. However the main outlets to target are Telco’s as this is the first stop where consumers go to buy mobile phones, the second would be bigger retail stores such as JB HIFI as they have a larger customer base and the ability to attract more customers, the third main outlet to target would be specialized mobile phone stores such as crazy johns and all phones as they constantly are advertising and attracting new customers as their main focus is mobile devices, these outlets must be targeted throughout Australia. A selection distribution policy will be undertaken for the Sony Ericson mobile phone range, the main focus will be on customers mainly tweens who have not owned a smart phone before and are upgrading to one, but the priority will remain with tweens who enjoy gaming. Price The Sony Xperia play phone ensures that a high standard of quality is present whilst having an appropriate selling price that is both beneficial for the company and contains a positive perceived value towards the customers. The mobile phone will be introduced through mobile phone service companies and their plans with additional costs, such as Telstra, Vodafone, Optus etc, and will provide a range of packages and discounts to create a satisfying option for the consumers. As consumers are aware of various other phones and deals that are arising within the market a mid-to-low price range that is competitive in relation to other phones will be evident, as it also relates to the target market of tweens. In addition various pricing policies will be needed according to different functionality of the device such as memory which can relate to a variety of customer’s needs. The price that is chosen will allow the company to maximize their benefits as well as customer satisfaction, the price may be reduced to allow for a competitive advantage and the revenue will be received through the use of the phones applications and video games designed specifically for the phone that may be purchased on the online market. Promotion The phone appears on Sony Ericsson’s official website as well as some mobile phone retailers’ Web sites, so re-set up a special introduction is necessary, set up some special entertainment features on the official website of the Xperia play, such as virtual phone system experience, the online game demos, in order to improve user interaction. Television Xperia play will spend $100,000 on television advertisements during peak times where tweens would be watching TV, this is justified as tweens spend on average about 35% of their time watching television, The time that is most suitable is before and after school, on such television channels featuring cartoons and such television shows such as The Shak, Total Girl, Toasted TV etc. The advertisement will be relative to the target market as they are presented during the specific time. Printed Media Xperia play will be promoted through magazines considering that tweens are the second largest market for magazines having a market share of 50%. Magazines such as K-zone, total girl, KIDS, M.A.D. will be sold with vouchers for the Play station network. When purchasing these particular style of magazines usually they customer will receive promotional items, therefore there will be available game demos within the magazine. Public Transport Various imagery of posters will be placed on public transport on specific bus routes located around the streets of primary schools. This will allow maximum awareness throughout the target market of tweens as they will be exposed to the media on buses trains and bus stops. Official website and Forums Gaming forums are popular amongst tweens due to the fact that they can provide information regarding the video games such as hints, cheats and walkthrough guides. The Xperia Play will be implemented throughout these particular websites containing imagery and videos related to the xperia play and contain various reviews. Consumers will be able to gain information about the xperia play and its applications, registered accounts will also receive weekly emails offering a range of discounts and download vouchers Evaluation and Control – Campaign evaluation is a critical component of the plan as is the justification for the overall effectiveness of the campaign in the core areas. There are a range of factors that can determine the effectiveness of a marketing plan as shown in figure 3, such as: ï‚ · Brand awareness – this will be achieved through surveys of the awareness of mobile phone brands on consumers ï‚ · Consumer attitudes – this can be achieved through surveys done on the general public in regards to Sony Ericson and if they’re brand is a good or bad brand. ï‚ · Test promotion activities – this can be achieved through evaluating if sales are on an upward trend as well as brand awareness since the launch of the plan ï‚ · Review marketing mix – this can be achieved through evaluating sales and profit to see if they have gone up, it means the marketing mix is effective ï‚ · Sales review – this can be achieved through evaluating sales to see if they have gone up, it means the marketing mix is effective ï‚ · Profit review – this can be achieved through evaluating profit to see if they have gone up, it means the marketing mix is effective ï‚ · Review company objectives reviews – this can be achieved through evaluating the entire marketing plan to see if it has been effective in achieving the original objective if not it has to be altered. ï‚ · Market share – this will be achieved through surveys on websites such as Facebook etc. of what brand of mobile phone individuals own. Figure 3 The marketing team will approach various kids’ magazines and the Sunday mail. Websites The Management team will contact various gaming websites in order to promote the product throughout their sites The website development team will edit the website to allow consumers to gain relative information. Public Transport The Marketing team will contact Translink in order to allow the approval of promotional items suitable posters will be placed at public transport areas Television advertisement The Marketing team will gather various information on the most appropriate times to view advertisements for the specific product, it will allow maximum brand awareness to the target market Bundle Pack The Management team will contact various mobile phone service companies and give acknowledgement of specific offers In store Testing The Management team will ship out testing devices to mobile phone service companies so that consumers are able to experience the device Evaluate campaign The main managers and CEO will go through intense analysis of the situation to evaluation every aspect of the marketing plan in order to provide additional help where needed to ensure that the objectives are met by the deadline. Conclusion/ Recommendation This report set outs the marketing plan for the Sony Xperia play mobile phone in Australia. As outlined in the report, the target market consists of the target market of tweens that are aged from 12 to 15. The sales objective was to increase sales by 15% within the first year and 30% within three years and increases the market share by 20% over three years. The main marketing objectives are to main and increase sales within the specific target market of tweens and increase the total brand awareness. Essentially the Xperia play will be reposition to adapt and respond to a wide consumer need of products. Promotion activities will include magazine, newspaper, websites, Public Transport areas, Television advertisements and mobile phone bundle packs References ^ The Definition of Marketing. American Marketing Association.http://www.marketingpower.com/AboutAMA/Pages/DefinitionofMarketing.aspx. Retrieved 2011-04-04. Approved by the AMA Board of Directors in October 2007, the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) endorses this definition as part of its ongoing Common Language: Marketing Activities and Metrics Project. Principles of marketing (5th ed.). Kotler, Philip; Gary Armstrong, Veronica Wong, John Saunders (2010). â€Å"Marketing defined†. .). p. 7. Retrieved 2009-10-23. â€Å"Definition of marketing†. Chartered Institute of Marketing. Retrieved 2009-10-30. International Marketing: Modern and Classic Papers (1st ed.). Paliwoda, Stanley J.; John K. Ryans. â€Å"Back to first principles†. p. 25. Retrieved 2009-10-15. A Framework for Marketing Management (4th ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall. 2009.ISBN 0-13-602660-5. View as multi-pages