Study design report & analytical planning and data analysis Essay Example for Free

Study design report analytical planning and data analysis Essay Part 2 STUDY TWO (Open file 1. 2. sav dataset) RESEARCH QUESTIONS: Factors related to birth weight outcomes specifically for this study: 1. Are there differences between three birthweight groups in maternal lead level? 2. Is maternal age at first childbirth associated with birth weight? BACKGROUND: It has been suggested by previous research findings that maternal blood-lead levels as an environmental factor is an apparent predictor of low birth weight; another possible explanatory factor of low birth weight relates to the maternal age of the mother. This study aimed to explore relationships between maternal blood lead levels, and maternal age (at first childbirth) with any observed differences in birth weight as a pregnancy outcome. METHODS: Life style information, maternal blood lead levels measured by micrograms per decilitre ( µg/dl), age of mother (years) and infant birth weight (grams) was collected from 250 consecutive (first-time) mother-infant pairs from hospital delivery departments in four Brisbane hospitals. Pregnancy outcomes (weight) were verified by consulting medical records. Lead was determined by electro thermal atomic absorption spectrometry (Whole Blood). Birth weight was recoded into three classes: Low birth weight (2500g); Lower end of normal (2500-3000g) and Normal (3000g). Additional notes: Lead exposure adversely affects the cognitive development and behaviour of young children . Regarding ‘LEAD EXPOSURE IN PREGNANCY’, according to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), the acceptable blood lead level is 10 ug/dL. US Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1999. . Write an unambiguous analytical plan to address the research question/s in the box above. Please note that the data required for this question are located on file1. 2. 1. What are the variables involved in answering the research question/s, e. g. independent dependant variables; In the first research question, the independent variable is the maternal lead level, while the dependent variable is birth weight of the infants. In the second research question, the independent variable is the age of the mother at first childbirth and the dependent variable is birth weight. 2. What is their level of measurement (type); All variables considered in this study birth weight of the infants, age of the mother at first childbirth and maternal lead level are ratio variables. Ratio variables are those which are measured on a scale where the distance from one point to another means the same things wherever the measurement is made on the scale. This scale is also characterized to have a true zero point representing the absence of what is being measured (Statistical Glossary, 2007) 3. Write-up the scientific hypotheses that you want to test to address the research question/s; The following hypotheses, stated in the null form, were tested at a 0. 05 level of significance : a. There are no significant differences in the means of the maternal lead levels when the infants are grouped according to birthweight. b. There is no significant association between maternal age at first childbirth and the birthweight of infants. 4. What tables (numerical) and/or graphs would you use to summarise the associations once the data are collected and analysed? Provide ‘dummy’ tables and/or graphs with appropriate labels; The following tables summarize the associations revealed from the test of the first hypothesis. Table 1. Significant Differences in the Maternal Lead Levels When the Infants are Grouped According to Birthweight based on One-Way Analysis of Variance (? = 0. 05). Source of Variation Sum of Squares Degrees of freedom (df) Mean Square F-value p-value Remarks Between groups 42. 492 2 21. 246 4. 350 0. 014 Significant difference in at least one pair of means Within groups 1206. 255 247 4. 884 Total 1248. 747 249 Table 2. Mean differences and p-values in the Maternal Lead Levels Among the Three Groups of Infants using Bonferroni Post-hoc Analysis Infant Groups Mean differences in Maternal Lead Levels (I – J) p-value Remarks I J Low birthweight Lower end of normal birthweight 0. 5952 0. 645 No significant difference Normal birthweight -0. 3895 1. 000 No significant difference. Lower end of normal birthweight Low birthweight 0. 5952 0. 645 No significant difference Normal birthweight -0. 9848 0. 011 Maternal lead level Significantly Higher in normal weight infants Normal birthweight Low birthweight 0. 3895 1. 000 No significant difference Lower end of normal birthweight -0. 9848 0. 011 Maternal lead level Significantly Higher in normal weight infants The following tables summarize the associations revealed from the test of the second hypothesis. Table 3. Relationship Between Maternal Age at Childbirth and Birthweight of Infants (? = 0. 011) Variables Correlation. Coefficient p-value Remarks Maternal age of mothers at first childbith (independent) vs. Birthweight of infants (dependent) 0. 18 0. 004 There is significant slight correlation between maternal age of mothers at first childbirth and the birthweight of infants. 1 Hypothesis was tested using 0. 01 level of significance. Results of the test of hypothesis that â€Å"There is no significant association between maternal age at first childbirth and the birthweight of infants† is shown in Table 3. 5. Provide a statement of the statistical test(s) that will be appropriate to test the hypotheses; To test the hypothesis that â€Å"There are no significant differences in the means of the maternal lead levels when the infants are grouped according to birthweight†, the best statistical treatment to use is one way Analysis of Variance ANOVA at a 0. 05 level of significance. When the computed p-value, which for this study is 0. 014 is less than the level of significance, which is 0. 05, there is significant difference in at least one pair of means. To evaluate, which of the means differed, a post-hoc analysis is conducted. Since there are only three groups, the conservative Bonferroni multiple comparisons test is applied. P-values from the post hoc analysis indicate which of the pairs of mean differed. To determine which of the two means that differed is actually higher, either the descriptives which shows the means of the groups or the mean difference in post-hoc analysis results may be used. To test the hypothesis that â€Å"There is no significant association between maternal age at first childbirth and the birthweight of infants† correlation analysis is employed at a 0. 01 level of significance. The resulting value of the correlation coefficient was interpreted using the following table : Table 4. Interpretation of Pearson’s Coefficient of Correlation (Monzon-Ybanez, 1997) Coefficient Range Interpretation 0. 00  ± 0. 20  ± 0. 20  ± 0. 40  ± 0. 40  ± 0. 70  ± 0. 70  ± 0. 90  ± 0. 90  ± 1. 00 Slight correlation; almost negligible relationship Low correlation; small relationship Moderate correlation; relationship substantial High correlation; marked relationship Very high correlation; Very dependable relationship Correlation is significant if the p-value generated is less than the specified level of significance. 6. Provide a list of assumptions that will need to be met to apply the test(s) validly; To validly apply ANOVA, the following assumptions must be satisfied : the distribution of the data to be analysed should be normal and there should be homogeneity of variance. Normality may be simply checked using Q-Q plots or with statistical tests like Kolmogorov-Smirnov or Shapiro Wilk. Homogeneity of variance is verified using Levene’s test (Becker, 1999). In a correlation analysis, relationship between the independent and dependent variables are supposed to be concurrent, or in other words, both variables are in the same time frame (Jensen, 2005). 7. Provide a statement of the levels of significance, that you will use to test each hypothesis; The hypothesis that â€Å"There are no significant differences in the means of the maternal lead levels when the infants are grouped according to birthweight† was tested at a level of significance (? ) of 0. 05. The hypothesis that â€Å"There is no significant association between maternal age at first childbirth and the birthweight of infants† was tested at a level of significance (? ) of 0. 01. 8. Finally, provide a sentence or two that you would present to the researchers to explain the results at both a descriptive (univariate) and inference (bivariate) level. Results of a one-way Analysis of Variance revealed a significant difference in the maternal lead levels among the three groups of infants grouped according to birth weight, with an F-value of 4. 350 and a p-value of 0. 014. Post hoc analysis via Bonferroni multiple comparisons test suggested that the mean of maternal lead levels of the group of infants with normal birthweight (4. 4052  ± 2. 37333) are significantly higher (p=0. 011) than the mean of maternal lead levels of the group of infants at the lower end of the normal birthweight (3. 4214  ± 1. 55170). No significant differences were noted on the other pairs of means. On the other hand, a correlation analysis performed at 0. 01 level of significance implied significant slight correlation (Pearson r = 0. 18, p-value=0. 004) between maternal age at first childbirth (32. 11  ± 5. 274) and birthweight of infants (3204. 47  ±620. 986). References Becker, L. (1999, July 7). Explore: Assumption testing for ANOVA.Retrieved April 11, 2008, from The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs: http://web. uccs. edu/ lbecker/spss80/explore2. htm. Jensen, A. (2005, August 10). Correlation Analysis. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from California State University, Sacramento: http://www. csus. edu/indiv/j/jensena/ mgmt105/correl01. htm. Monzon-Ybanez, L. (1997). Basic Statistics. Quezon City, Philippines : Phoenix Press, Inc. Statistical Glossary. (2007). Retrieved April 10, 2008, from http://www. statistics. com/resources/glossary/r/ratioscale. php. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. (2006). Version 11. 0. [CD-ROM] Chicago, Illinois.

Unemployment In Jamaica Cause and Effect

Unemployment In Jamaica Cause and Effect This project is consisting of information on unemployment in Jamaica and what can be done to improve employment. Unemployment is macroeconomics There are different types of unemployment such as frictional unemployment this is a type of voluntary unemployment that arises because of the time needed to match job seekers with job openings, structural unemployment this happens when a large amount of unemployed workers (labor force) isnt qualify for a large amount of labor force demand. seasonal unemployment, this is when persons are employed temporary for reasons such as a hotel or supermarket needing extra help because of a season (Christmas, summer) but will cut loose those workers when that season period is finish and cyclical unemployment this is used to refer to the fluctuation in unemployment that is incurred by business cycles, more specially, the unemployment caused by economic recessions. In this project you will find information on this problem and why it is consider being an ec onomic one, the theories and model pertaining to unemployment, recommend economic concepts and inventions that can be employed to correct unemployment and the benefits of applying these concepts and inventions. What is the economic problem? Unemployment in Jamaica Unemployment Spikes to 14.1% with 23,000 Jobs lost Unemployment is one of the main problems affecting Jamaica. According to Streetdirectory, Unemployment refers to the condition and extent of joblessness within an economy, and is measured in terms of the unemployment rate, which is the number of unemployed workers divided by the total civilian labor force. (Sinha, 2012) According to The Gleaner, published Friday May 18, 2012, Some 23,000 jobs were lost last year after the current survey was done. In January 2012, The Labor force Survey release in May put the unemployment rate at 14.1 per cent compared to last year, which was at 12.9 per cent. The labor force has grown to 177,200 and the latest survey shows that some 9,300 people dropped out of the labor force, cutting the pool from 1.27 million to 1.26 million. The Gleaner also stated that The result for the January 2012 survey, which was conducted over the period December 18-24, estimate that there are 686,900 males and 573,700 women in the labor force. The employed pool totaled 1.08 million, of which was 56.7 per cent or 614,800 are men and 468,600 or 43 per cent are women. The Gleaner also states that, The spike in unemployment is heavily skewed towards females among whom the unemployment rate is 18.3 per cent, while for men it is 10.5 per cent. Sectors with the largest jobs cuts over one year included construction, 10,900 jobs lost, and professionals, senior officials and technician, 10,200 cuts. Statin estimates that the persons seeking work in the January 2012 survey as increased by 4.3 per cent. The effects unemployment has on Jamaica Unemployment affects majority of our Jamaicans especially the inter city areas and in particular the youth of this area. Unemployment creates many problems such as crime and violence, lowering of ones self-esteem, and poverty. Etc. Crime and Violence comes to present because when unemployed person are in need and cannot assist themselves or other, they turn to robbing and killing others to satisfy their needs and wants. The lowering of ones self-esteem may occur when they see another working and being able to assist themselves while he/she cant do the same. This can lead to crime and violence. Poverty is a big issue in today economy and most unemployed person are the one facing this situation. When person cant work and afford things, this lead to financial problems, divorce, children losing their education and health, hunger, fights and more which then can lead to poverty. Why consider unemployment to be an economic problem? 1. Unemployment is an economic problem due to the fact that when the economy is not doing well, businesses begin to lay off workers 2. It affects consumer confidence in terms of consumers that are employed will start to devote their money more in savings than to spend it on unnecessary items because of the fear of them losing their jobs. 3. High unemployment creates pressure on the government budget. High unemployment reduces the total taxation receipts the government receives because people without an income wont be able to pay their income tax. This will then place a drain on the government funds as the unemployed claim the job search allowance. 4. Unemployment reduces the output of goods and service that could otherwise have been produced by unemployed labor force. If unemployment rate is very high, an economy will produce below its potential. Etc Question 2 Economic Theories and model pertaining to this problem Classical economic theory 1. According to the lead authors, Global Development and Environment Institute, Neva R. Goodwin, Julie A. Nelson, Frank Ackerman, Thomas Weisskopf classical economic theory, unemployment is seen as a sign that smooth labor market functioning is being obstructed in some way. The classical approach assumes that markets behave as described by idealized supply-and-demand model. The labor market is seen as though it were a single, static market, characterized by perfect competition, spot transaction, and institutions for double auction bidding (Global Development and Environment, 2006). Resume help for Unemployed Assess the Gap 2. According to Teena Rose, director of resume-writing firm ExpertResume.com, the best way to address an employment gap depends on how long one has been out of work. She states that if one is unemployed for a year or less, then the best thing to do is to not say anything. This is not necessary to place on resume (Kim Isaacs, 2012). 3. Short Run Phillip Curve The short run Phillips curve shows the inverse relationship between unemployment and inflation rate. According to theory, when there is high unemployment, producers can set lower wages and still attract labor. When unemployment level is low, firms will have to pay high wages in order to attract labor as there wouldnt be much competition between them. This theory contradicts with two of the four main aims of the government low/stable inflation rate and low unemployment level. Question 3 Economic concepts or intervention that can be used to correct unemployment 1. According to Kimberly Amadeo and About.com Guide, the solution for unemployment is obviously to create new jobs. They state that a healthy economic growth rate of 2-3% is enough to create the 150,000 new jobs needed to keep unemployment from rising. (Kimberly Amadeo, 2012) 2. According to Answers, the solution for unemployment can be correct in many ways, such as, a) cutting in real wage, cutting in real wage are a reaction to the view that through their demands for higher wages, some groups of workers have priced themselves out of a job. b) Unemployment agencies could tighten their job search and acceptance requirement. c) Improving the education and training provided to young people, with a greater focus on vocational skills. d) Government support to struggling industries in order to try and save jobs. e) The government needs to try and create demand in economy. This could give grant to businesses to produce goods, have projects such as road building, cut interest rates to encourage spending and cut income tax to encourage spending. f) Countries need to ensure that their welfare systems do not provide disincentives to workers. (Answers, 2012) 3. Phillip curve Its a large believe that unemployment could be solve using the Phillips curve. This involves increasing inflation to reduce unemployment by fooling workers into accepting jobsat at a lower rate than they would otherwise have done, due to the declining value of money. 4. Demand side supplies Monetary policy and fiscal policy can both be used to increase short-term growth in the economy, increasing the demand for labor and decreasing unemployment. The demand for labor in an economy is derived from the demand for goods and services. As such, the demand for labor will increase, increasing employment and wages. 5. Supply side policies Minimum wages and union activity keep wages from falling, which means too many people want to sell their labor at the going price but cannot. Supply-side policies can solve this by making the labor market more flexible. This includes removing the minimum wage and reducing the power of unions, which act as a labor cartel. Other supply side policies include education to make workers more attractive to employers. Cutting taxes on businesses and reducing regulation, creates jobs and reduce unemployment. (curve) Question 4 What are the benefits of applying the economic concept above? 1. Creating new jobs Creating new jobs accommodates employment, growth in GDP, develop infrastructure, help to reduce depts and more. Having a job is essential in living life and retiring at a comfortable age and this is something that all individual looks forward to and without them having a job this may lead to crime and violence. The concept of creating new job will increase employment and decrease unemployment. 2. A. Cut in wage Not cutting the real wage can allow persons to keep their job instead of pricing themselves out. B. Unemployment agencies could tighten their acceptance requirement and job search. Job agencies tightening their acceptance requirement and job search could lead to more persons that are not fully qualified or have the right requirement to have the chance to be employed instead of them being unemployed. C. Improving the education and training provided to young people, with a greater focus on vocational skills. Improving the education and training of young adult will help them to be better equipped for the working world. One way is to train them by actually allowing them to do the work instead of teaching them orally and from them writing. This will help them to better understand and to have gained some experience. D. The government needs to try and create demand in economy. Government creating demand in the economy will also workers to produce more goods and interest rate will be cut which will then produce more spending of consumer. E. Government support to struggling industries in order to try and save jobs. Government supporting struggling industries and trying to save jobs will help in building the economy, reduce unemployment and more. 3. Supply side policies Inputting supply side policies will allow wage and union to not fall to a lower price so a lot of person will be able to sell their labor at a going price. This can make the labor market more flexible by removing the minimum wage and reducing the power of union, which act as a labor cartel. 4. Demand side supplies Monetary policy and fiscal policy can both be used to increase growth in the economy. This can increase the demand for labor and decrease unemployment, the demand for economy is derived from the demand for goods and services so the demand for labor will increase which will increase employment and wages. Recommendation I would strongly recommend that the government of Jamaica try to find new ways to implement strategies that can produce employment in Jamaica because with so many person unemployed, it is affecting the economy and also affecting the citizens. With so many persons being out of job it affects their daily life which leads to disaster such as robbery, crime and violence, lack of education to children and young adult and more. Conclusion It has been concluded that unemployment have a major effect on Jamaica economy. With unemployment rate increasing each year, it affects families, students and others. Unemployment is an economic problem due to the fact that when the economy is not doing well, businesses begin to lay off workers, It affects consumer confidence in terms of consumers that are employed will start to devote their money more in savings than to spend it on unnecessary items because of the fear of them losing their jobs and more.

Huckleberry Finn in High Schools :: essays papers

Huckleberry Finn in High Schools High Schools in the United States should not ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book is one of the most important components of American literature in our libraries today, it throws the reader into a time when slavery was lawful and accepted, and gives the reader a new perspective on slavery in general. Until civil rights groups can come up with a better argument than the word â€Å"nigger† creating a â€Å"hostile work environment†(Zwick) it should not be taken off the required reading list of any High School in the country. Every one hundred years dialects change and what is considered â€Å"politically correct†, or socially acceptable, changes. â€Å"David Bradley argues that ‘if we'd eradicated the problem of racism in our society, Huckleberry Finn would be the easiest book in the world to teach’† (Zwick, Jim. â€Å"Should Huckleberry Finn Be Banned?†). If we, as a nation, make it a point to rule out all books that could possibly offend students, then every hundred years or so our library of American Literature will be completely different. Even today, modern day authors use vulgar language, lurid sexual content, and racial slurs to get their point across. If The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is taken off of required reading lists across the country, then that could create a never-ending cycle of books being taken off of school shelves every time words and ideas become unacceptable. If this is the way that American society is turning then something must be done, and the Superintendents, Deans, and Principals of every High School around the country must take it upon themselves to do it because the students will not. The people who are trying to ban The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are only trying to block out a part of American history that they would just as soon be forgotten, but every part of American history needs to be dealt with and accepted by everyone at a young age. Trying to shield students from any important part of history is a crime within itself. Hannibal, Missouri is a prime example of this type of crime. Every year they have a citywide celebration of Mark Twain, but they do not celebrate The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson nor do they teach it in their schools. Best stated by Shelly Fisher Fishkin, the theater company in Hannibal â€Å"was upholding a long American tradition of making slavery and its legacy and blacks themselves invisible†(Zwick, Jim.

Pride And Prejudice :: essays research papers

Elizabeth’s Pride and Darcy’s Prejudice?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a timeless social comedy which is both satirical and full of sentiment. The title refers to the personalities of the two main characters and cues the reader to Austen’s broader thematic purpose: to satirize nineteenth century manners and morals, especially as they relate to courtship and manners. Although both characters contain both these traits, it is mainly Mr. Darcy who exemplifies ‘pride’ while Elizabeth Bennet exemplifies ‘prejudice.’ However, one of the book’s many ironies is that the prejudiced Elizabeth thinks it is Mr. Darcy who has the overall prejudiced disposition. Likewise, proud Darcy thinks it is Elizabeth who is most often proud. Through the course of the novel, these characters grow and through each other, discover their own foibles-- Elizabeth is indeed prejudiced and Darcy is indeed proud. Armed with this growth and heightened moral insight, the couple is rewarded wi th happiness and fulfillment at the end of the novel. But what if their initial beliefs were correct? Let’s say that Mr. Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s prejudice were switched within the context of Austen’s plot and narrative structure. Could a proud Elizabeth and a prejudice Darcy grow in self-awareness through the circumstances of the novel and gain a better understanding of human condition? Before Austen allows her characters to have a ‘fairy-tale’ ending, they must undergo self-growth. Given Austen’s overall view of English class structure and her empathy towards independent and spirited young women, it would be unlikely that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would resolve their differences and grow as human beings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is Mary, Elizabeth Bennet’s younger sister who seems to pinpoint a working definition of “pride'; as it is portrayed in the novel. She says: “Pride is a very common failing I believe. By all that I have ever read, I am convinced that it is very common indeed, that human nature is particularly prone to it, and that there are very few of us who do not cherish a feeling of self-complacency on the score of some quality or other, real or imaginary... Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves...'; (67) Both Elizabeth and Darcy’s characters show evidence of pride, yet Austen clearly takes Darcy’s pride to an extreme. His character is first introduced at Netherfield Ball-- he quietly keeps to himself, occasionally speaks to one of the upper class, and declines all introductions to any young ladies.

Medieval Ballad vs. Modern Interpretation in Get Up and Bar the Door Es

Medieval Ballad vs. Modern Interpretation in Get Up and Bar the Door  Ã‚   An often used literary form in Medieval English literature was the folk ballad, an example of which is "Get Up and Bar the Door." A typical ballad is humorous, its author is unknown, and it focuses on one subject. This subject and the events of the story are conveyed both by the words written and those implied. The implied thoughts are conveyed and emphasized using a variety of literary techniques such as symbolism, repetition, and rhyme. The anonymous author of "Get Up and Bar the Door" tells his story make use of these and other literary techniques. The basic conflict in this ballad is one if not widely used, easily recognized: man vs. woman, or more specifically, husband vs. wife, a battle of the wills. The setting of this story is mid-November, in the home of a man and his wife, most likely of the lower two-thrids of society, since the wife must do her own housework. The wind is blowing and coming in through the door, and the man, in the typical male fashion, tells his wife to shut the door. She repl...

How Does Steinbeck Use Setting to Present Key Ideas in ‘of Mice and Men’? Essay

When the enemy reached the trench, they soon realized that they could not break through the line that the trench provided. They also realized that the trench provided the Germans with shelter from their fire. Soon after, the allies began to dig their own trenches and, therefore, trench warfare began. Not very long after the first trenches of the war were dug, a network of trenches came up. This network spread across France and Belgium for many miles. Within the network, there were three different types of trenches: front line trenches, support trenches, and reserve trenches. The first line of trenches was called front line trenches. These were usually two meters deep and had a zigzag pattern to prevent enemy fire from sweeping the entire length of the trench. In order to prevent the trench form caving in, sandbags were stacked against the trench walls. Between the trenches of opposing forces laid no man’s land. This area between the opposing front line trenches was filled with barbwire and mines to prevent enemy crossing. If a soldier was ever injured in no man’s land, he usually was killed because of his vulnerability to enemy fire. The second and third types of trenches were the support and reserve trenches, respectively. These trenches were constructed to easily move supplies and troops to the front trenches. All of the trenches were linked to each other by other trenches, underground tunnels, or telephone communications networks. Barbwire was also stretched across the line to protect from enemy attack. While the design of the trenches and the network of trenches seemed like a great tactic, the reality of the life in the trenches was a different story. Life in the trenches took its toll on the soldiers involved in the war. 2. Trenches were built by the soldiers who had to fight in them. They had to dig these out with spades and other equipment. There was a very clever layout for the trenches. They were built in zigzags to prevent major loss of soldiers if enemy forces breached the trench, also if they were bombed this would prevent lots of loss of life. v

External Environment Analysis Slp Essay

In this part of the paper an external analysis regarding the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) will be conducted. The main objective of this external analysis is that to scan the external environment for factors which might open up new opportunities or present threats to survival for California Pizza Kitchen. To do that an external analysis based on Porter’s Five Forces Model and a PEST analysis will be carried out. Porter’s Five Forces Model Porter’s Model of Five Forces is one of the most versatile frameworks to analyze the industry external environment. With the application of this model California Pizza Kitchen will be able to understand and get a handle on the competitive and market characteristics of the food and beverage industry Bargaining Power of Suppliers The supplier power is based on the concentration of suppliers and the availability of suppliers within the region where California Pizza Kitchen operates like China, USA or Japan etc. It is important for CPK to pay a close attention to the needs and the wants of their suppliers. (Cravens, 2000) Bargaining Power of Customers Here California Pizza Kitchen has to be careful because the customer’s influence increases over a company. it is extremely important for California Pizza Kitchen to lookout for the tastes and preferences of the customers so that they are able to cater to all their needs. For example, Pizza Hut when it opens a new franchise in any company, does product adaptation so that it would suit the local tastes, therefore this needs to be done by CPK as well. (Cravens, 2000) Rivalry among Competitors There is a great deal of competition between 2 similar companies in the same industry. For example, the biggest rival among the competitors of California Pizza Kitchen is Pizza Hut. Pizza Hut is one of the oldest and the most famous pizza chains all over the globe, it has somewhere around 34,000 franchise outlets, delivery units and kiosks all in over 100 countries. Availability of Substitutes A substitute product for any California Pizza Kitchen product can cause the company to lose its business. Any product that is available in the market has a substitute available and the substitute for pizza is burgers and fried food. For example, California Pizza Kitchen is easily substituted for Burger King, McDonalds, Subway or KFC. (Hollensen, 2003) Threat of New Entrants This is another one of the competitive forces that affects the company in a big way. For example, the entrance of Dominos within the food and beverage industry can cause California Pizza Kitchen to lose some of its business. PEST Analysis The abbreviation for PEST analysis is Political, Environmental, Social, and Technological analysis. This analysis will help California Pizza Kitchen to know its environmental challenges and in how to operate the company in the present and by helping it to prep itself for the future. This analysis will help California Pizza Kitchen to match its resources with its activities and to help it move in the right direction. Political Analysis Here the political term refers to the global, national, regional and local trends, changes or events. Since CPK operates in somewhere around 10 countries around the globe, the company needs to adhere to the rules and regulations of that country in which it operates. California Pizza Kitchen needs to work with various special interest groups within the company and the market as well. (Kevin & Kotler, 2008) Environmental Analysis California Pizza Kitchen is extremely committed to the environmental responsibility. The outlets of company follow the environment regulations and promote cleanliness in their surroundings. California Pizza Kitchen has a very clean and tidy environment and has a very proper system to dispose of the garbage. The company supports charitable programs and takes the first steps for promoting, supporting and participating in the welfare of the community. California Pizza Kitchen has even sponsored educational programs in local community schools and the company also provides funds for different events like Fundraisers and the money collected at these fundraisers go to non-profit schools, which focus on children, youth sports and education. (Kevin & Kotler, 2008) Social Analysis The social term in the analysis refers to the developments within the society that is means culture, behavior, the expectations of the customer, the attitude of the company towards the society etc. California Pizza Kitchen has introduced   CPKids Programs under California Pizza Kitchen Foundation for children ranging 10 years and under in schools and a variety of organizations , for example,   Restaurant Tours and Incentive Awards for outstanding accomplishments to Fundraising Events and Sports Team Partnerships. California Pizza Kitchen also has a great deal of programs for the community as well. Technological Analysis The technological term over here refers to the development, such as, the processing of the products, how the machines are operated. With the use of technology in the operations, CPK has been able to reduce the cost of production, the performance of the organization has increased, has helped the company with its supply chain operations. CPK needs to introduce multinational development teams so that it ensures that the system design needs the need of the company. With the help of parallel development CPK will be able to assign different parts of the system to different subsidiaries of the business. The manager needs to listen to the ideas of the employees as well. Change the department’s structure so that it would be able to fit the communication needs. (Kevin & Kotler, 2008) Conclusion The end result after conducting the environmental analysis is that California Pizza Kitchen needs to keep a lookout for the taste and preferences of its customers and it needs to follow trends and information revolution by leveraging greater consumer insight to deliver superior value products to the customers which in turn creates sustainable, yet incredible business results for the benefit of their stakeholders. The company needs to improve its technological aspects and it needs to follow all the rules and regulations. If they are able to do so then they would have a competitive advantage over their competitors, where they would lock-in customers and lock-out competitors. References Cravens, D W. (2000), Strategic Marketing. New York: McGraw Hill Hollensen, S, (2003), Marketing Management: A Relationship Approach. Financial Times/Prentice Hall Kevin, K. & Kotler, P. (2008), Marketing Management. Prentice Hall