Awa practise 3 pot

Any learning, whether at the elementary, secondary, or college level, is important. Whether they are teaching my kindergartner to combine three letters to form a word or someday preparing her to enter the workforce, teachers of all subjects and at all levels should be valued for the expertise they provide. But they should not be paid equally. The more their education and experience, and the more challenging their sub- ject, the higher their salaries should be. Analysis of an Argument Sample Essays Prompt #1: Because of the increasing diversity of the American population, new products and services must appeal and be marketed to a very specific group or subculture within society. These days, attempting to appeal to the public at large is a losing proposition. The previous argument states that because of the increasing diversity of American society, new prod- ucts and services should be marketed to very specific groups of people. It also states that marketing to the pub- lic at large “is a losing proposition.” The assumption is that, with so many different cultures in America, a company has to target a specific customer within society because a company can no longer appeal to people from many different backgrounds. While some businesses do succeed by appealing to a very specific customer, other businesses are currently succeeding by appealing to the public at large. One must look at the products and services offered to determine target audiences and marketing approaches. Other factors that will deter- mine a product or service’s level of success include pricing, customer demographics, and customer demand. An example of a business that can succeed by appealing to a specific group or subculture is the small grocery store that offers foods and products for a targeted customer. For example, a recent article in South- ern Living magazine highlighted the success of a Cuban market in North Carolina. A growing Cuban popu- lation and difficulty finding specific foods spurred the owner to open his store, and his business is profitable. He has found a perfect niche, marketing specialty products to a targeted group of people. On the other hand, appealing to the public at large has brought huge success to companies such as SmartMart and Video Emporium. Neither business targets a specific subculture; yet both are far from losing propositions. SmartMart offers a huge variety of products, but their products are used by many, if not most, subcultures of society. Items such as cleaning products, paper goods, clothing, and toys appeal to the masses. While Video Emporium’s business is limited to the rental and sale of videos, DVDs, and video games, its inventory is large and wide, including movies and films that appeal to people of all ages, interests, and per- suasions. As a result, Video Emporium stores can be found in most cities across the country. In all cases, pricing, high-quality products and service, customer demand, and demographics are impor- tant to the marketing and success of any business. Marketing to a specific group of society will only be prof- itable if the products are in demand and the specific customer base is substantial enough to support business goals. Conversely,marketing to the masses is not a losing effort if the products are of general interest, the pric- ing is affordable, and the population base can support the sales needed to keep the business running. Thus, while the growing diversity of our country has spurred the growth of new products and services offered directly to specific groups, some businesses will continue to find success when offering products to the – AWA PRACTICE– 298 population at large. Attempting to appeal to the masses is not necessarily a losing proposition. Products, serv- ice, demand, and demographics have to be considered when determining the target market for a business. Prompt #3: To distinguish our stores from our competitors and draw more customers into Fresh Food stores, we should donate a portion of each purchase to a well-known nonprofit organization each year. With the right publicity, people will begin to choose us over our competitors because they will feel good about buying from Fresh Food, even if our products cost a little more. According to the previous argument, Fresh Food stores should begin donating a portion of each pur- chase to a well-known nonprofit organization to draw in more customers. The assumption is that if people are aware of Fresh Food’s charitable donations, they will feel good about shopping there and will be willing to spend more money for Fresh Food’s products. Although some customers may view charitable practices as favorable, higher prices may deter a larger percentage of customers who are unwilling to pay more. While price is usually one of the leading factors determining where people shop, consumers also take into consideration the quality and availability of inventory, location, organization, cleanliness, and even the return policy. If pric- ing disparities are too great and if these additional factors are not favorable, Fresh Food will be unable to draw more customers by promoting its charitable contributions. The first issue is whether customers would want to shop at Fresh Food simply because it shares profits with a charity. Most people would view Fresh Food’s efforts as commendable. Certainly, it makes good busi- ness sense to offer nonprofit donations, not just from a tax standpoint but for the positive image it promotes for the company. Consumers may feel an even greater loyalty to the store if those contributions are made on a local level, so the consumers see their money benefiting their own community. On the other hand, product pricing is almost always the biggest factor consumers use to make purchase decisions. Pricing is so important that many large retailers, such as Low Price King, will meet or beat a com- petitor’s price if a customer presents an advertisement depicting the lower price. With consumers placing such a great emphasis on pricing, Fresh Food will alienate customers who choose to buy products at the lowest cost. In addition, some consumers may feel they would rather choose their own charities and spend less for Fresh Food’s products. Additionally, Fresh Food must analyze the other critical factors consumers consider when choosing a store. Customers also care about product quality and variety, inventory availability, store organization (e.g., its cleanliness and wide aisles for shopping carts), special services offered (such as a snack bar or one- hour photo), location, safety, and parking convenience. For example, take the successful retailer Bull’s-eye. Bull’s-eye stores do donate a portion of each pur- chase to charities. In many instances, Bull’s-eye’s prices are higher than its main competitors’, SmartMart and Z-mart, for comparable products. So why would a customer choose Bull’s-eye over the other stores? It is not just because Bull’s-eye donates to charities. Bull’s-eye has to surpass the other stores in most of the previous categories so customers will be more willing to pay higher prices at Bull’s-eye. Indeed, Bull’s-eye typically offers a wider selection of products of slightly higher quality than its competitors in an atmosphere that feels more like a department store than a discount retail chain. Because of these elements, Bull’s-eye’s consumers – AWA PRACTICE– 299 are willing to pay a little more, and they have the added benefit of knowing some of their money goes to a charity. Therefore, Fresh Food needs a complete comparison between itself and its competition before it begins donating to charities and raising its prices. All of the critical factors consumers consider need to be addressed. In order to overcome price disparities with similar competitors, Fresh Food will have to convince the customer that the shopping experience as a whole is better at Fresh Food. When reminded that donations are being made to charities, customers will feel even better about shopping at Fresh Food. Prompt #5: Our new competition, Mint Magic candies, hits the stores next week. The best way to keep our market share is to develop an ad campaign saying that our mints simply taste better than theirs. Zinger mints will soon face competition from Mint Magic candies. Worried that new competition could affect market share, Zinger’s marketing team wisely met to develop a strategy. However, the team’s sugges- tion to develop an ad campaign saying Zinger mints simply taste better than Mint Magic mints is not the best approach. Of the many possible strategies, calling attention to the competition’s mints might tempt con- sumers to try both and compare for themselves. The Zinger marketing team needs to develop other market- ing approaches. If the Zinger company runs ads mentioning the competitor’s brand name, Zinger is inadvertently spend- ing its own money to familiarize the public with the names of both mints, not just its own. Because Mint Magic is sure to launch its own campaign, Zinger mints should not add to the media attention. Worse, such an ad campaign could lead customers to try the new mint to compare taste, especially because a negative cam- paign against the competition suggests to consumers that Zinger management is worried that Mint Magic candies really are better than Zinger mints. Consequently, Zinger mints should design a marketing strategy based on the merits of its own prod- uct. For instance, the campaign could remind customers how tasty Zinger mints have always been or use a nostalgic approach, perhaps showing different generations of a family enjoying the mints. Or the company could rerun ads that were used extensively enough in the past that consumers recognize them from childhood. The marketing team needs to create a sense of loyalty in its existing customers and describe the mints in such a tantalizing way that it attracts new customers. The arrival of a new competitor could also be a good time for Zinger mints to try some new market- ing methods to maintain or even increase its market share. For example, a Zinger mints sales promotion offer- ing coupons in Sunday newspapers could coincide with the launch of Mint Magic. The timing might also be right for the company to introduce some additional new flavors or similar products. Adding to the product line may help to offset the loss of original mint customers to the competition. But to retain existing customers, the original Zinger mints should remain unchanged, or Mint Magic could lose customers the way Super Cola did when it tried to replace Original Cola with New Cola. In conclusion, although the Zinger mint company is right to be concerned about a new competitor’s arrival, the best approach to keeping market share is to foster existing customer loyalty. A campaign that – AWA PRACTICE– 300 claims Zinger mints taste better than the new mints is a risky proposition that could send customers to Mint Magic. Instead, Zinger ads need to focus on the merits of its own product. Prompt #6: In a recent survey, 46% of our employees indicated that they would be “very interested” in the option of a four-day, 40-hour workweek. Since this is less than half of our employees, we should not offer this option, since it would not be worth the administrative cost and effort. It goes without saying that happy employees do better work and are more productive than unhappy employees. So although a recent human resource report dismissed offering the option of a four-day, 40-hour workweek, it seems to have come to the wrong conclusion. The report argues that since less than half of Aberdeen’s employees were “very interested,” the option was not worth the administrative cost and effort. But before the president of Aberdeen Manufacturing decides whether or not to follow the report’s recommendation, he or she should evaluate what the actual costs would be, determine how important such an option really is to the 46% of employees, and consider the consequences of alienating those workers. Though 46% is not quite the majority, the discontent of that large percent of employees could have a huge impact on the overall atmosphere of the workplace. If those employees really hoped for the imple- mentation of the modified workweek, what would the ramifications be when they learned the option would not be considered? Certainly their attitudes toward the company, and ultimately their work, could suffer. Their negative attitudes could spread to many other employees. The belief that the human resources and manage- ment personnel are not listening tends to make employees feel unimportant and unvalued, which in turn lessens the value those employees give to their work. Further,Aberdeen’s president cannot make a good decision about the modified workweek without infor- mation that is not specified in the argument. We do not know what percentage of employees may feel “some- what interested” and how many responded that they were “not interested.” If even a small percentage of employees said they were “somewhat interested,” then indeed a majority of workers have a desire to at least have more dialogue about the modified workweek option. Perhaps a more detailed survey to more accurately determine level of interest is in order. Even without another survey, Aberdeen Manufacturing should explore the administrative costs and implications of implementing the option for the sake of the 46% who were “very interested.” The human resource professionals would find it valuable and inexpensive to consult with human resource peers at other companies that use the four-day, 40-hour schedule, and there is likely to be a good deal of literature on the subject in professional journals. These peers and journal articles could explain best practices and the expected costs of such an implementation. Also, human resources should ask employees through a simple e-mail or other surveying process for their suggestions on how the modified workweek could best be implemented. After all, employees with a vested interest may have some of the most helpful suggestions. Thus, it would be unwise for Aberdeen to ignore the desire of nearly half of its employees to explore a four-day, 40-hour workweek option. True, 46% is not technically a majority, but it is only common sense to – AWA PRACTICE– 301 assume that more than half of the employees are at least “somewhat interested” in the proposal. Chances are good that Aberdeen could keep administrative costs to a minimum by following best practices already estab- lished in the industry, so high administrative cost seems a poor excuse. By not pursuing the option further, Aberdeen Manufacturing would send the message that it undervalues its employees, and that is sure to have negative consequences on the work atmosphere and later on the bottom line of the company. Prompt #9: Our neighbors, the Hansons, got a phonics program for their son Jimmy, and he was reading by age four. If we get a phonics program for Junior, he will also be able to read by age four. The father making the previous argument might be wise to get a phonics program for Junior to help his son learn how to read, but he would also be wise to realize that he might not get the same results as the Hansons. Just because Jimmy was reading at age four does not mean that Junior will also be reading by age four. The father’s argument seems to assume that the phonics program is the only factor that will determine when Junior will be able to read. Clearly, there are many problems with this assumption, because many fac- tors affect Junior’s reading ability. First, the father seems to believe that the phonics program alone is what taught Jimmy to read at an early age. But we don’t know if Jimmy’s parents helped to build his reading skills in other ways. This information is crucial to evaluating the father’s argument. Perhaps Jimmy was enrolled in a preschool that focused on early reading skills. Perhaps Jimmy’s parents or caregiver worked with him regularly to teach him phonics. Perhaps Jimmy had a private tutor to help him develop his reading readiness. Although the phonics program may cer- tainly have helped Jimmy learn to read, we don’t know what other teaching took place. If we knew that the phonics program was the only tool the Hansons used to help Jimmy learn to read, then the father’s argument would have more merit. But even if this is the case, there are still other important factors to consider. For one thing, would Junior’s parents purchase the same phonics program as the Hansons? The argu- ment doesn’t specify. Junior’s father only states that they should by “a” phonics program. There are many phonics programs out on the market. Some of them are excellent; others are likely to be largely inadequate. If the father wants the same results as the Hansons, he needs to get a program of comparable quality. Likewise, Junior’s parents would need to work with him the same amount of time and in the same way that the Hansons worked with Jimmy in order to get the same results. If the Hansons spent ten hours each week working with Jimmy on the phonics program and Junior’s parents only spent one or two hours a week, that could account for a drastic difference in reading ability. Another important question is the age at which the children begin the phonics program (assuming the program is the same). If Jimmy started the program at age three, that would give him a full year to work with the program and develop his reading skills. On the other hand, if Junior is already three and a half, he has considerably less time to master those same skills, and his father should not expect his son to learn the same material in half the time. – AWA PRACTICE– 302 Of course, this line of reasoning is based on another problematic assumption, which is that the children themselves are comparable in terms of their reading readiness, their interest in learning to read, and their gen- eral ability to learn new concepts. For example, perhaps Jimmy had been able to recognize the letters of the alphabet months before he started the phonics program, while Junior is still just learning to recite his ABCs. In this case, Junior has a good deal of work to do before he can begin sounding out words with the phonics program. Likewise, Junior must be interested in learning how to read. If he is not, and his parents push him too hard, he is likely to withdraw from the process, and his parents will find themselves frustrated trying to meet a goal (Junior reading by age four) with a child who is not interested in meeting that goal. If Jimmy’s inter- est in learning to read was strong, that could have had a significant impact on how much and how quickly he learned with the phonics program. Finally, another important factor is the children’s ability to learn. Even if both children started at the same age, with the same basic reading readiness skills and the same level of interest, they may not have the same ability to learn new concepts. Junior might struggle in areas in which Jimmy accelerated, and vice versa. In short, the father’s argument rests on the assumption that the learning situations for Jimmy and Junior are entirely comparable. But because there are so many variables to consider, such as reading readiness, other reading preparation activities, and each child’s ability to learn, Junior’s father cannot logically assume Junior will have the same success as Jimmy simply by purchasing a phonics program. – AWA PRACTICE– 303 . assume Junior will have the same success as Jimmy simply by purchasing a phonics program. – AWA PRACTICE– 30 3 . workweek option. True, 46% is not technically a majority, but it is only common sense to – AWA PRACTICE– 30 1 assume that more than half of the employees are at least “somewhat interested” in the. and his father should not expect his son to learn the same material in half the time. – AWA PRACTICE– 30 2 Of course, this line of reasoning is based on another problematic assumption, which is