Consumer Perceptions of Fast Food - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1704 Downloads: 8 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Marketing Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Fast food is so widely and easily available. Western consuming habits had spread world wide. American as the originator of fast food are the biggest group of consumers and on the move making alliance on quick and cheap meal. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Consumer Perceptions of Fast Food" essay for you Create order They have created a huge business for fast food companies. Across to Asian region, where mostly local food considered to be healthy but there are so many people willing to eat fast food which is considered to be more expensive and less in nutrition. It is possible that taste and trend overwhelm the bad things. Also, Marketing is the catalyst to the growth of fast food. Background The process of globalization got under way in earnest in Asia about ten years ago when fast food firstly approach to Asian market as a trendy food. As time changes, it is now blamed to be junk food to many consumers. Fast Food Company spends a fortune on advertising and they always try to create new attractive choice. However, the market seems to be saturated and it is time to find out real consumer trends. In the last few decades, Asian lifestyles have changed drastically. Basically, the Asia countries area are primary agricultural, most people lived in rural areas usually living off land and spending their day farming. Now, working life has forced people behind a desk and lack of free time. The fact that it is quicker and cheaper to get fast food on the run than prepare own meals makes fast food industry grows. Recently, the western style fast food restaurant has gained popularity among Thai customers. This can be judged from the abundance of outlets like McDonalds, KFC and Pi zza Hut, which have mushroomed all around Thailand due to the constantly changing lifestyle of people because of economic changes, social development and advanced technology, etc. these changes can be seen more obviously in big cities. Thai consumer behaviour has also changed as time has become more valuable, cooking and eating at home is not worth doing especially for working people. In 1977, Pizza Hut became the first American fast food restaurant to open a branch in Bangkok, Thailand. This was followed by a number of western style fast food restaurants such as McDonalds. The popularity of fast food restaurant has increased dramatically because of the blooming of middle income class and also because of the acculturation of Thai people. Additionally, working women have little time to cook, according to a 21-market study, including Thai, conducted by ACNielsen. ACNielsen Life Choices research 2006 was a qualitative in-depth study of a total of 84 groups of women of different soci al status young working women, women of broad middle class and mothers with children age under ten in 21 markets. The common characteristic of all of them was that they bought food and drinks out-of home (snacks, take-away and dine-out) five times a week or more. Bangkoks rapid development and traffic jams have also helped to popularize fast food. Every shopping mall seems to have fast food for customers, as well as the change in lifestyle of people likes the two-earner households are less likely to prepare evening meals at home. Having mobiles allows people more convenience to get out for quick meal by making last minute arrangement with friends. Besides, the more wage earners in the family, the fewer members prepare the food. According to the booming business western fast food style in Thailand such as McDonald, KFC, Pizza hut, etc. which are all brands that are well known as foreign fast food for consumers perception (McLean, 2007.). Fast-food restaurants have their own benefits, which their customers perceive. These perceived benefits are the primary reasons why they are patronized. Consumers rate these benefits or the values that they see in the product. Detailed information on the preferences of these consumers is revealed through representative samples of how they rate the importance of such benefits. Certainly, most people would like as many benefits as possible. However, the relative importance they attach to individual benefits can differ significantly and these can be used as effective barometers in segmenting the markets. Astute marketers have long realized that in addition to brand image, their company image can strongly influence consumers behaviour toward their enterprise and its products (Kasulis and Lusch, 1981). A companys image is the perception consumers have of its character as a result of their experience with it and their knowledge of and beliefs about it. Similarly, consumer patronage of a particular retail store can also be si gnificantly influenced by their perception of its image or personality. Store image may be defined as the way in which the store is defined in the shoppers mind, partly by its functional qualities and partly by an aura of psychological attributes (Pessemier, 1980). This definition implies that the fast-food restaurant image could be derived from the so-called functional attributes of price, convenience, and selection of menu. Variables such as architecture, interior design and advertising could influence a restaurants image as well. Therefore, consumers can develop images of fast-food restaurants regardless of whether management consciously attempts to project a specific image or not. For this reason, it is important for management to understand their image, as consumers perceive it. If the consumers criteria for selecting a particular restaurant from among other competitors can also be identified, then management can determine how the restaurant is evaluated or measured. Acco rding to Kotler (2008), positioning is the act of designing the companys offering and image so that it occupies a distinct and valued place in the target customers mind. The management of a fast-food establishment therefore, needs to describe to his customers how his store differs from current and potential competitors. Using his store attributes, he can project an image or personality that directly influences the consumer patronage of the store. It is then ultimately the consumers perception of all the competing outfits that will decide or establish the mode of direct or indirect competition among industry participants. This picture is captured in the product-market structure. It is the purpose of this study to establish the current product-market picture of the Thai fast-food industry and determine the forces that are responsible for the structural linkages. Markets consist of various buyers, and buyers differ in one or more respects. They may differ in their wants, resources, geographical locations, buying attitudes, lifestyles, and buying practices. Any of these variables can be used to segment a market. Market segmentation reveals the potential market opportunities facing the establishment. The establishment now has to evaluate the various segments and decide on which segment or segments to serve. The question of how many segments to serve can also be addressed, either to increase market share or develop niches, as a competitive strategy. The establishment, in evaluating different market segments, must look at factorssuch as segment size and growth, segment structural attractiveness, and company objectives and resources. Within each segment, the establishment needs to develop a product-positioning strategy. Food diversity in Thailand is an implicit characteristic of Thais diversified culture consisting of different regions. Traditionally, Thais like to have home-cooked meals a concept support individually. However, with times due to increasing awar eness and influence of western culture, there is a slight shift in food consumption patterns among urban Thai families. It started with eating outside and moved on to accepting a wide variety of delicacies from world-over. Liberalization of the Thai economy in the early 1990s and the subsequent entry of new players set a significant change in lifestyles and the food tastes of Thai people. Fast food is one which gained acceptance of Thai palate after the multinational fast food players adapted the basic Thai food requirements such as local adapted meals and selected options excluding beef and pork totally from their menu. Multinational fast food outlets initially faced protests and non-acceptance from Thai consumers. This was due to primary perception that these fast food players serve only hi calories meals and do not serve vegetable meals. In addition, fast food is perceived expensive besides being out-of-way meals in Thai culture. Today, fast food industry is getting adapted to Thai food requirements and is growing in Thailand. It is gaining acceptance primarily from Thai youth and younger generations and is becoming part of life. Keeping in view the Thai habits and changing preferences towards food consumption, this study has its focus to understand the factors affecting the perception of Thai consumer, towards consumption of fast food as well as towards making choice of fast food outlets. The fast food chain investors are now focusing on marketing strategy or planning for restaurants. This research tends to provide the most recent research of consumer perception and customer behaviour for fast food restaurant in Thailand. Therefore, the researcher is deeply interesting to study and emphasize of understanding customer in term of their perception and behaviour in order to develop fast food market segment, target and positioning as well as the marketing mix strategy. Statement of research question Marketing researchers have become increasingly concerned with the important of marketing mix factors (Wise and Sirohi, 2005). Mostly existing researches only performed in Asians country such as India and Philippine or china. This research which was conducted focusing on fast food restaurant in Thailand tried to find results base on the topic of consumers perception. Anyway the literature alone can not answer all the questions, so the research is needed to be done regarding the following research aims and objectives. Research aim The topic has been chosen to be done with the popularity of consumers in Thailand and to evaluate the consumers perception toward fast food. This dissertation aims to accomplish under the area of consumers perception and the factors that affecting the perceptions of consumers on fast food in Thailand and then suggests on any possible recommendation to strengthen the value of fast food with respect to the consumption pattern of consumers in Thailand. Research objectives To review the current situation for fast food industry in Thailand. To evaluate consumers perception and consumption pattern on fast food in Thailand. To critically analyse the factors affecting the perceptions of consumers on fast food in Thailand. To propose some recommendations to strengthen the value of fast food with respect to the consumption pattern of consumers in Thailand.

Costs Of The Death Penalty - 1237 Words

Costs of the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016. This article evaluates studies done in states all over the U.S to show much money is spent on capital punishment. For each state, the author provides a small summary, including statistics, and then provides the link to the original article where the information derived from. Thus, giving this article authority, by citing all sources, and also accuracy because of the studied information from each original article. The article doesn’t cover every state, but the states covered are the most relevant to the topic. I will use this information to show how expensive the death penalty is and compare it to the price of prisons, since cost is one of the main questions asked about the death penalty. Death Penalty Information Center Facts about the Death Penalty. Death Penalty Information Center. Death Penalty Information Center, 7 Apr. 2016. Web. 8 Apr. 2016. This article is an array of multiple statistics in the United States for the death penalty. The authority of this source comes from the Death Penalty Information Center, which is an organization that was founded in 1990 and is dedicated to researching for the public to keep people up to date with capital punishment issues. The article is also accurate because of the citation of all the articles where the information came from. This cite is very current since it is updated daily, and was last updatedShow MoreRelatedThe Cost For A Non Death Penalty1432 Words   |  6 Pagessurrounding the death penalty. â€Å"Each execution can cost between $2.5 million and $5 million.† (Fagan 1). Compared to the millions of dollars it takes to execute a single to person to the more affordable cost of housing a prisoner of a range of $20,000-$40,000 a year; we as a society could punish these people for their crimes without killing and for less money.(Hirby 1). 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Many people will disagree with the death penalty because it goes against their moral beliefs, this is thought process is seen more in the northern states. However, here in the south the death penalty is strongly believed in by most, but who is put to death and why? Did they deserve this sentence or were theyRead MoreDeath Penalty1135 Words   |  5 PagesNovember 2012 The death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1977, and since then murderers and rapist have been executed for the violent and harsh crimes they were found guilty of committing. In the past thirty years over 1,200 prisoners have been put to death for crimes in which they were convicted. The government of each state executes these prisoners by way of the electric chair, gas chamber, and the most common way lethal injection. A survey, from the Death Penalty Information Center

Mad Shadows and the Scarlet Letter Free Essays

In the novel Mad Shadows by Marie-Claire Blais and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, isolation was used as a major theme to sculpt and reveal the characters true identity. The behaviour of each central character towards isolation crafted their fates. The Scarlet Letter portrays the psychological effects of alienation on the characters. We will write a custom essay sample on Mad Shadows and the Scarlet Letter or any similar topic only for you Order Now Mad shadows illustrates an unprincipled world where beauty is skin only deep and love is measured by material possessions. The main character in The Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne, committed adultery with the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Hester was outcast by the puritan community that deemed her a presence of evil. Hester refused to reveal the other adulterer. In doing so, Arthur Dimmesdales quietly suffered until he finally completed penance. Roger Chillingsworth whom Hester was lawfully wed to, swore to reveal her lover thus poisoning his soul with revenge. Hester wore a scarlet letter A_ _as punishment, estranging her from her community. This was to remind her and everyone of her sinful deed. She had no communication with the rest of the world either than her trips to receive and deliver embroidery orders. Hester lived in a cottage remote from the sphere of society. The dark forest provided Hester with private surroundings in which she may search for truth and escape the glare of her community, although dejected. The consequence of her pure and innate impulse had to be taken on with humiliation in exile. Arthur Dimmesdale imposed desolation upon himself. Dimmesdale was incapable and reluctant to openly make public his sin. He therefore continued to be troubled by his own shame and as a result felt inner isolation from the community. His secret also forbade him from being with Hester and his daughter, separating him from his family. Dimmesdale saw himself as an immoral person. He reprimanded himself with neglect and hunger. When Dimmesdale finally frees himself from guilt and shame by confessing to the public, he yields to illness and dies. Roger Chillingworth undergoes a masked and vague form of estrangement and seclusion. He is physically divorced from Hester and feared by the townspeople, who believed that he was evil. Chillingworth, obsessed with seeking Hester’s secret lover, became mentally detached from himself. He gradually loses his self to the devil. Impiety causes Chillingworth to ultimately withdraw from his prior self. He lived secluded in a world which he believed only holds bitterness and anger. The central characters in The Scarlet Letter manipulated and contributed to the theme of isolation through their personalities. They were secluded from one another, themselves and their community. Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth endured differtent types of alienation and isolation and to various degrees. Hester is segregated from society. Dimmesdale felt alone due to the secrecy of his sin. Chillingworth surrendered himself to evil and gradually withers away. Mad Shadows focuses on a family that live in a corrupt perception of true beauty and love. Louise, who only valued material possessions and outer beauty, disregarded her unsightly daughter while pampering her handsome son. Her shallowness planted a jealous seed in Isabelle-Marie preventing her from experiencing happiness. Patrice on the other hand lived in superficiality and never had a deeper meaning to life or himself. These characters are isolated from nature and each other consequently preventing true happiness. Isabelle-Marie was the unsightly daughter of Louise. Her appearance deemed her unworthy of her mother’s love and affection. Isabelle-Marie was assigned to work in the farms preoccupying her time and preventing her from socializing. She was separated from the family because of the way she looked. Patrice couldn’t sympathize with his sister due to his idiocy. Her mother’s mistreatment spawned hatred for herself. Isabelle-Marie was wrapped in jealousy preventing her from loving her brother. Insecurities inspired her to lie to her husband ultimately losing him in the end. She had a daughter, like her she was ugly and her lack of love and acceptance for herself prevented her for genuinely loving her child. After she took revenge on her unloving mother Isabelle-Marie was still unfulfilled, everything was gone except for her, soon after she took her life. Patrice was treated like a baby by his mother. His beauty was her possession and was the only thing she loved of him. Patrice never knew anybody but Louise. He felt no real love from his family and was never understood. His mother spoke for him, acted on his behalf, and thought for him. Patrice was detached from his true self for he did not need to ponder anything outside of his mother and his beauty. When Patrice’s face was disfigured he lost his mother’s love and was left in an asylum. Unable to cope with his loneliness he eventually escaped the asylum to go back to his mother, only to find the remains of his life burned. His upbringing kept his soul and purpose empty. Ultimately Patrice lived in a hollow shell. Louise was an empty and excessive doll. Her concerns were only of her trim body and Patrice’s beauty, which she saw as her own beauty. External beauty made her self-absorbed not allowing her to naturally love Isabelle-Marie. Her marriage to Lanz served as a union of two faded and shallow lovers. Lanz only saw Louise for her beauty and riches. Her demanding husband forced Louise to give less of herself to her son, driving a wedge between them. Louise’s incapability to naturally lover her children kept herself detached from them. In the end she died alone amongst her possessions. The family lived in an immoral world. Isabelle-Marie destroyed her life and family due to her self-loathing. She was not able to completely lover her daughter for she was her mirror. Patrice lived in a world without living. When everything he knew was in ruins, he found his soul and peace in the lake. Louise only loving material possession condemned her children lives. The main characters segregation from each other didn’t let them escape the feeling of loneliness in their present lives. Marie-Claire Blais and Nathaniel Hawthorne depicted the characters inner feelings of suffering and hurt through relentless loneliness and seclusion. Both authors used two different forms of estrangement, isolation and alienation. The central characters in both novels experience different settings of isolation, which they developed with their personalities. The Scarlet Letter emphasized the suffering of the characters in psychological aspect. Mad Shadows_ _focused on the shallowness of the heart. The main characters in both novels undergo a variety of changes which eventually sealed their fates. *Mad Shadows and The* Scarlet Letter Theme of isolation Agnes Palaganas April 8, 2010 ENG18Y1- James Meade Reference: Blais,Marie-Claire. Mad Shadows. This New Canadian Library:2008 Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. Penguin Books:2003 How to cite Mad Shadows and the Scarlet Letter, Papers