Quality of Consumers Goods

Quality of Consumers Goods In recent years, consumers are becoming increasingly conscious about the quality, safety, suitability and environmental impacts of the goods that they demand. However, in many cases, consumers would not aware of the quality of a goods or products even after consumptions. These products are known as the credence goods. It is difficult to distinguish between two qualities of the same good, even after consumption. In such case, consumers are willing to pay a premium for the hidden attributes of the goods that they cannot observe. Such goods include ‘natural versus genetically modified (GM) food, ‘organic versus non-organic products, ‘fair-trade products, ‘suitable for vegetarians goods, ‘Kosher, and more generally ‘high-quality versus low-quality products. However, this paper is interested to study a special type of credence goods, that is ‘Halal versus non-Halal products or goods. Halal is an Arabic word which means lawful or permissible. It follows the Islamic ruling known as the Syariah law. Halal covers every aspect of Muslims life especially dietary. Halal food simply means that the food products are free from any elements which Muslims prohibited from consuming. Extended discussion on Halal is presented in Chapter 2. With Islam as the second largest religion in the world and the fastest growing, the world Halal food trade is estimated to be around US$ 150 billion to US$ 500 billion in 2007 on which US$ 80 billion alone is generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Brunei Halal, 2007). These factors hasten the investment in Halal products, and in some cases, producers cheat for easy access to the market. Analysis of Halal in this paper, distinguishes itself from other studies on credence goods, as it involves different levels of consumers interactions. Any credence goods, including Halal products, comprise a special attribute or characteristic. This characteristic is not verifiable and revealed unless by experts or other professional services. Hahn (2004) suggested that real or complete credence goods would be difficult to find as consumers would have some judgement on products or services after the consumption. This is not entirely true as in case of Halal food product, especially Halal meat. It is very difficult to check if the meat is entirely Halal as claimed, as there is no existing way to check after consumption whether say the meat purchased is really slaughtered in Syariah methods, even though there is non-existence of other non-Halal ingredients. Therefore, in this sense, Halal meat is an example of a real credence good. In many cases, consumers concern for the special or credence attribute (eg. environmental, fair-trade, organic, Halal, etc.) is evidenced by their willingness to pay a premium for the high-quality products. The willingness to pay opens up an opportunity for low-quality producers (those which lack the special attribute) to take advantage by pretending to be that of high-quality, especially when only the producers know whether the desirable attribute exist in their products or not. Moreover, it is too expensive for individual consumer to directly monitor or verify these attributes. Therefore, consumers could only decide their purchasing choice on subjective belief regarding the products quality, which are based on all available information such as press report, word-of-mouth and labels when such adverse selection in credence goods market exist. Hence, producers cannot build reputation when production of low-quality imitating goods could not be detected and punished. Delayed detection of low-quality products allows its producers to imitate the strategy of their high-quality rivals, which hampered signalling use. Like other credence goods, Halal food products, through certified Halal brand/logo would improve the information asymmetry, but may carry the similar issues. These issues are discussed in Chapter 2. It is common for credence goods to feature a communication scheme such as labels or brands to help consumers in making purchasing decisions. Moreover, these labels or brands often require authentication by legislator or a third-party organisations that have the proficiency in each field of specific credence quality attributes, thus involving additional costs. In the Halal market, there also exist regulations by the government (eg. in Brunei, under the authority of Brunei Islamic Religious Council, Ministry of Religious Affairs) or third party organisation (eg. in United Kingdom, by Halal Monitoring Committee and Halal Food Authority, to name some). In which they certify a product through monitoring and indicating some guidelines for producers before granting a recognisable label on the products. Hence, this label helps consumers to make better decision choice. Moreover, a quality label that improves pre-purchasing information would increase welfare, and high-quality producers would always be willing to go through the necessary inspection as to reveal the products quality to the consumers, unless the cost for verification is extremely high. The welfare affect of introducing Halal labelling is briefly discussed in the analysis, especially where Halal labelling opens up an opportunity to access additional consumers, ie. Muslims, also referre d to the primary consumers. The analysis of Halal in this paper is aimed to study the interactions of the market forces or what commonly referred to in economics as ‘invisible hand of the demand and supply in Halal market. At the same time, considering the effects on introduction of labelling upon the level of equilibrium, in addition to other factors such as the additional demand by Muslims of primary market. This is a unique or special aspect which might not be available in previous studies on credence goods. The following chapters are organised as follows. Halal concept is further discussed in the next Chapter 2. This chapter is intended as an expansion to the introduction (Chapter 1) in order to provide a deeper understanding on the concept of Halal, and to provide information regarding the current market for Halal food products and the issues pertaining in the Halal market on the use of Halal logo. The relevant literature reviews are discussed in Chapter 3, discussing the works by other authors on the area of credence goods which can be linked to Halal. Chapter 4 presents the economic analysis and application of Halal products as credence goods. Chapter 5 concludes this paper and provide a discussion on the policy implications generated by the study. CHAPTER 2 2.0. A Brief Concept of Halal Religion involves beliefs and the way of life, where group of individuals interprets and respond to what they feel is supernatural and holy (Johnstones, 1975, in Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Shafie and Othman underline that most religion prescribes or prohibits certain behaviour including that of consumption (n.d.). The concept of Halal is not new in the Islamic world, but only in recent years that its potentials have been realised by corporations and organisations around the world, which normally perform under the conventional economics. The word Halal comes from Arabic which means permissible or lawful. It is ruled by the Islamic law known as Syariah law which is based on the Quran and Hadith (records of the life, actions and teachings of Prophet Muhammad). By not fully understanding the concept of Halal, one (non-Muslim especially in Muslim-minority country such as United Kingdom) may think that Halal only refers to meat or something to do with ‘kebabs. Halal actually governs every aspect of life of Muslims, however, this paper only view Halal perspective on consumption of food. What is not Halal is called Haram or non-permissible. Any product which comes from swine and/or dog is strictly Haram. A special cleansing ritual must be done if a Muslim directly touched (although accidentally) these animals and/or the sources (eg. skin). Such products that contain strictly Haram ingredients or derivatives are termed as ‘non-transformable in the analysis in Chapter 4. Amongst other strictly Haram animal products include blood, birds of prey, and/or carrion (dead animals without slaughtering). Alcohol is also Haram, but in some strict case it could become or change into Halal, this is discussed later on in Section 2.3 of this paper. Un-slaughtered animals such as beef and chicken are also become non-Halal, unless slaughtered by a Muslim according to Syariah practice. Such products are termed as ‘transformable in the analysis of this paper. What lies between Halal and Haram is called Mashbooh meaning that the goods appear to be suspicious, questionable and According to Bonne and Verbeke (2007), as product attribute, Halal refers to the nature, origin and the processing methods of the food products, which entails similarity with organic foods and those taking animal welfare or sustainability into account. Strict procedure must be followed to obtain highest standard of Halal, and that Halal products must not contact with non-Halal products; as similar to vegetarian food should not be in contact with any meat. Halal concept covers both food and non-food product category, but as mentioned earlier, this paper would only focus on the first one. Studies show that about 70 to 75 percent of Muslim strictly follows the Halal standard for their dietary (Hussaini 1993a in Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Minkus-McKenna, 2007). The next section provides an overview of Halal food market. 2.1. Halal Food Market The Halal market is considered as the fastest growing market globally as reported by the Borneo Bulletin (2008). The world Halal industry is estimated to worth between US$ 500 million to around US$ 2 trillion (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007; Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). The market is growing around US$ 500 billion annually due to the rising Muslim population worldwide (Borneo Bulletin, 2008; Brunei Halal, 2007). It is reported that the Muslim population is known to be the fastest growing religion in the world (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007) and in Europe (BBC News, 2005). The global Halal food trade itself in 2007 is estimated to be between US$ 150 billion (Brunei Halal, 2007) and US$500 billion with 12 percent of this or US$ 80 billion generated from agri-food products (Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, 2007). In addition, Islam is the second largest religion in the world (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004) with nearly 1.5 billion people (ibid.; Bonne and Verbeke, 2007; Din, 2006). The National Statistics Census carried out by the British Government, shows that Islam is also the second largest religion in the United Kingdom, approximately 1.6 million Muslims (2001). The statistics also revealed that Muslims are the largest household in the United Kingdom. These factors would justify that the demand for Halal food products in the United Kingdom is expanding. The market for Halal can be divided into two namely, primary and secondary. Primary market arises from the demand by Muslims, whereas, secondary market refers to the demand by non-Muslims. These terms are used in the analysis of this paper. Agriculture and Agri-food Canada (2007) suggested that Halal is often referred to safety and of high quality by both markets. Besides these, factors for increasing Halal demand includes: increasing incomes in primary market, rising population of Muslim, and rising demand for variety in primary market (ibid.). For Muslims, consuming Halal food products are their religious obligation, however it is known that Halal food are also consumed by non-Muslims. The later often perceived as specially selected and processed to achieve highest standards of quality (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004, p. 14). Manufacturers or producers that sells Halal products would create significant advantage compared to those that do not (Shafie and Othman, n.d.). Riaz and Chaudry (2004, p. 16) suggested that the increasing demand for Halal products as well as expanding number of Muslim population can be an inducement for producers to provide Halal products. Nonetheless, it is safe to say that these views mostly look at Muslim-majority economies such as those in Asian region. Hence, this paper provides a study in relation to Muslim-minority economy such as the United Kingdom. However, like any other food labels, Halal labelling also have some issues. 2.2. Halal Logo and Its Issues The use of Halal logo in food products indicates that the products are Islamic or Syariah compliant. Similar to other food related logos such as ‘suitable for vegetarian V-logo, Halal logo intends to communicate with the consumers of this product that it is fit for their consumption. Initial finding shows that some companies may use this logo even though its products might violate some rules of the Syariah law. Such situation was reported in which, some meat and other processed products from Brazil imported into the country, were being inspected by Halal Monitoring Committee, to be found a violation (2007). Another comparable situation is reported by The Tribune (2008) that the biggest meat producer in Scotland is under investigation over the supply of so-called ‘fake Halal meat in the country. There are some issues to which cause the problem arises. Fischer claims that the lack of a state body that is capable of inspecting the unregulated market [in the United Kingdom] has left this market open to fraud, corruption and without any kind of standards, uniform certification and standard (n.d.). Study by Fischer also shows that many British Muslims and organisations call upon the state to help recognise and standardised Halal. However for the ease of this papers analysis, this situation is relaxed, meaning producers behave honestly when claiming their products as Halal. Having Halal logo does not mean the products automatically accepted to be purchased by consumers especially that of primary market. Research undertaken by a university in the United Kingdom, shows that consumers prefer small shops when buying Halal meat, rather than buying from supermarkets, due to factors mentioned earlier and others including lack of marketing of Halal food (Anonymous, 2006). Like any other goods, the credence of Halal food products has to be clearly communicated such as indication on pack or on-label (Bonne and Verbeke, 2007), in addition to conventional marketing strategies, for example advertising. Moreover, this would add some utility value to the consumer and useful in the purchasing decision (ibid.). Nonetheless, to make the analysis of this paper simple, having Halal labelling is enough to induce greater demand and consumptions. 2.3. Issues of Alcohol Alcohol is clearly not permissible, however it is essential for certain industry processes and religious scholars are aware of this — some of them suggested that some use of alcohol may be acceptable as long as it is evaporated and not exist in the final products (Riaz and Chaudry, 2004). However, if there is an alternative to alcohol for such process, it would be preferred, as majority of Muslims would avoid products that use alcohol at any stage. It is generally known by Muslims that wine (a Haram state product) which turns ‘naturally into vinegar thus the vinegar is considered as Halal. This situation is called Istihala or ‘change of state or properties. A reverse situation as such that, if wine is added to Halal food, as in common cooking practise in the Western, hence the food becomes Haram. However, this issue is not represented in the analysis, for simplicity argument. It is clear that Halal can be perceived as a credence attribute, although there are numero us literatures on credence goods, only few actually discussed in relation to Halal products. Next chapter will discuss the literatures on credence products. CHAPTER 3 3.0. Literature Review This chapter is divided into five interrelated parts or sections. The first section provides a (general) glance on the studies or literatures on credence goods, which is applicable in the study of the market for Halal products. This is followed by the second section, of discussions on the demand for such goods. Market failure arises due to the nature of credence goods, which is discussed in the third section of this chapter. In the fourth section, a review on the solution of the market failure problem is examined. The final section deals with the issue pertaining to some of these solutions. 3.1. Credence Goods at a Glance There are growing numbers of literatures on credence goods attribute since it was first mentioned by Darby and Karni in 1973. These literatures involve different assumptions which produce diverse outcomes. However, it is difficult to find economic literature that deals directly with Halal subject as a credence good. Nonetheless, studies on some of the credence goods can be applied to Halal concept. Most literatures on credence goods assume that consumers are homogeneous. Hahn (2004) showed the contrast to this, in which the author grouped the consumers into two namely those who have some expertise or informed and those who do not or uninformed; This paper is slightly differs from that of Hahn (2004), where the consumers in this paper are also divided into two, namely Muslims (those who only consume Halal goods, or primary consumers) and non-Muslims. The latter is further grouped into two, ie. conventional consumers—who only consume non-Halal; and secondary consumers—who prefer to consume Halal products. Some economists (such as McCluskey, 2000; Cho and Hooker, 2002) used game theory models on credence attribute to assess the interplays of stakeholders. These include whether producers decide to claim their products as those of high quality, then they have to decide whether to produce according to the claims or not. However, the use of game theory is out of the scope of this papers analysis. Nonetheless, producers are assumed to produce what they intended to, without dishonesty. Economists divide consumers perception of food quality into a three attributes, namely: search, experience (which were pioneered by Nelson in 1970) and credence attribute (in Darby and Karni, 1973; Innes et. al., 2007; Umberger et. al., 2008). Search attributes can be determined from pre-consumption and at point of purchase such as colour, shape, brand and freshness. Experience attributes, arise from taste, juiciness, and food safety which could only be determined during or after consumption. Lastly, credence attributes refer to the process and production aspects, which the author claims that it cannot be determined before, during or after consumption of that particular food product (Umberger et. al., 2008). These food products, especially Halal as credence goods emphasise and maintain a strict quality attributes, and failure to maintain this would result a loss in its credibility, hence would brings disutility to the consumers or reduction of welfare. Some economists such as Caswell and Mojduszka (1996, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) argued that by providing information as policy tool, credence attributes could be transformed into search attributes. However, this would require a strict environment where system of information provided is perfect and fraud could not taken place — these are less likely to be a (current) scenario of the real world. Nonetheless, this concept is used in the analysis of this paper, for simplicity reason. On the other hand, Cho and Hooker (2002) mentioned that credence goods could act like a (lagged) experience goods if they involve time duration for detection of risk (relatively quickly), eg. infected food, vice versa. Like any production or supply of consumer goods, it depends on the demand for such goods, for an equilibrium to exist in the market. The following section discusses the determinants of demand for credence goods. 3.2. Consumer Demand for Credence Attribute Individuals would consume goods or services that yields highest utility or satisfaction level and presumed to make rational choice. However, this is subject to physical (ie. how much they can consume) and economic (ie. budget) constraint that limits the consumers choices (Mas-Colell et. al., 1995). Moreover, the preference-based approach to consumer demand is of critical importance for welfare analysis in which, without it, evaluating the consumers level of well-being would have no meaning (ibid.). Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) identified credence characteristics in terms of utility, in which although consumers can observe the utility derived from consumption of such goods ex post, they are not sure if the utility they get is the ex ante needed one. However, in the analysis of this paper, the utility is considered in terms of welfare level obtained from consumers and producers surplus. In addition to the conventional determinants for demand such as income, taste and preference, consumer characteristics and quality attribute become increasingly important factors nowadays. According to Antle (1999, in Senauer, 2001, p. 4), the new economics is more concerned with the markets for ‘quality-differentiated products in which the author presented a stylised demand function which include quality factors (non-price attribute): X = D (P, I, N, C, Q) Where X depends on price and other goods (P), income (I), number of population (N), characteristics of the population/consumer (C), and non-price attribute of the product (Q). It shows that any product attribute which includes nutrition content, safety, production process and even inputs, would creates utility or disutility. The analysis in Chapter 4 directly deals with the two of these factors namely, consumer characteristics (ie. preferences, and religious needs) and product attribute (ie. Halal credence). Hoehn and Deaton (2004) provided a model where consumers choose either purchasing credence (high-quality) good or conventional (low-quality) goods by comparing the consumer surplus differences. If the gain from consumer surplus from credence goods is large, compared to the opportunity cost of surplus given up from not purchasing conventional goods, the former good would be purchased. Their studies are used as a foundation for the analysis in Chapter 4 of this paper. Most literature reflects credence goods as vertically differentiated products due to quality differences. Nonetheless, Bester (n.d., in Roe and Sheldon, 2001) provided a concept of unobserved quality into a horizontal differentiation model and suggested that unobserved vertical quality would reduce producers incentives for horizontal differentiation via relaxing price competition amongst producers, in a way which prices act as a signal and consist of a quality premium. This is related to the second part of this papers analysis (Section 4.2. of Chapter 4) involving a franchise market. Consumers demand and preferences for credence goods often perceived from their willingness to pay. 3.2.1. Willingness to Pay There are other factors why consumers might be willing to pay a premium besides the quality attribute, such that they perceive credence goods as fashionable, trendy, or it could be that the purchase the alternative to credence goods would offend other people (McCluskey, 2000). The later is pertinent to Halal goods, especially in a situation where the consumer lives with Muslims housemates, or in a Muslim-dominated country. Consumers would also prefer for the high-quality products, even not for the sake of quality itself but other factors. For instance, when consumers care about other quality or criterion such as animal welfare, environmental, ethical, and religious reasons, to what Antle (1999, in Carlsson et. al., 2004) referred as extrinsic quality. If the distinctions in quality were signalled efficiently, consumers would be willing to pay a higher price or premium for products of high quality, hence compensating the higher production costs, as suggested by Kola and Latvala (2003). In their research on the effects of information on the demand for beef products credence characteristics in Finland, 59 percent of the respondents showed their willingness to pay a higher price for additional information. Whereas, 41 percent of respondents had zero willingness to pay, in which 35 percent of them are satisfied with the existing information, and 17 percent considered the information is not enough or they did not trust the information. As credence quality of a product cannot be observed directly at a reasonable cost or without invasive testing, consumers would rely heavily on claims or information made by the producers via brands, labels or advertisements (Cho and Hooker, 2002). This papers analysis however, only considers that consumers fully trust producers. The next section provides discussion if the information provided is insufficient or inaccurate, resulting a market failure. 3.3. Market Failure It can be said that the credence market are prone to the problems of market failure. There are different ways for a credence market to result in inefficiency. It is mainly due to information asymmetry between producers and consumers. 3.3.1. Information Asymmetry In credence goods, consumers cannot directly observe the quality of the goods that they consume where only the producers know the exact quality, thus resulting information asymmetry. Common intuition indicates that the solution for an information asymmetry is by providing more information. Information, as conferred by Weiss (1995, in Cho and Hooker, 2002) is the central tenet of food safety economics. Brands, logos and labels most importantly serve as a signal to inform and communicate to the consumers about products attributes, hence alleviating information asymmetry between producers and consumers. According to Verbeke (2005), information is likely to be effective only when it addresses specific information needs of its target audience. It requires identification and detailed understanding of these needs, and proper management on the provision of the information in order to optimally address the needs (ibid.). Information regarding food quality and safety can be categorised as risk information and aims at reducing uncertainty faced by the consumers in making purchasing decisions. Hence, success would come from better understanding regarding consumers attitude, behaviour, motives, and their perceptions (Frewer et. al., 2004, in Verbeke, 2005). There exist welfare effects to consumers for providing (Marette et. al., 1999, in ibid.) or withholding (Mazzocchi et. al., 2004b, in ibid.) food quality information. The work done by Umberger (et. al., 2008), can be used as a foundation on the argument for the importance of Halal logo or labelling on food products in particular. The authors claimed that potential market failure would occur if consumers face limited choice and if the access to ‘innovative products is not available, or information regarding ‘product attributes, for example the production methods, is not transparent (ibid.). With this regards, Halal products would be seen as innovative products and carry some product attributes that must be fulfilled, otherwise there might exist market failure for Halal products. Halal logo especially from organisation for Halal certification, could be used to indicate these attributes. Consequently, lack of information becomes the key factor for the inefficiency of credence market. The followings are resulted from insufficient information. 3.3.1A. Failure due to Fraud In their studies, Dulleck and Kerschbamer (2001) divided credence attribute problems into two fold: inefficiency treatment, and overcharging. The first fold refers to the quality level (or service) of credence goods provided by producers, and inefficiency treatment can be either under- or over-treatment. On the other hand, the second fold refers to the pricing of credence goods, particularly as self-described, overcharging. When the signal is unavailable, especially in the case where labelling is not mandatory, sellers may have the incentive to fraud by supplying products of low-quality but claiming these products as high quality. Akerlof (1970) explains this situation with automobiles market as an example, in which with asymmetric information high-quality goods (‘peach) would be driven out by the low-quality goods (‘lemons) hence resulting market failure. Moreover, as argued by Liebie (2002), when producers of low-quality products claim to be of high-quality, this would raise doubt in consumers mind and would not be willing to pay a premium for the high-quality goods. This in turns, would lower the profits of high-quality producer hence reducing their incentive to invest in high-quality products, in which would create further doubt to consumer. The cycle goes on until only low-quality products would be sold, even though consumers prefer high-quality products, resulting market failure. Darby and Karni (1973) suggested that the amount of fraud depends on reputation, market conditions, and technological factors. Profit-maximising producers would have the incentive to fraud by claiming their products are of high quality if the probability of not being caught is high enough (McCluskey, 2000) or conversely if the probability of being caught is low. Such fraud issues bring uncertainty to consumers. 3.3.1B. Problems of Uncertainty Bonroy and Constantos (2008) concluded that uncertainty by consumers on the identity of producers which produce the high-quality products put the high-quality producers in disadvantage resulting from higher cost. They argued that this disadvantage would remain even when the consumption of high-quality products benefits are well worth the cost difference and all beliefs regarding the high-quality producers are in the right direction (ibid.). Their model explains the difficulty faced by high-quality credence products to acquire the dominant market share they should have obtained from efficiency perspective (ibid.). This is however beyond the concept of this paper, as to avoid complication in the model, it is assumed that producers behave honestly in producing the products and consumers fully aware the qualities. 3.3.1C. Non-Rational Behaviour Unavailability of credible food quality labelling, consumers would face uncertainty and would incur search cost on specific information (Hobbs, 2004, in Verbeke 2005). As a result some consumers would not behave rationally, being ignorant, or make decisions which are not maximising their expected utility. Such behaviour explained as a concept of â€Å"bounded and limited rationality† or â€Å"rationally ignorant consumer hypothesis† (as found in Kahneman and Tversky, 1973; Simon 1979a,b; Camerer and Loewenstein, 2004; in Verbeke 2005), is however beyond the concept of the study in this paper. Verbeke (2005) concluded that without quality verification, traceability was of little value to consumers, whereas quality assurances were much more valuable to them. The solutions to the problems of market failure are presented in the next section. 3.4. Solutions to the Problems This section examines some of the solutions to the problems mentioned previously which are mainly caused by lack of information. The most common solution this, as stated earlier, is providing more information through labelling or signalling. But this must be accompanied with efficient monitoring. 3.4.1. The Use of Labelling as a Signal It is generally known that labelling of credence attribute could be used as a way to certify the provision of valued attributes, hence to avoid market failure. Moreover, Caswell and Padberg (1992) claimed that information in the form of labels, word-of-mouth, advertising, and education would contribute to the co

ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Essay -- Explorat

ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, â€Å"C’mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far.† I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn’t think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: â€Å"[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations—children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents,† which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled â€Å"parent† rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely â€Å"a label of forgiveness† (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses† and â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder† (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding. Recent media coverage might lead one to believe that ADHD is something new, a nineties thing, some vogue malady that somehow explains our disaffected modern youth. Yet the hyperactive child has always been around. He was class clown, the kid in the back row who never shut up. He was the kid whom the teacher constantly sent out of the room or to the office. In the past, these were the children... ..., Inattentive, Impulsive, Obstinate. . . . New York: Villard, 1990. â€Å"Josh.† Personal Interview. 13 March 1995. Levine, Melvin D. â€Å"Attention Deficits: The Diverse Effects of Weak Control Systems in Childhood.† Pediatric Annals 16.2: 117-30. Perkins, Kathryn. â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Disorder Diagnosis.† Sacramento Bee 5 Dec. 1994: A1. Safer, Daniel J., and John M. Krager. â€Å"Effect of a Media Blitz and a Threatened Lawsuit on Stimulant Treatment (lawsuits and Ritalin prescription).† Journal of the American Medical Association 268 (1992): 1004. â€Å"Shaun.† Personal Interview. 9 March 1995. Vatz, Richard E., and Lee S. Weinberg. â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder.† USA Today Jan. 1995: 84. Wallis, Claudia. â€Å"Life in Overdrive.† Time 18 July 1994: 42. Weiss, Lynn. Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults. Dallas: Taylor, 1992. ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Essay -- Explorat ADHD - Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder When I first heard about ADHD (Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder), I thought, â€Å"C’mon. This psycho-babble has gone too far.† I saw psychologists, researchers, lawyers, teachers, parents, all talking seriously about this claimed disorder. But what I didn’t think about was where this information was coming from. Many talk shows have featured ADHD, where self-righteous citizens cheer, boo, and hiss like a jury at some medieval witch trial. A writer for the reputable publication New York magazine wrote: â€Å"[ADHD] is certainly a fitting disorder for the Nintendo and MTV generations—children who seem more at home playing computer games than having a quiet dinner conversation with their parents,† which sounds like it was written by a disgruntled â€Å"parent† rather than an unbiased reporter (Blau 45). And an article in Time ran quotes from erudite psychologists like Robert Reid, who said that ADHD is just an ego-preserving excuse, merely â€Å"a label of forgiveness† (Wallis 42). Newspapers ran these argumentative headlines: â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Deficit Diagnoses† and â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder† (Perkins A1, Vatz 82). And before I began learning about ADHD, I too was a media-driven skeptic. But, as with most things, knowledge begets understanding. Recent media coverage might lead one to believe that ADHD is something new, a nineties thing, some vogue malady that somehow explains our disaffected modern youth. Yet the hyperactive child has always been around. He was class clown, the kid in the back row who never shut up. He was the kid whom the teacher constantly sent out of the room or to the office. In the past, these were the children... ..., Inattentive, Impulsive, Obstinate. . . . New York: Villard, 1990. â€Å"Josh.† Personal Interview. 13 March 1995. Levine, Melvin D. â€Å"Attention Deficits: The Diverse Effects of Weak Control Systems in Childhood.† Pediatric Annals 16.2: 117-30. Perkins, Kathryn. â€Å"Some Skeptical of Surge in Attention-Disorder Diagnosis.† Sacramento Bee 5 Dec. 1994: A1. Safer, Daniel J., and John M. Krager. â€Å"Effect of a Media Blitz and a Threatened Lawsuit on Stimulant Treatment (lawsuits and Ritalin prescription).† Journal of the American Medical Association 268 (1992): 1004. â€Å"Shaun.† Personal Interview. 9 March 1995. Vatz, Richard E., and Lee S. Weinberg. â€Å"Overreacting to Attention Deficit Disorder.† USA Today Jan. 1995: 84. Wallis, Claudia. â€Å"Life in Overdrive.† Time 18 July 1994: 42. Weiss, Lynn. Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults. Dallas: Taylor, 1992.

Nancy’s coffee case study Essay

As the busy president of the $7 million Nancy‟s Coffee Cafà © chain, Beth WoodLeidt wasn‟t able to visit each of their thirty suburban coffee shops as much as she would have liked. Whenever she did journey out like she was doing today, it was with a passion for building brand and enhancing profitability. Beth approached one of her more challenging locations—in a mall in central New York— and surveyed the space with a practiced eye. †¦that front table needs a wipe†¦ the display shelves are dusty†¦the OneCard holder is hidden behind the tip jar†¦isn’t it too early in the day to be out of plain bagels?†¦ She greeted the staff that she knew warmly, introduced herself to new faces, and ordered a cappuccino from a slightly nervous young hire at the counter. As the teenager set about to whip up the best coffee drink of her brief career, Beth took the manager aside to offer a quick rundown on areas for improvement. Beth was just finishing up with her quality assessment when her cell phone buzzed with a call from a former corporate colleague that she had often confided in about the challenges of running a retail business. Beth took a sip of her frothy brew, winked her approval to the relieved girl who had brewed it, and headed out into the mall to chat. When her friend noted that Beth sounded tired, the forty-year-old CEO closed her eyes and nodded into the phone: Gosh, I am tired! Remember about a year ago I started saying that I wanted to figure out where this business was going? Well, I’m still asking the same questions like, how can we attract the capital we would need to grow faster; what is the best exit strategy to shoot for; and what is the best way to enhance the value of what we are building? Sure, we’ll add another two more stores this year, but that’s just not doing it for me. It’s early winter, 2003—and that means I’ve now been running this thing now for over ten years. And, as you know, the story hasn’t really changed; we’re still too small to be acquired, not valuable enough to be worth selling outright, and yet the business is large enough to need someone thinking about it almost all the time; yes, that would be me. We’ve hit a bit of a long plateau here; it’s passed time to make some critical decisions. From Nuts to Beans In 1973, Nancy Wood—then a 36-year-old mother of three—founded a mall-kiosk business to sell dried fruit and nuts. When demand for that fare appeared to be softening, she began the search for a more viable product line. After connecting with master coffee roaster Irwin White at a fancy-food trade show in 1978, she decided to turn her lifelong passion for great coffee into a new business. Nancy‟s eldest daughter, Beth, recalled that the concept was a bit ahead of its time: My mother took her kiosks and slowly began to convert them over to coffee bars she had named the Coffee Collection. She started introducing Kenyan and Columbian coffees, but people responded ‘no way; there is Folgers, and there’s Maxwell House, and Dunkin’ Donuts.’ It was a very strange thing to many people who were being asked to pay a whole dollar for a single cup of coffee—or told they could grind their own fresh-roasted beans at home. They looked at my Mom like she was nuts. In those days it was very much about educating the consumer. By the late 1980s, Nancy‟s son Carter and her daughter Roxanne had joined the venture full-time. While Beth had been contributing to the effort by periodically reviewing the aggregate financials for her mother, she had never taken much interest in the enterprise. So it was, with her mother‟s blessing and encouragement, that Beth earned her BS at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and soon began a rewarding management career in consumer product marketing. Newly married, Beth happily immersed herself in the busy corporate world of high-profile projects and after-hours brainstorming sessions—first with Pepsico, and later, with Johnson & Johnson: I loved the work. I had a good salary, a 401K, stock options, bonus check, company car, great suits; I am loving life. Then suddenly, everything changed! Into the Family Business In 1993, Beth took a leave of absence from J&J to return home and help sort through the heartache and turmoil that followed her mother‟s death from cancer at the age of 56. Sandy Wood had inherited his wife‟s business, but made it clear that if his kids were not interested in keeping the small chain going, then he would either try to sell the sites or liquidate the assets. Operating on the assumption that she would be returning to her corporate job once they had closed the doors on her mother‟s enterprise, Beth carefully examined the financials and visited each of the seven locations to estimate what they might be worth. In the course of that investigation, Beth realized that her mother had developed a solid business model within a largely untapped niche—suburban shopping malls—and she was drawn to the possibilities. Her husband Bill recalled that when Beth asked him to join her in the venture, it didn‟t take much convincing: I was running a division of Bell Atlantic in Pennsylvania at the time. Beth and I had worked together much earlier in our lives; I had really enjoyed that. I have always figured that if two married people were meant to work together, it was Beth and I. We get along very well, and we both know our own place in the sandbox. One of the issues that we discussed was that one of our egos would have to get checked at the door. I was a leader where I was working before, but I understood that this was Beth’s family’s business, and that she was now going to be the face of The Coffee Collection, now named Nancy’s Coffee. With equal amounts of sadness, trepidation and excitement, Beth informed J&J that she would not be returning. Her father was pleased, and said that he would divest his interest in the business by annually gifting equal shares to his three children. As the new CEO of Nancy‟s Coffee, Beth set a course for growth. The Specialty Coffee Industry The Green Dragon, a Boston coffeehouse founded in 1697, became the clandestine headquarters of the American Revolution. It was there, in 1773, that the Boston Tea Party was planned as a protest against the tea taxes being levied by King George on his colonies. By the time the British and the colonists had settled accounts, coffee had become the hot beverage of choice in America. Throughout the 19th century in the U.S., neighborhood coffeehouses proliferated, and home-roasting coffee became a common practice. The industrial revolution, however, fostered a demand for quicker, cheaper, and easier caffeine solutions. With the advent of vacuum packaging and modern transportation, it became possible for a roaster on one side of the country to sell to a retailer on the other side. As with many other food products, quality was compromised to accommodate mass production and efficient distribution. By the 1940s, the coffeehouses had disappeared, and Americans had been sold on the idea that fresh coffee went „woosh‟ when the can was opened. In 1950, William Rosenberg founded Dunkin‟ Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts. While his donut shop took pride in serving what they called the â€Å"World‟s Best Coffee†, it would be twenty more years before U.S. consumers could purchase a truly high-end cup. In the early 1970s, a small cadre of coffee aficionados began to offer a unique brew made from hand-picked beans; fresh-roasted in small batches. Peets, founded on the West Coast by legendary coffee idealist Alfred Peet, quickly set the standard for superb coffee. In Seattle, Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin, and Ziv Siegl, named their coffee shop business Starbucks, after the coffee-loving first mate in Moby Dick. On the East Coast, George Howell was building his chain of Coffee Connection shops in the Boston area. New Yorker Irwin White began making a name for himself supplying fresh-roasted grounds to some of the finest restaurants in Manhattan. San Franciscan coffee broker Erna Knutsen coined the term Specialty Coffee, and in 1985, helped to found the SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America). SCAA membership grew steadily as these coffee pioneers—Nancy Wood included— developed dynamic, profitable business models by proactively educating American consumers about fine coffee. By the time Beth took the helm of her mother‟s business in 1993—the same year that Starbucks had gone public—upscale consumers had developed a real taste for an excellent brew. Growth without Sharks Beth and her management team undertook an aggressive search for retail space. To facilitate that process, they worked almost exclusively with the regional mall management companies that had been doing business with their mother for years. Beth explained that this path was chosen in part as a way of dodging a direct confrontation with the powerhouse sweeping in from the west: Starbucks had clearly stated that as they came east they were going to do cities like Philadelphia, Boston, DC and Manhattan in a big way. We really didn’t know how to play in that kind of shark tank, so we figured that we’d let Starbucks have that, and play the suburban card. And at the time, that was low-hanging fruit. Clearly stated or not, one of Beth‟s first meetings after coming on board concerned a regional mall lease that Starbucks had been considering for awhile. During that meeting Beth suddenly realized how happy she was to be free of the inefficient, multi-layered bureaucracies that characterized much of corporate America: There were two leases on the table; a Starbucks lease, and one for Nancy’s Coffee. The woman said that the Starbucks lawyers had had the lease for six months—but she was willing to wait. I said, ‘Look, do you want Starbucks, or do you want a leased space?’ When she said, ‘A leased space’, I said, ‘Give me the pen.’ That lease is up next year, and I still haven’t gotten around to reading it. Beth noted that Starbucks wasn‟t the only coffee vendor shying away from space in enclosed malls: Establishing your brand in mall locations is not, quite frankly, a strategy for the faint of heart. Managing a mall shop is a difficult business, and it costs a lot of money. That worked for us in a way, since newcomers would get scared off by the idea of paying something like $100,000 a year in rent, when they could be paying $2,000 a month for a Main Street space in ‘Anytown, USA’. The team had learned through their mother‟s experience, however, that these pricey mall locations offered an advantage that few suburban in-town settings could match; a captive base. Mall Sales Throughout the 1990s, Nancy‟s Coffee and its suburban-model competitors like Peets and Caribou had the luxury of being able to choose locations where no other specialty coffee shops were operating. Beth explained that this monopolistic positioning was especially advantageous in a setting with high overhead and two distinct customer groups: Our bread-and-butter customer is the mall employee—the three to five hundred people who come to the mall every day to work. If you can get them to try, you can get them to repeat. Then, obviously, we have our transient customers; the shoppers. We have squarely positioned ourselves to cater to stroller moms; mothers with time on their hands, and kids to entertain. They come to the mall for something to do; they may not always buy, but they always have to eat. So we have lots of cookies, apple juice, and bagels on hand for the little ones, which helps us get the mom for her cappuccino. In a move to foster a loyal base of customers, in January 2002, Nancy‟s contracted with Paytronix—a nascent venture that had developed a swipe-card with both payment and loyalty program capabilities. Beth noted that the One Card system (See Exhibit 1) went well beyond the paper cards used by a variety of food-retailers to encourage repeat business: This is like an electronic punch card that also functions as a debit card— either by putting in a cash balance or by pre-paying for product. For example, we have this one guy—an eyeglass store manager at a mall in New Hampshire—who shells out $150 on the first of each month to buy the 85 cappuccinos he knows he’s going to drink over the next thirty days. We get his money up front, and he gets our $3 drink for less than $2. If you can get mall employees to buy a One Card membership for a dollar a year, they’re going to come to you every day, since for every nine drinks they get one free—they can even get a jumbo mocha in exchange for nine basic coffees. That’s a drink that we sell for four dollars; free to them, and my cost is about seventy-five cents. The One Card is really a nice competitive advantage. We just had a Starbucks open in Buffalo, one floor below us. Our staff was nervous, but I didn’t understand why. I told them that with the One Card, you already have all of your mall employees in your pocket. It worked; that Starbucks kiosk is struggling. By late 2003, Nancy‟s Coffee shops could be found in over thirty locations from Boston, west to Niagara Falls, and from Nashua, New Hampshire, south to New Jersey (See Exhibit 2). Three of the stores had been acquired from the owner of a four-chain enterprise who had come to the stark realization that running coffee shops was not going to be the road to riches that he had once imagined it would be. Beth recalled that they were able to make significant improvements in the stores that they took under management: When we acquired Cafà © Coffee, their gross margins were running in the low thirties. They had been managing the business from Wellesley, Massachusetts, and no one was going out to visit the stores. From a financial standpoint, we hammered down on the employee hours and on the food costs. That helped to drive their gross margins closer to 50 percent. Operationally, we kept some of their people, but not all. We put some of our own people in who had much different operational standards than the Cafà © Coffee people. At one store, we saw an increase in customer count, and in six months that store went from being in the red to being in the black. Just as Starbucks and Dunkin‟ Donuts never said „never‟ with regard to Mall locations, Beth followed through on an opportunity to develop a street-front location. She was excited about the challenge and the possibilities: There are so many locations that are still looking for high-end coffee bars. The question is; are we as a high-end coffee bar looking for that location? We just opened a store on the street in Manchester, Vermont. My rent there is $1,800 a month. I think it will work, but it will take some time to attract a customer base. If we can find some more good towns like that, I suspect that we will probably do more like that versus more Mall expansions.

Theme of Fate in Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare Essay

Some people may not believe that destiny is something that truthfully exists in the world. These people doubt that there is anything that is actually meant to be, or supposed to happen, thinking that there is always a way around troubling predicaments, knowing that it is not necessary to turn out just one certain way. They trust that whatever occurs in their lives comes as a result of the decisions that they make with their own free will. Others believe that whatever happens during the course of their lives is inevitable and every event is laid out before them like a road map to life, in other words, fate. William Shakespeares play, Romeo and Juliet has fate as an exceptionally crucial element which makes fate as important as any†¦show more content†¦It is because of fate that they meet because Romeo says it himself. The final deaths of the lovers is the consequence that he is talking about and the bitterness that starts the pathway to their ultimate tragedy is their first e ncounter, since they are supposed to be opposing enemies. It is also evident that Romeo cannot make intelligent decisions for himself when he says: ?Tut, I have lost myself. I am not here. / This is not Romeo. He?s somewhere else.?(Romeo and Juliet I i, 205-206). Romeo says he is not himself and that his mind is off somewhere else. As fate would have it, Romeo rushes head on into situations that were out of his control .For these reasons, Romeo and Juliets first meeting was sure to happen, fate being the most powerful force at work, determining their future. Romeo and Juliet?s first meeting was utterly coincidental. Neither person had the intention to find each other. It was fate that had Romeo to see her at that exact point in time when he asked the server who she was and the server could not tell him. When Romeo discovers who Juliet is, he says to himself, O dear account! My life is my foes debt. (Romeo and Juliet I v, 132) Despite the fact that they were born into feuding families, Romeo cant help but love Juliet because he already loves herShow MoreRelatedFate in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet Essay817 Words   |  4 PagesFate in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, written by the ever-famous William Shakespeare, is an eloquent story of passionate love between two teenage individuals of a time long ago. These individuals, Romeo and Juliet, fall helplessly in love with each other, in spite of the fact that their families, both upper class, have been enemies for generations. The two lovers therefore strive to maintain their ardent bond with each otherRead MoreRomeo and Juliet Is Still Important Now Essay621 Words   |  3 PagesRomeo and Juliet was written about 400 years ago. Although it is old, Romeo and Juliet is still relevant and important to peoples’ lives. The themes used in it are the themes that people enjoy, Shakespeare invented a lot of words people use today, and good for education. Romeo and Juliet is still a great play, still has a impact and entertain contemporary audience. In Romeo and Juliet, there are many themes. Love, rivalry, arguing with parents, friendship, and fate and destiny. These themes areRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet979 Words   |  4 Pagesthe play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, a literary canon, supplies its audience with knowledge and understanding. Shakespeare’s mix of romance, tragedy, and comedy makes Romeo and Juliet a definite worthy read. The play gives knowledge to audience members about family dynamics, and Shakespeare’s rendition of themes. Furthermore giving an understanding about the illusions Shakespeare’s canon planted and nurtured in the literary world and others perception. Romeo and Juliet, the firstRead MoreEssay on Consequences of Love and Hate Explored in Romeo and Juliet1075 Words   |  5 Pagesplaywright, William Shakespeare, the play Romeo and Juliet is written in a poetic disquisition that distinguishes many timeless themes. These themes transcend the boundaries of this perennial classic into the foundation of many prevailing modern-day literary workings. Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in the late fifteen hundreds in the riveting city of Verona, Italy, where it has since been revered as one of the most preeminent and recognized play’s in history. Romeo and Juliet explores the extentsRead MoreHow Does Conflict Manifest Itself in Romeo and Juliet?1509 Words   |  6 PagesRomeo and Juliet is a classic romantic tragedy that portrays the conflict of love between young teenagers and rival houses. It was written by William Shakespeare and is considered one of the most popular plays he wrote during his lifetime. However although it on e of his most popular plays, it is unknown what year the play is set or what year it was written. Throughout the play we follow the two main characters Romeo and Juliet. Romeo who is a Montague and Juliet who is a Capulet are members of twoRead MoreEssay on Fate in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet1096 Words   |  5 PagesFate in William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet When William Shakespeare wrote ‘Romeo Juliet’ he told a tale of â€Å"A pair of star crossed lovers†. The role of fate plays an important role in the play. The themes of conflict, love, revenge, religion destiny all tie in with the role of fate. Romeo Juliet were both born into and â€Å"ancient grudge† fuelled by two formidable families, the Capulets and Montagues. Fate plays a very important role in the play, and at theRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1328 Words   |  6 Pagesreading is Shakespeare plays. Most notably, Romeo and Juliet as being one of my personal favorites.Throughout the entirety reading the play i’ve noticed how much the themes play a role in the effect the characters and their surroundings,resulting in a tragic ending. From some examples, how fate plays into Romeo and Juliet being â€Å"star-cross’d lovers† and, the theme of love playing an extreme role which is pure and beautiful but also destructive and chaotic.Those are just some of the themes surroundingRead MoreEssay On Human Experience In Romeo And Juliet1054 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"For never was a story of more woe, than that of Juliet and her Romeo†. Good morning/afternoon [teacher] and class. Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet conveys human experience effectively, as the use of tragic and comic genre conventions engages the audience as well as stays accurate to the current time period. Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare circa 1595. The play consists of two love-struck protagonists who become star-crossed due to belonging to two rival families whoRead MoreRomeo and Juliet Fate Essay1103 Words   |  5 Pages‘Shakespeare intends the audience to see that the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was destined to happen’ In the play, Romeo and Juliet written by William Shakespeare, is about two â€Å"star crossed† lovers who are destined to end in a tragic accident. Fate is the path that leads to the future and cannot be altered no matter the outcome. Set in Shakespearean time, fate was believed to be in control of people’s lives. The fact that Romeo and Juliet would never live a peaceful life, none of the tragediesRead MoreShakespeares Romeo and Juiliet Shows the Forcefulness of Love and Fate759 Words   |  4 Pagesthe monologue of Romeo and Juliet, are, of course, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. It is fate which seems to bring these two lovers from rival families together. The eventually fatal attraction between these two lovers contributes strongly to Shakespeare’s overall theme of love. The strong connection between Romeo and Juliet help to show the forcefulness of both love and fate. Romeo and Juliet’s relationship is very strong. It is fate that brings them together, or so Shakespeare portrays by showing