Writing Memoirsâ€What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Sued

Writing Memoirs- What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Sued Writing Memoirs- What You Need to Know to Avoid Being Sued Everyone wants to avoid being sued. Litigation is expensive, time-consuming, and incredibly stressful. Most writers don’t have much to worry about. The odds that they’ll end up in a courtroom for something they wrote are fairly low. Our First Amendment right to free speech offers significant protection to write freely. One exception to this rule is the world of memoir.The reason the memoir genre is compelling is because it’s fascinating to read the dirty details of others’ lives. Memoir authors usually don’t write about rainbows and sunshine, they write about the salacious. Abuse, sex, addiction, and family drama- it’s the Sturm und Drang that people want to read about. This is the primary reason why memoirs open the door for lawsuits.There’s a fine balance when you’re writing your memoir. Of course, it’s your story, and as such, you want it to be told without barriers. Yet, you need to consider those you’re writin g about. They may not want to be part of your story. And, in some cases, if you violate the law, they may have the right to retaliate with a lawsuit.We can all agree that there are better things to spend your book royalties on than exorbitant legal fees. Read on for tips to avoid going from published author to professional despondent. (Note: Our first disclaimer- this article does not constitute professional legal advice. For real legal advice, consult your real live counsel, rather than looking things up on the Internet.)1. Case Study: Running with ScissorsSince we’re discussing legal issues, it seems fitting to start with a case study on the issues of memoir, defamation, and invasion of privacy.Critically acclaimed author Augusten Burroughs published the best-selling memoir, Running with Scissors in 2003. In his book, he recalled his time living with the fictional â€Å"Finches.† His book recounted abuse, drug use, dysfunctional family behavior, living in squalor, an d other unsavory details any family wouldn’t want blasted all over printed pages.Burroughs claimed that while he did change the name of the family (in real life, the Turcottes), the harrowing details of his time spent in their care were true. The Turcottes filed a defamation and invasion of privacy torts suit against Burroughs and his publisher. The family asserted that Burroughs fabricated facts and violated their privacy.Burroughs’ defense hinged on his assertion that the facts, as he wrote them, were true; therefore he had not broken any laws. The parties settled out of court. As part of the settlement, Burroughs changed his acknowledgments to say the Turcottes had â€Å"conflicting memories† of the described events. Burroughs was legally obligated to amend his book acknowledgments to read as follows:I would like to thank the real-life members of the family portrayed in this book for taking me into their home and accepting me as one of their own. I recognize that their memories of the events described in this book are different than my own. They are each fine, decent and hard-working people. The book was not intended to hurt the family. Both my publisher and I regret any unintentional harm resulting from the publishing and marketing of Running With Scissors.2. Understand the ConceptsThe best defense is a good offense. In litigation that means don’t do anything that will get you sued. Before you publish your memoir, it’s important that you understand your rights to free speech, as well as defamation and invasion of privacy issues.First Amendment ProtectionThe First Amendment protects your right to free speech. This protection applies to both the spoken and written word.DefamationIn short, defamation is when you ruin a person’s reputation. Blacks Law Dictionary defines defamation as, â€Å"The taking from one’s reputation. The offense of injuring a persons character, fame, or reputation by false and malicious statements.† The term covers both libel (written) and slander (spoken).Only living people can sue for defamation, so someone can’t file a lawsuit against you for defamation through an estate or relatives.Invasion of PrivacyInvasion of privacy lawsuits hinge on public disclosure of private facts. Private facts are sensitive information that the average person would not want to share with the general public; for example, medical records, adoption records, abuse, alcoholism, etc. Just as with defamation, an invasion of privacy suit can’t be brought by an estate or relatives. Even if what you write is 100% true, someone can still bring an invasion of privacy suit based on public disclosure of private facts.3. Preventing a Defamation Cause of ActionThe best defense against defamation is the truth. Suppose you write that your neighbor was convicted of axe murder. He can’t bring a defamation suit against you if he was, in fact, convicted of axe murder. But if you write, â€Å"my neighbor could be capable of axe murder because he’s crazy,† then you’ve got some defamation issues.Practical Tips to Stay Out of Courtroom:If your facts will not hold up as 100% true in a court of law, you can open yourself up to defamation. Before you write, make sure to check your facts. You want to know that if you’re writing about something controversial, that you’re not fabricating the truth.The second tip to avoid defaming your memoir characters is to frame controversial statements as your opinion. Opinions are (*usually) legally considered â€Å"protected expression.† That said, there are parameters. You can’t simply state that blatantly false statements are opinions and get away it. Writing, â€Å"In my opinion, Sara Smith is a prostitute†- when Sara Smith is an upstanding mom and doctor- will get you in trouble. Your opinion needs to be balanced by evidence and supported by actual fact.The third tip t o avoid defamation issues is to change anyidentifying information about your book characters. In order to prevail in a defamation case, the defamed must prove others are able to identify him from your writing. A caveat: This doesn’t mean by name alone! People can claim defamation if one could reasonably identify them through their actions, clothing, quotes, physical appearance, address, or any number of identifying points.The fourth tip is that defamation rests upon subjective principles. When in doubt, err on the side of caution about disclosing details that may or may not be true. If you can’t defend the truth in a court of law, don’t publish it.The final tip is to print a disclaimer in your preface, intro, or acknowledgements. Simply by stating your memories are imperfect but you’re sharing to the best of knowledge and that you’ve changed identifies can stave off legal woes.4. Avoiding an Invasion of Privacy Cause of ActionJust as with a defamat ion lawsuit, an invasion of privacy lawsuit turns on subjective opinions to be decided on a case-by-case basis. This means that the individual facts of each case will decide the outcome.Common sense dictates that there are certain private facts, which a person would not want shared with the public. If a good friend had given up a child for adoption, and you were the only person she told, then disclosing that in your memoir would open the doors to an invasion of privacy lawsuit. The same would apply to sensitive information such as private health matters, abuse, addiction, or any information would not be readily accessible to the public.Certain public or high profile individuals may have less protection against invasion of privacy. The legal theory is that because they have opened their lives to public scrutiny, then the bar is lower for privacy protection. If unsavory facts can be classified as public interest, then you may be able to disclose certain things about public individuals . The crux of this issue would turn on whether your facts are related to a matter of â€Å"public concern.†Practical Tips to Stay Out of the Courtroom:There are several ways to avoid invasion of privacy lawsuits. Our first tip is to get written permission from your characters. If you obtain written consent, they can’t later file a suit stating you’ve breached their privacy.Our second tip is the same as with defamation: Change all identifying characteristics. Give your characters a different name, different job, different wardrobes- anything you can change to prevent them from being recognized by your words affords you a degree of protection. Some writers like to create an amalgam of characters to mix up identifying facts.Our third tip is tell the truth. Dont lie (or even embellish). It’s unethical at best; at worst, it can get you in legal hot water.Our fourth tip is carefully weigh the impact of disclosing inflammatory, sensitive, or embarrassing informa tion. Are such disclosures essential to your story? If so, tread carefully and use our rules for how to proceed with caution. If you’re on the fence, it’s always wise to run your concerns by a lawyer to head off any issues before you publish. Paying for an hour or two of legal time is far better than being a defendant in a court case.The best memoirs are brazen, open, and honest about life, even when the facts are tough to write about. Your obligation as a memoirist is to tell your story and honor the truth. By considering the impact of those in your real life and making efforts to protect them, you’ll avoid legal troubles down the line.Like what you read and want to learn more? We’re holding a FREE online workshop where Chandler is revealing the exact tactics and strategies he used to write and publish 6 bestselling books in a row†¦ and use them to build a 7-figure business in less than 2 years.Click here to save your spot now!

Indigenous Culture Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Indigenous Culture - Coursework Example Kunz & Vibha (2008) explain that the Naga people were traditionally hunters and gathers. They lived on hilltops and therefore enjoyed a vantage position, which they in turn used to raid other communities in the plains. They carried out systematic raids for cattle and food. With time, they began farming and rearing livestock. This way, farming became their main pattern of subsistence. The various tribes of the Naga people have egalitarian societies. They live in villages that are closely-knit units (Stirn & Peter, 2008). The units comprise of clans and families that intermarry thereby strengthening their villages. Families in the Naga culture were monogamous with society considering fidelity to spouses a major virtue. The culture does not permit people to marry from their own clans. The culture considers such unions as incest and therefore encourages inter-clan marriages. The Naga culture is a preliterate culture owing to the lack of writing abilities of the populace. The Naga people had unique religious beliefs that included the worship of ancestors and a supernatural being. They believed that their ancestors protected them and therefore invested in appeasing the spirits of the ancestors. They offered animal and crop sacrifices with some people dropping portions to the ground before they eat with the view to appeasing the spirits. As explained earlier, the Naga people have a warrior tradition with the society’s youth joining a class of warriors who traditionally raided neighboring societies. The societies are patriarchal and the family is the basic social unit. Respect for fathers among other male elders in the society is paramount with women having distinctive roles. The culture expects women to show both obedience and humility to their men. The culture had a unique attire with the man’s clothing remaining distinctive. Men’s clothing

Enterprise Resource Planning Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Enterprise Resource Planning - Research Paper Example The software enables the integration of each and every aspect of operation within the organization including manufacturing, storage/inventory control, sales and marketing etc. The Enterprise Resource Planning software consists of several modules available to a given enterprise based on its needs and the level of technical capability within the enterprise. Each of the said modules is designed for a specific area of the enterprise such as marketing, distribution, product development etc (Nathan 60). No matter which module that an organization has decided to purchase, there are several factors that an organization wishing to successfully implement an ERP should consider (Leon 66). In explaining the success and failures of implementing an ERP system, we are going to take a look at two companies, one that has successfully implemented its ERP system and the second one that was not so successful in its implementation of the same. Starting us off, we will look at how Pratt and Whitney, a large Canadian aeronautics company that successfully implemented its ERP system known as SAP R/3. The implementation of this system took two and a half years to complete. Due to the expansive nature of the company (having customers in more than 170 countries and having over a dozen plants across the globe), the company decided to develop a centralized information processing system to improve on its customer satisfaction. This system was to be named SAP/R3 and through it the company intended to fully i ntegrate its information system through the application of the technology that was available at the time. In particular, this system was aimed at improving customer experience, reduce the amount of work in progress, increase turnover in inventory and finally ensure closer monitoring of inventory and the operating costs (Harwood 120). One of the factors that ensured that the development and implementation of SAP R/3 as a success was the inclusive nature of the project team that was behind this development and eventual implementation. This team was divided into groups and it included employees from all the relevant departments including sales and distribution, information technology, production, planning, materials management and finance. This all inclusive approach ensured that the proposed system would cater for everyone’s needs and desired hence its acceptability across the board. The second factor that led to the success of SAP R/3 was the importance that was placed on trai ning of the employees on how the new system works. Training was undertaken across the departments and nearly all the employees whose functions would require knowledge of the system were accorded this training. The training covered general understanding of how the system works and technical aspects of the system such as basic navigation and how to accomplish the desired tasks. The third factor attributed to the success implementation of SAP R/3 was the effective data migration strategy that was used by the company in transferring data from the old system to the new one. The data was first ‘cleansed’ before being transferred to the new system hence ensuring its correctness and reliability. Finally, the company had adequate capacity in terms of operational activities and technical capability (through its experienced staff) and financial ability to undertake this shift (Wallace 58). Having looked at the success story that is Pratt and Whitney in implementation of its ERP sy stem, we will flip the coin and consider a company that was not as fortunate in its implementation of its ERP system. Target Group is a UK based investment firm that tried to implement an ERP system but due to a number of reasons, this implementation was not as effective as was with the

Diversity in Organiza Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Diversity in Organiza - Term Paper Example Google has been a forerunner in encouraging diversity of thoughts and creativity that has led to the increasing use of its services by the customers. Google: Diversity of thought and creativity Google is a multinational company of US that provides internet related services to its customers all over the world. The company provides services in the areas of internet search activities, online software products, cloud computing and online advertising technologies. The online services provided by Google are with the help of a virtual communication medium that has attained increasing acceptance among the users all over the world. The overwhelming success of Google has been achieved with the help of innovation and creativity. Google has realized that the target group of customers of the company arte tech-savvy and therefore has the intellect to look forward to changes that would drive the process efficiency and profitability of any activity in real life as well as in the virtual platform. Mo reover the online mode of services to the users may be monotonous in absence of any changes in way in which online services are being offered or in the presentation of the web pages of Google. Instead of going by the dominant logic, Google has loved its rebels and encouraged those employees to provide new ideas and initiatives that would open up unexplored opportunities in the field on cloud computing services, search engines, web accounts, and online mode of technologies, online software, etc. The diversity of thought and creativity encouraged by Google is the source of innovation that has led to the uniqueness of the company in establishing a competitive advantage over its competitors like, Yahoo. Google encouraging the rebel minds: challenging the dominant logic In order to provide a wide range of services containing innovative characteristic features or a new refreshing look, Google has strategically adopted the policy of encouraging innovative ideas from the rebels who challeng e the dominant logic of the business processes. The innovative ideas from the employees are important and valuable inputs for the company that could be used for attracting the users of their online services. The new ideas provide the companies to develop cutting edge solutions which are unparallel to their competitors. The employees who challenge the dominant are viewed as assets by the organization as they are the source of innovative developments by the organization. Google believes that the dominant logic in the business is applied across the industry and has common features for the online services offered by all the companies through the virtual mode of business. The challenge of the dominant logic could only be initiated when the employees have in depth knowledge and experience to test the applications which are slightly different from the common practices at the same time fulfilled the goals of the organization. The encouragement of diversity and creativity enhances the knowle dge of the workforce of the company as it leads to health exchange of ideas and thoughts for process improvement and customer service delivery. Rationale behind strategy of encouraging diversity of thought The rationale behind the strategy of encouragement of the diversity of thoughts and creativity by Google could be described as follows. The entire world is undergoing a

Week 4 Assignment Plagiarism English Language Essay

Week 4 Assignment Plagiarism English Language Essay According to the American Association of University Professors, plagiarism is taking over the ideas, methods, or written words of another, without acknowledgment and with the intention that they be taken as the work of the deceiver (Roig, 2006). Plagiarism takes many forms and cannot always be easy to recognize, but this paper will discuss some of the common forms that plagiarism can take, how to recognize it and then give a practical example of it in action. There are many ways that a writer can plagiarize the work of another, some of the quite purposeful, others inadvertent and still others out of ignorance. When most people think about plagiarize, they probably think about someone simply cutting and pasting the work of one person directly into their work. With the advent of computers and the Internet, this has certainly become easier. Another form of plagiarism is to present the ideas of another that are not yet in common knowledge as ones own (Roig, 2006), The failure to adequately cite the source of information that one is using, both in-text and in ones reference section,. is also a common (although sometimes an inadvertent) form of plagiarism (Walden University, n.d). Perhaps the most common form of plagiarism, though, results from problems in the proper use of paraphrasing the work of an author that one is using on ones work (Roig, 2006). While it can be a simple matter of a lack of knowing the best ways to paraphrase an author (Walden University, n.d.), it is still wrong. There are several ways in which paraphrasing can lead to plagiarism, First of all, a write can simply make a few changes in word choose or word order, but still keep the basic thrust of the authors ideas (Walden University, n.d). Another problem can come when a writer does not provide a proper in-text citation for a paraphrase, thus leaving the reader with the idea that the work was original (Walden University, n.d). Yet another source of paraphrasing error is to distort the original meaning of the work cited (Roig, 2006), Finally, a writer needs to be sure that if they do use some exact phrases from another author in their paraphrase, the use quotations marks to identify those words, and also provide the proper citation. How can one recognize plagiarism? There are actually many ways that one can detect it in anothers work. First of all, there are a number of software programs that will compare the work of the writer with other published material, and then report specific potential problems. This method will probably work best with examples of direct copying or paraphrasing with inadequate citations. One can also simply take a suspect phrase and run that through a search engine to see if the material is or is not original. Another effective way of detecting plagiarism is a result of knowing what can be called the literary fingerprint of a writer. Everyone has a unique style to their writing-word choice, sentence structure and length and even idiosyncratic ways of thinking, and when one is familiar with that, it will be fairly easy to detect plagiarism. It is also useful for a reader to be familiar with the field in which the author is writing. Familiarity with the major sources and authors will help a reader spot the times when a writer is taking credit for anothers work. If one suspects that a particular section of a work is not original, one good technique for verification is to look at the suspect work and the original work next to each other. This helps a reader recognize many potential examples of poor paraphrasing, improper citation or direct copying. As an example of this process, following are an original text and the text written by a student for comparison. These examples are taken from Crossen, 1994 and (Coun 6100) Doctors, whose first allegiance is supposed to be to their patients, have traditionally stood between drug company researchers and trusting consumers. Yet unless there is evidence of misconduct (the deliberate misrepresentation of something as fact by someone who knows it is not), it is very difficult to discover and virtually impossible to prove that a piece of biomedical research has been tainted by conflict of interest. No study is perfect, and problems arise in the labs of even the most conscientious and honest researchers. Although biomedical research incorporates rigorous scientific rules and is often critically scrutinized by peers, the information can nevertheless be warped-by ending a study because the results are disappointing; changing rules mid-study; not trying to publish negative results; publicizing preliminary results even with final and less positive results in hand; skimming over or even not acknowledging drawbacks; and, especially, casting the results in the best l ight or, as scientists say, buffing them. Consumers must trust that the research that has gone into the manufacture of new drugs is safe. But it is hard to know if a conflict of interest between doctors, researchers, and the drug company stockholders has tainted the results. Biomedical researchers incorporate strict rules of science into their work, which is examined by peers. Yet the resulting information can be warped for five reasons: ending a study too soon, not publishing negative results, publishing results too early, skimming over or ignoring drawbacks, and buffing the results by showing them in the best light (Crossen, 1994, p. 167). (Coun 6100, Week 4, n.d., para. 7) In this example, it is not too difficult to identify the ways in which the writer plagiarized their source material. One of the first examples, and it is glaring, is that they do a poor job of accurately including citations in their work. One can quickly see several examples of sentences that seem to represent the thought of the source writer but that are not individually cited. The writer also follows the basic sentence pattern and argument flow of the source author, which is one type of plagiarism. With the exception of one rather poorly though-out sentence that implausibly involves stockholders in a conspiracy to distort results, one can clearly see that the writer simply took the source material and made a few changes and allows the reader to think that the ideas expressed are their own. The last two sentences of the writers paragraph are very obviously plagiarized from their source, including some word-for-word copying of that source, without proper citation. Specifically the list of ways in which studies can be distorted is a combination of some word-for-word copying of the source without proper citation and some poor paraphrasing, which leaves the reader unsure about what part of the work is the writers and what part belongs to the source. A better way of summarizing the last two sentences might be: Crossen (1994) argues that even research that would seem to be scientific on the surface nevertheless can be warped for five reasons: ending a study too soon, not publishing negative results, publishing results too early, skimming over or ignoring drawbacks, and buffing the results by showing them in the best light (p. 167). I use several strategies to avoid plagiarism. First of all, I use a program, Viper (http://www.Viper.com), to check all my work for plagiarism before I submit it for an assignment. Secondly, I try to follow the suggestion from the Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/). I have found that their suggestions are very helpful as one approaches an assignment. Finally, I try to read as widely in a field as I can beyond the assigned material, as this helps me have a good understanding of my topic, and it makes it less likely that I will improperly paraphrase anothers work. Practice Paraphrasing Original Source, OConnor, (2003) A good writer is one you can read without breaking a sweat. If you want a workout, you dont lift a book-you lift weights. Yet were brainwashed to believe that the more brilliant the writer, the tougher the going. The truth is that the reader is always right. Chances are, if something youre reading doesnt make sense, its not your fault-its the writers. And if something you write doesnt get your point across, its probably not the readers fault-its yours. Too many readers are intimidated and humbled by what they cant understand, and in some cases thats precisely the effect the writer is after. But confusion is not complexity; its just confusion. A venerable tradition, dating back to the ancient Greek orators, teaches that if you dont know what youre talking about, just ratchet up the level of difficulty and no one will ever know. Dont confuse simplicity, though, with simplemindedness. A good writer can express an extremely complicated idea clearly and make the job look effortless. But such simplicity is a difficult thing to achieve because to be clear in your writing you have to be clear in your thinking. This is why the simplest and clearest writing has the greatest power to delight, surprise, inform, and move the reader. You cant have this kind of shared understanding if writer and reader are in an adversary relationship. (pp. 195-196) Paraphrase: OConner (2003) argued that an authors goal should be communication, not confusion- connection, not conflict. She argues that while writing in such a way that the reader is left feeling stupid or confused might make the writer feel superior, it only makes the going tough for the reader, and does not accomplish the goal of making a meaningful connection with the reader. She adds that while it is much easier to be an obtuse writer, but it makes more sense for an author to envision their readers as friends than as enemies, if they wish to excite, not overwhelm. I think that I have several strengths when it comes to paraphrasing. First of all, I love to write and have a fairly large vocabulary, so I can usually think of creative ways to re-state what an author has said. Secondly, I am widely read in this field, so I usually have a clear understanding of what an author is saying, so I am comfortable accurately paraphrasing the basic meaning of a passage. Finally, because I am confident in my topic and what I am intending to say, I only look to other author;s to support my point, whereas it seems as though some writers almost use another author to make their point for them. When one uses a writer to essentially write for them, rather than just support them, there is a greater tendency, I think, to poor paraphrasing and expecially poor use of citations. I think that my biggest need to a technical one:knowing when and exactly where to use a citation in an extended paraphrase, and when a direct quote might be best. There have been times when it might have been best to include several in-text citations, for example, rather than one, and it not always clear which course of action is best. I have found several websites to which I refer on a regular basis to help me be clear on the best paraphrase and itation course to take. I fnd that Purdues site (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/) is very helpful, as is the Plagairism.org site (http://www.plagiarism.org/). Finally, I re-read Roig (2006) from time to time, as I find his discussion, most especially his emphasis on the plagiarism of ideas, to be very challenging.

PSY 301, Introductory Psychology, 1998, Exam 2 :: UTEXAS Texas Psychology

Introductory Psychology -- Pennebaker Test 2 Please write your name and social security number on THIS PAGE as well as on your Scantron form. Be sure and blacken in the correct dots for your SSN, name, and test form. 1. Hans and Franz are identical twins that were separated at birth. The finally meet at age 45, and find that both of them have become psychology professors. What is the most likely explanation for this similarity? a. both twins had strong psychology genes. b. both twins had strong teaching genes. c. something in the twins’ genes led them to see the world the same way. d. identical environments. e. all of the above are true. 2. Functional fixedness interferes with a. objects or events that are functioning properly. b. looking back to evaluate the success of a strategy. c. defining the problem and goal. d. choosing a solution. e. implementing the chosen strategy in solving a problem. 3. When people of varying cultures were asked to match facial expressions with specific emotions a. there was little agreement, even among people from the same culture. b. there was agreement within a specific culture but not across cultures. c. people from underdeveloped societies had responses not seen in industrial societies. d. there was remarkable agreement among members of all cultures. e. there were large differences between rural and urban societies. 4. The innate physiological mechanism that keeps an individual's body weight at a genetically programmed level is known as the a. homeostatic trigger. b. hunger median. c. genoprogrammatic releaser. d. metabolic master. e. set point. 5. The cessation of breathing during sleep is called a. sleep apnea. b. narcolepsy. c. insomnia. d. paradoxical sleep. e. simulated death. 6. Unlike sex in humans, sex in animals typically takes place a. far more frequently. b. after elaborate courtship and foreplay. c. in run-down hotels. d. in the absence of physiological cues. e. only at certain times of sexual readiness. 7. The affiliation motive often strengthens when people are in a situation involving a. performing a work task. b. helping others. c. the threat of danger. d. independent behavior. e. casual discussions 8. The fact that some people who are very good at some intellectual skills (such as reading or verbal reasoning) are frequently rather poor at other intellectual skills (such as solving math problems) tends to contradict the concept of a. the "g" factor. b. specific intelligences. c. instrumental (operant) conditioning. d. componential IQ. e. factor analysis. 9. Of the following, the BEST example of an aptitude test is a. the MMPI. b. a college final exam. c. a 5th grade spelling test. d. an academic achievement test in arithmetic. e. the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. 10. If Mother Goose sees one of her eggs outside the nest, she will go through a series of steps to move the egg back with her bill.

Marketing and Puma Essay

This report will show the analysis about PUMA marketing strategy which the 4th footwear producer in the world and also giving advice and objective to develop marketing strategy. PUMA and its Situational Analysis To satisfy customer demand, First, PUMA must understand its internal and external situation, including the macro-factor, micro-factor, and its own capabilities. In order to understand the situation, PUMA must do SWOT analysis and PEST analysis. SWOT analysis PUMA can apply SWOT analysis to both the business unit level, the corporate level and frequently appears in marketing strategy. Strengths First, it is about PUMA brand and its power: * Its image stands for the quality, the neo-technology and the prestige. * It is very competitive brand in athletic footwear, accessory and appeal market. * It is an international company. * It got acquisition of reputable companies. Second, it is about PUMA financial power and its product: * Its financial power is very strong and the financial growth rapidly. * Its product is very diversity and it is successful on creating brand recognition. * It has long time experience in produce athletic footwear, accessory and appeal. Third, its management is marketing oriented, this is PUMA’s advantage in this business, since this is market driven. Weaknesses First, PUMA is not done much of Promotional Campaigns or advertisement. Second, PUMA’s profit dependent on footwear market heavily although it already have wide range of sports products which can cause profit loss when its market share erodes. Third, almost of PUMA’s profit come from selling into its retailers. But retail sector is price sensitive that offers a very similar experience to the consumer as well as they tend to pass the low price competitive pressure to PUMA. Opportunities First, PUMA’s products are for both fashion and unfashion customer, playing sport or not, especial the young, so it make its own opportunities, since it give customer changes to replace their products. Second, PUMA success on build-up a strong brand recognition which is cover all over the world that give it change to penetrate to disposable market [] for high value sports products like World Cup, The Olympics†¦ Threats First, PUMA’s short-life-cycles product competitive penetration plan can cost it a lot of money and give its marketing and its research and its development a heavily pressure. In addition, the serious threat may come from weakening markets. Second, buying and selling in different country with different currencies can be threat, because margins and costs are not stable for long periods. Not only PUMA but every international company must face those issues. Third, price sensitivity is a threat to PUMA, especially when the retail sector becomes competition of price. For example, there are many stores with same goods. The consumer is walking around for bester price in the same product. PEST analysis PUMA can apply PEST analysis to analyze the external macro-environment which it is affected. Political Factors There are various political factors that are affect to developing process of PUMA, especially to build strong financial to make more profit, environmental issues is one of those issues. So PUMA should focus on various issues which related to the environment. In order to keep up the developing process, PUMA should consider the international laws and local laws when being outsourcing from foreign countries that include quota and tariffs which is the most critical political factors. Like another international company, PUMA is outsourcing its production in Asia due to lower labor-cost and taxes. PUMA is selling its products in various parts of the world. So the political stability is very important because if one of those issues is happen for PUMA’s local partner that can affect overall performance of PUMA. Economic Factors In terms of stock exchange, monetary issues and so on, the economic factors, somehow, can be related to the various political factors which could affect the developing process of PUMA. Especially, the economic policies issues in Germany which is play an important role as well as the economic policies issues of the local partner. Thus, political factors have a great affect to the psychology of the customers. Due to different cultures and regulations and human resource aspect, the various employment laws in foreign countries should be considered. Social Factors There are various social factors that might affect the developing process of PUMA as well as demand or experience of the customers for one service or product. Nowadays, due to higher life-quality, people is love to playing sport a lot, so it is a big opportunities for PUMA to expand its market share. PUMA also should include some of new sports such as skateboarding, diving and extreme bike as importance segments in strategy-making Recently, there are more female-customers participates in sport, especially in US, the number of female-student who playing sports at university has increased three time and there are also more than thirty-three percent of female-students playing sports at high school. For now, female-customers participate in every sport in US. Thus, PUMA should consider the needs of female-customers in fitness shoes. Technological Factors PUMA should focuses on Research and Development activities by apply latest technologies, in terms of technological factors, especially internet-marketing like, example vital marketing or so on†¦ The maturity of technology is play an important role in terms of development because technology is non-stop develops, so PUMA should consider it. In addition, the global consumer is another important part because PUMA is run its business in various part of the world. PUMA and its Unique Selling Proposition The Unique Selling Proposition (USP) states successful advertising campaigns made unique propositions to consumers and this convinced them switch to PUMA brands. PUMA is suggested replacing its traditional business plan with its USP because USP can make a great deal to PUMA business model. USP can define PUMA business and business goals in one sentence. According to Rosser Reeves, there are three part of USP definition. 1. Each of PUMA’s advertisement must say to its consumer: â€Å"Buy our goods, and you definitely get this specific advantage†. Example: â€Å"Make Football Everywhere† (PUMA football), By using such advertisement, PUMA try to tell its consumer the benefit of buying and using its football shoes, the benefit is its shoes can be use everywhere to playing football, it can be the street, stadium and backyard†¦ and it is also new marketing strategy of PUMA. 2. PUMA’s offers must be something that other competitor cannot offer. Those offers should be unique. Example: The Puma design ethos/philosophy â€Å"PUMA is mixing fashion and sport-lifestyle in a unique way. PUMA always try to illustration sport in a creative-fashionable way, and when it comes to fashion PUMA’s always try to put its sports heritage into fashion-area†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Or â€Å"To PUMA, sport is a living-active-lifestyle, whether its customers are a traveler, an athletic or event businessman, this is a various kind of illustration of sport in modern time†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Jochen Zeitz, CEO, Puma AG, discusses Puma’s design ethos) By doing such campaigns, PUMA is creating their new brand image that it is changing its image from product sport shoes to product mixing sport-lifestyle fitness shoes, and it is also new development strategy of PUMA. 3. PUMA’s offers must be so powerful as well as those offers can return the mass profit. â€Å"PUMA have been renewed contract with Jamaican-athletic Usain Bolt that allowed PUMA brand to keep-up, for the risen of 154 percent in annual net earnings to â‚ ¬202.2 million, year-on-year.† (PUMA’s profit â€Å"Bolt†, Jamaica Observer) By gaining suck successful contracts, PUMA try to connect their products brand to famous athletics, and it is also new brand endorsement strategy of PUMA. In short, by using USP, PUMA gain opportunities to wider its market share and make more profit, especially, by lifestyle fitness shoes. PUMA and its Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning To implement marketing strategy, PUMA must define its segmentation, targeting and Positioning. Segmentation Segmentation is related to discover what consumer’s kinds exist and various needs exist. In the athletic footwear market, for example, the demand of consumers may include performance, safety and speed while others are concerned about fashionable. In general, segmentation show the trust which company cannot be every things to everyone and long-time experiences has illustrate that PUMA that focus on the demands of a group of customers more than another for more profitable. Especially, the fitness-shoes market, which can be ‘segment’ by gender and age: Age Age can affect the tendency of buying of consumer. 1. Kids (6 to 12): they may like colorful small-sized shoes. 2. Teens (13 to 18): they may like something that cool and impressive. 3. Adult (19 to 36): They may like the serious color, black or white color is an example. 4. Middle (37 to 55): They may like the same as adult desire. 5. Old (55+): They may like the comfortable, safe and stable. Gender The tendency of buying of consumer also can be affected by gender. Different genders have different demand. 1. Men: They like strong style, and also like strong color like black or white. 2. Women: They like cute and fresh style, and then they may like soft-color like pink, purple, light-green†¦ Thus, there are many segments in fitness shoes market which can be consider as ‘Demographic Segmentation’ that PUMA must satisfy the demand of customer about region, population, climate, population growth rate and density. So the lifestyle fitness shoes can be the answer, because this kind of products is wide cover all of that demand. Targeting First, PUMA need to find out how well the other competitor served the exist segments. It should be harder to approach to segments which are served as well by more than one competitor, in fitness-shoes, for example: NIKE, ADIAS, and KAPPA†¦ Second, PUMA need to find out how large the segment is, and how large it grow, in fitness shoes, for example, in US, the number of female-student who playing sports at university and high-schools has rapidly increased. By now, female-customers participate in every sport in US. Third, in order to archive successful, PUMA should use the ‘Differentiation Strategy’ on all targeted segments, which included: ‘Age’ and ‘Gender’. By using ‘Differentiation Strategy’, PUMA could provide to its consumer the unique features of its goods like lifestyle fitness shoes rather than by lowest price. Because differentiated goods can please the demand of consumers’ unique needs, PUMA can give premium prices for differentiated goods, for example: a pair of lifestyle fitness-shoes can cost more than 1 million VND in Vietnam, that can be consider as luxury goods. Positioning PUMA’s lifestyle fitness-shoes could be positioned following by two main factors: ‘Competitor’ and ‘Consumer’. If the positioning is based on consumer, the marketing campaigns and its messages are targeted to the consumer by branding. That can use logo, symbol which make consumer recognize PUMA and its products. For example: First, the PUMA brand name is popular in the world and people can recognize its name and logo even if no of PUMA’s products is bought by them. Second, the logo is also an important part of branding, itself. The main reason of people that are recognizing PUMA can also recognize its products from this symbol alone. The lifestyle fitness-shoes company PUMA is popular for using a â€Å"leaping cat† (animal) symbol on its product lines. This feature allows consumer to identify PUMA’s lifestyle fitness-shoes, even if the PUMA’s brand name is not showing. Recognition and Loyalty First, recognition, the main benefit of branding is that customers are remembering PUMA’s business. A powerful brand name and logo keep PUMA’s image in the mind of its potential consumer. Second, loyalty, if consumer is please with PUMA products, its brand will help to build consumer’s loyalty. For example, even in the case of consumer is not aware that PUMA sell a new product, if consumer trusts PUMA’s brand, they will trust PUMA with unfamiliar products. Image of Size, Quality, Experience and Reliability First, image of size play an important role when consumer wants to knows that PUMA will still exist in a long time. For example, people often associate the large firms which spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion it’s currently and new products. Second, image of quality, people see that brand can be a part of a product that will help to show its quality and value. If PUMA can process effective branding, then the image of quality in PUMA’s business will raise higher over time. However, branding cannot replace high quality. For example, Nike Inc. sport-wear brand was one of the biggest in the sport-wear world market. However, constant bad publicity about the low paid of its labor at Asia cause damage the image of the brand. Third, image of experience and reliability, PUMA business is to be seen as experienced in its products for a long time, it will make PUMA to be seen more reliable than the other firms. For example, in the case of a customer is choosing a new pair of shoe, there are a PUMA one and the other, but if customer trust PUMA experience, they will choose PUMA. Multiple Products PUMA is being strong brand now which allows it to link several various product lines together. PUMA can put its brand name on each product, it make consumer is willing to buy new product of PUMA. For example, PUMA sells sport-wear, appeal, accessories and etc. all under the PUMA brand name.