Why Marijuana Should Be Illegal

Tyler Wyrick Ms. Russo English 165. 25W 11 May 2010 E1 Why Marijuana should be Illegal In society today, many people are looking for a feeling of freedom. Some go on vacation and spend money while others look to drugs. The sense of high that results from using marijuana acts as an escape from the stresses of everyday life. As a result, a tremendous number of Americans participate in the illicit use of marijuana. Our American society is facing a tremendous drug problem that will increase exponentially by the legalization of this drug.Marijuana should be illegal because it will cause an increase in drug users and drug related crimes, the short term and long term effects of marijuana on the body, and the effect it will have on the country. One of the consequences of legalization would be a tremendous increase in marijuana users. Right now with the use of illicit drugs comes the fear of law enforcement agents and punishment causes individuals to be too scared to try marijuana. However, i f weed become legalized, the fear becomes nonexistent and the number of users skyrockets.Legalized marijuana provides an ease of access to the drug, which in turn, promotes an increase in sales and use. An increase in marijuana use will also result in an increase in drug related crimes. Supporters of the legalization of weed believe that crime and violence would decrease if the drug is legal. Statistics show that forty percent of those arrested for committing a crime tested positive for the use of drugs at the time of their arrest. Making drugs more readily available could potentially propel more individuals into a life of crime and violence.Many marijuana users turn to crime to pay for their habit. They are stimulated by drugs and therefore act violently. Sold legally, marijuana will become easy for users to buy it around the corner, which would increase the already existing problem of crime. It is mentioned by Forbes that every year drug lords make billions of dollars from marijua na business, and those promoting legalization believe it will wipe out their major sources of funds. Drug use is a matter of supply and demand. As long as demand exists, someone is going to supply it either legally or illegally.Supporters of legalization believe that if the government regulates drugs such as marijuana by imposing taxes, then the black market will be eliminated. Not many users can afford to buy high priced drugs such as marijuana. As a result, people will be forced to go to drug gangs who sell marijuana under the market price. In addition, children and teenagers will obviously be banned from purchasing marijuana, just as they are prohibited from buying beer and liquor. Nevertheless, there will be drug pushers who will continue to encourage the youth and try to get them hooked to marijuana.Hence, legalization of marijuana will encourage a growing criminal black market. Marijuana is also very bad for ones overall health. Persistent use will damage lungs and airways and raise the risk of cancer. There is just as much exposure to cancer-causing chemicals from smoking one marijuana joint as smoking five tobacco cigarettes. There is evidence that marijuana may limit the ability of the immune system to fight infection and disease. This drug also causes severe side effects to the brain and body.Smoking marijuana can cause a person to lose their memory. Marijuana also has many short-term psychological and physical effects. These reactions usually last for three to five hours after a person has smoked marijuana. The psychological reaction, known as a high, consists of changes in the user’s feelings and thoughts. Mainly THC causes such changes. Many people usually smoke marijuana in cigarettes or pipes, but it also can be mixed with food and beverages. The concentration of the marijuana can affect how a person reacts to using the drug.The effects of a marijuana high vary from person to person and from one time to another in the same individual. In most cases, the high consists of a dreamy relaxed state in which users seem more aware of their senses and feel that time is moving slowly. Sometimes however, marijuana produces a feeling of panic and dread. The different reactions result partly from the concentration of THC in the marijuana. Other factors such as the setting in which marijuana is used, the user’s expectations, personality, and mood also affect a person’s reaction to the drug.Long-term effects of marijuana are not completely known, but studies have shown that some people who have used marijuana regularly for several months or longer have developed serious long-term problems. Among males, marijuana use can reduce the production of sperm and the male sex hormone testosterone. Among females, marijuana can cause menstrual irregularity and reduced fertility. Extended use of marijuana also has a long-term psychological effect on many people. These individuals lose interest in everything. They become unmotiva ted and detached. Another impact on health is that marijuana is a gateway drug.People that smoke marijuana for the first time feel that bringing themselves to actually try pot is the hardest part. Once an individual’s nerves are now calm about trying marijuana, they will now find that trying harder drugs won’t be as difficult to think about. Once their attitude on drug use is changed people will not hesitate to experiment with new harder drugs just as they did with marijuana. The Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found adolescents who smoke pot 85 times more likely to use cocaine than their non–pot smoking peers. 0 percent of young people who use marijuana before they turn 15 later go on to use cocaine. A user of marijuana will eventually want to feel a new or better high causing them to resort to drugs that have much more of a negative effect on the body. Not all drug users will immediately begin using heroin, but once they are taki ng drugs it is very difficult for them to quit. For some, it will begin with simple painkillers and then possibly cocaine. With each step further into the world of drugs the user will find it harder to return. The high becomes an escape from reality.It becomes a release from the pressures of everyday life. With time, the period between highs becomes shortened due to the inability for users to face daily tasks. Soon, they become addicts living for the next high. Why? Because marijuana, a â€Å"harmless, organic drug,† opened the door to more possibilities. Next, legalization is neither a reasonable nor rational policy for this country. One of the biggest concerns about the legalization argument is the mixed message it sends to our young people. The legalization will imply a nonjudgmental attitude about drugs.The public’s attitude must change toward drugs and focus on prevention and treatment of drug abuse while maintaining the laws that make the drugs illegal. By focusi ng time and resources on the dangers of marijuana use, we are setting ourselves up for a better society as a whole. Reducing societal acceptance of weed use would allow Americans to raise a generation that could make a healthy contribution to the country. Then, the thought of job opportunities could be an issue. Think about the hundreds of thousands of others who are daily and heroically involved in the continuous war on drugs.Police officers, who are constantly meeting their quota by busting marijuana related crimes, would now have to sit back and watch the future of America get high on the streets hoping they wont continue on in to the drug world. Marijuana is illegal for many reasons. Most of the people that are pro-legalization will not use it for medical use or are at all interested in this nations economy. The ugly truth is that most want it legal merely because they want to use it. The drug problem America faces now would severely increase if marijuana were legalized.Health b ills would go up due to medical issues involving weed, drug related crimes would increase, and legalizing the drug would change America’s attitude on drugs completely and open the door to drugs far worse than weed. The war on drugs would just be getting started.

Free Essays on Reaching The Heights

In my life, â€Å"reaching the heights† has meant keeping myself motivated, always having my priorities in order, and most importantly remaining strong in my faith. For me, staying motivated is easy as long as I set long term and short term goals for myself. To be able to do this I have to keep thinking about what it is that I want to make out of my life, and I think this has helped me find who I really am. My religion is undoubtedly my greatest influence in being successful. In my opinion success is not limited to how well you are at doing something or how prosperous your life is. Success is being the best person you personally can be. Being a strong catholic has been the basis of me becoming the best I can be. It has kept my morals strong and has reminded me of what is truly most important in life. Although I believe that there is more to a person than their scholastic achievement, I regard scholastics as a vital part in success. This may or may not be true for everyone, but for me it certainly is. It would be impossible for me to become the person I want to be if I did not take my grades seriously. I am not one of those people who are inherently smart. To get the grades I want, I have to put a great amount of effort into learning. This isn’t all together a bad thing for me because I honestly do enjoy learning, although at times it can be frustrating when things don’t naturally come to me as they seem to for others. Fortunately, I don’t allow this to drag me down. Instead it makes me want to try even harder. Another example of me living a life of Christian principle would be service. When I give of myself to others through service I feel myself gaining knowledge of what is important. In some instances it also makes me realize how lucky I am. A few things that I am in involved in are volunteering at the hospital, helping out at Sunday school, doing various works of service through Key Club, and ministering to my sch... Free Essays on Reaching The Heights Free Essays on Reaching The Heights In my life, â€Å"reaching the heights† has meant keeping myself motivated, always having my priorities in order, and most importantly remaining strong in my faith. For me, staying motivated is easy as long as I set long term and short term goals for myself. To be able to do this I have to keep thinking about what it is that I want to make out of my life, and I think this has helped me find who I really am. My religion is undoubtedly my greatest influence in being successful. In my opinion success is not limited to how well you are at doing something or how prosperous your life is. Success is being the best person you personally can be. Being a strong catholic has been the basis of me becoming the best I can be. It has kept my morals strong and has reminded me of what is truly most important in life. Although I believe that there is more to a person than their scholastic achievement, I regard scholastics as a vital part in success. This may or may not be true for everyone, but for me it certainly is. It would be impossible for me to become the person I want to be if I did not take my grades seriously. I am not one of those people who are inherently smart. To get the grades I want, I have to put a great amount of effort into learning. This isn’t all together a bad thing for me because I honestly do enjoy learning, although at times it can be frustrating when things don’t naturally come to me as they seem to for others. Fortunately, I don’t allow this to drag me down. Instead it makes me want to try even harder. Another example of me living a life of Christian principle would be service. When I give of myself to others through service I feel myself gaining knowledge of what is important. In some instances it also makes me realize how lucky I am. A few things that I am in involved in are volunteering at the hospital, helping out at Sunday school, doing various works of service through Key Club, and ministering to my sch...

Venustiano Carranza, Revolutionary President of Mexico

Venustiano Carranza, Revolutionary President of Mexico Venustiano Carranza Garza (December 29, 1859–May 21, 1920) was a Mexican politician, warlord, and general. Before the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) he served as mayor of Cuatro Cià ©negas and as a congressman and senator. When the Revolution broke out, he initially allied himself with Francisco Maderos faction and independently raised his own army when Madero was assassinated. Carranza was president of Mexico from 1917–1920 but was unable to keep a lid on the chaos that had plagued his country since 1910. He was assassinated in Tlaxcalantongo in 1920 by troops led by General Rodolfo Herrero. Fast Facts: Venustiano Carranza Known For: Revolutionary leader and president of MexicoBorn: December 29, 1859 in Cuatro Cià ©negas, MexicoParents: Jesà ºs Carranza, mother unknownDied: May 21, 1920 in Tlaxcalantongo, Puebla, MexicoEducation: Ateneo Fuente, Escuela Nacional PreparatoriaSpouse(s): Virginia Salinas, Ernestina HernndezChildren: Rafael Carranza Hernndez, Leopoldo Carranza Salinas, Virginia Carranza, Jesà ºs Carranza Hernndez, Venustiano Carranza Hernndez Early Life Carranza was born into an upper-middle-class family in Cuatro Cià ©negas in the state of Coahuila on December 29, 1859. His father had been an officer in the army of Benito Jurez in the turbulent 1860s. This connection to Jurez would have a profound influence on Carranza, who idolized him. The Carranza family had money, and Venustiano was sent to excellent schools in Saltillo and Mexico City. He returned to Coahuila and dedicated himself to the family ranching business. Entry Into Politics The Carranzas had high ambitions, and with the backing of family money, Venustiano was elected mayor of his hometown. In 1893, he and his brothers rebelled against the rule of Coahuila Governor Josà © Marà ­a Garza, a crooked crony of President Porfirio Dà ­az. They were powerful enough to secure the nomination of a different governor. Carranza made some friends in high places in the process, including Bernardo Reyes, an important friend of Dà ­az. Carranza rose politically, becoming a congressman and senator. By 1908, it was widely assumed he would be the next governor of Coahuila. Personality Carranza was a tall man, standing a full 6-foot-4, and he looked very impressive with his long white beard and glasses. He was intelligent and stubborn but had very little charisma. A dour man, his lack of sense of humor was legendary. He was not the sort to inspire great loyalty, and his success in the revolution was mainly due to his ability to portray himself as a wise, stern patriarch who was the nations best hope for peace. His inability to compromise led to several severe setbacks. Although he was personally honest, he seemed indifferent to corruption in those who surrounded him. Carranza, Dà ­az, and Madero Carranza was not confirmed as governor by Dà ­az and he joined the movement of Francisco Madero, who had called for rebellion after the fraudulent 1910 election. Carranza did not contribute much to Maderos rebellion but was rewarded with the post of minister of war in Maderos cabinet, which infuriated revolutionaries such as Pancho Villa and Pascual Orozco. Carranzas union with Madero was always tenuous, as Carranza was not a true believer in reform and he felt that a firmer hand (preferably his) was needed to rule Mexico. Madero and Huerta In 1913, Madero was betrayed and assassinated by one of his generals, a relic from the Dà ­az years named Victoriano Huerta. Huerta made himself president and Carranza rebelled. He drafted a Constitution that he named the Plan of Guadalupe and took to the field with a growing army. Carranzas small force largely sat out the early part of the revolt against Huerta. He formed an uneasy alliance with Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata, and Alvaro Obregà ³n, an engineer and farmer who raised an army in Sonora. United only by their hatred of Huerta, they turned on one another when their combined forces deposed him in 1914. Carranza Takes Charge Carranza had set up a government with himself as the head. This government printed money, passed laws, etc. When Huerta fell, Carranza (supported by Obregà ³n) was the strongest candidate to fill the power vacuum. Hostilities with Villa and Zapata broke out almost immediately. Although Villa had a more formidable army, Obregà ³n was the better tactician and Carranza was able to portray Villa as a sociopathic bandit in the press. Carranza also held Mexicos two main ports and, therefore, was collecting more revenue than Villa. By the end of 1915, Villa was on the run and the United States government recognized Carranza as Mexicos leader. Carranza vs. Obregà ³n With Villa and Zapata out of the picture, Carranza was officially elected president in 1917. He brought very little change, however, and those who truly wanted to see a new, more liberal Mexico after the revolution were disappointed. Obregà ³n retired to his ranch, although the fighting continued- particularly against Zapata in the south. In 1919, Obregà ³n decided to run for president. Carranza attempted to crush his former ally, as he already had his handpicked successor in Ignacio Bonillas. Obregà ³ns supporters were repressed and killed and Obregà ³n himself decided that Carranza would never leave office peacefully. Death Obregà ³n brought his army to Mexico City, driving Carranza and his supporters out. Carranza headed to Veracruz to regroup, but the trains were attacked and he was forced to abandon them and go overland. He was received in the mountains by local chieftain Rodolfo Herrera, whose men opened fire on a sleeping Carranza late at night on May 21, 1920, killing him and his top advisors and supporters. Herrera was put on trial by Obregà ³n, but it was clear that no one missed Carranza: Herrera was acquitted. Legacy The ambitious Carranza made himself one of the most important figures in the Mexican Revolution because he truly believed that he knew what was best for the country. He was a planner and organizer and succeeded through clever politicking, whereas others relied on strength of arms. His defenders point out that he brought some stability to the country and provided a focus for the movement to remove the usurper Huerta. He made many mistakes, however. During the fight against Huerta, he was the first to declare that those who opposed him would be executed, as he considered his to be the only legitimate government in the land after the death of Madero. Other commanders followed suit, and the result was the death of thousands who might have been spared. His unfriendly, rigid nature made it difficult for him to retain his hold on power, especially when some of the alternative leaders, such as Villa and Obregà ³n, were much more charismatic. Today, Carranza is remembered as one of the â€Å"Big Four† of the Mexican Revolution, along with Zapata, Villa, and Obregà ³n. Although for most of the time between 1915 and 1920 he was more powerful than any of them, he is today probably the least remembered of the four. Historians point out Obregà ³ns tactical brilliance and rise to power in the 1920s, Villas legendary bravery, flair, style and leadership, and Zapatas unwavering idealism and vision. Carranza had none of these. Still, it was during his watch that the Mexican Constitution still used today was ratified and he was by far the lesser of two evils when compared to the man he replaced, Victoriano Huerta. He is remembered in the songs and legends of the north (although primarily as the butt of Villas jokes and pranks) and his place in the history of Mexico is secure. Sources Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. â€Å"Venustiano Carranza.† Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 8 Feb. 2019.McLynn, Frank. Villa and Zapata: A History of the Mexican Revolution. New York: Carroll and Graf, 2000.

Motivation and Leadership Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivation and Leadership - Assignment Example It is therefore essential to motivate these employees regardless of their stay period in the organization. This is necessary in building a positive image of the company in the eyes of the workers and the society at large which can enhance smooth renewal of their contract when the need arises. Use of temporary workers There are times when temporary workers prove to be valuable to an organization and certain times when it is inappropriate to use them. It is appropriate to use them when the company needs to reduce its operational costs. This is because permanent workers require things such as security and many benefits in order to sustain them. This is justified from the case study where the Boeing Company has reduced its dependence on permanent staff through making of new hires abroad. Another time when the use of temporary workers is appropriate is when one is working on short-term projects, this is necessary for it enables those people who are experts in a certain area to handle situ ations that they are best suited in. This is evident form the case of Microsoft that says that its contingent employees fluctuate depending on the project that they are working on. They also note that temporary workers are experts in what they do and they complete projects within a short period of time. It is appropriate to use temporary employees on companies that work in cyclical industries. This is because they offer a range of various services. The services can be provided by temporary employees who have a wide range of various skills and hence can fit in that nature of the industry. This is evident from the case study where it states that temps are appealing to those companies in cyclical industries. On the other hand, there exists various times that are deemed to be inappropriate to use temporary employees. It is inappropriate to use them in order to maintain permanent employees when it comes to layoffs. This is a strategy that was used by Boeing Company. It is also inappropri ate to use them when one wants to build a company reputation. This is because temporary workers who come and go cannot be able to build a good image. A program for employee motivation The program that will be put in place to motivate the temporary employees will be the temporary workers incentive and welfare program. This is a program that will oversee that the situation of the workplace employees is improved and they are given incentives to motivate them. It comprises of the element of incentives and welfare. The incentives will be in terms of providing good pay, benefits such as health while the welfare is concerned with good working environment and responsibility. The program will also oversee that the temporary workers are given a conducive working environment similar to the permanent employees. It will also entail informing the employees effectively concerning the organization and also integrating them to the organization. This in turn creates social ties among workers which wi ll motivate them. Reducing supervision and allowing them to work autonomously gives them confidence and responsibility to oversee that they give effective results. This program is justified for it goes hand in hand with Herzberg’s two factor theory that of hygiene and motivational factors. Hygiene factors are those they contribute to dissatisfaction if they lack in the organization

Operant Conditioning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Operant Conditioning Paper - Essay Example Operant Conditioning is widely used not only in psychology but also in other different settings. A person behaves in a particular way due to the response (stimuli) he experiences in his environment. When these responses are reinforced, then the person or animal is conditioned to respond. Operant Conditioning does not use the trial and error method in determining a person’s reaction to a certain response. It is directly experienced by the individual through a certain experience in his environment. Reinforcements mean â€Å"to strengthen or make strong† but they can be both positive as well as negative. A reinforcer is called positive when the reinforcement is presented or takes place. On the other hand, a negative reinforcement is when the reinforcement is withdrawn. In order to suppress a person’s behavior, negative reinforcement is utilized, but that doesn’t mean that negative reinforcement is punishment. Negative reinforcers are often used to correct a person’s behavior by removing the positive reinforcer and replacing it with the negative one. This helps the individual to condition or respond in a different way by reducing the consequence or threat of punishment, thereby changing his behavior for the better. Operant Behavior is moulded according to the consequences an individual receives in the environment. The freedom of a person is affected in the process. (Skinner, 1971) If the individual has experienced positive reinforcing consequences usually feel a sense of freedom, but this is not the case in negative consequences. According to B.F Skinner, â€Å"The experimental analysis of operant behavior has led to a technology often called behavior modification†.  (B.F Skinner, 1971) Between the positive reinforcement and Negative reinforcement, the one that is most used in the correction of behavior is the Negative reinforcement. In such an environment, the trouble causing consequences are removed and replaced with other consequences,

EBusiness Company Comparisons Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

EBusiness Company Comparisons - Assignment Example Commissions are also earned when users visit company sites, advertise their products, or post the link of the company. The customer base of these companies lies between 10 and 80 million people. Therefore, a sales revenue business model for these companies therefore, can result in great profits (Rappa, 2010). Yahoo: This Company uses portal advertising model. It offers products that suit customer-specific needs. This is through the complex Customer Relationship Management (CRM), where the company gathers important legal and behavioural information of its customers (Rappa, 2010). According to Cusumano (2004) for software business, the key aspect of its business model is understanding specific customer needs. Google: This is a search engine, and adopts the Advertising Model. It utilizes Content-Targeted Advertising, where advertisements relate to the content of a web page. It also uses the Query-based paid placement. For instance, when searching for terms, the advertisements that are paid for will show up (Rappa, 2010). Mayer (2006) notes that Google aims at acquiring many users and retaining them through developing the products they need. Social media has changed how companies conduct marketing and advertising. In future, there will be increased participation of customers and information sharing on company products. Customers will also highly influence the nature of company products. The use of cloud computing has resulted in low costs for online companies, especially those costs that are related to suppliers. This thus leads to reduced prices for customers. In future, more use of cloud computing will abate the financial challenges experienced by these

Oxendales Marketing Strategy Analysis

Oxendales Marketing Strategy Analysis Anthony Nolan Marketing Campaign Oxendales started off as a purely clothing supplier when they first appeared online but nowadays they sell a lot of different things from home wear to electricals and entertainment items. Through broadening their stock range, they have become a more desirable option for many more segments of the demographic. This report will show how Oxendales go about their business and how they are viewed by the public that use their service. Oxendales marketing campaigns are ongoing. They are around a long time and their name is a household one. Nonetheless they do still need to get their product out there. With this company, selling items is just part of the offer. They also give credit and charge interest on that credit. They make a lot of money doing business in this manner. Once a new season collection of clothing is announced their marketers set in motion a plan that gets the new arrivals from the storehouse to the public. They appear to have a good idea of who they are targeting with their campaigns. The demographic being targeted is the medium to low income earner or people on social welfare; people who can afford to pay instalments but cannot necessarily afford to buy a product outright. For this segment of the market, Oxendales are often an invaluable ally in helping them to clothe themselves, their families and their homes. Oxendales have a huge selection of items on offer for people and for the household. They tend to bring out two new lines of clothing every year. The different styles and items are reflective of the different seasons. The first line of the year is the Spring/Summer collection, which typically comes to the fore around March or April. Then around September they announce their Autumn/Winter collection. Oxendales introduce their new lines typically through a number of channels that they feel will get their product specifically to the target segment. They show their stock on television, using TV3 as their main channel for showing people the wares on offer. They utilise the show Ireland AM to get their new offers into the vision and minds of the public. At the same time as being seen on television they will also be launching advertising collateral campaigns on many different levels, from more television advertising to social media and physical paper advertising. They will follow this up by interacting with the public one-to-one in trade shows such as the Womans World Show which is a yearly event held at the RDS in Dublin. This public relations meet and greet is meant to align Oxendales with many of the other company brand competitors attending the show as well as get their own brand into the minds of the public or to cement their brand in the minds of people who already know of them. No matter where and through what channel they are showing their items, one will find a consistent feel to their advertisements. The colours used are often very alike across all of their advertising campaigns. If one is reading a flyer that falls out of a magazine they will feel that the look of that flyer is consistent with an advertisement they may have seen on-line for example The visual connection is apparent. The consistent look leads on to the famous Three Cs of marketing. Do Oxendales fulfil this criteria? Well their communications are first class. Their advertisements and language used is clear and concise and is not in the least confusing. They sometimes communicate how simple it is to get credit from them as much as their actual items for sale. Their items are often not as Compelling as their credit offers. Oxendales can often reel in a buyer through the promise of buy now-pay later. This is a compelling way to attract custom from the target segment. Their look remains Consistent throughout. Their colours and designs used for advertising is instantly recognisable and they do utilise consistency across channels. Oxendales use integrated communications too. Every time a piece of Oxendales literature is examined or online source seen, one can immediately identify that the company link to the other places they are available to view as well as to their website. They often also link to their credit facilities which experience has told them is a unique selling point. The Marketing Mix The Product Being Sold The most important part of Oxendales overall product is convenience. Online Shopping is on the rise according to Roy Morgan Research (2015). So, from that we can conclude that people are using the convenience of online shopping for a myriad of reasons. What are these reasons? Upstream Commerce (2012) quoted the eight most important reasons that people shop online as Convenience, Better Prices, Variety, Fewer Expenses, Comparison of Prices, No Crowds, Compulsive Shopping and Discreet Purchases. We will see many of these reasons pop up again and again. Barbara Thau of Forbes.com (2013) quotes a study by strategy and marketing consultants Simon, Kucher and Partners when she propounds that 24% of online shoppers like to buy books, consumer electronics and entertainment online while 18% of online consumers prefer to buy health and beauty products, toys, sports equipment, hobby interests, clothing, merchandise and furniture online. This is an interesting finding in relation to Oxendales online activity. 24% of online shopping is spent on books, consumer electronics and entertainment. How many of these do Oxendales supply? The answer is two of the three. Oxendales will sell a person everything from an IPod to an Xbox and from a television to a heater (and many, many items in between). Books are the odd ones out. We move on 18% of people shop online to buy health and beauty products, toys, sports equipment, hobby interests, clothing, merchandise and furniture. That is seven categories of items that could possibly be sold online. Again, how many of them do Oxendales sell? The answer is Five. This online behemoth sells all of that list barring hobby interests and merchandise (though all things sold could be classed as merchandise surely?) So going by the experts views on why people shop online, one would have to conclude that Oxendales understand the reasons and offer an excellent product to people in their online store in order to fulfil the needs of their customers. Specifically however a product is more than just an item. How does this company fulfil the other range of criterion that goes to tick the product box in relation to Marketing? Quality: Like many shops, both online and physical, the quality of item bought is directly linked to the price of the product. Having sampled many of Oxendales products they have been found to be durable and fashion sensitive. Certainly as an online shop, Oxendales is seen as a high quality outlet. Image: The image of Oxendales is linked to a few things. Firstly, it is seen as somewhere that people can buy things now and pay later, thanks to their simple and effective paying plans. They are also seen as ultra-convenient. Oxendales have a wonderful selection of items too in a vast array of sizes and models. So the overall image is one of ease of access to what people want and ease of payment. Branding: Oxendales is a household name. They have been around since 1875 (Oxendales: About, 2016) so it is understandable that in that time they have become so well known. Features, Variants and Mix: As alluded to earlier, this online super store offers many items in many different configurations, sizes, colours and categories. Customer Service: Excellent customer service is available, through online, telephone and written media. When an order is received, the packaging staff also include a return label in case an item does not suit the customer for whatever reason. Availability: Always available to use, every moment of every day of the year. Warranties: Oxendales offer a refund, repair or replacement service on all items purchased that do not reach the consumer in perfect condition (Oxendales: About, 2016). Promotion Oxendales promote sales by giving special offers on their website. The have seasonal promotions in which they offer certain items at a discount price. When Spring arrives, they will often sell outdoor furniture and garden implements at a special discount. In addition to their discounted stock, they also promote through email by giving existing customers money off codes that they can apply to their basket the next time they are online for a discount. For non-members, the company will email introductory offers always highlighting their easy payment option. Almost everybody who applies to Oxendales will be accepted for payment through credit. This company is a market leader in direct marketing. Price It appears that Oxendales do not believe in low price equalling higher sales. Their prices are never as low as one might find on the bargain rail of a local department store. Even when discounts are given, one might find that the item on discount would still exceed the price of a similar discount in a high street shop. As far as positioning goes, the idea that Oxendales wants to hold in the mind of consumers is one of ultimate convenience and ease of purchase. Due to their massive stock one can find almost anything within their range to suit them. Due to their credit facility, one can spend money that they do not actually have and then pay off the cost of the purchases over a set period of time. Due to the company accepting almost anyone that applies for credit, that will place a multitude of people in a catchment net for business, particularly approaching festive periods and leading up to birthdays, weddings, interviews etcetera. The position of Oxendales as a brand is very much one of convenience. However, when people are finding it difficult to keep up to date with payments then the company could be seen as a nuisance and increasingly in a bad light due to their continued letters and phone calls, even though the reason for the continued negative correspondence lies with the consumer. Finally, Oxendales do not only sell through a credit account payment option. They also allow people to pay directly like any other online shop, through use of Credit/Debit card. They do not allow payment through an online bank such as PayPal however. Place Oxendales use a number of different suppliers as part of their distribution channel. Many of their suppliers are little known brands like Premier Man for example. These brands are created and sold exclusively in online shops like Oxendales. The items are produced at low price in many Asian countries, shipped to Oxendales warehouse and then sold on to the consumer or end-user. The company also sell high street brands such as Levis, Wrangler, Toshiba, Black and Decker and Timberland to name a very few. It is the same type of distribution channel. Oxendales buy in the stock at the stock price and then sell on with a mark up to the customer. Of course Oxendales also gain revenue through the interest they charge on their credit facility. The sales support for this company is quite good. They can be contacted by telephone, through a form online on their page and by email. The best way is by far by telephone as one knows they are being heard and they will get an immediate response. The company use a first level channel for selling goods. The goods are produced and then sent directly to Oxendales without the need for a wholesaler. The company also has a presence on social media such as Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Blogger. People As far as customer contact goes, Oxendales rarely need to interact with anyone. They do have a phone contact number and there is an automated response which, if navigated correctly will eventually lead to an operator who is usually very friendly and interested in the query being made. However because their system is so well set up online, there is little need for assistance from another person in order to order goods or return them. Having said that they do have top quality IT staff who keep the website current and glitch-less so that the business of making money can continue apace. The webpages of the Oxendales website have all of the facilities that even the most limited computer user might need and understand. The people who work on the image of the company have done a good job keeping the convenience image to the forefront. They also superbly make the consumer feel that they are getting a bargain when in fact they may not be, not compared to a high street store. However the consumer often values convenience over price. Process The process used is very definitely a customer focussed approach. Oxendales want to radiate a friendly and relaxed approach to consumers in everything they offer, from getting the customer to choose the products to be bought to getting the customer to part with their money. Everything on the website is streamlined and very easy to navigate. Most modern internet speeds will allow for easy navigation and very quick page loading. The design of the website is excellent. The pages scroll and it is up to the user of the site to choose how many items to view per page. There is also a facility where one can sort the item content on a number of criteria from Best Sellers, New in, On Sale to Ratings, Price lowest to Highest and vice versa. Moving from one area to the next is very easy too with the use of a docked banner at the head of the page displaying the different department names, each one hyperlinked to the appropriate section. The actual process of finding, adding to the basket and checking out ones selections is very easy on this website. It gives the impression of years of experience on the companys part. Physical Evidence The whole online experience of shopping at Oxendales is really a very good, easy and addictive one. Given a large enough spend limit it could be imagined that many people would get themselves into a lot of debt in a single visit. Once one uses this site, and provided one has some credit left on their account, it is almost a certainty that one will return and purchase again and again. The whole feel is one of ease and once a purchase is made, one of fulfilment. Oxendales offer a positive feeling to people visiting their site. When the products ordered do eventually arrive at ones front door, they are always packaged superbly in a heavy weight plastic outer layer covering a bubble wrap and a thinner plastic inner layer. They come with a printed receipt and a printed returns label should it be required. Really the whole process from ordering to actually receiving the goods is very simple and incredibly stress-free. Visible Metrics Not having access to information about Oxendales Social Media internal metrics one can only comment upon the visible on-page information that is available to all viewers. On Facebook, Oxendales have 20585 followers. The Facebook page receives between one and four new posts from the page manager each day. New posts receive on average four likes each Judging by the amount of likes for their posts, their followers either do not regularly visit the page or they do not like the posts. Due to their continued success in the online shopping market, one could conclude the former reason for the lack of post likes. There have been seventeen visitor posts going back to December 17th 2015, from a membership of over twenty thousand. Oxendales post both images and video files to their Facebook page but neither are very popular Oxendales have 1344 followers on Twitter The Twitter Page receives between one and five new posts per day from the page manager. New posts receive an average of one like each New posts are rarely retweeted Like Facebook, it can be construed that their presence on Twitter does not greatly contribute to their actual sales on their website. Very rarely does any one of the 1344 followers ever reply to a tweet on the Oxendales Twitter page Oxendales has 23 followers on Instagram They have posted 184 images on Instagram Out of 184 posts, they have received just 5 comments Out of 184 posts, they have received 114 Likes concentrated on 26 of the total posts Without access to their page metrics and only going on the visible data one could conclude that Oxendales success is certainly not based upon their online presence. From the information gained one can see that very few people interact with the company through social media. For this reason, it must be concluded that their success is based upon other strategies. Targeted Demographic Oxendales has an emphasis on contemporary womens styling ranging from sizes 12-32 and were constantly developing our collections to bring you the latest looks that will keep you on-trend throughout the season. With our brand ambassador Lorraine Kelly choosing her favourite pieces, were making shopping for plus size clothes, lingerie and wide fit shoes and boots fun, easy and enjoyable regardless of age, size and shape. (Oxendales Website, 2016) The above direct quote is taken from the home page of the Irish Oxendales website. They do offer clothing for children too and for men and they offer homeware and electrical goods. However, this is the headline from the home page of their website. This above all would intimate the following: That the company are targeting the female demographic above all else. That they are attempting to target all age groups of adult women. That they are attempting to target all shapes and sizes of adult women. That they are targeting women who are fashion sensitive and want to be dressed in up to the minute styles Once one clicks on the Menswear hyperlink, the following is displayed: At JD Williams we know that finding stylish menswear that fits perfectly can be tricky. Our collection of big and tall menswear comes in a range of sizes to give you perfectly proportioned design. We have t-shirts, polos, coats and jackets in chest sizes 36-66, plus our trousers and jeans are available in 5 leg lengths, including extra-short and extra-long leg and waist sizes 32-64. Discover how easy it is to find the perfect fit for every occasion. (Oxendales Website, 2016) Oxendales is still the page header however Williams and Brown is the Menswear Department name. They are using this ploy of renaming the department to make it distinct and separate from the other departments. Their catch-line on this page would suggest the following: That they stock many different types of clothing from T-shirts to jackets to trousers That they cater for all sizes of man, tall, small, fat, thin and everything in between You name it, kids need it. Cots, highchairs, clothes, shoes, coats. But with all this in one place, shopping for your family has never been simpler. Look out for our new range of girls and boys clothing in our collection of baby, nursery and childrens essentials. (Oxendales Website, 2016) This demographic is aimed at the younger generation and is found on the kids page of the website. So what can one glean from this statement? They stock items for many ages of child They stock items for both girls and boys So what can be concluded from the information gained? The conclusion has to be that Oxendales, while catering for many different types of person and interest, primarily wants women to visit their site. This is suggested by the first page loaded on entering the website being aimed primarily at women. The want ladies of all ages and who are fashion sensitive. They probably know that even in the year 2016, women still do a lot of the buying for the household and therefore by targeting women on their home page, they are indirectly offering them the other areas of the site for their perusal also. The tag-lines on the Menswear and kids-wear pages are also aimed at women as well as men. They continue to talk about interests of women, the perfect fit and fashion. Advertising Campaign Oxendales advertise their online business in a number of ways. They use different online sources and some physical ways to advertise (as opposed to intangible online advertising). Their latest advertising technique is to sponsor television shows. They are the current sponsor of the popular television drama Downton Abbey. This means that every time the show is on television, the Oxendales brand is shown on-screen prior to the start of the episode and at the start and end of every advertisement break. This is more than just advertising of course as they are also positioning their Brand next to the aristocratic gentry of a period now long since passed. The nobility and wealth of the families portrayed in the show places Oxendales into a high class light by association. They also advertise on television on daytime television. Ireland AM is a popular morning show mostly for stay at home mothers and unemployed people. The latest fashions available from Oxendales can be seen quite often being modelled on this show. Ireland AM also tend to use real people as models rather than incredibly beautiful sculpted catwalk ladies and gentlemen. This is good for Oxendales as they are trying to sell their brand to the people in the street. On the negative side, using normal people their clothes may not look as glamorous as they would on a professional model. Oxendales advertise online on such sites as hotfrog.ie and rollercoaster.ie. The former is a business directory and this type of advertising is quite astute as people use business directories all the time to locate phone numbers and addresses. Having an ad in such a place should serve the company well. The latter, rollercoaster.ie is a parent and pregnancy site. One can immediately see what Oxendales intentions are here. They are appealing to the mother on behalf of the child; they sell for both. Their online presence also stretches to social media. Not only do they have their various social media pages but they also have paid advertisements in the side bars on the various pages on various sites. Finally, they use the old fashioned paper and card as advertising media. Quite often in glossy womens magazines, postcard sized spam cards will fall out when opened. This junk often consists of various offers and advertisements for different shops, both physical and online. Oxendales do advertise in this manner. They also buy advertisement pages within the magazines pages. Their other paper advertising is through their own full and mini-catalogues. The full Oxendales catalogue is only available through request from their site. However, the mini-catalogues showing their latest offers are sometimes distributed through peoples letterboxes and as a third party supplement in Sunday Newspapers. Bibliography ONLINE SHOPPING STATS: http://www.roymorgan.com/findings/6095-online-shopping-on-rise-201503182332 WHY SHOP ONLINE? http://upstreamcommerce.com/blog/2012/02/14/8-reasons-consumer-likes-shop-online WHY SHOP ONLINE? http://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarathau/2013/10/08/why-consumers-really-shop-online/#304510da4ab5 OXENDALES ABOUT US: http://www.oxendales.ie/shop/aboutus/aboutUsView.action?cm_sp=OXI-Footer-_-AboutUs-_-AboutUs MARKETING CAMPAIGN: http://www.cio.com/article/2377257/online-marketing/7-ways-to-create-a-successful-integrated-marketing-campaign.html OXENDALES IRELAND: http://www.oxendales.ie/?PROMO=2000gclid=CjwKEAjww9O3BRDp1tq0jIP023YSJAB0-j1SZzTjxpFOGyGZev_jbyMQPHU5trQzI0Kn6-f5OQA2NhoCPDHw_wcBgclsrc=aw.ds Principles of Marketing 8th Edition, Kotler and Armstrong 2012, Prentice Hall Pearson, Ps 4/5/6 38-45