The Beanie Babies Boom :: Beanie Babies Ty Business Essays

The Beanie Babies Boom "Pounce, Prance, Zip, Canyon, and Snip," came, without hesitation, from the mouth of my daughter when I presented her with five randomly selected Beanie Babies from the one hundred or so that are in her bedroom. She hardly had to think about her response as she named them for me. She knows them all by name. I was intrigued. My daughter, and my wife, are generally very selective in their interests and pursuits. There are no Tickle Me Elmos or Furbys in our house. We have never fallen prey to the lure of pet rocks or Cabbage Patch dolls, but the sheer number of Beanie Babies we possess has made me very curious about these cute little things. The current Beanie Babies phenomenon is somewhat baffling to me, as most popular crazes are. What makes these things so special that my daughter knows them all by name, or that people wait in line at six in the morning to buy them? Who exactly is buying them, and who are they being bought for? These are questions I felt I needed some answ ers to. Over half of the Beanie Babies that we own are now retired, which means nothing more than the fact that if we wanted to buy the same ones now, they would cost three or four times what they did when we bought them the first time. The maker of Beanie Babies, the Ty Company, retires certain models each month which drives the price of the retirees up, in secondary markets, immediately. Is this simply a statement that no more are being made, or is it just a marketing ploy to drive sales? Either way, I feel that anything that has cost my family over seven hundred dollars deserves to be looked in to. When I inquired about what made these particular animals so "unique," I thought I would go right to the closest, most reliable sources that I had. I first asked my daughter, who is seven years old. Her response was that they were "cute" and that they had "cute names." When I asked my wife, she told me that they were "cute," and that they were "soft and cuddly." Now I know what one might think, but one thing needs to be made clear.

Public Relations Interview

Kaiser Permanente is an integrated managed care consortium based located in Oakland, California. Kaiser Permanente evolved from industrial health care programs for construction, shipyard, and steel mill workers for the Kaiser industrial companies during the late 1930s and 1940s (â€Å"Kaiser Permanente,† 2013, para. 1). Kaiser Permanente is consists of three distinct entities, the Kaiser Foundation Hospitals, the autonomous regional Permanente Medical Groups, and the Kaiser Foundation Health Plan.Kaiser provides medical care throughout the eight regions, the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans (KFHP) works with the employee, employers, and individual members who offer prepaid health plans and insurance. The health plans provide infrastructure and are not for profit that invest to Kaiser Foundation Hospitals that provides tax exempt shelter to the for profit medical groups. The Permanente Medical Groups are owned by the physician organizations.They arrange, and provide medical care for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan members. The medical groups are for profit professional corporations, and partnerships that receive the funding from the Kaiser Foundation Health Plans. The flagship hospital for Kaiser Permanente is the Oakland Medical Center. The facility has : 761 physicians (between Oakland and Richmond Medical Centers), 341 beds, 14-bed perioperative department, and 60 critical care beds (â€Å"Kaiser Permanente,† 2013, para.3). The Oakland Medical Center is a specialty medical center that employed board certified surgeons, and physicians who teach at well-known universities like the University of California at San Francisco. They provide a wide array of highly specialized care units, including Comprehensive pediatric care program (â€Å"Kaiser Permanente,† 2013, para. 5).a.Cochlear implants b.Genetics c.Kidney stone and gallstone treatment d.Neonatal intensive care e.Pediatric neurosurgery f.Spine surgeryInstant worldwide communications make it m ore important than ever to manage a company's image and control how a company interfaces with its customers (Sardisco, 2013, para. 1). Public relations is an essence of any company whether a company is private or public, profit or nonprofit and its status will define its success. Modern public relations practitioners have faced more difficulties and challenges as the information for fast, and marketing globalization alter the pace and landscape of the profession.I interviewed the Public Relations Affairs manager of organization, she covers the East Bay Region of Northern California that includes Oakland, Richmond Alameda, and Pinole. I have worked with her in various projects highlighting the work we are doing in the nursing units to improve our patient satisfaction, and care experience. As a Public Relations Manager she plays a vital role in our communications, and marketing division. She works in collaboration with the national, regional, and local public relations department of o ur organization.One thing that I am amazed is how consistent and standardized their communications plan across the region; they are consistent with the message they are giving to the community, and to the public. As a PR manager she develops and implements strategic public relations programs to attain significant brand awareness. As a public relation affairs manager, she has the critical work of placing Kaiser’s hearts, and minds of the key stockholders that includes the patients, prospective members, clinicians, journalist policymakers, and executives.She is responsible in numerous interrelated departments dedicated in advancing the organizations mission by promoting, and protecting Kaiser Permanente brand by supporting a successful strategy that includes issues, and brand management, corporate communications, public relations, media, and stakeholders relations, public affairs internally, and externally. She supervises public relations staff that works on different areas; me dia relations, business – business communications, research, philanthropy, sustainability, health IT, and health care reforms. She also shared that Oakland Medical Center has a formal public relations plan.It has an effective print, media, broadcast media kit. The robust plan include news releases, public services, newsletter, community, and charity events, creation, and maintenance of website, webcasts, media tours, spotlight new programs, news monitoring, full use if social media, and internet by participating in the online forums. It is important for the organization to put forward important messages to the public to have an image, and good impression of the organization. They also have scheduled public relations program that regularly appear in the main community calendars.Planning for the unexpected crises is another important function of the public relation. An example was during the fire at the Chevron Richmond refinery last 2012 that happened near the Richmond Medical center that has the same license with Oakland. Kaiser Richmond Medical Center has served several dozen of people who came to the emergency room that complained shortness of breath and people were seriously ill. The fire has affected the quality of air over contra cost and El Cerrito Hills. They created public relations plan to handle the crisis and support the community by providing access with the media, local police, and government.She also shared some of the challenges as a public relations manager is keeping up with the rapidly changing media environment. To have the accurate current information and consistency in reaching the right contact, at the right time with the correct information is also important. Control the new media avenues in proper way like Facebook, twitters, and LinkedIn. How to work around the constantly changing views around the traditional approaches. Development of an effective process from a one – one media relation not in a one size plan.Marketing, and public relations; both are major external functions of the firm and both share a common ground in regard to product publicity and consumer relations, at the same time, however; they operate on different levels and from different perspectives and perceptions (Turney, 2001, para. 3). What I learned is that both public, and marketing relations has gone through intense growth, and evolution, it gained increased influence in the business world as they developed new strategies, and projects that projected positive, and aggressive communication in larger public.The traditional perception is that marketing exists to serve, sense, and satisfy customers’ needs for a profit. In Public relations assist its public and organization to adapt mutually to each other. In marketing it supports the transfer of services, and goods from the producer, and the provider to the consumer. The immediate goal of public relations is to achieve an understanding of the organization’s position wit h the public while marketing’s goal is sales. Public relations inherent goal is to have a positive perception and predisposition while marketing is to gain profit.Public relations measurement of success is evidenced by public support, and expressed public opinion’ while marketing’s measurement of success is the quantity of revenue, and sales it generates. Most organization use only one of these disciplines, some uses both. This depends on the degree that they use; it varies from organization to organization based on the size, purpose, and unique organizational background. Kaiser has three entities the hospital clearly has the public affairs and the health plan division uses the marketing strategy.If an organization is nonprofit like Kaiser Permanente Hospital Oakland Medical Center primary goal is to serve the public, and the community. Public relations are more prominent function because it builds relationship with its members. The public affairs department coo rdinates, and disseminates public information, community affairs, and relations. A business for profit and focuses on marketing, and sales, and gaining profit is the most dominant function. Public relations are the secondary function and are completed to enhance, and enhance the marketing efforts.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. And Congressman John Lewis Essay

There is little debate among historians that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Congressman John Lewis are arguably two of the most important men in the Civil Rights Movement. Both of these men, Dr. Martin Luther King, in context of his involvement with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and John Lewis, in context of his involvement with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, left indelible impacts on the trajectory and success of the civil rights movement writ-large. While it is important to recognize the collective achievement of each of these men and the organizations in which they served, it is also important to recognize the reality that both of these men occupied distinct political positions within the movement which ultimately changed the ways in which they both would foresee the actions that they thought would be important and essential to the success of the movement. Politics, while more often observed in context of institutional power structures like governmental systems, i.e the federal government of the United States, is an important and fundamental feature of transgressive social movements as well. In the Civil Rights Movement, the fundamental differences in political ideology and direct action are best highlighted between King and Lewis in context of the each of the initial speeches that both of these men intended to give to attendees of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Hence, this essay will provide a comparative analysis ofShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of John Lewis s The Movement 1666 Words   |  7 PagesUnited States. John Lewis Memoir of the movement gave a definitive insight to this period in the American history. Congressman John Robert Lewis was the child of Willie and Eddie. He was born in February 21, 1940 in Pike County, Alabama, during the dark times in the history of the United States that witnessed segregation as a norms in a considerable part of the American society. On this particular occasion when the 104th congress session has just adjourned in 1996 when John flew from WashingtonRead MoreBronx High School Of Science1279 Words   |  6 Pagesorganizer in Lowndes County, Alabama. Here African Americans made up 80% of the population but had no representation in congress. Stokely was able to raise the number of registered voters from 70 to 2,600. Many notable figures like John Robert Lewis, U.S. Congressman, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Julian Bond were a few of the familiar faces a part of this organization. Neither Republicans nor Democrats gave Stokely Carmichael the response or attention to this movement as he wanted, so he foundedRead MoreCOMM292 Case Studies23202 Words   |  93 Pagespursue a career in consulting and hoped to get sponsored for a visa to live and work in the United States permanently. Jennifer Martin was the only woman on the learning team and came from a mixed-race family—African American and Caucasian. In 2002, Martin was awarded the crown for Miss Colorado and had been Miss Colorado Teen in 1999. Coupling brains with beauty, Martin This case was prepared by Yuctan Hodge (MBA ’07) and Stacey Jenkins (MBA ’07) under the supervision of Lynn A. Isabella, associateRead MoreLangston Hughes Research Paper25309 Words   |  102 Pageswhen men tried to kidnap her and sell her as a slave. Her first husband, Lewis Leary, was killed in 1859 at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, during John Browns raid on the federal arsenal. Throughout Mary Langstons life, she treasured Lewiss bullet-riddled shawl, an emblem of his martyrdom. She often covered young Langston with it as he slept on her daybed. Mary Langstons first husband, Lewis Leary, had participated in John Browns raid against the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry. (Library of Congress) Read MoreManagement Course: Mba−10 General Management215330 Words   |  862 Pagesleadership whatever his role. Peter Jackson When Peter Jackson read The Lord of the Rings trilogy at the age of 18, he couldn’t wait until it was made into a movie; 20 years later he made it himself. In 2004 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King took home 11 Academy Awards, winning the Oscar in every category for which it was nominated. This tied the record for the most Oscars ever earned by one motion picture. Such an achievement might seem unlikely for a producer/director whose film debut