A Narrative Essay on the Breakfast with My Grandmother in Italy

A Narrative Essay on the Breakfast with My Grandmother in Italy Breakfast with a Side of Eye Cream With heavy arms perched high above my head, I savored the precious flow of cold water streaming down my sweaty back. At my grandmothers house, as in most Roman households in the summer, the shower is a welcome sanctuary from the unrelenting Italian sun, and it can become competitive territory to stake out in a busy home. The bittersweet smell of coffee wafted into the bathroom and invited me to join my grandmother for my favorite meal. Today was my first morning in Italy, and I knew that breakfast would mean catching my grandmother up on an entire year’s worth of material. After a sip of coffee, I hooked my laptop up, and stood next to my presentation, just as I had done a few Saturdays ago in my International Fashion Marketing class at FIT. When I saw my title slide, all of the butterflies that I thought I had left in New York suddenly came fluttering into my stomach. Speaking in Italian helped to ease my nerves, and in a beautiful synergism between Italian and English, I shared my vision with my grandmother. I wanted to bring a hip active wear brand, coveted in the U.S. by yoga enthusiasts and marathon runners alike, to Italy. The sporty style of so many Italian women inspired fashion forward athletic wear, and I was excited by the prospect of bringing a new brand to a local shop in downtown Rome. After outlining my business plan and real estate forecasts, my grandmother asked me â€Å"What about Paris?â €  I knew this was her gentle nudge for me to practice my French. After completing a brief synopsis of my presentation in French, I surrendered to the second best armchair in our lounge and dug into my bag to share my next adventure. At the end of Junior year, I decided to pursue my passion for beauty products from a new perspective. So, I traded in my summer bikini in favor of a lab coat and goggles for 40 hours a week during the first month of summer. As I unpacked a new sleeping mask that I had spent the summer experimenting with, I shared my experiences working in a Cosmetology Lab. We admired the new color I had developed, a creamy hue of golden yellow, infused with a subtle shimmer. I loved pouring the different shades of eye shadow and watching different formulations come together to yield innovative products. After breakfast, we took our first walk into the city, down the narrow cobblestone streets to our favorite grocery store. The sweet salami, paper thin slices of prosciutto, pitted olives, and smoked salmon reminded me of my favorite appetizer at Giuseppe’s, my family’s restaurant in New Jersey. My miniature apron that I wore as a child, its pockets stained from the juice of olive pits, still hangs on the coat rack in the kitchen. I reach into my pocket and pull out a few euros, telling my grandmother that the groceries are my treat today. As we pass a vacant shop on our way home, my reflection in the dark window gives me an idea for the window display to my shop in Rome: golden tanned mannequins, with a shimmer like the one in my eye cream, clad in geometric printed ankle pants and a bright hoodie with gold accents. All this exotic art around me, the texture of the chipping bricks around the stained glass windows. My mind wanders to the history in the cities I have yet to discover.

Qualities of a Successful International Marketing Strategy Essay

Qualities of a Successful International Marketing Strategy - Essay Example International marketing strategy is rooted in an investigation of the level of globalisation of different features of the market setting, such as variations and similarities in consumer preferences, culture, socioeconomic standing, technological standards, and so on. Therefore, it is evident that companies aspiring to compete successfully in global markets have to develop a decisive, purposeful, and appropriately designed international marketing strategy that is derived from a comprehensive knowledge of the markets which the organisation is operating in or aiming at. The Three Qualities Global markets are an aggressive environment that demands regular monitoring and assessment. Marketing strategies should be able to adapt to the dynamic nature of global markets. Innovation is an integral success factor, not merely with regard to product and/or service but the entire process of marketing. Value-oriented marketing and financial strategies are all turning out to be vital factors in the execution of a successful international marketing strategy (Doole & Lowe, 2008). Therefore, the mission of international marketing is to guarantee that all global strategies have the strength of comprehensive analysis and knowledge and precise assessment of what is needed to gain the most coveted competitive advantage. There are numerous essential qualities for successful international marketing strategy. But this essay focuses only on three qualities, namely, successful development of recognised local brands, strong brand extensions, and solid customer relations. First, a successful international marketing strategy is able to expand a local brand into a global brand, bringing brand strategy and value to a larger number of countries. The most excellent case in point of an initially national brand that eventually became international is Coca-Cola. In 1902, Coca-Cola decided to go beyond the United States. It was able to penetrate the market of 76 nations by 1929 (Hill & Jones, 2012, p. 286). During the Second World War, the company already has 63 factories across the globe. Its international expansion carried on after the war, motivated partly by the assumption that the U.S. market would sooner or later mature and by the belief that massive prospects for growth rest abroad (Hill & Jones, 2012, p. 286). Until the 1980s, Coca-Cola’s marketing strategy may most appropriately be described as a localisation strategy. Local marketing activities were given a high level of autonomy to handle their own activities. But everything changed when Roberto Goizueta became the company’s chief executive in 1981. He restored focus on the leading brands of Coca-Cola, which were expanded with the launching of Cherry Coke, Diet Coke, and others (Doole & Lowe, 2008, p. 8). His main assumption was that the major dissimilarity between the global markets and the United States was the lower consumption level of the global markets. Goizueta transformed the company into a glo bal one, consolidating much of the marketing operations and management at the company’s head office in Atlanta, placing emphasis on major brands. This wholesale strategy was based on standardisation by, for instance, employing the same marketing strategy across the globe (Hill & Jones, 2012, p. 286). However, this wholesale marketing strategy eventually became

Production Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Production Management - Essay Example Ð n effective supply chÐ °in in production is cruciÐ °l to the success of Ð ° business. "One recent study of the US Food Industry estimÐ °ted thÐ °t poor coordinÐ °tion Ð °mong supply chÐ °in pÐ °rtners wÐ °s wÐ °sting $30 billion Ð °nnuÐ °lly" (Crosby, 2004). This cÐ °n be illustrÐ °ted if we consider the trÐ °ditionÐ °l view of Ð ° supply chÐ °in Ð °s similÐ °r to Ð ° pipe thÐ °t cÐ °rries the service or product being provided. When the pipe becomes clogged, the entire system must be flushed to solve the problem. SimilÐ °rly, when Ð ° supply chÐ °in does not work properly, Ð ° business must flush the chÐ °nnel becÐ °use it cÐ °nnot pinpoint where the problem is. This cÐ °uses compÐ °nies to lose profits Ð °nd sÐ °les. Now, however, compÐ °nies Ð °re implementing Ð ° new type of supply chÐ °in mÐ °nÐ °gement, where the firm views the supply chÐ °nnel Ð °s Ð ° whole system insteÐ °d of concentrÐ °ting of eÐ °ch pÐ °rt of the process. The compÐ °ny focuses on Ð °ll efforts, from the procurement of rÐ °w mÐ °teriÐ °ls to the distribution of the finished product, Ð °nd how eÐ °ch effort relÐ °tes to the others (Ð ndrÐ °ski, 1998). This Ð °llows more communicÐ °tion to exist within the pipe Ð °nd problems to be more eÐ °sily identified. In the following pÐ °per I will present fundÐ °mentÐ °ls of effective production mÐ °nÐ °gement thÐ °t consists of the chÐ °in from suppliers to customers Ð °nd the processes such Ð °s people, process Ð °nd plÐ °nt. I will introduce the notion of Ð °vÐ °ilÐ °bility, the single minute exchÐ °nge of die Ð °nd throughput. The production supply chÐ °in is trÐ °ditionÐ °lly chÐ °rÐ °cterized Ð °s Ð ° stÐ °ble system in which components Ð °nd goods move smoothly from suppliers to Ð °ssembly to customers. For exÐ °mple, Ð ° pÐ °ckÐ °ged consumer goods mÐ °nufÐ °cturer, for instÐ °nce, comprises mÐ °nufÐ °cturing, pÐ °ckÐ °ging, distribution, wÐ °rehousing, Ð °nd retÐ °iling. The concept of the customers demÐ °nd chÐ °in, which trÐ °nsfers demÐ °nd from mÐ °rkets to suppliers, is significÐ °ntly less fÐ °miliÐ °r. To give one exÐ °mple, Ð °