Personal Wellness Paper Essay Example for Free

Personal Wellness Paper showPersonal Wellness Project I decided to choose filtrate decrease for my personal wellness project. I chose this topic because it hits home base extremely hard. I want to definitely reduce my strain intake and be able to cope with challenging situations. I want to be at to the lowest degree eighty percent in control of my life. I find myself getting straininged when unexpected things happen, and I am not prepared for it. I too want to improve my way of handling plenty which make me stress. Reducing my stress will make me a better person as a whole.When I reduce my stress level, it may lengthen my life by _____ years. I will also be able to function in an everyday atmosphere that requires me to have a clear head. My position will be more pleasing and I will become extra attractive. Stress reduction will help in many ways, as mentioned above. Therefore, less stress, makes me live a healthier life. When my stress level is reduced, I can take care and groom myself properly. I feel this behavior reassign is significant to me because of the environment I am in.At this moment right now, I am a student, worker, and tenant. I have many obligations, and if I am stressed, things will not flow right. I retire I would not be able to organize and function what so ever. Being less stress might even bring along important people into my life. No one likes to be rough someone who is steaming and on the edge on the time. When I am in control and calm, I can enjoy the simple things in life. Some strategies known to help with reducing stress is exercising. physical exertion helps release endorphins, which improves moods and their overall wellness.

Individualistic Countries Essay Example for Free

Individualistic Countries EssayThe summon of CollectivismHarmony And The Dream by David Brooks emphasizes that the ideal of collectivist societies like China live more appealing than individual societies. Brooks defines Americans as individuals and Asians as contexts by some experiments. There atomic number 18 obvious differences amid individualistic countries and collective societies. The former emphasizes rights and privacy, but the later prefer harmony and duty. The actor overly lists the example of the opening ceremony in Beijing. The example shows that harmonious society contributed to the fast revive of China. Therefore, the influence of harmony is larger than the impact of American Dream. If you show an American an image of a tilt tank, the American will usually describe the biggest fish in the tank and what it is doing. If you ask a Chinese person to describe a fish tank, the Chinese will usually describe the context in which the fish swim. Brooks uses comparison to explain the different views between American and Chinese. Americans pay more management to the only one, but Chinese focus on the context.The example helps us to understand the divide between individualist mentality and collectivist mentality. Definition is also used in the article. The individualistic countries draw to put option rights and privacy first. People in collective societies tend to value harmony and duty. This definition deepen the thought of differences and shows the thesis of the article.The last one is transition. Before paragraph12, the author prefers Eastern collectivist societies. But Brooks also narrates the reasons why individualism can sweep the field. The author thinks subconscious influences and permeability of humans capitulum are two essences. Western people are deeply influenced by individualism. In conclusion, Brooks tend to approve the ideal of collective collective. He also admits the success of western individualism.

Mary Shelley tell us about the education Essay Example for Free

bloody shame Shelley tell us ab disclose the education EssayNothing could exceed in beauty the dividing line between these two excellent creatures has also learnt to think logically, to reason, given very well laid out reasons as to why they be so beautiful, backing up his argument. The next thing is one of the just about important things which VC learns it is a lesson of morals.He sees several times the younger cottagers placed food before the gray-haired man when they reserved none for themselves I had been accustomed to steal some of their store, but when I rig that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers, I abstained. This shows that he understands and acts out of compassion. He also observes with diversion when he sees he has been of help. Still to come are the most important facets of VCs education the ability to read, to appraise the highs and lows of human capability and to appreciate emotion as key to humanity.It is from Sorrows of Werter that VC learns about the importance of emotion to all definition of humanity (the English Review). This is complimented with the violent but apparently glorious history of man which Lives provides, openhanded VC a varied and balanced view of what beauty thither is in human nature, and what horror in that location is, too. Paradise Lost is an separate retain which VC stumbles upon megabytegh this teaches him little in it self, the parallels which VC draws between its key characters and himself are important he arse see different aspects of each in himself.This shows the how VC has learnt to take something from a book and place into a real-life situation (I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel, whom thou drivest from joy for no misdeed). By far the most important cancel of VCs education is his learning to speak. though it has been proved that it is impossible to learn language in the fashion that VC does, we must remember that this is just a novel. In his learning to speak, VC gains the ability to articulate the feelings inside him, the ability to read and the ability to communicate his dreams.He learns as Safie learns, being taught by Felix. Being taught to speak and listen to speech opens the door to all other avenues of Frankensteins learning his learning about humanity is increased tenfold after this. Whether this is a curse or a blessing, however, is left for us to decide after learning how to speak and read, VC sees just how outcast he is, just how far outside the circle of love that is there between Safie, Felix, Agatha and the old man.Once he can see the extent of his loneliness, and can grasp what potential there is once he learns that there is more to life than suffering he is gripped by an insatiable desire to be a part of society. Societys rejection of him, it can be argued, is what turns him from a noble savage to an educated murderer. b Show preview yet The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one o f many that can be found in our GCSE Mary Shelley section.

Romeos Diary about Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeos Diary about Juliet bear witnessAt the youth of the day I stirred lazily from my deep, blissful sleep. Her warm and comfortable hump nestled me in lovingly, and with every breath I took, I felt more and more content. I didnt need to worry about anything right now. I didnt have a care in the world. quiescency next to my beloved Juliet made me think I was still dreaming. I smiled in my sleep, I had neer felt as happy before as I did there in her bed, with her skin on mine, her arms and legs wrapped all around me. The wind whistling outside and the sport singing woke me from my sleep.My matrimony with Juliet was pleasantnesser than the sweetest honey from any blossom. Juliets face glowed brighter than the crimson flower gardens of spring the glisten in her eyes would piddle away the summer sun shy away in shame her dress was whiter than the fields of glimmering snowflakes in winter. A holy ceremony took place, and Juliet and I swore to bind together as one. Nothing co uld possibly go astray on this heavenly day, I thought. But I was wrong.As I heard the lark singing I had to go and harp or stay and die. So left my angel Juliet in the early morning, when the sun had not yet shone too brightly from the east. Then disaster reared its ugly head. It direct me to the violent exchange of words between Mercutio, my good friend, and Tybalt, my dear cousin, two gentlemen who would not have been damage if not for my existence, yet both have now left this world. When they put out their weapons, the fiery firing off of rage between them was unstoppable. I went in between them in hope of ending the brawl, but as the stars would have it, the brawl did end at the abrupt end of Mercutios life. At the blink of an eye, he alienated his concentration, and Tybalts weapon pierced deeply into my dear friends chest. Scarlet blood pumped out of the fatal wound. O insensitive heavens, o malevolent stars Wherefore did fate not let it stop there? My choler for revenge took over, and my cousin was slain in my hands.O I am fortunes fool It is too belatedly to regret my actions, yet I can do nothing else Mercutio was killed under my arm, Tybalt by my sword, and Juliets heart, broken by my thoughtless actions. I am an appalling friend, but a worse husband. How may I live my life as a murderer, and a disgrace to Verona? Worst of all, how may I live without my sweet Juliet? Life is meaningless without the radiant angel by my side. O Juliet, I would ask thou to yield me, but how may thou forgive me if I do not forgive myself? O barbaric Tybalt, why did you not take me with you? And if you had slain me, I would not have to suffer these vile consequences The day, which began with my happiest morning, concludes with moody fate haunting my life. O, the envious world is cruel O Heavens, would you give a thirsty military personnel one small sip of water, then take it away from him? Wherefore do you give me Juliet if you must(prenominal) separate us? I feel terribly guilty and helpless.

Marketing Project Essay Example for Free

Marketing Project EssayQ Conduct a theatre or market survey and report on the barter foring motive of consumers as regards price and quality, consumers beingness classified by age, sex and income given certain selected proceedss. * Choose any five consumer durable products/ function of high demand. (i.e., products with life span greater than 3 years.)FORMAT* Main page (Name, Class, Year, Marketing Project)* call (question)* Table of Contents* Explain buying motive and its types.* Introduction and information about each of the products chosen (only consumer durable objects types are medium expensive and very expensive). * Target group of customers for each product in brief. (Age sex income group etc.) * Must Mention grammatical gender and age if product is bought a certain gender or age group only, along with reasoning for the same. * Form questionnaires with (10-15 questions) and do a survey with 10 customers. Make sure that the questions can be answered in sentences or p rovide statements with options. DO NOT purpose Yes/No questions. * Eg What is the primary reason for which you buy this product? What other benefits do you derive from the product? Is the product convenient to use?Is the product safe?Is the product worth the value paid for realization? * succeeding(a) the questionnaires, make a report for each and every product separately explaining the buying motive and reasons they buy it for. (1 page per product.) * Draw conclusions from the results of your questionnaires, graphs, reports, etc. * Depict graph (depending on any 5 criteria you have mentioned in your questionnaire in a bar diagram) for the number of consumers surveyed. * Add pictures and symbols throughout your presentation to add colour and life. * The digest can be made using either MS PowerPoint or MS Word.Format of a QuestionnaireQUESTIONNAIRETITLE ( Eg Survey conducted to estimate buying motive of a product) (This survey is conducted by students of OOEHS for a marketing pro ject. Kindly fill in the required details) NameLocation(Start with your own questions.)

Legal Ethics Assignment Essay Example for Free

Legal Ethics Assignment Essay1. solid food and Drug Administration. This agency and proposed regulation interests me beca part since it is something that has become popular in the recent years and that it affects many hatful in the united states and in the world today. Yes, many people in the gaming attention potbelly on a regular basics. It will not affect the business directly just the workers in the industry. 2. The proposal is a consideration of applicable approval mechanisms and additional indications for nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), and input on a report to Congress examining the regulation and development of innovative products and treatments for tobacco dependence. In more basic ground it is trying to get tobacco dependent treatments or mechanisms, such as electronic cig atomic number 18ttes, a come about to be officially ap leavend by the FDA.3. Six months after most people purchased e-cigarettes, 31% of these smokers verbalise theyd quit cigarettes and two-thirds of them said theyd cut back on the number of cigarettes they smoked. A third of those whod quit smoke also quit using e-cigarettes. But E-cigarettes have not been tested for efficacy and safety. Additionally, they are produced afield with little oversight to ensure good manufacturing practices. To regulate this product identified chemicals and quantities that is utilise in this product, way out pros and cons for this product, and put a warning label on the product about the risk of addiction to nicotine. I wish to accomplish in my gossip was to help the FDA is that there is pros in the use of E-cigarettes. Also, that the use of E-cigarettes is a lower and healthier risk then the use of regular tobacco cigarettes. 4. The deadline was Jan 16, 2013.5. a. Private citizens, government officials, industry representatives, businesspeople, and corporations can all send in comments based on provided proposed regulation during the public comment period. Anyone who wishes to g ainsay the validity of a federal regulation after it becomes law must participate in the comment period and voice his or her concerns at that time. Some agencies hold public hearings on proposed regulations. The purpose of the hearings is to make for input on the proposals and consider additional conclusion and consider additional evidence and factors relevant in promulgating the final version of the rule. Business Its Legal, Ethical, and Global Environment, 9th Edition.b. 1) Arbitrary and Capricious. Standard for challenging administrative agency rules used to show decisions or rules were not based on sufficient. 2) Substantial Evidence Test. Basis for challenging the natural process of an administrative agency on the grounds that the rule promulgated was not based on enough evidence. 3) Failure to comply with the Administrative Procedures Act requirements of notice, publication, and public comment or input. The procedures for rulemaking must be followed in order for the regul atory process, and the resulting rules, to be valid. 4) Constitutional challenge. The regulation is unconstitutional. Dealing with regulations giving an agency authority to take care records, or impose discriminatory requirements for licensing professionals.5) Ultra Vires. Action taken beyond the scope of authority with federal agencies, action taken that is beyond the congressional authority given in the enabling statute. c. From five court-ordered theories, I would use Substantial Evidence Test to challenge this proposed regulation of not ban the use of electronic cigarettes. I choose this theory is based on the fact that there is enough evidence to prove that electronic cigarettes will not do the same damage to human as authoritative cigarettes do. Because electronic cigarettes guide different chemical other than liquid nicotine, there is enough research to prove that other chemical will not affect peoples health, meaning electronic cigarettes are still a healthy alternative of cigarettes. Also, companies that manufacture electronic cigarettes claim their products do not contain carcinogens or tar or produce secondhand smoke, should be the first concern of making this regulation.

Customer relationship management Essay Example for Free

guest consanguinity management EssayAbstr figure out Purpose This paper aims to contribute insights into the tuition and management of a client attendantship, informing yield mutation and engaging guests in co-creation of a consumption experience. Design/ methodology/approach A review of the state of current association nigh co- harvest-feastion, co-creation and guest communities is followed by interchange of the field of psychoanalyse study methodology. The case history of a leading player in the UK and international sportkiting marketplace rivetes on growthion introduction and node- friendship nurture.Discussion re? ects in to a greater extent than detail on the lessons from the case for application of the principles in practice. Findings The case conjunctions modern harvest-home development dodge provides the gun for co-creation of a guest experience. Its merchandising actions extend beyond convergence development and excogitation to activel y co-creating experiences with nodes, rearing a sense of federation among users, facilitating converse within that residential ara, acting on the feedback, and continuously developing and maintaining the fraternity relationship.Research limitations/implications The orders marketing strategy back be summed up as client companionship lead. This paradigm proposes a in the raw role for businesses in sectors where there is a latent difference to develop and engage communities. It provides a context for the stiff facilitation of customer intimacy management, within which marketing intelligence service plays a signi? cant role. The ? ndings hug drug stove for further look to into the nature of this phenomenon and its relevance to co-creation in different industry sectors, and into numerous aspects of the mental processes and impacts associated with customer communities.Originality/value The case contri preciselyes to the literature of co-creation, demonstrating how it has been achieved through a marketing strategy and marketing premix in a particular customer community. Keywords Customer relations, Innovation, Relationship marketing, Leadership writing type Case study market Intelligence Planning Vol. 25 No. 2, 2007 pp. 136-146 q Emerald Group produce Limited 0263-4503 DOI 10. 1108/02634500710737924 Introduction.The increased complexity, globalization and knowledge-intensity of marketplaces require all businesses to make better use of their technological, organizational and marketing competences in order to survive. Contemporary organizations in gameyly competitive and highly innovative markets essential be able to realize market sh atomic number 18 quickly, by delivering fast, high quality, innovative solutions. The changing geological formational milieu has driven interest in organisational eruditeness and knowledge management (Drucker, 1993 Prusak, 1997).Many studies have con? rmed customer knowledge as ane of the to the highest degree important knowledge bases for an organisation (Bennett and Gabriel, 1999 Chase, 1997), and there is a big interest in the strength of co-production and co-creation either individually or in community contexts, to levy innovation and business performance (Gibbert et al. , 2002).Focus on the conflict of customers in organizational schooling, innovation and knowledge processes heralds the morn of a untried paradigm of marketing intelligence inwhich data and information are not simply gathered into databases and distilled to inform management decision making, exclusively rather marketing intelligence is insert in dynamic co-creation processes that involve customers as partners rather than subjects.Through a case study analysis and critique of a leading manufacturer of increaseembarkment equipment, this paper seeks to provide insights into the utilisation and management of a customer community, to inform product innovation and to engage customers in co-creation of a sporting experience.The case contri providedes to the literature of co-creation and speci?cally to the mode in which communities can be enlisted in the co-creation of experiences. It begins with a literature review, outlining the state of current knowledge on co-production and co-creation and on customer communities, followed by a description of the case study methodology. A pro? le of the company, with particular reference to its product development and community development follows leads to re? ection in detail on the contribution from this case. Finally, conclusions and recommendations provide a summary of the issues. The concept of customer community leadership is proposed, and agendas for further research identi?ed. Literature review This section scoop outs together current knowledge on two severalise themes co-creation, or co-production, and customer communities. Research on both of these themes ? ts broadly within the paradigm or philosophy of relationship marketing. As the main plank of a marketing strategy, relationship marketing aims to build long experimental condition, reciprocally satisfying relations with customers, suppliers and distributors with the key objective of earning and retaining their long-term preference, loyalty and business (Foss and Stone, 2001 Peck et al., 1999 Buttle, 1996 Massey et al. , 2001).In discussing the absence seizure of a consensus on the term relationship marketing, and on the appropriateness of the term, another(prenominal) authors have suggested that a focus on interactions and networks of interactions between businesses and their customers might be more inculpateingful (Healy et al. , 2001 Zoliewski, 2004). The concepts of co-production and customer communities both focus on interactions. Communities, in particular, involve networks of interactions.The theme of interaction between customers and organizations in product and service innovation is develop in the literature on co-production. Prahalad and Ra maswamy (2000) suggest that companies have to recognise that the customer is becoming a partner in creating value, and need to learn how to harness customer competences. One aspect of this impart be the engagement of customers in co-creating personal experiences. The body of work on co-creation and co-production has grown in recent long time. Kristensson et al. (2004) have examined the bene?Ts of involving users in suggesting juvenile product ideas, ? nding that ordinary users created signi? cantly more original and valuable ideas than professional developers, whilst professional developers and advanced users created more easily reliable ideas. At a more modest direct of customer engagement, Salomo et al. (2003) found that customer orientation in innovation projects (not necessarily, in this case, customer engagement) had a positive in? uence on NPD success and that the impact increased with the degree of product innovativeness.Similarly, Hsieh and Chen (2005) showed that new p roduct development performance can be enhanced by interacting with users, and capitalising on user-knowledge management competences. Matthing et al. (2004) suggest that the Customer community and co-creation 137 MIP 25,2 138 value of customer involvement in new service development resides in the opportunity to facilitate proactive learning about the customer, and to understand and anticipate latent customer needs. Lilien et al. (2002) suggest that user contribution to the idea extension process is optimised through the careful selection of lead users to infix in the process.Dahlsten (2004) discusses customer involvement in the case of a product development project at Volvo Cars, which allowed the project management team to aim an understanding of the customer through customer presence. A study comparing the sources of product and process innovation in large and subaltern technology-based ? rms found that product developers in SMEs valued customers, co-workers, marketing and jour nals more highly, whilst suppliers were particularly valued by large ? rms (Bommer and Jalajas, 2004).Co-creation might be viewed as an aspect of customer-knowledge competence, the processes that generate knowledge about speci? c customers (Campbell, 2003). Gibbert et al. (2002, p. 460) describe customer knowledge management as a process in which organisations seek to know what their customers know and de? ne it as . . . the strategic process by which cutting-edge companies change state their customers from passive recipients of products and services, to em military unitment as knowledge partners. CKM is about gaining, sharing, and expanding the knowledge residing in customers, to both customer and somatic bene?It is thus concerned with an understanding of how to elicit and leverage knowledge from customers. Their emphasis on interacting with customers and co-production, extending to co-learning, lifts the focus from pile up data and information in order to learn about customers to learn with customers. They discuss ? ve different styles of customer knowledge management, including prosumerism where the customer acts as co-producer, and communities of creation in which groups of people work together, have shared interests, and hope to jointly create and share knowledge.The focus of co-production research is often on product innovation and new product development, with some contributions relating to service development (Matthing et al. , 2004). However, Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2003), suggest a future in which the locus of innovation and co-production will shift from products and services to experience environments. This suggestion aligns with other proposals that the experience marketing era is on the horizon, and that it is becoming increasingly important for businesses to respond to the needs of the experience consumer (Li and Wei, 2004).Co-creation whitethorn take place in the context of customer communities. There is a considerable literature on customer clubs (Butscher, 2002 Gustafsson et al. , 2004 Stauss et al. , 2001) and loyalty schemes (Bolton et al. , 2000 Mauri, 2003 Passingham, 1998 Worthington, 2000). but a small sub-group of such clubs and schemes can properly be describe as customer communities, however, which should at the very least exhibit C2C interaction. To convincingly justify the use of community they should furthermore share a culture with norms, values and identity, and mutual interests and objectives.Fan clubs, interest clubs, and software user groups may constitute customer communities. Butscher (2002) identi? es the Kawasaki Riders Club, The Volkswagen Club, and Swatch The Club as examples which might be described as customer communities. On the other bargain, loyalty schemes such as Tesco Clubcard, American Express, Airmiles, and Marriot Rewards are focussed on the B2C dimension of relationship marketing, and do little to cultivate or in? uence C2C interactions. Therefore, whilst they may be able to ident ify a relatively stable group of users, they have not created a community.One context in which there has been more discussion of customer communities is the virtual(prenominal) environment (Armstrong and Hagel, 1996). just about loyalty schemes use this channel to support C2C interaction. practical(prenominal) customer communities enable organizations to establish distributed innovation models that involve varied customer roles in new product development (Nambisan, 2002 Pitta and Fowler, 2005). Nambisan (2002) suggests that the design of virtual customer environments needs to consider interaction patterns, knowledge creation, customer motivation, and consolidation of the virtual customer community with the new product development team.Dholakia et al. (2004) explore the impact of group norms and mixer identity on participation in consumer communities. The wider literature on virtual communities and their role in learning and knowledge creation is in addition substantial, and ma y have perspectives to stretch out on the role of virtual communities in innovation (Hall and Graham, 2004 Davenport and Hall, 2002 Wenger, 2000). In conclusion, the themes of co-creation and customer communities have been identi? ed as important in the literature, but there remains a scope for considerable further work, speci?cally relating to . co-creation of experiencesCustomer communities that exist in both corporeal and virtual space and . the mechanisms and processes through which organizations can engage customer communities, as opposed to individual members of those communities, in co-creation. Methodology Case studies are a valuable way of looking at the world somewhat us, and asking how or why questions (Yin, 1994). The case study design adopt in this paper may be described as a holistic single case design.Typically, single case designs are appropriate when the exercise has something special to reveal that might act as a point of liberation for challenging received wi sdom, prior theoretical perspectives and untested assumptions. A specialist in sporting increase technology was chosen as the basis for the case analysis in this paper for four reasons in particular, as follows (1) The stated care of Flexifoil International is to provide our customers with the ultimate Kitesports experience (www.? exifoil. com/company). (2) Flexifoil has been consistently committed to product innovation.(3) Flexifoil works with customers and proactively builds customer communities to support customer engagement in co-creation of the kiting experience. (4) The active and extensive participation of one of the authors in the kiting community formed the basis for an in-depth understanding of the community create and co-creation processes observed. Company pro? le Flexifoil International Through product innovation, the company seeks to design and develop the highest performance products, with new designs and products that support new kite-based Customer community and co-creation 139 MIP.25,2 sporting experiences and events. Flexifoil build both their own customer community and the kite boarding community in general through customer service, dispersion networks, sponsorship and promotion of the sports for which their products are used. They provide opportunities for the kite sporting community to interact, online and in other ways. Their community is thus build through B2B, C2B and C2C relationships and channels.140 reaping development Until the early 1970s, a kite had for hundreds of years been a piece of fabric controlled with one or two lines, designed to be hand-?own in windy conditions. What is now Flexifoil International started when two side university students effectively invented the two-line power kite by producing the ? rst to be sold commercially.Two larger kites with the evocative names Pro Team 8 and Super 10 established Flexifoils market position, and enabled the company to encipher upon a period of innovation and experimentat ion that explored a shed of different potential applications for power kites. Some of their innovations were successful, others less so, such as three-wheeled buggies designed to be pulled by a power kite or traction kite.The successful developments in materials and design technology by Flexifoil and its followers allowed this basic product to support today such diverse activities as kite boarding (water-based), snow kiting, kite farming boarding, buggying, recreational power kiting, and sportkiting (traditional kiting). The companys own product range now comprises power kites, recreational kites, traction kites, and water re- engrossable kites buggies and boards lines and control gear and miscellaneous accessories such as clothing.Following the launch of a web site, with associated forums in which enthusiasts could meet and exchange ideas, Flexifoils sales increased by near 25 per cent each year between 1999 and 2004. Innovation continued, with the development of water-based kit ing or kitesur? ng, and later kites for drop off boarding and snow kiting. Over the last thirty years, the company had thus effectively created a market, and maintained leadership in its particular niche, by means not only of product innovation but also engagement with and cultivation of a power-boarding community. partnership development Distribution.The community development process begins with the companys distribution network of authorised retail outlets. Initially, those were mainly windsur? ng and sur? ng shops, but more recently specialised kiting shops have entered the market. Signi? cantly for Flexifoil, some of those have developed into kitesports centres where customers can ? y sooner they buy. At three Premier Kite Sports Centres, the most comprehensive Flexifoil range is available for mental testing in an environment characterised by knowledgeable staff and extensive facilities in a good placement activity training is also on offer.A smaller range of Flexifoil kit es is sold through high street shops. The company also moves the product to market through training schools, academies and university kite clubs, to whom equipment is available at discounted rates or even free of charge if the outlet becomes an of? cial Flexifoil training centre. In addition to these bricks-and-mortar outlets, the company transacts a signi? cant proportion of its retail sales through internet distributors.It also make dos spare parts, filth clothing and a selection of promotional merchandise via Flexifoildirect. com, but restricts distribution of core products to distributors who can offer a full after-sales service. The objective of the companys distribution strategy is to build, support and maintain an effective customer community. Promotion and marketing communication. The main platform of Flexifoils promotional programme is to communicate their committedness to after-sales support, and their ambition to maintain good relationships with both customers and deale r outlets.This strategy, in turn, generates positive word-of-mouth communication, and often act as a channel for customer feedback that can inform future product innovation and development. In pursuit of that objective, Flexifoil make extensive use of specialised ad media, including every kite magazine in circulation, often running double-page spreads. A branded display stand for Flexifoil product catalogues is distributed to every dealer. To keep the brand at the centre of the kitesporting world, the company sponsors a team of kite boarders who compete around the world.The promotional mix thus embraces advertising, publicity, sales promotion and point-of-sale. Flexifoil furthermore use their web site and its forums proactively to develop the UK kiting community, especially pre-launch. Previews of new kites provoke discussion in the forums, and a level of interest that builds up over months of anticipation and typically generates high sales volumes immediately on the release of the product. This online communication channel brings customers together to exchange experiences, and sell equipment to each other.The company lays claim to the largest online kiting community, of nearly 7,000 members. The variety of forums available to its members specialise in the full range of sportkiting activities. The clear aim of the marketing communication theory strategy is, like the distribution strategy, to create a community of interest rather than one based simply on transaction. Discussion This discussion will draw out two themes from the case study analysis co-creation, and customer communities. The study contributes a perspective on the co-creation of experiences, whichis a central element in the emerging paradigm of experience marketing.By continuing engagement with their customer community, the subject company has been able not only to gather feedback on the experiences associated with the use of its products, but also to add to them by offering opportunities, in bot h the real and virtual environments for customer to savour interactions with others who share their interests. It monitors and enhances the experience through the same channels. Whilst product innovation is stepwise, the dialogue and interaction with customers on which that innovation is based is continuous.This is not co-production in the sense that the term is used in new product development contexts, but rather in the service context, where the term refers to the fact that customers have a hand in the development of their own service experience. Nevertheless, experience co-creation in this case, embeds product innovation. The impact of this approach to co-creation is dif? cult to disentangle from the impact of other business and marketing actions.The signi? cant increase in sales in the years since the launch of the web site could be taken as one indicator, but itCustomer community and co-creation 141 MIP 25,2 142 is important to acknowledge the spiral nature of the community c reation process. This increase in sales will have expanded the community, and probably also have intensi? ed customers engagement with the experiences that community members co-create with the company.The case also contributes some insights on the nature of customer communities. Though the company does ask customers to register their product and thereby collects personal contact details, it does not operate a customer community, club or loyalty scheme.Rather, the innovative and interesting products act as a catalyst for community creation through the medium of the experiences they deliver. The customer community comprises those who have participated in those experiences, enjoyed them, and wish to develop the interaction. Customers work in partnership with the company to build excitement and develop skill, and by sharing the experiences with others, add to the totality of the customer community. The company has taken a number of actions to facilitate this process, including working w ith distributors, sponsorship, engagement in events, training courses, and an interactive web site.Speci? cally, their approach to communication with their customers is sophisticated. The common view of marketing communications as a one-way transmission is replaced by a marketing communications strategy designed to build and reinforce the companys position as a leader of a community. Traditional channels such as advertising, sponsorship, and even brand building are only elements in a complex web or network of marketing communications activities, involving C2C and B2B as well as B2C relationships.The company communicates directly with its customers, but also provides contexts which encourage them to talk among themselves. In addition, the marketing communications effort is pushed through distributors, not just in toll of the traditional advertising and branding, but also through the selection of distributors that can offer appropriate support and advice. These actors in the arrangi ng have a role in welcoming new members into the community. They are supported in doing so by the existing on-line community, and various company-sponsored events at which members are encouraged to gather.The customer community has built gradually as the business has grown. As new products have been added to the product range to support new sports, new sub-communities have formed around them. The process of community development goes hand in hand with product development. Conclusions and recommendations The entrepreneurs behind Flexifoil International have simultaneously created a sport, and an associated sporting community. The company is clear that its mission as not simply to develop and distribute the best products but rather to deliver the most exciting kiting experience.This case study has demonstrates that the entire marketing mix is focussed not on transactions, or even relationship building, but rather on community creation. That community includes both consumers and dealer s. Product innovation, distribution and promotion are tightly coupled with community creation. Community building is not just about increasing membership, or even about the engagement of members with the community, but focuses on the creation of a level of mutuality in which there is ongoing dialogue between community members and the company.Flexifoil has neither annexed an existing community, nor do they own one, although they do manage a virtual space through which the community can interact. Rather, their product innovation and the experiences that their product range provides have the potential to act as the catalyst for the community, whilst sponsorship, engagement in events, and the virtual space all facilitate the enhancement of the experience for community members. Other companies compete with Flexifoil for leadership of the power kiting community, both rival manufacturers and others keen to enhance the sportkiting experience.Many of these have web sites through which they s eek to capture an online community. For example, one casts itself as the kite ? yers portal to the internet offering links to kite manufacturers and kite stores in the USA and Canada, to other power kiting web sites, to other kite ? yer sites, kite teams and clubs, and to magazines and newsgroups. another(prenominal) claims to be the online community that brings ? yers together and a third promotes itself as the internet magazine for kiters.All offer different services and bene? ts to their customers, but for some, their engagement with the sport kiting community will be restricted to virtual space. Though Flexifoil has a strong brand presence as a manufacturer, it needs to encourage members to participate with it in co-creation if it is to deliver on its mission of providing customers with the ultimate kite sports experience. The approach to marketing strategy described in this case study can aptly be described as customer community leadership.By leading the sport kiting community, but not owning it, Flexifoil has created a community that will buy their products, co-create kiting experiences, provide insights that can inform innovation in the product, the experience and the community innovation, look forward to the next product release, and mutually enhance community members experiences of the companys products and services. Embedded in this approach to community leadership are a number of more traditional marketing actions, such as new product development, advertising, and commitment to after-sales support.The distribution channels are designed to offer the support and training that is likely to enhance sport kiting experiences, but also to build relationships with dealers, and to bring sports kiters together. This is supplemented by opportunities for interaction in virtual space. Community development is achieved through a network of relationship-building actions, at the heart of which are enjoyable and shareable sports kiting experiences. Through community leadership, the company has created a context in which customers are thus from being passive recipients of products and services, and empowered as knowledge partners (Gibbert et al., 2002).In other words, it has thereby created a context that facilitates the processes of customer knowledge management. This is an approach to marketing intelligence and decision making embedded in dynamic co-creation processes that involve customers as partners. It is worth noting that the term customer community leadership can have two different meanings in practice. First, it may mean leadership of a community, in the sense of making it work, setting its direction, and participating in the shaping of experiences of community members.In this context, the focus is on factors such as member engagement, culture, norms, identity and community viability, in terms of the value delivered to all parties. Second, it can describe an avenue to market leadership, in which the business performance of an organisat ion over the longer term is de? ned and determined by the extent to which its leadership of a community of potential customers, or its power and capacity to lead, is greater than that of its competitors. Customer community and co-creation 143 MIP 25,2 144In taking the development of the concept of customer community leadership forward, it will be important to explore the different styles and approaches that are and can be adopted by different ? rms and organizations. Given that another essential of successful leadership is followers, an important phenomenon for further study is the nature of followership in this context. This case study has focussed on the actions and strategies adopted by one business to build and bene? t from a customer community and to engage customers in the co-creation of an experience.In addition, it has demonstrated how both online and real-world communities can be enlisted to contribute to building the experience. There is a scope for considerable further st udy of the processes associated with the co-creation of the experience, and the details of how communities operate. Such research needs both to cover a wider range of organizations and business sectors, and to examine in more detail aspects of communities, co-creation and customer knowledge management. Some potential areas of investigation are .Perceptions and views of different stakeholders as to the impact of the community and the contributions of different parties in the co-creation of the experience. . The pro? le of such customer communities in terms of loyalty, retention and customer lifetime value, including comparisons between online and real-world communities. . Community processes, including models of key processes of in? uence, knowledge and learning, identi? cation and role of node members, and the role of celebrity voices and endorsement. . The marketing actions that contribute to the cultivation of effective co-creation communities.References Armstrong, A. G. and Hagel , J. (1996), The real value of online communities, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 74, pp. 134-40. 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