Choosing Your CPE Essay Topics

Choosing Your CPE Essay TopicsFinding CPE essay topics is a challenging task, as there are so many to choose from. One of the most difficult issues when searching for these topics is selecting which ones are going to fit your particular needs and taste.It is sometimes difficult to understand why some students feel that they need to write several essays when all they really need to do is one or two CPE essays. The truth is that for some students, they only need to submit a small number of essay subjects to their school. So when deciding which topics are suitable for your needs, it is best to understand what you will be doing in the short term.There are a number of ways to approach your short term search for essay subjects. For example, by taking courses in areas such as English or History will usually allow you to have access to a vast number of topics. If you do not feel comfortable applying this method, it is also possible to take online courses that give you exposure to many of the topics that you need to write on. You should be prepared to take as many classes as you can.You should never think that a good topic to research will only come from what you know. The best way to achieve this goal is to make an effort to research new topics as you are researching your existing courses. If you do not already have many of the courses that you need to write CPE essays on, be sure to make a list of the different topics that you feel you would enjoy writing about.You should try to find a topic that relates to a subject area that you already know. Make sure that your topic is something that you would be able to handle well if you were required to write it for a class. The easiest way to achieve this is to write down a list of topics and the subjects that you do not know well enough to attempt to write. Once you have determined what you want to write about, make a mental note of it, and do not leave it unattended.Once you have chosen your topic, the next step will be to m ake the final selection. In order to avoid a long process, start out by choosing the topic that you feel you have the most potential for and work from there.For many students, they need to be in two separate schools in order to get all of the assistance and support that they need. However, if you are going to submit one large document, you will not have as much help. Therefore, the easiest way to proceed in your task of finding your CPE essay topics is to divide yourself up into two schools, and work separately towards your goal.Once you have divided yourself into groups, the final step is to prepare each of them for submission. This means that you will need to schedule enough time for each of your students to submit their topic to you. Since you will be using a computer, you should consider buying or having someone else prepare each of your topics before submitting them.

What Should You Do If You Have a B Average GPA

What Should You Do If You Have a B Average GPA SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It's important to be aware of the constraints your grades in high school might place on you in the college application process. If you have a B average, you're doing fairly well, but you might consider making some changes to your academic strategies to have a better shot at reaching your goals. In this article, I'll go over what a B average is and what you should do if you have one depending on where you are in your high school career. What Is a B Average, and Can It Get You into College? A B average corresponds to a 3.0 GPA, which is about average for a high school student.Keep in mind that this is the average for ALL high school students, not just students who plan on attending college.Measured against other students who are applying to college, a 3.0 GPA is lower than average.According to our database, only 21.3 percent of colleges have average GPAs for admitted students that are lower than a 3.0. This doesn’t mean that you’ll have trouble finding a school that will accept you, but it does mean you’ll have to target less selective options.If you’re hoping to get into a competitive college program, you may want to work on improving your GPA.I’ll go over some strategies for this in the next section. How Can You Improve Your Chances of College Admission If You Have a B Average? If you’re still a freshman or sophomore, you have time to raise your GPA, so you should think about adopting better study habits if you want to attend a more selective college.If you’re a junior or senior, you don’t have much time to improve your grades.In this case, focus on other aspects of your college application like standardized test scores.Here’s some advice for each of these scenarios: If You Have Time to Raise Your Grades: Study Smarter Using effective study strategies is critical for improving your grades.Tests are stressful, and if you aren’t totally comfortable with the material you might get anxious and end up with a grade that doesn't reflect your true abilities.The best way to avoid this is to spread out your studying over a longer period of time so that you can fully absorb the information. The goal is for the material to be embedded deeply in your mind rather than floating perilously on the edge of your memory (which is what happens when you cram!).Try studying for an hour every night during the week before a test rather than studying for five hours the night before.You should also make sure you’re getting the most out of your study sessions, which means enlisting someone else to quiz you after you've reviewed everything on your own. As someone with a B average, you're already doing something right with your study strategies. You probably know most of the material fairly well before each test, but you're not pushing yourself to the point of complete understanding. In order to take your grades from good to great, you will have to be vigilant about filling small gaps in your knowledge. The difference between a B and an A is your performance on the most complex aspects of a test or assignment. You may need to add an extra hour or two to your studying to give yourself enough time to reach that higher level. And if you need to eat some ice cream to get through the extra studying, so be it. Avoid Procrastination If you’re working on raising your grades, procrastination is the enemy.Waiting until the last minute to complete assignments means that you don't have time to edit or polish your work, and you’ll probably turn in a final product that doesn't accuratelyreflect your abilities. I’d recommend making a timeline with checkpoints for completing portions of long term projects to keep yourself on schedule.Try to finish all the most labor-intensive parts of a project a week before it’s due so that you have a significant amount of time to reassess your work and see if you need to make any adjustments. Don't forget to read directions carefully, and be sure to include everything you need to earn the most credit (and extra credit if available!). This final effort is often the difference between B-quality work and A-quality work. Step Up in Class This is the one of the most fundamental tips I can give you. Makea point of paying attention in class and asking and answering questions whenever possible.This will help to reinforce your knowledge of the subject and make studying much less of a pain. If you pay close attention in class, you will already have a better understanding of the material that’s on your next test.When you study, you’ll be starting from a more informed position, and the whole process will be less stressful.Some things that you thought you had to study might already be ingrained in your memory because you were listening when your teacher went over them in class. If you're already someone who pays attention and participates in class, which many B students are, you might think about taking this a step further. It can be really helpful to start taking detailed notes in your classes, especially in subjects where there's a lot of information to remember. If you take notes, you'll get dual reinforcement of the information from both auditory and visual sources. This might be the extra push you need to get the most out of your time in class, especially if you're more of a visual learner. If you can raise your GPA to a 3.2 (which is a very manageable goal!), you will be a competitive applicant at more than double the number of schools you were competitive for at a 3.0.On the flip side, if you let your grades slip and end up with a 2.8 GPA, you will be competitive for less than half the number of schools than with a 3.0. Don’t let that happen! Don't freeze on me now... If You Don’t Have Time to Raise Your Grades: Study for the SAT and ACT Standardized test scores contribute strongly to your chances of admission at most colleges.In many cases, they are nearly as important as your GPA.If it’s too late in the game for you to improve your grades, raising your standardized test scores is the best way to impress colleges.Check out some of our other articles for advice on how to formulate a study plan and improve your scores significantly before the next test date. Plan Out Your Application Essays Another way to improve your chances of admission is to make sure that your collegeessays are well-thought-out and meaningful.I would recommend that you start planning your essays well in advance if possible, ideally at the beginning of the summer before senior year. This will give you more time to brainstorm what makes you unique and how you’ll contribute positively to a college community. Colleges are looking for students who are passionate about academic subjects and extracurricular activities. If you have a special perspective that you can offer on something that’s important to you, make sure you showcase it in your essay. It would be cool if you could just set up an adorably quaint workspace like this and your essay would write itself. What Other Options Do You Have for College With a B Average? If you know that it’s too late to do much to improve your grades before you apply to college, you have a few options.A 3.0 GPA means that you'll be a competitive applicant at many colleges, though you may have to lower your expectations to accommodate less selective institutions.See our information page onwhat colleges you can get into with a 3.0 GPAfor a better idea of where you stand. College is definitely within reach, so you shouldn't worry about being universally rejected if you choose your schools responsibly. Another option that many students don’t think about is going to a community college for a year and then transferring out to a more selective institution.Your grades are high enough to get into a regular four-year college, but you could potentially earn a degree from an even better school and graduate with less debt if you go the community college route initially.If you get good grades during your time in community college, youcouldleverage them into a transfer spot at a more competitive school.This strategy will benefit both your wallet and your ultimate job prospects if you’re willing to put in the hard work during your first year of college and take initiative in the transfer application process. You'll save a whole suitcase of money if you go to community college for a year. Probably. It depends on the denominations. Conclusion If you have a B average in high school, you'll be able to get into a number of less selective institutions. However,if you want to improve your chances of admission at competitive schools, you should work on raising your GPA. If it’s too late for you to make changes to your GPA, work on raising your standardized test scores and crafting a great application essay instead.You might consider going to community college for a year and then transferring to a more selective school to finish up your degree, but you can also apply to less selective four-year colleges. If you’re still a freshman or sophomore, keep working hard to improve your grades!Even a small improvement can make a big difference in the college admissions process. The wider your range of college options, the more likely it is that you’ll find a school that’s perfect for you. What's Next? Check out our list ofawesome colleges for B students. Still working on choosing your classes for the upcoming year or semester? Read our expert guide on which classes you should take in high school. Have there been significant changes in your grades from year to year? Find out which year of high school is most important when it comes to college applications. What do colleges actually look at when it comes to your GPA? Read this article to learn more about weighted and unweighted GPAs in the college application process. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

LEGAL ASPECTS OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

LEGAL ASPECTS OF HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT - Essay Example Socio-political instabilities in the world can severely affect the growth and profitability of the hospitality industry. Example: during 2009-2012 time period the profitability of most of the businesses in the world declined. Terrorist attacks in the USA, persisting European sovereign debt crisis, conflicts in the Middle East and the economic slowdown in Asia are expected to negatively affect the performances of hospitality industry. However according to the statistical estimations the demand for the hotels and the quality of the hospitality services continued to increase in year 2012. In fact the total number of hotel rooms in the world is expected to reach approximately 30 million and the room stock of hotel chains is expected increase up to 20 million by year 2030 (Slattery, 1999). Moreover, hotel industry is largely associated with the contemporary living styles of the people. Increasing public demand for recreational activities largely contribute to the growth of hotel industry. Therefore the employment opportunities in this industry are secure compared to the other sectors. Diversity of the industry is evident in the types of businesses that are currently operating in the world. Example: Free-Standing Hospitality Businesses (example: Hotels, Holiday centers, Quasi hotels, Cruise ships, Bars and Restaurants), Hospitality in Leisure Venues (example: Casinos, Bingo clubs, Night clubs, Cinemas and Theatres), Hospitality in Travel Venues (example: Airports, Railway stations, Bus stations and Ferry terminals) and Subsidized Hospitality (example: workplaces, Education institutes, Military, Custodial, Retailers) (Slattery, 2002). This report compiles the legal aspects of managing the drowning in hotel swimming pools. Drowning in swimming pools is recognized as a leading cause of unintentional fatal injuries occurring in the United States. Majority of the child deaths in the country are caused by drowning in residential swimming pools. For hoteliers, various aquat ic vessels such as vortex or current pools, wave pools and recreational rivers are valuable income generating opportunities. In general, large numbers of guests are annually attracted to the aquatic sports facilities available in the hotels such as the Disney resorts. A considerable proportion of these guests are children and minor. Therefore the government of the United States has mandated a set of safety requirements for aquatic sports facilities. These safety measures are the internationally recognized minimum requirements for structure, maintenance and functioning of the swimming pools. Following these standards is considered as a legal duty of the public swimming pool managers. This paper evaluates the importance of legal framework which applies to the hotel swimming pools’ security system in the United States. This paper is organized in the following order. â€Å"Background† chapter describes the importance of Aquatic Recreation Facility to hospitality industry a nd the statistical significance of drowning in the United States. â€Å"Literature review† describes the legal framework which is aimed at preventing the drowning related deaths and fatal injuries. Finally, the â€Å"Discussion† chapter scrutinizes the importance of following the swimming pool safety standards and legal implications of neglecting these regulations by hoteliers. Background Importance of the Aquatic Sports Facilities in Marketing Swimming is a very

Environmental and Industry Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Environmental and Industry Analysis - Essay Example Good-to-Go customers place orders with the business via telephone or company website, and then the company collects the requests and consequently delivers them to the customer. The business strengths include partnerships with other restaurants and print and online advertisement. However, their weaknesses rely on diversity as they only deal in restaurant industry and have not considered exploration possibilities. Registration Express refers to a company that conducts registration of a customer’s vehicle at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The inherent strengths of the company involve its comprehensive techniques, ideas, skills, and knowledge relating to the varied requirements for vehicle registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Besides, the company has long lasting intimate relationship with majority of the employees at DMV who willingly assist them. The main weakness of the company remains that it specifically advertises its services only online via social media including Facebook. Moreover, the company remains entirely dependent on the inherent regulations outlined by DMV. Grocereaze exists as a new business, and not much information remains available concerning the corporation. The company provides services relating to shopping and delivery of groceries to their esteemed customers. Grocereaze advertises via bulletin boards. Guam Concierge Services will employ technological applications in order to differentiate itself from other concierge-related companies within Guam, and guarantee an inherent reputation based on its trusted service. The company will use Dashboard cameras and Ipads to ensure provision of trusted services to customers. The business would initiate a policy that will require Dashboard cameras to remain turned on while performing errands for a client. Based on Dashboard cameras, if there will exist any disputes in the service offered by the company a camera would provide a timestamp and record all

Tourism individual report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Tourism individual report - Essay Example This means a lot more has to be done in different areas to achieve this dream. This report is going to analyze the economic, social and political contexts in the development of Hong Kong as a tourist destination, evaluate and come up with recommendations as to the future opportunities and challenges facing Hong Kong. The report will include the manner in which Hong Kong has responded to impacts of the named development factors and the policies in has put in place. Table of Context 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................4 2. Literature Review................................................................................................7 3. SWOT Analysis .................................................................................................10 a. Strengths and Weaknesses†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢ € ¦..10 b. Challenges and Opportunities†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 4. Future of Hong Kong...........................................................................................13 5. Conclusion............................................................................................................14 1. ... The overall visitors flocking into the city was over 36 million in 2010. Of this number, long-haul arrivals were approximated to be 4.8 million and mainland arrivals to be 8.2 million. The destination has witnessed a string growth when it comes to the number of visitors from the Mainland as well as both the short and long-haul markets which have doubled over the years. The long-haul visitors mainly come from Africa, Europe, and the Middle East making Hong Kong the leading performing market. Hong Kong has been facing stiff competition from Macau and other Mainland cities and the Hong Kong Tourism Board has reacted to this by working close with the trade and authorities to ensure that Hong Kong remains a multi-itineraries destination. It intraregional tourism has witnessed a rapid increase over the years as it has been receiving more regional short-haul tourists. In addition, the rapprochement between China and Taiwan as well as the China’s economy that has been booming over the years have led to desirable changes in the visitor’s arrivals composition to the destination. However, the political environment and the switch in sovereignty to China from Britain have impacted its current markets and are expected to continue impacting its future strategies and position. Travel and Tourism is now considered as a strategic industry in Hong Kong and is being developed to become a socialist’s market economy. The current situation at Hong Kong has taken more than two decades of development and has yielded hard lesions and positive experiences. Hong Kong is still searching for better strategies of coming up with a strong tourism industry that will be able to successfully compete in both global and regional markets. Hong Kong has faced many challenges and

The Mask of Ra :: essays research papers

This book sucked, actually I didn't read it, it was to long and I had to little time.456555555555555554gfdgkldf;aslksdd;lfsalf;dsldlf;ksdfBack to essays. Home. Legislative Analysis for the National Minimum Drinking Age Act by Alex Koroknay - Palicz The National Minimum Drinking Age Act is perhaps the law that has the most impact on the day-to-day lives of America's youth since it was signed into law on July 17, 1984. While the 21-year-old drinking age seems imbedded in American society, it is only a recent innovation. Most people do not know that the drinking age was only made a national law in 1984, and only after a determined battle by special interest groups. First and foremost this paper will discuss the history of the drinking age issue in America. Then covering the people involved in this issue. This bill concerned many notable politicians and lobbyists, fighting for it and against it; they left their impact on the future of our nation. These eminent people have gone down in history for the effect they have had on this piece of legislation. Following that this paper will delve into the lengthy process that is required for an idea to become a bill and finally be passed into law. Both houses and several committees exerted their influence on this and helped it on its way. Special interest groups also had a profound effect on this piece of legislation. Finally I will add my own conclusions about the bill and analyze the political process. The history of the National Minimum Drinking Age Act truly started back before Prohibition. The temperance movement used selective prohibition (drinking ages) as a stepping stone approach to their goal of outlawing all alcohol. Finally they did achieve the goal of total Prohibition of alcohol, and in 1919 the 18th amendment to the constitution was ratified. Although do to the seemingly ineffectualness of Prohibition and the change in public opinion, the 18th amendment was in 1933 repealed by the 21st amendment. What followed was a compromise with the lingering temperance movement and the modern drinking age was established. "The political failure of general Prohibition meant that American adults would increasingly focus justifications for alcohol policy less on the perils of drunkenness and more on the tenuous concept that adults can drink properly but youths cannot or should not." (Males 190) From the end of Prohibition until 1984 drinking ages were determined by the states, many of them had the age at 21 while several lowered the age to 18 for the purchase of beer.

Management Information System in Marketing Information System Essay

Market information system may be defined as factual knowledge about the action, antecedents or consequences of social actors outside or inside the firm and the environment in which they operate. Social actors are as consumers, completions, employee, institutions, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, govt. bodies and NGO’s. The environment actors are physical, technological, economic, legal and social taboos. Marketing decision support system (MKDSS) is an information system that helps with decision making in the formation of a marketing plan. The reason for using a MKDSS is because it helps to support the software vendors’ planning strategy for marketing products; it can help to identify advantageous level of pricing, advertising spending, and advertising copy for the firm’s products. This helps determines the firm marketing mix for product software. Various Constitute Are: Consumer behaviour, Aggregate demand, the competition, Political/ Legal/ Social environment, Product consideration, Distribution questions, Pricing consideration, Communication issues and Organizational behaviour. Marketing Information System Marketing Science System: this includes statistical models and analysis, data base, quantitative, analysis, mathematical models and analysis, and product analysis. All these lead to interpretation of analysis and findings to arrive at conclusion and recommendation. Normative System: this system narrates shapes of judgment of an organization what is good or bad, important or unimportant, what action should be or should not be taken in. It is connected to communication system and marketing science system. The normative system translated organizational goals into sub-goals, policies and standards. Output :- The overall output of MIS in the management decision system arrives at policies, rules, procedures and directives with regards to organizing, planning, staffing, executing and controlling. Feed Back :- Feed back on an environment and organization is through the output of marketing information system. However, one cannot specify what information is needed for decision making until an explanatory model of the decision process and the system involved in it are constructed and tested. The marketing information system enables in assessing the managerial information and their feedback effects on environment and organization. This is a continuous process to locate the very open system of marketing in terms of responses to the internal and external pressures.  Computer, electronics, communication and audio video technologies have converged closely to produce a new style of operating business. The tools, the technologies and the well designed solutions and system are available to support all needs of the business. What is needed is an integrated solution out of these technologies and the system offering an enterprise wide management support. Such an integrated solution is called as the En terprise Management System (EMS), which when implemented in an integrated manner for co-ordinated and co-operative function of the business give rise to the Enterprise Management System. Technology Evaluation Factors Client server architecture and its implementation- two tier or three tier. Object orientation in development and methodology. Handling of server and client based data and application logic. Application and use of standards in all the phases of development and in the product. Front end tools and backend data based management system tools or the data, process presentation management. Interface mechanisms: Data transfer, real time access, OLE/ODBC compliance. Use of case tool, screen generators, report writers, screen painter and batch processor. Support system technology like bar coding, EDI, imaging, communication, network. Down loading to PC based packages, MS-Office, Lotus note etc. Operation system and its level of usage in the system. Hardware- software configuration management. Marketing Information System is Information System used in Marketing and management that automate some sales and sales force management functions. They are frequently combined with a marketing information system, in which case they are often called customer relationship management system. Sales force management system are information system used in marketing and management that automate some sales and sales force management functions. They are frequently combined with a marketing information system, in which case they are often called customer relationship management. Enterprise Management System (EMS) is any of the strategies and technologies employed in the information technology industry for management the capture, strong, security, revision control, retrieval, distribution, preservation and destruction of documents and content. EMS especially  concerns content imported into or generated from within an organization in the course in the course of its operation, and includes the c ontrol of access to this content from outside of the organization’s processes. Marketing management is about finding ways of satisfying customer wants and needs, while achieving organizational objectives or requirements in terms of profit or some other measure of corporate performance. It brings together all customer-impinging resources, such as product design and specification, advertising and other forms of promotion, pricing policy, selling, channels of distribution and physical distribution to achieve this end. These customer-impinging resources are often summarized under four headings and referred to as the four Ps of the marketing mix (price, promotion, place and product). The art or science of marketing management is concerned with making decisions/policies with respect to the elements of the’ marketing mix such that the company’s interface with its markets is both profitable and customer satisfying. Marketing Information Systems The concept of marketing information systems has been around for many years. Early systems were paper-based systems but, with the emergence of computers with large storage capacities and later microcomputers with similar features, marketing information systems have become more â€Å"electronic† in nature. MIS (marketing information systems) can be classified under five headings: Planning systems – which provide information on sales, costs and competitive activity, together with any kind of information which is needed to formulate plans. Control systems – these provide continuous monitoring of marketing activities and enable marketing executives to identify problems and opportunities in the marketplace. At the same time, they permit a more detailed and comprehensive review of performance against plans. Marketing research systems – such systems allow executives to test decision rules and cause/effect hypotheses. This permits the assessment of the effects of marketing actions and encourages improved learning from experience. Monitoring systems – these systems provide management with information  concerning the external environment in which they are operating. One can define a marketing information system as one which scans and collects data from the environment, makes use of data from transactions and operations within the firm and then filters, organizes and selects data before presenting them as information to management. Using a Marketing Information System As we have seen above there are two basic. ingredients to a marketing information system. On the one hand, there is a database or a number of databases containing a variety of data about the firm, its competitors, its markets and the environment. On the other hand, there is the provision of a wide variety of analytical tools capable of exploring the data and turning it into meaningful information for management. When designing a marketing information system a number of important questions need to be answered in the first place. These are: (1) Exactly how much information will be entered in the database? (2) What information will be entered into the database? (3) How will it be entered into the database? (4) How will it be manipulated once it is in the database? (5) To whom will reports be sent? The question of how much information is extremely important. There is always a danger that too much information may be entered. This will only serve to overload management’s information processing abilities. In addition, any data or information which is not used by management is clearly redundant and will be taking up valuable storage space in the information system. From time to time it is necessary to review the information available in the information system and to remove any that is not being used. Creating a â€Å"real world† MIS for those that cannot afford to wait Rather than wait for the dream to materialize, marketers need to improvise. They need a system that enables them to (1) make better decisions and (2) support those decisions with verifiable data. The initial steps of this approach typically involve the following: 1. Look at what systems the company already has in place, 2. Determine what useful marketing information can be gleaned from those systems, 3. Identify the information marketers need that they are not getting from existing systems, 4. Create, or find, additional systems to provide the needed marketing information, 5. Integrate these systems with companywide enterprise systems (if possible and not too costly). 1. Start with the accounting system A good place to start is the business system that every business has – the Accounting system. What information do businesses get from their accounting system that is useful to marketers? 1. Sales 2. Costs/Expenses 3. Profits If the accounting software is well designed and flexible, this information can be sorted in a variety of ways including by (1) Sales person, (2) Product, (3) SKU (stock-keeping-unit), (4) Division or Region, (5) Distribution channel, (6) Reseller, and (7) Season. The information obtained from the accounting system is typically enterprise-wide and at a macro level. It usually does not give marketers, or their bosses, the information necessary to (1) determine the effectiveness of the organization’s marketing efforts; (2) enable it to react quickly to real-time crises and opportunities; or (3) respond rapidly to competitive threats. Some of the information that marketers need from an effective marketing information system includes the following: 1. Marketing strategy feedback (or how well marketing strategies are working) 2. Complaints 3. Compliments (testimonials) 4. New Product ideas 5. Competition information 6. Marketplace changes To capture and properly respond to this information, most marketers need to create a Marketing Information System that augments the macro information provided by their accounting systems. 2. Market Information Form To minimize paperwork, marketers can collect a lot of the information from the above list on a Market Information Form (or its electronic equivalent). The information collected and how this information is used is summarized below. 1. Complaints. Once collected, complaints are distributed to those that can solve the problem quickly. The objective is to turn the negative into a positive and build a stronger relationship with the offended party. The way companies handle complaints can mean the difference between success and failure in an increasingly competitive marketplace. 2. Compliments. After obtaining permission, marketers use compliments in their marketing communications. Nothing is more effective than bona fide testimonials from customers. Copies are also given to sales people so they can put them in their sales notebooks and use them to impress prospects and close business. 3. New Product ideas. These are fed into the company’s new product development system. 4. Competition Information. This is given to sales people to put in their sales notebooks so they can use the data to answer objections and close business (with the caveat of not disparaging competitors) and is fed into the company’s new product development system so that new products can be designed to beat competitors. 5. Strategy feedback. This information is organized by the marketing building blocks (1) corporate image, (2) positioning, (3) product, (4) pricing, (5) distribution, (6) promotion, and (6) marketing information system (yes we need to collect information as to how well our MIS strategies are working). Based on feedback, strategies are adjusted as necessary. A pad of these forms (or an electronic version) is provided to all the contact points including (1) Receptionists and secretaries that answer the phone, (2) Sales people, (3) Customer service people, (4) Repair people, (5) Personnel that respond to inquiries and complaints online and on social media, and (6) accounts receivable (since they often hear about complaints when they try to collect on late invoices). 3. Lead Card Leads are captured on a lead card or its electronic equivalent. Sales people use the lead card to follow up on a prospect’s interest with the objective of closing the sale. In addition to notes of all contacts, there are four main pieces of information that should be captured on the lead card. 1.  Identification of the prospect. If you are selling to a business, most of the information you need is on your contact’s business card. For additional information you need, your lead card should be designed so you can add it with minimal effort. 2. Product interest. The products you typically sell should be pre-listed on the lead card so sales people can quickly check them off. 3. Degree of interest. This is your sales person’s guestimate of how likely the prospect is to buy your product in the current period, which is usually this month. Because the degree of interest is also called â€Å"buying temperature† the metaphor for degree of interest that is often is used is Hot for the most interested leads, Warm for the next most interested leads, and Cool for the least interested. The â€Å"Hot† leads should automatically update another MIS report called the Hot List. 4. Lead source. All promotion that you do should have a unique code so that when the lead is captured, you know what marketing activity generated the lead. This lead source should automatically update another MIS report called the Promotion Effectiveness report. In addition to helping sales people follow up on leads and close business, smart marketers use lead card information for other Marketing Information System purposes, such as the Hot List and Promotion Effectiveness Report described below. 4. Hot List An MIS report called the Hot List contains the following information on â€Å"Hot† leads: 1. Prospect name. This could be a business or individual. 2. Decision makers. This is so the sales person does not waste time talking with the wrong person. 3. Product or project proposed. This is what the prospect wants. 4. Proposal date. This is the date the product proposal and estimate of the cost is given to the prospect. 5. Dollar-amount proposed. This is the price of the product proposed. 6. Percent chance of closing in the current period. To qualify for the Hot List, a Hot lead should have at least a 25% chance of closing in the current period (each company should decide their own minimum threshold for Hot). 7. Expected Value (5 multiplied by 6). If the dollar amount proposed is $10,000 and the % chance of closing is â€Å"guestimated† to be 50%, the expected value would be $5,000. 8. Objections. This lists the objections that are keeping the prospect from buying. Sales managers use the Hot List in two ways. 1. Help close sales. The sales manager helps sales people to close Hot leads by coaching them on how best to answer the Objections in column 8 of the Hot List. 2. Dynamic sales forecast. The sales manager helps to insure that the sum of Expected Values equals, or exceeds, each sales person’s quota for the month. If the expected values are lower than a sales person’s quota, the sales manager can encourage the sales person do whatever is necessary to get more Hot leads on the Hot List so that the sum of Expected Values equals or exceeds the quota. The sales quotas of all the sales people should sum to the â€Å"measurable goal† of the Marketing Plan. 5. Promotion Effectiveness Report As each sales person captures the promotion source for each lead on the Lead Card, the information automatically flows onto his or her Promotion Effectiveness Report. Every time a sales person gives a presentation or makes a sale from a lead, that information is recorded on the Promotion Effectiveness Report. The MIS system automatically adds up the total number of the leads, presentations, and sales company-wide for each promotion source. When compared to the costs of that promotion source, the marketing department can calculate the promotion effectiveness, or ROI, of each promotion. Since totals for leads, presentations, and sales are available in the MIS by sales person, the sales manager can automatically compute the batting average of each sales person and determine the number of leads and presentations each one needs to make his or her sales quota. In this way, the sales manager and the company marketers systematically work together to insure that (1) plan goals are met and (2) the money invested in promotion is not wasted (the ads and promotions that are effective will be repeated and the ones that don’t will be discontinued). 6. Market Research The systems above (Market Information Form, Lead Card, Hot List and Promotion Effectiveness Report) typically capture information in real time and provide a lot of great information that help the marketing function do a more effective job and prove it to the CEO. Even so, this is not enough. There are still holes in the information marketers need. In an effort to plug  these holes, there is one big missing piece – Market Research. There are two big categories of Market Research – Secondary and Primary. 7. Secondary Research Secondary research is simply research done by others. Perhaps the greatest invention for secondary research is the search engine. Marketers can simply type in search terms in a search window and browse the Internet for any data related to those search terms. Furthermore, marketers can set up â€Å"alerts.† That is, search terms can be entered into a search engine so that the search engine’s crawlers will continually search for anything that contains those search terms and send you an email when it finds them. There are so many other sites, which marketers frequent, that provide a wealth of information. Just a few examples include: Media Post, Marketing Sherpa, Brand Channel, Hoovers, the CIA World Factbook, and ClickZ. 8. Primary Research When some big holes remain that still need to be plugged, marketers will often do primary research, which is their own research. Common forms of primary research include surveys, focus groups, experiments, and various forms of crowd sourcing.