How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curleys Wife

How does Steinbeck present the character of Curleys Wife? In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams.Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim of loneliness with her being the only girl on the ranch and how she too has an incomplete American Dream to pursue an acting career. Curleys wife is a very important character and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when Geor ge ends up shooting Lennie however there is the question of her innocence.Before we meet Curleys wife, Steinbeck deliberately gives us a first impression of her to let us know their honest views on her with Candy and Georges conversation. Candy starts by saying â€Å"Wait’ll you see Curleys wife. †, this makes us anticipated of her and gives us an expectation of what is going to be said about her. During the conversation the only positive thing said was that she was â€Å"purty†. She is portrayed as being flirty and not satisfied with her husband when Candy claims â€Å"Married two weeks and got the eye?Maybe that’s why Curleys pants is full of ants. † This makes the reader think because if they were newlywed they should be on their honeymoon period however one is overly flirtatious and the metaphor â€Å"pants is full of ants† shows the others paranoid over her, this gives us the sense something’s not right with their relationship. S teinbeck exaggerates the use of the phrase â€Å"the eye† to mirror the fact she repeatedly flirts with the men in search of attention.Steinbeck describes her negatively when he refers to her as a â€Å"tart† when Candy says â€Å"well i think Curleys married†¦ a tart†, the ellipsis shows Candy’s unsure whether he should refer to her in such an insulting manner but he chooses to anyway. The conversation prejudices Curleys wife before we even meet her and the fact George thinks she will be trouble prepares the reader for future events. Steinbeck uses his description of Curleys wife carefully to give us a certain first impression on her before finding out more about her. The escription starts with â€Å"the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off†, the light being cut off could be foreshadowing her being the obstacle that would eventually ruin George and Lennies hopes and dreams. Steinbeck then calls her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman implying her youth and vulnerability, he continues keeps her unnamed to uphold the prejudice women faced in the 1930’s and to show the oppressive misogyny posed against her and how she is only seen through her relation to Curley and is ultimately a possession of his, unworthy of a unique identity.Steinbeck also claims she was â€Å"looking in† showing her as an outsider who doesn’t really fit in and when she does look in, it’s to see something she hopes to have in the future, friendship. When Steinbeck starts to describe her appearance he starts with â€Å"she had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up† this makes us realise she hides her face with makeup showing her self-consciousness and gives the impression she is trying to look older however it’s not working by her previously being referred to as a â€Å"girl†.Steinbeck repeats the word red when he says â€Å"her fingernails were red† and then †Å"red ostrich feathers†, the noun red has many meanings for example, love but it also means danger and stop. This could again be showing signs of what the future could hold for her and how her desire for love becomes a great danger when leading to her death. Her facial features are a great contrast to her â€Å"nasal, brittle† voice that implies she’s about to break.Curleys wife is provocative with her body language as she is described to have â€Å"put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward† and â€Å"she looked at her fingernails†, she is very conscious of the affect she has on men and uses this to her advantage however her inappropriate clothes and her behavior I think are designed to provoke interest and attention rather than to invite intimacy, we later learn this is because of her loneliness in her marriage to Curley.Her loneliness is clear by her constant asking of the whereabouts of Cu rley proving she is just looking for an excuse to continue her conversation with the ranch workers. The perceptions we make of Curley's wife are corrupted from the views of the ranch hands. Because sexuality is her only weapon she is referred to by George as ‘jailbait' and ‘ a tart' ‘Jesus what a tramp. ‘ George has reason to be weary of her presence especially with Lenny around and the incident in Weed. Listen to me you crazy bastard†¦ Don't you even look at that bitch. He is concerned about Lennie safety because he knows he won’t be able to resist her. The next time Steinbeck presents Curleys wife is in her conversation with Lennie, Candy and Crooks. In this extract we see how Curleys wife clearly enjoys having power over others and because she is the only girl on the ranch she is prone to discrimination by being made to feel like one of Curleys possessions.We first get this impression when she refers to them as â€Å" a bunch of bindle stiffs – a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep†, Curleys wife wouldn’t dare say these insults to anyone else but she would to these three men purely because one is older, one is mentally challenged and the other is a black man who in the 1930’s faced larger discrimination than girls. However her vulnerability is still shown when she asks â€Å"whatta ya think I am, a kid? †.The use of this rhetorical question makes us remember how she doesn’t want to be thought of as a little kid linking Back to when Steinbeck repeatedly called her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman giving us the impression that even she realises how lowly she is thought of in the ranch so Steinbeck makes her speak â€Å"contemptuously† to show how she thinks they are beneath her. This scene adds to making the reader dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. Steinbeck lets us learn more about Curleys wife in the final scene be fore her death.Here we learn that she too has her own dream just like all the other men on the ranch, her dream was to become a movie star in Hollywood and here we also see a completely different side to her initial flirtatious character we originally meet. Curleys wife’s naivety is demonstrable in her approach and attitude towards her dream. â€Å"I coulda made something of myself† she refuses to accept that her dream had a very little chance of coming true, when she says â€Å"maybe I will yet† she uses her dream as an escape from her loveless marriage and pitiful life; she is deluded that her dream will be realised and clings to the hope of a better life.Curleys wife also blames others for the breakdown of her dream, especially her mother, â€Å"My ol’ lady wouldn’t let me†¦. if I’d went I wouldn’t be livin’ like this you bet† she is using her mother as a scapegoat for the failure of her dream, and her current si tuation. Therefore by marrying Curley, she has managed to escape her mother who she feels is responsible for preventing her from achieving her dream of being a movie star. â€Å"an I coulda sat in them big hotels†, Curleys wife’s dream revolves on what could have been, she yearns for luxuries and attention,.Like the men she desires friendship, but her dream is more materialistic; she seeks the attention she feels she deserves. When Curleys wife is telling Lennie about her dream, Steinbeck states that â€Å"Her words tumbled out in passion of communication as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away† This links to her desperation for someone to talk to and how she yearns for some sort of interaction. Curleys wife dream makes her more vulnerable and human. Steinbeck recreates this impression by portraying her innocence in death.Steinbeck uses very specific language when describing how Curleys wife was murdered by Lennie. In this extract we see ho w she underestimated Lennie’s great strength and this is proven when she says â€Å"Jus’ like a big baby†, we as readers know he is capable of murder and we know he is anything but a big baby adding to the tension. Steinbeck does give us a moment of hope when he remembers his Aunt Clara who he has occasionally forgotten, this gives us hope that he will remember Georges warnings on Curleys wife but this isn’t the case.Curleys wife invites Lennie to feel her hair after hearing about his love of stroking soft things and she soon realises her mistake when she goes â€Å"Don’t you muss it up† and when Lennie refuses to let go she cries â€Å"let go† â€Å"you let go† the use of these short sentences lets us realise her panic. Steinbeck declares how she â€Å"writhed to be free† this could really mean how she ached to be free of the ranch and of Curley.Then when he adds how â€Å"her hoarse cry came out† it creates a ma jor contrast to when she wasn’t heard by the men and when her voice is needed the most she is being stifled. He even mentions how her â€Å"eyes were wild with terror†, they aren’t being described with being heavily made up. When Curleys wife is killed Steinbeck ensures the readers sympathy for Lennie is maintained. The reader sees the killing as an inevitable consequence of Lennie’s bear-like strength and Curleys wife’s desire for attention.The use of the simile â€Å"and he shook her and her body flopped like a fish† creates an unsympathetic image, further emphasised with the alliterative â€Å"f†, as we tend not to feel sorry for dying fish in the way we may for a different animal. The sympathy the reader may feel for Curleys wife is weakened with â€Å"and she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck† as this seems harsh. This tone reminds the reader that Lennie would not have wanted to break her neck it was just something that happened so, even though he has committed a terrible act, the reader does not fully blame Lennie.The repetition of the natural imagery, including the clear link to the animalistic imagery when Curleys hand was crushed as he â€Å"flopped like a fish on a line†, both links Curley and his wife as the enemy, but also reminds the reader of Lennie’s early description as a bear, reiterated with his â€Å"paw†-like hands throughout the novel. Because of this, it seems clear that this was both inevitable and natural as bears do kill fish, and Steinbeck could be highlighting the predatory nature of the world; it could also suggest that Steinbeck was trying to show the constancy of the natural world and Lennie is just another victim in this world.However when Curleys wife is dead Steinbeck seems to show her the respect she deserves as his description of Curleys wife after her death is evidently more complimentary than previous occasions. He starts by saying â€Å"T he meanness and the planning and the discontent and the aches for attention was all gone from her face† this straight away lets us realise that only from her death we see the other side to her, the side that was unhappy with her marriage and her life, her incomplete dream and the constant craving for a companion and all this because of her death simply disappears.Steinbeck also uses words such as â€Å"sweet and young† to project Curleys wife more positively as a pretty, young woman, free of all mean qualities. This contrasts to the other times he referred to her as a â€Å"girl† because this time he is reflecting her purity rather than her childlike features. When he says â€Å"Now her rouged lips and her reddened cheeks made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly† it shows us what her life could have been like if she were to have completed it to its full potential. The way Steinbeck portrays her now is a lot more poetic showing his respect.In my conclu sion I think Steinbeck manages to portray two sides to Curleys Wife in the book Of Mice and Men. The first side is the misunderstood girl who isn’t trusted and her need for company and a friend is mistaken for a flirtatious troublemaker. However at the end of the novel Steinbeck makes her intentions clear and shares her dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star giving the readers the chance to see the vulnerable side of her, the one that shows her as not wanting but needing somebody to talk to.The need for such things is what caused her death. Lennie was keeping her company and she needed this so much that she was willing to let him harm her, and in this case kill her. Steinbeck also shows her differently in death as well. He gives Curleys wife respect and describes her as being beautiful and majorly contrasts the provocative way he did beforehand. How Does Steinbeck Present the Character of Curleys Wife How does Steinbeck present the character of Curleys Wife? In this essay I am going to be assessing the character Curleys Wife from Steinbeck’s book Of Mice And Men. The book is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression it features two farm workers called George and Lennie. The travel around together in search of work sharing a dream of a place of their own, a small ranch where they can live and work for themselves. It tells the story of how violence may erupt to destroy those dreams.Curleys wife is a character in the book who from the brief encounters with her is presented in two ways. Firstly the dangerous, flirtatious character who isn’t trusted by the rest of the ranch workers but then later one we realize how she is just a victim of loneliness with her being the only girl on the ranch and how she too has an incomplete American Dream to pursue an acting career. Curleys wife is a very important character and is heavily involved in the outcome of the story when Geor ge ends up shooting Lennie however there is the question of her innocence.Before we meet Curleys wife, Steinbeck deliberately gives us a first impression of her to let us know their honest views on her with Candy and Georges conversation. Candy starts by saying â€Å"Wait’ll you see Curleys wife. †, this makes us anticipated of her and gives us an expectation of what is going to be said about her. During the conversation the only positive thing said was that she was â€Å"purty†. She is portrayed as being flirty and not satisfied with her husband when Candy claims â€Å"Married two weeks and got the eye?Maybe that’s why Curleys pants is full of ants. † This makes the reader think because if they were newlywed they should be on their honeymoon period however one is overly flirtatious and the metaphor â€Å"pants is full of ants† shows the others paranoid over her, this gives us the sense something’s not right with their relationship. S teinbeck exaggerates the use of the phrase â€Å"the eye† to mirror the fact she repeatedly flirts with the men in search of attention.Steinbeck describes her negatively when he refers to her as a â€Å"tart† when Candy says â€Å"well i think Curleys married†¦ a tart†, the ellipsis shows Candy’s unsure whether he should refer to her in such an insulting manner but he chooses to anyway. The conversation prejudices Curleys wife before we even meet her and the fact George thinks she will be trouble prepares the reader for future events. Steinbeck uses his description of Curleys wife carefully to give us a certain first impression on her before finding out more about her. The escription starts with â€Å"the rectangle of sunshine in the doorway was cut off†, the light being cut off could be foreshadowing her being the obstacle that would eventually ruin George and Lennies hopes and dreams. Steinbeck then calls her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman implying her youth and vulnerability, he continues keeps her unnamed to uphold the prejudice women faced in the 1930’s and to show the oppressive misogyny posed against her and how she is only seen through her relation to Curley and is ultimately a possession of his, unworthy of a unique identity.Steinbeck also claims she was â€Å"looking in† showing her as an outsider who doesn’t really fit in and when she does look in, it’s to see something she hopes to have in the future, friendship. When Steinbeck starts to describe her appearance he starts with â€Å"she had full rouged lips and wide spaced eyes, heavily made up† this makes us realise she hides her face with makeup showing her self-consciousness and gives the impression she is trying to look older however it’s not working by her previously being referred to as a â€Å"girl†.Steinbeck repeats the word red when he says â€Å"her fingernails were red† and then †Å"red ostrich feathers†, the noun red has many meanings for example, love but it also means danger and stop. This could again be showing signs of what the future could hold for her and how her desire for love becomes a great danger when leading to her death. Her facial features are a great contrast to her â€Å"nasal, brittle† voice that implies she’s about to break.Curleys wife is provocative with her body language as she is described to have â€Å"put her hands behind her back and leaned against the door frame so that her body was thrown forward† and â€Å"she looked at her fingernails†, she is very conscious of the affect she has on men and uses this to her advantage however her inappropriate clothes and her behavior I think are designed to provoke interest and attention rather than to invite intimacy, we later learn this is because of her loneliness in her marriage to Curley.Her loneliness is clear by her constant asking of the whereabouts of Cu rley proving she is just looking for an excuse to continue her conversation with the ranch workers. The perceptions we make of Curley's wife are corrupted from the views of the ranch hands. Because sexuality is her only weapon she is referred to by George as ‘jailbait' and ‘ a tart' ‘Jesus what a tramp. ‘ George has reason to be weary of her presence especially with Lenny around and the incident in Weed. Listen to me you crazy bastard†¦ Don't you even look at that bitch. He is concerned about Lennie safety because he knows he won’t be able to resist her. The next time Steinbeck presents Curleys wife is in her conversation with Lennie, Candy and Crooks. In this extract we see how Curleys wife clearly enjoys having power over others and because she is the only girl on the ranch she is prone to discrimination by being made to feel like one of Curleys possessions.We first get this impression when she refers to them as â€Å" a bunch of bindle stiffs – a nigger an’ a dum-dum and a lousy ol’ sheep†, Curleys wife wouldn’t dare say these insults to anyone else but she would to these three men purely because one is older, one is mentally challenged and the other is a black man who in the 1930’s faced larger discrimination than girls. However her vulnerability is still shown when she asks â€Å"whatta ya think I am, a kid? †.The use of this rhetorical question makes us remember how she doesn’t want to be thought of as a little kid linking Back to when Steinbeck repeatedly called her a â€Å"girl† rather than a woman giving us the impression that even she realises how lowly she is thought of in the ranch so Steinbeck makes her speak â€Å"contemptuously† to show how she thinks they are beneath her. This scene adds to making the reader dislike her and see her as the downfall of the men in the story. Steinbeck lets us learn more about Curleys wife in the final scene be fore her death.Here we learn that she too has her own dream just like all the other men on the ranch, her dream was to become a movie star in Hollywood and here we also see a completely different side to her initial flirtatious character we originally meet. Curleys wife’s naivety is demonstrable in her approach and attitude towards her dream. â€Å"I coulda made something of myself† she refuses to accept that her dream had a very little chance of coming true, when she says â€Å"maybe I will yet† she uses her dream as an escape from her loveless marriage and pitiful life; she is deluded that her dream will be realised and clings to the hope of a better life.Curleys wife also blames others for the breakdown of her dream, especially her mother, â€Å"My ol’ lady wouldn’t let me†¦. if I’d went I wouldn’t be livin’ like this you bet† she is using her mother as a scapegoat for the failure of her dream, and her current si tuation. Therefore by marrying Curley, she has managed to escape her mother who she feels is responsible for preventing her from achieving her dream of being a movie star. â€Å"an I coulda sat in them big hotels†, Curleys wife’s dream revolves on what could have been, she yearns for luxuries and attention,.Like the men she desires friendship, but her dream is more materialistic; she seeks the attention she feels she deserves. When Curleys wife is telling Lennie about her dream, Steinbeck states that â€Å"Her words tumbled out in passion of communication as though she hurried before her listener could be taken away† This links to her desperation for someone to talk to and how she yearns for some sort of interaction. Curleys wife dream makes her more vulnerable and human. Steinbeck recreates this impression by portraying her innocence in death.Steinbeck uses very specific language when describing how Curleys wife was murdered by Lennie. In this extract we see ho w she underestimated Lennie’s great strength and this is proven when she says â€Å"Jus’ like a big baby†, we as readers know he is capable of murder and we know he is anything but a big baby adding to the tension. Steinbeck does give us a moment of hope when he remembers his Aunt Clara who he has occasionally forgotten, this gives us hope that he will remember Georges warnings on Curleys wife but this isn’t the case.Curleys wife invites Lennie to feel her hair after hearing about his love of stroking soft things and she soon realises her mistake when she goes â€Å"Don’t you muss it up† and when Lennie refuses to let go she cries â€Å"let go† â€Å"you let go† the use of these short sentences lets us realise her panic. Steinbeck declares how she â€Å"writhed to be free† this could really mean how she ached to be free of the ranch and of Curley.Then when he adds how â€Å"her hoarse cry came out† it creates a ma jor contrast to when she wasn’t heard by the men and when her voice is needed the most she is being stifled. He even mentions how her â€Å"eyes were wild with terror†, they aren’t being described with being heavily made up. When Curleys wife is killed Steinbeck ensures the readers sympathy for Lennie is maintained. The reader sees the killing as an inevitable consequence of Lennie’s bear-like strength and Curleys wife’s desire for attention.The use of the simile â€Å"and he shook her and her body flopped like a fish† creates an unsympathetic image, further emphasised with the alliterative â€Å"f†, as we tend not to feel sorry for dying fish in the way we may for a different animal. The sympathy the reader may feel for Curleys wife is weakened with â€Å"and she was still, for Lennie had broken her neck† as this seems harsh. This tone reminds the reader that Lennie would not have wanted to break her neck it was just something that happened so, even though he has committed a terrible act, the reader does not fully blame Lennie.The repetition of the natural imagery, including the clear link to the animalistic imagery when Curleys hand was crushed as he â€Å"flopped like a fish on a line†, both links Curley and his wife as the enemy, but also reminds the reader of Lennie’s early description as a bear, reiterated with his â€Å"paw†-like hands throughout the novel. Because of this, it seems clear that this was both inevitable and natural as bears do kill fish, and Steinbeck could be highlighting the predatory nature of the world; it could also suggest that Steinbeck was trying to show the constancy of the natural world and Lennie is just another victim in this world.However when Curleys wife is dead Steinbeck seems to show her the respect she deserves as his description of Curleys wife after her death is evidently more complimentary than previous occasions. He starts by saying â€Å"T he meanness and the planning and the discontent and the aches for attention was all gone from her face† this straight away lets us realise that only from her death we see the other side to her, the side that was unhappy with her marriage and her life, her incomplete dream and the constant craving for a companion and all this because of her death simply disappears.Steinbeck also uses words such as â€Å"sweet and young† to project Curleys wife more positively as a pretty, young woman, free of all mean qualities. This contrasts to the other times he referred to her as a â€Å"girl† because this time he is reflecting her purity rather than her childlike features. When he says â€Å"Now her rouged lips and her reddened cheeks made her seem alive and sleeping very lightly† it shows us what her life could have been like if she were to have completed it to its full potential. The way Steinbeck portrays her now is a lot more poetic showing his respect.In my conclu sion I think Steinbeck manages to portray two sides to Curleys Wife in the book Of Mice and Men. The first side is the misunderstood girl who isn’t trusted and her need for company and a friend is mistaken for a flirtatious troublemaker. However at the end of the novel Steinbeck makes her intentions clear and shares her dream of becoming a Hollywood movie star giving the readers the chance to see the vulnerable side of her, the one that shows her as not wanting but needing somebody to talk to.The need for such things is what caused her death. Lennie was keeping her company and she needed this so much that she was willing to let him harm her, and in this case kill her. Steinbeck also shows her differently in death as well. He gives Curleys wife respect and describes her as being beautiful and majorly contrasts the provocative way he did beforehand.

Murderous Redemption in Flannery OConnors Short Story A Good Man is Hard To Find essays

Murderous Redemption in Flannery OConnors Short Story A Good Man is Hard To Find essays Flannery OConnors short story entitled A Good Man is Hard to Find tells the story of a rather unpleasant typical American family who meets their demise at the hands of a so-called Misfit or outlaw figure. The Misfit is clearly interested in religion, like many renegades. Before he enacts his revenge upon society, he speculates upon the morality of Jesus and the injustice of his previous confinement. This grotesque faith is not seen as hypocritical in the context of the tale, as it might in the eyes of another author. Rather OConnor sees The Misfit as injecting spirituality into an otherwise morally bankrupt clan through the example he presents of thwarted spiritual longing and the injustice of modern, secular America. Before The Misfit turns against the family, the grandmother seems to apprehend, however reluctantly, some goodness in the heart of The Misfit. Listen, the grandmother tells him, you shouldnt call yourself The Misfit because I know youre a good man at heart. I can just look at you and tell. (OConnor, 1955, p. 15) The grandmother learns from speaking to the man who will eventually murder her that The Misfit believes he was poorly treated by society during his early life, which is why he is determined to enact his revenge upon the world. Why youre one of my babies. Youre one of my own children, says the grandmother. (OConnor, 1955, p.21) OConnor seems to suggest that, as difficult as it may be to connect with other individuals, from other walks of life, right before death some spiritual insight or connection does become possible, even between individuals as different as The Misfit and the grandmother. This is what OConnor means when The Misfit speaks the grandmothers epitaph to his less astute accomplice after he has murdered the family: She would have been a good woman...if it had been someb...

Geography of the Countries of Africa

Geography of the Countries of Africa The continent of Africa is the worlds second-largest based on land area and population just after Asia. It has a population of around one billion people (as of 2009) and covers 20.4% of the Earths land area. Africa is bordered by the  Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and the Suez Canal to the northeast, the Indian Ocean to the southeast and the Atlantic Ocean to the west.Africa is known for its biodiversity, varied topography, culture, and varied climate. The continent straddles the equator and encompasses the entire tropical band. Africas northern and southernmost countries also stretch out of the tropics (from 0 ° to 23.5 ° N and S latitude) and into the northern and southern temperate latitudes (latitudes above the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn).As the worlds second-largest continent, Africa is divided into 53 officially recognized countries. The following is a list of Africas countries ordered by land area. For reference, the countrys population and capital cit y have also been included. 1) SudanArea: 967,500 square miles (2,505,813 sq km)Population: 39,154,490Capital: Khartoum2) AlgeriaArea: 919,594 square miles (2,381,740 sq km)Population: 33,333,216Capital: Algiers3) Democratic Republic of the CongoArea: 905,355 square miles (2,344,858 sq km)Population: 63,655,000Capital: Kinshasa4) LibyaArea: 679,362 square miles (1,759,540 sq km)Population: 6,036,914Capital: Tripoli5) ChadArea: 495,755 square miles (1,284,000 sq km)Population: 10,146,000Capital: NDjamena6) NigerArea: 489,191 square miles (1,267,000 sq km)Population: 13,957,000Capital: Niamey7) AngolaArea: 481,353 square miles (1,246,700 sq km)Population: 15,941,000Capital: Luanda8) MaliArea: 478,840 square miles (1,240,192 sq km)Population: 13,518,000Capital: Bamako9) South AfricaArea: 471,455 square miles (1,221,037 sq km)Population: 47,432,000Capital: Pretoria10) EthiopiaArea: 426,372 square miles (1,104,300 sq km)Population: 85,237,338Capital: Addis Ababa11) MauritaniaArea: 396,955 square miles (1,030,700 sq km)Population: 3,069,000Capital: Nouakchott12) EgyptArea: 386,661 square miles (1,001,449 sq km)Population: 80,335,036Capital: Cairo13) TanzaniaArea: 364,900 square miles (945,087 sq km)Population: 37,849,133Capital: Dodoma14) NigeriaArea: 356,668 square miles (923,768 sq km)Population: 154,729,000Capital: Abuja15) NamibiaArea: 318,695 square miles (825,418 sq km)Population: 2,031,000Capital: Windhoek16) MozambiqueArea: 309,495 square miles (801,590 sq km)Population: 20,366,795Capital: Maputo17) ZambiaArea: 290,585 square miles (752,614 sq km)Population: 14,668,000Capital: Lusaka18) SomaliaArea: 246,200 square miles (637,657 sq km)Population: 9,832,017Capital: Mogadishu19) Central African RepublicArea: 240,535 square miles (622,984 sq km)Population: 4,216,666Capital: Bangui20) MadagascarArea: 226,658 square miles (587,041 sq km)Population: 18,606,000Capital: Antananarivo21) BotswanaArea: 224,340 square miles (581,041 sq km)Population: 1,839,833Capital: Gaborone22) KenyaArea: 224,080 square miles (580,367 sq km)Population: 34,707,817Capital: Nairobi23) CameroonArea: 183,569 square miles (475,442 sq km)Population: 17,795,000Capital: Yaoundà ©24) MoroccoArea: 172,414 square miles (446,550 sq km)Population: 33,757,175Capital: Rabat25) ZimbabweArea: 150,872 square miles (390,757 sq km)Population: 13,010,000Capital: Harare 26) Republic of the CongoArea: 132,046 square miles (342,000 sq km)Population: 4,012,809Capital: Brazzaville27) Cà ´te dIvoireArea: 124,502 square miles (322,460 sq km)Population: 17,654,843Capital: Yamoussoukro28) Burkina FasoArea: 105,792 square miles (274,000 sq km)Population: 13,228,000Capital: Ouagadougou29) GabonArea: 103,347 square miles (267,668 sq km)Population, 1,387,000Capital: Libreville30) GuineaArea: 94,925 square miles (245,857 sq km)Population: 9,402,000Capital: Conakry31)  GhanaArea: 92,098 square miles (238,534 sq km)Population: 23,000,000Capital: Accra32) UgandaArea: 91,135 square miles (236,040 sq km)Population: 27,616,000Capital: Kampala33) SenegalArea: 75,955 square miles (196,723 sq km)Population: 11,658,000Capital: Dakar34) TunisiaArea: 63,170 square miles (163,610 sq km)Population: 10,102,000Capital: Tunis35) MalawiArea: 45,746 square miles (118,484 sq km)Population: 12,884,000Capital: Lilongwe36) EritreaArea: 45,405 square miles (117,600 sq km)Population: 4,401,000Capital: Asmara37) BeninArea: 43,484 square miles (112,622 sq km)Population: 8,439,000Capital: Porto Novo38) LiberiaArea: 43,000 square miles (111,369 sq km)Population: 3,283,000Capital: Monrovia39) Sierra LeoneArea: 27,699 square miles (71,740 sq km)Population: 6,144,562Capital: Freetown40) TogoArea: 21,925 square miles (56,785 sq km)Population: 6,100,000Capital: Lomà ©41) Guinea-BissauArea: 13,948 square miles (36,125 sq km)Population: 1,586,000Capital: Bissau42) LesothoArea: 11,720 square miles (30,355 sq km)Population: 1,795,000Capital: Maseru43) Equatorial GuineaArea: 10,830 square miles (28,051 sq km)Population: 504,000Capital: Malabo44) BurundiArea: 10,745 square miles (27,830 sq km)Population: 7,548,000Capital: Gitega (changed from Bujumbura in December 2018)45) RwandaArea: 10,346 square miles (26,798 sq km)Population: 7,600,000Capital: Kigali46) DjiboutiArea: 8,957 square miles (23,200 sq km)Population: 496,374Capital: Djibouti47) SwazilandArea: 6,704 square mile s (17,364 sq km)Population: 1,032,000Capital: Lobamba and Mbabane48) GambiaArea: 4,007 square miles (10,380 sq km)Population: 1,517,000Capital: Banjul49) Cape VerdeArea: 1,557 square miles (4,033 sq km)Population: 420,979Capital: Praia50) ComorosArea: 863 square miles (2,235 sq km)Population: 798,000Capital: Moroni51) MauritiusArea: 787 square miles (2,040 sq km)Population: 1,219,220Capital: Port Louis52) So Tomà © and Prà ­ncipeArea: 380 square miles (984 sq km)Population: 157,000Capital: So Tomà ©53) SeychellesArea: 175 square miles (455 sq km)Population: 88,340Capital: Victoria References Wikipedia. (2010, June 8).  Africa- Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Africa Wikipedia. (2010, June 12).  List of African Countries and Territories- Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_African_countries_and_territories

Case study assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Case study assignment - Essay Example The Tokyo management concept could not be successful because the French population was not as open to the American ideas as was the Japanese audiences, very exited to see the American Disneyland experience no matter what it cost. Financial losses compelled management to charge high rates of rooms rent and food served. The management found flaws in the European perspective of market financing while comparing it with the US market financing. Later, management revised the marketing plan for Disney by implementing strategic and tactic changes at the right time. Changes were made to adapt to the French culture by allowing wine andentry of pets in the Disneyland. The French characters like Zorro, Mary Poppins, and Alladin were casted in advertisements along with celebration of Donald Duck’s birthday to position EuroDisney on the top of the European destinations for short time visits. The new French CEO changed marketing tactics by capturing local markets based on different touristsà ¢â‚¬â„¢ habits. Advertisements and packages were structured according to the city marketing trends. Park admission rates were reduced by 20% and room rents by 30% with special promotions for the winter season. The name of the park was changed to Disneyland Paris (Case Study). Taking a lesson from its experiences of Tokyo Disney management, the Hong Kong Disneyland marketing strategy was made keeping mainly the Asian audiences in view. Local cultural traditions were particularly taken care not to antagonize the feelings of public as it happened in the case of Tokyo Disneyland. The American experience matched only in the matter of admission fee, which was marginally more affordable and similar to the Disney’s US parks in California and Florida than to the fees in Tokyo and Paris (Asia Times 2005). According to Roy Tan Hardy, vice president of marketing and sales of Hong Kong Disneyland, regarding park’s attractions â€Å"We carried out extensive, in-depth consumer insight

Homework assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Homework - Assignment Example Plate, the Pacific Plate, the Caroune Plate. The North American and Pacific plates are sliding apart and past each other, Pacific moving left and North American moving right. The Juan de Fuca Plate is sliding underneath the North American Plate, and melting (Watson, 1997). There are no active volcanoes in the Eastern US because there are presently no active plate boundaries (no shifting and sliding tension). There is, however, evidence that this was not always the case, and that conditions used to yield volcanic activity, but it was long ago (Watson, 1997). Mt. Ranier is an active volcano, which has erupted severely, many times over many centuries. It last erupted in 19894-95 and is resting, at the moment, but this temporary situation lulls people into feeling safe when, in fact, they are not safe. Someday it will no doubt erupt again (Driedger & Scott, 2008). This will cause snow and ice to melt, which picks up mud and a lot of destructive force, or large landslides can occur and act in a similar manner. These are called lahars, and they act like a rapidly oncoming, thick wall of concrete. Enough force can carry it all the way to Puget Sound, so many people along the way can be damaged, since there are densely populated areas along the way. Infrastructure would also be destroyed (Driedger & Scott, 2008). The anytime-now probability of lahars from Mt. Ranier activating is actually a very strong and serious risk. About 80,000 people, their homes, businesses, roads, bridges, etc. would be affected. Ashes from the volcano can be dangerous for aircraft visibility and respiratory risk. Utility and transportation systems can be impacted, and it can be rather costly to clean up. One of the most dangerous aspects is that there would likely be no warning, or insufficient warning to prevent mass death and damage

Based on recent events, discuss whether the stock markets are Essay

Based on recent events, discuss whether the stock markets are efficient according to the EMH - Essay Example Whether the market is efficient or not remains a debatable topic among the stock market investors. Secondly, according to this hypothesis, a single investor is never able to get higher profitability than another investor by investing the same amount of fund. Lastly, EMH asserts that no investor would be able to surpass the average annual returns that all the funds and investors are able to achieve cumulatively. Discussion A competitive information market would allow private gains from producing private information, and tests of competition would require estimates of the cost of private information production. According to the efficient market hypothesis, stock market participants tend to form rational expectations of the future in the aggregate by comprehending all the information available in the market. Assuming the stock market efficiently discounts the rational expectations of investors, the prices of stocks accurately reflect an assessment of the intrinsic value based upon the r elevant information available (Gorda, 2005, p. 234). Thus, only the unexpected new information is likely to affect a movement in stock prices. A close look at stock prices sometimes reveals day-of-the-week effects wherein stock prices tend to rise on Mondays and fall on Fridays; time-of-the-year effects wherein stock prices tend to rise in January; and small firm effects wherein the prices of small firms’ stocks may rise by a more difference than those of large companies. But there is no evidence that an average market investor can follow these effects to earn super normal profits after the transaction costs are considered (Forbes, 2013). According to Fama (1970, p. 72), an efficient market is one in which the prices are always reflective of the information available, and the sufficient conditions for a market to be efficient are: the information is available without cost to all the market participants; there are no transaction costs involved in trading of securities; and all market participants agree on the implications of the current information. In practice, the information generated in the market has a significant effect on the stock prices of related companies. For example, after Microsoft announced that it would acquire Nokia, the share prices of Nokia almost doubled, increasing its value to about 22 billion Euros. Also, as a series of lawsuits occurred between Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics over the design of smartphones and tablets, the share prices of both companies declined in the stock market. The stock market has been inefficient in recent times because of the substantial frictions that the market has been experiencing (Beechey, 2000, p. 57). Efficient market is not likely to exist even when there is complete absence of frictions and irrationality in the market. The central bank plays an appropriate role in the intervention in the financial markets with the objective of stabilising the asset prices. The market shows patterns of inefficie ncy due to the financial instability majorly driven by human myopia and imperfect rationality. The market does not show such quick adjustment to the receipt of new information as is stated in the efficient market hypothesis. The market is not efficient considering that the stocks with lower price to earnings ratios have higher risk adjusted returns than the stocks with higher price

Marketing Promotes Product Awareness To The Public Marketing Essay

Marketing Promotes Product Awareness To The Public Marketing Essay Managers face an endless challenge to create unique strategies that will enable them provide positional advantage in an effort to achieve superior financial or customer performance. A companys pecuniary success largely depends upon prudent marketing efforts along with financial, operational, accounting and other business functions. Piercy (1992) identi ¬Ã‚ es marketing as focusing on strategies concerning the critical decision of market de ¬Ã‚ nition and market segmentation as well as the identi ¬Ã‚ cation of potential bases for differentiation. Sometimes, people ask why marketing is important in the financial success of a company. The answer to this question is, assume you have a product to offer with excellent features, best quality and amazing packaging but no one knows about your product? There will be no demand in the market for your it, the company will make no sale and eventually no profit. Here comes the importance of marketing. The most important function of marketing, along with others, is to create awareness about products/services and make loyal customers. Through marketing customers get an opportunity to know what you are offering them and you get the opportunity to convince them to buy your products/services. The overall marketing umbrella covers advertising, public relations, promotions and sales. Marketing is a process by which a product or service is introduced and promoted to potential customers. Without marketing, your business may offer the best products or services in your industry, but none of your potential customers would know about it. Without marketing, sales may crash and companies may have to close. Production and distribution depend largely on marketing. Many people think that sales and marketing are basically the same. These two concepts are different in many aspects. Marketing covers advertising, promotions, public relations, and sales. It is the process of introducing and promoting the product or service into the market and encourages sales from the buying public. Sales refer to the act of buying or the actual transaction of customers purchasing the product or service. Some important reasons why marketing is important include: Getting the Word Out For a business to succeed, the product or service it provides must be known to potential buyers. Unless your business is known in the community and communication with your customers is readily available, you have to use marketing strategies to create product or service awareness. Without marketing, your potential customers may never be aware of your business offerings and your business may not be given the opportunity to progress and succeed. Using marketing to promote your product, service and company provides your business with a chance of being discovered by prospective customers. Higher Sales Once your product, service or company gets on the radar screen of your prospects, it increases your chances that consumers will make a purchase. As awareness becomes a reality, it is also the point where new customers start to spread the word, telling friends and family about this amazing new product they discovered. Your sales will steadily increase as the word spreads. Without employing marketing strategies, these sales may not have ever happened; without sales, a company cannot succeed. Company Reputation The success of a company often rests on a solid reputation. Marketing builds brand name recognition or product recall with a company. When a company reaches the high expectations of the public, its reputation stands on firmer ground. As your reputation grows, the business expands and sales increase. The reputation of your company is built through active participation in community programs, effective communication (externally and internally) and quality products or services, which are created or supported by marketing efforts. Healthy Competition Marketing also fosters an environment in the marketplace for healthy competition. Marketing efforts increases awareness and gets the word out on pricing of products and services, which not only reaches the intended consumers, but also reaches other companies competing for the consumers business. As opposed to companies that have a monopoly on products and services that can charge almost any price, marketing helps keep pricing competitive for a business to try to win over consumers before its competition does. Without competition, well known companies would continue to sell while lesser known companies or new companies would stand little chance of ever becoming successful. Marketing facilitates the healthy competition that allows small businesses and new businesses to be successful, enter and grow in the marketplace. As there is high competition in the market and you are not the only one to offer that product, certain issues need to be considered, issues like; how is this product diff erent from that of competitors? What do I have better to offer than my competitor? And why should a customer buy my product rather than my competitors? All this is achieved through intelligent marketing campaign and is self-evident of the significance of marketing. It enables an organization to capture maximum market share, make a big brand name, make loyal customers and retain them. Marketing Promotes Product Awareness to the Public It has already been mentioned in the previous paragraph that getting the product or service recognized by the market is the primary goal of marketing. No business possibly ever thought of just letting the people find out about the business themselves, unless you have already established a reputation in the industry. But if you are a start-out or an average company, the only means to be made known is to advertise and promote. Your business may be spending quite a lot on advertising and promotional  programs but the important thing at the end of the day is that product and company information is disseminated to the buying public, they get interested and purchase it and as a result increasing sales and revenue for the company. Various types of marketing approaches can be utilized by an organization. All forms of marketing promotes product awareness to the market at large. Offline and online marketing make it possible for the people to be educated with the various products and services that they can take advantage of. A company must invest in marketing so as not to miss the opportunity of being discovered by potential consumers. If expense is to be considered, there are cost-effective marketing techniques a company can embark on such as pay-per-click ads and blogging. Marketing Helps Boost Product Sales Apart from public awareness about a companys products and services, marketing helps boost sales and revenue growth. Whatever your business is selling, it will generate sales once the public learns about your product through TV advertisements, radio commercials, newspaper ads, online ads, and other forms of marketing. The more people hear and see more of your product, the more likely it would be for them to want to try it. Its this basic principle that makes firms spend millions on marketing activities. If your company aims to increase the sales percentage and double the production, the marketing department must be able to come up with effective and strategic marketing plans. Marketing Builds Company Reputation In order to conquer the general market, marketers aim to create a brand name recognition or product recall. This is a technique for the consumers to easily associate the brand name with the images, logo, or caption that they hear and see in the advertisements. For example, McDonalds is known for its arch design which attracts people and identifies the image as McDonalds. For some companies, building a reputation to the public may take time but there are those who easily attract the people. With an established name in the industry, a business continues to grow and expand because more and more customers will purchase the products or take advantage of the services from a reputable company. Advertising Marketing plays a very essential role in the success of a company. It educates people on the latest market trends, helps boost a companys sales and profit, and develops company reputation. But marketers must be creative and wise enough to promote their products with the proper marketing tactics. Although marketing is important, if it is not conducted and researched well, the company might just be wasting on expenses and time on a failed marketing approach. Hobb (2012) stated that; for entrepreneurs who aim to bring new and innovative products to market, the acquisition of customer and competitor information is an early activity that could bring about future opportunities. Hence, it could lead to a more effective organization of the founding process and, therefore to a higher probability of success. Therefore, through marketing, a can manager discover new opportunities for business expansion and growth. The successful execution of such new opportunities brought to light through marketing depends essentially on the acquisition of information. Collecting information from customers and/or about potential competitors is necessary to derive practicable contingencies or strategic planning and to revise and adapt marketing plans. Hobb (journal of strategic marketing ) quoting Gruber (2007) further points out the value of marketing planning for new venture development and highlights the role of information sources in developing marketing plans. As a result of information from customers, managers are able to revise previous plans and create a yardstick for new projects. Accurate information is neededto tailor the marketing mix to other potential customers. When information is collected through marketing, managers and executives are more able to fully realize the potential of the corresponding marketing activities. Acquiring customer and competitor information could in ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡uence a new business adaptability and subsequently give more room to maneuver and adjust to the particular market environment. One aspect of marketing that is indispensable in any firm and can assist managers with tools on how to better position their brand, out do competitors, improve productivity and increase profits / sales is market orientation. Kohli and Jaworski (1990) defined market orientation as  the organization-wide generation of market intelligence, dissemination of the intelligence across departments and organization-wide responsiveness to it   Wikipedia explained further by stating that, the marketing concept is a business philosophy, whereas the term market orientation refers to the actual implementation of the marketing concept. They added that a market orientation appears to provide a unifying focus for the efforts and projects of individuals and departments within the organization. Furthermore, Cass, Vada, Ngo and Sharvti (jounal of strategic marketing) said Market orientation has the ability to enhance a  ¬Ã‚ rms success. They further quoted Slater and Narver (1998) saying that at its core, market orientation places signi ¬Ã‚ cant emphasis on the pro ¬Ã‚ table creation and maintenance of superior customer value, and those supporting its impact endorse it as the conduit for staying close to customers as well as for its ability to enhance  ¬Ã‚ rm performance. Market orientation is a culture rather than an individual process. Its the norms, mindsets, values and behaviours of employers; alongside the structure, systems and control of the organization. Marketing oriented businesses define their activities as service activities carried out towards the satisfaction of their customers. In other words they define their operation as a service business with customer service being the most important activity. They are driven by customer needs which are identified in their objectives. For instance, a car company might say well make your car in whatever colour you choose. A marketing orientated approach means a business reacts to what customers want. The decisions taken are based around information about customers needs and wants, rather than what the business thinks is right for the customer. Most successful businesses take a market-orientated approach. Most markets are moving towards a more market-orientated approach because customers have become more knowledgeable and require more variety and better quality. To compete, businesses need to be more sensitive to their customers needs; otherwise they will lose sales to competitors. When to use it?  Use market orientations when you want to understand, anticipate and satisfy your customer needs. You may already be operating somewhere in-between orientations. Companies can be anywhere on the spectrum as well as having different products at different orientations.   What does it achieve? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A sense of what customers want à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Links customers needs to company capabilities à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Builds relationships à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Creates vision à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Greater internal marketing and communications à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tracking and information systems for further research and evaluation   OCass, Ngo, and Siahtiri (2012) designed an empirical study to collect data from manufacturing  ¬Ã‚ rms in Australia to show that market orientation improves productivity and market capability. According to them, Australia has been ranked 20th overall in the worlds most competitive economies according to the Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 (Sala-i-Martin, 2011). In2011 Australia recorded a GDP of US$925 billion and GDP per capita of US$66.984.SMEs contribute signi ¬Ã‚ cantly to economic growth, national development, innovation and employment in Australia (ONAO Audit Report, 2011). There are around 175,000 SMEs inAustralia, which operate in a broad range of industries, including the construction,  ¬Ã‚ nance, insurance, wholesale and retail trade industries, and employ 28% of Australias workforce. In the course the study, 300 responses from 500 Australian  ¬Ã‚ rms, which constituted a 60% response rate in Australia were received. All participants who reported their positions indicated that they held the most senior marketing positions within their respective  ¬Ã‚ rms. In the survey, 85% of the respondents agreed that general information about market participants (customers, competitors and suppliers) is of paramount importance to them. Since market orientation gets this job done, this proves its importance to an organization. Considerations With so many messages bombarding the consumer in the marketplace today, it is now more difficult than ever to get your product noticed, so marketers have learned to be creative. Knowing what your clients expectations are, exceeding them, and building a reputation based on that is the key to success. Pay attention to your customers, and they will come back time and time again. Ignore them, and they will disappear faster than you can spend your marketing budget to try to bring them back. There is the belief that the marketing staff is a burden on the company and they do not justify the money spent on them. However, the fact is that sincere marketing efforts never goes to waste. When you invest in good marketing related activities, you are sure to reap benefits. Well run marketing campaigns can help you earn good profits. Some people have misconceptions about the term marketing, they feel that it is an easy task and anyone can do it. They couldnt be more wrong. As a manager, you have to get rid of this view point and employ professional marketers who will device your marketing strategy and help you execute it as well. Although marketing is really important for the success of a business, the reality is that it can also be very expensive. A marketing budget can reach as much as 30 percent (sometimes more) of the annual sales. As a result of the huge expenditure marketing/marketing programs incur, it is paramount that it is done right. The tools and campaigns used to improve the success of a brand or re-position it must be researched into deeply, tried and tested to ensure that they would get the job done. A marketing program that gives a company the best chance in a market environment that is as competitive as it is today is a healthy mix of different forms of marketing, such as website development, public relations, print and broadcast advertising, design and printing for all print materials, trade shows and other special events. PART 2: THE PERSUASIVE PAPER Brief: The manager of Pico fruit juice (hypothetical name) company has decided to rebrand the drink (Pico juice) by changing the packaging because he feels the old packaging is not flashy or attractive enough. He believes it is a little bland. However, the product seems to be doing very well in the market and has achieved a lot of recognition. I think re-packaging the brand might spell disaster and it is therefore my job as a marketing consultant to warn him against it. Muzellec and Lambkin (2006) defined rebranding as a change in an organizations self-identity and/or an attempt to change perceptions of the image among external stakeholders. Rebrand is a company image revision and it can assist a company in updating its message, appealing to new audiences or even signaling a complete change in direction. The reasons behind identity change are usually bad press, new target market, new product, merger, or aspiration to gain a competitive edge. However, these reasons do not apply to Pico fruit juice, When considering rebranding, we should ask ourselves the crucial question- why? If we are not changing what the company stands for, if our customers like what we stand for now, and if they associate our current packaging with what the company stands for, then why should we rebrand? Why waste the time, money and the priceless brand equity we have tried to build up? We would be much better served creating some really effective marketing campaigns to increase the strength of our brand and increase its consumer base. According to consumer surveys done, our customers already like our product the way it is, therefore rebranding can change their preconceived perception of the product thereby making them lose interest. Rebranding could cause confusion among current customers, potential customers and other key players in the industry. This could lead to a loss in client base. They (consumers) could also see it as being inconsistent and an inconsistent brand is an untrustworthy brand. Our packaging, colours,  company name, and everything else that represents us should not be changed without an extremely good reason. Product rebrands are perceived to be a good way of invigorating a brand, but they sometimes end in failure. According to Datamonitor (2009), in the past three decades, there have been many examples of brands attempting to rebrand themselves, either through a new logo, labeling/packaging, formulation or other means of re-identification. While some have been successful and others less so, the companies behind these brands all have one aim: to re-ignite a passion in consumers for a brand which has lost some of its magic. Examples of companies/brands that tried to rebrand include: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A recent rebranding effort that caused controversy was Krafts Australian savory spread brand Vegemite, which undertook a brand extension in 2009. The original name of the extension, Vegemite iSnack 2.0, was designed to appeal to younger consumers but caused widespread derision, so much so that it was almost immediately withdrawn and renamed Cheesybite instead. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Tropicana packaging was completely overhauled in 2009 and the picture of an orange with a straw in it, which had featured on its label for decades, was removed and replaced with a picture of a glass of orange. After consumers derided the new packaging for looking too generic, the old style was brought back. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cadbury introduced Dairy Milk as a megabrand across many of its chocolate bars in 2003 as a way of implementing unity and brand strength. However, it has gradually lost its potency over the past two years. In 2007, Cadbury reintroduced the Wispa brand to market after it had been dropped in 2003 in favor of Dairy Milk Bubbly, while the packaging of Cadburys Dairy Milk Caramel, known as Cadbury Caramel before 2003, has changed so that it resembles more its old style of imagery. The decision to rebrand is very serious and it is much more than just a change of package or name. Although rebranding sometimes seems as a reasonable step it should not be taken without due consideration. Changing a product name or package is seemed sometimes as an easy task, but to make it work to the business advantage is a difficult one. A decision to rebrand a product is wrong if done just for the sake of doing it or because competitors did so. Rebranding should always have a clear purpose and should not be taken lightly, as it is a massive overhaul of brand images and identity. No rebrand is possible without adequate research, repositioning the image without studying consumer demographics and psychographics is dangerous and I dont believe all these have been done yet, therefore, there is no reason to rush into a decision to change the package of Pico fruit drink. It should be noted that change for the sake of change is risky, especially if the results of the transformation are uncertain as in this case. Therefore we should be trying to consider long-term strategies and aims, and then updating brand identity to fit the changing goals if and if only it is absolutely necessary. A change of identity which includes package should always be considered and well-planned. And it is also important to think about the end result of the change, including negative elements. Rapid and extensive changes are harmful in most of circumstances. Therefore the most effective and safe strategy is to evolve slowly by updating the current image to modernize an existing, well-trusted brand, in order to keep the established customer base A change in name will not turn a company around, neither will it revitalize a dying product and as much as a rebranding can seem exciting at the time, there is a real risk that it is a waste of money and time. A brand is the sum total of an organizations reputation. When building your brand, the look of the product (package) does matter. It is most times what captivates a costumer and makes him or her reach for your product on the shelf. Once they become used to the look of a particular product or brand, changing it can confuse or even make them lose interest thereby spelling disaster for the product. However, you should rebrand if: Your target customer has changed. Your product has changed. Your competition has changed. Or if you cannot answer these questions: Do people no longer understand what you can offer Do people understand what makes you different? What is your client engagement? Do they spread your message and continue coming back for more? Do people trust what you say, your products and your services? Is there constant decrease in sales Can your employees/clients articulate what your brand stands for Are you are embarrassed to give away your business card  either due to unattractiveness or to the fact that its rather plain compared to that of competitors? Are all your communications are not consistent and in sync with the brand message and brand voice? If we have doubts about the answers to the above questions, then we would need to rebrand urgently. However, these cases do not apply to Pico fruit drink, so I see no reason for us to spend so much time and money doing something that may very well backfire in the long run. A reason we do not need to rebrand Pico fruit drink is because it has all the qualities of a good brand which according to Uche (2012) Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review (OMAN Chapter) Vol. 2, No.3; Oct. 2012 are: 1. Confirms Credibility: A good brand is a signature of credibility, a symbol of trust, an image of consistency. It must therefore always espouse and exhibit a credible personality, which strengthens and compensates its clienteles/consumers for their sustained loyalty (brand equity). So far, consumers seem to like Pico fruit drink. They seem to like its personality, its quality and what it stands for which is trust and responsibility. Responsibility to the environment by producing safe recyclable packages, responsibility to our customers by producing delicious, healthy and hygienic fruit drink and responsibility to the brand by ensuring it never falls below standard. 2. Attracts Potential opportunities: Any brand that lacks a sustained ability to attract and exploit potential opportunities is not a good one. Not just opportunities in terms of brand extension, but opportunities in terms of innovative marketing strategies and advertising mix like exploiting the social media to create buzz which Pico has done in the past and is still doing to attract attention, organizing promotional offers, giving discounts and so on. The existing clientele base of a brand must not only be maintained, but also expanded, through the exploitation of whatever opportunities are present in the market, especially in a competitive environment, where the life and continued existence of the entity or product, is dependent on its ability to maintain and expand its clientele base. 3. Delivers clear and precise information: The message delivered by a brand must at all times be concise, consistent, and clear, and must not be packaged in such a way that it confuses consumers. Pico as a brand has tried to avoid ambiguity in all its messages and promotion materials in order not to cause confusion among customers thereby damaging the brand. Since a brand is a statement or commitment to quality, improved value and service delivery, advertisements, jingles, and other interfaces with which a product or entity connects with clients and prospective clients should be consistent, concise, and must be coherent with the actual performance of the brand, if the brand is to be defined as good. Otherwise, the brands identity, franchise, awareness, equity, image, and recognition will be adversely affected. In this view also, there should be strong brand differentiation, to enable customers correctly identify their choice of brand, and this means that the logo, image, mark, and ot her items affiliated with a brand should be distinct, to dissuade confusions that sometimes arise from inability of customers to distinguish one brands image or logo (identity) from another. Failure in this regard can lead to a brands untimely demise. 4. Ability of the Brand to Procure, Protract, and Preserve a Relationships and a Titanic Clientele base: Following a pragmatic viewpoint, a good brand should be able to foster a cordial, mutual, and self-sustaining relationship with its clienteles, which is continually expanding. For a brand to be classified as being good it must exhibit an inherent aptitude and propensity to secure and conserve existing relationships, while striving to build new ones, through its commitment to connect and establish workable and healthy relationships with old clients from whom fresh and prospective clients are fetched, to swell the clientele base of the brand. EXCELLENT BRAND MANAGEMENT PRCATICES EVERY BRAND SHOULD FOLLOW Building a brand that enjoys patronage and respect requires the establishment of a scheme, which ensures longevity of the brand in the market. Simple guidelines like the ones below which are in no way exhaustive, should be initiated: 1. We should always make sure that at no point in the lifespan of a product/brand should we introduce ideas and market strategies that alter the name, logo, symbol, or other aspects of a brand that makes it unique and different from other brands in the same product category, unless there is an extremely good reason for doing this. The name, package or distinct logo of a brand is a symbol that is universal and understandable by consumers, who not only attach sentiments to the package or logo, but are quick to employ it as a reference point of satisfaction and quality. While positive changes in other aspects of a brand are recommended, even during mergers, utmost care must be taken to preserve the distinctive identity of a brand, as this is the brain behind successful brands like Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Mobil, which have introduced various products, but still employ or affiliate their names to such products, to retain its clienteles. 2. In successfully managing a brand, a manager should always strive to generate and establish an indelible and positive impression of the brand in the mind of its consumers, especially where the market is characterized by competition. The brand equity of a product must be on the positive side, and this is attainable only when positive and indelible images of a brand is created in the mind of its patrons or customers; this is an undeniable formula for success in a competitive market, where consumers taste and choice varies. 3. Fulfilling the brand promise or contract is one practice that should never be neglected by a brand manager or owner, if a brand is to prosper and be sustained in any competitive market. A subconscious contract exists between a producer and the clients, to the effect that the brand must meet and surpass a mark of quality that is appreciable to its consumers, if the loyalty and patronage of the consumers is to be sustained. To this extent, if managers fail to meet or surpass the standard of quality that is obtainable and attained by competing brands in a market, especially when it fails to meet the expectation of consumers, a negative brand experience ensues, which could lead to the decline and possible death of the brand. 4. Giving adequate protection to a brand is an option that should be given adequate attention to by a manager and his team, if they want their product to do well in the market. A brand and its unique identity should not only be given legal protection in the form of copyright and patent cataloguing, which prevents dubious replication by fraudsters and even competition but should also be protected by maintaining an appreciable standard and quality, which should be jealously guarded and should never be compromised, immersed in scandal, or be allowed to tread the paths of deficient and mediocre products and brands. 5. In many cases, brand managers make the tragic mistake of rating and quantifying their brands and the charge of sustaining it as cost, rather than assets, and the outcome is unpleasant and detrimental to the development and sustainability of the brand. A brand is among the most prized asset of any entity, product, or producer; whatever is thus spent in advertising and marketing a brand should be treated as an investment, rather than as cost. Trying to quantify the effects of investing (advertising and marketing) in a brand may not be visible in the balance sheet, but in the long run, evaluation of state of affairs in the market will reveal the enviable function that the investments in the brand is yielding. Thus, investments made in the development, advertising, and marketing of a brand is not wasted, and should not be treated as cost, but as a high-yielding investment by brand managers. 6. Treating customers and other stakeholders with esteem is one practice that should not be neglected by brand managers, if the desire to establish a viable brand is to be achieved. In a corporate environment, good corporate governance should be observed, if the yearnings and aspirations of customers, patrons, and shareholders are to be met. This cannot be achieved in the absence of a workforce that is not ade