Opportunities & Threats Essay Example for Free

Opportunities Threats Essay The changing demographics of the American population will provide Walgreens with several opportunities to increase their sales. By 2010, the American population over 50 years of age is expected to reach 95 million (SIC 5912, 2006). This increase in the number of elderly Americans will provide Walgreens with an increased demand for prescriptions and thepotential to increase sales and revenue in that category. The aging American population will greatly impact the pharmaceutical industry. In 2002, 30% of Walgreens’ prescriptions and 42% of prescription sales were derived from older Americans. Recent changes in Medicare plans allow Medicare participants to pay the same no matter where they shop, which will benefit not only Walgreens, but other companies that sell prescription medication, as well as the manufacturing companies of prescription drugs. This category is especially important as pharmacy sales rose 12% in the last quarter, significantly more than the 5. 2% increase in non-pharmacy sales (Miller, 2006). Prescription drugs currently constitute nearly 64% of Walgreens sales (Biesada, 2006). Despite this, Walgreens should also recognize the opportunities that lie in non-pharmacy related goods. Though Walgreens currently sells several goods other than prescription drugs, the overall company sales do not reflect successful sales in these categories. According to the National Association of Chain Drug Stores the greatest growth opportunity for stores like Walgreens is increasing non-pharmacy purchases that existing shoppers make. It is interesting to note that the number of customers shopping at drug stores is generally declining. Even so, the frequency of returning customers has risen. Customers often visit drug stores to fill prescriptions, but also purchase cosmetic products and over-the-counter drugs. These categories comprise 80% of purchases on these trips, but only 30% of these shoppers make impulse purchases. As such, Walgreens is presented with an incredible opportunity to increase sales revenue by using marketing strategies to increase the number of sales made for non-prescription drug products. In 2001, the average non-pharmacy drug store purchase was $19. 38. An additional $2. 00 for every purchase made would increase the average sales by nearly 10% (NACDS/American Greetings Research Council, 2002). Another opportunity for Walgreens that could potentially lead to company growth lies in expansion to international markets. Today, Walgreens remains a domestic corporation, and as such, its target market is limited only to residents of the United States. However, as the United States market becomes saturated, Walgreens has the opportunity to expand to other countries. Although cultural differences and government regulations may necessitate changes in the Walgreens’ product line and business practices in other countries, the quality service and products provided by Walgreens will be universally recognized and will help to ensure the company’s success. In choosing to expand internationally, Walgreens would be the pioneer and market leader, as its largest competitors, such as CVS, have yet to enter international markets. Due to the fact that the majority of Walgreens’ sales are derived from prescription drugs, intertype competitors are a large threat. In an effort to attract customers by providing a convenient, one-stop-shop, grocery store chains and discounters have ventured into the prescription drug market. Furthermore, the average American visits a grocery store 2. 2 times per week, but a drugstore only once a month (SIC 5912, 2006). Discounters such as Wal-Mart emphasize low cost, making it difficult for Walgreens to compete. These retailers also offer a broader range of products, and have a larger customer base. 138 million Americans shop at Wal-Mart every week and many may find it tempting to fill their prescriptions in the stores in which they already shop. Another threat to Walgreens is the rising cost of health care. The high cost of health care has motivated more and more people to search for lower cost alternatives outside of traditional drug stores. These include the purchase of prescription drugs over the internet, particularly from countries such as Canada, where they are less expensive. For example, of the top 100 branded prescription drugs in Canada and the United States, 93% were less expensive in Canada, and in Canada the average branded prescription drug costs 43% less than in the United States (Skinner, 2005). Furthermore, there is a shortage of pharmacists, which is an additional threat to the continued success of Walgreens. Studies estimate that there are currently 8,000 unfilled pharmacist positions and predict that there will be a shortage of 150,000 pharmacists by 2020. If Walgreens is unable to hire qualified pharmacists, the quality of service provided will definitely decrease, which will negatively impact the company’s sales. IV. Strategies Walgreens has traditionally followed an organic expansion strategy. This has recently changed through the acquisition by Walgreens of other companies such as Happy Harry’s and Mermark, a specialty pharmacy. (Walgreens Corporation, 2006). In order to exploit its opportunities and neutralize the threats, Walgreens must focus on customer convenience. The quality of service traditionally provided by Walgreens is what made it a household name, and the factor that distinguishes it from competitors. Improved and more frequent training of current Walgreens staff and changes to store design are ways in which Walgreens can provide a more convenient shopping experience to customers. Another strategy would be to improve Walgreens’ online services. This will not only allow Walgreens to expand to international markets, but will also reduce the need for pharmacists. Discounts and free shipping could be provided to online customers in order to allow Walgreens to be more competitive with other online drugstores. References: Biesada, A. (2006b). Walgreen Co. Hoovers. Retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www. hoovers. com/walgreen/ID__11601/free-co-factsheet. xhtml Miller, J. P. (2006, September 26). Walgreens net climbs 25%; drug sales jump. Chicago Tribune. Retrieved May 16, 2009 from http://www. chicagotribune. com/business/chi- 0609260258sep26,1,5174751

White Resistance to Somewhere in the Darkness Essay -- Somewhere in th

White Resistance to Somewhere in the Darkness  Ã‚  Ã‚   I feel compelled to revisit the one novel we have read that created the most resistance in me and would quite possibly do so in a significant population of white readers: Walter Dean Myers' Somewhere in the Darkness.   That the book is well written or valuable to readers is irrelevant here -- I enthusiastically grant both.   Of greater concern in this discussion is the notion of resistance to the book that could easily be encountered with a particular population of suburban, white readers, namely those who would seem to have the most in common with Jimmy and who, paradoxically, would most likely resist the book.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The readers who comprise this group have much in common with Jimmy. They are largely lower-middle class and come from either fatherless homes, what might easily be considered dysfunctional two-parent homes, and/or live with extended families in lieu of their natural parents.   In any case, the parent(s) are possibly absent from the home a great deal of the time, involved in a variety of dating practices and sexual promiscuity, caught up in illegal activity and often incarcerated or have been, oppressed by substance abuse of some type, and/or often living in an environment of either subtle or overt racism.   I have made no effort to quantitatively justify the particulars of this description though such a study would undoubtedly prove enlightening.   Rather, I assert this general description based on 12 years of experience of living in a white, lower middle-class suburb. In some ways, we could easily view these readers as insiders in t hat they share with Jimmy some elements of a common familial experience, but it is the cultural differences between white and ... ...ility: there is no hope for me or my kind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   A white reader's resistance to Walter Dean Myers' novel, Somewhere in the Darkness, is inevitable, particularly when that white reader has more in common with the protagonist than not.   It seems the closer in circumstance the white reader is to Jimmy, the more he/she might resist to his cultural differences because those underlying cultural differences cause Jimmy to act in ways that seem unlikely to a white reader.   The key is to be aware of those differences and be willing to see what Jimmy sees -- from his point of view.   If we are willing to do that, then Myers' work is a wonderful and effective way to learn not only about Jimmy and his culture but also about ourselves and the hopes we have for our lives. Works Cited: Myers, W. D. Somewhere in the darkness. New York: Scholastic Book Services.1992.

Becoming American

Dinesh D'Souza was born in Mumbai, India to parents from the state of Goa in Western India. He grew up in a middle-class family in Mumbai. His father was a chemical engineer; his mother is an office secretary. He was raised without great luxury, but neither did he lack for anything. He arrived in the United States in 1978, originally through a Rotary International program, attending Patagonia Union High School in Patagonia, Arizona, and then move to Dartmouth College, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in English in 1983.In 1981, D'Souza published the names of officers of the Gay Student Alliance in an article for The Dartmouth Review, including the names of those who were still closeted. While at Dartmouth, D'Souza became the editor of a conservative monthly called The Prospect. The paper and its writers ignited much controversy during D'Souza's editorship. Later on, D’ Souza published a lot of write up with regard to his new life in America.D’Souza able to illustrate t he feelings and emotion of an immigrant coming from a third world country, for him (D’Souza), as a new comer in America he feel a typical experienced that alternate between wonders and delight. D’Souza added that, America is a country where all people has freedom, hard working, the community is organized, the economic is abundant, the roads are properly paved, telephone has dial tone, highways and sign board are clear and accurate. Moreover, the author claimed that American government provides an amazingly good life for their ordinary citizen.Rich people live well everywhere, but what distinguishes America is that it provides a remarkably high standard of living for the â€Å"common man. † According to him (D’Souza) that â€Å"a country is not judged by how it treats its most affluent citizens but by how it treats the average citizen†. The author added, as an immigrant coming from a third world country, you cannot help noticing that America is a co untry where poor people live comparatively well; they had television sets and cars.Ordinary Americans not only enjoy security and dignity, but also comforts that other societies reserve for the elite. American worker particularly in construction regularly earned 4$ for a cappuccino, where maids drive nice cars, where plumbers take their families on vacation to Europe. If this luxurious living in America as compared to the living in the Third world country, all of us can noticed that huge gap. Because according to the author, the life in the Third world country was miserable, people are struggling for their basic existence, it is not that they don’t work hard.On the contrary, they labor incessantly and endure hardships that are almost unimaginable to people in America. In the villages of Asia and Africa, for example, a common sight is a farmer beating a pickaxe into the ground, women wobbling under heavy loads, children carrying stones. These people are performing arduous labo r, but they are getting nowhere. The best that they can hope for is to survive for another day. Their clothes are tattered, their teeth are rotten, and disease and death constantly loom over the horizon.For most poor people on the planet, life is characterized by squalor, indignity, and brevity. The author sited some problem with regard to the situation of a Third world country are their basic infrastructure is abysmal. The roads are not properly paved, the water is not safe to drink, pollution in the cities has reached hazardous levels, public transportation is overcrowded and unreliable, economic is unstable and there is a two-year waiting period to get a telephone.The poorly paid government officials are inevitably corrupt, which means that you must pay bribes to get things done. Most important, prospects for the children’s future are dim. Dinesh D'Souza has elaborate many reasons why America is so great, he was able to discussed some issue with regard to America’s equality, pursuit of happiness, the ethics of work, religious liberty, ideals and interest and American’s virtue. According to the author, American critics alleged that the history of United States is defined by a series of crimes, slavery and genocide.American critics even point out a demand for apologies for these historical offenses and seek financial reparations for minorities and African-American. But the truth is that American has gone further than any society in establishing equality of rights. As documented by William Mcneill in Plagues and People, it was determined that numbers of Indians did perish as a result of their contact with whites, but most of them died by contracting diseases such as smallpox, measles, malaria, tuberculosis for which they had not developed immunities.Surely, all of this is relevant to the reparations debate. A trenchant observation that this issue was totally healed is the fight of Muhammad Ali against George Foreman for the heavyweight tit le, for which this battle was held in the African nation of Zaire. The issue with regard to slavery proved to be the transmission belt that brought Africans into the orbit of Western prosperity and freedom. Blacks in America have a higher standard of living and more freedom than any comparable group of blacks on the continent of Africa.D’Souza, stated that all this allegation is not strictly true, for a few decades now we can see blacks and some minorities have enjoyed more rights and privileges than whites. The reason behind this is that America had implemented affirmative action policies that give legal preferences to minority groups in university admission, jobs and government contracts. The author illustrates the pursuit of happiness in America because it offers more opportunity and social mobility than any other country. As a matter of fact, most societies offer limited opportunities for and little chance of true social mobility.Even in Europe, social mobility is relativ ely restricted. On the other hand, D’Souza discussed the ethic of work in America that gives a worldly focus in which death and the afterlife recede from everyday view. The people gazed are shifted from heavenly aspiration to earthly progress. In America, American Founders are responsible for the change, drawing from the inspiration of modern philosophers like Locke and Adam Smith. The American Founders knew that they could not transform human nature, so they devised a system that would thwart the schemes of the wicked and channel the energies of flawed persons toward the public good.The religious and ethnic difference in America does not lead to extreme violence; there was generally no framework fro people to coexist harmoniously, although America has a lot of religious groups, such as Hindus, Muslims, Irish Catholics and Irish Protestant, Jews and Palestinians and etc. The government still managed to balance the culture and religious difference of their citizen. One reason that separation of religion and government worked is that colonial America was made up of numerous, mostly Protestant sects. The Puritans dominated in Massachusetts; the Anglicans, in Virginia; the Catholics were concentrated in Maryland; and so on.The second reason was, the American Founders were able to avoid religious oppression and conflict ii which they found a way to channel people’s energies away from theological quarrels and into commercial activity. D’Souza concluded his write up that America is the greatest, freest, and most decent society in existence. For him, America is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism and the history will view America as a great gift to the world, a gift that Americans today must preserve and cherish. He imagines that, if ever he remained in India, what probably is his life now?Would he find and married a woman who was identical of his religion, socio-economic and cultural background? Would he certainly become a medical doctor, an engineer or a software programmer? For him, as a writer, he considers his life as a destined one, the opportunity to migrate in America became his bridge to gain his success in life today. Bibliography Bookstove, Nov. 16, 2007. What so Great About America. Stanza Ltd. April 08, 2007. http://www. bookstove. com/Non-fiction/Whats-So-Great-About-America-by-Dinesh-Dsouza. 59078/1

Are Professional Athletes Role Models - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1345 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/05/06 Category Society Essay Level High school Tags: Role Model Essay Did you like this example? Are athletes role models? That’s the big question that a lot of people try to answer. Athletes do a lot of extraordinary things in their sport. High flying dunks, coast to coast rushes down the ice for a spectacular goal, and amazing bending free kicks from 40 yards out. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Are Professional Athletes Role Models" essay for you Create order This can be why they are idols to a lot of kids. Kids idolize Lebron James because of what he can do on the court. Though he can also be a role model to people of all ages what he does off it. Yes, there are many athletes that have done very unacceptable and horrendous crimes and acts. Though this should not overshadow what many athletes do outside of their profession or even inside of it. They should be considered role models. Sports can be a way out of bad places for many kids growing up. Being in a bad situation, living in a rough neighbourhood, or just not having the right mindset. Having good role models in a sport can help lead kids into it. Many start playing a sport from following in the footsteps of an athlete they idolize. In the mid 2000’s, Sidney Crosby influenced so many kids to lace up the skates and play. Sid is an incredible role model. His whole career no things negative about him have arose that have impacted him as a person. He has stayed out of the public eye and shown hard work and dedication to the sport. This can show kids to not only work hard in sports but life in general. Showing that hard work can get you to whatever your dreams are. Players stories can inspire people that are in a bad place. You see it all the time of players growing up in a small trailer to making it to the NFL (Jarvis Landry). To have players like this to follow can set the right tone for kids. In the media you see stories all the time of players doing bad things and making bad decisions. This can be looked at players shouldn’t be idolized by people. The perspective that should be looked at is it teaches people on how you shouldn’t be acting at your job and outside of it. Especially in the NFL there are a lot of situations that are brought up where domestic abuse has occurred. Just recent A video of Kareem Hunt (Former RB of the Kansas City Chiefs). It shows him confront a woman, pushing her and kicking at her while being heled back. This happening while being intoxicated (Belson, Nov. 30, 2018). This whole situation showing kids how you shouldn’t treat women and the consequences of it. He has since been released from his organization and most likely won’t be picked up by any other teams. This is no different then what would happen to someone at their workplace. They would be fired from their position and would be hard to get another job. As much as people want to say that athletes aren’t role models. This can be looked at as its showing kids what not to do, in their life and allowing them to follow other players that have a positive impact. The media portrays all these incidents in the right way that, they are always bad. Showcasing that it is not acceptable at all. So, with this happening every kid thinks they are the â€Å"bad guy† and their favourite player may be someone like Crosby that shows ex ceptional leadership and hard work. The whole point of this paragraph was to show that even though there are negatives that happen, it allows kids to learn from it. As well they are learning important qualities through the role models in sports that they follow. The players with a positive impact are shown so well that they make every kid want to be looked at that way, while disgracing the people that make bad decisions.There are so many things that athletes do outside of sports or in them that get recognized. Small things that always show a very positive impact. While Donovan Mitchell was out at the apple store he overheard that a man didn’t have enough money for his phone to be repaired (who was slow in development, said by his brother in a tweet he posted about it). So, he covered the cost for him. This is something that says great about someone’s character as many people and athletes would just ignore it and not think twice about doing it. A big thing about it as well is that he did it without having any cameras around him and didn’t say anything about himself doing it. This speaks levels of his character. As well he is heavily involved in the community and hosted the Strikes for Kids Utah Bowling Classic in February to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake City (Chiari, Aug. 2, 2018). Then there are big things that athletes do for the community. Take Russell Wilson for example, every Tuesday he goes and visits a children’s hospital, on his free time since becoming an NFL player. He has well gives first class seats to armed forces veterans. PK Subban, donated $10 million dollars to Montreal’s children hospital and Andrew Wiggins who is donating $22 (his number) to help underprivileged kids to gain better access to organized sports for every point he scores (Chiappelli Oct. 27, 2018). In the 2017-2018 season he scored a total of 1,451 points, if he averaged around that this year his total donation would be $31,922. LeBron who has his LeBron James Family foundation which has been around for a decade. The main focus is to help children’s education is rough areas. He opened the I Promise School, in Akron, Ohio (his hometown) to help children at risk (Kolur, July. 29, 2018). This is what a great leader and role model is. Yes, he is the greatest basketball player of all time, won many awards and championships but it’s his impact off the court that speaks volumes. To use his platform and wealth to bring awareness and help all these kids in needs is not only things that kids should try to follow in. No matter how big or small their impact is, doing something positive goes a long way. More athletes should follow these athlete’s footsteps because they have left a great impact on the community which is what being an athlete should be about. With this massive platform they have they can create such a positive impact on this world that they can change it for the better in realizing the opportunity they have. If I was a parent would I be happy if my kid’s role model was an athlete? Someone like LeBron or Sidney Crosby? I would love that. These players show so many good qualities and create such positive impacts that they can help lead kids down the right path. Bringing them into a sport, drawing them away from all the negatives surrounding them. Influencing people to start to do more things to help people out, no matter how small. Showing them that hard work pays off and you need to earn what you want through determination. People look at good teachers, siblings, parents, a motivational speaker or someone who has grown their business from nothing and now is very successful from hard work. So why can’t athletes be looked at as role models? Citations Belson, K. (2018, December 01). Kareem Hunt Is Cut by the Chiefs After a Video Showed Him Attacking a Woman. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/30/sports/kareem-hunt-chiefs-video.html Chiari, M. (2018, August 02). Donovan Mitchell Helps Fan Who Couldnt Afford iPhone Repair. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2789166-donovan-mitchell-helps-fan-who-couldnt-afford-iphone-repair Chiappelli, K. (2018, October 17). Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins will donate $22 for every point this season. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/timberwolves-andrew-wiggins-donation-every-point-this-season-stats-nba-news/ipbslbmlfixx15rsz28t9lpzl Kolur, N. (2018, July 29). LeBron James to open I Promise School on Monday. Retrieved December 3, 2018, from https://www.si.com/nba/2018/07/29/lebron-james-i-promise-school-opening-akron-ohio