Watson And Crick Essays - Sigma Xi, Nucleic Acids,

Watson And Crick James Watson and Francis Crick James Watson is a biochemist and Nobel laureate. He attended school at the University of Indiana, after graduating from the university he joined of the faculty at Harvard University. Before joining the faculty at Harvard he did postgraduate work with Francis Crick in the Cavendish lab, at the University of Cambridge. Watson and Crick worked out the deoxyribonucleic acid molecule. This is a substance that transmits the genetic characteristics from one generation to the next. They both thought that it should be possible to correctly guess its structure, given the experimental evidence of Kings College. They also thought they could figure out the possible stereochemical configurations of polynucleotide chains. They did there first serious effort, in the late fall of 1951 and it turned out to be unsatisfactory. On their second effort they had more experimental evidence, and put more appreciation into the nucleic acid literature. Watson not only worked on the DNA structure he also did some work with Alexander Rich on the RNA. Another one of Watsons experiments was the structure of TMV, using X-ray diffraction techniques. This was to see if chemical sub-units, were helically arranged. This was achieved in 1952, when use of the Cavendishs newly constructed rotating anode X-ray tubes allowed an unambiguous demonstration of the helical construction of the virus. Watson and Crick have helped the world in more ways than one. By experimenting with DNA they have helped us to figure out human genetic questions. Their experiments also can lead into other things, such as maybe cloning the human DNA strand. Science Essays

Coca Colas Business Policy in Zambia and El Salvador

Coca Colas Business Policy in Zambia and El Salvador Introduction According to the Word Bank, about 1.35 billion people in the world today live below the international poverty line, which is set at $1.25 per day. In addition, it is estimated that the recent global financial and economic recession increased this number by 64 million people.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Coca Cola’s Business Policy in Zambia and El Salvador specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More What this means is that a significant number of people in the world today live under extreme poverty (Raman 103). As a result of this, it is important to encourage investment in the private sector. Investment in the private sector is important considering the fact that the ability of governments to foster development and provide aid is limited. Right now, the government is under a lot of pressure to provide the citizens with basic infrastructure using the meager resources. The resources are overstretc hed, meaning that the government needs help from the private sector. Investors in the private sector will provide the citizens with, among others, employment and infrastructure. For more than three decades, private corporations around the world have emerged as essential pillars as far as economic development is concerned. The private corporations have created job opportunities and other benefits in the society, contributing significantly to the reduction of poverty in the world (Walsh and Dowding 106). There are debates revolving around the impact of private investors on the global economy. Analysts are especially concerned with the impacts of these organizations on the economy of the developing countries. The debates notwithstanding, it is important to note that private corporations have significantly improved the economy as far as the developing nations are concerned.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The organizations have improved the business environment in these countries, in addition to providing the citizens with employment and other social amenities. Private organizations are aware of their impacts on the economy of the developing nations. They are aware of the fact that their operations affect the life of individuals in the community within which they are operating. As a result of this, the organizations recognize that their success or failure impacts on the community they are operating from. It is as a result of this realization that such companies have taken the initiative to transfer skills and knowledge from the developed world to the third world economies (Stanford 54). The current paper is written against this backdrop. In this paper, the author focuses on the operations of a multinational company with significant impacts on the regional and global economy. The companies selected for this analysis are Coca Cola and SABM iller. In this report, the author focuses on the business policy adopted by the Coca Cola Company and SABMiller. In addition, the author critically analyzes how the two companies have assisted the government in reducing levels of poverty in the country. The report is a case study of the operation of the two companies in two developing countries. The two countries are El Salvador and Zambia. The impacts of the two companies on these two economies are critically analyzed. Coca Cola’s Business Policy in Zambia and El Salvador Zambia: Background Information In spite of the fact that Zambia has recorded a positive economic growth in the past five years, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The country attained independence in 1964. Immediately after independence, the country had the potential to emerge as one of the leading economies in Africa.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Coca Cola’s Business Policy in Zambia and El Sa lvador specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the economy of the country declined sharply in the 1990s. Analysts blame the economic decline in the country on corruption. Corruption increased immediately after independence, and it persisted into the 1990s. The country’s economy started to recover in 2003. For the next five years, the country recorded an average of 5% in economic growth. The positive growth is largely attributed to the establishment of a favorable environment, which was conducive to investment. The country attracted investments from other nations, both within and outside Africa. The boom in copper mining is another reason why the country recorded a positive economic growth. Other factors leading to this growth post- 2003 include low inflation rates and improved political stability. In 2005, the country was relieved of most of its foreign debt. To this end, the country received a 4 billion USD debt relief. In 2008, th e price of copper in the international market plummeted, which affected the economy of this country negatively. The decline in the price of copper on the global market was brought about by the recent economic recession. The economy of the country revived in 2009 when the effects of the economic recession on the global economy tapered off. Since then, the country’s economy has continued to grow at an average rate of 6.3 percent per annum. However, in spite of this impressive economic growth, about 64% of the population in the country lived below the poverty line by the end of 2006. The current macroeconomic outlook in Zambia is positive. However, there are various factors that continue to negatively affect economic development. For example, more than 80% of the nation’s working population is involved in agriculture (Sherelle 38).Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More El Salvador: Background Information Currently, El Salvador is recovering from the effects of ten years of civil war. It is one of the poorest countries in Latin America. A series of natural disasters, coupled with the plummeting prices of coffee in the world market, have worsened the situation. The economy of the country recorded a steady positive growth between 1996 and 2006. The economic growth was especially significant after dollarization in 2001. According to Mexico Food (71), dollarization has increased the cost of living. In addition, dollarization has reduced interest rates in the country. In spite of these positive impacts, dollarization has not significantly reduced poverty levels in the country. The country has experienced labor shortages in the recent past as a result of migrations. Most of the citizens have migrated into the United States of America and into other western nations. The effects of poverty in the country vary from one group to the other. For example, and a ccording to Mexico Food (72), poverty levels are disproportionately higher among women and farm workers compared to the rest of the population. After the civil war, the country was faced with additional challenges, including violence and crime. Rate of crime has increased as a result of increased economic inequalities and pervasive poverty. Other factors attributed to the rise in crime include increased access to illicit firearms, underemployment, and unemployment. All these factors have negatively affected economic development in the country (Mexico Food 71). The success of efforts made by the government and other stakeholders to revive the economy is hindered by these factors. Coca Cola- SABMiller Value Chain: Background Information Coca Cola is one of the most popular multinational corporations in the world. It has established local operations in various countries around the world. The bottling of Coca Cola products is carried out by local companies, which are usually under the m anagement of local investors. Since the company was started in 1852, it has developed more than 500 still and sparkling brands of soft drinks. In addition to this, the company has operations in more than 200 countries around the world. In these countries, the country works in collaboration with more than three hundred bottling partners. Coca Cola manufactures various products. The products include, among others, syrups, beverage bases, and concentrates. The manufactured products are then sold to the bottling companies (DATAMONITOR 2). The company has operations in El Salvador and Zambia. The bottling operations in El Salvador and Zambia are carried out by SABMiller. In both countries, Coca cola has very few employees. Majority of employees are drawn from the local population. The few employees shipped in by the company are mainly tasked with the responsibility of providing technical and marketing advice to the local operators (Market Watch 22). In spite of the fact that El Salvador is geographically small, it is an important market for Coca Cola products in the region. On the other hand, Zambia medium sized as far as physical boundaries are concerned. As a result of this, Zambia is one of the top twenty markets for Coca Cola products in Africa (Sherelle 39). It is a fact beyond doubt that competition is stiff in the two markets. However, Coca Cola has countered this by developing an elaborate business policy. Coca Cola Company’s business policy is aimed at promoting continual growth in El Salvador and Zambia. Coca Cola Company controls the largest market share in both countries compared to the competitors. For instance, in the category of sparkling beverages, Coca Cola accounts for 51% of the market share in El Salvador and 73% in Zambia (Dibadj and Powers 111). In 2009, the profits of Coca Cola in Zambia declined significantly. The decline was attributed to the company’s heavy investment in manufacturing glass bottles. The cost of manufacturing the bottles was very high as a result of decreased supply. The revenues generated by the company from its operations in El Salvador have recorded a consistent positive growth in the past five years. It is a fact that the prices of the company’s products in El Salvador are significantly lower compared to those in Zambia. However, the company has managed to increase the revenues in this country by increasing the sales volumes (Madhavan 35). Coca Cola’s Business Policy in Zambia and El Salvador: Macroeconomics Job Creation As already indicated earlier in this paper, the number of individuals employed directly by Coca cola and SABMiller in these countries is very small. However, the value chain resulting from the operations of the two companies in the two countries employs a large number of people. For example, it is estimated that more than 3,810 jobs are created by the value chain in Zambia. The implication here is that one direct job from the Coca Cola-SABMiller value s ystem generates 10 other jobs in the Zambian economy. The value chain is responsible for more than 4,300 formal jobs in El Salvador, which translates to more than 1% of all formal jobs in the country. The implication here is that for every direct job created by the Coca Cola- SABMiller value system, there are three formal jobs created in the El Salvador economy. Most of the formal jobs linked to the Coca Cola- SABMiller value chain in the two countries are created in sales, distribution, bottling, and non- farm supplies’ sectors. In addition to the formal jobs, the value chain in the two countries has created a significant number of informal jobs. The informal jobs are found in the retailing of products and harvesting of sugar cane sectors. The value chain system has created more than 65,000 retail outlets in El Salvador and more than 26,000 retail outlets in Zambia (Nevin 44). Revenue Distribution The revenue generated from the sale of products manufactured by this company i s shared among all the partners in the value chain. In El Salvador, each 12 ounce bottle is sold at 4.25 USD. In 2010, the cost of a bottle was 62% of the selling price. The recommended price of the same bottle in Zambia is 5.04 USD. In 2010, the cost of one bottle was 76% of the selling price. Each value chain partner receives a profit that is pegged on sales volume and the cost structure. In 2009, the sugar farmer in El Salvador received 2.2% of the profits. The retailer and the distributor in the country received 35.5% and 56% of the profits respectively. There are variations in cost structures and the types of business conducted by the company in the two countries. As a result of this, revenue distribution in the two countries is significantly different (Sellers 141). Tax Contributions The revenue realized by the government in the two countries as a result of taxes imposed on the two companies varies. The revenue largely depends on the taxation systems adopted by specific countr ies. The total revenue in terms of taxes collected by the government in El Salvador from the operations of the two companies is significant. In the past five years, the government has collected approximately 51 million USD from the two companies in terms of taxes. In Zambia, the system’s tax contribution in the past five years is approximately 53.5 USD (Walsh and Dowding 109). Sourcing suppliers The Coca Cola-SABMiller value chain extends beyond the borders of the two countries. In 2010, the total amount that was spent on procurement in Zambia was 26 million USD. Seventy five percent of the amount was used in purchasing inputs from the region or from other countries in the world. In El Salvador, 73 million USD was used to procure inputs. Sixty four percent of the money was used in buying inputs from other countries in the world. Supplies are mainly sourced from Central America in the case of El Salvador and from South Africa in the case of Zambia. In attempts to spur the grow th of the local economies, SABMiller and Coca Cola endeavor to source supplies locally in both countries. However, most countries in the developing world are not in a position to provide most of the inputs required for the smooth running of the two companies. One explanation for this is the limited capacity of industries in these economies. The main factors taken into consideration by the two companies when purchasing supplies are quality, availability, and price. In many cases, local suppliers lack the technical ability and capacity to meet the system’s demand. In addition, the business policies adopted by SABMiller and Coca Cola with regard to environmental and labor standards are quite stringent. As a result, most companies in the developing economies lose the opportunity to partner with Coca Cola (Madhavan 45). Livelihoods Informal and Formal Sectors Just like in most other developing nations, the jobs created by the Coca Cola- SABMiller value chain in El Salvador and Zam bia are mainly in the informal sector as opposed in the formal sector. In Zambia, the informal sector accounts for about 90% of the nation’s economy. In El Salvador, the informal sector is responsible for more than 60% of the economy. Informal workers toil in the sugarcane fields, as well as in distribution and retailing channels. Although the jobs in the two countries are not regulated, they are important for the survival of the poor in the two nations. The livelihood and job security of workers in the two nations depend on whether they are formally or informally employed. The individuals working in the formal sector are entitled to social welfare. In addition, they can effectively negotiate with the employer. In contrast, their counterparts in the informal sector lack such rights. The individuals engaged in the informal sector are forced to endure unpleasant working conditions. The lack social security and are disproportionately affected by fluctuations in the market. Most people lack the opportunity to engage in formal work. As a result, they have no option but to stick to the informal sector (Regassa and Corradino 107). Benefits, Living Wages, and Minimum Wages In El Salvador, the employees receiving the highest pay in the Coca Cola- SABMiller system are in formal employment. The employees include those engaged in the sugar mills, bottling company, and distribution outlets. The purchasing power of the formal employees is very high compared to that of the informal employees. In addition, those who own retail shops have a higher income than those working in the sugarcane fields. The income of the latter is slightly above the minimum wage. In Zambia, formal employees in the Coca Cola-SABMiller system receive salaries that are above the average wage set in the country. The employees of Zambia Breweries receive the very high salaries compared to the rest (Sherelle 39). Capacity Building and Training Both companies have invested heavily in efforts to impr ove the capacity, skills, and knowledge of business partners in the value chain. The efforts include, among others, providing sugar producers with credit programs and technical assistance. For instance, SABMiller, under Industrias La Constancia (ILC), invested 800,000 USD in the training of workers in 2011 alone. The objective of this investment was to improve the capacity of the employees, as well as help them to advance their careers. On the other hand, Zambia Breweries spends about 95,000 USD each year to train employees. Zambia Breweries’ sales representatives are encouraged to mentor retailers and assist them gain skills necessary for business development (Raman 112). Empowerment According to Nevin (47), it is hard to quantify empowerment. However, it is one of the most important aspects of corporations investing in developing and transitional economies. Nevin (47) notes that empowerment among employees is evaluated by the degree to which they are capable of coming toget her to make collective bargains. In addition, empowerment among employees is determined by their effectiveness in using channels of communication to receive audience. Empowering employees in the developing world is very important. It ensures that they benefit from economic growth brought about by increased investment. When people are empowered, they become assets to the company. They protect the business against potential conflicts and emerging tensions. In addition, they provide the company with insights that help in product innovation and in improving production processes (Dibadj and Powers 134). Workers in the Informal Sector The capacity of employees in the informal sector to come together and agitate for the changes they need in practices and policies is very limited. The limited capacity is observed among independent retailers, distributors, and sugarcane harvesters in the Coca Cola-SABMiller value chain. The individuals in these sectors are incapable of organizing themselves. In most cases, they are incapable of influencing business policies in the company or in the government. In Zambia, the National Association of Marketers is charged with the responsibility of communicating with the relevant stakeholders on such issues as marketplace amenities, local authorities’ fees, and licensing. However, the number of informal employees joining this organization is very small (Sherelle 41). Price Negotiations In most cases, sugar producers are incapable of determining the price of the commodity. Regulatory restrictions, such as quotas, make it very difficult to include farmers in price negotiations. The difficulty is observed in both El Salvador and Zambia. Despite the fact that the costs of inputs increase on a regular basis, the farmers are not in a position to negotiate with the millers. In both countries, there are organizations representing the interests of producers. However, small-scale producers remain unrepresented (Sellers 140). Stability and Se curity Sugarcane Harvesting Harvesting sugarcane is a very rigorous process. Laborers working in the fields have suffered from such injuries as poisoning and burns. Poor wages and lack of access to basic amenities and medical services are cited as some of the main factors exposing workers to such dangers (Walsh and Dowding 110). Crime The level of crime in El Salvador has remained very high since the civil war. Partners in the Coca Cola-SABMiller value chain, including distributors, suppliers, and sugarcane producers, report cases of vandalism, extortion, and muggings on a regular basis. For example, the area within which ILC is located is regarded as a crime zone. Consequently, the company has put in place round-the-clock security programs to enhance the safety of the members of staff. Additionally, ILC came up with a program to train young men who were involved in crime in the past. They are trained on how they can start small businesses to improve their life. Leaders in Nejapa, w here ILC is located, have pointed out that poverty is the main reason why rate of crime is very high in the town. Owners of distribution businesses are afraid of expanding their businesses because of the high levels of organized crime (Regassa and Corradino 109). Dangerous Roads The condition of the roads in Zambia is quite poor. The poor conditions of the roads are a threat to the safety of truck drivers, who work for long hours (Sherelle 42). Women Participation and Gender Diversity Coca Cola and SABMiller promote the participation of women and minorities in the labor market in both countries. In the developing world, women are disadvantaged, especially with respect to access to healthcare, employment, and education. They are denied basic rights because of culturally-determined gender roles in the community. Their opinion does not count in the decision making process, and they are especially prone to violence (Market Watch 23). Women and SABMiller In both countries, formal jobs ar e largely dominated by men compared to women. The company has a strong policy that discourages discrimination on the basis of gender. However, most of the work in the bottling company requires physical strength. As a result, it is considered as a man’s job. In addition, insecurity has contributed to the underrepresentation of women in the value chain. The entire Coca Cola-SABMiller value chain is dominated by male workers. There are various factors responsible for this underrepresentation, including insecurity (Mexico Food 73). Women in Distribution In most cases, women work together with their husbands in retail and distribution outlets. The number of female business owners in the two countries is very small. For instance, the two largest distribution outlets in Zambia are owned by couples. Stanford (54) notes that women in Zambia are concerned about gender discrimination with regard to access to business growth and career advancement opportunities. Distribution in both coun tries is characterized by insecurities, which discourage women from owning such businesses. In both countries, a significant number of women own and operate small retail outlets. Most outlets are close to their homes. As a result, they work and take care of their families at the same time. Seventy six percent of retail outlet owners in El Salvador are women. In Zambia, 35% of the outlets are either owned or managed by a woman. Zambia Breweries and ILC train small scale retailers. However, women retailers in Zambia face various challenges accessing credit services. As a result, their capacity to grow is very limited. In El Salvador, the situation is significantly different from Zambia. Most of the women interviewed in one study pointed out that they accessed credit facilities with the same ease as male retailers (Regassa and Corradino 107). Sustainability and the Environment Both companies have demonstrated their commitment to environmental and social sustainability. Both of them hav e elaborate corporate social responsibility (CSR) systems. They are independently evaluated each year (DATAMONITOR 8). Depending on their supply chain and business operations, multinationals determine access to quality water among members of the community. Companies operating in close proximity to local communities give back to the society by sponsoring clean water initiatives and ensuring that they treat their wastewater. In this regard, businesses should ensure that their operations do not interfere with the ability of the locals to access quality water. Coca Cola Company and SABMiller are registered members of CEO Water Mandate (CWM). According to the stipulations of CWM, member companies are committed to strengthening water sustainability practices and policies (Market Watch 25). In July 2010, the United Nations General Assembly pointed out that human beings have a right to clean water. The Assembly encouraged countries and multinationals to transfer technology, build capacity, and provide necessary resources to third world countries to assist them provide affordable, safe, accessible, and clean drinking water to their populations. During the convention, The Assembly averred that 900 million people in the world lacked access to clean and safe water (Walsh and Dowding 113). Just like in the developed world, the agricultural sector consumes more water in third world countries compared to other sectors. Water is the major component of the products manufactured by Coca cola. In addition, water is used as a coolant for machines. Other areas where water is used include in washing facilities and in the manufacturing processes. The value chain significantly affects the farms in the third world. In Zambia, farmers use a lot of water to wash sugarcane after harvesting. However, the use of water during harvesting in El Salvador is less compared to Zambia. The major reason for this is that it is usually wet during harvesting in El Salvador (Dibadj and Powers 145). Coc a Cola is a registered member of Bonsucro, which was established to limit the negative impacts of sugarcane farming and processing. As a member of this organization, Coca Cola encourages sugarcane producers to use environment-friendly practices, such as drip irrigation. The reduction of negative effects on the environment effects is appraised by independent evaluators. Currently, Coca Cola is working with producers in Zambia and in El Salvador to design pilot projects that will benefit the environment and the producers (Nevin 45). In the two countries, the Coca Cola-SABMiller value chain system is located close to sources of water. The same water is used in other industrial, agricultural, and domestic processes. The main issue in Zambia is access to water. On the other hand, the main issue in El Salvador is availability of water. Managers in the bottling plants engage members of the community by showing them how to use water to benefit everyone. In addition, they train them on how t o use water with minimal negative effects on the environment. Zambia Breweries and ILC observe the requirements of the water stewardship committee in Coca cola (Raman 103). SABMiller ‘Water Dialogues’ One of the major plants operated by Zambia Breweries is located near residential areas. The plant supplies clean water to the residents of two nearby towns. Residents of another town use water from an adjacent spring, which is also used by the plant. The plant has provided the community with several standpipes of clean water for free. In exchange, the community protects the plant’s pipes from vandals. One of the major plants operated by ILC, as well as residents of the surrounding community, uses water from the San Antonio River. ILC is treats all wastewater before it is discharging into the river, but other industries in the area do not. For some time, the community assumed that ILC was among the industries releasing untreated water into the river. ILC, together wi th the local authority, informed the community that wastewater from the plant was treated. The company entered into discussions with the community on what should be done to deal with the pollution caused by the other industries. The other industries have started treating their waste water. They are now working together with members of the community to conserve the environment (Raman 110). Packaging and Recycling Landfill waste is one of the most challenging waste management issues in the developing world. Contaminants from the landfills leak and contaminate groundwater, endangering the health of members of the surrounding communities. SABMiller has initiated a recycling program in both countries. 70% of all Coca Cola products in Zambia are sold in returnable bottles, with the rest sold either in plastic bottles or in aluminum cans. The use of returnable bottles is eco-friendly because they are returned to the company, washed, and reused. Coca Cola and SABMiller had proposed a progra m to recycle aluminum cans and plastic bottles. However, due to the limitations of the Zambian recycling industries, the program has not taken off. In El Salvador, 52% of the products are sold in plastic bottles, 35% in returnable bottles, and 9% in cans. The recycling plants operated by ILC are very efficient, but they were adversely affected by the economic recession. As a result, some of them closed down (Sellers 144). Products and Marketing Beverage companies are tasked with the responsibility of making sure their products are safe for consumption. The companies should realize that some people in the society may be negatively affected by their products. In the developing world, these companies should ensure that their message is presented in a way understandable to consumers (DATAMONITOR 7). Product Portfolio The company’s product portfolio in the two countries is fairly limited. Most people in the countries consume sparkling beverages. Sales of juice in El Salvador have continued to rise in the past two years. The company has more than 500 brands and more than 3,300 products (Market Watch 25). Consumer Perceptions and Marketing Coca Cola has spent over 5 million USD in marketing its products in El Salvador. The brand is associated with success and inspiration in the two countries. The products are integral parts of family and cultural celebrations. Fanta is the most popular product among children in the two countries. The business policy adopted by Coca Cola includes a Global Responsible Marketing Policy (GRMP). The policy discourages the marketing of the company’s products to children aged less than twelve years (DATAMONITOR 9). Nutritional Labeling Under GRMP, Coca Cola committed to display nutritional labels on all its products by the end of 2010. The products sold in returnable bottles in both countries did not have the labels as of 2009. The company is reluctant to provide such information on returnable bottles because it will force it to replace all bottles that are currently in circulation. In 2011, the company established a telephone number that consumers could call and get such information. Consumers in both countries point out that they do not comprehend the information on the cans and plastic bottles. In addition, they do not think that the company should provide such information on returnable bottles (Madhavan 41). Under GRMP, the company commits to measure and monitor the degree to which the policy is adhered to. In addition, it has come up with a Review Process to make sure that the policy is fully implemented. The findings made are documented in the CSR report at the end of every year. The International Food and Beverage Alliance conducted an independent audit and found that Coca Cola had complied with the provisions of GRMP. The level of compliance was more than 96% for television adverts and 100% for print and online adverts (Company Spotlight, 24-26). Conclusion Coca Cola operates in more than 200 cou ntries in the world. In most of its operations in the developing nations, the company has streamlined its value chain to ensure it remains profitable. In addition, streamlining the value chain helps in protecting the environment, improving welfare of the employees, and improving the quality of products. The company has achieved this through a diverse business policy. The policy addresses the role of the company in the countries’ macroeconomics, livelihood of employees, worker empowerment, job security, participation of women in the labor market, marketing of products, and protection of environment. DATAMONITOR. â€Å"The Coca-Cola Company: Coca-Cola Company SWOT Analysis.† DATAMONITOR 20 June 2011: 1-9. Print. Dibadj, Ali, and Steve Powers. U.S. Beverages Snacks: Opportunity Outweighs Risk. Black Book 2.3 (2011): 13-24. Madhavan, Ananya. CSR at Coca-Cola. Vikalpa: The Journal for Decision Makers 37.2 (2012): 34-51. Market Watch. Company Spotlight: The Coca-Cola Compa ny. Marketwatch Drinks 4.8 (2012): 22-28. Print. Mexico Food. Drink. Mexico Food Drink Report 1.1 (2012): 71-85. Print. Nevin, Tom. Coca-Cola: 125 Years of Making Friends. African Business 381 (2011): 44-45. Raman, Ravi. Community–Coca-Cola Interface: Political-Anthropological Concerns on Corporate Social Responsibility. Social Analysis 51.3 (2012): 103-120. Regassa, Hailu, and Laurie Corradino. Determining the Value of the Coca Cola Company A Case Analysis. Journal of The International Academy For Case Studies 17.7 (2011): 105-110. Sellers, Patricia. The New Coke. Fortune 165.7 (2012): 138-144. Sherelle, Jacobs. Major Brands in Africa. African Business 389 (2012): 38-42. Stanford, Duane. Cokes Last Round. Bloomberg Businessweek 4202 (2010): 54-61. Walsh, Heather, and Timothy Dowding. Sustainability and the Coca-Cola Company: The Global Water Crisis and Coca-Colas Business Case for Water Stewardship. International Journal Of Business Insights Transformation 4.5 (2012): 106 -118.

The Best, Most Famous Plays by Harold Pinter

The Best, Most Famous Plays by Harold Pinter Born: October 10th, 1930 (London, England) Died: December 24th, 2008 â€Å"I’ve never been able to write a happy play, but I’ve been able to enjoy a happy life.† -Harold Pinter Comedy of Menace To say that Harold Pinter’s plays are unhappy is a gross understatement. Most critics have labeled his characters â€Å"sinister† and â€Å"malevolent.† The actions within his plays are bleak, dire, and purposely without purpose. The audience leaves bewildered with a queasy feeling – an uneasy sensation, as though you were supposed to do something terribly important, but you can’t remember what it was. You leave the theater a bit disturbed, a bit excited, and more than bit unbalanced. And that’s just the way Harold Pinter wanted you to feel. Critic Irving Wardle used the term, â€Å"Comedies of Menace† to describe Pinter’s dramatic work. The plays are fueled by intense dialogue that seems disconnected from any sort of exposition. The audience rarely knows the background of the characters. They don’t even know if the characters are telling the truth. The plays do offer a consistent theme: domination. Pinter described his dramatic literature as an analysis of â€Å"the powerful and the powerless.† Though his earlier plays were exercises in absurdity, his later dramas became overtly political. During the last decade of his life, he focused less on writing and more on political activism (of the left-wing variety). In 2005 he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. During his Nobel lecture he stated: â€Å"You have to hand it to America. It has exercised a quite clinical manipulation of power worldwide while masquerading as a force for universal good.† Politics aside, his plays capture a nightmarish electricity that jolts the theater. Here is a brief look at the best of Harold Pinter’s plays: The Birthday Party (1957) A distraught and disheveled Stanley Webber may or may not be a piano player. It may or may not be his birthday. He may or may not know the two diabolically bureaucratic visitors that have come to intimidate him. There are many uncertainties throughout this surreal drama. However, one thing is definite: Stanley is an example of a powerless character struggling against powerful entities. (And you can probably guess who is going to win.) The Dumbwaiter (1957) It has been said that this one act play was the inspiration for the 2008 film In Bruges. After viewing both the Colin Farrell movie and the Pinter play, it is easy to see the connections. â€Å"The Dumbwaiter† reveals the sometimes boring, sometimes anxiety-ridden lives of two hit men – one is a seasoned professional, the other is newer, less sure of himself. As they wait to receive orders for their next deadly assignment, something rather odd happens. The dumbwaiter at the back of the room continually lowers down food orders. But the two hit men are in a grungy basement – there’s no food to prepare. The more the food orders persist, the more the assassins turn on each other. The Caretaker (1959) Unlike his earlier plays, The Caretaker was a financial victory, the first of many commercial successes. The full-length play takes place entirely in a shabby, one-room apartment owned by two brothers. One of the brothers is mentally disabled (apparently from electro-shock therapy). Perhaps because he isn’t very bright, or perhaps out of kindness, he brings a drifter into their home. A powerplay begins between the homeless man and the brothers. Each character talks vaguely about things they want to accomplish in their life – but not one of the characters lives up to his word. The Homecoming (1964) Imagine you and your wife travel from America to your hometown in England. You introduce her to your father and working class brothers. Sounds like a nice family reunion, right? Well, now imagine your testosterone-mad relatives suggest that your wife abandon her three children and stay on as a prostitute. And then she accepts the offer! That’s the kind of twisted mayhem that occurs throughout Pinter’s devious Homecoming. Old Times (1970) This play illustrates the flexibility and fallibility of memory. Deeley has been married to his wife Kate for over two decades. Yet, he apparently does not know everything about her. When Anna, Kate’s friend from her distant bohemian days, arrives they begin talking about the past. The details are vaguely sexual, but it seems that Anna recalls having a romantic relationship with Deeley’s wife. And so begins a verbal battle as each character narrates what they remember about yesteryear – though it’s uncertain whether those memories are a product of truth or imagination.

Science Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Science Fiction - Essay Example Currently, alien is stereotyped into â€Å"Martians† who exclusively steps down from Mars. However, it is a misconception of humans that aliens could arrive only from â€Å"Mars â€Å"as they can be any foreign body attempting to adapt on earth. Swanwick has given equal importance to human and aliens in â€Å"Slow Life† as both are the main participants in the story. The story initiates by explaining the travel of the new found life through the methane cloud, until it falls on the highlands into the hands of Lizzie: â€Å"It was however, falling towards the equatorial highlands, where mountains of ice rose a towering five hundred meters into the atmosphere† (p.162). On its travel towards the highland it is captured by Lizzie in a carry bag thinking it as a habitat of potential alien life form. In this story, a group of astronauts set out to explore the chances of finding life on Saturn’s moon called Titan. The story â€Å"Slow Life† is a 2002 science fiction which describes the experience of Lizzie O’Brian on Saturn’s Moon called Titan. She is one of the team members who visit Titan for the first time. She believes she is collecting a raindrop in a carry bag which has alien properties. When she lands on Titan as a part of NAFTAS space expedition, she attempts to study the orange atmosphere of the Titan and its icy landscape .Soon she realizes she can discover a habitat in the Titan for her rain droplet with alien properties which will be a breakthrough in the scientific world. The thrilling part of the story is the relaying of Lizzie’s voice on to the team members with the assistance of Voice Web. Lizzie is trying to find some material from Titan which can be combined with the raindrop to form an alien life form. She is stating about the nature of the alien as: â€Å"It will have to be slow life, Lizzie said thoughtfully, something vegetative, vaster than empires and more slow. It would

Decadal Behaviour of Sand Bars Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Decadal Behaviour of Sand Bars - Essay Example The scope of the material I gave a 15/25 and the structured argument received a 8/15. The reason for such a low score was that the report seemed to be a conglomeration of research and facts but it was not cohesive at all. The message of the paper was unclear or non-existent. The report did not show how the information related back to the abstract, and the information seemed to be presented in such a way that the writer of the paper was listing facts concerning the different bars, but that was all that was listed. There seemed to be a total lack of explanations or arguments throughout the entire paper, although there was definitely sufficient evidence to support the arguments if any had been made. It was nice to find that there was that large amount of information available, but it would have served a better purpose if that information had been presented in a way that would lead the reader to a conclusion. The paper itself was very informative, but was also difficult to read. I gave the paper 20/25 points for the information even though there was no flow to the paper. There was (as I stated before) a plethora of information to whet the reader's appetite. It was disheartening to not enjoy the full meal. The structure of this pa

Selecting An Automated Library System For Finnish Research Libraries Essay Example for Free

Selecting An Automated Library System For Finnish Research Libraries Essay 1 The Present Situation All Finnish academic libraries and a number of other Finnish research libraries have used the VTLS software during the 90’s. The contract with VTLS Inc. was signed in 1988 and implementation took place during the following years. A uni? ed network called Linnea was created, consisting of the local installations and a common physical union catalogue which all were connected by the powerful academic data transmission network FUNET. The VTLS-based network, now called Linnea1, was very advanced when built a decade ago, and it has served Finnish libraries well. VTLS Inc. has also been a trusty companion of Finnish academic libraries during these ten years. Creation of the union catalogue Linda in early 90’s was an ambitious project. Not only was data from all academic libraries loaded into a single database; software development was also needed. For example, a duplicate control algorithm was designed in Finland and implemented by VTLS. VTLS developed many unique consortium features which enabled the libraries to use the Linda database ef? ciently for copy cataloguing purposes. Depending on the library, 50-90% of MARC records can be copied. ILL localisation is also very ef?cient, because Linda contains summary-level serials holdings from about 400 Finnish libraries. The Automation Unit of Finnish Research Libraries, created in the Ministry of Education in 1974, was instrumental in the implementation, development and running of the Linnea network. In 1993 the Unit, with all its tasks and resources, was moved to the National Library, where the Division of Library Network Services is now managing the Linnea1 network, functioning as a common agency for the academic libraries. In this capacity the National Library is also responsible for the new steps toward Linnea2, as the next generation network is called. 2 Selection of a New Automation System To summarize the need for a new generation software we can say that all library system vendors are building so-called third generation library systems with relational database and Client/Server technology, graphical user interface and web gateways, the ability to search multiple databases simultaneously, multimedia support and support for internationally accepted standards such as Z39. 50, Unicode, Edifact and ISO ILL, to meet the growing needs of the users. It was also evident that the classic VTLS system was coming to the end of 530 Annu Jauhiainen  its life-cycle and would not be developed further since VTLS Inc. is concentrating on their new system, which is called Virtua. The Finnish academic libraries have since early 90s enjoyed the bene? ts of being a consortium. The ten years of VTLS use have taught the libraries and all parties involved that co-operation is power, even if it is not always easy or simple. Because of the great success of Linnea1, there was no need to revise the basic service philosophy when moving to a new system. Libraries were satis? ed with the system and the work ? ows and with co-operation with one another. When the present VTLS system was purchased, the Ministry of Education funded the acquisition of both software and hardware. This time the universities had to ? nd the money out of their own budgets. Nevertheless, both the universities and their libraries wanted to ensure the bene? ts of the present common approach. Libraries also were open to totally new technical and organizational solutions if they should prove more favourable both functionally and economically. Libraries clearly wanted to avoid transplanting old patterns into a totally new environment. Everything had, therefore, to be looked at from a new perspective. Three major issues had to be tackled: the selection of the software, the future database or network architecture and the maintenance of the hardware. 2. 1 Selection of the Software The Linnea libraries started to look for a new-generation library system about four years ago. The National Library was asked by the directors of the Finnish academic libraries to survey the systems either on the market or being developed at the time. A questionnaire was compiled and sent to the vendors who had recently been shortlisted in corresponding procurements in Europe or in the U. S. The vendors were asked about their database management system, database structure, standards, various functions and features, the user interface, languages and formats, training, support, prices and future plans. Procuring a new library system for a large network is a major project which is regulated by European Union statutes. When the value of the contract exceeds the threshold, which is 200,000 euros at the moment, the procurement has to be advertised across the European Union. Of the three alternative types, the restricted procedure seemed to be the most suitable for the Linnea2 project. When VTLS was selected in the late 80’s, the selection process was handled by the Automation Unit of Finnish Research Libraries alone, without much involvement from the libraries themselves. This approach was quite natural at the time, because there was little experience of library automation in the libraries. More than ten years after, the situation was completely different. Libraries were well acquainted with at least one library system and, most importantly, they knew what their needs were and what they wanted of the new system. The resources of the libraries were welcomed by the National Library, which, as the service facility of the academic libraries, had the task of coordinating the process and pulling everything together. Selecting An Automated Library System for Finnish Research Libraries, Linnea2 531 The procedure started of? cially in April 1998 and the tenders were received in July. At this point, tenders were invited for software only, another procurement was planned for the hardware once the software had been chosen. During the fall the tenders were evaluated thoroughly. Attention was paid to the technical structure and the technical solution of the system, references from present and future users of the system, the services and the support offered by the vendor and the quality and the completion of the various functions and modules. Four systems were shortlisted based on these criteria. They were Horizon, Innopac, Taos and Voyager. These four systems had been found to ful? l our requirements best in the ? rst phase of the selection process. At the beginning of the second phase the four short-listed systems were all on the same line. In nine months we had to ? nd  out which of the four was functionally the most suitable and economically the most advantageous for the local databases as well as the union and national databases. The systems were ? rst demonstrated to a large group of library representatives. The next step was to get our hands on the applications. The National Library, together with the four vendors, organized the testing of these systems. This was the part of the evaluation in which the contribution of the libraries was most signi? cant. Over 70 people from the libraries and the computing centres of the universities participated in testing, which took about three months. A number of testing groups, each specializing in different functions, i. e. cataloguing, circulation, acquisition, OPAC, etc. listed the merits of the systems, without knowing how the other groups ranked them. Objectivity was the main guideline here. In addition to the ranking list, the groups also produced lists of open questions. Answers to these questions were sought in two ways, through site visits and negotiations with the vendors. A group of six people, representing both the National Library and other libraries as well as the university computing centres, visited libraries using these systems, both in Europe and in the U.S. The site visits were essential in ? nding out how the systems worked in real life. During these nine months of evaluation the National Library negotiated with the four vendors (Dynix GmbH, Innovative Interfaces Inc, Data Research Associates Inc and Endeavor Information Systems Inc) in several ways and on several occasions. The vendors came to Helsinki a number of times and we went to their headquarters once to talk with the development staff, support staff and the company management. There was also constant discussion via email whenever any questions about the functionality of the systems needed to be answered. An essential feature in selection processes was a fair and objective treatment of all parties involved. Since every step was documented, we would have been able to reconstruct the process, should it have proved necessary. We have been told both by many foreign colleagues and by the vendors that the Finnish library system selection process has been the most thorough ever carried out. It is clear that when purchasing a system for all major research libraries of a country we are dealing with a much more serious issue than satisfying the needs of just a single library. When the different parts of the selection process were drawn together, Voyager, by Endeavor Information Systems Inc. proved to ful? l the criteria best. Voyager was found to be a complete, integrated system that was ? nished in the essential, traditional functions 532 Annu Jauhiainen needed by the libraries, but which however is being further developed to meet the new needs and changing technologies. It ? ts both individual Linnea libraries and the Linnea network well. Local services can be streamlined and their scope extended. But centralised services will also bene? t from Voyager via its consortium-driven functions. Increased ef? ciency is largely based on improved networking since Voyager supports both Z39. 50 and ISO ILL. The company, Endeavor Information Systems Inc. had also been thoroughly investigated by an economic expert and found to be sound and stable, with good prospects. An example of the dif? culties in anticipating future changes is that Endeavor has since then been sold to Elsevier Science, raising a number of question marks. The National Library proposed to the libraries that Voyager should be chosen, which was unanimously accepted. The National Library was asked to conclude the negotiations with the company, and was also empowered to sign the contract on behalf of all universities and other bodies participating in the purchase. This happened on February 4, 2000. 2. 2 The Network Architecture One of the important decisions in Linnea2 was whether to merge existing databases or to keep the current structure. Discussions with Endeavor experts made it clear that although it is technically possible to merge databases, actually doing this would be timeconsuming and expensive. The technical merits of such action would be limited, since Voyager databases can be merged into a virtual union catalogue by using the Z39. 50 Information Retrieval protocol. Politically there was quite a lot of reluctance among libraries to merge databases, even though Voyager makes living with a shared database much easier than our present system. A decision was, therefore, made to retain the 24 databases in Linnea2. The next question was how many servers an optimal solution for the Linnea2 network would require. In the present Linnea1 network there are 17 HP3000 servers for the 24 databases. The number of servers was never really discussed during the implementation of Linnea1 because of the limitations of the computer technology of the time. How far can one go in centralisation? The answer depends on three factors, the available data transmission network, the capabilities of the software and the state of the computer technology. The Finnish Academic and Research Network, FUNET, is already at present a key factor for the Linnea network. Without the infrastructure provided by FUNET it would not have been possible to use the Union Catalogue Linda as a cataloguing tool in a way we have done since the early 90’s. A shared server is not possible if there can only be one database on the server. The Voyager software allows an unlimited number of databases on a single server. However, practical experience from other Voyager consortia made it clear that there should not be more than about 5-7 databases on a single server, since a large number of databases means that much time may be needed for Oracle and Voyager updates: it may take several days to update many large databases, and during the process all the databases must be shut down. Selecting An Automated Library System for Finnish Research Libraries, Linnea2. 533 More importantly, if all databases are dependent on the same hardware and operating system process, severe problems would have an impact on every library simultaneously. Fortunately, new server technologies make it possible to have a single server and still avoid this problem: there are servers that can be internally split into several logical (and physical) parts. Both Sun and IBM, which are the platforms Voyager supports, can deliver cluster-like computers, which can be separated into logical parts called domains (Sun) or nodes (IBM). Each part has its own operating system process and dedicated hardware from network card to processors. To the operators and users, the server looks like a cluster of computers. So there were no technical constraints on choosing the network architecture freely. Linnea libraries were eager to ? nd out whether centralisation would save money. In the 90’s the resources and budgets of the Finnish academic libraries have been cut; this is unfortunately a problem common to all kinds of libraries everywhere in the world. At the request of the universities three scenarios were analysed: – centralised model; all databases placed on a single machine – semi-centralised model; 3-5 servers – decentralised model; the current number of servers Cost analysis was based on both purchase price and the total cost of ownership, calculated for ? ve years. After a thorough analysis of the various options, Sun E10000 was chosen as the server system. The decision to go for Sun was based on technical merit and price. Both Endeavor and Oracle use Sun machines as their development platforms; this fact was also taken into account. The Linnea2 server will initially have 28 400 MHz CPUs. According to Endeavor, this is enough for 1400 active users, or more than 5000 concurrent users, about twice as much as now. Both Endeavor and we felt that an ample safety margin is needed in order to avoid performance problems. Of course buying a lot of CPUs is not enough; there may be other bottlenecks. The E10000 will have 24 GB of memory and 800 gigabytes of mirrored ? ber disk dedicated to Voyager databases. The universities had set an upper limit for the total purchase price of the software and hardware, including conversion of the databases. Because of the unfavourable exchange rate of the US dollar, the National Library felt increasing pressure to arrive at a low-price solution. We found out that even if list prices may tell you a different story, for a big customer like our consortium it was cheaper to purchase one big server system than a number of smaller ones. But bargain prices are not automatically offered. We managed to establish a competition between Sun and IBM in real terms because both companies saw Linnea2 as an important project. After the server was chosen, the decision was made to outsource the maintenance of the new server to the Center for Scienti? c Computing, CSC, a non-pro? t company owned 534 Annu Jauhiainen by the Ministry of Education. It hosts Finnish supercomputers and maintains the FUNET network. In spite of better maintenance coverage and better support from the hardware vendor, maintenance costs will diminish a lot compared with Linnea1. Basic maintenance of the 17 HP3000 servers takes about three man-years, but we estimate that a single E10000 will require less than a man-year. If this estimate is correct, we will save about two manyears or even more because managing a UNIX system is generally believed to be more time-consuming than managing an HP3000 computer. Thus we have good evidence for the claim that an unprejudiced approach to server architecture has enabled us to combine signi? cant savings with important technical improvements. Being a consortium helps a lot: libraries buying systems only for themselves will not be able to utilise new technology with similar ef? ciency. It is easy to understand from this point of view why library consortia are becoming more common in the US and some European countries. Finland has been one of the pioneering countries in this area, and our experiences from such co-operation are very encouraging. 2. 3 Implementation At present we are in the middle of the implementation phase. Building Linnea1 and implementing VTLS took several years, but this time all 24 databases will migrate from VTLS to Voyager during a fairly short period of time, April-August 2001. This means that everything has to be scheduled very carefully and the schedules have to be kept. We have a joint national implementation project, and each library has its own project. There are three parties in all of these projects: the Linnea libraries, the core group in the National Library and Endeavor Information Systems Inc. and all of these parties have to work together seamlessly. Endeavor is doing some software development for us. In general we are buying the system off the self and didn’t want as many customizations as in the VTLS time, for we have seen the problems raising from localization, but there are some things that could not be avoided. Training is a vital part of implementation. We use the †train the trainer† method, so that Endeavor is training only the trainers. This way we get customized training for Finnish local needs, and also save quite a lot of money. Endeavor has converted several VTLS databases before, but in spite of that, testing the loads is important. Early tests for some sites were carried through in the fall and at present we are doing test loads for all databases, to make sure that the production conversions will be successful. 3 Conclusion The cornerstone of this process has been co-operation, the will to pull together. This is not enough nevertheless: there also has to be a workhorse, to pull everything together. This is important, especially when there is no higher authority to manage the process, as was the case when Linnea1 was built and the Ministry of Education took care of the Selecting An Automated Library System for Finnish Research Libraries, Linnea2 535 negotiations and funded the whole process. This time university libraries felt the need to start the process of acquiring a new system together. They were willing to make an effort to ? nd a new solution to improve the quality of their services, as well as to use their scarce resources for the evaluation, which was seen as bene? ting all. They were also willing to ?nd the money to pay for the new system, with everything included. The Linnea2 consortium was build from below, the National Library acting as the workhorse but not as a higher authority. This was a successful approach. In order to continue this success, there must be a formal organisation for the consortium. That is why the Linnea2 consortium has just been established, with a formal organisational structure and bylaws. The thorough selection process for a new automation system for the Finnish research libraries has not simply been a question of technology and technical expertise, which the National Library has been responsible for. It was even more a question of policy and cooperation. Many things may be possible technically, but politically they are not, unless you know how to handle them correctly and diplomatically. Sometimes our neighbours in the Scandinavian countries say that libraries in Finland ? nd it easier to co-operate than libraries in other countries. Of course, this is not true. Libraries in Finland are as individualistic as libraries everywhere. They also have their particular local needs. But there is obviously a will to co-operate, as dif? cult as it may be at times.

Help Remember The 1980s :: essays research papers

You're an '80s child if... 1) Snap bracelets were always getting you in trouble at school. 2) You played with "My Little Ponies". 3) Friendship bracelets were ties that couldn't be broken. 4) You’ve ever read Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, The Babysitters Club, or Sweet Valley High. 5) You know all the words to "Ice Ice Baby". 6) You wanted to be The Hulk for Halloween. 7) You had a crush on one of the New Kids on the Block members. 8) You wanted to be on Star Search. 9) You can remember what Michael Jackson looked like before he had Plastic surgery. 10) Heaven forbid you wore one of those T-shirt rings or a scrunchi on one side of your shirt during your youth. 11) You were styling with your French rolled pants. 12) You wore multiple pairs of socks in the middle of the summer just so you could Be "hip" 13) You had puff painted your own shirt at least once. 14) You owned a doll with 'Xavier Roberts' signed on its butt. Cabbage Patch Kids! 15) You knew what Willis was "talkin' 'bout." 16) You know the profound meaning of "Wax on, Wax off" 17) You were upset when She-ra, Princess of Power, and He-Man cancelled. 18) But the commercials in between were for Barbie and the Rockers and you knew all the words to all their songs. 19) You can remember watching Full House and Saved by the Bell for endless hours, back when they were new episodes. 20) You have seen at least 10 episodes of Fraggle Rock. 21) You hold a special place in your heart for "Back to the Future." 22) You know where to go if you "wanna go where everybody knows your name." 23) You wanted to be a Goonie. ("Goonies never say die.") "Yes!" 24) You remember Madonna in her cone stage. 25) You knew "The Artist" when he was humbly called "Prince." 26) You even wore fluorescent-neon clothing... 27) You could break dance, or wished you could. 28) You remember when ATARI was a state of the art video game system. 29) You remember M.C. Hammer. 30) You can still sing the rap to "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". 31) You own any cassettes. 32) You owned a pair of LA Gear, Keds, or Converse tennis shoes. 33) You carried your lunch to school in a Gremlin or an ET lunchbox.

Education Kills Creativity Essay

Abstract School kills creativity – Ken Robinson In his speech at the TED conference in February 2006, Sir Ken Robinson explains his idea that education is an important and essential part of everyone’s life for the progression and prosperity of a better life for the individual and a better world for humankind. The key to proper education, Robinson explains, is not only the regimented arithmetic, history, and arts; however, more importantly the need to allow for the creative process to rule one’s academic way of thinking. Robinson provides example, upon example of why creativity is not only important to an individual’s maturation and progression in life, but how that creativity ultimately benefits human civilization as a whole. Education Kills Creativity Sir Ken Robinson claims for a reformation of the current creativity retarding worldwide education system. His point of departure is that children are born with huge talents, wasted by the contemporary education system. While children are not afraid of being wrong, school and the ecological system eliminate this attitude. Robinson thinks that this, making mistakes, is the only way to develop new ideas, although getting on in life means not making mistakes. The education system has clearly hindered the development of creativity in today’s society by stunting children’s willingness to make and learn from their mistakes, progressively to a point at which time, as an adult, one is unwilling to make mistakes completely thwarting the creative process. Furthermore Sir Ken Robinson mentions an â€Å"academic inflation† around the world, since conditions for job entrance referring to one’s academic degree are raised(Robinson, 2006). Education, being developed in the 19th century, is a system focused on providing the requirements for a job in the industry and academic ability. Starting from the beginning children are educated to get out of the system with a degree. The education system is geared to push students into higher education levels even if they  don’t want to. This is then enforced and reinforced to a point where highly educated people are going to their professional jobs and coming home to play video games in excess. Robinson points out that the hierarchy of subjects around the world is the same: first comes mathematics and literacy, followed by science and humanities and concluded by dance and the arts. In Robinson’s opinion this is the right order of priorities for a scientific career, but not for people of the future which have to solve the world problems in a more creative way (Robinson, 2006). From birth, before education the main part of our lives, music is implemented. We start from the waist up only to move on to focus on our heads. In the days of our youth music is played and our hips start moving to the beat, the words to the song are irrelevant. Children have a way about them that in any situation they do no t shy away or fear making a mistake because their innocence takes over. A child’s willingness to make a mistake is not that they know what they are doing is necessary wrong, it is that they are doing without shame or fear that they are wrong. Robinson’s example of this was when his son was in a play about baby Jesus’ birth. The three kings’ men were children about the same age as his son, who was four years old at the time. The first king being out of order said to Joseph and Mary, â€Å"I bring you myrrh.† The second king states, â€Å"I bring you Gold.† Lastly the third king says â€Å"Frank sent this,† instead of frankincense (Robinson, 2006). This illustration paints a vivid point, that children have innocence about them that when they are told to do something they do it with no regard to whether it makes sense or not. Children are not frightened that they is a wrong answer. As the years pass and the education levels of learning are more intense, fear then sets into the minds of young adults and children. Whether the child will raise their hand and say the wrong answer, or a student dresses in a manner that is seen as indifferent from the rest. As a child, there is no objectiv e, there is no right and wrong. It is simple living and doing what they are told and putting their own creative spin on life with no intension of impressing anyone. Many students going through the education system show how much thwarting truly does exist. Talented people do not get the sense of achievement, because things they are good at are not valued at school; hence, their high creative potentials are wasted. The students are pressured into the idea or a sense of â€Å"this is how it is supposed to be† when they  graduate from high school levels (Robinson, 2013). They are then persuaded by parents and economy, that in order to be successful they must further their education. This then creates an idea that without education there will be no sense of accomplishment; whereas in the 1950’s a person with a master’s degree teaching education was seen as a rarity. Although education is pushed on students, there are certain students that are different from most. Students that would be qualified under certain standards as having a learning disability or considered as slow. An example from Ken Robinsons speech, is Gillian Lynne, she was a student in the education system and was told she was slower than the rest and th at she had issues with paying attention in class. Gillian’s mother took her to a specialist and expressed all the issues about her daughter as her Gillian sat listening. The doctor advised Gillian that he needed to disgust specifics with her mother outside the room. As he left, he turned the radio on and the two adults waited only a moment peeking in through the glass window pane of the door as Gillian arose to her feet dancing (Robinson, 2006). The specialist then boldly stated your daughter doesn’t have a learning disability she just wants to dance. This is a perfect illustration of how many parents are told one thing and then told another, and also students. Gillian had the most creativity running through her body and mind but without the proper place to be able to express her emotions and actions, she was looked at as different from all the rest of the students. This has become a pattern in children, specialist unlike the one Gillian went to are so quick to say a child has ADHD or Autism instead of finding a different way for that child to express and free the creative mind within them. The education system has hindered the creative mind in society today and in comparison unschooling or otherwise known as home schooling has allowed for great creativity among students. â€Å"There’s no fixed curriculum, course schedule or attempt to mimic traditional classrooms. Unless, of course, their children ask for tho se things† (Italie, 2011). When there is no structure a student can explore the education system on his or her own time with no pressure or the rights and wrongs. John Holt is said to be the founder of unschooling. He was a fifth grade teacher who died in 1985 leaving behind many books about the ideas of unschooling and one book in specific called, How Children Fail. â€Å"The book and others Holt later wrote propelled him into the spotlight as he argued  that mainstream schools stymie the learning process by fostering fear and forcing children to study things they have no interest in.† (Italie) Holt proved that the education system is pressure schools to fulfill high educational standards when students have no interest. Ken Robinson also expressed the same example. To reiterate, educated professional are going to work only to come home and play video games. The school system has a way of killing creativity, in contrast, unschooling allows for other forms of education. Carol Brown is a mother from Colorado, who has choosen to home school her three girls. She did not pressure her children to learn mathematics until they were ready and didn’t force them to read until they wanted too. The Brown household always had art supplies, materials such as books and films as a source of learning. The family would visit beaches, museums and for ests, not only allowing for enjoyable education but also allows for the family to bond (Italie, 2011). Most children are bored when they are in school and this makes for miserable learning conditions. The child either is very antsy or has no drive to learn more. However learning outside of a classroom creates an abundance of freedom and that is an essential to learning. There is no right or wrong to how a child should grow up. â€Å"The real role of leadership in education†¦is not, and should not be, ‘command and control’; the real role of leadership is ‘climate control.’† (Robinson, 2013). The stifling atmosphere of today’s classrooms are stopping our children from becoming the creative adults that the world so desperately needs in order to overcome the obstacles and challenges that humankind is yet to face. Robinson is calling upon the world to change the way we educate our young so that, we, as human civilization stand a chance at solving the problems of the world and advancing society by leaps and bounds. It is time to allow ouSirr children to use their creativity and for us adults to search our inner selves and find our innate creative nature so that we can be the men and women of tomorrow. Works Cited Italie, L. (2011, August 29). ‘Unschooling’ Gaining Popularity, Allows Children Alternative Learning Tools. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/29/unschooling-gaining-popul_n_940770.html Robinson, K. (2006). How schools kill creativity. Retrieved from

The Success Factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon

The Success Factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Presented to The Department of Business Administration 2011-12 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This repost is studying the success factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. It will be collect the information and data from questionnaire survey and focus groups. Also, it will be through Value Important Performance Grid tool and SWOT analysis that more understand the performance and state of this marathon, then make some recommendation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This thesis would not have been possible unless someone who give the information support.It is an honor for our group to interview Mrs. Vivian So, the Executive director of HKAAA, and Mr. Wong Ka Man, an committee of HKAAA. Our group also would like to thank some participants who attend our questionnaire survey and focus group. Their view and information gave us a lot of help for this report. I would like to show my gratitude to my supervisor, Leonard Kwan and course leader, Johnny Ch iu, whose encouragement, guidance and support from the initial to the final level enabled me to develop an understanding of the subject.Lastly, we offer our regards and blessings to all of those who supported us in any respect during the completion of the project. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS LIST OF TABLES LIST OF APPENDICES CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 2. 1 Background of Event 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT 3. 2 Statement of the Problem 3. 3 The Assumption 3. 4 Methodology 3. 5 Limitation 3. FACTORS AFFECTING A EVENT 4. 6 Public Acceptance 4. 7. 1 Social Environment – Cultural 4. 7. 2 Lifestyle 4. 7 Support from Stakeholders 4. 8. 3 Commercial Sponsorships . 8. 4 Participants 4. 8. 5 Organizations 4. 8. 6 Non-profit organizations 4. 8. 7 Celebrities 4. 8. 8 General Public 4. 8. 9 Government 4. 8 Effective Event Management 4. 9. 10 Event Planning 4. 9. 11 Human Resource Management 4. 9 Publicity 4. 10. 12 Word of Mouth 4. FINDIN GS 5. 10 Value Important Performance Grid 5. 11 SWOT Analysis 5. 12. 13 Strengths 5. 12. 14 Weaknesses 5. 12. 15 Opportunities 5. 12. 16 Threats 5. 12 Sustainability 5. 13 Potential for future development 5. CONCLUSION 6. RECOMMENDATIONS APPENDICES 2| 1. Introduction 1. 1 Background of the EventStandard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is one of the most significant and brand sport event for Hong Kong. This sports event has been held annually every Chinese New Year. This event is large-scale, with local and foreign people participation. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been gaining a lot of support from companies, organizations, public, government and tourist. Prior to Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, it was named â€Å"Shenzhen Marathon† and was held in 1996. Due to the lack of funds, Standard Chartered Bank become the title was sponsor of â€Å"Shenzhen Marathon†.Afterward it has been named Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Since then the Marathon has been held for 15years. In the beginning, the number of participants of this event was limited thousand and the awareness was 1000. Until 2011, the number of participant has increased to more than 70,000 in 2012. 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT 2. 1 Statement of the Problem The purpose of this report is to find out the success factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. The event had a humble beginning, and very few Hong Kong people showed interest to join the race.After a few years, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has started to gain its popularity in Hong Kong year after year. The event has become a Hong Kong branded sports event now. This report is to study the factors that attributed to its success. This report also investigates the possible strategies to sustain its success in the future. Based on the participant number of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in past 16 years, it showed in Chart 1. The figure indicates that the participant numbers are growing year after year. This proved the event has been more widely accepted by people in Hong Kong than other sports.Hence, how to this event successes in attracting so many people to participate every year allows us to better understand the reason behind its success. Thus, it helps to project whether the event is sustainable in the future. 2. 2 The Assumption Our group assumes public acceptance, support from stakeholders, effective event management and publicity are the important factor of success event. 2. 3 The Methodology In this report, we had used primary and secondary sources of information for the analysis of the critical success factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 2. 3. 1 Data Collection Secondary researchFirst of all, we had found a lot of reference books in the library, for example, Successful Event Management, Event Sponsorship, Sports and Entertainment Marketing and Sports Marketing etc. Also, we will find the professional journals, such as the Journal of Business Research, Jour nal of Marketing Event Research, Journal of Marketing, Organizational Behavior etc. Then, we will have more information about the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon’ success factors. Moreover, we had found the sports magazine, such as Sportsoho, these helped us to know more about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon.Moreover we found a lot of relevant information on the newspapers, such as, Singtao newspaper, Mingpao newspaper, etc. It can help us to find out more Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon information, such how can prepare for the event. Moreover, we had used internet to find more secondary information. For example, using Google to research information related to Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. It can easy to research some useful information in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, such as, past history and year the participant situation etc.Also, we used Wise News to find some past news. Primary research First of all, we have interview with Miss V ivian, the Executive Director of the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) to get more information of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. So, we can have more information about this event, such as the process of marathon, brand building etc. Furthermore, we had set questionnaires and used to interview with stakeholders such as, runner and supporter, to find out how they feel about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. We had interviewed them the days near the marathon.We had finished 384 interviews in different place, such as, sport ground, a competition area etc. Then, it can help us to understand the customer’s behavior and expectation. We are using the following formula to decide the number of questionnaire: n=[z * se]2 Where n = sample size n=[1. 96 * 50%5%]2 z= Confidence level =384 s= sample variance e= error acceptance The latest survey has a response rate 92 per cent, a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 perce nt.On the other hand, after the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, we had interviewed with focus groups who are amateur sport members from The Citizen Athletic Association and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Track and Field Team. We had interviewed with four focus groups that 5 to 6 people in a group. We had asked lots of questions on how they feel on the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in order to help us to draw out the analysis. Lastly, we will use the following analytical methods to analysis the success factors of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 2. 3. 2 Analytical methods 1. Value Important Performance Grid 2.SWOT analysis The Value Important Performance Grid can help us to evaluate the performance and areas of improvement of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Also, SWOT analysis can let us more understand the relative strength and weakness of this sport event for organizer perspective. 3. Factors Affecting a Mega Event 3. 1. Public Acceptance Public ac ceptance is defined to be a clear identity and social statuses have a favorable position. Also, it get the support and love of people and their ideas and direction is have to the same goal that can establish a good reputation and word of mouth . For example, Echoes of the Rainbow movie made in Hong Kong, a low-cost film production. At the beginning, this movie had few people pay attention. When this movie received the best picture in the new generation of Children's Film Unit Crystal Bear Award at the 60th Berlin Film Festival, there are many people start attending this movie. Since this movie had received an award, it caught everyone’s attention about this film. More people accept that this king of film and story. In 2008 Beijing Olympics was very successful sport event. It is because the sportsmen from all over the world had come to support and participates in it. We all attach great importance to this event.It is because this game has good recognition. This paper approache s the topic by first referencing to the present environment under the categories of social and lifestyle perspectives of the living environment in Hong Kong. According to the findings, we conjecture the public needs and analyze how the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon can fulfill the needs and obtain public acceptance. 3. 1. 3Social – Cultural Since 1996, Lee Lai Shan won the first-ever Olympic gold medal for Hong Kong in the women’s mistral boardsailing class and was the first champion in the Asian Games representing Hong Kong, China.Since them, Hong Kong people started paying more attention to our Hong Kong Campaigns. And government started investing a lot more money and time in the promotion for Hong Kong sports. In addition, Lee Lai-Shan has received â€Å"the ten most Outstanding Youth Award† and the Bronze Bauhinia Star Award in recognition of her outstanding achievements in the international sports scene. A stating of her on a wind surf board was ere cted in honor of her near the beachfront at Cheung Chau. Hong Kong Sports Stars Awards is an annual election organized by the Sports Federation ; Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China.The purpose is to encourage athletes and teams to strive for excellence. Also, it can provide role model sand inspiration for Hong Kong young people, thus help to promote sports development in Hong Kong. Moreover, it can encourage the community’s involvement in sports to further promote the sport culture in Hong Kong. Among them, Lee Lai-Shan has won numerous awards including 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2004. Government has also encouraged the public to do more exercise. And it promotes different sports and exercise for us. Furthermore, nowadays people are increasingly aware about their health and peruse a healthy way of living. In the Leisure and Cultural Service Department of Healthy Exercise for All Campaign, Launched in April 2000, the â€Å"Healthy Exercise for All Campaign† is a territory- wide event jointly organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Department of Health (DH). With the slogan of â€Å"Daily exercise keeps us fit, people of all ages can do it†, the Campaign aims at raising the public's interest in exercising and encouraging them to exercise regularly so that they can understand the benefits of exercising to health. † This can show that doing exercise benefits for both body and mind.Also, regular exercising can improve the health conditions, and strengthens body’s resistance to illness, trains muscles, strengthens bones and helps prevent osteoporosis. In addition since the outbreak of SARS on 2003, the public awareness to public health exercise caused more people to do exercise. All their incidents coincide with the repaid growth of participants in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon from 2001 to 2006. Moreover, running is one of the most popular sports and easily practiced by people of all ages. Also, running can enhance physical fitness, strength and willpower.Nowadays, running of the equipment has become more advanced technologically. The innovation of running supplies, clothing and footwear which become to more lightweight and offer better protection. Running gears are how made with more eye-catching color, preferred by ladies who want to live and run in a more relaxed mood. For example, running shoes are now ultra-lightweight. Shoes cage is widen to allow runners to wear comfortable with high-tech arch boosters and the stronger induction of the foot to promote runners reflex, increase their agility, run faster. Also, windproof and breathable jacket make running more comfortable and enjoyable.Furthermore, the technological advancements now even allow smart phones to measure the running speed and pacing. It is very convenience for runner and makes more people like this sport. 3. 1. 5Lifestyle â€Å"Lifestyle is a mode of living that is identified by how people spend their tim e and resource, what they consider important in their environment, and what they think of themselves and the world around them. † First of all, there is an apparent relation between slow economic growth and desire for participation in sports event. In 2003, Hong Kong has a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and bully impact the Economic. A government spokesman explained that the March to May this year. The unemployment rate and underemployment rate rose to a new high. It is because of the impact of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome(SARS) on the labor market intensifies, consumption and tourism, the impact on industry layoffs increase with an overall decline in employment. † According to government year book2003 â€Å"The labour market worsened abruptly in the first half of 2003, mainly affected by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate increased from 7. per cent in the first quarter of 2003 to an all-tim e high of 8. 7 per cent in May-July 2003. † â€Å"Also, Hong Kong economic situation in 2003 can showed the unemployment rate and the underemployment rate surged to record highs in the summer of 2003, a consequent of an abrupt economic downturn under the impact of SARS. † (Chart 1) Chart 1 Unemployment and underemployment rates â€Å"Amidst the slackened labour market conditions, overall labour earnings and wages continued on a decline in 2003. The decline nevertheless narrowed down after the mid-year. †(Chart 2) Chart 2 Earnings and wages| year-on-year rate of change in money terms)| Since more people were unemployed, so that they have more time to use the spare time for exercise running. Also, running does not cost money and is a low-consumption activity that is good exercise for most people. Therefore, most people change their lifestyle. They are love to running. In addition, running is good for health. It is because most of doctors said that running could enh ance the breathing health of lung. So people started paying more attention to running. (App1) The Hong Kong Anti-Cancer Society also suggests that people to do exercise 30mins every day, such as running.They claimed that, running can prevent the disease. Since then more people are interest in doing exercise. ————————————————- Furthermore, the World Health Organization suggested people to do 150mins exercise every week. This can make the body became healthily and lengthen the life by 3years than without doing exercise. ————————————————- ————————————————- Therefore, people need to health and good life time, they take action to running. It can benefit for their health.It can show that the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon increase the participants join to after 2003. Moreover, every person has different a way of living and habits. Their lifestyle reflects the attitudes and values of a person. Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA said that â€Å"Running is not limited to any place and no need to pay any money. Anyone can do it. However, if one plays football, basketball etc one needs to have a large group of players. Therefore, running is very convenient. † This explains why distance running has become popular in the present busy lifestyle of Hong Kong people.Leung Yiu-chung a member of the Legislative Council also said that when he was young who like swimming, running, hiking, football, table tennis, volleyball etc. But most of sports need to have a partner. After he started working, it become difficult to find a partner does exercise together. Therefore, he chose running because he can do it alone. He has been ru nning which run for more than 20 years. Ken Yuen, Hong Kong Commercial Broadcasting Corporation Limited of presenter said that running need only sport shirts, pants and shoes which can be done alone.Running is very convenient for him. There is one thing in a common, many people working busily. It is difficult to meet friends to do exercise together. Therefore, running can fit in to the lifestyle of new generations. Then, a study on consumer behavior can explain why people join the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. We apply the theories of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs to explain it. â€Å"Consumer behavior is the study of when, why, how, and where people do or do not buy a product. It blends elements from psychology, sociology, social anthropology and economics.It attempts to understand the buyer decision making process, both individually and in groups. It studies characteristics of individual consumers such as demographics and behavioral variables in an attempt to unders tand people's wants. It also tries to assess influences on the consumer from groups such as family, friends, reference groups, and society in general. † It is mean the consumer behavior is a buyer decision making process, it includes individual, groups. The groups are like the family, friends, media, leader or artist. Participant will influence with them when they make decision. Consumer behavior is â€Å"The study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. † Behavior occurs either for the individual, or in the context of a group (e. g. , friend’s influence what kinds of clothes a person wears) or an organization (people on the job make decisions as to which products the firm should use). † We can understand consumer behavior is affect by individuals, groups, or orga nizations. The consumer behavior also knows people's need.So, people join the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is effect by their making decision and what they needs. Otherwise, the participant also will use their knowledge, experience to join it. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (chart. xx) â€Å"Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a theory in psychology, proposed by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow subsequently extended the idea to include his observations of humans' innate curiosity. His theories parallel many other theories of human developmental psychology, all of which focus on describing the stages of growth in humans.Maslow is use the terms Physiological, Safety, Belongingness and Love, Esteem, and Self-Actualization needs to describe the pattern that human motivations generally move through. † ————————————————- The Nee ds can identify why participants join the Marathon. Physiological need is base on eating, drinking. Participates need a healthy body. Safety is meaning ensure public safety, such as how the events management provides enough facilities to protect participants. Belonging and love is base on with friends, family together. Participants may join this event with friends, families.Esteem is the glory of participating in the race to makes them satisfied. The self challenge is when the participant makes a breakthrough in their finishing time or finishing the race by challenging their potential. ————————————————- Participants join the race as they think that they can gain a great experience or achieve their personal goal in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Chart 5 Through our questionnaires, we find that near a half part of participant motion that they join this marathon a s for self- challenge. About 24% participants join because of the health.Impact of peer and family and honor respectively is 11% and 14%. Also, these had a 2% was participated with company or a litter bit number for other reasons. So, we would understand that achievement is really importance as the personal goal and this may cause the reason that why the number of participants is continuous growth. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Higher– Level Needs Lower – Level Needs ————————————————- ————————————————- 3. 2 Supports from Stakeholders It is important to cooperate with stakeholder in an event.A good stakeholders’ support can make the event more successful. In the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, we can see that it has received a good support from participants, celebrities, general public and the government etc. 3. 2. 1 Commercial Sponsorship Sponsorship is a contribution to an activity (typically in sports, arts, entertainment or causes) by a commercial organization in cash, or in-kind, with the expectation of achieving corporate and marketing objectives. Sponsorship continues to represent a popular way of cutting through advertising clutter and reaching potential customers.Commercial sponsor can increase the media and marketing leverage which can let the event become more large-scale. The scale of a representative event can’t be too small. A large scale of an event can attract and increase the number of people to join or to pay close attention to it. Also, it can cause by the public and media to discuss and report the event. – For instance, Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse sponsored the Hong Kong Sevens Rugby Match was one of the successful model in the early years. Cathay Pacific/Credit Suisse was t he title commercial sponsors.Because of the sponsorship, Suisse Hong Kong Sevens become more popular and large-scale. And, the event has been well known. Because it makes the event become more representative and attract the number of people to pay attention to it. Regarding Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, because of the sponsorship of Standard Chartered Bank, making had more resources to promote the event. Also, commercial sponsor can increase the media and marketing leverage which can let the event become more large-scale. A large scale of an event can attract and increase the number of people to join or to pay close attention to it.A part from that, it can cause by the public and media to discuss and report the event. Therefore, it prove that commercial sponsor is also one of the reason why caused the marathon be more success. 3. 2. 2 Participants The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon started in 1997. Since then, it has been gaining in popularity. In the past thirteen y ears, it made record in entries every year. Now it has become a signature international sporting event in Hong Kong and was recognized as a â€Å"Brand Hong Kong Event† by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.The continuous growth of the number of participants, it proves that people support the event. Chart 1 Also, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has attracted a lot of international athletes from over seventy countries and regions, including China, Chinese Taipei, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Malaysia, Mongolia, Morocco, Poland, the Netherland, New Zealand, Russia, Ukraine and Singapore. It is because people believe that Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a large-scale and well-known running event.These may cause that why they are interested and support for the marathon. Participants join the race as they think that they can gain a great experience or achieve their personal goal in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Chart 5 Through our questionnaires, we find that near a half part of participant motion that they join this marathon as for self- challenge. About 24% participants join because of the health. Impact of peer and family and honor respectively is 11% and 14%. Also, these had a 2% was participated with company or a litter bit number for other reasons.So, we would understand that achievement is really importance as the personal goal and this may cause the reason that why the number of participants is continuous growth. A part from joining the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, participants can achieve their personal goals. We find that about 70% of participants had joined more than one times. It can show that a great part of number were repeat participate. Chart xx Chart 6 Also, all of interviewer motioned that they will participate in the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon again.It can see that participant generality enjoyable and think the higher value than payable in this mara thon. So, the continuous growth of the number of participants, it proves that people support the race. 3. 2. 3 Organization On the other hand, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon also has attracted a lot of companies and organizations’ support. Some companies and organizations like Standard Chartered Bank, LI & FUNG, Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants have joined corporate challenge or SME Marathon Cup.Furthermore other education groups include The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University and The Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Educational etc. They were many staff and students who participated in it. The purpose that they may not to win for the race, they only want to have a nice day and enjoy the event. They may only want to express the support to a meaningful cause. These show that organizations’ support for the event. —————————†”——————-For example, Standard Chartered Bank has 2800 staff running in Marathon 2012. It is means participants had affected by each other’s within these groups. Through the organizations we can identify the reasons that made this event became successful. 3. 2. 4 Non-profits organization Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is a large-scale sporting event. Therefore it needs lots of volunteers to make the event orderly. Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director HKAAA, said that volunteers are important for an event and good services can attract potential customers.Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon had thousands of volunteers serving the runners and the organizer beyond the track to ensure the race can go on smoothly. Volunteer physiotherapists, overseas invited runners’ liaison team members and photographers etc. The volunteers in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon come from all walks of life and all of them regarded the vo lunteer work very challenging. Therefore, it can prove that non-profits organization is important for an event enter in successful. On the order hand, in order to let the marathon carried out more smoothly, it s important to have non-profits organizations’ support, like Scout Association Hong Kong – Hong Kong Island Region, Auxiliary Medical Service etc. Without their support, the event can’t continue as such smoothly. 3. 2. 5 Celebrities The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has received a lot of support from celebrities. Since 2004, artists like EO2, Fiona, Sky etc, they played games with participants, sang and share their experiences on running at the Marathon Expo. On the day before the marathon, there was a cheering concert to boost the morale for participants and volunteers.These make the event more interesting and attract more potential customers to join. Also, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon Ambassadors personally participated in the event, for example, Andy Hui, Alex Fong etc. These can prove that how the celebrities supported the event. Celebrities are important endorsers of the marathon. Therefore, from 2001 to 2006 the participants’ number has significant increase and one of the reasons that maybe participants want to support their idols. On the other hand, Mr. Donald Tsang Yam-Kuen, the Chief Executive, presented at opening ceremony and supports the participator.Moreover, lots of support from celebrities and famous people, likes Mr. Ricky Wong Wai-kay, Chairman of the City Telecom (H. K. ) Limited. Mr. Timothy T. T Fok, GBS, JP President of Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China, they helped promote the vision of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon to their employees as well. These may attract more people to join the race. A part from these, it proves that the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has received a lot of support from celebrities and these may cause the reason that why marath on are success. 3. 2. General Public Moreover, in order to let the marathon conducting more smoothly. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon caused large scale road closure, making it inconvenient to a lot of people who live along the race track. However, no public protest against the road closure has been heard. According to Apple Daily on February 24, 2012 â€Å"Road closure would certainly cause inconvenience to some people, but for the marathon road closures was definitely better than New Year Parade, fireworks, Celebration Parade is worth. † showing that the public accept holding a mega event like this.Also, Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director HKAAA, said that it can prove the popularity. The event has been support by the popularity, though it may have caused a little disturb to the neighborhood. It showing that most of the public accept for the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and they are support Hong Kong for holding such kind of international activities. 3. 2. 7 Government Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is now being recognized as a â€Å"Brand Hong Kong Event† and a â€Å"M† Mark sporting event by the Hong Kong Government.It has attracts more than 70,000 participants taking part in this challenge in 2012. In order to contain a greater amount of participants, government has done a lot of measures, such as road closure. Moreover, in order to let the marathon conducting more smoothly, Hong Kong Police Force and Hong Kong Road Safety Patrol had send out a great amount of human resources to support the race. On the order hand, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon normally starts early in the morning (5 a. m. ). In order to support the marathon, MTR Corporation started its trains earlier.Also, those runners who could not reach the pre-set specific time limits need to board the official buses. These special service can see that how government support Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 3. 3 Effective Event Management 3. 3 . 1 Event Planning â€Å"Event planning is the process of planning a festival, ceremony, competition, party, or convention. Event planning includes budgeting, establishing dates and alternate dates, selecting and reserving the event site, acquiring permits, and coordinating transportation and parking.Event planning also includes some or all of the following, depending on the event: developing a theme or motif for the event, arranging for speakers and alternate speakers, coordinating location support (such as electricity and other utilities), arranging decor, tables, chairs, tents, event support and security, catering, police, fire, portable toilets, parking, signage, emergency plans, health care professionals, and clean up. † The event manager should control that planning process for events management is management, organizational and operates.Also, the planning should address in coordination of when, where, who, what, why and how (5Ws). Because an event is need to identities the objective. Set the location can hold the event, such as indoor or outdoor. Decide to who are the major customer and potential customer, or sponsor. Find which timing is suitable to hold the event. We study that when (timing), where (location), who (human resource management) to prove the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon becomes success. Timing The event planner selected the race day to decide the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in which day. Spring, summer, and particularly fall are the busiest times for transportation companies, hotels, and resorts, which are taking care of good-weather conventions, vacationers, and business meetings. Because of the potential attendees are more likely to able to afford the time, and to attend the event. About the sport events effect are on the daily pace and commerce of the city. † The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon always starts one to two weeks after Lunar New Year. Because in this period, the weather is cool. It coul d increase participator’s running performance.According to Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA , said that the Half- Marathon and Full- Marathon have been held only in a few seasons. During Lunar New Year, road traffic normally decreases because many people will be on their vacation and no need to go to work. Air pollution is greatly reduced. † Because, it can avoid the celebration of New Year, and government could regulate would more effectively. Thus, HKAAA selected the race day after Lunar New Year one to two weeks. And decrease some impact for resident and store.Moreover, this period can reduce participants working hour. Location Location can be a critical factor in determining the success of an event. During 1997 to 2012, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon changes the route 7 times. In 1997, the route started from Sheung Shui, Lok Ma Chau, and ended in Shenzhen. In 1998, the route started at Tsing Ma Bridge and the end point was Hong Kong Internati onal Airport. In 1999, as a starting point in Central at Tsim Sha Tsui and passed by Western Harbour Tunnel, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, and as the end point, Sham Shui Po Sports Ground.In 2000, runners departured from the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, passed by Tsim Sha Tsui, Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, and a crossed the Ting Kau Bridge and ended at the Sham Shui Po Sports Ground. In 2001 to 2007, it started from Miramar Hotel, Tsim sha tsui, and then passed by the West Kowloon Highway, Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Tsing Ma Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge exhumation of the Western Harbour Crossing, ended at the Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai. Start 2008 to 2009, the route of race was separated from the10 kilometres, Half-Marathon and Full-Marathon.The participants can follow their designated route. 10 kilometres race was first staged on Hong Kong Island Eastern Corridor. Participants are required to walk from Victoria Park on the Island Eastern Corridor in order to reach the starting point. The race end ing points was Victoria Park. Half-Marathon and Full-Marathon continued to start on Nathan Road and ended at Victoria Park. But Full-Marathon continued to run on Tsing Ma Bridge, Ma Wan, and Ting Kau Bridge. In 2010 to 2012, the 10 kilometres race was held on Hong Kong Island Eastern Corridor, and end at Victoria Park.Although Half-Marathon and Full-Marathon are started by Miramar Hotel and end of Victoria Park, Full-Marathon race was changed to Ngong Shuen Chau Viaduct, Stonecutters Bridge, East Tsing Yi Viaduct, Nam Wan Tunnel, Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge, and Western Harbour Crossing than Half- Marathon. In conclusion, the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been holding in urban area and the race track passes by score local landmarks. Participate can tour around the city such as Island Eastern corridor, Nathan Road, Tsing Ma Bridge, Stonecutters Bridge, etc. This is different from other running races.Because those routes are only for transportation, people normally ca nnot walk or run on the Tsing Ma Bridge, Ting Kau Bridge and other public facilities. Thus, participate can enjoy and find the route interesting. In overseas, the Marathon route shared similar characteristics . For instance, Tokyo Marathon is also held in urban area. In 2011, this event attract more than 350,000 participates to apply. But the participants need to draw by ballot. So the actual number is around 33,000. So we can know if the event can be held at downtown, it can attract more people to join.The routes are showed in Fig. 1 Tokyo Marathon and Fig. 2 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. There are similar with both held the marathon in landmarks. Fig. 1 Fig. 2 3. 3. 2 Human Resource Management â€Å"Human resource management (HRM or simply HR) is the management of an organization's workforce, or human resources. It is responsible for the attraction, selection, training, assessment, and rewarding of employees, while also overseeing organizational leadership and culture, a nd ensuring compliance with employment and labor laws.In circumstances where employees desire and are legally authorized to hold a collective bargaining agreement, HR will typically also serve as the company's primary liaison with the employees' representatives. † The human resource management is including selection and training or briefing staff. And make sure staff understands the job duties and responsibility. Staff and Volunteer In 2012, 2800 Standard Chartered staff runners participated in the Marathon while another 700 volunteered to cheer or support on race day. Appendices xx) Among those volunteers their were Association of International Marathons and Road Races, Auxiliary Medical Service, Civil Aid Service, and Scout Association Hong Kong, and so on. (Appendices xx) There was a wide range of supporting volunteers and organization from commercial organizations, voluntary bodies, and to charitable organizations. The success of the event is found highly depending on the cooperation among them. Their duties include crowd control, logistics, and so on.Michael Armstrong, Joint Managing Partner of E-reward and an independent management consultant, said that business success is most likely to be achieved if the personnel policies and procedures of the enterprise are closely linked with, and make a major contribution to, the achievement of corporate objectives and strategic plans. Therefore, the management of staff and volunteers are critical to the success of the event. Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA, said that the marathon was success because of the enthusiastic staff and volunteers also worked hard and endeavour to finish the event.It raised the normal of event workers. This showed the marathon event was successful due to support from the staff and volunteers. In conclusion, the success of the marathon depends on the preparation of the job descriptions to staff and volunteers. Since the duties are different. HKAAA should select the volu nteers well. HKAAA should ensure them understand the procedures well. HKAAA should provide sufficient briefings to its staff and volunteers before the race events. 3. 4 Publicity 3. 4. 1 Word of Mouth Word of mouth (WOM) is one of the importance factors for holding a successful event.Mr. Wong Ka Man, an committee of HKAAA, said that it lead to more people know Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon and feel interest in this event because of word of mouth. Mr. Wong also motion that â€Å"after few years for holding this marathon, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was more corporate with media like Hong Kong Commercial Radio. Under eulogized, Standard Chartered Marathon was became a hot topic. Also, participants were post some event photo in the internet that attract many citizens attention and feel interest to participant. So we can that word of mouth is the importance factor. Word of mouth is a social communication between consumers or between businesses about a product, service or brand. People share and seek other opinions on consumption experiences. A desire to help other people drives consumers to provide advice to others while a desire to reduce risk and time in decision making pushes them to seek options from other consumers. Storytelling is the oldest form of word of mouth communication where one person tells others of something, whether a real event or something made up.Word of mouth depends on the extent of customer satisfaction with the product or service, and on the degree of its perceived value. Even without a direct and full control of word of mouth, companies can indirectly influence word of mouth by making sure consumers have many incentives to praise and no reason to talk about the negative aspects. Sports marketers must can take the expanded relationship into account. To do so, engage in positive word of mouth exchanges with other people. Word of mouth by event organizationBecause of positive word of mouth building, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was doing something that let more people think this is a joyful event. Firstly, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon have had revamped official website (www. hkmarathon. com or http://hk. hkmarathon. yahoo. com) in 2002. This website has been designed and engineered by the renowned internet service provider Yahoo! Hong Kong. Up to now, except the related race information of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon on the website, there are also including â€Å"Activities†, â€Å"News†, Photo Gallery† and â€Å"Webcast† etc.Visitors can gain more information like pre-event promotional activities, pre-race activities, any news report, also review the exciting moments of the past few years and last event's highlights. People accept more positive information and image, so they may build up a confidence for this Standard Chartered marathon and feel a grand occasion that they need to participate too. Word of mouth by media Newspaper reports also hav e a lot of influence on the public image of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, the more positive reports for this event by the media, the more word of mouth can be built to help them to build the image.Because of knowing the covers range of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon report by all newspaper medias, what including Apple Daily, Ming Pao Daily News, South China Morning Post, any Free and overseas Newspaper. The reports will collected by using Wisers information Portal service system and with the keywords â€Å" / / / /Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon/Hong Kong Standard Chartered Marathon/Hong Kong Marathon/Standard Chartered Marathon† that search the number of related article between 1998-2012 (no data before 1998). Also these include the number of StandardChartered Hong Kong Marathon official Press release (no data before 2002). Source: Wiser Information Portal and Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon official press release Period| Number of Article| Number ofStandard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon official press release| 1/1/1998- 30/6/1998| 64| -| 1/7/1998-30/6/1999| 256| -| 1/7/1999-30/6/200| 219| -| 1/7/2000-30/6/2001| 247| -| 1/7/2001-30/6/2002| 299| -| 1/7/2002-30/6/2003| 375| 3| 1/7/2003-30/6/2004| 404| 5| 1/7/2004-30/6/2005| 468| 15| 1/7/2005-30/6/2006| 938| 29| 1/7/2006-30/6/2007| 805| 14| 1/7/2007-30/6/2008| 895| 11| /7/2008-30/6/2009| 1281| 10| 1/7/2009-30/6/2010| 1386| 7| 1/7/2010-30/6/2011| 1885| 12| 1/7/2011-26/3/2012| 2817| 13| According to the analysis the numbers of articles are increasing every year. And except in the first few years, the number of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon official press release had increased and so are the news reports. During 2005 and 2006, the number of press release and article doubled. After 2006, the official press release reduced, but the news reports still increasing. So that, we can see how the news reports caused stronger word of mouth.In analyzing of the official press release a nd the newspapers report from2002 to 2012, within the period from September to March, it was found that most of the news releases were reported from October and February. The race entry usually starts in October, so there were more news posted in this month, and there report are usually related the race information, apply state etc. Usually, around before the date of event applies entry 1-2 months, there also has had the report for pre- event promotion and help to attract more participants when thought this word of mouth.Since the race is held after Chinese New Year, so that Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon will be become the hot topic during February and that explain why most of the news report were written on this month and some on March. The news in this time are usually related the race, winners and champion feeling or comment. Other then print media, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon also gained a lot of electronic media exposure like CCTV, myTV, Magazine, internet too ls etc.Some difference sport magazines are like to report Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, like Sportsoho. Sometime, magazines are like make a interview with this event winner or coach. They present both feeling and professional knowledge and view to influence people to think that Standard Chartered marathon is a popular event as the participant of some outstanding contestant. Sportsoho is a popular monthly magazine, special for sport lover. There were some themes related Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon during October to March.According to the research, there were averages of 8 to 15 pages related to Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in one issue of Sportsoho. The content was sicker as compare with other sports event and it can get a big help in word of mouth among the magazine readers. Journal of Advertising Research had motion that â€Å"There is a positive relationship between openness and word of mouth. People are more willing to forward a message to their frien ds. And this group people are intelligent, imaginative, curious, visionary, and emotionally responsive consumers. Also, people are easily influenced by each other and affect their decision making. Without created the word of mouth on some media, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon also did a lot of thing to building their image and tell the public that they have social responsibility. At the same time, word of mouth will be create and gain an effective effort. Word of mouth by celebrity For example, in 2005, Standard Chartered bank was sponsored HENRY WANYOIKE, who have lost his sight overnight in 1995, to raise fund for â€Å"SEEING IS BELIEVING†.Henry Wanyoike is a famous runner and used to gain a lot of awards in running before he lost his eye sight. People may really appreciate his firm and persistent, also they may take action to support this so meaningful raises fund. Another, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon also invites some famous celebrities as spokesmen. In 2004, this marathon had invited Alex Fong, a highly successful swimmer who represented Hong Kong at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and set several local records in the pool.Furthermore, Do Do Cheng, who is a famous artist in films and television in Hong Kong was once the event spokesperson. The public may trust what she said due to her positive image. So that they can really create some positive work of mouth as their support, and leading more people come to join this event. There are some celebrity will be join this marathon every years, they may like to share their preparation of race, race feeling and experience to public. There will be increase the attention after their word of mouth. Word of mouth by participantAs revealed from the result of our this marathon race focus group on the reason of the first time to participant in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon, most of the participants said that good of word of mouth and recommendation from their friends or families are the main reason. Also, all of respondents mentioned that they used to share their feeling and experience of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon to other people. In the focus group research, nearly 80% of the interviewers used Facebook to share their experience, and a great part of these massages are positive.Internet is the one of the extensively communication way for people send and received massages. In the internet, these are so many tools for us to express ourselves feeling. Facebook, yahoo blog, weibo and chatroom also are the popular tool in Hong Kong and abroad. Now, we are Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon was found successful in creating a special and unforgettable experience for participants. The participants will give their comments and express their experience in SCHKM to everyone on the internet. We had known that people like to forward a message to their friends, thus generated a social facilitation effect.In the internet search, it is not difficult can see the topic whi ch related Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon in the social network website, like facebook, weibo,and some popular chatroom etc. For example, one participant of this Standard Chartered marathon used to mention in her blog that she felt so great to join this event, and the feeling was so different between being the help and the runner. She thanked her friends who keep giving her the support. Also, she was wished everyone can do the best next year and appeal more people come to join together.The comment from his friends in his post, they were so agreed with her and promise to join together next year again. So, it can see that these social communications really work to exchange experience whatever friends or unknown, also direct to create word of mouth. Ms Vivian So had motion that an attraction of the event is important. If the events have attraction itself and give the happy experience, it can build word of mouth easily and a positive image, then these unforgettable memories will stay in their mind deeply. Ms So also said that Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon is attractive by itself.This event is a brand event in sports. Fun and good atmosphere of SCHKM have influenced many people. Because of this, word of mouth let one person to spread the message to ten people and grow exponential. 4 Findings 4. 1 The Value Important Performance Grid on Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon (Chart 7) As revealed from the analysis with the Value Important Performance Grid, we can identify and determine which value of the event attributes that need improvement. There are four parts including waste resources, people feels good, ignore and problem area.Among the 17 attributes studied in the survey, participants regarded 8 of them are well performed, with only one attributes found to have priority for improvements. This represents that participant will continue to be loyalty to join this event. According the Value Important Performance Grid, we found that Standard Chartere d Hong Kong Marathon have 8 attributes performing well and met the expectation of the participants. They are scale of the activity, word of mouth, transport arrangements, staffing arrangements, atmosphere, personal meaning, activity flow and support.Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been a mega sports event in Hong Kong, the scale of the activity is large. This sports event attracts  a lot of media to  reports of every year and the number of participant has been increasing. In addition, then people have different feeling about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. When the event has been organized, people have become more willing share with each other, thus creating word of mouth. Also, transport arrangements have been one of the important elements that to hold an event and participants are relatively satisfied with the arrangement.On the race day, MTR  provide special transportation arrangements that is the routes will open early to succeed the shuttle and  buses p rovide the relative transport arrangements  to pick up participants  to  the  race location. Furthermore, staff arrangements are important to the success. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been a mega event, with many people and organizations to orchestrate the event, including staff and helper, to help make this sports event holding smoothly. There are different training and briefing to staff and helper. The atmosphere of this sport event is has been very hot.The public knows about  the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Close to  the event holding date, people will see  a lot of promotion about this sports event,  such  as  television advertising  and newspaper  advertising. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon have strong message bring out. Their slogan is â€Å"Run for a reason†, let people thinking Marathon for their own personal meaning. Each participant  has  their own personal  reasons  to attend  this event. Therefore th ey all have  different purposes  to participate this sports event. The interviewers also feet satisfied with the schedule of the activity. The sports event categories are clear.Apart from full marathon, half marathon and a 10 km run hold on different time, they found the racing schedules were much friendlier. Furthermore, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon needs different government departments, organizations and groups to support it. Without that, HKAAA is difficult to hold this sports event become a mega sports event. Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has many supported by different companies, patrons, agencies, organizations, groups and government departments. It is include Hong Kong Tourism Board, Leisure and Cultural Service Department etc that can help this sports event holding smoothly.In the other point, there are three attributes that people feel importance but the performances are not good, including information, sponsorship and guide. There problems need to be improved, to make the event more successful. The information attribute of the event is slighter lower in the performance, so compared with the importance. It need to carefully. Many people think that need to improve. They feel  that  the  information  is not very liquid, should know the message through the General Assembly announced. With regard to sponsorship, the attributes is average level but its performance is bad.Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has many companies sponsorship. Although Standard Chartered Bank is the title sponsor, the overall sponsorship is not attractive enough. Race participants expect more than the current level of sponsorship. Guide the importance is average but the actual performance is badly. This must need to improve. As a mega event, guideline must be clearly, let people easy to find where they can go. In race day, the race route do not have enough guideline, they do not have the way of cheer in en route, there are many cheer  group cann ot cheer  for the participants.In the Value Important Performance Grid, performance is high and importance is low area is mean not important but the performance is good, it is waste resources. According to the analysis, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon did not have attribute not important but the performance is good. That means HKAAA holding this event have little wastes of the resources. Besides, there are six attributes are not important and the performances are bad. This attributes can be ignored. They include enrollment process, promotion, social contribution, entertainment, application fee and souvenir. . 2 The SWOT Analysis on Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon SWOT Analysis is conducted in order to evaluate the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and  Threats involved in Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. SWOT Analysis can identify the internal and external factors. HKAAA can ensure a clear objective that it is important part for event planning and achieve t heir objective. SWOT Analysis provides information that is helpful in matching HKAAA resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates.Moreover, SWOT Analysis can help us find out more, which is the potential problem and fault of Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 4. 2. 1 Strengths Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has received a lot of sponsorship and been supported by different companies, patrons, agencies, organizations, groups and government departments. Standard Chartered Bank has been the title sponsor. Without which, HKAAA might not have sufficient resources to hold the event. Many patrons support this event, including the honourable Donald Tsang (Chief Executive, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region).The promotion has been well planned with advertisements on television, cover page on print media and has built a positive image. As a result, more people know this mega event. Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA said that increas e in the promotion has been one of the factors that can let more people attend this sports event. In addition, HKAAA has sent mails to past participants of Hong Kong Marathon, to remind them come to join this year Hong Kong Marathon. Promotions of a star players are quite effective point attract people to join this sports event.Moreover, there are theme songs of 2003- 2006 year. Since 2009 Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon provides touching slogan that remind people about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon effectively and created word of mouth in the community. Also, they have good human resources support from include staff, helpers and volunteers. They are well co-ordinate to make this event run smoothly. Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA said that the  volunteers help  has been  a very important part than let more people care this sports event and make Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon  to  be conducted  successfully.For instance, this event was very good in planning and supporting, includes baggage, equipment food supplies etc. Apart from full marathon, half marathon and a 10 km run hold on different section time, crowd was controlled effectively. Participants were mostly satisfied with Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Moreover, HKAAA, as the event organizer had invited some overseas runners to join this event, and it can capture the international media attention about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. Therefore created more media coverage let more local people and foreigners know about Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. . 2. 2 Weaknesses The event experienced some accidents in year 2001-2007, when the full marathon, half marathon and a 10 km run were arranged on the same track,  10 km and half- Marathon runners crowded  in  the  Western Harbour Tunnel. Besides,  some participants dressed in fancy costume, took pictures  and even  pushed baby trolleys on the race track ,  caused danger and ot her participants’  discontent. In the  2011  race,  the wheelchair  race was canceled. Many disabled athletes  could not participate in the race and felt disappointed. There also lack  toilets on the race track, making it inconvenient to some  participants.This is a quite an important problem. Participants feel bad about that and are not satisfied with the race route for having too few toilets to use. 4. 2. 3 Opportunities People began to focus on their health nowadays. According to our survey (Chart 5), 24% of the participants ran in the race for this reason. Therefore many people wanted to join this sports event. ‘Launched in April 2000, the â€Å"Healthy Exercise for All Campaign† is a territory-wide event jointly organized by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) and the Department of Health (DH). With the slogan of â€Å"Daily exercise keeps us fit, people of all ages can do it’.The Campaign aims at raising the public's awareness in exercising and encouraging them to exercise regularly so that they can understand the benefits of exercising to health. † This is an opportunity get more attention for Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. This can encourage more people to do more exercise and let them peruse their interest that is good for health. â€Å"As people  grow older, physical fitness decline,  and  wanted to do something  easier  sport. Running is a good choice to keep healthier. This sport equipment  to  acquire  are less expensive  and there is no strict requirements  on the  physical fitness.Most important of all, there is no opponent,  and can be  done anywhere. Reaching the  age of 30, friends, and family are usually busy at work. Finding sports  partner can  become increasingly difficult. † This massage brings out running is a good sport. As a result, many people have been more willing to join this exercise. â€Å"With five days  at work, it is difficult  to  find  time for exercise. In  fact,  I like a different ball games, but  with teammates  gradually busy at work,  practicing together has become difficult and, running has become my only  sport. Otherwise, busy life of Hong Kong can attract people running and let the public keen to go running. Gradually running becomes a public favorite sport. In  addition, Ms Vivian So, the Executive Director of HKAAA said that running  is easily accessible, even with no partner. It can be  flexible, and inexpensive, and without doing it in a team. Furthermore, there is no restrictions, need to rent a  venue;  individual can also participates in the run  without the need for special gear. † The lifestyle is more favorable to long distance race like Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon. 4. 2. 4 ThreatsStandard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon has been one of the Hong Kong major running races. But there are many different running races in Hong Kong . Running races are confronted with strong competitiveness. These are about Mizuno Shing Mun River 10KM, UNICEF Charity Run etc. Marathon to race still face strong competition among themselves. HKAAA need to constantly improve the activities. Otherwise, Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon may be replaced by other running game. According to am730, road closure has been the one important problem to be a real mega event. Now participants needed to join the e