Revenue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Revenue - Essay Example Income encompasses both revenue and gains.† (ec.europa.eu, p. 2) Revenue: â€Å"IAS 18 defines revenue as ‘the gross inflow of economic benefits during the period arising in the course of the ordinary activities of an entity when those inflows result in increases in equity, other than increases relating to contributions from equity participants† (ACCA, 2013.) Gain: â€Å"An increase in the value of an asset or property. A gain arises if the selling or disposition price of the asset is higher than the original purchase or acquisition price† (Investopedia, n.d.) Normally the word ‘profit’ is used in business context in the place of gain. It is also very important that that revenue and the related expenses should be matched with the accounting period, and this is called matching principle. â€Å"When the selling price of a product includes an identifiable amount for subsequent servicing that amount is deferred and recognised as revenue over the pe riod during which the service is performed. The amount deferred is that which will cover the expected costs of the services, together with a reasonable profit on those services† (ACCA 2013). ... sale and repurchase should be dealt with together. Section 14 of IAS 18 stipulates the conditions for revenue recognition in respect of sale of goods. These following two conditions are relevant for discussion in respect of accounting of transaction related to Witney. (a) the entity has transferred to the buyer the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods; (b) the entity retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the goods sold; Section 20 states â€Å"When the outcome of a transaction involving the rendering of services can be estimated reliably, revenue associated with the transaction shall be recognised by reference to the stage of completion of the transaction at the end of the reporting period.† This principle is relevant for discussion in respect of support services to PC4U. Case Study Sale of electrical goods When sale has been accounted properly, the goods covered should no t be treated as stock; and the sale is not treated as stock by the company. Snowfall and delay in delivery cannot alter the position. Once the goods are despatched to the buyer, the seller has no control over the same. The following conditions u/s 18 are important in this respect (a) the entity has transferred to the buyer the significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods and (b) the entity retains neither continuing managerial involvement to the degree usually associated with ownership nor effective control over the goods sold. Therefore, no adjustment is required on account of this transaction. Contract with Witney The total amount owing to Ibi Ryan from Witney is ?600,000 at 31st March. It is assumed that includes the sum

Evaluating the Company Situation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Evaluating the Company Situation - Assignment Example The competitors of the company are Emirates, Etihad, and Qatar. The competitors today fly in more than a hundred destinations while Oman Air only flies to 43 destinations. As a result, Oman Air should focus on advertising and promotion to get more clients from different destinations. Emirates use the cost leadership strategy to outdo Oman Air; Etihad and Qatar use the differentiation strategy that is the strength to them. The weakness with the three competitors is that their services are very expensive compared to Oman Air (Porter, 2004). The entire Oman Air Company has established a very god international reputation based on the goods and services it offers its clients. Organization growth may be to the individual accomplishments of the company. The political environment of Oman Air home country is very conducive to enable it carries out business as usual. The government also favors the company since through the legal regulations it has reduced the taxes that the business is obligated to pay. The economic conditions are also good since the home country is stable economically which will enable the company to move forward and get more profits. They are also aware of how best they can help to ensure that the company achieves its set goals and objectives. Oman Air is an industry leader (Yudelson, 2009). Several sessions of communication have already been put in to help the company be in line with the laws of the country. In addition, strategies have been put forth to make sure that each employee is on companys progress, as well as new regimes. Further employees are informed about the expectations of the enterprise on the improvements of Technology so that it can remain relevant to the industry (Yudelson, 2009). The Oman Air company has a very high growth rate. It also has significant revenue and profitability 0f about $ 34,657, 876. It is also the domestic market leader. It has also been provided with a lot

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System

Exploring the aims of the Mercantile System Mercantilism is the main economic system, which is used within the 16th to 18th centuries. Its main goal is to increase the wealth of the country through imposing governmental regulation concerning all of the commercial interests in the nation. It was argued that national strength can be maximized through limiting the amount of imports via tariffs and raising the amount of exports. It discusses that the economic strength of every country is related mainly to the repair of positive trade balance. It aims at the idea of making every country use export techniques more than import techniques as a way to remain in an economic and political viable position. So, positive trade balance upon the mercantilist thought concludes in a way of using gold in the practice of countrys treasury (Mark Blaug). The Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723-1790) was the man who was responsible for the term mercantile system. So, mercantilism was in a contrary side of Smiths ideas of free enterprise, free trade, and the free move of people and goods. One of the main assertions of mercantilism is the national wealth that will appear through the accumulation and import of gold or any other precious metals, like silver (Paul Johnson). Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the 19th century (Lars Magnusson). Mercantilism, being a historical period, had been associated with the increase of a particular structure of capitalism in Europe which referred to it to be merchant capitalism. It was a doctrine developed by different economic writers in this period that call for the powerful alliance among the monarchial system and merchants. Nowadays, the mercantilism term is used to view the protectionist trade policies when combined with other governmental policies, directly or indirectly in particular industries to acquire the regional or national trade advantage. Mercantilism has associated with the nationalistic economic policies shunned by free trade and advocates that argue for minimum state interference in the international and domestic marketplace (Henry William Spiegel). The mercantile system stated different policies of nationalistic trade thought to acquire the wealth of the nation. It can be achieved via five basic elements of mercantilism, as indicated by David L. Sills: The first one is nationalism and policy start together with all possible policy directed towards the nationalism. The second element is foreign trade that should always be thought of in light of its effects on the states stock of owning precious metals. The third one is lacking domestic mines of gold or silver; the precious metals should be collected by excess the exports over the imports. The forth element is governmental trade authorities that should strive to limit imports and give encouragement to exports. The last element is the economic and political foreign policy that should be coordinated in order for the achievement of these goals (Mark Blaug). While most of them closely associated with 18th century in Europe, the mercantilism term has been used in order to refer to the aggrandizements general principle of state authority for the economic benefit of the capitalist class through controlling and manipulating trade. For example, during the colonial times it took the shape of military control on trade routes and large tariffs imposed on imported goods in general and manufactured products in particular (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist practices rationale, upon the imperatives of colonial conquest and empire, had been reflected in the eighteenth century concepts of the profits origin and the exchange nature. While being the goal of for-profit entity, the mercantilists managed to apply this opinion to the whole nation. This is in contrary to the belief of the ideology of marketplace done by classical economists. This exchange should be done on the aspect of equivalents. Moreover, mercantilists believed that the seller can gain via the loss of the buyer. Therefore, the nation will become richer when it sells or exports more than it buys or imports. Gold or any other money sources will be amassed to benefit the state. The opinion related to the surplus or profit happened in the unequal exchange in commodities was perfectly cope with the mercantilist policy in controlling the trade terms (Paul Johnson). Mercantilism had played an important role but not a dominant role in the transition period from feudalism to the industrial capitalism. However, mercantilism did benefit greatly large merchant companies to ship home goods through trade routes maintained and protected by the country. Foreign trade was the necessary thought to be done for gold accumulation because the domestic trade cannot generate a net profit or surplus. Struggling by this view of the profits origin, merchants used exports as a necessary means of acquiring surplus profits. The merchants, such as all better policy makers, argued that using this policy would benefit in turn the whole state Henry William Spiegel). These policies in order to achieve these goals involving state subsidies of the export industries, high tariff was used to encourage home production in the prohibition on the gold sale to foreigners, the subsidization of basic industries when necessary, the control over certain kinds of capital, and the relentless gold import and the raw materials from different colonies. The most of these policies contained strict control in trade routes and the prices stabilization in state currency (Steele G. R.). Throughout the mercantilist period, the merchants had controlled the trading system, but not the production of services and goods. Before the start of industrial capitalism, the production was on the line of crafts system that embodied remnants of the very old feudal arrangement. In addition, the industrial capitalism emerged the merchants power. They would come to see them taking over or being involved in the production means that would enhance their profits through giving them the control over the labor productivity. However, the merchants cannot control the production means, as the primary concern lies on selling and buying. The policies of mercantilists encouraged the imports of raw materials that in turn can be manufactured to make different products. The finished goods can be sold and exported subsequently in high price in comparison with the original cost. So, it found its way to the treasury of the nation (Mark Blaug). The foundation of the mercantile system started with the beginnings of the capitalism in sixteenth and seventeenth century in Europe. At this time France, Spain, and some of the Low Countries as Holland and Belgium were transformed into economies in merchant-dominated. So, the modern states were emerging of being as a political complement in the merchant economy. This system indicated that it was regulated by the competitive labor market. It led to the formation of a new class of people that found them being free from feudal system to the land to be only forced to sell the labor to ensure subsistence. The emerging was also a class of manufacturing and industrial entrepreneurs recruited from the declining merchant class (Lars Magnusson). The merchant class paved the way of losing control over the new economic system to the forces of the capitalist competition when profits and price were regulated through the accumulation and production of capital. When trading was essential for the emerging of industrial capitalist system, the transactions were viewed as a sharing out in the total of selling price among the purchasers and buyers, including the merchant. The concept of mercantile idea, which trade led to the profits in the whole system, paved the way to the opinion of the classical economist that the production and reinvestment of profit was the actual source of the wealth of countries (Paul Johnson). When the general perception of the term of mercantilism being one of a very long era in the history of economic thought, the mercantilist authors were business and professional people that wrote and made known of their thoughts in a long time before economics came to be a separate academic discipline. Many representative of the mercantilist writings were English and French writers of the 17th century. These practical thinkers sought the protection, order, and stability essential for the expansion of their activities. This in turn will benefit the state. In exchange for the military protection of the trading routes, they succeeded in acquiring the monopolistic subsidization from crown when the country extends its material means for the colonization. Wealth found to both the merchant elite and the state in form of gold and different raw materials to add its value, and then exported in form of the finished goods. Mercantilists saw production to be very important because it only led to t he surplus of exports (Mark Blaug). When the merchant class had been far from cohesive, the disagreements about policy in the merchant class were different to the aims of a common goal of expanding the extent of trade surplus. The mercantilists encouraged exports, except the machinery, plant and equipment, which might help foreign competitors. They discouraged imports, except in raw materials and precious metals. The colonies, including the Americas, had served as a primary export market and the tax revenue source, military bases, and a source of silver, gold, and raw materials. The strong navy and the military war machine were vital to the maintenance and implementation of these policies (Lars Magnusson). As production became more important, the capitalists realized that in controlling production, this would be possible to decrease costs, increase productivity, and undercut the competitors by lowering prices. The line of thinking led economists like Adam Smith to oppose the idea that gold constituted wealth. In the powerful critique of mercantilists, Adam Smith had pointed out that money reflected the wealth produced while expressing the value of goods and services that offered in the marketplace. Moreover, struggles among merchants in trade monopolies and prices made conflict to all the detriment concerned. Many criticisms of mercantilism had culminated in a devastating critique that is known as the specie flow mechanism. The Scottish philosopher and political economist called David Hume (1711-1776) had pointed out that the very success of a nations mercantilist policies will set in motion forces, which would tend to reverse trade surplus, through the normal operation in markets. All owing in the money free flow, at this time especially gold, it was discussed that would tend to result in balance of trade equilibrium (Lars Magnusson). While the specie-flow mechanism of Hume is the most known critique of the mercantilist thought, his opposition to mercantilist thinking started as early as the late 17th century. The main idea was that the success of mercantilist policies will trigger unintended consequences. So, the positive trade balance refers to money positive net flow, because a lot of money is coming in rather than going out. This situation would evolve where too much amounts of money is chasing few goods, where the system is operating in full capacity, money is not hoarded but kept in circulation. The only logical effect is to raise prices. As opposed to the countries mercantilist surplus, money is flowing out that result in the fall of prices. The deficit countries will become more competitive in time. Trade will shift their thinking resulting in trade equilibrium. That doctrine will later become known as the quantity theory of money (Mark Blaug). In light of historical influence, mercantilist policy expanded the decrease of the feudal economy and the system of guild crafts of production. The state policy and merchant system complemented each other. The main objective was to indicate growth of foreign trade while encouraging the inflow of the precious metals and the raw materials to which the value could be added for exports. So, mercantilism served to rapid the transition of Europe from the land-based economy to the monetary economy. Though pure mercantilism is considered a dead economic issue, but vestiges of it remain (Henry William Spiegel). Mercantilism, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, many European countries believed that the world wealth was finite and limited. Whatever one of the countries gained, the another one lost. In order to ensure their own share, those countries issued an economic policy calling it mercantilism. Because England had followed mercantilism, this policy affected profoundly the American colonies in the years that precede independence. The cornerstone of mercantilism is that the country supply of silver and gold reflected its wealth and its economic strength. In addition, the gold enabled countries to acquire military arms. The Countries worked in many ways to raise their silver and gold stores, but the foreign trade became the basic avenue. When exporting more goods than imported, the mercantile countries could demand the difference in gold which is the principal international currency of those times (Lars Magnusson). The trading countries such as England saw their colonies to be useful players in the mercantile game. It looked to its colonies for getting raw materials that could be obtained at low cost. So, colonies became markets for the English exports. By mercantilism, England had forged the early weaknesses and strengths of the young American economy. Starting from the first of the Navigation Acts in 1660, the laws passed during the 17th and 18th centuries tightened England control of the American trade and economy. For example, when requiring the colonies to trade through the British Empire, England had limited any trade competition might be presented by its colonies. The laws against manufacturing also forced the colonies to import manufactured goods from the mother country. The products manufactured were routed within England, and shipping was only limited to English or colonial carriers (Steele, G. R.). Mercantilism is economic nationalism for the purpose of building a wealthy and powerful state. Being an economic system, mercantilism leads to make foreign competition and discouragement of direct foreign investment. This term supposes  that the wealth of any nation will primarily depend on the ownership of precious metals as silver and gold, but this system cannot be achieved forever, because the universal economy would be stagnant when all countries wanted to make exports without imports. After a  very short time,  a lot of people started to act against the mercantilism idea and stressed the very bad need of free trade. The continuous pressure result was found in the implementation of laissez faire economics in the  19th century (Lars Magnusson). The most important economic rationale for mercantilism in the 16th century was the consolidation of the centers of regional power of the feudal era through large competitive nation-states. Other contributing factors were in the establishment of colonies out of Europe, the growth of commerce and industry in Europe relative to agriculture, and the increase in the breadth and volume of trade, and the increase in using metallic monetary systems, particularly silver and gold, relative to barter transactions. Within the mercantilist period, the military conflict among states was both more extensive and more frequent than at any time in history. The navies and armies of the main protagonists were not temporary forces raised to specify a specific threat or objective, but they were professional forces. The primary economic objective of the government was to command sufficient quantity of the hard currency to support the military that would deter attacks by other countries and help its own ter ritorial expansion. The policies took so many forms. Governments may provide capital to new industries, exempt new industries from guild rules and taxes, establish monopolies over local and colonial markets, and grant titles and pensions to successful producers. In trade policy the government assisted local industry by imposing tariffs, quotas, and prohibitions on imports of goods that competed with local manufacturers. Governments also prohibited the export of tools and capital equipment and the emigration of skilled labor that would allow foreign countries, and even the colonies of the home country, to compete in the production of manufactured goods. At the same time, diplomats encouraged foreign manufacturers to move to the diplomats own countries (Lars Magnusson). Shipping was particularly important during the mercantile period. With the growth of colonies and the shipment of gold from the New World into Spain and Portugal, control of the oceans was considered vitally important to national power. Because ships could be used for merchant or military purposes, the governments of the era developed strong merchant marines. In France Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the minister of finance under Louis XIV from 1661 to 1683, increased port duties on foreign vessels entering French ports and provided bounties to French shipbuilders (Steele, G. R.). In England the Navigation Laws of 1650 and 1651 prohibited foreign vessels from engaging in coastal trade in England and required that all goods imported from the continent of Europe be carried on either an English vessel or a vessel registered in the country of origin of the goods. Finally, all trade between England and her colonies had to be carried in either English or colonial vessels. The Staple Act of 1663 extended the Navigation Act by requiring that all colonial exports to Europe be landed through an English port before being reexported to Europe. Navigation policies by France, England, and other powers were directed primarily against the Dutch, who dominated commercial marine activity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries (Steele, G. R.). During the mercantilist era it was often suggested, if not actually believed, that the principal benefit of foreign trade was the importation of gold and silver. According to this view the benefits to one nation were matched by costs to the other countries that exported gold and silver, and there were no net gains from trade. For countries almost constantly on the verge of war, draining one another of valuable silver and gold was thought to be almost as desirable as the direct benefits of trade (Geoffrey Parker). Adam Smith refuted the idea that the wealth of a nation is measured by the size of the treasury in his famous treatise, The Wealth of Countries, a book rightly considered to be the foundation of modern economic theory. Smith made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist made a number of important criticisms of mercantilist doctrine. First, he demonstrated that trade, when freely initiated, benefits both parties. In modern jargon it is a positive-sum game. Second, he argued that specialization in production allows for economies of scale, which improves efficiency and growth. Finally, Smith argued that the collusive relationship between government and industry was harmful to the general population. While the mercantilist policies were designed to benefit the government and the commercial class, the doctrines of laissez-faire, or free markets, which originated with Smith, interpreted economic welfare in a far wider sense of encompassing the entire population (Lars Magnusson). While The Wealth of Nations is generally considered to mark the end of the mercantilist era, the laissez-faire doctrines of free-market economics also reflect a general disenchantment with the imperialist policies of nation states. The Napoleonic Wars in Europe and the Revolutionary War in the United States heralded the end of the period of military confrontation in Europe and the mercantilist policies that supported it. Despite these policies and the wars that they are associated with, the mercantilist period was one of generally rapid growth, particularly in England. This is partly because the governments were not very effective in enforcing the policies that they espoused. While the government could prohibit imports, for example, it lacked the resources to stop the smuggling that the prohibition would create. In addition, the variety of new products that were created during the industrial revolution made it difficult to enforce the industrial policies that were associated with mercantilist doctrine. By 1860 England had removed the last vestiges of the mercantile era. Industrial regulations, monopolies, and tariffs were abolished, and emigration and machinery exports were freed. In large part because of her free trade policies, England became the dominant economic power in Europe. Englands success as a manufacturing and financial power, coupled with the United States as an emerging agricultural pow erhouse, led to the resumption of protectionist pressures in Europe and the arms race between Germany, France, and England, which ultimately resulted in World War I (Geoffrey Parker). Protectionism remained important in the interwar period. World War I had destroyed the international monetary system based upon the gold standard. After the war manipulation of the exchange rate was added to the governments list of trade weapons. A country could simultaneously lower the international prices of its exports and increase the local currency price of its imports by devaluing its currency against the currencies of its trading partners. This competitive devaluation was practiced by many countries during the Great Depression of the thirties and led to a sharp reduction in world trade (Steele, G. R.). A number of factors led to the reemergence of mercantilist policies after World War II. The Great Depression created doubts about the efficacy and stability of free-market economies, and an emerging body of economic thought ranging from Keynesian countercyclical policies to Marxist centrally planned systems created a new role for governments in the control of economic affairs. In addition, the wartime partnership between government and industry in the United States created a relationship-the military-industrial complex, in Eisenhowers words-that also encouraged activist government policies. In Europe the shortage of dollars after the war induced governments to restrict imports and negotiate bilateral trading agreements to economize on scarce foreign exchange resources. These policies severely restricted the volume of intra-Europe trade and impeded the recovery process in Europe in the immediate postwar period (Geoffrey Parker). The economic strength of the United States, however, provided the stability that permitted the world to emerge out of the postwar chaos into a new era of prosperity and growth. The Marshall Plan provided American resources that overcame the most acute dollar shortages. The Bretton Woods agreement established a new system of relatively stable exchange rates that encouraged the free flow of goods and capital. Finally, the signing of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) in 1947 marked the official recognition of the need to establish an international order of multilateral free trade (Lars Magnusson). The mercantilist era has passed. Modern economists accept Adam Smiths insight that free trade leads to international specialization of labor and, usually, to greater economic well-being for all countries. But some mercantilist policies continue to exist. Indeed, the surge of protectionist sentiment that began with the oil crisis in the midseventies and expanded with the global recession of the early eighties has led some economists to label the modern pro-export, anti-import attitude as neomercantilism. (Steele, G. R.) Although several rounds of multilateral trade negotiations have succeeded in reducing tariffs on most industrial goods to less than 5 percent, trade in agricultural goods remains heavily protected though tariffs or subsidies in Europe, Japan, and the United States. Countries have also responded to GATT by erecting different nontariff barriers to trade. The Long Term Arrangement on Cotton Textiles (1962) was the first major departure from the key GATT rule of nondiscrimination. Discriminatory nontariff barriers are typically used by industrialized countries to protect mature industries from competition from Japan and newly industrialized countries like Brazil, Korea, and Taiwan. These nontariff barriers include voluntary export restraints, orderly marketing arrangements, health and safety codes, and licensing requirements. And the U.S. Jones Act, which prohibits shipment of goods between U.S. ports on foreign ships, is the modern counterpart of Englands Navigation Laws (Lars Magnusson ). Modern mercantilist practices arise from the same source as the mercantilist policies in the sixteenth to the eighteenth century. Groups with political power use that power to secure government intervention to protect their interests, while claiming to seek benefits for the nation as a whole. Of the false tenants of mercantilism that remain today, the most pernicious is the idea that imports reduce domestic employment. This argument is most often made by American automobile manufacturers in their claim for protection against Japanese imports. But the revenue that the exporter receives must be ultimately spent on American exports, either immediately or subsequently when American investments are liquidated. Another mercantilist view that persists today is that a current account deficit is bad. When a country runs a current account deficit, it is borrowing capital from the rest of the world in order to purchase more goods and services than it sells. But this policy promotes economic wea lth if the return on the capital borrowed exceeds the cost of borrowing. Many developing countries with high internal returns on capital have run current account deficits for extremely long periods, while enjoying rapid growth and solvency (Geoffrey Parker).

The Stone Angel - Theme of Pride :: Stone Angel

The Stone Angle - Theme of Pride Short Summation of Pride-Related Occurrences: The first reference to pride is in the second sentence of the novel: Hagar describes the Stone Angel as "my mother's angel that my father bought in pride to mark her bones and proclaim his dynasty†¦" (3). Hagar's father was a very proud man, a trait that was passed on to his daughter, and he takes great pride in this "terribly expensive" statue, which "had been brought from Italy" †¦ "and was pure white marble" (3). Hagar recollects exhibiting her pride as early as age 6 when she says "There was I, strutting the board sidewalk like a pint-sized peacock, resplendent, haughty, hoity-toity, Jason Currie's black-haired daughter" (6). Jason Currie was a "self-made man" who "had pulled himself up by his bootstraps" (7). Hagar was very proud of her father's success, seeing as how "he had be gun without money" (14). Hagar's father, because he worked so hard, took great pleasure in his store. She says, "Father took such pride in the store - you'd have thought it was the only one on earth. It was the first in Manawaka, so I guess he had due cause. He would lean across the counter, spreading his hands, and smile so wonderfully you'd feel he welcomed the world" (9). Mr. Currie had excessive self-esteem, as seen when the Reverend Dougall MacCulloch was calling out the names of the people who had contributed to help build the new church. Jason Curried leaned over and arrogantly said to his daughter "I and Luke McVitie must've given the most, as he called our names the first" (16).

Aqualisa Quartz: Simply a Better Shower Essay

INTRODUCTION Our report aims at developing a marketing plan for Aqualisa Quartz shower. The product was launched and in spite of being much better than the existing showers in the U.K market in terms of water pressure, ease of installation, use and design, it didn’t have very impressive sales figures in the first four months. This report delves into the details as to why the launch was not successful and what can be done now to improve the situation of the product and the company. It is very important to reflect on the ways through which a company can increase sales together with its brand quality because usually, there is a strong competition in the industry and the companies have to choose among the ways through which they might win the market and this requires a lot of research. Companies should be aware of one key concept which is â€Å"you can’t be everything to everybody.† Our report elaborates on the industry, the company, the customers and the product itself to give a n overview of the whole situation and finally, it suggests the recommendations and the implementation plan. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS Quartz entered the market when only about 60% of U.K homes had showers and archaic plumbing some of which dated back to the Victorian period was still common in many houses. There were two major problems regarding the shower system in the U.K: low pressure and high fluctuations in temperature, which were addressed through the use of either electric showers or special U.K shower valves. The three main types of shower that existed in the market were Electric showers, mixer showers and power showers each having their own positive and negative features. Electric showers had one advantage over the other two types and that was â€Å"not requiring hot water supply.† The disadvantage of such a shower was that the electrical components were usually mounted in a cumbersome white box which could be seen in the shower stall. Another weak point in these showers was that they had not solved the problem of low flow rate. Aqualisa sold electric showers under the separate brand name of â€Å" Gainsborough.†Electric showers covered 61% of the units sold in the market. (See EXHIBIT 1) The mixer shower which covered 30% of the  units sold in the market (see EXHIBIT 1) came in two types; manual and thermostatic. The thermostatic type created comfortable temperature but manual ones were very inconvenient. The mixer shower required both hot and cold water, additional pump to address pressure problems, and the installation typically required excavation of the bathroom. No wonder it was selling half the volume electric showers were selling. Aqualisa had Aquavalve and Aquavalve 609, the latter being the core product of the company. The third type was integral power showers which covered only 9% of the units sold in the market. These showers required both hot and cold water as well. The bulky box on the wall was another problem with these ones and more importantly, they were regarded as less reliable compared to mixer showers. Aqualisa’s primary product in this category was Aquastream thermostatic. What was noteworthy in the shower industry was the fact that there was hardly any innovative movement in the industry in terms of functionality ,that is to say, possible innovations mostly happened in the cosmetic part of the product and major manufactures recycled their product line every four or five years. Aqualisa could take advantage of this weak point in the industry and be the winner. The question that remained to be answered was how? CUSTOMER ANALYSIS Most customers disliked two major problems of the existing showers- poor pressure and varying temperature. Consumers complained about other problems as well. They were not happy with hard-to-turn valves, leaky seals and worn-out showers. On the other hand, brand awareness was very low among the customers and only one brand (Triton) had been able to build brand awareness at the customer level (see EXHIBIT 1). Shower buyers in the U.K fell into one of these three pricing segments: premium, standard and value. Customers in the premium segment cared about the style of the shower and the performance or service of the product was not of importance to them. They normally shopped in showrooms. On the contrary, customers in the standard segment preferred performance and the  service provided with the product and they usually relied on an independent plumber to recommend a shower to them. Thirdly, customers in the value segment were primarily concerned with convenience and price. They did not like the idea of excavation in their showers and they mainly relied on a plumber to select the product for them. In addition to these segments, there were two more segments: do-it-yourselfers and developers. Do-it-yourselfers shopped at retail outlets and were interested in cheap models that were easy to install and they did not care about the unattractive bulky shape of the showers. Landlords and apartment dwellers were the main customers and electric showers were the overwhelming choice in this segment. Finally, developers were the customers who preferred reliable, nice-looking products that could work in multiple settings. Besides, developers did not have to worry about the pressure problems because new houses were almost exclusively built with high-pressure systems. The important characteristic of this segment was their price sensitivity. Aqualisa, knowing this behavior, had sold them its redesigned Aquavalve showers under the brand name of ShowerMax at a lower price and the developers loved it because it gave them the Aquavalve technology at a remarkable lower cost. Are plumbers regarded as channels or customers? Channels are customers too. Either way, they are important buyers and, at the same time, influential ones. Plumbers tried to install a special shower wherever they normally went for a job because unfamiliar showers could bring about unknown problems regarding and a revisit to fix the problem led to an extra cost for the plumbers. Furthermore, plumbers could receive some sort of service form the manufacturer if they stuck to that special brand. Generally, plumbers did not trust innovation especially if it involved electronics because of their bad experiences with the poorly designed products in the past. They wanted a shower that was easy to install with a guarantee to not break down or require servicing. Plumbers had a remarkably strong involvement in mixer shower selection (48%) whether directly or indirectly (see EXHIBIT 2).Apart from that, 54% of the mixer shower installation was carried out by them (see EXHIBIT 3).Aqualisa had the second biggest market share in mixer showers having Aquavalve 609 as their core product in that category (see EXHIBIT 1). Aquavalve 609, selling 60000 units per year, was considered Aqualisa’s  top-selling shower and it was regarded by the plumbers as being a high-quality reliable mixer shower with state-of-the-art technology. Therefore, Plumbers perception of the brand was quite positive. THE COMPANY AND THE CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION Showers were sold through three channels of distribution, which were trade shops, showrooms and DIY outlets. Trade shops carried products of all the brands in the market and all they cared about was to make sure they had the right stock of products that were in demand. The main customer of trade shops were plumbers who worked for developers, showrooms, contractors and customers. Aqualisa brand was available in 40% of trade shops. The second channel was showrooms which tended to be more high-end. Showrooms often offered more than just showers and they offered installation services by subcontracting with contractors and plumbers. Aqualisa brand was sold in about 25% of them.DIY sheds offered discount, mass-market do-it-yourself products. Electric showers, being cheaper, were selling really well in this channel (see EXHIBIT 4).Aqualisa had no product in this channel but its Gainsborough was available in 70% of these outlets. Aqualisa’s brand had always been considered as a strong one in the U.K and the company had been recognized as having top-quality showers, a premium brand and a good service. The company’s market share in mixing showers was ranked second and ranked third in the overall U.K shower market. The company had to take these facts into consideration and not make a decision regarding positioning and target marketing that would lead to a decrease in these values. However, the company had encountered some problems too. There was a strong competition in terms of product quality in the first place and the company had to be on its toes to deal with this case. Moreover, Aqualisa products were seen to be overpriced and this was something the competitors could take advantage of. Also, in terms of services, Aqualisa had become a little sloppy and it had not improved its 10% rate of break down for many years. Although it had a 25% net return on sales, its future was not secured. PRODUCT ANALYSIS Aqualisa’s new product would eliminate almost all the problems that the customers had including the cumbersome box in the shower, the low pressure and the varying temperature. Aqualisa had come up with the idea of locating the mechanism remotely outside the shower which would eliminate the need for excavation. Aqualisa launched Quartz into the market after three years of development. The product came into two versions: standard shower designed for installations that already had a pump and pumped shower which included a pump. One of the key advantages of quartz was its ease of installation. While other showers took two whole days to install, Quartz would take only four hours and this was a great source of pleasure both for the customer and the plumber. In addition to all other advantages like high pressure, stable temperature, ease of installation and remote mechanism, the one touch control mounted on the shower wall was appealing to the customers as well. Quartz was loved by everyone; parents liked it because its automatic temperature control was safe for their children who could shower on their own now; the elderly loved it because they did not have to struggle with stiff valves and so on. Quartz had some other potential features as well, which had not yet been put into effect. The Body Jet product and the Slave Remote were two additional products that could boost the sales of the product in the future. The Body Jet product was so popular among women because they could wash their bodies without getting their hair wet and the slave remote enabled the consumer to control the temperature from a distance. STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS It is time to recommend the best target market to Mr. Rawlinson now. We would recommend that he choose the first option which is targeting the customers directly. Before we talk about the pros and cons of this approach, let’s consider the other two options which are targeting do-it-yourselfers and targeting developers. The do-it-yourself sheds, as said before, simply offer cheap and easy to assemble showers. Therefore, this place is not a proper place for a premium brand like Quartz. Besides, Quartz is an expensive product and it cannot be a fit in the DIY sheds; the customers who go there are basically looking for cheap showers rather than expensive ones no matter  what the function is. As long as the customer is unaware of the fantastic features of the new product he/she will not consider buying it when there are much cheaper alternatives which have proved to be good enough for their price. The advantage of targeting the DIV sheds is that because these outlets introduce easy to install showers, the customers who have that advantage in mind, will go there and they will get interested in the unique features of Quartz especially its ease of installation. As a result, some of them may buy the product and after experiencing the convenience in using it they will recommend it to others. The third option which is targeting the developers may seem interesting at first because they can have a huge volume of sales at the start and increase their profits but in practice, it is not going to be so. The developers want a very low price for their mass purchases and this is not what the company might want to encounter for two reasons; firstly, the image of the product as an innovative premium brand is lost and secondly, the company’s profits plummet due to the almost 50% discount that the developers might expect. If the company focuses on developers, it will only cover 15% of overall shower sales in the U.K (see EXHIBIT 6) while there is a much more potential for shower installation because of other reasons like replacement or new penetration. One might say that targeting developers is beneficial because developers subcontract plumbers to install the showers for them and the plumbers having experienced the ease of installation may use Quartz for their independent jobs as well. However, this does not sound practical because plumbers are not satisfied with electric showers whatsoever and they try to avoid new products because those types of showers might cause unprecedented problems which lead to extra costs for them. Apart from that, plumbers receive less installation fees working for 4 hours while with other products they will spend a lot more hours and receive higher installation fees. The first option which is targeting the customers directly seems less disadvantageous although it is more risky. As rule of thumb, higher risk is associated with higher return. Targeting the customers directly using the media might be costly but the probable high returns from that cover the  costs very quickly. A large scale campaign would cost about â‚ ¬3 million to â‚ ¬4 million over two years. The company is presently in a good financial status with 25% net returns on sales. Therefore, it would be rational if it used some of that profit on advertising its new product and thought of this expenditure as investment rather than cost. The breakeven point for Quartz is 18710 units (see EXHIBIT 5).Since Aqualisa has a good market share; it could definitely sell more than the breakeven point units. Total number of units sold in a year only for Aqualisa products (excluding Gainsborough) is 122000(see EXHIBIT 1).This big number looks promising. Here is what Aqualisa should do: It should have a large-scale advertisement on the product, flood the trade shops with the product and enjoy results! You might say this is insane and there is going to be a deadly cannibalization by applying this plan. Well, there might be some cannibalization but it does not do much. Let’s consider a pessimistic result in terms of units sold if cannibalization occurs. Currently, Aqualisa is yearly selling 6000 units of electric showers, 94000 units of Mixer showers and 22000 units of Power showers (see EXHIBIT 1). Assume that in case of cannibalization, the number of units sold per year change into: 0 units of electric showers, 70000 units of mixer showers, 15000 units of power showers and 30000 units of their new product, Quartz. By looking at the manufacturer’s price in EXHIBIT 8 and multiplying them by the number of units sold accordingly we can calculate the sales for each case. The normal case has sales of â‚ ¬37.3 million and the second case that happens after the launch of Quartz and the consequent cannibalization has sales of â‚ ¬44.71 million. It brings about a â‚ ¬7.41 million increase in sales (see EXHIBIT 9). Quite remarkable! The two channels that are proper for Quarts are trade shops and showrooms. Quartz has already attracted a lot of customers in the showrooms and the company just has to keep that excellence in place using their great service. Currently, only 40% of trade shops offer Aqualisa’s products. Aqualisa should improve this number to 70% or more through the launch of Quartz. In addition, this approach may encourage the plumbers to switch to Quartz as their default shower for installation although they might not like to switch to a new product with unprecedented f eatures. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN For the implementation plan, we will elaborate on the strategies the company should apply in terms of the 4Ps which are _product_, _price_, _placement_ and _promotion_. The product was analyzed in the product analysis sector and there is much more to say about it. Regarding price we should say that Quarts seems to be overpriced but in reality it is not. Here is the reason we claim so. Consider the top-selling product Aqualisa has in the market, that is to say, Aquavalve 609.the price of this product is â‚ ¬715.but once the customer buys the product the real costs begin to show themselves. This type of shower needs two days for complete installation which means 16 hours for the plumber; the plumber charges â‚ ¬60 per hour. Then, the installation fee is â‚ ¬960(16*60).there are also other costs like additional booster pump(â‚ ¬450) and excavation charge(â‚ ¬200).the sum of all these is â‚ ¬2325 which is the total cost for Aquavalve showers. Now let’s see how mu ch a Quartz Standard costs: â‚ ¬850 for product purchase and â‚ ¬240 for four hours of installation (4*60) and 450 for additional booster pump. No excavation is needed. The sum of these ones is â‚ ¬1560.it is remarkably lower than the one incurred by Aquavalve. The role of Promotion begins from this stage. The company should clearly inform the customers of the hidden charges of other showers (not mentioning Aquavalve) through the advertisements in different media like the TV, newspapers and magazines. On the whole, the company should implement a problem solving approach in their advertisements.This simple information will create a good image in the minds of the customers and they will know that the price is placed somewhere between their valuation of the product and the cost of it. The company could also apply transformational appeals in their approach regarding creative strategies to persuade the customer. One example would be displaying a happy businessman who has had a great day and at the end of the day when he wants to take a shower, he faces the low pressure or the varying temperature of the shower. The ad could quickly turn that situation to a pleasant one by focusing on Quartz and the difference it makes. The actions to be taken regarding product placement were mentioned in the recommendation part, which was targeting trade shops and showrooms as their channels of distribution. This creates a mainstream positioning ,which will be more profitable because the product is not highly priced if you look at it economically, taking all its advantages over the other showers into  consideration.

Romeo and Juliet speaking and listening

Shakespeare's way of writing stunned many people for decades and still to this day; we haven't fully grasped how powerful and how significant his writing style is. Many directors have pounced upon Shakespeare's plays to convert his excellence into a visual perspective that abuses all techniques conjured by the great man himself. The hall is full of people in their costumes, sipping their drinks intently and socializing; the mood is suddenly broken by a loud voice, ‘silence! ‘ people immediately bring their talking to a halt and look up in respect. Capulet, Juliet and other members of the house are perched atop a balcony looking down on the guests below to show superiority while also standing in a pyramid formation with Capulet at the front as I want show a hierarchy of power within the Capulet's. When Capulet continues to speak I want the camera to flick from the crowd to his bellowing mouth to capture the force he applies to his voice, Capulet should stand very up-right with his head held high and clasped hand's behind his back to portray his very formal and disciplined nature. Half way through, Capulet's welcome speech is interrupted by the music starting to play followed by the dancing of the crowd due to the encouragement of the music, at this point the camera should flick to a birds-eye-view of the guests then to a long shot of the hall to capture the excitement. Capulet's anger builds as he try's to restore order without succession, meanwhile Juliet and other members bury their faces in their hands at the whole ordeal, finally Capulet gives up and storms back to join the crowd along with the camera closely following behind his shoulders, his little tantrum triggers a ripple of laughter throughout the contented guests, the other Capulet's soon follow suit. After a few cut scenes of the guest's dancing; the camera flicks to Romeo wading his way through the crowd like a lost puppy, anxiously moving and depicting how he is an outsider to these people but is stopped in his tracks as he first lays eyes upon Juliet through a thin, porous, red curtain. The red symbolically representing passion and love and with it being in-between them; shows that it's making connection between them. His shoulders relax, his eyes blink incessantly and his anxiety goes away as he just stands there and watches while slow and romantic music plays throughout the hall, the camera then goes into an over the shoulder shot of Juliet on the other side of the red curtain showing her fiddling with a ring, then to look up and see Romeo slowly walking towards her, for a brief moment she blushes and let's out a long shaky breath. She then turns and walks away showing that she isn't that easy; Romeo then follows her like a dog on heat, Juliet weaves in and out of people and puts obstacles in-between her and Romeo to tease and test him to weigh if he is worthy or not, meanwhile the camera follows and focuses on them from a long shot as they move and talk. Finally she stops teasing him and he asks her for a dance, she flutters her eye lashes and reluctantly accepts as she takes his hand and they both slowly dance under dim glow of the hall. After a few short shots of the two of them dancing the camera changes to a shot that is filled by dark eyes and brow; the guests including Romeo can be seen in the reflection of his eyes, after a few second's the eyebrows slowly turn into a deep frown shortly followed by a deep and enraged voice as he spits out words to Capulet; asking for consent to stir up trouble with Romeo. The camera zooms out quickly to show the whole of Tybalt in a very stylish and slick tuxedo along with finely polished shoes, the corner of the hall where he is situated is darker in contrast to its merry surroundings; this is to immediately imply that this man is the evil one as that's the symbolic notion of darkness. Then I want the camera to focus on a candle up-close, with Tybalt and Capulet blurred out in the background, the flame should flicker when Tybalt speaks violently to show that he is almost connecting with evil and his anger is being expressed through the flame; further showing his wickedness. Capulet is gleefully clapping to the music and telling Tybalt in a firm voice, to restrain himself and leave the Montague alone, to not ruin this great day, Tybalt storms off back upstairs leaving behind strong grunt of frustration to the incapability of creating a fight with the enemy Montague, as he leaves, I want the camera to go back to the candle and as the shadow that is Tybalt slowly leaves; the flickering flame also slowly subsides to a still. After Romeo and Juliet's dance, they sit down on a nearby red sofa, Yet again red symbolising a deep connection of passion. They talk to each other romantically with the camera circling them slowly; Romeo then takes Juliet's hand and speaks in a very smooth and gentle voice. Juliet then leans closer to his face and they both kiss while harmonious music plays throughout the hall, as they kiss, the camera blurs out all the other people around them so only Romeo and Juliet are clearly presented in the shot and how they are so indulged and oblivious to the world around them.