Philosophy of Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Philosophy of Education - Assignment Example Personally, I consider teaching as a platform where the pupil’s future will be greatly shaped by the kind of teachings they receive from me. Concerning the teachings offered at kindergarten, the approach is rather different in comparison to other levels. Normally, it does not just entail a curriculum that is easy to understand. Rather, the first days are usually vital for every kindergarten student because it is here that a relationship between the teacher and the pupils need to be established. That means the teacher has to understand the personalities and backgrounds of the pupils. Once this is done, the children need to be made lively always, if possible, in order to make the learning atmosphere easier. Upon exciting the learners, the education for pupils at this level starts with making them understand the alphabets. That is to say, training them how to pronounce correctly as well pointing out the ones that have a variance in terms of sound. Unlike in other teaching levels, this one has to be with minimal strictness, and is brief. My beliefs concerning teaching have to do with using this career to impart children with the right kind of teachings. In short, teaching is not a career as such, but rather a calling-like pursuit meant to bring a positive change. Because of strongly believing in this way, I often find myself going beyond the expectations. Besides teaching what is only listed, encouraging discipline, socialization among the children and thinking critically is often done in the class. Due to this approach, I normally set a goal for myself as well as that of pupils where I help students to achieve it even as I commit myself to doing so. Earlier, it was stated that a teacher is more than an employee; a role model is what every teacher is. Therefore, the goals I set are not just for the students but mine as well. Concerning the

Strategic Plan for Real Chocolate Industries Essay

Strategic Plan for Real Chocolate Industries - Essay Example At the moment the company is comfortably placed in terms of overall performance. However, the company has to ensure maintaining levels of profits and growth in the long term, through a strategy that will give it a sustainable competitive advantage. The chocolate industry is highly fragmented industry with about four hundred companies accounting for 90% sales. Retail chocolate sales reached $16.3 billion for the year ended December 2006, out of which the Gourmet segment is about $ 1 billion. Real chocolate has about 10% of the market share in this segment. 1) From Porters five force analyses it emerges that Rivalry among existing players will be the chief competitive force in the industry. The decline in profitability which often is the result of this will come from an increase in promotion and branding cost. 2) Even though the analysis reveals that entry barriers for new players to enter are not very high, new entrants may not find it attractive to enter. Entry may occur by players creating a separate niche which may affect demand for the product in which Real chocolate operates. (e.g. of artisan chocolate entry which has already happened) 4) Sellers bargaining power is not a significant factor in the industry, as there are many producers and raw material is a commodity item. Industry incumbents do not have much threat from suppliers, buyers or new substitutes. Similarly, there are no barriers to entry for new players because of suppliers.5) Five forces analysis also reveals that buyers bargaining power is a significant factor. Buyer's loyalty has to be constantly maintained through branding, promotion and maintaining quality. Price is not a significant factor in which buyer will switch to other products. On this account, this will be a significant barrier to entry for new entrants, which reiterates point no. 1, that rivalry is the chief force in the industry.

Institutional Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Institutional Investment - Essay Example As compared to other funds that can be termed as passively managed funds, the actively managed funds tend to have a higher expense ratio due to the stock-picking that goes on with this type of portfolio. On the other hand, an index fund is a collective investment scheme focusing on an index movement in the financial market with already set rules that have to remain constant regardless of the market dynamics that are supposedly affecting stock. (Kaushik, 2013, p.1) The tracking in here means it can be approached by holding all securities in the index with the same proportions of the stock being monitored as much statistically sampling the market and holding representative securities. Having the advantage of lower fees, the returns to the investors are few influenced as well as low costs are in the light of taxes. Actively managed equity mutual funds have trillions of dollars in assets, collect tens of billions in management fees, and are the subject of enormous attention from investor s, the press, and researchers; therefore the scrutiny of such funds come from all quarters their active management (Baks, Metrick and Watcher, 2001, p. 43-83). This is due to the fact that they are relevantly required to mature in a shorter period as compared to indexed funds and for years, many experts have been saying that investors would be better off in low-cost passively managed index funds. The brief of the active fund and index fund is two different investment strategy. The former is looking for the market to be misprice securities positively and seek to obtain market performances beyond target. While the later chose a particular index as an investment, not the manifestation of seek the market actively instead of trying to replicate the performance of an index (Philippe, 2002, p. 1-10). According to Jensen (1968, p. 389-400), most studies have found that the universe of mutual funds does not outperform its benchmarks after expenses and this evidence indicates that the average active mutual fund should be avoided hence the preference shifts to the indexed funds for the longer term investments. Other findings reveal that future abnormal returns â€Å"alphas† can be forecast using past returns or alphas, past fund inflows, and manager characteristics such as age, education, and SAT scores which goes a long way in their decision making with regard to financial knowledge. Base on the evidence, those alphas are possible to persistent, and that some managers own positives expectation on alphas as far as about 0.1 percent of all managers in the expectation and none do. Using current data and methods, it is not possible to distinguish between these two possibilities, but at the same time such small differences may have large consequences for investors. There has been rising popularity among the index funds, and this can be attributed to their excellent performance in the long run as they have outperformed their actively managed competitors as a whole. Tak ing a look at the mathematical aspect of the indices, the average active

Philosophy of Education Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Philosophy of Education - Assignment Example Personally, I consider teaching as a platform where the pupil’s future will be greatly shaped by the kind of teachings they receive from me. Concerning the teachings offered at kindergarten, the approach is rather different in comparison to other levels. Normally, it does not just entail a curriculum that is easy to understand. Rather, the first days are usually vital for every kindergarten student because it is here that a relationship between the teacher and the pupils need to be established. That means the teacher has to understand the personalities and backgrounds of the pupils. Once this is done, the children need to be made lively always, if possible, in order to make the learning atmosphere easier. Upon exciting the learners, the education for pupils at this level starts with making them understand the alphabets. That is to say, training them how to pronounce correctly as well pointing out the ones that have a variance in terms of sound. Unlike in other teaching levels, this one has to be with minimal strictness, and is brief. My beliefs concerning teaching have to do with using this career to impart children with the right kind of teachings. In short, teaching is not a career as such, but rather a calling-like pursuit meant to bring a positive change. Because of strongly believing in this way, I often find myself going beyond the expectations. Besides teaching what is only listed, encouraging discipline, socialization among the children and thinking critically is often done in the class. Due to this approach, I normally set a goal for myself as well as that of pupils where I help students to achieve it even as I commit myself to doing so. Earlier, it was stated that a teacher is more than an employee; a role model is what every teacher is. Therefore, the goals I set are not just for the students but mine as well. Concerning the

Institutional Investment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Institutional Investment - Essay Example As compared to other funds that can be termed as passively managed funds, the actively managed funds tend to have a higher expense ratio due to the stock-picking that goes on with this type of portfolio. On the other hand, an index fund is a collective investment scheme focusing on an index movement in the financial market with already set rules that have to remain constant regardless of the market dynamics that are supposedly affecting stock. (Kaushik, 2013, p.1) The tracking in here means it can be approached by holding all securities in the index with the same proportions of the stock being monitored as much statistically sampling the market and holding representative securities. Having the advantage of lower fees, the returns to the investors are few influenced as well as low costs are in the light of taxes. Actively managed equity mutual funds have trillions of dollars in assets, collect tens of billions in management fees, and are the subject of enormous attention from investor s, the press, and researchers; therefore the scrutiny of such funds come from all quarters their active management (Baks, Metrick and Watcher, 2001, p. 43-83). This is due to the fact that they are relevantly required to mature in a shorter period as compared to indexed funds and for years, many experts have been saying that investors would be better off in low-cost passively managed index funds. The brief of the active fund and index fund is two different investment strategy. The former is looking for the market to be misprice securities positively and seek to obtain market performances beyond target. While the later chose a particular index as an investment, not the manifestation of seek the market actively instead of trying to replicate the performance of an index (Philippe, 2002, p. 1-10). According to Jensen (1968, p. 389-400), most studies have found that the universe of mutual funds does not outperform its benchmarks after expenses and this evidence indicates that the average active mutual fund should be avoided hence the preference shifts to the indexed funds for the longer term investments. Other findings reveal that future abnormal returns â€Å"alphas† can be forecast using past returns or alphas, past fund inflows, and manager characteristics such as age, education, and SAT scores which goes a long way in their decision making with regard to financial knowledge. Base on the evidence, those alphas are possible to persistent, and that some managers own positives expectation on alphas as far as about 0.1 percent of all managers in the expectation and none do. Using current data and methods, it is not possible to distinguish between these two possibilities, but at the same time such small differences may have large consequences for investors. There has been rising popularity among the index funds, and this can be attributed to their excellent performance in the long run as they have outperformed their actively managed competitors as a whole. Tak ing a look at the mathematical aspect of the indices, the average active

Checkout and Settlement Essay Example for Free

Checkout and Settlement Essay Check out and settlement are part of the final stages of the guest cycle. It is the final phase of the guest cycle and examines the various activities involved in checkout and settlement. Check out involves the front desk as also other departments such as housekeeping, bell desk, cashier’s desk, Point of sales etc. Main areas for a checkout are the belldesk and the cashier. The FO performs at least 3 important functions during the checkout and settlement process. †¢ It resolves outstanding guest account balances. †¢ It updates room status information †¢ It creates guest history records. Guest account settlement depends on effective FO accounting system that maintains accurate guest folios, verifies and authorizes a method of settlement and resolves discrepancies in account balances. Hotels find it most effective to settle a guest account while the guest is still in the hotel. Guest can settle the bill by paying cash, charging the balance to a credit card, deferring payment to an approved direct billing entity or using a combination of payment methods. Most hotels require a guest to specify during registration an eventual method of settlement. FO should verify or confirm guest credit card or direct billing information before he/she arrives at the desk for check out. Pre settlement verification activities ensure that the hotel will be paid for accommodation and services. DEPARTURE ACTIVITIES AT VARIOUS DESKS: 1) At the Bell Desk: During checkout a luggage outpass has to be obtained from the cashier stating that the guest has settled his account and returned the room key. Once this is received a departure errand card is made and filled out by the bell boy and will got to the guest room to bring down the luggage. The bell captain will also make an entry regarding this in the bell captain’s control sheet. On reaching the guest room the bell boy will announce himself, knock on the door enter the room on gaining permission. The bellboy will also ensure the following: 1. Collect room keys from the guest 2. Check the room for any possible damage to the property. 3. Draws the curtains, locks the balcony. 4. Checks bathroom and fittings. 5. The guest is escorted by him to the front desk 6. He puts a â€Å"room to be cleaned tag† card on the door after switching of the lights and air conditioner. The departure room is then inspected by a housekeeping supervisor/ Room attendant to ensure that nothing is left behind by the guest. The housekeeping/ In room dining department will also check the minibar for anything consumed by the guest to be charged to the bill. At the lobby the bell boy will: Keep the guest’s luggage at the bell desk Put hotel stickers and mark the luggage with â€Å"D† indicating departure luggage. Collect the luggage out clearance slip from the reception and loads the luggage in the car/taxi. Return the errand card to the bell captain which will then be entered onto the bell captain’s control sheet. 2) At the Reception desk: The Front desk receptionist checks the list of expected checkouts for the day and will confirm with the guest his date and time of checkout. Departure notification slips are printed to inform the other departments of the guest’s checkout. In a manual system the room racks are updated. The departure register is also updated. Checking for the mail messages and faxes. Checking for safe deposit box or in room safe keys. 3) At the cashier’s desk: 1. Verifying account information. 2. Posting any remaining charges to the guest’s folio. 3. Presenting the guest folio. 4. Verifying the method of payment. 5. Processing the account payment. 6. Securing the room key. 7. Updating the room status. The procedures used will vary among Front Offices depending upon hotels level of service and degree of automation. Some Front Offices offer automated or express check out. Traditionally at check out guest is presented a final copy of his/her account folio for review and settlement. FOA should confirm how the guest intends to settle the account. Guest may establish credit by presenting a credit card but may choose to settle his bill by cash or travelers cheques. VIP or special guests or corporate accounts should not be asked for settlement if their account is marked that all charges are to be Direct Billed. FOA should bring the guest account balance to zero, called zeroing out. When guest pays by cash or credit card, hotels assume that the payment is full and close the folio. If the account is to be paid through Direct Billing by the hotel, however the account is not brought to a zero balance because it must be transferred to the city ledger and billed through the account receivable system. METHODS OF SETTLEMENT A guest account can be brought to a zero balance in several ways. Methods of settlement include cash payment, credit card or Direct Billing transfer or combined settlement method. I. CASH PAYMENT IN FULL Cash payment in full at check out will bring a guest account balance to zero. A cash receipt has to be issued to the guest by the cashier. The cashier should mark the folio paid. If the guest has produced a credit card at check in, the cashier should destroy the guest credit card voucher imprinted at registration when the guest pays the account in full with cash. Guests paying in foreign currency should convert their money to local currency (some international currencies like $ are accepted). Hotels often charge a fee to convert currencies as banks charge the fee from the hotels. Currency conversion rates are displayed at the Cashiers counter or it can also be taken from business sections of newspapers. Guests can also use traveler’s cheques to settle their bills. Traveler’s cheques are issued by banks and avoid the risk of carrying cash. At the time of settlement the cashier should confirm the identity of the guest from the safety and security point of view. Also there is no danger of them being stolen as they can be encashed only when the signature of the holder tallies with the signature signed at the time of issue. A foreign traveler’s cheque should be treated as foreign currency and the necessary records, statements and certificates must be maintained like in the case of foreign currency and should be sent to the Reserve Bank of India. Difference between an ordinary cheque and a traveler’s cheque |Ordinary cheque |Travelers cheque | |For issuing a person should have a bank account (either |No need of any bank account for purchasing and encashing of | |current or saving). |traveler’s cheque. | |Any amount can be filled in the cheque as they are blank. |Have a fixed amount printed on its face and available in different | | |denominations. | |Only one signature is needed of the holder. |Two signatures are required (one in the presence of the issuing | | |authority and second in the presence of encashing authority). | |Ordinary cheques are valid only for 3-6 months. |Valid for indefinite period of time unless dated. | |These cheques can be crossed for account payee. |No such provision. | |No slip/list of lost, damaged or stolen cheques is issued by |Many banks issue a stop list for stolen and damaged cheques. | |the bank. | | |Cheque may bounce as the balance in the account may be less |No such possibility as the amount is already printed on the face of | |than the cheque |the cheque. | |Not safe as someone might force the owner to sign the cheque. |Quite safe because the second signature have to be put in front of | | |the encashing authority. | Procedure for accepting foreign currency: †¢ Request guest passport and determine the credentials such as name and photo identification place of issue and date of expiry of the passport. †¢ Confirm that the guest is a resident of the hotel by asking his room no. If the guest is a non-resident the permission of the lobby manager is obtained who will extend this facility to VIP’s and regular guests. †¢ Receive the cash or traveler’s cheque in foreign currency. †¢ Calculate the total amount of ocal currency to be paid by multiplying the foreign currency by the exchange rate displayed. †¢ Fill in details of the foreign currency encashment certificate. †¢ Request the guest to sign the foreign currency encashment certificate and compare the signature with the passport. †¢ Request the guest to sign the traveler’s cheque if it is an instrument of exchange. †¢ Give the total amount of local currency with the encashment certificate to the guest †¢ Second copy of the certificate is attached to the notes or traveler’s cheques received †¢ Third copy remains in the encashment certificate book. †¢ Fill in details in the record of foreign currency transactions. †¢ Fill in details of the foreign currency transaction in the cashier’s report. II. CREDIT CARD TRANSFER Even though credit card transfer settlement brings a guest account to zero, the amount of the charge must be tracked until payment is actually received from the credit card Co. Credit card settlement creates a transfer of credit on the guest folio and moves an account balance from the guest ledger to a credit card account in the city ledger (non- guest ledger). (Procedure). Guest signature completes this transaction. In some hotels computer system sends the settlement transactions directly to the credit card Co. guest only signs on the voucher present at FO. There is no need to sign on imprinted voucher. When foreign guests pay by credit card, credit card Co. payment is in local currency. III. DIRECT BILLING TRANSFER Like credit card settlement, direct billing transfers a guest account balance from the guest ledger to the city ledger. Unlike credit card settlement responsibility for billing and collecting a direct billing lies with the hotel rather than an outside agency. Billing should be arranged and approved by hotel’s credit department. Guest signs the folio and accepts the responsibility to pay the bill should direct billing account not pay the bill. IV. COMBINED SETTLEMENT METHOD A guest may elect to use more than one settlement method to bring the folio balance to zero. E.g., guest may make partial cash payment and charge the reminder of the account balance to an acceptable credit card. FOA must accurately record the combined settlement methods and take care that all required paper work is properly completed. Once the guest has settled the account the FOA should provide the guest with a copy of the folio. Good evaluation and follow up should be there as it is the last chance to make an impression. LATE CHECK OUTS Guests do not always check out by the hotels posted check out time. To minimise late check outs, the front office should post check out time notices in conspicuous places such as back of the guest room door, FO, in departure material etc. some hotels charge late check out fee. Explain to the guest why the fee is charged (management policy, HK can prepare room for other guests arriving that day). CHECK OUT OPTIONS Advance in technology with special guest service to expedite departure activities. 1. Express check out Guests may encounter line at front desk when checking out during the peak hours (e.g., between 7.30 and 9.30 am). To ease front desk volume, some FO initiate check out activity before the guest is actually ready to leave. A common pre departure activity involves producing and distributing guest folios to guests expected to check out. FO, HK or Security staff can quietly slip the folio into the guestroom, while they go for their rounds. By completing such a form, guest authorises the front office to transfer his or her outstanding folio to the credit card voucher created during registration. Procedure for express check-out: The receptionist should inform the guest about the express check out facility in the hotel If the guest wishes to use this facility obtain his card during check in Take the impression of the card on a charge slip and on the express check out slip. The charge slip is signed by the guest. One copy of the express check out slip is given to the guest. Explain to the guest that he needs to wrap his room key in the copy and drop it in the express check out drop box located in the lobby at the time of his departure. Attach a copy of the charge slip and express check out sip to the registration card The lobby manager/duty manager files his copy of express check out slip as per the check out date. A day prior to the guests check out the copy of the guest bill is sent to the room with an ECO sticker attached An ECO rooms list should be printed every morning which is necessary for monitoring the entire system. The second copy of this list is given to the bell desk. This system is available only for credit card paying guests and is a facility given to those guests who avoid going physically to the cashier’s desk at the time of check out for considerable time saving. 2. Self check out In some hotels guests can check themselves out of the hotel by accessing self check out terminals in the lobby or in room system interfaced with front office computer intended to reduce check out time and front desk traffic. Some resemble automatic bank teller machines while others posses video and audio capability. Credit card has to be used (number or magnetic strip). Check out is complete when the guest’s balance is transferred to a credit card account and an itemised account statement is printed and dispersed to the guest. This system sends an updated room status to front office computer. In room folio review and check out usually relies on an in room television or guestroom telephone access via an in room TV. Guests can pick up a printed folio at the front desk on his way out. In room self check out automatically updates room status and creates Guest History records. Another advantage is guests can look at their folios at any time during their stay. UNPAID ACCOUNT BALANCES No matter how carefully the front office monitors guest’s stay there is always possibility that the guest will leave without settling his account. Guest may forget to check out or front office may discover late charges for a guest who has already checked out. After departure charges or outstanding balances represent unpaid account balances. LATE CHARGES may be a major concern in guest account settlement. Restaurant, telephone, room service charges etc are the examples of some potential late charges. Sometimes additional cost of postage, stationary, labor, etc is more than the late charge itself. It is important in maximising the profitability. FOLLOWING STEPS CAN BE TAKEN TO REDUCE LATE CHARGES: In automated and semi automated system front office can- †¢ Post transactional vouchers as soon as they arrive at the front desk. †¢ Survey front office equipment and voucher and folio racks for unposted charges. E.g., local telephone, in room movie charge meters may posses information not recorded in a voucher. †¢ Ask departing guests whether they have incurred any charge purchase or long distance calls that do not appear on the folio. Front may appoint runners to collect vouchers or get information on phone at peak hours. Front office computer system that interfaces with revenue center outlets is often the most effective means of reducing or even eliminating late charges. Room key deposits at reception counter help in reducing unpaid balances. ACCOUNT COLLECTION Late charges that are billed to departed guests should not be classified as un- collectible until the front office has exhausted all billing and collection procedures. A registration card should contain guest address, phone number etc. Procedures for collection of late charges will be different for cash and credit card depending on company policy for late charges. Guest account not settled at check out regardless of the credit established or prepayments processed during registration are transferred from the guest ledger to the city ledger, from front office to hotels accounting division. TYPICAL CITY LEDGER ACCOUNT INCLUDE: 1. Credit card billing- to authorised credit card billing. 2. Direct billing–to approved company and individual account. 3. Travel agency account- for authorised tours and groups. 4. Bad cheque account- resulting from departed guests whose personal cheques were returned unpaid. 5. Skipper account- guests who left the hotel without settling their account. 6. Disputed bills account- for guests who refuse to settle their account (in part or in full) because of a discrepancy. 7. Guaranteed reservation account- for billing and tracing no show guests. 8. Late charges account- for guests who checked out before some charges were posted to their account. 9. House accounts- for non-guest business and promotional activities. To be effective, the front office must establish a policy for billing departed guests with overdue account. Account receivable billing include determining: 1. When outstanding account balances are payable. 2. The number of days between billing. 3. How to control departed guests whose accounts are overdue. Collection schedules can range from aggressive (short cycle) to lenient (long cycle) depending on the hotels financial needs, clientele profile, history of collection patterns and so on. †¢ Firm in any encounters involving deferred payment. †¢ Documented procedure for collecting overdoes. †¢ Credit for tour group to be established well before they arrive. †¢ Uncollectible accounts to be sent back to the departments that originally accepted the uncollectible charge. FRONT OFFICE RECORDS Front office usually makes two copies of each guest account folio. 1 copy – guest receipt 2 copy – hotels permanent record Front office that uses three part folio, file the third copy with credit card voucher or direct billing statement in case the guest later needs a summary of charges. Registration cards are filed alphabetically whereas guest folios are filed numerically. GUEST HISTORIES Front office management can better understand its clientele and determine guest trends when it develops and maintains a guest history file. It contains personal and financial data of the guest hence it is confidential and proprietary. It is the last step in check out and account settlement. Many hotels build guest history cards from expired registration cards. It has information about the guest’s spouse, family etc. the information may help develop ads that appeal to the types of clientele the hotel is attempting to attract. Guest histories may also point out the need for new, supplementary or enhanced services. MARKETING FOLLOW THROUGH Hotels marketing department may rely in part on guest history files to develop new marketing strategies. Also, a property-marketing programme may depend on the front office performance and follow through at check out. E.g., marketing department creates a program to reward frequent guests with a free stay. Front office may be responsible for tracking the number of stays. Frequent travelers clubs are designed to encourage brand loyalty. Here airlines work as co marketers. GROUP DEPARTURE: At the Bell desk: Sufficient number of bell boys are arranged to handle luggage of the group. Baggage down time and wake up calls times are important and must be checked and followed strictly. Allocate floors and rooms to bell boys to bring down the luggage down to the lobby. If on the day of departure the guests are not in the room the bell boys go to each group member’s rooms and â€Å"pull† each group members baggage out of the room and bring it down to the lobby until the group is ready to leave. This process is called as â€Å"bag pull† Baggage is brought down to the lobby and counted. Bell captain obtains a baggage outpass. Room keys are handed to reception After clearance from the cashier and reception Finally the baggage is loaded onto the vehicle by the bellboys. At the reception: Departure notification sips are issued half an hour prior to actual departure by the receptionist to telephones, housekeeping, room service, and food and beverage etc. to avoid any late charges. At the cashier: Cashier prints out the master folio and individual folios {if any}. Makes a room wise summary for easy collection Master folio given to the tour leader and the individual bills are collected with the assistance of tour leader.

The Bauhaus Movement: Characteristics and History

The Bauhaus Movement: Characteristics and History Introduction From the expression Bauhaus we still feel something fresh. In every day speech it is associated with the beginning of the modernism and it is invoking in us association with basic forms (square, triangle and circle), basic colours (red, yellow and blue), furniture from the metal, white architecture and functionalism. History of the small school that Bauhaus was, is a mixture of facts and interpretation from different sources. But Bauhaus was the phoenix that every generation understands differently. For us, Bauhaus is a symbol of rationalization and modernity of lifestyle, where we cannot find any unnecessary comfort. At the same time, it is an enemy for the conservative culture. We can say that Bauhaus has been connected with left wing all the time. For Nazi Germany Bauhaus was culturally Bolshevik, international and Jewish. But Nazis used the modern devices of the Bauhaus very often. Almost all members of the Bauhaus emigrated and lot of Jewish relatives were killed. In German Democratic republic, where the main school (Weimar and Dessau) was established, Bauhaus was denied till sixties. After that, they started to integrate it to their cultural heritage. On other hand, for the Federal Republic of Germany, Bauhaus was the main part of modernism. A Graphic design of Bauhaus acknowledges this historical concept and invites readers to take a fresh look at the facts about typography and advertising and printing workshop at the Bauhaus school. It is for the first time in ninety years after establishment of the most successful art academy of twentieth century, the Graphic design of Bauhaus, which brings together works of graphic design from three different schools of Bauhaus located in Weimar, Dessau and Berlin. The team has brought the numerous treasures of the collections of the masters such as Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Joost Schmidt and Herbert Bayer. We wish that the readers will enjoy A Graphic design of Bauhaus and they will focus and concentrate on the creativity of the Bauhaus. Historical evolution When the Germany was established in 1871 it experienced change from the agrarian state into industrial. The reform artists of secession from Darmstadt, Munich and Dresden brought to Germany movement of Arts and Crafts from England, which was actually an opposition to industrialization. The new school that was set up in that period was characterised by different workshops, the most famous schools were Art school in Munich and Art and craft school in Weimar set up by Henry van de Velde in 1908. In 1907 Deutcher Werkbund (Union of German art), which conciliated between capitalism and culture was set up in Munich. In 1910, Walter Gropius became a member of Deutcher Werkbund, where he organized an exhibition of industrial works and during that time he gained a lot of experience for leading Bauhaus school. During the war, Gropius was very good leader and during that four-year period he was very quickly promoted to embarkation officer. After the war, in 1919, he continued his discussion with Velde about his succession. When he returned to Saxony, the School of art was closed and the only school that existed there was School of arts and crafts. He wanted to unite both schools and both schools accepted it. This was his first step for the Bauhaus school. Architects, painters, sculptors, we must all return to crafts! For there is no such thing as professional art. There is no essential difference between the artist and the craftsman. The artist is an exalted craftsman. By the grace of Heaven and in rare moments of inspiration which transcend the will, art may unconsciously blossom from the labour of his hand, but a base in handicrafts is essential to every artist. It is there that the original source of creativity lies. Let us therefore create a new guild of craftsmen without the class-distinctions that raise an arrogant barrier between craftsmen and artists! Let us desire, conceive, and create the new building of the future together. It will combine architecture, sculpture, and painting in a single form, and will one day rise towards the heavens from the hands of a million workers as the crystalline symbol of a new and coming faith. Walter Gropius Weimar (1919 1925) Walter Gropius wanted to create an architecture school that will reflect the time after the World War I. In 1919 he published manifesto of Bauhaus, which was focused against academic reform for art school. Main idea of the manifest was co-operation between craftsmen and artists. According to the other universities, Gropius reached back to the old model of craftsmans guilds. At the early age of Bauhaus was founded organization so study that was base of Bauhaus: the successful admissions examination, all students had to attend one year of preparation course called Vorkurs (primary course) a sort of trial semester, where they learned the sense for colours, materials, structures and they developed certain skills. After this preparation they were divided into workshops to earn a certificate of apprenticeship and simultaneously underwent artistic training. Between years 1919 and 1923 Bauhaus was strongly influenced by expressionism. After that, when Gropius talked about the school, he did not want to accept similarity of the De Stijl, the school he was very much against. In 1923, Bauhaus changed the direction and ideas. At that time, they were influenced by functionalism (they co-operated with Neue Sachlichkeit movement). In February 1924, social-democratic government, which has been supportive of Bauhaus, lost the main control in parliament to Nationalists. As the school was dependent on the government grants, and in 1925 Gropius signed less financing than was necessary for the schools budget, at the end of same year Bauhaus had to be closed in Weimar. Dessau (1925 1932) When the Bauhaus had to move out, under the pressure of conservatives and rightists, several cities offered to take it over. But the Bauhaus decided to move to Dessau, because they offered them to build a new school. At that time, school was entering a new era. The lessons officially started on April 1st 1925. The Bauhaus program was changed; what was important at that time, was connection between creativity and industry. In 1927 Walter Gropius called for Hannes Meyer, who became a leader of architecture department. In 1928 when Gropius resigned, Meyer became a director of the Bauhaus. This change was very important for Bauhaus because Meyer introduced the extension of the scientific basis of teaching methods and artworks became more scientific. For teaching the lectures at the school leading experts across the entire field of philosophy, psychology, and physics were invited. Now in the workshops, students began to produce standard products that became available for majority of population. Meyer raised the number of students to 200, what was not very good for school, because it has lost the elite character. Bauhaus had to be accessible to the proletariat. In 1930 Meyer was replaced by new director Mies van der Rohe, who kept the distance from any political stance. He wanted students to be primarily educated technically, artistically and in the crafts, so the education looked back to the Weimar basis. As director of Bauhaus, he had to face to lot of problems, school did not receive public construction contracts, and the city had reduced the its funding. He also had to face to the growing hostility towards Bauhaus in Dessau. Berlin (1932 1933) When the Nazi Party was becoming to the power, many of the members labelled the Bauhaus un-German and they accused the school from the Bolshevik subversive activities. Bauhaus was forced to move to Berlin in 1932, since when it was a private school only, but circumstances forced the director to close the school in April 1933. Political tension As the director of Bauhaus, Mies van der Rohe, had to face a lot of difficulties, which mainly occurred during financial crisis in 1929 and also the enemies to Bauhaus in Dessau. City reduced financial funding dedicated to Bauhaus. Budgets in years 1931 and 1932 were lower than spending appraised by Meyer. The similar public contracts, that Gropius and Meyer received; did not come. The space in Bauhaus building had to cleared for technical school that had more than 1400 students (meanwhile Bauhaus had only around 170 students), so the Bauhaus could use only one floor with seven ateliers. Strong student communistic party also existed at Bauhas. The last issue of their magazine was printed in Berlin in 1932, which was strongly supported by many students. Groups of students orientated to the right also existed there. In 1933, after school was closed, they made a petition for re-opening it. Mies van der Rohe aided also the spiritual sight of Bauhaus with lot of seminars. He invited philosophers such as Helmuth Plessner and Hans Freyer, who taught by anthropologies regularity. Preliminary course One of the most important innovations in teaching at Bauhaus was preliminary course. At the beginning, this course was only one semester long. but later it changed into two semesters and what was important about this course was the fact, that every student had to pass it. After that it had to be decided, if the student is able to study further or not. From 1919, the course was lead by Johannes Itten, who made some specific rules that were irrational, but from the winter semester 1920/21 they were obligatory. As Itten became the big opponent for Gropiuss new orientation for industry and productivity, in 1923 he decided to leave school. After that Gropius made a big revision of preliminary course. From 1924 the courses first semester was lead by Josef Albers and more practical than the second one lead by Laszlo Moholy-Nagy that had more theoretical aspects. Josef Albers lead the course as education of crafts and it was understood as creators education. Moholy-Nagy preliminary course was well known by its three major areas that it was focused on. The first one consisted on learning how to combine elements. The second one was focused on exercises to distinguish composition from construction. And the last one, probably the most famous, was focused on three dimensional study designs. The course was mainly about how to create objects from simple elements and materials. Hannes Meyer, the director of Bauhaus from the year 1928, the necessity of the preliminary course confirmed. From 1930 the course was changed into courses of Gestapsychology (psychology of form), sociology and social economy. In the same year the communistic students asked for (total) discontinuation of the preliminary course. In 1930, director Mies van der Rohe declared the preliminary course as voluntary. He introduced the exam at the end of all semesters, that declared who is able to continue study further or not. According to these exams, the preliminary course lost the meaning of choosing talented students, homogenization of students and education to creativity. But the Mies van der Rohe enlarged the preliminary course for the architects of free drawings without instruments, because he wanted to develop their visual abilities. Albers led this course as well. In 1938, the preliminary course was changed into visual training course that had to prepare students to vision in context. From todays point of view, the preliminary course was missing historical, nature and economic context. Workshops For Walter Gropius, the workshops were the most important part of education in Bauhaus. The first concept was, that after the passing preliminary course, the student should start studying to be an architect. This idea has never changed into reality, because at the time when Gropius was director on Bauhaus, the architect department existed just for one year from 1927 to 1928. So we can say, that during his time, Bauhaus had to reform education system of art and crafts. In Weimar Bauhaus these workshops existed: the ceramics, the weaving, the metal, joinery, the wall painting, the woodcarving and stone sculpture. Besides the workshops, theater group, graphic editions and printing workshop also existed there. In Dessau, some of the workshops were put together into one workshop, or the name had been changed, or it was discontinued. Finally, only seven workshops existed: the metal, joinery, woodcarving, wall painting, the printing and advertising, sculpture and the theatre. The teaching of architecture on Bauhaus existed from the year 1927, when three other workshops were formed. After that, it was easier to get the architecture education: the students needed just one year of experience in of the workshops. Lot of students abandoned Bauhaus with journeyman certificate or diploma and they never studied architecture. It mostly happened during the time when Hannes Mayer was the director of the Bauhaus. Hannes Mayer, as a new director, started with some of the changes. He grouped some of the workshops; he totally discontinued the woodcarving workshops, because the main teacher, Oskar Schlemmer, left the school in 1929. He set up a new workshop for photography, but he wanted to group this workshop with the printing and advertising workshop. So we can say, that during the period when he was in charge, Bauhaus was mainly education institution for designers and architectures. Everything changed when Mies van den Rohe became the director. After that it was possible to study architecture also without passing the preliminary course. At that time, Bauhaus was mainly orientated to the architecture. The biggest problem of workshops at that time was, that on one hand the workshop represented pedagogic principle but on other hand students had to gain some money by their works. From expressionism to constructivism The first years of Bauhaus, 1919 1921, were very expressionistic but Walter Gropius was strongly against De Stijl that was very similar to Bauhaus. In year 1923 Bauhaus was ruled by motto art and technique new unity that was characteristic till 1928. But the big change came in 1922, with the first sign being the change of the logo; expressionistic cachet of Bauhaus with star man from Karl Peter Rohl changed into constructivism head of man designed by Oskar Schlemmer. Expressionism, that was politicized after 1918 such as cathedral of socialism was now out and De Stijl movement became very popular, mainly because of painter and theoretic Theo van Doesburg. From April 1921, Doesburg lived in Weimar and intensively cooperated with Bauhaus. He strongly influenced not only students but also teachers. He talked about De Stijl mostly and he abhorred craft that was studied on Bauhaus and he asked to use modern technologies to create a modern life. He thought that artists shouldnt present their spiritual life or emotions but they should know their responsibility for creating the unity of the world. He did not allow all of the materials and he used just basic colours (red, blue and yellow) combining with no-colours (black, white and grey) but they could be combined in whole, rectangular areas. The creativity was balancing opposite meaning of the expressing tools: black and white, yellow and blue, horizontal with vertical, vacuum and matter. He attributed the creativity of space to the colour, that was popular in wall painting workshop. Doesburg theory was combination of variety of knowledge. Countervailing of opposites had to come to the achievement of true and beauty of universe. It was followed by belief in machines. The change from expressionism to constructivism started by group of Hungarian students. For them constructivism meant: constrictive, utilitarian, rational and international. Not only students changed their style but also teachers e.g. Kandinsky made geometrical their expressionistic art language. Composition of Paul Klee became more rationalistic; stroke of the brush and coating of colours was less personal, technical look. Schlemmer developed the theory of art, where he connected the basic human movements such as standing, swimming and walking with elementary ideas combining the basic ideas of De Stijl and constructivism. When Hungarian painter Laszlo Moholy-Nagy entered to Bauhaus in 1923, he changed his expressionistic past into constructivism art language. Until the year 1928 Bauhaus was influenced by different influence, that was not only from his own teacher but also from outside architects and designer suggestions. Alter Adolph Gropius (* 18. may, 1883, Berlin, German Empire †  5. July, 1969, Boston, USA) He was born into the architect family. He started studies to be an architect in 1903 in Munich and he finished in 1907 in Berlin. He cooperated with Mies van der Rohe, Dietrich, Le Corbusier, Arcks and Adolf Meyer. But his biggest carrier started when he became a director of Grand-Ducal Saxon School of Arts and Crafts in 1919. He transformed whole school into world famous Bauhaus. But under the pressure from conservative party he had to move from Weimar to Dessau in 1924, where he started to teach in more modern way. In Dessau he built the building for school, houses for masters and himself, everything built in a functionalism style. He also built habitation Torten in Dessau, where he created new urban concept, where houses were built in parallel and the main communication was connected to them perpendicular. He left the school in 1928, but he continued working as an architect. Between years 1929 and 1956 he was vice-president of CIAM (Congres International dArchitecture Moderne). In 1934 he had to immigrate to London but then he moved to the USA, where he became a professor at Harvard University, where he modernized education system. He built lot of famous building worldwide such as John. F Kennedy Federal Office Building in Boston; Pan Am Building in New York; University of Bagdad, etc. Ludwig Mies van den Rohe (* 27. march, 1886, Aachen †  19. august, 1969, Chicago) He got his first experience from his father who had his own stone-carving shop. In 1905 he moved to Berlin, where he got job by architect and furniture designer Bruno Paul. He designed his first work when he was just 21 years old. He set up his own office in 1912. We can see that he tried to connect architecture with techniques in his work. He was the first one to use flat roof and cubistic material. Between 1930 and 1933 he became director of Bauhaus, but he had to face very complicated situation, so in 1938 he immigrated to the USA. He was famous because of his sentence less is more and his Brno chair is so famous that is still produced nowadays. We can find his buildings worldwide e.g. villa Tugendhat in Brno, Seagram Building in New York, National Gallery in Berlin, etc. Laszlo Moholy-Nagy (July 20, 1895 November 24, 1946), chyba hviezdicka a krizik He was born into Jewish Hungarian family but he changed his German surname into Hungarian surname after his aunt and he added his second name after the city where he grew up. He studied law in Budapest and he met with constructivism in Vienna for the first time. In 1923 he came to Bauhaus where he started to teach preliminary course because Johannes Itten left the school. We can say, that it was the end of his expressionism carrier and as we know, the Bauhaus was well known school, because of versatility of artists and he was no exception. Later at the Bauhaus he focused on photography and typography, but his main passion was preliminary course, where he gave students very complicated tasks to solve. From 1925 to 1928 he cooperated with Herbert Bayer in printing workshop and his responsibility was graphic edition of almost all books printed by Bauhaus. Moholy-Nagy was against the typical photography and he tried to teach his students to see and present world by different perspective and he taught students to use the modernist techniques. He used different techniques such as montage, inversion of light values, double illumination, etc. Officially, the photography was learnt at the Bauhaus since 1929, but at that time, he was not more in school. In 1928 he moved to Berlin and after that he travelled through Europe and finally he moved in 1937 to Chicago where he lived till his death. Hannes Meyer (* 18. November 1889 †  19. July 1954) He was born in Switzerland and practised as an architect in different countries such as Switzerland, Belgium and Germany. Meyers design philosophy is reflected in the following quote: 1. sex life, 2. sleeping habits, 3. pets, 4. gardening, 5. personal hygiene, 6. weather protection, 7. hygiene in the home, 8. car maintenance, 9. cooking, 10. heating, 11. exposure to the sun, 12. services In 1926 he established his own company with his friend and during that time, he produced his two most famous projects for the Geneva League of Nations Building and Basel Petersschule. Unfortunately none was built. In 1927 he came to Bauhaus as a teacher of architecture and only one year later he became to be a director. A lot of changes to the education system came with him, the most important being enlargement of the theoretical scientist base of education. He was a good example of extreme functionalism and he was strongly against art part of architecture. During that time, many good teachers left the school e.g. Herbert Bayer and Macel Breuer. During the holidays in 1930, he had to leave Bauhaus, because of his strict communistic thinking. He moved to Moscow where he formed group Left Column. Consequently, he moved to Switzerland, Mexico and back to Switzerland where he died in 1954. Herbert Bayer (Hagg, Austria, 1900 Santa Bà ¡rbara, United States, 1985), chyba hviezdicka a krizik He was one of the students at the Bauhaus being taught by e.g. Wassily Kandinsky, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and meno Gropius. After his studying, he was named to be a director of printing and advertising workshop. One of his characters was that he used only sans serif typefaces for almost all of the Bauhaus publications. In 1925 he created his own typeface called Universal today known as Bayer Universal. He left the school in 1928 and he moved to Berlin where he became to be the director for German magazine Vogue. Ten years later, he escaped from Nazi Germany to New York, where made carrier almost in every possible aspect of graphic art. He stayed in the USA till his death and he produced phonetic alphabet for English. It was basically again sans serif typeface but without capital letters. He became one of the most influential graphic designers of the twentieth century. Printing and advertising workshop During seven years of existence, 1925 1932, printing and advertising workshop changed completely. Each director had main role for this workshop. When Walter Gropius was the director of Bauhaus it was a production workshop in a small scale. The main product was advertising. When Hannes Mayer became director of Bauhaus everything changed. Joost Schmidt, the head of the workshop, developed the advertising, but in three-dimensional forms where quality of a graphic design was more important. Meanwhile in De Stijl and constructivism the art was more important than quality. When Schmidt dream became true, to create o professional printing and advertising workshop, everything changed again, new director, Mies van den Rohe, it was again only the teaching workshop and the result was that this workshop was closed before whole Bauhaus was closed. When Bayer became a head of the workshop, he gave it a new purpose by introducing the subject of advertising. The new teaching timetable of 1926 contained a summary of the content of its classes: the methods and construction of advertising and their effective application were to be investigated and, in future planning, standardization and advertising psychology were to be studied. In 1925, this workshop became a obligatory part of preliminary course and the Bauhaus was distinguished from other graphic schools that tried to train student to be a specialist in advertising. In first semester the students supposed to take undertake practical work after that it was combination of theoretical and practical. They studied the differentiation of advertising media and the most important was studying how to use photography and film in advertising. In forth semester they studied the structure and drafting of advertising plans. They had to focus on German industrial format and what was the most important for them, was the catch of the viewers eye. Bayer focused on design of advertising, rather than the placement, meanwhile when Joost Schmidt was head of printing and advertising workshop, he focused on visual rules of design. At the beginning the students had to experiment with geometric forms but it was almost forbidden to use free forms. For him, it was unsuitable to use collages, typeface exercises and photographs but the abstract form was the most important for advertising. Schmidt created a new kinetic model for exhibition according to Moholy-Nagy work. Meanwhile, students got the technique skills for advertising in typesetting and printing. A new workshop for photography directed by Peterhans was opened in 1929, but till that time Schmidt tried to teach students perspective drawing and painting. Between 1928 and 1930 they produced several exhibitions, for example in Berlin and Linz. But their financial situation went wrong and also Mies van der Rohe was very critically to Schmidt workshop so for the next exhibition he wanted to show his doubts about Schmidt. What was even worse was the fact that even the photography students had to distance from Schmidt teaching methods. Following year he was under big pressure and finally in 1932 he collapsed. Typography in Bauhaus In the first year of existence of Bauhaus school in Weimar, typography was not very well developed. There were just two calligraphers at school, Johannes Itten and Lothar Schreyer but for them, it was just expression of artistic meaning and at the beginning practical field of application was missing there. Development of typography started in 1923, when school poster with unique typeset and design was made. Year after that, it was changed to school emblem. The original one, that looked like masons mart, a spread-eagled figure carrying aloft a pyramid, was replaced by the new one designed by Oskar Schlemmer that looked like geometric profile of a head, which could be very simply reproduced. The typical characters for Bauhaus typography were rules and sans serif types, that somehow became a stereotype, but accepting the stereotype was the part of radical reform. In 1921 the Bauhaus master Johannes Itten tried to make reform, where he combine black letter (Fraktur) with heavy Victorian types, where we can see the combination of printers ornaments, dots and squares. He set up one of the first Bauhaus characteristics, which was geometrical feature of the page. The next step for Bauhaus typography was to solve the problems with German alphabet that was quite old according to the new machine age. They decided to write all nouns in German starting with capital letter. A footnote, which appeared on the Bauhaus letterhead designed by Herbert Bayer in 1925, stated the schools attitude uncompromisingly: Towards a simplified way of writing This is the way recommended by reforms of lettering as our future letterform, cf. the book sprache und schrift (speech and letterform) by dr. porstmann, union of German engineers publishers, Berlin 1920. In restricting ourselves to lower-case letters our type loses nothing, but becomes more easily read, more easily learned, substantially more economic Why is there for one sound, for example a, two signs A and a? one sound, one sign, why two alphabets for one word, why double the number of signs, when half would achieve the same? The main character for Bauhaus typography was geometrical base that was base for functionalism. At the Bauhaus, Josef Alberts and Joost Schmidt made a lot of alphabets, but it was Bayer, who was the main typographer there. His well known typeface Universal (1926) consisted of circles and straight lines of a constant thickness on a grid squares. They used upper and lower case, but they never combined them and they always combined them with vibrant colours. But situation has radically changed when Là ¡szlà ³ Moholy-Nagy entered the school in 1923. He introduced the ideas of New Typography. What he wanted, basically, was that the typography had to be communication medium and message should be clear. Since 1923 his influence was visible on advertising campaign for Bauhaus and after that when the Bauhaus moved to Dessau, he became co-editor of Bauhaus typography, where the Bayer was director of printing and advertising workshop. The typical characteristic of that period was that bold sans serif was used for heading and subheading for single words to interrupt the flow of lines. This innovation was technically complicated in metal type. From that time, the typography was very closely connected with corporate identity of school. It was clear, that type prints, the articulation and accentuation of pages through distinct symbols or typographic elements highlighted in colour, and finally direct information in a combination of text and photography were the main characteristics for Bauhaus typography. Herbert Bayer also designed letters that appeared on Bauhaus building in Dessau. He was responsible for all printing material for Bauhaus. Because the workshop was limited to narrow sans-serifs fonts some of them became very similar. He used vertical and horizontal rules and printed it on red and black and this became another stereotype of the Bauhaus. But it was very common for many avant-gardes. His most ambitious work was poster designed for Kandinsky sixteens birthday exhibition. It was printed on orange paper and again he printed it red and black and you can see strong rectangularity. Bauhaus, De Stijl and Vkhutemas Main characteristics of Bauhaus: The main colours that they used are blue, yellow and red and the characteristic shapes were triangle, square and circle. One of the most characteristic features for the Bauhaus was simplicity. The design was very simple in lines and shapes. They used straight lines or gentle, smooth curves. They werent afraid to use shapes. It wasnt so strict as in De Stijl. We can also see repetition of certain layers. They also used a row of identical cylinders of two, three corners that were out from the others to produce very simple but strong effect. Next strong feature was quality. The products they made were light and airy. They used new materials such as steel, aluminium, plastics and glass. Tables and chairs are another strong feature. Often they were focused on design some small pieces where they used materials such as plastics, class, chrome and other metals that could somehow highlight the materials themselves. The materials had to be cleaned by water easily and quick. We should also unde rstand the difference between the functionalism of Craftsman and Bauhaus design. The other typical feature was the Bauhaus material wasnt handcrafted pieces but it was made in mass production. They had to have the industrial look. Main characteristics of De Stijl: Same as in the Bauhaus the main colours for De Stijl were red, yellow and blue and supporting colours we can say that were black, white and grey. Every colour had some meaning for example the yellow meant expansive and vertical. On the other hand the blue one was opposite, soft, retiring and horizontal. The meaning of red was expressed the radiating movement of the life. Combining all three colours you will have green. But for example Analysis of the UK Confectionery Industry: Thorntons Analysis of the UK Confectionery Industry: Thorntons Confectionery Industry In The UK Contributes A Major Amount Of Revenue To The Countrys Economy Chapter 1: Introduction Confectionery industry in the UK contributes a major amount of revenue to the countrys economy. Repeated case studies have revealed that the confectionery industry is ever growing and the demand for creativity and innovation in the products in increasingly demanded by the consumers in the UK market. Alongside, the growth in the confectionery industry has also resulted in the stiff competition among the players in the market with many global competitors like Cadbury and Nestle. The growth of more focused and niche market targeting companies have also grown tremendously in the UK, which includes companies like Thorntons, Ferroro UK ltd, etc. The stiff competition in the market and the increased penetration of the big players into various market segments has further disturbed the position of companies like Thorntons. This report is focused on the analysis of the marketing strategies for Thorntons Plc and provides valuable suggestions for future expansion and strategies to gain competiti ve advantage in the UK chocolate market. The report aims to achieve the following objectives To effectively segment the target market for Thorntons and identify those segment(s) here the company can effectively develop its business. To identify the importance of buyer behaviour and establish that the effective deployment of buyer behaviour would help the company understand its target market in detail so as to gain market share. Provide recommendation for an appropriate short-term promotional campaign in the UK for increasing the awareness on the companys products in the target market. Devise a sales or promotion campaign for the company in order to increase its sales through focusing on establishing the brand of Thorntons in the market as a strong competitor. Present a critical analysis of the advertising strategy mentioned in the case study for Thorntons and device a new advertising strategy that would include a creative media based plan in order to increase the awareness among the customers in the target market Also device a critical structure for the direct marketing plans in order to reach the over 50 years segment of customers in the UK market. Chapter Overview Chapter 1: Introduction This is the current chapter that introduces the reader to the objectives of the report and the flow of the report text. Chapter 2: Market Segmentation and buyer behaviour This chapter first presents an analysis on the market segmentation and identifies those segments that the company should target upon for further market expansion. This is then followed by the overview of the buyer behaviour and the use of buyer behaviour by the company in order to gain competitive advantage in its target market. Chapter 3: Advertising and Promotion This chapter first presents a discussion on a short-term promotional campaign for the company in order to increase the awareness of the products in the existing target market. This is then followed by a detailed overview of the advertising plan incorporating creative plans in the media based advertising in order to promote the products of the company. This is then followed by a critical analysis on the direct marketing strategy for over 50 years segment of customers in the UK in order to effectively reach that segment of the market so as to increase the sales as well as the market share. Chapter 4: Conclusion The objectives of the chapter are reviewed against the research and analysis conducted in the previous chapters and then a conclusion is derived based on the results of the analysis. Chapter 2: Market Segmentation and Buyer Behaviour 2.1: Market Segmentation From the case study of the company it is evident that the major segments in the Chocolate market include Count lines Moulded Bars Boxed Chocolates Seasonal Products and Bagged Self lines It is also evident that the company under debate i.e. Thorntons Plc specialize in the manufacture and sale of Boxed continental chocolates in the UK and global market. Hence the market segment that the company primarily operates is under the sub sector of the Boxed chocolates in the Chocolates industry of the UK. A further segmentation of the Boxed Chocolates market in the UK based on the price and quality is presented below