Sustainable Coffee Market Essay Example for Free

Sustainable Coffee Market Essay 1.1 Company overview Our company CoffeeTime will be established in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. This is due to the fact that the highest proportion of coffee consumption within Europe is in the Scandinavian countries, followed by the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg; it would therefore be efficient to establish the company in Rotterdam. This allows for a relatively central base with strong ties to other European countries to import/export and transport the coffee. As a company we would like to do business as sustainably and fairly as possible. Due to fair trade, we would like to help our suppliers by giving them the opportunity to produce at reasonable costs and also help ourselves by selling the coffee at reasonable prices. Fair trade also includes an educating sytem for our employees and people related to the company, such as coffeefarmers and even consumers. This system is used to prove that honest and good quality products do not need to be expensive. With this in mind there it can create a positive effect in our products which will be of benefit to everyone. The coffee will be produced and exported from Brazil to the Netherlands. Brazil was chosen due to the fact it is one of the best places in the world where coffeebeans are produced in relatively environmentally friendly circumstances. Indonesia, India, Kenia, Liberia and Mexico were further alternatives for CoffeeTime. However Brazil was chosen as it is single-handedly responsible for about a third of all the coffee in the world, as it is worlds largest coffee producer. Furthermore, there is already a Fairtrade policy applied in that area of South America by many companies, which is still ongoing and can be of benefit for the objectives of our own company. Another reason why it is attractive to do business in Brazil, is because of the logistics. Brazil has the largest port of all South America, named Port of Santos. From there on the coffee can be shipped easily to the biggest port in Europe, situated in Rotterdam where CoffeeTime have decided to establish the company. This can be seen as an advantage for both countries due to having innovation hubs. CoffeeTime wants to produce and sell the most popular coffee known on the target market; The Arabica and Robusta. However, each one of those beans can be used to provide different flavours of coffee, depending on the several techniques that are used for making coffee. 1.2 Mission and vision 1.2.1 Mission Throughout all of our business activities we want to ensure honest dealing with customers and suppliers while offering impartial advice to become the best sustainable Coffee chain. We want to use our market position of CoffeeTime to benefit our customers by offering a world class coffee experience at an affordable price. 1.2.2 Vision Treating eachother fairly can help maintaining a good relationship. CoffeeTime believes in creating an alternative way of helping the world right now and always in the future, by doing fair business from farmer to consumer. 1.3 Corporate Objectives The objectives which we stand for are related to our mission and vision as well as to benefit all stakeholders, by providing a sustainable coffee market, now and in the future; †¢ Become a leading coffee brand in order to change the market and influence Non- Fair trade coffee multinationals to go produce fairly. †¢ Focussing on improving the environmental, social and economic conditions, as well as protecting and improving the natural environment and insuring the labour rights and health of local communities. †¢ Branding CoffeeTime as a sustainable organic, Fair trade coffee brand on the market. 1.4 Keys to Success CoffeeTime has to realise that succes can only be achieved by being the best in what you do. After all, coffee is a resource intensive industry. It takes an incredible amount of energy to produce, transport, roast, deliver and brew coffee. Committed to preventing an ecological footprint, CoffeeTime will continuously strive to find new ways to restrict the impact on the environment, from production to consumption. Therefore it is of upmost importance for CoffeeTime to invest in the following: †¢ Provide an education for the farmers to help them at produce the coffee in a more optimised way. †¢ To have and keep a fair price for the coffee for everyone. †¢ To keep providing the best quality coffee. †¢ Make sure that every aspect of the product is produced in an eco-friendly way. For example, the packaging should be recycled so it can be reused wherever possible. †¢ To have good transportation by sea with providing the least harm to the enivronment due to fuel of the ship etc. †¢ Chapter 2 Product and services 2.1 Product and service description CoffeeTime will import from Brazil the finest selection of Arabica beans. In simple terms this means; Arabica is cultivated in the shade and Robusta is not. The culture of the Robusta beans are a dispensation in the culture of the traditional coffee in which coffee is cultivated under the cover of the native rain forest trees. In the 70s, a system of new farm was promoted but the result was that we’ve seen shaved forests and coffee trees planted in dense rows. These short-term farms of monoculture produced more coffee, but it had a number consequences for the environment, with soil depletion, accelerated erosion and pollution of streams. From here out CoffeeTime will produce a number of different flavours, such as extra strong, strong, regular, decaf etc. Producers are forced not to overuse pesticides or insecticides. In fact, 70% of Fair Trade products come from organic agriculture. This approach to sustainable development is supported by the explicit prohibition of the use of GMOs in products. Part of the price paid by the final customer represents a premium (between 5 and 10% of the price paid by the consumer). The latter is used collectively for social projects of various natures that benefit not only small farmers but also their families and the environment. The cooperative may decide to invest in a training program on organic farming, build a school or hospital, to restore a drive or set up a transport service. 2.2 Competitive Comparison The four major roasters Kraft, Nestlà ©, Procter Gamble and Sara Lee have little reflected this decline but profit margins remain high: Nestlà © makes a margin estimated at 26% of the instant coffee. The benefits of Sara Lee’s coffee are estimated at almost 17%, which represents a very high figure compared to other brands of food and drinks. 2.3 Sales Literature If people are sensitive to the approach and initiative, they will adhere to it quite naturally. The Sales aim is to target the niche market and to propose to our clients a wider offer which also corresponds to both modes of consumption in different social classes. Additionally, by selling our products we will not only provide a flavoursome product, but also inform customers about the product itself and how it is made. In Brazil, the production of coffee will not harm the environment ,(organic, wild harvest, farming) and it is important for our customers to know this . This method will therefore allow the customers of CoffeeTime to be involved in the process and feel valued as a consequence. The import of coffee from Brazil will be done in the most direct way possible to avoid costly middlemen, allowing to better pay artisans and producers. 2.4 Sourcing and fulfilment Part of the price paid by the final customer represents a premium (between 5 and 10% of the price paid by the consumer). The latter is used collectively for social projects of various natures that benefit not only small farmers but also their families and the environment. The cooperative may decide to invest in a training program on organic farming, build a school or hospital, to restore a drive or set up a transport service. 2.5 Technology The technology used by the company will include the use of partially automated selecting machines which will allow for increased production capacity with a lower machine-to-operator. Additional storage capabilities will decrease shipping charges and will reduce the need for permanent shipping employees. High-technology information system upgrades will improve all aspects of business, especially inventory control, tracking of shipments, and communication with clients in import and export countries. 2.6 Future Products and Services In the future CoffeeTime will develop and produce a number of different types and flavours of coffee. In addition to Arabica and Robusta, we will also import from Liberia the Liberica coffee. The Coffee Liberica tree grows up to 9 metres in height, producing larger cherries than those found on Coffea Arabica trees. This coffee was brought to Indonesia to replace the Arabica trees killed by the coffee rust disease at the end of the 19th century. It can still be found in parts of Central and East Java today.The Liberica coffee will also be produced in different strengths and varieties of coffee. Chapter 3 Market Analysis Summary 3.1 Market research According to the Daily Dutch News, the Netherlands is one of the countries with the highest coffee consumption in the world. The Dutch are also world leader in sustainable coffee drinking. About half of the consumed coffee is sustainable. On the average the Dutch drink almost 150 litres of coffee per year and about three cups a day. The branded coffee shop market in the Netherlands saw a growth of 27 per cent in outlet numbers in October 2011. The market forecasts a growth of 13 per cent per annum until 2014. We see a huge advantage in the Dutch coffee market. There is a huge demand for our sustainable coffee and CoffeeTime would like to satisfy this need. However, there are a number of competitors in the market such as the Dutch market leader Douwe Egberts.[1] 2 3.2 Market targets As a company who sells coffee, the main target audience of CoffeeTime are coffee consumers and consumers of warm drinks. Considering that coffee is not suitable for children, our target group consists from young adults (age 18) to the elderly (everyone above 18). There are many under aged Dutch citizens who also drink coffee, but as coffee is actually meant for adults it will be also treated and promoted by our company as such. Coffee is a product which is drunk by all genders and classes and in all work fields. In fact, the majority of our target group drinks coffee during work. Most consumers still buy their coffee in supermarkets, therefore is it important that our coffee is available in supermarkets such as; Albert Hein, Plus, C1000 and Bas van der Heiden. 3 3.3 Environmental/ industry analysis When sustainable coffee was introduced, the average consumer had a vague notion that the quality of sustainable products was acceptable. When companies started to offer it the Dutch consumers went along with the choice of the companies, rewarding them by remaining faithful to their brand. In recent years, the sustainable coffee market share in the Netherlands has risen rapidly. Nearly half of the consumed coffee in the Netherlands is produced in a sustainable way. According to the report Zuivere Koffie (Pure Coffee) from Oxfam Novib, 45% of all coffee which is consumed by the Dutch people is sustainably produced. 40% of all coffee in the Netherlands is UTZ CERTIFIED.[2] Sustainability is important in the Dutch coffee market. Many players of the sector, roasters, supermarkets, but also NGOs and the Dutch government have been long working together on raising consumer awareness and increasing the share of sustainably produced coffee. The Royal Netherlands Coffee and Tea Association (KNVKT) decided to give a collective boost to move towards sustainability. They are doing this by consolidating their commitment in a Declaration of Intent. The Dutch Ministry of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, several semi-governmental platforms, certifiers, sustainability initiatives and NGOs including UTZ CERTIFIED do support this. It is expected that three quarters of the Dutch coffee supply will be sustainable by 2015. [3]

Polititical scandals :: checking politicians backgrounds

When it comes to the importance of checking state and local politicians, I think it is extremely important to a certain extent. Any job should require some background check when the job is publicly related. Police officers for instance have an extensive background check if they have suspicion of a current or upcoming officer. Officers can contact a number of friends, relatives, bosses, etc. of the officer to ask questions, in hopes of catching the individual of guard. I feel that this is somewhat necessary for someone that we are supposed to trust to protect and serve our communities. It seems that even though United States soldiers have probably the most patriotic job in the country, although they do not need such a background check because of the demand for soldiers. Besides the demand, I think that it doesn’t matter all that much for some jobs. A politician, is someone the state, or communities needs to trust for much larger issues than protecting and serving. Not only do they have the power to move mountains, locally and nationally, but they hold somewhat of a role model position. These politicians are expected to be the best, most honorable, trust worthy citizens, eligible for such a job. The public sees this, sometimes too much through rhetorical situations, but sees it none the less. A politician is comparable to the president of the United States, professional athletes, and anyone that holds the title of a role model. I feel they should have a very extensive background check, but there is a place to draw the line. Neil Goldschmidt for example seemed to be the definition of a stereotypical politician, by that I mean holding all the positive qualities I previously stated. He did a tremendous amount of work for Portland and surrounding areas, and brought about much needed and appreciated commitment. When someone is to pry back into his life to determine if he was a good person, so to speak, back twenty years, I would say that there was no need for that. On the other hand if any suspicions happened to surface in the years of his employment, I would definitely feel they should be investigated. Not saying that any human being capable of committing any crime like that, shouldn’t be convicted to the fullest extent. Just that spending so much time and money on somebody, could be spent so much better somewhere else.

Personal Development: Time Management Essay

Effective Time Management is a valuable resource. Those who learn to value it go much ahead in life. On the other hand, the people who take time for granted often end up losing much. Prioritizing well is the key to time management and proper management of time can improve the quality of your life, almost dramatically. These are some of the benefits of Effective Time Management: Allows You To Be In Control Everyone keeps harping about how life is beyond their control. While certain things really are, it is still possible to take command of most of the things in life with much ease. Reduces Stress & Frustration Effective Time management is the most valuable resource and yet, the most undervalued. It needs to be acknowledged that a paucity of time for finishing tasks makes you feel stressed out and frustrated and the spill-over effect is to be seen in every aspect of your life. Saves Quality Time Managing time also helps you in saving precious time, which you can utilize in pursuing your hobbies or spending quality time with your family. Boosts Confidence And A Sense Of Achievement Completing tasks within a set time period boosts your confidence and self belief, as your life seems to be under your control. REVIEW TIME-MANAGEMENT SKILLS TO ACHIEVE ORGANASATIONAL AND PERSONAL OBJECTIVES. Time management skills to achieve organisational and personal objective are: MAKE USE OF DOWN TIME by Using walking, driving, showering, or otherwise â€Å"dead† times to plan. Think about what your goals are for that day or the next. Again, REWARD YOURSELF Whenever you accomplish something, especially the important things, make sure to take the time to reward yourself. Also AVOID PROCRASTINATION AT ALL COST When trying to be more productive and trying to save time, procrastination should be avoided like nothing else. APPROPRIATE TOOLS TO CONDUCT A TIME MANAGEMENT ANALYSIS Activity logs are the key component to any sort of time management. Record your time spent on tasks and spot what areas that need improvement. Prioritization is the next critical ingredient to time management success; it’s what lets you know what you should be spending the most time and effort on. Another crucial part to add to your time management tools is the enforcement of setting goals for you and your team. SECTION 2: SKILLS AUDIT EXPLAIN THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUAL SELF DEVELOPMENT Continual self Development are activities that improve self-knowledge and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realisation of dreams and aspirations. This encourages one be the complete entity, it allows an open frame of mind and encourages positivity. The importance of continual self development are: It helps you understand yourself better It assist you in creating your goals and life purpose It guides you in managing and spending your time effectively It enhances your ability to handle stress, adversity and change It supports you in managing your finances more wisely It teaches you to build better relationship with people It allows you to live a balanced lifestyle It provides an opportunity to take care of your health. USE APPROPRIATE METHOS TO ASSESS SKILLS AND COMPETENCIES AGAINST ORGANISATION AND PERSONAL OBJECTIVES. 1. Thinking critically and making judgments: Present a case for an interest group, prepare a committee briefing paper for a specific meeting 2. Solving problems and developing plans : Identifying problems, analyzing data, reviewing and applying information 3. Performing procedures and demonstrating techniques: By following protocols, carrying out instructions, observing real or simulated professional practice 4. Managing and developing oneself : working co-operatively, learning independently, being self directed, manage time, manage task 6. Demonstrating knowledge and understanding: By relating and interrelating, recognizing and identifying. MAKE SUGGESTIONS FOR FILLING IDENTIFIED SKILLS GAPS Know your organization â€Å"Many companies these days are taking on the ‘lean philosophy’ to cut expenses,†. individuals study the organization, and look for the positions that will likely take on greater responsibilities if and when positions are cut. Know where your company is going â€Å"Employees should look at future goals that are outlined in company-wide annual goal-setting meetings,†. By reviewing these goals, it’s easy for employees to uncover other educational frameworks that will meet these goals. Focus on customer service Employees should dig into their customer base to uncover any customer service improvement ideas that can be brought to the superiors. Find a mentor Connecting with a professional mentor or becoming active in relevant professional organizations can help employees learn more about the trends within their industry. SECTION 3: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN PRODUCE A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN AGAINST S.M.A.R.T OBJECTIVES Personal Development Plan is a continuous process of targeted reflection and self-improvement – identifying your current and future needs, and working out how you can meet them. It also includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitate employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations. Producing a personal development plan against S.M.A.R.T objectives by: Improving self-awareness, improving self-knowledge, improving or learning new skills, becoming a self-leader, building or renewing identity/self-esteem, developing strengths or talents, improving wealth, spiritual development, identifying or improving potential, building employability or human capital, enhancing lifestyle or the quality of life, fulfilling aspirations, initiating a life enterprise or personal autonomy PLAN RESOURCES NEEDED TO IMPLEMENT THE PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN Questionnaires; Semester planners; Details of your meetings with your personal tutor; Academic and/or personal problems you may have encountered; Your academic targets; Personal records of your progress in course units; Exam results and other achievements; Your career goals. SECTION 4: IMPLEMENTING A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN DESCRIBE THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN The importance of monitoring a personal development plan is to ensure that activities are kept within the parameters of the agreed strategic aims and objectives; Also to ensure that activities are consistent with personal vision, mission and values; and keep under review internal and external changes which may require changes to the personal’s strategy or affect their ability to achieve their objectives. It also helps in monitoring one’s progress, it helps in evaluating personal performance. USE APPROPRIATE TECHNIQUES TO REVIEW THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVE OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN. Solicit Feedback Regularly: Perception is reality. Seek to understand how people perceive you. You may not be achieving the impact you expected in leading or working with others. You cannot adjust your approach without the benefit of feedback that can inform you in terms of how your intentions were received by others. Be proactive in finding out what people think about you and your style of interacting and your approach. Be open to and appreciative of the feedback you receive, not defensive. Reflect on Performance: Some successful people are gregarious and extroverted while others are reserved and introverted. But all successful people know how to spend time alone being reflective and thoughtful about recent performance and behaviour. Always take ample time at the conclusion of major elements of work to reflect on the quality of what you produced and the effectiveness of your work with others. The key to reflecting on performance is remaining balanced in your self-assessment. Be self -critical: understand what you could have done better and learn from these mistakes. Know Your Strengths  and Weaknesses: As you collect feedback and reflections, come to understand your personal strengths and weaknesses. Know that everyone has both. Successful people build success from their strengths while they limit the negative impact of their weaknesses. UPDATE THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF A PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN To develop the ability to make choices, set goals and take action. Develop a rational opinion and explain the reasoning behind it. Seek solutions/alternative options Listen and observe Be aware of disadvantage and changing needs – old age/ illness/ disability Develop positive relationships with a variety of people Share responsibility for group tasks Anticipate and counter negative reaction and rationale Resolve conflicts Make choices and decisions Set goals, plan, organise, promote, implement, evaluate. Recognized their own worth Demonstrate assertiveness, to enable active citizenship, at home, at school and in the community. REFLECTIVE LEARNING STATEMENT The main theme of this unit which is PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT have a significant impact in my work role and has helped me to realised the talent and competency in me. It allows me to be in control of my time, managing it effectively and utilizing it to the fullest. It also boost my confidence and sense of achievement with self belief as my life seems to be under my control. It assist me in setting adequate goals for myself and avoid procrastination at all cost The belief that I can achieve and be successful in whatsoever am doing is my strength at the start and end of this unit While time interval and access to books from the library serve as a weakness.

Why the Flu Vaccine Doesnt Work All the Time

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is looking at whether or not the flu vaccine is effective. Preliminary results indicate youll get just as sick (with colds, flu, flu-like illnesses) if you got the vaccine than if you didnt. Why doesnt the vaccine work? In order to understand the answer, youll need to understand some specifics about the flu vaccine and a bit about how immunity works. Flu Vaccine Facts There is no single virus that causes the flu; there is no one flu vaccine that protects against all of them. A flu vaccine is designed to confer immunity against the strains of flu that are expected to be most common and most serious. The vaccine is a sort of one-size-fits-all solution, even though there are more types of flu than covered by the vaccine and the flu types vary according to a region. It takes time to produce vaccines, so a new vaccine cant be instantly produced when a new type of flu starts to cause problems. The Vaccine and Immunity The flu vaccine gives your body parts of inactivated flu viruses. These virus parts correspond to parts of proteins floating around in your body. When the virus part contacts a chemical match, it stimulates the body to produce the cells and antibodies that can remove this particular intruder. Antibodies are proteins that float in body fluids and can bind to specific chemical markers. When an antibody binds to a substance, it essentially marks it for destruction by other cells. However, an antibody for one type of flu wont necessarily bind to a virus part from another type of flu. You dont get protection against other viruses. A flu vaccine can only stimulate your immune system to protect you against the viruses in the vaccine, with some lesser protection against very similar ones. Incomplete Protection Against Intended Targets You may not even get protection against the intended virus. Why? First, because viruses change over time. The piece that was in the vaccine may not look the same (chemically) as the real thing (months later, after all!). Second, the vaccine may not have given you enough stimulation to fight off the disease. Lets review whats happened so far: the inactivated virus piece has found a chemical match in your body. This causes an immune response, so your body has started to gear up its production of antibodies and similar markers on cells that can mark the virus for destruction or kill it outright. Its like calling up an army for a battle. Will your body win the fight when the real virus comes to call? Yes, if you have enough defenses built up. However, you will still get the flu if: Your body isnt fast enough producing a response.Get the vaccine and get exposed to the flu too soon (less than 2 weeks).Too much time between vaccination and exposure (the vaccine loses its effectiveness over time).You dont produce enough of a response.Overwhelmed by exposure to a high level of the virus.Your body couldnt recognize the initial virus piece (this determined by genetics).Your body didnt make enough antibodies/cells (this is common in older people or people with suppressed immune systems).The virus as changed beyond your bodys ability to recognize it.The part of the virus that was in the vaccine cant be detected by the body in the intact virus. But Is It Actually a Waste of Time? Yes and no... the flu vaccine will be more effective some years than others. The CDC predicted that the vaccine developed for the winter of 2003/2004 wasnt going to be effective against most cases of the flu because the strains covered by the vaccine werent the same as the strains that were common. Highly targeted vaccines work, but only against their targets! Theres no point in accepting the risks of a vaccine for a disease you cant get. When the flu vaccine is on-target, its more effective. Even then, the vaccine isnt perfect because it uses inactivated virus. Is that bad? No. A live vaccine is more effective, but much more risky. Bottom line The flu vaccine varies in effectiveness from year-to-year. Even in a best-case scenario, it wont always protect against the flu. The CDC study didnt say that the vaccine didnt work; it says the vaccine didnt protect people from getting sick. Even with imperfect effectiveness, the vaccine is indicated for certain people. In my opinion, however, the vaccine isnt for everyone and certainly shouldnt be required for otherwise healthy people.