Wealth

This poem is a Patriarchal sonnet that consists of two stanzas- the first one is an octet in which the thesis is explained and the second one is a sestet in which a solution for the thesis is explained. The poem is about the children in rich families that are overprotected and lead luxurious and extravagant lives. The comfort that they get isn’t as good for them as it seems but plays a part in making them ignorant and making them unprepared to face whatever calamities that may befall them. The poem which has a sober and didactic tone is written in second person narrative so that the message has a greater impact on the reader and the reader feels like he’s been addressed directly.

The poem begins with the children of wealth being addressed in their warm and comfy homes directly as in the first line of the poem which is also the title of the poem as in every sonnet. The children are seated in a warm place on “cushioned windows” which tells us that they are provided with so much comfort that even their window seated are cushioned .from the beginning we see that the poet exaggerates their riches. They are watching the snow falling that’s falling continuously outside sitting from their windows as in the line “set in the window seat to watch the volleying snow guarded invisibly”. There are two images formed here- one is of the comfortable and warm room in which the children are seated and the second image is of the cold and chilly and harsh winter outside.

The only barrier between the two is the clear window referred to as an invisible guard because you cant see it. It doesn’t let any pain reach the children as in the line ‘by the clear double pane through which no touch untimely penetrates”. The children don’t know what winter is because they have never felt it, just seen it and heard it. Winter is not something which is known just by seeing .. it has to be felt. In the same way, they [the children] have never experienced the hardships that some people face in this world.

They have just heard about them. The pun pane describes the window and tells us that no pain can reach the children. If the window would have been single paned the children would still be able to feel the cold air that would seep in. thus we see that winter and “cold” symbolize harsh realities of the outside world. The glass does indeed keep the children away and well protected from the harsh winter but it also keeps them away from the pains of winter and makes them ignorant which can be painful for them. Their citadel keeps them away from feeling and knowledge which is essential for the survival of human beings in the world as in the line “your citadel is safe from feeling and from knowledge too”.

In the second stanza the poet says that the only way these kids can get rid of their ignorance is if they are exposed to the harsh realities in the world from which they are kept away. In the line ” go down go out to elemental wrong”, the poet says that these children should be made to go out and seek the worldly problems out and solve them.

The children of wealth are visualized as fair and round so the poet tells them to shed their weight by working hard as in the line “waste you two round limbs , tan your skin too white”. The poet also says that they should tan their skin which is too white that it looks pale and gives a feeling of something that’s decaying by exposing it to the sun. the word “too” makes it negative. So, the poet is urging them in using a tone with urgency to seek the outside world and face its difficulties so that they may be able to shed their ignorance.

The second stanza shows the glass as not only a barrier that provides protection but also a dangerous object that is being identified with ignorance as in the line “the glass of comfort, ignorance seems strong”.

In the next lines the poet warns them that of a possibility of a fire starting in their houses as in the line “today and yet perhaps this very night you’ll wake to horrors wrecking fire your home is wired within for this in every room . The word “yet” in this line gives an effective warning sound. And if something like that does happen they wont be able to protect themselves and how ever will they escape? Their only way will be out of the window which unfortunately won’t give way too easily because it’s double paned. In the same way they won’t be able to survive in the outside world because of their ignorance which is symbolized by glass.

The poem ends with a very clear warning to the children of wealth making it clear that unless they don’t seek and expose themselves to reality and experience the difficulties of this world they are going to be vulnerable to this worlds dangers.

Essay Outline

Argument: I think that advertising does give me a wealth of information about a country.

Support 1: When I watch TV in South Korea, I can see what cell phones, TVs, and fruits and vegetables are from this country

Support 2: Second, in South Korea, they promote beauty products a lot, because looks are very important here.

Support 3: You can learn a lot about fashion and dining trends In a country from advertisements.

Thesis: I believe that advertising can give you a wealth of knowledge about a country. If you pay close attention to advertisements you can learn about what products a country produces and which products are very

important to a country. Moreover, you can learn about different foods made in a country and their

fashion style.

Model Essay

I think that advertising does give me a wealth of information about a country. First, it shows what products

are from that country. Second, it shows what products are important in that country. Third, you can learn about

fashion trends and they types of food that are popular in the country. Due to these reasons, I think the

advertisements do tell a lot of Information about a country.

Advertisements show what products are from a county.

When I watch TV in South Korea, I can see what cell phones, TVs, and fruits and vegetables are from this

country. Many advertisements promote products that are developed tn Korea because people are proud of products from Korea. When I watch German advertising, they have mostly car and beer commercials. These show rne exactly what they make, grow, or develop tn these two countries. I think that each country will run more commercials with products produced in their own country because it helps the economy.

Second, advertisements show what products are important to a county. In South Korea, they promote beauty

products a lot, because looks are very important here. Skin whiteners, plastic surgery, and cosmetics advertisements are all over TV, magazines, and billboards. This tells me that people in South Korea care about how they look. This also tells me that Korea has a big beauty industry because I can see that there are so many products advertised.

Third, you can learn a lot about fashion and dining trends in a country from advertisements. In Korea, I see

many advertisements about pizza with sweet potato stuffed crust, which I think is very interesting. There are also

many other types of food promoted that are very different from food that is available in other countries. Moreover,

you can learn about a country’s fashion sense through advertisements. There are many ads and commercials that show you what is in style.

All in all, I believe that advertising can give you a wealth of knowledge about a country. If you pay close

attention to advertisements you can learn about what products a country produces and which products are very

important to a country. Moreover, you can learn about different foods made in a country and their fashion style. So, I believe that advertising ia a very important tool.

Useful Expressions

The end of the 20th entry Is associated with the birth off new outlook on nature and science, that brings people a little closer to nature, a science that makes human intelligence and creatively an expression of a fundamental trend In the universe. Taking Into account this new perspective on the economy and on the society that Is based on knowledge, professor Quash from London School of Economics says that we live in a world that focuses on the economic value of intangible assets. This way, ideas worth billions, while the products still cost less.

The society of the third millennium has employees who are valuable because of theirs knowledge. I n many of these companies, the value does not consist of tangible assets, but of the intangible ones. Intellectual capital is the combined intangible assets which enable the company to function effectively Judging from the information already provided, the essay focuses on the role of intellectual capital in the new economy. I chose this topic because we are witnesses to the fact that the structure and dynamic processes of wealth generation are changing dramatically.

In such an environment traditional methods are Inadequate, therefore I think that It Is Interesting but at the name time vital to find new methods. Not least what Is Important from my point of view is that people are regarded as the main resource in all sectors, which means 2. Definition of intellectual capital Since organizational knowledge is at the crux of sustainable competitive advantage, the burgeoning field of intellectual capital is an exciting area for both researchers and practitioners.

Intellectual capital is conceptualized from numerous disciplines making the field a mosaic of perspectives. Accountants are interested in how to measure it on the balance sheet, information technologists want to codify it n systems, sociologists want to balance power with it, psychologists want to develop minds because of it, human resource managers want to calculate an ROI on it, and training and development officers want to make sure that they can build it .

Intellectual capital is knowledge that can be exploited for some money-making or other useful purpose. The term combines the idea of the intellect or brain-power with the economic concept of capital, the saving of entitled benefits so that they can be invested in producing more goods and services.

Intellectual capital can include he skills and knowledge that a company has developed about how to make its goods or services; individual employees or groups of employees whose knowledge is deemed critical to a company’s continued success; and its aggregation of documents about processes, customers, research results, and other information that might have value for a competitor that is not common knowledge Some people mistake intellectual capital for nerds in a think-tank.

Others confuse it with intellectual property (such as copyrights, patents and the like), which is actually merely a subset of intellectual capital. To get a better sense of where the companies are heading to, we need to have a basic understanding of where they started and what forces are propelling change today. And then we need to keep our vision set on the path ahead. Although it has been around forever, intellectual capital was not identified as a key asset until a few years ago.

In 1994, fortune carried several stories about intellectual capital (brainpower) based on pioneering efforts going on then in both the United States and Scandinavia. These articles helped generate awareness of intellectual capital in the mainstream of U. S. Business. Little by little several companies become interested on this topic and from all of them the representative is Canadians – the largest insurance company in Sweden – which, with the help of the first director of intellectual capital in the world, Life Dividends, developed a dynamic model and holistic reporting intellectual capital called Navigator.

Under this model, intellectual capital was divided into human capital and structural capital as in the below diagram : The components of intellectual capital are defined as follows: ; Human Capital The stock of competences, knowledge and personality attributes embodied in the ability to perform labor so as to produce economic value. It is the attributes gained by a worker through education and experience . Many early economic theories refer to it simply as workforce, one of three factors of production, and consider it to be a fungible resource homogeneous and easily interchangeable.

Other conceptions of labor dispense with these assumptions. ; Structural Capital: Knowledge means that remain in the organization when human capital is not taken into account. Is the knowledge that remains in the organization when people “go home”. The structural capital includes organizational capital and market capital. Unlike human capital, it may be subject to trade. ; Commercial Capital: It is the value resulting from the relations between the company and its customers. Organizational Capital: It includes the capacity of the organization under the form of hardware, software, databases, organizational structures, patents, trademarks and any other capacity of the organization that helps individuals sizing productivity by transmission and exchange of knowledge. ; Process Capital: It is represented by processes, activities and infrastructures used to create, exchange and transmission of knowledge that helps individuals sizing productivity of an organization. Innovative Capital This component of the intellectual capital reflects the ability of an organization and the current investments for business development: research and development, patents, trademarks. Between these components, the most important is represented by human capital. 4. Human Capital Basically, human capital is divided into educational capital (skills acquired by individuals in the training school, but outside it) and biological capital (physical abilities of individuals, summarized, usually by health condition).

This type of capital caused difficulties because the experts did not know how to treat it: as an investment or cost. In general, it has been imposed the treatment of human capital as an investment because the abilities of human capital can be used practically any time, depending on the social and economic environment in which individuals can development (refresher courses or continuing education, for example) or maintain the capital stock (regular medical consultations, for example) . 5. Effects upon economy

In order to understand the effect the intellectual capital has upon economy let’s take the example of an English relatively large company which was expected to raise some 2. Ban [pound sterling]. Although valued about six-times larger than Body Shop and significantly bigger than Dioxins (a British electrical retail giant), the company had no retail outlets, no factories, no physical products and few staff. The business was altogether weightless. Its products could be reduced to a number of computer signals which could be flashed around the world for hundreds of millions of people to buy.

It was a classic example of intellectual capital, an idea. Called Formula One, it was owned by Bernie Collections. The reason the idea was so valuable was that it regularly attracted about mm ABACI viewers worldwide. But intellectual capital is not only big ideas like Formula One. It is also millions of relatively small innovations which contribute to wealth and economic growth. Such capital will provide the future wealth of nations because international trade will increasingly be in intellectual capital.

Alan Greenshank, chairman of the US Federal Reserve Board, recently pointed out that the weight of US output is now only little higher than it was a century ago but its value in real terms is 20 times higher. Although increased skills and a shift to service industries are part of the story, much of the weightless portion of this trade can be defined as intellectual capital. Specialists sustain that future wealth creation and economic growth predominantly will depend on intellectual capital the generation of ideas which can be transformed into revenues..

The element discussed is implicated in recent economic, managerial, technological, and sociological developments in a manner previously unknown and largely unforeseen. Whether these developments are viewed through the filter of the information society, the knowledge-based economy, the network society, or innovation, there is much to support the assertion that ICC is instrumental in the determination of enterprise value and national economic performance To suggest that prosperity no longer depends on building physical capital is not new.

Indeed, much of the value of large knowledge-intensive corporations already stems from their patents – which are potential intellectual capital viewed as economic goods. The importance of intellectual capital has been ender-emphasizes in business education. Once the necessary clarifications on the notion of intellectual capital have been made , it is necessary to emphasize the connection between it and the strategy of the organization. An important note is that the availability of some resources is vital to achieving the strategic goals of the organization.

Briefly economists sustain that the strategy defines what kind of intellectual capital is required and the nature of intellectual capital defines successful directions of the strategy that the organization should take. Moreover it has to be mentioned that the advantage. This is why when it is released a strategy, it is important to know what valuable resources of intellectual capital are available, which are currently used, which are potential uses . 6.

Uses of intellectual capital Intellectual capital is used: -to facilitate the formulation of strategy; -to assess strategy execution; -to assist in formulating decisions for diversification or expansion of the company; -to be used as the basis for compensation; -to be communicated to external shareholders In conclusion properly managed, intellectual assets can reduce costs, place inventories with information, eliminate the need for expensive physical plant and improve corporate agility.

I walked through the doors of Moses Taylor hospital, In Scranton, Pennsylvania. I was feeling apprehensive and uneasy, as I found myself at the nurses’ station of labor and delivery. Once I was finished with registration, I followed a nurse into the dusty rose and moss green room, where I would be staying until the much anticipated arrival of my child. I tried to keep myself occupied by watching television, reading, and doing crossword puzzles, but nothing could have kept me from feeling the excruciating pain of labor.

The eagerness to have this all over and done with, was definitely not helping with the anxiety I was feeling during that process. After 22 grueling and strenuous hours of being stuck In a bed, and three different shifts of nurses, I finally met my daughter. Friday morning, at 4:mama, the sky was dark and cloudy, and the moment I had been anxiously awaiting for nine and a half long months, was here at last. Everyone in the room got very quiet as my child entered the world. I was very confused as to why I had not heard any sounds coming from her and it began to worry me. The moment I heard her cry, I new everything was going to be okay. Oh! She Is absolutely breath-taking,” I exclaimed as Dry. Reedy placed the Innocent child on my chest. Just as I said that, a tiny hand reached up and touched my face. I braced myself against the back of the bed; I could hardly contain my excitement as I held my daughter in my arms for the very first time. I could smell the sweet, inviting aroma and feel the velvety softness of her skin. Nothing in life had prepared me for the overwhelming love I felt at that moment. I looked over at my child’s father; while fighting back the Inevitable tears of Joy that ere making their way Into my eyes, and I stated. Frank, look at how perfect she SSL Look at her tiny little nose. ” I can still remember the first time I set eyes on her. She was naked, and glistening with the slimy waters of birth. As the nurse removed her from my arms, to clean and weigh her, I could not take my eyes off my little miracle. The instant I saw her, I knew the name we had chosen would fit her beautifully. The nurse, wearing arctic white Nikkei sneakers and soft pink scrubs with a cute little Winnie the Pooh pattern on them, handed my daughter back to me. She was wrapped In an Ivory blanket, with baby blue and cherry red Infant foot prints on It.

Nurse Lori began filling out my child’s vital statistics, “She is seven pounds and fifteen ounces and 20 inches long. Have you decided on a name for her yet? ” “Aubrey. ” I answered. “Aubrey Grace. ” Lori commented, “What a great name for such a beautiful child. Congratulations! ” “Thank you,” I replied. The next few hours were filled with visitors coming to welcome Aubrey Into the world. Aubrey met her aunts, uncles, grandparents, and Godparents all in the course of a day. Aubrey started getting over-whelmed with all of the commotion around her. WA! ” cried Aubrey, as she let out this tiny little cry. I tried to console her as best as I could, and eventually found that she was hungry. I quickly grabbed the bottle of Gerber formula for her. As I held my tiny bundle of Joy in my arms, I could see a lonesome tear run down my mother’s cheek. When I knew exactly why my mother was crying. They were not tears filled with sadness, but were tears of Joy. My mother helped me through so much in my life, and I never understood the love she had for me until I finally had a child of my own.

Explain how political, economic and social constructs can be used to categories society. Look at how Irish society stratifies according to social class and gender. Sociologists develop theories and concepts to help reveal the structure of social life and they engage in numerous different forms of empirical Investigation to test and develop these theories. They are Interested In how people communicate and create meaning and understanding, but they are also interested in questions of power and inequality.

They use a variety of sources such as historical documents, observations, river research to help develop reliable information about how society operates. Define social stratification Social stratification is a system where people are ranked hierarchically which leads to groups of people being classified into layers and strata (class, caste, slavery and estate).

Class – social class system Is a system of stratification that results from unequal distribution of wealth, power and prestige. Caste -? this is a fixed arrangement of strata from the most to the least privileged. Estate – this consist three different strata or layers – aristocracy, clergy and commoners. Slavery – this is the oldest and most extreme form of stratification or inequality in which some people are literally owned by others as property.

All social stratification systems share four basic principles each reflecting how these systems cause inequalities based on class, gender, ethnicity, age, religious affiliation and consequences at an Individual and at a collective level In society, no one social stratification system Is unique, each system Is a characteristic of the society It relates to and it is not simply a reflection of differences at an individual level, nor is it a new incept as afore mentioned but it is a system that has and will persist over generations and although stratification systems may not be an exact replica In each society, fundamentally stratification systems are universal albeit widely variable, they also incorporate ideological beliefs while also engendering shared identities (Macaroni et a’, 2005). Do all societies stratify? If so, in what way? Virtually all societies have some form of stratification or structured inequalities that are organized and that persist over time. It Is universal but variable and seems to be found everywhere. At the same time, what is unequal and how unequal it is varies from one society to another.

For example, I) Social stratification persist over generation – in all societies, parents confer their social positions on their children, so that patterns of inequality stay much the same from generation to generation. (Monoclonal et a’, 2005). II) Some Individuals do also experience social mobility -? It may be downward or upward. Society celebrate the achievements of those who rose to people are regarded as more important than others, more worthy of respect or seen as more useful than others in certain situations. It is also evident that people could move downward as a result of illness, unemployment, economic break-down, business setback etc.

However, social standing of most people remain unchanged for a life time – like the Royal Family in England. What system of stratification is in operation in Ireland? Is it an open or close system of stratification? The social stratification in Ireland today is undefined. However, the class system seem to be in operation in Ireland and it is considered a close system. A closed system does not afford a person the same opportunity, and as a result a person’s position in fife is solely determined by the family group they are born into. Identity and belonging dominate the social class in modern Ireland. This can be to the majority of people defined by two categories: the first being wealth (Middle class).

If you are wealthy you have a lot more opportunities in education, professionals or higher managerial e. G. Senior government workers, doctors, farmers, company directors etc. And; secondly being poor (Lower class). – these are people in lower scale in the society e. G. School teachers, driver, machine operator, bar-worker waitress, cleaner, call- centre worker etc. The rate of lower class status rocketed since recession. (Hyde et al, 2007:65-66) Describe the system of stratification found in Ireland. How is it broken down? (include tables and diagrams here if relevant) During the Celtic Tiger it was perceived that Ireland as a whole was very wealthy and many people were classed as Wealthy or ‘upper class’.

However since the recession hit the social status regarding the wealth of the country has deteriorated. Today, a larger number of the population are working or middle class. The growing unemployment rate has forced many people, including well educated individuals to rely on state benefits. This has been a huge factor in the rapid decrease in the social status of the country. Social mobility in Ireland appears to be going in the wrong direction. Not only is the social stratification in Ireland defined by its economic status, but also by a number of other factors; for example; a person’s religion. In the past the influence the Catholic Church had on people determined the way they lived there life.

Catholic priests were understood to be very well respected figures in society and anyone of the catholic religion were accepted as part of the community however individuals of a different faith were viewed as outsiders. Nowadays a person’s faith does not have as big an influence on their social status and many people from different religious backgrounds are accepted in Irish communities. Does class/socio- economic position, impact on your health? Please provide evidence, statistics to There are differences among people in the amount of access they have to the resources of wealth and prestige in most societies. Such differences among people in terms of income and status are usually referred to as social class differences. The categories that people have been assigned to by virtue of their occupation have been marred with patterns of illness in society.

The lower your place in the social class scale, the worse is likely to be your health status and visa-versa (Hyde et al, 2007). Although race, gender, age etc have influenced socio-economic status, classification by occupation tends to be more common; hence in Ireland, a person’s social class is measured according to his or her occupation while social class of children is determined by parents’ occupation (Denote and Cannon, 2003). According to Denote and Cannon, there are huge inequalities between the classes in the distribution of wealth in the country. It is estimated that 10 per cent of the population own nearly half the wealth in the country, therefore 90 per cent of the population share the other half, but not equally. Ibid:71 in McDonald B, 2009) Health inequalities are often observed along a social rise. This means that the more favorable your social circumstances such as income or education, the better your chance of enjoying good health and a longer life. While there is a significant gap between the wealthy and the poor, the relationship between social circumstances in health is in fact a graded one. Source of data ‘Inequalities in Mortality 1989-1998’ A series of studies by the Institute of Public Health in Ireland (PIP) found that the number of people living with a chronic condition is expected to increase dramatically by 2020 and that disproportionately more of these people will belong to the older population.

The unification of Germany in 1871 acted as a catalyst for industry that enabled a period of rapid growth and change. This growth in industry changed Germany forever socially and economically and it was this change that was to make Germany a great nation, even rivalling Britain itself by 1890.

As soon as the Reich was established in 1871, the German economy took off. Germany possessed huge mineral wealth and this was manipulated to build an incredibly strong economy. Germany possessed areas such as Alsace-Lorraine that contained Europe’s largest source of iron ore that was essential to its growing steel industries. In fact Germany was totally independent due to the abundance of all resources that were necessary for an industry at the time. Germany was developing industrially at an incredibly rapid rate and this is shown through its outputs (fig. 1). However it was not until later that Germany began to found colonies that showed exactly how powerful it had become.

Another resource Germany possessed was manpower and plenty of it (fig. 2). In 1870 Germany’s total population was around forty one million, already nine million more than Britain. This total however increased yet further and by 1890 Germany had an even larger population of forty nine million. This huge population provided an incredibly large labour force that could be drawn from as industry continued to grow.

The industrialists themselves became very wealthy as industrialisation took hold of Germany. Labour was cheap and so were the raw materials lending to ever increasing profits that rivalled the wealth of the Junkers. Unlike the Junkers however the industrialists did not have any political power and this was what caused future problems.

In 1875 there were eight German cartels however as the industrial expansion began to slow and times became ever harder the numbers began to increase. In 1885 Germany boasted ninety such cartels and two hundred and ten just five years later! These cartels began to exercise enormous influence over the development of the Reich and they began to make demands for things such as protective tariffs and later for naval and colonial development. This is where the industrialists began to taste power and the cartels enabled politically minded individuals a chance to have an influence over Germany’s ruling and development however minor. This was all the power someone from the middle class could possess due to Germany’s static class system.

Germany was a conservative state and so naturally change was frowned upon. What remained of Germany’s past during the industrialisation was that of the Junkers political monopoly. Bismarck himself was a Junker and one of his main political aims was to maintain the superiority of this upper class. The Junkers also continued to obtain great wealth due to their hold over agriculture. Without the food stuffs that the Junkers provided, Germany would not have been able to grow in the manner that it had.

As well as industrialisation, urbanisation was taking place at the same time as Germany’s population was moving from rural areas to cities in search of employment.

These people that came in search of work became known as the working class, an entirely new level of German society. It was the industrialists however who actively attempted to draw people from the countryside into the cities. Drawing such large numbers into the cities however created problems such as over crowding which in turn created even more problems such as chronic disease epidemics.

As more and more people were drawn to the cities the working class itself grew and as it grew so did it’s political influence. People within the class began to think of ways to improve their lives and began asking for better conditions such as better accommodation and wages. If managed badly the working class could easily revolt and cause untold problems for the government so the authorities began to pay ever more attention to the growing voice of the working class.

Both regional and religious differences were perpetuated within the new German State meaning Germany at this time was not totally unified. Each region had its differences. These differences were normally minor in nature however some were greater than others were such as language or religion. The southern areas of Germany were Catholic and the Protestant members refused to totally collaborate with them. This led to political and social arguments that could not easily be resolved. The authorities had to watch how tensions rose and fell between both sides so as to avert any possible serious problems that may have arisen.

At this time industrialists began to make demands for expansion within the navy and the founding of colonies. This would create even more trade because of a captive market that only German industry would be involved in. By obtaining naval contracts and supplying the colonies themselves a company could make a lot of profit. However at this time, countries such as Britain and France had taken all the colonies of worth. The only way Germany would gain such useful assets would be to take them by force from their custodians. This action could easily lead to war however and so called for a more aggressive foreign policy that in the future would contribute to Germany’s involvement in world war one.

In conclusion the social and economic changes had a massive effect on Germany. Germany began to change into a whole new place and towards the end of the period it also began to develop it’s own identity. Although some problems arose none were too serious as to stop Germany becoming a great nation. The leadership Bismarck supplied enabled Germany to pass through troubled times with ease and differences began to become less of an issue as time went on. However it is ironic that while Bismarck suspected Catholics and Socialists of trying to destroy Germany, it was to be the demands of the industrialists and financiers that led to the downfall of his conservative system.

Mary Maids Cleaning Services (MMCS) is a residential house cleaning service serving upper-class families in Plano, TX. Through generous human capital investments, MMCS will exceed our customer’s expectations. We will be servicing the wealthy single-income households and affluent two-income households. These targeted families will be willing to pay a premium for our service because of the high level of professionalism and trustworthiness that we offer, not replicated by any of our competition.

MMCS projected growth rate is very high each year with respectable profit margins as a percentage of sales. MHCS will be a home-based business. By the end of year one, MHCS will have five additional employees. There are many options for maid services, but there is only one that stands out as the best Mary Maids that is. Mary Maids Cleaning Service’s mission “Is to provide the customer with all residential cleaning services in an environmentally sound, completely trustworthy, and professional manner. We exist to attract and maintain customers.

When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place. Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers. Mary Maids Cleaning Service’s objectives for the first four years of operation include: To create a service based company whose #1 goal is exceeding customer’s expectations.  To increase our number of clients served by 20% per year through superior service. To develop a sustainable home-based business, living off its own cash flow. • The utilization of Mary Maids Cleaning Service on a regular basis by at least 30% of the leads that contact us for more information.

Product/ Services Description Situation Analysis MMCS will offer a wide range of services to the residential client, from general room cleaning to child/pet disasters which can go hand in hand. We will be going after the upper end of the market, typically the affluent whose spouse does not have a full-time job but chooses to do other things with his/her time, or the two income family who chooses not to clean the home themselves. The business will be based out of the CEO Mary Blanktrip’s home office.

Between the hours of 6AM-8AM Mary will work on scheduling, estimates, inventory, ordering, and customer care management. The home office will include a computer, land phone line, and a fax machine. From 9AM-5PM Mary will clean homes until additional staff is hired. Mary Maids Cleaning Service’s start-up costs include equipment needed for a home-based business (Exhibit 1), initial legal fees, marketing fees, cleaning equipment and supplies, uniforms, and signs for employee vehicles. Employee expense is a commercial vacuum cleaner and assorted brooms, mops, and chemicals (biodegradable).

SWOT Strengths CEO of Mary Maids

Cleaning Services was a stay at home mom for 25 years. Mary understands what it takes to balance home, children, and work. Mary will achieve this high level of service through extensive training and a continuous learning process Weakness. Major competition Molly Maids. New company to the are. First time business owner Opportunity . MMCS will be qualifying leads over the phone with estimates . MMCS will arrange a in house meetings to give estimates. The sales process will begin through the qualification of leads generated from our marketing campaign Threats Balancing the whole business (includes office paper work & cleaning services) . Getting customers to trust new business owner Target Market Mary Maids Cleaning Service will provide a residential house cleaning service for the upper end of the market. We will have two target customers:  The affluent that does not work, but is not inclined to do housework. To many a maid/house cleaner is a symbol of wealth, and this idea symbolizes this group of customers.  The two-income households whose opportunity costs are too great to spend time cleaning the house.

MMCS offers house cleaning to these targeted customers. House cleaning ranges from cleaning of standard rooms such as kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms, as well as more unusual jobs like small disasters from children and pets. The first is the affluent where only one spouse works. Although the other spouse is at home and has time to clean, he/she chooses not too. This spouse would rather volunteer for a public interest organization, play tennis and golf, or just spend time how he/she chooses to. They have no desire to clean the house day in an out.

To them that is not enjoyable and they have the money to pay someone to do that kind of work. This market has annual incomes over $200,000 and lives in expensive homes. According to Money Magazines Plano has 150, 100 that fall into this category, this group reliably uses cleaning services. The second segment of the market that we are targeting is the two income family. Over the last couple of decades, the number of two-income households has increased. This is to a point where in parts of the country they exceed one income families. Our target customer is two income families whose combined annual income is over $125,000.

These families don’t really have the time to clean, can afford a cleaning service, and choose to hire a service because the opportunity costs are too high to waste time cleaning their house. These households are typically age 32-55 and live in houses valued over $250,000. According to Money Magazines Plano have 100,000 families that fall into this demographic. It is this segment which has tremendous potential for us. Nearly 80% of dual income households use an outside cleaning service for some of their house cleaning according to the U. S. Department of Commerce.

Additionally, there are some potential customers that MMCS has labeled as assorted “well-off” households. These are families that have the money for our services that do not fit neatly into the two previous categories. Competitor Molly Maids have been in service for 25 years and offer services in different states. They offer cleaning services in all rooms of the home and use a company car. Molly’s is major cooptation that allows potential customers to view their services online. They have earned their trust with their clients by being in the business so long by offer great services.

They use at least two2 people to clean the home to oversee the work of each other (Molly Maid. com). Although there are lots of competitors in the cleaning service space, there is good reason for this competition, and demand is high. Cleaning service customers want quality, and not everyone in the cleaning service space offers quality. How often when you ask one of your friends for a referral do they tell you they have been using a bunch of different companies and they have yet to find one that they are truly happy with.

The residential house cleaning market is serviced predominately by independent companies. There are however, a few large franchises. Residential services are divided into a couple of different categories, maid or house cleaners, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, and a variety of other services that are required on a less frequent basis. We charge a premium for our services, and people are willing to pay to get our unsurpassed level of professionalism, trustworthiness, and attention to detail. We provide the most pleasant experience possible.