Organic Livestock Marketing Cooperative Assignment

Organic Livestock Marketing Cooperative - Assignment Example OLYMCO is driven by the mission to become the largest marketer of organic beef and lamb in the UK. The key to achieving this mission lies in the desire to provide the customer with value in terms of the quality of the product coupled with highly competitive prices and to ensure complete transparency in their operations. "We exist to attract and retain customers". Statistics of the market and competition have been collected. A detailed survey of customer preferences and loyalty drivers was also carried out (Section 9.6). This information will help enhance growth and sustain profitability and growth. Red meat is a primary food market in which sales have recorded marginal growth (DEFRA, 2006); values have risen, as consumers have been willing to trade up to more convenient cuts (Cooper, 2006). "The Organic Market Report 2006 reveals the biggest increase in sales to be in organic meat and poultry. In 2005, the farm gate value of organic meat and poultry was an estimated 129m, a 59% increase on 2004" (Watts, 2006). The demand is projected to grow in the near future especially as healthier and more reasonably priced product becomes available, the fear of the 'mad-cow' disease abates and with threats of avian flu reducing sales of poultry (Poultry World, 2006).This is despite predictions to the contrary a couple of years earlier (see Buss, 2004). Although British retailers are under pressure to source more organic foods indigenously, it is found that imported organic meats comprise almost 20% of total sales volume (Research and Markets).The balance between supply and demand remains t ight (Davies, 2006). Apart from the retail trade, there is high demand for organic meats from food processors and the catering sector. There is also rising demand from restaurants, schools, hospitals and government organisations (Research and Markets). 4.1 Market Demographics The profile of OLYMCO's customer consists of the following geographic, demographic, and behaviour factors. Geographic: The immediate target is the populace residing within the UK - a population of nearly 61 million. Of this, roughly 25 percent are vegans and others who do not eat one or the other type of meat. The boundaries of the country define the geographical area to be covered. Demographic: All people over 20 years old, representing over 70 percent of the total population. Customers belonging to the A and AB categories, i.e. having an annual household income above 25,000. Behavioural Factors: From the results of the consumer survey conducted, the customers are: Willing to pay a premium for higher quality, tastier meats, Tend to patronize higher-quality restaurants, and are Cognizant about their health 4.2 Customer

Tropical Death and Mid-Term Break | Analysis

Tropical Death and Mid-Term Break | Analysis Compare and contrast the presentation of death and grief in both poems In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the presentation of death and grief in the two poems, ‘Tropical Death and ‘Mid-Term Break. Grace Nichols, the poet of ‘Tropical Death, was born in Guyana, 1950, and then migrated to England at the age of 27. In all of her writing, her own history and that of her country have clearly had a profound impact as she says, â€Å"I am a writer across two worlds; I just cant forget my Caribbean culture and past, so theres this contrast interaction between the two worlds: Britain and the Caribbean.† Seamus Heaney, the poet of ‘Mid Term Break, was born in Ireland in 1939 as the eldest of nine children. Many of his works concern his own family history as well and also seems to focus on characters in his own family: they can be read as elegies for those family members. The content of both the poems presents the themes of death and grief. Both poems deal with two poetic voices discussing and dealing with death. In â€Å"Tropical Death† she is planning the end of her life whereas in â€Å"Mid Term Break† he is dealing with the loss of his brother. In ‘Tropical Death, the content consists of a Caribbean â€Å"black woman† wanting â€Å"a brilliant tropical death†. Grace Nichols discusses going back to her home country because she is planning the end of her life and would like a dramatic, traditional death. I think this as she suggests so much of her own death that the reader presumes she has come to the end of her life. I, as a reader, find the poetic voice in the category of integrity. This is because she is feeling ready for her own death and is hence planning for it. We also know she wants a dramatic death because it says, â€Å"no quiet jerk tear wiping, a polite hearse withdrawal†, proving the woman wants an ‘over the top end to her life. The poetic voice wants a tragic death, as it also states â€Å"all the sleepless droning/ red-eyed wake nights†. This suggests vigil. In â€Å"Mid Term Break† the content consists of an account of a family tragedy. In the poem the poetic voice attends the funeral of his younger brother who, at the age of four, was run over. We know this because it says â€Å"my mother held my hand†, â€Å"met my father crying†, â€Å"they were ‘sorry for my trouble† and â€Å"I was the eldest†. All these quotes tell us, as the reader, what the family is going through. This makes us feel pathos for the poetic voice. The poetic voice is actually Heaneys own as this really did happen in his life. This make the peace feel more heart-felt and emotional because all these things Heaney talks about were real. The ideas the poets may have wanted us to think about presents the themes of death and grief. In ‘Tropical Death, an idea Nichols wanted us to think about was how she knows and has identified the way in which she would like to die. â€Å"Woman want†, she is portrayed as always wanting which shows pride, determination, self-radiance, independence and strength. She had thought so much about her death that she knows every detail, down to what dress she would like to wear, â€Å"blue sea dress/ to wrap her neat†. When I first read this I thought the poetic voice meant she wanted to drown, â€Å"dress† being the waves and â€Å"neat† meaning to take her life quickly and painlessly. Yet having re-read it, I realised the woman was actually just referring to her plans for her traditional Caribbean outfit in which she wanted to be buried in. In â€Å"Mid Term Break†, an idea Heaney wanted us to think about was the imagery used to express ideas of death . Heaney uses a metaphor to describe the only mark on the boys body, â€Å"poppy bruise†. This is also the only colour talked about in the piece which makes this one mark more intense. It says he had â€Å"no gaudy scars† because â€Å"the bumper knocked him clear† and having this one little bruise, although it was probably quite small, seems extremely vivid and sickening. The colour also contrasts with the boys skin, which is described by the poetic voice as â€Å"paler now†. This also emphasises the â€Å"poppy bruise† for us, as the reader, to imagine the mark to stand out quite spectacularly. Another image Heaney wants use to imagine is the four foot box, which is alliteration. This device emphasises the negative tone and harsh nature, making the thought of this coffin more believable and realistic. My favorite device Heaney uses is onomatopoeia; â€Å"whispers†, â€Å"coughed†, â€Å"sighs†. This helps create the effect th at we are actually there, hearing what the poetic voice is hearing. It makes the scene so much more real, again, like we are actually there- this emphasises the quite sadness. The mood and atmosphere of both poems present the themes of death and grief. In â€Å"Tropical Death† the mood is quite exotic and I, as a reader, could almost imagine a Caribbean woman saying these things. This was because it was written in a language that captures the Caribbean dialect, but I will go on to write more about this later on. Grace writes, â€Å"No quiet jerk tear wiping†. This is not ‘Standard English, emphasizing the Caribbean influence, and there is no punctuation throughout the piece. The mood is tropical, the writer talks about â€Å"heat† and â€Å"cool† and â€Å"shade† which suggests the temperature, making the reader feel as if we are there, in the Caribbean. The mood is also quite upbeat, with colourful words such as; â€Å"brilliant†, â€Å"blue sea dress† and â€Å"red eyed†. This vibrant text makes us think of the bright colours on the island. After â€Å"all the sleepless droning† the moo d softens, â€Å"her mothers sweet breast†, â€Å"cool bless†. These peaceful descriptions lower the tension levels to make the last couplet seem stronger. In â€Å"Mid Term Break† there is a noticeable change in atmosphere between stanza five and stanza six. In the first five stanzas the atmosphere is tense and cold as the â€Å"ambulance arrived† and the arrival of the corpse â€Å"stanched and bandaged†. The energy level of the poetic voice is low throughout these first five stanzas, like the poetic voice is tired and drowned from all that is going on. However, in the final few stanzas the atmosphere changes peaceful, â€Å"snowdrops†, â€Å"candles soothed†, â€Å"he lay†. These bring down the tension levels as we picture the calm, relaxed mood around the cot. Heaney uses pathos, â€Å"I met my father crying†. This emphasises the bleak tone of the poem, playing on the readers feelings. How the poems are written present the themes of death and grief. The poem â€Å"Tropical Death† has a refrain which is repeated at the start of every stanza (except for the fifth one). Having the same line every time we start a new paragraph of the poem helps us, as a reader, to be brought back to what the whole poem is about, as a constant reminder. This repetition is an eternal rhyme and its a connotation of death. It is also alliteration, a device Nichols uses throughout her poem. The refrain also stands out due to its stressed syllables, which are short and staccato vowel sounds. The ‘t and the ‘k letters make the beat hard and unappealing. Repetition is thought to originate from the call and response tradition of Africa; it could be a big part in her writing due to Grace Nichols background. The poem also hints at several lovely parts of death; â€Å"blue sea dress/ to wrap her neat†, â€Å"polite hearse†, â€Å"in the heart/ of her mothers sweet breast†, â€Å"in the shade/ of the sun leafs cool bless†, â€Å"in the bloom/ of her peoples bloodrest†. This tells me, as a reader, that â€Å"the fat black woman† awaits the end of her life with dignity, her head held high having fulfilled her planned life and is subsequently planning her own death for when it may arrive. The structure of â€Å"Tropical Death† is divided into five stanzas and one ending couplet. Stanza one, two, three and four all start with the line â€Å"the fat black woman want†. The fifth stanza doesnt start with this but then the couplet does, also the fourth and fifth stanzas are longer than the first, second and third. This could be to emphasise the final image more, by giving the reader a break from the refrain and also the length of the two stanzas before outline the short and snappiness of the ending couplet. This break is to not detract from the message and there is also no punctuation in the couplet, this is so the reader is left with a strong image. This image has been building up throughout the piece, â€Å"the fat black woman want/ a brilliant tropical death yes†. â€Å"Tropical Death† is written in a language that captures the Caribbean dialect. It uses some unfamiliar vocabulary, e.g. ‘hibiscus is a plant native to warm tropical regions; ‘blue sea dress is a traditional African dress. It creates as strong sense of the voice of the speaker. It clearly sets the poem in a culture other than that represented by ‘Standard English. By using a mixture of Standard English and a dialect form it emphasises a particular idea, in this poem the idea is of wanting to go back to her home country. This technique gives a sense of the dual ‘voice that the poet possesses. Nichols enjoys exploring these cultural differences: ‘I like working in both Standard English and Creole. I tend to want to fuse the two tongues because I come from a background where the tw o worlds were constantly interacting, though Creole was regarded, obviously, as the inferior of the colonial powers when I was growing up. In â€Å"Mid Term Break† the rhyme scheme is non-existent. I believe this is to make the tone of the piece more serious and grown up. It is written like an episode rather than a poem. This highlights the realist mood and atmosphere. The finishing couplet is more memorable as the middle is slower and bland. The rhyming couplet seems to sooth. Heaney writes, â€Å"No gaudy scars, the bumper knocked him clear/ A four foot box, a foot for every year†. This decreases the tension and affirms the ending of the peace. The dialect is Standard English, with punctuation. This helps us to imagine the poetic voice to live somewhere cold and unappealing because the language used is harsh and unwelcoming. How the poems are similar presents the themes of death and grief. Both poems finish with a punchy line, to leave the reader with an image to take with them. In â€Å"Tropical Death† this is the fact that the poetic voice wants to go back to her home country to die in a traditional way yet in â€Å"Mid Term Break† this is the fact that a boy has died young from a tragic accident. These final images conclude both poems strongly. Both poems have a similar layout, with regular stanzas and a final shorter stanza. Both poems overall talk about the same things, but â€Å"Tropical Death† discusses in a more up-beat, lively and natural sort of way- it is the natural order of life. Whereas, in Heaneys poem, it is written in a more dejected and sad kind of way. How the poems are different present the themes of death and grief. In Nichols poem she talks about the planning of her death whereas in Heaneys poem he talks about a boy who has died young- his life was cut tragically short, without any notice. Nichols is basically saying all that the boy in Heaneys poem had, she doesnt want. She says â€Å"not a cold sojourn/ in some North Europe far/forlorn†. That is exactly what the little boy in Heaneys poem got. Nichols says she doesnt want â€Å"a polite hearse† and yet thats what Heaneys poem has, â€Å"sorry for my trouble†, â€Å"whispers†. The â€Å"fat black woman† wants â€Å"some bawl†, â€Å"Sleepless droning† unlike the boy had in Heaneys poem, â€Å"coughed out tearless sighs†, â€Å"I was embarrassed†. All these things prove that everything Heaney describes in his poem is everything Nichols is saying she doesnt want; both poems sum up the cultural norms. Our culture is pr esented in Heaneys poem as cold, â€Å"snowdrops† with lots of secrecy, â€Å"whispers†, and this contrast greatly with Nichols culture which is described as lively and welcoming. The coldness and grayness hit us in Heaneys poem, â€Å"no gaudy scars† and white â€Å"snowdrops†. This is such a contrast from Nichols vivid and warm piece, â€Å"heat†, â€Å"tropical†. In â€Å"Mid Term Break† there is tension, â€Å"embarrassed†, there is forced politeness and secrecy. It is a hint that we dont have a welcoming culture, unlike Nichols culture, ours seems cold and behind doors, â€Å"a cold sojourn† as described in â€Å"Tropical Death†. In conclusion, these two poems present death and grief in two different ways- we hear the negativity of Heaneys traumatic experience, which completely contrasts with Nichols positive request to return to her homeland for her death.

Huckleberry Finn :: essays research papers

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, chapters 19 and 20 add to the plot by taking Huck and Jim on a different path than their usual lazy peaceful days on the raft. While Huck is collecting berries in a creek, he is approached by two men that are desperately seeking rescue from the men and dogs that pursue them. After escaping the scent of the dogs, and the wrath of the men, the two men discover that they are both con artists and decide to work together. The two men trick Huck and Jim into believing that they decedents of royalty so that they can receive special treatment whilst on the raft. Huck does realize later that these two men are liars, but would rather keep his mouth shut about it so as to keep peace on the raft. These men are living examples of the ugly society that Huck and Jim are trying to escape. Through the â€Å"King†, Huck learns the gullibility of Americans as the â€Å"King† cheats a meeting hall full of people out of $87 dollars and a jug of whisky . With these two men onboard the raft, the usual peace is far from near.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chapters 19 and 20 introduce us to the con artists that play themselves off as high royalty to Huck and Jim. The youngest man (around 30 years old), tells Huck and Jim that he is a Duke, and that he would like to be treated like a Duke. The oldest man (70 years old), tells Huck and Jim that he is a King, and would like to receive better treatment than the Duke. Huck knows that these two men are liars, but Huck-being the keeper of peace that he is, decides it’s best not to expose the men. Jim on the other hand, can’t see past the fog, and gets very excited to have such men on the raft. We learn that both of these men cheat and lie there way from town to town, and we witness this first hand with the â€Å"King’s† performance in the town meeting hall, and the â€Å"Duke’s† work at the printing shop.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mark Twain does not regularly use figurative language throughout the novel, mainly because Huckleberry is the narrator. Though, we do find some examples of figurative language as we read on. In chapter 19, we can find an example of personification, â€Å"†¦nights went by; I reckon I might say they swum by, they slid along so quiet and smooth and lovely.

Grandparent raising their grandchildren and the social implication Essay

In American society, grandparent have been involved in the issues of raising their grandchildren in situation where the parent are not available, unwilling or not able to give sufficient care for their children. In other instances grandparent participate in taking care of their grandchildren even if the situation of parent are willing to care for their children. This is due to traditional cultures giving grandparent clear and direct duty for taking care and nurturing of their grandchildren. Traditionally, relationship between grandchildren and grandparent has been a special one but the current trend and growth of grandparent raising and taking care of grandparent has raise questions. In the past three decades, growth of the grandparent has gone beyond the perceived traditional role to social problem attracting researcher to study social implication of their role (Geen & Rob, 2004). A part from the traditional role of grandparent caring for their grandchildren being sentimental, this role in many instances has change to absolute caring and maintaining them. Their relationship has been special but the current trend means grandparent are taking responsibility of raising a second family. In the normal circumstances, children are expected to raised under intact family assume to having presence of both parent living in a favorable conditions. Traditionally, children would visit their grandparent in a situation where they are not living together over the weekends and sent back to their parent after the weekend. This trend has changed as the luxury of sending children to their parent of the weekend has changed to taking absolute care since the parent are unavailable, not able or not in position to take care of their children (Geen & Rob, 2004). Grandparents staying with their grandchildren are expected to take responsibility of raising and maintaining them. This result to social implication as the grandparent get to this role due prevailing circumstance other than something planned. Parenting role requires commitment or devotion as well as employment of financial resources. Roles of taking care of the grandchildren give grandparents massive responsibilities which may translate to emotional straining. The raise in number of families under absolute care of grandparent has increase to a questionable level which is beyond the traditional role. Study on the grandparent raising their grandchildren is important since it may evaluate the cause of the current trends, social implication to the grandparent and grandchildren, measures and solution to be taken. This paper investigates the tread and growth of the grandparent raising their grandchildren, its implication and solution to this problem and the help which can be advanced to this form of parenting (Edwards & Daire 2006). Culturally, nobody plan to raise a second taking all responsibilities which goes with this role. This means that grandparent taking fulltime responsibility of maintaining a grandchild cause to major change in the life of the grandparent (Edwards & Daire 2006). Demands which come with the role of parenting for the second time leads to unplanned struggles resulting to financial, emotional, physical, social and legal challenge not experienced the time when these grandparent were raising their own children. Most of grandparent are always in their old age, â€Å"The census of 1997 indicates that 33% of grandparent caregivers are under the age of 50, 48% are between the ages of 50 and 64, and 19% are over the age of 65† (National Resources Centre for Respite and Crisis Care Services 1998 para. 2). This means that engaging grandparent in raising of their grandchildren results trying to balance between struggling to manage their old age and caring for their grandchildren. Various studies have indicated that there is an increase in the case of grandparent raising their grandchildren. According to Casper and Bryson 2008, United States Bureau of the Census categorizes studies on this subject on five type grandparent maintained families i. e. â€Å"†¦both grandparents, some parents present; both grandparents, no parents present; grandmother only, some parents present; grandmother only, no parents present; and grandfather only present† (Casper and Bryson 2008 para. 1). This categorization is important as it helps to analyze implication since different states leads to different implications. Statistics from U. S. Census Bureau indicates that in 1970 3. 2 percent or 2. 2 million children in United States lived under care of grandparents. Overtime, the proportion of the grandchildren maintained by grandparent has resulted to a drastic increase. 1997 census on this subject indicated that there was an increase from 3. 2 percent in 1970 to 5. 5 percent or from 2. 2 million to 3. 9 million. This represents a 76 percent increase over period of 27 years. According to these statistical this increase was experienced in all in the above mentioned types of the grandparent care. The most notable was 118 percent increase of grandchildren with only mothers under grandparent with grandchildren living with their fathers increased by 217 percent. This change was more notable in 1980s but this further increased in 1990 indicating the greatest increase of children maintained by grandparents. According to Hammond 2002, statistics by American Association of retired Persons on 2000 census indicates that 2. 4 million grandparents are fully in charge of maintaining and solely taking care of their grandchildren. This was a 30 percent of the increase in the in 10 years.

Assessment of the Interactive Behavior Style

According to the DISC Platinum Rule Assessment, the â€Å"Interactive† behavior style defines people who are highly focused on other people. They love being around groups and they are fond of being involved in groups. They are generally extroverts and they do not like to be alone. They love working with other people. And they are very sociable. According to the assessment, people who are â€Å"interactive† get their motivation from being around other people. Their ultimate goal is to get other people’s recognition. They want to earn applause, acceptance, and complements.If recognition from other people is not present, they will ultimately lose their interest in whatever they are doing. Their drive to strive for their goals comes from other people. Most of the time, their ultimate goal is to earn to be appreciated. As for their decision making and their lifestyles, people categorized under the â€Å"interactive† behavior are very fast paced. They do not lik e routines. They are very spontaneous. Because of their liveliness, they usually want to do a lot of things all at the same time. Even if they are still involved with one activity, they jump to another task. That is why they often end up so disorganized.Aside from disliking everyday habitual activities, interactive people also don’t like facts. They do not like details. Instead, they generalize information. They base their conclusions on â€Å"guesstimates† than on highly objective and empirical data. That is why they often exaggerate. Interactive people also work well with others. Because they are sociable, they usually tend to attract the attention of others. They also have the ability to motivate others in order to work towards a common goal that they also pursue. They are perfect for those professions and careers that require excellent rapport with other people.They should be in the field of sales, entertainment, public relations, social welfare, and the like. Appl ication of Strengths and Weaknesses Just like what the assessment states, I am optimistic. I see life as an opportunity to do various activities. I am positive and cheerful. Everyday, my greatest accomplishment seems to stem from fulfilling one or two lively activities. Even if there is really nothing to do outside, I make it a point to go out and to look for something that I can occupy myself with. I love being around other people and that is probably why I value my friends so much.I also like going to parties and other social activities. I make it a point to form new friends despite the fact that I already have many acquaintances. Whenever I go to social gatherings, I make it a point to meet a new friend. I am one of those few people that you cannot alienate even if you expose me to groups of people that I do not know. I am also persuasive and very motivating. I can easily talk my friends into doing something I believe is terrific. In addition to that, I am very enthusiastic. I th ink it is a total waste of time to be lying around and doing nothing.I love engaging in various activities, even those which I am not very familiar with. I am passionate about living life to the fullest. However, because I do love engaging in many activities, I often become careless primarily because I am often preoccupied with so many things all at the same time. This is also probably the reason why I often end up being disorganized. My initially planned schedule for the day often gets tangled with the other activities that I usually want to slip in it. Analysis of the behavior assessment The analysis seems to be quite accurate in describing the prime motivators, strengths, and weaknesses of a person.The data yielded is very useful primarily because it was very thorough in describing the assessed person. It includes the possible conflicts associated with his set of strengths and weaknesses, as well as the possible steps that can be taken to solve such conflicts. The data provided i n the assessment can largely contribute to overall self-improvement. Understanding your tendencies and gaining insight on your personality can improve rapport and communication with other people. It can predict job performance and potential leadership skills (Kierstead, 1998). It can also be used in understanding the personalities of other people.In a personal case, it can help one concentrate on his strengths while altering his weaknesses. However, it should be noted that people should not confine their identities to the discussed test results (Carey,2004). Also, I have noticed that some characteristics of a particular behavior type often overlap some of the traits of the other types. Though the delineation between the types is often very obvious in the initial description, the question of exclusivity between the characteristics can be observed in the specific details of the subtypes of the behavior assessment.Also, although the results of the assessments are quite accurate, it sho uld be noted that people should not confine their self concept with the descriptions provided by behavioral evaluation, no matter how elaborate they are. Regardless of how complete and concise the assessment results are, people should realize that the results were based on a personality evaluation taken during a certain period of time at a certain moment in a person’s life. In simple terms, it is relatively an accurate assessment of someone’s here and now.It should be noted that people are rapidly evolving beings that can radically alter their behavior and personality over time, based on the set of experiences and challenges that come their way. A person with an interactive behavior type can transform into one who has a cautious or dominant behavior after having one of those life changing experiences or major life turn points. Basically, a technical generalization of the personalities of men should not be regarded as the sole indicator of how a person should be interpr eted.It should not be sued as a basis of what kind of people should one get along with. Confining your analysis of people into four types or sixteen subtypes can greatly promote stereotyping. As such, these should not be used as the sole basis of interaction with other people. In order to ascertain the adaptability and the efficiency of this behavior evaluation, such forms of assessments should be taken regularly in order to form comprehensive and accurate concepts of one’s self.