...ENC1102 15 March 2013 An Outrageous Tale Standing in line for hours, impatiently waiting for the front doors of our favorite stores to open, to be nearly trampled upon for discounted items, is a tradition we, as Americans, like to call Black Friday. Black Friday is the day following Thanksgiving Day in the United States, often regarded as the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. To get people in the spirit, most major retailers open before the sun comes up and offers promotional sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. Americans consider “getting in the spirit,” by waking at the crack of dawn to pry items out of other people’s hands while at the same time getting pushed and shoved by crazy amounts of people on the same hunt. We call a tradition; a belief or behavior passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance that has origin from the past. Black Friday is the one tradition that I thought was the worst until reading “The Lottery,” by Shirley Jackson. Jackson uses irony to suggest an underlying evil, hypocrisy, and weakness of human kind. Jackson shows many important lessons about human nature in this short story including barbaric traditions in a supposedly civilized village, the community’s hypocrisy, and how violence and cruelty take place. "The Lottery" tells the story of an annual tradition in a small village, where the people are close and tradition is paramount. The Lottery is a yearly event in which one...
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...Baderman Island Resort Executive Summary Baderman Island is accepting design bids for its seasonal annual marketing campaign. Team B is asked to design the following: * An 11” x 14” poster designed for print delivered as an unflattened PSD file smaller than 10 MB. * A 300 x 300 pixel web advertisement delivered as an unflattened PSD file smaller than 10 MB and a flattened JPEG of no more than 200 KB. * The color scheme must be consistent with the color scheme established on the Baderman Island website. * Both the poster and web advertisements to include the Baderman Island logo, located in the banner at the top of the Baderman Island home page. * Designs to include at least three different examples of text to include: The Baderman Island motto. A new additional slogan created by Design Team B. The company name Baderman Island, modified from text into a graphic. In order for Team B to create these designs, it is beneficial for them to learn more about the Baderman Island Resort, such as the accommodations, amenities, and restaurants. The site also has a blog that could be useful in finding out what guests look for most when coming to visit Baderman Island Resort. History “Welcome to Baderman Island: where paradise is reality.” "Established in 2004, leisure and convention center focused Baderman Island is dedicated in providing unique and quality experiences to Island guests and daily visitors. The Board of Directors and operational...
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...DESIGNING AND MANAGING THE SUPPLY CHAIN The Great Rebate Runaround '-----' Ah, the holiday shopping season: Santa Claus, reindeer-and rebate hell. Those annoying mail-in offers are everywhere these days. Shoppers hate collecting all the paperwork, filling out the forms, and mailing it all in to claim their $10 or $100. But no matter how annoying rebates are for consumers, the country's retailers and manufacturers love them. From PC powerhouse Dell to national chains Circuit City and OfficeMax to the Listerine mouthwash sold at Rite Aid drugstores, rebates are proliferating. Nearly one-third of all computer gear is now sold with some form of rebate, along with more than 20% of digital cameras, camcorders, and LCD TVs, says market researcher NPD Group. Hal Stinchfield, a 30-year veteran of the rebate business, calculates that some 400 million rebates are offered each year. Their total face value: $6 billion, he estimates. Office-products retailer Staples says it and its vendors alone pay $3.5 million in rebates each week. TAX ON THE DISORGANIZED Why the rage for rebates? The industry's open secret is that fully 40% of all rebates never get redeemed because consumers fail to apply for them or their applications are rejected, estimates Peter S. Kastner, a director of consulting firm Vericours. That translates into more than $2 billion of extra revenue for retailers and their suppliers each year. What rebates do is get consumers to focus on the discounted price of a product...
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...Black Friday is the annual shopping holiday that occurs on the Friday following Thanksgiving. It is mostly a shopping ritual to those people living in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Black Friday is a significant day to many retail stores because it is referred to as the start of the Christmas or holiday shopping season. The origin of the popular Black Friday dates back to before 1961, in Philadelphia, where it was formally used to describe the heavy vehicle and pedestrian traffic. It was always seen as extremely disruptive to the Philadelphia Police Department and always transpired on the day after Thanksgiving and thus the name Black Friday came about. As the years passed, an alternative reasoning for the title came to be known which denoted that retailers traditionally functioned at a financial loss recognized as, “in the red” from the months January to November. “Black Friday” therefore signifies the point at which retailers finally start to return a profit, “in the black”. Over the years more and more stores have begun opening at extremely early hours to help consumers get a jump-start on the sales. Some retailers have even started the trend of opening up at midnight. The Black Friday craze is tremendously popular, so popular in fact, that many incidents including violence has been seen in some cities in the past. We wanted to research if Black Friday should be considered a ritual. Our research process included secondary and primary sources. Our primary sources were...
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...ACE Challenge 2015 Amazon Confidential Preliminary Round: ACE Case Breakers Case Study: Operations Introduction It is a bright autumn morning in 2205 and Gaurav Maurya, SVP – Amazon Enceladus1, is gazing outside the window and reminiscing about how Blue Origin2 had transformed Enceladus into a bustling human colony in a short span of 50 years, much like some of the developing countries back on Earth. Also, continuing Amazon’s legacy, Amazon.en has become Enceladus’s most customer-centric company in a short span of one year and customers love to buy all sorts of products on it every day. Gaurav is scheduled to meet the Board of Directors back on Earth in 3 days to present the first year report. For this meeting, Gaurav has decided to focus on operations, and on how different verticals within operations are helping raise the bar on customer experience. Gaurav enlisted four of his team members to share their stories. As Gaurav prepares for the meeting, he has asked you to take a look at the reports that his team has put together and help him answer some open questions and come up with fresh ideas on how to solve the problems. Scenario 1: Like on Earth, Amazon’s goal is to offer Enceladus’ largest selection on Amazon.en. Deonn, who recently joined Amazon.en wants to accelerate the addition of new products in the catalogue. While Amazon already provides tools for vendors to submit their items in the catalogue, the error rate remains high. On an average, vendors...
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...Thesis Statement and Outline Online Shopping vs. Brick and Mortar Shopping Both forms of shopping have one goal in mind. That goal is to get the item that you desire. Many of the stores that you visit on a daily basis can come to you online. I. You can shop in the comfort of your own home. A. You do not have to worry about getting ready to go shopping. 1. You can shop in your pajamas if you prefer. 2. You can shop when it is convenient for you. B. You do not have to fight crowds in the mall or store. 1. There is no traffic to worry about getting to the stores. 2. During the holiday season, you do not have to worry about many people crowding you. II. You can see what you are buying. A. Depending on what you buy, you can feel the item and actually see the item. 1. You can feel the texture or weight of an item. 2. You can see if the item is big or overweight. B. There is no wondering if you are getting the item that you ordered. 1. You can be positive that you are getting the correct item. 2. You can see the exact shade or style of what you are buying in person. III. Instant gratification A. There is no waiting to receive your item. 1. You are able to take your purchase home that same day. 2. Site to store is an option with many stores and it is possible to pick it up that day. B. Being able to choose...
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...Volunteer to help organize WHS Food Pantry (dates/times will be provided) *Students also receive Service Learning Hours *Reflection paper: The reflection paper must include text-based evidence from Nickel and Dimed, connecting issues in the text to at least 2 other sources. These may be two experiences from the list above, two sources of outside research about local poverty and/or community action agencies, or a combination of the two. Please note that if you choose to include outside research, you must include citations in MLA format. **Class project: HSP Neighbors in Need Holiday Shop provides a free holiday shopping experience for the more than 500 local families and individuals who are not otherwise “adopted” for the holiday season. In addition to traditional gifts, families and individuals may also receive much-needed personal hygiene and household cleaning items. For 2 weeks, each of my classes may collect these items for the HSP...
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...Best Game Productions, identify the organizations internal and external stakeholders, explain how the these problems affect the stakeholders, and also identify the needs, motivations, and perceptions of each stakeholder. Best Game Productions Business Scenario Best Game Productions is currently gearing up for the new release of a specific video game that they feel will not only keep them on top among their competitors in the video gaming industry, but also generate massive revenue due to the video games appeal. They have been advertising and building up this video games release for the past two years as the customer’s interests and intrigue has increased with each passing day. Due to be released just in time for the holiday shopping season, Best Game Productions even went as far as to have their customers play the game as a “trial play” for them to get a feel for the what the game is going to be like before they buy it. As everything seemed to be going great from an advertising perspective with anticipation building, it has come to the attention of Best Game Productions that there is a bug in the game that will delay the video games release. They are faced with some tough decisions that will not only affect their customers but also affect the future of Best Game Productions. Do they go and release the video game anyway knowing of this bug and how this bug will affect the video game or do they wait and delay the release of...
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...- Mobile Commerce Daily - http://www.mobilecommercedaily.com - Century 21 prioritizes mobile in significant loyalty program push Posted By Lauren Johnson On January 14, 2014 @ 4:45 am In Featured,Mass merchants, department stores and malls,Multichannel retail support,News,Retail Sectors | No Comments [1] Century 21's mobile site NEW YORK – A Century 21 executive at the NRF 103rd Annual Convention & Expo revealed plans to roll out a pilot program this month that leverages a mobile application and augmented reality as part of a plan to increase loyalty program sign-ups 25 percent to 34 percent this year. The Century 21 executive detailed the department store’s plans to break into mobile this year during the “The Power Couple: Loyalty and Mobile” session, which also included executives from Sephora and Sears. The session was moderated by Leslie Hand, research director at IDC Retail Insights [2] , Framingham, MA. “We have had a loyalty program for over four years, and we are now just going into the mobile space,” said Sandi Riffle, director of process improvement and communications at Century 21 Department Stores, New York. “We are looking at this as if she’s not loyal to us, but that she’s rewarding herself with different perks and benefits across all of our eight stores,” she said. Building up loyalty efforts Century 21 [3] will roll out a pilot mobile app program this month as part of the New York department store’s efforts to ramp up its loyalty program. The app caters...
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...Black Friday: The People and the Craze Kevin Leonel Sonilal COM/156: University Composition and Communication March 16th, 2013 Professor Karen Nowak It is in our human nature to desire goods whether it is for necessity or luxury. Our appetite for shopping dates back hundreds of years to the bazaars and markets of old times. Over the years, our fascination with shopping has increased and evolved. There are more smart and sales-conscious shoppers. As a result, the markets and vendors have evolved in order to accommodate the evolved shopper. It has resulted in the creation of mass markets, industrialization, and cultural attitudes. With the increasing amount of shoppers, and countless markets and vendors, companies are competing to gain shopper interest; they invent new products, create persuasive advertising, and offer sales on current merchandise. For companies, their largest revenue gain comes around the holidays. Therefore, they make big pushes for consumer sales on those designated days. However, a large portion of their revenue comes from one non-holiday, the man-made holiday, Black Friday. On this day, consumers spend more time and money in preparation than they do on their goods. There is a significant change in their attitudes and behavior; they become more competitive and more aggressive. This single day affects both producers and consumers. The combination of aggressive shoppers, sales, and limited quantities can be a recipe for chaos and disaster...
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...Good Evening Team, Moving forward please ensure you are placing an order every campaign. If you fail to submit an order of $50 or more every campaign, you may be removed as a representative. As a representative, we all know how important it is to have all your supplies available ie. brochures, samples and demos in order to be successful in your business. With the Holiday Season here, everyone has an opportunity to win with AVON. Customers are out there... I find them everyday. Talk to three new people everyday. Statistics show: For every 100 brochures you order, 30 people will place an order of $25 or more. That is $750 in Awarded Sales At 40% earnings, that is equal to $300 -$19 for brochures = $279 in your pocket Buenas Tardes, Favor de someter un pedido cada campana. Si no somete un pedido por campana, puede que Avon la remueva como representante. Asegurese de someter un pedido cada campana de $50 o mas. Como representantes todos sabemos lo importatnte que es tener los utiles ie. folletos, muestras y productos de demostracion para tener exito en este negocio. Con la temporada festiva aqui todos tienen la oportunidad de ganar con AVON. Hable con tres personas por dia. Los clientes nos estan buscando. Y lo se porque los veo diario. Los estudios reportan: Por cada 100 folletos que repartan. 30 personas le daran un pedido de $25 o mas. Son $750 en ventas A ganacias de 40%, es un equivalente de $300 -$19 para pagar los folletos= $270 en su bosillo por...
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...Holiday Shopping - The Economy’s Final Push from the Red Black Friday is the Grand Marshall of the holiday shopping season; it starts a race in holiday season for shopping and spending, which in return creates new job opportunities. Shoppers race around the malls looking for the best gifts at the best prices. The frenzy of the holiday season combined with the sales of Black Friday are greatly beneficial to the US economy. As supply and demand increases with the holiday season season, so does spending and the job market. Black Friday is more than just a day of sales, it is a day to help boost the economy spending and profit. One of the theories behind the name “Black Friday” really sums up the effects of the day. The story says that majority of the year, retailers are operating at a financial loss. To show this loss, the accountants note the negative totals in red ink. Starting with the Black Friday sales retailers really begin to turn a profit, and climb out of the negative holes they live in all year. Once out of the negative, accountants begin to use black ink to show the totals. Thus, “Black Friday” was born. This story may not be the most accurate or historically backed, but there is some truth behind it as far as the after affect of Black Friday. Retailers make a large portion of their yearly profit during the holiday season. It may not have started out as big as it is today, but at present time the Friday after Thanksgiving is a huge shopping day in the US...
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...ed States, where it is the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. Since Thanksgiving falls on the fourth Thursday in November in the United States, Black Friday may be as early as the 23rd and as late as the 29th of November. More recently, there is new understanding that the term originates from the theory that retailers traditionally operated at a financial loss for most of the year (January through November) and made their profit during the holiday season. When this would be recorded in the financial records, accounting practices would use red ink to show negative amounts and black ink to show positive amounts. Black Friday, under this theory, is the beginning of the period where retailers would no longer have losses (the red) and instead take in the year's profits (the black). With more retailers shifting the start of their big holiday pushes to Thanksgiving, it prompts the question of whether Black Friday even exists in the traditional sense. Things started moving from Friday to Thanksgiving Thursday in 2010 when Sears announced that they would be open on Thanksgiving. Then Walmart opened on Thanksgiving. Followed by Target. Today most of the major retailer are open on Thanksgiving. Black Friday is quickly becoming a relic of years gone by according to Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist at Belus Capital Advisors (USA Today.com As shopping season expands is Black friday dead?) Black Friday will also be...
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...Winter What is your favorite season? Is it summer, like mine is, because of the warm weather? Or, is it winter because of the snow and Christmas? Summer and winter have few similarities, yet many big differences. The first big difference between summer and winter is the weather. In the summertime it is usually warm and sunny and fun to be outside. You can go swimming, to the beach, sum bathe, go boating, and all of those fun summer activities everyone looks forward to. In the wintertime most people think of coldness, but you can still have fun. You can go ice skating, sledding, and skiing. In the winter you see a lot about car accidents do to the messy weather, but in the summer you don't so much. Many people hate winter, because it is so cold and miserable. The cold temperatures and weather can greatly affect your mood and emotional habits. It's the time of year when people are reporting feeling depressed because of the dark, cold winter months. The less sunlight, the more down people feel. Another thing is that you don't have school in the summer. You can enjoy a great amount of free time and do pretty much whatever you want. In the wintertime everyone is going crazy over Christmas, shopping, and traveling to see relatives. Summer is a very lazy and relaxed enjoyable season. Winter is more hectic and busy, and there sometimes are family conflicts because of this holiday season. Although winter is a very hectic and stressful season, it's great to get together with...
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...Some retailers even extended the deadline to place orders by 24 hours, compared to that of last year, which reduced time to deliver packages. Expectations on next-day delivery and lower prices made many customers place online orders late and resulted in a surge in online sales and shipping volumes. Moreover, many retailers chose to shift more orders by air so as to guarantee that packages were arrived on time, which increased the burden of air delivery. In addition, lack of related information and communication with retailers and incorrect forecasting about holiday shipping volumes resulted in failure to deliver all packages before Christmas. According to the incorrect forecasting, UPS could not make an appropriate plan for the holiday peak. In 2013, the holiday shopping season was 6 days shorter compared to that of 2012. Because of shorter season and far more holiday shipping volumes, UPS had to deliver more packages per day and had less recovery time. Bad weather also caused delayed delivery. Because of bad weather like winter storms, more customers bought gifts online and many planes and trucks could not deliver packages as...
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