Property investment decision making

Property investment decision making Introduction and background Within the process of property investment decision-making, increasing attention to the relationship between sustainability and business growth. The terms ‘sustainability refers to the relationship between environment protection and the economic development related with the industry society (Ratcliffe et al, 2009). As well as, property industry is considering of the business development with responsibility of social and environment. Furthermore, the increasing demands for property assts and investment opportunities that comply with the principle of sustainable development. This concept also discussed by McNamara (2005) the environmental friendly building will become more desirable property asset in future years even if it is not reflected in their current value. Therefore, sustainability development is taking in to account of the real estate company business context. Interestingly, Prudential Property Investment Manager Limited (PRUPIM) is the global real estate management company with over  £15billion of assets in more than 800 properties. In 2007, the company introduced ‘Sustainable Development: A Framework for Decision Making which targeted to minimise the business risk and maximise the market opportunities (Moore, 2007). Leads to the main proposal of the report as following; To analyse PRUIM Sustainability Development Framework in the UK real estate market focusing upon business park development. To critically review the Sustainability Development Framework in relation to the portfolio management of PRUPIM. To critically evaluate the Sustainability Development Framework in terms of, environmental scale of development and impact on the investment portfolio. To provide recommendations on improving PRUPIM portfolio in order to competitive advantage in UK real estate market. In particular, area of study in the business park portfolio at The Green Park in Reading and The Oxford Science Park in Oxford by using the interview with two (2) expertises in real estate investment and the academic published literatures. The chapter 1 of this report provides the published literatures review which concerned to sustainability development. The report focuses on the principle of triple bottom line to emphasise the correlation of economical, environmental and social within the sustainability development of real estate portfolio. Furthermore, the author adopted the sustainability development criteria (Sayce et al, 2004) to align the assessment of sustainable development framework of PRUPIM. Furthermore, the author provides business analysis of PRUPIM sustainability development framework by using PESTLE analysis. As well as, to identify the critical success factors of the sustainability framework by using Key Performance Index. In addition, the evaluation of PRUPIM sustainability framework in term of environmental, social and economic context this will be mention on Chapter 2. The chapter 3 of the report provides recommendation in order to short to intermediate term and long term to implementation the sustainability development framework for PRUPIM in further project investment. CHAPTER 1 Sustainability and Real Estate Portfolio Emerging of ‘Sustainability to ‘Sustainable Development Sustainability has become crucial environmental discussions. When an environmental issueis debated in the media, there is frequently a quotation from a scientist or an environmental activist saying that the trend in question is â€Å"unsustainable†. The idea of sustainability becomes crucial nowadays. Regarding to, it is much more powerful rhetorically than an idea like being â€Å"environmental friendly† (Dresner, 2002).Concept of sustainability was likely formed by the World Council of Churched in 1974 in the report of Ecumenical Study Conference on Science and Technology for Human Development (World Council of Churched, 1974). The environmentalist proposed for response to developing world objection to concerning to the environment when human being in many parts of the world suffers from lack of food and unemployment. Therefore, the concept of sustainable development was put forward by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources in 1980 (I nternational of Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 1980). Furthermore, sustainability issue within the real estate industry has been examined by a number of authors. Pivo and McNamara (2005) defined sustainability and the concept of responsibility property investment (RPI) as to maximize the positive effects and minimize the negative effects of property ownership, management and development on the social order and the natural environment in a way that is consistent with investor satisfactions and reliable responsibilities. Francesco and Levy (2008) also examined this definition within the others literature, the term â€Å"sustainability† might be viewed as providing a framework for adopting investment principle which provide correlation to the economic, social and the natural environments that effectively utilise resources for the current and future generations. As a consequence, sustainability considers the three main elements of economic accomplishment, social development and environmental friendly. With respect of, the social environment, the emphasis is on changing the behaviour of real estate market participants to become more aware of day-today sustainable living. As a result, sustainability is significantly important for over thirty years the concept has been developed by the scientists, the environmentalists and the social activists. At the initial stage of the discussion in sustainability concept was generated to the awareness of the quality of life for human being, which related to the social welfare and standardise of living of the future generation. Moreover, sustainability in real estate business has been developed under the circumstance of economic growth, environment protection and social wealth consideration to maximising benefits and minimising negative impact to the building owners, developers, and occupiers in term of society responsibility and environmental friendly. Moving forward to the term of ‘sustainability development according to, Dresner (2002), has been discussed sustainability and sustainable development finally came to prominences in 1987, when the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development published the Brundtland report which identified the way to square the circle of competing demands for environmental protection and economical development through out the new scheme of ‘sustainable development. The summary of the Brundtland report in 1987 has been defined sustainable development as ‘meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs needs (Dresner, 2002). Interestingly, Sayce et al., (2004) also have discussed the term of sustainable development became significantly important topic for many governments over the 20th century, following, the Rio de Janeiro declaration in 1992. In this summit, the represent of many countries across the world signed the agreement of principle of sustainable development and actions at international, national and local level. The global agenda is a set of eight main principles that governments should be certify; The fundamental of human rights to the environmental that is sufficient to people healthy and well-being; The preservation and proper use of the environment and built environment that profit to current and future generations; The encouragement of bio-diversity to ensure eco-system protection; The monitoring of environmental standards and publication of related information; The prior evaluation of environmental impacts from the development projects; The all individuals are informed of planned activities and given right to justice; The conservation is integrated to the planning and implementation of development activities; The co-ordination with other state towards mutual implementation. Additionally, Sayce et al., (2004) has been examined the eight principles of sustainable development in scale of the continental and country level as the European Union and the United Kingdom. According to, the Agenda 21 from the Rio 1992 summit. The plan for completing the sustainability development in business as the sets of great challenges for everyone and in this mean time, a combination of governmental legislation, political pressure and increased awareness on the part of the public, places the onus on all professional people to conduct their business in such a way that it does not conflict with the ambition of UK government to promote sustainable development. Sustainable development affects to all those concerned with the creation and maintenance of the built environment. The essence of sustainable development requires that in all development activity, due account is taken of both the short and long term of the activity for all those affected. The professionals in this field h ave a unique opportunity and obligation, whether they are developers, planning advisers, architects, contractors, building surveyors, property agents or investors. One of the key decisions for buildings that have implications for sustainable development is whether to demolish or retain an existing building. Economically, the decision may seem relatively simple but if the principle of sustainable development as to adopted, the implications become more complex the UK, Sustainable Development Strategy does not mean having less economic development: on the contrary, a healthy economy is better able to generate the resources to meet peoples needs and new investment and environmental improvement often go hand in hand†¦. What it requires is that decisions throughout society are taken with proper regard to their environmental impact. More recently, sustainability development relevance to social responsibility in real estate investment in term of, Social Responsibility Property Investment: SRPI. The property investors have become to be attentive of more ethical and environmental protection in the business development (Rapson et al., 2007). The fundamental of developing built environment to sustainable development required well-documented and becoming to increasingly well-recognised along the property community (Pivo and McNamara, 2005; WWF and Insight Investment, 2005; Morley Fund Management Ltd, 2005). Particularly, the commercial sustainability development implications the developers shall be determine the term of development location, the re-use of land, environmental reservation and â€Å"green buildings design† either to, the practices, method and materials employed (Keeping and Shiers, 2004) The progress forward to sustainability in real estate portfolio to date has mostly been downward to the work of architects and engineers on the development and construction part. On the other hand, there have BREEAM and the â€Å"Green Guide† series taken the responsibility to the production of new material of construction and the design as well as, the assessment criteria of sustainable development in property business (Rapson et al., 2007). According to McNamara (2005) cited in Rapson et al., (2007) has been discussed sustainability development have been developed from the circle of problem in the real estate and construction business between engineers or architect, developers, investors and occupiers. Sustainability development could be based on the development from technical knowledge, energy efficient factors and ethical in the business to the persuasion the developers and the investors to realize and interest in the business strategy. In summary, sustainability has been established over three decade from the group of people those concern to environmentally protection and well-being in the community. From the globalization agreement moved forward to continental scale and government policy of sustainable development. The term sustainability and sustainable development have been examined by a number of authors. In contract, Sustainable development has been developed from conflict in the cycle of real estate and construction. Next section will be explained why sustainability development is significantly important in the UK. Why sustainable development has taken placed in UK real estate and construction business? As Sayce et al., 2004 has been discussed the reason why sustainable development taking into account of real estate and construction. According to, the property and construction industry is significantly important to the UK economy and realisations the buildings have been relevance to all activities take place. People in the UK spent over half of their lives inside buildings. The good quality of work place should be affected the performance of the workers in theirs building and leads into the business growth as the result of sustainable development. Furthermore, construction industry is significantly important to indicate the wealth of the UKs annuals GDP. The report, ‘Construction in the UK economy: The Benefits of Investment (CBI, 2009) illustrated that sustainability development in construction and real estate industry is the best sector for stimulating employment. According to, every  £1 spent on construction business could be generated in the UK GDP growth to  £2.84, as the spending not only creates construction output worth  £1, but also stimulates growth elsewhere in the economy worth  £1.Consequently, the relationship between sustainable development in real estate and construction industry in the UK and the other parts of the economy, as well as, its crucial contribution to the numerous other social and economic contexts including the regional development and employment. The construction and real estate industry as a whole has to increase the attention into the broader environmental and social agenda. That this, presented by the concept of sustainable development regarding to the built environment affects to all human activities (Curwell and Cooper, 1998). Additionally, in 1999, the Kyoto Protocol is an agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In 1999, targets were agreed worldwide on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the target for the European Union was to reduce emissions to 8 per cent below 1990 levels by 2008-2012 (DTI, 2004).The UK has set itself the goal of reducing the gas emissions by 8-12 per cent by 2010 with respect of the global agreements, sustainability has been highlight on the UK government policy. Later on the same year in 1999, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has been published the strategy document ‘A better quality of life: Strategy for Sustainable De velopment for the United Kingdom (Tucker et al., 2009). The report is focused on social development in order to, recognize the needs of everyone, environmental protection, carefully use of natural resources and maintain the high level of economic growth and employment (DEFRA, 1999). The department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions: DETR (2000) also introduced the regulations to monitoring real estate and construction sectors to achieve of more sustainable development. The main proposes for more profitable and competitive, delivery customers satisfaction and value added by provide the sustainability building, with respect to create maximization of shareholder wealth. As well as, enhancing and protecting environmental and natural resources. And minimizing the impact of energy consumption particularly, carbon-based and natural resources. As a result, sustainable development has been contributed from three main contents in term of social, environmental and economic growth. The following section would be presented the significantly important of sustainability development in the equity of society, environment and economy principle. The triple bottom line principle (TBL) With the advent of sustainability development paradigm in real estate sector, corporations is become to move into economic conception of responsibility and influence the business strategy in response to environmental protection and changing society expectation (Robinson, 2000). Interestingly, Sayce et al., (2004, p.3) stated in building sustainability in balance of TBL principle as ‘The sustainable development context has three main aspects to be concern in term of Economic, Environmental and Social. The balance of these three elements is said to comply with the principle of the triple bottom line (TBL). Increasingly, corporate bodies are adopting TBL principle in developing their business activities. This is partly in response to legislative imperatives and partly due to an increasing realisation that compliance with and promotion of social and environmental well-being is good for business . In term of, economic factor refers to financial viability. These include issues of competitiveness advantage, employment, market development and long-term profitability. Economic sustainability is increasingly implicit of value added creation in broader rather than conventional financial accounting. Economical and financial aspects of sustainability development therefore, may be encompassing to decrease operations costs along the management system and emerging the new market through rigorous business integrity policies. As well as, increase productivity and high performance from a motivated workforce and workplace. And attract a new investor by offering opportunity in social responsible investment (ICC, 2002) As Jamali (2006) has been investigated environmental issues in sustainability development is focused on the impact from business activities to natural system, ecology system, and natural resources for instance, land, air and water. The responsible in environmental engage to comply with government regulations. In generally, the sustainable development in environmentally context also concerned to initiative of recycling and energy efficient. And it has been involved a comprehensive approach to a companys operations, products and that including the business product assessment, operations processes and services. Furthermore sustainability development in environmental point of view is focused on eliminating waste from the property during the under construction period until the project completion and hand-over to the customers; maximizing the efficiency and productivity of all assets and resources; and minimizing practice that might be negatively affect the natural resources for the future generations. The social element is become to corporate sustainability in term of centralize on the impact of the organization on the social activities. Particularly in the real estate sectors, social responsibility expectation of diverse groups either, internal and external stakeholders. As well as interest groups comprising civil society are actually considered and skillfully balanced. The social bottom line incorporated topics for instance, public health, society issues, public controversies, education and training, social justice, workplace safety, working environmental, human rights, equal opportunity and labour rights (Jamali, 2006). Therefore, sustainability is crucial in the property company business strategy to being balance between economic growth and the responsibility of environmental and social performance over the long term. Notwithstanding the compelling principle of TBL, the economic performance in the property company is controversial issues of its reliability and sustainability g rowth and thus as fundamentally element of the corporate social responsibility (CSR). However, to become social responsibility is increasingly understood to both involvement the environmental stewardship and concern to social activities (Windsor, 2001). Therefore, the challenge facing to the property company nowadays to becoming considered the principle of triple bottom line as a whole for generate and develop the business strategy in order to complying the sustainable development. Hence, the criteria assessment of sustainability development is essentially focus topics. The following section would be examined the sustainable development criteria from the published literature and leads to assessment the existing sustainable development framework of PRUPIM in chapter 2.

Persuasive Essay on John Proctor from the Crucible Essay

Who is John Proctor? Is he is a hero, a villain, a conqueror? Some may think he is craven, but others may credit him with great fortitude. This brave man was one of many who died for what he believed in. Although many people tried to persuade him to do otherwise, he stood his ground and died an innocent man. John had many reasons for choosing what he did. At first he was going to confess to save his life and be with his family. When Danforth made him sign the paper so he could post it on the Church doors, Proctor lost it. â€Å"It is my name! Because I cannot have another in my life! Because I lie and sign myself to lies! Because I am not worth the dust on the feet of them that hang! How may I live without my name? I have given you my soul; leave me my name!† is something he yelled to the court right after signing the paper. It was his name that they were taking away from him and it was the only one he will ever get. His sons will carry on that name, and if they post his it up for everyone to see, his good name will be ruined. Proctor is looking out for his sons, so they can carry on the family name with good reputation. Proctor had a right to not want his name up on the church doors. He didn’t want everybody seeing that he had confessed that he was a witch. John is supposed to be the guy everyone in the town looks up to. He didn’t want them seeing that he had committed a sin just so he could keep his life. He felt there was no need for them to use him to get other people to follow in his steps and lie. Proctor said to the court, â€Å" You will not use me! I am no Sarah Good or Tituba, I am John Proctor! You will not use me! It is no part of salvation that you should use me!† As a result of all this anger, John rips up the paper he signed. That being the case, John Proctor was hanged for the assumptions of being a witch. I know you all are outraged by the aftermath of all this, but Proctor made the right choice. He was concerned about having his â€Å"confession† made public. He was primarily afraid that his sons would never respect him and would think of him as craven fo r giving into the court. He died for the good of his family, not himself.

Individuality in 20th Century Art Essay

20th Century art has spawned great art forms. Its evident transformation had triggered the question of whether or not the development was caused by the pure genius of the artist or by the preceding art that he was born into. This essay will discuss how the artists of the 20th century have made art almost indefinable (Nicolas Pioch, The 20th century) by looking into the quotes of Immanuel Kant (1790) and Andre Malraux (1953), as well as looking at some actual works before and after 1950 which would illustrate that art has clearly become an expression of an artist’s emotions and thoughts as honed by the past. As individuality steps in, we will closely look at how an individual’s person is actually affected by his experiences and orientation on various aspects of his existence such as how he could have been raised, how he may have been exposed to previous artworks and the like. Immanuel Kant, in his quote from the Critique of Judgment (1790) had clearly defined genius as, â€Å"a talent for producing that for which no definite rule can be given†. I believe that this is like how scientists are referred to as geniuses, they have defied popular beliefs or what had actually become a norm for their time or era. They would produce materials that are not usual for the majority. Similar to this, I believe that such was also the case as he may have found that an artwork, which proved to be unique for its genre, is already a product of a genius. A good example of what was said to be a work of a genius was that of Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Donatello’s Crucifix (images shown in the Documentation). These were considered unique and were painted outside the what was considered as standard during their time or era, as these works had clearly defied the usual idea of what our usual picture of the heavens is (Starry Night) as well as the common picture of how Christ was crucified. Texture of these creations also scream of individuality as was the case with Van Gogh’s work. As was said by I. Kant, â€Å"originality must be its primary property† for an art to be considered as the work of a genius. It is clear he meant that it was something that was not usually done but did not deduce it to not being influenced at all by artworks that came before them. Instead the focus was on how they have made their creations different from the others without necessarily straying from the same idea or thought. Like in Van Gogh’s work, there had already been paintings depicting the heavens at night but its form and texture as well as the colors utilized were clearly out of the ordinary and had been very original despite the presence of previous artworks that had been made. On the other hand, Andre Malraux’s, â€Å"The Voices of Silence† (1953) compared artwork to a child that matures. Meaning that art basically evolves. It does not necessarily veer away from its contemporaries but is created from what he may have experienced. Like a child that may have learned to walk more carefully after acquiring a scratch from a fall, an artist was also said to rise from their own conflicts and the achievements of their predecessors. A person that may have lived within a war-torn era may create an artwork that depicts what he had witnessed, at the same time picking out best practices from works that were previously done by others and using them as inspiration to put his experience or what he had witnessed into a work of art. As such, A. Malraux was right about picking them out â€Å"from their struggle with the forms that others have imposed on life†. We note though, that experiences do not necessarily remain within the context of a person’s personal struggles but can derive thoughts from their successes as well or the comfort that they may have had. A classic example is Jose Manuel Merello Arvilla’s â€Å"bodegon electrico†, which depicts Spain’s colorful yet subdued culture evident in the shades and texture utilized. Similar to this is Vijendra Singh Devra’s painting of a three-part series called the Blue Night, where the texture was actually smooth and the contrast was stark that may be an evidence of the painter’s experiences or social status. It may not be easy to defy the norms. An artist is faced with the risk of being singled out either as great or poor. The genre of which the artwork is in defines the product that the artist creates. As mentioned in â€Å"Necrophilic Logics and the revolt of the imagination†, http://www. geocities. com/kk_abacus/carp. html: A split between the rational and irrational is constructed by every rational system; each rationality creates a corresponding irrationality, that which does not fit inside of it. Therefore, each rational system has inherent limits. To break out of a rationality, one must also be capable of conceiving of that which lies beyond the limits of that system. Rational systems can be useful tools but they can also become mental prisons. There is a slim demarcation between the subconscious and the imagination of a person as it says that both are something that goes beyond the inherent limits of man’s rationality. As such, it is clear that an artist’s genius is based on how he creates a unique description of what he has undergone or experienced as well as his absorption of what had been proven effective and successful for other artists as well.

Free Essays on Family Law

-FAMILY LAW ESSAY- â€Å"EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN RECOGNISING, REGULATING AND PROTECTNG THE MANY TYPES OF FAMILIES THAT EXIST† A family is defined as 'two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption or fostering, who are usually resident in the same household' (ABS). The Family Law Act 1975 protects this concept of 'Family'. However, often the effectiveness of the legal system in recognising, regulating and protecting the different types of families that exist is debated. The most common types of families that exist in the Australian society today are marriages, de facto relationship, ATSI and customary marriages and same-sex relationships. Historically, the concept of 'Family' that was recognised by the legal system differed largely to the one that is present today. Women in the past were often on the wrong side of the scale where marriages and divorces were concerned and alternative family arrangements were not recognised in the law, given them little or no regulation and protection. However over time as the society's morals and ethic changed about 'Family', the law was amended to recognise, regulate, and protect the changes, increasing the effectiveness of the legal system in these family arrangements. A marriage is 'the union of a man and women voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others'. This was defined in the case of Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) and is corporated into the Marriage Act 1866 (Cth). The Marriage Act sets down the requirements of a valid marriage, a marriage will be valid only if neither are under the age of 18 years/with parental consent (between the age of 16-17)/permission from a judge if consent is withheld; neither are related in a prohibited way that is related by blood (ancestor, descendant, sister/brother, uncle/aunt, niece/nephew); neither is already married... Free Essays on Family Law Free Essays on Family Law -FAMILY LAW ESSAY- â€Å"EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN RECOGNISING, REGULATING AND PROTECTNG THE MANY TYPES OF FAMILIES THAT EXIST† A family is defined as 'two or more persons, one of whom is at least 15 years of age, who are related by blood, marriage (registered or de facto), adoption or fostering, who are usually resident in the same household' (ABS). The Family Law Act 1975 protects this concept of 'Family'. However, often the effectiveness of the legal system in recognising, regulating and protecting the different types of families that exist is debated. The most common types of families that exist in the Australian society today are marriages, de facto relationship, ATSI and customary marriages and same-sex relationships. Historically, the concept of 'Family' that was recognised by the legal system differed largely to the one that is present today. Women in the past were often on the wrong side of the scale where marriages and divorces were concerned and alternative family arrangements were not recognised in the law, given them little or no regulation and protection. However over time as the society's morals and ethic changed about 'Family', the law was amended to recognise, regulate, and protect the changes, increasing the effectiveness of the legal system in these family arrangements. A marriage is 'the union of a man and women voluntarily entered into for life to the exclusion of all others'. This was defined in the case of Hyde v Hyde and Woodmansee (1866) and is corporated into the Marriage Act 1866 (Cth). The Marriage Act sets down the requirements of a valid marriage, a marriage will be valid only if neither are under the age of 18 years/with parental consent (between the age of 16-17)/permission from a judge if consent is withheld; neither are related in a prohibited way that is related by blood (ancestor, descendant, sister/brother, uncle/aunt, niece/nephew); neither is already married...

Debt Service Funds Essays - Accounting, Economy, Free Essays

Debt Service Funds Essays - Accounting, Economy, Free Essays Debt Service Funds A major goal of governmental financial reporting is assessing financial performance, that is, how well the government is doing with the money entrusted to it. From the standpoint of making judgments about the performance of government funds and government finance, the financial reports are a good place to start. These reports can provide a considerable amount of the information for gauging financial compliance, success, and health. Governmental and nonprofit accounting both use the concept of fund accounting. In fund accounting, the entity is divided into subsets or funds each with its own self-balancing set of accounts. Even though GASB Statement #34 will dramatically change the reporting format, the concept of fund accounting will remain the key difference between governmental and private sector accounting. A look at the various types of funds can lead to a better understanding of the impact they have on accounting disciplines. The funds are grouped into three fund types: governmen tal, proprietary, and fiduciary. There are also account groups, but account groups are not funds because they do not have transactions in the ordinary course of business. Instead, they are holding places for items such as fixed assets and long-term debt. Our focus is on one example of a governmental fund called a debt service fund. Codification section 1300.104a(4) defines a debt service as a fund to account for the accumulation of

Critical evaluation of two luxury brand stores Essay

Critical evaluation of two luxury brand stores - Essay Example Such kinds of people have high purchasing power and hence they go for such kinds of products. When one buys something of luxury brand one can genuinely feel the difference. Luxury brands grow and expand even when the economy goes down. People spend thousands of dollars to buy such kind of products. In this paper two luxury brands Hermes and Chanel will be considered. Hermes is a French manufacturer of luxury goods with its headquartered in Paris, France. Similarly Chanel is also a high fashion house headquartered in Paris, France. The each has their own touch points across the world where they reflect their individuality with the customers. Such brands need to take care of their marketing strategy in such a way that their brand value does not get affected. Discussion In this section of the essay, the detailed discussion about each of the two chosen brands will be conducted. The discussion of each brand includes overview and analysis of the brand; and brand message and communication a cross brand touch points. In overview and analysis of the brand the key focus will be on brand position and heritage, and brand DNA. In brand message and communication, the key focus will be on the concept stores and other communication tools. Analysis of the two brands in above mentioned perspectives has been conducted separately for each of the two brands below. Hermes International Figure 1: Logo of Hermes International It was founded by Thierry Hermes in 1837. ... Hermes International S.A. has around 304 exclusive stores including 180 branches, 21 retail outlets and 124 concessionaries (Tran, 2012, p. 3). It employees only 9081 persons, but their revenues keeps increasing rapidly in many years. Their revenue in 2011 was 2,841 million euros. The prices of their products are sky high but still their sales keeps on increasing every year. For example on an average Hermes handbag cost $ 3000 -$ 5000, but people still prefer to buy them (Hermes, 2013, p. 1). Hermes targets teenagers and young adults who love fashion. Their customer wants high quality merchandise with good features and wonderful after sale service. Their customers earn high incomes and do not bother about how expensive the prices are. They basically look for limited edition leather watches. Such customers want to own something which other common people can’t afford to buy. United States is an important market for Hermes. They target high income customers who are mostly males. Hence they focus more on male accessories than female counterparts (Ritson, 2010, p. 1). Likewise their target customers are different across different countries, depending on the demography of the economy. Like Hermes is now trying to target the Mainland China. According to a study in China, male consumer s purchase more luxury products online as compared to female counterparts. So there also they sell the male accessories. Figure 2: Hermes International Store in London Hermes basically gives two powerful messages thorough their stores. One is the craftsmanship displayed by their artisans in creating their products. Another message is the quality and commitment to service delivery which is displayed by the service received by the customers who visits

Social Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Social Media - Essay Example Social media differentiates from traditional/industrial media in many aspects such as usability, reach, frequency, quality, permanence, and immediacy. There are many effects, which stem from internet usage. The role of social media in marketing is to use it as a communication tool that makes the companies accessible to those interested in their product and makes them visible to those that do not know their result. It ought to lie used as a tool that creates a personality behind their brand and creates relationships that they otherwise may never gain. This not only creates repeat-buyers, but customer loyalty as well. Fact is social media is so diversified that it can be used in whatever way best suits the interest and the needs of the business (Tini, 2011). Social media depend on mobile and web-based technologies to create highly interactive platforms through which individuals and communities co-create, share, discuss, and modify user-generated content. It introduces pervasive and sub stantial changes to communication between relative communities, organizations, and individuals. Various statistics account for social media usage and effectiveness for individuals worldwide. Some of the most recent statistics have it that Facebook remains the most-visited social network in the U.S. and all over the world. It receives over 152.2 million visitors via P.C and is multiple times the size of the next largest social site across this platform. Similarly, statistics state that Consumers continue to spend more time on social networks than on any other category of sites. To be more precise, they spend roughly 20% of their total time online via, and 30% of total time online via mobile (Smith, 2011). Social media can have tremendous benefits but also can have serious security risks for organizations. Two of the greatest risks to organizations are malware and inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information. The security risks are often cited by companies as a reason they do not a llow social media use. Seventy-two percent of companies believe employees’ use of social media poses a threat to their organizations. Their concerns are justified. Companies in the west are investing increasingly in SMM to get in touch with their customers (Capriotti, 2009). They indulge in constant interaction with their prospects in order to understand their needs and hence make products better. It lies as the best way to learn from ones customers about their needs and your own shortcomings. Nonetheless, SMM is a very personalized way of advertising and promotions can lie targeted only to specific groups, which are interested in a particular domain, quite unlike conventional advertising. According to a report by researchers, the incidence of malware is increasing on the most popular social media sites including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter (Smith, 2011). There are currently more than one thousand companies compiling comprehensive databases about individual consumers, a va st increase in just five years. Rather than engaging in mass marketing, they focus on gathering as much information as possible about specific people to engage in targeted or profile marketing. By compiling layer upon layer of information about specific individuals, they are able to produce a profile based on income, lifestyle, and an enormous variety of other factors. By making use of these databases, it is possible to identify people by what many would