Major reasons behind the United States'entry into World War I Essay

Major reasons behind the United States'entry into World War I - Essay Example As the US was supplying arms and financial assistance to the allies, Germany became poised to violate the terms with the US government to stop its submarine attacks. While the then German Chancellor Theobald von Bethman-Hollweg was against this decision fearing the US entry in to the war and the subsequent downfall of Germany, the German government however, decided to resume its attacks. President Wilson, thought shocked by the developments, hesitated to immediately declare war on Germany as he was not sure about the public support of his opinion. And in case the German attacks did not target US ships he decided to negotiate with the German government. But the submarine attacks by Germany destroyed several US ships, passengers and naval officials. Following this Wilson decided to arm American merchant ships with naval personal and equipment’s by exercising an executive order. Wilson also received a German telegram sent to officials in Mexico which was intercepted by the Britis h. This telegram sent by the German Foreign Minister promised assistance to Mexico to recover the territory that it had ceded to America during a previous war. In return it requested Mexican support for the war. This telegram along with the continued attacks by Germany on American merchant ships forced President Wilson to declare war against Germany which marked its entry in to World War

BPMN advantages, disadvantages within system integration Essay

BPMN advantages, disadvantages within system integration - Essay Example Business Process Modeling Notation offers a common universal language thereby reducing the communication barriers that existed in designing the business process models. Business Process Modeling Notation also helps in bridging the gaps that existed in communication which affected the process of business modeling from the designing stage to the implementation stage.Since Business Process Modeling Notation uses the technique of flowcharting, the method has made information relaying simpler. This is because use of images assists users and designers in summarizing information. A single flowchart can be used to reflect many situations that would have required a lot of words in explaining and representing.Another significant advantage of using Business Process Modeling Notation is the fact that it is a simple model. The model embraces simplicity by converting information and representing it in a simple flowchart. This gives it an upper hand in the market since every business is after a sim ple model that will serve its purposes and at the same time it is easily applicable in every business environment provided that the firm maintains proper records and comprehensive data on its operations.Business Process Modeling Notation is an important model especially in firms that has adopted process automation. In the modern world, more and more companies have adopted a system that supports high levels of information technology since this makes operations in the company much smoother.

Internal and External Analysis of Franchise

Internal and External Analysis of Franchise Penny Thomas, an Ivey graduate with the help of her daughter, who also is an Ivey graduate, decides to purchase a license to open a Marble Slab franchise in the Great Toronto Area. After paying her fees of $25,000 to the company, she starts thinking of her marketing plan for her grand opening that she has two weeks to hand to the Marble Slab head-quarters in Calgary . So she hired a marketing consultant (me) to help her. First, the corporate capabilities of the company had to be defined, financial capabilities, Marketing capabilities, Operational capabilities and the available human resources. After comprehensively studying the internal capabilities of the company, the external forces affecting the business are analyzed. The two external forces categories discussed in the report are the economical factors in the area, the social factors. Politically and technologically didnt have an effect on the business. After that, the direct and indirect competitions of Thomas were examined and t hen plans were made to compete with them. The direct competitions were Baskin Robins and Dairy Queen. The indirect competitions were McDonalds, Star Bucks, grocery and convenience stores. After carefully examining all these influential forces, a consumer analysis of the three best potential target markets were women, young adults and families was set up. And the target Market of Women was found most suitable for Thomass business because women are the primary caregivers, dominant shoppers in the community and they are more health conscious than males. Once the target market was chosen, a marketing 4Ps plan was constructed. Product wise, Marble Slab franchise had plenty of options to choose from, from milk shakes to ice cream cakes. But the primary product that Thomas should use while promoting the grand opening is the Childs size ice cream with one mixin because it is popular and it appeals to womens concerns because it is small and tasty. Then prices were determined for only caterin g, because Marble Slab is a franchise and it wasnt allowed for Thomas to change any of the prices. She only had power over the catering prices, so calculations of the breakeven points of the three different catering options were conducted and the best catering choice was the Sundae Bar option. After that, the location of the store was determined by studying each areas population and traffic. And the area that was chosen was the Toronto Annex area, although with a low population, it had a lot of foot traffic from students (almost half of students being female) and near a busy shopping street. Following the location of the business, different promotional options (billboards, radio, etc.) were examined and the most suitable, affordable combination of promotions for the grand opening were chosen. In conclusion, this marketing situation was studied comprehensively and the following results of the marketing report project that the grand opening is going to be successful along with the yea rs to come. The Marble Slab Creamery has been a well-known name in the market for ice cream since it first opened in Houston, Texas in 1983. Now Marble Slab has 400 branches worldwide in which, Penny Thomas had been blessed to be a part of when she purchased the right to open up a franchise in the Greater Toronto Area. Thomas is going to have a grand opening in May 2008 and needs a marketing plan to get approved by the headquarters in Calgary, Alberta about how she will handle the grand opening. The following marketing report breaks down the corporate abilities and the external analysis of Thomass company, also it discusses the consumer analysis and the competitive analysis. After deciding on the right target market, the report discusses Marble Slabs marketing plan which include product, price, promotion and placement. Corporate Capabilities: Marble Slab enjoys many financial abilities, being one of 400 franchises; Penny Thomas shares the same purchasing power of the franchisor. This is really helpful because Thomas would get a great deal of help from the Marble slab company by providing penny with connections that she can use to increase the store’s success and it would save her time now that she got all the connection and purchasing power she needs. Another ability and privilege that comes with a franchise is that the financial risk of any financial disaster is reduced and the consequences wouldnt be as severe because the store is backed up by a large well-established company that acts as a safety net for Penny Thomas’s store, which is helpful and the store can feel more secure. On the other hand, marketing budget was set at $10,000, which can cover all the costs of the grand opening adequately, which is good for the starting company because budget is tight for any new project and e fficiency is a key player in making the starting of this store follow more smoothly. Marketing capability wise, Penny Thomas enjoys Marble Slabs already existing prominent name, so the store isnt a new store that the target market must discover and learn about. Therefore, the franchisor made Thomas’s promotional task easier, and many existing Marble Slab customers will come to this location. As well, Marble Slab is already known for its high quality products that many customers around the 37 Ontario locations enjoy and crave. Thomas’s operational activities offer a great deal of mainly quality, freshly made ice-cream, with the option of letting the customer customize their purchases with a choice of toppings blended into their ice-cream flavour of choice, these choices include fruit pieces, candy and specialty nuts. These blends were made by a Marble Slab employee on a marble granite slab it also serves kosher, low-diet frozen yogurt, sundaes, floats, soft drinks and i ce-cream cakes. All these activate differentiate Marble slab from any competition giving them a competitive advantage that leads to more sales. Moving on to human resources, Thomas is blessed with the degree from Richard Ivey school of business, help of her daughter who also graduated from Ivey and valuable 25 years worth of experience working for the Hudson Bay company and she was familiar with her father’s past AW restaurant that he owned. This helps her greatly, because she knows what to expect and she is a very wise women in the field of business. She is also enjoying the expertise and network of the Marble Slab’s company, that helps her get started with the help of her network and make her avoid wrong decisions that were made in the past. Marble Slab’s employees must be well trained to handle all the machines and blending techniques so they can achieve the whole Marble slab’s experience that the customer expects. Employees are also highly hygienic be cause the work requires lots of hand work. External Analysis: The economy this year is going through a difficult recession in the United States. Which raises fears on how the Canadian economy will get affected later with the decline in Canadian exports and the commodity prices, only one wonders how the recession will hit Canada. But the consumer spending and the Canadian GDP are still growing. This instability raises fears for the business, maybe hurting it in the future because if the recession does hit, less consumers will be able to afford the quality of Marble Slab so sales will decline. Also because Marble Slab deals with dairy products, cocoa and sugar commodities, in which always fluctuate in price and never stable depending on supply and demand of the market. That may hurt or help the business because prices might fall to less than expected, increasing the marginal profit or increasing to more than expected, decreasing the marginal profit. Socially, Thomas’s business is expected to decline in winter months, bec ause of Canada’s long harsh winters, because less people get a craving for good ice cream in the winter months than in the summer. Ice cream is also became a popular snack within the people, with the average Canadian consuming 8.4 litters annually in 2007. Also, the companys good quality products give the store an advantage of having people to like to show off in a way Marble Slab’s ice cream while they are eating it with their friends. Also, there is growing health a trend growing that pushes people to look for healthier ways to snack such as frozen yogurt, in which Marble Slab’s serves their customers. Competitive Analysis: Marble Slabs direct competitions in the market are Baskin Robins and Dairy Queen. Baskin Robins always had a strong presence in the Canadian Market. They have their stores present in good locations with high traffic for customers convenience. They serve 31 original high quality flavours, with the same price range as Marble Slab. Baskin Robins also enjoys a fortune of resources and promotional power. Though Baskin Robins has all these features, they dont give their customers the option of customizing their purchase like Marble Slab does. Marble Slab can compete with them by keeping the prices in the same range while emphasizing to the target market the option for customers to customize their purchases. This way Marble Slab would have a competitive advantage over Baskin Robins. Baskin might respond to this by introducing the same option we offer or decreasing their prices. The other direct competition to Marble Slab is the world-wide restaurant of Dairy Queen, whi ch served the same category of products with the option of customized purchase to their customer as marble slab does, but Dairy queen also sells hot food items such as hotdogs, burgers and fries. On top of that, they targeted the family markets because they also offer friendly-kid options. Dairy Queen is present in high traffic areas such as malls. Marble Slap therefore, has to try to avoid competing with Dairy Queen by targeting a market other than families, and at the same time focus on the quality of Marble Slabs products and show customers that they may be paying more but the quality they are gaining is much more than Dairy Queen. Dairy Queen might respond to this by increasing the quality of their products and focusing on the hot foods that they serve and promote it more to attract more customers. For competitive positioning map (see Exhibit #1). In addition to Marble Slabs direct competition, Marble Slab has three indirect competition; McDonalds, Starbucks and Grocers and convenience stores. McDonalds is the worlds largest fast food chain restaurant. Other than hot foods, they offer soft-serve dessert items such as ice cream, milk shakes and the Mcflurry. McDonalds is present in high traffic areas and offers a drive thru for customers in a hurry. They have cheap prices that anyone can afford in Canada, but also serve low quality products. McDonalds may seem like tough competition but it is not because it serves limited options for its customers. Marble Slab should focus on their quality and the unique Marble Slab way of making their products and making it more accessible for customers by adding a drive thru option. McDonalds wouldnt respond because their main goals arent about frozen desserts, they care more about their hot foods. A second indirect competition to Marble Slab is Starbucks, which is a premium retailer of coffe e dessert and fresh food items. Starbucks gives its customer a cozy atmosphere and wireless internet. Like Marble Slab, it offers high quality products for premium prices. Marble Slab already serves better quality choices and options of ice cream which gives a competitive advantage to Marble Slab. Marble Slab can also compete with Starbucks by giving the same cozy atmosphere in the restaurant but also suitable for younger children. Starbucks will respond to this by introducing new drinks which will appeal to children. The third indirect competition is the mass produce ice cream companies that distribute to grocers and convenience stores. These products appeal to a lot of people because they vary in prices and they are really accessible for customers because they are sold in grocery or convenience stores. Problem with this is that they are not always fresh and full of ingredients that keep the product fresh which can be harmful to the customer. Marble Slab can compete with this by se lling their mixes and their ice creams at a number of grocery and convenience stores in the future. For competitive positioning map(see Exhibit #1). Consumer Analysis There are three target market options that will probably appeal to Marble Slab, families, young adults and women. Families with children under 15 years of age are the best potential customers. Children represent the bottom of the population pyramid, which means that they are more than any other target market. Families eat ice creams when they go out with their children and the children ask their parents to buy them ice cream to satisfy their sweet tooth. Families are willing to buy mostly on weekends at locations near parks while taking the kids out, and inside malls while shopping. The second target market are young adults that age from 15-24 years of age who have some or full independence, and can spend their disposable income on social interactions. Young adults find ice cream a popular after a long day at work or at school or just simply to chill out. Young adults are influenced to buy from Marbles by seeing famous people or their idles eat Marble slabs Ice crea m. Young Adults would purchase an ice cream from shopping centres while they are shopping or beside a high school or a college when they are on break or after class. As good as the young adults target market sounds, it is very competitive because there is already a lot of ice cream outlets targeting this group. Which leads to the last target market†¦ Women, which are the best target Market for Thomass Marble Slab creamery. Because women are the caregivers and dominant grocery shoppers in our society, they also do more shopping than men in general, and they are more health conscious, which is good for the stores low-fat snacks. Women are influenced to purchase from Marble Slab when seeing skinny models satisfying their taste buds by enjoying their tasty Marble Slab snack, while still keeping their bodies fit. Women are everywhere, they can purchase from shopping malls, streets, gyms, parks and colleges at any time of the day, any day of the week, but mostly weekends. And women s pend alot of time at malls so Marble Slab would be a great snack for them. 4Ps {Product} Marble Slab is a franchise that differentiates itself from other ice-cream outlets because it serves their customers high quality, top of the line products. With the option of customizing their purchases by choosing different flavour blends and mixins which included, fruit pieces, candies and specialty nuts. Mixins were blended by employees on a marble granite slab. Also Marble Slab offers Kosher for the Jewish customers and a wide variety of different milkshakes, frozen yogurt, sundaes, milkshakes, floats, ice cream cakes, soft drinks and newly added fat-free frozen yogurt. The product that Thomas should focus and promote the most is Childs size ice cream because it is fairly popular and it appeals to her target market which is women, because it is a small portion with less calories and very tasty. {Price} Marble Slab is a franchise; therefore it doesnt have any power of changing of prices.(For unit contributions of products see exhibit 3) It requires Thomas to sell 7764 units of Childs size ice cream to break even and start making a profit. (see exhibit 2). Childs size ice cream is the product that will be promoted with the promotion of the grand opening, because it appeals to womens needs; its small and tasty. But the company gave Thomas the flexibility of prices in catering. Thomas should choose the Sundae bar catering option because it gets the most profit selling less units to break even than the other options. Sundae Bar needs 57 customers to breakeven the costs while the Ice Cream social needs 59 customers to break even and start making a profit.(see exhibit 4) The portable Slab option is unaffordable because there is only $685 left from the $10,000 budget that was set for the promotion, and $2,500 are needed for additional equipment.(exhibit 5) Thomas should keep her pr ice at the average which is $6.95 per person because price wars may lead to bankruptcy and because she is located in a busy area beside a university and a shopping street. Therefore, will get a lot of catering offers because it is where a lot of students and women who are either shopping or hanging around or at university would probably come and party on birthdays and other occasions. {Placement} Thomas should open her Marble Slab restaurant in the Toronto Annex Area. Although it has a smaller population of any of the four options, The Annex area has a lot of traffic from the university that is there and it is very close to Bloor Street, which is a major shopping street. This location is the most appropriate for the Creamery because Thomass target market is women. And women are the primary shoppers in society and the university probably has a high percentage of females attending it. So this location is located in the heart of where many women walk for either shopping or going to class. The location will also help have a more successful grand opening because it is exposed to people who go thru that busy area. {Promotion}To effectively promote the new store for the grand opening, Thomas should spend $2,120 on two street level media unit, in the Toronto Annex area , because the street media would be exposed to the people shopping and in university, showing them that a light, low fat snack from Marble Slab would be delicious while shopping or after class. In addition, Thomas should purchase two 10Ãâ€"20 feet billboards costing $2950 that would be located in high traffic roads. These billboards and street media should show a visual image of the creaminess, lightness and taste of a super premium Ice cream, preferably a childs size ice cream with one mixin, because it is small in calories and it would be best to promote. The advertisement will have a beautiful athlete physically-fit model eating from it. That way it will appeal to the target markets taste buds and show that you can stay healthy and fit while still eating delicious food. Thomas should also spend $645 on a daytime radio commercial for 30 seconds and $650 on a radio commercial at breakfast time. Thomas should purchase those times because morning time is the most time that people tune in to listen to the radio while they are eating breakfast or driving to work. And the other commercia l at daytime is effective, because it is when most people are awake and thinking of things to eat to get on with their day. Both types of promotion should emphasize the good quality, freshness and low fat in Marble Slabs products. All this adds up to $9315, which is less than the budget of $10,000 with an excess of $685. (See Exhibit 5) Confidently, this report will satisfy Penny Thomass wants and needs. This report discussed in detail the corporate capabilities, consumer analysis, competition analysis and the external analysis of the franchise. And from studying all these factors, the most suitable product, location, price and promotion were chosen for the grand opening of this franchise within the budget of $10,000. In conclusion, this marketing plan was designed to boost the businesss success from the start of the grand opening and for the many years to come. Surely, the Marble Slabs headquarters will approve of this report and would be anxious to see the results when the grand opening is on May 2008.

The Function of the Shawl in Ozicks The Shawl Essay -- Cynthia Ozick

The Function of the Shawl in Ozick’s â€Å"The Shawl† Suffering becomes a way of life for Magda, Stella and Rosa, as they struggle to survive during the Holocaust. During these trying times, some cling to ideals and dreams, while others find unusual vessels of hope – like the shawl – to perdure in their austere living conditions. Although the shawl becomes a source of conflict between Magda, Stella and Rosa in this narrative, it also serves as a pivotal force and a motivational factor. In Ozick’s â€Å"The Shawl†, a small wrap allows its owners to triumph over the adversities of a concentration camp, the â€Å"magic shawl† comforts, nourishes, protects and prolongs life. For Magda, the shawl serves as a magical place, a place of transition and latent life, it acts as a figurative surrogate mother, a pacifier, nourishment and comfort. Hidden away in her warm little cocoon, Magda is not only protected but concealed from the Nazis. When she is wrapped up in the shawl on Rosa’s chest as an infant, Magda is mistaken for Rosa’s breasts, she would â€Å"have been dead already, but had been buried deep inside the magic shawl† (paragraph 6). If it wasn’t for the shawl’s protection, Magda could not have been soothed and comforted by warmth and nourishment as she was during her short life. Not only is the shawl her cocoon, it is also a pacifier for starving Magda’s screams, it nourishes her with its â€Å"good flavor, milk of linen† (paragraph 3) â€Å"for three days and three nights† (paragraph 4). Magda sucks it and wraps herself in it to be very still (paragraph 7) and she guards her shawl â€Å"like a tiger† (paragraph 7). Her instinct is to protect the one thing she knows and loves, the shawl has provided Magda with the basic necessities she need... ...tic and unimaginable of circumstances. Despite the horrifying circumstances she faces, a malnourished, selfless Rosa tries her hardest to be the best mother she can be to her innocent child. Unable to continuously keep Magda safe, nourished and comforted, Rosa counts on the shawl to keep Magda out of harms way, the shawl indirectly becomes a great source of comfort for Rosa because it allows her to know that her baby is safe and sound. Stella wants this comfort, this protection, and so she steals the shawl and murders Magda. In Ozick’s â€Å"The Shawl†, the shawl serves as a source of comfort, nourishment, protection, and life, for Magda, Stella and Rosa during the Holocaust. WORKS CITED Ozick, Cynthia. â€Å"The Shawl†. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Ed. Edgar V. Roberts. 4th Compact Ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2008. 230-233.

Biblical Worldview Essay

Through examining Romans, chapters 1-8, we see Paul covers a variety of theological and apologetic information for the Christ followers. In writing to the followers in the church in the city of Rome He makes it clear he wishes he could visit them (Romans 1:8-17) but is writing this letter to clear up the dissension between an identity crisis between the Jewish and Gentile members of the church as to whether they were to live by the law or by grace. Through this letter he writes many of the foundations of what it looks like to be a follow of Jesus and what that means for our battle with our nature and understanding our identity. Paul addresses the natural world, recognizing the hard truth about where it is in relation to God. He describes the opposition the natural world will have towards God and His will. He gives clear words that God is the Creator of our world, assigning Him as the cause. Paul states that the creation of the world itself is God’s way of showing His invisible qualities (Romans 1:18-21). He did this to show Himself to us and there are people who will choose to neglect giving glory to God and/or recognize Him for what they have in thankfulness. Paul recognizes the problem with the natural world is that they have chosen to worship the created things rather than the One who created it (Romans 1:25). He states the origin of this fall of the natural world saying, â€Å"just as sin entered the world through one man, and death came through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned† (Romans 5:12). While Paul makes this clear, this is not his focus. He does no t only look at the fact that we do not measure up and are all sinners, rather he continuously points to who we are apart from that because of God’s grace and righteousness. Paul notes in our most basic level we are of a sinful nature and slaves of that identity from our birth in the flesh (Romans 5:12-14). All of us are sinners (Romans 3:9). However through Jesus and the work He did on the cross we are free to live apart from a sin slavery and in Christ’s redemption for us (Romans 3:24). We are justified in Him through our faith in Him and do not have to prove ourselves through the law; all the law does is prove our sinfulness (Romans 3:27-28). We are loved by Christ if He would die for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:6-8). We are promised eternity with Him through our faith in Him (Romans 6:5-7, Romans 6:22-23). We are called to live apart from sin as Christ followers (Romans 6:11-14), living as an instrument for God. He also speaks of us now being vessels of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9). Paul speaks of our identity being renewed and justified and sanctified very often but also speaks of our relationships with humans. Paul makes one thing loud and clear for everyone to understand, all are sinners and in equal need of God’s free gift of grace and salvation. No one is better than another (Romans 3:9-24). This was a point he belabored so much through his writing so much I believe because this was a source of division and problems in the church in Rome. People tried to claim that one might be better than another, but Paul wanted it to be clear to the Romans that they were to understand all are equal; no one should be treated as less than yourself. This is because each one of them deserved a death that they were saved from undeservedly by Jesus. He also wanted it to be very clear that we are not adequate to be the judge of anyone else for we are guilty of the same things and will be judged by God for them (Romans 2:1-3). He also makes it clear that we are to use our lives to serve and help other people, not just ourselves (Romans 2:6-11). Paul speaks all of these things to a group of people, whi ch will have an impact on the culture. Paul wrote to the Romans at a time where Rome was one of the largest cities of its time. In Rome there were far more influences and religions that just Christianity and I believe this is why he so strongly wanted to establish their faith and doctrine and unite them. HE spoke to the Christians that they are no longer slaves to the law but slaves to righteousness (Romans 6:15-19). The Roman Christians would be examples to the culture that is so counter to what it means to be alive and free in Christ. For the culture Paul spoke of â€Å"claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator† (Romans 1:22-25). Paul left the Roman Christians with an encouragement to stay strong and know the God they serve makes them conquerors in the presence of this culture (Romans 8:28-35). The things Paul spoke of would greatly affect your worldview. When looking at a worldview I note a few certain questions: What was the cause of it all? What is wrong with the world? What is the solution? Is there anything after death? Finally, what is our purpose for existence in light of the prior? Paul builds a sound doctrine and worldview for the people in Rome as he answers each one of those questions clearly. He states the Lord created this earth and all creation. He then says the problem with the world is Sin. The solution is made clear through the free gift of our God and our belief in it through faith. He answers the final question if the first four questions are true by saying we then shall go on living freely in a relationship with Him devoting ourselves to Him, knowing we will spend eternity with Him. This worldview will dramatically change how our lives are spent and what we live for. Bibliography The Holy Bible, New International Version

Principles of Supporting Change in a Business Environment Essay

Change occurs frequently and rapidly in the workplace. Change in business has become the norm and businesses need to evolve to keep up with the demands of the modern world. Most of the people regard change as intimidating. It is often natural. It has great significance in business thus change does bring good for the business. So why does change happens? There are two main reasons for the changes in a business environment: 1. Reactive change- pressure to change (PEST) – POLITICAL – it is when government changes policies, regulation, etc which business needs to adapt to stay within the new laws; international changes or conflicts force business to change; legislations whether they domestic or international or future; – ECONOMIC- it is when domestic or international competitor’s behavior, trends or tax and interest rates change which forces the changes in the business; – SOCIAL- it often happens when customers demands, buying preferences change, as well as when events, media views or advertising makes business Identify the main reasons for reviewing working methods, products and / or services in a business environment. Once your business is established and running well, you may be inclined to let things continue to run as they are. However, it’s actually time to plan again. After the crucial early stages, you should regularly review your progress, identify how you can make the most of the market position you’ve established and decide where to take your business next. You will need to revisit and update your business plan with your new strategy in mind and make sure you introduce the developments you’ve noted. Reviewing your progress will be particularly useful if you feel: †¢ uncertain about how well the business is performing †¢ unsure if you’re getting the most out of the business or making the most of market opportunities †¢ your business plan may be out of date, e. g. you haven’t updated it since you started trading †¢ your business is moving in a direction different to the one you had planned †¢ the business may be becoming unwieldy or unresponsive to market demands It is also useful if you have decided that your company is ready to move on to  another level. When a business is going through change: a) Describe the different types of support that people may need. Everyone is different that is way some people may find change as something stimulating and exciting making them perform better others may find it very hard and difficult to adapt. This is way this type of people need extra time and support to get use to change happening in the work place. Theory suggests that these people will go through what is called: Change Performance Curve: Shock – The initial reaction can sometimes be shock, this will automatically reduce the individuals performance as they will fear the unknown. Denial – This is when the individual will stay focused in the past and the ‘way things used to be done’. The fear of the ‘new way’ may cause the individual to continue to complete their tasks the ‘old way’. Anger – Once the initial feelings have been dealt with denial slowly turns to anger. Depression – Once the individual finally realises that the change is going to happen, they enter the depression stage The individual accepts that the change is happening. Integration But there are different types of support that can help people during change. These include: †¢ Effective planning ( plan the change an inform people of the change) †¢ Participation ( let people be involved in the process) †¢ Training or retraining ( provide training so stuff if prepared for new tasks) †¢ Encouragement or other supportive behaviours ( provide support by encouraging not criticizing- good communication can really help people accept a change more quickly. Counselling or coaching b) Explain the benefits of working with others. As said above good communication can really help people accept a change more quickly. Working as a team can really help to adapt to change and helps people get through Change Performance Curve easier as they can help each other in dealing with new and more complex tasks. You will be able to help support your colleagues if they are finding something challenging and vice versa. It is important to remember that to support and work with colleagues effectively you will need to keep a positive outlook yourself. Understand how to respond to change in a business environment 1. In relation to your current business environment (or one that you are familiar with): a) Explain why you should respond positively to changes in working methods. When change occurs in a business it is important to see it as something positive. This will help to make the process a lot easier, even though the benefits may not be immediately obvious. If employees see change as a bad thing, they will soon become demotivated, which will affect The quality and efficiency of the business. While sometimes it may be difficult to accept change, employees need to be able to adapt to whatever they are presented with. Businesses need employees who have positive attitudes; they want people who say ‘I can do that’ not ‘I can’t do that’. A positive attitude can go a long way to help solve problems in difficult situations. b) Explain why you should respond positively to changes in products or services. Changes can be either expected or unexpected but nowadays change is a permanent phenomenon. I work in retail and I know that changes in this type of business is someting that cannot be forgotten or ignored. As an employee of one of the biggest beauty retailer in the UK I see almost everyday changes in the work place that take place to improve products and services we provide. I know it is very important to keep up with customers‘ demands and market innovations. It is very important to stay positive about this changes to make sure you do your best to help the business you work for improve and stay on top along other similar businesses. Staying positive also helps to secure you job position as employers want to have employees who are willing to adapt and are positive about their work and personal development. c) Identify ways of responding positively to change. Every employee seeks positive response to change from their employees. Ways of responding positively to change are: †¢ A willingness to learn(understanding the importance of learning new information for both current and future problem solving and decision making.