Bunn-O-Matic Coffee Maker Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bunn-O-Matic Coffee Maker - Research Paper Example Upon discussing the importance of marketing concept over the profitability of Bunn-O-Matic, this essay will focus on identifying the company’s target market for Bunn-O-Matic Coffee Maker by conducting market segmentation. Eventually, the rationale behind the target marketing strategy used by Bunn-O-Matic will be thoroughly explained. Increasing the company’s sales and profitability is the main goal of Bunn-O-Matic. Given that each individual have their own specific needs and wants, the study of marketing should be focused on allowing the company to address these concerns. Some products could satisfy the specific need of consumers. Included in the study of marketing mix or the 4 P’s known as price, product, promotion (marketing communication), and place (distribution); the product preferences of Bunn-O-Matic’s target consumer can be guided by marketing variables such as the product value, cost, customer(s) satisfaction, and market distribution (Kotler & Armstrong, 1997, p. 52; McCarthy & Perreault, 1993, p. 46). The study of marketing is a very broad subject that aims to improve the company’s financial performance not only through selling and advertisements but also in finding ways to develop and establish a good relationship with the target customers. Therefore, it is wrong to believe that the study of marketing is focused only on selling and advertising. It is easier for Bunn-O-Matic to identify its target market by dividing the consumers into subgroups (Roger, 2005, p. 15). For Bunn-O-Matic coffee makers, dividing the consumers into subgroups is possible by developing specific market segment of consumer characteristics related to demographic, psychographic, and geographic factors (Kotler, 2000, p. 8, 263). Demographic segmentation examines a wide-range of variables including age, size of family, family life cycle, gender, income, occupation, educational attainment, religion, race, generation, nationality, and social class of

Applying Theory to Practice Essay Example for Free

Applying Theory to Practice Essay Theory offers procedure and arrangement to nursing knowledge and provides a methodical way of collecting data to define, clarify, and forecast nursing practice (McEwen Willis, 2011). Nurses use nursing theory to develop a certain outlook about patient care. Nursing theories serve as a shared groundwork for nursing practice across all settings to develop better patient care outcomes. This paper will explore childhood obesity and then apply to practice a mid-range and a borrowed nursing theory to the practice problem. Childhood obesity is a national problem that crosses all economic and social lines. Overweight children and adolescents are in jeopardy of having heart disease, such as hyperlipidemia or hypertension. In a varied group trial of 5- to 17-year-olds youths, 70% of overweight youth had at least one risk factor for heart disease (Freedman, Zuguo, Srinivasan, Berenson, Dietz, 2007). Overweight youth are at higher risk to develop Type II diabetes (Li, Ford, Zhao, Mokdad, 2009). Type II diabetes increases the risk of long term complications such as renal disease, visual impairment, cardiovascular disease, amputation, neuropathy, up to and including death. Youth that are overweight are also at higher risk for musculoskeletal issues, sleep disorders, socio-economic problems due to families inability to obtain medications and treatment. Overweight youth are also at risk of psychological problems such as being bullied in school, depression, suicide, and poor self-esteem (Dietz, 2004). Children and adolescents who are obese often carry this into adulthood and become obese adults. This sets them up for the likely hood of adult health problems such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and osteoarthritis (Guo Chumlea, 1999). Some of the long term ramifications of childhood obesity include but are not limited to many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Kushi et al., 2006). There are so many short term and long term emotional and physical ramifications associated with childhood obesity that it warrants research and study. Childhood obesity is preventable and treatable. As a society it is time that measures were put into place to reduce the ever increasing numbers of children dealing with childhood obesity on a daily basis. There also seems to be a tendency for obesity to be passed down from generation to generation not because of genetics alone, but because of the learned lifestyle of the family. To treat children and adolescents for obesity it is going to take educating and treating the entire family unit. References Dietz, W. H. (2004). Overweight in childhood and adolescents. New England Journal of Medicine, 350(), 855-857. Freedman, D. S., Zuguo, M., Srinivasan, S. R., Berenson, G. S., Dietz, W. H. (2007). Cardiovascular risk factors and excess adiposity among overweight children and adolescents: the Bogalusa heart study. Journal of Pediatrics, 150(1), 12-17. Guo, S. S., Chumlea, W. C. (1999). Tracking of body mass index in children in relation to overweight in adulthood. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 70(), 145-148. Kushi, L. H., Byers, T., Doyle, C., Bandera, E. V., McCullough, M., Gansler, T. (2006). American cancer society guidelines on nutrition and physical activity for cancer prevention: Reducing the risk of cancer with healthy food choices and physical activity. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56(56), 254. Li, C., Ford, E. S., Zhao, G., Mokdad, A. H. (2009). Prevalence of prediabetes and its association with clustering of cardiometabolic risk factors and hyperinsuline mia among US adolescents. Diabetes Care, 32(). McEwen, M., Willis, E. M. (2011). Theoretical basis for nursing (3 ed.). Philidelphia, PA: Wolters Kluwer .

Vietnam Airlines: An overview

Vietnam Airlines: An overview INTRODUCTION Vietnam Airlines is the flag carrier of Vietnam, the country with population of 85 million and 330 000 square meter. It was established in January 1956 by the Government and marked the birth of aviation industry in Vietnam, and served only domestic flights (Vietnam Airline, 2008). After the end of Vietnam War, from 1976, Vietnam Airlines started international flights, including South East Asian countries and China. Another turning point of Vietnam Airlines is year 1993 when this airline became the national flag Airlines of Vietnam. Nowadays, Vietnam Airlines connects 19 cities throughout the country and 42 international destinations (including code-sharing services) in Asia, Europe, US and Australia,. Mission: As a flag carrier, Vietnam Airline wants to be the bridge between Vietnam and other countries in the world and â€Å"bring Vietnam cultural to the world† (Vietnam Airline, 2008). The International Air Transport Association (as cited by Chan (2000)) predicts air travel in Asian Pacific will account for 40 % in 2010. The potential of this airline market increases due to the fact that the attractive of tourism, the emerging economies and the increase number of middle-class. Unlike in Western country, surface transportation, such as railways, highways in Asia is not good and therefore, it can create opportunities for airline transportation as the only and the faster way. Like other countries in Asia, the potential of Vietnam market is high and untapped. In 2007, 4.2 million foreign visitors travelled to Vietnam, 16 per cent more than in 2006 (Sydney Morning Herald, 2008). And according to Sydney Morning Herald (2008), Vietnam is ranked as number 4 by The World Travel and Tourism Council on its list of the worlds fastest growing travel destinations. Vietnams domestic market is also highly potential due to the fact that surface transportation infrastructure is not competitive. It takes more than 30 hours to travel by train, from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, much higher than nearly 2 hours of normal flight. Other alternative is coaches which also take time and inconvenient. Although average income per capita of Vietnamese is only 835 US Dollars (in 2007) (General Statistics Office of Vietnam, 2008), lower than other neighbour countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore; the income increases gradually in the last few years increase 7% per annum, shows the tourism potential of this airline in Vietnam market. Moreover, due to high population density and business opportunities in two largest economic hubs of Vietnam: Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, travel demand for business purpose is very high. However, aviation service quality in Vietnam is far behind the international standard. It is very easy to find tons of articles of customers complaints about all three domestic airlines in Vietnam: Vietnam Airlines, Indochina Airlines, Jetstar Pacific. Even in Vietnam Airlines, the national flag carrier and full service airline, service delivery is mainly product-oriented which has set the mind of management board to be far apart from customer-oriented. Customer dissatisfaction varies from booking services, poor catering, the temper of air crew to luggage delivery services. Broad aim of the research: Use SERVQUAL model to assess customer satisfaction and service quality of Vietnam Airlines. Research questions: How can the customer satisfaction with Vietnam Airlines be described? How satisfied of Vietnam Airlines customer with its services? How can Vietnam Airlines managers improve the service satisfaction among Vietnam Airlines customers? The main purpose of this study is to investigate customer satisfaction in airline industry. In the chosen airline, Vietnam Airlines, the author aims to explore what customer satisfaction is in the perceptions of the airline passengers and find the solutions to improve customer satisfaction. By analyzing questionnaires and interview of customers, customer satisfaction degree will be examined and after that, new strategies and recommendations will be given for Vietnam Airlines to enhance service quality. This study aims to help Vietnam Airlines management to better diagnose the customers needs and expectations. It will also play a role in identifying the present situation of this flag carrier and suggest future strategies for better customers service. Conceptual framework: To investigate the service quality and customer satisfaction of Vietnam Airlines, I will use the SERVQUAL model (Parasuraman et al, 1985, as cited by Chau and Kao (2009)) which the de LITERATURE REVIEW The importance of customer satisfaction: Thank to good services and customer satisfaction is met, behavioral acts of customer can affect the profitability and market share of a firm through three main behavior: word-of-mouth, repurchase intention and positive feedback. The first customer behavior is â€Å"word of mouth†, defined by Saha and Theinge (2009) as a flow of information about products and services that passes from one customer to other and can be used as trustable source of information to evaluate recommendations (mouth to mouth marketing). In all case, customer satisfaction does not always create mouth-to-mouth marketing but it is a necessity that satisfaction is met for positive word-of-mouth. Research conducted by Babin (2005) shows that not only pleased customers generate world-of-mouth but also extremely dissatisfied customers causes negative feedback and controlling two flows of information is necessary for marketers. Secondly, good services also lead to repurchase intention or customer loyalty. It is very necessary to gain loyalty because it is cheaper to keep old customers than lure new ones from other service providers. Airline carriers often use â€Å"frequent flyer scheme† but it is not often applied for budget airlines due to the high cost. Only by services and affordable price, low cost carriers can maintain the number of customers. Another behavior of customers as mentioned above, customer behavior, refers to transmission of complaints and compliments to service suppliers. Soderlund (1998) shows that dissatisfied customers tends to generate negative feedback than positive one from satisfied customers. The number of feedback cannot be the most precise method for customer analysis but it is useful to forecast consumer trends and improve services. Customer satisfaction in airline industry: Tai and Chan (2002) define service satisfaction as the post purchase evaluation of consumption experience. Unlike material products or pure services, airline service- like other hospitality services is combination of tangible products and quality of service offered to passengers. For example, satisfaction with hospitality service- such as a restaurant meal is amalgamation of the food or drink (material product), the behavior of waiters or waitresses, and the environment of the restaurant (decoration, lighting). In aviation industry, the core products are only physically transport customers and their luggage between two destinations. Other services in a flight, such as making enquiry and booking, seat allocation, in-flight services and baggage handling are only secondary tasks but they can create dissatisfaction if it is performed badly. Service quality and customer satisfaction becomes vital in the sustainability of aviation industry, basing on following criteria: financial data, fares, passenger load factors, service related issues (Sultan and Simpson, 2000). Sultan and Simpson (2000) suggest marketing strategies for airline industry focus on customer satisfaction, rather than company profit. Airline service can also be rated in terms of five dimensions: overall performance, comfort, service, food and website (Rhoades, 2006). On the other hand, Rhoades and Waguespack (2005) points out the operational measures of airline service qualities: the number of flight delays, mishandled baggage, overbooks flights and consumer complaints. Only a few airlines (including Singapore Airlines, British Airways and American Airlines) can establish the reputation of high service quality (Chan, 2000). These airlines are successful in positioning themselves, not by offering the cheapest prices but delivering excellent service quality. Providing consistent service quality is a challenge for all companies in service sector, including airline industry. In these days, to keep the high level of quality standard, mega carriers and small airlines are cooperating rather than competing with others by sub-contracting, code sharing and global marketing network. (Nejati et al, 2008). The formation of these alliances increases the benefit of economies of scale by enhancing flight availability and yield from customers. However, to work in effective way, two airlines must offer similar service level and position themselves in the same way in the market. Customer satisfaction Measurement SERVQUAL -the gap model which is firstly proposed by Parasuraman (1985) (as cited by Nejati, 2008) is a widely used model and has been applied for plenty of service industries: public services (Bryland (2001) and Wisniewski (2001)), police services (Donnelly et al, 2006), heath care (Kilbourne, 2004), mobile communication (Lai et al, 2007), etc. SERVQUAL is based on the assumption that the service quality is measured by the gap between the customers needs and wants of service and the actual service quality that customers receive from service provider (Donnelly, 2006). If the service is over customers expectation, it is assessed as excellent service; otherwise, the service becomes unacceptable. It is a useful method because service quality is assessed from customers perspectives, and by comparing and contrasting the difference between the each customers groups and the differences between the company and its competitors, managers know where they are in the market, how to position the s ervice and which group will be the target customers. Zeithaml (1990) (As cited by Donnelly et al, 2006) identifies five dimensions of service quality management: -Tangibles: the existence of modern equipment and facilities, professional employees, and communication materials. Reliability: performing the service as promised, carrying out the service right at the first time and managing to solve customer services problems. Responsiveness: willingness to help customers, provide prompt service and readiness to customers request. Assurance. The knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and confidence. Empathy: understanding customers need and wants and giving customers individual attention, convenient business hours. Among the five gaps of SERVQUAL, this research concentrates on Gap 5- the difference between customers expectation and perception. The reason for this limitation of the research due to the fact that it is the only gap that can be investigated solely by the data provided by customers while other gaps need information from management board and the company itself. BIBILIOGRAPHY: Boddy, D. (2008), Management: An introduction, 4th edn, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Bryman, A. and Bell, E. (2007), Business research methods, 2nd edn, Oxford University Express: New York. Collis, J. and Hussey, R. (2009), Business Research: A practical guide for undergraduate and post graduate students, 3rd edn, Palgrave Macmillan: Hampshire. Chan, D. (2000), â€Å"Air wars in Asia: competitive and collaborative strategies and tactics in action†, Journal of Management Development, 19 (6), pp 473-488, EMERALD. [Online]. Available http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0260190602.pdf (Accessed May 25th 2009). Doganis. R. (2001), The airline business in the 21st century, Rouledge: London. Fisher, C. (2004), Researching and writing a dissertation for business students, Pearson Education Limited: Essex. Horn, R. (2009), Researching and writing dissertations: A complete guide for business and management students, Chartered institute of personnel and development: London. Knowles, R., Shaw, J. and Docherty, I. (2008), Transport Geographies: Mobilities, Flows and Spaces, Blackwell Publishing Ltd: HongKong. Hanlon, P. (2007), Global airlines: competition in a transnational industry, 3rd edn, Butterworth-Heinemann: Oxford. Liu, A.H.(2006) ‘Customer value and switching costs in business services: developing exit barriers through strategic value management , Journal of Business Industrial marketing,21(1), pp.30-37 EMERALD [Online].Available at: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewPDF.jsp?contentType=ArticleFilename=html/Output/Published/EmeraldFullTextArticle/Pdf/0800210104.pdf (Accessed: 14 May 2009)Mowen, J. (1995), Consumer Behavior, Prentice Hall: New Jersey.Saha and Theingi (2009), â€Å"Service quality, satisfaction and behaviour intentions: A study of low cost airlines carriers in Thailand†, â€Å"Managing Service quality, 19(3), pp 350-372, EMERALD. [Online]. Available at http://www.emeraldinsight.com/Insight/viewContentItem.do;jsessionid=962B9598F85C1E4B396446804F931677?contentType=ArticlehdAction=lnkhtmlcontentId=1789597history=false (Accessed May 25th 2009). Solomon, M. (2007), Consumer Behaviour: Buying, having and being, 7th edn, Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey. Vogel, V., Evanschitzky, H. Ramaseshan, B. (2008), â€Å"Customer equity drivers and future sales, Journal of Marketing, Vol 72 (Nov 2008), pp 98-108, [Online], Available at http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdf?vid=2hid=6sid=7ab9124a-a6ce-45e3-8f37-f753a51e48ee%40SRCSM2#db=buhAN=34664503 (Accessed May 4th 2009) General Statistics Office of Vietnam (2009), Statistical Handbook of Vietnam 2008 -National Account, [Online] Available at http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=515idmid=5ItemID=8445 Accessed Jun 16th, 2009. . Mitton, R. (2007), Vietnam: Surge in flights to trendy destination, The Straits Times, [online], Available at http://www.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20071203-39379.html (Accessed July 3rd, 2009). http://www.itpc.gov.vn/importers/news/2009/05/2009-05-14.683111/MISNews_view?b_start:int=40set_language=en Sydney Morning Harald (2008), Jetstar targets Vietnam tourists boom, [Online], Available at http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/jetstar-targets-vietnams-tourist-boom/2008/05/26/1211653891044.html (Accessed May 25th, 2009). Vietnam Airlines (2008), Our Background, Available at http://www.vietnamairlines.com/wps/portal/en/site/about_us/our_background (Accessed June 18th 2009).

The Oppressed People of Burma Essay -- Essays Papers

The Oppressed People of Burma Burma, like many other Southeast Asian nations, is a land of much culture and diversity of ethnic groups. Unfortunately, unlike the people of other nations, the people of Burma have been stripped of their human rights. Since the military junta had overtaken the Burmese government in 1988, the people of Burma have been among the most oppressed people in the world. The continuation of the government’s brutality has caught the attention of many outside nations around the world who increasingly have been intervening in Burma’s issues to help its people. As these occurrences are a major issue for the people of Burma, these problems are not restricted to its boundaries. They are also becoming a problem for some of Burma’s neighboring countries such as Thailand. With a quick look at current events, it is clear that the oppression of the native people in Burma is still in its most intensive state. But first, an introduction of Burma’s background will spark interest as to how a culturally rich country could turn into a land full of people in search of their basic human right -- freedom. Burma is considered the land of rice and teak wood, in addition to its being rich in many other natural resources. The official language is Burmese and the major religions include Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. A population of 49.5 million inhabits the land, in a 261,789 square mile area. The ethnic composition consists of the Burmans, the Shans, the Karns, the Mons, the Chins, the Kachins, as well as a significant population of Indians and Chinese who have migrated from their respective homelands. (Compton’s Encyclopedia) Three-quarters of the population live in rural areas. In recent decades, Burma has bee... ... Larry. â€Å"ASEAN under pressure to use its influence.† Bangkok Post. 15 May 2003. 21 May 2003. http://www.bangkokpost.com/150503_News/15May2003_news24.html Mydans, Seth. â€Å"Officials in Burma deny that dissident was hurt.† International Herald Tribune. 4 June 2003. 4 June 2003. http://www.iht.com/articles/98436.html Srivalo, Piyanart. â€Å"Drugs to top Thai-Burma talks.† Asian Tribune. 30 December 2003. 14 May 2003. http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=1745 Tammachatwichit, Tavorn. â€Å"The Pipeline.† 17 May 2003. http://www.ibiblio.org/freeburma/boycott/oil/pipeline2.html The Nation, â€Å"Door to shut on refugees.† Asian Tribune. 20 December 2002. 14 May 2003. http://www.asiantribune.com/show_news.php?id=1748 Theparat, Chatrudee. â€Å"Thailand to unveil hub aim at summit.† Bangkok Post. 5 May 2003. 21 May 2003. http://www.bangkokpost.com/050503_Business/05May2003_biz45.html

Goodman Company

Case Analysis: Goodman Company Problem Statement †¢How did the sudden adoption of a newly conceived production process, aimed at increasing efficiency, affect the performance of workers at Goodman Company? How come some workers thrived while others buckled under the new system? Analysis †¢The president of the company sought to hire a production analyst so as to increase efficiency at the plant. He viewed their future to be promising if they could keep up production to meet increased demands. Ann Bennet, the new production analyst, chose to streamline the process, whereby work was broken down according to tasks, hoping to make it more efficient. †¢The shift supervisors were not involved in Ms. Benett’s and the president’s plan. They were more or less given orders to implement the new plan effective immediately, thereby not taking into account problems on the floor, or issues workers or supervisors had with the plan. Had they been involved in the planning s tages, they could have communicated the pros and cons of adopting the new plan. †¢As a result, each shift accepted and reacted to the change differently. The new plan was poorly implemented within the 1st shift. They were resistant to adapt to change as most workers on this shift were long time employees in their 50s. Their supervisor had been with the company a very long time. He continued to approach his job the same way he did ever since he started there. He also seemed to be ready to wind down and spent a lot of time researching his ideal retirement location. There was considerable disappointment among workers over the company not sharing profits, as they believed they were more productive than the other shifts.The employees in the 1st shift did not enjoy camaraderie outside work. They went their separate ways after work. The new plan required teamwork to be successful. These employees worked independently prior to the transition and did not understand sharing responsibilit ies. Additionally no training was given to facilitate this understanding. Employees clearly were not motivated prior to the adoption of the new process. After the implementation of the new plan, all of the above factors contributed to their decreased performance. †¢In the 2nd shift, the supervisor had no nteraction with his employees and as a group leader it is necessary to interact continuously with group members. When he was appointed supervisor, the group did not readily accept him and he did not socialize but rather believed that they should do their work. Therefore they were reluctant to speak to him on any problems that they encountered. They preferred to speak with Jim Fask, who was a senior member of the group with a lot of experience, but had no formal authority on them. The supervisor attributed poor performance of his shift to the new plan and to Jim Fask’s removal from the group.He did not think communicating with members would stimulate them. †¢Employee s in the 3rd shift were well informed about the new process. They spent enough time familiarizing themselves with the changes. The supervisor was friendly and encouraged ideas. He enabled each person to be an operator and therefore tried to keep boredom at bay. They socialized outside work and got along well with each other. They understood teamwork and often chose to work in groups. The group realized that the more efficient they made the process the more time they had to enjoy a little free time. Therefore they were able to outperform the other shifts. Lack of communication in the 1st and 2nd shifts led employees being less committed. Workers were not motivated towards goals. Goals were not communicated to them in this case. †¢Therefore lack of communication, leadership skills, not involving supervisors in decision making all led to factors affecting productivity adversely. Conclusions †¢1st shift workers seemed dissatisfied and lacked motivation before the new process w as implemented. After the new plan was implemented they didn’t welcome the change, the supervisor himself was not thrilled about it and didn’t initiate any advise to them.This resulted in poor performance and increased job dissatisfaction. †¢2nd shift workers lacked a good leader. Their supervisor was not disturbed by the fact that his employees did not communicate with him much and was comfortable with the fact that they spoke about all issues to a senior member of the team. †¢Workers in the 3rd shift seemed to survive the transition, as they were pro-active, flexible, and challenged one another. Their supervisor encouraged them and prepared them well for the changes that were to come. Recommendations †¢Goals must be clearly communicated to all members of the organization.This enables them understand what is expected of them and the importance of their involvement to accomplish them. †¢Prepare employees for change. Change is inevitable. Employees m ust be given enough training to familiarize themselves to the coming changes. †¢Supervisors must exhibit superior leadership skills over groups and must be available to encourage employees to perform. They must set goals, devise methods, and not shudder to incorporate ideas from employees to streamline the process. †¢Employee appreciation awards can lead to increased motivation.

Coast4Life Inc.

This report outlines the strategic options available to Coast4Life for the upcoming fiscal year. Through my research, I have identified the current situational analysis that is necessary to be considered for the options that will be provided in this report. Current situational analysis: Vision: Coast4Life cruise will be the first choice for vacationers who are seeking a safe, enjoyable and unique cruise experience in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. Mission: Coast4Life meets the needs of vacationers by offering safe, enjoyable and unique cruises along BC coast at affordable prices and at a high quality of service.Coast4Life strives to minimize the safety effects of cruising on ecology and maximize the safety of customers, staff and marine life by ensuring ships are well maintained and environmental and safety regulations are exceeded. Preferences: The Board of Directors(BOD) preference is to be profitable and maintain a positive net income in light of upcoming economic downturn. The G eneral Manager of the Fraser dry dock believes it defines the reputation on BC Coast for Coast4Life safety. Constraints: Cash available on hand is $10,461,000 and an after tax rate of return on 16%.Key Success Factors: Coast4life cruises wants to provide high quality services to the passengers. Refer to the passenger/crew ratio in comparison to industry averages(see Appendix 3-1). Current Financial Analysis(See Appendix 1- Financial Ratios): Ongoing increase to Coast4life’s abilities to meet its short-term obligations. In light of the slight increase of acquiring additional assets, our revenue streams still continues to outmatch this on a steady basis; however, the incremental revenue is declining with each year.Our service offerings grow; generating incremental income each year; nevertheless, Coast Native and Natural Splendour gross margin’s are the same, and each offers different services. Company’s ability to cover interest is growing over the years, and our debts are declining. Coast4Life’s ability to convert investments into profit has increased. Strategic Options: To cut costs. Option#1: Divesture of the Fraser dry dock Pro(s): Gain on sale of $7,274,000; in favour of BOD preferences and in line of providing the necessary funds to maintain incremental financial targets for upcoming economic downturn(see Appendix 3- 2).Con(s): Against general manager’s preference, as can affect the reputation of the company – the quality of safety regulations the company adheres to. Option #2: Registering Coast4Life’s ships in Liberia Pro(s): Wages&Salaries will be cut by 30%; In favour of BOD’s preference to cut costs – $1,423,530 would be saved by outsourcing from Liberia(see Appendix #3- 3). Con(s): Affect quality of service provided by the crew; be against the mission statement Hiring unskilled labour can potentially increase management expenses(Additional Training).Minor options: For materiality purposes with respect to revenue sources the following are minor options to generate additional revenue: Option #1: Switching customer target markets Pro(s): By targeting 40-60 year olds, revenue streams will increase by 20%, which could also increase all financial ratios by the same rate and, thus be in line with the vision statement. This target group can afford a more unique experience given industry annual family income of $78,000. For ages 40 -60 Industry is higher by 8% so we have space to grow and target this age group (see Appendix 3-4). Con(s):By changing target there is no guarantee that revenues will be maintained throughout the downturn in the following fiscal year even with growth in tourism industry in Canada. Option #2: Implement a web-based booking system Pro(s): Can potentially save the company up to $1,341,250 [($2,146,000Ãâ€"10% reduction)/16% after tax rate of return] in travel agent commissions over the life of the company and assist in further increasing the companyâ⠂¬â„¢s activity ratio Can be paid off in less than 4 months. The payback formula proves that no cash is needed to be spent, as through the incremental savings this investment will be recouped(see Appendix 3-5).Cons: Decrease word of mouth advertising via travel agents. Increase global competition due to the online presence. Recommendation Given the uncertain future ahead, it is best to be conservative and in line with the current mission statement for company objectives. It would be best that Fraser dock would be divested and web-based booking system would be implemented. This would cut costs and increase revenues via savings that can be earned without risking the reputation of the company or established revenue stream. With this consideration, the company will still have enough resources to maintain its financial position.