Panera Case Essay

Industry Analysis Dominant Economic Characteristics Panera Bread Company is a chain of restaurants, both company owned and franchised, that provides food and beverages with more of a cafà © experience as oppose to a traditional fast food restaurant. Panera NAICS code is 722310, which is classified as food service contractors. Food service contractors can be can be classified as cafeterias, fast food restaurants, or regular restaurants just to name a few. In 2007 there were approximately 23,250 establishments in this industry, which was up from 20,693 in 2002 and 18,991 in 1997, which shows that people are continuously opening more and more restaurants each year. Since 1997, the food industry under this NAICS code has seen significant increase in sales. The total number of sales in this industry has more then doubled since 1997, which can be attributed to two things. One of those is that they’re a just more establishments out there in 2007 then there were 10 years ago. The second, and probably most important reason why sales have more then doubled, is that people are just simply going out to eat more as oppose to cooking at home. Success in this industry is predicated on the ability to be able to not only appeal to consumer taste and preferences but continually changing product offerings to keep these customers happy and loyal to your restaurant. More often then not, companies in this industry fail and go out of business prematurely because they are not able to appeal to a wide enough customer base. Obviously you must have great food in this industry, but equally as important is the location, customer service, prices, and time of day that you choose to do business. If you don’t have a handle on these items then you will likely not make it past the first year without taking a significant loss. Due to the fact that there are different types of needs among customers, there is no way one establishment can serve the needs of everybody. Each restaurant must figure out the few things they do well and service those customers whose needs fit into what that restaurants do well. Driving Forces One of the key driving forces in this industry may seem obvious and simple but it is the most important thing in this industry. The restaurants must have good food to satisfy the ever-changing needs of customers. Since customers do have different preferences and these preferences could change at anytime, food companies must figure out a way to not only attract, but also maintain customer who love their food. However, to develop a sustainable advantage on taste alone is not likely when there are so many options when people eat away from home. Price is also a driving force as it is with any industry. A company must be able to provide their products cheaper then their competition or be able to convince their customer base that their products are worth the extra buck. In order to justify customers spending more money on your products, you have to somehow differentiate your product. Typically, companies either make their products healthier or find ingredients that make the products taste better then the competition if they are charging a premium price. If they are unable to convince consumers that their products are worth the premium price then they must figure out a way to drive down costs so they can charge as little as possible. With the economy struggling, this is a viable option for many companies in this industry. The last driving force is in this industry is location. A prime location can make or break a company. A company can have the best food in the world and even offer their products at great prices, but without the ability to get the foot traffic, because of a bad location, the company is doomed before it is even started. A restaurant must pick a location that will be able to service as many people that they have identified as potential customers. For instance, a healthy sub shop may be inclined to locate their business next to a health spa where people workout. The restaurants that are able to find an optimal location give themselves a far better chance to succeed for many years. A great location can be a sustainable competitive advantage and allow companies to outperform their rivals. Key Success Factors One of the key success factors is to be able to adapt to customer taste and needs in this rapidly changing market. To put it plain and simple, people get tired of eating the same thing so in order for a company to be successful, Companies must have a wide variety of product offerings. This is why you see many restaurants introducing new products for their customers to try. They have trail stages to see if these new products will be a hit and if they are then they keep them on the menu. If their customers do not accept them then they take them off the menu and try something else. So not only must you have a great core group of food options on your menu, but you must be able to change up your menu so that customers don’t get bored with the same options. Another key success factor in this industry is customer service. When people elect to eat out instead of eating at home, they expect to be treated well by the restaurant personnel. Obviously the level of customer service changes depending on the place that an individual is eating at. The more money someone is spending then it is likely that they will expect better customer service. Part of going out to eat is the experience and bad customer service can cause a company to lose customer even if their products are top of the line. Location is also a key success factor and a big one at that. Many companies that are unable to acquire a prime location are unable to stay in business. People don’t want to have to go out of their way to go to a restaurant in most cases so if a particular restaurant is not in a convenient place then they will not get much foot traffic. Foot traffic is the only way that companies in this industry can keep up with their financial obligations and turn a profit. I can say from personal experience that I have chosen to go to a restaurant based on convenience of the location and I feel that I am not the only one who has made a decision like this when choosing a place to eat. Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants in the food service contractor industry is extremely high. The restaurant industry is one of the most entered  industries year in and year out. The barriers to open a restaurant are nowhere near as high as other industries and if a restaurant owner can find a niche group of customers in a good location then they can be profitable. However, this is a feat that is much easier said then done. Although it is very feasible for new entrants to enter into this industry, it is definitely not an industry that is easy to have longevity in. The threat of new entrants for Panera Bread is not as high as some of the other restaurants in the industry. They have many established cafes all across the country that have been successful for years and would be hard for new entrants to compete on their level. In local markets a new entrant may be able to undercut the business of one individual store but it would be much more difficult for a start up to undercut Panera in the national or even the regional scene. Also, the fact that Panera Bread has a very aggressive growth strategy makes it even more problematic for new entrants to be able to compete at the level the Panera is on because they are always playing catch up. Substitute Products Substitute products are very prevalent in this industry and it affects all restaurants that are in the food service contractor industry. If you ride down a main street in any decent size city in this country for five minutes you will pass at least one hundred places to eat. Each one of these places is a substitute for one another, which makes this industry one of the most competitive industries that we have. With the number of restaurants growing, there are going to continue to be a plethora of substitute products. Also, items that people purchase at grocery stores and cook themselves are substitutes for restaurants in this industry. Americans are becoming more cognizant of what they put in their body and the best way to be absolutely sure that what you are putting in your body is exactly what you want is to prepare the food yourself. Just like every other company in this industry, Panera Bread is not immune to substitute products and must always account for other companies that offer substitute products. There are many viable eating options for customers in close proximity with nearly every Panera Bread cafe. With this  being the case, Panera must always look for ways to continue to bring customers into their cafes instead of those customers picking another option. Panera has been able to offer some unique products that are perceived as healthy which allow them to lessen the threat of some substitutes but it would be nearly impossible to get rid of the threat of substitute products because there are so many options. Perhaps the most difficult thing for competitors to be able to duplicate is the experience that is provided at Panera. Although there are other companies who are able to offer a pleasant dinning experience in the fast-casual restaurant industry, there is no substitute for this type of customer servi ce. Either you have quality service for your customers or you don’t. Power of Suppliers The power of suppliers in this industry is relatively low. This is due to the fact that there are often many possible suppliers to supply the needs of the restaurants. When this is the case, suppliers have no negotiating power to charge extremely high prices and must come to terms with the restaurants that are purchasing the various ingredients that go into their products. If suppliers are able to develop an ingredient that is rare or somehow do a value chain activity better then other supplier then they may have more negotiating power. However, even with this fact, the majority of the power in this relationship lies with the restaurants that are making the purchases. Panera Bread has 17 regional facilities that make all of its dough and then it is shipped out to each individual store. These facilities are owned or franchised out by Panera Bread, which gives them a huge competitive advantage. They control every step of the making of their main ingredient and this obviously gives them all of the power when it comes to purchasing dough. As long as the people who work there are satisfied then they will have no problem with having there dough needs met. They do ensure that these facilities make a profit but obviously not at the expense of Panera Bread. However, with other products that they use such as paper goods, coffee, and sweet goods, they use independent distributors to meet these needs. These suppliers have a very low amount if power when negotiating with Panera. These suppliers likely depend heavily on the Panera account to survive so  they must meet virtually all of Panera’s requests if they want to continue to do business with them. Some products that each individual store may have to order on a frequent basis may find that they have a little less negotiating power if a particular supplier is able to delivery these supplies on a timely basis. With this being said, the bulk of the power lies with Panera and not the suppliers. Power of Buyers The power of buyers in this industry is extremely high for various reasons. The main one is that there are low switching costs when an individual chooses to go from fast-casual restaurant to fast-casual restaurant. The only real cost may be one place may be further then the other which brings gas prices into play but typically these types of restaurants are located in similar areas so this is not that big of a factor. Anytime someone is spending money in a saturated market with several options, the consumer has all the power. The only way for restaurants to get some of the power back is to offer products that are perceived to be better then the competition. Panera Bread customers have an extremely high degree of power just like customers that buy food within this strategic group in the market. There are viable options for customers of Panera to choose from which always puts Panera in a position in which they have to convince customers that Panera is the best option to meet their needs. Panera must continue to evolve their menu and keep coming up with new items that keep their customers coming back for more. This is the only way that they can take some of the power back from their customers. Rivalry Among Competitive Sellers Everybody wants a piece of the American Dream in this country and the good thing about this country is that through hard work and dedication, anyone can be successful. With this being the case, there is fierce competition in virtually every industry in our country. The food service contractor industry is no exception to this fact and possibly is more competitive then most other industries. There are major players at every single level of this industry and each individual company is always looking for a slight advantage over their competitors. The fast-casual sector of this industry is rapidly growing and it is likely that we will continue to see more and more  companies vying for market share in this industry. The fact that people are spending significant dollars in fast-casual restaurants gives companies in this industry a golden opportunity for continued growth. Panera Bread has been able to carve out a niche in the fact that their dough process is not easily duplicated and nobody has been able to create products quite like Panera Bread. So, in this respect there is not a competitor that is selling the exact same thing that they are selling. However, I feel that Starbucks is a close competitor and they may have some of the same customers. When you think about a place that you can go and hang out with friends or catch up on some work or read a good book, Starbucks definitely comes to mind. In this relationship, Starbucks is definitely big brother and has far more locations around the world then Panera does so they obviously bring in more revenues yearly. Panera is trying to duplicate the atmosphere of a casual place to hang out but they are still playing catch up at this point in time. I also think Chipotle is a competitive rival but for different reasons then Starbucks. Chipotle is a fast-casual restaurant that has been able to create a product that consumers consider different and really tasty. It is a place that you can order and get your food relatively quickly and sit down and enjoy your meal with friends on the inside of the restaurant or outside. Although Chipotle definitely doesn’t have the atmosphere that Panera Bread has, it is very believable that when people are sick of fast food and are looking for a fast-casual restaurant to eat at, these two places come up. I can speak from experience that this has definitely been the case for myself on numerous occasions. Internal Analysis: SWOT & VRIO Framework SWOT Analysis Strengths A. Strong Brand Name B. Atmosphere of Restaurants C. Own Subsidiary for there main ingredient Weaknesses A. Lack of international/domestic presence in comparison to competitors Opportunities A. Expand Domestically/Internationally B. Continue to expand catering activities Threats A. Recession B. New Restaurants Strengths Panera Bread has been able to continually grow and make significant dollars year in and year out because they have many things that they do well. One of these strengths is the brand name â€Å"Panera Bread.† When people think of Panera they automatically think of a fast-casual restaurant with good food. It is somewhere that people can go and not pay significant dollars and walk away being happy with the food that they ate. This is probably the biggest strength that you can have in this industry because if your restaurant name is not associated with quality food then you have no chance of succeeding in the restaurant business. After all, nobody wants to eat food that is not enjoyable going down. Another strength that Panera has is the atmosphere and dinning experience that they provide for their customers. When people think of Panera they think of someplace that can offer relaxation for themselves as well as friends. Its just a great hang out spot where people can catch up on homework, read a good book, and hang out with friends all while enjoying some of the great products that Panera Bread offers. Panera is also able to produce its own dough, which is strength in two ways. The first is the most obvious. They can cut out significant costs when buying from their subsidiary and don’t have to worry about not being satisfied with the end product because ultimately they are producing it. Also, since dough is their main ingredient and what they are famous for they would not want outside knowledge of this trade secret. By producing the dough themselves minimizes significantly the possibility of other companies being able to capitalize on Panera’s trade secret. Weaknesses The biggest weakness that I saw in doing this case study is the fact that they have a lack of an international presence. If they are trying to compete with Starbucks with there dinning experience then they need to be everyplace that Starbucks does business so that customers can choose. This type of expansion could mean more revenues as well as continuing to increase their strong brand name. Domestically they do have a strong presence in the market but they are not at the level that Starbucks is at. Opportunities Panera has several opportunities to improve their position in the market place. One of those opportunities is to continue to have an aggressive attitude about expanding domestically and also to turn some of that energy into international endeavors. Domestically they have a strong presence but if they are going to overtake Starbucks as â€Å"The† fast-casual restaurant then they need to continue to find new markets to put their stores in. Currently they do not have an international sector at all. This is limiting their growth potential significantly and not really giving them a chance to be at the top of the totem pole in their sector of the restaurant business. International expansion could help Panera take their brand name to new heights. Another opportunity they have is to continue to expand their catering sector of their company. In 2004 they started to make a hard push into catering for other locations outside of the stores. By the end of 2005 they saw about 80 million dollars in sales in new sales from this catering sector. The ability to generate these types of sales in this short period of time gives Panera’s management incentive to continue to explore this opportunity. Threats The recession is a huge threat to all businesses that do not provide something that is a basic need for survival. Although Panera does provide food, which is a necessity, they still have to fight with the recession, as people do not eat out as much during tough economic times. Instead, people penny pinch and try to cut down on as many things as possible. Although they could discount their products and possibly generate more sales during this tough economic time, this strategy could make people start to associate their brand as being generic. This strategy would ultimately hurt them in  the long run. Another threat would be new restaurants coming into territory that they do business in and undercutting some of their sales. People have ever-changing taste and are always looking for the new â€Å"hot† thing. Since this is the case, new restaurants that are able to get the attention of consumers in the areas that Panera has restaurants in could pose a huge threat. VRIO Framework Sustainable competitive advantage is the key to any company’s long-term success. Are any of Panera’s strengths sustainable? Strong Brand Name  Valuable: Yes, a strong brand name in the business world is very valuable. It is especially valuable in the restaurant business because when people associate your brand name with having good food then people are automatically going to come in your place of business to get food. Also, this strong brand name gets people talking about your products and word of mouth advertising is amongst the top if not the top form of advertising. Rare: No, a strong brand name is not rare in the restaurant business. Many other restaurants in the fast-casual sector have a brand name that is associated with good food. This is the reason why there are so many of these types of restaurants out there that are able to perform well year in and year out. Although there are many restaurants that are able to build a strong brand name, there are many more t hat are not able to establish this strong brand name. Most restaurants fail within the first year because of this fact. Imitated Easily (Immutable): No developing a strong brand name is not easy. It takes years of creating quality products that people grow to love. Another way is to come up with something so innovative that people have no choice but to recognize that food product with your brand name. Both of these scenarios are extremely hard to pull off successfully. Organization: Yes, the Panera organization is very committed to continuing to build their brand name. This is especially evident in how they franchise their company out to other people. Their franchise owners have to adhere to certain rules and regulations in order to open up a Panera Bread restaurant. Atmosphere of Restaurants Valuable: Yes this is a very valuable aspect of their restaurants. The fast  casual style gives Panera bread an edge over other restaurants and makes it more then just a place that you can get great food. The amenities that are offered at Panera bread makes it a friendly place to eat as well as do various other activities such as hang out with friends or catch up on work. They opened their doors with the idea that the overall atmosphere is what was going to set them apart from others and give them a competitive advantage and that is precisely what they have been able to do. Rare: Yes and No. This overall atmosphere is available in most coffee shops around the world so from that perspective it’s not that rare. However, it is rare in the fact that they have been able to expand into one of the top brands in this sector and are really only second to Starbucks as far as atmosphere goes. They compete on a level that most coffee shops can’t. Imitated Easily (Immutable): Yes and No. Anybody can set up wireless internet and make a space conducive to hanging out and reading books. So in regard to this it is easily imitated. The part that is not easily imitated that Panera has been able to accomplish is that they are recognized by a large number of consumers as a place to go and do the activities mentioned above. Organization: Yes, the Panera Organization is committed to making their restaurant a place where people can go be in a friendly atmosphere. That was the whole basis of what they thought would create their competitive advantage when they opened their doors. Own a Subsidiary for Their Main Ingredient Valuable: Yes, the fact that they own subsidiaries that make their main ingredient is a huge advantage that they have. They are able to cut down on cost as well as always knowing that their dough’s will be exactly what they are expecting. They don’t have to ever worry about negotiating with outside vendors about prices or any other terms for this key ingredient. Also, they can protect their trade secret that is the ingredients and process of creating their dough. Rare: No, they are most definitely not the first company to own a subsidiary that is apart of the value chain. Many companies vertically integrate to gain some of the benefits that I mentioned above. Imitated easily (Immutable): Yes, this is very easy to imitate. The company must have the capital investment to make this happen but gathering the money is not something that can’t be imitated. Typically what keeps companies from  doing this is that they can simply buy the materials needed at a cheaper cos t versus creating these materials themselves. Organization: Yes, Panera is obviously committed to making this subsidiary successful. They could have hired out someone else to make their dough’s but then they would risk exposure of their trade secrets and may have to pay more for the dough. The subsidiary not only cuts down on certain costs but also protects their process of making their dough’s. Strategic Cost Analysis: Value Chain Analysis Primary Activities Supply Chain Management Panera Bread uses a subsidiary to supports its supply chain management as well as other independent suppliers. They get their dough, which is their key ingredient, from their subsidiary. This dough is used to make their assortments of breads, which is obviously what they are known for. They deliver the dough to each individual restaurant and then the restaurant bakes the bread so that the bread is fresh when it reaches the consumer. However, they do receive some of its ingredients for its doughs from other suppliers. Also, sweet goods, paper goods, small ware, and coffee are bought from outside suppliers. Panera feels like it is cheaper to buy these products from various suppliers instead of producing them internally or through a subsidiary. Operations Panera prides itself on being different from the pack in the world of fast casual restaurants. They do this by providing a friendly atmosphere in their restaurants in which their customers can come and get more then just food. This operation technique gives them an advantage over your average fast food restaurant but it is still someplace that you could go to get a meal quickly. Another key aspect of their operation is the fact that they are always changing the menu to appeal to the current customers as well as attract new ones. This is something that is necessary for any restaurant and has proven to be something that Panera does well. Distribution In most major cities in the United States you can find a Panera Bread restaurant to eat at. This is the primary activity for Panera to get their  products to the customer. In this regard, they compete just like every other restaurant in country. However, they are really starting to pick up their catering sector of their company and this could lead to new customers and more revenue. Not only does catering give them another way to sale their products, but it may also expose individuals to Panera for the first time if they are at the catered event. Support Activities Word of Mouth Word of mouth is a huge support activity for pretty much every successful restaurant in the country. This is especially true for Panera Bread since they really don’t do too much to market their restaurant. They rely heavily on current customer’s positive experiences at their restaurant to spark them to tell somebody else. Through this positive word of mouth they are able to gain loyal customers, which is why they are able to sustain their company. Franchises Panera’s Franchise operations are a huge supplement for their company owned stores and they are able to generate significant revenue from their franchises. There is a significant investment required from a potential franchise owner. The franchises give Panera an opportunity to capitalize on their strong brand name. However, they must keep a close eye on each franchise so that they can maintain the Panera reputation. If they let the franchise operate under the Panera name without any rules then they are exposed to the risk of tainting their brand. Strategic Cost Analysis: Competitive Strength Assessment Panera Bread Chipotle Starbucks Key Success Factors Importance Weights Strength Score Strength Score Strength Score Brand Image 0.25 9 2.25 10 2.5 10 2.5 Restaurant Atmosphere 0.2 8 1.6 5 1 9 1.8 Word of Mouth Advertising 0.25 8 2 9 2.25 8 2 Adjusting Menu To Adapt to Consumers 0.1 9 0.9 5 0.5 6 0.6 Price 0.2 8 1.6 8 1.6 6 1.2 Total 1 42 8.35 35 7.85 39 8.1 When performing the competitive strength assessment for restaurants that are in the same strategic group as Panera Bread there were several key success factors that were important. Panera, Chipotle, and Starbucks all performed well in this assessment but with the success factors that I felt were important, Panera did just barely edge out Starbucks. Brand Image was extremely high on the pedestal in the key success factors because in the restaurant business, how the public perceives you will either make or break your restaurant. All three companies performed well in this category but I felt that Starbucks International presence gave them a slight edge over Panera and Chipotle. I rated the restaurant atmosphere as a .2 because I felt like it was a very important factor by not quite as important as brand image. Chipotle struggles with their restaurant atmosphere in comparison to the other two places however; they are still able to succeed in this industry. They have not put as much importance on their dining experience; where as Panera and Starbucks whole method for differentiating themselves from other fast-casual  establishments are creating that warm dinning experience. However, Starbucks also wins this category by a small margin. Word of mouth advertising is a .25 because this is how you grow as a company. When you are able to get your loyal customers to get prospective customers to try out their products then restaurants give themselves a great opportunity to retain new customers. I thought that all of these places do a good job with generating this type of advertising but based on my experiences, Chipotle gets a little more of this type of advertising then the other two, especially from college students. The only one of these three that really makes a true effort to change up their menu is Panera Bread. They are constantly introducing new things to appeal to their customers. However, I didn’t feel as if this was nearly as important as some of the other key success factors. Chipotle and Starbucks have been able to create a menu that their customers like and are not likely to grow bored of eating which is why they are still successful. Since they don’t put an emphasis on changing their menu much, Panera takes this category relatively easy. Price is important within the restaurant business especially during these rough economic times. People are much more cognizant of where their money is spent. Chipotle and Panera offer quality products at decent prices even in these tough times. On the contrary, Starbucks would be on the pricier side especially when it comes to their food selection. They don’t offer big portions and individuals would likely still be hungry shortly after leaving the restaurant. Panera and Chipotle tied in this category as both of them offer good prices for valuable menu items. Financial Analysis The following are some basic income statements for Panera Bread and Chipotle as well as some financial Ratios. I chose these 2 because they are similar in size and are both considered fast-casual restaurants although they do serve different menu items. I do feel that Starbucks is a competitor of Panera Bread as well but they are a much larger company and there statements would make for a very good comparison. Panera Bread Statement of Operations (% of revenue) 2007 2006 Revenue 100% 100% Total Cost and Expenses 92% 89% Operating Profit 8% 11% Income before taxes 8% 11% Net Income 5% 7% Panera Bread Statement of Operations ($ in thousands) 2007 2006 Revenue 1,066,691 828,971 Total Cost and Expenses 977,801 736,295 Operating Profit 88,890 92,676 Income before taxes 88,890 92,676 Net Income 57,456 58,849 Chipotle Statement of Operations (% of revenue) 2007 2006 Revenue 100% 100% Total Costs and Expenses 89.5% 92% Operating Profit 10.5% 8% Income before taxes 10.5% 8% Net Income 6% 5% Chipotle Statement of Operations ($ in thousands) 2007 2006 Revenue 1,085,782 822,930 Total Cost and Expenses 971,780 754,675 Operating Profit 114,002 68,255 Income before taxes 114,002 68,255 Net Income 70,563 41,423 Ratio Gross Profit Margin Net Profit Margin Operating Profit Margin Panera 2007 .74 .05 .08 Panera 2006 .76 .07 .11 Chipotle 2007 .68 .06 .10 Chipotle 2006 .69 .05 .075 Return on Assets Current Ratio Return on S/E Equity Panera 2007 .08 1.17 .13 Panera 2006 .11 1.19 .15 Chipotle 2007 .105 2.75 .126 Chipotle 2006 .08 2.92 .087 As you can see both of these companies are doing well and have been able to turn a nice size profit for these past 2 years. However, Chipotle has been able to grow from 2006 to 2007 as their net profit margin went up by 1% whereas Panera Breads has dropped 2%. I think the newness of Chipotle has given them an advantage in these early years but I don’t think it will be sustainable once people get use to the menu. The recession has hurt Panera more then Chipotle but due to the low liabilities that Panera has, they are still able to make a profit in 2007 that is not much lower then the profit from 2006. I believe that the overall dinning experience and the variety of the Panera menu will prove to be a sustainable competitive advantage going forward over many of its rivals and will provide them financial well-being. Business Strategy Analysis: Porter’s Generic Strategy Panera Bread’s goal is to create the greatest amount of value for the customers when they walk into one of their restaurants. The generic strategy that most closely resembles what they are trying to accomplish is Best-Cost Provider Strategy. This is providing quality products at a cheaper price then what you can get elsewhere. Full meals at Panera can be bought for very reasonable prices and there various bread selections give them an advantage over other fast-casual establishments. So on the basis of taste their products can be considered a bang for your buck. Also, they provide an atmosphere known as â€Å"Panera Warmth† which is something that is not provided  at many other places. Between the reasonable prices for the quality products and the customer friendly environment, they are able to provide more value for their customers then most other fast-casual restaurants. Corporate Strategies: Diversification Diversification in Panera Bread has been an important aspect since they have been open for business. Starting as a company called Au Bon Pain in the 80s, they would eventually change to the Panera name once it took off. This was a move that allowed them to really expand their brand in the 90s and into the 2000s. Another thing that they did to diversify their company was purchasing majority of Paradise Bakery and Cafà © in 2007. Paradise had 70 locations, which gave Panera more restaurants as well as some other knowledge that came along with the purchase. Panera has a very aggressive growth strategy and plan to have 2000 stores open by the en of 2010 in the United States. This type of growth strategy has the potential allow Panera to continue to climb the ladder to being one of the top fast-casual restaurants. Issue 1 A big issue that I see with Panera bread at this point in time is their untapped markets not only domestically but also internationally. They have several major cities that do not have Panera Bread in the city at all which is not allowing them to maximize their earning potential. Also, they have no international presence at all. These cafà © style restaurants would likely catch on well internationally considering the success that Starbucks has had with their international establishments. Recommendation Panera Bread should continue with their aggressive growth strategy. They must make sure that they tap into some of the major city markets that they have yet to such as New York City, Washington D.C., and New Orleans. Panera needs to have several locations in these cities and should make it a goal to have at least 20 in these cities by 2012. Also, they should continue to add restaurants in places like Miami and Seattle where they only have 2 and 5 establishments respectively. In competitive markets in the United States, Starbucks has more then 8 times as many locations as Panera. This is a huge problem is if they ever want to be on the same level as Starbucks.  Internationally, they should pick a few countries where cafes are popular and try to tap into those markets. However, internationally I think that they should take their time instead of implementing the fast growth strategy that they have in the United States. I think they should try to have 100 restaurants internationally by 2012. They have to tap into the international market if they ever want to truly compete with Starbucks and they are in a good position financially now to expand slowly in the international market. Issue 2 Another big issue that is lingering with not only Panera Bread but also every single restaurant is the recession. This recession has hit many Americans hard financially and they have not been eating out as much. This decreases the amount of possible business that fast-casual restaurants can get and this includes Panera Bread. They must figure out a way to continue to grow despite the tough economic times. Recommendation 2 There are a number of things that Panera Bread can do to offset this rough economic stretch that we are in. One of those things is to offer discounts on certain menu items but only make this discount good for a certain period of time. This makes people feel like they are getting a deal on Panera’s products and be more likely to pull in during lunch as oppose to packing their lunch. The limited time on the discounts ensures that your products don’t become generic which is also important for when the recession is over. Another thing that they can do if offer free food to customers after they have purchased so many products from the menu. This gives customers incentive to eat out at Panera even in the midst of a recession. Works Cited Panera Bread. â€Å"Www.panerabread.com.† Panera Bread †º Company Overview †º Our History. 2012. Panera Bread. 06 May 2013 . Securities and Exchange Commissions, U.S. (2008). â€Å"Filed by Bowne Pure Compliance.† Filed by Bowne Pure Compliance. 2008. Annual Report Chipotle. 06 May 2013 . Securities and Exchange Commissions, U.S. (2008). â€Å"Form 10-K.† Form 10-K. 2008. Annual Report Panera Bread. 06 May 2013 . Thompson, Arthur A., A. J. Strickland, and John Gamble. Crafting and executing strategy: The quest for competitive advantage : Concepts and cases. Boston: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2008. United States Census Bureau. â€Å"Industry Statistics Sampler.† : NAICS 722310- Food service contractors. 2007. United States Census Beaura. 06 May 2013 . United States Census Bureau. â€Å"Industry Statistics Sampler.† : NAICS 722310- Food service contractors. 2007. United States Census Bureau. 06 May 2013 .

Assignment 2: Case 3-3, Easycar.Com

Assignment 2: Case 3-3, easyCar. com 1. In Western Europe, the rental car industry is made up of many companies competing against each other, but only a handful of companies are actually dominant. According to the text, in most countries, the companies that were dominant were national or regional companies rather than companies that had a strong international presence. Many smaller companies also operated in each different country but generally only operated in a few locations. The rental car industry in Europe can be split into two segments: a business segment and a leisure segment. The text says that the business segment wasn’t very price conscious, whereas the leisure segment was very price conscious. These characteristics can influence how service is delivered in this industry because it’s difficult for a company to enter a new market if they aren’t a national or regional company and aren’t aware of what each segment wants in that market. 2. To keep prices low, easyCar only stocked one type of vehicle at each of its locations, so they didn’t have to buy multiple types of vehicle for each location. When it came to choosing where to put locations, they stayed away from the price airport spaces to avoid higher leasing costs. They also kept their physical locations to a minimum. They usually rented out space in an already existing parking garage and employees worked out of a small cubicle within the garage. Each location generally had about 150 cars, however, since their vehicles were rented 90 percent of the time, they only needed 15-20 spaces to keep the cars that weren’t rented out at the time. This kept the cost down significantly because they didn’t need to keep space for all 150 of their cars. These are just a few examples of how easyCar kept their costs down. 3. I would say that the level of quality that easyCar provided its customers was decent, but people can’t necessarily expect the best from a company that has such low prices. The thing that really got me was the fact that they gave people their vehicles with a relatively low fuel tank. Also, the fact that customers had to take a shuttle to get to the rental car area wouldn’t necessarily be a popular choice. The car was also to be cleaned thoroughly before returned and although it’s always good practice to do a quick cleanup of a rental car, not many companies require a customer to get the car detailed inside and out. These policies don’t really make me eager to use them when I’m looking for a rental car, despite the lower price. 4. EasyCar could be a viable competitor to taxis, buses and trains because of their cheap prices. In some cities, taxis are pretty expensive so if easyCar’s prices are lower, then they would likely be an option that people would choose instead. Buses and trains in Europe aren’t that expensive and trains especially can get a customer to a place they need to be pretty fast, so I’m not sure easyCar would be as much competition for them. 5. By offering cheaper prices for people who make reservations on easyCar. com, the company seemed to be looking at competing with the dominant companies. Their advertising line of â€Å"the best reason to use easyCar. com can be found at hertz. nl† would indicate that their website is better and easier to use than Hertz. To compete with companies like Hertz, they need to have lower prices but they need to have better service.

Workplace report (2000 Words) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Workplace report (2000 Words) - Essay Example Strategic Leadership, innovation and commitment to the stakeholders of the concern are some of the right keywords that can be effectively related to Wal-Mart operating in the international retail paradigm (â€Å"Our Storey†). The Organisational Structure of the Company shown in the Appendix reflects a Hybrid Form where specialised units are created by the concern that focuses on addressing the needs of specific departments and also other international regions. Relating to the departments specific heads are deputed that take care of the legal, merchandising, sourcing, and electronic and web commerce and also financial and corporate affairs of Wal-Mart. Again pertaining to the regions effective decentralisation is practiced by creating heads and deputy heads for international regions relating to Asia and European countries (â€Å"Walmart†). Rational model related to decision-making functions rests mainly along four steps that can be underlined as follows. The Rational Model moves along in firstly Identifying a Potential Problem; secondly the model endeavours to Generate Effective Solutions to the Problem identified, thirdly and fourthly the model probes to Select a Solution from the List of Generated Ones and tends to Evaluate its Feasibility in meeting desired ends respectively. Thus the Rational Model is based on a series of Logical Steps that aims at finding an Optimal Solution to the Problem identified. Rational Model is also based on some assumptions reflecting that the manager takes decisions in a well informed environment (Kreitner and Knicki 337). The Normative Model as rendered by Herbert Simon contrary to the Rational Model tends to operate based on an environment of uncertainty. This model being non-rational in nature tends to follow assumptions wherein the manager is not held to work in an informative work environment such that decisions can be taken in an

Death penalty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

Death penalty - Essay Example The turmoil experienced in prison makes the place a hellhole and is good enough to serve as punishment for the law breakers. The only life giver-and-taker is believed to be God in terms of religion. Anyone who takes away life therefore, including the owner, serves as a sinner as per the Decalogue. Involving death as a form of punishment therefore is not even close to the right way of correcting. Across all states, there ought to be revisions in case any has adopted capital punishment for criminals. They need to revisit how valuable life is, how irreplaceable it is, and how holy it is believed to be. Never can one be rectified by killing them. It is of no good to them when they are already dead (Should Death Penalty allowed, n.d). My view is in contradiction with the death penalty as it offers governments rights to kill. One of the human rights is the right to enjoy the gift of life. Under no circumstances therefore should an individual be denied the privilege to live. If it is correction for moral uprightness, it cannot be done by subjecting the individual to death. A dead person does not suffer any consequences. It does not make sense when the state tries to do away with a problem by acting more of the same problem. It would be more logical if these murderers and other law breakers are allowed to live as changed souls that will influence change in other citizens with the same intentions. Let the state induce a better way of rectifying the character then allow them to influence change to society. Cases have been witnessed of the worst law breakers turning a new leaf only to become the best preachers. Their testimonies end up to be the best weapons in reaching out to the unnoticed criminals and drawing them t owards becoming best vessels of honor. Even the government itself cannot make the impact towards change of character that one redeemed criminal could make if given the chance.

Functions of article 3 ECHR; Provision or enforcement of standards Essay

Functions of article 3 ECHR; Provision or enforcement of standards - Essay Example This is a question that might get so many awkward answers if a clear interpretation of the article is not given. The first question any person would ask before answering this question is whether the convention has any jurisdiction to influence laws on crime and social support in countries outside Europe. The provisions of Article one of the ECHR have been a tough nut to crack particularly because the stipulations in the article are a little confusing and to some extent ambiguous. The bone of contention in this article is usually the extra-territorial authority of the convention. Miller set to establish the boundaries of the convention authority and found out that the extra-territorial authority of the convention was in question1. She admitted that that article one of the convention doesn’t give the clear amplitude of the convention’s jurisdiction and continued to stress that the convention’s participation in the ‘war on terror’ campaign only soured t he wound rather than disinfect it. In a bid to avoid the contentious issue of its jurisdiction, the convention has referred to its ties with other internationally recognized bodies such as the United Nations. For example in the Behrami v. France case and the Saramati v. France case, the ECHR where the issue of the convention’s jurisdiction was raised and the convention decided to counterattack these concerns play playing the card of its relations with the UN charter. Ryngaert examined the time where the scope of ECHR’s jurisdiction that was presented when looking at the Al-Skeini v the United Kingdom case2. The case was brought to the attention of ECHR by six Iraqi natives who had close family and social ties with some Iraqi citizens whose lives were ended by British soldiers in a town that is south of Iraq know as Basrah. The six brought the case to the ECHR in form of an appeal claiming that the UK had gone against the sentiments articulated in articles three and two of the convention as the soldiers inflicted pain and killed the Iraqis in one of their detention facilities. Articles two and three are against the brutal treatment of any individual and the separation of an individual with his or her life. However, the main concern when handling the case was not whether UK had indeed breached the stipulations of articles two or three but whether the location where these acts were committed fell under the legal jurisdiction of the ECHR. After presiding over that case an opinion that people outside ECHR’s reach who have been affected by a breach of the conventions acts could bring the perpetrators of the heinous acts into the ECHR’s immediate jurisdiction for prosecution. However, the ECHR did not confirm these allegations. The ECtHR& ECHR has the mandate to conduct its endeavours to the citizens of the 47 signatory states of the COE but doesn’t add the convention and its court can practise outside the states under the COE3. Jus t by looking at the jurisdiction concerns of the convention the answer to the question is already a big resounding no. But what if we turn a blind eye it the conventions issue of jurisdiction and assume the convention had the global jurisdiction. Would it have the capacity to provide the standards of criminal law and social support then? The reason for the establishment of the ECtHR under the ECHR was to ensure

Criteria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criteria - Essay Example No two individuals are alike either physically or mentally in this world and hence their learning abilities also might be different. This paper briefly explains my experiences as a learner. The learning theory of constructivism argues that knowledge is actively constructed and not received passively from the environment (Constructivism: a theory of learning, n. d). It is easy to know things, but it is difficult to learn things. Acquisition of knowledge is the initial step of learning. But the knowledge we receive from the environment may not be perfect. In order to construct this knowledge to a perfect shape, we should analyse the knowledge more deeply. For example, during my high school days, one of my science teachers asked me what electricity is. I replied that it is the flow of electrons. Then the teacher asked me in which direction the electron is flowing. I replied it is from cathode to anode. Then he asked me if the electron is flowing from cathode to anode, then why electricity is represented from anode to cathode. I became answerless and the teacher explained that our learning will never be a perfect one if we fail to go deep into the roots of the topic. From then onwards, I have changed my learning style and started to analyse things more deeply. I have realized that knowledge is useless if we fail to do something with that. Nickerson et al, (1985) have mentioned that understanding requires the connecting of facts, the relating of newly acquired information to what is already known and the weaving of bits of knowledge into an integrated and cohesive whole (Nickerson et al, 1985, p.234). Analogy in learning is the process of identifying similarities between two concepts (Teaching approaches: analogies, n. d, p. 2). Complicated topics can be learned properly if we are able to establish some analogies. For example, solar system and the distribution, rotation, revolutions etc of the planets are

Reading Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Reading - Assignment Example This is the ability to know the problems that the customers or clients are facing and making effort to improve the areas that will provide solutions to their problems. Another key element of an innovative organization is implementation. It is the organization being able to put suggestions and ideas into effect in order to solve the underlying problems. A creative person or creative group may possess the following traits; being original by resisting the normal conventions and systems due to the need of doing things which others have not. Creative people are highly motivated. They have energy to solve difficulties. They are ambitious, have strong determination and wishes to succeed in their undertakings (Dhillon, 2006). Creative people are highly flexible as they are able to recognize aspects of different issues and come up with good solutions and ideas. For groups to be creative they need to appreciate diversity of the members and allow different views and ideas in order to come up with creative solutions. Also, groups should foster collaborations in all activities and be able to compromise on different

The technology marriage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The technology marriage - Research Paper Example There are, however, drawbacks of this way of meeting, including those from religious perspective, which will be considered in this paper. Internet has become an overwhelming source of any kind of information and it is capable of satisfaction of any requirements of the users. It offers such a wide range of the topics covered, resources available, and the ways the certain data are searched that it is possible to obtain any kind of knowledge and perform certain activities, for example, online shopping, that it has become unnecessary to go outside. There has also been introduced such an unusual way of meeting marriage partners as online meeting, which is, obviously, an easy way for this purpose, but, as any other thing, it also has its strengths and weaknesses, from the religious point of view as well, which will be given below in this paper. The methods for researching the subject matter of this paper are investigation of the marriage websites and their characteristics, such as success, efficiency, references, and religious opinions about their activity. There are marriage websites designed especially for religious people. The first one is www.christianmingle.com which will be analyzed. As it is obvious from its name, the website is designed for the Christian singles to meet and state relations with the same Christian singles. As per the website’s presentation, the relationships that it helps to build are not limited to just a romance, but also facilitate and encourage marriage relations establishing according to the Bible and the Christian tradition. (www.christianmingle.com, 2015). The site provides ergonomic interface and provides a simple registration process; another benefit is creating a profile with the possibility to control how much information about oneself can be shared and who to interact with.

Three branches of the U.S. government Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Three branches of the U.S. government - Essay Example The U.S. government has three branches: the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary, each performing independently various function that support the functioning of the government. The three branches work independently.Consequently, the singular purpose of having the three branches working separately is to promise that they do not become too powerful to infringe on the freedoms of the population. In analyzing the three branches of the government, we see that all of their functions serve the public differently, and some branches seem to have more power than others in affecting the work of the government. Hence, this essay discusses the legislature because it has done and is doing a lot for the people of the United State (Trueman, 2000). The legislature is comprised of the bicameral Congress, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. The two houses are tasked with many functions, but their main purpose is to make legislative laws. The Senate is the upper house with each state represented by two senators in it. The House of Representatives represents the lower house and has a number of elected members proportionate to the population of a state. The Senate has one hundred seats and allows elected members to serve for a six-year term. However, the House of Representatives has a bigger number of members, and currently there are 435 members serving for a two-year term. The House of Representatives and the Senate have almost similar functions, but they also have specific responsibilities and powers. In addition, the two chambers work parallelly to each other in passing the bills that originate from either the Senate or the House of Representative (Wilson, Dilulio, & Bose, 2009). The legislative branch has many functions, but law making is its key function. The executive branch implements and enforces the law, whereas the judiciary branch interprets them. Hence, in serving the people, the legislative branch has the most power given that it is the one that delib erates on the bill that later becomes a law. The input of bills in addressing the challenges people encounter in their daily activities acknowledges the work of the Congress for the benefit of the Americans. Therefore, their service to the people supersedes the enforcing and elucidation of the executive and the judiciary branches. Furthermore, the legislative branch consists of elected members, and thus it represents the heart of representative democracy. When the law makers make laws, they do so in a democratic manner to meet the public interests and to ensure they are upheld (Wilson et al., 2009). In addition to making laws, the legislature has other non-legislative powers and responsibilities. These functions are not in any way related to the legislation of laws. One of the non-legislation powers of the Congress are the electoral powers. The electoral powers are only exercised when the electoral process fails to determine the results of a presidential election. The House of Repre sentatives is privileged to elect the president in cases where no candidate gains a majority Electoral College. On the other hand, the Senate is responsible for electing vice president in case no presidential candidate has enough Electoral College to ensure the victory of his nominee to the position of a vice president (Wilson et al., 2009). The legislative branch also has the non-legislative power of impeachment. The House of Representatives has the power to impeach federal government officials who are deemed to have bribed, committed high crimes, misdemeanors, and treason. While the House has the powers to impeach, the Senate acts as the judge and jury. In the history of the United States, only two presidents have been impeach: Bill Clinton (1998) and Andrew Johnson (1868), who both were acquitted by the Senate. Another non-legislative function of the Congress is the power of confirmation. The senate has the

Accounting of Enron Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Accounting of Enron - Case Study Example was also a player in the accounting profession, he had the responsibility of upholding the integrity of his profession, which, according to Marion (2001), entails reliability, competence, objectivity and above that, integrity. The ethical responsibilities of a corporate attorney and as pointed out by Desjardins and McCall (2005), can be seen to include, the screening of clients’ reports before they are released publicly, and also the setting up of press-briefing meeting, in the case that any news or reports concerning the client firm, wants to be released to the general public. An employee such as Sherron Watkins can act as a whistle-blower to the outside authorities with regards to the on-goings within the company in the event that the company engages in the breach of law or poses a threat to public interests (Nindya, 2010). Nindya further goes on to note that one should owe their loyalty to the ‘parts’, which make up the company, and who, as in this case, happen to be the shareholders. The board of directors, as pointed out by Desjardins and McCall (2005), owes its primary responsibility to the shareholders. This means that, all the efforts by the board of directors should be aimed at safe-guarding he interests of the shareholders in the company. In an attempt to ensure that the board meets these responsibilities, laws can be put in place, for example, and as Nindya (2010) points out, each of the board members can be required to pledge loyalty to the shareholders, with regards to their conduct and not just the company as an entity separate from its shareholders. Government regulators have responsibility towards business, the market and the general public. Focusing on business, as argued by Machan (1998), government regulators ensure that individuals are engaged in fair dealing and get value for their money. With regards to the market, Machan (1988) further goes on to note that government regulators should ensure that the market attains its optimum

Graduation Speech Essay Example for Free

Graduation Speech Essay â€Å"The heights by great man reach and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept were toiling upwards through the night. †   (Henry Wadsworth Longfellow  ) Members of the school board, principal and staff, distinguished guests in the audience and on the platform, parents, guardians, graduate, good afternoon. Our guest speaker for this afternoon is Mrs. Merlette Barrett-Fender. She was born in the parish of St. James. There, she attended the Salt Spring All Age School- later the Mt. Alvernia High School then went on to further her education at Shortwood Teachers’ College. She has worked at the Jamaica Telephone Company as an international operator. She later acquired a Bachelor’s Degree in Middle Grades Administration offered by Western Carolina University, at the Montego Bay site. Her zeal for leadership led her to access the Master of Science in Educational Leadership just two years later with the Jamaican Programme of Central Connecticut State University. She has worked at the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary levels of the education system, having the experience as class teacher, subject teacher of English Language and Literature at Cornwall College and as Principal. She presently holds the position of Academic Vice-Principal of Knox Community College. Mrs. Barrett-Fender posses a great love for her country and as a result has made the decision to remain in Jamaica. She takes great pleasure in working amongst Jamaica’s poorest, to help train and educate them and being the voice for some who are voiceless. As a member of the Upper St. James Consultative Committee, she conducts motivational talks to students and teachers. She is the lay preacher of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. She is dedicated to spreading the work of God for the upliftment of people. She possesses a vibrant personality, loves the outdoors, loves good company and enjoys helping others. Mrs. Barrett-Fender believes in having a sound character thus her everyday life is grounded in integrity. Her community involvement includes being a member of the Friends of the Hospital, the founder of Salt Spring All Age Past Students’ Association, past president and fund raising committee member, speaking at graduation exercises, Patron of the Knox Early Childhood Institute, motivational speaker, mentor and counselor. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls; please put your hands together as I introduce to some and present to the others Mrs. Barrett-Fender.

Culture and Special Education Essay Example for Free

Culture and Special Education Essay In this paper we concern ourselves with the ways in which schools in general and special education procedures in particular tend to not be successful for those of our students who are from a different culture. (While we focus on Canadian Aboriginals, we also extend our thinking to those children who come from different races, ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, etc. ) We outline the stories that have brought us to this place. We then go on to suggest that the adoption of different understandings and approaches could lead to the academic success of children from a variety of different cultures and backgrounds. We conclude with some direction for change. In this paper we, two white educators, concern ourselves with the education of those students of Aboriginal descent who are seen by the school system as special. Our concerns are based on the stories we use to understand ourselves and our actions stories of mistold history, socio-political issues, racism, the misuse of science and the ways those stories disadvantage those who are different. Our hope is that we can begin to explore different more hopeful and empowering stories. There are many reasons to be concerned about the existing state of special education, particularly with our Aboriginal students. Currently the following are common; 1. Our special education classes are top-heavy with Aboriginal and disadvantaged students. 2. We tend to focus on the deficits in other children rather than on the possibilities. We could embrace the position of William Glasser (1986): we choose to be whom and what we, and others, believe we are. [1] 3. We do not concern ourselves with the differences brought to school by children from other than the dominant culture. [2] 4. We are asking all small school children to do the pretty much the same thing at pretty much the same time and to meet some arbitrary standard of what they should or should not be able to do. We act despite current research concerning physiology and early childhood experience, which suggests that children are not ready for the same task at the same time. 5. The tests that we give children to determine the reasons for failure at school tasks are fallible and culturally insensitive and subjective. 6. A label tends to freeze a child in the definition attached to the label. 7. We have a tendency to blame the victim or to blame the social background rather than look at ways we can change. Clearly we need to find another way of viewing children and their learning. We are hoping to uncover stories that currently mediate, impair and colonize our special education practices, thereby beginning a dialogue concerning alternative stories of strength, knowing and power. Stories that Get in the Way History Stories Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) tells us how archeologists and historians have accepted a theory of accidental migration from Polynesia to the Hawaiian Islands to explain a 2200-mile voyage on the open seas. This in spite of evidence to the contrary, which makes it clear that the early Polynesian explorers did indeed have the sophisticated system of navigation needed for a planned and successful voyage. Malia Kaniaupuni’s point is that the assumption of a people with no learning, no culture, no anything but maybe good luck, made it possible for colonizers to take on in their own minds the mantle of rescuer. Iseke-Barnes (2005) is also concerned about the misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science. She wants us to challenge those assumptions that the colonizers found a people in need of saving from their own ignorance. Paulo Freire (1971, 1997) has spent many years studying the impact of oppression on the colonized. In the name of saving a backward people from themselves the colonizers were able to perpetuate acts of cultural genocide and worse. The use of this story continues to impact on how the dominant cultures act out their oppression. History is written by the winner, therefore we need to be highly critical of the history we read. While more blatant misrepresentations of the history of Canada are beginning to disappear, the whole story of colonization is not being told or written or disseminated. Instead, we are still trying to save lost Aboriginal souls. History stories mediate, impair and colonize special education practice, which we will illustrate by describing a socio-political and a scientific rigor story. A Socio-Political Story This is a story of the purpose of education. We suppose schools are places where children are educated. But what are children educated to do or be? Gitlin (2005) gives a disturbing answer to this question: [Public education is] not intended to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence †¦Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim †¦is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the safe level, to breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is its aim in the United States†¦ and that is its aim everywhere else. (p. 22) Many may disagree with this disturbing answer, suggesting that school graduates, for the most part, go on to become productive citizens. But citizenry becomes problematic when referring to Aboriginal peoples – it seems clear that, for the most part, people of Aboriginal heritage do not go on to become productive citizens within the dominant culture. A lack of successful citizenry by Aboriginal peoples seems to justify special education programs that are top heavy with Aboriginal students. But success is politicized. Skovsmose (2005) outlines how schools practice both classic[3] and progressive[4] racism. Such practice allows us as educators not to have to take any responsibility for the failure of the child, as clearly the child brings the cause for his or her weak performance into school. Therefore: Many deficiency theories (theories of the deprived child) follow the approach of racism in explaining away the socio-political dimension of school performances, by privatizing and personalizing the causes of such performance. (p. 5) So: The epistemic interpretation of learning obstacle is not the only one possible. However, processes of exclusion in education can be dressed up in such a way that their political dimension becomes hidden and ignored. It could appear that exclusion is not imposed on students. Instead, exclusion may appear as a consequence of some students so-called low achievement. (p. 4) He goes on to say that this leads to a particular way of organizing teaching/learning processes in ways that prevent students from acting like learners. In other words our story leads to actions that support the story. A Scientific Story A scientifically rigorous story dominates special education practice. The story, in brief, is that learning disability can be attributed to biological and environmental factors. Current models of abnormality are often based on the premise that a person will have a biological disposition toward a disorder, but that the presence of a disorder will also depend on environmental factors (Wortman, Loftus, Weaver, 1999). Brain function consists of biological processes involving genetic tendencies, chemical levels and electrical activity. Normal brain function can be delineated according to normal biological processes. In other words, we assume that learning disability is at least partially caused by excessive deviation from a normal range of biological processes. These biological processes can be measured in terms of genetic profiles, chemical levels (e. g. , hormones found in blood) and electrical levels in the brain. Hence, it is assumed that learning disability can be measured using physiological properties of the brain. These ideas are supported by a dominant scientific culture, where scientific evidence generates facts that cannot be refuted. Special education for children of Aboriginal heritage has been colonized by this scientific rigor story. In schools, we identify learning disabilities as follows: A teacher identifies a student who appears to be struggling, and refers the student to a team of specialists. The specialist tests, diagnoses, labels and sets out a remediation program. The teacher implements the program. It seems like a perfectly reasonable system of trying to help those with disabilities, based on scientifically rigorous knowledge. But the story is flawed in three ways. First, the story of scientific rigor is told by a dominant culture. The colonizers write the books of knowledge, thereby attempting to establish without doubt what is true and what evidence is required to make a truth claim. Culturally laden epistemology certainty invades special education. For example, based on research literature generated by the dominant scientific culture, there is currently little scientific evidence to support a biological cause or disposition for most disorders of the brain (Wortman, et. al. , 1999). It is assumed that biological roots exist that accurately captures a disability label. There is no scientific rigor in labels. The assumptions have pervaded special education and are taken as scientific fact. This is a writing of special education knowledge by colonizers. Second, this scientific rigor story is based on behaviour and biology, while special education practice is based solely on behavior. Teachers, resource teachers, special education consultants and school psychologists base their labels on observing behaviour. Medical technologies are not used to detect genetic make-up, chemical levels or electrical activity in the brain, generating a diagnosis based on deviations from a normal range. We assume that our interpretation of behavior correctly identifies mental disability. But as we are caught inside stories that get in the way, we should not accept our interpretations of behaviour without question. Third, this scientific rigor story is enacted in contradictory ways. To see the contradiction, we need to set the stage by describing physiological and behavioural evidence generated by scientific research. Studies of the physiology of the forebrain and hindbrain have shown that the slow processing of learning cannot occur during a moment of fear (Kalat, 1988). Based on this physiological evidence, educators might wonder about school and classroom environment. If a child is afraid, or afraid to learn, then they will not learn. Researchers have found connections between emotional states and learning (Zimbardo Gerrig, 1996). Evidence of a connection between learning and emotion is accumulating to such an extent that there is a branch of psychological and educational research concerning emotional intelligence (EQ). For example, researchers have found correlations between EQ and ability to learn (Goleman, 1998). It is concluded that emotions should be nurtured as part of intellectual growth. Moving from physiology to behaviour, psychologists have found evidence to support a strong connection between emotion and behaviour. Notable among this research is Glasser’s (1986) claim that as learners we need to have the mental image of ourselves doing that task, we need to know we can do it. For children if we firmly believe that a child could do something and bring them to the same belief, then learning previously thought impossible takes place. We suspect other teachers, based on their personal experiences, have similar beliefs concerning the potential of children to learn. Coupling the physiological and behavioural evidence above suggests that a label is as much responsible for a child’s learning success as any other biological or environmental factor. The stage has been sent for noticing a contradiction in the scientific rigor story within special education. We are colonized to believe the scientific truth that disability is biological and behavioural. Hence, we label disability in hopes of solving the problem. But the same scientific culture generates the truth that labeling at least partially causes the behaviors associated with a disability. We label behaviour, not noticing that our stories mediate, impair and colonize our interpretations of behaviour. Conceptualizing Change There is no doubt in our minds that we are working with the best of intentions. We are not setting out to further disadvantage those who come to us from already established positions of disadvantage impoverished backgrounds, different cultures, stressed families. We are doing the best we can with the knowledge and resources we have. What gets in our way is lack of imagination. We assume that the way we do things is the way to do things. We may be comfortable with some tinkering. But we see ourselves as educated people who are neither racist nor biased, and who are working in a good system, but with damaged and/or deficient people – this story concludes that systemic changes are not required. We have a rigid educational system that states that success is measured in yearly doses and in each of those years students are expected to master a particular body of knowledge. It is an expected linear progression to success. Certain cultural imperatives are in place so that children from the dominant culture will more likely be successful. If you are not successful you are treated. The process of treatment takes away from your sense of competence as a learner, particularly in the school setting. Here we want to become specific. The focus of this paper is on the teaching of Aboriginal learners, and what stops us from being successful. The linear model used in our factory model schools gets in our way. The assumption that we have the one right way gets in our way. History gets in our way. Racism gets in our way. Scientism gets in our way. We are not noticing alternative stories. Previously we wrote (Betts Bailey, in press) about using a different metaphor for education, one that was not linear. We suggested that we use the metaphor of fractal geometry (and all that means in terms of quantum mechanics and chaos theory). In fractal geometry the smallest part is a reflection of the whole. For example a twig is really a little tree. In Aboriginal cosmology the basic unit is the Medicine Wheel, by definition a circular model so nothing is more important than anything else, all is of equal value. Each member of the community is an essential part of the whole. Earth, flora, fauna, human are all part of the circle of life required for existence. Education was a part of the whole, an on-going component of life (Courtney, 1986, Graveline, 1998, Regnier, 1995). We illustrated that a non-linear and holistic story of education was tell-able within ultra-modern Western thinking and within the ancient wisdom of Aboriginal cosmologies. We saw with alternative stories. To see education for children, all of whom are special, rather than special education, as non-linear and holistic seems a place to begin. We also see that a starting part is not enough to catalyze change. It is clear to us that the foreground must be that Aboriginal peoples have been and are oppressed and colonized. We do not need to go into the history of the subjugation of an entire race practiced over the years by the European colonizers. We all know the steps that were taken to destroy any vestige of the civilization that was in place at the time of contact. We get confused as to what to do about it now. After all, it was our ancestors, not us. [5] We see what we are doing now in schools as an extension of that destructive process. Our governments are slowly beginning to allow for the full participation of Aboriginals in our world. But in many small and highly destructive ways we continue to contribute to the marginalization of that population. The world of special education is one place where we continue to do so. Knowing that a high proportion of the identified special population is Aboriginal, we continue to act as we always have, even in the face of evidence that the actions we take are not effective. Paulo Freire (1971) suggests that it takes several generations for a culture to overcome the impact of oppression. Certainly we can see the truth of that statement as we watch many colonized peoples re-learn how to care for and govern themselves. In Canada, Aboriginal peoples are slowly, and over generations, learning how to be who they are, and to be successful in both cultures. This will not happen quickly, but it will happen surely. In the meantime there is no question that our Aboriginal population is dealing with serious problems and some of those impact on the ability of their children to learn, especially using the mores of another culture. Our typical reaction as white educators is to want the Aboriginals to change. All would be right if only kids would come to school and on time. All would be well if their parents would stop drinking. All would be well if so much money wasnt being squandered on band council trips to Las Vegas. All of which may be factual, but does not excuse us from doing what we can to better the situation for the special children. The current reality of an oppressed population does not give us the right to blame the victim. Rather, as Skovsmose points out: †¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"meanings of learning,† â€Å"meanings for students,† and â€Å"each students meaning production† must be investigated and interpreted with reference to the dispositions of the student (including their background and foreground). Meaning production takes place in terms of what the students see as their opportunities, including motives, perspectives, hope and aspirations (p. 8). Therefore in conceptualizing change we of the dominant culture need to place that conceptualization in hands other than ours, in the hands of those who know and honour their unique history and ways of being, who can best find the organic ways of empowering themselves and their children. Having said that we do have some notions of what white educators can do. 1. Overcome our own racism. Get facts and information. Use our intelligence and face ourselves. 2. Accept the conditions. Things are as they are. Oppression has happened. It will take, according to the Bible and past experience, seven generations for the sins of the fathers to be expiated. In the meantime we have been given the task of teaching the children of oppression. What changes can we make to be more successful at that task? 3. Resist labels. Resist the push to find something wrong with the victim, rather change how we do things, how we approach the task. 4. Give our special kids the confidence to learn. Teachers are in positions of authority. Children really do think we know what we are talking about. If we consistently make it clear to children that they are capable of succeeding at the tasks we give them, sooner or later they will believe us. But first we have to genuinely believe that what we say is true. We cannot be faking it. From there we need to practice power-with rather than power-over. [6] 5. Thus we give our special kids the power to learn. We work with them so that they are taking charge of their own learning; we give them agency. This is a difficult task for us to undertake. It means giving up some control, it means not taking the linear approach that gives us comfort and assurance through its familiarity. But difficult is not impossible. 6. Above all be patient. We are not going to get it perfect ever, but we will get better at working with rather than doing to, and the students will get better at taking responsibility and determining what they need to be successful. [7] 7. Then celebrate when a child tells you that they can finally do it because no one ever told them they could before. Maybe the best suggestion we found came from a Native Hawaiian educator, a member of a population that is also dealing with the fall-out of oppression. Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) strongly advocates for using the heritage and knowledge of the children’s culture: As others before me have done, I end by calling for a new framework that brings to the fore Native Hawaiian strengths that have been too long misinterpreted, misrecognised, and undervalued. (p. 32). In his work he makes a convincing argument for strengths-based education, for using a structure that by definition builds on the knowledge and strengths the children bring into the classroom and at the same time begins to change the socio-political conditions. First lets be clear that by strengths based, I do not mean glossing over problems in favour of a rosy picture. Strengths-based research, in my view, begins with the premise of creating social change. In contrast to the expert-driven, top-down approach assumed by deficit models, it means treating the subjects of study as actors within multi-layered contexts and employing the multiple strengths of individuals, families and communities to overcome or prevent difficulties. It is also about empowerment, where the purpose of strengths-based research and evaluation is to benefit the people involved in the study by giving them voice, insight, and political power. †¦ As such it means empowering communities. (p. 35) It would seem obvious that such could be done here for those children who are the fruits of colonial oppression. The work of understanding, telling different stories and taking action continues. Conclusion We are not naive. We know that the process of labeling is the result of the need for funding. We know that with classrooms of more than 20 that kind of individual attention is very difficult. We know that you will be surrounded by administrators, other teachers, parents, even the special children who will tell you to get the testing done and treatment program in place. We know that in the process of de-colonization the oppressed can take on the qualities of the oppressor. But we can become resistors, working with a sure knowledge that we know what doesnt work and that it is way past time to try something radically different. It is clear that the past hundred years or so of schooling directed at Aboriginals has not been a big success. Indeed rather than educating Aboriginals to be successful in the dominant culture, we have an abysmal history of abuse and cultural genocide through education. Many of the abuses of the past are in the past. However, with kindness and deep concern we are using the special education system to continue to marginalize and discredit a large number of Aboriginal children[8]. We are suggesting that maybe things could be better. References Bishop, A. (2002). Becoming an ally: Breaking the cycle of oppression. Fernwood Publishing; Halifax Bloom, B. (1981). All our children learning: A primer for parents, teachers and other educators. McGraw-Hill: New York. Courtney, R. (1986). Island of remorse: Amerindian education in the contemporary world. Curriculum Inquiry, 16(1), pp. 43-65. Freire, P. (1971). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Herder and Herder: New York Freire, P. (1998). Pedagogy of Freedom. Rowman Littlefield: New York. Gitlin, A. (2005). Inquiry, imagination, and the search for a deep politic. Educational Researcher 34 (3), pp. 15-24. Glasser, W. (1986). Control theory in the classroom. Harper and Rowe: New York. Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York. Bantam Books. Graveline, F. J. (1998). Circle works: Transforming Eurocentric consciousness:Halifax: Fernwood. Iseke-Barnes. J. (2005). Misrepresentation of Indigenous history and science: Public broadcasting, the internet, and education. Discourses: studies on the cultural politics of education 26 (2), pp. 149-165. Kalat, J. (1988). Biological psychology (3rd. ed). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. Malia Kanaiaupuni, S. (2005). Kakalai Ku Kanaka: A call for strengths-based approaches from a Native Hawaiian perspective. Educational Researcher 34(5), pp. 32-37 Regnier, R. (1995). The sacred circle: An Aboriginal approach to healing education at an Urban high school. In M. Battiste J. Barman (Eds. ), First nations Education: The Circle Unfolds (pp. 313-330. (Vancouver: UBC Press) Skovsmose, O. (2005), Foregrounds and politics of learning obstacles. For the learning of mathematics 25 (1), pp. 4-10. Wortman,C. , Loftus, E. , Weaver, C. (1999). Psychology (5th ed. ). New York: Harper Collins College. Zimbardo, P. Gerrig, R. (1996). Psychology and life. New York: Harper Collins College. [1] Bloom (1981) believes that the intellectual potential of all students is pretty much the same. The difference is in history. Malia Kaniaupuni (2005) is concerned that if you focus on a deficit-based approach to education then you often miss the expertise that exists in communities and families, viewing instead outside experts as the only ones capable of fixing our problems. [2] Including Aboriginal, Black, Hispanic, recent immigrants and the poor. [3] Classic racism assumes that the obstacles to learning are to be found in the child. [4] Progressive racism assumes that any weakness in the child is the result of social background. [5] In July 2005, the descendants of the colonizer who razed an Indian village at Clyaquot Sound returned to the village to apologize for the deeds of their forefathers. [6] Anne Bishop in Becoming an Ally: Breaking the Cycle of Oppression (2002), explicates the difference between power-over and power-with, although we tend to think the concept is somewhat self-explanatory [7] Children also fall into the patterns of self-excuse – I have already been told that I cant read so why would I work at it. Dont you know I cant do that. [8] We do believe that this is the case with all children designated special needs. We may not have the answers but we are pretty clear that we do have a considerable problem that we are not prepared to look at squarely.

Cathedral Short Story Written By Raymond Carver English Literature Essay

Cathedral Short Story Written By Raymond Carver English Literature Essay Cathedral is a short story written by Raymond Carver. The story unfolds as a first person narrative of a main character named Bub. The story is short and slow paced. . In fact, the whole conversations and drama in the story is an event that took place in one day. The story beautifully depicts the process of an individual who transforms from this unknowledgeable, ignorant being into a knowledgeable soul. The story was written more than three decades ago and still is relevant today. The story is fashioned in such a way that this timeless beauty will continue to awe and inspire people generations onwards. The cathedral, in this story is a mere subject brought up at the end of this story which becomes the object of Bubs enlightment. All in all this short story Cathedral tells a tale of Bub who through a blind man receives an eye opening experience. The beginning of the story describes Bubs feeling as a blind person is visiting his home for the first time. This blind man was a good friend of Bubs wife. Bub The blind man is visiting the trite emotions and thoughts going inside Bubs head as a Blind person is visiting his house for the first time. Through this mundane example of a cathedral through The story starts narrative story Cathedral he sheds light on the motif of ignorance through the first person narrator. The narrator starts as being intolerable but towards the end of the story, he gets an eye opening experience, ironically with the assistance of a blind man that makes him open minded. The author has chosen the right theme of physical and psychological blindness to beautifully achieve the goal of his exploration of the baseness and rawness of the narrator Bubs condition. Carvers treatment of this issue is proficient and he has the ability to stir up psychological dilemmas within the reader. Like other readers would consen t it is the narrator who is actually blind but not Robert the visually disabled. Appearance as it would seem is deceptive, the narrator could see externally and the blind man was the one without sight. However, the narrator was the one blinded by his own ignorance. This first instance of his ignorance is passing judgment on Robert before even meeting him despite knowing very little about him. And his being blind bothered me. My idea of blindness came from the movies. In the movies, the blind moved slowly and never laughed (202). Apparently it is evident he is unknowledgeable about Robert when he says, Id always thought dark glasses were a must for the blind or I remembered reading somewhere that the blind didnt smoke (206). He foolishly looked for any reason to detest the man, whether it was because he had married a colored woman named Beulah or because he had a beard on his face. Another example that shows the husband is blind in the beginning of the story is refering to Robert as This blind man (203) when Bub talks to his wife and never uses Roberts name or ass igns any human attributes to him. This shows that the husband does not really see Robert as a person, but just as a blind man who is different because he has a handicap. The blind man however antagonizes the narrator. He keeps an open mind to new experiences and states that he is always learning something because learning never ends, thus emphasizing his lack of ignorance. Roberts arrival at the couples house further brings out the narrators ignorance; the husband does not know what to say to him. He therefore begins to ask stupid questions about the view from the train: Which side of the train did you sit on? (205). The husband knows that Robert cannot see the view, but he asks him these questions anyway. Also, the husband thinks to himself, I didnt know what else to say (205), which is a clear indication that he is unable to establish a relationship with Robert. Both of these quotations show that the husband does not know what to talk about with Robert because he only sees Roberts handicap, instead of seeing him as a complete human being who has emotions, thoughts, ideas, and beliefs. Not only does the husband not know how to communicate with Rober t, but also he does not know how to act around him either. A good example of this, shown after dinner, is when all three of them go into the living room. This is how the husband portrays what happens when they first enter the room: Robert and my wife sat on the sofa. I took the big chair. We had us two or three more drinks while they talked about the major things that had come to pass for them in the past ten years. For the most part, I just listened. Now and then I joined in (206). The husbands discomfort is revealed through his actions when the wife went upstairs to put on her robe. I didnt want to be left alone with a blind man. I asked him if he wanted another drink and he said sure. Then I asked if he wanted to smoke some dope with me. I said Id just rolled a number. I hadnt, but I planned to do so in about two shakes (207). He shows that he does not know how to act around Robert because again he does not see Robert as a person, but only as a blind man. The narrator is asked to describe a cathedral later in the story by Robert. There is a need in the blind man to see, but there is nothing that will ever be able to fulfill that need. The narrator struggles to find the right words, the signifier that will provide a bridge to the thought in the blind mans head of the actual cathedral, the signified. When his language failed him, he relied on symbolism by drawing while holding the old mans hand to communicate to the blind man what he couldnt say with words. At this point he is introduced into the blind mans world and begins to see what it is like for him to have no sight. This allows the narrator to step outside of his own boundaries and give himself freedom from the ignorant world he used to live in. In the last few sentences of the story, he realizes for himself that he is free. My eyes were still closed. I was in my house. I knew that. But I didnt feel like I was inside anything (211). Bub was not only blind to his own ignorance but also blind to his wife and her feelings and needs. On the contrary, the blind man held a close relationship with the narrators wife, allowing himself to be an outlet for her to vent her feelings on the tapes she sent him. Her husband seemed insensitive to her feelings when he brushed off the poem she had written about the experience of the blind man touching her face. As a result of his insensitivity, the wife is easily angered by the narrator on a couple different occasions and sometimes shouts at her husband. Goddamn it, his wifes just died! Dont you understand that? The mans lost his wife.(203) In addition to his indifferent attitude towards her wifes feelings, the narrator appears to be jealous of the relationship between his wife and Robert. The jealous narrator expresses his envy when the three sit down after dinner to talk. I waited in vain to hear my name on my wifes sweet lipsBut I heard nothing of the sort. More talk of Robert (206). His jealousy even bleeds on Roberts relationship with his former wife. He contemplates and decides that it is beyond his comprehension that Robert could marry a woman and love a woman he has never seen (205). But the narrator himself, who can see his wife clearly with his own eyes, cannot see the depth of her feelings the way Robert is able to. His blindness to his wifes feelings isolates him from her and seems to drive him to use mind-altering substances in attempt to escape reality. He says that he smoked dope and stayed up as long as I couldMy wife and I hardly went to bed at the same time (209). Bubs conversation with Robert became clumsy but instead of dealing with them, he asks Robert if he would like to smoke dope. The narrator uses the drugs to achieve a sense of satisfaction. When people are starved of real love or a sense of satisfaction in their lives, they will repeatedly use material things in an attempt to fill this empty void which never becomes full. While th e narrator gets his self satisfaction from drugs and alcohol, Robert finds his from being with his former wife. The narrators wife called Robert and his former wife inseparable and recalls that she died in a Seattle hospital room, the blind man sitting beside the bed and holding her hand (204). The blind man seems to understand that time invested in people is much more worthwhile than any high one can get from a drug. Raymond Carvers choice of theme of blindness makes his goal of offering a deeper understanding of the nature of human a success. He is able to tell readers that there is physical blindness and psychological blindness. Those with the physical disability could see well than those who are not. This motif is accentuated by these examples from the storythe first is the demeanor of Bub which shows signs of disapproval of the imminent visit of his wifes blind friend, the second is his contemplating the basis of his wifes friendship with Robert, and the third is his verbal and sensory interaction with the blind man when he draws a cathedral on a paper bag.

Alphagan P Essays -- Drugs, Treating Glaucoma

There has been a new step in science leading towards evolution. Alphagan P has been recognized as the next leading pharmaceutical in treating Glaucoma. It is gentle to the ocular surface, unlike other medications which can harm it. Alphagan P provides IOP lowering which is comparable to beta blocker, but is without the adverse affects that most other medications cause. It is an alpha-2 agonist, which is a class of drugs that bind to and stimulate alpha-2 adrenergic receptors, causing responses comparable to those of adrenaline and noradrenaline. Alphagan was first introduced in 1996. The latest generation of â€Å"adrenergic agonist† is thrity times more selective for alpha 2 receptors than apraclonidine. Because of its selectivity, it does not include the alpha 1 side effects that affect the heart and blood pressure. The most significant side effects are drowsiness, a dry mouth, and fatigue. There is also surface irritation, with about â€Å"7 to 15 percent of patients experiencing allergic conjunctivitis. Alphagan has stayed popular since it first came out despite its side effects. What should you know about Alphagan P before using it? Make sure to not use brimonidine ophthalmic (Alphagan P) if you have used an MAO inhibitor such as isocarboxazid (Marplan), phenelzine (Nardil), rasagiline (Azilect), selegiline (Eldepryl, Emsam), or tranylcypromine (Parnate) within the past 2 weeks. Inform your doctor if you have kidney or liver disease, heart disease, circulation problems such as Raynaud's or Buerger's disease, high blood pressure, have a history of fainting or low blood pressure. Make sure to not use the medication if you use contact lenses because the medication contains a preservative that can be absorbed by soft contact lenses. If ... ...wing through with their education. Studies are now being done to further investigate this occurrence. Although Alphagan P has a list of adverse reactions reported, it is still the most used medication used to treat patients with Glaucoma. Many clinical studies have been done on the drug since it came out in 1996, and further enhancements have been made since. Works Cited Osborne, S., Montgomery, D., Morris, D., & McKay, I. (2005). Alphagan allergy may increase the propensity for multiple eye-drop allergy. Eye, 19(2), 129-137. doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6701441 Bowman, R. C., Cope, J. J., & Nischal, K. K. (2004). Ocular and systemic side effects of brimonidine 0.2% eye drops (Alphagan ®) in children. Eye, 18(1), 24-26. doi:10.1038/sj.eye.6700520 ALPHAGAN P: THE NEXT STEP IN THE EVOLUTION OF GLAUCOMA THERAPY. (2003). Review of Ophthalmology, 10(9), 8.