The New Fuss About Writing a Thesis Paper Website

The New Fuss About Writing a Thesis Paper Website You are going to be able to choose the academic requirement of the essay we create for you to be sure you know your customized essay will satisfy the necessary assessment standards. In the rest of the essay, you just support the thesis. A thesis statement is among the most significant elements of any successful essay. Developing a thesis statement ought to be an extremely simple endeavor. The Downside Risk of Writing a Thesis Paper Website Writing a paper will raise your competence in some specifically appreciable location. When you get a term paper from us, you may rest assured that we'll carefully adhere to all the assignment instructions and supply you with a 100% error-free paper that will guarantee a great grade. Term paper cannot be written at the same time. Writing a research paper is a significant skill you should learn. Understanding what an excellent APA format is created up is the trick to producing an amazing paper. 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The American Dream in And the Earth Did Not Devour Him,...

Millions of people of all nationalities came to America during the twentieth century with the hope of finding a new and better life for themselves. These immigrants were lured by the thought of obtaining the American Dream--life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness in the land of opportunity. Unfortunately, few immigrants were actually successful in achieving the dream. Most were faced with hardship and discrimination, instead of the expected equality and freedom. The dire living conditions hampered their ability to pursue happiness and created what W.E.B. Dubois called the veil, which refers to the fabric of racism that separates whites from other ethnicities and causes non-whites to see themselves under the distortion of a†¦show more content†¦When the ex-colored man proceeds to stand he is told to sit until the others are asked to stand. This scene shows the importance that is placed on classifying and separating within American society. He was oblivious to the con cept of black and white until the segregation was forced upon him. From that moment on he was insecure about his identity; not knowing whether to claim himself as white or black. Later, after witnessing a lynching of a black man he is conflicted with the shame that the black race would allow itself to be treated worse than animals and with the appalling idea that his country would allow a human being to be burned alive. Thus, he declares that he would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race. He eventually decides to pass as a white man because it seemed like the more secure path. He is constantly insecure in his decisions and is always questioning the differences between the races. He feels trapped by the expectations placed upon each race. His struggles display the ridiculousness of classifying human beings solely by their skin color. A similar theme is seen in Carlos Bulosans America is in the Heart. However, the protagonist of this literary work is a Filipino. America is seen through the veil of a Filipino immigrant, who represents the collective experience of the many Filipinos who came to America in search of the American Dream. HeShow MoreRelatedStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pagesreproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear on the appropriate page within text. Copyright  © 2013, 2011, 2009, 2007, 2005 by Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Prentice Hall. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying

Ethical Decision Making Framework †Free Samples for Students

Question: Analysis Ethical Decision Making Framework? Answer: Introduction In this report, the moral and ethical dilemma regarding a certain case study been analyzed and prepared. The report has been prepared using different frameworks for ethical decision making and as a result, a clear analysis is available. The question number 1 has asked about the benefits of the action. The answer is addressed in the following. Benefits of the Chosen Action Vulnerability: The benefit of the chosen action is that the vulnerability caused in terms of production will be significantly removed and a steady rate of growth will be maintained. Stakeholders: Public: Public will not be directly affected with this action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, the customers will be satisfied with the services. The Organization Selling IS products and Services: The company will enjoy a steady growth in production as the employees are expected to provided high productivity to gain their wages (Malle et al. 2015). Individual IS Business Analyst: Individually, the employees are expected to work hard and earn maximum sales productivity for the company in order to earn their full payments, hence, they will benefit the company as a whole. The Organizations Business Clients: Clients will not be directly affected with this action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, the clients will be satisfied with the services (Van Cranenburgh and Arenas 2014). The IS Industry: The industry will enjoy a steady growth in production as well as revenue the employees are expected to provided high productivity to gain their wages. Harm Caused by the Action Vulnerability: Due to the possible dissatisfaction among the employees, the vulnerability in the sales production will increase resulting in poor productivity and loss of revenue for the organization. Stakeholders: Public: There is no direct effect on the public from the harms of the action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction. The Organization Selling IS products and Services: The company will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied and failed to deliver sufficient sales productivity even if it means curtail in the salary of the employee (Kahane et al. 2015). Individual IS Business Analyst: Due to a certain cap in the productivity for the individual employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction. The Organizations Business Clients: Clients will not be directly affected with this action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction (Shrage 2013). The IS Industry: The industry will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied and failed to deliver sufficient sales productivity even if it means curtail in the salary of the employee. Benefits if action is universalised Vulnerability: The benefit of the universalization of the chosen action is that the vulnerability caused in terms of production will be significantly removed and a steady rate of global growth will be maintained. Stakeholders: Public: Public from all over the world will not be directly affected with the universalization of the action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the global employees, worldwide customers will be satisfied with the services (Friesdorf, Conway and Gawronski 2015). The Organization Selling IS products and Services: The company will enjoy a steady growth in production as the employees are expected to provided high productivity to gain their wages. Individual IS Business Analyst: Individually, the employees are expected to work hard and earn maximum sales productivity for the company in order to earn their full payments, hence, they will benefit the company as a whole (Hursthouse 2013). The Organizations Business Clients: Global business clients will not be directly affected with this action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, the global clients will be satisfied with the services. The IS Industry: Global industry will enjoy a steady growth in production as well as revenue the employees are expected to provided high productivity to gain their wages. Harm if action is universalised Vulnerability: Due to the possible dissatisfaction among the employees, the vulnerability in the sales production will increase resulting in poor productivity and loss of revenue for the organization on a global scale. Stakeholders: Public: Global public will not be directly affected with this action. However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction. The Organization Selling IS products and Services: The organization will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied and failed to deliver sufficient sales productivity even if it means curtail in the salary of the employee (Morris and McDonald 2013). Individual IS Business Analyst: Due to a certain cap in the productivity for the individual employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction. The Organizations Business Clients: Global business clients will not be directly affected with this action (Ganz, Wagner and Toren 2015). However, due to a certain cap in the productivity from the employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction on a global scale. The IS Industry: Global IS industry will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied and failed to deliver sufficient sales productivity even if it means curtail in the salary of the employee. Contradiction if universalised Vulnerability: Vulnerability on a global scale will be decreased for the company due to high sales productivity but on the other hand, the internal vulnerabilities of the company will persist. Stakeholders: Public: Due to universalization, the company can have global reach and will be able to serve customers globally, but the loss of employee morale and satisfaction will contradict this possible beneficial service for the customers (Weiss 2014). The Organization Selling IS products and Services: Company will have access to global market and will be able to do in-sourcing but due to reduction in productivity, international clients may get dissatisfied. Individual IS Business Analyst: The violation of rights will enrage the employees and will force them to resign from the organization (Noddings 2013). The Organizations Business Clients: Due to universalization, the company can have global reach and will be able to serve clients globally, but the loss of employee morale and satisfaction will contradict this possible beneficial service for the clients. The IS Industry: Industry will bring together the global market and will be able to do in-sourcing but due reduction in productivity, international clients may get dissatisfied. Used as means to end, violating their rights Vulnerability: Vulnerability on a internal scale of the company will increase due to violation of employee rights and payments. Stakeholders: Public: The company will try to reach the global market with universalization and will be able to serve customers globally, but they will definitely be violating the rights of the employees if they pay their employees based on the sales targets achieved by them. The Organization Selling IS products and Services: Company will have access to global market and will be able to do in-sourcing but due to violation of the policies, internal employees may get dissatisfied (Baskerville and Wood-Harper 2016). Individual IS Business Analyst: Individually, the employees will get dissatisfied and will also loose motivation and morale for providing high sales productivity. The Organizations Business Clients: The company will experience global trends due to universalization, but the loss of employee morale and satisfaction will contradict this possible beneficial service for the clients (Shapiro and Gross 2013). The IS Industry: The industry will experience globalization but due reduction in productivity, international clients may get dissatisfied, resulting in negative impacts on the industry. Violating rights, seen as unjust (to powerless), action-taker has more power Vulnerability: Vulnerability on an internal scale of the company will increase due to violation of employee rights and payments. Stakeholders: Public: Universalization is not sufficient for the organization unless it stops violating rights of the employees as well as the customers. The employees have their rights to receive full salary from the company that they are not given unless sales targets are met. The Organization Selling IS products and Services: The higher authority of the organization should take sufficient steps to ensure the rights of the employees are not violated by the companys policies (Ford and Richardson 2013). Individual IS Business Analyst: The business analysts will get dissatisfied with the violation of rights and will not provide sufficient sales productivity. The Organizations Business Clients: If the organization continues violating the rights of the employees, the productivity will decrease and the business clients will not get best quality services or products from the organization (Christians et al. 2015). The IS Industry: Industry will bring together the global market and will be able to do in-sourcing but due reduction in productivity, international clients may get dissatisfied. Full Framework Analysis Framework Public Vulnerability Company Individual Clients Industry Benefits of this action? Public will not be directly affected with this action. The benefit of the chosen action is that the vulnerability caused in terms of production will be significantly removed The company will enjoy a steady growth in production Individually, the employees are expected to work hard and earn maximum sales productivity Clients will not be directly affected with this action The industry will enjoy a steady growth in production as well as revenue Harm caused by this action? Public will not be directly affected with this action Due to the possible dissatisfaction among the employees, the vulnerability in the sales production will increase The company will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied Due to a certain cap in the productivity for the individual employees, they may get dissatisfied Clients will not be directly affected with this action The industry will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied Benefits if action is universalised? Public from all over the world will not be directly affected with the universalization of the action The benefit of the universalization of the chosen action is that the vulnerability caused in terms of production will be significantly removed Global companies will enjoy a steady growth in production Individually, the employees are expected to work hard and earn maximum sales productivity for the company Global Clients will not be directly affected with this action Global industry will enjoy a steady growth in production as well as revenue Harm if action is universalised? Global public will not be directly affected with this action. Due to the possible dissatisfaction among the employees, the vulnerability in the sales production will increase resulting in poor productivity Global companies will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied Due to a certain cap in the productivity for the individual employees, they may get dissatisfied and provide poor sales productivity resulting in public dissatisfaction Global clients will not be directly affected with this action. Global industry will not enjoy a steady growth if the employee are dissatisfied Contradiction if universalised? The company will try to reach the global market with universalization and will be able to serve customers globally, but they will definitely be violating the rights of the employees if they pay their employees based on the sales targets achieved by them Vulnerability on a global scale will be decreased for the company due to high sales productivity Company will have access to global market Thee loss of employee morale and satisfaction will contradict the possible beneficial services for the clients The company will experience global trends due to universalization The industry will experience globalization but due reduction in productivity, international clients may get dissatisfied, resulting in negative impacts on the industry Used as means to end, violating their rights? The companys payment policy may violate the rights of the employees Vulnerability on a internal scale of the company will increase Company may violate the rights of employees Individually, the employees will get dissatisfied Employee dissatisfaction will result in negative effect on the company in the global market Industry will be negatively impacted Violating rights, seen as unjust (to powerless), action-taker has more power? The higher authority has the power to ensure the rights of the employees are not violated Vulnerability on a internal scale of the company will increase Higher authorities need to take suitable actions to stop violating the employee rights Individually, the employees will get dissatisfied Employee dissatisfaction will result in negative effect on the company in the global market Industry will be negatively impacted Conclusion In this report, the moral and ethical dilemma regarding a certain case study been analyzed and prepared. With the help of the tables provided, the moral and ethical dilemma has been analyzed and documented. References Baskerville, R.L. and Wood-Harper, A.T., 2016. A critical perspective on action research as a method for information systems research. InEnacting Research Methods in Information Systems: Volume 2(pp. 169-190). Springer International Publishing. Christians, C.G., Fackler, M., Richardson, K., Kreshel, P. and Woods, R.H., 2015.Media ethics: Cases and moral reasoning. Routledge. Ford, R.C. and Richardson, W.D., 2013. Ethical decision making: A review of the empirical literature. InCitation classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 19-44). Springer Netherlands. Friesdorf, R., Conway, P. and Gawronski, B., 2015. Gender Differences in Responses to Moral Dilemmas A Process Dissociation Analysis.Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, p.0146167215575731. Ganz, F.D., Wagner, N. and Toren, O., 2015. Nurse middle manager ethical dilemmas and moral distress.Nursing ethics,22(1), pp.43-51. Hursthouse, R., 2013. Normative virtue ethics.ETHICA,645. Kahane, G., Everett, J.A., Earp, B.D., Farias, M. and Savulescu, J., 2015. Utilitarianjudgments in sacrificial moral dilemmas do not reflect impartial concern for the greater good.Cognition,134, pp.193-209. Malle, B.F., Scheutz, M., Arnold, T., Voiklis, J. and Cusimano, C., 2015, March. Sacrifice one for the good of many?: People apply different moral norms to human and robot agents. InProceedings of the tenth annual ACM/IEEE international conference on human-robot interaction(pp. 117-124). ACM. Morris, S.A. and McDonald, R.A., 2013. The role of moral intensity in moral judgments: An empirical investigation. InCitation Classics from the Journal of Business Ethics(pp. 463-479). Springer Netherlands. Noddings, N., 2013.Caring: A relational approach to ethics and moral education. Univ of California Press. Shapiro, J.P. and Gross, S.J., 2013.Ethical educational leadership in turbulent times:(Re) solving moral dilemmas. Routledge. Shrage, L., 2013.Moral dilemmas of feminism: Prostitution, adultery, and abortion. Routledge. Van Cranenburgh, K.C. and Arenas, D., 2014. Strategic and moral dilemmas of corporate philanthropy in developing countries: Heineken in Sub-Saharan Africa.Journal of business ethics,122(3), pp.523-536. Weiss, J.W., 2014.Business ethics: A stakeholder and issues management approach. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

Social Media and Kathmandu Facebook Page free essay sample

The purpose of this report is to answer the question: How do social media and consumer-generated content change the way marketers operate? To answer this question this report uses an analysis of the outdoor clothing company Kathmandu who uses retail stores and an online presence including a Facebook page for marketing their products. The report found that with the increase in media fragmentation, companies like Kathmandu that build an online community of customers engaged with their Facebook page; help ensure their customers are more attentive and favourable to their brand. The report reviews why consumers befriend (‘like’) a company on Facebook and found that the key reasons are to receive discounts and show brand support to their friends. The findings also show that consumers are more likely to trust a brand that has been recommended by their friends or networks on social media. Within the discussions around social media, the report found that there is an increase in consumer generated information from online social media sites such as Facebook, resulting in a need for companies to be customer centric in order to maintain a good reputation or risk damaging their brand. We will write a custom essay sample on Social Media and Kathmandu Facebook Page or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The findings also show that for marketers to make the most out of marketing through Facebook they need to understand why their customers use the site, for instance Facebook is not yet used widely as a place to shop but instead as a place to socialise, connect with peers, share information, photos, organise events and promote what is important to them. Companies that take advantage of this are most likely to gain the best result through marketing on Facebook. Using the findings the report offers three key guidelines for small companies looking to develop a Facebook page. They include; the need to have an interactive page for their customers to keep them engaged; realising the true value of Facebook by increasing their reach and frequency and lastly making sure their online experience is mutually supportive of their offline retails outlets to increase brand awareness and sales. Overall this report found that companies that engage their customers through Facebook and use it as a connection hub to other online and offline marketing initiatives, are likely to gain the greatest impact from using social media as a marketing tool. 2. 0 An Introduction to Kathmandu Holdings Limited Kathmandu Holdings Limited is a New Zealand-based company with operations in New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. The company was founded by John Pawson and Jan Cameron in 1987 following their sale of the ALP Sports Clothing label. The company set up its first retail outlets in Australia whilst manufacturing most of its original clothing range in New Zealand. The companies head office is based in Christchurch, New Zealand and employs approximately 150 staff and includes departments from design to supply chain, marketing to finance, HR to store support, online and customer service to IT support. Kathmandu became a listed company is November 2009 on the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges. Source (Wikipedia, n. d. ) 2. 1 Products Kathmandu sells a range of different types of clothing and equipment for travel and outdoor activities as shown in image A below. Their products are known for being good quality, middle to high price products that last a long time. On the Kathmandu website they use the following description of their products: ‘Our products are widely known for their quality, reliability, ingenuity and versatility. Lab testing ensures we consistently meet or exceed international standards, while plenty of action in the field means we know our products work the way they’re meant to’. (Kathmandu, n. d. ) Image A: Kathmandu’s product range | | | | Outdoor clothing for adults and children including fleeces, beanies, trekking shoes, gloves and even socks for wearing on a plane to prevent swelling. | Camping gear such as tents, sleeping matts, picnic rugs, head torches, coffee flasks. | Packs and bags such as backpacks, money belts| Accessories such as umbrellas, water bladders, bike seat covers and motion sickness relief wristbands. Kathmandu, n. d. )| 2. 2 Target market and key financials Kathmandu’s target market is primarily active adventurous outdoor people of all ages from the experienced adventurer to the entry-level explorer. They also have a secondary target market of anyone who likes to travel. Image B: Kathmandu’s global financial performance over the las t 3 years: Year| NPAT| Growth| Share price at end of year| Sales (NZ mill)| FY2010| $9. 4m| 0| $2. 05| $245. 8| FY2011| $39. 1m| 316%| $2. 20| $306. 1| FY2012| $34. 9m| -10. 70%| $1. 59| $347. 1| (ASX, 2013) As shown in image B above, Kathmandu has delivered impressive growth and increased sales in the last 3 years. With its innovative designs such as polypro thermal underwear and waterproof hiking boots the retailer is less exposed to competition from other fast-fashion retailers. Today as shown on 23 March, 9. 20am, Kathmandu’s share price is 1. 95, showing the business is continuing to survive well in a tough retail environment. (ASX, 2013) Kathmandu’s key financial highlights for the year ending 31 July 2012 were: * Growth in sales by 13. 4% to $347. 1 million Gross profit margin of 63. 2% 2. 3 Analysis of key financials An analysis of the key financials shown above shows that the following key strategies helped to increase Kathmandu’s revenue and sales over the last few years. In 2012 Kathmandu increased their level of on-going investment in its brand, products and retail channels to support the future growth of the company. This was during a time when retail sa les worldwide were in decline due to ‘uncertain times’ with the economy, causing consumers to spend less in retail stores (particularly seen in Australia). Plus an increase in online shopping, with consumers having more options to buy from international competitors thereby reducing the amount spent in retail stores. The focus of the company to grow their market share in the medium and long term, resulted in an increase in sales however not an improvement in profit due to the costs associated with their growth strategy and investment. The company also introduced loyalty incentives for their regular buyers (Summit club) which increased sales however reduced gross margins. Part of the growth plan for Kathmandu also included the development of a new nline channel and improved direct to customer communication and marketing opportunities through electronic and social media, allowing the company to sell and service customers globally. (Kathmandu, 2012) Kathmandus chief executive Peter Halkett said he saw the current economic conditions as the new normal. Provided there is no further deterioration in economic conditions, following the investmen t program in 2012 Kathmandu expects an improvement in performance in the business, Mr Halkett said, without providing specific guidance. He said the greatest growth opportunity was in Australia, where Kathmandus market penetration per capita is only one-third of what it is in New Zealand. † (AAP, 2012) Analysts believe Kathmandus biggest hurdles for maintaining the same levels of store sales is the potential cannibalism of their existing stores from the opening of new stores and growing market penetration share as competitors such as Anaconda, BCF and Mountain Designs open new stores. (Mitchell, 2012) Interestingly, Jan Cameron the founder of Kathmandu sold the business to a private company in 2006. In 2011, she bought a large share of Macpac another business to rival Kathmandu’s adventure gear. Macpac is a New Zealand based adventure clothing and equipment store for hard core adrenaline people. The company has since spread internationally including many states within Australia. When Jan first took on the opportunity her goal was to offer quality products at a more competitive price than Kathmandu. Analysts have shown that this will be a tough feat for Jan due to Kathmandu being a much larger brand name since she sold it in 2006. (Carruthers, 2011 ) In summary Kathmandu holds a steady place in the markets it sells to and with increased market share through new outlets in Australia, Kathmandu is one of the best known outdoor clothing specialists in New Zealand and Australia and this is unlikely to change any time soon. 3. 0 An investigation of Kathmandu’s Facebook page 3. 1 Marketing on the Kathmandu Facebook page The Kathmandu Facebook page is very inspiring, image C, shows the front page of their page containing pictures of people doing amazing sports and seeing beautiful places, it makes you want to book a holiday or just get outside and climb a mountain! They have over 50,500 likes (as shown on March 24) and growing (over the last week there has been 300 new likes), and over 800 people taking about them, it is a very popular page. Image C: Screenshot of Kathmandu Facebook page (Kathmandu, 2013) The Kathmandu Facebook page offers weekly ‘online only’ deals where customers are directed to their country webpage to take advantage of the special deal. The page is also used to advertise their new products, to provide membership information for their Summit club of regular customers, competitions for products and trips away as well as unique things to see and do with the goal of inspiring travel and adventure and therefore an increase in the need to buy outdoor clothing. The below post in Image D showing an article on the new submarine ‘Ego’ is an example. Image D: Ego Submarine (Kathmandu, 2013)| Korean based design firm Raonhaje has designed this fascinating semi submarine called the â€Å"Ego†. Passengers can observe underwater life via the submerged windows. They also get to enjoy the above water deck! http://www. egosubmarine. com/| The Kathmandu Facebook page allows their customers to ask questions or make general comments such as discussions about their customer service, stores and products. The posts are then responded to by Kathmandu staff, creating a platform for customers to find out information as well as offering Kathmandu the ability to discover more about their customers likes and dislikes. Kathmandu also uses their page to advertise other company’s products that relate to travel and adventure. Image E shows an example below of a new innovative toothbrush. Image E: New innovative toothbrush | Little pet peeve: when your mouth touches a hotel tap when rinsing after brushing your teeth. Say goodbye to that thanks to this amazing tooth brush design! Flowing tap water now becomes a mini fountain for rinsing 🙂 More here: http://www. amronexperimental. com/Amron-Oral. html| (Kathmandu, 2013) Kathmandu, in interests of being seen as a ‘good corporate citizen’ also uses their Facebook page to promote environmental issues such as World Water Day, one of their recent posts shown in image E is below. Image E: World Water Day Its World Water Day and we all know how precious water is! Theres no better day than today to share awareness of this event and encourage water saving behaviour. Do you have any great water-saving tips to share? (Kathmandu, 2013) 3. 2 Engaging their customers through Facebook The Kathmandu Facebook uses several different ways to engage their customers. Their page contains photo albums and videos of different adventure races, photos of every day regular people doing inspirational outdoor activities wearing Kathmandu clothing, such as mountain biking, trekking, camping and sailing. Their photo albums also include photos that customers have sent in of their outdoor adventures and races/events they have participated in. There is an ‘Events’ page set up to advertise upcoming events such as their upcoming Easter sale in all retail stores. Many consumers like to be able to use the online space to search information about a product before they buy. Companies must have interactive Facebook pages to allow their customers the chance to find out more information about a product. (Nesterenko, 2013) For example this new iphone product below is advertised by Kathmandu in Image F. Image F: Kathmandu Iphone product One of their customers Brenda has asked â€Å"Why would you need this when you can get a go pro. Much more robust than an iphone†. Kathmandu has responded with: â€Å"Agree Brenda. This is a cheaper and easy solution for someone perhaps not quite up to the Gopro level. † The response from Kathmandu gives customers a reason to buy if they are looking for an easy solution that is not has expensive as a Gopro and suits their basic needs. Having an interactive page with deals and competitions, photos, discussions and new and interesting products, increases the customer activity with the Kathmandu brand, with the purpose of leading to greater brand awareness and therefore greater sales. Their page is their social hub and not where they do their actual sales. There is no option for customers to buy their products through Facebook but instead is used as a channel to advertise their websites in NZ, Australia and the UK and their Kathmandu Ebay online store, where customers can click through to purchase products advertised. This is a two way channel with each countries individual website page linking to the Facebook page when customers click ‘Like’ on the Facebook icon provided. 3. 3 What Kathmandu could do to improve their use of Facebook The only thing lacking from the Kathmandu Facebook page is a bit more about the identity of their staff and the team behind the Facebook page. Whilst there is a couple of posts showing pictures of the team in certain locations, the page could do with more of this to give it a personal identification so customers visiting feel they are interacting with actual people who care and not just a Facebook page. For example, I tried asking a question regarding a product by sending a message to their Facebook email and did not receive a response for several days. Customers who are engaged with a company’s Facebook content become more attentive and often more favourable to the brand. Frost, 2012) Surprisingly Kathmandu’s key competitors Anaconda and Mountain Designs do not have a presence on Facebook. The marketing department of Kathmandu have done a good job of using their Facebook page to engage customers by enticing them to participate in their content or media, upload photos/videos, post comments, participate in competitions and express their opinions on new products, customer service and all aspects of the company. This then leads to co-creation where users of their products help marketers create products and advertising leading to an increase in customer satisfaction and sales. Frost, 2012) 4. 0 Building and maintaining customers using Facebook 4. 1 Why consumers ‘Like’ pages on Facebook Facebook started out as meeting space for users to build their own online identity and interact with others. Today, Facebook has developed into a full-scale recommendation centre. ‘Liking’ a page on Facebook serves as an opt-in for ongoing communications with the owner of that page and location-based recommendation service ‘Places’ leverages local knowledge and word of mouth. Harris amp; Dennis, 2011) A study by Chadwick Martin Bailey, found that 33 per cent of Facebook users are fans of brands, and 60 per cent of these consumers are more likely to purchase or recommend to a friend after ‘liking’ a brand. The most popular reasons consumers gave for ‘liking’ a brand were to receive discounts and show brand support to their friends. (J, 2010) Actual sales transactions are still in the early days for Facebook with only a few innovators such as Avon permitting an entire purchase to be completed without the consumer needing to leave Facebook. Harris amp; Dennis, 2011) Instead the site is a social hub for consumers to seek and share information on brands sometimes resulting in purchasing products through other means. 4. 2 Consumer trust on Facebook Trust is a very important factor to shoppers when buying online. A recent Nielsen study which showed that consumers trust their friends and family more than any other source of information about products and services, and that online product reviews by consumers are trusted more than information posted directly on a company website. Nielson, 2010) Social media sites such as Facebook enable consumers to generate and tap into the opini ons of an exponentially larger universe through social word of mouth. While word-of-mouth has always been important, its scope was previously limited to the people you knew and interacted with on a daily basis. Social media has removed that limitation and given new power to consumers. (Neilson, 2012) 4. 3 Connecting customers through social networks Consumers are bringing their online experience into their own social networks such as Facebook rather than engaging directly on company’s website. Thousands of media vehicles within each media class vie for the attention of the media consumer. Marketers are now faced with increased media fragmentation, where marketers attempt to use as many online social media platforms as possible in an effort to reach a potential audience. This can cause fragmentation of attention and resources away from what suits the company best and whatever ‘strategy’ was put into place. Nelson-Field amp; Erica, 2011) On the Investor relations page of Facebook their mission is quoted as being: To make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover whats going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them. (Facebook, 2013) Companies need to be forward thinking and move away from the reliance on the centrally contr olled mass broadcast towards the development of personal and localised relationships with well-informed and demanding customers. Harris amp; Dennis, 2011) Today marketers need to consider that consumers are not yet using Facebook as a place to shop but instead as a place to socialise, connect with peers, share information, organise events and promote what is important to them. Companies that understand this and use Facebook as a connection hub to other online and offline areas of their company are likely to get the best value from using Facebook. 5. 0 Three key things for a small company to consider when building a Facebook To make the most out of marketing through Facebook, there are three key things a small company needs to consider when building a Facebook page, including: 1. Using online interactivity to engage customers 2. Measuring the impact of Facebook through greater reach and frequency of content 3. The importance of having a mutually supportive online customer experience to the offline experience In today’s current environment with economic uncertainty and the rise of competition through online global ompanies, small businesses need to be able to compete in a tough environment where consumers have the option to search online through 1000’s of different sites to find the best deal for the product they are looking to buy. Companies need to be able to find ways of offering customers more value for less money to keep them from straying to a competitor. If a company does not treat their customer’s right they risk enormous brand damage through the ability of customer complaints through social media channels reaching a large audience. Before Social Media came along a customer complaint may spread as far as that customer’s family and friends and no further, today you hear stories of customer complaints going viral to millions of people overnight! Brands that were formally shaped by managers of the company are now being shaped by consumers through online consumer generated content including conversations and insights. The online world is a customer – centric model. Consumers have a greater influence over products and brands through co-creation where they can give opinions on products and advertising. Social media sites such as Facebook create communities of people where opinion leaders and peer groups can influence the brands that consumers choose to like and buy from. For example on Facebook you can see what pages your friends like and this can then influence what brands are considered cool or trendy. 5. 1 Using interactivity to engage customers For a small company looking to build a Facebook page one of the key points they should consider is how interactive their Facebook page is. Customers engaged with a company’s content become more attentive and often more favourable towards a brand. Frost, 2012) The Facebook page should not be seen as just a page to advertise products and services. For example as shown in this report, Kathmandu uses their Facebook page to advertise travel, adventure, competitions, new products, sporting and adventure events and other company product innovations relating to travel and adventure all with the goal of increasing customer activity, brand exposure and understanding of their customers wants and needs. Research shows that twice as many brand-related searches on social networking sites relate to user generated content than to marketer-created content. For a smaller company in particular that does not have an existing well- known brand, in order to build brand awareness they must engage their customers and increase user generated content about their brand. (George amp; Jevons, 2012) 5. 2 Measuring the impact of Facebook through greater reach and frequency of content The second key thing a small company should consider when opening a Facebook page is how to gain the greatest reach and frequency of their content to determine the true value of Facebook marketing. Just measuring the amount of Likes, comments or mentions a Facebook page receives is not an accurate way to measure the impacts on customer activity. For example, the newsfeeds section of a consumers Facebook page is where most branded material is consumed. Consumers control this by hiding news they don’t want to see. Therefore a company like Kathmandu may have over 50,000 ‘Likes’ however it may be possible that only a small percentage of consumers who like their page actually choose to see their communications within their newsfeed. Simply knowing how many brand mentions exist does not provide a true understanding of the impact the content has on consumers. Research has shown that a measurement approach that focuses on reach and frequency within audience types (for example, fans and friends of fans) can lead to a dramatically better understanding of how and where brand messages are reaching consumers and the true value of a ‘Like’ or ‘Fan’. (J, 2010) Examples of ways in which a small company with limited marketing budgets can increase the reach and frequency of their content include: Page publishing: Unpaid advertising appears on a Fans page and may also appear in the newsfeed of a fan or a friend of a fan. †¢ Stories about friends: These unpaid impressions occur when a friend actively engages with a brand (e. g. Nicole indicates she â€Å"likes† Kathmandu outdoor sportswear) and become visible either on a friends wall or in the newsfeed. These stories may appear to fans and friends of fans. †¢ Sponsored stories: These paid impressions are similar to stories about friends, but they have been actively distributed more broadly and appear in the right hand column to fans and friends of fans. Advertisements with social: These branded messages come directly from the advertisers with a social context that appears to friends of fans, see example in Image G below. (Lipsman, et al. , 2012) Image G: branded message Facebook From Stephanie Stephanie amp; Dove displaced a feel-bad ad with this positive message. Send yours. Senta Vonck likes Dove. (Facebook, 2013) In conclusion a company looking to build a Facebook page to engage their customers can increase the impact their content has by using different paid and unpaid ways to distribute their content to their ‘Fans’ as well as their friends and other contacts. Just like in the offline world, the higher the reach and frequency of advertising the higher the brand exposure, leading to higher sales. 5. 3 The importance of having a mutually supportive online customer experience to the offline experience The third key thing a small company looking to set up a Facebook page should consider is how to make the online experience for their customers mutually supportive to the offline experience of visiting their retail store. This is important to ensure as many customers as possible know about new products, offers and promotional sales. In today’s environment with increasing competition and slow sales within retail, both cannot survive without the other. Below are two examples of ways to ensure mutual support of online and offline marketing: Promoting offline events through online ads, social sharing and blog posts dedicated to the events. For example Kathmandu on their Facebook page advertises their sales promotions for their retail stores. An example of this is shown in Image H from Kathmandu Facebook site and their Brookvale, Sydney retail store: Image H: Easter Sale on Kathmandu Facebook page and Easter Sale in retail outlet Warringah Mall. Kathmandu, 2013) 6. 0 Conclusion In today’s customer centric world, marketers need to have a good understanding of what their customers’ needs and wants are. Social media sites like Facebook are an excellent platform for marketers to learn more about their customers through building online communities and engaging in authentic and transparent communicatio n. Companies now have access to a much wider audience and at the same time consumers are able to research many different sources of information about a company’s products or services through website chat rooms, opinion boards and their networks on social media. By building communities using social media platforms such as Facebook, companies through consumer-generated content are able to market their products to a larger audience and build greater awareness of their brand. Companies such as Kathmandu can no longer rely only on advertising within their stores or offline advertising such as magazine ads and TV commercials, those who do not include social media as part of their marketing strategies are in danger of being left behind by competitors who do.