Lighting Needs of Houses in Newbold Crossing

LIGHTING NEEDS OF THE HOUSE Glare problems; snow or bare ground Newbold is situated in the rural north-west sector of NSW, with Clarence River been the main body of water that passes directly through the area. According to results conducted by the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts  (2009) the turbidity of this large body of water appears to be fair to poor. Turbidity takes into account suspended solids in the water and measures the clarity, absorption of light and the amount of light which gets scattered causing little to no glare to houses on the banks of the river. The topography of Newbold is mainly flat with a couple of gentle slopes, which consists of grass land, bare ground and the remainder of the area been surrounded by trees. As the majority of the days throughout the year are sunny with little or no overcast shadows. This means that there is an abundant amount of sunlight which hits the pasture and bare ground with the majority of the amount of sunlight been absorbed with small amounts uv-rays that bounce off and create minimal to no discomfort to the eyes. Pretoria in South Africa is geographically the same in essence as Newbold Crossing in NSW as the same phenomena with glare occurs there. Clarence Way, Newbold NSW 2460 http://maps. google. com. au/maps? hl=en&tab=wl Natural and artificial methods of lighting Ndebele houses in Pretoria, South Africa only had one opening which was the entrance into the house. As displayed in the picture below the entrance was typically facing the south, this meant that minimal amount of light entered the building. The source of light came from a fire which was set in the middle of the hut. Image 1 Ndebele traditional huts Traditional houses in Pretoria, South Africa have always aimed at eliminating the maximum amount of sunlight that could penetrate their huts. But through the years their huts have evolved and changed due to the influences that they had from the Sotho and Pedi neighbours. In respect to the dimensions of the entrance of their huts, they have gotten bigger meaning that further light could enter the building. This concept is similar to houses first built in Newbold Crossing. Initially they had small window dimensions, as they thought this would minimise the amount of heat that would enter the building, but they suffered from cold nights and low levels of lighting in houses. Soon they developed a new concept where they would have larger window dimensions to allow light into a house so that rooms would be illuminated, and so that relatively low amount of heat would be retained within the household for the cold night, making houses thermally more comfortable. This same concept lead to the idea of large windows been incorporated into Newbold Crossing. The concept has developed as houses in this region have solar passive design. The houses constructed have specific eave dimensions to counteract the amount of sunlight the building takes in. In the winter the sun has a low angle in respect to the horizon of the earth, and the maximum amount of sunlight is absorbed to maintain the building warm and well lit up. But in the summer the angle at which the sun is in respect to the horizon to the earth is greater, this is where the eaves are used to counteract the effect of direct sunlight by the building. To further avoid the abundant amount of direct sunlight, properties in Newbold have trees located in-front of large windows. In the centre and other areas of a house that sunlight does not reach, a skylight is put in place to aid with natural lighting and avoid carbon footprints. The artificial method of lighting in Newbold is through incandescent light bulbs and some of the newer houses use halogen downlights. But the Clarence Valley Council (corresponding council of Newbold) has set up initiatives and emphasised the use of compact fluorescent lights which have less wattage ower but in turn does not require the same amount of energy to run, therefore it uses less electricity and minimises carbon footprints. Taking in mind that there is plenty of sunlight throughout the whole year into households, so artificial lighting should only be used during the evening or for tasks that are complex and require good lighting. REFERENCE Australian Governement, 2009, Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, viewed 9 May 2010, Dalton, J 1808, A new system of chemical philosophy, Deansgate, London.

The Long Campaign against Social Security

Bush has proposed allowing workers to invest some of their federal retirement taxes themselves to earn a better rate of return — a partial privatization of the 65-year-old retirement system.For such a long time the Social Security have been viewed by most conservative as a way in which the power of the government expands. The Social Security is owned by the government. It is an insurance program that runs for more than 69 years and is designed as something that compulsory collect from the public as a payroll tax.The benefits that can be derived from the insurance program are disability, retirement and survivor benefits.   The problem with the Social Security arises on 1983 when the payroll tax that a person pays sometimes exceeds the benefits that the Social Security offers. In order to compensate with such a â€Å"hoax† as people started to call it, the Social Security invested the money in the Treasury Security that are deposited as a trust fund under the Social Sec urity.Most people and politicians believe that the Trust fund does not exist anymore. Some say that it should have been invested into a private sector so people would know how the government spent the money.Since those who would benefit from the Social Security comprise a large number of voters, politicians have been extra careful when dealing with policy changes that would affect the Social Security. Since it was projected that the Social Security would face bankruptcy on the near future there have been several proposals regarding the way in which it could be run to yield more benefits in the future.Reagan in his early campaign suggested that the Social Security can be privatized. According to him, the privatization could be done by an introduction of voluntary features that would give the citizen a capability to act in accordance to their will. He further stated that he is against forcing any citizen into joining a compulsory public program regardless of the need.Nonetheless, when Regan have been a president he did not address the issue on privatization of Social Security and instead work on increasing taxes and the age of retirement to answer the possible problem in the Social Security. Regan have influenced the campaign on privatization but proved that radical changes needs long preparation and evaluation.President Bush proposed to partial privatized the Social Security in order to solve the upcoming bankruptcy.   Bush aims to give deliver the benefits of the Senior Citizens or the people who have invested in the Social Security while at the same time helping the younger generation to build their wealth through the system.Bush proposes the possibility of an individual and voluntary retirement account. President Bush’s proposal was known as progressive indexing which suggest maintaining the benefits for low income earners while slowly cutting down the benefits that high income earners receive.Works CitedThomma, Steven. Social Security Overhaul is L ong-Standing Conservative Dream. Commondreams.org. 2005.Retrieved on December 5, 2007. Retrieved from the World Wide Web: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines05/0205-05.htm

Three Heros, A Similar Journey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Three Heros, A Similar Journey - Essay Example The work The Odyssey unveils the adventurous life of Odysseus the hero, and his journey towards homeland. Thesis statement: The research on different journeys of the heroes in Beowulf, Gilgamesh, and The Odyssey prove that their journeys are similar in some way or other (special references to Beowulf, Gilgamesh and Odysseus). Comparison: Beowulf, Gilgamesh and Odysseus The comparison is based on four factors: similarities, problems, gain and effect of the journeys conducted/ undertaken by Beowulf, Gilgamesh and Odysseus. A. Similarities shared by their journeys In his adventurous journey, Beowulf primarily aims to defeat three of his enemies. His status at Geatland as a hero encourages him to help Hrothgar (a Danish king), to defeat and kill a beast and its mother (Grendel and his mother). In the work Beowulf: a new verse translation, a translation by R. M. Liuzza, Hrothgar points out about Beowulf that â€Å"he has thirty men’s strength, strong in battle, in his handgripâ₠¬  (65). Later, he undertakes another adventurous journey to kill an unnamed dragon at Earnanaes in Geatland. On the other side, Gilgamesh’s adventurous journey is similar to Beowulf’s journey. For instance, his journey to the Cedar Mountain, with his companion Enkidu, was to accomplish their dangerous task of defeating Humbaba. This journey and victory encourages them to undertake another adventurous task to kill the Bull of Heaven. One can easily identify that adventure is the motivation for Beowulf and Gilgamesh. The epic poem The Odyssey mainly focuses upon the adventurous life of Odysseus, the hero. The epic poem unveils Odysseus’s homeward journey after participating in the Trojan War. One can easily identify that Odysseus’s adventurous journey is similar to the other two adventurous journeys because his aim was to lead an adventurous life away from his homeland. Like Beowulf and Gilgamesh, Odysseus is not attracted by a peaceful life in his homela nd with his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. In short, the similarities shared by the journeys of Beowulf Gilgamesh and Odysseus include their noble aim and unending passion towards adventurous life. Besides, they were heroes at their homelands and were brave enough to fight with supernatural forces. B. The problems they did encounter during their journeys The problems encountered by Beowulf during his first journey include the fight with Grendel and his mother. As pointed out earlier, Beowulf’s status as a hero encouraged him to undertake this dangerous journey and to fight with supernatural elements. This proves that Beowulf was ready to face problems in his life and to help others. Later, Beowulf became the king of Geatland. When a dragon began to attack his people, he decided to fight with it and to kill it. During the battle, Beowulf was severely injured and it resulted in his death in the end. One can easily identify that the natural obstacle faced by Beowulf inclu de the rocky dwelling place of the Dragon and the cave in which Grendel’s mother used to live in. On the other side, the problems faced by Gilgamesh include the fight with Humbaba and a supernatural element, namely the Bull of Heaven. But his companion Enkidu helped him to overcome the problems during their journeys. In the work The epic of Gilgamesh, translated by Maureen Gallery Kovacs, Gilgamesh is described as â€Å"There is on one stronger than he†

Development needs analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Development needs analysis - Essay Example Within the educational part of the career there are discrepancies that exist in the presentation of the theoretical training from what one experiences on the job. This difference can be narrowed through changing the delivery of the educational training which is provided to people in seeking to improve their performance while on the job. Within the professional life, I intend to practice the things which I have learnt during my educational training while also enhancing my knowledge in my professional field. Through the practice of the things learnt, I hope to be able to achieve my career objectives and be able to improve my performance through enhancing my skills. While learning enhances the knowledge practice improves the individual skill which one has and be able to perform the allocated functions effectively. Improvement of the skill and knowledge is critical in the development of my employability skills and the improvement of performance. There is need to integrate the materials learnt in theory with the practical career aspects in seeking to ensure the comprehensiveness of the development of the career of an individual. Matching the educational theories with the professional requirements is critical in improvement of the job performance. The skills utilised in preforming many of the activities assigned on the job require an individual to have educational knowledge before applying the knowledge in a practical situation. The skills can be delivered through different approaches which will be able to enhance the acquisition aspect. This will be able to ensure the individuals gains sufficient knowledge in the various element which are critical (Esteves & Vanclay, 2009). Since the job involves and requires different levels of skills improvement and a continuous learning environment becomes critical in ensure the learner continues to have the best possible information and which matches the required professional skills. Skill

The Ryan Air Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Ryan Air - Case Study Example This was an organic growth model. The airline makes money by reducing its costs at every point. This is the reason that despite a drop in yields of 14 percent, it still achieved margins of over 20 percent as they carried 47% more passengers. The airline has strong sales promotions and heavy discounting. The airline owns rather than leases aircrafts but has been considering leasing at least one-third of its fleet due to changes in the market conditions. It also makes money by oil hedging but since the oil prices were expected to decline in the year under study, Ryanair decided not to hedge in 2004. To cope with the falling ticket prices, the airline hope to generate revenue by providing ancillary services such as satellite television and internet services, arcade games on rented laptops and screening favorite movies on television. They also earn through advertising on their website. However, despite the low fares, the airline’s load factor stared declining and its share price had declined substantially. This requires that Ryanair reconsider its strategy and take decisions based on facts and figures. Ryanair has registered revenue growth in 2004 over 2003 but the net profit has declined by 14% during the same period (Appendix A). The airline has been consistently registering profits for 26 quarters but the profits have declined in 2004 which has been primarily due to escalating fuel costs. The number of aircrafts operated commensurate with traffic growth as is evident from Appendix B. The net profits have declined as also the earnings per share (Appendix C) which has given the airline an adverse reputation with investors. The balance sheet shows that the equity base has declined while its total liabilities have increased. Economical – low impact because again being within Europe, which has a stable economy and stable consumers. Denomination is Euro is another positive factor contributing to economic stability. Outside of

Human Element of Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Human Element of Project Management - Essay Example Many of the organizations have segregated the change process as the summation of small projects and then take project-based management model to accomplish tasks related to these small projects. According to Melbourne (2003), organizations must develop project management approach in accordance with resource capabilities such as financial resources, human capital, technological capability etc. Careful analysis of the research work of previous research scholars shows that change management and project management is interlinked whereas human elements play significant role in ensuring the success of both the model. Such exhilarating nature of relationship between change management, project management and role of human element has influenced the researcher to dig deep on the topic and understand how these three verticals are interlinked. Focus of this essay has been summarized in the next section. This essay will try to shed some light on role of leadership in driving, managing and directi ng change process. Initially the study will try to understand various aspects of change process in the backdrop of project management but in the later part of the essay, both of the process will be treated separately. Understanding the human factor or role of change agents in business change will be the essence of this essay. On the other hand, difficulties regarding management of human factor and resistance of employees towards the change process will be discussed in this paper. The essay will try to probe into issues like, role of leadership in addressing the conflict of interest between project managers and clients while understanding the role of strategic dimension and competencies in successful implementation of change process will also be the focal point of this essay. 1. Change Management in the Backdrop of Project Management According to Partington (1996), project management can be classified as instigator for change program. Winch et al (2012) have defined project managemen t as the collection of various activities such as planning, controlling, monitoring etc in order to achieve the project objective. Winch et al (2012) have also pointed out that project management can be classified as much needed interventions which are pertinent to change process. However, it is highly arguable topic among research scholars whether project-based management approach facilitates the change management process or not. In such context, the study will try to understand change management in the light of project-based management approach. Winch et al (2012) have argued that, continuous improvement through project based management and organisational change is inseparable axioms, hence it is very difficult to imagine a project management approach which has not been created in order to change the normal process flow. Parker and Craig (2008) have rightly underpinned that project management is a temporary approach which has pre-defined starting point and measurable outcomes. Tea ms are formed in accordance with the requirement of the project and these teams get dismantled after the completion of the project. McElroy (1996) has identified some common characteristics for project management such as coordination of activities, controlling the variance in the outcome of the project, identification of risk, resource planning etc. However, project manageme

Creative Writing - Appetites Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Creative Writing - Appetites - Essay Example This list of rules was in a black, handcrafted frame that really accentuated the font, causing the rules to pop off the page when anyone looked at it. Kate and Sebastian thought it would be appropriate to hang this list of rules in the dining room, since that was what the rules were in reference to and it was also the most sacred room in the house. When looking around Sebastian and Kate’s house, one might not see this document as having great importance, but that is far from the truth. These rules were the cornerstone of their relationship. If one were to break such a rule, for someone else it might be equivalent to cheating on your spouse by having sex with someone other than your spouse. Every week they have a theme, a country, that dictates all of the food they eat for that week. The themes start on Sunday and end that following Saturday night. Saturday night is always the biggest meal of the week. They always save the most exotic dish from that specific country for that Sa turday meal. The Saturday meal always took huge preparations. They would switch off every other week putting on the Saturday meal. The person responsible for putting on the Saturday meal would be responsible for selecting the table covers, silverware, and preparing the food. Separately they would both pick out their outfits, which were supposed to mimic formal attire that would be worn in that country. This week’s theme was going to be South Korea. Sebastian was responsible for putting on the big meal that Saturday. This was a going to be a huge week for both of them, and they both were extremely anxious. It took weeks to fully prepare the menu for this week. Once they did that, they had to order all of the food and make sure they stored it properly. It was crucial that whoever was responsible for preparing the food knew how to properly prepare it or else the consequences could be fatal. Since a lot of the meals that they would eat on Saturday evenings had the potential of be ing dangerous, allowing one spouse to prepare the food demonstrated the ultimate trust within this relationship. Sebastian really wanted to make this meal a special one, since it was a country that they had both been anticipating for months. He thought that Sannakji, wriggling octopus, would be a good choice given its unique texture and its lethality. Sannakji is a mild-tasting, lightly seasoned delicacy that is known for choking individuals. It is prepared in a manner that the octopus’s legs are removed while the octopus is still alive. This causes the legs to wriggle around on the plate like a pile of worms. The tentacles’ suction cups can stick to your inside your throat or to your cheeks. The lights were dimmed, giving a very romantic ambience to the meal. There was a small two-person table in the middle of their dining room. There was a candle in the middle of the table that gave off a lavender aroma throughout the room. The candle was in a very nice, sterling sil ver candleholder. The tablecloth had a very strange texture; it was leather with animal fur on top of it. The very coarse hair was cream with a yellow tint to it. The chairs, which were made of mahogany wood, had seat covers on top of it that matched the same material of the tablecloth. There were two table settings; the napkins and placemats both matched the tablecloth and chair seats. There were two beautiful, ornate yellow plates with

Compare and contrast the responses of Japan, China, and India to Essay

Compare and contrast the responses of Japan, China, and India to Western Imperialism - Essay Example China sort of made the rules and had the technology and was powerful, so they were able to fend off Western intervention for a long time. But when their defenses finally broke down in the nineteenth century, China collapsed. Japan fended it off almost entirely. That's why Japan is the one area of the Third World that developed. That's striking. The one part of the Third World that wasn't colonized is the one part that's part of the industrialized world. That's not by accident† (Chomsky, 1993). India, China and Japan demonstrate that there is a direct correlation between degree of involvement and colonization and ultimate success. India is the most colonized of the three: It was largely controlled by the British by the 1700s (Keay, 2001; Chomsky, 1993). In the 16th century, it was already dealing with extensive incursions from Portugal, the Netherlands, France and Britain, and the Europeans eventually emerged victorious over Muslim and Hindu kings, with the East India Company ta king much of the country's control until the Sepoy Mutiny brought it under direct control of the crown (Keay, 2001, 250-500). India is a very complex country: A leader of the non-aligned movement, one that tried to balance between Communism and capitalism, Leninism and free markets... (Khilnani, 1999). Nonetheless, it was in many ways uniquely devastated by colonization. It had burgeoning industries of large-scale sophistication, with good quality in crops and shipbuilding and prosperity in many ways comparable to the Europeans (Keay, 2001; Chomsky, 1993). That was consciously destroyed. The result is that â€Å"India's rural landscape looks rather different from that of most tropical ex-colonies† (Keay, 2001, 448). Two crops were developed, indigo and poppy, across the country, and tea and cotton is still grown in Assam and Kerala, but in most areas, small cottages still produce without much capitalization or integration (Keay, 2001, 448-449). Nehru, in a review of Indian de velopment, found a direct correlation between poverty and length of European control: â€Å" When the British first moved into Bengal, it was one of the richest places in the world. The first British merchant warriors described it as a paradise. That area is now Bangladesh and Calcutta—the very symbols of despair and hopelessness† (Chomsky, 1994, 56). Of course, it's an important point to make that at least in India, the native population wasn't simply exterminated, like in North America. India is a growing economy now, but with a billion people, it is still nowhere near as prosperous as countries with one-fifth or less of its population size. In 2009, the United States had $45,989 per capita, the UK had $35,165 and India had $1,134. For comparison, China has $3,744 GDP per capita and Japan $39,738 (World Bank, 2009). Per capita income variation among these three countries is thirty fold: India was totally integrated and is now a Third World country; China resisted to some extent and is a Second World country; and Japan kept the Europeans at bay almost entirely and is a First World country. India was explored because of tea, cotton, indigo, and for the standard reasons for colonization: A market for cheap goods and cheap employment (Keay, 2001). However, unlike many other colonies, India was also colonized to destroy its native industries so as to prevent competition (Chomsky, 1993). Meanwhile, China was not fully colonized, but major efforts were made

Edinburgh Tram System project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Edinburgh Tram System project - Essay Example The research identifies that there were some challenges in the definition of the stakeholder needs and expectations. The priorities of the client were politicised, hence there were divergences in the ETS Project. This led to various shortfalls that resulted in major inabilities to deal with the key success factors of the research. This is a project management report that focuses on a real project that has been completed. To this end, the report will critically analyse and review a sample case, the Edinburgh Tram System Project. This paper will critically review the ETS project as it was carried out by the members of the Edinburgh Tram Project team. The actual steps taken by the team members are analysed and reviewed in relation to two main approaches. The first is the existing literature on project management. The second relates to how other projects were conducted and how this relates to the Edinburgh Tram Project. Finally, a conclusion will be drawn on the project and recommendations will be made in relation to the project under review. The Edinburgh Corporation Tramways was one of the earliest symbols of the Industrial Revolution and it ran between 1871 and 1956 when it was closed down (Mullay, 2013). It included a network of buses and commuter rail lines that linked the different parts of the city of Edinburgh (Edinburgh History, 2013). It marked one of the earliest projects towards massive urban transportation that was replicated in other cities of the United Kingdom. However, in 1956, it stopped operating. In 1989, new interests and proposals came up for the reintroduction of trams in the Edinburgh. However, in 2001, the Scottish Parliament gave approval for the creation of three tram routes to run in the city of Edinburgh. This gave the impetus for the project under review, which was broken down and conducted according to the fundamental principles and ideas of project management. As identified above, the reintroduction of tramways provided

According to Seamus Deane Essay Example for Free

According to Seamus Deane Essay According to Seamus Deane, Translations is a play about the tragedy of English Imperialism. How far would you agree with this statement in relation to both Translations and Heart of Darkness? INTRO Although the location, language and structure of Brian Friels Translations differs unmistakably from that of Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness, the topic of colonisation remains central to both. While the supposed sophistication of civilised colonists is deconstructed in Conrads novella to reveal mans common darkness, Friels play deals with the ways in which the consciousness of an entire culture is fractured by the transcription of one landscape (Gaelic, classical and traditional) for another (Anglo-Saxon, progressive and Imperialistic). 1 Friel uses the apparently passive plotting of an Ordnance Survey map to emphasise the loss of indigenous Irish tradition, social history and heritage felt by the natives of County Donegal in Ireland. The translation of the place-names automatically eliminates the secrets buried within the original name; it distorts rather than restores the ontological nature of the place-name. Friel uses Owen to expose the Imperialist outlook on standardisation during his battle with Yolland over Tobair Vree: He begins a long discourse on how Tobair Vree came to acquire its name, identifying a well that once existed nearby and has long since dried up, with Vree an erosion of the Irish Brian. He then asks Yolland: do we keep piety with a man long dead, long forgotten, his name eroded beyond recognition, whose trivial little story nobody in the parish remembers? Even as he attempts to demonstrate the invalidity of Tobair Vree as rightful place-name through its seemingly illogical associations, Owen contradicts his own argument. The reality that Owen himself remembers the tale behind the name reinstates the fact that as insignificant as this narrative may be to him, it remains the carrier of history and memories, both public and private. The name not only retells the anecdote which defined Brians Well, but also evokes Owens memories of his grandfather. The Irish place-names had developed into historical, cultural and social storehouses through their varied associations and values. The reduction of such ontological knowledge to an epistemological referent through colonial dispossession therefore reduces identity in an eviction of sorts. 2 The destructive force of English Imperialism is echoed in Conrads Heart of Darkness and is revealed to us through Marlows portrayal of the Africans he encounters and the treatment they are subject to. Forced to work under the conditions of European mechanical labour, the natives acquired expressions of the deathlike indifference of unhappy savages as they became reduced to nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation. The civilised colonists place the savages in chain gangs, enslaving them; eliminating their identities and breaking their spirit as a people. Throughout the entire novel we, the reader do not learn a single of the Africans names. They are collectively labelled niggers, creatures, rebels, savages, enemies, ants and criminals by the colonisers. Even the individual natives Marlow speaks of remain unnamed, distant and alien. This is exposed through the portrayal of the helmsman; although Marlow shared with him a kind of partnership, he is nevertheless reduced and objectified as merely an instrument. Conrad discloses the dying identity of the Congos indigenous inhabitants through Marlows initial observation of the blind, white flicker which died out slowly in their enormous and vacant eyes. 3 Friel illustrates Imperialisms effect on identity unequivocally in his play through the function of Sarah. My name is Sarah. Unable to speak her own name previously, Sarahs identity finally emerges and begins to flower. Language is demonstrated to be the key to memory; identity is formulated through language. Through Sarahs speech, a hidden landscape of consciousness has been unlocked by Manus, ready to be explored. Sarahs name is crucial in her self-definition and identity, just as with the names of places; her name encapsulates not only an identity, but also an origin and a lineage. Sarah blurts out Sarah Johnny Sally to Owen when asked her name, thus providing not only her Christian name but in addition those of her parents. Owen does not hesitate to reply Of course! From Bun na hAbhann! and complete this marker of the clan. He responds furthermore with his own identity, parentage and place of origin: Im Owen Owen Hugh Mor. From Baile Beag. Irish names in Translations quickly become linked not only with identification of an entity, but also with the narrative history associated with that identity through lineage and society. While Friel insists that the play is about language and only language, the fact that Sarah is silenced again by the colonisers could represent the suppressive and inconsiderate treatment imposed on the Irish people by the English Imperialists, denying them their freedom of expression and thus their right to an identity. 4 Conrad mirrors Sarahs silence and consequent absence of identity in Heart of Darkness through his creation of Kurtzs mistress who although described as superb, wild-eyed and magnificent in her deliberate progress, reveals the suffering she has endured under colonial domination through her visibly wild sorrow and fear of some struggling, half-shaped resolve. Her formidable silence contrasts wholly with Kurtzs ability to talk. As a musician, politician, poet and humanitarian his inextinguishable gift of noble and lofty expression is equated with political power, thus giving Kurtz a sense of real presence which is evidently lacking amongst the native Africans who have become disassociated from their past, their origins and their control over the future. Their only capability in expressing themselves is through their appearance of dumb pain. Exactly like Friels natives, the original inhabitants of the Congo are imprisoned in a linguistic contour which no longer matches the landscape of fact.

Social Media In The Jasmine Revolution

Social Media In The Jasmine Revolution The Jasmine Revolution is another name for the Tunisian Revolution, a series of violent protests that began on 18 December 2010 in Tunisia as a form of civil resistance. The revolution was a result of years of corruption, unemployment, poor living conditions, and lack of freedom of speech, facilities, inflation and political freedom. The protests were trigged when Mohamed Bouazizi, a street vendor, set himself on fire on 17 December 2010 protesting the humiliation inflicted on him by a woman municipal official. This led to a period of great social and political turbulence in Tunisia which eventually led to President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who had been ruling Tunisia since 1987, fleeing the country and officially resigning on 14 January 2011. This uprising in Tunisia led to subsequent revolutions in many Arab countries, popularly known as Arab Spring. Protests began in Egypt which led to fleeing of President Hosni Mubarak, ending his 30 year rule. There was civil war in Libya which led to fleeing and death of the ruler Muhammar Gaddafi, ending his 42 year rule. There were also major uprisings in other parts of the Arab world like Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Bahrain, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Iran and Mauritania. There were also protest in other parts of the globe like North Africa and Middle East. Dictator Bel-Alis government had a strong control on various media platforms. Despite great attempts at repressing the protests that were happening in Tunisia, Tunisians used a very powerful tool to make their voices heard social media. The role of social media in the Jasmine Revolution is analysed in this paper. Literature Review In the article Social Media: The New Tool of Revolution by Aditi Malhotra, appeared in CLAWS Publication, she talks about how social networks like Facebook, and Twitter played a very vital role in being about the change during the Arab Spring. She talks about this fire spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Algeria, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. While talking about the Jasmine Revolution in specific, she talks about the media blackout that was present in Tunisia. The government controlled all media platforms and it was the social media who finally was able to make a break through. Millions of people in Tunisia and all over the world were a part of the revolution as pictures and videos of the protests were shared all over the social network. Mohamed Bouazizis self-immolation which triggered the revolution was in fact not one of the first cases of self-immolation in Tunisia, but it was covered by Al Jazzera and other news channels and shown to the entire world. The ar ticle goes on to say how the government did in fact try to stop the flow of information by blocking websites, deleting accounts, arresting bloggers and other active people on the social platform but they were unable to the stop this great force. In another article, The Emerging Role of Social Media in Political and Regime Change by Rita Safranek, published in ProQuest, talks about social media as a major catalyst in bringing about the change in many countries that were going through a major period of political unrest. The author talks about the triggering point of the Jasmine Revolution, the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi was captured by passers-bys and posted and re-posted on YouTube for everyone to see. Furthermore, the mass protests at his funeral also spread quickly and all over. The author goes on say that despite very strict censorship of the internet by Tunisias government, Tunisians were able to emerge as highly connected 33% of the Tunisian population uses the internet, 16% uses Facebook and 18% uses Twitter. Although the government did block YouTube during the crucial period of protests, it was unable to stop experienced bloggers and activists from finding alternate methods like by using private and proxy net works to post and re-post various contents and videos all over the cyber world. In fact, there was an eight percent increase in the number of Facebook users in Tunisia in the beginning of January 2011. The nature of the content being shared also changed with time more content related to the current political situation and unrest was being shared. Although the author credits social media with helping organize the protest and connect activists, she also goes on to say that the social media will not be help with running the country which is the current concern in the country at present. Discussion of the Case The social media Facebook and Twitter might not have caused the Jasmine Revolution but it definitely was a major catalyst in bringing about the change that we see in Tunisia today. Tunisia was always susceptible to an internet-enable revolution considering a good number of Tunisians are internet-savvy, use social media and most of the population uses mobile phones. Although the number of people active on Twitter was not as high, what matters more is who is tweeting, rather than how many people are tweeting. The very first trigger to the revolution, Mohamed Bouazizis self-immolation, created such an upheaval due to the fact that is shared on the social media and which is when it got Al Jazeeras attention which showed it to the world and after which when news channels all over the world started showcasing it. The revolution thus began in the city of Sidi Bouzid, in the interior of the country as a result of the police got violent and the shocking images and content were shared on the Internet. Subsequently, the protest spread to the more the more prosperous parts of the country where activists became more organized and finally when President Ben Ali was ousted and the country was in mayhem, Tunisians used to the help of the social media platforms to organize themselves further to combat the armed forces. The internet and mobile phones were effectively used to inform places where the security forces were being deployed and where the next protest would be. Facebook was used to share the latest news regarding the protests and images of the governments brutality against the citizens. 75% of Facebook users were 18-24 years of age. Tunisians used Facebook to update their friends and families about the current situations on their cities and villages. Many Facebook users changed their profile picture to the symbol of the democratic revolt showing images of camaraderie. Twitter was also a major platform for the people to voice their sentiments. Tweets were dominated by the tag #bouazizi, subsequently, the day the President was ousted, #sidibouzid was most used hash tag and finally the whole country became consumed with #tunisia. In total, there were 196,000 mentions of Tunisia, which reached 26 million Twitter users all over the world. Television also became a part of the revolution. Even though the domestic channels were heavily-censored by Ben Alis regime, the cable channel, Al Jazeera began broadcasting videos that were being shared on the internet. This helped in spreading the revolution from the younger demographics were techno-savvy to the older demographics. This helped in making the movement bigger and more active. Instances of brutality by the police and officials became more and more public which generated even more rebellion in the Tunisians. An aspect where social media helped was creating some order and organization to the chaos. Rumours and misinformation could be easily corrected and passed on using social media. Activists could use this platform to create calm and counter people who were taking advantage of the situation in order to create terror. Another aspect of that played a significant role was the spread of music on the social media platform. Hamada Ben Amor, a.k.a. El General performed a song Rais Lebled which became a sort of revolution anthem for the young protestors of Tunisia. Hamada Ben Amor was one of the most popular Tunisian Internet rap artists. The lyrics of the song talked about oppression and poverty and considering the fact that rap was banned; the song became an even more major symbol of youth rebellion. The song was shared only on Facebook, which made it even more exclusive. After the President fled from the country, the song was aired on Tunisian television for everyone to hear. Since then El General wrote a new rap song, Vive Tunisie! as a tribute to the protestors of not only the Jasmine Revolution, but also of many other Arab countries were revolutions took place like Egypt, Morocco, Libya and Algeria. Analysis and Conclusion Social media indeed was a major enabler of the Jasmine Revolution. In fact, it has also gone to be a similar catalyst in many more uprising to follow in the Arab world. It will continue to play a major role in political change as it easy to access and difficult to control. The authoritative governments cannot control the social media the way they can control the traditional media. Social media enable the chance to organize even when surrounded by utter chaos. Social media also helps achieve something major connection with the outer world. It is easy for the authoritative government to ban or censor various traditional media platforms thus influencing the kinds of news that is outside world hears. But using social media which is hard to censor or ban, such a restriction is impossible. The real picture of what is going on in the country can be portrayed to the world. This can enable to country in question get outside help and support which will only strengthen the entire movement. The interesting characteristic of an internet-enabled movement is the flat structure. The movement is not led by one particular person organization. It thus seizes to have a hierarchy. Anybody, of any age group, size, colour or gender can be an integral part of this movement and nothing can break down this flatness.

Critical Analysis of The Indifferent by John Donne Essay -- Indifferen

Critical Analysis of "The Indifferent" by John Donne "The Indifferent" by John Donne is a relatively simple love poem in comparison to his other, more complicated works. In this poem, "he presents a lover who regards constancy as a 'vice' and promiscuity as the path of virtue and good sense" (Hunt 3). Because of Donne's Christian background, this poem was obviously meant to be a comical look at values that were opposite the ones held by Christians. According to Clay Hunt, "['The Indifferent'] is probably quite an early poem because of the simplicity and obviousness of its literary methods, its untroubled gaiety, and its pose of libertinism, which all suggest that Donne wrote [the poem] when he was a young man about town in Elizabethan London" (1-2). The poem "mocks the Petrarchan doctrine of eternal faithfulness, putting in its place the anti-morality which argues that constancy is a 'heresy' and that 'Love's sweetest part' is 'variety'" (Cruttwell 153). The first two stanzas of the poem seem to be the speaker talking to an audience of people, w hile the last one looks back and refers to the first two stanzas as a "song." The audience to which this poem was intended is very important because it can drastically change the meaning of the poem, and has therefore been debated among the critics. While most critics believe that the audience changes from men, to women, then to a single woman, or something along those lines, Gregory Machacek believes that the audience remains throughout the poem as "two women who have discovered that they are both lovers of the speaker and have confronted him concerning his infidelity" (1). His strongest argument is that when the speaker says, "I can love her, and her, and you and you," he first points out two random nearby women for "her, and her", then at the two that he is talking to for "you and you."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first stanza begins rather simply. Donne starts every line with either "I can love" or "Her who." According to Hunt, the tone of the first stanza goes from "weary and patient entreaty" to "a climax of irritation at the end" (4) in the lines "I can love her, and her, and you and you / I can love any, so she be not true." The first eight lines simply list opposite character types, but the last two lines go to "her, and her, and you and you", then to any, "just before Donne springs the sho... ...hold.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This poem presents a speaker that holds morals opposite the ones accepted by the greater part of society. While this poem is not incredibly complicated, it is very interesting to see how Donne spends the first 25 lines of the poem building up a convincing argument, then completely rebutting it in the final two lines. He refers to promiscuity as a vice and constancy as a virtue, using many sexual references to help illustrate his points. Donne successfully creates a character in a simple love poem that believes that there is nothing more to love than lust, and then uses his point of view to portray a portrait of love that is completely opposite of what Donne wants the reader to get from the poem. Works Cited Cruttwell, Patrick. "John Donne." Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 24: 153. Hunt, Clay. Donne's Poetry: Essays in Literary Analysis. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954. Machacek, Gregory. "Donne's The Indifferent." Explicator [CD-ROM] 53.4 (Summer 1995): p. 192, 3 p. Availible: Magazine Article Summaries Full Text Elite. Item Number: 951025812. McNees, Eleanor J. "John Donne." Literature Criticism from 1400 to 1800 24: 207.

Multiple Births :: essays research papers

Multiple Births Multiple births are rare in humans with twins as being the most common form of this event. Multiple births can arise in many different combinations of ways but the probability of giving birth to more than one child remains fairly constant when compared to the entire human race. The chances of multiple births can also vary from race and genetic background. Scientist and researchers do not know what the exact cause of these variations is but many of them feel that it is caused by hormone differences between different racial groups and/or the difference in social class.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The prenatal and infant mortality is much higher in multiple pregnancies than in pregnancies that only involves one child. The danger of premature birth also increased with the higher number of offspring that are involved. In many multiple births, not all of the children survived to childhood or were born dead. Through the advances in technology, the survival rate of infants born in a multiple pregnancy has increased. The first quintuplets, five babies born in a single pregnancy, to survive in medical history were the Dionne quintuplets.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The use of drugs that treat female sterility, or fertility drugs, may increase the chances of giving birth to multiple children. These drugs cause the ovaries to release an egg once a month but in some cases they release more than one egg, sometimes releasing several at a time, increasing the chances of a multiple birth. The drug clomiphene citrate is one of the most widely taken fertility drug and has resulted in the birth of twins about once in every twelve births, much greater than the chances of the birth of natural twins.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Twins are the most common form of a multiple pregnancy. About one in eighty-seven births result in the birth of twins. Twins can be fraternal, also known as dizygotic twins, or identical, also called monozygotic twins, with the birth of identical twins being the rarest, occurring about four times in every thousand births, about one-forth as often as the birth of fraternal twins. This ratio of the birth of twins to the total number of births remains fairly constant but the birth of fraternal twins can alter greatly. Fraternal twins are most common among black African followed by people of European origin. Asian races originating from the orient are the least likely to give birth to fraternal twins.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The birth of twins can occur in two different ways, the fertilization of a single egg or the fertilization of two eggs. In the case of dizygotic twins, the woman's ovaries release two eggs about the same time instead of one, with

What was Ednas Awakening? Essay -- Literary Analysis, Kate Chopin

The roles we fill in society are what define us as a person. Many times, we do not choose our own place, but we still are obligated to fill it. Some societies have limited roles, especially for minorities such as blacks, women, and so on. However, in a society with an endless number of options, where people are free to be anything they want to be, how is it that one-woman still feels lost? Kate Chopin's book, The Awakening, tells the story of just that. A woman named Edna Pontellier is 28 years old living in New Orleans at the end of the 19th century. Unlike her old home in Kentucky, the Creoles are free to be what they will. The only stipulation is once you have chosen that role it is expected of you to obey it. In Edna's case, once she has picked her poison she is forced to drink it. Edna walked through her life almost asleep, going through the motions. After six years of marriage and two children, she suddenly realizes she has not been living at all. She struggles des perately to gain her independence and find who she really is. By the end, Edna has crossed a number of social taboos to the tragic end of suicide. Did Edna ever fully awaken herself by drowning at sea, or was it fear of failure that brought Edna to killing her self? This argument should start by explaining why Edna needed to have an awakening in the first place. Looking at the culture, she should have already been awakened. However, the strict up bringing by her father determined her path until she was aware enough to know it. Edna joined Madame Ratignolle for a walk down the beach. While sitting somberly in the shade, Ratignolle asked Edna what was on her mind. Loosing track of her thoughts, they wandered to an old memory of her life in Kent... ...uts herself back in the same place she was. This idea of a partner is not just a little voice in her head; it is something she actively pursues with Robert, pleading to him "We shall be everything to each other" (147). This uncontrollable desire to become one with Robert is what turns her to suicide. When he leaves for Mexico Edna is alone and understands how much Robert was a part of her life for she was, "under the spell of her infatuation . . . The thought of him was like an obsession, ever pressing itself upon her . . . It was his being, his existence, which dominated her thought" (73). Robert leaves for good because he does not want to rune her marriage. Edna realizes that no matter how much power and independence she gained, life was not worth living if Robert, who was the one who helped her change in the first place, was not there to share it with.

Renaissance Comparison Essay

Renaissance Comparison Essay Tom Barnes HUM/205 3-21-2010 Janet Florick In the broader scheme of things, the social changes in Italy were inspired, as we've seen, by Humanism. Italian artists, writers and philosophers were driven to study Classical antiquity and explore man's supposed capacity for rational choice. They believed that Humanism led to more dignified and worthy humans. In the north (possibly in part because the north did not have works of antiquity from which to learn), change was brought about by a different rationale. Thinking minds in the north were more concerned with religious reform, feeling that Rome (from whom they were physically distanced) had strayed too far from Christian values. In fact, as northern Europe became more openly rebellious over the authority of the Church, art took a decidedly secular turn. This plays a major role in how the arts impacted and what type of relationship the arts had in the culture of both the North and Italy. Another common factor of both during the Renaissance was the Guild system. The Guild system started to arise during the Gothic period, Guilds were the best path a man could go down to learn a craft, be it painting, sculpture, or saddle making. These Guilds were very similar to the trade unions of our modern day. Training in any specialty was long, rigorous and comprised of multiple steps. These Guilds had a self-policing policy, most of the money exchanging hands-when works of art were commissioned and paid for went to the Guild members. These Guild systems seemed to be more in place in Northern Europe than Italy. One last similarity of the two is they both had a definite artistic center. In Italy it was Florence were all artists looked for inspiration and innovation. In Northern Europe it was Flanders which was part of then the Duchy of Burgundy. This was a thriving city which like Florence made its money in banking and wool. Each of these cultures had their own specific style. Both cultures with similarities and differences set aside gave a new birth to the social and art movements in the world of that time period. These new movements are part of what has helped shape our modern era of art today. References Essak, Shelley. (2010). The Renaissance In Northern Europe. _About. com Art History Fine art touch (2010). The Venetian Renaissance. Retrieved March 19, 2010, from The City Review (2010). Retrieved March 20, 2010, from www. thecityreview. com

Final Assignment HUM

You are the news director of a local television station. The city council has Just voted to close city parks 3 days a week to save money. Meanwhile, a major celebrity has died. The park story has greater effect on your viewers, but the celebrity death will get bigger ratings? Which do you make your lead story and why? As a viewer I would normally say put the park story first 100 percent. This is local broadcast I want to hear about information that affects me directly.This is not the ease, though. As a news director I would put the story of the celebrity death in the lead position for the higher ratings. This may not seem like the best choice, but it is a numbers game. The good thing that may come out of leading with the passing of the celebrity is that more viewers will learn about the closures at the city parks, since they will be tuning in anyway. It is this channels responsibility to get the news out to the public, but it is the director's choice of what order that news will be s een.It is also likely that the national stations, internet, and radio will be reporting the story as well. This can mean some viewers may already be aware of celebrity death, but ultimately the city park story can run behind it. It is Just not as attention getting as the other story. This may not have been the case fifty or seventy-five years ago. Since the news traveled much slower then, the local happenings would be much more in the forefront, with national headlines taking longer to reach faraway places.This Just shows how media has changed over the last century. It will disappoint various viewers who may be tired of hearing about the death who then turn on the local station and see it again, but that is both the advantage and disadvantage of how the media is delivered in this day and age. We can learn about news almost instantly (advantage), but with every type of media outlet reporting on the most recent buzz, it can also become redundant very quickly as well (disadvantage).It is not an easy call to choose what the lead story will be because there will always be someone who has n opinion about what should have run first or could have been better, and there always will people to criticize the actions of others. Explain the effect of relationships among television, movies, and electronic games with culture. Television, movies, and electronic video games, and culture are all related and they all influence each other. Like the saying life does imitate art and are does imitate life.There are numerous television shows that relate to everyday life from the past to the present and most like will continue into the future – Just a few examples are: Friends, Sniffed, and Modern Family. The same goes for movies. The classic culture related film is: boy meets girl, boy falls in love with girl, boy loses girl, and boy gets girl back in the end. Who has not had at least one relationship like this in the past? They also relate to each other. A television show hasn 't really become an icon until it is made into a movie these days, for example Sex in the City has had not one, but two movies spawned from the show.Electronic games are included as well. There are quite a few movies that have been created from video games, like Laura Croft: Tomb Raider for example; and there have been movies that seem almost specifically made to become electronic games like Torn. Whether a person watches a movie or television show because he or she can relate to it or if it is purely entertainment, it does affect culture because it becomes a part of each person. People quote funny lines from a movie or show, why, because it they connect with what they watched and share it with others.It can then catch on and become should slang – who can forget â€Å"don't have a cow man† or â€Å"you got it dude†? Some movies, television shows, and electronic games do depict violence and demeaning social situations. They often get blamed when people in real li fe commit violent crimes. This is a topic people feel strongly about on both sides, and is not easy to defend or condemn. The most important thing to do is to talk open with our children, teach them clearly what is right and what is wrong, and give them self-confidence and self-worth, so in a controversial situation they are able to make the right decision.

Rmcf Srategic Audit

Strategic Audit of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Table of Contents Current Situation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 4 Current Performance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦4 Strategic Posture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4,5 Corporate Governance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. 5 Board of Directors †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. 5,6,7 Top Management†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7,8,9 External Environment: Opportunities and Threats (SWOT)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Natural Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9 Societal Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦9,10 Task Environment†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦. 10,11 Summary of External Factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦. 11 Exhibit 1- EFAS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 22 Internal Environment: Strengths & Weaknesses (SWOT)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 11 Corporate Structure†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 11,12 Corporate Culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 12 Corporate Resources†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦12 Marketing†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Finance†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12,13 Research & Development†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 13,14 Operations & Logistics†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 Human Resources Management (HRM)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦14 Information Technology (IT)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦14,15 Summary of Internal Factors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 15 Exhibit 2- IFAS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 22 Analysis of Strategic Factors (SWOT)†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 15 Situational Analysis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 5,16,17 Review of Mission and Objectives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦17 Exhibit 3 – SFAS Matrix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦23 Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 18 Strategic Alternatives†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦.. 18,19 Recommended Strategy/Implementation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 19,20 Implementation†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20 Evaluation and Control†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20,21 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦21 Works Cited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 24 I.Current Situation A. Current Performance Successful from the start * Currently there are five company-owned and 329 franchised RMCF stores operating in 38 states * Continuous revenue increases from year to year (around $16,678,472 in 2008) * During this time of economic decline that had arose, the sales began to slow up but Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory seems to be in great shape under all financial aspects to survive the recession. B. Strategic Posture Here is the original mission, objectives, and strategies of the company.RMCF is always looking to become more and more successful from what they already have and hope to continue doing well now and in the future. 1. Mission: The Company does its finest to stay fine-tuned and focus on franchising and manufacturing. * They guarantee goo d quality, taste, value, and variety of all their products * Their number one focus and factor is the quality of the product 2. Objectives: RMCF is always wanting to be known and therefore their customers and employees are huge for the company.They are always doing their best to stay in the seat they are in now by staying successful, continuing to gain customers, popularity, and even profits as a whole. * Continue to keep a good relationship with all employees and with the franchises as well * They are always sure to handle and manage their money in all the proper ways even during the time of the 2008 economic slump * Always had an eye open to slow factors down during this rough time (expansion and eliminate debt) 3.Strategies * Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is repurchasing stock here because they felt as if it was undervalued * Different kinds of candy, such as sugar free treats for individuals who choose to be more healthy or who cannot have the candies with all the sugar in th em * The company owns refrigerated trucks to make it simple to move products from the factory to stores * Putting stores in areas of tourist, entertainment, and street front locations to gain more and more attention. Stores are set up for customers to be able to not resist the smell and sights of all the goodies (will keep them coming back) 4. Policies: RMCF consists of many different polices as most places do. The company wants to always continue increasing accountability, revenue, customers, and all the positives that have been such a success for the company while also reducing bottlenecking. All franchisees are expected to hold a high level of excellence * Believe they should control the manufacturing of its own products in order to better maintain its high product quality standards * RMCF sends their trucks from factories to stores with products and then brings back more ingredients for the next product so they can save trips and be more cost effective * Stores must be placed fa r enough apart and in good locations so that the company has the best possibility for success * All stores have the policy of sample in the store so customers can see and try what they are going to purchaseThe current mission, objectives, strategies, and policies reflect the company under many aspects. It continues to be successful, expand the customer culture, and accessibility. RMCF created a leading business model that was truly effective. With all the company has accomplished it continues to keep an eye open and look to consider changes if needed. II. Corporate Governance A. Board of Directors Due to the type of company, it is restricted by law to have no fewer than three and no more than nine directors on the board.The company previously decided on having 6 directors with Crail and Merryman being the only two internal board members. 1. Franklin E. Crail- Founder of the first RMCF, Chief Executive Officer, President, and a director. Bryan J. Merryman- Vice President, Finance & c hief financial officer, chief operating officer, director and a treasurer. Others directors include: Gerald A. Kien – Former chief executive officer of Remote Technology. Lee N. Mortenson – Former managing director at Kensington Partners LLC. Clyde W.Engle – Chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Sunstates Corporation. Fred M. Trainor – Chief executive officer and president of AVCOR Health Care Products Inc. With the exception of Franklin E. Crail who was the co-founder of RMCF and Bryan J. Merryman, the Board of Directors of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is composed of all external-independent board members. The directors do not receive any kind of compensation for serving on the board.However, they do receive compensation for serving other things such as serving certain board committees, leading committees, and when getting involved in meetings. Directors who are not officers or employees of RMCF are entitled to receive s tock option awards. RMCF is publically traded and listed on NASDAQ Global Market. For each share of common stock held, a shareholder is entitled to one vote on all matters. There are different rights as all matters could be voted on except the election of directors. Shareholders on the board had cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.The Board of Directors has frequently paid out quarterly cash dividends usually to common share outstanding. The RMCF board of directors are equipped with a wide variety of skills, interest, knowledge and background. The board members contribute numerous experiences in different positions from multiple companies. It seems that none of the directors were ever in the food industry before. Franklin E. Crail co-founded the first Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory store in May 1981. Since, Crail has served as its President, Director, Chairman of the Board, and CEO.Before finding the company, he was co-founder and President of CNI Data Processing Inc. Bryan J. Merryman has experience in leverage buyout firms, retail and manufacturing of aftermarket auto parts, consulting, financial advisory, and risk management. He has been with RMCF since 1997. Lee N. Mortenson has been with the company since 1987 and has been involved in consulting and investment activities since 2000. He was the managing director of a private investment firm and has been President and CEO of a company that provided management consulting and investment services.He has also been involved in real estate development and manufacturing. Gerald A. Kien became part of the company in 1995. He had just retired from his position as President and CEO of a company involved in the development of instrumentation for vehicle emissions testing. He also had previously been on the board of Sun Electric which is a company that deals with the oilfield, wind farms, and transmission construction industries. Clyde W. Engle became part of the company and had experience in profes sional property management as well as in a one-bank holding company.RMCF has a total of 41 franchise stores internationally. Based on what some of the directors use to do in the past, it is clear that they have the experience to work with international operations of the company and help benefit RMCF. When it comes to the environment, it can be said that RMCF board members are concerned with its environment. To start with a simple example, Crail had to scope out the perfect environment where to build his company. He moved from California to a smaller town where he started to survey the environment to make sure that it was a good place to open a chocolate shop.Crail had to make sure the environment was going to be a contribution to the success of the organization. RMCF was first located right on the main street for location and was right by the river which was a tourist attraction. The smells caught the noses of the tourists that came to town for the attractions. The company then cont inued to establish RMCF stores in five primary environments such as regional centers, tourist areas, outlet centers, street fronts, and airports and other entertainment oriented areas. The board members have been around for quite some time. Starting from 1982 to 1987, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2009 basically.Even previously from 1987. The board seems to be deeply involved with strategic management of the company, controlling all from where stores are located to how training is conducted. When it comes to decision making on what to do with the company, the board of directors at RMCF tend to agree upon what to do as a team. They take care of all major aspects of the company. For example, they are in charge of resources and performance in the environment. With the co-founder being part of the board, strategic management works in a way that they all come to an agreement on, the board and no one is voted out.The board is able to run an evaluation on performance and many other aspects. All bo ard members participate and stick to a strategic plan to come to an agreement for the company. B. Top Management When it comes on to top management at RMCF it is up to the internal employees that are all part of the board. Listed below are some individuals that are part of RMCF top management: Frankiln E. Crail- Chief Executive Officer, President, and Director Bryan J. Merryman- Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Treasuer Edward L.Dudley- Senior Vice President- Sales and Marketing Gregory L. Pope- Senior Vice President- Franchise Development and Operations Jay B. Haws- Vice President- Creative Services William K. Jobson- Chief Information Officer Virgina M. Perez- Corporate Security Similar to the board of directors, top management of RMCF comes from a lot of different backgrounds. All of them are experienced in their field, but none of them before had ever had experience in the food industry. Some of the top management individuals consist of Crail , Merryman, Dudley, Pope, haws, and even a few more.Top management at RMCF are responsible for the different franchises and the growth of the company. They use top management as a form of recognition style so they can use it to expand and open more franchise stores. This will allow them to open more stores with no capital investment. Top Management also has international experience similar to the board of directors, because some of the individuals are both on the board of directors and top management. They have had to interact with others internationally and learn how to work with others from all over as well.That is why RMCF continues to stay towards the top and seems to most of the time be doing very well. There have been different ways and ratios looked into that determine if top management is effective and if they have an impact on the corporation’s performance over the past years. The ratios turned out looking rather well for RMCF in that the company is doing well and to p management has been responsible for these corporation performances over the past few years. This means that the management is aware of their resources and are using them to the company’s advantage.About half of the top management have been promoted internally. They started off as a store manager, franchise owner, or working their way up through the company. Some of these managers have been with the company since it first merged in the early 1980’s. Top management has established a systematic approach to strategic management. As mentioned above, the committee consults the board on making the right organizational decisions. By placing intense focus on Environmental Scanning of strategic management, RMCF has been smart and placed store locations in tourist areas, or high levels of foot traffic.Top management of RMCF is deeply involved in the strategic management process of the company. They are in charge of the mainstream controls that their franchise branches do. There fore, top management is truly involved. When it comes to deciding store locations, directing training, and providing ingredients, these are all decided upon in their original Durango, Colorado location. At RMCF top management is heavily involved in the interaction with lower level managers and the board of directors. Top management consults with the lower levels when deciding what to do and what strategies they can come upon that will best suit the company.Even though top management is higher up then the lower levels, they must come to agreements on certain strategies before making changes. Therefore, top management does play a very important role when it comes to interacting and communicating with lower level managers and board of directors at RMCF. By interacting and communicating helps the company rise above and stay ahead of competitors. RMCF is great with their interaction at all levels and that is what allows for it to be one of the leading chocolate factories worldwide. Decis ions at RMCF are made ethically in a socially responsible manner.If there is ever any concerns or anything that could be harmful to the company name, system, or reputation they are strictly prohibited. Along with the ethical manners of RMCF, environmentally sustainable manners come into play. From what RMCF can control, they want to always maintain an environmentally sustainable manner. With most things they are able to do so but with cocoa beans that are the main raw material used to make chocolate and grown in Africa and several other countries, RMCF cannot directly regulate if those countries are leading themselves in an environmentally sustainable manner.There are many different rules, regulations, and concerns that need to be kept under tight control with the company. From the case, one can see that RMCF’s top management is sufficiently skilled to cope with any future challenges. All of the top management team comes from truly experienced backgrounds and are prepared to withstand any recessionary forces that are knocking the U. S. economy. III. External Environment: Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) A. Natural Physical Environment: Sustainability Issues 1. Some natural climate issues that could affect the company would be heat, rain, and snow.Some weather related issues would be hurricanes and earthquakes that would affect traffic, tourism, and crop production (cocoa beans). 2. These forces would affect different regions of the world depending on the season and location. There might be different weather-related events, but different types would affect each region. B. Societal Environment Economic Economic is a current threat because the economy is dealing with a current recession. Spending is down and chocolate isn’t a necessity, which means there will be less chocolate being consumed. TechnologicalTechnology is an opportunity for RMCF. One example is that with online shopping increasing, consumers can buy as much of the product as they want right from their phones or computers. Also, technology can speed up the production process. Machines can do a lot more work as well, which will limit the amount of work that workers have to do by hand. This will increase the overall quality and consistency of the product. Political-Legal Political-Legal can be a threat to this corporation. Working in a factory can be somewhat unsafe. There are always health and safety issues in any workplace.There are also fair-trade regulations, import and export regulations, licensing agreements and child labor laws that have to be enforced. Sociocultural Sociocultural is an opportunity for this corporation. Based on research, dark chocolate has many health benefits. Some of these benefits include limiting the risk of diabetes, heart attacks, and strokes. Dark chocolate can also lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and increase sugar metabolism. This will increase consumer spending on dark chocolate if consumers believe that it is healthy for the m. These forces would be different in other countries.This is because every nation is not at the same developmental stage, in terms of Economic, Technological, Political-legal, & Sociocultural. Some countries are ahead of the U. S & others are behind. C. Task Environment 1. Forces that drive industry competition are prices, geographic locations, large corporations entering the market, and prime retail locations. a. Threats of new entrants: High: Nestle and mars are two of the top food manufacturers in the world. With low entry barriers and having to compete with these established corporations there is a high threat. b.Bargaining power of buyers: Medium: Consumers have other options to choose from besides RMCF. They can buy chocolate from whomever, but with their prices, consumers are still choosing RMCF. c. Threat of substitute products/services: High: There are many substitutes to gourmet chocolate and with the economy; consumers might fall for the lower prices and easy access to d ifferent products. d. Bargaining power of suppliers: Low: RMCF has an advantage over other suppliers because of their fixed pricing and alternative supplier options. e. Rivalry: High: There has been an increase of entrants into the industry.Chocolate can be an easier industry to buy into with the health benefits and low entry barriers. f. Relative power of union, governments, and special interest groups: Medium: Consumer demands, union demands, and government regulations present challenges for RMCF. 2. Key factors in the immediate environment are: * Consumers demand for quality and healthy products. * Big name competitors like Nestle and Mars entering the market. * Suppliers providing ingredients at a fixed cost. * Labor unions and employers working together to produce raw materials at a low cost D. Summary of External FactorsSee Exhibit 1: Find at end of paper Consumer demands and competition are the most important factors to the corporations and industries in which it competes at the present time. Without consumers buying the product, the company cannot survive. Even though there are other factors that weigh into consumer happiness, it all boils down to if they like the product, if they can afford it, and if they choose it over other competitors. In the future it will still be the same, there will still be other competitors that will be coming out with new and improved products. Consumers can change company preference at any time.RMCF has to keep fixed prices as good or better with the products that are similar to that of their competition in order to keep their consumers around. IV. Internal Environment: Strengths and Weaknesses (SWOT) A. Corporate Structure Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory prides itself on its history. It was built around location and lifestyle, which has helped shape its corporate structure that is used to this day. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory uses a divisional corporate structure that focuses in three areas; product, market, and geo graphic. Product is the first and foremost important element for the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.As said by one of the Co-founders Franklin Crail â€Å"The number one factor is the quality of the product, without that customers aren’t going to stay around long† (book p26-3). Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is known for its specialty chocolate treats such as; nut clusters, caramels, butter creams, mints, and truffles. RMCF also tries to stay innovative with its products, having recently introduced sugar free and no sugar added candies. Chocolate isn’t the only sweet treat that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory offers, however, they also offer an array of fudges and caramel apples.Market structure is the next piece that fits into Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s divisional corporate structure. Market structure comes into play with the different groupings of employees that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has as a whole. They can be divided up into ma nufacturing its own trucking operations, store employees, factory employees, and corporate management. Splitting up the employee force and grouping everyone with the same or similar groups together is the main purpose of the market structure as part of the divisional structure as a whole.The last piece of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s divisional corporate strategy is geographical structure. This groups employees come together on a basis of where they are located. This is important for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory because it an international company with stores all over the United States, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates. The placement of the shops is also a key element to the success of the store. The main environments are; regional centers, tourist areas, outlet centers, street fronts, and airports. B. Corporate Culture â€Å"The Peak of Perfection in handmade Chocolates†Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has a very unique corporate culture. It truly tries to live up to its tagline of being â€Å"The Peak of Perfection in Handmade Chocolates†. As a company they accomplish this by making all the shops a blend of traditional and contemporary styles. They also sought to make each store a fun and inviting place to be for both its workers and the customers that stop in. In each store it is possible to see the chocolates being made by the workers, thus showing that the chocolates really are handmade, as promised by the tagline of the company.Another important aspect of the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory corporate culture is its franchising philosophy. It is always looking to improve its franchise support systems and has a high level of service and commitment to its franchises. The company realizes the importance of supporting and monitoring all of its franchises, because they are a direct reflection of the company. C. Corporate Resources 1. Marketing Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory runs on low-cost, high-return publicity opportuni ties. This is through taking advantage of local and regional events, sponsorships, and charitable causes.A large national marketing plan was never something that Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory was interested in. Instead the company preferred to use things like coupons, flyers, and mail-order catalogs generated in house using its Creative Services Department. This department also works directly with each franchise. 2. Finance RMCF is consistently making a profit, allowing operating expenses to increase, and it also has multiple income sources. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s financial situation can best be seen through the use of a graph. This graph breaks down the company’s financial situation for the past five years. | YEARS ENDED FEBRUARY 28 or 29,| | Selected Statement of Operations Data| | 2012| | | 2011| | | 2010| | | 2009| | | 2008| | Total revenues| | $| 34,627| | | $| 31,128| | | $| 28,437| | | $| 28,539| | | $| 31,878| | Operating income| | | 5,853| | | | 5,950| | | | 5,671| | | | 5,819| | | | 7,914| | Net income| | $| 3,876| | | $| 3,911| | | $| 3,580| | | $| 3,719| | | $| 4,961| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Basic Earnings per Common Share| | $| . 63| | | $| . 65| | | $| . 60| | | $| . 62| | | $| . 78| | Diluted Earnings per Common Share| | $| . 62| | | $| . 62| | | $| . 58| | | $| . 60| | | $| . 6| | Weighted average common shares outstanding| | | 6,111| | | | 6,051| | | | 6,013| | | | 5,985| | | | 6,341| | Weighted average common shares outstanding, assuming dilution| | | 6,295| | | | 6,290| | | | 6,210| | | | 6,157| | | | 6,501| | Selected Balance Sheet Data| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Working capital| | $| 10,573| | | $| 9,831| | | $| 8,930| | | $| 7,371| | | $| 5,152| | Total assets| | | 24,163| | | | 21,439| | | | 18,920| | | | 16,841| | | | 16,147| | Stockholders’ equity| | | 18,736| | | | 16,654| | | | 14,731| | | | 13,242| | | | 11,655| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Cash Div idend Declared per Common Share| | $| . 400| | | $| . 400| | | $| . 400| | | $| . 400| | | $| . 390| | 3. Research and Development (R&D) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory knows the importance of keeping up with consumers wants, needs, and most importantly tastes. With the recent health raze, doing research and development was necessary to find out what in fact the consumers actually wanted from their chocolate companies. Due to this health craze the demand for dark chocolate has seen a significant increase. Also due to the health conscious, there has been research on chocolates that have been enhanced with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, and probiotics. Another trend that has become apparent in the chocolate industry is the want for ethical and fair trade chocolate. Consumers were showing concern about supporting cocoa farms that used child labor. Due to this consumers were choosing to support companies that could prove they were using only â€Å"ethical† cocoa products. 4. Operations and LogisticsRocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s operation and distribution objectives are all about maintaining the quality and freshness of its products. As a company Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory encourages its franchise stores to only order what they can realistically sell in a two to four week time frame, this ensures freshness. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s manufacturing process primarily involved cooking or preparing the candy. This is done in a temperature controlled room with strict quality controls in place to ensure that only best candies make the cut. While most of the candy is still handmade, there has been some change to automated processes if it makes sense to do so from a financial aspect.A large part of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s operations deal with its distribution or truck shipments. When it appeared that there couldn’t be a suitable shipper found, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory created its own fleet of semi s. By doing this it enabled the company to deliver its products to the stores quickly and at an extremely cost efficient and effective price. Having its own fleet to haul and return products and supplies has become not only a convenience for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory, but an extremely business savvy move. 5. Human Resources Management (HRM) Most of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory’s employees are employed and paid on an hourly basis. At times, the employment of temp or seasonal help was used.Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory prides itself on staying competitive in its industry with regard to pay, benefits, and working conditions. The company is big time on the emphasis of respect, commitment, and professionalism. As far as human resources and employee relations go, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory rates itself as very good! 6. Information Technology (IT) Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory uses social media as a main source of its information systems. Its main social media resource is Facebook. It allows for customers to â€Å"like† their page to receive special information and deals regarding the company. It also has a link to Facebook on its homepage on the corporate website. They also use Twitter and Instagram.Besides these information systems the company uses, the stores operate independently from main corporate structure and some other aspects of its operations the company uses information technology for shipping, sales performance, inventory control, and accounting. D. Summary of Internal Factors See Exhibit 2: Find at end of paper V. Analysis of Strategic Factors (SWOT) A. Situational Analysis See Exhibit 3: Find at end of paper Here we just laid out some of the important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that were important when it comes to RMCF. By looking at the SFAS Matrix: exhibit 3 at the end of the paper one can see of the external(EFAS) and internal(IFAS) factors and which of each are the most important that have a strong impact on the company’s present and future performance. Strengths * Strong Franchise Program Rated an outstanding franchise in 2008 by the Entrepreneur magazine * March 31st there were 329 franchised stores * Visibility of its stores and the high foot traffic generated strong name recognition High Quality Product (won the 3 heart rating in a blind taste test) Strong mix of different kind of ingredients * During holiday seasons, company made as many as 100 additional items * Developed a new line of sugar-free and no-sugar added candies * According to the company, â€Å"results have been ‘spectacular’, filling a need for those with a special dietary requirements† * Careful selection of store sites * Highly cohesive corporate culture * Trademarks * Big, chunky chocolate concoctions * The Bear Paw-sized concoction of chewy caramel, roasted nuts and heavy coating of chocolate * Caramel apples followed by the Bear was the best selling Weaknesses * Glob al presence * Sale of chocolate and confectionary products was affected by changes in consumer tastes and eating habits * Negative impacts * Equity market levels * Consumer confidence * Job growth * Consumer disposable income and spending levels * Unemployment rates * Recessionary and inflationary trends * Energy prices Opportunities * New environments for success * Automation increase the speed and efficiency of the manufacturing process * Significant opportunities existed to expand into tourist area * Airport locations Accelerate the opening of stores in high volume airport locations * Sport Arenas * Kiosks * Enhanced franchise opportunities by providing flexibility in support of existing franchisees’ * Incorporated the company’s trademark cooking areas * Low cost marketing * Focused primarily on local in-store marketing * Fixed price contracts Company owned trucks * In 2008, owned eight refrigerated trucks and shipped substantial portion of its products from its fac tory * Cost effective, and quick delivery * Human Resources * Provided working conditions, wages, and benefits that compared favorably with its competitors * High performance expectations, mutual respect and professionalism existed throughout the company Threats Weather * Crop farming * Tourist areas * Competitors * Mars Inc. * Fanny May * Godiva Chocolatier * Large annual sales, and was one of the leading chocolate businesses * Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt * Ethel M Chocolates * See’s Candies * Hershey * These companies not only manufactured chocolate but also had their own retail outlets * Numerous businesses that offered confectionery products, from large to small privately owned local businesses * Influence of sales affected by * Traffic patterns * Economic conditions * Demographic conditions B. REVIEW OF MISSION AND OBJECTIVES Mission Built around a location and a lifestyle. The number one factor is the quality of the product, without that customers aren’t going to stay around long. † (Page26-2) The Company believed that its store atmosphere and ambiance, as well as its brand name recognition and its careful selection of sites for new store and kiosks, merchandising and marketing of chocolate and other candy products, expertise in the manufacture, and commitment to customer service are key to the accomplishment of its objective to build on its position as a leading international franchiser and manufacturer of high quality chocolate and other confectionary products. †¢ Quality, taste, value and variety of products †¢ Quality of the product is the number one factor Objectives Manage money carefully during economic downturn †¢ Slowed expansion and elimination of debt †¢ Maintain a good relationship with employees as well as franchisees Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has continued to maintain its mission and objectives appropriately during times of expansion as well as recession. VI. Strategic Alternatives and Recommended Strategy A. Strategic Alternatives The current and revised objectives are met rather well in this case and in any situation there can be implementation and improvement of the company’s strategies to make it even better. The alternative strategies are the Growth strategy, stability strategy and the retrenchment strategy.Cost leadership and differentiation play a part under strategic alternatives as well. 1. Stability Strategy: Stability strategy is when corporate strategies need to make no changes to the company’s current direction of activities. Therefore, RMCF fits pretty well under this because from the case one can see that they were doing rather well and never seemed to dip down by much at all. RMCF does not need to change any major things they just need to be sure and remain on the same page all the time and fix any small things that may occur. PROS: Stability strategy is rather cheap and will take the least amount of time. It also allows for appropria te training of any new franchisees.CONS: With a stability strategy it may only be short term solve or could end up resulting in loss of market share. 2. Growth Strategy: The concentration can be either vertical growth or horizontal growth. Vertical growth consists of taking over another company and this strategy would somewhat be beneficial for RMCF at this time because they tend to be doing well and if they were to take another place over and run it as they run their own company things would continue to be well off. Horizontal growth is spreading into other geographical locations. Horizontal growth is also something that RMCF is looking to do at this point because expanding into different geographical areas will benefit them and let them continue to become known all over.The diversification strategies involve concentric and RMCF seems to have a pretty strong competitive position in the industry world. Conglomerate diversification comes into play here too and RMCF seems to be pretty well and in a good spot with their cash making company. With these two characteristics, diversification strategy should work. The horizontal growth is huge through franchising at RMCF. PROS- RMCF could continue reaching and expanding to different new markets as profits continue to move forward. CONS- The growth strategy may not allow enough time for all the planning that is needed. 3. Retrenchment Strategy: Retrenchment strategy is corporate strategies to minimize the company’s level of activities and to return it to profitability.This strategy can be considered a quick fix of financial problems and this has helped for RMCF to stay on their feet and never fall to low under most aspects. There were a few times they slipped but then managed to get back on their feet and fix problems. With retrenchment strategy, it is there if RMCF would need it but the company is doing fairly well and has never been in that much of a slump to be bought out by another company or to even claim b ankruptcy. PROS- Retrenchment strategy is here and handy if RMCF were to need it. CONS- If RMCF did ever get into such a terrible spot, this might not help. 4. Cost Leadership: Cost Leadership can be described as a low-cost competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market.RMCF can tie in with cost leadership because it has been truly successful and has set prices that the company believes works as a competitive strategy because their consumers agree on them and continue to come back for more in that they are satisfied. PROS- Keep consumers around and gain more from the broad mass market with a low-cost competitive strategy. CONS- Other companies will begin to do the same and try to be even better while trying to gain RMCF’s consumers. 5. Differentiation: Differentiation is huge for RMCF because this is a competitive strategy that is targeted at the broad mass market and which involves the design of a product or service that is viewed throughout its industry as exceptio nal.RMCF fits perfectly under differentiation because from the start Crail wanted the industry to be different than any other and successful with the unique products it produced. PROS- Practical for above average earnings because of the exceptional products that consumers want more of and tend to not care about the price. CONS- There could be more losses during tough times because of the differentiation products being as a luxury. B. Recommended Strategy Here, growth is the recommended strategy for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. With doing very well most the time and being able to fix what the company needs to, their business and functional strategies that the company use seem to be working well. The U. S. candy market was doing extremely well around 2009, with chocolate generating billions of dollars in sales.As of March 31, 2008, Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory consisted of five company-owned and 329 franchised stores operating in 38 states, Canada, and the United Arab Emirate s. All the Franchising, licensing, and exporting will help its ability to resolve both long and short-term goals of the company. There are not too many policies that should be developed or revised with RMCF to guide them with effective implementation. They seem to do rather well. If something does go wrong they find the best way to go about bettering it for present and future reference. The company has to always remain on its toes though because anything could change at any time. By following and sticking to good policies will benefit the company in many ways.The impact of knowing what is going on and being ready for anything to happen at any time will have positive impact on the company’s core and distinctive competencies. VII. Implementation In order for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory to continue being a front runner in the gourmet chocolate industry they need to continue going on the path that they are on. They have a loyal consumer base and are keeping up with the wants and needs of their consumer base. By continuing to offer their homemade quality chocolates online, in stores, and in kiosk’s around the world they are providing their product to consumers in many ways. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has a solid structure set up as far as top management and board members are concerned. For assurance that RMCF ontinues to be one of the top leaders in the gourmet, homemade, chocolate industry it is important that they keep listening to their customers wants and needs. VIII. Evaluation and Control Is the current information system capable of providing sufficient feedback on implementation activities and performance? Can it measure strategic factors? The current information system is capable of providing sufficient feedback on implementation activities and performance because the external and internal elements determine the future of the corporation. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats help the company sort out the monitoring, evaluating, and disseminating of information.Using the SWOT analysis helps defining the corporate mission, specifying achievable objectives, developing strategies, and setting policy guidelines. The fact that this company is built around a location and lifestyle, and that the quality of the taste, value and variety of products are important to them as a whole is why they succeed. They realize that in order to keep profit coming, they need to manage money carefully during economic downturn as well with a slowed expansion to help eliminate debt. Customer satisfaction is important as well because if the customer is not satisfied with either the product or the service they are receiving they will not be returning.Rocky Mountain Chocolate employees pride themselves in making a good name for the company, which is why they are so successful with expansion. â€Å"The number one factor is the quality of the product, without that customers aren’t going to stay around long† (Page 26-2). Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory has had a very strong franchise with the fact that they were rated an outstanding franchise in 2008 by the Entrepreneur magazine. Are adequate control measures in place to ensure conformance with the recommended strategic plan? Appropriate standards and measures are being used to enhance conformance with the recommended strategic plan because they are being rated on the quality f the products they are producing. They were able to overcome the hard times of the economy in the U. S over the recent years by managing their money effectively. The company has their own special features and products that make them stand out over their competitors. With special holidays, they make over 100 different products to help ensure business with different options. Conclusion In closing, we believe the Stability strategies of â€Å"make no changes† to the company’s current activities is the best recommendation we can give for Rocky Mountain Chocol ate Factory at this time. Exhibit 2- IFAS Table for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   |Internal Factors|   |   | Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| Comments| Strengths|   |   |   |   |   |   | High quality products|   | 0. 2| 5. 0| 1. 00| Can have high prices with loyal customers| Uniformity throughout every store| 0. 1| 4. 0| 0. 40| Keeps customers happy and satisfied| Efficient cost structure| 0. 1| 2. 5| 0. 25| Promotes growth & increases profits| All stores are efficient and organized|   |   | 0. 1| 4. 0| 0. 40| Also promotes growth & increases profits| |   |   | | | | | |   |   |   | |   |   |   | Weaknesses|   |   |   | |   |   |   | A lot of competitors that are also strong|   |   |   | 0. 2| 2| 0. 40| Have to do best to always protect market share| Special items|   |   |   | 0. 1| 2| 0. 0|   With difficult economic times sales can change| Proper operation of franchises is key|   |   | 0. 1| 1. 5| 0. 15| Keep head up in case of store mismanagement| Growth of company can be risky|   |   | 0. 1| 2| 0. 20| Must always stay on top with growth & managing it| |   |   | | | | | |   |   |   | |   |   |   | Total Scores|   |   | 1. 00|   | 3. 00|   | Exhibit 1- EFAS Table for Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory|   |   |   |   |   |   |   |   | External Factors|   |   | Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| Comments| Opportunities|   |   |   |   |   |   | Natural- recession recovery|   | 0. 05| 2. 5| 0. 13| Economy going towards recovery stage| Economic- low cost marketing strategy| 0. 05| 4. 6| 0. 3| Higher profits because of low cost facilities| Technological- multiple manuf. & automated processes| 0. 21| 4. 9| 1. 03| No value added, reduces inventory| Consumers happy & will pay more for product|   |   | 0. 07| 3. 5| 0. 25| profit will increase if demand for product does| Trucks owned by the comp any|   |   | 0. 12| 4. 5| 0. 54| Low transportation & efficient delivery|   |   |   |   | |   |   |   | Threats|   |   |   | |   |   |   | Natural- other companies move into market|   |   |   | 0. 23| 3. 8| 0. 87| Competition increases and causes lower prices| Economic- trade regulations|   |   |   | 0. 08| 1. 4| 0. 11|   Upset consumers, increase in labor costs| Labor force strikes|   |   | 0. 04| 1. 4| 0. 6| There would be no production of ingredients  | Regulations with the trucks|   |   | 0. 07| 2. 5| 0. 18| Increase in operating cost if slow delivery| Picking where to purchase a franchise location|   |   | 0. 08| 2| 0. 16| There would be no service if not in a good area|   |   |   |   | |   |   |   | Total Scores|   |   | 1. 00|   | 3. 56|   | Exhibit 3 – SFAS Matrix for RMCF| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Strategic Factors| Weight| Rating| Weighted Score| Duration Comments| | | D uration| Comments| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | S1 High Quality Products (S)| 0. 13| 5. 0| 0. 5 | Long High prices, loyal customers| | | Long| Very important income stream| | | | S4 Stores efficient & Organized (S)| 0. 13| 4. 0| 0. 52| Long Promotes growth & increases profits| | | Long| Well known brand| | | | W1 A lot of strong Competitors (W)| 0. 11| 2. 0| 0. 22| Intermediate Do best to protect Market share| | | Long| Developing tech. may hurt advertising income| | | | W2 Special Items (W)| 0. 11| 2. 0| 0. 22| Intermediate Sales can change during hard times| | | Long| If internet packages change, income from partnerships may change| | | | W3 Proper operations of franchises (W)| 0. 13| 1. 5| 0. 95| Long Keep head up for store mismanagement| | | Intermediate| Focusing on too many market segments| | | | W4 Growth of Company (W)| 0. 11| 2. 0| 0. 22| Long Stay on top with managing growth| | | Intermediate| You don't Yahoo! it, you google it! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | O2 Economic (O)| 0. 07| 4. 6| 0. 322| Intermediate Higher profits: low cost facilities| | | Intermediate| Computers, cell phones, ipads, etc. | | | | O3 Technological (O)| 0. 07| 4. 9| 0. 343| Long No value added, reduces inventory| | | Long| Alliances with other countries. New laws, regulations, etc. enforced. | | | T1 Natural (T)| 0. 07| 3. 8| 0. 266| Intermediate Competition increase causes low prices| | | Intermediate| One media type having easier access than another| | | | T4 Regulations with trucks (T)| 0. 07| 2. 5| 0. 175| Short Increase in operation cost if slow delivery| | | Long| New laws and regulations internationally could put limits on Yahoo! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Total Scores| 1. 00| | 3. 13| | | | | | | | Work Cited Doheny, K. (2012, April 24). Choose dark chocolate for health benefits. Retrieved from http://www. ebmd. com/diet/news/20120424/pick-dark-chocolate-health-benefits Franchise Store News Room. (2011). Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www. rmcf. com/CA/Sa cramento50028/news. asp? Hunger, J. D. ; Wheelen, T. L. (2012). Strategic management and business policy (13th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. (2013). Retrieved March 5, 2013, from http://www. reuters. com/finance/stocks/companyOfficers? symbol=RMCF. O Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory Inc. – Form 10-K (2010). Retrieved February 26, 2013, from http://www. faqs. org/sec-filings/100518/ROCKY-MOUNTAIN-CHOCOLATE-FACTORY-INC_10-K/